iStock/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) -- The National Guard troops sent to the U.S. border with Mexico this weekend are a team of mostly planners who will decide how many additional members should be deployed, officials said.



The Texas National Guard deployed 150 members to support the new border security mission announced by President Donald Trump earlier this week. Over the coming days, they will meet with officials from Customs and Border Protection and the Department of Homeland Security in five sectors along the southern border to discuss the mission, including how many more guardsmen will be needed.



They join 100 Texas guardsmen who had been supporting previous border security operations in the area, according to Brig. Gen. Tracy Norris, assistant deputy adjutant general of the Texas Military Department.



The Arizona National Guard has also activated a team of planners who will coordinate the deployment of 150 guardsmen to the Mexico border next week.



On Friday, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis signed a memo that authorized the federal government to pay for the potential deployment of up to 4,000 National Guard troops for the border mission through September. But it remains unclear exactly how many guardsmen the state governments will ultimately mobilize to support the operation.



"We are sealing up our Southern Border," Trump tweeted Saturday.



The governors of New Mexico and California, the other states situated along the border with Mexico, have not formally announced whether they will participate in the new border security mission.



New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez has expressed support for National Guard troops supporting Border Patrol agents in her state.



California Gov. Jerry Brown's administration is considering it, according to Lt. Col. Thomas Keegan, a spokesman for the California National Guard.



This request - as with others weve received from the Department of Homeland Security, including those for additional staffing in 2006 and 2010 - will be promptly reviewed to determine how best we can assist our federal partners. We look forward to more detail, including funding, duration and end state," said Keegan, speaking on behalf of Brown's administration.

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Lieutenant Governor of Texas and a Republican Dan Patrick expressed his support for deploying National Guard troops to secure the United States-Mexican border on Friday.

Patrick said that he hopes United States President Donald Trump keeps the extra defense security at the border "until hell freezes over", while referring to the illegal immigration into the US via the US-Mexican border, as reported by the Fox News.

President Trump had signed a proclamation on Wednesday to order the guards at the border. He had asked 2,000 to 4,000 troops to remain there until the anti-immigration wall is built.

Patrick re-affirmed the Trump's demand for the anti-immigration wall between US-Mexico while saying, "I hope they'll stay there until hell freezes over until that wall is built. We need the wall".

He said border patrol officers and other law enforcement can help while the National Guard does "behind-the-scenes" work and surveillance.

"Their very presence will send a strong message, as it has before," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said there is a collapse in the Prime Minister Narendra Modi led government.

Talking to reporters here, the Congress President said the collapse is taking place for two-three reasons.

"One, there is complete financial mismanagement, demonetisation, and the implosion of the financial system. We don't understand, and even the government, that what is the extent of the hole in the financial system," Gandhi said.

He added," Second is the complete mismanagement of foreign policy. We have China sitting in Doklam and the Prime Minister sits with the Chinese president on a jhoola (swing) and China enters Dolam and nothing to be said, but silence and shock."

Gandhi said that the basic loss of control was visible in Prime Minister Modi and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah's behaviour.

"There is a basic loss of control and you can see that in Mr. Modi's demeanour, expression, and speeches. You can see it in Mr. Amit Shah's confusion. Amit Shah's anger coming out saying all people are animals except myself. So, it is a demonstration of complete fracture in the system," Gandhi said.

Taking a swipe at Shah for calling entire Opposition animals, the Congress chief said it was the mentality that there were only two or three people in this country "who are worth anything, who understand everything and everybody else is a worthless person".

"Calling the entire opposition animals. see according to Amit Shah and the basic vision of the BJP-RSS - there are only two non-animals in this country. There is Mr. Narendra Modi and there is Mr. Amit Shah," Gandhi said.

He added, "Everybody else as far as they are concerned are animals. That's fine, that is the way they look at the world. It is a disrespectful statement, but we don't take what Mr. Amit Shah says with too much seriousness."

The Congress President said that not only Dalits, tribals, minorities but BJP leaders like Lal Krishna Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, and Nitin Gadkari are disrespected in the BJP.

"It's not only Dalits, it's tribals, it's minorities. It doesn't stop there. It's Mr. Advani, Mr. Manohar Joshi, even Mr. Gadkari, it's everybody. The thing is that the BJP people internally don't have guts to say it to you (media). They say it to us. The fact is that Mr. Amit Shah and Mr. Modi are convinced that there are only two human beings in the country," Gandhi said.

He also said that Dalits are being oppressed in the country and Prime Minister Modi thinks that only bowing before the statue of Dr. Ambedkar was enough to show concern about Dalits.

"What is happening to Dalits across the country is disgusting and horrible and our prime minister has nothing to say. He is under the impression that respecting Dalits is about going and doing namaste in front of the Ambedkar Ji's statue," Gandhi said.

The Congress President alleged that Punjab Bank (PNB) scam accused Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi have a relationship with the Prime Minister.

"Nirav Modi and Mehul Choski have a relationship with Prime Minister. They have taken Rs. 30,000 crore and runoff. In Davos, they were sitting next to each other. They are from Gujarat. There was a letter sent to Prime Minister's office, long back, saying that there is a problem with Mr. Nirav Modi. That letter was ignored. Prime Minister knew exactly what was going on," Gandhi said.

He also alleged that Prime Minister Modi personally went to Paris to change the Rafael deal.

"Rafael Questioned. Rs. 40,000 crore given to one person. The deal was changed by Prime Minister personally in Paris without taking into account any procedure and any cabinet committee on security. And, it is gross corruption," Gandhi said.

He alleged that for the first time allies of the government blocked the Parliament to protect the government and Prime Minister Modi, who did not have the guts to come and stand in front the Congress in the Parliament.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A Turkish was detained on Saturday after he reached here from Sri Lanka in a fiberglass boat.

The foreigner, identified as Mahir Devrim, 43, was apprehended at about 8:30 pm on Saturday.

He was detained for questioning by Ramanathapuram police at Serankottai seashore when the former was found to be moving suspiciously near the port office.

A case has been registered and an investigation has been initiated in the matter.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The US Department of Homeland Security has posted a contract request for "Media Monitoring Services," with the aim of compiling a database of journalists, bloggers and "media influencers" for the government.

A solicitation posted to the Federal Business Opportunities website, the main contracting website used by the federal government, outlines a number of requests from DHS related to media monitoring, CNN reported.

This includes a 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week access to a "media influencer" database that would be made up of reporters, editors and bloggers.

The work request also seeks the ability to build lists of journalists based on beat, location, outlet type/size and journalist role. Creating an online "media influence database" is also included.

"Despite what some reporters may suggest, this is nothing more than the standard practice of monitoring current events in the media. Any suggestion otherwise is fit for tin foil hat wearing, black helicopter conspiracy theorists," DHS spokesman Tyler Houlton tweeted after the Committee to Protect Journalists tweeted out a link to a Forbes article about the request.

Forbes writer Michelle Fabio referred to the move as "today's installment of 'I'm Not Terrified, You Are,'" and said the details of the plan "are enough to cause nightmares of constitutional proportions, particularly as the freedom of the press is under attack worldwide.

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The United States Department of Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on Friday imposed sanctions upon seven of Russia's richest oligarchs who allegedly have ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

OFAC worded a strong statement that Russian government operates for the disproportionate benefits of oligarchs and government elites.

OFAC designated seven Russian oligarchs and 12 companies they own or control, 17 senior Russian government officials, and a state-owned Russian weapons trading company and its subsidiary, a Russian bank for conducting malign activity including illegal occupations and supporting war-related activities, as per an official release.

Further Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin said, "Russian oligarchs and elites who profit from this corrupt system will no longer be insulated from the consequences of their government's destabilizing activities".

The action is taken under the Executive Order (E.O.) 13661 and E.O. 13662, authorities codified by the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), as well as E.O. 13582.

Earlier in January 2018, the Department of the Treasury issued CAATSA Section 241 under which it identified senior Russian government officials and oligarchs misusing their position and privileged access to the government.

Further, any relations or contacts of the US citizens with the designated individuals have been frozen. Two general licenses have been issued to the public to notify of the same.

Suleiman Kerimov and Andrei Skoch are designated for being officials of the Government of the Russian Federation including the owners of various other corporations.

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Nepal Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli on Saturday stressed on the need of having friendly relations with its neighbours.

Speaking at the India Foundation event here, Oli said, "We are a country in between two big neighbours. We want to play friendly neighbourly relations, neighbourly policy and the most important thing for us is friendship."

Underlining the need to respect friendship, he added, "As friendly neighbours, we respect each other's sensitivities. We will never let our land to be used against sovereign India. We are firm in our resolve and we need the same kind of assurance from India."

Oli further said that he wished for a prosperous Nepal and that he needed for support across the world, particularly from its neighbours.

Praising rapid rise of India's status, he said, "We cherish India's progress and prosperity. The wonderful journey of India as an economic powerhouse is inspiring for people around the world."

Dwelling upon the warm and cordial relations between India and Nepal, Oli stated that relations has grown into more expansive and multi-dimensional in recent times.

"Our objective is to bring relations to the next level and to not slide back. Our objective is clear," said Oli.

The Nepal Prime Minister said that his country advocates an independent foreign policy without any external obstacles.

Further stressing on the relations with India, Oli added, "Our foreign policy that defines our relations is to strengthen it and lay the foundation of it, but not weaken it. Our relations has to be expanded and consolidated and to not limit its scope."

Oli also said that Nepal wished to be as prosperous as India, adding that New Delhi was Kathmandu's largest trading partner. However, he was wary of Nepal's massive trade deficit.

He said, "Our economy cannot sustain an alarmingly high trade imbalance with India. We are not a competitor to India, we need breathing space. We need India's support to be economically strong."

Oli lauded India's timely assistance in the financial and infrastructural development of Nepal. He also pressed for deeper cooperation in the development of regional connectivity for people-to-people contact and in the agricultural sector.

Talking about his India visit, the Nepal Prime Minister added, "During this visit, I had comprehensive and frank conversations with Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi on issues of mutual interests. I firmly believe and hope you all will agree that a peaceful and prosperous Nepal is in the larger interest of India as well as other neighbours."

Union Ministers Ravi Shankar Prasad, Suresh Prabhu and MoS Ministry of External Affairs General V.K. Singh were also present at the India Foundation conclave.

Oli is currently on a three-day visit to India, having arrived earlier on Friday.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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The Government of India, Government of Maharashtra and the World Bank signed here today a US$ 420 million project to help Small and Marginal farmers in the Marathwada and Vidarbha regions of Maharashtra. The project will help in increasing climate resilient practices in agriculture and ensuring that farming continues to remain a financially viable activity for them.

The aforesaid project is expected to benefit over 7 million people spread over an area of 3.0 million ha and cover 5,142 villages across 15 most climate vulnerable districts of the region. The $420 million loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), has a 6-year grace period, and a maturity of 24 years.

The Agreements for the Maharashtra Project for Climate Resilient Agriculture were signed by Shri Sameer Kumar Khare, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, on behalf of the Government of India; Shri Bijay Kumar, Additional Chief Secretary, Agriculture Department on behalf of the Government of Maharashtra; and Mr. Junaid Ahmad, Country Director, World Bank, India on behalf of the World Bank.

The Maharashtra Project for Climate Resilient Agriculture will be implemented in rural areas largely dependent upon rainfed agriculture. The project will take up a series of activities at the farm and watershed level. It will scale up climate-resilient technologies such as micro irrigation systems, expand surface water storage, and facilitate aquifer recharge, which is expected to directly contribute to a more efficient use of scarce water resources. By adopting climate-resilient seed varieties which have short maturity, are drought and heat resistant, and salt tolerant, the project will help reduce risks of climate-related crop failure, and help enhance farmer's income.

In recent years, climate variability has affected agriculture in Maharashtra, where farming is largely dominated by small and marginal farmers. Farmers have low crop productivity and a high dependence on rainfall. Severe drought in the past has affected the state's agriculture performance. At the watershed level, project activities include building drainage lines and preparing catchment area treatment plans that promote a more efficient use of surface water for agriculture, complemented with a more sustainable use of groundwater, which will ultimately improve the availability and quality of water at the farm level.

To strengthen emerging value chains for climate-resilient agricultural commodities, the project will improve the capacity of Farmer Producers Organizations to operate as sustainable, market-oriented, agri-enterprises. It will help mainstream the climate resilient agriculture agenda in various local institutions that deliver agricultural services to the farming community.

India's per capita emission of Green House Gases (GHG) is also on the rise, though current per capita levels of 2.44 t CO2 equivalent in 2012, is still among the lowest in the world.

In absolute terms, the agriculture sector is the second largest contributor with around 18 percent of the country's total GHG emissions. This project will help mitigate that through carbon sequestration which involves planting trees in upper catchment areas and afforestation; growing fruit trees on small orchards; and incorporating crop residues (biomass) into the soil.

Speaking in the occasion, theJoint Secretary, DEA, MoFShri Khare said that the Government of India accords high priority to welfare of farmers and is implementing several schemes to revitalize the agriculture sector and improve the economic condition of farmers. To cope with climate change, agricultural systems must be resilient and adapt to change. The Project will strengthen the resilience of small and marginal farmers against adverse climate events by promoting agricultural technologies and farming practices that are aimed at improving soil health, water-use efficiency and crop productivity.

Emphaising the importance of the project Mr. Junaid Ahmad said that for India to sustain its growth across generations and become one of the world's largest middle-class economies, the country needs to shift to a more resource-efficient growth path, which is inclusive. This project will help the rural poor, largely dependent on rain-fed agriculture, use more climate-resilient farming technologies and conserve water, a scarce resource. The project will also support the state government to shift towards a new paradigm that puts climate resilience at the core of agricultural growth and rural development in Maharashtra.

Lead Agriculture Economist Mr. Patrick Verissimo andSenior Agriculture SpecialistMr. Ranjan Samantray, the World Bank's Task Team Leaders for the project said that state climate modeling results show that the annual mean temperature in the project area will increase by around 1.3 to 1.5 degree Celsius by the 2030s. The increase in rainfall during this period is also likely to get distributed over a shorter number of rain days. The Government of Maharashtra recognizes the need for a structural shift to make agriculture more sustainable and is keen to build climate resilience in agriculture which this project will support the Government in achieving.

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As per the World Economic Situation and Prospects 2018 report of the United Nations, the Indian economy is projected to grow at 7.2 per cent in 2018-19 and 7.4 per cent in 2019-20. The report indicates that the outlook for India remains largely positive, underpinned by robust private consumption and public investment as well as ongoing structural reforms.

Share of public sector (including public financial corporations, public non-financial corporations and General Government) in total Gross Fixed Capital Formation (GFCF) increased from 21.4 per cent in 2011-12 to 23.3 per cent in 2014-15 and further to 25.1 per cent in 2016-17 (the latest year for which data is available). The share of public GFCF in GDP at current prices increased from 7.0 per cent in 2014-15 to 7.2 per cent in 2016-17. The average contribution of public sector GFCF to GDP growth was 9.5 per cent from 2014-15 to 2016-17, as compared to 3.0 per cent in 2012-13.

The confidence in the Indian economy has increased on account of policy measures taken up by the Government and the Reserve Bank of India. Moody's rating agency upgraded India's local and foreign currency issuer rating to Baa2 with a stable outlook from Baa3 on the expectation that continued progress in India's economic reforms will enhance India's growth potential over time. According to World Bank's Ease of Doing Business 2018 Report, India's ranking improved by 30 positions to 100th rank in 2018.

As per the World Economic Forum, India's rank in Global Competitiveness Index is 40 out of 137 countries in 2017-18, improvement over 71 out of 144 countries in 2014-15 and 55 out of 140 countries in 2015-16.

The Government of India has taken various initiatives to improve the confidence in the Indian economy and boost the growth of the economy and which, inter-alia, include; fillip to manufacturing, concrete measures for transport and power sectors as well as other urban and rural infrastructure, comprehensive reforms in the foreign direct investment policy, special package for textile industry, push to infrastructure development by giving infrastructure status to affordable housing and focus on coastal connectivity. For highways development the Bharatmala Pariyojana has been launched. The Government has launched a phased program for bank recapitalization. This entails infusion of capital to the public sector banks, which is expected to encourage banks to enhance lending. The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code was enacted to achieve insolvency resolution in a time bound manner. The introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) has provided a significant opportunity to improve growth momentum by reducing barriers to trade, business and related economic activities. Budget 2018-19 included various measures to provide a push to the economy, which among others, include major push to infrastructure via higher allocation to rail & road sector, reduced corporate tax rate of 25 per cent for companies with turnover up to Rs. 250 crore which is expected to help 99 per cent of MSMEs, etc.

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About 20,000 Palestinians participated in protests dubbed the "Friday of Tires" along the Israel-Gaza border.

During the violent confrontations with Israeli border soldiers on Friday, eight Palestinians were killed and about 1,300 others wounded, reports Xinhua news agency.

Earlier on Friday, the UN human rights office deplored the reported use of "excessive force" by Israeli soldiers during the March 30 protests in Gaza, where at least 16 people were killed and more than 1,000 others injured.

Friday's protest, however, was smaller in scale than that of last week, which was estimated to bring together about 30,000 Palestinians.

The Israeli military responded with riot dispersal means, and fired in accordance with the rules of engagement, the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) said in a statement.

Attempts were made by Palestinians to infiltrate into Israel under the cover of a smoke screen, in addition to explosive devices and firebombs thrown toward IDF soldiers and attempts to damage the security fence, the IDF said.

"The IDF will not allow any harm of the security infrastructure or the security fence that protects Israeli civilians, and will act against the violent rioters and terrorists who attempt to do so," it added.

The Israeli military on Thursday threatened Hamas with a tougher military response to another planned Friday demonstration on Israel's border with Gaza.

The six-week protest campaign "March of Return" to mark Land Day, is an annual commemoration of a 1976 protest against Israeli confiscation of Arab-owned land

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A Special Investigation Team of Delhi Police has arrested a teacher of a private school, a clerk and a support staff from Himachal Pradesh on charges of leaking the CBSE Class 12 Economics paper, an officer said on Saturday.

The SIT found out that the Economics paper was leaked in handwritten format two days prior to the exam held on March 26.

"The SIT has interrogated over 70 people, including 'WhatsApp' admins, school teachers, ground staff, students and others in connection with the leak.

"It traced the transmission of the leak, including its point of origin and who all were the beneficiaries.

"Finally on the basis of crucial clues and leads the arrests were made from Himachal Pradesh," Special Commissioner of Police R.P. Upadhyaya said.

The investigators had sought the deleted chats and contexts shared by the group members and the Whatsapp admins amongst each others. Via an email to the 'Whatsapp' Headquarters in California in US, the team was able to revive the deleted conversation that cracked the case.

The Central Board of Secondary academic unit at Rouse Avenue had on March 26 received some sheets of handwritten answers of Economics paper in a blank envelope before the exam commenced.

--IANS

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At least six persons including two soldiers have been killed and several others injured in two separate explosions here.

The police and witnesses said on Friday the first explosion occurred at a checkpoint along the road near the airport in Mogadishu after the vehicle had been intercepted by the security officers manning the checkpoint. The blast injured three soldiers while a bomber died, Xinhua reported.

"The second blast occurred an hour later at another checkpoint in Sei piano in Hodan district (west of Mogadishu) a few minutes after Friday prayers," said a police officer who declined to be named.

He said two soldiers were killed after the security forces killed three militants who had passed through the checkpoint with vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED).

Internal Security spokesman Abdiaziz Ali Ibrahim said security forces managed to thwart the deadly attack by the extremists.

Ibrahim said the security officers managed to stop the suicide bomber but noted that the vehicle exploded after the security forces barred it from entering the road to the airport.

--IANS

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At least eight militants have been killed and two Taliban hideouts destroyed by Afghan Army in the country's Badakhshan province, officials said on Saturday.

"Afghan National Army Air Force A-29 military planes on Friday afternoon struck two Taliban hideouts in Wardoj district. The initial information found eight militants lost their lives after the sorties," Army spokesman Hanif Rezai was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency.

A hijacked armoured military carrier, a heavy gun and three bunkers along with weapons and ammunition were also destroyed, he said. No civilian was injured during the operation.

Violence has escalated in Afghanistan's northern region over the past few years as Afghan security forces push against the militants in the south and the east.

--IANS

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Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Saturday said that nine crore new LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) connections have been distributed in the last four years, including 3.5 crore connections provided under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY).

Speaking at the launch of PMUY scheme in Delhi, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Pradhan said, LPG penetation across India has improved drastically with nine crore new LPG connections being distributed in the last four years.

He was quoted in a statement as saying that the government's target of providing gas connections to nine crore BPL (Below Poverty Line) families by 2020 "will be incorporating genuinely poor households left out of socio economic caste survey (SECC) list and now will be empowering a wider section of society."

During the launch event "approximately 400 LPG connections were handed over to women of BPL (below poverty line) families," the statement issued by IndianOil Corporation said.

Launched in May 2016, under the scheme government provides LPG connections to BPL families with a support of Rs 1,600 per connection.

--IANS

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If not regulated or controlled soon, Artificial Intelligence (AI) will become an "immortal dictator" and there will be no escape for humans, Tesla and SpaceX founder has warned.

In a new documentary on AI, Musk said: "At least when there's an evil dictator, that human is going to die. But for an AI there would be no death. It would live forever, and then you'd have an immortal dictator, from which we could never escape".

"If AI has a goal and humanity just happens to be in the way, it will destroy humanity as a matter of course without even thinking about it. No hard feelings," Musk told Chris Paine, the director of the new documentary titled "Do You Trust This Computer?"

Paine had earlier interviewed Musk for the documentary titled "Who Killed The Electric Car?".

Musk has always been a critic of AI and asked for stiff regulations to curb the technology.

In a recent tweet, Musk said that people should be more concerned with AI than the risk posed by North Korea.

"If you're not concerned about AI safety, you should be. Vastly more risk than North Korea," Musk tweeted.

Musk has also quit the board of OpenAI, a non-profit AI research company he co-founded that aims to promote and develop friendly AI that benefits the humanity.

In 2014, Musk said AI was humanity's biggest existential threat later adding that the United Nations needed to act to prevent a killer robot arms race.

Musk has been speaking frequently on AI and has called its progress the "biggest risk we face as a civilisation".

"AI is a rare case where we need to be proactive in regulation instead of reactive because if we're reactive in AI regulation it's too late," he said.

In a recent verbal spat with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg who is a big advocate for the AI technology, Musk said: "I've talked to Mark about this (AI). His understanding of the subject is limited".

Zuckerberg replied: "I think people who are naysayers and try to drum up these doomsday scenarios -- I just, I don't understand it. It's really negative and in some ways I actually think it is pretty irresponsible".

(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.)
Justice J. Chelameswar, the senior-most Supreme Court judge after the Chief Justice of India, on Saturday said allocation of important and sensitive cases to different benches should be done transparently and not in an arbitrary manner.

"We are not questioning his (Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra) authority as master of roster but it should not be exercised in an arbitrary manner but in a transparent manner," Chelameswar said.

Buttressing his point that not everything was right in the allocation of cases, Justice Chelameswar said: "You come and walk in the corridor of the Supreme Court and you will hear that the allocation of cases is not transparent."

He was talking to Journalist Karan Thapar at an event, "Role of Judiciary in Democracy", organised by Harvard Club of India here. The conversation went on for about 90 minutes.

About the opposition chorus seeking an impeachment of the Chief Justice, Justice Chelameswar said it was "not an answer for every problem".

"Some system is required to be set-up so that these problems don't arise."

Responding to a question whether he apprehended government blocking the elevation of Justice Ranjan Gogoi as the next Chief Justice of India after Justice Dipak Misra retires, he said: "I am not an astrologer. I hope it will not happen. If it happens then it will prove what we had said in the press conference (on January 12, 2018)."

He was one of the judges who held an unprecedented press conference in January, mounting a virtual revolt against the chief justice and listing a litany of problems that they said were plaguing the country's highest court.

They warned that these problems, including allocation of cases by the Chief Justice, could damage Indian democracy.

Responding to a question that most of PILs and other matters were listed before the Chief Justice's court, Justice Chelameswar said: "He is master of rolls. Let him do it if he wants to do everything. I will like to do minimal work in next 49 days before my retirement."

He also said that after his retirement on June 22 he will not "seek any employment under any government" and the issues raised by him and his three other colleagues (at the January 12 press conference) were out of their "anguish" and was not an expression of their frustration.

He sought to erase the impression that difference on some issues affected their relationship with the CJI. "Differences are on issues. That does not mean that we don't see see eye to eye. In last 10 days, matters relating to four High Courts were dealt (by the collegium)."

Defending his decision to direct the listing of the medical scam case before a bench of five senior most judges after the CJI, Justice Chelameswar noted that in the disproportionate assets case involving late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, the judgement was pronounced one year after the order was reserved.

On the appointment of judges by the collegium, he said said that at no stage there was a suggestion for its scrapping but inclusion of an element of civil society and the government. "Sometimes revisiting (of a system) is required to assess the efficient working of the system," he said.

He said that the finalisation of the memorandum of procedure for the appointment of judges was between the collegium and the government and there could be no judicial intervention as it would create difficulties.On the controversy on the collegium recommending the elevation of Justice P. Krishna Bhat to Karnataka High Court, Justice Chelameswar said that his name was cleared twice by the collegium and if the government still had any reservation, they could have written to the collegium but instead wrote to the Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court who "unfortunately" acted on it.

He said that he had called for the full court sitting on judicial side on the issue.

On the pendency of more than 50,000 cases, he said that not all cases should come to the Supreme Court and faulted the existing system of division benches hearing the matters.

--IANS

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(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
"Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice" star Ben Affleck surprised a young Batman fan, who is suffering from terminal cancer.

Earlier this week, Affleck learned about an 11-year-old refugee named Mukuta who is currently battling terminal cancer.

While receiving care at Hospice Atlanta, the boy expressed his love for all things Batman. As a result, the staff put out a request for a superhero impersonator to help lift Mukuta's spirits, reports eonline.com.

According to NBC affiliate 11 Alive, the Hollywood actor took a break from filming "Triple Frontier" in Hawaii to FaceTime with Mukuta.

"Such a memorable day for Mukuta who is a super #Batman fan!" the center wrote on Twitter.

"He received a phone call from Ben Affleck. Thanks to the widespread community support and helping us deliver on our mission: To Improve the Lives of Those We Serve."

Affleck also offered to help fly Mukuta's mother from Zimbabwe to Atlanta to be with her son during this difficult time.

"Hospice Atlanta and Mukuta's family are so thankful to Ben Affleck, who following his FaceTime conversation with Mukuta, has graciously offered to fly his mother from Zimbabwe to reunite with her son," the center revealed.

"A true superhero in action!"

Affleck has been a longtime supporter of the refugees from Congo. In 2010, he helped found the Eastern Congo Initiative, which is an advocacy and grant-making initiative focused on working with and for the people of eastern Congo.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
With the BJP and RSS planning programmes to reach out to Dalits across the country, the Congress on Saturday termed this the "worst possible tokenism".

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had during BJP's 38th foundation day asked the BJP MPs to spend at least two nights in Dalit villages in order to win the faith of the community.

"When (Congress President) Rahul Gandhi had done this, asked various leaders to do this, they (BJP) made fun of us. I am glad they are learning something from us. It is a little too late in the day for them however, to learn the right lessons from the Congress," said Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera.

"These are, at this stage, is the worst possible tokenism that they can offer to the 'Dalits' of this country.

"If they were very serious about this, they were given four years, they did away with 'Sub-Plan' - the budgetary head, and also a special region plan.

"The way they responded to Rohith Vemula. Look at the chaos when the SC/ST Atrocity Act was diluted. Also look at the statement by the Additional Solicitor General in the Supreme Court. So, this government lost the plot long back. Now, their own sins are revisiting them," he added.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Indian boxer Manoj Kumar entered the quarter-final round, defeating Kassim Mbundwike of Tanzania in the men's 69kilogram category at the 21st Commonwealth Games here on Saturday.

Manoj thrashed Mbundwike 5-0 in a unanimous decision. The all four judges gave him 30-27 advantage.

Right through the match Manoj played brilliantly, landing a flurry of punches flying from both sides of the ring.

Manoj Kumar continued his attack and forced the Tanzanian boxer to defend in the scond round.

Soon, the furious attacking from the Indian boxer left his opponent short of energy and at the end Mbundwike surrendered the match.

Manoj will now face Nickolas Terry of Australia on April 10

--IANS

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A constable of the Meghalaya armed police was killed and a jail officials injured in an accident involving a Mercedes car driven by Meghalaya Health and Family Welfare Minister Alexander Hek's son early on Saturday, police said.

A police officer said that the head-on collision between the Mercedes and a two-wheeler driven by jail official Probin D. Sangma and constable Probat.R. Marak occurred at Fourth Furlong Tri-junction here.

The brand new, dark blue private Mercedes bearing a temporary number was driven by Hek's son Aibansharai Nongsiej, he said.

"The pillion rider (Marak) was declared dead by doctors at Shillong Civil hospital, while Sangma is in critical condition at North East Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences," Davies Marak, the district police chief of East Khasi Hills, told IANS.

Nongsiej has also been medically examined by the doctors at Civil hospital, the police said.

"We have started investigations. The Motor Vehicle Inspector will examine the Mercedes and the pulsar (bike) if they had any mechanical defects," Davies said.

Police are yet to record the statement of Sangma who is in critical condition.

Hek said that he is open for a free and fair investigation into the accident.

"It is a very unfortunate incident. Police are conducting the investigation and the law will take its own course," Hek told IANS.

--IANS

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The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) owes much of its woes to the reluctance of its core constituency of urban, upper caste, conservative, anti-minority, middle class supporters to accept Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "sabka saath, sabka vikas" mantra of development for all.

They may have no objections to "vikas", but the idea of including everyone in its fold is anathema to them. So, if they see a Dalit having fared well enough in life to own a horse and ride it, he has to be killed as in Gujarat's Bhavnagar district. Or, if a Dalit groom wants to take out a "baraat" (marriage procession) through his village in Uttar Pradesh, the upper caste residents will not allow it.

Killing is the usual option for the saffron rank and file to eliminate those whose conduct violates the Hindutva fads and fetishes.

Hence, anyone suspected of eating beef or who believes in inter-faith romance is either beaten up or done away with. Moreover, the Hindutva storm-troopers are so sure of the righteousness of their cause that they are not deterred by the presence of video cameras when they engage in their lawless acts.

In the 93 years since the formation of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and 67 years of the Jan Sangh-BJP, Muslims were their sole targets. The Dalits were largely ignored because, till recently, they were not assertive enough to annoy the saffron brigade.

The BJP even toys with the idea of winning them over for use as vote banks. It is trying to do so by occasionally paying obeisance to the Dalit icon, B.R. Ambedkar, and choosing a Dalit as the President.

But much of this placatory signalling is probably regarded as tokenism by the Dalits while for the members of the Brahmin-Bania party, these gestures mean nothing where their caste bias is concerned.

Hence, the flogging of four Dalit youths by "gau rakshaks" (cow protectors) in Una, Gujarat, the hounding to death of Dalit scholar Rohith Vemula in Hyderabad and the prolonged incarceration of the firebrand Dalit youth leader, Chandrashekhar Azad "Ravan", by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

It is not surprising that against the background of the saffron targeting of Dalits, the recent Supreme Court judgment purportedly diluting the act relating to Atrocities against the Dalits and Adivasis acted as the spark that lit the fires of mob violence during a bandh called by Dalit outfits.

What is odd, however, is that the BJP (and the RSS) hadn't kept this possibility of a sudden outburst in mind. It is no secret that these Hindutva organisations care little about the Muslims being alienated because they are aware that the minorities, whether Muslims or Christians, will not vote for the BJP except in very small numbers or when there is some kind of a wave as in 2014.

But antagonising the Dalits, who constitute 16.6 per cent of the population, is a politically self-defeating exercise, not least because if this percentage is added to 14.2 per cent of the Muslims, it will mean that the BJP is risking losing the support of nearly a third of the country's population.

Taken together with the Christians (2.3 per cent) and the liberal Hindus as well as those who have been disenchanted by Modi's inability to keep his promise on job creation, the number of those who are opposed to the BJP has to be substantial. The portents, therefore, for the party's prospects in 2019 cannot be very bright.

The scene is made more complicated for the BJP by the occasional criticism of the policy of reservations by the RSS. The Brahminical motive for opposing the quota system is driven not so much by an urge for placing merit above caste as by the sense of outrage in Hindutva circles at the possibility of Dalits rising to high places in educational and bureaucratic institutions at the expense of the upper castes.

It is obvious that Modi had taken on a near-impossible task of selling his plan for all-round development irrespective of caste and creed to his party's core elements, although as a former RSS "pracharak" (preacher), he must have been acutely aware of the resistance which they were likely to offer.

He probably hoped that success in his efforts will boost the economy and create enough euphoria among all sections to stymie any serious opposition. But the failure to usher in the promised "achhey din" (good days) has been his bane not only because it has emboldened the opposition, but even more so because a stagnating economy is ideal breeding ground for disaffection even among friends like the saffron activists.

Not surprisingly, the Hindutva militants lost no time to take revenge for the Dalit-sponsored bandh to burn down the houses of a Dalit MLA of the BJP and a former Congress MLA who is a Dalit in Rajasthan.

(Amulya Ganguli is a political analyst. The views expressed are personal)
Authorities have ordered the shut down of higher secondary schools, colleges and universities in the Kashmir Valley on Saturday to prevent a face off between agitating students and the security forces.

Students have taken to the streets against civilian killings in Shopian and Ganderbal districts.

On Friday, clashes between angry protesters and the security forces erupted across the valley after the Friday prayers.

In addition to closing of the educational institutes, the authorities have also postponed exams scheduled for Saturday.

No separatist group have called for protests or a shutdown on Saturday.

Public transport, shops and other businesses started functioning in Srinagar and some other places on valley after Friday's shutdown.

Very few commuters and shoppers were, however, seen in the old city and uptown areas of Srinagar.

Train services between Baramulla and Bannihal towns will remain suspended on Saturday.

Heavy contingents of police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) have been deployed in Srinagar and all the district headquarters of the valley.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Expression of Interest (EoI) for sale of insolvent Nicco Corporation's assets on a "piecemeal basis" will be floated shortly after the offer on slump sale option failed to attract "significant interest", an official said on Saturday.

The Kolkata bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), in October, 2017, had ordered the liquidation proceedings against the debt-laden firm after its lenders voted against the resolution plan.

The EoI was invited from investors for acquisition of the firm's assets by way of slump sale - or all assets to be sold as a single unit - and the reserve price was set at Rs 231.48 crore, according to the document.

"Significant interest was not received for the slump sale option. Hence, we will now be offering the assets for sale on piecemeal basis. Necessary invitation for expressing interest in the same will be issued shortly," Nicco Corporation's Liquidator Vinod Kothari said in an email response to IANS' queries.

According to the bid document for slump sale option, it was expected that the applicants acquiring the assets of the company would endeavour to run the concern or business of company after acquisition of the sale assets.

The company is one of the oldest cable manufacturing companies in India engaged in the business of manufacturing and marketing various types of power, electrical and specialty cables.

Company's manufacturing unit in West Bengal's Shyamnagar, Odisha's Baripada, office spaces in Kolkata and Mumbai and among others were listed for sale.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has ignored a deadline to surrender to the Federal Police and begin serving a 12-year prison sentence for corruption, the media reported.

An arrest warrant required Lula, 72, to surrender to police by 5 p.m. on Friday in the southern city of Curitiba, reports CNN.

Instead, he remains at the headquarters of Brazil's Metalworkers union in the city of Sao Bernardo do Campo in Sao Paulo state.

Lula's Workers Party (PT) said that the former President was not defying the court order, reports Efe news.

"There is no disobedience on Lula's part," PT leader Gleisi Hoffman told reporters.

"The judge gave him the option to go to Curitiba to surrender and to not exercise that option."

"He decided to stay with the union, which is a public place, so that everybody, including the foreign press that is following him, knows his whereabouts," she said.

Sources in the PT and Federal Police confirmed that talks were continuing between Lula's attorneys and authorities.

Large crowds of Lula supporters have gathered there to protest in his support.

On Thursday, a federal judge ordered Lula's arrest after the country's Supreme Court ruled that he must start serving the 12 years.

Shortly before Friday's deadline, Brazil's Superior Court of Justice, the nation's highest appellate court, rejected a habeas corpus request to delay the prison time.

Lula, who governed Brazil from 2003 to 2011, had been considered a frontrunner in elections due in October. But the court's decision not to grant his request to remain free while appealing the conviction has cast doubt on his bid to regain power, CNN reported.

However, the PT said after Thursday's ruling that the party will stick with Lula as its standard-bearer regardless of his legal situation.

In January, an appeals court unanimously upheld the corruption and money laundering charges against him, and he was handed the prison sentence.

The former President was initially found guilty of the charges in July 2017.

Lula has strongly denied any wrongdoing and said he was a victim of political persecution.

His wife, Marisa Leticia Lula da Silva, and six others also were charged. However, she died in February 2017.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The proposed nationwide fast of the Congress on April 9 aimed to promote harmony among various sections of the society will help expose efforts of the BJP to divide the country on communal and sectarian lines, a senior Goa Congress leader said on Saturday.

"The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is out to divide the country on communal lines, in which its both central and state ministers and leaders play a key role. This fast is necessary to highlight such designs," state Congress president Shantaram Naik said.

Naik was addressing a meeting of the Goa Pradesh Congress Committee and the Congress Legislative Party members at the party's state headquarters here.

The All India Congress Committee (AICC) has given the call for the day-long nationwide fast by the party members.

Naik recounted the statements made by some BJP leaders, including the one made by MP Sakshi Maharaj, who had exhorted Hindu women to produce four children each to counter the rise of Muslim population.

He also referred to another comment by Union Minister of State for Food Processing Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, who had appealed to voters during a 2014 election rally in the national capital to choose between "Ramzaade" and "Haramzaade".

--IANS

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Doctors from across the world assembled for an international conference at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here said there is a widespread defeatist perception about brain tumour even among doctors, which is not right.

"Even in a Bollywood movie, if someone has to die, the character is told to be suffering from brain tumour and there is an immediate acceptance by all about his death," said Rakesh Jalali, Director of South East Asia's First Proton Therapy Centre (SEFPTC), Apollo Hospital, Chennai.

Jalali is one of the 400-odd delegates including 20 renowned international experts from all over the world attending the three-day 10th Annual Conference of the Indian Society of Neuro-Oncology that began at AIIMS on Friday.

"There have been major advancements in the understanding of biology and treatment strategies over the years to improve the outcome of these tumours and help dispel the nihilistic perception among the lay public and even among medical professionals," he said.

Chitra Sarkar, Professor of Pathology and Dean - Research at AIIMS, said: "Brain tumours constitute two to three per cent of all cancers but are the second commonest tumours in childhood. One must not surrender as many of these tumours can be cured."

"About 70-80 per cent of childhood brain tumours and a significant proportion of adult brain tumours are expected currently to get cured for years and decades and lead normal lives," said Sarkar.

Highlighting the importance of the conference, Professor of Neurosurgery at AIIMS Ashish Suri said each year it comes out with national guidelines on a particular type of brain tumour as per the available scientific evidence taking into account local resources and cost effective strategies.

The guidelines are an exceedingly vital source of information to help all oncologists not only in smaller cities in different states in India but also in other countries including those in the western hemisphere, he said.

The prestigious Ab Guha oration of the organising society, Indian Society of Neuro-Oncology (ISNO), was delivered by internationally renowned neurosurgeon Professor Raymond Sawaya, Chief of Neurosurgery at MD Anderson Cancer Centre, Houston, USA.

ISNO is a forum comprising various experts including doctors, scientists and rehab specialists dedicated to the care and research for people with brain tumours in India. It has 397 members, while the international society has around 2,000 members.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Kerala Governor P.Sathasivam on Saturday returned a bill seeking to regularise the admission procedures of 180 third year MBBS students at two self-financing medical colleges in the state.

Sathasivam's action came two days after the Supreme Court ordered cancellation of admissions of these students as it upheld the appeal by the Medical Council of India against regularisation of these admissions made in the self-financing Kannur and Karuna medical colleges in 2016-17.

The action came as a shock for both the ruling and opposition parties as they had unanimously passed the bill on Wednesday. The Kerala government was in a hurry to pass this bill, as the ordinance on the admission's validity ends on Sunday but with the Governor returning the bill, the future of these students appears bleak.

On Saturday, state Law Minister A.K.Balan told the media that the action of Sathasivam should not be seen in any other manner as he has gone according to the apex court directive.

"Now we will speak with the opposition to decide on what can be done to see how best we can save the future of the 180 students," he said.

In wake of the apex court verdict, both sides had sought to put up a brave face, saying their only concern was the future of the students.

However, the Congress-led opposition in the state came under heavy attack from former Defence Minister A.K.Antony who flayed his party colleagues for supporting the bill, as it was only meant to support unscrupulous managements of these colleges who have flouted every rule in the book and gave admissions to these students.

Meanwhile sources in the government said that as per norms, the state government can send back the bill again to the Governor, who will then, as per convention, have to give his assent to it, but this course appears remote, for the Supreme Court on Thursday had come down heavily on the state government for trying to regularise a wrong with a legislation and warned of strict action if there is any attempt to circumvent the courts directive.

Now all eyes are on the apex court, as the case will come up for further hearing early next month.

Meanwhile the parents of these students have decided to file a petition seeking to be impleaded in the case in the Supreme Court to see if they can salvage the admission of their wards.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has sought the help of UN to implement the Bangladesh-Myanmar agreement on the return of hundreds of thousands of Rohingyas displaced from the Rakhine state.

Hasina spoke with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on the issue over phone on Friday night and her Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim said the UN chief praised Bangladesh for sheltering the Rohingya refugees, bdnews24.com reported on Saturday.

The Bangladeshi leader invited Guterres to Bangladesh to see first-hand the plights of the over one million refugees from Myanmar. Around 700,000 Rohingya Muslims have joined nearly 400,000 refugees in Bangladesh since August 25 when the Myanmar forces launched a crackdown dubbed "ethnic cleansing" by the UN.

Following international pressure and condemnation, the Myanmar government agreed to take back the recently arrived Rohingyas and signed a deal with Bangladesh on the issue earlier this year, but the repatriation has not started yet, the daily said.

Under the "Physical Arrangement" signed by the two sides, Bangladesh would set up five transit camps from which returnees would be taken initially in two reception centres on the Myanmar side, the Bangladeshi Foreign Ministry said.

The UN and international agencies and human rights organisations had expressed concern that the Rohingyas would not be repatriated in a dignified and safe manner.

Bangladesh later said the UN's refugee agency UNHCR will be involved in the process.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Extending a warm welcome to visiting Nepalese Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli and his wife at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, President Ram Nath Kovind on Saturday said India was ready to expand bilateral ties as per Nepal's priorities because of New Delhi's "abiding interest" in the stability and economic prosperity of the Himalayan nation.

Oli, on his first foreign visit after returning to power in February for a second term, was accorded a ceremonial welcome at Rashtrapati Bhavan before he met President Kovind at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on the second day of his India trip.

"India's abiding interest is in the stability and economic prosperity of Nepal. India stands ready to expand cooperation with Nepal as per Nepal's priorities," the President tweeted after receiving Oli.

Hailing the age-old ties between the two countries, Kovind said: "No other countries in the world have the bonds of friendship and cooperation that exist between India and Nepal. Regular exchanges of visits at the highest political level demonstrate the priority that we attach to our special partnership."

Oli returned the compliment, saying his government accorded a priority to friends like India that has helped his nation in fighting poverty in the landlocked country.

"Friendship is very important. We have developed our friendship according to time with a purpose to eradicate poverty, improve life standards. Our friendship is historical, renewed, developed and is very fruitful. Looking ahead and not looking back"

Welcoming Oli, the President said that India holds him in the highest regard for his leadership and contribution to advancing the cause of India-Nepal partnership.

"We are confident that under his wise leadership, Nepal will chart a new course of rapid socio-economic transformation for its people.

"We are bound together not only by a shared geography but by history, culture, civilisation and close people to people and familial ties. Regular exchanges of visits at the highest political level between the two countries demonstrate the priority that we attach to our special partnership," the President said in a statement.

"We believe that enhanced connectivity between our countries will boost our economic growth and benefit our citizens. We wish to take forward our relationship on the basis of goodwill, mutual trust and mutual benefit."

Oli and his wife Radika Shakya who are on a three-day visit to India paid tributes to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat, before driving to the President's house.

Viewed as an important visit amidst a strain in ties, Oli has flow a 54-member high-level delegation to India, seeking more investment from India's public as well as private sector.

Oli made a strong pitch for Indian businessmen to invest in his country by benefiting from its economic liberalisation and being a safe destination for foreign investment.

On the first day of his visit on Friday, he also met Congress President Rahul Gandhi and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and discussed various dimensions of Nepal-India relations.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The CBI on Saturday questioned Rajiv Kocchar, brother-in-law of ICICI Bank MD and CEO Chanda Kochhar, and Mahesh Chandra Pugalia, a close aide of Videocon Group chief Venugopal Dhoot in connection with a case relating to Rs 3,250 crore loan to the group in 2012.

Officials said that both of them were questioned at the Central Bureau of Investigation's (CBI) Bandra office.

According to CBI officials, Pugalia was previously an employee of Videocon Group and then used to offer consultancy services to it.

He is also a Director in NuPower Renewables Private Limited, the company formed by ICICI CEO MD and CEO's husband Deepak Kocchar and Dhoot in 2008.

Meanwhile, Rajiv Kochhar was questioned for the third consecutive day in connection with the case.

According to the agency officials, he was asked about the role of his Singapore-based company Avista Advisory in the restructuring of loan.

They said he was also asked about the help he extended to Videocon in securing the loan from the ICICI Bank, which was part of a Rs 40,000 crore credit given by a consortium of 20 banks, led by the State Bank of India, to the Videocon Group.

The CBI on Thursday and Friday, too, questioned Rajiv Kochhar for hours in connection with the case.

He was on Thursday stopped at Mumbai airport by immigration authorities around 11 a.m when he was about to leave for Singapore.

Later, he was handed over to a CBI team which brought him to its Bandra office for questioning as part of its preliminary probe against his brother Deepak Kochhar and Dhoot.

The agency had registered a preliminary inquiry against Deepak Kochhar, Videocon Group officials and others to determine any wrongdoing or otherwise in the sanction of loan to the Group by the ICICI Bank as part of the consortium of banks in 2012.

Chanda Kochhar, who is facing questions of conflict of interest in the case, has not been named in the preliminary inquiry, which was registered after news reports raised questions about the Videocon Chairman giving loan of Rs 64 crore to a firm he had jointly promoted with Deepak Kochhar, six months after his group got the Rs 3,250 crore loan.

Sources said Deepak Kochhar and Dhoot could also called for questioning after examination of documents of the loan and statements.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
After months of stress in ties, India and Nepal on Saturday agreed to crank-up cooperation in connectivity, trade, agriculture and border security as Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave an assurance that New Delhi remains committed to strengthening the partnership as per Nepal's priorities.

Seeking to readjust the ties, Nepal Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli, on a three-day visit to India, held wide-ranging talks with Modi, who also assured the visiting leader that India would always back Nepal in its quest for development.

A joint statement issued after the talks said Prime Minister Oli stated that his government attaches high importance to further strengthening friendly relations with India. He expressed the desire of the Government of Nepal to develop bilateral relations in a way so as to benefit from India's progress and prosperity for economic transformation and development.

"Prime Minister Modi assured Prime Minister Oli that India remains committed to strengthening its partnership with Nepal as per the priorities of the Government of Nepal," the statement said.

Oli, who has developed closer ties with China with a known pro-Beijing stance, said he has come to India "with a mission" to take bilateral ties based on "principles of equality and justice" to newer heights but "commensurate with the realities of the 21st Century".

In a joint address to the media with Oli, Modi hailed the Nepal Prime Minister's "vision for a prosperous Nepal" that is in sync with his vision of "sabka sath, sabka vikas" (development for all).

"India stands ready to expand cooperation with Nepal as per Nepal's priorities. We believe that enhanced connectivity between our countries will boost our economic growth and benefit our citizens."

Modi hailed successful conduct of polls in Nepal and congratulated both the people of Nepal and the government for entering into "a new era of political history".

He said the two countries agreed to put on faster tracks all connectivity projects, announcing that a new railway line will be built "with India's financial support" to connect the border city of Raxaul in India to Kathmandu in Nepal.

The objective, according to a joint statement, is to expand "connectivity" between the two neighbours and "enhance people-to-people linkages and promote economic growth and development".

Prime Ministers Modi and Oli also recognised the untapped potential of inland waterways between the countries that can contribute in an overall economic development of the Himalayan region.

Towards that, the statement said, they took a "landmark decision" to develop the inland waterways for the movement of cargo, within the framework of trade and transit arrangements, providing additional access to sea for Nepal.

This will enable cost effective and efficient movement of cargo and greatly impact the growth of business and economy of Nepal.

The connectivity proposals are significant and come nearly two years after China in March 2016 agreed to construct a strategic railway link with Nepal through Tibet to reduce the Kathmandu's total dependence on India.

That year China also signed a transit trade treaty with Nepal that completely depends on Indian sea ports for third-country trade. Apart from this, China is also building three highways connecting Nepal and these roads are expected to be ready by 2020.

The Nepal-China agreements came at a time when Kathmandu-New Delhi ties started soaring after a border blockade in 2015-16. Many in Kathmandu blamed India for the 135-day blockade from September, 2015 to February, 2016 that crippled Nepal's economy.

China expanding its strategic base in Nepal sparked concerns in India that it was losing its foothold in its immediate backyard despite its "neighbourhood first" policy.

But Oli's April 6-8 visit indicated a new India-Nepal bonhomie during which he and Modi announced enhanced security ties, particularly on borders to curb curb misuse of open boundaries between the two countries.

"We have strong relations when it comes to the aspect of security and are committed towards stopping misuse of our open borders," said Modi, with Oli by his side.

Oli said his government accorded a priority to friends like India that has helped his landlocked nation in fighting poverty.

"Friendship is very important. We have developed our friendship according to time with a purpose to eradicate poverty, improve life standards. Our friendship is historical, renewed, developed and is very fruitful. Looking ahead and not looking back"

He said his country always accorded "great importance" to its ties with India as the two neighbours have many "things to offer each other".

"Inter-dependence takes many forms between our countries. Relations between neighbours are different than others. They rest on principles of equality and justice.

"I have come to India with a mission to enhance our relations to newer heights commensurate with the realities of the 21st Century. We want to create a model relationship. A relationship that is cherished forever," he said, renewing his invitation to Modi to pay a visit to Nepal at the earliest.

Boosting their ties further, India also agreed to conduct a pilot project on organic farming and soil health monitoring in Nepal to help the natural resource-rich neighbour in developing agriculture and allied sectors.

Oli and his wife Radika Shakya, who arrived here on Friday, earlier paid tributes to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat, before driving to the President's house for a ceremonial welcome.

Viewed as an important visit, Oli has flew in a 54-member high-level delegation to India, seeking more investment from India's public as well as private sector.

This is Oli's first foriegn trip after returning to power for the second term in February.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
India will build a strategic railway link between Raxaul in Bihar and Kathmandu in Nepal to enhance people-to-people contact and allow bulk cargo movement with the landlocked neighbour.

The announcement was made after delegation-level talks between Indian and Nepalese officials chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepalese counterpart K.P. Sharma Oli, who is on a three-day visit to India.

An official statement said the the two Prime Ministers agreed to construct the new electrified rail line, "with India's financial support", connecting the border city of Raxaul in India to Kathmandu in Nepal.

The objective, it said, is to expand "connectivity" between the two neighbours and "enhance people-to-people linkages and promote economic growth and development".

The proposal is significant and comes nearly two years after China in March 2016 agreed to construct a strategic railway link with Nepal through Tibet to reduce the Kathmandu's total dependence on India.

That year China also signed a transit trade treaty with Nepal that completely depends on Indian sea ports for third-country trade.

Apart from this, China is also building three highways connecting Nepal and these roads are expected to be ready by 2020.

The Nepal-China agreements came at a time when Kathmandu-New Delhi ties started soaring after a border blockade in 2015-16.

Many in Kathmandu blamed India for the 135-day blockade from September, 2015 to February, 2016 that crippled Nepal's economy.

China expanding its strategic base in Nepal sparked concerns in India that it was losing its foothold in its immediate backyard despite its "neighbourhood first" policy.

But an agreement on the proposed Raxaul-Kathmandu railway link indicates a new India-Nepal bonhomie.

As a first step towards building the railway connectivity, the two sides agreed that India in consultation with Nepal will carry out preparatory survey work within one year.

This will be followed by the finalization of the implementation and funding modalities of the project based on its detailed project report.

Oli assured that "Nepal will extend full cooperation for early completion of the requisite surveys for the new rail line".

However, this is not the first railway project the two neighbours have agreed on.

They are already building a stretch of railway lines from Jayanagar to Janakpur and from Jogbani to Biratnagar which is expected to be completed this year.

There are three other railway projects in the pipeline -- New Jalpaiguri-Kakarbhitta, Nautanwa-Bhairahawa and Nepalgunj Road-Nepalgunj.

Prime Ministers Modi and Oli also recognised the untapped potential of inland waterways between the countries that can contribute in an overall economic development of the Himalayan region.

Towards that, the statement said, they took a "landmark decision" to develop the inland waterways for the movement of cargo, within the framework of trade and transit arrangements, providing additional access to sea for Nepal.

This will enable cost effective and efficient movement of cargo and greatly impact the growth of business and economy of Nepal.

Boosting their ties further, India also agreed to conduct a pilot project on organic farming and soil health monitoring in Nepal to help the natural resource-rich neighbour in developing agriculture and allied sectors.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his visiting Nepalese counterpart K.P. Sharma Oli on Friday witnessed the ground-breaking ceremony of the Motihari-Amlekhgunj cross-border petroleum products pipeline as India made it clear that it was committed to strengthen the partnership with Nepal according to the latter's priorities.

A joint statement released during the state visit of Oli said that the two leaders comprehensively reviewed the entire spectrum of multifaceted ties between the two countries.

The two leaders also made three separate joint statements - on a new partnership in agriculture, expanding rail linkages and new connectivity through inland waterways.

Congratulating the people and the government of Nepal for successful conduct of local level, federal parliament and first-ever provincial elections in Nepal and appreciated their vision for stability and development, he assured Oli that "India remains committed to strengthening its partnership with Nepal as per the priorities of the Government of Nepal".

Modi said his government's vision of 'Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas' was a guiding framework for India's engagement with its neighbours for a shared vision of inclusive development and prosperity.

Oli said his government attaches high importance to further strengthening friendly relations with India and expressed the desire to develop bilateral relations in a way as to benefit from India's progress and prosperity for economic development.

He said his Government has given priority to economic transformation with the motto 'Samriddha Nepal Sukhi Nepali' after the landmark political transformation.

Inaugurating the Integrated Check Post at Birgunj in Nepal, both leaders hoped that its early operationalization will enhance cross-border trade and transit of goods and movement of people bringing greater opportunities for shared growth and development.

The two prime ministers witnessed the ground breaking ceremony of the Motihari-Amlekhgunj cross-border petroleum products pipeline at Bihar's Motihari.

The statement on expanding rail linkages said the two agreed to construct a new electrified rail line, with India's financial support, connecting the border city of Raxaul to Kathmandu.

India will carry out preparatory survey work within one year and the two sides would finalise the implementation and funding modalities of the project based on the Detailed Project Report.

The two leaders appreciated the progress made in the implementation of Phase-I of the India-Nepal cross-border rail link projects. They noted that the stretch of railway lines from Jayanagar to Janakpur/Kurtha and from Jogbani to Biratnagar Custom Yard will be completed in 2018 and that work on the remaining stretch of the ongoing rail link projects: (a) Jayanagar-Bijalpura-Bardibas and (b) Jogbani-Biratnagar, will be taken forward on priority.

India expressed appreciation for Nepal's commitment to expeditiously resolve all outstanding issues, including land availability, for the ongoing rail link projects.

The India-Nepal Joint Working Group would identify requirements for operating train services on these cross-border rail links and finalize the bilateral modalities expeditiously.

The two leaders emphasised the importance of implementing the remaining three links under Phase-II of the India-Nepal cross-border rail link projects: (a) New Jalpaiguri-Kakarbhitta (b) Nautanwa-Bhairahawa, and (c) Nepalgunj Road-Nepalgunj.

Referring to the decision to develop the inland waterways within the framework of trade and transit arrangements, Oli said the additional connectivity would have enormous impact on the growth of business and economy in Nepal.

The two leaders directed their respective officials to formulate modalities for including inland waterways as an additional means of transport in the Protocol to the Treaty of Transit between India and Nepal.

Modi accepted Oli's invitation to pay an early visit to Nepal and the dates would be finalised through diplomatic channels.

--IANS

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A school principal was on Saturday stabbed to death with a beer bottle in Jharkhand's Gumla district, police said.

According to the police, the body of Rajnath Sahu, who was the principal of a primary school, was found on Saturday at Bilinbira village of Gumla district.

Sahu was abducted by some unidentified persons on Friday afternoon.

He was stabbed to death with a beer bottle, the police concluded.

His body has been sent for post-mortem examination.

The motive behind the murder is not yet known.

Meanwhile, the teachers of the school have demanded immediate arrest of the culprits.

--IANS

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Kerala startup Genrobotics will unveil five more 'Bandicoot' robots for cleaning sewer holes, including for pilot projects in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

The step comes after its Kerala model got a huge response when it eliminated the age-old practice of manual scavenging.

Genrobotics launched the robot in Thiruvananthapuram on an experimental basis in March.

The startup was among the participants of the two-day Huddle Kerala conclave, which concluded here Saturday as their stall at the expo drew much attention.

The Kerala Water Authority (KWA) and Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) have signed a MoU for the transfer of technology and products, including the use of robots for cleaning up sewers.

They told the media they have received an invitation to present Bandicoot in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

Of the five new robots, one each will be used in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka for pilot projects, two will go to KWA, and one will be used by the Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL).

The Bandicoot has four limbs and a bucket system attached to a spider web-like extension, which can go inside the manhole.

The waste at the bottom of the manhole is shovelled into the bucket system and lifted out. The robot has Wi-Fi and Bluetooth modules.

Apart from the state-owned Kerala Financial Corporation (KFC), Genrobotics is getting funds from venture capitalist Unicorn India Ventures for the production of the robots.

Founded in 2015, by four young engineering graduates, Genrobotics specialises in powered exoskeletons and human-controlled robotic systems and at the two-day event, they said they have got a good number of enquiries from the UAE.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Apple is facing a lawsuit from a US-based start-up Omni MedSci that claimed the iPhone maker is infringing on its patented technology with the heart rate sensor in Apple Watch.

Michigan-based Omni MedSci develops near-infrared and mid-infrared broadband lasers.

"A Michigan company is suing Apple claiming the technology used to measure heart rate in the latest Apple Watches infringes on its patented technology," Axios reported on Saturday.

Omni MedSci has filed the lawsuit in the US state of Texas, claiming that Apple willfully infringed on its patents and asking for an injunction against Apple along with damages.

"In the lawsuit, the start-up said that it met with Apple from 2014 until 2016 but ultimately the company broke off discussions about a partnership, then introduced technology using its approach," the report added.

Invented by Omni's founder and CTO Mohammed N Islam, US patent numbers "9,651,533" and "9,757,040" were granted in 2017, while US Patent numbers "9,861,286" and "9,885,698" were issued in 2018, according to AppleInsider.

Each patent refers to a wearable device that uses a light source, in some cases near-infrared LED arrays, alongside a receiver to capture non-invasive blood measurements.

Apple Watch uses similar technology to obtain the heart rate of its wearer.

"The lawsuit further notes Greg Joswiak, Apple Vice President of Product Marketing in an email dated July 14, 2016 that invited Islam to discuss the pending technology with a team at Apple," AppleInsider added.

--IANS

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Supporters of former Brazil President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva reacted to the news that he will be jailed by blocking off highways in at least 13 of Brazil's 27 states.

Citing Movement of the Landless Workers, Xinhua reported that at least 85 highways across the country had been cut off on Friday by protesters furious at an arrest warrant against Lula.

Federal judge Sergio Moro, who oversaw Brazil's sprawling corruption investigation "Operation Car Wash," on Thursday issued the arrest warrant for Lula and ordered the former president to turn himself in by 5 p.m. (Brazilian time) on Friday to begin a 12 year and one month prison sentence for passive corruption and money laundering.

It was reported that Lula ignored the deadline to surrender and remained inside the headquarters of the Metal Workers' Union in Sao Bernardo do Campo, near Sao Paulo, with the building surrounded by thousands of supporters.

Rui Falcao, who has served as the president of Lula's Workers' Party (PT), told reporters on Friday at the union headquarters that Lula would not surrender to police.

Also on Friday, Lula's defence team filed an injunction on the United Nations Human Rights Committee to prevent the arrest of the former president, local news site G1 said.

This week, the Supreme Court denied a habeas corpus motion by Lula's lawyers, meaning he could be arrested despite not having exhausted all possible appeals.

However, lawyer Cristiano Zanin said the deadline for appeals in the Federal Court of Sao Paulo, which convicted Lula for a second time, had not expired yet, making Moro's order illegal.

In addition, that the Supreme Court voted to deny the habeas corpus by such a narrow margin of six votes against five "demonstrates the necessity of an independent court to examine whether the principle of presumption of innocence was violated in Lula's case, and also the examine the allegations about Judge Sergio Moro's and the Supreme Court's partiality," Zanin told the press.

Lula is accused of accepting a luxury beachfront apartment from construction firm OAS in exchange for lucrative contracts with state oil giant Petrobras.

Lula denies the accusation. His lawyers claim he was convicted without evidence and the apartment is registered as belonging to the firm.

--IANS

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NASA has updated its commercial crew contract with Boeing to let the US-based aerospace company fly three people to the International Space Station (ISS) who will stay there for up to six months from an earlier planned two-week trip.

The move is seen as to quickly end the dependency over Russian Soyuz flights to ferry astronauts to the ISS as NASA's contract with Soyuz ends in 2019.

"NASA has updated its Commercial Crew Transportation Capability (CCtCap) contract with Boeing, which provides flexibility in its commercial flight tests," the US space agency said on Friday.

Boeing, one of the agency's two commercial crew partners (the other being SpaceX), approached NASA last year and proposed adding a third crew member on its Crew Flight Test (CFT) to the ISS.

"The change includes the ability to extend Boeing's CFT from roughly two weeks to up to six months as well as the training and mission support for a third crew member. Cargo capabilities for the uncrewed and crewed flight tests were also identified," NASA said.

Adding a third crew member on Boeing's flight test -- scheduled for later this year -- could offer NASA an additional opportunity to ensure continued US access to the orbital laboratory.

"This contract modification provides NASA with additional schedule margin if needed," said William Gerstenmaier, Associate Administrator, Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate at NASA.

"We appreciate Boeingas willingness to evolve its flight to ensure we have continued access to space for our astronauts. Commercial space transportation to low-Earth orbit from US soil is critical for the agency and the nation," he added.

The current commercial crew flight schedules provide about six months of margin to begin regular, post-certification crew rotation missions to the ISS.

"Turning a test flight into more of an operational mission needs careful review by the technical community," said Gerstenmaier.

For example, the spacecraft capability to support the additional time still needs to be reviewed.

"Modifying the contract now allows NASA and Boeing an opportunity to tailor the duration to balance the mission needs with vehicle and crew capabilities," NASA noted.

This would not be the first time NASA has expanded the scope of test flights.

NASA had SpaceX carry cargo on its commercial cargo demonstration flight to the space station under the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) initiative in 2012, which was not part of the original agreement.

Boeing and SpaceX plan to fly test missions without crew to the space station this year prior to test flights with a crew onboard.

After each company's test flights, NASA will evaluate the in-flight performance in order to certify the systems and begin regular post-certification crew rotation missions.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)




1. U.S. acceptance of coexistence as the only alternative to atomic war.

2. U.S. willingness to capitulate in preference to engaging in atomic war.

3. Develop the illusion that total disarmament of the United States would be a demonstration of moral strength.

4. Permit free trade between all nations regardless of Communist affiliation and regardless of whether or not items could be used for war.

5. Extension of long-term loans to Russia and Soviet satellites.

6. Provide American aid to all nations regardless of Communist domination.

7. Grant recognition of Red China. Admission of Red China to the U.N.

8. Set up East and West Germany as separate states in spite of Khrushchev's promise in 1955 to settle the German question by free elections under supervision of the U.N.

9. Prolong the conferences to ban atomic tests because the United States has agreed to suspend tests as long as negotiations are in progress.

10. Allow all Soviet satellites individual representation in the U.N.

11. Promote the U.N. as the only hope for mankind. If its charter is rewritten, demand that it be set up as a one-world government with its own independent armed forces. (Some Communist leaders believe the world can be taken over as easily by the U.N. as by Moscow. Sometimes these two centers compete with each other as they are now doing in the Congo.)

12. Resist any attempt to outlaw the Communist Party.

13. Do away with all loyalty oaths.

14. Continue giving Russia access to the U.S. Patent Office.

15. Capture one or both of the political parties in the United States.

16. Use technical decisions of the courts to weaken basic American institutions by claiming their activities violate civil rights.

17. Get control of the schools. Use them as transmission belts for socialism and current Communist propaganda. Soften the curriculum. Get control of teachers' associations. Put the party line in textbooks.

18. Gain control of all student newspapers.

19. Use student riots to foment public protests against programs or organizations which are under Communist attack.

20. Infiltrate the press. Get control of book-review assignments, editorial writing, policymaking positions.

21. Gain control of key positions in radio, TV, and motion pictures.

22. Continue discrediting American culture by degrading all forms of artistic expression. An American Communist cell was told to "eliminate all good sculpture from parks and buildings, substitute shapeless, awkward and meaningless forms."

23. Control art critics and directors of art museums. "Our plan is to promote ugliness, repulsive, meaningless art."

24. Eliminate all laws governing obscenity by calling them "censorship" and a violation of free speech and free press.

25. Break down cultural standards of morality by promoting pornography and obscenity in books, magazines, motion pictures, radio, and TV.

26. Present homosexuality, degeneracy and promiscuity as "normal, natural, healthy."

27. Infiltrate the churches and replace revealed religion with "social" religion. Discredit the Bible and emphasize the need for intellectual maturity which does not need a "religious crutch."

28. Eliminate prayer or any phase of religious expression in the schools on the ground that it violates the principle of "separation of church and state."

29. Discredit the American Constitution by calling it inadequate, old-fashioned, out of step with modern needs, a hindrance to cooperation between nations on a worldwide basis.

30. Discredit the American Founding Fathers. Present them as selfish aristocrats who had no concern for the "common man."

31. Belittle all forms of American culture and discourage the teaching of American history on the ground that it was only a minor part of the "big picture." Give more emphasis to Russian history since the Communists took over.

32. Support any socialist movement to give centralized control over any part of the culture--education, social agencies, welfare programs, mental health clinics, etc.

33. Eliminate all laws or procedures which interfere with the operation of the Communist apparatus.

34. Eliminate the House Committee on Un-American Activities.

35. Discredit and eventually dismantle the FBI.

36. Infiltrate and gain control of more unions.

37. Infiltrate and gain control of big business.

38. Transfer some of the powers of arrest from the police to social agencies. Treat all behavioral problems as psychiatric disorders which no one but psychiatrists can understand.

39. Dominate the psychiatric profession and use mental health laws as a means of gaining coercive control over those who oppose Communist goals.

40. Discredit the family as an institution. Encourage promiscuity and easy divorce.

41. Emphasize the need to raise children away from the negative influence of parents. Attribute prejudices, mental blocks and retarding of children to suppressive influence of parents.

42. Create the impression that violence and insurrection are legitimate aspects of the American tradition; that students and special-interest groups should rise up and use united force to solve economic, political or social problems.

43. Overthrow all colonial governments before native populations are ready for self-government.

44. Internationalize the Panama Canal.

45. Repeal the Connally reservation so the United States cannot prevent the World Court from seizing jurisdiction over nations and individuals alike.
Nepal Prime Minister K.P. Oli was accorded a ceremonial welcome at the Rashtrapati Bhavan here on Saturday.

Oli who is on his first visit to India after returning to power in February was received by his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi.

Oli, his wife Radika Shakya and a 54-member high-level delegation arrived on Friday on a three-day state visit.

Viewed as an important visit amidst a strain in ties, Oli had an informal meeting with Modi at his official 7, Lok Kalyan Marg residence, on Friday evening.

Oli also met Congress President Rahul Gandhi and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and discussed "various dimensions of Nepal-India relations", according to the Nepalese Embassy here.

Modi and Oli will hold delegation level talks on Saturday at the Hyderabad House here and are expected to sign a number of agreements.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu on Saturday said the dream of New India could only be visualised with new ideas and it would be a scientific and technological India.

Delivering the inaugural address at the Ninth Indian Youth Science Congress, organized by Career Point University, Hamirpur at the NIT here, he said forums like these would enable the young minds to share knowledge, information and draw inspiration to come up with new ideas that would power India of the future.

He said the students should be encouraged to "discover" rather than be "told" the answer.

Stressing that science should be an integral component of the curriculum, he said that the scientific approach that relies on evidence and raising relevant questions and seeking answers should be internalised.

He said the conference would usher in greater progress and development by fostering scientific temper among the youth.

Naidu appreciated the efforts of Himachal Pradesh government in the field of conservation and increasing green cover.

Governor Acharya Devvrat said India was land of knowledge, and the need of the hour was to develop scientific approach by upholding the Indian traditional knowledge.

He said scientific approach without humanitarian thought and humane touch was irrelevant. The global warming was an area of concern.

Devvrat said the excessive use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides in farming was resulting not only in making land barren but was also badly affecting the human health.

He said natural farming was the solution for this and scientists should come forward to promote it, which would not only increase soil fertility but also help in reducing the burden on health institutions.

Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur said climate change was serious challenge and the scientists should come forward to tackle this problem.

He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given a call to the people of the country to work collectively for making a New India, and for this, urged encouragement of innovation, startup and skill development amongst the youth.

Thakur said the state was laying special emphasis on skill development of the youth in order to make them not only job-seekers but job-providers.

He said the state was also focusing on startup and innovative projects.

In his address, Union Health Minister J.P Nadda expressed concern over increasing cases of anaemia, particularly amongst the younger generation.

He urged the scientists to come forward to redress this problem at the earliest.

Noted scientist M.S. Swaminathan, in his keynote address through video conference, said the young scientists should collectively work towards meeting the challenges posed by climate change.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Saturday filed a charge sheet in a special court here against two persons accused in connection with the murder of Hindu Munanni leader Sasikumar.

In a statement issue, the NIA said charge sheets under various sections of Indian Penal Code and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act were filed against Sadham alias Sadham Hussain and Subair, both from Coimbatore around 500 km from here.

Sasikumar, a spokesperson of Hindu Munnani was hacked to death in Coimbatore on September 22, 2016.

Investigation of the case was taken over by SID (Special Investigation Division) CB CID, Coimbatore of Tamil Nadu Police on October 1, 2016, the NIA said.

Considering the gravity of offence, the Union Home Ministry in January this year asked NIA to investigate the case.

According to NIA, its investigation has established that Sadham, Subair and other accused persons, all active members of Popular Front of India (PFI), conspired and killed Sasikumar, brutally to strike terror among a section of people including members of Hindu organisations.

The NIA said investigation against accused persons namely Abu alais Abuthagir, Mubarak alais Mohammed Mubarak and others are on.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Saturday filed a charge sheet in a special court here against two persons accused in connection with the murder of C. Hindu leader Sasikumar.

In a statement issue, the NIA said charge sheets under various sections of Indian Penal Code and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act 1967 were filed against Sadham alais Sadham Hussain and Subair, both from Coimbatore around 500 km from here.

Sasikumar, a spokesperson of Hindu Munnai was hacked to death in Coimbatore on September 22, 2016.

Investigation of the case was taken over by SID (Special Investigation Division) CB CID, Coimbatore of Tamil Nadu Police on October 1, 2016, the NIA said.

Considering the gravity of offence, the Union Home Ministry in January this year asked NIA to investigate the case.

According to NIA, its investigation has established that Sadham, Subair and other accused persons, all active members of Popular Front of India (PFI), conspired and killed Sasikumar, brutally to strike terror among a section of people including members of Hindu organisations.

The NIA said investigation against accused persons namely Abu alais Abuthagir, Mubarak alais Mohammed Mubarak and others are on.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Two days after Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said his government will not spare those responsible for the recent communal violence in the state, ruling ally BJP on Saturday expressed its displeasure over "one-sided police action" against the majority community.

A delegation of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders on Friday met Bihar police chief and submitted a memorandum demanding a halt to what they called "one-sided police action against the majority community" in districts that witnessed communal violence during the Ram Navami processions.

The delegation led by state BJP vice president Devesh Kumar Singh in its memorandum to the Director General of Police K.S. Dwivedi accused the police of having acted in a partisan manner against the majority community in the aftermath of recent communal violence in Bihar.

According to BJP leaders, the party in the memorandum stated that in districts like Aurangabad, Nalanda and Samastipur, the majority community resorted to aggression only after provocative acts by anti-social elements from the minority community.

The party leaders alleged that following the outbreak of violence that took place around Ram Navami, those belonging to the majority community had been arrested in large numbers, while the administration had chosen to go soft on the minorities.

The BJP demanded, among others, release of all innocent people and a high-level inquiry into the alleged partisan approach of the police.

The police have arrested over half-a-dozen BJP leaders in Bhagalpur in connection with communal violence there on March 16. Last week, Union Minister Ashwini Choubey's son Arijit Shashwat, accused of inciting violence in the district, surrendered after evading arrest for over a week. He was sent to 14 days' judicial custody and his bail plea was rejected by the court.

In Aurangabad, a BJP leader Anil Singh, the key accused for inciting communal violence in the district, surrendered last Monday, two days after he escaped from police custody. Soon after he surrendered, Singh was also sent to a 14-day judicial custody.

Similarly, some BJP leaders and workers were detained and arrested in Rosera in Samastipur district, Munger and Nalanda districts in connection with the communal violence.

The police action has angered the BJP and they made it clear by meeting the police chief and expressing their displeasure.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Pakistan on Saturday summoned India's Deputy High Commissioner J.P. Singh over alleged ceasefire violations by Indian forces along the Line of Control (LoC) which it said left a woman dead.

Mohammad Faisal, who heads the South Asia wing in the Foreign Office, summoned the envoy and "lodged a strong protest on the unprovoked ceasefire violations" by Indian forces in Nikial sector.

"The deliberate targeting of civilians is indeed deplorable and contrary to human dignity and international human rights and humanitarian laws," the official said.

"The ceasefire violations by India are a threat to regional peace and security and may lead to a strategic miscalculation," he added.

The Director General urged the Indian side to respect the 2003 ceasefire arrangement and investigate the incidents of truce violations, said an official statement.

The Indian diplomat was also told that New Delhi should permit the UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan to play its mandated role in Jammu and Kashmir.

The Foreign Ministry said that this year the "Indian forces have carried out 900 ceasefire violations along the LoC and the Working Boundary" which, it claimed, had led to the deaths of 21 civilians and injuries to 90.

--IANS

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Russian President Vladimir Putin and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron exchanged views on the Syrian issue in a telephonic conversation, the Kremlin has said.

During the conversation on Friday, Putin told Macron of the agreements reached at a meeting of Russian, Iranian and Turkish presidents in Ankara on Wednesday regarding further efforts to ensure long-term stability in Syria and strengthen its sovereignty, unity, independence and territorial integrity, Xinhua reported.

According to the Kremlin, Putin and Macron underlined the importance of promoting political settlement through the implementation of the decisions made at the Syrian National Dialogue Congress in the Russian city of Sochi in January.

They also stressed the importance of establishing a constitutional committee in Geneva under the auspices of the United Nations as soon as possible.

As for the situation in Eastern Ghouta, Putin and Macron noted the "unprecedented" large-scale operation to save civilians and withdraw the militants who refuse to surrender.

Putin urged the international community to step up efforts to provide humanitarian aid to those in need across Syria.

During the phone call, the leaders expressed their readiness to continue Russian-French consultations on key aspects of the Syrian settlement.

Macron is scheduled to visit Russia next month despite heightened tensions between Russia and Western countries.

--IANS

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Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday slammed Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national president Amit Shah for likening opposition parties to animals, which is disrespectful to all Indians.

"Calling the opposition parties animals exposes Shah's mentality and reflects the vision of the BJP and its parent organisation RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh). It's disrespectful to all Indians," Gandhi told reporters at the Kolar Gold Fields (KGF), about 100km from here.

Addressing a rally to mark the BJP's 38th Foundation Day in Mumbai on Friday, Shah likened the opposition parties to "dogs, cats, snakes and mongoose", as they were trying to unite against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the 2019 general elections.

"By equating us with animals, Shah has revealed that there were only two humans - Modi and he himself in the country," mocked Gandhi during his visit to Kolar district to campaign for the ruling Congress ahead of the May 12 Karnataka Assembly polls.

"It's unfortunate he (Shah) looks at the world that way and thinks everyone else are animals. But we don't take seriously whatever Shah says," asserted Gandhi.

Shah, however, later clarified that he did not intend to hurt anyone by calling them animals as the context in which he used dogs, cats and snakes was different and meant those whose ideologies were contradictory.

Blaming BJP's senior leaders like L.K. Advani and Murali Manohar Joshi for not showing guts to speak out, Gandhi said for Shah and Modi, even Dalits, tribals, minorities and everybody else were worthless.

"Shah and Modi are convinced that they are the only two human beings in this country and all others are not. That's the reality," lamented Gandhi.

Later, addressing a huge rally at the party's "Jan Ashirvada Yatra" to seek the people's blessings for the Congress victory in the ensuing assembly election, Gandhi said Modi failed to fulfil a single promise he made to the youth of the country.

"Instead of creating two crore jobs for the youth of the country, Modi snatched away thousands of jobs by signing a deal with a French company (Dassault Aviation) to buy Rafale fighters for the IAF and denied HAL (Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd) making them in India," reiterated Gandhi.

Claiming that the Congress would defeat the BJP-RSS combine in the upcoming assembly election, the party chief said the saffron brigade would also be defeated in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan where assembly elections are due later this year.

"Finally, we will defeat the BJP-RSS ideology in the Lok Sabha elections in 2019," said Gandhi.

"Modi's mood has changed. He is scared and confused knowing that time is running out. He has also realised that the Congress is coming to power," claimed Gandhi.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Blake Farenthold, a Republican Representative from Texas, resigned after facing an ethics investigation into alleged sexual misconduct.

"While I planned on serving out the remainder of my term in Congress, I know in my heart it's time for me to move along and look for new ways to serve," Farenthold, 56, said on Friday.

The Congressman added that he had sent a letter to Texas Governor Greg Abbott about resigning from his seat effective 5 p.m. on Friday, reports Xinhua news agency.

Earlier, the US House Committee on Ethics said it was investigating Farenthold over allegations of sexual harassment, discrimination, and retaliation involving a former female staffer.

While Farenthold has denied the sexual harassment accusation, he said in 2017 that he would not seek re-election.

It was reported in December that Farenthold used $84,000 from taxpayers to settle the sexual harassment claim, which he has publicly promised to repay.

Steve Stivers, Chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee Representative, urged Farenthold to be true to his words and pay back the money.

"Congress must hold ourselves to a higher standard and regain the trust of the American people," he said in a statement.

Farenthold is the latest of several US lawmakers who have resigned or not sought re-election after being accused of sexual harassment. There is no immediate plan from Texas to fill Farenthold's Congressional seat.

--IANS

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Bihar Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav on Saturday slammed Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for forming four governments in as many years, saying he played with people's mandate.

"Four governments in four years can't be a mistake... It's playing with the mandate of the people of Bihar," said Tejashwi -- a RJD leader and former Deputy Chief Minister -- taunting Nitish Kumar without taking his name.

Every time he played with the people's mandate, he called it an achivement, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader told the media.

According to him, Nitish Kumar dumped the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2013 and formed the government with the support of the RJD and the Congress.

After that, in 2014, Nitish Kumar resigned following a humiliating defeat of his party Janata Dal-United (JD-U) in the Lok Sabha elections, and appointed a Dalit leader Jitan Ram Manjhi as the Chief Minister. But again Nitish Kumar replaced him and became the Chief Minister.

Later in 2015, Nitish Kumar formed the Grand Alliance government with the support of the RJD and the Congress and defeated the BJP. He led the government for 18 months and in 2017 dumped the RJD and the Congress and joined hands with the BJP and formed government once again.

"Nitish Kumar has never formed a government on his own. He always became Chief Minister with the support of others," he said.

Earlier, Tejashwi said: "From June 16, 2013, to date, Bihar has had four governments. In the formation and dissolution of governments, the people of Bihar lost time and development. Officials got confused. The changes of governments took place because of one individual who wanted to build his image. The people want to know who was responsible."

--IANS

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Actor Salman Khan was granted bail by a district and sessions court in Jodhpur on Saturday in the 1998 blackbuck poaching case in which he was sentenced to five years in jail on Thursday.

After spending two nights in Jodhpur Central Jail, he left after completing all legal formalities and headed back to Mumbai in a chartered flight. He cannot leave the country without the court's permission.

The District and Sessions Judge Ravindra Kumar Joshi after hearing the arguments of prosecution and defence lawyers, pronounced the order at around 3 pm. The discussion lasted for about an hour.

"Arguments were already over in the morning but Judge Joshi reserved the order for post lunch. He has to produce personal bail bond worth Rs. 50,000 and produce a Rs. 25000 surety from two persons each who shall guarantee that he will agree to all bail conditions," said a defence counsel.

Khan's sisters "Alvira and Arpita" were present during the hearing.

Salman Khan was sentenced to a five-year term on Thursday for killing two blackbucks in 1998 in Kankani village, near Jodhpur in Rajasthan, while shooting for the Bollywood film, "Hum Saath Saath hai." Blackbucks are protected under the wildlife laws.

His co-actors Saif Ali Khan, Tabu, Saif Ali Khan, Neelam Kothari and Sonal Bendre, accompanied him during poaching but were acquitted by the sessions court.

This was the actor's fourth stint in this prison. He has earlier spent a total of 18 days in jail in 1998, 2006 and 2007.

Meanwhile, Rampal Bhawad, state president of Bishnoi Tiger Force, said that they are disappointed with the decision of court to grant bail to Salman and said they planned to challenge this in high court.

The Bishnoi Samaj had registered the complaint against Salman for killing the two bluckbucks 20 years back as they consider the blackbuck to be the reincarnation of their religious Guru Bhagwan Jambeshwar, also known as Jambaji.

Salman Khan will also have to appear in the court on May 7 -- exactly a month after this bail, said a defence counsel.

Meanwhile, Salman's fans cheered outside the court after hearing the verdict.

Hundreds of them were also gathered in front of Salman's residence 'Galaxy' apartment, located in Bandra, Mumbai. Some of them were holding big posters of their favourite film star with some even holding hand-written ones that read: "We support Salman Khan, We love Salman Khan". Some shouted out loud "Salman bhai, Zindabad".

To keep the crowd under control, Mumbai Police has got the area covered with barricades.

"This incident happened 20 years ago and the case is going on since then. If industry people have faith in him for the last 20 years, it will remain the same. He has steady fan-followers and gave the industry crores of business. His success says it all," trade analyst Atul Mohan told IANS.

Even some of the Bollywood celebrities like Mika Singh, Sonu Sood and Adnan Sami expressed their joy on Twitter post after bail was given to their "brother" Salman.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
After spending two nights in a Jodhpur jail, superstar Salman Khan returned home to a hero's welcome with thousands of fans lined up at the Mumbai Airport and outside his Bandra home here on Saturday evening.

Several thousands, ranging from toddlers in arms to youth, elderly men and women, many carrying placards and banners with Salman's pictures had been waiting after he was granted bail by Jodhpur Session Court Judge R. K. Joshi.

Louds screams of joy went up with frantic waving and clicking pictures on mobiles as soon as an apparently healthy and cheerful Salman stepped out of the Mumbai Airport after alighting from Jodhpur by a chartered flight.

Sporting a dark t-shirt, a cap, he was accompanied by his sisters Alvira and Arpita, besides his omnipresent personal bodyguard Shera.

For that 'Being Human' touch, Salman carried Arpita's one-year old son, who appeared bewildered by all the noisy attention his famous 'Mamu' was getting.

Despite frenzied catcalls, shouts of 'Salman Khan Zindabad', etc, from the fans, the family quickly stepped into their waiting vehicles without any public interactions

En route, some daring fans even attempted to follow his motorcade, but at one point when the vehicles halted due to traffic congestion, Shera and his team of bouncers were seen firmly requesting them to avoid speeding after them in the heavy evening traffic.

Police had a tough time controlling the huge crowds of fans both at the airport and outside his residence, the landmark seafacing Galaxy Apartments Bandra west.

At both the venues, many fans, especially young girls and elderly women, could be seen unabashedly shedding tears of joy and relief as their favourte star finally returned home from the 20-year old legal ordeal that culminated in a five-year jail sentence for killing the protected Blackbucks.

--IANS

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The Russian Embassy in London on Saturday requested a meeting between its ambassador and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson over the Salisbury poisoning.

A Russian Embassy spokesperson said it was "high time" for a meeting to discuss the investigation as well as a "whole range of bilateral issues", the BBC reported.

Current interaction between the Russian Embassy and the Foreign Office was "utterly unsatisfactory", the official said. However, the British Foreign Office said it was Russia's response that had been "unsatisfactory".

Britain had blamed Moscow for the nerve agent attack on former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury on March 4. But Moscow denied it.

A British Foreign Office statement confirmed it had received the meeting request and said: "It's over three weeks since we asked Russia to engage constructively and answer a number of questions relating to the attempted assassinations of Skripal and his daughter.

"Now, after failing in their attempts in the UN and international chemical weapons watchdog this week and with the victims' condition improving, they seem to be pursuing a different diversionary tactic," it said.

On the other hand, a Russian Embassy spokesperson was quoted by TASS as saying: "We believe that it is high time to arrange a meeting between Ambassador Alexander Yakovenko and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson."

It added that the Ambassador had already sent a note to the Foreign Secretary and it hoped "the British side will come up with a constructive response and such a meeting will be organized in the near future".

The British Foreign Office said it would respond to the meeting request in due course.

The request followed criticism from the Russian Embassy after the British government's refusal to grant a visa to Yulia Skripal's cousin Viktoria to visit the UK.

On Friday, the Home Office said the application did not comply with immigration rules. But the Russian Embassy said Sergei and Yulia "remain hidden from the public".

Salisbury District Hospital has said Sergei Skripal was responding well to treatment and "improving rapidly" while his daughter was conscious and talking in hospital.

So far, more than 20 countries have expelled Russian envoys in solidarity with the UK over the crisis. Russia's request for a new joint investigation was voted down at the international chemical weapons watchdog at The Hague on April 4.

Two days later, at a UN Security Council meeting, Moscow's UN ambassador Vasily Nebenzia said Britain's main goal had been "to discredit and even delegitimise" Russia with "unsubstantiated accusations".

But Britain's UN representative Karen Pierce said the UK's actions "stand up to any scrutiny".

--IANS

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Hollywood star Sylvester Stallone returned to Philadelphia's Rocky statue with a new plaque.

Amidst ongoing filming for "Creed 2" in Philadelphia, Stallone returned to the famous "Rocky steps" outside the Philadelphia Museum of Art to place a commemorative plaque and strike the classic arms-raised pose, reports ew.com.

"This is a dedication of a plaque that was made for the statue 12 years ago, but believe it or not, it had been missed placed (sic)," Stallone, who played the fictional character of boxer Rocky Balboa in "Rocky" movies, wrote in an Instagram post featuring a video of himself and Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney at the statue.

"Well, it was found and I want to thank the Mayor Jim Kenney and his staff, the Philadelphia Police Department, and of course the loyal fans that braved the cold. Keep punching, Philly."

The plaque contains a version of a quote from 2006 film "Rocky Balboa": "It's not how hard you hit, it's how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward - that's how winning is done."

It is dedicated to "the great city of Philadelphia and brotherhood of its people".

--IANS

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A man driving a van plowed into a crowd in the northern German city of Munster on Saturday, killing at least three people and injuring dozens before shooting himself, a senior German security official said.

German security officials were unsure whether the incident had connections to terrorism. The senior security official said that police were conducting response measures as though it were a terrorist attack, but that they remained uncertain about whether it was one, the Washington Post reported.

The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the unfolding details of the case.

"There are dead and injured. Please avoid the area," the North Rhine-Westphalia regional police wrote on their official Twitter account. "We are on site." The police told people to avoid the city centre.

Images of the city centre surfacing on social media showed a small delivery van that appeared to have hopped onto a sidewalk off the street and plowed through the seats and tables of an outdoor cafe. Chairs were scattered and broken across a small cobblestone plaza.

Vehicles have been used in terrorist attacks across Europe in recent years, including in Germany. In December 2016, a Tunisian man whose asylum request had been rejected crashed a truck through a crowded Christmas market in Berlin, killing 12 and injuring 56.

--IANS

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US President Donald Trump has begun initial preparations for a potential interview with special counsel Robert Mueller who is currently probing the alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election, a media report said.

An informed source told CNN on Friday that the preparation efforts is "in its infancy".

The preparations have been short and informal and included going over potential topics with the President that Mueller would likely raise in an interview, the source said.

The President has not formally agreed to sit for an interview with Mueller.

But word of early preparations is the clearest sign yet that Trump and his team remain open to an interview with Mueller, despite concerns from some people close to the President that such an interview could expose him to possible charges of perjury.

The terms of how Trump would be questioned -- including whether he would speak under oath -- have not yet been determined.

Even if he was not questioned under oath, however, Trump could still open himself to charges if he lies to Mueller's team, since lying to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is a crime, reports CNN.

In January, Trump said that he was "looking forward" to an interview with Mueller, insisting there was no collusion between his campaign and Russia.

Sarah Hucabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, said earlier this week that talks were continuing between Trump and his lawyers about a possible interview with Mueller.

Deliberations over an interview with Mueller have proceeded amid tumult within the President's legal team.

Midway through March, the lead lawyer, John Dowd, resigned amid disagreements with the President and increased scrutiny in the probe.

Jay Sekulow, an outside attorney and Ty Cobb, who works in the White House, are the remaining lawyers representing the President in this matter.

At least five major law firms have been invited but declined invitations to help Trump.

--IANS

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The Jammu and Kashmir Police said on Saturday that it arrested two over-ground workers of Zakir Musa led Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind in south Kashmir's Pulwama district, recovering cash and a hand grenade from them.

A police officer said that during routine checking police and army jointly apprehended one OGW named Rafiq Ahmad Dar from whose possession one hand grenade was recovered.

"During questioning he confessed that he was working for Zakir Musa led outfit. On his identification another OGW named Abdul Majid alias Raja Gada was arrested from whose possession Rupees 5.37 lakh were recovered.

"The two confessed that the amount had been given to them by Zakir Musa to buy weapons for the outfit, the two have admitted that the amount recovered from them had been looted by the militants from two branches of the J&K Bank in December last year.

--IANS

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Abu Dhabi, April 7 (IANS/WAM) The UAE has announced financial support of $200 million to be split equally between the Lebanese armed and the security forces to contribute to the stability and welfare of the country.

The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation on Friday reiterated the country's keenness to ensure security and stability of Lebanon, which emanates from the strong bonds among the Arab countries and from the UAE's responsibility to maintaining regional and international security and peace.

"It is a priority for the UAE to see strong and tenacious military and security institutions in Lebanon at these critical times as this will help in reinforcing its stability and in enabling it to play its key role in the region," it said.

--IANS/WAM

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The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been getting many nasty shocks of late but none could have been nastier than the march staged by the farmers of Maharashtra protesting against their plight, which is quite terrible. The paradox is that the agricultural economy has been doing very poorly even as output has been increasing.

Meanwhile, the industrial parts of the economy are slowly recovering after a bad slump for four years. This is happening in the last year of this governments life. The same thing had happened to the previous National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government ...
On the issue of special status for Andhra Pradesh, it is regrettable that some political parties are whipping up public sentiments rather than encouraging an informed debate which is the cornerstone of a vibrant democracy. I would like you to introspect whether poetical parties should be pitting sentiments and development against each other to further their political agenda.

The 14th Finance Commissions Terms of Reference (ToR) have been amended in right earnest as per AP Reorganisation Act, 2014 as soon as our government came to power on June 2, 2014 vide Presidents Order published under S.O. Sc. 1424(E) to take into account the resources available to Andhra Pradesh and make recommendations thereof.

Due to the weak financial position of Andhra Pradesh, the 14th Finance Commission has awarded to the state revenue deficit grants to the tune of Rs 22.113 crore covering the overall revenue deficit for five years. Andhra Pradesh is the only state to receive the award of revenue deficit grants for all the five years period that is, from 2015 to 2020 besides the eight north-eastern and hilly states. Does that not show that the Central Government has been sensitive to the needs of Andhra Pradesh?

The NDA government has more than doubled the extent of central assistance to Andhra Pradesh as compared to the total funds allocated in the previous five years. The total award of funds to Andhra Pradesh under tax devolution and grants under various heads during the 14th Finance Commission (2015 to 2020 which broadly corresponds to the tenure of the present NDA government) is Rs 2,44,271 crore. Even after such massive increase in allocations, the Central Government has offered a Special Assistance Measure (Financial Package) to Andhra Pradesh in September, 2016 which was equivalent to the key financial benefits the state would have got as a special category state. Your government hailed this central assistance package as a great achievement of the state government. Suddenly, two years later, you have made a U-Turn once again demanding the special status which has become redundant in view of the financial commitments already fulfilled by the Central Government.





ALSO READ: Amit Shah compares Opposition to dogs, backtracks when slammed; highlights

Your accusation that there is a delay in the release of funds under the special package is an admission of your governments lackadaisical approach. Why is it that the state government has not acted in a speedy manner to get the externally aided projects implemented when the special assistance measure (package) was approved by the Union cabinet? If the public welfare was a priority why did your government take so long to access these funds? Why is it that your government has not responded to Central Governments suggestion of setting up a special purpose vehicle for directly receiving these funds from Nabard as desired by your government? Is it because it poses problems in diverting such funds for other purposes?

As you are aware, the NDA Government had agreed to bridge the revenue gap for the year 2014-15 and a sum of Rs 3979.5 crore was released to the state. The Central Government has also agreed to release an additional Rs 1600 crore based on the revenue deficit estimates for the year 2015-16 by the 14. Finance Commission.

Your governments claim of Rs 16,000 crore deficit in the year 2014-15 is fallacious as this includes the state government's expenditure on farm loan waivers, pensions etc. Even our party governments in different states have implemented similar loan waiver schemes to give relief to the farmers but have met such expenditure from their own sources. The Central Government cannot be expected to meet these expenses as we cannot differentiate between state governments implementing similar welfare measures. Is it not political brinkmanship to make unjustified and exaggerated demands and then allege neglect when they are not accepted?



ALSO READ: Govt trying to get fuel into GST to lower prices: BJP chief Amit Shah

In keeping with the BJPs stated position at the time of reorganisation of Andhra Pradesh and articulated by the Party leaders during the debate, NDA Govt has tried to fulfill every promise made. A notification was duly issued by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) on September 30, 2016 covering the seven backward districts of Rayalaseema and north coastal districts Are you not being disingenuous in claiming in your letter that the state of Andhra Pradesh has not received industrial and tax incentives?

As regards the special developmental assistance to the seven backward districts, the Central Government has released development grants to the tune of Rs 1.05 crore in the first three years Surprisingly, the state has spent only 12 per cent of this amount and 88 per cent remains unutlised. Furthermore, you have been claiming that the Central Government has asked this amount be taken back as this amount was released without the PMOs permission. This is nothing but a figment of your imagination.





ALSO READ: Karnataka polls a test case for Amit Shah: Many big guns training in run-up

The commitment of Central Government towards development of Andhra Pradesh also gets reflected in increased budgetary allocation of Railways. Budget Outlay in 2014-19 has been about Rs 14,151 crore as against Rs 5,100 in 2009-14, an increase of about 219 per cent. It is also worth mentioning that a total of 32 projects costing Rs 47,989 Crore for 5,016 kms are already under execution.

As regards the new capital city of Andhra Pradesh. the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014 says that the Central Government shall provide special financial support for the creation of essential facilities including the Raj Bhawan, High Court, Government Secretariat, Legislative Assembly. Legislative Council, and such other essential infrastructure. Towards this end, the Central Government has already made available Rs 2,500 crore to the state government. This includes Rs 1,000 crore released by the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA), Government of India for the development of the capital region. The state government has spent only 8 per cent of the Rs 1,000 crore released by the MoHUA. When the state government has not utilised the funds given so far, how can it expect the Central Government to release any further funds for the purpose?

Edited excerpts from BJP President Amit Shahs open letter to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and former NDA ally, Chandrababu Naidu, March 25, New Delhi
It has been one of my missions in horse racing to re-tell the story of Jim French every four or five years, because if I dont it will quickly fade away and not even remain a minor footnote in the history books.

For those who have never read or heard the story, and even those who have, but stashed it away in the deepest recesses of the mind, I will re-tell it, especially during this particular Kentucky Derby trail, with so many leading contenders heading into the Derby with only three or four lifetime starts.

Yes, times have changed dramatically, and it is Jim French who best serves as a bridge from racing as it was to racing as it is. As much as we have gone to the lesser extreme when it comes to experience and seasoning leading up to the First Saturday in May, Jim French, having no say in the matter, took it to the opposite extreme. Even his trainer John Campo, still a fledgling trainer at the time, later expressed his regret in subjecting Jim French to such a rigorous campaign. But this is not about right or wrong or mistakes in judgment, but about a plucky little colt who never wavered, never backed out of a fight, and always gave 100 percent, demonstrating a toughness and fortitude unmatched even for that era, especially at such a high level of competition.

So, with racing fans immersed in the major Kentucky Derby preps, here, after over four years of dormancy, is the column on a horse the younger generation can not even remotely relate to, but one who should serve as a constant reminder of what amazing feats the Thoroughbred of yesterday was capable of.



Here then again, tweaked, smoothed out, and partially re-written, is The Strange Saga of Jim French



The story of Jim French, one of the most indestructible, indefatigable horses of the modern era, has faded into history, taking with it the colts remarkable feats of durability on the racetrack and the notorious final chapter of his career that ended so unjustly.



But let's start at the beginning. Jim French was a gritty little brown colt who brought his trainer John Campo into the national spotlight for the first time. Campo's training of Jim French would have brought about an outpouring of criticism from todays Internet racing fans. But the son of Graustark not only stood up to Campo's unprecedented schedule, he actually seemed to thrive on it.



Campo, who would go on to become one of the top trainers in the country, winning the 1981 Kentucky Derby and Preakness with Pleasant Colony, later would say when asked why he ran Jim French so often, I didnt know any better then. I had only been training for a few years and if I had known better I wouldn't have run him so many times. He wasnt a big horse, and small horses do hold up better than big horses.



Hold up is an understatement. As excessive as his methods were, Campos ability to keep Jim French in top racing condition for so long actually was a remarkable achievement. By the time Jim French arrived in Florida in December 1970 to begin preparing for the Triple Crown races, he had already crammed 11 races into a four-month period, racing four times in November alone, including a victory in the Remsen Stakes.

Then the real racing began.



On Dec. 26, he engaged in a thrilling stretch duel with Sir Dagonet to win the 1 1/16-mile Miami Beach Handicap at Tropical Park.



Two weeks later, he just got up to win the 1 1/16-mile Dade Metropolitan Handicap at Tropical by a nose, carrying top weight of 125 pounds and conceding 10 pounds to the runner-up.



Eleven days later, now at Hialeah, he dropped back to six furlongs and finished a fast-closing fourth in the Hibiscus Stakes, beaten only 1 1/4 lengths by the brilliant Executioner.



He was back two weeks later, coming from 10th at the top of the stretch to win the seven-furlong Bahamas Stakes by a head, with the regally bred His Majesty third.



Two weeks later, he was beaten a head by His Majesty in the 1 1/8-mile Everglades Stakes, but was disqualified to fifth for bearing in down the stretch.



Like clockwork, he was back in the gate two weeks later, coming from 19 lengths back to finish third behind Executioner in the 1 1/8-mile Flamingo Stakes.



Instead of waiting for the Florida Derby, Jim French not only ran 17 days later, he shipped up to New York, where he finished third to the early Kentucky Derby favorite, the brilliant Hoist the Flag, in the seven-furlong Bay Shore Stakes, run in a scorching 1:21.



Just one week later, he was back in Florida, where he closed fast to finish third to Eastern Fleet in the Florida Derby, run in 1:47 2/5, just a fifth off the stakes record.



Not content to wait for one final Derby prep or train up to the Derby, Campo put Jim French on a plane to California and ran him one week later in the Santa Anita Derby, which he won by 1 3/4 lengths in 1:48 1/5.



Two weeks later, he was back in New York, where he rallied to finish a close fourth to stablemate Good Behaving in the Wood Memorial.



Nowadays, if a horse runs four times in four months its a lot. Jim French entered the grueling Triple Crown series having competed in 10 stakes at five different racetracks in a little over four months, traveling from New York to Florida, back to New York, back to Florida, to California, back to New York, and then the Kentucky Although most horses would have been totally wiped out by now, Jim French went on to finish a fast-closing second to Canonero II in the Kentucky Derby, third in Canoneros track record-breaking Preakness, and a fast-closing second in the Belmont Stakes, in which he made up more than five lengths in the final furlong to be beaten three-quarters of a length.



Instead of being given a well-earned vacation following arguably the most ambitious Triple Crown campaign ever, Jim French amazingly was back in the starting gate two weeks after the Belmont, finishing a fast-closing fourth in the one-mile Pontiac Grand Prix (formerly the Arlington Classic) at Arlington Park. Following his first three-week vacation since the previous November, he shipped to California, where he finished second in the 1 1/4-mile Hollywood Derby, giving the winner, Bold Reason, 13 pounds. One week later, he was back in New York, winning the 1 1/4-mile Dwyer Handicap, conceding 12-15 pounds to the rest of the field.



In less than seven months, Jim French had run in 16 stakes from six furlongs to 1 1/2 miles, never finishing worse than fourth (except for his disqualification). During that time he competed at 10 different racetracks, made two round trip cross-country flights at a time when Eastern horses rarely flew to California for one race, and logged some 20,000 miles of traveling.



Jim French resurfaced four weeks after the Dwyer and ran an uncharacteristic ninth as the 2-1 favorite in the Monmouth Invitational Handicap. It was discovered after the race that the colt had a spur in his right knee that had broken off. Several people connected to the horse, however, were convinced that he had been gotten to, and made their feelings public in an advertisement taken out in a leading racing weekly.



Campo then sent Jim French to Saratoga for the Travers, and thats when all hell broke loose. Prior to the Travers, it was announced that the colt had been impounded by the Saratoga County sheriff' office. His entry for the Travers was refused by the stewards. State steward Francis P. Dunne called it the most complex racing situation Ive ever encountered.



It had been discovered through a loan made by Jim Frenchs co-owner Frank Caldwell, who had purchased the colt from his breeder Ralph Wilson during his 2-year-old campaign, that there was a hidden ownership issue surrounding the horse.



Caldwell, a Long Island furniture executive, had sold 70% of Jim French to Etta Sarant, and then taken out a loan from the Citizens National Bank and Trust Co. of Lexington, Ky., receiving a $130,000 advance after stating on his affidavit that he was the sole owner of Jim French. Leslie Combs II, a director of the bank, also assured that Jim French would stand at his Spendthrift Farm in Lexington.



It was discovered, however, that Mrs. Sarant, in whose name Jim French raced in the Monmouth Invitational, had no owners license in New York, and had no interest in applying for one. After the Monmouth Invitational, Jim French was resold to construction executive Fred Cole, but he, too, was suspended by the New York Racing Commission for failure to appear to give testimony in the case. That left Jim French without an owner.



Dunne said at the time, We have a real can of worms on our hands, and its beginning to appear that not all of the worms have been pulled out of the can.



He was right. Officers of the Saratoga Country sheriff's office then filed a writ of attachment on behalf of the Citizens Bank. The New York Racing Commission, sensing a possible cover-up, began an investigation into the ownership of Jim French and several other horses owned by Caldwell.



According to the commissions findings, the true owner or part-owner of Jim French and the other horses was R. Robert LiButti, doing business as Robert Presti. The commission also concluded that the horses ownership had been concealed from racing authorities, and stated that LiButti/Presti had been barred from racing in 1968. He maintained it was only a misunderstanding and that he had been exonerated of any wrongdoing.



LiButti said that undisclosed ownership was a common occurrence in racing, and his ownership of Jim French was not done to defraud the public, claiming that no crime had been committed.



On Oct. 13, 1971, the New York Racing Commission suspended Campo, Ralph Wilson, and trainer George Poole for 30 days for their role in the concealed ownership. Caldwell was ordered to appear before the commission to show cause why his license should not be revoked.



As for Jim French, he was not allowed to run in the Travers. Because of the complexity of the case, and the danger of his knee eventually splitting due to the spur that had broken off, he was retired and sold (it was never officially reported by whom) to art dealer Daniel Wildenstein for $1 million and retired to Haras de la Verrerie in France, where he proved unsuccessful, siring only five stakes winners. He was then sent to Japan in 1977.



In Japan, Jim French left an indelible mark, siring Bamboo Atlas, winner of the Japanese Derby in record time. As a stallion, Bamboo Atlas passed on Jim Frenchs blood, siring seven grade I winners, including Japanese St. Leger winner Bamboo Begin.



Jim French also was the broodmare sire of Legacy World, who upset Americas Horse of the Year Kotaashan in the Japan Cup, and Jim and Tonic, who like his grandsire was indestructible, winning the group I Hong Kong Cup, Hong Kong Mile, and Dubai Duty Free, group II Queen Elizabeth II Cup in Hong Kong, and three group III stakes in France. In all, he finished in the money in 30 of his 39 career starts, while constantly traveling around the world.



Jim Frenchs name also showed up in America as the broodmare sire of Breeders Cup Mile winner and champion grass horse Steinlen.



Jim French lived three lives  the American racehorse, the French sire, and the Japanese sire. He died in 1992 at the age of 24.



The name of Jim French has long since disappeared. The vast majority of todays racing fans have never even heard of him, which is a shame. This was a true Thoroughbred in every sense of the word, who gave 100% every time, despite being subjected to one of the most grueling racing schedules of any horse in the history of the sport.



Almost five decades have passed, and now, at a time when it is so difficult to keep horses sound, and when many champions race only four or five times a year, it is important that we remember a horse like Jim French to remind us just how resilient Thoroughbreds can be.



There are no shrines or memorials to this gallant warrior, who deserved to go out fighting and be remembered for his amazing toughness and durability rather than the ignominious series of events that befell him at Saratoga.

So I will continue to tell his story. Much like Ishmael at the end of Moby Dick, I only am alone to tell thee.
On March 28, the Rajya Sabha bid farewell to its retiring members. In their speeches, several of them, particularly those from opposition parties, expressed their gratitude for the guidance they received from the Leader of the House, Arun Jaitley. Jaitley, also the finance minister in the Narendra Modi government, was among the retiring members who have been re-elected.

On Tuesday, Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu said that Jaitley, after his re-election, is reappointed the Leader of the House. But an ailing Jaitley is yet to take the oath for his new Rajya Sabha term. In ...
Two persons were arrested for their alleged involvement in "terror activities and terror funding" in south Kashmir's Pulwama district, police said today.

"In a case for involvement in terror activities and terror funding, two persons have been arrested in case FIR No. 50/2018 of Police Station Awantipora," a police spokesman said.

He identified the duo as Rafiq Ahmad Dar and Abid Majeed -- both residents of the Awantipora area of the district.

Meanwhile, the spokesman said, six youth, who were intending to join militancy, were counselled along with their family members and subsequently handed over to their parents.

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Five elderly people, who underwent cataract surgery at a government hospital here, were referred to a private hospital after they developed infection in their operated eye, an official said today.

All of them were operated on April 5 at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Raipur.

They later developed infection and were shifted to MGM Hospital here, Dr Ajay Dani, medical superintendent of AIIMS Raipur, told PTI.

The patients were identified asKushal Singh (58), Manvendra Banwal (67), Ramkishan Soni (67), Tilakram Kothare (69) and Yogesh Kumar Pandey (67), he said.

On April 6, when traces of infection were found in the operated eye of the patients,all primary corrective measures were immediately performed on them, Dani said.

As per a report of the opthalmology department of the institute, three of them have shown signs of improvement and their infection has reduced to a great extent, he said.

They were shifted to MGM Hospital as a precautionary measure as AIIMS does not have facilities for sophisticated operations like vitreous surgery which will be performed on the patients if required, Dani said.

Consultants from AIIMS, Central government run medical facility, were accompanying the patients, he added.

The cultures of drugs used and samples from the operation theatre, where the surgeries were performed, were sent for examination, the doctor said.

A committee will also be constituted to find out the cause behind the incident and further action will be taken accordingly, he added.

Meanwhile, some Congress workers protested outside AIIMS, accusing doctors of negligence.

In February, 27 people lost vision in one eye after they underwent cataract surgery at a private hospital in Chhattisgarhs Rajnandgaon district.

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Police today arrested seven persons who were planning to rob a hawala trader in Sahibabad area here.

The trader was supposed to come from Delhi to handover Rs 50 lakh to some other businessman of Meerut.

The police were tipped off about the robbers on the basis of which, they conducted a raid at a forlorn plot near Koyal enclave and nabbed the criminals, Senior Superintendent of police Vaibhav Krishna said.

Police have seized five pistols of .32 and 315 bore and huge cache of cartridges and a stolen Qualis SUV from the gang.

Those arrested have been identified as: Guddu Yadav, Budh Pal, Manoj, Akhilesh, Sanjiv, Amit and Jayant.

"Upon interrogation, they confessed that they were waiting for a hawala businessman who usually goes to Meerut from Delhi with cash so that they could rob him," said Krishna.

The gang has also confessed to stealing an SUV vehicle earlier in the month.

"They have been sent to jail," the officer said.

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The Public Works Department (PWD) will undertake remodelling of 94 dispensaries of the Delhi government as polyclinics, a pet project of the AAP dispensation.

As per the plan, the PWD will also soon start carrying out expansion and remodelling of around nine government hospitals, in order to increase the bed capacity.

Earlier this week, PWD Engineer-in-Chief Rakesh Kumar Agrawal had held a meeting with officials and discussed the execution of different projects.

"94 Delhi government's dispensaries will be remodelled as polyclinics in various areas of the city," an official said.

At present, around 30 polyclinics are operational in the national capital and the government has set a target of 150 such polyclinics.

According to the PWD, construction of new building and remodelling of existing buildings for expansion of the Acharya Shree Bhikshu government hospital (Motion Nagar) will be carried out.

Among the hospitals where expansion and remodelling works will be undertaken are Dr Hedgewar Aarogya Sansthan, Dada Dev Maternity and Child Hospital, Jag Pravesh Chandra Hospital.

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CPI (M) leader Sitaram Yechury today visited Andhra Pradesh Bhavan here and extended his support to YSR Congress Party legislators who have sat on a hunger strike demanding special category status to the state.

Yechury's visit came on the second day of the hunger strike.

Addressing the YSR Congress Party members present there, Yechury said he was not visiting them "to get appreciation. This is our duty and responsibility."



"On the day the bill to bifurcate the state came to Parliament, I asked about sharing of electricity, water and government employees. But there was no answer. (Then) I asked why was it taken up without proper homework," Yechury said.

He said "nothing has happened", despite then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh giving an assurance that the special status would be given to Andhra Pradesh for five years and then Rajya Sabha member Venkaiah Naidu promising to extend the status to 10 years if a BJP government comes to power.

On the TDP first allying and now moving away from the BJP, Yechury said: "We asked TDP why they were again getting into alliance with BJP after being out of power for 10 years in the united AP following the previous alliance."



"They said 'BJP will be at the Centre and we will form government in in state. Both will work for special status' they said. Now we can see where we are standing after four years of alliance," he said.

The five YSR Congress Party members sitting on the indefinite hunger strike yesterday resigned from Lok Sabha over the "failure" of the Centre to grant the status to Andhra Pradesh.

Mekapati Rajamohan Reddy, 73 and one of the five MPs sitting on the hunger strike, was today taken to RML Hospital after he complained of uneasiness.

Earlier today, doctors had examined the leaders and said no medical intervention was required at the moment.

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At least three people died today when a vehicle ploughed into busy cafe and restaurant terraces in the German city of Muenster before the driver shot himself dead.

Images on social media showed smashed and upturned tables and chairs strewn accross the pavement outside an eaterie in the centre of the picturesque medieval city.

At least 20 people were injured, six of them seriously, according to police, while media reports said the driver had been behind the wheel of a delivery van.

A police spokeswoman in the western city, Vanessa Arlt, told AFP that the driver of the vehicle "shot himself".

"The perpetrator drove into several cafe and restaurant terraces in a major square in the centre of Muenster," Arlt added.

Police spokesman, Andreas Bode, said it was "too soon" to call the incident a deliberate attack.

According to the online edition of the Spiegel magazine, German authorities were "assuming" the incident was an attack, though there was no immediate official confirmation of a motive.

"Terrible from Muenster," German government spokeswoman Ulrike Demmer said in a tweet, saying local police were providing regular updates.

"Our thoughts are with the victims and their loved ones."



Images broadcast by German television showed police and firefighting vehicles clustered around a street in the centre of the city of 300,000 people.

Armed police were deployed and officers urged residents to avoid the city centre to allow investigators to get to work.

Germany had long warned of the threat of more violence ahead after several attacks claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group, the bloodiest of which was a truck rampage through a Berlin Christmas market in December 2016 that left 12 people dead.

The attacker, Tunisian asylum seeker Anis Amri, hijacked a truck and murdered its Polish driver before killing another 11 people and wounding dozens more by ploughing the heavy vehicle through the festive market in central Berlin.

He was shot dead by Italian police in Milan four days later while on the run.

Germany has since been targeted again in attacks with radical Islamist motives.

In July 2017, a 26-year-old Palestinian asylum seeker wielding a knife stormed into a supermarket in the northern port city of Hamburg, killing one person and wounding six others before being detained by passers-by.

German prosecutors said the man likely had a "radical Islamist" motive.

And at the end of October, German police arrested a 19-year-old Syrian identified only as Yamen A. suspected of planning a "serious bomb attack" using powerful explosives.

IS also claimed responsibility for a number of attacks in 2016, including the murder of a teenager in Hamburg, a suicide bombing in the southern city of Ansbach that wounded 15, and an axe attack on a train in Bavaria that left five injured.

Germany remains a target for jihadist groups, in particular because of its involvement in the coalition fighting IS in Iraq and Syria, and its deployment in Afghanistan since 2001.

German troops in the anti-IS coalition do not participate in combat operations but support it through reconnaissance, refuelling and training.

Germanys security services estimate there are around 10,000 Islamic radicals in Germany, some 1,600 of whom are suspected of being capable of using violence.

Chancellor Angela Merkel has allowed in more than one million asylum seekers in the past two years -- a decision that has driven the rise of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which charges that the influx spells a heightened security risk.

IS also claimed several similar attacks in Europe, including a rampage along Barcelona's Las Ramblas boulevard in August 2017 that killed 14 and left more than 100 injured.

The deadliest such incident in recent years was in the French resort city of Nice in 2016, where a man rammed a truck into a crowd on France's national July 14 holiday, killing 86 people.

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Alleging atrocities against Dalits have increased since the 'Bharat Bandh', the Bhim Army today said it will hold a peaceful protest in Delhi on April 18 during which the demonstrators would "court mass arrest".

At a press conference here, the Dalit emancipation group's national president, Vinay Ratan Singh, and its members demanded that the people from the community held by the police in connection with the April 2 incident be released.

"We are also demanding that a judicial probe be ordered into the incident and anti-social elements who infiltrated into Dalit groups during the protests be brought to book," Singh said.

The Bhim Army leader alleged that the country would face a "civil war-like situation" if the government did not step up and took actions to stem caste-related violence.

"So, we are going to hold a protest on Parliament Street on April 18. And, all those people who are facing persecution or false cases will assemble and court mass arrest. We even invite all those who advocate justice to join us," Singh told reporters.

Asked how many people are likely to join the protest, he claimed that "people will come from different states in big numbers".

"We are not going to offer any resistance, and we all would be coming prepared to face even a hail of bullets. We will be coming prepared knowing that we may not return alive," he said.

Bhim Army's Delhi unit convener Sujit Samrat said that BJP lawmakers were now writing to the government about "Dalits being targeted by the police, pulled out of their homes and beaten".

Singh said the Dalit community was oppressed for centuries, "but we still do not want to take the route of violent retaliation".

"If we also do the way the other side has been doing, our country will be plunged into a civil war-like situation, and the very idea of India will cease to exist," he said, alleging violence against Dalits after the April 2 bandh had increased.

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The Bihar cabinet has reduced the fee for various competitive examinations for women candidates of all categories of the state.

The decision was taken at a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar yesterday, Cabinet Secretariat Department's principal secretary Arun Kumar Singh told reporters.

The fee reduction would be applicable to the examinations conducted by Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) and Bihar Staff Selection Commission (BSSC), he said.

The examination fee has been reduced from Rs 600 to Rs 150 for preliminary test and from Rs 750 to Rs 200 for mains examination.

The cabinet also gave its nod for creation of posts for reconstitution and restructuring of the Bihar Administrative Service (BAS) cadre, Singh adding that the number of various posts of BAS had gone upto 1634 from current 1150.

The decision would increase the number of posts such as deputy collector, senior deputy collector, under secretary, deputy secretary, joint secretary and special secretary, he added.

It also gave its nod to Road Construction Department's proposal to construct four state highways at a cost of Rs 1482 crore, Singh said and adding four SHs are - Kadiraganj-Khaira (SH-82), Akbarnagar-Amarpur (SH-85), Udakishanganj-Bhatgama (SH-58) and Bihiya-Jagdishpur Bihta (SH-102).

In an another decision, the cabinet enhanced the corpus of Bihar Contingency Fund (BCF) from Rs 350 crore to Rs 7079.61 crore till March 30, 2019 for carrying out relief work in the event of natural calamities, the principal secretary said.

The cabinet also gave its nod to certain amendments to 'Affordable Housing and Slum Rehabilitation and Redevelopment Policy 2017' for lower income group, he added.

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The BJP a partner in the ruling coalition in Bihar has accused the administration of having acted in a partisan manner against members of the majority community in the aftermath of the communal flare-ups in various districts recently.

A memorandum to this effect was submitted to the Director General of Police K S Dwivedi yesterday by a party delegation comprising state vice-president Devesh Kumar, chief whip in the state Assembly Arun Kumar Sinha, MLA Sanjiv Chaurasia and media in-charge Pankaj Singh.

"In the memorandum, it has been stated that in districts like Aurangabad, Nalanda and Samastipur, the majority community resorted to aggression only upon provocative acts by anti-social elements from among the minority community," Pankaj Singh said in a statement.

The BJP delegation further alleged "in the aftermath of the incidents of violence that took place around Ram Navami, those belonging to the majority community have been arrested in large numbers while the administration has gone soft on the minorities."



The delegation demanded among others release of all innocent people and a high-level enquiry into the alleged partisan approach adopted by the police during such incidents, Singh said.

The state government has drawn a flak over the spate of communal clashes witnessed in various parts of the state in the past few weeks.

Proceedings of the state Assembly during the budget session, which concluded earlier this week, were stalled by opposition parties like the RJD, the Congress and the CPI(ML) a number of times over the issue of the recent spurt in communal violence.

RJD leaders had also targeted Chief Minister Nitish Kumar charging him with having surrendered before an "aggressive" BJP.

The chief minister had expressed displeasure over communal violence on a number of occasions.

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A BJP party office-bearer suffered a heart attack and died on board a special train ferrying workers from Mumbai after the party's 38th Foundation Day rally at BKC yesterday.

Navnit Behre, president of BJP's Indora ward unit in Nagpur, suffered a heart attack close to Dahanu station, some 120 kilometres from Mumbai, around 2:30pm yesterday, BJP Nagpur publicity-incharge Chandan Goswami told PTI.

"The train had left for Nagpur from Bandra station at around 1pm and a little while later Behre started feeling uneasy and suffered a heart attack. Nagpur MLA, Milind Bane, himself a doctor, was travelling in the same train and he checked Behre immediately," he said.

"Dr Bane declared Behre dead after which the train was halted at Dahanu and the body was shifted to a local hospital," Goswami informed.

He added that post-mortem was conducted early today morning and the body would be flown to Nagpur later this evening.

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Ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Brazil's polarizing election frontrunner and leftist icon, was negotiating his surrender after dramatically skipping a first deadline today to start his 12-year prison sentence for corruption.

Holed up with thousands of cheering supporters in the metalworkers' union building in his hometown of Sao Bernardo do Campo, near Sao Paulo, the 72-year-old let the 5:00 pm (2000 GMT) deadline pass without public comment.

This raised the temperature in the standoff between the leftist former two-term president and Judge Sergio Moro, who heads the mammoth "Car Wash" anti-graft probe and who ordered Lula's imprisonment.

Given that Lula was effectively surrounded by a human shield, it was clear that a forcible arrest attempt would trigger violence.

But authorities took pains to reduce tensions, downplaying Lula's defiance and stressing that he was not considered a fugitive -- something that would trigger a preventative arrest warrant.

"Lula did not comply with a judicial order," a spokesman for Moro told AFP, "but everyone knows where he is. He's not hiding or on the run."



Politicians from Lula's Workers Party said he would remain in Sao Bernardo do Campo overnight and that his lawyers were in close negotiations with police over the time and place of the arrest.

"There is a discussion between police and the ex-president's lawyers and the party is following this. The idea is to avoid the judge ordering preventative arrest, which would aggravate the situation," said Congressman Carlos Zarattini.

"Nothing is over yet."



Senator Gleisi Hoffmann tweeted that a Catholic Mass would take place at the union building today in memory of Lula's late wife Marisa Leticia, who died last year and would now be turning 68.

According to varying Brazilian media reports, Lula was considering surrendering after the Mass or possibly holding out through the weekend.

Much of yesterday, Lula waited in hope that the country's top appeals court, the Superior Tribunal of Justice, would temporarily suspend his arrest warrant. However, the petition was rejected shortly before the deadline expired.

Yet another appeal for an injunction against the arrest was filed late Friday with the Supreme Court.

On Thursday, Moro had given Lula 24 hours to surrender voluntarily to police and begin incarceration in the southern city of Curitiba. Moro said the cell, a separate room with its own toilet, was ready, and that Lula would not be handcuffed -- if he came quietly.

Lula was convicted last year of taking a luxury apartment as a kickback from a big construction company. He lost a lower court appeal in January and saw his sentence increased from nine to 12 years.

To his Workers' Party faithful, Lula is a victim of an out-of-control judiciary preventing him from returning to power.

They remember him for a 2003-2010 presidency that saw tens of millions lifted from poverty and Brazil rise on the world stage.

"Lula is innocent, Lula for president!" supporters chanted outside the union building.

Renata Swiecik, an unemployed mother of four who had joined the crowd, urged Lula not to hand himself over.

"We are here to resist to the end. Lula will not be a prisoner in 2018, he'll be president and help the people once more," said Swiecik, 31.

However, Lula's imminent arrest is being celebrated by many Brazilians.

The "Car Wash" probe, which has revealed systemic, high-level embezzlement and bribery throughout business and politics over the last four years, is wildly popular.

Detractors say that Lula epitomizes Brazil's corruption-riddled elite and his conviction is the biggest "Car Wash" scalp by far.

"I want Lula in prison, I want a better future and with him in the leadership we won't have that," said Maura Moraes de Oliveira, 51, who works as a maid in Curitiba.

"Not only Lula should be locked up, but all the corrupt, a complete cleaning."



Operation "Car Wash" was named after the service station where agents initially investigated a minor money laundering scheme in 2014, before realizing that they'd stumbled on a gargantuan web of embezzlement and bribery at state oil company Petrobras and right through the political classes.

Lula, who grew up poor and with little formal education before becoming a trade union leader and politician, has long said he will go down fighting.

In theory, once someone has been convicted and lost a lower court appeal, he or she is barred from running for office under Brazil's clean-slate law.

Still, even in prison, Lula has the right to register as a candidate. It would then be up to the Superior Electoral Tribunal to rule on whether his candidacy could stand.

Although Lula would almost certainly be blocked, he could use the process to maintain his political influence.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Brazils former leftist president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said today he had been falsely accused of corruption but was ready to surrender for arrest.

In his first comments since being ordered to start a 12-year prison sentence for accepting a luxury apartment as a bribe, Lula told cheering supporters that he was "an outraged citizen."



Lula told the crowd that Brazils top anti-corruption judge, Sergio Moro, "lied" about him being given the apartment by a big construction firm as a kickback.

"I am the only human being to be put on trial for an apartment which does not belong to me," he said.

But Lula, 72, said: "I will comply with their warrant."



In a passionate, combative, hour-long speech, Lula accused the judiciary and Brazils most powerful media conglomerate of assisting a right-wing coup with the ultimate aim of preventing him from competing in this Octobers presidential elections.

Despite his legal problems, Lula is the frontrunner in polls.

Lula said he wanted to go to prison and had rejected multiple suggestions of fleeing or seeking asylum abroad.

"I want to face them and look at them in their eyes," he said of his accusers.

"Youll see that I will come out of this bigger, stronger," he said, promising to prove his innocence.

Lula was ordered to surrender to the authorities on Friday, but missed the deadline, staying holed-up with his supporters at the metalworkers union building in his hometown Sao Bernardo do Campo, near Sao Paulo.

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Three unidentified miscreants today looted Rs 25 lakh and shot at the guard of a cash van in the busy Gangnahar area in Roorkee, police said.

The van was in the area to fill cash in an ATM of the Axis Bank.

The incident took place around 1:30 PM. The guard Shakeel Ahmed was outside the ATM, while two others went into the kiosk to fill cash in the machine, they said.

The miscreants shot at the guard and decamped with a bag containing the cash, SP (rural) Manikant Mishra said.

Ahmed is under treatment and he is out of danger, the SP said.

Efforts are on to nab the miscreants and recover the looted cash, he said.

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The Class 12 economics paper of CBSE was leaked on March 23 - three days before the exam date - in Himachal Pradesh's Una town and it was shared on at least 40 WhatsApp groups, Delhi Police said today after the arrest of three people in this connection.

The three - Rakesh Kumar, Amit Sharma and Ashok Kumar - all from DAV Centenary Public School in Una, were arrested by the crime branch after lengthy investigation and questioning, R P Upadhayay, special commissioner (crime) of police, said.

Rakesh Kumar had been teaching at the DAV school as a PGT economics teacher for eight years. He was the centre superintendent of Jawahar Navodaya Public School in Una, where the CBSE exams were being held.

Amit Sharma and Ashok Kumar worked at the DAV school as clerk and peon respectively.

On March 23, three days before the economics paper exam, Rakesh Kumar collected bundles of computer science paper, the exam for which was due that day, from the strong room of Union Bank in Una. He also picked up a bundle of economics paper, Upadhayay said.

"While he took computer science paper bundle to Jawahar Navodaya, he handed over the economics paper bundle to his colleagues - Amit and Ashok," the officer said.

The duo took out a copy of the economics paper and sent it to Rakesh Kumar via WhatsApp messaging application. Rakesh Kumar then got it hand written by a student whom he tutored.

"The hand-written copy was sent by Rakesh to his relative in Chandigarh, whose son was appearing for Class 12 exam. That way, the hand-written copy got leaked on WhatsApp groups," he said.

Later the three accused deleted the WhatsApp messages and destroyed the hand-written copy to hide digital footprints.

"Investigation so far has revealed that the hand-written copy was available on 40 WhatsApp groups. At least 30-40 students got it but a lot of trail is yet to be covered," said Upadhayay.

"The motive for paper leakage so far has emerged that Rakesh wanted to help his student who was weak in economics. He also helped his relative. No money angle has come up so far, but investigation is on to determine if the accused leaked any other papers," the officer added.

The leak was exposed after an envelop containing four images of the hand-written economics paper was delivered to CBSE Headquarters in Delhi on the evening of the scheduled date of the exam on March 26.

On March 30, CBSE announced it would re-conduct the Class 12 economics exam throughout the country on April 25.

The police has registered two cases in connection with the matter. The first case relating to the leak of economics paper was filed on March 27, while the other pertaining to the leak of mathematics paper was lodged on March 28.

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Beijing will correct English on posters and signboards to "improve the international language environment" in the city, as part of China's efforts to raise the international status of its capital, according to a media report.

The campaign will be mainly carried out in the Central Business Districts (CBD) and Jinrongjie areas where multinational companies and research institutions are based and foreign citizens live, the city foreign affairs office said.

The volunteers have been asked to spot incorrect English in these areas and report to the office. Public and media participation are also welcomed, state-run Xinhua agency reported.

The campaign is aimed to raise the international appeal of the capital and prepare for important events such as the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

The Chinese capital started displaying English signboards for streets, metro and other transport stations all over the city since 2008 Olympics, introducing for the first time a foreign language other than Mandarin, the report said.

Also, English is steadily catching up in China as most schools teach it as a subject besides efforts by parents to encourage their children to learn English to enhance their chances to study abroad, it said.

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A 25-year-old Chinese national was arrested here today while trying to cross over to Nepal without visa papers, a senior official said.

Chan Lang, who was on his way to Nepal from Varanasi, was arrested by the Immigration department in the Sonauli area on finding he did not have visa papers, Sonauli check post officer S C Tiwari said.

A case has been registered and the Intelligence Bureau informed of the matter, Tiwari added.

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The notification for civic body polls in Uttarakhand will be issued on May 13, according to an official communication.

Stating this in a letter to Uttarakhand Election Commission, Secretary Urban Development R K Sudhanshu said due to unavoidable reasons the notification for civic body polls in the state cannot be issued on April 9 as decided earlier.

"Due to unavoidable circumstances delaying the expansion and reorganisation of civic bodies the notification for civic body polls in the state cannot be done on April 9 as decided earlier. Despite addressing related matters on priority and in a time-bound manner the notification can be issued only on May 13," the letter said.

Enclosing its detailed programme, the department said delimitation and reservation of municipal wards will be carried out from April 9 to May 12 after which notification for the polls can be issued.

The state government has been accused of not being serious about holding civic body polls in the state on time by the state election commission which has also moved the Uttarakhand High Courtover the matter.

Hearing the commissions petition the high court has sought a reply from the state government on April 11.

Civic bodies in the state complete their five year term on May 3.

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An influential US Congresswoman has met with the Consul General of India in New York and discussed ways to improve bilateral ties.

Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney from New York was instrumental in the issuance of a commemorative Diwali stamp by the US Postal Service in 2016.

The meeting between Maloney and head of the Indian consulate in New York Sandeep Chakravorty took place at the Indian Consulate here on Wednesday.

A statement issued by her office said the two discussed ways to improve ties between the world's oldest democracy and the world's largest democracy.

"It was an honour to meet with the Consul General," Maloney said.

"It was wonderful to see the Diwali stamp, which I worked hard to get issued, framed so prominently in the Consulate, she said, referring to the commemorative Diwali stamp issued by the US in 2016.

For several years, Maloney had led efforts in the Congress to push the Citizens Stamp Advisory Committee (CSAC) to consider issuing a commemorative Diwali stamp.

The Indian Consulate tweeted that Maloney visited the Consulate for "discussions on India-US bilateral relations and Contributions of the Indian-American Community".

In her efforts to get the stamp issued, Maloney had met with the Post Master General and worked with leaders of the Diwali caucus Representatives Ami Bera, Tulsi Gabbard, Joe Crowley, Grace Meng and Michael Honda.

Maloney had said that thousands of supporters, including prominent Indian-Americans from across the US, contributed to efforts to make the vision of a Diwali stamp a reality.

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The station house officer (SHO) of a police station in Bihar's Nalanda district was suspended today after a female constable accused him of molesting her, police said today.

The constable has alleged that the SHO molested her yesterday night, the police said.

The SHO of Nalanda police station, has been suspended "with immediate effect" following allegation made by a constable posted under him, the Superintendent of Police (SP) of Nalanda, Sudhir Kumar Porika, said.

"All female police personnel posted at Nalanda police station have been attached to the police lines," the SP said.

An investigation has been initiated, he added.

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Delhi Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel today denied before a Delhi court the allegations of causing hurt and rioting at the house of a realtor in an East Delhi colony in 2015.

The politician made the submissions before Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Samar Vishal, who reserved for April 17 the order on whether to put him and six other accused on trial in the case.

Goel's advocate Mhd Irshad told the court that it was an unique case where the culprits were let go and those who complained were made accused.

BJP members were destroying liquor and the accused were actually the complainant and complained against the act. Regular calls were made to the police, but it did not answer in time.

Our common intention was to prevent the distribution of liquor. Police was present, the SDM was present, even the house members were present. How was it a trespass? the advocate argued.

Various election-related material of the BJP, besides several bottles of liquor, were recovered, which prove the illegal gratification was made, he said.

According to an FIR registered on a complaint by a local builder, Manish Ghai, AAP's Shahdara MLA Ram Niwas Goel and his supporters had allegedly raided one of his houses in Vivek Vihar on the night of February 6, 2015, a day before the Delhi Assembly elections.

The MLA had allegedly raided the house of Ghai accusing him of stashing liquor, blankets and other things for distribution ahead of the polls, the FIR had said.

The AAP leaders had refuted these claims, saying they had gone to the house with a police team comprising the local station house officer and assistant commissioner of police among others after making a PCR call in this regard.

"As per the complainant, some labourers were staying at a house that was owned by him. He received a call from one of them at about 9.30 pm on February 6, 2015 about Goel and his associates forcibly entering the building and damaging the property," police had said in the charge sheet.

Ghai also alleged that the group broke an almirah, drawers, kitchen items, window panes and mirrors in the house. When the labourers tried to resist, they were allegedly physically assaulted.

A case of rioting, trespassing, causing mischief and voluntarily causing hurt was lodged against the accused.

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Jammu and Kashmir deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh today met with several groups of people and BJP workers at a public meeting here to address their problems, a party spokesperson said.

Singh sorted out problems of several people on the spot by telephonically interacting with the competent authority and forwarding others to departments concerned with written instructions for quick disposal, the spokesperson said.

The meeting here at the headquarters of the BJP was held as part of the ruling alliance partner's efforts to reach out to the locals and party workers to address their issues, the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said most of the problems highlighted by the people included installation or repair of electricity transformers, and problems related to water and roads.

The BJP under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi feels duty-bound to serve the common people, Singh said, according to the spokesperson.

Singh said the aim of conducting this programme was to address public grievances at grassroots level and the BJP would conduct such meetings on a regular basis where ordinary people can come and approach it for any type of problem.

He also referred to the prime minister terming himself as the Pradhan Sewak and said every representative and public servant should serve the society as a "loyal and humble servant".

The BJP's mantra is 'Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas' and it is committed to mitigate every problem faced by the public, he said.

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Amid allegations of China engaging in massive land grabbing in the Maldives, the Pentagon on Saturday said it was a cause of concern for the US.

Asserting that the US was "committed to a free and open" Indo-Pacific rules-based order, the Pentagon said anything else would cause the US concern.

"The US is committed to a free and open Indo-Pacific rules-based order. We have seen concerning developments in Maldives as far as the Chinese influence is concerned," Joe Felter, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for South and Southeast Asia, told PTI in interview.

"It's in India's backyard. We know it's of concern to India. So, yes, (the situation in Maldives) is a concern. We will see how it plays out. It emphasizes some of our priorities identified in our National Defence Strategy," the top Pentagon official said.

He was responding to a question on the allegations of a Maldivian opposition leader and a former foreign minister, on the Chinese land grabbing activities in the island nation with the potential of developing them into a military outpost.

Felter said these developments were "a cause of concern" for all states that supported the maintenance of a rules-based order.

"If you look at similar activities across the region, it gives us some cause for concern. From Djibouti to, Gwadar put to Hambantota port in Sri Lanka, and now potentially the Maldives and then extending further east, it's of concern," he said.

Other countries in the region have expressed similar concern, including India, he noted.

"We believe the interests of all states- large and small- are best served by maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific and a rules-based order. Some of China's activities that we've observed give us concern because they do not seem to be consistent with those interests. I suspect India shares these concerns as well," Felter said.

During a recent visit to the US, Ahmed Naseem, a former foreign minister of Maldives, had alleged that China was meddling in internal affairs of Maldives and had indulged itself in a massive land grabbing endeavour which if left unchecked would pose a major strategic threat to both the US and India.

China, he alleged, appeared to be keen on building a base in the Maldives which one day may house warships and submarines.
DMK Working President M K Stalin today began a mega rally over the Cauvery issue, that will cover the delta regions of Tamil Nadu, seeking immediate setting up of a management board to ensure release of water for farmers.

Days after holding a state-wide shutdown steered by his party on the river water issue, Stalin began his rally from the dry river banks of river Cauvery at suburban Mukkombu here, in which tens of hundreds of cadres of DMK and other opposition parties participated.

State secretaries of the CPI(M) and CPI, K Balakrishnan and R Mutharasan respectively and VCK chief Thol Thirumavalavan, MMK leader M H Jawahirullah were among those who accompanied Stalin in his Cauvery yatra.

The DMK working chief lambasted the AIADMK regime for allegedly not taking action on the Cauvery issue and recalled his party-led protests and a shutdown on April 5 to bring pressure on the Centre over the matter.

Stalin said the present rally now was in continuation of such programmes on the Cauvery issue.

"This rally is not for political reasons. We have to get our rights (on Cauvery) and you (opposition leaders) have understood this," Stalin, who successfully brought the opposition together on the issue against the central and state governments, said.

Stalin blamed the State government for waiting till the end of the Supreme Court set March 29 deadline for mounting pressure on the Centre for constitution of the Cauvery Management Board.

The DMK leader said a recent cabinet meet chaired by Chief Minister K Palaniswami did not even formally request the Centre to form CMB, leave alone condemning it on the matter.

The ruling regime did not heed his party's advice to go in for mass resignation of its MPs to pressure the Centre. Had it done so, his party's Rajya Sabha MPs, though only four, would have followed suit, he said.

The DMK leader who is also the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, said the Centre should have immediately swung into action to implement the "clear and final verdict," of the Supreme Court on the Cauvery issue.

A new 'rally song' by DMK "Tamizha,Tamizha," which blames the Central and State governments on the issue, was played.

The "Cauvery Rights Retrieval Yatra," is being held in two phases.

While the Stalin-led rally began here today, another similar journey, to be led by former Union Minister A Raja and other senior DMK leaders, will begin on April 9 from Ariyalur district.Both rallies would converge at Cuddalore on April 13.

At Cuddalore, a grand public meeting is scheduled to be held, where resolutions on the Cauvery issue will be adopted.

Later, Stalin is scheduled to call on Governor Banwarilal Purohit and present him the Cauvery resolutions seeking the CMB.

Ahead of the start of the rally, farmers leader P Ayyakannu said if the CMB was not set up, Cauvery waters would not be available leading to desertification in Tamil Nadu.

"Protect the farmers," he told the gathering of cadres of opposition parties.

CPI(M) State Secretary K Balakrishnan said the State government 'does not have the guts' to question the Centre for filing a plea in the Supreme Court seeking "three months time" over the Cauvery issue without constituting the CMB.

Thol Thirumavalavan said the ruling AIADMK stood isolated due to its handling of the Cauvery issue while all other Opposition parties have rallied behind the DMK.

The rally signified people, parties and farmers standing together over the Cauvery issue to pressure the Centre to get the CMB formed, he said.

Chief of rationalist outfit Dravidar Kazhagam K Veeramani, leaders of left parties, Balakrishnan and Mutharasan, IUML leader K M Khader Mohideen, MMK leader Jawahirullah, Tamil Nadu Congress Committee leader Velusamy, MDMK presidium chairman Duraisamy spoke welcoming the Stalin-led rally.

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The Congress alleged today that the owner of Vadodara-based Diamond Power Infrastructure Ltd (DPIL), booked by the CBI for cheating banks to the tune of Rs 2,654 crore, has "active connection" with senior BJP leaders.

The CBI on Thursday said it has registered a criminal case against DPIL and its directors for allegedly cheating various banks of about Rs 2,654 crore.

The company deals in electric cable and equipment.

Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said "murky dealing and crony business" of DPIL was exposed now.

"If chhota Modi's (Nirav Modi) pictures with the prime minister were not enough, there is now a proof of chhota Amit... The photograph of Amit Bhatnagar, the owner of the company, with Prime Minister Modi and Union minister Piyush Goyal - which are on social media - are clear proof of BJP having active connection with the fraudsters," Khera told reporters.

He alleged that Bhatnagar had been one of the "chief financiers" of the BJP in Vadodara, Gujarat.

Khera said Saurabh Patel, who was the energy minister of Gujarat in 2016, and Bhatnagar had organised a five-day Global Expo-SWITCH in Vadodara "at the expense of public money".

He did not offer any evidence of misuse of public money.

In a statement, the Congress leader claimed Bhatnagar's "modus operandi" was similar to previous banking frauds which involved false stock statements, extensively utilising of cash credit limits to obtain a large number of Letters of Credit.

"About 1,000 such Letters of Credit issued by Bank of India alone devolved, which included at least 16 LCs amounting to Rs 110.79 crore issued in the name of Ruby Cables Ltd," he said.

Amit Bhatnagar and Sumit Bhatnagar were directors of Ruby Cables between July 2013 and August 2015, according to the statement.

"DPIL managed to get the credit facilities despite appearing in the RBI's Defaulters List and ECGC Caution List at the time of initial sanction of Credit Limits by the Consortium. DPIL accounts in Bank of India and Bank of Baroda were declared NPA on February 16, 2016. Other banks declared company's accounts NPA from December, 2017," Khera alleged.

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The Odisha government today held discussion with the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for the development of a proposed 450 kilometre coastal highway along the state's coast.

Anand Kumar Singh, Member, NHAI, presented the draft proposal of the highway at a meeting chaired by Chief Secretary A P Padhi.

The chief secretary suggested the NHAI to preserve the coastal character while developing the highway.

"Around 450 km of coastal highway would be constructed in Odisha. Today, we discussed about alignment of the roads. The issues relating to Puri-Konark marine drive road, alignment at Astanarag Port, Jambu forest area, Bhitarkanika reserve forest, proposed ports, alignment of road at Satapada, bridge over the lake Chilika and other issues were discussed and resolved," Padhi told reporters after the meeting.

NHAI Member Singh said, Coastal NH is an ambitious programme of the Government of India and it will be developed as an economic and tourism corridor. NHAI has prepared a draft project. Since the Odisha government is a major stakeholder in the project, issues regarding its alignment was thoroughly discussed in the meeting.

The proposed road will connect places like Ratanpur, Satapada, Konark, Astrang, Chilika, Satabhaya, Dhamara, Basudevpur, Talapada, Chandipur, Chandaneswar, and Digha in West Bengal.

Out of the total length of 451 km, around 29 kms will fall under Ganjam district, 153 kms under Puri district, 54 kms under Jagatsinghpur, 49 kms under Kendrapara, 61 kms under Bhandrakh, 99 kms under Balasore district and 6 km connecting East Medinipur in West Bengal.

More than 178 villages in all these districts would be connected by the road. There would be bridges over river Rushikulya, Palur Sahib canal, Chilka lake, among others.

The road would provide a boost to tourism and industrial activities in the region. It would also serve as a highway linkage to all ports in the state, officials said.

Preliminary survey has been conducted and a feasibility proposal has been prepared, Singh said, adding that the project will be given a final shape afte finalization of the alignment.

This apart, the chief secretary also asked the NHAI to fix signages and road indicators in Odia on all National Highways passing through Odisha.

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Eight persons were killed and five others injured when a speeding truck hit two auto-rickshaws near Majhgavan in Katni district of Madhya Pradesh this morning, a police official said.

The incident took place around 10 AM, an official from Badwara police station told PTI.

Eight passengers in two auto-rickshaws were killed and five others were injured, he said.

Katni District Collector KVS Choudhry and Superintendent of Police Atul Singh had reached the spot, and the injured were being taken to a nearby hospital, he said.

The auto-rickshaws were heading to Katni from Majhgavan when they were hit by the truck coming from the opposite direction, he said, adding that more details were awaited.

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An elderly couple was found dead today at a hotel near here in North 24 Parganas district, police said.

The couple had checked into the hotel yesterday, the police said.

The employees of the hotel, which is located under the jurisdiction of Belghoria police station, informed the police after they did not get any response from the couple since this morning, a police officer said.

The couple did not open the door of their room as well, he said.

The police reached the hotel, broke open the door of the room and found the couple dead, the officer said.

No injury marks were found on the bodies, the Deputy Commissioner II of Barrackpore Commissionerate, Dhrubajyoti Dey, said.

The deceased were identified as 78-year-old Subrata Neogi and 71-year-old Kankan Neogi, and they were residents of 2, Brojendra Lal Ganguly Lane within limits of Charu Market police station in Kolkata, Dey said.

The bodies have been sent for post-mortem examination, he said.

The exact reason behind their death would be known only after the post-mortem examination, he added.

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The investment ecosystem in India is improving and investors are ready to take a bet on start-ups, according to venture capitalists, who also see potential in platforms based on foundational technologies like Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain.

Participating in a panel discussion titled "Funding and Investment: How and When?", organised as part of the two-day Huddle Kerala conclave at nearby Kovalam, many of the experts said they were seeing a lot more sanctity to the whole ecosystem compared to previous years.

There is an improvement in the thought process of start-ups and their maturity levels have gone up.

Earlier, everyone wanted to be another Flipkart and Quikr, but this mindset has changed and many are beginning to come into their own, they observed.

Atul Hegde, co-founder, Rainmaker Ventures, said investors can bring in tremendous value to the start-up team, but the founders need to think about when to rope them in.

"I believe that a founder should be very cautious that funding is resorted to only when he or she is convinced that they are about to hit revenue stage. Seeking an investor is like a marriage, as the selection is very vital," he said.

Commenting on the activity of his firm, Hegde said that they only invest in companies "where we can play a strategic role."



"Our role is just to find a funding for the firm. Founders need to be extremely clear that what kind of investor they want."



On the kind of start-ups that attract investor attention, Satish Mugulavalli, Director, Technology, YourNest Venture Capital, said their eye was on whether new horizontal technologies like artificial intelligence and Blockchain could be built up as a platform.

"A large part of our evaluation would be that if you are building a blockchain company, are you actually building a distributed app that is solving a particular problem. A lot of the focus is on trying to identify the firms which can build a tech-based platform," he added.

To a query on what investors bring to the table, apart from money, Anil Joshi of Unicorn India Ventures said: "From our perspective, we dont get into the day-to-day operations of start-ups; we try to help things from giving strategic help to open right doors for networking."



Manoj Kumar Agarwal, co-founder, Sea Fund; Mayuresh, Managing Partner, Sea Fund and Amit Gupta, CEO, Asianet.com were among the panelists.

Startups, investors, academicians and industry leaders attended the two-day Huddle Kerala was organised by the Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) in association with Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and IAMAI Startup Foundation.

The event concluded today.

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Facebook expects to uncover additional violations of users' personal data, the company's No 2 executive has said as the social media network faces severe backlash over its user data scandal.

Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg said the company is doing audits, but warned it could find more data breaches.

"I am not going to sit here and say that we're not going to find more because we are, Sandberg said in an interview to NBC.

Sandberg stressed that the social media giant "cared about privacy all along."



"But I think we got the balance wrong," she said.

"I think we were very idealistic and not rigorous enough and then there's the possible misuse. What we are focused on is making sure those possible use cases get shut down."



Last month, a whistleblower who previously worked for Cambridge Analytica came forward to claim that the British-based firm had used a third-party app to obtain private information from more than 50 million Facebook profiles without the users' knowledge.

Later, it emerged that the firm had accessed the information of as many as 87 million people.

As to why Facebook "took so long" to address the Cambridge Analytica data breach, which was first reported in 2015, Sandberg told NBC we thought that the data had been deleted.

She added that Facebook believed Cambridge Analytica deleted users' data because "they gave us assurances, and it wasn't until other people told us it wasn't true."



She said the company should have come clean sooner and admitted that data may have been breached instead of waiting two years, but she rejected the idea that Facebook officials were trying to hide what happened, the NBC report said.

She admitted that Facebook "should have" notified users of the breach.

Sandberg's remarks come days before Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg is scheduled to testify before Congress next week amidst the fallout from the data scandal.

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The Trump Administration wants a positive relationship with Russia, but for this to happen, Moscow needs to significantly change its behaviour, the White House has said.

The comment from the White House came hours after the US administration sanctioned seven Russian oligarchs, 12 companies, and 17 top government officials and allies of President Vladimir Putin.

"We want a positive relationship with the Russian government, but for this to happen, there must be a significant change in their behaviour," White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters yesterday at her daily conference.

"The sanctions and the totality of the administration's actions, which are in keeping with Congress' wishes, prove the president is absolutely correct when he says no one has been tougher on Russia," Sanders said.

She said the ball was in Russia's court as their actions would decide the kind of relationship Moscow has with the US in near future.

"As the president has said, he wants to have a good relationship with Russia, but that's going to depend on some of the actions by the Russians," Sanders said.

"However, at the same time, the president is going to continue to be tough until we see that change take place. And we're going to continue working forward to have a meeting with Vladimir Putin at some point," Sanders said.

Top American lawmakers welcomed the sanctions on Russia.

Senator John McCain said the sanctions were "a clear message" to Putin and warned that the Russians would pay heavily for their alleged aggression in Ukraine and Syria.

"The US must press forward with a broader strategy to deter and, if necessary, defeat Russian aggression and counter Russian malign influence activities. Anything less will only encourage Putin to continue attacking us, our allies, and democracies around the world," said McCain.

The White House yesterday said the administration was implementing new sanctions on Russian oligarchs, government officials, and entities for their roles advancing Russia's malign activities.

The sanctions target seven Russian oligarchs and the 12 companies they own or control, 17 senior Russian government officials, and a state-owned Russian weapons trading company and a bank it owns.

As a result, all assets subject to US jurisdiction of the designated individuals and entities, and of any other entities blocked by operation of law as a result of their ownership by a sanctioned party, are frozen, and US persons are generally prohibited from dealings with them.

Additionally, non-US persons could face sanctions for knowingly facilitating significant transactions for or on behalf of the individuals or entities blocked by the US today.

The fresh sanctions are the latest step by the US against Russia following the poisoning of a former Russian spy in England, interference in the US 2016 election and a cyberattack, CNN said.

According to the White House, the Trump administration has consistently confronted Russian activities that threaten US institutions, its interests, or its allies.

Among other sanctions and measures, the Trump administration has taken action to call out and confront Russian efforts to undermine the United States.

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Fresh air strikes pounded the rebel-held Syrian town of Douma today, rescuers and a monitor said, after a night of heavy bombing on the opposition holdout outside Damascus.

"The bombing still hasnt stopped. There are three warplanes in the sky and two helicopters," Firas al-Doumi, a rescue worker inside Douma, told AFP this morning.

Douma is the last rebel-controlled town in Syrias Eastern Ghouta, a sprawling suburb of Damascus that was once the oppositions bastion on the edge of the capital.

Backed by Russia, Syrian troops have recaptured 95 percent of Ghouta through a fierce air and ground assault, as well as negotiated withdrawals.

In an apparent bid to pressure Jaish al-Islam -- the Islamist group that holds the town -- to withdraw, Syrias government yesterday resumed bombardment of the town after a more than week-long lull.

Air strikes and shelling on Friday left 40 civilians dead including eight children, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group.

The Britain-based Observatory said warplanes were hitting across Douma today, as regime artillery fire hit neighbouring agricultural fields.

Syrian troops matched the renewed bombardment yesterday with a ground operation in the orchards surrounding Douma.

"The regime is trying to tighten the noose around Douma from the west, east, and south," said Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman.

The resumed assault comes after the apparent failure of negotiations between Jaish al-Islam and regime backer Russia over a rebel withdrawal from Douma.

Top Jaish al-Islam political figure Mohammad Alloush yesterday blamed international supporters of Syria's government for hamstringing the talks.

"The talks were going well," he said, but power struggles between the regimes allies had caused them to break down.

"Their only shared interests is the blood of civilians," he wrote on Twitter.

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Maharashtra Governor Vidyasagar Rao today expressed serious concern over the poor ranking of universities from Maharashtra at the national level and asked vice-chancellors to prepare a detailed strategy for improving their standing.

All universities in Maharashtra except Pune were ranked above 150 in the National Institute Ranking Framework (NIRF) declared by the HRD ministry recently. The Pune university was ranked ninth in the list of best varsities in the country.

The governor, who is also chancellor of universities in the state, emphasised on the need of examination reforms.

Referring to the 'serious negligence' in the evaluation of papers and declaration of results in the University of Mumbai, he asked VCs to accord top priority to declaration of results of all exams in a time-bound manner.

Rao called for according top priority to examination reforms, including end-to-end computerisation.

The governor was addressing a meeting of vice- chancellors and pro vice-chancellors of non-agricultural universities in Maharashtra at Sahyadri Guest House here. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was also present.

Asking universities to form a task force for conducting academic audit, the governor urged them to take appropriate action against institutions which have substandard infrastructure and large deficiencies in teaching and non- teaching staff.

Referring to the issue of performance appraisal of VCs, Rao said, "We need to put in place a mechanism for performance appraisal of vice-chancellors so as to bring better accountability in the system."



Making a reference to the tours of VC, the governor advised them to keep their tours outside the jurisdiction of their respective university "to the minimum".

He regretted that at times VCs were leaving the headquarters of their respective university without the prior permission of the chancellor.

Rao expressed serious concern over the poor ranking of universities from Maharashtra in NIRF.

Expressing displeasure over the fact that all universities in Maharashtra except Pune were ranked above 150 in NIRF, Fadnavis asked VCs to go on a 'mission mode' to improve their positions by next year.

He said universities in Maharashtra should become 'creators of knowledge' and not remain content being 'disseminators of knowledge'.

Fadnavis appealed to VCs to make university campuses across Maharashtra 'clean and green' by achieving zero garbage and zero discharge status and by increasing the use of renewable energy.

Observing that some of the universities in Maharashtra have 700 to 800 colleges affiliated to them, he called for creating an IT-based management system to manage the large number of colleges.

The chief minister further called for encouraging more colleges to become autonomous.

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Haryana Health Minister Anil Vij said today the state government has decided to provide special benefits, including nutritional support, to tuberculosis patients in an effort to eliminate the infectious disease by 2025.

To make the state tuberculosis-free, the Haryana government would provide nutritional support of Rs 500 per month during treatment to notified TB patients with effect from April 1 this year through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) system, Vij said.

"An incentive of Rs 1,000 would be given to private providers for managing TB patients on the notification till treatment outcome through DBT," he said in a statement.

Besides, free services would be provided to TB patients in government hospitals of Haryana, including sputum examination and X-Ray. For this, CBNAAT machines have been provided to all districts for accurate and quick diagnosis, he said.

The Cartridge-based nucleic acid amplification test (CBNAAT) is a tool for rapid diagnosis of tuberculosis.

With the motto "TB Harega-Desh Jeetega", Vij urged people to come forward as leaders to make the world TB-free.

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A colourful graffiti of world famous physicist Stephen Hawking that sprang up on a railway bridge in Cambridge days after his death last month is likely to become a permanent tribute to the scientist in his home city.

The 76-year-old theoretical physicist and author of A Brief History of Time' passed away on March 14 and the graffiti appeared on March 25.

Network Rail, the company which owns the bridge, has said that it would consider requests not to remove the graffiti.

The company, which spends 3.5 million pounds each year removing unwanted graffiti, said it does not condone or encourage the use of railway infrastructure as a canvas for street artists.

"But we would consider requests not to remove artwork that did not impact on the safety of the railway and was not offensive," a spokesperson said.

Gonville and Caius College at the University of Cambridge, where Hawking was a Fellow, described it as a "touching tribute" to the scientist.

The senior bursar of the college, David Secher, who knew Hawking for 45 years, said: "He loved Cambridge and Cambridge loved him. The art is a symbol of how he touched lives in the city and instilled a sense of pride in its residents."



The mystery artist behind the mural of the cosmologist's face and a silhouette of him on his wheelchair with the words "Be Curious" was revealed by Cambridge News' as Kyle Warwick, a tattoo artist from Cambridge this week. He is surprised that the graffiti has been left alone for as long as it already has.

"I was really surprised the graffiti is still there to be honest, as it usually goes really quickly. I've had really positive feedback so far about the graffiti. Cambridge is a small city but I'm very proud of the way we do things here," he said.

The design resembles a black hole with reference to the physicist's love of the universe. Warwick said he got a picture of Hawking from Google and began sketching it out before adding colours to it.

"There's a group of other artists who worked on the other parts of the design I only did the portrait. Another artist did the graffiti letters, but they want to be anonymous, he said.

"I'm Cambridge born and bred, and Stephen Hawking used to come to my primary school in Newnham back in the day. I remember his visits always being a really big thing. I've also always been interested in physics and things like that so I thought a graffiti portrait of Prof. Hawking would be a really fitting tribute," he added.

There are also plans underway for the city's newest railway station to be named after Hawking. Cambridge mayor, Councillor George Pippas, said naming a new railway station near Addenbrooke's Hospital after the city's famous resident would be a nice way of paying tribute to his support for the state-funded National Health Service and also the work the hospital had done to help him after his motor neuron disease diagnosis.

"When he was young, he was not given much time to live and, thanks to the hospital, he was given a new lease of life he was one of the strongest advocates for the NHS and helped put Addenbrooke's on the map," Pippas said.

The proposal is set to be raised at the local council's meetings and with Hawking's family.

Thousands had lined the streets of the city last month for the scientist's funeral last week at Great St Mary's Church, part of the University of Cambridge. His ashes will be buried at Westminster Abbey in London in June, near the grave of Sir Isaac Newton.

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A 31-year-old Hijab-wearing nurse in the US was stabbed in a roadside attack by a man reportedly motivated by anti-Muslim hate, police said.

A reward of USD 5,000 has been announced for information leading to the arrest of the attacker.

The victim, who is white and wears a Hijab, said that she was driving home early Thursday morning from her job as a nurse when her car was almost sideswiped by a red vehicle in northwest Harris county, according to the Houston chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Houston).

She got out of her vehicle to check for damage when the car made a U-turn and pulled up behind her, it said.

The driver got out of the vehicle and began screaming obscenities and racial and religious slurs at the woman. She tried to get back into her vehicle through the passenger side, but the door was locked, the organisation said.

The attacker then waved a knife in her face, hitting her with the knife handle on her shoulder and arms. Eventually, he stabbed the woman in the arm, severing an artery and staining himself with blood in the process, it said.

A passenger in the vehicle got out and attempted to restrain the attacker, eventually getting him to climb back in the car and leave the scene, CAIR said.

The woman returned to the hospital where she worked and was treated for her stab wounds.

The two men are described as white males between 20 and 35 years old. The Harris county sheriff's office is investigating the case.

"We hope that anyone who has information about this potentially deadly and apparently bias-motivated attack will immediately contact law enforcement authorities," said Mustafaa Carroll, CAIR-Houston's executive director.

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Bollywood actor Sidharth Malhotra has said he does not consider himself as someone exceptionally handsome.

The 33-year-old actor was in the coastal state yesterday to participate in "Goa Fest 2018", a gathering of advertising and marketing professionals.

Responding to a question on how does he go beyond his "good looks" as an actor, Sidharth said, "I think people love to see good faces on screen. I don't consider myself as more than an average-looking guy. I don't believe there is something exceptional in the way I look."



The actor, however, said he is enjoying his celebrity status as he has worked hard to achieve the position he is in.

"I lived a regular lifestyle 25 years running as much as I can. We work all our life to get this fame which we should enjoy. I am very much enjoying all the perks that I get as a celebrity," he said



During a rapid fire round, Sidharth gave a tongue-in-cheek reply on his "relationship status".

When asked whether he is single or committed, he said, "It depends on who is asking it.".

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Justice J Chelameswar, who courted controversy by virtually revolting against Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, on Saturday said that impeachment cannot be an answer to every question and problem and there was need to correct the system.

Justice Chelameswar, the senior-most judge after the CJI, said the January 12 press conference he held along with justices Ranjan Gogoi, M B Lokur and Kurian Joseph, was the result of "anguish" and "concern" as their deliberations with the CJI did not achieve the desired results on the issues raised by them regarding the functioning of the top court.

The judge, who was holding a talk on the topic 'Role of judiciary in democracy', also answered questions on the priority of the CJI in constituting benches and allocating cases to different judges as the 'master of roster'.

"The CJI is the 'master of roster'. Undoubtedly, the CJI has this power. The CJI has the authority to constitute the benches but under constitutional system every power is coupled with certain responsibilities. The power is required to be exercised not because it exists but for the purpose of achieving public good. You don't exercise the power merely because you have it," he said.

He replied in affirmative when asked whether the power of setting up of benches and allocation of cases should be exercised arbitrarily.

Asked by eminent journalist Karan Thapar, who was in conversation with the judge, if there is "sufficient ground for seeking impeachment of the Chief Justice of India", Justice Chelameswar said: "Why this question is asked?"



"The other day, someone was asking for my impeachment. I don't know why this nation is worried about impeachment so much. In fact we (along with Justice Gogoi) wrote in the judgement of Justice C S Karnan that apart from that there must be mechanisms to put the system in order."



"Impeachment can't be the answer for every question or every problem. A few days ago I heard somebody asking for my impeachment. Like the saying goes, I don't agree with you but I shall protect your right to say so," he said.

His response came in the backdrop of moves by opposition parties to initiate impeachment proceedings against the CJI. No CJI has ever faced impeachment in the country.

On being asked whether he was apprehensive or feared that Justice Gogoi, who was part of the November 2017 letter written to the CJI and the presser, will not be elevated as the next CJI, Justice Chelameswar said he hoped it does not happen and if it happened, it will be proved that what they said in the January 12 press conference was "true".

"I am not an astrologer... I am not (worried). I hope that does not happen (Justice Gogoi being denied CJI's position). If it happens, it will only prove what we said in the press conference was true," he said.

Regarding the current status of the collegium, whether it's divided 4:1 or dismantled after the discord between the four seniormost judges and the CJI, Justice Chelameswar said the five judges who are part of collegium met last evening as well as last week and even if they have differences, this does not mean they don't see eye to eye.

"None of us are fighting for private property. Differences are on institutional issues, that does not mean that we do not see eye to eye," he said.

In the programme organised by Harvard Club of India, which consist of people who have studied from the American university and are residing here, the judge made it clear that after his retirement on June 22, he would "not seek any employment from the government".

"I am saying it on record that after my retirement on June 22, I will not seek any appointment from the government," he said.

Thapar's conversation with Justice Chelameswar which lasted for 70 minutes was focused on all the recent controversies ranging from appointment of judges to higher judiciary to setting up of benches and allocation of cases on preferential basis, hearing on sensitive cases like judge B H Loya's death, turf war between judiciary and executive over the Memorandum of Procedure.

When asked his view on the criticism being made for going public with the presser on the functioning of the institution, he said anybody who enters public office cannot avoid criticism and there was no such principle barring judges interacting with the media.

"Anybody who enters a public office can never avoid criticism. And I was wondering where this principle come from? What was the context that this principle came from? Judges were not expected to debate in the press about the judgements.

"I go somewhere, press would be there, they report something and if I interact with them, is it prohibited? Similarly we were talking about the administrative problems. We were not breaching any of the time-honoured principles that we should not address the press," he said.

Justice Chelameswar refused to answer whether preferential benches were chosen to benefit the government?



"I am not answering this question," he replied.

He also avoided answer to a question that the preferential benches are constituted to get an order or judgement which the chief justice desired.

When asked whether the selective allocation of cases is undermining the faith in the institution, he said "I believe so" and "if the process is not transparent, it will lead to suspicion".

(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.)
Justice J Chelameswar, who courted controversy by virtually revolting against Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, today said that impeachment cannot be an answer to every question or problem and there is a need to correct the system.

Justice Chelameswar, the senior-most judge after the CJI, said the Januaray 12 press conference he held along with justices Ranjan Gogoi, M B Lokur and Kurian Joseph, was the result of "anguish" and "concern" as their deliberations with the CJI did not achieve the desired results on the issues raised by them regarding the functioning of the top court.

The judge, who was delivering a talk on the topic 'Role of judiciary in democracy', also answered questions on the priority of the CJI in constituting benches and allocating cases to different judges as the 'master of roster'.

"The CJI is the 'master of roster'. Undoubtedly, the CJI has this power. The CJI has the authority to constitute the benches but under constitutional system every power is coupled with certain responsibilities. The power is required to be exercised not because it exists but for the purpose of achieving public good. You don't exercise the power merely because you have it," he said.

He replied in affirmative when asked if he felt that the power of setting up benches and allocation of cases should not be exercised arbitrarily.

Asked by eminent journalist Karan Thapar, who was in conversation with the judge, if there is "sufficient ground for seeking impeachment of the Chief Justice of India?", Justice Chelameswar said: "Why this question is asked?"



"The other day, someone was asking for my impeachment. I don't know why this nation is worried about impeachment so much. In fact we (along with Justice Ranjan Gogoi) wrote in the judgement of Justice C S Karnan that apart from that there must be mechanisms to put the system in order.

"Impeachment can't be the answer for every question or every problem. A few days ago I heard somebody asking for my impeachment. Like the saying goes, I don't agree with you but I shall protect your right to say so," he said.

His response came in the backdrop of moves by opposition parties to initiate impeachment proceedings against the CJI. No CJI has ever faced impeachment in the country.

In the programme organised by Harvard Club of India, which consists of people who have studied from the American university and are residing here, the judge made it clear that after his retirement on June 22, he would "not seek any employment from the government".

"I am saying it on record that after my retirement on June 22, I will not seek any appointment from the government," he said.

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India, Iran and Russia have resumed talks on activating the International North South Transport Corridor which will cut freight time to Europe by half and bring down the cost for the benefit of east and southeast Asian exporters.

India, Iran and Russia are leading in activating the International North South Transport Corridor (INSTC) route since 2000, through existing road-route and with the development of some railway gaps in between the 7,200-km long multi-mode network of ship, rail and road.

The INSTC was discussed during Iranian President Hassan Rouhani's visit to India in February while Russia maintains a strong interest in the trade route, said Ambassador P S Raghavan, Convener of National Security Advisory Board in the Indian government.

"It is not only to make Indian-Russian trade or Indian-European trade profitable, actually it will make it very lucrative for east Asia and southeast Asia exporters. There is nothing to stop the INSTC from being activated in a matter of months," said Raghavan.

He said that capacity building can be carried out as trade volume increases and progress is made on related issues.

The potential is enormous and well known, Raghavan said.

With no trade sanctions against Iran, the INSTC becomes "very competitive", he said.

Raghavan said the INSTC cuts transportation time and cost by half as compared to the Suez Canal route.

The current shipment through Suez Canal route involves a longer distance, and is expensive as well as congested.

The INSTC could transport exports from India's west coast, through Iran's Bandar Abbas and Chabahar ports, Central Asian states, Russia and onwards to Europe.

Indian-Iranian-Russian customs have discussed trans-shipment processes while logistics such as containerisation needs to be sorted out, Raghavan said after addressing the 12th Institute of South Asian Studies International Conference on South Asia.

The conference was organised by the Institute of South Asian Studies, a think tank of the National University of Singapore.

It needs a special purpose vehicle of multi-national capacity to manage the transportation network from end-to-end, he said.

In 2014, the Federation of Freight Forwarders Association of India had a dry run on the INSTC.

The INSTC member states recognise the potential for efficient and seamless North-South transport caused by economic globalisation and by ever-increasing trade within the Eurasia region, the forwarders had said in a report at that time.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepalese counterpart K P Sharma Oli today held extensive deliberations covering entire expanse of bilateral relationship and vowed to boost ties in key areas of defence and security, connectivity and trade.

After the talks, Modi said India will continue to support Nepal as per that country's priorities, adding both sides have agreed to expedite all connectivity projects.

The prime minister said cooperation between the two countries will enhance Nepal's democracy.

Modi also said the two countries agreed on laying a new railway line to link Kathmandu with India.

India and Nepal have close ties in defence and security and will work together to stop misuse of their open border, he said.

On his part, Oli said, he has come to India to take the bilateral ties between the two countries to newer heights commensurate with the realities of the 21st century.

"We want to erect a strong edifice of trust-based relationship between the two close neighbours that we are," he said.

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India and Nepal today agreed to boost cooperation in the connectivity sector as the two sides decided to develop inland waterways for cargo movement, within the framework of trade and transit arrangements, the MEA said.

Seeking to reset ties, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepalese counterpart K P Sharma Oli held wide-ranging talks.

They vowed to step up overall engagement and take the relationship to newer heights on the basis of "equality, mutual trust and respect".

"The prime ministers of India and Nepal recognised the untapped potential of inland waterways to contribute towards overall economic development of the region," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement.

Taking cognisance of their geographies and noting the development of inland waterways in both countries, the two leaders took the "landmark decision to develop the inland waterways for the movement of cargo, within the framework of trade and transit arrangements, providing additional access to sea for Nepal," it said.

"This new initiative would enable cost-effective and efficient movement of cargo. The prime minister of Nepal noted the enormous impact the additional connectivity would have on the growth of business and economy of Nepal," the statement said.

"To facilitate the movement of traffic-in-transit, the two leaders directed their respective officials to formulate and mutually agree upon the requisite procedures and modalities for including inland waterways as an additional means of transport in the Protocol to the Treaty of Transit between India and Nepal," it added.

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Nepalese Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli said today the "historical" and "renewed" friendship between India and Nepal is oriented towards the future and the bilateral ties have evolved according to the "needs of times".

Oli said he is visiting India in the "changed context" to contribute to the friendship between "our two countries and people".

"With our neighbours, particularly India, we expect first is friendship. Time is changing and we have developed our friendship, according to the needs of times, and according to the desires of our people with a purpose to eliminate poverty, improve the life standard of our people," he said.

"Our friendship is historical, renewed and developed and very fruitful. It is oriented towards future, not looking back, but looking forward," he told reporters after receving the Guard of Honour at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

This is Oli's first visit to India after taking charge as Nepal's prime minister for the second time in February this year. He visited India in February 2016 during his first term.

In a press statement after holding delegation talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Oli said his government wants to build a strong edifice of "trust-based" relationship with India.

Many observers see Oli as favouring a closer relationship between Nepal and China. However, the issue of China-Nepal ties was not discussed during the delegation level talks.

Asked about Nepal joining China's ambitious One Border One Road (OBOR) initiative and India's concerns regarding the project, Indian Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale told reporters at a briefing that "there was no discussion on China".

The OBOR is a massive infrastructure project that aims to link Asia and European markets through a maze of rail, road and shipping networks. The controversial China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a part of the OBOR initiative.

India has opposed the CPEC as it runs through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

Oli's first tenure as prime minister in 2015-16 saw protests by Indian-origin Madeshi people in the southern Terai (plains) region over the new Constitution. The Madhesis say the new Constitution was discriminatory to their interests.

They blocked major trading points between India and Nepal, preventing goods from reaching the landlocked country. The months-long blockade had led to souring of bilateral ties.

But Foreign Secretary Gokhale said the circumstances in 2016 and tow were different, saying the government of Nepal has been elected on the basis of the Constitution that was passed.

"As far as our relationship is concerned, we have a close and unique relationship with Nepal, but the efforts of both the leaders at today's meeting was to have a forward looking approach and see how we can deepen and strengthen this relationship," he said.

In his statement, Oli lauded India's initiative to have guidelines and regulations for cross-border electricity trade.

"It is definitely a step ahead. However, I conveyed Nepal's desire to see an early realisation of the open market provision of the bilateral power trade agreement, which was concluded between us in 2014, thanks largely to Modi ji's positive direction," Oli said.

Later responding to a question on this, Sudhakar Dalela, joint secretary (north) in the Ministry of External Affairs, said India has build three transmission lines for Nepal in two years, which help supply 350-400 MW of electricity to Nepal.

Dalela said nearly 18 months ago India issued a set of guidelines to bring transparency in the regulatory mechanism for cross-border trade in power.

"We have received some comments from neighgbouring countries in the last few months and we intend to look at these comments and see how we take those into account while trying to promote a better power trading market in South Asia," he said.

On demonetisation, he said the issue did not come for discussion between the two leaders.

Nepal has a substantial amount of demonetised high-value Indian currency.

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India and Nepal have agreed to give momentum to bilateral cooperation in agricultural sector for the benefit of farmers of both the nations, an official statement said.

The Nepalese Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli is in India on a three-day visit, his first overseas tour after taking charge as Nepal's PM for the second term.

"Prime Ministers of India and Nepal (have) reaffirmed their resolve to promote cooperation in agricultural science and technology, agricultural production and agro-processing in line with the Memorandum of Understanding between the two countries for mutual benefit of farmers, consumers, scientific community as well as the private sector," the two countries said in a joint statement.

India's PM Narendra Modi and his counter-part Oli agreed to give fresh momentum to bilateral cooperation in the agricultural sector and decided to launch a new partnership in agriculture, it said.

The partnership will be anchored by the ministers for agriculture of the two countries and will focus on collaborative projects in agricultural research and development, education, training and scholarships.

The focus will also be strengthening supply and value chain, climate resilience, research in seed technology, soil health; strengthening infrastructure of plant protection laboratories and research in indigenous genetic resources.

Other areas will be animal husbandry veterinary research and development facilities, agro forestry, bio pesticides, bio fertilisers, cooperative farming, and promoting exchanges between the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR) and the Nepal Agricultural Research Council (NARC), it said.

"The two sides will organise the first meeting of the partnership at an early date to concretise priority areas of mutual interest and to develop a work plan for joint implementation. The Indian side announced a pilot project on organic farming and soil health monitoring for implementation in Nepal," it added.

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India will build a strategic railway link between Raxaul in Bihar and Kathmandu in Nepal to facilitate people-to-people contact and bulk movement of goods.

The announcement was made today after delegation-level talks between Indian and Nepalese officials chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepalese counterpart K P Sharma Oli, who is on a three-day visit.

The the two prime ministers agreed to construct the new electrified rail line, which will be financed by India, connecting the border city in India to Nepal, according to a statement issued by the government.

The objective, it said, is to expand "connectivity" between the two neighbours and "enhance people-to-people linkages and promote economic growth and development".

The two prime ministers appreciated the progress made in the implementation of Phase-I of the India-Nepal cross-border rail link projects.

The two leaders noted that the stretch of railway lines from Jayanagar to Janakpur/Kurtha and from Jogbani to Biratnagar Custom Yard will be completed in 2018, and that work on the remaining stretch of the ongoing rail link projects- Jayanagar-Bijalpura-Bardibas and Jogbani-Biratnagar - will be taken forward on priority.

India expressed appreciation for Nepal's commitment to expeditiously resolve all outstanding issues, including land availability, for the ongoing rail link projects.

The proposal to link Raxaul to Kathamandu gains significance as it comes nearly two years after China, in March 2016, agreed to construct a strategic railway link with Nepal through Tibet with an apparent aim of reducing Kathmandu's dependence on India.

It also comes in the backdrop of recent Chinese linkages with Nepal as it took on building three highways to be completed by 2020. The two countries have recently also signed a transit treaty.

This agreement also comes years after a sense of mistrust had prevailed when certain sections in Nepal blamed India for the 135-day blockade in 2015 - 2016 that had crippled Nepal's economy.

As a first step towards building the railway connectivity, the two sides agreed that India in consultation with Nepal will carry out preparatory survey work within one year.

This will be followed by the finalization of the implementation and funding modalities of the project based on its detailed project report.

Oli assured that "Nepal will extend full cooperation for early completion of the requisite surveys for the new rail line".

There are three other railway projects in the pipeline -- New Jalpaiguri-Kakarbhitta, Nautanwa-Bhairahawa and Nepalgunj Road-Nepalgunj.

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A 24-year-old Indian has been arrested in Nepal for allegedly trying to smuggle a huge cache of banned drugs, police said today.

Sachikant Kushwaha, a resident of Manipur, was arrested from Malekhu area of Dhading district, 75-km west of Kathmandu, for attempting to smuggle 160.5 kg of hashish from Kathmandu to India via Birgunj, bordering Bihar.

The banned drugs were confiscated during a regular security check from a vehicle bearing Indian registration number, a media report said.

The driver has been taken in custody and further investigation is being carried out, police said.

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Indrani Mukerjea, a former media executive arrested in the murder case of her daughter Sheena Bora, was admitted to J J Hospital, where she was brought in a "semi-conscious" state last night, an official said today.

Mukerjea, 46, who was lodged in Byculla jail in South Mumbai under judicial custody, has been admitted in the Critical Care Unit (CCU) of the state-run hospital.

"She was brought to the hospital in a semi-conscious state around midnight last night. She is currently undergoing treatment in the CCU. Her condition is relatively better now as compared to the state she was brought to the hospital," S D Nanandkar, dean of J J Hospital, told PTI.

The former co-founder of INX Media, arrested in August 2015, is facing trial in the Sheena Bora murder case in which she is the prime accused.

"She is now stable and we have sent her blood samples for analysis. It is suspected that she consumed some pills, but we are not sure and are examining her," he added.

Sanjay Surase, medical superintendent of the health facility, said Mukerjea was admitted at around 11.15 pm.

She is under the supervision of Wiqar Shaikh, Surase said.

"Her vitals are stable. She has undergone a series of medical tests, including CT scan and MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), and their reports are awaited," Surase said.

Mukerjea was admitted to the hospital twice in October 2015. First in early October when she collapsed in the prison. She was again admitted to the hospital in October-end after her platelet levels dropped.

Bora, 24, was abducted and killed on April 24, 2012, over a financial dispute. Her body was disposed of in a forest in adjoining Raigad district, police had said.

Her mother Indrani, Indrani's former husband Sanjeev Khanna and driver Shyamvar Rai were arrested for the crime. Rai later became an approver (prosecution witness).

Mukerjea's current husband Peter Mukerjea, a former media baron, was subsequently arrested for allegedly being a party to the conspiracy.

The murder case was initially handled by the Mumbai Police and later transfered to the CBI.

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Japans military today launched its first Marines unit, tasked with defending remote islands in the face of Chinas growing maritime presence in the region.

The Self-Defence Forces amphibious fighting unit staged an exercise with US Marines at Sasebo in western Japan following the inauguration ceremony.

The 2,100-member brigade, based in Sasebo, will be responsible for defending remote islands and retaking them if they are invaded.

"Defending remote islands is a pressing task at a time when security surrounding our country is getting more severe," vice defence minister Tomohiro Yamamoto told the ceremony.

Japan has a longstanding dispute with China over uninhabited islands in the East China Sea. These are administered by Japan, which calls them the "Senkakus", but also claimed by China, which knows them as the "Diaoyus."



Chinese coastguard vessels have routinely travelled close to the disputed islands since relations worsened in 2012, when Tokyos government took over some of them.

The new amphibious operations unit is expected to grow into a 3,000-member force, using V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft and amphibious assault vehicles for storming beaches, Kyodo said.

Japan had long been reluctant to create an amphibious fighting unit in light of its pacifist constitution, which bans the country from using force to settle international disputes.

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Former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa gave instructions for two hours from her hospital bed on the action to be taken over the Cauvery issue, ex-Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary P Rama Mohana Rao told a panel probing her death.

He said late Jayalalithaa on September 27, 2016 instructed her government secretaries, including him, on the Cauvery issue from the Apollo Hospital bed where she was admitted on September 22 that year.

The former Chief Secretary told reporters that he recounted this meeting during his cross-examination by counsel for Sasikala today at the panel.

He said he told the Justice A Arumughaswamy Commission of Inquiry that then Advocate General R Muthukumaraswamy also participated in the meeting in 2016.

"She spoke with zest on protecting Tamil Nadu's rights on Cauvery," Rao said, adding that her instructions to them covered the stand to be taken in the Supreme Court and arguments to be adduced to get the Centre form the Cauvery Management Board.

"I was asked about her frame of mind that day and if she had given instructions on Cauvery. I deposed saying she was in a good frame of mind and gave instruction on the matter," Rao said, adding the meeting was held between 4 PM and 6 PM that day.

The former top bureaucrat said Jayalalithaa also asked them about the action being pursued by them.

To a question, he said, "I did not give any political opinion. I gave my answers to questions during cross-examination."



Counsel for the jailed leader V K Sasikala, N Raja Senthoor Pandian, said that in the event of the Commission not inquiring key witnesses, "however big they may be like Chief Minister K Palaniswami or Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam, we will examine them after making due representation to the Commission."



Jayalalithaa was admitted to Apollo Hospitals for fever and dehydration on September 22, 2016. After a prolonged hospitalisation, which stretched to 75 days, she died on December 5, 2016.

The Tamil Nadu government constituted the Commission of Inquiry last September under the Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1952, to go into the circumstances leading to Jayalalithaa's death.

The panel's terms of reference was to inquire into the circumstances and situation leading to the hospitalisation of Jayalalithaa (on September 22, 2016), and treatment provided till her demise on December 5 last year.

The Commission had invited all those having "personal knowledge and direct acquaintance" in the matter to furnish information to it till today.

Following Jayalalithaa's death, suspicion on the circumstances leading to her demise was raised by several persons, including the present Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam and his followers.

Then a rebel party leader, Panneerselvam and his followers had demanded a probe into her death, either a judicial inquiry or a CBI probe.

After the unification of the factions led by Chief Minister K Palaniswami and O Panneerselvam, the government constituted the panel.

The probe was a key condition put forth by the Panneerselvam faction for merger.

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Joshna Chinappa's campaign in the women's singles squash ended when the Indian lost to the decorated Joelle King of New Zealand 0-3 at the Commonwealth Games here today.

Joshna lost the match in 34 minutes as the scoreline read 11-5 11-6 and 11-9 at the Oxenford Studios.

The Indian did well to make the quarters but that is where her run ended.

The other Indian women in the competition, Dipika Pallikal conceded a walkover.

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Joy rides in 150-year-old heritage steam locos could be a reality for tourists here by next year as the National Rail Museum is restoring three such locos, the oldest dating back to 1865.

The Phoenix is a 1920 loco, RamGoti dates back to 1865 and Fireless Locomotive to 1951. All three are being restored by a group of experts and would be made available for tourist use after a feasibility test.

"We are restoring them for tourism purposes. The first one to be ready by this year end is the Fireless loco and is likely to be in the NRM for tourist use," NRM Director, Amit Saurastri told PTI.

The other two locos would be ready by next year, the director said.

The Ministry of Railways is actively working to boost tourism in its network and to showcase its more than 160 years of history.

Each loco, an official said, has a unique history. While the Phoenix loco was last used at Jamalpur in Bihar for shunting purposes, RamGoti was used by the municipality in Kolkata for garbage disposal, they said.

Fireless loco was called so as it had no boiler and instead there was a pressure vessel mounted on the under-frame. The steam was collected in the pressure vessel from a static boiler. It was used for shunting in areas of inflammable material such as oil, jute etc. Due to the limited capacity of the steam accumulator, this locomotive had limited speed (18.5 mph) and was limited to short area movements.

This locomotive was last used in Sindhri Fertilizers, Jharkhand.

The official said that the restoration of such locos take time as most of their parts are obsolete and thus difficult to find.

Currently, tourists can take rides on the steam loco toy train every Sunday and the Patiala State Monorail, a loco dating back to 1907, every Thursday at the museum.

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Bollywood superstar Salman Khan received a rousing welcome from his fans today as he arrived at his residence here from Jodhpur, where he was granted bail bya court in the 1998 black buck poaching case.

Earlier in the day, the actor walked out of the Jodhpur Cenral Jail after a sessions court granted him bail in the two-decades-old case, in which he has been sentenced to a five-year prison term.

Delirious fans burst fire crackers and danced to the chants of "Swag Se Karenge Salman Ka Swagat" as the 52-year-old actor reached his residence in the Galaxy Apartments in suburban Bandra at around 8.10 pm from the Mumbai airport.

After spending two nights in the jail, the actor took a private jet from Jodhpur at around 5.50 pm and landed in Mumbai at about 7.10 pm.

Fans danced amidst chants of "Welcome Bhai" and "Salman, Salman" as he made his way into his residence.

Soon after he reached his first-floor flat, Salman appeared in the balcony with his long-time bodyguard, Shera, and waived at the jubilant fans.

He folded his hands, made a sign of "three" with his fingers and made another gesture to the fans, which meant "go home and sleep now".

Salman was accompanied by his father Salim Khan, mother Salma Khan and nephew Ahil, whom he held in his arms. The "Dabangg" actor's former girlfriend and Bollywood actor Katrina Kaif also paid a visit to him at his residence.

During the day, a host of Bollywood celebrities, including Sonakshi Sinha, Saif Ali Khan and Prem Chopra, called on the Khan family.

Such is the fan following of the "Sultan" of Bollywood that many admirers, who had come from far off places, stayed put in Bandra for three days, promising to return to their native places only after catching a glimpse of the superstar.

Farhana Ahmed, a middle-aged woman one of whose ailing family members had once received financial assistance from the Being Human Foundation (set up by the actor), could not hold back her tears of joy when the about Salman's release from the jail broke out.

"My old uncle is still alive only because we got timely financial assistance from Being Human. I just cannot express my thanks to Salman Khan," she said.

Saeed Shaikh, a resident of Ajmer in Rajasthan, who had been camping outside the Galaxy Apartments for the last three days, distributed sweets among the people gathered there.

There were fans who had travelled all the way from Kolkata and stood outside the Galaxy Apartments, wearing "Being Human" clothes to show their love for the actor.

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Justice J Chelameswar today expressed hope that the controversial January 12 press conference against Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra would not come in way of elevation of Justice Ranjan Gogoi, who was also part of the virtual revolt, as the next CJI.

He said if any such thing happens, it will mean that whatever concerns were raised by them in the presser were "true".

Justice Chelameswar, the senior-most judge after the CJI, had on January 12 held a press conference along with justices Gogoi, M B Lokur and Kurian Joseph, giving out a warning that democracy is at risk and mounted a virtual revolt against the country's chief justice, raising questions on "selective" case allocation and certain judicial orders, sending shock waves across the judiciary and polity.

The unprecedented move by the four judges had brought to fore the simmering differences between the country's top judge and some senior judges in the apex court in recent months.

"I am not an astrologer... I am not (worried). I hope that does not happen (Justice Gogoi being denied CJI's position). If it happens, it will only prove what we said in the press conference was true," Chelameswar said during a talk organised by the Harvard Club of India on the 'Role of judiciary in democracy'.

Justice Chelameswar was answering the questions from eminent anchor Karan Thapar whether he was apprehensive that Justice Gogoi, who was part of the November 2017 letter written to the CJI and the unprecedented presser, will not be elevated as the top judge.

CJI Dipak Misra retires on October 2 and Justice Chelameswar, who is the seniormost judge after him, would demit the office on June 22.

He said the four seniormost judges of the country never broke any time-honoured principle by addressing the media.

"Anybody who enters a public office can never avoid criticisms. And I was wondering where this principle come from? What was the context this principle came from? Judges was not expected to debate in the press about the judgements.

"I go somewhere, press would be there, they report something, is it prohibited? Similarly we were talking about the administrative problems. We were not breaching any of the time-honoured principles that we should not address the press," Justice Chelameswar said.

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Militant outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) today denied its involvement in the killing of a man, whose headless body was recovered from north Kashmir's Bandipora district yesterday.

The police had said LeT was behind the killing.

Mahmood Shah, the LeT chief, has strongly condemned the brutal killing of Manzoor Ahmad and attacks on women and termed the acts shameful and inhumane, a spokesman of the terror outfit said in a statement.

The police had said Bhat was abducted by LeT militants.

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American aerospace and defence major Lockheed Martin has welcomed India's mega procurement initiative for fighter jets worth over USD 15 billion and said that it looks forward to responding to the initial tender.

India yesterday began the process to acquire a fleet of around 110 fighter jets in one of the biggest such procurements in recent years globally which could be worth over USD 15 billion.

At least 85 per cent of the aircraft will have to be made in India while 15 per cent of them can be in a flyaway condition.

An RFI (Request for Information) or initial tender for the mega deal was issued by the Indian Air Force and the procurement will be in sync with the government's 'Make in India' initiative in the defence sector, officials said.

"Lockheed Martin welcomes India's fighter aircraft Request for Information (RFI) and we look forward to responding to it," said Dr Vivek Lall, vice president, strategy and business development at Lockheed Martin.

"The F-16 remains the only aircraft programme in this competition with the proven performance and industrial scale to meet India's operational needs and 'Make in India' priorities including unmatched export opportunities," he said.

Indian-American Lall was last year instrumental in the decision of the Trump administration to sell top-of-the-line unarmed drones from General Atomics.

Lockheed Martin has positioned the newest Block 70 variant of its F-16 aircraft for the Indian Air Force, while Boeing has offered its F/A-18 Super Hornet Block III for the Indian Navy.

"The two aircraft have been positioned complementarily, and the purchase of the pair is an interesting proposition for policymakers from both countries," US-based think-tank Atlantic Council said in a report released in New Delhi yesterday.

In the report, 'India's Quest for Fighter Jets: Make in India vs Make America Great Again', it said China's bellicose incursions in the Indo-Pacific region are challenging US geostrategic supremacy in the region.

Consequently, improving India's capacity to play a stronger role in the region would play a critical role in the US grand strategy, the think-tank said.

While offshoring both the F-16 and F/A-18 assembly lines would appear to contradict Trump's promise to create more manufacturing jobs in the US, nuances in that policy could open a window of opportunity, Atlantic Council said.

The F-16s and the F/A-18 Super Hornets manufactured in India would not be sold to the US, it said.

The F-16 production line will be used to service the orders from the Indian Air Force, as well as any follow-on international orders.

Noting that the US Air Force has not bought an F-16 since 1999, and is transitioning its multi-role fighter force to the F-35, the think-tank said that any additional F-16 orders would be for non-US customers. An India partnership presents a way to sustain F-16 production, with all the economic and strategic benefits that result, it said.

Similarly, the F/A-18 Super Hornet production line would also be used to service orders for the Indian Navy, with all US orders manufactured in the US.

Despite the shift of production lines, there is a considerable work-share component in the proposals by Lockheed Martin and Boeing, which would present a reasonable case for setting up production lines in India, despite the obvious hindrances that such an operation would ordinarily pose for a foreign investor, the think-tank added.

India's latest hunt for over 100 fighter jets is the first mega procurement initiative for fighter jets after the government scrapped the process to acquire 126 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) for the IAF around five years ago.

The IAF has been pressing for expediting the process to acquire the aircraft citing declining strength of its fighter squadron as some of the ageing jets are being phased out.

Currently, the IAF has 31 fighter squadrons as against authorised strength of 42 squadrons.

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The Maharashtra government and Tata Trusts have come together to finance the state's first poultry company to be run and owned by tribal women, Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar today said.

In collaboration with the Tata Trusts, one of the country's oldest philanthropic organisations, the state government has brought together 1,000 women in Mool, Ponbhurna and Gond Pimpri in Chandrapur to form the Ponbhurna Women Poultry Producers Company Ltd, the minister said.

As part of the project, 300 women have been given poultry sheds and each of them would be given 400 chicks every day.

After rearing them for 40 days, the poultry will be sold and the project envisages an income between Rs 6,000 to Rs 8,000 for each woman over a 40-day period, officials said.

The state government has contributed Rs 12 crore while Tata Trusts has given Rs 3 crore to finance the project, officials said, adding that an agreement had been signed with an NGO, Pradhan, to operate the project.

This initiative would be implemented in other tribal talukas under the state's Human Development Programme, they added.

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A man was today arrested after he threw ink at Gujarat's Patidar leader Hardik Patel at a hotel here, police said.

Patel was supposed to address a press conference at the hotel. The accused, Milind Gurjar, threw ink at him, after which the supporters of the Patidar leader caught hold him. The accused was later handed over to the police.

"The man has been arrested and is being questioned. He has admitted that he threw ink as he was annoyed that Patel was allegedly fooling the Gurjar and Patidar communities for his own interest," OP Ahir, in-charge of the Nankheda police station, told PTI.

Eyewitnesses alleged that Gurjar was beaten up by Patel's supporters, before he was handed over to the police.

Patel, meanwhile, went ahead with his press conference and attacked the BJP-led NDA government for being "anti-farmers".

The Patidar leader earlier attended several programmes at Neemuch and Mandsaur. He is scheduled to arrive at Bhopal tonight, from where he is expected to proceed to Garhakota in Sagar district to participate in a farmers' rally.

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Prominent bodies representing editors, owners of media organisations and working journalists today demanded that the proposed meeting of a truncated Press Council of India must be deferred till a full council is reconstituted and the government should intervene to restore the credibility and sanctity of the PCI.

At a meeting held here, All India Newspaper Editors Conference, Indian Journalists Union, Indian Newspaper Society, Working Cameramen Association, Hindi Samachar Patr Sammelan, National Union of Journalists (India), All India Small and Medium Newspapers Federation and Press Association expressed grave concern over the procedure followed by the chairman of Press Council while reconstituting the 13th Press Council of India.

"We demand that the proposed meeting of the truncated Press Council must not be held and must be deferred till the full council is reconstituted. Even at this late stage, the meeting demanded the government should intervene to restore the credibility and sanctity of the Press Council of India. This will go a long way in demonstrating the will of the government to protect and preserve the freedom of the press, vital to any democracy," a joint statement said.

The representatives also noted that the chairman overlooked precedent and adopted a process to keep out certain media associations and candidates.

This action of the chairman has cast serious doubts over the autonomy and neutrality of the PCI, which is mandated to preserve and protect the freedom of the press, the statement said.

They also stated that the chairman has called a meeting of the reconstituted Press Council with only eight members - five MPs and three official nominees, out of 28 members, leaving out the rest of the representatives of the print media organisations as their names are yet to be notified and the Press Council reconstitution is still under way.

The Delhi High Court has stayed the nomination process.

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Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh has said that the case of missing arms of the 2nd Manipur Rifles Armoury will be thoroughly investigated and those involved in the case will be dealt with as per law.

The Manipur government had earlier suspended four high-ranking police officials, including an IPS officer, in connection with the case of missing weapons from 2nd Manipur Rifles armoury.

The government will leave no stone unturned to find out the truth in the arms missing case, the chief minister said at a function here yesterday.

It was found that a 9 mm pistol recovered by Assam Rifles on March 2 last year was one of the 56 that went missing from the armoury of 2nd Manipur Rifles, he said.

Such incidents cropped up as a result of rampant corruption by the previous government during the recruitment processes, he claimed and added the recovery was made before the state assembly election and the arrested persons were handed over to the state police along with the seized arms.

Altogether 56 pistols along with 58 magazines were found missing when the commandant of 2nd Manipur Rifles conducted a routine examination of the armoury.

The missing arms belonged to a batch of 570 pistols that were received by the state police headquarters in 2014 for supply to 2nd Manipur Rifles, officials said.

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Trying to reset the bilateral ties, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepalese counterpart K P Sharma Oil on Saturday held wide-ranging talks and agreed to step up two-way engagement in key areas of defence and security, connectivity, trade and agriculture.

After the talks, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India will always stand by Nepal in its quest for all-round growth, asserting that deeper cooperation between the neighbours will strengthen democracy in Nepal.

On his part, Oli, who is seen a leader who wants to develop a closer relationship with China, said his government wants to build a strong edifice of "trust-based" relationship between the two nations.

"I have come to India with an aim to enhance our relations to newer heights commensurate with the realities of the 21st century," he said.

Known for his pro-China stance, 65-year-old Oli had taken charge as Nepal's PM in February for a second time. He had earlier served as the Nepal's prime minister from 2015 to 2016 during which Kathmandu's ties with New Delhi had strained.

In a press statement to media along with Oli, Modi said the Nepalese PM's vision for a "prosperous Nepal and developed Nepal" was in sync with his vision of "sabka sath sabka vikas' (together with all, development for all).

Modi also hailed successful conduct of and provincial polls in Nepal and complimented its people for reposing their faith in the democracy.

The prime minister said India will continue to support Nepal according to that country's priorities, adding both sides have agreed to expedite all connectivity projects.





Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, and Prime Minister of Nepal, K.P. Sharma Oli, launched the ground-breaking ceremony of India-Nepal petroleum products pipeline from Motihari to Amlekhgunj through live-streaming at Hyderabad House in New Delhi

Modi also said the two countries agreed on laying a new railway line to link Kathmandu with India.

The prime minister said both sides will enhance defence and security ties.

"We have strong relations when it comes to the aspect of security. We will work together to stop misuse of our open border," Modi said.

Oli also invited Modi to visit Nepal.

"I invited PM Modi to pay a visit to Nepal at the earliest convenient time, I am hopeful that the visit will take place soon," he said.

Modi said there has been a long history of India's contribution towards Nepal's development and that he has assured Oli that it will continue.

He said India will also help Nepal to link the country with waterways, adding both sides will also boost ties in areas of agriculture.

The Nepalese prime minister said his country needs support from its friends adding "relations among neighbours is different from other relations. This is based on mutual respect."



Oli arrived here yesterday on a three-day visit, his first overseas tour after taking charge as Nepal's PM for the second term.

Oli, who had publicly criticised New Delhi for interfering in Nepal's internal matters and accused it of toppling his government, after his sweeping poll victory said his party would forge a partnership with India to move forward the country towards the path of economic prosperity.

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Seeking to reset ties, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepalese counterpart K P Sharma Oil today held wide-ranging talks and vowed to step up overall engagement and take the relationship to newer heights on the basis of "equality, mutual trust and respect".

After the delegation-level talks, Modi said India will always stand by Nepal in its quest for all-round growth, asserting that deeper cooperation between the two neighbours will strengthen democracy in Nepal.

In his press statement, Oli, who is seen as favouring a closer relationship with China, said his government wants to build a strong edifice of "trust-based" relationship between the two nations.

"Relations between neighbours are different from those of others. Neighbourhood realities make peaceful coexistence, based on the principles of equality, justice, mutual respect and benefits a necessity for shared destiny," Oli said in the statement in presence of Modi.

Both the prime ministers called the talks "very satisfactory", Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale told reporters, adding the focus of the deliberations were on boosting cooperation in sectors like defence and security, agriculture, trade besides enhance connectivity through railway network and water ways.

"I have come to India this time with a mission to explore ways and means to enhance our relations to newer heights, commensurate with the realities of the 21st century. We want to erect a strong edifice of trust-based relations between the two close neighbours that we are. We want to create a model relationship," Oli said.

According to a joint statement, the two prime ministers resolved to work together to take bilateral relations to newer heights on the basis of "equality, mutual trust, respect and benefit".

There were indications that India was losing its leverage in Nepal and it became more apparent after the victory of the left alliance in the general elections following which Oli was sworn in as the prime minister.

In 2016, Oli had publicly criticised New Delhi for interfering in Nepal's internal matters and accused it of toppling his government.

"Being close neighbours, our destiny is intertwined. Prosperity is our common goal," said Oli.

Gokhale said Modi conveyed to Oli that India will remain a reliable partner of Nepal and it is committed to deepen its ties with Kathmandu.

According to the joint statement, the prime ministers of India and Nepal agreed to construct a new electrified rail line, with India's financial support, connecting Raxaul in India to Kathmandu.

Both sides also decided to develop the inland waterways for the movement of cargo, within the framework of trade and transit arrangements, providing additional access to sea for Nepal.

Interestingly, no bilateral agreements were signed after the talks between the two sides.

The Nepalese prime minister said he also shared with Modi Nepal's concerns about alarming scale of trade deficit and stressed on the need of implementing measures to expand Nepal's export.

Assuring all possible support to Nepal, Modi said the Nepalese prime minister's vision for a "prosperous Nepal and developed Nepal" was in sync with his vision of "sabka sath sabka vikas (together with all, development for all).

The two sides released separate joint statements agriculture, railway linkages and connectivity through inland waterways.

Recalling his meeting with Modi two years ago, Oli said since then, Nepal has achieved comprehensive transformation in many ways.

"Having reached a stage of political stability following the recent elections, Nepal has now embarked on the joinery of social-economic development with the motto 'prosperous Nepal: happy Nepalis'," he said.

Modi also hailed successful conduct of national and provincial polls in Nepal and complimented its people for reposing their faith in the democracy.

The Prime Minister said India will continue to support Nepal as per that country's priorities, adding both sides have agreed to expedite all connectivity projects.

The Prime Minister said both sides will enhance defence and security ties. "We have strong relations when it comes to the aspect of security. We will work together to stop misuse of our open border," Modi said.

Oli also invited Modi to visit Nepal.

"I invited PM Modi to pay a visit to Nepal at the earliest convenient time, I am hopeful that the visit will take place soon," he said. Gokhale said Modi is expected to visit Kathmandu this year.

Modi said there has been a long history of India's contribution towards Nepal's development and that he has assured Oli that it will continue.

The Nepalese prime minister said his country needs support from its friends adding "relations among neighbours is different from other relations. This is based on mutual respect."



The two prime ministers inaugurated the integrated check post at Birgunj in Nepal through remote control from here which is expected to enhance cross-border trade.

The two prime ministers also witnessed the ground breaking ceremony of the Motihari-Amlekhgunj cross-border petroleum products pipeline at Motihari.

The two prime ministers underlined the need for expeditious implementation of bilateral projects in Nepal, and to reinvigorate the existing bilateral mechanisms to promote cooperative agenda across diverse spheres.

Oli said he has also conveyed to Modi Nepal's desire to see an early realisation of the open market provision of the bilateral power trade agreement, which was concluded between the two sides in 2014.

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A mother killed her two children in northwest Pakistan today, prompting the police to arrest her.

The incident took place in Karbogha Sharif in Hangu district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, police said.

The deceased included a two and a half year old boy and an eighteen-month old girl, they said.

She was arrested by the local police after a brief chase, police added.

The reason behind the killing could not be ascertained.

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Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu today praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his passion to reform the economy and bring transformation "everywhere", saying India was "again on the move" because of his leadership.

Speaking at a programme to mark 60 years of the Foreign Correspondents' Club of South Asia in New Delhi, Naidu said India withstood the effects of economic slowdown elsewhere in the world because of "the prime minister's passion for reforms".

"He wanted to bring transformation everywhere," he said.

The vice president said any reform leads to "temporary pain but long-term gain", apparently referring to the sudden government move to demonetise a bulk of currency notes in November 2016.

However, Naidu said, "India is once again on the move. I am confident that by going by the present situation India is moving ahead, thanks to the leadership."



"We have stability, a lot of ability. If you have stability and ability then you can have prosperity," he said.

He emphasised that even though India has been "ruled and ruined" by many, it has no history of attacking any country.

Naidu also suggested to the foreign correspondents there to first understand the country they are reporting about, rather than getting "carried away" by statements of political parties.

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Sanitation workers of the North Delhi Municipal Corporation today called off their strike after the NDMC agreed to meet "most of their demands", officials said.

They were on strike since March 20, the NDMC said.

North Delhi Mayor Preety Agarwal said, "We are very sensitive towards the demands of the staff, specially sanitation workers, as we want to keep them happy and healthy so that they can deliver the best results to achieve the targets of the 'Swachh Bharat Mission'."



She said that "most of the demands" of aggrieved sanitation workers have been accepted after taking into consideration many factors and deliberations.

The mayor said since their working conditions are such that there was a need of "cashless medical facility", so it has been accepted.

She made an appeal to the sanitation workers that now that the demands have been agreed upon, they must do their best for the citizens of the city by making additional efforts on holidays even to make the city clean, the NDMC said in a statement.

The BJP's Delhi unit chief Manoj Tiwari told sanitation workers at the Civic Centre here that "we understand that your demands are genuine and you deserve it, but there are financial compulsions before the corporation... We have taken the decision to meet your demands although it would entail a big financial liability on the corporation".

The BJP-led NDMC has been cash-strapped for last several years.

Agarwal said the demand for regularisation of daily wager sanitation workers appointed up to 2006 shall be met with as per availability of vacant posts with immediate effect according to the policy.

"The demand of introducing a medi-claim policy for regular sanitation workers as in the SDMC, has also been accepted by the corporation," the statement said.

Besides, sanitation workers will be paid Rs 5,000 per month as part of their arrears along with the salary.

Standing Committee Chairman Tilak Raj Kataria, Leader of House, Jayendra Dabas, Municipal Commissioner Madhup Vyas, and a number of representatives of Kamgar Sangharsha Sanyukat Morcha were also present when the strike was called off .

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The National Investigation Agency (NIA) will examine the documents, including hundreds of Aadhaar Cards, recovered from the Maoists during anti-Naxal operations in Giridih district last month, a police officer said.

The Jharkhand government has recommended for NIA probe into the recovery of Aadhaar cards, ATM cards and documents related to bank accounts recovered from the Naxals during the operations, Additional Director General of Police R K Mallick said here yesterday.

As many as 15 Maoists, including Sunil Soren who was carrying a reward of Rs 25 lakh on his head, Sub-zonal Commander Shekhar alias Charlie and Sohan Manjhi, were arrested during the operations, he said.

Apart from a large quantity of arms and ammunition, the security personnel had seized 1125 Aadhaar cards, 60 ATM cards and documents related to 200 bank accounts in course of subsequent search operation, he said.

Mallick said the number of Naxals in the state had drastically come down due to intensive anti-Naxal operation launched jointly by the state armed police and the CRPF in the state.

"We'll crush the Naxal menace as only 500 to 600 Naxals are present in the state," he said.

Asked about senior Maoist leaders operating in the state, Mallick said all top ranking leaders including, Prayag Majhi, Misir Besra and Prasant Bose who were carrying a reward of Rs one crore each on their heads, were on police radar and they would be apprehended soon.

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The agitating students of the National Institute of Technology, Mizoram, called off their indefinite stir against poor quality of hostel food which they alleged had caused the death of a student, police said today.

The students, who launched agitation on April 2, called off their stir yesterday after the police started enquiry into the death of the student, they said.

A first year student Sevsharan Kumar, hailing from Bihar, was taken ill in the NIT hostel at Tanhril near Aizawl on March 26 and died in a Guwahati hospital on March 31, they said.

The NIT students alleged that Kumar died after consuming rotten food served in hostel mess.

The police took up the case and launched investigation into the cause of the death of Kumar and also whether the hostel warden provided poor quality food to the boarders, they said.

Earlier yesterday, at the instructions of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, the Principal Secretary (Home) Amir Subhani had called up the Home Department of Mizoram, about the stir by students of NIT Mizoram.

The Mizoram government officials had assured Subhani that the government of the north-eastern state was "committed to security and welfare of all students of NIT, Mizoram", an official release said in Patna.

Subhani had also called up the Union HRD Ministry and learnt that the department had sent a senior official to the north-eastern state for resolving the issue, the release said adding "the Home department of Bihar is keeping a constant watch on the situation".

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Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh today took serious note of the alleged dissension among the top brass of the Punjab Police, saying he would not tolerate any indiscipline in the force.

The CM also discussed the issue with Home Secretary NS Kalsi, DGP Suresh Arora and CPS to CM Suresh Kumar and directed them to look into the matter and suggest suitable action to resolve the same.

In a statement, the chief minister directed the home secretary and the DGP to ensure that all investigations in the drugs cases were carried out impartially, without fear or favour.

His government was committed not only to the elimination of drugs but also to stringent punishment, under the law, to those responsible for destroying the state's future generation with this menace, he asserted.

Singh's statement came a day after Director General of Police (Human Resource Development) Siddharth Chattopadhyaya accused DGP Suresh Arora and DGP (Intelligence) Dinkar Gupta of trying to drag his name in the suicide case of the son of a former Chief Khalsa Dewan president in the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

The Chief Khalsa Diwan is a century-old charitable-cum-educational organisation.

Chattopadhyaya had also accused two DGP-rank officers of "targeting" him in order to "disable" him from conducting an inquiry into the complicity of SSP, Moga, Raj Jit Singh and a inspector, who has been dismissed from service, in a drug trafficking case.

Singh was of the view that any grievance of any member of the police force, including those against colleagues, should be routed through the well-established administrative procedures and channels laid down for the purpose.

There were well laid down hierarchies that needed to be stringently adhered to, if the police force was to function efficaciously, he added.

The chief minister said as a former member of a uniformed force, he was of the opinion that any act of indiscipline was a matter of grave concern, to be treated with seriousness.

The 80,000-strong Punjab Police force naturally looked up to its senior officers for leadership and direction, he said, adding that internal discord or friction could seriously undermine its professional and operational capabilities.

The Punjab Police, which had bravely fought militancy in the state in the 1980s and 1990s, was required to be both professional and transparent in its functioning in order to effectively deal with the various challenges on the crime and law and order front, the chief minister pointed out.

The police personnel, especially senior officers, were in the public eye at all times and needed to exercise due caution in their personal and professional conduct, Singh stressed, making it clear that he would not hesitate to take stern action, if needed, to check indiscipline.

Earlier, Punjab Congress said Singh had sought a report on the matter.

"CM Amarinder Singh has sought a report on the matter. The CM has also talked to senior officers in this regard," Punjab Congress chief spokesperson and MLA Raj Kumar Verka said, adding that the government was taking the issue seriously.

Verka described the reports indicating alleged differences among senior police officers in Punjab as "painful".

Meanwhile, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA and the Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly, Sukhpal Singh Khaira, today sought a CBI probe into the allegations levelled by Director General of Police (Human Resource Development) Siddharth Chattopadhyaya against two other DGP-rank officers.

"I urge Honb'le High Court to order their own monitored CBI probe into serious allegations of drugs and Benami properties against DGP level officers besides false implication of a DGP in suicide case! If a DGP can be falsely implicated what about opposition leaders n citizens (sic)?" he tweeted.

The high court had yesterday stayed the police probe against Chattopadhyaya in the suicide case.

Chattopadhyaya had sought that the investigation into the suicide case of Inderpreet Chadha, the son of former Chief Khalsa Diwan president Charanjit Singh Chadha, be transferred to the CBI or a retired judge of the high court.

Chadha had allegedly committed suicide in January in Amritsar, after he was booked for criminal intimidation, along with his father, on the complaint of a female school principal. His father's purported objectionable video clip with the principal had also gone viral on the social media.

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Secondary school students in Maharashtra will now be educated on organ donation.

A chapter on this issue has been incorporated in the new science book of Class 10 from the next academic year with an aim to create awareness about organ and cadaver donation.

The chapter incorporates information related to organ donation, its importance and procedure, a government release said here today



Information related to cadaver (whole body) donation also finds a mention in the chapter. This has been included to ensure children get knowledge on the issue, it said.

Minister Vinod Tawde said imparting knowledge about organ donation to young children will help create awareness about the subject in the society.

The chapter includes details about which organs can be donated and how they are useful to save people's lives. Details of how cadaver donation can help medical research is also mentioned, the release said.

The new syllabus will be implemented from the coming academic year (2018-19), it added.

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A former seminary student who hurled a shoe at Pakistan's ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif last month has been released from prison on bail.

A judicial magistrate yesterday granted post-arrest bail to Munawar Hussain along with his two accomplices Abdul Ghafoor and Muhammad Sajid subject to furnishing surety bonds of worth Rs 100,000 each.

"The suspects were released from the Kot Lakhpat Jail today after they furnished surety bonds of worth Rs 100,000 each," a jail official said.

Several members of the Tahreek-e-Labaik party greeted them outside the jail and chanted slogans against the PML-N government for not punishing those involved in making changes to the law of finality of Prophet Mohammad.

The party is also known for widespread street power and massive protests in opposition to any change in Pakistan's controversial blasphemy law.

Yesterday, a counsel for the accused argued that their clients did not belong to any political party nor had any political motive.

He said their act was in reaction to the amendment to the 'Khatam-i-Nabuwat' (finality of Prophethood) law by the parliament. He asked the magistrate to release the suspects on bail as they were ready to submit surety bonds.

Police in Lahore's Qila Gujjar Singh area had registered a case against the suspects for assault and criminal intimidation.

Later the police also added the Anti-Terrorism Act in the FIR. However, an anti-terrorism court allowing a petition of the suspects ordered the police to delete the terrorism charge.

Hussain had hurled a shoe at Sharif, who resigned as prime minister last July after the Supreme Court disqualified him over alleged corruption, when he came to the dais to address a gathering here. The attacker then chanted "Labbaik Ya Rasoolallah".

The shoe hit Sharif's shoulder and ear. The co-suspects also tried to throw shoes but security personnel overpowered them. All three were former students of the Jamia Naeemia, a religious seminary in Lahore.

The incident had drawn widespread condemnation from all political and religious parties.

An identical reason was given by Faiz Rasool, who threw black ink on the face of Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif last month.

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Pakistan today summoned India's Deputy High Commissioner J P Singh here to protest "unprovoked ceasefire violations" by Indian forces along the Line of Control.

Pakistan's Foreign Office spokesman Mohammad Faisal summoned Singh and condemned the "unprovoked ceasefire violations" today in Nikial sector.

Faisal alleged Indian forces along the LoC and the international border are continuously targeting civilian populated areas with heavy weapons.

He claimed that "unprecedented" escalation in ceasefire violations by India is continuing from the year 2017 when Indian forces committed 1,970 ceasefire violations.

"The deliberate targeting of civilian populated areas is indeed deplorable and contrary to human dignity, international human rights and humanitarian laws," he said adding that ceasefire violations by India are a threat to regional peace and security and may lead to a strategic miscalculation.

He urged the Indian side to respect the 2003 ceasefire arrangement, investigate this and other incidents of ceasefire violations, instruct Indian forces to respect the ceasefire, in letter and spirit and maintain peace on the LoC and the international border.

He also urged India to permit the UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) to play its mandated role as per UN Security Council resolutions.

India maintains that the UNMOGIP has outlived its utility and is irrelevant after the Shimla Agreement and the consequent establishment of the Line of Control.

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Pakistan's prime minister says Afghanistan has accepted his offer to revive stalled peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban.

Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said war is not the solution to the decades-long conflict in Afghanistan. His remarks today came a day after he visited Kabul and met with the Afghan leadership.

Pakistan has praised Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghanis overture to the Taliban in which he offered to recognize the radical religious group as a political party.

The Taliban have not officially responded but have reiterated their demand to talk to the US before holding talks with Kabul.

Pakistan hosted the first direct peace talks between Kabul and the Taliban in 2015 but those talks ended when Kabul announced death of Taliban founder Mullah Mohammed Omar.

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A Palestinian journalist shot by Israeli forces during clashes along the Gaza border has died, the health ministry in the Strip said today.

Yasser Murtaja, a photographer with the Gaza-based Ain Media agency, was hit during clashes yesterday, the ministry said.

An AFP photograph taken after he was wounded showed Murtaja wearing a press vest as he received treatment.

The Israeli army declined to comment, saying it was reviewing the incident.

The Gaza health ministry also announced the death of another man, 20-year-old Hamza Abdel Aal, saying he was shot east of Al-Bureij in central Gaza.

The deaths brought the number of Palestinians killed during Fridays clashes to nine after thousands gathered along the border for the second week in a row.

Some Palestinians burned mounds of tyres and threw stones at Israeli soldiers over the border fence, who responded with tear gas and live fire.

At least 491 Palestinians were injured by shooting, the health ministry said.

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Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel today said the CBI should thoroughly probe a Rs 2,654-crore bank fraud case invovling a city-based company and ensure the entire swindled amount is recovered.

The CBI on Thursday registered a criminal case against Diamond Power Infrastructure Ltd (DPIL), a Vadodara-based firm dealing in electric cable and equipment, and its directors for allegedly cheating various banks to the tune of Rs 2,654 crore.

The probe agency conducted searches at the official and residential premises of the company and its directors in Vadodara. The CBI said DPIL is promoted by S N Bhatnagar and his sons Amit and Sumit, who are also the firm's executives.

TheGujarat government has no role to play in the probe. It is the job of the investigating agency to make a thorough probe and recover the entire fraud amount, Patel said while talking to reporters at Mahapura village near here.

Patel, who also holds the finance portfolio, said a recovery of the amount will help in restoring depositors' confidence in their banks.

The Union government has already instructed probe agencies to take strict actions against those involved in bank frauds, he said.

It is the job of the investigating agency to seize passports of those involved in such cases, Patel said.

Meanwhile, Gujarat Congress leader Arjun Modhwadia claimed Amit Bhatnagar has close links with BJP leaders in the state as well as at the Centre.

Modhwadia, a former Gujarat Congress president, demanded a detailed inquiry to find out where the bank fraud money was used.

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A day after a senior IPS officer accused two DGP-rank officers of trying to drag his name in the suicide case of the son of a former Chief Khalsa Diwan president in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, the Punjab Congress today said Chief Minister Amarinder Singh had sought a report on the entire episode.

The Chief Khalsa Diwan is a century-old charitable-cum-educational organisation.

"CM Amarinder Singh has sought a report on the matter. The CM has also talked to senior officers in this regard," Punjab Congress chief spokesperson and MLA Raj Kumar Verka said, adding that the government was taking the issue seriously.

Verka described the reports indicating alleged differences among senior police officers in Punjab as "painful".

Meanwhile, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA and the Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly, Sukhpal Singh Khaira, today sought a CBI probe into the allegations levelled by Director General of Police (Human Resource Development) Siddharth Chattopadhyaya against two other DGP-rank officers.

"I urge Honb'le High Court to order their own monitored CBI probe into serious allegations of drugs and Benami properties against DGP level officers besides false implication of a DGP in suicide case! If a DGP can be falsely implicated what about opposition leaders n citizens (sic)?" he tweeted.

The high court had yesterday stayed the police probe against Chattopadhyaya in the suicide case.

Chattopadhyaya had sought that the investigation into the suicide case of Inderpreet Chadha, the son of former Chief Khalsa Diwan president Charanjit Singh Chadha, be transferred to the CBI or a retired judge of the high court.

Chadha had allegedly committed suicide in January in Amritsar, after he was booked for criminal intimidation, along with his father, on the complaint of a female school principal. His father's purported objectionable video clip with the principal had also gone viral on the social media.

Chattopadhyaya had also accused DGP Suresh Arora and DGP (Intelligence) Dinkar Gupta of "targeting" him in order to "disable" him from conducting an inquiry into the complicity of Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Moga, Raj Jit Singh and a inspector, who has been dismissed from service, in a drug trafficking case.

He had blamed Arora and Gupta for allegedly trying to drag his name in the Chadha suicide case.

Chattopadhyaya is leading a special investigation team (SIT), formed by the high court, to probe the role of the SSP, Moga and the dismissed police inspector in the drug trafficking case.

Chattopadhyaya, in his application, had claimed that during the investigation in the drug trafficking case, the role of Arora and Gupta had "come to light and several significant facts and pointers, including reportedly a benami house of a DGP, were being investigated to confirm their involvement in the case with dismissed inspector Inderjit Singh and SSP, Moga, Raj Jit Singh".

Claiming that neither his name was mentioned in the suicide note nor in the FIR, Chattopadhyaya, in his application, had stated that he was being "constantly harassed" in the name of investigation in the suicide case at the behest of the senior police officers.

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The Delhi Police today informed a court here that a BJP leader's plea for lodging sedition case against suspended Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar for allegedly using derogatory remarks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been transferred to the crime branch.

A report was submitted in the court of the Metropolitan Magistrate, Manika, who was on leave today, in pursuance to the court's direction to the police to submit an action taken report in the matter.

Due to the the magistrate's absense, the hearing has now been deferred to May 4.

The matter pertains to a complaint filed by BJP leader Ajay Agrawal against Aiyar seeking lodging of a sedition case against him for hosting Pakistani officials, which allegedly "posed a threat to national security".

A matter pertaining to Mani Shankar Aiyar was already pending investigation with crime branch Delhi. Therefore, by the orders of senior officers, the complaint of Ajay Agrawal was sent to deputy commissioner of police, Crime Branch, for further course of action at their end, the report filed through Sub Inspector Deepak Panwar said.

The report said the court may seek Action Taken Report (ATR) from the crime branch in this matter.

It is therefore requested that the investigating officer of Crime Branch Delhi may be directed to submit the action taken report before the court, it said.

The plea by Agrawal, who contested the last Lok Sabha election against UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi from Rae Bareli, said the meeting was held at the south Delhi residence of Aiyar and was attended by Pakistan's high commissioner and an ex-foreign minister of the neighbouring country among others.

The court had earlier directed Agrawal, the petitioner and an advocate, to supply copies of the documents in court based on which the police would file an ATR.

In his plea, Agrawal claimed that "derogatory" words were used against Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the meeting held on December 6, 2017 at Aiyar's residence, which was also attended by former prime minister Manmohan Singh and ex-vice president Hamid Ansari.

The petitioner has sought the courts direction to the Delhi Police to book Aiyar and others present under conspiracy and sedition charges, and investigate the matter.

He had said the Ministry of External Affairs and the Home Ministry were not informed about the meeting despite India's strained relations with Pakistan.

The petitioner said he had requested the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the Delhi police for a probe but in vain.

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Delhi Daredevils have signed England pacer Liam Plunkett as a replacement for the injured South African fast bowler Kagiso Rabada for the 11th edition of the Indian Premier League.

Rabada was ruled out of the IPL with a lower back injury after he felt tightness and discomfort during the fourth Test against Australia in Johannesburg.

The injury will sideline the 22-year-old for up to three months.

Plunkett, who has featured in 13 Tests, 65 One-Day Internationals and 15 Twenty20 Internationals for England, was picked from the Registered Available Player Pool (RAPP) list, according to a media release.

"We are glad to announce that @Liam628 will be joining the #DDSquad as a replacement for the injured @KagisoRabada25. He has loads of experience and hits the deck hard. Can't wait for him to join the lads soon!" Delhi Daredevils tweeted.

This will be Plunkett's first stint in the IPL.

Delhi Daredevils open their campaign with a game against Kings XI Punjab in Mohali tomorrow.

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A police constable was killed and another seriously injured when the Meghalaya Health Minister A L Hek's son, Aibansharai Nongsiej rammed his Mercedes into their motorcycle at around midnight last night, police said today.

The incident took place at Fourthfurlong area in the town and the minister's 28-year-old son was at the driving seat at the time, East Khasi Hills district SP Davis Marak told PTI.

Constable P D Sangma who is an armed branch jail personnel was rushed to the civil hospital where the doctors declared him brought dead while the other constable who with him on the bike is said to be in critical condition.

Asked he said Aibansharai appeared to be alone in the vehicle when the accident occured and had helped in taking the policemen to the hospital.

The SP said both the vehicles were seized and investigation is on to find out if the ministers son was in an inebriated condition when he was driving the car.

"We are waiting for a medical report in the case," Marak said.

Hek said his son is cooperating with the investigation in this regards.

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Congress president Rahul Gandhi has congratulated the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) for taking up a "bus yatra" across the state since February to reach out to the people.

"Congratulations to you and the entire Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee for launching the Jana Chaitanya Bus Yatra in February. I am very proud to hear that it has been a tremendous success," he said in a letter to RC Khuntia, the in-charge of Congress' affairs in Telangana.

The Congress has stood as a strong opposition in Telangana during the last four years, Gandhi said in his letter, which was released to the media here by the TPCC.

"Because of the hard work of every Congress worker, the people of Telangana are seeing through the lies of the TRS (Telangana Rashtra Samithi) and remembering the values of the Congress.

"I have no doubt that your ongoing efforts will win back the confidence of the people in 2019," he said, wishing the state Congress "the very best".

The Congress, which is the main opposition in Telangana, had launched the bus yatra from Chevella, near here, in the last week of February.

The yatra will cover all the 119 Assembly constituencies in Telangana.

Meanwhile, former Union minister and senior Congress leader S Jaipal Reddy alleged that the NDA government did not allow the no-confidence motion against it to come up for debate in Parliament as it feared that its "political weakness" would come out in the open.

"All other businesses should stop once that motion (no-confidence) is tabled, either in the Assembly or Parliament. But, he (Prime Minister Narendra Modi) did not allow the no-confidence motion to come up for debate, though his party has the majority, because his allies are moving away and his hollowness and political weakness would be exposed," he told reporters.

The ruling side would have won had the no-confidence motion been taken up, but it did not allow a debate on it as it feared that its shortcomings would be exposed, Reddy said.

He alleged that the AIADMK and the TRS "indirectly cooperated" with the BJP to avoid the no-confidence motion being taken up.

Reddy also alleged that there was a "secret agreement" between the TRS and the BJP.

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Niranjan Thomas Alva, a Supreme Court lawyer and husband of Congress leader Margaret Alva, passed away here today after brief illness, a family member said.

Alva, 78, died this morning around 10.30 at the Ramaiah Hospital where he was admitted for 20 days following chest congestion, the family member told PTI.

A reputed orator, he practised law at the Supreme Court. One of the landmark litigations he lead resulted in women flight attendants in the Air India getting the same rights and privileges as their male counterparts including full retirement benefits and the right to bear children.

Son of Joachim and Violet Alva, freedom fighters and the first couple in Parliament, Alva was also a former Director of the State Bank of India.

He later served as a board member of the State Bank of India in Karnataka for over a decade.

He had played a key role in expanding the footprints of the All India Catholic University Federation as its president across the country in late 1950s.

Alva is survived by wife Margaret and children Niret, Nikhil, Manira and Nivedith.

The funeral service will take place tomorrow at 4 pm at the St Theresa of Kolkata Church here followed by the cremation at Hebbal Crematorium, the family member said.

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A jailed Catalan pro-independence activist was today proposed as the new regional president for a second time despite a failed first attempt.

Jordi Sanchez was remanded in custody in October pending charges of sedition over last year's Catalan independence bid.

The president of the Catalan parliament, Roger Torrent, tweeted: "I propose the deputy Jordi Sanchez as candidate for the nomination. He is the one who gathers the most support."



A previous attempt to appoint Sanchez as regional president failed last month after Spain's Supreme Court turned down a request for him to be released from jail to be sworn in.

This is the fourth time Torrent has proposed a candidate.

Sanchez's name was originally put forward after former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont, living in self-imposed exile in Belgium and wanted in Spain, dropped his candidacy.

Puigdemont faces arrest if he returns to Spain on charges of sedition, rebellion and misuse of public funds over his role in Catalonia's separatist push.

"It is necessary today to demand that the (Spanish) state changes its attitude. That it guarantees the political rights of our deputy Jordi Sanchez to be president. He keeps his rights as a deputy and to be (regional) president," said Puigdemont at a conference in Berlin today.

On Thursday, a German court refused Spain's request to extradite Puigdemont on a rebellion charge following his arrest in Germany last month.

He was released on bail pending a hearing on a lesser charge and remains in Germany.

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Seven of a family from Bengaluru, including two women, were killed when their car collided with a lorry near Rajapalayam in the district today, police said.

Six persons in the car died on the spot, while one died later in a hospital, they said.

Two others injured in the mishap were admitted to hospital.

The family, hailing from Bengaluru, was on a tour of Kerala and was returning from Thiruvananthapuram, when the car in which they were travelling collided with the lorry carrying sugar bags, police said.

The lorry driver has been arrested.

The accident affected flow of traffic on the Rajapalayam-Tenkasi Road for about an hour.

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Several people were killed and injured today when a vehicle ploughed into pedestrians in the German city of Munster, local media reports said.

The DPA agency said a car had hit bystanders in the western city. Police confirmed there had been casualties but did not immediately say what happened.

"There are deaths and injured. Please avoid the area, we are on scene," the regional police service said on Twitter.

Police also urged people to avoid "speculation" about the incident.

According to the online edition of the Spiegel magazine, German authorities were "assuming" the incident was an attack, though there was no immediate official confirmation.

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The White House has insisted that there was no going back on its actions against China unless Beijing changes its practices of "unfair trade practices and theft of intellectual property".

This, despite the fact that the Dow plummeted 550 points yesterday amidst reports of a growing tension between the two largest economies of the world.

US President Donald Trump yesterday ramped up his trade war rhetoric with China, seeking USD 100 billion in additional tariffs on Chinese products. This is in addition to the proposed 25 per cent import tariffs worth USD 50 billion on some 1,300 Chinese products being imported into the US.

China has vowed to take "comprehensive countermeasures" and fight "at any cost" Trump's directive.

"The president has said enough is enough. China has to change this illegal and unfair practice that they've been in. Previous administrations should have stepped up and tried to stop these actions long before today," White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters at her daily conference yesterday.

"But thankfully, we have a president that's willing to actually stand up, be tough, and take some really courageous and bold action, like President Trump has done," she said.

Responding to a question on the Dow in New York dropping by over 500 points, Sanders said, "We know that there could be some fluctuation".

Sanders said the Trump administration would like to negotiate.

"(But) we want them to stop participating in unfair and illegal trade practices and intellectual property theft, being a huge detriment to US companies and businesses," she said.

Top Republican Senator John McCain said it was easy to punish China, but a lot harder to hold it truly accountable and change its behaviour.

"That requires a real strategy and positive trade agenda, which is why the US should rejoin the TPP," he said.

Congressman Don Bacon accused China of stealing the intellectual property and trade secrets of US companies, while dumping cheap products into the American market for too long.

"I encourage the administration to sit down and find a solution to this tariff war with China that protects the US' agricultural economy, promotes fair and free trade, and protects our intellectual property," he said.

Senator Dianne Feinstein said California grows 100 percent of the almonds, walnuts and raisins exported to China.

"President Trump's trade war means all three products will now be subject to a 15 per cent tariff by China. The president must take steps to protect our agriculture industry from harm," she said.

Senator Chuck Grassley said China had ignored the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO) for too long and aggressively pursued practices that unfairly undermine American ownership, innovation and entrepreneurship.

"China's pursuit of agriculture technologies, from wind turbines to genetic seeds, and its 2013 buyout of pork giant Smithfield Foods, cannot be underestimated," he said.

"If dramatic changes in its trade policy regime aren't made, China's approach to seizing advantage in the marketplace will put US businesses at a competitive disadvantage, threatening the long-term prosperity, economic growth and job creation here at home," he said.

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Bollywood superstar Salman Khan arrived at his house here this evening amid bursting of crackers and wild celebrations by fans, hours after getting bail in the 1998 black buck poaching case from a Jodhpur court.

The 52-year-old actor today walked out of the Jodhpur jail after a sessions court granted him bail in the two-decades-old case, in which he was given a five-year prison sentence. He spent two nights in the jail.

Salman reached his residence in the Galaxy Apartments in suburban Bandra around 8 pm.

The moment he reached home, the jubilant fans who had gathered outside his residence started bursting fire crackers amid screams of "welcome bhai".

Wearing a black T-shirt, a pair of jeans and a cap, Salman was seen siting on the front seat of his car. On his way home from the Mumbai airport, he was accompanied by his long-time bodyguard, Shera.

He later came to the balcony of his apartment and waved at the fans.

According to sources, the actor took a private jet from Jodhpur that departed around 5.50 pm and landed in Mumbai about 7.10 pm.

Salman's brother-in-law Aayush Sharma, actors Sonakshi Sinha, Saif Ali Khan, Amrita Arora and Sneha Ullal, among others, visited his residence during the day.

As spread that Salman has been granted bail, the fans started gathering outside his home, anticipating his arrival and for a glimpse of the "Dabangg" star.

Though the actor was in the Jodhpur jail, his family members, including parents Salim and Salma Khan, brothers Sohail and Arbaaz, were in Mumbai and the mood outside his house was sombre till the of his bail came in.

Some die-hard fans even started dancing on hearing that their favourite actor will be out of the prison soon.

Some were seen holding placards with messages like 'We support Salman', 'We love Salman', 'Welcome Back Salman', while others were seen wearing 'Being Human' t-shirts. 'Being Human' is a clothing line owned by the superstar.

"We are very, very happy that he is out of the jail. He has done a lot of good work, helped so many people," a fan said.

"Salman has not done anything wrong, he helps the poor and needy people," another one said.

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Union minister Kiren Rijiju today said the territorial integrity of the north-eastern states would not be compromised and the contentious demand of the NSCN(IM) for unification of all the Naga-inhabited areas would not be included in the final Naga Framework Agreement.

He also said the Centre would come out with the final version of the Naga Framework Agreement, signed between it and the NSCN(IM) in August 2015, to solve the Naga imbroglio within the tenure of the Narendra Modi government.

Rijiju said some "outside agencies" and "elements" were trying to foment trouble in the north-east, adding that the government was tracking them.

The Union minister of state for home told a press conference here that the NSCN(IM)'s demand for unification of all the Naga-inhabited areas, including parts of Assam and other neighbouring states, would not be included in the final agreement.

He said the sovereignty and "other serious issues" had been dropped from the NSCN(IM)'s charter of demands and the Naga Framework Agreement was signed under the ambit of the Constitution.

Referring to the "outside agencies" and "elements" who were trying to foment trouble in the north-eastern region, the BJP leader said, "We know about the groups and we are tracking them. Anyone found indulging in anti-national activities will be firmly dealt with.

"We have an intelligence mechanism, which is much robust now."



On the final version of the Naga Framework Agreement, he said, "We (Centre) are progressing with absolute clarity. The unique history of the Nagas will be recognised and we will come out with a clear, tangible solution.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said we will give a result during the tenure of this government."



Regarding Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma's proposal to the Centre for giving work permits to Bangladeshi nationals in order to tackle the infiltration problem, Rijiju said the government would not take a decision that was detrimental to the interest of the region or the country.

"The proposal has certain positive points. We are looking into it. But whatever decision is taken, it will not have any adverse impact and will not aggravate the existing problem of illegal migration," he added.

Referring to the demands of the pro-talks faction of the ULFA, Rijiju said they were "genuine", adding that the government would soon sign a final agreement with it.

"The demands of the Arabinda Rajkhowa-led faction of ULFA are genuine and the central government has agreed to them in principle. We are giving a final shape to the settlement.

"It will not take much time before the final agreement is signed," the Union minister said.

Regarding the development of north-east, Rijiju said the Centre was working at "double speed" to transform the region into an econmic hub within a decade.

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The US states of Texas and Arizona today announced plans to send National Guard troops to the southern border with Mexico after President Donald Trump ordered a thousands-strong deployment to combat drug trafficking and illegal immigration.

The Texas National Guard said it would send 250 troops to the border within 72 hours and had already deployed two Lakota helicopters, while Arizonas governor said he would send 150 personnel next week.

"The Texas national guard is preparing to immediately deploy with supporting aircraft, vehicles and equipment to the Texas-Mexico border," Brigadier General Tracy Norris, the commanding general of the Texas National Guard, told reporters at a briefing.

"This deployment has begun with the movement of equipment and troops today. Within 72 hours the Texas military department will have 250 personnel along with ground surveillance vehicles as well as light and medium aviation platforms," she added.

Arizona Governor Doug Ducey announced his plans in a tweet.

Trump on Thursday said the final deployment would range from 2,000 to 4,000 troops, and he would "probably" keep many personnel on the border until his promised border wall is built -- spelling out a lengthy mission.

The decision has heightened tensions with Mexico, whose President Enrique Pena Nieto said Trumps "threatening or disrespectful attitudes" were unjustified.

It has also raised questions about who will fund the mission.

The Pentagon could not say where the money would come from and Trump admitted the White House was still "looking at" costs.

If 4,000 troops were deployed, that would be about double the current US military presence in Syria and about half as many as the number of US troops in Iraq.

The National Guard has previously been deployed to help patrol the southern border, including in 2010 under former president Barack Obama, and from 2006-2008 under George W. Bush. Both deployments were limited to around a year.

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Three labourers, engaged in deepening a well here, today died after they inhaled copious amounts of toxic gas emanating from it, police said.

The incident occurred around 3:30pm in the basement of Empress City residential building here, they added.

"There are six wells in the basement of the building and four labourers were engaged in deepening one of the wells and other plumbing works. They entered one after the other and fell unconscious due to the gas accumulated inside. They died soon after," Rajendra Uchke, Nagpur Municipal Corporation Fire Officer, told PTI.

A fourth labourer was saved as he caught the smell of gas early and came out of the well as soon as he entered, Uchke added.

Police said the three have been identified as Deepak Gawte, Ajay Karodi and Chandrakant Barapatre, all in their mid-forties.

"The post-mortem would be conducted on Tuesday. A case has been registered and further investigations are underway," police said.

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In a bid to use technology for farmers' benefit, Tamil Nadu government has come out with a mobile application that will allow ryots to have access to nine types of services including details about their crop insurance.

Chief Minister K Palaniswami launched the bi-lingual 'Uzhavan' (farmer) app here recently, an official release said today.

The app, which can be downloaded from Google Playstore, can be used by farmers to get information on farm subsidies, book farm equipment and related infrastructure and get details on their crop insurance, besides receiving weather forecast for the next four days, the release said.

The other highlights of the app, available in Tamil and English, include information on available stocks of seeds and fertilisers in local government and private stores, it said.

The move was part of government's effort to take to the 'next level', use of technology to aid farmers in their profession, the release added.

Palaniswami also launched the 'Amma Bio-Fertiliser' scheme, named after late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, the release said.

The initiative was aimed at better management of nature farming, and help boost and maintain soil fertility, it said.

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The wall is TRUMP'S demand. The Dems and in fact most of the Repubs KNOW it's a useless, moronic, boondoggle. It'll cost at least $25 BILLION to build and several billion more each year to maintain and will only stop a small percentage of the illegals and drugs coming into the country. They've already started using drones to ship drugs over the wall. It won't take them long to figure out how to get over under or around the wall.



The ONLY real solution to the illegal problem is to prosecute, very aggressively prosecute, the companies that hire them. When we make it too expensive for the Walmarts and the Tyson foods to employ them, then and only then will we start to solve the problem. Everything else is just a band-aid on a bullet wound. Propaganda for masses.
A 19-month-old baby was killed while his five family members were injured when their car hit a divider on Yamuna Expressway today, police said.

The accident took place when the family, hailing from Afghanistan, was returning to Delhi, where they currently stay, after a visit to Taj Mahal, they said.

Mudavil was killed on the spot, police said, adding the condition of three persons among the five injured is stated to be serious.

The cause of the accident was stated to be bursting of a tyre of one of the front wheel, they said.

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The US Department of Justice has called for making public Harvard University's admissions data after a lawsuit against the Ivy League institution alleged that it discriminated against Asian-Americans students in its admissions process for years.

A lawsuit was filed in November 2014 by anti-affirmative action group Students for Fair Admissions alleging that Harvard admissions practices discriminate against Asian-American applicants.

In a filing yesterday in a Boston federal court, the Justice Department called on the court to make Harvard's documents public, saying the government has a substantial interest in the case.

Students for Fair Admissions includes over a dozen students who claim they were rejected from Harvard because the it engages in "racial balancing" by capping the number of Asian-Americans it admits each year.

According to a report in The Harvard Crimson, the university paper, the Department of Justice called for the unsealing of the admissions data, which Harvard has repeatedly argued should remain private.

The report said the department's filing also directly tied the admissions lawsuit to its own ongoing probe into Harvard's admissions processes, arguing that the lawsuit overlaps and could directly bear on the separate Justice Department investigation.

"This case thus overlaps with the legal and factual bases undergirding the United States' investigation and could directly bear on that investigation," Matthew Donnelly, a Justice Department lawyer said in the brief.

Harvard's proposal contravenes the law and imperils the interest of the public."



The filing also asserts the department could later sue Harvard itself or could join the case as a friend of the court, depending on how the Students for Fair Admissions suit plays out.

The filing calls for "public access" to all summary judgement materials in the case unless a party requests privacy for a "most compelling reason".

The filing also directly urges the court to reject the University's previous request that case-related admissions information remain private.

To be sure, there is weighty interest in protecting the private identities of students and applicants, the filing said. But neither that interest nor any of Harvard's other generalised arguments warrant adoption of Harvard's proposal to file all summary judgment materials under seal.

The Students for Fair Admissions lawsuit alleges that Harvard discriminates against Asian-Americans in its admissions process.

About three years after that suit began, the Department of Justice had launched an investigation into Harvard's admissions practises to look into the allegations.

In 2015, 64 Asian-American groups, including four Indian-American organisations, had also filed a similar complaint accusing the Ivy League institution of discriminating against Asian-American applicants in its admissions process.

The 50-page complaint, submitted to the Office for Civil Rights in the US Department of and with the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice in May, had been filed on behalf of Asian American students who, because of their race, have been unfairly rejected by Harvard College because of such unlawful use of race in the admissions process, and/or who seek the opportunity to apply for admission without being discriminated against because of their race.

The US Department of had dismissed that complaint.

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Two men from Uttar Pradesh died in a fire at a plastic footwear factory in Narela industrial area today, police said.

The deceased have been identified as Vinay, 33, who worked at the factory, and his friend Kuldeep, 25, a police officer said.

A call about the fire was received at 2.32 am and seven fire tenders were rushed to the spot. The firefighters found two men on the first floor of the factory, said an official of the Delhi Fire Services.

Police said the men, who sustained burn injuries, were rushed to Harishchandra Hospital where they were declared dead by doctors.

A case has been registered and an investigation is underway. The cause of the fire will be ascertained after the inquiry, but a short-circuit is suspected to be the cause, said a police officer.

Around a dozen workers were present in the factory when the fire started. They escaped in a hurry while Vinay and Kuldeep, who were sleeping on the first floor at the time, wee trapped.

The place where they were sleeping was used for storage of chemicals, police said.

The fire fighters doused the flames by around 4.15 am.

Vinay worked at the factory while Kuldeep worked at some other place in the area but used to stay with his friend. They both belonged to Sultanpur in Uttar Pradesh.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Motorcycle-borne assailants today shot dead two local Shiv Sena leaders hours after the result of a civic bypoll in the area was announced, police said.

The incident happened at around 5:15pm in the Shahunagar area of Kedgaon here and commercial establishments downed shutters soon amidst stray cases of stone-pelting, the official added.

"Sanjay Kotkar (35) and Vasant Anand Thube (40) were killed after they were shot from point blank range by two men on a motorcycle," a police official said.

"The CCTV of the area is being scoured and we are in the process of identifying the shooters," he said.

A local Shiv Sena leader said that the incident was related to the largescale support the Sena had received in the civic bypoll for Ward 32 (Kedgaon) of the Ahmednagar Municipal Corporation.

The result of the bypoll was announced today by State Election Commission officials.

The Congress' Vishal Kotkar defeated the Sena's Vijay Pathare by a thin margin of 454 votes.

"Leaders of some other parties have planned these murders due to the widespread support the Sena received in the Kedgaon bypoll," Dilip Satpute, the party's Ahmednagar unit chief told PTI.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Amid complaints by some BJP MPs that their problems are being ignored by the Uttar Pradesh government, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath today met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi here, sources said.

The two are also learnt to have discussed the bypoll to the Kairana Lok Sabha seat, which fell vacant due to the demise of BJP member Hukum Singh in February, sources in the state government said.

With the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party set to replicate their alliance which helped them win the Phulpur and Gorakhpur Lok Sabha bypolls, the two are understood to have discussed the election strategy.

Kairana, a Jat dominated region in Shamli district in western UP, was in 2014 won by BJP's Hukum Singh, who died due to illness in February this year, necessitating the bypoll.

The meeting between Modi and Adityanath also assumes significance as BJP MP Chottelal, a Dalit face of the party, had complained to the prime minister of "mistreatment" by the chief minister, the sources said.

Some other MPs are reportedly upset at the way the state government is dealing with their complaints and requests related to their respective constituencies.

During a part of the meeting, deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya was also present, they said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A US embassy car hit a motorcycle here in Pakistan today, killing a man on the spot, according to a media report.

The US defence air attache, who was driving the white Land Cruiser, hit the motorcyclists near Islamabad's Daman-e-Koh area, Geo reported.

The US official was not arrested owing to their diplomatic immunity, however, the police took custody of the vehicle.

A statement released by the US Embassy confirmed the accident.

The embassy is in contact with the local authorities to probe into the incident, the statement added.

In 2011, American intelligence operative Raymond Davis, 42, was arrested in Lahore on charges of killing two Pakistani citizens and thus kicked off a huge diplomatic crisis between the two countries.

Pakistani authorities had charged him with murder, but the Obama administration insisted he is an "administrative and technical official" attached to its Lahore consulate and has diplomatic immunity.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The United States must compete to counter Chinese economic aggression, outgoing National Security Advisor Lt Gen HR McMaster has said.

His comments came a day after China said it would take "comprehensive countermeasures" and fight "at any cost" US President Donald Trump's directive to authorities to consider tariffs on USD 100-billion worth of Chinese products.

McMaster, who after being the NSA for President Donald Trump for more than a year, yesterday marked his exit from the administration.

He has not announced his future plans yet. He would be replaced by former US Ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton, on Monday.

Media reports have said that he was leaving the White House because of the differences he has had with Trump on a number of key issues.

However, both the White House and McMaster have denied this claim. In his departing statement yesterday, McMaster even praised Trump's national security policy.

"I am immensely proud of the vital role that the National Security Council (NSC) played in restoring America's strategic confidence. We helped the president set forth a strategic direction for the US to protect the American people, promote American prosperity, preserve peace through strength, and advance American influence," McMaster said.

He underlined the US' "new approach" towards China and North Korea as were meant to protect the American people.

"Examples include a new approach to North Korea, through maximum pressure on Pyongyang and close coordination with our allies and partners, including China. Our realistic approach toward China recognises that we must compete to counter China's economic aggression as we promote a free and open Indo-Pacific region," McMaster said.

McMaster said the US were making Russia accountable for its actions.

"The US and our allies are imposing costs on Russia for its destabilising actions, while leaving the door open for future cooperation," he said.

The US was also pushing to defeat the ISIS, McMaster said.

"The US led the defeat of ISIS's so-called 'caliphate', while reinvigorating our Middle Eastern alliances. In South Asia, we are fighting terrorists in Afghanistan, while holding Pakistan accountable. In Europe, our NATO allies are doing more for our common securityshowing that they've heeded the President's challenge," he said.

"We are taking a firm stand against Iran's nearly 40-year proxy war against America, as well as its support for terrorist groups and its perpetuation of violence across the Middle East," he added.

On the last day of his duty, the White House described McMaster as a terrific person.

"On a personal note, it has been a real privilege to serve alongside him and to travel around the world advancing the President's America First foreign policy. His decades-long career in service of his nation is an inspiration to us all, and we know he will do well wherever he lands next," White House Press Secretary told reporters.

McMaster was given a warm send-off by the White House staffers yesterday, reflecting his popularity in the administration. Among those spotted in the audience were the Vice President Mike Pence.

Before leaving the White House, McMaster met with his successor Bolton for their last transition meeting. Following that meeting, McMaster and his family met with Trump who thanked McMaster for his service and time as NSA.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Vatican said today a monsignor who was a former advisor at its US embassy in Washington has been arrested on suspicion of watching child sex abuse.

A Vatican statement said that an arrest warrant had been issued for Carlo Alberto Capella, which was carried out by the Vatican Gendarmerie.

"The accused is being detained in a cell in the barracks of the Gendarmerie Corps, available to the judicial authorities," the statement said.

The arrest warrant was issued by the investigating magistrate of the Vatican City State Tribunal.

Capella, who was in office until last year, was recalled from Washington last September by the Vatican.

It is the latest case the Catholic Church has faced after repeated criticism for the way it has handled scandals over paedophile priests.

The US State Department notified the Vatican in August through diplomatic channels of a possible violation of child pornography laws by a member of the diplomatic corps of the Holy See in Washington, the Vatican said in September.

The US made "an official request" for the man's diplomatic immunity to be lifted but the Vatican refused, said a US official on condition of anonymity.

In February, the Vatican said it had renewed its anti-paedophile panel in a bid by Pope Francis to quell the global scandal over the sexual abuse of children by priests.

The panel had come under fire from two high-profile members, former sex abuse victims who quit at what they saw as a lack of reform and obstruction at the highest level of the Catholic Church.

Victims have come forward from across the world over the past two decades accusing priests of sex crimes, unleashing one of the biggest crises faced by the Catholic Church.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu today stressed that the dream of a "New India" could only be visualised with new ideas and new ways of making them realise through effective implementation.

Emphasising that the New India" would be a scientific India and technological India", he batted for making science an integral component of education curriculum. He said that scientific approach that relies on evidence and raising relevant questions and seeking answers should be internalised.

In his inaugural address at the ninth Indian Youth Science Congress organised by Career Point University at NIT, Hamirpur, Naidu said that fora like Science Congress enable the young minds to share knowledge, information and draw inspiration to come up with new ideas that would empower India of the future.

"The students should be encouraged to discover' rather than be told' the answer," Naidu said, hoping that the conference would usher in an era of accelerated progress and development by inculcating scientific temper among out youth.

Appreciating the efforts of Himachal Pradesh government in the field of conservation and increasing green cover, he said the people of the state were honest in their approach and work and urged them to keep this tradition going.

He said, "we should not forget our mother, our mother land and mother tongue. and urging the people to live with harmony with nature."



Himachal Pradesh Governor Acharya Devvrat said India has been the land of knowledge since times immemorial and only Vedic cosmology's time scales corresponds to that of modern scientific cosmology.

He said it was the need of the hour to develop scientific approach by upholding the Indian traditional knowledge.

Cautioning that he global warming was the area of concern, he exhorted scientists to come forward to tackle the problem and added that scientific approach without humanitarian thought and humane touch was irrelevant.

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur said climate change was a serious challenge for people's existence and scientists should come forward to tackle this teething problem.

He said that Himachal Pradesh is known as Dev Bhoomi' (Land of Gods) and said that in the present era of scientific excellence efforts should be made to make India a frontrunner in this field.

He said that even in this era of scientific innovation, we should not ignore and abandon our ancient knowledge and wisdom.

Union Health Minister J P Nadda said scientists must help in blending tradition, local knowledge, systems and technologies in research to develop effective and sustainable solutions for human development and progress on the country.

He also expressed concern over the increasing cases of anaemia, particularly amongst younger generation, and urged the scientists to come forward to redress this problem at the earliest by vigorous research.

He said since it was the World Health Day, the health centres would be changed in to wellness centres for overall health of the nation in a phased manner. He added that 1.50 lakh health wellness centres would be established in the country by 2020.

Noted scientist and father of 'Green Revolution' in India M S Swaminathan in his key note address through video conference said young scientists should collectively work towards meeting the challenges posed by climate change.

The Padma Vibhushan awardee professor lauded the efforts of Himachal Pradesh in conservation, as he stressed the need to deliver as one' approach for the reform in the governance of various food security related schemes.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Veteran CPI(M) leader Basudeb Acharia was assaulted allegedly by Trinamool Congress (TMC) supporters as clashes broke out in several districts between activists of the TMC and opposition parties - BJP, Congress and Left - in continuing political violence during filing of nominations for the May panchayat polls.

Several people were injured in the clashes today involving ruling Trinamool Congress and Congress in Kandi area in Murshidabad district and between BJP and TMC workers in Coochbehar and Birbhum districts



Bombs were hurled in Birbhum's Mohammad Bazar area following a scuffle between BJP and TMC workers over filing of nominations for the panchayat polls.

A huge contingent of police personnel was rushed to the spot.

"The situation is right now under control," said a police official.

Poll related violence was reported from Nalhati and Labhpur in the district during the past few days.

District BJP leaders alleged that goons supported by the TMC brutally beat up BJP candidates when they were on their way to file nominations. The allegation was denied by the district TMC leadership.

West Bengal has been rocked by political violence since the filing of nominations started for panchayat polls on April 2. The last date of filing nomination is April 9.

In Purulia, septuagenarian CPI(M) leader and nine-time MP Basudeb Acharia was assaulted allegedly by TMC supporters near the block development office at Kashipur yesterday, party sources said today.

Acharia was accompanying CPI(M) candidates who were on their way to file nominations at the BDO office for the panchayat polls.

He was later admitted to Purulia sadar hospital with abdominal injuries, the hospital said.

The TMC has denied any role in the incident.

In Coochbehar, police used baton charge to disperse activists of the TMC and the BJP after clashes broke out between the groups over filing of nominations.

BJP Coochbehar district president Nikhil Ranjan Dey claimed that the TMC had attacked BJP candidates and had tried to stop them from filing nominations. TMC leader Binay Burman denied the allegations and accused the BJP of trying to destroy peace of the area.

In Kandi area of Murshidabad district, a Congress stronghold, unidentified miscreants attacked a rally of Congress supporters led by state Congress president Adhir Chowdhury.

The Congress has accused TMC of being the mastermind behind the attack, while TMC has denied the allegations.

Infuriated over the attacks, Chowdhury along with Congress supported gheraoed a local police station and demanded arrest of the culprits.

"The opposition is not allowed to file nominations, is this a sign of healthy democracy ? Why are they so afraid of opposition filing nominations ?" Chowdhury said.

State BJP president Dilip Ghosh said the party will not "leave a single inch without putting up a fight".

"If we are attacked with bombs, guns and sword then TMC should not expect us to serve them sweets," Ghosh said.

TMC secretary general Partha Chatterjee accused the opposition BJP of trying to foment trouble in the state by "importing outsiders" from neighbouring states.

The rural polls are scheduled to take place in the first week of May in three phases.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
BubbaJones said: And NO straight couple has ever done anything similar, right ?? Not once ??



What makes this story SO news worthy is the fact that it is a same sex couple. Child abuse among same sex couples is almost completely unheard of. It is exceedingly rare. Lesbians are the least likely to harm a child. So this story is a complete anomaly. Click to expand...

No. That adds to the glimmer of the story. It is the combination of the whole thing. These people were basically professional protesters, a walking billboard of progressivism who apparently abused their children to the point that they had to repeatedly moved to avoid authorities and when moving no longer seemed an option they fucking drove themselves off of a cliff killing themselves and at least 50% of the kids.If this story was Clint and Sally who adopted a half dozen kids and drove all over the nation preaching some sort of insane version of Christianity w/ all other aspects the same i would have posted the story and would have the same outrage. Both stand on a soapbox preaching down from their self created moral high ground and should be exposed as the disgusting hypocrites that they are.
Actor-filmmaker Mahesh Manjrekar believes everyone makes mistakes, but when his superstar friend Salman Khan is at fault, it is "blown out of proportion".

On Thursday, the Jodhpur court convicted Salman for killing two blackbucks in October 1998 when he was shooting for the film "Hum Saath Saath Hai", and sentenced him to five years in jail.

The trial court acquitted his co-stars, Saif Ali Khan, Tabu, Neelam and Sonali Bendre, giving them the "benefit of doubt".

"Salman is one guy who is ready to take the rap. He is ready to take the rap, the blame (on himself). He is human at the end of the day. Who doesn't make a mistake? I definitely make a mistake. But when he makes a mistake, it is blown out of proportion," Manjrekar told PTI.

Manjrekar and Salman have worked together in films such as "Wanted", "Dabangg", "Ready" and "Jai Ho" among others.

"Salman is more than a friend to me. I don't know what transpired (in the case), the courts are there to decide. But today if you ask me what is your wish, I would say he should be released tomorrow. He doesn't deserve to be in jail. From two days my wife is asking me what is going to happen, and I am like, he will be out soon," he added.

The "Vaastav" director believes celebrity status of the "Sultan" actor made things difficult for him.

"Maybe a thousand people who have hunted an animal have got away. Hunting is legal in places like (South) Africa and other countries. There are (rules) like you can't kill a female animal, can't kill young leopard or lion, so they decide what you are going to kill, they see the balance is maintained.

"Wherever hunting is legal, animals thrive. Here (in India) guys don't know what they are killing, they go and kill on the sly.... kill any animal randomly," he said.

Manjrekar has not met the Khan family yet as he feels it is not the right time to discuss the verdict with them.

"It is not the time to talk about it. There are times when you should let the family bear the grief alone, it is not that if you ask them about it, it is going to reduce their pain," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The country's 100GW solar mission target will be achieved ahead of its target in 2022, Minister for Science and Technology Harsh Vardhan said here today.

"The government has set a target of 175GW of renewable power by 2022 and out of it 100GW should be in solar. It will not be a problem," he said.

He was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a seminar on solar technologies organised jointly by NB Institute for Rural Technology (NBIRT) and Vikram Solar.

The Union minister, however, did not mention how much of the solar mission has been achieved so far.

In West Bengal, roof-top solar project has not picked up fast enough owing to regulatory hurdles, a senior solar power expert said.

According to the present regulation, net metering is not allowed for single phase roof-top solar projects below 5KW.

"West Bengal is the only state in the country where net metering is not allowed for roof-top solar below 5KW as against 1KW in other states. Moreover, the same is not allowed for single phase (residential connections)," he said.

"The West Bengal regulatory Commission will have to bring down the threshold criteria to 1KW from 5KW to push household roof-top solar in the state," the expert said.

The first floating solar project in the city will come up at Vikramgarh jheel close to South City Mall.

"The state power minister Shovandeb Chatterjee had taken an initiative to protect the lake with a floating solar project of 350KW to be constructed at Rs 2.6 crore at Vikramgarh lake," NBIRT president S P Gon Chaudhury said.

The lake area has reduced to 3.6 acres in 2017 from 7.6 acres in 2002 according to satellite date, he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Goa police have arrested a 32-year-old woman for allegedly selling her 11-month-old son for Rs two lakh.

Shaila Patil, the mother of the child, alleged buyer Amar Morje (32) and Patil's friends Yogesh Gosawi (42) and Anant Damaji (34) who allegedly helped her strike the deal were arrested yesterday after her husband lodged a complaint.

Inspector Harish Madkaikar of Ponda police station, who is investigating the case, said Patil allegedly sold the child keeping her husband in the dark as she needed money.

All the accused live in Pernem tehsil. Shaila Patil is originally from Pune.

She asked her friends Gosawi and Damaji to help her sell her baby son, saying she badly needed Rs two lakh.

Gosawi and Damaji contacted Morje, who is married but childless and was allegedly willing to buy a baby.

The child was handed over to Morje on March 23, the police officer said.

Patil's husband was away at the time. He found out what had happened on his return, and approached police, inspector Madkaikar said.

Police have registered a case under anti-trafficking provisions of the Indian Penal Code, he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Panther said: I still think she is going to try for a third run. That or at least until the obvious hits her in the face. Click to expand...

@PantherI would imagine she still holds quite a bit of support--though, running her against Trump a second time would not seem to make much sense, considering we already know how that plays out.What is truly amazing is that she has not learned from her failings at all; as accusations such as this (the Thread topic) is up there with the top reasons why she did not make it. Apparently, if you necessarily characterize half the country 'abusers' and the other half 'beaten down victims trying to get their footing against all odds';As for her support, I know on College campus, she was a huge hit with many of the female students and Professors--I do not imagine that has changed much. Many such (young) women seem to view it as one of the 'abused' rising up, against all odds and taking the 'abusers' head-on, beating them at their own game. etc.
Friday, April 6, 2018 at 10:10PM

The University of Waterloo launched the Waterloo Artificial Intelligence Institute today, bringing together a large group of researchers and businesses to advance technology and prepare Canada for future economic disruption.

Waterloo AI uniquely focuses on end-to-end innovation ranging from foundational to operational AI. Foundational AI advances the field as a whole through research in a number of areas, including statistical learning, deep learning, game theory and data science. Operational AI develops scalable, secure and transparent solutions for a wide range of applications.

As part of its mandate, Waterloo AI will pursue new areas of research with societal and business impact including healthcare, environmental protection, urban planning, manufacturing, autonomous systems and human-machine interaction and will emphasize timely access to expertise to individuals and industry.

"The launch of Waterloo AI enhances Canada's leadership in foundational and operational AI as it brings together world-renowned researchers with industry to accelerate innovation and prepare for future disruptions," said Feridun Hamdullahpur, president and vice-chancellor at Waterloo. "By connecting research talent with industry expertise, Waterloo AI will identify problems and produce solutions that will actively benefit our society."

Waterloo AI is a joint-venture of the University's faculties of Engineering and Mathematics and will also include researchers from Arts, Applied Health Sciences, Environment and Science. It is affiliated with a number of existing labs, centres and institutes at Waterloo.

"Artificial intelligence is estimated to contribute up to $15.7 trillion per year to the global economy by 2030; if properly leveraged AI will promote innovation, grow the economy and create thousands of middle-class jobs," said the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development. "As a world-leader in AI, Canada's talent and expertise attract millions in foreign investment annually.

"Our government will continue to build on our strengths in AI and we look forward to seeing the contributions of the Waterloo AI institute in the months to come."

Waterloo AI is led by two co-directors: Fakhri Karray, professor of electrical and computer engineering, and Peter van Beek, professor of computer science.

Sponsors of Waterloo AI include General Motors Canada, Huawei Technologies Co, Loblaw Companies Limited, Nutrien, Shopify, Borealis AI, Magna International, Miovision Technologies, NexJ Systems and Scribendi.
whats-on, music-theatre-arts

"I've stood naked in front of a room full of people so I feel like I can pretty much do anything." There's a side effect to performing burlesque that Canberra mum and public servant Rachel Reid (stage name Jazida) can't get enough of. "It's really empowering to perform and I've noticed the longer I do it, the more that empowerment accidentally spills over to more parts of my life," Reid says. "I feel like, well I've taken my clothes off in front of a room full of people so I suppose that I can now turn around to my boss and tell them I don't agree, or give my opinion louder. "I'm much more willing to stand up for myself and be like, 'No actually, I'm not going to tolerate this' - it's helped me be a stronger person in general." Reid, 29, is headed for Las Vegas next month to perform at the Burlesque Hall of Fame. She's the first Canberran to do so, and will appear alongside 100 of the world's best burlesque performers. She'll take to the stage in the 'Movers, Shakers and Innovators' category of the hall of fame's global burlesque festival, performing a circus routine that sees her transforming from an aggressive ringmaster to a forgetful clown and back again in the space of four minutes. Not bad for an ACT Government customer experience specialist who first donned a pair of fishnets and a set of false eyeleashes for her debut burlesque performance in 2015. She won Burlesque Idol Canberra that same year and in 2016 took out the local Miss Burlesque and Baby Bombshell titles. While performing on stage is "just the most empowering experience ever" it's actually the work that goes into her costumes that Reid loves most about burlesque. On weekends you'll find her at Bunnings Belconnen or Spotlight in Queanbeyan, buying sequins, hot glue sticks, spack filler and carpet tape. The weirdest thing she's ever purchased for one of her acts is fake sugar, to pour over herself in her Candy Land act. Burlesque - traditionally performed in a variety show format and featuring "bawdy comedy and female striptease" - has never been more popular in Canberra, according to Reid. In the three years she's been performing, she's seen the establishment of two new burlesque dance schools and more and more sold out shows and burlesque venues popping up every year. "It's the number of events, the number of producers producing and the fact that the shows are all selling out, there's a really great appetite for burlesque in Canberra at the moment," she says. "In terms of the national burlesque scene we've got some pretty prestigious people here, including [current Australian Burlesque Idol] Rainbow, and it's meant we've been able to network and bridge to the national community. "We get a lot of interstate guests and we're upskilling constantly." But if burlesque is apparently all about female empowerment, isn't Reid doing women a huge disservice by getting her kit off and dancing suggestively onstage? "If you said that to me I would firstly tell you to actually come to a burlesque show and actually see what it's about," she said. "Because that tells me you've got an assumption about what burlesque is and I'd like to prove you wrong. "It's really very empowering and if you attend a burlesque show or you get to know the community, you'll realise very quickly that it is not an artform targeted at men. "In fact, the majority of the burlesque audience is women, very few men attend burlesque shows. It's very much an artform for women that's viewed by women, performed to women and it's fabulous."

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news, latest-news

One of the real workhorses of the Australian Defence Force will be making an appearance at the Canberra Airport's open day on Sunday - and it will be hard to miss. The massive C-17A Globemaster will be flown to Canberra from RAAF Base Amberley in Queensland for the day, giving spectators a chance to also go inside the aircraft which is capable of carrying up to 77 tonnes of cargo. The flying behemoth can carry an Abrams Tank, four Bushmaster vehicles or three Black Hawk helicopters. The heavy transport aircraft has a wingspan of 51.75m, height of 16.8m and length of 53m. It weighs 128 tonnes empty and 256 tonnes when filled to capacity. The C-17A Globemaster is believed to be the biggest plane to attend a Canberra Airport open day. The plane not only allows quick deployment of personnel and cargo, but it has also been an integral part of disaster relied and humanitarian missions. Loadmaster Sergeant Cameron Espley will be flying down with the aircraft to meet and greet visitors and explain all its amazing capabilities. Sergeant Espley was with the plane when it helped in the recovery process in Tonga following the devastation wrought by Cyclone Gita earlier this year. The flight to Canberra will take about 90 minutes and the aircraft will return to Queensland at the end of the day. "It's a good aircraft. Reliable," Sergeant Espley said. "The best things about it are the help it provides and the amount of cargo it can move. You see a normal aircraft with its passengers and luggage - this can move three Black Hawk helicopters or a tank." More than 20,000 people are expected to attend the airport open day on Sunday. The event is free but all tickets have been snapped up. Nevertheless, keep an eye out on the Canberra Airport Facebook page on Sunday morning when some tickets may be released for the Sunday afternoon session. Those attending are reminded again to consider using shuttle buses. There will be a free park-and-ride bus service operating from the City bus station and Russell. This service will operate every 10 minutes from 8.30am. Limited parking is also available at Majura Park off Catalina Drive.

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news, latest-news

She's been called a whore, a slut, the prostitute queen, a woman painted as a strumpet who used her beauty to seduce men for both pleasure and political gain. Yet Cleopatra ruled over Egypt for more than 20 years, a diplomat, linguist, mother, wife, lover and warrior queen, whose decisions were made in the best interest of her country and her children. So why do we best remember her as a promiscuous wanton who seduced her way to fame and fortune? Because that's where men have placed her in history. As Bell Shakespeare's version of Antony and Cleopatra makes its way to Canberra, what better time to look at how the queen has been wrongly portrayed over the years. And yes, by Shakespeare himself. In his 2016 discussion about Sexism and Shakespeare, John T. McHugh says Cleopatra is one of the most brash female characters in all of Shakespeare's works. "In Antony and Cleopatra she is almost always viewed through the lens of the male characters of the play, who view her as a whore, apart from Antony, who views her as his greatest love," Mc Hugh writes. "As one would expect, the men of the play are who develop the character of Cleopatra, viewing her as a sexual deviant and an over-dramatic actress. "But, this has given Cleopatra a unique space to speak for herself, for the same feminine stereotypes that the men throw upon her is where Cleopatra's feminine power flourishes, controlling the entirety of Antony and Cleopatra." In her 2015 book The Jezebel Effect: Why the slut-shaming of famous queens still matters, Kyra Cornelius Kramer says the fact Cleopatra is better known for her seductions than her statecraft "isn't a way for historians to keep these interesting women in the public eye, rather it's a subversion of their power, a re-writing of history to belittle and shame these powerful figures, preventing them from becoming icons of feminine strength and capability". She says slut shaming has its roots in our earliest history and has always been used to punish women for transgressions against gender norms, "threatening the security of their place in society and warning that they'd better be 'good girls' and not rock the patriarchal boat, or they, too could end up with people believing they've slept with everything from farm animals to relatives." Bell Shakespeare founder John Bell himself, in his book On Shakespeare, describes Cleopatra as "undoubtedly one of Shakespeare's most magnificent creations and probably the greatest female role ever written. She is fantastically intelligent, sensual and self-regarding; comfortable with her body and her passions but painfully aware of encroaching age." And you thought it was just a play. Dr Kate Flaherty, senior lecturer in english and drama at the School of Literature, Languages and Linguistics at the Australian National University, says Shakespeare's Cleopatra is a vivid and complex moving part set in motion among other moving parts. "Both in other characters' descriptions of her and in the speech he gives her, Shakespeare sets her up as exceedingly powerful," Flaherty says. "If performed compellingly, Shakespeare's Cleopatra invites the audience to experience and reflect on their own responses to power, charisma, and topically for our times, infatuation with celebrity." Flaherty says Cleopatra's power comes from her ambivalence. "She does not fit neatly into a moral scheme or a 'how to' guide for female empowerment," she says. "She's violent, selfish, capricious and even cowardly but so mesmerising. If we find her so, it puts the ball in our court and we find ourselves in the middle of moral confusion. "This is not an experience that modern life cultivates or reflects on much. We are set up for very quick verdicts: for applauding or writing people off with a tweet, for deciding which team they are on and then moving on. ''Cleopatra has power to provoke and confuse because Shakespeare stretches out time  setting us up to linger in Egypt idly watching, enjoying, suspending our judgement." She doesn't agree with the idea that Cleopatra is a feminist icon. "Emphatically not! That also prompts me to wonder why we need icons in the first place. I think the play suggests that our need for icons is part of what puts us in danger." Over the years Cleopatra has been played, on stage and screen, by such great actors as Judi Dench, Helen Mirren, Vivien Leigh, Theda Bara, Sophia Loren and, perhaps most famously, Elizabeth Taylor. Kim Kardashian even posed as Cleopatra for a cover of Harper's Bazaar magazine. For this Bell Shakespeare season, Catherine McClements, of Wentworth, Water Rats and The Broken Shore, is queen. Or in this version, a suburban shire councillor having a tawdry bickering affair. In Canberra now, after its Sydney run through March, it's been interesting to read reviews of her performance. "McClements, who emphasises Cleopatra's commonness and shrewishness at the expense of other qualities, also has moments so sublime as to suggest what might have been," John Shand wrote in The Sydney Morning Herald. "When Antony announces his return to Rome, for example, and Cleopatra suddenly softens to deliver the heartbreaking speech that begins, 'Courteous lord, one word...' and concludes 'O, my oblivion is a very Antony / and I am all forgotten', McClements is riveting, exposing a vulnerability for which we are wholly unprepared." In The Daily Telegraph, Jo Litson said "McClements gives a marvellous performance that introduces a shot of adrenaline to proceedings whenever she takes the spotlight. She doesn't convey any queenliness, and there is little sense of why the most powerful men in the world fall at her feet, but you can't take your eyes off her and she delivers the language superbly." In The Australian John McCallum says "there is a superb performance by Catherine McClements as Cleopatra, although in this setting we never really see her as the Queen of Egypt, nor do we see Mark Antony, played with romantic appeal by Johnny Carr, as the greatest warrior of his age. We take on faith that they have a grand passion for each other. What we mainly see are the bickerings of a middle-aged couple who have found a love that is believable but somehow not magnificent." It's interesting even here that Cleopatra is defined, somewhat, by her allure and her relationship with Antony. "Who would deny herself the opportunity to play Cleopatra, despite all the pitfalls" says McClements, speaking to The Canberra TImes in the middle of the Sydney season. As for playing her as a feminist icon, "F*** that's no fun," McClements says. "You're butting up against everyone's preconceptions of that character. "It's like the classic Enobarbus speech ... you can't deny that speech but you don't want to fall victim to it either. "You don't want to deny her humanness yet it's easy to fall into a trap." McClements says she has no interest in playing strong characters, that all her roles have a weakness she likes to exploit. "What does it matter if women are weak or strong?" she says. "What I love about Cleopatra is at the end she ends up kneeling before the feet of Caesar and [saying], 'It's okay. In fact, I understand more about life. "This is what she says at the end when she says, 'My desolation does begin to make a better life'. "It's no good to be on the top of your fortune all the time, you learn more about life at the bottom of your fortune. "That interests me more than people with power, I have no excitement about power." Yet she said she wondered whether it was possible to create Cleopatra "without the male gaze - make her someone that women admire more than what men desire." She found inspiration in an unlikely place, in musician Patti Smith. "I went and saw Patti Smith not long after I got the role and I went oh my god, she is like a Cleopatra, a queen of her world, a queen of her time, a time that is now passing, like in Antony and Cleopatra. "Men fell head over heels for Patti yet she didn't define herself by the male gaze. Her look, her poetry, completely came from her own psychology, her own thoughts of the world. "She was capricious, she was childish, she was deep, when I saw her she was a modern Cleopatra." And that's the thing about the play, what McClements loves about director Peter Evans' version of it. "Peter never denies it's an old play, we know it was written in the 1600s, Peter never denies it's a story from 40BC, yet we are modern characters, placed in a modern setting, it's about redefining what is a queen." And perhaps redefining how we view all powerful women. Antony and Cleopatra opens at the Canberra Theatre on April 12 and runs until April 21. Dr Flaherty is exploring Shakespeare's relationship with text throughout history in Is Shakespeare a Book? at the Sir Roland Wilson Building, ANU, on Friday April 6. She will discuss the first big Shakespeare book (The First Folio), pointing out that Shakespeare never lived to see it and ask who has stood to gain and who to lose throughout history from a strong imaginative association between Shakespeare and the book.

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A Canberra company has made a legally binding commitment to spend nearly $300,000 after a delivery driver suffered "life-changing" injuries when he was hit by a falling glass panel. The glass fell on the man while panels were being unloaded at the Glass Tech Australia work site, in Hume, in May 2017. ACT Work Safety commissioner Greg Jones said an investigation into the incident revealed alleged breaches of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011. Following the investigation, Glass Tech submitted a proposal for an enforceable undertaking. Mr Jones said he had accepted the proposal, which will require Glass Tech to spend $164,000 on improvements to safety systems and practices for its workers. The undertaking also includes a commitment to spend $70,400 on glass stock and training for Canberra Institute of Technology students, and $60,700 on community benefits. These will include a new vehicle for Red Cross, and freezer units to safely transport donated breast milk for premature babies. Should Glass Tech fail to comply with the undertaking, WorkSafe ACT can seek court enforcement and an additional $250,000 penalty. "The injury which occurred on this site was preventable and should not have happened," Mr Jones said. "The delivery driver sustained significant and life-changing injuries when he was struck by a falling glass panel." Mr Jones said he had accepted an enforceable undertaking in this instance because it would improve safety for Glass Tech workers and the industry in general. However, WorkSafe ACT was still committed to pursuing prosecution in cases where it was deemed appropriate, he said. "We have already seen improvements to the safety culture at Glass Tech," he said. Mr Jones said WorkSafe ACT would continue to monitor the company to ensure it complied with the undertaking, which also includes non-financial commitments.

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A 67-year-old man from Sydney was charged with four "serious" assault offences allegedly perpetrated against his new wife, who recently arrived in Australia from China. In the ACT Magistrates Court on Saturday, Chief Magistrate Lorraine Walker charged the man with two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and two counts of common assault. The magistrate refused bail because of the likelihood of re-offending and the vulnerability of his wife, who does not speak English and has no support networks in Australia, the court heard. Court documents state the woman is not a permanent resident or citizen of Australia. Court documents state the man and his new bride had travelled to Canberra for a holiday. The alleged first offence occurred at the Australian War Memorial on April 5 in front of witnesses. It was caught on CCTV and war memorial security staff called police to attend. It is alleged the man and the woman were having a "heated argument" when the man allegedly began to chase the women, swinging a bag in what security believe was an attempt to hit her in the head. Police attended and the woman, through a translator, supported the defendant and did not disclose violent behaviour. The couple was taken to their hotel by police. The following morning it is alleged the woman woke up to the man collecting her handbag and belongings. Court documents state she feared the man was in the process of checking out without her, and taking her things. She attempted to take her bag, however it is alleged the man grabbed her by her hair, putting his other hand around her throat. It is alleged he began to squeeze her throat and forced her to the floor. It is alleged he continued to restrain her for a further 10 minutes. Photos tendered to the court show "deep bruising" and red marks on the woman's neck. A knock on the door interrupted the alleged assault and the woman ran out of the room towards the hotel reception. The man also left the room and checked out of the hotel. It is alleged an argument between the pair ensued in the hotel lobby, with a witness telling police the man reached out his hands towards the woman's neck. A staff member of the hotel then stood between the pair. It is alleged the man said to the staff member, "that's my wife I can do whatever I want". Police were called and the woman had her injuries assessed by paramedics. The man was placed under arrest. The alleged victim had arrived in Australia in December 2017, and the couple had married in March. Chief Magistrate Lorraine Walker said some of the alleged offences were "brazen attacks on a women in a public place". The magistrate said the man showed a disregard for the woman and her individual worth. She said the woman, who has no other income, no other support and no other address, was particularly vulnerable and she was not satisfied any bail conditions that might be imposed could protect her safety. Bail was refused and the man will be remanded in custody until he appears before the court again later this month. No pleas were entered. A translator was available to the man and his representative from Legal Aid, however a translator was not available to translate proceedings during the bail hearing. The magistrate noted that information for the record but said it was necessary to proceed with the case.
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A 45-year-old Canberra man has been remanded in custody after he allegedly assaulted his former partner and mother of his three children. The ACT Magistrates Court heard the woman feared for her safety and the safety of their children. The man, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the children, was charged with two common assaults. The assaults allegedly occurred on March 26 but police were unable to apprehend the man until this week. He appeared in court on Saturday. It is alleged on March 26 the man elbowed the woman in front of their young child, and then spat in her face in front of another. Documents tended to the court state the man allegedly said to the woman, "you're lucky that's all you got, c**t" before he allegedly made threats to strangle her. The court heard the woman sought a domestic violence protection order but it had not yet been served. The court heard the man had breached a protection order against the same woman in 2012. Chief Magistrate Lorraine Walker said the charges of assault were on the "lower end" of the scale, but the threats were "most concerning". The magistrate said she had to take into account that the complainant feared for her life. "The safety balance is in favour of a remand in custody," she said. Bail was refused. The man did not enter pleas. He will be brought back to court later this month.

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As Andrew Barr, Canberras Chief Minister, sees it, a program of constant change is dragging Canberra and its population away from a cliff. Change is politically difficult, and many people are extremely uncomfortable with the status quo. But if we throw up our collective hands and hope for the best, we are going to get steamrollered by the technological, workforce and transport changes coming at us," Mr Barr told the Canberra Business Chamber on Thursday. To compete and win, cities need to embrace and shape this change. Thats what were doing in Canberra. What is the alternative? To just drift along and hope that the federal government will throw some more money at us? To never do anything for fear of upsetting someone? This city will stagnate under timid managerialism. Young people will leave for better opportunities in bigger cities. New investment will dry up. This is not the path we choose. We are not here to mind the shop.  On the face of it, his brand of economic interventionism seems to be working, and maybe he deserves some political reward for his courage in the face of the naysayers and the timid. The ACT economy is in good shape. It grew by 4.7 per cent in the year to end of June last year. Theres a jobs boom. Over the past 12 months, employment in the ACT grew by 4.7 per cent, smashing the 10-year average rate of 1.5 per cent. Charitably, lets assume that all this economic activity is a consequence of his bold leadership. Perhaps hes the model for a federal government, if of a different stripe, suddenly seeming very interested in rolling up its sleeves and getting directly involved in promoting what it sees as better economic opportunities. In recent weeks Malcolm Turnbull has been trying, unsuccessfully so far, to broker some sort of deal for the takeover of a coal-fired power station scheduled for closure. Having failed to persuade the owner to reinvest in keeping the station going, he wants a competitor to buy it. The owner, AGL, is quite resistant either to a divorce or remarriage, regardless of the dowries on offer. It has its own plans for reinvesting in energy supply  if not without coal  and , as its detractors are snarkily suggesting, because it will profit if energy prices rise if there is a shortfall in the energy that is available. Out of sight from most coastal-dwelling Australians, the National Party continues to promote, and Malcolm Turnbull to benevolently smile over, a scheme for a vast inland railway that can never pay its own way. It will cost taxpayers even more than the last similar National boondoggle  the Alice Springs to Darwin railway line. In the modern day, the test of the viability of such schemes  and similar schemes seeking federal help, such as the Adani coal mine in Queensland  might once have been the willingness of the private sector, and the banking system to invest. If they wont theres usually a very good reason. Its not as if private investors, or lenders, are being held back. Theres still a possibility of private investment in what is being promoted as the nation-building Snowy Mountains Hydro Mark 2, but the Department of Finance should not get its hopes up. Initial costs estimates have already doubled and a prime minister claiming a business background doesnt even seem to care. The early days of the Abbott Government saw an amazing moment when theory, zeal and ideology knew few limits, and Cabinet told domestic car manufacturers  and later a cannery  to go jump. Cabinet was well aware of the South Australian job implications, but thought, probably rightly, that the economy would be better off in the long run. This proved to be one of the few occasions  and the last -- in which the courage of the Abbott and Turnbull governments has ever brought it within sight of the enemy. From then on, particularly under Malcolm Turnbull, it has been frank retreat, to the point where the short, the medium and the long term cost of the new submarine purchase is many times what it should be so as to create jobs for South Australians. Compared with this political imperative no one cares about getting the best, the best-value or the most suitable submarines. Forty years ago, a ginger group of Liberals led by John Hyde and Jim Carlton began to agitate for a new party ideology focused on the idea that markets were the best, most effective and even, usually, the most moral, ways of rationing resources, even public resources. Converts, including the then Treasurer, John Howard, came in time to be bitterly critical of the caution and timidity with which then prime minister, Malcolm Fraser, applied political, economic and party philosophy to the resolution of problems of government. Fraser came from the school of Bob Menzies, not Adam Smith. The Menzies Liberal Party purported to believe in free markets, but was quite comfortable regulating and in restricting free competition. It was comfortable using the purchasing and spending power of government, and its moral and legal powers, to impose its will on markets or on individual players. If it had a more restrained and narrow view than Labor about the role of government in promoting and causing social change, it was, in modern day terms at least, very much in the camp of big government. It believed that direct regulation and intervention were necessary to prevent the brutality of pure market forces being visited on people facing disadvantage. The Liberal Partys shift to the right was matched  sometimes even led  by a similar shift to the right by the Labor Party under Bob Hawke and Paul Keating during the 1980s and 1990s. The political landscape, and the thinking of the bureaucracy and the institutions, and the commentariat, changed markedly towards a strong belief in markets. Much of the electorate never actually went along with this shift of approach, particularly as it led to privatisations, contracting out of services, and an increasing focus on rationing and coercion. But voters were at least a bit susceptible to panicky slogans about Budget deficits, an alleged need to reduce the size of government and reduce the crippling burden of taxes, particularly on business and the rich, and on the need to administer tough love, and frugality, on those at the bottom of the heap. Other rich economies became influenced by much the same ideas, in any event heavily promoted by organisations such as the OECD. In some countries, such as the US, outbreaks of liberalism, neo-liberalism, fear and loathing of government and white nationalism have produced new movements such as the Tea Party as well as isolationist, anti-immigration groups, who want to opt out of international trade liberalisation, blamed for lost local jobs. Free market fervour has reached its zenith. There is remaining rhetorical lip service paid to its doctrines. But what governments have been doing, as opposed to saying, is back to big government interventionism. Why should markets be let rip, even the zealot might argue, when one sees the rapacity with which big banks have ripped off their customers? Or the blandness with which chief executives have blamed problems on a few bad apples, and received fresh bonuses? Or has seen businessmen proclaiming the virtues of transparency and fair process while demanding (and often getting) special favours, licences, grants and exclusive rights, free of the competition they otherwise extol? Changing views about the role of markets and government affected government and politicians rather more than they affected the approach of business, or the way the electorate saw things. The size of government has not much changed in recent times. The long-term tendency has been for it to increase, a process somewhat masked by the number of continuing functions taken off-budget. Modern government is about 60 per cent bigger, as a proportion of GDP, than in Whitlams day, when, allegedly, government was so profligate as to almost inspire mutiny, revolt, chaos and economic and moral collapse. Since then, new governments have tended to prune expenditure, but not by much, and not for very long. Barr no longer battles against any federal contraction of money spent in Canberra. That, still as ever, is the main driver of local jobs and prosperity. The biggest modern constraint on the budget bottom line is on the revenue side, largely due to automatic levers created, more unwittingly than intentionally, by John Howard and Peter Costello. The state or territory politician does not look only to national and international views about government activism. The record does not, or should not, offer much encouragement for bold action. Leaders have sought to promote growth in their polity by schemes to encourage the entry of new businesses through tax concessions, by direct (if not always transparent) subsidy, and by using the power of government itself as a customer and player to reward and punish other players. Some premiers and chief ministers have driven hard their pet theories of how the states growth and political and economic future might be secured. Sometimes their ideas have worked for a while. Generally, their costs and benefits have been accurately charted, most often by Royal Commissions when the music stopped and everything went terribly wrong. We all remember WA Inc and the slow implosion of the recent mining boom, the South Australian State Bank affair, the Fitzgerald Royal Commission in Queensland, and Tricontinental in Victoria, and any number of boosting-the-economy schemes in Tasmania. The last hard driver of the ACT economy  in a far tougher economic climate than Barr has faced  was Kate Carnell, whose demise was linked to stadiumitis and to making a public spectacle of the demise of a Canberra hospital. In NSW we have an almost continuous ICAC show, periodical inquiries reminding us how inevitably police follow the example of their political masters, and ample cases of the political diversion of money away from infrastructure, education health and essential services towards Olympic circuses, mates, and public-private projects where profit goes in one direction and risk and long-term consequences in the other. Many of those who conceived of such schemes of actively driving their economies were in no way corrupt. When they were being blamed, often after initial apparent success, it was often for getting deeply out of their depth, or failing to anticipate external circumstances they were in no position to control. In almost every case there were smarties, particularly in the private sector, seeking opportunities from the start, and well aware of how easily politicians can be flattered and told how wise and statesmenlike they are. So too with bureaucrats, few of whom have any great experience in business, and fewer of whom these days seem to have much sense of the public interest. The lesson to be drawn from such debacles is that government works best when it creates the environment in which business, enterprise, and imagination can flourish. Getting too involved, driving too hard, inevitably leads to disaster. It happens with picking winners." It happens with beggar-my-neighbour schemes to lure businesses (or sporting enterprises, or airlines) with concessions, rationalised as being well worthwhile because they will bring employment, or tourism, or business for restaurants. It happens when government decided to subsidise or invest in marginal economic propositions  if, indeed, they were not marginal at best, no one would be asking for government help. Bitter experience has never frightened off bold souls. I can think of any number of premiers and chief ministers who have made lasting impacts during their political careers  rarely lasting a decade  on their communities. Some caused lasting change. But I cannot think readily of one who made much impact on his regions economy  whether for good or ill. Perhaps Joh Bjelke Petersen did, in both senses. But it did not do him much good in the end. The proper approach is not timid managerialism, nor being like a cow standing in a paddock watching the cars go by. But nor does it involve turning the Treasury into a lolly shop for rent seekers, becoming an arbiter of public taste, de facto town planner, chief spruiker for commercial activity, or chairman of a board assessing the viability of profit-seeking ideas. But getting the roads right. Restoring public education and being agile and innovative in public health. Improving the efficiency (and effectiveness) of regulation. These can actually make things happen and change peoples lives.

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The Treasurer and others might well look to behavioural psychology and behavioural economics when framing the Budget, but we would be better off if they ignored them. It took several decades for mainstream economists to accept that the economists view of the world was essentially flawed. For a long time, classical economists worked on the theory that humans act rationally in their self-interest to maximise utility, so people should be given as much choice as possible and markets will sort everything out for the benefit of all. Then along came the behavioural psychologists who proved this was wrong. They showed that people were not rational and often did not act in their own best interests. In particular, people were averse to loss. Given a choice between a certain gift of $500 or a toss of a coin with tails yielding zero and heads yielding $1100, nearly everyone takes the certain $500. This is despite the fact that the 50 per cent chance of more than double the $500 is clearly worth more than $500. However, given a choice between a certain loss of $500 or a toss of a coin to avoid that risk with tails being no loss and heads being a loss of $1100, nearly everyone chooses to take the risk of a toss of the coin. This is despite the fact that the 50 per cent chance of more than doubling in the loss is clearly worth less than taking the $500 loss up front. The Israeli-American psychologist Daniel Kahneman did thousands of questionnaires during decades of research showing how easily people are diverted from rational assessments and decision-making. The fact he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Economics in 2002 was recognition by mainstream economics that the assumptions upon which it based its theories, predictions and conclusions were utterly flawed. However, it has not stopped many economists still glorifying market solutions and more importantly, calling for smaller government because people will make rational choices. Of course, if they did, there would be no poker machines, among other things. Sometimes the context or the way something is phrased can make it look like a loss rather than a gain. If a trader is expecting a $1 million bonus and gets $500,000 bonus, it is a gain, but the trader sees it as a loss. If the trader gets $1 million, it looks like a gain. But if all the other traders get $2 million bonuses, it is seen as a loss. So, it is not the absolute value or utility that drives the answer but the context. With the Budget, it seems the government is well aware of behavioural psychology. For a start, it has only hinted at tax cuts. If it builds up expectations, unless the tax cuts are very large they might be seen as a loss. If people at the lower end get less than people on the higher scales it will again be seen by them as a loss. This government, like most recent governments, is swayed by the mantra of no one being worse off. Voters are extremely loss averse. They look at losses and gains asymetrically. They treat a small loss (extra tax or cut in benefit) as of much greater consequence than a greater gain. Governments are alert to this. It explains why cutting government spending is so difficult. The only spending recently that has been easy to cut is foreign aid. It is about the only area where a cut is not a loss to a voter. Behavioural psychologists point out that humans do not behave rationally. It is more unfortunate, however, that in a democracy politicians have to factor in that irrationality when making decisions, simply because voters will turn on them if they do not. That may explain why poll-driven politics was for a long time a term of derision. If you pander to voters, you are pandering to the irrational. It might also explain why a rational, sensible policy was termed courageous in the Yes, Minister series. If you made a sensible decision, you needed courage to face the wrath of the irrational. Education is a classic case in point. The first iteration of Gonski delivered a rational prescription for spending on education. It required some extra money but also a reallocation of the total pool of federal and state funding so that schools with less advantaged students got more. Within a short time, loss aversion came to the fore: Will you guarantee that no school will be worse off. The Gillard Government fell for it and promised extra funding so no school would be worse off. By doing so she guaranteed that in fact everyone would be worse off. Not redirecting money to the lowest performing students will cost Australia at least $120 billion over the next 45 years according to an OECD formula applied in research published this week by the Public Education Foundation. It stands to reason. If you spend too much on top-performing students in top, well-funded schools you will not get much extra performance for your dollar. If you spend more on poor-performing students you get better performance immediately  a much more rational outcome. Alas, behavioural psychology tells us that parents of students at individual schools which face a funding cut will want to avert that loss. They will campaign and scream and make life difficult for the courageous politician making the rational decision. Before government makes a decision that will impose a loss on anyone, it has to be confident that the loss is imposed only on voters unlikely to vote for them. This perhaps explains why overall reforms with gives and takes has become almost impossible, whether in education, health or tax, even if overall everyone would be better off in the long run. Loss aversion is so strong that any advantages either immediate or long-term are hardly considered. And this is even before we consider the influence of donors on the political process. www.crispinhull.com.au

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Photo: Mike Biden Okanagan Mountain Park is one of the parks that the Okanagan Similkameen Parks Society has established.

The subject of water will carry the flow of this year's annual general meeting for the Okanagan Similkameen Parks Society.

After electing a new board and dealing with other business to begin the meeting, award-winning documentary 'A River Film' will be shown.

The 40-minute movie showcases Osoyoos Lake and the Okanagan River Basin  two transboundary water bodies  and outlines how competing needs within the watershed are balanced by Canada and the United States.

The film debuted in October in the South Okanagan, and earlier this year it won an Impact DOCS Award of Excellence.

The OSPS annual meeting takes place on April 20 at 7 p.m., at the Centre Stage Theatre next to Summerland Secondary School.

The society says the meeting is free and open to the public, and that donations are welcome.

OSPS works to acquire and preserve parklands. In its history the society has established Okanagan Mountain Park, Cathedral Lakes Park and Conkle Lake Park, among other feats.
Photo: Contributed

The family of a B.C. man fatally shot by RCMP is asking questions about the office that investigates police-involved deaths across the province, saying its very structure makes it "designed to fail."

Peter de Groot was living on a homestead near Slocan, when he was involved in a confrontation with RCMP in October 2014 and fled into the bush.

The 45-year-old, described by his family as an accomplished scholar who had suffered a disabling brain aneurysm, was found in a cabin four days later and police have said he was shot and killed by an officer after he pointed a rifle at them.

A report released March 29 by the Independent Investigations Office concludes the officer's actions were justified and charges are not warranted, but de Groot's family says in a statement that many key issues remain unanswered.

They say the office carefully selected the evidence used in its report, that it was stymied by a lack of resources and received no co-operation from the RCMP officer who fired the fatal shot.

Ron MacDonald, chief civilian director of the office, said in an interview Friday that the law clearly states people who are being investigated for a potential criminal offence can't be forced to give a statement.

"That has to be their voluntary choice, and that's what the Supreme Court of Canada has told us."

The family's lawyer, Donald Sorochan, said the structure of the Independent Investigations Office makes delays and inadequate results inevitable.

Sorochan said the agency is modelled on Ontario's Special Investigations Unit, but in setting up B.C.'s office, the province "ignored the many years of challenges and resistance to oversight by police stakeholders in Ontario, which had necessitated several reports by senior judges."

B.C.'s office uses a memorandum of understanding with police agencies and doesn't have the "statutory and regulatory enactment foundation" found in Ontario, Sorochan said in a statement issued Friday on behalf of de Groot's family.

"Unlike Ontario, the IIO is required to investigate actions of members of the RCMP, a force that does not welcome oversight by anyone outside their ranks," he said.

The report clearing the RCMP officer of wrongdoing does not comment on most of the interaction between de Groot and police, focusing instead on whether there was any basis for a criminal charge.

"We had been led to believe that the long wait (for the report) was because the IIO was working to ensure that the entirety of facts and evidence would lead them to their conclusions," it said.

"What has been produced is a document that does not include an account from both police officers involved and does not rely on the entirety of forensic evidence available."

The family points to a post-mortem that they say reveals wounds suffered before and after death that are suggestive of excessive force.

"I can assure the people of British Columbia that this file was very, very thoroughly examined," MacDonald said. "The bottom line here is the evidence is that once the door was opened, a gun was pointed directly at a police officer and he was therefore faced with a threat of imminent death."
Photo: CTV Vancouver

David Murray, a former Pitt Meadows city councillor who was found guilty of sexually assaulting a 14 year old 26 years ago is appealing his conviction.

Murray was sentenced to nine months in jail in March.

Murray had a bail hearing on Friday and was released from custody under court-ordered conditions.

The assault was reported in 2016, while Murray was still a city councillor. He stayed in his role during the investigation.

Murray resigned four days after he was found guilty in October 2017.

 with files from CTV Vancouver
Photo: CTV Pipeline protesters in Victoria.

A man protesting the prime minister's visit to Victoria was arrested on Thursday.

In a brief two-line news release Friday morning, Victoria police say the man was arrested for an "assault that involved the security detail of the prime minister."

A Victoria Police officer was injured during the course of the arrest, but has since returned to work.

The unidentified protester has been released on a promise to appear in court.

Police are still investigating and are releasing no further information.

Hundreds of people protesting expansion of the Trans Mountain Pipeline showed up at events attended by Justin Trudeau in Vancouver and Victoria, Thursday.

The PM was visiting the Ogden Point Coast Guard base in Victoria when the alleged assault presumably took place.
Photo: CTV

Police say they have a man in custody after a female youth was sexually assaulted in Surrey.

RCMP say a man allegedly broke into a home around 4 a.m. Thursday and sexually assaulted the female.

Investigators say they have a person of interest in custody, but few other details have been released.

Mounties initially said the man fled out the back door after he was confronted by someone else in the home.

They say the victim did not suffer any physical injuries but was left shaken by the alleged assault.

Surrey RCMP's special victim's unit has taken over the investigation.
Photo: YKA

Kamloops Airport has posted its busiest quarter ever.

Numbers released Friday by YKA show more than 92,000 passengers used the airport in the first three months of 2018. That's a 5.8 percent increase from 2017.

The numbers are likely to go up with WestJet starting a Calgary direct flight May 1 and Air Canada adding a direct flight to Toronto this summer.

Central Mountain Air also provides service to Kamloops.

The airport's economic impact statement indicates the facility contributes 610 direct and indirect jobs to the regional economy.
Photo: District of Summerland

A week after a 10-metre-wide mudslide, the District of Summerland has extended a local state of emergency for two properties in Garnet Valley.

The district said "indications of ground instability are present," after an engineer assessed damage in the area.

The slide that occurred on the morning of March 30 damaged a home on the property of 21207 Garnet Valley Road.

An evacuation order was given for that home, and a neighbouring property, 21025 Garnet Valley Road, was put on evacuation alert. The district said those notices will remain in place indefinitely.

Staff said they are continuing to discuss with affected property owners, engineers and other professionals. They also advised the public to be prepared for wet weather in the forecast.

"All residents in Summerland are encouraged to be aware of any ground movement, as very high groundwater levels are currently being experienced. Slopes may be saturated and subject to groundwater erosion or ground slippage," the district said.

"If there are signs of such movement, individuals should leave the area immediately."

The entire South Okanagan is expected to see 15 to 25 millimetres of rain from overnight Friday until Saturday evening, according to Environment Canada.
Photo: Google Maps

The B.C. Coroners Service and WorkSafeBC are investigating a worker's death at a truck-trailer loading facility in the Queensborough area of New Westminster.

BC Coroners Service spokesman Andy Watson says the incident occurred Friday morning at 400 Ewen Avenue, and it appears the worker was struck by a semi.

Watson says the service is still determining exactly how the worker died and whether it can make any recommendations regarding deaths in similar circumstances.

New Westminster Police say in a release they are also investigating the death at a location in the Queensborough neighbourhood.

Sgt. Jeff Scott says it's a tragic event and their thoughts are with the family of the person killed.

Commercial Vehicle Safety and Enforcement is are also present at the scene.
Photo: Southern Okanagan Sportsmen's Association The Southern Okanagan Sportsmen's Association put in a catch basin and rubber culvert to redirect water from the overflowing Park Rill Creek, in front of the property.

Effects of floodwater continue to pile on in Willowbrook and rural Oliver.

The Southern Okanagan Sportsmen's Association, located at the end of Sportsmans Bowl Road, closed on April 2 and will remain closed indefinitely, due to the overflowing Park Rill Creek that runs in front of the property.

The gun and archery range has had to put in a catch basin and rubber culvert under the road leading into their property, which vehicles aren't able to drive over.

"Everybody's flooding out (there), right?... It's just a patchwork we put in there to make sure the water didn't go right down into the neighbour's housing area," Brian Amos said, who is part of SOSA's board of directors.

"We're running water wherever we can put it that's not going to bother anybody... Just redirect it so somebody doesn't get hurt."

Further upstream, Kearns Creek is one of the tributaries that flows into Park Rill Creek.

Kearns Creek runs through Willowbrook, which remains under a state of emergency due to flooding. In the past week, parts of two roads have been torn up in the tiny community to remove two culverts and allow the creek to release water faster.

Concerned Willowbrook residents reached out to Castanet to inquire about the open-channel Park Rill dam, along Park Rill Creek, saying water is being held and more could be released to further reduce pooling water upstream.

Mike Noseworthy, senior dam safety engineer in the Okanagan and Similkameen, said he flew over Park Rill dam about two weeks ago and said he didn't see any issues.

"Since I haven't been there recently, I can't say if it is impacting the floods at this time, but my guess is it's not, given the state of the spillway when I looked at it recently," Noseworthy said.

"Mother nature dealt us a bit of a hand here. We have record-high groundwater levels in the area, and of course... our snowpack in this area are excessive beyond 150 per cent of normal.

"It's one of those things where this is not a typical event, and (residents) just have to bear with it. There's no easy fix in this instance."

Residents in the area have expressed their exhaustion about handling high stream flows and flooding in recent weeks.
Photo: Contributed

Cascades Casino in Penticton marked its one-year anniversary of its new home next to the SOEC this week.

General Manager Michael Magnusson says theyve had a busy first year getting our feet wet in the new location.

We doubled our staffing compliment, so we had a lot of new faces to welcome to our business, which was great but also challenging, because it's a new environment for them  gaming is quite unique to work in, he said.

There has been discussion in the community that the new casino is "busier than expected," but Magnusson didnt quite agree.

I know thats been said, but I think that the level of business that we have received is what we predicted... We knew the new location with the visibility and the accessibility to it, would appeal to more people.

When it opened a year ago, Gateway Casinos CEO Tony Santo referred to their previous location at the Lakeside Resort as slots in a box, and Magnusson noted adding the new restaurants to the mix has brought in a whole new set of faces to the casino.

He added event nights at the SOEC have proven to be extraordinarily busy for them, something that didnt happen at the old spot.

There are people that have come in from the entire Okanagan, that came in to visit us, and they wouldnt have made the trek before from the arena to the Lakeside after or before a show.

Magnusson credited his staff, many of them new, for making the past year a success, it's been a great experience to meet and work with these people.

Annual casino revenues for every casino in the province are released by the BC Lottery Corp. each summer.
Photo: daroltuttle.com

A reverse mortgage is a way for homeowners 55 or older to turn up to 55 per cent of the value of their home into tax-free cash.

Its a loan secured against the value of the home, but unlike a traditional home equity line of credit or a conventional mortgage, it does not require monthly mortgage payments for as long as you live in your home.

What can you do with a reverse mortgage?

Pay off debts

Renovate or make your home more accessible

Handle unexpected expenses

Help your children or grandchildren

Improve your day-to-day standard of living

Make a special trip or purchase

Reverse mortgages have come a long way. They have evolved from a needs-based product to a solution that many financial planners recommend as an important component of a comprehensive retirement plan.

Unfortunately, there are still many misconceptions regarding reverse mortgages. Below, the myths are separated from the facts.

Myth: The bank owns the home.

Fact: You always maintain title ownership and control of your home, and you have the freedom to decide when and if youd like to move or sell.

Myth: You will owe more than your home is worth.

Fact: Clients can qualify for up to 55 per cent of the appraised value of the home, 33 per cent on average. As the lender has conservative lending practices, you can be confident that there will be equity left in the home when the loan is repaid. In fact, over 99 per cent of reverse mortgage clients have equity remaining in the home when the loan is repaid.

Myth: A reverse mortgage is a solution of last resort.

Fact: Many financial professionals recommend a reverse mortgage because its a great way to provide financial flexibility. Since it is tax-free money, it allows retirement savings to last longer.

Myth: You cannot get a reverse mortgage if you have an existing mortgage.

Fact: Many clients use a reverse mortgage to pay off their existing mortgage and other debts, freeing up cash flow for you to use as you wish. How great would it feel to be free of regular mortgage payments?

It is also important to know these two key points.

You will remain the owner of your home and will never be asked to move or sell your home provided you pay your property taxes and home insurance and keep your property well maintained.



A reverse mortgage will not affect any government benefits you may receive such as OAS, CPP or GIS.

A no obligation assessment is available to determine if a reverse mortgage is a suitable option for you. As a mortgage broker my advice is impartial and I will assist you to review all of the mortgage options available to you.

It only takes about 90 seconds for the assessment, so please give me a call at 250-826-3543 or email [email protected].
Photo: Contributed

No winning ticket was sold for the $15 million jackpot in Friday night's Lotto Max draw.

That means the jackpot for the next Lotto Max draw on Friday, April 13 will grow to approximately $23 million.
Photo: Contributed

When two Edmonton men started bottling and selling air from Banff and Lake Louise, Alta., some people thought it was a farce, but about four years later the duo's expanded their line to also include products with the country's glacier and spring waters as main ingredients.

Troy Paquette and Moses Lam co-founded Vitality Air after reading articles online about air pollution and chatting about how anyone who visits Banff raves about the air quality.

"We just kind of spun it from there and thought: 'Wouldn't it be cool if we could find a way to share that with the rest of the world?'" said Paquette.

"And that's kind of where it all started from."

Vitality Air's founders and other creative Canadian entrepreneurs are packaging Canada's natural resources to fill a demand for wellness products with a fresh twist.

Some resourceful Canadians have tapped into the trees, bringing maple and birch water to store shelves, while a raw water fad in the U.S. could soon ripple over to the border. All these entrepreneurs tout their product's natural qualities and possible health-promoting components.

These companies follow a broader wellness trend, said Amy Chung, Canadian beauty industry analyst for market-research firm NPD Group.

Nowadays, people want more openness and details on products and to know, for example, what they're putting on their face, she said.

Much of the demand for Vitality Air comes from China where air pollution is a major problem.

The company's website plays up health angles, claiming "fresh air plays a vital role in the physical and emotional wellness of people of all ages," and that breathing in its products "is like giving your mind and body a shot of nature."

More recently, the company added a line of facial mists to its website, which it calls "a natural progression" from the air canisters. The so-called glacier myst includes "the untouched waters of the Rocky Mountain glaciers," according to the site, while the "sulphur myst" is enhanced with sulphur from springs in Banff. One bottle costs $20.

The mist offers the body and mind tranquility, and keeps people looking healthy and energized, according to the site.

Other entrepreneurs have taken a similar approach, selling a well-known Canadian ingredient as a wellness product to the masses.

Lower Valley Beverage Company in Flesherton, Ont., produces Sapsucker, a maple tree water harvested from mature maple trees that it calls "a naturally pure alternative to bottled water." The beverage has 46 naturally occurring minerals, antioxidants and vitamins, according to the website
Photo: Pixabay

Two water systems in the South Okanagan have been put under advisories, the Regional District Okanagan Similkameen said on Saturday.

The Naramata water system will be under a water quality advisory indefinitely after a "major water break" on North Naramata Road.

In a news release issued mid-day Saturday, the RDOS said some homes on North Naramata Road, Partridge Road, Clark Road and King Drive remain without running water, which is expected to be restored later in the day.

The regional district also said the Sun Valley water system, near OK Falls, is also under a water quality advisory until further notice, due to pump issues that have caused turbidity.

A water quality advisory is a step below a boil water notice, and the RDOS said precautionary measures may be needed for infants, the elderly and people with weak immune systems or chronic illnesses.

More information is available by contacting the RDOS public works department at 250-490-4106, or 250-490-4135.
Ongoing Rise is collecting donations of backpacks and school supplies for local students of all ages from elementary school to high school that will be handed out before the new school year begins. Students can come in to the Rise Thrift...


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The influential Naismith was the man to break the deadlock in the 18th minute after being played in by Milinkovic down the left of the box and curling the ball home. Milinkovic then capitalised when Kyle Lafferty's shot was deflected into his path, slotting confidently into the Aberdeen goal.
Monaco put on a solid display to come from behind after Adrien Thomasson put the visitors in the lead in the 32nd minute at Stade Louis II. Radamel Falcao leveled 10 minutes later and the in-form Rony Lopes sealed Monaco's win in the 45th with his eighth goal in his last seven league matches.
Beni and Quani focused on communicating with each other. "I think the thing that I'm learning is doughnuts are easy to eat, but they're not easy to make. If you're not gentle, your doughnuts could break. If you just frost too quickly, it's going to look messy. And if you don't put enough sprinkles on it, it's not really a doughnut," Beni said. "It looks kind of easy, but it is so complicated."
A story headlined "Blurred line between journalism and politics" in Friday's main news section incorrectly stated that Gov. Bruce Rauner donated to the Illinois Policy Institute up until last year. In fact, his last donation was made in 2013, records show, before his first run for governor. The story also incorrectly stated the institute's chief executive officer, John Tillman, has complained of liberal bias in traditional media.
"The number of people experiencing severe bleeding after using synthetic cannabinoids is still increasing," Pfister said. "We will work with state and federal public health officials to try to identify common products and where they are coming from. We strongly urge everyone to not use synthetic cannabinoids."
Their fellow firefighters frantically tried to open the door, but the minutes ticked by while the acrid smell of the fire fell over the street, said Ruben Cruz, who watched the scene unfold early Saturday from his Southwest Side porch.
Frugoli was pulled from the wreckage by a good Samaritan and limped away, bleeding from the head as the vehicle he had struck burst into flames. He was found walking near Clinton Street and Roosevelt by Chicago police officers responding to the call of a person fleeing the scene. Frugoli's blood-alcohol level was later measured at 0.328 percent, more than four times the legal limit of 0.08 percent.
Burglars have been using pry tools to break into businesses in the 600 block of West Lake Street in the Fulton River District neighborhood before making away with computers, cash and an iPad, police said in a community alert.
The trooper had pulled someone over and both vehicles were on the shoulder when a third vehicle rear-ended the trooper's car, injuring the trooper inside, Lisowski said.
Still, his jailing marks a colossal fall from grace for a man who rose from poverty to power against steep odds in one of the world's most unequal countries. During his two administrations, several social welfare programs and a booming economy helped tens of millions come out of abject poverty, making his downfall deeply personal for many Brazilians who saw him as a symbol of hope.
Norman told the Post and Courier, however, that he pulled out the gun during a public meeting over breakfast at a Rock Hill diner to make the point that guns are only dangerous when they are in the hands of criminals. As a concealed carry permit holder, Norman said he often carries his guns with him in public.
"Part of the reason the Mexican government was interested is that it brought them value by giving them a window into who was coming into Mexico, as well as those simply en route to the United States," he said in an interview. "And from the U.S. side, we accepted and understood that it is a lot easier, cheaper and more efficient to manage migrant flows from Central America to the U.S. at Mexico's much smaller southern border than at our longer and more complicated ... border."
I wonder if Caneva and the rest of the Chicago Teachers Union would accept moving to a 401(k)-style plan, like most citizens have, to help avert the coming pension crisis? Or do teachers and Chicago government workers deserve much better benefits than voters, so much so that it means raising taxes so high that residents continue to flee from Chicago, leading the city toward bankruptcy? Because then there won't be any more raises or pension increases, only courts divvying up the money left, giving only a percentage of the promised pensions and thousands of layoffs.
I would also set up a special class of taxpayers. Anyone who is, has, or ever will be a member of the General Assembly or holder of a statewide elected office pays a flat income tax of 10 percent. The special class would be suspended, and its members taxed at the same rates as everyone else, when three conditions are met: 1. The state budget is in balance or surplus; 2. All state interest bearing debt has been retired and; 3. All state pensions are fully funded according to the report of an independent actuary. The 10 percent class would be reinstated automatically whenever any one or more of these three conditions is not met.
Yes, I know, in recent weeks we have taken some measures against Russia for its 2016 presidential election meddling, its poisoning of a former spy and his daughter in England, etc., but that was in spite of Trump, certainly not because of him. Trump has ignored Congress when it has tried to take action against Russia. For a long time, he refused to even acknowledge that Russia interfered in our 2016 elections, and he still implies that it may have been someone other than Russia.
In July, seven current and former officers and their families sued the city and Osberg in U.S. District Court. The city sent largely unredacted personnel files for at least six of the officers in October 2015 to an inmate at Menard Correctional Center and released similar files for the seventh officer to another felon, according to court documents.
During the course of the next year, depending on what plan workers choose, employees would pay between 10 and 12.75 percent of their health plan premiums. But by the end of 2019, that percentage would increase to 17.5 percent. Lewis said there has not been a change in employee contributions since 2011.
"I think it would be fair to say that while we were planning on doing this work anyway now that we have the funds available, certainly the attention to this issue is certainly making it a lot more accelerated," he said. "We would be doing more buildings this year regardless, but would we be doing all of those? I can't say for sure."
With Hispanic Heritage Month in full swing, take a look at which states U.S. Census data show are the most diverse. The Diversity Index (DI) measures the probability that two people picked at random will be of different racial or ethnic backgrounds. A DI close to 0 indicates people share the same heritage, while a number closer to 1 indicates a higher level of diversity. DIs have been converted into percentages.
Taking care of the mold in the area on the first floor of the parking garage will cost about $200,000, but the village will still need to install some type of ventilation system or dehumidifier to keep moisture in the space under control, officials said. That additional cost, they said, has not yet been determined.
At the Gas N Wash in Mokena, for the 12-month period ended in February, customers spent almost $7.1 million at the five gambling terminals at the business, with Mokena receiving just under $94,000 in gambling tax revenue, according to the state gaming board. At the Gas N Wash in New Lenox, for the same 12-month span, customers spent $5.6 million at the machines and the village received a bit more than $72,000 in tax revenue from video gambling.
He said it was important for him and his wife Nicole to participate in the Post-it Note campaign because "Look at what's going on in these schools today. It's very important for parents to help out whatever kids need help. Otherwise, what are we here for?"
Shooting makes no sense: I don't know why they had to kill that gal in Elgin after an hourlong supposed negotiation. From what I understand she was about 100 pounds soaking wet and had a small knife. It is hard to imagine why you would have to shoot her not once but multiple times then drive her east to St. Alexius rather than over to Sherman Hospital. It makes no sense. They need to use less lethal weapons in situation like that when someone is obviously not in her right mind. As far as the chief's comments that if you come at me with a knife, I am not going to wrestle with you. I thought that's what Tasers were for, give me a break.
While members of the Will County chapter of the National Organization for Women, the League of Women Voters, the American Association of University Women and Act Connect Engage say the amendment is needed now more than ever, opponents counter by saying Congress and the states need to go back to the drawing board because the existing language could hurt women in the long run.
Williams is a permitted gun owner but said access to guns is too simple. She said she has had a stranger approach her, asking her to buy a gun for him. She said it is easy for someone to prey on young and unsuspecting gun buyers who are able to pass a background check, and that needs to change. Williams said people also should have to have a permit prior to purchasing a gun.
 The practice of "beak trimming" used by commercial egg farmers is used to prevent the chickens from causing injury to one another from aggressive pecking. Beaks should be trimmed when chicks are 10 days old or younger when there is little stress, with this process described by the AEB as "similar to clipping a dog's nails or trimming a horse's hooves" with the chickens "still able to eat and drink."
City council approves emergency ordinance for Holmes Hardware project

Multiple Agreements were approved by Pueblo City Council for the Fuel and Iron Project at Monday night's city council meeting.
"Meteoric, impressive and challenging" are the three words that the Austrian president used to describe China's economic achievements during the past four decades when speaking ahead of his state visit to China.

Alexander Van der Bellen will lead a large delegation on the trip between April 7 and April 12. He will be accompanied by Chancellor Sebastian Kurz.

The visit has been dubbed "historic" because it marks the first time in more than three decades that both Austria's president and its chancellor have simultaneously visited the same country.

"Bilateral relations will be further intensified on many levels as an outcome of our visit and the dynamics of our relations will receive a fresh impetus," Van der Bellen said.

He said China's economic growth has been meteoric because it developed from a largely agrarian society into the world's second-biggest economy in such a short space of time.

China has consistently enjoyed growth rates of more than 6 or 7 percent and has had an extended period above 9 percent, something Van der Bellen said was impressive. But he said the fast rise comes along with challenges and noted that the transition toward growth and prosperity has been accompanied by vast and unprecedented social changes.

During the six-day visit, Van der Bellen and Kurz will meet President Xi Jinping in Beijing before flying to Hainan province in Southern China for the annual Boao Forum for Asia. The visit will also take the two leaders to Chengdu, Sichuan province, for an economic forum.

Van der Bellen shares Xi's views on building a community with a shared future.

"China has assumed a key responsibility in protecting our planet and our wildlife," he said. "For example, by banning all trade in ivory and ivory products, a decision by the president which entered into force only a few months ago and which is already showing positive effects."

Another global challenge is climate change and the implementation of the Paris Agreement. Van der Bellen said: "Cooperation on the international level between the European Union and China is key for the future of our planet, in particular with a view to the Climate Change Conference later this year."

On the subject of the Belt and Road Initiative, he said Austria supports and welcomes it and he noted that Austria was also a founding member of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

Van der Bellen believes the Belt and Road Initiative presents a range of opportunities for China and Austria, particularly in the realm of investment in third-party countries.

"Austria offers world-class expertise in a host of areas, above all infrastructure, energy, telecommunications and sustainable technologies," he said. "It is my expectation that, in our discussions, we will focus on concrete projects and proposals, which will benefit both our countries."

Austria and China have enjoyed strong and intensive relations for almost 50 years, but Van der Bellen said there is potential for improvement in the areas of sustainability, culture and science.

As far as investment is concerned, he believes that any projects that are being implemented should bear a clear and concrete benefit for both sides, and should be based on a level playing field.

"The European Union's relationship with China is defined by a Strategic Partnership, which provides a platform to discuss and explore areas of mutual interest," Van der Bellen said. "Austria is open to consider any ways in which this partnership can be developed even further, on an eye-to-eye basis."
American Axle & Manufacturing (AAM), a leading auto parts manufacturer, has announced to launch a joint venture in southern China to make driveline systems despite protectionist rhetoric out of Washington.

AAM confirmed that it entered into a joint venture agreement earlier this week with China's Liuzhou Wuling Automobile Industry Co. Ltd. to set up Liuzhou AAM Automotive Driveline System Co. Ltd., which will begin production later this year in a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility located in an economic development zone of Liuzhou City, Guangxi Province.

"Liuzhou AAM will be our latest manufacturing facility in China that further expands and diversifies our global footprint," David C. Dauch, AAM Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said in a statement released on Thursday.

"AAM is committed to strategically growing with new customers in new markets," he said, adding that Liuzhou AAM will continue to enhance their ability to provide both conventional and electric drive axles in the world's largest automotive market.

According to AAM's Chinese partner, the joint venture is expected to achieve a yearly revenue of 300 million Chinese Yuan (about 48 million U.S. dollars) by 2020.

The rear axles and driveheads the joint venture will manufacture are to meet the needs of the fast-growing segments of multi-purpose vehicles and crossovers including vans, mini vans and sport utility vehicles in fast-growing Chinese automotive market.

The partnership came as U.S. automakers and related suppliers urged Washington to resolve trade disputes with China through negotiations, not punitive tariffs.

General Motors Co. underlined in a statement "the interdependence between the world's two largest automotive markets," adding they believe "both countries value a vibrant auto industry."




Report all errors to DonSurber@GMail.com





Oh, and if you see me driving my red 2010 Mustang GT convertible, please wave.

Hi, I am a retired newspaperman. I wrote 3 books on Trump and the media . I live in Poca, WV, with my wife of 43 years, Lou Ann. I grew up in Cleveland. Three kids. Grandfather.
 Flash

Eight Palestinians were killed and 1,070 others injured on Friday during a daylong of bloody confrontations between hundreds of Palestinian demonstrators and Israeli soldiers at the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip, medics said.



Spokesman for Health Ministry in Gaza Ashraf al-Qedra told Xinhua that one Palestinian had died Friday of wounds he sustained last Friday.

Al-Qedra added that seven more were killed during the fresh large clashes that broke out Friday in eastern Gaza Strip close to the border with Israel by Israeli snipers.

The Israeli army forces used live ammunition, rubber-coated metal gunshots, tear gas and firefighters against hundreds of demonstrators who threw stones at the soldiers close to the fence between eastern Gaza Strip and Israel.

Hundreds of Palestinian demonstrators began early Friday to set fire to dozens of used car tires near the border between eastern Gaza Strip and Israel in a bid to make a shield of black smoke to protect themselves from Israeli soldiers' gunfire.

A Xinhua cameraman said he saw large black clouds after tires were burned at the borderline area between eastern Gaza Strip and Israel. The demonstrators wanted to prevent Israeli army snipers from targeting them, he added.

On the Israeli side of the border, the Israeli army brought more forces of soldiers, armoured vehicles, drones filled with tear gas canisters, firemen and fire vehicles to prevent smoke from being pushed by the winds into Israel.

Early on Friday morning, hundreds began to arrive to five different geographical areas from south to north of the Gaza Strip close to the border with Israel, bringing with them tires and onions to protect themselves from inhaling tear gas.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian Authority Presidency said in an official statement that it condemns "the action of killing and repression. The Israeli army is committed to confront Palestinians, who are peacefully demonstrating in eastern Gaza."

The statement said that the Palestinian leadership is to ask its Palestinian Ambassador to the United Nations Reyad Mansour, as well as the Arab League and the European Union "to immediately move with all international parties to act on preventing the Israeli brutality and the deliberate killing of innocent people."
 Flash

Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva refused to turn himself in to the justice authorities before the deadline at 5:00 p.m. local time (2000 GMT) on Friday as ordered.



The former president would remain inside the headquarters of the Metal Workers' Union in Sao Bernardo do Campo near Sao Paulo, where he has been staying since Thursday, and await the federal police, said Lula's defense lawyer Jose Roberto Batochio in an interview with the Folha de Sao Paulo daily.

"There will be no resistance, but he will not go to the slaughterhouse with his head hung low, of his own free will," said Batochio.

"This is not rebellion. It is the right of a person to preserve their liberty and not contribute to any act that could remove it," he continued.

Batochio also filed a motion at the Supreme Court to dismiss the arrest warrant against Lula, but this was rejected.

Also on Friday, the federal court of Curitiba, which oversaw Lula's trial, said that Lula was not being considered a fugitive for the time being, as long as he stayed inside the union headquarters.

Federal judge Sergio Moro set the deadline out of respect for Lula's position as former president and has said he is unwilling to treat him as a fugitive from justice.

This was backed up by Luis Antonio Boudens, president of the federal police, who told the press that "The deadline to present himself voluntarily has been out. As this did not happen, the arrest warrant will now be carried out."

He added that Moro's arrest warrant for Lula had come as a surprise and had now allowed the police to plan how to do it.

"We must now be ready to arrange everything in the best way possible," said Boudens.

On Thursday, the Supreme Federal Court voted 6-5 against a motion of habeas corpus filed by Lula's lawyers, which means that the former president can be arrested and jailed despite the unfinished appeals process.

In July 2017, Moro condemned Lula to 9.5 years in prison for corruption and illicit association. In January, the sentence was extended to 12 years and one month, since the conviction was upheld by an appeals court.




In his interview with Vice (above) Trey Gowdy explains why you wont see me running for political office again. Im surprised hes even sticking it out for the rest of his term. Hes counting down the days--19 more drives to the airport, he said. And he admitted that the only goal of todays Republican Party is to win elections. (I have some sad news for you, Trey-- its the only goal of todays Democratic Party too.)





Meanwhile everyone thought far right sex-predator Blake Farenthold was going to stick it out till the end of his term too-- until Friday evening. Todd Gillman at the Dallas News broke the story that Farentold suddenly resigned. So what happened to make him change his mind yesterday? Believe me, it wasnt anything as philosophical as Trey Gowdys reasons. Gillman wrote that he made no mention on Friday of any of the allegations that ended his congressional career, and made no apologies for using $84,000 in taxpayer funds to settle a sexual harassment suit (Money he still hasnt paid back, despite having publicly promised to do so.

The former conservative radio host and four-term lawmaker said in December that he had "no idea how to run a congressional office" when he got elected and as a result, "I allowed a workplace culture to take root in my office that was too permissive and decidedly unprofessional. It accommodated destructive gossip, offhand comments, off-color jokes and behavior that in general was less than professional."



House Speaker Paul Ryan reportedly had prodded Farenthold to give up his re-election plan.



Farenthold, 56, won his seat in 2010 as part of the nationwide tea party wave, defeating a 28-year Democratic incumbent by a few hundred votes. He spent weeks last fall trying to survive the scandal, even as a wave of housecleaning hit politicians, media moguls and celebrities facing allegations of harassment or even assault.



Farenthold acknowledged that he had engaged in lewd conversations with staff, and tolerated such talk among aides. He maintained his innocence in the claim that led to a settlement, insisting that accuser Lauren Greene had been fired for poor performance.



But pressure built fast for him to give up his seat after the size of the settlement, and the use of taxpayer funds, became public.



Last month, Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA) pressed Ryan to hold Farenthold to his promise to repay the settlement. On Friday, the head of the House Republicans' campaign arm also called on the Texan to uphold the promise.



...A Farenthold spokeswoman did not respond to messages seeking an explanation for Farenthold's failure to repay the funds as promised.



Farenthold's Twitter account was deleted Friday afternoon. His office provided no explanation.



Rice University political scientist Mark Jones noted that under state law, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott would have to set an emergency election to prevent the seat from remaining vacant until January, when the winner of the November election is sworn in.



The resignation took effect at 5 p.m. on Friday-- just over an hour after Farenthold announced the move.



Republicans will pick a nominee in a primary runoff on May 22. Bech Bruun, the former Texas Water Board Commission chairman, narrowly edged former Victoria County GOP Chairman Michael Cloud in a six-way primary.



Democrat Roy Barrera, a federal court security guard, took 41 percent in a four-way March primary. In the runoff, he faces a former congressional aide, Eric Holguin, who drew 23 percent.



The impact of the resignation wasn't immediately clear. If Abbott calls a special election, the winner could have an edge in November. But that could be risky for Republicans, given the hasty exit by Farenthold.



The Democrats are vastly outgunned on campaign cash. Bruun raised $272,000 through mid-February, four times Cloud's haul. Barrera reported no campaign donations, while Holguin brought in $28,000.

TX-27 is one of Texas most gerrymandered districts-- a Tom Delay special-- to create a safe GOP seat in a Hispanic area. The district is thought of as the Corpus Christie seat but it heads north into the suburbs southwest of Houston and way north and west into the suburbs east of Austin. In 2016 Trump beat Hillary 60.1% to 36.5%. Delay managed to create a district with an R+13 PVI, virtually impossible for a Democrat to win except in a massive wave election. Republican officials are still whining about Farenthold-- a multimillionaire-- not replaying the taxpayer money. Ryans spokesperson: Mr. Farenthold made a commitment that he would reimburse taxpayers for the settlement. He reiterated his commitment to the speaker and the speaker expects him to follow through. Steve Stivers, chairman of the NRCC: I hope Blake is true to his word and pays back the $84,000 of taxpayer money he used as a settlement. As I have said repeatedly, Congress must hold ourselves to a higher standard and regain the trust of the American people. I guess no one expects Farenthold to pay for the special election he just triggered.
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UNITED NATIONS - The international furor over the poisoning of a former Russian spy and his daughter intensified, with Russia warning the United Kingdom that it was "playing with fire".

At a UN Security Council meeting on Thursday, Russia's UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia claimed that Russia was the victim of a hasty, sloppy and ill-intentioned defamation campaign by London and its allies.

The UK has blamed Russia for the March 4 poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter. In response, more than two dozen Western allies including the UK, the US and NATO have ordered out over 150 Russian diplomats in a show of solidarity.
SAN FRANCISCO - Oregon State Governor Kate Brown said on Thursday that she would defy US President Donald Trump's plan to send National Guard troops to the US-Mexican border.

"I do not want our Oregon National Guardsmen and women to be used as political pawns," Brown told local media on Thursday.

Oregon TV station KATU2 reported that Trump "has not asked for National Guardsmen and women from Oregon, but she's promising to say 'no' if he does".
In 2020, we were the church on our heels. A global pandemic shut down much of our world. But the church has been on the move since it was birthed; it will continue to be on the move until God makes all things new.
IRD Attends Red Lynchburg 'Revival' Hosted by Red Letter Christians "Growing up in a Pentecostal church, I attended many revivals where the Good News of what Jesus has done and continues to do for us was shared and lost souls were saved. But Red Letter Christians' 'revival' offers more condemnation than the hope of Jesus." -- IRD's Chelsen Vicari



Contact: Chelsen Vicari, Institute on Religion and Democracy,

202-682-4131, 540-239-2170 cell, cvicari@theird.org



LYNCHBURG, Va., April 7, 2018 /Christian Newswire/ -- Evangelical Left activist Shane Claiborne of Red Letter Christians and other Religious Left activists have gathered in Lynchburg, Virginia for a two-day "revival" denouncing "Christian nationalism" and "unrestrained military," amid various other liberal social concerns.



Opening plenary speakers included North Carolina liberal activist Rev. Dr. William Barber II, Tulsa-based Evangelical pastor and author Jonathan Martin, Religious Left fixture Tony Campolo, LGBTQ advocate Brandan Robertson, and former Sojourners-affiliated activist and author Lisa Sharon Harper, among others.



The impetus for the Lynchburg "revival" was sparked several months ago by Claiborne's public criticism of Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr.'s support of the Trump Administration.



IRD Evangelical Action Director Chelsen Vicari is attending the Red Letter Revival. Vicari commented: "Growing up in a Pentecostal church, I attended many revivals where the Good News of what Jesus has done and continues to do for us was shared and lost souls were saved. But Red Letter Christians' 'revival' offers more condemnation than the hope of Jesus.



"I've listened as speaker after speaker conflated conservative Evangelicals with white supremacists and nationalists, while condemning American exceptionalism, war, and violence. So far, less time has been devoted to God's goodness and mercy, confession, forgiveness, and redemption.



"As the wife of a veteran, I found it especially difficult to listen to one speaker tell service men and women that he is 'not grateful for your service' and stated 'fallen soldiers are victims, not heroes.' Instead of offering tangible national security measures, the speaker suggested we 'fight evil with poetry.' This speaker received a standing ovation.



"Multiple speakers likened silence and inaction to collaboration with evil. I await an outcry and call to action on behalf of persecuted Christians overseas and innocent unborn life from the Lynchburg 'revivalists.'"



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The magic returns; the strains of our music will once more ring forth. Consortium Aurora Borealis is back in action after the silence imposed on so many arts organizations by COVID-19.
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AKRON, Ohio -- A 13-year-old boy and a 17-year-old boy have been charged in the shooting of two other teens who were leaving a large party Friday night, police said.

The teens were charged with carrying a concealed weapon, felonious assault and inducing panic. The shooting happened about midnight on East Tallmadge Avenue near the Italian Center, police said. A 15-year-old boy was shot in the upper torso and a 14-year-old girl in the leg.

They were taken to Akron Children's Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

A large fight broke out on the east side of the parking lot as the party ended. Officers were already patrolling the area in anticipation that there could be trouble.

Officers heard shots and ran towards the commotion. They saw someone shooting a gun into the air, police said. The shooter ran from officers.

Police said they found the teen behind a dumpster along with another teen, and recovered two loaded handguns.

The suspects were placed into the custody of the Summit County Juvenile Detention Center.

If you'd like to comment on this story, visit Saturday's crime and courts comments section.
CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio -- Hit-skip, Monticello Boulevard: At 2:50 a.m. April 1, dispatch received a report of a car crash, involving one car, at Monticello Boulevard and Noble Road.

The car had struck a utility pole and was driven, wheels smoking and the auto damaged, from the scene. A witness had given dispatch the car's license plate number.

Police went to the home of the car's owner in Cleveland Heights. As officers arrived, the home's garage door was closing and police could see inside a damaged car. The car's owner, a man, was walking from the garage.

The man nearly fell as he walked. When told to stop, the man continued to open his home's door. He would not let go of the the door handle and struggled with police. As the struggle took place, the man held in his hands the car's key and, by squeezing the key, kept setting off and shutting off the car's alarm.

The man's wife assisted police in gaining access to the car, which had heavy rear-end damage and a broken-out rear window. The man, who smelled of alcohol, was verbally aggressive with police during the booking process.

Surveillance video showed that the car struck a utility pole, turned around, then struck another pole before driving away, sparks flying from its parts scraping the ground.

Police charged the man with OVI, resisting police, reckless operation, hit-skip and damaging city property.

Disorderly conduct, Helmsdale Road: At 4:45 p.m. March 29, police were called to a residence where a woman stated someone was in her house that she did not want there.

When officers arrived, the frightened woman ran to the police cruiser and tried to open the door. Police went inside and found a woman. The woman said she went to the house because she and the woman who called police were supposed to go together to the Cleveland Food Bank. Instead, they decided to drink alcohol.

The visiting woman was drunk and argumentative with police. When the woman who called police stepped back into the house, the two women began to argue.

It was found that the visiting woman was wanted on a warrant for failure to appear in court. The visiting woman, who made it difficult for police to apply handcuffs, was arrested on the warrant and was also charged with disorderly conduct/intoxication.

Theft, Lee Road: At 10:10 p.m. March 29, police were dispatched to CVS/Pharmacy, 2160 Lee Road, where it was reported that a male had stolen "a lot of candy."

Police searched the area and found a man matching the description of the thief on Cedar Road holding a bag that was filled with candy. The total value of the candy was $163.

The man admitted to the theft and was arrested. It was also learned that the suspect was wanted on a Franklin County warrant for a parole violation.

Disorderly conduct, Hillcrest Road: At 8 a.m. April 4, a disturbance was reported at a home.

A man, 46, told police that his ex-girlfriend, 42, woke him up, irate over text messages she had read on his phone from other women. Due to her behavior, the man asked the woman to leave his home, but she refused.

The woman kicked the man, grabbed a knife and then, according to the man, began to "tear up the house." The man said he then engaged her physically and took the knife away from her.

The woman, on the other hand, said the man attacked and choked her. Both had signs of minor injuries. The woman, who does not live at the house, stated that she called police before the man did.

Dispatch records showed that the man had called first. Due to conflicting stories, both were cited for disorderly conduct.

Grand theft, Cummings Road: At 8 a.m. March 29, a man told police, he woke to hear a vehicle start outside his house. The vehicle was the man's Jeep, which was being stolen. A spare key had been left in the vehicle's center console.

In the Jeep was the man's wallet and Sam's Club card, which the thief used at the store.

The Jeep was found abandoned April 1 in Rocky River. Inside was a girl's Cleveland Public Schools ID card. The man told police he did not know the girl. Police obtained DNA swabs from inside the Jeep.

OVI, Noble Road: At 1:45 p.m. March 30, an officer on patrol noticed a car being driven left of the center line. The officer initiated a traffic stop.

The driver stopped, but then inched forward, partially upon a sidewalk, and nearly struck a parked vehicle ahead. The driver next attempted to put the car into the park position, but instead, put it in neutral.

The man's speech was slurred and slow. He admitted to having had drinks.

The man went on to fail field sobriety tests. He was found to have a blood-alcohol content of 0.252, above the state minimum for drunk driving of 0.08.

Police charged the man with OVI, prohibited BAC, driving upon a sidewalk, and driving left of center.

If you would like to discuss the police blotter, please visit our crime and courts comments page.
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Earlier this year Poland adopted a law that makes it a crime to blame that nation for atrocities, including the Holocaust, carried out by Nazis during their occupation of Poland in World War II.

The law addressed use of the term "Polish death camps," which could be misconstrued as meaning facilities that were operated by or belonging to Poland during the war.

Leon Shear, 91, of Beachwood, agrees with the law.

He should know. Shear survived three years in Nazi concentration camps, including the infamous Auschwitz death camp in Poland.

He argues that concentration camps may have been located in Poland, but they were created and operated by Nazis.

"Auschwitz is the ground of Poland," he said. "Poland was invaded by Germany."

Shear will be returning to Auschwitz for the fourth and possibly final time on April 10 with more than 150 Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF) supporters from across the United States, other Holocaust survivors and Israeli military representatives.

The trip to Poland and Israel celebrates Israel's 70th anniversary (April 19), and according to Lane Schlessel, executive director of the Ohio FIDF chapter, is intended to "send a clear message, that we'll never forget."

Shear, who will be joined on the trip by his son and grandson, can't forget.

But his return trips to an old place of horror have gotten a bit easier since the first re-visit in 1997.

He remembered that during that initial visit, "I was extremely scared. When you were so young, being there and punished so severely, it was not easy for me the first time."

On return trips he was able to deal with the ghosts of the past; lighting a candle of remembrance at one particular gas chamber in Auschwitz where he knew his mother and sister had died. He knew, because he had to helplessly watch them go there.

Shear had been forced to leave his Jewish family in Bedzin, Poland, and work at a police station - cleaning, shining shoes and other menial tasks - before being shipped to Auschwitz.

Auschwitz consisted of three complexes near the Polish city of Oswiecim, where an estimated 1.1 million people were murdered.

Shear was kept alive as a camp worker. "Life was horrible because I wasn't used to this kind of treatment. I was 14 years old," he said.

At one point he was sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau where he and other prisoners dug up potatoes. He noticed that Russian prisoners of war, also working the fields, were chewing something, and asked one what he was eating.

The man dug into the ground, pulled out a thick worm, popped it into his mouth, chewed and swallowed, then invited Shear to do the same.

"I put it in my mouth. I thought I was dying, but maybe not," he recalled. "I drank the juice, but I couldn't swallow the skin. The skin was tough. And I'd seen him eating it, no problem, so I start grinding it. He says, 'Eat!' So finally ground it down and swallowed."

He also swallowed his misgivings, and ate more. "I lived on it," he said. "It fills you. It does not make you sick. It's food."

One day he fell asleep at the fields and missed the return trip to the barracks. When he made it back, he was assigned to a block where prisoners were punished.

Shear's punishment was being hung by his hands until he passed out.

His next job was the best in the camp. "They called us millionaires," Shear said. "Why did they call us millionaires? When the transports [carrying people to Auschwitz] are not there, we had to open the packages, what they brought with them.

"They brought with them like they're going on a picnic," he added. "Salamis, chicken, cookies, chocolate, candy. All the goodies. So we did not eat worms. We ate good food. "

However one day, while helping unload the transports of new arrivals, he spotted his mother and sister in the line of people being herded toward the gas chamber. A friend forced Shear to stay away.

"He grabbed my hand and he says, 'Stay put. If you walk over there, you go to the chimney [crematorium] within 20 minutes.'"

Shear said he lost that friend during the regular selection of workers, deemed too sickly or weak, to be "liquidated" the next morning. The friend saw that his father had been selected, and opted to join him.

In a voice thick with emotion, Shear recalled, "That night I says, 'Look, you go to the chimney tomorrow, I go to the next day. We're not here to live. Remember what you told me about my mother and sister.'

"He says, 'I know. I want to go together.'"

Shear said he responded, "'No! One of us has to stay and try to survive another day, another hour.'

"I says, 'I have no illusion that I am going to be saved.'"

But in the end, "I lost my best friend," he said. "The only friend I had."

Shear said he never wanted to see the results of the gas chamber, but one day his work took him to that place of horror.

He remembered, "They was done gassing. They was pulling the bodies out . . . with a belt, like a loop, and two prisoners pulled them out. They were not done with that. There was men going in there with pliers, pulling out the gold teeth. The dead bodies were eyes open, glazed, the mouths open."

When asked what kept him going through the unending parade of atrocity at Auschwitz, Shear simply replied, "I want to live."

Shear said he was subsequently moved with other prisoners to labor camps in Germany until the day came - "May 3 1945. Four tanks, green, white stars in front where the cannon is. The hatches open up, black soldiers open up the hatch. I have never seen a black person.

"We talked among ourselves. 'It's a trick. Somebody is going to kill us.' But they said, 'America! America!'"

The GIs may have been part of the 761st Tank Battalion, nicknamed the Black Panthers.

The war, and Shear's ordeal, had ended.

"When the war was over, I was totally numb," he recalled. "I can't say I was happy. I had mixed emotion. What I saw always comes back. My mother and sister. The dead people being pulled out from the gas chamber. One time to see it is enough. Thousands and thousands of Jews died there.

"What did the Jew do to deserve that?" he added. "NOTHING!"

And yet he holds no hate from the past. "I don't come with hate. I left it where I came from," he said. "DON'T HATE. HATE KILLS. "

After the war, Shear emigrated to Northeast Ohio, got married to his wife of 68 years, Helen, and helped her raise a family that now includes four children, five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

He worked as a service repairman for washers and driers, and has been in business with his son, Howard, for the past 25 years for a firm that installs card-operated laundry machines in housing units and universities.

On one of his return trips to Auschwitz, Shear found himself acting as an impromptu guide for a group of visiting youths, and he left them with a message that he still delivers in talks to young people.

"Well, what I want them to know is that evil things could happen," he said. "Innocence could be destroyed."
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Cleveland's 4th District needs more officers to assist with the amount of calls its receiving daily, the rank-and-file police union president says.

The city swore in 42 police officers last month to work in the districts, but it's still not enough to make a dent in the the heavy workload officers are facing in the the district, Cleveland Police Patrolman's Union President Jeff Follmer said in a story first reported by WKYC-TV.

4th District headquarters is located on Kinsman Road. The 4th District serves areas such as Lee Road, Harvard Avenue, Larchmere Road, Miles Avenue, Turney Road, Warner Road and Woodland Avenue.

"This has been going on probably since last year," he said. "They're all tired and burned out from working 15 to 16 hour days."

This is not to say that all the districts aren't busy, Follmer said, but the 4th District is one of the busiest due to its high crime rate.

It will need to take another 25 to 40 officers to make sure the 4th District is properly covered and protected, he said. The number of officers in each district varies depending on calls for service. Follmer could not immediately provide the number of officers that work in the 4th District.

"You feel for the officers because they are people too, they have lives outside of their job," Follmer said. "It affects citizens too. You're getting lack of service or very tired officers who are working 60 to 80 hours a week."

Follmer is looking to talk to the city to find a solution to the problem and see what happens from there.

City spokesman Dan Williams couldn't comment in reference to there being a shortage in the 4th District but did say the city plans to hire 250 police officers to build its force in the districts. The city has four police academy classes scheduled this year, with one already completed, he said.

The city also is doubling down on recruiting efforts for police, firefighters and paramedics, Williams said.

There are just under 1,500 police officers in the department. The goal is to get to 1,600, he said.

Councilman Blaine Griffin said he has also reached out to command staff and deputy chiefs regarding the shortage.

"They're allowing off-duty police officers from other districts to come over to the 4th District and fill those shifts," he said. "It's a concern."

Griffin is a member on council's safety committee and will address these issues at Wednesday's meeting.

"We're definitely going to be probing for answers over the next few days," he said. "Anytime in this district we see a shortage of officers, we're definitely going to be diligent and push to get more."

If you'd like to comment on this story, visit Saturday's crime and courts comments section.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A second man has died in a Thursday night shooting in Cleveland's Stockyards neighborhood.

The 23-year-old man died Friday at MetroHealth, Cleveland police Sgt. Jennifer Ciaccia said. He will be identified once his family is notified.

A 30-year-old man also died in the shooting that happened about 10 p.m. on West 58th Street between Storer and Denison avenues.

Witnesses said the 30-year-old was running out of a home as a gunman was following him, police said.

The gunman shot the 30-year-old man several times. Paramedics found him dead in the middle of the street.

One bullet struck the 23-year-old man in the head while he and two other men were sitting in a car parked nearby, Ciaccia said. The other men drove him to MetroHealth.

Police haven't said if the victims knew each other, or if they or the gunman lived at the home. The gunman ran off after the shooting, police said.

No charges have been filed in the case.

To comment on this post, please visit our crime and courts comments section.
Regulation of assault weapons isn't the only home-rule power that the General Assembly yanked from Ohio's cities and villages. Earlier, in 2004, the legislature denied Ohio's 900-plus cities and villages any authority over the "permitting, location, and spacing of oil and gas wells."

You don't want someone fracking in your neighborhood? Don't waste your breath at City Hall: No mayor can do much to help. Instead, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources is supposed to police what the oil and gas industry does, including fracking.

That 2004 measure - which had bipartisan support - was House Bill 278. Its sponsor was then-Rep. Thomas Niehaus, a suburban Cincinnati Republican, later a state senator, then Senate president. Today, he's a Statehouse lobbyist whose 30 clients include the Ohio Oil and Gas Association.

Here's how then-Justice William O'Neill explained HB 278 in a state Supreme Court dissent. O'Neill, a Chagrin Falls Democrat, is among six Democrats running for this year's Democratic gubernatorial nomination.

At issue in the Supreme Court case was a bid by Munroe Falls, the Akron suburb, to prevent Beck Energy Corp. from drilling an oil and gas well in Munroe Falls. In contrast, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources - big surprise - had issued a permit for the Munroe Falls well. The Ohio Supreme Court sided with Beck Energy. O'Neill opposed the Supreme Court's ruling.

O'Neill's dissent included this take on the court's decision: "Under this ruling, a drilling permit could be granted in the exquisite residential neighborhoods of [Franklin County's] Upper Arlington, [Greater Cleveland's] Shaker Heights, or the [Hamilton County] village of Indian Hill - local zoning dating back to 1920 be damned."

Litigation over the 2004 law, and over fracking, continues. Meanwhile, though, amnesia is an Ohio politician's best friend.

So here, in alphabetical order, are people who today hold elected state office but in 2004, as Ohio House or Senate members, voted "yes" to pass House Bill 278 and thus strip Ohio cities and villages of power over oil and gas drilling:

State Rep. Keith Faber, a Celina Republican running for state auditor; state Rep. Theresa Fedor, a Toledo Democrat running for the state Senate; state Sen. Randy Gardner, a Bowling Green Republican; state Sen. Jay Hottinger, a Newark Republican; then-state Rep. Nancy P. Hollister, a Marietta Republican, later Ohio's interim governor, now a State Board of Education member; state Rep. Larry Householder, a Perry County Republican aiming to be elected Ohio House Speaker in 2019; state Rep. Jim Hughes, a Columbus Republican; then-state Rep. Jon Husted, now Ohio's secretary of state, a Republican running for lieutenant governor on Mike DeWine's GOP gubernatorial ticket; state Sen. Scott Oelslager, a North Canton Republican running for the Ohio House; state Rep. Thomas F. (Tom) Patton, a Strongsville Republican; then-state Sen. Joy Padgett, a Coshocton Republican running against former Ohio Attorney General Betty D. Montgomery for Montgomery's Republican State Central Committee seat; state Rep. Tim Schaffer, a Lancaster Republican; state Rep. William Seitz, a suburban Cincinnati Republican; state Rep. Kirk Schuring, a suburban Canton Republican running for the state Senate; state Sen. Michael Skindell, a Lakewood Democrat running for the Ohio House; and state Rep. Ron Young, a LeRoy Township Republican. Also voting "yes" were Rep. Jim Hoops, a Napoleon Republican, and then-Rep. Jamie Callender, a Concord Republican running for the House this year.

Those now in state office who voted "no" on HB 268: state Rep. Thomas Brinkman, a Cincinnati Republican; and then-state Rep. Mary Taylor, a suburban Akron Republican, later Ohio's auditor, now its lieutenant governor. Taylor is competing with Mike DeWine for the GOP gubernatorial nomination. Also voting "no" was then-Rep. James Trakas, an Independence Republican running for the House this year.

Voters added home rule to the Ohio Constitution in 1912 to fight Statehouse end-runs - by big lobbies - that ignored communities' health, safety and quality-of-life concerns. Those concerns are still pressing. But so are the lobbies. And, at the moment, they're winning.

Thomas Suddes, a member of the editorial board, writes from Athens.

To reach Thomas Suddes: tsuddes@cleveland.com, 216-999-4689

Have something to say about this topic? Use the comments to share your thoughts. Then, stay informed when readers reply to your comments by using the "Follow" option at the top of the comments, and look for updates via the small blue bell in the lower right as you look at more stories on cleveland.com.
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Pakistans embassy in Tehran held a program in solidarity with Muslims in the disputed Kashmir region who have faced a new wave of violence by Indian forces in recent days.



(AhlulBayt News Agency) - Pakistans embassy in Tehran held a program in solidarity with Muslims in the disputed Kashmir region who have faced a new wave of violence by Indian forces in recent days.



Addressing the event on Friday, Pakistani ambassador Asif Durrani said the brutal use of force by Indian forces has failed to suppress the struggle of Kashmiri people for the right to self-determination, APP reported, quoting a press release from Tehran.



Deploring the new wave of violence against Muslims in Kashmir, the envoy said Indian forces, including the army and police forces, have killed at least 20 people in the latest wave of terror and bloodshed in the past week, during which a number of young people have been blinded by pellets and scores of people have been injured.



He also urged the international community to mount pressure on New Delhi to stop the violence, and called on the United Nations Security Council to fulfill its commitments to the people of Jammu and Kashmir under its resolutions.



On Thursday, Indian security forces fired tear gas at demonstrators in Kashmir as they were protesting against the recent killings of 20 people by government troops in south Kashmirs Shopian district.



Muslim-majority Kashmir is one of the most militarized regions on earth and has been divided between India and Pakistan since independence from Britain in 1947.



Both Pakistan and India claim the Himalayan territory in full and have fought three wars over the mountainous region.



Kashmiris demand that a referendum take place to let them decide their future.



Tens of thousands of people, mostly civilians, have died in clashes there since 1990.





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Sayyed Hashem Hussaini Bushehri argued that there are some who dont believe in the capacities of the country both in the government and among the people, which is a serious problem.

(AhlulBayt News Agency) - In his Friday prayer sermon to a large and fervent crowd of believers in Qoms Quds Prayer Hall, Ayatollah Sayyed Hashem Hussaini Bushehri said that the honesty of the authorities and the sympathy of the people has led to the dignity of society and said, Another feature of an honourable society is Jihad and the enemies cannot take a left look at such a society.



The member of the Supreme Council of the Seminary added, After important jihads like the eight-year-long Sacred Defense [Iran-Iraq War], today, we are witnessing the lofty dignity of the country and the enemies cannot make a mistake because the fighters, jihadists and devotees are present on the scene.



In the second sermon, he offered his condolences on martyrdom of Imam Musa al-Kadhim, saying, At the age of 55, Imam al-Kadhim was poisoned by Harun al-Rashid and was martyred. All the Imams were influential and influential in their own time, and made remarkable changes by educating their students in order to create a healthy religious environment, but the enemies didnt tolerate it.



Sayyed Hussaini Bushehri added, The Ahlul-Bayt were popular in the hearts of the people and the enemies feared this. Imam al-Kadhim advised us not to commit sins which have no precedence in society since new tribulations will be revealed.



The member of the Society of Seminary Teachers of Qom also offered his condolences on the martyrdom anniversaries of Ayatollah Sayyid Muhammad-Baqir al-Sadr, Sayyed Mortaza Avini and Ali Sayad-Shirazi, saying, Ayatollah al-Sadrs works and compilations are a source of pride for the Islamic world. He told his companions that today, Imam Khomeini holds the flag of Islam and we must follow them.



He emphasized the attention of the government and the people to the slogan of the Iranian year of 1397, saying, In line with the economic slogans of the past several years, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution [Ayatollah Khamenei] named 1397 the year of Support for Iranian Products. If the people, manufacturers and authorities work together, they can reopen closed factories and return the unemployed youth to work.



Sayyed al-Bushehri pointed out that Iranian goods must be of good quality and have affordable prices. Support for Iranian goods has political, social and cultural aspects and is the solution to the employment and economic problems. The authorities must not suffice with statements and by putting up banners and hold meetings.



Referring to the speech of the Supreme Leader at the Holy Shrine of Imam al-Ridha on March 21st and the 39-year record of the Islamic Revolution, he added, [Ayatollah Khamenei] spoke about the fundamental principles of the Revolution and said that the brilliant people stand firm upon the slogans of the Revolution. After 39 years of ups and downs, we have to put our hardships behind us but we must identify the obstacles to reach the goals.



His Eminence argued that there are some who dont believe in the capacities of the country both in the government and among the people, which is a serious problem and added, We must believe in our abilities and give the youth a chance not to wait for foreign versions. Unfortunately, some also fall to factionalism and the actions of consider others to be worthless and must be abandoned.



Sayyed al-Bushehri called for serious struggle against corruption to be determined by the people and the authorities and added that the lifestyle of the people must be based on religious orders and said, The Leader said that there is no problem which cant be resolved. Of course, the enemies create problems but they dont have the ability to fight a revolutionary nation with the motivation and the will of Iran.



The Friday prayer leader of Qom described the conditions of the region as alarming, saying, The Zionists have murdered many Palestinians. What is worrying for the people and leaders of Palestine is the words of some Arab leaders who state that the Zionist regime has the right to be present in occupied territories.



Sayyed al-Bushehri noted, The output of the lobbies and negotiations in the United States is that Iran is the common enemy of the Zionist regime and Saudi Arabia. Isnt it a shame for a country which is a claimant of Islam, Arabism and the defense of the Palestinian people? We hope that we will witness divine assistance and favours, just like other issues, in this matter.



The member of the Board of the Assembly of Experts appreciated and thanked those involved in providing services to the people during the Norouz holidays.









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Sayyed Ahmad Khatami condemned Saudi regimes crimes against civilians in Yemen and called for trial of the heads of the kingdom, during the second sermon of this weeks Friday Prayers in Tehran.

(AhlulBayt News Agency) - Sayyed Ahmad Khatami condemned Saudi regimes crimes against civilians in Yemen and called for trial of the heads of the kingdom, during the second sermon of this weeks Friday Prayers in Tehran.



Palestinians staged a march of return protest and the Zionists showered them with bullets which claimed the lives of 20 and wounded 1000, said Sayyed Ahmad Khatami, the interim leader of Tehran Friday Prayers, on Friday.



He made the remarks while addressing the prayers at the second sermon of this weeks rituals of the event, condemning the crimes committed by the Israeli regime in Gaza.



The truth is that blood-shedding is in the nature of the Zionists and the response to this criminal regime is nothing but the use of force and the message of the Leader in support of the Palestinian warriors attests it, reiterated the cleric.



In the course of 70 years of occupation of Palestine, many talks and negotiations were held, but not only they did not relieve the status of homelessness of the Palestinian refugees, but also the number of dislocated Palestinians increased day by day and made this regime more brazen in committing crimes, asserted the leader of Friday prayers.



At this stage of time, it is a strategic mistake to talk about negotiating with the Zionist regime, he said before urging the Islamic world for being responsive to the crimes committed by the Zionists. The Islamic world should withstand the crimes committed by the Zionists and this is a requirement of being Muslim and Arab.



Arent the Palestinians Arab? Why these so-called Arab countries are turning blind eyes to crimes against Palestinians? Their silence is exactly betraying the Holy Quran, articulated the cleric.



What is awe-inspiring in the meantime is how some traitor-to-religion Muftis in Saudi Arabia issued decrees to annul demonstration in Gaza as Haram, and the Zionist regime also welcomes this move, but let me tell them that Quran says that their moves are against Islam, underlined Sayyed Khatami.



Recently, one of the officials of the Zionist regime said that they would attack on Hezbollah by the end of the current year. Of course the zelous warriors of Hezbollah responded them crushingly but I tell them that You have tried your chance one or two times and you saw that Hezbollah turned Tel Aviv and Haifa to ghosts cities with 70km missiles, affirmed the cleric.



Hezbollah is stronger today, much stronger than ever. I tell the Zionists if you are willing to see Tel Aviv and Haifa trampled to earth, try your chance again, reiterated the cleric.



The Leader said that the Zionist regime would not last for 25 years. Maybe the Divine ordinance is that they do something crazy to get eradicated much earlier, the cleric warned about any stimulating move.



In these days we hear a lot of bullshit by a crude young Saudi. The mark of dishonor for recognizing the Zionist regime in public is something new but Saudi have been cooperating with the Israeli regime for some decades, asserted the interim leader of prayers.



The Saudi regime is a corrupt regime which should be tried in a competent court. Their crimes should be investigated as they are the founders of all Takfiri terrorist groups; there would be no suicide bombing attack in the world unless the rich of the region is involved in it, he condemned Saudis policies in supporting the ISIL and sponsoring extremist groups.









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The Non-Aligned Movement has condemned the illegal policies of Israel, calling for collective efforts to end its occupation of Palestinian territories.

(AhlulBayt News Agency) - The Non-Aligned Movement has condemned the illegal policies of Israel, calling for collective efforts to end its occupation of Palestinian territories.



"We condemn the illegal policies and practices by Israel, the occupying power, against the Palestinian people, including, inter alia, the construction and expansion of illegal settlements, the demolition of Palestinian homes and properties, the acts of collective punishment against the civilian population, including the imprisonment and detention of thousands of civilians, disruptions of normal flow of people and traffic through various security checkpoints, closures and barricades, as well as the illegal blockade of the Gaza Strip," foreign ministers of NAM member states said in a statement at the end of their two-day meeting in the Azeri capital city of Baku on Friday.

NAMs mid-term ministerial conference opened on Thursday under the theme of promoting international peace and security for sustainable development, with 800 representatives from 120 member states as well as 10 international bodies and 17 countries as observers in attendance.



The NAM statement called for collective efforts to bring a complete end to the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian lands, saying the regime must withdraw to territories it occupied before 1967.



The statement also condemned the killing and injuring of hundreds of Palestinian protesters in the besieged Gaza Strip during Land Day protests on 30 March by Israeli regime forces, and called on Tel Aviv to immediately end all such "grave breaches of the law."



The statement came as thousands of Palestinian protesters gathered in locations near Gazas fence with the occupied territories to mark a six-week rally dubbed the Great March of Return, which began last Friday.



The March 30 protests turned violent when Israeli military forces used lethal force to disperse the protesters, shooting and killing 20 unarmed demonstrators and injuring over 1,100 others.



NAM voiced support for the Palestinian peoples "inalienable rights" to self-determination and freedom in their independent state of Palestine, with East Jerusalem al-Quds as its capital, adding, "We condemn and reject any notion and attempt to alter the status of East Jerusalem al-Quds into the capital of Israel, and call for countries with diplomatic missions in Tel Aviv to refrain from relocating their missions to Jerusalem."



Israel lays claim to the entirety of Jerusalem al-Quds as its capital while Palestinians want its eastern part as the capital of a future state for themselves.



Last December, US President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem al-Quds as Israels capital and vowed to relocate the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to the occupied city.



Palestinian leaders have warned that the planned relocation would draw strong reaction in the region and deliver a death blow to any prospect of resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.







/129
New beauty products seem to be a dime a dozen these days, but one A-list-approved brand still managed to set skincare lovers alight with excitement with the release of a new limited edition body glow that sold out in mere hours after being unveiled.

Sol de Janeiro - a brand beloved by the likes of Hailey Baldwin and Hilary Duff - debuted its new Ipanama Sunset Glow Oil this week, only for it to completely sell out just eight hours later.

It is not the first time that the brand has achieved viral success; its wildly-popular Brazilian Bum Bum Cream has also helped to skyrocket Sol de Janeiro into the spotlight - thanks in large part to its quirky name, and model Hailey's personal endorsement.

Return: The Ipanama Sunset Glow Oil sold out but it along with the Copacabana Bronze Glow Oil will return on the Sol de Janeiro website on April 27

Used by the famous: Celebrities such as Hailey Baldwin and Hilary Duff are lovers of the beauty brand

'It's like I'm on the beach,' she told Refinery29 of the product. 'Plus, I'm obsessed with anything that has coconut oil.'

Meanwhile, Younger star Hilary couldn't stop raving about the range during an interview with the New York Times, saying: 'Theres this line Im obsessed with at Sephora called Bum Bum Cream. It smells so good!

'And now they have a lip balm, and I cant stop. My son smelled it the other day, and he goes, "Mom that smells like Hawaii." I was like, "I know, lets go!"'

The brand's latest sold-out product, however, focuses more on creating a luminous glow on both the body and the face - and beauty lovers eager to lay their hands on it shouldn't panic about its unavailability just yet; the product is due to return to the Sol de Janeiro website on April 27, and will also be released on the Sephora website on May 1.

And along with it will come another, darker version of the oil - the Copacabana Bronze Glow Oil.

'As the day turns into night, the sunlight changes and so does its luminous effect on skin,' the brand's website says of the products.

Perfect for summer: The website described the product as 'sensual, and irresistible  from day to night'

Translucent: The Ipanema Sunset has a translucent champagne shimmer, according to Sol de Janeiro

'Copacabana Bronze and Ipanema Sunset capture that light to give you the perfect Brazilian glow.'

It's also the perfect Brazilian secret to accentuate 'your curves and highlight your best features'.

Perfect for all skin tones, the skin softening dry oil has just the right amount of shimmer to reflect light beautifully on all color shades.

But for those who still can't decide between the two products, the Copacabana Bronze has a subtle bronze tint with golden shimmer to warm and illuminate your skin whereas the Ipanema Sunset has a translucent champagne shimmer, according to its website.

And the Copacabana Bronze is even infused with the Bum Bum Cream fragrance, which according to celebs, smells amazing as it leaves the skin smelling like pistachio and salted caramel.

Both products come in a 75ml liquid container and can be applied to both the hands and face.
Dame Tessa Jowell is using a pioneering 240,000-a-year device to tackle her deadly brain cancer. It takes the form of a skull cap carrying an array of electrodes that fire minute electrical currents into the head to try to destroy her tumour.

Dame Tessa, 70, was wearing the device under her hat when she addressed the House of Lords in a moving speech in January.

The treatment is provided on compassionate grounds through the NHS with costs covered by Novacare, the company that makes the device.

Dame Tessa Jowell is being treated for her deadly brain cancer with a 240,000-a-year device, pictured, which fires minute electrical currents into her skull in a bid to kill off the tumour

Dame Tessa, former Labour Culture Minister, has been fighting the deadliest of brain cancers, glioblastoma, for almost a year. Average survival rate is little more than a year, and it has been discovered that her mutant form fails to respond to chemotherapy.

She is being treated with the device, called Optune, at Londons Charing Cross Hospital, by neuro-oncologist Matt Williams and is one of just a handful of patients using it.

About 4,000 people a year in the UK develop glioblastoma, with Dr Williams estimating that the Optune device could help to buy more time for 1,000 treatment-resistant patients such as Dame Tessa.

A trial of 700 people found that after two years of treatment, 43 per cent of patients receiving Optune electrode therapy alongside the chemotherapy drug temozolomide were still alive, compared to 30 per cent of patients treated with temozolomide alone. At five years, survival rate was 13 per cent compared to five per cent.

In her Lords speech, Dame Tessa argued that brain-cancer treatments in the UK were not as good as in the rest of Europe, and called for better access to the latest treatments.

Dr Williams says Optune is not a cure and the current costs are prohibitive. The device costs 20,000 a month to rent. The NHS wants to use it but we have to find a more economic model of treatment.
Children born following intensive IVF treatment may have a greater risk of developing heart disease

Children born following intensive IVF treatment may have a greater risk of developing heart disease than those conceived naturally, scientists will say this week.

Fertility experts claim there is growing evidence that treatment in which high doses of powerful drugs are used to stimulate egg production can result in offspring with higher blood pressure and stiffer, thicker arteries than normal. That could raise their risk of heart attacks and strokes as adults.

This high stimulation approach is commonly used by fertility clinics and many of Britains 66,000 IVF children are thought to have been born as a result of it.

However, new evidence is also emerging that this method doubles the risk of premature birth and raises the odds of low birthweight, compared to natural conception.

The findings matter because babies who are premature or small have a greater chance of developing long-term health problems, including heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

The issues will be discussed this week at the annual conference of the International Society for Milder Approaches to Assisted Reproduction (ISMAAR) in London.

Last night, ISMAAR president Professor Geeta Nargund urged fertility clinics to take note, saying they had a responsibility to create healthy children.

Debate is raging about how much these problems result from parental infertility, and how much they are due to fertility treatment. But evidence is building that the harsh regimes many women endure to have a baby are partially to blame.

These involve women being given high doses of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) to spur their ovaries to release lots of eggs together rather than just one.

Fertility experts claim there is growing evidence that treatment in which high doses of powerful drugs are used to stimulate egg production can result in offspring with higher blood pressure

Studies show this often leads to poor quality eggs and wombs compromised by excessive levels of the hormone oestrogen, said Prof Nargund. That in turn could affect the long-term health of the child.

Among the studies being highlighted is a Swiss project comparing heart and blood vessel health in 65 pre-school children born from fertility treatment, with 57 conceived naturally. It found those born via fertility treatment had generalised vascular dysfunction  including stiffer blood vessels and thickening of the carotid arteries that supply blood to the head and neck.

Professor Anja Pinborg of Copenhagen University said it was far too early to say these children would actually suffer more heart disease in adulthood. Whether its true or not  its still debatable, said Prof Pinborg, who will be presenting at ISMAAR.

Another study being presented, looking at all UK fertility treatment births, will show slightly poorer health outcomes in children where more than 18 eggs were retrieved in one go.

US IVF pioneer Dr Sherman Silber will present results showing that, while more than 20 eggs from highly stimulated ovaries are needed on average to end up with a baby, only four eggs are needed from unstimulated ovaries.

Dr Silber told The Mail on Sunday: Hyper-stimulation is crazy, because you end up getting a lot of poor-quality eggs.
Midwives have been accused of scaremongering for telling women that taking folic acid later in pregnancy raises the risk of tongue-tie in newborns

Midwives have been accused of scaremongering for telling women that taking folic acid later in pregnancy raises the risk of tongue-tie in newborns.

There is no evidence that folic acid increases the likelihood of the condition, which makes breastfeeding difficult as the babys tongue is attached to the base of the mouth almost to its tip.

But it is known that if the mother is deficient in folic acid, a type of B vitamin, the risk of serious defects such as spina bifida is greatly increased. Nonetheless, midwives have taken it upon themselves to ignore official advice and warn mothers-to-be about taking folic acid supplements after the first trimester.

Nurse Gill Yaz, of the spina bifida charity Shine, said she feared the number of women taking folic acid could drop if women got the false message it was harmful, adding: Midwives should not be scaremongering and spreading rumours. It is so unhelpful.

The rumour  apparently started by Earth mother bloggers  has become a hot topic on parenting forums. But Professor Sir Nicholas Wald, from the Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine in London, said: There is no scientific basis for stating that taking folic acid supplements from around 12 weeks causes tongue-tie.

Campaigners fear the misinformation could have serious consequences.

Only a third of women take folic acid while trying to get pregnant, despite official NHS advice stating women should take 400 micrograms of it daily while trying to conceive, until 12 weeks pregnant.

The Royal College of Midwives said those telling patients there was a link were acting outside official advice

The poor uptake results in thousands of babies being born every year with neural tube defects such as spina bifida, where the spine develops incorrectly, causing damage to the nervous system. Many now continue to take folic acid after 12 weeks, as part of a pregnancy multivitamin like Pregnacare. The NHS does not warn against this.

Journalist Kate Mansey, 36, from London, whose second child is due in August, said: At 14 weeks, my midwife asked if Id stopped taking folic acid as there was some suggestion it was linked to a rise in tongue-tie in newborns.

I was surprised a health professional would advise this.

The Royal College of Midwives said those telling patients there was a link were acting outside official advice.
'Last year was a strange old year, says Carol Vorderman with a sigh, understandably close to tears for a moment. The maths genius, television star and passionate pilot is describing how she was about to make a daring attempt to fly solo around the world when her mum passed away. It is horrible, watching somebody die.

And now she reveals that her great adventure  which was on hold, apparently doomed  looks to be back on track. It was a massive disappointment. The flight filled my head for three years, so it was like another loss, really.

When she was growing up, the former star of Countdown and Loose Women wanted to be a fighter pilot, but that ambition was thwarted by the sexism of the Seventies. I tried to join the air squadron at university and learn to fly but they said, You cant, youre a girl.

Carol Vorderman in her RAF uniform. I tried to join the air squadron at university and learn to fly but they said, You cant, youre a girl.

Now aged 57, Vorderman has a pilots licence, an aircraft of her own (a 600,000 twin-propellor Diamond DA42 called Mildred) and a close relationship with the Royal Air Force. Last week, she joined Dan Snow in hosting a star-studded gala at the Royal Albert Hall celebrating 100 years of the RAF. But today shes talking for the first time about how tragedy almost put a stop to that much-publicised round-the-world trip.

A date was set for departure last May, camera crews were standing by and Vorderman had just completed a hair-raising final practice run with a co-pilot.

Wed got to Iceland and there was a massive storm on the [US] eastern seaboard. It was coming towards us so we had to get out or wed have been stuck in Iceland. I flew home directly from Reykjavik to Gloucestershire, ahead of the storm. I got home and Mum said she wasnt well.

Vorderman lives in Bristol with her student son Cameron, 21, and 26-year-old scientist daughter Katie. Her mother Jean shared the home too, for decades.

Three days later, she was in a lot of pain, so I rushed her to the Bristol Royal Infirmary. She had tests on the Sunday and on the Monday she was told she had terminal cancer. They said, Its everywhere. What do you want to do? Jean had already had three bouts of cancer, so she turned down chemotherapy. Bearing in mind she was almost 89, Mum said, I dont want to go through that, just keep me out of pain.

Vordermans voice catches as she talks about this, in a restaurant near her home in the citys Clifton Village. I notice this because she seems very much in control the rest of the time. She also looks magnificent in leather trousers and a black turtleneck sweater, her hair long and blonde. If anything, she looks younger, fitter and happier than she has for years. But we are just a few steps from where Jean died in June last year, at home with the family gathered around.

Vorderman on Countdown in 1985. Always fascinating with flying, her passion for it was reignited as she got older

When you watch someone who is terminally ill, when there is no end game other than death, you go through the grieving emotions in the month before they die. Its not a shock as it would be with someone who had an accident or something.

Still, Vorderman was left reeling  and it is only now that she is able to consider what it means for her plans. I havent flown my plane since the day I landed from Iceland, she reveals. Mildred was shipped to California over the winter in preparation for another attempt. I thought I would reboot it sooner, but it has taken time. I am hoping to attempt the flight again in the next couple of years, because it takes that long to plan.

As if all this was not intense enough, shortly before her mothers death last summer the presenter had chosen to go public about how the menopause had caused depression so bad she even felt suicidal.

I wouldnt have done anything because I have kids and I am a single parent, but I definitely had a lot of thoughts that were in that bracket. I didnt want to wake up. I wanted this blackness to stop and I couldnt think of any way of making it stop other than just stopping. It definitely wasnt circumstances that were bringing her down. I was sitting pretty financially, I had great friends. If there was anything wrong it was only five per cent of my life. But this depression was something else.

A friend recommended treatment by Professor John Studd, an expert on menopausal depression based in London. I was surprised by the response when I spoke about this on television with my friend Lorraine Kelly. So many women suffer. Some have been on antidepressants for years. But the professor said that was just papering over the cracks: Its not in your head, its in your hormones, he told me. And Im here to tell you that for me, it was in the hormones. The treatment worked within two days and I have been right as rain ever since.

She now takes bioidentical hormones made from yams. They are clear gels. I have two squeezes of the oestrogen gel on one leg and then a squeeze of the testosterone one on my other leg every morning. It dries within ten seconds and thats it.

Young Carol with her late mother, Jean. Carol recently lost her mom to cancer

Now Vorderman is feeling good and moving on. She deliberately shed business partnerships and even some friends who she felt were bringing her down. There are people in your life who are flakey, shakey and have no problem bringing you bad news. Theyve gone!

The passion for flying is still with her. It started when she was a child growing up in Wales. I didnt know anyone who had even been in an aeroplane. But in 1969 we saw Concorde on television, then the first man on the Moon. I was eight years old. It was beyond glamorous and exciting  it was magical. Something ignited, not just for me but for an entire generation.

Her passion for flying was reignited as she got older. I went through the Nineties bringing up kids, working with my production company and TV presenting. Then I got divorced and had time to do the things I wanted to do. So I started going to air shows, met a lot of people in the RAF, did things for their charities and became the first female honorary group captain in the RAF Air Cadets. Youre meant to call me Maam!

We are in the same restaurant where Vorderman threw a party for George Johnny Johnson, the last surviving Dambuster hero, who took part in the famous bombing raid over Germany in 1943. Her campaign resulted in him finally being given an MBE last summer. As he came out, everyone in the restaurant stood up and applauded, she says.

Smart, committed and articulate, Vorderman is great company. I wouldnt put it past her to fly Mildred successfully around the world  eventually. But for now, shes focusing on getting past the trials of the past year and looking to the future.

Im creating a new chapter in my life now, she says. I decided three weeks ago, based on not a lot, that I am going to live to 107. Ive got so much adventuring to do. Im a party animal, theres a lot of partying to do. And, equally, I love learning, that drives me on because I want to know more. So, you know, look out world!

Friday Night Is Music Night: The RAF Centenary Gala is available on iPlayer Radio. Carols new book How To Be An Engineer is published by DK on May 3, 12.99
The website of the Houthi Ansarullah movement said that the Yemeni armed forces had also launched mortar attacks on Saudi Arabia's southern Najran region.



(AhlulBayt News Agency) - Yemeni army snipers have fatally shot five Saudi soldiers in the kingdom's southwestern Jizan region, in retaliation for Riyadh's ongoing military aggression against the impoverished country.



The website of the Houthi Ansarullah movement said that the Yemeni armed forces had also launched mortar attacks on Saudi Arabia's southern Najran region.



Meanwhile, Arabic-language al-Masirah television network released a video showing Yemeni forces blowing up vehicles belonging to Saudi soldiers in Najran.



Yemeni forces regularly target positions inside Saudi Arabia in retaliatory attacks against the Riyadh-led military operation on Yemen.



Saudi Arabia and its allies launched the war on Yemen in March 2015 in support of Yemens former Riyadh-friendly government and against the Houthi fighters.



The military campaign has killed and injured over 600,000 civilians, according to the latest figures released by the Yemeni Ministry of Human Rights.



Several Western countries, the US and the UK in particular, are accused of being complicit in the aggression as they supply the Riyadh regime with advanced weapons and military equipment.







/257
A Quiet Place Cert: 15 1hr 30mins

Rating:

John Krasinski is a fine and intelligent American actor but until now its fair to say that hes laboured somewhat in the shadow of his beautiful and talented British wife, Emily Blunt.

Well, all that could be about to change because hes just directed and co-written his first big film and, boy, is it good. Despite the low-key title, A Quiet Place is as impressive as it is terrifying.

Lets get its modest shortcomings out of the way first. Yes, its a bit derivative, owing an obvious debt to Gareth Edwardss Monsters from 2010 and a slightly less obvious one to John Hillcoats post-apocalypse drama, The Road (2009).

John Krasinski is a fine and intelligent American actor but until now its fair to say that hes laboured somewhat in the shadow of his beautiful and talented wife, Emily Blunt (above)

Theres also at least one plot hole so big that youll probably come out of the cinema saying: Hang on a minute, why didnt they try..?

But none of that really matters because A Quiet Place is simply too good, too visceral a cinematic experience for such complaints to carry much importance.

The acting  led by Krasinski himself and Blunt  is excellent, the pared-down story-telling really impressive, and, as for the brilliantly built and excruciatingly maintained levels of suspense and threat well, all I can say is that Sigourney Weaver and her tension-ratcheting alien would feel thoroughly at home here.

And theres no higher compliment than that.

Well, all that could be about to change because hes just directed his first big film and A Quiet Place is as impressive as it is terrifying. Krasinski (above) also stars alongside a top-form Blunt

Working from  and contributing to  a story and screenplay written by Bryan Woods and Scott Beck, the economy of Krasinskis story-telling style is evident right from the start. Day 89, says the caption, and were off, trying to work out why the tumbleweeds are already blowing through a seemingly deserted American town and why the barefoot family raiding a supermarket for supplies are so determined to keep quiet at all costs.

And then, as the tech-savvy Lee (Krasinski) and the possibly medically qualified Evelyn (Blunt) make their weary way back to their farm, we find out.

Theres something nasty lurking in the surrounding forest, something alien, fast and deadly. And they hunt by sound. Hence the vital, life-preserving need for absolute silence.

The economy of Krasinskis story-telling style is evident right from the start as we see a barefoot family desperately trying to keep quiet at all costs as they raid a supermarket

But with three children, keeping silent is never going to be straightforward In space, famously, no one could hear you scream; here you simply cant afford to.

Initially, I thought making one of the children deaf was rather over-egging things. But as a device, even a contrived one, it works well. For while Regan  a headstrong young teenager played here by Millicent Simmonds, who, by one of those strange film-world coincidences, is also the star of another of the weeks big releases, Wonderstruck  is completely at home in this new silent world, shes also detached from its dangers.

She has to be able to see something to recognise the threat, which, of course, means the real dangers are always lurking exactly where we dont want them to be  just out of sight.

Blunt does the really heavy-lifting here, as she tries to keep her family safe and out of the clutches of the deadly aliens in their midst who hunt by sound

But its Blunt who does the really heavy-lifting here, albeit playing a role almost as old as cinema itself: the beautiful woman in terrible danger.

However, she does so extremely well, helped by a pregnancy (how do you give birth in silence?), a rusty nail (no-ooo!) and a truly wonderful moment when she and her husband listen to a lovely bit of Neil Young through a shared set of headphones.

This may be the first major film Krasinski (two smaller ones have never been released in this country) has directed but, as long as he can mix things up as beautifully and movingly as this, it certainly wont be his last.

A Quiet Place may be a genre film but that doesnt stop it from being an extremely well-conceived and well-executed one that is absolutely nerve-shreddingly exhausting to watch

Its also clearly been influenced by Alien  initially we dont see a lot of the monsters but when we do, lets just say theyre somewhat familiar  and all that extra-terrestrial life rushing through maize fields reminded me of M. Night Shyamalans Signs too.

All of which may make A Quiet Place a genre film  a film that follows a familiar path  but that doesnt stop it from being an extremely well-conceived and well-executed one that is absolutely nerve-shreddingly exhausting to watch.

Youre definitely not going to forget it in a hurry.

SECOND SCREEN

Love, Simon (12A)

Rating:

Wonderstruck (PG)

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Death Wish (15)

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Thoroughbreds (15)

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I Kill Giants (12A)

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Ghost Stories (15)

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Love, Simon would be very much a standard, American coming-of-age movie but for one modest twist: the huge-ass secret that our likeable high-school hero Simon (Nick Robinson) is hiding is that hes gay.

In 2018, thats hardly the biggest deal, you might imagine, but its still not a storyline that makes it to mainstream teen movies very often so, in that sense, the film is more important than it looks.

Thankfully, its nicely made too: well acted, as funny as it is gently moving, and genuinely intriguing, as we watch Simon respond to online posts by the mysterious Blue, who admits that he is gay but wont reveal his identity.

Love, Simon would be very much a standard, American coming-of-age movie but for one modest twist: the secret that our hero Simon (Nick Robinson, above) is hiding is that hes gay

Can Simon, clearly in the grip of the online equivalent of first love, find out who Blue is while at the same time confront his own sexuality? Or will matters  thanks to the eternal leakiness of the internet  be taken out of his own hands? I think we all know the answer to that one.

Normally, a new Todd Haynes film would be big news given the successes hes had with the likes of Carol and Far From Heaven. But Wonderstruck feels like a serious misfire, mired in the sort of sentiment we might expect from Disney or a Nicholas Sparks adaptation rather than one of art-house cinemas favourite sons.

Two stories, one set in 1927, the other in 1977 and both involving deaf children in New York , play out (dreadfully slowly) in parallel and, surprise, surprise, theyre connected. Even so, it still takes Julianne Moore a good ten minutes to explain how.

Death Wish may be politically incorrect but Eli Roth's remake of the film that made Michael Winner famous has Bruce Willis (above) shooting a lot of bad guys so whats not to like?

Despite at times looking more like an ad for the National Rifle Association or Donald Trumps idea of the perfect date-night movie, Eli Roths remake of the film that made Michael Winner famous still has to go down as a guilty pleasure.

Yes, Death Wish is politically incorrect and yes, its difficult to believe that a highly skilled surgeon would turn murderous vigilante quite so readily, even if his wife had been killed by trigger-happy burglars.

But, hey, its got Bruce Willis shooting a lot of bad guys  whats not to like? That said, in this era of the ubiquitous satnav, it will definitely make you think twice about valet parking.

Thoroughbreds is a strange, stilted American drama following two teenage girls (Anya Taylor-Joy and Olivia Cooke, above) but it's improbable, melodramatic and not worth the effort

Thoroughbreds is a strange, stilted American drama about two teenage girls in Connecticut awkwardly renewing their friendship after some years of separation.

Both have troubles  one, we know, has done something dreadful to a horse, the other has lost her father, been expelled from school and is now having all sorts of trouble with her seriously creepy stepfather.

Wheres this unlikely hybrid of Heathers and Equus all heading? Somewhere improbable, melodramatic and not worth the effort, sadly.

Madison Wolfe is good in the central role of Barbara (above) in I Kill Giants which is similar to last year's A Monster Calls but with more monsters and a Danish director

Some of you may remember A Monster Calls from early last year, in which a young boy invents a tree monster (voiced by Liam Neeson) as his way of coping with his mothers terminal illness.

Well, I Kill Giants is very, very like that, only with more monsters, a Danish director and with Zoe Saldana and Imogen Poots both taking on parts they might have imagined they had moved beyond. Still, Madison Wolfe is good in the central role of Barbara.

Ghost Stories is a clumsily constructed, would-be British chiller about a professional sceptic (Andy Nyman) investigating three apparently inexplicable stories of ghostly goings-on.

Ghost Stories is a clumsily constructed, would-be British chiller about a professional sceptic (Andy Nyman, above with Martin Freeman) investigating three apparently ghostly goings-on

Actually, it turns out to be a lot more complicated than that but, despite the odd scare and supporting turns from Martin Freeman and Paul Whitehouse, no more interesting.
Mark Bebbington

Grieg & Delius Piano Concertos SOMM, out now

Rating:

World premieres of music by Edvard Grieg are not that common these days, not least because he died in 1907! But here, courtesy of the indefatigable Robert Matthew-Walker, who has forgotten more about music than I will ever know, we get two: Griegs sketches for his abandoned second piano concerto, one with and the other without Matthew-Walkers orchestrations, based on Griegs own indications in the score.

Whats extra good about this CD is the way it has been planned. Theres Griegs celebrated A minor concerto receiving an expansive performance from Mark Bebbington (above)

Its a fascinating piece, with five separate, very Griegian melodic strands, well laid out for the piano, and lasting almost four minutes.

What a shame he never finished it. Whats extra good about this CD is the way it has been planned. Theres Griegs celebrated A minor concerto, of course, receiving an expansive performance from Mark Bebbington, which lacks only the last ounce of poetry.

And maybe the outer movements are a bit slow, being about two minutes longer in each case than most serious rivals. But with the Royal Philharmonic under Jan Latham-Koenig on fine form, this is a good listen.

Even better is Deliuss Grieg inspired piano concerto from 1907, which is nothing like as well known as it deserves. Delius and Grieg were close for the last 20 years of the Norwegian masters life.

At their first meeting, Grieg presented the young Delius with the score of his piano concerto. Ten years later, Delius produced a one-movement Fantasy for piano and orchestra, later turned into a three-movement concerto, which would be reworked into the exhilarating one-movement piece, full of terrific tunes, presented here using Sir Thomas Beechams own score.

Room is also found for three very Debussyian Preludes for solo piano, composed by Delius in 1921, and his earlier On Hearing The First Cuckoo In Spring for piano duo. In terms of quality, duration, and musicianship, this release from a small family firm is an example to the bigshots of how to produce a really compelling album.

Murray Perahia

Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Deutsche Grammophon Out now

Rating:

Murray Perahia is almost unique among the great pianists of today, by recording so sparingly. Not since the distant days of Clifford Curzon has a London-based pianist been so reluctant to set down his greatest interpretations.

Curzon, arguably the most distinguished of all British-born pianists, was actually frightened of the recording process. This is not the case with Perahia; he merely wants to totally think through an interpretation and work on it in performance, sometimes for decades, before he sets it down as a permanent record, in every sense, of his capabilities.

Murray Perahia records sparingly. Not since the distant days of Clifford Curzon has a London-based pianist been so reluctant to set down his greatest interpretations

Looking at his Beethoven recordings, since he began in New York in 1978 with the Piano Sonata No 4, Perahia has recorded only 15 sonatas over the following four decades. By the way, all of these are available on five CDs on a handily priced Sony set. Now, under his new contract with Deutsche Grammophon, he is resuming work with the mighty Hammerklavier (No 29), and a more user-friendly, meltingly lyrical Moonlight (No 14).

With sonatas as often recorded as these, and by so many great pianists, its idle to talk of best recordings. All I really need to say is that with great music like this, any serious collector will want more than one recording, probably several. Perahia should join that select group.

My only disappointment is that these two sonatas last only 55 minutes. But I imagine Perahia didnt feel there was anything else he wanted to set down worthy of permanence. Credit to him for that, I suppose.
The Generation Game

Sunday, BBC1

Rating:

Ordeal By Innocence

Sunday, BBC1

Rating:

Cunk On Britain

Tuesday, BBC2

Rating:

The Generation Game returned last weekend, hosted by Mel and Sue, and given peoples reaction on social media and the like youd think the BBC had broken into their homes, poured boiling water over the cat, shot Grandma in the head and then scribbled all over the furniture with marker pen, which as we all know is a devil to remove. (Do what you want to Grandma and the cat, but please, please dont scribble all over the furniture with marker pen) So much anger, so much outrage, so many comments about Bruce turning in his grave. I suppose there are ways and ways of reviving fondly remembered shows, and this was not the right way. On the other hand, people could just get a life But as there is no fun in that, shall we pile in too? OK. Also, Im not doing anything else today, so why not?

Originally, Miranda Hart was set to present but as she pulled out (wisely) it fell to Mel and Sue. They were desperate and forced. The first contestants may have been cousins, twice removed. They are cousins. But we had them removed. Twice, said Sue. There was audience laughter, inexplicably, but as we now know much of it was canned. They did not connect with the participants  no funny observations; no scorn, even  which is an absolute must as its a participation show.

The Generation Game returned last weekend, hosted by Mel and Sue. I suppose there are ways and ways of reviving fondly remembered shows, and this was not the right way

Meanwhile, the challenges. They included the potters wheel, involving much lubrication (cue oo-er lewd jokes), sausage making (cue further oo-er lewd jokes), a Bollywood dance and then the play, featuring star guest Martin Kemp and two characters from Made In Chelsea, who looked like theyd rather be dead, and then the conveyor belt. (A shoe rack? Id kill to win one of those!)

It also had Richard Osman and Lorraine Kelly sitting on a sofa and commenting on the action, which was perplexing. Dont they have homes to go to? Or are they being renovated, so they couldnt watch there? But mostly, I was just so incredibly bored. The one hour seemed like six, if not eight, maybe ten. Had it started yesterday? Last week? It was like being trapped at one of those terrible parties where everyones doing their absolute best but there is no party spirit at all and youre dying to make an exit.

The deal has to be: make it your own. Poldark is a revival but the current Poldark isnt a slavish re-make of the old Poldark. It started afresh. And this should have taken the basic concept, and also started afresh. But, instead, it went back to the early Seventies, lifted the whole thing up and plonked it back down again as if the intervening 40 years had never happened and sausage-making is still inherently hilarious. However, I do not believe Bruce is turning in his grave. I think if the show had succeeded without him then, yes, but in the circumstances hes probably made up. He may even be doing one of those little tap dances prior to turning to the camera to check we still all love him. He could be a little desperate himself at times. But he did make The Generation Game work.

Well skip quickly past Ordeal By Innocence as it only reminded me that I cant do Agatha Christie, and this was classic Ags. Its not really drama. Its problem-solving. And you cant become interested in the characters because they are never given an existence of their own. They are purely contrivances who must, at some time or other, appear as if they might have done it. They are suspicion-bait. So it doesnt matter how much the BBC throws at it or how lovely the dresses are or how cleverly Sarah Phelps does the adaptation or how well it was reshot after it had to be hastily recast. Im out. (But three stars because I can tell that if you like this kind of thing, you will like this. I am nothing if not generous.)

On to Cunk On Britain, which means youll never be able to take a walk and talk history show seriously ever again. (Bummer, if any of us were still trying to keep up with Civilisations. But luckily, were not.) Written by Charlie Brooker and staring the superlative Diane Morgan as Philomena Cunk, this spoof, state-of-the-nation documentary opened with her saying, Today, Britain stands at a fork in its crossroads, and I just kept laughing from then on. She gets everything a little bit wrong. It is The Scottish High Lands and Hayed. Ians. Wall. She perplexes the talking heads  to Robert Peston, Whats the most political thing that has ever happened?  although, post Ali G, they didnt see her coming? But my absolute favourite was when it parodied the documentary form itself. Ill be standing on hills and shouting at helicopters, she said, while standing on a hill shouting at a helicopter. This is comedy for 2018. And not a potters wheel in sight.
'I'm destined to be put in white dresses for ever more! laughs Olivia Vinall, as she wafts into the photo studio in a floaty frock. Such is your fate when youre the headline act in The Woman in White, BBC Ones major new period drama. The five-parter is an adaptation of Wilkie Collinss 1860 gothic suspense novel, aka the worlds first psychological thriller, in which Olivia plays asylum patient Anne Catherick and also Laura Fairlie, the naive sister to the forthright, proto-feminist Marian (played by War & Peaces Jessie Buckley). Right now, our woman in white, with matching white-blonde hair, is reclining on a white armchair in the middle of a room with all-white walls and floorboards. Blinding rays of pale sunshine stream in through the windows further bleaching out the ghostly tableau.

Later, over lunch, Olivia emanates equally pure vibes. She sits still and poised, pondering how best to articulate her answers. Shes very focused on her work. What does this hotshot theatre actress  in recent years both an acclaimed Desdemona in Othello and Cordelia in Sam Mendess King Lear at The National Theatre  do for kicks when shes not working? She, er, goes to the theatre. She enthuses about her burgeoning campaigning spirit and how she feels newly enlightened, having recently marched in London for womens rights and against period poverty (when women are unable to afford sanitary products). And she turned vegan six months ago for environmental reasons.

Olivia enthuses about her burgeoning campaigning spirit and how she feels newly enlightened. DRESS, Bora Aksu. EARRINGS and RING, Shaun Leane

Theres nothing wrong with being serious-minded, of course. But as we chat, Olivia becomes more irreverent. She has recently been nominated by movie industry magazine Screen International as a Star of Tomorrow  previous winners include Benedict Cumberbatch, John Boyega and Carey Mulligan, to whom she has been compared. Im a poor mans Carey Mulligan! she laughs. If she needs a stunt double I could help out, I guess. People see the blonde hair and say, Oh, youre exactly like her. Its just another label, isnt it? That said, she is phenomenal so it can only be a good thing.

As for the nomination, she points out that her screen career is nascent: I have imposter syndrome! she says, wrinkling her nose. The Woman in White and [her next movie] Where Hands Touch havent come out yet. Its very bizarre.

Olivias accent is hard to place: one moment plummy, the next with a US twang, the next vaguely French. Its down to her nomadic upbringing: the child of a diplomat father and a teacher mother, she lived variously in Washington DC, London and Brussels. She also has surprisingly deep, mellifluous tones  if she ever needs a plan B, shed be a shoo-in for voicing guided meditation. My voice dropped after doing so much stage work  you do a lot to expand it and find your natural register. It broke, basically! she smiles.

Olivia with Adrian Lester in Othello  she was just 25 when she landed the part of Desdemona

Olivia in last years BBC drama Apple Tree Yard  her first big TV role. The show was last years tense BBC One thriller about an adulterous midlife affair with devastating consequences

That theatre training was great preparation for the demands of playing two leads in The Woman in White, as she had just done a stint performing an epic Chekhov trilogy at The National. She would arrive at the theatre at 9am and perform three plays consecutively through the day until 11pm. Id be really wired after that  physically exhausted but unable to turn my brain off, she says. With The Woman in White its the first adaptation where the same actress has played both parts, and that challenge attracted me. When I read the novel I thought it so interesting that a man of that time could write about womens lives with such insight, empathy and understanding.

Womens lives werent exactly a barrel of laughs then, as the book explores  the woman in white is incarcerated due to the flimsy, false testimony of a duplicitous man who has good reason to want her out of the way. Women were put in asylums for the most ridiculous reasons, says Olivia. When I was researching the part, I discovered things that could get you locked up as a woman: reading too much, looking at someone in the wrong way, having period pain. It was horrific.

On the plus side, Olivia points out, were much better at dealing with genuine mental-health problems these days. A lot of people I know have experienced issues but they feel that talking about it is no longer taboo. They dont worry that theyll be stigmatised or labelled, she says. Why does she think theres such an epidemic of these problems? Theres an overwhelming pressure about how we should live our lives, ideas of perfection from Instagram Life can feel like a competitive, fast race. How does she navigate that? You have to filter out the negative  everyone has their opinion and you cant be liked by everybody.

Olivia, who recently turned 30, already worries about ageism in her industry: I find it hard talking about my age. When people know it they see you in a different light. DRESS, Alexis, from Oxygen Boutique. EARRINGS, Stone Paris. BLACK RING, Pilgrim. SILVER RING, Diane Kordas

Olivia thinks its the strength of the sisters relationship as they work out how to navigate this mans world that will make this Victorian tale resonate with a modern audience, in an era when women are kicking back against sexism en masse. It was written at a time when honour was so important, and Laura feels she has to honour her fathers wish that she must marry [a man she doesnt love]. But Marian is able to see that there is another way, that money isnt everything and that love is important.

The Woman in White was filmed in various National Trust properties in Northern Ireland. Of Charles Dance, who plays Lauras uncle, she says, He was lovely but hes so tall! When he unfurls himself from his chair, he has this really commanding presence. Jessie Buckley is now a firm friend: To play her sister was a real honour. I feel as though we had a wonderful connection. At one point we were filming in the grounds of this beautiful house, standing next to a tree. We must have both had the same vision for how we thought the scene should be because we looked at each other and then just both started climbing the tree. Before the director could say anything we were lying among the branches in our corsets.

Although this is Olivias first major TV role, you might recognise her from Apple Tree Yard, last years tense BBC One thriller about an adulterous midlife affair with devastating consequences, starring Emily Watson. Olivia played Emilys characters pregnant daughter who wonders why her mum is acting so strangely. (Answer: shes a bit distracted after having sex with a stranger in a House of Commons cupboard two minutes after meeting him.) Some questioned the plausibility of the plot, but at least it acknowledged that older women have a libido. Yes, it can be a taboo, because we still live in such an ageist society, especially for women, says Olivia. Men become silver foxes and women become old crones. So it was great to celebrate the fact that women have sex throughout their lives and enjoy it.

Olivia with Simon Russell Beale in King Lear

Olivia, who recently turned 30, already worries about ageism in her industry: I find it hard talking about my age. When people know it they see you in a different light. She does want to speak about Emily though: She was so friendly and lovely to everyone but then [when the cameras started rolling] she would go straight into this incredibly difficult, emotional story. I learned from her how to behave on a set.

As a child whose family moved a lot because of her fathers career, Olivia found a comforting constant in acting  whichever school she attended, shed rock up for drama class. Her father was into amateur dramatics and her grandparents met through a shared passion for it, but shes the first in her family to turn pro. Her dad and teacher mother named her after Olivia in Twelfth Night, which makes her career sound as though it was written in the stars  although, as she points out, her sister, named after Miranda in The Tempest, works for a London train company and her elder brother, an artist, is a decidedly non-Shakespearean David. Her itinerant early years had drawbacks: I was born in Belgium but I dont feel as though Im from there. I always feel like a bit of an outsider. A lot of actors seem to have had uprooted lifestyles, she muses. You become quite malleable. I guess acting is finding that sense of identity thats always shifting.

Having studied drama at the University of East Anglia and then at the Drama Studio London, she struggled after graduating in 2010 during the recession. My friends and I felt lost and hopeless. You couldnt get a job anywhere. She scraped along doing commercials and working as an usher at The Royal Court, where she found it painful to see people on stage doing the thing I really loved and wanted to be part of. That said, a chance encounter with Oscar-nominated The Shape of Water star Sally Hawkins, who was starring in a play there, made an impression. One night just before she went on stage, she turned to me and whispered, Have a good one. Acknowledging me when she was about to do this amazing performance! That has really stuck with me  that sense of everyone on a production being a team.

Olivias latest TV role in The Woman in White also stars Jessie Buckley (above right)  We had a wonderful connection, says Olivia

Then in 2014, aged 25, she landed the gig of a lifetime as Desdemona, opposite Adrian Lesters Othello. Adrian, she says, was a huge support. I had this feeling like I didnt deserve to be there. Adrian said, You need to believe in yourself. You shouldnt be thankful all the time. Accept it. I still find that challenging. She was, nevertheless, nominated for a theatre industry award for that role.

For now, though, she is focusing on screen work. Alongside Abbie Cornish and Christopher Eccleston, shes in the upcoming Where Hands Touch, an arthouse film by Amma Asante (director of Belle) about an interracial relationship in Nazi Germany. A mixed-race girl, Leyna (played by The Hunger Games Amandla Stenberg) falls in love with the son of a prominent SS officer. She ends up in a concentration camp, with Olivia playing a Jewish girl she meets there, who becomes her confidante. Ive found it hard to let go of the weight of this film, she says. It got completely under my skin. Anything set in that time has to deal with things very sensitively, you feel a huge responsibility. But theres so much hope and beauty in spite of the struggle. The two women develop this camaraderie to help them survive.

Olivia turned vegan six months ago for environmental reasons. DRESS, Amanda Wakeley, from Fenwick. SHOES, Chloe Gosselin. EARRINGS, Stone Paris. DROP RING, Diane Kordas. BLACK RING, Pilgrim

Olivia shares a flat in South London with her English-teacher boyfriend (Hes very creative  a poet, too) along with their cavapoo dog Maple. However, shell be spending the next few months in Copenhagen, filming the lead in an indie movie called Lets Get Killed. Its a dreamlike and surreal love story set on a small Danish island. Tomorrow Im going to have my hair dyed pink for the role. I love changing [my appearance] and becoming immersed in something completely different. Speaking of which, shes apparently considering clown school. Really? Oh yeah! she says, erupting in a low rumble of laughter. I love Charlie Chaplin and silent movies. Maybe one day Ill go to clown school in Paris. Its good to be silly, isnt it? Dont take yourself too seriously. Not a sentiment you often hear from a thespian, it must be said.

The Woman in White will air on BBC One this month

LIV'S LOVES Favourite film I was blown away by Lady Bird. Its such a great reminder of teenage life  it made me nostalgic for living in America. Fashion picks Second-hand clothes are cool. I go to a lot of flea markets and vintage shops, and I wear Veja trainers because they use ethical rubber. Dream dinner-party guests Robin Williams, Greta Gerwig and Oprah. Currently reading Purity by Jonathan Franzen. The main character Pip is so great with her crazy, chaotic lifestyle  Ive never read about anyone quite like her. Style icon Vivienne Westwood  I like her ethical stance. Guilty pleasure Slumping on the sofa and binge-watching Netflix. Im loving The End of the F***ing World  its unsettling, unexpected and so funny. Tipple of choice Lots of Belgian beer  my mum drank it when she was pregnant with me. Perfect weekend Cooking dinner for all my friends or going to the theatre. Then on Sunday a big dog walk followed by a pub lunch. Cant live without Good, dark Belgian chocolate. Advertisement

STYLING: NISHA GREWAL. HAIR: FABIO NOGUEIRA AT FRANK AGENCY USING SACHAJUAN. MAKE-UP: KENNETH SOH AT FRANK AGENCY USING MARC JACOBS BEAUTY AND SKINCEUTICALS. PRODUCER: ALEX RIDLEY. FLOWERS: FOX FLOWERS.
Punishment for car thieves is far too lenient, according to new research.

Of the 7,405 criminals prosecuted for theft of a motor vehicle in England and Wales between 2012 and 2016, just 20 per cent were handed custodial sentences, with the average length of 21 months.

What about those who dodged jail time?

They received an average fine of just 198 - less than motorists receive if caught using a mobile phone behind the wheel.

Punishments not fitting the crime: An investigation shows just 20% of convicted vehicle thieves receive custodial sentences

The analysis was carried out by Churchill Car Insurance after reviewing the latest ONS statistics available.

It said an average of four prosecutions in court occur every single day in England and Wales, but 80 per cent of those found guilty are let off with a slap on the wrist and a minor fine averaging less than 200.

The investigation also highlighted the growing number of trials involving juveniles in car theft cases, with a 52 per cent rise in the number of under-18s prosecuted between 2012 and 2016.

Between 2012 and 2016, 14 per cent of all vehicle theft trials involved juveniles.

The conviction rate for the youngest criminals is slightly higher than the UK average, with around 54 per cent of all under-18 trials resulting in a successful prosecution, compared to 50 per cent across the entire population, the insurer said.

Unsurprisingly, it's the capital that has the greatest number of charges for vehicle theft.

The London Metropolitan Police reported a total of 1,490 cases over the five-year period reviewed, which is fifth of the total trials in England and Wales.

POLICE FORCES WITH THE HIGHEST NUMBER OF REPORTED VEHICLE THEFTS PER 10,000 CARS BETWEEN 2012 AND 2016 Police Force Number of individuals charged with the theft of a motor vehicle, Percentage change in offences, Number of incidents per 10,000 vehicles, Metropolitan Police Service 1,490 54% 4.83 West Midlands Police 623 -6% 3.55 Greater Manchester Police 486 No change 3.68 West Yorkshire Police 402 -17% 3.43 Lancashire Constabulary 220 3% 2.68 South Yorkshire Police 192 -18% 2.78 Northumbria Police 188 -21% 2.78 Nottinghamshire Police 171 -24% 2.91 Cleveland Police 147 -9% 5.22 Humberside Police 144 -54% 2.74 England and Wales total 7,405 -7% 2.2 Source: Churchill Car Insurance, 2018

Churchill found that almost 380,000 vehicles were reported as stolen to police forces during the five-year spell - the equivalent of 208 every day.

Additional analysis uncovered that 51 per cent of these thefts took place between the hours of midnight and 6am, with the majority of cases involving motors being taken from semi-private locations, such as driveways or garages not connected to the home (49 per cent) or on the street (31 per cent).

In just two in five cases, the stolen vehicle is returned to the owner. However, in two thirds of these instances there has been some damage inflicted on the vehicle.

Four in five criminals convicted of vehicle theft are issued with fines. The average cost of those is just 198

Car theft stats are on the increase with the epidemic of gangs hacking keyless vehicle systems remotely

Steve Barrett, head of car insurance at Churchill, says the research showed punishments were not fitting of the crime and harsher consequences were needed to stop such criminal activity.

'As well as being a harrowing experience, having your car stolen can be a huge inconvenience, with many people reliant on their cars on a daily basis,' he said.

'It is, therefore, concerning that so few custodial sentences are handed down for vehicle theft.

'At present the deterrents are not strong enough to prevent criminals, with more than 200 vehicles reported stolen every day.

'We believe the punishment needs to reflect the impact of the crime, with greater sentences and fines for the theft of a vehicle.'

Churchill Car Insurance recommends vehicle owners take extra precautions to keep their motors safe, such as buying a steering lock

Figures for the number of car thefts taking place in the UK look set to rise beyond the dates reviewed by the insurance provider with the epidemic of keyless vehicle crime being masterminded by criminal gangs.

According the recent stats, car thefts have surged in the past three years  up by 189 per cent in Warwickshire, 59 per cent in Hampshire, 57 per cent in West Yorkshire and 56 per cent in Norfolk because of the wider use of vehicle hacking.

With many mainstream models now featuring keyless technology, criminals are using the new method to disarm cars and drive them away from their owners without ever having to get their hands on the keys or raise suspicion.

Owners of cars with keyless systems should also consider a signal-blocking pouch to keep their keys in that can help prevent remote hacking thefts

One senior official said hacking cars was now 'child's play', with criminals able to get in and drive off in just 30 seconds.

Mr Barrett said owners should take special precautions to avoid having their vehicle targeted.

'It is important owners make their vehicles as difficult to steal as possible and to have measures in place so that if it is stolen, there is a way of locating it and identifying the perpetrator,' he said.

His recommendations include buying additional steering wheel, pedal and gear locks, which are inexpensive and easy to install.

He also suggested installing CCTV overlooking driveways and your on-street parking space to help identified perpetrators as well investing in a tracking device.

Tracker, which provides these systems claims it has worked with the police and recovered over 517million worth of stolen vehicles since 1993 and continues to recover on average 1million worth of stolen cars each month.

Motorists with vehicles that don't have keyless systems should also keep their car keys out of plain sight in the home while those with models featuring the latest systems should consider a signal blocker pouch that can act as a barrier for criminals to decode the technology using a laptop.
The controversial Virgin Money passive fund that charges 17 times more than its cheapest rival has been marked for a revamp under new management.

The 1 per cent price tag on the Virgin UK Index Tracking fund could soon be slashed after a spokesman for the bank confirmed the fund is now under review.

The cost of the Virgin fund, which aims to copy the performance of the FTSE All Share index, dwarfs fees on rival fund, the iShares UK Equity Index, which charges just 0.06 per cent for doing the same thing.

Investing in a FTSE All share tracker fund carrying Sir Richard Branson's Virgin brand will cost you almost 17 times more than if you invested in its cheapest rival

The move to improve value for its investors comes after This is Money exposed the tracker fund's extortionate price tag last month and follows a deal between Virgin Money and Aberdeen Standard Investments to hand over 3.7billion in assets under management held by over 200,000 retail customers last month.

A Virgin spokesman confirmed there have been no further developments following the deal but said customers will be directly informed of any changes in an official announcement to follow.

The move comes directly after new rules announced by the Financial Conduct Authority which will force fund managers to prove to investors that they offer value on an annual basis after the regulator found damning evidence of 'weak' price competition across the entire fund management industry.

Virgin previously defended the cost of the fund by saying it is inclusive of platform costs.

However, This is Money research found that investing in the iShares fund through Hargreaves Lansdown, one of the more expensive DIY platforms in the market which charges 0.45 per cent on funds held, would only bring the total cost up to 0.51 per cent. That's still only about half that of the Virgin fund.

What's more, an 1,000 investment in the Virgin FTSE All Share Tracker would have turned into 1,273 over the past five years compared to the 1,417 someone who bought the iShares tracker would have. (Figures correct as of 5 April 2018)

Ben Yearsley, director at Shore Financial Planning, said: 'You can get trackers on other platforms for between 0.5 per cent and 0.6 per cent if you include fund ongoing charges plus platform charge, so Virgin Money definitely has some work to do on the overall charge to investors.'
Shareholders have spent weeks nervously watching the US and China exchange blows in a tit-for-tat dust-up that many believe could spill over into a full-blown trade war.

That has led to 1.8trillion being wiped off the US stock market alone in the past six weeks.

Other major markets, including the FTSE 100, have also been hit. Hopes of a resolution were dashed this week when China reported the US to the World Trade Organization for plans to slap tariffs on 1,133 Chinese imports worth 36billion. The US retaliated with threats of fresh tariffs.

Among the Chinese goods facing tariffs are metals, cotton and vaccines while China plans to hit US whiskey, cars, soybeans, meat and cigarettes. But rather than taking your money and heading for the hills, experts say a trade war could present good opportunities for investors willing to take a punt on emerging markets, such as India, Mexico and Vietnam.

For example, the US is the worlds largest exporter of soybeans. But if China hits its exports with tariffs, they will become more expensive.

That could clear the way for big soybean producers such as Brazil and Argentina to undercut the US and export more to China. The same applies to beef, where the US is one of the biggest exporters. China may turn to Brazil or India.

Another thing to consider is that many emerging market economies do not trade much with the US or China. India is a top 10 trading partner of the US but lags behind nations such as the UK and Germany.

Jan Dehn, head of research at investment manager Ashmore, said: Emerging markets countries are less enamoured of the US [than the UK and Europe] and better equipped to withstand US protectionism than ever before.

They are also more acutely aware of the dangers of protectionism and their improving performances will, if anything, reduce the temptation to intervene in the free flow of goods and services.

Kim Catechis, head of global emerging markets at Martin Currie, said: In the longer term, these trade restrictions will likely only serve to accelerate the rapid growth of intra-regional trade among emerging markets, to the exclusion of the US. This will further shift the gravitational axis of world trade in emerging markets favour.

But while experts say emerging markets could emerge as winners, they advise against putting lots of cash into an emerging market fund. A more sensible approach is to dedicate a small portion of your portfolio. Thats because while their long-term prospects look good, they are volatile.

Ben Yearsley, of adviser Shore Financial Planning, tips Lazard Emerging Markets, which has turned 10,000 into 13,447 in the past five years.

The countries it has the most money invested in are South Korea, Brazil, South Africa, Russia and India. However, 11.7 per cent of the fund is invested in the US and China.

Another option, says Adrian Lowcock, of Architas, is a global fund such as JPM Global Macro Opportunities. Roughly 10 per cent is invested in emerging markets. It has turned 10,000 into 15,621 in five years.
Facing the music: Mark Zuckerberg

His Facebook page shows he lives in Palo Alto, California, with his wife and two daughters. He listens to punk rockers Green Day, watches Game of Thrones, and lists among his favourite films pre-Millennial blockbusters such as The Matrix and Gladiator.

Check-ins reveal a recent visit to the University of Kansas, he has a photo album of a barbecue he once hosted called The Great Goat Roast of 2009, and this week hes posted a portrait of his family sharing their first Seder, the traditional Jewish Passover meal.

At first glance, this could be the profile of any white, suburban, middle class American male aged the wrong side of 30.

Except this account is far from ordinary. It belongs to Mark Zuckerberg, founder and chief executive of Facebook, the social media firm he began in a Harvard dormitory in 2003, which has grown into the worlds eighth largest company with some 2billion users.

It reveals our likes, our dislikes, who our friends are and where we have visited. It is where we announce important news, josh with colleagues and interact with strangers about which restaurant to visit. It is where we have shared our most personal moments.

In A far-off future, when snarling morlocks scavenge the earth, it will not be the crumbling libraries from which they will learn about the peoples of the 21st century. It will be from the databases of Zuckerbergs sprawling creation.

Thanks to Facebooks global impact, its architect will doubtless come to be mentioned in the same breath as the Rockefellers, Carnegies and Fords before him, but any heroic status is now firmly moot.

The firms flippant attitude to our data over the years, culminating in the recent Cambridge Analytica scandal, has led many to ask: Has Zuckerbergs baby, as he describes it, morphed into a monster beyond his control?

Its inception has already passed into folklore. Zuckerberg, a child computer prodigy from upstate New York and son of a dentist (known locally as Painless Dr Z) studies psychology at Harvard and creates puerile platform Facemash, where users rate the attractiveness of female students.

It prompts the idea for Facebook, which allows friends to interact. He possibly screws over a couple of backers, some upper-class twins named Winklevoss whom he ends up having to pay over 200m.

Within a year of its launch, it has 1m users. He drops out, moves to Silicon Valley where he rejects billion-dollar offers, marries long-term love Priscilla Chan and ends up with a 70bn-plus fortune.

But what do we know about the worlds most enigmatic businessman? He wears a uniform of grey t-shirt and blue jeans from which he never deviates, possibly as a result of being colour blind.

Those whove met him say Zuck can be engaging and passionate, thoughtful even, certainly more charming than the character from the brilliant 2010 movie The Social Network, in which hes cruelly portrayed as a sardonic loner devoid of friends.

Legacy: Thanks to Facebooks global impact, its architect will doubtless come to be mentioned in the same breath as the Rockefellers, Carnegies and Fords before him

That said, were he a computer programme youd take issue with the person who wrote his code.

He talks too fast, can be condescending and glares in ways which can be confrontational and unnerving. He has an irritating habit of not finishing his sentences.

Weve been drip-fed titbits about his general down-to-earthness. He drives a Honda; lives in rented accommodation (no longer true  home is a 30m compound); doesnt own a telly; barely spends money, which hes pledging to give away anyway. Yadda yadda.

Otherwise, he never gives interviews, least of all press conferences. His inner circle cant, or at least wont, speak. When scandal erupts, he has a cowardly habit of going to ground before releasing a statement via his Facebook page.

This is hardly the behaviour of a responsible chief executive, least of all one of the worlds most powerful. Perhaps we shall learn more next week when he appears in front of Congress to answer questions about Cambridge Analytica.

Because for now, its hard not to discern that Mark Zuckerberg cares rather more about his own privacy than he does about ours.
Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has defied an order to turn himself in to police.

Instead, the embattled politician hunkered down with supporters at the metal works union that was the spiritual birthplace of his rise to power.

The once wildly popular leader - who rose from poverty to lead Latin America's largest nation - was given until 5pm local time to hand himself in to police in the city of Curitiba.

He is due to begin a sentence of 12 years and one month for a corruption conviction.

Brazil's former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva waves to supporters in front of the metal workers union headquarters in Sao Bernardo do Campo, Brazil. He has refused to hand himself over to police

But hours after the deadline, da Silva remained inside the union building in the Sao Paulo suburb of Sao Bernardo do Campo, about 260 miles (417 kilometers) northeast of Curitiba.

Party leaders initially said he would speak in the late afternoon, but later said he would not.

Two sources close to da Silva told The Associated Press the former leader was refusing to go to Curitiba, but instead was considering either waiting for police at the union or presenting himself in Sao Paulo on Saturday.

They spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to share internal deliberations being discussed.

Forcing da Silva from his stronhold on a Friday night would be a logistical nightmare given the thousands of supporters amassed outside.

Violent clashes would be a possibility and, among heavy San Paolo traffic, chaos could ensue.

Supporters of Brazil's former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva try to help a man who was involved in a brawl outside the metal workers union. Police have clashed with supporters

A federal police sniper aims his weapon as demonstrators protest. The former president faces a 12-years sentence

Demonstrators sing the Brazilian national anthem during a protest against Brazil's former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in front of the Federal Police Department in Curitiba

'The intention is not to force compliance at any cost, but rather follow the order the best way possible, with tranquility and without a media show,' Luis Antonio Boudens, president of the federal police, said in a statement.

Senator Roberto Requiao told reporters da Silva planned to attend a commemoration Saturday morning for his late wife, to be held at the union.

Anna Julia Menezes Rodrigues, a specialist in criminal law at Braga Nascimento e Zilio, said da Silva's defiance did not turn him into a fugitive. It just meant that it was now up to federal police to carry out the warrant, she said.

Federal judge Sergio Moro, seen by many in Brazil as a crusader against endemic graft, on Thursday gave da Silva 24 hours to present himself to authorities.

The arrest warrant came hours after Brazil's top court, the Supreme Federal Tribunal, voted 6-5 to deny a request by the former president to stay out of prison while he appealed a conviction that he contends was simply a way to keep him off the ballot in October's election.

Da Silva waves to supporters gathered outside the metal workers union headquarters

Federal police officers stand guard. Anna Julia Menezes Rodrigues, a specialist in criminal law at Braga Nascimento e Zilio, said da Silva's defiance did not turn him into a fugitive

Condemnation: A demonstrator holds up a sign that reads in Portuguese 'Lula, a thief's place is in prison'

Applause: Supporters of Brazil's former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva gather

And despite his conviction, he remains the front-running presidential candidate.

Last year, Moro convicted da Silva of trading favors with a construction company in exchange for the promise of a beachfront apartment. That conviction was upheld by an appeals court in January.

The former president denies any wrongdoing in that case or in several other corruption cases that have yet to be tried.

Friday night, thousands listened to music and speeches outside the metallurgical union in Sao Bernardo do Campo where the ex-president universally known as 'Lula' got his start as a union organizer.

However it happens, the jailing of da Silva will mark a colossal fall from grace for a man who rose to power against steep odds in one of the world's most unequal countries.

Former U.S. President Barack Obama once called da Silva the 'most popular politician on Earth'

Since leaving office, things have steadily gotten worse for the leader, who has been charged in several corruption cases

Born in the hardscrabble northeast, da Silva rose through the ranks of the union in the country's industrial south.

In 1980, during the military dictatorship, da Silva was arrested in Sao Bernardo do Campo for organizing strikes. He would spend more than a month in jail.

After running for president several times, in 2002 da Silva finally won. He governed from 2003 to 2010, leaving office an international celebrity and with approval ratings in the high 80s.

Former U.S. President Barack Obama once called da Silva the 'most popular politician on Earth.'

Since leaving office, things have steadily gotten worse for the leader, who has been charged in several corruption cases.

Federal police officers stand guard in front of the Federal Police Department building where the arrival of the former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was expected yesterday

Supporters of Brazilian former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva hold hands during a protest against the warrant for his arrest

A demonstrator against Brazil's former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva holds a doll dressed as an inmate featuring the face of da Silva

Supporters of Brazilian former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva protest against the warrant for his arrest

He has always maintained his innocence while continuing to campaign across the country the past year. Despite his legal troubles, he leads preference polls to return to office - if by some chance he is allowed to run.

Like so much in a nation that has become deeply polarized, that da Silva would soon be behind bars was being interpreted differently by supporters and detractors.

'This has always been Lula: a crook and a radical who doesn't respect the law,' said Edson Soares, a 70-year-old retiree at a shopping mall near the union building. 'It will feel so much better to have him in prison.'

Antonio Ferreira dos Santos, a 43-year-old bricklayer who was keeping vigil outside the union, had a different take.

'Lula is one of us. He knows what it is like to have a tough life and loves the poor more than the rich,' said dos Santos.
A family-of-four, whose quintuplet pregnancy gained them thousands of fans on social media, just welcomed their five new additions to the roster.

Jamie Scott delivered her five bundles of joy via a Caesarean section after 29 weeks of pregnancy on March 21 at Dignity Health St. Joseph Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix, Arizona.

'I feel so blessed when I look at each of their little faces, and each of their little souls I can feel,' she said.

Jamie Scott gave birth to a set of quintuplets after 29 weeks on March 21

Babies Lily (left) and Logan (right) are pictured in the hospital. All were born weighing less than three pounds

Daisy sits on her mother's chest while she sleeps. The babies are doing well

She and her husband Skyler Scott temporarily moved from Utah to Phoenix in December to get care at St. Joseph's.

The hospital, in partnership with the Elliott Center for Multiples, is a go-to facility for pregnancies with high-order multiples, or triplets or more.

The new Scott children include three girls -Violet, Daisy, Lily - and two boys, Logan and Lincoln. All were born weighing less than three pounds.

The babies are doing well; no one needs a breathing tube or is on antibiotics, said Dr. Vinit Manuel, who is the medical director of what St. Joseph's calls its Nursery Intensive Care Unit.

He said they'll likely spend the next five to six weeks in the hospital.

Finishing up the three girls and two boys are Lincoln (left) and Violet (right)

The Scotts amassed more than 53,000 Facebook followers and more than 35,000 Instagram followers during the pregnancy. Speaking to the media on Friday, the Scotts praised their health care team. Jamie Scott required eight weeks of bed rest.

'They really made it so bearable and wonderful,' Skyler Scott said. 'And I really believe that some of the best, most angelic people in the world somehow find their way into the NICU.'

The Scotts have a 12-year-old son, Shayden and a 7-year-old son Landon. They learned they were welcoming quintuplets after struggling to get pregnant for a third baby and seeing a fertility specialist. When they learned they were expecting five babies, they 'researched like crazy' to find the best care, Jamie Scott said.

She and her husband Skyler Scott temporarily moved from Utah to Phoenix in December to get care at St. Joseph's

The high-risk pregnancy saw complications; at 21 weeks, the sac surrounding one of the babies ruptured. But it eventually began to heal itself, something Dr. John Elliott said he hadn't seen before in a quintuplet pregnancy.

Throughout the pregnancy, Jamie Scott gained 73 pounds - just shy of a 75-pound goal - while consuming around 4,000 calories a day.

Elliott wanted to deliver the babies at 34 weeks, but a 29-week delivery was still longer than the national average of less than 27 weeks for quintuplets, Elliott said.

The Scotts have a 12-year-old son, Shayden and a 7-year-old son Landon

Much of the journey was shared on their Facebook and Instagram pages, dubbed 'Five Two Love' as a nod to the 'scquints' and their two sons. At first, Jamie Scott was hesitant to share details of her pregnancy publicly.

'The messages of love and hope that we've received from around the world have really helped strengthen us to get through this tough time of very, very high risk pregnancy,' she said.

The Scotts plan to return to their community in St. George, Utah, once the babies and mom are healthy enough to travel. A GoFundMe account set up for the family has raised more than $25,000 in two months.

For now, the Scotts are focused on keeping the babies fed, with mom pumping breastmilk every three hours, and looking forward to getting their family of nine under one roof.

'I'm excited,' she said. 'I'm very, very tired right now, but I know with doing this it's gonna take the two of us and a whole village of people back home.'
The ex-wife of embattled billionaire James Packer has secretly jetted into Sydney with their three children.

Erica Packer spent the Easter break with young kids Indigo, Jackson and Emmanuelle, while James continued being treated for mental issues in America.

The former model, who split from the media mogul in 2013, has been visiting old friends and family as well as choppering to the family estate in Ellerston, near Scone, Sydney Morning Herald reported.

Erica Packer (pictured arriving) has secretly jetted into Sydney with their three children

The ex-wife of embattled billionaire James Packer landed in the city with her young kids, Indigo, Jackson and Emmanuelle (pictured arriving at Sydney jet base)

The brunette beauty (far right) spent the Easter break showing her children around Sydney and her home town Gunnedah, New South Wales

The young children (pictured) reportedly visited Taronga Zoo and climbed the Harbour Bridge

The former model split from the media mogul in 2013 but are believed to remain on good terms (pictured together during happier times with their children)

Erica, whose parents have both died in recent years, wanted to show her children her home 'roots' at Gunnedah, New South Wales as well as sights including Taronga Zoo and climbing Sydney Harbour Bridge.

The 40-year-old brunette, who was James' second wife, held a party for close friends at the beachfront Vaucluse mansion Coolong.

'She is really just focused on the kids and raising them and shielding him from any of the drama,' a source told the publication.

'It was a rollercoaster for her before, but of course she will always love James - he is the father of her children. She will always support him, but her life has changed now and she is happy with that.'

James is currently in Boston being treated for mental health issues with his 80-year-old mother, Roslyn, by his side.

The billionaire's health struggles became public when it was announced he would step down as director of Crown, his beloved casino business.

James (pictured) is currently in Boston being treated for mental health issues with his 80-year-old mother, Roslyn, by his side

Since arriving in Sydney, the 40-year-old brunette held a party for friends at the beachfront Vaucluse mansion Coolong

Erica, who was James' second wife, was seen sporting a casual outfit when stepping off their private helicopter

Despite her ex-husband's health concerns, Erica is 'focused on the kids and raising them'

One of Australia's richest people with a personal fortune estimated at $3.9 billion announced last month he would 'step back from all commitments' indefinitely.

The father-of-three is reportedly staying at the $35,00-a-week McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts.

The 50-year-old previously described Erica as his 'best friend' however friends told Fairfax Media - a company owned by James - it is unlikely the pair would be reunited in the near future.

The brunette has reportedly been flying around the country including to the family estate near Scone, New South Wales
A US congressman said he pulled out a loaded Smith & Wesson pistol during a meeting with gun control activists Friday in a bid to prove that firearms are not responsible for violence.

House Republican Ralph Norman of South Carolina drew the handgun and placed it on a table while at a 'Coffee With Your Congressman' event at a diner.

Norman said it was an attempt to convey that guns are only dangerous if in the wrong hands, the lawmaker told The Post and Courier newspaper.

'I'm not going to be a Gabby Giffords,' said Norman, 64, referring to the former congresswoman from Arizona who was shot in the head during a meet-and-greet outside a grocery store in 2011.

House Republican Ralph Norman of South Carolina (seen far right with wife Elaine and House Speaker Paul Ryan in June 2017) said he pulled out a loaded pistol during a meeting with gun control activists Friday in a bid to prove that firearms are not responsible for violence

'I'm not going to be a Gabby Giffords,' said Norman, 64, referring to the former congresswoman from Arizona who was shot in the head during a meet-and-greet outside a grocery store in 2011

Giffords was gravely wounded in that attack. She survived and became a prominent gun safety advocate

Giffords was gravely wounded in that attack.

She survived and became a prominent gun safety advocate.

Both Giffords and her husband, retired NASA astronaut Mark Kelly, are longtime gun owners.

'Americans are increasingly faced with a stark choice: leaders like Gabby, who work hard together to find solutions to problems, or extremists like the NRA and Congressman Norman, who rely on intimidation tactics and perpetuating fear,' Kelly said in a statement.

'If we want to protect our kids and communities, Congress must get serious about passing safer gun laws. For our kids' sake, let's show our leaders we expect them to behave more like Gabby and less like Congressman Norman.'

Mark Kelly (left) and his wife, Giffords, attend the March For Our Lives on March 24, 2018 in Washington. Kelly released a statement denouncing Norman for being an 'extremist' who 'relies on intimidation tactics and perpetuating fear'

The paper said Norman also claimed: 'I don't mind dying... But whoever shoots me better shoot well or I'm shooting back.'

Norman's indelicate reference to Giffords appeared to suggest that her debilitating injury was in some way due to her not being adequately armed.

The congressman later issued a statement saying he is a concealed carry permit holder and regularly brings his gun with him when in public.

'Mental health, and more importantly, a lack of morality is the driving force behind this epidemic. Guns are not the problem,' he said, adding that he had responded appropriately to questions by 'a group of organized anti-gun activists.'

The incident came as Americans debate the prospect of Congress passing new gun safety laws in the wake of several mass shootings, including a February massacre at a Florida high school that left 17 people dead.

Last year during his unsuccessful US Senate campaign, former judge Roy Moore of Alabama drew a pistol from his pocket while on stage at a rally as a way to show the Republican candidate's commitment to the constitutional right to bear arms.
A British descendant of the worlds richest pirate has given a DNA sample which could confirm whether his infamous relative has finally been found.

Simon Bellamy, 33, is believed to be related to Captain Samuel Black Sam Bellamy  who plundered booty worth more than 85million in todays money.

Legend has it he went down with his ship, the Whydah Gally, when it sank off New England in 1717.

But this has never been proved  and now scientists are hoping to do so with the help of Mr Bellamy, a carpenter from Somerset.

Simon Bellamy, 33, is believed to be related to Captain Samuel Black Sam Bellamy  who plundered booty worth more than 85million in todays money

A saliva swab was taken from the married father-of-two to compare his DNA against that of a femur discovered in the shipwreck.

It is believed the bone could belong to Black Sam because it was found next to pistols matching descriptions of his handguns.

Mr Bellamy said: This is meant to be one of the archaeological discoveries of the decade, so it is exciting to potentially play a small role in it ... The story of Black Sam is fascinating.

'Pirates are known for their ruthlessness, but Black Sam has been likened to Robin Hood  he seemed to avoid violence.

He added: I can see that we are both ruled by a sense of adventure. I love the sea, but Im not sure thats the sort of thing I would want to do.

'Ill stick to building houses.

It is believed the bone could belong to Black Sam because it was found next to pistols matching descriptions of his handguns. Pictured: Mr Bellamy with his son Louie aged five and Sienna aged six

The mission to trace Mr Bellamy, who was unaware of his connection to Black Sam, was spearheaded by US author Casey Sherman, who tracked him down after calling dozens of Britons with the same last name.

His DNA sample has been taken back to the US for analysis. If the remains are confirmed to be those of the pirate, Mr Sherman plans to bring them back to the UK to be buried in his home village of Hittisleigh, Devon.

Mr Sherman, from Boston, Massachusetts, said: He spent 300 years in the shipwreck, in the sea, and its time to bring him home.

Born in 1689, Black Sam joined the Navy before turning to piracy, earning his nickname for his long black hair.

He died at 28 when his boat was caught in a storm.

The shipwreck was found off Cape Cod, Massachusetts, in 1984 by explorer Barry Clifford. Archaeologists have since recovered 200,000 artefacts, including gold coins.

Mr Bellamy insists he has no plans to claim the riches. Mr Clifford is the one who found it  finders keepers, he said. Its his treasure  it costs a lot of money digging out gold from the bottom of the sea.
Tenured pharmacy professor Richard Morrisett (Pictured) was discovered dead in his home Thursday morning

A University of Texas professor at the center of a scandal over the school's failure to discipline employees for off-campus crimes has been found dead.

Tenured pharmacy professor Richard Morrisett was discovered in his home Thursday morning.

Travis County sheriff's spokesman Capt. Jonathan Ede said that the cause of death is still under investigation by the medical examiner's office.

Ede noted that the professor's death is not considered suspicious.

A statement Friday by Gregory Fenves, president of the University of Texas System's flagship Austin campus, called Morrisett's sudden demise a 'tragedy.'

'We support his family and loved ones as they grieve during this time. We recognize these are difficult times on campus and the university will offer all the support we can to students, faculty and staff members,' he added.

The University of Texas professor was at the center of a scandal over the school's failure to discipline employees for off-campus crimes before his death Thursday

Gregory Fenves (pictured), president of the University of Texas System's flagship Austin campus, called Morrisett's sudden demise a 'tragedy'

Morrisett last year pleaded guilty to assaulting his girlfriend in 2016.

The Austin American-Statesman reported recently that he wasn't disciplined by the school despite failing to notify the school of the criminal charges as required by university guidelines.

Officials continued to let Morrisett teach and use university resources after finding 'no relation between how the professor acted in this situation and how he acted on campus' during an internal review.

The same day Morrisett's body was found, Fenves announced policy changes that mean university employees who commit off-campus crimes could face discipline, even in cases that don't threaten campus safety or university operations.

At the time of Morrisett's conviction, disciplinary rules guiding university policy domestic violence, physical assault and dating violence had been in place and fell under the school's 'prohibited conduct' statutes.
British lawyers chasing compensation for a Taliban bombmaker do not even know if he is still alive, it emerged last night.

Serdar Mohammed has been unreachable in Afghanistan for three years.

But despite this, law firm Leigh Day has continued to fight the Ministry of Defence on his behalf in the UK courts.

They were forced to admit at a hearing in the High Court in January that they had not heard from their client, also known as Mullah Gulmad, for a long time.

Serdar Mohammed has been unreachable in Afghanistan for three years

At the hearing, Mr Justice Leggatt handed down an order which gave the firm until July 26 to find him or the case will be struck out.

Mohammed was jailed by a court in Kabul in 2010 after being convicted of terrorist offences. He has alleged he was tortured into giving a false confession.

He was released under an amnesty in 2014.

Leigh Day claim the MoD breached his human rights by detaining him for too long.

Four years of legal wrangling in the High Court and the Supreme Court has so far cost the MoD  and therefore taxpayers  around 1million. Last night the MoD slammed the law firm for wasting taxpayers money.

A spokesman said: We are disappointed that the judge chose not to strike out this case, despite recognising that it is an abuse of process for a claimant to maintain a claim without any intention of bringing it promptly to trial. It is totally unacceptable that Leigh Day waited over three years before acknowledging that they have had no contact with the claimant, and that taxpayers money has been wasted.

Last night Tory MP and former Army captain Johnny Mercer said: It is not even clear if this man is still alive and yet British taxpayers money is still being spent on this case. This is another high profile example of lawfare gone mad.

Mohammed is a test case to determine whether the UK military acted within the law when it detained suspected insurgents during the 13-year campaign.

The MoD said Mohammed helped make explosives on an industrial scale during the war and was covered in bomb dust when he was captured. He was detained for 106 days without charge before being handed over to the Afghan authorities and later jailed for ten years.

But Leigh Day has argued his detention for 106 days was in breach of his human rights.

At the hearing in January, his solicitors are understood to have said they could not meet court deadlines for filling in papers for a civil claim because they had lost contact.

In a statement Leigh Day said: There are very significant difficulties in communicating with individuals in many parts of Afghanistan due to security issues and lack of infrastructure. As we have made known to the court, we have been unable to contact our client for a period of time and are engaging an international investigator to establish his circumstances.

The firm said the case was relevant to a further 19 they are conducting linked to UK forces. Mohammed was captured during a ten-hour firefight. Three British soldiers were wounded in the battle.

Last night Tory MP and former Army captain Johnny Mercer said: It is not even clear if this man is still alive and yet British taxpayers money is still being spent on this case.'

The insurgent was sentenced to 16 years, which was reduced on appeal to ten years.

He was released early and reunited with his family at his farm in the Kajaki district of Helmand Province.

Leigh Day have argued that Mohammed should not have been held for longer than 96 hours under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

In July 2015, the Court of Appeal ruled in Leigh Days favour, saying Afghans were detained unlawfully, but the MoD challenged the decision. One court hearing heard how he was treated as a prisoner of war under the Geneva Convention.

But his lawyers argued that the ECHR, of which Britain is a signatory, should take precedence.

The case went to the Supreme Court and in January last year judges ruled that troops had acted lawfully in holding insurgents for longer than specified under the ECHR.

Mohammed is also understood to have lodged criminal allegations of ill-treatment against British troops as part of a taxpayer-funded probe into claims arising out of Afghanistan called Operation Northmoor. UK soldiers who detained him could be prosecuted as a result.
Purple Emperor butterflies, clustered bellflowers and sacred rivers: these have been the captivating world of naturalist, conservationist and author MATTHEW OATES, who has worked as the National Trusts Specialist on Nature for 27 years. Now, as he prepares to retire, he shares his top-ten places in the UK to see wildlife...

Rodborough Common, Cotswolds

This is my home patch  a huge spur of steep grassy slopes on the edge of Stroud in Gloucestershire, deep in Laurie Lee country (of Cider With Rosie fame).

People walk dogs along the summit paths all year round, drawn by the views across the Severn to the Forest of Dean.

Only a hardy few venture along the steep lower slopes, where rare butterflies and flowers struggle among coarse grasses and invading scrub. In spring, the bolshie males of the rare Duke of Burgundy butterfly squabble among themselves in sheltered hollows, their aggressive behaviour a disgrace to the aristocracy.

Only a hardy few venture along the steep lower slopes, where rare butterflies and flowers struggle among coarse grasses and invading scrub

The common is grazed during the brighter months by cattle owned by local farms which hold the grazing rights. But in recent years their numbers have declined and monumental efforts are being made to get more cattle onto the slopes, for the flowers and butterflies depend on them. Without more cattle, Rodborough Common would become a dark and sombre wood of non-native trees like Turkey oak and the evergreen holm oak, and be devoid of flowers and butterflies.

Dovedale, Peak District

This is a world apart, deep in the wondrous White Peak country in dreamy Derbyshire.

The Dove  a sacred river if ever there was one  is slowly cutting itself a gorge through the limestone rocks here. Much of the time, though, it seems asleep, meandering below steep-shelving woods, precipitous grassy slopes studded with ant hills, and crags around which ravens croak.

The Dove  a sacred river if ever there was one  is slowly cutting itself a gorge through the limestone rocks here

The river is everything here  it draws you to it magnetically. Brown trout waver and dart, and in early summer rise to feast on the countless mayflies that fall into the water at eventide. Watching the mayflies is mesmeric. In places, there are stepping stones for children to hop across. They can come to little harm, as the water is shallow, though they may get their feet wet.

All year round there are dippers bibbing and bobbing on streamside rocks, and grey wagtails ghosting by, uttering their metallic, high-pitched call. In spring and summer, redstarts, newly returned from their winter quarters in Africa, nest in holes in old sycamore trees. You can lose yourself here  and be much the better for it.

Murlough Dunes, County Down

This is my favourite place out of many in Northern Ireland. Murlough is a rambling sand dune system, just north of where the dreamscape Mountains of Mourne sweep down to the sea, in the words of the popular song.

The sand is acidic, which means mauve heathers abound where the sand is stable, along with the ubiquitous marram grass that bends in the stiff onshore breezes.

In June, when the days are long, the dune hollows turn purple with the tiny flowers of heartsease pansy, and yellow with the starburst flowers of birdsfoot trefoil.

This is my favourite place out of many in Northern Ireland. Murlough is a rambling sand dune system, just north of where the dreamscape Mountains of Mourne sweep down to the sea, in the words of the popular song

Two rare butterflies haunt these hollows: the black and orange marsh fritillary, with its wings the pattern of stained glass windows, and something now called the cryptic wood white. This little butterfly looks exactly like the ordinary wood white found elsewhere in the UK, but has now been separated from its cousin and named as a new species.

Great flocks of brent geese overwinter in Murlough Bay, and at this time of year the shoreline is haunted by huge flocks of lapwings, oystercatchers, golden plovers, dunlins and godwits, all swirling and calling away.

In spring, skylarks ascend over the dunes, singing their song high above our heads.

The Great Orme, North Wales

This is a place of pilgrimage for naturalists: a natural paradise, towering aloof above the holiday resort of Llandudno. Try finding a botanist or a butterfly enthusiast who hasnt been there, or at least doesnt desperately want to visit.

It is also on the birders radar, with rare cliff-nesting species such as choughs, a member of the crow family with glossy blue-black plumage and a long, curved, blood-red bill.

This is a place of pilgrimage for naturalists: a natural paradise, towering aloof above the holiday resort of Llandudno

Seabirds nest here, too, including guillemots, razorbills and kittiwakes, which breed on the narrow ledges, jostling each other for prime position.

Bat, beetle, lichen, moss, moth and marine wildlife enthusiasts also revere the Great Orme, as do geologists, geographers and archaeologists.

But, above all, this is a botanists paradise, full of rare plants with esoteric names such as spiked speedwell, spotted cats-ear, Welsh hawkweed and wild cotoneaster.

The Great Orme is also the finest example of limestone heath in the UK, a rare type of vegetation in which acid-loving heathers grow on limestone rocks and among lime-loving plants.

Purple Emperor butterflies, clustered bellflowers and sacred rivers: these have been the captivating world of naturalist, conservationist and author Matthew Oates, who has worked as the National Trusts Specialist on Nature for 27 years

In midsummer, on bright, sunny days, parts of the Orme swarm with tiny blue butterflies  the local race of the silver-studded blue. You wont see a butterfly in greater profusion anywhere in the British Isles.

The limestone crags, where sure-footed feral goats hang out, also support a unique, dwarf race of the grayling butterfly. The grey rock dominates, and in dry summers the grasslands also turn grey, making the place feel almost Mediterranean. In June, the short grassland is yellow with birdsfoot trefoil and rockrose flowers, while in high summer the aptly named bloody cranesbill appears on many of the slopes.

Compton Bay, Isle of Wight

Heaven and Earth meet here. Behind, is a long whaleback of downland, which turns grey, then brown, in summer drought and is grazed by a herd of Galloway cattle. These downs give way to spectacular white cliffs, where peregrine falcons  the fastest living creature on the planet  patrol, and rare plants such as hoary stock grow.

The ridgetop path offers deeply memorable views, while the bay provides wondrous sunsets.

Heaven and Earth meet here. Behind, is a long whaleback of downland, which turns grey, then brown, in summer drought and is grazed by a herd of Galloway cattle

Below, there are sandy cliffs which steadily crumble away into the shoreline, providing fresh sand for the best beach on the Isle of Wight (and the standard is high).

Rare plants, beetles, bees and Glanville fritillary butterflies breed on the warm, sparsely vegetated cliff face. At low water, a relic fossil forest and dinosaur footprints can be seen. Farmland birds, such as skylarks, linnets and yellow-hammers, abound.

Dunkery Beacon, Somerset

The domed, heathery top of Dunkery Beacon, with its distinctive pepperpot cairn, always feels too bleak for me  a monoculture of windswept heather. It is the highest point on Exmoor, haunted by plaintive meadow pipits. But the steep-sided, sheltered combes below the summit are magical and welcoming, with a warm microclimate. They have wonderful ancient names such as Allercombe, Sweetworthy (pronounced Sweetery), Halse Combe and Hanny Combe.

The steep-sided, sheltered combes below the summit are magical and welcoming, with a warm microclimate

Best of all is Bin Combe, a lonely pathless place, with a tumbling moorland stream, wild bilberries, rare heath fritillary butterflies and circling buzzards overhead.

The National Trust owns a huge estate here, of moorland, woodland, vale farmland, cliff and coastline, farmsteads and thatched cottages. This place wants time to stand still, and to grant it the eternity it deserves.

Brandreth & Grey Knotts, Lake District

I love the high fell tops above and to the south of Honister Pass. I always take the easy route, parking at the youth hostel and going up the old mining tramway to Fleetwith Pike, where I can wander aimless and free.

I must confess that I come here only in midsummer, when grey Herdwick ewes and their black lambs graze the carpet of mat-grass

I usually make a special pilgrimage to Innominate Tarn, below Haystacks. For Alfred Wainwright, who wrote the classic guides to the Lakes, this was his favourite place in the world  and its certainly one of mine. I must confess that I come here only in midsummer, when grey Herdwick ewes and their black lambs graze the carpet of mat-grass.

Yellow tormentil flowers and patches of wild thyme jewel the turf, ring ouzels and wheatears call distantly, and dark mountain ringlet butterflies blunder about in the breeze. Everywhere are little peaty pools, reminding me that rain is seldom far away.

Hod Hill, Dorset

This Iron Age hill fort above the River Stour, near Blandford Forum, has impressive fortifications with deeply incised ramparts. The Romans conquered it, constructing their own distinctive fort in the north-west corner. History and nature come together here rather wondrously.

This Iron Age hill fort above the River Stour, near Blandford Forum, has impressive fortifications with deeply incised ramparts

It is a place of rising skylarks, lowering skyscapes and impressive archaeological features. I once found a corn buntings nest in a tussock of grass at the foot of an old fence post  and everything seemed right with the world.

The White Cliffs Of Dover, Kent

This part of England is where chalk cliffs stare out across the Channel to hazy France. The first port of call for many visitors is the National Trusts Langdon Cliffs centre, set in what was once a series of massive gun emplacement bays above the port of Dover.

Many walk the mile-long clifftop path to Mrs Knotts tearooms in the old South Foreland Lighthouse. The walk is breathtaking, and in spring and autumn offers glimpses of passing swallows and other migrant birds, while fulmars, kittiwakes and ravens hug the brilliant cliffs below.

This part of England is where chalk cliffs stare out across the Channel to hazy France

The rough grasses pulsate with insects and the path edges are lined with flowers.

History is everywhere, much of it military and relatively modern: gun emplacements, deep shelters, the Dover Patrol Monument, Shakespeare Cliff and, of course, Dover Castle.

On calm summer days, Battle of Britain aircraft can be seen overhead. Best of all, it is often cloudy inland, but cloudless along this unique shoreline.

Arnside Knott, Cumbria

People fall deeply in love with this partly-wooded limestone hill above the small town of Arnside, downstream of Kendal. It has a unique feel about it, and offers some of the best sunsets in Britain, with broad vistas over the Lakeland fells.

The Knott is criss-crossed by a labyrinth of grey scree paths, which meander through shady woodland and out into grassy or heathery glades. It takes years to get to know it properly, and even then the place surprises you.

People fall deeply in love with this partly-wooded limestone hill above the small town of Arnside, downstream of Kendal

If I could afford a second home, mine would be near here, perhaps in the village of Silverdale.

In terms of wildlife, this is where north and south meet, and embrace each other. Some species, such as the southern wood ant, are on the northern limits of their UK range. Others, such as the Scotch argus butterfly, are on the southern limit of theirs.
The vagrant who allegedly destroyed Jaime King's car, causing glass to hit her four-year-old son, has been slapped with four charges.

Paul Francis Floyd, 47, was charged with cruelty to child by endangering health and a felony count for vandalizing the actresses's 2016 Mercedes, TMZ reports.

The child endangerment charge is a misdemeanor.

Floyd was also charged with an additional misdemeanor battery charge and a count of misdemeanor vandalism for allegedly attacking a man's 2017 Lexus.

Jaime King (left) was running errands on the trendy shopping strip of Bedford Drive when a disheveled man jumped on her car and smashed the windows. Floyd (right) was arrested and charged with a cruelty to child endangering health and vandalizing King's 2016 Mercedes

King revealed that the attack on her car that left her son covered in window glass was even more violent than previously reported.

'The attack was incredibly violent, and my four-year-old son was obviously the target of the individual's brutal attack, which is terrifying,' King said in a statement about the Wednesday incident in Beverly Hills.

King, 38, was on the trendy shopping strip of Bedford Drive when a disheveled man with a skateboard jumped on the actresses' parked Mercedes-Benz and kicked in the rear window to attack her son - but luckily the actress' friend was in the driver's seat and leaped out to confront the suspect.

'My brave friend Judit Balogh used her self-defense training to try and keep the individual from harming James Knight while glass was shattering on him, as the perpetrator jumped on the roof until it collapsed and kicked in windows trying to get to him,' King recalled.

'He threw a bottle at her, hitting and assaulting her, but he couldn't catch her. Without her bravery and selflessness, I couldn't imagine the outcome,' said King.

The boy was secured in the rear seat and was shaken but uninjured after broken glass showered on him during the attack. The suspect fled the scene but was captured by police nearby.

Suspect Paul Francis Floyd is seen left in a 2017 mugshot and right in a 2012 arrest. Since August, he has been arrested seven times in Los Angeles County on various charges

In her statement, King also expressed thanks to the Beverly Hills police who have been 'supportive through the entire ordeal' as well as kind bystanders who rushed to assist her and her son.

However she had harsh words for the paparazzi for'terrorizing' her son and 'shoving cameras in our face during an attack, whilst he was shaking and crying instead of trying to help'.

Police have said they are considering secondary cases against papparazzi, citing California Penal Code Section 11414: 'Intentional harassment of a child or ward of another person because of that persons employment.'

King also called on elected officials to tackle the issue of homelessness, a mounting crisis in California that has not spared Beverly Hills.

'Mental health, drug addiction, and homelessness are issues that need to be addressed, and we desperately need more resources dedicated to helping the people suffering,' King said. 'We as a society can do better than to let those in need endanger themselves and those around them without the help they require.'

Los Angeles has seen a massive 75 per cent surge in homelessness over the past three years, with the area's homeless population approaching 60,000 - and Beverly Hills is not immune.

The incident occurred just across the street from Anastasia Nail Salon, a celebrity hotspot. Pictured are Kim Kardashian (left) and Paris Hilton (right) visiting the nail salon

The interior of Anastasia Nail Salon is seen. King's car was attacked just across the street

Bedford Drive is a street within the village of Beverly Hills where celebrities flock for beauty treatments.

Shop employees in the area tell DailyMail.com that they've seen a rise in vagrants in the area over the past six months.

It's a far cry from the usual sidewalk traffic, with Cindy Crawford, Paris Hilton, Emmy Rossum, Jessica Alba and Serena Williams often seen there to visit the best doctors. Top cosmetic surgeons, dermatologists and therapists have offices on the very block where King's car was damaged.

Kim Kardashian also is a frequent visitor of Bedford Drive as she gets her eyebrows shaped at Anastasia and her nails done at Beverly Hills Nail Design, both of which are just steps from where the King incident took place.

And Kyle Richards' clothing boutique Alene Too - where her co-stars Lisa Rinna and Lisa Vanderpump shop - has an entrance on Bedford Drive.

Vanderpump's restaurant Villa Blanca is just around the corner. And one block over is Dr Simon Ourian's Epione, where Kim and her sisters Khloe and Kourtney get their procedures done and Kylie Jenner has her lips filled.

Both King's front and back windows were shattered (left) during the bizarre attack on Wednesday. Right: Cops take away a suspect

Actress Jaime King was left distraught after a shocking attack in Beverly Hills on Wednesday

King was outside of the parked car at the time of the attack, but her friend was in the driver seat and her son James was still in his car seat in the back

King appeared to be in tears in the aftermath of the dramatic attack as police looked at her car

Floyd allegedly smashed the front window and then jumped onto the rear windshield, according to the Beverly Hills Police Department.

King's four-year-old son James Knight Newman was inside the car, secured in a car seat in the back, when he was struck by glass from the window.

The actress was outside of the vehicle at the time of the crime, but her friend was still in in the driver's seat.

When he was taken into custody, Floyd looked disheveled and dirty, suggesting he may be among the county's nearly 60,000 homeless people.

King spoke with police at her car after the bizarre attack, which happened in broad daylight

Beverly Hills Police have identified the suspect as 47-year-old Paul Francis Floyd (pictured)

Floyd has been charged with felony child endangerment, battery, and felony vandalism

Court records show that he has been arrested seven other times in the past year, for at least one felony and multiple misdemeanors.

Floyd's most recent arrest was in the early morning hours of February 23 by the Los Angeles Sheriff's park bureau patrol.

The homelessness problem is growing out of control in Los Angeles, where many of the homeless population come from out of state, seeking a warm climate to live on the streets in.

But once there, it's hard to get off the streets since the housing is so expensive and only continues to climb.

Over the last six years, the cost of rent for a studio apartment in L.A. has climbed 92 per cent, UCLA law professor emeritus Gary Blasi told the Los Angeles Times.

Los Angeles County is currently dealing with a massive homeless problem, with an estimated 57,000 people living on the streets. Above, a homeless woman in Beverly Hills in 2009

Above, a homeless man begging on Rodeo Drive in 2013. The wealthy residents of Beverly Hills have been known to give out wads of cash and even bottles of Dom Perignon champagne to homeless people on the streets of the rich enclave

A pedestrian walks past a homeless encampment alongside a street in downtown Los Angles on Wednesday, May 31, 2017

In November 2016 and March 2017, the county voted to raise taxes in order to fund a multi-billion-dollar, 10-year program to tackle the issue.

And the problem isn't just in downtown L.A. - home to the notorious Skid Row. Homeless are spread throughout the county, including in upscale neighborhoods like Beverly Hills, where King was attacked.

According to a 2015 analysis by the LA Times, 14 homeless people were living in the area where King was attacked.

In fact, Beverly Hills is thought to be a lucrative place to camp out since the neighborhood's wealthy residents are known to be giving.

According to a 2008 Seattle Times article, the homeless in Beverly Hills said they had received such donations as $2,000 in cash and bottles of Dom Perignon champagne.

'This is the finest place you can be,' homeless man Isaac Young told the paper at the time.

'They have a sympathetic thing for us, and were grateful for it,' another man added.

King looked upset as she talked to police during the stressful ordeal in Beverly Hills

The actress appeared to be accompanied by a friend as she gave her report to police

King's son James was struck by glass when Floyd allegedly broke the back window of her car

King appeared to give one policeman a hug after giving a report of the random attack

Beverly Police first began receiving 911 calls around 4.43pm reporting a man who was vandalizing a vehicle in the neighborhood

Floyd allegedly attacked one car, kicking it and causing damage to the vehicle, before he reached King's

He then attacked King's parked car in front of an HSBC bank in the upscale neighborhood

King, who is also mother to two-year-old Leo Thames, looked shaken up as she spoke with police following the incident but appeared uninjured.

Beverly Police first began receiving 911 calls around 4.43pm reporting a man who was vandalizing a vehicle in the neighborhood.

Floyd allegedly attacked one car, kicking it and causing damage to the vehicle, before he reached King's.

A shaken King was comforted by police as they took her report, and she was also seen hugging friends throughout the ordeal.

King's damaged car was towed away following the incident.

King was seen talking to multiple police officers following the attack on Wednesday afternoon
High-tech sex robots will be owned by hundreds of people in the UK within a year, an expert has predicted.

The machines will have facial expressions and the ability to move their heads and hold conversations with their owners.

While they might be popular with single people, Dr Kate Devlin, from Goldsmiths, University of London, thinks they may be bought by couples as well.

Dr Devlin gave a talk on the future of human sexuality at Edinburgh International Science Festival yesterday.

The machines will have facial expressions and the ability to move their heads and hold conversations with their owners. Stock image

Speaking before the event, she said: These robots will be bought by people who have a fetish but also by people who have a relationship but their partner is not willing or able to have sex with them.

They will also be popular with single people seeking companionship. A manufacturer has described having a sex doll as like having a pet and the companionship is a very important part of it.

'These robots are something to talk to, as well as a sex toy of sorts.

The robots will remember facts about their owners such as names and birthdays. Dr Devlin, a computing expert, said: The first sex robots will be quite rudimentary.

'They will have an AI [artificial intelligence] personality and the ability to chat with you. The race is on to produce them first and they are coming soon.

The robots are being designed to interact with people  making them different from sex dolls that are already available.

The robots will remember facts about their owners such as names and birthdays

Dr Devlin believes they will be purchasable online within a year, and predicts they could be bought by hundreds of people.

There are two front-runners vying to be the first firm to release a sex robot.

Synthea Amatus is manufacturing a machine called Samantha. Co-founded by Dr Sergi Santos, who studied nanotechnology in Leeds, Samantha will be capable of enjoying sex and will remember previous conversations  even going to sleep.

Rival firm RealDoll has a model called Harmony which will blink, talk and smile.
Family members are being blocked from paying cash into each others accounts under a crackdown by high street banks.

The new rules mean grandparents are barred from putting birthday cash into their grandchildrens accounts.

Even married couples cannot top up each others savings.

Santander, Nationwide and Barclays are among those who have introduced the rules in recent weeks. They say they are clamping down on criminal gangs who launder cash through bank accounts.

New rules mean grandparents are barred from walking into high street banks and putting birthday cash into their grandchildrens accounts

Customers can still pay into another persons account by cheque in high street branches. But critics condemned the ban as a cynical attempt to save money by forcing customers online.

Nationwide customer Simon Icke fell foul of the rules when he tried to pay 20 into his wife Valeries account at the Berkhamsted branch in Hertfordshire.

The counter staff pointed Mr Icke, 62, to a notice that read: Keeping our members money safe is at the very heart of our membership. So to protect our members and their money, were no longer accepting cash deposits from anyone who isnt the account holder.

The notice suggests customers instead sign up to the building societys banking app for smartphones and transfer the money over the internet.

Mr Icke said: Its as if Nationwide Building Society no longer respects or trusts marriage or any other family membership or relationship. If the concern is money laundering, I can understand a restriction if I was trying to pay in a large sum such as 500 but to stop me paying in 20 is ridiculous. Since Monday, Santander customers have been barred from paying in cash unless they are named on the account.

Married couples are also prohibited from topping up each other's account in what critics are calling a cynical attempt to force customers online

Barclays has also introduced tighter controls. Previously, anyone could pay in cash to any account as long as they had the sort code and account number.

But now only the banks customers can do this, and even those who do have an account cannot pay cash into another account without providing proof of identity or answering security questions. Money Mail tested the new rules by trying to pay 40 into Santander and Nationwide current accounts. On both occasions we were barred from doing so.

Santander staff admitted customers had been caught out by the rule changes.

Last night the ban was criticised by politicians, who warned of the impact on the 2.7million people who are entirely reliant on cash.

MP John Mann, who sits on the Treasury select committee, said: This doesnt seem to be about money laundering, this seems to be a money-making opportunity for the banks, who feel that the cost of handling small amounts is too great.

Santander (pictured), Nationwide and Barclays are among those who have introduced the rules in recent weeks

Campaigners called on the banks to rethink. They said many elderly people would feel more comfortable with cash rather than online payments.

Finance campaigner Baroness Altmann said: I find this shocking. The banks should be chasing criminals who are paying in large amounts of cash, not stopping grandparents doing what they love and giving money to their grandchildren.

However, banks including Lloyds, Halifax and TSB say they do not plan to impose similar rules.

A spokesman for banking trade body UK Finance said: Banks have to tread a fine line or risk falling foul of money laundering regulations. A Santander spokesman said it is offering guidance and support in setting up alternative payment methods.

In reference to Mr Ickes case, a Nationwide spokesman said: Existing members are able to pay money into their account and transfer this to another. This is a straightforward process, which the member used to transfer the funds. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.
A Chinese woman who was charged with manslaughter after allegedly giving a lethal dose of anaesthetic during a botched boob job has been released from immigration detention.

Yueqiong Fu, 30, was released from detention after it was determined she was 'highly unlikely' to be a risk to the community and charges laid may not have been entirely 'reasonable'.

Ms Fu was allegedly unregistered to practice at the time, allegedly lied to police and was charged with using poison to endanger the life of her boss Jean Huang resulting in her death from cardiac arrest.

Yueqiong Fu, 30, (pictured) was charged with manslaughter after allegedly giving a lethal dose of anaesthetic during a botched boob job and has been released from immigration detention

Ms Fu was allegedly unregistered to practice at the time and was charged with using poison to endanger the life of her boss Jean Huang, 35, (pictured) resulting in her death from cardiac arrest

Fu had been taken to immigration detention by a delegate for Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton after she was released from custody and her student visa had been cancelled.

However, the 30-year-old was released on Tuesday after the Administrative Appeals Tribunal overturned Mr Dutton's decision and reinstated her visa.

The Tribunal said its decision relied on the charges that had been laid and Ms Fu's risk to the health and safety of the Australian community.

However the Tribunal noted there had been no conviction of any offences, the charges were currently unproven and it was difficult to assess her risk to the community.

Jean Huang (pictured) was rushed to hospital last year after going into cardiac arrest during a breast enlargement procedure

'When charges are laid by New South Wales Police, it can be inferred the Police had some basis for laying the charges,' the judgement read.

The tribunal conceded that Fu 'must have known, or at least been reckless or negligent in respect of the potential risks' in the procedure given to Jean Huang (pictured)

'But it cannot be concluded, simply on the basis of the charges, that the basis for the charges are reasonable'.

In its decision it was found Ms Fu was 'highly unlikely' to be a risk and had not been charged with a violent offence.

Ms Fu's visa was due to expire on 18 April 2018, less than two weeks after the Tribunal made its decision.

As such, the tribunal determined it was 'unlikely she would undertake or be in the position to undertake any further unregulated medical procedures' over the two weeks remaining on her visa.

The tribunal conceded that Fu 'must have known, or at least been reckless or negligent in respect of the potential risks'.

Mr Dutton was unable to comment on the details of the case.
As a family philosophy goes, it is sensationally callous.

An OAP a day keeps ur bank balance at bay, a member of the Vincent clan proclaims proudly on social media, adding: The old b******s deserve everything they get.

With relatives notorious for targeting pensioners and fleecing them of their savings, it was armed burglar Henry Vincent who died after struggling with 78-year-old Richard Osborn-Brooks during a break-in this week.

And yesterday yet more shocking incidents emerged from the past of the 37-year-old and his family.

With relatives notorious for targeting pensioners and fleecing them of their savings, it was armed burglar Henry Vincent (pictured) who died after struggling with 78-year-old Richard Osborn-Brooks during a break-in this week

Left: Vincent's cowboy builder father Henry Charles. Right: Vincent's uncle Steve, who helped his brother scam elderly people

In one, Vincent was accused of posing as a policeman to con octogenarian June Stratton out of 7,300.

The frail alleged victim was said to have been told she had paid workmen in fake cash, and if she did not let Vincent and an accomplice in, they would turn her house over.

The two men turned up at June Strattons home in Kent one day in October 2013, and had what she thought to be identification cards and a warrant, Maidstone Crown Court heard.

Vincent was not in the dock as he was unfit to stand trial.

Richard Osborn-Brooks (pictured), 78, was arrested after burglar Henry Vincent was found stabbed after he broke into his home in south east London this week

His co-accused, Mark Wood, 52, denied burglary and walked free from court after the trial collapsed partway through.

Great grandmother June, 87, told The Mirror: 'If hed gone away for what he did to me, he might have thought twice about doing it again.

'But this is how they choose to live their life. Its awful that someone died, but it seems he got his comeuppance.

'If you go into someone elses home, you take your chances. You dont know who youre going to come up against.'

But for another insight into the Vincent familys attitude to the elderly, one need only look back to a case in 2007, when Vincents cousin William  then 27  pleaded guilty to two distraction burglaries and was jailed for four years.

His brother Amos, then 24, was jailed three years after admitting two counts of the same crime.

Bogus: Robert (left) was part of the building scam. Vincent's brother Amos, then 24, was jailed three years after admitting two counts of the same crime

Their victims included former airman Ronald Butler, then 82, who found his invaluable collection of six war medals were missing after the pair visited his home in Catford, south-east London, posing as water board officials.

They told another of their victims, a woman aged 90, that they were from the gas board.

Sentencing the brothers at Londons Blackfriars Crown Court, Judge Henry Blacksell QC said: This is a particularly pernicious and nasty type of offending and the way you picked on them was pretty cynical.

'You preyed on them for what you could get. You should be thoroughly ashamed of yourselves.

However the Vincent clan was anything but ashamed by the latest addition to their long and appalling collective criminal record.

After a concerned Neighbourhood Watch group publicised the thefts carried out by William and Amos on Facebook, another member of the family posted a foul-mouthed response.

Distraction: William also stole

Bill Vincent wrote: The old b******s deserve everything they get. So stupid handing over thousands upon thousands... An OAP a day will keep ur bank balance a (sic) bay. Got to love the old c***s.

In what reads like a warped business plan for the familys nefarious activities, he went on: Old c***s aint safe. Take every penny they got get old b******s to remorgage, take the money and let erm get chucked owt nxt one (sic).

The posts were later deleted.

Many members of the Vincent family live in the St Mary Cray area of the London borough of Bromley, near the more affluent Orpington.

While it might seem an inviting place at first glance, Star Lane which runs through it is notorious for its lawlessness.

One worker involved in cleaning up the rubbish-strewn streets remembers once seeing, alongside the usual discarded sofas, a huge hole which had been dug 6ft wide and 20ft deep with a car pushed into it.

Henry Vincent was first convicted in 2003 for helping fleece elderly householders out of more than a million pounds.

The house in Catford, where 78-year-old homeowner,Richard Osborn-Brooks was arrested

He and his family of cowboy builders frog-marched their vulnerable victims to the bank after telling them their houses were about to fall down.

They used tricks such as showing rotten pieces of wood they had brought with them and squirting water on to interior walls to claim roofs were leaking in order to claim cash for fake repairs.

One 80-year-old woman was forced to sign over her 150,000 house.

Another man, aged 80, paid out his life savings for work on his chimney, which was unnecessary and was never even done.

The victims, aged between 59 and 89, were often too ashamed at being conned to tell their families what had happened.

Meanwhile the Vincents and their families drove expensive cars including BMWs, Mercedes and Mitsubishi Shogun 4x4  despite living in council houses.

When detectives searched their houses they found a pot containing 27,500 in cash.

The scam was led by Vincents father Henry Charles along with five of his brothers  including Robert and Steven  and his son Henry, then 23.

Sentencing the seven at Croydon Crown Court in October 2003, Judge Simon Pratt said: This is by a long way the worst case of bogus cowboy builders that I have ever come across.

'It is quite clear the family business was devoted to preying upon and fleecing elderly, vulnerable victims.

Vincent was jailed for four-and-a-half years for obtaining property by deception and the gang received a total of 30 years.

After he was released early halfway through his sentence, he carried out two burglaries in 2008, for which he received two six-month suspended sentences.

In June 2009, Vincent and his father were convicted of fraud after they charged a pensioner 72,000 to repair a single tile on their roof. Both men were handed six-year sentences.

In 2013 Vincent was named as one of Kent Polices most wanted criminals after he was suspected of carrying out another burglary in Gravesend.

Kent Police appealed again for him in January this year after he was suspected of being involved in a distraction burglary from a man in his 70s.
Jamie Bulger's killers have received nearly 380,000 to cover their legal fees since the two-year-old was murdered in 1993, according to a freedom of information request.

Shameful murderers Robert Thompson and Jon Venables even used 39,472 of taxpayers' cash to challenge the 15-year sentence they were awarded for brutally killing the young child.

The pair were just 10 when they led little Jamie from the Metro shopping centre in Merseyside to a train track where they tortured him for hours before leaving him for dead.

Shameful murderers Robert Thompson (right) and Jon Venables (left) even used 39,472 of taxpayers' cash to challenge the 15-year sentence they were awarded for brutally killing the young child

And now 25 years on from the atrocious crime, it has emerged the British taxpayer has paid a staggering sum to fund the killers through the British legal system.

Last month, the Mirror reported Venables, now 35, received almost 260,000 in legal aid. And now it has emerged Thompson was awarded 119,152.

The pair even had the gall to seek 39,472 from the public purse in 1994 when they hired top barristers to challenge the 15-year sentence they were given for murdering the small child.

In 2000, Thompson, 35, brought an action for 'breach of confidence', with legal bills topping 25,000. That same year, another case cost 25,589.

The pair were just 10 when they led little Jamie from the Metro shopping centre in Merseyside to a train track where they tortured him for hours before beating him to death (above, police at the scene in 1993)

In 2001, his legal team were paid 25,011 to represent him in a judicial review, figures released under freedom of information laws reveal.

The payouts have caused heartache for James's father Ralph, who had a claim for legal aid blocked when he wanted to challenge a parole board decision to free the two killers.

The Ministry of Justice told The Mirror: 'In civil legal aid cases, an applicant has to satisfy merits and financial means tests.

'If they do not satisfy these tests then legal aid will not be made available.'

This is the latest story of the killers making the most of state-paid benefits for their own gain.

Last month it was reported Jon Venables demanded taxpayer-funded facial plastic surgery because he fears he will be attacked in the street when he is released from prison from his latest offence, of being in possession of child pornography.

The murderer, who cannot be pictured for legal reasons, begged for the operation before he is freed so he can hide his identity from would-be attackers.

An MoJ spokesperson said: 'Our reforms to legal aid mean that the taxpayer should not foot the bill for criminals when they have the means to pay, and we make every effort to recover costs where possible.'
A five month operation into a suspected drug distribution ring has led to the arrests of eight people in Sydney.

A 25-year-old Thai woman and seven French nationals - aged 24, 26, 27, 28, 44, and two aged 23 - were arrested around 7am on Friday April 6.

All of those arrested were on tourist, working or student visas.

Police have arrested eight people, all on working, tourists and student visas, in Sydney over a suspected drug distribution ring

A 25-year-old Thai woman was arrested but was later released pending a further investigation

Established November 2017, Strike Force Oramzi was set up to investigate the the supply of MDMA, LSD, Ketamine, cocaine and cannabis.

As part of the investigation Surry Hills Region Enforcement Squad officers arrested seven men and a woman as well as served five search warrants across Haymarket, Darlinghurst and Tamarama.

In the search police allegedly seized a kilogram of various drugs and more than $235,000 in cash.

A Police NSW statement read: 'A 23-year-old man was charged with supply prohibited drug greater than commercial quantity, supply prohibited drug greater than indictable quantity, knowingly deal with proceeds of crime, knowingly direct activities of criminal group, and participate criminal group contribute criminal activity.

'A 44-year-old man was charged with take part supply prohibited drug greater than large commercial quantity, take part supply prohibited drug greater than commercial quantity (x4), supply prohibited drug greater than indictable quantity (x2), knowingly deal with proceeds of crime, knowingly direct activities of criminal group, and participate criminal group contribute criminal activity.

'A 24-year-old man was charged with participate criminal group contribute criminal activity, and deal with proceeds of crime.

Five search warrants were served Haymarket, Darlinghurst and Tamarama by Surry Hills Region Enforcement Squad officers

Police allegedly seized a kilogram of drugs as well as more than $235,000 in cash

'A 26-year-old man was charged with supply prohibited drug greater than indictable quantity, deal with proceeds of crime, and participate criminal group contribute criminal activity.'

The four men were refused bail and will appear at Parramatta Bail Court Saturday April 7.

The statement explained that a 27-year-old man was charged with possess a prohibited drug.

He was released on conditional bail and is due to appear at Downing Centre Local Court on April 26.

The statement said: 'A 28-year-old man, a 25-year-old woman and a 23-year-old man were released pending further inquiries.'

Investigations into the alleged drug distribution ring continue.

Four men were refused bail and will appear at Parramatta Bail Court Saturday April 7
A federal immigration raid that took 97 people into custody at a Tennessee meat processing plant is the largest employment crackdown under President Donald Trump's administration, civil rights activists said Friday.

Eleven people were arrested on criminal charges and 86 were detained for being in the country illegally, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman Tammy Spicer said in a statement Friday.

The Thursday raid on Southeastern Provision, a meat processing plant in Bean Station in eastern Tennessee, is the largest single worksite immigration enforcement action since the administration of President George W. Bush, said Jessie Hahn, labor and employment policy attorney at the National Immigration Law Center.

'This is part of the stepped-up Trump mass deportation enforcement agenda for sure,' Hahn said.

A federal immigration raid Thursday morning at a Tennessee meat processing plant scooped up 97 people eligible for deportation. It is said to be the largest raid yet (stock image)

The current administration has promised to crack down on employers who hire immigrants living in the country illegally, and several raids have taken place across the country.

Since Donald Trump became president, immigration arrests have risen more than 40 per cent, with deportations from the interior going up by 34 per cent, according to the Washington Post.

A total of 21 people were arrested after immigration agents raided 7-11 stores nationwide in January.

A Tennessee activist said the processing plant raid is another example of the emphasis on enforcement.

'What we saw here, while it is the largest and certainly credibly egregious raid, it does fit in the larger practice and patterns of the Trump administration of targeting workers, indiscriminately arresting immigrants and really terrorizing communities across the country,' said Stephanie Teatro, co-executive director of the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition.

Spicer declined to confirm whether it is largest workplace raid under the current president.

Officials with ICE, Homeland Security, the IRS Criminal Investigation Division and the Tennessee Highway Patrol executed a federal search warrant on the meat processing plant Thursday morning, Spicer said.

During the search, Homeland Security officials encountered 97 people who are subject to removal from the U.S., she said.

Ten workers were arrested on federal criminal charges, and another was arrested on a state charge.

Authorities raided Southeastern Provision in Bean Station, Tennessee, because they believed the company was committing tax evasion and illegally employing undocumented workers

Of those detained, 11 people were arrested on criminal charges and 86 others were detained for being in the US illegally. Since then, 32 people have been released from custody (stock)

Since Donald Trump (seen April 5) took office, immigration arrests have risen more than 40 per cent, with deportations from the interior going up by 34 per cent

Of the 86 people arrested and placed in deportation proceedings, ICE kept 54 in detention and released 32 from custody, Spicer said.

An affidavit filed with the search warrant and signed by a special agent with the IRS says the government has probable cause to believe that the company and its owners have committed tax evasion and are employing immigrants in the country illegally.

An undercover police officer was hired at the company using a false name and he was paid in cash, the affidavit filed by IRS Special Agent Nicholas Worsham said.

Court records say James Brantley is the president of the business and his wife, Pamela, is listed as an employee. Public records do not list their phone number. The Associated Press left phone and email messages with company but they were not returned.

Several children had both parents placed in detention and many did not show up for school Friday because of fear in the immigrant community, Teatro said.

Many of the people employed at the plant had worked there for years and are long-standing members of this rural community, she said.

Rights activists have mobilized to help with donations and legal assistance and people have rallied to help the workers and their families, Teatro said.

'That's because in the face of the threats of the Trump administration, communities have been organizing and coming together to defend their rights and we're not going to stop organizing, and the community isn't going to stop standing with these families until they're returned home,' she said.
Jared Fogle, the former Subway spokesperson who famously lost 200 pounds by eating the chain's sandwiches and then infamously went to jail for possession of child pornography and having sex with minors, is now suing federal authorities and his criminal defense attorneys for $57 million.

In 2015, Fogle, 40, pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography and repeatedly having sex with minors in exchange for a 15-year prison sentence.

He was sentenced that November, four months after a raid on his home in Zionsville, Indiana revealed more than 400 tapes of child porn, as reported by Fox 59.

The disparaged 'Subway guy' now claims he was tricked into pleading guilty to child porn and sexual misconduct charges that are not grounded in law, according to an 18-page civil suit filed in the US District Court in Washington, DC on March 23.

Jared Fogle, the former Subway spokesperson who went to jail for possessing child porn and having sex with minors is now suing federal authorities and his attorneys for $57 million. Fogle is seen here leaving the Federal Courthouse in Indianapolis on August 19, 2015

Fogle filed the claim himself, without the help of an attorney, according to USA Today.

He claims there is no record of the search warrant the FBI used to raid his home in Indiana on July 7, 2015.

Fogle's lawsuit also references similar civil claims from fellow Colorado inmates Frank E. Pate and James N. Fry.

Pate was convicted of felony counts of wire fraud and mail fraud in a Texas federal court in 2016. Fry is in prison with the other two, on felony charges of wire fraud, securities fraud and false statements after being convicted in federal court in Minnesota in 2013.

'Essentially, all three of us are alleging constitutional violations, government overreach and convictions not based in the law,' Pate said, over the phone on Friday.

Fogle is seen here arriving at the federal courthouse in Indianapolis on November 19, 2015

Fogle asserts that judges and prosecutors involved with his criminal case filed unsupported conspiracy charges and ultimately coerced him to plead guilty to charges that he traveled across state lines to engage in sex with a minor and possessed child pornography.

Fogle's claim goes on to accuse his former lawyers, prosecutors and judges of coercing him into paying $1.4 million in restitution to 14 victims, in what he claims amounted to wire fraud, racketeering and 'money laundry.'

A spokesperson for the US attorney's office in Indianapolis, which prosecuted Fogle, said the office had no comment on Fogle's claims in the lawsuit.

Fogle's defense attorneys, Jeremy Margolis and Andrew DeVooght from Loeb & Loeb in Chicago, did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment about the lawsuit.

The claims Fogle raised in his lawsuit echo those made in previous unsuccessful appeals of his conviction through the criminal courts.

Pate, who said he has paralegal experience, said he met Fogle about a year after Pate arrived at the Englewood Federal Correctional Institute in Littleton, Colorado where they are both now serving their sentences.

Later reporting revealed many of the child porn tapes found in Fogle's possesion were provided to him by the head of his charity, which was focused on child obesity.

Fogle represented the Subway brand from 2000-2015, which is when his criminal actions against children were brought to light.

His home was raided in early July of 2015, and Subway formally announced they cut ties with Fogle in mid-August, about five weeks later.

At the time of Fogle's sentencing, it was reported he would have to serve a minimum of 13 years before he would be eligible for supervised release.
The woman's remains were found near the east end waterfront of Lake Houston on March 24 and the sketch was released on Friday

Houston police have released a sketch of a woman whose head was found in a black plastic bag.

The woman's remains were found near the east end waterfront of Lake Houston on March 24 and the sketch was released on Friday.

'When (a volunteer) picked up the bag, the bag was heavy,' said volunteer Roger Randall to ABC 13.

'When she picked it up, she could see the human hair.'

The woman is believed to be white or Hispanic and between the ages of 20 and 50.

Her hair appeared to be dyed red.

Authorities now are looking for any leads pertaining to a man who was seen in the area two weeks prior to the head being found.

The man is said to have short dark brown hair with bangs and is described as being in his mid-20s.

He is also said to be between 5'4' and 5'8' and is believed to have been wearing a black plaid shirt with gray in it.

'There were small holes in the bag and hair was visible when they looked into those small holes they could make out the profile of the head,' said Houston Police detective Andrew Barr.

He added: 'We're putting our victim between 25 and 50, white female with dark wavy hair... naturally wavy hair, but the hair was dyed red at the time.'

Authorities now are looking for any leads pertaining to a man who was seen in the area two weeks prior to the head being found. He was seen throwing a black bag from a teal Chevrolet Silverado

The alleged suspect was seen driving a teal Chevrolet Silverado with an extended cab pickup truck.

Police have supplied a photo of a similar model but the man's was said to have been covered in rust and had a piece of cardboard plastered across the back left passenger window.

The man was said to have gotten out the front passenger side of the vehicle and thrown the bag off then, according to witnesses.

Houston Police Department detectives are now looking at Harris, Montgomery and Liberty County in hopes of finding a missing persons case.

A woman's head was also found near Hackberry, Louisiana, prompting further investigation.
Four men ignored President Donald Trump's tough immigration talk, with three helping one migrant jump the rusty metal barrier between Ciudad Juarez in Mexico and Sunland Park, New Mexico into the US on Friday.

With the help of three other men, including two to give him a boost and one to stand as a lookout, the young man leaped over the barrier and ran further into American territory.

The whole operation took less than two minutes.

This comes as Trump has ordered thousands of National Guard troops to deploy to secure the US frontier with Mexico, ahead of an anticipated wave of about 1,000 potential border crossers.

Four men ignored Trump's tough immigration talk, with three helping one migrant jump the border wall between Ciudad Juarez in Mexico and Sunland Park, New Mexico on Friday

'He couldn't get over! He was taking forever,' said one of the men who helped him, telling AFP he has seen people scale the 20-foot (six-meter) wall in one minute flat.

He then ran off to avoid being spotted by US Customs and Border Protection.

The young border jumper, who hailed from southern Mexico, meanwhile disappeared into the desert, running toward a group of houses just visible on the horizon.

With the help of three other men, including two to give him a boost and one to stand as a lookout, the young man leaped over the barrier and ran further into American territory

The whole operation took less than two minutes, an AFP reporter said

'He couldn't get over! He was taking forever,' said one of the men who helped the man over

This comes as Trump has ordered thousands of National Guard troops to deploy to the US frontier with Mexico, ahead of an anticipated wave of about 1,000 potential border crossers

Trump has unleashed a flurry of furious tweets, after seeing news reports of a caravan of more than 1,000 Central American migrants crossing into Mexico and continuing toward the United States.

On Thursday he ordered 2,000 to 4,000 National Guard members to report to the border, drawing a bitter reaction from Mexico.

The activists organizing the migrant caravan have announced they will no longer try to reach the border as one group.

The day before this man crossed the border, Trump ordered 2,000 to 4,000 National Guard members to report to the border, drawing a bitter reaction from Mexico

One man helping above an off to avoid being spotted by US Customs and Border Protection

One of the men who helped this man jump the barrier told the AFP he has seen people scale the 20-foot (six-meter) wall in one minute flat

Instead, individual migrants and families have each begun going their own way.

Many remain in central Mexico. But some have already made it to the border, according to Javier Calvillo, a Catholic priest who runs a shelter for migrants in Ciudad Juarez.

'Five migrants who were part of the caravan arrived here this week, but they're already gone,' he said.

'They crossed into the United States, or tried to.'
Facebook Inc has suspended AggregateIQ from its platform after reports that the data firm may have improperly had access to the personal data of social media users.

Facebook is under intense pressure after the data of millions of its users ended up in the hands of political consultancy Cambridge Analytica.

Christopher Wylie, a whistleblower who once worked at the UK firm, has said that it worked with the Canadian company.

'In light of recent reports that AggregateIQ may be affiliated with SCL and may, as a result, have improperly received FB user data, we have added them to the list of entities we have suspended from our platform while we investigate,' Facebook said in a statement.

Christopher Wylie (pictured), a whistleblower who once worked at Cambridge Analytica, has said that it worked with Canadian company AggregateIQ

'Our internal review continues, and we will cooperate fully with any investigations by regulatory authorities.'

Strategic Communication Laboratories (SCL) is a government and military contractor that is the parent of Cambridge Analytica.

Wylie has said that AggregateIQ received payment from a pro-Brexit campaign group before the 2016 referendum when Britain voted to quit the European Union.

The Canadian federal agency charged with protecting privacy rights of individuals said on Thursday that the agency, along with its counterpart in British Columbia, would jointly investigate Facebook and AggregateIQ over the ongoing data scandal.

British Columbia's privacy commissioner was separately investigating AggregateIQ over whether the Victoria-based company had broken provincial personal privacy rules for its role in the Brexit campaign.

Facebook Canada said on Wednesday that more than 600,000 Canadians had their data 'improperly shared' with Cambridge Analytica. AggregateIQ was not immediately available for a comment.

Cambridge Analytica counted U.S. President Donald Trumps 2016 campaign among its clients

Cambridge Analytica tweeted on Wednesday: 'When Facebook contacted us to let us know the data had been improperly obtained, we immediately deleted the raw data from our file server, and began the process of searching for and removing any of its derivatives in our system.'

Facebook said on Wednesday that the personal information of up to 87million users, mostly in the United States, may have been improperly shared with political consultancy Cambridge Analytica, up from a previous news media estimate of more than 50million.

Facebook first acknowledged last month that personal information about millions of users wrongly ended up in the hands of Cambridge Analytica.

London-based Cambridge Analytica, which has counted U.S. President Donald Trumps 2016 campaign among its clients, said on Wednesday on Twitter that it had received no more than 30million records from a researcher it hired to collect data about people on Facebook.
A student gravely wounded while saving his classmates' lives by blocking a door during the Florida school massacre said Friday that the county sheriff and school superintendent failed the victims by not arresting the shooter before the attack and by allowing him to attend the school.

An attorney for 15-year-old Anthony Borges read a statement from him during a news conference criticizing Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel and Superintendent Robert Runcie for the Feb. 14 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland that killed 14 students and three staff members.

Borges was shot five times, suffering wounds to the lungs, abdomen and legs. He was released from a Fort Lauderdale hospital Wednesday morning, the last of the 17 wounded to go home.

Roger Borges, left, listens to his son Anthony, right, as they listen to their attorney read a statement at a news conference in Plantation, Fla., Friday, April 6, 2018

Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting victim Anthony Borges reacts as he listens to a press conference in Plantation, Florida

Borges, too weak to talk, sat silently in a wheelchair with his right leg propped up. His statement specifically attacked the Promise program, a school district and sheriff office initiative that allows students who commit minor crimes on campus to avoid arrest if they complete rehabilitation.

Runcie has said shooting suspect Nikolas Cruz, a former Stoneman Douglas student, was never in the program, but Borges and his attorney, Alex Arreaza, said school and sheriff's officials knew Cruz was dangerous.

Nikolas Cruz, a former Stoneman Douglas student, is suspected of killing 17 during a school shooting on Feb. 14

Deputies received at least a dozen calls about Cruz, 19, over the years and he spent two years in a school for children with emotional and disciplinary problems before being allowed to transfer to Stoneman Douglas.

Last year, records show, he was forced to leave after incidents - other students said he abused an ex-girlfriend and fought her new boyfriend.

Weeks before the shooting, both the FBI and the sheriff's office received calls saying Cruz could become a school shooter but took no action.

Runcie and Israel 'failed us students, teachers and parents alike on so many levels,' Arreaza read for Borges, who sat next to his father, Roger.

'I want all of us to move forward to end the environment that allowed people like Nikolas Cruz to fall through the cracks. You knew he was a problem years ago and you did nothing. He should have never been in school with us.'

Arreaza said the family supports the efforts by Stoneman Douglas students David Hogg, Emma Gonzalez and others to end gun violence but may not always agree with their methods. Borges is a U.S. citizen born to Venezuelan immigrants.

Broward County Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie (R) speaks during a news conference on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018, while Sheriff Scott Israel (L) stands in the background

Arreaza said that although Borges' father, a maintenance worker, appreciates that people consider his son a hero for protecting classmates, he believes such talk detracts from the serious message that action must be taken to stop school shootings.

'He doesn't want there to be anymore bubblegum hero stuff,' Arreaza said.

Anthony Borges visited Stoneman Douglas for the first time since the shooting Thursday but said in his statement that he is scared to return, fearing there could be more violence.

More than $830,000 has been raised for him in online donations, but Arreaza said his medical bills will likely exceed $1.5 million.

The family plans to file a lawsuit soon against Cruz, the estate of his late mother and a family that housed him before the shooting. Under state law, the family can't sue the school district and sheriff's office until a six-month waiting period expires in August.

The sheriff's office and school district did not return after-hours calls and emails Friday seeking comment.
Austin police have released footage of the shocking moment a driver runs over a cop at full-speed and flees the scene.

Officer Cody Martin was responding to a crash and directing traffic when he was struck by the car on State Highway 71.

'I thought to myself, "You're about to get hit and you're going to die,''' Martin said of the seconds before he was struck during a press conference attended by NBC2.

'There's no way you're gonna survive, the car's coming way too fast.'

The hit-and-run happened in February but police released the footage on Thursday

Indeed it was too late for the cop to get out of the way and he was struck by the car, flying up in the air.

Martin suffered a dislocated shoulder, a broken bone in his arm and a fractured finger and will be assigned to desk duties until he's fully recovered.

Officer Martin is expected to recover but suffered a shoulder injury and broken bones

The moment was filmed more than two months ago, on February 3, but police released it on Thursday in an attempt to catch the driver.

According to authorities, the car stopped for a short moment after hitting Martin before leaving the scene.

'I was upside down in the air, I don't know how high I was, but I remember telling myself "You're consciously aware that you're upside down right now, you're still alive."'

The cop said he tucked his head into his chest to make sure he didn't land on it.

He shared: 'After I landed my whole body was on fire, my hands felt like someone had dipped them in gasoline and set them on fire.

'I felt completely paralyzed, my shoulder was in excruciating pain, I couldn't move my arm.'

Police currently have no leads on the case and are hoping releasing the video helps them find the aggressor.

They are not 100 percent sure what type of car but believe it might be a dark-colored Honda Accord from 2000 to 2003 or a Nissan Altima from 2000 to 2003.

If you have any information on this hit-and-run you can contact Crime Stoppers at 512-472-TIPS.

It was too late for the cop to get out of the way and he was struck by the car, flying up in the air
Several students have been expelled after being caught taking a sedative drug at a swimming carnival.

The Stella Maris College Year 10 students used Xanax, an anti-anxiety drug, at the school event in Manly, New South Wales.

Four of the students were expelled after they were taken to hospital as precaution,The Manly Daily reported.

The Stella Maris College (pictured) Year 10 students were caught using Xanax, an anti-anxiety drug, at a school event in Manly, New South Wales

The four teenagers were reportedly acting in a strange way at the Andrew Charlton Pool (pictured) during the swimming carnival

Stella Maris College principal Elizabeth Carnegie (pictured) said the students' decision to use the anti-depressant drug was 'disappointing'

The all-girls Catholic secondary school students, who used the calming drug on March 7, had their bags searched by teachers after suspicions arose.

The teenagers were reportedly acting in a strange way at the Andrew Charlton Pool.

'It is disappointing that despite our education program and school rules, that the girls elected to behave in the manner and now they face the consequences,' Stella Maris College principal Elizabeth Carnegie told the publication.

The prescription drug is used to treat anxiety disorders or depression and can result in slurred speech, drowsiness and aggression or impulsive behaviour if taken over a long period of time.

The medication can become addictive for some users and can give a relaxed 'high' if taken without being prescribed.

The principal wrote in the school newsletter that the 'difficult conversation' was had with 'families' involved and decided the girls' actions 'meant they could not continue their learning journey' at the college.
He and his wife Trina Heisch met in a state mental hospital where they were each serving 10 years for stabbing a relative

After the brutal slayings he gouged out his own eye and cut off his own forearm

Kenneth Wakefield was sentenced to 29 years for decapitating his own wife and their two dogs while high on meth

Kenneth Wakefield decapitated his wife and their two dogs before he gouged out his own eye and cut off his own arm

An Arizona man has recieved a 29-year prison sentence for decapitating his wife and their two dogs in a meth induced haze. He also gouged out his own eye and hacked off his own arm.

Kenneth Wakefield apologized to his wife Trina Heisch's family in Maricopa County Superior Court on Friday after pleading guilty.

The attack took place on July 25, 2015 and was discovered when a neighbor who had gone to check on the couple said he came face-to-face with a naked, mutilated and bloodied Wakefield.

'I just wanted to say I'm sorry,' he said, according to the Arizona Republic. 'I can't change it. I suffer also. She was my best friend.'

Wakefield received 25 years for the murder of his wife, and two for each of their two dogs.

Both Wakefield and his deceased wife have a history of mental illness.

He told police after the 2015 be-headings he was 'trying to get the evil out' of Heisch.

Trina Heisch and their dogs were decapitated in 2015 by her husband who is now serving 29 year in prison. It is unclear if the dog pictured is one of the dogs that was killed in the attack

After he killed his wife and dogs, he sliced off his own forearm and gouged out his own eye.

He was high on meth as well as synthetic marijuana on the day of the attack.

'They say it gets easier, but it doesn't,' the victim's mother Peggy Stowe said in court. 'I cry every night.'

Stowe told the judge she doesn't know what to say when people ask her how many children she has.

A neighbor checked in on the couple and came upon a bloodied and mutilated Wakefield and called the police

Judge Ronda Fisk replied 'I think she will always be your daughter, whether she is with us or not,' according to the Republic.

The pair met while they were each serving 10-year sentences in a state mental hopsital for stabbing relatives, and were found 'guilty, except insane.'

He had sought an insanity defense in his wife's death, and eventually plead guilty earlier this year in a plea deal.
Six members of an infamous family accused of horrific crimes, including incest and pedophilia, have had their matters heard in a Sydney Court.

The 'Colt' family members did not apply for bail at Parramatta Bail Court on Saturday, a day after they were arrested in Western Australia and South Australia.

Their lawyer Paul Johnson told the court the group, aged between 29 and 50, had not sought to appear by video link.

Their matter was adjourned to April 12 at Sydney's Central Court.

Eight members of the 'Colt' family were arrested across three states following a six-year investigation into suspected historical and ongoing child abuse in southern New South Wales.

Detectives from the State Crime Command's Child Abuse and Sex Crimes Squad established Strike Force Hermoyne in 2012 to investigate allegations of incest, child sexual assault and serious neglect of children.

The notorious case involving the 'Colt' family shocked the world when they were discovered living in ramshackle caravans, sheds and tents six years ago.

Eight people have been arrested across three states following a six-year investigation into suspected historical and ongoing child abuse in southern New South Wales

Detectives from the State Crime Command's Child Abuse and Sex Crimes Squad established Strike Force Hermoyne in 2012 to investigate allegations of incest, child sexual assault and serious neglect of children

Detective escort a woman (centre) to Griffith police station after a series of arrests across Australia as part of a six-year investigation into alleged historical incest and child sex offences

'Betty Colt' - a court ordered pseudonym - has been arrested as part of an investigation into years of child abuse within a family in southern rural NSW

Authorities removed 12 inbred, illiterate and malnourished children from the camp and placed them in care.

Officers swooped on the remote property after one of the children was overheard saying that his sister was having a baby - but the family didn't know which brother had fathered the child.

They were 'shocked and appalled' by what they found on the property in the hills surrounding a picturesque farming community.

The children had facial deformities, could not speak intelligibly and did not know what a toothbrush or toilet paper were.

They had filthy, bare feet, did not know how to wash their hair or bathe and slept in dirty beds among cigarette butts and rotting food.

This week detectives arrested eight people in three operations in NSW, South Australia and Western Australia.

A man and woman were arrested in the Griffith area, in NSW's Riverina district, and remain in police custody.

A woman (centre) outside Griffith police station was one of eight people arrested this week

Several members of the 'Colt' family were found living in this shed in southern rural NSW

'Betty Colt', one of the family members investigated over incest allegations, arrives at Moss Vale Local Court for a previous matter

Two women and a man were also arrested in the Riverland region of South Australia

The 38-year-old woman was charged with perjury, while a 45-year-old man was charged with more than a dozen child sex offences, including six counts of sexual intercourse with a child under 10 and common assault.

The pair was refused bail to appear at Griffith Local Court on Friday.

Meanwhile, two women and a man were arrested in the Riverland region of South Australia.

The women, aged 50 and 34, were charged under a NSW arrest warrant for perjury while a 29-year-old man was charged with a similar offence as well as two counts of incest with a person under the age of 16 years.

They were remanded in custody to appear at Adelaide Magistrates Court on Friday, where detectives will apply for their extradition to NSW.

A man and woman were arrested in the Griffith area, in NSW's Riverina district, and remain in police custody

A man and woman were arrested in the Griffith area, in NSW's Riverina district, and remain in police custody

The Colt family home in southern NSW from where children were taken from their parents

A woman and two men were also arrested in the Northam area of Western Australia.

A 51-year-old woman was charged under a NSW arrest warrant for perjury.

A 36-year-old man was charged under a NSW arrest warrant for four counts of sexual intercourse with a child under 10, two counts of indecent assault and having sexual intercourse with a child aged between 10-14.

A 48-year-old man was charged under a NSW arrest warrant for counts of sexual intercourse with a child under 10.

All were remanded in custody to appear at Perth Magistrates Court on Friday, where detectives will apply for their extradition to NSW.
A suburban Philadelphia couple has been charged with murder in the death of a four-year-old who was 'beaten for spilling his breakfast cereal'.

The boy's 19-year-old mother, Lisa Smith, and her 26-year-old boyfriend, Keiff King, were arraigned Friday via video from the jail where they've been held since January.

Those charged with first-degree murder in Pennsylvania are not eligible for bail.

The boy's 19-year-old mother, Lisa Smith, and her 26-year-old boyfriend, Keiff King, were arraigned Friday via video

Smith's lawyer declined comment. A lawyer listed for King did not immediately respond to a message.

Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele said charges were filed after a recently completed autopsy showed Tahjir Smith's Jan. 22 death was the result of a violent, sustained beating.

Investigators say Smith and King told them they used their hands and a sandal to give four-year-old Tahjir Smith (pictured) a 'butt whooping' for spilling his cereal

Investigators say Smith and King told them they used their hands and a sandal to give Tahjir a 'butt whooping' for spilling the cereal.

Investigators who searched the couple's home described conditions as 'deplorable,' with Steele adding that 'There were insects and roaches in the house,' according to CBS affiliate Philly 3.

'Unfortunately, today is too late for Tahjir,' Steele said, who was visibly emotional during a press conference earlier this week.

Smith, who is currently pregnant, initially told investigators that Tahjir suffered from an unknown medical condition, leaving his legs 'wobbly' and short of breath as they returned home from the mall on the day of his death.

A medical examination, however, later showed that Tahjir died of repeated blunt force trauma, thermal injuries and shock.

'[They struck] his body so hard there were pattern imprints on the boy's buttocks when the police were finally called,' Steele said.

Police also said that the four-year-old had suffered from broken ribs and burn marks on his right shoulder after his mother threw him in the shower under scalding hot water.

'Somebody who would do that is an animal, to do that to your own child and to allow someone else to do that to your child is unthinkable,' said Chris Evans, a neighbor of the family, told Philly 3.

'Even after all these months, shock and disbelief that this little boy had to go through this torture and none of us could even see or understand it was happening,' he added.
Mayor Sadiq Khan wants greater use of police stop-and-search powers to help stop more Londoners from dying in the street.

The 47-year-old backed calls for police to search more people to quell the city's escalating violent crime wave that has claimed 55 lives so far this year.

Dramatically fewer people have been searched since Theresa May watered down laws as Home Secretary in 2014, coinciding with an increase in violence.

Mayor Sadiq Khan wants greater use of police stop-and-search powers to help stop more Londoners from dying in the street

The 47-year-old backed calls for police to search more people to quell the city's escalating violent crime wave that has claimed 55 lives so far this year

Mayor Khan promised to reverse the downward trend and make more arrests with a 'more targeted, intelligence-led' approach to the 'invaluable tool'.

'What you will see over the next few weeks and months is stop-and-search based on suspicion of carrying an offensive weapon going up,' he told BBC Radio 4's Today.

'[There will be] more arrests as a consequence of this intelligence-led stop-and-search going up and hopefully our city becoming safer.'

National Police Chiefs' Council chairwoman Sara Thornton said backlash against stop and search powers had gone too far while rates of gun and knife crime surged

His support for the controversial powers came after National Police Chiefs' Council chairwoman Sara Thornton said police were not using them enough.

The former chief constable said backlash against the controversial powers had gone too far while rates of gun and knife crime surged.

'I fear some of it is down to a chill effect where officers feel overly cautious about using a power that has been subject to so much political debate,' she wrote in the Daily Telegraph.

Fifty five people have been murdered in London so far this year and there were six non-fatal stabbings on just Thursday night into Friday morning.

The use of stop and search fell dramatically with section 60 powers used in London 1,429 times in 2011/12 and failing to only 23 in 2016/17.

Met Police carried out 19,931 stop-and-searches in January and February this year, a drop of some six per cent compared to last year.

Its use also fell just under six per cent in the second half of last year compared to the previous year.

A clip shows a young man fall to the ground clutching his stomach and writhe around in agony in Grove Road, Mile End, east London on Thursday night

Bloodied clothes on the ground near the scene in Grove Road, Mile End, east London following the knife attack

Met Police Chief Cressida Dick had to insist the force had not lost control of capital's streets as an extra 300 officers were deployed to badly-hit parts of London.

Ms Thornton, a former chief constable, called for police to be supported in their use of stop-and-search powers in areas worst-hit by violent crime, insisting they were an 'important tool' in helping to protect the public.

'This power may have been used too freely in the past, but the pendulum has now swung too far in the opposite direction,' she wrote.

'Our officers must know that we back them to use their powers - lawfully and respectfully, but with confidence.'

The rising wave of violent crime meant the number of suspected murders in March was higher than that of New York.

Mayor Khan called on family members and friends of people carrying knives to help tackle the problem.

In the most recent murders, Tanesha Melbourne-Blake, 17, (left) was gunned down in Tottenham on Monday and 16-year-old, Amaan Shakoor (right), was shot in the face in Walthamstow by 'rival drug dealers'

Met Police Chief Cressida Dick had to insist the force had not lost control of capital's streets as an extra 300 officers were deployed to badly-hit parts of London

'You could be a mum or dad, big brother, big sister, a friend, a girlfriend, a boyfriend who knows somebody carrying a knife, leaving their home with a knife, involved in criminality - there's no honour in keeping that a secret,' he said.

'You should try and prevent that person carrying a knife, leaving home with a knife.'

He defended his actions over the past few days: 'I have been here working, grappling with this issue, working closely with the Met Police Service and the deputy mayor for policing and crime.'

On Friday a 30-year-old man was arrested in Hackney over the murder of Tanesha Melbourne-Blake, 17, who was gunned down in Tottenham on Monday.

The teenager was killed in a drive-by attack as she sat chatting with friends in a killing that shocked the capital.

The rising wave of violent crime meant the number of suspected murders in March was higher than that of New York

Night of violence: Six teenagers were rushed to hospital after a number of stabbings across London on Thursday night

Fifty five people have been murdered in London so far this year

Ms Dick said the spate of violence in the capital was 'very worrying', describing the spike as 'unusual'.

She defended the Met's record of bringing criminals to justice and said she believed the perpetrators of the recent killings would face the courts.

A section 60 order, granting police stop and search powers across the Borough of Newham, was announced on Friday afternoon.

How stop-and-search powers have changed As Home Secretary Mrs May introduced changes in 2014 which meant police are only allowed to stop people when there is 'reasonable grounds for suspicion'. And it warned that where officers misuse the powers they would face disciplinary action. She introduced the measures amid widespread anger to the power, particularly among the black and ethnic minority population, who said it was used disproportionately against them. In the years following the reforms stop and search fell to their lowest level since the power was introduced 17 years ago. But violent crime has risen - sparking calls for the power to be taken up again. Under current stop-and-search laws, police are allowed to search a suspect if the have 'reasonable grounds' that the person is carrying a weapon, drugs or stolen property. Such justification might be that they have witnessed the suspect putting the knife into a pocket. However emergency section 60 powers can be enforced in a set location, such as a town or city, which removes the 'reasonable grounds' criteria. Advertisement

The order was in response to a 13-year-old boy being stabbed in Gainsborough Avenue on Thursday.

A Met officer told the Press Association stop-and-search efforts on members of the public were increasingly uncovering weapons.

However, Sergeant Paul Perversi said smartphones and social media has 'massively' encouraged more people to challenge officers during a search.

He said people would take out their phone, film the search, and post the footage online 'more often than not'.

'If you stop two people out of 10, you will have five people who get their phone out. Then you go and search on YouTube and I'm there,' he said.

Ms Thornton said the increase in violent crime was not limited to London, with figures showing knife crime has increased by 21 per cent and gun crime by 20 per cent year-on-year across the country.

Violent crime spiked after Theresa May watered down on the use of stop and search when she was Home Secretary in 2014.

Police were only allowed to stop people when there is 'reasonable grounds for suspicion'.

The new rules warned that where officers misused the powers they would face disciplinary action.

Ms May's reforms were in response to criticism of stop and search for disproportionately targeting poorer areas and ethic minority groups.

Head of Thames Valley police between 2007 and 2015, Ms Thornton said that police were trained to exercise the powers with 'dignity and respect', while advances such as body-worn cameras could increase public support for the method.

'I am not advocating random stop and search, or abusing our powers in headlining-grabbing crackdowns,' she wrote.

'I am advocating policing that we know works, targeted patrols of hotspots, with our officers certain we are behind them to use their judgment and their powers in the public interest.'

Critics have said the cuts which Theresa May (pictured in the House of Commons late last month) imposed as Home Secretary during the years of austerity are now being felt on Britain's streets in the explosion of violence

The number of violent crimes has increased in the years following heavy cuts to police budgets which

Mayor Khan will host a summit to discuss ways to tackle the murder epidemic that was leaving an ever-increasing number of bodies for the Met to investigate.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd, London MPs and council members, and Metropolitan Police Chief Cressida Dick were all invited to the talkfest next Tuesday.

Mayor Khan said keeping Londoners safe was his top priority and the city government was doing everything it could.

'I'm angered and heartbroken by the number of violent deaths on our streets and know other Londoners, including politicians, share the same feelings - and the same determination to end this violent scourge,' he said.

'We need to all work together to tackle the rise in violent crime.

That's why it's more important than ever to find consensus where possible and work together to make sure every Londoner, regardless of age or background, feels safe in our great city. It's what Londoners deserve.'
Two teenagers who allegedly bashed a man until parts of his brain were showing will stay behind bars after being denied bail.

Chase Peter Danny Brooks and Blake Knox faced Southport Magistrates Court on Saturday, accused of assaulting a 38-year-old man in the early hours of Monday morning.

They allegedly bashed the man outside a Gold Coast service station after he approached them with a bottle of window cleaner during an argument, Gold Coast Bulletin reported.

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Chase Peter Danny Brooks and Blake Knox were denied bail on Saturday after they allegedly bashed a man until parts of his brain were showing. Pictured: CCTV footage released by police of the men involved in the alleged attack

The two teenagers faced Southport Magistrates Court on Saturday, accused of assaulting a 38-year-old man in the early hours of Monday morning. Pictured: CCTV footage released by police of the men involved in the alleged attack

They allegedly bashed the man outside a Gold Coast service station after he approached them with a bottle of window cleaner during an argument. Pictured: CCTV footage released by police of the men involved in the alleged attack

The severity of the alleged attack using an 'unknown weapon' left the man with a fractured skull and an open wound to the back of the head, court heard.

'He underwent surgery due to parts of his brain being exposed,' Magistrate Donald MacKenzie told court.

The two teenagers allegedly took the man's wallet and mobile phone before fleeing the scene.

Police are still searching for a third male in relation to the alleged assault, and have released CCTV footage.

The severity of the alleged attack on Brygon Creek Road (pictured), in the city's north, left the man with a fractured skull and an open wound to the back of the head, court heard

Magistrate MacKenzie in Southport Magistrates Court (file image) denied Brooks bail on Saturday, while Knox did not apply

Brooks' lawyer Bianca Van Heerden told court her client did not start the fight on Brygon Creek Road, in the city's north.

She said the 38-year-old approached the accused trio with a bottle of window cleaner, although it wasn't clear if that started the fight.

Ms Van Heerden said: 'It was a fair fight but as fights do it got out of hand.'

Magistrate MacKenzie denied Brooks bail on Saturday, while Knox did not apply.

The matter will return to court on May 3.
A huge crack has sliced through the ground around the Rift Valley area of Kenya - this time some 30 miles southwest of Nairobi.

The sudden appearance of the crack around Mai Mahiu town has forced residents and farmers to flee their homes and farms.

The fissures may be caused by seismic activity and erosion caused by heavy rains.

Vehicles pass by a huge crack that has sliced through the ground around the Rift Valley area close to Mai Mahiu town, some 30 miles southwest of Nairobi

A woman walks along a huge rack that has sliced through the ground around the Rift Valley area - the sudden appearance of the crack have forced residents to flee their homes and farms

It is believed the fissures may be caused by seismic activity and erosion caused by heavy rains

A large crack, stretching several miles, made a sudden appearance recently in south-western Kenya. This is what Africa could look like in millions of years

It is thought that the cracks - which in places are several yards deep - will deepen as time goes by

A huge tectonic plate boundary 3,100 miles long is running up along the eastern section of Africa

The full impact of the rift on people and agricultural output has yet to be assessed

The tear, which continues to grow, caused part of the Nairobi-Narok highway to collapse and was accompanied by seismic activity in the area.

Researchers are claiming that in millions of years the African continent could split two.

The Earth's lithosphere (formed by the crust and the upper part of the mantle) is broken up into a number of tectonic plates.

These plates are not static, but move relative to each other at varying speeds, 'gliding' over a viscous asthenosphere.

Exactly what mechanism or mechanisms are behind their movement is still debated, but are likely to include convection currents within the asthenosphere and the forces generated at the boundaries between plates.

These forces do not simply move the plates around, they can also cause plates to rupture, forming a rift and potentially leading to the creation of new plate boundaries.

The East African Rift system - stretching over 3,000km from the Gulf of Aden in the north towards Zimbabwe in the south - is an example of where this is currently happening - resulting in a split of the African plate into two unequal parts: the Somali and Nubian plates.
Three youths have appeared in court after a 13-year-old boy was stabbed in a night of violence across London.

The boy is one of six teenagers who were knifed within 90 minutes of each other on Thursday, as police deal with a surge in gun and knife crime across the capital.

The three youths, aged 13, 16 and 16, were charged with wounding with intent under joint enterprise after the young boy was knifed in a park in Manor Park, Newham and appeared at Thames' magistrates this morning.

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Night of violence: Six teenagers were rushed to hospital after a number of stabbings across London on Thursday. Three youths have been now charged after a 13-year-old boy was stabbed in Little Ilford park, Newham

The boy is one of six teenagers who were knifed within 90 minutes of each other on Thursday, as police deal with a surge in gun and knife crime across the capital

The 13-year-old defendant and one of his older co-defendants have also been charged with possession of an offensive weapon.

The victim remains in hospital in a serious but stable condition.

Today the boys appeared at Thames Magistrates' Court this morning.

All three, who cannot be named for legal reasons, are charged with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

The 13-year-old and one of the 16-year-olds are also charged with possession of an offensive weapon.

Family members for all three of the boys, who appeared in the dock wearing grey custody tracksuits, were in court during the hearing.

The 13-year-old and 16-year-old who face two charges each both indicated not guilty pleas during the hearing.

District Judge Jonathan Radway entered a not guilty plea on behalf of the other 16-year-old after he gave no indication.

Both 16-year-olds were remanded in custody and another bail hearing was scheduled for the 13-year-old defendant.

The judge sent the case to Snaresbrook Crown Court for a hearing next month.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said this morning (SAT): 'The victim remains in hospital in a serious but stable condition.'

Police said the trio were charged under joint enterprise in relation to the stabbing.

A police statement: 'The three males will appear in custody at Thames Magistrates' Court later today (Saturday, 7 April).

'The victim remains in hospital in a serious but stable condition.

'The incident happened shortly before 19:00hrs on Thursday, 5 April.'

Pictured: Little Ilford park in Manor Park, Newham cordoned off after the 13-year-old was knifed

Officers and paramedics were to the stabbing in Manor Park, east London, just before 7pm on Thursday.

Police said: 'Three juvenile males arrested on suspicion of GBH with intent after 13-year-old boy stabbed in Gainsborough Avenue, E12 near Little Ilford Park. His condition is serious but stable.'

The events came as London is amidst a violent crime crisis, with gun and knife attacks at their highest levels since 2010.

Fifty-five people have been murdered in the capital since January, with 13 people killed within two weeks last month.

Tottenham Labour MP David Lammy described the London street violence as the 'worst I've ever seen it.'

He told the BBC's Today programme the violence was being driven by turf wars between drug gangs, adding that drugs were as 'prolific as ordering a pizza'.

He warned that the police had 'lost control of that drugs market' adding: 'I've been an MP now for 18 years and I'm afraid what we're seeing today is the worst I've ever seen it.'

Stabbings in England and Wales are at their highest levels since 2010/11 and the escalating violence has been worst in London, with 13 people killed within two weeks last month.

On Tuesday, 16-year-old Amaan Shakoor became the youngest murder victim in London so far this year after he was shot dead on Monday in Walthamstow.

His death came after that of Tanesha Melbourne, 17, who was gunned down around 30 minutes earlier just three miles away in Tottenham. Both were apparently casualties of gang violence.

Two men including teenager Israel Ogunsola died in another night of bloodshed on Wednesday.

PROTEST IN HACKNEY TO CALL FOR AN END TO VIOLENCE A demonstration in Hackney after the fatal stabbing of Israel Ogunsola Protesters and community leaders gathered in east London to call for an end to a recent spate of gang violence in which several teenagers died. Crowds gathered at Hackney Central station on Thursday, close to where Israel Ogunsola, 18, was stabbed to death on Wednesday evening. Residents of all ages huddled round the station entrance before locking fists in a wide circle at a pedestrian shopping street nearby in solidarity for those killed. Protest organisers Guiding A New Generation  commonly known as G.A.N.G  asked Hackney residents to share their stories and plead for an end to the killings over a communal megaphone. G.A.N.G activist Boogz, 40, said the group and others like it were the 'answer' to stopping further attacks. He said: 'We are trying to guide these children to let them know that their life is not going in the right direction. 'I want to say to them this is not the life. 'All the music that you listen to which glorifies this kind of thing, all the money that they see, all the cars that they see people driving, they are being sold a lie, they are being sold a false narrative  and we are here to change that narrative for them.' Protesters and community leaders gathered in east London to call for an end to a recent spate of gang violence in which several teenagers died Residents of all ages huddled round the station entrance before locking fists in a wide circle at a pedestrian shopping street nearby in solidarity for those killed One speaker, who addressed the crowd under the name Scripture, said he had seen people being killed at close hand. 'It's not a pretty sight,' he said. 'You know what, it's not a computer game. You're not gonna come back bruv. 'These youths who are doing damage to each other are not coming back, and they're not learning their lesson neither.' Impassioned demonstrators from local churches and community groups called for unity and chanted 'G.A.NG! A new generation!' before marching to spread their message in nearby housing estates. Hackney Liberal Democrat mayoral candidate Pauline Pearce, 52, who was among the attendees, said the recent string of stabbings and shootings were partly a result of young people feeling 'disenfranchised' by their environments. She said: 'A lot of the children feel disenfranchised, they don't feel they belong, they haven't really got a meaning  they don't feel that they have that connection to society, so a lot of things go wrong for them and sadly this is the sort of retaliation that comes.' Crowds gathered at Hackney Central station on Thursday, close to where Israel Ogunsola, 18, was stabbed to death on Wednesday evening Advertisement




A father is living at a Hobart tent community after he was kicked out of his home when his land-lord increased the rent.

Garry Evans has called the showground tent community home for over a month after his landlord increased the rent by 33 per cent.

His four-bedroom Glenorchy property had increased from $300 a week to $400.

Garry Evans(pictured) was evicted from his four-bedroom home in a Hobart suburb after the rent increased by 33 per cent

The child-care teacher was shocked when the real estate agent sent his release renewal with the hefty increase.

Mr Evans, who is an indigenous childcare worker said he couldn't afford to pay the premium price because it was three-quarters of his pay check.

He said before he could even make the decision to stay in the home he was sent a notice to leave the property.

Garry Evans has called the Hobart Showground home after he was evicted from his Glenorchy home

'I feel like I've let my kids down. Yes I provide food, they don't lack for anything, just a roof over their head,' he told the Mercury.

The child care worker said the last two month had been a 'nightmare'.

'My stress levels are extremely high, but I'm still thinking positive. We're going to get something,' he said.

Hobart's house prices have increased by 17.3 per cent in the past year becomming the highest growing place in Australia

Mr Evans said he has been actively searching for a property but it's proving difficult because so many people are showing up to the inspections.

He has applied for 25 houses since February but said there are up to 70 people turning up to the ten minute inspections.

According to Domain, Hobart's house prices have increased by 17.3 per cent since last year.

Putting mainland cities to shame, Hobart has become the highest growing place in Australia.
It has been revealed the matriarch of the infamous 'Colt' family may have been receiving taxpayer dollars during the family's decades of incestuous abuse.

Betty Colt, 50, was allegedly the recipient of lucrative Centrelink payments which came after women in the family allegedly birthed the children of their fathers, grandfathers and uncles.

The payments are said to potentially total up to $100,000 and were the result of baby bonuses and other welfare qualifications.

It is also alleged the matriarch pocketed from bereavement payments which came after the deaths of several children from severe incest-related birth defects.

According to TEN Eyewitness News, the children were also regularly sent out to pick fruit near the family's farm in the Riverina region of New South Wales.

Fears there may be more inbred children from the infamous 'Colt' family are being investigated as the family's matriarch was extradited to Sydney on Friday

Mother-of-13 Betty Colt will face perjury charges relating to allegations relating to incest and child abuse at the family's farm in New South Wales

Six members of the Colt family - a pseudonym given to them by the court - were extradited on Friday

Eight people have been arrested across three states following a six-year investigation into suspected historical and ongoing child abuse in southern New South Wales

It is believed Betty Colt was the financial beneficiary from this work.

The news follows fears there may be more inbred children from the infamous family being investigated by child abuse detectives.

This week, police extradited six relatives from three states across Australia including, mother-of-13 Betty Colt.

She arrived at Sydney Airport on Friday after NSW Police successfully applied for orders following the arrests on Thursday.

Betty, 50, previously claimed her 13 children were fathered by a non-relative.

But police allege her five youngest - believed to be aged between 12 and 19 - were her relative's children, according to reports in the Daily Telegraph.

Detectives from the State Crime Command's Child Abuse and Sex Crimes Squad established Strike Force Hermoyne in 2012 to investigate allegations of incest, child sexual assault and serious neglect of children

Detective escort a woman (centre) to Griffith police station after a series of arrests across Australia as part of a six-year investigation into alleged historical incest and child sex offences

Eight members of the family were arrested on Thursday with six being brought back to New South Wales in relation to allegations which emerged in 2012, when state authorities took 12 children into care.

All the members of the family have now been given pseudonyms by the court after a six-year investigation into alleged incest and abuse at the family's farm near Yass, in the NSW Riverina region.

Officers from the Child Abuse and Sex Crimes Squad spoke to reporters on Friday about the arrests.

'Betty Colt' - a court ordered pseudonym - has been arrested as part of an investigation into years of child abuse within a family in southern rural NSW

A woman (centre) outside Griffith police station was one of eight people arrested this week

Detective Superintendent John Kerlatec said they were not aware of other children being born into the family after 2013 but added 'it will certainly be part of our ongoing investigations'.

Mr Kerlatec added the investigation had 'tested the resilience' of detectives.

He explained complex investigations including DNA testing, legal issues and the seriousness of the allegations were reasons for it taking six years until any charges were brought.

Police footage shows the diminutive Charlie Colt wearing high-vis workwear next to a tractor kneeling in the red dirt while being arrested.

Detective Superintendet Kerlatec explained complex investigations including DNA testing, legal issues were reasons for it taking six years until any charges

All the members of the family have now been given pseudonyms by the court into alleged incest and abuse farm near Yass, in the NSW Riverina region

The 45-year-old was charged with more than a dozen offences, including six counts of sexual intercourse with a child under 10 and common assault.

Martha Colt, 38, is shown being escorted to Griffith Police Station with her hands in her pockets. She was charged with perjury.

The pair appeared in Griffith Local Court on Friday and were refused bail.

Several members of the 'Colt' family were found living in this shed in southern rural NSW

They are due to appear in a Sydney court on Thursday.

A man and two women were arrested in the Riverland region of South Australia on a NSW warrant.

Derek Colt, 29, faces two charges of incest with a person under the age of 16.

Raylene Colt, 34, and 50-year-old Betty Colt face perjury charges.

'Betty Colt', one of the family members investigated over incest allegations, arrives at Moss Vale Local Court for a previous matter

Two women and a man were also arrested in the Riverland region of South Australia

The trio appeared at Adelaide Magistrates Court on Friday when NSW Police won an extradition hearing to return them back to the state.

Two men and another woman were also arrested in the Northam area of Western Australia.

A 51-year-old woman was charged under a NSW arrest warrant for perjury.

A man and woman were arrested in the Griffith area, in NSW's Riverina district, and remain in police custody

A 36-year-old man was charged under a NSW arrest warrant for four counts of sexual intercourse with a child under 10, two counts of indecent assault and having sexual intercourse with a child aged between 10-14.

A 48-year-old man was charged under a NSW arrest warrant for counts of sexual intercourse with a child under 10.

They appeared before magistrates in Perth on Friday before they were extradited to NSW.

A man and woman were arrested in the Griffith area, in NSW's Riverina district, and remain in police custody

All of the six interstate accused are expected to appear at Parramatta Local Court on Saturday.

Detectives from the State Crime Command's Child Abuse and Sex Crimes Squad established Strike Force Hermoyne in 2012 to investigate allegations of incest, child sexual assault and serious neglect of children.

The notorious case involving the 'Colt' family shocked the world when they were discovered living in ramshackle caravans, sheds and tents six years ago.

The Colt family home in southern NSW from where children were taken from their parents

Authorities removed 12 inbred, illiterate and malnourished children from the camp and placed them in care.

Officers swooped on the remote property after one of the children was overheard saying that his sister was having a baby - but the family didn't know which brother had fathered the child.

They were 'shocked and appalled' by what they found on the property in the hills surrounding a picturesque farming community.

A 38-year-old woman was charged with perjury, while a 45-year-old man was charged with more than a dozen child sex offences, including six counts of sexual intercourse with a child under 10 and common assault

Around 40 members of the family were found living in squalid conditions where the children were discovered living in tents.

The children had facial deformities, could not speak intelligibly and did not know what a toothbrush or toilet paper were.

They had filthy, bare feet, did not know how to wash their hair or bathe and slept in dirty beds among cigarette butts and rotting food.
This is the moment a balaclava-wearing thief appears to be caught, punched and held down by his victims.

The video shows the supposed thief being restrained and held on top of a car while three men surround him in Cadogan Square in Chelsea, London - where average house prices are more than 2 million.

The men seem to be detaining him while waiting for police after witnesses claimed they had chased down the thief.

The supposed thief seems stunned to have been caught and can be seen struggling to get away.

The men holding him can be seen punching him in the face while restraining him and after a while the 'thief' lays down on the car in shock.

According to witnesses, the confrontation took place yesterday afternoon just before 4pm.

The footage appears to show three men restraining a 'thief' who had stolen from them just moments before

One told Mail Online that the supposed thief had been on a motorbike and had stolen a watch or a wallet from one of the three men in the video.

He had then reportedly crashed into a car, allowing the three men to catch up with him.

The witness said: 'The three guys reacted very fast. Specially one of them was very quick, running very fast. The motorcycle driver turned around the square and hit a car that was coming.

The supposed thief was wearing a balaclava and was punched by the group who were holding him

'The three guys arrived and grabbed him and hit him badly. Then they tried to keep him still.

'From this point I recorded. They still hit him several times, as you can see, to make him stay still. The police took nearly 20 minutes to arrive on the place.

'It should be a secure area but is certainly not.'

In the video, the balaclave-wearing thief can be seen struggling with the men who shout at him repeatedly.

The thief seems terrified at the prospect of arrest and lays back on the car after his earlier struggles.

The men apprehending him also seem on edge during the confrontation.

The witness claimed that police were still at the scene at 8pm yesterday.

Mail Online has contacted the Metropolitan Police for comment.
A woman who was kidnapped by hitchhiker killer Francis Wark has recounted the terrifying ordeal she suffered at his hands.

Wark, a convicted rapist, was jailed for at least 21 years after murdering Western Australian teenager Hayley Dodd.

Hayley, 17, was last seen walking along a rural road on July 29, 1999.

Another of Wark's victims told 60 Minutes of the harrowing moment she was kidnapped by him - and her remarkable tale of survival.

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A woman who was kidnapped by hitchhiker killer Francis Wark has recounted the terrifying ordeal she suffered at his hands

Wark, a convicted rapist, was jailed for at least 21 years after murdering Western Australian teenager Hayley Dodd

Hayley Dodd's close friend Lisa Frederickson also opened up about the last moment they spoke to each other

'Andrea' recounted the chilling words Wark used as he attempted to accost her.

'He said he liked me because I fought back, and that's when I thought he's done this before,' she said.

Wark's assaults were described as 'violent' and 'unusual',

Andrea said while she was tied up, Wark turned her back on him and she was able to make a desperate attempt to escape.

She told 60 Minutes her locket was the key to his arrest, as she flung it under the bed before making her escape.

Wark has been described as 'Hannibal Lecter without the mask', and the escape as being 'almost like a movie'.

Andrea said while she was tied up, Wark turned her back on him and she was able to make a desperate attempt to escape (reenactment pictured)

Hayley Dodd's close friend Lisa Frederickson also opened up about the last moment they spoke to each other.

'Kissed her on the forehead and said I'd see her in a couple of days... she was only supposed to be gone for a couple of days,' she said.

Prosecutors had alleged Wark lured Hayley into his ute between 11.40am and midday, murdered her and disposed of her body before 1.36pm when he paid an account at Badgingarra roadhouse while riding his motorcycle to Perth.

Wark's lawyer Darryl Ryan argued it was possible an ankh-shaped earring matching a description of the style Hayley was wearing when she went missing could have been planted by police.

'Andrea' recounted the chilling words Wark used as he attempted to accost her (reenactment pictured)

The key piece of evidence was only found in September 2013 when a car bench seat cover that police seized one week after Hayley vanished was examined at the state forensic laboratory.

Prosecutors argued the fact the hook on the earring was bent suggested a violent struggle, but there was no DNA recovered from it.

When he was charged, Wark was serving a 12-year prison term for the similar crime of raping a woman he picked up on a remote Queensland road in 2007.
A gang of burglars have been sentenced to a total of 33 years in prison after being caught when they left DNA and fingerprints on a half-eaten pasty and an empty packet of sausage rolls.

The burglars had stolen around 200,000 worth of items from homes and jewellery shops across Essex, Suffolk, Kent, Surrey and London between April and November 2015.

But they were caught after police found fingerprints and DNA traces on a half-eaten pasty and sausage rolls that had been left in stolen vehicles.

Alan Speed, 32 (left), and David Speed, 29 (both), were both sentenced to ten years in prison for their part in the robbery gang

The bungling gang had broken into homes, stolen cars parked outside and then used the stolen vehicles to commit further burglaries.

But police found evidence including fingerprints and DNA traces found on the half-eaten pasty and empty packets of sausage rolls.

Two of the burglars, Alan Speed, 32, and David Speed, 29, were sentenced to ten years in jail.

They are both of no fixed address and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit commercial burglaries. They were found guilty of conspiracy to commit dwelling burglaries and conspiracy to disguise criminal property.

George Robinson, 30 (left), was sentenced to seven years in prison and Jimmy Stevens, 37 (right) was sentenced to six years

George Robinson, 30, of Clacton, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit commercial burglaries and was found guilty of conspiracy to commit dwelling burglaries.

He was sentenced to seven years imprisonment.

Finally, Jimmy Stevens, 37, of no fixed address, was found guilty of conspiracy to commit dwelling burglaries and conspiracy to commit commercial burglaries.

He was sentenced to six years' imprisonment.

The burglary gang were caught after DNA and fingerprints were discovered on a half-eaten pasty and an empty packet of sausage rolls abandoned in a stolen car (FILE photo)

Dc Aimee Burton from Colchester CID said: 'During the trial last month the court heard how the gang worked together to steal cars from properties across five counties and clone the plates to then use them to burgle commercial premises.

'Evidence including fingerprints and DNA traces found on a half-eaten pasty, sausage roll packet and socks left in some of the stolen vehicles linked the men to the crimes.

'Today the gang members have all been handed lengthy prison sentences and they will now spend a number of years behind bars.'
Twelve monkeys have been injured after an attempted abduction at the Wellington Zoo in New Zealand.

Thieves broke in to the squirrel monkey enclosure to snatch some of the animals on Saturday morning.

The monkeys fought back against their would-be abductor, who used bolt cutters to get in to the squirrel monkey enclosure.

Twelve monkeys were injured after an attempted abduction at the Wellington Zoo in New Zealand

In a premeditated attempt to grab the species, the intruders used bolt cutters to an open door through the Golden Lion Tamarins area

In premeditated attempt to grab the species, the intruders used bolt cutters to open a door through the Golden Lion Tamarins area.

The zoo thought one monkey had been stolen and pleaded for its return, but it was later found hiding in another species enclosure.

'We had one that we thought was missing but she was hiding, obviously very scared,' Wellington Zoo Chief Executive Karen Fifield said, The NZ Herald reported.

She said squirrel monkeys are quite social and would be terrified if they were away from their mates

One monkey sustained a blood clot in its elbow and another had scratch marks.

'The monkeys would have definitely bitten the alleged offenders... They would have monkey bites for sure,' Ms Fifield said.

She said squirrel monkeys are social and would be terrified if they were taken away from their mates.

'We want to say to whoever tried to do this, this is really just not acceptable and it's not appropriate to try to take one of these animals,' she said.

Police are investigating the break-in and the zoo will hold it's own internal investigation.
A reckless motorcycle hoon has been filmed pulling a wheelie across Auckland Harbour Bridge.

It has been claimed the stunt on the city structure, which was posted on Saturday, was a world record for a Harley Davidson bike.

Kneeling across the seat wearing a T-shirt, jeans and trainers, the rider was filmed riding on one wheel across the whole bridge.

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Kneeling across the seat wearing a T-shirt, jeans and trainers the rider was filmed riding on one wheel across Auckland Harbour Bridge

With the Skytower visible in the background and the sun rising, the biker starts off the crazy stunt

It has been claimed the stunt on the city structure, which was posted on Saturday, was a world record for a Harley Davidson

But the move has attracted some unwelcome attention with New Zealand Police now making inquiries after saying they were 'very concerned'.

The footage has gone viral in the 12 hours since it was posted on Saturday morning.

Sergeant Richard Byrne, of Waitemata Police, told Yahoo7 police were concerned about the 'extremely dangerous' nature of the stunt with potentially 'fatal consequences'.

He added: 'It shows a complete lack of regard for their own safety and the safety of others.'

But the move has attracted some unwelcome attention with New Zealand Police now making inquiries

With the Skytower visible in the background and the sun rising, the biker - who was wearing a helmet at least - pulls off the crazy stunt.

The footage was posted with a caption claiming it as a 'world first' and has had more than 5,000 viewers and dozens of comments.

Some described the stunt as 'dope, sick and bad as'. Others described the unnamed rider as a 'beast'.

The footage was posted with a caption claiming it as a 'world first' and has had more than 5,000 viewers

The New Zealand Transport Authority, the organisation which operates and manages the Auckland Harbour Bridge, joined police in condemning the stunt.

Rua Paul, the Auckland Transport operations manager, told the NZ Herald: 'It poses a huge safety risk for the motorcyclist and all other road users.

It is reckless and dangerous and we'll support the police in any way to identify the person or persons involved.

'We have video of all those involved and will pass it on to police.'
He hold regular meetings with Putin and was heavily involved in the construction of the Sochi Winter Olympics infrastructure

Deripaska's EN+ company dropped 19 per cent on the London Stock Exchange after the sanctions were announced

Aluminium tycoon Oleg Deripaska had business ties with Trump's campaign chief Paul Manafort and has been charged as part of the Mueller probe

Oleg Deripaska (pictured) is among those accused by the White House of 'directly or indirectly' acting on behalf of the Kremlin

A Russian tycoon who hosted George Osborne on his yacht has seen 1billion wiped from the value of his London-listed firm after he was placed on a U.S. government sanctions blacklist.

Aluminium tycoon Oleg Deripaska is among those accused by the White House of 'directly or indirectly' acting on behalf of the Kremlin.

Washington imposed sanctions on seven Russian oligarchs, including Deripaska, 12 companies they own or control, as well as 17 senior Russian government officials.

These figure, it says, had been profiting from a Russian state engaged in 'malign activities' around the world.

Mr Deripaska, 50, hosted George Osborne for drinks on his yacht in 2008, sparking accusations the ex-chancellor was canvassing him for donations to the Conservative Party coffers. Osborne denies these accusations.

The Russian has featured prominently in US prosecutor Robert Mueller's investigation over his ties to former chairman of the Trump campaign, Paul Manafort.

He has also been accused of illegal wiretapping, extortion, racketeering, money laundering, and death threats against business rivals.

Shares in his energy company EN+ dropped 19 per cent on the London Stock Exchange after the sanctions were announced, wiping 1billion from its market value.

Deripaska (pictured right) holds regular meetings with President Vladimir Putin (pictured left) and invested heavily in building infrastructure for Russia's 2014 Sochi winter Olympics

Deripaska called the U.S. decision 'very unfortunate but not unexpected.'

'Certainly the grounds for putting my name on the list of SDNs as provided by U.S. officials are groundless, ridiculous and absurd,' he said in a statement from Basic Element, one of his businesses. SDN stands for 'Specially Designated National.'

George Osborne (pictured) joined Deripaska on his yacht in 2008

Deripaska, estimated by Forbes magazine to have a net worth of 4.7billion, is the main owner of the conglomerate EN+, which is the co-owner of some of the world's biggest metals producers, Rusal and Nornickel.

Hong Kong-listed Rusal is one of the world's biggest aluminium producers. It says exports to the United States account for over 10 per cent of its output.

Rusal owns assets in Italy, Ireland, Sweden, Nigeria, Guyana, Guinea.

According to a Rusal prospectus, its major customers include Glencore, Toyota, and Rio Tinto Alcan.

In his life and career, Deripaska has frequently intersected with the Kremlin and Russian officialdom.

He holds regular meetings with President Vladimir Putin, he invested heavily in building infrastructure for Russia's 2014 Sochi winter Olympics, and has said his own interests are indivisible from the state's interests.

The mother of Deripaska's children, Polina, is the daughter of Valentin Yumashev, who was presidential chief of staff under former Russian president Boris Yeltsin. Yumashev later married Yeltsin's daughter, Tatyana Dyachenko.

Deripaska did business in the 2000s with Paul Manafort (pictured), who later became campaign manager for Donald Trump

'Nobody has been tougher on Russia than I have,' Trump said at a news conference on Tuesday

Yeltsin and his entourage were instrumental in elevating Vladimir Putin to power as the anointed successor to the ailing president.

Deripaska did business in the 2000s with Paul Manafort, who later became campaign manager for Donald Trump when he was running for president.

Last year the Washington Post reported that Manafort sent an email in July 2016 offering Deripaska private briefings about Donald Trump's presidential campaign. Manafort was chairman of the campaign at the time.

Manafort spokesman Jason Maloni has said the email exchanges were 'innocuous' and aimed at collecting money owed by past clients.

Raising the stakes: Senior Trump officials cast the penalties as part of a concerted and ongoing effort by the U.S. to push back against Russian President Vladimir Putin's government and his inner circle

Industry bigs: Oleg Deripaska, an aluminum magnate whose Rusal is one of the country's biggest companies and who has ties to ex-Trump campaign chief Paul Manafort is being hit, as is Gazprom CEO Alexi Miller

This latest wave of sanctions come as senior U.S. administration officials cast the penalties as part of a concerted and ongoing effort to push back at Putin and his inner circle.

But Trump has continued to avoid directly criticizing Putin himself, and recently invited the Russian leader to meet with him, possibly at the White House.

Still, in recent weeks Trump's administration has rolled out a series of actions - including several economic and diplomatic steps - to increase pressure on Putin and those in his circle.

'Nobody has been tougher on Russia than I have,' Trump said at a news conference on Tuesday.

Rather than punishing Russia for one specific action, the new sanctions are in response to 'the totality of the Russian government's ongoing and increasingly brazen pattern' of bad behavior, said the officials, who weren't authorized to comment by name and briefed reporters on condition of anonymity.

The sanctions freeze any assets that those targeted have in U.S. jurisdictions and bars Americans from doing business with them.

It was not clear whether any of those hit have significant, or any, holdings that would be covered and most of them were warned of possible penalties in January when they were identified as possible targets on lists published by the Treasury and State departments.

Pout of order: Kiril Shamalov, who is believed to be married to Putin's daughter Katerina Tikhonova, is one of those facing new sanctions

Friends and allies: Igor Rotenberg's father is one of Putin's oldest friends while Andrey Kostin heads Russia's second-largest bank, VTB, which is controlled by the state

The administration officials said Americans who may currently have business with them would be given guidance about how to wind down that business and avoid running afoul of the sanctions.

The officials ticked through a list of activities they said had prompted the U.S. to act, including Russia's annexation of Crimea, backing separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine, support for Syrian President Bashar Assad, cyber-hacking and attempts to subvert Western democracy.

Many of the targets are individuals and businesses associated with Russia's energy sector, including those affiliated with state-owned Gazprom.

Officials said the goal was to show that those who have benefited financially from Putin's position of power are fair game for U.S. punishments, noting that many of those being sanctioned are closely tied to Putin himself.

Targets include:

Kirill Shamalov, who is reportedly Putin's son-in-law, married to his daughter Katerina Tikhonova, although neither Putin nor the Kremlin have acknowledged that she is his daughter.

Igor Rotenberg, the son of Arkady Rotenberg, a friend of Putin's since they were teenagers.

Andrey Kostin, named among government officials, heads the nation's second-largest bank, VTB, which is controlled by the state.

Alexei Miller, the longtime head of the state-controlled Gazprom natural gas giant. Both Miller and Kostin are longtime key members of Putin's team.

Victim: Sergei Skripal, a Russian who spied for Britain, was poisoned with a nerve agent prompting tit-for-tat expulsion of diplomats. His daughter Yulia (left) was also left seriously ill

Other oligarchs on the list include some top names on the Forbes' list of billionaires, aren't part of Putin's inner circle but like any other billionaire tycoons in Russia they vie for the Kremlin's attention to preserve and extend their business empires.

Many of the Russian oligarchs and politicians and affiliated businesses had already been identified by the Treasury and State Department as potential targets on a list that was compiled and published in January.

One of those hit by Friday's sanctions, Konstantin Kosachev, the chairman of the Russian Federation Council's foreign affairs committee, expressed surprise he had not already been blacklisted by the U.S.

'As far as I am concerned the only thing I'm surprised at is that this didn't happen earlier,' he told the Interfax news agency. 'I never made secret of my criticism of the U.S. foreign policy, and I will not change my stance.'

The sanctions freeze any assets that those targeted have in U.S. jurisdictions and bars Americans from doing business with them.

On their way home: Russian diplomats kicked out of the U.S. were picked up by government bus in Moscow on Sunday, while later in the week American embassy staff flew back to the U.S.

But the administration said it would give guidance to Americans who may currently have business with them about how to wind down that business and avoid running afoul of the sanctions.

The Trump administration used a variety of legal mechanisms to implement the sanctions, including the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act.

Known as CAATSA, the law was overwhelmingly passed by Congress in 2017 and signed by President Donald Trump despite some objections.

The law aims to punish Russia for interfering in the U.S. election as well as actions intended to subvert democracy in Europe.

The law also authorizes the president to impose sanctions on Iran for destabilizing activity in the Middle East and North Korea for its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

Last month, the U.S. targeted 19 Russians and five other entities with sanctions in the first use of the law. The administration has also expelled dozens of Russian diplomats and shut down two Russian consulates in response to Russian behavior, including the poisoning of an ex-spy in Britain that has been blamed on Moscow.
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Prince Charles has joked he will never again be able to fit into a pair of 'budgie smugglers' - skimpy swimming trunks - as he approaches his 70th birthday.

Speaking at an event in Brisbane attended by people celebrating the same milestone this year, the heir to the throne said he knew 'only too well' the 'strange feeling of disbelief' at reaching that age.

Confessing he did not feel like it was long since his parents were 70, he said: 'I do know only too well - and understand - the strange feeling of disbelief that this is actually happening and that never again, for instance, will it be possible to squeeze into a pair of budgie smugglers.

The prince received a warm welcome in Vanuatu, where he was made a high chief in a colourful ceremony

Prince Charles donned a grass skirt for the traditional welcoming ceremony, where he was honoured as a distinguished guest

The prince also took a sip from a cup of special kava, known as Royal Kava, before planting two trees and trying out the local skirtware

The prince immersed himself into every aspect of Vanuatu's culture, and was not reluctant to try on traditional skirts

The prince arrived to a rapturous welcome in Vanuatu where many of the local said they were delighted he had taken the trouble to visit

Prince Charles visited the Chief's Nakamal, a traditional meeting place for chiefs where he was given a VIP reception

Prince Charles in Brisbane joked he will never again be able to fit into a pair of 'budgie smugglers' - skimpy swimming trunks - as he approaches his 70th birthday

'I don't know about you, ladies and gentlemen, but now bits of me keep falling off at regular intervals.

''Don't worry', they keep telling me, 'you have brilliant genes'.

'But the trouble is I can't even get into them either!'

Charles, who made the speech at a reception hosted by the Governor of Queensland Paul de Jersey, turns 70 on November 14.

The prince also made a day trip to the South Pacific island of Vanuatu on Saturday - the fourth day of his week-long tour of Australia, the first three days of which he was joined by the Duchess of Cornwall.

After meeting Vanuatu's President Tallis Obed Moses (above), the prince was given the first of many traditional garlands, along whit other gifts

The prince delighed the crowds - who had turned out in their thousands - with the traditional greeting of 'Halo yufala euriwan', meaning 'hello everybody'

Prince Charles visited found time to visit numerous dignitaries during the course of his one-day whirlwind visit

The prince looked comfortable in his role as guest of honour and lavished praise on his hosts

Local people pulled out all the stops to make the prince welcome in Vanuatu

The prince had time during his one-day visit to meet local residents, where he was accorded a rapturous reception

The prince said he was delighted to experience for myself the warmth, generosity and spirit for which the people of Vanuatu are so justly famed

On Vanuatu he might not have the god-like status of his father Prince Philip, but he was till honoured as a distinguished guest.

Donning a grass skirt and a white garland, the heir to the throne was made a high chief in a colourful ceremony.

In the tradition of the Malvatumauri Council of Chiefs, Charles took part in a series of rituals as he was given the high chief name of Mal Menaringmanu.

The prince also took a sip from a cup of special kava, known as Royal Kava, before planting two trees.

The drink is reserved for special occasions and was only last consumed when the Duke of Edinburgh visited the island in 1974.

He delighted the crowds - who had turned out in their thousands - with the traditional greeting of 'Halo yufala euriwan', meaning 'hello everybody'.

'My visit, while far too brief, has nevertheless allowed me to experience for myself the warmth, generosity and spirit for which the people of Vanuatu are so justly famed,' the prince said.

'Vanuatu, you are number one!'

Charles later had the chance to meet Jimmy Joseph, from the village of Yaohnanen, on the Vanuatuan island of Tanna, where Prince Philip is viewed as a divine being.

The Prince Philip Movement believes the Queen's husband is the man from one of their legends.

Charles warmly shook Mr Joseph's hand as he was presented with a gift.

Mr Joseph said: 'I gave him a walking stick for his father made by the hands of the Prince Philip Movement.

'I told him a lot of people in the movement have now died but there are some still living.

'The prince said he would deliver the message personally.'

Everywhere the prince went on Vanuatu, he was followed by scores of admirers

The Prince of Wales greets a lady during a visit to Haos blong Handikraf, as he visits the South Pacific island of Vanuatu, during his tour of the region

Many local people wore their best traditional costumes and make-up for the prince's visit

Earlier, Charles had received a welcome befitting for an heir to the throne as he landed on the island at Port Vila.

Greeted by the locals in traditional dress and with painted faces, the prince smiled and waved as he walked across red ceremonial mats - one of the most deeply respected aspects of Vanuatu's traditions.

After meeting Vanuatu's president and being given the first of many traditional garlands, it was time for a spot of shopping, as Charles picked up a hat and a bag for wife Camilla at a handicraft market.

'They make such wonderful gifts, don't they,' he said, as he snapped them up for about 40 (6000 vatu).

Charles spent a while strolling through the Haos blong Handikraf market, admiring locally made products such as paintings, wooden sculptures and woven baskets.

Sovaki Zacharie, 19, who was lucky enough to chat to the prince at the market, said it was 'so special' to have Charles visit the island.

'We've only ever seen him in magazines, so to see him in real life makes me so happy,' she said.

Charles also visited Port Vila Central Hospital, which suffered extensive damage when tropical cyclone Pam hit in 2015, and praised the 'fantastic' recovery effort funded by the Australian government, including the refurbishment of operating theatres and the laboratory.

The prince will now fly on to Cairns before finishing his trip in Darwin.

He has emphasised his fondness for Australia, which he first visited 52 years ago.

'When I first came to Australia, Australian manhood was partly defined by how many schooners of beer you could line up on the bar - and drink - before the pubs closed early,' he said.

Highlighting once again the challenges facing the environment, he warned that 'we are destroying our own life support systems, along with our children's and grandchildren's' future'.

Describing Australia as 'an example for us all', Charles hailed 'Aussie values' as a force for good.

He added: 'Amidst all this, the Aussie character that is so exemplified by the concept of fairness and 'fairgo' is what I believe the world needs so desperately and so urgently - a 'fairgo' for people, our planet and for nature herself.'

Good shot, Sir! Prince Edward joins big brother Charles Down Under to promote real tennis

Queen Elizabeths youngest son prince Edward is also in Australia - on Saturday visiting the Royal Melbourne Tennis Club at Richmond on Saturday to play real tennis - the original indoor sport from which modern-day tennis is derived.

The prince played a fundraising match - one of five that he will play during his tour to promote and raise funds for young people to get involved with the sport.

His Royal Highness arrived in Melbourne on Friday and will visit five cities while in Australia, attending 32 events in eight days.

But he will take a few days off the tour to attend the Commonwealth Games, like big brother Prince Charles and his wife Camilla who are already in Queensland.

Prince Edward is in Australia to promote and raise funds for young people to get involved with real tennis

The Earl of Wessex, Prince Edward, plays in the Real Tennis Challenge Exhibition at Royal Melbourne Tennis Club, Melbourne, Australia, on Saturday

Prince Edward will visit five cities while in Australia, attending 32 events in eight days
A card left outside of the home of a pensioner who stabbed a burglar to death while defending his disabled wife has remarkably paid tribute to the intruder.

Henry Vincent, 37, died after being stabbed during a botched raid at the south-east London home of Richard Osborn-Brooks in the early hours of Wednesday.

Despite near unanimous public sympathy for Mr Osborn-Brooks, who was arrested and later released, one mysterious well-wisher said career criminal Vincent had a 'heart of gold', in the card, left along with some flowers, outside of the crime scene.

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A twisted card left outside of the home of a pensioner who stabbed a burglar to death while defending his disabled wife has paid tribute to the home invader

The letter, seen by dozens of passing well-wishers, says: 'Henry, loved and cared for by many.

A heart of gold, may god bless you and give you peace in heaven xx Sorely missed.'

The card was planted accompanied by a bouquet of red gerbera daisies, lily buds and chrysanthemums - tied to wooden corner post.

Mr Osborn-Brooks was arrested on suspicion of murder but has now been told that no action will be taken following discussions between the Met Police and Crown Prosecution Service.

Despite near unanimous public sympathy for Mr Osborn-Brooks, who was arrested and later released, one mysterious well wisher said Vincent had a 'heart of gold' in a card left along with some flowers outside of the crime scene

Henry Vincent (left) died from a stab wound after struggling with Richard Osborn-Brooks (right) following a break-in at the pensioner's home this week

On Friday afternoon, Mr Osborn-Brooks' house was boarded up and CCTV cameras were installed amid fears the pensioner might be attacked.

Officers have also spoken with the family of Vincent who have been informed of the decision and the reasons for it have been explained to them.

Detective Chief Inspector Simon Harding, of the Met's Homicide and Major Crime Command, said: 'This is a tragic case for all of those involved.

On Friday, Mr Osborn-Brooks' house was boarded up and CCTV cameras were installed amid fears the pensioner might be attacked. Officers have also spoken with the family of Vincent who have been informed of the decision and the reasons for it have been explained to them

'As expected with any incident where someone has lost their life, my officers carried out a thorough investigation into the circumstances of the death.

'We have approached the CPS for early investigative advice, as required under the guidance.

'We have received and considered that advice, and, at present - on the evidence available - we will not seek a charging decision. Therefore, no further action will be taken against the man.

'Whilst there might be various forms of debate about which processes should be used in cases such as this, it was important that the resident was interviewed by officers under the appropriate legislation of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act; not only for the integrity of our investigation but also so that his personal and legal rights were protected.

Following his release, a cousin of a burglar said she was angry the OAP was bailed. The unnamed relative of his has insisted however that he was a 'loving person' and the pensioner he fought with should be kept in custody as police investigate him for murder

Mr Osborn-Brooks was arrested on suspicion of murder but has now been told that no action will be taken following discussions between the Met Police and Crown Prosecution Service

'There will be an inquest in due course which will further review the circumstances into Mr Vincent's death in a public forum.

'Our thoughts remain with the families whose lives have been devastated by these events.'

Following his release, a cousin of a burglar said she was angry the OAP was bailed.

The unnamed relative of his has insisted however that he was a 'loving person' and the pensioner he fought with should be kept in custody as police investigate him for murder.

The woman told BBC's South East Today: 'I don't know what happened in that home but all I know is my cousin is dead today.

Mr Osborn-Brooks' arrest on suspicion of murder, reignited a national debate about the rights of homeowners to protect themselves during break-ins

'The Henry I know, he was such a loving person and I think it is probably something that just went wrong but he shouldn't have died out of it.'

Meanwhile, footage has emerged of the moment a burglar lay dying in the street after struggling with a pensioner during a break-in.

Mr Osborn-Brooks' arrest on suspicion of murder, reignited a national debate about the rights of homeowners to protect themselves during break-ins.

Footage obtained by the BBC now shows Vincent laying the street as emergency service workers fight to keep him alive.

The homeowner who filmed the scene is heard saying: 'It's a stabbing. A stabbing. [They're] trying to revive him. I think he's gone.'

During the botched raid in South Park Crescent, Hither Green, an accomplice dragged Vincent toward a van before leaving him for dead, according to a witness.

He was found collapsed in nearby Further Green Road by paramedics from London Ambulance Service, who took him to hospital where he died shortly before 4am.

The second man has not been found and at least one suspect was believed to be armed with a screwdriver, police said.

Footage filmed by a neighbour shows the moment burglar Henry Vincent was treated by emergency services after he was stabbed during a break-in in south-east London this week

Police remaineded at Mr Osborn-Brooks' after his arrest on Wednesday as they attempted to track down the second burglary suspect

Vincent, 37, had been on a police force's 'most wanted' list, had a string of convictions and was suspected of burglaries targeting the vulnerable.

He was a predatory conman, burglar, drug addict and fraudster who had spent the past 15 years preying on the vulnerable.

At the time of the break-in, Vincent was one of Kent Police's most wanted criminals who was on the run after a distraction burglary last November which targeted a man in his 70s in Farningham, Kent.

The career criminal hails from a family of cowboy builders who were jailed for a total of 30 years for fleecing elderly householders out of more than 1million in 2003, police believe. Together with his father, Henry Charles Vincent, and five uncles, the younger Vincent tricked pensioners into handing over cash for fake building works after telling them their houses were about to fall down.

After Vincent was released from a four-year jail term for that scam, he and his father conned an 81-year-old pensioner out of 72,000 to repair a single tile on his roof in 2009.

In 2013, Vincent was put on Kent Police's 'most wanted' list following another raid in Gravesend.

A friend of Mr Osborn-Brooks described him as a 'gentleman' and said he would have only acted to defend his wife, who is understood to suffer from dementia

Police forensics experts have been scouring the street after a murder probe was launched

A car was removed from the scene yesterday as police continue to appeal for information
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The designers behind the high-end fashion power house Dolce & Gabbana have declared their brand will die with them, rather than be passed on to emerging talent or family members.

'Once we're dead, we're dead. I don't want a Japanese designer to start designing Dolce & Gabbana,', founder Domenico Dolce told Italy's Corriere della Sera.

Along with former partner Stefano Gabbana - they split in 2005 - the veteran fashionistas have rejected numerous takeover bids since the brand was founded in 1985, and continue to work extremely closely together on projects.

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The designers behind the high-end fashion power house Dolce & Gabbana have declared their brand will die with them, rather than be passed on to emerging talent or family members. The childless pair, who infamously rejected the notion of same sex families despite their sexuality, insist their company will not be passed on to any relatives, or sold to the highest bidder once they step down (pictured from left: Stefano Gabbana, 55, and Domenico Dolce, 55)

And the childless pair, who infamously rejected the notion of same sex families despite their sexuality, insist their company will not be passed on to any relatives, or sold to the highest bidder once they step down.

Instead the brand will simply cease to exist.

'One can have a lot of money but if you are not free, what do you do with it?' Dolce, 55, said.

'When we split up, we said to ourselves that it was better to divide up everything, because if I took a blow to the head the next day he would have found himself dealing with someone not involved in the industry, like for example my cousin, who could ruin the business,' Gabbana, also 55, explained.

'We have created a trust neither of us can touch.'

The pair are riding high on a wave of long running critical and commercial acclaim, and recently saw their company turnover rise by nine per cent to $1.296 billion, with a new profit of nearly $100 million.

Along with former partner Stefano Gabbana - they split in 2005 - the veteran fashionistas have rejected numerous takeover bids since the brand was founded in 1985, and continue to work extremely closely together on projects

However, they have been particularly outspoken on LGBT issues in the past, and provoked furor in 2015 when they said in an interview: 'We oppose gay adoptions. The only family is the traditional one.

'No chemical offsprings and rented uterus: life has a natural flow, there are things that should not be changed.'

The childless pair, who both have new partners, made it clear their brand would not be passed on to any relatives because procreation 'must be an act of love', but neither were able to love a woman.

Dolce said in the interview with Italy's Panorama magazine: 'You are born to a mother and a father  or at least that's how it should be.

The pair have been particularly outspoken on LGBT issues in the past, and provoked furor in 2015 when they said in an interview: 'We oppose gay adoptions. The only family is the traditional one. 'No chemical offsprings and rented uterus: life has a natural flow, there are things that should not be changed'

The pair are riding high on a wave of long running critical and commercial acclaim, and recently saw their company turnover rise by nine per cent to $1.296 billion, with a new profit of nearly $100 million

'I call children of chemistry, synthetic children. Rented uterus, semen chosen from a catalog.'

Gabbana added: 'The family is not a fad. In it there is a supernatural sense of belonging.'

The Corriere della Sera interview came ahead of their Dolce & Gabbana exhibition in New York City on Friday night.

Sarah Jessica Parker attended the Alta Giorella Exhibition at the New York Public Library.

The 53-year-old fashion icon arrived looking regal in a floral print cape and a green beaded headdress. She auctioned off her entire ensemble for charity at the event for more than $280,000.

She spent most of the evening alongside the Dolce & Gabbana's creative directors, among a host of other stars.

The Corriere della Sera interview came ahead of their Dolce & Gabbana exhibition in New York City on Friday night. Actress Sarah Jessica Parker attended the Alta Giorella Exhibition at the New York Public Library
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Hundreds of people, including Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh, attended the funeral of a well-known Palestinian journalist in Gaza today who was shot while was covering protests along the Israeli border on Friday.

Yasser Murtaja, 30 and a father of a two-year-old boy, died from the gunshot wound he sustained while filming in an area that was engulfed in thick, billowing black smoke from protesters setting tires alight.

Israeli troops opened fire from across the border, killing at least nine Palestinians and wounding 491 others in the second mass border protest in eight days.

Funeral ceremony of Yassser Murtaja, 30, a Palestinian news reporter, who was shot by Israeli forces while covering the mass protests held at the border

The latest deaths have brought the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli fire to 31 since last week.

Photos were taken of Murtaja as he was lying wounded on a stretcher.

The journalist was wearing a navy-blue protective vest marked 'PRESS' in large black capital letters while covering the clashes.

Officials said a bullet had penetrated the side of the journalist's abdomen and he succumbed to his wounds in hospital.

Yasser Murtaja (pictured) was more than a hundred metres away from the border when he was shot in an exposed area below his armpit

Murtaja was over 100 meters from the border and holding his camera when he was shot in an exposed area just below the armpit.

The Israeli military insisted that it fired only at 'instigators' involved in attacks against its soldiers.

It said it was investigating the circumstances of Murtaja's death.

Murtaja was the co-founder of Ain media, a local TV production company that has done projects with media clients such as the BBC and Al Jazeera English.

Murtaja was not affiliated with Hamas or any other militant group.

Just two weeks ago, he posted a drone photo of Gaza's seaport at sunset on his Facebook page, writing: 'I wished I could take this photo from the sky, not from land. My name is Yasser Murtaja, I am 30 years old. I live in Gaza City. I have never traveled.'

Friends say it reflected his greatest wish - to escape Gaza's isolation.

Hana Awad, his colleague and close friend, said he had long dreamed about traveling and was recently granted an Al Jazeera scholarship for training in Doha.

She described him as active and friendly and not at all interested in politics.

Relatives of the Palestinian news reporter attended the funeral and can be seen mourning the death of Murtaja, who was not a member of Hamas

'We didn't know his political views, he was passionate about his job and wanted to travel and learn,' she said of Murtaja, who was the father of a two-year-old boy.

Witnesses described the area in which he was shot as chaotic, with protesters torching large piles of tires, engulfing the area in black smoke that was meant to shield them from Israeli snipers. Footage showed that visibility was limited and the faces of some of the activists were covered in black soot.

Israeli troops on the other side of the fence responded with tear gas, rubber-coated steel pellets and water cannons, as well as occasional live fire.

Freelance photographer Ashraf Abu Amra told Reuters he was next to Mr Murtaja when he was injured,

He explained that they were wearing a helmet and protective vest and both were clearly marked as journalists.

He said: 'We were filming as youths torched tyres. We were about 250 meters from the fence. Israeli forces opened fire and injuries began. Yaser and I ran to film when suddenly Yaser fell to the ground.

'I screamed to him 'Yaser are you alright?'. He didn't respond and there was blood on the ground underneath him. I knew it was a bad injury and people carried him away.'

Murtaja was a father to a two-year-old boy and a colleague and close friend said he had long dreamed about traveling and was recently granted an Al Jazeera scholarship for training in Doha

Video footage showed Murtaja taken to an ambulance as crowds swarmed around him and black smoke billowed in the distance, where protesters had set tyres alight.

Israel Radio, citing an unnamed source in Gaza, said Murtaja had been operating a camera drone on Friday.

Abu Amra and two other Palestinian journalists refuted the report and said Murtaja was not operating a camera drone when he was shot.

Murtaja, on his Facebook page, had earlier posted two aerial photos taken at the border in the past week. It is unclear if he had taken them himself.

At least three other journalists were wounded on Friday in other locations, Gaza officials said.

Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since a 2007 takeover and calls for Israel's destruction, has called for a series of protests until May 15, the anniversary of Israel's founding.

On the day, Palestinians also commemorate their mass uprooting during the 1948 war over Israel's creation.

The Islamic group hopes the mass protests can create enough pressure to break a border blockade enforced by Israel and Egypt since 2007, without having to succumb to demands that it disarm.

Murtaja was filming the protests and witnesses described the area in which he was shot as chaotic and covered in thick, billowing black smoke

The blockade has made it increasingly difficult for the group to govern.

It has also devastated Gaza's economy, made it virtually impossible for people to enter and exit the territory, and left residents with just a few hours of electricity a day.

Israel has long argued that Hamas could end the suffering of Gaza's two million people by disarming and renouncing violence.

It has accused Hamas of exploiting the mass marches as a cover for attacking the border fence, and has vowed to prevent a breach at all costs.

Murtaja was the co-founder of Ain media, a local TV production company that has done projects with foreign media groups such as the BBC and Al Jazeera English

The military said that on Friday protesters hurled several explosive devices and firebombs, using the thick plumes of smoke from burning tires as cover, and that several attempts to cross the fence were thwarted.

There have been no Israeli casualties in the protests so far.

Israel's response to the protests has drawn international criticism, with human rights groups saying it had used live rounds of ammunition against demonstrators who posed no immediate threat to life.

In response, Israel said it is doing what it must to defend its border and its troops have been responding with riot dispersal means and fire 'in accordance with the rules of engagement'.

Jeremy Corbyn slams Israeli response to mass protests at the Gaza border Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has criticised the response of Israel's military to mass protests at the border with Gaza Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has strongly condemned the 'illegal and inhumane' actions of Israeli troops following violence at the border with Gaza. He slammed the Israeli response, which has claimed the lives of at least nine Palestinians and wounded scores more, and said it was an 'outrage'. Israeli troops opened fire from across the border, killing at least nine Palestinians - including a journalist - and wounding 491 others on Friday in the second mass protest in eight days. In a message read out at a demonstration outside Downing Street, Mr Corbyn said: 'The killing and wounding of yet more unarmed Palestinian protesters yesterday by Israeli forces in Gaza is an outrage. 'The majority of the people of the Gaza Strip are stateless refugees, subject to a decade-long blockade and the denial of basic human and political rights. 'More than two thirds are reliant on humanitarian assistance, with limited access to the most basic amenities, such as water and electricity. 'They have a right to protest against their appalling conditions and the continuing blockade and occupation of Palestinian land, and in support of their right to return to their homes and their right to self-determination. 'Firing live ammunition into crowds of unarmed civilians is illegal and inhumane and cannot be tolerated. 'We stand in solidarity with the Israelis who have taken to the streets this last week to protest their government's actions. 'The silence from international powers with the responsibility of bringing a just settlement of the Israel-Palestine conflict must end. 'The UK Government must support the UN secretary-general's call for an independent international inquiry into the killing of protesters in Gaza and review the sale of arms that could be used in violation of international law. 'The events in Gaza and the threat of renewed conflict underlines the urgent necessity of genuine negotiations to achieve a viable two-state settlement that delivers peace, justice and security to both Palestinians and Israelis.' Advertisement

Black sky: Israeli soldiers are seen next to the border fence on the Israeli side of the Israel-Gaza border, as black smoke rises while Palestinians protest on the Gaza side of the border

Earlier, three people, including a teenage boy, were shot dead and at least 250 others were injured by Israeli forces as clashes yet again erupted on the Gaza-Israel border, Palestinian health officials said.

The death of the male protesters, aged 16, 29 and 38 come during week-long disturbances, during which thousands of Palestinians have gathered along the border, calling for refugees to be allowed to return to the lands that are now inside Israel.

Palestinians have been burning tyres and throwing stones at Israeli soldiers over the border fence, with the military is responding with tear gas and live fire throughout the day.

Projectiles: A Palestinian man throws a burning tyre during a protest in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Friday

Shot: An injured Palestinian protester is carried by fellow demonstrators during clashes with Israeli security forces

As at least one Palestinian protester is reported to have been hit by live fire from the Israeli military, concerns grow about more bloodshed. Last week, more than 20 protesters were killed by Israeli fire and hundreds injured, Gaza health officials said.

Today's march has been nicknamed 'the Friday of Old Tires' because protesters plan to burn rubber in hopes that thick black smoke will block the view of Israeli snipers deployed on the other side of the border fence.

Yesterday, Hamas announced that it would pay $3,000 (2,140) to the family of anyone killed in the protests, $500 (357) to Palestinians critically wounded and $200 (143) to those who sustain more minor injuries.

Israeli leaders have said payments by Palestinian authorities to the families of militants killed or imprisoned by Israel encourages attacks on Israelis.

'I will be a martyr today. I will cross the border,' Ahmed Abu Ghali, 20, who held up his shirt to show his still seeping wound from last week that required 40 stitches, said east of Khan Yunis. 'I was wounded last Friday but escaped yesterday from hospital.'

Outrage: Palestinian protesters burn a U.S flag at the Israel-Gaza border during a protest demanding the right to return to their homelands, which are now on the Israel side of the border

Burning: Other protesters burned tyres in order to obstruct the view of Israeli forces on the other side of the fence

No view: Palestinian men wave their national flags as smoke billows from burning tyres at the Israel-Gaza border during a protest, east of Gaza City in the Gaza strip

Shooting blind: Israeli security forces are seen against the backdrop of the thick black smoke near Kibbutz Nir Oz

David and Goliath: A Palestinian demonstrator uses a slingshot to hurls stones at Israeli troops and snipers

Yehia Abu Daqqa, a 20-year-old student, said he had come to demonstrate and honor those killed in the past.

'Yes, there is fear,' he said of the risks of advancing toward the fence. 'We are here to tell the occupation that we are not weak.'

Protesters also moved toward other camps, including east of Gaza City, where a senior Hamas leader, Mahmoud Zahar, greeted the crowd. Nearby, smoke from burning tires rose into the sky.

Friday's march is the second in what Gaza's Hamas rulers said would be several weeks of protests against a decade-old border blockade of the territory.

Israel has accused Hamas of trying to carry out border attacks under the cover of large protests and said it will prevent a breach of the fence at all costs.

A woman holds a Palestinian flag during clashes with Israeli troops at the Israel-Gaza border at a protest demanding the right to return to their homeland, in the southern Gaza Strip

On fire: A young Palestinian demonstrator holds a burning U.S. flag at the Israel-Gaza border, left, and right, Palestinian protesters carry a wounded man during today's protest

Palestinian men run for cover from tears gas canisters at the Israel-Gaza border during a protest

Israeli sharpshooters can be seen in the foreground as some of the hundreds of protesters are obstructed by the black smoke

Young fighter: A Palestinian boy has made a make-shift gas mask out of a plastic bottle and a can filled with what appears to be cotton wool to protects himself from inhaling tear gas at the Israel-Gaza border

Clashes: Palestinian men carry an injured protester after clashes with Israeli forces at the Israel-Gaza border during a protest, east of Gaza City in the Gaza strip

Strategy: Palestinian men collect tyres and burn them to protect themselves from shots of Israeli soldiers at the border

Israel's defense minister has warned that protesters approaching the border fence endanger their lives, drawing condemnation from rights groups that said such seemingly broad open-fire rules are unlawful.

A leading Israeli rights group, B'Tselem, issued a rare appeal to Israeli soldiers to refuse 'grossly illegal' orders to fire at unarmed protesters.

A White House envoy urged Palestinians to stay away from the fence. Jason Greenblatt said the United States condemns 'leaders and protesters who call for violence or who send protesters - including children - to the fence, knowing that they may be injured or killed.'

Last Friday, thousands of Gaza residents participated in the demonstration, many gathering in five tent encampments that had been set up from north to south along the narrow coastal strip's border with Israel, each at a distance of about several hundred meters from the fence.

Smaller groups, mostly young men, rushed forward, throwing stones, hurling firebombs or burning tires and drawing Israeli fire.

Hiding from bullets: Palestinian demonstrators take cover during clashes with Israeli troops on Friday

Moving in: Palestinians remove part of the Israeli fence at the Israel-Gaza border

Israeli forces are deployed near the kibbutz Nir Oz at the Gaza-Israel border where tyre fire smoke billows from the Palestinian camp of Khuza'a near Khan Yunis, in the southern part of Gaza

Rows to burn: A Palestinian protester sids in a tyre lined up during a protest in the West Bank city of Ramallah

Planning the next move: Palestinian protesters sit over tens of tires collected to be burned during the protest

In all, 22 Palestinians were killed in Gaza over the past week, among them 16 involved in last Friday's protests, according to Gaza health officials. This includes a 30-year-old who died on Friday of injuries sustained last week, the officials said.

The six other deaths included three gunmen killed in what Israel said were attempts to attack the border and three men who were struck by Israeli tank fire.

Last week's turnout was apparently driven by the organizational prowess of Hamas as well as the growing desperation of Gaza residents who live in what has been described as the world's largest open-air prison.

The crowd size was seen as a test for Hamas, an Islamic militant group that seized the territory in 2007 from its political rival, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

For Hamas, it's perhaps the last chance to break a border blockade enforced by Israel and Egypt since 2007, without having to succumb to demands that it disarm.

Home made: A Palestinian woman protects herself from inhaling tear gas with the help of a piece of plastic and an onion

Palestinian men hold their national flag next to a tyre fire at the Israel-Gaza border during a protest, east of Gaza City

Ready to demonstrate: Palestinian men prepare to protest at the Israel-Gaza border near Khan Yunis, east of Gaza City

Encampment: A Palestinian youth sits on a tyre stack as protesters run back and forth between the tyre fires

Smoke rises: A picture taken from the southern Israeli kibbutz of Nahal Oz across the border with the Gaza strip shows Palestinian men protesting and black smoke from burning rubber rising to the sky

Another image taken from Nahal Oz shows dozens of protesters on the Gaza side

Make-shift strategy: A Palestinian man wearing a Guy Fawkes maskprepare to protest with onions meant minimize the effects of tear gas at the Israel-Gaza border near Khan Yunis

The blockade has made it increasingly difficult for Hamas to govern. It has also devastated Gaza's economy, made it virtually impossible for people to enter and exit the territory and left residents with just a few hours of electricity a day.

Hamas leaders billed the final protest, set for May 15, as the 'Great March of Return' of Palestinian refugees and their descendants, implying they would try to enter Israel. But they stopped short of specifically threatening a mass breach of the border fence.

Israel has warned that it will not permit a breach of the fence and said it has a right to defend its sovereign border.

Military officials have said Hamas has used the protests as a cover for damaging the fence, planting explosives and, in one incident, opening fire on soldiers.

Israel argues that Hamas could have ended the suffering of Gaza's 2 million people by disarming and renouncing violence.

Hamas has refused to give up its weapons - even at the cost of derailing talks on getting Abbas to assume the burden of governing Gaza, seen by Israel and Egypt as a prerequisite for opening Gaza's borders.
Acciona, the Spanish subcontractro, to take the demands to the Supreme Court

The 12km network in Sydney is over budget and should already be completed

Transport misery expected for more months with huge delays set to continue

Spanish contractors working on the Sydney Light Rail project are demanding an extra $1.2 billion for works and have been accused of holding the city to ransom.

Transport misery for millions is set to continue for many more months amid accusations from the state government the firm is working behind pace on the project.

Only 100 people are working on the project each day rather than several hundred, The Australian reports.

The 12km network is over budget and should already be completed as the demands angered Andrew Constance, the NSW transport minister, on Saturday.

Spanish contractors working on the Sydney Light Rail project are demanding an extra $1.2 billion

Transport misery for millions is set to continue as the state government accuses the firm of working behind pace

Acciona is due to take the demands to the Supreme Court on Friday in a bid to force through payment from the NSW government.

The company was subcontracted by ALTRAC, the partnership commissioned by the NSW government to carry out and manage the project.

But Mr Constance says the issue is between Acciona and ALTRAC and does not involve the government.

He tweeted on Saturday: 'ALTRAC and Acciona have a contract. I suggest they stop wasting time and get on with the job.'

The government has already added an extra $500m to the project coffers which was initially expected to cost $1.6bn

ALTRAC is the partnership commissioned by the NSW government to carry out and manage the project

The government has already added an extra $500m to the project coffers which was initially expected to cost $1.6bn.

The project linking Sydney CBD with the eastern suburbs by rail could now cost more than $3bn - if the demands are met.

Mr Constance told reporters: 'We've gone from being a frustrated customer to an angry customer.

Acciona, the company was subcontracted by ALTRAC, is due to take the demands to the Supreme Court on Friday

The 12km network is over budget and should already be completed as the demands angered Andrew Constance, the NSW transport minister

Lawyers for Acciona claimed the government was not clear about the number of utlilty pipes and cables which needed to be moved

'We will throw the book at them in terms of this contract  we're not going to muck around.

'They need to be picking up the pace very quickly in order to meet their legal requirements.'

Lawyers for Acciona claimed the government was not clear about the number of utlilty pipes and cables which needed to be moved or how complex the work is.

'They need to be picking up the pace very quickly in order to meet their legal requirements,' NSW transport minister, Andrew Constance (pictured), said

But Mr Constance has written to Acciona telling the firm, which is working on the civil construction aspects of the project, the government is not contractually obliged to give the company more money.

The letter, reported in The Australian, says: 'As you know, the Sydney Light Rail Project is being delivered under a public-private partnership model where Transport for NSW has contracted the ALTRAC Light Rail Partnership to build and operate the project.

'ALTRAC has in turn engaged Acciona to design and build the civil construction aspects of the project.

Mr Constance has written to Acciona telling the firm the government is not contractually obliged to give the company more money

But Mr Constance's opposite number in the shadow government, Michael Daley, slammed the government's approach to the whole project.

'Therefore there is no contract between Transport for NSW and Acciona, nor indeed between it and the state of NSW.'

But Mr Constance's opposite number in the shadow government, Michael Daley, slammed the government's approach to the whole project.

'Andrew Constance can get cranky and say he's an angry customer and he can throw his toys all around the sandpit,' Nine News reports.

'But he can't escape from this simple fact - that if the government had done its homework, if the government had planned this properly - there would have been no dispute.'
The Russian embassy in London has sent a request for a meeting of its envoy, Alexander Yakovenko, with British foreign minister Boris Johnson to discuss the investigation of an ex-Russian spy and his daughter poisoned in Salisbury.

The Foreign Office confirmed that it had received a request from the Russian Embassy for a meeting with Mr Johnson, one of the most vocal Government critics of Vladimir Putin's regime over the attempted assassination.

It comes as speculation mounted that the Skripals could be able to offer officers investigating the Salisbury nerve agent attack missing clues as the pair continue to recover.

Ambassador Alexander Yakovenko (right) has sent a request to Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson (left) for a meeting over the Skripal affair

An FCO spokeswoman said: 'We have received a request. We will be responding in due course.'

Mr Skripal, 66, and his 33-year-old daughter Yulia were left fighting for their lives in hospital after being found unconscious on a park bench in Salisbury on March 4.

The former double agent is 'responding well to treatment, improving rapidly and no longer in a critical condition', Salisbury District Hospital said.

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said the improvement in the condition of Mr Skripal was 'great news' and 'testament to the quick work' of the emergency services.

In a statement posted on its website on Saturday, the Russian Embassy said 'interaction' between it and the Foreign Office was 'utterly unsatisfactory'.

They added: 'We believe that it is high time to arrange a meeting between Ambassador Alexander Yakovenko and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson in order to discuss the whole range of bilateral issues, as well as the investigation of the Salisbury incident.

'Ambassador Yakovenko has already sent a respective personal note to the Foreign Secretary.

'We hope that the British side will engage constructively and that such meeting is arranged shortly.'

Sergei Skripal, 66, and his 33-year-old daughter Yulia were left fighting for their lives in hospital after being found unconscious on a park bench in Salisbury on March 4

They added: 'We believe that it is high time to arrange a meeting between Ambassador Alexander Yakovenko and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson in order to discuss the whole range of bilateral issues, as well as the investigation of the Salisbury incident.

'Ambassador Yakovenko has already sent a respective personal note to the Foreign Secretary.

'We hope that the British side will engage constructively and that such meeting is arranged shortly.'

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: 'It's Russia's response that has been unsatisfactory.

'It's over three weeks since we asked Russia to engage constructively and answer a number of questions relating to the attempted assassinations of Mr Skripal and his daughter.

'Now, after failing in their attempts in the UN and international chemical weapons watchdog this week and with the victims' condition improving, they seem to be pursuing a different diversionary tactic.

'We will of course consider their request and respond in due course.'

Viktoria Skripal, pictured visiting the British embassy in Moscow to demand details about the health of her relatives, was ultimately refused a via to visit the UK

It comes as Dr Vil Mirzayanov, who worked on the weapon in the 80s, appeared on Newsnight to reveal how Sergei and Yulia Skripal could have survived the nerve agent attack.

'Probably, first of all, they got a non-lethal dose. They also got an injection of antidotes, it wasn't that sure they had a chance to survive,' he said.

He also suggested the dose could have been old or diluted, adding: 'To expose this Novichok gas to the door handle, they probably used solution. They diluted it with solvent. That already complicates the penetration process.

'It doesn't give it immediately to the blood flow. Such circumstance probably allowed the Skripals to survive.'

Newsnight presenter Evan Davis also asked about the apparently mocking Russian response to the poisoning.

The Russian went on: 'They need information from England, from English experts. It's a game, only part of a game. Mocking and the laughing. Don't trust these games, the Russians are pretending.'

Moscow has denied being responsible for the poisoning of the Skripals but the incident has plunged diplomatic relations between Russia and the West into the deep freeze.

The Russian Embassy had previously said it hoped the improvement in the Skripals' health will 'contribute to the investigation of the crime perpetrated against them'.

Ms Skripal made her first public comments on Wednesday shortly after Russian TV reported that she had contacted her cousin Viktoria in Moscow to say she and her father were recovering and that she would soon be discharged.

The UK authorities have refused to grant Viktoria Skripal a visa to come to Britain, with the Home Office saying her application 'did not comply with the immigration rules'.
Mark Henry Benavides, 48, broke down in tears on Friday as he heard the sentence and mouthed 'I love you' to his wife, who is still staying with him

A former San Antonio attorney has been sentenced to 80 years in prison for forcing his clients to have sex with him in return for legal services.

Mark Henry Benavides, 48, broke down in tears on Friday as he heard the sentence and mouthed 'I love you' to his wife, who is still staying with him.

Benavides filmed videos of the violent sexual encounters, one of which was so graphic that a female juror fainted after viewing it in court.

The father-of-two was convicted on all six counts he faced of continuous trafficking of persons and the panel took six hours to decide his sentences.

He will serve at least 30 years before he is eligible for parole.

Benavides forced six women he had represented in prostitution or drug cases to have sex with him in return for legal help.

Detectives recovered 246 mini DVDs containing hundreds of videos in which he was seen directing the women during often violent sex.

On Tuesday, prosecutors in a Texas court played footage of Benavides forcing one such client to have anal sex with him, KSAT reported.

'Mark, it hurts!' the woman, 29, cried on the video. 'You're hurting me Don't be so rough.'

Benavides' wife of 11 years, Linda, (right) appeared at the trial's sentencing phase to urge the jury to 'please be fair' as she announced she was staying with him

Benavides repeatedly ordered the woman to 'come back here' in the footage, while the woman pressed her hands against her face and sobbed.

The jurors were so shocked by the clip that the judge sent them out for a break. As they were walking out, one woman fainted at the door. She was later excused and replaced with an alternate.

The woman in the video later explained to the court that she felt she had to sleep with her lawyer because 'he said he would help me get my son back.'

She said they'd first had sex in July 2014 - on the same day that he was appointed by the court to work as her attorney.

She said they would go to a motel in San Antonio, where he told her what to do sexually while recording the encounter. When she asked why he was filming, he said it was just for him, she told the court.

'Sometimes he would ask me my name, how old I was, and ask, 'What are you going to do?' she testified.

Benavides (seen in an undated photo) forced six women he had represented in prostitution or drug cases to have sex with him in return for legal help

She was encouraged to answer: 'I'm going to [expletive] my lawyer.' She said Benavides told her to say 'bye' to the camera after they finished.

Benavides' wife of 11 years, Linda, appeared at the trial's sentencing phase to urge the jury to 'please be fair' as she announced she was staying with him, reported Express News.

'He cheated. He did. But he's a good person. Please be fair. His kids love him so much,' she told the jury while crying.

When questioned by prosecutor Jay Norton about whether she thought her husband had committed a crime she replied: 'I am not aware of what has happened, except what I heard on the news.'

Norton said: 'They found him guilty of force, fraud and coercion.'

'To me, it's cheating,' Benavides replied.

'It's an understatement to call it cheating if it's a criminal act,' Norton said. 'The jury found him guilty of crimes, not cheating.'

Meredith Chacon, also prosecuting, branded Benavides 'a pimp in a suit' during her closing arguments.

The 48-year-old, who has since been disbarred, was first arrested in November 2015 accused of using force or coercing at least nine female clients into prostitution.

At the time he had been running as a candidate as a state district judge.

Benavides (left, in the court on Friday) repeatedly ordered the woman to 'come back here' in the footage, while the woman pressed her hands against her face and sobbed

Several of clients claimed that Benavides promised them he'd help them, and even get the cases thrown out altogether if they slept with him, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.

Benavides was indicted earlier this month for continuous trafficking of women between 2012 and 2015.

Benavides still faces two charges of sexual assault of a child, a charge of sexual assault and another charge of continuous trafficking of persons.

Each case will be tried separately.
A grandmother has been jailed for 20 years for her role in the harrowing, multi family-member abuse of her 16-year-old adopted granddaughter which led to her death.

Sabrina Ray died in May 2017 at her home in Perry, Iowa. She weighed just 56lbs when she died despite being 16-years-old.

Sabrina's adoptive parents Marc and Misty had starved her egregiously and her brother had beaten her.

On the day of her death, she was at her grandmother Carla Bousman's home witht two other adopted girls.

Marc and Misty were on their way to Florida for a two-week vacation to Disney World for one of their biological sons birthdays.

Despite seeing Sabrina vomit and soil herself on the morning of May 12, Carla, 63, locked her in a room with the two other girls and did not seek medical help.

Carla Bousman, 63, was jailed for 20 years on Friday for her neglect of 16-year-old Sabrina Ray (left), her adoptive granddaughter who died in May 2017 as a result of egregious malnutrition caused by the family which took her in

The teenager died later that day as a cause of malnutrition caused by deprivation of food.

On Friday, Bousman wept as she was jailed for 20 years for neglect. She pleaded guilty earlier this year.

'I wish I could go back to that day and change everything and do what I know was the proper thing to do.

'I cant change what was done now, but Im very sorry and miss all my grandchildren very much,' Bousman said, according to The Des Moines Register.

Prosecutors said that while she did not starve and beat the girl herself, her lack of action on the day of Sabrina's death led to it.

She was the last hope that Sabrina Ray had. But for her neglect, Sabrina may have survived Assistant Dallas County Attorney Stacy Ritchie

She was described as the teenager's 'last hope' of survival.

'But for her neglect, Sabrina may have survived,' Assistant Dallas County Attorney Stacy Ritchie.

During her court appearances, Bousman described the teenager's condition in her final day.

'She had woke up vomiting and had soiled herself and her clothes and I just thought that she wasnt feeling well and I gave her a shower and cleaned her all up,' she said.

Marc and Misty are awaiting trial on murder charges.

Sabrina's brother Justin Dale Ray, 22, has been jailed for 10 years for abusing her.

On Friday, Carla cried in court as she was jailed. She said she wished she could go back to the day her granddaughter died

Sabrina was living with Misty and Marc Bousman who ran an in-home care. Despite being obese themselves, they starved the girl. They are awaiting trial on murder charges

Before going to live with the Bousmans in 2011, Sabrina live with her drug-addict father. When she died aged 16, she was the weight of the average seven year old. She is pictured (left), before going to live with them, and right, afterwards

Sabrina was found unresponsive in a room of this home in Perry, Iowa, on May 12, 2017, at 6.30pm after one of the other children called 911

A court previously heard how he 'drop kicked' her down the stairs in the days leading up to her death.

Sabrina had gone to live with the family in 2011 after being taken into the care of authorities away from her methamphetamine-addict father.

Her mother, who at one time lived with a sex offender, died of cancer beforehand.

The Bousmans first took her in as a foster child but adopted her in 2013. She was homeschooled.

Three other children were removed from the home after Sabrina's death.

Josie Bousman, one of Misty and Marc's nieces, was also charged with lying to police to cover up how she was abused.
The gloves are off in the divorce of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, 73 and his third wife Judith, 63.

The estranged couple each filed papers in Manhattan Supreme Court demanding to know the other's net worth.

Giuliani told Page Six: 'It does seem to me that it is early [to exchange net worth statements], but I have absolutely no problem with that,'

Bernard Clair, the attorney representing Judith Giuliani fired back that it is odd that the former mayor would say that since he filed papers first, then quipped, 'But of course I'm very pleased that Mr. Giuliani has signaled that the asset division will be easy.'

When Giuliani ran for president in 2007, he filed papers with the Federal Elections Committee stating his net worth was $30million.

Judith, who married Giuliani, in 2003, filed a contested divorce proceeding in Manhattan Supreme Court on April 4, indicating she is planning to fight over their assets. And the filing of financial documents is the start of the fight.

Giuliani confirmed to Page Six 'It is with great sadness I can confirm that Judith and I are divorcing. We hope to do this as amicably as possible, and hope that people will respect the privacy of our children at this time.'

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and his third wife Judith are divorcing after 15 years

Former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and wife Judith Nathan pictured on their wedding day at Gracie Mansion May 24 , 2003 in New York City

He did not give a specific reason behind the divorce, apart from to say that both sides take blame.

'In these divorce situations, you cannot place blame, it is 50/50, there are problems on both sides,' he said, adding they are planning to split their properties in New York and Palm Beach.

This was the third marriage for both Rudy and Judith, a registered nurse, who each have adult children from former marriages.

Giuliani with his second wife Donna and his son Andrew, pictured together in 1993. They divorced in 2001

Rudy was previously married to Regina Peruggi, from 19681982 (pictured in an undated photo)

Rudy has Andrew and Caroline with his second wife, Donna Hanover, Judith has daughter, Whitney, from her marriage to Bruce Nathan.

Rudy was previously married to Donna Hanover, from 19842002, and Regina Peruggi, 19681982. His first marriage was annulled when they discovered they were actually second cousins.

Giuliani biographer Wayne Barrett has claimed that Peruggi's brother believes Giuliani knew at the time of their marriage that they were related.

He met Hanover while he was still married to Peruggi in 1982 and they married in 1984. He then met Nathan in 1999 while still married to Hanover. When news of the affair broke, Giuliani moved out of Gracie Mansion and into a couple's apartment.

In 2001, Giuliani's attorney revealed he was impotent due to prostate cancer.

Giuliani, a big Trump supporter, had previously suggested that 'everybody' is unfaithful, but says he confesses his own to a priest.

He was discussing Hillary Clinton's run for the presidency in 2016, when he said she was 'too stupid to be president' for not knowing about Monica Lewinsky.

Giuliani, a big Trump supporter, had previously suggested that 'everybody' is unfaithful, but says he confesses his own to a priest

'Meet the Press' host Chuck Todd pointed out that it was a bit of a pot-meet-kettle situation as 'you have your own infidelity charge,' Todd said of the thrice-married Giuliani, who had a very public divorce from his second wife while still mayor, in the year 2000.

'Well, everybody does,' Giuliani replied. 'And I'm a Roman Catholic, and I confess those things to my priest.'

Last summer, Trump reportedly floated the idea of nominating the former New York City mayor to replace former Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions who drew Trump's ire when he recused himself from all Russia-related investigations.

But Giuliani, known as 'America's mayor' following the 9/11 terror attacks nearly 16 years ago, would have brought his own set of potential conflicts of interest to the job, including some that would appear even more problematic than Sessions'.

The former mayor originally had his heart set on becoming secretary of state, but was left without a chair when first round of presidential-appointment music stopped.

He is currently an informal adviser on cybersecurity to the White House.
Lawyers are asking the United States Supreme Court to review and reverse a murder conviction for a Louisiana inmate who was sentenced to life in prison as a teen for the 1998 shooting death of a pizza delivery guy.

The legal team for Corey Williams said in a March 2 petition that prosecutors withheld 'staggering' information during Williams' trial that would have proved his innocence.

Williams was 16 at the time he was arrested for the January 4, 1998 murder of Jarvis Griffin, a pizza deliveryman who was robbed and fatally shot after making a delivery to a Shreveport home.

Williams was convicted based on his confession and witness Chris Moore identifying him as the shooter.

Corey Williams, pictured in a 1998 mugshot, was 16 when he was sentenced to life in prison for the shooting death of Jarvis Griffin a pizza deliveryman killed in January 1998

Lawyers for the now 36-year-old man said in their petition that Williams', who is intellectually disabled, confessed after hours of questioning by police. They said Williams, who was found hiding under a blanket on a couch at his grandmother's home after the shooting, initially denied killing Griffin but gave a confession after police questioned him throughout the night.

Williams' team said the then-teen's confession 'was brief' and lacked 'corroborating details'. They also said after Williams admitted to the crime he asked police if he could go home and 'lay down'.

The petition also stated that Williams had been hospitalized for extreme lead poisoning before the shooting, still sucked his thumb and frequently urinated on himself.

Lawyers also said there wasn't enough physical evidence linking Williams to the murder. According to the document, witnesses told police that several older men were at the home the night of the murder.

They said the men stole pizza and money from the deliveryman but Williams was seen running from house with nothing in his hands. Moore, one of the men at the home, was the only witness who identified Williams as the shooter.

The petition also said that fingerprints found on the gun used to kill Griffin belonged to someone else, not Williams. Blood from the victim was also found on another man's clothes.

According to a 2016 article by the Shreveport Times, Williams was sentenced to death but the Supreme Court ruled that executing people with intellectual disabilities violated the 8th Amendment ban on cruel and unusual punishment.

Williams, who has an IQ of 68, fit the criteria and his sentence was changed to life in prison.

After the trial, Williams' legal team said they discovered recordings from witnesses that showed police had suspected the older men at the house of plotting to frame Williams.

Williams' legal team is asking the US Supreme Court to review and reverse his murder conviction

The Shreveport Times reports that an investigator in heard telling a witnesses in one recording: 'It sounds like to me y'all all decided y'all all going to blame it on Corey.'

Another recording has a witness placing his suspicion on a man known as 'Rapist'.

Caddo Parish prosecutors have yet to file a response but denied withholding information that would have been favorable to Williams.

The lawyers claims' were initially taken to the Louisiana State Supreme Court in October but the court refused to hold a hearing. His lawyers are asking the US Supreme Court to review that decision.

In 2015, former acting district attorney Dale Cox said that Williams' team had not proved the recordings contained 'exculpatory' evidence or that withholding them deprived the then-teen of a fair trial.

A group of 44 former prosecutors and Justice Department officials, which includes former US Attorney General Michael Mukasey, filed a brief earlier this week in support of the petition.
Cynthia Nixon has promised to turn New York into 'a real sanctuary state' for undocumented migrants in a swipe at Andrew Cuomo, her rival for the Democratic nomination.

The ex-Sex and the City actress areas including New York City for already adopting so-called 'sanctuary' legislation but blamed Cuomo, the current governor, for failing to take it up on a statewide level.

This and similar pro-immigrant measures would help turn the state into a 'progressive bastion', Nixon said during a speech in Rochester on Thursday.

Cynthia Nixon (left, in Brooklyn on March 20) praised areas like New York City for adopting so-called 'sanctuary' legislation but blamed Andrew Cuomo, the current governor, (right, at March For Our Lives in Central Park on March 24) for failing to take it up on a statewide level

'All of these things that we should have done and that New Yorkers want us do, that's why I am running.

'Times up on progressive change and waiting for progressive change in New York,' Nixon said, according to a report in the New York Daily News.

In the same speech Nixon also demanded more money for schools and renewable energy, and new laws to create a single-tier health system.

The New York Assembly passed sanctuary state legislation last year, but this was thrown out in the Republican-controlled senate.

Cuomo has been accused of preventing sanctuary legislation from going through the Senate by allowing a controversial power-sharing deal between Republicans and a breakaway group of Democrats.

The Independent Democratic Conference joined Republicans in a 'majority coalition' in return for leadership positions and lucrative stipends. It lasted for seven years before ending earlier this month.

Nixon speaks in Rochester at the site where women's rights activist Susan B. Anthony made history by casting an illegal vote nearly 150 years ago

New York City passed a bill in October 2017 ruling that no state money would be used to help enforce federal immigration legislation.

Other areas that have adopted similar legislation in the state include Albany, Ithaca, Wayne County, Omondaga County, Franklin County and St Lawrence County.

Cuomo hit back against Nixon's criticism, saying: 'I think we have the most progressive record in the country in this state.'

Sanctuary legislation has been heavily criticised by Republican legislators.

At a roundtable on the issue in March, President Trump accused cities that fail to cooperate with immigration authorities of putting the nation at risk by releasing 'thousands of criminal aliens' who should be deported.

'In many cases they are very bad actors. We have gang members, we have predators, rapists, killers - a lot of bad people,' he said.

Earlier this week, Iowa became the latest Republican-led state to propose legislation which would withhold money from local governments that don't comply with federal immigration laws.

A bill outlining an expansive immigration enforcement plan is expected to receive final legislative approval this week.

Nixon walks along the sidewalk in an amber gown during a scene still from Sex and the City 2 in 2010

California became a sanctuary state in the new year, immediately leading to a legal challenge from its second largest county.

Orange County voted to condemn the state's sanctuary law and to join a U.S. Justice Department lawsuit that contends it's unconstitutional.

California and its Democratic-controlled Legislature have courted a reputation for leading resistance against the Trump administration's immigration crackdown.
The AA chairman who was sacked for assaulting a colleague allegedly punched a woman in the face less than a year before.

Bob Mackenzie is reportedly said to have hit Catherine Dodkin, who is said to have splitting her lip, before cracking her head upon when he pushed her head against the wall during an altercation in Bermondsey, south London.

Mr Mackenzie broke his leg during the incident in September 2016 - although he is said to have claimed he had fallen when in fact Ms Dodkin says he was pushed over by the woman's boyfriend.

Ms Dodkin, 40, told The Telegraph: 'He [Mackenzie] was inches from my face shouting at me. His body language was so aggressive. And then he punched me. He smacked me in the face. That is when my lip split.'

Bob Mackenzie is claimed to have hit Catherine Dodkin, which split her lip, before pushing her against a wall which caused her head to bleed

Mr Mackenzie denies that he punched Miss Dodkin but did reportedly accept that he pushed her in an act of self-defence to protect his wife Jane who was with him.

He blamed his attack on AA's head of insurance Mike Lloyd in July 2017 on a mixture of stress and exhaustion, combined with prescription drugs and alcohol.

He was dismissed from his 1.2 million-a-year job and denied payout in share options worth as much as 68 million because he was a 'bad leaver'.

According to The Telegraph, Miss Dodkin has offered to testify on behalf of AA, detailing her version of events which led both of them to require hospital care.

The 40-year-old property manager said she had enjoyed three-quarters of a bottle of prosecco when out with friends.

Mackenzive blamed his attack on AA's head of insurance Mike Lloyd (pictured) in July 2017 on a mixture of stress and exhaustion, combined with prescription drugs and alcohol

Ms Dodkin said she had confronted the car after it had sped past her, and admitted she made a mistake in following it. When Mackenzie got out the car, he was said to be 'very aggressive' towards her.

She added: 'He was in my face; he was inches from my face. He was much taller than me. I put my arms up like just to say get away from me. And then he punched me. He smacked me in the face. That is when my lip split.

'I was in shock. I couldn't believe what was happening. I hadn't even been arguing with him but with his driver.

'He punched me to the floor and he was stood over me shouting at me to shut up. I was screaming me "help me, help me". I got up to my feet and then he pushed me and my head slammed into a brick wall. I heard my head crack and then this wave of nausea hit.'

It was then the boyfriend apparently ran over and knocked Mackenzie to the ground, breaking his leg and ankle.

Mr Mackenzie told The Telegraph: 'The woman scratched at my wife. I tried to hold the woman at arms length. She ripped my hearing aid and threw it down the road. She made a lunge for Jane and I pushed her.

'She staggered back and hit the wall. Then she attacked my wife again and I pushed her away. I don't know how she got the split lip.'

Miss Dodkin said: 'In his eyes I attacked him. But that is a complete lie. He claims he was defending his wife but I didn't go anywhere near her.'
Marquise Byrd, 22, died on December 29 after four teens tossed a sandbag from a Toledo overpass hitting the car he was in

Four Ohio teenagers who pleaded guilty to dropping a sandbag from a highway overpass last December killing a 22-year-old father were given suspended sentences, a judge announced Friday.

The boys, ages 13 and 14, were instead ordered to a youth center for treatment.

Marquise Byrd died in a Toledo hospital on December 29, three days after four teenage boys tossed a heavy sandbag onto Interstate 75 striking the car Byrd was traveling in.

The young father to a two-year-old son was sitting in the passenger's seat when the sandbag crashed through the windshield hitting him in the head. Byrd was rushed to the hospital in critical condition but died from blunt force trauma to the head and neck.

The teen who dropped the sandbag pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to the Department of Youth Services until he turns 21. The other three teens pleaded guilty to manslaughter and were sentenced to three years at the the same facility, ABC News reports.

Byrd, pictured on the left) was the father to a two-year-old boy and was planning on proposing to his girlfriend, a lawyer for his family said

The four teens pleaded guilty to either manslaughter or murder and were sentenced to the Department of Youth Services. Pictured is the overpass where the teens tossed the sandbag into traffic

Pictured is the wrecked vehicle Byrd was traveling in. The 22-year-old was sitting in the passenger's seat when the sandbag crashed through the windshield

Judge Denise Navarre Cubbon said Friday that all four sentences were suspended in favor of the teens being sent to Toledo's Lucas County Youth Treatment Center.

'It's a treatment facility, for certain services, to provide so these boys change their behavior and can become productive members of our community,' she said.

Lillian Diallo, a lawyer for the Byrd family, called the decision outrageous.

'Suspended what? If you do what? So eight months you get to go home?' she told WTVG outside the courtroom.

'This child will never be at home. His son will never see him. His mother will never be able to say: "Hey son, how are you? Hows's your day?" Touch his face, see his face. This is outrageous.'

According to ABC News, 30 letters were written on behalf of the victim calling on a strong punishment for the teens.

One of the boys read a letter in court Friday apologizing to the Byrd family.

A judge suspended the teens' sentences in favor of them being sent to Toledo's Lucas County Youth Treatment Center

A lawyer for the Byrd family said the suspended sentence was outrageous. Byrd is pictured on the right with family

'I pray for him and his family every single day and night and cannot imagine what they are going through and how they feel right now,' the teen said.

Diallo was still angered by the suspended sentence.

'Let me tell you something - at the age of 10 you know if you take something and put it in a moving lane of traffic, you should know what the consequence will be,' she said.

'You didn't take the sandbag and throw it on the side. You took that sandbag and you threw it down there to that boy's death.'

Diallo, who knew the victim, said Byrd was planning a surprise proposal to his girlfriend, the mother of his two-year-old son.
Tony Abbott has called on his colleagues to explain why he was dumped as Australia's Prime Minister after 30 poll losses in 2015.

As Malcolm Turnbull approaches 30 Newspoll defeats himself, the former PM has exclaimed 'life is not fair. We know that'.

According to the Sunday Telegraph, Mr Abbott wants to know why he was booted from the office during the leadership spill three years ago.

Tony Abbott has called on his colleagues to explain why he was dumped as Australia's Prime Minister after 30 poll loses in 2015

Mr Abbott's comments come as Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is reaching the benchmark he used to oust his predecessor.

'As for that particular metric, that was not my metric and it is for others to explain the rhyme or the reason in it, ' Mr Abbott said.

Ahead of the result reveal on Monday, Mr Abbott said he has been approached by Turnbull backers that have expressed support for him to come back to cabinet.

Current Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is approaching the Newspoll benchmark which saw Mr Abbott get booted from office

Mr Turnbull has lost several of the backbenchers who supported him in 2015, according to the paper.

It has also been revealed they would not use images of Malcolm Turnbull in their campaign signs for the next election.

The ex-coalition leader is in Latrobe Valley in Victoria spruiking his pro-coal campaign.

Mr Abbott hopes tax-payers money will be invested in new coal power stations.

In a Fairfax-Ipsos poll, so far 62 per cent do not want a change in Prime Minister.

Mr Turnbull's popularity has improved 45 per cent since last December while opposition leader Bill Shorten trails behind at 38 per cent.
Just days after being released from prison, Salim Mehajer is back in the arms of his glamorous girlfriend.

The disgraced former Deputy Mayor of Auburn in Sydney's west spent the last ten weeks behind bars on charges of perverting the course of justice.

The couple's reunion comes after Mehajer, 31, and Melissa Tysoe first met at a party in the exclusive Sydney suburb of Vaucluse on New Year's Eve last year.

Just days after being released from prison for perverting the course of justice, Salim Mehajer is back in the arms of his glamorous girlfriend

The controversial former Auburn Deputy Mayor met Melissa Tysoe at a party on New Year's Eve

At the time Mehajer said the pair shared a smile and 'immense connection', which magnified when he decided to sit next to her and she didn't move away from him - an action he said sent 'shivers' down his spine.

He also claimed the Central Coast business student didn't know who he was on their first meeting, despite his diverse antics often being the subject of wide media attention.

Lengths taken by the former Councillor to initially conceal his identity also allegedly included telling Tysoe a fake surname and shutting down his various social media accounts.

The couple said they had a 'immense connection' after their first meeting and Mehajer claimed his new long didn't initially know his identity

Known as Missy X on Instagram, business student Melissa said their connection came in spite of cultural differences

'What do I see in him? We pray to different gods, we are tied to different cultures, but we share the same passions,' she said of her boyfriend in an Instagram post

The affection was apparently mutual between the pair with Melissa revealing their bond which bloomed despite massive cultural differences.

'What do I see in him? We pray to different gods, we are tied to different cultures, but we share the same passions,' she said in an Instagram post.

Despite the apparent immediate connection, the couple soon called it quits before reuniting upon his release from prison.
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Britain and the US have hit out at Russia for its support of the Syrian government after activists and rescuers said a poison gas attack on a rebel-held town near Damascus killed at least 70 people on Saturday.

The alleged attack in the town of Douma occurred on Saturday night amid a new offensive by Syrian government forces after the collapse of a truce, while government airstrikes resumed today on the last rebel stronghold in Eastern Ghouta.

A joint statement by the medical relief organisation Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS) and the civil defence, which operates in rebel-held areas, said dozens of people had died in the chemical attack with many others killed in government airstrikes.

The US State Department said Moscow had to bear responsibility because of its support for Syria, while the UK Foreign Office called on Russia and Iran to stop violence against civilians. The Kremlin and Assad regime denied the attack had taken place.

UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said it was 'truly horrific to think that many of the victims were reportedly families seeking refuge from airstrikes in underground shelters'.

Pope Francis joined the international condemnation of the reported attack, saying it was an unjustifiable use of 'instruments of extermination', while President Donald Trump warned of a 'big price to pay' for Russia and Iran.

Syrian state media denied government forces had launched any chemical attack as soon as the reports began circulating and said rebels in the eastern Ghouta town of Douma were in a state of collapse and spreading false news.

State media reported the Syrian government had reached an agreement for rebels to leave Douma, despite the resumption of airstrikes this morning, with Russia offering safe passage out of their beseiged enclave and tens of buses sent to the town to pick up prisoners freed by the rebel group.

This image made from video released by the Syrian Civil Defense White Helmets shows a medical worker giving toddlers oxygen through respirators following an alleged poison gas attack in the opposition-held town of Douma

Toddlers are treated by emergency medical workers following the alleged chemical attack in Douma, Eastern Ghouta

A Syrian child receives medical treatment after Assad regime forces allegedly conducted a poisonous gas attack

A victim waits to receive medical treatment, one of 70 victims who have suffered from breathing difficulties

Syrian children wait to receive treatment after the Assad regime allegedly carried out a poisonous gas attack

Opposition-linked first responders, known as the White Helmets, also reported the attack, saying at least 70 people had died and that entire families were found suffocated in their houses and shelters.

The group were able to document 42 fatalities but were impeded from searching further by strong odors that gave their rescuers difficulties breathing, said spokesman Siraj Mahmoud.

President Trump tweeted this afternoon: 'Many dead, including women and children, in mindless CHEMICAL attack in Syria.

'Area of atrocity is in lockdown and encircled by Syrian Army, making it completely inaccessible to outside world. President Putin, Russia and Iran are responsible for backing Animal Assad. Big price to pay.'

A UK Foreign Office spokesperson said: 'These are very concerning reports of a chemical weapons attack with significant number of casualties, which if correct, are further proof of Assad's brutality against innocent civilians and his backers' callous disregard for international norms.

'An urgent investigation is needed and the international community must respond. We call on the Assad regime and its backers, Russia and Iran, to stop the violence against innocent civilians.'

Meanwhile Pope Francis said at a Mass in St Peter's Square: 'Terrible news comes to us from Syria with dozens of victims, many of them women and children ... so many people are struck by the effects of the chemical substances in the bombs.

'There is no such thing as a good war and a bad war. Nothing, but nothing, can justify the use of such instruments of extermination on defenceless people and populations.'

He urged that 'military and political leaders choose another path, that of negotiations, which is the only one that can bring about peace and not death and destruction'.

The Union of Medical Care & Relief Organizations told Sky News it was 'one of the worst chemical attacks in Syrian history.'

The Syrian government will start negotiations with the rebel group Jaish al-Islam later on Sunday after the group requested talks, state television reported, citing an official source.

Boris Johnson said: 'These latest reports must urgently be investigated and the international community must respond.

'Investigators from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons looking into reports of chemical weapons use in Syria have our full support. Russia must not yet again try to obstruct these investigations.

'Should it be confirmed that the regime has used chemical weapons again, it would be yet another appalling example of the Assad regime's brutality and blatant disregard for both the Syrian people and its legal obligations not to use chemical weapons.

'We condemn the use of chemical weapons by anyone, anywhere. We are in close touch with our allies following these latest reports. Those responsible for the use of chemical weapons have lost all moral integrity and must be held to account.'

A man affected by the alleged poison gas attack on Eastern Ghouta is pictured with a mask on his face

An affected Syrian man lies on a stretcher as he waits to get medical treatment after the attack in Eastern Ghouta

Three Syrian children in a hospital in the the town of Douma in Eastern Ghouta

A wounded Syrian receives first aid at an emergency room in Al Mouwasat Hospital, Damascus

A wounded woman is carried into a hospital in Damascus after rockets fired from Douma killed at least four civilians

An injured man receives treatment at a hospital in Damascus after rockets were fired from Douma during the fighting

Emergency personnel are pictured transporting a wounded man to a hospital in the Syrian capital Damascus

The attacks came as Syrian government forces have resumed deadly bombardments of the last opposition holdout in the Eastern Ghouta area near Damascus

US State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said that Washington was closely following 'disturbing reports' of the alleged chemical weapons attack on a Douma hospital.

She said: 'The Assad regime and its backers must be held accountable and any further attacks prevented immediately.

'These reports, if confirmed, are horrifying and demand an immediate response by the international community. Russia, with its unwavering support for the regime, ultimately bears responsibility for these brutal attacks.'

'The United States calls on Russia to end this unmitigated support immediately and work with the international community to prevent further, barbaric chemical weapons attacks.'

The White Helmets tweeted graphic images showing scores of bodies in a basement, while videos the group posted online purportedly showed victims, including toddlers in diapers, breathing through oxygen masks at makeshift hospitals. It said the death toll is likely to rise.

Medical relief organisation Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS) said a chlorine bomb hit Douma hospital, killing six people, and a second attack with 'mixed agents' including nerve agents had hit a nearby building.

The Russian Government denied the chemical attack had taken place, while its ally Syria has denied ever using chemical weapons.

'We decidedly refute this information,' Major-General Yuri Yevtushenko, head of the Russian peace and reconciliation centre in Syria, said.

'We hereby announce that we are ready to send Russian specialists in radiation, chemical and biological defence to collect information, as soon as Douma is freed from militants. This will confirm the trumped-up nature of these statements.'

Smoke rises after government forces carried out airstrikes in Eastern Ghouta's Douma town in Damascus on Saturday

Pro-Syrian regime forces are seen as they advance towards the town of Douma, the last opposition holdout in Eastern Ghouta

The chairman of the international affairs committee of Russia's upper house of parliament, Konstantin Kosachev, said on Sunday that reports of a gas attack in Syria were bogus and convenient news for Washington.

'This is yet another bogus claim by 'fakemakers' and there is a banally obvious reason for it: to undermine the exit of Jaish al-Islam rebels from Douma and impede the offensive by Syrian government forces,' Kosachev wrote on his social media page.

Turkey also strongly condemned on Sunday what it said was a chemical weapons attack, saying there was a 'strong suspicion' the regime of President Assad was responsible.

Syrian state news agency SANA said the rebel group in Douma, Jaish al-Islam, was making 'chemical attack fabrications in an exposed and failed attempt to obstruct advances by the Syrian Arab army,' citing an official source.

A joint statement by the Civil Defense and the Syrian American Medical Society said more than 500 people, mostly women and children, were brought to medical centers with difficulty breathing, foaming at the mouth, and burning of the eyes. It said patients gave off a chlorine-like smell. Some had blue skin, a sign of oxygen deprivation.

The attacks came as Syrian government forces have resumed deadly bombardments of the last opposition holdout in the Eastern Ghouta area near Damascus.

Rebels in the Douma area responded by attacking civilian areas in Damascus, killing six civilians and wounding dozens more.

Syrian government forces resumed their offensive on rebel-held Douma on Friday afternoon after a 10-day truce collapsed over disagreement regarding evacuation of opposition fighters.

Pro-Syrian regime forces are seen as they advance towards the town of Douma, the last opposition holdout in Eastern Ghouta

The aftermath of airstrikes in Duma, Eastern Ghouta, is pictured above Damascus on Saturday

The fighting was not all one way - this photo released by the Syrian official news agency shows Syrians gathered next to a bunt car hit by a shelling by members of the Army of Islam rebel group at Rabwa neighborhood in Damascus on Friday

Scores of civilians have been killed in Eastern Ghouta since a 10-day ceasefire broke down on Friday

Syrians gather next to a bunt car hit by a shelling by members of the Army of Islam rebel group at Rabwa neighborhood in Damascus on Friday

Rebel fighters, displaced from Ghouta, gather in a make-shift camp built inside a school in town of Atareb on Saturday

Smoke billows in the town of Douma, the last opposition holdout in Syria's Eastern Ghouta

A Syrian boy, displaced from Ghouta, sits outside a tent in a make-shift camp built inside a school

Smoke rises after the Assad regime's forces carried out airstrikes in the Eastern Ghouta town of Douma

Smoke billows in Douma after the Syrian regime resumed a military blitz in a bid to pressure the rebels to withdraw

The Syrian regime's advance into Douma follows months of fighting as President Assad has ousted his armed opponents from nearly all of Ghouta, their last stronghold on the edge of the capital

Syrians, displaced from Ghouta, gather in a make-shift camp built inside a school in the northern Syrian town of Atareb

Smoke billows in the town of Douma, the last opposition holdout in Syria's Eastern Ghouta

Syrian regime forces are seen as they advance towards the town of Douma, the last opposition holdout in Eastern Ghouta

The violence resumed days after hundreds of opposition fighters and their relatives left Douma toward rebel-held areas in northern Syria.

Backed up by Russia's firepower, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has ousted his armed opponents from nearly all of Ghouta, their last stronghold on the edge of the capital.

The regime has used a combination of fierce military onslaughts and two negotiated withdrawals to regain 95 percent of the enclave, but rebels are still entrenched in Douma, its largest town.

The offensive in Ghouta has been one of the deadliest of the seven-year-long war, killing more than 1,600 civilians, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The bombing subsided and military operations appeared to be on hold for around ten days as Moscow pursued talks with Jaish al-Islam, the Islamist faction that holds Douma.

But the negotiations crumbled this week and air strikes resumed on Friday, killing 40 civilians according to the Syrian Observatory.

It could not confirm whether the strikes were carried out by Syrian government warplanes or those of its ally, Russia.

Smoke rising after Syrian government airstrikes hit in the town of Douma, in the Eastern Ghouta region east of Damascus

Syrian policemen stand guard at the site of shelling attacks by Jaysh al-Islam in Damascus on Saturday

A photo from the Syrian Arab news agency (SANA) shows a damaged minibus at the site of shelling attacks by Jaysh al-Islam

The government of President Bashar al-Assad has made no secret of its desire to capture al of the Eastern Ghouta area

Douma is the last rebel-controlled town in Syria's Eastern Ghouta, a sprawling suburb of Damascus that was once the opposition's bastion on the edge of the capital

Relatives of Syrians believed to be held by rebels wait on the Syrian government-held side of the Wafideen checkpoint as evacuations of the last rebel-held pocket of the former opposition bastion stall

A makeshift camp is pictured on Saturday in the northern Syrian town of Atareb where displaced Syrians gathered

In its offensive the regime sliced the area into three isolated pockets - each held by different rebel factions. The first two were evacuated under Russian-brokered deals last month that saw more than 46,000 rebels and civilians bussed to opposition-held Idlib province in the northwest.

Tens of thousands also fled into government-controlled territory through safe passages opened by Russia and Syrian troops.

Moscow stepped in to negotiate a deal for Douma, the third and final pocket where Jaish al-Islam had been angling for a reconciliation agreement that would allow them to stay as a police force.

Following a preliminary accord announced by Russia on Sunday, nearly 3,000 fighters and civilians were evacuated from Douma to northern Syria.

But as talks dragged on, Syria and its Russian ally threatened Jaish al-Islam with a renewed military assault if they did not agree to withdraw.

It remains unclear exactly why the talks fell apart this week. They were reported to have faltered when Jaish al-Islam refused to release detainees they were holding in Douma, adding that the military assault would only stop if hostages are released.

Others have pointed to internal rebel divisions over the withdrawal process.

Top Jaish al-Islam political figure Mohammad Alloush on Friday blamed power struggles between the regime's allies.

'The talks were going well... Their only shared interests is the blood of civilians,' he said.

Buses carrying families of fighters from the former rebel bastion of Eastern Ghouta arrive at a checkpoint in northern Syria
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German police found party firecrackers, an ornamental Kalashnikov, an AK47 and the blank cartridge gun he used to shoot himself at the flat and in the minibus belonging to the man who mowed down diners before shooting himself yesterday.

Two people died and dozens were left injured, six critically, after the vehicle was driven at high speed towards families outside the popular Grosser Kiepenkerl bar in the university city of Munster, 300 miles west of Berlin.

Authorities have identified the two fatalities of Saturday's crash as a 51-year-old woman from the county of Lueneburg and a 65-year-old man from the county of Broken. Their names weren't given as is customary in Germany.

Terrified diners watched as the driver, named locally as Jens R, 48, who lived in a Munster flat, shot himself with the cartridge gun later found by police inside the vehicle after the attack at 3.27pm local time.

German media reports say the man is believed to be a German national with 'psychological problems' and no links to any terrorist organisations. Local reports claim he had been in contact with far-right groups, but was not an extremist himself.

Prosecutors say they still have no indication why a 48-year-old man drove a van into a crowd of people.

In a joint statement with police, prosecutor Martin Botzenhardt wrote Sunday that 'as of now, we don't have any leads regarding a possible background for the deed.'

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A body is loaded into a vehicle in front of a restaurant in Munster, Germany, on Sunday, after a vehicle crashed into a crowd

German police have reportedly found a Kalashnikov at the home of the man who ploughed a minibus (pictured) into a crowd of people and shot himself dead, killing two people and injuring 20 others in Munste

Night-time images show the dark grey Volkswagen van that ploughed into crowds of people in Munster, killing two and injuring dozens.

Officers searching the perpetrator's van (pictured) suspected it was booby-trapped after reportedly finding a pistol connected to a wire leading underneath the van's floor carpeting

He had a dozen firecrackers in his vehicle and more in his flat, leading police to believe that they were explosives which turned out to be a false alarm, as they were in fact normal celebration firecrackers.

Officers searching his grey Volkswagen van suspected it was booby-trapped after reportedly finding a pistol connected to a wire hidden underneath the inside carpeting.

Police are also investigating reports that two other people escaped from inside the van after the crash.

Dramatic pictures showed the area of Munster's old town strewn with broken tables and chairs, while onlookers ran for their lives.

The city's old town has been cordoned off while detectives investigate reports that two others escaped from the vehicle after the crash.

Police have reportedly found a Kalashnikov at the home of the man who ploughed a minibus into a crowd of people and shot himself dead (forensic investigators pictured at scene), killing two people and injuring 20 others in Munster

Forensic investigators are pictured scouring the scene of today's deadly vehicle attack in the university town of Munster

German forensic experts (pictured) are scouring the scene where a man ploughed a minibus into a crowd of people and shot himself dead, killing two people and injuring 20 others in Munster, Germany

Officers in protective clothing are pictured at the scene where a man ploughed into crowds with a van in Munster, Germany

Armed officers are pictured patrolling the police cordon in Munster's old town where two people were killed and 20 injured

Terrified diners watched as the driver shot and killed himself inside the vehicle at 3.27pm local time. Officers are still guarding the scene

Emergency vehicles are pictured after night fall in Munster with the scene of the attack still cordoned off

Police and fire teams worked into the night after the deadly vehicle attack at 3.27pm on Saturday in Munster

A fire engine is seen near the Grosser Kiepenkerl bar in Munster's old town where a van killed two people and injured 20

Broadcaster ZDF said the driver had contact with far-right extremists, but there was no evidence thus far that he was a far-right extremist himself. Pictured: investigators work into the night to uncover more about the deadly attack

Candles are pictured at the scene of the van attack that killed two and injured 20 in the old town of Munster on Saturday

Tributes and candles were laid at the scene of Saturday's van attack where two people were killed and 20 injured

Munster van attack: What do we know so far? German authorities have for now ruled out a connection to Islamist terrorism after a man rammed customers on a restaurant terrace, killing two people, but much remains unclear about the incident. Here is what we know so far: What happened? A small van spend into a crowd of customers and staff at outdoor tables belonging to a restaurant in the historic centre of Munster in north-west Germany at 3.27pm on Saturday, killing two. German media reported that those killed were waiters at the 'Grosser Kiepenkerl' restaurant not far from the city's cathedral. Some 20 people were wounded, around ten of them 'seriously', interior minister of North Rhine-Westphalia state Herbert Reul said. The driver stopped the van immediately after the impact, shooting himself inside the vehicle according to police. Who was the driver? The driver was 'a German, and not, as has been claimed everywhere, a refugee or something like that,' Reul said. Matching reports from several German media outlets said the attacker was a man aged around 48 with psychological problems. Television news reported that he had recently attempted suicide and made known that he planned a more spectacular attempt. Several reports pointed to a past of petty crime and drug dealing. The man was employed as an industrial product designer and struggled with problems at work. Broadcaster ZDF said he had known connections with far-right organisations, while new website Spiegel Online reported an assault rifle was found at his Muenster apartment close to the scene of the crime. Investigators found a 'suspicious object' in the van, which Die Welt newspaper reported was a pistol connected to a wire leading underneath the van's floor carpeting. Suspecting a booby trap, the police called in bomb disposal experts. What motivated the attacker? There is so far no clear indication of the attacker's motive. But authorities said they had ruled out an Islamist background to the act. Germany has been on especially high alert for such terrorist attacks since a Tunisian asylum seeker rammed a truck into crowds at a Berlin Christmas market in December 2016. 'There is no indication at the moment that there is any Islamist connection,' state interior minister Reul said. Police will attempt to determine whether the driver wanted to commit a 'murder-suicide', taking other people with him in the process of killing himself. Did the perpetrator act alone? Police initially said witnesses had spotted potential accomplices exiting the van immediately after the attack. But there is so far no evidence to back up this theory. Police locked down a wide area around the scene of the attack immediately afterwards, but gradually opened some roads up to traffic again as evening drew in. Source: AFP Advertisement

Saturday's attack came on the anniversary of the Stockholm attack, when five people were killed and 14 injured after a stolen beer truck drove into a crowd in the Swedish capital last year.

It also served as a painful reminder of a similar vehicle assault on a Christmas market in Berlin on December 19 2016, which left 12 dead and 56 injured.

The perpetrator behind the Munster incident is believed to have attempted suicide in the past and struggled with mental health issues and problems at work.

Police worked through the night scouring his apartment, located 1.2 miles away from the scene of the carnage in the Kiepenkerl square.

German media reported they found an AK47 assault rifle at Jens R's flat, where neighbours were told to stay inside while specialist police investigated.

People grieve after laying down flowers in front of a fountain with the Kiepenkerl, a traditional merchant figure from the Muensterland, in front of the restaurant Kiepenkerl in Muenster

A woman lays down flowers in front of the restaurant Kiepenkerl in Muenster, western Germany, a day after a van crashed into people drinking outside the popular bar

A man brings flowers to the place in Muenster, Germany, Sunday, where a vehicle crashed into a crowd, killing two people and injuring 20 others before the driver of the vehicle shot and killed himself inside it

The van crashed into people sitting in front of Munster's famous Grosser Kiepenkerl bar, which is popular with tourists, in the spring sunshine this afternoon.

Police and fire rescue teams quickly descended on the old town area, as SWAT teams prepared to raid the 48-year-old driver's home.

State Interior Minister Herbet Reuel spoke in the city in the hours after the attack, confirming two people died, revising the earlier police figure of three.

He said German police believe the driver was a German citizen and hit out at misinformation being spread online, claiming a refugee was responsible.

He stressed that the investigation was at an early stage but said 'at the moment, nothing speaks for there being any Islamist background'.

'We have to wait, and we are investigating in all directions,' Mr Reul said, adding '[he] willfully drove into a crowd of people.'

Broadcaster ZDF said he had contact with far-right extremists, but there was no evidence thus far that he was a far-right extremist himself.

Elsewhere German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she was 'deeply shaken' by today's event.

'Everything possible is now being done to clarify the facts and to support the victims and their relatives,' she said.

A man shot himself dead after ploughing a minibus (pictured) into a crowd of people in the German city of Munster, killing two people and leaving 20 injured on Saturday afternoon

A van (pictured bottom right) ploughed into crowds of people in Munster, west Germany killing two people and injuring dozens more today

German police are pictured in the city of Munster this afternoon after a van drove into a crowd of people killing two and injuring dozens more

Armed police were seen wearing balaclavas in the immediate aftermath of the attack in Munster, west Germany today

The perpetrator behind today's attack (police pictured surveying the scene) is believed to be a middle-aged German man with 'psychological problems' and no links to any terrorist organisations

Members of German special forces are pictured outside the apartment of the driver, 48, who killed two people in Munster

Officers (pictured) are currently searching the driver's apartment for explosives and also investigating reports that two other people were seen fleeing the van after the crash

Armed officers swooped the scene outside Munster's famous Kiepenkerl bar and statue today after the deadly attack

In the immediate aftermath of the attack one eyewitness told the local MDR TV channel: 'I heard a loud, dull blow and simultaneously people cried out, 'Oh my God!' A minute later, patrol cars were already there.'

A student named Lena, 21, told Bild newspaper: 'I was bike riding with friends when suddenly crying, screaming people came running towards us. 'Get away!' they shouted.

'Someone has driven into people, there is a terror attack.' We got out of there and didn't see much but feared another bomb would blow up or that we would be shot at.'

Meanwhile Munster's university hospital called on citizens to donate blood to help them treat the injured.

There were more police than usual in the city on Saturday to monitor a protest by Kurdish demonstrators that took place near the scene of the incident.

After the carnage unfolded, police officers also said they were investigating witness reports that two other perpetrators may have fled from the van.

A video emerged on social media from an unidentified area of the city showing armed police shouting at a man to 'get down' in English.

SWAT teams are pictured preparing to raid the dead driver's apartment in the city of Munster after he drove into crowds

Police (pictured) are currently searching the driver's apartment for explosives and also investigating reports that two other people were seen fleeing the van after the crash

The suspect is seen putting his hands in the air and dropping to the ground before officers with guns surround him. His identity and link to the incident is not yet known.

The Kurdish protest took place near the city's main train station, only a short distance away from the Kiepenkerl square, just before the attack.

Matt Scoville, 23, who lives in Munster, told MailOnline locals were speculating about two suspects on the run.

He said: 'I saw the 30 or 40 police officers and their vans around 3.15pm and wondered what was going on.

'But after I'd gone inside I started to get messages from friends saying 'don't go out, there's been a car bomb and two people are on the run.' I was terrified.'

Restaurant chairs and tables are seen strewn across the area outside Munster's famous Kiepenkerl statue and pub

Several police vans could be seen in the centre of the picturesque medieval city of 300,000 people as the carnage unfolded

Police cordons are in place as a wide-scale investigation descends on the city. Officers say they are not looking for any more suspects and the 'danger appears to be over'

Munster's Lord Mayor Markus Lewe said his sympathies were with victims and their families.

He said: 'The whole of Munster mourns this terrible event, our sympathy goes out to the relatives of those who were killed, and we wish the injured people fast and speedy recovery.'

A spokeswoman for German Chancellor Angela Merkel says 'our thoughts are with the victims and their families' who were killed and injured when a vehicle crashed into a crowd in the western German city of Munster.

Spokesman Ulrike Demmer on Twitter called the crash Saturday 'terrible news.'

'I am shocked by the news from Munster,' said Andrea Nahles, parliamentary leader of the Social Democrats, junior partner in Chancellor Angela Merkel's ruling coalition.

French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted: 'All my thoughts are with the victims of the attack in Muenster. France shares in Germany's suffering.'

Erich Rettinghaus, chairman of the German police trade union in North Rhine-Westphalia, said: 'There was always a latent high risk of attack throughout Germany. Now it has also hit our state.

'We were fortunately always able to prevent planned assassinations and attacks in advance, but it has not succeeded this time.

'It is now necessary to clarify and, above all, to arrest accomplices to this crime and to prevent further possible outrages.'

Six people are in critical condition and dozens more are injured after the vehicle was driven at high speed towards families outside a traditional German restaurant in the university town, 300 miles west of Berlin

Emergency vehicles were scrambled to the scene after reports of the attack spread through the city in western Germany

It is not yet known if the incident is terror related, but it comes after a wave of deadly vehicle attacks across western Europe

Rescuers are pictured waiting for more information on the deadly incident in Munster's old town this afternoon

Firefighters pictured walking in downtown Munster, Germany today after several people were killed by a van

Police (pictured) are investigating reports that two other people were seen fleeing the van after the crash

Fire engines are pictured ready to back up police after a van crashed into crowds outside restaurants in Munster

It is not yet known if the incident is terror related, but it comes after a wave of deadly vehicle attacks across western Europe

Munster is approximately 300 miles west of Berlin in the North Rhine-Westphalia region of Germany

Vehicle attacks to hit Europe in the last four years German police have not yet revealed a motive for the attack in Munster, but it comes after a wave of deadly vehicle attacks in western Europe. Here MailOnline looks back at similar incidents across the continent over the last four years: April 7, 2018 - A man drives a van into a group of people sitting outside a restaurant in the old city centre of Munster in Germany, killing several of them before taking his own life, police say, a year to the day after the Stockholm truck attack. March 23, 2018 - A gunman kills three people in southwestern France after holding up a car, firing on police and taking hostages in a supermarket, screaming 'Allahu Akbar'. Security forces storm the building and kill him. Aug 17, 2017 - A van ploughs into crowds in the heart of Barcelona, killing at least 13 people, a regional official says, in what police said they were treating as a terrorist attack. June 3, 2017 - Three attackers ram a van into pedestrians on London Bridge then stab revellers in nearby bars, killing eight people and injuring at least 48. Islamic State says its militants are responsible. May 22, 2017 - A suicide bomber kills 22 children and adults and wounds 59 at a packed concert hall in the English city of Manchester, as crowds began leaving a concert by U.S. singer Ariana Grande. April 7, 2017 - A truck drives into a crowd on a shopping street and crashes into a department store in central Stockholm, killing five people and wounding 15 in what police call a terrorist attack. March 22, 2017 - An attacker stabs a policeman close to the British parliament in London after a car ploughs into pedestrians on nearby Westminster Bridge. Six people die, including the assailant and the policeman he stabbed, and at least 20 are injured in what police call a 'marauding terrorist attack'. Dec 19, 2016 - A truck ploughs into a crowded Christmas market in central Berlin, killing 12 people and injuring 48. German Chancellor Angela Merkel says authorities are assuming it was a terrorist attack. July 26, 2016 - Two attackers kill a priest with a blade and seriously wound another hostage in a church in northern France before being shot dead by French police. French President Francois Hollande says the two hostage-takers had pledged allegiance to Islamic State. July 24, 2016 - A Syrian man wounds 15 people when he blows himself up outside a music festival in Ansbach in southern Germany. Islamic State claims responsibility. July 22, 2016 - An 18-year-old German-Iranian gunman apparently acting alone kills at least nine people in Munich. The teenager had no Islamist ties but was obsessed with mass killings. The attack was carried out on the fifth anniversary of twin attacks by Norwegian mass murderer Anders Breivik that killed 77 people. July 18, 2016 - A 17-year-old Afghan refugee wielding an axe and a knife attacks passengers on a train in southern Germany, severely wounding four, before being shot dead by police. Islamic State claims responsibility. July 14, 2016 - A gunman drives a heavy truck into a crowd celebrating Bastille Day in the French city of Nice, killing 86 people and injuring scores more in an attack claimed by Islamic State. The attacker is identified as a Tunisian-born Frenchman. June 14, 2016 - A Frenchman of Moroccan origin stabs a police commander to death outside his home in a Paris suburb and kills his partner, who also worked for the police. The attacker told police negotiators during a siege that he was answering an appeal by Islamic State. March 22, 2016 - Three Islamic State suicide bombers, all Belgian nationals, blow themselves up at Brussels airport and in a metro train in the Belgian capital, killing 32 people. Police find links with attacks in Paris the previous November. Nov 13, 2015 - Paris is rocked by multiple, near simultaneous gun-and-bomb attacks on entertainment sites around the city, in which 130 people die and 368 are wounded. Islamic State claims responsibility. Two of the 10 known perpetrators were Belgian citizens and three others were French. Jan 7-9, 2015 - Two Islamist militants break into an editorial meeting of satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo on Jan. 7 and rake it with bullets, killing 17. Another militant kills a policewoman the next day and takes hostages at a supermarket on Jan. 9, killing four before police shoot him dead. May 24, 2014 - Four people are killed in a shooting at the Jewish Museum in central Brussels. The attacker was French national Mehdi Nemmouche, 29, who was subsequently arrested in Marseille, France. Extradited, he is awaiting trial in Belgium. Advertisement

In the immediate aftermath, police confirmed there had been casualties but did not immediately say what happened.

'There are deaths and injured. Please avoid the area, we are on scene,' the regional police service wrote on Twitter.

Interior Minister Herbert Reul is pictured making a statement on today's attack in the old town area of Munster

Where is the city of Munster? It is understood a vehicle ploughed into a crowded pub near the Kiepenkerl statue in the old town Munster is a city of around 300,000 in North Rhine-Westphalia, to the west of Germany near the border with the Netherlands. Around a fifth of the population are students, and there are four universities within the city. It is also known as the bicycle capital of Germany. The city is famous for its Friedenssaal (peace hall) in the city hall, where some treaties within the Peace of Westphalia were signed back in October 1648. These treaties ended both the Thirty Years War, the war between the Habsburgs and their Catholic allies and various Protestant powers including Sweden, and the Eighty Years War between Spain and the Dutch Republic.

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Police vans flooded downtown Munster as they rushed to deal with the situation and emergency services warned people to stay away from the area

Ambulances also rushed to the scene following reports that at least 30 people were injured in the incident
Dr Noel Fitzpatrick is the rock god of the animal world, a man whose remarkable ability to perform apparent miracles with sick animals  including Meghan Markles beagle Guy  has guaranteed a meteoric rise to superstardom on both sides of the Atlantic.

Fitzpatrick is a vet, but hes no ordinary vet. The man dubbed The Supervet is about to head out on a live tour, Welcome To My World, where his fans will pack out venues more used to hosting the Arctic Monkeys or Noel Gallaghers High Flying Birds.

His Channel 4 show, where beloved cats and dogs (and the occasional hedgehog) are given his specially designed prosthetic or bionic limbs  inspired by science-fiction characters such as Wolverine and X-Men  to prolong their lives, has endeared him to millions of viewers, astonished by tales of pets such as Peanut (see panel below).

Dr Noel Fitzpatrick, known as The Supervet, pictured with Peanut the Bionic Cat is about to go on a two-month nationwide tour following the success of his Channel 4 show

Dr Noel Fitzpatrick, pictured, with Queen Elizabeth, left, has a host of celebrity fans

Russell Brand, Monty Don and Chris Evans have all had pets treated by Fitzpatrick, with Evans describing him as a pioneer and genuine genius.

Brands dog was cured of a crippling hip injury and Dons golden retriever, Nigel, was brought back from the brink of total paralysis with a strict regime of hydrotherapy, a special brace to keep one of his back legs in the correct position and limited exercise. Don has described Fitzpatrick as a miracle-maker.

Fitzpatrick is only too aware of the power pets have over their human companions. Pets are part of the family, and if your pet is ill, you will go to any lengths to try to fix it and I will go to any lengths to sort the problem  whether its creating a special piece of metal to put into a bone or just working out a different way to look at an injury. I wont stop until I find a solution, he says.

Radio 2 presenter Evans sought out Fitzpatrick in 2008 to treat his German shepherd, Enzo, who vets said would have to be destroyed after two herniated discs left him paralysed. Enzo now has a bionic spine with two bolts (known as SpondyloFitz bolts because they were invented by Fitzpatrick) holding together his vertebrae. Evans showed his gratitude by helping Fitzpatrick get his show on TV  2010s The Bionic Vet on the BBC. Fitzpatrick now appears on The Supervet, which is in its fourth year, on Channel 4.

Dont be surprised if Fitzpatrick is invited to next months Royal Wedding (though he might not have time to go). He was asked to treat Markles beloved beagle for two broken legs in the wake of an accident. Even the Queen has fallen under his spell. At a special lunch for eight individuals who had made a difference to the world of science and medicine, this son of a poor Irish farmer found himself seated at her right-hand side.

Chris Evans brought his dog Enzo - named after the founder of Ferrari - to see Dr Noel

I was blown away, he says. She knew all about me. She was unbelievably knowledgeable on the subject of One Medicine [an approach to medicine that aims to merge human and animal research and treatment]. We talked a lot about what would happen if her corgis got cancer and how human treatments could help. And we also had a good laugh. I was completely humbled that the Queen of England would be so interested in someone like me.

Fitzpatrick, with his dark, rugged looks, penchant for bear hugs, Irish brogue and poetic language, has the air of a cult messiah. Once brutally bullied and dismissed by his peers as a thick culchie (bumpkin) because he was almost illiterate at the age of 11, he has developed more than 30 ground-breaking techniques in veterinary surgery, including new joint-replacement technologies, limb amputation, prosthetics for limb salvage and fracture repair systems.

He also has honorary doctorates and professorships at three leading universities as well as a place in the Guinness Book Of Records for being the first vet to successfully attach two prosthetic paws to a cat  Oscar  in 2009, when the two-year-old had his hind paws chopped off in an accident with a combine harvester.

The stories we tell [in the new show] are about the animals and their families, he says. But I get so many letters  particularly from kids  asking why I did an operation like I did. How I made a particular prosthetic limb and why it is so important to me. I want to get that all out there. I want to explain not just what I do but I want people to know why I do it and why animals are so important to me.

It will be a mix of science, music, technology and storytelling. Nothing like this has ever been done before but then no one had thought to rebuild a cats paw before I did it. Its just something I want to do.

He will perform 20 shows across the UK and Ireland to tens of thousands of fans, culminating with a night at the O2 Arena in London on November 25.

Fans will see a virtual 3D operation and hear his life story and a message of love and hope as the show follows the fortunes of three animals and their families who arrive for treatment at his clinic.

The situations are always extreme, with the television cameras shadowing the families throughout the consultation, surgery and recovery.

But it is the way Fitzpatrick deals with animals, such as the three-legged dog Daphne who was rescued from Thailand, that makes the show so unique. In another segment, we learn that his inspiration for how to treat a naughty dachshund, Frankie, who suffered with a deformed front foot, came from the design of an ice-cream scoop.

Fitzpatricks mission is to give both animals, and the people they live with, hope. So its ironic that aged 11, little Martin Noel Galgini Fitzpatrick, from Ballyfin in County Laois, had no hope at all.

Part of a tiny percentage of local day boys taken in for free schooling at an expensive boarding school run by the Patrician Brothers  a Catholic organisation that educates young people  he knew on his first day that his life was going to be hell.

I had been in a tiny village school where we did basic handwriting and reading and basic maths, he says. But I was in a classroom full of smart boys from Dublin who knew so much more than me, I was the dumb idiot. The joke. I suffered a tsunami of hurt and pain at that place that made my life a living hell.

In the end it wasnt the physical pain and the violence I hated. It was the emotional trauma, the downright cruelty because there was a general consensus that I was worth nothing.

His only comfort was his dog Pirate. And at night he would wipe his tears on the dogs comforting coat. Bereft of friends, he would sit and make up stories with his canine pal, where they would work together to save other animals.

I was obsessed with The A-Team and MacGyver [a secret agent who was also a scientific problem-solver and always carried duct tape and a Swiss Army knife], he says.

My stories were about a superhero called Vetman and that was the very beginning of everything I do now. Id watch MacGyver on a television that required 50p pieces to make it work, and he would fix a car with a piece of tinfoil and a box of matches. It made me think I could fix anything and I just took that attitude into my work.

Fitzpatrick is a mesmerising storyteller, largely because his tales are so full of extremes. He pushed through his school, excelling in science and the arts, went to University College, Dublin, became a vet and spent years on farms (having cows s**t on my head).

Monty Don, pictured, took his dog Nigel to see Dr Fitzpatrick - dubbed The Supervet

Today he is devoted to finding a solution to every veterinary problem no matter how crazy that solution might sound. But loss, too, is a challenging part of his work.

There are those cases when things dont work or there is nothing that can be done. And we have to deal with it  loss is part of the show.

He works 16-hour days, sleeps in a side room in his veterinary clinic in Surrey, recites poetry and song lyrics with unnerving regularity and is not afraid to cry. Although he occasionally goes on dates and has a thing for Keira Knightley (he named his Norfolk terrier after her), at 50 he has never married. He is also  despite his TV fame  by no means rich. Fitzpatrick Referrals, his vet practice, has a multi-million-pound overdraft to pay for the state-of-the-art MRI scanners, hydrotherapy pools and operating theatres he has designed for his work.

He has also turned down hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of pet advertising offers because integrity is worth far more than money. And although he is now a bona fide sex symbol, he looks distinctly uncomfortable at the mention of this. I dont know what to say, he says with a flush creeping at the edges of his salt-and-pepper-stubbled jaw. Im not a sex god. Its my message I want people to pay attention to, not my physical representation.

Fitzpatrick has many messages he wants to get across in this ambitious, and somewhat surprising tour. I want to mix it up. I want people to know that even if people dismiss you at school, even if you are bullied, you can go on to make things happen. If he makes any money it will be pumped into his Humanimal Trust (which promotes his One Medicine message).

After an hour in his company, the whole idea of his tour, his life story, even his bionic 3D stage animals and his music, makes absolute sense. Or as he puts it: Trust and it will happen.

Three Noel 'miracles Noel Fitzpatrick has invested a range of ground-breaking protheses to replace animals' lost limbs A pair of purr-fect new legs for Peanut Peanut was born with deformed front legs, so his owner took him to Noel when he was one. After a CT scan, Noel and his team used a 3D printer to create a pair of implants and, after the amputation of Peanuts paws and the bottom of his front legs, the implants were inserted. It was the first time this type of prosthesis had been applied to both front legs of a cat, echoing Oscar, who was the first for a cats hind legs. Result: Peanut now adores exploring outside. Peanut was born with deformed front legs and his owner took him to Noel for help Cookie walks again Eighteen-month-old cocker spaniel Cookie had been partly paralysed in her back legs since birth. In 2014 it was discovered she had a cyst pressing on her spinal cord but the nerves were so damaged that its removal caused no improvement. She also had hip dysplasia and osteoarthritis. Fitzpatrick gave her two prosthetic feet, two hip replacements and physiotherapy and hydrotherapy. Result: Cookie will live a normal-length, pain-free life. Cookie the dog has undergone two hip replacements and has two prosthetic feet Lulu the bionic rottweiler The six-year-old rottweiler cross could not stand or walk and had to be carried in a sling. Fitzpatricks team developed custom-made spinal implants which Fitzpatrick fitted in a 12-hour operation. Result: Within two days, Lulu could walk again. Lulu the rottweiler received custom-made spinal implants to help her walk again Advertisement
Emanuele Castano, 43, was accused by a 23-year-old The New School student identified in court papers as Jane Doe of grooming her for sex while she was still recovering from cancer. Undated photo

A psychology professor accused of grooming a student before making her pregnant was allowed to quietly resign rather than be fired, it has been claimed.

Emanuele Castano, 43, was accused by a 23-year-old The New School student identified in court papers as Jane Doe of grooming her for sex while she was still recovering from cancer.

Doe completed her undergraduate studies at Greenwich Village University with a 3.7 grade-point average while having treatment, but is suing the New School over claims she can't focus on work as she is traumatized from her encounters with Castano.

Doe claims Castano, a divorced father from Italy, gave her alcohol and marijuana after having her round for dinner with his son on March 3 last year, according to papers filed at Manhattan Supreme Court and seen by the New York Post.

She said the professor then 'advanced himself on me, but didn't stop to ask me whether I was OK with this,' when the boy had gone to bed.

Doe continued sleeping with Castano but believes she was exploited as she was still recovering from lymphoma.

Doe claims Castano (pic in an undated image) gave her alcohol and marijuana after having her round for dinner with his son on March 3 last year, according to papers filed at Manhattan Supreme Court

The broke up after Castano began sleeping with a post-doctoral student.

When Doe became pregnant, allegedly with Castano's child, he tried to bribe her with a research position in Italy, the suit claims.

Doe believes officials at The New School took too long to investigate her case, despite an earlier allegation of sexual misconduct in 2012 and claims Castano once had an orgy with lab students.

Castano was able to resign last fall and moved to Stanford University, where he was fired after the claims came to light.

Castano told DailyMail.com that, 'I am not aware of any previous complaint brought against me. On the contrary, female students who have worked with me for years have issued the following statement: "...Several of us were adrift in other labs and sub-disciplines before taking a class with Dr. Castano. His obvious concern for the academic development of all students created an atmosphere in which we felt inspired. His generous and welcoming spirit created a sense of community in which we felt comfortable and supported. For many of us Dr. Castanos tutelage is a primary factor in our success at The New School."

The New School told Dailymail.com: 'It is our policy not to comment on pending litigation.

'The New School has no tolerance for sexual harassment and misconduct by any member of the university community.

'We take our responsibility in these matters very seriously and investigate all complaints.'
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Sweden's royal family was moved to tears as hundreds mourned at a memorial concert on the first anniversary of the Stockholm truck terrorist attack that killed five people and injured 14 others.

King Carl XVI Gustaf, Queen Silvia, Crown Princess Victoria and her husband Prince Daniel all attended the event in Kungstradgarden and sat alongside heroic emergency service members.

Princess Victoria cried as Swedish musicians gave tribute to those killed when a stolen beer truck smashed through the busy shopping street of Drottninggatan on April 7 last year.

Swedish Crown Princess Victoria sheds a tear as hundreds mourned at a memorial concert on the first anniversary of the Stockholm truck terrorist attack that killed five people and injured 14 others

Princess Victoria and her husband Prince Daniel all attended the event in Kungstradgarden and sat alongside heroic emergency service members

King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia walk to a private led by Adolf Fredrik Church led by Reverend Annika Millde (right)

Prime Minister Stefan Lofven addressed the crowd including family members of those killed in ISIS sympathiser Rakhmat Akilov's rampage.

'It has been a year of sorrow and absence but amidst all of that I also understand that you carry your bright memories and all of that which created love,' he said, according to Sweden's The Local.

'I hope those of you who are mourning can feel the love, support and solidarity of the entire country. We are here for you. You are not alone.'

Mr Lofven then turned to the firefighters, police, paramedics, doctors and volunteers who rushed to help the injured and arrest suspects at the scene and afterwards.

'You have shown what a sense of duty, sacrifice and courage mean. You are a source of pride for our nation,' he said.

ISIS sympathiser Rakhmat Akilov rammed a stolen beer truck through pedestrians on a busy shopping strip in Stockholm before he was arrested

Princess Victoria chats to firefighters who responded to the terrorist attack on April 7 last year

Prime Minister Stefan Lofven, two firefighters, Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel applaud performances at the memorial concert

Mr Lofven shakes hands with Prince Daniel after he addressed the crowd including family members of those killed in ISIS sympathiser Rakhmat Akilov's rampage

'It has been a year of sorrow and absence but amidst all of that I also understand that you carry your bright memories and all of that which created love,' he said

'I hope those of you who are mourning can feel the love, support and solidarity of the entire country. We are here for you. You are not alone,' he said

Mr Lofven laid flowers at a makeshift memorial at the site of the attack, joining a stream of citizens paying their respects.

The royal family later attended a private service at Adolf Fredrik Church led by Reverend Annika Millde, who remembered it as a day that changed many lives forever.

'Many still carry the sounds, smells and images that remain... We saw the street become the scene of a disaster, then saw it fill with sorrow, flowers and compassion. Eventually we tried to make it our street again,' she said.

Candles were lit after the ceremony and described as lights of hope, then carried out of the church by police officers, nurses, ambulance staff and others.

Swedish musicians gave tribute to those killed when a stolen beer truck smashed through the busy shopping street of Drottninggatan

Mr Lofven laid flowers at a makeshift memorial at the site of the attack, joining a stream of citizens paying their respects

A huge number of flowers were laid on steps near the site of the attack on the shopping street last year

A woman attaches a red rose to a wall at the memorial for victims including an 11-year-old girl

Another woman wipes tears from her eyes as she crouches next to the memorial after laying flowers

The young girl was one of five killed in the attack alongside 14 who were badly injured when the truck ploughed through the street

A little boy holds a rose after others were put on to of a lion statue in the square near the site of the attack

Mr Lofven and Ulla Lofven attend the tribute to victims of Stockholm terrorist attack along with Reverend Annika Millde (right)

Swedish Christian Democrats politician Ebba Busch Thor walks to the service for terror attack victims

Akilov, a failed Uzbek asylum seeker, pleaded guilty in February to terror-related murder and attempted murder ahead of his trial ending on May 9.

The 39-year-old said he wanted to punish Sweden for participating in the international coalition against ISIS in Iraq and Syria.

Five people were killed - a British man, a Belgian woman and three Swedes, including an 11-year-old girl.

Briton Chris Bevington, 41, was working as a director with music streaming service Spotify and was based in Stockholm with his family when he died.

Akilov, a failed Uzbek asylum seeker, pleaded guilty in February to terror-related murder and attempted murder using this stolen beer truck ahead of his trial ending on May 9
A scooter gang armed with sledgehammers and swords have broken into a luxury watch shop on Oxford Street.

Six thieves wearing black helmets and motorcycle gear stormed Watches of Switzerland this morning, stealing an unknown amount of high-end jewellery.

Using a red scooter as a battering ram, they forced open the shop doors before ransacking the department store.

A scooter gang flees Watches of Switzerland on Oxford Street after a daylight raid, taking bags of luxury items with them

In shocking footage one of the group paces across the pavement waving a two-foot-long sword at passers-by.

Two of the group were able to enter while the other four remained on the street. However, those two became trapped behind the door.

Those outside are seen trying to open the doors so they can escape from the smoke-filled shop. Eventually they do so and flee down Oxford Street.

The area outside the upmarket store has been cordoned off while police investigate.

A red scooter, used as a battering ram and left abandoned, was seen being examined by forensics police.

No arrests have been made, the Met has said.

The group of six stole an unknown amount of jewelry from the high-end chain which stocks brands like Rolex and Cartier

Smoke appears to fill the store as the group flee on their scooters down Oxford Street

Ransacked: Photos taken in the aftermath of the raid show rows of luxury items missing

The smash-and-grab thieves were armed with sledgehammers which they used to break through the door of Watches of Switzerland

A spokesperson for the Met said: 'Police were called to a commercial property in Oxford Street at 0951hrs on Saturday, 7 April to reports of a robbery in progress.

'At this early stage it is believed that a number of persons on scooters, possibly armed with metal bars, forced entry to the door of the venue and may have stolen stock from within.

'No persons are thought to have been injured during the incident. Officers remain at the venue and a crime scene is in place.

The heist occurred in broad daylight on a busy Oxford Street this morning. The Met said no arrests have been made and officers are attending the scene.

The shop is seen filled with smoke as one of the group attempts to force their way out after becoming trapped

One of the men is seen brandishing two swords at passers-by who stray too close

A single red scooter was left behind after the raid. In shocking footage the bike is used to force open the door to the outlet

After two of the group emerge from the shop the group flee, leaving one scooter behind on the street. Smoke billows from the door to the shop

'Westminster Police investigate. No arrests. Anyone who witnessed this incident or has footage of the incident taking place is asked to call Westminster Police on 101 quoting reference CAD2484/7APR.'

This is not the first time the shop was targeted by smash-and-grab thieves. Only last week a group forced their way into the store.

And in 2015 two raiders made off with 40,000 worth of jewellery from Watches of Switzerland on Brompton Road in Knightsbridge in an early morning robbery.
A hijab-wearing Texas nurse was beaten, stabbed and called a 'sandn****r' by a white man after he tried to sideswipe her as she was driving home from work.

The 31-year-old nurse from Houston, Texas, who has not been named, was driving home early Thursday morning when the incident occurred, according to the Houston chapter of the civil rights advocacy group Council on American-Islamic Relations.

The nurse  described as being white herself  was wearing an Islamic headscarf, or hijab, when she was nearly sideswiped by a red SUV, the organization said in a press release.

A Texas nurse, 31, said a man hurled Islamophobic invective before hitting and stabbing her in the arm with a knife, nicking an artery. She had to have the artery cauterized and get stitches

The woman then pulled over and exited her car to check for damage, at which point, she said, the red SUV made a U-turn and pulled up behind her car.

She said she thought the SUV's driver had turned around so that he could check on her well-being.

Instead, she said that he got out of his SUV and began shouting at her using Islamophobic slurs, including 'Oh my God, its a raghead,' 'Its an f**king raghead,' 'sand n****r' and 'desert monkey'.

The nurse then attempted to get back inside her car, but was unable to do so because her passenger side door was locked.

She said the SUV's driver then started waving a knife in her face, before using the knife's handle to hit her shoulder and arms.

One of the SUV's passengers attempted to restrain the nurse's alleged attacker, but was unable to do so before the man stabbed the nurse in the arm.

The stab wound severed an artery, 'resulting in loss of blood, some of which got on the attacker', CAIR told the Houston Chronicle.

The alleged attack occurred in on a road not too far away from the nurse's hospital

The nurse was driving home from her shift at the North Cypress Medical Center when she said she was attacked. She drove herself back to the hospital for her knife wound treatment

Both the SUV driver and his companion then returned to their car and fled the scene. The nurse drover herself back to her hospital, North Cypress Medical Center, where she had the artery cauterized and the stab wound was stitched up.

The nurse, who is married and a mother, initially thought the attack was road rage, according to ABC13.

The nurse described her attacker and his companion as being white men, between 20 to 35 years old. She said the man who stabbed her had neck and arm tattoos.

The Harris County Sheriff's Office said that her alleged attacker was 5'8" tall, of a thin build, weighing about 175 pounds. He has dark hair and was wearing a white t-shirt and dark pants at the time of the incident. The attacker's companion was said to have been also of a thin build and wearing a white t-shirt and dark pants.

CAIR Texas-Houston is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of what it called 'an apparently bias-motivated attempted murder.'

Anyone with any information about the incident should call the Harris County Sherrif's Office at (713) 221-6000.
A West Australian family is preparing to say goodbye to their beloved son and brother, weeks after he was injured in a Thailand scooter accident.

Ben French, 36, was involved in a Koh Samui crash in late March, and despite initial hope for a recovery, is now expected to succumb to his injuries at the Royal Perth Hospital.

A GoFund Me page set up by Mr French's family raised over $90,000 for the local business owner to be Medevaced home, but his condition deteriorated upon arrival.

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Ben French, 36, was involved in a Koh Samui crash in late March, and despite initial hope for a recovery, is now expected to succumb to his injuries at the Royal Perth Hospital

A GoFund Me page set up by Mr French's family raised over $90,000 for the local business owner to be Medevaced home, but his condition deteriorated upon arrival

It is thought the Fremantle local tragically suffered two strokes after touching down in Perth - following previous signs of improvement.

On the GoFundMe page, Mr French's brother Kyle Malkus revealed the devastating update earlier today.

It was also where Mr Malkus previously described his brother as a 'kind-hearted, adventurous, hardworking and loving son, brother and friend'.

It is thought the Fremantle local and business owner tragically suffered two strokes after touching down in Perth - following previous signs of improvement

Despite the severity of the initial injuries sustained, it is a brain injury turned septic that now has doctors worried

'With his heart still beating and his body still receiving oxygen the fight is still on. We are still hoping for a miracle, regardless of the extent of his injuries and the complications which are continuing to arise,' Mr Malkus said in the update.

The injuries he refers to include brain trauma, a broken spine, punctured lungs, broken ribs in addition to severe skull damage.

Despite the severity of the initial injuries sustained, it is a brain injury turned septic that now has doctors worried.
Brittany Zamora, 27, a teacher from Arizona, has been accused of having sex with a 13-year-old student on three occasions and performing oral sex on him in a classroom

An Arizona sixth-grade teacher accused of having sex with her 13-year-old student has pleaded not guilty to charges against her in court Friday.

Brittany Zamora, 27, was arrested last month after the parents of the boy discovered her lewd messages on their son's phone.

She was arrested on March 22 and charged with two counts of molestation of a child, nine counts of sexual conduct with a minor, one count of furnishing harmful material and one count of public sexual indecency.

Friday morning in Maricopa County Superior Court she pleaded not guilty to the charges, according to AZCentral.

From February 1 to March 8 Zamora had sex with the boy multiple times and performed oral sex on him in the classroom at Las Brisas Academy Elementary School in Goodyear as well as in her car.

She also sent naked pictures of herself to the boy, according to the Arizona Republic.

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In Maricopa County Superior Court Friday morning, pictured above, she pleaded not guilty to the multiple charges against her for molestation and sexual conduct with a minor

At her initial court appearance on March 30 (pictured above), Zamora said: 'I'd love to go home to my husband.' The child's parents have slammed Zamora and called her a 'monster'

A week after her arrest the parents of the victim broke their silence to call Zamora a 'monster'.

The boy's father, who asked to remain anonymous, told AZFamily: 'You teach your kids there's no such thing as monsters at all. But in the real world, there are monsters. Brittany Zamora is a monster.'

According to the stepmother, who also asked not to be named, Zamora began grooming her pupil using a classroom group chat.

'It just progressed from there,' she said. 'He was taken advantage of. She was just using him for her own grotesque benefits.'

Court documents state Zamora had sex with her student on three occasions and performed oral sex in the classroom and in her car between February 1 and March 1.

The father added: 'A big thing for us is that we want people to understand, just because it's a boy makes no difference.

'It's the same. It's a 13-year-old child who got taken advantage by a monster. I want her to spend the rest of her life in prison.'

The boy's parents recently claimed Zamora's husband Daniel called them and begged them not to report his wife to police after they saw her sexual texts, saying she had made a mistake.

During one text exchange, which presumably followed one of the pair's alleged sex romps, the boy wrote that he wanted to have sex with her again.

'I know baby! I want you every day with no time limit,' Zamora was alleged to have responded to him, reported AZcentral.com.

She also allegedly wrote to him: 'If I could quit my job and (have sex with) you all day long, I would,' according to court records.

Zamora had been at Las Brisas Academy Elementary School for less than a year

When interviewed by police, the boy claimed his relationship with his teacher started when Zamora began 'flirting' with him in a classroom chat group.

A second student later came forward to police saying he had witnessed Zamora having sex with the 13-year-old and admitted to receiving naked photos from the woman as well.

The parents of the alleged victim told police that Zamora's husband 'harassed' the father over the phone, begging him not to go to the authorities and insisting that his wife had 'made a big mistake, but that she loved the kids,' according to the documents.

Daniel Zamora also allegedly suggested that he and the boy's dad 'meet up' and 'settle this,' but the parent turned down his offer and hung up on him.

Zamora made her initial court appearance on Friday, telling a court commissioner: 'I'd love to go home to my husband.'

She was arrested on March 22 with bond was set at $250,000.

Her next court hearing is May 18.

The boy's parents learned of the alleged inappropriate relationship after an app they used to monitor their son's text messages alerted them to certain key words of a sexual nature, officials said.

They took screenshots of the texts, which reportedly implied the relationship was physical and had taken place both on and off school grounds.

The teacher married Daniel Zamora, who she knew since she was 16, in 2015

'The text messages found are sexual in nature [and] allege an ongoing relationship between the two,' said Lisa Kutis of the Goodyear Police Department.

Superintendent Dr. Richard Rundhaug said school officials asked Zamora to come in to the school for a meeting with the principal on Thursday but she was arrested before.

'While employee privacy law does not allow us to comment on the employee issues, we have taken the corrective steps to separate the students and staff member,' the school said in a statement posted to their website.

Zamora had taught at the Goodyear school for less than a year.

According to Fox10, Zamora was known by parents as a wife and teacher of the year. They said she was the 'most sought-out' sixth-grade teacher.

Zamora was taken into custody hours after the boy's parents reported the relationship to the school principal

Students who spoke to the local media outlet said Zamora's relationship with the student in question seemed irregular.

'We all had suspicions, because they were really close,' one unnamed female student told Fox10. 'I hoped it was just rumors going around school.'

She married Daniel Zamora, whom she has known since she was 16, in 2015. They don't have any children.

'From the moment we first saw each other, we had been falling for one another. So, it was only appropriate to ask Brittany [to marry me] while falling; a.k.a. skydiving,' Daniel wrote on a blog about his over-the-top marriage proposal.
The Department of Homeland Security wants to compile a database that would contain the information of hundreds of thousands of journalists, editors, bloggers and other media influencers, a contract request by the department reveals.

On April 3, a DHS request surfaced on FedBizOpps.gov saying the department was seeking 'media monitoring services'.

According to the posting, the NPPD/OUS (National Protection and Programs Acquisition Division/Office of the Under Secretary) want 'to monitor traditional news sources as well as social media, identify any and all media coverage related to the Department of Homeland Security or a particular event.'

Department of Homeland Security is compiling a database of hundreds of thousands of journalists and media influencers

DHS posted a contract request seeking 'media monitoring services' and wants to track more than 290,000 news sources including online, print, broadcast, cable, radio, trade and industry publications

The request said NPPD 'has a critical need to incorporate these functions into their programs in order to better reach Federal, state, local, tribal and private partners.'

The document also states that the NPPD's mission is to 'protect and enhance the resilience of the nation's physical and cyberinfrastructure'.

DHS said the successful contracting company should be able to track more than 290,000 global news sources as well as social media in over 100 languages, including Arabic, Chinese and Russian, for instant translation into English.

According to Bloomberg Law, the list will include journalists, correspondents, social media influencers and bloggers and will monitor online, print and broadcast outlets as well as cable, radio, trade and industry publications.

The department also requested that the database is browsable by 'location, beat and type of influencer' and for each influencer, the contractor should 'present contact details and otherinformation that could be relevant, including publications this influencer writes for, and an overview of the previous coverage published by media influencer.'

DHS press secretary Tyler Houlton tweeted that it was a normal process to monitor current events

The request comes as president Donald Trump continues to attack media labeling stories about him and his presidency as 'fake news'

The DHS request has drawn some criticism and panic but department press secretary Tyler Houlton tweeted that it was a normal process to monitor current events.

'Despite what some reporters may suggest, this is nothing more than the standard practice of monitoring current events in the media. Any suggestion otherwise is fit for tin foil heat wearing, black helicopter conspiracy theorists,' he posted.

The request comes as president Donald Trump continues to attack media labeling stories about him and his presidency as 'fake news'.
An Imam who was shot in the arm moments after leading evening prayers says three thugs gunned him down in the street before fleeing in a BMW.

The 47-year-old, who asked not be be named, was one of two men shot on Portland Road in Luton about 9.50pm on Thursday night.

Two local men, aged 30 and 32, were arrested on Saturday morning on Blundell Road, Luton, on suspicion of attempted murder.

An Imam who was shot in the arm moments after leading evening prayers says three thugs gunned him down in the street before fleeing in a BMW

Two local men, aged 30 and 32, were arrested on Saturday morning on Blundell Road, Luton, (pictured) on suspicion of attempted murder

The father of a young son was released from hospital hours after he was shot, sporting a heavily-bandaged forearm with 11 shotgun pellets still lodged in it.

He had just left the Masjid al Madani mosque when the black BMW 4-series stopped next to him, he thought to let him cross the road.

'Then the driver started reviving the engine. I stopped in front of the car turned to say what are you doing,' he said.

'He got a bit vexed by that and that's when I saw the passenger on the back seat pull out a shotgun to show me.'

The Imam said the gunman fired two shots, the first two missing him before the third struck him - though he didn't realise at the time.

'The car turned right Portland Road and started to drive away and I chased after it. I managed to pick up a brick and I smashed the windscreen,' he said.

The Imam had just left the Masjid al Madani mosque (pictured) when the black BMW 4-series stopped next to him, he thought to let him cross the road.

The father of a young son was released from hospital hours after he was shot near his mosque (pictured), sporting a heavily-bandaged forearm with 11 shotgun pellets still lodged in it

'I couldn't keep up with it and further along the road is when the other man was shot I understand a pellet has gone into his eye although I didn't see it happen.'

The Muslim teacher said the occupants of the car were three black men aged in their mid-20s to early 30s.

The powerfully built Imam, who kept fit by working out three times a week, said it was only when passers-by came to his aid that he realised he had been shot.

'People came up to me and said you are bleeding and that's when I saw my arm and the blood,' he said.

An ambulance was quickly on the scene and he was taken to the Luton and Dunstable Hospital for treatment.

He said it was only when he was in hospital that he found out a second man was been and badly wounded, allegedly by the gunmen.

The Imam thought he heard five shots ring out after the car sped around the corner, presumably aimed at the second victim who remains in intensive care.

'Who goes round shooting at people like this? They are cowards. I wasn't targeted, it was just random, it's madness' he said.

'There is a lot of concern in the community, people are infuriated by what happened as you would expect.

'I had to present myself to Friday Prayers at the mosque to reassure everyone and calm everyone and to tell them the police were dealing with the situation.'

The Imam said the gunman fired two shots, the first two missing him before the third struck him - though he didn't realise at the time

Portland Road is a residential street in the Bury Park area of Luton where many Muslim families live, and also has several small car repairs workshops and tyre fitters

Portland Road is a residential street in the Bury Park area of Luton where many Muslim families live, and also has several small car repairs workshops and tyre fitters.

The Imam said there hadn't been any similar incidents in the street and the shooting had 'just come suddenly out of the blue'.

He said he must return to hospital in the next few days when it will be decided what to do about the 11 pellets still embedded in his right forearm.

'That's the other problem because at the moment I've been told I can't go to the gym,' he said.
A Brit holidaymaker has been rushed to hospital after plunging from a second-floor balcony in Magaluf.

The 24-year-old man believed to be from Manchester fell more than 20 feet in the 6am plunge this morning.

It is thought to be the first fall of its kind so far this year involving a British tourist in the party resort.

A Brit holidaymaker has been rushed to hospital after plunging from a second-floor balcony in Magaluf (file photo)

June is usually the worst month for balcony plunges in Magaluf.

The fall happened at the Nova Apartments, in the heart of the resort just a stone's throw from brash Punta Ballena where local authorities have declared war on drunken tourism with fines for badly-behaved tourists.

The injured holidaymaker has not been named. His life is not in danger, although the full extent of his injuries have not been revealed.

Police sources confirmed he was a British 24-year-old.

One said: 'He fell around 22 feet from a second-floor balcony in circumstances which are still being investigated.'

A local emergency services worker added: 'The alarm was raised a few minutes after 6am today'

'The injured man was taken to Son Espases Hospital in the Majorcan capital Palma.'

Magaluf mayor Alfonso Rodriguez Nadal announced last month Calvia Town Hall, which covers the Punta Ballena area, intended intensifying its fight against drunken tourism this year.

Last year he told British tourists hurting his town hall's attempts to improve the resort's image: 'We don't want you here' and called on party bars to do away with 'Happy Hours.'

Magaluf has a reputation as a party island, with thousands of young Brits fleeing there every year

He said the idea that the worst tourist is 'the one that doesn't come' needed to be consigned to history.

And he called on bar owners in areas like Magaluf party strip Punta Ballena to stop offering alcohol at knockdown prices and commit to ongoing efforts to reconvert the holiday hotspot.

His comments came after a string of incidents involving British tourists which have threatened to derail attempts to distance Magaluf from its traditional Shagaluf nickname.

Magaluf's reputation took a devastating nosedive four years ago after a British teenager was filmed performing sex acts on a string of men in a bar - and has been trying to recover every since.

Council chiefs and entrepreneurs have been working hard to turn things around since with the launch of new hotels, infrastructures and leisure facilites, coupled with a crackdown on bad behaviour with new by-laws to tackle bar crawls, street drinking and public nakedness.
Justin Webb, 57, presents Radio 4s Today programme. He lives in London with his wife Sarah Gordon, a company director, and their three children  twins Martha and Sam, and Clara, 14.

Last weekend, Martha and Sam turned 18 and we hosted one hell of a party. It was the best since Jeremy Bowen  the BBCs Middle East Editor  invited me to his leaving party in London before he moved to Jerusalem in 1996, which was where I met my wife.

But back then I had a Chelsea bachelor pad and Jeremy drove an Alfa Romeo Spider  things have changed. In those days, the promise of a party meant far more than vintage wine and reminiscent chatter. Now, you want happy faces and laughter, but something more, too. A sense  forgive me if I sound pretentious  of something holistic. Something into which everyone fits.

BBC Radio 4's Justin Webb, centre, held a 'multi-generational' party at the family home to celebrate the 18th birthday of his twins Martha, left, and Sam, right

Justin said the celebration was the best party he attended since his BBC colleague Jeremy Bowen, pictured, had a bash ahead of his move to Jerusalem in 1996 as Middle East editor

We opted for a multi-generational party to which we invited Martha and Sams grandparents; a handful of their teenage friends and their fiftysomething parents, family friends whom we have known for years and their eight- and nine-year-old children, and several neighbours  all of varying ages. In total, we welcomed about 50 people into our South London home and it was fantastic.

Humans are designed to live among each other  not just with friends and neighbours in similar stages of life, but in a real, proper mix. In an age of anxious youngsters (recent reports show that children as young as four have mental-health issues) and chronically lonely older people, this is surely part of the solution. A sort of therapy provided by love and shared jokes.

We topped the whole thing off with a short film we made ourselves (filmed on phones) in which we asked a range of those there to mime the words to the opening song of the film La La Land, Another Day Of Sun. It was a thing of magic, watching grandparents and grandchildren miming the same joyous words as we foot-tapped along. Luckily, Ive got a good video editor in the family (Sam, who is about to study creative writing at university, knows a thing or two about this stuff).

We live in a society where young and old do too little together. Other cultures manage it: we need to mix up the generations. It would ultimately lift the stress among the young and the old.
Residents in northwest Oklahoma were shaken awake Saturday by four separate earthquakes.

The U.S. Geological Survey Survey (USGS) reported that the largest of the four registered a 4.6 magnitude and hit at 7:16am near Covington, Oklahoma. The USGS website shows reports from as far away as Kansas City Missouri, which is about 300 miles (480 km) from the quake. It was also felt in Joplin Missouri and in Wichita, Kansas.

According to the Associated Press , Mike Honigsberg, the Emergency Management Director for Garfield County Oklahoma says that there have been 'no reports of injury or serious damage following the quakes.

The US Geological Survey tracked all of today's earthquakes which hit in the same part of Oklahoma.

The threshold for earthquake damage generally starts at 4.0. Saturday's four earthquakes follow three on Friday in the same area.

There has been an increase in temblors in Oklahoma in recent years, and scientists say this is linked to the oil and gas industry practice of fracking, injecting water deep below the the earth's surface in search of oil and gas.

The process of injecting fluid into the ground to get oil, as seen in this file photo taken near Oklahoma City is believed to be causing earthquakes

The authors of a study published in February in the journal Science, found that they could predict the strength of earthquakes, by measuring the depth of wastewater injection.

They found that the deeper the injection the stronger the earthquake.

The USGS has seen a bit of a decline in the number of Oklahoma earthquakes, and attribute that to a decrease in fluid injection. But in their 2018 predictions the Survey noted that 'the short-term hazard for damaging ground shaking across much of Oklahoma remains at high levels due to continuing high rates of smaller earthquakes that are still hundreds of times higher than at any time in the States history.'

Oklahoma is also experiencing a rare April snow storm today, which lead many in the state to take to Twitter. One resident tweeted, 'there was an earthquake this morning, its snowing now, and the temps are in the 80's a week from now. Oklahoma?? You alright??'

While seismic activity isn't tied to the weather, it does make for an 'interesting' day

This Oklahoman had a little fun with the strange phenomenon hitting the state.
Colin Pitchfork after his arrest. He raped and murder two Leicestershire schoolgirls in 1983 and 1986

One of Britains most evil child killers has been freed to spend nights away from jail for the first time in 30 years.

Double murderer Colin Pitchfork, who has been lapping up days out on temporary licence, has now won the right to unsupervised overnight stays in the community.

His victims families have slammed the decision as 'horrifying'.

Pitchfork, who raped and killed two 15-year-old schoolgirls, is expecting a permanent release from prison in two months.

As he prepares for his new life he is being allowed 'night settlement,' a Ministry of Justice spokesperson confirmed.

Pitchfork, 58 - the first person ever to be snared by DNA evidence - has already been freed to roam the streets during unmonitored days our to look for a job and home.

The killer was pictured on a six-hour solo shopping trip in November last year which signalled the first steps in his bid for freedom.

Kath Eastwood, mum of one of his young victims Lynda Mann, fears he will always be a danger to the public.

'Hell never reform, hes still not safe and hell strike again,' she said. 'Hes playing the system and trying to be the model prisoner to win his freedom.

'He should remain locked up for life. Im horrified hes out there somewhere and at night.'

Yesterday it was reported Pitchfork could walk free from prison after a parole hearing next month.

Lynda Mann (left) and Dawn Ashworth (right) were attacked by Pitchfork. Their bodies were found on dark, secluded footpaths located yards apart in Narborough

He was jailed for life in 1988 for raping and murdering Leicestershire schoolgirls Lynda Mann and Dawn Ashworth in 1983 and 1986.

Pitchfork, known to police as a serial flasher, attacked the girls and dumped their bodies on dark, secluded footpaths located yards apart in Narborough.

He raped and strangled Lynda after dropping his wife off at an evening class and while his baby son slept in the back of his car.

Three years later he raped and murdered Dawn in a similar attack.

The killer was the first criminal to be caught by the revolutionary DNA profiling process pioneered by Sir Alec Jeffreys at the University of Leicester.

Police carried out the first ever mass screening of DNA, analysing blood samples of 5,000 local men to find a match against material found on the girls' bodies.

Pitchfork tried to beat the system by persuading a colleague at the bakery where he worked to give a sample in his place.

But the deception was uncovered after the colleague was heard bragging about it in the pub.

Pitchfork was jailed for a minimum of 30 years at Leicester Crown Court, reduced to 28 years on appeal.

After serving his sentence, he was pictured last year in Bristol city centre on unaccompanied day release from an open prison, relaxing on a park bench.

Pitchfork (left) on unaccompanied day release in Bristol city centre last year. The family of his victims fear he may soon be permanently freed

Now his victims' families fear he could walk free for good when he goes before a parole board on May 24.

The hearing will be held in private but the decision as to whether Pitchfork is safe to be permanently released will be made public.

Lynda's sister Rebecca Eastwood said her family believes the killer will be cleared for full release, the Leicester Mercury reported.

Relatives have collected about 40,000 signatures on petitions calling for him to remain in jail.

Rebecca told the Leicester Mercury: 'He was allowed out in Bristol city centre without any kind of escort late last year and, we were told this week, he's been out overnight on his own as well since then.

'So, by the look of it, they have already made their minds up about him.'

She added: 'We are still living with the loss and the consequences of what he did to Lynda and Dawn and still believe it is not safe to release this man.'

The Ministry of Justice revealed last year that Pitchfork was allowed out of custody under supervision, and shortly later that he was ready for unescorted days out.

He was photographed walking around Bristol at the end of October - one of an unknown number of occasions he has been out of custody unaccompanied.

If released, Pitchfork would remain on licence for the rest of his life and he would not be allowed to enter Leicestershire or approach the girls' relatives.

Fears he will walk free come as plans to release John Worboys were halted following an appeal against a parole board's decision that he was ready to leave prison.

The London cab driver was convicted in 2009 of 19 charges related to druggings and sexual assaults against 12 women.

His case has highlighted concerns about a lack of transparency in the parole system as reasons for reaching decisions are not made public.
Benjamin Douglas Morrow, 28, blew himself up on March 5 in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin

A man who blew himself up in his apartment last month had a crude bomb lab, guns and 'white supremacist literature' in his bedroom, court documents have revealed.

Benjamin Douglas Morrow, 28, died on March 5 in his Beaver Dam, Wisconsin apartment. His body was found buried in rubble in front of an electric stove, court documents unsealed on Thursday reveal.

No one else was injured or killed in the explosion. Despite the findings, investigators have not yet drawn a conclusion about Morrow's motives or confirmed any active ties to groups.

State investigator Kevin Heimerl said he found 13 jars of the explosive triacetone triperoxide, or TATP, in the home, along with bomb-making instructions.

TATP has been used in a number of ISIS terror attacks in Europe. It is made with common household items and difficult to detect, but highly unstable and prone to detonate unexpectedly.

For that reason the explosive compound is known as the 'Mother of Satan'.

Damage is seen to Morrow's apartment following the explosion that killed him as well as a controlled detonation to try to neutralize the 'Mother of Satan' explosives

Before officials blew up the apartment building and burned down the wreckage to eradicate any trace of the explosive, investigators searched Morrow's heavily damaged apartment.

'Within his bedroom, literature has been found concerning white supremacy groups,' Heimerl wrote in a warrant reported by WISN.

It is unclear whether Morrow identified as a white supremacist. The warrant does not provide specifics about the literature or groups, and officials declined to provide more information.

The finding prompted a search of Morrow's electronic devices to see if he was acting in concert with anyone.

Also in Morrow's apartment, investigators found three long guns, two handguns, more than 2,000 rounds of ammunition, a ballistic helmet and vest, and masks, the warrant says.

After experts warned that traces of TATP remained, the city took the unusual step of burning down the entire 16-unit apartment building in a controlled burn (seen above)

Morrow was born in was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa went to Pensacola Christian College in Florida, graduating in 2013 with a degree in pre-pharmacy and minors in chemistry and math.

He was 'an avid reader, enjoying history books especially' and enjoyed hiking, climbing and weight-lifting, according to an obituary.

'He accepted Jesus as his personal Saviour at the age of 4 1/2' the obituary added.

From 2014 to last year, Morrow worked as a scientist at PPD Inc. in Madison, a research company specializing in drug development.

Most recently, he worked for Richelieu Foods in Beaver Dam, which makes private label frozen pizzas and salad dressing.

Co-workers there told the Fond du Lac Reporter that Morrow often came to work smelling like mothballs, which investigators said could have been an attempt to disguise the odor of working with explosive material.

He had only been living in the apartment for about two months before the explosion.

Before the burn, FBI bomb techs retrieved some property in other units, including important papers, jewelry, money and other family heirlooms

Investigators said they are not currently seeking other individuals in the matter but the investigation remains open to follow any leads.

Dodge County District Attorney Kurt Klomberg said no one has been referred to his office for prosecution.

Two days after the explosion, officials tried to destroy the remaining TATP with a controlled detonation.

After experts warned that traces of the chemical remained which may pose a hazard, the city took the unusual step of burning down the entire 16-unit apartment building in a controlled burn captured on video by Fox6 News.

Before the burn, FBI bomb techs retrieved some property in other units, including important papers, jewelry, money and other family heirlooms.

Klomberg, the district attorney, told the Reporter that he stood by the decision to burn the building but that it was very difficult to see residents have 'much of their lives burned up.'

'It was one of the most heart-wrenching things that I have been involved in,' he said.
Four people were killed and more than 100 were arrested Saturday morning when police in Rio de Janeiro raided a militia group's headquarters.

The state's public security secretary Richard Nunes said the police operation, dubbed Medusa, took place at a ranch in the Rio de Janeiro neighborhood of Santa Cruz.

The suspects were having a party at the ranch, which was the headquarters of a militia group.

Public Security Secretary of Rio de Janiero Richard Nunes said four people and 149 were injured in a raid Saturday morning at a militia group's headquarters

The raid came three weeks after city council member Marielle Franco was fatally shot by two masked men on March 14

Nunes said four people at the ranch were killed when the operation ended in a shootout. Officials have not released information on the suspects.

An additional 149 people, included seven minors, were arrested.

Police are still going through the items recovered at the ranch, but an initial estimate included a dozen rifles, 19 pistols and 15 stolen vehicles, as well as several grenades, handcuffs and replicas of police and military uniforms.

The operation is part of a crackdown against militia groups in the state. Nunes said other actions are being planned and will be carried out soon.

Rio is still reeling from the fatal shooting of city council member Marielle Franco, who was gunned down in her car by two unidentified attackers on March 14. It's not clear if the raid and Franco's death are related.

Franco's driver Anderson Pedro Gomes was also killed

Police said two men in a car fired nine shots into the vehicle carrying the 38-year-old Brazilian politician. Her driver, Anderson Pedro Gomes, was also killed. A press officer in the backseat of the car was injured but survived.

Official said they believe Franco was targeted and Nunes said a 'full investigation' into her death would be conducted.

In February, Brazil's federal government put military in charge of police in Rio in an effort to crack down on violence.
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Conor McGregor went straight to the offices of a bail bondsman who paid $50,000 for him to be released from jail on Friday after being let out of custody and posed happily for photographs with fans inside.

After being released from custody on criminal mischief and assault charges which were filed when he was caught throwing a metal hand truck at a bus that was carrying a group of rival MMA fighters, the 29-year-old went to the offices of Ira Judelson in Brooklyn, New York, on Friday afternoon.

Once inside, he posed for a photograph with Judelson's teenage son and was polite to everyone inside, DailyMail.com can reveal. Members of the star's team enlisted Judelson after he was arrested for criminal mischief and assault late on Friday.

Despite being worth an estimated $84million, McGregor did not have access to the $75,000 cash handy that he needed to get both him and his friend Cian Cowley, who was also arrested and had his own bail set at $25,000, out.

A wire transfer from Dublin could have taken up to two or three days, Judelson explained. Once his case is settled, the court will return the money to Judelson. McGregor and his team have already paid the $7,500 10 percent fee the bail bondsman demands.

Once he was released on Friday, despite spending the last day in a Brooklyn jail cell and with his fighting career in jeopardy, McGregor 'couldn't have been nicer', Judelson said.

He is still in New York City but is free to go back to Ireland and is expected to in the next few days.

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Conor McGregor is pictured posing with 14-year-old Casey Judelson, the aspiring MMA fighter son of the bail bondsman who posted $75,000 for him and his friend Cian Cowley on Friday after their arrest following his attack on bus full of rivals

The 29-year-old fighter is seen leaving the offices of Ira Judelson in Brooklyn, New York, on Friday afternoon

'He understands his responsibilities and is thankful that he was out.

'He had been locked up from 10pm on Thursday to 5pm Friday and so he wanted to go back to the hotel, freshen up and take a shower.

The exterior of the bail bondsman office in Brooklyn is seen above

'He is happy he can go back and forth to Dublin and see his child and family,' he said.

He is now free to return to Ireland but must inform Judelson if he comes back into the US before June 14, when he is due back in court.

His priority throughout their meeting was ensuring that Cowley would also be taken care of, he said.

'He was worried about Cian, when he came in he looked at him and asked if he was OK,' Judelson said.

It is normal for bail bondsmen to be enlisted by wealthy people if they get arrested, especially if they are overseas, purely because of the cash requirement.

'Conor isn't walking around with $75,000 in his pocket. Most of that money might be in Bank of Dublin.

'For them to wire that kind of money could take two days,' Judelson explained.

McGregor flew over on a private jet, presumably on Thursday, in order to support Artem Lobov, another fighter who has become entangled in a feud with one of the MMA fighters now vying for McGregor's vacated lightweight belt.

McGregor was officially stripped of the title by UFC President Dana White on Wednesday after failing to defend it since he claimed the title in 2016.

Instead, he spent all of 2017 preparing for his lucrative, circus-like showdown with Floyd Mayweather which took place in Las Vegas last summer.

Video taken from inside the bus shows the moment McGregor threw a metal hand truck at one of its windows while the fighters were onboard

McGregor ran around the bus as it was driving away then grabbed the dolly which was sitting on the loading dock of the Barclays Center

This is the moment of impact when it struck the left-hand side windows of the bus, smashing the glass

McGregor is pictured being led out of the 78th Precinct in Brooklyn on Friday after spending the night in a cell

Mixed Martial Arts fighter Cian Cowley, a friend of McGregor, was also arrested in the incident and led out of the 78th Precinct in handcuffs on Friday morning

McGregor's arrest mugshot appears on this prisoner transfer slip as he was moved from holding to a court date on Friday

The 29-year-old was stoney-faced during a bail hearing at Brooklyn's Criminal Court on Friday afternoon

On Saturday night, Al Iaquinta and Khabib Nurmagomedov, the Russian who is apparently at odds with Lobov, will go head-to-head for it.

It is not clear exactly what Nurmagomedov's fight with Lobov is about but that is the purported reason for their unexpected jaunt to the Big Apple.

Fighter Michael Chiesa had glass smash in his face and has had to pull out of his Saturday night fight because of it

McGregor, in support of his friend, chartered a private jet for them to travel on to make the trip.

On Thursday night, he, Lobov, Cowley and others made an unexpected visit to the Barclays Center to confront some of the men who will now fight for his former title.

It is unclear exactly what drove his anger but part of it is rumored to be related to a feud between a member of his camp and Russian fighter Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Nurmagomedov was on the bus when McGregor hurled the hand truck at its windows, smashing one of them.

His unhinged rampage was filmed by passerby and other videos taken inside the vehicle show him slamming on its side, demanding to fight.

It is not clear when he flew to New York. On the morning of the outburst, within hours of the UFC announcing its decision to strip him, he posted a tweet which read: 'Yousll strip me of nothing yous do nothing c***s.' (sic).

On Thursday night, the group of around 20 men was let into the Barclays Center by staff working there. Once inside, they went down to the loading docks where the fighters were getting on to their bus.

Videos show how McGregor's crew demanded that they come out from the bus and fight. When they did not, McGregor threw the metal dolly at one of the windows.

Khabib Nurmagomedov (left) was reportedly the target of Conor McGregor's agitation on Thursday. He is in a spat with McGregor's friend and fellow fighter Artem Lobov (right) and McGregor flew over from Ireland to 'protect' him. The pair were seen fighting in a hotel lobby the day before McGregor flew out

Lightweight Michael Chiesa suffered a laceration to his face as a result and was forced to pull from Saturday's event, the UFC announced Thursday evening.

In videos taken on board the bus, he is seen with blood streaming down his forehead.

McGregor posted this tweet on Thursday in response to the UFC's decision to strip him of his belt. It was suggested that it was to do with his outburst since Nurmagomedov is one of the fighters vying

McGregor was taken to the 78th Precinct after being arrested turning himself into police late on Thursday night when videos began spreading.

If convicted, he faces up to seven years imprisonment for the three charges.

Talk of whether he will be banned for like from UFC is rampant but an official decision is yet to be made.

Judelson, who is going to the fight on Saturday night and will see who takes his new client's vacated title, said he is confident McGregor will live to fight another die.

'I trust conor mcgregor 150 percent and I hope he gets back into the ring,' he said.
Former Miss Universe Alicia Machado has claimed Donald Trump tried to have sex with her.

The Venezuelan ex-beauty queen said she knew the US president very well but had resisted his advances.

She told Suelta La Sopa, a show on American Spanish-language TV network Telemundo, she became Trump's 'guinea pig' after he bought the Miss Universe Organisation the year she was crowned in 1996 after winning Miss Venezuela a year earlier.

Alicia Machado said she knew Trump well but resisted his sexual advances

She said she became Trump's 'guinea pig' after he bought the Miss Universe organisation. She is pictured left aged 19 with Trump in a gym and right competing in Miss Universe

She claimed he had 'disrespected' an existing contract she had signed with the owners of the beauty pageant countless times.

Asked by her interviewer if she knew Trump intimately after claiming to know him very well, she said: 'No, I know him as a person. I think that's worse.

'Often you can sleep with someone you don't know. It wasn't the case with me. I never had sex with him.'

Questioned on whether Trump had tried to get her into bed, she replied: 'There were many situations with him I have never spoken about.'

The reporter then repeated: 'He tried it on' in what appeared to be half statement half question, with Alicia replying: 'Well, yes, why would I say "no" to you.'

Donald Trump got into a war of words with Alicia during the US presidential campaign after she came out in support of Democrat candidate Hillary Clinton.

After her war of words with Trump, Machado campaigned for Hilary Clinton during the 2016 campaign

The 41-year-old, now a US citizen, claimed Trump had once called her 'Miss Piggy' after she put on weight as Miss Universe and 'Miss Housekeeping' because she was born in Venezuela.

She branded him a racist and said she had developed eating disorders because a 'powerful man' had told her she was fat.

Trump responded by calling Machado the worst Miss Universe ever and claiming she had an attitude problem.

Porn star Stormy Daniels - real name Stephanie Clifford - went on TV last month to talk in depth about her alleged night of passion with Donald Trump in 2006 after he married Melanie.

She told US programme 60 minutes Trump did not use a condom and the one-night stand started with her spanking the now-president with a magazine that had his face on the cover.

She also said she was threatened in Las Vegas in 2011 after trying to sell her story of the alleged fling.

Donald Trump said earlier this week he knew nothing about a pre-election hush money payment his lawyer Michael Cohen is said to have made to the adult actress.
Two soldiers have died after a helicopter crashed during training at Fort Campbell in Kentucky.

The devastating crash took place on Friday night and marks the fourth aviation accident this week, killing a total of seven soldiers.

The frequent accidents has spurred concern among lawmakers over the lack of air fleet funding.

The names of the soldiers will be released 24 hours after their loved ones receive notice.

The victims were members of the 101st Airborne division and were flying in an Army AH-64E Apache helicopter, according to Fox News.

Two soldiers died after their Army AH-64E Apache helicopter, example of aircraft pictured above, crashed during a routine training exercise on Friday night

The crew was undergoing 'routine training' at the time of the incident.

Fort Campbell Fire and Emergency services responded to the scene after the crash around 9:50pm.

The cause for the helicopter crash is not yet clear and is being investigated.

'This is a day of sadness for Fort Campbell and the 101st Airborne,' Brigadier General Todd Royar said.

'Our thoughts and prayers are with the Families during this difficult time,' he added.

Earlier this week the military saw one aviation accident take place on Wednesday and two on Tuesday.

The crash took place at 9:50pm during routine training at Fort Campbell in Kentucky

US Fort Campbell announced the tragic accident on Facebook, revealing that the cause of the accident is under investigation

On Wednesday near the Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada an Air Force Thunderbird pilot was killed after his F-16 aircraft crashed.

On Tuesday during a training flight in California, a Marin Corps CH053E Super Stallion helicopter crashed, killing the four crew members on board.

Also on Tuesday in Djibouti in East Africa a Marin Corps AV-8B Harrier crashed during takeoff. The pilot ejected in time and survived.

The alarming frequency of aviation crashes has stirred worry in Washington DC over funding needs for the air fleet.

'Were are going to look at each one in turn. Each one is tragic. We regret each one. We will look at them carefully. I am certainly not prepared to say that its a 'wave' of mishaps or some form of 'crisis', Marine Lt. Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie, Jr said to Fox.
Sammy Woodhous: At least 1,400 children, most of them white girls, were subjected to sexual exploitation in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, between 1997 and 2013. I was one of those children

Tyres screeching, the blue Subaru sped towards the cliff edge.

Beyond it was a sheer drop and certain death. Stop, Ash! Youre going to kill us! I screamed.

Thats right, he said. You want to finish with me, do you? Well, if I cant have you, nobody can.

The whole of Rotherham lay below us and I could see the road running out as we raced to the edge, Ashs foot pressed hard on the accelerator.

I screwed up my eyes and put my arms across my bump to protect my unborn baby.

A moment later Ash slammed his foot on the brakes and the car stopped, the front tyres only inches from the cliff.

Ash just laughed. Throwing me in the back seat, he raped me while I lay there, the tears running down my cheeks.

I was too terrified to stop him.

After all, I was just 15 years old. I had no idea that the man I thought I loved  25-year-old Arshid Ash Hussain, known as Mad Ash  was in fact a paedophile, a ringleader in one of the countrys biggest and most notorious child abuse scandals.

He had been grooming me for sex for two years.

But lying on the clifftop that day, terrified and humiliated, it was the final straw.

Everyone was smoking and drinking and so I joined in. I didnt have much because I was feeling nervous, plus it was a school night. Yet I felt spellbound in his company

At least 1,400 children, most of them white girls, were subjected to sexual exploitation in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, between 1997 and 2013.

Children as young as 11 were raped by multiple abusers, abducted, trafficked to other cities in England, beaten and intimidated by gangs of predominantly British Pakistani men.

I was one of those children.

Ash had been grooming me personally, and through his associates, since I was 14 and his hold on me was so complete that, despite his cruelty, I foolishly believed we were in love.

He would give me drink and drugs, rape and beat me, hold a gun to my head, and taunt me by having sex with other teenage girls.

In 1999, I met Ash and he captivated me. It was an ordinary night, hanging out by the local shops with friends, when he pulled up in a smart silver Astra and took us for a drive. Pictured: Arshid Hussain

The relationship devastated my family, caused my behaviour to spiral out of control and ultimately ended in me being taken into care, ostensibly for my own safety.

But most shocking of all, throughout everything, the police and social services knew what was going on.

The care authorities wrote detailed reports about Ash but did nothing to stop him. Id been catastrophically let down by the very people who should have protected me.

It took just two years for my perfect life to fall apart.

In 1999, aged 14, I was an A-grade student who dreamed of being a top dancer and came from a loving and supportive family.

My mum Julie and dad Melvin were childhood sweethearts who worked hard and doted on me and my older sisters, Kate and Lisa.

We lived in a smart, privately owned three-bedroom house on a close-knit estate.

Dad had a painting and decorating business and also owned a pool hall he had named after me.

To them, I was the perfect daughter.

The relationship devastated my family, caused my behaviour to spiral out of control and ultimately ended in me being taken into care, ostensibly for my own safety

I was bubbly, confident, intelligent and ambitious  the beautiful child whose dreams would come true; the lucky girl who would live happily ever after.

Then, in 1999, I met Ash and he captivated me. It was an ordinary night, hanging out by the local shops with friends, when he pulled up in a smart silver Astra and took us for a drive.

I never thought for one second it would change my life for ever.

He took us to a dodgy flat full of older Pakistani men. He gave us vodka and encouraged me to chill.

I was also offered a fag and a drag on a spliff.

Everyone was smoking and drinking and so I joined in. I didnt have much because I was feeling nervous, plus it was a school night. Yet I felt spellbound in his company.

He told me hed stolen cars and had recently spent some time in prison because of his mischief.

This didnt put me off; quite the opposite. I was excited by his crazy, wild side and it made him even more attractive.

Id lied that I was 16, but he didnt care. I knew you werent 16, hed said, smiling. You look way too young.

By the time he dropped me home I was floating on air.

I began meeting Ash regularly, and wed go out in the car and listen to what he called his proper love-making songs by Usher or Craig David, and buy me my favourite foods  McDonalds or chicken and chips.

Hed take me to the dingy flat, where the chairs had been replaced by a dirty old mattress on the floor and some stained bed covers.

I joked he was my walking bank machine. I felt like the luckiest girl in Rotherham.

Dad had heard rumours I was hanging out with older guys, involved in drugs and crime.

He reported it to South Yorkshire Police, but they told him it was just a family dispute between an errant teenage girl and her parents, and there was no evidence of any wrongdoing.

My dad was really angry and couldnt understand how the onus was on me, a naive and impressionable 14-year-old schoolgirl, to complain about the company I was keeping.

His gut was telling him something wasnt right and I was in danger.

Dad grounded me, but I skipped school to meet Ash. Hed take me to the dingy flat, where the chairs had been replaced by a dirty old mattress on the floor and some stained bed covers.

I didnt want to go because it was so tatty and horrible, but I did want to spend time with Ash.

After four weeks, after again sneaking out of school, we slept together.

I was wearing a horrible pink bra under my school shirt and didnt want Ash to think I was a scrubber, so I told him I didnt want to take all my clothes off.

Once it happened, Ash wanted to have sex with me every day. I wanted to please him so I hardly ever said no.

He gave me a mobile phone and I began sneaking out to meet him, using every trick in the book.

Dad bolted doors and windows to try to stop me. He told me hed found out Ash was married with two children, and was a dangerous criminal.

Other girls told me they were sleeping with him, too. I refused to believe any of it.

Within weeks of us starting to sleep together, I was pregnant.

Holding our son, James, for the first time, I can remember thinking how much I wanted to protect him from all the violence and danger Id been around. He was so precious and innocent, and he deserved so much better

In February 2000, my GP informed social services that I was 14 and the father of my child was 24 and on a probation order.

Yet, incredibly, my social services file notes that there does not appear to be a role for SS [social services] at this time.

I was hiding the pregnancy at home, and our rows were becoming terrible. My parents wouldnt get off my case.

Ash, too, was becoming more violent and possessive.

On one occasion, after he saw me talking to a boy from school, he smashed my head on the dashboard and called me a white whore.

When I threatened to leave, he vowed to kill my family.

At first, hed been pleased about the baby but then tried to make me miscarry because he didnt want to get into trouble.

One of his ideas was to beat me really badly in the stomach; another to throw me down the stairs.

Eventually he gave me a bottle of castor oil to drink in a red-hot bath and I agreed, like I agreed to everything he wanted. But it didnt work.

At one point, I ran away to be with Ash, and had been missing for a couple of days when the police got involved.

Ashs relative, Jahangir Akhtar, who went on to become deputy leader of Rotherham Council, warned Ash hed heard there would be too much police involvement if he didnt get me home sharpish.

When my parents discovered that I was pregnant, they begged me to have an abortion  and I did

Looking back, it was bizarre. Ash was told to drop me at a petrol station where police would be waiting, with assurances that he wouldnt be questioned if he did so.

Still, I was made the subject of a Police Protection Order and a note in my file said I was morally and physically in danger because Ash was known to the police and social services.

Mum was told not to let me out and call the police if she suspected I was with him.

A strategy meeting was supposed to take place at school, but it was cancelled as a result of something as simple as a burst pipe. It never happened.

Even today, I still dont know what they really knew about Ash.

Many years later when, eventually, I got hold of my file, a large section was completely blacked out, marked CONFIDENTIAL.

When my parents discovered that I was pregnant, they begged me to have an abortion  and I did.

But I went through with it for Ash, not for them, and for all their concern, the relationship with him continued.

My parents called the police every time I went out.

Dad even made an 11-page statement and gave the police my diary, which contained loads of detail about my sexual relationship with Ash.

I was just 14, remember, yet every time my desperate parents approached the authorities, the response was the same: theres nothing we can do if Sammy is not prepared to put in a complaint herself.

I understood very well by now that Ash had friends in the police and, when officers saw us together in Ashs car, nobody stopped us. Or if they did, theyd just chat to Ash.

For my 15th birthday in June 2000, Ash said he was going to take me on my first armed robbery  of a post office.

My job was to wait in the car and monitor the police radio. They left empty-handed and, fortunately, no one was hurt.

Other times, we went on petrol runs  filling up at the garage and then driving off without paying.

Yet when the police finally caught up with us  we were half naked in bed together, despite my age  I was the one who was charged, not Ash.

Police found an offensive weapon, a baton Ash had given me for protection in my handbag.

I was taken to the police station and given a formal caution. It was enough for my parents to finally agree to put me into care.

During one row, he drove his car at speed into a wall, leaving us both in hospital. Then came the terrifying clifftop threat. Driven to despair, I even tried to kill myself by stepping in front of a bus.

They couldnt keep me out of trouble and couldnt keep me safe. When I was missing, they were terrified Id be found dead.

This should have been a turning point, yet  once again  nothing really changed.

My social worker, Margaret Brown, wrote in her notes that I was seeing Ash willingly and told my parents that the social services department had no power to prevent contact between us.

With the knowledge of the social services, my foster carers allowed my relationship with Ash to continue as long as I was home by 10pm and didnt skip school.

Quickly, I became pregnant again.

Around this time there were about 20 girls from my school year who were involved with older Pakistani men, many of them among Ashs circle of friends and associates.

Later, I would read minutes from a Rotherham Council strategy meeting about my case.

Sexual exploitation was discussed but, astonishingly, police said they had no formal evidence or allegations regarding Ash.

The documents show that one youth worker thought my life was at risk. It was.

During one row, he drove his car at speed into a wall, leaving us both in hospital.

Then came the terrifying clifftop threat.

Driven to despair, I even tried to kill myself by stepping in front of a bus.

Yet it was only after Ash ended up in prison for stabbing a man with a screwdriver that I resolved finally to change everything.

Id had enough.

Holding our son, James, for the first time, I can remember thinking how much I wanted to protect him from all the violence and danger Id been around.

He was so precious and innocent, and he deserved so much better.

Yet even then, we continued to be failed by the authorities who were supposed to protect us.

Social services discussed the need for safe housing or conditions on Ashs licence  even an injunction  when he was freed. It never happened.

When Ash was released, he attacked me and my baby in a shopping centre but police took no action, claiming I was to blame because Id stopped him from seeing James.

A restraining order made no difference. Ash would sit outside my flat in his car day and night, music blaring, while the police insisted there was nothing they could do.

But in the end, it was James who rescued me, and he became my real inspiration.

I wanted to give him the world, and I wanted to be the best mum ever. It was time for a fresh start.
Madalyn Schae Arnett, 25, is charged with felony sexual battery in Franklin, Ohio

High school students have watched in court seeking the truth as their social studies teacher pleaded not guilty to having sex with a 16-year-old boy in a parked car.

Mother-of-two Madalyn Schae Arnett, 25, resigned from her teaching job at Franklin High School on Thursday after being arraigned on a felony charge of sexual battery last week in Franklin, Ohio.

'We are here to get the truth,' one student explained at the March 30 court hearing in off-camera interviews with WLWT. 'We don't want to listen to rumors, we want to find out for ourselves what happened.'

The students called the new mother Arnett 'a great teacher' and said 'she listened to us' and 'she had a big impact on us'.

Arnett's students packed the courtroom for her arraignment (pictured). 'We don't want to listen to rumors, we want to find out for ourselves what happened,' one said

Arnett pleaded not guilty at the arraignment (pictured) and is now free on $25,000 bond

Arnett, who gave birth to second daughter in the past few months, was hired by the district in August as a social studies teacher, according to Franklin school board meeting minutes.

The alleged incident occurred sometime on the week of March 19, when Arnett had sex with the student in a car parked in a parking lot somewhere in Frankline Township, Warren County Prosecutor David Fornshell told the Journal News.

School administrators grew suspicious of an inappropriate relationship and confronted Arnett.

'The teacher in question was confronted and admitted to sexting with the student,' according to the criminal complaint. 'The school obtained written statements from several students as well as the victim.'

Administrators called police, who arrested Arnett at 9.20pm on March 28 at her West Carrollton residence.

The mother-of-two Arnett allegedly had sex with a 16-year-old student in a parked car

Arnett and her partner are seen with their young daughter in the summer of 2016. She gave birth to a second daughter within the past few months

She was placed on paid administrative leave on the same day and was arraigned on March 30, when a judge explained the charge and she pleaded not guilty.

On April 5, Arnett submitted her resignation as a teacher but will remain on payroll until April 20 when she exhausts her accrued leave time.

She declined to comment to local news reporters as she left her arraignment, and is currently free on $25,000 bond.

On Friday, she waived her right to a preliminary hearing, which meant Judge Ron Ruppert automatically bound the case over to a Warren County grand jury for consideration.
Viktoria Skripal before her appearance on Russian television

The cousin of Yulia Skripal has claimed her relative wants to return to Russia with her, despite being denied a visa to come to Britain.

Viktoria Skripal was told by the Home Office her application to come to the UK to see Sergei and Yulia Skripal did not comply with the immigration rules.

She had planned to travel to Britain to take Sergei's daughter Yulia back to Russia, it was reported, and claimed her relatives only suffered from food poisoning.

After a recording of her speaking to Yulia was aired on Russian television, Viktoria insisted her cousin wants to return to Moscow, where she has boyfriend and a job.

'She has a dog here, she has a life here, she has work here, and a loved one here,' Ms Skripal told the Sunday Telegraph.

'Listen to the last minute. You can see that the child is crying, and they're taking the phone away. You think she's crying because she doesn't want to see me?'

Although the Russian Embassy and Viktoria are pushing for access to the Skripals, diplomats will only see them if the father and daughter personally agree to a meeting, a Cabinet minister said Sunday.

Viktoria Skripla at the taping of the television talk show 'Let Them Talk' in Moscow

Communities Secretary Sajid Javid said that although Russia was entitled to ask for consular access, Britain was under no obligation to grant it if the Skripals did not want to take part in the meeting.

The Kremlin has furiously demanded access to the two Russian citizens as they recover in a Salisbury hospital.

Mr Javid repeated Britain's claim that the only 'plausible' explanation for the nerve agent attack on the pair is a Russian-state attempted assassination.

He told the BBC's Andrew Marr: 'The Russians have every right to ask for access to any Russian citizen but it is up to the citizens to decide if they want to meet with the Russian authorities

'I wouldn't be surprised if they did not want to meet with the Russians.'

Mr Javid defended Boris Johnson for making lurid attacks on Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn over the Russian attack, accusing him of being a 'useful fool' for the Kremlin.

He told Marr: 'There is no doubt that Jeremy Corbyn has let the British people down. There is no question about that. But this is bigger than one person.'

Meanwhile, Viktoria has claimed she was barred entry to the UK because London authorities fear she is a 'Russian spy' but insisted as a communist she is an opponent of Russian president Vladimir Putin.

'If the British say I work for the special services, let them prove it. Show me one piece of evidence.'

She has also goaded Prime Minister Theresa May in a video message, saying: 'Dear Theresa May, Please can you as a human being help us to meet our family?

'Why are you destroying our family?... We are ordinary people... Please help us.'

The mother-of-two, who works as a chief accountant in the city of Yaroslavl, said after beginning a new job on Monday she will again apply for a visa.

But she said is likely to find an 'excuse' not to grant it adding that she wanted to Scotland Yard to 'give explanations if they are interested in something'.

The Skripals are recovering in hospital after being poisoned by nerve agent

Viktoria added that although she wanted to take her cousin back to Moscow, she said she feared she still could be in danger there.

Viktoria said: 'In this situation, with what's going on now, no one can protect her. Neither side can guarantee her safety.'

The Russian Embassy in London has expressed its disappointment to the decision to prevent Ms Skripal from travelling to the UK to visit her relatives who are recovering in hospital.

According to a communique: 'On Saturday evening the Embassy received a Note Verbale from the Foreign Office, in which it informed that Ms Viktoria Skripal had applied for visa at the British Embassy in Moscow and had been informed of the outcome.

'It seems that this Note is a formality and does not answer the questions posed by our Embassy.

'This cannot but cause regret. As such this refusal to grant a visa to Ms Viktoria Skripal to visit her cousin and uncle is disappointing.

'From our conversations with her, we gather that she very much hoped to support her family members in a difficult moment.

'Such a decision of the British authorities, as we have already said, is politically motivated, and raises a lot of questions about its reasoning.

'More and more questions to the British side arise.'

Sergei and Yulia Skripal are being treated in hospital after being found unconscious on March 4 after an attack with nerve agent, but both are no longer in critical condition.

Viktoria Skripal appeared on a talk show on Russia's Channel One and spoke briefly to journalists who had been invited to an impromptu news conference beforehand.

Ms Skripal also goaded Prime Minister Theresa May in a video message, saying: 'Dear Theresa May, Please can you as a human being help us to meet our family? '

Speaking to Newsnight on Friday she also spoke of her joy at hearing her cousin's voice but also said she is 'scared' by being caught up in the information war between Britain and Russia.

'You heard it in the recording I couldn't believe my ears and then I felt calm on the outside but a feeling of love on the inside,' she said.

'You think I'm not worried? I'm very worried. I'm scared, I'm very scared. The things people are writing, I can't shut them all up.

'They ask me questions in a way so that I answer in the way they want me to. Not how I want to. I do feel that.'

Meanwhile Russian request for a meeting with Boris Johnson to discuss the nerve agent attack on former double-agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia has been dismissed as a 'diversionary tactic' by the UK.

The Foreign Office confirmed that it had received a request from the Russian Embassy for a meeting with Mr Johnson, one of the most vocal Government critics of Vladimir Putin's regime over the attempted assassination.

The Russian government said it hoped the UK would 'engage constructively' with the request for ambassador Alexander Yakovenko to have face-to-face talks with Mr Johnson.

The latest exchanges in the diplomatic spat came as speculation mounted that the Skripals could be able to offer officers investigating the Salisbury nerve agent attack missing clues as the pair continue to recover.

In a statement posted on its website on Saturday, the Russian Embassy said 'interaction' between it and the Foreign Office was 'utterly unsatisfactory'.

They added: 'We believe that it is high time to arrange a meeting between Ambassador Alexander Yakovenko and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson in order to discuss the whole range of bilateral issues, as well as the investigation of the Salisbury incident.

'Ambassador Yakovenko has already sent a respective personal note to the Foreign Secretary.

'We hope that the British side will engage constructively and that such meeting is arranged shortly.'

Moscow has denied being responsible for the poisoning of the Skripals but the incident has plunged diplomatic relations between Russia and the West into the deep freeze.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: 'It's Russia's response that has been unsatisfactory.

'It's over three weeks since we asked Russia to engage constructively and answer a number of questions relating to the attempted assassinations of Mr Skripal and his daughter.

'Now, after failing in their attempts in the UN and international chemical weapons watchdog this week and with the victims' condition improving, they seem to be pursuing a different diversionary tactic.

'We will of course consider their request and respond in due course.'
Jennifer Blake, a former charity chief executive who advised the Home Office on tackling gang crime

An expert in youth violence has revealed the degrading and abusive treatment that girls are suffering at the hands of gang members.

Jennifer Blake, a former charity chief executive who advised the Home Office on tackling gang crime, told how girls as young as 12 are being used by their criminal boyfriends to deliver drugs, hide guns and provide sexual services.

Gang members place the girls in specific categories to dictate the roles they are expected to play and where they stand in a hierarchy of importance.

At the lowest level are line-ups, which Ms Blake explained are girls who sickeningly are pressurised to sleep with up to ten men at a time  one after the other.

One step up from this category are girls referred to as links who can be called upon at any time by her lover in the gang to sleep with him and two or three other friends.

There are also the baby mothers  young women who gang members get pregnant before abandoning them  and the girls who they are in loose relationships with.

At the top of the hierarchy are wifeys who are considered to be serious girlfriends that receive greater respect and are looked after financially.

Shockingly, Ms Blake said that girls as young as 12 or 13 have sought help at the youth charity she previously ran after being used as links and line-ups.

She explained that, as well as using younger girls for sex, gangs often use them to ferry around drugs and conceal illegal weapons in their own homes.

Detailing the depraved treatment the girls are subjected to, Ms Blake said: If the girls are line-up, there could be ten men. The men literally line up. She has sex with one then moves on to the next one, has sex with him and so on.

Then you have the links. One man might have two other men at his place and say let me call my link. Shell come up and have sex with all three men.

'The youngest girls Ive dealt with who have been links and line-ups are 12. We reported the matter to the authorities.

Even if the men know the girls are younger, they like them because theyre more naive. Those are the ones that get used to courier drugs and hold drugs in their house.

Their parents dont know theyve got an AK-something [assault rifle] lying under their bed or a bag of weed or coke because these young, vulnerable girls will do anything for these men.

A gang calling themselves #WoodGreen boast about Scores in a music video on YouTube

An ex-gang member herself, Ms Blake set up a charity named Safe n Sound in Peckham, South London, to help young people from deprived backgrounds escape criminal lifestyles.

The charity ran for 13 years until it closed last year due to lack of funding. She currently works as a young violence consultant at a school in South London.

Many of these young women are drawn into the underworld because they are attracted by the perceived glamour.

These girls want the best designer handbag, the latest clothes, and they have to have the latest, most rough and tough man as well, Ms Blake said.

But the price they pay for associating with gang members is putting their own lives in danger.

Some are beaten, raped and stabbed in attacks by rival gangs aimed at the men they are dating.

And while it is uncommon for women to be shot dead, they can be innocently caught up in the crossfire, as may be the case in the shooting of 17-year-old Tanesha Melbourne in Tottenham, North London, on Easter Monday.

Gang members appeared to claim responsibility for Taneshas death last week in a message on Instagram.

Overlaying a news story about the killing and accompanied with the hashtag NPK, referring to Tottenhams Northumberland Park gang, it said: If your chillin with my opps I aint gonna adjust my aim for you.

Ms Blake added: Its a safeguarding issue now because these girls are getting caught up in the most brutal violence and the Government needs to take action.
The daughter of Russian double agent Sergei Skripal is expected to be granted political asylum to live in Britain, The Mail on Sunday has learned.

High-level discussions about 33-year-old Yulia Skripals future were held last week ahead of her imminent discharge from hospital.

With Britains war of words with Russia growing increasingly rancorous, there are now concerns for Yulias safety should she return home.

Concerns have been raised for the safety of Yulia Skripal, who has not responded to requests from Russia to send consular staff to visit her in hospital

A new life in Britain would see Yulia and her father given new identities and secretly resettled. The 66-year-old spys condition is also improving following last months nerve agent attack.

Salisbury MP and Treasury Minister John Glen said: Given her appalling treatment at the hands of the Russian state, I would warmly welcome the offer of asylum to Yulia Skripal.

Sources have also revealed Mr Skripals 400,000 house in Salisbury may be demolished to completely expunge traces of the Russian-made Novichok nerve agent.

Sergei Skripal, a Soviet-era military intelligence officer, was branded a traitor in Russia and jailed in 2006 for selling state secrets to MI6.

He came to Britain in 2010 after a deal was struck to release him in a spy swap which also saw Western powers send Russian spies to Moscow.

Viktoria Skripal said she believes her cousin will be forced to disown Russia

Britain has blamed the assassination attempt on Russia  which denies involvement  opening a diplomatic war of words that has seen tit-for-tat consular expulsions and volatile exchanges. Yulia has not responded to requests from Russia to send consular staff to visit her in hospital.

She also told her cousin last week that she did not want her to travel from Russia to see her.

If she remains in the UK, Yulia would leave behind her mysterious fiance  named for the first time yesterday as Stepan Vikeev, 30  who has gone into hiding and had no contact with her or her family after the attack on March 4.

She would also have to say goodbye to her beloved dog Noir.

Yulia owns a flat in Moscow and a Ford Kuga car but she has no other immediate family left in Russia.

Her brother Alexandr and mother Liudmila died from health problems in recent years.

Last week Yulia called her cousin Viktoria Skripal, who was trying to secure a visa to travel from Russia to visit her relatives in hospital.

UK officials assured her that they would fast track her application.

Boyfriend 'has links to Russian security service' Yulia Skripals mysterious fiance was named last night as 30-year-old Stepan Vikeev. Reports have suggested Mr Vikeev and his mother have links to Russian intelligence. Stepan Vikeev (pictured) is being investigated by the Russian authorities He went into hiding following the nerve agent attack in Salisbury and has avoided Yulias family. It is understood he is being investigated by Moscow authorities amid bizarre claims circulating in Russia that the attack may have been a domestic dispute. Mr Vikeevs mother Tatiana Vikeeva, 61, reportedly said she did not want her son to marry the daughter of a traitor. She heads a secretive research centre  the Institute of Modern Security Problems  where it is believed her son also worked. Advertisement

But she was turned down on Friday amid fears she was being used as a pawn by Russia.

During the recorded telephone conversation, Viktoria said: If I am given a visa I need you to say Yes when you are asked if you wish to see me.

But Yulia responded: I think no, here the situation is now well deal with it later.

Last night, Viktoria told The Mail on Sunday : I fear Yulia will now be pushed to disown us and get political asylum  and we will never be able to see her and Sergei again.

The Foreign Office reacted angrily yesterday to a request from the Russian embassy for a meeting with Boris Johnson to discuss the poisonings.

In a statement on its website yesterday, the Russian embassy said interaction between it and the Foreign Office had been utterly unsatisfactory.

But the Foreign Office said: Its Russias response that has been unsatisfactory.

Its over three weeks since we asked Russia to engage constructively and answer a number of questions relating to the attempted assassinations of Mr Skripal and his daughter.

Now, after failing in their attempts in the UN and international chemical weapons watchdog this week and with the victims condition improving, they seem to be pursuing a different diversionary tactic.

A source close to Mr Johnson added that the Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov had turned down the chance for discussions.

The source said: This is just the latest in a series of Russian disinformation attempts.

This includes the Russian Government and state-owned media inventing 29 separate theories about the Salisbury poisonings.
Its the oldest stage school in the country and launched the careers of some of the biggest names in showbusiness, like Emma Bunton

Its the oldest stage school in the country and launched the careers of some of the biggest names in showbusiness, from Noel Coward and Naomi Campbell to Russell Brand and Emma Bunton.

But the famous Italia Conti fame academy faces questions about its future amid a furious family feud, allegations of blackmail and troubling claims about use of public money.

The schools prestigious headquarters near the Barbican in Central London is on the market for 16 million as it struggles under the weight of a multi-million-pound loan  and there is no new building for the school to move to.

The sale comes after a damning financial audit revealed:

l Up to 3 million was unaccounted for, as financial experts discovered mystery employees and companies which did not exist;

l More than 1 million was spent as petty cash over two years;

l At one point, the school was unable to pay staff salaries;

Published accounts warn about the schools lack of financial controls.

Italia Conti was founded in 1911 and its reputation as a proving ground for a showbusiness career sees students, who are charged 16,000 a year, flock to it. It is rated as outstanding by Ofsted and receives a 750,000-a-year dance and drama Government award.

For decades it ran with an annual surplus of 750,000 to 1 million but profits dried up years ago.

The schools prestigious headquarters near the Barbican in Central London is on the market for 16 million

Graham Sheward, a member of the family that owns and runs the school, says he is deeply concerned about its future. My mother was the principal for decades  she loved it, he said. She would be heartbroken to see what is happening.

Concerns have also been raised by Chris Pritchard, the schools former finance director, and a qualified accountant. In October 2016, he brought in forensic accountants to examine the companys books.

Mr Pritchard said: They found contractors were employed to do at least 1 million of building work and then paid in cash.

They also found VAT paid to companies that were not VAT registered and unexplained employees on the payroll.

He said: It was shocking that a school that was evidently failing financially doubled the salary of the previous principal, Anne Sheward, to 140,000, and paid two staff in charge of the finances plus the caretaker more than 250,000 a year between them.

The school points to its latest published accounts, showing it was on target to make a small profit. But the accounts include a worrying caveat, known as an emphasis of matter, which draws attention to weaknesses and failures in internal control procedures. It adds: Certain expenditure included in the financial statements may have been excessive.

Mr Pritchard said that by June 2016 the schools bank was saying there was no money to pay staff, and he arranged a 7 million loan.

Graham Sheward (pictured with his sisters), a member of the family that owns and runs the school, says he is deeply concerned about its future

He then tried to sell the schools Barbican building for 19 million in August 2017  and was suspended, accused of making deals without keeping the directors informed.

Mr Sheward has fallen out with his three sisters Gaynor Sheward, and Anne Sheward  the former principal  and Samantha Newton, the current principal. The sisters are the companys three directors.

The Shewards parents bought the school in 1964 and it is overseen by the trustees of their fathers estate, which is the majority shareholder.

Mr Sheward is angry at his sisters for pulling out of a plan for relocation to Egham, Surrey, which, he says, would have secured the schools future. The sisters say the relocation was unaffordable.

Gaynor Sheward accuses Mr Sheward of attempting to blackmail them by threatening to go to the papers, claiming he has private reasons for seeking to damage the reputation of the school. The Mail on Sunday has not paid Mr Sheward.

Ms Newton said: Its true, we are looking for new premises. We are expanding, not closing.
American and North Korean officials have been holding secret talks as they plan a historic meeting between U.S. president Donald Trump and North Korean dictator Kim Jung Un.

Outgoing CIA director Mike Pompeo has been leading an Agency team in preparing for the summit through intelligence back-channels, multiple officials close to the discussions told CNN.

Officials from both nations have even met in a third country, where they continued to discuss the most pressing issue - where the meeting should take place.

The CIA and North Korean officials have been holding secret talks ahead of the historic meeting between president Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jung Un

While the North Koreans have been pushing for their capital, Pyongyang, to serve as the meeting place, whether the White House would be open to the big risk remains unclear.

Another location that has been put on the table is Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia. Officials say once the meeting's location is pinned down other details such as the date and agenda will be discussed.

As of now, the meeting is most likely to take place in late May or June.

The secret talks are building up for a meeting between Pompeo and his North Korean counterpart - the head of the Reconnaissance General Bureau.

Officials say the CIA has taken the lead on talks because of director Mike Pompeo's current status at the Agency. Usually, the State Department would handle the diplomatic matter

Officials say the CIA has taken the lead on talks because of Pompeo's current status at the Agency and not because of the content of the discussions. Usually, the State Department would handle the diplomatic matter.

Pompeo is awaiting to be confirmed as Rex Tillerson's replacement for Secretary of State, a process expected to begin in the next weeks.

Once he is confirmed as the country's head diplomat, Pompeo, one of Trump's most trusted national security advisers, will oversee the meeting's diplomatic preparations.

North Korea conveyed the invitation to Trump through a South Korean envoy last month during the Winter Olympics (the North Korean envoy Kim Yong Chol stands behind South Korean President Moon Jae-in (bottom L) first lady Kim Jung-sook and Ivanka Trump)

The Hermit Kingdom has not yet officially declared that Kim Jung Un has invited Trump to meet. Instead, the isolated nation conveyed the message through a South Korean envoy last month during the Winter Olympics.

Trump immediately accepted the invitation, and the White House said the meeting would happen around May.

According to administration officials North Korea has acknowledged Trump's acceptance and has affirmed Kim's willingness to consider denuclearization.

Until these secret talks, communication between the U.S. and North Korea had mostly happened through third-parties - mostly from South Korea.

The White House also received a briefing from the Chinese after president Xi Jinping met with Kim in Beijing last month.
The nerve agent used to poison former Russian agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter was specially designed to take about four hours to kill them so their assassins could flee Britain.

Security sources told The Mail on Sunday that to help the agents avoid capture, the Russians developed a less powerful boutique Novichok that could be absorbed through the skin. Novichok is normally administered as in gas form and kills its victims within minutes.

This adjustment to the nerve agent, made after exhaustive scientific tests conducted at a secret Russian scientific establishment, proved a crucial flaw in the double murder bid. While it allowed the would-be murderers to escape, it also gave doctors and scientists time to identify the Novichok and treat the patients with antidotes.

Sergei is understood to have been contaminated when he unlocked the front door at his house (pictured) while Yulia is thought to have touched the handle after her father

Last night Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, the former commander of Britains Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Regiment, who has had access to secret intelligence relating to the poisoning, praised the Salisbury medical team for their remarkable work in saving the lives of the Skripals.

He said: This botched double murder attempt was defeated by the brilliance of British scientists and the doctors in Salisbury who, under immense pressure, came up with a bespoke set of treatments to thwart a boutique chemical weapon specifically designed for assassinations.

Last night the 66-year-old Skripal and his daughter Yulia, 33, were continuing to recover at Salisbury District Hospital. Mr Skripal, who had previously been given just a one per cent chance of survival by his family, is now in a stable condition  while Yulia is recovering so fast she could soon be discharged.

Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey, who was left in a serious condition after rushing to the aid of the Skripals after they collapsed and was also treated by the same medical team, was released from hospital last month.

The Skripals are also understood to be providing police and the Security Services with vital information that could lead to the culprits being identified.

The account provided by security sources challenges claims from Moscow that its nerve agent could not have been used in the Salisbury attacks because it is too toxic for anyone to survive exposure to it. Based on the latest briefings by UK security sources, The Mail on Sunday can also reveal for the first time today how:

The Novichok was produced in the form of a clear, odourless gel which was smeared over the handle of Sergei Skripals front door in Salisbury early on Sunday March 4.

Russian agents watched Sergei Skripal for a fortnight and chose to strike on a Sunday morning so no postmen or delivery men would be exposed accidentally to the nerve agent. Any third parties touching the door handle before the Skripals would have required the agents to reapply the gel to the door handle, at the risk of being seen doing so.

Completely by chance, doctors with specialist chemical weapons training were on duty at the hospital when the victims were admitted. They treated Sergei and Yulia Skripal with an atropine (antidote) and other medicines approved by scientists from Porton Down, the governments top secret scientific research laboratory.

The Mail on Sunday can also reveal crucial new details about the Skripals movements on March 4. Until now it had been thought that they left the house on Christie Miller Road, Salisbury, at 9.15am and did not return there before they were taken ill that afternoon.

This previous timeline strongly suggested that their attackers must have struck overnight. Now it seems the Russian agents smeared the door handle with nerve agent in broad daylight after the Skripals had left the house.

A man works in the Shikhany research center for producing chemical and biological weapons

Last night security sources suggested the Skripals returned to the 400,000 house at about 11.30am. Sergei is understood to have been contaminated when he unlocked the front door while Yulia is thought to have touched the handle after her father.

By then he had smeared most of the gel off the door handle on to his hands. As a result, her symptoms of exposure to the nerve agent were more mild than his.

A source said last night: The Kremlin wanted to get its agents out of Britain before the Novichok could be identified. So they reduced its toxicity and used it in a gel form rather than as a gas  had the Skripals inhaled the nerve agent they would have died very quickly.

The Russians still banked on Sergei and Yulia dying as a result of their exposure, even though they had effectively watered it down. Their recovery has been received with great disappointment in Moscow. Their survival is an embarrassment to President Putin who likes to think his security services can kill anyone, anywhere, and get away with it. They usually do.

Two doctors with expertise in chemical weapons attacks were on duty at Salisbury District Hospital that afternoon.

The pair had recently completed a training course at Porton Down, which enabled them to quickly recognise the symptoms of exposure to a nerve agent.

Their expertise and decision making proved invaluable. The Mail on Sunday has been told how these doctors treated the Skripals, and local police officer Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey, who was also exposed.

The doctors ran enzyme level tests on the three victims which confirmed the use of a nerve agent. They then summoned scientists from nearby Porton Down.

Retired Colonel Hamish de Bretton-Gordon praised the medical team who treated the Skripals

The scientists then ran further tests which specifically identified the nerve agent to be Novichok. They were then able to administer the atropine.

Last night, Col Hamish de Bretton-Gordon added: I hope that in time the individuals from the hospital and Porton Down who defeated the Russians receive the credit they deserve.

By contrast, the Russians deserved their misfortune on the day for instigating such a cowardly attack.

The Mail on Sunday has also learned how Sergei Skripals house is expected to be demolished as a result of the contamination. This is thought to be more cost-effective than instigating an inch by inch search of the property for further traces of Novichok.

The Zizzi Italian restaurant and The Mill public house which were both visited by the Skripals in the hours before they fell ill may also be knocked down.

This week the Government is expected to erect 9ft fences at key sites in Salisbury linked the poisoning while scientists continue their painstaking work to find clues.

A security source said: The semi-permanent structures may remain in place until autumn this year. Civilian security guards will take over patrolling from police guarding the sites soon.

This means cordons around the Skripals home may be there for at least another six months.
A pensioner cleared of blame after killing an armed burglar may never be able to return home amid fears of a vendetta against him, police have told residents.

Richard Osborn-Brooks, 78, and his disabled wife Maureen have not been seen at their 500,000 property since Henry Vincent died after a break-in last week.

With the couple believed to be staying at an undisclosed location in fear of their lives, their house has been fitted with security grilles  and a police surveillance camera has been mounted on a nearby lamppost.

Police cars are parked outside of the home of pensioner Richard Osborn-Brooks, where he confronted a pair of burglars and stabbed one

After killing one of the burglars, the pensioner was arrested but has now been released without charge

The hero pensioner is reportedly too scared to go back to him home and fear he may never be able to return to his house

Richard Osborn-Brooks and his neighbours fear that the pensioner might be the target of a revenge attack from the family of the burglar

At around 10:30am today, a group of three police officers went into the pensioner's house

They were inside the house for 15 minutes and then they went to the back side of the property

Mr Osborn-Brooks  initially arrested on suspicion of murder  was told on Friday he would face no further police action. But neighbours in Hither Green, South-East London, now fear he will be the target of reprisals from the criminal clan to which Vincent, 37, belonged.

The dad-of-four threatened Mr Osborn-Brooks with a screwdriver after disturbing the pensioner and his wife in their bed. He forced him downstairs as an accomplice ransacked a bedroom, but during a struggle Vincent was fatally stabbed.

Serial burglar Vincent was part of a large family describing themselves as travellers. Many live on a housing association estate in St Mary Cray, near Orpington.

Richard Osborn-Brooks was questioned on suspicion of murder but Met Police have since confirmed he will not face any official charges

Workers install security at home of Richard Osman-Brook in Hither Green, south east London

Workmen fit security grilles to the Osborn-Brookses' home and a surveillance camera a nearby lamppost

Mr Osman-Brookes' home is boarded up in the aftermath of the break-in and death

Police are still in attendance at Richard Osman-Brookes' home in south-east London

According to residents, Vincent was part of a tight-knit community whose members have a reputation for violence. One of the extended Vincent clan shamelessly declared on social media a few years ago: An OAP a day keeps ur bank balance at bay. The old b******s deserve everything they get.

While Mr Osborn-Brookss neighbours and friends were relieved at his exoneration yesterday, any celebrations were muted because of nervousness over his future. The police have told us unofficially theres no way hell be able to move back into his home with his wife, one told The Mail on Sunday, asking not to be named. The kind of people involved in this will stop at nothing to have their vengeance.

Its awful that Richard and Maureen will have to move away towards the end of their lives.

Henry Vincent (left) died from a stab wound after struggling with Richard Osborn-Brooks (right) following a break-in at the pensioner's home this week

A card left outside of the home of a pensioner who stabbed a burglar to death while defending his disabled wife has paid tribute to the home invader

While the circumstances are very different, Mr Osborn-Brookss case echoes that of Norfolk farmer Tony Martin, who had a 60,000 bounty put on his head after he shot dead a 16-year-old traveller who broke into his property in 1999. Initially given life for murder, the Court of Appeal replaced Martins conviction with one of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility and he was released in 2003.

Vincent, his father and five uncles were convicted in 2003 of a 450,000 building scam in which they targeted elderly people across South London and Kent. A judge described it as the worst case of cowboy builders I have ever come across.

Yesterday, friends of Vincent left a card and flowers around the corner from Mr Osborn-Brookss house, near where the criminal died. It read: Henry, loved and cared for by many. A heart of gold. May God bless you.

Career criminal Henry Vincent who was stabbed and killed by a pensioner after breaking into his house once boxed with David Haye in 1995

By Stewart Paterson

The burglar who was killed after breaking into a pensioner's home once sparred with David Haye as a teenager, it has emerged.

Career criminal Henry Vincent died after being stabbed during an alleged botched burglary at 78-year-old Richard Osborn-Brooks' home.

Now footage from 1995 shows a 15-year-old Vincent boxing with boxing star David Haye.

The world champion was still an amateur with Fitzroy Amateur Boxing Club when he faced Vincent in the ring for a junior competition.

The footage shows Vincent as a promising boxer - but he would turn to a life of crime that would see him jailed for a string of scams on elderly people.

Haye went on to become one of Britain's most successful boxers and won three of the four major world titles as a profession, including winning the WBA title in 2009.

The clip shows Haye in the red corner while Vincent wears blue shorts for the match.

Haye, who wins the fight, shakes defeated Vincent's hand afterwards.

The clip shows Haye in the red corner while Vincent wears blue shorts for the match. Haye, who wins the fight, shakes defeated Vincent's hand afterwards

A spokesman for Haye told Sun Online: '[Vincent] was a good boxer who pushed through into the third round.

'It just shows the different paths people's lives can take in the 22 years since they met.'

It comes after Vincent's family left floral tributes outside Mr Osborn-Brooks' east London home.

A card read: 'A letter, seen by dozens of passing well-wishers, says: 'Henry, loved and cared for by many.

'A heart of gold, may god bless you and give you peace in heaven xx Sorely missed.'

The card was planted accompanied by a bouquet of red gerbera daisies, lily buds and chrysanthemums - tied to wooden corner post.

The footage shows Vincent as a promising boxer - but he would turn to a life of crime that would see him jailed for a string of scams on elderly people

Mr Osborn-Brooks was arrested on suspicion of murder but has now been told that no action will be taken following discussions between the Met Police and Crown Prosecution Service.

After the 1995 fight, Haye became on to represent Britain as a professional boxer and holds world championships in two weight classes.

Haye, of south London, won silver in the World Boxing Championships in 2001.

He then won three out of four major world titles as a professional.

But Vincent chose a life of a crime and his shameful past was this week laid bare.

He hailed from a career criminal family who targeted pensioners to con them out of half a million pounds.

Vincent died on Wednesday after being stabbed by pensioner Richard Osborn-Brooks.

The world champion was still an amateur with Fitzroy Amateur Boxing Club when he faced Vincent in the ring for a junior competition

It is understood Mr Osborn-Brooks overpowered Vincent after he was marched downstairs by the criminal, while an accomplice searched the pensioner and his 76-year-old wife's house.

Vincent was bleeding heavily before he collapsed in a nearby street and the second suspect fled the scene. Police are now appealing to find him.

Mr Osborn-Brooks was a manager for the RAC in Croydon, south London, before retiring around 26 years ago.

He was questioned on suspicion of murder but Met Police have since confirmed he will not face any official charges.

Detective Chief Inspector Simon Harding, of the Met's Homicide and Major Crime Command, said: 'This is a tragic case for all of those involved.

'As expected with any incident where someone has lost their life, my officers carried out a thorough investigation into the circumstances of the death.

'We have approached the CPS for early investigative advice, as required under the guidance. We have received and considered that advice, and, at present - on the evidence available - we will not seek a charging decision.

'Therefore, no further action will be taken against the man.'

'Henry had a heart of gold!': Flowers and card left outside OAP's boarded-up home for burglar who was stabbed to death by 78-year-old homeowner during late night break-in

By Rod Ardehali

A card left outside of the home of a pensioner who stabbed a burglar to death while defending his disabled wife has remarkably paid tribute to the intruder.

Henry Vincent, 37, died after being stabbed during a botched raid at the south-east London home of Richard Osborn-Brooks in the early hours of Wednesday.

Despite near unanimous public sympathy for Mr Osborn-Brooks, who was arrested and later released, one mysterious well-wisher said career criminal Vincent had a 'heart of gold', in the card, left along with some flowers, outside of the crime scene.

The letter, seen by dozens of passing well-wishers, says: 'Henry, loved and cared for by many.

A heart of gold, may god bless you and give you peace in heaven xx Sorely missed.'

The card was planted accompanied by a bouquet of red gerbera daisies, lily buds and chrysanthemums - tied to wooden corner post.

Mr Osborn-Brooks was arrested on suspicion of murder but has now been told that no action will be taken following discussions between the Met Police and Crown Prosecution Service.

On Friday afternoon, Mr Osborn-Brooks' house was boarded up and CCTV cameras were installed amid fears the pensioner might be attacked.

Officers have also spoken with the family of Vincent who have been informed of the decision and the reasons for it have been explained to them.

Following his release, a cousin of a burglar said she was angry the OAP was bailed.

The unnamed relative of his has insisted however that he was a 'loving person' and the pensioner he fought with should be kept in custody as police investigate him for murder.

The woman told BBC's South East Today: 'I don't know what happened in that home but all I know is my cousin is dead today.

'The Henry I know, he was such a loving person and I think it is probably something that just went wrong but he shouldn't have died out of it.'

Meanwhile, footage has emerged of the moment a burglar lay dying in the street after struggling with a pensioner during a break-in.

Footage filmed by a neighbour shows the moment burglar Henry Vincent was treated by emergency services after he was stabbed during a break-in in south-east London this week

Mr Osborn-Brooks' arrest on suspicion of murder, reignited a national debate about the rights of homeowners to protect themselves during break-ins.

Footage obtained by the BBC now shows Vincent laying the street as emergency service workers fight to keep him alive.

The homeowner who filmed the scene is heard saying: 'It's a stabbing. A stabbing. [They're] trying to revive him. I think he's gone.'

During the botched raid in South Park Crescent, Hither Green, an accomplice dragged Vincent toward a van before leaving him for dead, according to a witness.

He was found collapsed in nearby Further Green Road by paramedics from London Ambulance Service, who took him to hospital where he died shortly before 4am.

The second man has not been found and at least one suspect was believed to be armed with a screwdriver, police said.

Vincent, 37, had been on a police force's 'most wanted' list, had a string of convictions and was suspected of burglaries targeting the vulnerable.

Burglar stabbed to death trying to rob a pensioner previously 'posed as a policeman to con an 84-year-old woman out of 7,300'

By David Wilkes and Rebecca Camber and Miles Dilworth for The Daily Mail and Stewart Paterson for MailOnline

As a family philosophy goes, it is sensationally callous.

An OAP a day keeps ur bank balance at bay, a member of the Vincent clan proclaims proudly on social media, adding: The old b******s deserve everything they get.

With relatives notorious for targeting pensioners and fleecing them of their savings, it was armed burglar Henry Vincent who died after struggling with 78-year-old Richard Osborn-Brooks during a break-in this week.

Left: Vincent's cowboy builder father Henry Charles. Right: Vincent's uncle Steve, who helped his brother scam elderly people

And yesterday yet more shocking incidents emerged from the past of the 37-year-old and his family.

In one, Vincent was accused of posing as a policeman to con octogenarian June Stratton out of 7,300.

The frail alleged victim was said to have been told she had paid workmen in fake cash, and if she did not let Vincent and an accomplice in, they would turn her house over.

The two men turned up at June Strattons home in Kent one day in October 2013, and had what she thought to be identification cards and a warrant, Maidstone Crown Court heard.

Vincent was not in the dock as he was unfit to stand trial.

His co-accused, Mark Wood, 52, denied burglary and walked free from court after the trial collapsed partway through.

Great grandmother June, 87, told The Mirror: 'If hed gone away for what he did to me, he might have thought twice about doing it again.

Bogus: Robert (left) was part of the building scam. Vincent's brother Amos, then 24, was jailed three years after admitting two counts of the same crime

'But this is how they choose to live their life. Its awful that someone died, but it seems he got his comeuppance.

'If you go into someone elses home, you take your chances. You dont know who youre going to come up against.'

But for another insight into the Vincent familys attitude to the elderly, one need only look back to a case in 2007, when Vincents cousin William  then 27  pleaded guilty to two distraction burglaries and was jailed for four years.

His brother Amos, then 24, was jailed three years after admitting two counts of the same crime.

Their victims included former airman Ronald Butler, then 82, who found his invaluable collection of six war medals were missing after the pair visited his home in Catford, south-east London, posing as water board officials.

They told another of their victims, a woman aged 90, that they were from the gas board.

Sentencing the brothers at Londons Blackfriars Crown Court, Judge Henry Blacksell QC said: This is a particularly pernicious and nasty type of offending and the way you picked on them was pretty cynical.

'You preyed on them for what you could get. You should be thoroughly ashamed of yourselves.

However the Vincent clan was anything but ashamed by the latest addition to their long and appalling collective criminal record.

Distraction: William also stole

After a concerned Neighbourhood Watch group publicised the thefts carried out by William and Amos on Facebook, another member of the family posted a foul-mouthed response.

Bill Vincent wrote: The old b******s deserve everything they get. So stupid handing over thousands upon thousands... An OAP a day will keep ur bank balance a (sic) bay. Got to love the old c***s.

In what reads like a warped business plan for the familys nefarious activities, he went on: Old c***s aint safe. Take every penny they got get old b******s to remorgage, take the money and let erm get chucked owt nxt one (sic).

The posts were later deleted.

Many members of the Vincent family live in the St Mary Cray area of the London borough of Bromley, near the more affluent Orpington.

While it might seem an inviting place at first glance, Star Lane which runs through it is notorious for its lawlessness.

One worker involved in cleaning up the rubbish-strewn streets remembers once seeing, alongside the usual discarded sofas, a huge hole which had been dug 6ft wide and 20ft deep with a car pushed into it.

Henry Vincent was first convicted in 2003 for helping fleece elderly householders out of more than a million pounds.

He and his family of cowboy builders frog-marched their vulnerable victims to the bank after telling them their houses were about to fall down.

They used tricks such as showing rotten pieces of wood they had brought with them and squirting water on to interior walls to claim roofs were leaking in order to claim cash for fake repairs.

One 80-year-old woman was forced to sign over her 150,000 house.

Another man, aged 80, paid out his life savings for work on his chimney, which was unnecessary and was never even done.

The victims, aged between 59 and 89, were often too ashamed at being conned to tell their families what had happened.

Meanwhile the Vincents and their families drove expensive cars including BMWs, Mercedes and Mitsubishi Shogun 4x4  despite living in council houses.

When detectives searched their houses they found a pot containing 27,500 in cash.

The scam was led by Vincents father Henry Charles along with five of his brothers  including Robert and Steven  and his son Henry, then 23.

Sentencing the seven at Croydon Crown Court in October 2003, Judge Simon Pratt said: This is by a long way the worst case of bogus cowboy builders that I have ever come across.

'It is quite clear the family business was devoted to preying upon and fleecing elderly, vulnerable victims.

Vincent was jailed for four-and-a-half years for obtaining property by deception and the gang received a total of 30 years.

After he was released early halfway through his sentence, he carried out two burglaries in 2008, for which he received two six-month suspended sentences.

In June 2009, Vincent and his father were convicted of fraud after they charged a pensioner 72,000 to repair a single tile on their roof. Both men were handed six-year sentences.

In 2013 Vincent was named as one of Kent Polices most wanted criminals after he was suspected of carrying out another burglary in Gravesend.

Kent Police appealed again for him in January this year after he was suspected of being involved in a distraction burglary from a man in his 70s.
Joining the most exclusive club in the world requires derring do. But once in, members can keep their hats on to greet royalty and even put their feet on the dinner table in front of heads of state.

To qualify, you must navigate the treacherous waters of the Drake Passage under sail to round the Horn, passing Cape Horn, the most southerly inhabited place on Earth before Antarctica. Those brave captains who make it become Cape Horners.

Luckily for the rest of us, there is another way to reach this extraordinary outpost, at the bottom of Chiles tail flick of land, 500 miles from the Antarctic. Its rather more comfortable, too. Australis Cruises plies the waters of Patagonia, sailing between the port city of Punta Arenas in Chile, and Ushuaia, the capital of the island of Tierra del Fuego, in Argentina.

Australis Cruises plies the waters of Patagonia, sailing between the port city of Punta Arenas in Chile, and Ushuaia, the capital of the island of Tierra del Fuego, in Argentina, and rounding Cape Horn

Its four and eight-night sailings traverse the waterways named after legendary voyages: the Magellan Strait, discovered by Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan in 1520, and the Beagle Channel, explored by Charles Darwin aboard the Beagle with Captain Robert FitzRoy in the 19th century.

This year you can sail on a brand-new, 100-berth vessel, Ventus, which is small enough to navigate the islands and glaciers, but large enough to offer everything that a 21st-century adventurer requires.

My four-night voyage from Punta Arenas takes in penguin colonies, the dramatic channel nicknamed Glacier Alley, a former Christian ministry where Darwin made landfall, and the legendary Cape Horn, where two great oceans the Pacific and Atlantic  meet and where 10,000 sailors lost their lives.

We are an international group: Americans, Brits, Germans, French and a few Latinos. Forget bunks, this ship comes with spacious cabins, grand picture windows, three lounges with panoramic views, a gourmet restaurant and bar serving bottomless pisco sours.

The great explorers of the 16th century saw colonies of penguins as an easy meal, while we are thrilled to snap them diving in and out of the water. A few playful dolphins even leap around our Zodiac landing boats.

Where navigators once came across curious tribes on the coast, paddling their canoes stark naked and slathered in seal blubber, we can only imagine the indigenous groups who once lived here.

Cape Horn is the most southerly inhabited place on Earth before Antarctica. Those brave captains who make it become Cape Horners

The Yamana eked out a nomadic existence until European visitors all but wiped them out with disease, punishing them for sheep rustling and hunting the whales and seals on which they relied for food.

Only one 88-year-old pure Yamana remains, living in the town of Port Williams on the Chilean island of Navarino and teaching her almost-extinct language to her grandchildren.

For a route so packed with human stories, we dont see another person for the entire journey. It feels as if were sailing into the unknown. And nowhere is that sense more present than as we approach Cape Horn. As the ship breaks for open sea at 6am, we gather in the main lounge, lifejackets on, waiting for the captain to say if its safe to disembark into Zodiacs for shore.

At 7am the call comes. We have clear skies, but the wind is whistling past the ship. It isnt safe to land the Zodiacs on the beach and we are among the 19 per cent of passengers who dont make landfall on their cruise. The one Chilean naval family who guard the island will go another week without visitors.

To counter our disappointment, the captain goes fully round the Horn, nosing the ship into the Drake Passage and giving us a 360-degree tour of the island.

The Drake Passage, which is on the route of the sailing. There is nothing further south than Antarctica and a few icy research stations

As the ship bucks and sways, Cape Horn is bathed in light, the albatross-shaped memorial to the 10,000 lost at sea, glinting in the sunshine. White knuckles grip the ships rails as we pose for photos and gaze in awe at the spiked peaks of the legendary island.

At least we can content ourselves with being among the minority to have sailed the Drake Passage, knowing there is nothing further south than Antarctica and a few icy research stations. All that remains is to visit Wulaia Bay, on Navarino, where Darwin stopped on his Beagle voyage in 1833 and is said to have started contemplating the origin of species.

A hike for sea views and a visit to the Australis-run visitor centre reveals less noble events that have occurred on this bay. A Yamana boy named Jemmy Button was among four locals taken to England by Captain FitzRoy aboard the Beagle in 1830. He was introduced to royalty as an exotic exhibit and civilised before being dropped back on the island a year later.

An attack in 1859, in which Christian missionaries were massacred, was later blamed on Button and his family.

From Wulaia Bay its a short hop to Ushuaia, which is a bit of a shock to the system. I may not be a Cape Horner, but I will never forget rounding the Horn.
Airbnb, where you traditionally went online and rented a spare room in someones home, marks its tenth birthday this year.

It has always seemed to be the digital company with all the gifts: it was immediately popular, grew spectacularly and racked up healthy profits. Whats not to like? In its early days, Airbnbers had the choice of interesting accommodation at very cheap prices.

Surviving 12 months for any new company is a huge achievement  the failure rate for start-ups is about 90 per cent. Airbnb has been no mere survivor: after ten years it bestrides the world like a colossus.

Your own Viking island: One of the rentals on Airbnb includes this private Norwegian island from 243 per night

The company has more than four million lodging listings in 65,000 cities and 191 countries, and has facilitated over 260 million check-ins.

More recently, however, there have been bumps, mostly related to the sites wild success. The original name of the app was Air Bed & Breakfast because the business started when San Francisco college friends Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia blew up an inflatable mattress, put it in a spare room and attracted online bookings from out-of-towners visiting a local computer show.

But click around the bulletin boards and you find disappointed people who rue Airbnbs shift away from its alternative origins.

It didnt take long for property owners to twig that they could make more money letting flats to holidaymakers via Airbnb than through making them available in the social housing rental market to local people who desperately need a home at a reasonable rent.

Overnight success: Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky who co-founded the company with Joe Gebbia

The result is that in popular holiday places  such as Barcelona and Venice  there have been demonstrations protesting that Airbnb is forcing local people out of their local community.

An increasing number of cities from California to Paris have passed laws with the aim of restricting the Airbnb-isation of rental property.

The old airbed has been consigned to history as Airbnb embarks on world domination. It intends to establish its site not just as place to book property but to organise all elements of a holiday  it is looking at starting its own airline.

Last year it moved into experiences  adding value to the holiday with approved tours  and it is also listing more traditional holiday properties: hotels and self-catering apartments and villas.

The digital world is fickle. Facebook, for example, was once the unchallenged king of the jungle  but after a few weeks of damaging headlines, critics are beginning to wonder if the company may fall into an irreversible decline.

Here, we mark Airbnbs milestone with a look at how to get the best from the site  and at some of its most eye-catching offerings.

How to book and what to check

To book, you need to sign up to Airbnb, then log in. After entering your dates, there are filters at the top of the page which allow you to narrow your choices: do you want a room in a property, or do you want to rent the whole place? Do you want places that take instant bookings?

THE TOP FIVE PITFALLS The most common causes for complaints to Airbnb are: 1. Stay cancelled by host: Bookings discontinued with little or no notice should never happen  but they do. Hosts are subject to penalties designed to discourage them from cancelling, but some still do, so be prepared. 2. Scams: Being charged for damage to the property that never happened. 3. Unsafe or insanitary conditions: Bed bugs, fleas and rodent infestations. 4. Property not as described: Air-conditioning not working, or no sign of the promised washing machine. 5. Fraudulent fake listings: Particularly hosts listing properties they do not own. Advertisement

Normally you request a stay and the host looks at your profile and any reviews and then responds yes or no.

A no doesnt mean they dont like you  it could be that the dates you wanted have been sold.

Airbnb sees its role as an honest broker: if problems arise, it wants the consumer to settle the matter with the supplier directly. Bear this in mind when you make a booking: if things go wrong you may find yourself fighting a lone battle.

Be alert. On Airbnb, outright lies are unlikely  much more common is a careful editing of the truth. Because you want so much for everything to be perfect, we all have a tendency to assume things will be much better than they probably are.

If youve rented a holiday property via a tour operator or a standard agency, you will probably have had little or no contact with the owner.

With Airbnb, you are put in contact with the owner and the arrangements are made direct. This becomes part holiday and part blind date.

Here are seven tips to cut the odds on being disappointed:

1. Do lots of research: Look at potential holiday places and different locations; develop a feel for the standard you can expect. Read between the lines of property descriptions: is it on a busy road, near an airport, next to a club? Reviews left by previous customers arent always reliable. They are not anonymous so expect opinions to be guarded.

2. Once you have settled on a property, Google it to see if it appears on other holiday websites. Check these reviews and prices and compare with Airbnb. Use Google Street View to check the area.

Live like a lord: Augill Castle in Cumbria which can be rented via Airbnb from 192 per night

3. Google the name of the owner (quick to do, but it might prove illuminating if other people have complained or if the owner has been in court).

4. Email the owner and confirm the details shown on the website. You need verification.

5. Before booking, make sure you understand the applicable cancellation policy.

6. Shortly before the holiday, double-check the driving directions. How do you get the key? Will there be a welcome food package?

7. When you arrive, consider safety: some users recommend getting some sort of blocker such as a wedge to stop the door so nobody with a key can gain access while you are in residence.

The battle to make it better

Most users of Airbnb will probably welcome any move towards assuring higher standards. At the moment one of the main drawbacks of renting through an online platform is that, despite reviews from previous guests, youre never quite sure whether the accommodation is going to live up to its billing.

To address these doubts, the company has created Airbnb Plus, to offer more assurance to potential bookers. These are places, says Airbnb, that promise to be beautiful properties with exceptional hosts, and have been verified for quality  theyve been inspected, in person, against a long checklist, to ensure they are comfy, well-designed and well-maintained, and have specific facilities, such as fast wi-fi, plush towels and at least eight clothes hangers.

The company has created Airbnb Plus, to offer more assurance to potential bookers. These are places, says Airbnb, that promise to be beautiful properties with exceptional hosts

There are 2,000 Plus listings in 13 major cities and the number will grow rapidly. Plus homes are presented with professional photography, appear at the top of the listings for each city, and are flagged as Plus verified. Many are affordable, with lead-in rates under 100 a night.

Another improvement, promised this summer, is more clarity about the types of property. The current categories of Entire Home, Private Room and Shared Space dont cover the range of options that helpfully. New classifications will identify vacation homes (holiday villas etc), unique properties (such as a tree house), B&Bs and hotels.

In some destinations, conventional B&Bs and hotels appear on Airbnb. Selling rooms on the website is enticing for hoteliers and B&B owners, because the commission they pay is three per cent, compared with 15 per cent or more with online agents such as Booking.com. At the moment its often not clear with hotels and traditional B&Bs that that is what they are. The new classifications will change that.

Another innovation is the Airbnb Superhost  experienced hosts who provide a shining example for other hosts.

The big threat: fraud

With Airbnb and other similar accommodation providers, its not just that youre staying in unvetted, private accommodation  there is also the risk of being defrauded.

LEARN TO LIVE LIKE LOCALS Airbnb Experiences are excursions or activities designed and led by local hosts. Hosts give guests unique access to places and communities in their city, says Airbnb. Hosts can offer immersions and one-day experiences. Immersions happen over multiple days and are offered as is  their schedules cant be modified. One-day experiences can last just a couple of hours. All experiences can range from workshops to long treks, and are available for various skill levels and interests. Last year in San Francisco, I did two Airbnb Experiences  a six-hour wine tour of the Napa Valley in a VW camper van and a four-hour walk from Sausalito to the Golden Gate Bridge. Both were good value and well organised, and offered a local perspective on SF life. Advertisement

There are a growing number of complaints from people who have found attractive rental properties on Airbnb. In response to an enquiry, however, they receive a plausible email, complete with Airbnb logo and design, direct from the villas apparent owner  outside the Airbnb platform  asking for direct payment.

Handing over the amount direct to the owner  likely to be several thousand pounds  could prove a very expensive mistake. After the payment is sent, the villas details will probably disappear from the website. The rental didnt exist, and the owner was a fake.

Can you recover your money? Probably not.

Dont expect Airbnb to ride to your rescue. You may have found the fraudulent property on their website, but by dealing with the owner direct you remove yourself from the consumer protection offered by Airbnb, who say they will never ask you to pay off-site or through email.

Another red flag to look out for is being asked to pay by wire transfer  an unprotected type of financial transaction (unlike payments made by credit card).

Official bodies including Abta have warned about the risk of fraud when using accommodation websites such as Airbnb. The methods of the scams vary, but include posting bogus adverts and hacking into accounts to intercept bookings  and they can be very convincing.

A Tarzan hangout: The online rental firm also has this treehouse in Frances Midi Pyrenees from 186 per night

Airbnb says it has a global trust and safety team that works 24/7 to protect our community and help prevent fraud. It also offers information on the website about online security, including types of scams, spotting fake emails, and why it is crucial to communicate with hosts and pay through Airbnbs online platform.

Doing so means your payments are protected under Airbnbs terms and conditions. Airbnb also withholds passing payments to hosts until 24 hours after youve checked in.

There is an alternative...

Airbnbs decision to launch Plus became inevitable when new, similar online operators launched who took the precaution of checking properties and confirming that they matched the owners promises and the customers expectations.

Intoxicating taste of Malibu: This apartment on the beach in Malibu can be rented from 276 per night

The Plum Guide (theplumguide.com) says it has searched high and low to find the perfect home for your stay, hand-selecting and testing the top one per cent of properties from the top 25 booking sites.

If you want the reassurance of booking an inspected property, remember there are many other well-regarded companies out there that carry out on-site checks of all the holiday rentals on their books.

One Fine Stay (onefinestay.com), CV Villas (cvvillas.com) and Tots to Travel (totstotravel.co.uk) spring to mind.
Mariella on holiday in the Caribbean in 2000, where she enjoyed a sailing trip

Continuing our series featuring the holiday memories of famous people, this week TV presenter Mariella Frostrup, 55, recalls her lifetime of adventures

First holiday I can remember: Our move to Ireland from Norway when I was six was initiated by a holiday to Dingle in Kerry the previous summer. I dont remember much about that excursion, but we moved to County Wicklow and, for the next three summers, wed head to Connemara on the wild Atlantic coast for our holidays.

Wed be packed into my dads Renault 5 for an overnight drive across country. My fondest childhood memories are of the three of us (brother Aksel and sister Danielle) gazing out the back window of the car at the stars, full of anticipation.

First trip abroad: My first independent trip was to Greece when I was 18. What a revelation to discover the sun-soaked island of Poros, where long days on the beach were followed by nights on the dancefloor.

My honeymoon: Was in the Panamanian jungle near the prison island of Coiba! It was also where we married, on a troop-carrier straight out of Saving Private Ryan, decorated with jungle foliage for the occasion.

After the ceremony, conducted by the ships captain, we kayaked to shore with tin cans attached to the back, had fish and chips for dinner and spent the rest of the week trekking.

Mariella on holiday in Ireland as a child. Her family would enjoy breaks on the country's rugged Atlantic coast

Best holiday: A sailing trip in the Caribbean over New Year 2000. A group of friends chartered an ancient English sailing boat and set off for two weeks in the Grenadines.

First stop was Mustique for their millennium New Year party. We planned to stay overnight. Instead we stayed for a week, having insinuated ourselves into the hectic social life there.

My dream destination: A boat trip down the Mekong, to Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, a place Ive long wanted to visit.

Mariella with Penny Smith in Nepal in 2001. The TV presenter went trekking with the former breakfast TV host

Favourite holiday companion: Any one of my best girlfriends, with whom Ive shared so many adventures over the decades, whether trekking with Penny Smith or exploring Vietnam with Gina Bellman.

Travelling with a friend guarantees relaxation, laughter and unexpected adventures.
Jamie King is still coping with the events of this past Wednesday.

The 38-year-old actress was seen having a heart to heart with a friend in Beverly Hills, just days after her four-year-old son was involved in a shocking attack on her car in the same neighborhood.

Dressed in blue jeans and the same black leather jacket as Thursday, the mother of two spoke with her friend while walking through the posh Southern California community.

Courageous: Jamie King was seen having a heart to heart with a friend in Beverly Hills, just days after her son was involved in a shocking attack on her car in the same neighborhood

The Slackers actress had hair clips clasped atop her blond waves, which fell over shoulders.

Cupping a yogurt in one hand, King still looked distressed while talking with her friend.

A beige v-neck sweater and a pair of white sneakers completed her look.

Moving forward: Dressed in blue jeans and the same black leather jacket as Thursday, the 38-year-old actress spoke with her friend while walking through the posh Southern California community

King is doing her best to get back in the swing of normal life after her four-year-old son was involved in a attack in Beverly Hills.

She still looked visibly shaken as she was snapped for the first time since Wednesday's incident, when a vagrant jumped on her car roof and smashed its windows in an attempt to attack the child.

Dressed in black pants and a matching leather jacket, the mother of two ran errands in a loner car.

The star wore a black leather motorcycle jacket over a white T-shirt and black slacks with Gucci slippers as she modeled long gold earrings and wore her hair up.

Brave: The 38-year-old actress still looked visibly shaken as she wore a black leather jacket

King released a statement on Thursday where she revealed that the attack on her car that left her four-year-old son covered in window glass was even more violent that previously reported.

'The attack was incredibly violent, and my four-year-old son was obviously the target of the individual's brutal attack, which is terrifying,' King said in a statement about the Wednesday incident in Beverly Hills.

King, 38, was on the trendy shopping strip of Bedford Drive when a disheveled man with a skateboard jumped on the actresses' parked Mercedes-Benz and kicked in the rear window to attack her son - but luckily the actress' friend was in the driver's seat and leaped out to confront the suspect.

Strong lady: Jaime King (left) was running errands on the trendy shopping strip of Bedford Drive when a disheveled man jumped on her car and smashed the windows. Floyd (right) was arrested

'My brave friend Judit Balogh used her self-defense training to try and keep the individual from harming James Knight while glass was shattering on him, as the perpetrator jumped on the roof until it collapsed and kicked in windows trying to get to him,' King recalled.

'He threw a bottle at her, hitting and assaulting her, but he couldn't catch her. Without her bravery and selflessness, I couldn't imagine the outcome,' said King.

The boy was secured in the rear seat and was shaken but uninjured after broken glass showered on him during the attack. The suspect fled the scene but was captured by police nearby.

Suspect Paul Francis Floyd is seen left in a 2017 mugshot and right in a 2012 arrest. Since August, he has been arrested seven times in Los Angeles County on various charges

The suspect was identified as Paul Francis Floyd, 47, and is charged with felony child endangerment, misdemeanor battery and two counts of felony vandalism in the shocking attack. Floyd has seven prior arrests in Los Angeles County since August.

In her statement, King also expressed thanks to the Beverly Hills police who have been 'supportive through the entire ordeal' as well as kind bystanders who rushed to assist her and her son.

However she had harsh words for the paparazzi for'terrorizing' her son and 'shoving cameras in our face during an attack, whilst he was shaking and crying instead of trying to help'.

Police have said they are considering secondary cases against papparazzi, citing California Penal Code Section 11414: 'Intentional harassment of a child or ward of another person because of that persons employment.'

King also called on elected officials to tackle the issue of homelessness, a mounting crisis in California that has not spared Beverly Hills.

'Mental health, drug addiction, and homelessness are issues that need to be addressed, and we desperately need more resources dedicated to helping the people suffering,' King said. 'We as a society can do better than to let those in need endanger themselves and those around them without the help they require.'

Los Angeles has seen a massive 75 per cent surge in homelessness over the past three years, with the area's homeless population approaching 60,000 - and Beverly Hills is not immune.

Nearby: The incident occurred just across the street from Anastasia Salon, a celebrity hot spot. Pictured are Kim Kardashian (left) and Paris Hilton (right) visiting the salon

Wow: The interior of Anastasia Nail Salon is seen. King's car was attacked just across the street

Bedford Drive is a street within the village of Beverly Hills where celebrities flock for beauty treatments.

Shop employees in the area tell DailyMail.com that they've seen a rise in vagrants in the area over the past six months.

It's a far cry from the usual sidewalk traffic, with Cindy Crawford, Paris Hilton, Emmy Rossum, Jessica Alba and Serena Williams often seen there to visit the best doctors. Top cosmetic surgeons, dermatologists and therapists have offices on the very block where King's car was damaged.

Kim Kardashian also is a frequent visitor of Bedford Drive as she gets her eyebrows shaped at Anastasia and her nails done at Beverly Hills Nail Design, both of which are just steps from where the King incident took place.

And Kyle Richards' clothing boutique Alene Too - where her co-stars Lisa Rinna and Lisa Vanderpump shop - has an entrance on Bedford Drive.

Vanderpump's restaurant Villa Blanca is just around the corner. And one block over is Dr Simon Ourian's Epione.

Strength: Both King's front and back windows were shattered (left) during the bizarre attack on Wednesday

Floyd allegedly smashed the front window and then jumped onto the rear windshield, according to the Beverly Hills Police Department.

King's four-year-old son James Knight Newman was inside the car, secured in a car seat in the back, when he was struck by glass from the window.

The actress was outside of the vehicle at the time of the crime, but her friend was still in in the driver's seat.

Floyd has since been taken into custody and charged with felony child endangerment, misdemeanor battery, and two counts of felony vandalism.

When he was taken into custody, Floyd looked disheveled and dirty, suggesting he may be among the county's nearly 60,000 homeless people.

Floyd is being held on $100,000 bail and is scheduled to appear in court on April 6.

Life: Above, a homeless man begging on Rodeo Drive in 2013. The wealthy residents of Beverly Hills have been known to give out wads of cash and even bottles of Dom Perignon champagne to homeless people on the streets of the rich enclave

Court records show that he has been arrested seven other times in the past year, for at least one felony and multiple misdemeanors.

Floyd's most recent arrest was in the early morning hours of February 23 by the Los Angeles Sheriff's park bureau patrol.

DailyMail.com called the Beverly Hills police Thursday morning to confirm whether he was homeless, and is waiting to hear back.

The homelessness problem is growing out of control in Los Angeles, where many of the homeless population come from out of state, seeking a warm climate to live on the streets in.

But once there, it's hard to get off the streets since the housing is so expensive and only continues to climb.

Over the last six years, the cost of rent for a studio apartment in L.A. has climbed 92 per cent, UCLA law professor emeritus Gary Blasi told the Los Angeles Times.

In November 2016 and March 2017, the county voted to raise taxes in order to fund a multi-billion-dollar, 10-year program to tackle the issue.

And the problem isn't just in downtown L.A. - home to the notorious Skid Row. Homeless are spread throughout the county, including in upscale neighborhoods like Beverly Hills, where King was attacked.

According to a 2015 analysis by the LA Times, 14 homeless people were living in the area where King was attacked.

In fact, Beverly Hills is thought to be a lucrative place to camp out since the neighborhood's wealthy residents are known to be giving.

According to a 2008 Seattle Times article, the homeless in Beverly Hills said they had received such donations as $2,000 in cash and bottles of Dom Perignon champagne.

'This is the finest place you can be,' homeless man Isaac Young told the paper at the time.

'They have a sympathetic thing for us, and were grateful for it,' another man added.
She split from her rugby husband George Kay last year, after a 'string of fierce rows'.

And Kerry Katona has revealed she hasn't had sex in a year and is on a strict 'man ban' following the demise of her third marriage.

The television personality, 37, who shed two-stone after overhauling her lifestyle, said she isn't looking for a relationship but finds being a single mum 'tough and lonely' in an interview with The Sun.

Man ban: Kerry Katona has revealed she hasn't had sex in a year and is on a strict 'man ban' following the demise of her third marriage

'I've not had sex for a year, I'd love to get my leg over but I don't want a relationship,' she told the publication.

'I get chatted up a lot by men in their 20s, it does wonders for my ego and I wouldn't rule out a toyboy, but I don't want anything serious right now.

'But I do miss having sex and a cuddle, who doesn't?'

Family:The television personality, 37, shed two-stone after overhauling her lifestyle, said she isn't looking for a relationship but finds being a single mum 'tough and lonely' (pictured with estranged husband George Kay in 2015)

The mother-of-five added she finds being a single mum 'tough and lonely' but her children are 'her world'.

Her revelation comes after the Atomic Kitten star confessed to drinking three bottles of bubbly per night in order to cope with George's 'controlling' behaviour - but now feels 'empowered' after ditching booze altogether.

According to Closer, she said: 'I became so isolated. I was drinking three bottles of Prosecco or Cava a night because he completely controlled my life.'

However, following a well-publicised battle with drugs in her youth, Kerry has now given up drink at home all together, and lives a clean and healthy lifestyle for the sake of her children.

Moving on: Kerry now lives a clean and healthy lifestyle for the sake of her children following her split from the rugby player

Addressing her decision to go sober, she added: 'I don't see the point. I have to do the school run, I have no cleaners, I'm literally doing it all myself.

'I feel empowered, amazing, and my kids are awesome. I've drunk enough to last me a lifetime, so I don't do it any more.'

Despite her past demons, it seems Kerry has found happiness once again - after recently overhauling her lifestyle, and dropping an impressive two stone.

Attracting younger men: Defiant Kerry Katona has paraded her two-stone weight loss on social media and says men in their 20s have chatted her up

Appearing on Good Morning Britain last month, Kerry confessed she had undergone various nips and tucks in the past, but credited her recent weight loss to going through her separation with George and finding her own confidence.

The bubbly star couldn't have looked more pleased as she revealed she shunned surgical procedures and treatments on this occasion, stating: 'This time Ive done it all myself.

'Honestly for me, going through a separation, being on my own and learning to love myself and being off my bipolar medication has all helped me!'

Kerry and George have three-year-old daughter Dylan-Jorge together, while the reality star also has Molly, 16, Lily-Sue, 14, Heidi, 10, and Maxwell, nine, from her first two marriages.
Tim Robards and Anna Heinrich's upcoming nuptials have been shrouded in secrecy ever since the loved-up pair announced their engagement in May 2017.

Now, an insider close to the couple has revealed the engaged Bachelor couple, 'will tie the knot in a lavish destination wedding over the Summer in Europe.'

Speaking exclusively to Daily Mail Australia on Saturday, the source said the reality TV lovebirds 'will tie the knot in Italy, sometime in June this year.'

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EXCLUSIVE: 'They're getting married in Italy': Tim Robards and Anna Heinrich 'will tie the knot in a lavish destination wedding over the Summer in Europe,' an insider revealed to Daily Mail Australia

The insider could not provide specific details about the Italian wedding/reception venue but claims the pair are in full planning mode for the destination wedding.

What's more, the source dished on Tim's no expenses barred Bachelor party in the United States.

'Tim's bucks party will be in Las Vegas and California around the 4th/5th of May this year,' the source revealed.

The fitness fanatic will enjoy his last days of freedom alongside a number of his close male friends.

After Tim and his mates enjoy a lubricated, fun-filled, male-dominated celebration in Sin City, the bevy of boys will supposedly venture to California's premiere desert resort city - Palm Springs for a touch of rest and recovery, according to the source.

'Tim's bucks party will be in Las Vegas and California': The source dished on Tim's no expenses barred Bachelor party in the US

Last but not least, the source offered some insight into Tim and Anna's relationship ahead of their upcoming nuptials.

'Tim treats Anna very well,' the insider revealed.

Despite the engaged duo's extensive wedding planning, the source revealed Tim has been attending acting classes in Sydney.

In December 2017, the hunky personality confessed he wants to return to the silver screen and become an actor.

'Putting some goals out there for 2018 and I want you guys to hold me accountable... I've always wanted to pursue acting and learn more about myself along the way,' Tim wrote in a lengthy Instagram post last year.

Dress rehearsal? Flashback to nigh on two years ago and the Bachelor duo were enjoying an envy-inducing sojourn in Positano and Sorrento, Italy

Flashback two years ago and the Bachelor duo were enjoying an envy-inducing sojourn in Positano and Sorrento, Italy.

In June 2016, the smitten duo caught up with the Heinrich family to celebrate Anna's mother, Jude's 60th birthday.

'Couldn't be any more EXCITED. We're coming for you EUROPE,' Anna captioned her shot leaving the Etihad Airways lounge at Sydney Airport.

Smitten selfie: The Bachelor couple got engaged in May last year when Tim got down on one knee and proposed to the former criminal lawyer during a boat outing

The 31-year-old added the hash-tags 'Jude's 60th' and 'family holiday', along with details of her outfit.

The smitten couple got engaged in May last year when Tim got down on one knee and proposed to the former criminal lawyer during a boat outing.

Anna debuted her impressive diamond sparkler on her social media page by uploading a photo of bikini-clad self beaming alongside her man as they floated in a boat.

The ring is estimated to be worth $173,000.

Nice rock! Anna's engagement ring is estimated to be worth $173,000

'Officially forever #ENGAGED,' she gushed in the caption as fans oggled at her diamond sparkler.

Tim also shared a snap of the two lovebirds posing together, writing: 'LOVE made me do it! On the weekend... in a little dinghy... floating on a secluded river...I asked this amazing woman to marry me... she said YES!!! Woohoo!! #ENGAGED.'

The high-profile couple met on the 2013 season of reality series, The Bachelor Australia.
She recently celebrated her 20th birthday with a slew of friends.

And Paris Jackson looked supremely stylish as she stepped out to run errands in Los Angeles on Friday afternoon.

The daughter of legendary musician Michael Jackson was all-smiles as she met up with a friend outside of the salon and flashed her new 'do.

Smile! Paris Jackson looked supremely stylish as she stepped out to run errands in Los Angeles on Friday afternoon

Peeks of Paris' toned tummy popped from underneath her vintage Gucci T-shirt she tied into a knot and wore off the shoulder.

She rocked a pair of skin-tight, high-waisted blue jeans which flared out into retro-inspired bell bottoms below her knees.

Jackson wrapped a dark brown and golden Gucci belt around her lithe waist, with a pair of olive green Ipanema sandals strapped to her feet.

Cutie: The daughter of legendary musician Michael Jackson was all-smiles as she met up with a friend outside of the salon and flashed her new 'do

Style: Peeks of Paris' toned tummy popped from underneath her vintage Gucci T-shirt she tied into a knot and wore off the shoulder

Fashion: She rocked a pair of skin-tight, high-waisted blue jeans which flared out into retro-inspired bell bottoms below her knees

She carried a small brown leather monogrammed Louis Vuitton purse across her shoulder and a layered beaded necklace.

Her long dark blonde hair was worn straight, with pieces of hot pink highlights woven throughout.

Nowhere to be seen was Paris' rumored new lady-love - who was also absent from her birthday festivities - supermodel Cara Delevingne.

Hello there: Her long dark blonde hair was worn straight, with pieces of hot pink highlights woven throughout

Hugs: Jackson wrapped a dark brown and golden Gucci belt around her lithe waist, with a pair of olive green Ipanema sandals strapped to her feet.

The English actress and Jackson have had rumors swirling about their relationship for months.

In March, the pair were seen sealing their love with a passionate kiss at the end of a double date with Paris's actor godfather Macaulay Culkin and his girlfriend.

The kiss followed relationship rumors that started earlier that week when they broadcast their Netflix and chill session in bed together.
It appears Australia's pop princess is set for a music battle against a higher power.

Kylie Minogue is going head to head with Hillsong church this week in a race to the top of the ARIA charts, with both their new albums released on Friday.

With the competition heating up, Kylie's Golden and Hillsong Worship's There Is More now sit at number one and number two respectively on the local iTunes charts.

Living on a prayer! Kylie Minogue is going head to head with Hillsong church this week in a race to the top of the ARIA charts, with their new albums released on Friday

With both acts having diverse fanbases, the number one spot on the ARIA Top 50 Album Chart looks to be won through the sale of CDs rather than digital downloads.

Golden, which is Kylie's 14th album, is available for streaming plus in regular and deluxe CD format, which includes bonus tracks, and two different vinyl releases.

Hillsong's There Is More album, the church's 26th musical collection, is available on streaming platforms with physical copies available from the church's website.

Mega release: Golden, which is Kylie's 14th album, is available for streaming plus in regular and deluxe CD format, which includes bonus tracks, and two different vinyl releases

Divine intervention: It appears Australia's pop princess is set for a music battle against a higher power on the ARIA charts

There Is More physical albums come with a bonus book of Scriptures, while Kylie's Golden is available to purchase as a rare golden glitter cassette tape.

Golden is Kylie's nod to country music tinged with techno and pop flavours and is her first studio album in four years.

Australia's highest-selling artist of all time, Kylie has sold over 80 million records worldwide and achieved fifteen top 10 albums and ten number one singles locally.

Blessed: Hillsong's There Is More album, the church's 26th musical collection, is available on streaming platforms with physical copies available from the church's website

Bonus: There Is More physical albums come with a book of Scriptures. Pictured: Hillsong Worship star Brooke Ligertwood at the 2018 Grammy Awards

Like Kylie, Hillsong Worship celebrates 30 years of music in 2018 and the church has enjoyed the number one ARIA chart spot for their albums three times in Australia.

The music collective won a Grammy award in the Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song category for What A Beautiful Name in February this year.

'No matter how far or close you feel to God or no matter how great the distance his love is greater, His name is more powerful, more wonderful, more beautiful than any other,' group member Ben Fielding remarked on the win.
The first day of spring was two weeks ago.

But it seems no one told Selma Blair, who looked quite cozy as she arrived at LAX airport on Friday.

The 45-year-old Cruel Intentions star also sported some absolutely massive spectacles for the trip.

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All bundled up! It seems no one told Selma Blair winter was over, as she looked quite cozy as she arrived at LAX airport on Friday

Aside from her cream colored sweater, the Legally Blonde actress also rocked a pair of distressed jeans, which she cuffed at the ankle, and glossy black combat boots.

Her brunette locks were parted on the left and pushed over her right shoulder.

Selma appeared to be mostly make-up free, save for a slick of pale rose lipstick.

She seemed to be in quite a good mood, as she hauled her own luggage through the terminal.

Eagle eye! The 45-year-old Cruel Intentions star also sported some absolutely massive spectacles for the trip

Winter-ready: Aside from her cream colored sweater, the Legally Blonde actress also rocked a pair of distressed jeans, which she cuffed at the ankle, and glossy black combat boots

Indeed, she couldn't help but smile, even as she donned her glasses and took a phone call.

And why wouldn't she be happy, as it seems the Hollywood vet had just returned from a visit to her home state of Michigan.

In an Instagram post shared only hours before her flight, Selma can be seen outside enjoying some snowy weather.

Nothing fancy: Her brunette locks were parted on the left and pushed over her right shoulder

No help needed! She appeared to be in quite a good mood, as she hauled her own luggage through the terminal

Comfortable: Selma opted for a cozy look for her travel day, but had a touch of sparkle with glittering earrings

Spectacle: Selma couldn't help but smile, even as she donned her glasses and took a phone call

Her face is aimed at the sky, while her eyes are closed as snow starts to blanket her caramel tresses.

She captioned the snap 'Michigan snowfall. Good morning. #michigan #snowangels  #theseareafewofmyfavoritethings.'

The mother of one also seemed to take the opportunity to humble brag about her perfect complexion, adding 'Ps. I had an acne patch on and smoothed one spot to hide it. And nothing else. Amateur.'

Keeping busy: Selma caught up with a phone call during the last leg of her journey
They are one of the world's hardest working couples.

But that doesn't mean they don't deserve a night on the town when it can be arranged.

George, 56, and Amal Clooney, 44, looked dapper as they stepped out into the brisk New York air on Friday.

Dapper: George and Amal Clooney looked dapper as they stepped out into the brisk New York air on Friday

Heating up: The Clooneys used the cool temperatures to raise their fashion games, adding some seasonal flair

The Clooneys used the cool temperatures to raise their fashion games, adding some seasonal flair.

Covered by a long yellow coat and sporting thigh-high beige boots, the Lebanese-British barrister was a vision of elegance as she strode through the city's flashing lights.

Her long, dark hair billowed down her neck as she clasped a velvet black clutch tight on her way to the car.

Mellow yellow: Covered by a long yellow coat and sporting thigh-high beige boots, the Lebanese-British barrister was a vision of elegance as she strode through the city's flashing lights

Season's greetings: Dressed in a well-tailored grey suit and a black turtleneck, the always stylish The American star cut a dashing figure as he and his love slipped into the night

Chivalry: Clooney gave a lesson in gallantry as he assisted his wife down the stairs

Caught in the wind: Her long, dark hair billowed down her neck as she clasped a velvet black clutch tight on her way to the car

Clooney gave a lesson in gallantry as he assisted his wife down the stairs.

Dressed in a well-tailored grey suit and a black turtleneck, the always stylish The American star cut a dashing figure as he and his love slipped into the night.

The actor donned freshly shined pecan oxfords and had his hair cut short.

Not brogues: The actor donned freshly shined pecan oxfords and had his hair cut short

Effortless: Amal and her Hollywood beau are relatively new parents, as the stunning counselor gave birth to twins, Ella and Alexander, nine month ago

Good looking duo: The actor donned freshly shined pecan oxfords and had his hair cut short

Earlier in the day, Amal put on a leggy display in a tight pencil dress which fell just above her knees and accentuated her lithe limbs with patent black stilettos.

She teamed the look with a powder blue coat, which hung loosely over her trim frame.

Amal and her Hollywood beau are relatively new parents, as the stunning counselor gave birth to twins, Ella and Alexander, nine month ago.

Looking back: Earlier in the day, Amal put on a leggy display in a tight pencil dress which fell just above her knees and accentuated her lithe limbs with patent black stilettos

The newborns haven't slowed down Amal, however, as she is already back at work.

It was recently revealed that she will represent two journalists jailed in Burma.

Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo  reporters for the Reuters news agency  are being held in a Yangon prison after being arrested in December.

They are being held under the countrys Official Secrets Act, a statute which carries a maximum prison sentence of 14 years.

Back at it: The newborns haven't slowed down Amal, however, as she is already back at work
They've been inseparable since last July.

Lea Michele, 31, and her boyfriend Zandy Reich were spotted running errands together in Los Angeles on Friday afternoon.

Makeup free and donning denim shorts, Lea looked blissfully content as she locked hands with her significant other.

Love birds! Lea Michele, 31, and her boyfriend Zandy Reich were spotted running errands together in Los Angeles on Friday afternoon

Earlier in the afternoon, the NYC native paid a visit to Nurse Jamie who gave her a facial.

'I just want to stay here all day,' she said in an Instagram post.

Lea frequents the skin expert's med spa for the cryofaciala complexion enhancing process which uses minus 250 degree air to exfoliate the face and neck.

Bronzed beauty: Lea showed off her tanned legs in denim shorts

Just days ago, Michelle announced that she is one of the guest artists on American Idol's April 16 episode.

Fans will watch as the Broadway songstress sings with two contestants Ada Vox and Jurnee.

'Lea was amazing to duet with and I cant wait for yall to see!!!!!!!' Jurnee said on Twitter. 'We really took it PLACES.'

Trial and error: Lea is currently on an acting hiatus after ABC pulled the plug on her comedy-series The Mayor that aired back in October

Lea is currently on an acting hiatus after ABC pulled the plug on her comedy-series The Mayor that aired back in October.

But she doesn't seem the least bit bothered as she's had ample time to spend with friends and family.

The Glee star recently escaped to Hawaii for a week with her mom Edith Sarfati.




She is representing Australia in the upcoming 2018 Eurovision Song Contest.

And Jessica Mauboy wowed a packed London nightclub on Friday with a high-energy rendition of 'We Got Love', her musical entry into the competition.

The 28-year-old joined many of the artists competing for the title at the preview party, held in anticipation of the main event in Lisbon next month.

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Star power: Jessica Mauboy wowed a packed London nightclub on Friday with a high-energy rendition of 'We Got Love', her musical entry into the competition

Attendees at the Cafe de Paris nightclub took to social media to share their praise for the pop star's first-time performance of the pop track.

'The crowd loved her,' tweeted SBS News Europe correspondent Ben Lewis.

'What a banger!' fawned UK television columnist Ed Gleave.

Popular: Attendees at the Cafe de Paris nightclub took to social media to share their praise for the pop star's first-time performance of the pop track

'The crowd loved her,' tweeted SBS News Europe correspondent Ben Lewis

'What a banger!' fawned UK television columnist Ed Gleave

Jessica spoke with SBS News at the event and shared her excitement at representing Australia in the annual music extravaganza.

'Theres all sorts of things going on, nerves, butterflies, theres so much to take in. The travel alone has been quite amazing,' she described.

Prior to her London visit, Jessica made a stopover in Lisbon to film her postcard segment that will air before her performance, should she make the final on May 12.

'Theres all sorts of things going on, nerves, butterflies, theres so much to take in. The travel alone has been quite amazing,' she described

'That was really exciting, to see Portugal for the first time. The language, the food, the architecture, so much history, I only got a bit of a taste!' she told the network.

Having performed at Eurovision back in 2014, Jessica reflected on critics who have complained Australia should not compete due to the country being outside Europe.

She noted how the SBS network has broadcast the event for over 30 years and how she 'was first inspired by this amazing show' as an 11-year-old watching the telecast.
She has become accustomed to the finer things in life such as designer clothing and accessories.

And on Saturday, Jesinta Campbell gave fans a first-look at her costly $3,250 Burberry leather belt tote bag.

The 26-year-old model took to her Instagram story to share a photograph of the highly-sought after belted bag.

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Totes fancy! Jesinta Campbell flaunts $3,250 AUD Burberry leather belt tote bag on Instagram

'New bag Burberry,' Jesinta wrote atop this seasons must-have accessory.

Jesinta's newly acquired handbag is a three-toned white, black and yellow leather masterpiece.

The chalk white designer bag features hand-painted edges, gold metal hardware and embossed Burberry branding on the front.

Life of Riley?! Earlier this week, the blonde model flaunted her enviable lifestyle again on Instagram as she gave fans a behind-the-scenes look at her upcoming swimwear campaign

What's more the British luxury fashion brand's belted tote is 'panelled inside and out in supple two-tone leathers,' according to the Burberry website.

Earlier this week, the blonde model flaunted her enviable lifestyle again on Instagram as she gave fans a behind-the-scenes look at her upcoming swimwear campaign.

Posing for famed bohemian-inspired swimwear brand Tiger Lily, the 26-year-old beauty showed off her incredible body while standing in Sydney's Freshwater Ocean Pool.

'I get to call this work': Jesinta Campbell sizzles as she strips down to a bikini in a behind-the-scenes look at her upcoming swimwear campaign

Working her best angles, the newly-blonde model was seen having a ball as she splashed around in the water.

Posting the preview to Instagram, Jesinta captioned the clip: 'So damn lucky to get to spend the day with one of my best makes and call it work.'

She also praised her photographer, writing: 'You're one of the best @josie_clough.'

Strike a pose! Posing for famed bohemian-inspired swimwear brand Tiger Lily, the 26-year-old showed off her incredible body while standing in Sydney's Freshwater Ocean Pool

Finishing the post, the beauty tagged bikini brand @tigerlilyswimwear, while adding the hashtag 'coming soon.'

Fans were quick to praise the stunner, with the post gaining over 10,000 views within 30 minutes of being uploaded.

One fan wrote: 'Looking great!'

Wet 'n' wild! Working her best angles, the newly-blonde model was seen having a ball as she splashed around in the water

Earlier this month, Jesinta spilled the secrets to her glowing complexion, crediting a $14 beauty product for her flawless skin.

Listing Olay Total Effects Foaming Cleanser as her go-to, the brand ambassador said: 'I'm not a big believer in using hundreds of products each and every morning.

I'll start by cleansing my face with the Total Effects Foaming Cleanser, followed by the Olay Total Effects Day Cream Gentle SPF15.'
Australia's Next Top Model season six winner Amanda Ware has announced her engagement to longtime boyfriend Jack Lawrence.

The 25-year-old made the announcement via Instagram on Saturday, sharing several images of the romantic proposal, which took place at Mermaid Beach, Queensland.

'07.04.18... I said YES,' she captioned an image of the moment her photographer/director fiance got down on bended knee.

'I said YES': Australia's Next Top Model winner Amanda Ware, 25, gets engaged to photographer Jack Lawrence and shares snaps of her impressive diamond ring

Happy daze! The 25-year-old made the announcement via Instagram on Saturday, sharing several images of the romantic proposal, which took place at Mermaid Beach, Queensland

Amanda wore a loose-fitting hoodie and jeans, appearing to be caught by surprise over the proposal.

Photographer Jack had clearly spent time ensuring the framing would be right for the image, nailing the composition and post-effects editing.

His model bride-to-be later shared several images of her impressive diamond engagement ring.

Impressive! She later shared several images of her impressive diamond engagement ring

In a statement to Daily Mail Australia, Amanda said her and Jack had gone to a Gold Coast beach to try and get over their jetlag after flying in from London.

'Lo and behold he drops to one knee and asks me to marry him!,' Amanda revealed. 'Weve been dating for five years and often joked about getting married.'

Making the event even more special Jack had secretly filmed the proposal, presenting Amanda with a custom-made pink sapphire surrounded by diamonds on a white gold band.

'Jack set up his cameras to time lapse the sunrise but he was really catching the moment,' Amanda said.

'I had a little inkling over the past couple of weeks but nothing concrete, so got a really lovely surprise!''

Amanda made headlines back in 2010, when host Sarah Murdoch famously announced the wrong winner during the live finale.

Kelsey Martinovich was initially named the winner, but it was later revealed that Amanda had won by just three votes.

Congrats! Amanda's Instagram page was quickly flooded with congratulatory messages from her 7,400 followers

As a result, they were both awarded several of the winner's prizes, including the $25,000 prize money and all expenses paid trip to New York to meet with agents.

Harper's Australia - who had agreed to run a front cover featuring the winner - opted to print half of the Novemeber 2010 issues with Amanda, and the other half with Kelsey.

Australia's Next Top Model subsequently faced accusations producers may have faked the botched announcement as a publicity stunt.

Right on! Photographer Jack had clearly spent time ensuring the framing would be right for the image, nailing the composition and post-effects editing

'Yaaas': Amanda shares several celebratory snaps to Instagram

Judge and renowned designer Alex Perry later insisted: 'There's no way that she would do that.'

'I think you saw that the instant that she knew something was wrong, you could see it in her eyes, that wasn't lying, that wasn't acting.'

In an interview with A Current Affair, Sarah said the blunder was a result of 'miscommunication'.

'I'm still in shock about it. We'd had such a brilliant show, and amazing series to begin with, a fantastic live show, and in the last minute everything went wrong,' she said.
Tim Robards and Anna Heinrich have been seemingly inseparable ahead of their upcoming wedding.

But on Saturday, the Sydney chiropractor went solo while attending a photo call at Royal Randwick Racecourse.

The 35-year-old looked sharp and sophisticated in a tailored black suit paired with a grey shirt.

Suits you! Tim Robards looked sharp in a tailored ensemble while attending at photo call at Royal Randwick Racecourse

He completed the look with a quirky-print tie and black formal shoes.

It comes after an insider close to Tim and Anna revealed the couple 'will tie the knot in a lavish destination wedding over the Summer in Europe.'

Speaking exclusively to Daily Mail Australia on Saturday, the source said the reality TV lovebirds 'will tie the knot in Italy, sometime in June this year.'

Sharp: The 35-year-old Sydney chiropractor looked sophisticated in a tailored black suit paired with a grey shirt

The insider could not provide specific details about the Italian wedding/reception venue but claims the pair are in full planning mode for the destination wedding.

What's more, the source dished on Tim's no expenses barred Bachelor party in the United States.

'Tim's bucks party will be in Las Vegas and California around the 4th/5th of May this year,' the source revealed.

Genetically-blessed: He completed the look with a quirky-print tie and black formal shoes

The fitness fanatic will enjoy his last days of freedom alongside a number of his close male friends.

After Tim and his mates enjoy a lubricated, fun-filled, male-dominated celebration in Sin City, the bevy of boys will supposedly venture to California's premiere desert resort city - Palm Springs for a touch of rest and recovery, according to the source.

Wedding bells: It comes after an insider close to Tim and Anna revealed the couple 'will tie the knot in a lavish destination wedding over the Summer in Europe'

'Tim's bucks party will be in Las Vegas and California': The source dished on Tim's no expenses barred Bachelor party in the US

Last but not least, the source offered some insight into Tim and Anna's relationship ahead of their upcoming nuptials.

'Tim treats Anna very well,' the insider revealed.

Despite the engaged duo's extensive wedding planning, the source revealed Tim has been attending acting classes in Sydney.

In December 2017, the hunky personality confessed he wants to return to the silver screen and become an actor.

'Putting some goals out there for 2018 and I want you guys to hold me accountable... I've always wanted to pursue acting and learn more about myself along the way,' Tim wrote in a lengthy Instagram post last year.

Dress rehearsal? Flashback to nigh on two years ago and the Bachelor duo were enjoying an envy-inducing sojourn in Positano and Sorrento, Italy

Flashback two years ago and the Bachelor duo were enjoying an envy-inducing sojourn in Positano and Sorrento, Italy.

In June 2016, the smitten duo caught up with the Heinrich family to celebrate Anna's mother, Jude's 60th birthday.

'Couldn't be any more EXCITED. We're coming for you EUROPE,' Anna captioned her shot leaving the Etihad Airways lounge at Sydney Airport.

Smitten selfie: The Bachelor couple got engaged in May last year when Tim got down on one knee and proposed to the former criminal lawyer during a boat outing

The 31-year-old added the hash-tags 'Jude's 60th' and 'family holiday', along with details of her outfit.

The smitten couple got engaged in May last year when Tim got down on one knee and proposed to the former criminal lawyer during a boat outing.

Anna debuted her impressive diamond sparkler on her social media page by uploading a photo of bikini-clad self beaming alongside her man as they floated in a boat.

The ring is estimated to be worth $173,000.

Nice rock! Anna's engagement ring is estimated to be worth $173,000

'Officially forever #ENGAGED,' she gushed in the caption as fans oggled at her diamond sparkler.

Tim also shared a snap of the two lovebirds posing together, writing: 'LOVE made me do it! On the weekend... in a little dinghy... floating on a secluded river...I asked this amazing woman to marry me... she said YES!!! Woohoo!! #ENGAGED.'

The high-profile couple met on the 2013 season of reality series, The Bachelor Australia.
He's portrayed a beloved superhero on the silver screen.

But Ben Affleck took his powerful role a little more seriously off screen as he made a hospice patient's wish come true.

The 45-year-old actor responded to a Twitter plea and spoke via FaceTime with an 11-year-old refugee from the Congo named Mukuta- an avid Batman fan.

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Swell: Ben Affleck took his powerful role a little more seriously off screen as he made a hospice patient's wish come true; seen in December 2016

'This call lifted M's spirit so much he asked to leave the facility to go to Target for a new outfit  so they took him!' a source from the hospital told People magazine of Makuta's reaction to speaking with Affleck.

'It has been an amazing week and the dramatic uplift in spirit of M and his family has been fun to witness.'

In addition to the phone call, Affleck offered to fly Mukuta's mother from Zimbabwe to Atlanta to be with her son.

Nice: The 45-year-old actor responded to a Twitter plea and spoke via FaceTime with an 11-year-old refugee from the Congo named Mukuta- an avid Batman fan; seen in 2017

On his way: The call for the caped crusader began with one simple tweet and quickly went viral as it was revealed Mukuta's favorite superhero was Batman

The call for the caped crusader began with one simple tweet and quickly went viral as it was revealed Mukuta's favorite superhero was Batman.

'Hospice Atlanta is calling for Batman! Melissa has been next to Mukuta daily & has come to know that Batman is his favorite Superhero,' one user wrote.

'He has cholangeocarcinoma. Sadly-His life is going to end soon (days/week)We need a Batman costume or someone to be the Batman themselves.'

Caped crusader: Ben has portrayed Batman and his alter ego Bruce Wayne in various films, including Batman v. Superman, Justice League and a quick cameo in Suicide Squad.

Ben has portrayed Batman and his alter ego Bruce Wayne in various films, including Batman v. Superman, Justice League and a quick cameo in Suicide Squad.

Affleck has reportedly been a longtime supporter of the refugees from the Congo and in 2010 he founded the Eastern Congo Initiative.

The group was 'the first U.S.-based advocacy and grant-making initiative wholly focused on the mission of helping the people of eastern Congo support local community-based approaches that create a sustainable and successful society in the long-troubled region,' according to People.
He joked about his co-star Davina Rankin's preoccupation with coconut oil, but it appears Married At First Sight's Nasser Sultan is equally enjoying his time in the sun.

The reality star, 50, was spotted enjoying unseasonably warm autumn temperatures at Sydney's Bondi Beach on Saturday.

He was seen conversing with two scantily-clad mystery blondes, before exclusively revealing to Daily Mail Australia he is co-writing a book about MAFS 'scandals'.

Busy! Nasser Sultan was seen conversing with two scantily-clad mystery blondes on Saturday, before revealing to Daily Mail Australia he is co-writing a book about MAFS 'scandals'

The outspoken personal trainer looked tanned and toned as he emerged from the waves in his checkered board shorts, carrying a surfboard.

He engaged in an animated conversation with two women in revealing swimwear, with one appearing to enjoy the surf in black frilly lingerie.

The aspiring author was beaming as he held onto one of the ladies' lower backs, in close proximity to her g-string clad posterior.

Daring: He engaged in an animated conversation with two women in revealing swimwear, with one appearing to enjoy the surf in black frilly lingerie.

Happy: The outspoken personal trainer looked tanned and toned as he emerged from the waves in his checkered board shorts, carrying a surfboard

After his ocean dip, Nasser happily disclosed he was co-writing a book, due out in October, 'about my experience and the scandals' from the last season of MAFS.

'For instance, did you know some of the brides are trying to sell their wedding dresses? It's disgraceful!' he told Daily Mail Australia.

He also described maintaining close ties with his co-stars, gushing that he celebrated Justin Fischer's son's 10th birthday on Wednesday.

Up close and personal: The aspiring author was beaming as he held onto one of the ladies' lower backs, in close proximity to her g-string clad posterior

The former rock and roll roadie recently implored men to 'get off Tinder' and take their hands 'out of their pants' in one of his new beauty blog video tutorials.

He has also admitted to being quite the ladies man, telling NW magazine in February: 'Between you and me, I would have slept with over a thousand women.'

Evidently happy with his newfound television fame, the Sydney-based personality told Daily Mail Australia: 'Print whatever you want, I want to keep getting out there!'
The celebrity guests on Your Face Or Mine charity specials were reportedly paid upwards of 3,500 for their appearances.

According to The Mirror, The Comedy Central show - hosted by Jimmy Carr and Katherine Ryan - offered the celebrity guests a fee which was often more than what the show would raise for charity.

The aim of the dating game show is to get couples to answer embarrassing questions about each other - with celebrities taking on the challenge to raise cash for Cancer Research.

Shocking: Your Face Or Mine - fronted by Katherine Ryan and Jimmy Carr - reportedly paid their celebrity guests 'THOUSANDS for their guest appearances on charity specials'

Celebrity guests who have appeared so far on the latest series include Love Island's Chris Hughes and Olivia Attwood - who have since broken up - and Geordie Shore's Marnie Simpson and Casey Johnson.

MailOnline has contacted representatives for Chris, Olivia as well as Comedy Central.

Marnie and Casey's representatives declined to comment, while a spokesperson for Olivia told the MailOnline: 'Olivia absolutely did not receive the reported 3.5k. She gave the full amount she raised to her chosen charity the Heart Foundation'.

Inside sources revealed that an agent can get around 3,500 for their client's appearance because the show bosses are eager to get big names.

One source told the tabloid: 'A celebrity with a savvy agent can get up to about 3,500. Bosses are so desperate they will throw money at them.

Earning? Celebrity guests who have appeared so far on the latest series include Love Island's Chris Hughes and Olivia Attwood. A rep for Chris said he donated half of his split fee to Calm

'It makes a mockery of it being a charity special. Agents trying to get a fee get short shrift.'

A representative for Chris Hughes told the publication that the reality star donated half of his joint fee to charity Calm.

The news comes after Great British Bake Off's judges were reportedly paid thousands for the Stand Up To Cancer specials, while celebrity contestants donated their entire fee to the charity.

Celebrity guests: Inside sources revealed that an agent can get around 3,500 for their client's appearance (Marnie Simpson pictured with Ricky Raymont and Casey Johnson)

In a new report by The Sun on Friday, accusations have been made about 'hefty pay packets' handed to Paul Hollywood, 52, Sandi Toksvig, 59, Prue Leith, 78, and Noel Fielding, 44, for fronting the show, with an 'undisclosed donation' made to the fundraising efforts.

The Sun alleges that Paul Hollywood, 52,- who has made up to 23,500 per episode in his new contract - bumped his total pay packet for the charity specials up to 117,500.

Channel 4 said on air on Tuesday night that all the money earned by stars - including Alan Carr, Teri Hatcher and Aisling Bea - would go to charity.

'Viewers will be furious': Great British Bake Off's judges (from left, Paul Hollywood, Sandi Toksvig, Noel Fielding and , Prue Leith) were reportedly paid thousands for the Stand Up To Cancer specials, despite the celebrity contestants donating their entire fee to the charity

While all the celebrity contestants adhered to Channel 4's words, the same cannot be reportedly said for the hosts and judges.

In response to the claims, a Channel 4 spokesman told MailOnline: 'Our aim is to raise as much as possible for Stand Up To Cancer.'

All contributors donate their fee to the campaign,' the statement clarified. 'Those contracted for long-running series make a significant donation to the campaign.

Donating: Channel 4 confirmed that contestants (from left) Alan Carr, Aisling Bea, Kadeena Cox and Teri Hatcher gave their fee in full to the Stand Up To Cancer charity

As a result of their involvement millions have been raised with 100 per cent of the money raised going to fund ground-breaking research.

A later Channel 4 statement released to MailOnline stipulated: 'Our aim is to raise as much money as possible for Stand Up To Cancer and 100 per cent of the money raised goes directly to the charity.

'All contributors donate their fee to the campaign. Those who are already contracted for long running series also make a significant donation to the SU2C campaign and as a result of their involvement millions have been raised to fund ground-breaking research that will save lives.
She's no stranger to flaunting her incredibly toned post-baby body in revealing ensembles.

So it's no surprise Danielle Lloyd treated onlookers to a sizzling peek at her slender physique as she soaked up the sun in Dubai earlier this week.

The 34-year-old television personality - who welcomed her fourth child Ronnie last year - appeared in high spirits as she tucked into a refreshing ice-cream with her fiance Michael O'Neill.

Sizzling hot! Danielle Lloyd treated onlookers to a peek at her slender physique as she soaked up the sun in Dubai earlier this week

Boasting her stunning frame, the model slipped into a flattering white one-piece, which featured a perilously low-cut neckline.

The Celebrity Big Brother star protected her eyes in a pair of circular-framed sunglasses and accessorised with an array of gold bracelets.

Putting her radiant complexion on full display, the mother-of-four went make-up free and swept her brunette tresses in an effortless bun.

Sweet treat: The 34-year-old television personality - who welcomed her fourth child Ronnie last year - appeared in high spirits as she tucked into a refreshing ice-cream

Smitten: Danielle was joined by her hunky partner Michael, who showcased his ripped abs in a pair of designer shorts by Gucci

Kiss kiss: The pair looked more loved-up than ever on holiday, having got engaged on Valentine's Day back in 2016

Danielle was joined by her hunky partner Michael, who showcased his ripped abs in a pair of designer shorts by Gucci.

The pair looked more loved-up than ever on holiday, having got engaged on Valentine's Day back in 2016.

However, their wedding was put on hold when Danielle fell pregnant last February, and the couple welcomed their first child Ronnie in September last year.

Wow-factor! Boasting her stunning frame, the model slipped into a flattering white one-piece, which featured a perilously low-cut neckline

Stylish: The Celebrity Big Brother star protected her eyes in a pair of circular-framed sunglasses and accessorised with an array of gold bracelets

Digging in: Danielle's handsome partner appeared satisfied as he enjoyed his own pot of ice cream

The former beauty queen also shares three sons - Archie, seven, Harry, six, and George, four - with ex-husband Jamie O'Hara.

The pair's wedding could be on the cards however, amid claims they are set to tie the knot in the early months of 2018.

According to The Sun, the Playboy pinup and her electrician beau have been secretly planning a beach wedding in the Caribbean, but have 'kept the whole thing quiet' from fans, to ensure their special day an 'intimate' affair.

Having a laugh: The pair proved to be kids at heart as Danielle threw water at her beau

Funny: The Liverpool native lost composure during the amusing water fight

Off he goes! Michael attempted to make a run as he was drenched in water

A source said: 'Danielle and Michael have kept things massively low-key but they've been thinking about getting the wedding sorted since baby Ronnie arrived in September and now their plans are coming together.'

MailOnline contacted Danielle's representatives for comment at the time.

Aside from the claims, Danielle recently spoke out about the horrific online abuse she has received.

New parents: Their wedding was put on hold when Danielle fell pregnant last February, and the couple welcomed their first child Ronnie in September last year

Stunning: Putting her radiant complexion on full display, the mother-of-four went make-up free and swept her brunette tresses in an effortless bun

Speaking on ITV's Lorraine, she revealed: 'They'd say, "Odd shaped, botched up body",' she revealed. '"She's rough and undesirable", "Her face is monstrous and frightful" and "She looks like a bloke."'

She even admitted trolls targeted her for being overweight after giving birth to Ronnie last year.

Danielle lamented: '[They said I looked] overweight, I looked haggard and horrible and I thought, 1. Ive just had a baby and 2. Im not getting any sleep whatsoever.

'It was a really tough time, but I think that experience has obviously made me want to talk about it. People shouldnt have to go through this.

Making an order: Danielle and Michael visited an ice-cream van before they tucked into their sweet desserts

Set to wed? The pair's wedding could be on the cards however, amid claims they are set to tie the knot in the early months of 2018

'I shouldnt be getting abused every day. Its made me stronger and think, Im not going to allow them to do this to me anymore.'

Despite the comments, Danielle looked more than confident during her trip - as she now prioritises being 'healthy' rather than toned.

Speaking to Now magazine last month, she said: 'I've never wanted to be a size 8 and I still don't. I'm not even desperate to lose weight because I'm happy being a healthy size 10.

'My body goal is to feel stronger, fitter and healthy, so that I can run around with the boys without feeling knackered.'
She's preparing to tie the knot later this year after getting engaged to boyfriend Chris Zylka in January.

Yet Paris Hilton was out with the second love of her life as she carried her adorable chihuahua Diamond Baby on a stroll around Beverly Hills on Friday.

Cuddling her pet pooch to her her chest, the 37-year-old heiress looked in high spirits on the outing.

Move over Chris! Paris Hilton was out with the second love of her life as she carried her adorable chihuahua on a stroll around Beverly Hills on Friday

Opting for a casual yet chic look, the blonde beauty donned a grey zip up hoodie teamed with velour tracksuit bottoms.

Adding to the glamour, the Simple Life star donned a baker boy hat and accessorised with scarlet tinted oversized shades.

Paris finished off the look with a pair of black trainers, a drastic change from her typical towering heels.

Chic and cheerful: Opting for a casual yet chic look, the 37-year-old blonde beauty donned a grey zip up hoodie teamed with velour tracksuit bottoms

Paris was not joined by her fiance, Chris, 32, who got down on one knee during a romantic trip to Aspen, Colorado, in January.

The couple had been dating for two years when he popped the question.

Chris recently told TMZ that he is going to sign a pre-nuptial agreement before the wedding.

'Well, any gentleman that's about to marry a very wealthy and well-established business woman wouldn't be a gentleman to not bring up a prenup in the first place,' he said. 'So yes of course we're going to have one.'

Cute couple: Paris was not joined by her fiance, Chris Zylka, 32, who got down on one knee during a romantic trip to Aspen, Colorado, in January

Meanwhile, Paris told Life & Style that she plans on inviting old friend and former stylist Kim Kardashian to her wedding to actor Chris Zylka.

The songstress said 'yes of course!' when asked if the KKW Beauty founder, who is married to Kanye West, is getting an invitation.

The magazine reports Paris and Chris are exchanging their I do's on November 11 in Beverly Hills.
They are one of the most stylish couples in Hollywood.

And George and Amal Clooney showed off their flair for fashion once again as they enjoyed a romantic dinner in Soho, New York on Friday.

The Human Right's lawyer, 40, made sure all eyes were on her as she rocked an unusually quirky ensemble - combining thigh-skimming distressed denim cutoffs with black leather trousers.

Strange style: Amal Clooney, 40, rocked a quirky combo in her denim cutoffs and leather trousers while out with husband George in New York on Friday

Amal is known for her sartorial excellence, and upped the style stakes once again in her chic black floral jacket, with a warming faux fur lining.

Pairing her unique look with a classic black jumper, the barrister added height to her statuesque frame with chic black leather heels.

Amal - who shares nine-month-old twins Ella and Alexander with her acting hunk - polished off the eye-catching ensemble with a trendy black beret, which topped her glossy chestnut tresses.

Injecting a pop of colour with her vibrant red lip, Amal walked hand-in-hand with her actor beau as they made their exit from the restaurant.

Date night: Amal is known for her sartorial excellence, and upped the style stakes once again in her chic black floral jacket, with a warming faux fur lining

George, 56, followed suit with his own date night garb, opting for a charcoal jacket over a black roll neck jumper.

The Hollywood heartthrob donned a pair of light blue denim jeans and tan suede boots as he stuck close to Amal.

George kicked some serious salt-and-pepper scruff across his sharp jawline as they walked through the streets, with the iconic actor seemingly taking a slip off the step causing him to grimace.

Unique: The Human Right's lawyer, 40, made sure all eyes were on her as she rocked a quirky ensemble - combining thigh-skimming distressed denim cutoffs with black leather trousers

Finishing touches: Amal - who shares nine-month-old twins Ella and Alexander with her acting hunk - polished off the eye-catching ensemble with a trendy black beret

Amal, who has worked on a number of high profile cases throughout her career, stepped out as it was revealed that she will represent two journalists jailed in Burma.

Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo  reporters for the Reuters news agency  are being held in a Yangon prison after being arrested in December.

They are being held under the countrys Official Secrets Act, a statute which carries a maximum prison sentence of 14 years.

Her latest case comes amid claims she recently threw open the doors of her familys newly refurbished 10 million Berkshire mansion to renowned photographer Annie Leibovitz, for an at home interview, set to be published in Vogue this year.

Busy mum: Amal, who has worked on a number of high profile cases, stepped out as it was revealed that she will represent two journalists jailed in Burma (pictured March 2018)

Doting parents: Amal shares nine-month-old twins Ella and Alexander with the acting veteran (pictured 2014)

In the unlikely event that the A-listers nine-bedroom property isnt impressive enough, Amal also borrowed 7million of diamonds to wear for the occasion.

A source close to the Clooneys told The Mail on Sunday: This has been organised for a long while. It is Amals chance to do a sit-down interview and show the inside of her house.

'It will be a really special piece for her. She and George have put blood, sweat and tears into getting their house to be perfect, so its the ideal location to do this.

The choice of photographer is also significant, as Leibovitz took the pictures of Amal during the final fitting of her Oscar de la Renta wedding dress for the couples marriage in September 2014.

However, it is understood that neither George, 56, nor their children will appear in the new pictures.
She rose to fame as the face of Guess' spring campaign at the tender age of 18 in 2009.

And Emily DiDonato proved to maintain her supermodel status during a photoshoot for beauty giant Maybelline in New York's Manhattan district on Friday afternoon.

The catwalk queen, 27, commanded attention as she slipped her envy-inducing figure into a series of trendy outfits.

Chic: Emily DiDonato proved to maintain her supermodel status during a photoshoot for beauty giant Maybelline in New York's Manhattan district on Friday afternoon

In one ensemble, the IMG model's toned legs were on full display as she wore leather thigh-grazing shorts, teamed with a stylish satin blouse.

Looking every inch the vixen, Emily tied in her look with a pair of suede ankle boots.

The Victoria's Secret star ensured all eyes were on her in another number, as she was clad in a pair of form-fitting patent leggings, complemented with a sleeveless monochrome top.

Working it! The catwalk queen, 27, commanded attention as she slipped her envy-inducing figure into a series of trendy outfits

Legs for days! In one ensemble, the IMG model's toned pins were on full display as she wore leather thigh-grazing shorts, teamed with a stylish satin blouse

Stylish: Looking every inch the vixen, Emily tied in her look with a pair of suede ankle boots

Emily enhanced her stunning beauty with a sultry smokey eye look, and styled her tresses into loose waves.

The model was joined by fellow stars Herieth Paul and Danish native Josephine Skriver.

Leggy Emily is currently engaged to Kyle Peterson - who she met during a Vogue cover shoot in 2014.

Favourite: Emily put on a friendly display as she took a selfie with a keen fan

In an interview with the publication last year, Emily - who previously dated Jake Gyllenhaal in 2013 - opened up about her upcoming wedding, which is set to take place in June.

She said at the time: 'We are just starting to dive into the planning process...we are so excited.

'We both want everything to be outdoors and just a fun day for our guests. I want it to feel like an outdoor, romantic mountain wedding.'

Striking bunch: The model was joined by fellow stars Herieth Paul (left) and Danish native Josephine Skriver (right)

Maybelline recently added to its roster, as TV and radio host Maya Jama landed her first major beauty campaign with the American brand yesterday.

The 23-year-old presenter stars alongside supermodel Jourdan Dunn in the stunning shoot to promote Maybelline's Fit Me foundation range.

Taking to Instagram to announce the news, the Cannonball star wrote: 'The secret is out!!! The new adventure is an actual dream come true.'

'I have joined the @Maybelline family! And this is the ad for MY FIRST CAMPAIGN WITH THEM!'

The new range comes in 32 shades, and starring alongside Maya and Jourdan in the new campaign are CC Clarke, Emma Louise Connolly, Diipa Khosla and Denny Daily.

The BBC Radio 1 DJ has enjoyed a meteoric rise to fame, landing a Women's Health magazine cover as well as lucrative partnerships with brands including Adidas and eBay in recent months.
She's never been shy of flaunting her phenomenal figure.

And Amanda Holden's sensational frame was on full display as she slipped into a skimpy bikini for a sweet snap on Saturday.

Cuddled up to her husband Chris Hughes, the 47-year-old Britain's Got Talent judge gushed over her man as she shared pictures from their romantic getaway in Marrakech.

Cute couple: Amanda Holden's sensational frame was on full display as she slipped into a skimpy bikini for a sweet snap with her husband Chris Hughes in Morocco on Saturday

Revealing the shot had been taken by her eldest daughter Lexi, 12, she captioned the image: 'Another #toughday by the #pool with #mylub #me #husband #familytime #happy #holiday [picture] by #Lexi #10 #15.'

In the image, Amanda showed off her ageless figure in a tiny white bikini top that highlighted her ample cleavage and toned stomach.

She nestled up to her husband, who lovingly wrapped an arm around his wife for the snap.

Sizzling: Amanda , 47, set pulses racing as she posed up a storm in a cutout swimsuit at Fairmont Royal Palm Marrakesh Hotel in Morocco on Thursday

Amanda has been enjoying an Easter break at Fairmont Royal Palm Marrakesh Hotel in Morocco.

And the actress left little to the imagination on Thursday as she took to Instagram to share a photograph of herself in a daring black cut-out swimsuit while lounging next to a hot tub.

The mother-of-two worked her best angles as she flaunted her enviable tanned figure and wore a pair of sunglasses for the picture.

Relaxing: The actress left little to the imagination as she took to Instagram to share a photograph of herself in a daring black cut-out swimsuit while lounging next to a hot tub

Beach babe: Amanda is often sending fans into meltdown with her holiday pictures and enviable figure (pictured in February)

Amanda sent her fans into meltdown with the sultry snap as they rushed to heap compliments on the television beauty.

One follower said: 'Wow Amanda you are so so so so stunning pretty gorgeous and beautiful xxxx,' followed by heart emojis.

A different account put: 'Looking beaut... you have the body of a 20 year old... go you.'

Another fan added: 'Wow stunning picture of you very beautiful Amanda.'

Britain's Got Talent: The TV personality is currently a judge on the hit ITV show, pictured with her glamorous co-star Alesha Dixon

Return: The new series kicks off on Saturday 14 April (Amanda pictured with her co-judges Simon Cowell, David Walliams and Alesha)

Amanda will no doubt be making the most of the relaxing vacation as gets set to return to television screens for the new series of Britain's Got Talent on Saturday 14 April.

When she is away from the showbiz circuit, Amanda is often seen making the most of her country lifestyle.

The ITV star lives at home with her dogs, her husband Chris Hughes and their two daughters, Lexie 12, and Hollie, six.

She married Chris, 44, in a romantic ceremony at Babington House, in Somerset in December 2008.
Her performance in West End play Frozen has seen critics laud her as 'riveting', 'terrific' and 'intensely shattering'.

And Suranne Jones's pal Antony Cotton seemed to agree with this sentiment as he left London's Theatre Royal Haymarket on Friday night alongside the actress, both looking pleased as punch.

Having been to watch his friend and former Coronation Street co-star, Antony laughed as he accompanied Suranne into a waiting car, with his partner Peter Eccleston.

After party: Suranne Jones shared a joke with former Corrie co-star Antony Cotton as they left the theatre... after he saw his pal in her West End play Frozen

Suranne looked typically chic in all-black, donning black skinny trousers and a simple top, covered with a dark leather jacket.

She looked fresh-faced as she beamed at Antony, her dark tresses loosely around her features which were dusted in a natural glow of make-up.

Suranne added black boots to the get-up and a gold medallion chain around her neck.

Antony, 42, rocked a casual ensemble in a black leather jacket embellished with a simple white star.

Plenty to smile about: Suranne's performance has seen critics laud her as 'riveting', 'terrific' and 'intensely shattering'

Low-key: The Doctor Foster star, 39, cut a casual figure in all-black as she headed to an awaiting taxi

He wore a sweater in the same colour, jeans and white trainers to complete the look.

His other half, Peter, looked much more dapper for the occassion, stepping out in a crisp grey suit and tie.

Doctor Foster actress Suranne has been starring in the psychological thriller play since February.

She and Antony starred for just one year together in Corrie, between 2003 and 2004.

Casually-clad: Having been to watch his friend and former Coronation Street co-star, Antony laughed as he accompanied Suranne into a waiting car

Stunning: The actress showcased her natural beauty with a minimal make-up look while Antony's boyfriend Peter Eccleston accompanied the pair in a crisp grey suit

Antony joined the stalwart soap in 2003, playing the role of Sean Tully. The following year, Suranne left her role as Karen McDonald in the soap, having starred since 2000.

Antony is still a cast member, while Suranne has since become better known for her roles in the likes of Doctor Foster, Save Me and Scott & Bailey.

Suranne will continue to appear in Frozen for another month, completing the run on May 5, which tells the dark tale of a mother whose child went missing, and her confrontation with the man responsible.

She has already appeared on screens this year in drama series Save Me, and will go on to shoot Vanity Fair for ITV and Amazon Studios next.

Jokes: The pair got into the taxi following the adrenaline-fuelled performance, but seemed in high spirits

Job well done: The pair starred in Coronation Street together in 2003/2004

Busy: Suranne will continue to appear in Frozen for another month, completing the run on May 5, which tells the dark tale of a mother whose child went missing, and her confrontation with the man responsible

She will then star in Gentleman Jack, an upcoming British-American historical drama series.

Set in 1832, Suranne takes the lead role of Anne Lister who returns to her ancestral home in West Yorkshire after an extended period of travel, study and social climbing.

The series explores the relationships and interests Lister develops in her quest to transform her ancestral home, her business interests and find herself a wife.

She is then thought to return to the role of Gemma Foster for season three of the much-talked-about BBC drama series.

She recently told Lorraine Kelly that shooting the forthcoming third season won't be getting underway anytime soon, saying: 'I move on from this show and then I go to do a Sally Wainwright drama until December. I'll look at next year when it comes, because I've got a two-year-old as well!'
She's a style icon with a giant fashion following.

So Alexa Chung ensured she dressed to impress as she attended a promotional event for ALEXACHANG Virginia Collection in n Tokyo on Saturday.

Proving that less is more, the 34-year-old designer dazzled in a printed black and white midi dress that ensured she'd turn heads.

Glamorous: Alexa Chung ensured she dressed to impress as she attended a promotional event for ALEXACHANG Virginia Collection in n Tokyo on Saturday

Featuring billowing sleeves and a calf-length hemline, the garment was demure, but cinched in at her slender waist so that it would not dwarf her petite frame.

With a loud floral pattern drawing the eye, Alexa added to the stylish look with a pair of patent black cowboy boots.

The brunette beauty finished off the look by styling her glossy chestnut locks in loose waves that framed her pretty features.

Blooming lovely! Proving that less is more, the 34-year-old designer dazzled in a printed black and white midi dress that ensured she'd turn heads

Alexa was flying solo on the outing, amid claims she is back together with Big Little Lies actor Alexander Skarsgard.

The It author appeared to confirm her relationship with the Swedish actor is back on after they were seen at St. Pancras International train station after arriving in the English capital earlier this year.

The couple originally confirmed their split in July, with friends claiming the separation was entirely amicable.

Dressed to impress: Featuring billowing sleeves and a calf-length hemline, the garment was demure, but cinched in at her slender waist so that it would not dwarf her petite frame

Natural beauty: The brunette beauty finished off the look by styling her glossy chestnut locks in loose waves that framed her pretty features

A source told E! Online: 'No one cheated on anyone. It was a clean breakup that was caused by busy schedules and distance.

Meanwhile, Alexa recently laid bare the details of her intimate romance life in a candid interview with PORTER magazine for its Spring 2018 edition.

The style maven divulged she would consider dating women and joked she was 'long overdue' having a same-sex encounter.

Chatting away: Alexa seemed in high spirits as she chatted away at the event

Two's company: Whilst at the event she was joined by the managing director Edwin Bodson

The model has had a series of headline grabbing romances including love stories with True Blood actor Alexander Skarsgard to Arctic Monkeys frontman Alex Turner.

The host, who most recently split from Swedish star Alexander, admitted that she'd never been attracted to a woman but refused to rule out falling in love with one in the future.

She explained: 'I'm long overdue losing my lesbian virginity, but I just think it's super old-fashioned to expect anything from anyone, I think everyone is on a spectrum of whatever they prefer.'
She recently confirmed her relationship with Gorka Marquez following their stint of Strictly Come Dancing.

And Gemma Atkinson made a low-key arrival with her beau in London's Euston station on Friday afternoon.

The former Emmerdale star, 33, was spotted in the English capital to watch her former co-stars Aljaz Skorjanec and Janette Manrara perform on tour.

Casual: Gemma Atkinson and Gorka Marquez arrived in London's Euston station on Friday afternoon. The pair were in the city to watch Aljaz Skorjanec and Janette Manrara on tour

The actress cut a casual figure as she donned a pair of ankle-grazing jeans, teamed with a dark khaki shirt.

Gemma showcased her sporty style as she wore box-fresh trainers and accessorised with oversized sunglasses.

The former soap star swept her locks into a bun and put her fresh-faced complexion on display as she went make-up free.

Support: The former Emmerdale star, 33, was spotted in the English capital to watch her former co-stars Aljaz Skorjanec and Janette Manrara perform on tour

Sporty: Gemma tied in her look with box-fresh trainers and accessorised with oversized sunglasses

The Spanish dancer, 27, looked equally relaxed as he sported a black hoodie by Adidas and wore stylish ripped jeans.

Looking every inch the hunk, Gorka wore a burgundy cap with a pair of circular framed sunglasses.

Aljaz and Janette kicked off their Remembering Fred tour last week, and have since visited Liverpool, Leamington Spa and Northampton.

Working hard: Aljaz Skorjanec and Janette Manrara kicked off their Remembering Fred tour last week, and have since visited Liverpool and Northampton (pictured February 21)

Low-key: The actress cut a casual figure as she donned a pair of ankle-grazing jeans, teamed with a dark khaki shirt

In an interview with The Sun last month, the fitness enthusiast admitted that they weren't hiding their relationship: 'It's nice to be able to say he's my boyfriend.'

'We had that awkward stage where you're dating but you haven't had "the conversation,"' she said. 'You never want to say to a guy after three coffees: "So what are we?"'

Gemma, who was partnered on the dancing series with Aljaz, revealed: 'We'd go for coffee together on the Sunday after the show, but had never really spent more than two hours together. So it was a gradual thing. There was no lightning-bolt moment, unfortunately. Not like in the movies.'

Off they go: The former soap star swept her locks into a bun and put her fresh-faced complexion on display as she went make-up free

Trendy: The Spanish dancer, 27, looked equally relaxed as he sported a black hoodie by Adidas and wore stylish ripped jeans

Stylish: Looking every inch the hunk, Gorka wore a burgundy cap with a pair of circular framed sunglasses

The pair solidified their romance as they spent New Year's Eve together and embarked on the Strictly tour - during which their co-stars urged them to confess their relationship status.

The former glamour model recently shared with her 583k Instagram followers she was working hard to maintain her gym-honed figure with the help from her boyfriend.

Alongside a video of the lovebirds giggling in the gym, she wrote: 'Taking @gorkamarquez back to Evil Steve. I have a fitness shoot in just under two weeks and I want to rock up feeling my best so we're on it! Gorka is doing the training with me and we're stepping up our clean eating too which I love (He's an insanely good cook!)'

She continued: 'Doing it together not only makes it more fun for me, it's just genuinely nice to hang out and train with my fella. Having support from loved ones as well as your trainer makes any goal you have set that bit easier.'
She's heavily pregnant with her first child.

So Kirsten Dunst had undoubtedly earned herself some me-time as she treated herself to a pampering session in Los Angeles on Friday.

Seeming in great spirits, the 35-year-old actress was seen heading out of a nail salon before making her way home.

Treating herself: Pregnant Kirsten Dunst had undoubtedly earned herself some me-time as she treated herself to a pampering session in Los Angeles on Friday

The yummy mummy-to-be looked effortlessly stylish for the outing, sheathing her baby bump with a little black dress.

She teamed the garment with a striped cardigan and swapped heels in favour of flip flops - no doubt so she didn't smudge her pedicure.

The Bring It On actress went make-up free for the outing, allowing her natural beauty to shine through, whilst she was positively radiant with a healthy pregnancy glow.

Dressed to impress: The yummy mummy-to-be looked effortlessly stylish for the outing, sheathing her baby bump with a little black dress

Kirsten announced just a few months ago that she was expecting her first child with husband Jesse Plemons.

The actress confirmed the news as she cradled her bump in a photo shoot for Rodarte.

Kirsten and Jesse met on the set of the second series of FX's Fargo in 2015, playing married high school sweethearts Peggy and local butcher Ed.

Their friendship soon blossomed into romance, and the couple announced their engagement in January 2017.

'I wasnt one of those "I need a baby!" people until my goddaughter was born. I love her so much. That love is just like you cant experience that unless you have a kid.'

She added: 'I put her to bed last night and she woke up this morning and said to her mom, "Wheres Kiki?" I just love that love. Thats what I want.'
It's emerged that she is romancing Chris Hughes of Love Island fame, fresh from his split from Olivia Attwood.

And in newly-resurfaced images of Emily Blackwell, the Made In Chelsea starlet looked pleased with herself as she enjoyed a frolic in the surf in Ibiza recently.

The 21-year-old showed off her lithe beach body in a candyfloss pink push-up bikini top and pale blue bottoms.

All smiles: Emily Blackwell flaunted her assets in a push-up bikini top as she frolicked n the Ibiza surf in newly re-emerged photos... as it's thought she is 'seeing' Love Island contestant Chris Hughes

Allowing her brunette locks to flow around her shoulders in the salty breeze, Emily donned a pair of shades for her dip in the Spanish surf, sweeping it back from her face at one point before splashing her bikini-clad pal.

Emily was seen enjoying her day at the beach, wandering thoughtfully across the sand and heading over to a rock pool.

She re-joined her blonde companion, who helped her apply sunscreen to her back in the warm Ibiza sunshine.

Emily showcased her enviably lean pins and her taught stomach in the two-piece as she giggled with her pal in the water and on the shore.

It's getting hot out here: The 21-year-old showed off her lithe beach body in a candyfloss pink push-up bikini top and pale blue bottoms

Moving on: Chris, 25, is reportedly 'seeing' Made In Chelsea star Emily [L] after his explosive Olivia Attwood split [pictured with Frankie Gaff, Lottie Moss and Sophie Habboo]

She seemed in great spirits in the snaps, which were taken before she met Chris.

Emily has seemingly left MIC, and so the romance won't be documented on the show if it does end up being confirmed.

Chris called it quits with Olivia last month, but according to New! Online, Chris, 25 has already moved on with Emily - who recently parted ways with beau George Alsford.

Despite being rumoured to be in a romance with Georgia May Foote, a source told the publication: 'The truth is Chris has been seeing Emily for a while and Olivia knows all about it.

Heating up: The source claimed 'Chris has been pally with the MIC lot for a while now and he met Emily through them as she used to be in it' and that he's 'really keen' on her

Company? Emily was not alone as she joined a bikini-clad pal in the water

Splish splash: Emily was seen playfully splashing her bikini-wearing friend

Brunette beauty: Allowing her locks to flow around her shoulders in the salty breeze, Emily donned a pair of shades for her dip in the Spanish surf, sweeping it back from her face at one point

Are they/aren't they? While nothing has been confirmed by the pair, the Love Island star did take to Instagram on Wednesday to share a photograph cosied up to the reality star and her MIC posse

'He did have a very brief thing with Georgia but its Emily hes with and Georgia knows hes seeing someone else and that nothing will develop between her and him. Its a shame as she was quite keen but what can she do.'

'Chris has been pally with the MIC lot for a while now and he met Emily through them as she used to be in it. Hes really keen on her.'

While nothing has been confirmed by the pair, the Love Island star did take to Instagram on Wednesday to share a photograph cosied up to the reality star and her MIC posse.

He captioned the photograph as: 'Tuesday isn't so bad; it's a sign I survived Monday.. My favourite 4 acquaintances,' followed by a cocktail emoji.

Fun in the sun: Emily was seen enjoying her day at the beach, wandering thoughtfully across the sand and heading over to a rock pool

At their leisure: She re-joined her blonde companion for a stroll along the sand

Protection protection protection: Who helped her apply sunscreen to her back in the warm Ibiza sunshine

Lithe: Emily showcased her enviably lean pins and her taught stomach in the two-piece

New love? Emily has seemingly left MIC, and so the romance won't be documented on the show if it does end up being confirmed

Larking around: She giggled with her pal in the water and on the shore

Rumours? The reports come after Chris was reportedly linked to Georgia May Foote, with the romance rumoured to have started on social media

The reports come after Chris was reportedly linked to Georgia May Foote, with the romance rumoured to have started on social media.

However, the ex Coronation Street star has appeared to deny the claims after she replied to a fan's post mourning the loss of her single status, responding with the words: 'I don't have a fella.'

This comes after Chris shocked fans last month after it was announced that he had split from Olivia Attwood following nine months together.

Beach babes: The pair headed home after their day at the beach

Ladies man: It was revealed by the source that he did have a 'brief thing' with Georgia (pictured) but it is Emily who he's actually with

Their emotional parting was captured on camera for their TV series Chris and Olivia: Crackin' On which aired on ITVBe.

The stars were both left in floods of tears as they made the decision to go their separate ways, after a fiery, no-holds barred row where Olivia branded Chris 'abusive' before storming out of the room.

Despite the public fallout Olivia recently revealed she's thought about rekindling her relationship with Chris because 'the love has not gone away' and said she 'didn't know' if the romance was over once and for all.
She was abruptly axed from her breakfast radio slot with Matt Tilley on Melbourne's KIIS FM station last year.

But while the decision to shelve Meshel Laurie and Matt may have shocked listeners, the bubbly radio host wasn't surprised to get the boot.

Speaking to the Herald Sun, Meshel claimed her and Matt knew about the station's plans to replace them long before an announcement was made.

'Station management werent telling us officially but we knew': Meshel Laurie claims KIIS denied they were dumping her and Matt Tilley ... before the duo were replaced by Jase and PJ

'The funny part is they (station management) werent telling us officially, but we knew,' she told the publication.

Citing the fact that radio was a small industry, Meshel claimed she knew that radio bosses had flown to New Zealand last year to meet with her eventual replacements - Jase Hawkins and PJ Harding.

But when she confronted them about going to New Zealand, Meshel claimed the member of management said it was a 'crazy rumour'.

'Luckily, Matt and I both have sort of salty senses of humour because we were getting many laughs out of these conversations': Meshel claimed she knew that radio bosses had flown to New Zealand last year to meet with her eventual replacements

'I mean we were both disappointed, but we werent devastated or shocked': Despite the axing Meshel said she and Matt don't have any hard feelings about the decision, and wished nothing but the best for their replacements.

'Luckily, Matt and I both have sort of salty senses of humour because we were getting many laughs out of these conversations,' she said.

Despite the axing Meshel said she and Matt don't have any hard feelings about the decision, and wished nothing but the best for their replacements.

'I mean we were both disappointed, but we werent devastated or shocked,' she added.

Meshel and Matt were pulled from their breakfast radio slot at the end of last year, with KIIS later announcing they were replacing them with New Zealand personalities Jase and PJ.

Replaced them: KIIS later announcing New Zealand personalities Jase and PJ were taking over the slot

In January, Meshel criticised the duo for using her and Matt's likeness during a radio stunt in which they gave drive team Will and Wood T-shirts and mugs with Meshel and Matt KIIS branding

'We never had t shirts or mugs, or any merch at all, so theyve made these especially for a fake stunt,' Meshel wrote on Instagram.

'Sad. Please dont use my name and face for cheesy radio stunts guys.'

Meshel is a Priceline ambassador for their Biggest Womens Health Check campaign, which is offering free health checks for women in stores.
They've been together for more than 20 years, and recently celebrated their 16th wedding anniversary together.

And Barbara Windsor, 80, and her husband Scott Mitchell, 53, looked closer than ever as they enjoyed a romantic stroll through London on Friday.

Holding onto her husband's hand, the EastEnders icon looked effortlessly chic in a pale pink coat which she paired with loose-fitting black trousers.

Loved-up couple: Barbara Windsor, 80, and her husband Scott Mitchell, 53, enjoyed a romantic stroll through London on Friday

Adding a touch of glamour to her ensemble, The Shoreditch native slipped on a pair of silver lace-up trainers for the pair's walk.

Pulling her trademark blonde locks into a tight ponytail, Barbara brushed her fringe in front of her face so that it perfectly framed her petite features.

Meanwhile, Scott cut a casual figure in jeans which he paired with a navy jacket and matching polo shirt.

The former actor kept his long brunette locks loose and brushed to one side, and he maintained his low-key look by wearing a pair of Aviator sunglasses.

Romantic display: Holding onto her husband's hand, the EastEnders icon looked effortlessly chic in a pale pink coat which she paired with loose-fitting black trousers

The TV icon - who became a Dame in 2016 - made her film debut at the age of 17 in The Belles Of St Trinian's (1954).

She received a BAFTA Award nomination for Sparrows Can't Sing (1963), and a Tony award nomination for the Broadway production of Oh, What A Lovely War! (1964).

However, it was her starring role in the 1964 film, Carry On Spying that saw her thrust into the spotlight.

She has since gone on to enjoy a glittering career, becoming a staple character on EastEnders, playing popular pub landlady Peggy Mitchell from 1994 to 2010.

Role of a lifetime: The TV icon became a staple character on EastEnders, playing popular pub landlady Peggy Mitchell from 1994 to 2010

Last year a BBC biopic called Babs depicted the life and career of the star but it received mixed reviews as a result of it's confusing narrative structure.

Even before it aired, The Guardian had previewed the show and called it 'oddly structured' and 'presented in a way thats occasionally laboured'.

And many took to Twitter to echo this precise analysis at the time, as one aptly quipped: 'Might help if this programme came with an explanatory leaflet. No idea what's going on!'

A second wrote 'Seriously though, #Babs is like a weird version of #AChristmasCarol with father and daughter' comparing it to the Dickens classic which features time travel and an alternate reality.
She's been happily sharing pictures from her fun-filled Easter holiday this past week.

And Kim Kardashian once again posted a throwback photo from the festive day.

The proud mom, 37, shared a sweet image of her daughter North West, four, hunting for Easter eggs at her aunt Kylie Jenner's house.

On the hunt! Kim Kardashian once again posted a throwback photo from the festive day, this time of her daughter North West hunting for Easter eggs

Little North wore a black dress and fluffy slides as she scoured through the yard for some candy with a white wicker basket in hand.

Her basket was already filled with some finds as well, and appeared to have several golden hued prizes.

It's just the latest throwback photo Kim has been posting from the holiday.

On Friday, the star shared a photo to her website, kimkardashianwest.com, of herself holding baby Chicago in her arms with husband Kanye West by her side.

Bundle of joy! On Friday, the star shared a photo to her website, kimkardashianwest.com , of herself holding baby Chicago in her arms with husband Kanye West by her side

The KKW X MARIO makeup mogul added in her caption: 'This year, we had Easter at Kylie's house. We had an Easter egg hunt, petting zoo and slide. The whole family went to church before and then had the best time celebrating with all of the kids!'

The family had gathered at Kylie's mansion in Hidden Hills, California to celebrate the holiday.

Earlier this week, she shared the a rare family photo of herself, Kanye, North, son Saint, and newborn Chicago.

The mom-of-three described the process of orchestrating the entire photo in the caption.

'I dont think you really understand how hard it is to take a good family pic. This was all we got before all three kids started crying. I think I cried too,' she explained.
Lady Kitty Spencer put on a sexy display on Friday as she donned a revealing black dress for a photo shoot in New York.

The 27-year-old model and niece of the late Princess Diana showed off her incredible figure as she joined her pals in posing for Vogue Brazil.

Kitty looked amazing in her Dolce and Gabbana frocks as she joined Sistine Stallone, 19, and Princess Maria-Olympia of Greece and Denmark, 21, taking over Time Square for the glamorous photo shoot.

Sexy: Lady Kitty Spencer put on an elegant display on Saturday as she donned a revealing black dress for a Vogue Brasil photo-shoot

Kitty was keen to show off every inch of her incredible figure for the high fashion shoot, sporting a black lace dress over her matching bodysuit to add even more length to her slim pins.

The daughter of 9th Earl Charles Spencer - the brother of Princess Diana - had her blonde hair styled into classic Old Hollywood curls, adding some extra rocker chic to her look with some high-heeled sock boots.

Kitty joined fellow models Sistine and Olympia right in the middle of Times Square for the fashion shoot, with the group rocking a variety of sexy black ensembles.

Say cheese! The 27-year-old model snapped a selfie with some of her model pals as they took to Times Square in various Dolce and Gabbana looks for the photoshoot

Revealing: Kitty put on a racy display in the see-through black lace dress and body suit as she posed up a storm in the fashion shoot

Touch-up: The niece of Princess Diana highlighted her flawless complexion with a classic smoky eye and nude lip

Gorgeous: Kitty added even more height to curvaceous ensemble by teaming the look with high-heeled sock boots

Kitty, who is signed with Kate Moss's former modelling agency Storm, is regarded as one of the most eligible young women on London's social scene, having split from her property tycoon boyfriend at the start of the summer.

And the Earl Spencer's eldest daughter, who grew up in South Africa and is now based in Fulham, appears to be throwing herself into work and play since she and property tycoon Niccolo Barattieri parted ways last year.

Kitty and Niccolo dated for three years before splitting last summer, but the model, a regular at the racetrack, went on to mend her heart with a summer of globetrotting and girls' trips.

Her seemingly endless jaunts included a holiday to Montenegro with a bevvy of glamorous friends, where she also served as a bridesmaid at the wedding of her friends Vesna Vasiljevic and oil trader Luka Obradovic.

Classic: The daughter of Princess Diana's brother 9th Earl Spencer had her blonde hair styled into old Hollywood curls

Amazing: Kitty has been making a name for herself on the fashion scene, and has been free and single following her split from property tycoon Niccolo Barattieri

Globe-trotter: There has been no end to Kitty's international exploits, included a holiday to Montenegro with a bevvy of glamorous friends

Lavish: During her trip Kitty served as a bridesmaid for her friends Vesna Vasiljevic and oil trader Luka Obradovic

Pout it out: Donning a classic nude lip, Kitty showed off every inch of her plump lips in the high fashion shoot

Ready to go: Once she had her makeup sorted out, Kitty was ready to get going with the photoshoot

Transformed: Later she donned a whole new look that burst into a sea of colour, contrasting her previous all-black ensemble

Sensational: Kitty donned a layered pink floral frock with black peep-toe boots, finishing it off with a red rose wrist corsage

Later in the shoot Kitty changed into a look that burst into a sea of colour, sporting a voluminous pink floral layered dress with black peep-toe heeled boots.

It was glamorous shoot to say the least as the models posed up a storm in front of the camera, with Princess Olympia also stunning as she also grabbed some snaps with superhero characters frolicking around Times Square.

Olympia's blonde locks were a wild mess of crimped curls as she rocked a blue jewelled vest and grey denim skirt, before later changing into a glamorous black maxi dress.

Fashion forward: Princess Olympia of Greece, 21, also showed off her amazing figure in several stylish looks, as she took to the streets of New York for the photo shoot

Look who it is: Olympia got involved in some funny snaps with superhero characters frolicking the streets of Times Square

Girls about town: Also taking part in the Vogue Brazil shoot was Sistine Stallone (far left) who donned a racy sheer black trousers suit with lace heeled boots

Also spotted in the photo-shoot was Sistine Stallone, who rocked a racier look as she sported a semi-sheer trouser suit with lace peeptoe heels.

The daughter of acting legend Sylvester Stallone and his third wife Jennifer Flavin joined her model pals in turning Times Square into their very own catwalk, strutting their way through the big apple for the glamorous shoot.

Sistine's hair was styled into an outrageously voluminous hairdo, as she sported a classic red lip with her sexy ensemble.

Quick break: Olympia puffed on a cigarette in a break between snaps, covering up her look with a black trench coat

Having fun: Kitty didn't stop smiling throughout the shoot, as she joined several members of the crew in posing for photos

Jaw-dropping: Sistine (far left) looked amazing in her revealing look, with her blonde locks styled into enormous curls

Unbelievable: Passers-by could not believe their eyes as they saw the models pose for the Vogue shoot

Since being unveiled as Miss Golden Globe along with her sister Sophia, Sistine as has been a rising star in the fashion industry.

As well as appearing on the covers of Town and Country and Harper's Bazaar Kazakhstan, the beauty has walked in shows for Chanel and Dolce and Gabbana.

She also makes regular appearances on her father's Instagram, with Sylvester once joking his daughter has a 'pout face' and recently commending Sistine on her success so far in the fashion industry.

Sharing a selfie of his daughter to his page on the photo-sharing site, Sylvester sweetly penned: 'Gratulation's to my wonderful daughter SISTINE who is doing so well and making us so proud.'

Group hug: After shooting had wrapped the stars all got together for a photo slap band in the middle of The Big Apple

That's a wrap! The girls turned Times Square into their very own catwalk, strutting their stuff through the chilly weather
She recently reflected on ten years since her acid attack.

And Katie Piper was oozing confidence on Saturday as she hosted an empowering catwalk at Bristol Fashion Week.

The 34-year-old TV presenter was beaming as she donned a striped culotte jumpsuit for the event, showing off her incredible figure as she strutted her way down the runway.

Stunning: Katie Piper, 34, put on a glamorous display on Saturday as she hosted a catwalk show at Bristol Fashion Week in a stylish culotte jumpsuit

Katie looked amazing in her stylish ensemble as she hosted the lavish catwalk show, showing off her curves in the strapless navy and white jumpsuit with culotte-style trousers.

Adding some height to the look with nude platform heels, Katie - who welcomed her second child with husband Richard Sutton in December - looked effortlessly stylish as she hosted the show with model and amputee Jack Eyers.

The mother-of-two wore a classic smoky eye and lightly curled blonde locks for the appearance, as she led a group of models down the catwalk sporting a t-shirt with uplifting message Celebrate your style.

Gorgeous: The mother-of-two couldn't stop beaming as she hosted a runway show in the chic strapless one-piece

Chic: Katie added some height to her look with nude platform heels as she donned a microphone to host the runway show

Empowering: The TV presenter led a group of models down the runway, sporting t-shirts with the uplifting message Celebrate Your Style

Katie took to Instagram last week as she marked ten years since her horrific acid attack, posting an image as she implored fans not to let anybody control them.

The blonde beauty wrote: '10 years ago to the day today, I found it hard to dig deep, believe and trust in when people would say ''what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.''

'Now I look in the mirror and see the hardest thing I've ever had to go through, it is now my strength, scars may be permanent but I am who I am today, take back the power and live your best life. Never allow anyone to control or attempt to silence you.'

Duo: Katie joined male model and amputee Jack Eyers as they walked down the runway together

Role model: This came a week after Katie took to Instagram to mark ten years since the horrific acid attack which left her permanently scarred

Supportive: Katie was inundated with support from fans who branded her an 'inspiration' as she told her followers to 'take back the power'

Katie has become known for her charity work and campaigning for burns victims over the years, ever since she had sulphuric acid thrown in her face by her ex-boyfriend in 2008.

Ahead of the undoubtedly difficult anniversary, Katie revealed on social media that she was spending her day with her family.

In 2008 when she was 24 years old, Danny Lynch, a man Katie had been dating, arranged for an accomplice to throw industrial-strength sulphuric acid in Katie's face.

The attack, which took place in north London, left her partially blinded, with severe and permanent scarring to her face, chest, neck, arm and hands.
She's currently on a sunshine-soaked getaway to the vacation destination of Tulum, Mexico.

And Naomi Watts relaxed as she took in some fresh air outside of a lush bungalow on Friday.

The star, 49, looked every bit on vacation mode as she kicked back in a flowing, hippie chic dress that showcased some leg.

Soaking up the sun: Naomi Watts relaxed as she took in some fresh air outside of a lush bungalow on Friday in Tulum, Mexico

Taking in the gorgeous location from outside the bungalow, Naomi looked incredibly relaxed as she rested her foot upon the balcony railing.

Her blonde hair blew in the breeze as she relaxed by the railing, barefoot.

Naomi also rocked a pair of ripped jean shorts and a billowing white blouse as she soaked up the sun.

Not pictured were Naomi's sons, Alexander, 10, and Samuel, nine, who she shares with her former partner, Liev Schreiber.

Kicking back! Taking in the gorgeous location from outside the bungalow, Naomi looked incredible relaxed as she rested her foot upon the balcony railing

Catching some rays: Watts looked content as she relaxed on the balcony

Jean-ius! Watts showcased her svelte legs in a pair of denim shorts

She did, however, she a snap of her final breakfast in Mexico with her sons.

'Last breakfast @luvtulum #mexico... farewell,' she captioned the photo.

Naomi and Liev announced their split in September 2016 after 11 years together.

Liev, 50, has since been linked to blonde 24-year-old ex-beauty queen Taylor Neisen, with Taylor seen joining the star and his children on a holiday in Costa Rica in February.

New flame? Naomi is rumored to be dating actor Billy Crudup, 49, with the pair last spotted together in February as they left a Vogue party hand-in-hand

Hat's off to her: Watts made her way through the lush surroundings with a stylish hat on

Naomi is rumored to be dating actor Billy Crudup, 49, with the pair last spotted together in February as they left a Vogue party hand-in-hand.

The two reportedly became close while filming the Netflix series Gypsy, which centers on a married psychologist (Watts) who becomes obsessed with one of her client's ex-girlfriends.

A source confirmed to PEOPLE back in July that the pair were 'dating' in real life.
Seven French nationals and a Thai woman have been arrested over an alleged Sydney drug distribution ring.

The seven men and one woman, who were living in Sydney on either tourist, student or working visas, were arrested in raids across Sydney on Friday.

Police seized a kilogram of various drugs and $235,000 in cash.

Three men, aged 23, 44 and 26, were charged with various drug offences while a 24-year-old was charged with participating in a criminal group.

The group is expected to face Parramatta Bail Court on Saturday.

Meanwhile a 27-year-old man was charged with possessing a criminal drug and granted bail to appear before the Downing Centre Local Court on April 26.

Two men, aged 28 and 23, and a woman, 25, were released pending further inquiries.
Two men have been charged over a police pursuit of a car with stolen number plates that crossed the NSW border into Queensland.

Officers spotted the car parked outside a home in Murwillumbah, in northern NSW, about 1.30pm on Friday just before four men ran from the home, got into the car and fled.

NSW Police began a pursuit but stopped when the car crossed the border. Queensland police monitored the men via helicopter as they travelled through the Gold Coast hinterland.

When Queensland police stopped the car near Springbrook two men, aged 22 and 31, were arrested but the other two men fled on foot and have evaded police since.

Two men have since been charged with unlawful use of a motor vehicle, with an additional charge of possessing a weapon unlawfully for the 31-year-old.

Both were refused bail to appear at Southport Magistrates Court on Saturday.
Two French nationals have been charged over the alleged assault of a man in Sydney.

Emergency services were called to Loftus Street near Circular Quay at 3.30am on Saturday following reports of an assault.

A 27-year-old man was found with non-life threatening injuries and taken to St Vincent's Hospital, while two French men were arrested nearby and taken to a station.

The men, aged 22 and 23, were charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm and ordered to face Parramatta Bail Court on Saturday.
A man has been charged with punching a police officer in the face at a vehicle stop in Sydney's north west.

Police say they discovered cash and a substance believed to be prohibited drugs when they stopped and searched his ute in Kellyville about 9.40pm and Friday.

During the operation the male driver, 38, allegedly punched an officer in the face and fled on foot.

With the help of the dog unit, police found and arrested the man a short distance away.

He was taken to Castle Hill Police Station and charged with assault officer in execution of duty and deal with proceeds of crime.

The 38-year-old was granted conditional bail to face Parramatta Local Court on May 2.

The officer who was allegedly punched did not require medical attention.
The Triple Eight Commodores look the team to beat at the Supercars round at Symmons Plains after dominating practice.

Jamie Whincup and Shane van Gisbergen, the Red Bull Holding Racing Team duo, sat on top of the timing charts after the final tune-up session before qualifying on Saturday.

Whincup set the lap record at the Tasmanian circuit on Friday.

With changed wind conditions, he couldn't lower that benchmark on Saturday but he was happy enough.

"Yesterday we had a big tailwind into the hairpin ... now it's the complete opposite," he told Fox Sports.

"To go faster, yesterday's conditions were great.

"But it doesnt matter what the time is, you've just got to be quicker than everyone else."

Showing the competitiveness of the field, there was less than sixth tenths of a second between leader Whincup and 21st-ranked James Golding.

The session's biggest drama came when van Gisbergen nearly collided with David Reynolds exiting from pit lane; an unusually dramatic move during a practice session with nothing on the line.

"I'm not sure that he was thinking," Reynolds said.

"Luckily I've got cat-like reflexes."

Kiwi van Gisbergen was unrepentant.

"Sorry to wreck his lap. But it's practice," he said.

The new three-stage qualifying begins on Saturday at 12:55pm AEST before a 50-lap race at 4:45pm.
Six members of an infamous family accused of horrific crimes, including incest and pedophilia, have had their matters heard in a Sydney Court.

The "Colt" family members did not apply for bail at Parramatta Bail Court on Saturday, a day after they were arrested in Western Australia and South Australia.

Their lawyer Paul Johnson told the court the group, aged between 29 and 50, had not sought to appear by video link.

Their matter was adjourned to April 12 at Sydney's Central Court.
A teenager has died after being thrown from a four-wheel drive that crashed in central western NSW.

The 18-year-old was in the front passenger seat of the utility when it went down an embankment and skidded on a private property at Cudgegong about 8.30am Saturday.

He was treated at the scene by paramedics but later died, NSW Police said on Saturday afternoon.

The 17-year-old male driver was taken to Mudgee Base Hospital with minor injuries, while two other teenage passengers were not injured.

In a separate incident a 56-year-old man was killed when his motorcycle was struck by a caravan at Cooma, in the state's south, after 10am.

Police have been told the man rode his bike across the southbound lane of the Monaro Highway and into the path of a Pajero that was towing the caravan.

The motorcyclist was thrown from his bike when he hit the front of the caravan and was taken to Cooma Hospital in a critical condition, but died a short time later.
A 70-year-old man who suffered a suspected cardiac arrest has been brought back to life after a dramatic resuscitation played out on Sydney's iconic Bondi Beach.

Members of the public noticed the beachgoer gasping for air before he collapsed on the sand before 11.30am on Saturday.

A lifesaving patrol team began work with assistance from two doctors who were in the area.

After CPR and 10 cycles of defibrillator shock were applied, the man's heartbeat returned - albeit weakly - and he began shallow breaths.

Surf Life Saving chief executive Steven Pearce commended the team for their "lengthy" resuscitation.

"A rapid response, great training and good teamwork among our volunteers and first responders from the public have given him every chance of survival, which is what we are here for after all," he said in a statement.
The contractor and subcontractor hired to deliver Sydney's delayed light rail project has been warned to "get on with the job" because the NSW government is now an "angry customer".

Transport Minister Andrew Constance on Saturday scolded the Spanish builder subcontracted by ALTRAC amid reports it had asked the government for an extra $1.2 billion.

Acciona - whose lawyers claim the government misled the contractor on the complexity of utility work involved - has proceeded with a "go-slow" on work, The Australian reported on Saturday.

Mr Constance said the company was no different to the hundreds of contractors working for the people of NSW on other projects.

"We're not going to get fleeced by anyone, we're an angry customer at this point in time," he told reporters in Sydney.

"They need to get back to work, desist in their go-slow and stop disrupting people and in particular, they've got to meet their obligations."

The disagreement is headed for the NSW Supreme Court on Friday.

The company is reportedly threatening to more than double the original $1.6 billion cost of the project, which will link the city to the eastern suburbs.

Labor Leader Luke Foley said the debacle was a "defining moment" for Premier Gladys Berejiklian's government.

"We're dealing here with nothing less than the monumental failure of delivery of Ms Berejiklian's key personal transport priority project," he told reporters.

Mr Foley said the project could become the most costly light rail venture delivered anywhere in the world.

"They have to resolve this," he said.

"They have to tell the public, they have to tell local residents and local business people what's being done to resolve this because at the moment this is disastrous."
A Perth march in support of white farmers in South Africa is expected to be attended by up to 3000 people, with speakers including conservative Liberal MP Andrew Hastie.

Organised by South African Events, it starts at midday on Sunday and is expected to last about two hours.

"It's going to be a big one," the organiser told AAP.

"We support land reform but not the way we're doing it now."

He said more than 2000 people recently attended a similar event in Brisbane.

WA's sole Liberal Democrats MP Aaron Stonehouse says he's going to be there.

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton this week said he was considering "several" applications from South African farmers for refugee or humanitarian status in Australia.
Wayne Bennett admits his Brisbane side have been sapped of confidence as fresh questions arose over halves pairing Anthony Milford and Kodi Nikorima following Saturday's 15-10 NRL defeat to Newcastle.

The Broncos slumped to their second straight loss as their misfiring playmakers failed to capitalise on a glut of opportunities at McDonald Jones Stadium.

Worringly, after five rounds, Milford and Nikorima have not registered a single try assist between them.

And while Bennett reiterated his support for the pair and said they were the best options the club had, questions are beginning to pile about their ability to guide the side to this year's finals.

The Broncos created plenty of chances against the Knights - boasting a 79 per cent completion rate, having 29 tackles inside the opposition 20m zone and forcing seven drop outs.

But they still couldn't land the killer blow.

Their first try came off the back of a Shaun Kenny-Dowall howler, when the Knights winger made a mess of a kick restart.

The other came from a piece of Milford magic in what was a rocks-and-diamonds performance from the Broncos No.6.

The Broncos have scored an average of two tries per game this year and Bennett admitted their self-belief had dissipated.

"We're just lacking a little bit of confidence right now," Bennett said.

"Tonight was a big step forward for us.

"We've been clunky, we haven't been able to consistently put it together. I thought tonight was a step in the right direction.

"We've got to play ourselves back into form, we've played ourselves out of it."

Brisbane captain Darius Boyd said their energy was sapped after spending long amounts of time defending their own line in the first 40 minutes.

"If you watch that first half, they rolled down the field and were kicking us into 10 metres off our tryline, we were trying to bring it off our tryline constantly," Boyd said.

"To their credit they were quite tight in their defence and we couldn't get a lot of yards.

"While the completions were high and the drop outs were good, the field position wasn't that great and we used a lot of energy."
A police officer who tried to stop a fight on a Sydney street has been assaulted, sending him to hospital.

Just before 12.30am on Sunday, the officer saw two men fighting in the suburb of Emerton and got out of his vehicle. When he attempted to intervene, a third man hit the officer on the head with a glass bottle, causing a large cut.

The officer, an acting inspector, remains in hospital in a stable condition. The three men fled after the incident and a large search of the area was conducted. They are still being sought by police.
Jason Day says he'll put faith in the old adage the Masters doesn't start until the back nine on Sunday, acknowledging his third round move is likely too late.

Day, who opened the week with a sloppy 75, continued to improve at Augusta National with a three-under-par 69 on moving day to climb to one-under overall.

But with Patrick Reed running away with the lead on day three, former world No.1 Day sits a distant 11 shots back of the American.

"Looking back at the week, I'm a little disappointed with how I started because it kind of got me on the back foot," Day said.

But with a runner up and a third in seven previous Masters appearances, Day knows he is fighting an uphill battle but isn't waving the white flag just yet.

"Obviously, over the last three to five years you've seen some pretty crazy things happen," Day said.

"If I can shoot seven or eight under tomorrow, you never know what could happen.

"Especially on the back nine with 11, 12 and then 15 and 17 and 18 coming home."

Day's lowest round at Augusta is a 64 he carded during the second round during his 2011 Masters debut, where he finished equal second.

The 11-time US PGA Tour winner says the key to going low in the final round will be to avoid frustration at mistakes.

"I think it's going to be a lot more attitude tomorrow than anything," Day said.

"I was really frustrated (in the first round) because things weren't happening.

"Today was a lot better; I was calmer out there and I drove it well and hit a lot of quality iron shots.

"If I can just come in and enjoy the (final) day, that will help a lot."
Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland says NAFTA talks are making progress

Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said Friday officials were making progress in intensive talks to revamp the 24-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement with the United States and Mexico.

Freeland met over two days in Washington with US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, who described the talks as "positive," and Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo to try to reach an agreement on a new NAFTA.

The discussions have entered "a new, more intensive phase of engagement," Freeland told Canadian television.

"The tone is positive. We are making progress. And we're just all very committed to working as hard as we can to get a good deal, a win-win-win."

She said talks would continue and she would stay on in Washington "a little while longer."

"The bottom line is we had two days of intensive and constructive and productive work."

The administration of US President Donald Trump is increasing pressure in hopes of quickly reaching a deal. Looming on the horizon are July's presidential elections in Mexico and November's midterm US congressional elections.

The sides reportedly are aiming to have a deal in principle finished by the time of next week's Summit of the Americas in Peru.

The White House is also contending with deepening public fears of an all-out trade war with China, amid escalating tariff threats that sent global markets lower and Wall Street tumbling two percent Friday, for a loss of nearly 10 percent since the peak in late January.

Lighthizer later issued an optimistic statement.

"We had positive meetings this week among ministers and staff," he said. "We are in continuous contact during these negotiations, and we will continue working to achieve an agreement that benefits our three countries."

- Stumbling blocks remain -

Freeland noted there had been progress in recent weeks on requirements for US content in autos, which she said was one of the most complex issues for all three countries. But she declined to provide details on any other areas under discussion.

Under the current agreement, 62.5 percent of the content of a vehicle must be produced within the NAFTA countries to move duty-free across borders.

Washington wants to bump this requirement up to 85 percent, with 50 percent of US origin -- a proposal that Ottawa and Mexico City have both rejected.

Several other stumbling blocks remain to be resolved, particularly Washington's proposals to include a "sunset clause" for the agreement and to modify a key dispute resolution mechanism.

Mexico, meanwhile, reportedly is holding out against a US demand that would require automakers to source auto parts from factories that pay workers at least $15 per hour -- in line with US and Canadian wages, versus Mexico's current average wage of $3 per hour.

The auto parts sector is concerned that higher wages will increase costs throughout the supply chain, leading to higher prices for vehicles or a shift in work to lower-wage jurisdictions outside of North America.
Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahayan (L) chats with US President Donald Trump on May 21, 2017

The White House said Friday that President Donald Trump would host the United Arab Emirates' Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahayan, but did not specify a date.

The news comes after Washington said Trump would host Qatar's Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on April 10 in an effort to end a diplomatic spat that has riven America's Gulf allies.

Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE cut diplomatic and trade ties with Qatar last year, accusing Doha of bankrolling Islamist extremists and fostering ties with Saudi arch-rival Iran.

The White House said Trump spoke on the phone with bin Zayed, his country's de facto ruler, "to discuss regional developments and opportunities for increasing cooperation on a range of security and economic issues."

A statement added: "The leaders agreed that all GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) states can and should do more to increase coordination with each other and with the United States to ensure the peace and prosperity of the people in the region."

It said the pair "agreed on the importance of a united GCC," in what appeared to be a reference to the regional dispute, since the GCC member countries are Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Trump had taken a hard line against Qatar, saying the country needed to scale back ties with Iran and stop funding extremism.

Aides -- mindful of the pivotal role that the Al Udeid Air Base outside Doha plays in US Middle East operations -- have since convinced him to take a more moderate approach.
Speaking highly of Switzerlands role in negotiating a free trade agreement between Vietnam and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) comprising Switzerland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland, Liem expressed his belief that both sides will soon complete negotiations to facilitate bilateral trade.

He said the city is building a high-tech energy system to ensure rapid and sustainable development, and calling on domestic and foreign firms to turn wastes into energy.

Permanent Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Peoples Committee Le Thanh Liem (R) and Swiss Minister of Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications Doris Leuthard (Source: VNA)



The host suggested clean water supply, transportation and seaports as potential cooperative fields to bring mutual benefits.

Liem affirmed that the city supports the issuance of e-visas for Swiss aircrew and citizens, especially in the context that the Zurich  Ho Chi Minh City direct flights are to open in late 2018.

Leuthard, for her part, expressed her hope that the Vietnam  EFTA free trade agreement will be signed in late 2018.

According to her, Swiss enterprises are experienced in building smart cities and wished to work with the city on sub-component projects involving energy, transportation, seaports, clean water supply, smart technology and sewage treatment.

She wished to receive the citys support in e-visa issuance to facilitate aviation, tourism and trade between the two countries.

Switzerland now ranks 11th out of 96 countries and territories investing in the city with 67 projects. Two-way trade between Ho Chi Minh City and Switzerland reached USD25 million last year./.
Members of the Iraqi army's 9th Division hold a position on the southwestern outskirts of Mosul, on February 27, 2017, during an offensive to retake the city from Islamic State (IS) group fighters

As Iraqi forces battled the Islamic State group, former general Abdel Karim Khalaf came to a sad realisation -- they were fighting against some of his former army comrades.

The tactics IS jihadists used -- from the way they dug tunnels to their construction of defences -- were lifted straight from the manual of the old Iraqi armed forces under dictator Saddam Hussein.

"They had expertise and methods inherited from the army," retired army commander Khalaf told AFP. "They knew us."

When the US-led invasion toppled Saddam 15 years ago in 2003 it splintered Iraqi society and fractured loyalties among those who had served in the country's armed forces.

One of the first decisions made by Paul Bremmer, the American head of the occupation authority, was to dismantle all security forces in the country.

That controversial move would come back to haunt US-led forces as it pushed many members of Iraq's disbanded military, police and intelligence agencies to join movements fighting against them.

- Top IS leaders -

"Saddam-era military expertise was critical to the development of the insurgency", said Fanar Haddad, an Iraq expert at the Middle East Institute.

The seepage of knowledge from Iraq's former security forces into the insurgency came to devastating fruition when IS stormed across Iraq and northern Syria in 2014.

Among the group's leadership were veterans of Saddam's forces who put their training to use conquering territory and running the self-declared "caliphate".

Former Republican Guard officer Fadel Ahmad al-Hayali was second-in-command to IS chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi until he was killed in an October 2015 air strike near Mosul in northern Iraq, the US has said.

As Baghdadi's deputy, he was in charge of arms transfers, explosives, vehicles and people between Iraq and Syria.

Another veteran was Samir Abd Muhammad al-Khlifawi, called the group's "most important strategist" by German weekly Der Spiegel.

Using the nom de guerre Haji Bakr, the former air force intelligence officer helped devise plans used by the group to take control of northern Syria before he was killed by rebels in 2014.

Hisham al-Hashemi, an expert on jihadist movements, said these were not isolated examples as IS filled its military and security bodies with former Saddam-era officers.

- 'Anticipate their movements' -

When the government launched its gruelling fight back against IS, it too relied on officials from the previous regime.

Key commanders, including the leaders of Iraq's elite counterterrorism units, were "former soldiers under Saddam" who had been reintegrated into the forces set up after the 2003 invasion, Hashemi said.

With a US-led coalition backing them up in the skies above, Iraqi forces overcame their opponents after a protracted and bloody campaign that saw some of the world's fiercest urban fighting in decades.

Ultimately the familiarity between the two sides gave Baghdad a key advantage that allowed it to declared victory over IS at the end of last year.

"The army won because they knew IS used the methods of Saddam Hussein's special forces and were able to anticipate their movements," Hashemi said.

- Security forces reborn? -

Beating back IS has been hailed as a major turning point for Iraqi forces that retreated in disarray when the jihadists first struck in 2014.

The brutal fight was the latest -- and most vicious -- testing ground for capabilities honed in the 15 years of chaos since the ouster of Saddam.

For former general Khalaf the triumph was also at least in part down to the know-how gleaned by the armed forces back before the US-led invasion turned Iraq on its head.

"Iraqi forces knew the nature of the battle and the geography of the terrain," he said.

"We understood how the enemy fought, and all of this came from reflexes acquired in the army."
The Texas National Guard said it would send 250 troops to the border within 72 hours

The US states of Texas and Arizona on Friday announced plans to send National Guard troops to the southern border with Mexico after President Donald Trump ordered a thousands-strong deployment to combat drug trafficking and illegal immigration.

The Texas National Guard said it would send 250 troops to the border within 72 hours and had already deployed two Lakota helicopters, while Arizona's governor said he would send 150 personnel next week.

"The Texas national guard is preparing to immediately deploy with supporting aircraft, vehicles and equipment to the Texas-Mexico border," Brigadier General Tracy Norris, the commanding general of the Texas National Guard, told reporters at a briefing.

"This deployment has begun with the movement of equipment and troops today. Within 72 hours the Texas military department will have 250 personnel along with ground surveillance vehicles as well as light and medium aviation platforms," she added.

Arizona Governor Doug Ducey announced his plans in a tweet.

Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis signed an order for "up to 4,000 National Guard personnel to support DHS's southern border security mission while under the command and control of their respective governors through September 30, 2018," according to a Department of Defense memo.

The memo set out that troops would not carry out law enforcement activities without the defense secretary's approval and would be armed only in "circumstances that might require self-defense."

Mattis and homeland security secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said the decision came after their departments "identified security vulnerabilities that could be addressed by the National Guard."

"Together, the Departments of Homeland Security and Defense are committed to using every lever of power to support the men and women of law enforcement defending our nation's sovereignty and protecting the American people," they said in a joint statement.

"We will continue to work with the governors to deploy the necessary resources until our nation's borders are secure."

Trump had said on Thursday that the final deployment would range from 2,000 to 4,000 troops, and he would "probably" keep many personnel on the border until his promised border wall is built -- spelling out a lengthy mission.

The move has heightened tensions with Mexico, whose President Enrique Pena Nieto said Trump's "threatening or disrespectful attitudes" were unjustified.

It has also raised questions about who will fund the mission.

The Pentagon could not say where the money would come from and Trump admitted the White House was still "looking at" costs.

If 4,000 troops were deployed, that would be about double the current US military presence in Syria and about half as many as the number of US troops in Iraq.

The National Guard has previously been deployed to help patrol the southern border, including in 2010 under former president Barack Obama, and from 2006-2008 under George W. Bush. Both deployments were limited to around a year.
Soldiers practise their skills in Kenya before going to fight for real

High on Kenya's Laikipia plateau hundreds of British soldiers spent a recent half-moon night fording a river, marching across wadis and over escarpments before attacking a mocked-up army training camp.

This is where -- and how -- British soldiers learn to fight, in regular six-week training sessions culminating in a simulated assault, this time involving 1,000 troops.

"This is among the most demanding training that we do," said Brigadier Nick Perry, commander of Britain's 16 Air Assault Brigade, who was in Kenya with three companies of Gurkhas, a storied regiment made up predominately of Nepalese recruits, with their signature curved kukri knives.

The size and scale of the British war games in Kenya is unusual: only Suffield in Canada and England's Salisbury Plain allow something similar.

Kenya allows large-scale exercises for soldiers

In recent years, infantry units were sent to Kenya for their final training before being deployed to Afghanistan and, for the "rapid reaction force" 16 Air Assault, being always battle-ready is a point of pride.

"I need soldiers to be ready to go on operations at very short notice," said Perry.

"Kenya allows large-scale exercises so the whole battle group -- the infantry, the artillery, the engineers, the intelligence and surveillance assets -- can be tested alongside each other."

They also work alongside the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF), of which a 150-strong company swept across a hillside dotted with acacia and euphorbia trees in one of the final moments of the recent training exercise.

Soldiers in a truck prepare for an overnight simulated military excercise

"Increasingly, operations around the world are multinational. It's pretty rare now to find a single nation at conflict, and as Britain we're not in that game."

Britain hasn't gone to war alone since 1982 when it fought a two-month battle with Argentina over the Falkland Islands. British troops are currently deployed as part of multinational forces in Afghanistan and Iraq and as peacekeepers in South Sudan and Somalia.

- A history of (simulated) violence -

Battle groups come to Kenya several times a year, training with live fire at Archer's Post in the centre of the country and on private land in Laikipia.

The size and scale of the British war games in Kenya is unusual, with only Suffield in Canada and England's Salisbury Plain allowing something similar

British Army Training Unit Kenya (BATUK) commander Colonel Nick Wood said the British military presence in Kenya is worth around $57 million (46 million euros) to the local economy.

But it also underpins Britain's diplomatic relations with Kenya, a former colonial property where a bitter independence war was fought in the 1950s, yet where British military training has continued with few breaks for over 70 years.

"We're very much part of life here," Wood said.

The aim of the training isn't to inflate soldiers' confidence with easy wins, but to push them, sometimes to the point of defeat.

"It's a challenging war-fighting mission against an impressive and well-equipped enemy," said Perry, of the assault exercise.

It began in a clearing of croton and poison arrow trees where two six by six-metre (20 x 20-foot) tarpaulins were laid on the ground and marked with map grid references, contour lines, rivers, tracks and buildings.

Soldiers set up a mock insurgent training camp during the simulated military excercise

"Expect the enemy to fight, withdraw and counterattack, so what does that mean? You've got to push them hard at the break-in, you've got to cut them off," Gurkha commander Lieutenant Colonel Charlie Crowe told his soldiers after working through the attack plan, hour by hour, company by company.

Complicating the exercise, the soldiers first had to build bridges across a river as they entered hostile territory, including one 14 metres (46 feet) long made to carry vehicles.

"It's a very physical task that requires a... fair degree of 'motivation'," one of the BATUK trainers explained as the engineers swore, creatively and consistently, in the dark, night-vision monoculars helping them see and connect the hulking girders.

- High-tech training -

Sunrise was met with a mechanised dawn chorus of machine-gun and rifle fire echoing across a natural cauldron among the folding granite Lolldaiga Hills. Mortar explosions thumped in the valley.

The rounds were blanks, but infrared pointers on the gun barrels, and receivers on the soldiers' vests and helmets, told who was hit and who killed

The rounds were blanks, but infrared pointers on the gun barrels, and receivers on the soldiers' vests and helmets, told who was hit and who killed.

Nine miles (15 kilometres) away, in a cluster of three olive drab tents bristling with radio antennae, officers and trainers watched a real-time version of events on computer screens, multicoloured markers moving across a three-dimensional terrain.

A company of 80 soldiers from the Duke of Lancaster's Regiment played the enemy, defending a training camp made up of a dozen wooden huts surrounded by razor wire and mud berms.

Hundreds of local Kenyans were employed to play militia recruits and the civilian inhabitants of a nearby village, also specially constructed for the exercise.

Mostly they watched, amused, as persistent gunfire crackled and British squaddies charged about, sweating heavily under the weight of backpacks, rifles and ammunition as the sun rose and the temperature soared.

"I'm brown bread! That's me done," shouted one of the Lancaster gunners, as his vest confirmed a fatal hit. His use of British rhyming slang for "dead" baffled the nearby Kenyans.

The assault was slow, hampered by a hard march and casualties, but ultimately effective. "We were tested to, and sometimes beyond, the point of failure," said Crowe afterwards.
Demonstrators assist wounded Palestinian journalist Yasser Murtaja during clashes with Israeli forces following a protest near the border with Israel on April 6, 2018, Murtaja later died of his wounds, Gaza's health ministry said

A Palestinian journalist shot by Israeli forces during clashes along the Gaza border has died, the health ministry in the Strip said Saturday.

Yasser Murtaja, a photographer with the Gaza-based Ain Media agency, was hit during clashes Friday, the ministry said.

An AFP photograph taken after he was wounded showed Murtaja wearing a press vest as he received treatment.

The Israeli army declined to comment, saying it was reviewing the incident.

The Gaza health ministry also announced the death of another man, 20-year-old Hamza Abdel Aal, saying he was shot east of Al-Bureij in central Gaza.

The deaths brought the number of Palestinians killed during Friday's clashes to nine after thousands gathered along the border for the second week in a row.

Some Palestinians burned mounds of tyres and threw stones at Israeli soldiers over the border fence, who responded with tear gas and live fire.

At least 491 Palestinians were injured by shooting, the health ministry said.
Douma is the last rebel-controlled town in Syria's Eastern Ghouta, a sprawling suburb of Damascus that was once the opposition's bastion on the edge of the capital

Fresh air strikes pounded the rebel-held Syrian town of Douma on Saturday, rescuers and a monitor said, after a night of heavy bombing on the opposition holdout outside Damascus.

"The bombing still hasn't stopped. There are three warplanes in the sky and two helicopters," Firas al-Doumi, a rescue worker inside Douma, told AFP on Saturday morning.

Douma is the last rebel-controlled town in Syria's Eastern Ghouta, a sprawling suburb of Damascus that was once the opposition's bastion on the edge of the capital.

Backed by Russia, Syrian troops have recaptured 95 percent of Ghouta through a fierce air and ground assault, as well as negotiated withdrawals.

In an apparent bid to pressure Jaish al-Islam -- the Islamist group that holds the town -- to withdraw, Syria's government on Friday resumed bombardment of the town after a more than week-long lull.

Air strikes and shelling on Friday left 40 civilians dead including eight children, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group.

The Britain-based Observatory said warplanes were hitting across Douma on Saturday, as regime artillery fire hit neighbouring agricultural fields.

Syrian troops matched the renewed bombardment on Friday with a ground operation in the orchards surrounding Douma.

"The regime is trying to tighten the noose around Douma from the west, east, and south," said Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman.

The resumed assault comes after the apparent failure of negotiations between Jaish al-Islam and regime backer Russia over a rebel withdrawal from Douma.

Top Jaish al-Islam political figure Mohammad Alloush on Friday blamed international supporters of Syria's government for hamstringing the talks.

"The talks were going well," he said, but power struggles between the regime's allies had caused them to break down.

"Their only shared interests is the blood of civilians," he wrote on Twitter.
Syrian children ride their bikes past destroyed buildings in the former rebel-held town of Zamalka, in Eastern Ghouta on April 5, 2018

Renewed air strikes Saturday hit the last opposition holdout in Syria's Eastern Ghouta, leaving 70 civilians dead in around 24 hours, as regime troops pressed an offensive to pressure rebels to withdraw.

Eleven people also suffered breathing problems in Douma, the last rebel-held pocket of Eastern Ghouta, with first responders accusing forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad of using "poisonous chlorine gas".

State media, quoting an official source, said the reports were rebel "fabrications".

The regime has used a combination of a fierce military onslaught and two negotiated withdrawals to empty out 95 percent of the enclave near Damascus, but rebels are still entrenched in its largest town of Douma.

Bombing had subsided as Moscow pursued talks with Jaish al-Islam, the Islamist faction that holds Douma, putting military operations seemingly on hold for about 10 days.

But the negotiations crumbled this week and air strikes resumed on Friday, killing 40 civilians according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The Britain-based monitor said 30 civilians, including eight children, were killed on Saturday in similar raids.

People displaced from the former rebel enclave of Eastern Ghouta are seen at a make-shift camp in northern Syria on April 7, 2018

"The bombing has not stopped. We can't even count all the wounded," said Mohammed, a young doctor inside Douma.

"There are some wounded who we couldn't operate on in time, and they died," he told AFP.

Footage published by the White Helmets civil defence showed rescuers using their bare hands to pull back dirt and tiles in a bombed-out house, eventually freeing a young man trapped underneath.

As they stood him up, the rescuers looked up at the sky where the roar of a warplane could be heard.

- 'Douma is the end' -

Syrian troops matched their renewed bombing with a ground operation in the orchards surrounding Douma, with state TV saying they had "stormed" the fields.

"The regime is trying to tighten the noose around Douma from the west, east, and south," said Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman.

A handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) on April 7, 2018, shows man wounded by rebel rocket fire receiving treatment at a hospital in the Syrian capital Damascus

Six civilians were also killed and dozens more wounded as Douma rebels shelled the capital Damascus on Saturday, Syrian state media said.

State television broadcast live footage from a hospital in Damascus, where pools of blood stained the floor and wounded could be heard wailing in pain.

Jaish al-Islam spokesman Hamza Bayraqdar said in a statement Saturday that the rebels had not targeted any neighbourhoods in Damascus, and that the regime had "violated the ceasefire decided during previous negotiations".

Assad is keen to recapture Ghouta to eliminate the opposition from the outskirts of Damascus and end years of rocket fire on the capital.

Abbas, a retired 57-year-old Syrian man, said his neighbourhood in the capital's west was hit hard on Saturday.

"It looks like Douma is the end of the story, and endings are always hard," he told AFP.

"We've been waiting for this for years, whether in Ghouta or in Damascus," said Abbas.

A convoy transporting Jaish al-Islam fighters and their families arrives at the entrance to the northern Syrian city of Aleppo after being evacuated from the last rebel-held pocket of Douma in Eastern Ghouta on April 3, 2018

Since February 18, the regime's Ghouta offensive has killed more than 1,600 civilians and sliced the area into three isolated pockets, each held by different rebel factions.

The first two were evacuated under Russian-brokered deals last month that saw more than 46,000 rebels and civilians bussed to opposition-held Idlib province in the northwest.

Tens of thousands also fled into government-controlled territory through safe passages opened by Russia and Syrian troops.

- Talks falter -

Moscow also stepped in to negotiate a deal for Douma, the third and final pocket where Jaish al-Islam had been angling for a reconciliation agreement that would allow its members to remain as a police force.

Jaish al-Islam's Bayraqdar told AFP that "the negotiations have not stopped" with the Russians, and that the rebel group was still demanding to stay in Ghouta.

"We are attached to our land and revolutionary principles, and we have already refused ... to leave Ghouta," he said.

Following a preliminary accord announced by Russia on Sunday, nearly 3,000 fighters and civilians were evacuated from Douma to northern Syria.

But as talks dragged on, Syria and its Russian ally threatened Jaish al-Islam with a renewed military assault if the group did not agree to withdraw.

It remains unclear exactly why the talks fell apart this week.

Relatives of Syrians believed to be kidnapped by Jaish al-Islam fighters wait for news about them at a government-held checkpoint on the outskirts of Damascus on April 5, 2018

SANA said they faltered when the rebel group refused to release detainees it is holding in Douma, warning the military assault would only stop if hostages are released.

A Russian army official quoted by Russian news agencies accused Jaish al-Islam of "violating the implementation of agreements, blocking the exit of civilians, fighters and members of their families from the city of Douma."

Others have pointed to internal rebel divisions over the withdrawal process.

Top Jaish al-Islam political figure Mohammad Alloush on Friday said the talks had been going "well" until a power struggle emerged between the regime's allies.

Nawar Oliver, an analyst at the Omran Institute, told AFP the rebel group was facing "massive" military pressure.

"The negotiations failed and the regime wants its conditions -- the air strikes are a taste of what could happen if its conditions are not implemented," he said.
Mourners carry the body of a Palestinian killed during clashes with Israeli forces on the Israeli-Gaza border, during his funeral in the Gaza Strip on April 6, 2018

Palestinian mourners in the Gaza Strip on Saturday buried their dead, including a journalist, after Israeli troops killed nine during the latest border clashes in a week of bloodshed.

Thousands of protesters approached the border fence around Gaza for a second Friday in a row, burning tyres and hurling stones at Israeli forces, who responded with tear gas and live ammunition.

In addition to the nine dead, at least 491 were wounded by Israeli gunfire, the health ministry in the Hamas-run enclave said.

Israel said there were around 20,000 protesters and that they were seeking to breach the border.

Demonstrations in Gaza

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "saluted" the Israeli soldiers "who protect us at all times."

"They (the protesters) talk about human rights, but actually want to crush the Jewish state," he said. "We won't let them."

Numbers were down from the previous Friday, when tens of thousands approached the border in demonstrations that saw Israeli forces kill 19 Palestinians, making it the bloodiest day in Gaza since a 2014 war.

The demonstrations largely abated by Saturday, but three Palestinians were wounded by Israeli forces in a small clash east of Gaza City in the afternoon, one of them seriously, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

No Israelis were injured on either day and the latest deaths have sparked fresh calls for an investigation.

Among those killed on Friday was Yasser Murtaja, 30, a photographer with the Gaza-based Ain Media agency, who died from his wounds after being shot, the health ministry said.

Witnesses said he was close to the front of the protests in southern Gaza when he was hit.

Palestinian journalists carry a portrait of journalist Yasser Murtaja, during his funeral in Gaza City on April 7, 2018

An AFP picture taken after he was wounded showed Murtaja wearing a press vest as he received treatment.

His brother Motazem, also a journalist, said he was next to him when he was shot. "The target was very clearly journalists," he said.

Israel's army said it "does not intentionally target journalists."

"The circumstances in which journalists were allegedly hit by Israeli Defence Force (IDF) fire are not familiar to the IDF, and are being looked into," it said in a statement.

- 'Intentional shot' -

Murtaja's body was taken from the hospital to his home in Gaza City on Saturday morning, with dozens of journalists following, many fighting back tears.

It was wrapped in a Palestinian flag, with a press flak jacket placed on his stomach.

Ismail Haniya, the head of Gaza's Islamist rulers Hamas, attended the funeral and said that journalists were attacked by Israel while trying to show a "true picture of a blockaded, downtrodden people".

In the West Bank political capital of Ramallah, around 50 Palestinian journalists held a vigil for Murtaja.

Relatives of a Palestinian killed during clashes with Israeli forces mourn during his funeral in the Gaza Strip on April 6, 2018

Christophe Deloire, secretary general of watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF), said Murtaja was "obviously the victim of an intentional shot" and that his organisation "condemns with indignation the deliberate shootings of the Israeli army against journalists."

Deloire urged an independent investigation of the incident.

The Foreign Press Association operating in Israel and the Palestinian territories urged the Israeli army "to show restraint in areas where journalists are operating and to conduct a fast and open investigation into this incident."

The Palestinian Journalists' Syndicate said five other reporters were also shot and wounded by the Israeli army during Friday's protests, despite wearing clothes clearly identifying them as journalists.

The Union of Journalists in Israel demanded clarifications on the reports of the Palestinian journalists being shot from the state's military chief.

A Palestinian demonstrator covers his face with a traditional Palestinian Keffiyah scarf during a protest, on the Gaza-Israel border, east of Gaza City, on April 6, 2018

"A democratic state's army should not harm journalists in the line of duty," the union said in a letter to Lieutenant General Gadi Eisenkot.

"We ask that you examine the claims that Israeli soldiers fired at journalists," the union said.

"We also would like to know if there are military directives regarding conduct in areas with a heavy media presence," the letter said.

Earlier Saturday, thousands of Arabs rallied in northern Israel in solidarity with the people of Gaza, some of them holding pictures of Murtaja.

- 'Terrorists posing as civilians' -

Weeks of border protests have been called to demand the return of Palestinians to land they were forced from or fled after the founding of Israel 70 years ago.

They come with tensions high as the United States gears up to shift its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem after recognising the disputed city as the capital of the Jewish state.

Protesters on Friday said economic woes were also fuelling frustration in Gaza, which has been under an Israeli blockade for a decade.

Late Friday, Kuwait called on the Security Council to investigate the deaths, but the US is likely to veto such a probe.

Israel rebuffed international calls for an investigation into last Friday's killings, with the army saying troops opened fire "in accordance with the rules of engagement".
Mementoes left by mourners at the place where the body of murdered Irish tourist Danielle McLaughlin was found in Goa

The mother of an Irish woman raped and murdered in an Indian tourist resort said Saturday she wants to confront the alleged killer face-to-face at his trial which has just started.

On the opening day Friday of the trial of tourist guide Vikat Bhagat, a witness told the court the face of Danielle McLaughlin had been mutilated with a bottle to impede identification.

Andrea Brannigan, mother of the 28-year-old who had been on holiday in Goa, was not present but told AFP she would travel to India for future hearings.

"I am very nervous for the trial and hope justice is swiftly served for Danielle's sake," Brannigan, 47, said from Ireland in a telephone interview.

"I am hopeful the verdict will be out soon because the investigation officials have collected evidence and fast-tracked the entire process, which is amazing."

The family is represented by an Indian lawyer at the trial. But in a rare gesture, Brannigan has been given permission to intervene at the hearing. That means she will be able to confront Bhagat and she said she wants to take the chance.

"I want to ask him why he did this," she said.

"The way Danielle's case has been handled in Goa has been amazing and I couldn't thank them enough.

"I have the right to representation, which is very unusual, but we can ensure the proceedings are (moving) in the right direction."

Brannigan said she still felt "shocked and devastated" at the murder. "I've never had any bad experience in Goa and believe there are good and bad people. Now I just want swift justice for my daughter."

The naked and battered body of McLaughlin, who came from Buncrana in Ireland, was discovered in a field near a Goa beach in March last year.

Bhagat, 24, was detained the next day and has been charged with raping and murdering her and destroying evidence.

He has not yet entered a plea. Police said Bhagat initially confessed but he has since written an open letter denying responsibility.

McLaughlin was celebrating the Indian spring festival of Holi at Goa's popular Palolem beach.

Local farmer Prashant Komarpant told the opening hearing how he found the body, with the face mutilated and bloody, on March 13 last year.

The hearing will resume on April 13.

Several foreigners have been murdered in Goa over the past decade, including 15-year-old British schoolgirl Scarlett Keeling. Her semi-naked body was found in shallow water on a beach in 2008.

The deaths have blighted the resort state's reputation as a tourist haven.

In 2016 two Indian men were cleared of the rape and murder of Keeling.
Afghan and US forces have ramped up airstrikes and ground offensives against IS fighters

A high-ranking Islamic State commander in Afghanistan has been killed in an airstrike, officials said Saturday, as Afghan and US forces dial up attacks on the militant group.

Qari Hekmat was the top commander of IS's Afghan franchise in the northern province of Jowzjan, where the group established a stronghold after coming under intense pressure in the eastern province of Nangarhar.

Hekmat was killed Friday in an Afghan airstrike in Darzab district, the defence ministry said in a statement, describing him as "one of the key figures" for IS in northern Afghanistan.

He was involved in or responsible for "deadly terrorist attacks" and has been replaced by Mawlawi Habib-ul-Rahman, the ministry added.

Provincial governor Lutfullah Azizi confirmed Hekmat had been killed but said US Forces carried out the airstrike.

US Forces did not immediately respond to AFP's request for comment.

"Our intelligence sources have identified his body. His death will affect the recruitment of Daesh and disperse IS fighters in Afghanistan's north," Azizi said, using the Arabic acronym for IS.

Afghan and US forces have ramped up airstrikes and ground offensives against IS fighters in Jowzjan in recent months as the group seeks to expand its foothold in the country.

Afghan security forces last month detained a French woman fighting for IS in the same district of Jowzjan. AFP has reported that French and Algerian fighters, some arriving from Syria, have joined IS in the restive province.

In January, Afghan forces caught the group's "head facilitator of foreign forces". Two months later, his two successors were killed in a US airstrike, NATO's Resolute Support mission said previously.

Jowzjan provincial police chief Faqir Mohammad Jawzjani said Hekmat's death was "a big blow" to IS in the north.

"He was the founder of Daesh in northern Afghanistan and had recruited fighters," Jawzjani said. He said Hekmat was killed on Thursday in a joint operation between Afghan and foreign forces.

IS first emerged in Afghanistan in 2014 as NATO combat troops withdrew from the country and handed over responsibility to Afghan security forces.

Despite being vastly outnumbered by the Taliban, IS has claimed responsibility for devastating attacks in Kabul and elsewhere in the country.

Some Western and Afghan officials believe it has received help from the Haqqani Network, a brutal wing of the Taliban.
Police said an investigation is underway

A father who allegedly confined his mentally ill son in a small cage for more than two decades was arrested on Saturday in western Japan, police and news reports said.

Police arrested 73-year-old Yoshitane Yamasaki on suspicion of imprisoning his son, now aged 42, at their house in the city of Sanda in Hyogo prefecture, a local police spokesman told AFP.

Further details of the case were not available as the investigation is still underway, the spokesman said.

According to local media reports, the son was forced to live inside a wooden cage -- one metre (3.3 feet) high and 1.8 metre wide -- built in a prefabricated hut next to the main house.

The suspect has reportedly admitted the allegations.

"I made my son live in a cage for more than 20 years because he has mental problems and acted up," the father earlier told city officials, according to public broadcaster NHK.

The father said he fed his son and let him bathe every other day.

The son, whose name has been withheld, is in a stable condition but is suffering from a bent back, NHK said, adding that he was sent to a welfare facility.
Team principals who attended a morning briefing from Formula 1's new owners in Bahrain on Friday have agreed to keep the details confidential.

The teams were given much more detail about the direction Liberty Media has in mind for the future of the sport. However the press release issued afterwards gave little away.

It was soon clear that teams had been asked by Liberty CEO Chase Carey and director of motorsports Ross Brawn not to air their views in public. It seemed that most had acceded to the request.

"I think were going to avoid getting into specifics of what was discussed this morning," said McLaren executive director Zak Brown. "That was what was agreed amongst the teams, Chase and Ross.

"I would say overall the impression is very positive," he added. "The direction theyre taking is the right direction. Theres obviously a lot of details, questions  but well do that behind closed doors.

"We all recognise that the sport starts with the fan and thats what Liberty are focused on  putting on a better show for the fan," he continued. "If the fan wins, we all win. The sponsors win, the media wins, television ratings win.

"We all recognise that the sport is not where it needs to be today so its in our collective interest to improve the show. That means were all going to have make varying degrees of compromises.

"But I think well ultimate get there at the end, and Im excited about the future of Formula 1."

Haas team principal Guenther Steiner artfully dodged a follow-up question in the Friday afternoon FIA press conference.

"Nice try to get more information!," he said. "But no, nothing more to add. The detailed discussions are behind closed doors. We all agreed on that one.

"We should keep it like in any other business and hopefully we bring back a better sport that is better for all of us.

"Its behind closed doors and we have to go back to that one because we agreed on it. It will come out when the deal is done. Or maybe it never will."

Williams deputy team principal Claire Williams had earlier commented that she was 'personally delighted' by what she had heard.

"I know that in the past you can have these conversations and they come out and not necessarily anything is ever done about it," she said. "But Im not sure these discussions are negotiable. Thats not the message I got anyway.

"It was a proposal rather than a wishlist," Williams continued. "It was presented as such and I think that everyone felt it was a blueprint for the future.

"There are obviously elements in that proposal are under FOMs control and others which fall under the FIAs control," she added. "But I believe that FOM and FIA are working together.

"As Ive always said, if were going to protect the future of this sport then we need to work collaboratively. All three stakeholders."

Steiner picked up the topic by noting that "There is something between a blueprint and a wishlist, which is called a proposal.

"Thats what it was. Its not a blueprint but its not oh, lets try to do this. Its something in between but its a good starting point. A very good one, actually."

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Bashir's selfie with the Pope

A Pakistani Christian whose selfie with the Pope has gone viral has spoken of his "heartache" at the treatment of minorities in Pakistan, and said the pontiff told him he was praying for peace.

Daniel Bashir, a 26-year-old doctor in Karachi, told AFP he took the selfie with the leader of the world's Catholics during a youth conference at the Vatican last month.

He presented Pope Francis with an ajrak shawl, a traditional blockprinted garment from Sindh province, and the two posed for the picture in which the pontiff can be seen with the gift draped around his shoulders and grinning broadly.

"My heart is full of happiness," Bashir captioned the image on Facebook.

"He was very happy to see the ajrak... I also met him personally later and gifted him a blanket," Bashir told AFP late Friday. The pontiff then told him that he "daily prays for peace in Pakistan", Bashir added.

The image quickly went viral and Bashir found himself in the spotlight, telling AFP he has been receiving calls from media ever since.

He said he and the pontiff also spoke of the treatment of religious minorities in Pakistan, where Muslims account for more than 90 percent of the population.

Christians make up an estimated two percent of Pakistan's more than 200 million people, and have long faced persecution -- at best sidelined into lowly paid jobs and sometimes the target of trumped-up blasphemy charges or militant attacks.

Four Christians were shot dead in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group in the restive southwestern city of Quetta on April 3, just after Easter. An IS suicide bombing at a church days before Christmas last year killed eight.

"I consider myself safe in Karachi but it is painful to see the incidents with Christians and minorities," Bashir said.

"Minorities are oppressed too much and with this reference my heart aches," he said, though he added: "But we are happy in Pakistan."

He said he also discussed the topic at the conference, telling fellow delegates from around the world that education would allow children in their community to "face it better".

"Our Bible tells us that we should pray for people who hate us," he added.

Bashir's encounter with the Pope impressed him so much that instead of specialising in neurosurgery, as he had planned, he now wants to enter the church.

"I will present myself to become a priest and join a seminary in June," he said.

mmg/st/sm
A tilt-rotor Osprey aircraft: Japan's new Marine unit will be equipped with them

Japan's military on Saturday launched its first Marines unit, tasked with defending remote islands in the face of China's growing maritime presence in the region.

The Self-Defence Forces' amphibious fighting unit staged an exercise with US Marines at Sasebo in western Japan following the inauguration ceremony.

The 2,100-member brigade, based in Sasebo, will be responsible for defending remote islands and retaking them if they are invaded.

"Defending remote islands is a pressing task at a time when security surrounding our country is getting more severe," vice defence minister Tomohiro Yamamoto told the ceremony.

Japan has a longstanding dispute with China over uninhabited islands in the East China Sea. These are administered by Japan, which calls them the "Senkakus", but also claimed by China, which knows them as the "Diaoyus."

Chinese coastguard vessels have routinely travelled close to the disputed islands since relations worsened in 2012, when Tokyo's government took over some of them.

The new amphibious operations unit is expected to grow into a 3,000-member force, using V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft and amphibious assault vehicles for storming beaches, Kyodo News said.

Japan had long been reluctant to create an amphibious fighting unit in light of its pacifist constitution, which bans the country from using force to settle international disputes.
The proposed railway line would be the first to reach Kathmandu

India pledged Saturday to expand rail links to Nepal's capital Kathmandu and develop inland waterways in the landlocked Himalayan nation, which has also benefited from extensive China-backed infrastructure investment in recent years.

The agreement was made following talks in New Delhi between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepali counterpart K.P. Sharma Oli, who is on his first foreign visit to India since taking office earlier this year.

During Oli's previous term in office in 2015, he signed a series of agreements with Beijing seeking to lessen Nepal's dependence on India.

But the prime minister -- who returned to power in February with a strong two-third majority in parliament -- will need to balance relations with both of Nepal's large neighbours if he is to make good on his ambitious plans to kickstart growth at home.

"Enhanced connectivity will definitely contribute to our desire to be a land-linked country instead of land-locked," Oli said in Delhi following talks with Modi.

"Our future lies in the expansion of economic engagement, namely growth of bilateral trade."

Nepal shares a 1,850-kilometre (1,150-mile) open border with India, which is also the Himalayan country's largest trading partner.

Nepal currently has a limited railway network and the proposed line would be the first to reach Kathmandu.

It is also in talks with China to link Nepal to Tibet by rail as part of China's ambitious Belt and Road initiative, which Kathmandu signed up to last May.

The plan to develop inland waterways would give landlocked Nepal much-needed access to sea, boosting its exports.
Mourners carry the body of Palestinian journalist Yasser Murtaja during his funeral in Gaza City on April 7, 2018

Palestinians killed in conflict with Israeli forces are often wrapped in their national or party flags, but there was something different about Yasser Murtaja's body ahead of his Saturday burial.

Resting on the journalist's chest was a flak jacket marked PRESS, possibly the one he was wearing the day before when he was shot dead at the Gaza border, apparently by an Israeli sniper.

Dozens of journalists, many fighting back tears, followed the body of the 30-year-old father as it was carried from the hospital to his home late Saturday morning.

His serene face exposed and body wrapped in the Palestinian flag, the flak jacket lay on his lifeless chest.

Murtaja was one of nine Palestinians killed as Israeli troops shot at thousands of stone-throwing protesters in five spots along the border Friday, a week after 19 people were killed during similar demonstrations.

His killing will likely increase calls for Israel to investigate the deaths, with photos taken at the scene indicating he was wearing a press vest when he was shot.

Murtaja, who was well known in the local media scene, worked for the relatively small Gaza-based Al-Ain media production company, specialising in documentaries.

His brother Mutasim, also a journalist who was with him Friday, said Murtaja was photographing a number of protesters burning tyres when he was shot.

"Yasser went forward to take the true pictures to show the world," he told AFP.

"Then the bullet hit him in his stomach."

The Israeli army said in a statement it "does not intentionally target journalists."

"The circumstances in which journalists were allegedly hit by Israeli Defence Force (IDF) fire are not familiar to the IDF, and are being looked into."

- 'Up in the air' -

Murtaja recently worked on a documentary about the 2014 war between Israel and Gaza's Islamist rulers Hamas, which was shown on Al-Jazeera Arabic.

But he also focused on other topics, where frequently used drones, which seem to have been something of an escape from life in Gaza.

The Palestinian enclave has been under an Israeli blockade for a decade, while Egypt has all but sealed its border in recent years as well -- leaving the Strip's two million residents effectively locked in.

Palestinian journalists carry a portrait of Yasser Murtaja at his funeral in Gaza City on April 7, 2018

"My name is Yasser Murtaja, I am 30 years old, live in Gaza City and have never travelled," the journalist said in a March post on Facebook accompanying one of his drone photos from high above Gaza.

"Today I take a shot and I am up in the air, not on the ground."

Hind Khoudary, a friend and fellow journalist, said he was "a beautiful person both inside and out".

"His reputation with everyone was as someone very kind," she added, tears welling in her eyes.

Hamas leader Ismail Haniya, whose group Israel and the United States consider a terrorist organisation, attended the funeral and eulogised Murtaja.

The journalist's friends and family insisted he was independent of any political party.

Israel has accused Hamas of orchestrating the protests and using them as an excuse to carry out attacks.

Haniya often attends funerals of those killed in violence with Israel, even if they are not Hamas.

Al-Ain's office in Gaza City, were Murtaja worked, was closed Saturday, but Khoudary said the death made journalists feel they were "all targets".

"He was only covering what was happening."
After ousting the YPG from the Syrian city of Afrin in a military operation, Turkey has threatened to press on to Manbij where US forces are stationed

A deal with the United States to reduce tensions over the Kurdish-held city of Manbij in Syria is "doable" but requires Washington to clear up confusion in its policy, a top Turkish official said Saturday.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's spokesman Ibrahim Kalin also said a Turkish operation to take the Syrian city of Tal Rifaat was no longer on the agenda after Russian assurances that Kurdish militia were no longer there.

The city of Manbij, held by the People's Protection Units (YPG) Kurdish militia, has become a major headache in relations between NATO allies Turkey and the United States.

After ousting the YPG from the city of Afrin to the west in a military operation, Erdogan has threatened to press on to Manbij where US forces are stationed, raising the risk of confrontation with the Americans.

Ankara had said an understanding had been reached with former secretary of state Rex Tillerson but this has now been thrown into the air after he was fired by President Donald Trump.

Kalin told foreign reporters in Istanbul that Turkey had proposed moving the YPG out of Manbij east of the Euphrates River and then US and Turkish forces jointly managing security.

"We still believe that this is achievable and this is doable," he said, urging "concrete steps" from the American side on an issue that was "really straining relations."

But he said Washington had to clear up confusion in its Syria policy which in the last days saw Trump signal a US pullout from the country before the White House stated it was not yet happening.

"The president of the US says 'we are going to get out of Syria very soon' and then others say 'no we are staying'."

"It does create a lot of confusion on the ground as well as for us. We would like to see some clarity, for them to decide."

- 'Russian assurances' -

Turkey sees the YPG as a branch of Kurdish rebels who have fought the Turkish army at home for decades. But the YPG has been the main ally of the United States in the fight against jihadists in Syria.

Kalin's comments came after Erdogan hosted the presidents of Iran and Russia for a summit on Syria on Wednesday in Ankara, in what analysts saw as a sidelining of Washington.

Erdogan had warned that Turkey would seek to seize the town of Tal Rifaat after Afrin. But Kalin indicated this was no longer on the cards after assurances from President Vladimir Putin the YPG were "no longer present there".

"But we will ensure through our own channels that that is the case... If that's the case we are okay with that," he said.
Christian Orthodox worshippers hold up candles lit from the 'Holy Fire' in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem on April 7, 2018

Tens of thousands of Christian pilgrims gathered at Christianity's holiest site in Jerusalem's Old City on Saturday for the "Holy Fire" ceremony on the eve of Orthodox Easter.

With candles in hand, at least seven thousand pilgrims filled the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, according to police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld.

The church is built on the site where according to Christian tradition Jesus was crucified, buried and resurrected.

Thousands more stood in the square outside to receive the flame, representing the resurrection of Christ, which passed from candle to candle and will be taken back to Orthodox churches worldwide.

The ceremony is the holiest event for Orthodox Christianity.

Christian Orthodox worshippers gather in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem on April 7, 2018

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the rest of the Old City lies in east Jerusalem, occupied and later annexed by Israel following the Six Day War of 1967.

The Greek Orthodox, Armenian and Roman Catholic denominations share custody of the church.

Christians made up more than 18 percent of the population of the Holy Land when Israel was founded in 1948, but now form less than two percent, mostly Orthodox.

Israeli police, which secure the event, said it took place without any disturbances.
The deadly crash of an AH-64E Apache helicopter is under investigation

Two US soldiers with an airborne combat brigade died when their Apache helicopter crashed during a routine training mission at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, the army reported Saturday.

The incident involving an AH-64E Apache helicopter occurred late Friday, said a statement from the army's 101st Airborne Division. The crash is under investigation.

The names of the victims are being withheld pending notification of family members, the army said. There were no other casualties.

"This is a day of sadness for Fort Campbell and the 101st Airborne," Brigadier General Todd Royar, acting senior commander of the 101st Airborne and of Fort Campbell, said in a statement.

The deaths were the latest in a recent rash of military crashes that has claimed five other lives and left one man injured.

Four Marines died Tuesday in the crash of their Sikorsky CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter during a practice landing in El Centro, California.

A member of the air force's elite Thunderbird squad died Wednesday when his F-16 jet crashed near Nellis Air Force Base outside Las Vegas as he prepared for an air show.

And a Marine pilot was injured Tuesday after ejecting from his McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II attack jet while taking off from an airport in Djibouti, in the Horn of Africa.
Prince Charles was made a "kastom chief" during a visit to Vanuatu

Prince Charles was made a "kastom chief" during a visit on Saturday to Vanuatu where he also meet briefly with a residents from an island who worship his 96-year-old father Prince Philip.

Kastom denotes high chief status promoting harmonious coexistence, peace and reconciliation.

Charles was named Chief Mal Menaringmanu by Chief Seni Mao Tirsupe, President of the Malvatumauri Council of Chiefs, which is the South Pacific nations chiefly body.

The 69-year-old heir to the British throne was given a kastom dress -- a woven pandanus skirt -- for the occasion and drank a shell of kava, a traditional drink in the South Pacific.

However, he was spared the traditional killing of a pig, which usually seals all important ceremonies according to Vanuatu culture.

The Prince tried his hand at speaking some of the local Bislama language, saying: "Tenkyu tumas bilong gudfella welkom. Hemi wan bigfalla honour bilong kam wan chief." (Thank you for the great welcome, it is a big honour to become a chief).

Charles also met Jimmy Joseph from the Vanuatu island of Tanna where his father has god-like status with a cult known as the Prince Philip movement.

"I gave him a walking stick for his father made by the hands of the Prince Philip Movement," Joseph told reporters.

Charles later returned to Australia where he is on a week-long tour that has included opening the Commonwealth Games.
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - An Iranian cleric said Friday the state-sanctioned broadcaster owes an apology to the country's Arab minority for insulting them in a recent program.

Semi-official Tasnim news agency quoted Ayatollah Mohsen Heidari, prayer leader of the Khuzestan provincial capital Ahwaz, as telling worshippers that state TV Channel 2 should apologize.

Heidari was apparently referring to a children's program in March that showed figurines of various minorities in Iran's provinces while ignoring Arabs. The majority of Iran's population is Persian but nearly half the 4 million population of Khuzestan are Arab. Heidari called it "omitting the Arab minority."

Since then, foreign-based media have reported protests in Khuzestan. Though Iranian media have remained silent, Iran's police chief Gen. Hossein Ashtari said last week there were no casualties in the oil-rich province from protests.

Ahvaz has been the scene of a series of deadly bombings and shootouts blamed on Arab separatists living in the region in recent decades. Last year, Iran said it arrested suspects behind a deadly attack on security forces in the city that killed two policemen and injured four others.

Unemployment is at nearly 15 percent, higher than the country's average 12.6 percent.
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio (AP) - Authorities in western Ohio say hospital staffers delivered a pregnant woman's baby after the mother was shot in the head.

The Springfield News-Sun reports the woman who was shot and critically wounded in Springfield was at least 30 weeks pregnant. She was flown to Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton, where the baby was delivered Thursday night by cesarean section.

The conditions of the woman and baby weren't immediately available Friday. A message was left at the hospital.

Police say the man arrested in the shooting identified himself as the woman's boyfriend and said his handgun discharged during an altercation with her.

The man, 25-year-old Travis Hypes, remained jailed Friday on a felonious assault charge. No attorney was listed for him.

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Information from: Springfield News-Sun, http://www.springfieldnewssun.com
Tourists pose for photos at Hukou Waterfall of the Yellow River, which is located on the border area between north China's Shanxi and northwest China's Shaanxi provinces, April 6, 2018. Warmer temperature and melting ice in upper reaches lead to the annual spring flood of the waterfall. (Xinhua/Zhang Bowen)

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[ Editor: Xueying ]
UNITED NATIONS (AP) - U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is flying to China where he will meet President Xi Jinping and senior officials, visit the China Peacekeeping Police Training Center, and deliver an address to a major Asian gathering.

U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters Friday that Guterres will meet Xi on Sunday.

The two leaders are also scheduled to address the opening session of the Boao Forum for Asia in Hainan province on Sunday. Some commentators refer to Boao as the World Economic Forum of Asia.

Last May, Guterres spoke at a conference in Beijing hosted by Xi where he drew comparisons between China's "One Belt, One Road" initiative to build railways, ports and other facilities linking Asia with Europe with U.N. goals for 2030 to eradicate extreme poverty and protect the environment.
HAJIN, India (AP) - The first man disappeared Monday night, when gunmen stormed his in-law's home in small-town Kashmir. The second disappeared two nights later, when the gunmen came back.

The first was shot to death by anti-India militants, police say. The second was beheaded.

In Indian-controlled Kashmir, where the deaths of civilians regularly spark waves of anti-India protests, there hasn't been a whisper of public anger over the two killings, which happened on the rural fringes of the town of Hajin. That silence is, almost always, a signal that militants were involved.

In this April 6, 2018, photo, Abdul Gaffar displays the wounds he sustained while his son Manzoor Ahmed Bhat was being abducted, and later killed, by suspected militants at his residence in Hajin, about 38 kilometers (24 miles) north of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir. In Kashmir, the recent killings of two small-town men reflect the complicated reactions, tangled in fear and loyalty, that happen when accused informers are targeted by anti-India militants. Police say militants stormed two homes in the town of Hajin, dragging away the men and killing both. One was shot. The other, Manzoor Ahmed, was beheaded. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

No rebel group has claimed responsibility for the deaths of the men, both of whom were about 25, but police are sure who was behind them.

"The two men were innocent and had nothing to do with anything," said police officer Sheikh Zulfikar Azad, while accusing the militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba for carrying out the killings. "These (killings) have been done to spread fear in the area."

In a statement Saturday, the rebel group denied any hand in the beheading. It didn't comment on the other killing.

Kashmiris make no secret of their fury at killings by government forces, which regularly trigger bloody protests and demands for "azadi" - freedom - from Indian rule. But the reactions are far more complicated, tangled in fear and loyalty, when villagers accused of being informers are targeted. Many militants come from places like Hajin, and most Kashmiris support, at least in general terms, the rebels' goals.

No one in Hajin would speak openly about what happened to the men, fearing reprisals from both sides in the decades-old fight. But their neighbors said both had been warned earlier by militants to stop working with government soldiers. The brother-in-law of one of the men was killed by militants last year, accused of being an informer for the Indian military.

"Several people have been picked up (by militants) in the last few years and let go after warnings," said one local man, speaking on condition of anonymity, fearing for his safety. He said most are freed after being beaten.

Anti-India sentiment runs deep in Kashmir, which in recent years has seen renewed rebel attacks and repeated public protests against Indian rule. Rebels have been fighting India since 1989, demanding Kashmir be made part of Pakistan or become an independent country. India accuses Pakistan of arming and training the rebels, a charge Pakistan denies.

Nearly 70,000 people have been killed in relentless cycles of revolt and military crackdown.

India and Pakistan each control part of Kashmir, but both claim it in its entirety.

The Hajin killings came amid days of widespread protests and clashes against Indian presence, after the Sunday deaths of 13 rebels and four civilians. On Friday, the protests continued in many Kashmiri towns despite a security lockdown, and most shops and business remained closed.

Police say that on Monday night, three armed men barged into the home of Naseer Ahmed's in-laws in a Hajin neighborhood, shooting indiscriminately and wounding three family members. They were looking for Naseer, a part-time driver who also ran a tea stall, who they quickly dragged away. His bullet-riddled body was found the next day.

Two days later, police say the same men came back, storming into the home of Abdul Gaffar, who was shot but survived. His son Manzoor Ahmed, a laborer and shepherd who tends flocks of sheep, was taken away. His headless body was found Friday.

Gaffar, recovering from his injuries, said only that "unknown gunmen" had taken his son.

The insurgent group Lashkar-e-Taiba, which India blames for 2008 deadly strikes in the country's financial capital of Mumbai that killed at least 166 people, condemned the brutal killing of Manzoor Ahmed and termed it as "shameful and inhumane."

The group also announced its own probe, according to a statement issued to local media in the region's main city of Srinagar. "The truth shall soon be uncovered and the culprits will be put to justice eventually," the statement said.

Hajin has faced more than its share of bloodshed.

In the 1990s, it became a center of pro-India counterinsurgent groups, armed and funded by the Indian army when the anti-India armed uprising was at its peak. According to police records, at least 28 militants have been killed by Indian troops during dozens of raids over the past year. Several civilians have also been killed in anti-India protests.

On Friday, though, with two of its men dead, Hajin was quiet.

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Hussain reported from Srinagar. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/hussain_aijaz

In this April 6, 2018, photo, two Kashmiri women mourn the killing of their brother Manzoor Ahmed Bhat, who was abducted and later killed by suspected militants, at their residence in Hajin, about 38 kilometers (24 miles) north of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir. In Kashmir, the recent killings of two small-town men reflect the complicated reactions, tangled in fear and loyalty, that happen when accused informers are targeted by anti-India militants. Police say militants stormed two homes in the town of Hajin, dragging away the men and killing both. One was shot. The other, Manzoor Ahmed, was beheaded. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

In this April 6, 2018, photo, relatives of Manzoor Ahmed Bhat, who was abducted and later killed by suspected militants, comfort his grieving mother, center, at their residence in Hajin, about 38 kilometers (24 miles) north of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir. In Kashmir, the recent killings of two small-town men reflect the complicated reactions, tangled in fear and loyalty, that happen when accused informers are targeted by anti-India militants. Police say militants stormed two homes in the town of Hajin, dragging away the men and killing both. One was shot. The other, Manzoor Ahmed, was beheaded. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

In this April 6, 2018, photo, Abdul Gaffar mourns the killing of his son Manzoor Ahmed Bhat, who was abducted, and later killed by suspected militants, at his residence in Hajin, about 38 kilometers (24 miles) north of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir. Police say that anti-India militants have stormed two homes in the past few days in one Kashmiri town, dragging away two men and killing both of them. One was shot. The other, Manzoor Ahmed, was beheaded. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

In this April 6, 2018, photo, a relative comforts Abdul Gaffar, the father of Manzoor Ahmed Bhat who was abducted and later killed by suspected militants, at his residence in Hajin, about 38 kilometers (34 miles) north of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir. Police say that anti-India militants have stormed two homes in the past few days in one Kashmiri town, dragging away two men and killing both of them. One was shot. The other, Manzoor Ahmed, was beheaded. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)
LOS ANGELES (AP) - A man suspected of setting off explosives in a store in Southern California was booked on suspicion of igniting a destructive device but was not believed to be connected to any criminal or extremist groups, police said Friday.

Hugo Gonzalez, 49, was being held on $1 million bond after being arrested on several charges, which also included suspicion of arson and possessing a destructive device, police said.

Gonzalez is suspected of detonating two explosive devices inside the Sam's Club store in the city of Ontario, which is about 45 miles (72 kilometers) east of Los Angeles.

This Thursday, April 5, 2018 police photo released by the Ontario Police Department shows suspect Hugo Gonzalez of Fontana, Calif. Gonzalez, was taken into custody Thursday after two explosive devices detonated inside a Sam's Club store in Southern California, police said. (Ontario Police Department via AP)

The explosives went off on opposite sides of the store and ignited products around them, but employees quickly doused the flames, police said. No injuries were reported.

Gonzalez led police on a short chase after officers spotted him leaving the store and tried to pull him over, said Officer Eliseo Guerrero, a police spokesman.

Investigators found additional materials that were "similar to those used in the devices" when they searched his car and apartment in the neighboring city of Fontana, police said in a news release.

Police released surveillance video Friday showing Gonzalez walking into the store wearing a white surgical mask and pushing a shopping cart. Another video showed what appeared to be an explosion, sending frantic shoppers fleeing from the area, before smoke filled several aisles.

Gonzalez was questioned by investigators, but his motive remains unknown, police said. He was not a Sam's Club employee and did not appear to have any connection to the store, authorities said.

Prosecutors said Gonzalez is expected to appear in court next week.

A telephone number listed for Gonzalez in public records was not in service Friday.

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Follow Balsamo on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MikeBalsamo1 .
WASHINGTON (AP) - Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi is not welcome in Trump country, which was probably one reason another top Democrat - her long-term rival Steny Hoyer - was zipping through Republican-friendly corners of western Wisconsin this week.

Hoyer, the Maryland centrist and perpetual leader-in-waiting in the House of Representatives, was on a mission to woo blue-collar voters and help his party win back control of the House.

He was also looking for what could be his last shot.

Rep. Ron Kind, D-Wis., left, and House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer speaks to the media after touring Culimeta-Saveguard in Eau Claire, Wis., on Thursday April 5, 2018. Hoyer headed to Trump country this week in a last-chance campaign for the top spot. Hoyer, a Maryland centrist, has spent most of his career in the shadow of liberal leader Nancy Pelosi. As Democrats consider who will replace Pelosi, Hoyer's allies say he could be a bridge to the next generation. Others find the notion that little known, 78-year-old politician could emerge as the face of his party far-fetched.(Dan Reiland/The Eau Claire Leader-Telegram via AP)

"Would I like to be speaker? Of course. Would I be disappointed if it doesn't happen? No," the No. 2 House Democrat said by phone, reflecting on his long career as he cut through snow-covered rolling hills, a world away from his Chesapeake Bay home turf.

Hoyer has been eying the top spot for more than a decade, living in the shadow of a San Francisco Democrat who has a white-knuckle grip on power. Now, as the party wrestles with its ideological impulses and younger lawmakers push for a generational shift - both he and Pelosi are 78 years old - Hoyer may be looking for one more play.

Replacing one longtime leader with another is not what many Democrats have in mind. Still, Hoyer is actively, if quietly, seeking lawmakers' support. His allies put him forward as a possible "bridge" leader, who might ease a transition to a next generation - if Pelosi ever steps aside. Others find far-fetched the notion that a white, male centrist from blue Maryland would be the new face of the Democratic Party.

Those questions, Hoyer insisted, are for another day. On Thursday, he was dashing to keep a lunch date at the Eau Claire Area Chamber of Commerce in Wisconsin to listen to a crowd of Midwestern voters, including those who backed Trump.

"I'm going in to talk to Americans," he said. "It's not Trump country or Hoyer country. These are Americans."

As Democrats battle to win back some two dozen House seats, the fight for majority control is also a struggle between the liberal and centrist wings over how best to frame the party's image and priorities in the age of Trump.

Several House candidates face bruising primary contests this spring that will showcase the divide. But perhaps nowhere is it more apparent than in the simmering saga of House Democratic leadership.

Younger lawmakers talk about sweeping all the top leaders from office as they hunger for fresh faces. New York Rep. Joe Crowley is among those often mentioned among up-and-comers, but others are in the wings, and a person close to him said he is focused right now on helping Democrats win the House.

Pelosi meanwhile shows no signs of retiring, especially as she has the chance to wield the speaker's gavel if Democrats regain the House. Nearly a year younger than Hoyer - they were on staff together in the Capitol decades ago - Pelosi is undeterred by the constant chatter or year-round GOP attack ads pillorying her leadership.

Asked recently how she felt about no-votes from Democratic candidates like Conor Lamb, who won a special election in a Trump-district in Pennsylvania but said he wouldn't back Pelosi, she quipped it's just not as important as winning the seat and the House majority.

That leaves Hoyer's allies floating the unusual idea of him becoming a short-term leader - someone who could temporarily take the helm, if and when Pelosi steps down, to ease the transition.

It's a hard sell.

While few lawmakers or aides will talk openly about what's to come, some dismissed the idea as setting up a lame-duck leader who would have little control over the caucus and only prolong the day when younger members could rise.

Republicans scoff at Hoyer's attempt influence the fall midterms by swooping in to Trump districts to drum up support for Democrats.

"It's not like... 'Ladies and Gentlemen, the Majority Whip!' and he comes out to strobe lights," said Matt Gorman, a spokesman for the GOP's campaign committee in the House. "People don't know who Steny Hoyer is."

Then again, Hoyer's ability to show up with his "Make it in America" listening tour can't hurt. He has stopped in Pittsburgh; Toledo, Ohio; Kansas City, Missouri, and other places this election cycle, and while he may not move masses, lawmakers welcome his ability to make inroads in places where Democrats don't always tread.

"Steny Hoyer went to Peoria, Illinois, it's sort of the epicenter of America," said Rep. Cheri Bustos, who represents a Trump-won district in the northwestern part of the state and is also often mentioned for a future party leadership role.

"We have to pick up 23 seats to win back the majority, and most of those are right here in the heartland of America. This is where we need to pay attention."

As Hoyer made his way to Eau Claire this week, he spotted an outbuilding on the landscape that reminded him of the tobacco barn on his own property back home in Mechanicsville, Maryland, in the southern part of the state where he is seeking re-election to a 20th term in office.

"I'm glad that people welcome me to our districts," he said. "We are the party of the people, we are the party of workers... men and women in this country who are the reason this country is great - historically, and now."

Hosting his arrival was Rep. Ron Kind, one of four Democrats who voted against Pelosi during the last leadership race, at the Chamber luncheon.

"Steny's been at the forefront of this, the message works incredibly well around here," Kind said in an interview. "Showing up, being respectful and listening."

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Follow Mascaro on Twitter at https://twitter.com/LisaMascaro
PARIS (AP) - A 25-year-old British snowboarder has suffocated to death after falling head-first into a snowdrift in the French Alps.

The local mountain guide service said Saturday that two witnesses alerted rescuers after spotting a snowboard sticking out of the snow in an off-piste area near the resort of Meribel. An official with the guide service said the man apparently was trapped for up to half an hour before he was spotted.

The man was in cardiac arrest when the time rescuers arrived, according to the guide service.

The victim, a seasonal worker at the Meribel resort, was apparently alone when he fell Wednesday. An investigation is under way.

Some 15 people have been killed in avalanches or ski accidents in the French Alps this year.
JERUSALEM (AP) - Thousands of Christians gathered in Jerusalem on Saturday for an ancient fire ceremony that celebrates the resurrection of Jesus.

In a ritual dating back at least 1,200 years, they crowded into the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where Christian tradition holds that Jesus was crucified, buried and resurrected.

During the annual ceremony, top Eastern Orthodox clerics enter the Edicule, the small chamber marking the site of Jesus' tomb.

Christian pilgrims light candles during the Holy Fire ceremony at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, traditionally believed by many Christians to be the site of the crucifixion and burial of Jesus Christ, in Jerusalem's old city, Saturday, April 7, 2018. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)

They then emerge to reveal candles said to be miraculously lit with "holy fire" as a message to the faithful from heaven. The details of the flame's source are a closely guarded secret.

Orthodox Christians will celebrate Easter on Sunday.

Christian pilgrims light candles during the Holy Fire ceremony at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, traditionally believed by many Christians to be the site of the crucifixion and burial of Jesus Christ, in Jerusalem's old city, Saturday, April 7, 2018. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)

A woman lights candles next to a relative's grave at dawn in Copaciu, southern Romania, Thursday, April 5, 2018. On Maundy Thursday during the holy week of Easter, Orthodox Christians in small southern Romanian villages go to local graveyards before sunrise as part of a centuries-old ritual, light candles and small fires, release incense and leave small bags of food on the ground or offer them with other people. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

Christian pilgrims light candles during the Holy Fire ceremony at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, traditionally believed by many Christians to be the site of the crucifixion and burial of Jesus Christ, in Jerusalem's old city, Saturday, April 7, 2018. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)

Christian pilgrims light candles during the Holy Fire ceremony at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, traditionally believed by many Christians to be the site of the crucifixion and burial of Jesus Christ, in Jerusalem's old city, Saturday, April 7, 2018. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)
WASHINGTON (AP) - The for-profit college industry is struggling under the weight of declining enrollment, stiff competition from traditional universities and an image battered by past misdeeds, even as the Trump administration tries to offer a helping hand.

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has hired several industry insiders and frozen Obama-era regulations that would have increased protections for students. She has reduced loan forgiveness relief for some former students defrauded by their schools, meaning that the for-profit industry could be on the hook for less. And she is considering reinstating an ousted oversight agency for many for-profit colleges.

"There is a serious attempt by this department to find that appropriate fair balance for both students and schools," Steve Gunderson, president of Career Education Colleges and Universities, the industry lobbying group, said in an interview.

FILE - In this Feb. 22, 2018, file photo, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), at National Harbor, Md. The for-profit college industry is struggling under the weight of declining enrollment, stiff competition from traditional universities and an image battered by past misdeeds _ despite a helping hand from the Trump administration. DeVos has hired several industry insiders and frozen Obama-era rules that would have increased protections for students. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

But Timothy Lutts, president of the Cabot Wealth Network in Salem, Massachusetts, sees an industry in decline. An improving economy has led to lagging enrollment as adult students return to the workplace instead of seeking a degree to burnish their resumes, he said. For-profit colleges now also compete with nonprofit schools that offer online degree programs without the stigma that still haunts money-making schools.

"It was a great sector a decade ago," Lutts said. "For for-profit schools, the tide is still going out."

Student enrollment at most four-year for-profit colleges fell in 2017 to just over 901,000, down nearly 69,000 from the year before, according to data compiled by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. It's a downward trend that began in the fall of 2010.

The falling numbers have led to upheaval.

Adtalem Global Education in December unloaded DeVry University by transferring ownership of the struggling school at no cost to a small for-profit education company in California. The move came a year after DeVry agreed to a $100 million settlement to resolve a Federal Trade Commission lawsuit alleging the school misled students through deceptive ads.

Corinthian Colleges collapsed in 2015 and ITT Technical Institute a year later.

Donald Trump's election as president had held the promise of heady times for the industry. After all, he was the founder of Trump University.

Among the DeVos hires are senior counselor Robert Eitel, who served as an attorney for Bridgepoint Education; Julian Schmoke, the top financial enforcement official, who once worked as an academic dean at DeVry; and Diane Auer Jones, who was hired as a senior policy adviser this month, used to lobby for Career Education Corporation, a major for-profit operator.

"What we have here is essentially an embrace of that industry by the Trump administration," said Kathleen Clark, a law professor at Washington University in St. Louis. "If the concern is that a whole industry has been exploiting the situation, you wouldn't want any one from that industry being involved in any regulation, you would be skeptical."

Paul Peterson, a professor of education at Harvard University, said DeVos' hiring decisions were not unusual. Historically, U.S. administrations have tended to fill many positions with people outside the government sector in order to bring new energy and perspective, with Democrats traditionally relying most on lawyers and academics, while Republicans picking industry practitioners.

"You don't want people running the government who don't know anything about the sector," Peterson said.

Education Department press secretary Liz Hill said individuals hired had long careers before and after their work in the for-profit sector. "In addition to being highly qualified, they are carefully complying with all ethical requirements and have recused themselves when appropriate," Hill said in a statement.

She said DeVos was focused on expanding education options for students and that the schools' tax status was irrelevant to the quality of their education. "The one question we should be asking is whether or not an education institution is serving students well, not how it filed paperwork with the IRS," Hill said.

But Erika Colon, a 35-year old mother of three in Boston, said the federal government should increase oversight and tighten controls of for-profit schools. Colon, 35, took out about $15,000 in loans to get a certificate as a medical administrative assistant at one of the Corinthian Colleges schools. She said she received a low-quality education, could not get a job and ended up retraining in a related field at a different school - only then getting hired by a hospital.

"They are just giving students high hopes for nothing and just taking people's money," Colon said.

For-profits had experienced a boom over the past two decades, buoyed by federal student funding and the global financial crisis that left many Americans without jobs and eager to go back to school to gain new skills and credentials. Enrollment rose from around 230,000 in the early 1990s to a record 2 million in 2010.

The schools recruited aggressively, often targeting nontraditional students - usually older people who had jobs and could only study part time. Schools focused heavily on women and people of color. They also pursued veterans with their millions in GI Bill tuition assistance. A 2017 federal study found that veterans represent a larger share of students at for-profit colleges compared with other schools.

But after graduating, many students struggled to find promised jobs or to transfer credits to other schools, leading to massive student loan defaults. An Education Department watchdog said in a report last month that the "sector continues to present itself as a high-risk area for the department."

With the future uncertain, a growing number of schools are seeking to abandon the for-profit world by converting to nonprofit status. These transformations, which require approvals from state and federal regulators, mean less oversight and relief from a law that bars for-profits from receiving more than 90 percent of their revenue through federal student aid programs.

After five straight years of losing revenue and students, Bridgepoint Education, the San Diego-based owner of two for-profit universities, announced last month that it intends to merge its schools into a single nonprofit called Ashford University. Bridgepoint will become what's known as an online program management company. These are the businesses that design, market and run the virtual programs that colleges offer to students. Pending the necessary approvals, Bridgepoint's first client would be Ashford University.

Nolan Sundrud, a Bridgepoint spokesman, attributed the overhaul to the rapidly evolving environment in which colleges and universities operate.

Consumers should be wary of these proposed conversions, according to Bob Shireman, a former Education Department official during President Barack Obama's first term and a frequent critic of for-profit colleges. Shireman, a senior fellow at the Century Foundation, a progressive Washington think tank, published a report in 2015 that warned of "covert nonprofits" that are free of regulatory burdens but continue to operate as for-profit schools.

A group of Democratic senators has asked the Government Accountability Office to look into the conversions.
LONDON (AP) - Russia's embassy in London says it wants a meeting with Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson over the poisoning of ex-spy Sergei Skripal.

In a statement Saturday, the embassy said its dealings with the U.K.'s Foreign Office had been "utterly unsatisfactory." It said it was "high time" for a meeting between Johnson and Ambassador Alexander Yakovenko to discuss the investigation and other issues.

The Foreign Office says it will respond "in due course."

Russian ambassador to the UK Alexander Yakovenko speaks about the recent Salisbury poisoning incident, during a news conference at the Russian Embassy in London, Thursday April 5, 2018. Britain has blamed Russia for the March 4 nerve agent poisoning attack on former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury, England. (Yui Mok/PA via AP)

Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were found unconscious March 4 in the English city of Salisbury after being poisoned with a nerve agent. Doctors say they are now in stable condition.

British authorities say Russia was behind the military-grade nerve agent. Russia denies the accusation.

The case has triggered a diplomatic crisis between Moscow and the West.

Russian ambassador to the UK Alexander Yakovenko speaks about the recent Salisbury poisoning incident, during a news conference at the Russian Embassy in London, Thursday April 5, 2018. Britain has blamed Russia for the March 4 nerve agent attack on former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury, England. (Yui Mok/PA via AP)

Russian ambassador to the UK Alexander Vladimirovich Yakovenko speaks about the Salisbury incident, during a news conference at the Russian Embassy in London, Thursday April 5, 2018. Britain has blamed Russia for the March 4 poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter. In response, more than two dozen Western allies including Britain, the U.S. and NATO have ordered out over 150 Russian diplomats in a show of solidarity. (Yui Mok/PA via AP)
ATLANTA (AP) - Martin Luther King Jr.'s grandchild is hosting an inspiring group of children to commemorate the 50th anniversary of King's assassination, which was Wednesday.

Nine-year-old Yolanda Renee King and her cousin, Maryn Rippy, the granddaughter of King's brother, A.D. King, are hosting the Saturday event in Atlanta, about a mile away from the civil rights leader's childhood home.

Organizers say the gathering will honor youth who have "done extraordinary work for humanity."

Two child actors - Hudson Yang from ABC's "Fresh Off the Boat" and Storm Reid from the film "A Wrinkle in Time" - are scheduled to host a live talk show during the gathering.

The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was killed on April 4, 1968, while supporting a sanitation workers' strike in Memphis.
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) - Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak unveiled a lavish election manifesto with cash benefits targeting rural ethnic Malays, his key voting bloc, as he faces an unprecedented challenge from a revived opposition led by his former mentor, Mahathir Mohamad.

Najib, 64, is seeking a third term in office under pressure to improve his National Front coalition's performance after support eroded in the last two elections. He has been dogged by a massive corruption scandal involving the 1MDB state fund, which is under investigation in the U.S. and other countries for allegations of cross-border embezzlement and money laundering.

The 220-page election manifesto, which includes 364 pledges, was launched Saturday, the day Parliament was dissolved to pave the way for national polls expected in early May.

In this April 7, 2018 photo, Malaysia's Prime Minister and President of the ruling party coalition "National Front", Najib Razak, center, prays during launching event for upcoming general elections in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Prime Minister Najib unveiled a lavish election manifesto with cash benefits targeting rural ethnic Malays, his key voting bloc, as he faces an unprecedented challenge from a revived opposition led by his former mentor, Mahathir Mohamad. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

His campaign slogan "Make my country great with BN" - the Malay acronym for the National Front - has similarities with President Donald Trump's 2016 election motto "Make America great again."

"This election is not about Najib versus the opposition leader. This election is not about BN versus the opposition," Najib told tens of thousands of supporters at the manifesto launching at a sports stadium near Kuala Lumpur. "The key question is which side can provide a better life for you, your family, children and grandchildren, as well as their future."

Veteran opposition lawmaker Lim Kit Siang said the manifesto was "wrong and misleading." He said the 1MDB fiasco had turned Malaysia into a "global kleptocracy" and that voting for the ruling coalition will not make it great but will destroy Malaysia.

The U.S. Justice Department says at least $4.5 billion was stolen from 1MDB by associates of Najib and it is working to seize $1.7 billion allegedly taken from the fund to buy assets in the U.S.

Najib faces a strong challenge from 92-year-old Mahathir, Asia's longest-serving leader for 22 years before he retired in 2003. Mahathir returned to politics two years ago amid anger over the fiasco at 1MDB, which was set up and previously led by Najib, but which accumulated billions in debt. Mahathir now leads a four-party opposition alliance to oust Najib.

Mahathir accused Najib of "terrorizing" his opponents to win the polls after his nascent political party was ordered to temporarily disband over registration requirements.

Analysts expect Najib to win due to recent electoral boundary changes, a buoyant economy and strong support from rural Malays, the bedrock of support for his coalition in a multi-racial nation that also includes ethnic Chinese and Indian minorities.

The opposition has not managed to gain much ground in eastern Sabah and Sarawak states on Borneo island, which account for a quarter of parliamentary seats. It's also unclear how much influence Mahathir has among rural Malays.

The 1MDB saga hasn't really hurt Najib's support among rural Malays, who are more irked with the rising cost of living.

Najib promised in his manifesto to almost double the maximum annual cash handouts to 7 million poor people, mostly Malays, from 1,200 ringgit ($310) to 2,000 ringgit ($517). He pledged to erase debts of Malay farmers and landowners linked to a state plantation company, and create 3 million new jobs to soothe concerns over rising unemployment among youths.

Sabah and Sarawak states will receive a boost with billions of dollars in infrastructure investment. Najib described the two states, which are among the poorest despite rich natural resources, as his coalition's "fixed deposit" and promised no one will be left behind.

Najib said the election will "determine the survival of Malaysia" and appealed to the 14.9 million voters not to make the wrong choice. He said his coalition has a proven track record while the opposition's election manifesto was a "formula for disaster."

"Let us not wake up the next morning to a Malaysia we no longer recognize," he said.

The Election Commission will meet next week to fix the polling dates.

In this April 7, 2018 photo, Malaysia's Prime Minister and President of the ruling party coalition "National Front", Najib Razak, right, speaks to party supporters during launching event for upcoming general elections in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Malaysian Prime Minister Najib unveiled a lavish election manifesto with cash benefits targeting rural ethnic Malays, his key voting bloc, as he faces an unprecedented challenge from a revived opposition led by his former mentor, Mahathir Mohamad. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

Supporters of Malaysia's ruling party coalition "National Front", wave the party flags during the launch of manifesto in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Saturday, April 7, 2018. Prime Minister Najib Razak has unveiled a lavish manifesto with cash benefits targeting rural ethnic Malays, his key vote bank, as he appealed to voters to give his long-ruling coalition a strong mandate to make Malaysia great. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

Malaysia's Prime Minister and President of the ruling party coalition "National Front", Najib Razak, center, holds a manifesto booklet during launching event for upcoming general elections in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Saturday, April 7, 2018. Prime Minister Najib Razak has unveiled a lavish manifesto with cash benefits targeting rural ethnic Malays, his key vote bank, as he appealed to voters to give his long-ruling coalition a strong mandate to make Malaysia great. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

Malaysia's Prime Minister and President of the ruling party coalition "National Front", Najib Razak, firth from left, speaks during launching manifesto for upcoming general elections in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Saturday, April 7, 2018. Prime Minister Najib Razak has unveiled a lavish manifesto with cash benefits targeting rural ethnic Malays, his key vote bank, as he appealed to voters to give his long-ruling coalition a strong mandate to make Malaysia great. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
A court in Ukraine's Mariupol ruled on Friday to impose fines on most of the crewmembers of the Crimean-based seiner Nord, which Ukrainian border officials stopped in the Sea of Azov nearly two weeks ago.

Decisions on two other sailors are still pending.

"We are expecting the decisions on the last two [crewmembers]. For the time being, everyone has been fined, their passports have not been returned yet, and the crewmembers have yet to come to the Ukrainian Security Service for questioning in the captain's case," Anna Shevelyova, a spokesperson for the company owning the seiner, told Interfax.

Other crewmembers are charged with crossing the border illegally, which is punishable by a fine of between 100 to 300 minimum monthly wages or up to 15 days of administrative arrest. The minimum monthly wage in Ukraine is UAH 3,723.

Ukraine's Kherson City Court earlier on Friday imposed a restrictive measure on the ship's captain in the form of arrest until May 31 with the possibility of bail amounting to UAH 35,240 (some $1,350).

Gorbenko was charged with violating rules of entering or leaving occupied territory of Ukraine for the purpose of harming Ukraine's interests. The crime is punishable by up to three years in prison.

The Ukrainian State Border Service detained the Nord (home port Kerch, Russia) with 10 crewmembers on board on March 25. The sailors are now in the port of Berdiansk in Ukraine's Zaporizhia region. They are not allowed to leave the ship.

A court ordered to seize the fishing vessel, which is now in Berdiansk, Zaporizhia region, Ukraine.

Ukrainians have taken away Crimean residents' Russian passports issued in the peninsula; Ukraine does not recognize these documents and considers the sailors its citizens.
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - An influential U.S. senator pressed for fair elections and the release of a jailed American during his private meeting with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, the senator said Saturday before departing the turbulent country.

Sen. Dick Durbin, a Democrat from Illinois, told The Associated Press that he urged Maduro to uphold democratic rights ahead of Venezuela's upcoming presidential election, but doubts any changes will be forthcoming

His four-day trip made at Venezuela's invitation included a visit with Joshua Holt, who has been jailed in Caracas for nearly two years on what the U.S. considers trumped-up weapons charges.

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin speaks during a interview with the Associated Press in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, April 7, 2018. Durbin, a Democrat from Illinios, said that he urged Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to uphold democratic processes ahead of Venezuela's upcoming presidential election. He also said his trip included a visit with U.S. citizen Joshua Holt, who has been jailed in Caracas for nearly two years on what the U.S. considers trumped-up weapons charges. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Durbin, the author of a recent Senate resolution condemning Maduro's use of food as a "tool of political coercion," said he took time to walk through parts Caracas, seeing the downtrodden faces of residents struggling to feed themselves. He also talked with doctors not able to get enough medicine to treat patients.

"I was heartbroken by what I saw and heard, particularly regarding the collapse of the country's ability to feed and medically care for its people and children," he said in an interview Saturday at the conclusion of his trip.

The government has yet to comment on what was discussed during Durbin's visit, or that of another lawmaker, Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, who met with Maduro earlier in the week in a privately-funded trip that wasn't organized by the State Department.

But the rare visits came as the Trump administration weighs an embargo on Venezuela's oil shipments on top of sanctions already imposed on dozens of top officials, including Maduro, for decimating the country's economy, spurring a humanitarian crisis and straying away from democratic practices.

Oil-rich Venezuela is in the throes of a five-year economic and political crisis causing dire shortages of food and medicine, while drawing condemnation from the U.S., as well as many Latin American and European countries.

"This isn't a matter of Yankee imperialism," said Durbin, the No. 2 Senate democrat. "He was not happy with my conclusion on that."

Maduro's government invited the senator to Venezuela in an effort to initiate dialogue between the two countries that haven't exchange ambassadors since 2010. Durbin said Maduro made no demands, which he took as a sign that the leader's request was genuine.

Durbin said Maduro greeted him warmly but doubted that the leader will delay or make any changes to boost confidence that the May 20 presidential election will be free and fair, such as allowing banned opposition parties to participate.

"Democracies don't exile and imprison their political opponents," said Durbin. "This is not a democracy when it comes to the political process."

Durbin also pressed Maduro to hand over Holt, a 25-year-old Utah man who travelled to Venezuela in June 2016 to marry a fellow Mormon he met online practicing his Spanish. The couple was arrested during a police raid on the housing complex where she had lived.

Venezuelan authorities alleged Holt was stockpiling "weapons of war." Asked to release Holt to his care, Maduro told Durbin that he would consider it. "He made no promises," the senator said.

Durbin visited Holt in the Caracas jail where he and his wife are being held alongside some of the government's fiercest opponents, describing him as "distraught and saddened" by the drawn-out ordeal but in otherwise good condition.

"They have been held and are being held for some political purpose either to be part of some trade in the future over some issue," Durbin said.

The senator next returns to Washington to share what he saw and learned with his colleagues in Congress. He said that ratcheting up increasing sanctions against Venezuela is broadly discussed.

"I hope we don't have to turn to further sanctions," Durbin said. "That is really in the hands of the Maduro regime."

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin speaks with local media in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, April 7, 2018. Durbin, a Democrat from Illinios, said that he urged Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to uphold democratic processes ahead of Venezuela's upcoming presidential election. He also said his trip included a visit with U.S. citizen Joshua Holt, who has been jailed in Caracas for nearly two years on what the U.S. considers trumped-up weapons charges. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin speaks during a interview with the Associated Press in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, April 7, 2018. Durbin, a Democrat from Illinios, said that he urged Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to uphold democratic processes ahead of Venezuela's upcoming presidential election. He also said his trip included a visit with U.S. citizen Joshua Holt, who has been jailed in Caracas for nearly two years on what the U.S. considers trumped-up weapons charges. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
GRAND FORKS, N.D. (AP) - The Latest on GOP's endorsement of Rep. Kevin Cramer's U.S. Senate bid. (all times local):

10:55 a.m

North Dakota Republican Congressman Kevin Cramer is telling party activists that "the direction of the nation and the soul of the Senate" is at stake in his contest to unseat incumbent Democratic Sen. Heidi Heitkamp.

Cramer's race against Heitkamp is of the toughest Senate races in the U.S., with Republicans hoping to hold onto a razor-thin majority.

Cramer told the more than 1,600 delegates at the GOP's convention in Grand Forks Saturday that he will support President Donald Trump all of the time and not just sometimes like Heitkamp.

Republicans hold a 51-49 majority in the Senate.

Cramer says just a single vote in the Senate could sway the future of such things as a Supreme Court appointment or "regulatory reform."

___

8:50 a.m.

North Dakota U.S. Rep. Kevin Cramer is being greeted by throngs of GOP delegates at the state endorsing convention in Grand Forks, with smiles, handshakes, and well-wishes.

Cramer is considered Republicans' best hope of unseating incumbent Democrat Sen. Heidi Heitkamp.

But his party hasn't always been happy with him.

Cramer bypassed the party's convention in 2012 and challenged the endorsed U.S. House candidate in the primary. The move irked party bosses.

Now he has almost universal support of the party because his race against Heitkamp is expected to be one of the toughest Senate races in the U.S., with the GOP's 51-49 majority in question.

Cramer says, "North Dakotans have a role in shaping the agenda for the country." But he says support must continue until Election Day.
HOUSTON (AP) - Since he launched his run for president, Donald Trump has said things about immigrants and the U.S.-Mexico border that no other U.S. president has. But now he's reached directly into his predecessors' playbook by sending in the National Guard.

When former presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama deployed the Guard to the border in 2006 and 2010, they were pushing Congress to pass wide-ranging overhauls of immigration policy. Both overhauls failed. A 2011 government review estimated the Bush and Obama deployments cost at least $1.3 billion.

Trump is also trying to reshape immigration law. But Congress so far has funded a fraction of the border wall he promised during his campaign, so the president said this week he wants 2,000 to 4,000 Guard troops on the frontier until the wall goes up. Trump called the deployments crucial to helping the U.S. Border Patrol, which after a drop-off last year has returned to apprehending about as many people as it typically does.

File - In this Jan. 19, 2007 file photo, Staff Sgt. Kevin Black, 36, of Kenmore, N.Y., of the New York National Guard keeps an eye on a group of suspected illegal immigrants near the Arizona-Mexico border in Sasabe, Ariz. National guard contingents in U.S. states that border Mexico say they are waiting for guidance from Washington to determine what they will do following President Donald Trump's proclamation directing deployment to fight illegal immigration and drug smuggling. The National Guard in Texas said in a statement Thursday, April 5, 2018, said the deployment is in "very early planning stages." (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)

In a tweet Saturday, Trump said: "We are sealing up our Southern Border. The people of our great country want Safety and Security.'

Texas and Arizona officials said the first 400 soldiers will be in place within days, and Defense Secretary James Mattis said the Pentagon would foot the bill for the full 4,000, if needed, through September.

Here's a closer look at the recent history of National Guard deployments, what the presidents who ordered them said at the time and what the state of the border was then versus now:

___

OPERATION JUMP START, June 2006-July 2008

WHAT THE PRESIDENT SAID: "For decades, the United States has not been in complete control of its borders," Bush said. "As a result, many who want to work in our economy have been able to sneak across our border, and millions have stayed."

In announcing the operation, Bush called on Congress to pass "comprehensive immigration reform." Using rhetoric very different than Trump's, Bush called immigrants without legal status "a part of American life."

"These are real problems. Yet we must remember that the vast majority of illegal immigrants are decent people who work hard, support their families, practice their faith, and lead responsible lives," he said.

HOW MANY TROOPS: Up to 6,000 Guard members in the first year, reduced to 3,000 in the second year.

WHERE: About 2,400 were sent to Arizona in the first year, according to a 2008 review the Guard published about the operation. Another 1,500 were sent to Texas that year, 1,200 to California, and 900 to New Mexico. The Guard members came from all over the United States.

WHY: Bush said he was trying to buy time to bolster Border Patrol staffing, which eventually grew by about one-third. He said the troops would assist Border Patrol by "operating surveillance systems, analyzing intelligence, installing fences and vehicle barriers, building patrol roads, and providing training." He said Guard members would not assume law enforcement responsibilities and that the U.S. "is not going to militarize the southern border."

WHAT THE GUARD DID: While Guard members could not make arrests on their own, according to government figures for the two-year operation, Guard members helped in almost 12 percent of migrant apprehensions and 9 percent of border marijuana seizures.

COST: $1.2 billion, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office.

PROBLEMS: In a 2009 article for Joint Force Quarterly, Maj. David M. Church, an Army National Guard commander during Operation Jump Start, said the operation's "sudden formation" gave the National Guard and U.S. Customs and Border Protection "little time for preparation, acquaintance, and coordination." The two agencies struggled to communicate and share information "without prior coordination and a solid unity of effort between them," though those issues eased over time.

___

OPERATION PHALANX, July 2010-Sept. 2011

WHAT THE PRESIDENT SAID: "We're not going to solve the problem just solely as a consequence of sending National Guard troops down there," Obama said. "We're going to solve this problem because we have created an orderly, fair, humane immigration framework in which people are able to immigrate to this country in a legal fashion; employers are held accountable for hiring legally present workers."

HOW MANY: Up to 1,200 Guard members initially, though some remained in operations that continued beyond the initial deployment.

WHERE: About 560 members were sent to Arizona. According to Maj. Gen. Hugo Salazar, the head of the National Guard in Arizona, all four Southwest border states supported the operation with their own Guard members.

WHY: Obama said the Guard could "help on intelligence, dealing with both drug and human trafficking along the borders" and free up Border Patrol to handle more law enforcement duties.

WHAT THE GUARD DID: According to a Government Accountability Office review of figures from the start of the deployment through May 2011, the Guard assisted in 6 percent of all migrant apprehensions and 2.6 percent of marijuana seizures.

COST: $110 million through the first year, according to the Government Accountability Office.

PROBLEMS: Critics questioned whether the deployment was worth the expense, especially since Guard members could not make arrests on their own. John David Franz, the mayor of the border city of Hidalgo, Texas, told The Washington Post: "As a mayor, I am not going to say we don't want more security. But as a taxpayer? I would say something different."

File - In this Jan. 19, 2007 file photo, is just one of the many outposts manned by the National Guard near the Arizona-Mexico border in Sasabe, Ariz. National guard contingents in U.S. states that border Mexico say they are waiting for guidance from Washington to determine what they will do following President Donald Trump's proclamation directing deployment to fight illegal immigration and drug smuggling. Governors of the border states of Arizona and New Mexico have welcomed deployment of the Guard along the southwest border as a matter of public safety. AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)

FILE - This April 2, 2017, file photo made with a drone, shows the U.S. Mexico border fence as it cuts through the two downtowns of Nogales. National guard contingents in U.S. states that border Mexico say they are waiting for guidance from Washington to determine what they will do following President Donald Trump's proclamation directing deployment to fight illegal immigration and drug smuggling. The National Guard in Texas said in a statement Thursday, April 5, 2018, said the deployment is in "very early planning stages." (AP Photo/Brian Skoloff, File)

FILE - In this Friday, Jan. 19, 2007 file photo, a National Guard unit patrols at the Arizona-Mexico border in Sasabe, Ariz. National guard contingents in U.S. states that border Mexico say they are waiting for guidance from Washington to determine what they will do following President Donald Trump's proclamation directing deployment to fight illegal immigration and drug smuggling. The National Guard in Texas said in a statement Thursday, April 5, 2018, said the deployment is in "very early planning stages." (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, file)

FILE - In this Friday, Jan. 19, 2007 file photo, a National Guard unit patrols at the Arizona-Mexico border in Sasabe, Ariz. National guard contingents in U.S. states that border Mexico say they are waiting for guidance from Washington to determine what they will do following President Donald Trump's proclamation directing deployment to fight illegal immigration and drug smuggling. Governors of the border states of Arizona and New Mexico have welcomed deployment of the Guard along the southwest border as a matter of public safety. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, file)

FILE - In this May 16, 2006, file photo, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, left, talks with Major Gen. William Wade II, the Adjutant General of the California National Guard, right, during a briefing on possible guard troop deployment along the border with Mexico, at the Capitol in Sacramento, Calif. Wade, accompanied by Col. David Baldwin, third from right, and Capt. Ty Shepard, were among the members of the National Guard assisting Wade in outlining the National Guards capabilities in fulfilling President Bush's plans to deploy National Guard troops along the border with Mexico to stem the flow of illegal immigrants. The U.S. National Guard faces a vastly different landscape than it did on its last two deployments to the Mexican border but its role is shaping up much the same: moving Border Patrol agents from behind-the-scenes jobs to making arrests on the front lines. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)

FILE - In this June 8, 2006, file photo, members of the National Guard work on construction of a border wall at the U.S.-Mexico border next to San Luis Rio Colorado, Mexico. Photo was taken from a few steps into the United States. The arrival of U.S. National Guard troops in Arizona has scared off illegal Mexican migrants along the border as a whole, significantly reducing crossings, according to U.S. and Mexican officials. From 2006 to 2008, the Guard fixed vehicles, maintained roads, repaired fences and performed ground surveillance. (AP Photo/David Maung, File)

FILE - In this April 10, 2000, file photo, a marker embedded in the pavement marks the imaginary line between the United States and Mexico at the San Ysidro border checkpoint between San Diego, Calif., and Tijuana, Mexico. The rare conjunction of two major cities, Tijuana and San Diego, with Los Angeles to the north, make it one of the busiest border crossings on the planet. The U.S. National Guard faces a vastly different environment than it did on its last two deployments to the border with Mexico, with far fewer illegal crossings and more Central Americans than Mexicans coming. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)

FILE - In this April 19, 2011 file photo, a member of the U.S. National Guard checks on his colleague inside a Border Patrol Skybox near the Hidalgo International Bridge in Hidalgo, Texas. National Guard members along the Texas-Mexico border assist Border Patrol by surveying the terrain from the tower. The U.S. National Guard faces a vastly different landscape than it did on its last two deployments to the Mexican border but its role is shaping up much the same: moving Border Patrol agents from behind-the-scenes jobs to making arrests on the front lines. The Guard was assigned to observation posts some distance from the border for safety reasons, using binoculars and other gear to spot people crossing. Richard Barlow, then a top Border Patrol official in San Diego, said their success as lookouts varied because they were unarmed and needed protection in more dangerous areas. (AP Photo/Delcia Lopez, File)
Austrian police have questioned a group of British teenagers and two Germans over a brawl outside a ski lift that left three people injured.

Officers said the incident happened on Thursday morning following a verbal dispute between the skiers over who could get into the Gruenwaldkopfbahn gondola in the resort of Obertauern first.

In a statement, Salzburg police said a 51-year-old German, his 16-year-old son and a group of seven British students aged 15-16 began beating each other with fists and ski poles as they exited the lift.

Skis

The brawl ended after a ski instructor and one of the students chaperones intervened. Police said the 16-year-old German suffered a broken arm in the incident.
Ruth Davidson and the Scottish Conservatives have come under fire over the abhorrent rape clause one year after the controversial welfare reform was brought in.

SNP and Labour politicians urged the Tories to rethink their support for the policy, branding it despicable and absolutely heart-breaking.

It was established as part of UK Government benefit reforms which limit families to claiming tax credits for their first two children

Campaigners protesting against the `rape clause in Glasgows George Square last year (Jane Barlow/PA)

One of the exemptions to this is the so-called rape clause, which requires women to prove a child was conceived through rape or during an abusive relationship to qualify for the benefit.

Former Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale pledged her party would end the abhorrent rape clause across the UK if Jeremy Corbyn becomes prime minister.

Hope the Rape Clause has a miserable 1st Birthday - sick to my stomach this abhorrent policy still exists https://t.co/DgKIOCwRoZ  Kezia Dugdale (@kezdugdale) April 6, 2018

Ms Dugdale said: On the first anniversary of the abhorrent rape clause, we should all reflect on the heart-breaking reality of this Conservative policy.

It is absolutely sickening that Ruth Davidson continues to remain silent about the rape clause, despite supposedly having influence in Downing Street. She is complicit in the continuation of this vile policy.

Ruth Davidson tries to pretend to Scots that shes a different type of Tory  but this is the Nasty Party at its worst.

The Tories were repeatedly challenged on their support for the benefit change during last years election campaign.

SNP MP Alison Thewliss called on the 13 Scottish Tory MPs elected then to consider whether the policy was justified.

She said: The policy not only plunges children into poverty, but forcing women to disclose one of the worst experiences of their lives, just in order to make a claim for a benefit, has to be one of the most abhorrent polices to have come out of this heartless Tory Government. 

Wondering what the issue is with the two child policy and the rape clause? Read my debate here: https://t.co/V7JapSdAQy #scraptherapeclause pic.twitter.com/0q9cXX7idT  Alison Thewliss  (@alisonthewliss) October 20, 2016

She added: One year on from its introduction, serious problems remain about the impact of the two-child policy and rape clause on vulnerable women and children.

Ive continued to ask questions, but ministers havent given me any answers, or reassurance or justification that this policy is either workable or necessary.

The Glasgow Central MP said: The UK Government has made U-turns at short notice, even after holding out on its position for a long time. This despicable policy should be the next one to be axed.

A spokesman for the Scottish Conservatives said: The last thing Kezia Dugdale should want to remember is the worst Labour election campaign in living memory which took her from political leader to jungle laughing stock in the space of months.
A 30-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the murder of Tanesha Melbourne who was gunned down in Tottenham on Monday.

The 17-year-old was killed in a drive-by attack as she sat chatting with friends.

The killing shocked the capital, which has seen a rising wave of violent crime with the number of suspected murders in March higher than that of New York.

The Met Police said on Friday that a man had been arrested in Hackney, east London, on suspicion of murder and is currently being held in custody.

A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder following the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Tanesha Melbourne-Blake on 2 April #Tottenham #Haringey https://t.co/k6IwKRXNjP pic.twitter.com/4rG3tKo0wc  Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) April 6, 2018

Police were called to Chalgrove Road at 9:35pm on Monday following reports of gunshots.

Paramedics battled for an hour to save her life but she was pronounced dead at the scene.

Just 30 minutes later, 16-year-old Amaan Shakoor was shot in Walthamstow and died in hospital the following day.

Officers said they are keeping an open mind about the attack, and at this stage there has been no suggestion that the two killings are linked.

Floral tributes left on Chalgrove Road, Tottenham (Jonathan Brady/PA)

Detective Inspector Beverley Kofi, of the Homicide and Major Crime Command, said: We are appealing to anybody who witnessed the incident and has not yet come forward, or who in the hours since this shocking murder are privy to information that could help us find those responsible.

You may be fearful of repercussions of speaking to police, or have loyalties that you believe cant be compromised.

We are dealing with the fatal shooting of a teenage girl, and would implore you to do the right thing and come forward.

It emerged on Thursday that the Met has opened 55 murder investigations in London this year and there were six non-fatal stabbings from Thursday night into Friday morning in the capital.

On Friday afternoon a section 60 order, granting police stop and search powers across the Borough of Newham, was announced in response to an incident where a 13-year-old boy was stabbed in Gainsborough Avenue on Thursday.

The order will remain in place until 6am on Saturday.
Jose Mourinho claims the chance to delay Manchester City wrapping up the Premier League title offers no extra motivation for Manchester United heading into the derby.

Victory at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday evening would see Pep Guardiolas swashbuckling side clinch the title with more games to spare than any other side in English top-flight history.

That would be some response to the shock 3-0 Champions League quarter-final first-leg loss at Liverpool and see City grab what captain Vincent Kompany has called a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to win the title at home to United.

Switch over to #MUTV from 14:00 BST for coverage of Jose Mourinho's press conference ahead of Man City v #MUFC...



 https://t.co/hf75gRf7sy pic.twitter.com/d66nEcVq24  Manchester United (@ManUtd) April 6, 2018

It would be a sickening outcome for all connected to United, but Mourinho says boosting their second-place hopes rather than delaying Citys title party is the driver for him.

My motivation is to finish second, the United boss said.

I still have the motivation of finishing top four because mathematically it is not done.

It is a good distance but not done mathematically, so thats the first objective.

But after that I dont hide.

That in practical terms, and next season especially, to finish second, third or fourth is exactly the same because you dont win the title but qualify directly for the Champions League group phase.

But I prefer to finish third than fourth, and I prefer to finish second than third.

And because we are in the second position for many, many, many, many months, obviously it is our objective to fight for that and for that we need points.

My objective for tomorrow is to try to have points that can help us to finish second.

It was the longest answer in Mourinhos pre-match press conference, with the answers becoming increasingly curt as his reticence to speak about City became clear.

Guardiola and Mourinho embrace after Citys win at Old Trafford earlier this season (Martin Rickett/PA)

Its not for me to say that, its for you to say that, he said when asked how good Guardiolas side have been this season.

But obviously you see the number of points that we have, and it is easy to go to the books and to understand that with the number of points we have, we would normally be in the fight for the title.

But we are not because City have a very good number of points that makes it very, very difficult for the (side in) second to be fighting for the title, which we are not in this moment.

Asked whether Citys Champions League first-leg loss poses different questions for United, he simply said no  as he did when asked if it impacted his side at all.

Come to see the man attempting to act as party pooper at the Etihad Stadium tomorrow pic.twitter.com/AyzBE5KJ5p  Simon Peach (@SimonPeach) April 6, 2018

Mourinho was similarly brusque when asked what it takes for a great team to be consistent in the Premier League and questions relating to the Liverpool result, saying he is not a pundit.

The United boss was, though, confident his side possesses the attacking options to hurt City.

Alexis Sanchez is among those options and a former Barcelona player under Guardiola, who had attempted to bring him to the Etihad Stadium.

The signing of Alexis Sanchez was seen as a statement of intent by Manchester United (Dave Howarth/EMPICS Sport)

But being asked if getting the Chilean ahead of City proves United are equal in terms of recruiting players and being as competitive in the market as them appeared to irk Mourinho.

Are we? Thats your opinion, he said.

Did they spend money in January? Did they? So

Put to him that United got to Sanchez before City, he retorted: Do you know that? Can you confirm that?

I dont know, I have no idea if they were interested or not, they were trying or not. Ive no idea.
Comedy star Jack Whitehall has paid tribute to his grandmother following her death.

Whitehall, 29, posted a snap, taken previously, of the pair together.

And he wrote on Instagram: My wonderful grandmother has passed away. So many happy memories of her.

Jack Whitehall (Ian West/PA)

A special thanks to the incredible team at Belford House who made the last years of her life so peaceful.

The image showed the comics grandmother sitting next to Whitehall, who recently won praise for his debut hosting the Brits.
The metal object that was mistaken for a gun in a fatal shooting by officers turned out to be the head of a welding torch, according to New York Police Department.

Saheed Vassells father has told reporters his son had previously worked as a welder.

Police seeking to quell simmering anger over their shooting of the mentally disturbed black man released a montage of security videos that showed him minutes earlier thrusting a metal object that looked like a gun into the faces of several people  including a woman holding the hand of her child.

Surveillance video image shows Saheed Vassell brandishing a metal object (New York Police Department via AP)

A final video snippet showed the man raising the object in a two-handed shooting stance as police arrived, the edited video frozen just before officers unleashed 10 shots that left the 34-year-old dead.

The shooting in Brooklyn on Wednesday evening prompted two nights of protests among many who felt police should have known that Mr Vassell, a fixture in the Crown Heights neighbourhood, had emotional problems.

But mayor Bill De Blasio did not lay blame on the officers, who were not from the local precinct and were passing through at the time.

He said they had no information that the person they were confronting was mentally ill.

Its a tragedy because a man with a profound mental health problem  was doing something that people perceived to be a threat to the safety of others, Mr de Blasio said at a news conference shortly before the images and a partial transcript of emergency calls were released.

The release of the edited material on the NYPDs Twitter account  the full videos and transcripts were not immediately provided  was meant to back up the departments claims that the four plainclothes and two uniformed officers who responded had a legitimate reason to believe they needed to move swiftly to stop a deadly threat.

The material released by the department did not answer questions about whether the officers had identified themselves or ordered the victim to drop the object before they opened fire.

The citys medical examiner found Mr Vassell was hit seven to nine times, including one shot to the head.

At a vigil on Thursday night, his mother Lorna said her son came from a good home.

His father Eric told reporters that his son had been treated in hospital several times for psychiatric problems, some involving encounters with the police, but that he was polite and kind.

Police had a choice. They always have a choice. They should not train them to kill. They should train them to protect life, to save life, Eric Vassell said in an interview with WABC-TV.
Russia's hybrid military forces have attacked Ukrainian army positions in Donbas 42 times in the past 24 hours, with two Ukrainian soldiers reported as wounded in action (WIA), the press center of the headquarters of Ukraine's military operations has reported.

"Over the past day, Russian-occupation troops continued to ignore the Easter truce. The aggressor mounted 42 shelling attacks on Ukrainian defenders, while using weapons banned by the Minsk agreements," the press center of the headquarters of Ukraine's military operations reported on Facebook on Saturday morning.

In the Donetsk sector, the enemy used proscribed 122mm artillery systems and cannons of infantry fighting vehicles against our positions in the village of Shyrokyne, as well as 82mm mortars near the village of Pisky. The defenders of the villages of Vodiane and Lebedynske, and the towns of Maryinka and Avdiyivka came under fire from grenade launchers and small arms. The aggressor also used heavy machine guns and small arms against our fortified positions near the villages of Talakivka and Hnutove, while the defenders of the town of Krasnohorivka, Butovka coal mine and the villages of Pisky and Kamianka were attacked with the use of small arms. Moreover, a sniper was active near Shyrokyne.

In the Luhansk sector, the Russian occupation forces fired 120mm and 82mm mortars, grenade launchers and heavy machine guns at the Ukrainian fortified positions near the village of Luhanske, Valuiske, Troyitske and Novoluhanske.
Sergei Skripal, the Russian ex-spy poisoned with a nerve agent, is no longer critically ill, according to doctors.

The former double agent is responding well to treatment, improving rapidly and no longer in a critical condition, Salisbury District Hospital said.

Mr Skripal, 66, and his 33-year-old daughter Yulia were left fighting for their lives in hospital after being found unconscious on a park bench in Salisbury on March 4.

Police Community Support Officers standing outside the Salisbury home of Sergei Skripal, who is no longer in a critical condition (Ben Mitchell/PA)

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said the improvement in the condition of Mr Skripals was great news and testament to the quick work of the emergency services.

Sergei Skripals improved condition is both great news, and testament to the quick work of our world-class emergency services and NHS staff, who have been paramount to his and Yulias recovery. I thank all involved and wish Sergei & Yulia a quick return to full health.  Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) April 6, 2018

Police believe Mr Skripal and his daughter, who was visiting him from Russia, first came into contact with the Novichok agent at his home in Salisbury, Wiltshire.

Ms Skripal made her first public comments on Wednesday shortly after Russian TV reported that she had contacted her cousin Viktoria in Moscow to say she and her father were recovering and that she would soon be discharged.

The UK authorities have refused to grant Viktoria Skripal a visa to come to Britain, with the Home Office saying her application did not comply with the immigration rules.

The improvement in Mr Skripals condition was revealed by Dr Christine Blanshard, medical director at Salisbury District Hospital, who said speculation about when the two could be released from hospital was just that  speculation.

The Foreign Office said the pair were likely to have ongoing medical needs.

The Russian Embassy said it hoped the improvement in the Skripals health will contribute to the investigation of the crime perpetrated against them.

Moscow has denied being responsible for the poisoning of the Skripals but the incident has plunged diplomatic relations between Russia and the West into the deep freeze.

We welcome the news of progress in Sergei Skripal recovery. Read comment: https://t.co/ROOMo5VFKh pic.twitter.com/29JmlYcqQW  Russian Embassy, UK (@RussianEmbassy) April 6, 2018

A Foreign Office spokesman said: We are very pleased that both Mr Skripal and his daughter Yulia are improving. This is a tribute to the hardworking and talented NHS staff in Salisbury who have provided outstanding care.

The NHS will continue to provide ongoing care for the Skripals, both of whom are likely to have ongoing medical needs.

Let us be clear, this was attempted murder using an illegal chemical weapon that we know Russia possesses.

Meanwhile, Russia continued to raise questions about the fate of the pets at Mr Skripals home.

Two guinea pigs were found dead at the property and a cat, which was found in a distressed state at the house, was put down.

The Russian Embassy said: Regarding the dead guinea pigs and the malnourished cat, it is said unofficially that they were taken to the Porton Down facility and incinerated there.

But it remains unclear if their remains were ever tested for toxic substances, which would constitute useful evidence, and if not, why such a decision was made.

Overall, it is difficult to avoid the impression that the animals have been disposed of as an inconvenient piece of evidence.
Thousands of Palestinians have protested along Gazas sealed border with Israel, engulfing the volatile area in black smoke from burning tyres.

Israeli troops opened fire from across the border, killing at least nine Palestinians and wounding 491 others  33 of them seriously  in the second mass border protest in a week, Gaza health officials said.

A well-known Palestinian journalist was among the dead, and hundreds of others suffered other injuries, including tear gas inhalation, the officials said.

Early on Saturday, Palestinian health officials confirmed that Yasser Murtaga had died from a gunshot wound sustained while covering demonstrations near the Israeli border in Khuzaa. The area was the scene of large protests on Friday, and was covered in thick black smoke.

Mr Murtaga was over 100 meters from the border, wearing a flak jacket marked press and holding his camera when he was shot in an exposed area just below the armpit. Journalists were in the area as protesters were setting tyres on fire.

The Israeli military has said it fired only at instigators involved in attacks on soldiers or the border fence. It had no immediate comment.

Palestinian protesters during clashes with Israeli troops along Gazas border with Israel, (Adel Hana/AP)

Mr Murtaga worked for Ain media, a local TV production company that has done projects, including aerial drone video, for foreign media. He was not affiliated with Hamas or any other militant group.

The latest casualties were bound to draw new criticism from rights groups that have branded Israels open-fire orders on the border as unlawful, after Israels defence minister warned that those approaching the fence were risking their lives.

The UN human rights office said on Friday that it has indications that Israeli forces used excessive force against protesters last week, when 15 Palestinians were killed or later died of wounds sustained near the border.

An Israeli military spokesman defended the rules of engagement.

If they are actively attacking the fence, if they are throwing a molotov cocktail that is within striking distance of Israeli troops or similar activities, then those persons, those rioters, become, may become, a target, said Lt Col Jonathan Conricus.

Fridays large crowds suggested that Hamas, the Islamic militant group that has ruled Gaza since a 2007 takeover, might be able to keep the momentum going in the next few weeks. Hamas has called for a series of protests until May 15, the anniversary of Israels founding when Palestinians commemorate their mass uprooting during the 1948 war over Israels creation.

Israel has alleged that Hamas is using the mass marches as a cover for attacking the border fence, and has vowed to prevent a breach at all costs.

The military said that on Friday, protesters hurled several explosive devices and firebombs, using the thick plumes of smoke from burning tyres as a cover, and that several attempts to cross the fence were thwarted.

Gazas shadowy Hamas strongman, Yehiyeh Sinwar, told a cheering crowd in one of the protest camps on Friday that a border breach is coming.

The world should wait for our great move, when we penetrate the borders and pray at Al-Aqsa, Sinwar said, referring to the major Muslim shrine in Jerusalem.

He was interrupted several times by the crowd, who chanted, We are going to Jerusalem, millions of martyrs! and God bless you Sinwar!

The mass protests are perhaps Hamas last chance to break a border blockade enforced by Israel and Egypt since 2007, without having to succumb to demands that it disarm. The blockade has made it increasingly difficult for Hamas to govern. It has also devastated Gazas economy, made it virtually impossible for people to enter and exit the territory, and left residents with just a few hours of electricity a day.
A pensioner who fatally stabbed an intruder at his home should not have been arrested, a member of a powerful parliamentary committee has said.

Sir Christopher Chope said it was completely unwarranted to arrest people in circumstances such as those faced by Richard Osborn-Brooks.

The 78-year-old retirees detention on suspicion of murdering intruder Henry Vincent, 37, drew widespread condemnation from members of the public.

A 78-year-old man who was arrested following a fatal stabbing in #Lewisham has today been informed that no action will be taken. Our thoughts remain with the families whose lives have been devastated by these events. https://t.co/GT1Zf4cZNT pic.twitter.com/zJK4VJs4QJ  Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) April 6, 2018

Nearly 20,000 people signed a petition calling for the probe to be shelved, while more than 7,000 was raised to pay for his legal costs.

On Friday the Metropolitan Police said he would face no further action over Vincents death.

Mr Osborn-Brooks had been arrested on suspicion of murder before being freed on bail following the incident on Tuesday.

A police car and cordon outside the property of Richard Osborn-Brooks on South Park Crescent in Hither Green, London (Henry Vaughan/PA)

Sir Christopher, who sits on the Commons Home Affairs Select Committee, said that arresting the pensioner was a step too far.

It is one thing to question people but to  arrest people in these circumstances is completely unwarranted, the Tory backbencher told The Times.

It is a sad reflection on the criminal justice system that it has required the force of the press and public opinion to reach this decision.

Henry Vincent (Met Police/PA)

Scotland Yard said on Friday that its decision to drop the investigation followed a consultation with the Crown Prosecution Service.

Detective chief inspector Simon Harding stressed there had been a thorough investigation into the circumstances of Vincents death.

He said: Whilst there might be various forms of debate about which processes should be used in cases such as this, it was important that the resident was interviewed by officers under the appropriate legislation of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act; not only for the integrity of our investigation but also so that his personal and legal rights were protected.

An inquest will further review the circumstances into Mr Vincents death in a public forum, the detective said.

Bob Neill, chairman of the Commons Justice Select Committee, praised the police for their expediency in releasing Mr Osborn-Brooks.

Flowers and a card left on Further Green Road (Henry Vaughan/PA)

It is sensible and the right result, but actually not very surprising, as the law clearly permits the reasonable use of force in self defence (and in defence of others  such as his wife) in this sort of case, the Conservative MP and former criminal barrister told the Daily Mail.

The police had to investigate it but its to their credit that they did so quickly and reached the right decision. In that sense the system has worked.

The force said in a statement that it had informed Vincents family of the development and explained to them the reasons why no charges will be brought.

In January, Vincent was named and pictured by Kent Police investigating a distraction burglary when jewellery and valuables were stolen from a man in his 70s.

Henry Vincent was named as the man killed (Kent Police/PA)

Officers were then called to reports of a burglary in progress at 12.45am on Tuesday, after two men entered the house on South Park Crescent in Hither Green, south-east London.

One suspect, armed with a screwdriver, forced the homeowner into his kitchen when he discovered them, while his accomplice went upstairs, the force said.

Detectives believe a struggle ensued between one of the males and the homeowner and the intruder was stabbed in the upper body. It is unclear what implement was used to deliver the fatal blow.

Both men then apparently attempted a getaway, but Vincent collapsed nearby on Further Green Road.

An accomplice attempted to drag him towards a van but eventually left, according to a witness.

Paramedics from London Ambulance Service took him to a central London hospital where he died at 3.37am.

The second man has not been found and remains wanted by police.
Real Madrid will do battle with Atletico Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday afternoon.

If Real fail to take all three points they can consider themselves out of the LaLiga title race, while Atletico still retain some hope of catching leaders Barcelona.

Here, Press Association Sport takes a look at five of their notable past meetings.

Real Madrid 2 Atletico Madrid 1, European Cup semi-final play-off, May 1959

Alfredo Di Stefano enjoyed tormenting Atletico Madrid (PA Archive)

After drawing 2-2 on aggregate over two legs, the Madrid sides contested a third match as a play-off to decide who would tackle French side Reims in the European Cup final. Real had won 2-1 at the Bernabeu and Atletico were 1-0 winners in the second leg, in the days before the away goals rule was a factor. The play-off was staged at the neutral ground of La Romareda in Zaragoza, and Real won 2-1 with goals from Alfredo Di Stefano and Ferenc Puskas. Real went on to beat Reims 2-0 in the final.

Real Madrid 2 Atletico Madrid 2, LaLiga, January 2003

The points were shared from a bad-tempered clash thanks to a controversial late equaliser from Demetrio Albertini. Real lived to regret a missed penalty from Luis Figo, who failed from the spot when attempting to complete a hat-trick, and Los Blancos were infuriated by a free-kick going against them in the lead-up to the Atletico leveller. Real defender Ivan Helguera and Atleticos Jose Garcia Calvo were both sent off in the draw, which allowed Real Sociedad to take a three-point lead at the top of the table. Real Madrid, however, went on to take the title.

Real Madrid 4 Atletico Madrid 1 (after extra time), Champions League final, May 2014

Lisbon hosted a rare occasion of two teams from the same city meeting in Europes elite club competition final. Sergio Ramos dramatic stoppage-time header brought Real back into a game they had trailed in since the 36th minute, taking the match into an extra 30 minutes. Despite keeping Real at bay in the first 15 minutes of extra-time, a tired Atletico were blown away in the closing

stages, conceding strikes from Gareth Bale, Marcelo and a Cristiano Ronaldo penalty.

Real Madrid 2 Atletico Madrid 2, Copa del Rey round of 16 second leg, January 2015

Atletico took a 2-0 win from their then Vicente Calderon home to the Bernabeu, but rather than sit on the first-leg lead they went for more goals. Fernando Torres scored inside a minute, and incredibly he repeated the trick at the start of the second half. Ramos had pulled Real level before half-time, and Ronaldo soon responded to the second goal from Torres with a header, but Atletico triumphed 4-2 on aggregate. Their cup euphoria was short-lived though, as Atletico lost by the same margin to Barcelona in the next round.

Real Madrid 1 Atletico Madrid 1 (Real Madrid won 5-3 on penalties), Champions League final, May 2016

In victory and in defeat, the values of this team make us believe.

Always. #NeverStopBelieving #UCLFinal pic.twitter.com/b02UjnfAg8  Atletico de Madrid (@atletienglish) May 28, 2016

They met again in the Champions League final in 2016, with San Siro the venue this time. Ramos scored a 15th-minute opener despite a suspicion of offside, but Belgian winger Yannick Carrasco stepped off the bench to level up for Atletico late in the second half. The extra-time period proved unusually quiet before the match was settled by penalties. Juanfran hit a post with Atleticos fourth,

giving Ronaldo the chance for glory as his spot-kick sealed Reals 11th Champions League title.
Molly Ringwald has been praised for airing her concerns about her 1985 film The Breakfast Club, which she has said is now troubling to her due to scenes involving sexual harassment.

The actress re-examined the teen film, about five misfit students held in detention on a Saturday, while questioning its director John Hughes in light of the Me Too movement against harassment.

Writing in The New Yorker, Ringwald, 50, said she recently watched the film again with her 10-year-old daughter and, after fearing her child would be concerned by it, she hadnt anticipated that it would ultimately be most troubling to me.

Molly Ringwald on `troubling The Breakfast Club in the Me Too era (PA Archive/PA)

My second piece for the New Yorker has been published today! @NewYorker https://t.co/JH7vEDYTiR  Molly Ringwald (@MollyRingwald) April 6, 2018

Ringwald wrote: At one point in the film, the bad-boy character, John Bender, ducks under the table where my character, Claire, is sitting, to hide from a teacher.

While there, he takes the opportunity to peek under Claires skirt and, though the audience doesnt see, it is implied that he touches her inappropriately.

She added: Whats more, as I can see now, Bender sexually harasses Claire throughout the film.

When hes not sexualising her, he takes out his rage on her with vicious contempt, calling her pathetic, mocking her as Queenie. Its rejection that inspires his vitriol.

Ringwald noted that, despite all of this, the film sees him get the girl in the end.

She said that she thought about the film a lot after re-watching it, particularly after a number of women came forward with sexual harassment allegations against the likes of film producer Harvey Weinstein and others.

If attitudes toward female subjugation are systemic, and I believe that they are, it stands to reason that the art we consume and sanction plays some part in reinforcing those same attitudes, she wrote.

While praising the work of Hughes, who was responsible for two other films of the 1980s in which she starred  Sixteen Candles and Pretty In Pink  the star said she was only vaguely aware of how much of Johns writing was at the time.

She said there is still so much that she loves in the films, but that lately I have felt the need to examine the role that these movies have played in our cultural life: where they came from, and what they might mean now.

Throughout the piece, she paid tribute to Hughes, who died in 2009, and hailed his work as having a cultural impact.

Ringwald, however, added: Its hard for me to understand how John was able to write with so much sensitivity, and also have such a glaring blind spot.

Following the publication of the article, Ringwald was widely praised on social media for her take on the film.

American author Jenny Han tweeted: To all the people claiming that Molly Ringwald is throwing John Hughes under the bus did you even read what she wrote?

Its a pretty tender, fair-minded piece. Shes not crying about #MeToo. Shes a grown woman examining her legacy and that of the man who helped shape it.

Writer Mark Harris said: This piece by @MollyRingwald is one of the most insightful and honest pieces of cultural criticism Ive read in ages, and a model of how to discuss movies within the context of when they were made without excusing their faults and failings.

One reader described Ringwalds article as tremendously special and thoughtful, while another said it was vulnerable and terrific.

This is a tremendously special, thoughtful article from Molly Ringwald that makes for a smart lesson in how to look at the social problems of older movies: not blindly, but not blindly rejecting, either https://t.co/AZCtabGPZn  Meredith Borders (@xymarla) April 6, 2018

Weinstein, who has been accused of sexual assault and harassment by multiple women, has denied all allegations of non-consensual sex.
Workers at a North Sea oil rig are holding an unofficial sit in protest.

They downed tools at Statoils Mariner platform, 95 miles east of Shetland.

Scores of employees for contractor Aker Solutions are said to have stopped work in the four-hour sit in, alleging poor working conditions.

Workers on the rig are holding a sit in (Alan Furie/PA)

There in no union involvement in the action.

James Furie, a spokesman for the workers, claimed up to 200 Aker Solutions employees are involved.

Today brings a day of unofficial action against working conditions on the Mariner hook up, he said.

The workers are protesting against poor working conditions, poor management, possible blacklisting and having an offer of a bonus removed.

This action will escalate if Aker and Statoil think they can continue to treat us this way.

An Aker Solutions spokesman said: Aker Solutions has been made aware that some workers based at the Mariner field have chosen not to work today.

The company has received no official notification of this activity and is looking into this matter.

The company is understood to employ more than 500 workers on the platform.
Russian officials have requested a meeting with Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson to discuss the nerve agent attack on former double-agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia.

The Foreign Office confirmed that it had received a request from the Russian Embassy for a meeting with Mr Johnson, one of the most vocal Government critics of Vladimir Putins regime over the attempted assassination.

It comes as speculation mounted that the Skripals could be able to offer officers investigating the Salisbury nerve agent attack missing clues as the pair continue to recover.

Police Community Support Officers standing outside the Salisbury home of Sergei Skripal, who is no longer in a critical condition (Ben Mitchell/PA)

An FCO spokeswoman said: We have received a request. We will be responding in due course.

We believe that it is high time to arrange a meeting between @Amb_Yakovenko and Foreign Secretary @BorisJohnson in order to discuss the whole range of bilateral issues, as well as the investigation of the Salisbury incident. https://t.co/hOHA18Lclf pic.twitter.com/cS8XMDiXM7  Russian Embassy, UK (@RussianEmbassy) April 7, 2018

Mr Skripal, 66, and his 33-year-old daughter Yulia were left fighting for their lives in hospital after being found unconscious on a park bench in Salisbury on March 4.

The former double agent is responding well to treatment, improving rapidly and no longer in a critical condition, Salisbury District Hospital said.

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said the improvement in the condition of Mr Skripal was great news and testament to the quick work of the emergency services.

In a statement posted on its website on Saturday, the Russian Embassy said interaction between it and the Foreign Office was utterly unsatisfactory.

They added: We believe that it is high time to arrange a meeting between Ambassador Alexander Yakovenko and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson in order to discuss the whole range of bilateral issues, as well as the investigation of the Salisbury incident.

Ambassador Yakovenko has already sent a respective personal note to the Foreign Secretary.

We hope that the British side will engage constructively and that such meeting is arranged shortly.

Sergei Skripals improved condition is both great news, and testament to the quick work of our world-class emergency services and NHS staff, who have been paramount to his and Yulias recovery. I thank all involved and wish Sergei & Yulia a quick return to full health.  Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) April 6, 2018

Moscow has denied being responsible for the poisoning of the Skripals but the incident has plunged diplomatic relations between Russia and the West into the deep freeze.

The Russian Embassy had previously said it hoped the improvement in the Skripals health will contribute to the investigation of the crime perpetrated against them.

We welcome the news of progress in Sergei Skripal recovery. Read comment: https://t.co/ROOMo5VFKh pic.twitter.com/29JmlYcqQW  Russian Embassy, UK (@RussianEmbassy) April 6, 2018

Ms Skripal made her first public comments on Wednesday shortly after Russian TV reported that she had contacted her cousin Viktoria in Moscow to say she and her father were recovering and that she would soon be discharged.

The UK authorities have refused to grant Viktoria Skripal a visa to come to Britain, with the Home Office saying her application did not comply with the immigration rules.
There is little to celebrate 20 years on from the Good Friday Agreement, the Ulster Unionist leader Robin Swann said.

Devolved Government at Stormont has not sat for 14 months in a dispute between former coalition partners the Democratic Unionists and Sinn Fein over protection for the Irish language and addressing the toxic legacy of Northern Irelands violent past.

Mr Swann championed renewed reconciliation, tolerance, partnership, respect and mutual trust ahead of next weeks anniversary of the landmark peace accord.

UUP leader Robin Swann said there was little to celebrate 20 years after the Good Friday Agreement. (Brian Lawless/PA)

He said: Sadly, the Belfast Agreement was not allowed to evolve and grow with society in the way it was envisaged because there were those who had much to fear from the normalisation of politics here.

Twenty years on from 1998 there is little to celebrate when the DUP and Sinn Fein havent been able to form a Government in the last 14 months, with one of them putting down a seemingly immovable red line of an Irish Language Act.

The ministerial Executive at Stormont collapsed when former Sinn Fein Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness resigned in a dispute over the DUPs handling of a botched green energy scheme.

Endless rounds of negotiations led by the British and Irish Governments have failed to produce a breakthrough.

Mr Swann told his partys spring conference in Newcastle, Co Down, the absence of Government was hurting public services and unelected civil servants were making important decisions.

He urged an end to the inhumane treatment that survivors and victims of historical institutional abuse have suffered awaiting compensation payments recommended shortly before powersharing collapsed.

We are a devolutionist party; we believe that the best delivery for the people of Northern Ireland is by the direction of locally elected Northern Ireland politicians.

When the Assembly started to unravel, our party chairman, Lord Empey, warned others of how easy it was to walk down the steps, but not to underestimate how difficult it would be to get back up them.

The current political impasse serves no one.
Counter-terror officers have arrested a 55-year-old man at Gatwick Airport.

The suspect was held on suspicion of encouraging terrorism and dissemination of terrorist publications after flying into the UK from Morocco, police said.

Scotland Yard said he was arrested shortly after 11am on Saturday and is in custody at a police station in south London.

The suspect was held on suspicion of encouraging terrorism and dissemination of terrorist publications (Kirsty OConnor/PA)

The Metropolitan Police said in a statement: On Saturday April 7, detectives from the Mets counter-terrorism command arrested a 55-year-old man on suspicion of encouragement of terrorism and dissemination of terrorist publications, contrary to the Terrorism Act 2006.
A Russian request for a meeting with Boris Johnson to discuss the nerve agent attack on former double-agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia has been dismissed as a diversionary tactic by the UK.

The Foreign Office confirmed that it had received a request from the Russian Embassy for a meeting with Mr Johnson, one of the most vocal Government critics of Vladimir Putins regime over the attempted assassination.

The Russian government said it hoped the UK would engage constructively with the request for ambassador Alexander Yakovenko to have face-to-face talks with Mr Johnson.

Russian ambassador Alexander Yakovenko has requested a meeting with Boris Johnson (Yui Mok/PA)

The latest exchanges in the diplomatic spat came as speculation mounted that the Skripals could be able to offer officers investigating the Salisbury nerve agent attack missing clues as the pair continue to recover.

We believe that it is high time to arrange a meeting between @Amb_Yakovenko and Foreign Secretary @BorisJohnson in order to discuss the whole range of bilateral issues, as well as the investigation of the Salisbury incident. https://t.co/hOHA18Lclf pic.twitter.com/cS8XMDiXM7  Russian Embassy, UK (@RussianEmbassy) April 7, 2018

In a statement posted on its website on Saturday, the Russian Embassy said interaction between it and the Foreign Office was utterly unsatisfactory.

They added: We believe that it is high time to arrange a meeting between Ambassador Alexander Yakovenko and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson in order to discuss the whole range of bilateral issues, as well as the investigation of the Salisbury incident.

Ambassador Yakovenko has already sent a respective personal note to the Foreign Secretary.

We hope that the British side will engage constructively and that such meeting is arranged shortly.

Moscow has denied being responsible for the poisoning of the Skripals but the incident has plunged diplomatic relations between Russia and the West into the deep freeze.

Russia is playing fast and loose with our collective security and the international institutions that protect us pic.twitter.com/H5tUTT8zdT  Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (@FCDOGovUK) April 6, 2018

A Foreign Office spokesman said: Its Russias response that has been unsatisfactory.

Its over three weeks since we asked Russia to engage constructively and answer a number of questions relating to the attempted assassinations of Mr Skripal and his daughter.

Now, after failing in their attempts in the UN and international chemical weapons watchdog this week and with the victims condition improving, they seem to be pursuing a different diversionary tactic.

We will of course consider their request and respond in due course.

Whitehall sources said Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov had turned down the chance for discussions and dismissed the embassys move as the latest in a series of Russian disinformation attempts.

Mr Skripal, 66, and his 33-year-old daughter Yulia were left fighting for their lives in hospital after being found unconscious on a park bench in Salisbury on March 4.

The former double agent is responding well to treatment, improving rapidly and no longer in a critical condition, Salisbury District Hospital said.

Different UK excuses for refusing Viktoria Skripal visa to visit her family members in Salisbury hold no water. What does Britain have to hide? https://t.co/O2uR7wwZ9L pic.twitter.com/gUYJWzvmq7  Russian Embassy, UK (@RussianEmbassy) April 6, 2018

The Russian Embassy had previously said it hoped the improvement in the Skripals health will contribute to the investigation of the crime perpetrated against them.

Ms Skripal made her first public comments on Wednesday shortly after Russian TV reported that she had contacted her cousin Viktoria in Moscow to say she and her father were recovering and that she would soon be discharged.

The UK authorities have refused to grant Viktoria Skripal a visa to come to Britain, with the Home Office saying her application did not comply with the immigration rules, prompting a suggestion from the Russian side that the British had something to hide.
Prosecutors and investigators, formed out of the Main Department of the General Prosecutor's Office of Ukraine to investigate crimes in the temporarily occupied territories, officers of the National Police of Ukraine and the Security Service of Ukraine, have documented 32 casualties and 25 injured people in the Donbas military zone since May 2017 as a result of the enemy shelling.

"Since May of last year, prosecutors and investigators, together with Armed Forces servicemen, have conducted more than a hundred inspections of the sites of incidents on the facts of shelling. More than 300 witnesses and victims have been questioned. The investigation groups documented 32 casualties and 25 injured people as a result of enemy shelling," the press center of the headquarters of Ukraine's military operations reported on Facebook on Friday.

In addition, according to the data of prosecutorial and investigation groups, 211 houses, 36 civil infrastructure objects and 12 vehicles have been damaged and destroyed.

"The pretrial investigation identified 11 people involved in the commission of crimes against the Ukrainian population. One of the suspects is the general of the Russian army," the report reads.
A car has crashed into a crowd in the western German city of Munster, killing several people and injuring others, police said.

Police tweeted that residents should avoid the area near the Kiepenkerl pub, where a large-scale police operation is under way.

(PA Graphics)

Kiepenkerl is a popular bar in the citys historic downtown area.

The German news agency dpa reported that the car drove into the crowd.

Dpa later quoted police as saying the driver of the car has killed himself.

Firefighters in Munster (dpa via AP)

A spokeswoman for German Chancellor Angela Merkel said our thoughts are with the victims and their families.

Spokeswoman Ulrike Demmer, writing on Twitter, called the crash terrible news.
A 17-year-old boy has been charged with murder after a teenager was stabbed to death in east London.

Israel Ogunsola, 18, was found fatally wounded in Link Street, Hackney, by officers on patrol at around 8pm on Wednesday and was pronounced dead 25 minutes later.

His father Dele Ogunsola, who lives on the nearby Jack Dunning Estate, confirmed on Thursday afternoon his teenage son was the victim, although he is yet to be officially named by police.

A 17-year-old boy appeared at Thames Magistrates Court on Saturday (Kirsty OConnor/PA)

Detectives investigating the murder of a teenager in #Hackney have charged a 17-year-old male [A] with his murder and possession of an offensive weapon. https://t.co/uwaN1nLQLd pic.twitter.com/wdzItLdXW1  Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) April 7, 2018

A 17-year-old boy appeared at Thames Magistrates Court on Saturday charged with murder and possession of an offensive weapon, Scotland Yard said.

He will next appear at the Old Bailey on April 10, while a second 17-year-old arrested on suspicion of murder has been bailed to a date in mid-April.
Rory McIlroy made a sensational start to the third round of the Masters as he stepped up his bid to complete the career grand slam at Augusta National.

McIlroy began the day five shots off the lead held by Ryder Cup rival Patrick Reed, but birdied the third and fourth and then almost holed his tee shot on the par-three sixth.

And the best was yet to come as the former world number one chipped in for an eagle on the par-five eighth to join Reed in the lead on nine under par.

Rory McIlroy was moving in the right direction on day three of the Masters (Jane Barlow/PA)

McIlroy had enjoyed a lucky bounce on the first when his pulled drive hit a tree and bounced down into the first cut of rough, from where he missed the green and had to get up and down for par.

Another wayward drive on the second meant McIlroy failed to take advantage of the reachable par five, but the 28-year-olds much-maligned putting came to the rescue when he holed treacherous putts from 20 feet on both the third and fourth.

When Rory has the putter working ... pic.twitter.com/MgSXibTW8w  PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 7, 2018

McIlroy could even have birdied the fifth in remarkable fashion after his second shot hit the lip of a fairway bunker but somehow had enough top spin to reach the green, although he was unable to convert from 12 feet.

A stunning tee shot on the sixth left the Northern Irishman with a tap-in for birdie and the putter was not even needed on the eighth as his chip from right of the green  which was travelling at some speed  hit the pin and dropped in for an eagle.

Rickie Fowler was a shot behind McIlroy thanks to an eagle on the second and birdies on the fifth, sixth and eighth.

Are you KIDDING?!



What a birdie from @RickieFowler! pic.twitter.com/7qMAfiNwgh  PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 7, 2018

Spains Jon Rahm was a shot further back after three birdies and an eagle on the eighth, with Henrik Stenson and Marc Leishman also six under.

European number one Tommy Fleetwood had played his first 14 holes in five under par and was joined on that score by the worlds top two ranked players, Dustin Johnson and Justin Thomas.

At the other end of the leaderboard, Phil Mickelson was seven over par after a 74 which included an air-shot on the opening hole and an eagle on the eighth, where he hit a driver off the deck to eight feet.

And 14-time major winner Tiger Woods had to settle for avoiding a third consecutive over par round at Augusta for the first time in his career after a battling 72.
The Government Medical Officers Association (GMOA) yesterday in a letter urged President Maithripala Sirisena to intervene in the unrest created among doctors in the Eastern Province due to what it called sluggish and arbitrary nature of the Eastern Province Governor.

GMOA Secretary Dr. Haritha Aluthge told a news conference that the health service in the Eastern Province had been disturbed due to the irresponsible actions of the Governor and some other politicians.

He said the governor had continuously avoided holding discussions with them and added that following the request they made to President Sirisena, the Governor had given a discussion for them.

It was also a failure due to the arbitrary and threatening nature of the Governor who had left the meeting, he said.

The land belong to a hospital in the area had been forcibly acquired by a group of politicians by threatening the Director of the Hospital. Several attacks have also been made on doctors in the area , he alleged.

He said several Indian medical officers who had visited the country had conducted mobile clinics in the Eastern Province risking the lives of patients and added that due to these reasons the doctors in the province were in an unrest.

The President should intervene in this matter in order to avoid further inconvenience, he said. (Kalathma Jayawardhane)
Three Royal Thai Naval Ships; HTMS Bangpakong, Makutrajakumarn and Pattani arrived at the Colombo Port on a training and goodwill visit yesterday, the Navy said.

It said the visiting officers of the Royal Thai Navy were called on Chief of Staff of the Navy, Rear Admiral Neil Rosayro at the Naval Headquarters and during the meeting, they had exchanged several matters of mutual importance.

During the five-day tour, the ships crew is scheduled to take part in various programmes including friendly sporting activities, cultural shows, variety shows organized by the Navy. The ships are due to leave for their next port on April 9, it added.

It said the Commander Royal Thai Naval Cadet Training Unit, Rear Admiral Sompong Poowang and Commanding Officers of the ships; Captain Niwat Jitpoolphol, Commander Nattapon Sungakitboon and Commander Narunat Panckam met with Commander Western Naval Area, Rear Admiral Nishantha Ulugetenne at the Western Naval Command Headquarters and held a discussion.
The earnings are considered as a good start for the industry in realising its export target of US$ 35 billion by the end of this year.

President of the Ho Chi Minh City Association of Garment and Textile (AGTEK) Pham Xuan Hong said the sector has bright prospects this year.

Garment-textile exports in 2018 are anticipated to be better than in 2017, maintaining two-digit growth.

Chairman of the Directors Board of Hung Yen Garment Corporate Nguyen Xuan Duong said the number of orders is likely to increase this year, especially for large-scale businesses.

Most domestic enterprises have orders until the second of quarter of 2018. Some have even received orders for the third quarter, he said.

According to Chairman of the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association Vu Duc Giang, Vietnamese garment-textile businesses can compete in the region thanks to the sharpened skills of workers, improved productivity and better quality products.

Domestic enterprises have also invested in new technology to increase productivity and competitiveness, he said.

Free trade agreements not only help the garment-textile sector to diversify its export markets but also reduces the import of material, he said, adding that currently Vietnam exports more than US$ 3 billion worth of yarn, nearly US$ 1 billion worth of fabric and US$ 400 million worth of garment accessories each year.

Industry 4.0 has changed the mindset of businesses in regards to technology investment, Chairman Giang said, noting that businesses are looking to high value production segments such as Original Design Manufacturing and Own Brand Manufacturing.

Garment-textile companies are also focusing on the development of human resources and cutting edge technology, he said.

Several large enterprises such as Phong Phu Joint Stock Company and Garment-10 Joint Stock Company are seeking to export through online sales, he added.

However, the Vietnam Textile & Apparel Association has warned businesses of numerous challenges, including fiercer competition from other countries such as China, Myanmar and Cambodia.

The association advised enterprises to improve the skills of workers and reform management methods to increase productivity.

Apart from maintaining and developing exports to key markets such as the US, the EU, Japan and the Republic of Korea, businesses should expand to other markets such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Eurasian Economic Union, India and Latin American countries.
The proposal was announced at a meeting between the MOF and the Prime Ministers working group led by Chairman of the Government Office Mai Tien Dung, on April 6.

Such measures will require the revision of 5 laws and 11 decrees, the finance ministry said.

Regarding the decrees, the ministry will submit the changes to the Government so they may be enacted before June 30, while concerning the laws, the ministry will report to the Government, which will then submit them to the National Assembly for inclusion on its law-making agenda before the same date.

The Finance Ministry is also planning to reduce the number of local taxation, customs and treasury offices in a bid to make its apparatus more streamlined, said Minister Dung.

According to the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Finance Ministry is a reform pioneer and its efforts have helped Vietnam jump 81 places on the paying tax index of the World Banks latest Doing Business report.

Minister Dung stated that his ministry will need to make greater efforts but noted that in order for the reforms to succeed, it also requires the participation of other ministries and agencies.
The exhibits were selected from 4,000 photos and 1,600 photo collections submitted to the fourth Vietnam Today contest, which was launched in March last year by the Vietnam Association of Photographic Artists and the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI)s World Photo magazine.

With their entries, the participating photographers and journalists captured a dynamic and developing Vietnam, the countrys socio economic achievements, its industrialisation and modernisation, as well as its unique cultural identity and hospitable people.

At the opening of the exhibition, the organising board awarded 29 prizes for the best entries in the two categories of single photos and photo collections.

The submissions also honoured outstanding businesses and entrepreneurs who have made significant contributions to the countrys Doi Moi (Renewal) process.

The exhibition will be open to the public until April 7 at the VCCI headquarters, 9 Dao Duy Anh Street, Dong Da district.
The film is centred on the love between Ha, a Vietnamese woman, and Akira, a Japanese man, who overcome the barriers of language and lifestyle.

Ha travels to Hokkaido to find her missing father, and discovers Japan and its culture through Akira.

Nhi, one of the industrys few independent film makers, said her Vietnamese and Japanese crew spent nearly two years filming the production.

She received financial support for her film project from a Japanese producer.

We worked hard in casting, with dozens of experts in language, costume design and props to perfect our production technically and socially, said Nhi, a graduate of the Ho Chi Minh City University of Theatre and Cinematography. Our film is about human culture.

The film stars young actress Phuong Anh Dao as Ha and Takafumi Akutsu as Akira.

Most of the scenes were shot in Hokkaido, Sapporo, Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto.

Nhi said her film is set to be released in cinemas across Japan this year.

Thien Ngan (Galaxy) Film, one of the countrys leading film distributors, will distribute the film in Vietnam on June 1.
Deputy PM Dam presented an Independence Order, second class to Chairwoman of the Lao Women's Union (LWU) Inlavanh Keobounphanh and Independence Orders, third class to three Vice Chairwomen of the LWU, in addition to granting Friendship Orders to a number of outstanding collectives and individuals from LWU branches in Lao provinces.

Meanwhile, the Lao side presented the Lao State's Freedom (Issara) Order, third class to the leader of the Vietnamese Women's Union (VWU) and Labour Orders, third class to several collectives and individuals from the VWU, and VWU branches in six provinces and cities in Vietnam.

Deputy PM Dam highlighted the considerable contributions that have been made by women from the two countries to the special relationship between Vietnam and Laos, which has been nurtured by generations of leaders and people from both countries.

"The noble awards presented at the ceremony not only demonstrate the recognition of specific individuals and collectives but also shows the respect of the Parties and States of Vietnam and Laos for the silent contributions of other individuals and collectives to the achievements of the two women's unions, as well as to the special friendship and solidarity between the two countries", said the Deputy PM.

The LWU and VWU have jointly worked on many cooperation agreements at both central and grassroots levels in various areas of poverty reduction, and health care for women and children, among others.
At the annual meeting, delegates shared a view that the ASEAN-India dialogue relationship plays an important role in ensuring peace, stability and cooperation in the region. They spoke highly of the success of the ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit held in January 2018, considering it a significant event that opened up a new chapter in bilateral ties.

They lauded the progress of the implementation of the Action Plan for 2016-2020 and a portfolio of priority fields for 2016-2018. As of March 2018, 75 out of 130 activities in the Action Plan have been completed, equivalent to 60 percent after two years.

Both sides agreed to push forward the practical and effective development of their strategic partnership, especially in priority fields of their strength.

The officials pledged to boost bilateral trade and investment ties by effectively realising free trade agreements in goods, services and investment, strengthening connectivity in the private sector and facilitating small and medium-sized enterprises access to technologies and capital sources.

The participants emphasised the importance of effectively realising projects and initiatives on road, navigation, aviation and digital connectivity.

The ASEAN officials hailed Indias sharing of experience in building smart cities, developing the sea-based economy, and helping ASEAN and India firms form regional value chains, effectively join global value chains and narrow development gap.

On regional and global issues, they said security challenges remain complicated, especially non-traditional security challenges and suggested boosting coordination in security, including cyber security, and the fight against terrorism, extreme violence, trans-national crimes and climate change.

The delegates at the meeting

They lauded proposals to deploy initiatives announced by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit such as opening a digital village in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam, designating 2019 as the Year of ASEAN-India Tourism, offering doctorate scholarships to ASEAN member states, and holding training courses on electricity use and transmission, telecom and cyber technology.

Preeti Saran affirmed Indias policy of respecting ASEANs central role in regional processes and committed to assisting ASEAN in building its community.

On the occasion, she lauded Vietnams role as the coordinator of ASEAN  India relations over the recent past, adding that ASEANs close coordination will make active contributions to the enhancement of mutual understanding, towards a region of fairness, openness and inclusiveness based on rules.

Deputy FM Dung noted that the Act East Policy proposed by the Indian PM is an evidence of growing ASEAN-India ties, thus making practical contributions to peace, stability and development in the region.

He affirmed that developing the sea-based economy and improving inclusive connectivity, especially digital connectivity, are key to lifting the ASEAN  India partnership to a new height with a market of nearly 2 billion people and a gross domestic product of more than US$ 3.8 trillion per year.

Regarding the regional and international situation, the two sides applauded the resumed negotiations and hoped that an effective and legally-binding Code of Conduct in the East Sea will be reached soon.
The PM said during the ambassadors tenure, two-way trade between both nations grew rapidly with the launch of a number of Thailands projects, including the southern oil refinery complex and shipbuilding, adding that both sides also offered mutual support at bilateral and multilateral forums.

He wished that Thailand would share experience in developing tourism, opening new tours to facilitate economic development and people-to-people exchange.

Vietnam always creates the best environment to attract Thai investors and tourists to the country, he said.

The host expressed his wish that in any position, the ambassador will further contribute to bilateral ties.

Ambassador Manopchai Vongphakdi, for his part, affirmed that Thailand wants to boost people-to-people exchange and investment cooperation between the two countries.

Thai government always asks firms to abide by Vietnams law, especially environment regulations, he said, adding that close and effective bilateral ties not only propel the development of the two countries forward but also the entire region.

He also vowed to foster bilateral ties in any future position.

As the traditional New Year festival of Thailand is coming, the PM sent a message of congratulations to his Thai counterpart Prayuth Chan-ocha.
The High Court of Karnataka on Friday directed the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike to make all the seven waste-processing plants operational in four weeks.

Hearing a batch of petitions relating to the city's garbage problems, a division bench comprising Justice B S Patil and Justice B V Nagarathna also directed to make the zonal joint commissioners responsible for keeping them functional.

Issuing a series of directions to BBMP joint commissioner in-charge of health and solid waste management Sarfaraz Khan, the bench made him responsible to ensure safe operations of all the seven waste-processing plants.

It said the zonal joint commissioners should ensure security and optimum operation of the plants in their jurisdictional areas, asking them to visit the plants once a week and submit reports. In addition, zonal superintendent engineers should visit the plants twice a week and give a weekly report to the joint commissioner, solid waste management (SWM).

To ensure effective operation of the plants, the bench asked the zonal joint commissioners to hold monthly meetings with the plant staff, operators, managers, local residents and elected representatives.

It also directed the chief secretary to set up a technical committee, comprising of experts from the Indian Institute of Science and Indian Institute of Horticulture Research, with a representative from the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board and two members of the BBMP's expert committee on SWM. The bench said this committee would advise the BBMP to effectively operate the plants.

In its various other directions, the bench said the BBMP should manage the funds to run the plants, deploy marshals to guard them and install CCTV camera surveillance.

It also asked the KSPCB to provide necessary clearances to operationalise the plants and declare buffer zones around them. The police department should provide protection to the plants and vehicles transporting waste.

The BBMP has also been directed to deploy environmental/chemical engineers working in other departments - like town planning, traffic engineering cells, road widening and infrastructure, and stormwater drains - to manage the plants.

The bench asked zonal joint commissioners not to allow anyone other than the authorised personnel into the processing plants without the written consent of the official concerned.
A 36-year-old man convicted of killing his wife for dowry reportedly committed suicide in the Central Prison at Parappana Agrahara in South Bengaluru on Thursday.



Mahesh alias Masthi Kumar, from Kalkere village, Shivamogga district, was found hanging with a towel tied to a window grille in the music hall in Barrack 'A' around 9 pm. His body was found in a standing position, according to the prison authorities.

Jail wardens had gone looking for him after he went missing from his cell in the prison's Barrack 'B'.

On Thursday night, the gates of Barrack 'A' were closed and all the convicts returned to their respective cells. A few prisoners found Kumar missing. They then informed the jail wardens.

Barrack 'A' also houses a higher education training centre, a gym, a wheelchair-manufacturing unit, a library, a yoga room and a prayer hall. It is kept open from 7 am to 6 pm for the use of convicts.

Kumar was taken to the jail hospital where he was declared brought dead. His body was then moved to the Victoria Hospital for post-mortem. The jurisdictional Parappana Agrahara police have registered a case of unnatural death and are awaiting the post-mortem report.

Prison officials said Kumar showed no signs of depression as he normally mingled with other convicts. He was arrested in 2015 and sentenced to life imprisonment in 2017. "If a convict or an undertrial shows signs of depression, jail wardens keep a watch on him, but Kumar appeared normal," a senior prison official said.

Just on February 27 this year, serial rapist and murderer M Jaishankar alias Psycho Shankar had committed suicide by slitting his throat with a shaving blade.
Addressing the 18th NAM Ministerial Meeting held in Baku, Azerbaijan, on April 5-6, Quy also emphasised the importance of solving disputes by peaceful means and restraining from using or threatening to use violence.

NAM should play a more active role in boosting the implementation of international commitments and agreements, such as the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, and the reform of the global economic and financial system, as well as promote inclusive, innovative and sustainable growth in order to protect the interests of developing countries.

The Vietnamese delegate also urged the NAM members to cooperate closely, support each other and resolutely follow the basic principles to ensure that the movement remains steadfast in the face of the challenges in the 21st century.

Deputy Minister Quy added that Vietnam, together with the other ASEAN countries, always obeys and upholds the principles of the UN Charter and international law.

Deputy Foreign Minister Dang Dinh Quy

Regarding the East Sea issue, Vietnam calls on the relevant parties to restrain themselves and tackle disputes by peaceful measures on the basis of international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, while respecting diplomatic and legal progresses, the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea, as well as working towards the early formation of a binding Code of Conduct in the East Sea, Quy added.

Opening the NAM Ministerial Meeting, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev stressed that respecting international law is crucial to maintaining peace and international security for sustainable development.

NAM should continue promoting the principles of respecting countries sovereignty and territorial integrity, while not interfering into other countries internal work, not using or threatening to use violence, and settling all disputes by peaceful means, he stated.

The conference focused their discussions on how to deal with regional and global challenges, foster socio-economic development, strengthen peace, stability and international security, and boost collaboration among the NAM members.

Deputy Foreign Minister Dang Dinh Quy and head of the South Africa delegation

They passed the meetings document which affirms NAMs stance and overall principles on regional and global issues along with the commitments to handle disputes by peaceful means on the basis of international, acknowledge ASEANs efforts to build the ASEAN Community and strengthen the blocs central role in the regional structure, in addition to calling for the peaceful settlement of the East Sea issue.

The meeting also adopted the Baku Declaration, the Declaration on Palestine and a Special Declaration on Nelson Mandela International Day.

On the sidelines of the meeting, Deputy Foreign Minister Quy was received by Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov.

Quy also had bilateral meetings with delegates from Nicaragua, Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, South Africa, Ghana, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and the Maldives, to discuss measures to boost bilateral cooperation.

Deputy Foreign Minister Dang Dinh Quy and head of the Tanzania delegation
Not wanting to fell the trees to clear the grounds for a new block, Baptist Hospital has translocated 13 trees inside its campus to safer places.

The trees stood at the divider at the entrance and were shifted to a greener area at the parking lot.

The hospital management joined hands with environmentalist Ilango Subramaniam to move nine Golden Bottle Brush and four Cyprus Coniferous trees, clearing the area to build a mother and child block.

Col Suresh Gorpade, division head of Project and Security at Baptist Hospital, said this is the first-ever initiative of its kind on the campus. "We decided not to lose the trees and had therefore, translocated them (inside the campus)," Col Gorpade said.

He said the exercise had cost them Rs 88,000, including vehicle cost, contractor fees and expenses, to ready the ground and translocate the trees.

During the time it took from the beginning of the process on Monday till its completion, no one was inconvenienced and the trees were also transferred safely, Col Gorpade said.

Since the translocation happened inside the campus, Col Gorpade said permission from the Palike was not necessary, though the hospital had kept the civic body officials informed.

He said the trees have been supported to ensure they acclimatise with the newer surroundings. The first few days were spent to prepare the grounds and make sure all other requirements were in place. The translocation itself was carried out on Friday. Right now, the contractor is helping maintain the trees.
A Haryana traffic police constable has been arrested and placed under suspension for reportedly sexually harassing a national-level woman karate player in a shared auto-rickshaw in Rohtak, police said on Saturday.



The 21-year-old player in a complaint on Friday claimed that the policeman harassed her when she boarded the auto-rickshaw to go home after her karate class on Thursday evening, they said.

The constable, who was in uniform, sat next to her in the vehicle and started harassing her. Later, he said that he wanted to befriend her and asked for her mobile number, she claimed.

The complainant said that she refused to talk to him, but he persisted and started touching her. She then she hit him in self-defence and asked the auto-driver to take the vehicle to the women police station.

The player also said that the senior woman police personnel there did not help her but instead said that she would rebuke the constable.

However, after the matter came to the notice of Rohtak SP Pankaj Nain, an FIR was lodged immediately and the erring woman cop transferred to the Police Lines.

"A case under relevant provisions has been registered against the constable, Yaseen, for harassing the woman in the auto-rickshaw. He has been placed under suspension and arrested," DSP (City), Rohtak, Ramesh Kumar said.
JD(S) state president H D Kumaraswamy on Saturday accused Chief Minister Siddaramaiah of misusing power to win polls and added that he would lodge a complaint with the Election Commission for violating the model code of conduct.

"The state Intelligence department has given its report mentioning about the safe constituencies for the chief minister. The chief minister has obtained the Intelligence report even after the election schedule was announced. This is ample evidence of misuse of power," he said.

Intelligence report?

"The Intelligence report, which is doing rounds on social media, has cautioned Siddaramaiah against contesting from Chamundeshwari Assembly constituency. It says that the JD(S) leaders, including the sitting MLA from the party G T Devegowda, are mobilising Vokkaliga votes and that contesting from Chamundeshwari is not a viable option for CM," Kumaraswamy said
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday held discussions with his Nepalese counterpart K P Oli to deepen bilateral ties between the two neighbours.



The two leaders are believed to have discussed an entire gamut of issues concerning their bilateral ties.

"Strengthening the special and people-centric partnership based on historical and cultural context.

"PM @narendramodi warmly welcomes Prime Minister of Nepal K P Sharma Oli at Hyderabad House for delegation-level talks continuing the long-standing tradition of high-level visits," Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted.

Modi had on Friday met the Nepalese prime minister at the prime minister's official residence here.

Oli's three-day visit is in line with the tradition of a Nepalese premier visiting India on his first overseas trip.
When Bruce Lee Mani and Rajeev Rajagopal joined hands during their college days to form TAAQ (Thermal and a Quarter), little did they realise the impact that they would have on the music scene. "It was a fun thing to do back then, and we had won a few competitions. Though we weren't serious, there was nothing that we wanted to do more than this," says Bruce. Fast forward 21 years, TAAQ continues to have fans among people of all ages, and is undoubtedly one of the most popular rock bands Bengaluru has produced.

Over the years, TAAQ has produced albums like 'Themalandaquarter.com', 'Plan-B' and 'Jupiter Caf', and even opened its own music school, TAAQademy, which now has two branches in Bengaluru. However, it wasn't a cakewalk for the musicians to reach this stage.

Holding corporate jobs for over 10 years post-college, at one point in time, they had to decide between their profession and passion. "I was in the semi-conductor business, and it's not that I didn't like my job. But going to the next level meant having to choose between music and corporate life," says Rajeev. So, they decided to follow their hearts.

With the school, the band not only aims to get the community closer, but also shape the ecosystem. "We are pleased to see many of our younger musicians doing much better than their peers in other fields," says Rajeev, and Bruce adds, "Our intention is not to turn you into a rock star or help you make a career in music, but to bring music into your lives. At many concerts, we see that the audience consists of our students and teachers. And we just love it."

TAAQ is also heartened to see the booming number of venues and opportunities in music. "There are venues catering to jazz, funk and blues. Yes, there are a lot of opportunities, but that doesn't make it any easier. It's still a lot of hard work, and you have to find smart ways of working. Every musician has to be an entrepreneur and wear various hats. Every musician needs discipline and focus, as also marketing and business skills."

The TAAQademy recently joined hands with Machani Group to be part of the first curated living space for entrepreneurs in south Bengaluru. A part of this collaboration was a special musical event called Sounds of Success that featured entrepreneurs with a flair for music.

Their eighth album, 'A World Gone Mad', is one of the many collaborations that TAAQ has been a part of. They wish to work with the likes of Dave Matthews Band and Steely Dan. "Whenever we travel, we try to catch some big acts. This way, we motivate ourselves to practise harder and play more, and bring in whatever we have learned to our school. Last year, we toured Ireland and saw Steely Dan live in Dublin; it was a great experience," says Bruce.

The band believes that it presents "a realistic slice of modern India" on stage. "Be it in Seattle, Hong Kong or London, people think India is all about Bollywood or classical music. When we present our music, the locals there connect to our country better. After all, we don't break coconuts on stage or narrate a fairy tale with a song-and-dance sequence," jokes Rajeev. "We play in English but tell Indian stories," says Bruce.
Arguments by both defense counsel and prosecution for the suspension of sentence or bail plea for actor Salman Khan in the infamous Blackbuck poaching case concluded on Saturday.



The judge , Ravindra Kumar Joshi, who is among the judicial officers transferred last night, continued hearing the actors case in district and sessions court in Jodhpur. The judge will pronounce the decision after lunch, around 2pm.



During the arguments that continued for one hour , defense counsel requested the judge to grant Salman bail as the actor has not misused his liberty of being a popular actor. Salman's counsel Mahesh Bora said, "In past 20 years Salman has never misused of being a popular film star . He has already suffered a lot. Everytime he was present in the court, despite his busy schedule"



In a late night development on Friday 87 judges of Rajasthan district and sessions court have been transferred which includes, Jodhpur District and Sessions court Judge Ravindra Kumar Joshi who heard Salman Khan's bail plea on Saturday



The actor has been convicted under Section 51 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, which carries a maximum punishment of six years and a minimum one-year jail term.



The case dates back to October 1998 when Khan, Saif, Neelam, Tabu and Sonali went on a hunting expedition in Kankani and killed two blackbucks.



The actors were in Rajasthan to shoot for the Hindi film "Hum Saath Saath Hain".



The blackbucks were killed near a village inhabited by Bishnois, a community that revers the blackbuck and is passionate about protecting the animal.



Blackbucks are an endangered species and hunting them is prohibited under the Wildlife Protection Act.
Notwithstanding the setback suffered in GSAT-6A going off the radar, Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) will launch its next satellite, IRNSS-1I, from the Sathish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota near here on April 12.

The IRNSS-1I, which is the eighth satellite to join the NavIC navigation satellite constellation, on board Isro's warhorse PSLV-C41, will blast off from the first launch pad of the space centre at 4 am on Thursday.

"India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, in its forty-third flight (PSLV-C41) in XL configuration will launch IRNSS-1I Satellite from First Launch Pad (FLP) of SDSC SHAR, Sriharikota.

The 'XL' configuration of PSLV is used for the twentieth time. The IRNSS-1I is the eighth satellite to join the NavIC navigation satellite constellation," the space agency said in an official statement.

The latest launch will take place within 10 days of Isro suffering a severe setback with its communication satellite, GSAT-6A, losing contact with the base within 48 hours of its launch on March 29.

Though Isro scientists have been burning the midnight oil literally to retrieve the satellite, their efforts have not fructified so far.

The launch of IRNSS-1I is very crucial for Isro since its efforts to send a navigation satellite, IRNSS-1H in August last year ended in a failure after the heat shield covering the satellite failed to separate after the launch.

The new navigation satellite is expected to replace the IRNSS-1A, the first of the seven IRNSS satellites, launched in 2013.

Isro has ambitious plans for 2018 as it envisages launching 10 satellites by the end of the year, including the country's second lunar mission Chandrayaan-II.

Though the latest satellite, GSAT-6A going off the radar is a serious setback, Isro, sources said, is unperturbed and is making every effort to make the April 12 launch successful.
Three staff members of a school in Himachal Pradesh were arrested on Saturday by the Delhi Police in connection with the leak of CBSE's Class XII economics paper, police said.



Centre superintendent Rakesh, Clerk Amit and peon Ashok of DAV School in Himachal Pradesh's Una district were arrested by the Crime Branch, a senior Delhi Police officer said.

The three accused were brought to the national capital from Una and after questioning they were arrested, the officer said.

A handwritten copy of the economics paper was leaked through Whatsapp, a day before the examination on March 26.

On March 30, the CBSE announced that it would re-conduct the Class XII economics exam throughout the country on April 25.
JD(S) leader and Holenarasipura MLA H D Revanna has accused Baguru Manjegowda, the president of Karnataka State Government Employees' Association and a section officer with Transport department, of amassing wealth to the tune of Rs 500 crore to Rs 700 crore.

Speaking to media persons here on Saturday, Revanna said, "The chief secretary is more than willing to accept Manjegowda's resignation despite him amassing astronomical amounts through illegal means."

He urged the chief secretary to act sensibly and carefully on the resignation issue.

"Manjegowda is serving Badoota (a non-vegetarian spread) to the voters at several places in violation of the model code of conduct. But no case has been registered against him," Revanna alleged.

He demanded the authorities concerned to book a criminal case against Manjegowda and arrest him.

AICC president Rahul Gandhi keeps crowing that the JD(S) is B team of the BJP while he promotes thieves like Manjegowda, Revanna said.

"The JD(S) will launch a legal battle if the CS accepts his (Manjegowda's) resignation," he warned.

Manjegowda has tendered his resignation as the president of the state employees association and from his job with Transport department to contest against Revanna in Holenarasipura constituency on Congress ticket.

To a query on the reported tiff between Hassan Deputy Commissioner Rohini Sindhuri and District Minister A Manju, Revanna said, "DC Rohini Sindhuri is doing a commendable job in ensuring a peaceful, free and fair elections. But the Congress leaders are trying to derail the administration by not letting the DC do her job."
During the trip, the ambassador held a meeting with Congressman Jimmy Panetta, NPS President Ronald Route and the deans of NPS faculties.

The sides appreciated the recent development in Vietnam  US relations and highlighted the successful visits to the US by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and that to Vietnam by President Donald Trump. They also took note of the progress in the bilateral security  defence ties as seen through the trips made by Vietnamese Defence Minister Ngo Xuan Lich to the US, and by US Defence Minister Jame Mattis and aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson to Vietnam.

The Vietnamese diplomat informed his hosts on the socio-economic development, reform achievements, and diplomatic policies of Vietnam, saying that he expects the bilateral ties to grow stronger, particularly in naval exchanges and cooperation. He also voiced his support for cooperation between the naval school and its Vietnamese partners.

NPS President Ronald Route lauded the first visit of the diplomat to his school.

Introducing the NPSs educational strengths in the fields of IT, management, naval capacity building, and defence, Route said the school has worked with 110 countries worldwide on naval capacity enhancement.

He said the NPS want to discuss cooperation in training with Vietnam, in both the short and long term, in such fields as naval security, peacekeeping, cyber-security, and search & rescue missions.

Congressman Panetta shared his admiration for the development of the Vietnam  US Strategic Partnership in recent years and the enhanced role of Vietnam in the region.

He said that he wants the bilateral ties to be strengthened across such sectors as education-training, trade, agriculture, and science-technology.

During his time at the school, Ambassador Vinh engaged in a talk with the teachers and students at the international studies department, with discussions revolving around the Vietnam  US ties, Vietnamese and US diplomacies in the region, the ASEAN, and regional security problems, including the East Sea issue.

Founded in 1909, the NPS is a graduate university offering masters and doctorate degrees in more than 70 fields of study to members of the US Armed Forces, and international partners. On an average annual basis, the establishment trains about 2,400 students.
A 75-year-old woman was beaten to death here allegedly by a fair price shop owner after she objected to being given less ration, police said today.



The incident took place last evening at Firazabad village.

The police have registered a case against three people, including the shop's owner Naseem, on a complaint by the woman's son, Bhura, Circle Officer (CO) Md Rizwan said.

The other accused in the case are Shamim and Janu. Nobody has been arrested yet, he said.

The woman, Aasi, had gone to bring ration from the fair price shop and she objected to being given less ration. The accused confronted her and she was beaten to death by them, according to the FIR.

Tension prevailed in the village following the incident and people refused to hand over the body to police for several hours.

The body was later sent for post-mortem, the officer said.
As the budget session came to an end amid acrimony, the Congress has sought a two-week session of Parliament after the Karnataka Assembly elections to discuss "burning political, social and economic" issues.

Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh has urged Rajya Sabha chairman M Venkaiah Naidu to try and persuade the government to convene a special two-week session "sometime in late May or early June".

"There is no doubt that the complete washout has inflicted great damage to Parliament as an institution and I think a special session may help retrieve some of its lost prestige," Ramesh said in a letter dated April 6.

Though Ramesh said the letter was "purely" in his personal capacity, the Congress, too, endorsed his suggestion.

"l am aware that the monsoon session will be called sometime in mid-July but a special session sends a different signal altogether," Ramesh said.

The budget session of Parliament ended on Friday, with the BJP and the Congress blaming each other for the daily disruptions that saw the productivity of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha nose-dive dramatically.

According to the Parliamentary Affairs Ministry, the productivity of the Lok Sabha was 4% and that of the Rajya Sabha 8%.

Naidu on Friday wondered if the House "could justify its existence and the resources spent on it".

The BJP sought to blame Congress president Rahul Gandhi and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi for the repeated disruptions in Parliament.

The Congress hit back asserting that the onus for running Parliament smoothly lay with the government.

It also accused the BJP of "orchestrating" disruptions by friendly political parties such as the TDP and the AIADMK to escape from being held accountable for the various scams under the watch of Modi.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi today slammed BJP chief Amit Shah's remarks equating the opposition parties with animals, alleging that the "disrespectful statement" reflected his "mentality" that considered Dalits, tribals, minorities and even his own party leaders "worthless".



"Calling the entire opposition animals...see according to Amit Shah and the basic vision of the BJP RSS - there are only two non-animals in this country. There is Mr Narendra Modi and there is Mr Amit Shah," Gandhi told reporters here.



"Everybody else as far as they are concerned are animals. That's fine, that is the way they look at the world. It is a disrespectful statement, but we don't take what Mr Amit Shah says with too much seriousness," Gandhi said.



Taking a swipe at Shah, the Congress chief said it was the mentality that there were only two or three people in this country "who are worth anything, who understand everything and everybody else is a worthless person".



"It's not only Dalits, it's tribals, it's minorities. It doesn't stop there. It's Mr Advani, Mr Manohar Joshi, even Mr Gadkari, it's everybody," he said. "The thing is that the BJP people internally don't have guts to say it to you. They say it to us," Gandhi said. The Congress president said, "the fact of the matter is between Mr Amit Shah and Mr Modi, they are convinced, there are only two human beings in this country. That's all, that's the reality." At a rally in Mumbai to mark BJP's foundation day yesterday, Shah had equated opposition parties to 'snakes' and mongoose' and 'dogs' and 'cats', who are seeking to unite despite their inherent differences to take on the BJP in next year's Lok Sabha polls.



Later, Shah said his intention was not to equate opposition parties with animals.



At the rally, Shah had said, "The countdown for 2019 (polls) has begun. Attempts are being made for opposition unity. When huge floods occur, everything is washed away. Only a 'vat vriksha (banyan tree) survives and snakes, mongoose, dogs, cats and other animals climb to save themselves from the rising waters."



At a press conference, Shah later said, "What I meant was political parties having no ideological similarities are coming together out of fear of Modi."
The Supreme Court has slammed Uttar Pradesh Police for falsely implicating a man in a case of carrying narcotics and assaulting a woman.



A bench of Justices J Chelameswar and Sanjay Kishan Kaul expressed deep anguish over the alleged involvement of police officers into the entire episode, leading to arrest of Ravi, a resident of Baghpat, in Western Uttar Pradesh.



Having gone through an affidavit filed by the state police officer, the court noted the transcript file of conversations suggested a wider role of different police officials in this process.



"We must express our complete dissatisfaction on the affidavit dated April 2, 2018, to the extent that the police authorities seems to be satisfied with a censure against Sub Inspector Aman Singh as a culmination of these false cases foisted on Ravi," the bench said.



The court directed the state government to deposit a sum of Rs 5 lakh in its registry within 10 days for determining the compensation to the man while hearing a plea filed by his sister, Meenakshi Kumari.



It is necessary to compensate "for the agony through which Ravi and his family members gone through on account of cases being foisted on them".



The court put the matter for further consideration after 10 days after noting that it was necessary to determine the complicity of the police officers for which a suitable superior officer is to be appointed as envisaged under Section 36 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.



The court asked the police to file closure report against Ravi after the police admitted before it that no evidence of any contraband substance from the accused was found.



The bench had earlier examined inside the judges chamber the alleged assault victim who submitted that she was living happily with her husband and no untoward incident with her has taken place in the village. She also submitted that she treated Ravi and her sister Meenakshi as her brother and sister.
India has spurned Nepal's nudge to end the impasse over the Saarc summit, stating that no breakthrough could be expected amid continuing cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan.



Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepalese counterpart K P Sharma Oli discussed the stalemate over the summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc).

Oli sought New Delhi's help to end the impasse, but Modi told him that it was difficult to move ahead to revive the Saarc given the fact that terrorism continued to emanate from Pakistan.

"There was a mention of Saarc as well (in the meeting between the two prime ministers). And, as you know, while India is very supportive of all regional cooperation and connectivity issues, the views expressed by prime minister was that prime minister Oli must be well aware of the circumstances (that led to the stalemate over the Saarc)," Foreign Secretary, Vijay Gokhale, said.

Gokhale was briefing reporters after Modi and Oli met at Hyderabad House in New Delhi.

"Prime minister (Modi) mentioned that he had very enthusiastically attended the Kathmandu Saarc summit (the 18th summit held in November 2014), but given the current state of play, where there is cross border terrorism and where there is disruptive forces in the region, it is difficult to proceed with such initiatives," Foreign Secretary added.

The 19th Saarc summit was scheduled to be hosted by Pakistan in Islamabad on November 9 and 10 in 2016.

It was, however, postponed after India decided to opt out, protesting against cross-border terrorism from the territory under Pakistani control.

Oli hosted Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi in Kathmandu early last month.

As Nepal holds the chair of the Saarc at present, Abbasi prodded Oli to create "favourable environment" for Pakistan government to hold the summit. Nepalese prime minister agreed with his counterpart from Pakistan that differences within the Saarc should be resolved through dialogue.

New Delhi, however, declined to budge from its stand on Saturday.

Uri attack

It was after the attack on Indian Army camp at Uri in northern Kashmir in September 2016 that New Delhi decided against Modi's visit to Islamabad for the Saarc summit to be hosted by Pakistan.

The terrorists sneaked into India from territory under illegal occupation of Pakistan. They crossed the Line of Control and attacked the camp of the Indian Army, killing 19 soldiers.

Bhutan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh rallied behind India and wrote to Nepal- currently the chair of the bloc- that the regional situation was not conducive to hold the summit.

Maldives too joined the bandwagon later, thus completing the isolation of Pakistan.

Blocking initiatives

New Delhi has also been criticizing Islamabad for blocking many initiatives for regional connectivity and cooperation within the Saarc.

India has since 2016 focussing more on promoting regional cooperation through the BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation), particularly in the area of counter-terrorism and connectivity.

The BIMSTEC comprises Myanmar and Thailand, apart from five of the eight Saarc nations- India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Nepal.

Oli on Saturday conveyed to Modi that he looked forward to hosting the BIMSTEC summit in Kathmandu this year.
The list of Dalit BJP MPs cornering their own government over Dalit issues seems to be increasing by each day setting off alarm bells for the saffron party ahead of Lok Sabha polls in 2019.



The latest entry in the list is Yashwant Singh, a Dalit BJP MP from Nagina LS constituency in Uttar Pradesh. The total number of Dalit MPs virtually raising a banner of revolt has now gone up to four.

Singh, in a letter to prime minister Narendra Modi, said that the NDA government had not done anything for the Dalits during its four-year stint so far.

''Immediately after my election, I urged you to ensure reservation in promotion but nothing has been done in past four years,'' he said in his letter.

Singh said that it is becoming increasingly difficult for the Dalit public representatives of the BJP to answer the issues raised by the members of the Dalit community.

Earlier Dalit BJP MP from Etawah Ashok Dohre had written to Modi alleging that Dalits were being persecuted in UP after the 'Bharat Bandh' by the police and the Yogi Adityanath government.

A few days back Dalit BJP MP from Robertsganj in UP's tribal-dominated Sonebhadra district Chotelal Kharwar had written to Modi stating in detail about his humiliation and discrimination by his party colleagues, including senior state functionaries, administration and Adityanath and urged him to take steps to restore his dignity.

Before Kharwar Dalit saffron party MP from Baharaich constituency Savitri Bai Phule had also accused the party leadership of conspiring to scrape reservation.

UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath has rejected the allegations that Dalits were being targeted in the state. BJP leaders here have hinted at disciplinary action against the MPs.
CHENNAI, DHNS: DMK working president M K Stalin on Saturday launched his 190-km Cauvery Rights Retrieval Walk from Tiruchirapalli to Cuddalore through the Delta region demanding immediate constitution of the Cauvery Management Board (CMB).



Dravidar Kazhagam president K Veeramani flagged off the walk that will pass through the Cauvery Delta region and reach Cuddalore by April 16.

Separately, another batch of party workers will begin their walk from Ariyalur on Monday.

The walk is part of DMK's strategy to pressurise the Union government not to delay the process of constituting the CMB as per the Supreme Court directive.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami met senior counsel Shekhar Naphade, who is representing Tamil Nadu in the Cauvery case in Supreme Court, and discussed the arguments to be put forth in the Apex Court on Monday.

Palaniswami, sources said, told Naphade that he should argue in such a way that the Centre's clarification petition should be dismissed at the early state.

The meeting also came a day before Tamil actors, including Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan, are set to hold protest in Chennai.
The pledge was made by Chairman of the Ha Nam Peoples Council Pham Sy Loi at a reception on April 7 for Chairman of the Peoples Council of Gyeonggi province Jung Ki Yul.

Loi told the guest that Ha Nam is calling for investment to develop its economy, with the focus on manufacturing, hi-tech and clean agriculture.

He asked the Peoples Council of Gyeonggi to promote cooperation with Ha Nam, through introducing the Vietnamese provinces investment climate to ROK and Gyeonggi investors who are working in the fields of support, processing and manufacturing industries.

He also requested the Korean side to help Ha Nam organise investment promotion activities in the ROK and Gyeonggi, and hold cultural exchange programmes between the two localities.

Jung Ki Yul agreed to boost collaboration with Ha Nam province in economics, culture and social affairs in order to tighten the bilateral relations.

At present, the ROK is the biggest investor in Ha Nam province with 111 projects. Of the total, 13 projects with a total investment of US$663.97 million, accounting for nearly half of the capital, are run by enterprises from Gyeonggi province.


In yet another incident reflecting the sorry state of affairs of health services in Uttar Pradesh, a man was made to wait for hours for an ambulance to transport his sick mother to another ward in the hospital with an oxygen cylinder on his shoulder in Agra, about 350 km from here.



The matter came to light when photographs, showing the man carrying an oxygen cylinder on his shoulder and a urine bag in his hand with his sick mother standing by his side, went viral on the social networking sites.

According to reports, Angoori Devi, a resident of Runakta in Agra district, was admitted to the emergency ward at the S N Medical College hospital on Thursday after complaining of breathlessness.

The doctors put her on oxygen and after preliminary treatment shifted her to another ward, which was around 500m from there, reports said.

The hospital authorities, however, did not provide an ambulance for shifting saying that it was engaged elsewhere.

The sick woman's son waited for hours carrying the oxygen cylinder on his shoulder and the urine bag for the ambulance, reports said. Another photograph showed the sick woman sitting on the ground under the scorching sun with the cylinder lying by her side.

Reports said that Angoori Devi had to be again admitted to the emergency ward after her condition deteriorated.

Medical college authorities said that they had taken a serious view of the matter and would ensure punishment to the guilty after an inquiry.

Recently, doctors at a government hospital in Jhansi had used the amputated leg of an accident victim as a pillow.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi launched a scathing attack on his BJP counterpart Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday, saying they had faltered in taking the country forward, being puppets in the RSS' hands.

Rahul called the Assembly elections a clash between the divisive agenda of the BJP-RSS and the unifying ideology of the Congress, addressing the series of rallies in the twin districts.

The Congress chief highlighted what he called Prime Minister Narendra Modi's double standards, saying he prostrates before Basavanna's statues, but his words and deeds do not match, much against the saint poet's teachings. Modi is silent even when one of his ministers talks about changing the Constitution, he charged.

His party has always stood by tribals, farmers and the downtrodden, Rahul said. The prime minister's pre-election promises, including creation of 2 crore jobs and depositing Rs 15 lakh in the bank account of each countrymen, he noted.

The taxpayers' money had been used to line the purses of the high and mighty, he said, citing the defrauding of banks by Nirav Modi and others to buttress his point. The prime minister had influenced members of friendly parties disrupt proceedings in Parliament, so as to avoid discussion on these issues, Rahul claimed.

While the Centre is not ready to waive farm loans, borrowings by 50 industrialists, to the tune of Rs 2.5 lakh crore, had been written off. The Karnataka government, on the other hand, waived crop loans amounting to Rs 8,000 crore within 10 days of him (Rahul) discussing the issue with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and party leader in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjuna Kharge.

Another theme of his diatribe against the central government was the reported atrocities on dalits, saying people were living in fear in BJP-ruled states.

He also reiterated his charges on Chinese incursions into Indian territory, the allegations of graft in the Rafale warplane deal and those pertaining to ministers in the Modi Cabinet.

The Congress president claimed the BJP leaders were incompetent, had no sympathy for the poor and were not bothered to end the sufferings of the common man. He called upon his party leaders and workers to strive to defeat the BJP at the hustings.
To counter Beijing's growing influence on Kathmandu, New Delhi will not only build a rail-link between India and the capital of Nepal, but will also help the landlocked country get access to the oceans through inland waterways.



Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday assured his Nepalese counterpart K P Sharma Oli of India's continued support to development of Nepal, as both sides sought to rebuild ties, which was strained in 2015 over the new constitution of the neighbouring country. Modi and Oli agreed that New Delhi would provide financial support to construct a new electrified rail line which would connect Raxaul near India-Nepal border in Bihar to Kathmandu. An agency of the Government of India will carry out the preparatory survey work for the proposed rail-link within a year.

New Delhi's decision to link Kathmandu with the rail-network of India is apparently a response to Beijing's move to build a rail line connecting Lhasa and Gyirong in Tibet Autonomous Region of China with the capital of Nepal. Beijing offered Kathmandu to help build the rail-line as a part Chinese President Xi Jinping's "Belt and Road Initiative".

Nepal has joined the ambitious cross-continental connectivity initiative launched by China, while India remains opposed to it.

Modi and Oli also agreed that New Delhi would help Kathmandu develop inland waterways for transit of cargo from Nepal to the ports of India. "With our assistance, Nepal will get an extra connectivity to the sea. And the land of Sagarmatha (the Mount Everest) will have direct connectivity with the Sagar (ocean). I believe that this is a historical beginning," Modi said after his meeting with Oli at Hyderabad House in New Delhi. He said that the Raxaul-Kathmandu rail-link and the development of inland-waterways would turn landlocked Nepal into not only a "land-linked" country, but also a "water-linked" one.

Oli said that the additional connectivity would have an "enormous impact" on "growth of business and economy of Nepal". "Infrastructure and connectivity are vital areas of our development," said Nepalese Prime Minister, who is heading the ruling coalition comprising three communist parties of the neighbouring country. New Delhi suspects that Beijing played a role in cobbling the leftist coalition, which won the elections in Nepal in November-December 2017.
Bengaluru: Tracking all government buses on a single platform, making payments through e-purse or a smart card and increased safety measures are some of the plans drawn up by the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC).



KSRTC, which has adopted IT-enabled services in several fields ranging from vehicle tracking to depot management, is working on a proposal to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways to bring the disparate applications and different platforms on to a "central architecture" for improving e-governance.

Officials said while the decentralisation of state transport system into KSRTC, Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation, North Eastern and North Western corporations (NEKRTC and NWKRTC) has improved decision making in accordance with the demands of the particular region, the disconnection in the IT-enabled services has led to confusion.

"E-governance is becoming more and more complicated as maintenance of hundreds of servers and data management has become a headache. The cost of maintenance is escalating every year. This is further compounded by the confusion over different software for a single service," an official associated with the project

said.

Earlier, NWKRTC was sanctioned about Rs 60 crore for technology upgrade. However, KSRTC decided to scale up the project to bring all corporations under one architecture instead of allowing further decentralisation.

"A detailed project report with an estimated budget of Rs 300 crore was ready, but it is being revised by a subcommittee due to changes in the central policy. Central aid is being sought by bringing all the corporations under one platform," a source in NWKRTC said.

The KSRTC has now come up with a proposal according to which all the existing IT applications and platforms will be moved to a single platform. "Besides streamlining administration and cutting costs, the new system will allow us to track and monitor all the buses and introduce automatic fare collection," the official said.

As part of the upgrade, a new vehicle health monitoring system will be installed to assess the condition of vehicle. The system will be in addition to the manual checking, ensuring that there are no gaps in the assessment of a vehicle's road readiness.
If the uncertainity he is facing in Chamundeshwari constituency was not enough, there are speculations that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's trusted lieutenant Public Works Minister H C Mahadevappa has turned hostile to him.

"Since the closed-door meeting on March 30 at a private resort, Siddaramaiah and Mahadevappa have not been seen together in public programmes," said a senior Congress leader.

According to sources close to Mahadevappa, he is unhappy as Siddaramaiah is lobbying for the Congress ticket for his son Dr Yathindra from Varuna constituency, while he has not taken any initiative to get a ticket for Sunil Bose (Mahadevappa's son) from T Narsipur.

"Mahadevappa represents T Narsipur at present. But, he wants Bose to inherit T Narsipur, while he looks for a safe constituency elsewhere. Bose was a ticket aspirant in the Nanjangud bypoll last year. However, Siddaramaiah had his way and chose his JD(S)-days associate Kalale Keshavamurthy over Bose.

"Besides, Mahadevappa was given the responsibility of ensuring the victory of Keshavamurthy in the bypoll, in which former minister Srinivas Prasad contested on the BJP ticket," he said.

"Like Siddaramaiah had high aspirations for his son Rakesh, who died a premature death in 2016, Mahadevappa hopes to see Bose as a successful politician. Since the death of Rakesh, Siddaramaiah has been grooming Yathindra. In fact, Rakesh and Bose were on good terms and together wielded considerable clout in the district. Bose is an accused in an illegal sand transportation case," said a close associate of

Mahadevappa.

Over the past fortnight, Siddaramaiah campaigned in Chamundeshwari constituency on at least six days. But, Mahadevappa was not seen anywhere near him.

"Even on Friday, when Siddaramaiah met Suttur seer Shivaratri Deshikendra Swami, only MLA M K Somasekhar accompanied him. The effects of the soured relationship will be felt in Chamundeshwari and Varuna constituencies. So, Siddaramaiah is worried," said a source close to the chief minister.
The 50-kilogram satellite measures 50 x 50 x 50 centimetres and is designed to observe Vietnams coastal areas in order to assess water quality, locate fishery resources and monitor changes that could affect Vietnams aquafarming sector.

Micro Dragon will also monitor cloud coverage and receive signals from ground sensors to transmit data between distant locations.

The satellite was manufactured by 36 Vietnamese engineers from the VNSC, an agency under the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, from 2013 to 2017.

VNSC Director Pham Anh Tuan said that after receiving its license, Micro Dragon will be launched into space aboard Japans Epsilon rocket.

Prior to Micro Dragon, Vietnam had previously built Pico Dragon, weighing 1 kilogram and measuring 10 x 10 x 11.35 centimetres. It was launched into orbit in November 2013.

In the future, Vietnam plans to manufacture LOTUSat-1 and LOTUSat-2, two radar satellites weighing approximately 600 kilograms each and measuring 1.5 x 1.5 x 3 metres. They are expected to operate in space for five years.
A pig-tailed macaque yanked at a coconut on a piece of string until it fell to the floor, a small victory for the simian student at a Malaysian school that trains monkeys to harvest fruit for farmers.

Thousands of monkeys have been taught the trade over the past four decades by a man known as Grandfather Wan in a small village in the north of the country.

For a small fee people across the country send their macaques to the famed school, where they are put on thin chains like leashes, and trained to clamber up palm trees and pick coconuts.

Teaching monkeys to pick fruit has in the past sparked protests from animal rights groups who have denounced it as cruel, but Grandfather Wan -- real name Wan Ibrahim Wan Mat -- insists he only ever treats his charges kindly.

"They are like our children," said the 63-year-old, as macaques swung about and screeched in a training area consisting of a cluster of palm trees and some dilapidated wooden platforms for the macaques to climb on.

"When they drop the fruits, we show them love. We stroke them."

He trains southern pig-tailed macaques, a medium-sized monkey found across much of Malaysia, as well as parts of Indonesia and southern Thailand.

Wan Ibrahim first became interested in macaque training in his early 20s when he spotted the creatures climb up coconut palms to pick the fruit.

It was just a hobby to begin with but as he improved, word of his skills spread and people from far and wide started sending their macaques to him in the small village of Padang Halban in northern Kelantan state.

Getting a monkey up to speed as a top-notch coconut picker can take anything from a few days to a month, depending on the animal, Wan Ibrahim said.

But once fully trained they can pick up to 800 coconuts a day, which he said makes his fee of 150 ringgit ($38) for a full course well worth it.

The course has several stages. The first is training a monkey to yank a coconut free that is attached by a piece of string to a wooden fence -- aping the action of pulling one of the fruits from a coconut tree.

The creatures are then trained to pull coconuts from a plank of wood raised a few feet above the ground, and the final stage sees them clambering up palm trees to collect the fruit.

Mat Ali Zakaria, a coconut picker and customer from the town of Padang Rengas, more than 300 km away from Padang Halban, praised Wan Ibrahim for his gentle training methods.

Wan Ibrahim's business won't be around forever -- he has slowed down since a stroke two years ago and now gets around with a walking stick.

None of his five children are interested in taking over the training centre but he said there are other monkey trainers in Malaysia who will continue the work once he retires.

Malaysian Animal Welfare Society president Shenaaz Khan said she was not against training macaques as long as it was not cruel, but raised concerns there was insufficient monitoring of the monkeys once they were returned to their owners.
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During a conference call with reporters, the White House said Trump will focus during the summit on promoting American prosperity in the Western Hemisphere, fair reciprocal trade and leadership on Venezuela.

Trump plans to make clear that the United States is the trade "partner of choice" for South American countries.

The president next week will also travel to Bogota, Colombia, where he will have a joint speaking event with President Juan Manuel Santos.

The trip will mark the first time that the president has traveled to South America since his inauguration in January 2017. The eighth Summit of the Americas will be held on April 13-14, in Lima, Peru.

Adviser Ivanka Trump and acting Secretary of State John Sullivan will visit Lima with the official delegation. Ivanka Trump will focus on championing women's empowerment.
To share with friends and brethren The Gospel of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (the Everlasting Gospel), and to prepare a people to stand when He returns to redeem His remnant. Also, to share relevant information of current events, and to show how they relate to prophecy; By means of articles, editorials, opinions, scripture readings, and poetry.

Disclaimer

Endrtimes does not necessarily endorse or agree with every opinion expressed in every article/video posted on this site. The information provided here is done so for personal edification; It's up to the reader to separate truth from error, and to examine everything (like the Bereans) from a Biblical perspective. Let the Holy Scriptures be you guide! - - - FAIR USE NOTICE: These pages/videos may contain copyrighted () material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Such material is made available to advance understanding of ecological, POLITICAL, HUMAN RIGHTS, economic, DEMOCRACY, scientific, MORAL, ETHICAL, and SOCIAL JUSTICE ISSUES, etc. It is believed that this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior general interest in receiving similar information for research and educational purposes.
On the occasion of Easter, some in Egypt are examining the limited awareness about the history and traditions of Christians in the country

At a small but very colourful candle store in Zamalek, Cairo, Nadia is perusing a selection of candles to use at her house on the eve of Easter.

When we get back from church on Joyous Saturday, we light candles as we break our fast; it is a tradition in my family, as well as my husbands, to light candles on Easters eve. We have to buy new candles; it is a tradition that Id like to keep, Nadia said.

Nadias family purchases lanterns for three Christian occasions: Christmas, Baptism Day and Joyous Saturday.

Palms, lanterns and candles

Buying candles for Joyous Saturday and palm crowns and crosses for Easter Sunday, wearing kohl (traditional black eyeliner) on the morning of Joyous Saturday, and putting olives on the lunch table on Palm Sunday are some of the most obvious and well-known traditions associated with Easter in Egypt.

These traditions are deeply rooted in the history of Christians in Egypt. According to a recent research paper by anthropology researcher Nevine Gergis, these traditions have existed since the early days of Christianity in the country and have been observed almost uninterrupted over the centuries.

Throughout the generations, my family has been in the business of making crowns and crosses from palms. We collect the palm leaves just a few days before Palm Sunday and we start working on the crowns and crosses to have them ready for sale starting the eve of Palm Sunday until the early afternoon of the holiday itself, Maged said as he finished his sales late on Palm Sunday morning in front of the Mar Morkos Church in Heliopolis.

According to Maged, the Palm Sunday festivities are perhaps the most famous element of Christian tradition in Egypt  much more known than the orange skin lanterns that are made at Christian houses for children to celebrate the baptism of Jesus.

Not so many people, especially in the big cities, keep the tradition of the orange lantern; it has been dwindling through generations. Not many would know how to skillfully peel the skin of an orange to turn it into a lantern, she said.

Maged added, however, that certainly the majority would observe the day with a meal of taro. I actually know many Muslim families who cook taro for the day.

She argued that special foods for special religious occasions are more observed today, especially with the fasts; and they are certainly more known across the Christian and Muslim communities.

There is no official figure for the number of Christians in Egypt, but the widely accepted estimate is around 10 percent of the population.

Egyptian Christians are mostly Coptic Orthodox, with a small minority of Catholics and Evangelicals. Coptic Orthodox Christians are believed to make up around 98 percent of Egyptian Christians, with the remaining 2 percent being Catholics, Evangelicals, and Orthodox and Catholic Armenians.

Egyptian Christian traditions are mostly observed by Orthodox Copts. These traditions  most of which are food related  are for the most part of purely Egyptian origin, with some aspects introduced by followers of other churches, especially during the 18th and 19th centuries.

In his book Food for the Copt, Charles Akl describes Coptic Cuisine, which he associates with excessive austerity and an aversion to flare, which could be the result of the many long fasts observed by the followers of the Orthodox Church in Egypt; one of the most well-known elements of Coptic culture.

It certainly varies from one home to another and from one group of Coptic Christians to another, but for the most part, or at least from what Ive seen, there are some widely shared elements of this cuisine that truly earn the Coptic food label, Akl said at a recent book discussion hosted by his publisher Kotobkhan.

Akl says that his book is not meant to be an introduction to any elements of Coptic culture. He describes it as more of a fun book about food from the perspective of a man who grew up in a Coptic family that is not strictly observing. The book is one of the few easy-to-read works in the contemporary library on Coptic culture that is not related to theology.

The route of the Holy Family





In the second week of March, the Coptic Studies Programme of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina hosted its second annual conference to revive and preserve Coptic heritage.

According to the organisers of the one-day event, which was held this year in Old Cairo, the lack of attention to Coptic heritage as one of the main elements of collective Egyptian heritage is a deficiency that should be addressed.

Speakers at the event argued that there is a growing realisation, at both the public and governmental levels, that the Coptic culture of Egypt should receive more attention  with many suggesting that this would be impossible in the continued absence of any significant information about the history of Christians in Egypt in school curricula as well as in media.

They also agreed that the ongoing effort by the state to promote tours that retrace the flight of the Holy Family through Egypt could serve as a good start for raising awareness about the Coptic era of Egyptian history, which starts with the arrival of the apostle St Mark to Egypt in the first century until the arrival of the Arabs in the seventh century.

Maged El-Raheb, a member of a steering committee established by the government last year to refurbish the 13 acknowledged stops of the flight of the Holy Family, said that three stops [along the tour] are now ready to receive the first group of tourists starting May this year.

The route of the flight of the Holy Family tour goes to Egypts eastern desert, Upper Egypt and back.

According to El-Raheb, the stops on the tour currently include sites in Old Cairo, the Virgin Mary Church in Maadi, and the monastery of Wadi El-Natroun.

These few stops are already attracting so many tourists, and I am sure as we move on with more spots we will get more tourists, he said.

El-Rehab, who is also head of the Association for the Preservation of Egyptian Heritage, is convinced that attracting tourists to the path of the Holy Family would certainly help increase the interest to learn more about Coptic heritage.

He argued that with the growing economic potential of the Coptic monuments, there will be more attention given by the public and the government to these monuments and to Coptic heritage at large.





Revisiting Coptic heritage

Bassem El-Sharkawy, professor of Egyptology and Coptic studies, believes that in the minds of many, Coptic heritage is about theology or monuments, which essentially boils down to old churches and monasteries.

There is hardly any attention given to the many elements of this heritage, including the Coptic language, art, architecture, anthropology, or for that matter Coptic history itself, which is the history of Egyptian Christians and their many contributions, which go way beyond the religious sphere.

Ishak Agabani, professor of history at the Coptic Studies Institute, which is affiliated with the Coptic Cathedral, agrees that most people tend to think that Coptic history is the history of the Church rather than the history of the people  when in fact it is about both.

Art blogger Magda Sidhom says that Christians were not just praying and fasting; they were writing, drawing, building, and doing all sorts of things; but we tend to see the history of Christians as reduced strictly to theology  not just by the state but by the Church itself. The clergymen are so focused on matters of theology and nothing else, even when it comes to elements of art related to churches and monasteries, like the icons and the paintings.

Wagdi Habashi, an artist with an established name in Coptic painting, agrees that there is a declining interest in art among the clergy. He suggests that perhaps this is the reason behind the almost self-imposed restriction on creativity by many artists.

The Bible is so full of stories that can be painted and characters and events that can be turned into icons, but at the end of the day, we only have a specific set of icons and paintings that are repeated over and over again with very little room for artistic innovation and creation, he said.

This, Habashi said, is a function of the declining interest in art in general and the limited attention dedicated in fine art schools to Coptic paintings and icons, which are absolutely inspiring, starting with the globally celebrated portraits of Fayoum and beyond.

We need to have more exhibitions and more art awareness in general, Habashi said.

According to El-Sharkawy, there needs to be wider public awareness about art venues, including Coptic art, especially the Coptic Museum, which has a wealth of material that showcases the history of Egyptian Christians, more in the popular sense rather than through the theology angle.

El-Sharkqawy added that there needs to be more attention to teaching Coptic history and language  again, not as Christian material, but as anthropology.

We need to look at the kind of pots that were used for the cooking of different recipes and the kind of jewelry associated with specific occasions, as well as the manuscripts written in the Coptic language, either for theological or secular purposes, he said.

This, he added, could not happen under the current deficit in teaching the Coptic language, which is effectively the evolution of the old Egyptian language; it is not a Christian language.

The bible was not fully translated into the Coptic language from biblical Hebrew until the second half of the second century. And it was only in the 19thcentury, upon the direct attention of Pope Cyril IV, that the hymns were preserved through one-on-one teaching from masters to pupils; this tradition is still kept in Egyptian churches today for members of the choirs.

Meanwhile, Coptic language classes are essentially available in only two places: the Institute for Coptic Studies and the Center for Coptic Language, which stand next to one another near the Coptic Cathedral in Abbassiya.

The first teaches the language in its more common spoken dialect, while the latter teaches it in the more traditional form. The first is used for prayers, while the second is used to recite old manuscripts.

Neither could substituted for the other, and neither covers the evolution of the Coptic language; therefore there needs to be a section for the Coptic language in schools of art, archeology and linguistics, as is the case at departments for the Roman and Greek languages, El-Sharkawy suggested.

He added that the language would otherwise eventually dwindle into oblivion, which would cripple the ability to decipher any as of yet undiscovered manuscripts that could help us learn more about the norms and events of the Coptic era and the wealth of material that continued to be documented in the Coptic language after the arrival of the Arabs to Egypt in the seventh century.





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If we can afford to give the Kochs $1 billion a year, maybe your kids teacher shouldnt have to drive an Uber at night

Around 125 teachers and their supporters marched from Oklahoma City to Tulsa this week to demand the state restore funds to the states starved schools. The Guardians Mike Elk reported that the marchers were met with food, water and words of encouragement along their grueling trek.

And these teachers, like their colleagues West Virginia who launched a 9-day strike last month, are getting results.

After granting teachers a $6,000 raise that still left them among the most underpaid in the nation last week, state Republicans vowed to do more for Oklahomas schools. On Friday they relented and passed $92 million more in corporate tax increases that should go back into to education.

But this isnt over yet.

The teachers vowed not to end their strike until the state passed senate bill 1086, which would close a loophole in the states capital gains tax and raise an estimated $100 million for classroom resources, Elk reported.

The conservative passion to incentivize earning money by playing with wealth you already have or by being born rich reached its platonic ideal with the Trump Tax Scam. While middle class families do get some tax cuts, like a $1.50 a week, that generally expire in the next decade, the bill was carefully crafted to almost exclusively benefit the rich.

The whole thing looks and feels a scheme to inflate the stock prices and dividends  because it is.

If you own stocks, this was good news  until Trump decided to maybe almost start a trade war so he could drown out the voices in his head calling him a failure. But if you own a lot of stocks, you were probably doing okay before!

Public schools, especially in GOP-led states like Oklahoma, are not.

Now were in the midst of what seems to be a genuine moment with a movement that has already spread to four red states.

Historian Corey Robin sees something very big happening here:

Right now, in the reddest of red states, in the places youd least expect it, teachers are starting a movement not only to raise their salaries and improve the schools, not only to reverse the assault on public education, not only to reverse the rule of Scott Walker which was supposed to provide a national model across the country, but to confront the real governing order of the last 40 years: the Prop 13 order.

Prop 13 catalyzed the anti-tax movement that led to the chronic under-nourishing of our schools. Something now seems to have finally triggered a backlash. Maybe it was desperation. Maybe it was inevitable. Or maybe it was the sight of a party that spent the last decade insisting that famine was necessary sending their biggest pigs in to gorge off your table.

People have seen what these tax cuts look like in their paycheck and theyre not impressed. They know Trumps hiding his tax returns because his cuts unlike theirs likely extend beyond two commas.

per Cook Reports @Redistrict , all these are better topics for 2018 Republican Congressional candidates than political loser tax-cut law: tariffs Russia scandal Stormy Danielshttps://t.co/KqQd4QbQw1  John Harwood (@JohnJHarwood) April 7, 2018

And when the health insurance premium increases Trump engineered become clear in September, millions will end up worse off, especially in Republican states that have done little to protect their residents.

Republicans just passed a law that allows rich kids to inherit 135 times the average American income tax-free without ever working a day in their lives. Its pretty tough to do that and then say we cant afford textbooks printed in this century.

Red staters are rising up for their kids and progressives need to rise up to them and start talking about actual solutions to this manufactured crisis. No, its not another charter school or running our education system like Uber or Lyft. Its much bigger (and smarter) than that. This is about confronting the inequality that has been the end result of the tax revolt with something we know can work  equal funding for all school districts.

[Photo via @Teamsters.]
Egypt condemned on Saturday the continued "use of excessive violence and force" by Israeli forces against Palestinians at mass demonstrations, where at least nine people have been killed and thousands have been injured.

In an official statement, Egypt's foreign ministry condemned Israeli violence against unarmed civilians who have taken to the streets in peaceful protests against Israeli occupation for the second consecutive week.

The ministry stressed Egypt's rejection of the violence against Palestinians calling for their "legitimate and fair rights," and called on the international community to exert serious efforts to help Palestinians secure their right to establish an independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

On 30 March, a wave of Palestinian protests  dubbed the "Great March of Return"  erupted in Gaza, calling for a return of Palestinians to the homes of their ancestors who were displaced during the creation of Israel in 1948.

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By CA Political Review , April 05, 2018





Do you know what really was deflating when Californias High-Speed Rail Authority issued its latest report a few weeks ago?





It wasnt the revelation that the cost of building the bullet train between Los Angeles and San Francisco is going up by billions of dollars. (Again.) And it wasnt that construction will be delayed. (Again.) Everybody knows those setbacks will happen with any big project, particularly a government one.

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By Numbers USA , March 30, 2018





recent poll conducted by Survey USA for the Eyewitness News-Southern California News Group reveals that 54 percent of all California voters believe that state and local law enforcement should be permitted to assist ICE in arresting violent criminal illegal aliens, with only 11 percent in favor of 'sanctuary' policies.





The poll, which was conducted between March 22 and March 25 of 882 registered voters, also showed that only 25 percent of all California voters want California officials to block ICE from arresting illegal aliens for non-violent crimes, while 29 percent of all California voters are in favor of permitting state and local law enforcement to assist ICE in arresting non-violent criminal illegal aliens, and another 34 percent want officials just to stay out of ICEs way. It also revealed that 39 percent of the states registered voters view building a wall on the southern border

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By CNN , April 06, 2018





"In light of China's unfair retaliation, I have instructed the [United States Trade Representative] to consider whether $100 billion of additional tariffs would be appropriate," the president said in a statement.





Earlier this week, the United States announced new tariffs on $50 billion worth of Chinese goods, claiming that China is stealing US intellectual property. China responded within hours by announcing $50 billion worth of tariffs on US goods.

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A Cairo court of urgent matters ordered on Saturday that the two ride hailing services Uber and Careem are to continue working in Egypt, blocking the implementation of a March court order to suspend operations by the two companies in the country.

Saturday's court order means the two services will continue operating in Egypt pending a ruling on the matter by the High Administrative Court, the date for which has not been determined.

The courts decision came after the San Francisco-based Uber appealed the March court decision to ban the two services.

The Egyptian government has also challenged the decision to suspend the companies operations in front of the High Administrative Court, and has referred to parliament a bill regulating the ride hailing services.

It is not yet clear when parliament will vote on the bill.

An administrative court ruled last March that Uber and Careem are to be banned from operating in the country.

The case against the two companies was filed in February 2017 by a group of traditional taxi drivers, who accused the services of violating the traffic law by using privately-owned vehicles for commercial purposes. The case was filed against the two operators as well as the government.

The spread of the ride-hailing smartphone applications had sparked several protests from cab drivers in Cairo over their use of private vehicles to transport commuters, which they say violates traffic regulations.

Taxi drivers say they have been losing clients to the two services, as many people are opting to use the apps to commute in the capital and other cities.

Uber, first launched in San Francisco seven years ago, began operating in Egypt in November 2014. The service is now operating in more than 80 countries.

Its rival Careem operates across 13 countries and more than 90 cities in the Middle East and Asia. It also launched in Egypt in 2014.

In late 2017, Uber announced it would make investments of $20 million over the next five years in its support centre in Cairo, saying Egypt is one of its fastest-growing markets.

Uber had 2 million users and employed 60,000 drivers in Egypt in 2016, the company's Middle East and Africa chief Pierre-Dmitri Gore-Coty told Reuters in October.

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Two Palestinians, including a journalist, have died after being shot by Israeli troops during border clashes, the health ministry in Gaza said Saturday, bringing the total killed in the latest violence to nine.

Thousands of protesters approached the border fence around the Gaza Strip for a second Friday in a row, burning tyres and hurling stones at Israeli forces, who responded with tear gas and live ammunition.

In addition to the nine dead, at least 491 were wounded by Israeli gunfire, the health ministry in the Hamas-run Gaza strip said.

Israel estimated the number of protesters at around 20,000, saying they were seeking to breach the border.

Numbers were down from the previous Friday, when tens of thousands approached the border in demonstrations that saw Israeli forces kill 19 Palestinians, making it the bloodiest day in Gaza since a 2014 war.

No Israelis were injured on either day and the latest deaths have sparked fresh calls for an investigation.

Among those killed at Friday's protest was Yasser Murtaja, a photographer with the Gaza-based Ain Media agency, who died from his wounds after being shot, the local health ministry said Saturday.

Murtaja's company confirmed his death, with witnesses saying he was close to the front of the protests in Southern Gaza when he was hit.

An AFP photograph taken after he was wounded showed Murtaja wearing a press vest as he received treatment.

The Israeli army declined to comment, saying it was reviewing the incident.

The Palestinian Journalists' Syndicate said five other journalists were also shot during the protests, insisting they were wearing clothes clearly identifying them as members of the press.

In a statement, the syndicate said it held Israel "fully accountable for this crime."

The Gaza health ministry also announced Saturday the death of another man, 20-year-old Hamza Abdel Aal, saying he was shot east of Al-Bureij in central Gaza.

The nine men were expected to be buried Saturday.

Weeks of border protests have been called to demand the return of Palestinians to land they were forced from or fled after the founding of Israel 70 years ago.

They come with tensions high as the US gears up to shift its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem after recognising the disputed city as the capital of Israel.

Protesters on Friday said Gaza's economic woes were also fuelling frustration.

The territory has been under an Israeli blockade for a decade.

Ahmad al-Naqaa, 40, said he was bringing his seven children to the protest because "we are living like sardines."

"I am ready to die for our land and our dignity," he told AFP.

At the United Nations, Kuwait on Friday called on the Security Council to investigate the deaths.

A Kuwaiti text is expected to be vetoed by the United States after a similar draft declaration was blocked last week.

Israel has rebuffed international calls for a probe into last Friday's killings.

UN chief Antonio Guterres urged it to "exercise extreme caution with the use of force" ahead of the latest clashes.

The Israeli army said its troops opened fire on Friday "in accordance with the rules of engagement".

The military said "attempts were made to infiltrate into Israel under the cover of a smokescreen" and that firebombs and explosive devices were thrown at the soldiers.

Israel accuses Hamas, the Islamist movement that runs the Gaza Strip and with whom it has fought three wars since 2008, of using the protests as cover to carry out violence.

It claimed more than half the dead from the previous Friday were members of militant groups, including Hamas's armed wing.

Hamas claimed only five of the dead, saying they were participating "in popular events side-by-side with their people."

Those killed would receive $3,000 to support their families, Hamas announced ahead of Friday's protests.

Late Friday Israeli army spokesman Brigadier General Ronen Manelis classified the operation along the border as a success.

"None of our troops were wounded, the fence was not crossed," he said, noting that what happened last week had "deterred Hamas, which prevented the masses from approaching the fence".

But on the other side, Hamas's leader in Gaza Yahya Sinwar also claimed victory and pledged Palestinians would eventually "break the border and return to our land and pray in Jerusalem".

Israel has also banned the entry of tyres into the Gaza Strip, the head of a Palestinian committee for coordinating imports to Gaza said.

The borders were quiet Saturday morning.

*This story was edited by Ahram Online.

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Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi began facing rumors of a possibly impending divorce from husband Jionni LaValle prior to the premiere of Jersey Shore: Family Vacation.

After reuniting with her co-stars for the start of filming months ago, fans and followers began to take notice of the fact that Polizzi hadn't been sharing many photos of her spouse on Instagram and some suspected they may soon part ways. Fortunately, that is far from the case.

Not only are Polizzi and LaValle not headed for a split, they are actually planning to expand their family in just a few months.

We are planning to have kids at the end of July, Polizzi told Us Weekly. So hopefully I will have another baby by August/ September. I want two more babies. Im super excited. We will see.

Polizzi currently shares two children with LaValle, including 5-year-old son Lorenzo Dominic and 3-year-old daughter Giovanna Marie. The couple tied the knot in late 2014.

Snooki Shuts Down Divorce Rumors

In addition to having plans to welcome more children, Polizzi hasn't removed her wedding ring, and doesn't plan on doing so anytime soon. Afte all, she loves her husband "to death," and just because she doesn't share a constant stream of photos of him on her page doesn't mean that they are on the outs. What it actually means is that LaValle is a shy guy and doesn't enjoy having his image plastered all over the internet.

He hates pictures, he hates this fame life. He likes to be quiet and reserved, which humbles me," Polizzi said.

Polizzi also said that while the absence of frequent photos has led to plenty of questions from her fans and followers, she doesn't feel the need to constantly expose her husband and their marriage to the world.

The Downfall Of Her 'Jersey Shore' Return

While Polizzi had a great time reuniting with her co-stars, she said the experience of filming the MTV reality series was quite different now that she has two children. As she explained, she felt a lot of guilt when she was having fun with her friends and co-stars and frequently found herself wondering what her children were doing.

To see more of Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi and her co-stars, don't miss new episodes of Jersey Shore: Family Reunion on Thursday nights at 8 p.m. on MTV.
Turkey on Saturday criticised the United States for sending what it said were mixed messages on Syria, saying Washington was sowing confusion by equivocating about its future role in the country.

President Tayyip Erdogan's spokesman also told reporters that Turkey was talking to Russia about the Syrian town of Tel Rifaat and would not need to intervene in the area given Moscow's assurances that the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia was not present there.

"The president of the United States says 'We're going to get out of Syria very soon' and then others say, 'No, we are staying'," Ibrahim Kalin said, referring to recent comments from Donald Trump and other officials.

"Obviously it does create a lot of confusion on the ground, as well as for us. We would like to see some clarity, for them to decide what is the next step, what is the ultimate goal there."

Trump agreed in a National Security Council meeting this week to keep U.S. troops in Syria a little longer to defeat Islamic State (IS) militants, but he wants them out relatively soon, a senior administration official said on Wednesday.

He said in a speech last month that he wanted an early exit of U.S. troops from Syria, a position that was seen as at odds with that of many other Washington officials.

Differences over Syria policy have strained relations between the United States and fellow NATO member Turkey. Washington has backed the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia in the fight against IS. Turkey considers the YPG a terrorist group and in January launched a military operation in northern Syria's Afrin region to drive out the YPG.

MANBIJ

Turkey says it has an "understanding" with the United States about stabilising the town of Manbij and other Kurdish-controlled areas further east of Afrin. However, Erdogan has repeatedly threatened to push east if YPG forces do not leave the area around Manbij and go east of the Euphrates river.

The United States has troops stationed near Manbij, raising the possibility of a potential clash with Turkish forces.

"We'd like to see concrete action on the ground" from the Americans on Manbij, Kalin said.

He also said intervention by Turkey would not be necessary in Tel Rifaat, since there was no YPG presence there now.

"At the moment, for Tel Rifaat we are talking to the Russians, and they have assured us the ... YPG is not there," he said.

"If that's the case, we are OK with that."

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As the Kashmir conflict entered a low-intensity armed phase and saw greater street protest in the 2000s, new expressions of political dissidence have emerged in the Valley. Political graffiti has found resonance, across urban and rural areas, as a form of resistance against state narratives whilst also shielding participants from direct persecution. After initial concessions, the state has now begun to respond with counter-graffiti.

Inqilab (Revolution) , a universal slogan painted by Kashmiri graffiti artists. Image credit: Al-Horiah Group

Modern conflicts are complex. They not only involve armies and weaponry from two sides fighting each other, but also entire landscapes and populations. What is remarkable and terrifying about these conflicts is the affect they have on civilian populations (Kaldor 1999, 2013). In most cases, reluctant civilian populations become targets, beyond just collateral damage, in a war they would not have necessarily wanted to participate in at all. However, as they become participants, they develop mechanisms of survival and possibilities of resistance. Thus, in a place like Kashmir, the past few years have seen a burgeoning growth of writers, musicians, and other artists, who have tried to produce art and literature which can be essentially placed in a broad scheme of resistance and political protest.
Normally, you have to get a certificat de coutume in France - either through your consulate in France or via an attorney in France familiar with the laws of your home country and how they relate to French law.



I assume you're getting married in France, and if you are, there may be some other documents, specific to France, that you'll have to obtain after your arrival.

Cheers,

Bev
MURDOCH University students will soon embark on one of two once in a lifetime agricultural study tours, where they will get a first-hand look and understanding of various aspects of the livestock value chain in China or Europe.

The undergraduate students are enrolled in a Bachelor of Science with Animal Science and/or Animal Health, or Veterinary Biology (Veterinary Medicine) as their majors.

Murdoch University, School of Veterinary and Life Sciences lecturer Dr Liselotte Pannier said 18 students would depart on the China Agricultural Study Tour, taking place in Beijing and Xian, and surrounding areas, in July, 2018.

Another 10 students will depart on the European Red Meat Supply Chain Tour taking place in Ireland, Belgium and the Netherlands, also in July.

The Chinese tour is funded through the Federal governments New Colombo Plan Mobility Program, the State governments Science and Agribusiness Connect Tertiary Program, and Murdoch University.

The European tour is funded by the Science and Agribusiness Connect Tertiary Program and Murdoch University.

Ms Pannier, who is co-ordinating the programs, said both tours are a two week agricultural study tour, in which students will explore different aspects of the agricultural value chain from animal production, animal and food processing, to retail and marketing.

The programs aim to provide insights into the agricultural and animal science sectors internationally, in addition to stimulating international links and international experiences for our students.

Activities will include visits to farms, food production facilities and research centres, including seminars and workshops, hosted by agricultural universities and industry partner professionals.

Ms Pannier said the students would gain deeper knowledge of the agricultural supply chain, in particular livestock supply chains, of the regions they were going to visit.

Throughout the tours, our students will have the opportunity to engage with expert academics, local students and producers, and agricultural professionals to obtain that greater understanding of the agricultural practices while also developing their own interpersonal skills and international networks, she said.

Dr Pannier accompanied 25 students from Murdoch University to the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development Farmer Wants A Life  sheep industry research open day at Katanning two weeks ago.

She said the day was a good opportunity for the students to get a better insight into the sheep industry and apply the information learned in classroom lectures to the real world.
RURAL transporters have welcomed the State governments announcement to develop an integrated, multimodal transport strategy to improve safety and productivity for WAs agricultural regions.

The strategy will be developed by a multi-agency team made up from representatives from the Department of Transport, Main Roads Western Australia, the Public Transport Authority and the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development.

The team will engage with external stakeholders throughout various stages of the process to ensure that the entire supply chain is addressed.

WA Transport Minister Rita Saffioti said the Revitalising Agricultural Region Freight Strategy was being developed to respond to a number of significant changes to the grain export industry in recent years, coupled with the need to continually improve safety and cost efficiency.

Improving transport efficiency across the supply chains that agriculture relies on to get products to global markets can contribute to reduced costs, and enhance the national and international competitiveness of WA products, Ms Saffioti said.

This strategy is just another part of our integrated plan for freight and trade, which will help drive economic growth and jobs for years to come.

Ms Saffioti said the strategy would ensure the transport component of the supply chain reflected both current and future trends of the agricultural industry.

The strategy will identify and prioritise specific infrastructure upgrades, technological solutions and policy measures that will enhance road safety and freight transport productivity.

It will also provide the context for business cases to be developed for road, rail, intermodal and port projects for the next 10 years, which will facilitate freight productivity improvements and assist in better positioning WAs key regional agricultural supply chains for future growth.

Agriculture and Food Minister Alannah MacTiernan said an effective regional freight transport network is critical for the long-term economic development of Western Australia.

With increased competition from Black Sea grain, our growers need an efficient freight network to remain internationally competitive, Ms MacTiernan said.

The Livestock and Rural Transport Association of WA (LRTAWA), the association representing most transporters carrying grain, fertiliser, livestock and other rural commodities and inputs, welcomed the plan to develop an Agricultural Region Freight Strategy.

LRTAWA president Stephen Marley said the industry had been calling for a strategic approach to regional freight for some time.

Our members are keen to see a plan that recognises the unique challenges of rural transport as well as the economic benefit to be obtained from an efficient network, Mr Marley said.

It was pleasing to see a focus in the ministers announcement on the connection between supply chain efficiency, international competitiveness and economic growth.

Too often road investment and access decisions are based on the short-term financial capacity of the asset owner rather than the big picture of satisfying the demand of our customers, which for rural commodities, are usually international clients.

Mr Marley said one of the biggest barriers to efficiency was the lack of connectivity across the network, which often reduced a carriers ability to gain maximum benefit from a higher productivity vehicle because road owners had restricted access to sections of the freight corridor.

This results in higher costs to the grower, more vehicle movements and less productivity overall, he said.

Mr Marley hoped the consultative process would enable a review of the proposed project area, which at this point does not include the urban fringe and the South West.

The lack of access for certain vehicle types from regional areas into and around Fremantle and Kwinana is a major obstacle to efficiency and a regional freight strategy could not overlook this aspect.

A significant amount of lime is transported from the South West into agricultural regions, grain is transported to Bunbury and there are meat processors and a saleyard in this area as well, so it is important to cast the net as far as possible, particularly as we look 10 years ahead and try to predict what changes may occur in the supply chain.

Land use planning that is sympathetic to major transport corridors from rural to urban areas is critical to future proofing the network and it is hoped this will form a major part of the strategy.

There is also a significant element of time criticality for some rural inputs  for example, the majority of lime transport occurs over a short period in preparation for seeding.

Restrictions on road access during this small window can have a significant impact on the agricultural sectors ability to get product when it needs it and these types of issues need to be addressed by a freight strategy.

The LRTAWA was hoping to have the opportunity to engage in the strategy and ensure the best outcomes for members and their clients.
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Arnold Schwarzenegger is set to return home following his emergency open heart surgery last week.

Arnold Schwarzenegger

The 70-year-old actor was admitted to hospital last week to have a catheter valve replaced, and after complications with the procedure, an emergency team of doctors were forced to perform emergency surgery on the star.

And after spending time in hospital recovering, the actor is finally heading home.

His representative Daniel Ketchell wrote on Twitter: Update: @Schwarzenegger is headed home! (sic)"

It isn't the first time Daniel has shared an update on the 'Terminator' actor's condition, as he previously posted a note which described what had happened since the actor went to hospital.

It read: "Yesterday, Governor Schwarzenegger underwent a planned procedure at Cedars-Sinai to replace a pulmonic valve that was originally replaced due to a congenital heart defect in 1997.

"That 1997 replacement valve was never meant to be permanent, and has outlived its life expectancy, so he chose to replace it yesterday through a less-invasive catheter valve replacement.

"During that procedure, an open-heart surgery team was prepared, as they frequently are in these circumstances, in case the catheter procedure was unable to be performed.

"Governor Schwarzenegger's pulmonic valve was successfully replaced and he is currently recovering from the surgery and in a stable condition. We want to thank the entire medical team for their tireless efforts."

And the rep then took to Twitter again a few hours later to let fans know the 'Predator' actor was awake and in "good spirits".

He tweeted: "Update: @Schwarzenegger is awake and his first words were actually "I'm back", so he is in good spirits. (sic)"

Earlier this week, Arnold shared an update of his own on Twitter when he let fans know he was "thankful" to be awake and in good health.

He said: "It's true: I'm back! I went to sleep expecting to wake up with a small incision and woke up with a big one - but guess what? I woke up, and that's something to be thankful for. Thank you to the doctors & nurses. And I'm truly filled with gratitude for all of the kind messages. (sic)"
Ben Affleck surprised a terminally ill 11-year-old Batman fan with a phone call.

Ben Affleck

The 'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice' actor heard about refugee Mukuta, who is a huge fan of the caped superhero, and is battling terminal cancer at Hospice Atlanta and got in touch with the youngster via FaceTime from where he is filming 'Triple Frontier' in Hawaii.

The hospice tweeted: "Such a memorable day for Mukuta who's a super #Batman fan. He received a phone call from @BenAffleck today. Thanks to the widespread community support and helping us deliver on our mission: To Improve the Lives of Those We Serve."

And Ben also offered to fly Mukuta's mother to America from Zimbabwe so she could be with her son.

The hospice added on Twitter: "#HospiceAtlanta & Mukuta's family are so thankful to @BenAffleck, who following his FaceTime conversation w/Mukuta yesterday, has graciously offered 2 fly his mother from Zimbabwe to reunite with her son. A true superhero in action! (sic)"

Zachary Levi took to Twitter to praise Ben for his call.

He wrote: "Not all heroes wear capes. Though, coincidentally, some do. Bravo, @BenAffleck. And continued prayers for Mukuta (sic)."

Meanwhile, Ben previously admitted he doesn't know if he will continue as Batman in the DC Extended Universe.

The actor has starred as The Caped Crusader in two films so far - 'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice' and 'Justice League' and cameoed in both 'Suicide Squad' and 'Wonder Woman' - but admitted he doesn't know what the future holds for his character.

Speaking about his future in the famous cape and beyond, Affleck said: "I don't know about that. We'll see what the future holds."

Affleck is due to play Bruce Wayne and his heroic alter ego in the standalone Batman movie planned by Warner Bros. Pictures which is being directed by Matt Reeves from a script co-written by Affleck.

Previously discussing his decision not to direct the project, Affleck explained he stepped away from behind the camera to concentrate on giving the role of Batman the "passion" it deserves.

He said: "There are certain characters who hold a special place in the hearts of millions. Performing this role demands focus, passion and the very best performance I can give. It has become clear that I cannot do both jobs to the level they require.

"Together with the studio, I have decided to find a partner in a director who will collaborate with me on this massive film. I am still in this, and we are making it, but we are currently looking for a director. I remain extremely committed to this project, and look forward to bringing this to life for fans around the world."
Recent hikes in the prices of steel and cement, reaching almost LE13,000 per ton and LE1,100 per ton, respectively, will likely lead to knock-on effects in the real estate market, experts said this week

No doubt real estate prices will follow suit, probably at a higher rate than the increases in the prices of steel and cement, said Fathallah Fawzi, deputy president of the Egyptian Businessmens Association and a real estate developer.

Real estate companies had already been obliged to raise their prices after the floatation of the pound in November 2016 following the increase in the prices of building materials, Fawzi explained.

Most real estate companies sell units before building them. Buyers pay down payments, and installments are divided over several years. Price increases in building materials are therefore shouldered most by real estate developers, explaining why they are wary of rising prices.

Real estate companies will likely raise their prices for the next phases of their current projects, Fawzi said.

Fawzi expects a 20 per cent increase in the price of units after steel and cement prices increased. Before the recent increase, prices were already anticipated to rise by 10 to 15 per cent.

Officials at the Chamber of Metallurgical Industries (CMI) in Cairo told the media this week that increases in the price of steel pallets on the international market was the reason behind the local price increases.

Steel pallets increased by $10 per ton, reaching $556, and this led to the recent increase in the price of local steel, CMI officials stated. Increases in the international price of scrap metal is another reason why local steel prices have increased.

The price of cement increased by some LE250 per ton to reach LE1,100 at the beginning of March. Members of the Building Materials Division of the Cairo Chamber of Commerce said some cement factories had used the halt in cement production in Sinai to raise the prices of cement.

Mohamed Magdi, a real estate analyst with Sigma Capital in Cairo, said that companies that had not announced new projects lately were unlikely to be affected by the recent price increases in building materials.

However, companies in the construction phase and that have already sold units at pre-increase prices would likely suffer losses, he said.

Future projects would also likely put the recent increases in the prices of building materials on the shoulders of the consumer, said Mohamed Marei, a real estate analyst at Prime Securities in Cairo.

A 15 to 20 per cent rise in the prices of real estate units was likely throughout the year, he said.

Despite the recent price increases, cement is not likely to continue at its present higher price, as four million tons of cement are anticipated to come onto the market in 2018, relieving the pressure on prices.

*This story was first published in Al-Ahram Weekly

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Ant McPartlin was twice the legal limit when he was arrested for drink driving.

Ant McPartlin

The 'Saturday Night Takeaway' star's breathalyser reading was 75mg of alcohol per 100ml, according to the charge sheet submitted to the courts by police.

Ant was arrested after he crashed his car while under the influence in Richmond, London last month.

According to the Daily Mirror, the sheet states: "Drove a motor vehicle, namely a Black Mini...after consuming so much alcohol that the proportion of it in your breath, namely 75 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, exceeded the prescribed limit."

The legal limit is 35mg per 100ml.

Ant's case was due to be heard at Wimbledon Magistrates' Court last week but it was postponed for two weeks and the TV star will now appear on April 16.

The court said in a statement to the Evening Standard newspaper: "An adjournment in this case has been agreed. Ant McPartlin will not be appearing at Wimbledon Magistrates' Court on Wednesday. He will appear in court on Monday April 16."

Representatives for the star have said Ant, 42, has terminated all of his work commitments for the "foreseeable future" and has returned to rehab after he underwent treatment for prescription drug and alcohol addiction last summer.

His return to rehab meant his partner Dec Donnelly was forced to present 'Saturday Night Takeaway' on his own for the first time in 20 years last weekend.

But, despite his nerves, the 41-year-old presenter was praised for his appearance.

He said afterwards: "It's been the weirdest, weirdest show. But I wanted to say a huge, huge thank you to lots of people here. Most of all I just wanted to thank you guys. That reception when I came down the stairs ... I wasn't sure what was going to happen. I wasn't sure how I was going to do or how you were going to react ... but you carried me all the way through the show. I couldn't have done it without you guys. Thank you. I think that's it. I've talked quite enough this evening - enough talking for two. Thank you so much. And we can all go to the bar."
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The latest market research report by Technavio on the global fruit processing equipment marketpredicts a CAGR of close to 6% during the period 2018-2022.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180407005059/en/

Technavio has published a new market research report on the global fruit processing equipment market from 2018-2022. (Graphic: Business Wire)

The report segments the global fruit processing equipment market by application, including fruit juice, fruit powder, and fruit squash; jam and jellies; frozen and dried fruit; and canned fruit and by geography, including the Americas, EMEA, and APAC. It provides a detailed illustration of the major factors influencing the market, including drivers, opportunities, trends, and industry-specific challenges.

Here are some key findings of the global fruit processing equipment market, according to Technavio food and beverage researchers:

Growing opportunities for expansion of fruit processing sector: a major market driver

Growing availability of advanced food processing equipment: emerging market trend

The Americas dominated the global fruit processing equipment market with 40% share in 2017

In 2017, fruit juice, fruit powder, and fruit squash held the highest market share of nearly 34%

This report is available at a USD 1,000 discount for a limited time only: View market snapshot before purchasing

Save more with Technavio. Buy2 reports and get the third for FREEView all Technavio's current offers

Growing opportunities for expansion of fruit processing sector: a major market driver

Many agriculture-based, developing countries may also contribute to the growth of the global fruit processing equipment market during the forecast period. Such niche economies provide the opportunities for growth owing to certain domestic factors. Ethiopia has a favorable climate for horticulture products such as pineapples, passion fruits, bananas, avocados, citrus fruits, mangoes, mandarins, papayas, guavas, and grapes. It also exports fresh fruits to the EU and the Middle East. The demand for fruit juice is high in the country. The government also helps by providing various incentives for investing in the fruit processing sector. Therefore, there are ample opportunities for the expansion of the fruit processing industry in the country.

Looking for more information on this market? Request a free sample report

Technavio's sample reports are free of charge and contain multiple sections of the report including the market size and forecast, drivers, challenges, trends, and more.

Growing availability of advanced food processing equipment: emerging market trend

Several technologies have been implemented in fruit processing equipment to increase the quality of the processed fruit products through R&D. HPP is used to pasteurize fresh fruits using high pressure, which is created using water. This method aids in preserving the nutrients in the fruits. This resulted in the processed fruits being in uniform shape, which can be used for instant transmission. The technique that is used to measure the freshness of the fruits is coated fabric. It is used in the processing of oranges for tracking the evolution of chemical changes occurring in oranges due to a long period of storage at 41 F.

According to a senior analyst at Technavio for research on food service, "Pulsed electric fields is a non-thermal method of food preservation. It implements short pulses of electricity to maintain microbial hygiene. This technique has a much less harmful effect on food quality attributes."

Global market opportunities

In terms of regional dominance, the Americas led the global fruit processing equipment market, followed by EMEA and APAC in 2017. In the Americas, the market is majorly influenced by the expansion of the fruit processing industry, the growing population, and the increasing number and varieties of marketing strategies implemented by the players in the market. The increasing demand for canned fruits due to their ease of use, increased shelf life, and concentrated flavor will also drive the demand for canned fruit processing equipment.

In EMEA, the rising demand for convenience foods such as canned fruits, frozen fruits, and dried fruits will contribute towards market growth. One of the most produced and processed fruits in this region are apples. Similarly, other fruits such as grapes, pears, peaches, and berries are processed on a large scale.

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Technaviois a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focuses on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions.

With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 10,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

If you are interested in more information, please contact our media team at media@technavio.com

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The ambassador of South Korea to Egypt Yoon Yeocheol inaugurated Korean Cultural Day at the Public Library of Egypt in Hurghada on 4 April.

The Korean ambassador expressed his gratitude to Red Sea governor Ahmed Abdallah and Public Library of Egypt officials for hosting Korean Cultural Day, adding that more cultural events will be organised not only in Cairo but in all governorates to promote Korean culture and reinforce cultural exchange with Egypt.

The event was attended by secretary-general of the Red Sea governorate Abdel-Fattah Tammam, a number of the governorates executive officials, and director of the Korean Cultural Centre Yang Sang Keun.

The activities of the day included a lecture on Korean culture by director Yang, the representation of traditional Korean dress known as Hanbok, traditional Korean games, traditional fan colouring workshops, a Korean virtual reality experience and Korean music.

The ambassador met with the Red Sea governor on the sidelines of the event, where they discussed enhancing cultural relations between the two countries. The ambassador also said that he expects the number of Korean tourists to Egypt to rise in the future.

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This week Huaweis Honor brand has announced Honor 7A, the latest budget smartphone. Nokia officially launched the Nokia 8 Sirocco, Nokia 7 Plus, Nokia 6 (2018) in India after introducing them at the MWC 2018 event. Meizu launched the PRO 7, which is the companys first smartphone with dual displays and dual rear cameras in India. Xiaomi has introduced new 50-inch 4K HDR TV in the TV 4C line-up in China and lots more from this week in our weekly roundup.

Honor has announced the Honor 7A in the 7-series, it comes with 5.77-inch HD+ 2.5D curved glass display with 18:9 aspect ratio, powered by the Snapdragon 430 with up to 3GB RAM and runs on Android 8.0 (Oreo) with EMUI 8.0 on top. It has a 13-megapixel rear camera along with a 2-megapixel front-facing camera to capture the depth information for portrait shots.

battery. The Honor 7A comes in Black Gold and Blue colors, is priced at 799 yuan (US$ 126 / Rs. 8,250 approx.) for the 2GB RAM with 32GB storage version and the 3GB RAM with 32GB version costs 999 yuan (US$ 158 / Rs. 10,315 approx.). The device is currently available for purchase in China.

Nokia has launched the Nokia 8 Sirocco, Nokia 7 Plus, and Nokia 6 smartphones in India. The Nokia 8 Sirocco has a 5.5-inch QHD pOLED display, It is powered by the Snapdragon 835 Mobile Platform with 6GB RAM. The flagship comes with glass body for wireless charging support, rear-mounted fingerprint sensor, reduced bezels at the front with slightly curved edges compared to Nokia 8, uses USB Type-C audio, 12 MP + 13 MP dual rear cameras and a 3260mAh battery with fast charging and Qi Wireless Charging.

The Nokia 7 Plus has a 6-inch 18:9 Full HD+ display, is powered by Snapdragon 660, has dual rear sensors with ZEISS optics that combine an ultra-sensitive 12MP wide-angle primary camera for both low-light and extra bright conditions and a secondary 13MP camera for 2x optical zoom. It has a unibody metal design made of 6000 series aluminum and packs a 3800mAh battery and support for fast charging.

The new Nokia 6 has a 5.5-inch 1080p 2.5D curved glass display with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection, is powered by Snapdragon 630 Mobile platform, runs on Android 8.0 (Oreo), has a 16-megapixel rear camera with f/2.0 aperture, ZEISS optics, and an 8-megapixel front-facing camera. The phone has Nokias Dual Sight / Bothie feature and packs a 3000mAh battery with support for fast charging.

The Nokia 6 2018 comes in Black/Copper, White/Iron and Blue/Gold colors and is priced at Rs. 16,999 and is available in India offline, Nokia mobile shop online. The Nokia 7 Plus comes in Black / Copper and White / Copper colors and is priced at Rs. 25,999. The phone will be available from 30th April, Pre-bookings from April 20th on Amazon.in online, offline and Nokia mobile shop online. The Nokia 8 Sirocco comes in Black color and is priced at Rs. 49,999, available from 30th April, Pre-bookings from April 20th on Flipkart online, offline and Nokia mobile shop online.

Meizu launched the PRO 7 in India this week and it packs a 5.2-inch 1080p Super AMOLED display along with a 1.9-inch Super AMOLED 307 PPI secondary display on the back to show info such as weather, time and notifications. It also has 12-megapixel dual rear cameras with monochrome and color sensors offering portrait images with background blur along with a 16-megapixel front camera. The Meizu PRO 7 is available in Black color in India, is priced at Rs. 22,999 and is exclusively available from Amazon.in in limited numbers.

Xiaomi launched its Mi Crowdfunding in India, where users can support, buy and also help Xiaomi decide which products can be launched in India. When 100% support is achieved within a stipulated timeline, a project will be considered successful for a specific product. It will be shipped to backers and will also be launched for others.

As a part of this program, two products, Mi Selfie Stick Tripod and Mi Bluetooth Audio Receiver will be available for funding at Rs. 1099 and Rs. 999, respectively for the next 14 days. Priority delivery within the said timelines and if the project is unsuccessful, you get your entire money back. The company is also giving you an option to cancel the order before it ships out if you change your mind.

Panasonic has launched the Eluga Ray 550, the companys first smartphone with Full View display. It has a 5.7-inch HD+ 2.5D curved glass display, is powered by MediaTek MT6737H SoC, runs Android 7.0 (Nougat), has a 13-megapixel rear camera and an 8-megapixel front-facing camera, both with flash.

It has a metal body, features a fingerprint sensor on the back, has dedicated dual SIM slots and packs a 3250mAh battery. The Panasonic Eluga Ray 550 comes in Black, Blue and Gold colors, is priced at Rs. 8999 and the device is already available exclusively from Flipkart.

Lava has launched Z91, the companys first smartphone with Full View display. It has a 5.7-inch HD+ 2.5D curved glass display, is powered by MediaTek MT6739 SoC, runs Android 7.0 (Nougat) with Star OS 4.2 on top, has a 13-megapixel rear camera and an 8-megapixel front-facing camera, both with flash. It also has face unlock that promises to unlock the phone within 0.7 seconds.

The Lava Z91 comes in Blue color, is priced at Rs. 9,999. It will be available at over 100,000 retail stores by mid-April, 2018.

Xiaomi has introduced the new 50-inch 4K HDR TV in the TV 4C line-up in China. It has similar specifications as the 55-inch model except for the screen size, including PatchWall, a UI layer on top of the Android OS thats based on deep learning AI technology that can curate content based on recommendations, Dolby and DTS Audio and Mi Remote Control with gesture controls and Speech Recognition for voice control.

The Xiaomi Mi TV 4C 50-inch is priced at 2199 yuan (US$ 349 / Rs. 22,720 approx.) and is already available in China.

We have yet another Xiaomi news this week, the company has now introduced the new Mi Bluetooth Earphones and Mi Dual-Unit Semi-in-Ear Headphones. The company has also introduced new Electronic thermometer under its Mi Ecosystem which is also known as MIJIA in China.

The Xiaomi Mi Bluetooth Earphones comes in Gray, Gold and Black colors and is priced at 299 yuan (US$ 47 / Rs. 3,096 approx.). It is already available in China. The Xiaomi Mi Dual-Unit Semi-in-Ear Headphones comes in Black and White colors, priced at 69 yuan (US$ 11 / Rs. 714 approx.)  Already available in China. Finally, the Xiaomi Electronic thermometer comes in White color, priced at 19.9 yuan (US$ 3.17 / Rs. 206 approx.). It is already available in China.

Dell has introduced the Inspiron All-in-Ones PCs, an updated XPS 15, Inspiron 15 7000 2-in-1 Special Edition, S Series displays, and also announced the availability and new color for the XPS 15 2-in-1. The Inspiron and XPS devices are powered by the Intels latest 8th Gen Core processors.

The Dell XPS 15 will be available for pre-order in the US starting April 16, with prices starting at $999.99 (Rs. 65,000 approx.). The Dell XPS 15 2-in-1 is already available on Dell.com starting at $1,299.99 (Rs.84,526 approx.). The Dell Inspiron 15 7000 2-in-1 Special Edition is available in the U.S. on Dell.com starting at $1,299.99 (Rs.84,526 approx.). The Dell Inspiron 22 and 24 3000 All-In-Ones are available globally on Dell.com starting at $399.99 (Rs.26,005 approx).

The Dell Inspiron 24 5000 all-in-ones will be available in China on April 17 starting $999.99 (Rs. 65,000 approx.). The Inspiron 27 7000 all-in-ones will be available in China from April 17th starting at $849.99 ( Rs. 55,265 approx.). The Dell S Family Monitors are available globally on Dell.com starting at $209.99 (Rs. 13,652 approx.) (S2319H); $199.99 (Rs. 13,002 approx.) (S2319HN); $249.99 (Rs.16,255 approx.) (S2419H); $239.99 (Rs.15,605 approx.) (S2419HN); $329.99 (Rs. 21,457 approx.) (S2719H); and $319.99 (Rs.20,807 approx.) (S2719HN).

Dell and Alienware jointly have introduced the 15 and 17 gaming laptops and they are powered up to Intel Core i9 processor with up to 6-cores, with overclocking up to 5.0GHZ for the first time ever on Alienware laptops. On the other hand, Dell also launched the G-series affordable gaming laptops which includes G3 15, 17 and Dell G5 15, G7 15.

The Alienware 15 is now available Dell.com and is priced at $2,400 (Rs. 1,56,160 approx). The Alienware 17 is also available on Dell.com and it costs $3,700 (Rs.2,40,740 approx.). The Dell G3 15 and 17 will be available from April 16th globally on Dell.com starting today at $749.99 (Rs. 48,820 approx.) and $1,099.99 (Rs. 71,604 approx.). The Dell G5 15 will also be available from April 16th starting at $949.99 (Rs. 61,820 approx.). The Dell G7 15 is already available on Dell.com and is priced at $1,099.99 (Rs. 71,581 approx.).

Samsung Electronics announced Notebook Odyssey Z Gaming Laptop with 15.6-inches 1080p display, up to 6GB GeForce GTX 1060 GPU, up to 16GB RAM. It comes with thermal management hardware; an in-built Z AeroFlow Cooling System consists of three key components; the Dynamic Spread Vapor Chamber, the Z AeroFlow Cooling Design and the Z Blade Blower.

The Samsung Notebook Odyssey Z Gaming Laptop will be available in Titan Silver color and will go on sale in select countries including Korea and China in April, and US availability in Q3 2018.
Egypt received on Friday the first commercial flight by Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) from Kiev after a two-year flight suspension that was imposed following the crash of a Russian airliner in Sinai in October 2015.

The UIA flight, which landed in Cairo on Friday, was carrying 186 tourists, according to sources at Cairo International Airport.

Sources at Egypt's civil aviation ministry told Al-Ahram Arabic news website that four flights from the national Ukrainian airline will be running on a weekly basis as a preliminary stage before adding more flights to the airline's schedule.

The capacity of each plane is 188 passengers, the sources said, adding that larger planes will be operated at a later stage.

Charter flights from Ukraine to Egyptian cities were not suspended following the 2015 crash.

In 2017, nearly one million Ukrainians visited Egypt; an 85 percent increase from 2016.

Last March, National Egyptian airline EgyptAir announced the resumption of flights to the Russian capital Moscow starting 12 April, after Russias biggest airline Aeroflot said that it would resume commercial flights to Cairo on 11 April, more than two-and-a-half years after Russian flights were suspended following the crash of the Russian airliner, which killed all 224 people on board.

The flight suspension took a toll on Egypts tourism industry  a key source of hard currency  as Russian tourists have traditionally contributed strongly to tourism in Egypt.

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Sylvester Stallone surprised fans on Friday when he showed up in Philadelphia at the statue of his famed character Rocky Balboa.

The actor made time to go back to his characters old stomping grounds while in the city shooting the sequel to Creed.

Stallone, 71, met with Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney for a dedication ceremony for a plaque that the actor said had been missing for the past 12 years.

JERSEY SHORE STAR RONNIE REVEALS WHY HE AND SAMMI SWEETHEART BROKE UP

This is a dedication of a plaque that was made for the statue 12 years ago , but believe it or not, it had been missed placed ! the Rocky star said in an Instagram video post. Well, it was found and I want to thank the Mayor Jim Kenney and his staff , The Philadelphia Police Department, and of course the loyal fans that braved the cold. Keep punching, Philly.

The video showed Stallone mimicking the statues victorious pose and onlookers could be heard chanting Rocky! Rocky! in the background.

CHANNING TATUM AND JENNA DEWAN REPORTEDLY GET ALONG BUT WILL NOT GET BACK TOGETHER

The plaque, adorned to the statue next to the Philadelphia Art Museum steps which Stallone famously ran up in the Rocky movies, dedicates the statue to Phildelphia and the brotherhood of its people.

The mayor also presented Stallone with a personalized jersey from the Super Bowl champion Eagles.

Stallone commissioned the statue for "Rocky III" in the 1980s.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Ben Affleck makes time for his fans.

On Thursday, the 45-year-old actor facetimed with a young male refugee named Mukata from the Congo who is battling terminal cancer and is being cared for at the Atlanta Hospice center in Georgia.

Earlier this week, the hospice tweeted out a request for a Batman suit or impersonator to come to the hospital to bring some joy to Mukata in his last days. Mukata has terminal Cholangiocarcinoma, cancer of the bile duct. When Affleck, who portrays the superhero in the DC Comics films, heard the request while filming in Hawaii, he was touched by the story and reached out.

Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck Meet Up in Hawaii For Easter -- See the Pic!

After facetiming with the family and learning that Mukatas mother was unable to travel to Atlanta from Zimbabwe, he decided to help the family with travel costs to help reunite the mother and son. This story hits especially close to the actor who works with the Eastern Congo Initiative.

"Ben wanted to do what he could to help," a source tells ET. "He wanted to make sure that they were doing what they could to help the whole family."

Following the epic moment, the hospice took to Twitter to share an image of Affleck facetiming Mukuta, and thank the actor for his call.

Jennifer Garner Takes Kids to Hawaii to Visit Ben Affleck For Easter

"#HospiceAtlanta & Mukutas family are so thankful to @BenAffleck, who following his FaceTime conversation w/Mukuta yesterday, has graciously offered 2 fly his mother from Zimbabwe to reunite with her son. A true superhero in action!" they tweeted.

Affleck is currently working on a new movie, Triple Frontier, that's filming in Hawaii. On Easter Sunday, he was joined by his ex-wife, Jennifer Garner, and their their kids -- Violet, 12, Seraphina, 9, and Samuel, 6 -- who were visiting him for the holiday.

Ben Affleck Says He's 'Doing Just Fine' After Article Claims He's Become 'Despondent'
Country music star Jason Aldean made a special visit Friday to an Arizona woman who was seriously injured during the deadly Las Vegas shooting in October of last year.

Aldean stopped to say hello to Jovanna Calzadillas and her family at the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix.

"Jovanna has made a remarkable recovery at Barrow after being shot in the head at the Las Vegas Route 91 Harvest Festival in October where Aldean was the headliner. Thank you Jason Aldean for taking time out of your busy schedule to visit one of your #1 fans!" the institute wrote on Facebook.

In the picture, Calzadillas was standing between Aldean, holding an autographed guitar, and her husband, Frank, a police officer in Salt River, according to KVOA.

Aldean was in town for this weekends Country Thunder Music Festival, according to the news station.

Calzadillas, a mother of two, defied all odds after surviving a bullet that pierced the left side of her brain. She was injuired after a gunman, later identified as Stephen Paddock, opened fire into the crowd of music festival goers in Las Vegas in October 2017. At least 58 were killed and hundreds of others were injured during the attack.

"Even though I won't be the same old Jovanna, I will come back stronger. We will not let people like him win. We will not live in fear, Calzadillas said at a news conference when she was released from the hospital in January.

Neither Calzadillas nor a representative for the Barrow Neurological Institute was immediately available for comment when contacted by Fox News on Saturday.
"Manchester by the Sea" director Kenneth Lonergan has come to the defense of his film's Oscar-winning star, Casey Affleck, saying the actor has been "treated abominably" in the wake of the Hollywood's prevalent #MeToo movement.

In a recent interview with Variety, Lonergan said that Hollywood's hasty reactions to the sexual assault allegations that were made against Affleck were "unfair."

I couldnt be more all for the #MeToo movement and I couldnt feel more strongly that hes been treated abominably, Lonergan said. Its not good for anybody.

The director added, People really dont know what they are talking about, Im afraid. And Im afraid they are doing it in the name of a very good cause.

The claims of sexual misconduct against Affleck occurred back in 2010 when two women who worked on the set of his film "I'm Still Here" accused the actor of sexual harassment. The actor denied the accusations and the lawsuits against him were settled out of court. But during Affleck's 2017 Oscar spotlight, after the actor won the Best Actor award, many women spoke out against the 42-year-old actor and said that actor shouldn't have won the award or have been nominated.

But the Variety article isn't the first time Lonergan has come to Affleck's defense.

Last April, Connor Aberle, a student Lonergan's alma mater, Wesleyan University, wrote an op-ed piece for the school newspaper that arugued the university was also to blame for Afflecks success by endorsing Lonergans Oscar win for Best Screenplay, despite the actor's prior history of sexual harassment lawsuits.

Aberle wrote, "Wesleyan University has an obligation to reject sexual violence of all kinds. Therefore, it cannot claim credit for Lonergans success without also recognizing his role in promoting Casey Afflecks career. Wesleyan must either be cautious in its alumni praise, or it must admit to its students that it cares only about building the Wesleyan University brand rather than social justice or the well-being of the Wesleyan community.

In response to the college student's open letter, the director released his own statement defending himself and Affleck, saying that the Wesleyan student wr[ote] as if Casey Affleck were actually guilty of a crime." He continued on to explain Affleck's alleged crimes and said, "Like most civil suits, this one was settled out of court by mutual consent on undisclosed terms  In other words, nothing was proved or disproved. So how does Mr. Aberle dare to write as if he knows who was telling the truth and who was not?

Following his 2017 Oscar win, Affleck opened up to the Boston Globe about the sexual misconduct allegations surrounding him and said, "I believe that any kind of mistreatment of anyone for any reason is unacceptable and abhorrent, and everyone deserves to be treated with respect in the workplace and anywhere else.

The actor then added, Theres really nothing I can do about it. Other than live my life the way I know to live it and to speak to what my own values are and how I try to live by them all the time.

At the 2018 Academy Awards, Affleck opted out of the award show tradition of the previous year's Best Actor presenting the award to the current year's Best Actress.

With the flux #MeToo- and Time's Up-inspired moments during the 2018 award season, a source told Deadline in January, it "was in a no-win situation with all the attention surrounding the #MeToo movement. The specter of [the actor] presenting would have created controversy."
Talk about on one stop shopping  and dining.

On April 4, WPCO reported that the nations largest grocery store is expanding its Kitchen 1883 concept with a second location near Cincinnati. As the first Kitchen 1883 found great success in a space attached to a Kroger Marketplace in Union, Ky., the second location hopes to go even further as a stand-alone restaurant.

"With Kitchen 1883, our vision is to create a gathering place that offers a casual atmosphere for guests to relax and experience food. Since opening our pilot restaurant five months ago, we've discovered new ideas that will help to shape our future dining concepts and in-store fresh food experiences, company vice president Daniel Hammer in a news release.

WALMART SELLS 'FUNERAL POTATOES' AND THE INTERNET IS FREAKING OUT

Featuring new American comfort food with lunch, dinner and a weekend brunch menu, the new restaurant is slated to open in fall 2018. Like the initial location, the second Kitchen 1883 will offer a made-from-scratch menu inspired by American and international flavors, hand-crafted cocktails and a community-centered atmosphere.

VIRAL SINGING GROCERY STORE WORKER ACCEPTED TO ELITE MUSIC SCHOOL

Though fellow megastores like Ikea and Target have long succeeded with popular in-store dining options for shoppers, some believe that Kroger's burgeoning restaurant chain is an even bolder attempt to stay relevant. As noted by Food & Wine notes, Krogers new restaurant may be an attempt to compete with corporations like Amazon who threaten to disrupt the traditional grocery market with new delivery models and services.

Perhaps were seeing the beginning of a new trend: If people stop buying their food at grocery stores, maybe theyll have the grocery store cook it for them, they muse.

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A mother who delivered quintuplets in March spoke with the media on Friday about her feelings of both excitement and fatigue.

Jamie Scott delivered three girls and two boys by Caesarean section after 29 weeks of pregnancy at Dignity Health St. Joseph Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix.

I feel so blessed when I look at each of their little faces and each of their little souls I can feel, she said.

Jamie and her husband Skyler Scott temporarily moved from Utah to Phoenix to get care at the go-to-facility for high-risk pregnancies, especially involving triplets or more.

They really made it so bearable and wonderful, Skyler Scott said. And I really believe that some of the best, most angelic people in the world somehow find their way into the NICU.

Violet, Daisy, Lily are the three girls, while Logan and Lincoln are the two boys. All were born March 21 weighing less than 3 pounds. Jamie also pumps breastmilk every three hours.

The Scotts plan to return to their community in St. George, Utah, once the babies and mom are healthy enough to travel.

Im excited, Jamie said. Im very, very tired right now, but I know with doing this its gonna take the two of us and a whole village of people back home.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A Florida student says she was humiliated when school officials decided her protruding nipples were a distraction and asked her to hide them with Band-Aids.

Lizzy Martinez, 17, claimed she was called in to the deans office Monday at Branden River High School, where she was told that her lack of a bra was drawing stares from other students, the Bradenton Herald reported.

TIFFANY TRUMPS WHITE HOUSE PORTRAIT DRAWS MIXED REVIEWS

She told me that I needed to put a shirt on under my long-sleeve shirt to try to tighten my breasts  to constrict them, Martinez told the newspaper. And then she asked me to move around.

But the second layer wasnt up to the deans satisfaction, Martinez said, and she was directed to the nurses office where she was handed Band-Aids to cover each nipple. The teen said the incident made her so uncomfortable that she was brought to tears and left school early.

ARTICLE ABOUT MEGHAN MARKLE'S 'SINGLE GRAY HAIR' SPARKS BACKLASH

Her mom, Kari Knop, said she was horrified by how the school handled the situation. In the car, Martinez revealed to her mother that she was given bandages to hide her nipples, causing her mom to slam the brakes of the vehicle.

I stopped and I looked over at her, and Im like, Oh my gosh, you have to be kidding me, Knop said. Frustrated, Knop returned to the school Wednesday to meet with administrators about the matter.

We should not treat a girl like this because of where her fat cells decided to distribute genetically, Knop said.

Knop also reportedly spoke on the phone with Manatee County Schools superintendent Diana Greene, who suggested, like other administrators, that the teens protruding nipples were distracting the students.

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School officials admitted in a statement that the situation shouldve been handled differently.

This matter was brought to the attention of the Superintendents Office for review, the districts general counsel, Mitchell Teitelbaum, said in a prepared statement.

It is undisputed that this matter should have been handled differently at the school level and corrective measures have been taken to prevent a reoccurrence in the way these matters will be addressed in the future.

This story originally appeared in the New York Post.
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The world today is full of broken relationships and broken families. Parents are estranged from their own children. In some cases, many have never even seen their grandchildren. Some have not spoken with loved ones in years because of petty squabbles. Others have written off family members because they have chosen to live by a different standard.

Somethings not right about this.

But I believe the answer to our problems is straightforward: always choose to love. Love is the weapon that can conquer division and rebuild what has been shattered. Love is the answer to the broken home. Love is the answer to the addict. Love is the answer to fractured relationships. Love is the answer to heartbreak.

Im not being dismissive of the genuine hurt each of us has experienced. I realize different dynamics characterize each of our individual situations. Theyre real and they hurt. But what would happen if we decided that, with Gods help, we are going to love like weve never been hurt?

Here are three practical steps we can take to get us there:

1. Choose love over hurt

To best illustrate this point, I always point to the story of Joseph in the Bible. Joseph was the favorite of Jacobs 12 children. Jealousy quickly got the best of Josephs brothers, to the point they conspired to sell him off as a slave to Egypt. Think about it this way: Joseph was not abandoned by strangers; he was betrayed by his own family.

Life dramatically improved though for Joseph and he eventually went from slave to second-in-command over Egypt. During a famine, Josephs older brothers came to Egypt desperate to buy food. Unbeknownst to them, they stood in front of the brother they had sold who now held the keys to the world food supply. Suddenly, Joseph had a choice. He could either repay evil for evil, or he could love like he had never been hurt.

In a powerful moment, he chose to forgive them. Not only did Joseph heal internally, he also saved his entire family.

2. Choose to love others - Always

Somewhere in your neighborhood, perhaps even in your own home, a teenager just got in trouble with the law or confessed his battle with drugs. As a parent, how are we supposed to react in these situations? Punish them? Turn them away? Give up on them?

None of that. In fact, just the opposite. Eat with them. Call them. Reach out to them. Be there for them. Tell them, I love you.

Sometimes we think we are doing the right thing when we refuse to have contact with loved ones who are not living up to our standards. This couldnt be further from the truth. Instead, I remain convinced that love never fails. Always choose to respond in love.

3. Choose to press forward

If you have been hurt by someone - if you have been betrayed, abused, abandoned - there comes a time when you have to pull yourself from the pain of that situation and say, Enough is enough.

Harboring bitterness and reliving bad memories lead nowhere. Its counterproductive. You must choose to stop the cycle. Let it go and leave it behind.

To love like weve never been hurt is not something we can do in our own strength. We need the grace of God to help us make that phone call or send that text.

I am not promising you an easy road, but with your eyes lifted toward heaven, God will empower you to love others the way you should. Lean on him to help you stop fighting and start talking. He will help reconcile your relationships. He will make your family whole again.
There is an Arab world that could become less miserable than it has been in recent memory and much happier than it has been for a long time

In the latest of its Future Assessments series, appearing on 27 March 2018, the Abu Dhabi-based Future for Advanced Research and Studies Centre (FARAS) featured Ten Issues: Why Calls for Restoring Hope are on the Rise in the Arab Region. The assessment was inspired by the Arab Hope Makers initiative, launched on 14 February 2018 by UAE Vice President and Prime Minister Sheikh Mohamed bin Rashid, which seeks to transform the prevailing Arab mood from the overwhelming hopelessness and despair that set in during one of the most difficult periods in modern Arab history into a mood of forward-looking optimism informed by the faith in ones own ability to make change.

The assessment argues that a number of socio-political factors or activities contributed to the spread of the recent wave of hope restoration in the Arab region.

They include the desire to make change as manifested in the role human beings are playing through concrete initiatives that help improve the general quality of life; engaging in the support for reformist political leaders to reach power through elections; supporting people liberated from terrorist organisations; providing those wounded in armed conflicts and terror attacks a window of opportunity to live; preventing militias from holding a monopoly of power; combating poverty in crisis-hit developing communities; funding youth projects in certain economic sectors; integrating disabled people into Arab societies and increasing community health awareness of serious diseases.

The assessment contains numerous details and examples to document and illustrate how Arab societies are overcoming the hardships they have endured since the beginning of the so-called Arab Spring which ended with the proliferation of militias and terrorist organisations, civil warfare, and even the emergence of a full-fledged terrorist state that unleashed untold horrors and atrocities beneath the banner of a self-proclaimed caliphate.

Ultimately, the key to overcoming the hopelessness that set in resided in Arab civil society. Civil society in the Arab region acquired growing importance during recent decades as it increasingly undertook many of the developmental tasks and functions that governments were often unable to perform.

When social and political circumstances deteriorated severely during the Arab Spring phase, civil society and its various official and non-governmental organisations and associations shouldered even more of such responsibilities under particularly gruelling and complicated circumstances.

Now that the storms appear to be subsiding, Arab civil society is contributing to the transitions from instability to stability, from war to peace and from social division to national unity. It is also contributing to the peaceful transformation from centralised authoritarian states to governmental systems that offer their citizens sufficient space for effective political and economic participation.

The critical factor in all this is the psychological dimension. The rubble and residue of strife and warfare have taken a heavy toll on Arab psychology. They have instilled the substance for hatred, intolerance of the other and separatist and secessionist drives.

Converting all this into hope, future-building, and economic and social development is far from easy. It requires leaders endowed with the skills and capacities to undertake that difficult task which is sometimes linked with the need to reconstitute the state, itself, in a manner commensurate with the new circumstances and requirements.

It is heartening that the ideas towards these ends are emerging from many Arab countries, as the FARAS assessment indicates. These ideas are giving fresh impetus to hope-making which has become the most important political process to unfold towards the end of the second decade of the 21st century.

But even as Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh, Cairo and Tunis are engendering numerous civil society initiatives and associations, the state has an indispensable role to play in the advancement of a reformist project that is more comprehensive than the sum of the individual civil society initiatives.

Accordingly, the state, which up to the beginning of this decade, led to the explosion of revolutions, Muslim Brotherhood rule and the rise of terrorist movements of all sorts, cannot remain the same.

In this context, the reformist movement is advancing cautiously in that precarious zone between conservative and traditionalist trends that often breed the attitudes and outlooks that endorse terrorism and the revolutionary trends that seek to overturn societies entirely, only to yield more of the destruction that we have seen in recent years. The reformist movement is hardly new. It has existed at all times in Arab societies.

But it has always been assailed from both the left and right, which is to say from the aforementioned revolutionary and the conservative/traditionalist trends.

Now, there is an opportunity available to those who seek change, not to the accompaniment of war and strife or political partition and secession, but through peaceful and constructive means.

At the same time there are some propitious circumstances. Not least is a demographic factor: a high ratio of youth in societies that have suffered as much from the consequences of revolution and war as they had suffered from the consequences of stagnation and rigidity before that.

Youth, today, are now eager to play a role, whether through civil society organs or through the state, and they are equipped to do this, especially now that they are armed with the human experiences and knowhow transmitted through IT advances which have equipped them with more knowledge about their homelands and, at the same time, about others elsewhere in the world.

Reviving hope is not an idle dream. It is grounded in a grassroots base that is yearning to catch up with the rest of the world with all its modern technological and industrial advances.

At the same time, we have no other choice but to revive hope at a time when the international order stands at the threshold of another cold war which will divert attention away from our problems here in the Middle East, meaning the Arab world holding its own fate in its own hands in the coming phase.

Perhaps the starting point for that phase should proceed from the basic values of the state, especially with respect to the economy, which means promoting the values of the free market, entrepreneurship and the development of the relevant institutional frameworks for this. In this regard, it is clear from Vision 2030 and similar development plans that a number of Arab states are ready to break with certain long-held taboos especially when it comes to the public sector and certain public sector institutions that had acquired an aura of sanctity over the years.

An indication of this is to be seen in the fact that the Saudi Arabian oil company Aramco and the Egyptian petroleum company Enppi are being prepared to list some of their shares in international stock markets.

It is also significant that Arab governments and their leaders are experiencing a resurgence in hope. Much of their optimism is also pinned on the new generations and their ability to rebuild their countries and lead them to more advanced echelons among the ranks of nations.

In addition, Arab assessments of their assets have also changed. No longer is Arab wealth calculated in terms of just oil and gas. Other factors are factored in, not least of which are this regions vast unexploited land resources and their vast and equally unexploited human resources.

The reassessment of what we actually have and the realisation that the resources we utilise are only a fraction of what we could be utilising with the aid of sound management and modern technology.

It marks the starting point on a rapid path towards an Arab world that is less miserable than it has been in recent memory and much happier than it has been for a long time.

The writer is chairman of the board, CEO and director of the Regional Centre for Strategic Studies.

*This article was first published in Al-Ahram Weekly



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WASHINGTON -- During the 2016 campaign, Donald Trump excoriated President Barack Obama for "the way he got out of Iraq," which Trump said "was the founding of" the Islamic State. As president, Trump reiterated during a meeting with Iraq's prime minister that "we should never ever have left. A vacuum was created."

Trump was right. Obama's withdrawal did create a vacuum the Islamic State quickly filled. So why is Trump now threatening to repeat Obama's mistakes by withdrawing U.S. forces from Syria?

The president recently announced that U.S. troops will be "coming out of Syria ... very soon" because "we were very successful against ISIS" and it is time to "

let the other people take care of it now." That is exactly the rationale Obama used when he pulled U.S. forces out of Iraq.

The terrorists had been driven from their strongholds, and, according to then-CIA Director John Brennan, they had just "700-or-so adherents left." So Obama decided, with the Islamic State apparently defeated, that it was time for the United States to come out and let Iraqis "take responsibility for their country." But when Obama took the boot off of the terrorists' necks, it allowed the Islamic State to regroup and reconstitute itself.

Trump corrected this catastrophic mistake when he took the gloves off our military and drove the Islamic State from its physical caliphate. He deserves credit for this achievement. But the Islamic State is not defeated; it has simply reverted into an insurgency and remains a terrorist network with global reach. And it is not the only terrorist threat in Syria. Al-Qaeda also has an army there waiting in the wings to replace the Islamic State. According to the Institute for the Study of War and the American Enterprise Institute's Critical Threats Project, "Al Qaeda ... is more dangerous than ISIS," because although they share "the same aims as ISIS, including the intention of attacking and destroying the West," al-Qaeda is less focused on developing a physical caliphate and more on "insinuating itself inside Sunni insurgencies by harnessing popular grievances ... while continuing to build capabilities that could be turned against the West."

If Trump pulls out of Syria now, he will leave behind a haven for al-Qaeda. And his withdrawal could also precipitate the comeback of the Islamic State. The Trump administration drove the Islamic State from its strongholds by working with Kurdish proxies despised by Turkey. If the United States leaves, Turkey will go after our Kurdish allies, leaving the Islamic State free to regroup and reconstitute -- just as it did after Obama's disastrous withdrawal from Iraq.

That's not all. A U.S. withdrawal would create an Obama-style vacuum that would be filled by Iran, Hezbollah, Russia and the Assad regime. Iran and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad would escalate their brutal campaign of atrocities in Syria -- including crossing Trump's red line on the use of poison gas -- which would radicalize the Sunni population, driving them into the waiting arms of al-Qaeda. This could also create a new refugee crisis, with hundreds of thousands of Syrians fleeing to the West.

An Obama-style withdrawal from Syria could also free Iran to establish a massive military presence in southwestern Syria, which could spark a catastrophic war with Israel. Israel recently shot down an Iranian drone that had infiltrated its airspace from Syria and accused Iran of building sites in Syria to produce precision-guided missiles. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

said that Israel "will not allow a regime hell bent on the annihilation of the Jewish state ... to entrench itself militarily in Syria," and warned that if Iran tried to do so, Israel would act "not only against Iranian proxies that are attacking us, but against Iran itself." If our goal is to protect Israel and constrain Iran, withdrawal from Syria would do the opposite.

What should Trump be doing in Syria? He should maintain a U.S. presence to secure our military's gains, protect our Kurdish allies, keep the Islamic State down and prevent al-Qaeda from capitalizing on the Islamic State's demise. He should prevent Iran from entrenching itself in Syria, expanding its military presence and threatening Israel. And in the longer run, he should be working to separate the Sunni population from al-Qaeda by cultivating Sunni partners in Syria who are allied with the United States against the Salafi-jihadist cause, as well as the growing Iranian-Russian-Assad-Hezbollah alliance.

The temptation to declare victory in Syria and withdraw is understandable. But before he does so, Trump should ask himself:

What would Obama do? Then he should do the opposite.
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The jokes on Sinclair Broadcasting. Traditional journalists teamed up with their openly left-wing counterparts this week for an April Fools prank  attacking a media outlet that dared discuss fake news. The victim of the joke was Sinclair, which runs 193 local television stations across the country.

Sinclair is attempting to pay $3.9 billion to buy Tribune Media, which would further increase its local broadcasting power. The company has been targeted by the left as being pro-Trump because it doesnt lean far left like CNN and MSNBC.

Sinclairs local news operation has received heavy national news coverage in the past week. The broadcast company sent out a minute-long script for its anchors to read that said, in part, that Sinclair was concerned about the troubling trend of irresponsible, one sided news stories plaguing our country.

The script added: We understand Truth is neither politically 'left nor right.' Our commitment to factual reporting is the foundation of our credibility, now more than ever.

Real scary stuff, right? It sure was for the major media that resented the idea journalists might be doing precisely what they are doing  spinning the news. Or misreporting it.

But Sinclairs unwillingness to toe the line made it a target. The left-wing website Deadspin did a mashup of many versions of the Sinclair video into one, culminating in numerous anchors saying: This is extremely dangerous to a democracy.

The video went everywhere from John Olivers HBO show to CNN and MSNBC and every lefty or traditional outlet in between. (Deadspin is owned by top Hillary Clinton donor Haim Saban.)

While hardly funny, the coverage was itself a joke. It was reminiscent of the mob scene from Young Frankenstein, lacking only the pitchforks and torches  so far.

Since April Fools Day, The Washington Post has run 38 separate pieces on the controversy. By comparison, the Post ran just 20 mentioning the huge reboot of Roseanne.

The Post had stories headlined: Sinclair faces fallout from viewers and Democratic candidates over fake news promos, Sinclairs remarkable gaslighting operation and Sinclair Broadcastings mass fake news message, as skewered by cartoons. But, of course, the Post is neutral.

In just a couple days, MSNBC and CNN (left and lefter) spent 211 minutes on the story. Thats enough time to watch The Godfather and have some time left over to watch an episode of Big Bang Theory. And that analysis ended Tuesday. There has been even more coverage since.

The rest of the media joined in with the mob. Discredited former CBS anchor Dan Rather grabbed a torch. He called the Sinclair video Orwellian and said its on a slippery slope towards some of historys most destructive forces. Remember, Rathers career at CBS came crashing to a halt after his own bogus reporting. He now appears on the far-left show The Young Turks.

MSNBCs Joe Scarborough called the Sinclair segment, a propaganda clip. Co-host and soon-to-be-his-bride Mika Brzezinski was even harsher, claiming it was pretty frightening and chilling. Apparently, she never watches her own show, but then who would blame her.

CNNs Senior Media Correspondent Brian Stelter hyped how a Sinclair producer in Nebraska had resigned over the segments. That left out some key details.

The Daily Callers Peter Hasson helped correct the record, reporting that the producer is a proud left-wing activist. The producer had been part of a protest against Republican Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and another for Black Lives Matter. Media reporting tended to skip those facts.

2. An Easter Parade of Bias: Easter is a major holiday for Christians. For the media, its just a predictable day to attack their faith. There were numerous examples of that at play this Easter.

NPR reporter Vanessa Romo couldnt even describe the holiday accurately. She said Easter was "the day celebrating the idea that Jesus did not die and go to hell or purgatory or anywhere at all, but rather arose into heaven."

NPR had to issue a classic correction, admitting: Easter  the day Christians celebrate Jesus' Resurrection  is on Sunday." It might be helpful to send Romo a few traditional Christmas cards in early December so she at least gets that holiday correct.

Then there was CNN's Chief White House Correspondent Jim Acosta embarrassing his network once more by shouting out questions to President Trump during the annual White House Easter Egg Roll.

Stephen Colberts lame anti-Trump cartoon also bashed Christians this week. His Showtime program Our Cartoon President asked: "How do grown adults still worship Jesus?"

The media also used opinion pieces to criticize Christians on the holy day. In an opinion piece in the New York Times Sunday Review, lefty religion writer Amy Sullivans piece headlined Democrats are Christians Too showed her anger that Trump still has supporters. Her comment about that support: Eighty percent of white evangelicals would vote against Jesus Christ himself if he ran as a Democrat.

NBC did much the same, publishing an op-ed about how easily and often our faith is used to defend white supremacy.

3. Conservatives Arent Welcome Here: The Atlantic had barely more than a one-night stand with opinion diversity. The left-wing publication dared offend its core readers  liberals and the neutral journalists who love them  by hiring National Review writer Kevin Williamson.

Williamson was signed just two weeks ago by the publication and the pushback was instantaneous. Paste magazine said the hiring was their worst idea since they advertised for Scientology. The New Republic called it the mainstreaming of the reactionary right. Slate asked simply : Why Would the Atlantic Hire Kevin Williamson? Yes, why would a publication actually dare have competing viewpoints?

Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldbergs strength of character lasted just long enough for him to turn tail and run after sacrificing Williamson on the altar of liberal demands. The hire had barely been announced before Goldberg was already apologizing in a memo, saying how he believed in giving people second chances and the opportunity to change. Sometimes that works. Hiring conservatives and expecting them to change is how Joe Scarborough got his job at MSNBC.

Williamson was abandoned because he is pro-life. Heres the New York Times description of the controversy: It was Mr. Williamsons hard-line stance on abortion  namely, that it should be treated as premeditated homicide and punished accordingly, perhaps by hanging  that generated the initial controversy over his hiring. One dare not offend the abortion lobby.

National Review gave a great defense of Williamson before the firing. It pointed out that, The Atlantics currently most celebrated and influential writer is National Book Award winner and MacArthur genius grant recipient Ta-Nehisi Coates.

Coates has said many controversial things including giving this description of the police officers and firefighters who died on 9/11: They were not human to me. Black, white, or whatever, they were menaces of nature; they were the fire, the comet, the storm, which could  with no justification  shatter my body. Thats acceptable, but being pro-life isnt.

The Washington Post did a roundup of conservative anger over the firing. The headline says it all: Ghettoized: Conservative media cries foul after Atlantic fires antiabortion writer Kevin Williamson. Note, the Post wont even allow Williamson to be considered pro-life after losing his job for it.

That headline referenced an excellent comment from conservative Erick Erickson: Kevin Williamson's firing is another reminder that much of American conservatism finds itself ghettoized not by choice, but by the left's active demands that the right be silenced. Socialists, national or otherwise, don't like to compete for ideas when they can shut up others.
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Even the most diehard, anti-Trump partisan will have to admit that President Trumps imposition Friday of tough economic sanctions against powerful Russian business and government leaders with ties to President Vladimir Putin is the very antithesis of someone colluding with Russia.

And any Russian officials who harbor false illusions about President Trump going soft must confront a harsh reality: Donald Trump does whats best for America and is unafraid of standing up to Russia.

Once again, President Trump hammered Russia on Friday, imposing sanctions against 17 more high-ranking government officials, plus seven powerful businessmen (widely described as oligarchs) and 12 companies owned or controlled by oligarchs.

The impact of this bold move is likely to be considerable. Here is why:

First, the target list includes a state-owned Russian company called Rosoboronexport and another company with ties to Syria. President Trumps message for Putin in sanctioning these companies is: We know what you are up to and will not be complicit in your profiting from instability in Syria.

Russia has prolonged the bloody Syrian civil war. It is supporting brutal Syrian dictator Bashar Assad, who has used chemical weapons against his own citizens, violates international law with impunity and is effectively responsible for the deaths of nearly half a million people.

As in Ukraine, Georgia, and when Russia tried to divide Americans against themselves through meddling in our last presidential election, Putins aims in Syria are indefensible.

Americas goal in Syria was to eradicate a threat to regional security, the so-called ISIS caliphate. President Trump, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, members of the U.S. military and determined allies have nearly completed that job.

Russias goal in Syria has been expansionist, opportunistic, geopolitically divisive and  apparently  tied to financial gain for those around the autocratic Russian leader.

Notably  Putins recent sham election margin aside  most Russians do not want to be involved in Syria, even if Putin and his wealthy, profiteering and oligarchic friends do. Maybe this set of sanctions will give Putin another reason to rethink his involvement there.

President Trumps second message to Putin with the new sanctions is more direct: Stay out of our elections. Putin and his cadre of neo-Soviet neer-do-wells have meddled enough, and President Trump himself knows the pain that intrusion on our sovereignty has caused him.

Russian interference in our 2016 presidential race has threatened to distract our entire nation from larger purposes, historic unity, and our common identity, goals and ideals. Putin is no friend of American democracy.

Fridays sanctions also hit at least one wealthy oligarch who was reportedly close to the disgraced, short-lived former Trump Campaign Manager Paul Manafort. That oligarch is Oleg Deripaska. President Trumps apparent message in targeting Deripaska is that corruption is indefensible  and he wont defend it.

The fourth message to Russia nested in new U.S. sanctions is broader. It should give Putin a stutter step. President Trump is saying this is not over. The carrot of a presidential meeting with Putin exists, but sticks in our pile are many and will be used  with increasing frequency.

By imposing sanctions, President Trump is telling Putin that Russia must get its mental, moral and legal house in order; stop saber rattling in the Baltics, Middle East and around the world; stop the belligerent military build-up in Kaliningrad; stop hyping maps of mock missile attacks on Florida; and start acting like a responsible permanent member of the United Nations Security Council.

In short, President Trump is prepared to treat Russian leadership as the good Russian people deserve to be treated  with respect. But he will not counsel or be party to further destabilization of the world order.

The truth is often persuasive, and should be here. Modern-day Russia is not the Soviet Union, even if former KGB agent Vladimir Putin wants it to be so, for whatever prestige that idea might offer him.

Putin is an Old World autocrat and he is making Russia persona non grata around the world by allying himself with Iran, North Korea, Assads Syria and publicly corrupt leaders on the world stage.

Putin makes no points in the free world by encouraging instability in Serbia, Macedonia, Albania and Bosnia; stirring ethnic Russian minorities in neighboring nations to be loyal to Russia rather than the countries where they live; reportedly approving shadowy assassinations; and refusing to reverse illegal assaults on the sovereignty of Ukraine and Georgia.

Russian trade with the United States is one twentieth of our countrys trade with China. Russian oil is plentiful, but we dont need it. American oil and natural gas are more plentiful, and we are prepared to strike deals to support NATO allies, including the beleaguered Baltic

States.

Russia is increasingly isolating itself, and is also increasingly viewed by the Trump White House and Europe as a belligerent. True to Putins KGB past, he is reinforcing this caustic and ignoble view at every turn. What Fridays sanctions say is: Mr. Putin, you are digging yourself a geopolitical hole. Time to reverse course.

Here is the kicker, a savory irony to beat all ironies. These latest Trump sanctions on Russia suggest  despite the mainstream medias wish to minimize, mitigate and ignore facts  that the Trump White House and Special Counsel Robert Mueller, along with Russias critics in Congress, increasingly see the world through one prism.

The color Russia is painting itself, for all of them, is dark and darker, not brighter. While Putin aims to divide Americans, he is in fact uniting us.

President Reagan denounced the Soviet Union as an evil empire. Putins aggressive behavior around the world has once again earned his government that unseemly title.
North Dakota GOP Rep. Kevin Cramer on Saturday won his state partys endorsement in the Republicans bid to unseat Democratic Sen. Heidi Heitkamp -- in what is expected to be this years toughest Senate race.

Delegates at the GOP state convention voted for him unanimously, the Grand Forks Herald reported.

The race -- which the nonpartisan Cook Political Report lists as a tossup -- is just one of several in 2018 that will help decide whether Republicans keep their slim Senate majority, which is now 51-to-49.

Cramer, a three-term House member, said he initially had no desire for the Senate seat, opting instead to remain in the House where hes comfortably won reelection. But Cramer said he changed his mind because the party thought he was the only candidate who could defeat Heitkamp -- and because President Trump personally encouraged him three times to run for the seat, including twice after he said he wouldn't.

Cramer is a strong supporter of the Trump agenda, in one of the countrys most conservative states. Trumps tax cuts and tough stance on illegal immigration likely will help Cramer. However, Trumps tariff showdown with China could hurt GOP candidates in states like North Dakota, where local economies rely on agricultural exports. However, political analysts increasingly have argued that predicting how significantly any situation would affect voters six months away, on Election Day, is nearly impossible.

Thirty-five seats are up for reelection in the 2018 midterms -- with Democrats at a disadvantage in having to defend 26 -- including two held by Independents.

Their biggest challenge likely will be defending seats that Trump won in 2016 by double digits -- including North Dakota and Missouri, where Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill is facing a tough challenge from the state's GOP Attorney General Josh Hawley, with most polls showing the race a tossup.

West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin is also facing reelection in a state Trump won with about 69 percent of the vote.

On of the Democrats best opportunities to win a seat could be in Arizona, where GOP Sen. Jeff Flake is not seeking reelection. Democratic Rep. Kyrsten Sinema likely will face the winner of a tough GOP primary that features GOP Rep. Martha McSally, former state Sen. Kelli Ward and former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

The Cook report also lists that race as a tossup.

Cramer recently said beating Heitkamp wouldn't be easy and he expected each campaign to spend about $10 million -- not including outside money -- to win it.

"We are a long way from the election," he said. "North Dakotans have a role in shaping the agenda for the country -- and this enthusiasm and momentum has to be sustained."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
To make a point that guns are dangerous only in the hands of criminals, a South Carolina congressman on Friday pulled out a loaded handgun during a meeting with constituents.

U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman, a Republican, reportedly placed the .38-caliber gun on a table during the "coffee with constituents" meeting at a Rock Hill restaurant.

"I'm not going to be a Gabby Giffords," Norman said, referring to the former Arizona congresswoman who was shot outside a grocery store during a 2011 constituent gathering.

In a follow-up statement, Giffords' husband, retired NASA astronaut Mark Kelly, criticized Normans stunt.

"Americans are increasingly faced with a stark choice: leaders like Gabby, who work hard together to find solutions to problems, or extremists like the NRA and Congressman Norman, who rely on intimidation tactics and perpetuating fear," Kelly said.

Norman, who reportedly holds a state-issued concealed-carry gun permit, said he'll display his gun at future constituent meetings.

"I'm tired of these liberals jumping on the guns themselves as if they are the cause of the problem," Norman told the Post and Courier. "Guns are not the problem."

Norman's point about gun safety drew support from Republicans in the state, the newspaper reported.

"Hysterical to see liberals freak out over @RalphNorman accurately demonstrating that guns really are inanimate objects," state GOP Chairman Drew McKissick tweeted.

But some meeting attendees had a different view.

" ... (H)he chose to take the gun out and put it on the table not knowing if any of us had mental health issues," said Lori Carter, a schoolteacher from Charlotte, N.C., told the newspaper. "What was to prevent me from leaning across the table to take that gun?

"I felt it was highly inappropriate for an elected official, honestly, and it almost felt like an intimidation tactic," Carter added.

Meanwhile, South Carolina Democratic Party chairman Trav Robertson criticized Norman's action, saying "no responsible gun owner" would do such a thing.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Congress had just approved a big economic plan, and the president signed it into law. Then it wasnt long until the White House appealed to Congress to slash spending.

Sound familiar?

This is the script President Trump seemingly followed as he signed a bipartisan, $1.3 trillion spending package late last month. Now Trump is demanding that lawmakers rescind some of the spending allocations from that very bill.

But head back to the mid-1990s.

Congress approved a $496 billion, five-year economic stimulus package at the behest of former President Bill Clinton in August 1993. Still, Clinton insisted that lawmakers then find $10-15 billion in additional cuts over the same five-year period. This would be a challenge for Congress.

Many of the spending allocations lawmakers approved went toward government investments. More jobs for park rangers. Additional battleships. But by the same token, Clinton wanted spending reductions to unwind the deficit.

The oscillations of Clinton and Trump arent new. Who wouldnt like to have it both ways? Spend money on programs and simultaneously cut spending? And believe it or not, there is a budgetary provision that allows Congress and the president to attempt to pare down spending on which everyone has just signed off.

The term is rescission. Its pronounced ruh-SIZH-unn. Its a fancy fiscal word for spending cancellation. The Congressional Budget Act of 1974 permits lawmakers and the president to take a mulligan on appropriations if everyone suffers from buyers remorse. Lawmakers may then vote to rescind certain chunks of money.

Back in 1993, Clinton proposed $11 billion in cuts. He asked to nullify allocations for military construction projects, energy and water programs, university research and bus terminals.

Then-Ohio GOP Rep. John Kasich, who now serves as the Buckeye States governor, and then-Rep. Tim Penny, D-Minn., pushed for deeper cuts. They advocated for trimming Medicare, specifically directing the savings toward deficit reduction. Defense hawks tried to erect firewalls to protect the Pentagon from the axe.

Again, sound familiar?

Trump begrudgingly signed the omnibus spending bill last month after a brief veto threat. Rescissions bills arent common in Congress, but the parliamentary option exists.

Trump is still sifting through the legislative tool box in Washington, and the rescissions process is an instrument at his disposal. Its not out of the question for the chief executive to consider a rescissions request if theyre dyspeptic about the omnibus measure.

The administration and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., have reportedly been working for days on the recissions idea.

On his presidential campaign trail, Trump touted he would balance the budget in a decade. He even declared it would be easy. But any rescission legislation wont make much of a dent in the deficit. Were talking tens of billions of dollars at most.

And Trump is certainly not going to push for cuts to entitlements -- the biggest debt driver -- or military spending. Any propose cuts will be negligible at best when it comes to actual deficit reduction.

Heres how a rescissions bill could work:

The administration would devise a list of targeted spending cuts to whittle away at the $1.3 trillion omnibus bill. But the legislation must originate with the House Appropriations Committee, the panel in charge of spending.

It is sometimes said there are three types of members of Congress: Democrats, Republicans and appropriators.

Members of the appropriations committee are a special breed, tailoring spending to individual projects and federal departments. It could be problematic to find appropriators willing to mince the very omnibus bill they just crafted.

And even if appropriators were willing to excavate the omnibus bill for cuts, it begs the question of why everyone favored all that spending a few weeks ago and now wants to slash it.

The appointment books of chiropractors in Washington will be full due to all of the cases of whiplash.

It was a laborious task just to assemble the omnibus spending bill and court the right mix of Democrats and Republicans to pass it. Republicans certainly couldnt do it on their own despite holding the majority in both the House and Senate.

So the GOP majorities had to turn to Democrats. Thus, the bill included lots of Democratic priorities, just not Republican preferences like a boost in defense spending.

It was like walking a balance beam to engineer the omnibus bill in a way that it coaxed Democrats and Republicans to vote yes. Republicans certainly wont earn Democratic support if all they do is hack away at Democratic spending programs.

Consider how narrow the line will have to be to craft a rescissions bill that wins just enough support to pass with only GOP votes. Republicans may like the concept of cutting. But it isnt so easy when it comes to specifics.

And then, where is the conservative House Freedom Caucus?

The group didnt like the omnibus. In fact, opposition to the omnibus by group members and other conservatives is why Republicans had to turn to Democrats to pass the measure in the first place. Could the GOP brass persuade the members to vote yes on a rescissions bill? Possibly.

But again, it may come down to the particulars. Some members may vote no because they think the bill doesnt annul enough spending. That said, senior House GOP leadership sources tell Fox they can muscle through a rescissions bill with only Republican support with the blessing of Trump.

Keep in mind that Republicans negotiated the broad spending agreement to lift mandatory sequestration spending caps with Democrats back in February.

Then the sides worked side-by-side to forge the March omnibus bill. Democrats will balk if Republicans incinerate not one but two spending pacts. Republicans are now feverishly writing spending bills to fund the government for the new fiscal year starting October 1.

Republicans will struggle to fund the government on their own if they attempt a rescissions gambit. Democrats will retaliate by slowing down every spending bill, arguing that the GOP reneged on the deals cut in February and March.

A rescissions bill would have to advance through not only the House but the Senate before heading to Trumps desk to become law.

Many Democrats may object to a rescissions bill. But consider that a number of moderate, fiscally conscious Democratic senators face competitive re-elections in battleground states this fall. Start with Sens. Joe Donnelly, Indiana; Heidi Heitkamp, North Dakota; and Joe Manchin, West Virginia.

A rescissions bill needs a simple majority to pass the Senate. Some Democrats may feel compelled to vote for spending nullifications as they look toward reelection in November. Ironically, it could be easier to advance a decisions package in the Senate than the House if most Republicans are on board, joined by a handful of Democrats.

But it will come down the specifics: what spending is voided and whats not in a rescission bill.

Theres even some debate as to how to spell rescission. Some prefer recision over rescission.

Agreeing how to spell the word may prove easier than finding consensus on what to cut.
A former flight attendant at Qantas has levelled shocking allegations against the airline after claiming she was the victim of harassment by a manager on a flight. Now, she claims sexual harassment in the airline industry is rampant.

People are scared. I had grown ladies on the phone older than my mum hysterical going, this one grabbed me by the throat and threw me against the elevator on an overnight. Ive got a list that long of women who have come to me since it happened. Hannah Rowlands, who according to the Project was Qantas poster girl after appearing in dozens of ads for the airline, told the program Qantas continued to roster her on with the man who slapped me on my backside.

Ms. Rowlands alleges the situation began to spiral out of control in May, 2015, when her on-board manager started to blow air on her neck during a flight to Perth.

TEEN WITH DOWN SYNDROME BOOTED FROM ALASKA AIRLINES FLIGHT AFTER VOMITING

WARNING: Video contains graphic language.

He was renowned for harassing girls physically, saying sexually inappropriate things and I dont put up with it. Where I come from, men dont do that, she told Hamish Macdonald.

I just remember slapping his hand and I said, Can you not touch me. Not now, not ever, dont touch me.

The harassment continued the following week when he just started slapping me on my backside.

He goes: Oh, for a little girl youve got a tight a--, and he just started slapping me on my backside, Ms. Rowland said. He just started slapping me so hard, it was a lot of times. You know when youre young and your brother slaps you and it stings you? Thats what it was like, thats how hard it was. I fully shut down, I wanted to say and do so many things but it was like I couldnt do it.

I always thought if something ever like that happened to me it would be an instant reaction  and I couldnt move, I was like frozen or something, I dont know what had happened. And then he walked off and I just burst into tears.

LOS ANGELES INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT INSTALLS 'TOOSHLIGHTS' TO HELP EASE BATHROOM BREAKS

Ms. Rowland claims that when she made a formal complaint about the manager, she asked to be rostered on to different shifts from the man so she could work without fear of what might happen next.

That was the only thing I wanted, I didnt ask for him to be fired ... but I need you to tell me that Im not going to fly with him again.

Yet despite promises by the airline to keep the pair apart for six months, she was rostered on with him at least seven more times. She said she called in sick during these shifts and in doing so, would lose out on money because she was hired only as a casual.

Youre failing me at every turn, she told Qantas, but the airline told news.com.au and The Project: We take harassment in the workplace very seriously.

FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX LIFESTYLE NEWS

All employees are required to do mandatory training on our values and policies, including Standards of Conduct, and we will always address any behavior thats not consistent with our expectations. Once we became aware of the incident, it was thoroughly investigated. The employee immediately apologized and showed remorse.

It was clearly inappropriate and a number of steps were taken to directly address the conduct with the individual. We offered Hannah lots of support, including rostering flexibility. We assured her that she would never be compelled to work with the person with whom she made the claims.

Yet Ms. Rowlands claims Qantas simply told her Hannah, youre being very difficult.

Qantas then offered Hannah telephone counselling and face-to-face mediation with the man she says harassed him.

She says in the end she left the job because, I couldnt represent something I didnt believe in.

This story originally appeared in News.com.au
Officials in Arizona and Texas announced Friday their plans to send National Guard members to the U.S.-Mexico border. The governor of Arizona said he planned to send about 150 members, while the Texas National Guard said it would send 250.

The announcement follows comments by President Donald Trump on Thursday, in which he said he wanted to deploy between 2,000 and 4,000 guard members to the southern border in order to combat illegal immigration and drug trafficking.

TRUMP SAYS HE WANTS TO SEND 2,000 TO 4,000 NATIONAL GUARD MEMBERS TO US-MEXICO BORDER

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis signed orders on Friday under Article 32 to deploy up to 4,000 National Guard troops to the Mexico border, Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White told Fox News.

On Friday night, Mattis and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristjen Nielsen issued a joint statement:

"Tonight, National Guard troops are deploying to support border security missions along the U.S. southwest border. Working closely with the border governors, the Department of Homeland Security identified security vulnerabilities that could be addressed by the National Guard. We appreciate the governors' support and are dedicated to working with them to secure the national borders.



"Together, the Departments of Homeland Security and Defense are committed to using every lever of power to support the men and women of law enforcement defending our nation's sovereignty and protecting the American people. We will continue to work with the governors to deploy the necessary resources until our nation's borders are secure."

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey announced via Twitter on Friday that he would send the troops to the border at some point next week.

The governor's office told Fox News that the state will not share in costs under Title 32. Under that law, National Guard members receive federal pay and benefits, but remain under the command and control of their state's governor.

Our office is working closely with @AZNationalGuard, @DeptofDefense and @DHSgov on plans to deploy approximately 150 national guard members to the border next week, Ducey said on Twitter.

The Texas National Guard said Friday that it plans to deploy 250 personnel to the border over the next 72 hours.

Earlier Friday, the Texas Military Department tweeted that the National Guard was prepping to deploy to Texas  Mexico border.

Along with Trumps comments on Thursday, the president said he intended to probably keep them or a large portion of them until the wall is built, referring to the National Guard troops.

"We have to have strong borders. We're going to have the wall," Trump said. "We've started building and fixing miles and miles of wall thats already up and fence and were gonna have our wall and were gonna get it very strongly and the military is going to be building some of it."

On Wednesday, Trump signed a proclamation sending the guard to the border in an effort to stop what his administration called an "unacceptable" flow of drugs, criminal activity and illegal immigrants.

PENTAGON ESTABLISHES 24/7 OPERATION AFTER TRUMP ORDERS MILITARY TO MEXICO BORDER

DHS Secretary Nielsen previously said that the president ordered the deployment because "we are at a crisis point" with illegal immigration.

"We'd like to stop it before the numbers get even bigger," she said.

Nielsen added that guard members would provide support to border officials, "help look at the technology, the surveillance, in some cases we'll ask for some fleet mechanics" and free up agents trained in law enforcement for other duties.

The Pentagon also announced the creation of a 24-hour "border security support cell." That liasion cell met for the first time on Friday, Fox News learned.

Fox News Charlie Lapastora, Samuel Chamberlain, Jennifer Griffin, Madeleine Rivera, as well as the Associated Press contributed to this report.
Backpage.com, the website known for its sex and prostitution-related classified advertisements, was shut down and seized by the FBI on Friday, according to reports and a large notice displayed on the sites homepage.

Backpage.com and affiliated websites have been seized as part of an enforcement action by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division, the notice on the site read.

News of the sites seizure follow reports that the Arizona home of the sites founder, Michael Lacey, was raided on Friday morning. Law enforcement activity is occurring, the Phoenix FBI told the New York Daily News.

Carl Ferrer, the Backpage CEO, was arrested in Texas in 2016, according to the Wall Street Journal. He was then charged in California on a series of counts, including pimping minors. Ferrer and other Backpage executives havent been convicted of criminal wrongdoing.

PROSTITUTION STILL THRIVES ON BACKPAGE DESPITE SITE SHUTDOWN OF 'ADULT' SECTION

The site  which is already the focus of multiple criminal investigations  has prompted lawmakers to reconsider legislation that limits the immunity of websites for the actions taken by their users.

Members of Congress have also investigated the site for its alleged role in sex trafficking.

This is great news for survivors, advocates, and law enforcement, Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., who has investigated the site alongside Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, told the Journal.

Cindy McCain, the wife of Arizona Sen. John McCain, and an activist against human trafficking, told AZ Central that she heard that in addition to raiding Laceys home, every office of the site around the world was raided.

Theyve confiscated everything and shut the website down, McCain said, adding that Friday was a good day.

Backpage.com lets users create posts to sell items, seek a roommate, participate in forums, list upcoming events or post job openings. But the site also has listings for adult escorts and other sexual services, and authorities say advertising related to those services has been extremely lucrative.

According to the notice on the site, authorities will release additional information on the seizure later Friday night.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested 97 people after raiding a Tennessee meat processing plant, in what civil rights activists say was the largest crackdown at a single place in almost a decade.

ICE spokeswoman Tammy Spicer announced the raid in a statement on Friday and said that of the 97 people taken into custody from Southeastern Provision meat processing plant in eastern Tennessee, 11 people were arrested on criminal charges, 54 were placed in detention and 32 were released.

She said they were all arrested on suspicion of being in the country illegally.

The National Immigration Law Center said it believes this was the largest single-workplace raid since George W. Bush was president, the Washington Post reported.

Federal immigration officials did not confirm if it was the largest.

This was the latest crackdown on illegal immigrants by the Trump administration after he announced last year that ICE agents would be targeting employers that choose to hire immigrants knowing they are illegal.

A total of 21 people were arrested after immigration agents raided 7-11 stores nationwide in January.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Western plans to spread chaos in the Arab region were revealed this week in comments that will make discomforting reading for members of the Arab elite

I am anxious to find out more about the reactions of Arab commentators and members of the elite who for a long time have argued against conspiracy theories, insisting that our own tragic reality as Arab nations is the cause of our failures and we dont need foreign interference to deteriorate any further.

The West does not interfere in our affairs, such people say, and conspiracy theorists suffer from delusions.

However, while visiting the US last week Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia admitted that his country had sponsored jihadist ideology and violence on the instructions of the West to carry out specific missions against specific countries.

This had served a long-term political and security agenda promoting an ideology that says that rulers and subjects are infidels and that does not recognise the concepts of the nation-state, sovereignty or national borders. Instead, it calls for the creation of a religious state under the banner of a caliphate ruled by a radical ideology that does not acknowledge progress or that opposes enlightened views.

This ideology is in a state of hostility and rivalry with others who differ in ideology and belief both domestically and internationally.

The plot began by supporting the spread of this ideology under the banner of jihad, while also promoting the concept of Political Islam.

Moderate currents of the latter assisted and helped to train violent armed groups, helping them to find refuge as so-called opposition figures in Western capitals, among them London.

The plots simultaneous promotion of armed and violent and political and moderate groups caused many people to be put in the position where they were forced to choose the so-called moderates after being blackmailed over security, stability and economic issues.

But at the core, both groups adhere to the same ideology that was engineered by Western security agencies and by Western diplomatic headquarters.

The goal of this plot was always to empower this extremist current, whether under its violent or its political facades, as an alternative to the incumbent regimes in the Arab region and to create a New Middle East after sabotaging and undermining all other political and ideological forces from the far right to the far left. All these would all be replaced by the slogan that Islam is the solution.

Meanwhile, various dictatorships were being actively propped up to increase popular protest against them until this reached fever pitch, causing populations to rise up and overthrow these regimes and replace them with Islamist rule.

The Arab Spring was the manifestation of this plan once the region had been primed to explode due to poverty, unemployment, injustice, and the lack of hope for a different future. In parallel, the West supported armed terrorist groups working to tear down the existing states since these stood against the Western-sponsored current of change.

The role of these groups was to target state institutions, the economy and the security and stability of these countries, while relying on certain regional countries, among them Israel, Qatar, Turkey and Iran, for logistical and other support.

The focus was on self-destruction because the radical groups that had been awakened, promoted and protected were themselves from the region.

Muslims would destroy their own countries through their own quarrels, for example by fuelling Sunni-Shiite rivalry and launching one hundred or one thousand years of war.

This would occur in the absence of a genuine Arab elite sounding the alarm and warning about the horrors and destruction to come. Some members of this elite were even happy to act as Western agents, working relentlessly to promote everything that came from the West without hesitation, in some cases out of a deep conviction as if this was an inescapable fate.

The absence of the Arab elite at this critical time led to a lack of the necessary vision to confront such activities, leaving the region wide open to Western plots.

The West has always called for greater freedoms and the separation of religion from the political sphere, even having itself embarked on ideological and political battles to end the power of religion in Europe and defending the model of the nation-state, national sovereignty, and the freedom of belief.

However, now the West wanted the Arab countries to live under the rule of religion and of fascist groups that ruled through the authority of a religious leader, whether a supreme guide, caliph or imam.

This is the same West that denied the rights of the people in the region, most notably those in Egypt, to rise up against religious rule, even striving to reinstate it in power and ignoring the peoples will.

The West understands full well that these fascist currents do not believe in democracy and view it simply as a tool to be used to gain power. These currents also do not recognise the rights of others, the concept of equal citizenship, or the idea of national sovereignty and the nation-state.

The West is betting that since it engineered these currents in the first place they owe it their loyalty. It thinks it can control them, even if in an improvised way. After years of working on the streets and with the masses in the Arab countries, the West understands that there is substantial grassroots support for these currents and that if they are able to take power in the Arab states they would doubtless serve its direct and indirect interests.

It would empower allies of the Western capitals to take control in the region, which explains the Wests position on any regime or people that prevents these currents from taking power.

Such regimes are put under a political and economic embargo, so that the West does not lose its battle or bet on currents that are stopped in their tracks before they can take over the entire region.

*This article was first published in Al-Ahram Weekly

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Authorities in Southern California said Friday that they have arrested and charged a man suspected of setting off two explosives at a Sams Club store on Thursday afternoon.

The Ontario Police Department said in a news release that Hugo Gonzalez, 49, was hit with multiple charges, including arson, possession of a destructive device and ignition of a destructive device. His bail was set at $1 million, police said.

Police said they were called to the store in Ontario around 2 p.m. on reports of a possible structure fire. They reportedly realized the fire was connected to an explosive that had been set off by a person who had already left the scene.

An officer spotted the suspect attempting to flee in a Honda Civic and tried to pull him over, police said. The suspect reportedly led police on a short pursuit before eventually pulling over and surrendering.

In his car, investigators discovered additional materials that were similar to those used in the devices, police said.

Investigators also searched his apartment in Fontana, as well as a second associated apartment, police said.

No additional explosive devices were located, however, materials used to manufacture similar devices were recovered, police said.

A bomb squad searched the store area and found that two explosives had gone off on opposite ends of the location, igniting items near them, police said. No injuries were reported.

Sams Club employees acted quickly and used fire extinguishers to put out the flames, police said.

Police released surveillance video Friday, showing a man walking into the store wearing a white surgical mask and pushing a shopping cart, according to the Associated Press. Another video showed what appeared to be an explosion, sending frantic shoppers fleeing from the area, before smoke filled several aisles.

Gonzalez was questioned by investigators, authorities said, but a motive wasnt clear. They said they believe he acted alone.

Police said there was no indication that he is linked to any criminal organization and he is not believed to be on a terrorist watch list. He is also not a Sams Club employee, police said.

Ontario is about 37 miles east of Los Angeles. Fontana is about 14 miles east of Ontario.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A California man convicted of sexually assaulting a 3-year-old girl got a new sentence Friday of 25 years to life in prison after an appeals court found the trial judge handed down a 10-year sentence that was too lenient.

Kevin Rojano-Nieto, 23, also was ordered to register as a sex offender, the Orange County District Attorney's Office said. The original sentence outraged victims' rights groups and sparked an unsuccessful drive to recall Superior Court Judge Michael Marc Kelly.

Rojano-Nieto was convicted in 2014 of two felony counts, sexual intercourse or sodomy with a child 10 years or younger and lewd acts upon a child under 14.

The crimes occurred earlier that year when the girl, a relative, wandered into the garage of his Santa Ana home as he was playing video games. The girl later told her mother she was in pain and was taken for a medical exam that led to the charges.

The defense contended that Rojano-Nieto, who had no criminal record, suffered from psychological issues stemming from growing up in a dysfunctional and abusive family.

Kelly sentenced Rojano-Nieto to 10 years in prison in 2015 rather than the state-mandated term of 25 years to life.

In an analysis, the judge said he compared sentencing for similar and other offenses, looked into details of the case and took into account a court-ordered psychological examination and a sentencing report that concluded Rojano-Nieto wasn't a true pedophile or sexual predator and would not pose a danger to society.

Kelly wrote that the mandatory term would be "grossly disproportionate" in the case and would be unconstitutionally cruel and unusual.

"The manner in which this offense was committed is not typical of a predatory, violent brutal sodomy of a child case," he wrote.

The judge wrote that the act was "serious and despicable" but also that Rojano-Nieto stopped the assault within seconds and was remorseful, the girl wasn't seriously injured and her parents had urged leniency.

Prosecutors took their objections to California's 4th District Court of Appeal, which agreed in January 2017 and ordered Kelly to impose the mandated sentence.

In its ruling, the appeals court said the judge ignored "important undisputed evidence about the entire scope of Rojano's actions."

"Violent physical injury is not what makes the crime of sodomy against a young child a serious and horrific crime," the court said. "Put simply, a sex offense against a small child is a grave offense because of the vulnerable nature of the victim and the risk of psychological harm to the child, regardless of any associated physical injury."

The ruling also said that even "an extremely immature 19-year-old should understand that it is wrong to sodomize a three-year-old child and should be able to control his sexual impulses."
The smell of freshly brewed coffee fills a packed cafe situated on a cobblestone street in the coastal city town of Charleston, S.C. Baristas greet customers with smiles, sometimes hugs. At one point, customers and employees start dancing.

I love parties, dance parties, Sam Hazeltine, a barista, told Fox News as he danced behind the counter. I got my groove on. I got my groove onIts fun. Its a happy place.

This small mom-and-pop coffee shop, Bitty and Beaus Coffee, is getting national attention because of its employees, all of whom have intellectual or cognitive disabilities.

Two former Broadway performers opened the shop to open up opportunities for those who, because of physical or developmental delays, struggle finding jobs. Experts say more than 80 percent of individuals with disabilities are without a job.

When we opened this coffee shop we thought we would put a dent in the unemployment rate, Bitty and Beaus Coffee owner Ben Wright told Fox News. What we figured out, what this really is and continues to be, is a human rights movement disguised as a coffee shop.

Named after their two youngest children with Down syndrome, the Wrights opened the first Bitty and Beaus Coffee in Wilmington, N.C. in 2016.

The cafe employs more than three dozen workers with disabilities ranging from Down syndrome to autism.

I think people with developmental and intellectual disabilities (I.D.D) .are not valued like people who dont have those disabilities, Ben Wright said. I think theyre looked at looked upon as broken, as less than less than human. And we are here to say, they are not.

This year they opened their second shop in Charleston with nearly two dozen workers, serving up to 500 people a day.

Hazeltine is one of those workers. Born with Down syndrome, he began working at the shop when it opened in March.

Im trying to help. Hazeltine told Fox News.

The Wrights say they train their employees for about a week in a classroom setting, but they do not use a set curriculum because everyone has a unique way of learning.

Once the employees complete training, they work side by side with members of the management team for on-the-job training. They make more than the minimum wage, which is $7.25 in South Carolina.

People with and without disabilities should be working together, shoulder to shoulder, in every environment. Thats the point of what we are doing, Ben Wright said.

Members from Family Connection, a non-profit dedicated to promoting inclusion for those with disabilities, said they believe people with I.D.D have a harder time seeking employment because there are a lot of misconceptions regarding what it would take to employ them.

They are viewed as not having an ability vs. seeing them as or the capabilities that they do have to our society, Family Connection Executive Director Amy Holbert told Fox News. Not only does it improve morale in the workplace, but it also improves productivity.

She said research has shown corporations that hire people with I.D.D described them as dependable, reliable, productive and engaged.

Employment is great, but I believe integrated employment, meaningful employment, are what we need to strive for as employers and employees, Holbert said.

The Wrights say they are looking at areas to build their next shop, with the hope of having it up and running by the end of the year.

We hope to have shops all over the country one day, where we employ people with disabilities, Amy Wright said. Also, bring people together with and without disabilities so they can see how their lives have value just like everybody elses.


Two soldiers were killed when their helicopter crashed during a training exercise at Fort Campbell in Kentucky, officials said Saturday.

The soldiers were members of the 101st Airborne Division. The crash happened Friday night and involved an Army AH-64E Apache helicopter.

The names of the deceased will not be released until 24 hours after next-of-kin notification is complete, officials said.

The crew was conducting routine training at the time of the accident. There were no other casualties. Fort Campbell Fire and Emergency Services members responded to the crash scene.

STRING OF US MILITARY AIRCRAFT CRASHES IN 2018 CONTINUES DEADLY TREND

This is a day of sadness for Fort Campbell and the 101st Airborne, said Brig. Gen. Todd Royar, acting senior commander of the 101st Airborne Division and Fort Campbell. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Families during this difficult time.

The cause of the accident was being investigated.

Three other U.S. military aircraft crashed this week, leaving five service members dead.

On Wednesday, an Air Force Thunderbird pilot was killed when his F-16 crashed near Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada.

On Tuesday, a Marin Corps CH053E Super Stallion helicopter crashed during a training flight in California, killing the four crew members on board.

MARINES IDENTIFY 4 KILLED IN HELICOPTER CRASH IN CALIFORNIA

Also Tuesday, a Marine Corps AV-8B Harrier crashed during a takeoff in Djibouti. The pilot survived after ejecting.

Fox News reported Friday that those crashes had lawmakers on Capitol Hill worried that the military's worn-out air fleet may not be getting the funding it needs.

At a press conference Thursday, the director of the Pentagons Joint Staff refused to say the crashes signaled a trend.

I would reject wave and crisis, said Marine Lt. Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie, Jr. Were are going to look at each one in turn. Each one is tragic. We regret each one. We will look at them carefully. I am certainly not prepared to say that its a wave of mishaps or some form of crisis.

Fox News Pentagon producer Lucas Tomlinson contributed to this report.
Four people have been charged with murder in the death of a North Carolina man whose final moments were livestreamed and posted on Facebook.

The Fayetteville Observer reports one of the four wanted in the January 2017 death of 27-year-old Calvin Blackshire Jr. turned himself in. Warrants have been issued for the others, including one who is an inmate at a prison in Elizabeth City.

They face charges including first-degree murder and conspiracy.

Blackshire was found in a motel parking lot with a gunshot wound. As he lay dying, an onlooker livestreamed Blackshire's last moments. Authorities said at the time that the person who recorded and posted the video didn't break a law.

Blackshire's mother, Pamela, says she plans to put flowers on her son's grave to mark the arrests.

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Information from: The Fayetteville Observer, http://www.fayobserver.com
An Alabama teen laughed Thursday as a judge sentenced him to 65 years in prison for murder and theft after he rejected a plea deal that would have given him 25 years behind bars.

Lakeith Smith, 18, of Montgomery, Ala., was sentenced to 65 years by Judge Sibley Reynolds for felony murder, armed burglary, second-degree theft and third-degree theft, FOX8 LIVE reported.

Smith smiled and laughed while being sentenced at the Elmore County courthouse. He had turned down a plea deal that would have recommended he spend 25 years in prison on the charges.

I dont think Mr. Smith will be smiling long when he gets to prison, C.J. Robinson, chief assistant district attorney, said. We are very pleased with this sentence. Because the sentences are consecutive, it will be a long time before he comes up for even the possibility for parole, at least 20 to 25 years.

Judge Reynolds said Smith seemed to show no remorse for his crimes during the trial and did not apologize. He also overhead the teen say, I dont have time for this.

ALABAMA MAN DIRECTS GIRLFRIEND TO RAPE HIS 11-YEAR-OLD AUTISTIC SON HE BELIEVED WAS GAY

You got plenty of time for this, Reynolds told Smith before announcing the sentence. When I called the case earlier you said you aint got time for this, so I didnt know if you had time for this now?

Smith laughed and said he did not know Reynolds heard his comment.

You just dont get it, do you? Reynolds asked. "He hasn't said I'm sorry yet. He hasn't acknowledged to this court that he shouldn't have done, shouldn't have come around, in fact, his attitude toward this court and life, in general, has been sour.

Smiths grandfather pleaded with the judge and the teen to give him a chance to apologize.

Hes had every opportunity, Reynolds said. "Ive asked two or three times today.

Are you sorry? the grandfather asked Smith. The teenager replied that he was.

Smith was charged under Alabamas accomplice law, which holds co-defendants can be guilty of murder if a death occurs when they are committing a crime, the Montgomery Adviser reported.

ALABAMA POLICE SAY 5 PEOPLE SHOT, 2 TRAMPLED AT TEEN CONCERT

On Feb. 23, 2015, Smith, along with four other people, broke into two homes in Millbrook. Police responded to calls of the robberies, and the suspects fired at the officer who entered the home they were raiding. The suspects fled the home but continued to fire at the officer.

One of the suspects, ADonte Washington, 16, of Montgomery, who was armed with a revolver, allegedly pointed a gun at the officer, body cam footage showed. The officer fired at the teenager, killing him.

Smith was charged with Washingtons death despite not firing the shots due to the accomplice law. A grand jury cleared the officer who fired the shots at Washington.

The other suspects, Jhavarske Jackson, 23, Jadarien Hardy, 22 and LaAnthony Washington, 22, entered guilty pleas of felony murder, burglary and theft but have not been sentenced yet.

Standing there in court, I couldnt help but have compassion for his grandfather, for his family," Robinson said. Because of his stupidity, they have lost him for 65 years.
Authorities have charged a North Carolina couple with cheating dozens of grief-stricken families out of thousands of dollars for headstones they failed to deliver.

Tunis and Georganne Selby were arrested this week and charged with felony conversion and obtaining property by false pretense, Monroe police said.

The couple, who ran a company called Memorial Design Concepts, was accused of swindling 34 families out of $64,000 for the monuments, FOX46 Charlotte reported.

The station first reported the story in February when it interviewed a woman who said she bought a $10,000 headstone for her deceased son, but after more than a year and a half had still not received it. Other customers had similar experiences, the station reported.

Police told WBTV the two would have victims pay up front as they placed their orders.

You just do not do that stuff," Michelle Barton, manager of Beat Monument, told the station. It is not morally correct.  You do not want to take advantage of anybody and these people are in need.

FOX46 reported that many of the victims have since had their monuments delivered by do-gooders in the grave headstone business.

Tunis and Georganne Selby were each held on $50,000 bonds and were scheduled to appear before the magistrate on May 11.
A Tennessee man killed his autistic 5-year-old son and then reported him missing to investigators who spent three days looking for the boy, believing he was alive, officials said Saturday.

Joseph Daniels, 28, of Dickson, was charged with criminal homicide after confessing to killing the boy, they said. Joe Clyde Daniels was also non-verbal.

Unfortunately, it is with great sadness that I have to inform you of a turn of events, Jason Locke of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said. He said Daniels hid his sons body after intentionally killing him.

Locke said the murder took place Tuesday night -- and the next day, Daniels and his wife reported Joe missing. They said he wandered away in his pajamas.

Hundreds of volunteers, local agencies and resources were used in the search for Joe on land, by air and on waterways, Fox 17 Nashville reported. Dickson is about 40 miles southwest of Nashville.

After the arrest was announced, Dickson County deputies set off Saturday to search for the boys body.

Locke would not say whether Daniels had revealed where he hid the body.

Deputies had been hopeful of finding the boy alive. He had wandered away in the past, and they had helped find him in those instances.

Also, investigators said they received credible information that the child was spotted early Wednesday morning near his home, the Tennessean reported. A witness had reported seeing him walking near Garners Creek Road, investigators told the paper.

And on Friday, Dickson Sheriff Jeff Bledsoe reported another sign of hope when he said a footprint was found near a creek about three miles south of where Joe Clyde vanished.

Joe lived with his parents and two siblings, 8 and 3. Bledsoe said the other other children were with "the mother and also the grandparents."

At the news conference Saturday, Bledsoe told reporters that Daniels has been the only person arrested in the case but that the investigation was continuing. Daniels was booked into the local jail on a $1 million bond.
The six children of the couple killed in last month's fatal plunge off a cliff along the Pacific Coast Highway in Northern California had all been adopted in the Houston area, records show.

The San Antonio Express-News reported that Jennifer Jean Hart received monthly adoption subsidies from Texas that likely amounted to $270,000 over the last decade.

Hart and her spouse, Sarah Hart, reportedly lived in Minnesota when the six children were adopted from Texas foster care. The first three siblings were adopted in Colorado County in 2006. The second group was adopted from Harris County in 2009.

Meanwhile, a search for the three children still unaccounted for after the March 26 fatal plunge near Fort Bragg in Mendocino County was called off Friday because of inclement weather, the Oregonian reported.

Authorities have speculated that Hannah,16, Devonte, 15, and Sierra, 12, may have been carried out to sea after the SUV in which the family was traveling dropped about 100 off the cliff, in a fall that investigators say might not have been an accident.

The family traveled to California from their home in Washington state, and previously lived in Oregon and Minnesota. Over the years, reports have accused the parents of child abuse and neglect.

While living in Minnesota, one of the Hart children told police that Jennifer Hart had hit the child with a belt. It was unclear to what extent the state's Depart of Family and Protective Services was aware of the allegation.

In another incident, one of the daughters told authorities that Jennifer Hart had spanked her and had held her head underwater in a tub. Records show that in 2011, Sarah Hart  rather than Jennifer  pleaded guilty to the allegations.

According to reports, authorities had visited the familys home in Washington a few days before the fatal crash.
The lawyer for the family of a Michigan man killed with a sandbag thrown from an Ohio highway overpass said it was madness that the teenage culprits were sentenced to a youth treatment facility program instead of jail.

Police say the boys, each of whom were 13 or 14, threw rocks and sandbags onto Interstate 75 near downtown Toledo in December. One sandbag smashed through a car windshield and hit a rider, 22-year-old Marquise Byrd, of Warren, Michigan. He later died.

The boys apologized to Byrd's family in juvenile court in Lucas County, Ohio, Friday. The judge said they could end up in juvenile detention for years if they don't complete programming of unspecified length at the youth treatment center.

Family and friends of Byrd were visibly upset as they walked out of the courtroom before the judge had finished sentencing all four teens, the Toledo Blade reported Friday

They called the sentence too lenient.

What madness is this? Where we dont have to take responsibility for whatever age we are? What is this? Byrd family attorney Lillian Diallo, of Detroit, said following the hearing, according to the paper.

She said Byrd never would be able to see his 2-year-old son, his fiancee, his brother, mother, or other relatives again  while the four boys could soon go home to be with their families.

The way we were talking to the prosecutor, I knew we werent going to get justice, said Marcus Byrd, the victims brother.

The judge said the treatment program could help change the boys' behavior better than juvenile detention could.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A Kansas woman who has lost two daughters to violent crime confronted the killer of her eldest daughter Friday as he was sentenced to 20 years and seven months in prison.

Im not an evil person," Cherri West said to defendant Enemencio Lansdown before he was sent off to prison, the Kansas City Star reported. But I pray that every night Casey haunts you in your dreams. I hope you rot and burn in hell.

Authorities say Lansdown, 42, pleaded no contest in February and was convicted of voluntary manslaughter in connection with the April 2017 fatal shooting of Casey Eaton, 34.

He was captured after a massive manhunt that culminated in an overnight standoff with police, Fox News reported at the time.

Eaton was killed about a block from where her younger sister, Pamela Butler, 10, was kidnapped 18 years earlier, the Star reported.

The abducted girl was later found dead in Missouri. Her captor, Keith D. Nelson, was eventually convicted and sentenced to death.

After Eaton was slain, West told Fox 4 in Kansas City that losing two daughters so violently was heartbreaking.

I can't believe this has happened to me again," West said at the time. You kind of sit back and you wonder what have you done in life for something like this to be done to you.

Lansdown said nothing during Fridays court session, the Star reported.
South African geneticist Vinet Coetzee held up a malaria-diagnosing scanner that she said can be developed for use in Africa's rural areas without the need for blood samples or lab tests.

"This can be rapid, affordable and non-invasive," she said. "It can reduce health inequality and bring us one step closer to a world free of malaria."

The prototype was among the research projects highlighted at the Next Einstein Forum conference last month in Rwanda to encourage the development of young scientists across Africa. Organizers called it the largest-ever gathering of scientists on the continent.

"We can go from a dark continent to a bright continent," said Nigerian chemistry professor Peter Ngene, who described how he plans to use nanotechnology to store solar energy efficiently in hydrogen batteries.

Rwandan President Paul Kagame, the current chair of the African Union, opened the gathering by linking scientific progress to Africa's development at large.

"Knowledge economies are prosperous economies," he said. "Today, more than ever before, adequate math and science proficiency is a prerequisite for a nation to attain high-income status and the gains in health and well-being that go along with it."

The president added: "For too long, Africa has allowed itself to be left behind." As the continent catches up it cannot afford to leave out women and girls, Kagame said, urging Africans not to accept the global gender gap in science as inevitable.

"The movie 'Black Panther' gives positive role models of African women in science," said Eliane Ubalijoro, a professor at McGill University in Montreal, who pointed out the large number of women at the conference. "We are creating Wakanda right here!"

Africa lags behind the rest of the world in scientific output, but research on the continent is growing rapidly and a few countries like Ethiopia, Kenya and Mali have increased their research and development spending efforts "to the level of a middle-income economy," according to the UNESCO Science Report .

The Next Einstein Forum began in 2013 to help the continent move forward and now sponsors 19 African science fellows, along with an Africa Science Week at schools in 30 countries. At the conference the forum launched Scientific African, a quarterly, peer-reviewed journal to publicize new research.

The forum is an offshoot of the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences, which provides full scholarships for students to earn masters' degrees in mathematics at centers in Cameroon, Ghana, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania. More than 1,500 students from 43 African countries have graduated from the program since 2003, with 32 percent of them women.

The program to encourage Africans to study mathematics is the brainchild of South African-born physicist Neil Turok, who grew up as his parents fought apartheid, the country's former system of racial oppression.

"My parents took pride in combatting injustice and they were thrown in jail. It was difficult for me personally but it was good for my studies because I threw myself into my work," he told the conference.

Turok attained international success in physics and mathematics, collaborating with Stephen Hawking, teaching at Princeton and becoming the director of the Perimeter Institute, an independent research center for theoretical physics in Canada.

Challenged by his father to do something for Africa, Turok founded the mathematical institute in 2003. A decade later, the Next Einstein Forum was launched.

"We can draw strength from hardship," said Turok, who said he believes the world's next Einstein can be an African. "When Africans enter science in large numbers, with their diversity, backgrounds and motivation, they will make massive, transformative discoveries. Those discoveries are just waiting there to be made."
Algeria's governing party is urging President Abdelaziz Bouteflika to seek a fifth term even though the 81-year-old has been debilitated by a stroke for years.

The head of the FLN party, Djamel Ould Abbas, formally asked Bouteflika to run in the May 2019 election in a speech Saturday to party lawmakers. Ould Abbas added that "the last word remains with him, of course."

Bouteflika is barely seen in public even now and it's not clear whether he is still really in charge of Africa's largest country.

Ould Abbas praised Bouteflika's record as a leader since winning the presidency in 1999 and bringing a cautious peace to a North African country riven by years of insurgency.

No other presidential candidates have emerged because they are waiting to see whether Bouteflika will run.
At least two people were killed and 20 others were injured Saturday after a van drove into a crowd of pedestrians in front of a popular bar in the German city of Muenster, police said.

The driver of the van shot himself to death following the crash, police spokesman Andreas Bode told reporters. Investigators said they saw no immediate links to terror. They initially announced three other people were killed in the crash before revising the number to two.

The driver's identity was not released but Herbert Reul, the interior minister of North Rhine-Westphalia state, where Muenster is located, said the driver was a German citizen.

Police said they were investigating reports that other perpetrators may have escaped the scene after the crash.

Officers previously said they were investigating a suspicious package found inside the van, but German police later tweeted that the vehicle was determined to be safe. Police had said the main reason the area was cordoned off was due to the suspicious object.

While authorities are still in the early stages of the investigation, Reul said "at the moment, nothing speaks for there being any Islamist background," but he said they were investigating all possibilities.

The driver is believed to be a middle-aged German man who had psychological issues. The suspect's apartment was being searched by police for possible explosives.

The van crashed into people sitting in front of the popular Kiepenkerl bar in the city's historic downtown area. Bode said six of the 20 injured were in critical condition.

Police in Muenster have asked citizens to "avoid the area near the Kiepenkerl pub" as authorities investigate the incident.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she is "deeply shocked by the terrible events in Muenster."

Merkel said in a statement, "Everything conceivable is being done to investigate the crime and to support the victims and their relatives. My thanks go to all the responders at the scene."

Police said it was too early to speculate the motive of the crash but they were investigating.

Muenster, a university city, has about 300,000 residents. The city's center was crowded due to the nice weather.

Fox News' Elizabeth Zwirz and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The decision to rename a major road bridge linking England and Wales after Prince Charles has drawn a royal storm of opposition from anti-monarchists and Welsh nationalists.

The government announced this week that the Second Severn Crossing is to be rebranded the Prince of Wales Bridge. Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns said the change was a fitting tribute to the heir to the throne for his "decades of continued, dedicated service to our nation."

But the news annoyed some in Wales, who said they weren't consulted. Leanne Wood, leader of the Welsh nationalist party Plaid Cymru, tweeted: "Is this a late April fool joke?"

Graham Smith of anti-monarchy group Republic accused the government of making "a unilateral decision that will irritate people in England and Wales for years to come."
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Germany's justice minister has applauded a court's decision to free former Catalonian leader Carles Puigdemont on bail, two weeks after his arrest in Germany.

Katarina Barley told daily Sueddeutsche on Saturday the judges' decision was "absolutely right" and what she'd expected.

Spain is seeking Puigdemont's extradition for rebellion and misuse of public funds in organizing an unauthorized referendum last year on Catalonia's independence from Spain.

The German court decided the charge of rebellion did not warrant extradition, because the accusation isn't punishable under German law. Puigdemont can still be extradited on the less serious charge of misuse of funds.

Barley said it was now up to Spain to prove their embezzlement charges against Puigdemont, which she said "won't be easy."
North Korea has called disgraced former South Korean President Park Geun-hye a "traitor" responsible for "extra-large hideous corruption," in its first reaction to the sentencing of Park to 24 years in prison on corruption charges.

The insults carried by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on Saturday came a day after the Seoul Central District Court found Park guilty on a variety of charges, including bribery, extortion and abuse of power. She had been under arrest since March last year.

The relations between the Koreas were terrible while the conservative Park was in office as she took a hard line against the North over its nuclear and missile tests.

For years, North Korea's state media used extremely violent and sexist language to criticize Park.
Pakistan's prime minister says Afghanistan has accepted his offer to revive stalled peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban.

Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said war is not the solution to the decades-long conflict in Afghanistan. His remarks Saturday came a day after he visited Kabul and met with the Afghan leadership.

Pakistan has praised Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani's overture to the Taliban in which he offered to recognize the radical religious group as a political party. The Taliban have not officially responded but have reiterated their demand to talk to the U.S. before holding talks with Kabul.

Pakistan hosted the first direct peace talks between Kabul and the Taliban in 2015 but those talks ended when Kabul announced death of Taliban founder Mullah Mohammed Omar.
The United Nations mission in Mali says one Nigerien peacekeeper has been killed in an attack against U.N. forces in the northern city of Gao.

Friday's deadly attack was the second in two days by Islamic extremists against U.N. forces in the West African nation.

The U.N. says two gunmen opened fire on a U.N. vehicle in Gao. There was no immediate claim of responsibility, though a number of extremist groups are active in the area.

On Thursday, two peacekeepers were killed at a U.N. camp in Aguelhok in the northern Kidal region.

More than 100 U.N. peacekeepers have been killed by "hostile acts" since their deployment to Mali in 2013.

The U.N. secretary-general has called on Malian authorities to investigate and bring perpetrators to justice.
Greetings, No doubt, there is a lot to be concerned about this year; however, 2020 has also been quite a year for recorded music. Let u...
Galveston, TX (77553)

Today

Windy with thunderstorms, some with heavy rain during the morning followed by occasional showers this afternoon. High 83F. Winds SSE at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of rain 100%. 1 to 2 inches of rain expected. Locally heavy rainfall possible..

Tonight

Considerable cloudiness with occasional rain showers. Low 79F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 50%.
(TNS) - In the wake of the Parkland, Fla. school shootings, a new Ohio law could open the door for tax dollars earmarked for school safety to also be used to proactively intervene with troubled students before they might walk into a classroom with a gun.Gov. John Kasich recently signed into law House Bill 24, which included a last-minute amendment allowing school districts to seek property tax levies that go beyond paying for metal detectors and security officers.At the urging of Sylvania Schools, the bill was amended to include a provision allowing the money to be spent on counseling and mental health treatment of the kind some argue could prevent such tragedies.Superintendent Adam Fineske stressed the school board has just begun discussions, and no decisions have been made.Following the Parkland shootings, the superintendent and two school board members met at Southview High School with state Sen. Randy Gardner (R., Bowling Green), who had successfully pushed for passage of legislation several years ago giving schools the security levy option.We feel that our schools are pretty safe, but we are seeing a big uptick in mental health needs, Mr. Fineske said. If we can get to them proactively, we might be able to stop school shootings from happening.In 2013, in the wake of the school shootings in Chardon near Cleveland and Sandy Hook in Connecticut, the General Assembly authorized Ohio school districts to ask taxpayers, via the ballot box, to pay more to finance school security and safety. Such levies would be subject to renewal every five years.Much of the debate when the original law was passed was on such things as secure building entrances, installing metal detectors and other physical barriers. But the law did not specifically spell out what it meant by safety and security.Sponsored by Rep. Tim Ginter (R., Salem), House Bill 24 deals primarily with changes to an existing tax exemption for property of veterans organizations and Medicaid provider rates.Mr. Gardner arranged to have the Sylvania Amendment added in the Senate to spell out what lawmakers mean by school safety and security  permanent improvements to buildings, hiring of safety personnel, training, mental health services, counseling, and other related but unspecified purposes.The House went along with the change.The senator admitted not many schools have taken advantage of its new taxing authority since it was enacted nearly five years ago.I dont think theres any question that this will encourage more schools to take another look at this option, Mr. Gardner said.Mr. Fineske said hes not sure how Sylvania district voters would respond to such a levy request.Thats the tricky question, he said. Obviously, I dont think anyone wants taxes to go up. But this is school safety. With the incident in Florida, violence has impacted communities like ours so immensely. We cant do what weve always done whenever theres been a school shooting.Mr. Gardner said this is a discussion that school districts will have at the local level with voters.School districts are required to have a lot of courses in math, English, Social Studies, and sciences, he said. Those are the things that have standardized testsI think mental health and counseling have become of more and more prominent concern.2018 The Blade (Toledo, Ohio)Visit The Blade (Toledo, Ohio) at www.toledoblade.comDistributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Barb Graff, Director, City of Seattle, Office of Emergency Management, shared this information:This June, I am taking a trip to Tampa to join my fellow emergency management leaders for the inaugural Emergency Management Leaders Conference (EMLC) at the Saddlebrook Resort . I will be spending two days - June 12th and 13th - with other like-minded industry professionals asking the big questions on how prepared our cities, states, companies and national government are for disaster, from both an action and a policy perspective.EMLC has been designed to attract and serve leadership from both the industry's public and private sectors through discussion and dialogue addressing primary areas of importance for both sectors involved in emergency management, disaster preparation, response, recovery and mitigation. We have helped develop a program you cannot miss. There will be so many powerful opportunities to achieve the most complete and efficient form of emergency management when we come together - public and private, federal and local, military/government and civilian - in June, and I invite you personally to join me. I hope to see you in Tampa this June!"I asked Barb what makes this new conference different from the existing events we have been to in the past. She shared that the focus is much more on the policy level, long-term issues, [I'll add wicked problems], so there are not a bunch of breakout sessions covering a wide range of topics. The Advisory Council is here. The conference organizer is a private company.Since this event is in Tampa, Florida, if I was still at King County OEM, I would not be able to attend, no matter who is paying for the travel and registration fees. We called it the Palm Tree Rule. If there are palm trees, you are not going!
The American landscape of broadband in rural areas is spotty at best. It is a picture covered with splotches of color. Some maps are covered with red indicating there is no service; and other maps are covered in blue where access can be found. In states like North and South Dakota, officials have done their best to give their populace fiber to the home.Then there are areas where the state government has worked hard to provide grants and a flexible network of private and local not-for-profit organizations to build out coverage slowly. An excellent example of this would be Minnesota where 117 providers have come together to build infrastructure in the name of economic development.Then there is the vibrant area of broadband build out that is headed by rural electric cooperatives. Congress passed the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to bring electricity to rural areas when privately owned companies were not building out to farms and ranches. The act allowed electricity to rural areas through cooperatives, many of which still exist today. These member-owned co-ops purchased power on a wholesale basis and electricity was distributed on a network of their building. Many government experts see this model as a potential saving grace for Internet in rural areas.According to a 2017 Federal Communications Commission92 percent of the total U.S. population has access to both fixed terrestrial services at 25 Mbps/3 Mbps and mobile LTE at speeds of 5 Mbps/1 Mbps. But for those living in rural areas, only 68.6 percent of Americans have access to both services, compared to 97.9 percent of urban dwellers.But there are still areas that have nothing to tether them to the modern world at all. These areas are not just rural, but geographically challenging to traverse and connect. Oregon is one of these states. Geographically the eastern part of the state is cut off from the coast by the Cascade Mountains.It is under these conditions that Chief Information Officer Alex Pettit went to bat to improve rural access in his state. In 2012, he found that the state was paying $11 million a year for access to the Internet, so he collaborated with four state universities to buy nearly 2,300 miles of fiber-optic cable, hoping to create a faster, cheaper public network running to areas across the state.He had also expected to offer that network to rural schools, public libraries and tribal reservations to create public-private partnerships to increase connectivity."Without access to broadband, we cannot drive new investments into Oregon," Pettit explained.To solidify his case and get state law behind him, he offered amendments to House Bill 4023 , relating to rural connectivity and the use of the state and university system's network to connect rural Oregon municipalities, where 43 school districts still lack a fiber-optic connection.On one-third or half the landmass of the state, people can't access the Internet," Pettit said. "The state is full of data centers, from Apple to Google, but there are 10 counties with 49 school districts without connectivity."Despite the best intentions of the state, the private provider industry feared the state would become direct competition. Middle-milers worried that the state would take their business and the last-mile providers also objected. So considerable was the opposition that 20 amendments were offered almost daily in a 35-day legislative session to limit what the CIO could accomplish."Ninety percent of our middle mile is controlled by a duopoly," Pettit said. "They complained that the state was overbuilding by creating our network." In fact, the state had only acquired its fiber because a middle mile provider had been unable to monetize it and sold cheaply as excess."We also proposed an amendment to allow public-private partnerships with the telecoms in underserved areas," he said. "We never envisioned or proposed to do something in the last mile. We were content to let the local ISP provide that."What he got in the end was the ability to connect government and university offices to the fiber network, with the limited ability to connect underserved municipalities, schools and reservations  as long as the state was not in direct competition with a telecommunications provider.While the Oregon CIO counts this as a win, his state still lacks coverage necessary to keep rural communities connected. He now says, though, that he thinks the rural parts of his state won't be connected unless something like the Rural Electrification Act is passed in Washington, D.C.In some ways, Christopher Mitchell, the director of the Community Broadband Networks Initiative for the Minneapolis-based Institute for Local Self-Reliance, agrees with Pettit."These are big challenges that call for another rural electrification administration approach. That is the scale of the problem," he said. "The reason we had initial rural electrification was because the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Administration, particularly a guy named Harold Ickes, who realized that the private sector would not bring good infrastructure to rural America, so they created all these co-ops."Ironically those rural electric cooperatives are building fiber networks in rural areas frequently without government help today. "If we wanted to improve rural access quickly we would focus on the electric and telephone co-ops in rural areas," he said. "Instead, the federal government is giving billions of dollars to AT&T and CenturyLink."Minnesota is making a success of pushing broadband out to its rural areas by collaborating with rural cooperatives, private providers, and a wireless pilot programs as well, said Danna MacKenzie, executive director of the Minnesota Office of Broadband Development.The state collaborates with multiplicity of providers to help it meet its goal of border-to-border coverage of 25 Mbps/3 Mbps by the year 2022. By 2026 the state hopes to supply all businesses and homes with access to at least one broadband provider of with download speeds of at least 100 Mbps/20 Mbps.The Office of Broadband Development also awards grants to providers for its border-to-border program. In 2017 the state legislature allocated $20 million for this program. The grants provide up to 50 percent of project development costs with a maximum grant of $5 million. These grants require the grantee to match the state's dollars. In the past four years, the state has laid out $85 million for broadband coverage.One of the strengths of the program, she says, is that it is a framework rather than a rigid plan. These providers all have different investments, different interests and different specialties, MacKenzie said. We have a system and a framework in place that welcomes all these different providers.Still, with all this activity surrounding broadband in the state, the issue of rural access is still a problem. Minnesota is ahead of the national average for connectivity, but 39 percent of rural residents have no access to high-speed Internet. Currently 202,000 households in rural areas, or 22 percent, lack access to fixed, nonmobile broadband service at the FCC standard, according to the Minneapolis Star "We are generally confident that if the state funded the state [grant] program at $35 million a year, we will hit our 2022 goal," she said.When the state began to talk about what she calls the federated model of broadband deployment, they had bi-partisan leadership from former Minnesota Gov. Timothy Pawlenty, a Republican, and Democrat Mark Dayton.And like Oregon, the private providers in Minnesota were worried that the state was fixing to take their business away. Industry was really concerned about this whole effort, MacKenzie said. They were concerned about additional layers of government oversight or regulatory burden. They resisted this for a long time.It wasnt until the decision was made to place the agency in the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development and separate from any regulatory agency that the private providers came on board.This meant we could play an advocacy role and an investment role separate from the regulatory agency. Once that happened, we tried to create a win for everyone, she said. "Right now, we have all our major industry groups on board as well with local government, the establishment of our state speed goals gave us our North Star, and it allowed everyone to buy in and have something to work towards.While MacKenzie believes that the state can hit the 2022 goal that has been outlined, she struggles with the thought of meeting the sweeping 2026 target with download speeds of at least 100 Mbps/20 Mbps. She is also intrigued by the idea of what small independent cooperatives could bring to the table to help achieve the states goals.Minnesota is looking at where there might be partnerships between our phone and electric cooperatives, allowing them the opportunity for each to bring their expertise to the table and getting things up and running much faster, she said.Some successes have already been seen with a partnership between an electricity and telephone provider in this space, she said.
Ferrari was silent after Liberty Media announced in Bahrain that it is pressing ahead with new engine rules and a budget cap for 2021.

Earlier, president Sergio Marchionne - who was not present for Friday's key meeting - had warned that changes like those might result in Ferrari quitting the sport.

And amid rumours Liberty's budget ceiling will be $150 million per team, Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff agreed that a number like that would be "unworkable".

Mercedes team chairman Niki Lauda agreed: "It would mean cutting many jobs, which is something we can't do in such a short time."

A Ferrari spokesperson in Bahrain said the Maranello based team has no comment.

Struggling former great Williams, though, welcomed the proposals.

"Not to say that we were on the brink or anywhere close, but with the way the sport is structured today Williams' survival into the medium and long-term was looking pretty bleak," said deputy boss Claire Williams.

"Everything they (Liberty) presented from revenue redistribution to cost caps is absolutely everything that we want to see from 2021 and beyond," she added.

However, Liberty's F1 sporting boss Ross Brawn admitted that what was proposed on Friday was more of a starting point than a fait accompli.

"The teams need to digest it now and then the discussion proper will start," he said in Bahrain.

But Red Bull team boss Christian Horner said time is tight, and he is sceptical Liberty can push through its agenda.

"It's ambitious," he admitted.

"There are lots of big topics - engines, prize fund and budget caps - but the thing is how are going to achieve it?"

The next meeting will take place just after the Chinese grand prix, when the strategy group gets together on April 17. Marchionne is slated to attend.

(GMM)
Bahrain GP 2018

Saturday Team Quotes

Pierre Gasly, Bahrain GP 2018  RV Press

Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport

Valtteri Bottas (3rd, 1:28.124): "It's disappointing not to be in the first row. We've made some good progress through the weekend, but Ferrari was quicker today. We definitely have work to do at this type of circuits and in these kind of conditions. I think we have the right set-up of the car for the race, but it's difficult to estimate the race pace. I think it's going to be really closely matched between Ferrari, Red Bull and us, so it should be an interesting race. I learned a lot about tyre management last year at this track that I think I can use this year. We'll definitely go for it tomorrow and hopefully Lewis can also come back to get some good points so we can keep the pressure on Ferrari."

Lewis Hamilton (4th, 1:28.220): "Today wasn't the best of days and tomorrow is going to be one of the hardest races for us in some time. We've been trying to get ahead of the Ferraris, but it has been tough, they just had the pace all weekend. It wasn't the greatest of laps from my side and Ferrari had the edge as they often do in these hotter conditions. The goal for tomorrow is damage limitation. I've got the Soft tyre, so I should be able to go longer - it's going to be interesting to see, there's a couple of different strategies tomorrow. I'll try and eke out every last bit of power and strength from this car. I don't know what we are going to be able to achieve tomorrow, but I will give it everything I've got and hope that I can do something."

James Allison, Technical Director: "Although we made a small step forward relative to our performance yesterday, we were disappointed to learn this afternoon that it was not enough to compete on level terms with Ferrari. However, we know from Friday's long runs in practice that we have good tyre degradation, and there is every reason to expect a close race tomorrow, especially for Valtteri who will start from the clean side of the grid. With Lewis, we will need to be quite imaginative with the strategy to allow him to recover from the gearbox penalty - but this is a circuit where overtaking is possible, although never easy, and which will offer opportunities to make progress by starting on the soft compound."

Toto Wolff: "This was a difficult qualifying session for us but about what we expected after practice yesterday and today. Ferrari have always been strong in the hot conditions and they confirmed that with their one-two in qualifying, with pace that was just out of reach for both Valtteri and Lewis. We have said through the winter that the performance between the top teams is very close and this result simply confirmed it. Like always, we need to keep our feet on the ground, stay humble and keep working. The long runs in practice were very close between Ferrari, Red Bull and ourselves, so there is still much to play for tomorrow. But it's clear from today that Ferrari will start as favourites."

Scuderia Ferrari

Sebastian Vettel (1st, 1:27.958):

Kimi Raikkonen (2nd, 1:28.101):

Maurizio Arrivabene, Team Principal:

Aston Martin Red Bull Racing

Daniel Ricciardo (5th, 1:28.398): "That was really close. Part of me is disappointed that we are so close but still at the tail of the lead pack in Qualifying, but I don't think I could really have done much better. Lewis was still a couple of tenths ahead of me. There was maybe a tenth left on the table but I think the Mercedes still had some extra pace. It's almost frustrating to be so close but actually it's encouraging that the top five cars are within about four tenths. I'm always excited for the race. Practice and Qualifying are ok but Sunday is my favourite day of the week. Yesterday our race pace didn't look bad but I think our car in FP2 wasn't as good as it is now, so it's encouraging to know that our car should be even better tomorrow and hopefully it puts us in the fight. We will start in fourth place now with Lewis's penalty so I think it is going to be exciting. Hopefully, in 24 hours we can do a pretty cool interview after a good race. I'm also pleased for Pierre, Toro Rosso and Honda today. Not taking anything away from Pierre, but in my first year at Toro Rosso I also qualified sixth here and he has done the same. I can see him doing the interviews and he is super excited, so it's good for the team and I'm happy for him."

Max Verstappen (15th, No Time): "I was very surprised at what happened in Q1 so I wanted to try and understand the cause before commenting on it. What we can see in the data is a sudden power increase, just like an on/off switch. It looks like roughly 150 Horse Power was suddenly switched on during the corner which of course is not easy to anticipate, this caught me out and meant I lost the rear and spun. The damage to the car was just the front left corner so we don't have any major concerns for tomorrow. I was disappointed to crash not just because it ruined Qualifying but also as the car is looking very quick here so has made the job tomorrow hard. At least at this track you can overtake. My race pace looks good so if I can have a clean first stint and get past a lot of cars it could still be an exciting race. You always need a bit of luck so a safety car to bunch up the field would help and make the race open again. We have a quick car so that is always good, let's see what I can do tomorrow."

Christian Horner, Sporting Director: "After a Qualifying session with plenty of action, it's interesting to see the top five cars qualify within four tenths of each other. Daniel got the best out of the car today to finish in fifth, which will become fourth on the grid with the penalty for Lewis. Max who was doing another lap in Q1 gathering information on engine settings unfortunately lost the rear, the reasons for which we will have to look at, but frustratingly it ended his Qualifying early. However, the damage is superficial and hopefully from 15th on the grid he will put his head down and make some progress through the field as our race pace has looked encouraging here. It is set up to be an exciting race tomorrow."

Sahara Force India F1 Team

Esteban Ocon (9th, 1:29.874): "I'm feeling pretty pleased with our performance tonight. We are back in Q3 after a huge effort by the team over the last two weeks. We did a huge amount of work yesterday  testing, learning and understanding things on the car  and we can already see the improvement compared to Melbourne. It's a good sign for the future and it shows the strength of this team even when we are under pressure. The car felt strong tonight and I think we are in good shape for tomorrow. Points are the target and we have good straight-line speed and decent race pace."

Sergio Perez (12th, 1:30.156): "I am happy with what we achieved today. We made some good progress and we turned out to be closer to the front of the midfield than I thought we would be. I missed out on making Q3 by a very small margin, but it's not too bad to be starting from P12. Grid position is not as important here as in other places so there is still plenty to fight for tomorrow. I think we can score some points and it's definitely a big opportunity for us. It's going to be a long race and I think tyre management will be very important so hopefully that will play to our advantage."

Otmar Szafnauer, Chief Operating Officer: "It has been a very intense couple of weeks working behind the scenes since Melbourne to understand the car better and make improvements. Tonight's results suggest we are moving in the right direction with both drivers showing competitive pace in the very close midfield battle. We are traditionally stronger in racing conditions and with Esteban starting from P8 and Checo in P12, we have a good opportunity to score points tomorrow."

Williams Martini Racing

Sergey Sirotkin (18th, 1:31.414): "I think we could have hoped for a bit more. The first lap I did was a really good lap. I don't think we could squeeze out any more from there. The second lap with the second set of tyres was strongly affected by a very messy outlap where I was fighting three or four cars for position. It was really messy preparation, I started the lap just behind a Sauber, and even then I knew the tyres and the brakes were not there. I almost managed to beat my previous lap-time, which shows we could potentially go another three or four tenths quicker, but I don't know if that would have moved us any further ahead. I think, compared to Melbourne, we actually did a better job, in some terms we maximised the performance of the car. We are moving ahead in one area, but we are missing something. I'm happy because we're moving ahead and we are not making the same mistakes as we were in Melbourne. We didn't see it in the results, but for sure the way we are working is better and personally I'm happy with that."

Lance Stroll (20th, 1:31.503): "It has been a really hard weekend. It was disappointing for the team with both cars out in Q1 and it was not ideal. A lot of things are wrong. The balance isn't there, the grip is not high enough and we need more speed, so we need everything to go quicker. Last year in qualifying, my lap was four tenths better than it was today. In the race, I hope we can go forward, but we don't have the package today to compete where we want to compete."

Paddy Lowe, Chief Technical Officer: "That's not where we want to be starting the race but we weren't quick enough today for a number of reasons, some of them we understand, some of them we don't. We need to go away and do some more work. The race will be difficult from these grid positions but as always we'll do our very best as a team to see what we can achieve tomorrow."

Renault Sport Formula One Team

Nico Hulkenberg (8th, 1:29.570): "I would prefer to be fifth, but in Q3 things seemed to slip from our hands a little. My Q2 lap was wonderful, it was as good as it was going to get, but in Q3 it didn't feel quite there. I couldn't repeat the lap time otherwise we'd be in fifth. I think we'll start seventh and we have every chance for a good result from there tomorrow. Our race-pace was similar to our rivals, but our target is to beat them."

Carlos Sainz (10th, 1:29.986): "I've been chasing car balance the whole weekend and I wasn't fully comfortable with the car during qualifying, finding it difficult to put a perfect lap together tonight. However, I've been happier with the long runs and there are a lot more possibilities during the race, especially with the tyre degradation that we've seen at the moment. That opens up a lot more windows so we'll be ready for it. I'm convinced we can move up the grid tomorrow and have a good one."

Alan Permane, Sporting Director: "We're looking at the strategic options... It was relatively straightforward up until Q3, however we weren't able to extract the expected pace improvement in the final session so that's something we're looking at. Overall, the R.S.18 is working very well for the second race running and we're learning more about it every time. We're happy with our long-run pace from Friday and it will be a different race to Melbourne in terms of tyre degradation, which will be a lot higher here. We're looking at the strategic options."

Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda

Pierre Gasly (6th, 1:29.329): "My best qualifying in Formula 1! It's been an amazing daythe team has been working very hard since the beginning of the weekend and it's good to see this effort repaid. I felt really good in the car so I'm very happy. Since the first lap in FP1 I felt we were pretty fast, but we knew we had to put everything together to get into Q3 and we made it! It's pretty mega! Hopefully I can get the best start possible tomorrow - we saw in FP2 that our long run pace was good so let's see! Of course we expect the front runners like Hamilton and Verstappen to come back quickly, but I think we will be in the fight with Renault and Haas hopefully, so we need to work really hard tonight and make sure we have a car as fast as today and aim to score good points in the race."

Brendon Hartley (11th, 1:30.105): "There's a bit of deja vu from Melbourne, I just missed out on Q2 there, and in Bahrain I just missed out on Q3! We've definitely taken a step in the right direction as yesterday we were really on the back foot from our side of the garage. The team brought an update here which was actually worth a large amount of time. It's an amazing job from Toro Rosso to bring so much performance from the aero side to the track. I only got the new package for the first time today so I was a bit behind the eight ball but, at the end, I was very close to Q3 that I have to be happy anyway - I think everyone's done a great job. Unfortunately, I used three sets of tyres in the first part of qualifying  with hitting the bird and breaking my front wing. I don't know how the bird is, but my front wing was destroyed! It was really close todayit's a shame I made a small mistake on the last corner!"

James Key, Technical Director: "We came to this event after quite a bit of work since the race in Australia on chassis setup and quite a lot of new aero developments, both of these seem to have worked well and given the steps in performance we hoped for. We ran the aero package and chassis setup items with Pierre on Friday and got some useful data and feedback, moving Brendon to the same approach today which had a similarly positive effect. It's good to see we're back on track compared to the first race and closer to where we want to be, we have a better basis to move forwards from now. I'd like to congratulate Pierre for his first Q3  he did a fantastic job today - he's been comfortable with the car all weekend and this translated to a strong performance this evening. It is a very tight field right now so to put the laps together like he did was a great effort from him. Similarly, well done to Brendon for a good performance today, it's a shame he missed out by less than a tenth to get into Q3; he only had one run on new tyres in Q2 and unfortunately it was just shy of the time needed to get through, but nonetheless he's made really good progress today and I think we start tomorrow in a good position with both cars."

Toyoharu Tanabe, Honda F1 Technical Director: "A strong performance from both drivers, with Pierre getting into Q3 and Brendon just missing out on the top ten by a tiny margin. The changes made to the aero package have certainly worked and this circuit seems to suit us better than Melbourne. All the sessions so far have gone smoothly from our side and that always helps. Today's performance is a nice boost for the team  well done to everyone -and now we will ensure we are as well prepared as possible for tomorrow night's race."

Haas F1 Team

Kevin Magnussen (7th, 1:29.358): "It went well and I'm very happy with today. The tires here have been really difficult to switch on. You either don't switch them on or you overheat them. It's a very narrow window. To get that sorted for qualifying and find a good rhythm all the way through the session consistently  it felt good. I'm happy. It's a little bit annoying to see one car ahead by one-, two-hundredths of a second. You could always find a little more, but then so could they. I think we got everything out of it today. Our race pace still isn't a given, but it's looking good. It wasn't bad on Friday, so we're positive, but we're also aware those tires are pretty tricky, so we need to get them in the window, then we'll be fine."

Romain Grosjean (16th, 1:30.530): "I don't really know what happened. We had a very difficult out lap with a lot of traffic and just no grip. There's not much to say except that I had very little grip and couldn't do any better. We need to understand that, but I'm disappointed. We made a lot of changes last night, so I'm hoping that will pay off for our race pace tomorrow."

Guenther Steiner, Team Principal: "It wasn't a great qualifying, but it was still a good one. We have proven again that the car is fast. Unfortunately  and it could only be us  that you miss Q2 with the same time to the guy that finished 15th. That bad luck will end, but we also need not to blame it on only being unlucky. Romain had a little bit of traffic, and he didn't get his tires to work on his out lap in that traffic. I think we're still in a strong position to score points with both cars tomorrow. After not a perfect run up to qualifying, we go away finishing seventh and starting sixth due to Hamilton's penalty. I'm looking forward to tomorrow to get points."

McLaren F1 Team

Fernando Alonso (13th, 1:30.212): "Today wasn't great  our qualifying performance was worse than we expected. It was okay in free practice, but then in qualifying we lost speed and we were struggling from Q1. Our one-lap performance is not yet optimised  we cannot extract the maximum from the tyres over one lap, and we need to find the reasons why. Our race pace has been better than our pace over a single lap so far, and yesterday during the long runs on old tyres we felt quite competitive. This morning, too, on a hot track the car felt good and we seem to take good care of the rear tyres, which is going to be an advantage in the race. But, obviously our starting position is compromised already and we are quite far back, so we'll see what we can do. Having said that, not making it into Q3 isn't the end of the world. We didn't make it there in Australia either, but on Sunday we both scored points, so hopefully we can repeat that here. This is a demanding circuit, tyre degradation is high and reliability is a concern, so we need to stay focussed and take advantage of the strategy. The free choice of tyres now gives us some advantage and we'll try to maximise that. The race is tomorrow and that's when the points are given."

Stoffel Vandoorne (14th, 1:30.525): "We all expected a bit more from today. We had good sessions yesterday in FP1 and FP2 and I was feeling very confident in the car. We know we're in this very compact midfield where every tenth is very important for us and makes all the difference, so we need to keep improving. With a step forward today we could have fought for Q3, but we knew it was going to be tough. In these harsh conditions things can change quickly and it's really unfortunate we couldn't get there. We didn't make the step forward that we needed to today, so we need to keep pushing and there's a lot of work to do. But, I think we can race tomorrow. We had good pace during the long runs on Friday and the balance was pretty good. This is a circuit where strategy and tyres are quite complex, so there are some possibilities. We need to be opportunistic and, like in Melbourne, try to benefit from other people's mistakes. We have a free choice of tyres tomorrow, and I think around here it could be quite interesting. Tyre degradation has been key at this track in the past and there are a number of different strategies possible. We've seen some good races here and that's what we're going after tomorrow."

Eric Boullier, Racing Director: "Although qualifying was the tough challenge that we predicted in what is an extremely tight midfield pack, our performance today was certainly below our expectations. Both drivers didn't feel as comfortable or confident in the car as they were yesterday, which is something we need to analyse overnight with our engineers. We recognise that the teams around us often make a performance step on Saturday and this is something we must address. However, we know that the race pace of our package tends to be more positive than our speed over one lap, and with a free choice of tyres we believe we can fight for points on Sunday. Now, we'll work hard to analyse all the data from today and put everything we can into setting up the cars, so that we can move further up the field in tomorrow' race."

Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team

Marcus Ericsson (17th, 1:31.063): "Today we decided with the team to focus more on the race preparation and FP3 was a really good session; we were really in the fight here. In qualifying as well, we were fighting in the midfield. Unfortunately, we weren't able to make that extra step up towards the end of Q1 as our competitors did. It's a bit disappointing to be out in Q1 because it felt like Q2 may have been possible  but at the end, it feels good to see that we are making progress. We worked a lot on race set-up and I am expecting us to be fighting in the midfield during the race tomorrow, so let's see what is possible."

Charles Leclerc (19th, 1:31.420): "We had a good Friday, but today was a little bit more tricky. The balance of the car was not quite how I wanted it to be, but I think that I still have some work to do in adapting to this type of car. In particular, I have to learn how to drive with more understeer, which I am struggling with a bit at the moment. In the end it was a bit frustrating, but I will definitely learn from this experience and I will do my best to come back stronger in tomorrow's race. The pace we showed yesterday is promising, so it will be important to make a good start and to recover positions."




Haiti - Education : 34 sanctioned schools will no longer work





Friday in a press conference at the local ministry in Delmas 83, Meniol Jeune the Director General of the Ministry of Education announced as part of the fight against corruption within the education system, the cancellation of the license or permit of 34 schools in contravention with the Ministry.



According to Jeune, this decision is justified by the fact that these schools did not respect the conditions required by the Ministry for the operation of any school. Explaining that after a long process of supervision and investigation at all levels, the Ministry has come to the conclusion that these schools exist only in name, having no more effective seat.



Recall that these 34 schools come from a list of 41 schools, convened on April 2 and 3, 2018 https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-23958-icihaiti-education-the-ministry-raises-the-tone-and-convenes-41-school-principals.html . Only 9 officials from the schools concerned appeared, 2 of which were not at all convincing said Meniol Jeune, adding that other similar sanctions will be taken against any other identified case, inviting officers to report all cases of suspicious schools specifying that depending on the nature of the case, the judicial authorities will be seized for further action.



In addition, the Director Jeune took the opportunity to follow up on the state of preparation of the state exams, stating that everything was under control and that preparations were well under way for the examination s:



Beginning June 11, 2018, the beginning of the 9th grade exams, the Normal Schools of Teachers (ENI) and the Family Education Centers;



The single baccalaureate will follow from June 25 to 28;



The permanent baccalaureate is planned, either in the week of June 18 or June 25, according to the number of candidates registered after the registrations expected from April 9 to 20 in progress.



See also :

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-23958-icihaiti-education-the-ministry-raises-the-tone-and-convenes-41-school-principals.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-23343-haiti-flash-more-than-400-schools-suspected-of-fraud-threatened-with-sanctions.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-23777-haiti-education-104-schools-in-the-west-threatened-with-sanctions.html



HL/ HaitiLibre






















Hawaii: House Committee Passes Trigger Modification Ban

From NRA-ILA, April 6, 2018

On Wednesday, April 4th, the Hawaii House Committee on Judiciary passed Senate Bill 2046 with amendments. The Committee added SB 2046 to their agenda less than an hour before the scheduled hearing. SB 2046 will now head to the House floor for further consideration. Please contact your state Representative and urge them to OPPOSE Senate Bill 2046. Click the Take Action button below to contact your state Representative.

Senate Bill 2046 , sponsored by Senator Karl Rhoads (D-13), would make it a crime to manufacture, import, sell, gift, lend, or possess certain trigger modifications. It contains vague language that could criminalize firearm modifications that are commonly done by law-abiding gun owners to make their firearms more suitable for self-defense, competition, hunting, or even overcoming disability.
Large oil spill off Borneo coast ignites and kills at least four [Updated]

An Indonesian oil company has denied responsibility for a 4km-long oil slick off the coast of Borneo, which appears to be spreading and contaminating new stretches of coastline and local fisheries. At least four fishermen died in Balikpapan Bay on March 31 when part of the slick ignited. A fifth fisherman is missing.

Stock image

The general manager of the nearby Pertamina Unit V Refinery said the company's divers had not been able to find any pipeline leaks, and that the spill had nothing to do with its refinery or undersea pipeline.



Fishermen in the town of Balikpapan, in the Indonesian province of East Kalimantan, said they would hold a protest on April 4 over the lack of responsibility shown by the Indonesian Government and the state-owned oil company Pertamina.



The fishermen and environmentalists were sceptical about Pertamina's claim it was not responsible for the slick, given the proximity of the slick to the pipeline.



On April 2, officials in Balikpapan declared a state of emergency over the spill. According to the Jakarta Post, city officials warned residents to be extra careful when spending time at affected beaches near Balikpapan Bay, adding that they should not smoke near the area for fear of igniting the oil.



The city has also distributed masks to protect local residents from the smell of fuel and 1,200 people have complained of nausea and breathing problems after the incident.



The Semayang Port Authority is coordinating with private oil company PT Chevron Indonesia and state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina to clean up the spill.



Update: On April 4, Pertamina said that it had determined that the leak had come from one of its undersea crude oil pipelines, local media said. A Pertamina spokesman said that the company was still calculating how much crude had leaked into the sea.



"When the leakage was first detected, we closed the distribution line of crude oil from Lawe-lawe to Balikpapan straightaway to prevent it from getting worse," spokesman Togar MP said, according to the Jakarta Post.



Indonesian media reports had previously quoted Pertamina as denying wrongdoing, saying that tests of the waters from the bay had determined that the substance was marine fuel oil, not the crude which is carried in its pipelines in the area.


Chinese State Councilor and Minister of National Defense Wei Fenghe speaks at the seventh Moscow Conference on International Security in Moscow, Russia, April 4, 2018. (Xinhua/Wu Zhuang)

MOSCOW, April 4 (Xinhua) -- China is willing to improve defense cooperation with various countries and create a win-win and benefit-sharing global security environment, Chinese State Councilor and Minister of National Defense Wei Fenghe said Wednesday.

China is ready to work with other countries to promote the concept of common security and resolve disputes through peaceful means, Wei said at the seventh Moscow Conference on International Security.

Peace and development are an irreversible trend of our time, and so are multi-polarization and globalization, he said, adding that the idea of cooperation and a win-win situation is widely embraced, and mutual trust and inclusiveness are the correct approach to dealing with international affairs.

At the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2017 and this year's "two sessions", President Xi Jinping demonstrated China's resolution to pursue a path of peaceful development and promote the building of a community with a shared future for humanity, Wei said.

China is committed to being a contributor to world peace, a propeller of global growth and a preserver of international order, the defense minister added.

As for Chinese-Russian ties, Wei said the two countries' comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination is "as stable as Mount Tai," adding that strengthened cooperation between Chinese and Russian militaries has contributed to regional and global peace and stability.

During his visit, Wei also held a formal meeting with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.
DAMASCUS, April 6 (Xinhua) -- The Syrian government forces launched a ground offensive on the district of Douma in the capital Damascus' Eastern Ghouta countryside on Friday, after the breakdown of talks on the evacuation of the militants and their families toward northern Syria.

The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the Syrian forces, backed by Russian airstrikes, unleashed a ground offensive on the Islam Army in the Douma district from two directions.

A total of 300 airstrikes and aerial bombardment targeted Douma on Friday, a day after the fourth batch of the Islam Army rebels and their families refused to leave Douma as planned in the agreement reached recently between the rebel group and the Russian and Syrian sides.

The pro-rebel watchdog group said intense battles are raging between the Islam Army and the Syrian government forces, with heavy shelling from the Syrian forces and the Russians on Douma.

The Syrian forces launched their offensives on Douma from the Rehan farmland area east of Douma and the town of Mesraba southwest of Douma, it added.

It placed the death toll of the airstrikes and shelling in Douma at 32.

Meanwhile, state news agency SANA said the Republican Guard of the Syrian army started entering the farmlands of Douma on Friday, accusing the rebels of undermining the agreement by not evacuating the district, firing mortar shells on the capital and refusing to release kidnapped people.

The Syrian forces have entered the farmlands on the outskirts of Douma, said SANA, adding that four people were killed by rebels' mortar attack on Damascus on Friday.

Meanwhile, the state-run al-Ekhbariah TV said the Syrian Air Force and artillery started pounding the defense lines of the Islam Army as well as the mortar launchers before entering Douma's farmlands from several directions.

In an earlier report, the Observatory said the Islam Army was discussing a new deal with Russians and the Syrian side after suspending evacuation and release of kidnapped people.

According to the report, the Islam Army put forward new suggestions to the Russians, mainly about remaining in Douma with their weapons.

The new proposition also touches upon the situation of the Islam Army in Douma and other pockets where they still have a presence such as the Eastern Qalamoun region and southern Damascus.

Afterward, the Observatory released what it called was the Russian response to the Islam Army's demands.

The Russians urged the militants to surrender their heavy weaponry in a three-day timeframe.

Those who lay down their arms will have his record cleared and will be enlisted in the local police force the Russians will form in Douma.

After clearing the records of the militants, a police battalion will be formed in Douma from the fighters of the Islam Army, which will receive Russian-made weapons and take part in the battles against the al-Qaida-linked militants as well as the Islam State (IS) south of Damascus.

But the negotiations apparently didn't reach a good end, which explains the renewed attacks.

A day earlier, the fourth batch, which was supposed to leave, was suspended, and buses left Douma for the nearby highway to wait for a decision to be made regarding the evacuation process.

Activists said the Islam Army rebels are having difficulties when crossing to areas under the Turkish control in northern Syria on their way to Jarablus, a city in northern Syria near the Turkish border, which is the designated destination of the Islam Army.

SANA blamed the suspension of the evacuation on the inner conflict among Islam Army rebels.

A total of 2,963 militants and their families evacuated Douma in three batches over the past few days under a deal concluded between the Islam Army and the Syrian government forces under a Russian mediation.

Douma is the last rebel-held area in Eastern Ghouta, after other towns in the sprawling countryside have seen the evacuation of 43,000 rebels and their families toward Idlib Province in northwestern Syria.

The Syrian army launched a massive operation in February on the rebels in Eastern Ghouta and secured the evacuation of 150,000 civilians who were hosted in government-run shelters until the situation settles in their areas in Eastern Ghouta for their return.

SANA said on Friday that 50,000 of the people of Eastern Ghouta returned to their homes.
President Donald Trump, a constant critic of what he calls "fake news," will skip the White House Correspondents' Dinner for a second year in a row.

White House Correspondents' Association president Margaret Talev said in a statement Friday that the "White House has informed us that the president does not plan to participate in this year's dinner but that he will actively encourage members of the executive branch to attend."

Trump had said he "probably won't do it" in an interview on the "Bernie and Sid" radio show on 77 WABC Radio that was taped Thursday and aired Friday.

Saying the press is "so bad" and "so fake," Trump said: "I want to get it straightened out with the press before I do it."

Talev said White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders will attend to represent the administration at the head table.


In 2008s It Might Get Loud documentary, Jack White tells The Edge and Jimmy Page how he uses guitars that are a little bit bent and out of tune, I want to battle it, I want it to be a struggle. Imagine a doctor, just for arguments sake, adopting a similar approach, Yes, I could have operated using the proper medical equipment, but I kept it real by going at you with this spoon.

Sometimes the idea of Jack White  the Son House covering analogue blues nut, the vinyl fiend who, admirably, put the money up for the always interesting-at-least Third Man Records  has been better than the thing itself. He has always, whether it be as a White Stripe, a Raconteur, a Dead Weather, or a solo artist, produced a nifty line in singles, but he has tended to paint himself into a corner with those self-imposed restrictions. Boarding House Reach is his attempt to break out, with wildly varying results.

The single Connected By Love, an industrial pulse giving way to a storming, almost gospel chorus is a promising introduction. Why Does A Dog?, which follows, is a bit of a dirge but its at least recognisable as a song. Corporation features prominent conga drums over snatches of Whites guitar, calling to mind the Incredible Bongo Bands version of Apache, the cut that gave birth to a thousand hip-hop records, which is probably the point.
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Jennifer Segala opened her real estate office in 1998. It has since grown to 23 employees with listings in four states.

Steepleview Realty Celebrates 20 Years



Segala bought the building at 63 Park St. a year after opening the company. She now has offices in North Adams, Pittsfield and Williamstown. ADAMS, Mass.  Steepleview Realty celebrated 20 years in the Berkshires on Thursday.

Jennifer Segala started her business venture on April 1, 1998, and ever since has been going strong.

"I was just a young girl with a lot of gumption and I am just as ambitious as I was 20 years ago," Segala said at a small party held at her flagship office at 63 Park St.

Segala started at One Commercial Place but then purchased the Park Street building within a year of starting her business. Now Steepleview Realty has offices in North Adams and Pittsfield.

She said Steepleview Realty is a tightknit group and out of the 23 employees, three have been with her from the very beginning. Another third of the agents have been with her for 10 years.

"That is the unique thing," she said. "These agents have been with me a long time."

This makes Steepleview Realty one of the largest firms in the county. Its agents are licensed in Massachusetts, Vermont, New York and the state of Florida. The firm offers a wide range of listings, from single-family homes, land sales and condominiums to commercial properties and leasing opportunities.

Segala also operates the Gateway School of Real Estate, established in 1990. It offers courses for sales associates, brokers and continuing education credits. The school serves Berkshire County and Palm Beach and Martin counties in Florida.

It was Segala's first experiences working in real estate that informed her how she should run her own company.

"Most importantly I know what I didn't want to do. I have worked with other realty firms and everyone was out for themselves," she said. "They stole each other's [listings], and I didn't want that. That is why I created this one-team model."

Segala said the future is bright for Steepleview Realty and she is excited to bring on new young agents filled with excitement and energy.

"I always want to be part of this in some way but it's good to know there are younger agents coming on board so when the time comes we can pass the baton," she said. "We are going to keep doing what we are doing."
Court Ruling Paves Way For Berkshire Museum Art Sale

PITTSFIELD, Mass.  The Berkshire Museum can proceed with its planned sale of some 40 pieces of art after a Supreme Judicial Court ruling Thursday.

The ruling affirms the agreement the museum had reached with Attorney General Maura Healey in February which includes allowing the museum to sell Norman Rockwell's Shuffleton's Barbershop, provided it remains on display at the Norman Rockwell Museum for 18 months. That agreement allows the art sale to proceed but only until the museum hits $55 million.

The museum is seeking to sell the artwork at auction through Sotheby's and raise some $55 million to reinvest. The museum had been financially struggling and looks to renovate and create an endowment for long-term sustainability.

However, the announcement and the specific pieces of art the museum looked to sell triggered outrage among many in the community. Opponents said the pieces were local treasures that would end up in private collections. They hoped to halt the art sales so the pieces could still be displayed. There were numerous protests outside the museum and even Rockwell's three sons filed a suit in Berkshire Superior Court against the museum.

Healey joined the fight and filed, and received, an injunction to buy time for her to do an investigation. The sale had been tied up in litigation as both sides waited for the court to decide whether or not the sale could go forward. That decision came on Thursday from Justice David A. Lowy, reaffirming the agreement Healey had reached.

"The amici voiced serious concerns regarding, among other aspects of the sale, the effect on the museum's collection, oversight of the sale, and broader cultural impact on the residents of the Commonwealth, particularly Berkshire County. This court acknowledges those legitimate concerns," Lowy wrote.

"Based on the attorney general's investigation into the sale and her assent to the requested relief, the museum has satisfied its burden of establishing that it has become impossible or impracticable to administer the museum strictly in accordance with its charitable purpose, thus entitling the museum to relief under the doctrine of equitable deviation. Accordingly, the court allows the museum's request for equitable relief to sell the designated artwork."

Healey had spent some seven months investigating the museum's finances and ultimately determined that at least of the work would have to be sold.

"The museum's charitable purpose of adding in the study of art, natural science, and cultural history must be protected. The attorney general is that protector. She is the attorney for the people, including those who now oppose the sale. Following a comprehensive seven-month investigation into the museum's financial state and its plan to sell a portion of its collection to avoid insolvency, the attorney general concluded that 'the museum cannot practicably survive without lifting or amending the restrictions on at least some of the works of art to permit their sale,'" Lowy wrote.

"Not only has the attorney general determined that a limited sale of artwork is necessary, the attorney general will maintain an active role in overseeing the deaccession of the artwork to ensure that the public's interests are protected."

The ruling was a disappointment to local groups opposing the sale.

"[Save the Art -- Save the Museum] continues to oppose the sale of the Berkshire Museum's art treasures and its unrestricted use of the resulting funds. We regret the judge's disregard of the public trust in which the museum held its collections," wrote Leslie Ferrin on behalf of the Save the Art -- Save the Museum group.

"The impending sale will not only diminish Pittsfield as a city claiming to be of cultural import to Berkshire County, but will reverberate destructively for years through collections similarly held in trust throughout the state and country. As a group, we will make a more detailed statement after meeting in person to consider the loss to our community, its impact and future actions."

The opposing groups had questioned the museum's need to sell and the planned renovations to the building. But, museum officials had said they $1.1 million deficit in its budget. Last July, museum officials announced its plan to bring in an estimated $50 million through the sale and coupling that with a $10 million fundraising campaign. That $60 million would then pay for a renovation to the museum and create a $40 million endowment.

Board of Trustee Chairwoman Elizabeth McGraw praised the ruling in favor of the museum moving forward with its plan.

"This is great news for the people of Berkshire County and everyone who visits the Berkshire Museum for one-of-a-kind experiences in history, art, and science. We recognize this decision may not please those who have opposed the museum's plans. Still, we hope people will be able to move forward in a constructive way to help us secure and strengthen the future of this museum, at a time when our community needs it more than ever," McGraw wrote.

It isn't clear when the pieces of work will be sold but Sotheby's issued a statement saying it looked forward to working with the museum.

"We are very pleased that the court approved the agreement reached between The Berkshire Museum and the Massachusetts Attorney General. We look forward to working with the museum to ensure a bright future for the people of Pittsfield and western Massachusetts," Sotheby's said in a statement.




iciHaiti - Environment : Towards the construction of the 7th Plant Propagation Center





Thursday, Pierre Simon Georges, the Minister of Environment accompanied by the Director General of the Ministry Mrs. Nicole Yolette Altidor and the Deputy of the commune of Ennery Cholzer Chancy, visited the site that will host the 7th Center of Germplasm** and Plant Propagation of Upper Artibonite.



Note that the Department of Artibonite will host two Plant Propagation Centers one at Ennery for the Upper Artibonite and the other in the commune of Petite Riviere de l'Artibonite for Lower Artibonite.



That same day, executives of the Departmental Directorate of Southeast Environment conducted a visit to the Plant Propagation Center of the Department of Nippes https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-21931-haiti-agriculture-laying-the-foundation-stone-of-the-plant-propagation-center.html



Conducted by the Agronomist Arcene Bastien, Departmental Director of the South-East Environment, supported by the Coordinator of the Departmental Director Agronome Louverture Ostine, this mission was the opportunity for the members of the delegation to visit, observe, question and to learn from the experience of their Nippes colleagues on the construction and management of the Center of this department. In anticipation of the construction of the next South-East Center, the participants of this visit wanted to make the most of this experience.



The first Center was launched in July 2017 in Camp-Perrin (South department, Les Cayes district) https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-21531-haiti-environment-launch-of-a-central-nursery-in-camp-perrin.html



The second was launched in August 2017 at Fonds des Negres (Nippes department) https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-21931-haiti-agriculture-laying-the-foundation-stone-of-the-plant-propagation-center.html



The 3rd was launched at the beginning of October 2017 in Marfranc (department of Grand'Anse) https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-22274-haiti-agriculture-third-plant-propagation-center.html



The 4th was launched at the end of October 2017 in the 3rd section Aubert commune of Port-de-Paix (North) https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-22550-icihaiti-agriculture-laying-of-the-first-stone-of-the-4th-plant-propagation-center.html



The 5th was launched in December 2017 in Levy first communal section of Camp-Perrin (South) https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-22875-icihaiti-environment-inauguration-of-the-plant-propagation-center-south.html



The 6th was launched in February 2018 in Grand Pre (Quartier Morin) in the North https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-23471-icihaiti-environment-laying-the-foundation-stone-of-the-6th-plant-propagation-center.html



(**) Germplasm :

Qualifies any element derived from the plant capable of giving a new individual (DNA, seeds, cuttings etc.)



Note that at least 4 of these 8 centers are funded through cooperation: 1 by Taiwan (Republic of China) and 3 by the Federal Republic of Mexico. Regarding the other 4, the Government remains discreet about their funding...



IH/ iciHaiti


















USDA Issues Final Decision on California Federal Milk Marketing Order

Washington, DC - The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) published in the Federal Register a final decision to establish a Federal Milk Marketing Order (FMMO) for California. The proposed FMMO would incorporate the entire state of California. The final decision is based on the evidentiary record of a public hearing held in Clovis, Calif., from September to November 2015. A recommended decision regarding the proposed program was published Feb. 14, 2017.

USDA will conduct a referendum among dairy producers to determine whether they support the proposed FMMO. The referendum will be held from April 2, 2018 through May 5, 2018. USDA will mail ballot materials to all known eligible dairy producers supplying milk to the proposed marketing area. The FMMO would become effective if approved by two-thirds of the voting producers, or by producers of two-thirds of the milk represented in the voting process.

FMMOs are legal instruments that regulate the sale of milk between dairy farmers and the first buyer. Where appropriate, the proposed California FMMO adopts the uniform order provisions contained in the 10 current FMMOs in the national system. These uniform provisions include, but are not limited to, dairy product classification, end-product price formulas, and the producer-handler definition. The proposed order would recognize the unique market structure of the California dairy industry through tailored, performance-based standards to determine eligibility for pool participation. The proposed order provides for the recognition of producer quota as administered by the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA).

California represents over 18 percent of all U.S. milk production and is currently regulated by a state milk marketing order administered by CDFA.

Along with issuing this final decision, USDA conducted a Regulatory Economic Impact Analysis to determine the potential impact of regulating California milk handlers under a FMMO on the milk supply, product demand and prices, and milk allocation in California and throughout the United States. The entire hearing record, including the Regulatory Economic Impact Analysis, is available at www.ams.usda.gov/caorder.

USDA will hold a public meeting beginning at 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday, April 10, 2018, in Clovis, Calif., to answer questions related to how the proposed California FMMO would operate and how eligible dairy producers can participate in the referendum. Interested parties will have the opportunity to attend in person or watch the meeting live via webcast. Meeting details, as well as information regarding the producer referendum, are available on the AMS website at www.ams.usda.gov/rules-regulations/moa/dairy/ca .

courtesy: https://valleygrower.com
What You Need To Know About President Donald J. Trumps Actions Responding To Chinas Unfair Trade Practices

Washington, DC - President Donald J. Trumps Administration is taking action to address Chinas unfair trade practices, including the forced transfer of United States technology and theft of U.S. intellectual property.

The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced an initial proposed list of Chinese goods imports that could be subject to additional tariffs. The initial list included approximately 1,300 tariff lines valued at an estimated $50 billion. In order to develop the initial proposed list, USTR worked with other agencies to identify products that unfairly benefit from Chinas industrial policies. Further, there was extensive interagency analysis to ensure these tariffs maximize pressure on China to change its behavior, while minimizing the impact on the U.S. economy.

The initial proposed list will now undergo an extensive public comment period and public hearing. Once this process is complete, USTR will make a final determination on the proper response.

Instead of addressing its misconduct, China has retaliated against American farmers and manufacturers. President Trump has therefore directed USTR to determine if an additional $100 billion worth of tariffs would be appropriate under section 301. Any additional tariffs would be subject to a similar review and public comment period as the initial list.

President Trump has instructed the Secretary of Agriculture to use his broad authority to implement a plan to protect American farmers and agriculture.

In addition to this weeks tariff announcements, USTR has initiated a WTO dispute against China for its unfair practices, is examining potential restrictions on Chinese investment, and is working with allies also affected by Chinas unfair behavior to restore fairness to global trade.

President Trumps trade actions are a response to years of unfair trade practices by China that have gone unaddressed.

Year after year, China continues to distort global markets and harm U.S. businesses and consumers with unfair trade practices. For example, Chinas unfair industrial policies, like their Made in China 2025 policy initiative, clearly state Chinas goal of taking away domestic and international market share from foreigners. Members of all political parties, the U.S. business community, and workers around the world are concerned about Chinas behavior.

President Trump has made it clear that the United States can no longer tolerate such behavior and he is following through on his pledge to take action to ensure that China finally plays by the rules. While previous Administrations let Chinas actions go unanswered, President Trump is standing up for American workers to ensure that American businesses are treated fairly and lawfully.

The President is for free trade, but it must also be fair trade. Addressing unfair trade practices and ensuring that global trade is free, fair, and reciprocal will have a significant positive long-term impact on the U.S. economy.

The Administrations responsive actions follow an extensive investigation by USTR, which revealed how Chinas unfair policies and practices are harming American commerce. An interagency analysis concluded that these policies and practices cause at least tens of billions of dollars in damages to the United States every year.
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced April 6 that it had reached the cap for H-1B applications, five days after it began accepting applications. There is a great need for skilled workers in the U.S., Indian American immigration attorney Cyrus Mehta (pictured) told India-West, noting that more U.S. companies are applying for the coveted H-1B visa. (twitter photo)
A Kashmiri man boats past a row of house boats for tourists on Dal Lake in Srinagar on Nov.24, 2017. Experts are calling for an outside global agency to help save the polluted and dying Dal Lake. (Tauseef Mustafa/AFP/Getty Images)
April 06, 2018 " Information Clearing House " - With ISIS on the run in Syria, President Trump this week declared that he intends to make good on his promise to bring the troops home.

I want to get out. I want to bring our troops back home, said the president. He continued: Weve gotten nothing out of the $7 trillion (spent) in the Middle East in the last 17 years. So its time.

Not so fast, Mr. President.

For even as Trump was speaking he was being contradicted by his Centcom commander General Joseph Votel. A lot of good progress has been made in Syria, Votel conceded, but the hard partis in front of us.

Moreover, added Votel, when we defeat ISIS, we must stabilize Syria and see to its reconstruction.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had been even more specific: It is crucial to our national defense to maintain a military and diplomatic presence in Syria, to help bring an end to that conflict, as they chart a course to achieve a new political future.

But has not Syrias political future already been charted?

Bashar al-Assad, backed by Iran and Russia, has won his seven-year civil war. He has retaken the rebel stronghold of Eastern Ghouta near Damascus. He now controls most of the country that we and the Kurds do not.

According to The Washington Post, Defense Secretary James Mattis is also not on board with Trump and has repeatedly saidthat U.S. troops would be staying in Syria for the foreseeable future to guarantee stability and political resolution to the civil war.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, who fears a Shiite corridor from Tehran through Baghdad, Damascus, and Beirut, also opposes Trump. If you take those [U.S.] troops out from east Syria, the prince told Time, you will lose that checkpoint. American troops should stay [in Syria] at least for the mid-term, if not the long-term.

Bibi Netanyahu also wants us to stay in Syria.

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Wednesday, Trump acceded to his generals. He agreed to leave our troops in Syria until the Islamic State is finished. However, as the 2,000 U.S. troops there are not now engaging ISISmany of our Kurdish allies are going back north to defend border towns threatened by Turkeythis could take a while.

Yet make no mistake: a showdown is coming. And, stated starkly, the divide is this.

Trump sees al-Qaeda and ISIS as the real enemy and is prepared to pull all U.S. forces out of Syria as soon as the caliphate is eradicated. If that means Assad is in power then, backed by Russia and Iran, so be it.

Trump does not see an Assad-ruled Syria, which has existed since the Nixon presidency, as a great threat to the United States. He is unwilling to spill more American blood to overturn the outcome of a war that Syria, Iran, and Russia have already won. Nor is he prepared to foot the bill for the reconstruction of Syria, or for any long-term occupation of that quadrant of Syria that we and our allies now hold.

Once ISIS is defeated, Trump wants out of the war and out of Syria.

The Israelis, Saudis, and most of our foreign policy elites, however, vehemently disagree. They want the U.S. to hold onto that slice of Syria east of the Euphrates that we now occupy, and to use the leverage of our troops on Syrian soil to effect the removal of President Assad and the expulsion of the Iranians.

The War Party does not concede Syria is lost. They see the real battle as dead ahead. Theyre eager to confront and, if need be, fight Syrians, Iranians, and Shiite militias should they cross to the east bank of the Euphrates, as they did weeks ago, when U.S. artillery and air power slaughtered them by the hundreds, Russians included.

If U.S. troops do remain in Syria, the probability is high that Trump, like Presidents Bush and Obama before him, will be ensnared indefinitely in the Forever War of the Middle East.

President Erdogan of Turkey, who has seized Afrin from the Syrian Kurds, is threatening to move on Manbij, where Kurdish troops are backed by U.S. troops. If Erdogan does not back away from his threat, NATO allies could start shooting at one another.

As the 2,000 U.S. troops in Syria are both uninvited and unwelcome, a triumphant Assad is likely soon to demand that we remove them from his country.

Will we defy President Assad then, with the possibility that U.S. planes and troops could be engaging Syrians, Russians, Iranians, and Shiite militias, in a country where we have no right to be?

Trump is being denounced as an isolationist. But what gains have we reaped from 17 years of Middle East warsfrom Afghanistan to Iraq, Syria, Libya, and Yemento justify all the bloodshed and the treasure lost?

And how has our great rival China suffered from not having fought in any of these wars?

Patrick J. Buchanan is the author of a new book,
By RT April 06, 2018 " Information Clearing House " - The use of live fire by the Israeli security forces against Palestinian protesters on the Gaza border may amount to willful killing and a grave breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention, the UN warns. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Liz Throssell has condemned the deplorable killing of Palestinians during the Great Return March, and harshly warned Israel against further use of violence. One man has already been killed and dozens wounded during the Friday protest, Palestinian Red Crescent told RT. It followed a major outbreak of violence a week ago, when 18 Palestinians were shot dead and hundreds injured as Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) snipers were instructed to fire at anybody who approached the border fence. Are You Tired Of The Lies And Non-Stop Propaganda? Get Your FREE Daily Newsletter Willful Killing: UN Warns Israel Not to Shoot at Palestinian Protestors

There are strong indications that security forces used excessive force due to the high number of casualties and the fact that those killed or wounded by Israeli fire were unarmed, Throssell said. The spokeswoman pointed out that an attempt to approach the fence by the demonstrators certainly does not amount to a threat to life or serious injury [to the Israeli security forces] that would justify the use of live ammunition by the IDF troops, who had protective gear and defensive positions.

In the context of a military occupation, as is the case in Gaza, the unjustified and unlawful recourse to firearms by law enforcement resulting in death may amount to a willful killing, a grave breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which states that civilians in a war zone are to be protected, Throssell said.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged Israel to exercise extreme caution with the use of force in order to avoid casualties in a separate statement. He reminded the Jewish State that civilians must be able to exercise their right to demonstrate peacefully, also calling upon the Palestinians to refrain from provocative acts.

Israel expected up to 50,000 Palestinians to protest along the border on Friday, deploying tanks and snipers to the fence. The IDF will not allow any breach of security infrastructure or the security fence, which protects Israeli civilians. The IDF will act against those who are involved in these attacks, according to a statement on Twitter, as the rules of engagement for Israeli troops remains unchanged.

The protesters threw stones and set thousands of car tires on fire in five hotspots along the fence. The IDF said that the black smoke from burning tires was used by the Palestinians as cover for terrorist attacks, which were prevented with riot dispersal means... and fire in accordance with the rules of engagement.

IDF troops thwarted the infiltrations and are responding with riot dispersal means, including water cannons to put out fires, a huge fan to disperse the smoke, and fire in accordance with the rules of engagement  IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) April 6, 2018

Washington has blamed the violence on the Palestinians. US envoy to the Middle East Jason Greenblatt said the protesters should remain outside the 500-meter buffer zone; and should not approach the border fence in any way or any location.

We condemn leaders and protestors who call for violence or who send protestors  including children  to the fence, knowing that they may be injured or killed, Greenblatt said.

The six-week-long March of Great Return marks the appropriation of Palestinian territories by Israel and the killing of six unarmed civilians by Israeli security forces on March 30, 1976. The leader of Gaza-based Hamas radical group, Khaled al-Batsh, said that the Palestinians were desperate to return to the land taken from them. Batsh added that the rally was also a message to US President Donald Trump that the Palestinians wont give up their rights in Jerusalem, despite the US decision to move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.
Russia Will Never Be Our Friend, Well Slap Them When Needed  US Envoy Nikki Haley

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In a speech at Duke University in North Carolina, U.S. Permanent representative to the UN, Nikki Haley expressed confidence that Russia will never be a friend of the US.

Posted April 06, 2018

Russia will never be our friend. However, however, this does not mean that we do not want to work with them, said Haley.

Nikki Haley Says She Shares John Bolton's 'Disdain' for UN

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The views and opinions expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect those of Information Clearing House.

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Abby Martin Interview Critical of Israel is Blocked by YouTube in 28 Countries

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Just notified by YouTube that Abby Martins interview with Max Blumenthal has been blocked from being viewed in 28 countries (including Israel) to comply with local laws. Actions disabled & warnings for viewers elsewhere, the programs official Twitter account related on Thursday.



YouTube has claimed that it removed my interview on Israel-Palestine with Abby Martin to comply with laws in 28 countries. However, nothing I did or said in the discussion was even remotely illegal, even in countries with the strictest hate crime laws, Blumenthal told RT

Posted April 06, 2018





Blumenthal said that his comments were motivated by a strong opposition to Israel's systemic discrimination against Palestinians, and his dedication to equal rights for all. He called the YouTube's decision a political one and likely made under pressure from powerful pro-Israel interests.

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April 06, 2018 " Information Clearing House " - The war of words over American trade tariffs on Chinese exports and the expulsion of Russian diplomats may seem unrelated issues. But there is a connecting theme: the staggering US hypocrisy over its own aggressive behaviour.

This blatant American hypocrisy  beyond reason and respect for international law  marks a fatal descent into barbarism towards foreign relations. Dialogue and diplomacy are repudiated with a might is right attitude.

Washington took the initiative to propose slapping Chinas economy with nearly $50 billion in levies on certain exports  claiming unfair trading practices conducted by Beijing. Then when China responded this week by announcing it would be reciprocating by imposing equivalent tariffs on American exports, the Trump White House threw up its arms in annoyance, saying that the Chinese decision was not fair.

Similarly, last week Washington took the decision to expel 60 Russian diplomats in support of tenuous Britains allegations that the Russian state had some involvement in the apparent poisoning of an exiled spy and his daughter in the English town of Salisbury on March 4. This week Moscow reciprocated by expelling 60 American diplomats from Russia.

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As with Chinas symmetrical response to US trade tariffs, Washington then declared that Russias expulsion of its diplomats was not fair. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert made the haughty comment that Russia should not be acting like the victim here.

So, lets get this straight. Washington arrogates the right to take aggressive actions against foreign states, damaging the national interests of those states. But when the other side takes a reciprocal measure, the Americans complain that the measures are unacceptable and an affront.

Such an attitude in Washington is impossibly hypocritical, arrogant and intolerable. It certainly gives new meaning to American claims of being an exceptional nation  exceptionally hubristic.

Fears of a full-on global trade war with China have receded somewhat this week because the Trump administration sought to walk back from the proposed tariffs on Chinese exports. Earlier President Trump was bragging that he would easily win a trade war with China. But following Beijings announcement of penalties on American agricultural exports, aviation and cars, the White House is toning down the bellicose rhetoric  albeit still griping about Chinas moves as not being fair.

On the expulsion of Russian diplomats, it should be recalled that there have been several rounds of such American sanctions, going back to December 2016 when the Obama administration expelled some 30 Russian envoys and their families over allegations of Moscow interfering in US elections. During the Trump administration, Russias diplomatic properties have also been shuttered and raided by US law enforcement officers.

All these American diplomatic censures have been launched on the back of unproven allegations of Russian interference in US democracy. The irony is that these claims have been made by Trumps political enemies as a way to smear his presidency as somehow being a beneficiary of Kremlin subversion, yet his administration has ratcheted up the diplomatic tensions with Russia by expelling its diplomats over unfounded claims.

The American claims of Russian cyberattacks are of a piece with the recent British claims about Kremlin agents allegedly carrying out an assassination plot on its territory. The claims are always in the realm of assertion, with no verifiable evidence to support. Indeed, it looks as if both narratives on either side of the Atlantic are unravelling from the lack of credibility. US special investigator Robert Mueller cant find any evidence of Russian collusion with Trump  after a year of probing and congressional hearings. Meanwhile, British government scientists are now saying they actually have no evidence that an alleged nerve poison apparently used against Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia was originated in Russia  flatly contradicting the high-flown assertions made last month by British Prime Minister Theresa May and her bumptious Foreign Minister Boris Johnson.

The point is that disputes between states must be resolved by dialogue and a basic mutual respect. Whether it is disputes over trade matters or politics. All the more so whenever alleged grievances are being levelled recklessly without any supporting proof or adherence to due legal process.

But the conflictual problem seems to stem from an ulterior agenda. American perceived grievances against China and Russia seem more about finding pretexts to pursue aggressive policy at all costs. Several foreign policy and military documents out of Washington have openly declared Beijing and Moscow as rival powers. This gets back to the issue of American global power relying on a unipolar hegemonic ambition, unable and unwilling to engage with China or Russia as mutual powers. Or anyone else for that matter in a multipolar world.

In order to pursue this dangerous ambition, Washington must  out of warped necessity  erode and cut off diplomatic engagement with China and Russia. That explains why Washington has initiated such aggressive moves over trade and expulsion of envoys. Ominously, it harks to the maxim of war as a continuation of politics by other means formulated by the Prussian military strategist Karl von Clausewitz (1780-1831).

What we are witnessing is a hollowing out of US diplomacy and its replacement with a policy of bellicosity. The Trump administration has gutted the State Department and its diplomatic corps.

This is inevitably a reprehensible decent into barbarism by Washington where international law and norms of dialogue are being repudiated out of hand. Why, for example, does Washington not take its alleged trade grievances with China to the World Trade Organization and resolve them in a civilized forum?

The degeneration of American diplomacy is perhaps most glaringly apparent when it hypocritically protests about unfair practices by China and Russia that merely reciprocate its own offensive behaviour.

When such arrogant delusion has taken hold, it does not bode well for civilized resolution and a peaceful international order. Because such an attitude violates the foundations of civilized multilateralism upon which international peace depends.

The arrogance of American unilateralism over trade bullying with China and the senseless diplomatic row with Russia is a disastrous resort to might is right.

American hypocrisy is a symptom of its degenerate diplomacy and contempt for international law. That in turn is a symptom of American democracy degenerating into a moribund morass. Blaming China and Russia is a desperate attempt to cover-up the inherent existential problems of American capitalism.
Home Search ICH Humpty Dumpty Boris Johnson By Finian Cunningham April 06, 2018 " Information Clearing House " - Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall. Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. All the kings horses and all the kings men couldnt put Humpty together again.



So goes the famous English nursery rhyme for children, which applies aptly to the hubristic and accident-prone Foreign Minister Boris Johnson.



The buffoonish Johnson  who has an unenviable reputation for making cringing public gaffes  was this week spectacularly caught out telling lies about Russian responsibility for an apparent nerve agent attack in England last month. And like Humpty Dumpty in the nursery rhyme, the British foreign minister cannot repair the damage now that his facade of authority has been cracked wide open. Appropriately enough, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn accused Johnson of having egg on his face after it emerged that the foreign minister has been making grave accusations against Russia without the scientific proof he had been earlier boasting to have. Labours Corbyn said Johnson was guilty of misleading the British public. Not just the British public, it should be added, but trying to mislead the entire world. Are You Tired Of The Lies And Non-Stop Propaganda? Get Your FREE Daily Newsletter Now the world and British allies in particular are beginning to see that they have been taken for fools by the clownish top diplomat from Britain. Led down a wild-goose path of marshmallow toadstools and lemon-drop fizzy bombs, based on his assertions. Only the consequences for conflict with Russia due to Johnsons fairytales are far from amusing. Last month, Johnson made highflown claims that British intelligence was categorical in pinpointing blame on Russia over the apparent poisoning of a former Russian spy living in exile in England. Sergei Skripal (66), who had been exiled to England as a traitor some eight years ago, was found in a collapsed state in a public park along with his adult daughter, Yulia, on March 4. Yulia (33) has reportedly made rapid recovery while her father is also said to be out of critical condition. Russia has strenuously denied any involvement in the apparent attack on the Skripals, which the British authorities conjecture was an assassination attempt in revenge for Sergei Skripals past betrayal to Britains MI6. Skripal had been previously jailed in Russia for his treasonous crimes. Moscow claims it had no further interest in the disgraced spy. Significantly, he had lived in England quietly with no threats from Russia. Within days of the incident in Salisbury, the British government suspiciously rushed to claim that the purported nerve agent was identified as a Soviet-era chemical weapon. Boris Johnson has been the most vocal and gung-ho minister among the British cabinet in attributing blame to Russia. It was Johnsons vigorous briefing of other foreign governments that led to some 25 European Union and NATO member states expelling nearly 150 Russian diplomats at the end of last month. That move dramatically escalated international tensions between the West and Russia  with some observers saying relations have deteriorated to the worst levels of the old Cold War. Turns out though that the head of Britains warfare laboratories at Porton Down publicly admitted this week that the scientists had not in fact confirmed the nerve poison used against the Skripals was sourced exclusively from Russia. Last month, Boris Johnson claimed that the Porton Down scientists had told him categorically that the alleged chemical weapon was from Russia. That has been the cornerstone of the British case against Russia. However, this is not true, according to the Porton Down scientists this week. They say they did not identify the chemical as exclusively Russian, as the British diplomat had been claiming. Johnson has thus been caught out misrepresenting what the scientists told him. They say that the chemical weapon detected was of a type synthesized years ago by the Soviet Union. They did not say they could pinpoint the military-grade nerve agent allegedly used against the Skripals as originating from Russia. In short, the British foreign minister has been telling lies and agitating international tensions against Russia with allegations that are unproven. As further indication of Britains nefarious role, its Foreign Office deleted a public comment made earlier blaming Russia. That knee-jerk deletion followed immediately the admission of the British scientists denying they had detected Russian origin of the alleged nerve poison. On the back of British briefings implicating Russia in the apparent poison attack in Salisbury, the United States expelled 60 Russian diplomats in a show of solidarity with Britain. Likewise, other countries followed suit. Germany, France, Canada and Australia, among others, have joined in the madcap British rush to find Russia guilty without any evidence. Moscow has reciprocated by ejecting dozens of envoys. The mounting tensions between Western states and Russia is deplorable, especially given that the whole spy-poisoning affair seems to have been recklessly politicized by British authorities making sensational claims against Moscow. This week at the United Nations Security Council, Russian envoy Vasily Nebenzya slammed Britain for making up fake news against Russia over the Salisbury incident as a way to delegitimize his country. The Russian diplomat warned Britain was playing with fire and would end up being disgraced for hamming up dramatics. That is exactly what has been going on in a nutshell. The whole saga is a charade which has been used by Britain and a dutiful mass media to fabricate a bogey-man story against Russia. This is all part of an ongoing campaign of demonization waged against Russia by the US-led NATO military alliance, which has accelerated in recent years. The Americans and the British in particular cannot tolerate the idea that their ability to launch wars and subversions in any part of the planet is no longer feasible  largely because of a resurgent Russia under President Vladimir Putin. Their schemes for global lawlessness and imperialist manipulation have been thwarted in Georgia, Syria and Ukraine. Out of irate frustration, the US, Britain and their NATO cronies must bring Russia down. This cannot be done militarily, so the war shifts to information, propaganda, economic and political sanctions. The whole Skripal fiasco is doughty-little-Britains contribution to the information war against Russia. And to a degree, the British nearly pulled off a media coup with their James Bond-style claims of a poison-assassination plot in Salisbury. The damage done to international relations has been impressive. But then along comes Humpty Dumpty Boris Johnson. This is the upper-class twit who as foreign minister has insulted countries with racist jokes and downright crass stupidity. He reportedly gave a cabinet briefing on the war supposedly in Yemen, but repeatedly referred to the country as Lebanon. Instead of trying to bring down Russia, Boris Johnson has fallen off his perch through his own lies and incompetence. The cracks in the British allegations against Russia are beyond repair after his exposure this week as a barefaced liar. Anyone taking Boris Johnson as a credible source does so that their own peril. It would be like using a book of nursery rhymes as a guide to understanding world affairs. Someone ought to smack Johnson over the head with a giant rubber spoon and haul him off to a solitary kindergarten before he does any more damage to international relations. Finian Cunningham has written extensively on international affairs, with articles published in several languages. He is a Masters graduate in Agricultural Chemistry and worked as a scientific editor for the Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge, England, before pursuing a career in newspaper journalism. He is also a musician and songwriter. For nearly 20 years, he worked as an editor and writer in major news media organisations, including The Mirror, Irish Times and Independent. The views and opinions expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect those of Information Clearing House. ===== Join the Discussion It is not necessary for ICH readers to register before placing a comment. We ask that you treat others with respect. Take a moment to read the following - Comment Policy - What Or Who is Information Clearing House and Purpose and Intent of this website: 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. 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By Paul Street

Two Right-Wing Coups in the Americas

April 06, 2018 " Information Clearing House " - Youve got to hand it to Hillary Clinton. In 2016, she helped put the right-wing racist, sexist, nativist, authoritarian, and nationalist oligarch Donald Trump in the White House. She and her operatives did this in two ways: (1) by rigging the presidential primaries against the popular progressive Democrat Bernie Sanders, the Democrats best chance to prevail over Trump; (2) by mounting a dreadfully uninspiring and transparently tone-deaf, neoliberal general election campaign  a reflection of her massive funding by the nations corporate and financial establishment, including big business money normally slated for Republican presidential candidates.

It was the second time in seven-and-a-half years that Hillary had helped install an authoritarian, racist, oligarchic and right-wing government in the Americas. In the spring of 2009, she had used her position as Barack Obamas first Secretary of State to help the right-wing Honduran military and business class overthrow the democratically elected government of Hondurass then president Manuel Zelaya. Mrs. Clinton did this because she was a right-wing corporate and imperial Democrat who naturally opposed Zelayas shift to the populist left. She was irritated by his opposition to the United States-led so-called War on Drugs. She did not like his call for the United States large Honduran Air Force base to be turned into a civilian airport. She hated his movement toward alliance and cooperation with left-populist governments in Venezuela, Bolivia, and Ecuador. She disdained Zelayas efforts to overcome the interrelated problems of Honduran poverty, Honduran inequality, and Hondurass long neocolonial subordination to Washington.

With the approval of Mrs. Clinton and her boss Obama, the Honduran military seized Zelaya at gunpoint and exiled him to Costa Rica in his pajamas. After the coup, sold on preposterously false legal and constitutional grounds for which Hillary provided political cover, the new Honduran regime staged a rigged election that placed the clownish, racist, and right-wing landowner Porfirio Pepe Lobo Sosa in the Honduran presidency. Madame Secretary Clinton hailed this farce as a free, fair, and democratic election with a peaceful transition of power. Never mind that the election proceeded amidst interim coup president Roberto Michelettis suspension of basic civil liberties and in a climate of harsh police-state intimidation. Later, as Diana

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Johnstone noted in her book Queen of Chaos: The Misadventures of Hillary Clinton, The governments of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Ecuador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Spain, Uruguay, and Venezuela refused to recognize the result, but Washington was contentPresident Lobo described his regime as a government of national reconciliation. Hillary Clinton [deplorably] praised it as a resumption of democratic and constitutional government.

The results were not pretty: murderous paramilitary repression of peasants, workers, trade unionists, feminists, and intellectuals; a deepening of mass poverty; assassinations of opposition candidates; expanded corruption and gang violence; social cleansing of poor children; a massive flight of unaccompanied minors to Mexico and the U.S. in 2014. And the purported childrens advocate Hillary Clinton called for the closing of U.S. borders to thousands of children fleeing the vicious regime she helped impose on Honduras. As the Central American child migrant crisis became front-page news in the summer of 2014, Hillary called for most of the tens of thousands of children and teenagers seeking refuge to be sent back to the miserable conditions they had fled in their home countries. We have to send a clear message, Clinton deplorably told a CNN town hall: just because your child gets across the border doesnt mean your child gets to stay. So what if half or more of the kids showing up at U.S. border could have qualified for humanitarian protection under international and US law?

Never Mind: The Caravans are Coming!

Here we are nine years after the U.S.-backed overthrow of Zelaya. The newly emboldened America First nationalist Donald Trump has just this week warned the U.S. citizenry to watch out for criminal and asylum-seeking Central American hordes. The Caravans are coming, El Donito Tweeted at the start of the week. He fretted about how our country is being stolen by illegal immigration, blaming Democrats for feckless border policies and urging Mexico to bar these large Caravans of people.

The Great God Trump saw it on FOX News: a marching mass of Central Americans approaching to take advantage of DACA and our weak border security. The brown-skinned horde wants, Trump claimed, to exploit liberal [Democrat] laws like Catch and Release.

This, Trump said, is why we need a big beautiful border Wall  to block evil marauders like these caravan creeps before they bring their devilish drugs and criminality to stop Hair Fuhrer from Making America Great Again.

Since the Democrats have blocked the Wall, Trump said, DACA is dead, and the U.S. military will have to be deployed to secure the border. Its time to take a stand!

Never mind that Mexico and Central America are parts of America too  and that people from south of the U.S. border are Americans who also want to live great lives, or at least to get away from crushing terror and poverty.

Never mind that the large caravan Trump thinks he saw on FOX News will probably number 700 people or less by the time it reaches northern Mexico  if it ever does (Subsequent reports indicate that the caravan will stop south of Mexico City).

Forget the moronic nature of the idea that anyone would enter the U.S. in 2018 to take advantage of DACA, a federal policy that applies only to immigrant children brought to the country by undocumented parents before 2007.

Forget how sadistic it is for the orange-tinted beast to make Dreamers chances of remaining in the only country they know as home depend on Congresss willingness to back a racist Wall most of the U.S. population rejects.

Forget that it was a Democratic president, Bill Clinton, who started building a physical wall on the U.S. southern border, in anticipation of the flood of Mexican migrants expected to result from the North American Free Trade Agreements devastating impact on Mexican farmers.

Forget that theres no catch and release edicts in U.S. immigration law.

Forget that very few among the 1200 or so Central American migrants travelling in what is now an annual Easter time caravan through Mexico have any intention of seeking asylum in the U.S. (As KCUR radio reported three days ago, The annual event organized by activists is designed to keep migrants safe and share information about their rights inside Mexico.)

Forget that the number of illegal immigrants caught at the U.S. border (310,000 last year, down from a peak of 1.6 million in 2000) is currently at its lowest level since 1971.

Forget that the Caravan marchers are running away from drug violence and organized crime, among other scourges, in countries that have been ravaged by U.S. policy (including U.S. foreign, political, economic, military, drug, and climate policy) for decades.

Fuera JOH

Put all that Trumpian madness aside for a moment and reflect on Hillary and the Obama administrations role in generating the annual ragged and desperate march of deeply impoverished Central Americans through Mexico. Most of the caravan participants that Washingtons Orange Dotard railed against are Hondurans fleeing repression, violence, and extreme poverty imposed by a right-wing regime Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Obama helped put in place in the spring of 2009  a government the U.S. has funded and equipped ever since.

Organized caravans of largely Honduran Central American migrants have been marching across Mexico since 2010. Why since that year? Primarily because of the U.S-backed Honduran coup, which unleashed mass violence against ordinary Hondurans and Honduran activists.

The repression continues through the present, seen in the violent [Honduran] suppression of political protests that erupted after last years presidential election (New York Times, April 2, 2018)  more bloody cruelty from the malicious regime Hillary aided and abetted nine years ago. The 2017 Honduran election was transparently rigged to keep the military coup regime in power. Thats why many of the caravan marchers can be heard chanting Fuera JOH (Out JOH) a reference to the incumbent president, Juan Orlando Hernandez, whose right wing National Party fixed the vote in his favor. The Trump administration nonetheless immediately recognized the results as legitimate, waiving off calls to cut off U.S. military and economic assistance to the Honduran government on human rights grounds  this while the Honduran military imposed a national curfew and a state of emergency.

Playing to the Amerikaner Roseanne Base

Why did Trump go ape-shit over the caravan this week? Because his favorite white nationalist television network has been highlighting the mass march and thanks to political calculations leading up to the mid-term elections this year. As the New York Times reports: Stung by a backlash from his conservative supporters [e.g, the sallow neo-Nazi Anne Coulter] over his embrace of a trillion-dollar-plus spending measure that did not fund his promised border wall, and lacking a legislative initiative to champion with the approach of midterm congressional elections this fall, Mr. Trump has reverted to the aggressive anti-immigration messaging that powered his presidential campaign

Hes playing to his basebase. Hes counting on its white-nationalist Amerikaner loyalty to the cult of Trump (with the revolting right-wing conspiracy nut and former progressive icon Roseanne Barr as a leading Kool Aid drinker) to combine with Republican gerrymandering, racist voter suppression, the reach of the vast right-wing media ecosphere (including the vast Sinclair broadcast network as well as FOX, right-wing talk radio, and Breitbart et al.), a tight job market, the frazzled electorates inability to follow Rachel Maddow and Robert Muellers (and Michael Isikoff and David Corns) endless and complex RussiaGate detective story, and the dismal and elitist nothingness of the neoliberal Democrats (the nations Inauthentic Opposition and Fake Resistance leaders) to keep Congress impeachment-proofed in 2019 and 2020.

MoveOn and Off That Page

Look for liberal [Democrat] pundits and politicos to deride Trumps military deployment on the border while conveniently failing to mention that President Barack Deporter-in-Chief Obama sent 1,200 National Guardsmen (in Operation Phalanx) to patrol the southern border in 2010.

Its okay whenyourparty and president do nativist, nationalist, and other nasty things. Its deplorable when presidents from the bad other of the only two electorally viable and (by the way) capitalist-imperialist U.S. political parties do those things. Which reminds me, are you concerned about Russian interference in U.S. politics? Heres a curious passage you can expect liberal [Democrat] pundits and politicos to disregard in Michael Isikoff and David Corns new book Russian Roulette: The Inside Story of Putins War on America and the Election of Donald Trump:

The day after Russian spies were arrested [on June 27, 2010], Bill Clinton arrived in Moscow to deliver the keynote speech at a conference sponsored by Renaissance Capital, a Russian investment banking firm with links to the Kremlin. Clinton was paid a whopping $500,000 for his ninety-minute appearance, which drew an audience of top Russian government officials. Though his wife was secretary of state, the former president had not curbed his lucrative overseas speech-making, even when the gigs were underwritten by groups that might have interests before the State DepartmentIn the case of Renaissance Capital, the firm at that time was promoting a stock offering of a company called Uranium Onea mining firm that controlled about 20 percent of uranium production capacity within the United States. And Russias nuclear agency, Rosatom, was in the process of purchasing a controlling interest in Uranium One, pending approval of a U.S. government foreign investment review board on which Hillary Clinton sat with eight other senior U.S. officialsAround the time of the Uranium One deal, the company chairmans family foundation donated about $2.35 million to Clinton Foundation programs.

Huh. Oh well. Turn the page. Good Democrats know that all good Americans need to move on, I mean MoveOn, from that kind of Old News.

I suppose we ought to be grateful to liberal [Clinton Democrats] Isikoff and Corn for honestly including that information in their new volume. I recall hearing Corn on National Public Radio when the big marches took place against the Inauguration of Trump. He didnt think ragged anarchists, Marxists, and other suspect sorts who hadnt been able to make themselves vote for the lying neoliberal warmonger (Adolph Reed, Jrs accurate phrase, not Corns) and proud former Goldwater Girl Hillary Clinton had any right to be in the streets. That was like telling people that they couldnt oppose the Gambino crime family if they didnt openly support the Bonanno crime family.

I wonder: if Hillary had run a better campaign and fended off the Trump-Steve Bannon-Robert Mercer-Sheldon Adelson assault in the late summer and fall of 2016, would a Clinton45 presidency now be facing Congressional inquiries into its ugly Russian entanglements while monitoring caravan movements driven by the ugly regime Mrs. Clinton helped create in Tegucigalpa in 2009?

Single-Payer Caravan to Canada?

I would roll out a welcome mat to any Central American caravans who make it to the U.S. upper Midwest. Perhaps I would ask them to accompany me on a trek to Canada, home to the single-payer national health insurance that most U.S.-Americans want and deserve. Thats the insurance system Harvard medical professor David Himmelstein, head of Physicians for a National Health Program, tried to tell First Lady Hillary Clinton about when she headed the White Houses health reform initiative in 1993. Himmelstein related the remarkable possibilities of a comprehensive, single-payer Canadian-style health plan, supported by more than two-thirds of the U.S. public. Beyond backing by a citizen super-majority, Himmelstein noted, single-payer would provide comprehensive coverage to the nations 40 million uninsured while retaining free choice in doctor selection and being certified by the Congressional Budget Office as the most cost-effective plan on offer.

Hillary responded by dismissing Himmelstein with a weary and exasperated comment: David, tell me something interesting. There was no dishonesty in Hillarys remark. Consistent with her neoliberal world view, she really was bored and irritated by Himmelsteins pitch. Along with the big insurance companies they deceptively railed against, the Clintons decided from the start to exclude the popular, social-democratic health insurance alternative (single-payer) from the national health care discussion. (Obama would do the exact same thing in 2009.) What the First Lady deplorably advanced instead of the Canadian system that bored her was a hopelessly complex, secretly developed and corporatist system called managed competition.

We have our own oligarchs in the United States  and a richly bipartisan permanent political class dedicated to serving those oligarchs. Maye we should start a caravan, if were not too busy working multiple low-wage jobs in the booming economy owned and operating for the United States corporate oligarchy.

Paul Streets
The photos of a physically challenged man getting married to his pregnant bride has had many in awe given the quite rare state of himself and his bride.

Judging from the photos, one can tell that the day the photos were taken would be the happiest day ever in the mans life as he was captured all smiles and elated during the event.

In one of the photos, the man holds unto his clearly pregnant wife as they cut their wedding cake together.

Everyone whos seen the photo cant help but wish them the very best in such a unique and beautiful union

See photos below:

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Abuja Accident

A quite tragic news reaching us this hour is that of a beautiful young lady who lost her life recently in a car accident in the Federal Capital Territory.

Ijeoma Okafor left friends and family in a mourning state after she was involved in a car accident yesterday, 5th of April, 2018, that claimed her life along Kubuwa express road in Abuja.

A student of Mass Communications from Osisatech Polytechnic in Enugu, Ijeoma had just graduated from the school last year December, and had relocated to Abuja to meet with her parents when she was hit this tragedy.

According to a friend of Ijeoma who spoke to YabaLeftOnline, she was such a comical character and was full of life as she was known famously for her signature one corner dance.

A high spirited personality who will surely be missed by her peers and family Her soul rest in peace

Some of Ijeomas beautiful photos below:

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Apple has hired Amazons former CTO Jon McCormack as VP for its software. At Amazon, McCormack worked on the various hardware products and was the VP of software for the Kindle.

Before Amazon, McCormack used to work at HP and before that, he was an executive at Googles Advanced Technology and Products Group. This is Apples second high profile hire this week. Earlier in the week, the Cupertino company had hired Googles chief of search and AI, John Giannandrea to lead its machine learning and AI strategy.

Apples software effort has been lagging far behind its rivals. The company was at one point known for the quality of its software but that has gone down greatly in recent years.

The decline is so bad that Apples software team has decided to forgo the release of some features in iOS 12 in favor of improved software stability, performance, and bug fixes. Even in the AI field, Apple is lagging behind Google by a fair margin. Despite Siri being released first, it is far behind Google Assistant in terms of functionality. With these high profile hires, Apple is hoping to fix the pain points of its software and in turn regain the lost trust and reputation of its users.

[Via Bloomberg
Security Guards Job in CCT Security Company

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Latest Trade Test & Technical Center Security Posts Qatar 2021 Security Guards are required in in Famous Company First Security in Qatar Through Union Trade Test & Technical Center Satellite Town Rawalpindi. Candidate must have FA / BA / Matric Education.

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Note: Beware of Fraudulent Recruiting Activities. If the employer asks you to pay money for any purpose including processing to shortlisting, do not pay at all and report us using our contact us form. Apply as per instuctions & dates mentioned in official job ad. Govt jobs cannot be applied online here. Error & omissions excepted.
#Afghan evacuees Assimilation programs begin for Afghan evacuees in S. Korea The government on Wednesday started assimilation programs for Afghan evacuees who settled in South Korea in August upon fleeing their country after it was taken over by the Taliban...
The Seoul Central District Court [official website] on Friday sentenced [KBS report] former South Korean president Park Geun-hye to 24 years in prison.

Park was removed from office in March 2017 by the countrys Constitutional Court [official website].

In an unprecedented gesture, the peninsular nations Supreme Court [official website] authorized live broadcasting of high-profile case sentencing proceedings, if doing so would serve the public interest. Live broadcasting can proceed even if parties object to it. Live broadcasting was authorized as of August 1, 2017.

Allegations included extortion, bribery, abuse of state power, coercion and leaking state secrets. The court found that Park had engaged in bribery and extortion schemes with companies like Samsung, Lotte Group and SK Group. The court also found Park guilty of blacklisting artists in the country who were critical of her administration.

Prosecutors brought a total of 18 charges against Park. Prosecutors also asked the District Court for the countrys maximum prison sentence of 30 years, and a fine of 118.5 billion won. The court found Park guilty of 16 of the 18 of the charges, sentenced the former president to 24 years in prison, and fined her 18 billion won.

Park, herself, was not present during the court session. The former president has been boycotting her trial since October when the District Court extended her detention.

Park was South Koreas first female president as well as the nations first president to be impeached. She is the daughter of former president Park Chung-hee. Park Chung-hee ruled as a dictator from 1961 until his assassination in 1971. Supporters of Park Geun-hye believe her trial and sentence were unfair and politically motivated.
[JURIST] Hawaii Governor David Ige [official profile] signed HB 2739 [text, PDF] on Thursday, also known as the Our Choice, Our Care Act. This bill will allow doctors to prescribe life-ending drugs to people with terminal illnesses who are deemed to have six months or less to live.

The bill has strict requirements before the drugs can be prescribed. Two doctors must confirm the six-month life expectancy, the patient must administer the medication, and a mental health provider must confirm the patients capacity. Doctors must inform patients about all end-of-life care options. The bill also criminalizes interfering with the patients prescription or coercing the patient into obtaining the drugs.

Ige said [press release]:

I believe that we have clear safeguards in place. It is time for terminally ill, mentally competent Hawaii residents who are suffering to make their own end-of-life choices with dignity, grace and peace. I am honored to sign HB 2739 into law, in hopes of giving these patients and their families choices and peace of mind.

Hawaiis Department of Health will begin to implement the new law through an Advisory Committee.

The right to die has been a contentious issue in the US. Last September New Yorks highest court ruled [JURIST report] against physician assisted suicide. Earlier in 2017 the House committee blocked [JURIST report] DCs Death with Dignity Act. That same year Montana introduced [JURIST report] a bill that would allow homicide charges to be brought against doctors engaged in physician-assisted suicide and would run against the current policy that allows life-ending options. In May the Nevada Senate approved [JURIST report] a physician aid-in-dying bill.
[JURIST] David Kaye [official profile], the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression urged [press release] Spain on Friday not to press rebellion charges against Catalonian leaders.

Kaye said:

I am concerned that charges of rebellion for acts that do not involve violence or incitement to violence may interfere with rights of public protest and dissent.  International human rights law cautions that, especially in situations involving political dissent, restrictions should only be imposed when they are strictly necessary and proportionate to protect the States interests.

Kaye recommends dialogue and and reconciliation as opposed to prosecution.

The rebellion charges the leaders are facing have a maximum sentence of 30 years imprisonment.

In March the Spanish Supreme Court charged [JURIST report] thirteen Catalan leaders for rebellion. Earlier that month the Spanish Supreme Court denied [JURIST] the release of a Catalan leader. In February the court ordered [JURIST report] the arrest of a former Catalan member of Parliament.
By ANDREW SELSKY and TOM JAMES , Associated Press

SALEM, Ore. (AP)  President Donald Trump's plan to deploy National Guard troops to the border with Mexico has drawn resistance from some governors, most of them Democrats, but they could be powerless to deny the commander in chief's request for soldiers.

Governors have some leeway to say no presidents, but depending on which federal law Trump uses to order the deployment, the matter could be out of the governors' hands.

The statute known as "Title 10 duty status" establishes that National Guard personnel operate under the president's control and receive federal pay and benefits. It also forbids them from performing tasks of civilian law enforcement unless explicitly authorized, according to the Congressional Research Service.

Trump said Thursday that he wants to send 2,000 to 4,000 Guard members to the border to help federal officials fight illegal immigration and drug trafficking. Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said on Twitter that she had a "productive conversation" about the deployment with governors of the Southwest border states.

On Friday, North Dakota's Republican governor joined leaders of some border states in saying he would send forces if asked.

The GOP governors of Arizona, New Mexico and Texas also back the plan. California's Democratic governor has been silent on the topic. It's unclear if Trump will ask for troops from states other than those along the border.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders described the deployment as "a good first step." If the administration determines that more troops are needed, "we'll make that decision at that time."

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum said that if he's asked, he will contribute.

"We will answer the call," Burgum said. "From historic floods to more recent events, we North Dakotans know from experience how critical it is for states to support each other in times of need."

Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval, also a Republican, on Friday became one of the latest leaders to oppose the plan. His spokeswoman, Mary-Sarah Kinner, said in an email that Sandoval does not believe the mission would be "an appropriate use" of the Nevada Guard.

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown has said she would deny Trump's request.

"As commander of Oregon's Guard, I'm deeply troubled by Trump's plan to militarize our border," Brown tweeted.

Her spokesman, Bryan Hockaday, acknowledged she might not have a say if Trump uses the federal code.

Trump "can federalize the National Guard forces, and there's not much the governor can do to prevent that," Hockaday said.

However, if a National Guard mission were ordered under another federal law called Title 32, the protocol could be different. That law says command and control of National Guard personnel remain with their respective governors, even though the troops generally serve a federal purpose, according to the Congressional Research Service.

In that scenario, a governor could try to reject a request for troops or order Guard members to remain in rear staging areas and not participate.

While California Gov. Jerry Brown has not spoken publicly about Trump's plan, California National Guard spokesman Lt. Col. Tom Keegan said any request "will be promptly reviewed to determine how best we can assist our federal partners."

"We look forward to more detail, including funding, duration and end state," Keegan said.

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, a Republican, said Friday that she will consult with the head of the Alabama Guard to see what resources are available.

If the deployment happens, it would not be the first time the National Guard has gone to the U.S.-Mexico border.

Almost every U.S. state and territory contributed Guard members to Operation Jump Start, announced by President George W. Bush in 2006. Around 30,000 Guard members eventually participated, according to a 2008 National Guard analysis, including more than 1,000 each from Kentucky, North Carolina, and South Carolina.

During Operation Phalanx, ordered by President Barack Obama in 2010, 1,200 Guard members deployed to the border, most of them from Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas.

In the mid-1980s, National Guard troops were deployed even farther south, in Honduras, where they carried out military maneuvers. The missions happened as Sandinista forces in neighboring Nicaragua battled Contra rebels who were backed by Washington and had clandestine bases in Honduras.

___

Associated Press writers Doug Glass in Minneapolis, Nomaan Merchant in Dallas and Jonathan Cooper in Sacramento, California, contributed to this report.
BERLIN (AP)  The Latest on the vehicle that has crashed into a crowd in the German city of Muenster (all times local):

8:55 p.m.

Outside Muenster University Hospital, a long queue has formed of people wanting to give blood after the hospital put an urgent call out for donations.

The call came after a van crashed into a crowd outside a popular bar Saturday afternoon in the western German city, killing two people and injuring 20 others. The driver of the vehicle then shot and killed himself.

Police say six of the injured are in severe condition.

Jan Schoessler, among those in the line, said dozens of people were waiting shortly after the doors opened at 7 p.m.

Within an hour, the University Hospital had suspended its appeal for blood donors because so many people had come forward. It says on Twitter "we thank you for your overwhelming support."

___

8:40 p.m.

A top German security official says there is no indication of an Islamic extremist motive in the deadly van crash in the German city of Muenster but officials are investigating all possibilities.

Herbert Reul, the interior minister of North Rhine-Westphalia state, where Muenster is located, said the driver of the van that crashed Saturday afternoon into a crowd outside a popular bar was a German citizen. He stressed the investigation is at an early stage but said "at the moment, nothing speaks for there being any Islamist background."

Reul added: "we are investigating in all directions."

Reul said two people were killed in the crash and the driver then killed himself. That's lower than the figure police previously gave of three dead plus the driver. Police still say 20 people were injured in the crash, with six of them in severe condition.

___

8:10 p.m.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel says she is "deeply shocked by the terrible events in Muenster."

In a statement, Merkel said "everything conceivable is being done to investigate the crime and to support the victims and their relatives. My thanks go to all the responders at the scene."

A van crashed into a crowd outside a popular bar Saturday in the western German city, killing three people and injuring 20 others. The driver of the vehicle then shot and killed himself. Police are reportedly searching his apartment and checking reports of other possible accomplices who may have fled from the van at the scene.

Merkel said she is "in constant contact" with Interior Minister Horst Seehofer and other in Muenster.

___

7:15 p.m.

A leading German newspaper is reporting that authorities believe there is no terrorist motive behind the deadly van crash in Muenster and the driver is believed to be a middle-aged German man who had psychological issues.

The Sueddeutsche Zeitung paper also says the suspect's apartment was being searched for possible explosives.

German officials haven't yet indicated what they think is the motive behind Saturday's crash into a crowd at a popular Muenster bar, which killed three people and left 20 others injured.

At the same time, police say they are checking witness reports that other perpetrators might have fled from the van at the scene of the crash.

___

7 p.m.

German police say they are checking witness reports that other perpetrators may have fled from a van that crashed into a crowd in Muenster, killing three people and injuring 20 before its driver shot himself to death.

Police spokesman Andreas Bode says witnesses told them others left the van after it crashed Saturday afternoon into a crowd outside a popular bar in the western German city. The German news agency dpa reported that witnesses spoke of two others in the van besides the driver.

Bode also said police had found a suspicious object inside the van and were investigating it.

Police have urged people in Muenster to stay inside their homes and avoid the crash scene in the city's historic downtown.

__

6:30 p.m.

The mayor of Muenster says authorities don't yet know the motive behind the van crash that killed three and injured 20 people in his western German city.

Mayor Markus Lewe told reporters that "all of Muenster is mourning this horrible incident. Our sympathy is with the relatives of those who were killed. We wish the injured a quick recovery."

The van crashed into people sitting in front of the famous Kiepenkerl bar on a warm Saturday afternoon in the city's historic downtown.

Police say the driver of the van shot himself to death inside the van after the crash. His identity is not yet known.

Germany's top security official, Interior Minister Horst Seehofer, said federal authorities are in close contact with officials in North Rhine-Westphalia state, where Muenster is located, and all are trying to figure out what happened.

___

6:15 p.m.

Police say a suspicious object has been found in the van that ran into a crowd in the German city of Muenster, killing three people and injuring 20 others.

Police say they're still examining what kind of an object it is and whether it's dangerous. They say the driver of the van killed himself after running into a crowd in front of a popular bar in the western city.

Police told German news agency dpa that the object was the reason why a large area around the scene was sealed off after the crash on Saturday afternoon.

Muenster Mayor Markus Lewe says the reason for the crash is still unclear.

___

6:05 p.m.

A German police spokesman says three people were killed and 20 injured when a van crashed into a crowd in front of a popular bar in downtown Muenster.

Andreas Bode told reporters the driver of the van shot himself dead inside the car after the crash Saturday afternoon. He said the driver's identity was not yet known.

The van crashed into people sitting in front of the famous Kiepenkerl bar on one of the first spring days in the western German city.

Bode said six of the 20 injured were in severe condition.

Police said it was too early to speculate about the motive behind the crash and say they are still investigating. They have urged people in Muenster to avoid the city's downtown area.

___

5:45 p.m.

A spokeswoman for German Chancellor Angela Merkel says "our thoughts are with the victims and their families" who were killed and injured when a vehicle crashed into a crowd in the western German city of Muenster.

Spokeswoman Ulrike Demmer on Twitter called the crash Saturday "terrible news."

Police in Muenster say a vehicle crashed into a crowd in front of a pub in the city's historic downtown area, killing and injuring people before the driver killed himself.

The German news agency dpa reports that a large-scale police operation is underway and that much of the area is cordoned off to the public.

___

5:20 p.m.

Police in the western German city of Muenster say a vehicle has crashed into a crowd there, killing several people and injuring others.

The German news agency dpa has quoted police as saying the driver of that car in Muenster has killed himself.

Police tweeted Saturday afternoon that residents should "avoid the area near the Kiepenkerl pub" where a large-scale police operation is underway. Kiepenkerl is a popular bar in the city's historic downtown area.

Further details about the crash were not immediately available.
MEDFORD, Ore. -- IHOP, The International House of Pancakes, is officially coming to town. Site Plan and Architectural commissioners approved the final construction proposal Friday.

Owner Mohammad Khadar said he has been wanting to have a store in Medford for awhile now since it is one of the fastest-growing cities in Oregon.

"It has a lot of potential. It's a big city and I look forward to having a store there," Khadar said.

The store will be located at 1383 Center Drive. Khadar said he picked that spot for a few reasons.

"You get the travelers with the hotels, you get the shopping centers around you and you get the I-5 traffic on top of that," he said.

Construction should start in about three months. Khadar said he hopes to have the store open before the end of the year. It will have a grand opening ceremony about a month after opening.

Khadar said he will have about 100 employees to start off, but that number will be cut down to about 50 a few months after the doors open once things settle down.

The building will be 4,485 square feet. Khadar said that is the larger version of the store, which he thinks the location can handle because of the city's size.

Taco Now Manager Johnny Banuelos said he is excited to have the business move in next door.

"It's great that another business is coming in, it helps thrive the community and also drives business to other businesses that are local," he said.
SALEM, Ore.  Oregon's Secretary of State Dennis Richardson released a statement on Friday, claiming that he was responding to critics who accused him of associating with the British consulting firm Cambridge Analytica during his 2014 campaign.

Criticism of Richardson comes from the Democratic Party of Oregon (DPO), who cited public records showing that the Secretary of State paid $5,000 to Cambridge Analytica in September of 2014 for "Micro Targetting/Survey."

In his statement, Richardson claimed that the $5,000 payment to the British consulting firm came out of a total budget of $3 millionand only represented the purchase of a single survey.

"My recollection is that our campaign was unimpressed," Richardson said. He then said that his campaign never used the firm again.

I am deeply troubled that Oregons chief elections officer has a documented relationship with Campaign Analytica, a firm that is under international scrutiny for using illegal data mining practices to influence U.S. elections, said Jeanne Atkins, Chair of the Democratic Party of Oregon.

The DPO also claimed that Richardson has spent over $100,000 on direct expenditures to Facebook since 2014, and that this sum is more than any other Oregon candidate. Richardson did not directly respond to this claim in his statement, and the DPO claim did not cite any specific data source.

I do not dispute that online organizing is a key component of how political campaigns organize and contact voters. However, there is no doubt that Cambridge Analytica has repeatedly crossed the line and broken laws. Oregon voters are right to be angry that they were used as a test case in 2014. We must demand answers, said Atkins.

Richardson also touted his record on voter privacy, having moved to keep private the phone numbers and birth month/day of voters. Voter names, addresses, birth year, party affiliation, participation history and other information are still available to any party that pays the state a $500 fee.

"Oregonians can be confident in the transparency, accountability, and integrity of my office and the professional staff in our Elections Division," said Richardson.

A native of Central Point, Richardson is the 26th Secretary of State for Oregon and a member of the Republican party.
Lead author Hanie Yousefi, left, and mechanical-biomedical engineer Tohid Didar pose with a transparent test patch in this recent handout photo. Researchers at McMaster University have developed a transparent test patch for food packaging that detects the presence of potentially deadly bacteria like E. coli, with the aim of telling consumers and the grocery industry whether a product is safe to eat. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO - McMaster University, JD Howell
Kelowna airport operations manager Phillip Elxhitz, left, White Spot CEO Warren Erhart and Canucks Autism Network regional coordinator Kayla Ungaro pick up burgers from Govind Siwach at the White Spot Triple's On-the-Go food truck, which is servicing the two White Spot restaurants in the airport terminal while the regular kitchen is rebuilt.
A U.S. Flag is placed on a wildfire-ravaged property as rain comes down in the the Coffey Park area Friday, April 6, 2018, in Santa Rosa, Calif. A fierce Northern California storm Friday shut down Yosemite National Park, threatened mudslides in wildfire-ravaged wine country and could present the first test of a partially repaired offshoot of the nation's tallest dam that nearly collapsed last year. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
FILE Ai In this Nov. 11, 2014, file photo, Bill Cosby speaks during a Veterans Day ceremony at the All Wars Memorial to Colored Soldiers and Sailors in Philadelphia. Cosby's retrial on sexual assault charges is set to begin Monday, April 9, 2018. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
FILE - In this June 20, 2017, file photo, Attorney General Jeff Sessions listens during the Justice Department's National Summit on Crime Reduction and Public Safety, in Bethesda, Md. U.S. Attorney General Sessions has ordered a "zero tolerance" policy aimed at people entering the United States illegally for the first time on the Mexican border. His directive Friday, April 6, 2018, tells federal prosecutors in border states to put more emphasis on charging people with illegal entry, which has historically been treated as a misdemeanor offense for those with few or no previous encounters with border authorities. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)
EUGENE, Ore.-- Police in Eugene have increased their efforts to stop gang activity and dangerous gang members who they say are coming down from Portland.

Officers say this is the worst the problem has ever been in the city.

An undercover detective with Eugene police said gang activity has been increasing in our area over the past ten years.

"This, right now, is probably the worst I've ever seen it," the detective said.

He said gang members are leaving Portland because police there know them, and even homicide suspects are coming to Eugene to hide out. He said that with gangs comes drug-related and violent crimes. There's even been an increase in shootings.

"Where there's gangs there's going to be crime and there's going to be drug related crime and there's going to be violent crime," the detective said.

Community members are noticing more crime in the area, too.

"We just saw an incident the other day where we saw a drug deal go down," Daren Ambrose, a Eugene resident, said.

Ambrose has children. Now, he's worried about their safety.

"I have children and myself and I worry about them constantly," Ambrose said.

KEZI 9 News asked the undercover detective what the next step is in stopping gang activity. He said they've been working tirelessly with Portland police to identify the criminals. In addition, The Eugene Police Department is gathering a team of their own to fight gang-related crime.

We're in the process of putting together a modified gang team from what we've had in the past," the detective said. "We work these cases..This is pretty much all I do these days is work gang related crimes."

He said within gangs, there is a "no snitching" culture. That makes it hard to get witnesses to come forward.

To help catch the criminals, he said community members should keep an eye out for suspicious activity.

The detective recommends that if anyone sees something they think may be gang-related, they call police right away.
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MASON CITY, Iowa  A north Iowa man is facing felony drug charges for the third time in less than two months and for the second time in two weeks.

Michael Olson, 36, of Rockford, was arrested Thursday at 5:24 p.m. in the 400 block of East State St.

Olson was in possession of a baggie containing methamphetamine and marijuana in his pocket, authorities said.

Olson was arrested for felony drug possession in March and February as well.
NASHUA, Iowa  A Florida murder suspect is arrested in northeast Iowa.

The Iowa State Patrol says it attempted to stop a vehicle for speeding on Highway 218 near Nashua around 9:30 am Wednesday. The State Patrol says the chase hit speeds of over 100 miles per hour and the driver swerved into oncoming traffic. Stop sticks were deployed that punctured the tires of the fleeing vehicle and the State Patrol says the 21-year-old driver, Devon Cooke of Miami, Florida, was captured after a short foot chase.

Cooke has been charged with 1st degree OWI, felony eluding, assault on a peace officer, possession with intent to deliver, failure to affix a drug tax stamp, possession of drug paraphernalia, and multiple traffic violations. Authorities say Cooke is also wanted in Florida for 2nd degree murder.

He is being held in the Chickasaw County Jail.

Assisting with this pursuit and arrest were the Iowa Department of Transportation, the sheriffs offices in Bremer, Chickasaw, and Black Hawk counties, and the Janesville Police Department.
FOREST CITY, Iowa  A judge has found a Britt man guilty on two counts of 2nd degree sexual abuse.

Chad Bonner, 48, was arrested in June 2017 after charges were filed against him in Winnebago County. He pleaded not guilty and waived his right to a jury trial, allowing his case to be decided by a judge.

He was accused of performing sex acts upon two girls under the age of 12 between January 2005 and September 2008. Court documents say the abuse occurred in Forest City and Thompson.

In handing down his guilty verdict on Friday, the judge stated he could find no reason the victims would make false accusations against Bonner and that sexually abused children do not always immediately tell people about the abuse when it is happening.

A sentencing date for Bonner has not yet been scheduled.

Bonner is listed on the Iowa Sex Offender Registry for a Cerro Gordo County conviction in 1991 for 3rd degree sexual abuse and 2010 convictions in Winnebago County for dissemination of obscene material and sexual exploitation of a minor.
CHARLES CITY, Iowa  Police say they seized narcotics-related items at a Charles City apartment Friday night.

The police department says it executed a search warrant at an apartment in the 700 block of 11th Street and found the drug items. Two dogs were also removed from the home and an investigation into animal neglect charges is possible.

No other details have been released.
PHOENIX (AP)  Federal law enforcement authorities are in the process of seizing online classified site Backpage.com and its affiliated websites.

A notice that appeared Friday afternoon at Backpage.com says the websites are being seized as part of an enforcement action by the FBI, U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Internal Revenue Service.



U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar

The notice doesn't characterize or provide any details on the nature of the enforcement action. It said authorities plan to release information about the enforcement action later Friday.

U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar praised the move and released the following statement: Websites like Backpage.com facilitate sex trafficking across Minnesota and our country. The announcement by the FBI that they have seized this website and affiliated sites is long overdue, but another positive step forward in the fight against human trafficking. We must keep working to bring perpetrators to justice and get victims the support they deserve."

The Minnesota DFLer says thats why she and a bipartisan group of senators introduced the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act to ensure justice for victims of sex trafficking and ensure that websites such as Backpage.com can be held liable and brought to justice.

Backpage.com lets users create posts to sell items, seek a roommate, participate in forums, list upcoming events or post job openings. It also has had listings for adult escorts and other sexual services, and authorities say advertising related to those services has been extremely lucrative.

Last year, the creators of the website were charged with money laundering in California.

State prosecutors in California have said the website's chief executive Carl Ferrer and founders Michael Lacey and James Larkin illegally funneled money through multiple companies and created various websites to get around banks that refused to process transactions. They have pleaded not guilty.

Lacey and Larkin are former owners of the Village Voice and the Phoenix New Times, but retained ownership of Backpage.com.

A decade ago, they were arrested by then-Sheriff Joe Arpaio's office in 2007 for publishing information about a secret grand jury subpoena demanding information on its stories and online readers.

They won a $3.75 million settlement from county government as a result of their now-discredited arrests.
HAMPTON, Iowa- Iowa Secretary of Agriculture, Mike Naig, was in our area Friday where he toured Sukup Manufacturing and the Franklin Rural Electric Co-Op. The visit comes after the United States is on the verge of a trade war.

President Trump is threatening another $100 billion in tariffs against Chinese goods and China retaliated announcing $50 billion of US products including pork, beef, soybeans, corn and aircrafts.

Secretary Naig said he is already hearing from farmers who are feeling the impacts and says the effects of this are far reaching.

Even though these tariffs dont kick in for a few weeks, our market reacts in real time, Said Secretary Naig. The reality of it is that we have turbulence in the market place while these negotiations are going on.

Secretary Naig said it doesnt hurt that former Governor Terry Brandstad is now the Ambassador of China. He said he hopes Ambassador Branstad can relieve some of the tensions.
AUSTIN, Minn.  A man is in jail after police respond to a rolling domestic situation Thursday afternoon.

Carl Edward Baily, 36 of Austin, is facing charged of 2nd degree assault and misdemeanor domestic assault.

The Austin Police Department says it got a call just after 4:30 pm Thursday from a woman who said she was being chased by Bailey in a white pickup truck. The woman said she was driving with her two children in her vehicle.

Police Chief Brian Krueger says the woman accused Bailey of trying to prevent her from leaving their home but she got away. She told police that Bailey tried to cut her off on 18th Avenue Northwest and 4th Street Northwest, ramming her vehicle at one point.

The woman said Bailey finally got in front of her on 1st Drive Northwest, exited his truck and began pounding on her window. The woman told police she managed to get past Bailey and pulled into the Wells Fargo parking lot. Austin police say they then stopped Bailey as he tried to drive away.
ROCHESTER, Minn.  A medical condition led to a 35-year-old female crashing into a pole Friday afternoon.

The female was transported to St. Marys after hitting a pole that holds cable lines.

It happened in the 400 block of 12th St. SE.

The name of the person driving has not been released.
FOREST CITY, Iowa  A 19-year-old from Rake is pleading not guilty to possession of marijuana with intent to deliver.

Police say Ramiro Tiverio Resendiz was arrested after they found marijuana in his vehicle in the parking lot of North Iowa Community School in Buffalo Center on March 8. Officer say a book bag in the backseat contained pot, a marijuana grinder, and rolling papers.

Resendiz entered his not guilty plea Friday. A trial date has not been set.
ROCHESTER, Minn.  A woman accused of a string of mail thefts has agreed to a plea deal.

Angela Mae Clemens, 41 of Rochester, pleaded guilty Friday to three counts of mail theft. In exchange, five other theft counts against her were missed in Olmsted County District Court.

Clemens was arrested numerous times in February for taking packages from mailboxes and doorsteps throughout Rochester.

She will be sentenced on May 29.
Unidentified pilots, possibly in Seoul, circa 1948.



By Robert Neff





In the cockpit of his C-47 circa 1948.

For the American forces stationed in Korea following its liberation, the life of a pilot must have seemed enviable.



Pilots had better living conditions, more benefits and flew all over the country. And, considering the unrest that plagued the country, their occupation may have seemed relatively safe  especially when compared with the common infantry soldier or military policeman. But not always.



On April 21, 1948, the American airfield on Jeju Island reported that it had lost landline communications with other parts of the island. The report went on to say that there had been kidnappings and murders by "leftist rioters" in the previous days whose intentions were "to spread disorder just for disorder's sake."





A newspaper clipping circa May 1, 1948.

On April 24, two unidentified snipers shot at an American C-47 as it was taking off from the airport. Fortunately, "the shots were wild" and the airplane suffered no damage. The situation on Jeju was rapidly worsening.



Among the handful of photographs that I acquired of an unidentified American pilot is an article by James Roper (UP special correspondent in Seoul) dated May 1. Roper reported:





"The Army evacuated eight American women and children from the strife-torn island of [Jeju] as fresh Communist raids there caused the Soviet-American tension to rise throughout Korea.



"A C-47 flew out four mothers and four children, the only American dependents on the island. The Army refused to release their names on grounds that it would worry their relatives in the United States, although everyone is now safe.



"Military Governor of American-occupied South Korea Lt. Gen. William Dean made a special aerial trip to [Jeju] to confer with American and Korean officials there.



"The latest reports from the island said Leftist mobs tore down two bridges, cut telephone wires, kidnapped the head of the village of Whabok and distributed handbills urging assassination of Rightist leader Syngman Rhee.



"Korean constabulary on [Jeju] pressed their campaign, suddenly surrounding villages and questioning every male therein for affiliation with the rioters."



Was this unknown pilot part of the evacuation? We will probably never know  so much of this dark period of Jeju's past has been lost.





The 24th Corps headquarters at the Naija Hotel in Seoul circa 1948.





The entrance to the military compound circa 1948.





The military compound circa 1948.




Facebook is dealing with its biggest crisis yet. / Reuters



By Jung Min-ho





Sheryl Sandberg
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(ST. JOSEPH, Mo.) Two local lawmakers were in St. Joseph on Thursday pushing for an initiative that would, if passed, work to "clean up" Jefferson City politics.

Sen. Rob Schaaf, (R) St. Joseph, and Rep. Galen Higdon, (R) St. Joseph, stopped by East Hills Library to talk about the Clean Missouri initiative petition.

Schaaf said the initiative would put Missourians before big donors, lobbyists and partisan politics.

"I would say that it's experiences with big money, special interests coming to the legislator trying to sort of buy their legislation, and we've seen evidence of that several times," Schaaf said.

Clean Missouri would eliminate all lobbyist gifts to lawmakers that go over $5, require that politicians wait two years after leaving office to become a lobbyist and lower campaign contributions for state legislative candidates ($2,500 for state senate and $2,000 for state house).

Rep. Higdon said he stands behind the initiative because of his own experiences in Jefferson City.

"I found out that some of the former house leaders were leaving with millions of dollars, and I'm like you know what that's just wrong. I didn't come down here to get rich," Higdon said.

The legislation would also stop legislative fundraising on state property, require that legislative records be open to the public and ensure that neither political party is given an unfair advantage when new maps are drawn after the next census.

"So, we had a Right to Work initiative. Do I think Right to Work is right for Missouri? I think that there's a good possibility that what they want to do is right," Higdon said. "In my district, 60 percent said no, so I had to vote no. I get a phone call that tells me that for $35,000...you change your vote. That's just wrong."

Show Me Integrity, a coalition from around the state that consists of organizations and individuals who are pressing for anti-corruption reform in Missouri, has been working to gather signatures for the Clean Missouri Initiative.

According to a representative from the coalition, they have been gathering these signatures for roughly a year.

"You want to have your laws that your legislature pass represent the wishes of the people, but that's not what really happens in the legislature," Schaaf said.

However, Schaaf hopes Clean Missouri would help fix that issue.

"I'm a republican, and the republican party is pushing this bill," Schaaf said. "All the democrats are opposed to it."

Schaaf said the Clean Missouri bill should be on the ballot in November.
On the first day of 2017, a new law took effect in France giving workers the legal right to avoid responding to work email or text messages on days off or at all hours of the night. A bill proposed by New York City Councilman Rafael Espinal seeks to bring the same idea to the city that never sleeps.

The bill, as proposed March 22, would make it unlawful for private employers in New York  a city known for industries with 24/7 work cultures such as finance, media, law and advertising  to require workers to check and respond to email and text messages during non-work hours except in the case of emergency.

Technology has made it easy for companies and employers to blur the line on the amount of time employers are working, Espinal said. The essence and spirit of this bill is to go after employers who are harassing employees to the point they are being retaliated against.

But employment lawyers, even as they acknowledged the creeping role technology plays in workers lives, said the bill raises a number of questions. How would workers answer questions from overseas colleagues? Would it apply to salaried workers who arent due overtime?

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I cant imagine how this law could apply to exempt [salaried] employees, said Robert Whitman, a labor and employment law partner at Seyfarth Shaw. They couldnt mean for this to say what it seems to say.

But it does. Espinal said the bill is intended to cover both salaried and hourly workers, but its not meant to suggest employers cant send email to workers after hours or even that employees cant choose to respond and work at night or on weekends. Rather, he says, the goal is to ensure that employees who choose not to respond wont be retaliated against.

I saw that theres a possible legislative fix to the issue, he said, pointing to the law in France. I thought it was necessary that New York has this conversation and we explore the opportunity.

Yet drawing the line between whats actually required by an employer and whats not could also be tough. An email that explicitly demands an employee to respond at 11 p.m. could be one thing. But workers might argue  even if an email doesnt directly mandate an off-hours response  that the demands of their job and their workload during the day mean they implicitly have to respond to email at night to get their job done.

Its going to be tricky to define, said Jonathan Bing, who co-chairs the government relations practice for the law firm Jackson Lewis. When does an employee feel obligated to respond to that communication? How can one know whether that employee is truly, voluntarily making the decision or feels pressure to make it in order to advance his or her career?

Others wonder whether employers might just try to work around the bill by adopting particularly long usual work hours. The bill, as currently written, requires employers to adopt a written policy that spells out the usual work hours for each class of employees and allows it to make exceptions for employees who are required to be on call 24 hours during their workday.

Not to suggest these are the most forlorn employees, but does it apply to investment firm associates? To law firm associates? said Michael Marra, co-managing partner of the New York office of Fisher Phillips. If this was to pass exactly as written, you could have policies that say if youre exempt from overtime, our expectation is youre on 24/7. Theres nothing illegal about that, but I guess it would not be a great recruiting tool.

Marra also questioned whether the bills definition of emergency  a sudden and serious event, or an unforeseen change in circumstances, that calls for immediate action to avert, control or remedy harm  could be open to interpretation. What defines an emergency? he said. Weve all had bosses where someone elses emergency didnt seem like an emergency to us. I understand some of the sentiment behind a bill like this, but it strikes me thats really in the eye of the beholder.

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The proposal does not apply to employers with fewer than 10 workers or to government employees, in part because a separate but similar bill was introduced last year that would cover city employees. Espinal hopes the bill will come up for a hearing this summer and says he recognizes that it will come in for some change.

This bill isnt final, he said. A public hearing will be a great opportunity for all stakeholders to come in and talk, he added, saying that the hearing and those conversations will guide a lot of whats written in the final proposal.

Even with their questions, lawyers say it wouldnt entirely surprise them if a version of the bill passed a council that has, in the past, green-lighted progressive paid family leave policies and prohibitions on job discrimination for past arrest records. Bing said Espinal is a respected member of the council, and with New Yorks progressive Mayor Bill de Blasio, one cannot discount anything.
Listen to Sandra Oh, and she will say that BBC America is chock full of righteous women who have a relentless drive to upend gender stereotypes.

The former Greys Anatomy star points to the sharp-edged Orphan Black, a female-centric sci-fi drama that built a rabid cult following over five seasons, and the upcoming reboot of Doctor Who, which will feature the first female lead in the storied franchises 50-year history.

And April 8, Oh brings her own fearless factor to the network with the launch of Killing Eve, a cop-versus-killer drama pairing her with Jodie Comer of The White Princess.

Theyre really in the business of making things I want to watch and be part of, Oh said recently of the networks female executive team that includes general manager and president Sarah Barnett, head of original programming Nena Rodrigue and Killing Eve executive producer Sally Woodward Gentle. Theyre striving for something unique.

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Written and executive produced by Fleabag creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Killing Eve is the latest example of BBC Americas galaxy of women thats meant to reflect all the many shades of women that exist in real life, said Barnett. The network has already given a huge vote of confidence to the series: It was renewed last week for a second season, days before its premiere.

While inspirational tales of strong, competent gals are part of that mix, theres also plenty of room for characters like Ohs Eve Polastri, a bored MI5 agent with spy dreams and a serial killer obsession, and Comers Villanelle, a psychopathic assassin who relies more on her wits than her wiles to carry out her murderous missions.

Though Killing Eve, based on novellas by Luke Jennings, has been in the works for a few years, the timing couldnt be better for its debut, with Barnett saying that in the #MeToo and #TimesUp era, were seeing a sort of chipping away at the assumption that big, serious main stories must have men at the center.

She was intrigued by the dramas twist on the traditionally male cat-and-mouse cop genre simply by putting two women in these classically male roles. It felt super fresh.

Barnett described the eight-episode thriller, shot on location in London, Berlin, Tuscany and other European spots, as subversive and darkly funny with a mordant sense of humor that could be considered a risk. But she hopes to find an audience thats willing to laugh at its off-kilter moments.

As TV viewing increasingly fragments, and there are 500-plus scripted shows, she said, you have to take those kinds of risks.

Killing Eve focuses on Polastri (Oh), a desk-bound cop whose hobby of tracking female killers, one in particular, earns her a bump up to MI6, putting heron a collision course with the stylish and lethal Villanelle.

Returning to series TV after a 10-season stint on Greys Anatomy that ended in 2014, Oh said shes glad for the abrupt departure from her Greys character, Dr. Cristina Yang. Eve is kind of a hot mess, she said, but under that frazzled and disheveled exterior, lies a brilliant detective.

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Shes not afraid of being schlumpy in a glam world, said Oh, who stuffed the characters handbag with the detritus of life and buttoned her blouses the wrong way to add to the chaos. She doesnt pay attention to those things. But she is laser focused on this killer.

And vice versa, which gives an edge-of-the-seat feeling to a series where no ones safe from Villanelle, who Comer described as an unpredictable, cold-blooded killer with no moral compass and no remorse. But on the flip side, shes so mischievous and free and interesting.

You kind of want to go on a night with her, Comer said in a phone interview. But obviously you dont want to get too close.

The series mirrors Waller-Bridges slightly devilish perspective, Barnett said, as it mixes black comedy with intense violence. In one episode, Villanelle poisons an asthmatic with toxic perfume, then hovers over her victim and playfully waves goodbye to herself with the dead womans hand.

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You feel like you really shouldnt be laughing, but you are, said Oh, who also serves as associate producer on the project, which costars Fiona Shaw, Kirby Howell-Baptiste and David Haig. There are so many witty, demented elements.

At the core of this good-versus-evil battle is a visceral attraction between the two main characters, who initially pass each other at a grisly murder scene and later become closely intertwined.

Its like a lightning bolt, Oh said of the characters first meeting. That one look between them is so electric.

Though she may not be able to consciously articulate it, Eve is drawn to Villanelles ruthlessness, attitude and flair, Oh said. The reasons for Villanelles obsession with her pursuer arent quite clear in early episodes, but chances are good that fans will find out by hour eight.

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A genre-bending project such as Killing Eve highlights BBC Americas sensibility in scripted storytelling, Barnett said, with the goal of undercutting convention and surprising viewers.

We love the high-wire suspense of it, its burst of color and music and action and gorgeous scenery, Barnett said. It aims to be a lot of glorious fun.
Prince Charles declared an honorary high chief on Vanuatu where tribe worship his father

7 April 2018Prince Charles might not have the god-like status of his father Prince Philip on Vanuatu, but he was given an honour of his own on a visit to the island nation.Donning a grass skirt and a white garland, the heir to the throne was made a high chief in a colourful ceremony on Saturday.In the tradition of the Malvatumauri Council of Chiefs, Charles took part in a series of rituals as he was given the high chief name of Mal Menaringmanu.The prince also took a sip from a cup of special kava, known as Royal Kava, before planting two trees.The drink is reserved for special occasions and was only last consumed when the Duke of Edinburgh visited the island in 1974.Delighting the crowds - who had turned out in their thousands - with the traditional greeting of "Halo yufala euriwan", meaning "Hello everybody", he said: "My visit, while far too brief, has nevertheless allowed me to experience for myself the warmth, generosity and spirit for which the people of Vanuatu are so justly famed."He added: "Vanuatu, you are number one!"His visit may have served to cheer up villagers, who were disappointed that the retirement of his father from public duty last year meant that they were unlikely to get another visit from their chosen deity.Earlier, Charles had received a welcome befitting for an heir to the throne as he landed on the island at Port Vila - much as his parents received back in 1974.Greeted by the locals in traditional dress and with painted faces, the prince smiled and waved as he walked across red ceremonial mats - one of the most deeply respected aspects of Vanuatu's traditions.After meeting with Vanuatu's president and being given the first of many traditional garlands, it was time for a spot of shopping, as Charles picked up a hat and a bag for wife Camilla at a handicraft market."They make such wonderful gifts, don't they," he said, as he snapped them up for 6000 vatu.Charles spent a while strolling through the Haos blong Handikraf market, admiring locally made products such as paintings, wooden sculptures and woven baskets.Sovaki Zacharie, 19, who was lucky enough to chat to the prince at the market, said it was "so special" to have Charles visit the island."We've only ever seen him in magazines, so to see him in real life makes me so happy," she said.Charles later met Jimmy Joseph, from the village of Yaohnanen, on the Vanuatan island of Tanna, where Prince Philip is viewed as a divine being.The Prince Philip Movement believes the Queen's husband is the man from one of their legends.Charles warmly shook Mr Joseph's hand as he was presented with a gift.Mr Joseph said: "I gave him a walking stick for his father made by the hands of the Prince Philip Movement."I told him a lot of people in the movement have now died but there are some still living. The prince said he would deliver the message personally."Charles also visited Port Vila Central Hospital, which suffered extensive damage when tropical cyclone Pam hit in 2015, and praised the "fantastic" recovery effort funded by the Australian government, including the refurbishment of operating theatres and the laboratory.The day trip to the South Pacific island came on the fourth day of his week-long tour of Australia, the first three days of which he was joined by the Duchess of Cornwall.He will now fly on to Cairns before finishing his trip in Darwin.
Working on the set of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit for almost 20 years, Mariska Hargitay received a flood of messages from sexual assault survivors. The experience drove her to action.

The actress teamed with directors Trish Adlesic, who worked on Law & Order: SVU for several years, and Geeta Gandbhir to produce I Am Evidence, an investigation of the backlog of untested rape kits in Los Angeles, Detroit and Cleveland.



For the record: A previous version of this article had misspellings of director Trish Adlesics last name. It also stated she attended a film festival in Michigan. The festival was in Mississippi.

The documentary centers on survivors who recount their experiences with assault and the years they waited for justice. It also follows Kym Worthy, a Wayne County, Mich., prosecutor, and her effort to end the backlog in Detroit.

A lot of people just dont know about this problem, and I was one of those people, Hargitay says in the film. And then you meet people like Kym Worthy and you see what shes doing. You sort of cant help but say, What am I doing?

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I Am Evidence premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival last year and has since been screened across the country. It will be debut April 16 on HBO.

In a phone interview, Adlesic and Gandbhir discussed how they touched on the sensitive topic in the #MeToo era and what it was like working with Hargitay on the project.

What has happened in the year since I Am Evidence premiered at the Tribeca Fim Festival and other screenings?

Trish Adlesic: I was recently in Oxford, Miss., ., at the festival there and the state legislator publicly committed to putting policies in place and put bills forward that would count, track, test kits and do something with the findings of the tested rape kits. Weve seen that in a few other places where screenings have taken place. There have been immediate and long-lasting results from the screenings.

Geeta Gandbhir: Every time the film plays somewhere, theres also people who stand up in the audience and want to testify about their own experience.

Adlesic: At Michael Moores Film Festival in Traverse City, an emergency room doctor stood up and he was choked up. He was so fearful that if a victim would come in, he wouldnt know how to conduct a rape kit exam and he urged us to show the film to medical schools. About 13% of medical rooms have trained examiners who can conduct the kits. When we get that kind of reaction it helps us learn on what else we can be doing.

How did you ensure survivors felt comfortable sharing their stories?

Adlesic: One of the survivors in the film, Helena Lazaro of Los Angeles, actually created the first round of questions. She helped write the questions that would lead us into what would be most comfortable with survivors, approaching it as if it were a conversation with a friend. And those questions [were the framework] for all of the interviews that were conducted. Theres also a lot of prep work that goes into it. You make sure its a very small team, you try to take up as little space as possible. And if theyre not comfortable theres always the option to stop. We also offered therapeutic support to the survivors interviewed.

Why did you chose to approach the topic the way you did?

Gandbhir: It was really important for us to have a survivor-centric story [and] for us to have the actual statistics and facts in for people to understand the gravity of this issue. One of the big things too was to try to get material about the survivor that was not just the interview  to give context about their lives so people could relate to them better. We wanted to present them as whole human beings with a lot of agency and a lot of power.

How do you think the #MeToo and Times Up movements will change the way the film is received?

Adlesic: The movement will help us get more attention. Times up; its been up, it was never there to begin with. And its a good opportunity for all these efforts to come together, because the rape kit backlog is so indicative of the way we see violence against women. By saying this is no longer acceptable and we now have a community that can support this fight, all the women that have gone before us in this effort can see were finally in this movement of seeing action and people being held accountable for misconduct.

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How was working with Hargitay ?

Adlesic: I worked on Law & Order: SVU for a few years and I had gone through documentaries on the issues of fracking. She took note of the attention it brought to those issues. We looked at each other one day and said, This is the story. She is such an extraordinary voice in this. She used every bit of her power to shed light on the darkness around sexual assault and domestic violence and child abuse.

Gandbhir: Mariska was also deeply involved. She watched the film over and over and over and made sure everything was done right. A lot of people in her position might not be so hands-on, but she was very invested and gave a lot of herself.

What is it like working on Law & Order: SVU versus a documentary covering similar issues?

Adlesic: Making documentaries, its so gratifying because its so real. You get to know people in such an extraordinary way. But there are real sacrifices to it. The pay isnt the same. Its 24/7, its all-consuming.

Gandbhir: I came up with Spike Lee and had the same experience. It really taught me that the most important thing is your story no matter what youre doing. There has to be a good story with a good arc and strong people within the story that your audience can relate to. What is the saying  real life is always stranger than fiction? Theres nothing more wonderful, more fascinating, more heartbreaking, more inspiring than real people.

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I Am Evidence

Where: HBO

When: 8 p.m. April 16

Rating: Not rated

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alejandra.reyesvelarde@latimes.com

Twitter: @r_valejandra
As part of Food Bowl, Mays monthlong festival of food, dining and sustainability, the Los Angeles Times is presenting the second annual Gold Award to chefs Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken. The Gold Award is to be given to a California chef annually, with the idea of honoring culinary excellence and expanding the notion of Southern California cooking. The award, which last year was given to Wolfgang Puck, celebrates intelligence, innovation and brilliance as well as sensitivity to aesthetics, culture and the environment.

It is hard to imagine anyone who has shaped the idea of what a Los Angeles chef might be than this years honorees, who have worked as partners since their early years of apprenticeship and who have run restaurants together here since the early 1980s.

At the original City Cafe on Melrose, Feniger and Milliken turbocharged the idea of a neighborhood restaurant, and at their ambitious City Restaurant on La Brea, which served finely realized versions of dishes from a dozen countries, they blurred the boundaries between street food and fine dining in ways that some of us are just now beginning to appreciate. (Feniger later formalized the blurring at her short-lived Street.)

At Border Grill, they explored regional Mexican cooking a decade before the idea became fashionable. (A lot of people who wouldnt dare admit it at the moment may have first tasted panuchos, tinga, freshly made tortillas and pescado Veracruzana at Border Grill.) They wrote five cookbooks together. They were the original hosts of the Good Food show on KCRW. Their long-running series Too Hot Tamales may have been the first genuine hit in the pre-Emeril days of the Food Network; Feniger, in a solo turn, was a star on Top Chef Masters.

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And, not least, they have always been among the most generous of chefs, pouring countless hours and organizing countless fundraisers for Share Our Strength, No Kid Hungry, the Los Angeles LGBT Center and the Scleroderma Research Centers, among many others.

Tacos and tamales, we have learned, can bring the world together. Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken have shown us more than a few of the possibilities.

jonathan.gold@latimes.com

@thejgold
Last spring, an off-duty LAPD cop named Mike Goldberg went to the movies at the Laemmle in North Hollywood with his wife.

At the theater, he spotted a flier for a missing 57-year-old Manhattan Beach woman named Nancy Paulikas, who suffered from advanced Alzheimers disease and had vanished on Oct. 15, 2016, in Mid-City Los Angeles.

Ive been happily married to my wife of 25 years and I couldnt imagine this happening, said Goldberg, a patrol sergeant who has worked as a detective. If youre really a cop, real cops care.

So Goldberg called Paulikas husband, Kirk Moody, and offered to assist in the search during his off-duty hours.

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It was kind of amazing, said Joan Paulikas, Nancys mother.

A lot of people volunteer for a lot of different causes, but for someone with a busy policemans life to say he wants to help, thats special, said George Paulikas, Nancys father.

Without a trace

In no time, Goldberg and Moody were visiting hospitals together, making calls, chasing leads and narrowing a list of several theories on what might have happened to Nancy Paulikas, a UCLA grad and computer engineer.

She and Moody, who met while working at TRW/Northrop Grumman, had retired early to pursue their love of hiking and other outdoor adventures. But Paulikas developed Alzheimers and it rapidly consumed her, to the point that she became unfamiliar with the story of her own life. Moody became her 24-hour caretaker as she retreated into a haze.

Before Goldberg came on the scene, Moody and his wifes parents  joined by a small army of volunteers  had canvassed the city for months, distributing fliers and checking in with authorities. They got a lot of help from the Los Angeles and Manhattan Beach police departments and held out hope that shed turn up soon.

When I first wrote about the case, in 2016, a reader reported a possible sighting that looked promising. It was in the vicinity of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, where Moody and Paulikas got separated when he went to the restroom, and surveillance video from the neighborhood showed Paulikas strolling along a nearby street just after her disappearance.

Moody tracked it down and came up empty, as he has so many times. In the months since his wifes disappearance, he has considered all the possibilities.

Maybe she died or was killed, but there was no coroner record of a woman matching her description. Maybe shed been taken in by a good Samaritan, or became homeless, or had somehow left the state, although she was entirely unable to care for her own basic needs.

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Homeless? Dead? Something else?

Those theories were plausible but not likely in the opinion of Goldberg, who educated himself by touching base with the missing persons unit of the LAPD and with Det. Mike Rosenberger of the Manhattan Beach Police Department, which is the official investigating agency.

Goldberg also went to training seminars and spoke to state missing persons specialists. And he had a piece of experience that was particularly useful:

Before becoming a cop, Goldberg  a former U.S. Army paratrooper with graduate degrees in socio-cultural anthropology and organizational leadership  worked in medical billing. So he had navigated the maze of reimbursement vagaries for the cost of caretaking, and that knowledge was a useful tool in trying to track Paulikas.

The more Goldberg learned about missing persons investigations, the more he became convinced that the most likely of the working theories is that Paulikas is alive and living in an elderly or assisted care facility somewhere in California.

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A new theory

Hes not certain, of course, but his hypothetical begins like this:

Someone may have spotted Paulikas on the street, disoriented or in distress, after her disappearance. She might have been transported by emergency responders to a hospital that realized thered be no way to get reimbursed for Paulikas care.

So she could have been shipped to a care facility or a homeless shelter, not necessarily with her best interests in mind.

Youve heard of patient dumping, said Goldberg.

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If she ended up in a licensed or unlicensed care facility, large or small, the caretaker may not have known who Paulikas was, despite statewide missing persons alerts that noted her description and severe Alzheimers.

Or something more nefarious may have happened.

A caretaker may have recognized Paulikas but kept her identity secret, because she was a source of steady income. Monthly reimbursements for care are available through Medi-Cal for Jane Does.

Or, in an even darker scenario, maybe a care facility had a female client  lets call her Betty, says Goldberg  who died. Then along came Nancy, and to keep the money flowing without a hitch, the caretaker did a shuffle, and Nancy became Betty.

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If you have a death by natural causes, and you have a doctor willing to sign for her death certificate, shell go straight to release by a coroner without a record, said Goldberg.

Its a creepy possibility, but probably not all that far-fetched. Medical fraud is a fact of life, and in a rapidly aging population of boomers, its safe to assume that all manner of profiteering is in play.

Last year I visited a developmentally disabled woman living in half of a converted garage, for her entire Social Security check of nearly $900 a month. And she was one of nine residents in the unlicensed home on a normal residential street in the Valley. When I tried to find out how many such homes exist, no one at the city, county or state level had any idea.

Follow the money, George Paulikas said, describing the current strategy in the search for his daughter.

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But in trying to do so, Paulikas and the rest of the team have been repeatedly frustrated by bureaucracy. It seemed to Moody and his cohorts that a database search of Medi-Cal reimbursements to care facilities for women with Alzheimers might shake loose a lead or two. But Moody says that after initial cooperation from the state Department of Health Care Services, repeated requests for a more extensive search have been rebuffed.

A state spokesman told me his department had already done what it could legally do, given patient privacy laws.

Moody disputes that, and said elected officials have backed his request for more information, also to no avail. Goldberg told me Californias missing persons guru, at the state attorney generals office, expressed her own frustration about the difficulty of getting information out of Health Care Services, and told Goldberg this sort of thing happens all the time.

Flaws in the system

If there are holes in the system, or a lack of communication between agencies, someone needs to lead the way on fixes. L.A. Countys Bringing Our Loved Ones Home Task Force (wdacs.lacounty.gov/boloh) is a good start, and it was begun partly in response to Paulikas disappearance.

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Also, family members have to make sure afflicted loved ones have identification bracelets or other ID with them at all times. The Alzheimers Assn. reports that 60% of those with dementia will wander, and if not found in 24 hours, up to half will suffer injury or death.

Goldberg said a database search for women between the ages of 47 and 67 with Alzheimers, whose care is covered by Medi-Cal, could turn up a couple thousand possibilities. That would make for a lot of pavement pounding, but Moody, Goldberg and the rest of the team say theyre prepared to chase every lead.

A $30,000 reward is available for information that brings Nancy Paulikas home.

Anyone with information on her whereabouts can call Manhattan Beach detectives at (310) 802-5120 or send an email to Moody at nancyismissing@gmail.com.

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To read this article in Spanish, click here

Get more of Steve Lopezs work and follow him on Twitter @LATstevelopez
It began as a $280 citation for using a video camera in a courthouse.

But to Gary Gileno, at stake was much more than the couple hundred bucks he was told to pay.

An attorney for the anti-illegal immigration activist and prolific YouTuber told a judge Friday that the four-hour trial over the fine was really about preventing government abuse of power, protecting the rights of journalists and ensuring that citizens can hold public officials accountable.

If he is convicted  itll chill speech, itll chill journalism, itll say the federal government has a superpower to do whatever it wants, attorney William Becker said. This is unprecedented. This is what we expect to see in a police state.

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A federal prosecutor dismissed the rhetoric, arguing the Class C misdemeanor charge was simply about Gilenos refusal to follow a security officers orders.

The unusual legal battle came after Gileno, 32, tried to bring a video camera into a meeting of the Los Angeles County Sheriff Civilian Oversight Commission last year. California law specifically allows the public to use recording devices at such meetings, but the commissions meeting in August was held at a federal appellate court building where filming is prohibited.

Someone just detained at federal courthouse, where public Sheriff Civilian Oversight Commission meeting takin place, 4 trying 2 take pic pic.twitter.com/GhO2niGory  Maya Lau  (@mayalau) August 24, 2017

The commission, a civilian panel set up to monitor the Sheriffs Department and listen to public concerns about the agency, had been gathering in different locations around the county since it began meeting in January 2017. This was the first time commissioners had met at the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals building in Pasadena.

As Gileno entered the courthouse, deputy U.S. marshals told him he had to leave his camera in his car. Gileno insisted he had a right to record the meeting under the First Amendment and the states open meetings law, known as the Brown Act, and began filming the officers.

They responded by handcuffing and detaining him for about an hour.

After Gileno was cited, Robert C. Bonner, a former federal judge who chairs the commission, told The Times he wasnt aware of certain provisions of the states open meetings law and relied on the countys lawyers for legal advice.

Rather than pay the fine, Gileno opted to take his case to trial, facing a penalty of up to a $10,000 fine and 30 days in jail if found guilty.

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Gileno, who began his YouTube career after showing up at his local council meeting in West Covina, said he has made a living off of his channel in recent years. His copious videos  3,237 and counting  focus primarily on denouncing illegal immigration and promoting supporters of President Trump. His criminal case may have been a boon for his channel  a recent screed on his own prosecution was viewed more than 10,000 times.

On Friday, two court security officers who clashed with Gileno took the stand and testified that there were signs clearly posted saying photography wasnt allowed in the courthouse. They said Gileno grew belligerent and disruptive, turning on his camera after being warned several times that it was not allowed.

Testifying in his own defense, Gileno said he was a freelance citizen journalist who has attended and filmed local government meetings and legislative town halls for about five years.

I believe in the United States of America, you should be able to keep tabs on the government, he said.

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In more than 250 other public meetings he attended, he said, he never had an issue with bringing in his video camera. He said the security officer all of a sudden exploded at him, so he turned on his camera to document what I felt was a violation of my rights at the time.

Assistant U.S. Atty. Benedetto Lee Balding said Gilenos disruption of security officers working at the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals was no small matter. It was Gileno who escalated the encounter by refusing to go along with the officers orders, he said.

He decided unilaterally he didnt have to follow the rules, the prosecutor said.

Becker, who primarily represents conservatives and Christians in free-speech cases, worked for free on Gilenos case. He argued that the federal courthouse essentially became a limited public forum when it hosted the commission meeting, which Gileno should have been allowed to film under the state law.

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Magistrate Judge Jean P. Rosenbluth said she could understand why Gileno was angry and frustrated given his past experience filming the meetings, but she said that didnt excuse his failure to follow orders. Security at the appellate courthouse, where justices could be filmed without their knowledge, was a serious concern, the judge said.

Even if these seem arbitrary or dont make any sense to Mr. Gileno or anybody else, clearly they serve this very important purpose, Rosenbluth said, finding Gileno guilty.

Acknowledging that a misunderstanding had led to the kerfuffle, the prosecutor recommended a sentence of no fine, which would leave Gileno having to pay just $35 in court fees. Rosenbluth said she felt the need for some consequences and ordered Gileno to pay a $50 fine, bringing his total penalty to $85 with the fees.

Gileno said he was outraged and astounded. After the verdict, he turned to nine supporters in the audience, including a man in a red Make California Great Again hat, and exclaimed, I was never read my rights!

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His attorney said they would seriously consider an appeal and possibly a civil lawsuit against the government.

What the judge just said is if a city council can move to a federal building, they can keep the meeting secret, Gileno said. Thats grossly illegal.

victoria.kim@latimes.com

For more California news, follow me on Twitter @vicjkim
A woman who authorities said was driving drunk when her car swerved onto a curb and struck a homeless man  sending him through her cars windshield and killing him instantly  was found guilty Friday of second-degree murder.

Esteysi Stacy Sanchez, 31, also was found guilty of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, and hit and run in the June 27, 2016, crash that killed Jack Ray Tenhulzen. She faces a prison sentence of at least 15 years to life when she is sentenced May 31.

A jury deliberated for about a day before it reached the verdicts.

That the defendant was charged with murder was not typical. Most deadly drunken-driving crashes are charged as manslaughter, unless the defendant has a prior drunken driving conviction  which Sanchez did not.

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Deputy Dist. Atty. Robert Bruce argued to the jury that Sanchezs case rose to the level of second-degree murder because friends with her that night told her not to drive. He said she had shown a conscious disregard for life.

On Friday, the prosecutor said he was pleased with the verdict.

I think this sends a message that if you are warned not to drink and drive, and you drink and drive anyway, you may be found guilty of murder, he said.

Sanchez, who authorities suspect is an immigrant in the country illegally, has been jailed since the day of the crash.

Authorities said Sanchez was driving east on Mission Avenue in Oceanside about 6:15 a.m. when her car struck and killed 69-year-old Tenhulzen on a sidewalk.

The impact knocked him out of his pants and shoes, and thrust his body through the cars front windshield into the passenger seat. The crash killed him instantly, and severed one of his legs near the foot.

With the dead body next to her, Sanchez drove more than a mile, parked the car around the block from her house, then walked home.

Defense attorney Herb Weston had argued that his client  who had gone clubbing  had fallen asleep for a second as she made the roughly two-mile drive home from a motel where she had been at an after-party with friends.

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She failed to negotiate a small bend in the road and drove on sidewalk for about 100 feet, striking the victim.

Weston argued that Sanchez awoke on impact and freaked out when she saw shattered glass, blood and a body in the seat next to her.

teri.figueroa@sduniontribune.com

Figueroa writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune.
A federal court jury has awarded $10 million in damages to a California man who spent six years in prison before his murder conviction was thrown out.

Jamal Trulove accused four San Francisco police officers of framing him for a 2007 killing at a public housing complex.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported that jurors on Friday found the two lead homicide inspectors on the case had violated Truloves rights by fabricating evidence against him and withholding evidence that might have helped him. The panel found no wrongdoing by two other officers.

Alex Reisman, an attorney for Trulove, says the 33-year-old was in tears after the verdict.

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A state appeals court overturned Truloves conviction in 2014. A second trial resulted in a jury acquittal a year later.

John Cote, spokesman for City Atty. Dennis Herrera, said the verdict was disappointing.
A large tropical storm dumped rain over Northern California, drenching the Bay Area and causing some flooding in the Yosemite Valley and the Lake Tahoe area Saturday.

The Merced River reached its flood stage at 8 a.m., according to the National Weather Service. The storm that started Friday dropped more than 3 inches of rain in the Yosemite Valley, said Brian Ochs, a meteorologist with the weather service in Hanford.

The Merced River at the Pohono Bridge  which was running at about 4 feet ahead of the storm  hit 10 feet, which is when flooding occurs, Ochs said. The river was expected to rise to 15 feet by late Saturday, he said. The Merced River flooded last spring amid warm weather.

Yosemite Valley remained closed by the National Park Service on Saturday due to the flooding. All overnight reservations were canceled through Saturday night. Officials said they would reassess the situation on Sunday.

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There is some minor flooding in some of the campgrounds, Ochs said. Unfortunately its a loss of revenue for the park, but safety is the important thing.

The main roads through the valley have been inundated with water, as has the Housekeeping Camp on the south bank of the Merced River, said meteorologist Kris Mattarochia with the weather service.

Video taken Saturday shows water flooding a roadway near the Yosemite Valley visitors center.

The rain was expected to taper off Saturday afternoon, but there remains a threat of mudslides in the Yosemite Valley due to recent wildfires, Ochs said.

The Truckee River also flooded early Saturday morning, according to the weather service.

The river reached its flood stage of 4.5 feet and is expected to crest at 5.7 feet Saturday afternoon, said meteorologist Courtney Obergfell. The flooding is expected to affect campgrounds, yards and basements of low-lying homes along the river, she said.

The atmospheric river storm  a long plume of water vapor pouring over from the Pacific Ocean  is loaded with warm tropical moisture that will accelerate snowmelt at some of the highest elevations along the northern and central Sierra Nevada.

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San Francisco by early Saturday morning had recorded 2.22 inches of rain since the previous night, ranking it as the second-highest one-day total for the month of April. Parts to the north of the Bay Area got drenched by more than 6 inches of rain during the storm, according to the weather service.

Sacramento and Oroville broke daily records for rainfall Friday, and Santa Rosa saw 3.44 inches of rain from the storm. The storm forced a rare postponement of a game at San Franciscos AT&T Park Friday, where the Giants had been set to host the Dodgers.

Officials with the California Department of Water Resources said they are closely monitoring how much water the storm sends into Lake Oroville, where a patched-up dam spillway may be used for the first time since last year.

At 2 p.m. Saturday, the lake level registered nearly 797 feet, well below the 901-foot-level at which it would spill over. If the lake rises to 830 feet, DWR officials said they will open the spillway gates, releasing water in a more controlled manner.

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Current forecasts show the potential for runoff to raise the reservoir to near the 830-foot trigger elevation by the middle of next week, the department said.

The spillway is the reservoirs primary tool for flushing out massive amounts of water in a quick, controlled way. It crumbled last year, triggering evacuations downstream, and has been only partially rebuilt, with engineers patching up the rest earlier this year. The remainder of the spillway is to be torn down and rebuilt after the current rainy season has passed.

Water resource managers have kept the lake well below its usual levels for the last year to avoid using the spillway amid repairs. But a string of late-season storms in March pushed the lakes level higher.

The atmospheric river did not bring much rain to Ventura County or Los Angeles on Saturday, with light precipitation falling in the coastal mountains, according to the weather service.

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Southern California appears poised to record one of the driest years on record, climatologist Bill Patzert said. Downtown Los Angeles since July 1 has received about 4.68 inches of rain, about 34% of what is seen on average by this time of year.

Some spots in northern CA have received over 6 inches of rain in the past two days. That should help recharge some reservoirs! #CAwx pic.twitter.com/GItSZ09UTt  NWS San Diego (@NWSSanDiego) April 7, 2018

ben.poston@latimes.com

Follow @bposton on Twitter.

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Times staff writers Joseph Serna and Rong-Gong Lin II contributed to this report.

UPDATES:

2:30 p.m.: This article was updated with information on flooding in the Yosemite Valley, rainfall amounts in Northern California and the status of Lake Oroville.

This article was originally posted at 10:45 a.m.
Four days after Southern Californias biggest water agency dropped a plan to pay for most of a major water delivery project, the funding proposal is back on the table.

In agenda materials posted Friday afternoon, the staff of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California presented two options for the board to vote on Tuesday: Approve $5.2 billion in funding for a single tunnel that would be built in the center of the states waterworks, or OK up to $10.8 billion to help finance the construction of two tunnels.

Although the influential MWD staff is recommending that the agency go with the one-tunnel plan because it involves less financial risk, they have continued to say that building the full Sacramento-San Joaquin delta project would provide more overall benefits to Californias water delivery system.

Its a close call, MWD general manager Jeffrey Kightlinger said Friday.

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The vote is likely to pit MWDs two biggest members, the city of Los Angeles and the San Diego County Water Authority, against its third-largest member, the Municipal Water District of Orange County  one of the agencies that pushed to get the two-tunnel proposal back on the agenda.

On Monday, Kightlinger sent a memo to the board saying the agency was backing away from a proposal to have MWD pick up the chunk of twin-tunnel financing that agricultural districts were refusing to shoulder. Kightlinger said he put the option back on the agenda after a number of board members told him they wanted to consider the two-tunnel version.

The zigzag reflects the tortured debate over the delta project, which Gov. Jerry Browns administration says is vital to sustaining water deliveries to the San Joaquin Valley and Southern California.

But the crucial question of who pays for the massive project  which is opposed by delta interests and major environmental groups  has been a major stumbling block.

The agricultural and urban districts that get supplies from government projects that pump water from the southern end of the Sacramento-San Joaquin delta are supposed to fund the project, known as California WaterFix. It would cost nearly $17 billion if fully built, and roughly $11 billion for a single tunnel.

Most of the largely urban districts in the State Water Project committed to pay for their share of the twin tunnels. But the primarily agricultural districts in the Central Valley Project said no thanks. That prompted the Brown administration to downsize initial construction to one tunnel, which MWD and other state contractors would pay for.

Overall, annual water deliveries to the state contractors that invested in WaterFix would be roughly the same, whether one or two tunnels were constructed, according to MWDs analysis. But the staff said the second tunnel would provide other supply benefits by giving managers more flexibility in operating the south delta pumping operations.

Citing that argument, some board members suggested that MWD pick up agricultures unfunded share to complete the full project. The move was based on the assumption that the agency would recoup its extra investment by selling tunnel shares to growers after the project was built.

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But the agricultural districts havent committed to any future purchases, potentially leaving MWD  and Southern California ratepayers  stuck with the bill if the agency moves ahead with both tunnels.

Even the smaller tab for one tunnel has raised concerns in Los Angeles and San Diego County, two areas that are trying to lessen their reliance on imported supplies from MWD.

Were concerned because MWD hasnt locked into what the total cost is going to be and how those payments are going to be apportioned between fixed charges and water purchases, said Richard Harasick, senior assistant general manager at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.

If fixed charges inflate residential bills regardless of how much water homeowners use, that is a disincentive to conserve, he said.

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The Los Angeles City Council last month passed a resolution stating that to avoid having the ratepayers of the City of Los Angeles carry the financial burden for other parts of the state, it opposed MWD assuming the unfunded share of a second tunnel.

On Friday, the Natural Resources Defense Council sent the MWD chairman a letter urging the board to postpone Tuesdays vote.

In what could be a preview of legal challenges, the environmental group argued that the board lacked adequate information to exercise their fiduciary duty in a lawful manner.

bettina.boxall@latimes.com

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Twitter: @boxall
Defense Secretary James N. Mattis has signed an order to send up to 4,000 National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border but barred them from interacting with migrants detained by the Border Patrol in most circumstances.

The order, issued in response to President Trumps call for using troops to stem illegal immigration, specifies that National Guard troops will assist the Department of Homeland Security along the border but not perform law enforcement missions and will be armed only when necessary for self-defense.

Given the restrictions, its unclear if the Guard units will play a significant role in Trump administration efforts to lock down the border. The Border Patrol has more than 19,000 sworn agents, although not all are assigned in the Southwest, and illegal immigration is at its lowest level in decades.

Trump portrayed it as a victory, however. We are sealing up our Southern Border, he said Saturday on Twitter. The people of our great country want Safety and Security. The Dems have been a disaster on this very important issue!

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Previous presidents have mobilized National Guard troops to help monitor parts of the border. President George W. Bush sent 6,400 troops starting in 2006 and President Obama sent 1,200 in 2010. As with the current deployment, actual policing was left to the Border Patrol, a law enforcement agency.

The governors of Texas and Arizona said they would deploy small contingents of soldiers, and New Mexicos governor has tentatively agreed to do likewise. But in California, the federal request for troops is still being reviewed.

No new California National Guard troops have been sent to the border, according to Evan Westrup, a spokesman for Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown. Some Guard troops already are deployed on the border for counter-drug operations.

Brandon Judd, president of the National Border Patrol Council, the union representing agents, said Guard units could help by freeing agents to do more patrolling to search for smugglers.

We have so many agents working in permanent surveillance duties, in control rooms, watching cameras, he said in an interview. This will free our resources to put more agents in the field.it will increase the certainty of apprehension, which will allow us to target the criminal cartels.

But some critics protested the buildup. In a letter, eight Roman Catholic bishops along the border said they were deeply concerned by the use of the military, saying it distorts the reality of life on the border.

This is not a war zone but instead is comprised of many peaceful and law abiding communities that are also generous in their response to human suffering, they wrote. The harsh rhetoric from the Trump administration, they added, promotes the dehumanization of immigrants, as if all were threats and criminals.

The deployment was announced late Friday in a joint statement by Mattis and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen. Working closely with the border governors, the Department of Homeland Security identified security vulnerabilities that could be addressed by the National Guard, they said.

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The troops will be under state control, but the cost of deploying them will be paid out of the Defense Department budget through the fiscal year that runs through September, according to the order, which was released by the Pentagon. The order did not say where the troops will be deployed along the 1,954-mile border, or which Guard units would be used.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, ordered 250 National Guard soldiers deployed to the border within 72 hours, and said additional troops would be called up to join them as soon as next week. Two helicopters lifted off Friday night from Austin, the state capital, to head south.

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, another Republican, said his state would deploy about 150 Guard members next week to provide support operations such as air surveillance, reconnaissance and construction of border infrastructure.

But governors of several states that dont sit on the border resisted, signaling potential obstacles in meeting the presidents goal of a surge of 4,000 troops.

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Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval, a Republican, opposed the plan. After consulting with the general in charge of the states National Guard, Sandoval decided there was no appropriate mission definition to justify sending troops, according to his spokeswoman, Mary-Sarah Kinner.

Further north, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown, a Democrat, said on Twitter that she would decline any request to send troops, saying she was deeply troubled by Trumps plan to militarize the border.

Administration officials have scrambled to work out the details of the operation since Trump abruptly announced Tuesday that he planned to send the military to help fight illegal immigration and drug trafficking.

Trump has been frustrated that the Republican-led Congress has refused to fully fund his plan to build a border wall. Mexico also has rejected his demands that it pay for the wall.

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The Pentagon has not provided an estimate for the cost of the military operation, and it is unclear whether all 4,000 of the Guard members authorized will be mobilized.

Under federal law, troops are barred from performing law enforcement duties in most circumstances, and the order appears to restrict them to a support role unless Mattis authorizes a wider mission.

National Guard personnel will not perform law enforcement activities or interact with migrants or other persons detained by [Department of Homeland Security] personnel without your approval, the order drafted for Mattis and signed by him reads.

The order adds that troops will carry weapons only in circumstances that might require self-defense.

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Its unclear what operations or missions troops will perform along the border that might require them to carry weapons.

Though barred from interacting with migrants, troops could theoretically be part of joint patrols with Border Patrol officers that could carry risk. Few migrants crossing the border are armed but some patrols focus on interdiction of drug smugglers.

Pentagon spokeswoman Dana W. White told reporters Thursday that planners are looking at sending National Guard units that can assist with aviation, engineering, surveillance, communications, vehicle maintenance and logistics support.

Lt. Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie, Jr., the director of the Pentagons Joint Staff, said the militarys preference was for the troops to be armed for self-protection, as National Guard units used along the border have been in the past.

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But an 18-year-old American was killed by a Marine near the U.S. border in 1997, an incident that led to a temporary suspension of troop patrols near the border.

Gen. Joseph Lengyel, chief of the Pentagons National Guard Bureau, which oversees state Guard organizations, said on Twitter that up to 500 reservists are now headed to the border, equipped with vehicles, helicopters and other equipment.

Despite Trumps repeated warnings about rampant illegal immigration, the number of people apprehended crossing the border  generally considered a roughly accurate gauge of illegal crossings  has fallen sharply in recent years and is now at the lowest ebb since 1971, about one-fifth the level of the late 1990s, according to Border Patrol data.

In fiscal year 2017, about 304,000 individuals were apprehended along the U.S.-Mexico border, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data. Thats down from 409,000 in 2016, 331,000 in 2015, 331,000 in 2015, and 479,000 in 2014.

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Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions on Friday instructed U.S. prosecutors along the U.S.-Mexico border to get tougher on filing criminal charges against people in the country illegally, ordering them to adopt a zero tolerance policy.

To those who wish to challenge the Trump Administrations commitment to public safety, national security, and the rule of law, I warn you: illegally entering this country will not be rewarded, but will instead be met with the full prosecutorial powers of the Department of Justice, Sessions said in a statement.

Soon after taking office last year, Sessions instructed prosecutors to be aggressive about filing charges against immigrants in the U.S. without authorization, instead of allowing them to be sent back to Mexico without facing criminal charges.

But the policy did not produce a surge in such arrests. Charges for immigration offenses declined 4.9 % in February, though they were up 14 % from the same month last year, according to data analyzed by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, a research organization at Syracuse University.

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Staff writer John Myers in Sacramento contributed to this report.

david.cloud@latimes.com

joseph.tanfani@latimes.com

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UPDATES:

2:25 p.m.: This article has been updated with a tweet from President Trumps and reaction to the deployment.

11:20 a.m.: This article has been updated with details from several states, including California.

This article was originally published at 5:15 a.m.
Arizona and Texas announced Friday that they were preparing to deploy National Guard members to the U.S.-Mexico border in response to President Trumps call for more border security.

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey said about 150 Guard members would deploy next week. And the Texas Military Department, the umbrella agency over the Texas National Guard branches, said on its Twitter account that it would hold a Friday night news conference on its preparations, though further details were not immediately available.

Trump told reporters Thursday that he wants to send between 2,000 and 4,000 National Guard members to the border to help fight illegal immigration and drug trafficking.

That would be fewer than the roughly 6,000 National Guard members that President George W. Bush sent in 2006 during another border security operation, but more than the 1,200 Guard members President Obama sent in 2010.

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A spokesman for Ducey, a Republican, said Friday that the deployment would be funded under a federal law called Title 32. Under that law, the National Guard remains under the command and control of each states governor.

In North Dakota, GOP Gov. Doug Burgum said that if hes asked, he will contribute Guard members.

Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval, also a Republican, on Friday became one of the latest leaders to oppose the plan. His spokeswoman, Mary-Sarah Kinner, said in an email that Sandoval does not believe the mission would be an appropriate use of the Nevada National Guard.

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown, a Democrat, has said she would deny Trumps request.

Department of Homeland Security officials have said Guard members could support Border Patrol agents and other law enforcement agencies. Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said this week that Guard members could help look at the technology, the surveillance, and that the department might ask for fleet mechanics.

From 2006 to 2008, the Guard fixed vehicles, maintained roads, repaired fences and performed ground surveillance. Its mission in 2010 and 2011 involved more aerial surveillance and intelligence work.

Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, now Trumps energy secretary, also sent about 1,000 Guard members to the border in 2014 in response to a surge in the number of unaccompanied immigrant children crossing the Rio Grande. About 100 Guardsmen remain deployed as part of that state mission.

Also Friday, U.S. Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions ordered a zero tolerance policy aimed at people entering the United States illegally for the first time on the Mexican border.

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Sessions told federal prosecutors in border districts to put more emphasis on charging people with illegal entry, which has historically been treated as a misdemeanor offense for those with few or no previous encounters with border authorities. Smugglers and frequent offenders are usually charged with more serious crimes.

His one-page order lacks specifics on how the policy will be carried out but signals that major change is in the works. He tells prosecutors to ask for additional resources if needed to prosecute cases.
A police officer shoots and kills a black man who probably never posed a threat. If prosecutors file charges, the cop goes on trial but is set free because a jury fails to reach a verdict or decides that the officer had reasonable  though mistaken  fear and was acting in self-defense.

That leaves the police department to decide whether to continue to employ the officer.

As more high-profile shooting investigations come to a close, a pattern has emerged: Departments are firing the officers or forcing their resignations. Even so, some officers win appeals or get policing jobs elsewhere.

The most recent example is the firing of Blane Salamoni, the white officer who shot Alton Sterling  who was 37 and black  six times outside a convenience store in Baton Rouge, La., on July 5, 2016.

Salamoni was responding to a 911 call about a man making threats. Sterling was known for hawking CDs outside the store.

The killing ignited protests and debates across the country over race and policing. Bystander videos showed cops scuffling with Sterling but not whether Sterling had a gun or made a threat. At one point, an officer screams, Gun! Hes got a gun! before shots are heard from Salamonis gun.

The U.S. Department of Justice agreed that Sterling had a gun and declined to prosecute the 30-year-old officer. Then late last month, the state of Louisiana said that it too had decided not to press charges.

But days later, the Baton Rouge Police Department fired Salamoni for violating department command-of-temper and use-of-force policies. The officer has filed an appeal against the firing to the Municipal Fire and Police Civil Service board.

While the legal bar to prosecute officers for shootings remains high, experts say public pressure and protests have left police chiefs with little room but to get rid of officers who could be seen as liabilities. Some of those officers win appeals, while others get jobs policing elsewhere. Many never return to law enforcement.

It boils down to how the public sees the issue, said Justin Bamberg, a South Carolina-based attorney who has represented the families of Sterling and several other men who have died in high-profile police shootings.

How vocal is the public and whose side are they for? Bambeg said. Even if we know an officer is cleared criminally, which is the majority of the time, its hard for an officer to keep serving in a community.

Police chiefs also have to consider other issues, said Delores Jones-Brown, a professor emeritus at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Insurance carriers have been dropping police departments because they have cops on the roster who are involved in shootings and are now liabilities, she said. If they can find a justifiable way to remove an officer, police chiefs will.

Heres a sampling of whats happened to officers who have killed and were never convicted:

Tulsa, Okla., Officer Betty Shelby shot Terence Crutcher to death during a traffic stop in September 2016. Sue Ogrocki / Associated Press

Betty Shelby in Tulsa, Okla.

Protests erupted in September 2016 after video was released of Officer Betty Shelby pulling over Tulsa resident Terence Crutcher and shooting him after he got out of his car. Shelby, who is white, said Crutcher, who was black, was not obeying her commands and that she felt he was a threat to her life. Crutcher was unarmed.

Shelby was placed on leave until last May, when a jury acquitted her of manslaughter. Shortly thereafter, the Tulsa police chief said Shelby would return to the force but would be assigned to a desk job.

Civil rights groups demanded Shelby be fired or resign. In July, Shelby relented and quit.

Since being reinstated, I have found that sitting behind a desk, isolated from all my fellow officers and the citizens of Tulsa, is just not for me, she said in a statement from her union, Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 93.

The next month, she was hired by the Sheriffs Office in neighboring Rogers County.

Jeronimo Yanez shot and killed Philando Castile in a St. Paul, Minn., suburb during a July 2016 traffic stop that Castile's girlfriend broadcast live on Facebook. David Joles / Associated Press

Jeronimo Yanez in Falcon Heights, Minn.

In July 2016, Jeronimo Yanez fatally shot 32-year-old Philando Castile in what began as traffic stop in the St. Paul, Minn., suburb of Falcon Heights.

Castiles girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, was in the car with her daughter and broadcast the shooting live on Facebook. Yanez, who is Latino, shot and killed Castile, who was black. He says he thought Castile was reaching for a gun. Reynolds said that as her boyfriend was reaching for his identification he told the officer he had a gun and was licensed to carry it.

Last July, a jury found 28-year-old Yanez not guilty in the shooting death. The city of St. Anthony, which had employed him as an officer and contracted his services to Falcon Heights, offered him a $48,000 buyout.

The City of St. Anthony has concluded that the public will be best served if Officer Yanez is no longer a police officer in our city, city officials said in a statement. The city intends to offer Officer Yanez a voluntary separation agreement to help him transition to another career other than being a St. Anthony officer.

Demonstrators in Cleveland protest 12-year-old Tamir Rice's November 2014 killing by Officer Timothy Loehmann. Tony Dejak / Associated Press

Timothy Loehmann in Cleveland

Timothy Loehmann responded to a 911 call in November 2014 about a guy with a pistol who was pointing it at everybody outside a Cleveland recreation center.

The person in question was 12-year-old Tamir Rice and the gun was fake, a detail that was reported to the 911 dispatcher but not relayed to police. As Loehmann and his partner arrived on the scene in a police car, Tamir walked out of a gazebo and the 26-year-old officer got out of the car, then shot and killed the boy within seconds.

The Cuyahoga County prosecutor's office said in 2015 that Loehmann and his partner would not face criminal charges. But a separate Cleveland Department of Public Safety investigation found that Loehmann had lied on his job application to join the department and omitted information about an emotional breakdown he had suffered while taking a state qualification course.

The investigation also found that Loehmann had a reported inability to emotionally function and had been rejected by other police departments.

Loehmann was fired in May for misrepresenting himself on his job application.

University of Cincinnati Officer Ray Tensing, left, shot Samuel DuBose to death during a July 2015 traffic stop. Associated Press

Ray Tensing in Cincinnati

Ray Tensing was an officer at the University of Cincinnati in July 2015 when he shot and killed 43-year-old Samuel DuBose.

In body-camera video, Tensing asked DuBose, who was black, for his driver's license during a traffic stop but DuBose didnt produce it. The officer, who is white, asked DuBose to unbuckle his seat belt, and Tensing pulled on the door handle. DuBose, whose window was down, put his hand on the door to keep it closed. Tensing then fired at DuBose.

Tensing, who was 25 at the time of the shooting, was later fired but challenged the dismissal. He was charged in the shooting and his first trial ended in a mistrial in November 2016. Last June, a second trial ended the same way.

Last month, Tensing came to a $350,000 settlement. He agreed to accept back pay, benefits and money for legal fees in exchange for resigning and not suing the university.

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jaweed.kaleem@latimes.com

Twitter: @jaweedkaleem
Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It is Saturday, April 7. Heres what you dont want to miss this weekend:

TOP STORIES

Lincoln Heights, long a beacon for a better life, has lost some of its luster, with fewer jobs, rising rents and increasingly difficult border crossings. At the same time, San Juan de Abajo in Mexico has been transformed from a rural, backwater town into a more prosperous, modern place, powered by the booming tourist economy of nearby Puerto Vallarta. These changes have some immigrants reflecting on their choice to take the risk and cross the border to America. Los Angeles Times

Plus: Leelo aqui en espanol. Los Angeles Times

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Homeless on the Metro

The Metro system has been a refuge for homeless people for decades. But as Los Angeles Countys homeless population has surged, reaching more than 58,000 people last year, the sanitation and safety problems on trains and buses are approaching what officials and riders say are crisis levels. People looking for warm, dry places to sleep have barricaded themselves inside emergency exit stairwells in stations, leaving behind trash and human waste. Elevator doors coated in urine have stuck shut. Mentally ill and high passengers have assaulted bus drivers and other riders. So L.A. has a new strategy: social workers on the subway. Los Angeles Times

Plus: Check out the photos of Times photographer Francine Orr, who compares her process of documenting the citys homeless to casting a fishing net and waiting for the right moment. Los Angeles Times

An interesting debate

Koreatown developer Jamison Services wanted to replace Liberty Park  one of Koreatowns few green spaces  with a 36-story residential and commercial tower. That plan was scuttled, but it prompted the question: What, if anything, does a wealthy owner of a private property owe the community and city around it? Los Angeles Times

AROUND CALIFORNIA

A wild and wet weekend: The creeks, streams and rivers leading snowmelt out of the Sierra Nevada will probably flood this weekend as a powerful storm moves over Northern California and dumps inches of rain from the coast to the Nevada border. Los Angeles Times

Suitors circling: The coming auction for the assets of the bankrupt Weinstein Co. has drawn interest from 23 potential bidders, lawyers for the New York-based studio said at a Friday hearing. Los Angeles Times

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With or without you, California: The White House said Friday that it would move on with a plan to use 2,000 to 4,000 National Guard troops to patrol the Southwestern border, whether or not California chooses to go along. Los Angeles Times

Big endorsement: After facing criticism for not taking part in a Latino business groups gubernatorial forum, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom has rolled out an endorsement from one of the most prominent Latino politicians in the state. Los Angeles Times

Plus: Californias effort to get 16- and 17-year-olds to preregister to vote has enlisted 100,000 teenagers, according to information released on Friday by Secretary of State Alex Padilla. Los Angeles Times

Fancy! Check out the latest renderings of the Purple Lines Westwood stations. Curbed LA

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Coincidence or collusion? Sacramento Countys top prosecutor received $13,000 in campaign donations from two local law enforcement unions just days after Stephon Clark was killed by Sacramento police who shot the unarmed African American man. Sacramento Bee

Yum! Orange County-based vegan Mexican pop-ups are having a moment right now. Los Angeles Times

On the interweb: 23andMe founder Anne Wojcicki took to Twitter on Tuesday to berate Stanford Medical Center for requiring that her friend, uninsured and critically ill, pay a $1-million deposit before he could be treated there. Turns out that her social media broadsides worked. Mercury News

At the border: After a recent rash of arrests of teenagers attempting to sneak fentanyl through the San Ysidro Port of Entry, federal and local law enforcement authorities have joined forces in a push to warn underage smugglers of the consequences of getting caught. San Diego Union-Tribune

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THIS WEEKS MOST POPULAR STORIES IN ESSENTIAL CALIFORNIA

1. A huge caravan of Central Americans is headed for the U.S. BuzzFeed

2. The homeless Disney worker who died alone in her car became the face of a public debate, but all she wanted was privacy. Los Angeles Daily News

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3. California utilities want wealthy defectors to pay up for power. Bloomberg

4. Inside the frantic search for the 13-year-old boy lost deep in L.A.s waterworks. Los Angeles Times

5. Video captures a bald eagles rattled reaction to an earthquake. Los Angeles Times

ICYMI, HERE ARE THIS WEEKS GREAT READS

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Big changes in Hollywood: Talent agencies are reshaping their roles. Not everyone is happy about that. The blurring of lines between agency and studio is the result of a unique confluence of industry trends. For decades, agencies have depended on packaging fees as their bread and butter. The fees are what an agency charges a studio or network for bundling its talent  actors, writers, directors  on a project, usually extracting a percentage upfront and on the back end. Los Angeles Times

Harrowing story: Meet a high school senior who cant go out in the sun. As she attempts to carve out a normal life for herself, what comes next for Riley McCoy is what has her parents worried. Orange County Register

How Joan Didion Became Joan Didion: Didion was one of the boys, clearly, in the sense that men had noticed her writing and wanted to publish her. But she also couldnt quite fit into their regime, writes Michelle Dean. BuzzFeed

Please let us know what we can do to make this newsletter more useful to you. Send comments, complaints and ideas to Benjamin Oreskes and Shelby Grad. Also follow them on Twitter @boreskes and @shelbygrad.
On Tuesday, H.R. McMaster  the still-uniformed Army lieutenant general who won medals for valor in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Persian Gulf  peaced out on his role as national security advisor to President Trump.

For about a year, the president had humiliated McMaster as if he were a cowering pharma rep on The Apprentice. Finally, on March 22, he essentially fired the Army officer in a sucker-punch tweet.

What a spunky iconoclast, our president.

McMaster kept his chin up. At least he had a sympathetic audience for his farewell. Assembled in the White House were Baltic leaders, who were there for a meeting of the Atlantic Council, and of course, via livestream, McMasters fellow Americans.

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A crowd of people who, like McMaster, know from humiliation at the hands of a despot.

The American commander in chief was also present. That meant McMaster had to thread a tight needle. He had to condemn the Russian Federation for Soviet-style aggression without also condemning the American president as its valet.

For a highly decorated Army officer in the Trump administration to say the Kremlin is waging war is a form of military response.

This is an Olympian rhetorical challenge. And for some reason, it has become harder  not easier  to speak this truth on this score. In August 2016, Michael Morell, former acting director of the CIA, wrote in a New York Times op-ed, In the intelligence business, we would say that Mr. Putin had recruited Mr. Trump as an unwitting agent of the Russian Federation.

But now its as if many in the government  and even in the media  are under an NDA. We cant say Trumps a Russian asset, much less an agent or puppet.

Certainly McMaster could not say this explicitly. Instead he assured the Baltic leaders that the U.S. would continue to affirm the sovereignty of their nations. For a minute it seemed McMaster might just recite boilerplate  and sayonara.

But then he did something sly. He made it clear that Russias aggressions today are not unlike  and perhaps even derive from  the Soviet Unions actions in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania during and after its 1940-1991 occupation of those countries.

That got the rooms attention. As a precedent for Russias current interventions, McMaster cited the debilitating internet denial of service attacks on Estonia in 2007, during which Estonians endured Russian information warfare and fake news.

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Hybrid warfare, said McMaster, is a pernicious form of aggression that combines political, economic, informational and cyber assaults against sovereign nations. Tactics include infiltrating social media, spreading propaganda, weaponizing information, and using other forms of subversion and espionage.

Sound familiar?

Whats more, as McMaster put it, Russia employs sophisticated strategies deliberately designed to achieve objectives while falling below the target states threshold for a military response.

In the end, McMaster made headlines by talking tough about Russia. But what was truly courageous was the way he publicly acknowledged that the Kremlin is engaging in hybrid, under-the-radar warfare.

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For a highly decorated Army officer in the Trump administration to say the Kremlin is waging war is a form of military response. Its certainly a first step. No nation can fight a war if it doesnt recognize its at war.

Of course, the Kremlins attacks on the U.S. and around the globe are plain as day. On Friday, the Treasury Department announced sanctions on 17 senior Russian government officials, escalating punishment on Putins oligarchical inner circle for interference in elections, as well as ongoing aggressions in Crimea, Ukraine and Syria.

And back in February, lest we forget, the Justice Department indicted Russian entities engaging in a conspiracy to defraud the United States by spreading fake news, disinformation and pro-Trump propaganda during the presidential campaign. (A team of researchers at Ohio State University just concluded that pro-Trump fake news  of the types the Russian indictees made and spread  may have had a substantial impact on voters, and may well have influenced the outcome of the election.)

And Trumps inner circle  including campaign chairman Paul Manafort; top campaign aide Richard Gates; campaign national security advisor George Papadopoulos; and former national security advisor Michael Flynn  has faced its share of indictments.

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And yet most in government  and many in the media  refuse to follow Morrell and label Trump even an unwitting Russian agent.

Why this excess of caution?

Maybe some of the hyper-prudent are hedging against the hyperbole associated with the uncool, sky-is-falling Twitter resistance. Or maybe its just too horrible to contemplate that the American president is an agent of a hostile foreign power.

But McMaster, veteran of grueling and complicated wars, doesnt shy from reality. And though he dutifully praised the president in his exit speech, he seemed to get in one especially pointed shot at his dictator-loving boss.

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It is time, McMaster said, that we expose those who glamorize and apologize in the service of communist, authoritarian and repressive governments, regimes who torture, enslave, oppress and murder their people.

It was hard to hear this without calling up a mental highlight reel of Trump praising brutal dictators from Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines to Xi Jinping of China to Vladimir Putin. But if McMaster had Trump in mind when he spoke of glamorizing authoritarianism, Trump didnt seem to notice. This kind of warfare flies beneath his radar.

Twitter: @page88

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To the editor: I agree with George Skelton that getting rid of Columbus Day is a dumb idea, but it would be at least as dumb to rename it Indigenous Peoples Day. (California passes a lot of dumb bills. Ending Columbus Day would be one of them, April 5)

The proposed new name is awkward to say, and it would anger many people for being too politically correct. And finally, it wouldnt even come close to atoning for the damage that was done to the indigenous people by the incoming Europeans.

Taking a cue from Italian Americans who celebrate their heritage on that day, why not rename the day Immigrants Day? Recognizing that even Native Americans were immigrants to this continent at one time and certainly all the rest of us also are immigrants, this would be an all-inclusive name, which would provide a nationally recognized day that anyone could choose to celebrate (or not to celebrate) their heritage.

Mary C. Steele, Laguna Niguel

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To the editor: In the Los Angeles Times print edition, there was front-page coverage and two additional pages filled with color photos and a news report about Romulo Avelica Gonzalez, an illegal immigrant whose daughter videotaped his February 2017 arrest in Lincoln Heights. (How one L.A. fathers arrest put an entire neighborhood on edge, April 5)

The article barely mentions Avelicas brushes with the law and his violation of U.S. immigration code. Instead, he is portrayed sympathetically to a generally naive American citizenry, most of which has had no experience of the trials and hardships of applying legally at the American consulate in their home countries for a chance to emigrate to the United States.

When will I read a similarly prominent story about those who follow the U.S. immigration laws and wait patiently for years for their legal papers to come to this country? They have their dreams too, and every year they stand in line waiting, they miss opportunities for work, advancement and a better life not only for themselves, but also their spouses and children. And there are thousands of these people.

I went through that process, and so did my brother, who waited 20 years to get permission to come to the United States. My brothers life was put on hold too  but he was thousands of miles away, whereas Avelica was already benefiting from his unauthorized stay in the United States when immigration authorities put his life on hold.

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And here he is, hoping to cut in line in front of the thousands waiting their turn to become legal immigrants.

Rogelio Pena, Montebello

..

To the editor: It is a triumph, not a weakness, to be an immigrant in the United States.

The current occupant of the Oval Office would have us think that a nation built on immigration (including members of his family) somehow stains us. That attitude couldnt be further from the truth.

People in this country should stop fighting that dream and applaud the triumph of every person who has contributed to we the people.

Rodney K. Boswell, Thousand Oaks

..

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To the editor: As a father, my heart goes out to Avelica. However, he broke several laws, and now he must be held accountable for his choices.

Lawful arrests are intended to send a message to any community, not just a community comprising illegal immigrants. The story notes the discomforts of Avelicas detention at a facility for immigrants, but incarceration in any facility is an unpleasant experience, undoubtedly by design.

The fact Avelica is dedicated to his work at a taqueria in Lincoln Heights is commendable, but it does not trump his violation of our state and national laws.

John Kelley, Georgetown, Texas

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..

To the editor: If this story was meant to elicit sympathy, it didnt work.

Not only is Avelica an illegal immigrant, but he was also found to be guilty of driving with stolen vehicle registration tags and, later, driving under the influence. Both he and his wife are here illegally and should be deported at once, and his children are free to join them.

Enforcing existing immigration laws would serve to raise wages for those who compete for jobs with those 11 million people here illegally. It would also decrease sprawl and congestion and reduce the demand for housing .

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I dont agree with President Trump on most issues, but Im in his corner on this one.

Randle C. Sink, Huntington Beach

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In the turbulent wake of Stephon Clarks killing in Sacramento on March 18, only a small handful of readers have sent us relatively placid commentaries, compared with the dozens that have written with more emotion. Thats to be expected in a case involving an unarmed 22-year-old black man who was suspected of breaking multiple car windows being shot eight times by police in his grandparents backyard.

Notable among the letters were submissions from readers on both sides of the blue line  police officers who sympathize with their brethren whom they say must make life-or-death, split-second decisions that should generally not be second-guessed by the public they protect, and civilians who allege persistent mistreatment by law enforcement because of their race  whose experiences inform and, in some cases, harden their commentary.

Many people would agree that reasoned, dispassionate policymaking is the best way to draw up the rules that govern the interactions with law enforcement. But public debate is another thing, and the letters on Clarks death and other issues of police conduct show that when personal experience becomes involved, unemotional discourse may prove difficult to achieve.

Greg Meyer, a retired Los Angeles Police Department captain, responds to a Los Angeles Times editorial:

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The Times editorial board makes a reasonable argument in calling for California lawmakers to craft language that effectively raises the standard of performance without needlessly endangering the lives of officers or putting them in such fear of being criminally charged that they are unable to carry out their duties.

Since January 2015, there have been about 170 American peace officers killed in the line of duty by gunfire. This happens when the officers do not recognize and react to the deadly threat soon enough. We would all be better off if people did not run, resist or attack officers who are doing their jobs, or hold shiny objects in their hands that they suddenly pull out when resisting arrest.

Policy, training and officer accountability have already improved to the point where in the past 25 years, LAPD officer-involved shootings have decreased by 77%. Emotion-driven legislation that is intended to further handcuff the police will not improve the situation.

Los Angeles resident Charles Martin writes of his experiences with police as a black man:

It truly upsets me when people only see things from their point of view, so heres another point of view. You should try being black for a while and then tell me how it feels; heres what you will encounter:

Youll be stopped just for walking down the street. Youll be stopped for jogging. Youll be the only one asked for ID when using a credit card. Youll be asked to get on the ground for no reason. Youll will be insulted for no other reason then being black. Youll be arrested in a case of mistaken identity because you are black  I was in 1958, and I spent three days in jail.

Winnetka resident Mike Post, a former chief of police, mentions officers in the heat of the moment:

Hindsight is a great thing, but what gets left out of the discussion is how often a police department might be sued if it had done nothing to intervene and, say, some knife-wielder went on to stab someone.

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This is not a conservative-versus-liberal debate, just one of common sense about well-intentioned cops who are presented with only bad options to pick in the heat of the moment. Whats alarming is the number of people who feel they have more insight than the men and women on the street who risk their lives daily.

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook
In the climax of a fight that pitted foes of sex trafficking against advocates of free internet speech, the Justice Department on Friday seized the Backpage.com website and raided the home of its cofounder.

The site, long a haven for sex ads, began shutting down Friday morning, as FBI agents began taking down a network of web pages all over the world . A notice on the site said it had been seized as part of an enforcement action by the FBI, the IRS and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.



For the record: An earlier version of this story said a new law allows states to crack down on websites that assist or support sex trafficking. That measure was passed by Congress but is not yet signed into law.

Agents raided the Sedona, Ariz., home of Michael Lacey, the sites cofounder, according to local media reports, but federal authorities would not comment on criminal charges.

The website Backpage.com was seized by the FBI on Friday.

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Backpage.com has long been under fire from state attorneys general, organizations that fight child sex trafficking and victims of the prostitution business who have tried to sue the company for damages. California prosecutors filed state criminal charges against Backpage last year, but that case and others foundered because of protections in the federal Communications Decency Act, written to protect free speech on the internet.

Congress moved to strip away that shield late last month with a measure to carve out an exception in the communications law after a high-volume political battle. When signed into law by President Trump, the measure will allow states to proceed against websites that knowingly assist or support sex trafficking.

Silicon Valley trade groups and free-speech advocates such as the ACLU fought the new measure, warning that it would create havoc by forcing companies to try to get a handle on wild online speech.

But those arguments were overwhelmed by stories from teenagers about being sold for sex on Backpage. A letter from attorneys general around the country said they had evidence of teenagers being trafficked on the site.

Advocates for victims of trafficking said the takedown of Backpage was long overdue  especially since the Communications Decency Act never restrained federal prosecutions, only state ones.

You heard the stories over and over and over again from kids who were sold there, said Carol Smolenski, executive director of ECPAT USA, an anti-trafficking group. Its ridiculous that kids could be sold on the internet openly. It was outrageous.

A report last year by the Senate Homeland Security Committee found that the website employed software to automatically strip language in ads that pointed to underage girls, including lolita, little girl and amber alert. The ads were then published without those stripped words, the report found.

The report also found that Lacey and other owners, although they reportedly sold Backpage.com to a foreign company, retained significant control through a web of shell companies.

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joseph.tanfani@latimes.com

Twitter: @jtanfani
Allies balk at Trump administration bid to block Chinese firm from cutting-edge telecom markets By David S. Cloud Britain and Germany are balking at the Trump administrations call for a ban on equipment from Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei, threatening a global U.S. campaign to thwart Chinas involvement in future mobile networks. Both countries are expected to limit Huawei and other Chinese companies from providing core components including routers. But other types of Chinese equipment for next-generation, high-speed communications could still be installed on British and German networks, officials and analysts say. The U.S. push to ban Huawei has provoked a global dispute in recent weeks, with senior U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo, publicly urging NATO allies in Europe to exclude the company and warning that the United States might limit its military presence in countries that did not do so. Read More Facebook

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Confucius Institutes: Do they improve U.S.-China ties or harbor spies? By Don Lee Hanging red lanterns welcome visitors to the University of Marylands Confucius Institute, the oldest of about 100 Chinese language and cultural centers that have popped up over the last 15 years on American campuses, subsidized by millions of dollars from Chinas central government. But last fall, when four U.S. Senate investigators walked into the Confucius offices in Maryland and spent hours questioning staff, they werent looking for an educational exchange. The committee has been seeking detailed information from the university about the program, including contracts, email exchanges and financial arrangements that school administrators have kept under wraps since it started in 2004. American colleges once viewed these jointly funded institutes as an economical way to expand their language offerings  one that could also bring warmer ties with China and, importantly, an influx of Chinese international students paying full tuition. Read More Facebook

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Watch Live: White House holds surprise news briefing amid government shutdown Facebook

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U.S. policy toward China shifts from engagement to confrontation By David S. Cloud For decades, China had no closer American friend than Dianne Feinstein. As San Francisco mayor in the 1970s, she forged a sister-city relationship with Shanghai, the first between American and Chinese communities. As U.S. senator, she dined with Chinese leaders at Mao Tse-tungs old Beijing residence. And in the 1990s, she championed a trade policy change that opened a floodgate of Western investment into China. Today the Democratic senator sees China as a growing threat, joining a broad array of Trump administration officials, national security strategists and business executives who once favored engagement with Beijing and now advocate a confrontational approach instead. Read More Facebook

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Mnuchins attempt to calm markets backfires as Trump takes another shot at the Federal Reserve By Jim Puzzanghera An attempt by Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin to calm plunging financial markets backfired Monday, further rattling investors with new fears about whether major U.S. banks have enough cash on top of worries about interest rates, political instability in Washington and a slowing global economy. Adding to the volatile mix was a fresh attack on the Federal Reserve by President Trump, who declared that the central bank was the U.S. economys only problem and that it didnt have a feel for the market. The Fed is like a powerful golfer who cant score because he has no touch -- he cant putt! Trump said on Twitter. Read More Facebook

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He speaks to Democratic hearts. But is Beto ORourke a serious White House contender? By Mark Z. Barabak Hes a failed U.S. Senate candidate with an undistinguished congressional record who, for the moment, is a blazing-hot 2020 presidential prospect  despite the fact that he may not run and faces long odds if he does. Beto ORourke suggests the will-he-or-wont-he speculation is something he himself cant quite fathom. I think thats a great question, he responded in a Dallas Morning News interview when asked whether his unsuccessful November Senate bid merited a promotion to the White House. I ask that question myself. Read More Facebook

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Russian disinformation teams targeted Robert S. Mueller III, says report prepared for Senate By Craig Timberg, Tony Romm, Elizabeth Dwoskin Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III. (Associated Press) Months after President Trump took office, Russias disinformation teams trained their sites on a new target: special counsel Robert S. Mueller III. Having worked to help get Trump into the White House, they now worked to neutralize the biggest threat to his staying there. The Russian operatives unloaded on Mueller through fake accounts on Facebook, Twitter and beyond, falsely claiming that the former FBI director was corrupt and that the allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 election were crackpot conspiracies. One post on Instagram  which emerged as an especially potent weapon in the Russian social media arsenal  claimed that Mueller had worked in the past with radical Islamic groups. Such tactics exemplified how Russian teams ranged nimbly across social media platforms in a shrewd online influence operation aimed squarely at American voters. The effort started earlier than commonly understood and lasted longer while relying on the strengths of different sites to manipulate distinct slices of the electorate, according to a pair of comprehensive new reports prepared for the Senate Intelligence Committee and released Monday. Read more Timberg, Romm and Dwoskin report for the Washington Post. Facebook

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President Trump announces Mick Mulvaney as acting White House chief of staff By Associated Press President Trump says budget director Mick Mulvaney will serve as acting chief of staff, replacing John F. Kelly in the new year. I am pleased to announce that Mick Mulvaney, Director of the Office of Management & Budget, will be named Acting White House Chief of Staff, replacing General John Kelly, who has served our Country with distinction. Mick has done an outstanding job while in the Administration....  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 14, 2018 Facebook

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It aint over when its over: In Michigan, Wisconsin and elsewhere, losers seek to undermine election results By Mark Z. Barabak Democrat Gavin Newsom has yet to become California governor, but already a candidate for state Republican Party chairman is promoting a recall effort. In Michigan and Wisconsin, GOP lawmakers have rushed through legislation to thwart their incoming Democratic governors and hamper others in the opposing party from doing the jobs voters chose them to do. In Congress, GOP leaders have echoed President Trump and sought to undermine the legitimacy of Democrats strong midterm performance, raising unsubstantiated allegations of fraud and political malfeasance. Read More Facebook

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New CFPB Director Kathy Kraninger says she wont be a puppet of Mick Mulvaney By Jim Puzzanghera On her first full day leading the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Kathy Kraninger said she wont be a puppet of Mick Mulvaney, the controversial acting director whom she replaced in the powerful regulatory position. To underscore that point, the former White House aide said she would even reconsider a Mulvaney action that critics saw as a gratuitous jab at Democrats who championed the agencys creation: changing its name to the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection. Kraningers declaration during a meeting with reporters Tuesday addressed one of the main criticisms of her selection. She is considered a protege of Mulvaney, her boss at the White House Office of Management and Budget who has executed a dramatic, industry-friendly shift at the watchdog agency. Read More Facebook

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Trumps pick for chief of staff, Nick Ayers, out of running By Associated Press Nick Ayers, right, with Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, at the funeral service for George H.W. Bush on Dec. 3. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Associated Press) President Trumps top pick to replace John F. Kelly as chief of staff, Nick Ayers, is no longer expected to fill that role. Thats according to a White House official who is not authorized to discuss the personnel issue by name and spoke on condition of anonymity. Ayers is Vice President Mike Pences chief of staff. The official says that Trump and Ayers could not agree on Ayers length of service. The father of young children, Ayers had agreed to serve in an interim capacity though the spring, but Trump wanted a two-year commitment. The official says that Ayers will instead assist the president from outside the administration. Trump announced Saturday that Kelly would be departing the White House around the end of the year. Thank you @realDonaldTrump, @VP, and my great colleagues for the honor to serve our Nation at The White House. I will be departing at the end of the year but will work with the #MAGA team to advance the cause.  #Georgia  Nick Ayers (@nick_ayers) December 9, 2018 Facebook

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U.S. hiring slows to 155,000 jobs, unemployment rate holds at 3.7% By Jim Puzzanghera Job growth slowed significantly in November but still was solid, indicating the economy remains in good shape but not expanding so quickly that it will lead to sharply higher interest rates. U.S. employers added 155,000 jobs last month, well below analyst expectations and a steep decline from Octobers strong 237,000 figure, the Labor Department reported Friday. Still, monthly job gains are averaging 206,000 this year, the best since 2015. Even the slower pace of 170,000 over the last three months is close to last years average of 182,000 and well above the amount needed to keep up with population growth. Read More Facebook

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Trump is expected to pick State Department spokeswoman for U.N. ambassador By Associated Press Heather Nauert at a briefing at the State Department on Aug. 9, 2017. (Alex Brandon / Associated Press) President Trump is expected to nominate State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert to be the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Two administration officials confirmed Trumps plans. A Republican congressional aide said the president was expected to announce his decision by tweet on Friday morning. The officials were not authorized to speak publicly before Trumps announcement. Trump has previously said Nauert was under serious consideration to replace Nikki Haley, who announced in October that she would step down at the end of this year. Trump has been known to change course on staffing decisions in the past. Nauert was a reporter for Fox News Channel before she became State Department spokeswoman under former Secretary Rex Tillerson. Facebook

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Senate confirms new consumer financial protection chief: Kathy Kraninger, protege of industry-friendly Mick Mulvaney By Jim Puzzanghera The Senate, in a party-line vote Thursday, confirmed White House aide Kathy Kraninger to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and experts predicted a continuation of the industry-friendly shift it has taken since President Trump installed an acting director last year. Kraninger is a protege of acting director and White House budget chief Mick Mulvaney, an outspoken critic of the agency that was created in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis to prevent predatory lending and other abuses that led to it. Democrats and consumer advocates have denounced him for sharply departing from the aggressive watchdog role the bureau had pursued under its first director, Obama-appointee Richard Cordray, including scaling back enforcement and moving to reassess tough new rules on payday loans and narrow the definition of abusive practices by banks and other firms. Read More Facebook

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Shutdown postponed by two weeks under plan approved by Congress By Erik Wasson Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), shown at the Capitol on Tuesday, says President Trumps border wall is a waste of money. (J. Scott Applewhite / Associated Press) Congress passed a two-week stopgap spending bill that will delay the chance of a partial government shutdown until Dec. 22 as lawmakers and President Donald Trump negotiate over his demands to pay for a wall on the southern border. The House and Senate passed the measure Thursday without dissent, and Trump has indicated hell sign the bill before the current shutdown deadline of midnight Friday. Negotiations were delayed by memorial services this week for former President George H.W. Bush. The temporary measure gives Democrats and Republicans more time to find a resolution to their biggest hurdle: funding a wall on the U.S. Mexico border wall. Trump says he wants $5 billion for parts of a concrete wall on the southern border and is willing to shut down the government if he doesnt get it. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York has said Democrats will provide no more than $1.6 billion for border security, because the wall is a waste of money. The presidents demands for wall funding from Congress come after he said during the campaign that Mexico would pay for it. This week he said on Twitter that a $25 billion border wall would pay for itself in two months, without providing evidence. Most of the U.S. governments $1.2 trillion discretionary budget has been appropriated already by Congress for the fiscal year that began on Oct. 1. Departments at a risk of a partial shutdown late this month include the departments of State, Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, Justice, Treasury and Homeland Security. Talks to resolve the differences have been on hold since a meeting among Trump, Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California originally slated for Dec. 4 was postponed due to Bush memorial events. The three are scheduled to meet on Tuesday, according to a person familiar with the matter. Senate Appropriations Chairman Richard Shelby of Alabama told reporters the rest of the seven-bill spending package being negotiated is basically done. Shelby in recent weeks had tried to broker a compromise in which Trumps $5 billion request would be split over two years, but Schumer has rejected that. Some Democrats have been willing to trade border wall funding for deportation protections for young undocumented immigrants. Pelosi ruled out such a deal in remarks to reporters Thursday. The stopgap government funding measure also would extend the National Flood Insurance Program, which provides subsidized coverage for homes in flood-prone areas, to Dec. 21. Facebook

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Bipartisan Senate group wants to formally blame Saudi crown prince for journalists killing By Karoun Demirjian Saudi Arabias Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the G-20 summit in Buenos Aires. (Associated Press) A bipartisan group of senators filed a resolution Wednesday condemning Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as responsible for the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, directly challenging President Trump to do the same. This resolution -- without equivocation -- definitively states that the crown prince of Saudi Arabia was complicit in the murder of Mr. [Jamal] Khashoggi and has been a wrecking ball to the region jeopardizing our national security interests on multiple fronts, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said in a statement accompanying the release of the resolution. It will be up to Saudi Arabia as to how to deal with this matter. But it is up to the United States to firmly stand for who we are and what we believe. The resolution put forward by Graham and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), who are expected to lead the Judiciary Committee together next year, comes just one day after CIA Director Gina Haspel briefed leading senators about the details of the agencys assessment that Mohammed ordered and monitored the killing and dismemberment of Khashoggi in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. Senators emerged from that closed-door briefing furious not only with Saudi Arabia, but Trump as well for dismissing the heft of the CIAs findings. You have to be willfully blind not to come to the conclusion that this was orchestrated and organized by people under the command of MBS and that he was intricately involved in the demise of Mr. Khashoggi, Graham said following the briefing, referring to Mohammed by his initials. He added that Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo and Defense Secretary James N. Mattis, who briefed senators last week, were at best being good soldiers and at worst were in the pocket of Saudi Arabia for presenting the evidence of Mohammeds involvement as inconclusive. The release of the resolution condemning Mohammed also comes as the Senate is preparing to move ahead with debate on a resolution to curtail U.S. support for the Saudi-led military campaign in Yemen. Though the Yemen resolution does not directly address Khashoggis murder, its popularity is a sign of how strained the United States patience with Saudi Arabia is on multiple fronts, including its role in worsening the civilian cost of the war in Yemen, cited by the United Nations as the worlds worst humanitarian crisis. Last week, the Senate voted 63 to 37 to advance the Yemen resolution past an opening procedural hurdle. But Graham and Feinsteins resolution on the crown prince has the potential of drawing broader support, especially from Republicans, who are deeply divided about how fiercely to punish Saudi Arabia over Khashoggis killing. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who has been an outspoken advocate for human rights and is seen as one of the more influential foreign policy voices in the GOP, did not vote for the Yemen resolution last week or sign on to a bipartisan measure last month to sanction Saudi officials and cease weapons transfers to the kingdom. But he is an original co-sponsor of the resolution condemning Mohammed over Khashoggis death. So is Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.), who represents the other end of the GOP spectrum in terms of recent Saudi-related votes and endorsements. Young was an initial co-sponsor of the bill Graham wrote with Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) to sanction Saudi officials deemed responsible for Khashoggis killing and stop the sale of anything but exclusively defensive weapons to the kingdom until it ceased hostilities in Yemen. Young also voted to advance the Yemen resolution  something Graham did as well, though Graham has signaled he will not be lending any similar support to the measure, fearing it may establish a precedent of invoking the War Powers Act too broadly. Sens. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Chris Coons (D-Del.) are listed as original co-sponsors of the resolution condemning Mohammed, which also urges Saudi Arabia to negotiate with Houthi rebels to end the Yemen war, work out a political solution to its standoff with Qatar and release political prisoners. But how much sway the resolution has probably comes down to how forcefully the administration decides to heed it -- and thus far, Trump has not shown any interest in condemning the crown prince the way the senators hope he will. Demirjian reports for the Washington Post. Facebook

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Los Angeles County offices and U.S. Postal Service closed Wednesday in honor of George H.W. Bush By Brian Park The Honor Guard carries the casket of former U.S. President George H. W. Bush following his funeral on Dec. 5 in Washington, DC. (Doug Mills - Pool/Getty Images) The U.S. Postal Service will suspend regular mail delivery Wednesday, which President Trump has declared a national day of mourning in honor of former President George H.W. Bush. All retail postal outlets will be closed, and package delivery will be limited. In Los Angeles, all nonessential county departments, offices and libraries will be closed for the day, L.A. County officials said. The Los Angeles County Library said no overdue fines will be assessed for books, and due dates will be moved forward one week. Los Angeles County Department of Public Health offices also are closed Wednesday. The Sheriffs Department, Fire Department, clinics and hospitals will continue to operate, the county said. The Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health clinics are being operated with reduced staffing, and the department asked patients to confirm or reschedule any appointments. All county courts and the disaster recovery centers for the Woolsey fire in Malibu and Agoura Hills will remain open. Larger federal government operations will be closed Wednesday. To honor the life and legacy of President Bush, the Postal Service will observe the National Day of Mourning. Learn how Postal operations will be affected. https://t.co/Mffch7bPCh pic.twitter.com/vG46BsIOpm  U.S. Postal Service (@USPS) December 4, 2018 L.A. County offices and libraries will be closed tomorrow (Dec 5) in observance of the #NationalDayOfMourning for President George H. W. Bush.



The Countys Disaster Recovery Centers in Malibu & Agoura Hills will remain open from 10 a.m. - 8 p.m. pic.twitter.com/Sv1J7GoJ7T  Los Angeles County (@CountyofLA) December 4, 2018 @LAPublicHealth offices will be closed tomorrow December 5 in observance of the national Day of Mourning for President George H. W. Bush. Essential Services including clinics and other services will remain open: https://t.co/tZGoGGHRlg pic.twitter.com/ypXsV6vlYY  LA Public Health (@lapublichealth) December 4, 2018 Facebook

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Former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick to skip 2020 White House race, sources say By Associated Press Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick speaks during an interview in Boston on Dec. 15, 2014. (Elise Amendola / Associated Press) Former Gov. Deval Patrick of Massachusetts will soon announce he wont launch a 2020 presidential campaign, according to three sources familiar with his plans. They did not say why the Democrat decided against a run. A formal announcement was delayed as the country observed a day of mourning for President George H.W. Bush, one source said. News of Patricks plans was first reported by Politico. Patrick, 62, served two terms as governor, from 2007 to 2015, was assistant attorney general for civil rights in the Clinton administration and since leaving the governors office has been a managing director for Bain Capital. Patrick traveled the country in support of Democratic candidates in the recent midterm election. Earlier this year, some of Patricks supporters and close advisors started the Reason to Believe political action committee, a grassroots organization dedicated to advancing a positive, progressive vision for our nation in 2018 and 2020. Reason to Believe PAC had been holding meetups across the country, including in early presidential primary states. While Patrick is opting against a 2020 run, dozens of Democrats are considering jumping in, including nearly a half-dozen members of the Senate, several House members, and other Massachusetts politicians. On Tuesday, Michael Avenatti, the attorney for adult film star Stormy Daniels and a vocal critic of President Trump, said in a statement that he would run. Patrick had previously expressed some concerns about breaking through if he sought the nomination, telling David Axelrod, a former advisor to President Obama, that he wasnt sure he could stand out in such a large field. Its hard to see how you even get noticed in such a big, broad field without being shrill, sensational or a celebrity, and Im none of those things and Im never going to be any of those things, Patrick said in a September interview with Axelrod. Facebook

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Former Trump adviser Roger Stone invokes 5th Amendment right and wont testify before Senate Judiciary Committee By Associated Press Roger Stone in 2017. (Joe Raedle / Getty Images) Roger Stone, an associate of President Trump, says he wont provide testimony or documents to the Senate Judiciary Committee. An attorney for Stone said in a letter to Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the committees top Democrat, that Stone was invoking his 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination in refusing to produce documents or appear for an interview. Stone has been entangled in investigations by Congress and special counsel Robert S. Mueller III about whether Trump aides had advance knowledge of Democratic emails published by WikiLeaks during the 2016 election. Stone has not been charged and has said he had no knowledge of the timing or specifics of WikiLeaks plans. In the letter to Feinstein, Stone said the committees requests were far too overbroad, far too overreaching and far too wide-ranging. Facebook

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Watch live: Vice President Pence and lawmakers honor George H.W. Bush at the U.S. Capitol before he lies in state Facebook

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Rebuilding crumbling infrastructure has bipartisan support. But who gets to pay for it? By Jim Puzzanghera The grades for major U.S. infrastructure would give any parent indigestion if they were on a childs report card. Roads: D; bridges: C+; dams: D; ports: C+: railways: B; airports: D; schools: D+; public transit: D-. The nations overall grade: D+, which translates to being in fair to poor condition and mostly below standards with significant deterioration and a strong risk of failure, according to an evaluation last year by the American Society of Civil Engineers. Read More Facebook

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Trump calls former lawyer Michael Cohen a weak person who is lying By Associated Press President Trump says his former lawyer Michael Cohen is lying to get a reduced sentence. The president is reacting to Cohens guilty plea Thursday to lying to Congress about work he did on a Trump real estate project in Russia. During a surprise court hearing, Cohen admitted to lying in testimony to the Senate Intelligence Committee about a plan to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. Cohen in his guilty plea said he made the false statements to be consistent with Trumps political message. Cohens lawyer says he continues to cooperate with special counsel Robert S. Mueller IIIs investigation into Russian election interference and possible coordination with Trump associates. Facebook

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As California Republicans confront a congressional wipeout, GOP leader Kevin McCarthy faces a reckoning By Mark Z. Barabak When the House voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act, Kevin McCarthy trooped with other Republican lawmakers to a splashy Rose Garden celebration, smiling alongside President Trump as they celebrated the moment. As majority leader, McCarthy had helped round up the votes to narrowly pass the hard-fought legislation, convincing 13 other California Republicans to go along, even though several faced tough reelection fights. Fewer than half will be returning in January. Read More Facebook

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As California Republicans confront a congressional wipeout, GOP leader Kevin McCarthy faces a reckoning By Sarah D. Wire When the House voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act, Kevin McCarthy trooped with other Republican lawmakers to a splashy Rose Garden celebration, smiling alongside President Trump as they celebrated the moment. As majority leader, McCarthy had helped round up the votes to narrowly pass the hard-fought legislation, convincing 13 other California Republicans to go along, even though several faced tough reelection fights. Fewer than half will be returning in January. Read More Facebook

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Michael Cohen, President Trumps ex-lawyer, pleads guilty to lying to Congress about Trump real estate project in Russia By Associated Press Michael Cohen, President Trumps former personal lawyer, pursued a Russian real estate project on candidate Trumps behalf well into the 2016 campaign, he said Thursday while pleading guilty to lying to Congress. Cohen had previously said that the project was abandoned in January 2016, but he now admits he continued to pursue a deal and says he updated Trump and members of his family about the negotiations, according to a new court document. Read More Facebook

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James Comey says acting Atty. Gen. Whitaker may not be the sharpest knife in our drawer By John Wagner Acting Atty. Gen. Matthew Whitaker speaks at the Justice Department in Washington on Nov. 14. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais / Associated Press) Former FBI Director James B. Comey apparently isnt too impressed with the mental prowess of President Trumps acting attorney general. Matthew Whitaker may not be the sharpest knife in our drawer, Comey said during a radio interview on Monday night in which he sized up the man Trump installed this month to replace ousted Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions. Comey was asked by WGBH News in Boston if he thinks Whitaker could derail the investigation of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Whitaker has spoken critically of the probe, and Trump  as recently as Tuesday  continues to call it a witch hunt. I think its a worry, but to my mind not a serious worry, Comey said. The institution is too strong, and [Whitaker], frankly, is not strong enough to have that kind of impact. He may not be the sharpest knife in our drawer, but he can see his future and knows that if he acted in an extralegal way, he would go down in history for the wrong reasons, and Im sure he doesnt want that, added Comey, who was fired by Trump last year and later wrote a book that portrays the president as an ego-driven congenital liar. Whitaker, a former U.S. attorney in Iowa, was Sessions chief of staff before being picked by Trump to lead the Justice Department. Trump has called Whitaker a very smart man. Earlier this year, Trump called Comey an untruthful slime ball. Wagner writes for the Washington Post. Facebook

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Interior Department watchdog clears Zinke in investigation of Utah national monument By Juliet Eilperin Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke, third from the left, and Gov. Jerry Brown tour fire damage in Paradise, Calif., on Nov. 14. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) The Interior Departments Office of Inspector General has cleared Secretary Ryan Zinke in a probe of whether he redrew boundaries of a national monument in Utah to aid the financial interests of a Republican state lawmaker and stalwart supporter of President Trump. In a Nov. 21 letter to Zinkes deputy, David Bernhardt, Deputy Inspector General Mary Kendall wrote that her office found no evidence that the secretary or his aides changed the boundaries of Utahs Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in an effort to help former Utah state representative Mike Noel, who serves as executive director of the Kane County Water Conservancy District. Last December, Trump shrank the monument, first established by President Clinton in 1996, by 46% based on Zinkes recommendation. Noel owns 40 acres that had been surrounded by the monument, but now lies outside its boundaries. The new boundaries also would make it easier to construct the proposed Lake Powell Pipeline, which would deliver water to sites in Kane County that include Noels property. Earlier this year, the Interior Department had proposed selling off 120 acres of federal land from the former monument that lay adjacent to some of Noels land holdings, but later reversed the plan. We found no evidence that Noel influenced the DOIs proposed revisions to the [monuments] boundaries, that Zinke or other DOI staff involved in the project were aware of Noels financial interest in the revised boundaries, or that they gave Noel any preferential treatment in the resulting proposed boundaries, Kendall wrote. Neither the Interior Department nor the inspector generals office would release the actual investigative report. In the letter, Kendall writes that her office will provide the report to Congress no sooner than 31 days from Nov. 21, when it is provided it to Zinkes office. The Associated Press first reported the inspector generals conclusions Monday night, but did not provide details from the report itself. Noel emailed Zinke about the effort to alter Grand Staircase-Escalante, according to emails released by Interior under the Freedom of Informational Act. But those emails do not make references to Noels land holdings. Noel also pushed to rename a Utah highway in honor of Trump, but abandoned that effort in March after some of his fellow Republicans objected to the idea. Noel did not respond to requests for comment Tuesday. The inspector generals office still has at least two ongoing probes of the secretary, including one focused on his real estate dealings in Whitefish, Mont., and another regarding his decision to deny a permit to two Connecticut tribes who were hoping to jointly run a casino after MGM Resorts International lobbied against it. Interior Department spokeswoman Heather Swift welcomed the watchdogs conclusions. The report shows exactly what the secretarys office has known all along  that the monument boundaries were adjusted in accordance with all rules, regulations and laws, she said in an email. This report is also the latest example of opponents and special interest groups ginning up fake and misleading stories, only to be proven false after expensive and time consuming inquiries by the IGs office. But Kendalls spokeswoman, Nancy DiPaolo, defended the inquiry, even though she said the report has not been publicly released and we will not be speaking specifically about the matter at this time. The OIG opens investigations based on credible allegations and reports our findings objectively and independently, DiPaolo added. Any time or resources spent investigating conduct or activity that may be a violation of law, regulation or policy is a service to the public, Congress and the Department. Rep. Raul Grijalva of Arizona, the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee, said in a statement that he still intended to investigate the way Zinke and his colleague redrew the boundaries for Grand Staircase-Escalante and another Utah national monument, Bears Ears, next year. I have great respect for the inspector general, and I accept these findings, but Secretary Zinke should have known the people he listened to while destroying our national monuments had disqualifying conflicts of interest, he said. Should I chair the Natural Resources Committee in the next Congress, the process he and President Trump used to destroy Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante will be front and center in our oversight and investigations efforts. We need to know why they ignored overwhelming public expressions of support for both Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante, why they ignored Native American tribes throughout their decision-making, and why they removed protections on parcels of land with known mineral deposits. Eilperin and Rein report for the Washington Post. Facebook

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Trump advisor Larry Kudlow says China must do more to end trade war By Jim Puzzanghera Larry Kudlow, President Trumps top economic advisor, said Tuesday that Chinas response to U.S. efforts to rework the two economic superpowers trade relationship has been extremely disappointing but the planned meeting this weekend between the nations leaders is an opportunity for a breakthrough. They have to do more. They must do more, Larry Kudlow, director of the White House National Economic Council, told reporters ahead of a Saturday dinner between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Group of 20 Summit in Argentina. I think the president is exactly right  to show strong backbone when prior administrations did not, to break through these Chinese walls, Kudlow said. Theyre so resistant to change. We have to protect the country. We have to protect our technology, our inventiveness, our innovation. Read More Facebook

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Watch live: White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders holds a media briefing amid tensions at the border By Los Angeles Times Staff Facebook

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Democrat TJ Cox grabs lead over Republican David Valadao in nations last remaining undecided House race By Maya Sweedler Democrat TJ Cox slipped past Republican incumbent David Valadao on Monday to take the lead in the countrys sole remaining undecided congressional race, positioning Democrats to pick up their seventh House seat in California and 40th nationwide. Cox, who trailed by nearly 4,400 votes on election night, has steadily gained as ballot counting continues nearly three weeks after the Nov. 6 election, a pattern consistent with the states recent voting history. On Monday, he pulled ahead by 438 votes after Kern County updated its results. Read More Facebook

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Former CIA director Michael Hayden hospitalized after suffering a stroke By Deanna Paul Then-CIA Director Michael Hayden testifies before a Senate committee in 2008. (Saul Loeb / Getty Images) Former CIA Director and retired Air Force Gen. Michael Hayden has been hospitalized after suffering a stroke, his family said Friday. He is receiving expert medical care for which the family is grateful, according to a statement issued by his namesake organization. The General and his family greatly appreciate the warm wishes and prayers of his friends, colleagues, and supporters. Hayden, 73, served as director of the CIA and National Security Agency during the George W. Bush and Obama administrations. He retired from the CIA in 2009. Hayden has been a vocal critic of Donald Trumps campaign and presidency. Earlier this year, after Trump decided to revoke the security clearance of former CIA director John Brennan, Hayden was one of several former intelligence leaders who signed a statement in opposition. Criticizing the president for crossing a line, he quickly became one of the individuals whose security clearance Trump threatened to review. Deanna Paul writes for the Washington Post. Facebook

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Trump tells troops hes thankful for what hes done for the U.S. and rails against courts and migrants By Associated Press President Trump talks with troops via teleconference from his estate in Palm Beach, Fla., on Thanksgiving. (Susan Walsh / Associated Press) President Trump used his Thanksgiving Day call to troops deployed overseas to pat himself on the back and air grievances about the courts, trade and migrants heading to the U.S.-Mexico border. Trumps call, made from his opulent private Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Fla., struck an unusually political tone as he spoke with members of all five branches of the military to wish them happy holidays. Its a disgrace, Trump said of judges who have blocked his attempts to overhaul U.S. immigration law, as he linked his efforts to secure the border with military missions overseas. Trump later threatened to close the U.S. border with Mexico for an undisclosed period of time if his administration determines Mexico has lost control on its side. The call was a uniquely Trump blend of boasting, peppered questions and off-the-cuff observations as his comments veered from venting about slights to praising troops  You really are our heroes, he said  as club waiters worked to set Thanksgiving dinner tables on the outdoor terrace behind him. It was yet another show of how Trump has dramatically transformed the presidency, erasing the traditional divisions between domestic policy and military matters and efforts to keep the troops clear of politics. You probably see over the news whats happening on our southern border, Trump told one Air Force brigadier general stationed at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan, adding: I dont have to even ask you. I know what you want to do, you want to make sure that you know who were letting in. Later, Trump asked a U.S. Coast Guard commander about trade, which he noted was a very big subject for him personally. Weve been taken advantage of for many, many years by bad trade deals, Trump told the commander, who sheepishly replied, Mr. President, from our perspective on the water  we dont see any issues in terms of trade right now. And throughout, Trump congratulated himself, telling the officers that the country is doing exceptionally well on his watch. I hope that youll take solace in knowing that all of the American families you hold so close to your heart are all doing well, he said. The nations doing well economically, better than anybody in the world. He later told reporters, Nobodys done more for the military than me. Indeed, asked what he was thankful for this Thanksgiving, Trump cited his great family as well as himself. I made a tremendous difference in this country, he said. Facebook

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Trump contradicts CIA assessment that Saudi crown prince ordered Jamal Khashoggi killing By Josh Dawsey | Washington Post (Susan Walsh / Associated Press) President Trump on Thursday contradicted the CIAs assessment that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had ordered the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, insisting that the agency had feelings but did not firmly place blame for the death. Trump, in defiant remarks to reporters from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, defended his continued support for Mohammed in the face of a CIA assessment that the crown prince had ordered the killing. He denies it vehemently, Trump said. He said his own conclusion was that maybe he did, maybe he didnt. I hate the crime .... I hate the cover-up. I will tell you this: The crown prince hates it more than I do, Trump said. Asked who should be held accountable for the death of Khashoggi, who was killed at the Saudi Consulate in Turkey, Trump refused to place blame. Maybe the world should be held accountable because the world is a very, very vicious place, the president said. He also seemed to suggest that all U.S. allies were guilty of the same behavior, declaring that if the others were held to the standard that critics have held Saudi Arabia to in recent days, we wouldnt be able to have anyone for an ally. Trumps remarks came after he held a conference call with U.S. military officers overseas, during which he repeatedly praised his administration and sought to draw the officers into discussions of domestic policy. Facebook

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Former FBI Director James Comey gets subpoena from House Republicans By Bloomberg Former FBI Director James B. Comey said he has received a subpoena from House Republicans, according to a Twitter post on Thursday. Bloomberg News reported last week that Comey would be receiving a subpoena alongside former Atty. Gen. Loretta Lynch as part of continuing probes into their handling of investigations into Hillary Clinton and Russian election meddling, according to a top House Democrat. Happy Thanksgiving. Got a subpoena from House Republicans. Im still happy to sit in the light and answer all questions. But I will resist a closed door thing because Ive seen enough of their selective leaking and distortion. Lets have a hearing and invite everyone to see.  James Comey (@Comey) November 22, 2018 Read More Facebook

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Republican David Valadaos lead slips to 447 votes over Democrat TJ Cox in still-undecided Central Valley House race By Mark Z. Barabak Rep. David Valadao (R-Hanford), right, finds himself in an increasingly harrowing cliffhanger against Democrat TJ Cox. (Bill Clark / CQ Roll Call) On election night, it looked like Rep. David Valadao had survived a close shave and was destined to return to Washington for his fourth term. But on Wednesday, when Fresno County announced its latest vote totals, the Hanford Republican found himself in an increasingly harrowing cliffhanger against Democrat TJ Cox, with his lead in the Central Valley district shrunken to 447 votes. Thousands remain to be counted. Valadao, a repeated Democratic target, finished election night with a lead of nearly 4,440 votes. Cox, an engineer and a business owner who unsuccessfully ran for Congress in 2006, has steadily gained ground in the 21st Congressional District ever since. The trend is consistent with historic patterns showing Republicans in California tend to vote early and Democrats later, meaning their mail ballots continue to stream in past election day. Under California law, ballots postmarked up to midnight on Nov. 6 will be counted. Democrats have already picked up six House seats in California. They ousted Reps. Dana Rohrabacher, Mimi Walters, Steve Knight and Jeff Denham and won the seats of retiring Reps. Ed Royce and Darrell Issa. All six represented districts that backed Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump in 2016. Valadao was the seventh California Republican in a district Clinton won, though his previous successes  he last won reelection by a 14-point margin  suggested his ouster was a longer shot for Democrats. If Cox prevails, it would give Democrats a 40-seat gain nationwide, far more than the 23 seats needed to take control when Congress reconvenes in January. Facebook

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Trump says no new punishments against Saudi Arabia in Jamal Khashoggi murder By Eli Stokols In this Oct. 25 photo, candles are lit in front of a photo of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. (Lefteris Pitarakis) President Trump made it clear on Tuesday that he does not intend to punish Saudi Arabia or Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi, an American resident killed by Saudi officials in Turkey in October. In a remarkable statement replete with exclamation points, Trump cast doubt on the CIAs reported conclusions that it has a high degree of confidence that the crown prince ordered Khashoggis murder and sent his closest allies to Saudi Arabias consulate in Istanbul to carry it out. Read MoreThis article has been updated with staff. Facebook

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Sixteen House Democrats vow to oppose Nancy Pelosi as next speaker By Mike DeBonis | Washington Post House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (J. Scott Applewhite / Associated Press) Sixteen House Democrats said Monday that they will vote to deny Rep. Nancy Pelosi another stint as House speaker, a show of defiance that puts her opponents on the cusp of forcing a seismic leadership shake-up as their party prepares to take the majority. Their pledge to oppose Pelosi (D-San Francisco), both in an internal caucus election and a Jan. 3 floor vote, delivered in a letter sent to Democratic colleagues, comes as Pelosi has marshaled a legion of supporters on and off Capitol Hill to make her case. But her opponents said Monday they are convinced it is time to select a new leader. We are thankful to Leader Pelosi for her years of service to our Country and to our Caucus, they wrote. However, we also recognize that in this recent election, Democrats ran on and won on a message of change. Pelosi has expressed complete confidence that she will retake the speakers gavel in January  eight years after she lost it following massive Republican gains in the 2010 midterms and 16 years after she was first elevated to the top Democratic leadership post in the House. Come on in, the waters fine, she said Friday about a potential leadership challenge. The signers might not be able to force Pelosi out themselves. The size of the Democratic majority remains in flux, but Democrats have already won 232 seats, according to the Associated Press, with five races still undecided. All those races have Republican incumbents, but the Democratic challenger is ahead in only one of them. If the leads hold in the uncalled races, Democrats would have won 233 seats, a 16-seat majority. That means Pelosi could lose as many as 15 Democratic votes when she stands for election as speaker on Jan. 3. Read More Facebook

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Democratic senators sue over Whitakers appointment as acting attorney general By Associated Press Acting U.S. Atty. Gen. Matthew Whitaker (Nicholas Kamm / AFP/Getty Images) Three Senate Democrats filed a lawsuit Monday arguing that Acting Atty. Gen. Matthew Whitakers appointment is unconstitutional and asking a federal judge to remove him. The suit, filed by Sens. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Mazie Hirono of Hawaii and Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, argues that Whitakers appointment violates the Constitution because he has not been confirmed by the Senate. Whitaker was chief of staff to Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions and was elevated to the top job after Sessions was ousted by President Trump on Nov. 7. The Constitutions Appointments Clause requires that the Senate confirm all principal officials before they can serve in their office. The Justice Department released a legal opinion last week that said Whitakers appointment would not violate the clause because he is serving in an acting capacity. The opinion concluded that Whitaker, even without Senate confirmation, may serve in an acting capacity because he has been at the department for more than a year at a sufficiently senior pay level. President Trump is denying senators our constitutional obligation and opportunity to do our job: scrutinizing the nomination of our nations top law enforcement official, Blumenthal said in a statement. The reason is simple: Whitaker would never pass the advice and consent test. In selecting a so-called constitutional nobody and thwarting every senators constitutional duty, Trump leaves us no choice but to seek recourse through the courts. The lawsuit comes days after a Washington lawyer challenged Whitakers appointment in a pending Supreme Court case dealing with gun rights. The attorney, Thomas Goldstein, asked the high court to find that Whitakers appointment is unconstitutional and replace him with Deputy Atty. Gen. Rod Rosenstein. Rosenstein, the second-ranking Justice Department official, has been confirmed by the Senate and had been overseeing special counsel Robert Muellers Russia investigation. Whitaker is now overseeing the investigation. The Justice Department issued a statement Monday defending Whitakers appointment as lawful and said it comports with the Appointments Clause, the Federal Vacancies Reform Act and legal precedent. There are over 160 instances in American history in which non-Senate confirmed persons performed, on a temporary basis, the duties of a Senate-confirmed position, Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said. To suggest otherwise is to ignore centuries of practice and precedent. Facebook

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Gov. Rick Scott says Sen. Bill Nelson concedes Florida Senate race By Associated Press Republican Senate candidate Rick Scott speaks with his wife, Ann, by his side at an election watch party in Naples, Fla., on Nov. 7. (Wilfredo Lee / Associated Press) Floridas Republican Gov. Rick Scott says incumbent Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson called him to concede defeat in their extremely tight race. Scott issued a statement Sunday saying Nelson graciously conceded their Senate race shortly after the states recount ended. The final results show Scott defeated Nelson by just over 10,000 votes out of 8 million cast. Nelson is scheduled to release a videotaped statement later Sunday. The defeat ends Nelsons lengthy political career. The three-term incumbent was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2000. Before that he served six terms in the U.S. House and as state treasurer and insurance commissioner for six years. Scott spent more than $60 million of his own money on ads that portrayed Nelson as out-of-touch and ineffective. Nelson responded by questioning Scotts ethics and saying he would be under the sway of President Trump. Facebook

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Orange County goes blue, as Democrats complete historic sweep of its seven congressional seats By Michael Finnegan Gil Cisneros defeated Republican Young Kim on Saturday in the last of Orange Countys undecided House races, giving Democrats a clean sweep of the states six most fiercely fought congressional contests and marking an epochal shift in a region long synonymous with political conservatism. With Cisneros victory, Democrats will constitute the entirety of Orange Countys seven-member congressional delegation, the first time since the 1930s that the birthplace of Richard Nixon, home of John Wayne and spiritual center of the Republican Party will have no GOP representative in the House. Sitting back in the 1960s, I would never have believed this would happen, said Stuart K. Spencer, a party strategist who spent more than half a century ushering Republicans, including President Reagan, into office. Read More Facebook

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Going, going ... with midterm wipeout, California Republican Party drifts closer to irrelevance By Michael Finnegan For a party in freefall the last two decades, California Republicans learned that its possible to plunge even further. The GOP not only lost every statewide office in the midterm election  again, in blowout fashion  but Democrats reestablished their supermajority in Sacramento, allowing them to legislate however they see fit After major defeats in Orange County and the Central Valley, two longtime strongholds, Republicans will have a significantly smaller footprint on Capitol Hill. (Democrats hold both Senate seats.) When the vote-counting is finished, the GOP may not even have enough lawmakers in Californias 53-member House delegation to field a nine-person softball team. Read More Facebook

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Congresswoman-elect Katie Porter says she will support Rep. Nancy Pelosi for speaker By Maya Sweedler Democratic Rep.-elect Katie Porter is congratulated by volunteers at her campaign headquarters in Irvine. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) Congresswoman-elect Katie Porter said she plans to support Rep. Nancy Pelosis bid for speaker of the House and will make campaign finance reform her top priority when she enters the chamber in January. Im going to continue to have conversations, but so far I feel like Leader Pelosi is definitely making the things that were a priority to the families that elected me her priorities, including announcing her support for campaign finance reform and anti-corruption as HR1, Porter said in her first public appearance since being declared the winner in Californias 45th Congressional District on Thursday evening. It means a lot to me that she is a Californian. She understands our state, Porter added. When we talk about environmental protections, this is a person who understands as a Californian how fragile our environment is and whats at risk in things like drilling off our coasts. Porter, a law professor at UC Irvine, defeated two-term Republican Rep. Mimi Walters. The 45th District, covering inland Orange County, has never been represented by a Democrat. Porter became the third Democrat to claim a Republican-held seat in Orange County, following the victories of Harley Rouda in the 48th District and Mike Levin in the 49th. A fourth, Gil Cisneros, is running slightly ahead of his Republican opponent in the race for the open seat in the 39th District, which extends into Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties. Porter attributed the massive political shift in the county, for decades a conservative stronghold, to increased levels of political engagement. Folks here care about education, they care about the environment, they believe climate change is real, they want healthcare that protects preexisting conditions, they want a tax system that doesnt punish California, they want our schools and places of worship to be safe from gun violence, she said. Those are the issues we campaigned on, and to the extent that Donald Trump and Mimi Walters were on the wrong side of those issues, the voters have made clear what direction they want us to go. Porter was flying back from the East Coast when her race was called, she said. She turned on her phone to find 167 text messages from friends and supporters. Among them was Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who was one of Porters teachers in law school and with whom she has remained close. The pair spoke via FaceTime this morning, she said. Facebook

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Bitter battle for Senate seat in Florida goes to hand recount By Associated Press Employees look through damaged ballots during a recount Thursday in West Palm Beach, Fla. (Wilfredo Lee / Associated Press) Floridas acrimonious battle for the U.S. Senate headed Thursday to a legally required hand recount after an initial review by ballot-counting machines showed Republican Gov. Rick Scott and Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson separated by less than 13,000 votes. But the highly watched contest for governor between Republican Ron DeSantis and Democrat Andrew Gillum appeared to be over, with a machine recount showing DeSantis with a large enough advantage over Gillum to avoid a hand recount in that race. Gillum, who conceded the contest on election night only to retract his concession later, said in a statement that it is not over until every legally casted vote is counted. The recount so far has been fraught with problems. One large Democratic stronghold in South Florida was unable to finish its machine recount by the Thursday deadline due to machines breaking down. A federal judge rejected a request to extend the recount deadline. We gave a heroic effort, said Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Susan Bucher. If the county had three or four more hours, it would have made the deadline to recount ballots in the Senate race, she said. Meanwhile, election officials in another urban county in the Tampa Bay area decided against turning in the results of their machine recount, which came up with 846 fewer votes than originally counted. Media in South Florida reported that Broward County finished its machine recount but missed the deadline by a few minutes. Counties were ordered last weekend to do a machine recount of three statewide races because the margins were so tight. The next stage is a manual review of ballots that were not counted by machines to see whether there is a way to figure out voter intent. Scott called on Nelson to end the recount battle. Its time for Nelson to respect the will of the voters and graciously bring this process to an end rather than proceed with yet another count of the votes  which will yield the same result and bring more embarrassment to the state that we both love and have served, the governor said in a statement. The recount has triggered multiple lawsuits, many of them filed by Nelson and Democrats. The legal battles drew the ire of U.S. District Judge Mark E. Walker, who slammed the state for repeatedly failing to anticipate election problems. He also said the state law on recounts appears to violate the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that decided the presidency in 2000. We have been the laughingstock of the world, election after election, and we chose not to fix this, Walker said during a morning hearing. Walker vented his anger at state lawmakers and Palm Beach County officials, saying they should have made sure they had enough equipment in place to handle this kind of a recount. But he said he could not extend the recount deadline because he did not know when Palm Beach County would finish its work. This court must be able to craft a remedy with knowledge that it will not prove futile, Walker wrote in his ruling turning down the request from Democrats. It cannot do so on this record. This court does not and will not fashion a remedy in the dark. The overarching problem was created by the Florida Legislature, which Walker said passed a recount law that appears to run afoul of the 2000 Bush vs. Gore decision by locking in procedures that do not allow for potential problems. A total of six election-related lawsuits are pending in federal court in Tallahassee as well at least one lawsuit filed in state court. Walker also ordered that voters be given until 5 p.m. Saturday to show a valid identification and fix their ballots if they have not been counted due to mismatched signatures. Republicans appealed the ruling, but an appeals court turned down the request. State officials testified that nearly 4,000 mailed-in ballots were set aside because local officials decided the signatures on the envelopes did not match the signatures on file. If those voters can prove their identity, their votes will be counted and included in final official returns due from each county by noon Sunday. Walker was asked by Democrats to require local officials to provide a list of people whose ballots were rejected. But the judge appointed by President Obama refused the request, calling it inappropriate. Under state law, a hand review is required with races that have a margin of 0.25 percentage points or less. A state website put the unofficial results showing Scott ahead of Nelson by 0.15 percentage points. The margin between DeSantis and Gillum was at 0.41 points. The margin between Scott and Nelson had not changed much in the last few days, conceded Marc Elias, an attorney working for Nelsons campaign. But he said that he expected the vote tally to shrink due to the hand recount and the ruling on signatures. The developments fueled frustrations among Democrats and Republicans alike. Democrats want state officials to do whatever it takes to make sure every eligible vote is counted. Republicans, including President Trump, have argued without evidence that voter fraud threatens to steal races from the GOP. Facebook

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Democrat Gil Cisneros pulls ahead of Republican Young Kim as more votes are tallied in Orange and San Bernardino counties By Michael Finnegan Congressional candidate Gil Cisneros (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) Democrat Gil Cisneros pulled ahead of Republican Young Kim in one of Californias undecided congressional races Thursday, an ominous sign for a GOP already reeling from its loss of four House seats in the state. In updated vote counts released by the registrars for Orange and San Bernardino counties, Kim fell 941 votes behind Cisneros in the contest to succeed Republican Rep. Ed Royce in Californias 39th Congressional District. The 39th straddles Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Orange counties. In another unresolved House race, Democrat Katie Porter pulled further ahead of Republican incumbent Mimi Walters in the 45th District, which includes Mission Viejo, Tustin, Irvine, Rancho Santa Margarita and Laguna Hills. Porter, a consumer attorney and UC Irvine law professor, is now 6,203 votes ahead. The Nov. 6 midterm election has been devastating to Republicans in California. If Cisneros and Porter win, the party will have lost six of its 14 House seats in the state, essentially a wipeout in every contest that both parties spent heavily to win. The three Republicans already bounced from Congress are Reps. Dana Rohrabacher of Costa Mesa, Steve Knight of Palmdale and Jeff Denham of Turlock in the San Joaquin Valley. Democrat Mike Levin won the seat of retiring GOP Rep. Darrell Issa of Vista in the fourth district flipped so far. Facebook

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Florida Senate race likely headed to second recount By Associated Press A Palm Beach County Sheriffs deputy walks past boxes of ballots before a recount on Nov. 15 in West Palm Beach, Fla. (Wilfredo Lee) Unofficial Florida election results show that the governors race seems to be settled after a machine recount but the U.S. Senate race is likely headed to a hand recount. Republican Ron DeSantis is virtually assured of winning the nationally watched governors race over Democrat Andrew Gillum. Florida finished a machine recount Thursday that showed Gillum without enough votes to force a manual recount. Unofficial results posted on a state website show the margin between U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson and Gov. Rick Scott is still thin enough to trigger a second review. State law requires a hand recount of races with a margin of 0.25 percentage point or less. Counties have until Sunday to inspect the ballots that did not record a vote when put through the machines. Those ballots are re-examined to see whether the voter skipped the race or marked the ballot in a way that the machines cannot read but can be deciphered. The election will be certified Tuesday. Read More Facebook

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Pelosi says she has the votes to become the next House speaker By John Wagner Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi speaks during a news conference in Washington on Nov. 14. (Susan Walsh) House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi insisted Thursday that she has the votes to become the chambers speaker despite solid opposition from more than a dozen Democrats who want fresh leadership when the party takes control next year. I have overwhelming support in my caucus to be speaker of the House, the San Francisco lawmaker told reporters. I happen to think at this point, Im the best person for that. A vote within the Democratic caucus is scheduled for Nov. 28. The full House votes on Jan. 3 to elect a new speaker. During her remarks, Pelosi touted the size of the Democratic victory in the midterms, which she called almost a tsunami. With a few races still to be decided, Democrats are poised to pick up close to 40 seats in the chamber. Pelosi called that the biggest victory for the Democrats since 1974, when the Watergate babies came in. Pelosis comments come as she faces solid opposition from at least 17 Democrats, setting the stage for a battle over who will ascend to one of the most powerful positions in Washington. After a campaign in which some Democrats prevailed in competitive districts by promising to oppose her, a coalition of incumbents and newly elected members has denied her a smooth path to the speakership. The defections, if they stand, would leave Pelosi, who has led the Democrats for more than 15 years, several votes short of the 218 she would need when the full House votes for speaker Jan. 3. However, no Democrat has stepped forward to run against her for a job she held from 2007 through 2010. Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) told reporters Wednesday that shes being encouraged to stand for speaker if Pelosi doesnt have the votes. In an interview with the Washington Post on Thursday, she said she has been overwhelmed by the support from many of her colleagues for her possible entry into the race for House speaker. Over the last 12 hours, Ive been overwhelmed by the amount of support Ive received, Fudge said, adding that there are probably closer to 30" Democrats who have privately signaled that they are willing to oppose Pelosi. Things could change rapidly, Fudge said. Fudge, 66, a former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, said she is building a diverse coalition as she mulls a speaker run, talking with allies in the caucus, moderate Democrats and newly elected members. To this point, Pelosi has enjoyed the strong backing of the Congressional Black Caucus. On Thursday, Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.), one of its members, wrote a letter to colleagues praising her insight, fortitude and strategic thinking and urging support for her speakership bid. Former Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr., an African American who is contemplating a 2020 presidential bid, also voiced support for Pelosi, praising her in a tweet as an architect of the recent midterm success. Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), a leader of the resistance to Pelosi, said during an interview on CNN on Thursday that Fudge is the kind of new leader that we need in this party. Shes in touch with middle America. She understands what the American people want. Shes a next-generation leader that people will look to and say, Thats the future of our party, thats the future of our country, and thats exactly the kind of leader that I want to see as our next speaker. Wagner reports for the Washington Post. The Posts Robert Costa, Erica Werner, Mike DeBonis, Paul Kane and Elise Viebeck contributed to this report. Facebook

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GOP Rep. Jeff Denham concedes to Democrat Josh Harder in Central Valley race By Maya Sweedler Rep. Jeff Denham (Bill Clark / CQ Roll Call) Republican Rep. Jeff Denham has conceded to Democrat Josh Harder in the race to represent Californias 10th Congressional District in the San Joaquin Valley. It has been an absolute honor to serve our community and represent the Central Valley in Congress over the past eight years, the 51-year-old congressman said. The enormity of the responsibility was never lost on me. My wife Sonia and I look forward to starting the next chapter of our lives. Harder said he had spoken with Denham and the two were committed to a productive transition. Denham, an Air Force veteran, previously represented the region in the state Senate for eight years and founded a company specializing in plastic packaging used in agriculture. While a member of Congress, he sat on the Transportation and Infrastructure, Veterans Affairs and Agriculture committees. First-time candidate Harder was born and raised in the district. After graduating from Stanford University, he served as vice president of a Silicon Valley venture capital firm. Since moving back, he has been teaching at Modesto Junior College. Denhams House seat is one of four in California that Republicans lost in the Nov. 6 election, with two contests in Orange County still undecided as of Thursday morning. Jeff Denham called me this morning and we had a very productive conversation. I'm honored that I've been chosen to serve our community in Congress, and we're both looking forward to a productive transition that best serves the people of District 10.  Josh Harder (@JoshHarder) November 14, 2018 Facebook

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Democrat Katie Porter now nearly 3,800 votes ahead of GOP Rep. Mimi Walters By Maya Sweedler Rep. Mimi Walters thanks all of her supporters as she watches election results in Irvine on Nov. 7, 2018. (Alex Gallardo / Associated Press) Democrat Katie Porter opened a 3,797-vote lead Wednesday over Republican Rep. Mimi Walters in Orange Countys 45th Congressional District. In the neighboring 39th, Democrat Gil Cisneros has nearly tied the race against Republican Young Kim. Cisneros now trails Kim by a razor-thin margin of 122 votes. The 39th District straddles Los Angeles, Orange and San Bernardino counties; Wednesdays updated ballot counts came from the latter two. There are more than 202,000 ballots left to count in Orange County, which includes parts of seven congressional districts. The 45th is entirely in inland Orange County. In California, the ballots counted first tend to lean Republican and those tallied later skew Democratic. In the Central Valleys 21st Congressional District, Democratic challenger TJ Cox has pulled within 2 percentage points of Rep. David Valadao, who is serving his third term. The Associated Press had projected a win for Valadao on election night, but his 4,839-vote advantage has shrunk to 2,090. Back in CA-21, Valadao (R) wins a batch of ballots from his stronghold in Kings Co., but by a considerably smaller margin (14 points) than his previous ~30-point margin in the county. We're moving to Lean R from Likely R; today a bit scary for Valadao.https://t.co/WqJVUVkqGW  Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) November 15, 2018 A spokesman for Valadao told the Fresno Bee that the changes were expected and that [s]tatistically, David Valadao has won this race. Democrats in California have already flipped four House seats, defeating three Republican incumbents and claiming an open seat previously held by the GOP. Reps. Steve Knight of Palmdale, Dana Rohrabacher of Costa Mesa and Jeff Denham of Turlock have already lost their races, and retiring Rep. Darrell Issas San Diego County seat was claimed by Democrat Mike Levin. Facebook

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Trump aide departs West Wing after rebuke from Melania Trump By Associated Press First Lady Melania Trump. (Alain Jocard / AFP-Getty Images) Deputy national security advisor Mira Ricardel is leaving the White House, one day after First Lady Melania Trumps office issued an extraordinary statement calling for her dismissal. No replacement was named. Aides said Ricardel clashed with the first ladys staff over her visit to Africa last month. Yet it is highly unusual for a first lady or her office to weigh in on personnel matters, especially the presidents national security staff. White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Ricardel would have a new role in the administration. On Tuesday, Stephanie Grisham, the first ladys spokeswoman, released a statement saying, It is the position of the Office of the First Lady that she no longer deserves the honor of serving in this White House. President Trumps White House has set records for administration turnover. Ricardel was the third person to hold the post under Trump. An ally of national security advisor John Bolton, Ricardel began her service in the Trump administration as associate director in the White House Office of Presidential Personnel, then moved to the Commerce Department last year. Bolton brought her into the West Wing shortly after taking the job in April. He is traveling in Asia this week alongside Vice President Mike Pence. Facebook

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Race for House Minority Leader is Kevin McCarthys to lose By Associated Press (Bill Clark / CQ Roll Call) House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy is running to take over next years shrunken caucus in closed-door elections that will set the tone for the new Congress. The race for minority leader is McCarthys to lose Wednesday. But the California Republican, who is an ally of President Trump, must fend off a challenge from conservative Jim Jordan of Ohio. Jordan is a leader of the House Freedom Caucus. The two encountered questions and finger-pointing during a private meeting with lawmakers Tuesday night as the GOP sorted through the midterm defeat that put Democrats in the majority next year. Elections Wednesday will also determine party leadership in the Senate. Voting for the biggest race, Nancy Pelosis bid to return as the Democrats nominee for speaker, is later this month. Read More Facebook

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Melania Trump calls for the firing of deputy national security advisor By Justin Sink First Lady Melania Trump arrives at the Chateau de Versailles outside Paris on Nov. 11. (Alain Jocard / AFP/Getty Images ) First Lady Melania Trumps office said she wants Mira Ricardel, the deputy national security advisor, ousted from the White House. It is the position of the Office of the First Lady that she no longer deserves the honor of serving in this White House, Trumps spokeswoman, Stephanie Grisham, said in a statement in response to a question about reports the first lady had sought Ricardels removal. Ricardel is the top deputy to national security advisor John Bolton. She drew the first ladys wrath after threatening to withhold National Security Council resources during Melania Trumps trip to Africa last month unless Ricardel was included in her entourage, one person familiar with the matter said. Grishams statement comes as several media outlets have reported that President Trump is considering a broader shakeup of his administration, including ousting Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen. Sink and Jacobs report for Bloomberg. Read More Facebook

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CNN sues Trump over the suspension of Jim Acostas White House press credentials By Jim Puzzanghera CNN said Tuesday that it is suing President Trump and other administration officials over the decision to suspend the White House press credentials of correspondent Jim Acosta after a conflict at a news conference last week. The suit, to be filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, escalates an ongoing battle between Trump and the cable news outlet that he frequently accuses of disseminating fake news for its aggressive coverage of him and his administration. The wrongful revocation of these credentials violates CNN and Acostas 1st Amendment rights of freedom of the press, and their 5th Amendment rights to due process, CNN said in a written statement. If left unchallenged, the actions of the White House would create a dangerous chilling effect for any journalist who covers our elected officials. Read More Facebook

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Maxine Waters to take aim at Wells Fargo and Deutsche Bank as new head of House Financial Services Committee By Jim Puzzanghera Rep. Maxine Waters plans to zero in on two big banks  Wells Fargo & Co. and Deutsche Bank  when she becomes head of the powerful House Financial Services Committee. The Los Angeles congresswoman, now the committees top Democrat, is widely expected to gain the gavel after her party won control of the House in last weeks elections. While Waters has outlined a wide-ranging agenda, she said her focus on bank oversight will target two large institutions she has been tangling with for a while  including one, Deutsche Bank, that spills into her bitter feud with President Trump. With Trump in the White House, I know that our fight for Americas consumers and investors will continue to be challenging. But I am more than up to that fight, Waters wrote in a letter last week to her Democratic colleagues on the committee that was obtained by The Times. Read More Facebook

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Heres how a controversial voting system will decide a congressional race in Maine By Kurtis Lee For the first time in U.S. history, a controversial voting system known as ranked choice is being used to decide a federal election. Its happening in Maine, which adopted the system in 2016. Rather than marking a single candidate, each voter ranks them all, assigning a first-place vote, a second-place vote and so on down the ballot. Read More Facebook

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ACLU files suit to stop Trumps new asylum limits By Associated Press A group of Central American migrants march to the office of the U.N.'s humans rights body in Mexico City on Nov. 8. (Rebecca Blackwell / Associated Press) The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a legal challenge to President Trumps order denying asylum to migrants if they cross the U.S.-Mexico border illegally. The lawsuit was filed Friday in federal court in San Francisco and argues the new rules are against the law. Attorney Lee Gelernt said the regulations will put families in danger. The suit seeks to declare the regulations invalid and wants a judge to stop the rules from going into effect while the litigation is pending. The new rules were spurred in part by caravans of Central American migrants slowly moving north on foot, but officials say they will apply to anyone caught crossing illegally. Officials say about 70,000 people who enter the country illegally claim asylum. The order invoked the same national security powers Trump used to push through his travel ban. Read More Facebook

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Trump on new acting AG: I dont know Matt Whitaker By Associated Press President Trump talks with reporters before departing for France on the South Lawn of the White House on Nov. 9. (Evan Vucci / Associated Press) President Trump is moving to distance himself from Matthew Whitaker as he faces criticism over his choice for acting attorney general. Trump told reporters Friday that I dont know Matt Whitaker and said he didnt speak with Whitaker about special counsel Robert Muellers Russia investigation. Whitaker has made public comments critical of Muellers investigation, and critics have called on Whitaker to recuse himself from oversight of the inquiry. Under former Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions, the investigation was overseen by Deputy Atty. Gen. Rod Rosenstein. Of the scrutiny Whitaker is facing, Trump said: Its a shame that no matter who I put in they go after. He also called Whitaker a very highly respected man. Whitaker was Sessions chief of staff before Trump made him Sessions interim replacement. Facebook

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Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg out of hospital after fall By Associated Press The Supreme Court says 85-year-old Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is home after being released from the hospital. She had been admitted for treatment and observation after fracturing three ribs in a fall. The court said Ginsburg was released Friday. Supreme Court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg says she is doing well and working from home. The court had previously said the justice fell in her office at the court on Wednesday evening and went to George Washington University Hospital in Washington early Thursday after experiencing discomfort overnight. Ginsburg broke two ribs in a fall in 2012. She had two prior bouts with cancer and had a stent implanted to open a blocked artery in 2014. Facebook

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Gun-control activist Lucy McBath defeats GOP Rep. Karen Handel in Georgia By Associated Press Lucy McBath speaks during a rally for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams on Nov. 2 at Morehouse College in Atlanta. (Alyssa Pointer / Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP) Democratic gun-control activist Lucy McBath has defeated Republican Rep. Karen Handel of Georgia in a suburban congressional district long considered safe for the GOP. Handel had to seek reelection after winning her seat last year in a close special election race against Democrat Jon Ossoff. McBath became an advocate for stricter gun laws after her son, Jordan Davis, was fatally shot at a Florida gas station in 2012 by a man angry over loud music the teenager and his friends were playing in a car. McBaths margin of victory was narrow enough for Handel to have requested a recount. The Associated Press declared McBath the winner Thursday after Handel conceded. Handel conceded in a statement Thursday morning, stating that after reviewing all of the election data, its clear she came up a bit short in Tuesdays vote. Handel congratulated McBath, offering good thoughts and much prayer for the journey that lies ahead for her. McBath, who is African American, declared victory Wednesday. Facebook

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Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg hospitalized after fracturing 3 ribs in fall By Associated Press Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (Jacquelyn Martin / Associated Press) The Supreme Court says 85-year-old Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg fractured three ribs in a fall in her office at the court and is in the hospital. The court says the justice went to George Washington University Hospital in Washington early Thursday after experiencing discomfort overnight. The court says the fall occurred Wednesday evening. Ginsburg was admitted to the hospital for treatment and observation after tests showed she fractured three ribs. Ginsburg broke two ribs in a fall in 2012. She has had two prior bouts with cancer and had a stent implanted to open a blocked artery in 2014. Facebook

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White House suspends press pass of CNNs Jim Acosta after heated exchange with Trump By Associated Press The White House on Wednesday suspended the press pass of CNN correspondent Jim Acosta after he and President Trump had a heated confrontation during a news conference. They began sparring after Acosta asked Trump about the caravan of migrants heading from Latin America to the southern U.S. border. When Acosta tried to follow up with another question, Trump said, Thats enough! and a female White House aide unsuccessfully tried to grab the microphone from Acosta. White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders released a statement accusing Acosta of placing his hands on a young woman just trying to do her job as a White House intern, calling it absolutely unacceptable. The interaction between Acosta and the intern was brief, and Acosta appeared to brush her arm as she reached for the microphone and he tried to hold onto it. Pardon me, maam, he told her. Acosta tweeted that Sanders statement that he put his hands on the aide was a lie. CNN said in a statement that the White House revoked Acostas press pass in retaliation for his challenging questions Wednesday, and the network accused Sanders of lying about Acostas actions. This conduct is absolutely unacceptable. It is also completely disrespectful to the reporters colleagues not to allow them an opportunity to ask a question. President Trump has given the press more access than any President in history.  Stephanie Grisham (@PressSec) November 8, 2018 Contrary to CNNs assertions there is no greater demonstration of the Presidents support for a free press than the event he held today. Only they would attack the President for not supporting a free press in the midst of him taking 68 questions from 35 different reporters...  Stephanie Grisham (@PressSec) November 8, 2018 As a result of todays incident, the White House is suspending the hard pass of the reporter involved until further notice.  Stephanie Grisham (@PressSec) November 8, 2018 Sanders provided fraudulent accusations and cited an incident that never happened. This unprecedented decision is a threat to our democracy and the country deserves better, CNN said. Jim Acosta has our full support. Journalists assigned to cover the White House apply for passes that allow them daily access to press areas in the West Wing. White House staffers decide whether journalists are eligible, though the Secret Service determines whether their applications are approved. Facebook

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Trump spars with reporters at post-election news briefing, ordering several to sit down By Associated Press  President Trump assails CNNs Jim Acosta at a White House news conference. President Trump sparred with reporters at his post-election news conference, ordering several to sit down and telling another hes a rude, terrible person. He told another reporter hes not a fan of yours, either. The presidents mood turned sour Wednesday after reporters pressed him on why he referred to a migrant caravan making its way to the U.S. on foot through Mexico as an invasion. Trump ramped up his anti-immigrant rhetoric against the caravan in the final days of the midterm elections. Trump was also pressed on why his campaign aired an ad featuring a Mexican immigrant convicted of killing American police officers and linking the mans actions to the caravan. Several television networks pulled the ad after airing it or declined to air it at all. Facebook

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Im living one hour at a time at this point By Christine Mai-Duc Republican congressional candidate Young Kim and gubernatorial candidate John Cox campaign in Rowland Heights. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) Republican congressional candidate Young Kim greeted gubernatorial candidate John Coxs giant campaign bus, the words HELP IS ON THE WAY emblazoned across it, as it rolled into the parking lot outside her Rowland Heights field office. Standing beside Cox on Saturday, Kim predicted that a string of GOP victories Tuesday would start with voters repealing the gas tax hike. Can you imagine Gavin Newsom being our governor? Can you imagine Gil Cisneros being your representative? Kim asked the crowd, to loud boos and cries of Nooo! The former state assemblywoman who worked for retiring Rep. Ed Royce (R-Fullerton) is vying for his seat with Democrat Gil Cisneros. She led the crowd in chants of Enough is enough! and, though short-lived, Drain the swamp! Ive served you in Sacramento and Ive seen dysfunction personally, Kim continued. We cannot continue that route. She urged her supporters to stay and help make phone calls or walk neighborhoods. Lets get out there  the 72 hours is really critical. Its all going to come down to a few votes, it could be your vote, she said pointing to her left, then pivoting right, it could be your vote. So dont sit back and do nothing. Every night I go to sleep thinking, OK, how many more votes can I get or how many more people can I call tomorrow? Kim said. It can be physically exhausting but Im mentally, emotionally very energized. She listed off her events so far that day  and the next one she was heading to. Thats just what I can remember, she said. Im living one hour at a time at this point. Kims campaign invited press to two of her events on Saturday. After she was whisked away to her next event  a high tea fundraiser in Walnut, a couple dozen volunteers remained. John Freeman, a statewide field manager for the state Republican Party, tried to pump them up. This is the Super Bowl. Were not in an NFL stadium, were not getting paid millions of dollars, but you know what? Freeman said. Were walking on the field right now. This is that high-stakes-level game. Facebook

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Its going to be tough out there Democratic candidate Katie Porter speaks to volunteers in Mission Viejo. Jon Bauman, Bowzer from the band Sha Na Na, is in the background. (Victoria Kim / Los Angeles Times ) Judging from the cheers in the crowd, about half those assembled at Katie Porters campaign headquarters in Mission Viejo Sunday morning were old enough to remember 70s rock n roll star Bowzer from the band Sha Na Na. Jon Bauman, as Bowzer is known off stage, said it was her position on senior issues including retirement and social security that has him out supporting Porter over her opponent, incumbent Rep. Mimi Walters. I want you to make sure every phone is called and every door is knocked, he told the crowd of about 80 volunteers. There has never been a more important election. Both Bauman and his nephew, California Democratic Party Chairman Eric Bauman, were interrupted by yells from Trump supporters coming from an adjoining hillside. We love Trump, the voice cried out. We love him too, he makes great fodder, the younger Bauman retorted, before introducing Porter. Porter, a UC Irvine law professor and first-time candidate, acknowledged the uphill battle some of her canvassers might face in this more conservative end of the long-red Orange County district. I know its going to be tough out there, she said, motioning to the hillside. But she said the attacks meant the other side viewed her campaign as a significant threat. This election is going to be close, she said. If we dont fight all the way to the finish line, until 8 oclock on Tuesday, this could slip away. Bowzer then took to a keyboard piano to lead the crowd in a reworded rendition of the song Good Night Sweetheart: Good night, Mimi Walters, he crooned. A woman in a black tank top, jeans and flip flops holding a cup of coffee later joined the crowd with her two sons, 17 and 14, the younger one wearing a Trump 2016 T-shirt. She declined to give her name, saying she was concerned about being attacked, but said she lived up the hill and said she had been the one yelling. She said she was encouraging her sons to talk to people on both sides and make up their own minds. We need to have a government that runs the way government teachers are telling kids its supposed to be run, said the woman, a retired registered dental assistant who voted early for Mimi Walters. Referring to Democrats, she said: Theyve had control over all these years and Californias gone to crap. Among those canvassing was Stacie Campbell, 37, who was at the launch with her husband Jerome and three children, the youngest of whom was 2 months old. Campbell, a Mission Viejo resident who runs a business, had never canvassed or volunteered for campaigns before, and her husband is a French citizen and unable to vote. She said they had been talking to their children  the older ones are 5 and 2  about the presidency and the government since Trumps election. Together, they worked on homemade Katie Porter lawn signs and put them up around town. This is the first time its felt like a big deal and there isnt a president up for election, she said. Because her city is a mix of conservatives and liberals  her next-door neighbor is an NRA-supporting Republican  she the race felt m
What was supposed to be an event celebrating local schools for receiving a state honor was canceled Thursday because its central figure  Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank)  decided not to attend at the last minute after he learned teachers had grievances against the school district over ongoing union negotiations.

A couple dozen teachers from Jefferson, Edison and Bret Harte elementary schools stood outside Burbank High School before the honor ceremony holding signs and protesting the lack of progress with contract negotiations.

Chanting phrases such as appreciate and compensate and dont be a hater, pay the educators, the teachers said they were aware of the ceremony and thought it was a good opportunity to let their voices be heard.

Inside Burbank High, teachers and students were waiting for the ceremony to begin until they were told by Burbank Unified Supt. Matt Hill that Schiff would not be attending.

Schiff was supposed to hand out flags to representatives from schools that had received Golden Ribbon accolades from the California Department of Education.

In announcing Schiffs decision, Hill said the congressman told him he appreciated the work of the students, parents, teachers and administrators in the district.

We are going to work with him to reschedule for another appropriate time to be able to have a celebration and recognition of all the hard work you do at your sites, Hill said to the crowd assembled inside the auditorium.

Schiff representatives said he had to miss the event because of his support of labor and schools.

As a rule, Congressman Schiff does not cross picket or demonstration lines during contract disputes between employers and unions, according to a statement released by his office Friday.

He is strongly supportive of full funding of our schools and teachers. He wasnt aware that any demonstration would be taking place until the day of the scheduled flag presentation, and he looks forward to rescheduling the event for a future date.

Hill said he and the districts administrators understand the challenges teachers face.

We say appreciations. We give you thanks. But we also know how challenging financially it is to live in California, especially around Burbank or [in] Burbank. We do know that, Hill said.

We are turning over every rock, were being as creative as possible to address the compensation issue, he added.

Outside the school before the ceremony, teachers voiced their frustrations about how labor negotiations are going.

Were currently working without a contract, said teacher Chris Uribe. Theyre trying to settle the contract for this year, but the district keeps coming back with no offer. Theyve come to the bargaining table three times with no offer.

For teacher Connie Struyk, who is part of a family of five, paying health insurance premiums is a significant concern. Her monthly premiums went up $300 this year, she said, but the district isnt paying any money to compensate for the increase.

I think a lot of this is happening nationwide, Struyk said. Like the governor of Oklahoma came out really down on teachers, but I dont think they understand how it affects us day to day. We are working so many more hours than we ever have.

The picketing teachers also pointed out that they have not received a cost-of-living raise for years.

Inside the auditorium during the planned event, Hill said, We do feel that, at a minimum, there should be a cost-of-living increase  That was not the case last year, and it is a darn struggle this year to figure that out, but we arent quitting until we find a pathway forward.

Hill also said some teachers have questioned a multi-million-dollar surplus in the budget.

He explained that the surplus is tied to teachers who receive health benefits from the time they retire until they are eligible for Medicare. The district funds those expenses on a pay as you go system, but it also has set aside a trust exclusively for that cost, which has about $7 million in it.

So if that pay as you go gets too big, rather than having to pull back money from the General Fund allocation, you could use some from that trust, Hill said of the reasoning behind the special account.

He said that he and school board members are looking at whether there is too much money in the trust.

Should we look at that? Are we being too conservative with that money? And we also want to make sure that, were good now, but pay as you go has been increasing between $150,000 and $200,000 a year. Can we keep up with that increase to make sure the commitment we have made to all of you, especially people who are going to retire 20, 30, 40 years from now, will there be enough?

mark.kellam@latimes.com

Twitter: @LAMarkKellam
A steady stream of shoppers stopped by Targets new small-format store in Burbank Wednesday morning despite the location not being fully prepared at the time for its grand opening at 8 a.m. Sunday.

More than a dozen customers roamed through the roughly 14,000-square-foot sales floor at 1033 N. Hollywood Way during the stores soft opening.

Store employees were busy making sure all of the shelves were stocked and ready for customers who would be passing through the aisles. In addition, construction workers were finishing up work on the buildings roof to ensure the store would be ready for its grand opening.

Aside from a tall column with the Target logo on it, the roughly 27,000-square-foot building is not superimposing and is no bigger than the surrounding businesses around it.

An average Target, like the one at the Empire Center on Victory Place in Burbank or the North Hollywood store on Vineland Avenue, can be around 114,000 square feet, said Jon Lamirault, store team leader of the new Burbank store.

The Target small-format site is similar to an average Target, with the key difference being the size. The small-format store sells household goods, small appliances, clothing, personal care and beauty supplies and houses a CVS Pharmacy.

Lamirault said the new Target is designed to cater to the needs of the Magnolia Park neighborhood and not to the general public.

Unlike regular Targets, the smaller stores feature a smaller variety of the same items.

For example, there are between four and five different scents for Tide laundry detergent at a typical Target. However, Lamirault said his store only carries at most two scents.

Additionally, because the Burbank store is much smaller than its counterparts and more linear in nature, walking through the Target small-format store can take minutes.

Its really a get-in-and-get-out experience, he said. We dont anticipate that people will be here for an hour or an hour and a half, which is the typical Target shopping experience. This is about the community being able to come in, shop quickly and get what they need, so that they can get back to their families.

The items selected to be in the store were not randomly chosen. Lamirault said the company canvassed the neighborhood and looked at sales statistics about those who live in the neighborhood to determine which goods would be useful to them.

He said many people who live in the area have small children, so his store stocks up on childrens clothing and baby supplies.

Although the store is geared toward providing Magnolia Park residents with an alternative Target, some residents have expressed concerns about the project, specifically the traffic impact it might have on Hollywood Way and the available parking at the business.

Lamirault said there are 38 parking spaces for the store, which is far fewer than what is found at a standard Target.

This is allowed because Target moved into an existing building  which was originally an Akron store up until the 1980s and was more recently used for post-production editing  and was grandfathered in for the non-conforming parking at the site, according to a city staff report.

To assuage residents concerns, Lamirault said the company purchased parking permits from the city for its employees, so they can park in a lot near Magnolia Boulevard and Maple Street, freeing up parking in front of the store for customers.

This is a walkable and bikeable community, and we know that, he said. Were catering to those who are here locally.

Burbank resident Darlene Weege, who lives within walking distance of the Target small-format store, was one of the shoppers there on Wednesday.

She said she was aware of the issues surrounding the project and was a resident who was concerned about the traffic around the new Target.

However, Weege, 67, said she is less concerned about the stores impact after her visit and sees the business as an asset for the neighborhood and city.

We need the tax money, and a business like this will push tax money into the coffers, she said. Im happy to see it, and I hope it does well. I do have concerns for the neighborhood with the traffic and parking, but hopefully that will not happen.

anthonyclark.carpio@latimes.com

Twitter: @acocarpio
Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach announced Thursday that Judy Kidd, a perioperative services nurse, is the hospitals 2018 Nurse of the Year.

Kidd was honored for her professional and clinical excellence as a patient advocate and a teacher to her fellow nurses, according a hospital news release.

Judy has educated hundreds of nurses who have gone on to become successful team members in a very demanding field, Carole Metcalf, executive director of perioperative services at Hoag, said in a statement. Her tireless love for education and compassion for patients have been the driving forces that led Judy to success in her career.

Kidd has 50 years experience in operating rooms and has worked the past decade at Hoag.

UC Irvine to host Hamlet mock trial

UC Irvine will host a a mock trial based on Shakespeares Hamlet from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Irvine Barclay Theatre, 4242 Campus Drive.

The question: Is Hamlet guilty of first-degree murder for killing Polonius in his mothers bedroom?

The free event will feature L. Song Richardson, dean of UCIs School of Law, as Hamlets lawyer and Erwin Chemerinsky, founding dean of UCI Law and current dean of the UC Berkeley School of Law, as the prosecutor.

Parking will be available in the Student Center parking structure for $10.

College faculty grants awarded to help improve classroom instruction

The Coast Community College District Foundation announced five recipients of the annual Faculty Funding Opportunity Grant, a $2,000 grant given in two installments to encourage faculty members to work on improvements to classroom instruction.

The recipients are Leland Means and Erik Bender of Orange Coast College, Gita Alemansour and Martie Ramm-Engle of Golden West College and Steve Fauce of Coastline Community College.

Costa Mesa elementary school student claims state PTA award

Zarrar Zubair, a student at Adams Elementary School in Costa Mesa, received the California State PTA Award of Excellence for his submission in an arts contest.

Zarrar will advance to a national competition. The contest, the Harbor Council Parent Teacher Assn.s Reflections Arts Program, is held annually to promote arts education.

Spring Dog Fling coming to Huntington Beach

Guests can bring their dogs or find one to adopt at the Spring Dog Fling set for noon to 3 p.m. April 14 at 5th & PCH in Huntington Beach.

The free event also will feature an expo of pet products and services.

5th & PCH is at 155 Fifth St.

Golden West gala will raise money for college and textbook program

The Golden West College Foundation will present its 20th annual gala at the Hilton Waterfront Beach Resort in Huntington Beach on April 14.

This years event, from 5:30 to 11:30 p.m., is themed Champagne, Seashells and Oceans of Opportunity. It will include dinner, dancing and a silent auction.

Proceeds will benefit Golden West students and faculty and a textbook loan program, organizers say.

Tickets are $175.

For more information and registration, visit gwchbfoundation.com/events.

Pulitzer Prize-winning author to speak at UC Irvine

Colson Whitehead, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Underground Railroad, will speak and sign books from 5 to 7 p.m. April 17 at UC Irvines Crystal Cove Auditorium, 4113 Pereira Drive.

The free event is part of the Chancellors Distinguished Speakers Series.

For more information, visit bit.ly/2GE9EXd.
The Fountain Valley councilman who led the citys decision to formally oppose Californias sanctuary state mandates said Friday that he was unaware the legal group that prepared a brief that Fountain Valley joined in support of a federal lawsuit targeting the states immigration policies is affiliated with an organization labeled a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Councilman Larry Crandall added that he still agrees with the decision to attach the city to the Immigration Reform Law Institutes brief, saying he shares its position that federal laws supersede state laws.

The rule of law is the rule of law, he said.

The brief, filed in federal court Friday, is in support of a U.S. Justice Department lawsuit challenging Californias sanctuary laws, which aim to expand protection from deportation for immigrants who are in the country illegally.

The laws include the California Values Act, or Senate Bill 54, which in many cases prohibits local law enforcement from alerting federal immigration agents when detainees who may be subject to deportation are released from custody. The Immigrant Worker Protection Act (Assembly Bill 450) shields authorized workers from workplace raids, and another law, AB 103, created a state inspection program for federal immigration detention centers.

The Immigration Reform Law Institute, based in Washington, D.C., is the legal affiliate of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, which says on its website that it seeks to reduce overall immigration to a more normal level.

FAIR describes the law institute as the only public interest nonprofit law firm in the United States devoted exclusively to protecting the rights and interests of Americans in immigration-related matters.

However, the Southern Poverty Law Center has designated FAIR as an anti-immigrant hate group, saying its leaders have ties to white supremacist groups and eugenicists and have made many racist statements.

IRLI spokesman Brian Lonergan pointed to a Fox News op-ed by John Stossel calling the Southern Poverty Law Center a money-grabbing slander machine.

Elected officials in California are free to name their bills the California Values Act and the like, but the federal government and the Constitution speak for Californians on matters of immigration, Dale Wilcox, executive director and general counsel of IRLI, said in a statement.

Fountain Valley City Manager Rob Houston said city officials had no previous knowledge of IRLI but had heard about the brief from other cities and considered it a suitable opportunity to get the councils message out in the time available without spending an estimated $5,000 to $6,000 in lawyers fees to prepare the citys own brief. Friday was the deadline to file.

Houston said the city was focused on the content of the brief.

Had there been extremist content in the brief, that would have been a problem, he said.

The Trump administration lawsuit contends the state laws obstruct federal immigration law and thus violate the Constitutions supremacy clause, which gives federal law precedence.

Fountain Valley council members initially voted 3-1 on Tuesday to file a brief backing the lawsuit after U.S. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Costa Mesa), who was at the meeting, offered to foot the bill.

The city later decided to join the IRLI brief, which the group offered at no cost.

Councilwoman Cheryl Brothers, who voted against filing a brief, said Friday that she was unfamiliar with IRLI and had no thoughts about the hate allegations.

She said she is still against Fountain Valley taking a stance, which she called purely symbolic.

The IRLI brief argues that Californias sanctuary laws compel local governments and private businesses to illegally harbor undocumented immigrants while unconstitutionally curtailing their free-speech right to contact or work with federal immigration authorities. The policies place cities and officials in the middle of this state-federal battle over immigration policy, the brief states.

AB 450 and SB 54 put municipalities in an untenable position between the demands of state law and federal law, the brief reads. The requested injunction is needed to protect Californians from their own state government.

Lonergan provided a link to a Breitbart article listing Fountain Valley, Yorba Linda, Mission Viejo, Aliso Viejo, Escondido, Barstow and Hesperia among the signatories on the brief, along with Rohrabacher and elected officials from West Covina, San Marcos and San Dimas.

IRLI filed a similar brief Friday on behalf of the National Sheriffs Assn., Advocates for Victims of Illegal Alien Crime and Fight Sanctuary State.

hillary.davis@latimes.com

Twitter: @Daily_PilotHD
Outgoing Newport Beach City Manager Dave Kiff is seeking a lump sum payout of $84,000 to retire ahead of schedule this August, according to a contract amendment that the City Council will consider Tuesday as it prepares for his exit.

The contract amendment, which would be Kiffs sixth since taking the city helm in 2009, could have the city paying out more than $100,000 as part of Kiffs resignation. In addition to the $84,000, which is what Kiff would have earned in salary for September through December 2018, it includes a one-time deferred compensation contribution of $20,000 and up to $5,000 toward attorneys fees Kiff incurred when having a lawyer help prepare the agreement. It also says he would be entitled to any unused administrative leave pay, which tops out at 80 hours, for the year.

After the August departure date, the city and Kiff would amicably part ways in a manner mutually beneficial to both Employee and the City, the proposed agreement states.

The proposal also allows for the city to place Kiff on paid leave if the city finds a new or acting city manager before Aug. 31.

Other terms of the proposed contract include a non-disparagement clause, which applies to the council, city management staff and Kiff. This clause is also in the current contract, in the event of termination with or without cause.

The council will also consider forming a committee to interview and recommend an executive search firm to look for Kiffs replacement.

Kiff had previously planned to retire in April 2019, according to the current version of his contract.

Kiff, who has worked for the city for 20 years, announced his moved-up resignation on March 25. At a City Council meeting two days later, Newport residents lined up to praise Kiff, even though his retirement or contract were not on the evenings agenda. Many also railed against the council with accusations that a faction had secretly worked to force Kiff out sooner than he would have liked.

Kiff said in his resignation announcement that he has intended to move to Northern California to be closer to his family. He and the council have repeatedly denied accusations of a cabal forming to push him out, breaking open meeting laws in the process.

The city manager serves at the pleasure of the City Council.

Kiff joined Newport Beach as assistant to the city manager in 1998, according to his city bio. He became the city manager in September 2009, working on water quality, Newport Bay dredging, the annexations of Newport Coast and Santa Ana Heights, the extension of the citys noise agreement with John Wayne Airport, pension reform and construction of the Civic Center complex and library.

He has said he wants a smooth transition and will work with city leadership on key issues before he departs.

Tuesdays council meeting starts at 4:30 p.m. with a study session, followed by the regular session at 7 p.m. at City Hall, 100 Civic Center Drive.

hillary.davis@latimes.com

Twitter: @Daily_PilotHD
An appellate judge dismissed the Newport-Mesa Unified School Districts request to block an Orange County Superior Court ruling ordering that the district release a report summarizing an investigation into a controversial award application from Mariners Elementary School.

Presiding Justice Kathleen OLeary of the state 4th District Court of Appeal dismissed the motion Thursday, ruling that an order or judgment under the Public Records Act is not appealable.

That means Superior Court Judge Linda Marks Jan. 22 ruling stands and the district will have to release the summary report.

Marks also ordered the district to submit the full investigation report so she could determine how much, if any, of it could be made public. The judges review was to be conducted within 20 days of receiving the report.

District officials said in March that they had submitted the full report and the court was reviewing it.

Newport-Mesa spokeswoman Annette Franco said Friday that the district will meet with legal counsel to determine its next step on the summary report.

John Caldecott, the districts former director of human resources, petitioned last year for a court order to force the public release of documents related to the Mariners investigation.

Were one step closer to the Mariners report and accountability and transparency, Caldecott said Friday. The district made multiple efforts to prevent that.

In 2016, teachers at the Newport Beach school alleged inaccuracies in a Gold Ribbon Award application that then-Principal Laura Canzone submitted to the California Department of Education the previous fall, when she was known as Laura Sacks. The school received the award.

Canzone later requested new duties and was transferred to Costa Mesa Middle School as a principal on special assignment.

Shortly after the district announced that an independent investigation of the matter had been completed by Dana Point-based Nicole Miller and Associates, Canzone submitted a letter of resignation in March 2017 and was on paid administrative leave through June 30.

The district has said it would not publicly disclose the findings of the investigation or any actions resulting from it because of employee privacy rights.

But Marks wrote in her ruling that given the public nature of the allegations against Dr. Sacks, her privacy interest is minimal and does not outweigh the publics interest in understanding why Sacks was exonerated and how the district treated the accusations.

The court also ordered the district to pay Caldecotts attorney fees.

Priscella.Vega@latimes.com

Twitter: @vegapriscella
Although initially sent back for further review in December, a six-story hotel project planned on North Maryland Avenue has again stalled in City Council chambers after an impasse over a number of requested concessions by the developers.

If approved, Hotel Indigo  proposed to be located at the southwest corner of California and North Maryland avenues  would bring another multistory hotel to downtown Glendale, this time demolishing a 25,335-square-foot, city-owned surface parking lot with 66 spaces to make room for a 140-room boutique hotel with a two-level underground garage.

R3 Real Estate Developers sought an allowance for its design to exceed the maximum allowed floor-area-ratio, or FAR, of 3.0 as granted for hotel projects in the downtown area.

It instead sought a variance for a 3.26 FAR, which is due in part to the relocation of a nearby alley that would be deeded back to the city.

If the project included the alley in its FAR calculation, the developer argued, the FAR would be below the maximum allowance.

While Councilwoman Paula Devine rejected the standards variance based on an adherence to city code, the developers request for a parking exception was what ultimately split the four voting council members. Councilman Vartan Gharpetian was not at the meeting.

The current design is 58 parking spaces short of what is required by the city code, which mandates hotels provide one parking space per guest room. The 66 city-owned parking spaces would be replaced by the developer.

The applicant argued that based on a parking generation study by the Institute of Transportation Engineers, that hotels can have adequate parking at a 0.8 to 0.7 ratio.

Based on that ratio, the Hotel Indigo project should only be required to make up for an additional 30 parking spaces.

The applicant agreed with councils suggestion to enter into an agreement with a nearby off-site parking garage for 30 spaces that would be handled by the hotels valet service.

Still, a number of concerns were raised by members of the hotel workers union Unite Here Local 11 during the public-comment portion of the meeting, who said that the valuable public land should be used for the benefit of the community, such as providing affordable housing and open park spaces, as well as good jobs and benefits for Glendales workers.

While deliberating the requested variances, council members agreed that conditions of approval would be the 30 off-site parking spaces, a guarantee that at least 15% of hotel hires be local and provide a wage commensurate with hotel workers to be determined by a survey of comparable services at the time the hotel is completed.

However, Mayor Zareh Sinanyan adjourned the meeting after there was some confusion over a suggestion by Councilman Vrej Agajanian that the applicant consider making a $250,000 contribution for affordable housing  inspired by the same move made by the developer of a similar hotel project on North Louise Street last year.

Another review of the Hotel Indigo project is tentatively scheduled for the April 17 City Council meeting.

jeff.landa@latimes.com

Twitter: @JeffLanda
Former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva put an end to a standoff with authorities on Saturday when he turned himself in to federal police to begin serving a 12-year prison sentence.

The popular politician left the ABC Steelworkers Union building in Sao Bernardo do Campo at 6:40 p.m., walking toward the awaiting police escort as his supporters crowded around him and tried to stop him from turning himself in.

Earlier in the evening, Lula tried to leave the union building by car, but supporters blocked the exit, forcing him to go back inside.

His next destination was not revealed for security reasons, but he was expected to be taken directly to the airport to fly to Curitiba.

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Lula, who was convicted of corruption last July, gave a speech earlier in the day to supporters who camped out in front of the steelworkers union where the former president spent the last two nights. He maintained his innocence and argued that his conviction was just a way for his opponents to keep him off the ballot for Octobers presidential elections.

The police and Car Wash investigators lied. The prosecutors lied, he said as the crowd cheered and chanted free Lula!. Ill go there and face them eye to eye. The more days they leave me [in jail], the more Lulas will be born in this country.

Car Wash is the billion-dollar corruption scandal that has led to a far-reaching investigation where top Brazilian politicians and business elite have been accused, charged and jailed for crimes like money laundering and being part of a criminal organization.

Support for the former president was strong over the last few days, as Lula and his allies called for supporters to join them in Sao Bernardo do Campo and protests in his favor spread across the country. Roads were blocked, Lulas old campaign songs were sung, and the red and white of the Workers Party could be seen on T-shirts, flags and signs.

Brazilian ex-President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva raises his fist after attending a Catholic Mass in memory of his late wife, Marisa Leticia, at the Steelworkers Union building in Sao Bernardo do Campo, in metropolitan Sao Paulo, Brazil, on April 7, 2018. (Agence France-Presse )

Judge Sergio Moro, who oversaw Lulas trial, ordered an arrest warrant on Friday that gave the former president until 5 p.m. that day to turn himself in to federal police. Lula, however, ignored the order, and instead spent two nights in the steelworkers union where he got his start in politics, meeting with his lawyers, political allies and supporters.

Moros order came after a marathon Supreme Court session that lasted almost 11 hours and ended in the rejection of Lulas request to remain free while he continued to appeal his case.

Since then, Lulas legal team has filed two more petitions to keep the popular politician out of jail. Both were denied.

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In January, the former presidents appeal of his corruption conviction was rejected and his 9-year sentence was increased to 12 years and a month.

Lula, who was expected to win this years presidential election, may not be allowed on the ballot. Under Brazils Clean Slate law, which bars candidates who have had a criminal conviction upheld from running for election for eight years, Lula wouldnt be able to hold office until he is 80.

Despite Lulas decision to turn himself in on Saturday, the Workers Party maintains that it will register him as its presidential candidate in August. Once he is registered, it will be up to the electoral court to decide whether his name can appear on the ballot. The deadline for its final decision is Sept. 17. If it chooses, the party could swap in another candidate before the deadline, but it has yet to announce any possible replacements.

Lula was convicted of accepting $1.2 million in bribes from contractor OAS in exchange for contracts with state-run oil giant Petrobras, money that prosecutors say was used to buy and renovate a penthouse apartment in the seaside town of Guaruja.

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UPDATES:

4:30 p.m.: This article was updated throughout with staff reporting and additional details.

This article was originally published at 10:40 a.m.
Hundreds attended the funeral of a well-known Palestinian journalist in Gaza on Saturday who was killed while covering mass protests along the Israeli border the previous day.

Yasser Murtaja died from a gunshot wound he sustained while filming Friday in an area engulfed in thick black smoke from protesters setting tires on fire. Israeli troops opened fire from across the border, killing at least nine Palestinians and wounding 491 others in the second mass border protest in eight days. The deaths brought to at least 31 the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli fire since last week. The border area appeared calm Saturday.

Witnesses said Murtaja was over 100 yards from the border, wearing a flak jacket marked press and holding his camera when he was shot in an exposed area just below the armpit.

The Israeli military has said it fired only at instigators involved in attacks on soldiers and was investigating Murtajas death amid a very hectic environment.

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The IDF (Israel Defense Forces) uses means such as warnings, riot dispersal means, and as a last resort firing live rounds in a precise, measured way, it said Saturday. The IDF does not intentionally target journalists. The circumstances in which journalists were allegedly hit by IDF fire are not familiar to the IDF, and are being looked into.

Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since a 2007 takeover and calls for Israels destruction, has called for a series of protests until May 15, the anniversary of Israels founding when Palestinians commemorate their mass uprooting during the 1948 war over Israels creation.

The Islamic group hopes the mass protests can create pressure to break a border blockade enforced by Israel and Egypt since 2007, without having to succumb to demands that it disarm. The blockade has made it increasingly difficult for Hamas to govern. It has also devastated Gazas economy, made it virtually impossible for people to enter and exit the territory, and left residents with just a few hours of electricity a day.

Israel argues that Hamas could have ended the suffering of Gazas 2 million people by disarming and renouncing violence.

It says Hamas is exploiting the mass marches as a cover for attacking the border fence, and has vowed to prevent a breach at all costs. The military said that on Friday protesters hurled several explosive devices and firebombs, using the thick plumes of smoke from burning tires as cover, and that several attempts to cross the fence were thwarted.

Colleagues said Murtaja was not affiliated with Hamas or any other militant group, and there were no Hamas symbols normally seen at the funerals for militants.

Palestinian journalists carry a portrait of journalist Yasser Murtaja, during his funeral in Gaza City on April 7, 2018. (MAHMUD HAMS / AFP / Getty Images )

In an apparent sign of solidarity, Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh attended the funeral Saturday.

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The Return March is a battle of truth and awareness, Haniyeh said of the protests. Yasser held his camera to direct the arrows of truth to convey the image of the besieged people.

At the funeral, Murtajas body was draped in a Palestinian flag with his flak jacket reading press placed upon him as he was carried through the streets of Gaza. The drone he had used for shooting footage of Gaza hovered above to film his funeral. Dozens of his close friends and colleagues were sobbing after the coffin was taken out of the morgue.

Murtaja, 30, was the co-founder of Ain media, a local TV production company that has done projects, including aerial drone video, for foreign media clients such as the BBC and Al Jazeera English. He was one of the first to bring a drone camera into Gaza and his images captivated many of its residents who have never seen Gaza from above since it has no airport or skyscrapers.

His death, along with the other recent casualties, seemed likely to draw renewed criticism from rights groups that have branded Israels open-fire orders on the border as unlawful, after Israels defense minister warned that those approaching the fence were risking their lives.

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Three other journalists sustained tear gas injuries and at least one cameraman a gunshot in his leg, health ministry and media activists reported.

AIDA, a network of more than 70 non-government organizations operating in the Palestinian territories, condemned Saturday what they called the unlawful killing of civilians Friday. It follows accusations from the United Nations human rights office that it has indications of Israeli forces using excessive force the previous week.

The European Union on Saturday issued a statement saying Fridays violence raises serious questions about the proportionate use of force which must be addressed.

Witnesses described the area in which Murtaja and others were shot as a chaotic scene in which protesters torched large piles of tires, engulfing the area in black smoke that was meant to shield them from Israeli snipers. Footage showed that visibility was limited and the faces of some of the activists were covered with black soot.

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Israeli troops on the other side of the fence responded with tear gas, rubber-coated steel pellets and water cannons, as well as occasional live fire. Footage taken of the wounded journalist shortly after he was shot shows medics frantically bandaging his chest and trying to connect an IV drip. Murtaja himself is seen moving his head from side to side and talking to those around him before he is placed on a stretcher and taken to an ambulance.

Just two weeks ago, Murtaja posted a drone photo of Gazas seaport at sunset on his Facebook page with the following caption: I wished I could take this photo from the sky, not from land. My name is Yasser Murtaja, I am 30 years old. I live in Gaza City. I have never traveled.

Friends say it reflected his greatest wish  to escape Gazas isolation.

Hana Awad, his colleague and close friend, said he had long dreamt of traveling and was recently granted an Al Jazeera scholarship for training in Doha. She described him as active and friendly and not at all interested in politics.

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We didnt know his political views, he was passionate about his job and wanted to travel and learn, she said of Murtaja, who was the father of a 2-year-old boy.
When the White House announced the latest sanctions against Russia, the list of targets included seven of the countrys billionaires. But just who are these wealthy oligarchs?

Collectively, they have a net worth of about $30 billion. Most of them have business ties to Russias key state-controlled sectors, including oil and gas, natural resources and banking. Some are among Russian President Vladimir Putins closest supporters and advisors.

The U.S. Treasury Department said those on the new sanctions list profit from their close links to the Kremlin and, in some cases, contributed to Moscows attempts to meddle in the 2016 U.S. election, as well as Russians occupation of Crimea, its efforts to supply Syrian President Bashar Assad with weapons and its attempts to subvert Western democracies.

The Russian government operates for the disproportionate benefit of oligarchs and government elites, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement.

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The sanctions, announced Friday, also singled out 12 Russian companies owned or controlled by the seven oligarchs. Also sanctioned were 17 senior government officials, a state-owned weapons trading company and its subsidiary, a Russian bank. The Treasury Department said the sanctioned parties will have their assets frozen, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from dealings with them.

Although President Trump has been reluctant to publicly criticize Putin, the U.S. and Russia have slapped sanctions on each other in recent weeks. The U.S. and other countries in late March expelled about 150 Russian diplomats in retaliation for the poisoning of a former Russian spy living in England. Moscow responded by expelling diplomats as well and has denied responsibility for the nerve agent attack.

Here is a quick look at some of the top names on the Treasury Departments sanctions list.

Oleg Deripaska, 50, is a Russian metals magnate with an estimated worth of $5.8 billion, according to Forbes. His name has come up in the U.S. investigation into Russian election meddling because of his business ties with former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort. In February, videos showing Deripaska discussing U.S.-Russia relations with a Kremlin deputy prime minister on a yacht again raised questions about his involvement.

Eight of Deripaskas companies, including EN+ and Rusal, were named on the sanctions list. The Treasury Department statement harshly criticized Deripaska, saying the oligarch was accused of threatening the lives of business rivals, illegally wiretapping a government official, and taking part in extortion and racketeering. There are also allegations that Deripaska bribed a government official, ordered the murder of a businessman, and had links to a Russian organized crime group.

Viktor Vekselberg, 60, is an aluminum magnate who Forbes estimates is worth $14.6 billion. He made his fortune in the 1990s and has close ties to Deripaska and other Russian oligarchs. He is the chairman of Renova, an investment group which has stakes in Rusal, the Russian aluminum giant also placed on Fridays sanctions list. His owns an extensive, world-class art collection and once bought nine Faberge eggs worth $100 million from the Forbes family.

Kirill Shamalov, 36, is believed to be the ex-husband of Putins daughter Katerina Tikhonova. He is worth an estimated $1.43 billion, according to Forbes, and owns stakes in the Russian petrochemical company Sibur. His father, Nikolai Shamalov, is a major shareholder in Rossiya Bank and a close ally of Putin.

Shamalov is believed to have used his family connections to work his way up in state-run energy and banking sectors. His business links to Russias energy sector landed him on the sanctions list. The Kremlin has never confirmed either the name of Putins daughter or her marriage to Shamalov.

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Suleiman Kerimov, 52, is a Russian senator who owns Russias largest gold producer, Polyus. Kerimov is worth an estimated $5.2 billion, according to Bloomberg. Putin once gave him an award for his services to the fatherland.

Kerimov is currently being investigated for accusations of tax fraud in France, where authorities believe he brought in suitcases full of hundreds of millions of euros to purchase villas in the name of shell companies. He is a senator representing the largely Muslim region of Dagestan. He is known as a playboy who throws lavish parties. In 2006, he crashed a $650,000 Ferrari in Nice.

Konstantin Kosachev, 55, is the head of the foreign affairs committee in Russias upper house of parliament. Kosachev frequently uses social media to defend Kremlin policy and blame the U.S. for deteriorating relations between Moscow and Washington. On Friday he told Interfax the sanctions were illegitimate and unjustified. Russia will not be broken.

Nikolai Patrushev, 66, is the secretary of Russias Security Council. He is a former director of the FSB, the successor agency of the Soviet-era KGB. Patrushev is believed to be part of Putins close circle of former KGB agents.

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Alexey Miller, 56, is the chairman of Gazprom, Russias state gas giant and the worlds largest natural gas producer. Miller is a close ally of Putins. Gazproms oil arm was sanctioned in 2014 after Russias annexation of Crimea.

Vladislav Reznik, 63, is a deputy in the Duma, Russias lower house of parliament. He is currently on trial in Spain with 17 other suspects accused of accused of massive money-laundering for a Russian mafia gang. Reznik is worth about $5.5 billion, according to Russian Forbes magazine.

Ayres is a special correspondent.
The Northampton County Sheriff's Department announced April 6, 2018, the arrests of these fugitives on warrants.

Fotor collage | For lehighvalleylive.com

By Kurt Bresswein | For lehighvalleylive.com

The Northampton County Sheriff's Department says it picked up five fugitives during warrant sweeps this past week and worked with state and federal authorities on apprehending three more.

Sgt. George Volpe, with the sheriff's Criminal Warrant Division, on Friday announced the following suspects were arrested:

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Courtesy photo | For lehighvalleylive.com

Chelsea Cressman

Cressman, 25, was apprehended without incident in the 1300 block of Uberroth Avenue in Allentown. Cressman was wanted by Northampton County Adult Probation for allegedly violating her conditions of supervision. Her original charge was possession of drug paraphernalia. Heroin and drug paraphernalia were recovered from Cressman after her apprehension, according to Volpe. She was sent to Northampton County Prison to await disposition on her case.

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Kenneth Kondash

Kondash, 44, was apprehended without incident in the 2700 block of Division Street in Palmer Township. Kondash was wanted by the Northampton County Sheriff Department for allegedly failing to appear at criminal court. His original charge was DUI. He was released on $2,500 unsecured bail.

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Brian Baker

Baker, 29, was apprehended in the 1400 block of East Fifth Street in Bethlehem. Baker was wanted by the Northampton County Sheriff Department for his alleged failure to appear for formal arraignment. His original charges are two counts of reckless endangerment, possession of marijuana, harassment and disorderly conduct. Baker was found hiding in the residence, authorities said. He was sent to Northampton County Prison in lieu of $20,000 bail awaiting disposition of his case.

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Richard Ottman Jr.

Ottman, 28, was apprehended in the 800 block of Main Street in Slatington without incident. Ottman was wanted by Northampton County Adult Probation for allegedly violating his conditions of supervision. His original charges are theft by unlawful taking. Ottman was sent to Northampton County Prison, awaiting disposition on his case.

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Raymond Davis

Davis, 44, was apprehended in the 900 block of South 25th Street in Wilson Borough without incident. The Northampton County Sheriff Department worked off of tips received that led to the apprehension of Davis. Davis was wanted by Northampton County Adult Probation for allegedly violating his conditions of supervision. His original charges are simple assault.

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The U.S. Marshals Service Violent Fugitive Task Force comprising Pennsylvania State Police, Pennsylvania State Probation and Parole agents and the Northampton County Sheriff's Department Criminal Warrants Unit conducted warrant sweeps and apprehended the following fugitives, according to the sheriff's department:

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Steven Wilson

Wilson, 30, was apprehended in the 3000 block of East Blvd in Bethlehem. Wilson was wanted by the Northampton County Sheriff's Department for allegedly failing to appear for formal arraignment. His original charges are felony theft for allegedly stealing a firearm. Wilson was found hiding in a closet, authorities said; heroin and drug paraphernalia were recovered during the apprehension. He was sent to Northampton County Prison in lieu of 10 percent of $10,000 bail.

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Miguel Ortiz

Ortiz, 27, was apprehended in the first block of Woodedge Drive in Quakertown without incident. Ortiz was wanted by Northampton County Adult Probation for allegedly violating his conditions of supervision. His original felony charges are aggravated assault and receiving stolen property. Ortiz was sent to Northampton County Prison, awaiting disposition of his case.

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Carl Butcher

Butcher, 53, was apprehended in the 200 block of North St. Cloud Street in Allentown without incident. Butcher was wanted by the Warren County Prosecutor's Office in New Jersey for allegedly failing to register as a sex offender. Butcher was listed as fugitive of the week by Warren County in February. He was arraigned as an arrest prior to requisition and sent to Lehigh County Jail, awaiting extradition.

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Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
New Jersey State Police are advising motorists to take alternate routes due to a multi-vehicle accident on I-80 in Warren County.

The accident was reported shortly after 12 p.m. by NJ State Police on I-80 westbound off Exit 4 in Knowlton Township.

According to NJ State Police, one person was flown to Morristown Hospital.

Traffic Alert: All lanes closed I-80 WB MP 8.2, Knowlton Twp. due to multi-vehicle crash that occurred at 12:02 p.m. One flown to Morristown Hospital. Plan alt. route. Expect delays. No additional info available. #alert  NJSP - State Police (@NJSP) April 7, 2018

No further information was made available.

Photos from the scene showed multiple vehicles off the highway.

The story will be updated as more information become available from NJ State Police.

Taylor Tiamoyo Harris may be reached at tharris@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @ladytiamoyo.

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TURKEYS

This could be a good thing for drivers who use the 13th Street/Route 22/Wood Avenue bottleneck in Easton. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has backed off a plan to replace the busy junction with a "diverging diamond interchange," which called for rebuilding the Route 22 overpass and installing a roundabout at 13th Street. Instead, PennDOT wants to install a new traffic light and repair the bridges, which can be done in a relatively short time frame. The complex "diverging diamond" plan would have taken many years; Easton officials want a more timely fix for the corridor, with the Simon Silk Mill project coming to fruition on 13th Street. Still, we have to wonder: Was this the better of the two solutions, considering the city's long-term needs, or a quick-and-easy budget cut? PennDOT is scrapping a $50 million reconstruction plan for a $3.8 million repair job. If this alternative solves the problem -- rush-hour traffic backing up onto Route 22 -- fine. But PennDOT deserves a turkey for this proposal: Turning a narrow, busy stretch of Wood Avenue between 13th and Northampton streets into a boulevard with a grassy median. If that eliminates blocks of curbside parking in a crowded neighborhood, it should be sent packing. Mayor Sal Panto Jr. says he wants to hear from neighbors before endorsing a boulevard approach.

Former District Judge David Tidd says he's glad the disciplinary case against him is finally over. Tidd, whose district covered the Hellertown area, was accused of running a "fast food court" -- hearing cases at a counter instead of the bench, as well as using excessive profanity and working with a friend to avoid penalties for parking tickets. The state Court of Judicial Discipline reprimanded Tidd on one charge only, retaliating against his staff. He reportedly berated workers and locked them in his office when he discovered they were cooperating with an investigation into his conduct. The board said it took into consideration that Tidd voluntarily resigned his judgeship in 2016. The action means he will be able to continue to practice law in Berks County.

TROPHIES

New Jersey State Trooper Roy Sanchez fashioned a tourniquet with objects at hand -- a computer cable and a decorative arrow -- to save the victim of an accidental shooting. Sanchez was called to a Knowlton Township home Wednesday and found a man bleeding from a gun shot to his leg. He realized he'd need to stem the bleeding quickly, and devised the makeshift tourniquet. When paramedics arrived they applied Quick Clot gauze provided by troopers and a second tourniquet. The victim was transported to Lehigh Valley Hospital, where he was stabilized. This was the second time in weeks that a New Jersey state trooper put together a tourniquet to save a life. These incidents show the need for troopers to carry tourniquets, as their counterparts in Pennsylvania do. Last year Pennsylvania Cpl. Seth Kelly used his state-issued tourniquet to save his own life, after he was shot several times in a traffic stop on Route 33 In Plainfield Township.

The staff and administration at Lehigh Valley International Airport are holding a "Wings for All" event, which helps people with autism or other developmental disabilities deal with their fears of flying. Joe Mancini, director of programs for the Arc of Lehigh and Northampton Counties, said the dress-rehearsal event has attracted 225 participants in the last three years, enabling many of them to deal successfully with the pressures of flying. There are 75 openings for the program, scheduled for 1 p.m. May 5. The event is sponsored by the Arc, Allegiant Air and the Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority.
Motoring / Cars and Bikes

The Essen Techno Classica returns for another high-quality auction this March with 115 classic cars to go under the hammer and some of the major lots could go for an unbelievable value of 1.5 million.

Mar 19, 2018 | By Andrea Sim

115 Classic Cars to go under the hammer this month

Heres your chance to bid for a classic car from over 115, estimated to be worth over 20 million, and who knows, you might be one of the lucky bidders to win the bid. A few highlights at the auction is a 1964 Jaguar E-Type, Series I, 3.8 Roadster (estimate 145,000-160,000), 1969 Lotus Europa S2 (estimate 25,000-35,000) as well as a stunning 1967 Lamborghini Miura SV, which is believed to go for as much as 1.5 million.

Conducted by the international auctioneers Coys, the companys CEO, Chris Routledge, said of the event: We are proud to return to Essen Techno Classica for another high-quality auction. This is one of the worlds most important historic motor car events and as the leading international auction brand in Germany, we have put together a multi-million euro offering some of the most beautiful cars ever built.

This Bugatti T 44 Fiacres (pictured above) is offered publicly for the first time since over four decades. COYS is delighted to present this very rare survivor of only a handful remaining Bugatti T 44 Fiacres today.

Other notable entries include a 1936 Brooke E.R.A. Monoposto with Brooklands and Grand Prix history, and a Lamborghini Miura SV that is one of the classics to be auctioned off, and that have all come from one important single owner collection inspired by legendary movies.

The 1967 Lamborghini Miura has gone through a complete restoration in 2008 and now features an Arancio orange finish and is SV-specified.

According to its historical past, the Miura was originally shipped to Portugal in 1967 as a new car, but eventually, it was converted to full SV specification in 1974 by the factory. Also, additional works to this Miura had since been completed by a Lamborghini specialist in the UK.

Going for between 1.1 million and and 1.5 million at the upcoming auction, this stunning example was deemed as a genre-defining supercar during its time in the 1960s. Moreover, the conversion process has been fully documented and the period correspondence and invoices are all included in the package.

The Techno Classica Essen auction will be held at Essen, Germany on March 24, with 115 classic cars worth more than 20 million to go under the hammer. Also, German cars are featured heavily in the catalogue for this event, emphasising on lots such as a Gullwing 1988 Mercedes-Benz 300SL estimated at 260,000  320,000, a 2011 Porsche 997 GT3 4.0 estimated at 370,000  430,000, a 1955 Porsche 356 Pre A Speedster 1600 Super engine estimated at 290,000  340,000, etc.

Visit www.coys.co.uk to view more historic automobiles valuers and browse the online catalogue for the Techno Classica Essen auction.
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2018 > RSS interpretation of ahimsa-himsa and dharma-adharma

In the RSS lexicon, the interpretation of the dualities of ahimsa/himsa and dharma/adharma acquires a meaning, which is arbitrary and subjective, leading inevitably to a militarised view of dutiful religion and of a society of uniform individuals. It creates its own make-believe history to gain strength for its superficial concepts, extremely poor in content. The body of interpretation only creates grounds for a single-meaning discourse, which fashions an unquestioning mass of individuals and allows only the system of meanings approved by the RSS and its ideology.

First of all, it would be interesting to have a look at the RSS explanation of ahimsa and dharma in the context of the RSS version of Hindu and Hindutva.

No word like Hindu during Shri Rams time(!)Bhagwat

The RSS chief, Mohan Bhagwat, said the following in an interview given to the Organiser (March 25, 2018): There was no word called Hindu at the time of Maryada Purushottam Shri Ram but he is still the icon of Hindutva. These are the words of the topmost leader of the RSS. Had they came from a secular source, they would have been labelled anti-Hindu and even anti-national! Marxist historians like Prof D.N. Jha have precisely been saying this for long, that is, the word Hindu is of a recent origin and is not to be found in the ancient texts like the Vedas etc.

If there was no Hindu word at the time of Rama, then why all this hullabaloo around it?! It was not considered important enough by Rama himself, then when did it emerge and how? The RSS arbitrariness is apparent here. Lord Rama did not know what was Hindu, yet he was following Hindutva! According to the interpretation and imposition of the RSS?

Anyway, that is another scholarly controversy and at present we are not going into it. Mohan Bhagwat and the RSS have not explained as to when and how the word and its meanings arose. Nowhere do they explain it.

If there was no word like Hindu, then why are they creating so many problems around it?

In another astounding claim, Bhagwat says that, On the other hand, Shri Krishna in a way broke all the norms of propriety of conduct but still he was following Hindutva.(!) Mind the words: Shri Krishna broke all the norms of propriety, yet he was practising Hindutva!!

So, there are two (or more?!) standards of behaviour or principles or whatever, of Hindutva. One may follow the opposite behavioural patterns, including breaking all norms, and yet remain a Hindu. The RSS keeps the door open for posing as the protagonist of ahimsa as a Hindutva characteristic, and at the same time being a kattar Hindu, a firm Hindu, by advocating himsa at its own convenience, as it has clarified in its texts.

Yet, what is Hindutva? This is not clarified anywhere. To follow Hindutva is to follow what? The interpretation by other Hindu leaders like Savarkar widely differs from that of the RSS, but the latter has made it clear that it is not ready to accept his version. One is at a loss to pinpoint the chief factors of being a Hindu and of following Hindutva. It is all confusion, and the confusion is created by none other than Mohan Bhagwat.

Gandhiji was also a Hindu and so also is the Ramkrishna Mission, and many others, but they never forced the concept on others. They never discarded or cut out other religions from the Indian society. They stood for Hindu-Muslim unity and communal harmony, which did not contradict their interpretation of Hinduism.

Bhagwatji says that the ahimsak (non-violent) Hindu has the right to resort to himsa if attacked. Very well. The question then poses itself as to why Gandhiji, a staunch Hindu, was assassinated by a person, Godse, claiming to be a Hindu? Was Gandhiji armed or was he going to attack him or what? Why did Godse resort to violence and kill the Mahatma? Was the murderer following the principle of Hindutva in this act even while feeling no remorse? Is this the RSS interpretation of Hindutva and Hindu? The RSS is silent on this question.

The RSS is yet to condemn the assassination of Gandhiji, the leader of the Tricolour-led freedom movement and a staunch follower of Shri Ram and Ram-Rajya. His was the first political murder in independent India, and by a Hindu chauvinist. We are waiting for the RSS response till today.

Gandhiji has been dragged into the controversy on dharma and ahimsa. It is a bit weird, because he has been used to support the RSS contentions. The RSS chief says that Gandhiji also talked about consistent search for truth. What is the truth? Which and whose truth? The RSS has to explain, particularly when talking about Gandhiji.

It is no use lining up the great names of history like Gandhiji, Swami Vivekananda, Subhash Chandra Bose (?!) and so on in support of the Hindutva theory. The RSS is unable even to develop a theory of Hindutva because it simply does not understand the Indian psyche and society. It keeps talking of a Hindu society, not an Indian one in all its multiplicity. All the above-mentioned names used their theory to unite the multicultural Indian society and people, while the RSS seeks to divide, segregate and exclude people, who do not fit its uniform project.

Here is a sample: Whether to fight or not is not Hindutva; to live and to die for truth and non-violence is Hindutva. Is the actual act of killing in a communal riot Hindutva or not in the RSS version or is it a personal act? The RSS arguments stealthily create grounds to justify the acts of violence against minorities including those among the Hindus.

And here it is, the justification coming straight from the Organiser: Unfortunate mob lynching over cow slaughter, communal rioting, and arming of certain Hindus has always been accentuated by those who misrepresent Hindu Dharma as an Abrahmic faith and thus paint it in dark colours...However, we need to understand the essential Dharmic coupling with the processes of Ahimsa or Himsa which provides a context to these actions to be interpreted. (Organiser, March 18, 2018)

The RSS says that the context of these violent acts should be understood first, and that they have been blown out of proportion. Among all the talk of Hindutva, dharma, ahimsa and himsa etc., it is the HIMSA (violence) which the RSS has chosen to justify as the ultimate Hindu act! Indeed, it is the RSS which provides an Abrahmic interpretation of Hinduism by eliminating all the differences and variety in it. Where have all the arguments about external and internal, individual and society, dharma and adharma gone? This is a militarist interpretation of Hindutva, more suited to the RSS depiction of Ravana than Rama!

What is Dharma?

While dealing with Indian history, the RSS lines up behind the feudal lords and feudal kings of all kinds, who committed the worst atrocities and acts of oppression on the common people. Are exploiting and killing ordinary artisans and peasants dharma? And whose dharma? Are killings in ones own families, father, brothers and so on dharma? Are they justified to gain Dharma Rajya? What tall talks! Obviously all this is the dharma of the feudal order, of the feudal class and its sections. All this is beyond the RSS. Why the wars, why the destruction, why invading the territory and empire of the neighbouring kings? Which concept of nation and country apply here? They do not apply at all. For which dharma? It is not the question of good or bad king, or of Hindu or Muslim or Christian king. It is the question of a certain economic and political relation that the kings represented.

The feudal order was based upon heavy exploitation of the common peasants and artisans and others. The history of society is not the history of kings, emperors and badshahas but first and foremost of the labouring people. It is the people who contributed arms and armies to the kings, produced food, clothing, pottery, materials for society. Kings waged wars to grab the wealth belonging to the neighbouring areas and empires. That is the law of the feudal order. Not only did the Hindu and Muslim kings fight each other, using religion to cover it up, but Hindu kings fought among themselves and so also the Muslim kings and the Christian and other kings for the sake of their empires. It is not religion that determined history, it is the feudal economic class that formed history. This essence of history is sought to be covered up by the Rightwing reactionary obscurantist forces today.

King Ashoka attacked and destroyed Kalinga and took lakhs of common prisoners who were driven all the way to Magadh. Nobody talks of these common prisoners. Let the RSS apply their theory of dharma and ahimsa here. He was a Hindu king, later becoming Buddhist, did many good things and yet killed common people and his own brothers. The same happened in the case of the Maratha, Rajput, Mughal and every other royal dynasty. This was due to their feudal nature. Following this or that religion did not prevent these kings from looting and destroying others places of worship, carting away gold and other valuables and ornaments. The temples, lands and dwellings of the common people were never returned.

So the dharma and its interpretation for a king is different from the dharma of the praja: peasants, artisans, shop-keepers, labourers, etc. This is clear from a reading of Indian history.

Dharma is ultimately driven by the economic and social interests.

The crisis in the RSS thought-system is due to its interpretation of Hindutva at the cost of Indian nationalismand unity.

The author is a Marxist ideologue.
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2018 > The New President of Indian National Congress

by Martand Jha

Rahul Gandhi has been elected unopposed by Indias grand old party, the Indian National Congress, as its President. His anointment as the party President brought no surprises to anyone as this was being expected for a long time now. Rahul Gandhi is the fourth generation of the Nehru-Gandhi family to be holding the post of the party President following Indias independence.

His great-grandfather and Indias first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, was the first in the family to be holding the post of party President many a times before and after Indias independence. After 1947, Nehru became the partys President in 1951 and remained there till 1954. Nehrus father, Motilal Nehru, also became the party President in 1919.

Other than that Rahul Gandhis grandmother Indira Gandhi, his father Rajiv Gandhi and mother Sonia Gandhi were Congress Party Presidents at some point of time. In fact, Rahuls mother Sonia Gandhi has been the longest serving President of the Indian National Congress from 1998 till December 2017 for almost two decades.

Because of such a dominance of one family in the party, which once used to be hailed as an umbrella organisation of different political ideologies that co-existed together, the party and the Gandhi family have been accused of nepotism. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is currently in power, has always been highly critical of the Gandhi familys absolute dominance in the Congress Party.

Their accusation has been that just by virtue of being born in a family, a member of that family can sit on the highest position of the party ladder irrespective of the fact that whether he/she was good enough for the post or not. Thats why Rahul Gandhi is often mocked at by his political rivals as Shehzada, which means Prince. This is because like a prince, who has the right to become the next king, just because of being born in a royal family, Rahul Gandhi also became the party President just because he is a Gandhi.

Recently, a Congress party worker, Shehzad Poonawalla, raised his voice against this dynastic politics and as a result was sidelined by the party. Poonawalla called Rahul Gandhi an unconstitutional crown prince and said that he felt like Sardar Patel, Indias first Home Minister, who was sidelined by the Congress Party the same way as he was today. Poona-walla got support from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Prime Minister Modi, while addressing an election rally in his home State Gujarat, said: A youngster Shehzad has exposed the rigging that is taking place in the Congress Presidents poll. And Shehzad is a senior Congress leader in Maharashtra. The Congress has tried to muzzle his voice and wants to even remove him from their social media groups. What tolerance is this?

He further added, Those who have no internal democracy cant work for the people. I want to tell this youngster Shehzadyou have done a brave thing but this is sadly what has always happened in the Congress. With PM Modis entry into this issue, things got heated as Congress leaders called Shehzad Poonawalla an agent of the BJP and PM Modi.

At the time when Rahul Gandhi has become the party President, the party stands at its weakest point in its long history of 132 years. Since 1885, the Indian National Congress has been a political force to reckon with. In fact, the dominance of the party was so strong in the first 20 years of Indias independence that the Indian political system was called the Congress system, signifying the hegemonic position of the party in the Indian political space at one point in time.

The party has made many comebacks after being thrown out of power in the past, but since the 2014 general elections, where the partys total tally seats was reduced to just 44 in a 543-member Lok Sabha, the party has been losing almost every State election one after the other. Punjab was the only face-saver for the Congress where it won early this year in March. While its report-card in Indias largest State Uttar Pradesh was abysmal. The party under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi got only seven seats out of the total 403 seats there.

These figures speak for themselves about the dismal state of the Congress Party. The party has not been able to get the popular support from the masses which it once used to enjoy. In fact the party has been outrightly rejected by the masses in the recent elections. Most of the political commentators and scholars say that the party is paying now due to the corruption by the Congress Party when it was in power along with its allies from 2004 to 2014.

During the second half of the partys tenure in power under the then Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, a lot of big scams, worth many million dollars, were exposed one after the other in the Indian media. Scams like 2G, CWG, Coalgate etc. tarnished the image of party in the public. Since then the downfall of the Congress Party started and it continues to this day.

The party seems in no position to counter its biggest rival, the BJP, which is currently in power, either locally or nationally. In fact, a situation is being reached in Indian politics where voters are not being able to see a viable alternative to the BJP currently.

Though, Indian politics has seen many roller-coaster rides in its history where some election results have completely overturned the presumptions of political observers and commentators. One cannot write off the Congress Party whatever maybe its state, because its still the single largest party after the BJP and has the potential to challenge the BJP in future. A party as old as the Indian National Congress doesnt just go into oblivion because the party always has a presence in the minds of the voters.

As long as a party is in voters minds, it has a realistic chance to win seats. Every political party wishes to make its presence felt at first, winning or losing an election is a different matter altogether. This means that if the Congress Party tries to get its act together and could challenge the BJP by taking them head on, by raising issues faced by the people, it can make a comeback in future.

Though with the next general elections just a few months away, the party needs to gain a lot of political ground. The partys comeback to power in 2019 seems extremely unrealistic right now; but in politics nobody can be absolutely sure of the result until the last vote is counted.

As Rahul Gandhi has taken charge of the Congress Party as its President, the party members and well-wishers of the Congress look forward to a better future.

The author is a Junior Research Fellow at the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2018 > Why Myopic Left Lost Tripura

by Sankar Ray

Who says the Communist Party of India-Marxist or the Left Front was defeated in the Tripura State Assembly polls in 2018 by the combine of the Bharatiya Janata Party and Indigenous Peoples Front of Tripura?

The overwhelming majority of 2.3 million-plus voters voted with their feet, to quote Vladimir Illyich Lenin, who quipped following the collapse of the Russian military machine in World War I, when thousands of soldiers, hungry for days, deserted the Army to return home after March 1917. Lenin said, they marked their ballots not with pen or pencil, but with feet that took them out of the lines and brought them home.

However, neither the biggies at Agartalas Dasarath Deb Bhavan, the seat of the State Committee of the CPI-M of Tripura, nor the mandarins at New Delhis A. K. Gopalan Bhavan, the national headquarters of the party, have the sense of reality that the Bharatiya Janata Party, characterised by the Senegalese Marxist economist Samir Amin as the Hindu comprador Right, teaming up with the Indigenous Peoples Front of Tripura did strip naked on July 12, 2017 during a road and rail blockade movement demanding Tipraland and cashed in largely on non-performance of the CPI-M-led Left Front Government to slap a stunning catastrophe on what the official Left (not the CPI-M alone) thought was the impregnable fortress of the CPI-M.

The LF Chairman and State CPI-M Secretary, Bijan Dhar, in a five-part article in Desher Katha, the partys Bengali morninger, resorted to a laboured argument to say in a somewhat imposing way that the defeat of the LF was inexplicable, although cynics, who are mentally shattered after the debacle of the Left, dump it as a rigmarole. Even in 1951, the undivided Communist Party of India won both the seats from Tripura: Dasarath Deb from Tripura East and Birendra Chandra Dutt from Tripura West won with big margins, getting 53.9 per cent and 68.84 per cent of the valid votes respectively. A mistaken impression is in currency that the average difference in votes between the CPI-M and BJP was very small: in 48 seats that the BJP contested it received 20,814 votes on an average against 17,724 votes in 56 seats fought by the CPI-M candidates.

Dhar told newspersons after the poll that the probability of the LFs return to power was 99.99 per cent. On March 2, a day before the counting, he and another CPI-M CC member, Badal Chowdhury, a Minister of the last government, issued a statement that the eighth LF Government would surely be formed.

However, Dhar had the moral courage to state after the ignominious defeat that the results appear to us as somewhat inconsistent with base-level information.

The CPI-M State chief made three interesting revelations inter alia. One, this time voting in Tripura was subordinated to the BJPs helping domestic and foreign corporates to aggressively grab national wealth resources.

Two, there has been a major erosion of influence of the Communists in traditional Adivasi strongholds where the LF had lost with big margins. It won in three out of 20 ST seats. Three, the LF got less than 34 per cent of the postal ballots and in only one of the 59 constituencies it got more votes than the BJP-IPFT alliance. In all, but one seat, the alliance got much more votes than the LF. These observations seem a candid confession. Dhar conceded that the LF had got 1,30,086 votes less than the BJP-IPFT combine.

Eighty-year-old IPFT chief Narendra Debbarma defeated the CPI-M candidate, Ramendra Debbarma, from Takarjala (ST) seat by nearly 13,000 votes, the largest margin in this election, although the CPI-M polling agents were forced to quit under threat from at least six polling booths by the BJP-IPFT agents.

The CPI-M defeated the IPFT from Manu (ST) constituency by less than 200 votes.

Manindra Reang, a Minister of the last government, was defeated by almost 2500 votes by little known Pramod Reang of the BJP from Santirbajar (ST) constituency which is where the historic Reang Rebellion (1943-45) took place.

Another Minister, Aghore Debbarma, also a CC member, was mauled by Mevar Kr Jamatia in the Asharambari (ST) seat by about 7000 votes. Both these Ministers are prominent State Committee members.

Hats off to the local media that predicted what a sizable section of veteran political analysts (including this humble scribealthough not in print fortunately) brushed aside as a miracle or more-than-the-lonescone absurd drama.

How could Sebak Bhattacharya, Managing Director of Vanguard Newsone of the channels that projected, based on independent and separate exit polls, at the most 14 to 29 seats to the LFsay: There is an unprecedented anti-Left wave amongst the youth according to our ground report and new female tribal voters and government employees! He went on to add that people want change. The anti-incumbency factor will reflect on the EVM, and the BJP might cross the Left. Otherwise it will be neck and neck. Our data shows over 65 per cent of the youth has voted for the BJP.

Sunil Deodhar, the RSS pracharak-turned-BJP-poll-strategist, stated with confidence six months ago that the saffron alliance would bag 40 or more seats although the party had no MLA in the last legislature.

The campaign has not fallen from the sky. For the last two to two-and-a-half-years, we have worked hard. I had RSS training. That experience also helped. It is only in the last six months or so that disgruntled CPI-M workers have begun joining us.

The LFs failure in trying to cash in on former Chief Minister Manik Sarkars image as the poorest Chief Minister and the media hype thereof is a lesson. Seven-fold rise in registered unemploymentnow estimated at 700,000 (at least 40 per cent of adult population)during his era reflects a glaring mismatch between honesty and performance.

But it cannot be said that the LF Governments commitment to the canons of integrity and transparency was unflinching, The LF Govern-ments appointment of 10,323 teachers in 2010 and 20131100 post graduates, 4617 graduates and 4606 undergraduateswas in contravention of the Right to Education Act, 2009 that set out obligatory qualifications.

Which was why on May 7, 2014, a Division Bench of the Tripura High Court, in response to 58 petitions, terminated the services of these teachers. The HC noted that the State Government did not follow the National Council for Teachers Education guidelines, laid down in 2001, while recruiting them. Later, a Division Bench of the Supreme Court upheld the order.

The dismissed teachers, formed an association of 10,323 teachers, and called on the then State Education Minister, Tapan Chakraborty, who purportedly tried to circumvent the Supreme Courts order by announcing the recruitment of 12,000 non-teaching staff in the Education Department to accommodate them.

There was a contempt petition against this decision before the Apex Court which dissuaded the LF Government in a rebuking tone. The SC asked the State Government to initiate a fresh recruitment policy under the Teachers Eligibility Test as prescribed under the RTE Act by May 31 and complete the process by December 31, but in vain. The BJP cashed in on this shameful goof-up by the CPI-M.

The Trivedi Centre for Political Data at the Ashoka University under the supervision of Gilles Verniers, Assistant Professor of Political Science and co-director, TCPD, Basim-U-Nissa, Mohit Kumar, Ashish Ranjan and Sudesh Kumar, brought out a comprehensive analysis about the collapse of the LF. In 2018, both CPI-M and BJP totalled 85.7 per cent of the total vote-share....The CPI-M lost 33 seats out of the 46 it previously held. Its presence is reduced to the two geographical extremities of the Statein the northern-most districts and alongside the western border with Bangladesh, in the Shipahijala and the South Tripura districts, it inferred.

On the total collapse of the Congressplummeting of vote-share from 35 to two per centthe TCPD scan concurred with the general impression that voters had lost all hope in the Congress Party and whoever wished to oppose the Left transferred their vote to the BJP. The rise of the BJP exceeds the decline of the Congress, as it gained five more percentage points than the Congress lost. This confirms the notion that the BJP succeeded in becoming the main opposition to the Left for a broad range of voters. The Congress actually helped the BJP win. Had the Congress put up a fight, they might have retained some of their voters, arguably, which would have prevented the BJP from sweeping this election and convert 43 per cent of vote-share into nearly 60 per cent of the seats, a smaller majority than those obtained by the CPI-M since 1993.

But it is a waste of time to argue with those who believe that the Left succumbed to excessive use of money and muscle power. Statewide violence, intimidation and extortion, aimed at the CPI-M and its supporters after March 3 are true, but all this is not unthinkable.

The CPI-M too had such sanguinary campaigns in West Bengal, even presently in Kerala, directed against the Opposition. But why did Khowai, the region known as the cradle of communism in Tripura, too reject the Marxists?

Why did the LF get less than 34 per cent of postal votes that were cast mostly by government employees and teachers who together have traditionally been the vote-bank of the CPI-M?

Some thought that voters would be polarised between Bengali and Adivasi voters. Adivasis comprise around 30 per cent of electorate. But the very perception of Bengali-Adivasi divide is politically naive.

George Orwell had rightly said about the possibility of changing mindsets of so-called Communists during the Stalin era that its futile to try to teach a parrot a new word.

The author is a veteran journalist and commentator. This article is a slightly expanded version of the one carried in The Statesman (published on March 31, 2018) and sent by the author for publication in this journal.
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2018 > . . . . . . . . . Mukt Bharat

by Sardar Amjad Ali

In the present political scenario of the country, the battle the Congress under the leadership of its young President, Rahul Gandhi, with the guidance and inspiration of Smt Sonia Gandhi, is fighting, is certainly a very difficult one. It is a battle, in my estimation, not only against a divisive force in the guise of a political party called the Bharatiya Janata Party but also with its cohorts as well, having a common agenda of a Congress Mukt Bharat.

Looking at the political composition in different parts of the republic, one cannot lose sight of the emerging regional political formations emphasising upon their regional demands and making the federal government a common target for redressal of their regional ailments so as to ultimately capture it. In a republican form of government, guided by the provisions of a written Constitution, the sphere of duties and responsibilities of the federal and regional governments have been clearly defined. Yet on many occasions the regional parties, conveniently or deliberately, cross the constitu-tional fence, obviously for making more advances for expansion of their horizon beyond the State territory to seize the ultimate power-scale. Conversely, the Union Government also, very often than not, takes undue privilege not only to encroach upon the constitutional privileges of selected State governments but also, if necessary, to throw them out of power by hook or crook. Such unwelcome actions certainly are not naive but well-thought-out moves on the part of both the players. The Central Government, if composed of one or a number of political parties in the form of coalition entity, cannot be expected to act against its own political agenda. As a result, in an era of coalition politics, as the status of India is at present, contradictions, sometimes confron-tations, are bound to occur in Centre-State relations. One cannot ignore that such a situation is now prevailing in our country.

Diverse political interests, in a federal structure such as ours, more often than not, run counter to the overall national interest. But it is almost an unavoidable phenomenon when regional interests tend to overreach the national agenda. The country has been passing through coalition governance for quite a long time since 1977. Regional parties have shown their own strength within their geographical limits with their regional agenda as the predominant consideration in government formation. The Indian National Congress party was the single largest ruling party of the country but it has, for various reasons, disintegrated, thereby leaving a deep void and helping the regional outfits to grow.

In the past, though in electoral arithmetic, the Congress could not achieve the magic number on its own, yet then it could impress upon others the skill and expertise it had to run a federal government for long, long years. It convinced other smaller parties to join hands with it to form a coalition government with a consensus on the common minimum programme.

Coalition governance is not of course a brand of public governance that only India has to entreat. In fact the political history of all the five continents leaves before us umpteen number of examples of such a brand in different countries. Mature parliamentary democracies like the United Kingdom, France or Germany had testified to such a system.

Questions may come up for an indepth political debate as to whether the people or political parties are responsible for such a system. There may be varied responses of the political scientists in favour or against. But the fact remains that when a single party, failing to form a government on its own, ropes in the support of other smaller parties to rule, an era of coalition governance dawns.

In such a political scenario, the most pertinent questions that emerge, in my opinion, are:

1. Which party amongst others will be the most viable one to carry forward a coalition government?

2. Who amongst the numerous political leaders of coalition partners will be the best choice to lead the coalition considering the political background, acceptability to the partners as well as the people and his/her flexibility in moving with the others.

If we gloss over the political parlance of contemporary Indian politics we notice a new political order churning the national as well as regional politics since 2014. After a successful bidding, the BJP, though lately emerging as a major national party with its own strength, did not, as a political strategy, ignore the smaller regional parties, with whom it fought the elections of 2014, in coalition governance at the national and even at the State level. The strategy, as I earlier said, is to decimate the strength of the other national party, namely, the Indian National Congress and present the country with a Congress Mukt Bharat under the leadership of the BJP.

A Congress Mukt Bharat is a lullaby not only of the BJP alone but also of the other regional players in the National Democratic Alliance headed by the BJP as its Big Brother. That the catchy slogan has its consumers across the length and breadth of India is a reality that cannot be ignored. It is also equally true that all the regional satraps are not addicts to this symphony. Either overtly or covertly, even non- NDA parties, albeit not all, contribute to the concept of a Congress Mukt Bharat, by their action of omission and commission. Of the non-NDA parties, the Left conglomerates, the Trinamul Congress, Bahujan Samaj Party, Janata Dal (United) and Telugu Desam Party have their past history of being BJP associates either to fight an election battle against the Congress or in coalition governance, although in the 2014 general elections they kept themselves away from the BJP chessboard.

The NDA, under the leadership of the BJP, having proved itself as a national alternative to the UPA, led by the INC, has been on the turf for the last four years. The basic tenets of coalition governance with the BJP as a national party under the charismatic and articulate leadership of Narendra Modi appears to have left an impression not only upon the political outfits but also upon a considerable percentage of the Indian population that the NDA formation is best suited for India, presently moving through a coalition era. So far it was moving in its anticipated direction until such time as the BJP, the major partner, with its all-powerful leader, the Prime Minister, took the spineless surrender of the Ministers not only from his own party but also from others as guaranteed, and laid his unchequered control through his office (PMO) over all the departments, virtually making the entire administrative mechanism of the coalition government the handiwork of a singular person. And there started a submerged despondency. Together with such dissatisfaction, the economic and social policy the Modi regime was bent upon to vigorously persuade for adoption by the nation, had gradually shaken the enigmatic Modi Magic. The failures of Modis electoral pledges, unscientific, unrealistic and grossly unproductive policy of demoneti-sation and GST schemes, religious intolerance and unbridled hate campaign, increasing unemployment, farmers suicides, writing off public debts of crony capitalists, plundering of bank reserves by favoured customers and their safe transit with the booty, saffronisation of education policy, induction of RSS nominees in cultural, educational and administrative institutions, failures in improving international relations started raising diabolic signals to cause popular disenchantment about Modi, the BJP and its associates. Modis charred charisma left burnt scars in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh so deep that these could not be covered up by a run-over at Tripura or the Meghalaya jamboree or Nagalands unwholesome wedlock.

When politics in Lutyens Delhi was getting clouded, the regional players started pulling off their masks and run afloat in the polluted air of public discomfiture either to settle scores with Modi or to get installed into and sanitise his sullied seat. To win a war of Modi Mukt Bharat by any of the regional chieftains, be it of the east or the west, by their own charisma and strength is nothing but a capricious attempt of building a cloud castle.

Hence, the slogan of a Third Front or a Federal Front.

The harbingers of the Third or Federal Front are, of course, well-known seasoned politicians of long standing. By no stretch of imagination, however, one can say that they represent their political outfits beyond their own territories or cater to outstanding political visions or subscribe to missions of all-India ramification. Experiences, of course, of some of those enthusiasts in public administration, may merit worth mentioning. But, even on that score their individual score-card, to convey with deep respect to each one of them, is not that elegant as it should or ought to be, for governance of a nation of 135 million people of diverse cultural, religious, linguistic and racial genres, besides cognisable identity of transborder recognition. Notwithstanding such limitations, the Third or the Federal Front-walas show a jingoistic zeal to give a Modi Mukt Bharat in 2019 but in their war cry they are not as openbreasted as Laloo Prasads RJD or Karunanidhis DMK that in a battle against the BJP, a Congress Mukt congregation of political parties will be an ideal political formation.

The role of the regional political heavy-weights may be of relevant consideration in grooming up a coalition. Let us scan it.

To arrest erosion of his political party the most honest and non-intriguing Nabin of Odisha, maintains as yet a seemingly non-committal stand, although in some of the parleys his BJD had shown up its face. He seems to have no ambition of being an ardent architect of a Third or Federal Front like a few others.

Farooq Abdullah of the National Conference, though once had smeared himself with the BJPs ministerial nectar, is now compelled to chant anti-BJP slogans courtesy Mehbooba Mufti, the Chief Minister of Jammu-Kashmirs coalition government of the BJP and J&K Peoples Democratic Party.

The Maratha strongman Sharad Pawar had not maintained a uniform stand in the coalition climate. As the seniormost politician he deserves, as is understood, primacy in a process of political permutation and computation. His Praful Patel moves to Bengals Nabanna as Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had gone on an earlier visit to Sharads hometurf.

Of the South Indian parties, leave aside the DMK pledging its support to the Congress, the AIADMK in Tamil Nadu, CPI-M and its allies in Kerala, AAP and MGP in Goa, TDP of Andhra and TRS of Telangana appear to be in no mood to participate in a Third or Federal Front with the Congress presence in the ring. With vigour and exuberance for forging the unity of non-BJP State parties to form a Federal Front, Ms Mamata Banerjee has been trying to take the centre-stage since long. Let us not be forgetful of the fact that there is already an anti-BJP Front known as the UPA under the leadership of the Congress. In the UPA, besides the Congress, there are a number of State parties. There are also State as well as national level political parties unattached with either of the formations, namely, the UPA or NDA, led by the BJP.

We all know that Ms Banerjees party, though it carries its signature as the All India Trinamul Congress, is truly speaking a State party. In such a political contour one has to analyse as to how far Ms Banerjees strike will be lethal for the BJP. Ms Banerjee, in her exuberance of forging the unity of non-BJP State parties, has apparently made a serious move. Whether her endeavour is a bonafide move to bring an end to Modis regime, as she aspires, is too early to predict. Her 1:1 formula and a party with strong base in a State to lead the anti-BJP electoral battle and the weaker ones to follow, sounds a good strategy but in a politics of ideological diversity, intra-party power equations, regional niceties and leadership criteria are likely to cause unexpected casualties.

Ms Banerjee has to convince the weaker political parties to play the role of subservient entities to their Big Brothers and be contented with the dole given to them to contest the election.

It would certainly be a gala time for the pioneers of the Federal Front if Ms Banerjees strategy gets ratified by those who want a BJP Mukt Bharat.

Ms Banerjee has to steer clear from the two Chandras, of the TRS and TDP as also from Sharad Pawar, Laloo Prasad, Akhilesh Yadav whether they want a Front with or without the leadership of the Indian National Congress. She also has to get unqualified support, without any rider, from Akhilesh, that his Bua Mayawatiji will lead the election battle of 2019 in UP with his SP as an appendage, in Karnataka, Hardanhalli Deve Gowda, the former PM, with his JD(S) will agree to act as a pageboy to the Pious, Yeddyurappa. Similar equations elsewhere are also likely to be addressed by Ms Banerjee.

Added to such baffling questions, Ms Banerjee owes political as well as ethical responsibility to respond to some more pertinent questions. These are:

If she wants the Congress in her Modi Badh Yagna would her fellow travellers, the TDP, TRS, AAP, JD, JD(S), AIADMK agree to offer their oblations conjointly with the Congress?

Should she decisively dictate and the Congress would indolently accept to participate in her yagna minus Rahul Gandhi, the Congress President, as she publicly demonstrated?

Does she expect the BJD, AIADMK, AAP, TRS, TDP, SAD, LJP, to join with the Congress in her jamboree of Federal Front on a 1:1 basis?

Should the Maharashtra Congress be as generous to accept the NCP as the major political opponent to the BJP as suggested by Ms Banerjee?

What does she expect of the role of the Left alliance in Kerala and in her own State?

Even if, for the sake of argument, though contested, her theory of State vitalities of the parties are accepted, the Congress, with 52 seats in the 2018 Lok Sabha, has to be confined in those pockets only in the 2019 electoral battle for 542 seats. Does Ms Banerjee expect the Congress to swallow such a sugar-quoted cyanide?

Ms Banerjees anti-Modi role is marked by her opposition to the economic policy, though not entirely, as pursued by his government. Demonetisation, GST, inadequate Central financial assistance to the States, discrimination in financial grants from the BJP vis-a-vis the non-BJP ruled States in developmental schemes and at the time of natural disasters, unemployment are the most talked about issues she addressed. Those are, no doubt, pertinent issues. But what about the specific issues? Congress President Rahul Gandhi has been agitating about Modis naked encouragement to his chosen few crony capitalists, such as, Mukesh Ambani, Gautam Adani, the Tatas, the Dhoots, the G. V. K. Reddys, the Jindals but this did not figure in her tirade against Modi. Rather, she is prone to make some of the Modi-favourites her saviours for giving succour to her industrial desert in West Bengal.

She is conspicuous by her silence about the unfathomed corruption of Vyapam of Chouhan, grant of public largesse without tender by Pankaja Munde, the Gir forest land deal of Anandi Behns daughter, the enormous increase of assets of Amit Shahs son and Jayanta Sinha, the son of former BJP Minister Yashwant Sinha. Is there any subjective consideration to keep these issues under the carpet for a hidden bargain?

Ms Banerjees target is to rope in her dreamy Federal Front the NCP, or DMK without seeking to convince the BJP-supporter State parties to leave the NDA. This clearly shows that her strategy is to weaken the UPA, help deplete the anti-BJP votes which would ultimately help the BJP.

Interesting enough is to note that Ms Banerjee feels comfortable with the Shiv Sena and Ahom Gana Parishad, both famous for having narrow parochial programmes.

Surprisingly, Ms Banerjee finds in the BJP good people like Vajpayeeji, Rajnathji, Gadkariji, Sushmaji compared to Manmohan Singhji or for that master Rahul Gandhiji.

Good enough, that Ms Banerjee deprecates Modis decisions to sell Air India, a national asset in her own words, but shockingly ridiculous is to see her in the company of the duoYashwant Sinha, the former BJP Financr Minister, and his former Cabinet colleague, the erstwhile Company Law Minister, Arun Shourie, famous for selling the public sector hotels and some blue-chip companies in the jubilant execution of a policy called Disinvestment.

Ms Banerjee must have her responses to such apparent contradictions.

But, while taking centre-stage to get anti-BJP political entities under one umbrella, the abrasions in her strategic move, it appears, are likely to give more advantage to the enemy she wants to crush.

The question as to would lead the Third Front remains an enigma. It may be recalled that Modi, before taking over Gujarat as its Chief Minister, was one of the powerful General Secretaries of an all-India party. Having served in an all-India outfit for a good many years, he went to Gujarat as the Chief Minister. By his articulate, strong leadership for a period of five years in Gujarat, he was chosen as the leader of an all-India political party with the support of a number of other regional as well as national parties to lead a front. Ms Banerjee, though had served as a Minister in a BJP formation and thereafter made the Congress her ally before ultimately leaving that association too, raises the eyebrows of many. Her fighting spirit is certainly to be recognised, but her political inconsistency is no less a factor to be considered, if one is called upon to decide regarding her acceptability as the leader of an all-India political movement to bring about a Modi Mukt Bharat.

The author is a former Congress Member of Parliament; he served in both the Lok Shaba and Rajya Shaba.
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2018 > Kashmir and Afzal Guru

MUSINGS

Now that the government of the day has withdrawn the Haj subsidy, it ought to take another step forward and withdraw the subsidy and support it provides for all the pilgrimages and yatras and melas associated with any religion. After all, in a democracy, religion ought to be kept away from governance. In our country, there is a blatant mix and match, more so in these recent years. There ought to be a complete and immediate halt of this.

Whilst on the Haj pilgrimage Im of the firm view that it ought to be undertaken from ones own personal earnings or savings. In fact, its amply writ large in the Quran that Haj should be undertaken by those who can afford it. After all, its a connect between you and your Creator, so whats the role of rulers and their doles!

Lets see whether the Right-wing government will withdraw subsidy and support it doles out for the pilgrimages, activities and institutions associated with other religions practised in the country. Very slim chances of this because of the political rulers blatant biases and tilts and prejudices. And all this talk of the Haj subsidy money to be now used for Muslim girls education is again one of those political facades; bogus speeches and more and more of those hollow words polluting the atmosphere!

Meanwhile the AAP Governments recently announced decision to send senior citizens of Delhi for free or subsidised tirath yatras to the various religious destinations in the country ought to be not just questioned but scrapped.

Letters Speak Out ...

As news came in that Ghalib Guru, son of Afzal Guru who was executed in 2013, has passed the Class XII board exams with distinction, securing 88 per cent marks, Im reminded of his father Afzal Gurus correspondence with his lawyerauthor Nandita Haksar. She had published his letters in her book, The Many Faces of Kashmiri Nationalism From the Cold War to the Present Day (Speaking Tiger).

In my view, the very forte of this book is the focus on Afzal Guru and with that focus on the ongoing conflict in Kashmir. Nandita has deftly weaved in Afzals correspondence with her and this includes a 10-page-long handwritten letter which hed written from his prison cell. Nah, none of his long and short letters tucked in the pages of this book carry terrorising offloads or thoughts or sentiments. On the contrary, they come across as not just philosophical but humane and emotional, written with raw emotions.

To quote Nandita from this book  Though Afzal Guru had lived in the closed and claustrophobic cells of the Tihar Jail, his mind was open, and he continued to read extensively. Tabassum said after Ghalib was born, Afzal would complain Waai Pyaari mye mileha kanh goaph (O pyaari, I wish I could find a cave to read in) After his imprisonment, Tabassum would tease him Goaph mileye? (have you found the cave now?) to which he would respond Zabardast goaph! (Incredible cave!)... Afzal wrote long letters to friends. Sometimes he would make copies and give me one or send it to me through his channels. Most of these letters were in English. In the letters he discussed his ideas about religion and nationalism. Like many other Kashmiri Muslims, Afzal too had become disillusioned by the idea of nationalism and had taken refuge in Islamist ideologies. For Afzal, both India and Pakistan had betrayed the Kashmiris. He was worried about the radica-lisation of the new generation. He called it indoctrination and expressed his concern in a letter written from Jail No 2, in Tihar Jail, to a fellow Kashmiri: Our home is in a state of ANARCHY (morally-politically, socially etc.) sandwiched between two antagonistic Forces. One country is simmering the other on indoctrinating the highly volatile kids mobilising the noble feelings of these uneducated and unaware youth for their own existence and survival. They want to engage the huge army stricture with huge budget by a handful of highly motivated people. The other side, the Army, wants to rest and to have a highly luxurious life. It is this hypocrisy that made few people to change the state of simmering of the pot into a boiling state. It got boiled but unfortunately these two countries do not learn rather they do not want people to live in peace. They are living on the threshold of the same boiling stage. I was not alone nor am I. I do not belong to any organisation. I belong to feelings and ideas (felt globally) by those who are being humiliated and silenced unwillingly.

In fact, Nanditas focus on Afzal through his letters makes him stand out as a well-read man who was introspecting and questioning ever so constantly. To quote her from this book  Afzal was wrestling with the ideas of religion and nationalism. In a long letter written to me on January 8, 2008 he asked: Respected Nandita, when the Naga conflict is not Christian why is the conflict in Kashmir branded Islamic? Funda-mentally it is political, social and historical in nature. Robert A. Papes book, Dying To Win, has given a sophisticated analysis of 300 suicide attacks (from 1980 to 2003) out of which 76 were executed by the LTTE. The common cause he says is political and social injustice, oppression and brute policies of the political establishment and occupational powers.

In this book she also focuses on yet another of his letters in which Afzal Guru writes on the states senseless policiesthe constant humiliation and trauma will ignite the heat of conflict. These policies will cultivate the militant and radical culture towards the irreversible end. Police Stations have become terror and slaughter houses. Families of killed people do not go to Police Stations because it is the Police Station which is spreading the sense of terror into the hearts and minds of people. You may be feeling this an exaggeration of state terror but this is a bitter fact of the constitutional colony that is Kashmir.

She also focuses on yet another letter of Guru wherein he reasons out why economic packages alone will not solve any of the problems in KashmirJesus son of Mary (Maryam) (Peace be on them) says man cannot live by bread alone. Economic packages cannot bring peace in Kashmir. The people who are constantly living in the flux of humiliation and fear do not need bread for which Allah has given every person for a single mouth. What people need is a political framework in which they dont feel themselves vulnerable, humiliated or terrorised ...The closure of all democratic means and vents will naturally push the educated youth towards the radical wall. Noam Chomsky says if we do not believe in the freedom of expression for the people we despise we dont believe in it at all. The RSS philosophy and its political, social and militant offshoots and offsprings are comm-unalising and polarising the whole of the political and social fabric and this culture of hatred is penetrating the other local institutions as well and dont exclude Tihar Jail. There is no doubt the ISI is also playing its role in this process through its devices of hatred. In fact, it is nurturing on anti-India rhetoric.

In fact, this 335-page-long book ends with a 10-page-long handwritten letter which Guru wrote to Nandita (which shed received on January 8, 2008) and the sentiments and thoughts contained in this letter makes one sit up, questioning the very concept of death penalty, of state hangings! Because of space constraints cannot quote extensively from it; just these last lines from his hand-written letter: In the end I request you dont colourise or dress my words in any colour or dress except a purely responsible human concern for humanity ...I am in Universe in such a way that I am myself UniverseI live in a space but I am spaceless.

As Ive mentioned right in the beginning, this focus on Afzal Gurus letters is the very forte of Nanditas book. Its through these, the reader is aware of not just the ground realities but also of the role played by the state and its agencies in implicating innocents...well, implicating them to such an extent that they are imprisoned and hanged!
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2018 > Tamil Nadu-Kerala Water Conflicts: A Pragmatic Picture

by Velayutham Saravanan

This article was sent to us quite sometime ago. But it could not be used earlier for unavoidable reasons.

In the developing countries, competing demand for water with the different stakeholders has increased, particularly during the last quarter of the twentieth century. This competing demand is mainly due to the population growth, agricultural expansion, urbanisation, industria-lisation, domestic water supply and water pollution, and many other factors. Consequently, water scarcity and the demand to augment it became a common phenomenon in most of the developing countries, in recent decades.1 Conflicts over water have steadily increased in number due to the various reasons of population growth, rapid industrialisation, consumerism, pollution, environmental degradation, inequities in the access to and use of water, poor governance and complications arising out of managing multiple uses across multiple users.2

Managing water conflict is much more serious and complicated when the river basin involves different political boundaries of the country or States and also different cultural set-ups. The sharing of rivers across political boundaries is an area of both contention and conflict, be it at the international, national, regional or local levels.3 According to Vaidyanathan (2007), ... in several parts of the country, utilisation of both surface and groundwater has been reached or even exceeded the limit of sustainable use.4 The problem has now been further exacerbated owing to decline of water quality, caused by pollution.5 At the international level, in the river basin, there are four types of water conflict, namely, conflict through use, conflict through pollution, relative distribution conflict and absolute distribution conflict due to the following causes respectively: water use, water quality, and water distribution and availability.6

Given the macro picture, let us see the ongoing conflict between the Kerala and Tamil Nadu States in sharing the east flowing river waters from the Western Ghats. For Tamil Nadu, east flowing rivers are the only sources of the surface water, either from Kerala or from Karnataka States. Invariably, in Tamil Nadu all rivers are flowing towards the east. In contrast, in the neighbouring States, namely, Kerala and Karnataka, most of the rivers are flowing towards the west, particularly the rivers of the State of Kerala. For example, there are 44 rivers in the Kerala State of which only three are flowing towards the east and the rest 41 rivers are flowing towards the west.7 Even on these three east flowing rivers, the Kerala Government has constructed 336 micro watershed projects.8 In Karnataka, the major east flowing rivers are Krishna, Cauvery, North Pennar, South Pennar and Palar. Each river has several tributaries. In addition to that there are nine west flowing rivers in Karnataka; of course the ayacut area is limited.9

Hence, geologically Tamil Nadu is having the disadvantage because of its location. Therefore, it has to depend on the neighbouring States like Kerala and Karnataka and to some extent the east flowing rivers passing through Andhra Pradesh. Hence, whatever is happening at the head of the east flowing rivers either from Kerala or Karnataka has became a cause of concern for Tamil Nadu, as it curtails the natural flow of the east flowing rivers. In other words, Tamil Nadu does not have any other option but to depend on the rivers from the States located on the west and north-west. Consequently, any development initiatives in the upstream of the east flowing rivers in Kerala or Karnataka State is a matter of concern for Tamil Nadu as the State does not have any other options like what Kerala and Karnataka States have with wider options for the water resources.

Given the geography and river basins, let us see the history of water conflicts between the Tamil Nadu and Kerala States in sharing the Siruvani river water, a tributary of Bhavani, and the river Bhavani since the early twentieth century. The contemplation on diverting the Bhavani river water emerged in the early nineteenth century and finally the Bavani Sagar dam across the river was constructed in 1946. But for Coimbatores domestic water supply, the Siruvani water was diverted only in 1932. Precisely, there was no water conflict in sharing either the Siruvani or Bhavani river water until independence, particularly till the reorganisation of linguistic States in 1956.

The Siruvani river originates in the Muthikulam hills of the Attappady plateau and the confluence with Kodungarapallam and flows with the other six major tributaries of which five are from the Varadimala slopes joining on the right bank and one tributary from the Muthikulam hills on the left bank, and finally merges with the Bhavani river. The Bhavani river, though it originates in the Nilgiri district of Tamil Nadu, flows through Kerala about 50 kms and comes back to Tamil Nadu. These two rivers are very important sources of drinking water for the Coimbatore and Tiruppur cities being a source for irrigation of the Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Erode and Karur districts of Tamil Nadu. The sources of the Coimbatore water supply scheme are from the Siruvani and Bhavani rivers, the tributaries of the Cauvery. The Siruvani-I was started in 1931 and Siruvani-II in the 1970s and Pillur in the 1980s. The Lower Bhavani Project canal was opened for irrigation in 1956.

Kerala-Tamil Nadu Siruvani Agreement

When the project Siruvani-I was proposed in 1912, Palakkad district was a part of the Madras Presidency and hence there was no conflict between the present Kerala and Tamil Nadu region. Indeed, in the Siruvani catchment region the people did not express any resentment to the diversion of water for the Coimbatore drinking water supply scheme. Even after the reorganisation of the linguistic States in 1956, the Kerala Government did not raise any issue on the Siruvani-I project and Bhavani dam. Precisely, until 1956, the present Kerala regions did not make any issue on the diversion of river water either for domestic supply in the 1930s or for irrigation in the 1950s.

However, after the reorganistion of the linguistic States, the Kerala Government initiated projects on the east flowing rivers as well as protested the further diversion of water towards Tamil Nadu. To meet the increasing demand for water to the Coimbatore and Tiruppur cities and neighbouring villages, the Government of Tamil Nadu approached the Kerala Government in the 1960s. But then the Kerala Government refused to consider the proposal. Nevertheless, a meeting of the two States Chief Ministers and the Union Minister for Irrigation and Power was held at Trivandrum on May 10, 1969 for finding a working solution for the sharing of the river waters between the States. The meeting was presided over by the then Union Irrigation and Power Minister, Dr K.L. Rao. At the conclusion of the meeting, a settlement on the Parambikulam-Aliyar Project (PAP), Bhavani project, Pambar basin, Siruvani project supplying drinking water to Coimbatore and sharing of Kabini river waters was finalised.10 Based on the agreement, a new dam on the Siruvani river downstream of the existing one at Muthikulam to enable water facilities to Coimbatore city and the neighbouring areas was accepted. Based on this decision, in 1973, an agreement was worked out for 99 years between the Kerala and Tamil Nadu States to divert the Siruvani river water not more than 1300 M.cft annually (July 1 to June 30) to meet the drinking water supply to the Coimbatore city.11 This agreement categorically mentioned that drinking water supply includes the supply of water for domestic, community and industrial needs but shall not include for irrigation purposes.12 The agreement further mentioned that the Kerala State can divert the regulated flow of five cusecs of water to meet the riparian requirements from the dam.

Attappady Valley Irrigation Project (Kerala)

Since the 1970s, the Kerala Government has proposed for the Attappady Valley Irrigation Project (AVIP), a concrete gravity dam across the Siruvani river, a tributary of the Bhavani river at Chittur in Agali village of the Mannarkkad taluk in Palakkad district of Kerala to serve the irrigation facilities. The proposed reservoir falls within the radius of five kms from the inter-State boundary of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. This project was proposed to impound 65 Mm3 (2.29 TMC) of water and to facilitate irrigation for a cultivable command area of 4900 ha (Gross Irrigated Area 6150 ha) and water distribution system of 84 kms length including main canals and branch canals.13 The investigation for the location of the dam was carried out during the period of 1975-1982 with the assistance of geologists from the Geological Survey of India (GSI). Till March 31, 1983, Rs 508 lakhs was spent on the project.14 Due to non-clearance by the Central Water Commission and paucity of funds, the work relating to the AVIP was kept in abeyance until 1989. However, this proposal was constantly opposed by the Government of Tamil Nadu from the beginning.

Since the 1970s, the Kerala Government has brought the issue to the notice of the Government of India. Various initiatives have been made by the Government of India and among the States, namely, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Pondicherry but these were unable to resolve the conflict. The negotiations between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and the attempts made by the Government of India since the 1970s have completely failed. Consequently, under the provisions of the Inter-State Water Disputes Act, 1956 (33 of 1956), the Government of India constituted the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal by a notification dated June 2, 1990. The Kerala Government made a representation to share the Cauvery water since it has about 2866 sq. kms in the Cauvery basin. The Kerala Government stated that: After the re-organi-sation of the State, determined efforts have been made for improvement of the basin and diversion of the water in the Cauvery basin for utilisation by the State, but several of their claims had been objected to by the other riparian States.15

However, the Kerala Government did not get any interim relief under the Cauvery Water Dispute Tribunals Interim Order of 1991. According to the Cauvery Water Dispute Tribunal, The State of Kerala has not applied for any interim order, therefore, this order is without prejudice to the claims and contentions of the State of Kerala about the equitable distribution.16 However, in 2007, in the final order of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT),17 Kerala was awarded six TMC from the Bhavani river sub-basin and 2.87 TMC was specifically awarded to the AVIP dam project, giving it a fresh lease of life.

Projects of Kerala on Bhavani River

Immediately after formation of the Kerala State (1958), the Public Works Department (Irrigation Branch) had proposed to construct the dam on the Bhavani river at Seramankandi and divert the water towards the south-west through a tunnel to Tenkara and from there towards Ambankadavu Thodu to irrigate around 22,200 acres in the Wulluwanad and Palghat taluks of Palghat district.18 However, this project did not materialise. Though the Kerala Government did not construct any major dam on the Bhavani river, they constructed several micro watershed schemes. At present, there are 97 micro watershed schemes developed by the Kerala Government on the Bhavani river.19 The Kerala Government attempted to construct the dams across the Bhavani river since the early period. In 2002, the Kerala Government tried to divert water from the Bhavani river at a place called Mukkali, but there was strong opposition from the Tamil Nadu State farmers and Tamil Nadu Government and the plan was dropped, recalls K. Kalidas, President of the OSAI, an environmental NGO based in Coimbatore.20

Based on the final order of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal, the Kerala Government is planning to construct six check-dams across the Bhavani river. In fact, the Minor Irrigation Department, Kerala Government has begun the construction of two check dams at Thekkuvattai and Padavayal across the Bhavani river in the Pudur panchayat of Attappadi. It has been proposed to construct three check dams and implement four lift irrigation projects at a cost of Rs 13 crores. In Padavayal, the Kerala Water Authority (KWA) has proposed to implement drinking water schemes which can also be used for irrigation purposes.

Athikadavu-Avinashi Project

Since the early nineteenth century, there was a contemplation to utilise the surplus water of the Bhavani river. But, only in 1834, Arthur Cotton mooted this proposal to put in use the surplus water. Subsequently several alternative schemes were considered to use the flood water in the Bhavani river but nothing materialised. Finally, in 1856, it was concluded that without a storage reservoir in the Bhavani river, extension of irrigation would not be feasible.21 In 1857, the dam site was located at Pulavur, just below the confluence of the Siruvani with the Bhavani river. Though this proposal was considered, nothing was done to execute it.22 After consideration of the proposal in 1857, there was no initiative made in regard to the project due to the Sepoy Mutiny and reduction of grants.23 In the 1880s, the importance of constructing the dam across the Bhavani was emphasised but surprisingly by the close of the nineteenth century, it was suggested to wind up the Bhavani dam projects.24 Since the early twentieth century, several proposals were made to utilise the surplus water to irrigate the Coimbatore district. During this period there were two proposals to construct dams across the Bhavani river: one was the Lower Bhavani Project (wet) and another the Upper Bhavani Project (dry). In 1905, there were three proposals made for two sites in Upper Bhavani, and one in the lower reach of the Bhavani river.25 Subsequently, detailed reports were prepared for all the three proposals. Of the two Upper Bhavani reservoirs, one was proposed at Pulavur and the second one seven miles lower down below the junction of Kundah with the Bhavani river.26 The Lower Bhavani Project was proposed 18 miles below the Mettu-palayam.27 Considering the revenue aspects, in 1908, the government decided to construct the Lower Bhavani Project and dropped the Upper Bhavani Project.28 However, there was no further development until 1925.

In 1925, again two alternative estimates were submitted both for the Upper and Lower Bhavani Projects. In 1928, the government ordered to drop the Upper Bhavani Project. The Public Works Department prepared the plans and estimates; the government was satisfied with the scheme proposals in 1938, but the Coimbatore District Board members and other influential persons made representations to take up once again the Upper Bhavani Project.29 The government re-examined the Upper Bhavani Project with four alternative proposals and finally the government dropped the Upper Bhavani Project once and for all in 1946.30

After the construction of the Lower Bhavani Project, there was a constant demand from the people of the Avinashi region before indepen-dence. Since independence, several proposals were also made in different names at different points of time. The main demand was that the surplus water of the Bhavani dam be diverted to recharge the tanks and ponds which will increase the water table in the Avinashi region. The claim was that the surplus water from the Bhavani dam is going to the sea as waste. The storage capacity of the Bhavani dam is only 53 TMC. Between 1956 and 1996, in these 27 years there was a surplus water flow from the Bhavani dam, of which, 15 years 20 TMC and above, 4 years 10-20 TMC, 4 years 5-10 TMC and 4 years less than 5 TMC. (See Table 1) Hence, this surplus water has to be diverted towards the Avinashi region to recharge the ground water. For this project the required water was only 1.5 TMC.

There was a demand from the Avinashi region people to revive the Upper Bhavani Project even before independence. However, later they demanded that the surplus water of the Bhavani river dam be diverted for the Athikadavu-Avinashi Project. But, the demand was not considered by the government since this constituency either elected a Congress representative earlier or one from the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) later. Hence, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) was not interested to take up this project. However, the demand was intensified since the last decade of the twentieth century.

Finally, in 2012, the Athikadavu-Avinashi Project was implemented to divert the flood water from the Bhavani river at Pillur to 31 tanks maintained by the Water Resources Department, 40 panchayat union tanks and 538 ponds combined together at the Coimbatore, Tirupur and Erode districts.31 It has the capacity to irrigate more than 1.5 lakh acres of agricul-tural lands besides improving the water levels in the Coimbatore, Erode and Tirupur districts. The Athikadavu-Avinashi Flood Canal Project has been conceived to mitigate the effects of flood, by means of excavation of a Flood Carrier Canal from the Pillur Dam water spread area. The Flood Flow Canal includes one Main Canal and two Branch Canals, namely, the Avinashi Branch Canal and Perundurai Branch Canal to divert the flood water to the tanks and ponds in Coimbatore, Tiruppur and Erode districts which act as flood absorbers.32 The main purpose of this project is to recharge the groundwater table and to solve the drinking water problem in the villages of Karamadai, Metupalayam, Annur, Avinashi, Puliampatti, Kavilipalayam, Perunduri and Nambiyur in the Coimbatore, Erode and Tiruppur districts of Tamil Nadu.

Water Conflict between Kerala and Tamil Nadu

The Kerala and Tamil Nadu States agreed to share the waters of the east flowing rivers as well as a few west flowing river waters from the late nineteenth century. For example, the agreement between the Madras Government and Travancore King was made to divert the west flowing river waters to the Madras Presidency in 1894. Even after independence, the Kerala Government had agreed to divert the waters from different rivers of the Kerala region. For example, in 1973, the Siruvani river water was diverted to Coimbatore to meet the drinking water project there. Around the same time, the Kerala Government agreed to divert the waters of the Parambikulam-Aliyar river water projects. As long as the Kerala Government accepted Tamil Nadus proposal, there was no problem from the Tamil Nadu side. However, in the last five decades, the Tamil Nadu Govern-ment has made representations to the Central Government, Supreme Court and tribunal against the unauthorised diversion of waters by the Karnataka Government. In 2007, the Cauvery Water Dispute Tribunal delivered its final judgment to share the waters among the States sharing the Cauvery river basin. Accordingly, the Kerala Government can use 6 TMC from the Bhavani sub-basin. As per the Siruvani Drinking Water Project Agreement (1973) between Kerala and Tamil Nadu, five cusecs of water have to be diverted to the riparian rights holders of the Kerala State. But according to the data, the Government of Tamil Nadu never abides by that clause citing the scarcity of water in Coimbatore city.

It is an interesting fact that whenever Tamil Nadu wanted to divert the river water for irrigation and drinking water supply they designed the project accordingly while when the same was proposed by the Government of Kerala, Tamil Nadu made an issue out of it. The Tamil Nadu State has to realise that the when they approach the tribunal for the redressal of their grievances, they have to also abide the tribunal order. When the Tamil Nadu State approached the tribunal and Supreme Court, it has to respect the rights of the other States as well. The problem is that the demand for water has always been on an increasing trend during the post-independence period due to several factors like population growth, industrialisation, domestic water supply and agriculture invariably in different parts of the country.

Obviously, every State has to meet these increasing demands. Now, the available options in the basin and sub-basins are almost on the verge of being exhausted. In other words, every basin and sub-basin is now getting closed. For example, in the Bhavani river basin, only four diversions were there until independence: three diversions for irrigation purposes and one for the water supply scheme. One such is the diversion for irrigation from the Bhavani river and drinking water supply from the tributary of Bhavani, that is, Siruvani. After independence; through the Lower Bhavani Canal 2.5 lakh hectares was brought under irrigation from the Bhavani Sagar. In addition to that waters from one dam from the Siruvani, a tributary of the Bhavani river, and yet another from the Bhavani river were diverted for drinking water purposes. Further, recently the Athikadavu-Avinashi project was implemented to divert 1.5 TMC water for the water recharge programme. In other words, without considering the downstream requirements, we have diverted the water from the upstream of the main river and its tributaries and finally the basin and sub-basin have become closed.

If the diversion of the surplus in the upstream of the river basin is made, maintenance of the river flow poses a challenge. In other words, for diverting the water at the upstream either for irrigation or for recharge, the groundwater concerns of the downstream have to be studied. The past experience clearly indicates that the Tanjore fertile land has became a desert. If best practices are not ensured for the natural flow of the river, serious ecological and environmental consequences are inevitable. Further, again the demand to divert the waters from both Kerala and Tamil Nadu would increase. Hence, sittings to resolve the conflict between Kerala and Tamil Nadu are of little relevance. The Tamil Nadu State has to think about how to save water and how effectively to put to use the water management practices. Instead of that, picking up conflicts with the neighbouring States will not help in solving the problems in the long run.

Footnotes

1. World Bank, Water Resources Management in Asia, Vol. I, Main Report, Washington, D.C.: The World Bank, 1993, p. 2.

2. Shantha Mohan, N. (2010), Locating Transboundary Water Sharing in India (eds.), Shantha Mohan, N. Routray, Sailen and Sashikumar, N., River Water Sharing: Transboundary Conflict and Cooperation in India, New Delhi: Routledge, p. 3.

3. Ibid.

4. Vaidyanathan, A. (2007), Foreword in Water Conflicts in India: A Million Revolts in the Making, ed. by Joy, K.J., Gujja, Bissham, Paranjape, Suhas, Goud, Vinod and Vispute, Shruti. New Delhi: Routledge, p. xv.

5. World Bank, Inter-Sectoral Water Allocation, Planning and Management, Washington, D.C.: The World Bank and New Delhi: Allied Publishers, 1999, pp. 7-14.

6. Helga Haftendorn, Water and International Conflict, Third World Quarterly, Vol. 21, No. 1, 2000, pp. 52-53.

7. http://www.irrigation.kerala.gov.in/index.php/resources/water-bodies/rivers (accessed in January 2017).

8. http://www.irrigation.kerala.gov.in/index.php/resources/water-bodies/rivers (accessed in January 2017).

9. http://waterresources.kar.nic.in/river_systems.htm (accessed in January 2017).

10. The agreement between the Chief Ministers of Kerala and Tamil Nadu and the Union Minister of Irrigation and Power during discussions held on 10.5.1969 at Trivandrum regarding the Parambikulam Aliyar Project and other river water questions of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. http://india-wris.nrsc.gov.in/wrpinfo/images/d/d8/120.pdf (accessed in January 2017).

11. Kerala-Tamil Nadu Agreement on Siruvani Drinking Water Supply Agreement, dated August 19, 1973.

12. Ibid.

13. Pre-feasibility Report of Proposed Attappady Valley Irrigation Project (AVIP) in Palakkad District, Kerala, 2016, p. 6.

14. State Planning Board (1984), Report of the High Level Committee on Land and Water Resources, Trivandrum, Government of Kerala, p. 117.

15. The Report of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal with the decision, Vol. 1, New Delhi, 2007, pp. 52-53.

16. Ibid., p. 71.

17. http://wrmin.nic.in/writereaddata/Inter (accessed in January 2017). StateWaterDisputes FINALDECISION OFCAUVERYWATERTRIBUNAL4612814121.pdf

18. Government of Kerala (1958), Water Resources of Kerala: Advance Report, Public Works Department (Irrigation Branch), Trivandrum, p. 213.

19. http://www.irrigation.kerala.gov.in/index.php/resources/water-bodies/rivers (accessed in January 2017).

20. http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/Kerala-plans-dam-across-Siruvani-river/article14591071.ece (accessed in January 2017).

21. Government of Madras (1948), Report on the Lower Bhavani Project (1946 scheme), Madras: Government Press, p. 1; Government of Madras 1966. History of the Lower Bhavani Project, Vol.I Head Works, Madras: Government Press, p. 8.

22. Government of Madras (1966), History of the Lower Bhavani Project, Vol.II Canals, Madras: Government Press, p. 1.

23. Government of Madras (1948), Report on the Lower Bhavani Project, p. 1.

24. Ibid.

25. Government of Madras (1966), History of the Lower Bhavani Project, Vol. I Head Works, Madras: Government Press, pp. 9-10.

26. Ibid., p. 10.

27. Ibid., p. 11.

28. Ibid.

29. Ibid., p. 13.

30. Ibid., pp. 14-18.

31. Government of Tamil Nadu (2012), Public Works Department, Irrigation, Demand No. 40, Policy Note 2012-13, p. 19.

32. Ibid.

The author is a Professor and Director, Centre for Jawaharlal Nehru Studies, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi.
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2018 > BJP-ruled States Outdo Others in Crimes against Dalits

by S.R. Darapuri

It has again come up prominently in the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) Crime in India2016 Report that the BJP-ruled States outdo other States in atrocities against Dalits (Scheduled Castes). The same scenario was during 2015 also. At present the BJP-ruled States are Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Goa and Jharkhand where cases of Dalit atrocities are more than in the non-BJP-ruled States. This situation exposes Modis show of abundant sympathy and love for Dalits. Apart from it, there are some other States like Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar where Dalit atrocities are also higher than the national rate (crime per one lakh population).

Total Crime against Dalits during 2016

During this period the total number was 40,801 which exceeds the figure of 38,670 (during 2015) by 2131. As such there has been an increase of 5.5 per cent over last years figure. During 2016 the national average, that is, crime against one lakh Dalit population was 20.3. Among these figures the number of cases relating to outraging the womens modesty was 3172 which was 7.7 per cent of the total crimes against Dalit women. Similarly the total number of rape cases was 2541 which was 6.2 per cent of the total crimes against Dalit women.

Similarly during 2016 the total crimes against Scheduled Tribes (tribals) was 6568 which was 4.7 per cent more than the crime figure of 2015. There were 974 rape cases on tribal women which was 14.8 per cent of total crimes committed against tribal women. The cases relating to outraging the modesty of tribal women were 835 which was 12.7 per cent of the total crime. Thus it becomes clear that Dalit/tribal women are not safe under BJP rule.

If we look at the number and rate of incidence of crimes against Dalits in the BJP-ruled States, it transpires that Madhya Pradesh stands first where the number of crimes was 5134 and the crime rate was 42.0 per cent which is just double of the national rate of 20.3 per cent. Similarly Rajasthan, with a total crime figure of 5134 and crime rate of 42.0 per cent which is again double of the national crime rate, stands second. After it Goa stands third with the crime rate of 36.7 per cent. Gujarat stands 5th with the crime rate of 32.3 per cent which is just 1-1/2 times the national crime rate. From this, it becomes clear that in most of the States ruled by the BJP the rate of incidence of crimes against Dalits and tribals is much higher than the national crime rate.

The crime-wise State position is as follows:

1. Murder: During the above period, the crime figure of murder of Dalits was 786 and the rate per one lakh population was 0.4 per cent. Gujarat, where 35 Dalits were murdered in 32 cases with a 0.8 crime rate, stood first in the whole country. After this Madhya Pradesh with 81, Haryana with 34 and Uttar Pradesh with 274 murders in 271 cases with crime rate of 0.7 stood second. Rajasthan with 67 murders in 66 cases with a crime rate of 0.5 occupied the 5th position. From this, it transpires that the incidence of the crime of murder against Dalits in the BJP States is higher than the national rate.

2. Attempt to Murder: During the above period the total incidence of this crime in the whole country was 732 and the rate per lakh was 0.4. In this crime Rajasthan with 106 and Gujarat with 35 cases with crime rate of 0.9, which is just double of national rate, stood first. Maharashtra with the crime figure of 60 which affected 71 persons and crime rate of 0.5 is higher than the national rate. This makes it very clear that Dalits are not safe in the BJP-ruled States.

3. Grievous Hurt: During 2016 there were 1070 cases in the whole country in which 1148 Dalits were grievously hurt and the national rate was 0.5. This rate in Gujarat was 1.6, 1.5 in Bihar, 1.3 in Odisha, 1.0 in Kerala and 0.8 in Madhya Pradesh, much higher than the national rate.

4. Crime of Attempt to Outrage the Modesty of Dalit Women: During this period the total number of cases under this category was 3172 and the national rate was 1.6. Under this head the rate of incidence of crime in Madhya Pradesh was 6.0, 3.6 in Andhra Pradesh, 2.7 in Maharashtra, 2.0 in Haryana and 0.6 in Gujarat showing that this rate is higher than the national rate.

5. Crime of Outraging the Modesty of Dalit women: Under this head the total incidence of crime in the country was 1268 and the national average was 0.6. The rate of this crime in Madhya Pradesh was 3.6, 1.1 in Chhattisgarh, and 1.3 in Maharashtra, 0.8 in Rajasthan, 0.7 Haryana and 0.6 in Gujarat which is higher than the national average.

6. Rape: Under this head the total number of cases of rape of Dalit women was 2536 in which 2540 Dalit women were victims and the national average was 1.3. The rate of incidence of this crime was 4.7 in Kerala, 3.9 in Madhya Pradesh, 2.9 in Chhattisgarh, 2.7 in Rajasthan, 1.9 in Haryana and 1.7 in Maharashtra which is much higher than the national rate. In fact rape is used as a weapon to demoralise the Dalits.

7. Crime under SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act: The total incidence of crime under this head was 35,676 in which 36,855 persons were affected and the national rate was 18.0 per one lakh population. The rate of this crime was 43.4 in Madhya Pradesh, 41.1 in Rajasthan, 32.9 in Bihar, 28.4 in Gujarat, 25.0 in Odisha, 23.7 in Kerala, 22.6 in Uttar Pradesh which is much higher than national rate of 18.0.

From the above analysis it is clear that most of the BJP-ruled States are ahead of non-BJP-ruled States in crimes against Dalits and tribals. These statistics show that Modis slogan of Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikaas and display of his love and sympathy for Dalits stands exposed. The recent incident of attack on Dalits in Koregaon also exposes the hypocrisy of the BJP.

The author is a retired IPS officer and Organiser, Jan Munch, Uttar Pradesh.
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2018 > They want a new assassin identified in the Gandhi case; they want BJP (...)

IMPRESSIONS

These are unusual days no doubt. But how unusual can unusualness get? Can the murder of Mahatma Gandhi be enacted again to show that he was not killed by the man who killed him? Can a propaganda war, however elaborate, really convince anyone that mass killings of migrant workers are taking place in Kerala? Controversies of this kind are politically loaded. Hence the heatand the danger.

The Gandhi assassination twist is typical of the politics that motivate it all, one Hindutva-wing at loggerheads with another Hindutva-wing. Pankaj Phadnis, a self-confessed devotee of V.D. Savarkar, is exploring judicial routes to prove that Gandhi was killed not by the three bullets Godse had fired but by a fourth one that could only have come from a second assassin. Who? Force 136, a British subversive unit, says Phadnis. He seems keen to demolish the prevailing notion that the RSS influence was at work in the Gandhi killing.

Ironically, he was challenged by the Hindu Mahasabha. Here are the astonishing words of the Sabhas national Vice-President Ashok Sharma: Both BJP and RSS owe their existence to the ideology conceived by the Hindu Mahasabha and they know that it is only this outfit that can expose the mask these two organisations wear today. They are trying to

deny Godse the credit for the assassination, he said, because they know that the Mahasabha will be marginalised without Godse. Credit for the assassinationthat is what ideological faith-fulness is all about.

The propaganda war against Kerala is ideological faithfulness gone berserk. This flows from BJP chief Amit Shah getting angry with Kerala and seeing its annexation as a matter of personal prestige. He got angry for two reasons. First, the partys local leaders not only proved ineffective, but got involved in kickback scandals. Secondly, the public in Keralaaided and abetted by the States incorrigible mediastarted making fun of him, something no one else has dared.

In his anger, Shahji ordered daily protests before the CPM office in Delhi, as though the CPM office in Delhi was Kerala. Worse, he brought in stars like Yogi Adityanath to campaign in Kerala. (That journey to Malabar must have been the Yogis first trip abroad.) Of all things, the Yogi picked on Keralas hospitals and said they should learn from the UP hospitals. Obviously the man has a sense of humour.

According to the Amit Shah propaganda machine, Keralas Communists are killing innocent BJP peaceniks all the time. Again two mistakes here. One, he assumed that the aforesaid incorrigible media is a docile tail-wagger like Delhis channel media whereas the fact is that the Communists cannot kill even a Communist without the Kerala media pouncing

on them. Two, statistics show that 26 Sangh Parivar activists and 21 CPM activists were killed since 2005. But its still a victory for the Sanghis because, earlier, it was Communists killing Communists in factional rivalries. The

Sanghis fought their way into it and succeeded in proving that they were as good killers as the Communists.

Where the Shah machine went wrong was in overdoing the propaganda bit. The overdoing reached a climax when voice clips circulated among migrant workers saying that the State Government had started killing Hindi-speakers in large numbers. Many migrants left the State in a hurry. This in a State where the government had started literary and health programmes for migrant labour. Special textbooks such as Hamari Malayalam aimed at making them familiar with the local language. An insurance scheme was also launched for them. Locals, who know all this, saw the exaggerations of the BJP propa-ganda as crude and an affront to the Kerala people as a whole. The party lost more than it gained.

As the BJP counts its losses, the Congress in Karnataka is giggling over a faux pas committed by B.S. Yeddyurappa and Union Minister Ananth Kumar; unaware that the recorder was on, they exchanged secrets about internal bribery in the

BJP. The voices have been tested and certified as genuine and now the leaders are trying to figure out how to escape from the mess.

These are less than achche din for the BJP. No longer a spotless white dove, it is now seen as much prone to promoting the family as the Congress was. Its tendency to be overly belligerant, antagonistic and quarrelsome is going against it. And the overall scene is grim with falling growth figures and rising joblessness. As the poet asked: Comforter, where, where is your comforting?
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2018 > Another Lost Opportunity

This article was sent quite sometime ago but could not be used earlier due to unavoidable reasons.

Nothing seems to work between India and Pakistan. The meeting of Kulbhushan Jadhav, an Indian prisoner in Pakistan jail, with his wife and mother could have been an opportunity to foster a better understanding between the two countries. But the bureaucracy on both sides is so contaminated to the last tier of administration that it spoils any effort towards better relation-ship.

After 21 months pressure by many, including international organisations, Jadhav was allowed to meet his family members. But the Pakistani bureaucracy saw to it that the meeting would not go well. It was somebodys brainwave which resulted in placing a glass between Jadhav and his family members. Even his wifes mangalsutra, which the married Hindu women wear, bangles and bindi were ordered to be removed. What purpose did this act serve is beyond anybodys understanding. After all, mangalsutra and bangles cannot be a weapon by any stretch of imagination. They are mere symbols of a married woman.

Pakistans bureaucrats know this because till the other day they were a part and parcel of the same system. Their act was nothing but an expression of hostility towards India. Nobody told them to behave in this manner. They have developed this habit since partition. Probably, the bureaucrats were also worked up because the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague had stayed his execution.

Jadhav, according to Pakistan, was arrested in March last year for alleged espionage and terrorism while straying into Balochistan province. Soon after, a military court sentenced him to death for alleged involvement in spying and subversive activities. India had contended he was kidnapped from the Iranian port of Chabahar and his secret trial was a farce.

India, appealing to the ICJ, described Jadhavs trial as a serious miscarriage of justice because Indian diplomats were not granted consular access to him and he wasnt allowed to choose his own defence lawyer. New Delhi argued that the restrictions imposed by Pakistan amounted to a breach of the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.

Pakistan, however, claimed that the ICJ did not have the jurisdiction to take up Jadhavs case as it was a national security issue and that the Court did not need to issue an order to stay his execution because it wasnt imminent. However, the ICJ concluded it has prima facie jurisdiction as Islamabads alleged failure to provide requisite consular notifications with regard to the arrest and detention of Jadhav and the alleged failure to allow communication and provide access to him fell within the scope of the Vienna Convention.

Ronny Abraham, the President of the United Nations highest court in The Hague, said: Pakistan shall take all measures at its disposal to ensure that Mr Jadhav is not executed pending the final decision in these proceedings and shall inform the court of all the measures taken in implementation of the present order.

In its provisional measures that were adopted unanimously, the 12-judge tribunal said it would remain seized of the matters which form the subject of its order until it gives its final judgment. The order came after India and Pakistan presented their arguments in the case of Jadhav. This has further strained bilateral relations between the two countries.

Pakistan retains a semblance of democracy and former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who presides over the administration with the blessings of the Army, is well disposed towards India. He probably recalls his proximity with the then Indian Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee. The two had reportedly found a solution to the Kashmir problem. But the formula was never made public.

Ultimately everything depends on the relationship between the two countries. In a friendly atmosphere, the two could have gone ahead despite the impediment of Kashmir. Had the relations been amiable, the meeting of Jadhav and his family would have been hailed. Pakistan would not have used the pretext of security precautions and the cultural and religious sensibilities of his family members would have been respected. Even Jadhavs mother was prevented from talking in their mother tongue, Marathi, although this was clearly the natural medium of communication in a situation like this.

This would not have been disapproved by Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi who is said to be seeking normal relations with India. In fact, Pakistans domestic politics must be coming in the way. After Pakistans Supreme Courts indictment of Nawaz Sharif on accoun-tability, politicians there are lying low and have lost their voice.

But things are different in India. Here one person, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is in control of the administration even though his decisions tend to be dictatorial. His government should have seen to it that the destiny of Jadhav is not left to the squabbles among the states. New Delhi needs to explore an alternative mediation, probably by the civil social institutions. But, unfortunately, Modis priority is to bring Hindutva through the backdoor and he has very little time for problems like that of Jadhav.

India has put another condition for norma-lising relations with Pakistan. Islamabad should give an assurance that Pakistan would not be a shelter for terrorists. This would be hard to implement because all stakeholders are not beholden to Islamabad. Balochistan is trying to secede and this is the place from where Jadhav was reportedly picked up for espionage.

New Delhi has assured many a time that it considers the integrity of Pakistan like the integrity of India. When Hafiz Mohammad Sayeed, categorised as a terrorist by the UN, starts his own political party, it is clear that Pakistan is helpless in curbing his activities. The preamble to any good relations with India is some kind of action against the mastermind of the Mumbai attacks. But Islamabad is too weak to take any firm action against him.

Bilawal Bhutto, son of Benazir Bhutto, is beginning to control the Pakistan Peoples Party. But he has no other credentials except being the son of the late Prime Minister. Asif Ali Zardari still calls the shots and this is not liked by many in the PPP. In the face of such a situation, the fate of Jadhav is unpredictable.

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) > 2018 > Indo-Pak Scenario through the Prism of Two Recent Developments

by Gouri Sankar Nag and Debabrata Das

This article was received sometime back but could not be used earlier due to unavoidable reasons.

This paper is an attempt to highlight certain issues constituting a facet of the current scenario between India and Pakistan from which to infer the trajectory of their evolving relations. However, to make things clear, in focussing upon issues we have consciously avoided oft-cited cases and perhaps the most intractable issues like Kashmir and the nuclear arms race. This does not mean that we want to play down the significance of both these issues but are purposely shifting our focus to some rather relatively low-key issues; we wish to show if the prospect of their intercourse might look brighter or all the same, what the constraints are at present, and whether there exists any probability of resolving them etc.

The first issue is the arrest and conviction as well as the death sentence meted out to Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav by Pakistans military court for the charge of espionage and sabotage. This has created a new ground of friction between India and Pakistan. According to the report published in Hindustan Times dated April 16, 2017, there are 13 others lodged in Pakistani jails, facing similar charges. On the other hand, more than 30 Pakistanis are in Indian prisonseither convicted on charges of spying or facing trialsaccording to a 2015 list. But when many of these Pakistanis, thus detained in Indian jails, have served their sentences and yet cannot go back to Pakistan as Pakistan refuses to accept them as its nationals, the speciality of Jadhavs case derives from the formal official level exchanges between the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and its Pakistani counterpart. To look into the case, as to whether he was illegally detained and also wrongly awarded capital punishment, New Delhi sought a copy of the chargesheet filed against Jadhav and the death sentence handed out to him on April 14, 2017.

The point of illegality arises from two prima-facie sources; one is the Indian claim that Jadhav was innocent and abducted from Iran by the Pakistani intelligence agency. The official spokesperson of the MEA, Gopal Baglay, made it clear that Kulbhushan Jadhav is a kidnapped innocent Indian who is a retired officer of the Indian Navy and this was communicated to Pakistan more than a year ago when his illegal custody by the Pakistan authorities was known.

Second, whether the proper legal procedure of trial was followed and if so, why Pakistan is persistently denying consular access to Jadhav despite repetitive demarches from India which lays bare the nature of the indefensible sentence put on him. However, it may be mentioned that Jadhav is not the only Indian to whom Pakistan has denied consular access. Rather, it earlier refused consular access to Hamid Nehal Ansari, a 27-year-old management teacher from Mumbai, who went to Pakistan to meet his fiancee.

Quoting a government source, the report of the HT mentioned that in all there are 208 Indians in Pakistani jails. Among them 174 are fishermen. Among the civilian prisoners, 13 are facing espionage charges. It is important to note that India and Pakistan started exchanging the list of nationals of each country lodged in each others jails following an agreement on consular access signed in 2008. Under the agreement, twice every yearon January 1 and July 1both the countries would be exchanging the list of prisoners through diplomatic channels simultaneously in New Delhi and Islamabad.

Jadhavs case receives media hype (as evident from the transcript of the weekly media briefing by the official spokesperson of the MEA, Gopal Baglay, in which he encountered a slew of questions pertaining to the issue of Jadhav, the charges and counter-charges and what India was doing to exert pressure on Islamabad, the matter of information-sharing with Iran, Pakistan etc.) mainly for three reasons. One is due to a PIL filed by a social activist to the Allahabad High Court urging the Court to direct the Centre to approach the ICJ (Financial Express Online edition, New Delhi, April 19, 2017 http://www.financialexpress.com/india-news/kulbhushan-jadhav-death-sentence-row-hc-reserves-order-on-plea-to-direct-mea-to-move-international-court-of-justice/633633 accessed on December 15, 2017)

Second, according to the report of the HT, Professor Bhim Singh, a patron of the National Panthers Party, who has been fighting for the release of those Pakistani prisoners who are eligible for release, is approaching the Pakistani Supreme Court for providing legal aide to Jadhav.

Thirdly, India was about to release around a dozen Pakistani prisoners but following the announcement of death sentence to Jadhav, it put on hold the release. (HT, 16.04.2017) Not only that, as tension ratcheted up, India also called off the maritime security dialogue with Pakistan. The agenda of the dialogue was to thrash out modalities of information-sharing and strategy to combat maritime pollution and trafficking. But the meeting was cancelled a day after Pakistan denied consular access to Jadhav for the 14th time. The stand of New Delhi was conspicuous when it maintained that it would treat Jadhavs sentencing as pre-meditated murder if Islamabad went ahead with the execution. (HT, 16.04.2017)

By an interim order from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague, Netherlands in May 2017, Jadhav is still alive. Asserting jurisdiction under Article 36(1) of its statute, the ICJ stayed Kulbhushan Jadhavs execution and ruled that spies and terrorists cannot be excluded from consular access under the Vienna Convention. This completely vindicated the Indian position. (Rana Banerji in the recently released Special Report of the New Delhi-based think-tank Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies entitled Three Years of Modi Government, 2017, p. 39) In addition, the glimmer of hope on this score seems to be brightening after former judge of the Supreme Court of India Dalveer Bhandaris election to the ICJ. According to commentator Nilova Roy Chaudhury, it was not just a display of Indias maturity of approach but showed the efficacy of concerted diplomacy. To quote Roy Chaudhury further, it was vitally necessary to win not only for the general diplomatic assertion of its global standing by defeating a member of the P-5 in a straight contest, but also particularly because it is fighting Pakistan in the Kulbhushan Jadhav case, which is awaiting a final verdict at the ICJ...India rushed to the ICJ citing Islamabads violation of the Geneva Conventions as it sought relief and an immediate stay on Jadhavs execution. The World Court asked Pakistan to keep the verdict in abeyance pending the ICJ hearings. (http://www.southasia journal.net/win-at-the-un-is-a-big-deal-for-india/ accessed on December 16, 2017)

Of late, it was decided that on December 25, 2017 Jadhavs mother and his wife along with an official of the Indian embassy would meet him in the Pakistan jail. But from the newspaper report of December 14, 2017, it transpired that Pakistan would not allow any lawyer for Jadhav, because he was convicted for spying. This anti-human rights stance of Pakistan is problematic and incongruous with its readiness to go for arbitration in the ICJ which would take place in May-June 2018. With each passing day the episode is getting aggravated with strong indication of the two sides entering into ever greater loggerheadsas evident from the reporting of December 15, 2017 in a newspaper (the Bartaman Patrika) that uncertainty was writ large whether Jadhavs mother and wife would at all be allowed to meet with him. Whereas Pakistan resorts to well-guarded tactics of denial mode, India, it seems from a very recent press briefing in mid-December 2017, accords seriousness in this regard since national sentiment is involved here.

Another issue is the unexpected release of Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT) leader Hafiz Saeed from house arrest in Pakistan on November 22, 2017. Having been freed, Saeed openly provoked the Kashmiri terrorists against India. The obser-vations of The Diplomat are worth mentioning in this regard. It said: Hafiz Saeeds release completes the political mainstreaming of jihadists in Pakistan, by ensuring that the prime suspect of the Mumbai attacks of 2008, and a UN designated terrorist, will now not only be able to streamline militant activities targeting India, he can now properly spearhead the MML (the proscribed Jamat-ud-Dawa created a new political offshoot Milli Muslim League) and eye the Parliament next year. Saeeds release shows the dwindling power of the civilian govern-mentincreasingly under the pressure of radical Islamist groups... (http://thediplomat.com/2017/11/hafiz-saeeds-release-completes-the-political-mains treaming-of-jihadists-in-pakistan/&grqid= QsmD1X7h&hl=en-IN accessed on December 16, 2017)

How the situation inside Pakistan is rapidly deteriorating can also be gauged from the fact that the almost cornered Pakistan Government had to strike a deal with the Islamist protesters following the violent waves of demonstration and road-blockade at the fag-end of November, 2017. The demand was for Pakistan Law Minister Zahid Hamid, accused of blasphemy, to step down. This episode might have a hidden connection with the release of Hafiz Saeed as he was freed by a judicial panel just a few days ago. (https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/11/27/world/asia/islamabad-protesters-blasphemy-deal.html accessed on November 30, 2017; the online version of the New York Times, the article having been written by Salman Masood)

Indias dilemma emanates from the fact that it cannot allow Pakistan to become a safe haven for terrorists not only for its own security but also for Pakistans security and stability as well. Because if the Pakistani state falls prey to militant and terrorist groups, both inside and outside Pakistan, it could unleash a threat to the entire region. So, its a veritable irony that both should have worked together in the field of common problems like socio-economic vices and to counter the emerging challenges such as terrorism; yet they themselves are entrapped in a constructed security dilemma.

We say the insecurity perception is mutually constructed because time and again our approach vis-a-vis Pakistan has not been amicable either. Rather in 2008, in the aftermath of the Mumbai terrorist attacks, our discourses on the possibility of engaging with limited war with reference to Pakistan and use of a phrase like surgical strike in 2016 by the Army Chief and its glorification even by Prime Minister Modi in public rallieswidely circulated through the digital mediumprobably created an air of our superiority and contrarily posed a roadblock to reconciliation by holding the Pakistani state apparatus a siege in paranoia as if India still has a design for the restoration of Akhand Bharat. In fact, this sort of elite discourse is unacceptable because such discourses are connected with the political agenda of a particular party and its own power drive that tends to rake up a religious appeal to evoke the sympathy of the otherwise divided myriad constituencies thereby distorting the possibility of social ties at the popular level across the border. Thats why The hostile relations between India and Pakistan have provided terrorists a chance to exploit the dismal security relations between these two states for their own gains. (Security Community in South Asia by Muhammad Shoaib Pervez, Routledge, First Indian Reprint 2015, p. 4)

It would not be impertinent in this context to refer to Modis claim of Pakistans interference to influence the results of the 2017 Gujarat Assembly elections. During the Bihar Assembly elections in 2015, Amit Shah similarly quipped that their losing in election would be celebrated with crackers in Pakistan. It corroborates our allusion to the construction of such inimical perception towards the neighbouring state. It amply shows that had we been sensible and really willing to secure Jadhavs release from Pakistani jail, we would not have whipped up such a bogie of mistrust. However, the partys electoral victory is the be-all and end-all of our political elites interest.

Finally, in regard to the second issue, what we can claim as partial success of our diplomatic endeavour, though indirectly, is putting Hafiz Saeed again under house arrest by means of pressure from the US. But so far as the Kulbhushan issue is concerned, it may be maintained that we may not meet with a similar success if we bank on persuading the US. It is because the US is invested with a dubious character and it does not see the threat India faces from Pakistani proxies in the same way it sees the problem in Afghanistan (accessed on October 27, 2017 from http://www.orfonline.org/research/tillerson-visit-india-needs-to-learn-from-china-pak-on-us-ties/) This necessitates a different angle to try to evolve a line of action and engagement in the changed context in the aftermath of the prolonged civil war in Syria. With the retreat of the IS and the emergence of a rejuvenated Russia from the fumes of the war, its time for the Indian think-tanks to renew the countrys Russian connection perchance it might be useful to ease the Jadhav-knot, the recent Achilles heel in Indo-Pak relations since the prospect of easy diplomatic rapprochement is unlikely given the hard stance taken by the Pak Army with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly passing a resolution demanding Jadhavs execution. (See the chapter on Pakistan by Rana Banerji in the recently released Special Report of the New Delhi-based IPCS entitled Three Years of Modi Government, 2017, p. 40) So, while Rana Banerji talks of the scope of a probable headway through a new track-II outreach to the appropriate quarters which would be accommodative of the voice of the Pakistan Army, we feel our Russian channel could be advantageous as Russia nowadays is closely connected with Pakistan in terms of defence cooperation with the Army and contacts with the Taliban. (See the excerpts of the views of Petr Topychkanov, a Fellow in the Carnegie Moscow Centres Non-proliferation Programme in a roundtable discussion entitled Russias Outreach to Pakistan: A South Asian Rebalance in carnegieindia.org/2017/11/30/russia-s-outreach-to-pakistan-south-asian-rebalance-event 5771)

Dr Nag is an Associate Professor and Head, Department of Political Science, Sidho-Kanho-Birsha University, Purulia (West Bengal), and Dr Das belongs to the Indian Institute of Indology, Kolkata.
Home > Archives (2006 on) > Corrigendum - Mainstream, VOL LVI No 16 April 7, 2018

In Vijay Prataps article Nepal-India Relations: Need for Urgent Paradigm Shift in Mainstream (March 31, 2018) on page 32 column two the first para should read: Actually on the ground the Nepali-Madhesi opinion was shaped by three contradictory factors:

1. Madhesis had a long experience of exclusion and discrimination, having been described as Indian agents for decades, 1857 being the watershed point for this kind of cleavage...

This error is regretted. Editor
Statement by the Marxist Left (Esquerda Marxista), Brazilian section of the IMT

The judiciary continues its abuses of power. The Federal Supreme Court denied Lulas request for habeas corpus, and on the following day, before new appeals were filed to the Regional Federal Court of the 4th Region, judge Sergio Moro ordered Lulas arrest.

The rejection of habeas corpus comes after the precedent set by Supreme Court ruling in 2016, authorizing the enforcement of the sentence upon conviction on the second instance. [In Lulas case this means that while he can still appeal against the court ruling to a higher court, he will start serving the jail sentence while he appeals] The constitution states that no one shall be held guilty until a final conviction sentence is passed. The text is very clear, but for the distinguished judges of the Supreme Court, everything is relativeat its core this is a political question.

Another piece in this trial was the maneuver by the president of the Supreme Court, Carmem Lucia, not to put up to a vote in the first place the Direct Constitutionality Action (Acao Direta de Constitucionalidade - which is a request to check the validity of a given decision against the text of the Constitution), which would have challenged all instances of prison after a second-instance conviction while the appeal process is still on. Instead, she only put to a vote the habeas corpus in Lulas case, allowing judge Rosa Weber to hypocritically justify her vote against Lula on the basis of the 2016 case law, despite her position against prison after conviction on second-instance.

As we have previously explained, the Brazilian judiciary has elevated itself to play a bonapartist and totalitarian role. Already in the so-called mensalao trial, a frantic media campaign was carried out to criminalize the PTwhich included the jailing of party leaders without evidenceseeking to demoralize and criminalize the workers struggle. The Marxist Left was one of the few left-wing organizations that put forward a campaign against this, advancing the need for a national workers meeting against the criminalization of the working-class movement. Unfortunately, Lula, Dilma, and the PT leadership chose to boycott these initiatives and to allow the party leaders to be arrested, without putting up a fight or any resistance.

The main political aim of the Car Wash (Lava Jato) criminal investigation is to carry out a cleansing of the rotten political system, in order to save it from widespread discrediting and popular anger. The highly publicized arrests of politicians and businessmen are an important component in the attempt to give an impression that the law applies equally to all, and the powerful are also going to jail.

The swiftness of the cases involving Lula and the PT is motivated by the ruling classs interest in demoralizing the left and the labor movement as a whole. After all, the former president, who was a metalworker and trade unionist from a party built by the working class, is now going to prison.

The bourgeoisie has decided to put an end to the era of class collaboration. Since June 2013 it became clear to the ruling class that the PT was no longer capable of controlling the masses; it had therefore become useless for their purposes and was discarded. The deep crisis of capitalism gives rise to the need for a bourgeois government to lead the state apparatus with a firm hand and ruthlessly carry out attacks against the working class.

The Marxist Left opposes Lulas conviction and incarceration without evidence, and we defend his right to be a candidate. However, we must point out that the years of PT government were a period of attacks against the working class and of subservience to the bourgeoisie and to imperialism. For example, five out of the six judges who rejected Lulas habeas corpus were appointed by Lula or Dilma themselves. A new PT government would bring nothing new. For this reason, we support PSOLs candidacy and we oppose a the idea of a front for democracy with an electoral aim that would lump together the PSOL, the PT and bourgeois parties like the PSB or the PDTwhich would only continue to put forward a policy of class collaboration.

The United Front we need is not one to defend the PT governments, or support the election of a new PT government. Instead, it should serve to firmly oppose Lava Jato and the judiciary, Lulas imprisonment, and defend democratic freedoms.

The Marxist Left fights against the actions of extreme right-wing groupings that use fascist methods against left-wing militants, such as the attacks against Lulas caravan in the South Region. We reject the threats coming from sections of the army, such as general Eduardo Villas Boass statement on the eve of the Federal Court trial, declaring that he stands against impunity and that the Brazilian army is paying close attention to its institutional missions. That is, he was clearly threatening with a military coup if the Supreme Court accepted Lulas habeas corpus.

At the same time, we argue that today there is no social basis to support a fascist regime, and that the bourgeoisie and foreign imperialism would not choose this option to address the current situation.A military regime would not have the support of broad sections of the population, with the experience of the dictatorship still fresh in their memory. The majority of the bourgeoisie rejected through the media the statement made by the general. The editorial in the newspaper Folha de S.Paulo concluded that such a statement the disservice rendered by one who is responsible for the obedience of the Army to the civil command, therefore, deserves a strong repudiation. They would prefer to continue to seek a renewal of their politicians and of the bourgeois democratic regime, increasing their attacks against the working class, against democratic freedoms, through repression and criminalization.

In the rank and file, outrage against the political and economic situation is increasing, and the youth and workers continue to struggleas seen in the successful municipal workers strike in Sao Paulo or in the massive reaction against Marielles assassination. Unemployment remains high, the National Congress just presented the agribusiness with over 10 billions in amnesties in their Funrural (social security) payments, and wages are being driven down. All of this will provoke more revolts, strikes, and demonstrations.

As we draft this article, Lula is at the headquarters of the ABC Metalworkers Union, which is being surrounded by demonstrators. We believe that he should not comply with the illegal arrest order and should not turn himself in. If he does not surrender, the political pressure will rise, and the labor struggle will gain momentum.

Therefore, the Marxist Left is participating in the demonstrations against Lulas imprisonment with our positions, including the demonstration taking place right now at the ABC Metalworkers Union.

It is necessary to continue to struggle against capitalism and its institutions: the judiciary, the police and the army, and the governments and parliaments that continue to take away the rights of our class. The state is at the service of bourgeois business. It is necessary to build a political alternative with class independence and with the ultimate aim of socialist revolution.

In defense of democratic freedoms!

Fight against Lava Jato!

Down with Temer and the National Congress!

For a workers government!

April 6, 2018
SPRINGFIELD -- As women stopped by the De La Sidra vendor table to ask about the colorful and beautifully woven bags, business owner Lillian Novoa was overwhelmed with emotion.

"This has been my dream since I was ten years old in Guatemala and a young girl who was about eight gave me a beautiful piece of woven fabric as a gift," said Novoa, a native of Guatemala and Bay Path University alumni who sells pieces woven by women and girls in the central American country. She was one of many vendors participating in the university's 23rd annual Women's Leadership Conference, held at the MassMutual Center Friday. This year's theme was "Be Curious."

Bay Path University President Carol A. Leary said she spoke with one participant who was supposed to return to work, but chose to stay the whole day.

"She said 'I had to be here today because I have learned so much that I am going to take away and use to feel good about myself'," Leary said.

She said the annual conference is an opportunity for women to grow, learn and share life experiences with each other.

The day long conference offers women and men an opportunity to hear from women in successful careers offer talks about everything from increasing productivity to a presentation by Cy Wakeman, president and founder of Reality-Based Leadership, on "Ditching the Drama" for a successful career and life.

The morning kicked off with the first ever BOLD Woman Award, given to US Olympic Gold medalist and Westfield native Kacey Bellamy followed by opening remarks by Amy Cuddy, a social psychologist who teaches at Harvard Business School and is a New York Times bestselling author.

Cuddy talked about being bullied for her research and the importance of showing young women strong and powerful role models.

"We should be showing them images of women who are unapologetic, poised, powerful and strong," she said.

In between sessions the participants could shop with local vendors, including many woman-owned businesses like De La Sidra.

Novoa teamed up with Precious Hands, a cooperative in Guatemala that works with young girls and women so they can sell their woven goods and earn a living. She said her business is about promoting independence for women as well as keeping the tradition of weaving alive.

"This is about women's livelihood, about tradition, about ancestral weaving, community and sustainability," she said.

The conference culminated with a conversation with Lena Waithe, an actor, producer and writer who, in 2017, became the first African-American woman to win an Emmy Award for Comedy Writing for her work on Netflix's "Master of None."

Walking up to the stage to meet Leary, Waithe was greeted with a standing ovation.

"This is how I want all my speaking engagements to start from now on, with people clapping and smiles before we even start," she said.

Waithe talked about her life growing up in Chicago, her experiences in Hollywood and her latest project, a starring role in Steven Spielberg's "Ready Player One."

"He has become a very important part of my life... he reminds me that being great and being kind don't have to be two separate things," she said. "I'm always striving for greatness, but the thing he reminds me of is that you can also be a genuine, generous, kind human being."

She also talked about the shows that influenced her growing up from "A Different World," to "Golden Girls," which she would watch with her grandmother.

"There were a lot of different forms of comedy that shaped my writing from big, loud scenes, to quiet moments," she said.

Even with all of her success in television and film, Waithe said ultimately people are equal no matter what they accomplish in life.

"We are all made up of the same stuff," she said.
If you want to donate sperm at one Chinese hospital, get ready to pledge support to the Communist Party.

According to the

, quoting various media sources, a statement Wednesday on a since deleted website of Peking University Third Hospital in Beijing, said donors to its sperm bank must "love the socialist motherland."

This was translated to mean "support the leadership of the Communist Party, be loyal to the party's cause and be decent, law-abiding citizens, free of political problems."

U.S.

sperm banks

many non-genetic based questions of donors, such as hobbies and goals, but party affiliation may be a first one for such screening anywhere.

Screening required of such donors by the Food and Drug Administration include, according to its website, a "current donor medical history interview to determine medical history and relevant social behavior, a current physical examination, and treatments related to medical conditions that may suggest the donor is at increased risk for a relevant communicable disease."

Other qualifications for donors between the ages of 20 and 45 at the Peking University Third Hospital, in addition to what was termed "favorable political qualities," include no genetic or infectious diseases, weight problems, color blindness or hair loss.

It is said the country's other 22 sperm banks do not ask about political orientation.

The use of assisted reproductive technology at regulated clinics in China is said to be strictly regulated with proof of marriage required.

In Europe, it is said about half of the country allow single women to use it, and even fewer allow access to lesbian women.

Cost and access to assisted reproductive technology are the main barriers in the

U.S.,

where access to contraception has been more of a headline issue recently under the Trump Administration which recently opened the door to employers objecting not only on religious, but also moral grounds, to paying for women's contraception as mandated under the Affordable Care Act.

In February, China's Communist Party abolished constitutional limits on presidential terms -- allowing its President Xi Jinping to lead China indefinitely.

In order to use the services of a sperm bank in China, families must prove the would-be father is infertile or carries a genetic disease.
State Police this week recovered guns, two knives, a sword and 176 grams of crystal meth during a traffic stop in Greenfield.

Troopers stopped a gray Mazda on Interstate 91 around 1:45 a.m. Tuesday for motor vehicle violations. Two men and a woman were inside the car, State Police said.

The driver, a 37-year-old man from Methuen, did not have an active driver's license, State Police said. The passengers in the car were a 30-year-old woman from Hatfield and a 35-year-old man from Manchester, New Hampshire.

State Police searched the car and discovered the guns and drugs.

The troopers found a .9mm Beretta; two fully loaded 17 live cartridge magazines; a Smith & Wesson M&P 15-22; 25 .22-caliber live cartridges; 176 grams of crystal meth; two double-edged knives; a sword; a scale; and ecstasy pills, State Police said.

No one in the car had a license to carry a firearm.

State Police arrested the driver and passengers, who were not identified in a news release.

The passengers were charged with trafficking methamphetamine.

The driver is facing a number of charges, including possession of a large capacity rifle without a license, carrying a dangerous weapon, possession of ammunition without a FID card, possession of a firearm in a felony, trafficking methamphetamine, possession of burglarious tools and several motor vehicle violations.
SPRINGFIELD -- A kitchen fire in a three-story, six-unit apartment building in the Forest Park neighborhood forced 25 people from their home Friday night.

Dennis Leger, aide to Springfield Fire Commissioner Bernard Calvi, said the 5 p.m. fire at 37 Malden St. was extinguished quickly and damage was contained to the stove area of one apartment's kitchen when grease from food cooking on the stove ignited.

All six units were evacuated, and residents will not be able to live in the building until repairs are completed. The American Red Cross was called in to assist some of the displaced tenants.

Leger estimated damages at approximately $25,000.
SPRINGFIELD- It's been said a picture is worth a thousand words, but for a group of high school students learning about the newspaper business on Friday, they had their fair share of both.

Connecticut high school students from Granby, East Granby, Ellington, and Stafford visited The Republican on Friday during Asnuntuck Community College's High School Business Exploration Day.

The students spent time learning about several different aspects of the business, starting and concluding with remarks by Mark French, The Republican's advertising director and Julie Fregeau, human resources director.

The students learned how The Republican is assembled and printed during a walking tour of the packaging department and press hall with fun facts and stats courtesy of Johan Velez, packaging manager, and Dan Gancarz, manufacturing manager.

In the newsroom, students were given a breakdown of just how The Republican's team of multimedia journalists gather the news, the difference between content in the newspaper and on MassLive.com, and what it takes to get into the profession, courtesy of Robert Rizzuto, assistant managing editor.

The students all get college credit through Asnuntuck Community College for courses at their respective high schools.

Asnuntuck Community College in Enfield was established in 1972. ACC offers associate degrees and certificate programs to prepare students for careers, transfer opportunities, and lifelong learning in a variety of fields.

Since 2016, the college has offered in-state tuition to Massachusetts residents, doubling down on its commitment to enriching the so-called Knowledge Corridor, which extends from New Haven, Connecticut throughout Western Massachusetts. The corridor is a collaborative collective of more than 170,000 students attending 29 colleges and universities.
NORTHAMPTON - The Northampton DPW's ReUse Committee will host an event next weekend that invites city residents to bring damaged household items for fixing, the Committee has announced.

A team of volunteer "fixers" will be standing by at Smith Vocational High School next Saturday to attempt to fix a variety of items, free of charge. Residents are encouraged to bring backpacks, bicycles, clothing, lamps, small appliances, and other items that might need a tune up.

"Community events like this one build awareness of waste reduction and promote repair skills and businesses," said Susain Waite, Waste Reduction Coordinator for the Northampton DPW.

The event is being funded by a grant from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, Waite said.

Only a limited amount of supplies will be available and some projects may require participants to buy additional supplies at a local hardware store.

Waite said that participants are required to stay with their items while it is being worked on. "This is not a drop off-style event," she said.

Residents interested in the event can go to the city's website to see a list of items that might be appropriate for repair.

The event will take place on Saturday, April 14 from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. in the Smith Vocational High School cafeteria at 80 Locust Street. The event is free of charge but voluntary donations are encouraged.
One person has died after crashing into a telephone pole in Mattapoisett, police said.

Police received a call about a car crash on Aucoot Road, about a quarter mile from Harbor Beach, at 8:05 p.m. Friday.

Officers found that a car traveling on Aucoot Road crashed into a telephone pole. The driver was the only person in the car.

At the scene, officials determined that the driver was deceased, police said. The driver was not identified.

The Massachusetts State Police Accident Reconstruction Team is assisting the Mattapoisett Police Department in the investigation.

No further information was immediately available.
BOSTON - A Plymouth man was arrested this week after allegedly cyber-stalking an ex-girlfriend for over two years, court documents show.

Joseph Kukstis, 29, was arraigned in U.S. district court in Boston Tuesday for a charge of stalking through electronic communications service.

A detention hearing Friday saw Kukstis ordered held in the custody of the U.S. Marshals.

Kukstis came under investigation by the FBI in November after the alleged victim reported that she had been receiving "harassing, threatening, and sexually explicit communications" from an anonymous stalker since September of 2015.

Kukstis allegedly used multiple social media accounts--including Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, OK Cupid, and Tinder--and anonymous phone numbers to subject the woman to an ongoing system of harassment, according to the criminal complaint.

The victim was subjected to hundreds of messages from her stalker, the complaint states. Messages sent to her frequently encouraged her to commit suicide or degraded her physical appearance, while still others contained "veiled threats." On one occasion the victim received a text message that simply contained her residential address and the phrase "see you soon."

Kukstis also allegedly setup a sham Instagram profile under the victim's name, using it to send nude photos of her from the account to several of her friends.

He also allegedly sent harassing messages to friends that he "believed were romantically involved with her." One message sent to the victim stated that they "would try and ruin every relationship" in the victim's life, court documents show.

All the while Kukstis allegedly made efforts to convince the victim that he was not the one harassing her, sending her comforting messages about the harassment. In one message, Kukstis said "be safe I care about you you're precious cargo whoever is doing this is a coward and it's annoying," court documents show.

Kukstis allegedly also sent himself threatening messages to keep up the ruse that he was not the perpetrator of the harassment.

However, earlier this year Kukstis apparently admitted to the victim that he was behind the harassment.

In an email sent to her on Jan. 22, 2018, Kukstis allegedly said, "It was me the entire time, I hate myself for it."

If found guilty, Kukstis could be sentenced to up to five years in prison, as well as fined as much as $250,000.
SPRINGFIELD -- Getting arrested is no picnic, as Dontay D. Oates discovered Thursday on Orchard Street.

Oates, 28, of Springfield, allegedly attempted to eat two bags of cocaine that fell from his pocket as he wrestled with a city police officer attempting to search him.

As Oates reached for the drugs, the officer grabbed his arm, pinning it to the pavement, Assistant District Attorney Sarah Fila explained Friday in Springfield District Court.

"At this point, Mr. Oates extended his neck and held his mouth wide open and attempted to eat the bags multiple times -- in a manner the officer described as resembling the 'Hungry Hungry Hippos' game," the prosecutor said.

Oates was arrested after a struggle that attracted bystanders who heckled and cursed at the police and a dog who bit one officer on the ankle, according to the arrest report.

Held overnight in police custody, Oates pleaded not guilty Friday in Springfield District Court to possession of cocaine, resisting arrest and trespassing.

When police spotted him late Thursday night, Oates was standing outside an abandoned building marked by a no trespassing sign and known for attracting drug users, according to the report.

When officers asked what he was doing, Oates said he was waiting for a ride. "I'm lost," he added, the report said.

He fled moments later, and was caught in an nearby alley. A struggle ensued when an officer attempted search Oates, and both men ended up on the ground. As a second officer arrived, a group of neighbors began shouting obscenities at the police and one tried to pick up a bag of cocaine off the sidewalk, the report said.

At the prosecutor's request, Judge Bruce Melikian set Oates' bail at $500 and ordered him to return for a pretrial hearing on May 7.
SPRINGFIELD -- Former state Rep. Cheryl Coakley-Rivera, now an assistant clerk at Hampden Superior Court, has pulled nomination papers to run for register of deeds.

Coakley-Rivera is the second to jump in the ring to oppose longtime Register Donald E. Ashe, 83, who has held the seat for more than three decades. Attorney Marie Angelides announced in February that she will vie for the seat.

Coakley-Rivera, who served 15 years in the Massachusetts House of Representatives, left that office to take the clerk's job in 2014. She was the first Hispanic hire in the Hampden Superior Court clerk's office, Clerk Laura Gentile noted at the time.

According to recent state records, Coakley-Rivera earns $109,450 annually. Ashe earned $127,000 last year.

Coakley-Rivera took out nomination papers last year to explore a City Council run, but was stymied by an ethics decision that said holding both positions posed a conflict of interest.

"I would have (potentially) been a city councilor, but also presiding in a courtroom that may have heard matters relating to the city council or in matters where the council was a litigant. That was the potential conflict," Coakley-Rivera said on Friday.

The registry of deeds does not have dealings with the city council, but Coakley-Rivera said she would resign her post as clerk if she won the race for register of deeds.

When Angelides announced her run, Ashe said he planned to run for a sixth term.

"I'm running full force," Ashe said in February, lauding his registry as the first in the Northeast to transition to electronic records.

Coakley-Rivera, who also is an attorney and worked for the Hampden district attorney's office and Brightwood Development Corp. before she was elected to the Legislature, said she has missed community work.

"I miss being out in the community and helping people," she said. "I get real energy out of helping people, and although I love this job, I'm restricted in the courtroom."

She speculated that Ashe may not run for another term, and was conscious of a potential opportunity.

"Don Ashe has done a remarkable job ... but I wasn't going to wait to get an invitation to the dance," Coakley-Rivera said.

Coakley-Rivera must collect 1,000 signatures from residents across Hampden County by May 1 to appear on the ballot.

"We're going to hit the ground running Saturday morning. I'm excited to go out and talk to folks from other cities and towns outside Springfield," she said.
Les membres du gouvernement ont pris notedes preparatifs concernant le ,Variable Capital Companies Bill, de lamendement prochain du Securities (Amendment) Bill, que le campagne de vaccination contre la grippe cpmence le 22 avril 2021 dans le pays, de la situation sanitaire dans le pays entres autres.

1. Cabinet has agreed to the Ministry of Financial Services and Good Governance conveying drafting instructions to the Attorney Generals Office for the preparation of the Variable Capital Companies Bill. With a view to further enhancing the competitiveness of the Financial Services Sector and diversifying the product base of the Mauritius International Financial Centre, a set of measures was announced in the Budget Speech 20202021 in line with the recommendations of the 10-Year Blueprint for the Sector which, inter alia, comprises the introduction of a new sphere of activity to be carried out by Variable Capital Companies in Mauritius.

Cabinet has also noted that a technical team has been constituted to ensure that the proposed Bill complies with the Anti Money Laundering/Combatting the Financing of Terrorism requirements.

2. Cabinet has agreed to the Ministry of Financial Services and Good Governance conveying drafting instructions to the Attorney Generals Office for the preparation of the Securities (Amendment) Bill. The proposed amendments to be brought to the Securities Act aim at:

(a) bringing in the concept of retail investor compared to sophisticated investor in the legislation;

(b) enabling the licensing of other exchanges and depository institutions over and above the Stock Exchange of Mauritius and the Central Depository and Settlement Ltd;

(c) recognising foreign funds whose securities are marketed to retail investors in or from Mauritius; and

(d) waiving the requirement for foreign reporting issuers to be registered with the Financial Services Commission.

3. Cabinet has agreed to the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Blue Economy, Marine Resources, Fisheries and Shipping and the Curtin University, Australia, on cooperation in the field of marine science research. The Memorandum of Understanding would provide for cooperation among the Fisheries Division of the Ministry of Blue Economy, Marine Resources, Fisheries and Shipping, the Mauritius Oceanography Institute and the Curtin University. It would also cater for the development of research activities that would build knowledge of the officers of the Ministry and the Curtin University in the field of marine science.

4. Cabinet has taken note that upon a request from the Ministry of Environment, Solid Waste Management and Climate Change, samples of seawater had been collected on 12 April 2021 by the National Environment Laboratory along the shoreline at Mahebourg Waterfront, Pointe Jerome, Pointe dEsny and Blue Bay public beach. In addition, the Albion Fisheries Research Centre collected seawater samples at six locations around the MV Wakashio wreck. The analysis did not reveal the presence of oil, grease or Total Hydrocarbons in any of the samples collected.

5. Cabinet has taken note that in order to cater for the expected shortage of frozen fish on the local market during the forthcoming winter months, the Ministry of Blue Economy, Marine Resources, Fisheries and Shipping would authorise the import of some 400 tonnes of Capitaine/La Perle by registered importers of fish and fish products for 2021. The authorisation would be valid till end of July 2021.

6. Cabinet has taken note that the Ministry of Tourism has enlisted the services of Reef Conservation, a non-governmental organisation, for the implementation of a project for the control of the population of crown of thorns (acanthaster mauritiensis) in Mauritius.

The crown of thorns is a large multi-armed coral eating starfish which is a marine invasive species which has the capacity to decimate extensive areas of coral reefs.

The Programme of Works submitted by Reef Conservation, in relation to the project, comprises, inter alia, the control of the population of crown of thorns, training of divers from diving centres on the control methodology, control and monitoring of affected sites for recovery and sensitisation of the general public, including tourism stakeholders to raise awareness on these marine species and enlist their support in the control actions, among others. The project would be implemented strictly in accordance with the protocol established by the Ministry of Blue Economy, Marine Resources, Fisheries and Shipping, for the control of crown of thorns around Mauritius.

7. Cabinet has taken note of relief measures that the Central Water Authority and Central Electricity Board propose to extend to their consumers, regarding payment of utility bills for the months of March and April 2021, which fall within the confinement period.

8. Cabinet has taken note that Mauritius would ratify the Agreement amending the Mauritius-EU Schengen Agreement on Short Stay Visa. The Amending Agreement essentially provides for technical amendments to update the definition of short stays from three months to 90 days in any 180-day period. This was necessary as with the entry into operation of the Entry Exit System, the stay of third country nationals on EU territory would be encoded in days, and it would no longer be possible to compute the length of stay in months. The changes are part of EUs efforts to modernise and strengthen the management of its external borders.

9. Cabinet has taken note of the technical assistance provided under the Southern Africa Migration Management (SAMM) Project funded by the European Commission in the areas of migration management to the Government of Mauritius.

The overall objective of the SAMM project is to improve the management of migration in the Southern Africa and Indian Ocean region, including Mauritius. The technical assistance under the SAMM project relates to the following:

(a) supporting relevant Government services to capture and manage harmonised cross-border and disaggregated data on mixed migration flows and vulnerable groups of migrants (trafficked, smuggled, disabled, children and youth);

(b) ensuring that existing regional and national platforms can conduct consultations, exchanges, and capacity building on irregular/mixed migration issues; and

(c) supporting the Government of Mauritius to assess the feasibility of setting up a pilot Southern Africa skills mobility programme in Mauritius. The skills mobility programme would be a central feature to foster cooperation and partnership within and between countries to fill labour market gaps/shortages with skills mobility being considered as a vehicle for sustainable development in the region.

10. Cabinet has taken note that the Ministry of Social Integration, Social Security and National Solidarity would carry out the anti-influenza vaccination campaign across the island as from Thursday 22 April 2021. The vaccine would be administered to elderly persons above the age of 60 and children attending Special Education Needs schools.

11. Cabinet has taken note of measures taken to contain the Foot and Mouth Disease in Rodrigues, namely procurement of vaccines through the Indian Ocean Commission and by providing the assistance of Veterinary Officers to the Rodrigues Regional Assembly.

The Officers proceeding to Rodrigues would observe the required quarantine procedures put in place by the Ministry of Health and Wellness.

12. Cabinet has taken note of the situation of the COVID-19 pandemic prevailing across the world. With regard to Mauritius, as at 16 April 2021, 1,216 cases (including imported cases) of COVID-19 had been registered since the outbreak of the pandemic in March 2020. There were currently 241 active cases of COVID-19 in Mauritius, out of which 237 were local cases and four imported cases. Contact tracing exercises and random testing are being carried out in accordance with the established protocol. The public should observe strict sanitary precautions.

Cabinet has also taken note of progress in the implementation of the national COVID-19 vaccination programme and arrangements being made to administer the second dose of vaccine.

13. Cabinet has taken note of progress achieved so far in regard to the projected construction of 12,000 residential units as announced in Budget Speech 2020/2021. The New Social Living Development Ltd has issued a Request for Proposal for the appointment of Project Management Consultants in Construction.

14. Cabinet has taken note that the National Land Transport Authority (NLTA) would, in the context of the COVID-19, proceed with the extension of the delay for renewal of Motor Vehicle Licences having expired in March 2021 and those which would lapse in April 2021, up to 31 August 2021. The extension would allow vehicle owners whose licences have lapsed or would lapse during the months of March and April 2021, respectively not to be penalised as they would be provided with a reasonable timeframe to renew their licences. They would, in addition, not be liable to the applicable surcharge on the condition that the renewal is made not later than 31 August 2021. However, upon renewal, arrears would have to be paid as from the expiry date of the licence. The renewal of the Motor Vehicle Licence would be subject to the vehicle having a valid Insurance Cover and a Certificate of Fitness.

15. Cabinet has agreed to the setting up of a Human Resource Management System

(E-HR) using open-source software and an internal development team. An incremental approach would be adopted for the deployment of a system across Ministries/Departments. In this respect, in the first phase, the project would be implemented on a pilot basis at the Ministry of Information Technology, Communication and Innovation and the

Ministry of Public Service, Administrative and Institutional Reforms.

Following the successful implementation of the pilot project, the System would be rolled out to other Ministries/Departments.

16. Cabinet has taken note that following the case of death of a baby at

Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam National Hospital, the Medical Negligence Standing Committee, chaired by Me Lockraj Nuckchady, has been entrusted to investigate into the alleged case of medical negligence.

17. Cabinet has taken note that the Minister of Youth Empowerment, Sports and Recreation participated in a virtual meeting with Mr John May, OBE, DL, Secretary General of the Duke of Edinburghs International Award. It was part of a series of meetings that

Mr May proposes to have with different Ministers from around the world with a view to promoting and positioning the Duke of Edinburghs Award programme as a leader in non-formal education and learning. The meeting focused on non-formal education and learning.

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With a market capitalization of close to $9 billion and more than 170 equity listings, the Stock Exchange of Mauritius (SEM) is one of the most vibrant in Africa.

It is also where many of Mauritius ultra-high net-worth individuals store significant portions of their fortunes through equity stakes in their own and other companies, which they typically hold via both direct and indirect investments. Based on figures derived from investment agencies, the latest annual reports and confirmations from capital market registrars, these are the 15 richest people who own stocks listed on the Stock Exchange of Mauritius.

Billionaires.Africa lists individuals rather than multigenerational families who share large fortunes, but in cases where ownership breakdown among siblings and couples arent clear, we attribute the fortune to the most visible-prominent member of the family. The value of their shares is based on prices at the end of trading on Aug. 20, and valuations are converted to U.S. dollars at current exchange rates

#1 Arnaud Lagesse & family

Net worth on SEM: $130.4 million

Holdings: Ireland Blyth Limited (IBL)

Arnaud Lagesse is the CEO of Ireland Blyth Limited (IBL Group), a family-controlled business that has been in existence for close to two centuries. IBL is Mauritius largest conglomerate with more than $900 million in annual revenues. Through its subsidiaries, it engages in the agro and energy, building and engineering, commercial and distribution, financial, hospitality, life and technologies, logistics, seafood, and properties businesses. Lagesse and his brothers Benoit, Hugues, Jean-Pierre, Thierry and Stephane own a joint ownership stake of 16.81 percent of the groups total issued ordinary shares. The stake is worth $130.4 million.

#2 Desmond de Beer

Net worth on SEM: $80.04 million

Holdings: Lighthouse Capital

Property tycoon Desmond de Beer was a founder of Resilient REIT Limited, a South African Real Estate Investment Trust, where he has served as CEO since listing in 2002. He was also a founder of New Europe Property Investments Plc and its successor NEPI Rockcastle Plc. He is the largest individual shareholder of Lighthouse Capital Limited, a company that invests globally in direct property in developed and developing markets, as well as listed real estate and infrastructure securities. He owns a 13.71-percent stake in Lighthouse Capital  a stake that is worth $80,044,840

#3 Barry Stuhler

Net worth on SEM: $36.7 million

Holdings: Lighthouse Capital

South African-born Barry Stuhler is a chartered accountant who a 6.29-percent stake in Lighthouse Capital worth $36,726,456. He is the managing director at Capital Property Fund in South Africa.

#4 Norbert Dentressangle

Net worth on SEM: $24,227,818

Holdings: CIEL, Sun Mauritius

French billionaire Norbert Dentressangle, who built his fortune in transport and logistics, owns a 5.11-percent stake in CIEL worth $11.983 million  as well as a 17.32-percent stake in Sun Mauritius worth $12.24 million.

#5 Chian Ah Teck

Net worth on SEM: $23,678,632

Holdings: Gamma Civic, Lottotech

Chian Tat Ah Teck is the executive chairman of Gamma Civic. He was previously managing director of the company from 1987 to January 2011. Gamma Civic is an investment holding. It operates in the following sectors: building materials, contracting, investments, lottery and corporate services. Chian Ah Teck owns a 6.93-percent stake in Gamma Civic worth $9,253,664.45 and also owns a 19.6-percent stake in Lottotech worth $14,424,968.

#6 Dominic Galea

Net worth on SEM: $22,827,748

Holdings: Mauritius Union Assurance Company, United Docks

Dominique Galea is chairman at Mauritius Union Assurance Company where he owns a 15.75-percent stake worth $21.1 million. He also owns 6.6 percent of United Docks, a leading real estate developer that owns around 100,000 square meters of prime freehold land in Port-Louis.

#7 Louis Boulle

Net worth on SEM: $18.4 million

Holdings: Ireland Blyth Limited (IBL Group)

Louis Gaetan-Jan-Fredrik Boulle is a prominent boardroom guru who serves on dozens of corporate boards in Mauritius. He is the chairman of Ireland Blyth Limited (IBL Group), where he owns a 2.33-percent stake worth $18.33 million. He also owns 0.05 percent in Lux Island resorts worth $58,925.53

#8 P. Arnaud Dalais

Net worth on SEM: $18.6 million

Holdings: Ciel Group

The Mauritian businessman is non-executive chairman of Ciel Group, one of the island nations largest business conglomerates. He owns an 8.02-percent stake in CIEL.

#9 Jean-Pierre Dalais

Net worth on SEM: $11.9 million

Holdings: Ciel Group

A member of the Dalais family, the controlling shareholders of the Ciel Group, Jean-Pierre Dalais owns a 5.46-percent stake in the company worth $11.9 million.

#10 Pierre De Speville

Net worth on SEM: $14,927,013

Holdings: Pierre De Speville holds a 12.83-percent stake in Medine, a Mauritian conglomerate with interests in agro, leisure, property, and education.

#11 Pierre-Emile Latour

Net worth on SEM: $14,594,674

Holdings: Pierre-Emile Latour holds a 10.89-percent shareholding in Mauritius Union Assurance Company, worth $14,594,674.03

#12 Timothy Taylor

Net worth on SEM: $12,164,585

Holdings: Timothy Taylor holds a 9.27-percent stake in Cim Financial Services, a non-banking deposit-taking institution that avails individual consumers, SMEs and large corporates with financial services such as consumer finance, credit cards, forex, leasing and factoring.

#13 Vincent Ah-Chuen

Net worth on SEM: $6,698,653

Holdings: Vincent Ah-Chuen holds a 16.41-percent stake in ABC Motors, a Mauritian company that markets, distributes and repairs automobiles; a 1.13-percent stake in Mauritius Union Assurance Company and a 25.04-percent stake in P.O.L.I.C.Y Limited, an investment company in Mauritius.

#14 Cyril How Kin Sang

Net worth on SEM: $9,284,305

Holdings: Cyril How Kin Sang holds a 6.94-percent stake in Gamma Civic, an investment holding company.

#15 Pierre-Guy Noel

Net worth on SEM: $9,062,745

Holdings: Pierre-Guy Noel is the CEO of MCB, one of Mauritius largest banking groups. He owns a 0.55-percent stake in the company.

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BAY CITY, MI -- Local blogger and self-love expert, Lisa Thompson, invites area moms of all ages to participate in her second annual Beautiful Me photo shoot.

Thompson is the CEO of Self Love Beauty, an online website devoted to promoting self-love through feeling confident in their own beauty.

In 2016, Self Love Beauty launched its Beautiful Me collection, empowering everyone to express who they are and be confident. Since the launch, Thompson has been on a mission to utilize photo shoots and partnerships across the U.S. to promote self-love and confidence. Each Beautiful Me campaign photo shoot has brought women of all ages, shapes and sizes together to promote self-love. So far, Thompson has held more than 12 photo shoots.

"I truly believe one of the best ways to empower women is to bring them together and give them a platform to exchange stories and uplift one another," said Thompson.

Thompson is once again teaming up with photographer Tosha Cole. The photo shoot takes place at 6 p.m. April 19 at Tosha Cole Photography, 906 Washington in downtown Bay City. To be part of the photo shoot, visit and fill out the form online at http://www.selflovebeauty.com/mothers-beautiful-me-photo-shoot-submission-form/ and submit it by April 16.

Check out the Self Love Beauty website at www.selflovebeauty.com.
FLINT, MI -- Dozens of cars lined up at water distribution sites in Flint on Friday in hopes of receiving what is expected to be the last of state-funded cases of bottled water.

UPDATE:

Water distribution sites officially close in Flint

The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality announced Friday, April 6, it was ending the free water program after testing showed Flint's water quality was below federal action levels for lead for two years.

State officials estimate the current supply could last a week at most.

"Based on what has been standard recently, we would estimate up to a week," said Ari Adler, communications director for Gov. Rick Snyder. "However, if there is a sudden uptick in demand then it won't last that long. It is very hard to say for certain."

However, city leaders weren't as optimistic about how long the water would last.

"Given resident's response to the announcement, it is expected water will be exhausted over the weekend," the city said in a press release.

The remaining four water distribution sites will operate until their current supply of state-funded bottled water runs out.

Flint Resident Mike Calloway was among the dozens lined up at the distribution center at Dakota Avenue and Franklin Street, waiting in their cars as water distributors gave out cases of water to residents.

"It's fine at this point, I do believe that the water, in a majority of areas, is safe to drink from the tap especially if you have a filter like we use at home," said Calloway. "There are still residences where the water might not be because the lead pipes haven't been replaced, but I think the water, for the most part, is good to drink. The bottled water has been a blessing because it is a reliable source of clean water. I hope that everybody will be able to adjust to this appropriately."

However, not all residences were as trusting of the state's water testing results.

"I think it's horrible that they're going to stop providing free bottled water to the residents, I live inside the city of Flint, the water is still making people sick, we have babies, this water is really needed," said Flint resident Keisha Kanady. "It's just so sad. We just don't trust that the water running out of faucet just isn't safe enough for us to use."

Access and functional needs deliveries will also end once the current supply of bottled water runs out.

"It's really foul what they're doing to us, they have our water bills jacked up and I use the water for cooking, cleaning, personal hygiene," said Mary Corbin, a lifelong Flint resident. "I think it's really cruel what they're doing to us as a city, as a whole. We've been struggling over four years almost, it's just cold-hearted now they're taking our drinking water away from us."

Despite the end of the free bottled water, the state is still advising residents to use filters rather than use the water directly from the tap.

Flint Mayor Karen Weaver said she would be in contact with the governor's office about Friday's decision.

"I know this is not the situation any of us want to be in. We did not cause the man-made water disaster, therefore adequate resources should continue being provided until the problem is fixed and all the lead and galvanized pipes have been replaced," Mayor Karen Weaver said. "I will be contacting the Governor's office immediately to express the insensitivity of the decision he made today and to make sure that I remind him of the additional needs that I've requested for the residents of Flint."

Current testing puts the 90th percentile at 4 ppb of lead, which is below the federal action level of 15 ppb, according to the state.
FLINT, MI -- Mott Community College will host an Earth Day Celebration on Saturday, April 14, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., according to a press release.

The event is free and open to the public and will be held in the Regional Technology Center on the College's main campus in Flint.

Due to multiple community events on April 14, it is recommended to use Court Street when traveling to the campus, the release said.

The event includes:

*Free up-cycled t-shirts, screen printed on site by MCC's Graphics Design students with Jim Shurter, Associate Professor of Art.

*Nature Discovery will bring live animals including snakes, lizards and turtles, and they will provide information on the animals and their habitats.

*Free tree seedlings from the Conservation Corps.

*A recycled art contest for all ages.

*Earth-friendly product vendors and food trucks.

The Earth Day Celebration is co-sponsored by Mott Community College, the University of Michigan-Flint, Kettering University and Earth Matters.

For more information click here, contact Rebecca Gale-Gonzalez at Rebecca.gale@mcc.edu or 810-762-0455, or contact the UM-Flint office of Environment, Health and Safety at 810-766-6763.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- A personality on the popular radio program "Free Beer and Hot Wings" is headed to trial on two domestic battery charges.

Joseph Gassman, 35, pleaded not guilty Friday, April 6 to two misdemeanor counts that stemmed from an altercation in Naperville, Ill. on March 18.

A May 22 trial date is set in the case.

Gassman, known as "Producer Joe" on the radio show, was suspended from his job last month after he was charged in DuPage County, Ill.

"Free Beer and Hot Wings" is produced in Grand Rapids at WGRD and can be heard at more than three dozen radio stations around the country.

He was born in the Chicago area, according to a biography on the Free Beer and Hot Wings web site.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- While leaders of a regional mental health board in West Michigan scramble to address dwindling cash reserves, state officials have set a new deadline.

The Lakeshore Regional Entity's state contract to provide behavioral health services in a seven-county region in West Michigan could be canceled for "material default," warns a March 22 letter from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. The letter, which outlines financial concerns as well as issues with the entity's governance structure, seeks a response by April 21.

Kent County Commissioner Stan Stek, who serves as chairman of the regional entity's board of directors, confirmed the looming crisis stems from a multimillion-dollar loss in the last fiscal year.

"We've exhausted the reserve system," Stek said. "We used all that money in the bank to cover last year's losses."

The most up-to-date numbers from Lakeshore Regional Entity show an about $24.3 million loss in the 2016-17 fiscal year, which ended on Sept. 30.

In the letter, state officials question how the region will manage risk in the current fiscal year and demands a new risk management strategy within 14 days, setting a deadline of April 5.

Stek said the region intends to provide responses by both deadlines, and staff confirmed the new risk management strategy information has been sent to state officials. But, at the same time, Stek said they will also request an administrative hearing to contest the material default finding.

The letter points out five problems under the categories of risk management, governance structure, managed care functions, data accuracy and ongoing communication.

The first two, Stek said, raise local issues that he soon expects to become problems for other regions throughout Michigan.

"Of the five issues they raised, two of them are going to tee up big debates of this across the state," he said.

At the center of the discussion is a fundamental disagreement about the cause of the financial strain and about whose responsibility it is to bear the burden.

"That is where the rubber is hitting the road," Stek said.

Local officials point to a migration of Medicaid-eligible patients from one classification to another, tied to a significant loss in revenue because of the difference in reimbursement rates between those two programs. But state officials say those rates remain actuarially sound, and demand Lakeshore Regional Entity and other prepaid inpatient health plans like it across the state come up with internal strategies to manage the risk posed by such funding fluctuations.

While the state points to past concerns about the region's administration and duplication of services, Stek and other local officials continue to point to the revenue structure as the primary source of the problem they're facing.

"The system has a fundamental revenue weakness," Stek said. "They're basically underfunding this system."

Each year, the state government shares a portion of the risk whenever shortfalls occur -- covering half the total of losses over 5 percent of annual spending and the entirety of any over 10 percent.

But without enough reserves on hand to cover even a 5 percent shortfall, the state questions how the region will manage the risk of large losses like those occurring last year.

The state maintains the local Community Mental Health Authorities that make up the regional group should be help responsible for shortfalls, while local officials argue the responsibility falls to the state.

In the letter, state officials take issue with the current governing stucture of the Lakeshore Regional Entity.

Each of the five community mental health authorities in the region designates a member of their boards to serve on the Lakeshore Regional Entity. Though other board appointments from outside those authorities were later added, the five local board representatives still form the region's Executive Committee.

Stek said it's a difficult balancing act when state law gives the local authorities the right to govern the regional organization, while state officials push for less control by the local boards.

"It's a delicate threading of the needle," he said. "I can design a system that takes them out, but my members would not agree to it. In our discussions with the state, we will do our best to come up with a governance adjustment that modifies to address some of the concerns."

In the meantime, the agency is making changes.

Each community in the region was asked to share the burden, and to look for places to reduce expenses. In Kent County, Network 180 made cuts to services resulting in a total budgetary savings of about $778,000 and eliminated 17 positions from its staff of 200.

Sheldon House, one of a number of mental health clubhouses across the state, was initially set for elimination, but was spared at the last minute due to foundation support for the program and advice from state officials.

Stek said the challenge for the local community mental health authorities and the regional entitiy is that cutting statutorily mandated services is not an option.

The only real place to look for cutting costs, he said, is within the system's administration.

The letter from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services takes aim at administration in cricisms of how "managed care functions" are conducted in the region.

That is why the region decided to contract with an outside managed care entity to provide those functions, Stek explained.

Lakeshore Regional Entity issued a request for proposals earlier this year, and six parties expressed interest in the contract:

Beacon Health Options

Behavioral Health Professionals, Inc.

Hope Network

Oakland Community Health Network

Optum

Southwest Michigan Behavioral Health

The deadline for proposals from those firms is June 1. Stek said the target date to transition into the new managed care system is Oct. 1, the first day of the 2018-19 fiscal year.

In the meantime, chief executive officer Jeff Brown has become the region's "CEO in transition" and former board member Allen Jansen was appointed as "transitional manager."

Though Stek did acknowledge areas of administration could be improved, he maintains the core issue is how Medicaid revenue is allocated -- both locally and across the state.

"We have administration issues," Stek said. "Every organization does. But it's a revenue problem."

That revenue problem, according to local mental health officials, is partly tied to a departure of patients from traditional Medicaid enrollment -- particularly those who qualify for federal assistance as disabled, aged or blind, known commonly as "DAB" clients.

An analysis from financial services firm Rehmann -- solicited by the Community Mental Health Association of Michigan -- concluded movement of Medicaid recipients away from DAB in 2016 and 2017 amounted to a $97 million statewide impact. Lakeshore Regional Entity alone stood to lose $10.8 million over the two years, according to the analysis.

Mental health authorities called on the state to reassess the reimbursement rates, hoping a change might stabilize the large loss in revenue they were predicting.

State officals looked at the situation mid-year in 2017 and determined the current rates remained "actuarially sound." State officials have maintained the failure was not in reimbursement rates, but in a failure of Lakeshore Regional Entity to adequately prepare for what it calls normal budget fluctuations.

But others believe Lakeshore Regional Entity, which had one of the smallest pools of risk reserves given the population it serves, is merely the first example of what could be a statewide problem.

Stek said he has seen reports from Michigan's other prepaid inpatient health plans that also showed financial losses in 2017.

"One more year like this year and there are three more PIHPs that will be upside-down," he said.

Lakeshore Regional Entity was formed in 2014 when Michigan's 18 prepaid inpatient health plans were consolidated into 10. They are primarily multi-county networks, with the exception of Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties. Lakeshore Regional Entity is responsible for management of Medicaid benefits in Allegan, Kent, Lake, Mason, Muskegon, Oceana and Ottawa counties.

Whether the Lakeshore Regional Entity's efforts, and its responses to the letter received last month, will be sufficient to preserve local control of the mental health system remains to be seen.

Referencing "winds of change at a higher level," Stek said privitization, further regionalization or a statewide approach to manage Medicaid funding for mental health services are all options that could have an impact on what happens in West Michigan.

But he is hopeful their actions will allow the seven-county region to be a model for change rather than a victim of it.

"This region could be a direction pointing where that's going to go or it could simply be overwhelmed by it," Stek said.
KOCHVILLE TWP, MI -- For Dwight Mosley, finding a full-time job is a full-time job.

He regularly attends career fairs throughout mid-Michigan, visits Michigan Works! for guidance and applies to between 15 and 20 jobs a week. He was one of more than 1,000 job seekers to attend a career fair at Saginaw Valley State University Friday, April 6.

103,000 jobs were added to the U.S. economy last month and the unemployment rate stayed at 4.1 percent for the sixth straight month. Despite the steadiness, finding work remains hard work for those in Michigan, including in the Great Lakes Bay Region.

The job fair at SVSU was the college's largest ever, featuring about 170 employers offering a range of opportunities from internships and seasonal work to full-time jobs in health care, education, customer service, law enforcement and other fields.

Participating employers included Chemical Bank, McLaren Bay Region, Covenant HealthCare, Walmart, Bavarian Inn, Garber Management Group, Morley Companies Inc. and Future Insurance Agency Inc.

"(I'm looking for) anything that's available right now," said Mosley, of Bridgeport. "Looking for full time with benefits."

Mosley has a bachelor's degree in psychology from Olivet College. He has been out of work for a couple years. He doesn't want a low-skill job, rather he's looking for a career he can grow in.

"I'm always looking," he said, noting that he has traveled to Flint and Detroit to attend career fairs, as well as attending local events at SVSU and Delta College.

He observed that, more and more, job seekers have to look for opportunities with staffing or temp agencies rather than the employers directly.

When asked what it's like to be a job seeker right now, Mosley replied, "It's hard."

Nicole Reich is working toward a degree in communications but took a year off to pay down some of her student debt.

The 22-year-old Bay City woman has an office job but would like to find something more specific to her long term career goals. Without a college degree, that has been challenging, she said.

"It's still just so hard and so competitive out there," said Reich, who also attended the career fair Friday. "I'm really eager to get a position in the field I'm working towards."

She plans to go back to school as soon as she's financially able and hopes to eventually work in marketing, advertising or interpersonal communications.

Jaylen Caldwell, 23, of Saginaw has been unemployed for about two months. He attended the career fair to see what's out there.

"Anything with customer service or factory (work)," he said, noting he has been actively applying to jobs for about a month.

He estimates he has applied for about 13 jobs.

"I get calls and interviews," he said, but so far no offers.

Not everyone who attended the career fair was actively seeking employment. Some were students hoping to learn about career fields and possible opportunities for the future.

Polina Literati, 18, is a freshman at SVSU and hasn't declared a major yet. She's from the Ukraine, but lives in Chesaning.

"I decided to kind of explore and see what would interest me," she said. "I want to find a job which is in demand, such as engineering or teaching."

Terry Chen, 18, of Chesaning, is also a freshman. He's majoring in computer science with a minor in cybersecurity. He attended the event in hopes of learning more about internship opportunities.

"I was most interested in Dow (Chemical)," he said.

Chen wants to find an internship and see where that takes him.

"There's a lot of pathways right now I can take," he said.
The chronicle of a life split between urban Manhattan and rural Montana.
Theres a brand new new camping music festival set to take place on August 10th and 11th at the Ohio Renaissance Festival Grounds. Topping the bill for the inaugural Bellwether Music Festival will be MGMT and The Flaming Lips.

Bellwether  a new camping music festival dreamed up in part by Bill Donabedian, whose resume includes co-founding Cincinnatis MidPoint, Bunbury and BuckleUp music festivals. As the festivals description on their site notes, Bellwether Music Festival is a two-day, two-stage alternative music festival with camping. Get away from the hustle and bustle and enjoy some peace and quiet Until the music starts. Join us August 10-11 for music by day and stars by night.

Organizers are aiming for 10,000 to 15,000 people to kick off this first festival, drawing from Cincinnati, Dayton and Columbus. The response has been just fantastic right out of the gate. Other than just great activity on social media, the tickets are selling, Donabedian said. The two-day festival boasts two stages and will have facilities for basic tent camping, glamping (40-by-40 space with tent and cots provided and one parking space) and traditional RV camping.

Attendees can purchase tickets for one or both days, a freshen up pass with access to shower facilities, as well as VIP tickets that include private viewing of both stages, private restroom facilities, air-conditioned hospitality tents with free snacks and access to private cash bars with drink specials. The 2-Day General Admission Pass is $95, while the VIP Pass is $245. Camping and RV Camping passes are also available.

Visit Bellwether Music Festivals website here for ticket information, musician info and more.
Staff writer Matt Zabierek joins the Morning Record to talk about Wallingford Mayor William Dickinson's budget proposal and what it means for the Board of Education's school security goals.

Subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or on Stitcher

msavino@record-journal.com

203-317-2266

Twitter: @reporter_savino
Tecno just launched their new Camon X which is a camera-focused Android smartphone. If youre a huge fan of selfies  then this is the phone made just for you. The Camon X comes with a 20MP front camera with dual brightness-adjustable selfie flash

Apart from the amazing camera functionalities, the Tecno Camon X also has an elegant body design. Its built with the 18:9 aspect ratio(infinity display) and comes with Face ID unlock system for more convenient phone accessing. The device was launched with a Pro version which is dubbed Tecno Camon X Pro

The Camon X Pro comes with a bigger RAM and ROM capacity, sharper screen display and beefed up front camera (24MP). Before I go into the Camon X features, heres a quick glance through its key specs

OS: Android 8.1 Oreo with HiOS

SIM Type: Dual SI

4G LTE: YES, LTE

Screen Size : 6.0 Inches HD+ IPS Touchscreen

Screen Resolution: 720 x 1440 pixels (~274 PPI)

Processor Type: Octa-core 2.0 GHz

Mediatek chipset

RAM: 3GB

Internal Storage: 16GB

External Storage: microSD, up to 128GB

Back / Rear Camera: 16MP camera & LED Flash

Front Camera: 20MP with LED flash

Battery: 3750 mAh (non-removable

The Tecno Camon X features a 6.0 inch screen with HD+ display resolution, the screen has a 2.5D curve at the edges and a resolution of 720 by 1440 pixels with about 274 pixels per-square inch.

Android 8.1 Oreo is pre-installed on the Camon X out of the box with the companys HiOS skin on top.

Tecno Camon X is comes with an Octa-core processor clocked at 2.0 GHz with a Mediatek chipset to provide for a good enough task processing experience

On-board RAM capacity is 3GB which is generally commendable for a smartphone in that category

Tecno Camon X has a 16GB inbuilt storage space which can be expanded to 128GB via micro SD card slot if more storage space is required by the user. This internal storage size might appear a bit daunting to users that prefer not using external storage.

In the camera aspect, the Camon X has a bit more to offer with its front camera than the rear camera which typically makes it a nice choice for selfie lovers

The back is equipped with a 16 megapixels camera with dual LED flash while sitting in the front panel is a 20 megapixels camera with its own dual LED flash for outstanding selfie experience. The dual front flash can be adjusted by gesture in terms of brightness to best suit your style.

Tecno Camon X houses a moderate 3750 mAh non-removable battery that is said to support TECNOs light speed charging technology.

Meaning that the device will offer more screen time with less charge time.

The Camon X finishes with plastic unibody and a quite suiting design, it has curved edges that will help enhance phone handling. Tecno Camon X is available in three different colors; Champagne Gold, Midnight Black and City Blues

The smartphone measures 158.6 x 75.8 x 7.8 (height x width x thickness) and weighs about 148.00 grams. The Tecno Camon device is a dual Micro SIM Android phone and supports dual standby with 4G network option.

The Tecno Camon X has its fingerprint scanner positioned at the back below the camera region, apart from serving as a more convenient phone unlock system for the device, the fingerprint scanner will also serve for more security purposes for the device.

Pricing And Availability





Tecno Camon X price in Nigeria is expected to be around 55,000 naira to 58,000 which is about 155 USD, Ksh 15,699 in Kenya and Rs. 10,000 in India.

The device is currently available for purchase in Nigeria, both in offline and online market. It will also be available in other African countries in subsequent time.
By Online MI

The news about the re-test of the Economic paper of class 12th on April 25, 2018 has affected many aspirants preparing for other competitive exams. The topic has undoubtedly been the hottest academic controversy in the past few years.

Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) recently decided to re-conduct the Economics paper after reports of being leaked came forward. However, the decision to conduct a retest for Mathematics paper of class 10th was dropped.

This decision is surely to affect a lot of students preparing for various medical, engineering, and other fields entrance examinations such as NEET, JEE Main, AIIMS, BITS, CLAT, NDA, and more. The students are furious over CBSEs decision of retest saying that it would affect their results of other competitive entrances, since they are now required to again dedicate time to prepare for the retest.

Click Here for Detailed Information on JEE Main

However, students who did not have Economics as a subject in their class 12th will not be affected by this decision. The affected students have fallen victims to the mismanagement of CBSE and the government. The entire paper leak has been blamed on the Board conducting body- CBSE.

Many students have filed petitions to get the re-test cancelled in regards with the paper leak. However, the Honorable Supreme Court has dismissed such petitions stating that the dates of the entrance exams is not interfering with that of the retest date, so the boards decision of retest would be retained.

Supreme Court has also dismissed the pleas filed by parents and students requesting a CBI inquiry for the investigations of paper leak of the 10th and 12th classes. Sahil Tagotra and Girija Krishan Varma, had filed pleas on the behalf of parents of class 12th students Rashmi Arora, Monica Sharma, and Mahinder Pratap Singh, stating that the said retest of the Economics paper would jeopardize the career options of many such students.

JEE Main 2018 is scheduled to be conducted from April 08 to 16, 2018, and the NEET UG 2018 exam on May 06, 2018. Those studying for NEET will have to compromise their time and devote to economics as well. For JEE Main aspirants, candidates can get over with the same and then focus on the re-test.

The Supreme Court, however, reviewed these and all similar petitions and dismissed the same. Class 10 students of the CBSE board, however, were lucky enough that the board dropped the possibility to re-test their Mathematics paper.

The board made their decision of not conducting the Mathematics exam of class 10th post carrying out an evaluation of impact of paper leak. It was identified that the Mathematics paper class 10th was leaked in only some parts of the country.

So to evaluate and decide on the best interest of all students of class 10th, it was decided that the paper was not supposed for re-test, unlike the Economics paper of class 12th. This decision turned as a boon and relieved more than 1.6 million students of class 10th of CBSE.

About 200,000 class 10 students were hailing from Delhi, NCR, and Haryana region where the Mathematics paper was alleged to be leaked. The Economics paper of 12th class and Mathematics paper of 10th class were conducted on March 26, 2018 and March 28, 2018, respectively.

Based on some complaints and probes, it was confirmed that these papers were leaked before the exams actually took place. CBSE then announced on March 28, 2018 that these two exams may be re-conducted for some later dates. However, the decision of conducting the Mathematics paper of class 10th again was finally dropped.

It was definitely hard for the innocent class 12th students who would have to attempt the re-test of the Economics paper on April 25, 2018, and further go through major entrance examinations before or after that. Many students are already believing that the paper leak case is surely to ruin their one year of academic curriculum.
A South Korean court found former President Park Guen-Hye guilty of bribery, coercion and power abuse and sent her behind bars for 24 years in a landmark ruling meant to send a message to future leaders, CNNreported Friday.

"The President abused the power which was given to her by the citizens," the judge said. She also received a fine of US$17 million.

Conservative and older South Koreans had gathered outside the court to support Park. Her electoral base remembers the time when her father, who is often called a dictator, ruled the country as a period of strength.

South Korea has been in turmoil since 2016 when it was revealed how much adviser and close confidant Choi Soon-sil wielded power over Park. The revelations lead to millions taking to the streets.

Following the nation-wide protests last year, a vote by the National Assembly and a unanimous decision by the Constitutional Court lead to Parks impeachment over helping Choi.

Two weeks after her impeachment on March 10, Park was arrested.

Choi Soon-sil is accused of influencing Park to move money into organizations under her control and getting her daughter into an elite university. Choi was given a 20-year jail sentence along with a $16.6 million fine in February for abuse of power, coercion, fraud and bribery.

Businessmen Shin Dong-bin, chairman of conglomerate Lotte, and Lee Jae-yong, vice chairman of Samsung Group, were also implicated in the scandal and were both charged with bribery.

Choi is the daughter of a cult leader, who  as stated in a leaked 2007 US diplomatic cable  had complete control over Parks body and soul during her formative years.

Park was Koreas first female president and the first president to be ousted. Her father, Park Chung-hee, orchestrated a military coup in 1961 and ruled Korea as a dictator who brutally crushed dissidents and opposition.

His supporters hailed him as someone who had rebuilt the country after the Korean War.

As he assumed power, 10-year old Park moved into the Blue House and when her mother was killed in a failed assassination attempt on the president, she took the role of the first lady.

Thats also when she fell under the influence of cult leader Choi Tae-min, which raised questions.

Her father was killed five years later and Park withdrew for a while but entered the political scene again in the 1990s after witnessing the effects of Asias economic crisis.

Park was found guilty of corruption charges, abuse of power and coercion [Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters]

occrp.org
By Express News Service

JODHPUR: Bollywood superstar Salman Khan was released on bail from the Jodhpur Central Jail on Saturday, where he spent the last two nights after being convicted and sentenced to five years imprisonment in a 1998 blackbuck poaching case. District and Sessions Judge Ravindra Kumar Joshi allowed Salmans plea for bail and suspension of sentence for a month so he can file an appeal against his conviction and sentencing.

READ | Qaidi no.106 Salman Khan given dal-roti in Jodhpur jail

Salman was granted bail on furnishing a bail bond for Rs 50,000. His lawyers were also asked to produce a Rs 25,000 surety from two persons each to guarantee that the actor will comply with all bail conditions. The court also said that Salman cannot leave the country without the courts permission.

Fans waiting outside cheered as Salman Khan emerged from the jail, wearing a black t-shirt and a cap, with his bodyguard Shera waiting to escort him. Salman Khan directly went to the airport from jail, from where he is taking a chartered flight, back home to Mumbai.

READ | Salman released from Jodhpur jail, reaches Mumbai after getting bail

The 52-year-old actor was sentenced to five years imprisonment on Thursday for killing two blackbucks -- an endangered species under the Indian Wildlife Act-- in Kankani village near Jodhpur in Rajasthan during the shooting of a multi-starrer, Hum Saath Saath Hain.

ALSO READ | Salman Khan has suffered enough, doesn't deserve this: Shatrughan Sinha on black buck poaching case verdict

His co-actors Saif Ali Khan, Tabu, Neelam Kothari and Sonal Bendre, who were in the SUV that the Dabangg star was driving during their alleged late night hunting outing, were, however, acquitted and given benefit of doubt by the court due to lack of evidence.

During the hearing, the prosecution cited credibility of witnesses and forensic evidence to oppose Salmans plea, saying the post-mortem report clearly stated that the blackbucks had gunshot wounds. However, Salman's lawyers argued that only the bones of the animals were sent for evaluation when their skins, as crucial, werent.

ALSO READ | Salman not alone, many Bollywood personalities have had brush with law

In his arguments yesterday, defence counsel Bora had said there were various loopholes in the investigation.

He had argued that no investigation in any of the cases of poaching proved that Salman used firearms.

He had told the court that the eyewitness in the case was "not reliable" and "it was never proved that he had firearms.

"Even the pellets recovered from him did not corroborate the story of the prosecution. Also, the first post-mortem report was completely dumped." Bora had also argued

"Besides this, he (Khan) has been acquitted in all the other cases of poaching on the basis of the prosecution's failure to prove the allegations and in such a condition, his sentence should be suspended."

Countering the defence counsel's arguments, public prosecutor Pokar Ram Bishnoi had urged the court to seek the record of the case from the trial court and go through it.

He had told the court that this was the only case where an eyewitness was available and the prosecution has succeeded in proving the crime beyond any doubt.

READ STORY HERE | Hyderabad lab's DNA-based tech clinched the case against Salman



In a late development on Friday, an order was issued to transfer Joshi to Sirohi, as part of a reshuffle. He was among 134 judges transferred by the registrar general of the Rajasthan High Court. Judge Joshi, had an option of choosing to leave this case to his successor on account of his transfer order, but he chose to decide the matter.

Fans of #SalmanKhan gather outside his residence in Mumbai and celebrate following Jodhpur Court's verdict in #BlackBuckPaochingCase. The Court granted him bail in the case. pic.twitter.com/STrcQuihjY  ANI (@ANI) April 7, 2018

ALSO READ | PETA India condemns Salmans bail

Khan's sisters - Alvira and Arpita  had also come to the court for the hearing.

Director of Salman's upcoming film "Race 3" Remo D'Souza told PTI, "I am happy that he has got bail. After working with him so closely I have become a huge fan of him not only as an actor but also as a human being."

With an upwards of Rs 600 crore worth of major film projects under his belt, Bollywood was earlier shuddering at the prospect of the superstar spending five years in jail after Thursday's verdict.

"Almost 90 per cent of the shoot for 'Race 3' is over and the remaining portions will mostly be shot in India," he said.

Producer of "Race 3" Ramesh Taurani said he is "happy" that the actor will come out of jail.

Khan's "Dabangg" co-actor Sonu Sood tweeted, "A Good deed is the best Prayer. Welcome brother Salman Khan."

Singer Adnan Sami, who composed the music of Khan's "Lucky: No Time for Love", said, "So happy for the bail of my dear brother Salman Khan. Relieved. Come home." JAI HO!"

Bihar: Rakhi sisters of #SalmanKhan Saba and Farah celebrate in Patna after he was granted bail by Jodhpur Court in #BlackBuckPaochingCase pic.twitter.com/9A9slOeHWy  ANI (@ANI) April 7, 2018

(With inputs from PTI)
Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway was photographed for the first time after undergoing surgery. The photo taken together with two employees of a local clothing shop of KM33 brand in Mexico was shared on Instagram page of that local clothing shop. All Crown Prince Family is currently in Mexico during the Easter holiday. It is expected that Prince Haakon will return to Norway this week. Probably, the Princess will stay in Mexico for a while and in the calendar of the Royal Court, there is no information about official duties of the Crown Princess in the near future.
Here are the best places to get coffee around Newport County
Ashot Grigoryan, a beekeeper in Armenias southern Syunik Province, is concerned that a mining company might put him out of business.

The company in question is Choudo Metal, and it plans to prospect for gold in an area where Grigoryan places his beehives during the summer.

Theyll drill holes and the winds will bring dust. The bees wont be able to work, says Grigoryan, a resident of Shishkert, formerly a part of the rural community of Tsav, but now annexed to the town of Kapan.

Yesterday, at the Kapan Municipality, the beekeeper and a few residents of Shishkert and Tsav attended the third public hearing on the possible environmental effects that the companys exploratory work will have.

Choudo Metal wants to prospect for gold and other mineral ores in a section of Tsav called Arjidzor (Valley of Bears) from 2018-2021.

At the hearing, Choudo Metal environmental specialist Vram Tevosyan said the prospecting would take place in two areas  one measuring 90 hectares, the other, 202 hectares. The first is 1.8 kilometers from Shishkert, and the second is 3 kilometers distant.

Vram Tevosyan (above photo; right), says the company must estimate the ore reserves at the site before deciding whether to invest in a mining operation.

He says that in general, only one out of ten, or even five, exploratory processes end in a productive mine being located and operated.

Tevosyan admits that drilling for ore samples does impact the surrounding environment and specifies the following three effects  top soil damage, noise pollution, air pollution form equipment diesel exhaust.

He says that the two sites earmarked for exploration are removed from forested areas, and that no trees will be felled.

The second public hearing lasted only 45 minutes. Only a few area residents attended. Choudo Metal company representatives and Ministry of Nature Protection staffers were in the majority, in addition to Kapan municipal employees.

This reporter saw no one from the local press or the civil society community.

At yesterdays hearing, Seyran Zakaryan, the Tsav administrative rep, said the prospecting would negatively impact the environment, and pointed to the local river as being adversely affected. Residents farm the lands below the exploratory sites and use river water for irrigation. Zakaryan also told Hetq last year that Tsav residents drink the river water unfiltered.

If they drill those holes and do other work, the topsoil will be damaged, and the rains will carry it down into the river, Zakaryan told those at the hearing.

In response, Vram Tevosyan said that the company has taken this into account and the rainwater will be diverted in another direction. Zakaryan shrugged off the claim, saying that the river has gotten dirty in the past, causing him to be concerned today.

When Hetq asked Tevosyan to talk about the exploratory work conducted last year by Hrashk Metal (another company owned by Choudo Metal owner Ara Davtyan) in the Bombou Valley section of Tsav, the environmental specialist said he only started working for the company last month and had no knowledge regarding the environmental impact back then.

He did agree with my observation that last years experience could be instructive for the company this year. Tevosyan promised to search the companys records.

According to Armenias State Revenue Committee taxpayer registry, both Hrashk Metal and Choudo Metal have temporarily suspended operations. Despite this, Choudo Metal, founded in 2016, seeks an exploratory mining permit.

In response, Choudo Metal consultant Aramayis Avagyan says that before presenting the preliminary appraisal tender, the company will sign a contract with the Ministry of Energy Infrastructures and Natural Resources at which time it will show the company license and notice regarding taxes. Avagyan says the company has done all this.

It is expected that the Experimental Center for Environmental Impact SNOC, a part of the Ministry of Nature Protection, will give a green light for the exploratory work.

Albert Grigoryan from Shishkert, who attended the public hearing, told Hetq that he remembers that in the 1960s, as a boy the land being surveyed in Shishkert.

Im opposed to a mine in Shishkert. Its the cleanest village of Kapan. The air, water, everything. The government says the country must develop with science and tourism. They send tourists to Shishkert and now they want to open a mine? Its a contradiction. Dont damage our nature. Why are you damaging it? Grigoryan asks.

Ashot Grigoryan, also from Shishkert, points to the environmental damage caused by a hydro plant built on the River Tsav.

They built one hydro plant near us, and they took the water away via a pipe. I used to be able to net some fish and serve to guests. Theyve piped off the water. Where can I catch fish now? Its the same with the mine. Its all done in the name of personal gain, he said.

Photos: Vahe Sarukhanyan
Champaign, IL (61820)

Today

Sunshine to start, then a few afternoon clouds. High 88F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

Partly cloudy early with increasing clouds overnight. Low near 60F. Winds light and variable.
Reporter

Lyndsay Jones is a reporter covering education at The News-Gazette. Her email is ljones@news-gazette, and you can follow her on Twitter (@__lyndsayjones).
Bless our families and our children,

and choose from our homes those who you desire for this holy work.

Heavenly Father,your divine Son taught usto pray to the Lord of the harvestto send laborers into His vineyard.We earnestly beg youto bless our Diocese and our worldwith many priests and religiouswho will love you fervently and gladlyand courageously spend their livesin service to your Son's Church,especially the poor and the needy.Teach them to respond generouslyand keep them ever faithfulin following your Son Jesus Christ,that under the guidance of the HolySpiritand with the inspiration ofSaint Damien and Blessed Mariannethe Good News of redemptionmay be brought to all.We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Air Zimbabwe is battling a serious shortage of aircraft amid indications that it only has two serviceable aeroplanes, resulting in crippling flight cancellations that have dented the companys integrity among travellers.





Social media has been awash with messages mocking Air Zimbabwe for flight delays and/or cancellations. This comes as the rumour mill is claiming that the flight delays are being occasioned by resignations of key staff.





Last week, Air Zimbabwe communications officer Ms Firstme Vitori, told The Sunday Mail Business that while some employees have pursued greener pastures, many were retrenched last year as part of a cost rationalisation exercise.





The retrenchment exercise, which targeted addressing the parastatals bloated management, has helped Air Zimbabwe to reduce staff costs by 23 percent of total monthly revenue, which averages US$2,6m.





Ms Vitori said the biggest obstacle at Air Zimbabwe is lack of an aircraft fleet that is capable of meeting market demand.





. . . the major challenge which the airline is currently seized with, which has resulted in loss of schedule integrity, is insufficient equipment.





Air Zimbabwe is currently operating two serviceable air crafts hence whenever there is a technical fault on one, delays or cancellations are inevitable.

This fleet is not commensurate with the market demand on the current route network, notwithstanding other expansion plans contained in the turnaround strategy, said Ms Vitori.





She said there was an urgent need to augment the existing fleet with new modern aircraft.

Without divulging details, Ms Vitori said engagements are currently ongoing to address the issue with assistance and guidance from Government.





Government is understood to be working on acquiring three Embraer ERJ145 aircraft and lease two others that are expected to ply routes in southern Africa.

This is in line with the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure Developments 100-day deliverables set by Cabinet.

The 100 days elapse on April 10.





Air Zimbabwes aircraft fleet has been declining from 18 in 1980 to five as at August last year, before further coming down to two at the moment.





The planes are occasionally hit by mechanical problems resulting in flight schedule disruptions, which leave passengers stranded.





Government has also been considering finding a technical partner for Air Zimbabwe so as to resuscitate the company.

Nonetheless, the process has occasionally hit turbulence amid indications that Government was considering abandoning the proposal and locate internal measures to bring Air Zimbabwe back to its feet.

Despite its challenges, Government views Air Zimbabwe as a strategic asset and is open to assuming its legacy debt estimated at over US$330 million to make it attractive to potential suitors.





Meanwhile, Ms Vitori conceded that Air Zimbabwes integrity has suffered a huge knock due to flight delays or cancellations.





Two more pilots are currently being trained to mitigate unforeseen scenarios where a pilot may fall sick and fail to report for work.





The two pilots are expected to join the fleet at command level in a months time. At the moment, Air Zimbabwe has 27 pilots  down from 50 in 2011  but only 16 are active, with five on the B737-200 and 11 on the B767-200.





The other pilots are inactive because their aircrafts are grounded due to lack of spares.

Ms Vitori said procurement of spares for all the aircrafts on the fleet requires an average of US$1 million per month but Air Zimbabwe is allocated US$200 000 monthly.





Flight disruptions continue to eat into Air Zimbabwes revenue as the firm meets passengers transport, hotel and meal costs.





Challenges dogging Air Zimbabwe have reportedly seen its passenger numbers coming down to 230 000 per year in recent years compared to a peak of one million in 1996.

In the last three years, annual revenue figures were US$32,8 million in 2015; US$34,2 million (2016) and US$29 million last year. Sunday Mail
President Emmerson Mnangagwa says relations between Zimbabwe and the USA are set to improve following the visit by five American senators who met him at his Munhumutapa offices in Harare this afternoon.





The meeting lasted about two and half hours with the need for collaboration between the two countries dominating the discussions.





The delegation is led by Senator Christopher Coons and also comprises Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona, Senator Michael Bennett of Colorado and Senator Garry Peters of Michigan.

Speaking after the meeting, President Mnangagwa appealed to journalists to report factually about events, saying relations between Zimbabwe and USA were mostly affected by bad reporting.





It is always in important to accept constructive criticism. The feeling that America is hostile is a result of the media and who is the media? its yourselves. Where there is dialogue, there is always a way of resolving challenges and this is one opportunity for us to look at issues and together resolve them and move forward. That is the spirit which our people must accept, said Cde Mnangagwa.





Senator Coons said they are looking forward to open wider relations as Zimbabwe heads to elections and they are keen to see the country holding free, fair and credible polls.

Earlier, the senators held a press briefing on their visit and their interface with various groups.





They then met the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Retired Lieutenant General Sibusiso Moyo, who said Zimbabwe is happy to be hosting the American delegation.





The senators said there are two types of sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe, one on individuals and another on business where lines of credit were not supposed to be extended to Zimbabwe.





Senator Flake said while a review of the sanctions was done just over a month ago, another review could be done earlier than February next year in view of developments towards the holding of free, fair and credible elections.





Hailing Zimbabwe for intellectual ingenuity, the senators concurred that they are not in Zimbabwe to lecture but to work with Zimbabweans on this journey of collaboration.





President Mnangagwa arrived back home from China this morning and his meeting with US senators provided yet another opportunity to mend and strengthen relations with world economic powerhouses, having also met Russian Foreign Affairs Minister, Mr Sergey Lavrov last month.
NINE Lupane State University (LSU) lecturers in the Department of Development Studies have approached the High Court seeking an order barring university authorities from relocating them from Bulawayo to the Lupane main campus tomorrow.



Initially, the relocation of all students and staff to the LSU main campus was deferred to July 23, 2018 due to resources problems.





The lecturers led by Mr Douglas Nyathi have through their lawyer, Mr Thulani Ndlovu of Sansole and Senda Legal Practitioners, filed an urgent chamber application at the Bulawayo High Court citing LSU as the respondent.





In his founding affidavit, Mr Nyathi said they were not opposed to the relocation but were worried about lack of accommodation at the universitys main campus.





Lupane is a rural growth point with very scarce accommodation and no suburb at all. The major challenge relates to accommodation and resources at the campus with lecturers being forced to share offices, he said.





Mr Nyathi said the university had announced that they would be relocated on July 23, but they were shocked when a new memo was circulated stating that they would be relocated to Lupane on April 8.





In a major U-turn, in a memo dated 27 March 2018, the respondent advised that the Vice-Chancellors decision to defer relocation of the departments of Development Studies and Educational Foundations has been reviewed. It stated that the relocation of both students and staff shall now be on 8 April 2018, he said.

The lecturers said they were not consulted and only became aware of the latest memo on Wednesday. They argued that the impending relocation was given at a short notice.





Considering the fact that we have families and more importantly that we had been advised that the relocation would be on 23 July, a four-day notification creates a sense of shock and absurdity. It is grossly unreasonable that families can be uprooted and relocated to Lupane on such short notice, argued the lecturers.





The lecturers said the relocation at short notice would result in them failing to perform their duties and create absenteeism from work.





According to a memo signed by the university Registrar, one Mr J Makunde, and copied to the Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences and chairpersons of the Educational Foundations and Development Studies, the staff members and students in those departments are supposed to relocate to the LSU main campus tomorrow. The human resources section has been requested to assist with the travel arrangements.





The lecturers want the university to stick to the 23 July relocation date. LSU has since its inception been struggling to move its operations from its rented premises in Bulawayo to its campus in the Matabeleland North capital.





Last month, LSU students based at the institutions main campus in Lupane demonstrated against university authorities for allegedly exempting learners from the Department of Development Studies from paying accommodation fees. Chronicle
PEOPLES Rainbow Coalition (PRC) presidential candidate, Joice Mujuru, has written to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) complaining over her exclusion from the political parties platform, where the upcoming elections are discussed.





The three political parties with representation in Parliament  Zanu PF, MDC-T and MDC  have been meeting to iron out a number of issues ahead of this years polls.

Mujuru said even though she is not in Parliament, PRC were a major political player and deserved to be heard.





Her coalition wrote to Zec advising of its existence and demanding inclusion in the political parties platform.





They were assured that they will be invited to discuss poll related issues with other parties.

Through her lawyers, Gift Nyandoro of Hamunakwadi and Nyandoro Law Chambers, Mujuru gave Zec five days to respond.





With respect, the above development has taken our client with shocking surprise and, hence, our client writes to enquire with your office if indeed participation in the political discourse of our country more so in light of the forthcoming harmonised elections is only a preserve of parties represented in Parliament, he said in response to reports that the three parties MDC-T Zanu PF and MDC met with Zec.





Our client further wishes to find out if the so called electoral [law] amendments are being done under the auspices of your office given that our client is not even aware of ever having been invited to such a key political meeting whose outcome would without doubt seek to shape the future political trajectory of our country; should the possibility of holding of free and fair elections be a reality?





Nyandoro said there were reports that the three parties held numerous meetings with Zec at a hotel in Nyanga, where electoral law reforms were discussed.





Our client wishes to enquire on whether parties represented in Parliament are the only bona fide parties to contribute their views regarding Zimbabwes current political discourse that centres on the possibility of the need to hold free and fair elections, he wrote.





If indeed it is true that only three political actors are predominantly deciding the national question of electoral reforms, it is then our clients view that such conduct amounts to gigantic proportion of the death of democracy in our country. Newsday
Government is clamping down on potential political violence through a raft of measures that are set to deliver a free, fair and credible election in 2018.



The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, the Zimbabwe Republic Police, the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission and other Constitutional commissions and stakeholders have all been primed to clampdown on political violence.



President Emmerson has insisted on a non-violent poll.

To this end, a special committee  comprising the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, the Police and independent commissions  has been established to facilitate swift handling of political violence cases.





The Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission has set up teams to monitor primary elections and render swift assistance to victims of political violence; while the organisation is also closely monitoring speeches by politicians.





Political parties are under close scrutiny after they signed a code of conduct that binds them to non-violent conduct.





Zec Chairperson Justice Priscilla Chigumba told The Sunday Mail that: The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission has gone on record to condemn all forms of violence. We have also created dispute mechanisms to take care of that.





Political parties have a code of conduct which prevents them from electoral violence. They have agreed that they will enforce they own code of conduct.

The judiciary system has set up fast tract courts that deal with politically motivated violence and we also need the police to investigate and send dockets to the courts on time. In fact there are now special prosecutors and magistrates have been appointed to specially deal with.

Justice Chigumba said the new mechanisms helped victims of political violence to report freely.





What we need to do is to disseminate information or people to report, because nothing can be done if a report is not made. The Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission is also playing a key role.





We will do it at a coordinated approached and form a special committee. It will be done at a national level but we will cascade it to provincial and district levels and say this is what we will be doing.





During this election period the ZHRC is deploying its teams of monitors into the provinces to assess the human rights situation, engage relevant stakeholders, and make recommendations as may be appropriate. The presence of ZHRC monitors in the field has a deterrent effect on violation of human rights.





The Zec Chairperson said while the law prescribed that the committees to investigate violence be set up during elections proper, the electoral body had gone the extra mile to ensure that the teams become operational during primary elections.

Responding to questions from The Sunday Mail, ZHRC deputy chair Dr Ellen Sithole said the organisation would investigate cases of violence and deploy teams to monitor primary elections.





The ZHRC also has an investigative mandate. The commission can investigate the conduct of any authority or person, where it is alleged that any of the human rights and freedoms set out in the Declaration of Human Rights (Chapter 4 of the Constitution) has been violated by that authority or person.





This provision also extends to the conduct of persons or authorities during the electoral period. The Commission has, therefore, set up mechanisms to receive and investigate complaints where human rights violations have been alleged. The Commission is currently attending to cases that have been brought to its attention by victims of human rights violations.





The ZHRC Complaints Handling and Investigation Unit is also carrying out some investigations on political violence reported directly to the Commission and is in constant consultation with ZEC in order to end this intimidation.





Dr Sithole said some of the cases the ZHRC had addressed included the issue of voter registration slips which were being demanded by agents of political parties. She said this was a violation of human rights and submitted its report to ZEC and political parties. Sunday Mail
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(Newser)  Want to donate to a Chinese sperm bank? You may need to "love the socialist motherland." A social media post by the Peking University Third Hospital said sperm donors are welcome if they "support the leadership of the Communist Party" and are "loyal to the party's cause," the BBC reports. The post has been edited but still says men aged 20-45 with "good character," "orthodox manners," and no infectious diseases or political woes are welcome to donateand receive $870 for their effort, Reuters reports. No other Chinese sperm banks appear to have political requirements, making this one a good target for online ribbing. "Love for the party starts with a sperm," reads one WeChat post. (Read more sperm stories.)
(Newser)  Two years ago, BP applied to drill for oil off the Australian coast. Now government letters show that BP praised the "welcome boost" local economies could receive doing cleanup in an oil spill, the Sidney Morning Herald reports. Australia's National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authorityor Nopsema, for shortmentioned BP's claim in letters to the company about regulatory concerns. Nopsema quoted BP's argument that "in most instances, the increased activity associated with cleanup operations will be a welcome boost to local economies." BP also apparently saw no social impacts: "Since there are no unresolved stakeholder concerns ... BP interprets this event to be socially acceptable."

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Australia rejected BP's effort to drill in the Great Australian Bight, but the recently revealed Nopsema letters have roused political ire. "What an incredibly stupid thing to say," says Allan Suter, the mayor of the coastal town of Ceduna, per ABC News Australia. "It certainly wouldn't have been a welcomed boost the local economy, we could have done very nicely thank you very much without it." Published by Climate Change News under freedom of information laws, the letters also say BP underestimated its impact on whales. BP acknowledged that southern right whales migrated through the drilling zone and sperm whales had been spotted there, but the oil and gas company failed to identify "potential ecological consequences" on whale feeding and migrating, Nopsema writes. (Read more Australia stories.)
(Newser)  Facebook on Friday announced new moves it says will help combat foreign interference in US elections, the New York Times reports. Going forward, anyone in the US buying political ads on Facebook must submit government-issued ID and a US mailing address. Facebook will later roll the new requirements out to other countries. According to Quartz, Facebook had announced requirements for purchasing electoral ads back in October but is now expanding them to "issue" ads, which are largely what Russians were running on US Facebook ahead of the 2016 presidential election. In addition, Facebook will begin labeling political ads and providing information on them to users, including where the money for the ads came from.

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Facebook says it will also start requiring that people who run pages with lots of followers verify their identity. "These steps by themselves won't stop all people trying to game the system," CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a Facebook post Friday. "But they will make it a lot harder for anyone to do what the Russians did during the 2016 election and use fake accounts and pages to run ads." Zuckerberg also expressed his support for the Honest Ads Act bill currently working its way through the Senatedespite Facebook having previously lobbied against it. The bill would put requirements on online political ads similar to what ads on broadcast television face. Zuckerberg's announcement comes just days ahead of his scheduled testimony in front of Congress. (Read more Facebook stories.)
(Newser)  A Republican lawmaker in South Carolina took out a loaded pistol while arguing with constituents pushing for better gun control Friday, the Washington Post reports. "I'm not going to be a Gabby Giffords," Rep. Ralph Norman tells the Post and Courier, adding, "I dont mind dying, but whoever shoots me better shoot well, or Im shooting back." Giffords, a former Arizona lawmaker, was shot during a public appearance in 2011. Norman's move drew criticism from some attending the "coffee with constituents" event, as well as from Giffords' husband, retired astronaut Mark Kelly, who agreed with just one part of Norman's sentiment. "When I think of @GabbyGiffords, I think of courage and public service, not intimidating constituents," Kelly tweeted. "Youre no Gabby."

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Norman says he took out his pistol and placed it on a table while talking with volunteers from Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America to prove that "guns don't shoot people; people shoot guns" and that guns are only dangerous when it's criminals who are using them. "I'm tired of these liberals jumping on the guns themselves as if they are the cause of the problem," Norman says. "Guns are not the problem." While Norman claimed he was making constituents at the meeting safer, some said they felt uncomfortable or unsafe when he took out his gun. Rep. Normans behavior today was a far cry from what responsible gun ownership looks like," says Lori Freemon, one of the volunteers at the meeting. Norman, who has a concealed carry permit, says he plans to take his gun out at more meetings in the future. (Read more guns stories.)
(Newser)  A man was injured north of Anchorage after a moose that he had just kicked stomped his foot in return, state officials said. KTVA-TV reported the man escaped with major injuries in the encounter Thursday with the moose and her calf, the AP reports. "It sounds like the moose were on a trail and in this case, it sounds like the guy was trying to go through them," State Department of Fish and Game spokesman Ken Marsh says. "That's never a good idea." The two moose left the area after the man had his foot stomped, says Alaska Troopers spokeswoman Megan Peters.

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"I am not a biologist, but as a lifelong Alaskan I would advise people not to go around kicking moose," Peters says. Moose have vast leg strength, Marsh said. "If you get into a kicking contest with a moose, guess who's going to win?" South-central Alaska has seen a number of violent incidents involving moose this spring, including a man who had a moose swipe at him with its hoof while feeding it and a cocker spaniel attacked by a moose in an Anchorage yard. Marsh says moose sightings are on the rise as females prepare for calving season in mid-May.

(Read more moose stories.)
(Newser)  A family is outraged after four Ohio teens had their prison sentences for murder and manslaughter suspended in favor of time in a treatment center, ABC News reports. According to WTVG, the boysbetween the ages of 13 and 14were walking to a store to buy candy last December in Toledo when they started throwing rocks off a freeway overpass. Then they dropped a sandbag. The sandbag landed on a passing vehicle, injuring 22-year-old father Marquis Byrd. Byrd died in the hospital three days later. The boy who dropped the sandbag pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to the Department of Youth Services until he turned 21, the Toledo Blade reports. The other three boys pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and were sentenced to three years each in the state prison.

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On Friday, those sentences were suspended to time in the Lucas County Youth Treatment Center. The average stay at the center is eight months. Judge Denise Cubbon says she suspended the original sentences "so these boys change their behavior and can become productive members of our community." After the change in sentencing, Marcus Byrd said the family didn't get justice for his brother. "Suspended what? If you do what? So eight months you get to go home?" the Byrd family's lawyer, Lillian Diallo, tells WTVG. All four teens apologized to the Byrd family in court. "I pray for him and his family every single day and night and cannot imagine what they are going through and how they feel right now," one of the boys said at Friday's sentencing. (Read more Ohio stories.)
(Newser)  North Korea and the US are apparently considering Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia, for the site of an unprecedented summit between Kim Jong Un and President Trump. That's one of the tidbits revealed to CNN by "administration officials familiar with the discussions" between the two countries. The main takeaway of the report is that intelligence officials from the US and North Korea have been holding "secret, direct talks" ahead of the planned summitanother sign that the meeting between the countries' leaders may actually happen.

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CNN's sources say intelligence officials from the US and North Korea have spoken through back-channels multiple times and met in a third, unnamed country at least once. The purpose of the talks is reportedly to find an acceptable location for the meeting between Trump and Kim. Officials say North Korea is pushing for its capital, Pyongyang, but that may not be acceptable to Trump and co. Sources say the next step in the ongoing discussions is an in-person meeting between CIA Director Mike Pompeo and his North Korean counterpart. Officials tell CNN they are currently shooting for a late-May or early June date for the summit between Kim and Trump. Read the full story here. (Read more North Korea stories.)
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New Delhi:

India and Nepal have agreed to boost bilateral cooperation in agricultural sector for the benefits of farmers of both the nations.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepalese counterpart KP Oli, who is on a three-day India visit held talks to deepen the ties between the countries onA . The talks deliberated upon various bilateral issues.

"Prime Ministers of India and Nepal (have) reaffirmed their resolve to promote cooperation in agricultural science and technology, agricultural production and agro-processing in line with the Memorandum of Understanding between the two countries for mutual benefit of farmers, consumers, scientific community as well as the private sector," the two countries said in a joint statement.

The two leaders agreed to give fresh momentum to bilateral cooperation in the agricultural sector and decided to launch a new partnership in agriculture, it stated.

The partnership will be led by the ministers for agriculture of the two countries. It will focus on collaborative projects in agricultural research and development, education, training and scholarships. It will also aim to strengthen supply and value chain, climate resilience, research in seed technology, soil health; strengthening the infrastructure of plant protection laboratories and research in indigenous genetic resources.

Other areas the partnership will focus is the animal husbandry veterinary research and development facilities, agro forestry, bio pesticides, bio fertilisers, cooperative farming, and promoting exchanges between the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR) and the Nepal Agricultural Research Council (NARC).

"The two sides will organise the first meeting of the partnership at an early date to concretise priority areas of mutual interest and to develop a work plan for joint implementation. The Indian side announced a pilot project on organic farming and soil health monitoring for implementation in Nepal," the statement added.

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New Delhi:

Bollywood superstar Salman Khan on Saturday walked out of the Jodhpur Central Jail as he was granted bail in the 20-year-old blackbuck poaching case.

While his fans gathered outside the jail, Salmans family and his legal team received him as he was released from the jail. The Dabangg actor is expected to land in Mumbai by 8 pm.

Security has been beefed up outside Salman's residence in Mumbai.

At 3 pm, the Jodhpur district sessions court Judge Ravindra Kumar Joshi announced the bail and suspension of the sentence in the presence of Salman's lawyer Mahesh Bora, Hastimal Saraswat and the prosecutors.

The actor was granted bail on a bond of Rs.50,000 and two sureties of like amount, Defence counsel Mahesh Bora said.

Earlier in the day, the judge heard the arguments of prosecution and defence which lasted for about an hour and pronounced the order at around 3 pm, a defence counsel said. Khan's sisters - Alvira and Arpita - were present during the hearing.

As the news of the actor's bail came, celebration began outside his house in Mumbai. And hoards of supporters and fans thronged the jail premises with, singing and dancing.

Salman has been asked to appear before the court on May 7 for the next hearing.



The actor, who delivered hits after hits, became the fall guy as he was found guilty of killing two blackbucks 20 years ago in 1998 during the shooting of his film Hum Saath Saath Hain in Jodhpur.



The Jodhpur session court on April 5 convicted Salman in the blackbuck poaching case and awarded five years imprisonment and a fine of Rs.10,000. Five others, including four actors, who were involved in the case were acquitted.



Earlier speculations had been rife that the actor will have to spend one more day at Jodhpur Central Jail as the judge, scheduled to hear the plea, was transferred on Friday.



Late of Friday, Judge Ravindra Kumar Joshi, who heard the bail plea of the actor, was transferred to Siroh by the Rajasthan High Court. He will be replaced by Chandra Kumar Songara, district and sessions judge of Bhilwara. Joshi was among 134 judges transferred by the Registrar General of the High Court.

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New Delhi:

A Jodhpur sessions court on Saturday will decide whether to release Bollywood actor Salman Khan on bail in the 20-year-old blackbuck poaching case in which he was awarded five years of imprisonment.

Earlier speculations had been rife that the actor will have to spend one more day at Jodhpur Central Jail as the Judge, scheduled to hear the plea, was transferred on Friday.

Yes! In a major twist, the District and Sessions Judge Ravindra Kumar Joshi, who heard the bail plea of the actor, has reportedly been transferred to Siroh by the Rajasthan High Court. He will be replaced by Chandra Kumar Songara, district and sessions judge of Bhilwara.

On account of administrative exigencies, 87 District judges along with Joshi were transferred in Rajasthan on Friday.

Bollywood's trade analyst Komal Nahta on Friday took to micro-blogging site Twitter and shared the news.

"BREAKING NEWS: Salman's bail order may not be delivered tomorrow as District&Sessions Judge hearing his bail plea, RavindraKumarJoshi, has been transferred vide Order of Rajasthan High Court, Jodhpur No. Estt. (RJS)/20/2018 dated 6April to Sirohi. Total 87 routine transfers done," Nahta tweeted.

BREAKING NEWS: Salman's bail order may not be delivered tomorrow as District&Sessions Judge hearing his bail plea, RavindraKumarJoshi, has been transferred vide Order of Rajasthan High Court, Jodhpur No. Estt. (RJS)/20/2018 dated 6April to Sirohi. Total 87 routine transfers done.  Komal Nahta (@KomalNahta) April 6, 2018

Here are the Live Updates on the 1998 blackbuck poaching case:

#03:00 PM: Salman Khan gets bail in 1998 blackbuck poaching case.

#12:00 PM: Verdict will be pronounced post lunch, we have concluded our arguments: Hastimal Saraswat, #SalmanKhan's lawyer #BlackBuckPaochingCase

Verdict will be pronounced post lunch, we have concluded our arguments: Hastimal Saraswat, #SalmanKhan's lawyer #BlackBuckPaochingCase pic.twitter.com/l6wJrGPf4f  ANI (@ANI) April 7, 2018

#11:59 AM: No mobile phones or selfies are allowed, no outside food is coming inside, jail authorities are serving him food, says Jodhpur Jail official.

No mobile phones or selfies are allowed, no outside food is coming inside, jail authorities are serving him food: Jodhpur Jail official on #SalmanKhan #BlackBuckPaochingCase pic.twitter.com/rzHF89mfDa  ANI (@ANI) April 7, 2018

#11:11 AM: Judge Ravindra Kumar Joshi will pronounce order at 2 pm.

#11:10 AM: Prosecutors have argued on the witness statement.

#10:58 AM: The argument is underway and the order likely to be pronounced in second half of the day.

#10:55 AM: Prosecution opposes Salman's bail application.

#10:48 AM: Salman should be punished for the crime that he has committed, a member of the Bishnoi samaj was quoted outside the court.

#10:40 AM: District & sessions court judge Ravindra Kumar Joshi is hearing the application.



#10:37 AM: Jodhpur Session court resumes hearing on Salman's bail plea.

Hearing on #SalmanKhan's bail plea begins in Jodhpur Court. #BlackBuckPaochingCase  ANI (@ANI) April 7, 2018

#10:27 AM: Salman Khan's sister Alvira, Arpita and bodyguard Shera have been allowed inside the court.

#10:25 AM: Salman Khan's bodyguard Shera misbehaves with media outside court.

#10:22 AM: Salman Khan was likely to speak to his mother from jail.

#10:20 AM: Salman Khan's lawyer Anand Desai arrives at Jodhpur court.

#10:15 AM: Jodhpur Session court to pronounce order on Salman Khan's bail application on Saturday.

#9:49 AM: #Rajasthan: District & sessions court judge Ravindra Kumar Joshi arrives at Jodhpur Court, he will be hearing #SalmanKhan's bail plea. Khan was awarded a 5-year jail term in #BlackBuckPaochingCase

#Rajasthan: District & sessions court judge Ravindra Kumar Joshi arrives at Jodhpur Court, he will be hearing #SalmanKhan's bail plea. Khan was awarded a 5-year jail term in #BlackBuckPaochingCase. pic.twitter.com/9GsbkO6uTn  ANI (@ANI) April 7, 2018

Also Read | Blackbuck poaching case: Salman Khan gets bail

Soon after Salman convicted in the year-old blackbuck poaching case on Thursday, his lawyer moved a bail plea in the court. The plea was not heard on Thursday due to lack of time and brought up in the Session court on Friday. However, the court reserved its order in the bail hearing until April 7.

Apart from Salman, actor Saif Ali Khan, Tabu, Neelam, Sonali Bendre and a local named Dushyant Singh were accused in the case. While Salman was found guilty under Section 9/51 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, others were acquitted due to lack of evidence against them.

The Hum Saath Saath Hain actor was lodged at the Jodhpur Central Jail as 'Qaidi No. 106' in 'Ward Number 2' and spent Thursday night and all of Friday in prison.

For all the Latest Entertainment News, Bollywood News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

In a major breakthrough to the CBSE paper leak scam, three persons, including a teacher, clerk and support staff were arrested from Himachal Pradesh on Friday.

"#CBSEPaperLeak: Three, including a teacher, clerk & support staff, arrested from Himachal Pradesh over the leak of XII class Economics paper which was leaked in handwritten form," according to ANI.

Reports suggest that the arrested trio was part of DAV school in Himachal Pradesh.

Police were tracking the three persons since past few days and finally on Saturday captured them from Himachal. They will now be grilled as part of the investigations in CBSE paper leak issue.

#CBSEPaperLeak: Three, including a teacher, clerk & support staff, arrested from Himachal Pradesh over the leak of XII class Economics paper which was leaked in handwritten form. pic.twitter.com/7D2AYdfOEC  ANI (@ANI) April 7, 2018

Earlier, in March, CBSE'S class X Mathematics and class XII Economics examinations were cancelled after the reports of question paper leak dropped on the internet. The Economics papers were allegedly leaked in a handwritten form before the examination on March 26.

Also Read | Supreme Court dismisses pleas against re-examination of CBSE leaked paper

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) will conduct the Class XII Economics re-examination on April 25.

However, the board had decided not to conduct a re-test for Class X Mathematics paper amidst massive uproar by a score of frustrated students, who took to streets to protest against the Board's negligence.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

Government websites, including those of defence and home ministries, have not come under any cyber attack, but suffered a hardware-related glitch, National Cyber Security Coordinator Gulshan Rai said on Friday.

Explaining the outage, he said the websites have been down since afternoon after it was noticed that there was a "storage area networking system" failure.

"The same is being addressed. It is only a hardware failure," Rai, who has been working in the field of cyber security since 1998, said.

"There is no hacking or cyber attack," Rai, who heads the cyber security unit, said.

Rai, who was earlier heading the computer emergency response team, said that nearly a dozen government websites hosted by National Infomatics Centre, including defence, home, department of law and labour, were affected due to the outage.

"The hardware is being replaced and they will be up very soon," Rai said.

Earlier Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had tweeted, "Action is initiated after the hacking of MoD website (https://mod.nic.in). The website shall be restored shortly. Needless to say, every possible step required to prevent any such eventuality in the future will be taken."

The website of the home ministry was temporarily taken down as part of extra precautions.

An official spokesperson of the Ministry of Home Affairs said the National Informatics Centre, which hosts the MHA site, is upgrading the security system of the website which has led to its temporary suspension.

"The requested service is temporarily unavailable. Sorry for Inconvenience. It would be available soon," the message read on the MHA website.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday held talks with his Nepal counterpart KP Oli here and discussed several bilateral issues, including defence and security, to deepen ties between the neighbours.

In an effort to resolve bilateral issues and strengthen ties between the countries, the two prime ministers held talks on various bilateral issues at length.

After the talks with Oli, Modi told reporters that both countries have agreed to expedite all connectivity projects.

We have agreed to expedite implementation of all connectivity projects... we have agreed on a new railway line to link Kathmandu with India, he said.

Modi then said that India and Nepal will work together to stop misuse of the open border the two neighbours share.

India and Nepal have close ties in defence and security. We will work together to stop misuse of our open border, he said.

Acknowledging India's continued support to Nepal, Oli said, "We want to erect a strong edifice of trust-based relationship between the two close neighbours that we are".

I have come to India to explore ways to enhance cooperation to newer heights, Oli told reporters.

The Nepal prime minister was accorded a warm ceremonial welcome at the Rashtrapati Bhavan here on . He is on a three-day visit to India.

Olis visit is in line with the tradition of a Nepalese premier visiting India on his first overseas trip.

Modi had on met Oli at the Prime Minister's official residence in the national capital.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

An Italian monsignor, who was recalled from his services at apostolic nunciature in Washington last year, was arrested under the suspicion of watching, possessing and distributing child pornography on Saturday by the Vatican.

Vatican in a official statement said that the city-states prosecutor had issued an arrest warrant after monsignor Carlo Capella was found guilty for possessing and watching child pornography.

The statement said that Capella is being held under the authority of a set of 2013 Vatican criminal norms.

According to Vatican laws Carlos can be subjected to five years imprisonment and 50,000 euros.

The arrested monsignor was deployed at the embassy, in Washington since mid-2016. Carlos was called back after the U.S. notified the Holy See of his possible violation of laws relating to child pornography.

An arrest warrant was also issued by Canada on September 2017.

According to police in Windsor, Capella allegedly uploaded child porn from a social networking site while visiting a place of worship from December 24-27, 2016.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
A public elementary school in central Tokyo's upscale Ginza district welcomed on Friday new students amid lingering controversy over de-facto uniforms from high-end Italian brand Armani.

All 56 first-graders except one absentee wore the Armani clothes proposed by Taimei Elementary School.

The clothes are not mandatory for students, but the recommendation as desirable school attire effectively designated them as uniforms.

The outfits have come under criticism from some parents as they cost more than 80,000 yen per set, including optional items such as sweater.

Friday's school entrance ceremony was not open to the media.
New York State Police found a missing two-year-old boy from South Carolina, who sustained a gunshot wound and never received medical care, during a highway traffic stop Friday in Broome County.

Police transported the boy to Wilson Hospital where he is in stable condition.

The boy had suffered a gunshot wound to his lower extremities in South Carolina.

Police had received information from Horry County Police in South Carolina that the family might be passing through New York, as well as a description of the vehicle the missing child may have been in.

Troopers intercepted the vehicle before 1 a.m. Friday along Interstate 81 by Exit 6 in the Town of Chenango and pulled over the vehicle without incident.

South Carolina residents Holly G. Dew, 24, and Randi L. Session, 23, were arrested and charged with misdemeanor counts of endangering the welfare of a child.

Broome County Child Protective Services was contacted and two other children in the car were turned over to CPS.

Both Dew and Session were arraigned in the town of Chenango Court and were remanded to the Broome County Jail on $2,000 cash bail or $4,000 bond.

The Horry County Police Department will be lodging their own charges in the case and are continuing their investigation.
Ferrari was silent after Liberty Media announced in Bahrain that it is pressing ahead with new engine rules and a budget cap for 2021.

Earlier, president Sergio Marchionne - who was not present for Fridays key meeting - had warned that changes like those might result in Ferrari quitting the sport.

And amid rumours Libertys budget ceiling will be $150 million per team, Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff agreed that a number like that would be "unworkable".

Mercedes team chairman Niki Lauda agreed: "It would mean cutting many jobs, which is something we cant do in such a short time."

A Ferrari spokesperson in Bahrain said the Maranello based team has no comment.

Struggling former great Williams, though, welcomed the proposals.

"Not to say that we were on the brink or anywhere close, but with the way the sport is structured today Williams survival into the medium and long-term was looking pretty bleak," said deputy boss Claire Williams.

"Everything they (Liberty) presented from revenue redistribution to cost caps is absolutely everything that we want to see from 2021 and beyond," she added.

However, Libertys F1 sporting boss Ross Brawn admitted that what was proposed on Friday was more of a starting point than a fait accompli.

"The teams need to digest it now and then the discussion proper will start," he said in Bahrain.

But Red Bull team boss Christian Horner said time is tight, and he is sceptical Liberty can push through its agenda.

"Its ambitious," he admitted.

"There are lots of big topics - engines, prize fund and budget caps - but the thing is how are going to achieve it?"

The next meeting will take place just after the Chinese grand prix, when the strategy group gets together on April 17. Marchionne is slated to attend.
The Presidency moved yesterday to douse the tension sparked by Wednesdays announcement that President Muhammadu Buhari had approved $1...

The Presidency moved yesterday to douse the tension sparked by Wednesdays announcement that President Muhammadu Buhari had approved $1billion for the procurement of arms for the military.Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity,Mallam Garba Shehu , said that contrary to claims in some quarters that Buharis approval was in breach of the constitution , a draft bill would be sent to the National Assembly shortly for consideration and approval.The process has begun; its not concluded. Therefore, everyone will be involved. Mr. President will not breach the constitution of this country. Approval at that level is granted; there is nothing controversial, Shehu said on the Channels Television.He added: I think a lot of the judgements are hasty. After the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approval, the Attorney General will bring a draft bill to the FEC, the president will approve and then say take it to the National Assembly. The draft budget ,before it got to the National Assembly, the FEC signed and approved it.Asked why government wanted to spend that much on the Boko Haram insurgency after saying repeatedly that it had defeated the terrorists,Shehu said:If you check around, all over the world, countries do most spending in peace time.There is police and there is also the military. Its going to touch on every aspect of security in the country. We are not talking about buying footwear or uniforms which is routine. Well re-equip the military that has depleted much of its stock fighting criminality, insurgency and terrorism across the country.We need this money to restock. The Nigerian Army, the police, they ought to have arms that they can use in situations where they are needed. Its not as if we have no idea of what to do with this money, it is also true there is still some finishing jobs to be done to Boko Haram.There is a lot of attention that needs to be paid to the police, violence in the central sections of Nigeria, challenges in the Delta, the Navy and all of these. Theres a lot to be done with this money.On those criticizing the Presidents approval,he said:I think they dont have anything to talk about. That is why they are blowing hot air over this issue. There is a mandate given to elected leaders.This is a country that is at war with insurgency. Although technically defeated, the challenges are enormous. 34 of the 36 states have the military being deployed to them.The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr.Femi Adesina, in a separate interview said critics of the presidents approval were only playing politics with the security of Nigerians.He said:As we speak now, the communication to the National Assembly is about ready. Those who have been venting spleen and flexing muscles over the matter should just have bothered to make enquiries from the Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters.There is no timing that is not good for security. Every time is security time. Those who are reading political meanings to it, it is just very unfortunate they play politics with everything and they will play politics with the very life of Nigerians which is very bad.However,the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) insisted that the Presidents approval was out of tune with the provisions of the constitution.The partys Deputy National Secretary , Agbo Emmanuel, who was also a guest on the Channels Television, said:We have stated clearly, without mincing words that this is a misnomer. It is a breach of process and cannot be accepted.Agbo said presidential approval cannot precede legislative procedure and process.Agbo emphasised that, for the funds to be drawn from the excess crude fund, the president must follow due process, beginning with approval from state assemblies.
Transportation Minister Rotimi Amaechi, said yesterday that the Rivers State electorate will put an end to what he termed Governor Nyesom...

Transportation Minister Rotimi Amaechi, said yesterday that the Rivers State electorate will put an end to what he termed Governor Nyesom Wikes poor performance, bad governance and misrule, during next years election Amaechi who is the leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state spoke at a grand reception for him and the Director- General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA),Dr.Dakuku Peterside, by the Free Rivers Development Initiative (FRDI) at Opobo, headquarters of Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Area of Rivers State. Peterside hails from Opobo. Amaechi asked the people of Opobo to start mobilizing now with a view to ensuring that they produce the states next governor. When we start (politics), we will compare my first tenure with Wikes first tenure, he said. You must start mobilising now.You have not shown enough anger. You must show enough anger to chase him out of power. Show enough anger, such that if anybody warns you, you should chase the person out of Opobo. The minister who was apparently taken aback by alleged summoning of Opobo chiefs to Government House,Port Harcourt,midway into the reception said: Correct Opobo/Nkoro LGAs chiefs, some of them came (for the reception), but many of them have run away (to Government House, Port Harcourt). I then asked Ikwerre chiefs to join me to Opobo. One of them is Chief Chidi Lloyd (former Majority Leader of Rivers House of Assembly). When Ikwerre people wanted to produce governor (in 2007), they came together, were united and said they wanted governorship of Rivers State, not one of our (Ikwerre) chiefs escaped. If you (people of Opobo/Nkoro LGA) do not get governorship of Rivers State (in 2019), blame your chiefs.They have run away. When things were extremely bad with me, Dr. Sam Sam Jaja (indigene of Opobo) was behind me. Not politics. He (Jaja) will agree that I introduced him to major politics. I was hungry, I had a wife and children, but no money to survive then as a young man, but Dr. Sam Sam Jaja stood firmly behind me, as things were very rough then. Ike Chinwo housed us and gave us food, before I met Dr. Peter Odili (former Rivers governor). Dr. Odili played important roles in my life. Also speaking, Peterside who was the governorship candidate of the party in Rivers during the 2015 election, said Wike is running a failed government. The government, he said, is also petty and has democratized stealing.The NIMASA D-G described Amaechi as a visioner and a leader, who has done a lot for the people of Opobo/Nkoro LGA and other parts of Rivers State Peterside said: It is not always common to take up responsibility for other peoples challenges. Our leader (Amaechi), for a very long time, has taken up the challenge of the development of Opobo and Nkoro Kingdoms. Today, in Rivers State, the symbol of good governance is Rt. Hon. Amaechi. We must be grateful to him. Today in Rivers State, soot is killing our people. The current government (of Wike) represents the mass looting of our commonwealth. Our schools are shut down. Our pensioners are being owed and they are dying daily. Our people have no means of livelihood, that is why they are taking to illegal refining of crude oil. Rivers State secretariat is stinking. About three years ago, when Rt. Hon. Amaechi left office, the road to Opobo (Ogoni-Andoni-Opobo Unity Road), remained less than two kilometres to complete. Till today, Wikes government has refused to complete the strategic road. Before Rt. Hon. Amaechi left government, it was estimated that N6 billion would be needed to complete the road, but when Wike took over, instead of paying the contractor the N6 billion, the contract was cancelled, re-awarded to themselves and they inflated the figure to N14 billion.They have democratised stealing in government. Rt. Hon. Amaechi believes that every Rivers person must be given an opportunity to participate in governance. He believes in equity, justice and fairness. Rt. Hon. Amaechi and his wife, Dame Judith, played great roles in my life. In the elections of 2015 and rerun of 2016, they (PDP members) rigged everywhere (in Rivers State), but they could not rig here (Opobo). APC has never lost any election on this soil (Opobo). We have not had a government with this type of terrible record. The government (of Wike) has failed in every respect. We know what the votes will do. The people of Opobo/Nkoro LGA will speak (during 2019 elections) and they will speak very loud. However,Wike, in his reaction, said he is a man of substance, with awards from all over the world. The Rivers governor, who spoke through Information and Communications Commissioner Emma Okah, alleged that Amaechi and Peterside had not attracted any development project to Rivers State, since their appointments.
Kano State governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje has said the State will drag President Mohammadu Buhari to court if he refuse to contest fo...

Kano State governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje has said the State will drag President Mohammadu Buhari to court if he refuse to contest for a second term in 2019.The governor said this during an interactive session with selected journalists in Abuja, saying the the State has concluded plans to drag President Buhari to court if he fails to seek reelection for a second term.APC governors want Mr. President to continue. I am happy that it is not the president that said he wants to continue, it is the people that are saying continue but Mr. President has not made up his mind yet he said.When he came to Kano, I told him that any time he decides not to contest we will take him to court, Kano state government will take him to court any time he decides not to contest. So we are waiting for him.In this country we saw presidents who spent billions of Naira for third term, so what is the ruse about a constitutional second term. Some people who spent billions of Naira in order to go for third term, I think it should not be news or something like that.
The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, has prayed for the immediate release of all the female students still in Boko Haram captivity.This formed part of his sermon at the April 2018 Holy Ghost Service and Vigil of the Church at its prayer ground in Mowe, Ogun, on Kilometre 45 of Lagos  Ibadan Expressway, which ended on Saturday.The monthly programme was attended by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and his wife, Dolapo, as well as thousands of Christian faithful.Pastor Adeboye expressed gladness for the return of no fewer than 105 students of the Federal Government Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe, abducted by the Boko Haram terrorists in February.We thank God for the release of the girls and pray that all the girls yet to secure their freedom should be freed, Adeboye prayed.He also offered special prayers for those afflicted by all sorts of strange ailments and problems, especially for the barren so that by this time next year, they should be attending the Holy Ghost Service with their children.The cleric said he had pity for the youth whose parents were involved in evil as such evil often affected their spiritual and physical development.Quoting Bible verses, especially Ezekiel chapter 16, verse 44, and John 8, verse 44, Adeboye reminded the faithful that God visits the crimes of the father on the children.According to him, if the children are to be blessed something should be done by their parents.If the parents are of the Lord the Lord will continue to bless them and their children will not beg for food, Adeboye statedHe also warned those who got involved in marriage relationships via the social media without finding out the background of their would-be partners, recalling how in the past parents inquired about spouses before approving marriages for their children.He noted that our elders were uneducated but very rich in knowledge.If you marry on facebook, you cannot tell what will come.
Raymond Dokpesi, chairman of DAAR communications, has asked Lai Mohammed, minister of information and culture, retract his name from the l...

Raymond Dokpesi, chairman of DAAR communications, has asked Lai Mohammed, minister of information and culture, retract his name from the looters list or be prepared to face a N5 billion suit.





The minister had at a press conference listed Dokpesi, who is standing trial for allegedly receiving N2.1 billion from the office of the national security adviser (ONSA), as part of those who looted the countrys treasury.





Responding in a letter dated April 4, Mike Ozekhome, Dokpesis counsel, asked Mohammed to immediately publish a retraction in four newspapers and pay a sum of N500 million.





Ozekhome said if the minister fails to comply with their minimal demands, they would have no choice but to commence legal action against him.





Contrary to your derogatory, disparaging, mendacious and unrestrained defamatory statements, as published in various print, electronic and online media platforms, of and concerning our client, our client has never been associated with the looting of the public treasury, the letter read.





Before the court where he is currently standing trial on trumped up charges brought against him by your same federal government, he has categorically and unambiguously denied the said charges. At the ongoing trial which has been stalled serially by the federal government with series of requests for adjournment, our client has neither been found guilty nor convicted by the trial court or by any other court in Nigeria.





The brazen defamatory statements/ publications of alleged looting of the public treasury mentioned by you against our client are most damaging and clearly rubbish the hard-earned reputation of our client. Our client has since received several and unending phone calls, mails and visits from relatives, friends, associates, as well as other well meaning Nigerians, who have ceaselessly called to express their shock over the vile allegations in the said publications.





Our client has suffered severe public odium, approbrium, ridicule, psychological trauma, untold embarrassment and countless business losses consequent upon your reckless publication which has put him in bad light before reasonable members of the society.





Unless you carry out the above minimal demands immediately, to redress the incalculable damage done to our clients [image], we shall, without any further communication from us, commence legal action against you to redress your unrestrained and unwarranted assault against our clients hard earned image and reputation.




The National Chairman of the PDP, Prince Uche Secondus, has dragged Mohammed to court for defamation of character.

Mohammed had on Friday, last week, identified Secondus as one of those who looted the nations treasury in the first list.He alleged that Secondus collected N200m from Dasuki, an allegation that was denied by Secondus, who said he was embarrassed by the ministers claim.He claimed through a letter from his lawyer, Mr. Emeka Etiaba (SAN ), that he did not collect money and asked the minister to retract his statement. He also asked for the payment of N1.5bn as damages and a public apology within 48 hours.The letter told Mohammed to note that if he failed to meet their demand after 48 hours, We shall within 72 hours from today, proceed to a court of competent jurisdiction to ventilate our clients rights under the law and shall further seek the protection of the court against you.Having failed to meet the demand, Secondus on Friday, made good his threat and filed a suit at the High Court, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, asking the court to award the sum of N1.5bn to him as damages for humiliation, castigation, vilification attack on his person and integrity as a result of the publication.According to a statement by the PDP National Chairmans Media Office, which was signed by his spokesperson, Mr. Ike Abonyi, Secondus, in the suit numbered: /PHC/1013/2018, is also claiming that Mohammeds publication is defamatory.He, therefore, asked the court to direct Mohammed to retract the said publication and apologise to him in writing.He asked the court to compel the minister to publish the retraction and apology in the Nation, This Day, The Sun, The Guardian and The PUNCH as well as on television stations like Nigerian Television Authority and Channels TV, among others, where the defamatory report was published.Secondus is also asking the court for a perpetual injunction restraining the defendant from further publishing defamatory materials against him.Joined in the suit are the Federal Government of Nigeria through the Attorney General of the Federation and the Vintage Press Limited, publishers of The Nation Newspapers.Also included in Mohammeds first list were a former PDP National Publicity Secretary, Olisah Metuh, who is on trial for allegedly collecting N1.4bn from NSA office; Dr. Raymond Dokpesi, who is on trial for taking N2.1bn from NSA office; and a former Senior Special Adviser to President Jonathan, Dudafa Waripamo-Owei, who is on trial over N830m kept in accounts of four different companiesIn the second list, the minister said based on EFCCs investigation, N126bn, $1.5bn and 5.5m were allegedly embezzled through Dasukis office. He said the amounts were not part of the ongoing $2.1bn military equipment scandal.
A former Governor of Abia State, Orji Kalu, has expressed confidence that President Muhammadu Buhari will win the 2019 presidential election if he re-contests despite the series of attacks from former President Olusegun Obasanjo and others.Kalu said this in an interview with journalists in Ile-Ife, Osun State, on Friday, after his peace and advocacy visit to the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi.The former governor said Obasanjo, who spent eight years in office, was the least person competent to attack Buharis integrity, adding that the former President did not allow anybody to criticise him while in office.He said, Talking of integrity, Obasanjo is incompetent to criticise President Buhari. When I was the governor of Abia State, I wrote letters to President Obasanjo, criticising him and because of that, he swore to make life difficult for me. He is today writing letters every week, attacking Buhari.I know Buhari very well. He is not corrupt. He does not own property anywhere. Some people should not just put the country in crisis. Whatever they may have in plan, Buhari will return in 2019.The former governor said that Buhari had demonstrated that he loved the country more than Obasanjo and added that there was no way Nigerians would dump the President based on the series of letters written by Obasanjo to discredit him (Buhari).Kalu also said that the Igbo could realise the ambition of producing Buharis successor in 2023, stating, We cant do it alone. Late Chief MKO Abiola came to my mothers house in Abia many years ago seeking political support.While discussing with my mother, MKO said no one could clap with one hand. I will also adopt that adage. We Igbo cant do it alone. The rest of the country should assist us to realise this ambition.Earlier, the Ooni of Ife thanked Kalu for promoting unity and peaceful coexistence among Nigerians.Meanwhile, Obasanjo has called on the newly elected President of Sierra Leone, Julius Bio, to sustain the countrys relationship with Nigeria, which was strengthened during the reign of the immediate past President, Ernest Bai Koroma.This call was contained in a congratulatory letter he sent to Bio on Thursday, a copy of which was made available to our correspondent by Obasanjos media aide, Kehinde Akinyemi, on Friday in Abeokuta.Bio won the presidential run-off on Wednesday and clinched the exalted position.While he congratulated him, Obasanjo noted that the people of Sierra Leone had spoken.The letter read in part, No doubt, the good people of Sierra Leone have spoken and have decided to repose their trust and confidence in your leadership.By this clear victory, Sierra Leoneans have not only given you a mandate to lead with the sound policies that will bring much socioeconomic progress to the country but also to reassure you of their faith in your leadership, given your experience and background in government.As Your Excellency is aware, Nigeria and Sierra Leone have enjoyed excellent relations, which have been further strengthened under the leadership of your predecessor, President Ernest Bai Koroma.I hope that the profound traditional bond of friendship subsisting between Nigeria and Sierra Leone will grow from strength to strength during your administration and under your leadership.
The Kwara State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Lawan Ado, on Saturday said seven suspects have been arrested in connection with the robbery of banks in Offa, Offa Local Government Area of Kwara State.Armed robbers had on Thursday robbed Union Bank, Ecobank, Guarantee Trust Bank, First Bank, Zenith Banks and Ibolo Micro Finance Bank.The CP during a media briefing in Ilorin, the Kwara State Capital said the number of injured victims had yet to be ascertained as they were receiving treatment in different hospitals.He stated that the Inspector General of Police, Mr Ibrahim Idris, has ordered a full scale investigation into the attacks.Ado said, Seven suspects arrested; one at Igosun road and six others at different locations in Offa. They are helping us in our investigation.Seven vehicles abandoned and recovered from the armed robbers. Some rifles were carted away by the robbers.The Inspector General of Police has ordered a full investigation and has directed his Intelligence Response Team and others to assist in getting the hoodlums arrested.The Command wishes to express its heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of the victims while also wishing the injured quick recovery.
Read the article by Reno below...

Read the article by Reno below...





The so called looters list released last week by Lai Mohammed, on behalf of the Muhammadu Buhari administration just shows how blind this government is to its true state.





Does this administration not understand that no one takes their anti corruption posture serious anymore?





How can you be fighting corruption and the only global body recognized as setting the standards for who is corrupt and who is not rates you more corrupt than those you point fingers to?





2018 marked Nigerias worst ever showing in Transparency International Corruption Perception Index when we moved 12 places backward from 136 to 142.





Yet it was under this climate that Lai Mohammed chose to embarrass himself and his boss by releasing such a farcical and nonsensical looters list that only featured members of the opposition.





Perhaps Lai and the other leading darkness of this administration were giddy from the show of crass they put on last week and called the Bola Tinubu Colloquium.





At that event, rather than tell Nigerians what the APC and Bola Tinubu (once the National Leader of the All Progressive Congress until June 2016 when he was publicly dethroned by Buhari) had for them, the APC leaders, from President Buhari to Tinubu, all took turns to blame the previous administration and pour scorn on firmer President Jonathan.





Perhaps the worst of it was Vice President Osinbajo, a man who worked for Tinubu for 8 years, yet still has the guts to call others corrupt.





Vice President Osinbajo reminds me of Michael Corleones wife in the movie the Godfather. Kay Adams-Corleone disliked the Mafia so much that she had extracted a commitment from her husband that he would not be a part of it.





She continued to live a sheltered life in a bubble until one day, her world was rocked when her sister-in-law, Connie Corleone, informed her that not only was her husband a mafioso, he was actually the Don (Godfather, head honcho).





Vice President Osinbajo desperately needs a Connie Corleone to tell him that not only are his benefactors corrupt, they virtually hold a franchise over corruption in Lagos! Dont ask me name them ALPHA-BETA cally. I do not want their trouble.





How can Professor Yemi Osinbajo look a room full of characters like Tinubu, and say ''Those who carried out the criminal looting in this country must be held to account''. Some of the very people he refers to were right there in front of him. The others can be found at FEC every Wednesday! Is it Rotimi Amaechi who once boasted that "We steal because Nigerians dont stone us" or Fashola that admitted to spending ?78 million tax payer funds on his personal website?





I do not know why the Vice President keeps insulting the intelligence of Nigerians by insisting that former President Jonathan destroyed Nigeria.





The Vice President should remember that under the Jonathan administration that he accuses of destroying Nigeria for five years,





A 50kg bag of rice was ?8000





A litre of petrol was ?87





$1 was ?150 (then ?199 in 2015)





Lagos-Abuja air ticket was ?2500





A bottle of Coke was ?60





A tin of Peak milk was ?80





?18,000 minimum wage was equal to $120.





If truly Jonathan destroyed Nigeria as Professor Yemi Osinbajo alleges, how come his boss, President Buhari, has made it a habit to recommission projects already commissioned by Jonathan, from the Air Force drone, the Plateau bridge and now to #EkoAtlanticCity, amongst others? Does Buhari like destruction?





There is a popular Nigerian Pidgin proverb which goes 'who no like better thing'. Buhari is recommissioning Jonathan's project because he likes 'better thing'. Since he cannot find any better thing associated with him, President Buhari is drawn to Jonathans better things.?





In fact, I appeal to Professor Osinbajo and his boss to likewise destroy Nigeria like Jonathan destroyed her.





They claim that Jonathan ruined Nigeria and they are rescuing her, but the facts do not bear up to what they are saying.





On the day ex President Jonathan handed over to President Buhari, Aliko Dangote was worth $25 billion. Today, after three years of Buhari, Dangote is now worth $13.8 billion.





If you doubt me, Google it yourself. Then think about it.





Think about it very deeply.





In fact, I hear that during Federal Executive Council meetings, President Buhari now calls Rotimi Amaechi, Martin LUTHER, because the man has looted Rivers state so much that even after leaving office the ALOOTA CONTINUA!





I also have been reliably informed that the only reason President Buhari agreed to meet with Naomi Campbell is because he thought her name is Naomi Cowbell. You know how he prioritizes anything that has to do with cows. That reminds me, President Buhari is excitedly waiting to meet Simon Cowell soon. The last two paragraphs are a parody.





Who we elect as President in 2019 has deep consequences for our pockets. In one week, two prominent Northern emirs who supported Buhari and celebrated when he won came out publicly to wail about extreme suffering and killings in their Emirates. They thought they dealt with Jonathan, but after three years of Buhari, they realize they dealt with themselves!





After three years of blaming the previous administration and making little to no progress towards fulfilling their campaign promises, Nigerians can now see that the only difference between the APC and yahoo boys is that one operates from laptop while the other operates from State House, other than that there is no difference.





The APC that promised three million jobs per year have seen Nigerians lose 10 million jobs in the last three years. What is that if not fraud? They promised to make ?1 equal to $1, but today $1 is equivalent to ?367. Is that not yahoo? In fact, that one is no longer Yahoo. It is Yahoo plus!





$25 billion was spent at NNPC without due process and nothing happened and the APC say they are fighting corruption?

If President Buhari does not Know, then I would like to inform him that with the amount of looters in his cabinet, Nigerians have nicknamed his government ALOOTA CONTINUA.





How can Amaechi and others be in your government and you say you are fighting corruption! Fashola, your minister of works built a website for ?78 million, yet he is fighting corruption with you? Corruption my foot!





On a lighter note, ?I have just been informed that President Donald J. Trump of the US is called POTUS,?





While the President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria is called DISAPPOINTUS! ?





Let me end this piece with an original poem I wrote:





The first Siamese twins I have ever seen in my life are APC and Lies.





They go together like white on rice.





Their affinity to lying is so strong that they chose a spokesman whose name rhymes with lies!

Oh what lies ahead for Nigeria when we have a Lai to inform us with lies?





A Buhari to bores us with booboos in February!





A Fashola to flash power!





But the worst is the deputy, a pastor that passes on lies!




Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption, PACAC, Prof. Itsey Sagay, has backed a former aide to ex-President Goo...

Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption, PACAC, Prof. Itsey Sagay, has backed a former aide to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, for releasing his own list of looters, but said it has an implication.





Omokri had responded to the lists released by the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, by releasing list of members of the All Progressives Congress, APC, who should be included in the list.





Speaking in an interview with Punch, Prof. Sagay commended his courage to release such list but warned that it could be libelous.





He called on other Nigerians who feel the Federal Government is incomplete to go ahead and publish their own names of looters.





He said, It is good that Omokri released his own list; it is encouraging and this is what I have been telling Nigerians; if you think the list is incomplete, go and bring what you have. Let everyone bring out their own list.





People who have not said anything but know more should bring their own lists out. Thats good for the health of the country and, of course, while you are bringing out your list and you mention a name that has not been involved in corruption, then there is a risk of defamation and liability.





Let people come out and publish their own lists. Anyone who is not satisfied with the governments list and thinks some names were omitted should publish their own. Thats very healthy for our democracy.





Asked if he agrees to the names on Omokris looters  list, Sagay added, No , I dont agree to those names; I m only agreeing to the idea that you can bring out your own list.





There is a difference between the two. I dont know where he got the names on his list from and that is his own problem.





I cant confirm the names on his list . I cant guarantee his list, but what Im saying is that he has the right as a citizen to express himself; its a natural right and if he has further information, he can bring it out.





But any list is subject to libel if somebody s name is falsely mentioned.





As I said earlier, the government has done its own and I cannot swear that some people were not left out.





But if for any reason some people were left out, as Omokri has done, let people bring up those names and if the list is correct, the people therein will keep quiet, but if they are innocent, they will sue whoever brings out their names.





Thats the way I feel; I don t think the government should be compelled by the people who are saying, Bring out this name, bring out that name. I dont agree. Whatever list the government has released is the official list of looters.





Nothing is ever perfect and Im not even saying its not a complete list. I repeat , if anyone feels it is not a complete list, let them add their own.




The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has disowned the group of northern Christian leaders who visited President Muhammadu Buhari i...

The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has disowned the group of northern Christian leaders who visited President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja on Thursday. The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has disowned the group of northern Christian leaders who visited President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja on Thursday.





The group under the aegis of Arewa Pastors Non-denominational Initiative for Peace (APNIP) had expressed satisfaction with the performance of Buhari.





They also vowed to expose those working against the president within the fold.





In a statement on Friday, Adebayo Oladeji, spokesman of Samson Ayokunle, president of CAN, said his association does not recognise APNIP.





He said it was disappointing that those who claimed to be Christians could conduct themselves in such manner.





statement read. The attention of the leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has been drawn to a group of clergymen under the aegis of Arewa Pastors Peace Initiative, Nigeria (APPIN) who visited President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday to pledge their support to him and his government, thestatement read.





The group went further to the extent of claiming to the president that they knew some pastors who are being used by the opposition against his government. Claiming that Islamisation agenda is the idea of the opposition is the least expected of those who claim to be Christians in the country where Christians are becoming endangered species daily.





CAN does not know any of them and their organisation is even alien to the association, and fortunately enough, they did not claim to be part of CAN. We are happy that the Northern Christian Association of Nigeria (Northern CAN) has also disowned them.





He wondered why they did not speak about Leah Sharibu and over 100 Chibok girls who are languishing in the captivity of the Boko Haram.





We wonder why these supporters of our president, who claimed to be servants of God, would not ask him to stop the unending killings going on under his watch in the Christian predominant communities in the north central and some states in the south, he said.





They were so concerned with the 2019 election that they forgot to tell the president that the primary duty of any serious government is to provide security to the governed irrespective of their religious and ethnic affiliations.





Telling President Buhari that the opposition had hired some pastors against his government speaks volume of where they are coming from and who they are in the body of Christ. We are waiting for the list of the pastors whom they know that are on the pay roll of the opposition who are allegedly guilty of hate speech.





We all know how those who engaged in such an ungodly exercise in the Bible ended up. The Christian Association of Nigeria will not be discouraged by the activities of those whose agenda include but not limited to polarisation of the association and blackmailing its leadership. We cannot turn the blind eye to the ordeal of our brothers and sisters anywhere in the country.




A 44-year-old man who was forcibly arrested for refusing to produce his license in a Voorhees Township traffic stop is suing the officers who punched and pepper sprayed him.

In the May 5, 2016 stop, Sean M. Shaw, then a state employee, said he wouldn't produce his ID until the cop showed him a "writ or warrant" or other proof that he was required to do so.

Officers Michael J. Hagner and Kevin R. Branagan reported that they pulled Shaw from the car and he started throwing punches. Hagner punched him several times in the face and then pepper sprayed him, while Branagan said he punched him once in the chest, according to their reports.

Shaw maintains that he never resisted or assaulted police. The body camera footage shows a struggle, but it's not conclusive about whether he was violent.

Hagner, then 23, wrote in his report that he suspected Shaw was a so-called sovereign citizen and worried he might be violent because of it. People who call themselves sovereign citizens refuse to recognize most federal criminal laws.

But Shaw's attorney, Richard M. Wiener of Marlton, said that police only included that in their report to try to brand him as a violent extremist.

"Mr. Shaw does not and never has considered himself a sovereign citizen or a follower of sovereign citizen beliefs," Wiener said in a statement. "It appears the arresting officer added that characterization to his report to provide a pretext for his use of force against Mr. Shaw, who simply questioned the need to produce his driver's license."

The body camera footage, spanning from the beginning of the sto to Shaw and Hagner at the hospital, captures Hagner discussing the incident several times but never mentioning anything about sovereign citizens.

Drivers in New Jersey are required to provide a license when stopped by police, as opposed to people stopped on the street, who do not have to give ID unless an officer has a court summons.

Hagner, then 23, said he saw Shaw driving slowly in the left lane of Route 73 around 1 p.m. and pulled him over at Green Lea Florist after seeing his registration was five days expired.

Shaw gave his registration and insurance card but did not give Hagner his license. He placed a call to someone he described as his "legal advisor" and told the officer the advisor was coming.

After Shaw continued to ask for proof of the law requiring him to show ID, Hagner called for backup and Branagan, then 31, arrived. He also asked for the license and warned Shaw that he would be "yanked out" of the car and arrested for obstruction if he did not comply.

The video shows the officers open the door, order him out and after a few seconds pull him out.

"Mr Shaw began to pull away and became combative with Officer Branagan and I," Hagner wrote in his report.

The video shows a struggle, but it isn't possible to tell if Shaw was throwing punches. An officer quickly orders him to the ground, but the video cuts out because the body camera broke, according to Hagner's report. Branagan's camera captures only part of the struggle on the ground, in which an officer orders him to give up his hands and the other officer says, "cuff him" nine times.

According to the police reports, Shaw said he was having trouble breathing. The video shows him sitting disheveled on the ground and not responding to questions.

When EMTs and supervisors were on scene, the video shows, Hagner told another officer that he hit Shaw several times in the face and that's how he believes he injured his hand. He suffered a sprained finger, the report said.

One of the officers told Shaw's wife, who arrived on scene, that he had scrapes and a bruise on his face but wasn't seriously injured. His wife seemed at a loss for why he would refuse police requests, telling them that he was a youth counselor for the state's Juvenile Justice Commission for 12 years and a Boy Scout den leader, according to the video.

Shaw faced charges including aggravated assault on a police officer and traffic violations, but they will be dismissed if he complies by the terms of a pretrial intervention order he and the prosecutor agreed to in 2017, according to the lawsuit.

Shaw maintains in his lawsuit that he never resisted or assaulted police, and said police did not give him a chance to get out of the car before they grabbed him and started assaulting him.

His suit claims police used excessive force in their arrest, subjecting him to injuries, trauma, humiliation and civil rights violations.

The lawsuit doesn't specifically say that the incident cost Shaw his state job, but a spokeswoman for the Juvenile Justice Commission said that Shaw's last day of employment was July 27, 2017, the same day that he agreed to the pretrial intervention program without admitting guilt.

The lawsuit also names the township and Voorhees Police Department, saying the department is negligent because it insufficiently trains officers to deal with people they suspect are sovereign citizens or who simply refuse to produce a driver's license. Shaw is seeking damages, fees and costs.

The township's attorney, Eric Riso, said Shaw's claims are "without merit and the Township intends to defend them vigorously."

Rebecca Everett may be reached at reverett@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @rebeccajeverett. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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Don't be too surprised if your favorite taproom or restaurant suddenly gets really, really quiet.

No tunes from Jimmy Buffett, Johnny Cash, or Michael Jackson rocking in the background.

Crickets.

It could be that quiet soon at Villari's Lakeside Restaurant and Bar in the Sicklerville section of Gloucester Township. The local watering hole that features karaoke, bands, a lakeside bar and other favorites of revelers lost a lawsuit in federal court last week that led to a $56,100 judgment plus a bill for the plaintiff's attorney fees.

Villari's lost by default, not showing up in court at the end of a four-year scrum.

They were sued by Broadcast Music Inc., an international organization that monitors music played in just about any venue, from elevators to dance halls, to ensure the authors of the works are paid royalty fees for every time a song is played.

That quest is what led an undercover BMI worker to Villari's on a summer night in 2016 to take in the atmosphere first hand and to listen and record songs being played on a karaoke machine. Those recordings became the basis of a lawsuit in federal court alleging copyright infringement.

A federal judge in Camden ruled in favor of BMI last week and ordered Villari's to pay $56,100, or $3,300 for each of 17 songs deemed to be protected by copyrights.

A BMI executive said Friday her organization, with offices in capitals around the world, uses courts as a last resort for business owners who don't respond to "blanket licenses" mailed to public establishments across the country, and the world, issuing a fee to be paid to be in compliance with U.S. copyright laws.

"At the end of the day, we want people to understand if they are performing music in a public setting and they don't have a license already in place they need one. It's federal copyright law," said Jodie Thomas, executive director of corporate communications and media relations, from BMI offices in New York City. "BMI works very hard to proactively reach out to these business owners, and to make sure they have the necessary permission to publicly perform music."

Thomas said licenses start at as little as $370 a year. Villari's would have been charged about $6,500 yearly, court documents said.

A request for comment Friday from Villari's was not immediately returned.

An attorney for the Fairness in Music Licensing Coalition, a national advocacy group that believes BMI and other performing rights organizations need to be reined in, did respond for a request to comment.

"Some of these business owners are just so fed up," said Paul Midzak, an attorney and adviser for FMLC, based in Washington, D.C. "My colleagues tell some of these business owners to try to negotiate if you can, but at the end of the day they're going to break you in court. These cases that are going to federal court are businesses that are really tired of being extorted."

Midzak said every small business should look at cases like Villari's as something that can happen to them. He said copyright laws need to be changed to make them fairer for small businesses.

Thomas said her group redistributes 88 percent of the license fee it collects to songwriters and composers. Last year it collected $1.13 billion and distributed $1 billion.

"We never want to see the music go away, and we try to work with business owners so that music benefits everyone," Thomas said.

Midzak is not so sure.

"If all the bars and restaurants say the liability could be too high, you can't play your music here, we're literally looking at a future where live music doesn't have a future in a local bar or restaurant."

EDITOR'S NOTE: An earlier version of this story and headline listed Bon Jovi and Bruce Springsteen, however those artists are not represented by BMI.

Bill Duhart may be reached at bduhart@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @bduhart. Find NJ.com on Facebook.Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips
The home of former NBC chief medical editor Nancy Snyderman is once again on the market.

Snyderman, who left NBC News amid a controversy after she was spotted outside a New Jersey restaurant in 2014 violating a voluntary quarantine after returning from Ebola-infested West Africa, put the Princeton estate back on the market on Thursday for $2.5 million, according to its Zillow listing.

The home was last on the market in December 2016 at the same price.

Located on more than two acres of "rambling, leafy grounds" in Princeton, the home, which has five bedrooms and six bathrooms, has recently been "totally redone," according to its listing.

Inside, there are comfortable living spaces throughout that are "decorated with rich finishes, including mahogany accents, pocket and telescoping doors, and wood-beamed ceilings, giving every room its own distinct feel," the listing states.

Snyderman has an expansive master bedroom, which opens to a sunroom and contains a luxury bathroom, dressing closets, a gym, a study and a terrace.

Other highlights of the inside of the home include: a "crowd-friendly kitchen" with high-end appliances, a finished basement with areas for homework (Snyderman has three kids) and fun, and the sunroom has a wet bar.

Outside, on the "lushly landscape yards," there is a a playground and two outbuildings.

The home last sold in 2006 for $2.65 million, according to Zillow. Property taxes for the home were $49,575 in 2017.

Nancy Snyderman, formerly NBC's chief medical correspondent, is selling her Princeton home for $2.5 million. (Courtesy of Peter Kramer | NBC)

Long before the Ebola controversy, Snyderman started her career on the surgical staff at University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in 1983 before hopping into broadcasting, which eventually led her to becoming one of the most well-known televison doctors as chief medical correspondent for ABC News for 15 years and then the chief medical editor for NBC News from 2006 until she left after the Ebola scandal in 2015.

While reporting on Ebola in 2014, a freelance cameraman in her crew tested positive for Ebola in Liberia, and upon the crew returning, they all entered into voluntary quarantine for 21 days. After being spotted out of quarantine, Snyderman apologized, and said she "misjudged the fear of the American public." Snyderman was never infected with the disease.

Snyderman, who has also authored five books, said she would be accepting a faculty position at a major U.S. medical school in her statement announcing she was stepping down from NBC.

Joe Atmonavage may be reached at jatmonavage@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @jatmonavageNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook
The real March Madness might have wrapped up earlier this week, but our Bruce Madness bracket still has a little bit of business to attend to.

After three weeks of voting on the NJ.com Twitter page and more than 50,000 total votes knocking the top 64 Bruce Springsteen songs down to 32, 16, 8, 4 and then the final matchup, we finally have a winner for Bruce Madness 2018.

And that winner, chosen by NJ.com readers is ... "Thunder Road"!

The beloved Springsteen staple and opening track from his fan-worshipped and universally acclaimed "Born To Run" album, bested the title track "Born To Run" in the final Bruce Madness matchup, as well as other Final Four contenders "Jungleland" and "10th Avenue Freeze-Out."

Us Springsteen obsessors at NJ.com are pretty satisfied with the outcome -- "Thunder Road" was No. 2 in our overall ranking of all 318 Springsteen songs.

Also, check out this very cool time-lapse video of "Thunder Road" performed by Springsteen over the course of 40 years.

Thanks to all whole voted in the last three weeks, this was fun. If you'd like a bracket to fill out yourself from scratch, here is a printable version: Springsteen-bracket.pdf

And here's an enlarged version of the completed bracket:

Which New Jersey artist deserves a song bracket next?

Bobby Olivier may be reached at bolivier@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BobbyOlivier and Facebook. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
JERSEY CITY -- The city has launched a yearlong initiative targeted at increasing public education around clean energy and reducing the city's carbon footprint.

Mayor Steven Fulop last week announced 2018 as the Year of Energy for Jersey City, which will include a variety of initiatives, events and programming designed to increase the use of renewable energy.

The city earlier this year was awarded a $30,000 grant to come up with a plan to decrease the city's carbon footprint and energy usage.

"At a time of federal inaction to fight climate change, it is vital for cities to take the lead on sustainability, and Jersey City is no exception," Fulop said in a press release. "Finding bold new ways to reduce our carbon footprint and reduce energy usage is key to moving our city forward."

The initiative aims to undertake a greenhouse gas emission inventory, in partnership with Sustainable Jersey and the PSEG Institute for Sustainable Studies at Montclair State University.

The City has also launched a new website which has information about its initiatives, as well as educational information about sustainability issues..

The effort will be led by the City's Office of Sustainability, which seeks ways to improve the city's operations, raise public awareness and implement policies around sustainability.

The office will be working on areas such as water, energy, transit, and development that will improve the city's long-term sustainability in environmental, economic, and social terms.

The "Year of Energy" will build upon last year's "Year of Water" campaign -- which sought to raise awareness around water infrastructure and conservation -- and is part of a multi-year strategic sustainability effort. Next year will see the Year of Sustainable Neighborhoods.

Corey W. McDonald may be reached at cmcdonald@jjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @coreymacc. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook.
Development, a dance piece choreographed and performed by Raritan Valley Community College student Nathan Forster, was adjudicated by a panel of nationally recognized dance professionals at the American College Dance Conference, held March 14-18 at Montclair State University.

A Dance major at RVCC, the Warren resident also received a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Arts from Drew University.

Forster's piece was chosen for the Gala concert, which concluded the conference. His performance also was a candidate for the national concert in June at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C.

Raritan Valley Community College's main campus is located at 118 Lamington Road in Branchburg, NJ. Serving Somerset and Hunterdon County residents for close to 50 years, RVCC is an educational and cultural center that is nationally recognized for its innovative programming, service to the community and environmental leadership. The College offers more than 90 associate degrees and certificates, as well as career training, professional development, and adult and youth personal enrichment courses. The College also has a performing arts center and planetarium.

RVCC is committed to offering a quality and affordable education through effective teaching, liaisons with the community's businesses, and state-of-the-art technology. For further information, visit www.raritanval.edu.
One man is hospitalized and another in jail following a Friday night shooting in New Brunswick, according to the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office.

Sheldon William, 25, of New Brunswick, is accused of shooting a 36-year-old man in the parking lot of a Quentin Avenue apartment complex shortly before 6 p.m.

The victim was transported to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, where he was listed in critical but stable condition Saturday afternoon.

Following the shooting, William allegedly ran back into the apartment building and barricaded himself in one of the units before surrendering to police without incident.

William was charged with attempted murder and various weapons offenses.

He was placed in Middlesex County Adult Corrections Center pending court appearances.

Authorities have not disclosed a motive in the shooting.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact Detective Kenneth Abode of the New Brunswick Police Department at 732-745-5200 or Detective Felix De La Cruz of the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office at 732-745-3115.

Matt Gray may be reached at mgray@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattGraySJT. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us: nj.com/tips.
A Gloucester Township police officer was charged with simple assault on Friday after he struck a 13-year-old girl while handcuffing her, according to the Camden County Prosecutor's Office.

John Flinn, 27, and other officers were dispatched to investigate a disturbance on March 8 and encountered the girl. Flinn can be seen hitting the girl twice on the side of her face in footage from a responding officer's body-worn camera. The prosecutor's office said the girl was struck while complying with police instructions.

The girl was taken to a local hospital for evaluation, and no criminal charges were filed against her, according to a release from the prosecutor's office.

Gloucester Township Police Chief Harry Earle suspended Flinn following the incident and notified the Camden County Prosecutor's Office of his alleged misconduct. Flinn has been with the department since 2015 and his salary is $46,767 according to public records.

Chris Sheldon may be reached at csheldon@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrisrsheldon Find NJ.com on Facebook.
Nine West, known for its fashion footwear, has filed for bankruptcy and will no longer sell shoes.

The struggling women's chain will instead focus on jewelry and clothing as it tries to unload its Nine West and Bandolino shoe and handbag lines.

Authentic Brands Group LLC, which owns a number of brands, including Aeropostale and Juicy Couture, is interested in adding the flagship products to its portfolio, according to court documents filed at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York on Friday

The retailer's parent company, private-equity firm Sycamore Capital, owes more than $1 billion to more than 50,000 creditors. Sycamore Capital acquired the company four years ago after Nine West closed 170 stores and cut 10,000 jobs across the country.

The company did not release an official statement on how its stores would be affected this go around, which includes at least four in New Jersey and one at the Sands Outlet in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

In an emailed statement to USA Today, it's CEO Ralph Schipani said: "We will retain our strong, profitable and growing apparel, jewelry, and jeanswear businesses and continue to operate them under a new capital structure so that we can leverage their existing strengths to drive even greater growth."

Nine West joins the many retailers that have sought bankruptcy protection, closed stores or plan to go out of business entirely as more people shop online. Claire's and Bon-Ton filed for bankruptcy earlier this year, after several dozen others did so last year.

Earlier this year, another struggling brick-and-mortar store, Toys R Us, which is based in Wayne, New Jersey, announced it was closing its US stores including more than 11 in New Jersey.

Many retailers face similar challenges, including big debt loads. Toys R Us, for instance, was weighed down by $5 billion in debt that hurt its attempts to compete as shoppers moved to Amazon.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Taylor Tiamoyo Harris may be reached at tharris@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @ladytiamoyo.

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The Times-Picayune is marking the tricentennial of New Orleans with its ongoing 300 for 300 project, running through 2018 and highlighting 300 people who have made New Orleans New Orleans, featuring original artwork commissioned by NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune with Where Y'Art gallery. Today: D.H. Holmes.

The icon: D.H. Holmes.

The legacy: Little Danny Holmes had to grow up quickly. Orphaned at age 2, he entered the working world at age 16, taking a job with a dry goods merchant in his native Ohio. After four years, he headed to New Orleans, where he worked in a dry goods shop in the French Quarter. By the time he was 28, he had learned everything he needed and went into business for himself. D.H. Holmes' store -- one of the nation's first department stores -- started small but would grow to become a New Orleans institution, a Canal Street jewel that was, for some 150 years, a fashionable and friendly shopping destination. It's not there anymore, having closed in 1989 after being bought by the Dillard's chain, but "Holmeses" -- as many a New Orleanian pronounced it -- lives on in the memories of nostalgic locals.

The artist: Maddie Stratton.

The quote: "A merchant prince, a citizen who has played a large part in building the city's fame, the kindest of employers and the most honorable of men. ... (D.H. Holmes') very name has for years typified the enterprise of the retail trade of New Orleans, and especially of Canal Street." --The Daily Picayune, in its obituary for D.H. Holmes on July 4, 1898

Explore more of Maddie Stratton's work online at WhereYart.net and in person at the Where Y'Art gallery, 1901 Royal St.

Daniel Henry Holmes was born April 28, 1816, in Clermont County, Ohio, the grandson of an Irish immigrant.

Source: The Times-Picayune archive

More on 300 for 300:
A New Orleans' couple suspected in a cross-country robbery scam may also be responsible for a Metairie man's death last February that was initially ruled "accidental," according to a report by The Huffington Post.

Shawn Arthur, 40, was found dead in his home Feb. 25, 2017, during a wellness check his parents requested from the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's office. Although there were no signs of struggle or violence, Arthur's wallet and television were missing, as well as his pickup truck, which was later found abandoned a few weeks later, the publication reported.

Detectives with JPSO investigated Arthur's death, but closed the case within three months after an autopsy ruled his death "accidental," according to The Huffington Post.

However, a liquor bottle was found in Arthur's home with the finger prints of 27-year-old Dominique Berry, who is currently jailed in Georgia awaiting trial on unrelated charges. Berry spoke with The Huffington Post and admitted to drugging and robbing Arthur after meeting him through a dating app, but said she did not know he had died.

Arthur was far from the first man to fall victim to Berry's dating-app-scam, according to The Huffington Post's report, which states Berry and her 36-year-old partner Randy Schenck, are suspected of robbing about 100 men throughout seven states.

The scheme was simple - Berry would set up fake profiles on dating apps and sites like Craigslist and Backpage. Schenck would pose as her Uber driver, drop her off for her dates, and wait nearby. When their victim would pass out from the drugs Berry slipped him, Schenck would come back and the two would take off with money, jewelry, electronics and other valuables, according to The Huffington Post.

Berry and Schenck were eventually caught in Georgia in September, 2017 and both remain in custody awaiting trial, according to The Huffington Post. Berry is facing charges of identity fraud and theft and Schenck is facing assault charges.

Arthur's death is still officially ruled accidentally, but Jefferson Parish officials are reviewing the evidence in the case and the forensic pathologist who conducted his autopsy is also taking another look.
This week on the Coastal News Roundup: an expedited process for Mississippi River sediment diversions, a study on the causes of Mississippi flooding, and a new understanding of why the Gulf of Mexico is eroding.

WWNO's Tegan Wendland spoke with reporter Tristan Baurick, from NOLA.com | The Times Picayune, about these topics and more.

Listen to their discussion below. Hear the roundup on 89.9 FM every Friday at 7:44 a.m. and 4:44 p.m.
When the American Heart Association (AHA) released new guidelines for diagnosing and treating high blood pressure last year suddenly half the U.S. population met the criteria for having hypertension (or high blood pressure).

For the past 14 years, high blood pressure has been defined as 140/90, affecting about one in every three Americans. The American Heart Association adjusted their guidelines to 130/80 last fall after research showed complications from hypertension affected people with lower readings.

Often referred to as the 'silent killer', high blood pressure can be hard to monitor over a long-period of time.

Unlike other conditions very few patients have symptoms they can identify that result from high blood pressure, according to Dr. Mark Peters, the Chief Medical Officer at UnitedHealthcare.

"We all know when we feel bad, we all know when we feel sick. Those things don't come up until you have a heart attack or a stroke," he said.

He explained that this is because when someone's blood pressure is elevated every day, the heart has to work harder.

"There's more pounding on the heart and blood vessels. It's like a worn-out tire, it starts bulging. When that's the case day after day it slowly starts taking its toll," Peters said.

The American Heart Association began working with UnitedHealthcare to expand an initiative called Target: BP to help physician practices and health systems not just identify high blood pressure but help patients control it. Forty-five hospitals and medical practices are enrolled in the program in Louisiana, including several physician practices in New Orleans including Tulane University Medical Group, NOELA Community Health Center, Tulane Medical Group, West Jefferson Medical Center as well as the Touro Medical Center.

"We are trying to get information out, trying to engage people, trying to promote healthy lifestyle changes," said Peters. "It's easier to be preventative, than to reverse the damage from a heart attack or a stroke."

Participating clinicians have access to the Target: BP data platform and resources that physicians can use to help patients monitor and control their blood pressure. For example, the platform has a five-minute video in English and Spanish that explains how a patient can self-measure their blood pressure. Nutritional information and guidelines for physical activity are also available so that the patient and physician can work together on a plan to control the patient's high blood pressure.

"There's a growing body of evidence that lower blood pressure is better for your health, some of that means lifestyle modification--moderating alcohol, more exercise, lower sodium," said Coretta LaGarde, the Senior Community Health Director of the American Heart Association in New Orleans.

The program is free and open to hospitals, medical practices, practitioners, and health service organizations.

Providers that sign up work directly with a local representative from the AHA to implement new practices that help them help their patients have control of their blood pressure. According to the AHA some organizations have seen improvements by setting up new practices around taking blood pressure readings to help them prevent measurement errors. Participants then report back the changes they've implemented and what has worked to help patients control their blood pressure.

Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama are the Southern states with the highest adult obesity rates in the country of 35 percent or higher. In New Orleans an estimated 33 percent of adults have been told heave high blood pressure, according to the AHA.

LaGarde said that since high blood pressure has no signs or symptoms adults should get their blood pressure measured during regular healthcare visits. The AHA offers online resources for people interested in learning more about blood pressure numbers and what they mean. That information is available here: www.LowerYourHBP.org.

Maria Clark writes about health, doctors, patients and healthcare in Louisiana for NOLA.com | The Times Picayune and NOLA Mundo. Reach her at mclark@nola.com or 504.258.5306. Or follow her on Twitter at @MariaPClark1 .
Today

Thunderstorms likely. Rainfall will be locally heavy at times. High near 80F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%.

Tonight

Chance of a shower or two during the evening, followed by partly cloudy skies overnight. Low 72F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%.

Tomorrow

Rain showers in the morning with scattered thunderstorms arriving in the afternoon. High 83F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.
Ichabod explores the Age of Apostasy, predicted in 2 Thessalonians 2:3, with an emphasis on UOJ, Church Growth, and Emergent Church heresies. The antidote to these poisons is trusting the efficacious Word in the Means of Grace. John 16:8. Most readers are WELS, LCMS, ELS, or ELCA. This blog also covers the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, and the mainline denominations.
Native American playwrights (from left) Mary Kathryn Nagle, DeLanna Studi and Larissa FastHorse are all having their work produced in Oregon this spring.

This spring, in an unexpected and unprecedented convergence, Oregon's three largest theater companies are each producing a new play by a Native American woman.

Oregon Shakespeare Festival has the world premiere of "Manahatta," a time-traveling drama by Mary Kathryn Nagle that links the Lenape people's loss of their Manhattan homeland to the losses of the 2008 financial crisis. Portland Center Stage is presenting "And So We Walked," a dramatic memoir by DeLanna Studi that centers on the Trail of Tears, the 19th-century relocation of Native Americans from the Southeast to Oklahoma. Artists Repertory Theatre co-commissioned "The Thanksgiving Play," a satire by Larissa FastHorse that pokes white liberals feeling guilty about mistreatment of Natives.

The playwrights are stunned that their works are being simultaneously staged. "It's like we caught the unicorn," says Studi, "and it's going to be on display."

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In Oregon Shakespeare Festival's production of "Manahatta," Se-ket-tu-may-qua (Steven Flores) gives Le-le-wa'-you (Tanis Parenteau) a wampum necklace that belonged to his mother. (Jenny Graham/Oregon Shakespeare Festival)

The theater companies say the productions are long overdue. "I think there is more awareness of the necessity of celebrating Native playwrights and their stories," says Amrita Ramanan, director of literary development and dramaturgy at Oregon Shakespeare Festival, where "Manahatta" is the second play by a Native in 83 years. The first, Randy Reinholz's "Off the Rails," was produced last year.

It's a similar story at Artists Repertory Theatre, where "The Thanksgiving Play" is the first production of a Native playwright's work in the company's 36-year history. "I'm drawn to it because there's just not much representation of Native Americans in the American theater," says Luan Schooler, director of new play development and dramaturgy, who pounced on the script in its early stages. "If white guys have most of the plays and then white women get some and black men get some, as that breaks down, the sliver of productions for Native Americans is thin as a thread."

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In "Manahatta," Jane Snake (Tanis Parenteau) rises to the challenge of working at a Wall Street investment bank. (Jenny Graham/Oregon Shakespeare Festival)

The three plays are as distinct as America's hundreds of indigenous nations and tribes.

In "Manahatta," Jane Snake leaves her family in Oklahoma at a crucial moment for a Wall Street job interview. Things go badly back home and Jane's mother becomes mired in debt, but she won't tell Jane, who excitedly signs on with Lehman Brothers.

Nagle says the inspiration for "Manahatta" came when she was asked to contribute a play to the Occupy Wall Street movement and thought of how Dutch residents of Manhattan Island in the 1600s walled out the Lenape. Her play travels between the 17th and 21st centuries to emphasize "that the stories of what happened to the indigenous nations here on our soil, here in the United States, are not irrelevant to what's happening today."

"All of us are more powerful when we're more connected to where we come from and who we are," she says.

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DeLanna Studi in her one-woman dramatic memoir, "And So We Walked." (Bert Vanderveen)

"And So We Walked" follows Studi as she and her father travel to their ancestral Cherokee lands in North Carolina to retrace the Trail of Tears.

"It's an identity play because I'm trying to prove to my father that I am going to be the (Cherokee) leader he once saw in me," Studi says.

It's also about cultural identity in general. "It was very important to me that I didn't tell the Trail of Tears as a victim story," Studi says. "It's a very defining point of who we are as Cherokee people, but it doesn't define us as Cherokee people."

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Playwright Larissa FastHorse poses with children who helped re-create school Thanksgiving performances for her new satire "The Thanksgiving Play," at Artists Repertory Theatre this April. (Shawn Lee)

"The Thanksgiving Play" addresses, in FastHorse's words, "super-well-meaning, PC liberal white people" trying to create a school production about the holiday. They congratulate themselves on casting a Native actor, but their excitement is short-lived.

FastHorse says the play was born of frustration with hearing that her plays were "uncastable" given their Native characters. "I took that finally as a challenge," she says. "I created a play I still love, that I still believe in, I still think does all the things I like to do as an artist, as a theater activist, and then I said, 'OK, here, American theater, now my challenge is to you. You don't have any excuses anymore, do the play.'

"It's, like, my most depressing success as an artist."

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Playwright Larissa Fasthorse says of "The Thanksgiving Play" that "this play really starts with the erroneous historical point of view we've been given and brings it into the contemporary world." (Conor Horgan)

Studi, Nagle and FastHorse represent a rising tide of Native thespians that was the subject of a March special issue of American Theater magazine.

"There's all these women that we're standing on the shoulders of," FastHorse says, citing playwrights such as Diane Glancy, Terry Gomez and the writers at New York's Spiderwoman Theater. "You hear of the terrible racism they had to deal with just to try to write plays. Like, what the hell, who cares, let them write plays, why do you care if this woman in New Mexico is writing a play about her people? Like, why does that threaten you? But it did."

Nevertheless, they persisted, making "this incredible road that DeLanna and Mary Kathryn and I get to walk with ease," FastHorse says.

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DeLanna Studi says of her play "And So We Walked" that it helped fill a gap in her family history. It was "that little piece of identity I needed to find," she says. (Owens Daniels)

Corey Madden, executive director of the Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts at University of North Carolina School of the Arts, is directing "And So We Walked." She calls Studi, Nagle and FastHorse the vanguard of a new generation of playwrights. "They are women who have very unique stories to tell, and the fact that they have these stories to tell is part of their appeal: new stories, new perspective."

Nagle says sharing the spotlight with Studi and FastHorse is important because it destroys the myth that a successful member of an underrepresented group is an exception rather than the rule. "It's not that there aren't amazing Native plays," she says. "It's that (theaters) haven't looked past the end of their nose."

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(From left) Laurie Woolery (director), Mary Kathryn Nagle (playwright), Amrita Ramanan (Oregon Shakespeare Festival Director of Literary Development and Dramaturgy) and Leslie Ishii (dramaturg) introduce Nagle's play "Manahatta" in Ashland. (Kim Budd/Oregon Shakespeare Festival)

Except in Oregon.

"There is something happening here in Oregon that's unique, because the number of Native plays produced is higher than any other state in the country," says Nagle, who's already slated for Portland Center Stage's 2018-19 season. "I think it has a lot to do with the artistic vision of the artistic directors."

"When you bring in diverse voices, it elevates all of us, and it doesn't take away from any one voice."

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Luke (Steven Flores. left) has doubts about the mortgage loan his adoptive father, Michael (David Kelly), has encouraged a friend to take out to pay off her family's medical bills. (Jenny Graham/Oregon Shakespeare Festival)

"Manahatta"

When: Various times and dates, through Oct. 27

Where: Thomas Theatre, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, 15 S. Pioneer St., Ashland

Tickets: Start at $35.50 for members, $42 for nonmembers, osfashland.org or 800-219-8161

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DeLanna Studi in "And So We Walked: An Artist's Journey Along the Trail of Tears" at The Armory. (Patrick Weishampel/blankeye.tv)

"And So We Walked"

When: Various times and dates, through May 13

Where: Ellen Bye Studio, The Armory, 128 N.W. 11th Ave., Portland

Tickets: $30-$42, pcs.org or 503-445-3700

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"The Thanksgiving Play" features (from left) Chris Harder, Michael O'Connell, Claire Rigsby and Sarah Lucht in a pointed satire about the absence of Native Americans in American theater. (Russell J. Young)

"The Thanksgiving Play"

When: Various times and dates, through April 29

Where: Morrison Stage, Artists Repertory Theatre, 1515 S.W. Morrison St., Portland

Tickets: $25-$50, artistsrep.org or 503-241-1278

Free panel discussions

"Telling Native Stories to Rehumanize Native People"

When: 2 p.m. Monday, April 9

Where: The Old Church, 1422 S.W. 11th Ave., Portland

"Responsibility to Represent"

When: 7:30 p.m. Monday, April 9

Where: Native American Youth and Family Center, 5135 N.E. Columbia Blvd., Portland

"Women on Stage"

When: 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 10

Where: The Armory, 128 N.W. 11th Ave., Portland
Join the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in Boston during BIO Convention for Drinks & Hors d'oeuvres

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University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

www.medicine.illinois.edu
Adolf Hitler in 1933. (Photos: AP)

Hugh Trevor-Roper sat in a small room at a Zurich bank. Fifty-eight leather-bound books were stacked on a table in front of him. The eminent historian began flipping through the volumes.

"The pages inside were lined, some densely filled with old Germanic script, some bearing only a couple of sentences, some completely blank," journalist Robert Harris would later write of the scene.

It was April 8, 1983, and Trevor-Roper was about to wreck his reputation.

The former Oxford University professor was at the Swiss bank that day because the volumes there represented what was possibly one of the greatest historical finds of the 20th century: the diaries of the infamous Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.

Media mogul Rupert Murdoch wanted to secure the British publishing rights to the diaries, which German journalist Gerd Heidemann had obtained through a mysterious source. So Murdoch recruited Trevor-Roper to authenticate them as the true innermost thoughts of the murderous madman who had ignited World War II.

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Hugh Trevor-Roper, Baron Dacre of Glanton, in 1983.

Trevor-Roper, who had written the classic 1947 book "The Last Days of Hitler," was dubious when he heard about the diaries. Hitler had committed suicide nearly 40 years before as the Allies advanced on his Berlin bunker, and in the years since, every aspect and artifact of the Fuhrer's life had been combed over by journalists, criminal investigators and historians. There had never been any evidence, or even serious hints, that Hitler had kept personal diaries.

But as the historian read through the papers, "my doubts gradually dissolved," Trevor-Roper publicly stated just days later. "I am now satisfied that the documents are authentic; that the history of their wanderings since 1945 is true; and that the standard accounts of Hitler's writing habits, of his personality, and even, perhaps, some public events may, in consequence, have to be revised."

The announcement of the discovery of Hitler's diaries, and publication of excerpts shortly thereafter in the German magazine Stern, caused a sensation. The New York Post trumpeted the "World-Shattering Documents." Representatives from Time magazine hurried to West Germany to negotiate with Stern for U.S. publication rights.

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One of Adolf Hitler's bound "diaries."

"They shed new light," Newsweek magazine wrote in a promotional blurb for its own story about the diaries, "on [Hitler's] character, his plans for war, the Munich Agreement, the miracle of Dunkirk, the flight of Rudolf Hess, his military campaigns, his relations to his lover, Eva Braun."

Along with the contents of the diaries, the story of the documents' journey through the decades was fascinating in its own right. Hitler's diaries, Murdoch's Sunday Times of London reported, had been carried from the burning crash site of a Nazi military plane and hidden in an East German hayloft. "Heidemann says that, in the chaos and confusion of the collapse of the Third Reich in 1945, a German officer succeeded in transporting the papers, held in a large case, to the West." The former Nazi secretly kept them for years before Heidemann, through guts and investigative savvy, tracked down the man and his secret.

There was just one problem with this astonishing tale: it was invented.

Trevor-Roper had made a huge mistake. The diaries were not authentic. They were, as the West German state archives would soon declare, nothing more than "a grotesque, superficial forgery."

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A page of Hitler's fake diary, reading: "Henceforth, I will take note of my political thoughts and actions to leave a record for posterity as does every politician."

"The paper, the binding, the glue and the thread were all found to be of postwar manufacture," Harris would write in his entertaining 1986 book "Selling Hitler: The Extraordinary Story of the Con Job of the Century -- the Faking of the Hitler 'Diaries.'"

Just two weeks after touting Trevor-Roper's verdict on the diaries, The Sunday Times furiously backtracked from it. The newspaper hired a new Hitler expert, who mocked the diaries. The headline: "This Reads Like Charlie Chaplin."

Murdoch's newspaper would later float a conspiracy theory about the fake diaries being created and pushed forward to bolster the coffers of HIAG, a "mutual aid society for former Nazi SS officers."

But even after the story began to rapidly unravel 35 years ago this month, the fraud's perpetrators tried to hold on. "It's terrible," Heidemann's wife, Gina, said of the controversy. "But no matter what happens, we will always believe in the diaries."

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Konrad Kujau

Few people would be able to share that belief for much longer. Gerd Heidemann's background -- specifically, his creepy Naziphilia -- surfaced. Two former Nazi generals had been witnesses at his and Gina's wedding. He had purchased Hermann Goring's yacht.

The Soviet Union, meanwhile, blamed the CIA for the fraudulent diaries -- and for the suspicions that the fake Hitler papers were born in an East German "forgery factory." (The New York Times had reported that "the assumption of a number of experts is that they were concocted in Eastern Europe in an effort to undermine West Germany's relationship with its allies.")

Finally, a balding, middle-aged German illustrator named Konrad Kujau confessed to the forgery. He and Heidemann eventually would be convicted of fraud.

Perhaps the most astonishing part of the whole thing: the diaries themselves proved to be boring. Kujau was no historian or even particularly bright, Harris pointed out. Which was why, despite the hype about "World-Shattering Documents," the fake diaries were "composed for the most part of worthless banalities."

-- Douglas Perry

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By Elizabeth Hovde

If adults have trouble being civil when disagreeing, I don't expect kids to be able to. So I wasn't surprised that a student I know who chose not to participate in the national school walkout on March 14 told his mom he was called a Trump supporter (which he's not), a person who opposes gay rights (which he doesn't), and an anti-gay slur. (Seriously?)

The walkout, organized in response to the Feb. 14 school shooting in Parkland, Florida, not only allowed students to see what democracy looks like, it allowed some of them to see what being an ideological minority looks like.

My middle-school-aged son did participate in the walkout at his school. The night before, he told me he'd be walking out to honor the 17 students killed. I'm sure many students felt similarly. They wanted to support Parkland, not necessarily send a message about the nation's gun laws. But during the walkout, as he and other students talked about gun control, he said he didn't think some of the laws being proposed were the answer for school safety concerns -- opinions I didn't know he had before that day. He, too, was then labeled a Trump supporter, even though he isn't.

The anti-Trump sentiment isn't surprising considering that the walkout was organized by Women's March -- the movement that began as a Trump protest in 2016 -- and Women's March Youth, also known as EMPOWER. On Twitter and Facebook and in emails, Women's March continuously promoted the walkout, helped sell orange T-shirts and gathered a lot of adult, celebrity and anti-gun support. There were walkouts at elementary, middle and high schools. Around here, at least, districts provided extra support staff to schools, and students were not discouraged from participating.

The walkouts were not only popular, they were the popular thing to do.

But in encouraging political activism in our schools, let's be careful what we wish for. In demanding safer schools, which no one is against, we might actually be making them less safe for some students.

Imagine being a student that comes from a hunting, gun-rights or Trump-supporting family: My kid doesn't, and yet he was chastised and branded with the scarlet T for not being in lockstep with gun-control-agenda peers on the day of the walkout.

Do we really want ideological minorities and students who don't yet know their political beliefs feeling left out or ostracized? There is enough ostracizing already in those formative years. Worse, do we want young men who might already feel alone to feel even more alone? Especially if they have access to guns?

We need to be mindful about the precedent being set. What will communities and educators do if students decide to walk out of school for the right to life and an end to abortion? How about a pro-choice walkout? There are a lot of issues to choose from. Will various efforts receive similar school support and media attention? Will students have parents' blessings to leave class?

The March for Our Lives 10 days after the school walkout was very clear about its message and happened on a Saturday, so there was no captive audience and less peer pressure. It was much easier to be impressed. But I was concerned as I watched students speak with conviction that government had the power to make them safe - that its inaction was the missing link. I don't think that, despite supporting some proposals and opposing others to arm teachers. I also grew concerned that adults would more often use kids as proxies, given the successes of the walkout and march.

March for Our Lives was described as student-led by people and press everywhere, but that's debatable. The students had funding, advertising, recruiting and resource support from anti-gun organizations, including Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, national, state and local teachers' unions, individuals and celebrities. Lyft even offered protesters free rides.

The well-attended and celebrated marches were co-led at best.

In Vancouver, student leaders made signs at the Evergreen Education Association and benefited from other types of support. Moms Demand Action members served as crossing guards. By my count that day, there was about one school-aged person for every 20 adults.

As I watched community members march, they got a thumbs-down from a driver passing by. (They also received a handful of supportive honks.) What happened in reaction to the thumbs down? Sneers and snickers. An adult marching asked, "What? How can you be against school safety?"

I doubt the driver was. Maybe he was against the signs many marchers carried that denounced Washington Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler, insulted President Trump or said the NRA kills people. Or maybe they disagreed with other signs that were completely off topic.

Am I proud of students for sending a message to their government? You bet. Am I glad that ideological minorities received the message they're on the out list? No. I want safer schools.

Elizabeth Hovde's column appears the second Sunday of the month.
Eight members of the Hart family are presumed dead after the family's SUV was discovered last month below a cliff on the California coast. The incident involving the Woodland, Washington, family  formerly of West Linn -- is one of the largest death tolls for a single family in recent Pacific Northwest history.

Here is a list of some of the other major incidents, going back to the early 1980s.

January 2017: Officials said Keith Kroeker killed his wife, Erin, and the couple's three children before lighting the house on fire and shooting himself at their Hubbard home. Five killed.

August 2014: Jessica Smith killed her two-year-old toddler and tried to kill her 13-year-old, Alana, at a Cannon Beach Resort. Smith is in prison for life. 1 killed

July 2012: Randall Engels shot and killed his wife, Amy, before killing the couple's two children in Dundee. He also shot himself. Four killed.

May 2012: Nikolay Lazukin killed a stranger then shot and killed his wife and three daughters before setting the family's house on fire in Salem. Nikolay also committed suicide. Six killed.

July 2011: Jordan Criado killed his wife, Tabasha Paige-Criado, and the couple's four children at their Medford home. Criado was sentenced to life in prison in 2013 for the murders, where he set the family's house on fire. Five killed.

April 2011: Tuan Dao of Vancouver, distraught about his bankruptcy and failed marriage, set an Easter morning house fire that killed him and five of his children. Dao's wife, Lori, and their 13-year-old daughter were not in the home during the fire. They are the immediate family's only survivors. Six killed.



November 2009: Steve England shot and killed his wife, Cindy, and her son, Kevin Coleman, 28, then killed himself at their Forest Grove home. Three killed.



November 2009: Mukesh Suthar, unemployed after being laid off from Intel, killed his wife, Varsha, and their son, Ronak, 9, then himself in their Bethany home. Three killed.

View full sizeJamie Francis/The OregonianBrenda Medina (in red coat) is comforted outside the house where she found her daughter, Tameka, shot to death Thursday morning.

November 2009: Ceantwaun Barr shot and killed estranged girlfriend Tameka Medina and their 4-year-old son, Ashawn, before killing himself in Portland. Their older daughter, in school that day, was spared. Three killed.



September 2007: Ruby Kuca, 5, was killed by her parents, John and Luray Kuca, when they committed suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning in a sealed bedroom of their Portland home. Three killed.



March 2006: Somkhilth Soulinho, 31, shot and killed his girlfriend, Soupaphane Homsombath, 24, her 8-year-old son, Lionel Homsombath and stabbed her 5-year-old daughter, Leana Homsombath. He then shot himself. Four killed.



June 2004: Charlene A. Dorcy, of Hazel Dell shot and killed daughters Brittney, 2, and Jessica, 4, in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. Dorcy turned herself in that night. Two killed.Ross William Hamilton/The OregonianFrom left are Bryant Morris, Renee Morris, Jonathan Morris and Alexis Morris. This photo was displayed in the lobby of St. Johns Christian Church where a memorial for the family was held December 28, 2002.

December 2002: Edward Paul Morris killed his 31-year-old pregnant wife, Renee, and their children, 10-year-old Bryant, 8-year-old Alexis and 4-year-old Jonathan, and left the bodies of the Portland family in the Tillamook State Forest. Morris is serving a life sentence with parole in Snake River Correctional Institution. Four killed.



March 2002: Robert Bryant, wife Janet Ellen Bryant and their four children are found shot to death in their McMinnville-area home. Police think Bryant killed his family in February before killing himself with a shotgun. Six killed.



December 2001: Christian Longo killed his wife, MaryJane, and their three children then dumped the bodies in coastal inlets in Waldport and Newport between Dec. 19 and Dec. 27. Longo was arrested in Mexico and sentenced to death for the slayings. Four killed.



September 1995: David Whitson, 36, of Issaquah, Washington, shot and killed his 36-year-old estranged wife, Laura, and their three young daughters as they tried to run from him in Scotts Mills. Less than a year later, Whitson, hanged himself while in prison. Four killed.



January 1992: Seng Chow Saechao, 31, a Laotian refugee, poisoned herself and her three young children in Portland. Two of the children died after drinking a concentrated solution of the pesticide diazinon. Saechao was sentenced to three years in jail for manslaughter and attempted manslaughter. Two killed.



Nov. 20, 1983: Robert Galloway of Portland fatally shoots his wife, Mary Lou, their four children, the family dog and himself in their Southwest Portland home. Six killed.



-- Compiled by news researcher Lynne Palombo and Oregonian staff writer Andrew Theen
The scene unfolds before a stunned, disbelieving public: A seemingly idyllic family is gone in a flash of violence.

It has played out numerous times just in the Northwest. In 2001, Christian Longo drowned his wife and three children in coastal Oregon rivers In 2002, Edward Paul Morris killed his pregnant wife and their three children, leaving their bodies in the Tillamook State Forest. And in 2017, Keith Kroeker bludgeoned his wife to death before shooting his three children and committing suicide as the family's rural Marion County homestead burned around them.

Now, the Hart family  mothers Jennifer and Sarah and their six children -- appears to be the latest. Five members of the Oregon clan, which had recently moved from West Linn to Woodland, Washington, were found dead at the bottom of a California cliff, and three kids remain missing. Officials suspect the crash was intentional.

If the investigation confirms the suspicion, the case would be the latest example of what criminologists call family annihilators, cases in which family members kill an intimate partner and their children. Those left behind  family, friends, the public  are left to wonder what would drive a person to commit such a ghastly crime.

Domestic violence experts and criminologists say the circumstances surrounding the Hart family's crash appear to be unusual. Guns are overwhelming used by family annihilators, but driving a vehicle off a coastal highway was described as "bizarre" by one researcher.

The story does, however, bear at least one hallmark of some other mass family killings: The Harts had a documented history of child abuse, and experts say it's likely there was an undercurrent of spousal violence as well. Also, as in the Kroeker slayings, a common thread could be present: No clear motive may ever emerge.

The overwhelmingly majority of these massacres are committed by white men in the 30s and 40s, according to domestic violence experts. And that is what sets the Hart deaths even further apart: A lesbian couple, beloved and admired in the community, raising six adopted black children.

The Mendocino County Sheriff's Office said this week it is treating the incident as a crime, and its top official hinted authorities are close to considering it a homicide investigation. Authorities have said Jennifer Hart was the driver.

Meanwhile, a trail of troubling child abuse reports in multiple states indicates the nontraditional family wasn't what it outwardly appeared.

David Adams, co-executive director of a Massachusetts-based domestic violence counseling and education center, said initial findings suggest it's unlikely the crash was an accident or a shared action between Jennifer and Sarah Hart.

"It's far more likely that this was a unilateral decision by the abusive partner to take out the whole family, basically," he said, noting that he was speaking based on his general knowledge and he didn't know the family.

Hannah Scott, a professor of criminology at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology, said she published the only study specifically looking at female family annihilators.

Men are typically fueled by revenge or anger, Scott said. Financial crises, domestic violence and a recent divorce or estrangement are often cited as factors. That's not true for women. Mental illness or a reaction to years of battery or abuse are more commonly present, as are premeditated family slayings.

In 2014, Jessica Smith drowned her two-year-old toddler at a Cannon Beach hotel and tried to kill her 13-year-old daughter. Smith is an outlier in the family annihilator profile as she did not try to kill her husband, whom she was estranged from and who had a temporary restraining order against her. Smith was sentenced to life in prison despite claiming she had no recollection of the murder.

Scott's study documented just seven female annihilators over 40 years in the U.S. "Real or imagined concerns about losing custody of the children may also be a trigger for female family annihilators," the study found.

One area researchers have studied is post-partum depression and women who kill their infants. Women are more likely to kill children under the age of one than men, research shows.

Scott said researchers should more deeply look at same-sex relationships and domestic violence. "It's an area that is understudied," she said.

Gender aside, most abusers share a similar trait.

"It's important for abusers to manage their identity," Scott said. "It was very important that they look good outside their family."

Jennifer Hart, the family's primary caretaker and the main social media architect, frequently shared lengthy posts on Facebook or videos on YouTube.

Family friends said the Harts became more isolated in the years after son Devonte's photo hugging a Portland police officer went viral. The latest investigation into abuse was opened days before the family SUV was spotted 100 feet below Highway 1 in Mendocino County on March 26.

Adams agrees public perception is critically important to abusers. "They tend to live and die for their image. Their solution is to also spare their families" the humiliation [of living with a damaged image] "They actually feel that they are saving them."

Jacquelyn Campbell, a professor and researcher at Johns Hopkins University's School of Nursing, said she was stunned and saddened to read about the Hart family's fate. As of Friday, authorities haven't located the bodies of three of the children, including Devonte, but they believe the family was all in the vehicle together and the bodies may have washed out to sea.

Campbell said data from a 1990s era analysis from 12 cities found nine instances of women killing an intimate partner of the same gender out of a dataset of 307 murder-suicides, an indication of the limited study involving same-sex partners.

She said domestic violence "frequently" accompanies child abuse. "When you have both, you have to deal with both in sensitive ways," she said.

Campbell said in most cases of domestic violence and child abuse, there is no "monster." Abusers often hurt loved ones because of trauma in their own childhood.

She thinks society needs to do a better job of prevention by offering support, rather than relying on punishment after the fact.

"There's somebody that is using violence that needs to be helped to stop using violence," she said, "so we can prevent these kinds of tragedies."

We welcome comments on this story on our Facebook page.

-- Andrew Theen

atheen@oregonian.com

503-294-4026

@andrewtheen
Gov. Kate Brown's chief information officer will step down by summer.

Alex Pettit will be replaced by his deputy, Terrence Woods, pending a national search for a permanent replacement, the governor's office said Friday in a news release. Pettit's resignation takes effect June 1.

Brown and Pettit "mutually agreed that after his service stabilizing several technology challenges for Oregon state agencies and partner jurisdictions, the time is right for a new CIO to be put in place to build on his work," according to the release.

"I thank Alex for his work managing creative solutions for difficult problems," Brown said of Pettit, who's been in his job since 2014.

The governor has long listed cybersecurity and modernizing the state's IT systems among her top priorities. But the state has had its share of IT headaches. Last August, The Oregonian/OregonLive chronicled the escalating costs and technical misfires behind a $166.7 million effort to automate Medicaid. The glitches meant the Oregon Health Authority was dispensing billions in Medicaid payouts without knowing whether the recipients were sufficiently low-income to qualify.

A 2016 audit turned up security weaknesses that made more than half of the state's agencies vulnerable to hackers. Among those involved in the review were the Department of Revenue which processes tax returns, the Oregon Health Authority, Department of Education, Oregon State Police and Department of Justice, though auditors did not identify which agencies had specific problems. Compounding the problem, auditors found that state IT officials were unprepared to shoulder responsibility for fixing the agencies' issues.

Pettit is the latest high-profile state administrator to depart in the last year.

In a surprise move, the governor fired State Librarian MaryKay Dahlgreen last month. In August 2017, Lynne Saxton was forced to resign as head of the Oregon Health Authority after a scrapped "communication plan" designed to discredit a courtroom adversary became public. A few months earlier, Clyde Saiki retired as head of the Department of Human Services.

--The Oregonian/OregonLive
An Oregon man was sentenced Wednesday to 90 days in jail and five years of probation for sexually abusing two girls, records show.

Rusty Hendrickson

Rusty Hendrickson, 39, pleaded guilty to second- and third-degree sex abuse in the case, which involved two girls in Washington County, according to court records. In addition to jail time and probation, records show he must register as a sex offender.

Hendrickson is being held in the Washington County Jail. He was initially arrested in December, booked into the Douglas County Jail, then posted bail and was released.

Washington County deputies received information in June that Hendrickson had had sexual contact with a girl who is developmentally disabled, according to the Washington County Sheriff's Office. He met the girl through social media.

Investigators also identified another girl who was sexual abused by Hendrickson, the sheriff's office said.

His sentence includes credit for time served, according to records. The sheriff's office previously referred to Hendrickson as a Sutherlin resident. Court records also list a Portland address.

KATU-TV first reported about the sentencing.

-- Jim Ryan and Everton Bailey Jr.
In the wake of a party-dividing primary that is still a sore spot among those voters committed to the conservative party platform, another test of the party's future will be April 18th. That's when county precinct committeemen gather to pick who will represent them on the State Central Committee. Party activists are expressing concern.

CHICAGO - Illinois Republican voters were split 51 to 49 percent between a liberal Republican incumbent governor and a conservative state representative in the March 20th primary. The results revealed a dramatic contrast between the party leaders and the GOP base.

DEMETRA DEMONTE

Illinois' Republican National Committeewoman and co-chair of the Trump Illinois campaign, told Illinois Review Saturday that the vote will be very important. She did not personally endorse in the 2018 IL GOP gubernatorial primary.

"These last few months have been a time of bitter primary battles. The primary is over and we have selected our candidates. This should be a time for reconciliation - bringing together all sides so we can be victorious in November," Demonte said.

"Sadly, it is my understanding there is an effort to thwart conservatives who are running for re-election on the State Central Committee. This effort is counterproductive and will most assuredly backfire in November. If we are to be victorious in November we will need our army of conservative activists...and most of all our conservative voters. How else can we defeat the juggernaut of the Democrat machine?"

But the wounds are deep - and for many, irreparable. Governor Rauner won by running ad after ad focused on what amounted to lies about his challenger, Jeanne Ives. Rauner misled uninformed voters to believe Ives was a Madigan co-hort, when Ives has been one of the House's most vocal opponents to the Speaker. That type of win should never be rewarded, Republicans are saying. Many are discouraged, insulted and wounded. They're planning to stay at home in November - something that could be devastating for down-ticket Republicans.

DENISE CATTONI

Illinois Tea Party leader Denise Cattoni told Illinois Review that she's concerned about the state and its future if conservatives disengage from voting in the fall. But, as a vocal supporter of Jeanne Ives in the gubernatorial primary, she understands the discouragement many conservatives are expressing.

She publicly shared her concerns on her Facebook page Friday in a post addressing precinct committeemen.

"The ILGOP is trying to purge all conservatives from the State Central Committee. When you attend the April 18th meeting, all of the conservative SCC Chairmen will have a RHINO opponent (after the primary). Stand for your principles! Stand for the ILGOP Platform, Cattoni wrote. "Gov. Rauner has now made it perfectly clear that Conservatives are NOT invited into the IL Republican party, guaranteeing that he will lose to Pritzker."

Cattoni said that of the 90 Tea Party groups around the state going back to 2008, over half of the leadership has moved out of state, having read the political handwriting on the wall. As a movement leader focused on fiscal issues, she supported Bruce Rauner in his 2014 bid.

Since then, she's gotten more involved in Republican Party circles, which has led her to be especially concerned about the two congressional districts where conservative state central committeemen are currently serving, but who backed Jeanne Ives in this year's gubernatorial primary.

State Central Committeeman John McGlasson in the 16th CD and Bob Winchester in the 15th CD are both being challenged by elected state lawmakers - likely put up by Rauner's people, she says.

"Why would State Rep Tom Demmer and Senator Chapin Rose be given MORE power by the ILGOP??" Cattoni wrote. "Rauner's PAYBACK to conservatives. You are not welcome in the party."

JOHN MCGLASSON

Illinois Review asked McGlasson his thoughts about the challenge he's facing. He not only backed Jeanne Ives in the gubernatorial primary, he backed challenger James Marter over incumbent Congressman Adam Kinzinger in the 16th CD.

The Rauner camp is reaching out to precinct committeemen, urging them to support State Rep. Tom Demmer over McGlasson. State Representative David Weller is circulating a letter among other members, opposing McGlasson. Four that McGlasson knows of did not sign Welter's letter.

McGlasson says he's committed to the Illinois Republican Party platform as his principle base. He recalls vividly the battle waged at the 2016 IL GOP State Convention over the platform changes Rauner people - including former Party Chairman Pat Brady and SCC member Ryan Higgins - tried to make on family issues.

"I worked very hard, along with many others, to bring the platform to the floor at the last convention," McGlasson told Illinois Review. "And I will continue to fight for conservative values in future platforms. One of the most important duties of state central committee members is the appointment of committee members for the convention. I am very proud of those I appointed last time and the battles they waged."

STAN BOND

Stan Bond, SCC member from the 14th CD, although conservative as well, is running unopposed in the SCC race.

"You may recall I was one of the committed group who worked through the night to ensure the party platform wasnt revised per Pat Brady and the chosen platform committee," Bond told IR. "It was an historic effort that dramatized for all the importance our base places on family values.

"I would like to strengthen and clarify our platform on some issues but remain proud of it as written. I strongly believe party support should be focused on candidates who support the platform. Thats why we have a platform," he said.

The platform is key to the conservative majority in the Illinois Republican Party. The vote at that convention on maintaining traditional family values in the party platform was supported in a standing seven-to-one vote - a fact Rauner and his staff either purposely overlook or can't believe is that important to Republican voters.

Demonte, who represents the state to the RNC, stands with the party's conservatives. While the nation pulls to the right with President Donald Trump at the helm, the Illinois Republican Party is being dragged to the left at the insistence of Governor Rauner and his well-paid campaign staff.



"As your Illinois' Republican National Committeewoman, and as a loyal Republican, I plan to vote for our entire Republican slate in November," Demonte said.

"But I want to assure the party faithful that I remain committed to the conservative principles lined out in the Illinois Republican Party platform, as well as continue to actively engage and push policy at the national level on the Republican National Committee that represents the values of our grassroots."

See also:
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Omni MedSci, a Michigan company, filed a five-count patent lawsuit against Apple in Eastern Texas on Friday. The lawsuit alleges that all Apple Watch models infringe on their four patents. One patent of theirs that was initially granted in 2016, two years after Apple launched Apple Watch. The original Apple Watch introduced a heart-rate sensor and Apple's clear intent was to advance health related sensors over time.

Interestingly Omni MedSci's second granted patent that was issued in February 2018 for the same invention, suddenly included new patent claims related to next-gen wearable devices. Patent claim #2 added: "wherein the measurement device is adapted to be placed on a wrist of a user." Patent claim #3 added: "wherein the measurement device is adapted to be placed on an ear of a user."

How convenient was that considering the initial patent was about "dental caries," and reflected as such in the title of the patent: "Short-wave infrared super-continuum lasers for early detection of dental caries," and not smart wearable devices. This was a convenient afterthought.



It would seem that the company was tailoring their granted patent for wearables all of a sudden after meeting and emailing Apple to make their technology appear to have been originally related to wearable devices for the sake of a lawsuit.

Background Facts In-Part

In Omni MedSci's court filing they listed their version of the background facts. The following represents their background facts in-part as follows:

"Between June 2014 and July 2016, Dr. Islam had a series of meetings and email exchanges with Apple personnel regarding the technology underlying his then-pending patent applications, including the now-issued Patents-in-Suit. In those exchanges, Apple was offered the opportunity to license or acquire Omni MedSci's patented and patent-pending technology, but Apple declined.

On June 11-12, 2014, Dr. Islam met with Apple employees Drs. Michael O'Reilly and Michael Hillman in Cupertino, California to discuss Omni MedSci's then patent-pending technology.

Dr. Hillman then arranged for a meeting with Dr. Islam and approximately ten Apple employees in Cupertino, California to discuss technical details of Omni MedSci's then patent-pending technology. The meeting took place at Apple on February 5, 2015.

On July 14, 2016, Apple employee Greg Joswiak emailed Dr. Islam inviting him to provide additional information about his technology. Mr. Joswiak indicated that he would share the information with his team at Apple.

Four days later, Apple employees Drs. Ed Hull and Shonn Hendee arranged a meeting with Dr. Islam and approximately ten Apple employees in Cupertino, California to discuss technical details of Omni MedSci's then patent-pending technology. The meeting took place at Apple on July 18, 2016. At the meeting, Dr. Islam shared the published patent application for the '533 patent and the published parent patent applications for the '698, '040 and '286 patents.

Dr. Islam continued to correspond with Apple employees regarding the status of his pending patent applications and technological development. On December 21, 2017, Dr. Islam emailed Drs. O'Reilly, Hull, and Hendee identifying the issued '533 and '040 patents, and enclosing copies of the allowed claims for the '268 and '698 patents. In response, Dr. O'Reilly emailed Dr. Islam stating, "We [Apple] don't wish to receive any information about any of your IP [Intellectual Property]."

As of December 21, 2017, Apple knew the claim scope of all four of the Patents in-Suit."

The company later in notes in their filing: "On information and belief, Apple has made and sold several models of its Apple Watch product, including, for example, "Series 1," "Series 2," "Series 3 GPS," and "Series 3 GPS + Cellular" watches. Omni MedSci asserts infringement by all models, including the models sold to date and models sold in the future, which are covered by the claims of the Patents-in-Suit (collectively, "Watches")."

The five-count lawsuit presented in full below, courtesy of Patently Apple, lists four patents that Apple has allegedly infringed. Their fifth count is for 'Willful Infringement.'

Omni MedSci, Inc Files Patent Infringement Lawsuit Against Apple - Filed April 06, 2018. SCRIBD document created by Jack Purcher, Patently Apple



The patent infringement case presented in today's report was filed in the Texas Eastern District Court, Marshall Office on April 6, 2018. The Presiding Judge in this case is noted as being Judge Robert W. Schroeder.





Notice: Patently Apple presents only a brief summary of certain legal cases/ lawsuits which are part of the public record for journalistic news purposes. Readers are cautioned that Patently Apple does not offer an opinion on the merit of the case and strictly presents the allegations made in said legal cases / lawsuits. A lawyer should be consulted for any further details or analysis. About Making Comments on this Site: Patently Apple reserves the right to post, dismiss or edit comments. Those using abusive language or negative behavior will result in being blacklisted on Disqus.
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Russia, China Denounce U.S. Efforts To Change Iran Deal, World Trade Rules

04/06/18

Source: RFE/RL

The foreign ministers of Russia and China have jointly denounced what they described as efforts by the United States to unilaterally change negotiated treaties ranging from the Iran nuclear deal to the global-warming pact and world trade rules.

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi called for joint efforts to protect global free trade system at a press conference after talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov during his visit in Russia. https://t.co/fttnXumQvz  China Plus News (@ChinaPlusNews) April 5, 2018

Speaking in Moscow after talks with his Chinese counterpart on April 5, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump was trying to go it alone on issues that involve many countries.



He cited as examples the U.S. push to renegotiate the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, despite the other parties' satisfaction with the agreement, and his demands for change in the global-warming treaty signed by 166 other countries.



"It has nothing to do with diplomacy. It's an attempt to enforce its own interests while completely ignoring the interests of others," Lavrov said.



"Unilateralism is always bad, and particularly so when it becomes the main foreign-policy tool," Lavrov said. "China and Russia have repeatedly shown their readiness to search for reasonable compromises based on taking interests of all interested parties into account."



"We in Russia stand for direct dialogue to solve any outstanding issues," Lavrov said. "We never dodge negotiations. It's our American partners who do."



On the Iran deal, Trump has demanded that the European powers that are also signatories to the agreement -- Britain, France, and Germany -- negotiate a side deal to address what he has called its "disastrous flaws."



Trump in particular has criticized the nuclear deal's failure to curb Iran's ballistic-missile development and the expiration after 10 years of the deal's curbs on Iranian uranium enrichment and several other nuclear activities, which were imposed in exchange for sanctions relief.



Trump is threatening to pull the United States out of the deal unless his demands are met, and U.S. allies in Europe have been negotiating with the administration in an effort to answer Trump's concerns.



Lavrov pointed out that the Iran deal took years to negotiate, and said Russia took the position that any attempt to unilaterally change the deal represents a violation of its terms as well as of a UN resolution carrying out the deal.



Iran has taken a similar position and has opposed any changes in the deal.



Iran's nuclear agency chief, Ali Akbar Salahi, was quoted by the IRNA news agency on April 5 as saying, "We want to stay in the deal, but we can do differently" if Trump pulls out. He promised a "surprise" if Trump decided to withdraw.



Lavrov accused the U.S. administration of also trying to unilaterally alter World Trade Organization rules as well as the 2015 Minsk agreement, which lays out a process for achieving peace in eastern Ukraine.



U.S. officials have expressed frustration that the Minsk accord has failed to bring about any lasting settlement of Kyiv's conflict with Russia-backed separatists, but they have not publicly sought to make changes in the agreement.



Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi joined in Lavrov's criticism of the United States on April 5, but focused his remarks on U.S. plans to impose new tariffs on aluminum and steel imports, which are targeted on both China and Russia, as well as Trump's threats to impose as much as $150 billion in new tariffs on Chinese goods.



"If the U.S. thinks that it can get advantages through protectionism, its calculus is wrong," Wang said, denouncing the higher tariffs as "typical unilateralism and an undisguised attempt at hegemony."



"The international community must jointly oppose such unilateralism and violation of rules," Wang said.



Wang's trip to Russia follows a Moscow visit earlier this week by Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe, who said his visit was intended was a signal to the United States of increasingly close Russia-China military ties.



In a show of military cooperation, Moscow and Beijing have recently conducted joint drills, including exercises in the South China Sea and joint naval maneuvers in the Baltics.



Moscow and Beijing for years have forged what they describe as a "strategic partnership," expressing their shared goal of creating a "multipolar" world with multiple centers of power and their joint opposition to a "unipolar" world dominated by the United States.



Russian President Vladimir Putin has developed warm ties with Chinese President Xi Jinping, and the two leaders regularly exchange visits. Putin is set to go to China in June for a meeting of the security grouping dominated by Moscow and Beijing.



While greeting Wang on April 5, Putin hailed the Chinese legislature's unanimous decision last month to reappoint Xi as president with no limit on the number of terms he can serve. Wang in turn conveyed Xi's congratulations on Putin's reelection last month.



"I would like to express hope that after the Russian presidential election and important political events in the People's Republic of China, we will continue our course aimed at further strengthening bilateral ties," Putin said.



With reporting by AP, AFP, Interfax, and TASS
Germany's Merkel Set To Visit U.S. As Trump's Iran Deadline Nears

04/06/18

Source: RFE/RL

German Chancellor Angela Merkel will travel to the United States to meet with President Donald Trump in the coming weeks, the White House says.

Germany's Merkel to visit Trump, as trade, Iran deadlines loom https://t.co/hfwIORxZvn  Reuters Iran (@ReutersIran) April 6, 2018

Deputy press secretary Hogan Gidley confirmed on April 5 that the Merkel visit was "upcoming" but was unable to provide details.



However, a senior U.S. official told the Reuters news agency that the visit was scheduled for April 27.



French President Emmanuel Macron is slated to meet with Trump in Washington three days before Merkel's visit.



The meetings would come shortly before a May 12 deadline that Trump has set for adjustments to the 2015 nuclear deal signed by the United States and other world powers with Iran. Germany, France, and other signatories have urged the United States to remain in the pact.



The deal provided Tehran with relief from sanctions in return for curbs on its nuclear program.



Trump has said Tehran is violating the "spirit" of the accord by continuing to fire ballistic missiles and by supporting militants in the region.



Also likely to be discussed with the European leaders are planned steel and aluminum tariffs announced by the U.S. administration.



Exemptions granted to the European Union from the U.S. import duties are scheduled to expire shortly after the visits.



Based on reporting by Reuters, AP, and dpa
Five suspected armed robbers were yesterday killed on the Tema Motorway in a gun battle with personnel of the Accra Regional police command.



The five, according to the Regional Police Commander, DCOP George Alex Mensah, were among a gang of 15 persons who had been attacking some people in Accra and Kasoa, Central Region.



Four of the slain robbery suspects had been identified as Habib, Paa, Baby Jet and Birdman; but the fifth person was yet to be identified.



Briefing the media, DCOP Mensah said the incident occurred at about 1:20 am yesterday.



He said the police had information that a group of armed robbers had planned a massive attack on some people in Accra and Kasoa.



The suspected armed robbers, according to him, were using three cars  an unregistered Pontiac Vibe, a Toyota Corolla taxi with registration number GT 3036-17 and a Sprinter bus with registration number WR 1596 X.



The team, through surveillance, met the suspects in the said three vehicles moving towards Kasoa direction on the motorway.



DCOP Mensah averred that on seeing the police operation vehicle, the gangsters started firing at them, compelling the law enforcers to call for re-enforcement.



The police, the commander asserted, also opened fire on the suspects and in the process, some of the bullets hit a number of them, killing the five.



The suspects who sustained gunshot wounds abandoned their deceased colleagues in the Toyota Corolla taxi and the Sprinter bus at the end of the toll booth and bolted with the unregistered Pontiac Vibe.



A search conducted in the two vehicles led to the discovery of two locally made pistols, one foreign pistol loaded with four rounds of ammunition, 9 rounds of AAA cartridges, 2 heavy duty cutters, three sharp knives, two cutlasses and a talisman.



DCOP Mensah said police intelligence had revealed that the suspected armed robbers were connected to several robberies in the Greater Accra metropolis, especially the recent attacks and robberies of Forex bureau.



The bodies, according to the Accra Regional police commander, were going to be deposited at the Police Hospital for preservation.



He noted, The police strongly suspect that those who escaped sustained gunshot wounds and would go to some of the health facilities for medical treatment.



He therefore, appealed to such health facilities  including traditional health centres  to report to the police any strange wounds brought to their facilities for treatment.





Source: Daily Guide









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Zimbabwe's state broadcaster has banned programmes by so-called "prosperity prophets", reports the private Daily News paper.



It quotes the head of radio at Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC), Albert Chekayi, as saying he has temporarily suspended such broadcasts while he investigates listeners' complaints.



Prosperity prophets preach about the "prosperity gospel", which links wealth to Christianity.



They say the stronger one's faith and the more one gives to the church, the more wealth one will ultimately receive from God.



Such clerics have been critisised for making money out of poor people.

Source: BBC









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Liberian leader, George Manneh Weah arrived in Ghana on Friday for a two-day state visit, aimed at shoring up relations between both nations.



At the head of a government delegation, Mr Weah who has already been to Cote dIvoire, is expected to use the visit to explore avenues to enhance trade and bilateral cooperation between Ghana and Liberia.



President Weah was met at the Jubilee Lounge of the Kotoka International Airport by Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia.

He later inspected a Guard of Honour mounted by the Ghana Armed Forces and received a 21 Gun salute.



Mr Weah will later in the day call on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo at the Jubilee House, where the two leaders would hold bilateral talks, and address other issues affecting the ECOWAS region.



The two are billed to address the media after the deliberations.



President Weah leaves Ghana for his country tomorrow, Saturday, April 7, 2018.

Source: GNA









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The President of Republic of Liberia, George M. Weah, has extended a passionate appeal to the Government of President Akufo-Addo and people of Ghana to help Liberia to progress and succeed.



I am young, I agree, but you are my big brother, and I know that you will help Liberia to succeed, he appealed.



The Liberian President made this known on Friday, 6th April 6, 2018, when he paid a courtesy call on President Akufo-Addo at the Jubilee House, as part of a two day visit to Ghana.



The purpose of the visit, in the words of President George Weah, is to renew the bonds of friendship and solidarity that there are between the Liberian and Ghanaian people.



According to him, Liberia came a long way, and without Ghana we will not be standing here today. Ghana hosted us, today we can never repay, we just have to make sure that our people continue to relate cordially, and I can assure that the relationship that has existed between our governments will also be mutually beneficial.



Expressing his appreciation for the role President Akufo-Addo has played in strengthening the African Union, he noted that when we travel to AU meetings, like we did the last time in Addis Ababa, you realize that when a big brother speaks, you look and listen to him, and you know what is to be done.



Continuing, he pledged to work towards strengthening the existing relationship between Ghana and Liberia, saying Ghana is my home, and we are here not to just come sight-seeing but to reassure you that the relationship we have will be sustained and strengthened.



President Akufo-Addo, on his part, referenced the longstanding, personal relationship between himself and President Weah, which predates their current respective presidencies, and described the Liberian leader as a symbol of the progress that Liberia is making after the trauma of the civil war.



He said, I have known him for some time because we share many characteristics, one of which has been persistent efforts to arrive at where we are today. I believe it was a set time as it was mine. One of the things that I have discovered about him is his honesty and also his commitment to the welfare of his people. That is what has brought him this far.



Commending the efforts of former President of Liberia, Her Excellency Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, he said, the first female elected leader on our continent did a great deal of work in trying to consolidate the peace, after the years of the traumatic civil war. And one of the most important outcomes of that process of consolidation is that she was able to organise elections which allowed for the first time, I believe, in over 17 years, a peaceful transfer of power from one democratically elected leader of Liberia to another.



The President continued, That is the measure of her achievement, and it is also a measure of how far Liberia has come to put its past behind it, and, in doing so, she chose as her successor a man who is already world famous in his other life as a sportsman, and who has now become a symbol of the hopes of the majority of the people of Liberia, especially of its youth.



President Akufo-Addo also touched on the happenings in the Region, and asked for a realist view of the imminent threats and opportunities confronting the Region.



The world is going through some difficult moments, all kinds of new arrangements are appearing, and we, here in the West African region, must continue to deepen the contacts, the links, the friendships between us in West Africa, so that the challenges of the 21st century, the challenges of rapid economic growth, inclusive economic growth that makes it possible for all our people to be part of the process of development, so that we can successfully meet those challenges within the context of democratic values and democratic institutions.



So it is a particularly happy day for us in Ghana, and for me personally to be able to welcome to our country this famous man who, even before he became a president, was a household word in Africa, President Akufo-Addo concluded.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









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The General Overseer of Glorious Word Power Ministry International, Reverend Isaac Owusu Bempah, has warned that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government could lose the 2020 election if some of its appointees continue to seek solace in juju (Black power).



Speaking to Roman Fada on Atinka FM Mid-morning Show, Adwuma oo Wednesday, Rev. Owusu Bempah disclosed that some appointees at the Jubilee House have abandoned the NPPs The Battle is the Lords message, and are now consulting black power to seek favor from President Nana Addo- Dankwa Akufo-Addo.



He said he will personally inform the president about the unholy actions of some of his appointees. When I meet the President, I will tell him about this juju thing and urge him to call these appointees to order, he told Roman Fada.



He further explained that, spiritually, the NPP is in a comfortable lead as far as the 2020 election is concerned, but warned that, the result could change if the NPP appointees continue to dabble in juju.



Reverend Owusu Bempah said the NDC under president John Mahama, lost the favor of God due to some of these evil deeds and that the same fate will befall the NPP if they consult juju, instead of God.



According to him, President Akufo-Addo has a genuine love for God hence his massive victory in the 2016 election and charged all his appointees to emulate him by seeking Gods first.

Source: atinkaonline









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NPP Member of Parliament for Ledzokuku, Dr. Bernard Okoe Boye has taken a jab at the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) for expressing dissenting views on the Military agreement between Ghana and the United States.



Speaking on Peace FMs Kokrokoo, Dr. Okoe Boye wondered what wrong the Akufo-Addo government has done by granting access to the US Army to come into the country.



He threw his unwavering support behind the government for ratifying the agreement saying the US government has since 20 years of engaging with Ghana, pumped huge amounts of monies towards the countrys growth and development.



He therefore asked what is wrong with the US having access to our country so they can protect their own when the same country, their taxpayers can pay money and fix your highways? Youre okay with it and you say I want justice Im putting it on record, all the 20 years the US has had partnership with us; theyve put in more money than we've put in.



My issue is theyre people you have mutual relationship with and most of the time, youre the beneficiary but the day that something is going to them, you say you have a problem. That cannot be the attitude of a friendly person. That cannot be the attitude of a country that wants to make a lot of gains, he added.



Dr. Okoe Boye further noted that the NPP government wont make decisions that will jeopardize the country but rather the opposition NDC is the party that sold out the sovereignty of Ghana.



" . . without your permission, we were put on auction. We sold out ourselves. We dont even know the price, he told host Nana Yaw Kesseh, in apparent reference to similar agreements with the US government in 1998 and 2015 without recourse to Parliament.





Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









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The Australian High Commissioner to Ghana, Andrew Barnes has urged Ghanaians to be open-minded about the infamous Ghana-US military deal generating numerous controversies and verbal tussles in the country.



The deal, which was allegedly leaked by the Minority in Parliament, has put government in a bad light among majority of Ghanaians, who argue that it was not in the countrys best interest.



The opposition NDC, together with some civil society organization in a bid to get the Defense Minister, Dominic Nitiwul and government to retract its decision, had staged a demonstration.



President, Nana Akufo-Addo has subsequently lambasted the opposition describing their stance on the issue as a kind of cynical manipulation by reckless self-seekers", who will be exposed and condemned soon.



The president further argued that since Ghana has built a formidable reputation for its contribution to peace-keeping around the world, which would not have been possible without the immense contribution of the United States of America, it was only right for it to continue with the existing co-operation agreement between the two countries.



Since independence, Ghana has had very fruitful relations with a range of foreign embassies and major international institutions. These include the United Nations, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the African Development Bank, the International Finance Corporation, amongst others. All these agencies enjoy similar conditions as those which the Co-operation Agreement offers to the US military here. No one has dared suggest that granting these foreign embassies and international institutions these concessions constitute an attack on the sovereignty of Ghana. Nor has anyone also felt that the concessions have in any way worked against the interests of Ghana. Indeed, I have no doubt that it would be the general consensus of all well-informed Ghanaians that this nation has benefitted significantly from the presence and activities of these institutions over the past decades.







But whilst the opposition NDC and some Ghanaians seem unfazed by the presidents address, the Australian High Commissioner believes Ghana stands to benefit from the collaboration.



According to Mr. Barnes, most countries are in similar agreements with other nations.



International co-operation is very important. So is military co-operation, I will, therefore, encourage people to be open-minded, to appreciate and understand the benefit to both countries and in fact all countries for having close co-operation in this sort of matters, he said.



It must be worth noting that under this military deal, the US is exempted from paying tax on equipment imported into the country and further permitted the setting up of a telecommunication system on Ghanas radio spectrum for free.



Ghana is also required to give the US army unfettered access to some facilities close to the Kotoka International Airport while Ghana is expected to receive some $20 million.

Source: Ghanaweb.com









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(*Updated to include comment from Pa. Democrats)

EAST PENNSBORO Twp. -- Given a second chance Saturday to back off on a controversial campaign commercial that's roiling this spring's GOP primary for governor, Paul Mango doubled down again.

"Absolutely not," the Pittsburgh businessman responded if he planned to take down an attack advertisement that gets up close and personal with primary rival Scott Wagner.

The spot, put together by veteran GOP ad man John Brabender, paints Wagner, a York County state senator, as a polluter, slum lord, and, most controversially, as a "deadbeat dad."

Pittsburgh businessman Paul Mango, a Republican candidate for governor, addresses the 2018 Pennsylvania Leadership Conference, an annual gathering of conservative activists. (PennLive photo by John L. Micek)

As they separately addressed an annual gathering of Pennsylvania conservatives, a defiant Wagner shot back a few minutes later: "Keep it coming, if that's what you have to do. Then that's what you're going to have to do."

The ad was so radioactive that state Republican Party Chairman Val DiGiorgio called on Mango to pull it from the airwaves on Friday. Wagner won the state party's endorsement in February.

Mango refused DiGiorgio's request, saying, through a spokesman, that the campaign had increased the ad buy Friday morning "due to the overwhelmingly positive response."

Mango made his remarks during this weekend's Pennsylvania Leadership Conference, an annual gathering of conservatives put together by veteran activist Lowman Henry. It was Mango's and Wagner's first public appearance together since the controversy boiled over Friday afternoon.

Mango's adamant refusal earned him boos from Wagner loyalists in the audience at the Radisson Penn Harris hotel.

Mango, Wagner, and Laura Ellsworth, the Pittsburgh attorney who's been content to hang back as the two, putative front-runners (though a clear public favorite has yet to emerge) hammer each other, each separately appeared in a lunch hour forum moderated by Philadelphia talk radio host Dom Giordano.

The winner of the May primary faces Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf in November.

State Sen. Scott Wagner, R-York, a Republican candidate for governor, addresses the 2018 Pennsylvania Leadership Conference, an annual gathering of conservative activists. (PennLive photo by John L. Micek)

Wagner also bristled under questioning about his sponsorship of legislation that would expand state law to ban housing, employment and public accommodation discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

Some on the right have falsely claimed that the bill would boys to shower in girls' locker rooms.

One group, the American Principles Project, an independent expenditure group that's openly hostile to gay rights, is airing ads attacking Wagner for his sponsorship of the legislation.

"I keep hearing 'bathroom bill.' There is no such thing," Wagner said. "I'm a co-sponsor of a bill that has to do with anti-discrimination in housing, employment and public accommodation."

He later described the fracas as the bill as a distraction, adding, "We have bigger fish to fry."

The panel of interrogators, which also included Colin McNickle of Pittsburgh's Allegheny Institute, a conservative think-tank; and talk show host Michele Jansen of NewsTalk 103.7 FM in Chambersburg, did manage to fry some of those bigger fish.

McNickle, the former editorial page editor of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, found himself embroiled in a testy exchange with Ellsworth over whether language in the Pennsylvania constitution authorized state government to award grants and other incentives to businesses looking to locate in Pennsylvania.

Ellsworth told McNickle that she was aware of the constitutional restraints, but also said there were circumstances where it was appropriate for state government "to deliver a fertile field where their businesses can thrive and develop."

Asked by McNickle whether it was more appropriate to lower taxes and for state government "not to pick winners and losers," Ellsworth said she was not picking winners and losers, but rather was "talking about creatng economic incentives, not corporate welfare."

Ellsworth further sparred with Giordano when she was asked whether she'd sign death warrants, as required by law, for death row inmates.

Pennsylvania is currently under an execution moratorium Wolf imposed in 2015. But the state has not executed anyone for nearly 20 years.

Libertarian candidate Ken Krawchuk, who was also given the opportunity to address the crowd, found himself tied up in rhetorical knots after he told Giordano that, if elected, he'd pardon all non-violent drug dealers. Like many Libertarians, Krawchuk embraces drug legalization.

Asked by Giordano whether his executive mercy would extend to drug kingpins, Krawchuk said yes.

"Who have they offended?" he asked an incredulous Giordano, amid some laughter from the assembled crowd.

Responding to a separate question about Medicaid spending, Krawchuk also theatrically ripped up a dollar bill to illustrate how little federal money finds its way back to Pennsylvania.

Mango also used his time on stage to take repeated shots at Wolf, dismissing him, at one point, as "Thomas the Tax Engine Wolf," and describing him as a "liberal/progressive/socialist," who is presiding over a "no growth economy."

Wagner also criticized Wolf for a lack of leadership on a variety of issues.

*Beth Melena, a spokeswoman for state Democrats, said in a statement that "Phony Paul Mango and Harrisburg insider Scott Wagner" were in the "midst of a Republican civil war over who would be the most extreme, right-wing governor for Pennsylvania.

"Rather than focusing on the issues that matter to Pennsylvanians like education, health care and protecting our seniors, Republicans are focused on tearing each other apart," she said.
Looking for a getaway that offers unmatched views of sunrises and sunsets? Specifically, 384 of them in 12 days?

Try outer space.

Houston-based Orion Span hopes to launch the "first luxury hotel in space" - the 35-by-14 foot Aurora Station - by late 2021 and bring guests on board the following year. The hotel will accommodate up to four travelers and two crew members at a time, racing them around the planet at high speeds for 12 days, the company said in a news release.

Adventurers pay $9.5 million per person - or about $791,666 a night - and their $80,000 deposit can already be reserved online, company officials said. But don't fear: The deposit is fully refundable.

"We want to get people into space because it's the final frontier for our civilization," Orion Span's founder and chief executive, Frank Bunger, told Bloomberg.

Bunger said that one reason Orion Span can aim for a price of less than $10 million per person is because of the declining price of launches.

"Everybody's forecasting that [launch prices are] going to fall," he told Bloomberg. "Almost every week there's another rocket launch company that's starting up with a new way to get to orbit cheaper, faster, better."

Orion Span's announcement of a luxury hotel in space comes amid a revival of the commercial space industry. The launch of Elon Musk's Falcon Heavy from the Kennedy Space Center in February, for example, was the latest in a series of milestones that have renewed companies' interest in space.

The launch raised the question of whether SpaceX and other private enterprises could maintain their momentum and fulfill the promise of returning humans to space. That likelihood could increase as the Trump administration looks to restructure the role of NASA, allowing private enterprise and international partners to work closely with the space agency.

Orion Span's proposed hotel offers plenty of attractions: zero gravity flying throughout the station, views of patrons' home towns from space, the ability to take part in research experiments such as growing food while in orbit, and live-streams with friends and family at home through high-speed Internet.

Since commercial spaceflight has yet to launch humans into space, Aurora Station visitors will have three months of training, which would begin with online courses to better understand "basic spaceflight, orbital mechanics, and pressurized environments in space," officials told Bloomberg. The guests will also have contingency training at the company's headquarters in Houston.

"Orion Span has ... taken what was historically a 24-month training regimen to prepare travelers to visit a space station and streamlined it to three months, at a fraction of the cost," company officials said. "Our goal is to make space accessible to all, by continuing to drive greater value at lower cost."

Bunger, a former software engineer, told Bloomberg that the experience won't be for everyone. The Aurora Station will mainly cater to those who are passionate about space and astronomical study.

"We're not selling a hey-let's-go-to-the-beach equivalent in space," Bunger said. "We're selling the experience of being an astronaut. You reckon that there are people who are willing to pay to have that experience."

(c) 2018, The Washington Post * Marwa Eltagouri. Christian Davenport contributed to this report.
AUSTIN, Texas -- Arizona and Texas announced Friday that they were preparing to deploy National Guard members to the U.S.-Mexico border in response to President Donald Trump's call for more border security.

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey said about 150 Guard members would deploy next week.

And the Texas Military Department, the umbrella agency over the Texas National Guard branches, said on its Twitter account that it would hold a Friday night news conference on its preparations, though further details were not immediately available.

Trump told reporters Thursday that he wants to send between 2,000 and 4,000 National Guard members to the border to help fight illegal immigration and drug trafficking.

New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez's office said Friday that it had not yet deployed any Guard members. The office of California Gov. Jerry Brown did not respond to questions about whether it would deploy troops.

That would be lower than the roughly 6,000 National Guard members that former President George W. Bush sent in 2006 during another border security operation, though more than the 1,200 Guard members President Barack Obama sent in 2010.

A spokesman for Ducey said Friday that the deployment would be funded under a federal law called Title 32. Under that law, the National Guard remains under the command and control of each state's governor, but receives federal pay and benefits. The deployments under Bush and Obama also occurred under Title 32.

Trump signed a proclamation Wednesday blaming "the lawlessness that continues at our southern border." Earlier, he said he wanted to use the military to secure the southern border until his proposed border wall was built. Congress has largely refused to fund Trump's full request for the wall.

After plunging at the start of his presidency, the numbers of migrants apprehended at the southwest border have started to rise in line with historical trends. The Border Patrol said it caught around 50,000 people in March, more than three times the number in March 2017. That's erased a decline for which Trump repeatedly took credit. Border apprehensions still remain well below the numbers when Bush and Obama deployed the Guard to the border.

READ MORE: Trump signs proclamation directing National Guard to send troops to US-Mexico border

News reports of a caravan of Central American migrants passing through southern Mexico also sparked angry tweets from the president. The caravan of largely Central American migrants never intended to reach the U.S. border, according to organizer Irineo Mujica. But Trump has repeatedly cited it as an example of what he called America's weak immigration laws.

Department of Homeland Security officials have said Guard members could support Border Patrol agents and other law enforcement agencies. DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said this week that guard members could "help look at the technology, the surveillance," and that the department might ask for fleet mechanics. Federal law restricts the military from carrying out law enforcement duties.

From 2006 to 2008, the Guard fixed vehicles, maintained roads, repaired fences and performed ground surveillance. Its second mission in 2010 and 2011 involved more aerial surveillance and intelligence work.

Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, now Trump's energy secretary, also sent about 1,000 Guard members to the border in 2014 in response to a surge in the number of unaccompanied immigrant children crossing the Rio Grande, the river that separates the U.S. and Mexico in the state.

About 100 Guardsmen remain deployed as part of that existing state mission.

___

Paul J. Weber and Nomaan Merchant of the Associated Press wrote this story. AP writers Bob Christie in Phoenix and Susan Montoya Bryan in Albuquerque contributed to this report. Nomaan Merchant reported from Houston.
Colder temperatures are expected to return to central Pennsylvania this weekend, according to forecasters with AccuWeather and the National Weather Service at State College.

Some places could receive a snow shower early Saturday morning, but little or no snow accumulation is expected.

"A cold front will slip southeastward across Pennsylvania (Friday) evening, ushering in another shot of unseasonably chilly air," according to the National Weather Service.

High temperatures are expected to be in the low-40s from Saturday through Monday, forecasters said.

The normal high temperature for the Harrisburg area this time of year is 59, the normal low is 39, according to records kept by the National Weather Service.

For Saturday, expect a 40 percent chance of rain and possibly a snow shower after 2 a.m. The high will be near 43. Low around 26.

SUNDAY: Sunny, with a high near 43. Low around 29. Northwest wind 3 to 6 mph.

MONDAY: A 50 percent chance of rain and snow before 2 p.m. Cloudy, with a high near 42. Precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch are expected. Low around 35.

You can see live weather updates via the National Weather Service and other Twitter sources below.

Tweet us at @pennlive with photos of inclement weather at your place, incidents you see on your commute or send a submission to submissions@pennlive.com.
State police in Lancaster County are searching for a man who has illegally been in the United States since 1999.

Troopers are searching for Porfirio Roberto German, 50, who was last known to be living along the first block of Wise Avenue in Lancaster.

It is believed that German entered the country legally in the early 1990s, living in New York, Massachusetts, and the Scanton and Allentown areas. Using his real name, he obtained a Pennsylvania identification card, police said.

He was ordered to be deported in 1999 by U.S Immigration Services after convictions for drug trafficking in New York and Massachusetts, police said.

Police said German fled from Allentown to Lancaster, where he assumed a false identity.

"From 2003 until the present, he has used stolen identities to obtain Pa. driver's licenses and identification cards to avoid capture. Using the stolen identities, German has obtained employment, collected insurance settlements following car accidents, has been sued...and other fraudulent activities," police said.

Investigators believe German is still living in the Lancaster area.

Further information was not provided.

Anyone with information about German is asked to contact police at 717-299-7650, 911, or Pa. Crime Stoppers at 1-800-4PA-TIPS. Callers can remains anonymous.
SUNBURY - Testimony that caught the Northumberland County district attorney by surprise marked the preliminary hearing for the Shamokin man accused of killing a woman and then engaging in a more than five-hour standoff with police.

The possibility a second person might be involved in the Feb. 26 murder of Kasandra Ortiz, 23, surfaced Friday in the testimony of Damien Parker.

As he was recounting events of that day and evening, Parker testified Colin Fraley gave Jose Colon the shotgun used to kill Ortiz about 8:30 p.m. in the 400 block of North Rock Street near Spurzheim Street.

"That's the first time I heard that," District Attorney Tony Matulewicz said after the hearing.

District Judge John Gembic, who held Colon for court on charges from the killing and standoff, suggested protection be provided Parker because he testified someone else was involved in the crime.

Parker testified Fraley had the shotgun hidden in his pants, took it out and loaded it before Colon, 41, said: "Give me the gun. I'm going to kill the bitch."

Parker gave this account of what happen after he, Colon, Fraley and two others arrived by car on Rock Street where Ortiz lived:

After Ortiz came outside, Colon punched her multiple times in the face, knocking her to the ground. He then dragged her behind a large trash container, got the shotgun, returned to where she was and a shot was heard.

Parker testified he then drove Colon to his apartment in the 100 block of West Sunbury Street, where the standoff occurred.

Coroner James F. Kelley testified Ortiz had been shot in the head with a shotgun and identification was made through tattoos. She suffered other injuries attributed to an assault, he said an autopsy showed.

A definite motive for the shooting has not been determined, but there was testimony that Ortiz had "burned" Colon in a drug deal.

There also was testimony Ortiz was spreading rumors Colon had bed bugs and she had made another comment that made him angry.

During an interview, Colon began crying and said he shot Ortiz, according to testimony from Shamokin Officer Raymond J. Siko II.

Siko also related at the arraignment on the homicide charge, Colon said he wanted the death penalty, that he knew what he did and will answer for it.

Fraley, who lived with Colon, initially had told police when he returned to his apartment his roommate pointed a shotgun at him, threatened to kill him, would not permit him to leave and he had to escape through a bathroom window.

He later admitted helping Colon move a refrigerator to block a door and was allowed to leave to get cigarettes with the promise he would return, officers testified.

Fraley left through the bathroom window only because the refrigerator blocked the only door into the apartment, they said.

After hearing that Fraley had not been held hostage, Gembic dismissed charges of terroristic threats and false imprisonment against Colon stemming from the alleged hostage incident.

Several officers testified about the standoff, including Siko, who told about a shot being fired in his direction as he tried to negotiate with Colon.

Cpl. Travis Messenger, a member of the state police special emergency response team that was summoned, testified when he asked Colon through an amplification system if he was OK, a window blind was pulled up and a shot fired at the unit's armored vehicle.

Troopers returned fire wounding Colon. A shotgun was found in the apartment during the execution of a search warrant after Colon was taken for medical treatment, according to testimony.

Charges bound over related to the death are homicide, aggravated assault, recklessly endangering another person, possession of an instrument and a convicted felon not to possess a firearm.

Colon has convictions in New York on robbery and drug charges.

He is charged in the same case with terrorist threats and simple assault for allegedly punching and chasing Jennifer Schenk with a shotgun pointed at her. Schenk was visiting Ortiz.

Charges held for court from the standoff are attempted murder of a law enforcement officer, assault on a law enforcement officer, aggravated assault, person not to possess a firearm, terroristic threats and recklessly endangering another person.

Defense attorney James Best entered a not guilty plea on all charges for Colon who sat quietly throughout the approximately three-hour hearing except to speak with his lawyer.

Colon is being held without bail in the homicide case and on $1 million bail on the charges from the standoff.
By Travis Eckert

My company, ChargeForward, is a Pennsylvania small business working to promote electric vehicle (EV) adoption through charging stations, consulting work and our event series.

We're based in Elizabethtown, Lancaster County.

And we completed our first project: placing a solar-powered charging station at Park City Center in Lancaster.

The station, which is free of charge to drivers, has been receiving a lot of positive attention and demonstrates that electric vehicles in Pennsylvania have a bright future.

I founded ChargeForward out of a passion for electric transportation and renewable energy. EVs are the future and I wanted to help promote the industry in positive ways for our community.

I'm confident that as electric vehicles, charging stations and renewable energy production continues to grow, it will create more jobs and opportunities for small businesses across the Commonwealth. In addition to that, there are many other benefits, including reduced emissions, increased energy independence and a cleaner environment.

As a co-chair of Drive Electric Pennsylvania's Infrastructure Steering Committee, I have had the opportunity to work with public and private stakeholders on policies to make it easier to drive electric.

However, I am concerned that legislation being considered by the state legislature could create an unfair playing field that could make it difficult for my business, and those like it, to thrive.

When you're looking at EV infrastructure, you realize there is certainly a lot of work to be done.

The most efficient way to grow EV charging in PA is to get it right the first time.

A bill (HB1446) sponsored by state Rep. Marguerite Quinn, R-Bucks, that creates a framework for building this infrastructure, is a significant step in the right direction. But it can, and should, be improved and amended as it moves through the legislative process.

And before any programs are approved, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission should set rules of the road and evaluate how rate payer funds should be used by utilities in support of EV infrastructure and offer specific rules and guidance on how and where to do so.

To make these investments as efficient as possible, utilities must work with private businesses in the EV industry and, whenever possible, seek to leverage matching payments when ratepayer dollars are spent.

The goal of Quinn's bill is to begin planning for EV infrastructure and to define the role utility providers should have. More EVs can lead to more electricity usage at times that are best for the grid, which can benefit utilities and ratepayers.

Because of this relationship, utilities are an important part of any states plan for EV infrastructure.

Any written plan to define the role of utilities in relation to EV charging should be designed to complement the work already being done by the industry.

This should be done in a way that allows collaboration, competition and promotes consumer choice. Consumers should have the ability to choose things like charging station type, manufacturer and network services.

Pennsylvania drivers deserve a world-class network of EV charging stations, and Pennsylvania businesses and entrepreneurs deserve a level playing field.

Let's work to make sure the rules of the road we put in place today support the transportation network of tomorrow.

Travis Eckert is the founder and president of ChargeForward in Elizabethtown, Pa.
By Eugene Robinson

If you want to make sure you learn whether President Donald Trump's campaign colluded with the Russians and whether Trump himself committed obstruction of justice, there's one thing you must do: Vote in November to take control of Congress away from the Republican Party.

Eugene Robinson (PennLive file)

Spoiler alert: We already have evidence that Trump at least tried his best to obstruct justice; and despite the president's frequent all-caps tweets to the contrary, collusion is still very much an open question.

For more definitive answers, however, we have to await special counsel Robert S. Mueller III's findings -- and there is no guarantee we will learn, in detail, everything he finds out.

The Post reported this week that Mueller intends to produce a series of reports about the various issues he is probing, with the first likely to be on the obstruction of justice question.

The Post also reported that the special counsel considers Trump a "subject" of the investigation but not a "target." It is unclear whether that distinction denotes an actual difference.

In Justice Department argot, a "subject" is someone who is under investigation and a "target" is someone whom prosecutors believe they have enough evidence against to file criminal charges.

But Mueller may be following the internal Justice Department opinion, last updated in 2000, that a sitting president cannot be charged with a crime, and can only be judged by Congress during impeachment proceedings.

If this is indeed Mueller's view, then Trump could never be formally considered a "target," even with a smoking gun in each little hand.

As we have seen, Mueller does not hesitate to file charges against those he believes guilty of crimes, such as Paul Manafort, Michael Flynn, Rick Gates and a growing list of defendants.

But let's assume that as far as Trump is concerned, Mueller confines himself to reports detailing the president's actions. And let's assume the first report is indeed on possible obstruction.

Mueller is required to send that report confidentially to Attorney General Jeff Sessions. But because Sessions has recused himself from the investigation -- his unreported Russia contacts could make him, I suppose, a potential "subject" -- the report will go to Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein.

Rosenstein is then required to provide an "explanation" of Mueller's findings to the chairmen and ranking members of both the House and Senate judiciary committees. Rosenstein apparently can put as much or as little detail into his submission to the committees as he wants.

But given the stakes, his clear duty is to pass along absolutely everything Mueller reports about the president's role. The good, the bad, the ugly -- all of it.

At that point, Rosenstein's report about Mueller's report should be released in full. But there is no guarantee it will be.

With a few notable exceptions, Republicans in Congress have shied away from the Mueller investigation as if it were the political equivalent of a root canal. I understand the danger of being seen as hostile to a president who remains popular with the GOP base.

I also understand that many Trump supporters, including his rah-rah squad on Fox News, may genuinely see the whole Mueller investigation as an attempt by progressives, Hillary Clinton and some shadowy entity called the "deep state" to steal the presidency from a populist outsider who won it fair and square.

That's not what it is, though. As Mueller has already demonstrated in convincing detail, the Russians did interfere in the 2016 election, at first with general mischief, and later to boost Trump's chance of winning.

Trump campaign officials and advisers had numerous contacts with Kremlin-connected Russians that they either failed to disclose or tried to obscure. Trump told NBC's Lester Holt during a television interview that he fired FBI Director James B. Comey because of the Russia investigation, which Comey was overseeing at the time.

It is hardly a secret that I see Trump as unfit to be president and his administration as a dangerous shambles.

I have argued, perhaps to the point of tedium, that it is desperately important for voters to elect a Congress in November that will exercise the Constitution's checks and balances on an erratic, out-of-control executive.

That means electing Democratic majorities whose committee chairs will properly use their powers of oversight and investigation -- and also the power of the purse.

Now we have yet another reason to vote in November: A Democratic Congress is the only ironclad guarantee that we will fully learn whether Americans helped Russians subvert our democracy and whether the president tried to cover it up.

Eugene Robinson is a columnist for The Washington Post. His work appears on Saturdays on PennLive.
By Jim T. Ryan

Staff Writer

Penn Twp. supervisors on March 28 agreed to support a proposal to place Business Campus One in a Keystone Opportunity Zone (KOZ). The move would freeze property taxes as an incentive to attract new businesses to the business park along Route 274 just outside Duncannon.

Supervisors had been entertaining the proposal since January. They finally approved the matter last week by a 2-1 vote, with Henry Holman III dissenting.

"If this helps bring businesses in, maybe it's worth the venture," said supervisors' Chairman Joe Landis.

County Commissioner Paul Rudy has been pitching the industrial park for the KOZ over the past several months in his role as a board member of the Perry County Economic Development Corp. (PCEDC), a non-profit that manages the park.

He's also a board member of the Capital Region Economic Development Corp., or CREDC, an arm of the Harrisburg Regional Chamber, which is spearheading the state application for a new KOZ in central Pennsylvania.

Last week, Rudy again asked supervisors to make a decision. He said new businesses and jobs would be worth the tax freezes.

He comes back to one question: "Will this bring more benefits to the township than doing nothing?"

Business Campus One has sat mostly vacant since its inception around 18 years ago. A few commercial sites have been developed, including a tech security company, an outpatient center, and bank. But six of the larger sites have yet to attract developers.

Medical marijuana company PA Options for Wellness was to develop a grow/processing plant there, but it didn't receive a state license.

Still, the prospect of freezing property taxes at current rates for future businesses at the site seemed like a reasonable way to attract development, said Supervisor Jesse Boyer III. New development also could alleviate problems of loitering and litter on the vacant lots.

"Nothing ventured, nothing gained," Boyer said.

Not everyone is on board with the idea of giving up tax revenue on industrial improvements.

Holman wanted to know the gain/loss analysis on a KOZ. Will the township gain enough jobs to make up for the taxes that won't be assessed on the estimated $3 million worth of improvements? That number is six lots multiplied by $500,000 worth of facilities on each. KOZs require companies to make capital improvements worth 10 percent of gross revenue. Ten percent of $5 million is $500,000.

Rudy said he couldn't guarantee anything, but it's reasonable to assume the KOZ could help, and new companies are better than nothing. Local government still would receive existing tax rates and retain the potential to work on agreements with companies for payments in lieu of taxes. Similar agreements have been used in the past at other KOZs.

Holman, who said he's not against the concept, wanted to see more assurances. He was concerned that property tax freezes could leave a greater burden on other residents to make up the differences.

"I just feel it's not going to be fair to taxpayers," Holman said.

The KOZ still needs approval from Susquenita School Board and county commissioners. If either vote it down the business park would not be included in a KOZ.

The regional application from CREDC for the KOZ must be submitted to the state Department of Community and Economic Development for review. The KOZ -- and its tax benefits -- would take effect only if the zone is approved by the state.

Rudy said the school board, which is the largest tax component in the deal, could make a decision at its April meeting.

Brewery

Supervisors granted a conditional use to Clifford Lindgren to start a craft brewery on his Faculty Road farm, before moving it to a more permanent location later.

Lindgren Craft Brewery will start out brewing at the farm to take beers to festivals and to sell it to local bars and beer stores.

"What we're trying to do is get our beer out while we look for another location," Lindgren said.

Lindgren told the planning commission that he's looking for a permanent location to start a brew pub and restaurant in the Duncannon area.

His Faculty Road neighbors, Don and Dana Repa, opposed his conditional use saying they were concerned about truck traffic.

But Lindgren pointed out that the only vehicles for the microbrew would be his Ford F-150 pickup and two cars from his two employees.

The home business was approved with several conditions, including no on-site alcohol sales, no commercial vehicles for delivery or distribution, limit of two employees, and brew operations must be inside existing buildings.

Lindgren still has to get his brewer's license. The conditional use has a sunset clause of two years from the time he receives the license.

Jim T. Ryan can be reached via e-mail at jtryan@perrycountytimes.com
In this combination photo, Fox News personality Laura Ingraham speaks at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland on July 20, 2016, left, and David Hogg, a student survivor from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., speaks at a rally for common sense gun legislation in Livingston, N.J. on Feb. 25, 2018. Ingraham is expected back at work on Monday, April 9, 2018 following a backlash by advertisers upset over her tweet mocking a the Parkland, Florida, school shooting survivor. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, left, and Rich Schultz)
A woman carries a flower to a crime scene in Link Street, Hackney, east London, Thursday April 5, 2018. This week, 18-year-old Israel Ogunsola became London's 53rd murder victim of 2018. The British capital is being shaken by a spike in deadly violence, much of it involving young people caught up in gang feuds. (Stefan Rousseau/PA via AP)
FILE- In this Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2015 file photo, Bollywood actor Salman Khan attends a promotional event for his upcoming movie 'Prem Ratan Dhan Payo' in Mumbai, India. A court on Saturday, April 7, 2018, granted bail to Khan, who spent the past two days in prison after he was convicted of poaching rare deer in a wildlife preserve two decades ago. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
Pirates play to win against Blackcats Perryville football has had a flair for the dramatic this season. This past week was no different as they held on late for a 21-14 victory over Fredericktown on Friday at Pirate Stadium. Perryville 

St. Vincent keeps foot on the gas in victory St. Vincent made quick work of Herculaneum in week four. The Indians got off to a quick start and kept it rolling as they dispatched of the Blackcats 49-0 on Friday at Herculaneum High School. That 
Protesters outside the Kimmel Center after the Philadelphia Orchestras Friday matinee called on the orchestra to cancel its concerts in Haifa, Tel Aviv, and Jerusalem. Read more

Sotto voce criticism of the Philadelphia Orchestra's upcoming tour of Israel began a few weeks ago, but erupted noisily Friday with about four dozen protesters rallying in front of the Kimmel Center as audiences were leaving an orchestra matinee.

Activists urged the orchestra to cancel its concerts in Haifa, Tel Aviv, and Jerusalem, citing Israel's treatment of Palestinians in general and, in particular, recent actions by Israeli security forces at Gaza border demonstrations that left more than two dozen Palestinians dead and hundreds injured.

"Tune out Apartheid  Don't Fiddle for Israel," read one sign. "Violins  Not Zionist Violence" was another.

The orchestra said it won't be changing its tour. "Absolutely not," said interim co-president Ryan Fleur. "We were advised when we first started planning that there will be people who don't want us to go to Israel, and people will make it known, so this is no surprise to us."

Activists began asking the orchestra to cancel its Israel dates a few weeks ago, and said their requests to meet were rebuffed.

"A global cultural boycott helped end apartheid in South Africa, and now Palestinian civil society has called on international cultural institutions not to perform in Israel to help pressure Israel to end its policies of occupation and apartheid," stated a letter to music director Yannick Nezet-Seguin and other orchestra leaders, bearing at its bottom the names of dozens of musicians, clergy, activists, and others from Philadelphia and around the globe.

Organizers cite artists like Elvis Costello and Lorde as having canceled concerts in Israel  some as part of the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) campaign  and the protesters in Philadelphia are pressuring the orchestra to join the movement.

Fleur says the orchestra's visit is about "people-to-people cultural diplomacy, because Israel has a lot of classical music lovers." In addition to the musical value of the concerts, the orchestra has said the visit will help it bond with Jewish patrons and donors.

The orchestra, he said, does not enter into politics. "We don't take political positions on China, on Israel, or Mongolia," where the orchestra has also toured. "As soon as we engage in any political dialogue, we lose our purpose," he said.

But Susan Abulhawa, a Philadelphia writer representing the protest group, said that the orchestra, by "their presence there, it does harm. They claim it's not a political mission, but they say they are going to celebrate Israel's 70th anniversary. They have also planned their itinerary in consultation with the Israeli government. They have on their itinerary meetings with high-level government officials."

Abulhawa cites a meeting the orchestra has planned with Miri Regev, a controversial far-right Israeli politician and minister of culture and sport. The website of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, the orchestra's partner in the Israel trip, describes the patron tour accompanying the orchestra as starting with a June 1 Shabbat welcome dinner at which Regev, as well as Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai, are invited guests.

The orchestra's patron tours are for a group of donors, board members, and fans who accompany the ensemble for concerts but branch off on their own during the day for other activities. The patron tour itinerary for June 3 lists a lunch reception with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin "and other invited dignitaries."

Naomi Adler, president and CEO of the federation, said that no invited guests were confirmed so far, and that diplomacy was about talking to people with whom you disagree as well as agree. "The BDS movement is trying to impede all kinds of relationships, and we actually believe it is essential for people of all beliefs and mindsets to interact with Israel, to learn what's going on, to get to know the people," said Adler.

About 50 patrons have committed to going on the tour, she said.

One of the signees of the letter urging the orchestra to not visit Israel, the Irish composer Raymond Deane, said in an email that the presence of foreign artists in Israel is meant to "normalize" the abnormal, "which is to say the oppression of Palestinians.  If the Philadelphia Orchestra goes to Israel in violation of the Palestinian boycott call, it will be thumbing its collective nose at the oppressed."

Fleur noted that a group of musicians from the orchestra will be working with and performing for Palestinian students at Beit Almusica, a school in the Israeli city of Shefa'amr.

The Israel leg of the orchestra's tour comes after concerts in Europe, and ends in Jerusalem June 5 with Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4 and Bernstein's Symphony No. 2 for Piano and Orchestra, a work that carries the subtitle "The Age of Anxiety."
Colin Haag III, 20, (left) was charged with homicide Friday in the brutal slaying of his cousin, Autumn Bartle, 14, (right). Read more

A week ago, 14-year-old Autumn Bartle was fighting for her life in a bathroom of her Bucks County home.

As her 20-year-old cousin, Colin Haag III, repeatedly stabbed her, court documents allege, "bloody handprints on the bathroom window" appear to show that she tried to escape.

In all, Bartle was stabbed more than 80 times and was shot once in her left temple, the Bucks County District Attorney's Office said Friday, charging Haag with homicide and related offenses in her death.

In addition to "a copious amount of blood in the bathroom," including in the bathtub, blood was found on bedding and on walls throughout the house, the documents said.

Bartle's mother, who arrived home about 6:40 p.m. March 30, found her unconscious and bleeding on the living-room floor of their Sycamore Avenue house in the Croydon section of Bristol Township. The girl was taken by ambulance to Jefferson Torresdale Hospital, then flown to St. Christopher's Hospital for Children, where she died from her wounds about 10 a.m. Monday.

Haag, who lived in the basement of the house, was not at home when the mother arrived, authorities said. Bensalem Township police spotted him shortly before 10 p.m. March 30 walking along State Road. When officers approached him, they heard a gunshot, then took cover, believing that Haag might have been firing at them, authorities said in the documents filed Friday.

A short time later, officers saw Haag run to the back of a building at 2500 State Rd. and found that he had shot himself in the throat, authorities said. Haag said "he shot himself because he didn't want to go to jail," the documents said.

Haag was arraigned Friday on charges of homicide, kidnapping, burglary, unlawful restraint, gun counts, and related offenses. District Judge Robert L. Wagner Jr. in Levittown told him to obtain an attorney.

Afterward, Bucks County District Attorney Matthew D. Weintraub told reporters at a news conference that authorities did not know the motive for the slaying. "We hope to have that answer," he said. "We'll continue to work on getting that answer. But sometimes, as we stand here in this case, you look into the face of a killer and you don't get answers. You see only darkness."

Haag had initially been arrested and charged Monday with a felony theft offense after he was released from Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, where he was treated for his gunshot wound. Authorities said he had entered the attic bedroom of Bartle's father, Michael Jr., and had taken two pistols  a .380-caliber Smith & Wesson Bodyguard and a 9mm Smith & Wesson M&P.

Both guns were in Haag's possession when police found him in Bensalem. A ballistics analysis determined that the bullet that was fired into the girl's head was from the .380-caliber pistol, authorities said.
Mayor Kenney shakes hands with newly introduced school board member Wayne Walker, standing with fellow board members (from left) Mallory Fix Lopez, Angela McIver, Julia Danzy (not seen), Joyce Wilkerson, Leticia Egea-Hinton, Maria McColgan, and Lee Huang. Read more

The members of the soon-to-be-extinct School Reform Commission were often businesspeople or lawyers  politically connected types, and dominated by men.

The soon-to-take-power Philadelphia Board of Education is heavy on teachers, people with social-service backgrounds, women, and very few people well-known in education or government circles until Mayor Kenney called their names Wednesday morning.

The nine new members of the board have impeccable resumes, and are being greeted largely with enthusiasm. But the panel has not been universally hailed.

Activists who helped push for a return of the district to local control were left off the list, and no one directly connected to the city's most troubled schools is on the panel.

Miguel Andrade, an official with Juntos, an organization that advocates for Latino and immigrant rights, said the board's composition was "disheartening." Juntos is part of Our City Our Schools, a coalition of city organizations that pushed hard for years to end the SRC and put forward its own slate of school board candidates  immigrants, parents with children in struggling schools, even students.

"We've been actively organizing and have been doing a lot of the work that led to this moment of local control," said Andrade. "The people who are most affected by these decisions should have a voice on that board."

The majority of Philadelphia district schools are low-performing, scoring below a 50 out of 100 on the school system's own internal performance metric. Citywide, 33 percent of children read on grade level, and 19 percent meet state standards in math.

That gets to the heart of Sylvia Simms' worry for the panel.

Simms was a stunning choice when former Mayor Michael Nutter picked her for an SRC seat in 2013. She was a former bus attendant, a woman without a college education whose grandchild attended a North Philadelphia school whose academic state was so shaky the district eventually proposed closing it.

"On this board, I don't see parents that have children in failing schools, parents who bring that perspective to the table," said Simms, who now heads a lobbying group that often advocates for charter school expansion. "I see a lot of people connected to universities, a lot of power in this group. The majority of the district is parents with children in failing schools. Are they going to represent these folks, too?"

The new school board members are Julia Danzy, Leticia Egea-Hinton, Mallory Fix Lopez, Lee Huang, Maria McColgan, Christopher McGinley, Angela McIver, Wayne Walker, and Joyce Wilkerson.

McIver's children attend Central High and Penn Alexander, a district school in West Philadelphia that often lands at the top of academic performance metrics, and which gets extra funding from the University of Pennsylvania, and Huang also has children at Penn Alexander. McColgan has children in Philadelphia Academy Charter, also a high-performing school. (Fix Lopez has a young child who will eventually attend Childs, a neighborhood school in South Philadelphia.)

The board's makeup was dictated in part by who was nominated: Kenney had to choose from the 45 candidates vetted by his nominating panel. Jane Slusser, Kenney's chief of staff, said the mayor and his advisers paid close attention to the mix  who had experience running large organizations, who had been actively involved in their community.

But it was not just coincidence that the board has a heavy focus on human services and education  Danzy and Egea-Hinton are trained as social workers, McColgan is a pediatrician, and McColgan, Fix Lopez, McGinley, and McIver have all worked as teachers.

"It wasn't something that we didn't notice," said Slusser, whose boss has proclaimed education the centerpiece of his administration. "It was felt that it would be a strength. We have a lot of understanding and experience of what's going on in our kids' lives outside the classroom, and how that affects what's going on inside the classroom."

When the state-controlled SRC took over the district in 2001, the school system's finances were in shambles. After years of ups and downs, they have now stabilized, thanks in large part to cash infusions from the city and a forthcoming planned tax increase that would net the district nearly $1 billion over five years. Michael Masch, an original SRC member and, later, the district's chief financial officer, took note of the new-look board.

"The first SRC was very business-dominated," Masch said. "Now we're kind of swinging in a different direction. I don't think that's a bad thing."

Kendra Brooks sat on the nominating panel that sifted through 500 applications before whittling the list to 45. The choices Kenney ultimately made, said Brooks, a district parent and member of Parents United for Public Education, were safe ones  people with strong resumes and relevant experience who interviewed well.

"He picked folks that weren't controversial," said Brooks. "But I would have loved to see more activists as a part of this list. I feel like he made choices that were in the middle of the road of the group that we had."

Going up against people who have served on philanthropic boards, run large organizations, started businesses, or have law degrees is tough, Brooks said, and the activist community "needs to do more to prepare our leaders so they can compete on paper with corporate people, doctors, and others."

Finding a balance for the board was a challenge, Brooks said. School board jobs are unpaid and require a serious time commitment  meetings at least monthly and sometimes more, plus committee assignments, community obligations, and the mountain of work that goes into running a complicated public organization  making it difficult for hourly workers, people for whom finding and paying for child care is a stretch, and others with economic challenges.

"There were good folks paying attention to representation across gender, race, and class, but it was very hard, especially when we got into class," she said.

The board has already begun the work of getting its arms around the school system, which has a $3.2 billion budget and educates more than 200,000 children in traditional public and charter schools. The nine have their first orientation session this weekend, and for them to receive sensitive information about the district, they will be sworn in, though they will lack governing authority until July 1.

Though some have criticized the board's makeup, Kenney said he was thrilled by it.

"We got the best mix that we were able to get based on who had come forward in the nominating process," said Slusser.

Members of the school board will hold several community listening sessions beginning later this month, but those are a start, said city officials. A parent and community advisory board is being contemplated.

"We are looking for ways to continue to build on the enthusiasm of all the people who reached out to put themselves forward to be on the board," said Slusser. "While these nine folks have been chosen to govern, they are not the only people who are going to make a difference in the schools. We want to involve as many people as we can moving forward, and we want to make it real involvement, not superficial."

People are already lining up to do just that.

"We may be disappointed, but that doesn't mean we're going to stop," said Andrade. "This board has to listen, and it has to be accountable."
Bill Cosby leaves the Montgomery County Courthouse, followed by his attorney Thomas Mesereau after a pre-trial hearing for his second trial on sexual assault. Read more

Tom Mesereau's view of the sexual assault case against Bill Cosby has been consistent since long before he became the entertainer's lawyer.

He explained it the day Cosby was arrested in 2015, when Mesereau told CNN that Cosby's confidential lawsuit settlement and payment to Andrea Constand should be central to the defense.

"If it happened in this case  and I would have trouble believing it didn't  and I were cross-examining the person, the first thing I would ask her would be, 'What's more important to you, money or principle?' " he said.

Now Mesereau will get his chance.

The man who will defend Cosby as his second sexual assault trial begins Monday in Norristown is known as one of Hollywood's most sought-after legal aces, with a string of seemingly improbable courtroom victories and a client list that has included Michael Jackson, Mike Tyson, and actor Robert Blake.

But he does not quite fit the stereotype of a Hollywood defense lawyer. Where other attorneys are brash, loud, or prone to courtroom theatrics, Mesereau exudes bookishness and a quietly analytic nature in court. He claims  at least in front of the cameras  an aversion to trying his cases in the media. And his distinctive silver-white, shoulder-length hair seems almost out of place amid the image-obsessed culture reflected in his client list.

Yet it's hard to argue with his results. In a decades-long career, Mesereau has scored a series of improbable wins  most famously a 2005 acquittal for Jackson in a child-molestation case.

And now, Cosby is hoping Mesereau, who is expected to deliver the defense's opening statement to the jury Monday, can bring some of that same magic to Norristown.

He took on the case  along with lawyers Kathleen Bliss, Becky James, and Lane Vines  in August, after Cosby's first trial ended with a hung jury and the entertainer parted ways with Philadelphia lawyer Brian J. McMonagle.

"Seemingly unwinnable case that's already been predetermined in the media, and everybody thinks Cosby's a goner  that's a classic case for Tom to want to take," said Jennifer Keller, one of his classmates at the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, in San Francisco. "He captivates juries. And he wins cases considered to be unwinnable."

A former Harvard boxer, Mesereau is the son of an Army major and a grandson of the owner of famed Manhattan Italian joint Mamma Leone's Restaurant. Yet he took years after graduating to settle into his own career path. He chose criminal defense work only after studying international relations at the London School of Economics and working on Capitol Hill.

When Blake hired him after the Baretta star was charged with murdering his wife in 2003, Mesereau was virtually unknown outside Los Angeles legal circles. He ultimately left the case before Blake was acquitted.

But it was the improbable not-guilty verdict Mesereau won in Jackson's case a few years later that catapulted him into the upper echelon of Hollywood's go-to defense attorneys.

Now 67, he also does pro-bono legal work, running a law clinic in Los Angeles and traveling to Alabama about once a year for the last few decades to represent defendants in death-penalty cases.

"He's at least as devoted to his pro-bono practices as he is to running around defending celebrities for lots of money," Keller said.

Charles Salvagio, an attorney who has worked with Mesereau on several death-penalty cases in Alabama, described him as "the best cross-examiner I've ever seen."

When the duo won a 2003 acquittal in the long-shot case of Wesley Quick, a man who had been sentenced to death for two murders nearly a decade earlier, Mesereau's true skills came to the fore, Salvagio said.

Mesereau cross-examined the prosecution's star witness  one of Quick's friends who had testified that the defendant had previously threatened to kill people  and spent hours methodically needling and picking apart his story. Prosecutors objected, calling the drawn-out interrogation irrelevant.

Mesereau, Salvagio recalled, pointed to the witness and declared: "The relevance, your honor, is that this man is the killer!" The witness began nodding his head, Salvagio said, as if indicating that he was indeed guilty.

Salvagio called it a "Perry Mason moment" unlike any he had seen. "If you can tell me another [lawyer] who's ever had a moment like that," he said in an interview last week, "I'd like to see it."

Such relentless questioning might be one of the most noticeable differences at Cosby's retrial.

At the first trial, Angela Agrusa, then a member of the defense team, spent much of the cross-examination walking Constand through documents, prior statements, and cellphone records. But Constand largely stuck to her story and remained calm.

Those who know Mesereau say that he tends to rely on his own memory rather than stacks of documents, and that it's hard to prepare for a cross-examination from him.

With Constand, he is likely to echo his successful approach at Jackson's trial. There, he accused the mother of Jackson's central accuser in the case of a "pattern  of ensnaring people for money," exploiting Jackson's fame and wealth, and trying to profit from the accusations. His barrage of questions led her to admit she had twice lied under oath.

"Did they go to the police?" Mesereau asked jurors in that case. "No! They went to a lawyer, and then to another lawyer."

Although Mesereau is a frequent cable news commentator, he professes discomfort with the glare of the media spotlight.

"When I was defending actor Robert Blake in his homicide case, he told me that cameras were like a drug  and no one is immune. He was correct," Mesereau wrote in a 2011 column for Los Angeles Lawyer magazine. "For whatever reason, lawyers have a tendency to change their countenance and alter their values when cameras loom. This is dangerous."

At a hearing last month in the Cosby case, Mesereau waded into a throng of reporters from around the world saying he intended to make a statement  then said only that he did not intend to try the case in the press.

Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele, his chief opponent when testimony begins Monday, remains unconvinced by the defense lawyer's self-effacing remarks.

Steele has repeatedly accused Mesereau and his team of putting forth arguments in court that have little chance of prevailing but are intended to shape the public narrative, such as the objection last week that prosecutors were exhibiting racial bias during jury selection when they struck one black woman from the jury pool.

And when Mesereau's team filed a motion in February accusing the district attorney of prosecutorial misconduct, Steele railed: "This smacks of just another attempt by counsel to manipulate the optics."

Steele's team also will have a new approach for the retrial, which will include testimony from five other women who have accused Cosby of drugging and assaulting them. At the first trial, only one other accuser could be included.

During passionate opening arguments in June, prosecutor Kristen Feden repeated more than once that the case is about "trust, betrayal, and the inability to consent." She warned jurors not to be distracted by Cosby's celebrity or to confuse him with Dr. Huxtable, the lovable family man he portrayed on television.

One person unlikely to have changed his approach between the two trials is the 80-year-old defendant. Cosby didn't testify last summer, and has remained a largely silent observer at every court appearance.

In an interview last year, Mesereau said he reminds his celebrity clients to tune out media coverage and public opinions.

"Celebrities have an unrealistic view of how the media affects jurors," he said. "They are convinced that whoever wins the public relations battle wins in court. Often, the very opposite is true. While public relations and media manipulations may bring benefits, trials are won in the courtroom before twelve intelligent, instinctive, and committed individuals."
Emma Wenzel (center), 11, picks up trash along the Petty Island shoreline in Pennsauken, N.J., on Saturday morning. Read more

It was seven years ago when Robert Reinhard first stepped foot on Petty's Island, an oasis in the middle of the Delaware River, between Camden and Philadelphia, that, at the time, was littered with trash and dominated by 30 cylindrical oil-storage tanks.

Cleaning up the island  300 acres of true land, not counting another 200 acres of tidal flats  was supposed to be a one-time punishment for Reinhard, who had acted up during a middle-school class trip. But almost a decade later, the now-20-year-old continues to cross the bumpy bridge onto the island twice a year with his parents and sister for biannual cleanups held along its shoreline.

"I just kept coming back," said Reinhard on Saturday morning while holding a black plastic bag and trash picker.

Like others, the Reinhard family is drawn by the mystique of a terrain filled with wildlife, but typically cut off from public access. That's because Venezuelan state-owned oil company Citgo, which owns the property previously used for fuel storage, is in the midst of remediating the island.

In the mid-2000s, Citgo aligned itself with environmentalist groups and was locked in a battle to stop developers and politicians from building up the property after bald eagles were discovered nesting there.

An agreement was finally reached in 2009: The company would donate the Pennsauken Township property to New Jersey to open it as a nature preserve with public access. The New Jersey Natural Lands Trust was given a conservation easement and will receive complete ownership of what an official from that agency once called "the closest thing to Central Park in South Jersey" by 2022, once decontamination is complete.

It's been a long transition, but four months ago, the last oil tank on the island was demolished. Trash cleanup, however, is an ongoing issue. Strong winds and tides constantly deposit bottles, aluminum wrappers, and paper across parts of the island.

"In the last nine years, we've probably taken maybe 20 30-cubic-foot dumpsters worth of trash out of the river system," said Jack McCrossin, Citgo's manager of health, safety, and security.

Volunteers walked into the forested area from the shoreline lugging trash and showing off unexpected treasures. A white hobby horse, long wooden fencing, and two tires were among the larger finds propped up against a tree. By the end of the three-hour event, more than a dozen garbage bags filled a huge dumpster.

Still, the scene volunteers confronted on Saturday was better than others, said Kelly Wenzel, project director of Urban Education and Outreach at New Jersey Audubon, which organizes programs on the island through a contract with the state.

Each cleanup usually yields about 110 gallons of trash, down from twice that amount in the early years, Wenzel said.

"The first area we cleaned up years ago, there was a lot of floatable garbage there. It was very trashed but it stays pretty clean now," she said. "We've taken tons of debris off the island."

Wenzel said Petty's Island, sandwiched between two urban centers, is home to an array of species, including snapping turtles, beavers, foxes, and more than 140 bird species. It was once owned by Lenape Native Americans, sold to Quaker Elizabeth Kinsey in 1678, and was possibly linked later on to the slave trade.

In May, shipping company Crowley Liner Services will stop operations on a portion of land it leases from Citgo and demolish its storage units. The company was supposed to pack up in 2017, but was sidetracked by work with FEMA after Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico.
District Attorney Larry Krasner has made a commitment to seek shorter sentences for people convicted of crimes in part by offering deals at or below the minimum sentencing guidelines. But it has not been clear whether Philadelphia judges will go along with his vision.

That's being tested in the cases of close to 180 juvenile lifers awaiting new sentences in Philadelphia under the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that found automatic life-without-parole for minors unconstitutional.

In a number of those cases, Krasner has offered new deals making the lifers immediately eligible for parole  but the judges handling those cases have begun rejecting some of the deals.

That's left some observers wondering about the fate not only of the juvenile lifers, but also of Krasner's progressive vision on sentencing reform.

"This court will not impose the negotiated sentence," Judge Kathryn Streeter-Lewis said in a status hearing in early March for Avery Talmadge. The District Attorney's Office and Talmadge had agreed on a 22-years-to-life deal, which Assistant District Attorney Chesley Lightsey said took into account Talmadge's excellent record in prison and the facts of the case, a fatal 1996 street fight that she said could have been classified as third-degree murder, which carries a 20- to 40-year sentence.

Streeter-Lewis also rejected a 21-years-to-life deal for Phillip Pratt, who shot and killed another 17-year-old boy in the street, and a 25-years-to-life agreement for German Cruz, who shot another teen in the head "execution-style." All three cases await resolution.

In all other proposed deals that came across her docket, she asked lawyers to submit briefs called "concise statements of the case," which typically are drawn up in advance of contested hearings but are not negotiated agreements.

So far, Judge Jeffrey Minehart has approved the negotiations that came across his docket, including one for Donnell Drinks, who in 1991 stabbed a man named Darryl Huntley to death in a robbery and burglary he planned in conjunction with a Philadelphia police officer.

Minehart also accepted a 28-years-to-life deal for Joseph Jones, who in 1990 shot and killed a 24-year-old man, Eric Kitchen. Three years earlier, when Jones was 12, he was kidnapped, forced to sell drugs and nearly killed, before he escaped and called for help. He has significant mental health and intellectual disabilities, according to the court proceedings, and spent nine years in solitary confinement. The hope is he will be released to a residential treatment facility.

However, Judge Barbara McDermott  who has in a handful of other cases accepted deals for juvenile lifers negotiated by Krasner's administration  has begun to reject some of the agreements she's reviewed.

One was for John Blount, who shot and killed two men as a teenager in 1989. The district attorney offered 29 years to life. On March 26, McDermott rejected that deal and imposed a sentence of 35 years to life, the minimum set by current sentencing law for a first-degree murder by a juvenile. The other was for Omar Dennis, who according to Daily News reports from 1994 shot and killed a man who'd beaten him in a "fair fight." McDermott rejected a 24-years-to-life deal and imposed a 28-year minimum instead.

Krasner's office declined to comment. Bradley Bridge, a lawyer with the Defender Association, found himself in the unfamiliar position of defending the district attorney's stance. "The sentences proposed by the District Attorney's Office manifest a thoughtful, careful reflection of their need to balance societal interests with appropriate punishment  and a recognition of the dangers caused by over-incarceration."

Still, it's not just judges dealing with juvenile lifer cases who don't see eye-to-eye with Krasner.

Last week, Amy Campbell, the sister of Ryan Kelly, a Port Richmond man who was robbed and murdered in 2015, posted a public plea on Facebook decrying a deal she said the district attorney offered to David Ramos, Kelly's shooter, for 22 to 44 years in prison. "Judge Steven Geroff dismissed this deal, because the proposed sentence was far too low for the crime committed," she wrote.

Despite the vast size of Philadelphia's criminal justice system, only about 2,500 cases per year go to trial. Four times that many are settled through negotiated pleas.

Each one of those requires judicial approval. Experts say it's extraordinarily rare for judges to reject such deals.

"It's probably less than 1 percent of cases," said David Rudovsky, a defense lawyer and University of Pennsylvania law professor. "The judge certainly has that power  which we may see more of. It's hard to predict."

It's not atypical for an incoming administration to face an unusual number of rejected deals, said Ron Wright, a professor of criminal law at Wake Forest University.

"It's pretty common for newcomers to the courthouse to have to work out their relationships with the veterans that are there," he said, but in many cases, the district attorney can outmaneuver reluctant judges. "The prosecutor has so many more options for getting things done, they can normally work their way around a judge's objection. The prosecutor completely controls the selection of charges."

When Ed Rendell took over the office in 1978 after campaigning for tougher sentences, he occasionally ran into the reverse problem. "The only issue was when the judge went ahead on his own and sentenced the defendant to something far too lenient," he said.

But given that Krasner recently ordered his staff to overhaul its practices for charging defendants  and to make plea offers "below the bottom end" of the sentencing guidelines for most nonviolent offenses  it could come up more often.

"If you strike a deal within the sentencing guidelines, it's very unusual for the judge to reject it at that point. If the deal is below the bottom of the sentencing guidelines, that's creating this possibility," Rendell said.

There's another reason this may be a particular issue for Krasner, said Douglas Berman, a law professor and sentencing expert at Ohio State University.

"I suspect that phenomenon will be coming up more and more," he said, "especially when, as seems to be the case in Krasner's situation, judges have reason to believe going in that the prosecutor is not being nearly as aggressive as most judges expect and have experienced a prosecutor being."

He said one reason rejected agreements are rare is that judges often assume the parties are more familiar with the case than they are, and trust they've weighed the facts. "I think the Krasner story, if this is a continuing problem, will be based in the level of trust in that adversarial process."
Millennials are usually on the receiving end of jokes about being forever tethered to their parents' basements and bank accounts.

But what about middle-aged politicians?

Lt. Gov. Mike Stack III, facing a slew of challengers in his reelection campaign, is getting help from his mother, retired Municipal Court Judge Felice R. Stack, on two fronts.

Mike Stack, you might recall, last month listed his mother's house in Northeast Philly as his residence on his nominating petitions, instead of the lieutenant governor's mansion near Harrisburg. (He and his wife, Tonya, sold their Philly house in 2016.)

A group of Democratic voters asked a Commonwealth Court judge to block Stack from listing Philadelphia as his county of residence on the May 15 primary ballot, a move that could have cost Stack crucial votes.

Stack insisted that his mother's home is his primary residence, and described it as the "family nerve center." He said he paid the wage tax in 2016 and 2017 and renewed his driver's license using his mother's address. A judge sided with Stack, writing: "It is the place where he votes, collects mail, pays taxes, stores personal effects, and spends occasional nights."

But Stack is also getting significant financial support from his mom. We previously reported that Felice Stack was one of her son's biggest contributors, lending his campaign $60,000 last year.

Campaign finance reports made available this week show Felice Stack lent $10,000 more through March and donated an additional $5,000. She also lent $100,000 to her son's first campaign for lieutenant governor in 2014.

To be sure, Stack isn't the only candidate for lieutenant governor who has received hefty financial help from a parent.

Braddock Mayor John Fetterman received an allowance of $54,000 from his parents in 2014, according to financial disclosure forms he filed in 2015 while he was running for U.S. Senate.

Stack campaign spokesman Marty Marks said this is all mom ado about nothing.

"It would be a much bigger story if his mother didn't support him," Marks said. "The fact is, the Stack family values reflect three generations of public service going back to his grandfather, who served as a member of Congress during the New Deal era. Of course Judge Stack supports her son."

A slap or not a slap?

The race to replace retiring State Rep. Bill Keller in South Philly's 184th District is already plenty crowded, with four candidates  Nicholas DiDonato, Elizabeth Fiedler, Jonathan Rowan and Tom Wyatt  in the mix. But there's a hint of tension in the air, too.

DiDonato, a retired Philly cop, has been raising a stink about not receiving the backing of Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5. The powerful union endorsed Rowan, a former aide to State Sen. Larry Farnese, last week.

Clout thought this sounded a little like sour grapes.

"This isn't sour grapes," DiDonato said. "I'm a proud member of the FOP. I just don't like the ethical dealings of what the board did."

Whoa, whoa, whoa. What's this talk about ethical dealings?

DiDonato said he visited the FOP's Northeast Philly headquarters in early March and made his pitch to the union's endorsement board, just as other candidates did.

But when his presentation was over, DiDonato claimed, one of the board members asked him if he knew which candidate was favored by Electricians Local 98 boss John "Johnny Doc" Dougherty. The question struck him as a little odd.

"And then they came out on social media and endorsed Rowan, who incidentally is the guy Johnny Doc is backing," DiDonato said. "Kind of questionable, don't you think?"

Local 98 spokesman Frank Keel said the union has not yet officially decided which candidate it will support in the 184th District.

FOP president John McNesby wasn't there for DiDonato's presentation  he isn't part of the endorsement board  but he scoffed at the suggestion that the union was somehow in cahoots with Dougherty.

"Not a single person wanted to endorse him," McNesby said of DiDonato.

"Our issues are pensions, equipment and safety, and he's talking about the parking on Broad Street and the Mummers. It didn't make any sense. I don't know what Johnny Doc has to do with anything."

(DiDonato's early platform issues were indeed allowing illegal parking to remain unchecked on the South Broad Street median, and returning the New Year's Day parade to its original South Philly-centric route.)

DiDonato said an FOP board member recently asked to speak to him. "My response to that was, 'There's nothing to talk about. Thank you for the slap in the face,'" he said.

"We wish him well," McNesby said.

Oh, no, they didnt

Subtlety and state politics don't exactly go together like peanut butter and jelly these days. But even your seen-it-all friends at Clout tripped over what the Pennsylvania Republican Party seemed to imply in a fundraising email that made the rounds this week.

The missive started off by citing an Inquirer and Daily News story that explored lingering questions that surround U.S. Rep. Bob Brady and former Democratic congressional candidate Marjorie Margolies, both of whom were eyed in separate federal investigations that resulted in charges of conspiracy and facilitating illegal campaign contributions being filed against longtime political consultant Ken Smukler.

"Why have prosecutors decided to charge the consultant but not these high-profile Democratic Party candidates?" read a portion of the email. "Part of the problem is that southeastern Pennsylvania is a Democratic Party swampwhere candidates knowingly violate election laws and are not prosecuted."

Reading between the lines, the email  signed by state Republican Party executive director Mike Stoll  seemed to suggest that federal prosecutors were looking the other way on political corruption.

We wonder if former U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah, former State Sen. Vince Fumo, and former Philly District Attorney Seth Williams  Democrats whose political careers were all ended by federal investigators  would agree.

So, about that Chester County race

Last week, Clout reported on a bit of drama  one of our specialties  in Chester County, where Republican U.S. Rep. Ryan Costello recently took a powder and decided at the last minute not to run for re-election, leaving political newbie and tax lawyer Greg McCauley Sr. as the sole Republican candidate on the ballot.

We heard that some Chester County GOP leaders were floating the idea of recruiting another Republican, Coatesville's Amber Little-Turner, to run a write-in campaign to oppose Democrat Chrissy Houlahan.

Chester County and Pennsylvania GOP Chairman Val DiGiorgio said last week that he hadn't enlisted Little-Turner to run, but added, "I'm just making sure the committee understands all their options."

Ah, yes. Options.

We checked back with DiGiorgio this week. He now says local Republican leaders have coalesced behind McCauley  no "buts," no "options."

"It was a consensus decision of the leaders in Chester County to get behind Greg enthusiastically and wholeheartedly. It was a group decision," DiGiorgio said, adding that the county committee wanted to make sure it properly vetted McCauley in the little time they had.

Now, the question becomes: How do they hang onto this seat?

"That's a tough race," DiGiorgio admitted. "But in Greg, I think we have a candidate who's viable and is going to create a lot of enthusiasm. We think we're in the race and certainly not giving up."

Staff writers Andrew Seidman, David Gambacorta, and William Bender contributed to this column.
A lawmaker from South Carolina pulled out his loaded pistol during a meeting with his constituents Friday to make a point about gun safety, according to advocacy group members who were present.

Rep. Ralph Norman (R., S.C.) placed the gun on a table for "several minutes" while arguing that the presence of the weapon in the room made his constituents safer, according to volunteers for the South Carolina chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America.

"Rep. Norman's behavior today was a far cry from what responsible gun ownership looks like," said Lori Freemon, a volunteer who attended the meeting, in a news release. "I had looked forward to a respectful dialogue with my representative about common-sense gun violence prevention policies."

"Instead, I felt unsafe when he insisted on showing us his loaded gun and keeping it out on the table for much of our conversation," she said.

A spokesman for Norman could not be immediately reached.

Norman told the Post and Courier newspaper, however, that he pulled out the gun during a public meeting over breakfast at a Rock Hill diner to make the point that guns are only dangerous when they are in the hands of criminals. As a concealed-carry permit holder, Norman said, he often carries his guns with him in public.

The demonstration, he said, was intended to prove to constituents that "guns don't shoot people, people shoot guns," according to the Post and Courier. Norman told the attendees that if someone were to walk into the diner and begin shooting at them, he'd be able to protect them because of his gun.

"I'm not going to be a Gabby Giffords," Norman told the Post and Courier afterward, referring to the 2011 shooting of an Arizona congresswoman during a public appearance in the Tucson area. "I don't mind dying, but whoever shoots me better shoot well or I'm shooting back."

Norman said he does not regret pulling out his gun  and in fact plans to conduct the same demonstration at other constituent meetings moving forward, according to the Post and Courier  and denied that any of the attendees at Friday meetings jumped or appeared frightened by the gun.

"I'm tired of these liberals jumping on the guns themselves as if they are the cause of the problem," Norman told the newspaper. "Guns are not the problem."
WASHINGTON  The Trump administration imposed new economic sanctions on Russian politicians, tycoons and businesses Friday in its most aggressive response to Moscow's attempts to undermine Western democracies and recurring cyber offensives.

The measures take aim not only at Russians directly connected to the Kremlin but also several with links to President Donald Trump's campaign or his associates who have been scrutinized in special counsel Robert Mueller III's investigation.

The sanctions continue the Trump administration's trend of taking increasingly bold moves against Russia under pressure from Congress even as Trump holds out the possibility of warmer relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"The Russian government operates for the disproportionate benefit of oligarchs and government elites," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement. "Russian oligarchs and elites who profit from this corrupt system will no longer be insulated from the consequences of their government's destabilizing activities."

Russia's Foreign Ministry vowed a "harsh response" and said the measures would be just as ineffective as previous rounds of sanctions.

The list includes 17 Russian government officials, a state-owned weapons trading company and seven so-called oligarchs. Several of the individuals have close ties to Putin, including the son of a childhood friend of the Russian president, and an energy executive who vacationed in a dacha near the Putin family and married his daughter.

Some of the oligarchs, such as natural resources magnates Oleg Deripaska and Viktor Vekselberg, made their fortunes in the 1990s and have looser connections to Putin. Others got rich running some of Russia's biggest state-controlled energy and financial firms, including the energy giant Gazprom and the state-controlled bank VTB.

But what sets Deripaska and Vekselberg apart from the many other Russian tycoons who did not make the list is their connections to the Trump world.

Deripaska, for example, was once a business partner of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, who is facing money-laundering charges. A top executive at a U.S. company affiliated with Vekselberg donated to the Trump inauguration fund, and Vekselberg attended the inauguration.

Other people whose names have surfaced in connection with the Russia investigation also ended up on the Treasury's list. Konstantin Kosachev, a Russian lawmaker who led soft-power initiatives for the government and surfaced in a now-famous dossier alleging the Trump campaign coordinated with the Kremlin during the 2016 election, was sanctioned Friday. So was Alexander Torshin, a little-known deputy central bank governor who rose to public interest in the United States only after his efforts to promote gun rights in the United States landed him at a table with Donald Trump Jr. during a 2016 National Rifle Association conference.

The list of targets also includes Igor Rotenberg, the son of a Russian tycoon who grew up taking martial arts classes with Putin, and Kirill Shamalov, who also grew up in a family close to the Putins and who the Treasury said married Putin's daughter in 2013.

The action also sanctioned top national security officials, including Nikolai Patrushev, a former KGB officer and longtime secretary of the Security Council of Russia, who is one of Putin's top national security advisers, and Vladimir Kolokoltsev, Russia's interior minister.

The sanctions freeze any assets the individuals or entities named hold in the United States and prohibit U.S. citizens from conducting business with them  even if they work for international companies outside the United States. The Treasury Department said it would issue guidance to Americans on how to unwind from any business interests they have with them in a way to avoid being punished for violating sanctions.

The real power of sanctions is they discourage international financial institutions, which typically conduct business at least partially in U.S. dollars, from doing business with them. The administration explicitly warned that non-Americans may face sanctions themselves for facilitating significant transactions with the people and companies named.

Senior administration officials on Friday stressed that the sanctions were not aimed at the Russian people. Instead, they were meant to cripple the finances of those elites who have "disproportionately benefited from the bad decisions made by the Kremlin on their behalf," one of the officials said.

The officials declined to elaborate on why Putin was not directly targeted, but said several people in the Russian leader's inner circle were being sanctioned.

"I think it's important to see in today's action, a message. And that message is that actions have consequences," said another senior administration official, who spoke to reporters only on the condition of anonymity. "Today's announcements are the result of a decision that the Russian government has made and continues to make in choosing a path of confrontation."

Russia accused Washington of futile scaremongering that has including denying visas and seizing property and financial shares. In a statement, the Russian Foreign Ministry said the United States had forgotten that the seizure of property and foreign money amounts to "plunder."

In recent weeks, Trump's top advisers have pushed for tougher actions against the Kremlin after the poisoning of a former Russian spy in Britain, interference in the 2016 U.S. elections and a cyberattack against Ukraine and other countries last year that was described as the most costly in history.

The sanctions won quick support from Congress, which pushed for tough moves against Putin's inner circle since last year when it passed legislation requiring the Treasury Department to publish a list of Russian oligarchs. Trump signed the legislation after it passed with a veto-proof majority, even as he called it a seriously flawed and unconstitutional bill.

"These new sanctions send a clear message to Vladimir Putin that the illegal occupation of Ukraine, support for the Assad regime's war crimes, efforts to undermine Western democracies and malicious cyberattacks will continue to result in severe consequences for him and those who empower him," Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said.

The Kremlin has expressed increasing exasperation with Washington's policies under the Trump administration despite hopes the president would take a softer approach toward Moscow. Last week, the United States expelled 60 Russian spies and diplomats in response to the poisoning of Sergei Skripal, a former Russian spy, and his daughter. It was the largest expulsion of Russians in U.S. history. Russia, in turn, expelled 60 U.S. officials.

Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny, meanwhile, tweeted that he is "looking at the new US sanctions list of Russian officials and oligarchs and thinking back of the day when they had champagne celebrating Trump's victory. I am laughing."

The Washington Post's Amie Ferris-Rotman in Moscow and Seung Min Kim and Carol Morello in Washington contributed to this report.
In this Jan. 18, 2017 file photo, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator-designate, Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington, at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. Read more

Among the ethics scandals now swirling around Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt is the recent disclosure that he leased a room in a Washington condominium from the wife of an energy lobbyist.

For about six months in 2017, Pruitt leased a room in a condo co-owned by the woman in the Capitol Hill neighborhood, a stately enclave where the white dome of the eponymous building can be seen looming above brick rowhouses on many streets.

He paid a $50-a-night rate for the room, which amounts to roughly $1,500 a month, but had struck an arrangement with the leaser to pay only for the nights he stayed there. In actuality, he paid about $6,100 over the approximately six-month period, or about $1,000 a month.

The accommodation has been the subject of much media coverage since it was disclosed last month. On Friday, the Hill reported that the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee was probing the housing arrangement.

Federal ethics regulations prohibit executive branch employees from accepting gifts given because of their positions or from "certain interested sources," of which an apartment rented at a below-market rate could qualify. The employees are also prohibited by impartiality rules from taking part in certain activities that give "even the appearance of impropriety."

The Post contacted real estate agents with expertise in the market in Capitol Hill and Washington at large with a simple question: Would they consider $1,500 for a room in a condo in the neighborhood's portion near the Capitol to be market rate?

Nancy Simmons, the president of the Washington-area apartment-search service Apartment Detectives, provided The Washington Post with a sample of recently rented listings in the area around the condominium in which Pruitt leased a room. The two-bedroom apartments in the area rented from $2,550 to $4,300, or about $1,275 to $2,150 if split evenly. The average of the seven listings she provided was $3,300, or $1,650 per room.

The $4,300 listing was a two-bedroom apartment just steps away from the one Pruitt rented. A selection of one-bedroom apartments she provided showed prices ranging from $1,525 to $2,400.

What made Pruitt's listing unusual, Simmons said, was a provision in the lease that Pruitt was responsible for paying only for days of "actual occupancy," meaning he did not have to pay rent when he was out of town or otherwise away.

"That's bizarre," she said. "Typically, when you rent something, you rent something at a monthly rate, unless it was like an Airbnb scenario."

Susan Berger, a real estate agent from Evers & Co. whose late husband, Sandy, was President Bill Clinton's second national security adviser, agreed that the lease was "very strange."

"I've never seen it before," she said.

Kevin Minoli, the EPA's principal deputy general counsel, had determined that the apartment rental did not constitute a gift because it was a "reasonable market value," citing Airbnb listings in the area that rented rooms for as low as $55 a day or less.

Pruitt, too, has compared the situation to the home rental app.

"This was like an Airbnb situation," he told Fox News this week. "When I was not there, the landlord, they had access to the entirety of the facility. . . . When I was there, I only had access to a room."

A search of Airbnb in the area did find more than a dozen bedrooms listed for similar prices. Some appeared to be inactive, and others typically charged as much as double that, though they were occasionally available for as low as $50 a night. Many of these apartments were often tightly booked for months in advance, making it unlikely a renter could spontaneously come and go as they pleased without the room being booked by someone else when they weren't there.

"That's the thing. You couldn't leave your stuff there and book it for the month if you're not paying for the month, so that's unusual," Simmons said.

Lindsay Reishman, a senior vice president at the real estate company Compass, said that on Capitol Hill "$1,500 is not a glamorous one bedroom. It's like a basement level one-bedroom that's not really up to snuff, or a nice studio."

Additional bedrooms with other roommates could bring down the price, he said.

"If it was a group house, with four or five bedrooms, I would guess it would still be $1,300 or $1,400 a room," he said.

He said it would be hard if not impossible to find a two-bedroom apartment in the area for $1,500 and described the occupancy provision as "a little bit out of the ordinary," saying he had never heard of such an arrangement before.

"You could have an Airbnb but not something where you just have the right to use it when you need to and only pay during the time it's used," he said. "That's a tenant-friendly agreement for sure."

Several EPA officials have confirmed that Pruitt's adult daughter stayed in a second bedroom for a time when she was working at the White House. It is not believed that anyone else stayed in the second bedroom for other portions of Pruitt's stay at the condo.

Minoli wrote in a memo this week that his first assessment was based on the terms of the lease, not including potential activities that did not comply with it.

"Evaluating those questions would have required factual information that was not before us and the Review does not address those questions," he wrote.

Justina Fugh, a senior ethics attorney at the EPA, has said she did not have "the full picture" when she signed off on an after-the-fact ethics ruling on the housing situation.

"Advice that's given by an ethics official is only as good as the information that's provided," she told The Post.

Minoli also said he did not rule on whether the housing arrangement had violated the impartiality rule.

The Washington Post's Juliet Eilperin contributed to this report.
Last Saturday I slowly drove along the West side of Silver Lake looking for something on the water different than the geese and a handful of different varieties of ducks.

I knew it would be low in the water and hard to see, and came up empty on my first drive through. Turning around, heading towards the dam, I was about to give up when I saw something black disappear into the wavy water.

Seemed like it could be a loon head, so I headed home for my camera. I assumed the bird would be there when I returned, since it was seen hours earlier by birding friends, Jerry Pruett and Jim Peterson. With the strong northwest winds, I figured it would not be too anxious to keep heading north on its apparent migration.

When I returned, I found it quickly, but quite a distance across the lake nearer the houses on the north side. I snapped some pictures, although with whitecap waves, the distance, and its low profile, wasnt sure I would get much.

A couple hours later I returned for another look, and again found it, only this time closer to the south shoreline for better pictures. I watched it for a while, wondering if my pulling over caused it to dive, traveling sometimes close to a hundred yards before emerging again. I was quite sure I wouldnt be able to keep up with it with my dive fins on, even if my two new knees were ready.

Common loons like this one are not very common around here, although I have seen others, including a group of about 10, on Silver Lake before. Given it was still March, and most bodies of water north of here were still frozen, I assumed this one had an overdose of hormones driving it to its breeding grounds on some Northern Minnesota or Canadian lake. Although apparently not migrating with a mate, they could very well join up on the same lake they raised young last year, even without a GPS.

I remember being on one such lake in the Brainerd area last spring, and able to get close-up pictures of a loon sitting on eggs on a man-made floating nesting platform. For more than a decade these platforms have been put out by lakeshore residents to provide safe nesting sites, not easily accessible like shoreline nests are for predatory foxes, raccoon, skunks, mink and otters.

My lake resident canoeing partner, Dan Laakso, pointed out dozens of a species of black flies on the loon head that prey almost solely on loons. At times, they get bad enough to drive both adults loons away from the nest and ultimately nest failure.

It is hard to imagine any sounds can represent the wildness of northern lakes more than the wail, tremolo, hoot, or yodel of the loon, although I often hear them used as backgrounds in movies where they probably would not be. Their red-pigmented eyes apparently allow Loons to see fish a hundred to 200 feet in depth. And, their streamlined foot-propelled bodies can move fast enough to grab or stab fish at these depths. I wondered what kind of visibility, and what type of fish this single loon might be encountering in Silver Lake.

Minnesota adult loons will molt their brilliant black and white feathers to drab gray and brown in late summer before heading to ocean wintering grounds on the Atlantic or Gulf coasts. In late winter they molt all their flight feathers at once and are flightless, supposedly because they are heavy birds because of the dense, rather than hollow, bones needed for diving. Molting a few at a time, like some birds do, would render them flightless, as they need all their feathers for the long on-water takeoffs and migrations.

Young loons may stay on ocean feeding sites for two or more years before eventually migrating back to northern nesting lakes. Banding records have proven many Minnesota and Wisconsin Loons travel to the Gulf in winter, with both states thus receiving settlement money from the disastrous Gulf oil spill in 2010.

Occasionally red-throated loons, an Arctic breeder, or rarer Pacific loons, are also spotted in Minnesota. So, if you are a Silver Lake walker, jogger, or biker, keep your eyes open in spring and fall for any of these low-in-the-water unusual visitors.
The distance from the ledge to the water was 25 feet.

It looked farther.

"Theyre not going to let me drown?" I thought to myself. "No, dead customers would be bad for business."

Then with graceless form I plunged toward the water, demonstrating why Ill never make the Olympic diving team.

I bobbed to the surface and proceeded to either dive off or slide down 12 of the 27 waterfalls of Damajaguanear Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. The waterfalls excursion turned out to be a personal metaphor to stretch myself with new experiences.

My wife, Judy, and I went with friends and family on the Love Like You Mean Itcruise sponsored by Family Life Ministries. This cruise is distinctive because the ministry honors the week of Valentines Day by booking speakers and entertainers, all with the message of strengthening your marriage.

The Carnival Conquest, carrying 2,900 passengers and more than 1,100 crew members, left Fort Lauderdale on Feb. 11 on a six-day cruise with scheduled port stops in Amber Cove, Dominican Republic, Grand Turk Island and Half Moon Cay, Bahamas. High winds prevented docking at Grand Turk, so a second port of call in Freeport, Bahamas, was added to the trip.

While the waterfalls expedition was a bucket-list experience and Half Moon Cay has the best beach Ive ever seen, the onboard programming also was outstanding. I especially appreciated speaker Paul David Trippwho told the audience to "fire your inner lawyer" and not self-righteously elbow your partner if he said something that you believe your spouse needs to hear. Work on your own issues, Tripp advised, otherwise "youre about to be very embarrassed."

A year ago, we went on our first cruise. The fact that I agreed to go is a minor miracle. A Norwegian farm boy, according to my logic, has no business being in the Caribbean in February when there is snow to shovel and bills to pay.

Judy ignored my whining  she has a lot of experience with that  and said it would be good to get away for a week. Alarmed at the prospect of being with limited internet access and cellphone reception, I was apprehensive when I boarded the ship in New Orleans bound for Cozumel and the Yucatan Peninsula.

Two days into the 2017 cruise, I finally embraced the serenity that comes with nobody being able to reach me and realized this was the most relaxing vacation of my life. Remembering Dr. Tripps admonition to not be dismissive of your wife, I asked Judy a question:

"Im ready to eat crow," I said. "Do you have a good recipe?"

My wife could have responded with an I-told-you-so attitude, but she took the high road and told me that she was glad I was enjoying the cruise. Moments later, she nearly fell out of her chair when I suggested we book the 2018 trip.

This year, when the Love Like You Mean It staff promoted the 2019 cruise, my interest was stirred by the port stops in Honduras, Belize and Key West, all places Ive never visited.

"I think we should sign up for next year," I told Judy.

"You mean it?" she asked, still surprised by my 180-degree change in attitude.

"Yeah, I mean it," I said.

The snow and bills will still be there when we return.
You may recall the case of Dahir Adan, the Somali immigrant who went on a stabbing rampage in September 2016 at the Crossroads Center shopping mall in St. Cloud, Minnesota. Adans rampage represented a case of sudden jihad syndrome. Adan asked victims whether they were Muslim before stabbing them and shouted Allahu Akbar as he went along his merry way dressed in a security guard uniform. Adan attacked ten in all before he was killed by Jason Falconer, an off-duty police officer, firearms expert, and NRA-certified firearms instructor.

Mall cameras captured both the terror of Adans rampage and Falconers bravery as he ran after Adan (condensed in the ABC News segment below). Even if you have seen it before, it is worth a few moments to recall what went down in St. Cloud.

I paused over the the incident for the Weekly Standard in A Minnesota man strikes in St. Cloud and for City Journal in Alice in Terrorland.

Falconer has avoided the limelight since the incident. He reluctantly emerged on Thursday, however, to accept the Congressional Medal of Bravery at a ceremony in St. Cloud. Star Tribune reporter John Reinan observed the visible sign of Falconers embarrassment by the praise he received at the ceremony (a red flush crept up his neck and into his cheeks).

What a guy. He seems in every respect to be old-fashioned in his modesty, his virtue, and his bravery.
A Veterans Treatment Court is closer to becoming a reality in Dearborn as two veterans groups come together for its kickoff event.

The University of Michigan-Dearborns Office of Veteran Affairs and the Love A Michigan Vet Project are hosting an April 12 celebration of the Veterans Treatment Court, which will operate as part of Dearborns 19th District Court.

Judge Gene Hunt announced earlier this year that he is establishing a Veterans Court in Dearborn. The goal is to keep those veterans who are experiencing mental health and substance abuse problems  as well as other issues  out of the traditional justice system by providing them with treatment and tools for rehabilitation.

Hunt believes that both the veteran and the community are better served by treating the veterans problems rather than putting them in jail for nonviolent offenses.

The new Veterans Treatment Court is expected to open in the summer. A kickoff celebration will take place from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. April 12 in the Michigan Room of the University of Michigan-Dearborns Fairlane Center (North), 19000 Hubbard Drive. Members of the public, particularly current and past military members, are invited to attend.

It will work pretty much like other Veterans Courts  basically veterans who come through and need services will be put into veterans court and taken outside the judicial system except for traffic offenses, Hunt said. Theyll have the ability to get housing, medical and substance abuse treatment, jobs or be sent over to U of M Dearborn if theyre eligible for college grants. Its interesting and exciting because there are a lot of resources out there for veterans, both in the private and public sectors.

The Veterans Court system uses a combination of drug court and mental health court principles to serve military veterans. Each veterans court is part of a communitys justice system and gives them treatment and tools for coping with their problems.

The courts work with a network of partners, including mental health and substance abuse personnel, the Department of Veterans Affairs healthcare networks, Veterans Benefits Administration, state Departments of Veterans Affairs, volunteer mentors and other veterans support groups.

Dearborns Veterans Court will have a dedicated probation officer, an administrator, a coordinator and a VA liaison to serve veterans going through the court systems in Dearborn, Dearborn Heights, Inkster and Taylor.

The decision whether to enter Veterans Court is left up to the individual. Those who choose to enter are assessed by a service provider to determine which kinds of services they need. Dearborns Veterans Court will be affiliated with the VA hospital in Ann Arbor, but veterans can be sent to the John D. Dingell VA Medical Center as well.

Hunt will regularly check on the veterans progress during treatment. If a veteran fails to meet the programs requirements  such a failing drug screenings or other court orders  he can impose fines, community service, jail time or put the veteran back in the regular legal system.

Veterans also are assigned mentors  other veterans who volunteer to provide more support during the program  who will report on their progress each month.

The University of Michigan-Dearborns Office of Veteran Affairs will partner with the Veterans Court for educational services and mentors.

The office works to ensure the proper administration of military and veterans education programs and enrollment certifications. Its goal is to assist active duty, veterans and dependents of veterans, with the certification process.

Eligible students are able to apply their respective benefits for their educational needs at U of M-Dearborn with the offices help. Questions regarding eligibility can be answered by calling 1-888-GIBILL1 (442-4551).

The Love a Michigan Vet Project provides numerous types of assistance to veterans in Michigan. The group works closely with four veterans shelters in the Greater Detroit area, hosting monthly dinners at one of the shelters, and continuously seeks donated resources to help local veterans in need.

The groups services include hosting a local food pantry; providing toiletry items; shipping care packages overseas to active military members and helping furnish homes of veterans once they are able to leave their shelter  as well as providing counseling, employment, housing and legal aid assistance.

Anything a veteran needs, we do our best to provide it, founder Nadine Jones said.

The organization encourages anyone who knows a veteran in need to refer them by emailing Jones at loveamichiganvet@yahoo.com or calling 313-693-6556.
INDIANAPOLIS, April 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- No matter where in Europe travelers plan to explore, they can travel confidently with EuropeTravel Plus.

Created by VisitorsCoverageInc. in partnership with global benefits and assistance services leader International Medical Group (IMG), EuropeTravel Plus provides international travel medical insurance coverage for non-US citizens traveling to Europe while also meeting and exceeding the EU's published insurance requirements for the Schengen visa. The plan offers coverage up to 90 days, a $0 deductible option and minimum coverage of $50,000. In addition, the visa letter confirming coverage can be emailed directly to the customer after purchase.

"We are constantly working toward our mission to simplify international travel medical insurance products and customer experience. The creation of the EuropeTravel Plus plan is another step toward that goal." - Rajeev Shrivastava, CEO of VisitorsCoverage.com.

"We are thrilled to continue to grow our partnership with VisitorsCoverage.com while also offering an innovative product to those traveling to Europe." - Amanda Winkle, VP of International Sales for IMG.

About VisitorsCoverageInc.:

Silicon Valley-based VisitorsCoverageInc. is an insurtech company operating in the travel insurance space and helping world travelers acquire suitable travel insurance online by providing an insurance experience that is fast, affordable and hassle-free. For more information, please visit www.VisitorsCoverage.com.

About International Medical Group:

For more than 25 years, International Medical Group  headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.A.  has provided global benefits and assistance services to millions of members in almost every country. We're committed to being there with our members wherever they may be in the world, providing them Global Peace of Mind. With 24/7 worldwide assistance and medical management services, multilingual claims administrators and highly trained customer service professionals, IMG delivers the insurance products international members need, backed by the services they want. IMG's global family of companies includes Akeso Care Management, IMG Europe Ltd., Global Response Ltd., IMG-Stop Loss(SM) and International Medical Administrators, Inc. For more information, please visit www.imglobal.com.

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/456500/International_Medical_Group_Logo.jpg

Related Links

http://www.imglobal.com



SOURCE International Medical Group
SMOKIN' ED'S CAROLINA REAPER AGAIN OFFICIALLY THE HOTTEST CHILI PEPPER IN THE WORLD!

FORT MILL, South Carolina, April 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Guinness World Records has notified Smokin' Ed Currie and Puckerbutt Pepper Company that its SMOKIN' ED'S CAROLINA REAPER is once again officially the world's hottest chili pepper.

Guinness has now recognized a new SMOKIN' ED'S CAROLINA REAPER record average of 1,641,000 SHU (Scoville heat units) made effective on August 11, 2017, which is over 71,000 SHU hotter than its groundbreaking 2013 record. In comparison, Jalapeno peppers rate at 2,500 to 8,000 SHU.

With recently lab-measured peak levels of over 2,189,000 SHU , SMOKIN' ED'S CAROLINA REAPER has, after the Guinness-required recertification, reclaimed its undisputed place at the top of 'super-hot' chili charts.

As the plant phenotype has further matured, SMOKIN' ED'S CAROLINA REAPER has grown hotter over its prior world record and, unlike recent dubious 'world's hottest' claims from other peppers, the Guinness recertification required the submission of rigorous third-party, scientific data to back up the new record.

Look for more information from Smokin' Ed Currie and Puckerbutt Pepper Company on their award-winning achievement soon and at the NYC Hot Sauce Expo on April 21-22, 2018 !

PBPC, LLC, home of SMOKIN' ED'S CAROLINA REAPER - the world's hottest chili pepper, sells USDA Organic, high-quality, Kosher, and all-natural, smokin'-hot mashes, sauces, fresh peppers, dried peppers and powders, seeds, and other fine merchandise at stores throughout the country, on its website at: www.puckerbuttpeppercompany.com, and from our team at [email protected] .

(P.S., and keep it quiet, we also have some really great milder stuff too!)

Contact Smokin' Ed Currie

Cell 803-517-1089

Email [email protected]

Website www.puckerbuttpeppercompany.com

Related Links

http://www.puckerbuttpeppercompany.com



SOURCE PuckerButt Pepper Company
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Fedora Update Notification

FEDORA-2018-12f92ff831

2018-04-06 15:00:04.587901

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Name : php

Product : Fedora 27

Version : 7.1.16

Release : 1.fc27

URL : http://www.php.net/

Summary : PHP scripting language for creating dynamic web sites

Description :

PHP is an HTML-embedded scripting language. PHP attempts to make it

easy for developers to write dynamically generated web pages. PHP also

offers built-in database integration for several commercial and

non-commercial database management systems, so writing a

database-enabled webpage with PHP is fairly simple. The most common

use of PHP coding is probably as a replacement for CGI scripts.



The php package contains the module (often referred to as mod_php)

which adds support for the PHP language to Apache HTTP Server.



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Update Information:



**PHP version 7.1.16** (29 Mar 2018) **Core:** * Fixed bug php#76025

(Segfault

while throwing exception in error_handler). (Dmitry, Laruence) * Fixed bug

php#76044 ('date: illegal option -- -' in ./configure on FreeBSD).

(Anatol)

**FPM:** * Fixed bug php#75605 (Dumpable FPM child processes allow bypassing

opcache access controls). (Jakub Zelenka) **GD:** * Fixed bug php#73957

(signed integer conversion in imagescale()). (cmb) **ODBC:** * Fixed bug

php#76088 (ODBC functions are not available by default on Windows). (cmb)

**Opcache:** * Fixed bug php#76074 (opcache corrupts variable in for-loop).

(Bob) **Phar:** * Fixed bug php#76085 (Segmentation fault in

buildFromIterator

when directory name contains a

). (Laruence) **Standard:** * Fixed bug

php#74139 (mail.add_x_header default inconsistent with docs). (cmb) * Fixed bug

php#76068 (parse_ini_string fails to parse "[foo]

bar=1|>baz" with

segfault).

(Anatol)

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References:



[ 1 ] Bug #1563858 - php: Dumpable FPM child processes allow bypassing

opcache access controls

https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1563858

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This update can be installed with the "dnf" update program. Use

su -c 'dnf upgrade php' at the command line.

For more information, refer to the dnf documentation available at

http://dnf.readthedocs.io/en/latest/command_ref.html#upgrade-command-label



All packages are signed with the Fedora Project GPG key. More details on the

GPG keys used by the Fedora Project can be found at

https://fedoraproject.org/keys

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package-announce mailing list -- package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org

To unsubscribe send an email to package-announce-leave@lists.fedoraproject.org


Rattlers football preparing for Hanna, district Non-district high school football games are always a bit tricky to judge. They are usually played at the start of the season and teams may be a bit rusty. Teams may approach them with different mindsets as well, juggling players around at different positions to see how they do
Long-term growth in investments is a priority for many retirement investors. But as Jim Hitt, CEO of American IRA, recently noted at the American IRA blog: management fees can eat into an investments returns and cost hundreds, thousands, and even tens of thousands of dollars in unrealized future gains. According to Jim Hitt, there are several ways to reduce retirement account fees, particularly for investors using Self-Directed IRAs.

The first tip, according to Jim Hitt, is saying no to the assets under management fee, or the AUM fee. Writes Jim Hitt: For example, a $500,000 portfolio with a 1.5 percent AUM fee would cost you $7,500 just to keep the account open, even if you never made a trade. That is a lot of money to pay someone to send you a statement every month.

Jim Hitt believes there is a better way. He notes consolidating IRAs and previous employers 401(k)s by rolling them into a single IRA can help. This is especially true if an investment company charges a monthly statement feewith a single consolidated retirement account, those fees are instantly reduced to the charge of only one monthly statement.

Jim Hitt insists consolidation alone is not the only way for Self-Directed IRA owners to lower their fees. Managing ones own investments means you do not have to pay exorbitant fees just to have the investments sit there and hope they grow, said Jim Hitt. Instead, investors should be aware Self-Directed IRAs are a viable option for retirement. Not only can an investor consolidate their accounts into a Self-Directed IRA, but they can utilize a diverse group of asset classes they manage themselves. And it can be as simple or as complicated as the holder of that Self-Directed IRA determines.

While noting good financial advisers and money managers can add a tremendous amount of value, Jim Hitt also warns this value comes at the expense of the account itself through fees. Reducing these fees can maximize long-term retirement growth and give the holder of the Self-Directed IRA more control over finances.

For more information on the advantages of a Self-Directed IRA account, visit the American IRA website at http://www.AmericanIRA.com. Interest parties can contact American IRA directly by calling 866-7500-IRA.

"About:

American IRA, LLC was established in 2004 by Jim Hitt, CEO in Asheville, NC.

The mission of American IRA is to provide the highest level of customer service in the self-directed retirement industry. Jim Hitt and his team have grown the company to over $400 million in assets under administration by educating the public that their Self-Directed IRA account can invest in a variety of assets such as real estate, private lending, limited liability companies, precious metals and much more.

As a Self-Directed IRA administrator, they are a neutral third party. They do not make any recommendations to any person or entity associated with investments of any type (including financial representatives, investment promoters or companies, or employees, agents or representatives associated with these firms). They are not responsible for and are not bound by any statements, representations, warranties or agreements made by any such person or entity and do not provide any recommendation on the quality profitability or reputability of any investment, individual or company. The term "they" refers to American IRA, located in Asheville and Charlotte, NC."
"Desert," the new CD by pianist/composer Yelena Eckemoff. I thought of Paul [McCandless] and his oboe, on which he is so expressive, and decided this is the sound I wanted. As for Arild [Andersen] and Peter [Erskine], they had just the right voices for my melodies and compositions. I feel like when I have these guys around, I can do anything.

It takes a discerning eye, or in this case ear, to envision the desert as more than a vast, arid wasteland. Pianist/composer Yelena Eckemoff succeeds in musically portraying many of this daunting environments mysteries and its boundless allure on her new recording, "Desert", to be released May 4 on her imprint L&H Production.

The quartet outing, the latest in the impressive series of concept albums at the core of the prolific Russian-born, North Carolina-based keyboard virtuosos catalog, reunites her with Norwegian bassist Arild Andersen and internationally acclaimed drummer Peter Erskine and features Oregon co-founder Paul McCandless on oboe, English horn, soprano saxophone, and bass clarinet.

Each of "Desert"s 11 thematically linked compositions, given such descriptive titles as Bedouins, Mirages, Condor, Oasis, Dust Storm, and Sands, showcase Eckemoffs distinctive style that blends classical music with jazz improvisation to create works that range from the ethereal to the mercurial to the dissonant.

Yet Eckemoffs music is infused with her Russian soul, vivid memories of picture books she entertained herself with as an only child, and what she calls the sinuous nature of her personal narrative which includes having emigrated from the former Soviet Union to the U.S. with her husband in 1991. With her modern, sometimes free-leaning approach and the weight and intensity her composing and playing attains, she and her music are strikingly original. Im a very emotional person, she says. So many things have vanished from my life. When you express these things in your music, when you share your experiences, you compensate for your losses. Music makes you whole again.

What is remarkable about Eckemoff, who released numerous albums, some of them classical, before making her bona fide jazz debut in 2010 with the release of the winter-themed trio recording Cold Sun, is that you never know in which direction shes heading. One key to her artistry is her dedication to music that has many intertwined threads. I havent composed much for solo piano, she says. Im always hearing instruments and the ways they go together.

For "Desert," Eckemoff read extensively about the subject, including several books about Bedouins. I wanted to know what kind of people they are, she says. How is it that theyve managed to change with the times, finding freedom in such harsh conditions. I wanted to capture the true soul of Bedouins.

In envisioning the recording, Eckemoff says, I thought of Paul and his oboe, on which he is so expressive, and decided this is the sound I wanted. Peter helped me connect with Paul, who really is the reason for this group. As for Arild and Peter, they had just the right voices for my melodies and compositions. I feel like when I have these guys around, I can do anything.

Born in Moscow, Yelena Eckemoff has been composing since she was four years old, her musical impressions taken from her mother, a pianist and teacher. Years of academic studies at Gnessins School for musically gifted children, followed by the Moscow Conservatory, provided a solid foundation in classical music. But as she grew into her teens she developed an interest in other musical styles, like pop, rock, and jazz, and this was a time when jazz recordings were so hard to come by in Russia.

In 1987, in a pivotal moment for Eckemoff and many other Russian musicians, she attended Dave Brubecks legendary concert in Moscow. Though she had already started playing jazz before seeing Brubeck, mainly traditional styles and bebop, this was one of the first jazz concerts she had attended, and she was so impressed she formed her own band and tried to play jazz. But her songs proved too complicated for her fellow musicians (and have gotten no easier, as McCandless, Andersen, and Erskine all attest in a videotaped interview after recording "Desert").

Alluding to such styles as blues, jazz-rock fusion, and the occasional funk, Eckemoffs albums have ranged far and wide while continuing to deal in high concepts. "Glass Song" (2013), the first of her albums to team Andersen and Erskine (who surprisingly had never previously played together), is an environmental treat boasting songs about rain, melting ice, and clouds. "A Touch of Radiance" (2014), dedicated to happiness, features Mark Turner, Joe Locke, George Mraz, and Billy Hart while "Lions" (2015), featuring Andersen and Hart, captures life in the savanna with songs about those majestic animals and their cubs as well as migrating birds and tropical rains.
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Facebook's recently announced plan to let users delete messages they have already sent to other people risks promoting harassment and abuse on the platform, experts have warned.

On Friday, the social network said that in the coming months it would introduce a feature to let users "unsend" messages sent via its Messenger app. The announcement came after TechCrunch revealed the day before that Facebook had been secretly deleting old messages sent by CEO Mark Zuckerberg from recipients' inboxes, sparking uproar over breaches of user trust and double standards for the privacy of Facebook executives versus its users.

But the experts Business Insider spoke to warned that the new feature risks enabling harassment and abusive behaviour on Facebook.

"

But this kind of thing can become insidious and dangerous, which is where gaslighting comes in. If someone is harassing you, for example, or being abusive, and they can go back and modify or delete your conversations and then say they never behaved the way you accuse them of behaving, thats pretty awful!"

In an abusive relationship, someone might send their partner a message that isn't abusive in terms of content  but later delete it and deny having sent it, making their partner question themselves.

At this point, it's not clear how the feature will be implemented. Will both parties' messages be deleted when it is activated, or only one side? Will users be able to selectively delete messages after the fact or will expiry dates have to be set before sending? And will users be notified when it happens?

In the case of Zuckerberg, only his were deleted, messages were deleted selectively after the fact (not all recipients of messages from him say they have disappeared), and recipients do not appear to have been notified. (

But whatever the implementation, it still risks causing issues because it would retroactively  and radically  change user expectations of how the platform should behave.

"

"I would compare it to when they claimed to provide a tool to protect against non-consensual distribution of intimate images ("revenge porn"), and were widely panned because it involved victims having to upload the exact photos they're concerned about, to Facebook of all places," she wrote.
He further expressed that Unity Group operation in the aviation industry is a natural extension of a thriving business.Data showed that passenger airlifts in the country had dropped due to the reduction in domestic airlines over the past four years, he addedThis means that if you are able to increase the number of airlines and capacity on the route then you will be able to increase the number of passengers who fly.The new airline will fly to just three major cities in Ghana, being it Accra, Kumasi and Tamale.We will have one trip to Kumasi and one to Tamale in the morning and the same in the afternoon. We do not want to fly after 6 pm as domestic terminals are not well equipped to operate in the evening. The schedules have been carefully planned in order not to conflict with current schedules operated by other domestic carriers. We will also be looking carefully at the numbers and making adjustments when the need arises,.Currently, there is only one domestic airline operating in the country after the grounding of Starbows operations.Allotey also commented on their pricing.We have experienced pilots and cabin crew but they need retraining specifically for this aircraft, and since we will be competing, we will have reasonable fares which may be cheaper than what other domestic airlines will be offering. Our focus is going to be on customer service.
READ MORE: Police dig out drug dealer who buried himself alive to escape arrest

The substance is in police custody, the Public Relations Officer of the Eastern regional Police Command, ASP Ebenezer Tetteh.

He said in a media interview that the police had a tip off that an Opel Astra Caravan with registration Number GW 5356-13 was transporting the substance from Boti community towards the Huhunya direction.

The Assesewa District Police, he told Accra-based Starr FM, immediately dispatched a team to trail the suspected vehicle.

Starrfmonlines reports that the taxi was given a hot chase by the police after the driver of vehicle sped off upon seeing the police and sensing danger.

The substance was uncovered when the taxi driver was eventually grabbed by police.
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The challenge makes fun of the claims of Obinim by creating and attributing almost impossible occurrences to the inherent powers of the sticker, which is sold to followers of Obinim.

Addressing members at the National Democratic Congress Unity Walk at Wa in the Upper West Region. in Wa in the Upper West region Saturday, Mr. Mahama said: The incompetence is so bad the President and his government need an Obinim Sticker. If it really works, they may need an Obinim sticker.

READ ALSO: undefined

Mahama said the ruling New Patriotic Party has failed and could be felt in the unbearable hardship being experienced by Ghanaians.

People are feeling more hardship than ever today, the immediate past president told the NDC gathering after the walk.
The former president's comments mirror similar sentiments of some Ghanaians who accused the president of appearing aggressive and intolerant.

In a tweet, Mr Rawlings said: "though the president's address was hard, it was important and timely to hear him and the American Ambassador (earlier) affirm that they will be no military base in Ghana."

The ex-president hard earlier reacted to the news of Ghana giving the US a military, saying Ghanaians were not ready to accommodate foreign troops.

In his tweet, Mr Rawlings clarified, "That was my major concern in my initial reaction to the news of the agreement."

According to the ex-president, the spirit of cooperation, be it military or diplomatic has always been there.
President Nana Akufo-Addo on Thursday delivered a lengthy criticism of the position taken by the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) on the matter, describing its leading figures as "reckless self-seekers" who seek to "destabilize our peaceful country."

Commenting on the military agreement in an interview with Ghanaweb, ambassador Barnes said many countries have similar agreements with other nations.

"International co-operation is very important," he said, adding: "so is military co-operation, I will, therefore, encourage people to be open-minded, to appreciate and understand the benefit to both countries and in fact all countries for having close co-operation in this sort of matters."

President Akufo-Addo, in his address, assured the nation that the agreement does not give the US a military base, a position the NDC has been making.
Following his address, a number of Ghanaians have expressed disappointment with his choice of words and tone, arguing that he should have used his address to unify the country.

The agreement gives "unimpeded access" to United States military on "agreed facilities" as well as runways for operations, communications and tax exceptions for US military contractors.

Defending the president's tirade against his political opponents, Otchere Darko, commonly referred to as Gabby, suggested the president was opposing disinformation from the opposition.
President Akufo-Addo said: He [President Weah] has come to pay a visit to us to renew the bonds of friendship and solidarity that are there between the Liberian and Ghanaian people Its a particularly happy day for us in Ghana and for me personally this famous man, who even before he became a president, was a household name in Africa.

President Akufo-Addo said ECOWAS countries must continue to deepen ties between them so as to address challenges confronting them.

He said: "The West African region must continue to deepen the contacts, the links and the friendships between us so that the challenges of the 21st century; the challenges rapid economic growth [can be overcome] within the context of democratic values and democratic institutions."

On his part President Weah expressed appreciation to Ghana for opening its doors to Liberian refugees during the countrys civil wars, that last of which ended in 2003.

We came to show you that the relationship we have will be sustained and will be strengthened. You [President Akufo-Addo] are my big brother and I hope you will help Liberia to succeed, he said.
This statement according to local media was made by the country's Minister of Aviation, Cecilia Dapaah.

The aviation minister was quick to admits the existing benefits that some airline companies are enjoying from Chinas market and its impact on the local airline industry.

Cecilia is hopeful of support to establish assembling industries under Ghana's famous one district one factory program.

The Minister made the appeal in a speech during a courtesy call on her by the outgoing China Ambassador to Ghana, Madam Sun Baohung.

Africa World Airlines (AWA) uses six aircrafts from Embraer China and I believe that so far I do not think there have been any problems and I am also hoping of much more cooperation particularly for the governments one district, one factory policy. I know the lot of hardwork that Chinese citizens put in and that is what we are seeking to replicate here in Ghana, she stated.

On her part, the outgoing Ambassador of China to Ghana, Madam Sun Baohung expressed her countrys readiness to support Ghana.

She says the country will support Ghana to develop its aircraft assembling unit which should propel the governments aviation hub plan.

It is also the same development process in China; we used to be just the end user in the aviation industry but now we can produce a lot of aircrafts for Boeing, Airbus as well as our own big aircrafts now such as the big commercial aircrafts which have improved our production line in 2016.
Mavrodi died on March 26, 2018, and his death put uncertainty in the face of MMM global participants when the System was put on pause mode to honour his exit.

In a statement posted on its global website on Friday, April 6, 2018, the Ponzi scheme platform said the continuation of the System operation without Sergey Mavrodi, the ideological inspirer is impossible and makes no sense.

The statement pointed the attention of participants to the pre-registration warning which clearly states the risks attached to every participant on its system.

The statement reads further: After much deliberation, we have made the conclusion that continuing the System operation, without our leader and ideological inspirer, is impossible and makes no sense.

"We all carried out the tasks he assigned to us since we had no doubt in his genius and rightness of the path he had chosen. We are firmly aware of the fact that none of us has a full view of his conceptions profoundness and sequence of all the actions to achieve a final goal, declared in the "MMM's Ideology".

s broad-mindedness scale is unprecedented. Therefore any attempts to continue the System operation without him are bound to fail. We respect him immeasurably and cannot afford to allow that our unskilled actions may cause profanation of his concepts."

"In view of the above, with deep sadness, we have to announce the ultimate and irreversible MMM closure.

"We also remind (as a matter of form) that all initially were fully aware of the risks and read the WARNING and confirmed that by checking the relevant box when registering."

"Hoping for your understanding, Administration."

MMM gained ground across major African nations in 2016 largely due to economic meltdown witnessed by the two largest economies  Nigeria and South Africa.
The Midem African Forum which held in Lagos has come and gone but its impact may rivet on the foundations of the music industry across Africa and what it chooses to achieve globally.

The forum which was supported by Pulse, TRACE Nigeria, Sacem, 360Nobs, The BeatFM, Jameson, Strictly Entz, Notjustok, Ciroc, CheckMate had two thematic sessions where African music was discussed without borders.

The first panel included the likes of Ade Bantu, musician, activist and CEO Afropolitan vibes, Oye Akideinde, GM Operations, Boomplay, Yoel Kenan, CEO Africori, Joel Hanson, OAP/ Media executive and Eze Ezegozie, MD, Universal Music, West Africa under the theme, 'Building connections to allow music to travel'.

It was an interactive session where the panelists discussed the problems and challenges facing the African music scene.

Yoel Kenan identified the lack of infrastructure, while Ade Bantu is of the opinion that these are exciting times for African music.

He also noted that mobility funding remains a cancer in the progression of our sounds as only few artists had the financial ability to embark on tours across Africa.

On how to properly export our music globally, Eze Ezegozie harped on the need for skills transfer and suggest that Nigeria needs to fix its issues first before embarking on a pan african agenda.

The panel also discussed the rate at which African acts are seeking validation from the West while calling for unity amongst artistes that goes beyond the hype.

The session ended with observers noting that African music is already travelling due to technology and the social media space, but the bigger problem is not just the sound but the content being offered and how acceptable it is.

The second session had a panel of the likes of Akinyemi Ayinoluwa, Taiye Aliyu of Effizy Music, Chinedu Chukwuji who represented Nigerias sole copyright collective society, COSON and Akotchaye Okio, International Development Officer for Africa at SACEM (A collective society in France).

Panelists on this session focused on 'Structuring the value chain to grow music business locally and globally'. Healthy engagements on intellectual and copyright laws, rights of the artiste and prudent ways by which you can protect and make money off your music even globally was held.

Forum workshops

The forum featured other sessions like the workshop and a networking cocktail. The night came to a climax with the music showcase night, which featured performances from some of Africa's brightest stars like Poe and Maka.

Attendees at the event included industry personalities from across Africa.
In spite of the situation, he finds himself and the conditions of the learning environment at the IDP camp, Danjuma sat for three external exams and proved himself as an academic champion.

In the just concluded 2018 UTME, the young IDP had a total of 294 in the exam as he scored 65 in English Language, 77 in Physics, 79 in Chemistry and 73 Biology.

When asked how he achieved the feat, Danjuma during an interview with Daily Trust said he was thought to prepare well and depend on God.

'I do not depend on anybody, I only depend on my God and my books. And because of that, I prepare very well and succeed in all my examinations. Our guardians taught us to depend on God, and ourselves, so, that aided me in my preparation and with God on my side, I made a good grade''.

Speaking about his experience at the Edo IDP camp, Danjuma said being at the camp has been a mixed experience for him because, despite the manner of getting to the IDP camp, he has been able to get his education right and now on the verge of gaining admission into a University.

''My experience is good and bad because of the way I came to the camp but God has been helping us and people have been bringing textbooks and other writing materials, though not enough for us all. So God has helped us, people have helped us and because of that, we are doing well in school. The experience is good because despite the manner of coming here, I have got my education right and I am on the verge of entering a university''.

Danjuma is going to UNIBEN to study Medicine and Surgery

Having made his O'Level result and having a worthwhile score in the 2018 UTME, the teenager said he is set to study Medicine and Surgery at the University of Benin because he wishes to help people and save lives as his pastor is doing at the camp.
The British-Nigerian actor shared a photo on social media, expressing his admiration for the view in Paris.

ALSO READ: Actor expresses joy on Nollywood's growth

A female fan was quick to comment on the post, admitting that she's a huge fan and would love to have coffee with the actor as she is also visiting Paris from Toronto.

We are willing to bet that she did not see his response coming.

See for yourself below:

Lol! Talk about fleeing every appearance of evil!

David Oyelowo to star in historic civil rights drama about an African-American doctor

David Oyelowo has landed a role in "Arc of Justice," a movie based on the high-ranking Ossian Sweet civil rights cases.

The historic movie is based on the 2004 book by Kevin Boyle, Arc of Justice: A Saga of Race, Civil Rights, and Murder in the Jazz Age.

The book follows the true story of the grandson of a slave, Dr. Ossian Sweet,who moved his family to an all-white Detroit neighborhood in 1925.

When his neighbors attempted to drive him out, Sweet defended himself - resulting in the death of a white man and a murder trial for Sweet.

This kicked off one of the most important cases in Civil Rights history.

ALSO READ: Actor jokes about how his dad mispronounces names

Oyelowo who will play Ossian Sweet had received critical acclaim for playing Martin Luther King Jr. in Ava DuVernay's award winning movie, "Selma."

According to reports, Russell Crowe is in the talks to co-star with David Oyelowo in the upcoming film.
According to Linda Ikeji, Omorogbe alongside Joel Ajayi, a COSON member, were arrested and detained at Zone 2 Police Headquarters, Lagos. His arrest stems over a tussle of power concerning the chairmanship of theCopyright Society of Nigeria (COSON).

Pulse immediately contacted the renowned talent manager and he confirmed the arrest, stating that, "Yes, I was arrested, but I have been granted bail and we will address the issues shortly after due consultations with my team".

On the crisis leading to his arrest, he says, "The matter is dead on arrival , as it is just tactics to fight people from demanding that people should do the right thing". He goes further to add that he remains the chairman of and he has no plans to abdicate the position.

It will be recalled that Efe Omorogbe has been involved in a chairmanship tussle with founding chairman of COSON, Tony Okoroji.

In the last quarter of 2017, Tony Okoroji was removed as chairman following allegations of high-handedness and gross abuse of office.

On Thursday, December 7, 2017, a press release was issued by notable industry names like COSON director Dare Baba Dee Fasasi alongside Obi Asika announcing Efe Omorogbe, who is also founding member of the collective society as the new chairman of the body bringing to an end Tony Okorojis 7-year reign.

In a swift turn of events days later, the COSON general assembly, this time under the authority of Sir Victor Uwaifo condemned the election that led to the emergence of Efe Omorogbe and reinstalled Tony Okoroji and his board which is constituted of the likes of Azeezat Allen, Ras Kimono, Kenny Saint Best and Sir Shina Peters to continue running affairs of the body till the next Annual General Meeting of the society later this year.

Sometime earlier in the week, upon a petition placed at the police station by Tony Okoroji, the police issued a warrant and carried out the arrest of Efe Omorogbe on the grounds of forgery and impersonation.

They were charged to the Igbosere Magistrate court later in the morning on a four count charge of forgery, fraud, falsification of documents with the intent to defraud and having conducted himself alongside others at large to commit breach of peace by storming the venue of the meeting of the reinstated COSON Chairman, which is an offence punishable under section 168 (d) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State of Nigeria 2015 but were later released.
The New Telegraph reports that the incident occurred at Illupeju, Palmgroove area of Lagos state on Tuesday, April 7, 2018.

According to the reports, the suspect who referred to the young child as his "wife," is the father of a four-month-old son.

The victim reportedly loved to play with the baby and every time she goes to visit, the suspect would take advantage of her.

The case was only uncovered when the victim kept urinating during her body examination.

The management of the victim's school reportedly suspected sexual violation after the young girl urinated on herself and their class teacher was alerted.

The Child Protection Network was called into the case following the discovery.

The mother of the victim, Mrs Kafaya Lawal, said that she was informed of the situation by her daughter's class teacher.

She said: It was then I knew something was terribly wrong with my daughter. I started weeping.

"Before I got to her school, the management had invited Child Protection Network, a human rights group. After much interrogation, my daughter confessed that it was Baba Michael, our neighbour, who defiled her.

"Baba Michael just moved into our compound two months ago. It is my daughter that usually takes care of the little baby. She also used to run errands for the man. I didnt know something like that was happening right under my nose.

"However, I noticed that the man usually calls all young girls in the compound his wife.

According to the Child Protection Network Coordinator, Comrade Toyin Okanlawon, the suspect has been arrested and is currently in police custody.

Student docked over alleged rape of 9-year-old hawker

Similarly, a 23-year-old student, Muhammad Sani, was arraigned in a Kano Magistrates Court for allegedly raping a 9-year-old orange seller.

Sani, who resides at Dawanau Quarters, Dawakin Tofa Local Government Area of Kano, was tried on a single charge of rape.

The prosecutor, Mr Iliyasu Muhammad, told the court that one Umar Garba of the same address, reported the case at Dawakin Tofa Police Division, Kano, on Feb.22.

He said that the offence was committed on February 20, 2018 at about 7.30 p.m., at Dawanau Quarter in Kano.

Muhammad alleged that the accused deceived the victim and lured her into his room, situated at the same address, with the pretext to buy some oranges from her.

The accused forcefully had unlawful sexual intercourse with her inside his room, he said.

The prosecutor said that the offence contravened Section 283 of the Penal Code. The accused, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge levelled against him.
Governor Masari said he was overjoyed by the visit and described the people of Dutsi as wonderful and disciplined.

Masari promised to implement more projects in Dutsi.

Governor Masari thereafter directed the people to itemize their needs in order of priorities for presentation in the State Executive Council so he could release funds for immediate commencement of the projects.

Second home

Gov Masari also said that Dutsi was his second home and he will not relent in transforming the area and every other part of the State.

Alhaji Mustapha Amasco, chairman of the privately owned Amasco oil company who led the delegation, expressed their unconditional support for the programs and policies of the administration of Governor Masari.

Amasco who could not control his joy over the numerous projects executed by the present administration, said their support for the second term bid of Masari was unreserved, unconditional and unwavering.

Roads

Amasco noted that the state government has rehabilitated and constructed many schools and roads within Dutsi Local Government Area, adding that the roads linked our communities with the neighbouring state of Jigawa and some parts of Niger republic.

He stressed that the 2019 General Election in Dutsi will be a walkover for the APC as the present government has opened up the area through provision of democratic dividends.

The chairman assured the Governor that he need not visit the area for electioneering campaign because he will get the votes he craves for from the local government.
Folayan, via a statement issued on Saturday in Abuja, said establishment of stations at border communities, would boost security of lives and property.

He also decried the robbery incident in Offa, in which about 30 people lost their lives.

I want to use this opportunity to call on the I-G to beef up security in Kwara especially the routes leading to various communities.

I also call on the Kwara State Government to step up efforts at securing lives and property, the president said.

Folayan who condemned the mindless killing by the suspected armed robbers, recalled that similar incident happened in Omu-Aran in 2013, where many people were killed by suspected armed robbers, with no arrest made.
Kalu, who moved to the All Progressives Congress (APC), is on a tour of Sout-West state to advocate for peace.

The former Governor is also the Chairman, Advisory Board for the National Movement for Re-election of President Buhari.

According to reports, the groups focus is to gather support for Buharis 2019 ambition.

Kalu has sold his conscience

Governor Fayose, in a statement issued by his aide on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, said that Kalu has sold his conscience.

He also said that the former Governor is trying to sell Buhari, who he described as an already rejected product.

Fayose said If he has sold his own conscience to the agenda of selling an already rejected product to Nigerians, we in Ekiti State have not, and we are telling him categorically that such advocacy is not welcome in our State.

He should rather take his peace and unity advocacy to his own State, where he is already rejected and other States where Nigerians are being killed on daily basis by armed bandits.

It is also ridiculous that instead of joining Nigerians to tell the President the truth about the state of affairs in the country, Kalu is castigating Nigerians that have summoned courage to speak out against the President through letters and public comments.

It is an insult on the collective sensibilities of Ekiti people, whose only benefit from the government of President Buhari is hardship occasioned by the governments cluelessness for anyone to hide under advocacy for peace to canvass support for the President.

There is no threat to peace and unity of Nigeria from Ekiti State for anyone, including Orji Kalu to address. Therefore, he should not expect to be welcomed to any palace in Ekiti State, the Governor added.

Kalu slams OBJ for criticising Buhari

Orji Kalu recently condemned ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo for asking President Buhari not to run for re-election in 2019.

The former Governor also said that OBJ lacks the moral to fault Buhari because the incumbent is a better president.

Obasanjo had earlier criticised President Buhari's two-years administration saying his handling of the economy was poor and advising him not to contest the 2019 presidential election.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the robbers killed 24 people, including policemen and residents.

The robbers attacked on Union Bank, Eco bank, Guarantee Trust Bank, First Bank, Zenith Bank and Ibolo Micro Finance Bank, according to NAN.

They also escaped with an undisclosed amount of money after operating from 4:45 pm to 5:40 pm without hindrance.

In a tweet from the handle @NGRPresident, the Federal Government said We sympathize with the families of victims, residents of Offa, and the Government & people of Kwara State, on Thursdays violent robbery attack. @PoliceNG have arrested a number of suspects & deployed extra personnel to the town, to assist in investigations and beef up security.

Police arrest 7 suspects

The Kwara state commissioner of Police, Lawan Ado has revealed that seven suspects have been arrested in connection with the armed robbery attacks in Offa, NAN reports.

ALSO READ:Saraki reacts to Offa robbery attack

This was made known to newsmen in a statement issued by Ado on Saturday, April 7, 2018.

Kwara Governor offer N5m for information on robbers

The Kwara state Governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed had earlier offered N5million to anyonewho provides information that will lead to the arrest of those involved in the robbery attack in Offa on Thursday.
The armed robbers struck on Thursday, April 5, 2018.

Over 20 persons including police officers lost their lives after robbers entered the town at about 4:45 pm and operated till about 5:40 pm unchallenged; after blocking the Ilorin and Osogbo entrances into the town.

Some five banks were reportedly robbed at the same time.

Promise

Gov Ahmed made the promise on Friday when he paid the victims a visit at the state General hospital, Ilorin.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Governor had ordered that the victims be relocated to Ilorin from Offa for adequate treatment.

He also ordered the the reinforcement of medical experts to Ilorin from other parts of the State so as to give the victims prompt treatment and support.

The Governor who went round the wards to meet with the victims, described the incident as unfortunate even as he consoled the families of the victims.

He prayed God grant the injured victims quick recovery and commiserated with the families that lost loved ones in the incident.

"Government will take care of all their hospital bills, we must begin to watch each others back.

"The job of policing is everybody's job, when we see strange people in our communities we must learn to report to appropriate security agencies.

"Activities like this took some time in planning and execution," Governor Ahmed said.

Community policing

The Governor also emphasized on community policing and maintained that police will work efficiently if they have information.

He reiterated his government's support to strengthen the security agencies in the state, especially in the area of logistics.

Governor Ahmed however noted that there is huge problem of financing in the country but noted that his government will work around it because the situation is now becoming precarious.

He maintained that his government will not allow the lives of the citizens to be on the line again.

Governor Ahmed said he will work hard to ensurethe sad incident doesn't happenagain on his watch.
Etete was appointed petroleum minister by late dictator Sani Abacha.

Using the powers of his office, Etete illicitly awarded Oil Producing License (OPL) 245 to himself in 1998.

The Malabu oil field contains about 9 billion barrels of crude oil. It is one of Africa's richest oil blocs. It was sold to Shell and ENI for $1.3billion during the Goodluck Jonathan administration in 2011.

Bribe

Shell and ENI did not want to deal directly with Etete who had been convicted in France for his part in a separate money laundering scandal, so they wired the money to an account belonging to the federal government of Nigeria domiciled with JP Morgan bank, London.

The Federal Government of Nigeria under Jonathan thereafter transferred $801million of the money into accounts controlled by Malabu and Etete in Nigeria.

Investigators say the money was then shared to various public officials and cronies in Nigeria as bribes; with the government receiving only $210m USD as signature bonus on OPL 245.

Beneficiaries

Former government officials accused of receiving bribes in connection with the deal include Goodluck Jonathan who was Nigeria's president until 2015, former Attorney General, Mohammed Bello Adoke and former petroleum minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke who has been implicated in a host of illicit deals during her spell as petroleum minister.

Nigeria file suit

In January 2018, the federal government of Nigeria sued "JP Morgan Chase for more than $875million, accusing it of negligence in transferring funds from a disputed 2011 oilfield deal to a company controlled by the countrys former oil minister.

The federal government had had stated in its suit that: JP Morgan acted with gross negligence by allowing the transfer of the money without further checks.

The government posits that JP Morgan should have known that, under Nigerian law, the money should never have been transferred to a third party.

If the defendant acted with reasonable care and skill and/or conducted reasonable due diligence, it would or should have known or at least suspected ... that it was being asked to transfer funds to third parties who were seeking to misappropriate the funds from the claimant and/or that there was a significant risk that this was the case, some parts of the suit instituted by the federal government, read.

JP Morgan had previously said that it considers the allegations made in the claim to be unsubstantiated and without merit.

Acknowledgement
A former Director of the service, Mr Rasak Fadipe told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) at the sideline of his pulling out ceremony that the service recovered about 724 bodies under his watch.

He said in 2012 when he took over as the director, the service responded to about 2,041 emergency calls, including fire, rescue, building collapse, and false alarm calls.

According to him, a total of 10,990 calls were received in all in six years.

Fadipe said fire calls top the list of emergencies, stressing that more than 8,575 calls were received in different parts of the state for fire outbreak in six years.

He noted that the number of calls on all emergency operations reduced to 1,659 in 2017 due to enlightenment to the public on fire prevention.

God really compensated me. God used the governor to moved me from level 15 to 17 as substantive director. I am the first to occupy that level as fire director in Lagos State.

All my predecessors terminated on level 15. I really thank God how far He had helped us to move the system to the extent that everybody wants to be a fireman.

One regret as a retired director is my inability to facilitated international training programmes for some of our officers and have local technicians for all our equipment.

I hope my successor will look into this since government work is a continuum.

I thank the government and everyone that had made our job easy and possible, Fadipe said.

NAN reports that 28 fire officers, including Fadipe, recently retired from active service after serving for 35 years.

One of those likely to replace Fadipe, Mr Rasak Musibau, Deputy Head, Fire Service, told NAN that Fadipe was an excellent leader who always carry his lieutenants along all his activities.

Musibau said that the former directors performance would be a big challenged to his successor.

The beauty of any administration is to have a good leader. Rasak Fadipe reign as director, fire service from inception to retirement has left an indelible landmark with a long lasting impression on all.

I make bold to say that he had worked to be ranked among equal in the history of Lagos State Fire Service.

The good legacy he is leaving behind can never be quantified in view of the level he had taken the service.

He will always be remembered anytime the history of Lagos Fire Service is read or mentioned, Musibau said.

For Mrs Monirat Fadipe, wife of the retired director, words cannot express my gratitude to God for his mercies and blessings over the household while in active service.
In a letter of nomination signed by its National Secretary, Shuaibu Leman, the union said Antswen was selected from a pool of nominees from both journalists and the general public.

The letter stated that the NUJ selection committee eventually found him a worthy recipient of the award.

The letter explained that the awards ceremony was organized by the union to motivate journalists, promote press freedom, good governance and democracy in the country.

It further stated that the NUJ seeks to recognize courageous journalists who have risked their lives by reporting on critical news events.

It added that such journalists were those that faced threats, harassment, physical injury, imprisonment and were exposed to the dangers of death.

The letter also indicated that lectures would be held to discuss Press Freedom, Good Governance and Nation Building in Nigeria.

NAN recalls that Antswen, whose report on the rot in the IDP camp in Benue, tagged Angry Benue IDPs block vehicles loaded with stolen relief materials, attracted the wrath of the Benue Government.
Dr Omotayo Omoteso, NNIA representative, while declaring the one-day training open on Saturday in Abeokuta, said that the training was to commemorate this years World Health Day.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that World Health Day is a global health awareness day celebrated every year on April 7, under the sponsorship of the World Health Organisation, as well as other related organisations.

The theme for 2018 is Universal Health Coverage: Everyone, Everywhere.

Omoteso said that about one million Nigerian children die annually and more than half of the deaths were traceable to malnutrition.

Global studies have shown that malnutrition is an underlying factor in 55 per cent of all child deaths, with Nigeria largely affected by the scourge.

Each year, about 1 million Nigerian children die and more than half of these deaths are traceable to malnutrition. This situation calls for urgent multi-stakeholder action.

This is why Nestle Nutrition Institute Africa is therefore, happy to collaborate with the Ogun State Government in its efforts to address malnutrition in the first 1,000 days of life.

This is in line with our commitment to bridge the gap between science and the practical application of nutrition to ensure a healthier, brighter future for children.

We therefore welcome this opportunity to contribute through the development of the capabilities of Primary Health Care Professionals on Malnutrition in the First Years of Life: Its Assessment and Management, in Ogun State, he said.

The state Commissioner for Health, Dr Babatunde Ipaye, said that about 800 million people, constituting about 12 per cent of the worlds population, spend at least 10 per cent of their household budget on health needs.

Ipaye said that about 100 million people out of the 800 million suffer financial hardship due to out of pocket health expenditure.

According to him, half of the worlds population is unable to obtain essential health services, due to poverty.

According to the World Health Organisation, the focus for this year is to ensure that all people can get quality healthcare services, where and when they need them, without suffering financial hardship.

The World Health Day provides another opportunity for strengthening the healthcare system in Ogun State in partnership with stakeholders like Nestle who supported the states efforts by delivering a capacity building training, he said.

Ipaye thanked the healthcare professionals for making themselves available for the training and encouraged them not to keep the knowledge to themselves, but to utilise it in the reduction of the burden of malnutrition in the state.
The President of the association, Mr Emma Akpaka, who spoke in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday in Enugu, said the port if put to use, would boost the economy of the country.

Akpaka stressed that the port if put to maximum use, could sustain the countrys economy, especially with its proximity to the Onitsha Main Market.

NAN recalls that Onitsha River Port was inaugurated by former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2012, after its reconstruction.

Akpaka said that to abandon it for over six years after it completion and inauguration is invitation to self-inflicted hardship.

According to him, the peoples expectations for takeoff of economic activities in the port have been `deferred for too long.

Shippers in the South-East are begging President Muhammadu Buhari to gazette this port into the global shipping map, so that customs and relevant agencies will immediately enforce economic activities.

Apart from revenues and jobs creation, there would be massive development of inland waterways of host communities as well.

Recently, Kaduna Dry Port was commissioned by President Mohammadu Buhari.

As we speak, the port in Kaduna is operational. Let the same feat be duplicated in Onitsha River Port instead of using different strokes for different folks.

Again, let the benchmark in Nigerian ports be the same across board, instead of promoting price differentials by government agencies who use it as a ploy to frustrate shipment of containers to eastern ports, he said.

If Royal Niger Company (now UAC) used this port before and after Nigerias independence for its imports and exports, why cant we do same in this millennium, when technology has greatly influenced the ease of doing business?
Brig.-Gen. Texas Chukwu, the Director, Army Public Relations, said in a statement that troops engaged and killed the insurgents following a distressed call by hunters on Friday.

Troops of operation LAFIYA DOLE on April 6, neutralised suspected Boko Haram terrorists in Barkin Dutse Area of Adamawa State following a distress call from hunters.

The terrorists on sighting the troops opened fire which resulted in exchange of fire.

Five Boko Haram terrorists were neutralised while some of them escaped into nearby caves during the encounter.

Also, one hunter lost his life during the operation.

Chukwu disclosed that the troops recovered five AK 47 rifles, five magazines and 22 rounds of 7.62 mm special ammunition.

He added that troops were in pursuit of the fleeing terrorists, and called on the people to report any suspicious movements in their area to security agencies.

Meanwhile, troops had arrested two suspected insurgents in Bauchi and Borno in separate operations.

Chukwu, who made the disclosure in Maiduguri, said that troops of 33 Artillery Brigade on April 5 arrested one Saidu Jenga, 33, on Maiduguri Byepass Road, Bauchi, in connection with Boko Haram activities.

He said that the suspect was allegedly overheard discussing movement of arms and ammunition on phone.

Items recovered include one techno phone with two sim cards as well as N6, 870 cash, he said.

Chukwu added that troops of operation LAFIYA DOLE also arrested one Umar Ali, 59, a suspected Boko Haram insurgent at Galdimare ward in Biu Local Government Area of Borno.
Speaking on the incident which occurred on Friday, April 6, 2018, Brig. Gen. Texas Chukwu, Director Army Public Relations said Items recovered include 5 AK 47 rifles and 5 magazines loaded with 22 rounds of 7.62 mm special ammunition.

Troops are in pursuit of the fleeing terrorists.

The public is therefore advised to report any suspicious movements in their area to the security agency for prompt action.

Kingpin arrested

He also said that a suspected kingpin of Boko Haram, Umar Ali was arrested from Mirnga in Biu Local Government Area of Borno state.

He was arrested at Galdimare ward in Biu town. Preliminary investigation revealed that he had been participating in Boko Haram activities in the area.

The public is hereby advised to always give useful information to the security agency to aid them in carrying out assigned tasks, the statement said.

According to the Army spokesman, troops of 33 Artillery Brigade arrested a suspect, Saidu Hamidu Jenga, around Maiduguri bye pass, Bauchi in connection with Boko Haram activities on April 5, 2018. Daily Post reports.

FG using Boko Haram fight to siphon funds for 2019 election

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) recently accused President Buharis administration of using the fight against Boko Haram tosiphoning funds for the 2019 general elections.

The party also faulted governments efforts at taming insurgency, saying there is more to it than the public is being made to believe.
The crash comes barely a week after Bello himself survived a terrible car accident.

According to Daily Trust, Onoja was returning to the state after spending some days with Governor Bello who is recuperating from his own accident in Abuja when the incident occurred.

The report said his car somersaulted severally before falling into a ditch along the Abaji-Abuja Expressway.

Onoja and his wife, along with a child, who was with them in the crashed car, have been evacuated from the wreckage to an undisclosed hospital in Abuja.

ALSO READ: Governor Bello says he can die for Buhari

The cause of the accident was not immediately ascertained but it is believed to have been as a result of overspeeding or a tyre burst.
He said he told the President that the Kano State government would file a lawsuit against him should he decide not to run next year.

Ganduje stated this on Friday, April 6, while speaking to journalists in Abuja.

He also declared his intention to seek re-election in the 2019 governorship election for consolidation of the on-going developmental projects in the state.

The governor said, "APC governors want Mr President to continue. I am happy that it is not the president that said he wants to continue, it is the people that are saying continue. But Mr President has not made up his mind yet.

"When he came to Kano, I told him that any time he decides not to contest, we will take him to court. Kano State government will take him to court any time he decides not to contest. So, we are waiting for him.

"In this country, we saw presidents who spent billions of Naira for third term. So, what is the ruse about a constitutional second term. Some people who spent billions of Naira in order to go for third term, I think it should not be news or something like that."

On his decision to seek a second term in office, Ganduje said the of Kano are clamouring for his administration to continue the good works it has started in the state.

"In Kano, people are saying four plus four, that is, they are urging me to contest again. But I too feel that in order to continue with the good development that we have started, development requires some time and the constitution has given four years and another four years in order to consolidate what one has started."

"I am convinced that I too will seek for second term and people are also urging me to do so. Eventually, it will be left to the people to decide whether I will qualify or not", he said.

Oyegun tenure elongation

Speaking on the controversial tenure elongation of Chief John Oyegun as the National Chairman of the APC, Ganjude said those who initially backed the idea believed that congresses and convention will cause a lot of problems that will linger into the election period.

ALSO READ: FG using Boko Haram fight to siphon funds for 2019 election - PDP

He said their reasons is biased as long as what they were advocating for was against the constitution of the party, which only made a provision for a four-year term - after which congresses and convention are to be held.
At least 20 people were injured, six of them seriously, according to police, while media reports said the driver had been behind the wheel of a delivery van.

A police spokeswoman in the western city, Vanessa Arlt, told AFP that the driver of the vehicle "shot himself".

"The perpetrator drove into several cafe and restaurant terraces in a major square in the centre of Muenster," Arlt added.

Police spokesman, Andreas Bode, said it was "too soon" to call the incident a deliberate attack.

According to the online edition of the Spiegel magazine, German authorities were "assuming" the incident was an attack, though there was no immediate official confirmation of a motive.

"Terrible news from Muenster," German government spokeswoman Ulrike Demmer said in a tweet, saying local police were providing regular updates.

"Our thoughts are with the victims and their loved ones."

Avoid the city centre

Images broadcast by German television showed police and firefighting vehicles clustered around a street in the centre of the city of 300,000 people.

Armed police were deployed and officers urged residents to avoid the city centre to allow investigators to get to work.

Germany had long warned of the threat of more violence ahead after several attacks claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group, the bloodiest of which was a truck rampage through a Berlin Christmas market in December 2016 that left 12 people dead.

The attacker, Tunisian asylum seeker Anis Amri, hijacked a truck and murdered its Polish driver before killing another 11 people and wounding dozens more by ploughing the heavy vehicle through the festive market in central Berlin.

He was shot dead by Italian police in Milan four days later while on the run.

Germany has since been targeted again in attacks with radical Islamist motives.

In July 2017, a 26-year-old Palestinian asylum seeker wielding a knife stormed into a supermarket in the northern port city of Hamburg, killing one person and wounding six others before being detained by passers-by.

German prosecutors said the man likely had a "radical Islamist" motive.

And at the end of October, German police arrested a 19-year-old Syrian identified only as Yamen A. suspected of planning a "serious bomb attack" using powerful explosives.

IS also claimed responsibility for a number of attacks in 2016, including the murder of a teenager in Hamburg, a suicide bombing in the southern city of Ansbach that wounded 15, and an axe attack on a train in Bavaria that left five injured.

Germany an IS target

Germany remains a target for jihadist groups, in particular because of its involvement in the coalition fighting IS in Iraq and Syria, and its deployment in Afghanistan since 2001.

German troops in the anti-IS coalition do not participate in combat operations but support it through reconnaissance, refuelling and training.

Germany's security services estimate there are around 10,000 Islamic radicals in Germany, some 1,600 of whom are suspected of being capable of using violence.

Chancellor Angela Merkel has allowed in more than one million asylum seekers in the past two years -- a decision that has driven the rise of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which charges that the influx spells a heightened security risk.

IS also claimed several similar attacks in Europe, including a rampage along Barcelona's Las Ramblas boulevard in August 2017 that killed 14 and left more than 100 injured.
In January, the sentence was increased by an appeals court to more than 12 years.

The conviction of Lula, who served as president between 2003-2010, sent a chilling message to the country's deeply corrupt political elite.

And on Thursday, the 44-year-old magistrate struck again, giving Lula just 24 hours to turn himself in or face forcible arrest and begin serving his jail term in Curitiba, the southern city where the massive anti-graft operation has been based since launching four years ago.

It was one of Moro's most explosive decisions since taking over the sprawling probe which initially centered on Petrobras, the flagship state oil company, but which has since expanded to embrace Brazil's economic and political elites.

Headed by Moro, the investigation has become one of the world's biggest corruption battles, tackling business empires like Brazil's Odebrecht construction group and reshuffling the political deck ahead of this year's presidential election.

Exposing a vast embezzlement scheme centered on Petrobras, Moro was quick to jail almost all of the oil giant's former directors, before turning his gavel on the powerbrokers at Odebrecht, leaving no one untouchable.

This led him to the dirty money being pumped to the world of political campaigning, with the scandal touching most of Brazil's political parties. Moro swiftly moved to take down a string of top-level players from across the political spectrum.

And Lula, who is being prosecuted in seven separate cases, is his biggest scalp yet.

'Can make anything happen'

In March 2016, the spotlight turned on Lula when he was questioned on Moro's orders about "favors" he allegedly received from firms implicated in the scandal.

Lula knew that Moro, who is based in provincial Curitiba, more than 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) from Brasilia, was serious.

"Honestly, I'm scared of this 'Republic of Curitiba' because a district judge can make anything happen in this country," Lula could be heard saying in a leaked phone conversation last year.

Born in August 1972 in Maringa, a city near Curitiba, Moro went on to study law, gaining a doctorate and becoming a federal judge in 1996.

He completed his training at Harvard law school, going on to specialize in money laundering crimes and taking inspiration from Italy's "Clean Hands" anti-corruption drive in the 1990s, which led to the conviction of half the country's lawmakers.

In a 2004 article on this operation, Moro sketched out what would become the method that thrust him into the global limelight 10 years later: getting detailed confessions from suspects in exchange for a reduced sentence, as well as leaking elements of the probe to the press.

"Moro has instituted preventative detention as the norm, whereas in any other civilized country, it is the exception," said lawyer Antonio Carlos de Almeida, who was on the Petrobras defense team.

Hero to millions

A married father of two, Moro's unprecedented assault on business-as-usual has elevated him to hero status among most Brazilians, who see him as a knight in shining armor in the fight against the country's rampant corruption.

His stern face has even become a standard feature on banners and t-shirts at corruption rallies around the country, with supporters seeing him as a future Supreme Court justice or even president.

But the tough-talking judge is rarely seen on the streets of Curitiba, and prefers to avoid public appearances. And on the rare occasion when he has ventured out, it was to ask his "fans" to exercise restraint ahead of his historic confrontation with Lula.
But while EU nations have rushed to join Britain in condemning Russia and expelling diplomats over the attack in England on ex-spy Sergei Skripal, Turkey has been much more circumspect.

Erdogan "will be paying a visit to the UK in May," presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin told foreign reporters in Istanbul, without giving a date.

"We look forward to this visit."

The Turkish president has made relatively few bilateral visits to Europe since the failed 2016 coup although he did travel to France at the start of this year.

Kalin denied that Britain should be disappointed with Turkey's reaction to the attack on Skripal, saying "we would like to see the perpetrators of this attack brought to justice."

But he reaffirmed Turkey's unwillingness to follow London and most of its EU allies by blaming Russia for the poisoning.

"There seems to be a lot of discussion still going on.

"The question of who exactly did it and what is the full story is still unfolding," Kalin said.

Turkey has built flourishing relations with Russia after overcoming a 2015 crisis over Syria and President Vladimir Putin paid a two day visit to Ankara last week.
That was back in 1997. Balakrishnan, still a teenager, had just arrived from Sri Lanka  where a long-standing civil war was raging  with a high school degree and little else. His next job was washing dishes, 10 hours a day, in a restaurant in Piacenza, on the Po River in northern Italy, earning about $200 a month.

I was afraid, not knowing anything, and Italy seemed immense, he tells me. But there were opportunities. What you need is will.

His break came with his next job at another restaurant under a chef who decided to educate him. Hed be in the kitchen at 7 a.m., learning the ingredients and the time needed for each dish. On the hills nearby, he learned, everyone makes tortelli  a stuffed pasta often filled with ricotta and spinach  in a slightly different shape, some with a double tail like a candy wrapper, some with just one. When the water is different, so is the taste.

Its all about a qualcosina, a little something, Balakrishnan says in his now fluent Italian. The little something holds the secret, as anyone who has tried to reproduce an Italian dish outside Italy knows.

Vittorio, the chef, told him how to recall an order by studying each clients expression and associating a dish with a face. It worked.

Balakrishnan has thrived. He now manages the Palazzo dei Camini restaurant in Agazzano, a small town about a half-hour drive from Piacenza. Its a quiet sort of place in a conservative sort of region where the anti-immigrant party the League is strong. Matteo Salvini, the Leagues leader, told a rally, We are packed with drug dealers, rapists, burglars, whom he wants to send home.

Attilio Fontana, a senior League politician who was elected president of the nearby Lombardy region in a landslide in March, said in January, We need to decide whether or not our ethnic group, our white race, our society should continue to exist or be wiped out.

Italy, having seen a thing or two, including several foreign armies, is not about to be wiped out. Its an adaptable country. In Agazzano, an Indian couple runs the gas station, and a lot of the manual work on nearby dairy farms is done by Sikhs who are willing to work six-day weeks and long hours.

Balakrishnans wife, Gowry Ariharan, whom he married in Sri Lanka in 2011, is in charge of the kitchen, with two Italian sous chefs working for her. She knew no Italian cuisine when she arrived six years ago, but she now makes even better risotto than a Milanese, says the co-owner of the restaurant, Manola Arcelloni.

The local community appears to agree. This Sri Lankan-run Italian restaurant serving local specialties like pisarei e faso  small gnocchi of flour and breadcrumbs in a piping hot sauce of beans and lard  is thriving.

Manolas husband, Mariano, was a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Milan, until his retirement a few years ago. He bought the restaurant premises in 2005, originally with the idea of a salami business, before opening the restaurant in 2007. His best decision, he says, was to hire Balakrishnan, who has a very strong feeling for business. Various chefs  too many prima donnas  came and went before Manola decided to teach Gowry to cook.

Some clients were reticent but their hesitation soon faded. We were lucky to find them, Arcelloni says of Balakrishnan and his wife. Unlike a lot of young Italians, they are still hungry to get ahead. Italians are big savers. The birthrate is low. Many children dont leave home until they are at least 30. When you know you will have money in your hands one day, motivation suffers.

There are immigration issues in Italy, which took some 64 percent of the 186,000 migrants who reached Europe in 2017 through Mediterranean routes. It took the most of these migrants in 2016, too. But anti-immigrant rhetoric, plenty of it vile, is a political lightning rod that masks a more nuanced picture.

Gowry, like her husband, spoke no Italian when she arrived. She had never left her village in Sri Lanka. She started out cleaning for a wealthy Agazzano family. You have to respect Italians, she tells me. If you come and expect everything, its a terrible mistake. I was a house cleaner, and then I became a cook and my former employers came here to eat. I felt so honored. It was extraordinary. They could have said, What are you doing here?'

She was sobbing.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
White House officials said Friday that Trump continues to believe that Pruitt has been effective in his role, and stressed that it was up to the president alone to decide his fate.

No one other than the president has the authority to hire and fire, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, told reporters. The president feels that the administrator has done a good job at EPA.

She said the White House, which has been conducting an internal investigation into Pruitts conduct, was continuing to review any of the concerns that we have.

Earlier, in a brief interview, Sanders said that Pruitts success in achieving items on the presidents agenda  including rolling back a large number of environmental regulations  may weigh heavily as a counterbalance to allegations that he misused taxpayer dollars.

He likes the work product, she said of Trump.

Conservatives have, for the most, part rallied around Pruitt, but late Friday saw the first signs of a fissure.

Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, has started to investigate Pruitts condo deal, an aide to the committee confirmed.

Gowdy is already investigating Pruitts first-class travel. This week, the committee was provided two memos from the EPAs designated ethics official related to the administrators living arrangements, the aide said.

Asked about Pruitt at an event on Friday evening, Gowdy said, I dont have a lot of patience for that kind of stuff. Youve got to be a good steward of taxpayer dollars, according to a video an activist took of the interaction that was distributed by Friends of the Earth, an environmental group.

Pruitt has been dogged by a series of scandals in recent weeks, including revelations that he rented a condominium co-owned by the wife of an energy lobbyist for $50 per night; that he spent more than $100,000 on taxpayer-funded first-class travel, which the EPA has argued was necessary because of security concerns; and that the agency sidelined or demoted at least five high-ranking agency employees who had raised questions about his spending.

The Wall Street Journal first reported on Kellys unheeded advice to Trump, which marked the escalation of a quiet but intense turn in the West Wing against Pruitt. Privately, many senior White House aides have become infuriated with the EPA chief and exasperated with his ethical lapses, believing that it is only a matter of time before his special standing with the president wears thin.

But Trumps decision to keep Pruitt in his job over the counsel of his chief of staff also raised new questions about Kellys power in the West Wing. It was only two months ago that Trump was musing privately about replacing Kelly in the aftermath of the scandal surrounding Rob Porter, Trumps staff secretary, who resigned under pressure after it emerged that he had faced allegations of spousal abuse by two former wives.

In recent days, Trump has appeared determined to do things his own way, and he has conducted a purge of people in his administration who had clashed with him, including Rex Tillerson, the secretary of state, and Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, the national security adviser whose last day at the White House was Friday.

But Trump regards Pruitt warmly, and  for now  has continued to back him.

I think hes done a fantastic job at EPA, Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Thursday as he returned to Washington from an event in West Virginia. I think hell be fine.

On Friday, Trump pushed back against news reports that he had considered replacing Jeff Sessions, the attorney general, with Pruitt, saying in a tweet that his EPA chief is doing a great job but is TOTALLY under siege.

That came hours before yet another embarrassing revelation Friday afternoon, when Politico reported that the lobbyists who owned the condominium Pruitt paid $50 a night to rent had leased the space to him for only six weeks, and became frustrated when he declined for months to leave, eventually pushing him out and changing the locks.

The president, who dislikes direct personal confrontations, has been known to change his mind and tone rapidly when it comes to personnel decisions as events unfold and he gauges the reaction in the news media and the potential for damage to his own reputation. But his aides also point out that Trump relishes doing things his own way and bristles against being told he must adhere to certain conventions, even when failing to do so may mean enduring political fallout.

In interviews in recent days with conservative news outlets including Fox News and the Washington Examiner, Pruitt pushed back hard against accusations that his actions were unethical. In an interview with Fox News, he described his living arrangement as an Airbnb situation, and said EPAs ethics office had signed off on it.

The ethics office ruled that Pruitts condo rental did not violate the agencys rules. A later memo released this week said the office did not have all the facts about the rental when it made its initial ruling, including reports that Pruitts daughter, McKenna Pruitt, lived at the apartment when she was a White House intern.

Asked by Fox whether renting a room from a Washington lobbyist violated Trumps credo of draining the swamp, Pruitt replied, I dont even think thats even remotely fair to ask that question.

Trump, an avid Fox viewer who puts great stock in TV performances, did not appear to think much of Pruitts appearance. Asked Thursday on Air Force One what he thought about it, he paused, smiled wryly, and said: Its an interesting interview.

On Friday, a coalition of 64 House Democrats called for Pruitts resignation. Pruitts conservative allies said that is more likely to bolster the administrators standing than hurt it and said they hope Kelly will not force him out.

If he doesnt weather this, no one is ever going to take another job in this administration, and John Kelly is an idiot, said Michael McKenna, a Republican energy lobbyist, adding, If this turns into a referendum on who is doing more for the presidents agenda, Pruitt will win.

Conservatives have rallied around Pruitt. The Wall Street Journals editorial page said the EPA chief was being hounded because of his success in dismantling Obama-era environmental standards. Other conservative groups have accused the media of campaigning for Pruitts ouster.

Kelly and Pruitt have clashed in the past. The chief of staff stepped in last year to block an effort by the EPA chief to announce public red team, blue team hearings on climate change, an idea Pruitt had personally pitched to the president as a way of challenging the science behind global warming. Trump liked the idea, officials said, but his administration regarded it as foolish at best and potentially disastrous, fearing it could become a spectacle that would undermine the presidents anti-regulatory push.

At a December meeting to discuss Pruitts plan, a deputy of Kellys said the plan was dead and not to be discussed further.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
The mobilization began shortly after 7 p.m. Friday at the Armed Forces Reserve Center in Austin, as two light-utility Lakota helicopters carrying a total of four service members lifted off from the taxiway and flew south past a fading sun.

Brig. Gen. Tracy Norris, commander of the Texas Army National Guard, said the deployment would begin meeting the priorities of the governor and the president in securing our border. In addition to troops, the Guard said it would send ground surveillance vehicles and light and medium aircraft.

The announcement in Austin came the same day the Republican governor of Arizona, Doug Ducey, said about 150 members of the National Guard in his state would deploy next week to the border. Other governors have weighed in as well, with their support or criticism of the plan falling along party lines. The Republican governor of New Mexico, Susana Martinez, vowed to send troops soon, while the Democratic governor of Montana, Steve Bullock, refused.

Defense Secretary James Mattis on Friday signed orders authorizing funding for up to 4,000 National Guard troops for the operation through Sept. 30, under the command and control of their respective governors.

National Guard troops have been deploying to the southern border for decades after orders by presidents and governors from both parties. In 2010, the Democratic governor of New Mexico at the time, Bill Richardson, ordered a few dozen troops to his states border with Mexico after the killing of an Arizona rancher.

But Trumps mobilization, which could deploy thousands of troops, has reignited concerns in Texas and elsewhere about the militarization of border communities and has angered local officials and lawmakers who say that the troops are not needed and that they give the false impression that their cities are under siege.

It sounds to me more like political rhetoric than something that is actually needed on our border, said Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-Texas, whose district includes the border city of McAllen. For example, McAllen is at a 32-year low in crime. Were at a 46-year low in illegal entries. Its the wildest thing in the world for us to hear that they want to bring National Guard troops to the border region.

Trump and federal officials said the troops were needed to help the U.S. Border Patrol address what Trump said was a growing threat of unauthorized immigrants, drugs and crime from Central America.

Norris on Friday said that the troops would be armed for self-defense depending on the mission set, and that it was premature right now to know what the cost will be of the overall operation.

The deployment is a federal initiative that will be managed by the state, a hybrid known as Title 32. In that capacity, a governor retains control of the National Guard troops but the federal government finances the operation.

Norris said that in addition to the 250 troops being deployed in the coming days, an unknown number of others would likely be called up as part of a follow-on phase.

The response from Texas officials, coming just three days after Trump called for militarizing the border, was no surprise. Republican leaders in Texas have been outspoken in condemning cartel-related crime, drugs, violence and human smuggling on the border. In fact, they had moved to put the National Guard on the border years ago.

Even as Trump announced his mobilization this week, the Texas National Guard already had about 100 troops at the border, as part of a state border-security operation that began in 2014. Texas officials dispatched 1,000 National Guard troops to the border because they said drug cartels were taking advantage of the federal governments focus on the tens of thousands of Central Americans flooding the border at the time.

The deployment was meant to help combat the brutal Mexican drug cartels that are preying upon our communities, Rick Perry, then the governor, said in 2014.

The 2014 deployment was supposed to end the following year, but the mobilization was extended by Perrys successor, Greg Abbott. State lawmakers said last year that the cost for the National Guard deployment and Texas Military Forces expenses on the border was nearly $63 million.

The 100 National Guard troops who have been at the border play a supporting role to state and federal law enforcement, acting, as state officials describe it, as a force multiplier.

We stand ready to support the needs of the state and the nation at the request of the governor or the president, Lt. Col. Travis Walters, a spokesman for the Texas Military Department, the agency that oversees the states National Guard branches, said in a statement.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
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The New York Times, January 12, 2018

by Thomas Gibbons-Neff, Christiaan Triebert, David Botti & Malachy Browne

A video posted to YouTube that may depict American Special Operations forces violating protocols in Afghanistan has triggered an investigation by the United States military.

One segment of the video shows a service member firing a weapon into the drivers window of a civilian truck from a short distance. The window is shattered, but it is unclear if the driver is injured  or why the shot was fired.

Gen. Joseph L. Votel, head of United States Central Command, said the video, which consists of over 40 individual clips, is not official, not authorized and does not represent the professionalism of the service members of U.S. Central Command.

An Army Special Forces soldier who had direct knowledge of the incident said the shooters action did not violate protocols.

Anyone who was there would say that it was within our rules of engagement, and the whole video gives context, the soldier, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told The New York Times. It was a vehicle in the American convoy, and we had standard operating procedure with a shotgun carried in our vehicles turret loaded with less than lethal rounds. His statement could not be independently confirmed.

Heres what we know about the video.

Who made the video public?

The three-minute video was uploaded to YouTube on Dec. 16 as part of a marketing campaign for a company called Happy Few, which was set up to sell military-themed apparel. The manager of Happy Few is assigned to a Special Forces unit, according to Army documents. Snippets of the video were also posted to Happy Fews Instagram account.

Set to music by the American rap artist Kendrick Lamar, the video depicts United States soldiers firing a variety of weapons.

The video was recently removed from YouTube. Happy Fews website and Instagram page were deleted soon after Central Command said on Wednesday that it is investigating.

The existence of the video was reported by Politico, which showed it to military officials and, in turn, led to the investigation being opened.

The gun

The weapon in the video appears to be a tactical shotgun made by Benelli, an Italian firm that supplies weapons to militaries and police forces around the world, including the United States military. It is a lightweight shotgun, sometimes carried by Special Forces and other ground troops. The shotgun is frequently used in close-quarters combat and for breaching doors in raids.

The soldier who spoke to The Times said the round that was fired was less than lethal. An apparent lack of recoil or a discharged cartridge suggests that the shotgun may have fired a bean bag or rubber bullet. These can be lethal when fired at close range.

Military protocols on situations of escalating force dictate how troops deal with an approaching vehicle that is seen as potentially hostile. The instructions typically call for shooting at tires, then the grill, then the driver. But these rules have changed over the years and it is unclear which protocols this unit was following  or even when the shooting took place.

Convoy operations such as those shown in the video sometimes employ different tactics to make sure civilian vehicles stay out of the way of American vehicles. This footage, however, provides little contextual information about why the soldier fired into the truck.

In the 16 years that United States troops have been in Afghanistan, cars and trucks carrying bombs have often rammed American convoys. Driving Afghan roads is a fraught experience for American troops, with countermeasures and self-defense options that are all imperfect and depend on human judgment.

The military vehicle

Several features of the military vehicle suggest it is a variation of an RG33 MRAP Special Operations Vehicle, commonly used by U.S. forces in Afghanistan: the wheel mounted on the side of the vehicle, the winch above the wheel, the side-facing flood light to the rear, space for two upward hatches, the hitch to the front upper corner of the vehicle.

Is it Afghanistan?

The video was described on YouTube as Special Operations Forces in Afghanistan in the most recent combat footage to date against ISIS in 2017. The fight against the Islamic State in Afghanistan largely is taking place in Nangarhar Province, in the eastern part of the country.

And an American official familiar with the investigation into the video told The Times that the footage was likely filmed recently in eastern Afghanistan.

The video offers several clues about the location: snow, a distinctive building, a paved road and low walls. But so far, attempts to establish where it was filmed have been unsuccessful.

Additional reporting by Doris Burke, C.J. Chivers, Drew Jordan and John Ismay.

Produced by Gray Beltran
Property details:

This auction is for a 1.25 acre raw land parcel No. 338-10-289 located in the Hualapai Highlands area of Mohave County, Arizona. I have not seen or visited this land, so please read this description carefully and do your homework before buying. The photos shown are from the area, not from the land, which I have not seen. Mohave County is located in the Northwest corner of Arizona. It is about a 90 minute drive from Las Vegas. The County offers sight-seeing views of the Colorado River shoreline. ...

Price: $ 405 Seller State of Residence: New Jersey State/Province: Arizona City: near Kingman Zip/Postal Code: 86402 Type: Raw land Location: 089**, Highland Park, New Jersey

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Property details:

This auction is for a 1.25 acre raw land parcel No. 338-10-290 located in the Hualapai Highlands area of Mohave County, Arizona. I have not seen or visited this land, so please read this description carefully and do your homework before buying. The photos shown are from the area, not from the land, which I have not seen. An adjoining parcel is also up for auction, for No. 338-10-289. Buy both lots and you can have a nice 2.5 acre parcel to build on. Mohave County is located in the Northwest corn...

Price: $ 525 Seller State of Residence: New Jersey State/Province: Arizona City: near Kingman Zip/Postal Code: 86402 Type: Raw land Location: 089**, Highland Park, New Jersey

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There are several photos. Please allow them a moment to load, then scroll down. All photos were taken on the claims. Two 20-acre placer claims in the legendary Boise Basin. The North Fork of Rabbit Creek is like a secret fishing hole for gold... The area appears unremarkable on maps and often gets overlooked. While many prospectors focus on the main fork of Rabbit Creek, those in 'the know' head to the North Fork. Massive tailing piles on the claims from 1920's hydro mining. The gold occurs in a...

Price: $ 1,750 Seller State of Residence: Idaho Location: 837**, Boise, Idaho

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By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 04/06/2018



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Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade.

Anthony Williams was crowned the winner of All Stars' sixth season during Thursday night's finale on Lifetime.Anthony, a Birmingham, AL native who currently resides in Atlanta, GA, defeated fellow designers Stanley Hudson and Fabio Costa for the win.Anthony, known for his glamorous designs and charming personality, made the biggest impression on All Stars judges Alyssa Milano , Isaac Mizrahi and Georgina Chapman , as well as guest judges Catherine Zeta-Jones and Zac Posen during the finale.For winning the latest season of All Stars, Anthony will receive $100,000; a fashion spread in Marie Claire magazine and a position as contributing editor for one year; a complete sewing studio; a trip to London, England; and skincare, makeup, accessories and styling services to enhance his next collection.Before competing on Season 6 of All Stars, Anthony found fame when he chose to appear on Season 7 of . After finishing in fifth place that season, he returned for Season 1 of All Stars and placed ninth.The third time was clearly the charm for Anthony, who participated in his first finale of the franchise -- and created his first full collection -- for Season 6, which he remarkably ended up winning.Anthony believes his greatest strengths as a designer are his precision and flawless execution, and he told Lifetime before competing on this season, "My aesthetic has changed since I made a choice to get from behind the sewing machine and take my inspiration in from the world around me."In the finale, Anthony, Stanley and Fabio only had five days to create and execute a seven-piece collection designed to make their own mark in American fashion history.The designers were instructed to utilize their own signature technique and channel a visit to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. into their creative designs.Anthony's winning collection was a blend of dramatic and classic pieces, both glamorous yet edgy. Anthony said he came up with the idea for his collection by daydreaming about what would happen if " Audrey Hepburn lived long enough to become Rihanna."The contestants this season were guided and mentored by Marie Claire Editor-in-Chief Anne Fulenwider.
This was the companies highest loss in two years.

Two India-registered companies belonging to Rajiv Kochhar, brother of ICICI Bank managing director and chief executive Chanda Kochhar's husband, Deepak Kochhar, suffered combined losses of Rs 16.25 million in 2016-17, their highest in four years.

The Avista Advisory group, a Singapore-based company owned by Rajiv Kochhar, is said to have helped ICICI clients in restructuring their foreign loans.

On Thursday, the Central Bureau of Investigation stopped Rajiv Kochhar at the airport here and questioned him. He was let go on Thursday but again called for questioning on Friday.

Business Standard looked at the financial results for Avista Corporate Finance Advisory and Avista Advisory Associates, both India-registered companies belonging to Rajiv Kochhar. The former had losses in FY17 and FY15. Avista Advisory had losses in all four years, although the operations appeared limited. FY17 was the worst in losses for both in recent years.

Avista Advisory Associates had revenue from Rs 10,056 to Rs 265,751 between FY14 and FY16. It had zero revenue in FY17. This led to a loss of Rs 82,084.

Avista Corporate Finance Advisory operated on a larger scale. It had revenue of Rs 122.2 million in FY17, higher than the Rs 101.2 mn in FY16. Those for FY15 and FY14 were Rs 144.2 mn and about Rs 78.5 mn, respectively. The company also recorded its biggest loss in FY17, of Rs 16.17 mn, compared to a profit of Rs 1.3 mn the previous year. Its provision for doubtful debts shows an increase every year, from Rs 1.3 mn in FY14 to Rs 89.4 mn in FY17.

The company did not respond to a request for comment on this report.

Rajiv Kochhar is being questioned by CBI in relation to alleged impropriety in a loan ICICI gave to consumer durables firm Videocon. It is being investigated if the loan was granted to Videocon in lieu of the firm's investments in Deepak Kochhar's personal company, Nupower.

Nupower, the ICICI Bank board of directors and Videocon have denied any wrongdoing.

The Kochhar brothers are known in Mumbai's financial circles for setting up Credential Finance in the 1990s. The company folded up in the early 2000s and the brothers parted ways. Rajiv Kochhar, who is the son-in-law of Sharad Upasani, former chief secretary of Maharashtra, later went to Singapore to set up the Avista Advisory group.

Over the past six years, Avista won amandate to restructure foreign currency-denominated debt deals worth a little over $1.7 billion of seven companies. All these companies were borrowers of ICICI Bank. In at least one of these deals, ICICI was the lead bank of the lenders, the Indian Express reported on Tuesday.

On Monday, Subramanian Swamy, a member of Parliament from the Bharatiya Janata Party, had tweeted that the CBI should probe whether Avista Advisory received five per cent on every big loan for certification. Avista, according to an industry source, had expertise in restructuring foreign currency loans in association with Houlihan Lokey, a US-based entity.

Rajiv Kochhar had denied any conflict of interest in business dealings with ICICI Bank, in earlier interviews to the media.

"There is no conflict. The entire process of selection of 'debtor advisor' was competitive. We were chosen as a 'debtor advisor' in the restructuring of the FCCBs (foreign currency convertible bonds) of Jaiprakash Associates, Jaiprakash Power Ventures and GTL Infrastructure. In these restructuring transactions, the 'debtor' of the FCCBs were the respective companies and the 'creditor' were the respective foreign currency convertible bondholders who are the 'foreign investors' in these FCCBs.

"Avista advised the companies in the negotiation with these foreign investors in order to restructure the FCCBs. Since the FCCB restructuring transaction did not involve any negotiations between the companies and domestic lenders, there is no conflict of interest of whatsoever nature," he had said.

According to Avista's website, the company has a strong stressed asset restructuring advisory practice and a successful NPL (non-performing loan) resolution platform in Southeast Asia and India. And, access to a wide spectrum of pools of institutional and private capital. The company was also in the process of setting up a stressed asset and special situation (SASS) investment management and investment advisory platform.
Experts say the new guideline is likely to hurt foreign players more, especially card companies such as Visa, MasterCard and American Express who process and store credit card transaction data outside of India.

The Reserve Bank of Indias directive to compel the storing of users financial transactions data within this countrys geographic boundaries has put payment companies in a quandary.

There is ambiguity on who would come under the regulations and what types of data need to be so stored in the country.

That aside, experts say, it would seem the new guideline is likely to hurt foreign players more, especially card companies such as Visa, MasterCard and American Express. These process and store credit card transaction data outside of India.

It is also expected to affect payment gateways such as MIGS and CyberSource, which work for MasterCard and Visa, respectively.

Experts also say companies using Unified Payments Interface for cash transfer or payment are also expected to take a hit to some extent. For, they have access to customer data such as who is sending the money, since people using the service share their WhatsApp numbers or Gmail. However, they dont have access to the transaction data.

Most global companies which have launched payment services here -- such as WhatsApp (WhatsApp Pay), Google (Google Tez), Amazon (Amazon Pay) or Microsoft (Microsoft Pay) -- keep their users data outside the country; payments data always stays in the country.

Most of these companies that Business Standard spoke to said they were trying to gauge the extent of the impact before figuring their next step.

We are studying the RBI policy, said an Amazon India spokesperson.

A Google India spokesperson said: We will review the detailed instructions from RBI when it is circulated. We have nothing further to share at this stage.

Google recently started Tez, its payments service in India; it would have to shift all its data operations into the country in six months if these are not already operating from India. WhatsApp Pay, run by Facebooks chat app, would have to do the same.

We are yet to fully understand the implications of these restrictions on platforms like Google Tez and WhatsApp but a very liberal interpretation of the Act is that only operators will have to follow these guidelines, not the aggregators. Google Tez and WhatsApp are aggregators; they are not acting as operators, said A P Hota, former managing director of National Payments Corporation of India, which had designed the UPI platform.

He said Indian players such as Paytm were keeping their data within the country. It is only the card entities -- such as Visa, MasterCard and American Express -- which process and store the transactions outside the country and are expected to take a hit.

In fact, this regulation affects these three the most, said Hota, who was in charge of payment and settlement systems at RBI before taking up the NPCI role in 2009.

As per our initial research and understanding, there is slight ambiguity on a few aspects of this directive, though we feel this directive will impact foreign companies more than home-grown ones, said Sampad Swain, chief executive officer and co-founder of Instamojo, one of the countrys leading digital payment solution companies.

We would like to understand the type of data that is the bone of contention here -- whether the data mentioned is of user engagement or transactional. Also, it will be interesting to know how RBI would track the changes implemented by companies. Will they appoint a separate wing to keep a tab on the developments and check on adherence to the directive? Last, it is vital to understand who would fall under this regulation, considering there are various stakeholders in the payments system, from card schemes to processors to aggregators.

Visa, MasterCard and American Express could not be reached for comment. Bankers and executives with payment companies say the impact would be for credit card transactions, as the processing part is done abroad, unlike debit card transactions.

So, the payment of fees for processing (credit card transactions) is in foreign exchange. When the processing activity moves on-shore (in India), the cost of doing work is expected to come down. Also, fees charged for processing would decline, which will benefit the banks.

A chunk of Indias financial technology entities and banks have stored all their customer data in India but many also use foreign servers, for operations, providing of services and for data analytics. If RBI completely stops data travel for all purposes to destinations out of the country, these companies might not be able to offer the host of services they presently do.

From the beginning of the company, we have partnered closely with all major banks -- HDFC, SBI, Citibank and others. As a result, from early on, we adhered to local data hosting requirements and end-to-end security, in which all Indian data stayed in India, said Abhijit Bose, co-founder & CEO at Ezetap, a digital payment platform for merchants.

Added Harshil Mathur, CEO & co-Founder of RazorPay: We migrated all our data centres to India about one and a half years ago. Thats because we were working with a lot of banks and many had this requirement, that the data be hosted in India.

Razorpay works with Amazon Web Services and uses their Mumbai data centre for all its operations and storage.

According to Naveen Surya, chairman, Payments Council of India, it is not that fintech entities do not store their customers data in India. The issue is when peak loads come, transactions happen and certain services are being done on that data, that might be done out of India.

Some part of the service or data for analytics purposes is always travelling, he concludes.
Strengthening of rules governing insider trading is among the key proposals in the agenda set by Sebi for 2018-19, along with making improvement to the Prohibition of Insider Trading Regulations (PIT) and Prohibition of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices regulations.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India is set to intensify its drive against individuals who misuse unpublished price-sensitive information (UPSI) to make illicit gains from the stock market.

Trading based on UPSI is among the most serious offences in the stock market.

Sebi has stepped up on improving its surveillance mechanism after prescient messages, related to the financial results of several blue-chip companies, including Axis Bank, HDFC Bank and Tata Motors, were being circulated on WhatsApp.

The regulator is working on a framework to tackle this menace.

It is proposed to introduce measures to address the issue of major announcements by listed companies so as to reduce the element of uncertainty in the market and to dis-incentivise misuse of UPSI by insiders, said Sebi in a memorandum to its board on policy proposals for 2018-19. The board note was reviewed by Business Standard.

Strengthening of rules governing insider trading is among the key proposals in the agenda set by Sebi for 2018-19, along with making improvement to the Prohibition of Insider Trading Regulations (PIT) and Prohibition of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices regulations.

According to sources, Sebi is planning to use analytical and statistical tools, such as artificial intelligence, to establish the link between those passing sensitive information and the ones trading based on it.

Sebi is considering making changes in the legal framework to mandate market intermediaries, such as stock exchanges and brokers, to carry out necessary surveillance of client trading activity.

Sources said that brokers could also be asked to ascertain the exposure of big clients prior to and after big corporate announcements.

The market regulator is working on formalising information sharing with other enforcement agencies armed with advanced technologies.

Early this year, Sebi had constituted a committee to suggest measures to improve surveillance and help prevent insider trading activities.

The committee, led by former law secretary T K Vishwanathan, is working on important aspects, particularly the trading plan, handling of UPSI during takeovers and alignment of insider trading rules with the Companies Act provisions.

The committee has suggested some short- and medium-term measures for improved surveillance of the market, as well as issues of high frequency trades, harnessing of technology and use of analytics in surveillance.

Sources said that the committee is in the advance stages of finalising the recommendations and a report would be soon be submitted to the Sebi board.

Expert said innovative practices were essential as the violators were often intelligent to not leave any trace on formal channels. Although the regulator is aware of several such manipulations, establishing a connection with some insiders becomes a challenge.

There will always be times when a handful of people have superior information as the said information needs to be processed before it can be released in the public domain.

Financial numbers must be compiled, checked and audited before they can be disclosed, said Sandeep Parekh, founder, Finsec Law Advisors.

The regulator is also building techniques to scan social media platforms and nab those benefitting from the stock market by trading based on insider tip-offs.

The issue of the handling of UPSI has gained prominence after an investigative story by Reuters in November 2017 revealed prescient messages being posted in private chat groups.

Sebi has conducted massive search and seizure operations on persons directly or indirectly connected to these companies whose earnings were leaked.

Besides, it had also put out advisory and asked companies involved to conduct an internal enquiry against people in possession of the information.

Photograph: Dado Ruvic/Reuters.
All the fixes require either the enactment of a data-protection law, or the amendment of our existing competition law.

This can take many years. However, there is an opportunity for the government to act immediately if it wishes to, says Sunil Abraham.

IMAGE: Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad addressing the press conference in which he accused Congress president Rahul Gandhi of hiring services of Cambridge Analytica. Photograph: Vijay Verma/PTI Photo

Those who celebrate the big data and artificial intelligence moment claim that traditional approaches to data protection are no longer relevant and therefore must be abandoned. The Cambridge Analytica episode, if anything, demonstrates how wrong they are.

The principles of data protection need to be reinvented and weaponised, not discarded. In this article, I shall discuss the reinventing of three such data-protection principles. Apart from this I shall also briefly explore competition law solutions.

One, data minimisation is the principle that requires the data controller to collect data only if mandated to do so by regulation or because it is a prerequisite for providing a functionality.

For example, Facebooks Messenger app on Android harvests call records and meta-data, without any consumer-facing feature on the app that justifies such collection.

Therefore, this is a clear violation of the data minimisation principle. One of the ways to reinvent this principle is by borrowing from the best practices around warnings and labels on packaging introduced by the global anti-tobacco campaign.

A permanent bar could be required in all apps, stating 'Facebook holds W number of records across X databases over the time period Y, which totals Z GB'. Each of these alphabets could be a hyperlink, allowing the user to easily drill down to the individual data record.

Two, the principle of consent requires that the data controller secure explicit, informed and voluntary consent from the data subject unless there are exceptional circumstances.

Unfortunately, consent has been reduced to a mockery today through obfuscation by lawyers in verbose 'privacy notices' and 'terms of services'. To reinvent consent we need to bring 'Do Not Dial' registries into the era of big data.

A website maintained by a future Indian data protection regulator could allow individuals to check against their unique identifiers (email, phone number, Aadhaar). The website would provide a list of all data controllers that are holding personal information against a particular unique identifier.

The data subject should then be able to revoke consent with one-click. Once consent is revoked, the data controller would have to delete all personal information that they hold, unless retention of such information is required under law (for example, in banking law). One-click revocation of consent will make data controllers such as Facebook treat data subjects with greater respect.

Three, the right to explanation, most commonly associated with the General Data Protection Directive from the European Union, is a principle that requires the data controller to make transparent the automated decision-making process when personal information is implicated.

So far it has been seen as a reactive measure for user empowerment. In other words, the explanation is provided only when there is a demand for it. The Facebook feeds that were used for manipulation through micro-targeting of content are an example of such automated decision making.

Regulation in India should require a user empowerment panel accessible through a prominent icon that appears repeatedly in the feed.

On clicking the icon, the user will be able to modify the objectives that the algorithm is maximising for. She can then choose to see content that targets a bisexual rather than a heterosexual, a Muslim rather than a Hindu, a conservative rather a liberal, etc.

At the moment, Facebook only allows the user to stop being targeted for advertisements based on certain categories. However, to be less susceptible to psychological manipulation, the user should be allowed to define these categories, for both content and advertisements.

From a competition perspective, Google and Facebook have destroyed the business model for real news, and replaced it with a business model for fake news, by monopolising digital advertising revenues. Their algorithms are designed to maximise the amount of time that users spend on their platforms, and therefore, don't have any incentive to distinguish between truth and falsehood.

This contemporary crisis requires three types of interventions: One, appropriate taxation and transparency to the public, so that the revenue streams for fake news factories can be ended; two, the construction of a common infrastructure that can be shared by all traditional and new media companies in order to recapture digital advertising revenues; and three, immediate action by the competition regulator to protect competition between advertising networks operating in India.

With Google, the situation is even worse, since it has dominance in both the ad network market and in the operating system market.

During the birth of competition law, policymakers and decision makers acted to protect competition per se. This is because they saw competition as an essential component of democracy, open society, innovation, and a functioning market.

When the economists from the Chicago School began to influence competition policy in the United States, they advocated for a singular focus on the maximisation of consumer interest.

The adoption of this ideology has resulted in competition regulators standing powerlessly by while internet giants wreck our economy and polity. We need to return to the foundational principles of competition law, which might even mean breaking Google into two companies.

The operating system should be divorced from other services and products to prevent them from taking advantage of vertical integration. We as a nation need to start discussing the possible end stages of such a break-up.

In conclusion, all the fixes that have been listed above require either the enactment of a data-protection law, or the amendment of our existing competition law.

This, as we all know, can take many years. However, there is an opportunity for the government to act immediately if it wishes to. By utilising procurement power, the central and state governments of India could support free and open source software alternatives to Googles products especially in the education sector.

The government could also stop using Facebook, Google and Twitter for e-governance, and thereby stop providing free advertising for these companies for print and broadcast media.

This will make it easier for emerging firms to dislodge hegemonic incumbents.

Sunil Abraham is executive director, Centre for Internet and Society. The centre is a recipient of grants from Facebook and Google.
Madhya Pradesh police said violence in Bhind and Morena districts was 'sponsored'.

IMAGE: IMAGE: Violent protests in Muzzaffarnagar during Bharat bandh on April 2. Photograph: PTI Photo

A Bahujan Samaj Party district president and a Bharatiya Janata Party leader have been arrested from Muzaffaranagar and Bhopal respectively on charges of inciting violence during the during Bharat bandh called by various Dalit organisations last week against the alleged dilution of SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act by the Supreme Court.

BSP district chief of Muzaffarnagar Kamal Gautam was arrested and the Uttar Pradesh police registered more than a dozen cases against him.

Gautam, who was arrested on Friday night, was later sent to judicial custody till April 20 by the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate.

He was arrested for allegedly inciting a mob of protesters who turned violent and damaged properties. He was also accused of violating the Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

Senior Superintendent of Police Anant Dev said, "As per proof, he provided liquor to party workers and thousands of them, in an inebriated condition, were incited to forcefully shut shops, create a ruckus."

Two people had died in Uttar Pradesh in the violence during the bandh on April 2.

In Bhopal, BJP leader Gajraj Jatav was on Saturday arrested for inciting violence during the April 2 protests and strike, which left eight persons dead in Madhya Pradesh.

The leader, who had Rs 10,000 reward on his head, was arrested from Hanumanganj area of Bhopal after he spread violence during the strike.

Jatav was wanted and an award was announced after his involvement in the violence in Bhind district came to light.

The Supreme Court in a slew of guidelines also directed that a government official or an individual cannot be prosecuted on a mere allegation of committing an offence under the Act, without the sanction of the appointing authority.

The court ruled that preliminary enquiry in a case under the Act would be done by deputy superintendent of police to ensure the allegations are not frivolous, and to avoid the false implication of an innocent.

The ruling led to a nationwide strike and protests across the country, with people coming out on streets and damaging as well as burning public properties, spreading violence.

Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh IG (Law and Order) Makrand Deuskar said that violence during the bandh in Bhind and Morena districts was 'funded'. "Several organisations and people had been given money to incite violence. Police is investigating this," he said.
The Class 12 economics paper of Central Board of Secondary Education was leaked on March 23 -- three days before the exam date -- in Himachal Pradesh's Una town and it was shared on at least 40 WhatsApp groups, Delhi Police said on Saturday after the arrest of three people in this connection.

The three -- Rakesh Kumar, Amit Sharma and Ashok Kumar -- all from DAV Centenary Public School in Una, were arrested by the crime branch after lengthy investigation and questioning, R P Upadhayay, special commissioner (crime) of police, said.

Rakesh Kumar had been teaching at the DAV school as a PGT economics teacher for eight years.

He was the centre superintendent of Jawahar Navodaya Public School in Una, where the CBSE exams were being held.

Amit Sharma and Ashok Kumar worked at the DAV school as clerk and peon respectively.

On March 23, three days before the economics paper exam, Rakesh Kumar collected bundles of computer science paper, the exam for which was due that day, from the strong room of Union Bank in Una.

He also picked up a bundle of economics paper, Upadhayay said.

"While he took computer science paper bundle to Jawahar Navodaya, he handed over the economics paper bundle to his colleagues -- Amit and Ashok," the officer said.

The duo took out a copy of the economics paper and sent it to Rakesh Kumar via WhatsApp messaging application.

Rakesh Kumar then got it hand written by a student whom he tutored.

"The hand-written copy was sent by Rakesh to his relative in Chandigarh, whose son was appearing for Class 12 exam. That way, the hand-written copy got leaked on WhatsApp groups," he said.

Later the three accused deleted the WhatsApp messages and destroyed the hand-written copy to hide digital footprints.

"Investigation so far has revealed that the hand-written copy was available on 40 WhatsApp groups. At least 30-40 students got it but a lot of trail is yet to be covered," said Upadhayay.

"The motive for paper leakage so far has emerged that Rakesh wanted to help his student who was weak in economics. He also helped his relative. No money angle has come up so far, but investigation is on to determine if the accused leaked any other papers," the officer added.

The leak was exposed after an envelop containing four images of the hand-written economics paper was delivered to CBSE Headquarters in Delhi on the evening of the scheduled date of the exam on March 26.

On March 30, CBSE announced it would re-conduct the Class 12 economics exam throughout the country on April 25.

The police has registered two cases in connection with the matter. The first case relating to the leak of economics paper was filed on March 27, while the other pertaining to the leak of mathematics paper was lodged on March 28.
The two PMs agreed to construct a new electrified rail line, with India's financial support, connecting Raxaul in India to Kathmandu.



IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi with his Nepalese counterpart Khadga Prasad Oli during the inauguration of India-Nepal petroleum products pipeline and the Integrated Check Post (ICP), at Hyderabad House, in New Delhi on Saturday. Photograph: Shahbaz Khan/ PTI Photo

Seeking to reset ties, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepalese counterpart K P Sharma Oli on Saturday held wide-ranging talks and vowed to step up overall engagement and take the relationship to newer heights on the basis of 'equality, mutual trust and respect'.

After the delegation-level talks, Modi said India will always stand by Nepal in its quest for all-round growth, asserting that deeper cooperation between the two neighbours will strengthen democracy in Nepal.

In his press statement, Oli, who is seen as favouring a closer relationship with China, said his government wants to build a strong edifice of 'trust-based' relationship between the two nations.

"Relations between neighbours are different from those of others. Neighbourhood realities make peaceful coexistence, based on the principles of equality, justice, mutual respect and benefits a necessity for shared destiny," Oli said in the statement in presence of Modi.

Both the prime ministers called the talks 'very satisfactory', Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale told reporters, adding the focus of the deliberations were on boosting cooperation in sectors like defence and security, agriculture, trade besides enhance connectivity through railway network and water ways.

"I have come to India this time with a mission to explore ways and means to enhance our relations to newer heights, commensurate with the realities of the 21st century. We want to erect a strong edifice of trust-based relations between the two close neighbours that we are. We want to create a model relationship," Oli said.

According to a joint statement, the two prime ministers resolved to work together to take bilateral relations to newer heights on the basis of 'equality, mutual trust, respect and benefit'.

There were indications that India was losing its leverage in Nepal and it became more apparent after the victory of the left alliance in the general elections following which Oli was sworn in as the prime minister.

In 2016, Oli had publicly criticised New Delhi for interfering in Nepal's internal matters and accused it of toppling his government.

"Being close neighbours, our destiny is intertwined. Prosperity is our common goal," said Oli.

Gokhale said Modi conveyed to Oli that India will remain a reliable partner of Nepal and it is committed to deepen its ties with Kathmandu.

According to the joint statement, the prime ministers of India and Nepal agreed to construct a new electrified rail line, with India's financial support, connecting Raxaul in India to Kathmandu.

Both sides also decided to develop the inland waterways for the movement of cargo, within the framework of trade and transit arrangements, providing additional access to sea for Nepal.

Interestingly, no bilateral agreements were signed after the talks between the two sides.

The Nepalese prime minister said he also shared with Modi Nepal's concerns about alarming scale of trade deficit and stressed on the need of implementing measures to expand Nepal's export.

Assuring all possible support to Nepal, Modi said the Nepalese prime minister's vision for a 'prosperous Nepal and developed Nepal' was in sync with his vision of 'sabka sath sabka vikas' (together with all, development for all).

The two sides released separate joint statements agriculture, railway linkages and connectivity through inland waterways.

Recalling his meeting with Modi two years ago, Oli said since then, Nepal has achieved comprehensive transformation in many ways.

"Having reached a stage of political stability following the recent elections, Nepal has now embarked on the joinery of social-economic development with the motto 'prosperous Nepal: happy Nepalis'," he said.

Modi also hailed successful conduct of national and provincial polls in Nepal and complimented its people for reposing their faith in the democracy.

The prime minister said India will continue to support Nepal as per that country's priorities, adding both sides have agreed to expedite all connectivity projects.

The prime minister said both sides will enhance defence and security ties. "We have strong relations when it comes to the aspect of security. We will work together to stop misuse of our open border," Modi said.

Oli also invited Modi to visit Nepal.

"I invited PM Modi to pay a visit to Nepal at the earliest convenient time, I am hopeful that the visit will take place soon," he said.

Gokhale said Modi is expected to visit Kathmandu this year.

Modi said there has been a long history of India's contribution towards Nepal's development and that he has assured Oli that it will continue.

The Nepalese prime minister said his country needs support from its friends adding 'relations among neighbours is different from other relations. This is based on mutual respect'.

The two prime ministers inaugurated the integrated check post at Birgunj in Nepal through remote control from here which is expected to enhance cross-border trade.

The two prime ministers also witnessed the ground breaking ceremony of the Motihari-Amlekhgunj cross-border petroleum products pipeline at Motihari.

The two prime ministers underlined the need for expeditious implementation of bilateral projects in Nepal, and to reinvigorate the existing bilateral mechanisms to promote cooperative agenda across diverse spheres.

Oli said he has also conveyed to Modi Nepal's desire to see an early realisation of the open market provision of the bilateral power trade agreement, which was concluded between the two sides in 2014.
Noise levels began to climb and everyone else in the room stared agape as the fracas escalated, including the trio of accused at the back.

Peter, Sanjeev and Indrani stood at the edge of their enclosure craning to see the spectacle.

Vaihayasi Pande Daniel reports from the Sheena Bora murder trial.

Illustrations: Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com

If you climb up to the third floor of the five-storey annexe of the Mumbai city civil and sessions court in south Mumbai, where the Sheena Bora murder trial is being held, for say the first time, you should be forgiven for wondering where you have come.

You will feel nothing short of bewilderment as you ascend this building, staircase by staircase.

At each floor dirty dustbins, soiled dishes, masses of trash, empty soft drink and mineral bottles, rusted grilling, dust and cement greet you.

Throngs of people crowd the area near the landings -- many of them sitting on the steps for lack of seating.

When you reach Courtroom 51 on the third floor, and your destination, an enormous pile of rubble welcomes you.

It consists of discarded paper, dusty piles of cement bags, large plastic jerry cans, cement trays and empty sacks.

A giant drum, partially filled with water, sits squat in the middle of this tiny space where the accused and their relatives gather.

True, the building has -- for far too many months -- been under renovation.

But any newcomer will only react with shock when he contemplates this important court of India's most advanced city.

If the court looks like this, you ponder at what the city's jails could be like. Or Mumbai's police station lock-ups.

The April 6 hearing in the Sheena Bora murder trial saw senior advocate Shrikant Shivade, who represents Peter Mukerjea, finish cross-examining the prosecution's first witness (PW1).

Since this complicated case began in February 2017, just two witnesses have been processed, before two successive judges, in the intervening 14 months.

Two witnesses in 400 days.

Shivade, 60, looking fresh and energetic -- even after an exhausting few days spent representing Bollywood stars Saif Ali Khan, Tabu, Sonali Bendre and Neelam (he was Salman Khan's lawyer in the arms case there in which he was acquitted) in Jodhpur -- briskly got down to questioning Mumbai police Sub-Inspector Ganesh Dalvi before CBI Special Judge Jayendra Chandrasen Jagdale.

He spent just 30 minutes or less peppering the policeman, who had once been attached to the Khar police station, north west Mumbai, with a systematic set of questions and concluded his examination.

Shivade, a stylish lawyer, is all about economy of time.

When you glance into his bespectacled, calm, face, you feel he already has a strategy locked in place and wonder if all his questions are neatly lined up in his brain, on an assembly line, ready to roll off, when he switches on the power button.

Any appearance by this tall, quiet-spoken, but accessible advocate in court attracts attention.

By the time Shivade got up to begin, pulling the little lawyer's writing desk in front of him, the room was packed with way more than its usual representation from the legal fraternity.

Young, budding lawyers always come along to Courtroom 51 to have a peek at the lawyer's courtroom method.

Usually by the end of a hearing in which Shivade has participated, the room no longer has enough chairs -- there are anyway way more locked steel trunks holding legal papers than seating -- for the lawyers. They then gather at the back or in the doorway watching keenly.

The advocate spent the first 15 minutes on Friday discovering Dalvi's familiarity with the Lonavla and Pen localities.

He wanted to know if the sub-inspector, who was part of the group of cops who arrested Shyamvar Pinturam Rai on August 21, 2015, for possession of an illegal weapon, had been to Pen, in Raigad district, or its police station before.

Pen was where Sheena Bora's remains were found.

Dalvi had not.

Shivade then checked the witness's knowledge of the roads to Lonavla (the hill station in the Western ghats) and Pune.

This is an important question for Shivade.

Allegations have been floating around that Peter had also conducted a recce of the Pen area some months before the alleged murder when he had visited Lavasa, near Lonvala.

Shivade: "Have you visited Lonavla before?"

Dalvi: "I have visited Lonavla before on the (Mumbai-Pune) expressway prior to this investigation."

Shivade: "Do you know how to get to Lonavla on the old Mumbai-Pune highway?"

Dalvi: "I have no idea."

Shivade -- in a bid to either methodically record the distances involved in this case or, more likely -- test Dalvi's knowledge of travelling to Pen, asked him a selection of questions about the are around Pen.

He wanted to know the distance between the Khalapur toll naka (on the Mumbai-Pune expressway), and Gagode-Khurd, the village near where Indrani Mukerjea, her former husband Sanjeev Khanna and Rai allegedly dumped Sheena's body and burnt it.

One way of reaching Pen is to take the Mumbai-Pune expressway and then turn off right for Pen at this toll booth.

Dalvi, cool and unflustered on Friday, rattled off durations and distances pit-pat, like a student acing his exam.

He heard each question carefully and then answered with confidence.

Exam Q 1: Time taken to travel from the start of the Mumbai-Pune expressway to the Khalapur toll naka?

Dalvi: "It takes half an hour."

Exam Q 2: Time taken to travel from the Khalapur toll naka to Gagode-Khurd village?

Dalvi: "Half an hour."

Exam Q 3: Distance from the Khalapur toll nakab to Gagode-Khurd village?

Dalvi: "8 to 10 km."

Exam Q 4: Time taken to travel from Gagode-Khurd village to Pen town?

Dalvi: "I cannot say."

Exam Q 5: Distance between Gagode-Khurd village and the Pen police station

Dalvi: "Six to 7 km."

Exam results: 4/5

'Professor' Shivade then asked that the geography books be put away and had the ethics books pulled out for a moral science class.

Shivade, sternly, perhaps with the aim of stirring the policeman's conscience, enquired: "Dalvi Sahib, do you operate on the basis of the rules or do things as per your marzi (wish)?"

Dalvi said he went by the rules.

Shivade: "Do you follow the rules prescribed in the police manual?"

Dalvi, quietly: "Yes."

Shivade: "And the standing orders for the Mumbai police?"

Dalvi: "I cannot recollect."

Shivade -- perhaps because, as he has often told journalists outside Courtroom 51, is the son of an honest Mumbai police officer who died early and somewhat impoverished -- often focuses on police procedure.

In this murder case he has often drawn attention to the importance of the station diaries in documenting evidence.

He tried to have the Khar police station diary brought to court, but his request was denied.

His next 10 questions to Dalvi were about these diaries.

He asked if the sub-inspector either maintained a personal diary or a weekly diary as prescribed by the rules.

Dalvi said he maintained neither, but agreed that every police officer is required to maintain such diaries.

Shivade chewed away at this point, rephrasing the question in many ways.

"Doesn't a police officer have to make entries through the whole week in the weekly diary?"

"Did you not keep a copy of such a diary?"

"Did you not maintain a personal and a weekly diary?"

"Did you obtain permission from a senior officer to not maintain a personal diary or weekly diary?"

"Weren't diaries instituted as a means for seniors to supervise day to day work?"

Dalvi responded to each question in the negative, except the last.

As Shivade persisted, Judge Jagdale began to laugh.

He said, beaming at Shivade, that it was quite apparent that Dalvi had not maintained either types of diaries, so what was the point of still putting more questions to him on the same subject.

Courtroom 51 seems a much sunnier court, compared to the more stiff courtrooms adjacent, downstairs or upstairs because of Judge Jagdale's sense of humour.

On any day, the jovial judge, who can be uncompromisingly firm when he sees the need, breaks the monotony of proceedings with a grin, a joke or a quip of some sort.

Instead of ordering something more harshly of a lawyer, a witness or an accused, Judge Jagdale prefers to soften what he is asking or requesting with a smile.

In response to the judge's intervention, Shivade, who looks to be a fan of order and tidy procedure, requested that he be allowed to wind up this line of questioning with some logical last few questions.

The judge assented.

Shivade in the same Police Diaries vein asked:

"Have any of your seniors asked you if you have maintained a diary?"

"Is there any reason why you have not maintained these diaries?"

"Were you not aware that such a diary had to be maintained?"

Dalvi accordingly offered in return either "Aathvath nahins (I cannot remember)" or agreed.

While delving into current Mumbai police diary procedure, or, at least, Khar police station diary procedure, Shivade asked for more details about how station diaries worked.

He wanted to know that when the police went patrolling to different areas, as per their duty, didn't they sign or make a notation in the station diary for each beat/area covered daily.

He also wanted to know if diaries were maintained at certain fixed posts in a police station jurisdiction.

Dalvi said he could not reccall if he or anyone from his police patrol parties made entries in the station diary or put down their signatures or dates on their routes while patrolling.

Shivade: "Why not?"

Dalvi said he didn't have a reason.

Shivade remarked wryly: "All these witnesses have some selective loss of memory!"

In closing, Shivade rolled out his series of accusations against Dalvi:

"You were in touch with Shyamvar Rai (once the Mukerjeas's trusted driver, but now a sarkari approver in the case) prior to his arrest. You have specially prepared this 'story' with Shyamvar Rai."

"You and (Dinesh) Kadam (the police officer at the Khar police station in charge of the Sheena Bora murder investigation) were both in touch with Rai before his arrest..."

"You have checked (and tampered with) Rai's mobile phone to verify his previous callers (before his arrest)..."

"Did you not feel the necessity to know whom Rai was in touch with (earlier)?"

Dalvi, a tad lamely: "Kadam Sahib was handling that."

With that the lawyer's querying finished and Shivade was done.

So was Dalvi.

Cross-examination of PW1 had finally come to an end.

Likely relieved and anxious to be out the court, where he had spent altogether too many days, the sub-inspector swiftly retrieved his hat, parked it on his head, smartly saluted Judge Jagdale and departed from Courtroom 51 before the judge probably had even completed his dictation of Dalvi's last answer.

Momentarily there was an almost celebratory sense of relief in the room that two witnesses had finished their stints in the witness box.

Then began a noisy quarrel, refereed by an unruffled Judge Jagdale, between the defence and prosecution lawyers.

Noise levels began to climb and everyone else in the room stared agape as the fracas escalated, including the trio of accused at the back.

Peter (in white and khakis), Sanjeev, wearing a yellow shirt and khakis, and Indrani, who looked very business-like Friday in a crisp white shirt, beige trousers and black shoes, stood at the edge of their enclosure craning to see the spectacle.

A few additional bystanders arrived to see the skirmish too.

The reason for the quarrel?

The identity of the next witness.

More crucially, when would the defence get to know who Witness No 3 was and be given time to prepare?

Special Public Prosecutor Bharat Badami began to trade charges with Indrani's lawyer Gunjan Mangla and Shivade.

The discussion began amicably enough with jokes on whether it would be a big fish or a small one.

Judge Jagdale piped in with a grin: "Will it be a mota witness or a chota witness? Or maybe it will be a small man but a big witness!"

Badami, scratching his head, looked troubled. He said he needed time to figure out who it should be.

The judge was troubled with Badami's statement.

Judge Jagdale, seriously: "You should have been aware of whom your witness was going to be."

Badami assured him: "I am very alert."

Judge Jagdale, vigilant of unnecessary delays, ordered: "On April 11 you should bring your next witness."

He announced that the next hearing would be on April 11 at 12.30 pm.

Shivade muttered mysteriously: "Many witnesses have been manufactured.

That remark inflamed Badami: "Manufactured means what?! That remark should not come from a responsible person like you."

Judge Jagdale, ignoring the Shivade-Badami exchange, said: "There must be some basis (on which the next witness is called)."

Gunjan: "At least let us know who the next witness is beforehand."

Badami took off. He said the names would reach the media, suggesting the defence might leak it: "There will be media analysis. Everyone will give XYZ opinion!"

Niranjan Mundargi, Sanjeev's trial lawyer: "Inform only the lawyers."

Gunjan: "The higher court has said that the media is the watchdog of society."

Shivade: "Have an in-camera hearing if you fear the media."

That did not suit Badami who was still not giving any indication when he would disclose the name of the next witness.

Shivade got angry and raised his voice: "Let him cite any trial in history where the identity of the witness has not been disclosed to the defence in advance."

Badami then accused the defence of influencing the witness.

Judge Jagdale interjected, both amused and bemused: "But there have been only two witnesses? One of them is in jail."

The tension slowly climbed down.

Badami assured the defence that he would not disclose the witness on the same day: "Let me think. Let me give my mind to it. I will give the name. I will give in advance. You are not the only ones seeking justice. We are also seeking justice on behalf of Sheena."

Badami added: "We want a smooth trial."

Gunjan: "We also want a smooth trial."

Shivade said with ire that it was impossible to be prepared for 200 witnesses.

Judge Jagdale quipped: "198."

Shivade: "How much in advance?!"

Badami: "A trial is going on. We are accommodating. They are also accommodating."

It was decided that the defence would get at least a day's notice if not more.

Peace then returned to Courtroom 51.

Postscript: Indrani was looking quite well and fit when she departed from the court at about 4 pm on Friday, with Sanjeev and Peter, after spending 20 minutes consulting Gunjan.

A few hours later she was rushed from Byculla jail to the ICU at the Sir J J Hospital in delirious condition, according to the ANI news agency.

Dr Sanjay Surase, the hospital's medical superintendent. told The Times of India that Indrani was now stable, was being evaluated and had been moved to the Critical Care Unit.
Battle Summary Details Stats Colonists/Allies British/Allies Name: Battle of Nassau Begins (Naval Battle) Total Forces: 260 110 Date(s): 03/03/1776-03/04/1776 Killed:   Location: Nassau, Bahamas Wounded:   Duration (days): 2 Captured:   Victory: Colonial Total Ships: 6  Col./Ally Cmdr.: Esek Hopkins Ships Lost:   Brit./Ally Cmdr.: Montfort Browne Ships Captured:  

The Battle of Nassau (March 34, 1776) was a naval action and amphibious assault by American forces against the British port of Nassau, Bahamas, during the American Revolutionary War (also known as the American War of Independence). It is considered the first cruise and one of the first engagements of the newly established Continental Navy and the Continental Marines, the progenitors of the United States Navy and Marine Corps. The action was also the Marines first amphibious landing. It is sometimes known as the Raid of Nassau.

Departing from Cape Henlopen, Delaware, on February 17, 1776, the fleet arrived in the Bahamas on March 1, with the objective of seizing gunpowder and munitions that were known to be stored there. Two days later the marines went ashore and seized Fort Montagu at the eastern end of the Nassau harbor, but did not advance to the town, where the gunpowder was stored. That night, Nassaus governor had most of the gunpowder loaded aboard ships that then sailed for St. Augustine. On March 4, the colonial marines advanced and took control of the poorly defended town.

The colonial forces remained at Nassau for two weeks, and took away all the remaining gunpowder and munitions they could. The fleet returned to New London, Connecticut in early April, after capturing a few British supply ships, and notably failed to capture {HMS|Glasgow|1757|6} in an action on April 6.

==Background==

When the American Revolutionary War broke out in 1775, Lord Dunmore, the British provincial governor of the Colony of Virginia, with the British forces under his command, had removed Virginias store of provincial arms and gunpowder to the island of New Providence in the Crown Colony of the Bahamas, in order to keep it from falling into the hands of the rebel militia. Montfort Browne, the Bahamian governor, was alerted by General Thomas Gage in August 1775 that the rebel colonists might make attempts to seize these supplies.

The desperate shortage of gunpowder available to the Continental Army had led the Second Continental Congress to organize a naval expedition, one of whose goals was the seizure of the military supplies at Nassau. While the orders issued by the Congress to Esek Hopkins, the fleet captain selected to lead the expedition, included only instructions for patrolling and raiding British naval targets on the Virginia and Carolina coastline, additional instructions may have been given to Hopkins in secret meetings of the Congress Naval Committee. The instructions that Hopkins issued to his fleets captains before it sailed from Cape Henlopen, Delaware on February 17, 1776, included instructions to rendezvous at Great Abaco Island in the Bahamas.

The fleet that Hopkins launched consisted of Alfred, Hornet, Wasp, Fly, Andrew Doria, Cabot, Providence, and Columbus. In addition to ships crews, it carried 200 marines under the command of Samuel Nicholas. In spite of gale force winds, the fleet remained together for two days, when Fly and Hornet became separated from the fleet. Hornet was forced to return to port for repairs, and Fly eventually caught up with the fleet at Nassau, after the raid took place. Hopkins did not let the apparent loss of the two ships dissuade him; he had intelligence that much of the British fleet was in port due to the high winds.

==Prelude==

Governor Browne received further intelligence in late February that a rebel fleet was assembling off the Delaware coast, but apparently took no significant actions to prepare a defense. New Providences harbor had two primary defenses, Fort Nassau and Fort Montagu. Fort Nassau was located in Nassau, but was poorly sited to defend the port against amphibious attacks, and had walls that were not strong enough to support the action of its 46 cannon. As a result, Fort Montagu had been constructed in 1742 on the eastern end of the harbor, commanding its entrance. At the time of the raid, it was fortified with 17 cannons, although most of the gunpowder and ordnance was at Fort Nassau.

The fleet arrived at Abaco Island on March 1, 1776. The force captured two sloops owned by Loyalists, one of those men being Captain Gideon Lowe of Green Turtle Cay, and pressed their owners to serve as pilots. George Dorsett, a local ships captain, got away from Abaco and alerted Governor Browne to the presence of the rebel fleet. The landing force was transferred to the two captured sloops and Providence the next day, and plans were formulated for the assault. While the main fleet held back, the three ships carrying the landing force were to enter the port at daybreak on March 3, and gain control of the town before the alarm could be raised.

The decision to land at daybreak turned out to be a mistake, as the alarm was raised in Nassau when the three ships were spotted in the morning light, rousing Governor Browne from his bed. He ordered four guns fired from Fort Nassau to alert the militia; two of the guns came off their mounts when they were fired. At 7 am he held a discussion with Samuel Gambier, one of his councillors, over the idea that the gunpowder should be removed from the islands on the Mississippi Packet, a fast ship docked in the harbor. They ultimately did not act on the idea, but Browne ordered thirty mostly unarmed militiamen to occupy Fort Montagu before retiring to his house to make himself a little decent.

==Battle==

===Landing and capture===

When the guns at Fort Nassau were heard by the attackers, they realized their surprise was lost, and aborted the assault. The elements of the fleet rejoined in Hanover Sound, about six nautical miles east of Nassau. There Hopkins held council, and a new plan of attack was developed. According to accounts now discredited, Hopkins lieutenant, John Paul Jones, suggested a new landing point and then led the action. Jones was unfamiliar with the local waters, unlike many of the captains present in the council. It is more likely that the landing force was led by Cabot{s} lieutenant, Thomas Weaver, who was also familiar with the area. With the force enlarged by 50 sailors, the three ships, with the Wasp offering additional covering support, carried it to a point south and east of Fort Montagu, where they made an unopposed landing between 12 and 2 pm. This was the first landing of what eventually became the United States Marine Corps.

A Lieutenant Burke led a detachment out from Fort Montagu to investigate the rebel activity. Given that he was severely outnumbered, he opted to send a truce flag to determine their intentions. From this he learned that their objective was the powder and military stores. In the meantime, Governor Browne arrived at Fort Montagu with another eighty militiamen. Upon learning the size of the advancing force, he ordered three of the forts guns fired, and withdrew all but a few men back to Nassau. He himself retired to the governors house, while most of the militiamen, rather than attempting to make a stand, also returned to their homes. Browne sent Lieutenant Burke out to parley with the rebels a second time, in order to wait on the Command Officer of the Enemy to know his Errand and on what account he had landed his troops.

The firing of Montagus guns had given Nichols pause for concern, but his men had occupied the fort, and he was consulting with his officers on their next move when Burke arrived. They obligingly repeated to Burke that they had arrived to take the powder and weapons, and were prepared to assault the town. Burke brought this news back to Browne around 4 pm. Rather than advance further on Nassau, Nichols and his force remained at Fort Montagu that night. Browne held a war council that evening, in which the decision was made to attempt the removal of the gunpowder. At midnight, 162 of 200 barrels of gunpowder were loaded onto the Mississippi Packet and HMS St. John, and at 2 am they sailed out of Nassau harbor, bound for Saint Augustine. This feat was made possible because Hopkins had neglected to post even a single ship to guard the harbors entrance channels, leaving the fleet safely anchored in Hanover Sound.

Nichols marines occupied Nassau without resistance the next morning, after a leaflet written by Commodore Hopkins was distributed throughout the town. They were met en route by a committee of the towns leaders, who offered up the towns keys.

===Return voyage===

Hopkins and his fleet remained at Nassau for two weeks, loading as much weaponry as would fit onto the ships, including the remaining 38 casks of gunpowder. He pressed into service a local sloop, the Endeavour, to carry some of the material. Governor Browne complained that the rebel officers consumed most of his liquor stores during the occupation, and also wrote that he was taken in chains like a felon to the gallows when he was arrested and taken to the Alfred.

During their sojourn at Nassau, the Fly arrived. Her captain reported that she and the Hornet had fouled their riggings together, and that Hornet suffered significant damage as a consequence. On March 17, the fleet sailed for Block Island Channel off Newport, Rhode Island, with Governor Browne and other officials as prisoners. The return voyage was uneventful until the fleet reached the waters of Long Island. On April 4 they encountered and captured HMS Hawk, and the next day they captured the Bolton, which was laden with stores that included more armaments and powder. The fleet finally met resistance on April 6, when it encountered HMS Glasgow, a heavily armed sixth-rate ship. In the ensuing action, the outnumbered Glasgow managed to escape capture, severely damaging the Cabot in the process, wounding her captain, Hopkins son John Burroughs Hopkins, and killing or wounding eleven others.

The fleet sailed into the harbor at New London, Connecticut on April 8.

==Aftermath==

Browne was eventually exchanged for American general William Alexander (Lord Stirling), and was roundly criticized for his handling of the whole affair. Nassau remained relatively poorly defended, and was again subjected to American rebel threat in January 1778. It was then seized by Spanish forces under Bernardo de Galvez in 1782, and returned to British control after the war.

While Hopkins was initially lauded for the success at Nassau, the failure to capture the Glasgow and crew complaints about some of the captains led to a variety of investigations and courts martial. As a result of these, the Providence{s} captain was relieved of his command, which was given to John Paul Jones. Jones, who had performed well in the Glasgow encounter in spite of a crew reduced by disease, thereafter received a captains commission in the Continental Navy.

The manner by which Commodore Hopkins distributed the spoils was criticized, and his failure to follow his orders to patrol the Virginia shore resulted in censure by the Continental Congress. After a series of further missteps and accusations, Hopkins was forced out of the navy in 1778.

Two ships of the United States Navy have been christened USS Nassau; USS Nassau (LHA-4), an amphibious assault ship, is named specifically in recognition of this battle, while USS Nassau (CVE-16) was named for Nassau Sound, the body of water between Florida and the Bahamas.

Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Nassau
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Wynn Resorts Ltd's (WYNN) new Chief Executive Officer Matt Maddox has had informal talks about a sale of the company's still-under-construction Massachusetts casino,the Bloomberg reported, citing person familiar with the discussions.

The report stated that Michael Weaver, a spokesman for Wynn Resorts, declined to comment.

In addition, MGM Resorts International (MGM) has expressed recent interest in buying its casino rival Wynn Resorts, according to a report in the New York Post on Friday, citing sources familiar with the situation. The interest has come in the form of back-channel approaches the report said.

Despite earlier claims by MGM chief executive James Murren that it would be unlikely his company would make a bid, one source told the Post that Wynn CEO Matt Maddox could be tempted to sell if the price was right.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Business News
(Agencia CMA Latam) - Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva must surrender to the authorities by 5 p.m. Friday local time (3 PM ET) to comply with the prison order handed down by federal Justice Sergio Moro - but the defense team of the politician, alongside other lawyers, is trying to prevent him from being arrested with new habeas corpus requests in the Higher Court of Justice (STJ) and the Supreme Court (STF).

A lawyer asked the STF to change Justice Rosa Weber's vote against Lula's habeas corpus. Such decision would tie the April 4 trial result and grant victory to the defense of the former president.

During that trial, Weber said that she would vote in favor of Lula if, instead of a habeas corpus, the Court was discussing the two declaratory actions of constitutionality (ADCs) that question if defendants should be arrested before exhausting all their chances of appealing from a sentence.

The lawyer, who is not part of Lula's defense team, also asked that the former president remains free until the STF discusses the ADCs mentioned by Weber.

The request was sent to Marco Aur?lio Melo, who voted in favor of granting the habeas corpus to Lula. So far, however, Melo has only asked the STF's chairwoman, Carmen L?cia, to confirm whether he should, in fact, be the judge responsible for deciding this case. He added that according to the court rules the request should be forwarded to justice Alexandre de Moraes, who voted against the habeas corpus to Lula.

Carmen Lucia has not decided on the matter yet. The expectation is that Lula remains free if she chooses Marco Aurelio or another justice who voted in favor of the habeas corpus to Lula as the judge responsible for that case.

by Agencia CMA Latam

For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com

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What parts of the world are seeing the best (and worst) economic performances lately? Click here to check out our Econ Scorecard and find out! See up-to-the-moment rankings for the best and worst performers in GDP, unemployment rate, inflation and much more.
(Agencia CMA Latam) - Venezuela suspended economic and financial ties with 22 individuals and 46 national legal entities of Panama for 90 days to protect the Venezuelan financial system, the presidency reported.

Among the Panamanian individuals are the President, Juan Carlos Varela Foreign Minister Isabel de Saint Malo Aleman while in the case of legal entities are the Panamanian Aviation Company, Panama Life, Casanova Supercenter, Casablanca, Novatex, and Pan Colombia Travel, among others.

Almost immediately, Panama responded by withdrawing its ambassador to Caracas, Miguel Mej?a, and has asked Venezuela to do the same with its counterpart in Panama City, Jorge Durin.

The Venezuelan measure has been interpreted as a retaliation to the sanctions imposed shortly before by Panama on Caracas.

by Agencia CMA Latam

For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com

Economic News

What parts of the world are seeing the best (and worst) economic performances lately? Click here to check out our Econ Scorecard and find out! See up-to-the-moment rankings for the best and worst performers in GDP, unemployment rate, inflation and much more.


Nepal Prime Minister K.P. Oli was accorded a ceremonial welcome at the Rashtrapati Bhavan here on Saturday. Oli who is on his first visit to India after returning to power in February was received by his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi.



Oli, his wife Radika Shakya and a 54-member high-level delegation arrived on Friday on a three-day state visit.



Viewed as an important visit amidst a strain in ties, Oli had an informal meeting with Modi at his official 7, Lok Kalyan Marg residence, on Friday evening.



Oli also met Congress President Rahul Gandhi and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and discussed "various dimensions of Nepal-India relations", according to the Nepalese Embassy here.



Modi and Oli will hold delegation level talks on Saturday at the Hyderabad House here and are expected to sign a number of agreements.






Weightlifter Sathish Kumar Sivalingam Indian weightlifters continued to dominate at the 21st Commonwealth Games (CWG) with the veteran Sathish Kumar Sivalingam winning gold in the men's 77 kg event here on Saturday. The Indian registered a total of 317 kg which included 144 kg in snatch and 173 kg in clean and jerk.



England's Jack Oliver took silver with a total of 312 kg while Francois Etoundi ensured bronze for hosts Australia with 305.



This was the second consecutive CWG title for the defending champion from India.



His performance was not as impressive as the one he had produced at the Glasgow Games four years ago, but it was still enough to defend his crown.



This was India's third gold medal at this year's CWG. Women weightlifters Mirabai Chanu (48kg) and Sanjita Chanu (53kg) had won their respective events in the first couple of days.



Sathish did not enjoy a great start as he could only manage a lift of 136 kg in his opening attempt in the snatch and 140 in his second.



The 25-year-old then hoisted 144 kg in his third attempt to ensure second place in the standings with Jack in pole position.



The Englishman topped the snatch phase with 145 kg in his second attempt. But a failed bid at 148 kg in his final attempt meant he could only take a lead of one kilogram into the clean and jerk stage.



Sathish showed his true class in the clean and jerk as he comfortably managed 169 kg in his first attempt to go into the lead.



With Jack and Francois managing only one successful lift each, the Indian lifted 173 kg in his second attempt to ensure the gold medal.



Such was his dominance that he did not need to come out for his attempt as Jack and Francois could only manage 167 kg and 162 kg respectively.






Congress President Rahul Gandhi (file photo) Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over an alleged scam in the Rafale fighter aircraft deal with France. Issuing a "Modi Scam Alert!" Rahul Gandhi tweeted: "$15 billion fighter jet deal re-tendered. Prime Minister's friends race to tie up strategic partners.



"RAFALE, (Rs) 40,000 crore loss to exchequer was "Sayonara" (bye bye in Japenese) money to French, so Prime Minister could re-tender contract and favour friends."



Rahul Gandhi's comment came in the wake of a news report which stated that India is looking to buy more than 100 new fighter jets which were eventually expected to cost upwards of Rs 100,000 crore or about $15 billion.



His party has been long alleging that the deal of 36 Rafale fighter jets with the French government was finalised by the the Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled Centre at a higher price than the previous deal for 126 medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) negotiated by the Congress led-United Progressive Alliance government.



The Congress has been pushing the Centre to reveal the price of the deal, but the Modi government has not relented. Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said the price cannot be revealed due to national security issue.



India and France signed an agreement in March on the Exchange and Reciprocal Protection of Classified or Protected Information during the visit of French President Emmanuel Macron, replacing an earlier pact signed in 2008.



It defines the common security regulations applicable to any exchange of classified and protected information between the two countries.




The Executive Committee of the Journalist Association of (Western) Samoa (J.A.W.S.) was elected during the Associations Special Meeting on Monday 26 March 2018.

The meeting was held at the Insel Fehmarn Hotel, Tanugamanono and was attended by about 30 members of the association.

The Executive Committee is made up of:

President: Rudy Bartley of WTmedia;

Treasurer : Verona Parker of TV3;

Secretary : Asenati Semu of the Ministry of the Prime Minister and Cabinet-Press and Communication Division;

Executive members: Muliagatele Esau Faatafa of Ministry of Health and Lanuola Tupufia of Samoa Qualifications Authority.
The Sasina Village Council is a living testimony the Customary Land Lease serves to allow for the betterment and development of families and the village.

This is according to Gagaemauga 3 Member of Parliament, Laauliolemalietoa Leuatea Fosi.

He made the statement during the ceremony where $250,000 was distributed among the villages Church Ministers and the Village Council members yesterday.

The funds are a result of the lease agreement signed by the Village Council and new investor from China for the nonu juice development.

Held at Maota o Samoa, the ceremony was well attended by the Sasina Chiefs, untitled men and Church Ministers.

The lease, which was brokered by Laauli, is for a multimillion tala nonu juice investment.

We saw the opportunity and of course we have long term plans to utilise our lands as we are the leading landowners in all of Samoa.

We feel there are a lot of our lands that needs utilizing, so we have released some of our lands for leasing, for hotel development and also for commercial farming. That is why we leased 600 acres for hotel development and now the 500 acres for the nonu development.

Today (yesterday) marks the second year of the lease for the nonu, and each year we receive $250,000 for 100 years.

So you see the development of nonu farming will create more jobs for our people. And also this will assist Samoas economy, he said.

Our village is benefiting from the lease agreements and let me make this crystal clear that our lands are not mortgaged, it is leased.

The investors are fully aware that if they want our land, they can lease it but it cannot be mortgaged because it belongs to Sasina.

It is safe and a sure thing, I can guarantee this 200 percent, said Laauli.

The funds will be paid out to all the villages from young children all the way to the elderly where 10 percent of the lease funds will be distributed evenly to all the Church Ministers and the Congregation in Sasina.

I hope that the successful Sasina land leases will be used as a role model to the initiative by Government to introduce the Alienation of Customary Land Amendment Bill 2017, saying it will set the pathway for future customary land leases and wipe away fears and speculations that customary lands are up for sale with the introduction of communal land lease, said Laauli.

The M.P. says he is unclear and cannot recall the name of the Company they made the agreement.

During the ceremony, Sasina Chief, Leaunai Uesele, announced the support by their village of the leasing of the customary lands for the nonu development, which in turn benefits the village.

Four Church Ministers received envelopes of $4,000 each. The media who attended also received envelopes of $100 from the Village Council.
The Samoa Chamber of Commerce has been awarded a Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat Non State Actors Grant.

It is one of ten organizations in the Pacific region awarded the grant under the Pacific Island Forum Secretariats Strengthening Non-State Actors Engagement in Regional Policy Development and Implementation Programme.

Recently, the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat coordinated a one-day preparatory workshop for grant recipients through the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat Non State Actors Grant Facility in Suva.

The Samoa Chamber of Commerce Memberservices Manager, Lote Lima, attended the workshop which focused on the requirements of grant administration, financial guidelines, visibility, reporting and communications.

The workshop was followed by an awards ceremony for the grant recipients held at the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat office.

The grant will be utilized for the Samoa Chamber of Commerce Think Tank Initiative, a platform for Samoas private sector to proactively identify and prioritize sector specific issues and challenges.

The Chamber completed and passed a strict E.U. donor Assessment programme over 15 months; to ensure it systems are fully compliant with EU standards for management of funds.

Other grant recipients included W.W.F. South Pacific, Cook Islands Chamber of Commerce, Pacific Centre for Peacebuilding, the World Fish Center, P.I.A.N.G.O., Birdlife International, Pacific Disability Forum, C.A.R.E. in Vanuatu and Pacific Island Farmers Organization Network.

The Strengthening Non-State Actors Engagement in Regional Policy Development and Implementation Programme (the N.S.A. Programme) is funded through the European Unions 10th European Development Fund (E.D.F. 10) and implemented by the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat.
A lot has been said, written and debated lately about the economic use of customary lands to advance the development of Samoa.

To say that it is a controversial subject is an understatement. It is an extremely hot political potato at the moment that needs to be handled with care.

Yesterday, more than 200 people gathered on the streets of Salelologa for a peaceful protest march, calling on the Government to repeal the Land Titles Registration Act (L.T.R.A.) 2018 (see story page 2 and 3).

They claimed the Act could alienate customary lands, leaving thousands of Samoans economically poor and as exiles in their own country. Folks, these are very serious concerns we cannot ignore.

On the streets of Salelologa yesterday, signs such as Samoa is not for sale and Repeal the L.T.R.A. 2008 among others were very visible. Behind the protesters who marched yesterday was a very audible voice warning Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi and his administration about the consequences their policies pertaining to foreigners and what they can do with our lands.

Carried by protest yesterday is a real fear  and one that has been lingering for a while now - about the future of Samoa given the fact we are not a nation rich with many natural resources. Apart from our very own people, all we have is land and if that is under threat and lost, then we have nothing else. Its that simple.

Now whether the Government will listen is anyones guess.

Judging from whats been said in Parliament and even in the media recently, it is highly unlikely. This is a one party state after all where whatever Prime Minister Tuilaepa and his Government want will be done.

No ifs no buts.

So where does that leave people who disagree with them?

Well all you can do is voice your frustrations and leave it out there.

The fact is, at least the people who have spoken up and gone through the trouble of standing up to express themselves will go to sleep with their conscience intact, knowing they were not silenced. Today determines what will happen tomorrow. It goes without saying that the future of our children, their children and their childrens children depend on what we do today.

From an impartial perspective, both sides of this argument have valid points.

Whereas the Government is keen to see so much undeveloped and unused land be taken up for commercial purposes that would in return enrich lives through jobs and monies, the other side is a lot more cautious. They are afraid that the laws allowing this to happen, including the L.T.R.A. 2008 and the recently passed Alienation of Customary Land Act are a threat to Samoa.

In the pages of this newspaper, we have had all sorts of views. Weve had countless lawyers and legal minds express their interpretation of the law  for and against. For years, weve been giving the space to the Government, opposition and anybody who has had something to say about this issue. And we will continue to do so because we believe it is such a critical issue and that the more views the better it would be going forward.

And now we have people taking to the streets to protest. Yesterdays protest is not going to be the last. We know that much. These protests will gather momentum and they will continue.

Which is a wonderful thing about democracy and to an extent Samoa today.

The mere fact the Government is not trying to shut down these gatherings (not that we know of at least) and protest groups is a positive step. They might not agree with what these people are saying but at least they are being given the freedom to express themselves.

Sometime ago, Prime Minister Tuilaepa said something very interesting.

I hear many people talking about (land) being given by God but they sit on it and dont do anything about it, Tuilaepa said.

But you were lying around not working the land that had overgrown invasive grass on it while other people wanted to work in it.

I want to say this again that there can be and will be no alienation of customary lands as specifically required by the Constitution.

In 2012, we told you a story. Once upon a time, there lived a man named Jeffrey Lee*. Mr Lee was a senior custodian of a large estate in a country about five hours by plane from Samoa.

One day, a French energy company sought to activate its mineral lease to extract tonnes of uranium from Mr. Lees land. He could have been a millionaire.

But he wasnt. Instead of accepting millions in mining royalties, Mr Lee rejected the offer. He converted the land into a national park so that future generations of his country could enjoy their natural habitat.

When reporters asked him why he refused the big money offer, Mr. Lee responded; When you dig em hole in that country, youre killing me. Money dont mean nothing to me. Country is very important to me.

Mr. Lee would be a rarity these days. You see, in this day and age where the only thing on peoples mind is money, money, money and more money, nothing is what it seems. Most things we see around us are a lie.

They are packaged in such a way where we can be misled  and often we are. Yet once the gloss and the novelty wears off, we find that some things are quite poisonous, theyre deadly. Thats how we see the plan to use customary land.

We understand where the government is coming from.

Implemented well, the plan is potentially sound. In some cases, it could well help some families out of hardship and struggles.

But that is not guaranteed in all cases. And this is the worry.

In times like this, we need to consult the wisdom and vision of our forebears.

Weve said this before and we will say it again; we need to look back and see what they had envisioned for Samoa when they laid the foundation for us today. And according to the supreme law of the land, our sacred Constitution, it is quite simple. Should the government persist with its line of thinking in relation to customary lands, the country needs to hold a referendum.

Have a wonderful Sunday Samoa, God bless!
The Governor of the Central Bank of Samoa, Maiava Atalina Ainuu-Enari, has confirmed an investigation into a scheme which uses middlemen to collect peoples money in the hope of gigantic returns.

Speaking to the Sunday Samoan, she confirmed that they are investigating an ongoing scheme in Samoa known as One Coin or One Life.

She declined to name any of the suspects. She also declined to confirm or deny reports that some prominent Church Ministers are involved.

But Maiava said the Central Bank is taking the matter seriously.

There are people and organizations currently under our microscope, but this is part of ongoing enquiries and our investigation, she told the Sunday Samoan.

The scheme is alleged to involve some people and organisation in Samoa who use local agents to collect peoples money in the hope of gigantic returns.

You invest $1,000 and then in four months, your cash is 10 times more, which means you cash in $10,000, she said.

This is a snare that is used to catch peoples money.

As of today, the Central Bank of Samoa is looking at other measures to ensure that there are no more victims of this scheme.

We are currently working proactively to ensure that our people are well informed and well prepared to counter these types of investment schemes, Atalina said.

Besides the media campaign that we are doing in prompting people to be extra careful when investing their hard earned money in businesses that are difficult to understand or a very complex, we are also ensuring that our commercial banks and money transfer operators assist us in preventing people sending money overseas without proper supporting documentations."

Rome was not built in one day, as the saying goes, so we are slowly building our awareness campaigns, awareness programmes and internal controls within the financial system.

Maiava said the problem is not confined to Samoa.

We foresaw this happening in the country, as it has already happened in other countries as well, she said. Take for example China, one of the robust economies in the world today. And yet, they have banned cryptocurrency."

We conducted a lot of research into this and the issue is with middlemen and agents posing themselves as legitimate entities on behalf of these cryptocurrency companies or organizations."

The technology of cryptocurrency has a lot of teething problems at the moment so what we have done so far is to capture these cryptocurrency and their promoters under our current Money Laundering Amendment Bill 2018, which is currently in finalization stages at the Office of the Attorney General after various consultations with all the relevant stakeholders.

She also called on members of the public to be extra careful.

Before you invest your hard earned money, please make sure that you understand what business that you are investing in. Is it legitimate, is it real, are the profits or returns realistic?"

Also, these cryptocurrencies are not regulated. There are no laws to govern it as opposed to the physical money that we are currently using."

To reiterate, are you going to put your trust in cryptocurrency or One Coin or One Life that is not governed or regulated by any laws, which cannot track how you are really investing your money?"

Or are you going to put your trust in the Central Bank of Samoa and the physical currency or tala and coins that we issue, which is in accordance with the laws passed by Parliament and enforced by the Government of Samoa?

Maiava made it clear that in order to legally conduct business in Samoa one must have a business license.

If you dont have a business license authorising the type of business that you are doing, then you cannot conduct business at all."

If people conduct business and collect peoples monies and then try to send them overseas, then that is an illegal type of business."

Pyramid schemes or get rich quick schemes have been in existence in Samoa for quite a while."

It happened before a few years back when we prosecuted the Ufund case, which was thoroughly covered in the media at that time.
(By Ashiq Hussain)

Srinagar, April 07:Abuji, please forgive me. I could not fulfil the promise made to you,

A moving telephone conversation between a militant trapped in a security cordon and his family has gone viral on social media in Kashmir, underlining the personal and emotional cost of violence in the restive state.

The last phone call between Aitmad Hussain Dar, 28, a Hizbul Mujahideen militant of south Kashmirs Shopian, and his family on Sunday was recorded just before he was killed in a gun battle on Sunday.

Aitmad, an MPhil degree holder and junior research fellow, who joined the militant group last November, was killed along with his four accomplices in the gunfight with security forces in Kachdoora village from where he was calling his family.

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Aitmad called his brother on the phone and sought forgiveness for his mistakes. Please forgive me for my mistakes. I am trapped (in an encounter), Aitmad tells his brother and breaks down.

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The call sent the family into mourning and the women of the household could be heard grieving.

Lagya wandith (I be sacrificed for you), the father told the son in chaste Kashmiri whose essence cant be translated. Why are you crying?

Crying, the son responded by asking for forgiveness since he could not fulfil his promise to him.

The father asked him where he was trapped and urged him to remain steadfast and have patience. I wont tell you to surrender. I cant tell you that, he said. Aitmad responded, No, no and adds, Abu ji, I just want you to be pleased with me and God will also be happy with me.

I wont tell you to surrender. I cant tell you that, he said. Aitmad responded, No, no and adds, Abu ji, I just want you to be pleased with me and God will also be happy with me.

Lagya wandith, the father said again as the women in the background shout and cry.Is there any chance of escaping? the father asked and when the militant son responded in negative, the father said, If you can escape, do it, if not then what can be done.No, we tried a lot. Abrar bhai (another militant) has been hit by a bullet in the head, Aitmad said.The phone is then taken by injured Abrar (Ishfaq Thokar) who is stumbling for words. Excuse me, I have been hit by a bullet in my head so I am not able to speak properly, forgive me. Can I get the phone number of my father, Abrar could be heard saying.The other three militants killed in the encounter were Aqib Bashir, Sameer Lone and Gayas ul Islam, all residents of south Kashmir. Three civulians were also killed in around gunfight area.
The Land Transport Authority (L.T.A.) has launched an internal investigation against two Assistant Chief Executive Officers (A.C.E.O.) ovear allegations they altered information to allow vehicles belonging to them to be registered.

Documents obtained by the Sunday Samoan show that the year of manufacture for the vehicles were changed from 2000 to 2005 so they could be registered on the L.T.As Road Transport Administration System (R.T.A.S.).

The investigation was confirmed by the Chief Executive Officer of L.T.A., Ta'atialeoitiiti Agnes Tutuvanu-Schwalger, in response to questions from the Sunday Samoan.

I do confirm that these allegations have already been made known to the L.T.A. and an investigation is underway to prove whether these allegations are true, she said.

One of the vehicles involved, according to documents obtained by the Sunday Samoan, is a Toyota Allion.

On the P.S.V. vehicle inspection, the car is a 2003 model. But according to the R.T.A.S. its been amended to 2006.

Both documents point to the same V.I.N. number.

The Sunday Samoan was able to contact one of the A.C.E.O.'s implicated yesterday. He denied the allegations, noting he no longer owns any taxis.

Efforts to a get comment from the other A.C.E.O. have been unsuccessful.

But during an interview with Tutuvanu-Schwalger, she acknowledged the opportunity given to the L.T.A to comment.

But she said cannot provide any further details at this point until the investigation has been completed.

The C.E.O. assured the L.T.A. has in place rules and regulations, which govern their staff and how they carry out their work.

Therefore, if these allegations are proven to be true then my staff involved will be dealt with accordingly."

Honesty is one of L.T.A.s core values and principles therefore L.T.A. endeavours to promote and enforce this for our Management (including me as C.E.O.) and our staff.

According to Tutuvanu-Schwalger, since the start of 2018, L.T.A. has been in the process of upgrading its Road Transport Administration System (R.T.A.S.). The system houses all the information about vehicles in Samoa.

Findings from this investigation will be used to improve the setup, operation, maintenance and security of the R.T.A.S."

Furthermore, improvements to our current working procedures will be made based on findings from our investigation."

Again, I on behalf of the L.T.A. encourage members of the public to contact our office for any matters that they would like to discuss and understand more."

Comments and feedback from the public as well as our staff is crucial in improving L.T.A.s service delivery.

She also appealed to the Samoa Observer for assistance.

I humbly request that Samoa Observer shares any evidence that you have received to assist with our investigation, said the C.E.O.
Prime Minister Tuilaepa Dr. Sailele Malielegaoi was reminded about the fate of the all-powerful King Nebuchadnezzar* from the Bible at Salelologa yesterday.

The reminder came from the chants from more than two hundred protesters who spoke through signs and placards that Samoa is not for Sale.

The protest, organised by the Samoa Solidarity International Group (S.S.I.G.), called on the Government to repeal the Land Titles Registration Act 2008, which they claimed could alienate customary lands.

Women, children, untitled men, faafafine and people of all ages took part in the protest.

Former Member of Parliament, Leota Su'atele, led from the front and hailed the peaceful march a success.

The Group also used the protest to gather signatures for the petition they intend to submit tomorrow before the Parliamentary Committee during the public hearings.

We marched in Savaii to ensure that our people start to ask questions and know how dangerous leasing our customary lands to investors is, Leota said.

The protests objective is to raise awareness and to inform the public of the threats on Samoas customary lands via the L.T.R.A. 2008."

Leota was assisted by other S.S.I.G. members, Unasa Iuni Sapolu, and Pau Mulitalo. All three of them are lawyers by profession.

The March started at the three corners in Salelologa, where Savaiis only traffic light is located, to the market.

Land Transport Authority traffic officers, along with their Assistant C.E.O, Mataafa Sepelini Poufa, escorted the march.

They ensure motorists were able to travel freely on the main road.

In December last year, a similar march was held in Apia where about 300 people attended.

The protest from Vaisigano to the Mulinuu gravesite of the late Malietoa Tanumafili II was to raise awareness ensuring customary lands were protected under existing laws.

Leota told the Sunday Samoan the momentum generated by the protests is bad for the Government who are pushing for the legislation, but it is a great success for safeguarding the future of Samoa.

And the violation of our Constitution is a source of hostilities and when we see overseas people protesting constitutional legislation by their Government, this is exactly the same thing."

In Samoa, we are doing the same. Our Constitution has been tampered with by the Government."

No one is above our Constitution, our Prime Minister, you and me we are all covered under the Constitution."

So when we see that there is something wrong here, we should act and not sit idle."

Our fight is to repeal the L.T.R.A. 2008 because we know our Constitution has been violated. This March also serves a purpose for the foreigner investors that we do care about our lands."

It is our identity and our treasures and if we lose it to mortgages, what then?"

Again the customary land lease issue should be stopped immediately, said Leota.

Asked as to what is the next move for the S.S.I.G. after their second March, Leota said so far there are 3,000 signatures on the petition.

We intend to present the petition tomorrow, to the Parliamentary Committee."

I will be accompanied by Unasa Iuni Sapolu and Pau Mulitalo to present our petition to the Committee as a result of the two marches."

We will not back down from this issue because it is our children and grandchildren who will suffer when our lands are taken from us.

Pau, who was among those leading the march, said the most challenging aspect of the march in Savaii was the groundwork.

However I am impressed with the turn out and it is very encouraging to see our people come together to fight a good cause."

We have people from Savaii, which is the whole purpose for the people to understand that leasing our customary lands is very dangerous."

It is a risk, and while life is all about taking risks some risks should not be taken."

Again this is a gamble, said Pau.

Last month, Fiu Mata'ese Elisara, matai of Sili Savaii, and Executive Director of Ole Siosiomaga Society Incorporated, told the Sunday Samoan the reason behind his full support of the March.

The right information that envelops holistic and full awareness is always invaluable."

I personally supported the protest and peaceful S.S.I.G. organised marches in December last year around the world, but was unable to join the Samoa activity because I was away to attend to the funeral arrangements of my dear 90-year-old mother in Pago Pago who was put to rest and buried the same day the march took place."

So any effort to inform our peoples on L.T.R.A. (both the benefits and risks), be it with S.S.I.G., S.U.N.G.O. community awareness work, our group of four, our village advocacy work, information sharing in Samoa and overseas, use of every media avenues to inform, etc. can only be positive to ensure people are fully aware, adequately informed and catalyse them to make clear and informed choices.

Fiu said it is unfortunate that many take these actions as dissenting voices to Government when these are people taking their rights to voice concerns on proposed and ongoing activities of Government.

But as long as these stakeholders and rights holders voices are prudently structured, visionary constructive, socially balanced, and politically neutral, they can only be invaluable as part of our collective responsibilities to contribute to the much needed transformational changes arguably the Government need."

I have written before to sound out Government on their leadership responsibility to ensure they not only promote the benefits of development initiatives, but more importantly the risks, which for me is the more relevant and pivotal information for the people of this country to better align."

This is because they are the ones who will inevitably shoulder the burden of the impacts of developments and national policies emanating from government."

These calls have unfortunately been ignored, but their inaction should not be a reason for us to stop holding our Government to account."

It is imperative. It is a call for all of us to try and help Government integrate some balance to their hell bent focus on sustained economic growth at the peril of a balanced treatment and respect for the other pillars of sustainable development - social equity, ecological integrity, and cultural diversity."

Personally, I hope that this is an added effort to go beyond the L.T.R.A. and inform the people of Savaii, indeed Samoa, why the collective wisdom of our forefathers who authored of the Samoa Supreme Law under Article 109 of the Constitution requirement for a referendum is now even more non-negotiable."

We assert that the right and only forum to decide on customary lands issue is as our forefathers and framers of the Constitution dictated under Article 109 through the imperative of a referendum.'

Let the people decide. This independently conducted referendum process without political influence, with clearly articulated questions, associated international integrity checks, secured principles of accountability, and to ensure free prior and informed consent of all Samoans, is the only way this discourse can be and should be addressed."

*King Nebuchadnezzar was one the greatest king of ancient Babylon but he was driven away from human society, ate grass like oxen.
A woman is seeking the communitys help with regards to items stolen from her home at Maalauli Vailele, early Saturday morning.

Speaking to the Sunday Samoan yesterday, Lydia Lemalu, said the stolen items are worth between $8,000 to $10,000.

All of the items were bought from the U.S. except for the Samsung Tablet and the L.T.E. Bluesky phone, she said.

It was early Friday probably morning during the heavy rain period that they broke into our home so sometime around 4 a.m. to 5:30 a.m."

We woke up and we found the items missing and we found the window at the back of our house open."

We contacted the Police and at the moment they are investigating the matter.

In her Facebook post, she said most of these items contain some important stuff such as family memories.

Our house was broken into last night (Friday night Saturday morning) and the following items were stolen, she posted.

Authorities have been notified, but stolen items hold sentimental value to us as they all contain family memories and important and personal information and we humbly ask for your assistance."

If anyone tries to sell you any of these items or know of anyone with these items please call any of the numbers below or PM me or Vui Fred Jahnke 7770699, 7621163, 7765665."

 17" HP laptop  black;

 iPad - silver/black;

 iPhone 6 plus - gold/black (was turned on today and pinged location was the Matautu Shipping yard. Was switched off again before police arrived);

 Smartphone - black Bluesky L.T.E.;

 Samsung tablet  white;

 Wallet (Tory Burch brand photo attached) - had U.S. credit cards and bank cards/California drivers license/Samoa drivers license/C.A. Bar Card/Various other I.D./membership cards  black; and

 Victoria Secret makeup bag - had a Chanel powder/mirror (photo attached) and various lipsticks - square black.

She added all electronics items are locked with passwords.

I am humbly asking for the general publics assistance."

Any help received is much appreciated.

Ms. Lydia said they were able to recover the laptop and the IPhone 6 plus, but they are still hoping they will get back the rest in good condition.

Attempts to get comments from the Police were unsuccessful as of press time.
The last week of March was a difficult time for the Samoan rugby fraternity. For the Manu Samoa team especially, it was hard.

First they lost former Manu Samoa and All Black, Tiumalu Dylan Mika, and then on the same week, the legendary Laauli Alan Grey, commonly referred to as the Father of Samoan rugby passed away.

Today, the Vice Chairperson of the Manu Samoa Old Boys Association (M.S.O.B.A.), Tapuai Faamalua Tipi, is in Samoa to pay the Associations respect to the late Laauli.

Speaking to the Sunday Samoan yesterday, Tapuai highlighted the impact of losing Tiumalu and Laauli in the same week for the Manu Samoa Old boys.

As a co-founder of M.S.O.B.A, Tiumalu played a huge part in pushing the formation of the Association in the hope that it would support and look out for the welfare of ex-Manu Samoa players.

To lose Laauli in the same week was difficult for the M.S.O.B.A. members, who first laid a fellow brother to rest before turning their focus to another great who had a huge impact on lifting the profile of Samoan rugby in the international arena.

When Dylan passed we got together as he was one of our founders, said Taupuai.

Then Alan Grey passed  we were at the crux. We had a huge fono and all the Manu boys were sitting at Dylans house and it was stated that we needed to pay respect to Dylan and the aiga -honour him as an old boy of Manu Samoa.

We made a decision as a committee to put him to rest respectfully before I came here on behalf of the Association and pay Laaulis family our respects and give a mealofa.

At the news of Laaulis passing, Tapuai said many stories came out from former Manu Samoa players about the scale of greatness and generosity of spirit the late Laauli displayed for Samoa rugby and its players.

It was quite beautiful, he said.

A lot of the boys were expressing the tragedy of having the two passing in the same week. Alan Grey was a huge influence on most of the boys in the 1980s and 1990s.

He was a real generous man in helping individuals, he helped the Manu Samoa as a whole, putting Samoa on the map.

His generosity was legendary, he helped guys when he didnt need to. The stories that came from the boys were that he helped people off the rugby field as individuals.

For example someone we know who was injured with a life threatening injury that finished his career - Alan went out of his way to help with financial assistance, he was a humble man with a big heart so thats what we will take from his legacy.

Tapuai will be visiting with Marina Grey and their family to officially pay their respects.

It was important that we acknowledged the impact Alan had on the lives of many of us to his wife Marina, he said.

We want to show our appreciation and remind Marina that a lot of lives  ex Manu Samoa boys owe it to Alan and we want to ensure that we looked after our uso first last week because it was at the same time and come and play tribute to Marina and the aiga.
Levaopolo Uitinesi Mataafa travels frequently between New Zealand and Samoa. He has to.

He may live in Auckland, but he is very much involved with family and village obligations here that he has to attend to. In fact, he now travels home every month  sometimes twice a month - to attend meetings at his village of Saleaula Upolu, also known as Salamumu.

Thanks to Samoa Airways, this has been made easier for him with the availability of affordable airfares at his disposal.

His latest trip to Samoa was on Friday last week.

He came to attend an all-important meeting between Salamumu and Saleaula, to discuss their response to the proposed Electoral Constituencies Bill 2018, which affects their constituency of Gagaemauga No. 2.

In fact, when Levao was being interviewed for this article, he was boarding a Samoa Airways flight from Auckland to Samoa on Friday afternoon, so that he can arrive in time for the village meeting yesterday.

Samoa Airways has made my life so much easier in so many ways, he said.

One of those is enabling me to fulfil my village and cultural obligations in Samoa, while still performing my duties as a husband and father for my family in New Zealand.

It has helped me travel on a more regular basis between my home in Auckland and my home in Salamumu.

It is actually the third time this year that he has travelled to Samoa for village-related matters.

It was hard for me at first to do this especially with the expensive fares on the other carriers before. But ever since Samoa Airways came back into operation, it has made it so much easier for me. I am so glad that we have our own airline again, which understands our cultural, family and church obligations and offer specials accordingly.

Levaopolo also credited Samoa Airways for making other carriers lower their fares.

Its interesting how the other airlines are now scrambling to match or better what Samoa Airways is offering. I understand competition, but what strikes me is that these other airlines have only become caring towards us now that they have competition. But before, they never cared. And I tell you, thats how they will be once again if Samoa Airways is out of the picture.

It is for this reason that he is imploring other Samoans to lend their support and patronage by flying with Samoa Airways.

My experience every time I fly with Samoa Airways has always been that of pure satisfaction. The service is always great. Its the best that I know of, said Levao.

I take my hat off to the Government of Samoa for ensuring that we have our own airline again. This is a matter of pride for any Samoan. In fact, that is the main reason why I fly Samoa Airways  because its ours.

Levao said his village has scheduled an appointment with the Parliamentary Committee where they plan to raise their concerns, after which he will fly back to NZ on Samoa Airways.

But even if this meeting will be postponed to a later date, at least I know I can afford to go back to NZ and return whenever that meeting will happen, he said.

It is this commitment to family, village and church that Samoa Airways understands very well.

And it is stories like these from valued clients that have fuelled the airline to continue to improve and reinforce their services and offerings to the travelling public.

As Samoans, family and culture have a huge impact on our daily lives. Whether its a reunion, birthday, the passing of a loved one, a title bestowal or blessing of a new church, we do what we do as a family, said Seiuli Alvin Tuala, C.E.O. of Samoa Airways.

We recognise that travel is often a necessary part of fulfilling our obligations. As Samoans with that cultural-awareness, being able to respond where we can through the service that we provide our people is a really important part of what we do.
Think a minuteYou have heard the expression, What you see is what you get. Psychologists tell us that one of the most powerful influences on our life is our self-image. We live like the person we see in the mirror. We are what we think we are. If you do not think you will be successful, you most likely wont be. You cannot be it if you cannot see it. Your life is limited to your vision. So if you want to change your life, you must change your vision of your life.

Arnold Schwarzenegger was not very famous in 1976 when he met with a newspaper reporter. The reporter asked Schwarzenegger: Now that youve retired from bodybuilding, what do you plan to do next? Schwarzenegger confidently answered: Im going to become the #1 movie star in Hollywood. The reporter was both shocked and amused at Schwarzeneggers bold plan. At that time, it was very hard to imagine how this muscle-bound bodybuilder who was not a professional actor, and who spoke poor English with a heavy Austrian accent, could ever hope to be Hollywoods #1 movie star!

When the reporter asked Schwarzenegger how he planned to make his dream come true, Schwarzenneger replied: Ill do it the same way I became the #1 bodybuilder in the world. First I create a vision of who I want to be, then I start living like that person as if it were already true. Sounds childishly simple, doesnt it? But amazingly, Schwarzenegger actually became the #1 highest paid movie star in Hollywood in his dayand later the Governor of California. Tragically, he did not have the same vision and ambition for his own moral character and marriage!

A successful businessman I know wears a shirt with these words on it: Dont pursue your dreams. Chase em down and tackle em! You only get one life to live, so why not live the best life possible! It only makes sense that the One who designed and made life is the One who knows the best way to live it. Wont you ask Jesus to forgive you for living your own, wrong way, and to take charge of your heart and life every day? He will help you start seeing and being the truly successful human being He created you to be. His way is the only way you can become genuinely and permanently fulfilled with what you see and get in life. Just think a minute
While short-term rentals present an opportunity for homeowners to make a profit on their home when not in use, such rentals also present many potential problems for both the municipality and the association. Weekender occupants are more likely to be less courteous and responsible to neighbors. Many will argue short-term rentals are non-residential use of the residence, more akin to a hotel. Cities may wish to limit hotel-type usage in this context, where they have no control and do not collect bed tax. Many associations amend their governing documents to ban rentals shorter than one year, ban subletting, or just specifically ban vacation short-term rentals. Short-term rentals often are perceived as a non-residential or business usage of the common interest development residence, and are therefore deemed inconsistent with most residential HOA CC&Rs.

An Oxnard association of homeowners was surely quite disappointed with a Court of Appeals ruling announced on March 27, 2018 in the case of Greenfield v. Mandalay Shores. The Mandalay Shores Community Association, formed in 1959, consists of 1,465 detached home lots on public streets. There are recorded CC&Rs but no common area. Its board of directors adopted a resolution banning rentals shorter than 30 days. The resolution proved to be controversial, and a group reported to consist of about 60 homeowners supported a lawsuit by a homeowner named Greenfield to challenge the policy. After an adverse finding at the trial court level, Greenfield appealed.

There have been other recent legal challenges to short-term rental bans in beach areas, but this appears to be the first case in which the opinion was published.

The California Coastal Act (Public Resources Code Sections 30000-30900) establishes a 1,000 yard Coastal Zone as a protected area for beach access (Public Resources Code 30103(a)). This group of homes in Oxnard was within that zone.

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The appellate ruling overturned the association resolution, finding that the association policy adversely affected beach access. The opinion stated that the association would have to seek approval from both the city and the California Coastal Commission before imposing a short-term rental ban.

While the Mandalay Shores group is (according to the association) not a common interest development falling under the Davis-Stirling Act, this ruling almost certainly will impact any common interest development association which is within the 1,000 yard Coastal Zone.

Some cities, such as Hermosa Beach, have adopted ordinances banning short-term rentals (30-day minimum). Hermosa Beachs ordinance was upheld in early 2018 as valid and as not violating the Coastal Act, but that opinion was not published and so is not considered a binding legal precedent. Another distinction is that the ruling involved a city, which has greater legal power than homeowners associations.

Common interest developments within the Coastal Zone should be cautious about short-term rentals, and such associations should consult with their legal counsel about other ways to handle the problems created by short-term rentals. For example, the association may tighten its rules regarding resident conduct, and hold owners responsible for their tenants behavior. Associations may also wish to revisit the 2015 published ruling in Watts v. Oak Shores, which validated an associations move-in/move-out fees, which were based on rough but reasonable actual cost calculations.

Kelly G. Richardson, Esq. is a Fellow of the College of Community Association Lawyers and Senior Partner of Richardson Ober PC, a law firm known for community association advice. Submit potential column questions to Kelly@Richardsonober.com. Past columns at www.HOAHomefront.com.
Long before graduating college in North Carolina and spending two years in the Air Force, Louis Wolfsheimer knew what his professional future held: He would take over the familys coat manufacturing business.

And so he did, traveling frequently, meeting buyers, anticipating the latest trends in womens fashion in the late 1950s. But it wasnt long before he soured on a business that he said did not hold the romance and excitement he had anticipated.

You have styles changing every few weeks and colors changing  and I realized this was not the life for me, Wolfsheimer said in a 1984 interview.

Thanks to the advice of his father-in-law, he decided to study law.

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It was a career choice that was meant to be. Wolfsheimer, who started out in the City Attorneys office, eventually became one of San Diegos highest profile land use attorneys and lobbyists, navigating with his law partner James Milch some of San Diegos more contentious development battles that ultimately influenced future growth patterns.

Wolfsheimer, who continued practicing well into his early 80s, died at his Rancho Santa Fe home last Sunday following a six-month battle with cancer. He was 85.

It was Wolfsheimers expertise in land-use law that ultimately led him to service on the San Diego Planning Commission and the board of the San Diego Unified Port District where he helped guide one of the bayfronts signature developments  a new Convention Center.

Former San Diego Mayor Pete Wilson, who went on to serve as U.S. Senator and governor of California, appointed Wolfsheimer to chair the Planning Commission in 1971.

Wilson, who at one time called Wolfsheimer his right hand man in planning, said he deserves much credit for helping guide the city through monumental decisions on how San Diego would grow.

San Diego today reflects the tremendous job he did leading the Planning Commission and influencing the City Council to support what would inevitably be the extraordinary growth of San Diego, Wilson said.

He was a charming guy, he was fun, very bright, and a good human being, one of the best I have known. We were very good friends. I was thinking of him the other day and was just about to call him so I am greatly saddened to learn of his passing.

Wolfsheimer, whose first wife, the late Abbe Wolfsheimer, was a San Diego City Councilwoman, also served for a decade as a port commissioner during the 1980s, a time of major change for the bayfront. Not only was the first phase of the convention center planned and built during that time but so too was one of San Diegos largest waterfront hotels, now known as the San Diego Marriott Marquis and Marina.

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It was during that time that a San Diego Magazine article headlined, The Man Who Could Be Mayor, was published about him, but Wolfsheimer said at the time he had no interest in the job.

His son Marc recalls his father telling him the story about how not long after he left the port as a commissioner he had to return to the office for a meeting with one of the commissioners.

He approached the receptionist who asked who he was and how to spell his name, even though right behind her, hanging on the wall, was his framed photo as a former commissioner.

My dad could have been really miffed or upset but he just took it in stride because he was always courteous, from everyone to the janitors all the way up, said Marc, whose company Wolfsheimer Management Corp., oversees commercial real estate properties, including his fathers investments.

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San Diego County Supervisor Ron Roberts, who served on the San Diego City Council during the citys growth wars, remembers Wolfsheimer as someone who could help broker compromises even as he represented the interests of his developer clients.

Lou didnt come in and make demands on anyone, said Roberts, who was on the council between 1988 and 1995. Hed say, heres what were trying to do and hed listen to your concerns. It was always about how do we make something work and get a project people wil be happy with.

In his later years, Wolfsheimer served on the Del Mar Fair Board, the state Race Track Leasing Commission and San Diego Countys Citizens Law Enforcement Review Board. He was named as an alternate to the California Coastal Commission.

Wolfsheimer is survived by his wife Susanne Shafer Henie; his two children, Marc and Alison; sister Barbara Taylor; and granddaughters Marissa and Sarah Wolfsheimer.

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A private family memorial service will be held. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be sent to Jewish Family Service at jfssd.org, KPBS at kpbs.org, or the University of North Carolina lacrosse team at unc.edu.

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lori.weisberg@sduniontribune.com

(619) 293-2251

Twitter: @loriweisberg
San Diegos Lytx, a maker of DriveCam video monitoring technology for commercial truck fleets, said Friday that it has added new private equity investors to support its growth.

Clearlake Capital Group of Santa Monica has joined existing owner GTCR of Chicago in backing Lytx. HarbourVest Partners, Public Sector Pension Investment Board and Guggenheim Investments also participated.

The exact amount of additional capital raised by Lytx is unclear. But the company said the transaction sets its enterprise value at more than $1.5 billion.

Enterprise value includes the worth all equity and debt on the balance sheet. Its typically the amount required to take over a company.

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Clearlake Capital and other new backers invested $700 million in Lytx, said Chief Executive Brandon Nixon in an email response to questions.

Some of that money went toward providing liquidity to existing shareholders who wanted to exit or lower their ownership stake in the company.

This valuation puts Lytx as the fourth largest technology company and the largest software-as-a-service company headquartered in San Diego, said Nixon. We are thrilled at what the future holds for our customers as we pursue new and innovative ways to add value to their businesses.

In past interviews, Nixon has pointed to the potential of tapping Lytxs trove of driver data to develop predictive analytics and other tools to further improve safety and efficiency in commercial fleets.

We are now poised to leverage this technology, along with our vast amount of driving data, to help our clients solve their toughest operational problems, and keep their workers safe, said Nixon.

Founded in 1998, Lytx was acquired two years ago by GTCR for more than $500 million.

With Clearlake coming onboard, GTCRs remaining ownership stake is unknown. A spokeswoman for the private equity fund declined to comment.

But GTCR remains the controlling shareholder of Lytx, said Nixon.

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It has been a pleasure to partner with and support Brandon and the team, and we look forward to the partnership with Clearlake, said GTCR Managing Director Phil Canfield in a statement.

Lytxs executive team will continue in their roles, and Nixon will remain chairman of the board and CEO.

Lytx has been growing fast recently, adding 300,000 vehicles equipped with its DriveCam technology over the past three years.

DriveCam is used by commercial truck fleets to provide a video record of incidents and train drivers. (Lytx )

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That brings the total number of commercial trucks outfitted with DriveCam to more than 500,000 -- with new customers including Walmart, Albertsons and Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated  the largest independent Coca-Cola bottler in the U.S.

Video monitoring helps train drivers and provides fleet managers with a window into what happens in accidents or close calls. The systems help reduce insurance premiums and claims costs for fleet operators  many of whom are self-insured.

Lytx has more than 3,000 commercial and government fleet customers. Industry research firm Frost & Sullivan estimates that Lytx has about 60 percent market share in fleet video telematics.

A second San Diego firm, SmartDrive Systems, also is among the leaders in the industry  posting subscriber growth of 30 percent last year. SmartDrive landed an undisclosed amount of additional funding from Michelin North America last year.

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Lytx recently launched a new cloud-connected video service that incorporates additional video from cameras outside of the cab  offering a more complete, real-time picture of conditions not only on roads but also at loading docks and other locales.

Lytx has continued to set the pace as the market leader in video telematics, a category it established two decades ago, said Clearlake Co-Founders Behdad Eghbali and Jose E. Feliciano in a statement. With the versatility of video and the power of predictive analytics, Lytxs DriveCam program has become an industry standard in commercial transportation. They are uniquely poised to break through the next threshold of video technology.

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mike.freeman@sduniontribune.com;

Twitter:@TechDiego

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Ellen Browning Scripps helped build a national newspaper chain, shaped San Diego history, and funded local scientific organizations including Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

So, naturally, when Scripps researcher Greg Rouse found a novel species of microscopic marine worm on a La Jolla beach, he thought of the communitys benefactor when naming it.

So far as I know, Ellen had never had a species named after her, said Rouse, who said he was inspired by a biography of the San Diego philanthropist. And given her support for Scripps, I thought it would be a nice thing to do.

Microscope image of a live specimen of Trilobodrilus windansea a new worm species from Windansea beach. Trilobodrlus ellenscrippsae from off La Jolla Cove looks similar but is genetically distinct. (Courtesy Katrine Worsaae )

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The new species, Trilobodrilus ellenscrippsae, is a half-millimeter-long annelid, or segmented worm, in the family Dinophilidae. Rouse and his colleagues described the species in the issue of the European Journal of Taxonomy released April 3. They also found and named a second species, T. windansea, after the iconic La Jolla beach.

Rouse, a marine biologist and curator of invertebrates at Scripps, studies the biodiversity and evolution of these marine creatures, scouting deep-sea hydrothermal vents, coral reefs, and kelp forests for new organisms.

He was diving at La Jolla with a former colleague, Katrine Worsaae, when they found the tiny sand worms in sediment samples from the intertidal zone at Windandsea beach, and offshore at La Jolla Cove. Although these particular species are brand new, such meiofauna  microscopic animals living in soil and sand  are common.

There are millions of these little creatures living in amongst sand grains, Rouse said. We dont normally know theyre there, but once you grab some sand and sieve it, theyre everywhere.

The worms act as tiny cleaning crews in the beach ecosystem, gobbling up bacteria.

They glide around in amongst the sand grains, and theyre eating bacteria and other micro-organisms, Rouse said. So their role would be keeping beaches clean. They dont like muddy or polluted beaches, so theyre a sign of a healthy beach.

The researchers sequenced the worms DNA, and then completed the taxonomic process of describing and naming them, Rouse said.

But is a tiny worm sufficient tribute to Ellen Scripps, a larger-than-life figure in local philanthropy, journalism and science?

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Rouse thinks that Scripps, with her lifelong love of La Jolla, would have appreciated the honor. After all, other luminaries have enjoyed such a taxonomic tribute.

I named a worm after the Dalai Lama and he loved it, Rouse said. Based on what I have read about Ellen, I think she would be quite pleased to have this little creature that lived in a beach where she lived and looked out on named after her.Its all in the eye of the beholder and its beautiful when I look at it.

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deborah.brennan@sduniontribune.com Twitter@deborahsbrennan
Srinagar, April 07: Paddarpora, a small village nestled in hilly orchards of Shopian is mourning three young men, all cousins killed last Sunday not far from their homes in two gun battles with government forces.

A narrow alley leads to a row of houses belonging to Thokroos, homes of the three slain cousins  Ishfaq Ahmad, 24, Gayas-ul Islam, 19 and Rayees Ahmad, 18.

The village is a picture of mourning wails, heartbreak and stoicism.

People here are slowly coming to terms with their loss after receiving three bodies of the cousins, one after another within a few hours on the day when 13 militants and four civilians from the area were killed.

On Sunday afternoon we received body of Rayees first and buried him. Late in the evening we were handed over the body of his cousin Gayas, charred beyond recognition. A few hours later another body, that of Ishfaq, said an old neighbor, Ghulam Muhamad, busy making sure the bereaved families are fed.

It was no less than a doomsday for us.

The three slain cousins were all the youngest among their siblings in their respective middleclass families of orchardists.

The villagers are abuzz with stories of martyrs they have counted since three-decade long and ongoing conflict. The main alleys are decorated with buntings and banners, with photographs of its young, killed fighting soldiers in earlier years, besides Pakistani flags. Photos of the three slain cousins are the fresh additions.

Gayas and Rayees, the two teenagers were first cousins. Ishfaq was their distant cousin.

Ishfaq used the nom de guerre Adnan after joining Hizb-ul-Muajideen some four years back. According to security agencies he is believed to have renewed militancy in Shopian along with Wasim Malla who died fighting government forces in early 2016.

Ishfaq and Gayas were killed in Kachdoora village, barely eight kilometers away from their home during a fierce gunfight with soldiers that lasted eighteen hours.

Gayas had just completed his higher secondary education when he picked up arms some 18 months back to join Hizb, following his cousin Rayees nine months after he had joined the rebel ranks.

Rayees fell to the bullets of government forces in an earlier encounter that barely lasted three hours in Dragad-Sugan, 17 kilometers away from his home in Shopian district.

We are proud of all the three boys of our village, but the day will go down in history of Kashmir as a black day, said a youth from among a group outside Gayas house.

Everything happens with Gods will and we take it like that. Have no complaints whatsoever, says Sameer Ahmad, elder brother of Gayas, a student of Jamiat-ul-Falah seminary in Azamgarh of Uttar Pradesh.

Rayees brother, Muzamil, also a student of the same seminary nodded in agreement.

A group of women gather around to look at the collage of photos of young men on a wall, trying to recall their names.

One of them recognised Rayees Thokroo, who had gone with Hizb and was killed in 2003.

See this is Rayeess brother. I never saw him after he left home to join Hizb in late nineties, said a middle-aged woman pointing towards the photograph.

The scenes were no different in another village Amshipora, some 15 Kilometres away, home to another militant, Aitmiad Hussain, killed the same day. Hussain was an MPhil scholar and had qualified NET.

His father, Fayaz Ahmed Malik, a leading orchardist of the area put up a brave self receiving hundreds of mourners thronging his residence from all parts of the valley to offer solidarity with him.

Last November Hussain left home for the familys other home in Srinagar. Three hours later his photograph brandishing an automatic assault rifle went viral on social media.

When I met my son after that I tried to convince him to return. But his response left me speechless, said Hussains father.

He (Hussain) told me if I give up arms and come back would you guarantee me I wont die ever?, Malik said. This was the first and last time I told him to come back.

Call to father

When Hussain was trapped inside a military cordon on Sunday he made an emotional phone called to his father, the recording of which went viral on social media.

Father, I have been trapped and wont be able to escape. Please forgive me, Hussain was heard saying to Malik, who kept on telling his son to remain steadfast.

I cannot ask you to surrender, Malik told his son showing absolute affection at the same time.

Malik was also heard talking to sons associate Ishfaq who had received a bullet injury in his head and wanted to speak to his family, but before his fathers phone number could be found he died.

After that call he made another call for about an hour. He talked to his mother, sisters and brothers, says Malik, adding he kept on encouraging him to take a bullet on his chest.

My son lived up to the promise I feel contented with what my son has achieved, said Malik defiantly.

As he was talking to this reporter some of the women mourners sitting in the adjacent makeshift tent started wailing, but Malik admonished them.

It was Aitimads last wish that none among his family should wail over his death, he said.

Hussain, the eldest son of Malik had completed MPhil from Hyderabad Central University and had applied for Phd in Pondichery University before taking to arms.

Though he never showed any inclination towards militancy but he had a big library and was used to read lot. He was inspired by Syed Qutub, Hassan ul Bana and Maulana Maududis writings, Malik said.

-GK
Protecting the environment is important to Nicola Hedge, who grew up in New Zealand, where she recalls maintaining a clean and green environment as a core value in her Kiwi culture. As she was doing her graduate work in UC San Diegos global policy and strategy program, she was focused on non-profit management and international development. But when a classmate mentioned a fellowship at The San Diego Foundation, Hedge switched gears.

After joining the organization as a fellow in 2008, two years later she was managing their climate initiative and working to help reduce pollution and increase public awareness about solutions for climate change.

Hedge, 35, is director of environment initiatives at the foundation and lives in Oak Park with her partner, Aleksei, and their son. She took some time to talk about her environmental work, the lack of access to green spaces for low-income communities, and the perspective that comes from having grown up in different countries.

Q: Tell us about The San Diego Foundations environment initiatives.

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A: From the beaches and bays to the mountains and desert, the quality of life our region offers is widely defined by its world-renowned climate and interconnected system of parks and natural areas. The San Diego Foundations environment initiatives  Climate and Opening the Outdoors  help protect and strengthen that quality of life for current and future generations. The San Diego Foundation Climate Program helps catalyze greater regional action to reduce polluting emissions, build public awareness around solutions to climate change, and strengthen collaboration to create a more resilient region in the face of a changing climate. The San Diego Foundation Opening the Outdoors Program connects, protects and increases access to nature across the county, especially for San Diegans in underserved and park-poor communities.

Q: Where does your interest in the environment come from?

A: Growing up in New Zealand  my sisters and I were lucky to spend a lot of time outdoors as children, including summers up in the Bay of Islands or at a beachfront campsite where my grandma set up her camper van and vacationed with family every summer (which she did for 50 years!).

Q: You began managing the foundations climate initiative in 2010. What did that work entail?

A: Through our climate initiative, weve invested in locally based research, non-profit climate action, technical assistance, and peer-to-peer networking and collaborative projects among our regions 19 local governments and public agencies.

In 2010, for example, I was working with the City of Chula Vista to research various policy options for its climate adaptation plan, supervising five climate fellows to develop greenhouse gas emissions inventories for seven local cities, and working with partners to commission the first of five annual public opinion polls to assess the views, values and perspectives of San Diegans regarding climate change.

What I love about Oak Park ...

I think Oak Park is a little-known gem among San Diego neighborhoods. It is only 6 miles from downtown, incredibly diverse, blessed with Chollas Lake Park and its 2.5 miles of running trails, a library, fire station, and a small, nighttime farmers market. We first fell in love with the views of downtown and nightly sunset viewing. We are also mid-century modern fans ,so the 50s-era bungalow homes were a great starting point to make our own.

Q: Some of that work has been reported as deepen(ing) community awareness about the local impacts of climate change. How did you do this?

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A: Early in the development of our climate initiative, we realized we needed better local data to drive decisions about how this global challenge was going to affect our regions quality of life. We commissioned an assessment of regional climate change impacts, to which some 40 scientists and technical experts contributed to develop an agreed upon set of facts about what was at stake if current trends continued.

In 2014, we worked with communication experts, social psychologists and policy experts to update that assessment, and to inform local decision-making, over the past several years weve shared that research with city councils and civic organizations, hosted tours for elected officials to learn about local climate impacts and solutions, and funded nonprofits and local governments who are using that data to take action to address it.

Q: You also work with non-profits to create and sustain access to natural amenities in communities where access to green space is limited? How do you increase this access for those communities?

A: Non-profits play a critical role in protecting and enhancing natural areas that San Diegans so strongly value. Our beaches, bays, mountains, deserts and rivers are made better because of dedicated non-profits working throughout our county. As a region, its important to invest in their impact of protecting what makes San Diego so special, so all communities have a high quality of life.

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Q: Which communities have limited access to green space?

A: In 2010, we commissioned a report, Parks for Everyone, which found that while 45 percent of the countys total land area is green space, many low-income, ethnically diverse communities have limited access to parks and open spaces. Communities such as National City, El Cajon and City Heights are among those in our region that have limited access to safe, accessible outdoor space.

Q: Why is their access limited?

A: While much has been accomplished, much work remains to create equitable access to green space for all communities. Many park-poor communities lack green space because of their dense, urban makeup. In those instances, its difficult for families and children to get outside, which is why we support programs that provide opportunities for underserved communities to experience the outdoors.

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Q: What are some successes youve had in your work that youve been particularly gratified by?

A: One of the key metrics we have been tracking for our climate initiative is the number of cities in our region adopting local climate action plans that set goals to reduce polluting emissions and outline a plan of action to achieve them. When we launched this initiative, only two cities out of all 19 local governments had made any commitments to reduce emissions. Today, 18 out of 19 local governments have adopted or started working on a plan.

Q: What is the best advice youve ever received?

A: Being a new mom, I am told almost daily that your children grow up so fast. I have appreciated the reminder to take time to connect with family each day, despite busy work and life schedules.

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Q: What is one thing people would be surprised to find out about you?

A: While Im from New Zealand, before moving to the United States, my family lived in Malaysia. As a 9-year-old, moving to Malaysia expanded my horizons in a way I had never dreamed, with a new culture, climate, religion, language and environment. After four years in Malaysia, we moved to Australia, and then to Hawaii, where I graduated from the same high school that President Barack Obama attended.

Q: Please describe your ideal San Diego weekend.

A: A Saturday morning walk around Chollas Lake, followed by breakfast and coffee at the Kensington Cafe, and then spending the afternoon at the beach or at Mission Bay Park with friends and their toddlers to hang out, surf, play volleyball or picnic. Then, spending a lazy, Sunday afternoon grilling and watching the sunset at home with our little one.

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Email: lisa.deaderick@sduniontribune.com

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Twitter: @lisadeaderick
For the third time since 2006, the White House has ordered troops to the border with Mexico, although the Pentagon has yet to produce a detailed deployment plan or set a date for when the campaign would end.

A Wednesday executive memo issued by President Donald Trump declared that the situation at the border has now reached a point of crisis, a problem punctuated by lawlessness thats fundamentally incompatible with the safety, security and sovereignty of the American people.

My administration has no choice but to act, Trump said.

Late Friday, Secretary of Defense James Mattis acted, approving an initial wave of 500 National Guard troops with perhaps up to 3,500 more to follow by late September.

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Trump celebrated Saturday on Twitter: We are sealing up our Southern Border. The people of our great country want Safety and Security. The Dems have been a disaster on this very important issue!

But what theyll be doing, where theyll be posted and how long theyll monitor the nearly 2,100-mile border with Mexico remain murky.

Calls by The San Diego Union-Tribune to the the Department of Homeland Security, the Pentagon  where a fusion cell was quickly created by Mattis to flesh out Trumps deployment strategy  and military and political leaders in Sacramento, Austin and elsewhere found little guidance yet about the scope of the operations.

This request  as with others weve received from the Department of Homeland Security, including those for additional staffing in 2006 and 2010  will be promptly reviewed to determine how best we can assist our federal partners. We look forward to more detail, including funding, duration and end state, California Military Department spokesman Lt. Col. Keegan said by email.

Federal planners want the National Guard troops to aid Customs and Border Protection agents crack down on unauthorized immigration and illicit dope smuggling.

Californias Air and Army National Guard already deploy 250 troops for ongoing counter-narcotics missions across the state, with about 55 posted along the southwest border. They conduct surveillance along San Diego Bay; repair roads, fences and culverts and aid federal law enforcement analyzing narcotics and terrorism cases.

Claiming authority under Title 32 of the federal code, Trump will use federal funds to pay for the Guard deployments while ceding command authority to governors  a power they dont retain when troops go on combat tours overseas.

Although governors in Arizona, New Mexico and Texas have greenlighted any Guard deployments to the international boundary, Californias Gov. Jerry Brown has remained mum on his decision.

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Fellow Democratic governors far from the border in Montana and Oregon already said they wont send troops.

Shortly after a late Friday news conference, Texas Military Department officials posted imagery online showing UH-72 Lakota helicopters bringing a small influx of troops to the states Rio Grande River border with Mexico.

Securing the southern border is one of our governors priorities, and we welcome an opportunity to help ensure the safety and security of our state and nation, Texas Military Department spokesman Lt. Col. Travis Walters told the Union-Tribune by email. When the Texas Guard is called upon to increase our presence at the border, we have a force ready and trained with a first-hand knowledge of the mission and operating area that will allow us to seamlessly transition from our current state-directed border operations to respond to a federal call-up by the president.

Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama also ordered troops to the buttress Customs and Border Protection personnel, partly because the federal government needed time to recruit more agents to police the borderlands.

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Bushs Operation Jump Start rotated 30,000 Guardsmen to staff 6,000 positions in the southwestern states between 2006 and 2008.

Beginning in mid-2010, Obamas Operation Phalanx deployed 1,200 troops but the force winnowed to 300 personnel a year later, mostly to run aerial surveillance missions. The initiative ended in 2016.

Customs and Border Patrol credited Jump Start with aiding the detention of 186,814 unauthorized immigrants and the seizure of 316,364 pounds of marijuana  nearly 12 percent of all apprehensions during those years and more than 9 percent of the pot confiscated along the southwestern border.

Between mid-2010 and mid-2011, Phalanx helped detain 17,887 undocumented immigrants and seize 56,342 pounds of marijuana  slightly less than 6 percent of unauthorized migrants and nearly 3 percent of all pot seized there, the agency estimated.

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In 2012, the Government Accountability Office calculated the operations combined to cost nearly $1.4 billion, noting that the the deployments were plagued with problems.

Pentagon officials fretted over the lack of a comprehensive border security strategy and mission creep that detracted from other global security operations throughout both campaigns, the federal watchdog reported.

State military bureaus also expressed concerns that long-term border missions hurt National Guard recruitment and retention efforts, wore out equipment and degraded their to future natural disasters such as hurricanes and wildfires.

Homeland Security officials complained about the ad hoc nature of the militarys assistance. The Department of Transportation and Federal Aviation Administration worried about the dangers posed by aerial drones and other military aircraft buzzing through national airspace.

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Pentagon and State Department leaders likewise voiced concerns about militarizing the border with Mexico, a criticism echoed throughout this week by both the U.S. Catholic Bishops of the U.S./Mexico Border and the American Civil Liberties Union.

The continued militarization of the U.S./Mexico border distorts the reality of life on the border; this is not a war zone but instead is comprised of many peaceful and law-abiding communities that are also generous in their response to human suffering, read a statement released Friday that was signed by eight border bishops, including Bishop Robert W. McElroy of the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego.

Perhaps to counter those concerns, the Pentagon said that only certain troops would be armed for self-protection. Guardsmen in the Texas images did not appear to carry sidearms or operate aircraft with onboard weapons.

Other critics said Trumps rhetoric failed to prove there was a crisis on the border.

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Border Patrol agents nabbed 303,916 migrants crossing unlawfully into the United States from Mexico last year, the smallest number since 1971 and a trend that has continued through 2018, according to the agencys official statistics.

The military has no business enforcing federal immigration laws, Peter Simonson, executive director of the America Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico, said by email. Despite the lies that our president promulgates about immigrant families, the truth is that the great majority come to this land in hopes of bettering their lives and the lives of their children. To confront them with an armed force designed to destroy enemy combatants on a field of war would be a colossal injustice  one that could well result in widespread human rights violations and tragedy. Instead of giving into fear this way, we should be consulting with border communities and focusing on how to better train currently deployed (federal) agents to respect peoples civil and human rights.

On Thursday, Homeland Security spokesman Tyler Q. Houlton countered that the crisis at our Southwest border is real.

Illegal aliens continue to exploit our immigration laws, he said in a written statement. We need to close these dangerous loopholes that are being taken advantage of each and every day, gain operational control of the border and fully fund the border wall system. As the president has repeatedly said, all options are on the table.

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The White House has set no date for the proposed deployment to end but Trump pegged it to construction of a 30-foot-tall border wall. It might cost as much as $60 billion and take several years to erect, if Congress earmarks the funds.

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cprine@sduniontribune.com
A San Diego judge sentenced a former Miramar Marine who drove the wrong way down a freeway while drunk, crashing into a car full of medical students and killing two, to 17 years in prison Friday.

The sentence Judge Joan Weber handed down to Jason Riley King brought to a close a gut-wrenching case, one that the veteran jurist who has been on the bench for 28 years said was the worst case of its kind she has handled.

This is, without question, the most tragic one Ive ever had, said Weber, one of the San Diego Superior Courts most experienced judges who has presided over numerous homicide and violent crime cases.

King, 24, was convicted of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and drunken driving in January. The same jury that found King guilty of those crimes, acquitted him of the far more serious charge of murder in connection with the May 16, 2015 collision that killed two medical school students, 23-year-old Madison Cornwell and 24-year-old Anne Li Baldock.

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Three others who were passengers in Cornwells car were seriously injured.

King was found to have a blood alcohol content of between 0.15 percent and 0.20 percent, well above the legal limit of 0.08 percent.

The crash occurred on state Route 163 near Interstate 8. King, then a Miramar-based Marine, was driving south in the northbound lane following a night of heavy drinking at a Mission Valley bar.

The raised F-350 truck he was driving smashed head-on into the Prius Cornwell was piloting, shearing off the left side of the smaller car.

At the trial, Deputy District Attorney Cally Bright told the jury that both a bartender and a friend King was with tried to stop him from driving but King insisted, remarking I got myself here, Ill get myself home.

Kings attorney Richard Hutton admitted in trial that his client was intoxicated and driving but said he was not guilty of murder. That would require prosecutors proving King acted deliberately, which he contended he did not.

On Friday, Hutton said Riley would have pleaded guilty much earlier, and avoided the trial, if prosecutors had not insisted on pursuing a murder charge.

Weber noted that Cornwell and Baldock were young women of great promise, one aiming to be a pediatrician and the other a neurosurgeon.

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Laura Cornwell read a powerful statement in court, recalling that her daughters gentle ways, smile and warmth drew people to her.

Cornwell, Baldock and their friends were were celebrating the end of their second year of classes. The group gathered for a house party in Hillcrest, with Cornwell as the designated driver.

She dropped off one student in North Park, then headed north to the UC San Diego graduate student housing where the rest of the students lived.

One of the injured, Stosh Ozog, testified the collision left him with his spine fractured in three places, two broken ribs, a collapsed lung, a concussion and other injuries. He wore a back brace for four months and still endures pain as he continues his medical school program, he said.

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Jared Molitoris said he suffered a fractured sternum and learning disabilities including memory loss, which delayed his return to medical school until last May.

A third passenger, Yuki Iizuka, has suffered severe memory loss from brain trauma, along with a fractured femur and eye and hand injuries that all required several surgeries. He resumed medical school last May.

His mother, Maki, told the judge that her son has worked incredibly hard to get back to school, but will always have to deal with the damage from the crash. She urged King, who spent most of the hearing weeping and apologized to the families in a brief statement, to do the same while in prison.

I want you to study, learn, she said forcefully. I want you to learn what parents who lose children go through.

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Before pronouncing the sentence, Weber said the case had impacted six families  those of the victims and Kings, who were also in attendance. You could not have a more tragic case than what we went through, she said of the trial.

And she added a sad and true coda about this case, and similar fatal drunken driving cases. In 2018, as it was in 2015, the judge said, this crime is preventable. With ride hailing services like Uber and Lyft, taxis, and other options, drunken driving deaths can be avoided, she said.

The case prompted Gov. Jerry Brown to sign a state law last year requiring bartenders to take training in recognizing when customers are too drunk to be served more alcohol.

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Twitter: @gregmoran

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greg.moran@sduniontribune.com
An Oceanside woman who authorities said was driving drunk when her car swerved onto a curb and struck a homeless man  sending him through her cars windshield and killing him instantly  was found guilty Friday of second-degree murder.

Esteysi Stacy Sanchez, 31, also was found guilty of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, and hit and run in the June 27, 2016 crash that killed Jack Ray Tenhulzen. She faces a prison sentence of at least 15 years to life when she is sentenced May 31.

A North County jury deliberated for about a day before it reached verdicts.

That the defendant was charged with murder was not typical. Most deadly drunken-driving crashes are charged as manslaughter, unless the defendant has a prior drunken driving conviction  which Sanchez did not have.

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Deputy District Attorney Robert Bruce argued to the jury that Sanchezs case rose to the level of second-degree murder because friends with her that night told her not to drive. He said she had shown a conscious disregard for life.

On Friday, the prosecutor said he was pleased with the verdict.

I think this sends a message that if you are warned not to drink and drive, and you drink and drive anyway, you may be found guilty of murder, he said.

Sanchez, who authorities suspect is an unauthorized immigrant, has been jailed since the day of the crash.

Authorities said Sanchez was driving east on Mission Avenue about 6:15 a.m. when her car struck and killed 69-year-old Tenhulzen as he was on a sidewalk near the state Route 76 bridge.

The impact knocked him out of his pants and shoes, and thrust his body through the cars front windshield into the passenger seat. The crash killed him instantly, and severed one of his legs near the foot.

With the dead body next to her, Sanchez drove more than a mile, parked the car around the block from her house, then walked home.

Defense attorney Herb Weston had argued that his client  who had gone clubbing  had fallen asleep for a second as she made the roughly two-mile drive home from a motel where she had been at an after-party with friends.

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She failed to negotiate a small bend in the road and drove on sidewalk for about 100 feet, striking the victim.

Weston argued that Sanchez awoke on impact and freaked out when she saw shattered glass, blood and a body in the seat next to her.

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teri.figueroa@sduniontribune.com

(760) 529-4945

Twitter: @TeriFigueroaUT
A federal judge has refused to dismiss a lawsuit alleging that six San Diego police officers  including Dave Nisleit, recently appointed chief  violated the civil rights of a man they mistakenly held at gunpoint while investigating a death threat in City Heights three years ago.

U.S. District Judge Larry Burns ruled that a jury should decide whether officers were guilty of unreasonable seizure and excessive force on Sept. 9, 2014, when they trained their guns on Demetrice Sightler after he walked onto his balcony.

The court is reluctant to expose officers to liability when they answer an emergency call under the belief that a fellow citizen has a gun held to her head, Burns wrote in his order, dated March 28. At the same time, fellow citizens shouldnt have to experience the terror of an AR-15 pointed at them for ten minutes on a fall afternoon  especially when they are at home.

Police were called to an apartment complex on Lemona Avenue by a woman who said her son was threatening to shoot his girlfriend. She identified him as a 26-year-old black man living in apartment No. 5. As police gathered outside, Sightler, 33, and also black, went onto his balcony off apartment No. 3, looking for his girlfriend.

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Instead, he found himself surrounded by more than 10 officers, with at least four of them pointing guns. A helicopter flew overhead. A canine unit was there.

Sightler complied with demands to put his hands up, repeatedly told police his name and said they had the wrong apartment. But he also refused orders to walk through the apartment and surrender to officers at his front door. He said he feared if he turned his back he would be shot.

Police eventually obtained a photo of the man they were looking for, realized their mistake, and told Sightler he could go back into his apartment.

Sightler sued the officers involved, alleging violations of his Fourth Amendment protections against excessive force and unreasonable seizure. He also sued the city, alleging a policy of excessive force in arresting black citizens, failure to train, and failure to supervise.

The city and the officers filed a motion for summary judgment to dismiss the case.

In his ruling, Burns ruled in favor of the city, saying Sightler hadnt presented evidence that would enable a jury to rule in his favor on those department-wide policy and practices claims. However, he kept the suit against the individual officers intact.

When Sightler asked why police had a machine gun pointed at him, Burns wrote, the police said: Thats how we do business, OK? A jury, not a judge, needs to decide whether thats an okay way to conduct business under the Fourth Amendment.

The judge said while it is understandable why police thought Sightler was their guy, especially because the 911 caller had only provided a general description of the suspect, there are also reasons to consider whether the officers did all they could to determine if they had the right person and the right balcony.

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Underlying this case is the more invidious problem that officers were looking for a black man, saw a black man, then pointed their guns at a black man, Burns wrote. Targeting someone based on their race alone isnt good enough.

The officers named in the suit as pointing guns at Sightler are Andrew Longen, Angela Johnson, Jill Pimienta and Levi Harbin. Nisleit and Dan McClain were on the scene as supervisors, according to the suit.

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john.wilkens@sduniontribune.com
Being poor can be a full-time job.

Thats what about 50 professionals who work regularly with families facing financial hardships discovered in an exercise organized by the Alliance for Regional Solutions in Escondido on Tuesday at the North Inland Live Well Center.

Its really difficult being poor, said Kathleen Higgins, executive director of Operation Hope in Vista and one of the organizers of the event. Its exhausting being poor.

During the hour-long exercise, participants played the role of family members who struggled to make ends meet, sometimes pawning their possessions, getting assistance from a church and spending their day hustling from one agency to another.

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By the end, many said the challenge was harder than expected, and the exercise gave them more empathy for the people they work with.

Participants included employees from 27 organizations, including the cities of Carlsbad and Oceanside, CSU San Marcos, San Diego County In-Home Supportive Services and Health and Human Services, Escondido Union School District, Family Health Centers of San Diego, Jewish Family Service, Mental Health Systems, Interfaith Community Services, Palomar Health, San Diego County Office of Education and Vista Community Clinic.

You may get frustrated, said Greg Anglea, board president of Alliance for Regional Solutions, a coalition of cities and nonprofits in North County. It may not go as easily as youd hope it would, and thats kind of the point.

Staci Robertson, a social worker with the Vista Unified School District, was among the participants. She played the role of a single mother of three children, ages 9, 12 and 17. She earned $568 a month and received an extra $126 from Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and $800 from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

With that, she had to pay a $400 mortgage, $70 in taxes, $50 for maintenance, $431 in utilities, and spend $220 a week in groceries and pay back $160 a month to a pawn shop.

Are you here to pay? a woman working the table at the Friendly Utility Company asked. You owe me $580. Will you be paying the full amount today?

No, Robertson said, saying she could give $200.

Thats all? the other woman said? When will you be back pay to pay the rest?

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Robertson agreed to pay $300, but that left her with just $200 in cash. Her next trip was to the pawn shop.

How much would you give me for a diamond ring? she asked.

I could go $80 on that, she was told.

She later would return to pawn household items, including a couch, TV and computer, walking away with just a fraction of their worth.

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Frustrations came fast, followed by temptations. A shady character stopped her teenage son to ask if hed take a few things he happened to have to the pawn shop for a 70/30 split, with the boy getting the smaller cut. He took the offer, several times.

At the urging of his mother, he also filled out an application at an employment agency, only to be turned away for lack of work experience. He later landed a job at a grocery store.

Life quickly became a hectic ordeal of running from place to place, some with long lines that ate up precious time needed for other chores. Some participants received life event cards telling them their car had broken down, they needed to pay bail to get someone out of jail or other sudden unexpected expenses.

Robertson received a card saying she was the victim of identity theft, setting her back $100.

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A few families returned to their home at the end of the day to find their chairs had been tipped over, meaning their house was repossessed. One family spent a night in a car, then was cited for it.

At the end of the exercise, Robertson said she had a greater understanding of what life at home might be like for some of the children she deals with as a social worker.

As participants broke out in groups to talk about their experience, some shared that they quickly reached a breaking point.

Angel Lucas, who works at Vista Community Center, said after doing everything he could to make ends meet, he was tempted to cross a line.

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I felt like, Fine, Ill just steal then, he said.

Jeanie Vetter of North County Health Services said she and and others in her group agreed one of them would have to steal from someone else in the room.

We had a family and said, We have to do what we have to do, she said.

Others said they felt they became tougher in dealing with other people. A few said they neglected their children, and Vetter said she saw the long-term emotional effects poverty has on families.

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You can see how it gets transferred to the next generation, she said. Its all they know. Theyre in survival mode.

Jackie Aguilar of Palomar Health said she gained a greater empathy for people living in poverty, and she planned to share her experience with people on her team at work in the First 5 First Steps Home Visiting Program, a no-cost service for expectant parents and their families.

The exercise was based on a similar one called In Her Shoes that began about 25 years ago in Washington to raise awareness about domestic violence survivors.

Higgins, an Alliance for Regional Solutions board member, said she believed this was the first time the simulation had been held in San Diego County, and it was suggested at a meeting to combat misconceptions about poverty.

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She told participants that the next time they encounter someone who says poor people should just pick themselves up by the bootstraps, they should tell that person about their experience with the simulation.

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gary.warth@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @GaryWarthUT

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760-529-4939
A van that may have been carrying explosives was driven into a crowd of people in the western German college town of Muenster on Saturday, killing two people and injuring least 20, police said.

The driver of the vehicle shot himself and died at the scene, police said. He was described by police as a German man with possible psychological problems. Authorities said it was too soon to tell if the man was affiliated with any terror organizations.

German media identified the man by his first name and surname initial  Jens R  as is the custom for individuals alleged to have committed a crime.

He was additionally described by German news magazine Der Spiegel on its website as a 48-year-old graphic designer. NTV television cited mental health episodes going back to 2016 and 2014.

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According to several reports, the man lived just a few miles away from the scene of the incident.

(Los Angeles Times )

Since there have been several attacks by Islamist extremists in Germany in recent years, some committed by refugees who arrived in Germany in waves since mid 2015, there had been speculation that the attack might have been committed by such a refugee.

Andreas Bode, a police spokesman in Muenster, said six of the 20 people injured were in critical condition and that the driver took his own life with a gunshot while still in the vehicle.

There was a potentially suspicious object in the vehicle, Bode added. We are investigating what it is.

German media reports said the object had protruding wires.A large crowd of people was enjoying a sunny and warm afternoon at a popular outdoor sidewalk restaurant when the van smashed into them. The crash happened at 3:27 p.m. local time, in a part of town designated mainly for pedestrians near the citys cathedral, the police spokesman said. Police had investigated initial witness reports that two other suspects may have been involved and fled the scene.

But later the state of North Rhine-Westphalias top police official, Interior Minister Herbert Reul, told reporters in Muenster that police believe that the attack was carried out by the one German man acting alone.

The assailant who arbitrarily drove furiously into a crowd of people was a German citizen and not, as has been claimed, a refugee or anything like that, Reul told reporters, referring to speculation that some of the refugees from Syria and the Middle East who arrived in Germany in recent years could have been behind the incident.

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The details of this are under investigation right now. Reul said. And thats why we cant yet say what the motives were. At the moment there is no indication whatsoever of an Islamic background to this. We have to wait and see. We will be investigating in all directions. We need time for that.

The truck was traveling at a speed of about 30 mph in the pedestrian-filled area normally devoid of vehicle traffic when it crashed into the crowd, police said.

It was the first warm afternoon of the spring, with temperatures above 70 degrees outside the Kiepenkerl restaurant, according to NTV television. German media reported that police searched the truck for explosives.

German counter-terrorism authorities believe there are also 760 people considered threats to public safety in the country, many of them German citizens who returned to the country in recent years after training with or fighting for Islamic State.

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The whole city of Muenster is in mourning, said Muenster Mayor Markus Lewe. We dont yet know at this point what was behind this horrible incident.

Muenster is a small city in western Germany about 270 miles west of Berlin. On Dec. 19, 2016, 12 people were killed in Berlin city in an attack committed by Anis Amri, an asylum-seeker from Tunisia. He deliberately drove a stolen truck into a crowd of revelers at a Christmas market in an attack which Islamic State claimed responsibility.

With a population of 311,000, Muenster is little known outside Germany but famous inside the country as a pedestrian-friendly city with an exceptionally high number of bicycle riders.

Gabriele Ruegner, an eyewitness to Saturdays incident, told NTV television that she had been sitting at an outdoor cafe nearby in the city center when the crash happened.

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We were told by police that we should evacuate the area immediately, that there had been a terror attack. We werent even allowed to pay our bills. Police told us it was a terror attack and there was a danger of a further attack and thats why we should leave immediately.

Kirschbaum is a special correspondent.

UPDATES:

2:30 p.m. This article was updated with additional information about the crash and to clarify that two people were killed by the van, not three. The third person dead was the driver of the vehicle, who took his own life with a gunshot while still in the van, police said.

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9:45 a.m. This article was updated throughout with staff reporting that includes eyewitness accounts.

9:10 am. This article was updated with a report of three dead.

8:50 a.m. This article was updated with a report that driver killed himself.

This article was originally published at 8:20 a.m.
Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva defied an order to turn himself in to police on Friday, instead hunkering down with supporters at a metallurgical union that was the spiritual birthplace of his rise to power.

The once wildly popular leader, who rose from poverty to lead Latin Americas largest nation, had until 5 p.m. local time to present himself to police in the city of Curitiba to begin serving a sentence of 12 years and one month for a corruption conviction.

Hours after the deadline, however, da Silva remained inside the union building in the Sao Paulo suburb of Sao Bernardo do Campo, about 260 miles (417 kilometers) northeast of Curitiba. Party leaders initially said he would speak in the late afternoon, but later said he would not.

Two sources close to da Silva told The Associated Press the former leader would not go to Curitiba, but instead was considering either waiting for police at the union or presenting himself in Sao Paulo on Saturday. They spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to share internal deliberations being discussed.

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Forcing da Silva out of the union building on a Friday night would be a logistical nightmare given the thousands of supporters outside  clashes would be a possibility  and heavy Friday traffic in Sao Paulo.

The intention is not to force compliance at any cost, but rather follow the order the best way possible, with tranquility and without a media show, Luis Antonio Boudens, president of the federal police, said in a statement.

Sen. Roberto Requiao told reporters that da Silva planned to attend a commemoration Saturday morning for his late wife, to be held at the union.

Anna Julia Menezes Rodrigues, a specialist in criminal law at Braga Nascimento e Zilio, said da Silvas defiance did not turn him into a fugitive. It just meant that it was now up to federal police to carry out the warrant, she said.

Federal judge Sergio Moro, seen by many in Brazil as a crusader against endemic graft, on Thursday gave da Silva 24 hours to present himself to authorities.

The arrest warrant came hours after Brazils top court, the Supreme Federal Tribunal, voted 6-5 to deny a request by the former president to stay out of prison while he appealed a conviction that he contends was simply a way to keep him off the ballot in Octobers election. He is the front-running presidential candidate despite his conviction.

Last year, Moro convicted da Silva of trading favors with a construction company in exchange for the promise of a beachfront apartment. That conviction was upheld by an appeals court in January. The former president denies any wrongdoing in that case or in several other corruption cases that have yet to be tried.

Friday night, thousands listened to music and speeches outside the metallurgical union in Sao Bernardo do Campo where the ex-president universally known as Lula got his start as a union organizer.

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However it happens, the jailing of da Silva will mark a colossal fall from grace for a man who rose to power against steep odds in one of the worlds most unequal countries.

Born in the hardscrabble northeast, da Silva rose through the ranks of the union in the countrys industrial south. In 1980, during the military dictatorship, da Silva was arrested in Sao Bernardo do Campo for organizing strikes. He would spend more than a month in jail.

After running for president several times, in 2002 da Silva finally won. He governed from 2003 to 2010, leaving office an international celebrity and with approval ratings in the high 80s.

Former U.S. President Barack Obama once called da Silva the most popular politician on Earth.

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Since leaving office, things have steadily gotten worse for the leader, who has been charged in several corruption cases. He has always maintained his innocence while continuing to campaign across the country the past year. Despite his legal troubles, he leads preference polls to return to office  if by some chance he is allowed to run.

Like so much in a nation that has become deeply polarized, that da Silva would soon be behind bars was being interpreted differently by supporters and detractors.

This has always been Lula: a crook and a radical who doesnt respect the law, said Edson Soares, a 70-year-old retiree at a shopping mall near the union building. It will feel so much better to have him in prison.

Antonio Ferreira dos Santos, a 43-year-old bricklayer who was keeping vigil outside the union, had a different take.

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Lula is one of us. He knows what it is like to have a tough life and loves the poor more than the rich, said dos Santos.

Workers Party leaders insist that da Silva, 72, would still be the partys candidate in October. Technically, beginning to serve his sentence would not keep da Silva off the ballot. In August, the countrys top electoral court makes final decisions about candidacies. It was expected to deny da Silvas candidacy under Brazils clean slate law, which disqualifies people who have had criminal convictions upheld. However, da Silva could appeal such a decision, though doing so from jail would be more complicated.

Da Silva is the latest of many high-profile people to be ensnared in possibly the largest corruption scandal in Latin American history. Over the last four years, Brazilians have experienced near weekly police operations and arrests of the elite, from top politicians to businessmen like former Odebrecht CEO Marcelo Odebrecht.

Investigators uncovered a major scheme in which construction companies essentially formed a cartel that doled out inflated contracts from state oil company Petrobras, paying billions in kickbacks to politicians and businessmen.

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While Moro, who oversees many cases in the so-Called Operation Car Wash, is hailed as a hero by many, others see him as a partisan hit man out to get da Silva and the Workers Party.

Peter Prengaman reported from Rio de Janeiro. Associated Press reporter Jill Langlois in Sao Paulo contributed to this report.
In the latest sign of plummeting relations with Moscow, the Trump administration slapped new sanctions Friday on seven Russian oligarchs with close ties to the Kremlin, including President Vladimir Putins son-in-law, for what a U.S. official called attacks to subvert Western democracies.

The administrations long-delayed move against Russias ruling elite, mandated by Congress last year to punish Moscow for its meddling in the 2016 U.S. election, also included targeted sanctions against 12 Russian companies and 17 senior government officials.

The direct assault on Putins inner circle seemed to signal an end, at least for now, to President Trumps persistent efforts to revive moribund U.S. relations with Moscow despite growing warnings by U.S. intelligence officials that the Kremlin will try to interfere in the November election.

The blacklist was issued a week after the United States and two dozen other countries expelled about 150 Russian diplomats, alleged to be intelligence operatives, in retaliation for the nerve gas poisoning of a former Russian double agent and his daughter in southern England last month.

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Putins government, which has denied responsibility for the attack, responded by expelling a similar number of U.S. and other diplomats in the kind of crude tit-for-tat clash not seen since the Cold War. Dozens of U.S. diplomats and their families left Moscow on Thursday.

Trump has been reluctant to publicly criticize Putin, even inviting him to the White House in a phone call on March 20, although no summit has been scheduled. Trump did not publicly mention the new sanctions on Friday.

But the White House took a stronger line Friday, signaling that the olive branch has been withdrawn.

What we would like to see is the totality of the Russian behavior change, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House spokeswoman, told reporters.

Asked whether Trump agreed, Sanders said the president has signed off and directed these actions. I think that that speaks volumes, actually, on how the president feels.

A senior administration official, who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity, said Trump seeks a better relationship with Russia. That can only happen when Russia curbs its aggressive behavior. Actions have consequences.

The abruptly tougher tone by the White House was previewed this week in a speech by H.R. McMaster, the outgoing national security advisor.

So for too long some nations have looked the other way in the face of these threats, he said Tuesday at the Atlantic Council, a foreign policy think tank. Russia brazenly and implausibly denies its actions. And we have failed to impose sufficient costs.

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The push comes as special counsel Robert S. Mueller III investigates Russias interference in the 2016 campaign, and any potential illegal ties between Trumps campaign and Russian authorities. Mueller recently obtained criminal indictments against 13 Russians, including several of those on the latest blacklist.

Russian oligarchs and elites who profit from this corrupt system will no longer be insulated from the consequences of their governments destabilizing activities, Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin said.

Mnuchin criticized Putins government for engaging in a range of malign activity around the globe, including its occupation of Crimea and military operations in eastern Ukraine, its military support for Syrian President Bashar Assads forces in that countrys brutal civil war, as well as attempting to subvert Western democracies, and malicious cyber activities.

In March, the administration levied sanctions against 16 Russian entities and individuals, as well as Russian intelligence agencies and officials. The new measures stand out because they go after the pocketbooks of some of Russias wealthiest businessmen, including some of Putins closest advisors and supporters.

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They include Oleg Deripaska, a 50-year-old metals magnate said to be worth $5.8 billion. Deripaska had business ties with Paul Manafort, who served as Trumps campaign chairman for several months in 2016. Manafort has been indicted on charges of money laundering, bank fraud and conspiracy. He has pleaded not guilty.

Also on the list is 36-year-old Kirill Shamalov, a petrochemical executive whose fortune reportedly soared to nearly $1.5 billion after he married Putins daughter Katerina in 2012. Recent unconfirmed reports suggest the marriage has collapsed.

Among the businesses sanctioned is a state-owned weapons company that supplied military equipment to the government in Syria, which Moscow backs. The sanctions bar the individuals or entities from using U.S. financial systems or doing business with any U.S. citizens or companies, and freezes any assets they may have in the United States.

According to a White House statement, the Trump administration has taken a broad array of steps to confront destabilizing and malicious behavior by Russia.

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They include export controls against two companies working with Russias missile program, charges against three Russians for the 2014 hack of Yahoo and sanctions against 100 targets in response to Russias occupation of Crimea and military operations in Ukraine.

Shortly before he left office, President Obama ordered the expulsion of 35 Russian diplomats and closed two Russian compounds, in New York and Maryland, that were allegedly used for intelligence gathering. Those sites remain shuttered.

Speaking in Moscow on Thursday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov complained about the increasingly hostile U.S. stance toward Russia but expressed hope that Trump and Putin could conduct a broad dialogue as long as it does not fall victim to domestic political intrigues in Washington.

U.S. intelligence officials have publicly warned since the fall of 2016 that Russias government was conducting what it calls active measures against the U.S. political system, including aggressive hacking, use of social media and other tactics.

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Adm. Michael S. Rogers, director of the National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command, told Congress this year that the U.S. government had not acted strongly enough to deter future meddling from Moscow.

I believe that President Putin has clearly come to the conclusion that, theres little price to pay here and therefore I can continue this activity, Rogers told the Senate Armed Services Committee in February.

Trump has acknowledged Russian meddling in the 2016 election, but insisted it had no impact on the voting. As recently as March 6, he appeared to deflect blame from Moscow, however.

Certainly, there was meddling and probably there was meddling from other countries and maybe other individuals, he said.

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On Friday, lawmakers from both parties, including some who have complained about Trumps soft approach to Putin, praised the sanctions on the Russian leaders top backers.

The United States must press forward with a broader strategy to deter and, if necessary, defeat Russian aggression and counter Russian malign influence activities, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in a statement. Anything less will only encourage Putin to continue attacking us, our allies, and democracies around the world.

noah.bierman@latimes.com

chris.megerian@latimes.com

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Staff writers Tracy Wilkinson and Brian Bennett in Washington and special correspondent Sabra Ayres in Moscow contributed to this report.
Srinagar, April 07: Defying restrictions, thousands of people attended funeral prayers of a slain youth, Mussavir Ahmed Wani, in Pulwama district, today, while several people were injured when the Indian forces clash with protesters

Mussavir Ahmed Wani was killed by the Indian troops during ant-rebel operation, yesterday. The authorities imposed restrictions in the entire district, today, and sealed all entry and exit points of Pulwama town to prevent people from staging demonstrations against the killing. However, defying restrictions, thousands of people assembled in Mussavir Wanis native Delipora village and participated in his funeral prayers.

Forceful demonstrations erupted in the area following the funeral prayers of Mussavir Wani. The protesters raised high-pitched pro-freedom, pro-Pakistan and anti-India slogans. Indian police and troops used brute force and fired teargas shells to disperse the protesters, triggering intense clashes between the demonstrators and the forces personnel. Several people were injured, some of them critically, during the clashes.

The Chairman of All Parties Hurriyat Conference, Syed Ali Gilani, in a statement paying glorious tributes to martyred Musavir Ahmad Wani said that the Kashmiri youth were sacrificing their precious lives for a sacred cause.

Meanwhile, complete shutdown continued in Shopian district and in Kangan area of Ganderbal against the recent killing of people by the troops. All shops, business establishments, government and private offices remained closed while transport was off the road. The authorities continued to keep educational institutions shut to prevent students protests against the killings.

Moreover, Aligarh Muslim University Students Union organised a protest rally in the campus against the killings of innocent people by the troops in Kashmir.
Approval of pot farms and marijuana edible factories in San Diego is being delayed by environment hurdles.

The citys climate action plan is forcing applicants to do greenhouse gas studies.

A local supply chain would eliminate the need to truck marijuana in from elsewhere and help prevent a black market.

San Diego may not have a local supply chain for its marijuana dispensaries as quickly as expected because of rigorous city environmental approvals and other regulatory hurdles facing indoor pot farms and factories for edible products.

The 65 applicants seeking to open such businesses in San Diego are facing requirements for studies of their energy use, water consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in order to gauge their compliance with the citys climate action plan.

The applicants are also unsure what kind of lengthy reviews they might face under state environmental law because city officials havent decided whether to require comprehensive environmental impact reports or more cursory analysis.

Meanwhile, citizen-led community planning groups where the businesses will cluster  Mira Mesa and Otay Mesa  have taken the unusual step of delaying their recommendations until all environmental analysis is complete.

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City officials want the 18 legal dispensaries theyve approved to have a local supply chain as soon as possible to eliminate the need to truck marijuana in from elsewhere and to prevent a local black market of marijuana producers.

The businesses are expected to boost the local economy, create jobs and improve the quality and safety of local marijuana, while also generating revenue for the city from its new 5 percent cannabis tax.

The city has agreed to allow three dozen local businesses already allowed to engage in cultivation and manufacturing without formal city approval to continue operating through November 2019 before shutting down.

But its not clear how many are actually producing marijuana, or how much of the marijuana products sold at local dispensaries they supply.

When San Diego agreed last November to allow pot farms and edible factories, industry leaders said they expected the approval process to be shorter than the 14-month average for the dispensaries approved over the last few years.

That was primarily because the local marijuana industry had become more familiar with city development regulations and had developed relationships with the city officials overseeing the process.

In addition, during the dispensary approvals the city revised and made easier to understand a series of requirements that marijuana businesses be certain distances away from schools, parks, housing and other sensitive uses.

But that optimism has been tempered by the more rigorous environmental review and the decision by planning groups to take a different approach than they did with dispensaries.

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In addition, some of the proposed businesses could get rejected outright, instead of just being delayed.

The city is making some requests that are different than with dispensaries, Kimberly Simms, one of the regions leading marijuana attorneys, said by phone last week. I think approvals will take longer because they are asking for more.

The greenhouse gas emissions studies, which cost about $25,000 each, have played a key role in delaying applications for marijuana production businesses, partly because such analysis is a relatively new process.

You need to analyze whether this project uses more gas and power than what was there before, Jessica McElfresh, another marijuana attorney, said by phone. Weve had to hire firms to do these reviews.

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San Diegos climate action plan, which was adopted in 2015, commits the city to slashing its greenhouse gas emissions 15 percent below 2010 levels by 2020 and 50 percent below that benchmark by 2035.

State law

The greenhouse gas studies and other requirements under the climate action plan are also delaying a city decision on how to handle approval of the marijuana producers under state environmental law, McElfresh said.

Dispensaries were deemed exempt under the law, the California Environmental Quality Act, but city officials wont decide whether to grant the same exemptions to marijuana producers until they see the greenhouse gas studies.

If not, the pot farms and edible factories could have to analyze their impact on traffic, water and other parts of the surrounding environment with either a mitigated negative declaration or a more intense environmental impact report.

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McElfresh noted that many cities and counties around the state, including Chula Vista last month, built CEQA exemptions into their decisions to allow marijuana production businesses.

A city spokesman declined to say what factors will determine what type of CEQA analysis is required for each project, or to say when those determinations will take place.

The timing of the determination depends on the project scope, and features and setting, wrote the spokesman, Scott Robinson. Furthermore, sometimes additional information is needed to be able to analyze the project for potentially significant impacts.

Local groups

The environmental requirements have prompted community planning groups in Mira Mesa and Otay Mesa, where 30 of the 65 proposed businesses would be located, to change their approach to making recommendations on the projects.

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We decided as a group we didnt want to hear any of them until theyve done their full environmental with the city, which is usually the last thing done with the city, said Rob Hixson, chairman of the Otay Mesa Planning Group, by phone last week.

That approach will require applicants to schedule hearings, make presentations and receive planning group recommendations near the end of the process instead of near the beginning.

Usually we like to give input on what a development will look like before somebody designs the whole thing, but because most of these facilities are going to be in existing industrial buildings we thought this would be a better way to go about it, said Hixson, whose community is considering 12 proposed marijuana production businesses.

In Mira Mesa, the planning group has asked the 18 applicants to make two presentations: one at the beginning of the process and another once the environmental work is done.

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By that time, well have all the comments back from the city and whatever environmental document the city decides that they need, said Jeff Stevens, chairman of the Mira Mesa Community Planning Group, by phone last week.

Stevens said during the initial presentations over the winter that some additional concerns came up.

One applicant is jeopardizing the building insurance for other tenants of the same property because insurers are reluctant to do business with marijuana producers.

Another would be located near the Miramar Cafe on Miramar Road, possibly damaging the restaurants business if strong odors emanate from the production facility.

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The citys ordinance requires that marijuana production businesses have odor-absorbing ventilation and exhaust systems, but its unclear how the city will handle such businesses if there is odor anyway.

The planning groups play only an advisory role when they make recommendations on projects.

But even when projects get approved despite their objections, their comments can prompt the addition of new requirements such as more parking spots or relocated entrances.

Stevens said he is unsure how many of the proposed marijuana production facilities his group will endorse.

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Were working to make sure the ones that go in do not have negative side effects, he said. I think what were looking for is that they dont cause problems for their neighbors, they dont emit odors and they satisfy environmental requirements. If theyre basically not a bother to anyone, then theyll probably go through.

McElfresh, one of the marijuana attorneys, said despite the additional requirements, she doesnt believe city officials are singling out the controversial marijuana industry for extra scrutiny.

She compared the climate action plans role in the process to when accessibility requirements under the Americans with Disabilities Act were a new thing cities had to deal with during project approvals.

This is a use the citys never processed before and the climate action plan is new, she said. It doesnt mean we are being treated unfairly.

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While the city is processing 65 applications for marijuana production businesses, the city law includes a cap of 40 total in San Diego, so the first 40 that get final approval will be allowed to operate.

david.garrick@sduniontribune.com (619) 269-8906 Twitter:@UTDavidGarrick
A flash fire at the Ballast Point Brewing Company kitchen in Miramar sent one person to a hospital Saturday.

Just after 9 a.m., firefighters were alerted to a kitchen fire at the brewpub on Carroll Way, said San Diego Fire-Rescue Department spokesperson Monica Munoz.

A man in his 40s was taken to a hospital for burns, though they were not considered severe, Munoz said. No one else was injured.

The brewery announced on social media that it will be closed all day Saturday and open for normal business hours Sunday.

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The San Diego County Department of Environmental Health will need to be called in to inspect fire safety equipment that was used by the restaurant before it can re-open, Munoz said.
A driver attempting to enter a secured parking lot at Sage Creek High School early Saturday morning was arrested after fleeing from officers and driving his car into a tree, Carlsbad police said.

The incident began about 3:15 a.m., when officers on patrol near the campus noticed a car trying to enter the secured parking lot.

The 30-year-old driver fled west along Cannon Road and crashed into a tree on Peninsula Drive, just east of College Boulevard, police said. He was taken into custody after a brief struggle with officers.

The Oceanside man was transported to a nearby hospital for treatment and was expected to be booked into the Vista jail on charges of felony evading and resisting arrest.

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kristina.davis@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @kristinadavis
Back in 1997, a San Diego firefighter by the name of Brian Fennessy borrowed his buddys laptop so that, during down times, he could sit in the back of the station pecking out his big idea: a plan to introduce aerial firefighting to the department.

The idea would take pushing, politicking and creative financing. Everybody scoffed along the way, Fennessy said. I just persisted.

Eventually San Diegos bigwigs embraced it and signed on, perhaps spurred by the lack of aircraft during the massive and deadly 2003 Cedar fire, Fennessy said. The department now has two firefighting and rescue helicopters, both capable of flying missions at night and available for agencies throughout the county.

A little less than two decades later, that firefighter became chief of the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department.

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And now, after two and a half years at the helm, Fennessy is leaving his post next week to take the top job at Orange County Fire Authority, which covers more than 70 fire stations, 1.7 million residents in 23 cities and the unincorporated areas of the county. (San Diego Fire-Rescues jurisdiction includes 50 fire stations and roughly 1.3 million residents.)

It presents a big task for Fennessy, whose firefighting career started in 1978 when he was hired by the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management, where he served on hotshot and helishot crews.

He made the jump to San Diego Fire-Rescue in 1990, and worked his way up the ranks of a department that now has more than 1,200 staffers, including nearly 970 uniformed firefighters and 168 lifeguards.

On Friday, the now 58-year-old chief reflected on his years with the San Diego agency, his thoughts on its accomplishments and challenges, and his advice for whomever becomes the new chief.

The questions and answers have been edited for brevity.

What was the biggest challenge when you took over the department in 2015?

When I came in, my biggest concern was our communications center. In my view it was not functioning the way it needed to be. It needed to go from a communication center to a command center  meaning putting command officers in there and hiring dispatchers.

Because that is the other piece of the response times. You have us getting the call and getting there getting quickly but the dispatchers have to process the calls quickly. And (the calls) cant back up (but) they were stacking up. So since then, weve got 24-hour supervision by battalion chiefs in there, even hired dispatchers.

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We are talking with the county about becoming a regional (communications center). So things have evolved.

Talk about the peak-hour engine concept (which, if implemented, would create a handful of roving fire crews for 12 hours a day) and the hope to add more fire stations.

The peak-hour engine thing, I think, is just going to be amazing. The idea behind it is we are trying to reduce response times.

We take four to six engines every day out of service because they have to do (mandatory, legally required) training. As I sit here today. I bet I have three or four engines or trucks down at our training center.

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We know that we have these outages, these fire stations are going to be empty, right? When theres calls in those neighborhoods, the other engines from a distance have to show up. We are not meeting our response times. Instead of six or seven minutes, maybe it takes them 10 minutes. Thats not good when you call 911.

(By using a roving crew) we just covered six outages every day in the peak period. And the beauty of it is  this is the part I love most  at the end of the day when the freeway on-ramps are congested, that impacts our response times. When these guys are done covering the outages, we stick them in different places throughout known congested areas so that they can respond to accidents, heart attacks, whatever it may be. At the end of the day, they shut their engine down, they go home and so they are home every night.

Its less expensive. Youre closing gaps, youre dealing with congestion that we didnt have 20 years ago without you having to build a station.

Now, you are still going to have to build a station. Theres 10, 11 stations that need to be built. Theyll get built, but they are not going to get built overnight.

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You spent most of your career here. Then Orange County came knocking. Why leave now?

I never planned to be sitting here having this conversation. If you would have asked me two months ago, I would have told you you were crazy. I love San Diego. I can help them (Orange County) with some of their challenges, and I plan on being around a long time because if you are going to improve operational culture, that is a multi-year process.

Ive got enough in me to do that.

What is your advice for the next chief?

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Just keep everything going. There is no expectation that you bring new programs, but youre not limited either. With this mayor and this council, they appreciate innovation and trying to provide better service. For people who have ideas, this is a great climate to come into, because they are willing to do it.

Just keep things going, Chief, and I know you will be successful here for as long as you want to be here.

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Twitter: @TeriFigueroaUT

(760) 529-4945

teri.figueroa@sduniontribune.com
A Carlsbad police officer was arrested Friday night on suspicion of unlawfully entering an Oceanside home and stalking his ex-girlfriend, police said Saturday.

Jeffry Edwards, 37, was arrested about 8:15 p.m. in San Clemente without incident and booked into jail, where he remained Saturday afternoon on $500,000 bail.

On Thursday, Oceanside police got a call from Carlsbad police advising one of their officers had possibly committed a crime in Oceanside, said Oceanside Lt. Kedrick Sadler.

Detectives followed up on the tip and determined Edwards had committed a residential burglary at his ex-girlfriends home on Windrift Way and had been stalking her, Sadler said.

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A Carlsbad spokeswoman said Saturday that Edwards is no longer employed at the department. She said she was prohibited from elaborating further except to say his employment status is not related to this case.

According to his LinkedIn page, he is a U.S. Army veteran who also served in the National Guard. He previously worked in Louisiana as a police officer in Broussard, a sheriffs deputy in Lafayette Parish and a state parole and probation officer.

He joined Carlsbad police in July, the website says.

kristina.davis@sduniontribune.com

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Twitter: @kristinadavis
A 75-year-old pilot who was heading home to San Diego County was killed when his small plane crashed into a ravine in Northern California Friday evening, authorities said.

The Sonoma County Sheriffs Office has not confirmed the identify of the pilot, but the family of Carl Morrison of Fallbrook posted a message on Facebook Saturday morning saying the plane Morrison was flying crashed near Petaluma.

We are so saddened by the passing of our husband, father, and friend, the post said. Morrison was the vice commander at Pacific Region, Civil Air Patrol and principal at Morrison Law, a firm based in Fallbrook.

The post said Morrison was on his way home after a business trip.

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The first hint of trouble came about 6:40 p.m. when the U.S. Air Force received an emergency transponder activation from an aircraft. The military notified the Sonoma County Sheriffs Office and deputies searched the coordinates on Sonoma Mountain in eastern Petaluma but didnt find any sign of a crash, said sheriffs Sgt. Spencer Crum.

Around the same time, a woman called Petaluma police and reported her husband was overdue home. She said he was supposed to have taken off from the Petaluma Municipal Airport in his Mooney M20 and flown home, Crum said.

About 10 p.m., deputies spotted a small fire in a remote ravine. Deputies hiked to the area and found the downed plane and the body of the pilot.

The National Transportation Safety Board will determine the cause of the crash.

Carl Morrison (Photo from Pacific Region, Civil Air Patrol )

Carl was a good man, said Tom Wilson, a Fallbrook writer and photographer who was a friend of Morrisons for more than 20 years at the Fallbrook Community Airpark. He was intelligent, family-oriented, principled  you could take him at his word, very professional.

Morrison served for 20 years as a member of the Marine Corps, reaching the rank of lieutenant colonel and serving time in Vietnam.

Morrison ran his law firm out of the Fallbrook airpark and frequently flew to the Bay Area to conduct business, Wilson said. Its absolutely a shock, Wilson said. He kept his airplane in very good condition and he used it a lot.

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According to his law firms website, Morrison earned four university degrees, including a bachelors degree from Brigham Young University in 1966 and a law degree from DePaul University in Chicago in 1976.

A devout Mormon, Morrison had an extensive family that included eight children and 22 grandchildren, according to a story about the accident in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat.

Wilson said he last saw Morrison a week ago at the airpark when the attorney drove by.

When he got out of the car for our initial greeting I figured wed shake hands but he gave me a hug, Wilson said. And that was the last time I saw him  Its a very nice way to remember him.

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The California wing of the Civil Air Patrol posted the news on its Facebook page.

Col Morrison was the type of Airman that we should all aspire to be; dedicated, compassionate and always forward looking, said the post signed by Pacific Region commander, Col. Jon Stokes. He will be missed every day.

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kristina.davis@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @kristinadavis
The vast majority of Californians are fortunate enough to take access to clean drinking water for granted. However, the fact that some Californians in small, rural communities do not have this access is a travesty in this modern day and age. It can and must be fixed as an urgent state priority.

Resolving this unacceptable situation will come at a high price.

Related: Fund needed for access to safe drinking water

Thankfully, the state government can draw on existing funding sources to ensure access to clean water for every California resident. This funding can be made available through ongoing federal safe drinking water funds and voter-approved general obligation bonds, along with already proposed agricultural assessments related to nitrates in groundwater. Additionally, less than one-tenth of 1 percent of our record-breaking $130 billion state general fund could help get the job done.

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Unfortunately, there are politicians who instead see this problem as an excuse to impose a statewide tax on drinking water. Its been tried before.

Currently being proposed by the Brown administration through a budget trailer bill, this tax would be a first, but it probably wouldnt be the last.

Other proposals to tax drinking water are already being discussed. This is one of many reasons why the proposal to impose a new state tax on drinking water is the wrong solution to a problem that must be solved.

Simply put, taxing drinking water  an essential life-sustaining resource  is just not sound policy. It also comes with unintended consequences. My organization, Padre Dam Municipal Water District, is among roughly 3,000 water suppliers of all sizes operating in California. The proposal to tax drinking water would force them to add staff and to re-program billing software to essentially become miniature state tax authorities. That will prove exceptionally difficult for small water districts already operating on a shoestring budget.

For water districts off all sizes, a drinking water tax will also extract local money and send it to Sacramento, along with diverting funds from maintaining local water infrastructure as efficiently as possible, to keep water as affordable as possible.

Our ability to provide our customers with safe drinking water depends on this work. For example, Padre Dam is among four partners funding the Advanced Water Purification East County, which will make generational improvements in reducing our dependence on imported water. These are the kinds of projects that we need to focus on, not becoming a tax collector for the state. There is also public support for our position. A recent survey commissioned by the Association of California Water Agencies revealed that, out of 1,000 likely California voters interviewed, an overwhelming 73 percent opposed a statewide tax on drinking water. If a statewide tax on drinking water were truly the only existing funding mechanism for ensuring that every Californian has safe drinking water, the taxpayer anger directed at water districts would be an infinitesimally tiny price to pay for securing this human right. It isnt. And as it is, a tax is far from the only solution, doesnt even need to be part of any solution, and calls into question the ultimate motive behind this proposal.

The headlong rush to slap a tax on drinking water brings to mind the old saying if all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. We should expect better of our elected officials, who need to put a sincere effort into finding solutions that dont involve a reflexive call for new and more taxes. Join me in making this clear to our legislators and urging them to adopt a more reasonable funding solution to resolving this critical issue.

Pommering is president of the Padre Dam Municipal Water District Board of Directors.
The news that the once-booming Green Flash brewery has been sold came as little surprise. The Mira Mesa company founded in 2002 had defaulted on its $20 million loan from Comerica Bank and last month closed its Virginia Beach brewery and a barrel-aging facility in Poway. With recriminations building against company leaders, the story of how and why Green Flash flopped is likely to get messier.

But whatever comes out, Green Flashs crash-and-burn act must be seen as a sideshow, not a harbinger of doom, for the regions and the nations craft beer industry. The good news for the worlds beer drinkers is that this is not a case of bland corporate brewing behemoths pushing back and regaining their past hegemony. Instead, as The San Diego Union-Tribune coverage of Green Flashs demise noted, the U.S. craft beer industry is both enjoying record sales and witnessing an unprecedented number of failures. While 165 U.S. craft breweries closed last year, more than six times that amount  997  opened. This is a boom. Not a bust.

Green Flash definitely offers a cautionary tale for other craft brewers and for any relatively small business that pursues rapid expansion in a competitive industry. But too much should not be read into it. The craft beer revolution lives on. Cheers to that.

Twitter: @sdutIdeas

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India-Nepal issue joint statement during PM Olis visit

India and Nepal on Saturday issued a joint statement during the state visit of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli to India. Here is the joint statement in full:
Fifty years ago, it was the Tet offensive and My Lai massacre. Today it is Parkland and Sandy Hook. Fifty years ago, young men worried about dying from an enemys bullet in a senseless war. Today, young men and women worry about dying from a classmates bullet in a senseless America.

Back then, those of us who couldnt vote walked out of our classes to protest the Vietnam War. Today, those who cant vote walk out to protest gun violence. Back then, the enemy was the NVA. Today it is the NRA. Those who underestimate the power of student protests have no respect for history.

Lewis Michaelson

San Diego

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UC San Diego would be lucky to have Hogg

I cannot believe that UC San Diego denied admission to David Hogg. Universities constantly tout their goal of producing the leaders of tomorrow. Hogg has unequivocally demonstrated he is a leader today.

I would hope the admissions committee of this university would strongly reconsider that decision

Joseph H. Traxler

Rancho Bernardo

We should love our kids more than our guns

The year 2017 was one of the deadliest years for mass shootings in U.S. history. The public cries for stricter gun laws, while the NRA-supported California House Republicans voted in the opposite direction for House Resolution 38. I support the Second Amendment for law-abiding citizens to keep and bear arms but we must also support the right to live by: Banning the sale of assault weapons  no civilian should have access to these weapons of war that have been used in seven of the deadliest shootings in the last decade; Prohibiting the sale of high-capacity magazines; Supporting universal background checks so dangerous people who shouldnt purchase firearms cant buy them online or at gun shows.

Demand representatives represent us and to pass legislation that will protect and save children from gun violence.

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Ruth Larson

San Diego

Letters and commentary policy

The U-T welcomes and encourages community dialogue on important public matters. Please visit this page for more details on our letters and commentaries policy. You can email letters@sduniontribune.com or leave a comment below.

Follow @UTLetters on Twitter and UTOpinion on Facebook.
Reader John Raymond emailed recently about a coincidental but unfortunate juxtaposition of a story and an advertisement. It appeared on Thursday, March 29.

If it wasnt so sad it would be funny. On Page A13 of todays paper it shows a man looking at a hole in his roof caused by shrapnel. Right below it an ad for roof top sky lights, Raymond wrote.

The story was about a missile attack by Yemeni rebels on an area of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The article was accompanied by a picture of man looking up at damage in his roof as light streams in through the hole. Below the story was an ad for solar tube lighting and skylights.

Raymond wondered if the storys and the ads play was on purpose. I thought other readers might have had the same question from time to time.

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The answer is no. The newsroom and advertising departments are separate. The two do not mix.

Ads are placed on pages, and newsroom editors and page designers fill the space around the ads with news stories and photos. Rarely do we (Im the B-section editor) pay attention to the ads. And we would never try to pair a story with an ad that would happen to share some similarity with news content.

However, news editors and designers might try to avoid placing some stories near certain kinds of ads. For instance, paid obituaries are handled by the classified advertising department. News editors and designers try not to run stories about a slaying or fatal crash, for instance, on the paid obituary page. Sometimes, though, because of space limitations, it cant be avoided.

I have heard of terrible coincidences of a plane crash story running on top of an ad for an airline, but I have never seen it personally, despite being in the business for more than 30 years.

Page designer and copy editor Amanda Selvidio once noticed a juxtaposition that was head-shakingly coincidental and actually humorous.

In a column at the end of January, Diane Bell wrote about a woman who found a pearl in a clam she had ordered at Poseidon Restaurant in Del Mar. The column item continued onto an inside B-section page. It just so happened that on that same page appeared an ad for a restaurant offering deals on oyster dinners.

Seasonal change to the weather page

What happened to the wildfire watch on the weather page? a reader from La Mesa asked in a phone call to the Readers Rep last week.

The wildfire watch ranks the fire danger levels in the Cleveland National Forest for the day as high, low, extreme, moderate, very high, critical and N/A.

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In Wednesdays paper, the wildfire watch was replaced by the beach report, which lists the polluted waters to avoid. (La Jolla Childrens Pool is a mainstay.)

AccuWeather supplies all the information for the weather page, except for U-T staffer Rob Kriers weather question. It swaps out the wildfire watch for the beach report every spring. In the fall, wildfire watch returns. The thinking is people head to the water more often in the spring and summer. In fall, fewer people swim in the ocean, and the threat of wildfire traditionally rises.

Not a total goodbye from Showley

U-T reporter Roger Showley might have retired after 44 years at the paper, but readers still might see his byline from time to time. He said he plans to freelance for the business section and possibly write some commentaries for the editorial pages.

As mentioned in last Sundays Back Story on A2, readers can stay in touch with Showley at rmshowley@yahoo.com.

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LBJ and Katharine Graham

About two weeks ago I visited the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library in Austin, Texas. The library features several exhibits in which you can listen to phone conversations involving the president. LBJ would routinely record conversations, some concerning matters of monumental importance, such as the Vietnam War, and some trivial but fascinating, such as LBJ giving instructions on how he wanted his pants tailored. One conversation might particularly interest newspapers readers.

He spoke to Washington Post Publisher Katharine Graham. He told her how frustrated he was that Washington lawmakers had left the capital during a Thanksgiving break, and no one was working. He told her he reached one person who was hunting and another who was on a beach. He suggested The Post write a story, not a mean one, he said, that simply told readers what their politicians were doing instead of working.

Graham graciously managed to not commit one way or another as the conversation ended. It brings up an ethical question. Do you write the story?

adrian.vore@sduniontribune.com
Lack of facilities likely to mar Karnali Rara Tourism Year

The provincial government of Karnali Province has declared upcoming Nepali year 2075 BS as Karnali Rara Tourism Year, but the regions key tourist attraction, Rara Lake, lacks proper infrastructure to accommodate sightseers.


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NAM relevancy very much alive

Minister for Foreign Affairs Pradeep Kumar Gyawali has said that the relevancy of Non Aligned Movement (NAM) is very much alive.
Nepal will now head on path of development and prosperity: PM Oli

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, who is on a three-day state visit to India, has said that Nepal will now head on the path of development and prosperity.
New York, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 04/06/2018 -- Global waterjet cutting machine consumables market is expected to witness robust growth during the forecast period. This growth is expected to be primarily driven by the implementation of strict safety rules and to promote safe working condition by the government. "Waterjet Cutting Machine Consumables Market: Global Industry Analysis (2012  2016) and Forecast (2017  2025)" is the new report published by Persistence Market Research for the projected period of 8-years, i.e. 2017-2025. According to this report, in 2017, in terms of volume, the global waterjet cutting machine consumables market is expected to reach at 36,354.2 '000 Units in 2017 and is anticipated to reach 60,613.4 '000 Units by2025 end.



In terms of value, sales of global waterjet cutting machine consumables market in 2017 was valued at US$ 1,658.0 Mn. The market is slated to expand at a CAGR of 6.5% in terms of value during 2017-2025 to reach US$ 2,743.9 Mn by end of forecast period.



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Robust industrial growth to drive adoption of waterjet cutting machine consumables. This market is primarily fuelled by foreign direct investment for industrial activities across the globe, supporting manufacturing sector.Gradual adoption of waterjet cutting machines in the metal fabrication and construction industries.



Growth of manufacturing industry and rapid urbanization to boost the global waterjet cutting machine consumables Market. Increasing urbanization and infrastructural development in emerging economies such as China, India, Philippines, Indonesia, and Thailand in the APAC region has led to an increase in the total spending in industries such as metal working, automotive, and aerospace

The cutting efficiency is increased with the use of garnet abrasives. The demand for garnet abrasives is anticipated to grow, precisely for waterjet cutting and abrasive blasting media in the global market.



The global waterjet cutting machine consumable market is segmented into product type, end use, and application. Product type segment is further segmented in to abrasives, nozzles, water filters, grates, focus tubes and others, such as mixing chambers and orifice. The abrasives segment is estimated to dominate the global waterjet cutting machine consumable market with a 25.5% market value share, and is expected to be valued at US$ 698.9Mn by 2025end. This segment will expand at a CAGR of 8.9% over the forecast period. The segment is estimated to create an incremental $ opportunity of US$ 346.8 Mn between 2017 and 2025 over the forecast period.



End use segment consists of metal fabrication, automotive, ceramics, electronics and others such as food & beverages, paper & pulp, and aerospace. The growth of metal fabrication and the automotive industries is estimated to be a prominent driver for the waterjet cutting machines consumables market. The trend of manufacturing complex and complicated parts with accurate CNC programming is expected to drive this market. The segment is expected to reach a market value of US$ 908.0 Mn by 2025 end, expanding at a CAGR of 7.6% over the forecast period.



On the basis of application, the global waterjet cutting machine consumable market is segmented into pure waterjet cutting and abrasive waterjet cutting. Abrasive waterjet cutting segment is estimated to be the most attractive segment in term of value in the global waterjet cutting machine consumables market. The abrasive waterjet cutting segment accounted for 75.0% value share of the global waterjet cutting machine consumables market in 2017 and is estimated to reach 76.6% by 2025 end, expanding at a healthy CAGR of 6.8% over the forecast period.



On the basis of region, this market is segmented into North America, Latin America, Europe, APAC and MEA. North America is estimated to be account for 36.8% value share of the global waterjet cutting machine consumables market in 2017 and is estimated to reach 37.5% by 2025 end. North America is expected to reach a market value of US$ 1,040.7 Mn by 2025 end, expanding at a CAGR of 6.9% over the forecast period. On the other hand, shifting of the automotive and other electronics market from China and Japan to ASEAN and South East Asia countries is expected to create significant demand for waterjet cutting machine consumables in these countries in the near future.



Request to View Sample of Research Report @ https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/18646



Kennametal Inc., Flow International Corporation, OMAX Corporation, CERATIZIT S.A., GMA Garnet Pty. Ltd., Wardjet Inc., Hypertherm Inc., TECHNI Waterjet, Jet Edge, Inc., KMT Waterjet, V.V. Minerals, ALLFI AG, Opta Minerals Inc., Kimblad Technology AB, H2O Jet, OSKAR MOSER TECHNISCHE EDELSTEINE, Diamond Technology Innovations, Inc., WSI Waterjet System International, Barton International Inc., and Hammelmann GmbH are some of the key players operating in the global waterjet cutting machine consumable market.
Oli holds meetings with Gandhi, Yadav

Prime Minister KP Oli, who arrived in the Indian capital on Friday for a three-day visit, has started meetings with Indian political leaders.
This Blog AMICOR is a communication instrument of a group of friends primarily interested in health promotion, with a focus on cardiovascular diseases prevention. To contact send a message to achutti@gmail.com http://achutti.blogspot.com
No misunderstanding between Nepal, India

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has said there remains no misunderstanding between Nepal and India as such issues between the two neighbours had already been cleared.
Press Release

April 6, 2018 Legarda on World Health Day: Let's Ensure Universal Health Coverage For All Filipinos In celebration of World Health Day (April 7), Senator Loren Legarda joined the call to ensure universal health coverage (UHC) for everyone everywhere. Legarda, Chair of the Senate Committee on Finance, said that the 2018 national budget provides funding to ensure that all Filipinos can be covered by health services in government hospitals. However, ensuring that every Filipino anywhere in the country can access this free health coverage is another challenge. The total 2018 budget of the Department of Health (DOH), including budgetary support for government corporations, is Php171.09 Billion. This also includes the additional Php3.5 Billion allocation under PhilHealth for the health insurance of government employees under the Executive Department. "In the 2017 national budget, we augmented the PhilHealth budget to ensure universal health coverage. We have ensured the same under the 2018 budget because it is the duty of government to extend basic healthcare protection to all its citizens. This means that even those not yet enrolled in PhilHealth and not formally employed, especially those financially incapable to pay for PhilHealth membership, can avail of free health services in government hospitals in the country," said Legarda, principal author and sponsor of Republic Act No. 10606, the National Health Insurance Act of 2013. "While we have the funds, we must also ensure that government health services reach even the farthest communities in the country. Under the special provision in the DOH budget, the Department should prioritize the deployment of doctors, midwives, nurses and other heath-related workers to barangays with no health workers, geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas, indigenous peoples communities, and where the absolute number of poor and the incidence of poverty are high," she added. Legarda said that to ensure better services for the people, the DOH budget, including the budget of specialty hospitals such as the Lung Center of the Philippines, Philippine Heart Center, National Kidney and Transplant Institute, and Philippine Children's Medical Center, was also increased to provide additional funding for medical assistance program for indigent patients, additional medicine for cancer patients and Health Facilities Enhancement Program, among others. The amount of Php51.591 Billion was allocated for the procurement of drugs, medicines and vaccines, including medical and dental supplies for distribution to government healthcare facilities. Additional Php100 Million was also allocated for the National Nutrition Council's (NNC) Early Childhood Care and Development Intervention Package for the First 1,000 Days. "We have provided additional funding for the NNC's early childhood care and development because the first 1,000 days of a baby's life, which covers the nine months of a mother's pregnancy until a child's second birthday, is the foundation of a person's future health, intellectual development, and motor and social skills. Good nutrition for mothers and babies at pregnancy and infancy stage is therefore crucial to sustain a sturdy foundation for a child's well being," said Legarda. "The health of our people deserves to be on top of the priorities of government. To achieve universal health coverage, we need not only funding but also greater effort to bring health services and health workers to the far-flung communities and to make these healthcare benefits known by the people, especially the poorest households who are the intended beneficiaries," Legarda concluded.
Press Release

April 6, 2018 Statement of Sen. Kiko Pangilinan on abolition of NFA Council Will the prices of rice go down with the abolition of the National Food Authority Council? For how long? Keeping a 15-day NFA buffer stock is to have affordable rice constantly available to Filipinos who are poor and can barely survive on intermittent jobs and minimum wage. Why is the price of rice a political issue in the Philippines? Because for many of our countrymen, the 1 in 4 who are poor, rice is the only food they eat. "Magdildil sa asin" is a catchphrase because it reflects a sad reality that government is duty-bound to erase. Gutom ang dapat i-abolish, hindi ang NFA Council. Many of our poor are women and children, farmers and fishers. Sila ang nagdidildil ng asin. Maling-mali ito. The balancing act of government is between keeping rice prices down for consumers and making rice farming viable for our farmers with fair buying price, among other things, like better farming technology and marketing support. The NFA Council, which was created under Presidential Decree 4, as amended by PD 1770, serves as a watchdog against corruption in rice, including rice smuggling. It was created precisely to guard against arbitrary or self-serving acts of the executive branch. As we see it, the NFA Council, with representatives from the NEDA, BSP, DoF, DTI, among others, acts as a check on the NFA administrator, who is currently embroiled in corruption and incompetence issues. Moreover, abolishing the NFA Council cannot be done by any executive decree, it can only be done by law. Worse, abolishing the NFA Council turns a blind eye to allegations of corruption and condones incompetence and mismanagement by the administrator. With NFA Administrator Jason Aquino at the helm, NFA port officers tasked to guard against rice smuggling were removed. Despite recorded releases and testimonies of NFA-accredited retailers, rice stocks disappeared in the market. This is unprecedented in the 45-year history of the NFA. At a Senate hearing, farmers and retailers also testified under oath that NFA rice was being diverted to and re-bagged and sold as commercial rice at double the price by select traders. All these are prima facie evidence of corruption. If the government is serious in addressing incompetence and smuggling, it is the NFA administrator who should be replaced and removed from the equation, not the NFA Council. He and not the NFA Council should be removed from the public management of the country's rice supply.
Press Release

April 6, 2018 Guevarra inherits a DOJ grappling with manpower, equipment lack Newly-appointed Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra should be given the "men and material" the Department of Justice needs as the "changing of the guards alone will not automatically lead" to improvements in an agency that is an important pillar of the justice system. This was pointed out by Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto, who said that the DOJ "is hobbled by across-the-board shortages in personnel and equipment." "While the nation's focus is on him, the Justice Secretary is not the justice system. The latter consists of men and women who assist pauper litigants, represent the people in courts, guard our prisons, sit in parole boards, and run after big organized crime," Recto said. Recto said Guevarra's first order of business is to fill vacancies in key DOJ agencies and ask his former office, Malacanang, to propose higher funding for new equipment and buildings. "For example, there are 1,657 vacant prosecutorial posts. The problem is that there are no takers because of the low pay for the hard labor, and the only bonus one gets is 'unli' death threats." As a result, one prosecutor handles about 403 criminal cases, Recto said. "Daily, the prosecutor attends three court hearings, in addition to preliminary investigations, retrials, witness deposition, mediation, among others." There is also a shortage of public attorneys. At present, one Public Attorney Office (PAO) lawyer handles 5,237 clients a year, and, at any given time, has 504 cases in court. "All of them lack computers. They need paralegals to back them up. Comfortable offices are a rarity. And when it comes to preparing briefs, it is buy-your-own-supplies," Recto lamented. Another DOJ-run agency, Bureau of Corrections, is suffering from prisoner congestion. Two years ago, its 8 prisons were already 151 percent overcapacity, Recto said. "In 2016, New Bilibid Prisons reported a congestion rate of 181 percent with 23,749 prisoners staying in the old facility designed to house 8,460. Recto blamed slow case disposition for the congestion of prisons, which turn them into "corporate headquarters of crime syndicates and as graduate schools for their members." Recto said solving DOJ's woes "requires tripartite collaboration" by the three branches. "Congress should fund the improvements. The Judiciary should address the slow disposition of cases," Recto said. "If we want to bolster the rule of law - which is now being threatened by people and institutions tempted to embrace illegal means in seeking justice - then the first step is to provide the resources needed," he said. "Budget delayed is justice denied," Recto said. The DOJ has a budget of P18.4 billion this year, P1.35 billion of which is for capital outlay.
Oli urges Indians to seize biz opportunities in Nepal

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli on Friday told Indian businesspersons to seize business opportunities in Nepal by investing in virgin areas that are highly profitable, as he said the country is now safe for foreign investment.
Press Release

April 7, 2018 De Lima seeks probe into killings of lawyers Opposition Senator Leila M. de Lima has filed a resolution seeking to look into the recent spate of killings and attacks against members of the legal profession, especially those lawyers who are handling high-profile cases. In filing Senate Resolution No. (SRN) 668, De Lima said attacks against legal professionals continue to be common practice--and even worsens--under the leadership of President Duterte who promotes a culture of violence and impunity. "Since the beginning of this administration, in spite of constant calls for action to protect members of legal profession, the numbers of lawyers killed have increased and without any significant executive or legislative action taken," she said. De Lima, a lawyer by profession, cited several cases of attacks against members of the legal profession, which proves that their security is often threatened in discharging their mandates. Among these were the killings of Atty. Jonah John Ungab after attending hearings at the Cebu City Hall of Justice, including the case of his client, self-confessed drug lord Kerwin Espinosa Jr., last Feb. 19 and Atty. Rogelio Bato, lawyer of Mayor Rolando Espinosa and Espinosa Jr., during an ambush in Albuera, Leyte in August 2016. De Lima also cited the killings of Atty. Melver Tolentino, lawyer of a person currently involved in a drug case, who was shot several times while he was refuelling at a gasoline station in Ilocos Sur last Sept. 2016 and Atty. Hermie Aban, the handling lawyer for the case of former Governor Joel Reyes, who was shot by a gunman aboard a motorcycle in Palawan last August 2016. "Various human rights groups and lawyer organizations have expressed alarm over the recent incidents saying that these attacks are attacks against the legal profession and the judicial system," she said. Pursuant to the UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers, De Lima said the State has an obligation to ensure that lawyers can perform their mandate without intimidation, hindrance, harassment or improper interference from State or non-State actors. "Lawyers are advocates of the litigants and they act to facilitate the administration of justice. To threaten or endanger the lawyers is to subvert the effective functioning of our justice system," she said. "Professionals are guardians of justice, and such vile incidences pose a serious threat to democracy and the rule of law," she added. According to a report from Alternative Law Journal, 114 legal professionals were killed between January 1, 1999 and October 2014 - four of which were judges while eight were prosecutors, and the rest were lawyers. A known human rights defender, De Lima also filed Senate Bill No. 1721 amending Article 14 of the Revised Penal Code, adding as an aggravating circumstance the crime committed against lawyers and justice sector officials.
Onward with art and life

As we walk back from Siddhakali Mandir, near Bhojpur Bajaar, Barta Gandharba tells me how she remembers performing in the small town. She points at a corner and tells me how she once sat down on the steps right outside the electronic store with her mother and crooned Purbeli folk songs for the passersby.
Oli, Modi jointly inaugurates Birgunj ICP

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi jointly inaugurated the Birgunj-based Integrated Check Post (ICP) by pressing a switch from New Delhi on Saturday.
PM Oli receives guard of honour

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, who is on a three-day state visit to India, was accorded guard of honour amidst a special ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on Saturday morning.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The landscape of Staten Island is shifting -- quite literally -- from the development of St. George to new businesses and housing on the South Shore.

Local community boards give residents an opportunity to offer input in the decision-making process for many of these long-term projects.

Community Board meetings are open to the public and afford a great way to learn more about what's going on in your neighborhood and to get involved.

If you have something you would like to speak out about, all you need to do is sign up -- before the meeting is called to order -- to speak in the public session.

The following meetings are scheduled for the week of April 9 to April 13.

COMMUNITY BOARD 1

Arlington - Castleton Corners - Clifton - Concord - Elm Park - Fort Wadsworth - Graniteville - Grymes Hill - Livingston - Mariners Harbor - New Brighton - Port Richmond - Randall Manor - Rosebank - St. George - Shore Acres - Silver Lake - Stapleton - Sunnyside - Tompkinsville - West Brighton - Westerleigh

There will be a Public Services Committee Meeting on Tuesday, April 10, at 7 p.m. at All Saints Episcopal Church, 2329 Victory Blvd.

There will be a Full Board Meeting on Tuesday, April 10, at 7:30 p.m. at All Saints Episcopal Church, 2329 Victory Boulevard. On the agenda:

District Attorney Michael McMahon will make a brief presentation.

Bob Ledoux from Costello Ace Hardware and Home Goods, Victory Boulevard, will make a brief presentation.

Nick Zvegintzov and Kelly Vilar, along with intern Victor Martinez, will give a presentation on and the possibilities of the Maritime Education & Recreation Corridor Plan for the North Shore.

The board office is located at 1 Edgewater Plaza, Suite 217, Stapleton. The office phone number is 718-981-6900. The board chairman is Nicholas Siclari; the district manager is Joseph Carroll.

COMMUNITY BOARD 2

Arrochar - Bloomfield - Bulls Heads - Chelsea - Dongan Hills - Egbertville - Emerson Hill - Grant City - Grasmere - High Rock - Lighthouse Hill - Midland Beach - New Dorp - New Springville - Oakwood - Ocean Breeze - Old Town - Richmond - South Beach - Todt Hill - Travis

There will be a Youth Services Committee Meeting on Wednesday, April 11, at 7:30 p.m at the Community Board 2 office. On the agenda:

Carissa Mazzeo will give a PowerPoint Presentation on "Advancing Tobacco-Free Communities," which is funded by the New York State Department of Health Bureau of Tobacco Control, housed at the Jewish Community Center of Staten Island.

There will be an Aging Committee Meeting on Thursday, April 12, at 9 a.m at the Community Board 2 office.

All committee and full board meetings are in the board office, which is located in the Lou Caravone Community Service Building on the campus of Sea View Hospital Rehabilitation Center and Home, 460 Brielle Ave., Sea View. The office phone number is 718-317-3235. The chairman of the CB 2 board is Dana T. Magee; the district manager is Debra A. Derrico.

COMMUNITY BOARD 3

Annadale - Arden Heights - Bay Terrace - Charleston - Eltingville - Great Kills - Greenridge - Huguenot - New Dorp - Oakwood - Pleasant Plains - Prince's Bay - Richmond Valley - Richmond - Rossville - Tottenville - Woodrow

There will be a Parks and Recreation Committee Meeting on Tuesday, April 10, at 7:30 p.m at the Community Board 3 office.

There will be a Land Use Committee Meeting on Wednesday, April 11, at 7:30 p.m at the Community Board 3 office. On the agenda:

95 Androvette St.: Applicant is requesting a special permit pursuant to GCL 36 to construct a one-story and mezzanine warehouse building that does not front on a legally mapped street. This application was previously tabled by the Board pending removal of Buildings Department violations.

29 and 31 Herbert St.: Applicant is requesting a special permit pursuant to GCL 36 to construct two three-story mixed-use buildings that do not front on a final mapped street.

All committee meetings take place at the Community Board 3 office, located on the second floor of 1243 Woodrow Rd. All general board meetings take place at the Woodrow Methodist Church Hall located at 1075 Woodrow Rd. The office phone number is 718-356-7900. The CB 3 board chairman is Frank Morano; the district manager is Charlene Wagner.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- "Mom, I'm not doing this anymore."

Esebia Perez recalls her son, Antonio Fuentes, speaking those words as he vowed to beat his drug addiction during what would be their final conversation in early November.

"He called me that Saturday saying he was done using," Perez said. "I told him to come home."

But the 34-year-old didn't.

He returned to his apartment at 63 Willowbrook Court in Graniteville.

Perez received a phone call her son had died of a suspected overdose only hours later.

His death marked the second deadly overdose to take place at that residence in an 11-month span. The death of Richard Zeifert, 52, at the home two days before Christmas in 2016 was central in the "Operation Final Kut" North Shore drug bust.

Last week, the NYPD executed an unrelated search warrant on the residence, arresting Zeifert's 30-year-old son, also named Richard, on drug possession charges.

He does not faces charges in connection with "Operation Final Kut" or either overdose death.

While Perez applauds the action, she still struggles to cope with the loss of her son.

"Everyday it's a different battle," she said. "He's my son and will always be my son. I pray for him everyday. This could happen to anyone's family. [Drugs] don't discriminate. It affects the rich the poor, the high, low and middle class."

BAD FEELING

The overdose that killed him was actually Fuentes' second in a two-week-span, his mother said.

The first occurred Oct. 21, and Perez stayed by his bedside at the hospital all night long until he was discharged.

"I didn't believe he should have been released," Perez said. "I felt as though he was a danger to himself. I told them he had a mental illness; he needed a detox, where they send him upstate to get help."

After being discharged, Fuentes insisted on going back to live at his Graniteville apartment, which Perez recalls always gave her a bad feeling.

"I didn't care how old he was, I always wanted to make sure he was always safe," Perez said. "I told him numerous times I had a bad feeling about him living there, but he didn't listen."

Fuentes had been using for a while, since he was prescribed oxycodone for back and neck pain, his mother said.

However, she believes he had been using heroin no more than nine months.

"It couldn't be longer than nine months," Perez said. "He started using when he began renting on Willowbrook Court, but there was no heroin found in his system when he died."

The medical examiner's report states Fuentes died of three different types of fentanyl, cocaine, and flexeril, a muscle relaxant, his mom said.

GOOD-HEARTED PERSON

Since his passing, Perez replays the many memories she shared with her first born son and cherishes them daily.

Fuentes was not someone who would want to take his own life, Perez recalls.

"He was a happy-go-lucky guy," she said.

He was a good son, father, brother, and grandson, his mother said, who got mixed with the wrong crowd.

"Tony was a good man with a good soul," Perez said. "He was the type of person, who if he saw a homeless person on the street, he'd give them the shirt off his back or spend his last dollar to buy them food. He always cared for others."

He always "went out of his way to make someone smile."

Perez said Fuentes loved his family and the love was always shared. He left behind two children, a boy and a girl, ages 4 and 6, whom he loved deeply.

"His death has affected many people," Perez said. "He left many broken-hearted. It pains me more that the day before my son died, he told me he wanted to get help. He didn't want to live like this anymore. My son just got caught up with the wrong people."

HISTORY OF INFAMOUS HOUSE

The death of the elder Zeifert was a central component of the extensive "Operation Final Cut" drug bust.

Authorities allege that Zeifert bought the fentanyl that killed him from Stephen Cummings, who was charged in operation.

As a result of the narcotics sting, Cummings was the first person in New York City to be charged with manslaughter for allegedly selling the illegal drugs that caused another person's fatal overdose.

The drug possession case against the younger Zeifert -- which is not connected to "Operation Final Kut" or either overdose death -- remains open.

After the raid, Zeifert was charged with eight counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree and two counts of unlawful possession of marijuana, according to the criminal complaint.

Bail was set at $5,000 cash/bond.

His next court appearance was set for May 2.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Through the use of ShotSpotter technology, police received reports of shots fired early Saturday morning in Stapleton.

Police conducted an evidence search of the location -- 988 Van Duzer St.-- at about 2 a.m., shortly after the alleged incident was detected, and a second daylight search at about 6:20 a.m., police said. However, authorities found no evidence of the incident, police said.

ShotSpotter is sensor-based technology that detects gunshots and immediately alerts police.

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Ready to support Nepal on path to prosperity: Modi

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that he was ready to lend any kind of support to Nepal in its quest for prosperity and development.
School enrolment campaign starts on April 15

The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology will start school enrolment campaign on April 15. Less than two weeks remain for the new academic session.
Texas, Arizona announce troop deployments to Mexico border



Washington, April 7 (AFP) Apr 07, 2018



The US states of Texas and Arizona on Friday announced plans to send National Guard troops to the southern border with Mexico after President Donald Trump ordered a thousands-strong deployment to combat drug trafficking and illegal immigration.

The Texas National Guard said it would send 250 troops to the border within 72 hours and had already deployed two Lakota helicopters, while Arizona's governor said he would send 150 personnel next week.

"The Texas national guard is preparing to immediately deploy with supporting aircraft, vehicles and equipment to the Texas-Mexico border," Brigadier General Tracy Norris, the commanding general of the Texas National Guard, told reporters at a briefing.

"This deployment has begun with the movement of equipment and troops today. Within 72 hours the Texas military department will have 250 personnel along with ground surveillance vehicles as well as light and medium aviation platforms," she added.

Arizona Governor Doug Ducey announced his plans in a tweet.

Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis signed an order for "up to 4,000 National Guard personnel to support DHS's southern border security mission while under the command and control of their respective governors through September 30, 2018," according to a Department of Defense memo.

The memo set out that troops would not carry out law enforcement activities without the defense secretary's approval and would be armed only in "circumstances that might require self-defense."

Mattis and homeland security secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said the decision came after their departments "identified security vulnerabilities that could be addressed by the National Guard."

"Together, the Departments of Homeland Security and Defense are committed to using every lever of power to support the men and women of law enforcement defending our nation's sovereignty and protecting the American people," they said in a joint statement.

"We will continue to work with the governors to deploy the necessary resources until our nation's borders are secure."

Trump had said on Thursday that the final deployment would range from 2,000 to 4,000 troops, and he would "probably" keep many personnel on the border until his promised border wall is built -- spelling out a lengthy mission.

The move has heightened tensions with Mexico, whose President Enrique Pena Nieto said Trump's "threatening or disrespectful attitudes" were unjustified.

It has also raised questions about who will fund the mission.

The Pentagon could not say where the money would come from and Trump admitted the White House was still "looking at" costs.

If 4,000 troops were deployed, that would be about double the current US military presence in Syria and about half as many as the number of US troops in Iraq.

The National Guard has previously been deployed to help patrol the southern border, including in 2010 under former president Barack Obama, and from 2006-2008 under George W. Bush. Both deployments were limited to around a year.
New strikes on Syria's rebel Douma kill 8 civilians: monitor



Beirut, April 7 (AFP) Apr 07, 2018



Air strikes on Syria's rebel-controlled Douma killed eight civilians on Saturday, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, as government forces resumed a military blitz of the town.

The Britain-based monitor said it could not confirm whether the strikes were carried out by Syrian government warplanes or those of its ally, Russia.

It was the second day of heavy bombardment on Douma, with at least 40 civilians killed on Friday in a sudden resumption of strikes after a more than week-long lull.

The renewed raids appear to be an attempt to pressure Jaish al-Islam -- the Islamist group that holds the town -- to agree to the regime's terms of a withdrawal.

Six civilians were also killed and dozens more wounded as Douma rebels shelled the capital Damascus on Saturday, Syrian state media said.

State television broadcast live footage from a hospital in Damascus, where pools of blood stained the floor and wounded could be heard wailing in pain.
UAE pledges $200 million to support Lebanon armed forces



Abu Dhabi, April 7 (AFP) Apr 07, 2018



The United Arab Emirates said on Saturday that it will give Lebanon's armed forces $200 million (162.5 million euros) in aid to help "stabilise" the country.

The foreign ministry said that $100 million would go to the army and $100 million to other state security services in Lebanon, which borders war-torn Syria.

The oil-rich Gulf country said its support was a "continuation of efforts made for the stability and prosperity of (Lebanon's) people."

The "resilience and strength" of Lebanon's military and security institutions was a priority given the region's "delicate circumstances", the statement said.

At a mid-March meeting in Rome, the international community pledged to help strengthen the Lebanese army.

France, in particular, said it would release a credit line of 400 million euros ($492 million).

On Friday, the international community announced it would provide more than $11 billion to modernise Lebanon's economy and strengthen its stability, threatened by regional crises, particularly the war in neighbouring Syria.

The loans and donations, announced at a conference in Paris aimed at supporting the Lebanese economy, are intended to help finance investment projects over the next five years.

Fears of an economic crisis have hovered over the small Middle Eastern country since the crisis in Syria began more than seven years ago, pushing more than one million refugees to flee across the border into Lebanon.
Palestinians bury their dead after Israel kills nine in border clashes



Gaza City, Palestinian Territories, April 7 (AFP) Apr 07, 2018



Palestinian mourners in the Gaza Strip on Saturday buried their dead, including a journalist, after Israeli troops killed nine during the latest border clashes in a week of bloodshed.

Thousands of protesters approached the border fence around Gaza for a second Friday in a row, burning tyres and hurling stones at Israeli forces, who responded with tear gas and live ammunition.

In addition to the nine dead, at least 491 were wounded by Israeli gunfire, the health ministry in the Hamas-run enclave said.

Israel said there were around 20,000 protesters and that they were seeking to breach the border.

Numbers were down from the previous Friday, when tens of thousands approached the border in demonstrations that saw Israeli forces kill 19 Palestinians, making it the bloodiest day in Gaza since a 2014 war.

The demonstrations largely abated by Saturday, but three Palestinians were wounded by Israeli forces in a small clash east of Gaza City in the afternoon, one of them seriously, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

No Israelis were injured on either day and the latest deaths have sparked fresh calls for an investigation.

Among those killed on Friday was Yasser Murtaja, 30, a photographer with the Gaza-based Ain Media agency, who died from his wounds after being shot, the health ministry said.

Witnesses said he was close to the front of the protests in southern Gaza when he was hit.

An AFP picture taken after he was wounded showed Murtaja wearing a press vest as he received treatment.

His brother Motazem, also a journalist, said he was next to him when he was shot. "The target was very clearly journalists," he said.

Israel's army said it "does not intentionally target journalists."

"The circumstances in which journalists were allegedly hit by Israeli Defence Force (IDF) fire are not familiar to the IDF, and are being looked into," it said in a statement.



- 'Intentional shot' -



Murtaja's body was taken from the hospital to his home in Gaza City on Saturday morning, with dozens of journalists following, many fighting back tears.

It was wrapped in a Palestinian flag, with a press flak jacket placed on his stomach.

Ismail Haniya, the head of Gaza's Islamist rulers Hamas, attended the funeral and said that journalists were attacked by Israel while trying to show a "true picture of a blockaded, downtrodden people".

In the West Bank political capital of Ramallah, around 50 Palestinian journalists held a vigil for Murtaja.

Christophe Deloire, secretary general of watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF), said Murtaja was "obviously the victim of an intentional shot" and that his organisation "condemns with indignation the deliberate shootings of the Israeli army against journalists."

Deloire urged an independent investigation of the incident.

The Foreign Press Association operating in Israel and the Palestinian territories urged the Israeli army "to show restraint in areas where journalists are operating and to conduct a fast and open investigation into this incident."

The Palestinian Journalists' Syndicate said five other reporters were also shot and wounded by the Israeli army during Friday's protests, despite wearing clothes clearly identifying them as journalists.

Thousands of Arabs rallied in northern Israel on Saturday in solidarity with the people of Gaza, some of them holding pictures of Murtaja.

And in London, hundreds gathered in support of the Palestinians in Gaza, condemning the firing of "live ammunition into crowds of unarmed civilians" by Israeli forces as "illegal and inhumane".



- 'Terrorists posing as civilians' -



Weeks of border protests have been called to demand the return of Palestinians to land they were forced from or fled after the founding of Israel 70 years ago.

They come with tensions high as the United States gears up to shift its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem after recognising the disputed city as the capital of the Jewish state.

Protesters on Friday said economic woes were also fuelling frustration in Gaza, which has been under an Israeli blockade for a decade.

Late Friday, Kuwait called on the Security Council to investigate the deaths, but the US is likely to veto such a probe.

Israel rebuffed international calls for an investigation into last Friday's killings, with the army saying troops opened fire "in accordance with the rules of engagement".

Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Saturday accused Hamas of "sending terrorists under the guise of civilians to harm our sovereignty".

Israel says Hamas, with whom it has fought three wars since 2008, uses the protests as a cover to carry out violence.

It alleges more than half of those killed on March 30 were members of militant groups, including Hamas's armed wing.

Hamas claimed only five of the dead and said they were participating "in popular events side-by-side with their people."
Two soldiers killed in Kentucky copter crash: army



Washington, April 7 (AFP) Apr 07, 2018



Two US soldiers with an airborne combat brigade died when their Apache helicopter crashed during a routine training mission at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, the army reported Saturday.

The incident involving an AH-64E Apache helicopter occurred late Friday, said a statement from the army's 101st Airborne Division. The crash is under investigation.

The names of the victims are being withheld pending notification of family members, the army said. There were no other casualties.

"This is a day of sadness for Fort Campbell and the 101st Airborne," Brigadier General Todd Royar, acting senior commander of the 101st Airborne and of Fort Campbell, said in a statement.

The deaths were the latest in a recent rash of military crashes that has claimed five other lives and left one man injured.

Four Marines died Tuesday in the crash of their Sikorsky CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter during a practice landing in El Centro, California.

A member of the air force's elite Thunderbird squad died Wednesday when his F-16 jet crashed near Nellis Air Force Base outside Las Vegas as he prepared for an air show.

And a Marine pilot was injured Tuesday after ejecting from his McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II attack jet while taking off from an airport in Djibouti, in the Horn of Africa.
Poisoned Dialogue Skripal Case Descends into a Propaganda War

In its rush to assign guilt to Moscow for the nerve agent attack on Sergei Skripal and his daughter, the British government now finds itself on the defensive. Some German politicians have their doubts. By DER SPIEGEL Staff
Algiers, April 7, 2018 (SPS) - The question of Western Sahara is a question of decolonization, as was the case for Algeria during the war for independence, an authorized source of the Foreign Ministry told APS on Thursday. "The Sahrawi question is recognized as such by the United Nations, since the inscription of this territory on the non-self-governing-territories list in 1963."

The authorized source is responding to Moroccan Foreign Minister Nacer Bouritas latest remarks about Algeria's support to the Polisario Front and the involvement he thinks Algeria should have in the conflict settlement process.

The source also stressed that "Algeria has a duty of solidarity towards the Sahrawi people for the exercise of their legitimate rights, just as the Algerian people received solidarity of their Moroccan and Tunisian brothers during their fight for independence."

Regarding Moroccos position to involve Algeria in the negotiations on Western Sahara question, this source stressed that "the support of Algeria to the Sahrawi people and their legitimate representative, the Polisario Front, does not mean that it should be involved in those negotiations," adding that "it was unthinkable that Algeria when fighting for independence, would have asked from Morocco or Tunisia to negotiate its independence from France." (SPS)

062/SPS/APS
SSB obstructs border people from tilling their own land

People living along the Nepal-India border in Dhanusha have complained that the Indian border security force, Shasastra Seema Bal (SSB), is obstructing them from tilling their own land.
Shaheed El-Hafed (refugee camps), April 7, 2018 (SPS) - The Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General for Western Sahara, Head of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), Colin Stewart, was Friday received by the Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mohamed Salem Hamada, at the MFA headquarters.

Mr. Stewart, who was accompanied by the Head of MINURSO Liaison Office in Tindouf, Yusuf Jidian, presented his condolences to the Polisario Front following the passing away of the Boukhari Ahmed, and proceeded to sign the register of condolences.

Mr. Stewart praised on behalf of the United Nations and its Secretary General the qualities of the deceased who enjoyed the respect of those who worked with him at the United Nations as a representative of the Polisario Front for years.

"The Secretary-General (UN) is saddened to hear of the death of Ahmed Boukhari and he extends his sincere condolences to his family," UN Security Council spokesman Stephane Dujarric said during his daily press briefing.

Boukhari Ahmed passed away Tuesday night after a long illness, announced the presidency of the Republic.

The deceased had joined the ranks of the Polisario Front from since a young age. "By his death, the Saharawi people have lost one of their men who sacrificed their lives to serve the national cause," said the presidency in a statement.

Known for his diplomatic and juridical skills, especially at the United Nations, "the deceased accomplished his mission with patience and perseverance until the last breath," the statement added.

A seven-day national mourning was decreed from Wednesday in tribute to his diplomat and inveterate activism for the Saharawi cause. His body will be buried next Sunday at the cemetery of the wialya of Smara.

Condolence registers have been opened at the SADR embassies and the Polisario Front representations around the world to receive condolences, it should be recalled. (SPS)

062/SPS/TRA




That time I met Lok Chitrakar

I met Lok Chitrakar at a chya pasal near Patan Dhoka. I was supposed to have met him at his studio a few blocks away, but at the last minute he informed me of the change in locationsthe man had been invited there for a media event by an organisation that had funded the revamping of the Patan area.
The writer in you never really dies

When Prakash Pradhananga first started writing, she was only 19 years old. It all started with a letter she was encouraged to write to her Guru.
What does high caste chauvinism look like?

A few months ago, a relative of mine shared with me his thought about an empowered Dalit in his Chitwan neighbourhood. This Dalit man had completed his Masters in Nepali language, had a successful business and owned a three-storied house in Chitwan.
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World-rankings versus functional universities

I am not a fan of world rankings of universities and I dont think those interested in reforming higher education in Nepal should be obsessed with such rankings.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, The Most Reverend Justin Welby

THE Archbishop of Canterbury is to visit Warwickshire next month.

The Most Reverend Justin Welby will be meeting people throughout the county, which profoundly shaped his mission and ministry for 15 years.

Having been ordained in Coventry Cathedral in 1992, Justin Welby was a curate in Nuneaton and then a rector in Southam.

He later served at Coventry Cathedral from 2002 to 2007, where he became the Canon for Reconciliation Ministry, and a decade later is frequently seen wearing the Coventry Cross of Nails.

He also served as chairman of the South Warwickshire Hospitals NHS Trust.

Archbishop Justins visit coincides with the Centenary of the Diocese of Coventry.

The diocese, in its current form, was created in 1918.

The Bishop of Coventry, The Right Reverend Dr Christopher Cocksworth, said: Its very exciting to be able to welcome the Archbishop of Canterbury back to the Diocese he knows so well as part of our centenary celebrations.

Theres much thats new that were looking forward to showing Archbishop Justin but we also want to celebrate the way that were trying today what our forebears did in the past, to live out the reconciling, transforming, life-affirming love of God and to share it with all the people of Coventry and Warwickshire.

The Archbishops visit will take place from 2nd to 5th May, during which time he will meet civic and religious leaders, refugees, asylum seekers, farmers, school children, teachers, students, business leaders, performers in the Arts, hospital patients and staff.

There will be three public events: a hog roast at Grange Farm, Grandborough, near Southam, on Thursday, 3rd May, from 6:30 pm, an Ask the Archbishop event for people in their 20s and 30s at All Saints Church, Chilvers Coton, Nuneaton, on Friday, 4th May, from 7.30pm, and the Centenary Festival at Coventry Cathedral on Saturday, 5th May. It starts at 10.30am and includes music, drama and activities for all ages.

Admission is free of charge, see www.cov100.org
Foreigners eye insurance stocks By Duruthu Edirimuni Chandrasekera View(s): View(s):

Two large buys by Janashakthi Insurance PLC (JINS) and Japans Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Company Ltd (MSIC) have got global insurance players eyeing local insurers, analysts say.

The Business Times reported this in February when JINS in a Rs. 16.4 billion deal sold its general insurance business to multinational insurer, Germanys Allianz.

Analysts say that global insurers have re-rated the insurance sector at the Colombo stock market which is now seeing rising foreign investor attention. This was confirmed when nearly a month later MSIC increased its stake in Ceylinco Insurance PLC to 10.5 per cent. They bought 900,000 shares at Rs. 1,800 each last Monday.

Mitsui Sumitomo held 6 per cent stake as of 31 December 2017. Sumitomo is now the third largest shareholder in Ceylinco Insurance after Global Rubber Industries (22.25 per cent) and Banque Pictet and Cie SA (12.73 per cent).

Insurance was a sector that has always been trading at book value (the amount that the share holder will get for each share after selling out all assets and paying liabilities), but the value of the JINS transaction was Rs. 16.4 billion  which means that this transaction was done at 2.4 times, they noted adding it showed insurance stocks should be trading at a higher multiple.

Growth in the general insurance segment is projected to be slow and result in a tight battle for smaller players in years to come as insurance giants  especially foreign firms  consolidate the general segment. Local firms are divesting their general insurance segment and focusing on life as competition is intense with 62 per cent of the premiums coming from motor insurance.

The life industry also has strong bottom line potential, according to industry analysts who say that gross written premium growth as well as favourable tax implications is another reason why foreigners are showing interest in this sector.
National carriers new lifeline View(s):

After many twists and turns, Sri Lankas national carrier appears ready for take-off, at least in three years time.

Faced with losses of US$100 million this year, $160 million in 2019 and a total debt of $700 million, the new board of directors is preparing  so they say  to cut at least 2000 jobs out of the 7000-strong workforce, among other matters. No easy task, noted an airline analyst.

The new board comprising retired banker Ranjit Fernando (chairman), Mano Tittawella, Dr. Roshan Perera, Air Force Commander  Air Marshal Kapila Jayampathi and Susantha Katugampala  an immigration lawyer based in Australia) has promised a turnaround in three years. The decision to co-opt a serving military commander was an unusual move, the analyst said.

Among the steps planned in the restructure is route rationalisation, re-negotiating debts and re-negotiating aircraft leases with Airbus. Other airline sources said that the previous attempt to privatise the airline (during 2015-2018 February) was mishandled for the simple reason that every time the board made a decision, it was shot down by the cabinet.

The process is going to be different this time with the already, prepared restructuring strategy by consultant Nyras being presented to the board, thereafter to the cabinet and only after its approved, it would be implemented. However the proposal will go quickly to cabinet after it is approved by the board, one source said, adding that the first steps are to cut costs and re-negotiate on leases, rationalise routes and find a way to cut staff. Only after that will the airline seek a foreign partner, he said.
Sri Lanka wants to bridge trade deficit with NZ View(s):

Recognising New Zealands importance as a friendly nation that Sri Lanka supported at the UN Security Council, Tourism Minister John Amaratunga on Monday highlighted the need to bridge the trade gap between the two nations.

New Zealands exports to Sri Lanka was US$254 million in 2016 compared with US$55 million in exports from Sri Lanka, the minister explained and pointed out that this trade gap needs to be bridged. He was addressing the trade delegation that arrived in the country for a 3-day visit in a bid to venture into business relationships with Sri Lankan companies.

Key exports to Sri Lanka are milk powder, butter and dairy spreads, apples, pears and quinces; while New Zealand imports tea, retreaded or used pneumatic rubber tyres, rubber and clothing.

He pointed out that Sri Lanka has the potential to be to India what Hong Kong is to China adding that the bilateral ties between the neighbouring states is expected to open a gateway to some Asian nations.

The minister explained that it was possible to use Sri Lanka as a manufacturing and trading base to access the vast Indian market adding that the country had also signed a FTA with Singapore as well.

Sri Lankas attempts to expand its export market is clearly supported by the visit of trade missions of this nature, the minister said.

He noted that tourism would be able to provide an equitable pathway to balance the trade deficit between the two countries.

Sri Lanka had seen 10,332 arrivals from New Zealand in 2017, a growth of 14.2 per cent from 2o16.

Trade Delegation Head Ralph Hayes said that Tourism New Zealand was the number one earner and noted that adventure tourism was a specialty in this sector.

He pointed out that New Zealand had expertise in food service and production, environment, education and training. This is the fourth visit of a New Zealand trade delegation to Sri Lanka. A number of companies participating in this delegation comprise those having interests in South Asia already.

(SD)
SriLankan on crash course to profitability in 3 years By Sunimalee Dias View(s): View(s):

The new board of directors at the struggling national carrier has assured that plans are underway to turnaround the organisation in three years.

SriLankan Airlines new Chairman Ranjit Fernando said that according to the Consultant Nyras they were assured of bringing profits to the carrier. He made this announcement at the media briefing held at the airlines office in Colombo on Thursday. The new Chairman is a former banker, a former Secretary to the Ministry of Industries and former Chairman of the Urban Development Authority.

The carrier is currently faced with losses amounting to US $100 million for the FY ending March 31, 2018 he said noting that they were faced with a crisis situation.

He added that the debts were running to $750 million and pointed out that the carrier had purchased aircraft not suited for the routes it was plying on. Budgeted loss estimated for next year is $160 million.

Restructuring Plans

Nyras have given the new board three options: Do nothing and close down the airline in a few years; adopt procedures to take up the matter in court where an officer would be appointed to look at what to do with the airline; or restructure the carrier.

The airline which believes that they are already late in implementing the restructuring plans said that they would be getting things off the ground within two months. At present the board is studying the restructuring proposal.

We are keen to make changes, he said adding that they would also look at about 2000 staff cuts as this was the excess that the airline was carrying from the total of 7000 employees.

These staff reductions would be carried out according to the contracts the employees have with the company, he noted.

Nyras has recommended staff cuts as this was imperative to cutting down on excessive costs.

We will take the airline from being a burden to the government to a profitable venture, he said adding that they hope to find an improved image of the carrier in the media in this respect as well.

Management changes were also in line, Mr. Fernando said as part of the restructuring plans that is currently being studied.

Identifying the new board, as part of the reinventing of the airline, Mr. Fernando said that they hope to resurrect the airline and bring it to a profitable business.

With little knowledge about airline business, Mr. Fernando noted they were a big management team and were faced with a big challenge and insisted they would not obtain any salary or remuneration until the carrier becomes a profitable venture.

The new Chairman also said that they would be looking at the possibility of joining hands with an international partner but that in order to do so they must ensure the carrier becomes profitable as otherwise it would not be picked up.

Previous bids were noted to have not concluded successfully as a result of which the new board would be taking a fresh look at the restructuring plans.

Accounting for the losses

Commenting on the losses incurred by the carrier, it was blamed on the huge interest charged on borrowings made on the carrier; using unsuitable wide bodied aircraft without narrow bodied aircraft; commitment on lease agreements that are over the market prices; and over payments made.

Currently four wide bodied A350 aircraft delivered in 2015 were considered not affordable and in this regard, the carrier is currently having direct negotiations with Airbus and re-negotiating.

SriLankan Airlines Director and also a senior advisor to the Finance Ministry, Mano Tittawella pointed out that while the new team was supportive of restructuring the airline they would ensure that the main shareholder, the Treasury should be able to obtain a long term return on the investment made.

In this respect, the time for doles and hand-outs were over, he said adding that within a period of 3-4 years the airline would gain profitability.

The airline said that they would not be implementing the Weliamuna report and that it would be left to the Presidential Commission of Inquiry that was established to look into these matters.

Director Susantha Katugampola, a Sri Lankan-origin immigration lawyer based in Melbourne and Air Force Commander Air Marshal Kapila Jayampathi are on the board.

Board member Dr. Roshan Perera, the only female on the board and from the Central Bank, has been involved with matters pertaining to the SriLankan Airlines restructuring plans. Head of the Public Private Partnership unit Thilan Wijesinghe who is currently also involved in the restructuring process and heads that committee as well, was also present at the briefing.
Young professionals add zing to Lankas public sector By Bandula Sirimanna View(s): View(s):

After the triumph against the joint oppositions no-confidence motion, Sri Lankas beleaguered government has been advised to infuse young blood into the senior public bureaucratic segment with the aim of accelerating rural and urban development activities, a top official told the Business Times.

The countrys second tier public bureaucratic workforce needs a fresh impetus to continue the governments development activities, carry out efficient service for the people, and engage in effective policy formulation activities; expeditiously, he said.

The second tier public sector officials who would soon take up the key responsibilities as heads of ministries and public institutions  with many incumbents due to retire soon  were lagging behind their present superiors in competency, communication skills and decision-making ability as well as knowledge in administrative procedures, an in-house official survey revealed.

Without a pipeline of young talent, the government risks falling behind in an increasingly digital world, a top level human resource survey report highlighted.

The government should immediately appoint a new generation of young professionals both in the public and private sectors for filling gaps and supplementing the career based bureaucracy in the public sector, several senior government officials told the Business Times.

They said: This matter was brought to the notice of the prime minister during their discussions with him on immediate reforms that should be made in the public administration by replacing lethargic and old guards of red tape.

Young professionals should be inducted to supplement the work of career bureaucrats, a senior cabinet minister said adding that they should not be confined to the junior executive level, but to the top-level as officers on special duty or policy specialists.

A competency framework has been developed by the National Human Resources Development Council of Sri Lanka to be used for the public sector to define the skills, behaviours and attitudes that officers need to perform in their roles effectively.

The main objective of the framework is to improve the efficiency, effectiveness and the quality of public sector delivery.

The need of the hour is to improve quality of service delivery in the public sector and therefore, it is necessary to develop and groom young professionals with the required skills, knowledge and attitude to run public sector organisations, one official added.

45-point short term plan proposed to accelerate rural development A 45-point short term strategic plan has been proposed to accelerate rural development within the next 18 months, a top cabinet minister said. This development process will be covering social, economic and environmental fields specially targeting the rural masses, Minister of Megapolis and Western Development Patali Champika Ranawaka revealed to the Business Times. He has proposed to allocate at least a sum of Rs.10 million each to 6000 electoral units Pradeshiya sabhas towards strengthening development in rural areas. According to this development plan, a suggestion has been made to grant a monthly allowance of Rs.5000 to low income families for three years by restructuring the Samurdhi poverty alleviation scheme. Financial and other assistance will be provided to 10,000 new entrepreneurs with public investment in accordance with the new plan, he disclosed. The government has to go for radical reforms handing over the responsibilities to young MPs replacing the old guard, he said adding that senior ministers have failed to perform their tasks and as a result the country was on the verge of collapsing.
No-Confidence Motion defeated, but politics plunges into deeper confusion By Chandani Kirinde- Lobby Correspondent View(s): View(s):

The United National Party (UNP) mustered sufficient votes to defeat a No-Confidence Motion (NCM) against its Party leader and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Wednesday, putting an end to days of speculation whether he would survive moves to oust him from the post.

The NCM, brought by the Joint Opposition (JO) group in Parliament, was defeated, with 122 MPs voting against it and 76 in favour, while 26 MPs were absent during the vote on Wednesday night, after nearly 12 hours of debate.

Most of the charges against the Premier were linked to the Central Bank (CB) Bond scam, starting with his decision to take the CB away from the purview of the Ministry of Finance and bring it under him, as well as for proposing Arjuna Mahendran to the post of CB Governor.

JO Parliamentary Group Leader and UPFA MP Dinesh Gunawardena opened the debate on the NCM. However, given that, details related to the Bond affair have been exhausted to such an extent by now, by both politicians and the media, he had little new to add on the matter. MP Dulles Allahaperuma who seconded the NCM too, faced the same conundrum, thus kicking off a debate that lacked lustre and thrall.

JVP MP Bimal Ratnayake, whose party voted in favour of the NCM, used the debate to not only lambaste the Premier, but also expose the lack of effort made by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa to win over sufficient MPs to pass the NCM.

Those interested in bringing this, belong to the Gotabaya kalliya (gang) in the JO, which is backed by President Maithripala Sirisena, he alleged.

The JVP MP pointed out that the JO had put more effort into securing power in local councils, than in ousting the Premier. The former president did not even sign this NCM. JO MPs are saying this Government is ruining the country but, if this is truly the case, why didnt it put in any real effort into winning this? he asked.

The JVP lawmaker said the Premier, for his part, had betrayed the trust of those who voted for him in 2015. He was elected to power to punish those responsible for the irregularities. Many young UNP MPs elected to Parliament for the first time, came here with much idealism, but they too, have been betrayed by the UNP leader, he said.

R. Sampanthan, leader of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) which voted against the NCM, said that, while the NCM seeks to implicate the Premier with the Bond scam, the charges are general and vague in nature, and indicative more of the pursuit of a political agenda, rather than fixing responsibility with regard to the Bond scam.

It could be that the Premier is facing this situation because of the confidence he placed in someone who has now betrayed him. But, where is the evidence or charge against the Premier of involvement in the Bond scam per se? Is the wording of the NCM so loose and so general because of the lack of specific material against the Premier, with regard to the Bond scam? And, if that is so, the NCM lacks credibility, he said.

Despite speculation that some UNP members would break ranks and vote in favour of the NCM, all of them rallied behind the Premier and voted against the NCM.

Along with the JO MPs, 13 SLFP members, including six ministers, voted for the NCM. Soon after the vote, the Premier met briefly with with the entire UNP Parliamentary Group, to thank them and promised not to forget those who stood by him.

But, overcoming the NCM may only be the beginning of more problems for the Government of National Unity. While the UNP leader wants to continue with the SLFP MPs who were absent during the vote, as part of the Government, those who voted in favour are determined to cling on to their portfolios.

The rank and file of the UNP seems to be in no mood to tolerate those who did not back the Premier on Wednesday, and moved quickly to hand over 7 NCMs  1 against Deputy Speaker Thilanga Sumathipala and 6 against the SLFP Cabinet ministers, to Speaker Karu Jayasuriya.

Given the level of hostility between the UNP MPs and this group of SLFP members, a continuation of this Government, with them in it, will only lead to more confusion in the country, and hinder any progress. While the President and the Prime Minister are likely to put on brave faces and continue their mantra on their determination to fulfill the 2015 mandate, continuation of this arrangement will only subject them to more public ridicule and enable their political opponents to endear themselves to the voters, come the next election.
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe convincingly won Wednesdays battle; the motion of no-confidence against him, but the internecine war between the two coalition partners  the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and the United National Party (UNP)  has worsened in its wake.

For a second time, Wickremesinghe, at least for the moment, is in an unassailable position. This is by his United National Front (UNF) winning 122 votes against the motion. Only 76 voted in favour and there were 26 absentees (who didnt want to vote either way). The clear certification this time  he commanded the confidence of the majority of members in Parliament. The first occasion was when President Sirisena sought his resignation in the wake of the February 10 local polls results. The Premier declared that in terms of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, he could not be removed by the President. Wickremesinghe has come to stay despite Sirisenas wishes to seek a new Premier. That political reality dawned this week.

Challenges ahead

Yet, Wednesdays victory notwithstanding, Wickremesinghe has a long, long way to go. He has at least three different challenges to surmount. One is the reforms within his own party to win back the grassroots level support base.

It remains eroded. This is amidst fears among party rank and file that some of his close associates may be named for top positions. This has been a cause for frustration particularly among young members. They accuse a cabal of close associates of directing affairs of the party and guiding Wickremesinghe in the wrong direction. Yesterday the UNP parliamentary group and the Working Committee met at Temple Trees with Wickremesinghe in the chair. The subject of discussion was party reforms and how to move forward. Many members expressed different views. Ministers Mangala Samaraweera, Sarath Fonseka and Vajira Abeywardene urged that Wickremesinghe should continue both as leader of the UNP and remain as Prime Minister. This was accepted. An eleven member committee has been named to recommend structural changes to the Party. Since the term of key office bearers will expire on April 29, Wickremesinghe will make appointments to those positions. Whilst Minister Kabir Hashim is likely to be re appointed as Secretary, the name of Minister Thalatha Athukorale is being mentioned as the Chairman. The second would be gearing the party for a victory at the Provincial Council elections in September this year unless coalition leaders choose to put it off on ostensible grounds of delimitation or due to other reasons. The third and most important would be preparing the party for the presidential election due in 18 months, and thereafter the parliamentary elections. He would have to ensure the UNP receives more than the lowly 32.63 percent votes it obtained at the February local council elections. This is whilst remaining in a coalition where his wider powers to run matters relating to the economy have been clipped.

A noteworthy feature at the near 12-hour debate on the vote of no-confidence against the Premier was the acknowledgement by many UNP speakers that there had been shortcomings in the party. They wanted them rectified. Another was how with the exception of one carefully avoided any direct references to President Sirisena though adverse innuendos were galore.

Emboldened by the defeat of the no-confidence motion, Wickremesinghe, accompanied by a group of ministers met Sirisena the very next day  on Thursday night. There were heated exchanges. The first demand the UNP team made was for the removal of 16 SLFPers including ministers and deputy ministers who voted in favour of the no-confidence motion. The motion itself raised an important question  can anyone express no confidence through a motion over an MP exercising his or her right to vote in Parliament? After all, in this instance their leader has given them the right to do so too? To that extent the motion was flawed and is different from the position of the UNP leadership that the ministers and deputies among the 16MPs cannot serve under a Premier on whom they have no confidence. Mata eka karanna behe or I cannot do that, exhorted Sirisena. Among the UNP ministers present were Mangala Samaraweera, Malik Samarawickrema, Kabir Hashim, Thalatha Athukorale and Akila Viraj Kariyawasam Both Sirisena and Wickremesinghe agreed that the coalition should continue. However, the meeting was heated and inconclusive. More meetings are expected. This means a planned ministerial reshuffle on Thursday by Sirisena will be delayed beyond the National New Year. Until then, the uneasy arrangement will continue.

Sirisena argued that the sacking of the 16 SLFP MPs could not be done since that would weaken the SLFP. It appeared to be skewed logic. Here were a group within the Government that declared publicly that it had no confidence in the Prime Minister. Now the group wants to work with him. Obviously, for the greed of enjoying the perks of public office they do not want to resign, in keeping with the democratic traditions they faithfully preach. It also shows Sirisenas hand in the no-confidence motion. The SLFP MPs seem to have had the confidence that their actions will not endanger their ministerial positions, should things go wrong, as they did. A group of UNP MPs, including Mujibur Rahman and Ashu Marasinghe, handed in a vote of no-confidence against these 16 MPs to Speaker Karu Jayasuriya. He was visibly angry. He pointed his finger at Minister Akila Viraj Kariyawasam and exhorted that in his speech in Parliament he had criticized him. Sirisena noted that he had been watching the debate on the no confidence motion on television and knew the words he uttered. When the meeting ended somewhat abruptly, Kariyawasam walked up to Sirisena, clasped his hands in ayubowan and said Mata Samawenna or forgive me. Angered by the move, Wickremesinghe directed that it be withdrawn immediately. It transpired that the party leadership has not given approval for this motion. That resonated on the motion of no-confidence on the Premier. It was allowed to go through by the SLFP leadership. He wants the National Unity Government to continue as it is, notwithstanding all the chaos.

Sirisena also raised issue with Premier Wickremesinghe and his ministers over the reported attack on Sirisa television offices and criticised the action. Sirasa was a stout supporter of Sirisena and takes a virulent anti-Wickremesinghe line. Sirisena said he did not endorse the Government resorting to measures the previous Rajapaksa administration took by carrying out attacks on media offices. He has ordered a full Police investigation.

Pro-Sirisena SLFP is divided

Earlier that Thursday morning, President Sirisena had two separate meetings  one with the 16 MPs who cast their votes in favour and the other with those who absented themselves. He told those who had voted in favour Ogollo kerapu dey hari. Api ekata inna oney or what you have done is correct. We must stick together. After all, Sirisena had officially allowed them a conscience vote. He said none of them should resign. Still, at least a group among those who voted for the motion are expected to sit in the Opposition benches. At a separate meeting, Sirisena also spoke to those who absented themselves from the vote.

He said that those who voted for the motion and those who absented themselves should now be united and work together. It is significant that those in the SLFP who absented themselves  they number more than half the SLFP MPs in the Government  did not share the view that the Premier should be removed  a task in which Sirisena once failed when he made a direct request to him to quit. Sirisena seems to not have consulted his own MPs at the time and it seems to have been a knee-jerk reaction to fix the blame on the Premier for the disastrous showing of his own party at the local council polls. Some of those who absented themselves (in effect, abstained) were not comfortable with Mahinda Rajapaksa and his Joint Opposition taking the kudos for passing the motion. They feared Rajapaksa would have an increasing role thereafter in the affairs of the SLFP. They, in fact, had an estranged relationship. Then, there was one SLFP Cabinet minister, Mahinda Amaraweera, who lent his own Colombo official residence for preparatory meetings on the no-confidence motion. He abstained at the vote and was not present in Parliament. Another abstention came from Cader Masthan, UPFA Wanni District MP, who had even signed the motion.

There were others who genuinely did not want to offend Wickremesinghe. That highlighted the reality that the SLFP now stands further divided. Broadly, one lot was opposed to Wickremesinghe whilst the other favoured him. That it would set a serious poser for the SLFP too at the upcoming provincial council, presidential and parliamentary elections is no secret. After all, the SLFPs vote base dropped to a mere 13 percent at the local polls. With growing acrimony with the UNP, would President Sirisena be ready with any cohesive plans for the SLFP to win, or would it face the fate of the left parties in the 1980s? This is just one of the serious drawbacks Sirisena has now inherited by painting himself further to a corner. Added to that is another reality. He or his side will no longer be in a position to continue a relationship with those in the Joint Opposition. The failure of the no-confidence motion has shut the doors almost for good. In that sense, the no-confidence motion has further weakened the SLFP vis-a-vis the Joint Opposition. The real loser of the defeated motion is the SLFP, not the Joint Opposition.

JOs blame game

In the public eye, however, that the no-confidence motion against the Premier failed was a slap in the face for the Joint Opposition. Many of their leaders have been cocksure it would pass and made lofty pronouncements prior to the vote. The Pivithuru Hela Urumaya Leader Udaya Gammanpila made mathematical calculations of even worst case scenarios showing the motion being carried by seven votes. Afterwards, the prime movers in the JO blamed the defeat by as many on the SLFP leadership for not being able to deliver their numbers. Even so, the motion would have been defeated on mathematical calculations because the UNF (106 seats) eventually stood together. Now, they are blaming a foursome in the SLFP  Minister S.B. Dissanayake, Deputy Speaker Thilanga Sumathipala, Minister Susil Premajayantha and State Minister Dilan Perera  for reportedly misleading them. They kept on telling us they had the numbers and that a group in the UNP was backing them, declared a senior JO leader who did not wish to be identified. That the Gang of Four wielded so much power to negotiate with the JO is one thing. Another is the all-important question  who gave them the mandate on behalf of the SLFP? Who was the hidden hand? As they say, victory has many fathers but a defeat is an orphan. It has set an uneasy precedent for future events.

This notwithstanding, there were several spin offs to the JOs benefit. Whatever the reasons be, as a result of the motion, the SLFP stands further divided. Strangely one faction is against Premier Wickremesinghe whilst another is in his favour. Even if the 122 votes for the UNP has galvanised their parliamentarians into some new found unity, new issues have arisen with the SLFP. One such case is the UNP demand now to remove those who voted in favour of the no-confidence motion. Even if the no-confidence motion against the 16 SLFP MPs has been withdrawn, the issue remains. It has been raised with President Sirisena. He has replied that the matter would be taken up at his partys Central Committee meeting tomorrow. Another aspect is the nationwide live television and radio coverage of the debate in Parliament. It did educate the public more on the Central Bank bond scam and other related issues. This is much more than the previous coverages the issues have received. Thus the news, both good and bad, have permeated to the grassroots level countrywide as much of the country was riveted to the live proceedings throughout Wednesday on radio and tv.

Rajapaksas take on NCM

Asked to comment on the origins of the no-confidence motion, the Joint Opposition de facto leader Mahinda Rajapaksa, threw some light on the background to it during an interview with the Sunday Times. He said, The first initiative for a no-confidence motion against the Prime Minister came from UNP members. The SLFP took over. We spoke to President Maithripala Sirisena. That was not only me. He even sent his men to speak to us. We were convinced from the dialogue that they had the endorsement of the President. They told us to extend our support and they would raise the remaining numbers. We did so. As I said last week, our people signed the motion and it was up to the President thereafter. Our people had discussions with the Government. These talks were initiated by those in the Government. We helped since they sought our support. However, we made clear we would not accept any positions including ministries.

However, Sirisena told a news conference on Friday, There have been different views about the no-confidence motion. Some have made me a part of the issue. Some say I supported it while others say I did not. He said that the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), a section of the SLFP and a section of the UNP collectively had agreed on the no-confidence motion. He added, The UPFA group in Parliament, acting as Opposition members, also met me. They said they could prove a majority and name a new Prime Minister. I told them to prove their majority in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution so I could act upon it. You are now well aware of the no-confidence motion.

Underscoring the SLFP divide were two news conference on Thursday, just the day after the no-confidence motion was defeated. At both events, those who took part made clear President Sirisena had no hand in the no-confidence motion.

The one representing those who absented themselves was chaired jointly by Ministers Mahinda Samarasinghe, Sarath Amunugama and Vijith Vijithamuni de Soysa. They emphasised that the no-confidence motion was not discussed at either the Parliamentary Group of the SLFP or its Central Committee, as revealed in these columns. The other was chaired by those who voted for the motion viz., official Government spokesperson and Minister Dayasiri Jayasekera, Minister Chandima Weerakody and State Minister Dilan Perera.

Samarasinghe said, We voted or abstained based on the freedom that was given. Whatever happened at the vote, our aim is to work together as a group to strengthen the hands of the President and the SLFP. I dont believe we need to take disciplinary action against anyone. He said that the President had told the 41 MPs of the SLFP led UPFA parliamentary group to arrive at a consensus among them over the vote. We could not do that, he added.

Minister Amunugama declared that the day before the motion was debated, the President called a meeting of the SLFP parliamentary group. He told us whatever happens to the NCM, as the leader of the country, he will have to continue to rule from April 5 (the day after the motion was debated). He added that the President could not take a side and does not wish to get involved. He asked us to take a collective decision.

When you analyse the final result, Amunugama asserted, you will see the majority of the SLFP MPs in the Government decided to abstain. Aside from the CWC leader Arumugam Thondaman and Muthu Sivalingam who are part of the UPFA, we have 39 SLFP MPs. The majority, i.e. 23 of them, chose to abstain whilst 16 voted for the motion.

At the other news conference by those SLFPers who voted in favour, Minister Dayasiri Jayasekera made clear, the President did not tell us to bring a vote of no-confidence against the Prime Minister. However, we discussed the matter and kept him informed about the decision. There were UNP members backing the move. The defeat of the motion is not an impediment for the continuation of the National Government.

Views expressed at the two different news conferences varied except for one fact  that President Sirisena was not in any way involved in the no-confidence motion. Even President Sirisena said so at his own news conference on Friday morning. In essence, by dissociating himself from the no-confidence motion, Sirisena was now sending a new message, more clearly to the UNP, that he was not associated with the motion and was ready to continue the coalition. For the same reason, he has even put off the major cabinet reshuffle he declared he would carry out on Thursday. That way Sirisena now makes clear it was all the others who were responsible.

In fairness to him, Sirisena refrained from making any public comments over the motion. Yet, questions arise whether he did acquiesce by his not taking up a position as leader of the SLFP with those promoting the motion thus paving the way for a debate in Parliament last Wednesday. One may argue this is part of the democratic principles Sirisena believes in. However, if he did not want the motion to see the light of day, all he had to do was forbid his SLFPers from associating themselves from the day the motion was conceived. This is more so since Wickremesinghe is his Prime Minister. The fact that he had already asked his PM on February 11 to resign gave an impetus to the co-conspirators to oust the PM. For Sirisena, that would have not only saved another split in the SLFP but also would not have placed himself in a worst political predicament  neither does the UNP nor the JO trust him now. As a result, he has created more suspicions in his coalition partner, the UNP. That suspicion exacerbates in the public mind when he continues to dissociate himself from the botched move to oust his PM.

Such suspicions have also been further heightened after an SLFP parliamentary group meeting last Monday chaired by Sirisena. Various views were expressed but Sirisena declared dont involve me. You all take a decision. I am not a party. They adopted a resolution unanimously that they should appeal to Premier Wickremesinghe to resign. It was an early indication that the motion didnt have the adequate numbers to be carried. It was therefore a case of who will bell the cat. A handful were hesitant and the task fell on Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva, senior Deputy Leader of the SLFP. At one time he was touted to be the new Prime Minister-in-waiting. Eventually, even he absented himself at the vote.

When the weekly Cabinet meeting on Tuesday ended, UNP ministers including the Premier were asked to stay behind. Somewhat hesitantly de Silva spoke as Premier Wickremesinghe and his ministers listened. We are not against you personally, Minister de Silva declared and added that the SLFP parliamentary group has decided that he (the Premier) should resign. Why do you want this, asked UNP Minister John Ameratunga. Siripala de Silva was followed by colleague Lakshman Seneviratne. When question after question was posed, Siripala de Silva replied let us not discuss this. I have been tasked only to pass this message. That ended the conversation. He was the mere postman delivering a letter.

Both, the decision to urge the Premier to quit and the call by Nimal Siripala de Silva who delivered it seemed bizarre for a coalition. Quite clearly it went beyond the mandate of a parliamentary group, if indeed there was one, to choose whether their partner in governance should go. That was the sole prerogative of the President who is the party leader. He could have chosen to break off the relationship and sought endorsement from the parliamentary group and even the Central Committee, the main policy making body. That such a decision and an appeal had been made amounted to some form of intimidation and even political blackmail  wait for the no-confidence motion and you will lose. So, it is better you resign now, seems to be the call. But the fact of the matter was that the SLFP couldnt muster the numbers. This, no doubt, is the darkest chapter in the entire episode involving the no-confidence motion against the Premier. The full power of the SLFP side of the Government was used with no avail, even though many were reluctant to back the call. Here again, at whose behest was this carried out?

The Tamil factor

Also on Monday, ahead of the debate on the no-confidence motion, Sirisena met a delegation led by Premier Wickremesinghe and including senior ministers. The meeting was to appeal to him to ask the SLFP parliamentarians to pull out from the no-confidence motion exercise. During the discussion, Sirisena was to point out that the UNP seeking the support of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) for supporting the motion would not augur well in the south. There was a sharp retort from Minister Mangala Samaraweera who pointed out that Sirisena would not have won the presidential election if not for the support of Tamils including those in the North.

When the news spread of his remarks, particularly in Tamil areas, there was embarrassment for Sirisena. Tamil diaspora groups were critical. He sought a meeting with TNA leader Rajavarothayam Sampanthan. He was to offer an explanation but the Tamil leader was to explain that the alliance would vote against the motion. Sirisena told Wickremesinghe during the meeting that whatever the outcome of the no-confidence motion was, he planned to effect a major re-shuffle of Cabinet Ministers on what he called a scientific basis on Thursday. On Tuesday morning, ahead of the weekly ministerial meeting, Sirisena again met Premier Wickremesinghe. He explained that it was not possible for him to stop SLFP MPs from backing the no-confidence motion since they were doing it on their own.

Then, on Tuesday night, Sirisena met another group of SLFP parliamentarians including ministers at his residence. They were there to convey their decision to abstain from voting. Sirisena noted that there were two options, either to vote or not and declared they could decide on their own. When the meeting was under way, Ministers S.B. Dissanayake and Susil Premjayantha walked in. Dissanayake broke the news that they did not have the numbers to seek the passage of the motion in Parliament. That was the first formal news that the no-confidence motion was doomed to fail. It was Dissanayake, Premjayantha, Thilanga Sumathipala and Dilan Perera who were at the forefront of the SLFP and had boasted earlier to their colleagues that the motion was as good as being passed.

At the news conference of those who voted for the motion, Minister Chandima Weerakody, said, At a parliamentary group meeting we decided first to call for the resignation of the Prime Minister. Thereafter, on the day of the no-confidence motion (Wednesday), we met at Minister Amaraweeras residence. SLFP General Secretary Duminda Dissanayake too was present. There, we decided that we should vote for the motion. We informed the UPFA and SLFP Secretaries to inform President Sirisena of this decision. Yet, both Ministers Amaraweera and Dissanayake also abstained from voting.

Some of them are campaigning to get us removed. This is not a UNP Government. It is a consensus one. We are ready to quit, if the President wants us to do so, declared State Minister Dilan Perera at the same news conference.

The planned cabinet reshuffle is off, at least for the time being. The first task for Sirisena now is to name a committee together with Wickremesinghe to formulate a programme of work for the remaining tenure of the Government. He appears to have now made up his mind to go along with Premier Wickremesinghe. He has run out of options. In doing so, whether the two sides could sign a new Memorandum of Understanding is also being looked at. It is only thereafter that Sirisena plans to effect a Cabinet reshuffle on a scientific basis.

He told Fridays news conference that I have called for a Central Committee meeting (on Monday) to discuss the future functioning of the Government. It is the Central Committee which decided on a time frame (two years) when the SLFP and the UNP first teamed up together. He said therefore, this decision too should be made by them. In other words, the CC will determine whether the SLFP wants to continue with a National Government for the remaining period. Sirisena underscored that likelihood when he declared that the Government has to be strong. My plea to them (the UNP) is to make it stronger. That is my policy. There are problems that arise, but we need to think of the public and the country. Strengthening the Government is the important factor. A senior JO member quipped somewhat sarcastically that the situation was similar to the Sinhala adage Kapanna beri atha imbinawa wuna or had to kiss the hand that could not be cut off. Eya athwal apita Nidahas Paksheyeth thiyanawa or we have those hands in the Freedom Party too, quipped a UNPer who heard of the remarks.

That the current political stalemate will thus continue beyond the upcoming holiday season only adds to the prevailing uncertainty. In such situation, time is an important factor but those at the helm seem little worried.
Scrapping of CCEM: Mangala apologises to President View(s):

Finance and Mass Media Minister Mangala Samaraweera has apologised to President Maithripala Sirisena for announcing at a news conference that the UNP-controlled Cabinet Committee on Economic Management (CCEM) headed by the Prime Minister has not been scrapped.

He explained to the President that he was not present at the weekly Cabinet meeting on March 20 where the decision to scrap the CCEM was made and hence did not know about it. The apology came after Samaraweera learnt that Sirisena was livid about media reports of Samaraweeras remarks that claimed that the Committee has neither been scrapped nor dissolved but remains intact. President Sirisena had noted that it was an inaccurate statement.

On Friday, President Sirisena also confirmed to editors and heads of media organisations at a news conference that the CCEM has been abolished. He said henceforth all functions (earlier performed by CCEM) would be directed through the Cabinet by line ministers responsible for the subject. We could function smoothly since there will be one institution (the Cabinet) instead of two (that included CCEM).

The occasion for the apology was a meeting President Sirisena held with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. Mr Samaraweera was one of the ministers who accompanied the premier for the meeting. It was mainly to discuss the aftermath of the no-confidence motion against the Premier. It was defeated in Parliament on Wednesday.

Mr Samaraweera made those remarks (that the CCEM was not dissolved) at a news conference last Monday. When he was told that there were reports that the CCEM had been abolished, he declared assertively dont go by them. I am in the Cabinet. We have not responded or made our observations. We have asked for two weeks.

The Sunday Times (Political Commentary) revealed exclusively on April 1 that the CCEM had been scrapped.

The draft minutes of the Cabinet decision made on March 20 were endorsed by ministers at their weekly meeting on March 27. (See montage of the minutes).

Notably a copy of this, as the minute states, has been forwarded to the Minister of Finance and Mass Media.

The decision recorded in the minutes is (a) abolish the Cabinet Committee on Economic Management (CCEM) and all Committees, Units and procedures associated with it; and (b) to refer only the selected Cabinet Memoranda submitted to the Cabinet Sub-Committee to be chaired by the Hon. Prime Minister, to examine the same and submit a Report to the Cabinet, for consideration.

Killing of editor: Vital info may come from former military intelligence chief

A treasure trove of information on the killing of journalist Lasantha Wickremetunga and attacks on other media personnel is expected to unfold when Criminal Investigation Department (CID) detectives question retired Major General Amal Karunasekera.The senior Army officer was then Brigadier and was head of the Military Intelligence Directorate, some of whose personnel are said to have been involved. Already, CID detectives say they have uncovered evidence.

From the position he held as DMI, then Brig. Karunasekera was offered the post of Sri Lankas Ambassador to Eritrea. However, the opening of a diplomatic mission there became difficult since the Eritrean Government refused Sri Lankas request. The LTTE is known to have had a base there and had stored military hardware.

Thereafter, then Brig. Karunasekera was posted to the Sri Lanka Embassy in Cairo from where he covered Eritrea, an independent nation which had been annexed to Ethiopia after World War II.

When the previous Government initiated inquiries against the then Army Commander Lt. Gen. (and now Field Marshal) Sarath Fonseka, Brig. Amal Karunasekera was summoned to Colombo. Though he was asked to testify against his Commander, he refused to do so.

The last position he served was the Chief of Staff of the Army.

Hashim, Malik quitting party posts

Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe, leader of the United National Party (UNP), has declined to accept the letter of resignation of party General Secretary Kabir Hashim.

However, UNP sources said Hashim had made clear he would not withdraw the letter and had resigned to help the party leader to re-organise the party.

On Friday, UNP Chairman Malik Samarawickrema also sent in his resignation. It was not known if his resignation has been accepted.

Private talk between Rajitha and Gayantha

A conversation between two official Government spokespersons, Ministers Rajitha Senaratne and Gayantha Karunatilleke, has gone viral on social media.They were both seated at the podium to brief the media during last weeks weekly Cabinet meeting. Microphones were in place. At least one or more had been switched on and the two ministers were blissfully unaware. Here is a transcript of what they said:

Gayantha: The SLFP has made a mess of this, havent they? (He was referring to the vote of no-confidence against PM Ranil Wickremesinghe).

Rajitha: Indeed. Those two, Lakshman Yapa and Dilan Perera, have now said they will vote for this though, havent they?

Gayantha: Theyll lose their Ministerial posts.

Rajitha: Lakshman Yapa only does what (inaudible) tells him to do. They must be scolding Dilan for getting them into this mess.

Gayantha: Rathana Thera too asked to make a speech. We gave him 10 minutes.

Rajitha: What is he going to talk about?

Gayantha: I dont know, but he insisted that he wanted to speak.

Rajitha: Dont give him time. Why do you want to give him a speech?

Gayantha: The Prime Minister said to give.

Rajitha: See, that is the problem with our PM. I told him today to stand tall from tomorrow. Last night I told him that he ought to stand with a backbone and not bend, even to the President. If there is a problem, I told him I would speak up and for him to remain quiet and take decisions. Otherwise, nothing will happen.

Gayantha: Is Chathura (Rajithas MP son) also on board now?

Rajitha: I suppose so.

Gayantha: I spoke to him.

Rajitha: What did he say?

Gayantha: I told him dont be a fool and to stand with his father. Otherwise, if something happens, after fighting so hard, itll be all in vain. He laughed and said Lets see.

Rajitha: After I joined the party in 1994, I practically ran this Parliament. That was how the UNP rose up. After that, we took our campaign against the President to all parts of the country. That was how we won the first round.

Gayantha: Thats true.

Rajitha: We killed ourselves for the party. Ill tell you; when we lost in 94, my jeep had done 61,000 kilometres while the bosss (PMs) vehicle had done only 27,000 kilometres.

(Laughter)

Rajitha: Thats because I covered all the meetings. From the Yowun Peramuna to Aasana Bala Mandala and District Bala Mandala. I formed all of those.

That Akila Viraj was a losing candidate. His appointment led to the Yowun Peramunas destruction.

Gayantha: Yes, he was appointed by force.

Rajitha: There was this young boy who was coming up. He was with me even when I went to the SLFP. He was a good boy who came from the village. That was during the election. There was also this girl from the plantation sector. She was also good.

Gayantha: The boss came and influenced people.

Rajitha: The announcement came at 12 midnight. The earlier appointment was cancelled and this guy was appointed instead. We are now suffering the consequences of those actions.
When absurdity becomes insanity in Sri Lankas parliament View(s):

A crude bid to capture national political power by the so-called Joint Opposition, disgracefully aided and abetted by a section of President Maithripala Sirisenas Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) failed this week. Given the political configurations on the floor of the House, perhaps this failure was inevitable but nothing is certain after all, in this dirty, rotten game of scoundrels beating their chests like patriots, as they say.

If this plot had succeeded, the consequences for national stability are too catastrophic to contemplate. In the wake of the defeat, the United National Party (UNP) has promised wide ranging reforms, internally as well as in respect of its chaotic governance processes. There is, of course, huge skepticism in the public preception of these promises which the UNP must recognise as natural, given the umpteen times that such attempts have failed.

Cocky boasts of the Joint Opposition

But for the moment, despite very justifiable misgivings that one may have regarding the Governments ruinous perpetuation of the treasury bond fiasco at the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) and justifying it thereafter, relief is warranted following Wednesdays vote. The numerical count has neatly fallen into line on either side of the House, belying cocky boasts of Joint Opposition frontliners whose obnoxiously Cheshire-cat grins cover a multitude of sins, communal as well as in regard to outright thievery of public funds.

Manifestly there is a point at which absurdity crosses the line and falls into the lap of insanity. The no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and the Government focused not only on the alleged responsibility of the Prime Minister in regard to the CBSL treasury bond controversy but also in respect of an alleged failure to act promptly in respect of recent communal attacks on Muslim residents by political mobs in Ampara and Kandy.

As it has now transpired, several provincial politicians of the JOs Pohottuwa (a misnomer for that political party if there ever was one given that the innocence of the lotus flower bud is a far cry from the knaves who make up most of the JO) had been directly implicated in the Kandy violence at least. The JOs allegations in respect of the Kandy violence are exceedingly rich in irony in any event. So the Rajapaksa lobby which actively fomented the Aluthgama violence as a warning to Muslim communities and reduced Tamil citizens to fear, terror and brutal subordination in the post-war years, had the brazen gall (let us not mince words) to accuse this Government of failing to act promptly to prevent communal violence.

Shameful manipulation of communalism

If this was the logic, then how many no-confidence motions should have been brought against the former President and his family cronies during their time in power? Of course, that would have been a near impossibility at the time given the death fears that predominated among any and all who disagreed with the Rajapaksa way of thinking.

This columnist has been a forthright critic of the Government for the very reasons that ultimately resulted in the February 2018 electoral reprimand to the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe alliance, signs of which were visible from 2015 itself. Recognising this, critical positions should have been taken at the outset without civil society partners rushing headlong into compromising alliances with the Government, effectively becoming spokespersons for its unhappy prevarications from spluttering anti-corruption efforts to transitional justice reforms and constitutional reforms.

Most damagingly, official stonewalling on outstanding corruption cases against the Rajapaksas and their cronies was justified on the basis that Sri Lankas legal systems make it impossible for positive outcomes to be reached. These airy explanations ignored pointers that blocks lay elsewhere as seen by the fact that the Inspector General of Police got himself televised in news media (in a masterpiece of stupidity, one may well add) assuring the UNPs Law and Order Minister that the police will not proceed against a certain nilame, a Rajapaksa favourite implicated in gross corruption. What more proof was required? In how many more cases was this same stonewalling evidenced by both factions of this alliance?

The infamies are not certainly comparable

In other respects as well, yahapalanaya failures deserve to be critiqued without exception. The unity alliances ill-favored actions early on include dismissing a sitting Chief Justice through a letter written by the President and appointing a Prime Minister when an incumbent Prime Minister had not yet resigned. Recent press interviews given by the Rajapaksas point ominously to the fact that these precedents will be remembered if power returns to their hands.

But even so, these failures are not comparable with the manifold infamies of the Joint Opposition. The Kandy violence is a frightening foretaste of what this country will be subjected to if the Rajapaksa brand (in whatever individual or collective avatar) return. And it is demonstrably hard to assess as to which character in that crowd is more lacking in conscience in respect of the use of communal politics to achieve petty political ends.

Its apologists are now unashamedly employing a racist rationale to explain the failure of the no-confidence motion in Parliament. It was said in 2015, as it is being said now, that it is the minority vote which safeguards the Government and that deals are being reached on that basis. The pitting of the majority against the minorities is the most despicable game that politicians might play. To have people who profess to be educated also joining these baying communalists is appalling.

Heeding the cries of UNP backbenchers

Where the way forward is concerned, the UNP hierarchy must acknowledge that this chance to reform, snatched out of thunderous skies as it were, must not be allowed to slip casually by with superficial shifting of leadership positions while the real power centre remains captured in an arrogant and imperviously elitist bubble.

It would do well to abide by mea culpa cries of backbenchers during Wednesdays vote when they pointed to the Joint Opposition benches and loudly lamented as to what a fate it was for the party of which they were members, to be accused of roguery by such palpable rogues as the Rajapaksa lobby. Meanwhile SLFP Ministers who voted for the no-confidence motion and insist on staying in their ministerial positions must be treated with the public contempt that they deserve. Their explanation that the motion was only against the Prime Minister is farcical.

Despite racist rhetoric then and now, the fact remains that huge swathes of the Sinhala vote swung against the Rajapaksas in 2015. That happened for reasons that still remain valid. That momentum was lost due to a toxic mixture of petty party squabbling, sheer incompetence and stupidity. From this point onwards, it should be this Governments singular effort to court that jaundiced constituency afresh and demonstrate concrete gains on the reforms agenda by direct engagement with its voter base, not merely Colombos chattering classes.

Essentially, it should start governing, at least now.
Local Houdini does it again View(s):

And so, Houdini did it again said a wise old lawyer referring to the Austro-Hungarian-born American illusionist and magician noted for his sensational escape acts, no sooner Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe defeated a no-confidence motion against him in Parliament on Wednesday.

Arguably, no Sri Lankan politician has had to face so many challenges to his leadership, both of his party and the country  and surmounted them to be where he is today as this Premier has.

The no-confidence motion spearheaded by a section of the Joint Opposition (JO) backfired on them. Carried away by the February 10 local council election results, the JO failed to realise that Parliaments numbers were a different ball game. The divisions within the mainstream SLFP headed by President Maithripala Sirisena were not a mirage, they were for real.

The JOs eagerness to exploit the disillusionment in the UNP rank and file and the divisions within the coalition partners of the National Unity Government resulted in just the opposite  the UNP closing ranks and the SLFP within the National Unity Government splitting still further. The blame game is now on for having frittered away the momentum the JO gained from February 10 and in the process, reinvigorated an otherwise demoralised UNP.

President Sirisena cut a sorry figure in this drama. He faced justifiable criticism in Parliament on Wednesday  and in the country as well, for shooting his Prime Minister in the back. He tried to cover his tracks and wriggle out of culpability for his tacit backing of the motion, but the whereabouts of the smoking gun could be seen. When he realised a formidable section of his own party was not willing to hold hands with the JO in an exercise that was patently political in nature, he backpedalled, and sat on the Palace fence and like Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. Now he faces the wrath of the JO for not delivering; a second, nay third time they had been let down by him.

There was no question that the minority parties were going to vote against the motion. They have not made up with the JO yet. It only provided them an opportunity to raise their stakes and make further demands on the Government. The JO expected some UNP MPs, unhappy with the way they have been treated by the UNP hierarchy to vote for the motion. The JO didnt bargain for the number of the Presidents men who would refuse to support the motion.

The fact that the Prime Minister was able to muster 122 votes of a 225 member House shows that he can form his own Government if he so chooses.

There is now a call for those SLFP MPs, including ministers and deputies who voted for the motion to resign if they have no confidence in their own Government. But they have Rhino-like skins. The Prime Minister is being asked to show no magnanimity because it was they who were dragging this National Unity Government down from day one as fifth columnists pressuring the President to act the way he did, and to be rolled over by that pressure  undermining not only the PM and the UNP, but eventually his own Government. Another record for the Guinness Books.

But make no mistake, the President has not always been wrong. His insistence on having the former Governor of the Central Bank removed; his refusal to allow an international war crimes tribunal under the UNHRC resolution among other interventions were no doubt in the national interest. However, he has been an impediment as well to an efficient Government machinery complicated by two political parties with divergent economic philosophies. The two opposing parties in the same team have not been able to find that via-media towards joint collaboration.

From all accounts the economy is taking a beating due to the prevalent political instability. As the President told the media on Friday, this year has been consumed by election campaigns for local councils, followed by the carnage in Kandy and then the no-confidence motion. A drought is imminent.

The tax net is to be widened to increase direct taxes. The perfidious promises of the JO that it will reverse these taxes are typical. The Governments boast that last year had the highest Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) fails to mention that the Chinese cheque for Hambantota port was part of the reason.

It looks though, like the Government is also ready to go flat out to neutralise the JO by accelerating corruption investigations against its frontliners and using special courts to dish out the punishment. Its bid to give the Justice Minister powers so far vested with the Chief Justice was a wrong step in the right direction to speed up stalled probes.

In Parliament during Wednesdays debate, both sides threw mud, calling the other hora (rogue) and murderer. The sad part was that these allegations and counter-allegations were one big joke for the Parliamentarians, almost as if this was all part and parcel of the sleazy politics of our times.

Discounting the motives behind the motion against the PM being a political putsch at dismantling an elected Government through a Parliamentary coup, the fact remains that the perpetrators of the Central Bank bond scam need to be brought to justice  and soon.

A new Constitution and a new political culture seem highly unlikely in the current political environment. Whether it is a Parliamentary or Presidential system, Sri Lanka is still rooted in Western style democracy. Much has been said, and critiqued, about the Chinese model where their President was recently ensconced for life. That system is, however, not based on a leaders showmanship, a pre-requisite in Western democracies. It is dangerous to advocate Chinese style one-party rule but it is also a system based on selection and election  not everyone is elected to high office. Many are selected. Theres recognition for merit and hard work  a meritocracy of sorts, and they are inducted to public office.

In Sri Lanka, the 1948 Constitution provided for Appointed MPs mainly to represent the minorities and the 1978 Constitution expanded that to National List MPs to absorb high value persons to adorn the Legislature, only for that List to be abused by political leaders. The Choksys and Kadirgamars and only a few others were the stand out exceptions.

From the Cambridge Analytica fallout we find Western think-tanks have correctly identified that in democracies, emotional issues play a more significant role at elections, than do facts. That is something the UNP can take note of.

Promised reforms within the UNP are an internal matter for the party to resolve. But one piece of unsolicited advice would be to appoint a chairman and general secretary who are not Ministers or MPs, but those who can be wholly committed to party work. They can take a cue from their mentor J.R. Jayewardene who ran one of the best oiled party machineries of recent times.
Any dream will do By Yomal Senerath-Yapa Students of GIC set Galle alight with Josephs tale View(s): View(s):

As one of Galle Forts magical sunsets was at its climax, Hall de Galle was getting ready for a very special night. From the Dutch doors the cheerful strumming of music spilled out into the streets together with golden light and other tantalising sounds of preparation. Galle was getting ready for its very first staging of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rices musical, premiering in 1970, has been a hit ever since with a colourful, powerfully uplifting rendition of the Biblical story of Joseph from the Book of Genesis. This new production, by the Galle International College (GIC), brings the message of the power of dreams to our ancient port city, itself a dreamer, forever gazing at the sea.

This was the schools first performance of its kind. For James Luck, show director and producer, the challenge lay in handling 50 students from 14 countries, all aged 5 to 17 and for all of whom this was to be a first; for many their first stage appearance and for nearly everyone the first musical.

In a babel of many tongues (for it was an audience as varied and cosmopolitan as Galle itself) they speculated, eyes trained on the stage eagerly. This musical was an undertaking nothing short of monumental, and everyone was eager to see how it would be pulled off.

Quite fantastically- as it turned out. It was hard to believe that the cast had had little brushes with musicals before. They were confident and with beautiful soaring voices and dancing brought to life this adventure of a dreamer: Joseph, sold as a slave by his jealous brothers, put to prison by a jealous owner and finally rising up to be the most powerful man in Egypt- and saviour of his family- because of the power of his dreams which foretell the future.

The beauty of the musical was in the catchy tunes as well as the magical synchronization of music, voices, acting and dancing- soulful when Joseph is in prison; healing and uplifting with Any dream will do and the uproar when the brothers round up on Joseph. The story itself was presented with great dramatic vigour, with the audience reacting with enthusiasm. While the nostalgic Biblical flavour and landscapes were retained, there were delightfully quirky touches such as the Pharaoh appearing as Elvis Presley, a golden tuk-tuk instead of a golden chariot and ofcourse, the modern humour.

The Musical Director for the evening was Soundarie David Rodrigo, who was at the helm of the six piece orchestra. It is to the triad formed by Soundarie, James Luck and the schools deputy principal Curtis Jobe that most of praise for the evening should go. Supported by Principal Victoria Hislop, the team toiled for three months, and were among the most deeply rewarded that night. The colourful costumes, painstakingly made by local tailors and seamstresses, also need mention.

The protagonist, young Joseph was played by Kaesura Jobsz while his older self in Egypt was handled by Hidde Oostenbroek. Tiny Margot Sheperd made a rather affable Old Jacob, the father of Joseph with the entire cast showing a professionalism way beyond their years.

When the audience sprang to their feet for a standing ovation at the end, they were at the same time cheering Joseph as well as the cast, the crew, the musicians and the GIC for setting the stage alight with a great show. It was a sparkling debut for the school- an inerasable creative footprint.
Lankan journalist to cover Royal Wedding View(s):

Anne- Marie Mediwake one of the most highly-regarded Canadian television newscasters has been invited to broadcast the coming Royal Wedding in London, England.

Anne Marie Abeyesinghe Mediwake was born in 1975 in Kandy, Sri Lanka. She is the daughter of Mervyn Mediwake of the well-known Mediwake family from Dumbara in the Central Province emigrated to Canada with her parents, Mervyn and Muriel. She has an elder sister, Naomi and younger sister, Becky.

She has won the highest accolades available to Canadian television broadcasters and has headed up the primary TV news broadcasts on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and the Canadian Television Network.

Anne- Marie started her television career as a teenager in Lethbridge in 1993, where she used to write and produce shows related to children and youth for a local television based in Alberta. In the 90s Anne-Marie worked at various stations in Alberta, her home province, where she was eager to try everything related to television.

After spending around six years in Alberta, she went to Toronto where she worked as a reporter for CTV. Her focus and hard work paid off when she was offered a producing role for 100 Huntley Street in Toronto after overseeing the only interview with the Lang family; whose son was the sole victim in the Taber High School Shooting.

During her time at CTV, she co-hosted the award-winning 21c, a current-affairs programme aimed at Canadas younger generation. She also worked with the Canada AM and CTV National News and with Lloyd Robertson. Mediwake also co-anchored Global Televisions Toronto flagship newscast.

In 2011, she was named Toronto Woman of the Year.

Anne- Marie is married to Darryl Konynenbelt, a journalist. In 2007, the couple expanded their family with triplets and chronicled their experiences with pregnancy and birth in the wildly popular and hilarious National Post column called the Triplet Journal. She has even walked the runway, lighting up the catwalk with her winsome smile in a Scottish inspired red dress during the 2010 Heart Truth fashion show in Toronto. The couple has triplets Annabel Abeyesinghe, Maxim Bandara, and Libby Abeyesinghe, born on June 14, 2007.
Rudimental take the No. 1 spot View(s):

Rudimental have taken the UK No: 1 singles crown after a gruelling battle. Their new song These Days about the breakdown of relationships secured the top spot with the support of fellow nationals Jess Glynne and Dan Caplen along with US rapper Mackelmore. These Days is the third No: 1 on home ground for the drum and bass group following Feel The Love featuring John Newman (2012) and Waiting All Night featuring Ella Eyre (2011).

For Jess Glynne These Days see her sitting at the No: 1 spot as featured artist for a fourth time, but when considers her overall career statistics the 28 year old has become the only female UK national to have the most spots at the top of the singles chart which is six. For Dan Caplen and Macklemore its their very first opportunity at the top of the UK chart even if is just as featured artists. These Days is co penned by all members of Rudimental namely Piers Aggett, Amir Amor, Kesi Dryden and Leon Rolle along with Dan Caplen and established hit writers Jamie Scott, Julian Bunetta and John Ryan. Rudimental is a Hackney based quartet. Meanwhile the former chart topping song Gods Plan by Drake had a huge tumble on the chart from the summit to No: 10.

As George Ezras song Paradise climbed up the top 10 from 5 to 2, his new album Staying At Tamaras debuted at the top of the UK album chart.

Lil Dicky has notched up his first UK to 10 song with Freaky Friday from 16 to No: 5. The song features hip hop star Chris Brown. Dicky is a US rapper and comedian who has secured many heavy weights on the video for the song. Making cameo appearances are Ed Sheeran, DJ Khaleed and Kylie Jenner.

UK DJ  Sigala has his new song Lullaby featuring Paloma Faith climbed up from 13 to No: 9 on the singles chart. The dance track sees Sigala and Faith collaborate for a second time. Lullaby is the fourth top 10 for Sigala. On their previous collaboration in 2014 Changing topped the UK chart. The current Sigala hit has been on the chart for five weeks.

Pharrell Williams will begin a new chapter in his music career when he mentors young songwriters for the publishers Sony/ATV. Williams recently signed a multi -year deal with the company with whom he has been working for nearly two decades.

It has been revealed that Iggy Azalea has had therapy in Arizona in the US to overcome emotional issues. Reports from the US say her managers had to intervene when the Australian born rapper got into several social media battles with artists such Azalea Banks, Nicki Minaj, Snoop Dogg, Eminem and Macklemore among others. It was good media stuff but actually damaging her career. The 27 year old was apparently in denial but now admits her stay at the mental health facility helped. She is said to be working on releasing her second album Surviving The Summer this year.

TW LW

1 2 These Days  Rudimental ft: Jess Glynne / Macklemore & Dan Caplen

2 5 Paradise  George Ezra

3 3 Feel It Still  Portugal. The Man

4 4 FRIENDS  Marshmello & Anne- Marie

5 16 Freaky Friday  Lil Dicky ft: Chris Brown

6 8 Psycho  Post Malone ft: Dolla $ign

7 9 The Middle  Zedd / Maren Morris / Grey

8 7 This Is Me  Keala Settle & The Greatest Showman Ensemble

9 13 Lullaby  Sigala & Paloma Faith

10 1 Gods Plan  Drake
Russels completes 30 years in the industry View(s):

Russels, one of the renowned Tea Service Companies in Sri Lanka, celebrated its 30th anniversary in Hospitality Business on 25th March 2018.

Russels is the brain child of Russel Perera, Chairman of the Russels Group of Companies, who ventured into small scale tea serving company in 1988 at the Seylan Bank with the inauguration of Seylan bank. After three decades, Russels has now diversified into Tea, Catering and Garments and Design (SF Clothing).

Located in Punchi Borella in a three story ultra modern office and factory complex, Russels Group comes under one operation unit with the direction of its group General Manager Lindsay Fernando.

The two sons of Russel Perera, Jehan and Rashane Perera currently manage the Tea Service and the Catering along with Garments and Fashion design sector independently.

The total workforce at the group consists of 220 staff and most of them have more than 20 years in service at Russels.

As I started this business in very humble way 30 years ago, my main supporting force was my wife Bernie, staff and the Almighty, I believe said Mr. Russel Perera.

As a gesture of appreciation for the staff, who have completed more than five years in service, Russel Perera has declared profit shares from the1st of May 2018.

Mr. Perera also take this opportunity to thank all their clients for the unprecedented support rendered to them during the last 30 years.
Young creators of animated short film 83 happy about intl exposure By Oshani Alwis View(s): View(s):

We were not anticipating it at all, says Sumedha Kelegama as Irushi Tennekoon and Sumudu Athukorala nod in agreement, on how they were taken by surprise to learn that their short film had been nominated for an international festival.

83- the trios short film was screened at the Dhaka Art Summit (DAS) held in Bangladesh in February this year, having earlier won the prize for the best animated short film at Colombos Agenda 14 Short Film Festival in 2016.

Presenting a complex socio-political reading of the 1983 riots, known as Black July in Sri Lankan history, the film captures the trauma of a Sinhalese who was part of a mob. Employing the simple object of baldiya (bucket) as a metaphor, the film portrays how the pronunciation of the word was turned to create racial dichotomies during the 83 riots where the Tamils who pronounced it as valdiya were brutally dealt with.

The creators of the film describe it as a zero-budget, stop motion animated film of childlike drawings, showing nothing gruesome on screen, yet conveying a strong message.

An art exhibition presented by 41 Sri Lankan artists was also held as a part of the DAS. Titled One Hundred Thousand Small Tales it featured artifacts presented on paper, paintings, photographs, film, sculpture and animation  narratives of Sri Lankas recent history through times of war and chaos. Sharmini Pereira curated the exhibition being one of the key figures in the country to promote Sri Lankan contemporary art in the international arena.

83 was the only short film included in the collection and received positive responses from the international audience, the UKs Financial Times making special mention of it, commenting that Sri Lankan art deserves a brighter spotlight.

The central theme of the film was a perfect match for the theme of One Hundred Thousand Small Tales. It was something that happened completely unplanned, Sumudu says.

We were a part of a group that had Sri Lankas most famous artists like Chandraguptha Thenuwara, Laki Senanayake and many others. It is a huge honour for us, Sumedha reveals that he and Sumudu, both being architects, were inspired by some of these prominent artists.

Irushis childhood interest in books drove her to become a doodler and childrens book illustrator. Im one of those people who never stopped reading childrens books, she admits. Taking inspiration from Sybil Wettasinghe and Roald Dahls art, Irushi developed her own style of doodling which set up all the scenes in their film.

Sumedha studies architecture in Cuba and conversations in his small office with Sumudu on social issues ignited the core theme of the short film. Sumudu having previous experience in making short films wrote the script and thus the trio produced 83 assisted by Chinthaka Prabhath in editing and sound effects.

We are happy that our message went so far which hints that people actually resonate with what we initiated, Sumedha says. They are currently looking for ideas for a new animated short film for this years Agenda 14 Short Film Festival.
Appeal Court sets aside High Court ruling as bad in Law By Ranjith Padmasiri View(s): View(s):

The Court of Appeal this week set aside a five-year suspended sentence imposed on a school cashier who was found guilty of misappropriating Rs. 315,715.46, and imposed a three-year Rigorous Imprisonment (RI).

A two-member bench comprising Justices S. Devika de L. Tennekoon and S. Thurairaja set aside the judgement of the Badulla High Court (HC) saying, any sentence for a period of more than two years cannot be suspended.

The cashier, who worked at the St. Thomas College, Bandarawela from July 1988 to December 1998, was indicted before the Badulla HC for Criminal Breach of Trust punishable under Section 391 of the Penal Code. The indictment was served on August 22, 2007, and the trial began on October 23, 2012. He was accused of misappropriating the school funds amounting to Rs. 315,715.46.

During the trial, the Defence Counsel had made an application that the accused wished to withdraw his earlier plea of not guilty, and plead guilty to the charge.

After both counsel made submissions, the trial judge accepted the plea and convicted the accused and imposed a Rs 5,000-fine or, in default, four months RI and additionally, five years RI suspended for five years.

However, the Attorney General referred the case to the Court of Appeal, submitting that the sentence imposed was illegal. The Appeal Court said that, as the accused had pleaded guilty, there was no complaint against the conviction. The only complaint by the State is that the suspension of the sentence was illegal.

Reading the entire provisions of the law, it is crystal clear that any sentence for a period of more than two years cannot be suspended. In the present case, the trial judge had imposed a sentence of five years and suspended the same for five years, which is bad in law, the Appeal Court said.

It said that, sending the case back to the HC to impose an appropriate sentence would further delay the case and hence, imposed three years RI and a fine of Rs. 5,000 or in default, three months simple imprisonment and additionally. The court directed the accused to pay back the misappropriated money .

Deputy Solicitor General Dileepa Peiris appeared for the AG while Attorney-at-Law Udaya Bandara appeared for the defendant.
ASP, HQI laughingly watched thugs accosting Opposition UNP MPs: State Minister By Ranjith Padmasiri View(s): View(s):

State Minister Ajith P. Perera told Court that he witnessed an Assistant Superintendent of Police and the Headquarters Inspector of the Hambantota Police, standing and laughing while thugs accosted a group of United National Party MPs on a visit to the Hambantota port in 2014.

The minister was giving evidence in the case filed in the Hambantota High Court (HC) over criminal intimidation of UNP MPs, then in the Opposition, during a field visit. State Minister Perera told Judge Thamara Tennakoon he feared for his life at the time of the incident which was politically motivated.

He said he and the other MPs visited the port and the Mattala airport after obtaining permission from project officials.In evidence led by Deputy Solicitor General Dileepa Pieris, the Minister said an organised group who had assembled obstructed them, abused them in filthy language, and threatened them with death, while they were coming out of the airport.

The Minister said they did not anticipate such a situation in a high security zone. One man grabbed me by the arm and squeezed it extremely hard, he added. He said he realised they were facing a political reaction and the MPs then got into their bus and went to the port.

He said that during their visit to the Hambantota port, a gang blocked the road, preventing them from returning to their bus. At this point, the gang leader stepped forward and introduced himself as Eraj, who he later recognised as the Mayor of Hambantota, Minister Perera recalled.

As the MPs were leaving in their bus, the gang led by Eraj Fernando, who was brandishing a pistol, chased after their bus, the Minister told court. Observing that a police jeep was following the bus, MPs Eran Wickramaratne and Nalin Jayamaha alighted from the bus and attempted to stop the police jeep. However, the jeep sped away without coming to our aid, the minister said.

Realising they could not expect any assistance in Hambantota, the MPs later lodged a complaint with Police Headquarters, Mr Perera said.

At the conclusion of the Ministers evidence, video footage of the incident obtained from media institutions, was shown to court, corroborating the witnesss statements.

The plastic pistol taken into custody from the possession of Eraj Fernando, was also shown to court. The witness, though said the defendant wielded a real pistol. Premasiri Paranamana alias Paththakka Some, Tuwan Ramazan alias Bandagiriye Tuwan, Mahamadakalapuwage Madhusha Nilan, Bindu Sri Warnasinghe and Eraj Ravindra Fernando have been served 29 indictments over the incident and have pleaded Not guilty to the charges.

U.R. De Silva P.C. appeared for the accused.
HRCSL complains to President: 49 peacekeeping soldiers sent to Lebanon without its vetting View(s):

The Sri Lanka Army sent 49 soldiers to Lebanon in February despite being clearly aware that no personnel could be deployed on UN peacekeeping operations without first being vetted by the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, the commission has told President Maithripala Sirisena.

In a letter to the President, HRCSL chairperson Deepika Udagama says the Commission was astonished over the failure to seek clearance. Further, the Commission was not informed that the said group of 49 personnel had to be deployed to Lebanon early, it said. Deploying soldiers who have not undergone the vetting process is a complete violation of the agreement made with the Human Rights Commission.

United Nations member-states that nominate or provide personnel to serve with the UN must screen and certify that such personnel have not committed, or are alleged to have committed, criminal offences and/or violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law. Those who seek to serve with the UN mustattest the same and, where necessary, provide relevant information. The processes by which this can be done are outlined in Decision 2012/18 of the UN Secretary-Generals Policy Committee.

According to the UN, Sri Lanka is the first nation to be granted the opportunity to vet military personnel for peacekeeping operations by a national Human Rights Commission. Completing this process with a high degree of credibility is essential to enhance the recognition given to Sri Lankan peacekeeping operation troops, the Commission says.

But the HRCSL on February 19 came to know through a media statement that a group of 49 soldiers has already been deployed to Lebanon. This was confirmed by the Army. None of the members of this team was cleared by the Commission.

In June 2016, it was agreed between the Government of Sri Lanka, the UN and the HRCSL that the Commission will vet military personnel to be deployed on peacekeeping operations. President Sirisena, who is Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, was duly notified. The HRCSL letter says that in February 2017, the Army submitted documents pertaining to 200 military personnel for vetting. While the process was ongoing, the Army informed the Commission that the UN had already conducted vetting of the said personnel and that therefore there was no need for the Commission to proceed.

Amidst the confusion that arose, the Commission suspended the vetting process through a written notice, the letter says. But it was resumed after a discussion with the Foreign and Home Affairs Ministers, Secretaries to the Ministries of Defence and Law and Order, Commanders of the Tri-forces and the Inspector General of Police.

In December 2017, the Commission received the applications of 204 military personnel who were to be deployed for peacekeeping operations in Lebanon. But the group in question was dispatched before vetting. Relevant documents required for the vetting of 204 military personnel, inclusive of the said 49 soldiers were due to be submitted to the Commission on 19 March 2018, the letter says. However, to date weve received only a part of these documents.

The Army has also issued a statement on the controversy but stopped short of directly addressing the Commissions concerns. It said the Army considers it important that personnel deployed in UN missions at all levels should be individuals of the highest integrity and maintain the highest standards of conduct at all times.

There were instances in the past where Sri Lankan personnel did not maintain the standards expected of them and disciplinary action had to be taken in accordance with the relevant and applicable legal provisions. Some personnel nominated for deployment have also been found to have allegations of misconduct against them, the statement admits.

At present, Sri Lanka seeks to enhance and expand its participation in UN peacekeeping. Screening of personnel being deployed at all levels is an important component in this respect, the HRCSL notes.The Army accepts the involvement of the HRCSL as the most appropriate way forward with respect to screening of personnel. Accordingly, it has agreed on a process which is in line with the UN Secretary-Generals Decision No.2012/18 Human Rights.

The statement does not mention or clarify the position as regards the group deployed to Lebanon.
Medicos make ready for dengue battle By Chrishanthi Christopher View(s): View(s):

As the monsoon approaches, the Ministry of Health is preparing for the dengue outbreak that accompanies the rains.

Last week, the ministrys Epidemiology Unit (EU) deployed 9,000 officials countrywide to check homes, schools, public places, institutions and construction sites. Health workers of the Municipal councils and pradeshiya sabhas together with army personnel and environmental police went around inspecting premises to ward off the impending dengue menace.

The number of cases of suspected dengue in the first three months of this year stands at 14,355 with 11 deaths from the disease. Last year, for the same period, 32,191 cases and several deaths were reported.

Cases increased steadily every month last year, with 82,376 in May, June and July. The problem was intense in the Western Province because of the breakdown of garbage collection by the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC). Around 5,750 cases of dengue patients came from the CMC region and 28,524 patients from surrounding areas.

With 186,101 suspected cases and 440 deaths reported countrywide, government and private hospitals were full last year, with patients having to share beds or be treated at home.

Although there was a 60 per cent drop in reported dengue cases in the January-March period this year, compared to the same period last year, the figure is up by 526 cases compared to January-March 2016.

Dr. Samarasinghe said the sharp drop in the number of dengue patients and fatalities since last year could be attributed to extensive and regular removal of mosquito breeding places, public awareness on management of garbage and public education on control of the fever.

Also, she said, type 2, a new strain, spread sporadically last year which the health sector was unable to contain. This time, although type 2 is again prevalent, the medical authorities are prepared for the outbreak. In addition, authorities are counting on the fact that people who contracted type 2 last year will now be immune to it. It will not spread much among people, Dr. Samarasinghe said.

The focus will be on Colombo where, as always, the figures are high  2165 cases in the January-March period this year  a sharp drop from 7,101 cases reported in 2017.

The numbers in the north and eastern provinces have changed only slightly, with 1,107 cases reported in Jaffna and 1,471 in Batticoloa. In 2017, 1966 and 1510 cases were reported in the two districts respectively. Interestingly, in the Puttalam district there has been an increase of 374 dengue patients in the past three months.

Dr. Samarasinghe said more focus will be directed on areas with high counts or those that have not shown any improvement in numbers.
New Year gift to North: Army to free 650 By Chris Kamalendran 20-km Point Pedro-KKS road also to be opened daily from dawn to dusk View(s): View(s):

As a New Year Gift to the people in the North, the Army is releasing 650 acres of privately owned lands in the High Security Zone (HSZ), including lands in Palali in the Valikamam North Divisional Secretariat Division in Jaffna. The lands had been occupied by the security forces since 1990.

The 20 km road leading from Point Pedro to Kankesanthurai (KKS), along the coastal area will also be opened to the public from April 16 from 6 am to 6 pm.

This followed several rounds of talks between high ranking military officials in Jaffna and district secretariat officials and officials of the Rehabilitation, Reconstruction and Hindu Religious Affairs Ministry.

Rehabilitation, Reconst-ruction and Hindu Religious Affairs Minister D.M. Swaminathan said the military was releasing the lands as a goodwill gesture.

The military had come to an understanding to meet the needs of the people who had lost their lands in the North, the minister said. Since 1990, 27,000 acres of private lands had been occupied by the military as the war intensified. However, with the end of the war in 2009, the Government took the initiative to return such occupied private lands to their original owners.

Jaffna Security Forces Commander Major General Darshana Hettiarachchi told the Sunday Times that on April 16, 650 acres of land in and around the Palali main military complex, including land in Vasavilan and Palali North, would be released to their original owners. He said the military was demarcating these areas and also readjusting its Forward Defence Lines.

Meanwhile, the military has also asked the Rehabilitation Ministry for Rs. 880 million to relocate its military installations in the

acres
Maintenance lapse in a SriLankan plane causes regulator crackdown By Namini Wijedasa View(s): View(s):

SriLankan Airlines lost certification to operate its new A320neo and A321neo aircraft for more than an hour outside the range of airports suitable for emergency landings after its Maintenance Department released one of the planes (registration 4R-ANE) for use despite having detected debris in the oil monitoring system of an engine.

As a result, the A321neo aircraft flying as UL 898 to Hong Kong on January 21, 2018, was forced to shut down the engine in question and divert to Bangkok on a single engine. The Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka (CAASL) investigated and immediately withdrew certification granted to the airline to conduct A320/321 aircraft on ETOPs [Extended-range Twin-engine Operational Performance Standards] with 90 minutes diversion time, documents obtained by the Sunday Times under the Right to Information (RTI) Act show. The safety lapse is being treated by the regulator as very serious.

Without ETOPS approval, a flight must always be within 60 minutes of an emergency or diversion airport. With certification, however, it may fly longerin the case of the A320-321neos, at least 90 minutesoutside the range of a suitable landing area. The suspension means that flights to such destinations as Hong Kong, Bangkok and Canton, for which the A320-321neos are used, clock additional flying times of at least one-and-a-half hours (both ways) as their routes are adjusted to ensure they comply with the 60 minutes rule. Five aircraft have been affected. Recently, the airline changed the plane on the Canton route to A330.

Without ETOPS certification, the aircraft also have to carry about 2000 extra kilograms of fuel. In addition to competitiveness, crew productivity takes a hit due to repeated delayed arrivals and departures. The Sunday Times reported last week that more than 900 SriLankan departures were late in February, with 280 of them leaving the airport over an hour behind. The February on-time performance of the airline was even worse than its January record when 840 departures were more than 15 minutes delayed (it was 911 in February), with 121 of them more than one hour behind.

Now, despite pleas from the embattled airline to restore the certification, CAASL is holding out till it is completely satisfied that maintenance standards pass muster. A fresh inspection last week did not engender sufficient confidence in the regulator to renew ETOPS approval, said H M C Nimalsiri, Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

In a letter sent in January to the SriLankan Airlines Chairman, the DGCA said that CAASL did not find any cogent reason for the companys Maintenance Department to have released the A321neo aircraft for service after detecting debris in the oil monitoring system of one engine (which has direct impact on flight safety) without analysing the debris and taking appropriate preventive/corrective measures.

His office was, therefore, of the firm belief that the engine in-flight shutdown (known as an IFSD in aviation) of the A321neo aircraft was totally preventable, had the Maintenance Department complied with approved procedures and was responsive enough to the timely application of sound maintenance principles and practices timely, Mr Nimalsiri says.

At the same time, the incident also raises significant alarms in this office as to the competency, credibility and professionalism of SriLankan Maintenance Department as to the compliance with the regulations and application of sound aircraft maintenance practices for enhanced flight safety, he warns.

Neo engines are electronically monitored, thereby allowing the manufacturerin this case, the US-based CFM International (CFMI)to flag potential issues. When the engine manufacturer gets an alarm, they advise the operator what to do, Mr Nimalsiri told the Sunday Times. After the information is received, there should be a system to analyse and take immediate action.

In this instance, the manufacturer raised an urgent work card but the relevant department did not give due recognition to it and released the aircraft for commercial flights, he held. A work card is a tailored description of a maintenance task prepared from original documentation by a technical support office to facilitate the correct completion of that task by those assigned to complete it.

As far back as January 5, 2018, CFMI alerted SriLankan of an issue in the oil debris monitoring system (ODMS) of the No 1 engine in the respective airplane. After further communication with the manufacturer, SriLankan Engineering issued a special work card dated January 8 requiring the Maintenance Department to investigate the ODMS sensor immediately.

However, SriLankan Maintenance only examined the engine on January 19, later stating that the aircraft was not available due to engagement in commercial flights, the DGCA notes in his letter to the SriLankan Chairman. Even then, the complete analysis process was not done before releasing the aircraft back to service.

The CAASL underscores with serious concern that debris was detected on the ODMS sensor during this inspection. And SriLankan Engineering had clearly called for an analysis of debris to determine the serviceability of the engine. Two days later, the engine had to be shut down. The CAASL inquiry found that the event correlates to the previous ODMS sensor findings and engine bearing failure is a likelihood leading to the IFSD. This caused the regulator to lose confidence in SriLankans maintenance arrangements, the DGCA told the Sunday Times.

To regain ETOPS certification, the operator must show they will not do this type of loose, lackadaisical business again, he said. There must be a thorough audit to ensure a sound and reliable system in place.

Meanwhile, SriLankan Airlines has claimed that the in-flight engine shutdown on January 21 was due to a manufacturing defect in the particular engine. This was published in an explanation written by Tyrone Navaratne, Senior Manger Engineering Quality, forwarded via Chief Executive Officer Suren Ratwatte to the Airline Pilots Guild of Sri Lanka.

The union wrote to the CEO asking whether certification was withdrawn due to an inherent problem with the engine variant and, therefore, a manufacturer problem or due to negligence on the part of SriLankan Airlines. This is despite the CAASL ruling that the IFSD was not attributable to any manufacturing error but due to very poor maintenance practices of the operator.

Mr Navaratne says that CFM International has still not provided the reason for the failure. However, he adds, CFMI has increased the oversight and close monitoring of the other SriLankan Airlines neo engines.

SriLankan Engineering Management has taken action to prevent another In-Flight Shutdown (IFSD), he asserts, while adding that reinstatement of ETOPS is in the final stages, pending only the approval of documentation/procedures with CAASL.
Colonial flavours on our traditional Avurudu table By Randima Attygalle View(s): View(s):

Come Avurudu, the aroma of kevum, kokis and laddu permeate the air. Village veterans pride themselves on their best konde (of the kevuma) and mothers boast of the crisp bite of the kokis and murukku which keep the children at home and the guests asking for more. And the cuckoo bird calls upon Sinhala and Tamil brethren to come together in a spirit of brotherhood at a common auspicious time to partake of kiribath and sakkara pongal.

John Davy in his work, Account of the Interior of Ceylon and of its inhabitants with Travels in that Island documents that among the four great festivals which were celebrated by the locals, awooroodu mangal le or the feast of the new year was significant. The others are namely the Kandy perahera, Kartiemangalle or the feast of the fortune hour and aluth sahal mangalyaya. Davy in his description of the new year festivities of the Kandyan kingdom notes: before the approach of the new year, the kings physician and astrologers had certain duties to perform. The former had to superintend the preparation of a thousand small pots of juices of wild medicinal plants at the Nata Dewale, from whence carefully covered and sealed, they were to be sent to the palace and distributed with much ceremony to other temples.

Davy goes on to note that one of the duties of the astrologers was to lay down the precise minute of the commencement of the new year, in the form of a nekatwattoru. At the time appointed for the commencement of the new year, which amongst the Singalese is always April, the king sat on his throne in state, surrounded by his chiefs and the event was announced to the public by the discharge of jingles, records the author. Robert Knox too in his famous An Historical Relation of the Island Ceylon notes that the new year was celebrated in the capital with royal patronage.

While the British colonists described the new year festivities in their diaries and journals, it is interesting to note that it was their predecessors  the Portuguese and the Dutch who wielded their influence mostly on the new year delicacies, largely those found on the Sinhala new year table, particularly in the southern and western coastal areas. The Dutch who held the forts of Calicut, when they arrived here brought with them their recipes which, according to the Dutch authority, Prof. K.D. Paranavitana, underwent modifications. It is believed that the Dutch

brought with them some of their slaves and domestic servants who had to substitute certain ingredients when they arrived here, hence we find kokis which is a modification of the Dutch koekjes meaning, cookies.

Another mouth-watering delicacy, bibikkan which is getting scarce on the table is believed to be a Portuguese legacy. There is a Portuguese layer cake known as bibica/bebinca. Sebastiao Rodolfo Dalgado in his work- Glossario Luso-Asiatico (1921) refers to an Indo-Portuguese sweet called bebica with two variables bibica and bebinca which is prepared with rice flour and jaggery, baked in the oven for nearly an hour. It is possible that this sweet too may have migrated here via the Portuguese settlements in the Western seaboard of India, says Prof. Paranavitana. Although many use bibikkan and pol cake synonymously today, it is not so, says Prof. Paranavitana, adding that bibikkan in its original flavour differs from pol or coconut cake.

A delicacy which the Southerners take pride in, the historian remembers bibikkan from his childhood days in Baddegama.The bakkare or the baker in the village was specialized in supplying bibikkan to meet the demand of the villagers. The sago orsav which used to be an ingredient in it is virtually non-existent today.

Konda kevum anyone? The skill of spinning a perfect konde which some old grandmas boast of, is a gift from the Portuguese, says Prof. Paranavitana. Konde is the word used to denote the hair style of Indo-European women in the former Dutch East Indies who placed their hair on the back of the head in the form of a bun. This word has even been absorbed into the modern Dutch vocabulary kondee. When the peti kevum got a konde part of it combined with kevum generating a new form of delicacy added to the newyear festivities.

The native kevum varieties are athirasa, mung kevum and naran kevum, he says. There is reference to these native varieties in ancient Sinhala literature such as Ummagga Jathakaya in which kevum is referred to as Puu.

Aluva, another delicacy and kalu dodol are also believed to have indirectly reached us though other Portuguese settlements in the Indonesian Archipelago.

The Tamil new year table remains a modest one in comparison, the dishes largely influenced by the culture of offerings made to the Hindu deities, says historian and Chancellor of the Jaffna University, Prof. S. Pathmanathan. The traditional delicacies of the Hindu new year table remain largely uninfluenced by the colonial heritage and Kiribath or Pongal rice remain common to both the Sinhalese and the Tamil brethren, although variations are prevalent. Interestingly milk rice common to both ethnicities is believed to be the oldest auspicious food gracing the table, untouched by colonial heritage. Sakkarai pongal or sweet pongal is another variety of milk rice flavoured with jaggery, cashew and plums.

The Hindu equivalent to kevum which is mothakam is made out of a mixture of coconut, jaggery and green peas. As Prof. Pathmanathan explains, mothakam and milk rice are the two new year dishes offered to the deities on the new years day, accompanied by an assortment of fruits, largely banana, mango and lemon. To serve the guests and to share among friends and neighbours, paniyaram and murukku are prepared, explains Prof. Pathmanathan who goes on to note that dishes such as laddu and kesari are new entries to the traditional new year table.
Gratiaen 2017: Running the literary gamut By Yomal Senerath-Yapa Poetry, short stories, a novel and a travelogue;, the shortlist this year is diverse and comprehensive View(s): View(s):

The shortlist for the 2017 Gratiaen Prize was announced at the British Council on Monday, April 2. This year marks the silver jubilee of the prize, which has been awarded for 25 years without a break to the best submitted creative work in English, written by a Sri Lankan writer resident in Sri Lanka. Doris Gratiaen was the name of the mother of Michael Ondaatje, who instituted the prize after winning the Booker Prize in 1992.

This years panel of three judges is headed by Carmen Wickramagamage, Chairperson, who is Professor in English and currently, Head of the Department of English at the University of Peradeniya. Andrew Fowler-Watt, Principal of Trinity College, Kandy, will bring in his experience as an educationist, old Etonian, Cambridge graduate, and former teacher of English literature at three independent schools in the UK. Michelle de Kretser, the celebrated Colombo-born and Australia-based author, is the third judge.

The shortlisted works, arranged alphabetically according to the last name of the writers, began with The Life of the Poet by Jean Arasanayagam. Her collection of poetry, the judges commented, is an exploration of what she feels it means to be a poet.



Erudite, sophisticated and articulate, Arasanayagam uses a number of different aspects of her life, both present and past, to illustrate and explore the more general theme of what it means to live, and view the world, as a poet. She forensically analyzes both herself and her way of thinking about subjects such as family, art, war, faith and memory. While deeply personal, it doesnt come across as indulgently autobiographical. The book has been written by someone at ease with herself and her art.

Second in the list, Neshantha Harischandras unpublished novel A House down Queer Street, is the story of two families whose lives are linked by an intricate web of kin ties, obligations and expectations; some having to do with gender, some having to do with class- which lead to an ending- or endings- which few readers would predict.

Its strengths lie in the deft deployment of the realist mode of narration, to convey in slow, measured prose, a strong sense of time and place and skilful characterization that conjure up characters whose destinies have everything to do with the time and place that they inhabit.

The third writer to be shortlisted is Sunela Jayawardene. The judges opined that in her book, The Line of Lanka, Sunela stylishly weaves travelogue with nature writing, ancient tales, and contemporary concerns about environment. She writes with panache about landscape, history, anthropology and myth, and ponders the connections between them. The result is a thought-provoking meditation on natural and cultural fragilities as well as traditions that endure.

The final shortlisted book was Names and Numbers by Chiranthi Rajapakse. The short stories in this collection illuminate significant moments in ordinary lives. In understated, lucid prose, Chiranthi captures events and encounters that bring about small, yet telling, shifts in characters understanding of themselves and their worlds, said the judges. The writers insight into the yearnings and frustrations of the lives charted here is impressive.

The British Council has traditionally been hosting the Gratiaen shortlist announcement while the MARGA Institute facilitated the submission of entries to the prize. The winner of this years Prize will be announced at a final awards ceremony, sponsored by Sarasavi Bookshop Private Limited, held in May.
Pride and tears of Uva Wellassa By Chandani Kirinde 200 years after what is considered one of the bloodiest chapters in the history of colonial rule here, Chandani Kirinde visits the area that saw an uprising by its people that was brutally crushed by the British View(s): View(s):

The awe-inspiring cloud covered mountains, lush forests, formidable waterfalls and clear streams of Uva Wellassa bear little testimony today to the darkest and bloodiest chapter in the countrys history under British rule. There is little sign of the burnt hamlets, scorched paddy fields, broken tank bunds, felled trees and the skeletons of the thousands of men, women and children killed or starved to death when the military might of the coloniser was turned on the population of the Kandyan provinces to put down a rebellion against British rule.

Two hundred years on, tales of the heroics of those who gave leadership to the Uva Wellassa rebellion and the suffering endured by their ancestors are well etched in the minds of the people of the Uva Province which is today made up of the Badulla and Monaragala districts.

The names of Kivulegedera Mohottala, Kohukumbure Rate Rala and Butawe Rata Rala, some of the leading figures in the rebellion are recalled fondly by those who take great pride in the role that they played in a last ditch effort to rid the Kandyan provinces of a foreign ruler.

R.M. Ukkumanika (98), a descendent of Kohukumbure Rate Rala lives in the village of Kohukumbura in the Monaragala District. Her sight and hearing are fading but her eyes light up when the name of her brave ancestor is brought up.

My grandmother knew Kohukumbure Rate Rala and she would often tell us stories about his heroics. He was a well-built man and was not afraid of anyone. When the rebellion against the suddas (white man) began, he joined the struggle without any hesitation, she said.

What helped the inhabitants of the area to hold out against foreign invaders were the natural barriers that kept their villages shielded from falling easy prey to attacks by British troops. The fighters used their intimate knowledge of the lands their ancestors had inhabited for hundreds of years to best use when they took up arms against the foreigners.

The story goes that Kohukumbure Rate Rala drowned two British soldiers with his bare hands in a mud pit. He left his family and joined the struggle knowing he could lose his life, Ukkumanika said. In the village centre today stands a column erected in his memory, a lion figure to symbolise the strength of the man.

When the Kandy Convention or the Official Declaration of the Settlement of the Kandyan Provinces was signed on March 2, 1815, there was no foreboding that less than two years later many of the areas that the British sought to take over by diplomatic means would be up in arms against them. The reasoning behind the Kandyan chieftains decision to sign an agreement with the British conceding their kingdom to an alien ruler was primarily to rid the country of Sri Wickrama Rajasinha, the Nayakkar king who, with his growing independence and despotism had attempted to undermine the power and diminish the influence of the oligarchy of Sinhalese aristocrats that surrounded his throne says Colvin R. De Silva in his book Ceylon under the British Occupation.

The chieftains of Uva and Wellassa were among the signatories to the Convention but people by and large were disinterested or unaware of the details of the agreement. The Sinhala leaders saw it as a temporary arrangement. The Kandyans used to inquire when the English intended to return to the Maritime Provinces. You have now, said one, deposed the king, and nothing more is required  you may leave us, wrote Henry Marshall, a British surgeon who served in the island between 1809-1821, in his book, Ceylon A general description of the Island and its inhabitants.

Ven. Nuwaraeliye Chandajothi Thera of the Sri Jayatissa Bauddha Pirivena at Gawarammana, Keppitipola says the decision of the Chieftains to enter into an agreement with the British in 1815 was justified. It is true that King Raja Sinha was a patron of Buddhism but during his rule many members of the Buddhist clergy were killed, temple property confiscated and all the power transferred to his Nayakkar relatives. The chieftains were disillusioned and wanted an indigenous ruler, the Thera said.

A keen student of British rule on the island and in particular the rebellion, he prefers to call the uprising a freedom struggle and not a rebellion. Throughout history, there were traitors who betrayed the cause but the Uva-Wellassa struggle was a display of the grit and might of the people, the Ven. Thera says.

Ironically, Ven. Chandajothis Pirivena is housed today in what was once the official residence of Sylvester Douglas Wilson, the Agent of the British

Government in Uva. The fate that befell Wilson at the hands of the rebels is closely linked to the brutal backlash that the locals suffered at the hands of foreign troops months later.

The English official had left Wilson Bungalow on October 14, 1817 to inquire into reports of growing unrest in the interiors of Wellassa with a party of Malaya solders, under the command of Lieutenant Newman, and attended by an interpreter and some native lascoreyns, according to Henry Marshall. Today the distance between Keppitipola and Badulla is about 55 kilometres along well tarred roads but in 1817 it was a long ride on horseback through winding, marshy jungle paths.

Nandasena Herath, a retired bank manager in Bibile and a descendent of Kivulgedera Mohottala reveals more of Wilsons fateful journey to the heartland of the rebellion. We know that Sylvester Wilson sudu mahattyaa came to hold discussions with the rebel leaders. On the way he had met with Kohukumbure Rate Rala and with the information gathered from him he rode on to the next village where he met with Butawe Rate Rala. It was evening by the time he reached Unagolla. After many weary hours of riding, the group had retired for the night to their shelters, Mr. Herath said.

The next morning, while the rest of the detachment moved forward, Wilson, attended by two servants, had stopped at a spring to quench his thirst, when an arrow shot from a distance pierced his head and he fell dead. One of the servants too was killed while the other fled the scene to alert those who had proceeded ahead of them.

We know that Newman came back as quickly as he could when he was alerted to what happened but by then Wilsons body was not to be found, Herath said.

Marshall writes that Wilsons body had been dragged to the jungles by the rebels and even though the British officers searched till sunset there were no signs of where it was.

A golden statue of Meegahapitiya Waluwe Hitihamy Mudiyanse Rate Rala, the man who is believed to have shot the arrow that felled Wilson stands on a rock on the outer border of the Unagolla Purana Viharaya in Bibile.

Ven. Hewilvila Sunanda Nayaka Thera, the chief incumbent of the Unagolla Viharaya gives more details about what led to animosity between the British and the locals. When travellers arrived from different parts of the country, they would rest in this village for a day or two. This is because from here on the land is mountainous and it is a tedious upward journey. Over time , a barter system had developed between the villagers and the carters who came into this area with the villagers giving them produce such as vegetables and paddy from their land in exchange for dry fish, dhal, salt and other commodities which they had no access to in the interiors. However a

dispute resulted after a British crony intent on becoming the chief trader in the area poisoned the minds of his masters which led to the barter system being stopped. Angered by this, the villagers grew hostile towards the British, the Thera explained.

While British writers on the incident have stopped with the disappearance of Wilsons body, Sunanda Thera says that according to village lore the rebels had dragged the body towards the Pattini devalaya which is a short distance from where the man was felled, beheaded him and offered his head as a sacrifice to the devalaya. The message to the white man was clear. Dont come back to Wellassa, the Thera said.

Little remains of the devalaya now and access is still difficult: a trek through a jungle path and wading across a shallow river. At the place where Wilson fell stands a column erected by the British in 1912 in memory of Sylvester Douglas Wilson . Who was killed near the spot at the outbreak of the Kandyan rebellion?

Mr. Herath says that plans had been afoot for months to wage war on the British before Wilsons killing with

small groups of villagers gathering to discuss ways to oust the invaders. The killing of Wilson was a turning point because the rebel leaders were keen to get a high profile target which they achieved. It helped their morale but it also brought the full wrath of the British military might on them, Mr Herath said.

By November, 1817, alarming reports were reaching the British Governor in Ceylon Sir Robert Brownrigg that a pretender named Duraisami, claiming to be of royal descent had proclaimed himself king and had the support of the people of Uva and Wellassa. The Disava of Uva Keppitipola was entrusted with authority in these two areas and dispatched to quell the unrest. Keppitipola soon joined the rebellion prompting Brownrigg, by proclamation, to outlaw him and 18 headmen while confiscating their property and with offer of monetary rewards for those who apprehend them and assisted to suppress the rebellion. Under Keppitipolas leadership, the rebellion grew in strength and spread to several areas outside Uva Wellessa. In February, 1818, the whole of the Kandyan provinces was placed under martial law by Brownrigg. While the Kandyans used guerilla tactics to wage their battle, unable to deal with an elusive enemy, the British decided to starve and terrorise the local population into submission.

Colvin R. De Silva wrote that British policy developed rapidly into plain terrorism as the rebels began to make inroads into more and more areas in the Kandyan provinces. Wherever they went, they carried away or destroyed all cattle and stores of grains or provisions that they found, villagers were wiped out, houses were burnt down, crops devastated, fields permanently ruined by damaging the irrigation system, fruit trees cut down and livestock killed, so as to starve and terrorize the inhabitants into submission, he wrote.

With reinforcements from India arriving in mid -1818, the rebellion began to lose momentum as one by one the provinces began to be subdued while others surrendered, choosing to accept an amnesty granted by the British.

The death knell of the rebellion came on November 22,1818 when the British recaptured the Sacred Tooth Relic which had been spirited away from the Dalada Maligawa during the rebellion. The event had a singular effect upon all classes, being considered a sign of the destiny of the British people to rule the Kandyan, writes De Silva.

Keppitipola was arrested and tried by a court martial on November 13, 1818 and was executed on November 25. Martial law was revoked by a proclamation on November 21, 1818 but was finally and completely withdrawn only two years later in 1820 throughout the Kandyan provinces.

The human toll of the rebellion was massive. English writers have put the death toll at 10,000 for the fighters as against 1000 of their men. This, at a time when the countrys entire population was under three million.

Nandasena Herath, whose ancestor Kivulegedera Mohottala was among 32 rebel leaders banished to Mauritius after the rebellion was put down laments the plight of his beloved Uva Wellassa, not only for its past but its present.

The Uva province remains the most backward and least developed area in the country till today. What the British did was 200 years ago but in the 70 years since independence, these areas have been neglected by successive governments. The plight of the people still remains as precarious as it was under British rule, he says.
Royal College old boys gala event in New York View(s):

The Royal College Old Boys East Coast Foundation (RCOBECF) celebrated its 25th anniversary with a gala dinner dance on March 24 in the New York City area.

Attended by over 400 guests, including Old Royalists from all parts of the USA and overseas the event highlighted the camaraderie between the Royalists and Thomians with the presence of a large number of Old Thomians, including Sri Lankas Ambassador to the United Nations, Dr. Rohan Perera as the guest of honour. (See more on the event on our website sundaytimes.lk)
SriLankan Airlines staff celebrate 10th Anniversary View(s):

The UL Club, formed in 2007 by a band of retired AirLanka and SriLankan Airlines staff, celebrated its 10th Anniversary on March 24 with a gala dinner dance at the Golden Rose. It was a grand event, with a delicious buffet spread, fun competitions and scintillating music from Kings.

This event was also a social service project of the UL Club, generating much needed funds for Little Hearts  for the construction of the cardiac and critical care complex at the Lady Ridgeway Childrens Hospital.
Gender empowerment: UNGA to break male domination  briefly By Thalif Deen View(s): View(s):

UNITED NATIONS  The 193-member General Assembly  one of the highest policy-making bodies at the United Nations  will get a much-needed break, come September, when a woman will preside over its 73rd session, only the fourth in the history of the world body.

The two who are in the running are: Mary Elizabeth Flores Flake, Permanent Representative of Honduras, and Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garces, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility of Ecuadorboth from the Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) group.

On the basis of geographical rotation, the LAC Group claims the upcoming presidencyan elected high ranking UN position which has been overwhelmingly dominated by men.

The break comes even as the United Nations has continued to vociferously preach gender empowerment to the outside world but failed to practise it in its own political backyarddespite scores of resolutions adopted by member states.

Since 1945, the assembly has elected only three women as presidents: Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit of India (1953), Angie Brooks of Liberia (1969) and Sheikha Haya Rashed Al-Khalifa of Bahrain (2006). And thats three out of 72 presidents, 69 of whom were men.

The track record of the 15-member Security Council is infinitely worse because it has continued to elect men as UN Secretaries-General, rubber-stamped by the General Assembly, and most recently in October 2016  despite several outstanding women candidates.

And thats zero out of nine male UN chiefs: Trygve Lie of Norway, Dag Hammarskjold of Sweden, U. Thant of Burma (now Myanmar), Kurt Waldheim of Austria, Javier Perez de Cuellar of Peru, Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt, Kofi Annan of Ghana, Ban Ki-moon of South Korea and, currently, Antonio Guterres of Portugal.

The two highest ranking political positions at the UN have long been identified as the intellectual birthright of men. And in terms of diplomatic protocol, the President of the General Assembly (PGA) has the status of a head of state in international fora. Will the election of a fourth woman as the 73rd PGA later this year augur a new era? Or is it just a flash in the pan?

Asked for his response, Miroslav Lajcak of Slovakia, president of the current 72nd session of the General Assembly, told IPS: I am committed to fostering greater gender parity throughout the work of the General Assembly. The history of the United Nations is filled with the contributions of strong women who have shaped its evolution since 1945. Yet, as of today, there have only been three women presidents of the General Assembly

He said it is important to ensure that women leaders voices are heard on all matters in the United Nations and having a woman as the next president of the General Assembly would be a major step in this regard. As president of the General Assembly, I have taken tangible steps to ensure that women play a key role in our work, he noted.

For example, he said, he has appointed gender-balanced teams of ambassadors to lead almost all General Assembly processes. Meanwhile, in my own office, I have seen to it that 70 per cent of the staff are women, and that women and men are represented equally at the managerial level. I believe that making our work at the United Nations more gender-balanced and inclusive will have a positive impact around the world, he declared.

Barbara Crossette, a former UN Bureau Chief for The New York Times (1994-2010), and who has written extensively on gender empowerment, told IPS both candidates seem to bring some interesting resumes and welcome commitments to the work of the General Assemblyand Latin American women can be quite fearless, as you know.

But I cant really judge how real all this is. In both cases, however, the presidency would be a prestigious prize for either nation. But thats not of international importance. Now whether a woman makes a difference per se  or breaks a chain of male domination  is hard to judge in advance, said Crossette, currently UN correspondent for The Nation, a senior fellow of the Ralph Bunche Institute at the City University of New York, contributing editor at PassBlue.com, and a freelance writer on foreign policy and international affairs.

She also pointed out that if one or the other is chosen, what she could accomplish would affect how the member nations (or more important, informed public opinion) would react to the idea that a woman in the presidency is a good thing and should happen more often. This is also the case with appointments to headquarters staff and high-level jobs, she noted.

Antonia Kirkland, Program Manager, Legal Equality, at the New York based Equality Now, told IPS:It is completely unacceptable that only three women have been elected president of the UNs General Assembly in the last 72 years. The UN needs to set a better example and live up to its promise of achieving gender parity throughout the UN system. Bringing women into the highest levels of decision making should be a top priority.

She said achieving gender equality, development and peace, will never be realised without womens equal access to positions of decision-making power.

The upcoming election of the President of the General Assembly is a perfect opportunity for member states to implement the commitments they have made to increasing womens political access she added.

Member states must also promote womens leadership within their missions and ministries of foreign affairs so that there is equality at the ambassadorial level, said Kirkland who represents a civil society organisation which, since 1992, has been using the law to protect and promote the human rights of women and girls worldwide.

We hope promoting womens and girls rights around the world, particularly ending sexual violence and ending impunity for sexual assault and sexual harassment by UN staff members, will be a top priority for the next president of the General Assembly, she declared.

Meanwhile, the General Assembly last year decided to establish a new process for the selection of the president of the General Assembly.

In its resolution 71/323 entitled Revitalisation of the work of the General Assembly, the assembly decided to conduct informal interactive dialogues with candidates for the position of president of the General Assembly, thus contributing to the transparency and inclusivity of the process, according to the PGAs website.

Furthermore, the General Assembly has also called upon candidates to present to the assembly their vision statements.

The new process will be in full respect of the established principle of geographical rotation and the General Assembly resolution 33/138 of 19 December 1978.

Consequently, the president of the 73rd session of the General Assembly is to be elected from the Latin American and Caribbean Group.

In line with the new process, the president of the 72nd session of the General Assembly will convene informal interactive dialogues with the candidates in early May 2018.

In accordance with Rule 30 of the Rules of Procedure of the General Assembly, the assembly shall elect a president and twenty-one vice-presidents at least three months before the opening of the session over which they are to preside.

The election of the president of the 73rd session of the General Assembly will take place on Tuesday, June 5, 2018

The writer can be contacted at thalifdeen@ips.org

(Courtesy: Inter Press Service News Agency)
Why we need women in the military By Quratulain Fatima, exclusive to the Sunday Times in Sri Lanka View(s): View(s):

ISLAMABAD  Saudi Arabias decision to allow women to serve in the military  part of its Vision 2030 economic-reform program  has been widely celebrated as a step forward for gender parity in the notoriously unequal kingdom. But, when women begin to enlist, the battle for real equality within the military will have just begun.

Beyond the explicit constraints that are expected  women will probably have to secure approval from their legal male guardians, and may be limited to non-combat roles  there is the need to dismantle the militarys rigid patriarchal systems. This will be a difficult feat, requiring sustained government commitment, effective organisational planning, and deep personal fortitude from the women who enlist.

I should know. In 2001, I was one of the first women to join the Pakistan Air Force (PAF). But the road was not easy. I was born to a feminist father who encouraged me to be whatever I wanted to be, and what I wanted to be was a PAF officer. That aspiration seemed impossible during my childhood, when women could join the military only as doctors, certainly not in combat roles. But everything changed in 1999: President Muhammad Rafiq Tarar introduced a quota for women in the PAF. I became one of just eight women who passed the entrance exam for commissioned officers.

The inclusion of women in the military was viewed as an experiment that could go either way, and the PAF greeted it only reluctantly. Our small group of woman cadets at the PAF training academy was instructed to maintain strict boundaries with the men with whom we would serve. We cant have any scandals around here, our course commander told us. These young men have never seen women in the academy, and they can be very flirtatious. In our conservative society, he insisted, even a hint of scandal will suggest that the experiment failed, closing the door to other women who hoped to serve. The responsibility of making this work lies on your shoulders.

We took our responsibility seriously, and I do not just mean avoiding scandal. We knew that we had to prove that we could handle the rigorous training. At first, male cadets remarked that we would not last a week. But we lasted a year and a half, and graduated with those male colleagues to become officers.

Since then, the PAF has come a long way, with the number of female officers surging from a dozen in 2001 to around 300 today, working in ground support, engineering, and flying branches. Pakistans army and navy have also opened their ranks to women. Now, when a Pakistani woman wears her uniform, people dont stare.

Separate facilities, better leave structures, and altered work schedules have served to make this growing cohort of women in the Pakistani military more comfortable. And the culture is changing, too, with men less likely to underestimate their female counterparts. Yet discrimination persists. For example, women are often passed over in favour of men for training abroad, and they still cannot hold command positions. And this situation is far from exclusive to Pakistan: most of the countries with no restrictions on women serving in frontline combat roles are in Europe or the Anglosphere (the exceptions are Eritrea, Israel, and North Korea).

To be sure, militaries around the world have gradually opened up to women. But numbers remain relatively low. In the United States, 15% of military personnel are female. In the United Kingdom, that figure stands at 10%. In India, women comprise just 5% of military personnel, and a mere 4% in Afghanistan.

Boosting womens participation further may become even more important as the nature of the militarys tasks changes in many regions. Countries are increasingly fighting asymmetric wars against terrorist groups. This demands less outright combat and more effective peacekeeping, through strategic decision-making, intelligence gathering, and civil engagement. Most of the vulnerable population in conflict areas are women and children.

Against this background, womens involvement becomes even more valuable. Women offer perspectives that are typically not found in male-dominated organisations. Moreover, as Major General Kristin Lund, the first-ever female commander of United Nations field operations, has pointed out, access to the local population is vital to support peacekeeping, and women have access to 100% of the population, compared to only 50% for men  an invaluable advantage for, say, intelligence gathering.

To enable women to meet their full potential as military assets, persistent discrimination and other challenges  related, for example, to sexual harassment, health, and work-life balance  must be addressed. Sexual harassment can cost a woman her reputation, and sometimes even her life. More generally, gender segregation undermines the esprit de corps that is so important to military service.

Addressing these issues will be particularly tough in Saudi Arabia  an extremely patriarchal and conservative society that is effectively structured around the exclusion of women. But there are steps that can and must be taken to help bring about the needed shift.

For starters, the government will need to make significant changes, many of which the PAF eventually implemented. These may include hiring women from foreign militaries to train new recruits, allowing women and men to interact, implementing protections to encourage reporting of sexual harassment, amending rigid patriarchal structures to allow flexible work hours, and strategically deploying women, particularly for peace-keeping missions.

Allowing women to join the Saudi military is a major step forward  one to which women have contributed greatly. But, as someone who walked this path less than two decades ago in Pakistan, I know that there is still a long way to go. (The writer is a policy practitioner who works extensively in rural and conflict-ridden areas of Pakistan, focusing on gender-inclusive development and peacekeeping. She is a 2018

Aspen New Voices Fellow.)

Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2018. www.project-syndicate.org
Table of Contents

PAX East Panel VODs

Mastering the Competitive Mindset of League of Legends

"What does it take to achieve and maintain competitive success at the professional level? Skills, for sure. But, beyond mechanical godliness its factors like mental toughness, team mentality, and icy veins that make sure pros dont blink when the pressures highestand if they do, that they shake it off and come back for more. Join a panel of League of Legends pro players, NA LCS team staff, and shoutcasters as they discuss the behind-the-scenes prep and discipline that turn athletes into champions."





Better Buff Irelia: Modernizing League of Legends Champions

"League of Legends is a constantly evolving sport with a competitive landscape that includes over 140 unique champions. With each new release, even the most iconic older champions, like Irelia, can be overshadowed in terms of mechanics or playmaking potential. Our latest champion update looks to evolve Irelias iconic gameplay, fully deliver on her blade dancer theme, and bring her back into the modern world of League."

Team up for charity - International Medical Corps

Cut and Shoot

As PAX East is ramping up, five of your favorite community creators and personalities are also teaming up -- for a good cause!

Boxbox, Trick2G, Scarra, Phreak, and Lilypichu are teaming up together to support International Medical Corps -- a nonprofit that works to relieve the suffering of those impacted by war, natural disaster and disease by delivering vital health services.

Each of these five League personalities is auctioning off an autographed, one-of-a-kind shirt that you can bid on over at eBay for Charity. 100% of the proceeds from the auctions will go to International Medical Corps.

Auctions go LIVE on April 7. Bidding will close on April 15, 2018.

Heres a look at each of the shirts up for auction:

Top - Boxbox

Jungle - Trick2G

Mid - Scarra

Bot - Phreak

Support - Lilypichu

International Medical Corps is currently responding to hunger crises in Africa and Yemen, the global refugee crisis, and is active in over 30 countries.

If youre interested in making a difference and bidding on one of these exclusive shirt you can head on over to eBay for Charity today! Good luck and happy bidding!"

Quick Hits

Over on Reddit, challenger player Scrandor noted emails were going out with details on 2017 challenger rewards, with some details on 2017 backpack, challenger recalls, and more:

Riot Riscx commented in the thread that more details would be coming: Appreciate your patience, we wanted to get it right. We'll have more backpack details out before the summer. Next season the reward will be ready to ship much closer to the end of season too. Not sure why you posted a picture of the email to challengers though, everyone on reddit got their own copy Also I shamelessly posted this on the other challenger thread :o Riot Riscx continued: We didnt announce earlier because to be honest at the end of last season we weren't sure we were going to do the rewards again. It's a small side project run by a handful of folks, and pretty expensive overall with customs and shipping globally. That being said, we used the same logic as last year for Team queues. There were 50+ challenger teams, and only the top 5 teams received rewards due to lower participation. Another challenge with rewarding full flex is that we're going to do it again next year, and Flex is a lot easier to climb in virtually every region. Lower requirement than SoloQ master-tier sometimes. Smurfs are already somewhat of a challenge and rewarding 200 in the other queues is likely to make it so a handful of people spam smurfs for the rewards, especially in lower pop regions via transfers. For the legit non-smurfs who actually just prefer flex, it is painful though and that sucks. Because we know we're doing it again for 2018 we'll have 2018 requirements out a lot sooner this year.

Riot Bugcheck commented on the security changes in testing on the PBE, and the compatibility of tools like Creator Suite:

"Hey everyone,

We wanted to give you an update on how this topic has progressed internally in the last few days. First of all, while we still believe the anti-cheat security measures currently on PBE are essential for continued competitive integrity in League of Legends, the SkinSpotlights Creator Suite was a critical tool that we overlooked in our compatibility testing for the broader community of League content creators.

The bottom line is that we have a lot of work ahead of us to make both the new security measures and anything like Creator Suite coexist, but were committed to giving video and gameplay capture tools a solid foundation and future with League of Legends. Weve already begun exploration on sustainable solutions for gameplay capture tools. We dont have details about shipping anything specific, other than our goal to support the current users of Creator Suite with the means to keep making awesome League of Legends content.

To make sure were serving the needs of Creator Suites current users, well be working with its developer (SkinSpotlights) directly to determine the scope and feature set required to support a thriving ecosystem of League video content. We look forward to sharing more with you in the coming weeks and months. "

Riot Sparkle noted they were still working on issues with runes settings:

"2 things (sorry to be brief, I'm out at PAX East rn and also on data lol):

We are actively working on the bug where rune settings aren't getting saved (grid/line and long/short descriptions). I know it's obnoxious if you prefer grid mode, it's our highest priority bug atm.

There are no plans to change secondary selection at the moment. Yes, there are other ways secondary selection could be done but it's not a small task to mess with the selection logic and the team is focused on Midseason rn"

Maple Nectar commented on Nautilus and his thoughts on jungling:

"Hey man, adding additional damage to monsters or minions is something that we generally try to avoid if we can. That's not to say that we don't use it ever, but it's usually when we don't have another option. I totally agree that adding percent bonus damage to monsters is an easy way to accomplish a goal of "let Nautilus jungle", but there's also something to be said about us not being overly prescriptive of who can/can't jungle through the use of this mechanic.

Personally I've gone back and forth on this quite a bit, at times I feel really strongly we should just do a pass on champs to put them in the jungle by adding bonus damage to monsters, but then other times I do agree with the argument that it's kind of a sloppy way of doing so, and sets us up for problems down the road. Not to mention the fact that Nautilus is currently struggling across the board, not just in the jungle, and some sort of signalling that's just "he's better in the jungle but no where else...sorry laners" is kinda shitty. That being said, we're currently looking at adding another line to this changelist that "should" be skew more heavily towards the jungle - likely early base shield on W or early bonus attack speed to help out with his early clear. Either of those changes will also obviously help out top and support, but should disproportionately aid his jungle clearing."

Maple Nectar continued:

Philosophies around this kind of thing can/have changed. Our stance for awhile internally has been "don't introduce more of mechanics unless you absolutely have to, and seek to remove them if you think you have the opportunity to". This mechanic being added onto Irelia as an example was born out of concern that we'd release her and then she'd find her more successful home in the jungle, which would have felt like a kick in the pants for the majority of our old Irelia mains who enjoy her top. We're hoping that once we've stabilized her in top as her primary role that we'll be able to trim back or remove that mechanic (but we'll have to see).

He went on, talking more generally on jungling:

Like I said, philosophies on this have changed. The intitial kha'zix changes you referenced are from season 4, the hecarim changes are from season 5, and fiddlesticks is still the most performant in midlane relative to other roles even after removing his bonus damage to minions. On Kha'zix that's a case where we may be able to put more power back into his W as we re-evaluate champs in multiple roles/playstyles.

Graves is a bit of a different one, he's a dude we've been talking about recently for how we could get him back into lane, but on release of the rework he was playeable in literally every role. Changes to him since that moved him stictly into the jungle at high level play certainly, and we're thinking of ways to bring him back out in a way that doesn't just mean he becomes meta dominant. No idea if/when we'll do anything currently though.

Maple Nectar continued:

Certainly a possibility. Ironically her and Graves are the ones that I think I've either been a part of or overheard more conversation around. Similar story to Graves in not being sure when/if we'll be able to bring her back, but we've definitely been talking about it.

Maple Nectar also commented on the possibility of an item with adaptive stats, similar to how some runes work:

We've thought about it (and even very very briefly tested a few). We're in no particular rush to getting an item with adaptive stats out in the wild though.

I think the prospect could be interesting in it's potential to open up different strats/build paths, but it's also not something I feel super strongly about.

Reav3 noted context on the Irelia hotfixes that went out on 4/4:

"We predicted a pretty long mastery curve on new Irelia, which is why her day 1 winrate was pretty alarming. We wanted to make sure we brought her in line especially since we would like her to be enabled for MSI. Of course if she ends up too weak we will buff her. We are also looking to possibly shift some of her power from late game into early game since we feel her laneing phase is a bit too weak right now"

Maple Nectar also provided his thoughts:

"That's the general thought. From working through Zoe one thing we're trying to do for new champs/VGUs is act decisively post release, and skew to either buffing too strong or nerfing too far so we only have to followup once. We want to try to avoid players having to deal with constant nerfs or constant relearning of their champion. For Irelia at this point it's likely we'll only need to buff her once (either through micropatch or in 8.8) to get her to a good resting spot - and that's ONLY if we don't see the standard performance growth over the next few days/week as players get more used to the new kit."

Maple Nectar continued:

"Within hours of her being released, she'd hit 54.5% WR at high mmr. For the first day of a VGU being released, that power level was going to get out of hand real fast. Now she's close to 47% and we'll be monitoring her really closely throughout the weekend to see what growth looks like and decide if we need to act. We're talking about which nerfs we can revert if we need to (you're right that right now it seems her lane phase specifically is too weak), but as she hits her mid/late game power spikes she gets to be incredibly dominant again. Her overall powercurve may just need some adjustment (more early, less late), but as I said, we're watching her very closely."

"the R and Q nerfs are definitely more apparent later on, but just making her lane phase less punishing without going harder on her late game is likely to just land us in hot water again where we have to nerf her repeatedly. Our hope with doing decisive swings like this is that your champ doesn't need to show up in patch notes a number of times before they're stable. We did this with Kai'sa as well where we pushed what we believed to be a number of directional changes wholesale, knowing we'd probably need to pull back a little power in a patch or two. Rolling things out slowly has burned us in the past (Ornn/Zoe), and that's what we're trying to actively avoid going forward. Sorry I'm really not trying to be dismissive, we're repulling Irelia data constantly to help us make an informed decision for our next pass."

Maple Nectar commented on changes to LeBlanc's ability VFX with her extensive changes tentatively coming to live in 8.8:

Hey guys,

I'm the producer on the team with AzuBk, and I wanted to clarify that some things are changing from what you saw yesterday. Elderwood has the lotus for the Q mark, Ravenborn has the raven in the middle of the mark, and we've added a bit more "pop" to the q vfx.

Our audio designer is going to be looking at the ability (he hasn't made any changes to sounds yet, so all the stuff there is still temp and certainly going to change once he gets his hands on it.

To be super clear though. We won't be 1:1 reverting her ability particles to what they were before the rework. Things like her W particle were changed in the rework very deliberately to match the quality bar that our vfx artists hold for all champions. "More detail" does not necessarily = higher quality, in fact often times it's the opposite. With so much going on on the screen at any given time, it's important that we're not overloading the screen with overly detailed particles that don't need to be there. We can make any ability feel/look great by throwing a bunch of detailed particles at it, but that doesn't really mean we should. I know that's likely not a satisfying answer, but I wanted to at least be honest with you guys (I know BK has already been too)."

The Riot Games Merch FB noted new shirts for sale in celebration of the LCS finals happening in Miami and Copenhagen:

"Spring Finals are around the corner, here is your chance to grab the Miami Draven or Copenhagen Anivia official shirts - available only in their respective regions and only for a limited time. https://riot.com/2GD0XID"

Acampamento Yordle event is starting soon on the BR server! [Click here for more information on the event] or check out the video, in portuguese, below:->

Reminders

To round out this red post collection, here are a few reminders on current promotions or limited time events!

The final round of select emotes on sale for 50% off ends April 8th! Check out the article for the full details!

Today's red post collection includes VODs of the League of Legends panels held at PAX East this weekend, a charity effort to raise money for International Medical Corps, red comments from around the web, and more!Continue reading for more information!League Of Legends held two panels at PAX East this weekend - Mastering the Competitive Mindset in League of Legends and! Check out the VODs of each panel:Here's with an announcement on t-shirt auctions to raise money for International Medical Corps:
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- On the steps to 253 Fitch Street, friends and family laid stuffed animals, pictures and candles Friday night. Even as wind blew, most of the candles stayed lit. A picture of 1-year-old Hunter Dubois was among the biggest.

While friends and family cried for Hunter, who died in a fire police say was set by his uncle, they also prayed for three others -- Susan Wagner, 45, Michael Dubois, 16, and Korrina Dubois, 18 -- who are still at Upstate University Hospital.

For more than two hours, at least 60 community members cycled in front of 253 Fitch Street to show support for the Dubois family.

Minnie Dubois and RoseAnne Dubois, sisters of Michael and Korrina and daughters of Susan Wagner, came to thank friends for setting up the vigil. They said their mother had moved, grabbing their hands and even flipping off others, which they joked that she had been known to do.

"Everything's still hard to...," RoseAnne said before trailing off. "It's just still hard to process everything that's happened."

Minnie's and RoseAnne's brother, Charles Dubois, set the fire intentionally at 3 a.m. Thursday, police said. Police arrested him after he returned to the scene, police said.

By Friday night, the bottom floor's windows had been boarded and the upstairs windows were left exposed. A pile of debris, including wood and mud, sat in front of the base of the house.

Christina Priola, one of the vigil's organizers and a family friend, tried to nail a green sign to the house. After she walked away from it, the wind blew the left side of the sign down and then the whole sign fell to the ground.

For much of the vigil, people sat in front of houses on Fitch Street and talked. They laughed, they cried and they set down their candles or stuffed animals or pictures.

Toward the end, those that had stayed formed a "u" in front of the house and prayed or told stories. One man stepped forward and said Michael was the strongest kid he'd ever met. Peter Wagner, Susan's brother, took the first flight he could book from Florida to Syracuse. He said he hadn't seen his sister in years and asked for people to say more about her.

Friends and family gather to mourn the death of Hunter Dubois and pray for the recovery of three other family members who are still at Upstate University Hospital in critical condition.

A teacher who said she'd taught all the Dubois kids stepped forward to say that Susan has been one of the best mothers of her students.

Eventually the crowd broke, though some stayed.

While the Dubois family waits and hopes for their family members to improve, they have to recoup what they've lost. Much of what they had burned in the fire. At least two separate GoFundMe pages have been created and friends started a can and bottle drive at B&B Bottles on South Geddes Street.

"We're really trying to hold it together," Minnie Dubois said. "... We've been through a lot but this is..."

"We're just hoping my mom will keep through. She's giving us signs, so it's giving us something to hope for, which is better than nothing."
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- A teenager was critically injured Saturday after he was stabbed in the chest inside Destiny USA.

The Syracuse Police Department responded to VILLA, a shoe and clothing store inside the Syracuse mall, around 11:35 a.m. after a caller reported a stabbing. When officers arrived at Destiny USA, they found a wounded 17-year-old boy inside the mall, said Sgt. Richard Helterline, a police spokesman.

Police, American Medical Response and the Syracuse Fire Department responded to the mall.

Paramedics rushed the teen to Upstate University Hospital. He is listed in critical condition, Helterline said.

Police are looking for a male suspect who was wearing a black knit hat and dark-colored hooded sweatshirt over a white shirt. After the stabbing, police said the suspect left the area with another male who was wearing a red hooded sweatshirt, jeans and black sneakers.

The police department has asked anyone with information about the stabbing to call (315) 442-5222 or submit tips anonymously through the Syracuse PD app.
The S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University and other top journalism schools around the country have issued a letter of concern to the nation's largest owner of local television stations.

Poynter reports Newhouse Dean Lorraine Branham and a dozen other deans and chairs co-signed a letter Friday criticizing Sinclair Broadcast Group for pushing all of its anchors to read a script echoing President Donald Trump's frequent attacks on "fake news."

"While news organizations have historically had and used the prerogative to publish and broadcast editorials clearly identified as opinion, we believe that line was crossed at Sinclair stations when anchors were required to read scripts making claims about 'the troubling trend of irresponsible, one-sided news stories plaguing our country,'" the letter said.

"Certainly, no news organization is beyond critique. And, as the Sinclair stations noted, social media have been used all too often to spread 'false news."'But these are two very different things -- the work of professional journalists who produce real news and the false accounts on social media. In making the leap to disparage news media generally -- without specifics -- Sinclair has diminished trust in the news media overall. Ironically, Sinclair's use of news personnel to deliver commentary -- not identified as such -- may further erode what has traditionally been one of the strongest allegiances in the news landscape, the trust that viewers put in their local television stations."

Sinclair has been accused of pushing a right-leaning agenda by requiring its television stations to air video segments called "must-runs." Segments include a "Terrorism Alert Desk," criticisms of Democratic politicians, and conservative commentary by former Trump adviser Boris Epshteyn.

But new promos recorded last month by CNY Central and other Sinclair-owned stations were the first time local anchors were required to push the company's message themselves. When video went viral showing multiple anchors reading the same script, backlash ensued.

"The sharing of biased and false news has become all too common on social media," the script said. "Some members of the media use their platforms to push their own personal bias and agenda... This is extremely dangerous to our democracy."

Sinclair owns or operates nearly 200 TV stations, including CNY Central's NBC 3 (WSTM-TV), CW 6 (WSTQ) and CBS 5 (WTVH) in Syracuse. WTVH's Michael Benny and Allison Bybee were seen in the controversial compilation video; Matt Mulcahy and Megan Coleman recorded the same promo for WSTM.

Benny defended his role in a Facebook post on Wednesday. He admitted the script came from Sinclair, but insisted he was never threatened with losing his job if he refused to participate.

"The heart of the message is about a commitment to facts and fairness. I believe in the heart of the message. I lived it every day prior to the conception of the promotion at the corporate level. I can't imagine ever not living it," Benny wrote.

"Some believe that my participation in the promotional video is a willful violation of the integrity I've built with you," he continued. "The vast majority know better."

Most Sinclair employees have remained silent, but others have spoken out against the company. Norma Holland, a morning news anchor for Sinclair's WHAM-13 in Rochester, said on Facebook she didn't agree with the promo she participated in.

"I'm angry today. I've been angry for days. The Sinclair message you saw me and my colleagues in has damaged the trust you place in us--a trust that's taken, me in particular, 22 years to build. That hurts," she wrote on Facebook. "I could have chosen to quit, but who among us has an alternate career in their back pocket ready to go?"

A former Sinclair employee told Huffington Post that he's currently being sued for "liquidated damages," a clause in his contract that penalizes staff thousands of dollars for leaving. Jonathan Beaton, who worked at a Sinclair-owned station in Florida, said he left because he was fed up with being asked to "follow leads and angles with a clear-cut conservative agenda," including asking "loaded questions" and avoiding stories involving the LGBTQ community.

Sinclair has reportedly long had ties to top Republicans, including Trump. White House senior adviser and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner allegedly reached an agreement to give Sinclair more access to Trump during the 2016 election, though Sinclair denied making any arrangements with the Trump campaign.

Sinclair is currently awaiting approval from the Trump administration on a $3.9 billion deal to acquire 42 more stations from Tribune Media, expanding its reach to 72 percent of American viewers. Trump has already publicly expressed his support for the company.

"So funny to watch Fake News Networks, among the most dishonest groups of people I have ever dealt with, criticize Sinclair Broadcasting for being biased," Trump tweeted Monday. "Sinclair is far superior to CNN and even more Fake NBC, which is a total joke."

A 2017 Pew Research Center study found 37 percent of Americans say they often get their news from local television news, more than cable news (28 percent), newspapers (18 percent), radio (25 percent), social media (20 percent) and news websites (33 percent). Some 85 percent of Americans also said they trust local news -- more than any other source, including family and friends (77 percent).

Friday's letter from 13 schools, addressed to Sinclair's executive chairman David Smith, said current journalism students are worried that future employers will demand unethical and biased reporting. It called for Smith to respond to their concerns so programs can continue their "mutually beneficial relationship" with Sinclair, "which provides our students with important opportunities to advance their careers while maintaining their journalistic integrity."

Sinclair Vice President for News Scott Livingston responded to the letter Saturday in an email to Poynter.

"We stand for accurate reporting first and foremost," Livingston said. "We understand that the promo prompted an emotional response, and we'll learn from that in the future. We value the connections our anchors have with their communities and trust that they will continue reporting local news for their viewers as only they know how to do."

See the full letter from Syracuse University and other schools:

April 6, 2018

David D. Smith

Executive Chairman

Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc.

10706 Beaver Dam Road

Hunt Valley, MD 21030

Mr. Smith:

We are writing to you as faculty and leadership of journalism schools that have produced many fine graduates who have gone on to work at Sinclair-owned stations across the United States. Our comments are informed by our awareness of these fine, responsible, ethical journalists at Sinclair stations who have spent years building reputations as professionals with high standards for accurate and ethical news reporting.

One of the tenets of American journalism and one of the foundations of American democracy is that news reporting serves as an independent voice free from government censorship and influence. Moreover, American news consumers have come to expect that news professionals cover news rather than advance the business or political interests of news organization owners.

While news organizations have historically had and used the prerogative to publish and broadcast editorials clearly identified as opinion, we believe that line was crossed at Sinclair stations when anchors were required to read scripts making claims about "the troubling trend of irresponsible, one-sided news stories plaguing our country."

Certainly, no news organization is beyond critique. And, as the Sinclair stations noted, social media have been used all too often to spread "false news." But these are two very different things - the work of professional journalists who produce real news and the false accounts on social media. In making the leap to disparage news media generally - without specifics - Sinclair has diminished trust in the news media overall. Ironically, Sinclair's use of news personnel to deliver commentary - not identified as such - may further erode what has traditionally been one of the strongest allegiances in the news landscape, the trust that viewers put in their local television stations. Indeed, the fears articulated in the Sinclair script regarding an extreme danger posed to democracy by news media telling the public what to think describes our fears about the impact of the Sinclair must-carry script.

We have heard from students who now are apprehensive that what they have come to believe and appreciate about ethical and unbiased news reporting will come into conflict with demands placed on them by future employers. We would like to be able to continue to enjoy the relationship we have had with Sinclair, which provides our students with important opportunities to advance their careers while maintaining their journalistic integrity. We hope that your response to these concerns will make that continued and mutually beneficial relationship possible.

Sincerely,

Dean Lucy A. Dalglish and the faculty of Philip Merrill College of Journalism, University of Maryland, College Park

Dean Jerry Ceppos, Manship School of Journalism, Louisiana State University

Prof. Janice Hume, Department Chair, and the faculty of the Department of Journalism, Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Georgia

Prof. Robert Stewart, Director, E.W. Scripps School of Journalism, Ohio University

Dean DeWayne Wickham, School of Global Journalism and Communication, Morgan State University

Dean Will Norton, Jr., and the faculty of the Meek School of Journalism and New Media, University of Mississippi

Dean David Boardman and the faculty of the Klein College of Media and Communication,Temple University

Dean Lorraine Branham, the Newhouse School, Syracuse University

Interim Dean Wojtek J. Chodzko-Zajko, College of Media, University of Illinois

Edward Wasserman, Dean and Professor of Journalism, Graduate School of Journalism, University of California, Berkeley

Director David Cuillier and the faculty of the School of Journalism, University of Arizona

Director Frank Sesno, School of Media and Public Affairs, The George Washington University

Interim Director Gordon Stables and the faculty of USC Annenberg, University of Southern California
MALTA -- Workers at Stewart's Shops are riding a rising company stock price that has created dozens of new millionaires heading for retirement, at least on paper.

Stock for the privately held company, which employs more than 4,500 people, has boomed this decade, rising 66 percent between 2011 and 2016, according to annual reports filed with the U.S. Labor Department.

Stewart's workers, who own almost 40 percent of that stock through a company retirement program, have been riding high along with it. Stock that was valued at $152.40 a share in 2011 had increased to $253.21 by 2016, the most recent year that federal reports were available.

Now, there are 67 current or former long-time Stewart's workers with retirement balances of more than $1 millon in the Employee Stock Ownership Program (ESOP), according to Stewart's President Gary Dake.

Nearly a third of these millionaires started out as hourly employees, and over a third are still working at their positions, he said. About 1,000 current or former workers have balances of more than $100,000, he added. The program is entirely company-paid, and costs workers nothing.

"We are very pleased to make this investment in our partners and have an average of six ESOP members per shop," said Dake. "We are doing this when so many other retailers are trying to automate their employees out of contact with their customers by replacing them with electronic ordering, or self check-out."

The company has its headquarters in Malta and operates more than 335 shops in New York and southern Vermont.

Dake credited several factors for the company's growth, including "broader food service, the value of being a retailer not significantly impacted by Amazon," and last year's changes to federal corporate tax rates.

The company stock price for 2017 has not yet been calculated, said company spokesman Jeff Vigliotta, although a Stewart's press released touted "double digit growth" in the fund. The stock price is based on an independent appraisal of "account, historical and projected cash flow, and net income, return on assets, return on equity, market comparables, and estimated fair value of assets and liabilities."

Vigliotta declined to make any millionaire employees available to be interviewed, citing worker privacy.

At the end of 2016, the Stewart's ESOP was worth more than $375 million, up from $233.7 million in 2011.

Stock growth also means Stewart's, which dates its founding to 1945 in Saratoga Springs, would be valued at more than $910 million based on its total stock, making it one of the most valuable companies in the Capital Region.

For comparison, TrustCo, a banking company based in Glenville, is valued at about $831 million, based on its current publicly traded stock price. AngioDynamics, a medical device maker headquartered in Latham, with its production facilities in Warren County, is worth about $700 million based on its stock price.

Global Partners, a petroluem company from Massachusetts that operates a petroleum terminal at the Port of Albany and has facilities elsewhere, is valued at about $576 million.

At Stewart's, workers who log at least 1,000 hours a year and who are at least 19 years old become eligible for the program after two years, and receive a full benefit after six years. The plan accrues based on years of service and assumes a full retirement age of 62. The company buys the stock back when an employee retires.

The current stock plan was formed in 2001, and replaced an earlier company profit-sharing plan that started in 1974.

Stewart's continues to hire and job openings can be found online at stewartsshops.com.

- By Brian Nearing, Times Union, Albany, N.Y.
BOSTON (AP) -- Assault weapons and large-capacity magazines are not protected by the Second Amendment, a federal judge said in a ruling Friday upholding Massachusetts' ban on the weapons.

U.S. District Judge William Young dismissed a lawsuit challenging the 20-year-old ban, saying assault weapons are military firearms that fall beyond the reach of the constitutional right to "bear arms."

Regulation of the weapons is a matter of policy, not for the courts, he said.

"Other states are equally free to leave them unregulated and available to their law-abiding citizens," Young said. "These policy matters are simply not of constitutional moment. Americans are not afraid of bumptious, raucous and robust debate about these matters. We call it democracy."

State Attorney General Maura Healey said the ruling "vindicates the right of the people of Massachusetts to protect themselves from these weapons of war."

"Strong gun laws save lives, and we will not be intimidated by the gun lobby in our efforts to end the sale of assault weapons and protect our communities and schools," Healey, a Democrat, said in a statement. "Families across the country should take heart in this victory."

AR-15 assault-style rifles are under increased scrutiny because of their use in several recent mass shootings, including the February massacre at a Florida high school that left 17 people dead.

The Gun Owners Gun Owners' Action League of Massachusetts and other groups that filed the lawsuit argued that the AR-15 cannot be considered a "military weapon" because it cannot fire in fully automatic mode.

But Young dismissed that argument, noting that the semi-automatic AR-15's design is based on guns "that were first manufactured for military purposes" and that the AR-15 is "common and well-known in the military."

"The AR-15 and its analogs, along with large capacity magazines, are simply not weapons within the original meaning of the individual constitutional right to 'bear arms,'" Young wrote.

Young also upheld Healey's 2016 enforcement notice to gun sellers and manufacturers clarifying what constitutes a "copy" or "duplicate" weapon under the state's 1998 assault weapon ban, including copies of the Colt AR-15 and the Kalashnikov AK-47.

Healey's stepped-up enforcement followed the shooting rampage at a nightclub in Orlando, Florida, that killed 49 patrons. She said at the time that gun manufacturers were circumventing Massachusetts' ban by selling copycat versions of the weapons they claimed complied with the law.

The Massachusetts assault weapons ban mirrors the federal ban that expired in 2004. It prohibits the sale of specific and name-brand weapons and explicitly bans copies or duplicates of those weapons.

Jim Wallace, executive director of the Massachusetts gun owners group, said Young's upholding of Healey's crackdown on copycat assault weapons gives the attorney general "unbridled authority" to interpret laws as she pleases.

"Everyone in the state should be really concerned about that," Wallace said. "What if the next attorney general isn't a friend on one of your issues?"

Wallace said he couldn't yet say whether the group will appeal the ruling.

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution allows Americans to have guns in their homes for self-defense, blocking local governments from banning handguns.

But the court last year turned away an appeal from Maryland gun owners who challenged the state's ban on assault weapons.
Redistricting proposal places Tama County outside Rep. Hinsons district

New maps could lead to a remaking of the political landscape in Iowa  Tama County included. What is now a quadrant of four U.S. ...
XPRIZE relaunches its moon program Lunar XPRIZE, which is open to private companies. This time, however, it receives no funding from Google and no cash incentive.

In an official statement, XPRIZE announced the culmination of its lunar landing mission that did not yield winners. XPRIZE extends its gratitude to Google for taking the initiative to invest $30 million in the lunar space flight, which ran from September 2007 to March 31, 2018.

"While that competition is now over, there are at least five teams with launch contracts that hope to land on the lunar surface in the next two years," said Dr. Peter Diamandis, XPRIZE founder, and chairman.

Since its decade-long contract with Google has expired, XPRIZE is opening its doors for brand new sponsors who will be interested to put their logo on the moon.

Banking On Private Companies

Aside from Google's funding, XPRIZE is able to raise more than $300 million from corporate sponsorships, government deals, and venture deals. The company's intent to pursue Lunar XPRIZE is to help organizations that have invested in the program take a vantage point in the human space race.

"These space entrepreneurs are developing long-term business models around lunar transportation, and we cannot give up on them now. I am confident that one of these companies will land on the Moon in the near future and am excited for the next chapter of this new space race," said Chanda Gonzales-Mowrer, senior director at XPRIZE.

Although there's no cash prize, major Lunar XPRIZE teams like Moon Express, HAKUTO, and TeamIndus expressed enthusiasm for the future of the initiative.

Takeshi Hakamada, ispace, inc.'s CEO and founder, said the Google Lunar XPRIZE opened a different understanding of why a space race is necessary to advance its technologies and management to a whole new level.

Rahul Narayan of TeamIndus said projects like Lunar XPRIZE is crucial to ensure that future space flights become successful.

Unmet Needs

In 2007, XPRIZE launched its Lunar XPRIZE in an effort to assist private enterprises develop and fly their own space missions. Google took on the project and donated funds specifically to reward participants who are able to perform the required tasks.

The participating teams were assigned certain missions in space such as exploring the moon's surface and conduct live broadcasts. XPRIZE offered a $20-million prize money for the first team who will successfully complete the tasks before March 31, 2018. The second placer is supposed to receive $5 million.

The deadline was moved a couple of times to give the teams leeway, but none of the teams were able to meet the requirement. The prize money was then returned to Google.

"We appreciate Google's commitment and respect their decision in having their prize purse end on March 31, 2018, regardless of team progress, and launch scenarios," said Katherine Schelbert, XPRIZE spokesperson, in an interview with The Verge.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
More than 540 million people globally suffer from back pain at any point in their lives, but treating this debilitating condition can be done naturally.

Back pain is caused by a number of factors such as injuries, activities, posture, heredity, and malignant tumors. Depending on the severity of the pain, it can impact a person's ability to move and quality of life especially those from the lower-income to the middle-income bracket of the society.

"We don't think about [back pain] the same way as cancer or heart attacks. But if you look at disability it causes, especially in middle- and low-income where there isn't a safety net, it impacts half a billion people," said co-author Roger Chou, a physician at the Oregon Health and Science University.

The study, which was published in The Lancet journal, identified that back pain among Nigerian rural farmers reduced their workload by half, thereby decreasing their income. Australian elderly people who suffer from back pain have lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in the management of their condition.

Ineffective Treatments

Studies have shown that people experiencing back pain have been using therapies that do not significantly reduce their level of pain. Evidence has shown that patients seek medical care in the emergency department where they are given opioid medication and are advised to rest or stop working.

An estimated 2.6 million Americans visit the emergency room for the treatment of lower back pain. A 2009 research reported that about 60 percent of back pain patients were prescribed with opioid medicine, and only half of the population with chronic pain was advised to do exercise.

Andrea Furlan, a pain researcher at the Institute of Work and Health in Toronto, said lack of understanding of the causes of back pain is what alleviates the problem. She added that many doctors are not certified pain management specialists, so their initial response would be surgery injections and opioids.

Meanwhile, in India, back pain patients are advised to have a complete bed rest while South Africans resort to pain medication as their sole option.

Alternatives To Pain Killers

Dr. Judith Turner, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the University of Washington School of Medicine, said pain management should not be all about medications.

She instead advised clinicians and patients to consider cognitive-behavioral therapies where they are taught to apply mental strategies to reduce pain and manage stress. These include breathing exercises, imagery, and muscle relaxation.

"Clinical guidelines recommend exercise and psychological therapies as first-line treatments for persistent back pain, but many patients are not prescribed exercise, and very few receive psychological treatments," Turner said.

Furlan's group at Cochrane evaluated 30 studies of 3,500 patients with back pain and found that cognitive behavioral therapies were more effective than medical and physical therapy.

Scholars recommend that maintaining an active lifestyle and doing stretching exercises should be the first step to managing back pain. The absence or the lack of exercise can cause muscle stiffness, circle swelling, and decreased bone density.

Researchers also debunked previous knowledge that lifting heavy weights can cause strain in the back muscles. Maintaining a good posture in doing any activity also reduces the risks of back pain.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
An investigation is underway after several cases of e.coli infection in New Jersey has sent eight individuals to the hospital. The outbreak is so far linked to a Panera Bread in Phillipsburg.

E.Coli Outbreak In New Jersey

An e.coli outbreak is currently ongoing in four counties of New Jersey namely Warren, Hunterdon, Middlesex, and Somerset. So far, eight cases of e.coli have been reported, all of whom were hospitalized, although five have already been discharged.

As the investigation is still in its early stages, it is still rather difficult for authorities to pinpoint the specific source of the infection. In fact, earlier this week, health officials merely stated that they are investigating on a "chain restaurant" but did not mention the name of the restaurant or its location. However, last Thursday, epidemiologist from Warren County, Sarah Perramant, told local news that the chain restaurant currently under investigation as a potential source of the infection is a Panera Bread in Phillipsburg even if only one of eight cases were reported in the area.

Thorough Investigation

According to Donna Leusner, spokesperson of the New Jersey Department of Health, the investigation on the outbreak involves gathering the food history of the infected individuals and testing if their infections are the same. This is because the affected individuals might have eaten at several places or bought contaminated food from several stores before they fell ill. The department is also expected to interview any potentially involved restaurants and trace the food back to the contaminated source.

"Sometimes the food source associated with illness is never determined. That's why we conduct many interviews with sick individuals to get food history data," states the New Jersey Department of Health update on the investigation.

That said, officials are encouraging anyone who gets sick after eating to see a healthcare provider.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration are working with the local Department of Health on the investigation.

E.Coli Bacteria

Escherichia Coli or E.coli bacteria is actually a normally occurring bacteria that lives in the intestines of both people and animals. Though most E.coli bacteria are harmless and are a part of a healthy intestinal tract, some types can cause illnesses such as diarrhea, respiratory illness, pneumonia, and urinary tract infection.

Such infections are often gotten from ingesting infected food, water, or milk, or from having contact with cattle or infected feces. After the ingestion or contact with the bacteria, it usually takes about three to four days before symptoms begin to show, but may also manifest as soon as day one or as far as day 10.

The symptoms vary from one person to another, but it often involves diarrhea, vomiting, and fever. While most individuals get better after about five days, some infections are rather severe and even life-threatening.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
More teens are hooked to vaping, the alternative to smoking tobacco, that the U.S. FDA said it has become an epidemic at an alarming state.

A National Youth Tobacco Survey conducted between 2011 and 2015 showed a total increase of 900 percent in the use of electronic cigarettes among high school students.

The report published by the Office of the Surgeon General said vaping has become a national epidemic, as it has surpassed statistics on the use of other tobacco products such as cigars, chewables, and hookahs.

This translates to approximately 1.7 million high school students and 500,000 middle school students who have used vape products within a 30-day period.

"No kid should be using any tobacco product," FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb told CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta. "We're going to be taking some enforcement actions very soon to target companies that we think are marketing products in ways that they're deliberately appealing to kids."

Different Day, Different Flavors

Vape products are easy to sell to the youth especially that it is packaged in different flavors such as sour gummy, chocolate, and cotton candy.

Joseph Allen, an assistant professor at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, said that the presence of artificial flavoring in e-cigarettes has become appealing to kids. The U.S. General Surgeon's 2016 report coincided with a study published the same year in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, saying that exposure to nicotine from e-cigarettes is the gateway toward the renormalization of smoking.

"There is substantial evidence that e-cigarette use increases risk of ever using combustible tobacco cigarettes among youth and young adults," reported the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine.

Smoking at an earlier age is also like hitting two birds with one stone. Not only that it poses greater risks of cardiorespiratory illnesses, but those who have early exposure to nicotine are also more likely to get addicted until they become adults.

A related study on rodents performed by Dr. John Dani, chair of neuroscience at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, concluded that younger rats that are exposed to nicotine have their neurotransmitters altered for life.

These neurotransmitters are responsible for sending stress signals and recognizing reward. When stressed rats were given nicotine, it is their bodies' response to the stimuli. These signals are later perceived as rewards when given routinely.

Dani said that the team's research requires further investigation as it relates to human beings.

Usage Disparities

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has identified ethnic disparities in the use of e-cigarettes. In a media briefing release in April 2015, former CDC director Tom Frieden said that common users of vaping products are non-Hispanic whites, Hispanics, and non-Hispanics from other race except blacks.

"We want parents to know that nicotine is dangerous for kids at any age, whether it's an e-cigarette, hookah, cigarette or cigar," said Frieden. "Adolescence is a critical time for brain development. Nicotine exposure at a young age may cause lasting harm to brain development, promote addiction, and lead to sustained tobacco use."

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Round Two

Gretchen Driskell on her Congressional bid and why it will be different this time

by Julie Halpert

Published in April, 2018

When Gretchen Driskell lost her 2016 bid for Congress--winning only 40 percent of the vote to incumbent Tim Walberg's 55 percent--she didn't spend much time licking her wounds. The former state rep, fifty-nine, returned to school, pursuing a master's at the U-M Ford School of Public Policy, where she started in 2014 as a part-time student. She began rebuilding the client base at the commercial real estate business where she had worked before heading to Lansing. And she travelled around the Seventh Congressional District, "listening and seeing what people were feeling ... People are really frustrated with Washington, D.C., which is the reason I ran last time. They're still frustrated. They don't feel they have a voice that represents our values," she says.



Last July, Driskell declared that she would take on Walberg again. Having more time to connect with those in areas who voted against her, and invigorated by a new wave of activism that followed the election of President Trump, she's more optimistic about her prospects this time. But to earn a second round with Walberg, she'll first have to win a Democratic Party primary.



---



Driskell's campaign headquarters are located in an office building on the outskirts of downtown Saline. The large, open room is sparsely furnished; a giant "Gretchen Driskell for Congress" sign is one of the few decorations. As a couple of campaign workers filter in and out of the room, Driskell, dressed casually in jeans, reflects on the political moment while eating her lunch.



"People are frustrated and feeling like government is not working," she says. "It's too partisan. It's always finger-pointing. I want to go and get the job done and be part of a bipartisan effort to make sure government works in the district."



In 2016, her weakest showing was in rural areas--which also went for Trump. She hopes to win those voters over by emphasizing her commitment to well-paying jobs and making sure there are opportunities for businesses to

...continued below...

flourish."Small businesses are really key to a small successful town," says Driskell, a former mayor of Saline. "I think we can support small businesses by bringing in some new business ideas, like clean energy or renewable energy ... I know what it means to be a partner and provide opportunities for everyone."She takes aim at Walberg's vote against the Affordable Care Act, pointing out that 49,000 people in the district benefited from the ACA's Medicaid expansion. The ACA also improved insurance coverage for people grappling with opioid and heroin addiction."We need government to help with services," Driskell says. "That's our role." She herself went ten years without health insurance, "literally wondering how I was going to be able to pay my bills. I know what it's like to live on the edge." She contrasts that to Walberg, who after sixteen years in the statehouse and a dozen in congress has "lifetime health care, lifetime pension from the state, and he's just really out of touch with people that are struggling economically."She thinks her 2016 campaign suffered from her lack of name recognition outside Washtenaw County. Without her state legislature responsibilities, she says she has more time now to cover the entire district, especially Monroe, where she recently visited a homeless shelter and addiction recovery center.Driskell criticizes Walberg for not being accessible to his constituents, pointing to an instance where members of the activist group Indivisible Dexter stood out in the cold trying to meet with him when he was speaking at a men's prayer breakfast. She acknowledges that he's been holding more town halls since then, but says it's been a very restrictive forum, not a dialogue. "I believe 100 percent in as much communication with voters as possible," she says. "We can't have good governance without that."---Walberg communications director Dan Kotman emails that it's "premature" to talk about a rematch. "Gretchen Driskell spent millions of dollars and lost by 15 points in the last election," he writes. "Her campaign was entirely negative and she offered no new ideas to the challenges we face as a country. No wonder she failed to pass a single bill as a state legislator in Lansing. If I were Gretchen Driskell, I'd be worried about her fellow Democrats abandoning her retread campaign." He includes a link about Dexter social worker Steve Friday's January kickoff of his own campaign for the Seventh District's Democratic nomination.Driskell has been buoyed by the rise of the "Indivisible" groups that sprung up after the 2016 election. The activism is translating to financial support, Driskell says. By February, she'd already raised $533,125 from more than 2,700 contributors.Friday emails that he was encouraged to run by Indivisible members, and notes that the group has yet to make an endorsement. He's also active in Michigan for Revolution, which grew out of Bernie Sanders' 2016 presidential campaign. Like Sanders' platform, Friday's calls for a $15 minimum wage, free college education, and universal health care--along with addressing "systemic and institutional racism," legalizing marijuana, and more funding for public schools, addiction treatment, and women's health care.Friday emails that he's "providing an alternative to both Republicans and corporate Democrats, who long ago abandoned the poor and marginalized in favor of the wealthy." Though only 21 percent of Driskell's donations last time came from political action committees--versus 47 percent for Walberg--Friday faults her for taking PAC money at all.Asked about Friday's challenge, Driskell campaign manager Jaden Slagle instead turns the spotlight back on Walberg. "We're looking forward to voters making a choice this fall between Gretchen--who is fighting for better paying jobs, more affordable healthcare, and government that works for everyday Michiganders--and Tim Walberg, who is not standing up for our values and is part of the problem in Washington," he emails.She believes that the new level of activism--and having a popular Democratic candidate, Senator Debbie Stabenow, at the top of the ticket--will yield greater voter turnout and help propel her toward victory this time around.---Jack Lessenberry, head of the journalism faculty at Wayne State University and a senior news analyst for Michigan Radio, doubts that anti-Trump activism is widespread in areas where Driskell lost. And he says that banking on greater turnout is naive. Michigan Secretary of State voter records indicate that roughly a million fewer voters turn out for midterm elections, and with Stabenow predicted to win by a large margin, he says, she's unlikely to bring more Democratic voters to the polls.Lessenberry predicted the race would be close in 2016, but he didn't foresee a win for Driskell then. He says the district is gerrymandered to benefit Republicans. To win, he says, she's got to make the case that she's going to be better than Walberg. "She needs to have a signature issue," he says, and give her constituents a reason for voting out an incumbent--for example, by more aggressively attacking Walberg's refusal to stand up to President Trump, who's called for massive budget cuts to the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative: "She should be vigorously denouncing him and saying how she would fight for it."Lessenberry says it's not clear whether constituents are so tired of Walberg--or Trump, who shares many of his positions--that they would be willing to vote him out. The race may be closer this time around, he says, but as of now, "it's a stretch to see her win."But Driskell remains optimistic. "I wouldn't be running if I wasn't confident I could win," she says. "I'm not thinking about what's going to happen if I don't." [Originally published in April, 2018.]
In an unusual move, state Superintendent of Education John White is questioning how a national test was conducted because of concerns that the first-time use of computers may cause lower scores for Louisiana students.

The exam is called the National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP.

How students nationally fared on reading and math exams will be released on Tuesday.

Those and other results make up what is known as the nation's report card.

Students in Louisiana typically score low, and in 2015 results in reading and math ranged from 43rd to 49th nationally.

Louisiana again ranks near bottom in reading, math in recent national report card Louisiana public school students ranged from 43rd to 49th nationally in reading and math in the latest installment of the nations report card

White raised the issue in a March 23 letter to Peggy C. Carr, acting commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics, which oversees the exams.

The 2017 NAEP test marked the first time that most students took the exams using computers rather than pencil and paper.

Students typically perform better on paper tests, and White noted that officials have taken steps to account for those differences.

But even with those efforts, White wrote, there is a possibility that differences in computer savvy will affect some states more than others.

Louisiana public schools get D plus, rank 46th in nation in new report Amid a freeze in key results, public school achievement in Louisiana again ranks 49th in the nation, according to a report issued Wednesday by

"As a potential illustration of this point, no Louisiana student in 4th grade or 8th grade had ever been required to take a state assessment via a computer as of the 2017 NAEP administration," according to the letter.

"This fact, coupled with a variety of social indicators that may correspond with low levels of technology access or skill, may mean that computer usage or skill among Louisiana students, or students in any state, is not equivalent to computer skills in the national population," it says.

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The letter was first reported by Chalkbeat, which calls itself a non-profit news organization.

White said he needs assurances that NAEP results will reflect math and reading skills, not evaluations of computer know how.

The superintendent asked Carr for a wide range of information, including the average mean score of students who took the test on paper compared to tablets at the state and national level in each grade, subject and subgroup.

Subgroups divide results by race, family wealth and other factors.

White said Friday he has not gotten a written reply from Carr.

About 5,400 fourth- and eighth-graders took the test in January 2017.

Louisiana is one of 11 states where students had not taken digital exams previously.

Eighth-graders took LEAP exams online for the first time in May 2017.

White said there are no plans to quiz fourth-graders on state assessments using computers.

He said in response to a question that the only way to know if first-time computer exams caused Louisiana scores to drop is to compare trends from 2015 to 2017 with paper to paper with students who moved from paper to computer.

About 500 Louisiana students were quizzed on paper in 2017.

Officials of the state Department of Education released a study by the John Hopkins School of Education that raised concerns similar to White's on the NAEP exams.

"If students with weaker computer skills tended to perform worse than other groups on the computerized 2017 NAEP, then states that have a higher percentage of students whose computer skills are weak would show lower scores in 2017 than in 2015," according to an analysis by the John Hopkins Institute for Education Policy.
It's now up to the Louisiana Legislature and the governor to decide whether to allow farmers to raise non-native sturgeon for caviar or if they'll need to rely on getting the eggs of home-grown fish.

Ledet's Seafood has petitioned to raise sterlet sturgeon in Natchitoches Parish. The Eurasian species is not native to Louisiana, and conservationists have argued that they could wreak havoc on the ecosystem should the fish escape into the wild. State officials have bounced back and forth on whether to allow the fish.

+4 Louisiana caviar? Seafood company wants to raise non-native sturgeon species, but conservationists fear contamination North Louisiana caviar could be the next boom industry in the Bayou State, according to one seafood company, but conservationists worry non-na

More recently, they've proposed a compromise: Let farmers raise sturgeon as long as they stick to the local shovelnose variety.

The Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission kept both options alive during a recent meeting. The group was supportive of shovelnose farming, but a minority resisted efforts to introduce sterlets.

Commissioner Chad Courville suggested allowing sterlet farming for five years so interested farmers could get their operations off the ground. Then, they would switch over to the native shovelnoses. However, fisheries staff warned that such a weighty amendment this late in the process could delay the sterlet rule such that it would expire and die.

Commissioner Jerri Smitko also resisted.

"Has anybody said 'I would like to raise shovelnose sturgeon?'" she asked.

From the gallery, Ledet representatives said they would look into shovelnoses but made no promises.

Smitko said that if shovelnoses turn out to not be as commercially viable as stelets, introducing a deadline "puts a giant question mark" over the whole operation.

Courville found an ally in Commissioner Joe McPherson for hiis proposed five-year sunset clause on the farming of sterlets.

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The commission had previously voted to allow sterlets, but the Louisiana House Committee shut the measure down, fearing an accidental release into the wild. McPherson said that with so much opposition, it was time to slow down and consider other options like that proposed by Courville.

To appease the House committee, Wildlife and Fisheries staff proposed strengthening the sterlet rules to require an escort for trucks carrying fish to farms. However, going a step further and switching to shovelnose sturgeons seems "to take away all the negatives," McPherson said.

He joined with Courville in calling for a five-year sunset clause on sterlet farming, though the rest of the board voted to let the measure through without the restriction.

"We're disappointed," said Rebecca Triche, executive director of the non-profit Louisiana Wildlife Federation.

The commission is supposed to protect natural resources, not economic interests, she said in an interview after the vote.

The concern is that should sterlets escape, they could interbreed with native Louisiana sturgeon and create unpredictable hybrids that pose an uncertain risk to the food web, explained Wildlife and Fisheries permit manager Rob Bourgeois.

There are provisions to prevent such an escape, such as requirements that facilities be enclosed and placed a foot above the floodplain, but conservationists worry that an extreme event or even a truck crash could release the fish into the wild, where they would be difficult, if not impossible, to contain.

There are also similar provisions for shovelnose permits, should anyone apply for one in the future.

Smitko said that rather than coming down on farmers who want to raise a non-native species, the commission can look at ways to offer incentives for businesses that grow native sturgeons.

The commission's proposed rule allowing the farming of sterlets now goes back before the Legislature for final approval and their action is subject to veto by the governor should he decide to do so.
WASHINGTON  The Federal Emergency Management Agency is making a handful of tweaks to the National Flood Insurance Program to inject more private money into the government-dominated flood insurance market.

Officials at FEMA plan to loosen rules around private insurers offering their own flood policies and have taken on nearly $1.5 billion in reinsurance from more than two dozen companies to help offset potential future losses, the agency announced this week.

The administrative moves bypass Congress, where lawmakers have been deadlocked for months over how to overhaul the NFIP, which is drowning in red ink.

Flood Insurance gets extension in massive spending package  but new deadline would loom in July WASHINGTON  The National Flood Insurance Program would get a four-month reprieve as part of a massive $1.3 trillion federal spending deal mak

The tweaks come as the program, already roughly $30 billion in debt, continues to pay out claims from a series of destructive hurricanes in 2017 and prepares for the upcoming hurricane season, which forecasters have warned could bring another spate of powerful storms.

The NFIP took out reinsurance coverage  a backstopping policy for insurers that pays out if covered losses exceed a certain threshold  in 2017. Those policies ended up covering around $1 billion in claims from NFIP policyholders in the Houston area after Hurricane Harvey in August.

The program will pay fees to more than two dozen reinsurance companies this year for additional coverage. That could cost the program money if few floods in the coming year lead to only minimal claims  but it'll also limit the blow from to the program from another catastrophic season.

If claims to the NFIP top $4 billion, the reinsurance coverage will kick in to cover the next $1.46 billion in losses, FEMA said in a news release.

The two other significant changes unveiled by FEMA drew mixed reactions from insurers, policyholder advocates and Louisiana lawmakers.

In Capitol Hill debate over future of flood insurance, role of private market disputed WASHINGTON  For more than a half-century, the United States government has been the only big-time player in the flood-insurance market, under

FEMA is dropping its 'non-compete' rule that had barred insurance companies that sell NFIP-backed policies through the NFIP's "Write Your Own" program from offering their own flood insurance coverage. That potentially will entice more insurance companies to offer their own products.

At the same time, "Write Your Own" companies will see the cut the NFIP pays them for selling policies trimmed back slightly, a move that could either result in lower premiums for policyholders or send more money to the NFIP to pay claims.

Roy Wright, the FEMA official who runs the NFIP, told POLITICO in an interview that opening up the flood-insurance market to more private competition would benefit federal taxpayers by hopefully reducing the number of homeowners who go without coverage.

"We need more people selling these products," Wright said.

Insurance industry groups mostly welcomed FEMA's moves to free "Write Your Own" companies to sell their own policies  a step the industry has long pushed for  and adding reinsurance coverage, though industry representatives worried that cutting compensation for companies that sell NFIP policies could lead to fewer sales.

"The flooding events in 2016 and 2017 clearly show that too few property owners purchase flood coverage," said Tom Santos, vice president for federal affairs for the American Insurance Association. "Thus, we ought to be looking for ways to expand consumer options by preserving and expanding the private sector's ability to offer flood insurance coverage  both NFIP coverage and private coverage."

Members of Congress have mulled both policy changes for years.

Sen. John Kennedy, R-Louisiana, has proposed a much steeper cut to the share of NFIP revenue "Write Your Own" companies could keep in legislation he wrote with Sen. Bob Menendez, D-New Jersey.

Fellow Louisiana Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy, who's backing his own flood-insurance bill with New York Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, has also backed trimming compensation to "Write Your Own" companies as a way to pull more money into the program.

Louisiana Republicans have generally supported the idea of allowing more private insurance companies to sell flood policies to homeowners. But Louisianans and other coastal lawmakers worry that private companies could "cherry-pick" the NFIP, poaching the most profitable policies while leaving the federal government with the riskiest and most heavily subsidized properties.

+3 Flood insurance reforms split Congress, and Louisiana lawmakers, as Dec. 8 expiration looms WASHINGTON  After months of grinding negotiations over the future of the National Flood Insurance Program, lawmakers return to Capitol Hill o

A large number of NFIP policyholders, including many Louisianans, pay below-market rates because of "grandfathering" rules that can leave the premiums on an older property artificially low even if FEMA later determines its risk of flooding has risen.

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Among the concerns is that "Write Your Own" companies could use their access to the NFIP's extensive and detailed database of flood history and past claims to strategically undercut the federal program on rates. The NFIP's data, including details on past claims for each property in the program, give it a huge potential advantage over private competitors in determining a property's future risk of flooding.

The FEMA regulations prohibit "Write Your Owns" from using NFIP data in calculating or marketing their non-NFIP policies. In theory, that should help protect the NFIP from being aggressively undercut by advantaged competitors, said Caitlin Berni, vice president of policy and communications for Greater New Orleans Inc. who also leads a national coalition to lobby on flood insurance issues.

"We need more people covered for flood risk and I dont think, given how FEMA has made the change and constraints of current law, that cherry-picking will become a significant issue," Berni said.

Cassidy's proposed NFIP overhaul would have essentially created a pilot program allowing private insurers to compete directly against the NFIP only in certain segments of the market. Under the Cassidy-Gillibrand proposal, private competitors could have paid the NFIP to access the program's historical loss data.

Rapidly hiking premiums on those properties  as some budget hawks who've criticized the NFIP as fiscally unsustainable have proposed  could tank home values and wipe out equity.

U.S. Rep. Garret Graves, R-Baton Rouge, said he supports the idea of encouraging the private market to cover more flood risk and hoped insurers eventually begin offering "all hazard" policies that cover flood damage on top of wind, fire and other normal lines.

But Graves said in an interview last week that FEMA should have left changes to the NFIP to Congress. Making piecemeal changes to the program, Graves added, could also undermine efforts to hammer out a broad-ranging deal on the future of the program.

"I think its problematic for Louisiana and for a long-term fix of the flood insurance program," Graves said of the administrative changes.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed its own proposed overhaul of the NFIP in December after House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson, brokered a compromise with House Financial Services Chairman Jeb Hensarling, a Texas Republican and hardline budget hawk who's pressed for major rate-hikes for policyholders that could hit Louisiana hard.

That bill also included a larger cut to the compensation for "Write Your Own" companies than FEMA is implementing administratively. It split Louisiana's congressional delegation, half of whom backed it and half of whom  including Graves  blasted it as potentially devastating to homeowners in the state.

Scalise, the House's No. 3 Republican, embraced some of the policies FEMA rolled out in a statement Friday.

"Exploring creative ways to reform NFIP will be necessary as we work toward a long term reauthorization of the program," Scalise said, "and this includes reinsurance, engaging the private sector in flood insurance and more accurate mapping for areas like south Louisiana, where for so long FEMA has gotten it wrong."

But Scalise also vowed to protect homeowners with below-market "grandfathered" rates in any long-term deal on the NFIP "so that people who played by the rules arent penalized or kicked out of the program."

Steve Scalise strikes deal with key congressman on National Flood Insurance Program's future WASHINGTON  A deal on changes to the National Flood Insurance Program struck Friday between House Majority Whip Steve Scalise and House Finan

The Senate isn't expected to take up the House-passed bill, in part because of objections from senators from Louisiana and other flood-prone areas, who have prioritized affordable premiums for homeowners when considering changes to the program.

The Senate's Banking Committee, which oversees the program, has also been tied up with work on a major, unrelated effort to rollback parts of the Dodd-Frank set of banking regulations imposed after the 2008 financial crisis.

Just when Capitol Hill lawmakers will get to serious negotiations on the NFIP's future remains unclear. The program has hobbled along on a series of short-term extensions since expiring at the end of September and key negotiators remain far apart on how to handle the program in the future.

Sharp disagreements over the future role of the private market in flood have played a significant role holding up a long-term deal on the program.

Its too soon to tell whether FEMAs administrative move  which doesnt go as far as some free-market advocates have pushed for  might break up that logjam and clear the way for a deal.
1. Yes. The district should offer a virtual learning option, even in a modified format.

2. Yes. The bill limits the number of students who use it, but it does provide state funds.

3. No. Its too late in the year for the district to try to rework its teaching platforms.

4. No. The bill only allows 10% of students to access it, and also has other restrictions.

5. Unsure. It seems like a half-measure, but it may be worth pursuing.

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Lampung will hold an international exhibition on the coffee processing industry at Pringsewu regency from May 3 to 5.

The 2018 CoffeeMach exhibition is the first of its kind in Indonesia, said Bayu Robiansyah, head of the committee and director of PT Kreasi Primatama Indonesia, on Tuesday to Antara.

He said previous coffee exhibitions were more on the retail side, alongside barista competitions.

The 2018 CoffeeMach will have displays of coffee machines and their handling methods.

Bayu said the event is supported by Lampung provincial administration as well as international coffee companies, such as Buhler from Germany.

The event will showcase a number of coffee machines, such as grinders, mixers, roasters and blenders, he added.

Read also: Six must-see destinations in Lampung

In addition to the exhibition, there will be a workshop on the retail business, with speakers who are experts on coffee, international trade and baristas.

The 2018 CoffeeMach will also be joined by Indonesian coffee associations, such as the Indonesian Coffee Exporters Association (AEKI).



Around 500 people from 20 countries will participate in the event.

Pringsewu was selected to hold the exhibition as it is the economic center of three regencies in Lampung, which is also known as the third-biggest robusta coffee producer in Indonesia.

Bayu said Indonesia was one of the biggest coffee producers and exporters in the world. It is also known to have its trademarks, such as luwak and Mandailing.

Coffee is the fourth-biggest Indonesia foreign exchange income after palm oil, rubber and cacao.

The 2018 CoffeeMach is expected to be a successful business platform for producers and consumers. (wng)
The Bengkulu-Lampung chapter of the Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) has found a new habitat of rare flower Rafflesia at the Bukit Kaba Natural Tourism Park, Rejanglebong regency, Bengkulu.

Our team found a new spot of Rafflesia at the active volcanic area of Bukit Kaba, said Abu Bakar Cekmat, head of Bengkulu-Lampung BKSDA, to Antara on Monday.

He added that when the flower was discovered in early March, there were two buds ready to blossom. In the last two days, they have been opening up.

BKSDA officers cannot confirm yet whether the flowers belong to the Rafflesia arnoldii or Rafflesia bengkuluensis species.

Read also: Six places in Indonesia to marvel at the stinking corpse lily

At a glance, they look like Rafflesia bengkuluensis. But we can only tell for sure once they have perfectly bloomed, Abu Bakar said.

He stated that the rare flowers existence will add to Bukit Kabas attractions, which is known as a trekking destination.

Bukit Kaba is an active volcano located 1,900 meters above sea level. From Bengkulu, visitors can go by motorcycle or car to Sumber Urip village, Selupu Rejang subdistrict, Rejanglebong regency.

From the village, it would take a two to three hours hike to reach the top of Bukit Kaba. (wng)
Three siblings have grown coffee in Cibulao village in the Puncak area of Bogor, West Java, with the humble purpose of protecting the forest as well as enjoying good coffee.

All working in the infrastructure division at the Ciliwung tea plantation, Kiryono, 38, Jumono, 35, and Dasim, 25, are residents of Cibulao.

Some 138 family units comprising around 500 people live in the village. It is situated in the middle of the plantation run by PT Sumber Sari Bumi Pakuan.

Actually, the first one who planted coffee in the forest owned by [state-owned forestry company] Perhutani was my father, Nardi, who also worked at the Ciliwung tea plantation. He initially planted 50 coffee tree seeds in 1998 as he wanted to make use of the forest that was previously eroded. The seeds came from Temanggung. [Such an activity] was deemed illegal at the time but most locals here had cut down trees to create vegetable farms, said Kiryono.

Unfortunately, many of the coffee seeds planted did not survive, and after his father died Kiryono and his two brothers carried on planting coffee. In 2007, they met Perhutani officials and a year later were given a cooperation certificate by the company to plant coffee as tumpang sari (intercropping) among forest trees like rasamala, puspa and saninten, in order to protect the forest and prevent illegal logging.

Read also: Crazy about Indonesian coffee? Here are the basics of java

When we received the Perhutani certificate, we were laughed at by our neighbors in Cibulao, since they believed making money from coffee was not promising. We bought robusta coffee seeds for 250 trees from Jonggol at the time, said Kiryono.

Many challenges were faced by the siblings; for three years their coffee harvest was not successful, and the farm group they established also dispersed. Many of the big trees in the forest were also stolen to be used as firewood and to make animal cages up until 2013.

Finally, in 2016 Jumpono was named head of the Green Cibulao Forest Farm group. Representing Bogor regency, the group joined an Indonesian specialty coffee competition in Aceh and went home as the national champion as Cibulaos robusta coffee was considered to have a strong flavor and aroma and hence got a very high score of 84.9. The competition itself was joined by 160 participants and had a jury that hailed from 16 countries.

After joining several coffee competitions in regions like Aceh and Jember, Cibulao coffee has finally been recognized nationally. If in 2009 they sold 5-10 kilograms of green bean robusta coffee in Cianjur Market for Rp 15,000 (US$1.09) per kg, now they have marketed their coffee to several cafes in Bogor for Rp 60,000 to Rp 70,000 per kg. During the coffee harvest in 2016, Kiryono was said to have earned up to Rp 60 million.

Kiryono currently manages a 5-hectare coffee plot, while Jumpono runs a 3-ha plot and Dasim 1 ha. As time has gone on more people have joined their Green Cibulao Forest Farm group and it now has 38 members and deforestation has been reduced by up to 95 percent.

Despite all the challenges we faced, we did not give up, since we wanted to plant coffee to protect the forest; and so that we could freely drink coffee. If we are now successful, it is merely a bonus for our hard work, said Kiryono. (kes)
Facebook was aware more than two years ago of Cambridge Analytica's harvesting of the personal profiles of up to 87 million users and cannot rule out other cases of abuse of user data, chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg said.

Sandberg, who joined Facebook in 2008 from Google, has been largely silent since the privacy scandal broke but she gave interviews on Thursday and Friday to National Public Radio and NBC's "Today Show."

"We know that we did not do enough to protect people's data," Sandberg told NPR. "I'm really sorry for that. Mark (Zuckerberg) is really sorry for that, and what we're doing now is taking really firm action."

"Safety and security is never done, it's an arms race," she said. "You build something, someone tries to abuse it."

"But the bigger (question) is, 'Should we have taken these steps years ago anyway?'" Sandberg said. "And the answer to that is yes.

"We really believed in social experiences, we really believed in protecting privacy, but we were way too idealistic," she said.

"We did not think enough about the abuse cases and now we're taking really firm steps across the board."

Facebook has been scrambling for weeks in the face of the disclosure of the hijacking of private data by the British consulting group working for Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign.

Read also: Over 1m Indonesian users affected in Facebook privacy scandal

'That's on us'

Sandberg said Facebook was first aware two and a half years ago that Cambridge Analytica had obtained user data from a researcher who put up a poll on Facebook.

"When we received word that this researcher gave the data to Cambridge Analytica, they assured us it was deleted," she said. "We did not follow up and confirm, and that's on us  and particularly once they were active in the election, we should have done that."

Sandberg was asked by the "Today Show" if other cases of misuse of user data could be expected.

"We're doing an investigation, we're going to do audits and yes, we think it's possible, that's why we're doing the audit," she said.

"That's why this week we shut down a number of use cases in other areas  in groups, in pages, in events  because those are other places where we haven't necessarily found problems, but we think that we should be more protective of people's data," she told NPR.

Sandberg said that starting Monday, the social network will put on top ot its news feed "a place where you can see all the apps you've shared your data with and a really easy way to delete them."

Sandberg said Facebook also should have been more proactive in dealing with Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

"That was something we should have caught, we should have known about," she told NPR. "We didn't. Now we've learned."

"We're going after fake accounts," she told the "Today Show." "A lot of it is politically motivated but even more is economically motivated."

Zuckerberg accepted responsibility this week for the failure to protect user data but maintained he was still the best person to lead the network of two billion users.

He is to appear before a US congressional panel next week to address privacy issues.

Facebook shares were down slightly in mid-morning trading in New York on Friday.
The violin that Mozart used as a child left Friday for a state visit by Austrian government members to China, where a seven-year-old girl will play it for President Xi Jinping.

The girl, Anna Caecilia Pfoess, "will accompany us... as a musical ambassador and represent Austria as a land of culture," President Alexander Van der Bellen said.

"She will do it quite brilliantly, I am sure," Van der Bellen told reporters before the 200-strong delegation of politicians, business people and others departed.

"#Music is a common language understood and appreciated the world over," he added on Twitter alongside a photo of the grinning seven-year-old clutching the instrument and wearing traditional Austrian garb.

Read also: Millennials making classical music great again

The violin is believed to have been made in the 1740s and until 1820 belonged to Mozart's sister Maria Anna, nicknamed Nannerl, also a child prodigy.

Since 1896 it has been in the collection of the Mozarteum Foundation in Salzburg, and is normally on display at the museum in the house where the composer was born.

Pfoess will perform at Sunday's state banquet attended by Xi and Van der Bellen, playing pieces by, unsurprisingly, Mozart but also other Austrian and Chinese composers.
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Linkedin Suherdjoko (The Jakarta Post) Semarang  Sat, April 7, 2018 14:20 1271 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9cd5e8e7 1 National Slovakia,MountMerbabu,hiking Free

A Slovakian hiker identified as Andrey Voytech, 39, was found dead in the Kalimenek River, Mount Merbabu in Central Java on Saturday morning.

Noer Isrodin Muchlisin, the head of Central Java rescue team, said Voytechs body was found after he was reported missing a week ago.

Voytech was reported missing by his partner on March 30. He disappeared around the Pending checkpoint on his way down from the summit.

A search team comprising various rescue groups conducted a rescue mission that week without result.

Finally, we found him in the river on Saturday morning, Noer said.

The team believes that he fell from a 13-meter cliff into the rocky river. There is also a possibility that the hiker became disoriented from hypothermia.

The body will be removed to Salatiga General Hospital, Noer said.

He added that his team was now coordinating with the Slovakian Embassy in Jakarta to repatriate the body. (gis/ahw)
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Linkedin Carola Sole and Sebastian Smith (Agence France-Presse) Sao Bernardo do Campo, Brazil  Sat, April 7, 2018 10:42 1271 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9cd58afa 2 World Luiz-Inacio-Lula-da-Silva,Brazil,corruption Free

Brazil's election front-runner and controversial leftist icon Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was negotiating the terms of his arrest for corruption Saturday while remaining holed up with crowds of fervent supporters near Sao Paulo.

Lula, a two-time former president who is hated and loved in Brazil by equal measure, had been told to surrender on Friday to start serving a 12 year prison term.

But the 72-year-old defiantly let the deadline pass, taking refuge in the metalworkers' union building in his hometown of Sao Bernardo do Campo, surrounded by several thousand supporters.

This raised the temperature in the standoff between Lula and Judge Sergio Moro, who heads Brazil's mammoth "Car Wash" anti-graft probe and who ordered the arrest.

Nevertheless, both sides backed away from outright confrontation, given that taking Lula by force would certainly provoke violent resistance from his backers.

Authorities took pains to reduce tensions, stressing that Lula was not considered a fugitive -- something that would trigger a preventative arrest warrant.

"Lula did not comply with a judicial order," a spokesman for Moro told AFP, "but everyone knows where he is. He's not hiding or on the run."

Politicians from Lula's Workers' Party said his lawyers were negotiating.

"There is a discussion between police and the ex-president's lawyers and the party is following this. The idea is to avoid the judge ordering preventative arrest, which would aggravate the situation," said Congressman Carlos Zarattini.

"Nothing is over yet."

A Catholic Mass was due to take place at the union building early Saturday in memory of Lula's late wife Marisa Leticia, who died last year and would now be turning 68, Workers' Party officials said.

According to varying Brazilian media reports, Lula was considering surrendering after the Mass or possibly trying to hold out through the weekend.

Meanwhile, Lula's lawyers appealed for an injunction against his arrest late Friday in the Supreme Court. A similar appeal at another court failed earlier in the day.

Lula was convicted last year of taking a luxury apartment as a kickback from a big construction company. He lost a lower court appeal in January and saw his sentence increased from nine to 12 years.

To his Workers' Party faithful, Lula is a victim of an out-of-control judiciary preventing him from returning to power.

They remember him for a 2003-2010 presidency that saw tens of millions lifted from poverty and Brazil rise on the world stage.

"Lula is innocent, Lula for president!" supporters chanted outside the union building.

Renata Swiecik, an unemployed mother of four who had joined the crowd, urged Lula not to hand himself over.

"We are here to resist to the end. Lula will not be a prisoner in 2018, he'll be president and help the people once more," said Swiecik, 31.

However, Lula's imminent arrest is being celebrated by many Brazilians.

The "Car Wash" probe, which has revealed systemic, high-level embezzlement and bribery throughout business and politics over the last four years, is wildly popular.

Detractors say that Lula epitomizes Brazil's corruption-riddled elite and his conviction is the biggest "Car Wash" scalp by far.

"I want Lula in prison, I want a better future and with him in the leadership we won't have that," said Maura Moraes de Oliveira, 51, who works as a maid in Curitiba.

"Not only Lula should be locked up, but all the corrupt, a complete cleaning."

Operation "Car Wash" was named after the service station where agents initially investigated a minor money laundering scheme in 2014, before realizing that they'd stumbled on a gargantuan web of embezzlement and bribery at state oil company Petrobras and right through the political classes.

Lula, who grew up poor and with little formal education before becoming a trade union leader and politician, has long said he will go down fighting.

In theory, once someone has been convicted and lost a lower court appeal, he or she is barred from running for office under Brazil's clean-slate law.

Still, even in prison, Lula has the right to register as a candidate. It would then be up to the Superior Electoral Tribunal to rule on whether his candidacy could stand.

Although Lula would almost certainly be blocked, he could use the process to maintain his political influence.
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Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, April 7 2018

Mercedes-Benz will participate in the upcoming 2018 Indonesia International Motor Show (IIMS) on April 19 to 29 at the Jakarta International Expo in Kemayoran, where it will introduce its new electric car, Concept EQ.



The new concept car, whose initials stand for electric intelligence, offers a comprehensive electric mobility ecosystem of products, services, technologies and innovations, according to a press release The Jakarta Post received on Thursday.



EQ Power is a technology implemented in the E 350e Plug-in Hybrid model, a sedan in the German carmakers mid-range E-Class line that combines the 9G-TRONIC plug-in hybrid transmission and the latest generation of electric motors.



The new power electronics have allowed further increases in the electric motors output and torque to 65 kW [88 hp] and 440 Nm, respectively, the press release said.

...
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Linkedin News Desk (Agence France-Presse) Gaza City, Palestinian Territories  Sat, April 7, 2018 14:30 1271 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9cd5e925 2 World Palestine,Gaza,journalist Free

A Palestinian journalist shot by Israeli forces during clashes along the Gaza border has died, the health ministry in the Strip said Saturday.

Yasser Murtaja, a photographer with the Gaza-based Ain Media agency, was hit during clashes Friday, the ministry said.

An AFP photograph taken after he was wounded showed Murtaja wearing a press vest as he received treatment.

The Israeli army declined to comment, saying it was reviewing the incident.

The Gaza health ministry also announced the death of another man, 20-year-old Hamza Abdel Aal, saying he was shot east of Al-Bureij in central Gaza.

The deaths brought the number of Palestinians killed during Friday's clashes to nine after thousands gathered along the border for the second week in a row.

Some Palestinians burned mounds of tyres and threw stones at Israeli soldiers over the border fence, who responded with tear gas and live fire.

At least 491 Palestinians were injured by shooting, the health ministry said.
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Linkedin Anton Hermansyah (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, April 7, 2018 17:27 1271 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9cd61e87 1 Business CEPA,Indonesia,Australia Free

The government said it was hoping to conclude negotiations on the Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IA CEPA) in August after failing to do so in December last year.



Coordinating Economic Minister Darmin Nasution said on Friday the two nations were still discussing some technical aspects regarding goods and services, making it clear that they were minor issues.



"There are some matters that have to be finished. We will finish it as soon as possible, in August at the latest," he said after a limited Cabinet meeting at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta.



Previously, Trade Minister Enggartiasto Lukita said Jakarta and Canberra have resolved 90 percent of the issues discussed in the trade agreement.

He said Australia was asking for a higher tariff rate quota for beef. Canberra previously proposed that Indonesia impose a special tariff for its beef. Indonesia agreed to grant a special tariff, but the two nations have not yet agreed on the quota. (ahw)
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Linkedin Nurul Fitri Ramadhani (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, April 7, 2018 11:58 1271 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9cd5a3fc 1 Politics Prabowo-Subianto,Luhut-Binsar-Pandjaitan,2019-elections Free

Opposition leader Prabowo Subianto held a closed-door meeting with Luhut Pandjaitan, a key figure in the President Joko Jokowi Widodo administration, at a hotel in Central Jakarta on Friday, a Prabowos aide has said.

Gerindra Party deputy secretary-general Andre Rosiade said on Saturday that the two political figures had likely discussed the 2019 presidential election.

Prabowo, the chief patron of Gerindra, is reportedly considering whether he will challenge President Jokowi again in the upcoming election. He lost to Jokowi in the highly divisive presidential election in 2014.

The meeting has sparked speculation of possible efforts by Jokowis inner circle to bring Prabowo into Jokowis camp. As of today, the former Armys Special Forces (Kopassus) commander has yet to officially declare his candidacy, while a new figure, former Indonesian Military (TNI) commander Gatot Nurmantyo, has emerged as one of the strongest challengers for Jokowi.

The General Elections Commission (KPU) will open registration for presidential candidates in August.

Andre, however, was quick to dismiss such speculation, saying the party was committed to nominating Prabowo as its presidential candidate again. That was just a friendly meeting between two old friends.

A number of Gerindra executives had announced the party would declare Prabowos presidential candidacy during its national coordination meeting slated for April 11. However, Prabowo said on Thursday that there would be no declaration of his candidacy during the meeting as the party had yet to form a firm alliance.

With only 73 seats at the House of Representatives, Gerindra would have to form an alliance to field a candidate in a presidential election as stipulated by the 2017 Election Law.

Several politicians, including House Speaker Bambang Soesatyo, have hinted at the possibility of pairing Jokowi with Prabowo in the 2019 presidential election to prevent political polarization in 2019.

However, Gerindra officials have rejected such a proposal.

Gerindras central executive board chairman, Sufmi Dasco Ahmad, also played down the political significance of Fridays meeting between Prabowo and Luhut, saying such a meeting was not unusual. Both of them are former generals and former business partners." (ahw)
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Linkedin Yuliasri Perdani (The Jakarta Post) Bandung, West Java  Sat, April 7 2018

There is no such thing as bad publicity. It may ring true for the Rabbit Town theme park in Bandung, West Java.

Soon after its soft opening on Feb. 23, Rabbit Town theme park in Bandung, West Java, caused controversy.



The so-called selfie paradise reportedly features copies of iconic artwork, from Yayoi Kusamas Obliteration Room, Chris Burdens Urban Lights to several installations of the pop-up Museum of Ice Cream.



Despite fiery protests from netizens and art communities over the alleged plagiarism, which bombarded Rabbit Towns Instagram account with harsh comments and some pledging to never...
Most Singaporeans remember Science Centre Singapore (SCS) as a place they once visited during a school trip as students. For Indonesians, it is relatively unheard of compared to the glitzy, Instagrammable ArtScience Museum in Marina Bay.

Since its opening in 1977, SCS has consistently promoted science and technology, especially among youths. One exhibit, KidsSTOP, is intended toward younger audiences as young as 18 months.

Now upgraded with visually attractive, interactive and immersive exhibitions, the center hopes to rekindle the love for science in adults too.

However, little do people know that SCS offers more than just educational tours. Here are five top things to do in SCS:

1. Get lost in the mirror maze

Get lost in the Science Centre Singapore mirror maze, the largest of its kind in Asia. (JP/Devina Heriyanto)

Avid readers of the Discworld series must recognize the influence of Sir Terry Pratchett in the Professor Crackitt's Light Fantastic exhibit, which bears the same name as Pratchett's book The Light Fantastic. Designed as a laboratory of a mad scientist and its parrot, the exhibit focuses on the science of light. There are many small rooms, each showcasing different light tricks from moving kaleidoscope to disappearing thing. This being a science center, visitors can look at the explanation behind the trick.

Surely, the highlight of the exhibit is the mirror maze with its enchanting colorful lights, dubbed as the largest in Asia. Each visitor should take a cushioned stick to avoid hitting the mirror (hey it happens, and it hurts). Beware as the maze is harder than it looks.

2. Know and conquer your fear

Phobia2: The Science of Fear is the brainy version of a haunted house. (JP/Devina Heriyanto)

The newest exhibition in SCS is called Phobia2: The Science of Fear, slated to run on April 13. Phobia2 aims to explain the scientific reason behind our fears, from the fear of snakes and clowns, to public speaking. Visitors can understand their fears and try to conquer them in an interactive way. For instance, a microphone and a screen simulate a room full of people for those who wish to shed their public speaking phobia.

Consider this as a brainier alternative to a haunted house, since the visual and sound design can be terrifying to some people  especially those with phobias.

Despite its scary look, SCS CEO Lim Tit Meng revealed that a couple had taken their pre-wedding photos at the exhibit.

3. Experience snow, all year long

A child playing in Snow City, Science Centre Singapore. (Science Centre Singapore/File)

If snow does not fall at the equator, why not make it happen? Snow City in SCS provides snow all year long for those who have never experienced the weather phenomenon.

The place is decorated with ever-changing mascots, has an adequate playground for the little ones, and snow slide for all ages. For the thrill-seekers, Snow City has an ice cliff to upgrade your wall climbing experience.

Wear your own winter clothing when visiting Snow City, although complimentary jackets, gloves and boots will be provided upon request.

4. Have a dialogue with time

Dialogue with Time is a product of SCSs cooperation with Singapore's Ministry of Health. Visitors can learn about the science behind aging; what happens to our body as we grow old and how aging affects not only the body but also our brain and nervous system.

Read also: Dialogue with Time: A personal journey in embracing old age

What sets Dialogue with Time apart from other basic science exhibits is the fully guided tour that turns an otherwise bland learning experience into a very personal and sobering one. Each tour is led by a guide. The guides are retired citizens, aged 65 to 85, who now work on a part-time basis at SCS.

5. Journey into space

Sit tight and buckle up inside the Omni Theatre, as the larger-than-life IMAX screen transports you into another dimension. Prepared to be awed as the 8k dome theater presents an immersive experience, each show lasting for 35 to 40 minutes. When The Jakarta Post visited the theater, the show was titled Aurora: The Lights of Wonder, a documentary on the northern lights shot with ultra-high sensitivity cameras.

There is a free stargazing session every Friday evening, so long as the sky is clear. During the rare Super Blue Blood Moon earlier this year, thousands of people gathered at SCS's space observatory to watch the phenomenon together. (kes)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, April 7, 2018 09:08 1271 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9cd55178 4 News BeeHive-Drone,Imagine-Cup,drone,Microsoft,science-and-technology Free

BeeHive Drone, a team of Indonesian students from the University of Manchester, has won a place in the Asia Pacific finals of Imagine Cup 2018, a competition organized by Microsoft. The final that took place on Thursday saw the team compete against other Asian teams, such as Thailands BeeConnex, South Koreas Classum and Malaysias PINE.

Kompas.com reported that the Indonesian team presented a project titled Beehive Drones Agriculture, set to provide services for farmers through the use of a mobile app.

Read also: The future of flying is all about drones

Developed by Ishak Hilton Pujantoro Tnunay  a PhD candidate  and Muhamad Randi Ritvaldi  a Master candidate  the Beehive drone is designed to assist farmers with their daily chores.

Anindita Pradana Suteja, a Master candidate who serves as BeeHives business analyst, explained that the drone was capable of checking and analyzing plants, watering and distributing fertilizer.

Our drone tends to the plants according to their specific needs, said Anindita to the judges of Imagine Cup.

Although the team didnt win the first place at the Asia Pacific finals, they are still entitled to compete in the world finals in Seattle, United States. BeeHive Drone will face dozens of competitors at the finals slated for July.

Ishak Hilton expressed his excitement at being declared a winner. I panicked. So many things need to be prepared, he said at the awards gala in the Petronas Twin Towers, Malaysia, as quoted by Kompas. The team will need to juggle their time between completing their studies and improving their project.

Improvements on business and technological aspects for BeeHive Drone will be based on the feedback from regional judges of the Imagine Cup.

Haris Izmee, president director of Microsoft Indonesia, said he was delighted to see BeeHive Drone become an Asia Pacific finalist.

Kevin Wo, managing director of Microsoft in Singapore, and Haris Izmee, president director of Microsoft in Indonesia, have a picture taken with Anindita Pradana Suteja, Muhamad Randi Ritvaldi and Ishak Hilton Pujantoro Tnunay at the Imagine Cup awards gala in Kuala Lumpur. (JP/File)

They have created an innovative solution with their drone technology. We look forward to seeing them prepare for the world finals, but most importantly, how they will collaborate with Microsoft and other parties to improve the technology and revolutionize agriculture in Indonesia.

World finalists of the Imagine Cup will compete to win a US$ 100,000 grand prize and the opportunity to join a mentoring program with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. (mut)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, April 7, 2018 17:07 1271 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9cd612c5 1 News Scholastic-News-Kids-Press-Corps,kids-reporters,journalist,students Free

Scholastic News Kids Press Corps, a team of international student journalists aged 10 to 14 years old, is accepting applications for its 2018-2019 batch.

Students with a passion for journalism and interest in reporting are encouraged to submit their application as well as writing samples at their local Scholastic Asia office by May 31. The form can be downloaded on their official website.

Selina Lee, vice president of Scholastic Asia, said the editorial team had provided a platform for students to share their perspectives with their friends. Beyond just another extra-curricular outside school hours, it provides the rare opportunity to be part of an international media organization, Lee said in a statement, adding that it builds students character, writing skill and critical-thinking skill.

Read also: Two female Bandung students to conquer Mount Everest

Scholastic News Kids Press Corps reporter Natcharee Chaiwongthitiku covers street food in Thailand. (Scholastic News Kids Press Corps/File)

Established in 2000, the platform allows students to have direct experience as journalists through local and national news assignments, including reporting on events and interviewing sources.

One of the best things about working with this talented group of young journalists is witnessing their passion for keeping fellow students informed on topics that matter to them and have a significant impact on our society, said Suzanne McCabe, editor of Scholastic News Kids Press Corps.

The 2017-2018 batch of 44 student reporters covered various topics, including the 2016 United States presidential election, the 2017 National Book Awards, the US Open, Royal Melbourne Show in Australia and breaking news about natural disasters. Their articles and videos can be viewed on the editorial teams official website. (wir/kes)
Victoria Brooks, University of Westminster

Late in 2017 at a tech fair in Austria, a sex robot was molested repeatedly and left in a filthy state. The robot, named Samantha, received a barrage of male attention, which resulted in her sustaining two broken fingers. This incident confirms worries that the possibility of fully functioning sex robots raises both tantalising possibilities for human desire (by mirroring human/sex-worker relationships), as well as serious ethical questions.

So what should be done? The campaign to ban sex robots, as the computer scientist Kate Devlin has argued , is only likely to lead to a lack of discussion. Instead, she hypothesises that many ways of sexual and social inclusivity could be explored as a result of human-robot relationships.

To be sure, there are certain elements of relationships between humans and sex workers that we may not wish to repeat. But to me, it is the ethical aspects of the way we think about human-robot desire that are particularly key.

Why? Because we do not even agree yet on what sex is . Sex can mean lots of different things for different bodies  and the types of joys and sufferings associated with it are radically different for each individual body. We are only just beginning to understand and know these stories. But with Europes first sex robot brothel open in Barcelona and the building of  Harmony , a talking sex robot in California, it is clear that humans are already contemplating imposing our barely understood sexual ethic upon machines.

It is argued by some in the field that there are positive implications in the development of sex robots, such as therapeutic uses . Such arguments are mainly focused on male use in relation to problems such as premature ejaculation and erectile dysfunction, although there are also mentions of healing potential for sexual trauma. But there are also warnings that the rise of sex robots is a symptom of the  pornification  of sexual culture and the increasing dehumanisation of women. Meanwhile, Samantha has recovered and we are assured by the dolls developer, Sergi Santos, that she can endure a lot and will pull through, and that her career looks promising.

Samanthas desires

We are asked by Santos (with a dose of inhuman humour) to applaud Samanthas overcoming of her ordeal  without fully recognising the violence she suffered. But I think that most of us will experience some discomfort on hearing Samanthas story. And its important that, just because shes a machine, we do not let ourselves off the hook by making her yet another victim and heroine who survived an encounter, only for it to be repeated. Yes, she is a machine, but does this mean it is justifiable to act destructively towards her? Surely the fact that she is in a human form makes her a surface on which human sexuality is projected, and symbolic of a futuristic human sexuality. If this is the case, then Samathas case is especially sad.

It is Devlin who has asked the crucial question: whether sex robots will have rights. Should we build in the idea of consent, she asks? In legal terms, this would mean having to recognise the robot as human  such is the limitation of a law made by and for humans.

I have researched how institutions, theories, legal regimes (and in some cases lovers) tend to make assumptions about my (human) sexuality . These assumptions can often lead to telling me what I need, what I should feel and what I should have. The assumption that we know what the other body wants is often the root of suffering. The inevitable discomfort of reading about Samantha demonstrates again the real  yet to human beings unknowable  violence of these assumptions.

Samanthas ethics

Suffering is a way of knowing that you, as a body, have come out on the wrong side of an ethical dilemma. This idea of an embodied ethic understood through suffering has been developed on the basis of the work of the famous philosopher Spinoza and is of particular use for legal thinkers. It is useful as it allows us to judge rightness by virtue of the real and personal experience of the body itself, rather than judging by virtue of what we think is right in connection with what we assume to be true about their identity.

This helps us with Samanthas case, since it tells us that in accordance with human desire, it is clear she would not have wanted what she got. The contact Samantha received was distinctly human in the sense that this case mirrors some of the most violent sexual offences cases. While human concepts such as law and ethics are flawed, we know we dont want to make others suffer. We are making these robot lovers in our image and we ought not pick and choose whether to be kind to our sexual partners, even when we choose to have relationships outside of the norm, or with beings that have a supposedly limited consciousness, or even no (humanly detectable) consciousness.

Samanthas rights

Machines are indeed what we make them . This means we have an opportunity to avoid assumptions and prejudices brought about by the way we project human feelings and desires. But does this ethically entail that robots should be able to consent to or refuse sex, as human beings would?

The innovative philosophers and scientists Frank and Nyholm have found many legal reasons for answering both yes and no (a robots lack of human consciousness and legal personhood, and the harm principle, for example). Again, we find ourselves seeking to apply a very human law. But feelings of suffering outside of relationships, or identities accepted as the norm, are often illegitimised by law
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Do you have a photo, a short story or just a word or two about someone or something that made your day? Send your good news about any topic to news@thesunchronicle.com or The Sun Chronicles newsroom at P.O. Box 600, Attleboro, MA 02703. Be sure to include your name, town and contact information, and write The Bright Spot in the subject line or on the envelope.
Nine persons were killed and 150 injured in clashes across the Gaza border in southern Israel over the weekend. Gazans set thousands of tires afire on Friday and Saturday, resulting in a thick black smoke engulfing the region. An estimated 20,000 Gazans took part in the violent protest, which Gaza organizers dubbed the March of the Return. IDF officials stress they will not permit any damage or compromise to the area security infrastructure.

Israeli firefighting apparatus were used in an effort to contain the thick black smoke that bellowed from the burning tires. The IDF Spokesmans Office added the burning of the tires did not have the effect sought by terrorists, and the Gazans on the other side of the fence were impacted primarily.

Gaza Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar warned Gaza is ready to explode in the face of the occupation. He spoke about breaking through the border fence and praying at al-Aqsa.

There are calls for an international investigation amid the death of Gazan correspondent Yasser Murtaja, who Gazans claim was shot dead by Israel while filming the cross-border violence. Israel denies intentionally targeting the well-known journalist, while admitting using live ammunition in several cases when attempts to breach the border fence were detected. Hamas claims Israel used the black smoke for cover, to eliminate Murtaja. Hamas accused Israel of violating the 2015 UN Security Council Resolution 2222, addressing the protection of journalists, demanding a probe into his death. Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh was among the Hamas dignitaries who participated in Murtajas funeral in Gaza.

Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman on motzei Shabbos, commented while attending Mimouna festivities in Ashdod. He stated we have seen Hamas use ambulances many times and has had terrorists dressed as journalists, stating We wont take any chances. The IDF is the most moral army in the world and we are ready for 200 additional protests.

Lieberman added, I dont know if he is a journalist or not but anyone operating drones over IDF troops should understand he endangers himself. There have been cases in which terrorists were disguised as journalists.

The senior minister also spoke of the worlds hypocrisy, citing Hamas sends its fighters to the border fence and the world views this as a civilian parade while in Syria over the weekend, President al-Assad massacred 48 civilians including six women and eight children.

For the most part, Israel responded to the mass violence with rubber-coated bullets, teargas and water cannons.

In the interim, the United States for a second consecutive week blocked a UN Security Council statement supporting the rights of the Palestinians to protest peacefully and backing a call by Secretary-General Guterres for an independent probe into clashes along the Gaza fence.

Bchasdei Hashem, there are no reports of injuries to IDF forces.

(YWN Israel Desk  Jerusalem)
Posh maternity and babywear brand Jojo Maman Bebe has defied the gloom on the High Street and boosted sales by more than 20 per cent.

The London-based retailer, which counts Kate Middleton among its customers, increased revenue by 9.7million to 57.5million in the year to June 30.

Profit was up 6.8 per cent to more than 3.9million despite the firm shouldering the cost of opening eight stores. Web sales were the fastest-growing feature, rising 39.8 per cent, or 5.2million, to 18.2million.

Booming: Jojo Maman Bebe was set up as a mail order firm by founder Laura Tenison in 1993

Improving turnover has left Jojo with a healthy bank balance, with cash tripling to 6.7million. Set up as a mail order firm by founder Laura Tenison in 1993, it has grown to 90 stores in the past 25 years, selling its goods in 50 countries.

She dreamed up the idea for the shop following a serious car accident in France.

Tenison, who has two children, chatted to a young mother in hospital with her and decided to start selling childrens clothes via mail order.

The retailer is preparing to launch the first of four stores across the east coast of the US, with the first one due to open in the next fortnight.
American Airlines has cancelled a major deal with Airbus for 22 A350s, announcing it has instead purchased 47 787 Dreamliners from rivals Boeing in a deal valued at $12 billion.

The airline said it had also reached an agreement with Airbus to 'terminate its order' in an effort to 'simplify its fleet'.

But the announcement marks the end of a hard-fought contest between the two firms over who was to take on the significant order.

The sudden shift is a blow to France-based Airbus - who previously supplied American Airlines with nearly three dozen A350s.

Heated contest: American Airlines ordered 47 Boeing 787 Dreamliners and cancelled an order of 22 Airbus A350s. Pictured: An American Airlines Boeing 777

'This was a difficult decision between the Boeing 787 and the Airbus A350 and A330neo and we thank both manufacturers for their aggressive efforts to earn more of American's business,' said American Airlines president Robert Isom.

'In the end, our goal to simplify our fleet made the 787 a more compelling choice.'

The order comprises 22 787-8s scheduled to begin arriving in 2020 and 25 787-9s scheduled to begin arriving in 2023.

They will gradually replace Boeing 767s and 777s along with European Airbus A330s, American said Friday.

The sale brings American Airlines' total number of 787s to 89 aircraft. Though the total value is $12billion at list price, the final price paid by airlines is generally lower.

American Airlines said: 'As part of the strategy to simplify its fleet, American agreed with Airbus today to terminate its order for 22 A350s, which was originally placed by US Airways,' which it bought in 2013.

American Airlines has cancelled a major deal with Airbus for 22 A350s. Pictured: And Airbus SE A350 XWB jet

President Robert Isom (pictured left) said it had been a 'difficult decision' while Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Derek Kerr (pictured right) added there were benefits to having 'common fleet types'

Chief financial officer Derek Kerr added advantages of carrying common fleet types included 'creating less friction in our operation when aircraft swaps are necessary, reducing inventory needs, and creating a more consistent service for customers and team members.'

American Airlines also said it had deferred delivery of 40 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft previously scheduled to arrive between 2020 and 2022. The carrier said the revised schedule 'will better align with planned retirements of other narrowbody aircraft.'

The order for US manufacturer Boeing comes in the wake of protectionist trade measures by President Donald Trump, who champions buying from US manufacturers.

'We are extremely honored that American Airlines is deepening its commitment to the 787 Dreamliner,' said Boeing Commercial Airplanes president Kevin McAllister in a statement. Boeing says it has more than 1,350 orders registered for the 787.

Meanwhile, Airbus announced earlier Friday it recorded 45 net orders during the first three months of 2018, and delivered 121 aircraft. The company said its overall backlog of jetliners to be delivered stood at 7,189 as of March 31.
MBABANE  Is it not to be expected that the ACC Deputy Commissioner should take over as commissioner now that Advocate Thanda Mngwengwe has vacated office?

The Deputy Commissioner is Ndiphethe Mabila.



Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Senator Edgar Hillary had to explain after concerned citizens wondered what was special about that Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) as this is what happened in other departments.

Since the expiry of Advocate Mngwengwes contract, the ACC has no leader and the position has been advertised in local media.

According to the minister, it was not easy to just make him the acting commissioner as the two positions were occupied by political appointees.

Its hard to just shift him as they are political appointees.



The Prevention of Corruption Act, 2006 states that the commissioner and deputy commissioners are appointed by the King on the advice of the Judicial Service Commission.

Once appointed, the officials hold office for a period not exceeding five years and may be re-appointed for a single term, on such terms and conditions as may be determined.

Meanwhile, it has also been revealed that Advocate Mngwengwe will still get his E1 122 allowance daily from government.

The advocate, with his two assistants, are said to be drawing about E100 080 monthly.



The two officers are referred to as his assistants.

This deal, which paved the way for the establishment of the ACC, was struck by the two governments on December 12, 2004.

It was signed when the kingdom entered into a cooperation agreement with South Africa.

This was after the need to enhance collaboration in the fields of law enforcement, legislation drafting, personnel training and technical assistance and advancement of human rights was realised.

With this agreement, Advocate Mngwengwe with other prosecutors was recommended to investigate criminal cases that needed expertise.

It is on this basis that the former graft boss will continue to draw money from government as he continues to head the task team. This money afforded the South African advocate, according to the MoU, is governments responsibility for costs such as travel and accommodation for his secondment to the country.
LOBAMBA  International judges want Senate to pass the Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Bill with immediate effect.



The judges, through their organisation, International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), have reminded the country to live up to its promise of enacting the Bill as early as 2016 through undertakings it made during the 2016 Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of the country.



The ICJ further stated that they respectfully recommend that the Senate of Swaziland urgently pass, and send to the King for his Royal Assent, the Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Bill.

This was communicated in a letter dated 20 March, 2018 drafted by Arnold Tsunga (ICJ Africa Regional Director).

The letter titled Regional and international obligations and commitments of the Kingdom of Swaziland reinforcing the need for urgent enactment of the Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Bill 2015 was directed to Senate President, Ngomuyayona Gamedze.



The ICJ, which is a global organisation, composed of some 60 eminent judges and lawyers from all regions of the world, said: Cognizant of the Senates consideration of the Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Bill 2015, the briefing recommends that the Senate urgently passes the Bill.



The judges further stated that the enactment of the Bill was required of the country under its regional and international human rights law obligations to criminalise and sanction the perpetrators of sexual and gender based violence.

The jurists further noted that compliance with those obligations was reinforced by His Majestys Vision 2022, the aims of the Deputy Prime Ministers Office and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.



The ICJ recalls the Vision 2022 for First World status of His Majesty King Mswati III. Informed by the Swaziland Development Index, the government has identified a shared definition of First World status as one where all citizens are able to sustainably pursue their life goals, and enjoy lives of value and dignity in a safe and secure environment.

According to the letter, to implement the monarchs vision, the DPMs Office indicated that it aimed to reduce the percentage of women that experience violence from 79 per cent to 30 per cent by 2022.

Further, the DPMs Office noted that the percentage of children who experience violence would be reduced from 59 per cent to 20 per cent.
MBABANE  The country yesterday woke up to shocking news on the passing on of Inkhosikati Senteni LaMasango.



The Inkhosikati, who was the seventh wife of His Majesty King Mswati III, is said to have died in the early hours of yesterday while at her royal residence.

Acting Ludzidzini Governor Lusendvo Fakudze confirmed the sad news in a brief interview with this publication.



Yes, it is true that Inkhosikati has passed away. There will be a vigil tomorrow (today) and she will be laid to rest on Sunday (tomorrow), he said.

The Indvuna mentioned that those who wished to comfort the Masango family could do so freely.

Later, Fakudze made a public announcement on national radio, the Swaziland Broadcasting and Informati

on Services (SBIS), informing the nation of the sad passing away within the royal family.

In the detailed announcement, Fakudze explained that the vigil would be held at Ludzidzini Royal Residence. She will then be laid to rest on Sunday as per the dictates of the Dlamini family custom, Fakudze added.

The Dlaminis are usually laid to rest in the early hours in a special enclosure on a mountain top.



Verbatim, Fakudze announced: Nine bekunene kwatisa bantfwabenkosi nebakaMasango ekhabo nina kutsi Inkhosikati LaMasango ayisekho emhlabeni. Umsebenti wayo utawuba eLudzidzini. NgeMgcibelo kutoba nemlindzelo bese ifihlwa ngeliSontfo ngelisiko leMalangeni. Ngalesimemetelo kwatiswa sonkhe sive.



When the publication visited the royal residence yesterday, preparations for the funeral were already underway.

Those found at the residence spoke about the death in hushed tones while others were still reeling in shock.

Some members of the regiments who were to attend ummemo in South Africa had to cancel their trip. One member was overheard saying, Yonkhe imisebenti yelive imisiwe ngoba live limnyama.

This is loosely translated: All national duties have been halted because the country has been engulfed by a dark cloud.
MBABANE  It all started with the three little words  I love you- but it ended attracting respected and renowned people in former statesman, former Zambian President Rupiah Banda, and Prince Lonkhokhela.



The two respected figures might have not thought that they would meet one day, but yesterday they did when they witnessed the kucela ceremony (asking for hand in marriage) of Princes Simile  a daughter of Prince Lonkhokhela - by his fiancee Darlington Mwape.

For the hand of the princess, Mwape paid a herd of 30 cattle.



The colourful event took place at the princes homestead in Mbabane next to Sifundzani High School yesterday. Those in the know have it that the story began in 2017 during the popular Umhlanga Reed Dance annual ceremony.

It is said Mwape chose to visit the country for the first time and coincidentally it was that time of Umhlanga, which attracts and is attended by thousands of local and foreign people.



On the other hand, for Princess Simile, she was attending her 25th Reed Dance not knowing what could come her way on that particular day.



The night before the dance, we were introduced by a mutual friend and the meeting seemed innocent enough. On the next day, among hundreds of thousands of maidens who were dancing, Mwape had eyes for the princess.



He was convicted in the fact that he had found a wife and made his intentions very clear. He consistently exhibited virtues of patience, kindness and selflessness, reads a written brief, which was distributed at the event, on their relationship.
MBABANE  Former South Africa President Jacob Zuma might have been a darling to Swaziland in many ways, but the same cannot be said of his successor - Cyril Ramaphosa - who, through his the African National Congress (ANC), has adopted a tough stance on Swaziland.



While former president Jacob Zuma was president of the ANC, resolutions regarding the reform of the countrys political landscape were taken, but none of them were implemented.

Now, with Ramaphosa at the helm, the ANC wants to intensify its efforts which are concentrated on seeing a regime change in the country.



The ANC took this decision during its 54th National Conference held in December 2017 at Nasrec, Johannesburg, according to the report.

The conference discussed that the people of Swaziland still suffer gross human rights violations as well as reflecting on the status of political activity of the Peoples United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO), Swaziland Youth Congress (SWAYOCO) and Swaziland Solidarity Network (SSN) that remain proscribed.



The conference also decided that ANC should find mechanisms to open up talks between the people of Swaziland and their government.

Accordingly, the conference also resolved that the resolution of the 53rd ANC Mangaung conference on Swaziland be implemented. Those resolutions include that the ANC calls for the release of all political prisoners, including South Africans incarcerated in Swaziland, such as Amos Mbedzi.
[April 06, 2018] Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP Announces the Filing of a Securities Class Action on Behalf of Advance Auto Parts, Inc. Investors (AAP)

Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP ("GPM") announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed on behalf of investors that purchased or otherwise acquired securities of Advance Auto Parts, Inc. ("Advance Auto Parts" or the "Company") (NYSE: AAP) between November 14, 2016 and August 15, 2017, inclusive (the "Class Period"). Advance Auto investors have until April 9, 2018 to file a lead plaintiff motion. To obtain information or actively participate in the class action, please visit the Advance Auto Parts page on our website at www.glancylaw.com/case/advance-auto-parts-inc. Investors that suffered losses on their Advance Auto Parts investments are encouraged to contact Lesley Portnoy of GPM to discuss their legal rights in this class action at 310-201-9150 or by email to shareholders@glancylaw.com.



On May 24, 2017, Advance Auto Parts reported financial and operating results for the first fiscal quarter of 2017, including a quarterly sales decline of 3.0%. Advance Auto also reported a quarterly decline in gross profit, "primarily driven by investments in the customer, inventory optimization efforts and supply chain expense deleverage due to the comparable store sales decline." On this news, the Company's share price fell $7.64, or approximately 5.4%, to close at $133.02 on May 24, 2017.

Then, on August 15, 2017, Advance Auto Parts reported its financial and operational results for the second quarter of 2017, disclosing to investors that "[c]omparable store sales for the quarter were flat." On this news, the Company's share price fell an additional $22.24, or more than 20.3%, to close at $87.08 on August 15, 2017, thereby injuring investors. Follow us for updates on Twitter (News - Alert) : twitter.com/GPM_LLP. If you purchased shares of Advance Auto during the Class Period you may move the Court no later than April 9, 2018 to ask the Court to appoint you as lead plaintiff. To be a member of the Class you need not take any action at this time; you may retain counsel of your choice or take no action and remain an absent member of the Class. If you wish to learn more about this action, or if you have any questions concerning this announcement or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact Lesley Portnoy, Esquire, of GPM, 1925 Century Park East, Suite 2100, Los Angeles California 90067 at 310-201-9150, Toll-Free at 888-773-9224, by email to shareholders@glancylaw.com, or visit our website at www.glancylaw.com. If you inquire by email please include your mailing address, telephone number and number of shares purchased. This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180406005814/en/

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[April 07, 2018] The former chief architect of Microsoft Corp. joins the Light and the Chief scientist is optimistic about the development of Light

BEIJING, April 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- On April 3rd (Beijing time), the Light with the world's first double-chain officially announced that Leo Chen, a chief architect and a former chief scientist of the Microsoft Research Group of Asian Institutes; Li Huahong, a former senior architect from 360; Li Kun, a former senior architect from Microsoft Corp. have joined the Light as the core technological talents in the LightChain. Leo Chen and Li Kun from the "Microsoft Research Institute of Asia", the first dean of which was Li Kaifu, a famous Chinese scholar, was called "half the country's scientific and technological circle" by the industry insiders. Li Huahong, from Qihoo 360 ---- one of China's leading Internet security companies, advocated providing high-quality free security services for Chinese Internet users, which broke the monopoly of foreign security technologies at one stroke, truly freed China's ordinary Internet users from threats and achieved free and secure web surfing environments. These three big architects have led the development of a number of world-renowned large-scale data storage and processing systems. As the key science and technology forces in the industry, they are not only technologicallyexperienced in JAVA, C++, irreversible algorithms, asymmetric encryption algorithms, Merkle trees, CAP theory and others, but also in project development and management.



As we all know, talents are extremely scarce and highly sought-after for the rapidly developing BlockChain. The three big architects joined Light, which inflects the uniqueness of LightChain projects itself and thus is great of potential and significance for development. Just as Leo Chen, the Chief Architect said when joining the Light: "The LightChain is an exciting project. In my opinion, its first double-chain technology is not only a great creation but also a breakthrough development of BlockChain technology, which fills the gap between the real world and the parallel world and makes it possible for large-scale application of LightChain."

It is known that the LightChain is different from all the BlockChain technologies on the market, and the Light pioneers the double-chain technology composed of parent chain and child chain. This pioneering technology is created by a research and development group made up of more than 40 BlockChain experts and engineers through 3-year intensive research and hard works and is of epoch-making significance. It gives a revolutionary solution in view of the weakness of the existing BlockChain technologies and also gives a solid technical foundation to the large-scale application of BlockChain Technologies in realistic scenarios. The LightChain does not only reserve the core decentralized characteristics of the BlockChain, but also further improves the transaction speed and guarantees security, which accordingly makes it greatly possible for the pilot application of LightChain in finance, insurance and other industries. It can thus be seen that the emergence of optical chains is expected to create a "value Internet" and promotes the entire economic system to achieve technological change, organizational change and efficiency change. View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-former-chief-architect-of-microsoft-corp-joins-the-light-and-the-chief-scientist-is-optimistic-about-the-development-of-light-300625952.html SOURCE LightChain Corporation

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[April 07, 2018] Honor World Carnival is Coming to Thailand

BANGKOK, April 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Honor, a leading smartphone e-brand, today announced its biggest sales event of the year, Honor World Carnival, will start this week to celebrate its overwhelming success in overseas markets during Q1 2018. According to sales figures as of March 25, Honor's sales outside of China almost doubled in the first quarter of 2018. To thank fans for their support, Honor World Carnival will offer an unmatched US$270 million in cumulative savings to consumers. The discounts will be available across tens of Honor's global markets including Thailand, the strategic market in South East Asia for Honor. "We want to thank our fans and consumers all around the world for helping us to succeed as a leading e-brand. We are offering unparalleled deals this year for Honor World Carnival," said Mr. George Zhao, President of Honor. "Honor World Carnival is part of our longstanding dedication to providing unrivaled products at unbeatable prices. We look forward to surprising, impressing and fulfilling the Thailand market. With our unique brand spirit, Honor will inspire Thailand's young consumers and grow continuously with them." In Thailand, Honor World Carnival promotions will start at 11am on April 10 on LAZADA (for Honor 7X) and Shopee (for Honor 9 Lite) respectively. The promotion details are as below:







Plateform Date Start Time Product on promotion Promotion details LAZADA April 10 11am Honor 7X The first 200 customers will get 500 THB cash back for the next purchase on LAZADA Shopee April 10 11am Honor 9 Lite The first 200 customers will get a 200 THB voucher and 200 coins in Shopee platform

As a leading e-brand created for digital natives, Honor values its community of fans and is always interested in co-creating experiences with them. To offer the best brand experience in a fun, cool and trendy manner, Honor invites its fans and first group of users to join an event on 8 April, remarking the second offline fan gathering in Thailand. At the event, fans will receive a first-hand experience of Honor's latest smartphones and a deep understanding of Honor's innovative technology through interactive games, helping to bring Honor closer to the fan community. With a unique Internet-powered business model, unrivaled product, and unbeatable value, Honor has taken its successful business model from China to the global market. As Mr. George Zhao, President of Honor, announced in a launch event in London last December, Honor aims to become a top-five smartphone brand by 2020. Since then, Honor has continued building up its young, innovative, and trend-setting brand image in the Europe and US markets -- the brand received ten "Best of CES" awards in the US in January and collaborated with fashion brand KOCHE at Paris Fashion Week in February. During this year's first quarter, Honor has made major progress across Asia, where its massive consumer base represents significant growth potential. In Myanmar, Honor opened its first overseas experience store in January, integrating product experience together with lifestyle trends for a young generation. In Indonesia, Honor set up a local manufacturing line in March, demonstrating its commitment to Indonesian users and the local business environment. In Thailand, Honor signed agreements with over 3,000 stores across the nation, ensuring that Honor fans could purchase devices conveniently at the sales channel of their choice. According to Sino Market Research, an independent market research firm, Honor surpassed all industry players in China, from January to December, in terms of sales volume and revenue, with shipment volume at almost 55 million, and sales revenue at CNY79 billion (over US$12 billion). Honor World Carnival was first established in 2014 as a sales event to recognize its global fan base and consumers. This year marks the event's fifth consecutive year, and the company has more to celebrate than ever, following a spectacular year. Honor World Carnival will offer unprecedented prices, making it the prime time to purchase the brand's award-winning devices, with deals to be found for almost all Honor products, such as the Honor 6A, Honor 6C, Honor 6X, Honor 7X, Honor 8 Lite, Honor 9, Honor 9 Lite, Honor View10, and more. About Honor Honor is a leading smartphone e-brand under the Huawei Group. In line with its slogan, "For the Brave", the brand was created to meet the needs of digital natives through internet-optimized products that offer superior user experiences, inspire action, foster creativity and empower the young to achieve their dreams. In doing this, Honor has set itself apart by showcasing its own bravery to do things differently and to take the steps needed to usher in the latest technologies and innovations for its customers. For more information, please visit Honor online at www.hihonor.com or follow us on: https://www.facebook.com/honorglobal/

https://twitter.com/Honorglobal

https://www.instagram.com/honorglobal/

https://www.youtube.com/honorglobal Photo - https://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20180406/2098402-1-a

Photo - https://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20180406/2098402-1-b SOURCE Honor

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The co-owner of Schlitterbahn waterpark, who is facing murder charges in the 2016 decapitation death of a young boy on a massive water slide, is accused of threatening a woman in his Texas hometown. New Braunfels police confirm to KCTV5 News that they were called to a property owned by the family of Jeff Henry hours after he left a Wyandotte County courtroom.
KANSAS CITY, Kan. - Two recent shootings in the metro are raising questions about whether deadly force was necessary. Police have not said yet if the shootings fall under the Stand Your Ground law. Kansas and Missouri have the law in place, Missouri recently enacting it in 2017.
Urban Core Kansas City Self-Defense

Police: Man says he fatally shot intruder at vacant building Kansas City police are questioning a man who says he fatally shot an intruder early Friday at a vacant apartment building he was renovating on East Linwood Boul...

Local Witness Intimidation Alleged

Woman charged with witness tampering in connection with son's case A Kansas City woman has been charged after allegedly contacting potential witnesses or victims and attempting to persuade them to not press charges in a pending criminal case. Sabrina A. Hill, 37, faces a single count of tampering with a witness in a felony prosecution.

Retail Danger At Embattled Mall

Man charged for secretly taping teen, woman at Oak Park Mall Forever 21 OLATHE, Kan. - A Joplin, Missouri, man is facing charges for breaching the privacy of two people at an Oak Park Mall store. Anthony DeLapp, 33, allegedly used a camera to secretly take pictures of two people at the Forever 21 store at the mall. The incidents are alleged to have occurred on Oct.

Confronting Hard Time After Rape Verdict

Jackson County jury recommends 18-year prison sentence after rape conviction A Jackson County jury has recommended that a Kansas City man convicted of raping a woman be sentenced to 18 years in prison. Justin Fields, 28, was convicted earlier this week of forcible rape and forcible sodomy. Prosecutors said the assault happened at the victim's home in June 2013.

Here's anand a look at the local crime scene that's just a bit scarier . . .Developing . . .
Overtaxation is one of the most critical problem of Greeces tourist industry

Greek Customs authorities may have had a remarkably fruitful year in 2017 as regards inspections on tobacco products  confiscating 154 million contraband cigarettes and imposing taxes and fines of 581 million euros  but they also excelled in original catches, which included the confiscation of crocodiles, eels, sturgeon eggs, underwear and cutlery.

According to statistics concerning last year published by the Independent Authority for Public Revenue, customs officials confiscated a number of unusual commodities during their inspections, including 400 kilos of European eels at the storage facilities of a European company at Koropi, eastern Attica, while the customs office at Athens International Airport (AIA) netted another 160 kilos of the same species.

Customs officers on Rhodes island confiscated five caimans, which came from the Netherlands in a wooden container, while the Kipoi office at Evros intercepted 25 kilos of sturgeon eggs on their way to Turkey.

Authorities also discovered 580 diamonds and 58 items of precious jewelry that a passenger had smuggled out of Turkey, while the Kakavia customs office found a handwritten 18th or 19th century Quran that violated the law on antiquities protection in the luggage of an Albanian citizen.

In other remarkable finds, the Third Customs Office in Piraeus landed 119,520 pieces of cutlery and 109,200 items of smuggled underwear. The AIA office also found 54,300 banned steroid tablets, while the Thessaloniki office confiscated no fewer than 573,820 toys.

The rise in special consumption taxes has led to coffee smuggling too: The Serres customs office confiscated 2.31 tons of java last year. In more traditional finds, the Kipoi office found 37 bullets and of one bullet magazine, customs officials at Kakavia intercepted 1.15 tons of cannabis in a truck traveling from Albania to Greece, the Kyllini office confiscated 61,000 liters of wine and the Second Office of Piraeus relieved travelers of 8,490 liters of raki and 13,440 liters of wine.

Regarding undeclared cash, customs authorities confiscated 8.2 million euros and imposed fines of 2.1 million euros.

Read more here.

RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report

Source: ekathimerini.com
The U.S. Embassy in Armenia commented on the regular accusations by pro-Azerbaijani experts of creating a bacteriological weapon.

April 7, 2018, 09:47 US Embassy in Armenia says reports on bacteriological weapon are debunked rumors

STEPANAKERT, APRIL 7, ARTSAKHPRESS:Azerbaijani media has recently published an interview by senior expert of the American-Azerbaijan Progress Support Fund Alexey Sinitsin where he accuses the US of creating a network of laboratories on the territory of Armenia and hints at their potential danger.

NEWS.am addressed the U.S. Embassy in Yerevan with a request to comment on the statement, not the first in its kind.

The labs in question were renovated with funds from the United States but are fully staffed and operated by Armenian government experts from the Ministries of Health and Agriculture. Armenian scientists, researchers, and experts work in these fully modernized labs to track, monitor, and evaluate the threats of diseases and pathogens that could damage Armenias agricultural sector or harm the Armenian people. The labs were not only completely modernized with the latest equipment, but were also built to withstand Armenias seismic activity. Though more costly to build earthquake-resistant buildings, these new labs offer more protection to the people of Armenia than Armenias pre-existing labs which were not earthquake-resistant.

Media covered the official openings of the labs, and the labs remain open to journalists to this day. As we have no role in running the facilities, we refer you to the Armenian government for more information and encourage you to tour the facilities yourself, to see the quality of the equipment and buildings and to talk to the Armenian scientists working there. This will give you an accurate picture of how these labs are helping Armenians, rather than relying on consistently debunked rumors circulated by so-called experts, the statement by the embassy reads.
editorial@tribune.com

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 7

A Kharar youth was allegedly thrashed by four miscreants who robbed his Activa scooter, two mobile phones and Rs 3,000.

The victim, Sameer, was on his way to Sector 43 from Kharar at around 2.30 am on Saturday when he was stopped by four masked men on two motorcycles in Maloya, Sector 39.

The four allegedly thrashed Sameer and robbed him of his two mobile phones, Rs 3,000 in cash and the Activa scooter he was riding.

The miscreants fled the spot after the incident, following which Sameer called the police using the phone of a passerby. The police have registered a case against the four unknown persons under Section 392 and 34 of the IPC.

The police said Sameer informed them that the two motorcycles used in the crime were black; one of them being a Splendor.
vinaymishra188@gmail.com

Panchkula: Finally, the Panchkula Municipal Corporation has started demolishing unsafe bus queue shelters in the city. Panchkula MC Commissioner Rajesh Jogpal said they started the work on Thursday and two structures were demolished. Sources said there were around six to eight structures, which were declared unsafe. Recently, the MC House had given approval to construct new structures in place of the unsafe ones. There are 54 shelters in Panchkula, a majority of which have leaking roofs. Earlier, these bus queue shelters in Panchkula were under the control of the Haryana Urban Development Authority, but in 2008, these were transferred to the civic body. TNS

Pistol, cartridges recovered

Kharar: The CIA staff, Kharar, recovered a 30-bore pistol and two live cartridges after information in this regard was provided by Bahadur Khan, an active member of the notorious Sukha Kahalwan gang. He was arrested by the police on April 3 and was remanded in police custody by a local court till Thursday.He, along with his accomplices, had committed a robbery at a liquor vend near the Kharar grain market last year. Following the expiry of his police remand, he was produced before a local court, which extended his remand till Friday. OC

Man killed in mishap

Mohali: A 41-year-old Punjab Khadi Board employee died after he was hit by a tractor-trailer in Nayagaon on Thursday morning. According to the police, the deceased has been identified as Mohan Singh, a Nayagaon resident. Sources said the incident occurred near a water tank in his locality around 8.30 am when the victim had gone to run some errands on his Activa scooter. The Police said that the victim was about to get on his scooter after purchasing something, when a speeding tractor-trailer hit him. He was rushed to the Civil Hospital in Kharar, where he was declared brought dead. The police have arrested the tractor-trailer driver, Akshay Kumar, a native of Paraul village. Mohan Singh is survived by wife and two sons. TNS

One nabbed with 20 injections

Mohali:The Mohali police arrested a man with 20 injections, including 10 of buprenorphine, at Jujhar Nagar here on Wednesday late night. According to police sources, the accused has been identified as Rohit Gupta, a resident of Sunny Enclave, Kharar. The accused was apprehended at a naka in Jujhar Nagar. The investigating officer said the accused was produced in a court, which sent him to judicial custody. A case has been registered against the accused under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act at the Balongi police station. TNS

36 tipper drivers penalised

Ropar: After a crackdown on overloading of tippers with sand and gravel, the transporters are in tight spot in the district. Since Wednesday, the district authorities have issued challans to 36 tipper drivers. The authorities said a penalty of Rs 7,000 have been imposed on a majority of offenders. It was on Tuesday when Ropar Deputy Commissioner Gurneet Tej directed the officials concerned to set up barricades for to nab such offenders near Ghanauli following which a large number of drivers abandoned their vehicles. The enforcement agencies, including the traffic police and Excise Department officials, however, remained stationed at the naka following which ultimately the offenders were issued challans. TNS

Two caught with heroin

Mohali: The Special Task Force (STF) of Mohali on Thursday arrested two youths with 150 grams of heroin. A team of the STF sleuths nabbed Sandeep Kumar and Ravi Kumar, a native of Jakhal, Fathehabad. The accused were stopped at a naka in Phase VIII, Mohali, when they were travelling in a Datsun car. According to police, the duo used to procure heroin from a Nigerian in Delhi and supplied it to youths in Patiala, Chandigarh and Mohali. The police said the accused, Sandeep Kumar, was sentenced to 10-year imprisonment in an NDPS case and he was out on bail. Two cases of drug peddling had previously been registered against him. The police said Sandeeps mother had earlier been booked for possessing 45 grams of heroin in Sangrur. A case has been registered against the accused under Sections 18, 21/61/85 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. TNS
editorial@tribune.com

Tribune News Service

Panchkula, April 7

A special court of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) at Panchkula issued summons to 13 Pakistan nationals in Samjhauta blasts case on Saturday. The blasts on Samjhuata train took place on February 18, 2007, in which 68 people were killed. Most victims were Pakistanis.

The summons to Pakistani witnesses have been issued for August 3 and 4. The summons will be sent through the Pakistani embassy. Earlier too, summons were sent but there was no response, said Manbir Singh Rathi, counsel for Aseemanand, one of accused in the case.

These 13 Pakistani nationals were either travelling on the train or were the kin of those who died in the blasts. Some of them had received bodies of their relatives. Four to five witnesses are important for the case, said Rajan Malhotra, counsel for the NIA.

According to the NIA chargesheet, the train was targeted as Pakistani Muslims used to travel by it.

Meanwhile, an investigating officer was examined, who had procured CDs containing confession of Rajinder Chaudhary, another accused in the case.
editorial@tribune.com

Tribune News Service

Mohali, April 7

In the Aikom murder case, the statements of nodal officers of telecom companies, including Airtel and BSNL, were recorded on Saturday.

The nodal officers produced the details of calls allegedly made by Seerat, Aikoms wife and the prime accused in the case, to her family and other acquaintances around the time of the crime.

During the proceedings, the statement of an official, pertaining to sale of certain properties, was also recorded.

The court had earlier allowed an application moved by the defence to procure certain documents of alleged property disputes between Aikom Singh and his father Jaspal Singh and brother Darshan Singh.

The court questioned the police about the whereabouts of Tul Bahadur, a key witness in the case, who is reportedly absconding and has gone to his native place in Nepal. The court asked the police to produce him at the next hearing, so that his statement could be recorded.

The court also deferred the cross-examination of Aikoms father, Jaspal Singh Dhillon.

The next date of hearing has been scheduled for April 18.

Aikoms body was found stuffed in a suitcase in a BMW car near his rented house in Phase IIIB1 on March 19, 2017. The Aikoms wife had sought Tul Bahadurs assistance for loading the suitcase in the boot of the car. Bahadur had noticed blood oozing out of the suitcase and informed a PCR about the same.

Whereabouts of key witness questioned

The court questioned the police about the whereabouts of Tul Bahadur, a key witness in the case, who is reportedly absconding and has gone to his native place in Nepal. The court asked the police to produce him at the next hearing, so that his statement could be recorded.
monicakchauhan@gmail.com

Washington, April 7

The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said it has reached the Congressionally-mandated 65,000 H-1B visa cap for fiscal year 2019 and would conduct a lottery to decide successful applicants for the work visa popular among Indian IT professionals.

The fiscal year begins October 1, 2018.

The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. The technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China.

The USCIS has also received a sufficient number of H-1B petitions to meet the 20,000 visa cap for advanced degree exemption, known as the master's cap, a statement said.

The statement did not mention the exact number of H-1B petitions it received since April 2, when it started accepting applications for the popular work visas for highly skilled Indian professionals.

"We will not have exact petition receipt numbers for a few weeks. However, the USCIS will be conducting a lottery as we have done in past years," Arwen FitzGerald, the USCIS spokesperson, told PTI.

"The agency will reject and return filing fees for all unselected cap-subject petitions that are not prohibited multiple filings," the USCIS said.

The agency said that it would continue to accept and process petitions that are otherwise exempt from the cap petitions filed for current H-1B workers who have been counted previously against the cap, and who still retain their cap number, will also not be counted toward the FY 2019 H-1B cap.

USCIS will continue to accept and process petitions filed to extend the amount of time a current H-1B worker may remain in the United States; change the terms of employment for current H-1B workers; allow current H-1B workers to change employers; and allow current H-1B workers to work concurrently in a second H-1B position. PTI
Ready to make any sacrifice but will stick to principles, says Navjot Sidhu

Posts a video on Twitter a day after resigning as PPCC chief
editorial@tribune.com

Dinesh Kanwar

Hamirpur, April 7

M Venkaiah Naidu, Vice-President, inaugurated the 9th Indian Youth Science Congress at NIT, Hamirpur, on Saturday.

He said the dream of new India could only be visualised with effective implementation of new ideas.

He said forums like the science congress provided opportunities to young scientists to share knowledge and draw inspiration to come up with new ideas.

Appreciating efforts of the state government in the field of environment conservation and increasing green cover, Naidu said the people were hard working and urged them to keep the tradition going. Governor Acharya Devvrat said it was the need of the hour to develop scientific approach by upholding the traditional knowledge.

Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur said climate change was a serious threat to human existence and scientists should come forward to tackle this problem.

Union Health Minister JP Nadda said scientists should come forward with techniques on how to utilise human resources.

Former CM Prem Kumar Dhumal said over 60 per cent population fell under the age group of 35 years, which was an ideal age to discover and dream. Thus, the youth determined the future of the nation.

Scientist Prof MS Swaminathan, through a video call, said the young scientists should collectively work towards meeting the challenges posed by climate change.

Dr PL Gautam, Vice-Chancellor, Career Point University, said the theme of the science congress for this year was Role of Young Scientists in Developing New India.
editorial@tribune.com

Tribune News Service

Jammu, April 7

Various civil society groups on Saturday unanimously proposed to observe a complete shutdown and chakka jam on April 11 in support of their demands.

The three major demands of the organisations included withdrawal of the directions given at a meeting of the state Tribal Affairs Department, fair and independent CBI probe into the Rasana murder case and deportation of illegal immigrants, including Rohingya and Bangladeshi, from the Jammu region.

During a meeting at the J&K High Court Bar office, representatives of the groups held threadbare discussions and vowed to continue the agitation under the leadership of BS Slathia, Jammu J&K High Court Bar Association, chief, till their demands were accepted.

The members of Bar rejected the appeal made by the BJP to call off their strike. They also took a dig at the conspicuous silence of the BJP on the injustice and discrimination being done by the coalition government to Jammu people.

They said the circumstances being created and supported by Kashmir-centric politicians was a threat to the social fabric, brotherhood and harmony of society.

They accused the government of encouraging land grabbers by issuing communal directions in favour of a particular community to create a wedge between communities in Jammu.

In his address, Slathia assured the civil society groups that their proposal would be placed before the general house on April 9 for approval.

He also announced that work in all courts, tribunals, revenue courts and commissions would remain suspended on April 9.
editorial@tribune.com

Majid Jahangir

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, April 7

A hunt has been launched in the Hajin area of Bandipore district to zero in on Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) militants blamed by the police for beheading a man and killing another.

The killings have caused panic in the area.

Militants and the entire group behind these brutal killings have been identified and we are trying to nab them. The police, Army and CRPF are jointly conducting round-the-clock search operations in and around Hajin to find them, a senior security officer said.

Manzoor Ahmad Bhat, 25, along with his father Abdul Gaffar Bhat were abducted on Wednesday night by militants and his beheaded body was found from the outskirts of Hajin. Manzoors father had managed to escape, but was injured when militants opened fire at him. On Monday, militants barged into the house of Farooq Ahmad Parray and kidnapped his son-in-law Naseer Ahmad Sheikh. Naseers wife, mother-in-law and another member were injured when they resisted his kidnapping by militants. Naseers bullet-riddled body was recovered the next day.

Sheikh Zulfikar Azad, Senior Superintendent of Police, Bandipora, said Mohammad Saleem Parrey, a Lashkar militant from Hajin, was the mastermind behind the two killings.

We have also identified five foreign militants  Abu Muslim, Hubaib, Khalid, Abu Hamza and Haider  who are part of the module, the SSP said.

Azad said after the killing of Lashkars top brass in November, the outfit was trying to create fear among the locals.

The two youths killed by the militants were innocent and Lashkar is indulging in brutal killings to create fear among people, he said.

Lashkars many men, including two nephews of alleged mastermind of the Mumbai attacks Zakir Rehman Lakhvi, died last year in gunfights in Hajin.

Lashkar denies involvement

The Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) on Saturday denied its involvement in the beheading of a youth and attack on women in Hajin, terming the incidents as shameful and inhumane. In a statement, Lashkar spokesman Abdullah Ghaznawi quoted outfit chief Mahmood Shah: This nefarious act deserves more than mere condemnation. We have no involvement in this murder. People of Hajin have love and gratitude for jihad and mujahideen. The J&K Police have blamed the Lashkar for two Hajin killings.

Two incidents
editorial@tribune.com

Dinesh Manhotra

Tribune News Service

Jammu, April 7

Amid the demand for handing over the Kathua rape-murder case to the CBI, the ongoing probe into the incident got a new twist on Saturday when some political and social groups questioned the credentials of the Special Investigating Team (SIT) constituted by the Crime Branch of the J&K Police.

One of the members of the SIT had faced allegations of murder and rape in 2007 but was acquitted in 2011. People have questioned his role in the investigation into the case.

Not only opposition parties, but the ruling BJP has also questioned the involvement of a tainted officer in the investigation.

It is really a matter of concern that one of the members of the SIT investigating the Kathua case had faced allegations of murder of a boy and rape of a girl, BJP spokesperson Sunil Sethi told the media on Saturday morning.

Irfan Wani, the then in charge of the Karara police post, was arrested in 2007 for the murder of a boy and alleged rape of a girl during illegal custody, Sethi said, adding, How can person of such a character and antecedents be associated with the present investigation? It is likely to raise doubts on the fairness of the investigation.

In April 2007, the Prem Nagar and Thathri areas of Doda had witnessed protests after the death of a youth, Rishi Kumar, in police custody. The youths sister had levelled rape allegation on the then police post in charge, Irfan Wani. After protest by the people, a case of murder and rape was registered at that time.

Irfan Wani had faced trial in a murder case, but not in a rape case. He was acquitted in 2011, said Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Crime Branch, Ramesh Jalla, who is heading the Crime Branch team which is investigating the Kathua case. A five-member team is probing the case, the SSP said.

Social activist Supreme Court advocate Ankur Sharma said the investigation into the highly sensitive case was under cloud after an officer, who was part of the probe team, had faced similar charges. How can the police restore peoples faith when officers of such credentials are investigating the case? he asked.

The eight-year-old girl was found dead in the Rasana forest of the Hiranagar area of Kathua district on January 17, a week after she went missing.
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Mumbai, April 7

As Bollywood superstar Salman Khan spent his first (sleepless) night in a prison in Jodhpur, back home his friends, relatives and well-wishers continued to pour into his residence at Galaxy Apartments in Bandra here.

Salman's mother was not attending to guests. She had gone to sleep after hearing the numbing news about her son. But his father Salim Khan was there.

Shatrughan Sinha, a family friend and self-professed well-wisher of Salman, said: "My daughter Sonakshi (Sinha) reached Salman's home much earlier than me and spent a lot more time with the family. We are very close to the Khan family and have the highest regards for Salman and his parents.

"I spent a lot of time with Salim Saab on Thursday evening. It is always a pleasure to spend time with him. He is so well-informed. I call him Salim Pandit. The current crisis (Salman's imprisonment) has not made him lose his sense of humour at all. He was full of life and very optimistic about his son's release soon. We all are." Sinha thinks the court verdict has been harsh and that Salman has suffered enough in this case.

"With due respects to the legal process and to the honourable judge, I feel Salman has suffered enough in this case. What is his crime? And it's not just a five-year sentence that seems very harsh to me. It is actually twenty years since Salman has been in and out of Jodhpur courts and prison. Plus the five years that the Honourable Judge has awarded him now. So it's, in reality, a total of 25 years' sentence," he said.

Sinha also questions why only Salman is being punished and not others.

"There were others with Salman that night when he is alleged to have gone hunting in Jodhpur. He couldn't have gone alone. His friends must have been with him in the alleged crime. Why have they been let off without a sentence?

Although, he said he was happy for the other four actors.

"Saif (Ali Khan), Neelam, Sonali Bendre and Tabu, are all wonderful human beings. But so is Salman. He is one of the kindest most generous human beings I've seen. Always ready to help the needy... Why give him a prison cell when there's so much he can do from the outside? Give him community work as punishment. He will happily do it," Sinha said.

The actor-politician, however, refuses to sympathise with producers whose films may be stuck if Salman is imprisoned.

"They knew what they were getting into. They knew there was a serious court case hanging over him. They went into their projects with Salman with their eyes open.

"We can't say, 'Don't send him to prison because the under-production projects will suffer'. Every convict that goes to prison leaves behind unfinished projects. Why is an incomplete multi-crore film more important than a house that an incarcerated architect leaves unbuilt, or a novel that an author leaves unwritten?" he said.

Sinha feels Salman is paying a price for being who he is.

"I really feel Salman is being punished for being who he is. If he was a commoner he would not have to suffer for 25 years for a crime he may or may not have committed."

Echoing Sinha, actor Samir Soni, whose wife Neelam was also accused in the same blackbuck poaching case, said: "Your stardom or celebrity status goes against you when people try to make an example of you to deter others. It's a double-edged sword, it's fine when it's with you but when it's against, it cuts deep. Salman paid the price for being Salman."

Salman was on Thursday sentenced to five years in prison by a Jodhpur court in a 1998 blackbuck poaching case.

His bail plea hearing is scheduled for Saturday.

IANS
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Tribune News Service

New Delhi/Una, April 7

The Delhi crime branch on Saturday arrested a teacher, a clerk and a support staff member of a private school in Una, Himachal Pradesh, for leaking the CBSE Class XII economics paper.

Working with DAV Centenary Public School, Rakesh Sharma, commerce teacher from Santoshgarh, office clerk Amit Sharma and peon Ashok Kumar, both from Jakhera village, were picked up from their homes.

Handwritten copies of the economics paper were in circulation two days before the exam on March 26.

Rakesh was appointed centre superintendent at Jawahar Navodaya Public School, Pekhubela, Una. His duty was to collect question papers from Union Bank and deliver these at the exam centre. On March 23, the trio collected question papers of computer science. Rakesh also took along a bundle containing five question papers of economics.

While Rakesh went to the examination centre, he left the bundle of economics paper with Amit and Ashok, who took it to DAV school. Amit made an incision in the bundle and took out one paper, photographed it and sent it to Rakesh on WhatsApp, Joint Commissioner of Delhi Police Alok Sharma said.

Rakesh then called one of his tuition students who made handwritten notes of the paper. Rakesh sent this handwritten paper to one of his relatives and it was later circulated online through 40 WhatsApp groups, he said.
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Vibha Sharma

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 7

As Bharatiya Janata Party chief Amit Shahs kutta, billi vituperative against the Opposition assumed centre-stage on Friday, an important political shifthis public reach out to sulking ally Shiv Senawas largely ignored.

In what was clearly an attempt at pacifying allies to keep the National Democratic Alliance together, Shah said on Friday that sincerely wished that the Shiv Sena would stay with the BJP for 2019s elections.

Its our heartiest wish that Shiv Sena stays together with us. Shiv Sena is part of NDA at the Centre and the Devendra Fadnavis government Maharashtra as well, Shah said. Only Telugu Desam Party (TDP) has left. In fact, we have gained more allies than we have lost.

Shah was responding to TDPs allegation that the BJP did not treat its allies well.

Sena has been involved in a never-ending feud with the BJP, with which it shares power in Maharashtra. While the TD walked away from the alliance, the Sena chose to remain in power, although it has already announced it would contest next years elections alone.

Two important elections are scheduled for next yeargeneral assembly elections and Maharashtra assembly elections.

Although the alliance between the BJP and the Sena has had their share of ups and downs, the relationship has worsened since Narendra Modi-Amit Shah duo took the partys reins.

As BJP enters its last year in power, it begins to acknowledge critical challenges. Not only is agrarian distress in the country growing, but there are also other problems, such as simmering Dalit angeran issue highlighted most recently by the violence during a nationwide shutdown on April 2.

Besides, the NDA also faces opposition parties manoeuvres to form a united front to take on the saffron force.

The BJP realises that rival regional parties alone can make no difference, but an alliance with a national party like the Congress would spell trouble for the saffron bridage. Therefore the saffron party wants to keep its flock togetherand keep allies such as the Shiv Sena, with their formidable vote bank, especially close.
editorial@tribune.com

Tribune news Service

New Delhi, April 7

The CBI questioned Rajiv Kochhar, brother-in-law of ICICI Bank MD and CEO Chanda Kochhar, on the third consecutive day on Saturday in connection with the Rs 3,250-crore loan to Videocon Group in 2012. It also quizzed Mahesh Chandra Pugalia, an aide of Videocon Group chief Venugopal Dhoot.

CBI sources said Kochhar appeared at the agencys Mumbai office, where he was asked about the role of his Singapore-based company Avista Advisory in loan restructuring. He was asked about the help he extended to Videocon in relation to the loan from ICICI Bank, which was part of a Rs 400-billion credit given by a consortium of 20 banks to the group.

He was detained at the Mumbai airport on Thursday, as he was trying to board a flight for a South East Asian country, on the request of the CBI, they said.
monicakchauhan@gmail.com

New Delhi, April 7

The Class 12 economics paper of CBSE was leaked on March 23three days before the exam datein Himachal Pradesh's Una town and it was shared on at least 40 WhatsApp groups, Delhi Police said on Saturday after the arrest of three people in this connection.

The threeRakesh Kumar, Amit Sharma and Ashok Kumarall from DAV Centenary Public School in Una, were arrested by the crime branch after lengthy investigation and questioning, RP Upadhayay, special commissioner (crime) of police, said.

Rakesh Kumar had been teaching economics at the DAV school for eight years. He was the centre superintendent of Jawahar Navodaya Public School in Una, where the CBSE exams were being held.

Amit Sharma was a clerk and Ashok Kumar was a peon at the school.

On March 23, three days before the economics paper exam, Rakesh Kumar collected bundles of computer science paper, the exam for which was due that day, from the strong room of Union Bank in Una. He also picked up a bundle of economics paper, Upadhayay said.

While he took computer science paper bundle to Jawahar Navodaya, he handed over the economics paper bundle to his colleaguesAmit and Ashok, the officer said.

The duo took out a copy of the economics paper and sent it to Rakesh Kumar via WhatsApp messaging application. Rakesh Kumar then got it hand written by a student whom he tutored.

The hand-written copy was sent by Rakesh to his relative in Chandigarh, whose son was appearing for Class 12 exam. That way, the hand-written copy got leaked on WhatsApp groups, he said.

Later the three accused deleted the WhatsApp messages and destroyed the handwritten copy to hide digital footprints.

Investigation so far has revealed that the handwritten copy was available on 40 WhatsApp groups. At least 30-40 students got it but a lot of trail is yet to be covered, said Upadhayay.

The motive for paper leakage so far has emerged that Rakesh wanted to help his student who was weak in economics. He also helped his relative. No money angle has come up so far, but investigation is on to determine if the accused leaked any other papers, the officer added.

The leak was exposed after an envelop containing four images of the hand-written economics paper was delivered to CBSE Headquarters in Delhi on the evening of the scheduled date of the exam on March 26.

On March 30, CBSE announced it would re-conduct the Class 12 economics exam throughout the country on April 25.

The police have registered two cases in connection with the matter. The first case relating to the leak of economics paper was filed on March 27, while the other pertaining to the leak of mathematics paper was lodged on March 28. PTI
rchopra@tribunemail.com

New York, April 7

An influential US Congresswoman has met with the Consul General of India in New York and discussed ways to improve bilateral ties.

Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney from New York was instrumental in the issuance of a commemorative Diwali stamp by the US Postal Service in 2016.

The meeting between Maloney and head of the Indian consulate in New York Sandeep Chakravorty took place at the Indian Consulate here on Wednesday.

A statement issued by her office said the two discussed ways to improve ties between the worlds oldest democracy and the worlds largest democracy.

It was an honour to meet with the Consul General, Maloney said.

It was wonderful to see the Diwali stamp, which I worked hard to get issued, framed so prominently in the Consulate, she said, referring to the commemorative Diwali stamp issued by the US in 2016.

For several years, Maloney had led efforts in the Congress to push the Citizens Stamp Advisory Committee (CSAC) to consider issuing a commemorative Diwali stamp.

The Indian Consulate tweeted that Maloney visited the Consulate for discussions on India-US bilateral relations and Contributions of the Indian-American Community.

In her efforts to get the stamp issued, Maloney had met with the Post Master General and worked with leaders of the Diwali caucus Representatives Ami Bera, Tulsi Gabbard, Joe Crowley, Grace Meng and Michael Honda.

Maloney had said that thousands of supporters, including prominent Indian-Americans from across the US, contributed to efforts to make the vision of a Diwali stamp a reality. PTI
editorial@tribune.com

Vibha Sharma

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 7

As BJP chief Amit Shahs kutta, billi vituperative against Opposition assumed centre stage on Friday, an important political shift  his public reach-out to sulking ally Shiv Sena  was relegated to the sides. Clearly, an attempt to pacify allies and keep the NDA stock together against any collective anti-BJP formation saw Shah sincerely wishing that the Shiv Sena stays with the BJP for the next elections.

On allegations, by former partner Telugu Desam Party (TDP), Sena and others, that the BJP did not treat allies well, Shah said: Its our heartiest wish that Shiv Sena stays with us. Shiv Sena is part of NDA at the Centre and the Devendra Fadnavis government Maharashtra as well. Only TDP has left. In fact, we have gained more allies than we have lost.

While the TDP has moved ahead, the Sena is carrying on with its bitter-sweet relationship even though it has declared it would contest separately in future. The BJP-Sena relations go back a long way and together they have seen several ups and downs. But the relationship has never been so bad as it is in the new BJP under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his deputy Shah.

However, with changing political situation in the country ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Shah appears to be on the track to improve relations with allies, including Sena.

The BJP is not just facing critical issues like farmers/rural distress and jobless growth, it now has new problems  the Dalit anger and Opposition parties burgeoning moves regarding the formation of a federal front to take on the NDA.
rchopra@tribunemail.com

Washington, April 7

American aerospace and defence major Lockheed Martin has welcomed Indias mega procurement initiative for fighter jets worth over USD 15 billion and said that it looked forward to responding to the initial tender.

India on Friday began the process to acquire a fleet of around 110 fighter jets in one of the biggest such procurements in recent years globally which could be worth over USD 15 billion.

At least 85 per cent of the aircraft will have to be made in India while 15 per cent of them can be in a flyaway condition.

An RFI (Request for Information) or initial tender for the mega deal was issued by the Indian Air Force and the procurement will be in sync with the governments Make in India initiative in the defence sector, officials said.

Lockheed Martin welcomes Indias fighter aircraft Request for Information (RFI) and we look forward to responding to it, said Dr Vivek Lall, vice president, strategy and business development at Lockheed Martin.

The F-16 remains the only aircraft programme in this competition with the proven performance and industrial scale to meet Indias operational needs and Make in India priorities, including unmatched export opportunities, he said.

Indian-American Lall was last year instrumental in the decision of the Trump administration to sell top-of-the-line unarmed drones from General Atomics.

Lockheed Martin has positioned the newest Block 70 variant of its F-16 aircraft for the Indian Air Force, while Boeing has offered its F/A-18 Super Hornet Block III for the Indian Navy.

The two aircraft have been positioned complementarily, and the purchase of the pair is an interesting proposition for policymakers from both countries, US-based think-tank Atlantic Council said in a report released in New Delhi on Friday.

In the report, Indias Quest for Fighter Jets: Make in India vs Make America Great Again, it said Chinas bellicose incursions in the Indo-Pacific region are challenging US geostrategic supremacy in the region.

Consequently, improving Indias capacity to play a stronger role in the region would play a critical role in the US grand strategy, the think-tank said.

While offshoring both the F-16 and F/A-18 assembly lines would appear to contradict Trumps promise to create more manufacturing jobs in the US, nuances in that policy could open a window of opportunity, Atlantic Council said.

The F-16s and the F/A-18 Super Hornets manufactured in India would not be sold to the US, it said.

The F-16 production line will be used to service the orders from the Indian Air Force, as well as any follow-on international orders.

Noting that the US Air Force has not bought an F-16 since 1999, and is transitioning its multi-role fighter force to the F-35, the think-tank said that any additional F-16 orders would be for non-US customers. An India partnership presents a way to sustain F-16 production, with all the economic and strategic benefits that result, it said.

Similarly, the F/A-18 Super Hornet production line would also be used to service orders for the Indian Navy, with all US orders manufactured in the US.

Despite the shift of production lines, there is a considerable work-share component in the proposals by Lockheed Martin and Boeing, which would present a reasonable case for setting up production lines in India, despite the obvious hindrances that such an operation would ordinarily pose for a foreign investor, the think-tank added.

Indias latest hunt for over 100 fighter jets is the first mega procurement initiative for fighter jets after the government scrapped the process to acquire 126 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) for the IAF around five years ago.

The IAF has been pressing for expediting the process to acquire the aircraft citing declining strength of its fighter squadron as some of the ageing jets are being phased out.

Currently, the IAF has 31 fighter squadrons as against authorised strength of 42 squadrons. PTI
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New Delhi, April 7

Seeking to reset ties, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepalese counterpart KP Sharma Oil on Saturday held wide-ranging talks and vowed to step up overall engagement and take the relationship to newer heights on the basis of "equality, mutual trust and respect".

After the delegation-level talks, Modi said India will always stand by Nepal in its quest for all-round growth, asserting that deeper cooperation between the two neighbours will strengthen democracy in Nepal.

In his press statement, Oli, who is seen as favouring a closer relationship with China, said his government wants to build a strong edifice of "trust-based" relationship between the two nations.

"Relations between neighbours are different from those of others. Neighbourhood realities make peaceful coexistence, based on the principles of equality, justice, mutual respect and benefits a necessity for shared destiny," Oli said in the statement in presence of Modi.

Both the prime ministers called the talks "very satisfactory", Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale told reporters, adding the focus of the deliberations were on boosting cooperation in sectors like defence and security, agriculture, trade besides enhance connectivity through railway network and water ways.

I have come to India this time with a mission to explore ways and means to enhance our relations to newer heights, commensurate with the realities of the 21st century. We want to erect a strong edifice of trust-based relations between the two close neighbours that we are. We want to create a model relationship, Oli said.

According to a joint statement, the two prime ministers resolved to work together to take bilateral relations to newer heights on the basis of "equality, mutual trust, respect and benefit".

There were indications that India was losing its leverage in Nepal and it became more apparent after the victory of the left alliance in the general elections following which Oli was sworn in as the prime minister.

In 2016, Oli had publicly criticised New Delhi for interfering in Nepal's internal matters and accused it of toppling his government.

Being close neighbours, our destiny is intertwined. Prosperity is our common goal,

said Oli.

Gokhale said Modi conveyed to Oli that India will remain a reliable partner of Nepal and it is committed to deepen its ties with Kathmandu.

According to the joint statement, the prime ministers of India and Nepal agreed to construct a new electrified rail line, with India's financial support, connecting Raxaul in India to Kathmandu.

Both sides also decided to develop the inland waterways for the movement of cargo, within the framework of trade and transit arrangements, providing additional access to sea for Nepal.

Interestingly, no bilateral agreements were signed after the talks between the two sides.

The Nepalese prime minister said he also shared with Modi Nepal's concerns about alarming scale of trade deficit and stressed on the need of implementing measures to expand Nepal's export.

Assuring all possible support to Nepal, Modi said the Nepalese prime minister's vision for a "prosperous Nepal and developed Nepal" was in sync with his vision of "sabka sath sabka vikas (together with all, development for all).

The two sides released separate joint statements agriculture, railway linkages and connectivity through inland waterways.

Recalling his meeting with Modi two years ago, Oli said since then, Nepal has achieved comprehensive transformation in many ways.

"Having reached a stage of political stability following the recent elections, Nepal has now embarked on the joinery of social-economic development with the motto 'prosperous Nepal: happy Nepalis'," he said.

Modi also hailed successful conduct of national and provincial polls in Nepal and complimented its people for reposing their faith in the democracy.

The Prime Minister said India would continue to support Nepal as per that country's priorities, adding both sides have agreed to expedite all connectivity projects.

The Prime Minister said both sides will enhance defence and security ties. We have strong relations when it comes to the aspect of security. We will work together to stop misuse of our open border, Modi said.

Oli also invited Modi to visit Nepal.

I invited PM Modi to pay a visit to Nepal at the earliest convenient time, I am hopeful that the visit will take place soon, he said. Gokhale said Modi is expected to visit Kathmandu this year.

Modi said there has been a long history of India's contribution towards Nepal's development and that he has assured Oli that it will continue.

The Nepalese prime minister said his country needs support from its friends adding: relations among neighbours is different from other relations. This is based on mutual respect.

The two prime ministers inaugurated the integrated check post at Birgunj in Nepal through remote control from here that is expected to enhance cross-border trade.

The two prime ministers also witnessed the groundbreaking ceremony of the Motihari-Amlekhgunj cross-border petroleum products pipeline at Motihari.

The two prime ministers underlined the need for expeditious implementation of bilateral projects in Nepal, and to reinvigorate the existing bilateral mechanisms to promote cooperative agenda across diverse spheres.

Oli said he has also conveyed to Modi Nepal's desire to see an early realisation of the open market provision of the bilateral power trade agreement, which was concluded between the two sides in 2014. PTI
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Giridih, April 7

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) will examine the documents, including hundreds of Aadhaar Cards, recovered from the Maoists during anti-Naxal operations in Giridih district last month, a police officer said.

The Jharkhand government has recommended NIA probe into the recovery of Aadhaar cards, ATM cards and documents related to bank accounts recovered from the Naxals during the operations, Additional Director General of Police RK Mallick said here on Friday.

As many as 15 Maoists, including Sunil Soren who carried a reward of Rs 25 lakh on his head, Sub-zonal Commander Shekhar alias Charlie and Sohan Manjhi, were arrested during the operations, he said.

Apart from a large quantity of arms and ammunition, the security personnel had seized 1,125 Aadhaar cards, 60 ATM cards and documents related to 200 bank accounts in course of subsequent search operation, he said.

Mallick said the number of Naxals in the state had drastically come down due to intensive anti-Naxal operation launched jointly by the state armed police and the CRPF in the state.

Well crush the Naxal menace as only 500 to 600 Naxals are present in the state, he said.

Asked about senior Maoist leaders operating in the state, Mallick said all top ranking leaders, including Prayag Majhi, Misir Besra and Prasant Bose who carried a reward of Rs 1 crore each on their heads, were on police radar and they would be apprehended soon. PTI
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Jodhpur/Mumbai, April 7

After two nights in Jodhpur Central Jail, Bollywood superstar Salman Khan, convicted in the 1998 blackbuck poaching case, was released on Saturday evening with District and Sessions Judge Ravindra K Joshi granting him bail. The jail authorities completed the formalities within 30 minutes of receiving the release order at 5.30 pm. Wearing a black sport T-shirt, a cap and black sunglasses, Salman was driven straight to the airport where he boarded a chartered flight for Mumbai, along with his sisters Arpita and Alvira and two bodyguards.

As news of Salmans bail broke, thousands of fans gathered outside the court and near the jail premises went into a frenzy, bursting crackers. Many had come from Maharashtra, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and various parts of Rajasthan. In Mumbai, fans rushed to the Khans residence at Galaxy Apartments in suburban Bandra where they danced to the tunes of Salmans film songs and burst crackers, halting traffic. Despite being transferred, Judge Joshi heard the arguments of the prosecution and the defence, which lasted over two hours, from 10 am to 12 noon. The order was pronounced post-lunch and Salman freed on a bail bond of Rs 50,000 and two sureties of Rs 25,000 each. The actor will have to re-appear on May 7 and seek courts permission for going abroad, public prosecutor PR Bishnoi told The Tribune, adding that the final arguments on appeal of suspension of conviction would be dealt with on May 7.

While the prosecution opposed Salmans bail plea, telling the court there was enough evidence against him, defence lawyer Hastimal Saraswat argued the trial court had relied on just one eyewitness, whose claims were not reliable. He had prepared a 51-page petition with 51 grounds for bail. Since Salman has been out on bail for 20 years and has never misused bail terms, he should be granted bail, Saraswat, who was accompanied by Mahesh Bora, pleaded.

The actor was on Thursday sentenced to five years in prison for killing two blackbucks under Section 9/51 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, during the shooting of Hum Saath Saath Hain in Kankani village of Jodhpur district. His colleagues  Saif Ali Khan, Tabu, Sonali Bendre and Neelam  and local resident Dushyant Singh (Gypsy driver) were acquitted.

Meanwhile, People for Ethical Treatment of Animals has termed the court decision to grant bail as unusual, pointing out that these days, wildlife crime matters were commonly fast-tracked, bail is often denied and offenders regularly receive a seven-year prison sentence.  TNS
editorial@tribune.com

Smita Sharma

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 7

Delhi and Kathmandu on Saturday struck a harmonious note, moving past the bitterness that followed the 2015 blockade and Madhesi agitations over the new Constitution of Nepal. Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and KP Sharma Oli held formal talks on Saturday after a meeting last night.

On his first state visit after re-election as PM, Oli stressed that prosperity is a common goal for the two neighbours while Modi assured support to Olis bold vision for Nepals development. We aim at improving waterways and railways with Nepal, said Modi. He said that todays pacts would make Nepal water-linked and not just land-linked.

The circumstances in 2016 and today are different. This is a Nepal Government elected on basis of the Constitution that has been passed. The effort of both leaders at todays meeting was to have a forward-looking approach, said Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale responding to specific question by The Tribune if the relationship had moved past recent strains.

Steering clear of Olis anti-India election rhetoric where he blamed New Delhi for his ouster in 2016 and batted heavily for Beijing, the delegations chose not to bring up relations with China, including OBOR (One Belt, One Road) in the talks, said Gokhale.

However in an oblique reference to the economic blockade later in an Indian Foundation event, Oli remarked, India has been providing international connectivity to Nepal. Recourse to obstacles to movement of goods should not happen in the age of an interconnected world.

Hydropower, energy banking, development of new transmission lines, connectivity, trade and border security were focus areas in the talks. Three pacts were signed, including proposed rail line linkages connecting Raxaul in Bihar to Kathmandu, inland waterways and agriculture modernisation.

The leaders remotely inaugurated the Birgunj-Raxaul Integrated Check Post (ICP) and Motihari-Amlekhganj petroleum products pipeline after formal talks. Sources, however, mentioned that the expected inauguration of Arun III hydropower project  under construction with Indian assistance  could happen when Modi is likely to travel to Kathmandu later this year.

Asked about Olis keenness for the revival of SAARC which Nepal chairs that saw an India-led boycott in the wake of the Uri terror strikes, Foreign Secretary Gokhale said that with disruptive forces in the region and current state of play involving cross-border terrorism, it is difficult to proceed with the SAARC summit which Pakistan is to host.
rchopra@tribunemail.com

Panaji, April 7

Goa Police have arrested a 32-year-old woman for allegedly selling her 11-month-old son for Rs 2 lakh.

Shaila Patil, the mother of the child, alleged buyer Amar Morje (32) and Patils friends Yogesh Gosawi (42) and Anant Damaji (34), who allegedly helped her strike the deal, were arrested on Friday after her husband lodged a complaint.

Inspector Harish Madkaikar of Ponda police station, who is investigating the case, said Patil allegedly sold the child keeping her husband in the dark as she needed money.

All the accused live in Pernem tehsil. Shaila Patil is originally from Pune.

She asked her friends Gosawi and Damaji to help her sell her baby son, saying she badly needed Rs 2 lakh.

Gosawi and Damaji contacted Morje, who is married but childless and was allegedly willing to buy a baby.

The child was handed over to Morje on March 23, the police officer said.

Patils husband was away at the time. He found out what had happened on his return, and approached police, inspector Madkaikar said.

Police have registered a case under anti-trafficking provisions of the Indian Penal Code, he said. PTI
shalender@tribune.com

Saurabh Malik

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 6

The drugs matter pending before the Punjab and Haryana High Court has turned into a DGP versus DGPs case with IPS officer Siddharth Chattopadhyay on Friday placing in the dock his colleagues Suresh Arora and Dinkar Gupta before obtaining a stay in a case he was being falsely implicated in.

Chattopadhyay claimed that investigations carried out by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by him against an SSP in the drug case were leading him to Punjabs top cops. He, along with two other senior officers, were directed by the High Court to look into the complicity between dismissed Inspector Inderjit Singh and Moga SSP Raj Jit Singh to break the nexus between the law enforcement agency and drug traffickers.

In his 10-page application, Chattopadhyay not only alleged harassment, but also claimed that the role of Punjab DGP Suresh Arora and DGP (Intelligence) Dinkar Gupta had come to light during the course of investigation carried out by him under the High Court directions.

Several significant facts and pointers, including the benami house of a DGP, are being investigated to confirm their involvement in the case with Inspector Inderjit Singh and Moga SSP Raj Jit Singh, Chattopadhyay said, placing before the Bench six annexures in a sealed cover.

He said both seniormost officers Arora and Gupta were also supervisory officers of SIT members probing the case he was being implicated in. The promotion, posting as well as career progression of the SIT members are in the hands of these senior officers, he pointed out.

Chattopadhyay said he was being targeted at the behest of senior police officers whose role was under investigation for being closely associated with Raj Jit Singh and Inderjit Singh in a case registered on January 3 in Amritsar after Inderpreet Singh Chadha, son of the former Chief Khalsa Diwan president CS Chadha, committed suicide.He alleged that the SIT under IGP (Crime) LK Yadav was harassing him even though he had had no connection with Chadha and was just a member of the NRI commission which had passed orders in a dispute concerning him.

He said his apprehensions regarding an unfair investigation were strengthened when his name was dragged after he had presented the first status report before the HC. The investigation in the suicide case was to pressure him to change the course of the probe, he claimed.

After hearing him and amicus curiae Anupam Gupta, Justice Surya Kant and Justice Shekher Dhawan stayed the investigation in the suicide case related to Chattopadhyay and directed the submission of the investigation report against the other accused before the Bench.
editorial@tribune.com

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, April 7

Simranjit Singh Mann, SAD (A) chief, on Saturday said the party along with other Sikh organisations, which had organised Sarbat Khalsa, would hold a conference at Talwandi Sabo on Baisakhi.

He said Dyan Singh Mand would preside over the conference, whose incharge was Baljeet Singh Daduwal.

Addressing the media, Mann demanded action against the Maur bomb blast and Bargari sacrilege accused. He claimed that when dera link in both cases had been established, why the government was hesitating in acting against them?

He also demanded a probe into the allegation made by Finance Minister Manpreet Badal against the Badal family over organising SGPC langar on the death of Surinder Kaur Badal. He said it a shameful act that a financial sound family was misusing SGPC funds.
editorial@tribune.com

Anand and Madhura Katti

The Black Forest in Germany is as alluring as memories of the delicious cream and cherry-filled cake on those special occasions. A range of low mountains with thick spread of dark green pine trees on the forest highlands cast a continuous dark shadow, giving it its name. Tucked within the Black Forest is Titisee, the lake with crystal clear water. The high altitude lake is formed from the water flowing down from the Feldberg glacier. According to a belief, the opulence and eventual waste created by people once angered the gods so much that it made them sink the town and Titisee appeared above the sunken city. A ride on an eco-friendly electric boat, which carries more than 100 persons, or on a small donut or peddle boat is a fun way to immerse yourself in nature. You can buy a bollenhut, the hat comprising 14 woollen pom-poms thats typically Black Forest folk costume. Traditionally, the hat decorated with red pom-poms is worn by spinsters while the one with black pom-poms is flaunted by married women.

Take a ride on the mountain gondola to the Feldberg tower or simply view the unique Alpine panorama over Black Forest Highlands from the highest peak (1448 m). The place doubles up as a ski drop-off point during winters. The Feldberg rise experience is one of 70 plus activities that are offered complimentary by the Black Forest Tourism through a Red Pass that comes free if a visitor is staying for two nights in the area.

Among popular attractions here is the historic Hofgut Sternen hotel at the Hells valley in the Black Forest village. The hotel is known for making cuckoo clocks, has glass-blowing workshops and hands-on experience of decorating a Black Forest cake. The tourist complex situated close to the highway is set in the Ravenna valley with a high stone arch rail bridge as a backdrop. A red train passing through the green ravine every 15 minutes is a delight. The 600-year-old place displays a painting of Princess Mary Antoinettes marriage entourage, as a memory of playing host to it. One can experience the whole continent at Europa Park amusement park. Each section represents a different country through its architecture, lifestyle and cuisine. The park keeps adding roller coasters, the latest addition being the Voletarium. You can fly to 14 picturesque locations from across Europe from your special seat at Voletarium through a visually advanced technique.

Also visit the majestic Hohenzollern Castle located on top of Mount Hohenzollern at an elevation of 855 m in the Swabian Alb. The Hohenzollern Castle was the ancestral seat of the Prussian Kings and German Emperors as well as the Swabian branch of the Princes of Hohenzollern. A climb up the 200-odd spiraling stairs offers a panorama of the picturesque landscape of the Swabian albs and the Black Forest.
K. Natwar Singh

By K. Natwar Singh

Dr Martin Luther King Jr was shot dead by a raving racist bigot on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee. He was 39 years old. He became an international inspiration after delivering a speech on August 28, 1963, one of the unforgettable orations of the 20th century.

The words I have a dream resonate even today after 50 years of his death. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed  we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal I have a dream, my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character. And when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and hamlet, from every state and city, we will be able to speed up that day when all Gods children  black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Catholics and Protestants  will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: Free at last, free at last; thank God Almighty, we are free at last.

I met Martin Luther King Jr only once, at a reception given by the US Ambassador to the United Nations in New York. He was on his way to Oslo to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in early December 1964.

Earlier in the year, I was busy putting together a volume of tributes to Jawaharlal Nehru, to be published on May 27, 1965. The first anniversary of his death. I wrote to Dr King, requesting him to contribute to the book. I had no response. I had given up on him when I received his tribute to Nehru. He had written from his cell in Selma jail. He called Nehru a towering world force skilfully inserting the peace will of India between the raging antagonisms of the great powers of the East and West. In all these struggles of mankind to rise to true state of civilization, the towering figure of Nehru sits unseen but felt at all council tables. He is missed by the world, and because he is so wanted, he is a living force in the tremulous world of today.

The volume of tributes, The Legacy of Nehru, was published on his death anniversary. The other contributors included, Clement Attlee, Pearl Buck, Bertrand Russell, Arnold Toynbee and U Thant among others.

******

Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, 81, died earlier in the week in a Johannesburg hospital. With Rajiv Gandhi, I attended the celebrations heralding the birth of an independent Namibia on March 22, 1990. The capital, Windhock, was host to dozens of Presidents, Vice-Presidents and Foreign Ministers. Rajiv Gandhi was not a prime minister at that time but was treated as one. Nelson Mandela and his wife, Winnie were the stars, overshadowing all others.

It had been arranged by President Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia that Nelson Mandela would receive Rajiv on March 23, 1990. I have written at some length of the Mandela-Rajiv Gandhi meeting. Hence, I will not repeat myself. I had taken with me No Easy Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela. I asked the two to sign on the inner cover of the book. Nelson Mandela wrote, With my complements and best wishes. Winnie Mandela wrote, With Much Love.

Winnie Mandela was beautiful, ebullient, charming, erratic, temperamental and gutsy. She will be remembered for her virtues. Not for her shortcomings.

******

Prime Minister Narendra Modi acted with alacrity to put his thoughtless minister of Information and Broadcasting, the elegant and attractive Smriti Irani, in her place. Her attempt to muzzle the media was an astonishing lack of sound judgement. It was the duty of the senior officials of her ministry to tell her of the faux pas she would be committing. Obviously, they did not do so.

******

A revolution is taking place in Saudi Arabia. Crown Prince Muhammed bin Salman is leading it. Finally, the Kingdom is knocking at the doors of the 21st century. The Crown Prince during his visit to the USA said, I believe that each people, anywhere, has a right to live in their peaceful nation. I believe the Palestinians and Israelis have the right to have their own land. This has drastically altered the economic, political contours of the Middle East and beyond.

******

Last Sunday Dr Manmohan Singh released Ashwani Kumars book Ehsas-o-Izhar. The evening was enjoyable and entertaining.
Saba Naqvi

Saba Naqvi

I have been a fierce fundamentalist secularist through most of my life. In my growing up years the only time when I had to hide my face, that is sit behind a purdah, is when a maulana came to the masjid and Imambara in the village home. Women then had to sit behind a curtain, in spaces that were hotter than where the men sat as the cooler and fan did not reach them; and they could not see the action happening on the pulpit. I objected as a little girl because I found it uncomfortable and as an adult do not participate in such gatherings when the entire clan travels from different parts to descend once a year on the village in the Awadh region of Uttar Pradesh. I will, however, also qualify this by saying that in my family, there are also many erudite women who sit on the pulpit giving religious sermons (but on days when the maulana arrives they sit behind the purdah).

As an adult I have understood that there are two reasons why Muslim women wear veils. Mostly because they have to as the larger social milieu determined by men and mullahs ordains it. But increasingly there are women who actually choose the veil as a response to a world that is hostile to Muslims. The first such woman I met was an Egyptian journalist on a fellowship with me at Oxford University, just months after the 9/11 attack on the US. The so-called War on Terror had begun and my friend was a single woman then, a fantastic journalist, who covered the Muslim Brotherhood for a leading Cairo-based newspaper (the Muslim Brotherhood was often outlawed in the Egypt ruled by self-appointed dictators who also claimed to be secular). Her mother did not wear the head scarf but my friend did as a response to a world that she perceived as being hostile to her people, country and entire region.

I would leave Oxford with two good friends: an Irishman who went to the local pub every night and my Egyptian friend who could not fit into social activities that centred on pubs. I could straddle both worlds and remained friends with her, visiting Cairo later and getting an invite to write in her newspaper (which I was delighted to do as at that time the great Edward Said also wrote for that paper). She was the first woman I met who chose to symbolically highlight her Muslim-ness; for her that was liberating.

Last year, I got another lesson into this process that is now happening in India. I was invited by a professor at one of the leading womens colleges in Delhi University (the sort where no one with under 90 per cent marks gets admission). The professor was worried at the number of students who were choosing to cover their heads with scarves or the full veil known as burqa in South Asia. She wanted me to engage in a conversation with the students to explore the reasons for their choices and possibly challenge them as a liberal role model. I, therefore, had a closed door meeting with about 30 women, some of whom were very bright. I was at the end of it, both troubled and enlightened.

Troubled because, I do not personally believe women should hide anything, head, face, limbs, mind, views. And some of the women at the DU College had indeed taken to the head scarf or burkha without any family or social pressure to do so. I found multiple reasons why they did so. One of them, who was also teaching at the college, had become deeply religious and chosen to cover her head with one of those veils that are pinned up under the chin. The religiosity, I recall, had come from following a particular preacher online (no, not Zakir Naik). A young Kashmiri student had once covered her head and was now arguing fiercely against it. But the argument, mostly went in favour of those who chose to wear what they wanted and were annoyed with those who told them otherwise. Equally disturbing was the feeling they expressed of being objectified for wearing a scarf or a burqa. As objectified, one said, as she would feel in a micro mini.

There are a mix of political, social and psychological reasons why women who are not compelled to are choosing to cover their faces, head or entire bodies. One reason is the documented ghettoisation of Muslims, thats been happening over decades and has accelerated in the last few years. But even within Muslim ghettos, from Zakir Bagh in Delhi to Juhapura in Ahmedabad, I find all sorts of women, head bare or covered, living there. Some are responding to the exclusion from other communities by becoming more Muslim in their appearance, in many instances also annoying their families. Others feel their religion is under attack. Some just want to belong.

As for me, during a visit to Iran last year I had to wear the chador that is a long loose cloth that does not cover the face. I quite enjoyed swirling my robe that actually made me feel a bit like an Oxford don.
Suresh Dharur

Suresh Dharur in Hyderabad

Retired Brigadier P Ganesham is on a unique mission. He travels to villages, identifies the rural innovators, nurtures their ideas and presents them to the world. 'Palle Srujana' (rural creativity), a Hyderabad-based voluntary organisation set up by the septuagenarian ex-serviceman and other like-minded individuals, is engaged in spotting the rural talent, aiding and promoting creativity at the grassroots level in the two Telugu states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. So far, they have identified more than 210 innovators across the two states, besides documenting close to 2,500 traditional practices.

Among these, 13 innovators have won the Rashtrapati Award, and two have won the Padma Shri. The organisation has also helped 24 innovators patent their devices.

"The innovators have collectively generated a turnover of close to Rs 4 crore, impacting more than Rs 5 lakh families," says the retired Brigadier. The idea of Palle Srujana is that rural innovators leverage knowledge derived from nature for their livelihood. There is abundant creativity in villages to find solutions which are simple, affordable, sustainable and user-friendly.

"It has been a great learning experience for me. In the last 12 years that I have been visiting the villages, I have always amazed at the level of talent and innovative spirit that exists in our rural areas," he says. A group of Palle Srujana volunteers, comprising 20-40 people, undertake what they call 'Shodh Yatra' that would see them crisscrossing the villages and interacting with locals to identify the rural talent.

Ch Mallesham, a school drop-out from a poor weaver family in Andhra Pradesh who figured in the Forbe's list of seven most powerful rural Indian entrepreneurs, is among the innovators whose unique work has been brought to light by Palle Srujuna volunteers. He is inventor of Laxmi Asu Machine which automates the weaving process and dispenses with the strenuous movement of hands and legs.

The humble machine, which Forbes said "ignited a revolution" in India's weaving community, proved to be a boon for the weaving community in the backward Nalgonda district, famous for Pochampally silk sarees.

Mallesham's machine can make six saris worth of material in one day, and no human effort is required beyond placing thread on the machine and removing the material after the process is complete. It saves time and relieves stress. Domestic power supply is sufficient to run the 0.25 HP motor attached to the machine.

The use of Asu machine has significantly improved the productivity and marketability of Pochampally silk sarees. Mallesham received Padma Shri last year. "This machine brought a ray of hope to the weavers and provided livelihood to many," says Brig Ganesham.

Another innovator Pandu Ranga Rao (33), who studied up to tenth standard, developed a natural air sealant for motorcycle and auto-rickshaw tyres which can resist punctures without damaging the tubes. The novelty of this sealant is that it is prepared using natural products and works equally good in summers and winters. He received a special innovation award from former President Pranab Mukherjee.

"We have conducted 26 Shodh Yatras so far. We document rural knowledge, explain intellectual property rights and the importance of consent to them before patenting their device and showcasing it in exhibitions," says Brig Ganesham.

Ganesham, an engineering graduate, served in the Army for 35 years. He was awarded the Vishisht Seva Medal (VSM) by the President in 2005, before he retired in 2006.

"As most of the Grassroots innovations are being developed with locally available raw materials, they are mostly not in a marketable state. In addition, most of the grassroots innovators solve their problems through their creativity and do not intend to sell them. Based on the readiness of the innovation, and the innovator, each innovation at Palle Srujana is categorized into three: Ready For Sale (RFS), Ready For Entrepreneur (RFE), and Ready For Prototyping (RFP)," explains Brig Ganesham.
uttara@tribuneindia.com

Berlin, April 7

At least four people were dead on Saturday after a vehicle ploughed into pedestrians in the German city of Muenster, the interior ministry said, quoted by news agency DPA.

A ministry spokeswoman was quoted as saying that the toll included the driver. Local police had said earlier that he "shot himself" after driving into the crowd and leaving about 30 people injured.

A security source sad an attack could not be ruled out.

The van drove into people sitting at tables outside the Grosser Kiepenkerl restaurant, which is popular with tourists, the police spokeswoman said.

Mass-selling daily Bild reported in its online edition that three people had died in the incident.

The incident came one year to the day after a truck attack in Stockholm that killed five people, and also evoked memories of a December 2016 truck attack in Berlin that killed 12 people.

Anis Amri, a failed Tunisian asylum seeker with Islamist links, hijacked a truck on Dec. 19, 2016, killed the driver and then ploughed it into a crowded marketplace, killing 11 more people and injuring dozens of others.

"I am shocked by the news from Muenster," said Andrea Nahles, parliamentary leader of the Social Democrats, junior partner in Chancellor Angela Merkel's ruling coalition.

"My thoughts are with the victims and their relatives," she added. "I hope that our authorities can quickly clarify the background to this incident and wish the local forces much strength for their work." Reuters/ AFP
vinaymishra188@gmail.com

Sao Bernardo do Campo (Brazil), April 7

Brazils former leftist president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Saturday he had been falsely accused of corruption but was ready to surrender for arrest.

In his first comments since being ordered to start a 12-year prison sentence for accepting a luxury apartment as a bribe, Lula told cheering supporters that he was an outraged citizen.

Lula told the crowd that Brazil's top anti-corruption judge Sergio Moro lied about him being given the apartment by a big construction firm as a kickback. I am the only human being to be put on trial for an apartment which does not belong to me, he said.

But Lula, 72, said: I will comply with their warrant."

In a passionate hour-long speech, Lula accused the judiciary and Brazils most powerful media conglomerate of assisting a right-wing coup with the ultimate aim of preventing him from competing in this Octobers presidential elections. Despite his legal problems, Lula is the frontrunner in polls.  AFP
pardeepdhull@gmail.com

Washington, April 7

Amid allegations of China engaging in massive land grabbing in the Maldives, the Pentagon on Saturday said it was a cause for concern for the US.

Asserting that the US was committed to a free and open Indo-Pacific rules-based order, the Pentagon said anything else would cause the US concern.

The US is committed to a free and open Indo-Pacific rules-based order. We have seen concerning developments in Maldives as far as the Chinese influence is concerned, Joe Felter, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defence for South and Southeast Asia, told PTI in interview.

Its in Indias backyard. We know its of concern to India. So, yes, (the situation in Maldives) is a concern. We will see how it plays out. It emphasises some of our priorities identified in our National Defence Strategy, the top Pentagon official said.

He was responding to a question on the allegations of a Maldivian Opposition leader and a former Foreign Minister, on the Chinese land grabbing activities in the island nation with the potential of developing them into a military outpost.

Felter said these developments were a cause of concern for all states that supported the maintenance of a rules-based order.

If you look at similar activities across the region, it gives us some cause for concern. From Djibouti to, Gwadar put to Hambantota port in Sri Lanka, and now potentially the Maldives and then extending further east, its of concern, he said.

Other countries in the region have expressed similar concern, including India, he noted.

We believe the interests of all states- large and small- are best served by maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific and a rules-based order. Some of Chinas activities that weve observed give us concern because they do not seem to be consistent with those interests. I suspect India shares these concerns as well, Felter said.

During a recent visit to the US, Ahmed Naseem, a former Foreign Minister of Maldives, had alleged that China was meddling in internal affairs of Maldives and had indulged itself in a massive land-grabbing endeavour which if left unchecked would pose a major strategic threat to both the US and India.

China, he alleged, appeared to be keen on building a base in the Maldives which one day may house warships and submarines. PTI
vinaymishra188@gmail.com

Gaza, April 7

A Palestinian journalist died on Saturday after being wounded by Israeli fire on Friday while covering deadly protests along the Israel-Gaza border, health officials said.

Yaser Murtaja (30), a cameraman for Palestinian Ain Media, was the 29th Palestinian killed in the week-long protests.

Photos showed Murtaja lying wounded on a stretcher wearing a navy-blue protective vest marked PRESS in large black capital letters. Health officials said a live bullet had penetrated the side of his abdomen and he succumbed to his wounds in hospital.

An Israeli military spokeswoman said the army was looking into the incident and could not comment further at this stage.

The daily protests, dubbed The Great March of Return, began on March 30 along the Israel-Gaza frontier, reviving a long-standing demand for the right of return of Palestinian refugees to towns and villages from which their families fled, or were driven out, when the state of Israel was created.

Israel has stationed sharpshooters to stop attempts by Palestinians to breach the border or sabotage the security fence.

Freelance photographer Ashraf Abu Amra said he was next to Murtaja, whom he said was wearing a helmet and protective vest. Abu Amra said they were both clearly marked as journalists.

We were filming as youths torched tyres. We were about 250 m from the fence, said Amra. Israeli forces opened fire and injuries began. Yaser and I ran to film when suddenly Yaser fell to the ground.

Murtaja was married with a two-year-old son. Hundreds of mourners, among them many journalists, attended his funeral on Saturday.  Reuters
pardeepdhull@gmail.com

Moscow, April 7

Moscow on Saturday promised a tough response to new US sanctions imposed on seven of Russias most influential oligarchs following the diplomatic crisis sparked by the poisoning of former spy Sergei Skripal.

We will not let the current attack, or any new anti-Russian attack, go without a tough response, Russias foreign ministry said in a statement, after the US sanctions which also target 12 companies owned by the oligarchs, 17 senior Russian officials and a state-owned arms export company.

Having obtained zero results from the 50 previous rounds of sanctions, Washington continues to employ fear with the refusal to issue American visas, the threatening of Russian businesses with the freezing of companies assets and property, while forgetting that the requisitioning of private property and other peoples money is known as theft, the ministry added.

Such sanctions place the United States in the category of enemies of the market economy and honest and free competition as they use administrative methods to eliminate competitors in foreign markets.

Yesterday, the United States struck at the heart of President Vladimir Putins inner circle, stoking a diplomatic crisis that some have dubbed a new Cold War.

Those hit include metals magnate Oleg Deripaska, described by the US as operating for the Russian government, as well as Alexei Miller, director of state-owned energy giant Gazprom. Any assets they hold in areas under US jurisdiction could now be frozen.

Russias state arms exporter, was also added to the sanctions list.

But the Russian foreign ministry insisted in its statement that no amount of pressure will make Russia deviate from the path it has chosen. The measures were taken under a US law passed to punish Russia for its alleged bid to interfere in the 2016 presidential election, engage in cyber-warfare and intervene in Ukraine and Syria.

But yesterdays announcement also came as Washington and its allies face a new diplomatic crisis with the Kremlin over the poisoning of Skripal, a former Russian double agent, and his daughter on British soil.  AFP
pardeepdhull@gmail.com

Washington, April 7

The White House has insisted that there was no going back on its actions against China unless Beijing changes its practices of unfair trade practices and theft of intellectual property.

This, despite the fact that the Dow plummeted 550 points on Friday amidst reports of a growing tension between the two largest economies of the world.

US President Donald Trump on Friday ramped up his trade war rhetoric with China, seeking USD 100 billion in additional tariffs on Chinese products. This is in addition to the proposed 25 per cent import tariffs worth USD 50 billion on some 1,300 Chinese products being imported into the US.

China has vowed to take comprehensive countermeasures and fight at any cost Trumps directive.

The President has said enough is enough. China has to change this illegal and unfair practice that theyve been in. Previous administrations should have stepped up and tried to stop these actions long before today, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters at her daily news conference on Friday.

But thankfully, we have a president thats willing to actually stand up, be tough, and take some really courageous and bold action, like President Trump has done, she said.

Responding to a question on the Dow in New York dropping by over 500 points, Sanders said, We know that there could be some fluctuation.

Sanders said the Trump administration would like to negotiate.

(But) we want them to stop participating in unfair and illegal trade practices and intellectual property theft, being a huge detriment to US companies and businesses, she said.

Top Republican Senator John McCain said it was easy to punish China, but a lot harder to hold it truly accountable and change its behaviour.

That requires a real strategy and positive trade agenda, which is why the US should rejoin the TPP, he said.

Congressman Don Bacon accused China of stealing the intellectual property and trade secrets of US companies, while dumping cheap products into the American market for too long.

I encourage the administration to sit down and find a solution to this tariff war with China that protects the US agricultural economy, promotes fair and free trade, and protects our intellectual property, he said.

Senator Dianne Feinstein said California grows 100 per cent of the almonds, walnuts and raisins exported to China. President Trumps trade war means all three products will now be subject to a 15 per cent tariff by China. The president must take steps to protect our agriculture industry from harm, she said.

Senator Chuck Grassley said China had ignored the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO) for too long and aggressively pursued practices that unfairly undermine American ownership, innovation and entrepreneurship.

Chinas pursuit of agriculture technologies, from wind turbines to genetic seeds, and its 2013 buyout of pork giant Smithfield Foods, cannot be underestimated, he said.

If dramatic changes in its trade policy regime arent made, Chinas approach to seizing advantage in the marketplace will put US businesses at a competitive disadvantage, threatening the long-term prosperity, economic growth and job creation here at home, he said. PTI
vinaymishra188@gmail.com

Berlin, April 7

At least three people died on Saturday when a vehicle ploughed into busy cafe and restaurant terraces in the German city of Muenster before the driver shot himself dead.

Images on social media showed smashed and upturned tables and chairs strewn across the pavement outside an eatery in the centre of the picturesque medieval city.

At least 20 people were injured, six of them seriously, according to the police. Police spokesman Andreas Bode said the driver shot himself to death in the van after the crash.

The perpetrator drove into several cafe and restaurant terraces in a major square in the centre of Muenster, he added. Bode said it was too soon to call the incident a deliberate attack.

Police spokesman Peter Nuessmeyer said he could not confirm German media reports that the perpetrator was a middle-aged German man who reportedly had psychological issues.

According to the online edition of the Spiegel magazine, German authorities were assuming the incident was an attack, though there was no immediate official confirmation of a motive.

Terrible news from Muenster, German government spokeswoman Ulrike Demmer said in a tweet.

Armed police were deployed and officers urged residents to avoid the city centre.  PTI

Previous attacks
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High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi visits urban refugees and self-reliance projects in Kinshasa Democratic Republic of Congo DRC, April 5, 2018.  UNHCR/Georgina Goodwin

UNHCR chief Filippo Grandi has met with successful refugee entrepreneurs living in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, during a landmark visit to the Great Lakes region.

Inside a hip and modern art gallery, Grandi spoke with men and women refugees who own clothing businesses, sell produce from farming, and work in innovation and technology. After hearing how they had triumphed over adversity, he praised their success stories and said they would serve to encourage others driven from their homes and forced to flee.

The refugees have benefitted from education, skills and business management training, supported by local partners and UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency.

Emmanuel Hulem, fled war in the Central African Republic at 14, along with his family. As refugees in Congo, the family was extremely poor, with Emmanuel responsible for helping his younger siblings. Wanting to go to school to better his life, Emmanuel received help through the urban refugee programme. Today he is an information technology specialist, who has won international awards for his innovations in the field.

Emmanuel said the support he received as a young refugee set the foundation for his future success.

When I got my high school diploma I said to myself, I have made it, he said. I was motivated to continue on.

UNHCR chief Filippo Grandi visits urban refugees and self-reliance projects in Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo.  UNHCR/Georgina Goodwin

The Democratic Republic of Congo hosts over 540,000 refugees while also having several million people internally displaced and over 700,000 Congolese living as refugees in neighbouring countries.

This is a very hospitable country, with open borders, ready to take in people from neighboring countries that have been in trouble for decades said Grandi. But it is also a country that has its own problems, that has produced refugees, sometimes in the same countries from where refugees come here."

The High Commissioner, who will be visiting Rwanda and Burundi on this trip, called the region  a complex web of displacement.
Can world muster will to prevent new atrocities?

United Nations, Apr 7 (UNI) As the world officially remembers the genocidal murder of 800,000 Rwandans in 1994, United Nations leaders warn that ethnic cleansing and mass atrocities continue to blight humanity and call for sharper action to prevent such wholesale violations.

Twenty-four years ago, on 7 April, ethnic Hutus in Rwanda began the frenzied slaughter of Tutsis, moderate Hutus and others in what is widely regarded as one of the darkest episodes in recent history.

In memory of the Rwandan victims  and as a sombre reminder of the international communitys failure to intervene  the UN observes 7 April every year as an international day of reflection.
Mr Koyangko stands with his students at West Goroka Primary School

JORDAN DEAN

PORT MORESBY - A Facebook post by a Mr Tony Koyangko for good hearted people to donate a book for the 2,500 students at West Goroka Primary School broke my heart,

Of course, West Goroka isnt the only one - there are so many schools in Papua New Guinea with a similar plea.

Occasionally in Port Moresby, I visit the Moale Dabua secondhand clothing shop which also stocks good reading books.

The result is I have a carton full of books, mainly fiction, collecting dust in a corner of my room. Ill be sending some of them with complimentary copies of my own novel, Tamgega  Fatherless Child, to Goroka next week via DHL.

Lately, Ive been writing childrens stories for the Library for All project. As a writer, I like to use my skills to help improve literacy in PNG.
The former director general of the General Department of Police was arrested for his involvement in the online gambling ring Rikvip

The documents to prosecute Phan Van Vinh have been sent to the Phu Tho People's Procuracy.

Vinh is prosecuted for the charge of "abusing power or position in performance of official duties" (Article 356 of the Criminal Code 2015).

One month ago, after prosecuting former director general of MoPS' High-Technology Department (C50), Nguyen Thanh Hoa, for involvement in the multi-million-dollar gambling ring, Vinh had to work with the investigation agency numerous times.

Phan Van Vinh was appointed as director general of the General Department of Police from December 2014 to April 2017, when he retired. He had directed the successful investigation of several notorious cases.

During yesterday evening, policemen arrived to Vinh's at Han Thuyen Street in the northern province of Nam Dinh. After four hours, the inspection was finished at 12 AM today, April 7. Several packages of documents have been seized by the investigation agency.

Vinhs prosecution is part of the expanding Rikvip gambling case that shut down Vietnams largest organised gambling ring. The case is being investigated by Phu Tho's public security agency.

As of March 14, the agency had prosecuted 83 defendants, including several high-profile state officials and individuals, including former C50 director general Nguyen Thanh Hoa (charged for organising gambling), and Nguyen Van Duong, former chairman of high-tech security development company CNC, and Phan Sao Nam, founder and former chairman of VTC Online, as the masterminds behind the gambling ring.

This is the largest gambling ring ever to be discovered in Vietnam, with 43 million accounts, 14 million users, and over VND9.54 trillion ($420 million) in circulation. This case also involved telecommunications networks and game publishers in Vietnam.

MoPS revealed that the total amount poured into online payment portals was VND9.583 trillion ($422.2 million). Of this, nearly VND9.3 trillion ($409.5 million) came from telecommunications cards and game cards, capturing 97 per cent. VND168 billion ($7.4 million) came from banks. Direct gambling money through dealerships was initially VND5.631 trillion ($248 million).
The price of these cars increased by $220, despite tariffs having just been removed

According to statistics from the General Department of Vietnam Customs, a total of 651 completely built-up (CBU) cars have been declared for customs between March 29 and April 5 with the total value of $18.7 million. This is a decline in number in comparison to the 986 cars worth $2.1 million during the previous week.

Almost all cars imported in the first week of April have less than nine seats. Specifically, as many as 602 cars with less than nine seats were imported, higher than the 481 units worth $156 million imported during the previous week.

They arrived at Haiphong and Ho Chi Minh City ports, with 523 cars being imported from Thailand, 52 from Mexico, 23 from Germany, and 2 each from Japan and the US. There was only one CBU car with more than nine seats imported from China with the value of $46,000.

As a result, the total number of CBU cars in the first three months of 2018 increased to 3,679, including 3,077 cars with less than nine seats (accounting for 84 per cent), 522 trucks (14 per cent), 21 cars with more than nine seats, and 59 cars of other types. This figure is much lower than the 26,366 of the same period last year.

However, the price of imported cars has not decreased as expected. Since April 2, 2018, Honda Vietnam announced to raise the selling price of CBU cars imported from Thailand by VND5 million ($220) for some models of CR-V, Civic, Jazz, and Accord.

The representative of this automobile brand explained that the price increase comes from new requirements in Decree No.116/2017/ND-CP. Accordingly, CBU cars need vehicle type approval (VTA), registration certificates for technical safety and security, and environmental inspection, certified copies of the types of tires, rearview mirrors, and front lights issued by competent agencies or organisations, and the original certificates of automobile quality inspection.

After the Ministry of Transport approved the VTA issued by the Thai government, Honda was the first brand to restart import to Vietnam. The new selling price of this brand was applied from this month.
People had to evacuate quickly, taking children, elders and furniture out of their houses, a local named Nguyen Thi Le said.

She said the authorities started building an embankment to prevent erosion on this bank section of the O Mon River the other day and everything seemed to be just fine back then.

Now erosion took away an area that stretches 54 meters (177 feet) long, 12 meters wide, causing three houses and a parking garage in Thoi An Ward of O Mon District to subside and have cracked walls.

Can Tho irrigation authorities said they have built an embankment to prevent erosion along the O Mon River since August last year and the project has been half-finished.

They just started work at the eroded section in Thoi An by driving stakes into the river bed before the incident took place.

In April last year, Dong Thap Province in the delta declared a state of emergency as the Tien River, a tributary of the Mekong, was threatening to engulf more than 200 houses.

The declaration of Dong Thap came just one week after erosion spread 50 meters inland along more than 160 meters along the Vam Nao River in the nearby An Giang Province, sending 16 houses into the river.

According to Vietnam's agriculture ministry, the Mekong Delta, the country's fruit and rice basket, loses 500 hectares of land to sea and river erosion every year.

It is estimated that by 2050, the lives of one million people in the delta will be directly affected by the catastrophe.

The Ministry of Construction last year submitted a proposal to the central government to build concrete barriers to protect 44,800 families in the region from serious river erosion.
Vinacomin has yet to complete the site clearance of Quynh Lap 1 thermal power

Geleximco determines to develop Quang Trach II and Quynh Lap I thermal power projects

Earlier in July 2017, Hanoi General Export Import JSC (Geleximco) expressed interested in co-operating with Sunshine Kaidi New Energy Group Co., Ltd. to invest in five thermal power projects, including Quynh Lap I, II, Quang Trach I, II, III, and Haiphong III under the public-private partnership (PPP) model.

MoIT has issued a document to collect opinions from relevant authorities about Geleximcos proposal to establish Geleximco-HUI and implement the Quynh Lap 1 and Quang Trach 2 thermal power plants.

Three months later, in October 2017, Geleximco sent documents to the government and authorities to propose establishing Geleximco-HUI, a joint venture between Geleximco and Hong Kong United Co., Ltd. (HUI, a subsidiary of Kaidi), to implement the $2-billion thermal power plants Quynh Lap 1 and Quang Trach 2 from Vinacomin and EVN, respectively.

Notably, Geleximco proposed permitting the joint venture to hold a 75 per cent stake in Quynh Lap 1, leaving the remaining 25 per cent with Vietnam's mining group Vinacomin. Meanwhile, the joint venture is looking to acquire the entire 100 per cent stake of Quang Trach 2 from state run Electricity of Vietnam (EVN). Geleximco stated that 80 per cent of the investment capital comes from loans from Chinese banks, while equity is only 20 per cent.

However, Geleximcos proposal has yet to be approved due to concerns of the existing investors of Quang Trach II and Quynh Lap I about potential delays in construction and rising capital demand in case Geleximco partners up with Chinese contractors.

A representative of Geleximco stated almost all long-delayed projects are invested by either state capital or loans with government guarantee. Besides, numerous investors from Europe and the US had their investment certificates revoked due to the long delays in construction.

Thus, selecting partners that have enough financial potential and experience is more important than the origins of the investors. Furthermore, we affirmed that the joint venture can arrange capital without guarantee from the Vietnamese government, thus in case the projects fails to meet the schedule, we will have to bear the most responsibility, the representative said.

Talking about Kaidi, the representative of Geleximco said that the corporation was selected as the contractor of Mao Khe-Quang Ninh thermal power plant invested by Vinacomin. The project is considered the largest thermal power project so far and the only thermal power project in Vietnam that has been constructed before schedule. Staring operations in April 2013, the plant is still operating smoothly.

SOE still wants hold majority stake in large-scale projects

In April 2009, the government assigned Vinacomin to develop Quynh Lap I thermal power plant. According to the plan, the project will come into operation in 2022-2023. However, it was not until seven years later in September 2016 that Vinacomin submitted the pre-feasibility and the environmental impact assessment report to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment for evaluation.

During these seven years, Vinacomin failed to find co-investors due to legal and financial problems.

Notably, Vinacomin invited Kospo Group from South Korea and Geleximco to join the project. However, Kospo asked the Vietnamese government to guarantee the loans as well as the electricity purchase contracts. As a result, the two parties failed to reach a compromise.

Geleximco affirmed that it can arrange capital without guarantee from the Vietnamese government, however, it asked to hold 75 per cent of the project. Vinacomin disagreed with Geleximco's proposal.

Failing to find partners, Vinacomin has yet to complete the site clearance, despite the ground-breaking ceremony organised in October 2015.

As the manufacturing sector has been driving electricity demand, the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) has issued a document to collect opinions from relevant authorities about Geleximcos proposal to establish Geleximco-HUI and implement the Quynh Lap 1 and Quang Trach 2 thermal power plants.
More international investors are discovering the Vietnamese hospitality sector, Photo: Le Toan

A recent report from CBRE revealed that foreign investor demand has mostly been led by Asian-based groups. These include several hotels in large cities and resort destinations.

The comparatively higher yields available in Vietnam continue to lure Asian-based property developers and real estate companies. Mid-market business and tourist hotels in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi are the main focus, due to the lack of supply in the gap between high-end and low-end operators.

The interest among domestic buyers is also robust. Some groups are seeking to purchase development sites and properties, with others opting to pursue joint ventures with foreign investors to gain access to capital and operational know-how.

According to Thuc Nguyen, manager of Research and Consulting Services at CBRE Vietnam, investment in hospitality has come predominantly from the Southeast Asian region, but is increasingly global. Notably, an increased number of enquiries has recently come from Europe and North America.

Vietnam is still a relatively immature market with limited high-quality assets out there. Vietnam has only recently become accessible and attractive as a global destination. Current owners dont want to sell or the asking price is too high, Thuc told VIR.

Thuc further cited that interest ranges from three-star to five-star assets, in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, as well as in coastal cities. He stressed that this strong interest would continue in 2018.

Most hospitality transactions were not publicised, meaning the list of hospitality transactions is longer than some number suggest.

International hotel operators continue to enter Vietnam, with Travelodge Asia recently announcing plans for its first property in the coastal city of Nha Trang, which is scheduled to open in 2020.

According to Stephen Burt, chairman of Travelodge Asia, the group considers Vietnam to be a very important destination for the company. It is a vibrant country that international travellers are discovering in ever-increasing numbers. It is also very encouraging to observe the level of governmental support for transport and social infrastructure that will further assist the hospitality industry, Burt said.

Spanish hotel company Melia Hotel International has strengthened its footprint in Vietnam with the recent signing of three new properties in Ho Chi Minh City, namely Melia Saigon Central, INNSIDE Saigon Central, and INNSIDE Saigon Mariamman, bringing the groups number of current and future properties in Vietnam to ten.

With the regions rising affluence, improved infrastructure, and increased flight connectivity, there is an enormous potential in the growing bleisure market in Vietnam, which is a booming tourism hotspot and a priority market for Melia.

Vietnam is quickly emerging as a top travel and business destination and is a big part of our strategic focus for Asia Pacific, said Bernardo Cabot Estarellas, senior vice president Asia Pacific of Melia Hotels International.

Last month, InterContinental Hotel Group (IHG) acquired a 51-per-cent stake in Regent Hotels and Resorts for an amount of $39 million. Regent has an operation contract for BIM groups Regent Residences Phu Quoc, which will become operational in 2019. With this transaction, IHG expanded its portfolio to ten hotels and resorts in Hanoi, Danang, and Ho Chi Minh City.

Indochina Capital recently joined with Japans Kajima to build up a chain of hotels in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and Danang under the brand name of Wink Hotels. The two first land plots were revealed to be in Ho Chi Minh City and Danang  two business and tourism hubs of Vietnam. The 226-room hotel in Ho Chi Minh City will come online in 2019, whereas the 243-room hotel in Danang will be put into operation in 2020.

Hoteliers saw a positive market performance in 2017, with more than 13 million international visitors arriving and an average nationwide occupancy rate of more than 70 per cent.

Phan Xuan Can, chairman of Soho Vietnam, a consultant firm specialised in hotel transactions, told VIR that the hotel segment has been very active in the last three years and caught the attention of many foreign investors, mainly from Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Singapore.

Korean investors, Can said, mostly wanted large-scale, high-end hotels with up to 250 rooms in Hanoi, Danang, and Ho Chi Minh City, where many Koreans live, while Japanese investors are interested in smaller-scale hotels with less than 150 rooms in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Singaporean investors, meanwhile, hunt for multi-purpose complexes featuring a hotel segment.

Can said that Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City currently have a limited land fund for hotel development, since the prices are high, while Danang and Phu Quoc are offering more opportunities for investors, with much land left to develop.

It can be expected that the number of hotel transactions will remain high until at least 2019, due to the limited supply and high demand.
Commercial banks had to welcome new executives due to the new amendment

On March 28, LienVietPostBank reported appointing a new chairman of the banks BOD as part of its annual meeting voting results. Specifically, Nguyen Dinh Thang, the banks former vice chairman of the BOD since April 2017 and member of the BOD since 2008, was elected as new chairman.

Previously, before the annual general shareholders meeting (AGM), Nguyen Duc Huong, the banks former chairman, handed in his resignation because of health issues.

Another bank expecting a change in the members of its BOD and Board of Supervisors (BOS) for the term of 2018-2022 was Kienlongbank. Specifically, the posts of chairman, vice chairman cum general director, and head of BOS will have to comply with the new amendment.

Likewise, shareholders at Nam A Bank voted Tran Ngoc Tam, the banks former deputy director, as the new general director. Luong Thi Cam Tu, the banks former general director, resigned from her post because of personal reasons.

Additionally, executive posts at other commercial banks, including SeABank, ABBank, HDBank, and Viet A Bank will likely welcome new members in the coming time since an individual is not permitted to concurrently hold key roles in a commercial bank and an enterprise at the same time.

According to Nguyen Tri Hieu, a Vietnamese financial analyst, the finance and banking sector should expect a whole new crop of bank leaders as a result of the new legal framework.
Metro Line No.2 has been delayed for 10 years (Illustration image)

Approved in November 2008, the project is invested by Hanoi Metropolitan Railway Management Board (MRB) with the total investment capital of VND19.55 trillion ($857.5 million) by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

Under the approved plan, the metro line will be 11.5 kilometre long, nearly 9km of which will run underground and 2.6km above the surface. It consists of a 17.5-hectare depot in Xuan Dinh ward, North Tu Liem district, and ten stations, including three elevated and seven underground.

The project was expected to come into operation in 2017, however, the construction has yet to be kick off. The investors have only completed the building of tender packages and the basic design.

In 2015, the Hanoi Peoples Committee proposed the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) to adjust the investment capital of the project up to VND51.7 trillion ($2.27 billion), however, because the added capital volume was too extensive, MPI asked the Hanoi Peoples Committee to reconsider its proposal. As a result, for its second proposal, the Hanoi Peoples Committee only requested to increase the capital to VND35.7 trillion ($1.56 billion).

Accordingly, in April 2017, the Hanoi Peoples Committee submitted the adjustments to other agencies for consultation.

The metro line will start from South Thang Long-Ciputra and end at Tran Hung Dao Street. It will pass through Tu Liem, Tay Ho, Cau Giay, Ba Dinh, and Hoan Kiem districts.

The first adjustment involves the basic design of the project. In particular, although the total length of the route remains the same (11.5km), the underground parts increased from 8.5 to 8.9km and the total length of the overhead parts was reduced from 3 to 2.6km.

In addition, to ensure investment efficiency, the total number of trains (each having four carriages) for this line also dropped from 14 to 10. The train frequency will be five minutes.

Due to long delays, the projects deadline is expected to be extended to 2023.

When the Hanoi authorities submitted the adjustments to other agencies, Hanoi authorities said that they signed an agreement with JICA for the first phases loan of 14,688 million ($133.3 million), including 11,573 million ($105 million) for construction and 2.223 million ($20.18 million) for consultancy services, effective from July 2009 to June 2019.

On another hand, in February 2018, Vingroup was permitted to compile investment dossiers, including the expanded phase of the Metro Line No.2 from Tran Hung Dao Street to Thuong Dinh with the length of 5.9km.

Vingroup proposed building the pre-feasibility and feasibility plans financed from their own equity. If Vingroup become the official investors of the project, its expenditure for building investment dossiers will be added to the investment capital of the projects.

However, in case it is not selected to develop the project, it will be ready to hand over all investment dossiers to the Hanoi Peoples Committee and the selected investors without asking for recompensation.
Low-cost airline AirAsia plans to open a direct flight from Hanoi to Penang, Malaysia from July 1, 2018. This is the exclusive route operated by Air Asia with a frequency of four flights per week on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Previously, passengers travelling from Hanoi to Penang have to transit in Kuala Lumpur airport.

On the occasion, AirAsia offers discounts for one-way tickets from Hanoi to Penang at prices from over VND1 million (including tax and fees).

In June, travel and transportation services company WorldTrans also plans to kick off direct charter flights between Can Tho and Bangkok and operate eight flights between the two destinations, using the 180-seater Airbus 320 aircraft from Thai VietJet. The flying time will be 1:25. A round-trip ticket costs VND4.6 million (including tax and airport fees).

Earlier on March 25, the national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines opened a new air route from Nha Trang to Seoul with four flights per week. Flight duration will be five hours.

The first direct air route from Hanoi to Chiang Mai, Thailand has been operated by Bangkok Airways from March 25. One-way and round-trip tickets are sold at US$108.6 and US$192.4 respectively.

Last month, Vietjet Air also announced the opening of a direct air route from HCM City to New Delhi as of July with four flights per week.
Ransomware GandCrab requires victims pay money for decrypted data

On April 5, the Vietnam Computer Emergency Responses Teams (VNCERT) sent a document to many telecom, internet, electric power, aviation, transport, and financial enterprises, about the spread of a ransomware virus called GandCrab. The malicious software has been detected in many countries, including Vietnam, and has been designated as more dangerous than the previous WannaCry virus.

In the morning of April 6, Kim Ngoc, an employee of an IT company in Ho Chi Minh Citys District 4, confirmed that she received VNCERTs announcement from the companys IT department.

This alarm is very important to our company, which is specialised in resolving data. Previously, thanks to being notified of WannaCry in time, the company suffered no damages, Ngoc said.

GandCrab is a ransomware-type virus distributed using RigEK toolkit. Once inside the system, it encrypts most stored data and adds the .GDCB extension to the name of each compromised file. From this point, files become unusable. Immediately after the encryption, GandCrab generates a GDCB-DECRYPT.txt and places a copy in every existing folder to seize victims attention.

According to this .txt file, to decrypt data, victims have to pay $400-1,000 by e-currency Dash (similar to Bitcoin). However, according to independent security expert Pham Duc Hung, payment of the ransom may not ensure getting victims data back.

Ransomware viruses are becoming common in Vietnam

According to the recommendation, users should not open and click links or email attachments with extensions of .doc, .pdf, or .zip sent by strangers or acquaintances that include messages of illegible or unusual messages.

According to a survey from Bkav, in 2017, ransomware viruses caused Vietnamese users financial damages of VND12.3 trillion ($541.8 million), exceeding the previous year's VND10.4 trillion ($458.1 million).

After receiving such an e-mail, individuals should report to the technical departments of their companies and organisations to prevent the virus from spreading to other computers and accessing protected systems such as IDS/IPS or the Firewall.

GandCrab was detected in late January this year and spread speedily through advertisements linking to websites hosting the malicious code and through emails.

According to newswire Bitdefender, GandCrab has spread to over 50 million computers globally. Currently, various antivirus software have been developed against this ransomware-type virus.

At the latest seminar titled Security World 2018 on April 5, director of the Ministry of Public Security (MoPS)s Internet Security Department, Hoang Phuoc Thuan, affirmed that ransomware viruses are becoming common in Vietnam, according to vnexpress.net.

Hackers do not stop at small-scale attacks, but also organise large-scale and systematic campaigns, said Thuan.

In May last year, ransomware-type viruses became a global obsession, especially after WannaCry spread to over 150 countries, including Vietnam. This virus attacked over 250 businesses and over 1,900 computers in Vietnam.
In the wake of the massive FDI influx from South Korea, the countrys banks are venturing further into Vietnams promising financial market, Photo: Le Toan

Banks see the potential

The domestic economy has grown tremendously over the past few years, with South Korean direct investment in 2017 standing at $3.97 billion in registered capital, second only to Japan, according to the General Statistics Office. As a logical consequence, South Korean financial institutions have increasingly gained footholds in Vietnam to cater to the financial needs of foreign direct investment (FDI) businesses and investors. Nine banks including two local corporations and seven branches or representative offices, five securities firms, two leasing companies, and three finance companies from South Korea have so far joined the local banking and finance landscape.

The past year saw an upturn in the presence and operation of South Korean financial institutions in Vietnam, evident in wholly foreign-owned Shinhan Bank Vietnam acquiring ANZ Vietnams retail banking business, KB Securities buying 99.4 per cent of local Maritime Securities Inc., or Shinhan Card and Lotte Card taking over Prudential Vietnam Finance and Techcom Finance Company, respectively.

For these ambitious financial institutions, serving the South Korean community is only one of their priorities. Further tapping into the sizeable chunk of 70 per cent of the population that is unbanked or underbanked is definitely another attraction. Shinhan Bank Vietnam, upon its successful takeover of ANZ Vietnams retail banking business in 2017, proved its consistent strategy to grow both its corporate and retail arms, with 30 branches to date, dominating the sales channels among foreign banks nationwide.

Shinhan Bank Vietnam CEO Shin Dong Min told VIR on the sidelines of the 7th International Finance Conference held in late March that while the bank originally targeted South Korean businesses in Vietnam, its strategy has changed over time, with an extended focus to also include local corporations and retail customers.

We realised that our customer portfolio consisted of only South Korean companies, so we want to change that. Weve tried to support local companies for nearly 10 years. We also want to attract some Vietnamese retail customers. So were now trying to achieve a balance between the corporate and retail sides of our business, said Min.

Meanwhile, competing with local banks in the retail segment will pose a difficult task to foreign banks. Shinhan Bank, however, aims to differentiate itself by digitalisation, with the bank planning to collaborate or partner up with fintech companies to create optimal solutions for their retail customers, the CEO added.

Incoming investors

While there are presently around 6,500 investment projects in Vietnam originating in South Korea, with accumulated capital registered at some $58 billion, the share of these investments that made their way into the finance and banking sector in Vietnam is rather small, according to Nguyen Anh Tuan, editor-in-chief of online portal Nhadautu.vn.

The merger and acquisition (M&A) deals and equity investments in the banking and finance sector that South Korean financial investors have conducted in previous years are relatively small in quantity and quality, Tuan said at the International Finance Conference.

Tuan noted that the sector carries a multitude of prospects and opportunities for foreign investors, as the country is aggressively pushing the equitisation of state-owned enterprises (SOE), while the private sector is also offering a great deal of stocks listed on the stock exchanges for investment.

The local banking sector is going through a restructuring process and as you can see, a number of troubled banks have been restructured. Some of them are on the negotiation table to sell to investors, including foreign ones, he said.

Seo Jae Seok, deputy general director of Woori Bank Vietnam, said that an environment like Vietnams  with a bright outlook of the local economy that scored 6.81 per cent in GDP growth last year and the improved financial and banking structure  is enticing to foreign investors, including South Korean financial institutions who could be looking to invest in the financial and banking sector in Vietnam.

Retail banking, according to Min of Shinhan Bank Vietnam, is considered a promising segment that South Korean investors can look into when deciding to invest in Vietnam, with risks associated with the capital needed to invest in the sector.

Nevertheless, this can be the area to incorporate the digitalisation trend that we see happening in the banking sector. For South Korean banks who have a solid know-how on digitalisation, investing in retail banking with its digital features will be of advantage in this case, Min noted.

Getting into the market

For South Korean investors that are seeking a way into the local banking and financial market, there are several ways to go, including gaining a licence to become a local incorportation like Shinhan Bank Vietnam or Woori Bank Vietnam did, or through M&A activities.

The former, according to Sung Mee Hong, partner in the corporate and M&A practice group at South Korean law firm Lee and Ko, is getting increasingly hard, as the local banking market has hit the saturation point with too many banks on the scene. The latter, as such, will be an alternative for investors to enter the market.

Nevertheless, the foreign ownership limit (FOL) in the banking sector  at 20 per cent for a strategic investor  still poses an obstacle for foreign investors, stressed Hong. Given such limits, a foreign financial institution investing in a local bank does not have the right to veto votes or have a say in the management of the bank.

Of late, the Vietnamese government has allowed foreign investors to take over 100 per cent of distressed banks. This will become another way for foreign investors to enter the market, killing two birds with one stone: paving the way for foreign investment into the sector and helping troubled banks to regain their lost reputation, she added.

In the opinion of Moon Kyung Kang, general director of Mirae Asset Securities (Vietnam), South Korean investors are usually very interested in the banking sector. However, unlike strategic investors that buy bigger shares in local banks, general investors would rather invest in small portions of bank stocks.

But in case of strategic investors, when they buy the big shares [in local banks], they want to be a part of managing the company. But the portions of 5 per cent or 10 per cent are really small, so the investor has no power to manage the bank, said Kang in an interview with VIR.

So frankly speaking, in the case of our Mirae Asset Group, we have 4.5 per cent of Eximbank shares and we cannot manage nor do anything for Eximbank.

Under current regulations, the FOL in the banking sector is capped at 30 per cent, with a 15 per cent limit for a non-strategic investor, whilst a foreign strategic investor can hold up to 20 per cent of a domestic banks stakes, granted by the government on a case-by-case basis. This cap can be a challenge for foreign investors who want to acquire large stakes at local lenders, according to Kang.

While South Korean financial institutions are yet to become prominent in the local banking and financial landscape, they are working their way to expanding operations and venturing into co-operations with local banks. For instance, while Hana Financial Group is in the pipeline to buy a 10 or 20 per cent stake at state-owned BIDV, its subsidiary KEB Hana Banks Ho Chi Minh City branch has received approval from the central bank to double its chartered capital from $35 million to $70 million.
Nam Dinh Textile Garment Corporation has been fined for VND200 million ($8,800) for delaying its listing

At the periodical government press meeting last month, Deputy Minister of Finance Vu Thi Mai said that the ministry (MoF) has recently made public the list of more than 700 businesses who have been equitised but have not been listed as required.

After MoFs move, more than half of these firms have completed the necessary listing procedures and gone onto the bourse.

The remaining businesses are in the legal setup stage to debut on the stock market in the forthcoming time, Mai said.

Hundreds of equitised businesses delaying listing have not only cause concerns to investors, but also badly affected business transparency.

At a recent meeting of the Steering Committee for Business Renovation and Development, Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue said that one of the committees core tasks this year was to urge ministries, localities, business groups, and corporations to facilitate the listing process of equitised businesses under their management.

Equitised businesses' delaying listing have not only caused concerns to investors, but also badly affected business transparency.

Hue also required the imposition of sterner sanctions on disobedient businesses.

In fact, numerous state-owned businesses have been delaying the listing, despite being equitised several years ago, including Vietnam Wool JSC, Cuu Long Construction and Trading House JSC, and Quang Nam Seafood Import Export JSC, to name but a few.

According to Pham Thi Thanh Huong, deputy chief inspector at the State Securities Commission (SSC), in respect to equitised businesses which have satisfied listing requirements but have yet to go on the bourse, besides sending notices to remind them of their [listing] obligations, SSC have been working with them directly on the issue.

In the next step, if firms still delay the listing, SSC will consider imposing sanctions.

Most recently, in light of Decree 145/2016 on measures to deal with administrative violations in securities business, SSC has fined Nam Dinh Textile Garment Corporation for VND200 million ($8,800) for delaying its listing by more than nine months.

Huong said that at this point of time, SSC is reviewing the list of disobedient businesses to consider sanctions. Further punishments will be publicised to facilitate the listing process.
The Viet Nam Bank for Industry and Trade (VietinBank) and the Petrolimex Group Commercial Joint Stock Bank (PG Bank) have called off a potential merger after nearly two years of negotiations.

The information was announced by Vietinbank, one of Viet Nams largest state-owned commercial banks, in its recently-released audited consolidated financial statements.

PG Bank is a subsidiary of Viet Nams top fuel importer and distributor Viet Nam National Petroleum Group (Petrolimex), which is currently holding a 40 per cent stake in the unlisted domestic lender.

As stated in Vietinbanks financial statement, VietinBank and PG Bank will report to the competent authorities of each party for approval to terminate their merger plan. They will also organise a shareholder meeting to discuss a restructuring plan on April 21.

The cancellation followed a request by the State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV), which is Vietinbanks largest shareholder, controlling 64.46 per cent of the bank. SBV insisted that VietinBank review and assess PG Bank stock valuation results, calculating and renegotiating the stock swap ratio agreed by the two sides earlier.

This dashes investors hopes for a long-term strategic cooperation between the new bank and large corporations in the energy sector which would be boosted significantly by an expansion of capital, networks, and customer base.

PG Bank got the approval from its shareholders for the merger with Vietinbank on April 14, 2015, in accordance with the overall plan of SBV on the banking sector restructuring process regarding the handling of weak lenders.

On May 22, 2015 in Ha Noi, Vietinbank signed the M&A deal with PG Bank, and a comprehensive co-operation agreement with Petrolimex.

If the merger was approved by SBV, the new financial institution would continue to be named VietinBank, and would become the largest and 2nd largest bank by registered capital and assets in Viet Nam with VND40 trillion (US$1.85 billion) and VND686.9 trillion, respectively.

VietinBank shareholders also agreed on the swap ratio of 1:0.9, or one PG Bank share will be exchanged for 0.9 Vietinbank share and the Ha Noi-based bank will issue more shares for conversion with PG Bank shares.

According to Chairman of Vietinbank Nguyen Van Thang, the merger, if approved, would have helped the Vietinbank boost capital, develop expanded branches, and foster retail services, in addition to stepping up lending and investment.

It would also open up new opportunities for VietinBank and Petrolimex to head strategic cooperation, which would benefited shareholders, customers, and the state, Thang told participants at the signing ceremony of the M&A deal held in May 2015.

Following the merger, Vietinbank could enlarge its network with the help of PGBanks 16 branches and 63 offices nationwide.

As PG Bank was a strategic partner of Petrolimex, Vietinbank would also capitalise on PG Banks significant competitive advantages, based on its network of 6,200 filling stations across the country, to enlarge its network to communes, Thang said.

However, the move was not finalised as the SBV did not officially approve the merge.

VietinBank is 64.5 per cent owned by SBV, while Japans Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ has a 19.73 per cent holding.

PG Bank, formerly known as Dong Thap Muoi Joint Stock Commercial Bank, had a chartered capital of VND3 trillion (US$138 million) and total assets of about VND25.78 trillion (US$1.19 billion) as of the end of last year.

Viet Nam News contacted Vietinbank for further information but the bank was unable to provide any immediate comment at the time of going to print.
Members of the Vietnam Institute of Directors at today's launching event in Ho Chi Minh City

Launched on April 5 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Institute of Directors (VIOD) is the first independent and private organisation to promote the best practices of corporate governance at Vietnamese public firms.

Supporters of VIOD include the International Finance Corporation, the Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi Stock Exchanges, the State Securities Commission, and Switzerlands State Secretariat for Economic Affairs.

The Institute aims to encourage business ethics and transparency, create a pool of independent board members, and enhance the professionalism of Vietnamese boards. It will deliver workshops, seminars, conferences, and board events on important governance topics, mainly through its flagship Governance Excellence Programmes.

Sitting on VIODs management board are senior executives from Vietnam Holding Asset Management, Dragon Capital, PwC, Deloitte, Duane Morris, and Vietnam Dairy Products JSC (Vinamilk).

This is an important milestone for Vietnam, as the country must address the urgent needs of the market in the context of global integration and raising capital from foreign investors, said Tran Van Dung, chairman of Vietnams State Securities Commission.

The ultimate goal of VIOD is to enhance the competence of board directors in Vietnam. Dominic Scriven, chairman of Dragon Capital Group, said that throughout his 20-year investment journey in Vietnam, he often saw domestic firms struggle due to low levels of corporate governance. The number of independent and non-executive board members is also few and far in between due to the serious lack of qualified candidates.

VIODs leaders hope that the new platform will be a testament to Vietnams on-going efforts to promote corporate governance, reform the capital market, mitigate risks, and raise significant foreign capital inflows. The Institute will also publish newsletters, publications, and relevant resources in this area, as well as hosting networking events.

The first training event, titled the Audit Committee Programme, will take place in May.

IFC initiative boosts corporate governance at microfinance lenders IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is helping microfinance institutions in Vietnam improve their corporate governance practices and strengthen their ability to cater ...

HNX to honour 30 firms for corporate governance The Ha Noi Stock Exchange (HNX) will assess and honour the top 30 listed companies for best corporate governance in November during its annual convention ...
The European Commission presented the Action Plan on Military Mobility on 28 March [1]. By facilitating military mobility within the EU,  explains the foreign representative of the Union, Federica Mogherini  we can be more effective in reacting when challenges arise. Even if she does not say so, the reference to Russian aggression is evident.

The Action Plan was actually decided not by the EU, but by the Pentagon and NATO. In 2015, General Ben Hodges, commander of US gound forces in Europe (US Army Europe), called for the establishment of a military Schengen Area so that, to face Russian aggression, US forces could move quickly from one European country to another, without being slowed down by national regulations and customs procedures.

This request was embraced by NATO: the North Atlantic Council, meeting on 8 November 2017 at the level of defense ministers, officially requested the European Union to implement national rules that facilitate the passage of military forces through the borders and, at the same time, to improve civil infrastructures so that they are adapted to military requirements [2].

On February 15, 2018, the North Atlantic Council at the level of defense ministers announced the establishment of a new NATO Logistic Command to improve the movement in Europe of troops and essential equipment for defense [3].

Just over a month later, the European Union presented the Action Plan on Military Mobility, which exactly meets the requirements established by the Pentagon and NATO. It envisages simplifying customs formalities for military operations and the transport of dangerous goods in the military domain.

This is how the military Schengen Area is prepared, with the difference that free-to-circulate are not people but tanks.

Moving tanks and other military vehicles by road and rail is not the same thing as driving ordinary vehicles and trains. The existing barriers to military mobility must therefore be removed by modifying infrastructures not suitable for the weight or size of military vehicles, in particular bridges and rails with insufficient load capacity For example, if a bridge is not able to hold the weight of a column of tanks, it will have to be strengthened or rebuilt.

The European Commission will identify the parts of the trans-European transport network suitable for military transport, including necessary upgrades of existing infrastructure. They must be carried out along tens of thousands of kilometers of the road and rail network. This will require an enormous expense for the member countries, with a possible financial contribution from the EU for such works.

However, we European citizens will always pay these great works, useless for civil uses, with consequent cuts to social spending and investments in public utility projects.

In Italy, where funds for the reconstruction of the earthquake zones are scarce, billions of euros will have to be spent to rebuild infrastructures suitable for military mobility.

The 27 EU countries, 21 of which belong to NATO, are now called to examine the Plan. Italy would therefore have the possibility to reject it.

This, however, would mean, for the next government, to oppose not only the EU but NATO under US command, starting to disengage from the strategy that, with the invention of the Russian threat, prepares the war, this true, against Russia.

It would be a fundamental political decision for our country but, given the subjection to the US, it remains in the realm of political fiction.
The U.S. Department of the Treasurys Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), in consultation with the Department of State, today designated seven Russian oligarchs and 12 companies they own or control, 17 senior Russian government officials, and a state-owned Russian weapons trading company and its subsidiary, a Russian bank.

The Russian government operates for the disproportionate benefit of oligarchs and government elites, said Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin. The Russian government engages in a range of malign activity around the globe, including continuing to occupy Crimea and instigate violence in eastern Ukraine, supplying the Assad regime with material and weaponry as they bomb their own civilians, attempting to subvert Western democracies, and malicious cyber activities. Russian oligarchs and elites who profit from this corrupt system will no longer be insulated from the consequences of their governments destabilizing activities.

Todays actions are pursuant to authority provided under Executive Order (E.O.) 13661 and E.O. 13662, authorities codified by the Countering Americas Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), as well as E.O. 13582. These actions follow the Department of the Treasurys issuance of the CAATSA Section 241 report in late January 2018. In the Section 241 report, Treasury identified senior Russian government officials and oligarchs. Todays action targets a number of the individuals listed in the Section 241 report, including those who benefit from the Putin regime and play a key role in advancing Russias malign activities.

Concurrent with this action, OFAC is issuing two general licenses to minimize immediate disruptions to U.S. persons, partners, and allies. For details, see General Licenses 12 and 13, as well as related FAQs.

All assets subject to U.S. jurisdiction of the designated individuals and entities, and of any other entities blocked by operation of law as a result of their ownership by a sanctioned party, are frozen, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from dealings with them. Additionally, non-U.S. persons could face sanctions for knowingly facilitating significant transactions for or on behalf of the individuals or entities blocked today.

Designated Russian Oligarchs

Vladimir Bogdanov is being designated for operating in the energy sector of the Russian Federation economy. Bogdanov is the Director General and Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of Surgutneftegaz, a vertically integrated oil company operating in Russia. OFAC imposed sectoral sanctions on Surgutneftegaz pursuant to Directive 4 issued under E.O. 13662 in September 2014.

Oleg Deripaska is being designated pursuant to E.O. 13661 for having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, a senior official of the Government of the Russian Federation, as well as pursuant to E.O. 13662 for operating in the energy sector of the Russian Federation economy. Deripaska has said that he does not separate himself from the Russian state. He has also acknowledged possessing a Russian diplomatic passport, and claims to have represented the Russian government in other countries. Deripaska has been investigated for money laundering, and has been accused of threatening the lives of business rivals, illegally wiretapping a government official, and taking part in extortion and racketeering. There are also allegations that Deripaska bribed a government official, ordered the murder of a businessman, and had links to a Russian organized crime group.

Suleiman Kerimov is being designated for being an official of the Government of the Russian Federation. Kerimov is a member of the Russian Federation Council. On November 20, 2017, Kerimov was detained in France and held for two days. He is alleged to have brought hundreds of millions of euros into France  transporting as much as 20 million euros at a time in suitcases, in addition to conducting more conventional funds transfers  without reporting the money to French tax authorities. Kerimov allegedly launders the funds through the purchase of villas. Kerimov was also accused of failing to pay 400 million euros in taxes related to villas.

Igor Rotenberg is being designated for operating in the energy sector of the Russian Federation economy. Rotenberg acquired significant assets from his father, Arkady Rotenberg, after OFAC designated the latter in March 2014. Specifically Arkady Rotenberg sold Igor Rotenberg 79 percent of the Russian oil and gas drilling company Gazprom Burenie. Igor Rotenbergs uncle, Boris Rotenberg, owns 16 percent of the company. Like his brother Arkady Rotenberg, Boris Rotenberg was designated in March 2014.

Kirill Shamalov is being designated for operating in the energy sector of the Russian Federation economy. Shamalov married Putins daughter Katerina Tikhonova in February 2013 and his fortunes drastically improved following the marriage; within 18 months, he acquired a large portion of shares of Sibur, a Russia-based company involved in oil and gas exploration, production, processing, and refining. A year later, he was able to borrow more than one $1 billion through a loan from Gazprombank, a state-owned entity subject to sectoral sanctions pursuant to E.O. 13662. That same year, long-time Putin associate Gennady Timchenko, who is himself designated pursuant to E.O. 13661, sold an additional 17 percent of Siburs shares to Shamalov. Shortly thereafter, Kirill Shamalov joined the ranks of the billionaire elite around Putin.

Andrei Skoch is being designated for being an official of the Government of the Russian Federation. Skoch is a deputy of the Russian Federations State Duma. Skoch has longstanding ties to Russian organized criminal groups, including time spent leading one such enterprise.

Viktor Vekselberg is being designated for operating in the energy sector of the Russian Federation economy. Vekselberg is the founder and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Renova Group. The Renova Group is comprised of asset management companies and investment funds that own and manage assets in several sectors of the Russian economy, including energy. In 2016, Russian prosecutors raided Renovas offices and arrested two associates of Vekselberg, including the companys chief managing director and another top executive, for bribing officials connected to a power generation project in Russia.

Designated Oligarch-Owned Companies

In addition to sanctioning the individuals listed above, OFAC today designated 12 companies that constitute some of the most prominent among the entities that are owned or controlled by the individuals designated today. This list of 12 companies owned or controlled by the sanctioned oligarchs should not be viewed as exhaustive, and the regulated community remains responsible for compliance with OFACs 50 percent rule. [Insert link to rule here]

B-Finance Ltd., based in the British Virgin Islands, is being designated for being owned or controlled by, directly or indirectly, Oleg Deripaska.

Basic Element Limited is being designated for being owned or controlled by, directly or indirectly, Oleg Deripaska. Basic Element Limited is based in Jersey and is the private investment and management company for Deripaskas various business interests.

EN+ Group is being designated for being owned or controlled by, directly or indirectly, Oleg Deripaska, B-Finance Ltd., and Basic Element Limited. EN+ Group is located in Jersey and is a leading international vertically integrated aluminum and power producer.

EuroSibEnergo is being designated for being owned or controlled by, directly or indirectly, Oleg Deripaska and EN+ Group. EuroSibEnergo is one of the largest independent power companies in Russia, operating power plants across Russia and producing around nine percent of Russias total electricity.

United Company RUSAL PLC is being designated for being owned or controlled by, directly or indirectly, EN+ Group. United Company RUSAL PLC is based in Jersey and is one of the worlds largest aluminum producers, responsible for seven percent of global aluminum production.

Russian Machines is being designated for being owned or controlled by, directly or indirectly, Oleg Deripaska and Basic Element Limited. Russian Machines was established to manage the machinery assets of Basic Element Limited.

GAZ Group is being designated for being owned or controlled by, directly or indirectly, Oleg Deripaska and Russian Machines. GAZ Group is Russias leading manufacturer of commercial vehicles.

Agroholding Kuban, located in Russia, is being designated for being owned or controlled by, directly or indirectly, Oleg Deripaska and Basic Element Limited.

Gazprom Burenie, OOO is being designated for being owned or controlled by Igor Rotenberg. Gazprom Burenie, OOO provides oil and gas exploration services in Russia.

NPV Engineering Open Joint Stock Company is being designated for being owned or controlled by Igor Rotenberg. NPV Engineering Open Joint Stock Company provides management and consulting services in Russia.

Ladoga Menedzhment, OOO is being designated for being owned or controlled by Kirill Shamalov. Ladoga Menedzhment, OOO is located in Russia and engaged in deposit banking.

Renova Group is being designated for being owned or controlled by Viktor Vekselberg. Renova Group, based in Russia, is comprised of investment funds and management companies operating in the energy sector, among others, in Russias economy.

Designated Russian State-Owned Firms

Russia has contributed to the instability of the Government of Syria through the sales and transfer of Russian-origin military equipment in support of Assads regime, enabling Assad to continue carrying out attacks against Syrian citizens. These attacks have included chemical weapons attacks, which claimed the lives of hundreds of Syrian citizens.

Rosoboroneksport is a state-owned Russian weapons trading company with longstanding and ongoing ties to the Government of Syria, with billions of dollars worth of weapons sales over more than a decade. Rosoboroneksport is being designated under E.O. 13582 for having materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services in support of, the Government of Syria.

The Russian Financial Corporation Bank (RFC Bank) is being designated for being owned by Rosoboroneksport. RFC Bank incorporated in Moscow, Russia and its operations include deposit banking activities.

Designated Russian Government Officials

Andrey Akimov is the Chairman of the Management Board of state-owned Gazprombank. Akimov is being designated pursuant E.O. 13661 for being an official of the Government of the Russian Federation.

Mikhail Fradkov is the President of the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies (RISS), a major research and analytical center established by the President of the Russian Federation, which provides information support to the Presidential Administration, Federation Council, State Duma, and Security Council. Fradkov is being designated pursuant E.O. 13661 for being an official of the Government of the Russian Federation.

Sergey Fursenko is a member of the board of directors of Gazprom Neft, a subsidiary of state-owned Gazprom. Fursenko is being designated pursuant to E.O. 13661 for being an official of the Government of the Russian Federation.

Oleg Govorun is the Head of the Presidential Directorate for Social and Economic Cooperation with the Commonwealth of Independent States Member Countries. Govorun is being designated pursuant to E.O. 13661 for being an official of the Government of the Russian Federation.

Alexey Dyumin is the Governor of the Tula region of Russia. He previously headed the Special Operations Forces, which played a key role in Russias purported annexation of Crimea. Dyumin is being designated pursuant to E.O. 13661 for being an official of the Government of the Russian Federation.

Vladimir Kolokoltsev is the Minister of Internal Affairs and General Police of the Russian Federation. Kolokoltsev is being designated pursuant to E.O. 13661 for being an official of the Government of the Russian Federation.

Konstantin Kosachev is the Chairperson of the Council of the Federation Committee on Foreign Affairs. Kosachev is being designated pursuant to E.O. 13661 for being an official of the Government of the Russian Federation.

Andrey Kostin is the President, Chairman of the Management Board, and Member of the Supervisory Council of state-owned VTB Bank. Kostin is being designated pursuant to E.O. 13661 for being an official of the Government of the Russian Federation.

Alexey Miller is the Chairman of the Management Committee and Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors of state-owned company Gazprom. Miller is being designated pursuant to E.O. 13661 for being an official of the Government of the Russian Federation.

Nikolai Patrushev is Secretary of the Russian Federation Security Council. Patrushev is being designated pursuant to E.O. 13661 for being an official of the Government of the Russian Federation.

Vladislav Reznik is a member of the Russian State Duma. Reznik is being designated pursuant to E.O. 13661 for being an official of the Government of the Russian Federation.

Evgeniy Shkolov is an Aide to the President of the Russian Federation. Shkolov is being designated pursuant to E.O. 13661 for being an official of the Government of the Russian Federation.

Alexander Torshin is the State Secretary  Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation. Torshin is being designated pursuant to E.O. 13661 for being an official of the Government of the Russian Federation.

Vladimir Ustinov is the Plenipotentiary Envoy to Russias Southern Federal District. Ustinov is being designated pursuant to E.O. 13661 for being an official of the Government of the Russian Federation.

Timur Valiulin is the head of the General Administration for Combatting Extremism within Russias Ministry of Interior. Valiulin is being designated pursuant to E.O. 13661 for being an official of the Government of the Russian Federation.

Alexander Zharov is the head of Roskomnadzor (the Federal Service for the Supervision of Communications, Information Technology, and Mass Media). Zharov is being designated pursuant to E.O. 13661 for being an official of the Government of the Russian Federation.

Viktor Zolotov is the Director of the Federal Service of National Guard Troops and Commander of the National Guard Troops of the Russian Federation. Zolotov is being designated pursuant to E.O. 13661 for being an official of the Government of the Russian Federation.
Gary Aitkenhead is the Head of the Military Laboratory for Science and Technology of Porton Down (United Kingdom). On 3 April 2018, he declared speaking for himself and on behalf of his colleagues, that his services identified that the substance used on Sergei and Yulia Skripal was an agent belonging to the Novichok programme but made it clear that they had never determined where it was made.

He declared in an exclusive interview given to Sky News on 3 April 2018:

We were able to identify this substance as a Novichok and to establish that it is an nerve-poisoning agent of military grade () We were not been able to establish the exact source but we provided scientific reports to the government which led it to other sources before reaching the conclusions that it has today.

16 days earlier, on 19 March, Boris Johnson, the UKs Minister for Foreign Affairs, claimed to Zhanna Nemtsova on Deutsche Welle that he had interrogated the Porton Down team which had assured him that there was not a shadow of doubt that Russia was responsible.

By the time of the Anglo Saxon attack on Iraq in 2003, British military scientists had already denounced the falsehoods declared by their government. So at that time you had the then Prime Minister Tony Blair declaring on the one hand that Bagdad was holding significant stocks of chemical weapons, and on the other hand, an expert of global repute, Dr David Kelly, discretely informing the BBC that this was nothing but fake news.

After being exposed by the MI6 to be a secret informant for the BBC, Dr David Kelly was found dead. A committee chaired by Lord Brian Hutton investigated into this matter and concluded that he had committed suicide. Four years later, a liberal MP, Norman Baker, published the truth of this state assassination, in his book, The Strange Death of David Kelly.

Getting back to our main story, Aitkenheads TV appearance has saved the peace and avoided the worst.
On 31 March 2018, intervening in the AKPs regional congress at Umraniye, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened to force Kosovos Prime Minister to resign.

Turkish Secret Services (Milli Istihbarat Teskilat  MIT) kidnapped in Kosovo five Turkish professors and a Turkish doctor accused of being members of the Hizmet de Fethullah Gulen. The Services then repatriated them to Turkey. The operation took place with the support of the Head of Kosovos Secret Services (Agjencia Kosovare e Inteligjences  AKI), Driton Gashi, and Kosovos Minister of Internal Affairs, Flamur Sefaj. However neither Prime Minister Ramush Haradina nor President Hashim Thaci were in the picture.

The Prime Minister of Kosovo had been forced to explain what happened before Kosovos Parliament which had accused him of tarnishing the countrys reputation as a good host.

After a meeting with President Thaci, the Prime Minister announced the dismissal of his two collaborators.

Well, Prime Minister of Kosovo! Who told you to do this?, harangued President Erdogan. Since when have you decided to protect those that are working to launch a coup against the Republic of Turkey? Did you not know that we were the second country in the world to recognize Kosovo, after only one hour America was the first. How can you nourish the bodies of those who have attempted a coup against Turkey, a country which had opened its arms and embraced Kosovo like a brother?, he continued before predicting that Kosovos government would crumble.

Hakan Fidan, Head of the Turkish Secret Services, intervened in support of his friend, the Kosovaran President, Hashim Thaci. By doing so, he managed to defuse the situation. The decision to fire the two men was annulled. Despite this, it is expected that the Minister for Home Affairs will resign but the Head of the Kosovo Secret Services will stay put.

During the Nato aggression against what was then Yugoslavia but which today is Kosovo, Hashim Thaci (today Kosovos President) led Nato mercenaries, who were operating under the cover of the Front de Liberation du Kosovo (UCK), that had been trained by the German Special Forces (KSK) in Turkey. As for Hakan Fidan, he was the Turkish Armys liaison officer with the Nato Chief of Staff.
Saudi Arabia has launched a programme to construct 560 mosques in Bangladesh, So announced Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in Dhaka, an announcement made whilst his electoral campaign was in full swing.

He made it clear that the Wahhabite Imams of these model mosques will spread the message of an Islam that brings peace. Each mosque will have its own cultural centre.

The new mosques will form a network in each district of the country. This proves that they do not respond to a need but to a strategic design.

Responding to the concern of the Hindu and Christian minorities, the Sheikh also made it clear that this programme guaranteed all citizens the freedom to practise their own religion in conformity with the spirit of Islam.

This very programme had been organized by Saudi Arabia in Algeria at the end of the 80s. It had succeeded in separating the rural population from the state institutions and had gathered behind the Wahhabite Imams, to prepare the country for an attack from the jihadists and for civil war.

During the speech President Trump delivered at Riyadh in May 2017, Saudi Arabia undertook to stop using Islam as a tool to spread jihadism.
On 5 April 2018, Bekir Bozdag, the Turkish Vice President, made a guest appearance on television Haberturk to address the kidnappings that had taken place in Kosovo [1]. He declared that the Turkish Secret Services (MIT) succeeded in catching 80 individuals in 18 countries.

Mr Bozdag, who had in the past been the Minister of Justice, provided assurances that these persons had not been kidnapped but bundled up, with the agreement of the governments of the countries where they were found, by-passing extradition procedures.

Mr Bozdag has not however revealed the identity of the 18 countries to which he had referred.

The Turkish Secret Services have identified 4 600 Turkish citizens who fled abroad following the attempted assassination of President Erdogan and the attempted coup detat that followed in 2016.
Take a good look at this photo and observe closely the two men on the far left, one carrying the kalachnikov and the other with the headgear.

How do you tell a moderate rebel (sic) of Ghouta from one of the ordinary residents of Ghouta? All you need to do is contrast the good health and clothes of the first lot with the emaciated bodies and rags of the second lot.

The Syrian Arab Army has just discovered that Irbine, an area in the liberated Ghouta, holds stocks of foodstuffs and a hospital that is very well equipped. However, the UN and Humanitarian NGOs have given assurances that it was the regime that was starving the population to death and denying it access to health care.

The Syrian Arab Army has entered into areas of Ghouta that are still under the control of Nato moderate rebels. Their entry has allowed confirmation of a huge network of tunnels in areas of Ghouta. It contains a mega corridor enabling 4 x 4s and lorries to circulate to supply the fighters, whilst they were holding those ordinarily resident there as slaves.

The Western Press assures that the families which have been evacuated to Emirates from Idleb are really moderate rebels. Yet it is a fact that most of the combatants evacuated, were masked when they were clambouring on board the buses that had been provided for them. When some of them appeared without their masks, they were recognized.

In this photo: 2 people in the foreground also appeared in the first photo on the extreme right, showing off the heads of their victims.
Busy Philipps. Photo: 2016 Getty Images

Your resident Instagram story maven will soon be heading over to Netflix  damn it. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt has added Busy Philipps to the shows fourth season in an unspecified role, TV Line reports. Her guest arc isnt expected to exceed one or two episodes, or feature Michelle Williams in any capacity, but we do know shell be sharing some scenes with Lillian. How lucky am I to get to work with this icon, Philipps posted on Instagram with Carol Kane, who we can confirm, yes, is an icon.

The news of Philippss casting serves as a nice, full circle moment in a way  she was originally supposed to star in a zany Tina Fey- and Robert Carlock-produced sitcom about sisters who perform a Sully Sullenberger-esque act of public heroism last year, but it never got picked up to series by NBC. In the meantime, we can settle for this.
Tilda Swinton. Photo: Barry Wetcher/Netflix

Late last month, Cannes Film Festival director Theirry Fremaux discussed the decision to ban films presented exclusively on streaming platforms from competition at Cannes. Netflix could potentially screen its films at the festival, he explained, but its movies would no longer be eligible to win the festivals awards, including the Palme dOr. As of this year, Cannes now requires that all competing films receive a theatrical run in France, which, as you know, is not really Netflixs thing. Now, according to The Hollywood Reporter, the streaming platform is reportedly prepared to take their films home (specifically your home, where you will watch them from your sofa) and skip the film festival all together.

According to Vanity Fair, the films Netflix would hypothetically pull from the Cannes lineup would potentially include Alfonso Cuarons Roma, Paul Greengrasss Norway, Jeremy Saulniers Hold the Dark, a finalized version of the unfinished Orson Welles film The Other Side of the Wind and Morgan Nevilles Orson Welles documentary Theyll Love Me When Im Dead. The festivals official 2018 schedule, however, wont be released until Thursday, April 12.

In 2017, two Netflix films, Bong Joon-hos Okja and Noah Baumbachs The Meyerowitz Stories, made it into competition, a decision that drew criticism from some.Last year, when we selected these two films, I thought I could convince Netflix to release them in cinemas, Fremaux told THR in March. I was presumptuous. They refused.
Typically, the Food Bank of North Alabama has pallets stacked with boxes of canned foods but right now, the food bank has less than 10 boxes of mixed can goods to distribute.

"We like to have a whole row of just canned goods, boxes of canned goods, and right now we only have about 6 boxes," said Shirley Schofield, Executive Director of the Food Bank of North Alabama

The Food Bank of North Alabama provides food to 250 groups throughout 11 local counties.

There are around 100,000 people who are considered food insecure in North Alabama. That also means 1 in 4 kids don't have a dependable daily food source, according to Schofield.

Equinta Crutcher looks to the food bank to help stock her church's food pantry, which gives away food once a month in Madison and Limestone counties.

"The need has become greater and greater. We've been doing this for about 3 years," said Crutcher.

When the food bank runs low, Crutcher says their church pantry feels the impact.

"We try to give people at least a weeks worth of food and we cannot do that when the food bank doesn't have anything. And right now, its very low," added Crutcher.

Schofield says canned goods are some of the easiest and most efficient foods to distribute.

"Because of how long they last, we like to have a good supply of canned goods on hand," said Schofield.

Schofield says the food bank is really depending on the community to help them replenish their shelves ahead of the summer months.

"This is a very giving community and we're really looking forward to people stepping up and helping us out," added Schofield.

Some ways you can help the food bank out are by donating or hosting a food drive.

Click on the following links for more information on how to help:

 Red basket donation: https://redbasket.org/1622#projectsharestory

 How to host a food drive: https://www.foodbanknorthal.org/get-involved/host-a-food-and-fund-drive/
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The Australian Taxation Office uses heavy-handed tactics to target small businesses, and one of its deputy commissioners admits the powerful institution sometimes makes mistakes.

A joint Age/Sydney Morning Herald/Four Corners investigation can reveal that the tax office can get it wrong in one in 20 tax cases  often with huge financial impacts to the small businesses and taxpayers involved.

The ATO's watchdog, the Inspector-General of Taxation Ali Noroozi, has about 30 staff and his powers arent binding. It has prompted calls for more oversight and transparency to bring Australia into line with countries such as the US, Britain and Canada.

Mr Noroozi told the investigation: I think it's perhaps in 5 per cent of the cases or so, an organisation that size may not get it right.
That background is not something Vesey, born in 1955, seeks to highlight. But it does provide a clue as to why he is not overly perturbed by his company - and himself - becoming something of a public punching bag. Coalition MPs and conservative media commentators are angered by AGL's decision to signal - seven years out - it planned to shut the 1680-megawatt Liddell power station in the Hunter Valley by 2022. Art of War Vesey's early actions as AGL CEO wouldn't have won him many friends among those conservative forces he now confronts. AGL has made renewable energy the theme of its brand, even though it remains the nation's biggest onshore source of carbon dioxide. The last of its fleet of coal-fired power plants isn't expected to be closed before 2048.

Another of Vesey's early moves was to announce AGL's exit from coal seam gas , annoying some within the NSW government who had backed the controversial industry. This included shutting down an existing gas field on Sydney's south-west edge at Camden, and a contentious pilot field in Gloucester, in the state's mid-north coast region. Members of a protest group, Gloucester Groundswell, revealed to Fairfax Media details of secret meetings with Vesey that offer other hints about how Vesey likes to operate. Citing The Art of War, the classic military treatise by Chinese strategist Sun Tzu, Vesey sought a way to extract AGL from the morass of dodgy wastewater management and other bungles. "You need to build a golden bridge for your enemy to retreat over," one of the participants of the meeting recalled him saying. When it comes to energy transformations, Vesey has some form.

Entering the sector in the late 1970s, his first work as an engineer in New York was converting power plants back to burning coal, as originally designed, from oil amid the second oil crisis. Vesey then worked his way into leadership roles at FTI Consulting and EY before joining AES Corporation, a global electricity company. Joining AGL meant a return to Australia after a stint leading Citipower, a Victorian energy generator and retailer, in the late 1990s. The Liddell power station in the Hunter Valley. Credit:Janie Barrett For Vesey, the real trouble over Liddell was sparked by the panic following the sudden announcement in 2016 that Victoria's Hazelwood power station - of a similar vintage and size to Liddell - would be closed within six months.

While AGL generated record profits in the wake of the closure a year ago last week, all other generators benefited from the jump in power prices too. Vesey also got a close-up view of the visceral politics that have ensued, memorably when South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill gatecrashed an AGL event with Josh Frydenberg, the federal Environment and Energy Minister, in Adelaide in March 2017. Vesey was the "bemused bald guy" at the back. The Berejiklian government, it must be said, has continued to keep a low profile, declining to make any comment on the latest AGL-Turnbull government clash. 'Moral discernment'

During the Fairfax interview, Vesey spoke of the importance of AGL acting with "moral discernment", knowing "what's right, what's wrong". That includes, among other things, reducing AGL's exposure to carbon for both environmental and economic reasons. We take decisions that we believe in, and thats the challenge  its a question of integrity, he says. Gender diversity and inclusiveness are as much a priority for Vesey as its climate change credentials, as a quick peruse through his Twitter account  which he uses more than other major Australian CEOs  reveals. Its not lip service, one AGL employee says. He is serious about the culture within the workplace.

Vesey is also a member of the Male Champions of Change, a group committed to taking action on gender inequality. Despite that stance, those whove worked under him describe him as hard-charging. Like a lot of big leaders, they dont get to where they are for no reason, one says. Critics wonder, too, if Vesey is worth the reported $6.9 million he will earn this financial year, and question his regular absences from the country. Hes never in Australia, this causes a lot of grief internally," one source, requesting anonymity, says. "Ive no idea how he runs [AGL] from the US, a source familiar with the company said.

When Vesey was summoned to Canberra [to discuss Liddell] it took him four days to turn up because he was in the US. Part of this perception around his absences stem from his frequent return visits to the US due to family issues. When Vesey accepted the position with AGL in 2014, he had intended to move his entire family to Australia. However, his wife was in negotiation over the custody of her child from a previous relationship at the time. The eventual custody sharing agreement required she remain a portion of the year in the US and she now travels regularly to Australia. Life comes at you as it will and you have to deal with it as it comes, Vesey says. The arrangement isnt always easy on the family ... Everyone has some sort of challenge in their life - that applies to the CEO as well.

'Chief marketing officer' Those whove dealt with Vesey from the other side of the table describe him as a forceful but clear communicator. Hes not as argumentative as he has been portrayed in some parts of the media, more confident, he can dominate a conversation but he communicates his ideas well, Tony Wood, the Grattan Institutes energy director says, dubbing him a super spruiker. In the spectrum of Australian CEOs, he is the most visible," he says. Andy Vesey is definitely more visible than AGLs previous CEO Michael Fraser," Wood says. "He likes to talk the talk and spruik the direction of the company, hes a good chief marketing officer.

Some of the things he does are as much symbolic as real. No process for a sale Loading One thing that's not real is any firm offer for Liddell by the purported suitors that include Alinta, China-based Shandong Ruyi - majority owner of the controversial Cubbie cotton station in Queensland - and Delta Electricity, which owns the Vales Point power plant near Lake Macquarie. As of Friday afternoon, Vesey had received just one phone call and an email from Alinta boss, Jeff Dimery - himself a former AGL manager of Victorian assets.

"I said the following: 'we are not in the process of selling so there is no process'," Vesey says of his emailed reply to Dimery. "The Liddell plant is valuable to our customers and ourselves for the next five years and is a key component of our replacement plan. We have no process to sell it because it is valuable to us today, and it has value in terms of the site for the replacement plan for the next 30 to 40 years." While Liddell is not up for sale, Vesey would of course have fiduciary responsibilities to pass any formal offer for the plant to the AGL board for its consideration. Certainly, Vesey offers no indication that AGL has any intention to budge from a $150 million plan to keep investing in Liddell so that it operates as reliably as possible up until 2022. Then it will be a case of Liddell being shut down - unless an unexpectedly attractive offer lands - and the site being converted for a post-coal future involving gas, batteries and even pumped storage using Lake Liddell.

Youre not asked to make a trade-off between affordability and sustainability any more," he says. "Where technology prices are going, wind, followed by solar and storage, [whether] green or sustainable is more expensive, I think, is no longer the big issue. Sovereign risk Interference in the market - as the Turnbull government seems intent on - could send unhelpful signs to all investors considering pumping money into the sector. This includes trying to force AGL to extend Liddell's life another five years to 2027 to give time for the giant Snowy 2.0 pumped hydro project - perhaps costing $8 billion if approved - to become operational.
A student's year 3 NAPLAN scores can be significantly impacted by their grandparents' level of education, with new evidence showing that educational disadvantage is multi-generational.

Having four family members with university degrees can place a student 1.4 years ahead of their peers who have no family members with high attainment by year 3, a new study published in the Australian Journal of Social Issues has found.

Having four family members with university degrees can place a student 1.4 years ahead of their peers who have no family members with high attainment by year 3.

The study, which looked at the NAPLAN numeracy and reading scores and family background of 5107 infants aged between three and 19 months and 4983 children aged between four and five in 2004 over a decade, found that "grandparent educational attainment is associated with grandchild test scores independent of parent education" where both grandparents have high attainment.

Lead author of the study, Kirsten Hancock, a senior research fellow at the Telethon Kids Institute, said the findings have implications for both schools and families.
When breast cancer survivor Margie Foumakis was told she couldnt come back to work part-time after an eight-month stint of chemotherapy and surgeries, her self-esteem dropped.

The 45-year-old mother-of-two was told the dynamic at her workplace had changed and she could only come back either full-time or casual with no guarantee of hours.

Some cancer survivors returning to work after treatment or chemotherapy say they are met with inflexible employers. Credit:Nic Walker

I wasnt ready to be doing full-time or nights because I was buggered by 3pm in the afternoon, she said.

To hear that when I came back, that that was what they were going to do, it just blew my self-esteem right down to my toes.
Surrounded by national park and beaches, the picturesque town of Nelson Bay is a popular destination for tourists.

However, some residents fear Nelson Bay, north of Newcastle, will be ruined if Port Stephens Council changes planning rules to permit 10-storey buildings in the towns centre, and 12 storeys on its southern fringe.

An artist's impression of Nelson Bay if building heights are increased. Credit:Geoff Washington

Kate Washington, the Labor member for Port Stephens, said: We cannot risk ruining the beauty and character of Nelson Bay just because developers would prefer to make larger profit margins.

Building higher towards the sky wont necessarily solve the issues we are experiencing on the ground.
Four Greens councillors in Melbournes inner-north, including the Mayor of Darebin, have been confirmed as among the 18 party members who tried to take out their own candidate for the recent Batman byelection before the race had even started.

Darebin Mayor Kim Le Cerf and councillors Trent McCarthy, Steph Amir and Susanne Newton face calls for their expulsion from the Greens over their alleged roles in the sabotage of the failed campaign of candidate Alex Bhathal.

Cr Trent McCarthy. Photograph by Chris Hopkins Credit:Chris Hopkins

The Greens have never expelled a sitting councillor or MP.

The four were among 18 signatories to a 101-page complaint against Ms Bhathal that was delivered to party authorities in the run-up to the byelection and then leaked to the media once the campaign was under way.
The ashes of what is believed to be a chief petty officer with the Royal Navy, washed up on a Mandurah beach in a glass jar.

Local resident Katie Robinson was walking her dog along Seascapes Beach on Thursday afternoon when she made the discovery.

The jar containing the ashes will be returned to the water. Credit:Amy Martin.

The ashes were sealed with silicon in a medical test container, which was then attached to the bottom of a glass jar  also sealed with silicon.

The jar also contained a solar light and a note describing its contents.

It read: Remains of chief petty officer Ken Padgett, Royal Navy. Lived in Auchmithie, Scotland.
Gaza City: At least six Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces on the Gaza border on Friday, as thousands of demonstrators burnt tyres to send towers of thick black smoke into the sky.

The deaths mean that 28 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli snipers since Gaza residents last week began the Great March of Return, a series of weekly border protests demanding the right to return to their ancestral homes in what is today Israel.

Around 20,000 Palestinians flocked to five protest sites along the border, according to the Israeli military. More than 1000 people were injured in clashes with Israeli troops, said the Palestinian health ministry, which is controlled by the Hamas militant group.

Palestinian protesters chant slogans next to burning tires during clashes with Israeli troops along Gaza's border with Israel, east of Khan Younis, Gaza Strip. Credit:AP

Demonstrators burned hundreds of rubber tyres all along the Israeli frontier, creating a wall of smoke which they hoped would blind Israeli marksmen. Israeli forces used fire hoses to try to put out the flames and large turbine fans to keep the noxious smoke from blowing into Israel.
Los Angeles: A member of a US dark web gun trafficking group that hid firearms in electronics products and sent them to customers in Australia and other parts of the world has been sentenced to almost three years jail.

Gerren Johnson, 29, was arrested after an international investigation.

The Atlanta-based group advertised guns for sale on the underground website BlackMarketReloaded that operated on The Onion Router, which masks the identity of its users, according to prosecutors.

The underground website BlackMarketReloaded operated on The Onion Router.

Their vendor page on the site was named Cherry_Flavor and guns for sale included Glock pistols for $US2300 to $US3400.
To try to balance those concerns, Slentz said, the district has been looking into a hiring an interim armed guard for the rest of the school year. Slentz said the district has interviewed three retired law enforcement officers for the spot. Slentz said he anticipates a candidate will be picked Monday and be up for board approval Tuesday.

The board is also set to discuss the possibility of adding a school resource officer next year, Slentz said. He noted some board members have advocated for posting an officer at each school. Slentz said the district is set to make a recommendation on how many officers the district should have, and the board is expected to approve a number.

If the district approves having a resource officer, Slentz will suggest the creation of an advisory committee  ideally including community members and students, Slentz said  that will help craft a "job description" for the position, including how the officer would interact with students, how they would dress and other considerations.

Slentz said an armed guard will serve as a test to see how students, staff and parents respond to having a person with a gun by their hip in the district's hallways. He noted that while he has heard positive reactions to the idea of a resource officer, some students have told him an armed person in the schools would make them "more anxious."
Wanted man in stolen vehicle on the run after fleeing from police
WKCTC Students Recognized for Academic Excellence

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By West Kentucky Star Staff

Apr. 06, 2018 | PADUCAH, KY

By West Kentucky Star Staff Apr. 06, 2018 | 08:35 PM | PADUCAH, KY

West Kentucky Community and Technical College students Gavin Posey and Meagan Truitt have been named to the 2018 Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS) All-Academic Team.



The KCTCS All-Academic Team recognizes outstanding students from the 16 community and technical colleges in Kentucky. The selection of Posey and Truitt, both of Paducah, was based on their high achievement in the areas of scholarship, service and leadership.



While at WKCTC, Posey has actively participated in many aspects of campus life and within the community. He has served as WKCTC's Student Government Association (SGA) president, vice president of Phi Theta Kappa-Iota Eta Chapter and vice president of WKCTC's film club. A student ambassador, he is a graduate of the Paducah Youth L.E.A.D. program and is also one of two students elected by their SGA peers to serve on the KCTCS Board of Regents through August 2018. He will earn associate in science and associate in arts degrees from WKCTC in May.



"The WKCTC community has given me the opportunity to grow as a student, as a leader, and as a member of this community," said Posey, WKCTC's 2017 Student of the Year. "I am proud to represent WKCTC on the KCTCS All-Academic Team."



During her time at the college, Truitt has participated in various events at WKCTC's Paducah School of Art and Design including a recent interactive Creative Spark event attended by more than 100 regional high school students.



"I feel so excited to represent my school," said Truitt, who will earn an associate in fine arts degree in May. "My selection as a KCTCS All-Academic Team member will allow me to express this to others and also to give my thanks to all those at WKCTC that make this school what it is. I'm very grateful for that."



Among more than 800 Spring 2018 candidates for graduation, Posey and Truitt will be the featured speakers at WKCTC's Spring Commencement Ceremonies on Saturday, May 5 at Luther F. Carson Four Rivers Center. They will speak at both the 10:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. ceremonies.
By Yi Whan-woo



North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has received an invitation to visit Russia, according to U.S. Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Dan Coats.

Coats' claim adds to speculation that Kim may meet Russian President Vladimir Putin to bolster diplomatic leverage on North Korea's nuclear program before a planned inter-Korean summit on April 27.

Kim, who visited Chinese President Xi Jinping in late March, is scheduled to send his Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho to Russia next week.

Russian news agency TASS reported that on Wednesday Coats mentioned Kim's invitation to Moscow when asked about the possibility of resuming the six-party talks on North Korea's denuclearization in the wake of the Kim-Xi meeting.

TASS said the DNI chief told reporters in Washington, D.C., he is trying to discover what the North Korean leader intends to discuss in Russia.












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All eyes are on the posturing of the United States and China in what some are calling could be a full-fledged trade war, with implications felt right here in Connecticut.

The Trump Administration is showing no signs of backing down in the growing U.S. trade conflict with China, as White House Economic Adviser Larry Kudlow told press the biggest reason for the rift is China allegedly stealing U.S. technology.

"When they steal our technology," said Kudlow on Friday. "They're stealing the guts of the American future, our innovation, our entrepreneurship."

But, China has pledged to "counterattack with great strength" after President Trump threatened to up to ante with $100 billion of tariffs on Chinese goods. Trump's move came in response to China's decision to impose $50 billion of tariffs on American experts like soybeans, pork, and aircraft.

Quinnipiac University professor David Cadden said the entire world will watch this high stakes game of chess.

"This really is something that can have a global impact," said Professor Cadden.

"What I hope is occurring is that these are a series of progressive gambits leading up to forcing each side to come to some sort of accommodation and cut a deal."

Cadden said Connecticut's economy could be impacted especially in the spheres of agriculture and aircraft manufacturing, but most residents may feel the consequences in the stock market, especially if the uncertainty lingers.

"I'm a retiree so I'm looking almost everyday and saying 'how will this affect my retirement funds?'" posed Cadden.

Cadden said the United States must act on the unfair trade with China and intellectual property theft.

"Unfortunately, this is one that only the future will tell whether this was the right decision or not," said Cadden.

The White House remains optimistic on resolving the dispute and avoiding a trade war, but as Professor Cadden said, only time will tell.
NEW HARTFORD  A long time local business is being sold to a long time employee.

The Sneaker Store, located on Commercial Drive in New Hartford, has new ownership. Josh Belisle and his wife Morgan are the new owners of the store, having purchased it from Richard Karaz.

Belisle worked for the store for 19 years and said he and Karaz have had this planned for the past several years.

Karaz owned the store for 30 years, and said its become a staple in the community

The new owners said they don't plan to change much. Even Bosco, the talking parrot, will stay.

We look forward to expanding our presence in local races, store, and community events, and you can rest assured that The Sneaker Store will continue to provide you with the same, outstanding level of customer service and quality products that you have relied on for the past three decades, said Josh and Morgan in an email statement.

Josh and Morgan are both runners, and say they plan to turn their passion into their career.
NEW HARTFORD - The New Hartford Shopping Center has been around since 1955 - but now there's some uncertainty about its future, and some tenants are concerned.

Bill Morris, Jr. says he and his brother Robert have been thinking about the future of this long-standing shopping center. Their 60-year lease with the owners of the property expires in 2029. He has been in talks with the owners, who are based in Milan, Italy, about repurchasing the property.

My dad built the place in 1956 and sold it in '69. Leased it back for 60 years - and it seems like a long time, but now it is," said Morris.

He is concerned about the future of retail, unlike some of his tenants.

This is a viable shopping area. People still like to shop, says Sam Colozzi, owner of Colozzis Gifts and Collectibles. The internet is strong, but people like to shop. They like to come and pick it up, touch it, but the most important thing - social experience."

Just two months ago Morris sent a letter to Mohawk Valley Health System asking them to consider the shopping center as a site for the new hospital.

We tried to think of tenants that are internet-proof, more than regular bricks and mortar. Thats how the idea of health care and the hospital came to fruition. Knowing that there was a lot of sentiment against putting hospital on Oriskany Street, we thought this has been the best location in the county for the longest time," said Morris.

Morris says MVHS did not respond to him.

That was a little disturbing. I thought maybe I could get a blow-off letter," said Morris. You know, what a stupid idea this is, dont bother me - but I got nothing."

MVHS President and CEO Scott Perra sent NewsChannel 2 a statement on Friday, saying the grant stipulates that the project be located in the largest population center in Oneida County, which is the city of Utica. Therefore, it is still not a location that we would consider as the shopping center is in New Hartford."

New Hartford Mayor Donald Ryan says that would only happen if eminent domain were to come into play.

Eminent domain has been used many ways but I think you definitely open up to a legal situation, that's for sure," said Ryan.

The future of the New Hartford Shopping Center is pretty secure for at least the next 11 years. But after that, no one knows for sure.
LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI)  A four-year-old Lafayette boy is honored after his quick thinking saved his family from a house fire.

It all started about three weeks ago. That's when Henry Murray used skills learned from LFD's fire prevention show to save the lives of his parents and brother.

Friday, the department honored Henry with a life saving award.

"I'm going to be a fireman and the police," Henry explained.

Murray knows what he wants to be when he grows up, but the four year old is already a hero.

"I saw a fire and then went to tell mommy there was a fire," he said.

"He said, 'There's a fire in my room mommy,'" explained Henry's mother, Kim Murray.

Henry's parents say a space heater caught fire while the family was sleeping.

He smelled the smoke and saw the flames, but he knew what to do thanks to the Lafayette Fire Department.

"We're forever indebted to that program," said Kim. "I mean, because that's where he had the knowledge for that situation."

Back in October, Henry learned about fire safety through LFD's fire prevention show at Jeff High School.

His father, Ben Murray, said he owes his life to the educational program.

"You never know at the time, that time and energy they're putting into it, whose lives are going to be saved," said Ben.

The Murray's encourage all parents and children to take part in the fire prevention show.

Without it, they shudder to think what could have happened.

"I'm very thankful and I'm very proud of Henry," said Kim. "Years later, he will understand his actions. Right now, he just thinks it's cool he gets to see the firemen."

When it comes to fire safety, Henry has some advice for kids who see smoke or flames.

"Tell their mommy and daddy," explained Henry.

"Just like you did?" asked News 18's Samantha Thieke.

"Mmmhmm," he said.

Assistant Chief Brian Alkire said Henry's actions show how education can save lives.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI)  The Wabash Center celebrated decades of helping people with disabilities and special needs. Friday, the gala welcomed community members for dancing, a silent auction and dinner.

The Wabash Center offers a variety of services, including a day program and residential services. Proceeds will benefit those families involved with the Wabash Center.

Jason McManus is president and CEO of Wabash Center. He said these community events are important to the success of families they help every day.

"We obviously rely on the generosity and support of many members in the community. It's really important to us," said McManus. "We provide what we consider to be a very high level quality of service, and we can't do that without generous donations and support of the wonderful community members who will be here tonight."

The silent auction included signed uniforms from professional athletes, including Al Jefferson of the Indiana Pacers.

The Wabash Center also honored a local family with its Spirit of Service award.




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Nine arrested after serious assault  police no longer seeking anyone else in connection with attack

This article is old - Published: Friday, Apr 6th, 2018

North Wales Police have said late this evening they are not looking for anyone else in connection with the serious assault in the town on Monday  after a serious of arrests by armed police.

Earlier tonight armed police made arrests in Oswestry, and yesterday armed police were making arrests in the Wrexham area.

Tonight police said: Following the report of a serious assault in Wrexham on 2nd April NWP have been continuing their investigation. As a result we have today arrested a further two adult males and two females in connection to this matter and other criminal matters.

DCI Gary Kelly has confirmed that whilst the investigation continues NWP is no longer seeking anyone else in connection with this matter and would like to thank the public for their assistance with the investigation.

Top picture  person being arrested by armed police yesterday.
After years of denial, the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) have finally acknowledged that officers provided information to construction companies for a blacklist of building workers. [T]he allegation that the police or special branches supplied information is proven, the MPS wrote, confirming also the suggestions of overt and covert contact between police and blacklisting organisations.

Although the police are limiting details about their undercover activities, some sense of its scale is emerging. MPS deny suggestions that the undercover Special Demonstrations Squad (SDS)currently the subject of a public inquiry into wrongdoingsupplied the blacklist information, but the existence of a separate Industrial Intelligence Section has also been revealed.

The existence of a construction blacklist, which had been widely suspected for many years, was first confirmed in 2009 when the Information Commission (ICO) raided offices of The Consulting Association (TCA) and found a 30-year database of 3,212 construction workers. TCA, run by a former Special Branch intelligence officer and funded by major construction companies, was used by more than 40 companies to vet the employment of workers.

Most of those named on the database were trade union members. Some had been reported simply for raising health and safety concerns on site. In 2012, the ICO announced that reports in the TCA database could only have come from police or security services. As much was done as possible to hamper workers in their attempts to learn more. Workers wanting to know if TCA held a file on them had first to ask ICO for information. Solicitors expressed concerns that ICO had previously given inaccurate information in response to some requests, including wrongly advising some workers that they were not on the database.

Information about the TCA reports was finally released to an employment tribunal for Dave Smith, a blacklisted worker and spokesman for the Blacklist Support Group. In 2012, the Blacklist Support Group filed a complaint over alleged collusion between the police and blacklisting organisations.

The ICO report was passed to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC). In October 2013, the IPCC advised lawyers for blacklisted workers that an MPS inquiry into police collusion had concluded that it is likely that all special branches were involved in providing information for blacklisting. The police attempted to deny this immediately. Detective Inspector Steve Craddock, head of an inquiry into the activities of undercover police officers, told lawyers he had seen no conclusive evidence of collusion.

The MPS began an internal investigation but transparency was hardly the aim. When completed, according to MPS deputy assistant commissioner Richard Martin, in February 2016, the report was sent direct to then commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe due to its sensitivity. The investigations conclusion was only released publicly last week, with the MPS apologising to the Support Group for the delay in providing it.

During that time, major companies involved in blacklisting had established a Construction Workers Compensation Scheme to control the damage of legal claims made by blacklisted workers. In May 2016, companies including Balfour Beatty, Carillion, Costain, Kier, Laing ORourke, Sir Robert McAlpine, Skanska UK and Vinci paid out around 75 million to 771 blacklisted workers.

The MPS at that time was already sitting on its findings.

Martins letter disclosing the investigations initial findings did not detail the evidence of collusion uncovered and the investigation report has not been circulated, but what was revealed is an indictment. He wrote:

Allegation: police, including special branches, supplied information that appeared on the Blacklist, funded by the countrys major construction firms, The Consulting Association and/or other agencies, in breach of the Data Protection Act 1998.

The report concludes that, on the balance of probabilities, the allegation that the police or special branches supplied information is proven.

Material revealed a potentially improper flow of information from Special Branch to external organisations, which ultimately appeared on the blacklist.

The police have tried to limit their admission by focusing chiefly on questions of data protection. Martin said there seemed to be a case to answer for unauthorised sharing of information under the Data Protection Act 1984. Although forced to concede that the police had both overt and covert contact with blacklisting organisations like TCA and its predecessor, the Economic League, Martin said the supply of information from Special Branch did not appear to be systematic. Instead, he opted for the bad apple defence: [A]lthough there were established forms of contact and protocols in place with regard to the exchange of information, the possibility of officers passing on information without direct permission could not be discounted.

Dave Smith, secretary of the Blacklist Support Group, welcomed Martins letter, although the report had sat on the commissioners desk for the past two years. He said, Six years weve waited for this.  When we first talked about police collusion in blacklisting, people thought we were conspiracy theorists. We were told Things like that dont happen here.

Smith said that with Martins letter our quest for the truth has been vindicated. The police infiltrated trade unions and provided intelligence to an unlawful corporate conspiracy. He called for the current public inquiry into undercover policing to be open and transparent, to reveal fully how police intelligence was shared with private sector third parties including major companies.

Having been forced to reveal the collusion of the police in the monitoring and blacklisting of construction workers, the state are now attempting to kick the ball back into the long grass. In apologising for the delay in providing the complainants with the outcome the MPS said its investigation had focused on allegations that members of the [SDS] and MPS Special Branch provided information.

The investigation was Operation Herne, under Chief Constable Mick Creedon. This looked at allegations of crime and misconduct by SDS specifically, but Martins letter suggests the information may have been supplied by other agencies within the police.

Operation Herne concluded that the MPS had provided information  but there was no evidence this had been done by members of the SDS. Crucially, it noted, The investigation did not consider the conduct of other law enforcement bodies.

Having admitted collusion, the police have now deferred consideration of it to the Undercover Policing Public Inquiry (UCPI), saying they will await the conclusions of the UCPI before considering what steps should be taken next. They put it more plainly when addressing the blacklisted workers: until the UCPI has assessed all the evidence, no further action will be taken.

That inquiry only reveals how the police hope to continue their cover-up. Launched in 2015 to investigate the infiltration of campaigning groups by undercover police officers using false identities, it is now long over schedule. It should already have delivered its final report, but, in the same week as Martins letter, a statement was being read to the UCPI from campaign groups condemning its chairman Sir John Mitting for refusing to identify some of the officers involved. Around 60 campaigners and victims then walked out of the inquiry after the statement, which accused Mitting of scant and largely uninformative thinking behind his defence of anonymity.

Three years on and campaigners are left demanding that Mitting recuse himself and appoint a new panel.

Phillippa Kaufmann QC, for the campaigners, told Mitting that core participants in the inquiry were unable to participate meaningfully because of his decisions on anonymity. As Cathy, a spokesperson from the group Police Spies Out Of Lives, put it, without knowing What were the cover names, and which groups were being spied on it is nigh-on impossible for people to come forward and say this is what happened to me and my group.

Doreen Lawrence, mother of murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence, whose family were spied on by undercover police, told press that Mitting is turning what should be a transparent, accountable and public hearing into an inquiry cloaked in secrecy and anonymity. In Kaufmanns words, If you dont get this right now, then so much of what has gone wrong with undercover operations will remain secret.

This level of confusion and limitation of the inquirys scope is part and parcel of a broader strategy of confining and nullifying criticism of police infiltration. The focus on SDSs activities already means that police collusion outside that body becomes harder to pin down. However, Mittings enthusiastic granting of anonymity has revealed further police departments involved in infiltration and observation. Considering the question of anonymity for officer HN336, an inquiry document notes that among his many posts in the MPS following his SDS deployment were the following: the Industrial Intelligence Section and working at the ports.
Maldives President Abdul Yameen ended the countrys state of emergency on March 22, after it was in force for 45 days, but is continuing his repression of political rivals. He withdrew the draconian emergency law a day after the police filed trumped-up terrorism charges against his chief opponents.

Those charged include former leader Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, jailed Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed and Justice Ali Hameed, four opposition lawmakers and an ex-police commissioner. Another opposition lawmaker, Abdulla Sinan, who had been arrested earlier, was detained on April 1, also on terrorism charges.

If convicted, the nine people charged with terrorism could be jailed for 10 to 15 years. In addition, two judges and a judicial officer were charged with receiving bribes to help overthrow the government.

A statement issued by Yameens office noted that though there still exists a diminished threat to national security, the president has decided to lift the state of emergency in an effort to promote normalcy. In reality, Yameen lifted the emergency not to promote normalcy but because, having cracked down on his opponents, he is seeking to deflect international criticism.

The US, EU and India demanded the lifting of the emergency, not out of any concern for democratic rights. Rather they are hostile to Yameens close ties with China, which cut across efforts to undermine Chinese influence in the Indian Ocean.

The present crisis erupted when the Maldives Supreme Court quashed the conviction of opposition leader and former President Mohamed Nasheed and ordered the immediate release of the eight other political figures on February 1. The courts decision threatened Yameens parliamentary majority and would have allowed his rival Nasheed, currently in exile, to contest presidential elections due later this year.

To counter the court order, Yameen declared a state of emergency, arrested two Supreme Court judges and opposition leaders, then cracked down on opposition protests. Under pressure, the remaining Supreme Court judges reversed the February 1 decision.

Despite opposition from India, the Yameen government is strengthening its relations with China, which include major Chinese projects. The Maldivian ambassador in Beijing, Mohamed Faisal, told the S outh China Morning Post on March 22 this is part of a global trend. He continued: A lot of people are seeing what China is doing because in terms of both economically and global power, China is rising.

Chinese investment includes an airport expansion, a bridge connecting the airport to the capital Male, social housing and island resorts. Up to 2011, China had no embassy in Maldives. Since Chinese President Xi Jinpings visit in 2014, however, ties have rapidly developed. Chinese lending now accounts for more than 70 percent of the countrys foreign debt. Yameen has signed up to Chinas One Belt, One Road infrastructure plan to integrate Eurasia, to which India and US are hostile.

India welcomed Yameens decision to end the state of emergency. At the same time, Indias external affairs ministry statement called for the credible restoration of the political process as well as rule of law before elections are announced this year.

When the crisis erupted in Maldives, Nasheed called for Indian military intervention, claiming Yameen was transforming the island into a Chinese colony. The Indian media repeatedly called on New Delhi to decisively intervene, warning that China was taking control of Indias backyard. As well as demanding an end to emergency rule, New Delhi made known that its armed forces were ready for any eventuality.

Over the past two months, however, India has been cautious, due to threats elsewhere. Last year, India and China were locked in a dangerous stand-off in their border areas on the Doklam Plateau. Despite boasting that it had stared down Beijing, New Delhi was clearly rattled by how close it came to an armed clash with China.

The Indian Express last week quoted an unnamed senior government official as saying: We cant stop what the Chinese are doing, whether in the Maldives or in Nepal, but we can tell them about our sensitivities, our lines of legitimacy. If they cross it, the violation of this strategic trust will be upon Beijing.

For its part, China has bluntly stated that the political crisis in Maldives is an internal matter and outside powers, mainly India, should not get involved. In February, the Chinese navy conducted a naval exercise in the East Indian Ocean, which the Indian media immediately declared was a warning to New Delhi.

The Hindu wrote in its editorial on March 26 that military intervention by India [in Maldives] was never a possibility and called for a more cautious effort to influence the Yameen government. It urged New Delhi to demonstrate its relevance to the Maldives as the biggest power in the South Asian region, while helping steer Mr. Yameen to a more reasonable and inclusive democratic course ahead of the presidential election later this year.

None of this means India is retreating from its anti-China partnership with Washington and key US allies, Japan and Australia. The PTI reported on March 17 that the so-called quadrilateral alliance of India, US, Japan and Australia is going to discuss the Maldives issue at their next meeting. It quoted a senior US official as saying that Washington was closely monitoring the Chinese actions in the Indo-Pacific region and Maldives.
Israels military forces killed seven Palestinian protestors along Gazas border and injured around 200 more, five of them seriously, according to Gazas health ministry. Israel Defense Forces (IDF) used live rounds and tear gas against protestors throwing stones and burning car tyres to create smoke to screen themselves from sniper fire.

About 10,000 Palestinians took part in the second March of Return protest yesterday, which they called Jumat al-Kawshook or Friday of tyres.

Also, solidarity protests took place in several towns and cities in the West Bank, including Ramallah and Al-Bireh. According to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, 37 Palestinians were injured by live ammunition, rubber bullets and tear gas canisters.

Rallies in solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza were called for Friday evening and Saturday in cities in the United States, Britain, France and elsewhere in Europe.

Israels Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman had earlier warned that open-fire rules for the Gaza border will remain unchanged and that anyone approaching the border was endangering their life. He promised a reaction of the harshest kind like last week.

Without providing a shred of evidence, Israel has accused Hamas, which governs Gaza, of using the protests as a cover for carrying out attacks on the border.

Fridays demonstration was called as the culmination of the second of six weeks of peaceful protests, demanding the right to return of Palestinian exiles to their ancestors villages and towns in what is now Israela demand that Israeli officials reject because it would reduce Jewish citizens to a minority.

The Palestinians are also calling for the full implementation of the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 194 of December 1948 stipulating that the refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbours should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date.

Of the 1.9 million Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip, 1.3 million are refugees, according to Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics report in February 2018.

The March of Return will conclude on May 15, the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the state of Israel, which the Palestinians commemorate as Nakba (Catastrophe Day). The US is set to open its embassy in Jerusalem on that day, as announced last year by President Donald Trump. The Palestinians claim East Jerusalem as the capital of a future state.

Last Friday, Israeli troops and sharpshooters killed at least 16 peoplea total that has now risen to 20 as others have succumbed to their injuries. At least 23 have been killed in the last week, including a Palestinian killed by an Israeli drone late Wednesday in the Gaza Strip, according to Gazas health ministry.

Evidence of the IDF killing spree is provided by video footage showing that at least two of those murdered were unarmed as they walked slowly towards the border with Israel, while another man was shot in the back as he ran away from the border holding a car tyre.

Not a single Israeli was killed or even injured, and no Israeli property was damaged or at risk.

A further 1,400 Palestinians were injured, more than half by live ammunition and steel-tipped rubber bullets. It was the deadliest day of violence since Israels 2014 war on Gaza, which killed 2,250 Palestinians, the majority of whom were civilians.

Ahmad Abu Artema, who conceived the idea of the March of Return, is not affiliated to Hamas, and rejects armed resistance, partly because it has failed. Instead, he puts forward a plan for mass civil disobedience as promoted by Mahatma Gandhi against British rule in India. His plan won the backing of several Gaza-based Palestinian groups. He said, Its not necessary to resist the occupation with bullets. You can resist the occupation with dabke [traditional Palestinian music and dancing], or by just sitting there.

Irrespective of the value of such a strategy, it confirms that Israel used live fire on a peaceful, unarmed protest.

Israels chief military spokesman, Brigadier General Ronen Manelis, warned on Monday that the IDF would step up its violence on the Gaza border. He added that the IDF had restricted its actions thus far to the border fence, but it was prepared to act against these terror organizations in other places too, that is, within Gaza.

BTselem, the human rights organization, condemned Israels use of live fire on the civilian protesters, calling it criminal and illegal. It said that live fire should only be used when troops face tangible and immediate mortal danger, and only in the absence of any other alternative. It has launched a Sorry Commander, I cannot shoot, campaign, urging Israeli soldiers to disobey orders to shoot unarmed protesters in Gaza, which it argues are manifestly illegal.

The group criticized the Israeli military for announcing, even before the March began, that soldiers would use live fire against protesters, even if they were hundreds of meters away from the border fence.

The New York-based Human Rights Watch stated that last weeks killings were unlawful and calculated, and noted that the border protests posed no immediate threat to Israeli soldiers.

Within Israel, there have been small demonstrations in Tel Aviv, Jaffa and near the border with Gaza protesting at Israels unprovoked murders.

The US, Israels chief benefactor, unable to stop the holding of an emergency session of the UN Security Council, blocked a draft statement condemning Israels use of force against protesters at the Gaza border. Not one of the major powers spoke out against this filthy manoeuvre.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Federica Mogherini, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, then called for an independent and transparent investigation and reaffirmed the readiness of the world body to revitalise peace efforts.

This is a fraud and a diversion. Previous UN inquiries, including the report into the 2014 Israeli war on Gaza, provide detailed evidence of Israeli war crimes, but use irrelevant legal arguments to draw conclusions entirely at odds with their own evidence and absolve Israel of criminal responsibility for its actions. Last year, Guterres succumbed to US pressure, suppressing a UN report that found Israel practices apartheid against Palestinians.

Speaking for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus government, Lieberman flatly refused the UNs pathetic entreaties, saying that the government would not carry out any inquiry into the casualties. From the standpoint of the [IDF] soldiers, they did what had to be done, he said. All of our troops deserve a commendation.

While the UN issued a warning to Israel to use extreme caution in facing the second round of mass protests, it toed the Israeli line and called on organizers of the March not to put women and children in danger.

Israel has repeatedly accused Hamas and other militant groups of using women and children as human shields to excuse its own murder of innocent civilians.

Trumps Middle East envoy Jason Greenblatt went further in giving Israel a green light to do whatever it liked. He told the Palestinians to engage solely in peaceful protests and demanded that the protesters should remain outside the 500-meter buffer zone; and should not approach the border fence in any way or any location.

Turning reality on its head, he refused to condemn Israels murder spree, condemning instead leaders and protestors who call for violence or who send protestorsincluding childrento the fence, knowing that they may be injured or killed.

Greenblatt demanded the Security Council send a clear message to the Palestinian leadership insisting that it put an end to these riots that only serve to sow violence and instability.
The growing wave of teachers strikes in the United States demonstrates that the class struggle, which has been artificially suppressed for decades, is beginning to reemerge.

One of the most significant features of the upsurge of teachers is the fact that it has taken the form of a rebellion against the trade unions. The strikes have been organized by teachers on social media, independently of the unions, which have worked for decades to suppress the class struggle.

The conflict between the teachers and the unions flows organically from the character of the unions themselves, which have long been transformed into the police arm of management and have played a critical role in keeping strike levels at historic lows even as poverty and social inequality have risen to record highs.

It is precisely at this point that the pseudo-leftself-declared radical or even socialist organizations that speak for privileged middle-class layershave intervened to try to bolster illusions in the unions. The organizations function as factions of the Democratic Party and the union apparatus.

The International Socialist Organization (ISO), one of the leading US pseudo-left groups, articulated the position of this broader social layer in a recent piece, Organizing to spread the labor rebellion, published on its Socialist Worker website. Writing on the eve of this weekends national conference of Labor Notes, a group that functions as the left flank of the trade union bureaucracy, author Lee Sustar gives a lying account of the teachers strikes, portraying the unions as leading and organizing opposition.

Its the biggest labor rebellion in decadesand nearly 2,000 militants and activists are coming to Chicago to strategize on how to spread it further, Sustar writes. Workers have scored some important victories during that time, including the 1997 UPS strike, several strike wins at Verizon and its predecessor companies, and the Chicago Teachers Union strike of 2012 But these were exceptions, not the ruleand what used to be called Big Labor is now at a critical stage.

Sustar argues that the teachers strikes are pointing to a different way to revive labor  [with] militant action from below.

Sustars use of the term labor is intended to identify the struggle of the teachers with the trade unions. In fact, at every step, the teachers unions have sought to stifle and sabotage any struggle.

In West Virginia, which Sustar falsely calls a victory, the teachers unions enforced a sellout deal, almost identical to the one which the teachers had rebelled against only one week before, which did not address the teachers main demand for full funding of their healthcare program and tied paltry wage increases to significant cuts to social spending.

In Oklahoma, the teachers unions, after being forced to call a strike for April 2nd, attempted to limited it to one-day demonstrations thanking the state legislature for grossly inadequate funding increases brokered by the union, which were widely rejected by teachers. They are currently conspiring with Democratic politicians to find some way to shut down the strike, which will enter its second week on Monday.

Events in Arizona, Kentucky and other states have proceeded along identical lines. The treachery of the unions, which has been all the more confirmed over the past month, is what prompted rank-and-file teachers to organize for strike action outside of the unions in the first place.

Sustars reference to the 2012 Chicago teachers strike as a "victory" demonstrates which side of the barricades Sustar and the ISO stand on.The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) ended the strike in 2012 with a sellout contract that handed the initiative to Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel, Obama's former chief of staff, to close down dozens of schools and layoff thousands of teachers.



The CTU followed this up in 2016 with another sellout deal which included no wage increases for two years and imposed sharp increases in pension contributions for new hires. The ISO, moreover, is in the leadership of the CTU, through ISO member and vice president Jesse Sharkey, and played a direct role in enforcing this defeat.

It is also noteworthy that the ISO has written almost nothing on the ongoing corruption scandal in the United Auto Workers, whose top negotiators accepted $1.5 million in bribes from Fiat Chrysler over the course of several years. The scandal has commanded widespread attention among autoworkers, who hate the union bureaucracy and rebelled against the union-backed sellout contract in 2015. To acknowledge widespread corruption in the unions would undercut the ISOs narrative that the unions are workers organizations.

Sustars false depiction of the teachers strikes is in the service of a more fundamental lie, that the unions, no matter how treacherous, can be recaptured and turned into a vehicle for working-class struggle. While union democracy has always been a rarity, Sustar argues, [W]ith 14.8 million members, unions constitute a unique mass force in U.S. society. They are working-class institutions, and their very existence is a challenge to the constant drive by capital to increase productivity and boost profits.

When they appeal to the employers, however, the unions candidly describe their role as the exact opposite; that is, of aiding and abetting profits by suppressing strikes. After the end of the West Virginia strike, American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten warned in a Washington Post op-ed that weakening the unions would lead to more activism and political action. Because collective bargaining does not exist for teachers in West Virginia, thousands of teachers mobilized and took on the governor and legislature for their failure to provide teachers with the economic dignity and voice they deserveand that kind of activism will be multiplied and magnified across the country if collective bargaining is struck down.

Weingartens reference to collective bargaining, i.e., the ability of the unions to bargain away concessions, was in reference to the Janus v. AFSCME case pending before the Supreme Court, which threatens to deprive the unions of millions in revenue through agency fees collected from nonunion workers.

In arguments before the Supreme Court, the lawyer for the public employees union argued, The key thing that has been bargained for in this contract for agency fees is a limitation on striking Union security is the tradeoff for no strikes. He argued that if the court rules against the unions, you can raise an untold specter of labor unrest throughout the country.

A comment in the Washington Post by Shaun Richman, former organizing director of the AFT, was even more explicit. Unions, he wrote, have the political imperative to defend the terms of any deal as the best we could get (even if it includes concessions on benefits and work rules), adding that this arrangement rewards employers with the far more valuable guarantee of the right to direct the uninterrupted work of the enterprise while union leadership has to tamp down rank-and-file gripes and discord for the length of the contract.

Sustar ends his article with an appeal to the trade union bureaucracy to incorporate the pseudo-left more closely into its apparatus to ward off a growing rank-and-file rebellion.

A strong socialist currentthe Communist Party, Socialist Party and Trotskyist organizationswas indispensable to the epic labor victories of the 1930s and 1940s, Sustar writes.

In recent years, the Labor Notes conferencewhich for many years banned socialist publications from circulating at the eventhas taken up a discussion of the role of socialists in the labor movement, in history and the present day Now, in the wake of the Bernie Sanders campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, socialism has reentered mainstream political discussion in the U.S. for the first time in decades.

[A]t a time of political crisis, Sustar concludes, when employers and the right are driving down working class standards, it is essential for socialists in the labor movement to bring their political perspective into the unions. Our fights today have to be linked to the struggle for justice, equality and the liberation of the oppressed.

The influence of socialism among American workers in the 1930s and 40s reflected an understanding within the most militant and advanced workers, spurred on by the experience of the Russian Revolution, that the logic of their struggles went far beyond mere contract disputes and posed the necessity to overthrow the capitalist system. Sustars suppression of the actual record of the unions and his praise for the socialism promoted by Labor Notes and Bernie Sanders demonstrates that he has something quite different in mind.

Sustar and the ISO are acutely aware that the trade unions, threatened with the loss of guaranteed revenue in the Janus case and increasingly discredited in the eyes of workers, confront a crisis that threatens their very existence. In order to continue to enforce the types of epic victories over the working class as in West Virginia and Chicago, Sustar is arguing, the trade unions must work hand in glove with the organizations such as the ISO who can provide them with a left cover even as they prepare to carry out betrayals.

The ISOs support for the trade unions flows organically from its hostility to the working class. As with the pseudo-left as a whole, they represent layers of the upper middle class, including sections of the trade union bureaucracy itself, which have grown wealthy over the past three decades through the intensified exploitation of the working class.

As teachers come into increasingly direct conflict with the official institutions of the capitalist state, including the Democratic Party and the trade unions, they must understand the treacherous role of socialist organizations like the ISO.

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Jacobin, International Socialist Organization claim victory in West Virginia teachers sellout

[9 March 2018]
Mehring Books has published The CIA Democrats, a detailed exposure of the effective takeover of the 2018 Democratic Party congressional campaign by candidates drawn from the ranks of former intelligence agents, special forces operatives, veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and civilian national security operatives from the State Department, National Security Council and Pentagon.

The CIA Democrats analyzes the connection between the unprecedented influx of candidates with a military-intelligence background and drastic shift in the Democratic Party to the right, expressed in its efforts to promote the anti-Russian campaign, attacking the Trump administration from the right on foreign policy, and demanding a more confrontational approach toward Moscow in the Middle East, Central Asia and Eastern Europe.

The pamphlet includes the three-part series published by the World Socialist Web Site March 7-9, 2018 and a subsequent perspective commenting on the historical implications of the CIA takeover of the Democratic Party, as well as a chart detailing the more than 50 former military-intelligence operatives now seeking Democratic congressional nominations in contested districts.

Patrick Martin, the author of The CIA Democrats, is a senior writer for the World Socialist Web Site and a member of the National Committee of the Socialist Equality Party (US).

To order, click here.
Scott Pruitt, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), has faced escalating calls for his ouster in recent weeks as new details emerge regarding his abuse of his position for personal gain. Pruitt, who is said to still enjoy the support of President Trump, has worked consistently to block any new regulations on the energy and manufacturing industries and to roll back any previous regulations that may impose on their ability to profit off the destruction of the environment.

The latest allegations against Pruitt involve his rental of a Washington, D.C. condo from health care lobbyist Vicki Hart, wife of J. Steven Hart, whose law firm, Williams and Jensen, lobbies on behalf of the energy industry.

Pruitt paid $50 a night for the rental, far below market rates, and paid only for the nights that he stayed at the condo, an unusual and, from the landlords perspective, unprofitable arrangement. In March of 2017, the EPA approved the expansion of a pipeline project from Enbridge Inc., a Canadian energy company and client of Williams and Jensen. The approval was granted although Enbridge had previously been fined $61 million in connection to a pipeline rupture in Michigan in 2010.

This follows revelations earlier this year that since his confirmation Pruitt had spent nearly $100,000 in government funds on travel expenses, including first-class airfare and stays at various luxury hotels. Pruitt has also insisted on bringing an extended entourage of EPA officials and a large security detail along with him on his many trips, further swelling the costs. Pruitts travel expenses are now being investigated by the EPAs inspector general.

On Thursday the New York Times revealed that Pruitt had either transferred, demoted or fired multiple EPA employees who had criticized his extravagant spending. According to the Times, this included attempting to purchase a $100,000 a month membership in a charter aircraft business, a proposed expenditure of $70,000 to replace two desks in Pruitts officeone of the desks was to be constructed from bulletproof materialand the construction of a $43,000 special security booth within his office with sound dampening and radio frequency blocking technology so that Pruitt could have conversations with his aides without other EPA officials overhearing.

The Times article also takes notes of Pruitts security-related requests. This included expanding his security detail to 20, far larger than any of his predecessors, the use of a bulletproof SUV with run flat tires to travel in, and permission for his security caravan to use sirens and red lights to move quickly through traffic, a perk which Pruitt reportedly used to ensure he was on time for restaurant reservations.

Pruitt, who does not accept the global scientific consensus that carbon emissions caused by human activity are the primary cause of global warming, was selected by Trump to lead the EPA in order to carry out a far-ranging deregulation of environmental protections. A former attorney general and state senator from Oklahoma, Pruitt has personified the close ties between big business and the political system throughout his career.

First elected to the Oklahoma state senate in 1998, where he served as the Republican whip from 2001 to 2003, Pruitt established himself as an enemy of the working class early on, introducing legislation that would require drug testing for those injured on the job in order to collect workers compensation benefits.

During his time as a state senator Pruitt served as chairman for a task force sponsored by the American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC, an organization composed of Republican legislators and businessmen that produces model legislation attacking worker protections and championing the interests of big business and the far right across a range of issues, including immigration, voter ID laws, criminal sentencing laws and environmental protections.

Pruitt became Oklahomas attorney general in 2010, a post he was re-elected to in 2014. One of Pruitts first acts as Attorney General was to dissolve the environmental protection unit within his office. Throughout the remainder of his tenure, Pruitt consistently sought to subvert the constitution in the interests of the energy lobbyists, bankers, and religious conservatives who form his base of support.

In 2012, Pruitt successfully withdrew his state from the $26 billion National Mortgage Settlement, an agreement reached between the government and the five largest mortgage providers (Ally/GMAC, Bank of America, Citi, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo) in the aftermath of the 2009 financial crisis, which saw tens of thousands of Americans lose their homes to illegal foreclosures by the banks stemming from fraudulent mortgages issued in previous years.

In 2013, he sought to restrict abortion rights in his state by supporting legislation that would restrict the use of certain medications. That same year Pruitts office claimed that the U.S Supreme Courts decision to legalize same-sex marriage by striking down of the Defense of Marriage Act did not invalidate Oklahoma state laws which discriminated against homosexuals.

Pruitt sought to block a 2014 order from the Oklahoma State Supreme Court pausing executions in the state until a new lethal injection protocol could be implemented. He was later forced to relent after the botched execution of Clayton Lockett.

Throughout his political career, Pruitt has made no secret of his sponsorship by the energy industry. As attorney general, he filed some 13 lawsuits against the EPA. He has collected over $300,000 in donations from oil and gas companies over the years. His 2014 re-election campaign was chaired by Harold Hamm, CEO of Continental Resources, an Oklahoma-based energy company.

Pruitt was further exposed as a puppet for the energy industry when it was revealed by the New York Times that a letter signed by him and sent to the EPA in 2014 criticizing regulations of new natural gas wells in his state was authored by attorneys for Devon Energy, another Oklahoma energy company, and was hand delivered to Pruitt by the companys chief lobbyist for his signature.

Upon taking office at the EPA, Pruitt wasted little time in carrying out the agenda set out for him by his corporate backers. In addition to repealing the Clean Power Act and Clean Water Act, he has rescinded dozens of regulations covering fossil fuel extraction and pollution. Most recently, his agency rolled back Obama-era regulations which aimed to mandate new levels of fuel efficiency for auto manufacturers.

Pruitt successfully blocked the banning of the pesticide chlorpyrifos in March 2017, in spite of the fact that scientists at his own agency had determined that any level of exposure to the chemical was toxic. It was later revealed that Pruitt had met with officials from Dow Chemical, the manufacturer of chlorpyrifos, several weeks before issuing his decision refusing to implement a ban. That same month Pruitt attempted to delay implementation of a new rule regarding methane leaks after meeting with 45 representatives of the American Petroleum Institute at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C.
Former Catalan regional president Carles Puigdemont was released from detention yesterday afternoon in Germany, where he faces extradition to Spain. However, Puigdemont is not completely free, he may not leave Germany until further notice, had to post bail of 75,000 and must report weekly to the police in Neumunster.

On Thursday evening, the Higher Regional Court (OLG) in Schleswig agreed not to extradite Puigdemont to Spain on the charge of rebellion. However, the OLG has upheld the second allegation of misappropriation of public funds and therefore the former Catalan regional president could still be extradited to Spain. The arrest warrant was only suspended under certain conditions, a spokeswoman for the court said.

In a press release, the court explained its decision as follows: The victims alleged behaviour is not punishable in the Federal Republic of Germany under the applicable law. The relevant criminal offence of treason had not been met because it could not be associated with violence.

Thus, the Higher Regional Court very directly contradicted the Attorney General of Schleswig-Holstein, who had declared earlier this week that an admissible extradition request existed, and the risk of Puigdemont fleeing was real. On Tuesday, the Schleswig-Holstein Attorney General announced that an intensive examination of the European arrest warrant issued by the Spanish judiciary had revealed that an admissible extradition request existed.

The state prosecutor argued that the charge of rebellion against Puigdemont raised by the Spanish judiciary essentially involved the allegation of holding an unconstitutional referendum on Catalonias independence from Spain, despite the anticipated violent clashes. This accusation of rebellion found a similar equivalent in German criminal law in paragraphs 81 and 82 of the Criminal Code (High Treason); a verbal likeness of the German and Spanish regulations was not required by law. It is exactly this assessment that the higher regional court has now rejected.

The decision of the OLG has far-reaching consequences.

Puigdemont can no longer be handed over to Spain for rebellion. The court decision is binding on the federal government. On the existing legal basis, Puigdemont cannot be prosecuted in Spain or any other country on this charge. Whether the allegation of breach of trust can be upheld is highly questionable because it is not a charge of personal corruption. The Spanish authorities accuse Puigdemont, as regional president of Catalonia, of having financed the banned independence referendum using 1.6 million of public funds. However, if the referendum was not a call for rebellion, it is highly questionable whether the financing of it actually meets the charge of the misappropriation of public funds.

The first reactions to the verdict in Germany were divided. In a furious editorial, the conservative Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung stated, despite the verdict, Puigdemont remains a criminal who cannot escape justice. If he succeeded in escaping extradition, he will have little choice but to hide from the Spanish courts in Belgium or elsewhere. If he is deported, he will go to jail in Spain.

Media outlets and politicians who fear that an extradition of Puigdemont could cause violent protests in Catalonia and also in Germany, welcomed the verdict. If things go well, if things go really well, then the verdict of the German judges is the beginning of a political solution, the beginning of negotiations, commented the Suddeutsche Zeitung .

Gregor Gysi of the Left Party called on the German government to put pressure on Madrid and the judiciary. Now, I expect that our foreign minister might go to Spain and try to talk them out of certain things, and not that our government sits there and says we must now execute their arrest warrants for things that are not punishable in Germany.

In fact, the German government, which yesterday had refused to take a position on the verdict, then did exactly that.

Newsweekly Der Spiegel reports that the government had already agreed on its approach during a telephone conference on the day Puigdemont was arrested. According to information held by Der Spiegel, on the weekend before Easter, Justice Minister Katarina Barley (Social Democratic Party, SPD), Foreign Minister Heiko Maas (also SPD and former Minister of Justice), Chancellery Chief of Staff Helge Braun (Christian Democratic Union, CDU) and Hans-Georg Engelke, State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of the Interior and former head of Terrorism/Islamism at the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (as the secret service is called) held a telephone conference to determine the attitude of the government. It was agreed that the government would not veto any possible extradition of Puigdemont.

A few days later, the Attorney General of Schleswig-Holstein consulted with the Ministry of Justice to discuss further action, writes Der Spiegel. In other words, when the Schleswig-Holstein Attorney General requested Carles Puigdemont be held in detention at the beginning of this week pending extradition, stating that the charge of rebellion was justified and found a comparable analogy in German criminal law in paragraphs 81 and 82 of the Criminal Code (High Treason), this approach and this argument had been agreed with the highest government circles.

Thus, it is clear that the German government not only supported the undemocratic approach of the Spanish government, but wanted to use the arrest of Puigdemont to set a precedent for the prosecution of any form of protest and resistance against the ruling powers.

In particular, the reference to the law relating to High Treason illustrates the tradition in which the German government stands and how consciously it is working to build a European police state. High Treason is aimed at a violent upheaval within society, according to Rechtslexikon. It is an offence in which the perpetrator undertakes to use force or threats of violence to undermine the existence of the Federal Republic of Germany or to change the constitutional order based on the Basic Law [constitution], i.e., to practically bring about an overthrow (revolution).

The law had already been introduced at the founding of the German Reich in 1871 and since then has been repeatedly employed to persecute and suppress opponents of the imperial authoritarian state and later the Nazi dictatorship. The SPD founder August Bebel was persecuted on this basis as well as the KPD (German Communist Party) leaders Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht. During the Nazi period, Hans and Sophie Scholl, along with other members of the White Rose resistance group were sentenced to death and executed on this basis.

Now, the German government is again resorting to these brutal forms of oppression to intimidate and nip in the bud any form of opposition, resistance and protest.

It is no coincidence that the criminalization of resistance and the introduction of police-state measures in Europe coincide with the largest strike movement in France against the labour market reforms of the Macron government and increased protest strikes in Germany. In Spain, the economic and social crisis is particularly acute. Not only have Amazon workers gone on strike, but pensioners have been organising mass demonstrations to fight for decent pensions and improved social benefits.

Even if the verdict of the Higher Regional Court in Schleswig-Holstein does not lead to Puigdemont being extradited and charged with rebellion, the German government is continuing its right-wing course.

The World Socialist Web Site and the Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei (Socialist Equality Party, SGP) have condemned the arrest of Puigdemont from the start and demanded his release. We wrote: His targeting by the German authorities is a warning. The only way to prevent the establishment of a police state, and a relapse into militarism and war, is through the development of a socialist movement to unite the European and international working class in the struggle against social inequality, dictatorship and war.
The US government imposed a new round of sanctions against Russia on Friday, targeting seven Russian businessmen and 17 government officials in the latest provocation against that country.

The move follows the expulsion of more than 100 Russian diplomats by the US and its allies in the wake of the alleged poisoning last month of Sergei Skripal, a double agent living in England, and his daughter.

In announcing the latest measures against Russia, the US government made no mention of the Skripal case, instead claiming the new sanctions were retaliation for alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 election.

The US has good reason to be circumspect in this regard. In recent days, the US and British narrative of the alleged poisoning by Russia has fallen apart. Both Sergei and Yulia Skripal are recovering from their alleged poisoning by a nerve agent supposedly ten times more powerful than VX nerve gas, leaving their pets, who were starved by UK authorities, the only casualties of the incident.

In an interview with Russian television, Viktoria Skripal, a relative of the two who lives in Russia, cast doubt on the British version of events and said she was afraid that the Skirpals were not being allowed to communicate and move freely by British authorities. Earlier this week, Russian TV ran a telephone interview between Yulia and Viktoria taped by Viktoria in which Yulia said both she and her father were recovering, were in good health and had suffered no lasting harm from the incident.

Viktoria told Russian media that the phone conversation was cut off abruptly and she has had no further communication from her cousin.

On Friday, the British Home Office announced that it had rejected Viktoria Skripals application for a visa to visit her relatives at the hospital in Britain where they are being held.

The US press has largely ignored these developments, as well as this weeks statement by the UKs Porton Down chemical weapons laboratory that it had not verified the precise source of the material used, contradicting claims by UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson that Porton Down had definitively identified the source as Russian.

The breakdown of the official narrative has done nothing to slow the US campaign against Russia. This is because Washingtons actions have nothing to do with the alleged poisoninga completely concocted provocationor with supposed Russian meddling in the US elections, another entirely unsubstantiated fabrication woven by US intelligence agencies and dutifully disseminated by the US corporate media.

Rather, they are rooted in the growing conflict between the US and Russia on the world stage, particularly in Syria, and efforts to use the conflict with Russia, which threatens to escalate into a shooting war at any moment, to suppress domestic political opposition.

Hinting at the real issues animating the anti-Russian campaign, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin declared Friday in his announcement of the new sanctions: The Russian government engages in a range of malign activity around the globe, including continuing to occupy Crimea and instigate violence in eastern Ukraine and supplying the Assad regime with material and weaponry...

After Trump speculated last week about withdrawing US troops from Syria, the New York Times and Washington Post, speaking for the US intelligence agencies and the Democratic Party, opposed any such action, declaring that such a course would empower Russia.

In an editorial titled Trumps Approach to Syria Is No Way to Run a War, the Times wrote that Russia would benefit from the presidents apparent desire to retreat from the Middle East. It continued, Already, Mr. Trump is letting Russia take the lead in Syria, ceding to Vladimir Putin the crucial diplomatic work of forging a political agreement between Mr. Assad and the Syrian rebels.

The Washington Post said a continued US presence in Syria would be necessary to prevent Russia from entrenching in the country at the expense of US allies including Israel and Jordan.

Both newspapers warned that Trumps policy was creating the conditions for the consolidation of an alliance between Turkey, Iran and Russia, which held a high-profile meeting to discuss Syria this week. On Thursday, Turkey, a NATO member, reported that it would purchase an advanced Russian missile defense system, reportedly capable of shooting down any US aircraft.

The latest sanctions announcement has also been accompanied by a new push to censor the Internet in the name of combating Russian meddling and fake news. On Friday, Facebook announced that it would require users who purchase ads on the platform to verify their identities, a major step toward ending the anonymous use of Facebook, something long demanded by the US intelligence agencies.

The move, coming ahead of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerbergs scheduled testimony before the US Congress next week, was accompanied by the announcement that Facebook would hire tens of thousands of censors to moderate content, and that it had had deleted thousands of allegedly fake accounts.

With the growth of the class struggle in the US coming together with bitter political warfare at the heights of American politics, all factions of the political establishment are seeking to project internal tensions outward by demonizing Russia and China.

The Democrats, in particular, working in alliance with the intelligence agencies, are focusing their efforts on exerting maximum pressure to ensure that Trump does not back down from the conflict with Russia.
The United States and North Korea have been holding secret, direct talks to prepare for a summit between President Donald Trump and North Korea leader Kim Jong Un, a sign that planning for the highly anticipated meeting is progressing, several administration officials familiar with the discussions tell CNN.

Central Intelligence Agency Director Mike Pompeo and a team at the CIA have been working through intelligence back-channels to make preparations for the summit, the officials said. American and North Korean intelligence officials have spoken several times and have even met in a third country, with a focus on nailing down a location for the talks.

Although the North Korean regime has not publicly declared its invitation by Kim Jong Un to meet with Trump, which was conveyed last month by a South Korean envoy, several officials say North Korea has since acknowledged Trump's acceptance, and Pyongyang has reaffirmed Kim is willing to discuss the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.

The North Koreans are pushing to have the meeting in their capital, Pyongyang, the sources said, although it is unclear whether the White House would be willing to hold the talks there. The Mongolian capital Ulaanbaatar has also been raised as a possible location, the sources said.

The talks between intelligence officials are laying the groundwork for a meeting between Pompeo and his North Korea counterpart, the head of the Reconnaissance General Bureau, in advance of the leaders' summit. Once a location is agreed upon the officials said that the date will be set and the agenda discussed in greater detail.

Officials said the decision to use the already existing intelligence channel was more a facet of Pompeo's current status as CIA director as he awaits confirmation as secretary of state than a reflection of the content of the discussions. Pompeo is expected to begin the process of Senate confirmation in the next several weeks.

One of Trump's most trusted national security advisers, Pompeo has led efforts to prepare for the summit, which Trump has pressed his aides to organize. If he confirmed, he will assume oversight of the diplomatic preparations.

As recently as this weekend, Trump told associates he was looking forward to the summit, which he agreed to on the spot when presented the invitation from Kim. The timeline, however, remains unknown. Officials said the current target is late May or even June.

Trump is due to meet in two weeks with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at his Mar-a-Lago estate. Abe is expected to come bearing a list of concerns about opening talks with Kim.

The New York Times first reported last month that the CIA was taking the lead in preparing for the Trump-Kim summit.

Officials said the participation of the North Koreans in the preparatory talks give them more confidence that Kim is serious about meeting. Until the talks between US and North Korean intelligence officials began in earnest, Trump and his aides have relied partly on the characterizations of the South Koreans, which have experienced a rapprochement since the Olympic games held in Pyongchang in February that led to Kim's historic invite to Trump.

The Chinese have also provided a briefing to the White House after Kim and President Xi Jinping met in Beijing late last month.

State Department officials continue to communicate with the North Koreans though their mission to the United Nations, discussions which are referred to as the "New York channel."

The talks with North Korea are informing coordination among government agencies which are preparing for the summit, an effort led by Matthew Pottinger, the top Asia official at the National Security Council. Incoming national security adviser John Bolton, who starts work at the White House on Monday, is expected to assume a large role in the planning for the talks, along with Pompeo.

At the State Department, leading the diplomatic effort are acting Assistant Secretary Susan Thornton and deputy special representative for North Korean policy Marc Lambert, who speaks with North Korean officials through the "New York channel." Their work includes scouting potential locations, coming up with names of US officials who can help staff the talks and pouring over records on previous negotiations with North Korea. They are also leading diplomacy with South Korea, as well as Japan, China and Russia.
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (WTHI) - Holocaust survivor Eva Kor endured unimaginable pain at the hands of the Nazis but she continues to show the world it is possible to forgive.

Thursday night was the world premiere of "Eva" in Indianapolis. Eva Kor walked her own blue carpet for the event.



The WFYI documentary was written, produced and directed by Ted Green. It took two years to create.

While her story has been told before, Kor and Green agree this is a more complete depiction of her life.

Kor says, "There is a lot of stuff in between like being arrested, like being ruffed up, like nobody wanting to talk to me, being treated like a pariah in the United States, being shunned by survivors. These are all very ugly, painful stories."

Green says, "We talk about her time in Auschwitz and they talk about her forgiveness but there is 50 years in the middle of that that Eva doesn't talk about and I do believe that is the character development. That's the most revelatory stuff."

Kor and her twin sister survived horrific medical experiments. She says, if her sister were still alive, she would be by her side on the blue carpet.

"Miriam was a very smart woman. I think if she were alive and I forgave she would have embraced the idea."

Kor says she hopes people see the film and come to learn they have the power to forgive and they have the right to be happy.

"By each one learning to forgive, we are not going to want to kill each other and, in a strange way, I believe it is the secret to world peace."

The Terre Haute premiere is April 14th.

For more information about the film and screenings, click here.
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI)- Brigadier General Jeffery Hauser was the center of attention at the 181st Military base Saturday. It's a location he knows quite well.

"I tell ya it was almost thirty-eight years ago this week that I walked into this hanger," said General Hauser.

General Hauser served decades in the Indiana Air National Guard. He wanted to return to his roots in Terre Haute for his retirement ceremony.

"Most of them do the war memorial in Indianapolis. Its very formal but I felt much more comfortable doing it in the hanger where I stated and wear the uniform I used most of my career when I was flying."

Leading up to retirement, General Hauser served as the air component commander at the Indiana joint force headquarters in Indianapolis, but he first served as a weapons loader in Terre Haute.

Under his leadership, the base transitioned from a fighter wing to an intelligence wing.

"I was the wing commander again when we switched that and I tell you the moral of those folks is unbelievable. Hopefully, we can pick up some new missions or expand the ones we have. You know the future, there is just so much they can do," said Hauser.

General Hauser received many prestigious honors including the Indiana Distinguished Service Medal as well as the Sagamore of the Wabash.

At the end of Saturdays ceremony, Hauser walked off the stage as a retired officer but he is eager to see the future of the air national guard with the next generation of servicemen.

"they are awesome everything they do is just second to none and it didn't matter if we were flying airplanes or doing the intelligence wing and we are so proud of the airmen that we have that I would like to let them all know that," said Hauser.

Even though Hauser is retired from the air guard, has not stepped away from his passion for planes. He will still continue to work as the executive director of the Terre Haute Regional Airport.
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - Court documents online show the Vigo County School Corporation has filed a civil lawsuit in Vigo Superior Court 2 over a kickback scheme involving two former school employees.

News 10 first learned of a possible lawsuit Thursday. The newsroom recieved a copy of the school board meeting agenda for Monday, April 9. A topic on the agenda was dicussion of filing a lawsuit against Frank Shahadey, Paula Shahadey, Franklin Fennell, Michael Pick, and M & P Properties Group, LLC.

It stated school corporation legal counsel, Jonathan Mayes, has recommended the school corporation seek legal recourse. It states that recourse includes, but is not limited to "Filing a civil lawsuit against Frank Shahadey, Paula Shahadey, Franklin Fennell, Michael Pick, and M & P Properties Group, LLC to recover damages caused by the conspiracy that was outlined in the federal indictments against Frank Shahadey and Franklin Fennell."

On Friday, News 10 uncovered online records showing a Civil Tort complaint was filed on Februrary 22, 2018 by the Vigo County School Corporation. There's a Diclosure Notice within those records that was filed on Friday. It states the Superior Court 2 Judge, Lakshmi Reddy, was at a dinner table with Paula Shahadey recently.

"There was no mention of this case nor was the undersigned Judge aware that Ms. Shahadey was a litigant in a case pending before this Court. No ex parte communications occurred. The Court does not believe that this will affect or influence the Undersigned Judges decisions in any future matters," Reddy wrote in the document. "If either party believes that this social encounter has been prejudicial and that it will impact future decisions, they should file a Motion for Change of Judge and the Court will grant the request made by either party. lf neither party files a Motion for Change of Judge on this basis, a change of judge cannot be granted at a later time unless the request complies with Rule 76 of the Indiana Rules of Trial Procedure."

The school corporation hopes to recoup money lost in the scheme through this lawsuit.

Fennell and Shahadey were part of a kickback scheme involving the school corporation, in which they took tens of thousands of dollars from the school corporation. That scheme involved overestimated invoices from Pick's business.

In October of 2017 a federal judge sentenced Shahadey to 16 months in prison and two years of supervised released. At the time of sentencing, he had already served 11 months. In court, Shahadey stated the kickback scheme was Fennell's idea.

In December of 2017, federal jury found Fennell, former Facilities Director of the Vigo County School Corporation, guilty on 12 charges he was facing. Those charges break down to nine counts of wire fraud, two counts of lying to federal investigators, and one count of stealing government funds.

A judge is set to sentence Fennell on April 19th in Indianapolis. He faces 33 to 37 months in prison.
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TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - The Vigo County Prosecutor's Office has received from the Indiana State Police the results of the investigations related to a recent police-action shootings.

The case stems from a standoff situation in early March, involving Mikey Reynolds. Police believe Reynolds shot two people at a house on Putnam Street in Terre Haute. The female victim died, and the male victim was seriously hurt. Reynolds then left and barricaded himself in a house on First Avenue. At some point, he escaped that house and returned to a different house on Fourth Avenue. The situation led Terre Haute Police Department to question how Reynolds broke the police perimeter.

While in the house on Fourth Avenue, Reynolds made a threat towards Indiana State Police SWAT officers. The officers fired, shooting and killing Reynolds.

Since that time, Indiana State Police has been conducting two investigations. One centers around a shot fired by a Terre Haute Police sniper towards Reynolds while he was in the house in First Avenue. The second investigation is on the fatal police-action shooting that happened on Fourth Avenue.

Vigo County Prosecutor Terry Modesitt and his staff will review both investigations. They will determine what, if any, charges will be filed. This also includes the shootings on Putnam Street and the two locations where Reynolds hid from authorities after the shootings.
LONDON (AP) - Friends say Israel Ogunsola was a bubbly young man with a knack for making people laugh.

This week the 18-year-old was stabbed to death, becoming London's 53rd murder victim of 2018. The British capital is being shaken by a spike in deadly violence, much of it involving young people with knives caught up in gang feuds.

The causes are disputed and so are the solutions. But the pain is raw.

"I'm still in disbelief, because I don't understand why," said 19-year-old Nella Panda, standing beside a police cordon in the east London borough of Hackney, yards (meters) from where Ogunsola collapsed on Wednesday evening. Police and an off-duty paramedic battled to save him, but he was pronounced dead 25 minutes later.

"He was just a nice bubbly person," Panda said Thursday. "He made friends with everybody ... it was always a good time when you was with him."

Ogunsola was the 12th teenager to die violently in London since January. Many of those arrested for the killings are also in their teens and 20s.

Most of the city's murder victims were stabbed to death. Guns are tightly restricted in Britain and shootings are relatively rare.

If the bloody trend continues, London will far surpass the 130 murders in 2017 and reach a number not seen since the early 2000s.

In February and March, London hit the unwanted milestone of recording more homicides than New York. The cities are roughly the same size, with more than 8 million people, and have similar extremes of poverty and wealth, but London has never recorded more murders in a year than the U.S. metropolis. New York had 290 homicides in 2017, the lowest number in decades.

Police and community workers say London's surge in violence is partly driven by battles over control of the illegal drug trade and a "postcode war" between street gangs. Some victims were targeted, while others may have been in the wrong place at the wrong time  such as 17-year-old Tanesha Melbourne, killed in a drive-by shooting on Monday as she hung out with friends.

As well as multiple causes, there are multiple candidates to blame for the city's rising homicide rate.

Some have criticized London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who oversees London's Metropolitan Police. But most of the police budget comes from the British government, which has cut funding to police forces by more than 20 percent since 2010.

Khan said Thursday that rising crime is a national problem and "I can't solve it by myself."

"Since I first became mayor, I have been saying to the government that it's not sustainable to make the level of cuts they have been making to London," he said.

The deficit-cutting Conservative government has also slashed funding to local councils, which run many social services, leading to the closure of youth clubs, libraries and programs for young people.

Money is not the only concern. Some argue that crime-fighting has been hampered by curbs to police stop-and-search powers  a decision made by then-Home Secretary Theresa May, who is now prime minister.

Metropolitan Police Chief Cressida Dick has blamed social media for allowing disputes to escalate rapidly, taking young people "from slightly angry with each other to 'fight' very quickly."

Labour Party lawmaker David Lammy, whose Tottenham constituency in north London has seen four murders this year, blamed international gangs supplying the multi-billion dollar cocaine trade that he said made Britain "the drugs market of Europe."

"Drugs are prolific," Lammy told the BBC. "It's like (food-delivery service) Deliveroo. They're as prolific as ordering a pizza. You can get them on Snapchat, WhatsApp. That in the end is driving the turf war and it's driving the culture of violence."

Former police officer John Carnochan has seen a city in the grip of violence, and thinks he knows how it can be turned around.

In the early 2000s, the Scottish city of Glasgow was known as the murder capital of Britain. In 2005, Carnochan co-founded the Violence Reduction Unit, which decided to treat violence as a public health issue, rather than simply as a law-and-order problem.

"It gave us a new language. We could start to speak about prevention," said Carnochan. "Because law and order, criminal justice, didn't think about prevention. Our idea of prevention was an alarm, or bars on your windows."

In Glasgow, prevention meant police working alongside teachers, social workers and others to "share the problem out" and find solutions. It also meant going to the young men involved in violence and offering alternatives  something many eagerly seized.

"When you say it out loud it seems so obvious," Carnochan said. "If you are a young man leaving home every night and you feel you have to put a knife down the waistband of your trousers to go out, that can't be a good thing."

Between 2005 and 2015, the number of murders in Glasgow fell by half. Carnochan thinks a similar approach would work in London.

But solutions seem a long way off in Hackney, an area of poverty and gentrification, where public-housing blocks stand alongside million-pound ($1.4 million) Victorian houses and fashionable boutiques. Police have arrested two 17-year-olds in Ogunsola's death, but young people worry that more tit-for-tat violence will follow.

"People are just angry with life, and with this it's just going to make more people angry and it's just a continuous cycle of anger," said Panda, the victim's friend.

She is mourning a friend she ran into just a few hours before he died and asking unanswerable questions. What if he had not been on that spot at that time? What if medical help had come sooner?

"His mum and his dad could have been holding their son today in the hospital, instead of getting ready to bury him six feet under," she said.
Russia's ambassador to the UK has requested a meeting with UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson amid tensions over the investigation into a nerve agent attack on a former Russian double agent in England.

Relations between London and Moscow have steadily worsened since the UK government pointed the finger at Russia over last month's poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the English city of Salisbury. Moscow denies all involvement

"Unfortunately, the current state of the (UK) Foreign Office interaction with the Embassy is utterly unsatisfactory," the Russian Embassy's press office said Saturday.

"We believe that it is high time to arrange a meeting between Ambassador Alexander Yakovenko and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson in order to discuss the whole range of bilateral issues, as well as the investigation of the Salisbury incident."

Yakovenko has already sent a personal note to Johnson, the embassy said.

The UK Foreign Office has not yet commented on the Russian request.

The Russian Embassy in London has repeatedly used its Twitter account to criticize the UK government and Johnson since Britain accused Russia of attempting to murder the Skripals using the nerve agent Novichok.

At a news conference Thursday at the Russian Embassy in London, Yakovenko repeated Russian allegations that Britain has denied its requests for information on the Skripals and the investigation into the attack.

Both Sergei and Yulia Skripal remain hospitalized but are recovering.

Sergei Skripal is "improving rapidly" and is "no longer in a critical condition" following the March 4 attack, the hospital treating him said in a statement Friday.

Christine Blanshard, medical director at Salisbury District Hospital, said Skripal, 66, was responding well to treatment.

While the National Health Service would not comment specifically on his case, a spokeswoman said that being out of critical condition generally means a patient can speak.

Yulia, 33, released her first public statement Thursday after regaining consciousness last week. She thanked those who had treated her and her father and all those who had sent "messages of goodwill."

Writing on Twitter, Johnson welcomed the news of Sergei Skripal's improved condition and wished both patients a "quick return to full health."

The UK Foreign Office said Thursday that Yulia Skripal has so far declined the Russian Embassy's offer of consular assistance following the attack. The Russian Embassy has repeatedly said it requested consular access to Yulia and Sergei Skripal, but that it had been "denied."

In the wake of the poisoning, the UK and its allies have expelled scores of Russian diplomats, triggering retaliatory expulsions by Russia.
SEOUL, April 5 (Xinhua) -- South Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Thursday held a working-level talks to discuss security and protocol issues for the upcoming inter-Korean summit later this month, Seoul's presidential office said.

The meeting continued for four hours from 10:00 a.m. local time on the South Korean side of the border village of Panmunjom, according to the Blue House of South Korea.

Nothing was decided at the meeting. The two sides agreed to meet again for the working-level discussion without specifying a date.

The five-member South Korean delegation was led by Kim Sang Gyun, senior director of the National Intelligence Service (NIS).

Four other Blue House officials attending the meeting were Cho Han Ki, protocol secretary to the president, Shin Yong Wook, vice chief of presidential security service, Kwun Hyuk Ki, director of Chunchugwan, Cheong Wa Dae Press Center, and Yun Kun Young, director for government situation room.

The DPRK delegation was led by Kim Chang Son, an official from the State Affairs Commission of the DPRK.

The working-level dialogue came ahead of the first summit between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un, scheduled for April 27 at Peace House, a Panmunjom building controlled by South Korea.

If held, Kim will become the first DPRK leader to step onto South Korean soil since the 1950-1953 Korean war ended in armistice. The Korean Peninsula remains technically in a state of war.

During the working-level talks, the two sides discussed issues on security, protocol and media coverage.

South Korea and the DPRK also agreed to hold a working-level dialogue Saturday on the installation of a communication hotline between Moon and Kim.

The leaders of the two Koreas agreed to set up a direct hotline of dialogue and have the first phone conversation before the agreed summit is held in late April.
BERLIN, April 6 (Xinhua) -- Svenja Schulze (SPD), new German minister for the environment, has identified the protection of insect populations as a key goal of her legislative term on Friday.

"Preventing mass species extinction is one of the overriding political tasks of our generation", Schulze told the "Funke" media group. She warned that if "the insects disappear, so will the birds, as well as all of the valuable contributions which insects make towards pollination, water clearing and improving soil fertility."

The minister has consequently announced the launch of a programme, together with Agricultural Minister Julia Kloeckner (CDU), to prevent a further decline in German insect populations. "I want to take the agricultural minister's statement at face value that bees are critical for the functioning of wider ecological systems and need to be protected", Schulze said.

The SPD politician argued that toxic pesticides and herbicides would have to be used with greater moderation in order to avert irreparable damage to the environment. "We need a full exit from glyphosate (a controversial herbicide produced by U.S. agrochemical company Monsanto) during this legislative period. Glyphosate kills everything that is green, depriving insects of their food source", Schulze demanded.

Nevertheless, the minister for the environment noted that such individual approaches to combat the worst symptoms of excessive herbicide and pesticide use would be insufficient on their own unless accompanied by measures to create a "new system of European agricultural subsidies." Schulze proposed that farmers should be rewarded for supporting biodiversity with funds from a "European nature protection fund."

Speaking to the newspaper "Rheinische Post" in a separate interview on Friday, Schulze further announced related plans for a greater collaboration between the German government and companies in transitioning towards alternative energy sources. Scientists have warned that rapid man-made climate change due to greenhouse gas emissions risks triggering the only sixth mass extinction event during the past 500 million years on planet earth.

"We as the federal government want to cover up to 50 percent of the costs if a company develops alternative technology to use energy which produces less emissions", Schulze said.

The German steel- and cement industries release around 56 million and 20 million tons of CO2 each year respectively, highlighting the importance of individual sectors which consume large amounts energy within Berlin's long-standing "energy revolution" strategy to build a greener economy. Schulze noted that new smelting furnaces could cut CO2 emissions from these industries by up to 80 percent.

The new federal government under Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) has announced in its founding coalition agreement that it would legally enshrine binding reductions of CO2 emissions in areas like industry and transport until 2030. Earlier, Berlin admitted that it would most likely fail to achieve its own climate policy goals for 2020.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-07 05:02:20|Editor: Yurou

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Chinese Ambassador to Lebanon Wang Kejian (L, Front) awards Chinese peacekeepers the United Nations Peace Medal of Honor at the awarding ceremony at the camp of the Chinese peacekeeping multi-functional engineer detachment to Lebanon in Hanniyah village in southern Lebanon, on April 6, 2018. The 410 members of the 16th Chinese peacekeeping force to Lebanon were awarded the United Nations Peace Medal of Honor on Friday, a month before their transfer of authority to the 17th contingent. (Xinhua/Li Liangyong)

BEIRUT, April 6 (Xinhua) -- The 410 members of the 16th Chinese peacekeeping force to Lebanon were awarded the United Nations Peace Medal of Honor on Friday, a month before their transfer of authority to the 17th contingent.

The medal-awarding ceremony was held at the camp of the Chinese peacekeeping multi-functional engineer detachment to Lebanon in Hanniyah village in southern Lebanon.

Maj. Gen. Michael Beary, head of Mission and Force Commander of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), and Chinese Ambassador to Lebanon Wang Kejian attended the ceremony.

"The professional military capability, the positive and engaging attitude toward UNIFIL as well as the cautious and conscientious dedication of Chinese peacekeeping units have gained world-wide recognition," Beary said during the ceremony.

He hailed the 16th Chinese peacekeeping contingent to Lebanon for showing "the true nature of Chinese culture of peace and professionalism."

"Your friendliness, esprit de corps and dedication are a credit to China and all Chinese contingents," Beary added.

The UN Security Council established the UNIFIL on March 19, 1978 to monitor the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon. Its mandate was expanded following the 2006 Lebanon War.

Since 2006, China has maintained a peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon as a part of the UNIFIL, tasked with missions such as mine-sweeping, project construction, medical rescue and humanitarian assistance.

The 16th Chinese peacekeeping force to Lebanon includes a multi-functional engineer detachment, a construction engineer detachment and a medical detachment.

The UN Peace Medal of Honor is designed to commend those who have made prominent contribution to human peace.
The 16th Chinese peacekeeping force to Lebanon were awarded the United Nations Peace Medal of Honor on April 6, 2018. (Xinhua photo)

BEIRUT, April 6 (Xinhua) -- The 410 members of the 16th Chinese peacekeeping force to Lebanon were awarded the United Nations Peace Medal of Honor on Friday, a month before their transfer of authority to the 17th contingent.

The medal-awarding ceremony was held at the camp of the Chinese peacekeeping multi-functional engineer detachment to Lebanon in Hanniyah village in southern Lebanon.

Maj. Gen. Michael Beary, head of Mission and Force Commander of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), and Chinese Ambassador to Lebanon Wang Kejian attended the ceremony.

"The professional military capability, the positive and engaging attitude toward UNIFIL as well as the cautious and conscientious dedication of Chinese peacekeeping units have gained world-wide recognition," Beary said during the ceremony.

He hailed the 16th Chinese peacekeeping contingent to Lebanon for showing "the true nature of Chinese culture of peace and professionalism."

"Your friendliness, esprit de corps and dedication are a credit to China and all Chinese contingents," Beary added.

The UN Security Council established the UNIFIL on March 19, 1978 to monitor the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon. Its mandate was expanded following the 2006 Lebanon War.

Since 2006, China has maintained a peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon as a part of the UNIFIL, tasked with missions such as mine-sweeping, project construction, medical rescue and humanitarian assistance.

The 16th Chinese peacekeeping force to Lebanon includes a multi-functional engineer detachment, a construction engineer detachment and a medical detachment.

The UN Peace Medal of Honor is designed to commend those who have made prominent contribution to human peace.
WASHINGTON, April 6 (Xinhua) -- The United States slapped a new round of sanctions on Russia on Friday, targeting Russian business elite and senior government officials, a move that may further damage the already soured ties between Washington and Moscow.

The U.S. Treasury announced that it has imposed sanctions on seven Russian business leaders, who were referred to as "oligarchs," along with 12 companies owned or controlled by them.

The blacklist also included 17 senior Russian government officials and the state-owned Russian weapons trading company, Rosoboronexport, and its subsidiary, Russian Financial Corporation Bank.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin accused the Russian government in the statement of engaging in "a range of malign activity" around the world, including its involvement in the Ukrainian and Syrian issues, and "attempting to subvert Western democracies, and malicious cyber activities."

The sanctions will freeze any assets the individuals or entities punished hold in the United States and prohibit U.S. citizens from conducting business with them.

The punitive act was also believed to discourage international financial institutions from doing business with persons and entities on the list.

The Russian Embassy in the United States shot back on Friday by claiming that the new sanctions targeted Russian business leaders "who refused to play by Washington's rules."

"The US made another erroneous step to destroy the freedom of entrepreneurship and competition, integration processes in the world economy," said the embassy in a statement.

The latest move was among a series of the Trump administration's confrontations against "Russian activities that threaten our institutions, our interests, or our allies," said the White House in a statement on Friday.

On March 15, the U.S. Treasury imposed sanctions on five entities and 19 individuals, including Russian intelligence services, for their alleged interference in the 2016 U.S. elections and engagement in "malicious" cyber attacks.

At the end of January, Washington published a list of Russian officials and business tycoons eligible for sanctions for alleged meddling in the U.S. presidential elections. The list incorporated 114 senior Russian political personages and 96 "oligarchs."

So far the Trump administration has punished 189 Russian-related people and entities with sanctions under various programs, said a senior U.S. government official on the condition of anonymity at a briefing on Friday.

The new sanctions were seen as another blow on the already sinking ties between Washington and Moscow.

In March, the United States expelled 60 Russian diplomats and closed the Russian consulate in Seattle in a concerted action with Britain and other Western nations over a poisoning case involving a former Russian spy.

Washington's actions have been met with countermeasures from Russia, which categorically denies these allegations and demands solid evidence.

Meanwhile, Trump has kept from launching from direct verbal attack against Moscow over the poisoning attack.
FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump and Russia's President Vladimir Putin talk during the family photo session at the APEC Summit in Danang, Vietnam November 11, 2017. (Xinhua/REUTERS)

WASHINGTON, April 6 (Xinhua) -- The United States slapped a new round of sanctions on Russia on Friday, targeting Russian business elite and senior government officials, a move that may further damage the already soured ties between Washington and Moscow.

The U.S. Treasury announced that it has imposed sanctions on seven Russian business leaders, who were referred to as "oligarchs," along with 12 companies owned or controlled by them.

The blacklist also included 17 senior Russian government officials and the state-owned Russian weapons trading company, Rosoboronexport, and its subsidiary, Russian Financial Corporation Bank.

File Photo: U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin (R, Rear) addresses a press conference with National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster (L, Rear) at the White House in Washington D.C., the United States, on Aug. 25, 2017. (Xinhua/Yin Bogu)

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin accused the Russian government in the statement of engaging in "a range of malign activity" around the world, including its involvement in the Ukrainian and Syrian issues, and "attempting to subvert Western democracies, and malicious cyber activities."

The sanctions will freeze any assets the individuals or entities punished hold in the United States and prohibit U.S. citizens from conducting business with them.

The punitive act was also believed to discourage international financial institutions from doing business with persons and entities on the list.

The Russian Embassy in the United States shot back on Friday by claiming that the new sanctions targeted Russian business leaders "who refused to play by Washington's rules."

"The US made another erroneous step to destroy the freedom of entrepreneurship and competition, integration processes in the world economy," said the embassy in a statement.

In this file photo taken on May 13, 2016 people walk past a mural on a restaurant wall depicting US President Donald Trumpand Russian President Vladimir Putin greeting each other with a kiss in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius. (Xinhua/ AFP PHOTO)

The latest move was among a series of the Trump administration's confrontations against "Russian activities that threaten our institutions, our interests, or our allies," said the White House in a statement on Friday.

On March 15, the U.S. Treasury imposed sanctions on five entities and 19 individuals, including Russian intelligence services, for their alleged interference in the 2016 U.S. elections and engagement in "malicious" cyber attacks.

At the end of January, Washington published a list of Russian officials and business tycoons eligible for sanctions for alleged meddling in the U.S. presidential elections. The list incorporated 114 senior Russian political personages and 96 "oligarchs."

So far the Trump administration has punished 189 Russian-related people and entities with sanctions under various programs, said a senior U.S. government official on the condition of anonymity at a briefing on Friday.

A Russian flag flies next to the US embassy building in Moscow on March 27, 2018. (Xinhua/ AFP PHOTO)

The new sanctions were seen as another blow on the already sinking ties between Washington and Moscow.

In March, the United States expelled 60 Russian diplomats and closed the Russian consulate in Seattle in a concerted action with Britain and other Western nations over a poisoning case involving a former Russian spy.

Washington's actions have been met with countermeasures from Russia, which categorically denies these allegations and demands solid evidence.

Meanwhile, Trump has kept from launching from direct verbal attack against Moscow over the poisoning attack.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-07 08:32:59|Editor: Chengcheng

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BERLIN, April 6 (Xinhua) -- Leipzig's Konrad Laimer will be sidelined for several weeks due to an injury, the Bundesliga club announced in an official statement on Friday.

The 20-year-old defensive midfielder will be out of action for "four to six weeks" after suffering a torn hamstring in yesterday's 1-0 victory over Marseille in the first leg of UEFA Europa League's quarterfinal.

Laimer sustained the injury without a foul play and had to be replaced by Bernardo in the 74th minute.

The Austrian youngster joined the "Bulls" from Salzburg in the summer of 2017 to provide two assists in 20 appearances.

Fourth-placed Leipzig will clash against fifth-placed Bayer Leverkusen to conclude the 29th round in Bundesliga on Monday.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-07 08:48:01|Editor: Chengcheng

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SYDNEY, April 7 (Xinhua) -- A team of eight Polish sailors have made their way to a Tasmanian port in Australia on Friday, for a well earned rest after becoming the first crew to circumnavigate Antarctica below the 60th parallel.

The 72-foot Katharsis II officially completed the loop on March 21 after 72 days in the world's most treacherous and bone-chilling seas.

But although the crew faced extremely challenging conditions including icebergs, snow and winds powerful enough to tear the roofs off houses, it wasn't unit the record was in the bag when the most dangerous part of the voyage began.

Around 1,000 nautical miles southwest of Tasmania's capital Hobart, the oyster class yacht was hit by a massive rogue wave during an intense storm.

The impact was so severe it caused the mainsail to swing to the other side of the vessel in an uncontrolled gybe.

As a result, the boat was knocked down and all of the crew were thrown into the icy water.

Luckily however the sailors were tethered to the boat and survived without injury.

"Fortunately, the rigging took the impact well, saving the mainmast," skipper and boat owner Mariusz Koper reported.

"But our carbon fibre boom, robust but not impact-resistant, is now fractured and will have to be replaced."

While the journey was exhausting and fraught with hazards, for one crew members the experience was nothing compared to the months leading up to the adventure.

In November 2016, Hanna Leniec was diagnosed with breast cancer and believed she might miss out on the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

But determined to beat the odds, Leniec did everything she could to keep her place on the Polish vessel.

"I learnt a lot about cancer, about what it really means, how it changes your everyday life, but also that it is curable and does not put an end to a normal life," she said.

"We tend to think that if we don't talk about something and pretend it doesn't exist, this will never happen to us But this is not how it works."

"I may always count on my nearest and dearest, my friends and my sailing family, Katharsis II crew."
TUNIS, April 6 (Xinhua) -- Tunisia's trade deficit reduced to some 1.5 billion U.S. dollars in the first quarter of this year thanks to a remarkable increase in export, the National Institute of Statistics (INS) of Tunisia said Friday.

Data show the north African country's exports grew 35.2 percent from a year ago to some 4.3 billion dollars.

The INS mainly attributed this to an increase in the export of crude oil as well as agri-food products such as olive oil and dates.

During the same period of time, Tunisia's imports were up 21.3 percent year on year, according to the INS.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-07 11:03:16|Editor: Yurou

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Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (L) leaves the headquarters of the Metal Workers' Union in Sao Bernardo do Campo, near Sao Paulo, Brazil, on April 5, 2018. Brazilian Federal judge Sergio Moro, who oversaw Brazil's sprawling corruption investigation "Operation Car Wash," on Thursday issued the arrest warrant for Lula and ordered the former president to turn himself in by 5 p.m. local time (2000 GMT) on Friday to begin a 12 year and one month prison sentence for passive corruption and money laundering. (Xinhua/AGENCIA ESTADO/Felipe Rau)

BRASILIA, April 6 (Xinhua) -- Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva refused to turn himself in to the justice authorities before the deadline at 5:00 p.m. local time (2000 GMT) on Friday as ordered.

The former president would remain inside the headquarters of the Metal Workers' Union in Sao Bernardo do Campo near Sao Paulo, where he has been staying since Thursday, and await the federal police, said Lula's defense lawyer Jose Roberto Batochio in an interview with the Folha de Sao Paulo daily.

"There will be no resistance, but he will not go to the slaughterhouse with his head hung low, of his own free will," said Batochio.

"This is not rebellion. It is the right of a person to preserve their liberty and not contribute to any act that could remove it," he continued.

Batochio also filed a motion at the Supreme Court to dismiss the arrest warrant against Lula, but this was rejected.

Also on Friday, the federal court of Curitiba, which oversaw Lula's trial, said that Lula was not being considered a fugitive for the time being, as long as he stayed inside the union headquarters.

Federal judge Sergio Moro set the deadline out of respect for Lula's position as former president and has said he is unwilling to treat him as a fugitive from justice.

This was backed up by Luis Antonio Boudens, president of the federal police, who told the press that "The deadline to present himself voluntarily has been out. As this did not happen, the arrest warrant will now be carried out."

He added that Moro's arrest warrant for Lula had come as a surprise and had now allowed the police to plan how to do it.

"We must now be ready to arrange everything in the best way possible," said Boudens.

On Thursday, the Supreme Federal Court voted 6-5 against a motion of habeas corpus filed by Lula's lawyers, which means that the former president can be arrested and jailed despite the unfinished appeals process.

In July 2017, Moro condemned Lula to 9.5 years in prison for corruption and illicit association. In January, the sentence was extended to 12 years and one month, since the conviction was upheld by an appeals court.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-07 11:23:19|Editor: Chengcheng

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KIEV, April 6 (Xinhua) -- Chinese and Ukrainian business people and officials on Friday participated in a roundtable to discuss renewable energy cooperation.

Themed "Chinese investment in the development of Ukraine's energy," the event brought together about 100 high-ranking guests, including representatives of the Ukrainian government, Chinese Embassy in Ukraine, Chinese companies in Ukraine and Ukrainian companies working with their Chinese partners.

While delivering a speech during the roundtable, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Volodymyr Kistion said that Ukraine is interested in implementing joint projects in green energy with China and called on businessmen of the two countries to actively cooperate in this sector.

"I urge all businessmen, the entire private sector to join our efforts. Together we will build the energy security of our country," Kistion said.

The Ukrainian government developed the country's energy strategy last year, setting a target to increase the share of the renewables in the energy mix to 25 percent by 2035 from the current 4 percent.

Zheng Wei, minister-counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Ukraine, said that China is ready to assist Ukraine in developing its renewable energy sector.

"The Chinese government pays special attention to and actively encourages cooperation between the two countries in the field of energy. The Chinese enterprises establish cooperation with the Ukrainian side based on the principle of mutual benefit and win-win partnership," Zheng said.

The roundtable was organized by Ukrainian association of Belt and Road cooperation "Silk Link."
Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-07 11:23:19|Editor: Chengcheng

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HOUSTON, April 6 (Xinhua) -- There is great potential for China and the U.S. city of Houston to cooperate in the real estate sector, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said here Friday.

While delivering a speech at the 2018 America-China Real Estate Forum held in Houston, Turner said as the most diverse city in the United States, Houston provides excellent investment opportunities in real estate.

"We are expecting more than 3 million more people to move to our region. People are not leaving the city of Houston, people are coming from the east, the west, the north, all across the United States to the city of Houston," Turner said. "We are the most diverse city of the United States. One out of four Houstonians is foreign born."

Although most Chinese people are more familiar with American cities like New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago, Turner said Houston is a city of vitality and resilience. With more people flowing into the city day by day, their demand for housing is on the rise.

Besides, the world's largest medical center in Houston offers an investment opportunity in senior housing in the city, the mayor added.

In his speech, Turner also announced April 6, 2018 as the Asian Real Estate Association of America and China Real Estate Association Day in Houston.

Co-organized by Asian Real Estate Association of America and China Real Estate Association, this year's forum focuses on city planning and livability for aging population. Around 80 people from China attended the forum.
WASHINGTON, April 6 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump has reportedly begun the initial steps of preparing for a potential interview with special counsel Robert Mueller amid the ongoing Russia probe.

The preparations are "in its infancy," CNN quoted a source familiar with the situation as saying, adding that the short, informal efforts included going over potential topics with Trump that Mueller would like to touch upon.

Trump has not publicly agreed to be interviewed by Mueller but has said that he "would like to," though advisers have cautioned him about the risks of an interview with Mueller.

The special counsel has so far charged 19 people in his investigation into the the alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election and possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Moscow as well as whether Trump attempted to interfere with the inquiry.

Among those indicted were several Trump campaign associates, who have pleaded guilty to various charges stemming from Mueller's investigation. They are all cooperating with prosecutors but none of the charges are directly related to the collusion allegation.

It was reported earlier this month that Mueller told Trump's lawyers that the president is not a criminal target of the Russia probe, but stressed that he remains a subject of the investigation.

CNN said whether Trump will speak with Mueller under oath or in an informal setting is still being negotiated.

Trump, who has stepped up attacks against Mueller's probe and his team, has repeatedly denied allegations of collusion between his campaign and Russians, describing the Russia probe as a "hoax" or a "witch hunt."
WASHINGTON, April 6 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump spoke over phone on Friday with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and the two leaders called for building a united Gulf region, said the White House.

The phone call came amid lingering diplomatic confrontations between Qatar and other Gulf nations.

The two leaders agreed that all the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states "can and should do more to increase coordination with each other," according to a statement released by the White House later in the day.

Trump and the crown prince agreed on the importance of a united GCC, the statement added.

Founded in 1981, the GCC comprises Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman.

Last year, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, and Egypt accused Qatar of "supporting terrorism" and "undermining regional security" by seeking closer ties with Iran, an accusation which Qatar has strongly denied and called "unjustified" and "baseless."

Trump's remarks in June, which claimed that Qatar had funded terrorism "at a very high level," further exacerbated the standoff.

Trump is scheduled to meet visiting Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani later this month at the White House.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-07 13:18:41|Editor: Yurou

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WASHINGTON, April 6 (Xinhua) -- Blake Farenthold, a Republican Representative from the U.S. state of Texas, resigned Friday after facing an ethics investigation into his alleged sexual misconduct.

"While I planned on serving out the remainder of my term in Congress, I know in my heart it's time for me to move along and look for new ways to serve," Farenthold, 56, said in a statement.

The congressman added that he had sent a letter to Texas Governor Greg Abbott resigning his seat effective 5:00 p.m. Friday.

The U.S. House Committee on Ethics said a week earlier that it was investigating Farenthold over allegations of sexual harassment, discrimination and retaliation involving a former female staffer.

While Farenthold has denied the sexual harassment accusation, he said late last year that he would not seek re-election.

"I had no idea how to run a congressional office, and as a result, I allowed a workplace culture to take root in my office that was too permissive and decidedly unprofessional," the former conservative radio show host said then.

It was reported in December that Farenthold used 84,000 U.S. dollars from taxpayers to settle the sexual harassment claim, which he has publicly promised to repay.

Steve Stivers, chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee Representative, urged Farenthold to be true to his words and pay back the money. "Congress must hold ourselves to a higher standard and regain the trust of the American people," he said in a statement.

Farenthold is the latest of several U.S. lawmakers who have resigned or not sought re-election after being accused of sexual harassment. There is no immediate plan from Texas to fill Farenthold's congressional seat.
JAKARTA, April 7 (Xinhua) -- Indonesian meteorology and geophysics agency said it received no immediate report of casualty or damages after a 6.4-magnitude quake in Papua New Guinea, an official of the agency on Saturday.

The U.S. Geological Survey measured the quake at 6.3 magnitude.

"So far, we have not obtained any report of the impact of the quake in Papua New Guinea on Papua province," Ali Imron, official in charge in the agency, told Xinhua.

The Papua province located in easternmost Indonesia shares the island with Papua New Guinea.

Last month, a powerful quake in Papua New Guinea devastated houses, buildings, schools and water treatment facilities in Papua province.

The Indonesian meteorology agency also reported that the 6.4-magnitude quake struck at 12:48 p.m. Jakarta time (0548 GMT) with the epicenter 243 km southeast Bovendigoel of Papua province.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-07 14:28:56|Editor: Xiang Bo

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BEIJING, April 7 (Xinhua) -- China's cyberspace regulator has closed nearly 5,000 live-streaming accounts hosted by people under 18.

The Cyberspace Administration of China said it also deleted about 300,000 video clips aired by live-streaming minors.

Since March, 70 applications suspected of involvement in pornography or gambling have been taken down, it added.

The administration released these figures after ordering two popular live-streaming sites, Kuaishou and Toutiao, to make changes to their practices. The two companies were accused of allowing minors to spread harmful content.

The two companies were said to have agreed to overhaul and promised to close all live-streaming accounts hosted by minors within five days, step up content regulation, and suspend certain live-streaming site functions.
SYDNEY, April 7 (Xinhua) -- Local economist Lee Davis is concerned about the United States' threat of imposing trade tariffs and about what this would mean for Australia and global economic growth.

Global economic growth appears to be on shaky ground after U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday that he wanted to impose further trade tariffs on Chinese imports to the value of 100 billion U.S. dollars.

"There's been a lot of advice given to the U.S. They're just not listening to it," Davis, director at the Centre for International Economics (CIE) in Sydney, told Xinhua in an interview on Friday.

"If you actually want to stimulate the economy, reduce unemployment and grow GDP (gross domestic product), raising trade barriers is the last thing you want to do, because what trade barriers do is to increase costs, which doesn't help business," Davis said.

At the end of last year, Davis and the CIE handed down a report for the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to inform policies and re-examine Australia's stance on trade liberalization.

"That economic analysis suggested that raising trade barriers leads to lower global GDP, including the countries raising the barriers," he said.

While the United States has historically championed free trade with other nations, it appears to have been moving toward more antagonistic, protectionist trade policies.

"It is a political move I would suggest, where he (Trump) can be seen to be proactively trying to protect American steel workers in the rust belt," Davis said.

"But the U.S. hasn't thought through what their actions might lead to and how it's going to impact adversely on the U.S.," he said. "It is a very short-sighted move, because ultimately you can't prop up inefficient industries forever."

Furthermore, when it comes to the Asia Pacific, Davis warned that countries like Australia, which aren't directly involved in the matter, are still likely to suffer price increases resulting from the flow-on effects of the trade conflict.

"If the cost of production in the U.S. suddenly becomes more expensive, because steel from China is more expensive for example, it will mean American products will become more expensive. And if Australia uses those products, clearly Australia will be faced with a cost increase," he said.

"All countries that are trade-orientated in terms of lower tariff barriers typically are the more successful when it comes to GDP per capita," he added.

"China knows this. That's why they joined the WTO (World Trade Organization) back in 2001, and they have been cutting their tariffs ever since," he said.
NEW DELHI, April 7 (Xinhua) -- India will begin one of its biggest air combat exercises from Sunday, officials said.

During the two-week Gaganshakti exercise, the Indian Air Force will mobilize 1,100 aircraft, including Sukhoi-30MKI fighter jets and mid-air refuellers, to check its operational preparedness for any eventuality, officials said.

"It's for the first time the efficacy and integration of the indigenous Tejas light combat aircraft in the operational matrix of Indian Air Force is planned," spokesperson Wing Commander Anupam Banerjee told the media.

The Indian Air Force's exercise will also focus on the flexible use of airspace and joint operations with the Indian Army and Indian Navy, officials said.

"Concepts of accelerated operations, network-centric operations, long range missions with concentrated weapon releases across all air to ground ranges in India and inter-valley troop transfer as well as joint operations with Navy and Army will all be validated," Banerjee added.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-07 15:24:07|Editor: ZD

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by Xu Haijing, Zhao Bo

CANBERRA, April 7 (Xinhua) -- Professor Ian Frazer, the co-inventor of the technology enabling the HPV (Human papilloma virus) vaccines against cervical cancer, has been involved in the collaboration with his Chinese counterparts for decades.

Those collaborations are expected to see a boost with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) earlier this week in Brisbane under which Queensland government and China's Ministry of Science and Technology agreed to establish the Queensland-Torch Health and Medical Precinct.

"The aim of the precinct is to attract direct investment into health and medical research in Queensland, strengthen research collaboration globally," Queensland government Health Minister Steve Miles said at the signing ceremony held in Queensland Parliament House on April 3.

The Queensland Department of Health, Department of Environment and Science and the Torch High Technology Industry Development Center (Torch) of the China's Ministry of Science and Technology have committed to investing in the Precinct, the first Torch precinct outside China focusing on health and medical research.

"We have some of the best researchers in the world right here in Queensland, identifying ways to improve clinical practice for the benefit of Queenslanders," said Miles.

"Taking Queensland's research expertise to the world stage is a key theme of Queensland Advancing Health Research 2026, to drive economic growth and create jobs in the health innovation sector."

Professor Frazer at the University of Queensland is among the world's top researchers in health and medical research. He told Xinhua that he has been aware that China is growing a culture for innovation and research now.

"When I went to Wenzhou Medical College, there are many people who are just starting to do the innovative medical research and take it to the hospitals to see whether it works. That's what we have been doing well in Australia for over 100 years.

"It will take a while (for it) to be strong in China as it is to be here, that's why collaboration between China and Australia is productive, because China has one set of skills and we have another. We get together, we do things together and we actually both get there faster," said Frazer.

The aim of the Torch Precinct in Brisbane is to get together the biomedical research with the strength industries from both countries, particularly the technologies that drive the progress in biomedical science.

Rui Guozhong, Secretary-General of China Biopharma Park Industrial Cluster Collaborative Innovation Alliance, said the Torch Precinct in Queensland is expected to provide a new platform and offer a new model for stronger cooperation and collaboration in health, medical research and pharmaceutical production.

China is looking forward to utilizing this platform to move its own biotechnological and pharmaceutical industries to the world stage.

Rui came as a member of the Torch delegation, who also attended a health innovation seminar and toured innovation hot-spots in Brisbane, Gold Coast and Cairns.

Leeanne Enoch, Queensland Minister for Environment and Science, said the state had established strong strategic relationship with China more than a decade ago.

"Both Queensland and China value the role science and innovation can play in helping us find solutions to some of the world's biggest social and environment challenges, including the impact of our aging populations, climate change and loss of biodiversity," she said.

"Our scientific collaborations with China are driving advances in agriculture and food, health and medical research, clean and renewable energy technology, and in advanced materials such as nano-technology and digital-enabled technologies."

She said the Torch Precinct project will further cement Queensland's relationship with China on science and innovation.

Torch was established in 1988 and is a successful government led entrepreneurial program which helps to kick-start Chinese high-tech innovation and start-ups, and has become China's engine room of innovation and economic growth.
CANBERRA, April 7 (Xinhua) -- A leading member of the British government has said there is a "very high likelihood" that Britain and Australia will sign a free trade agreement (FTA) in the near future.

Speaking during a visit to Australia's Gold Coast for the opening of the Commonwealth Games, Graham Stuart, Britain's Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Trade, said that trade with Australia would be a priority for his country as it moved to leave the European Union (EU).

Bilateral trade between Britain and Australia is currently worth 24 billion Australian dollars (18.4 billion U.S. dollars) annually, a figure that would grow in a post-FTA environment.

Stuart dismissed the concerns over the impact that Brexit would have on Australia, saying it could prove an "enormous economic opportunity."

"It's fair to say Australia is a top priority for us and I know from speaking to (Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull) that it is a top priority for Australia as well," Stuart told News Corp Australia on Saturday.

"After the vote on the European referendum, the first country in the world we set up a trade working group with was indeed Australia.

"We are really pleased with the discussions that have gone on so far. We will have another meeting of the trade working group shortly, building on the previous ones."

He said that the proactive approach of Turnbull and the close trade, security and political relationships between the two countries made an FTA likely.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-07 15:34:09|Editor: ZD

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SEOUL, April 7 (Xinhua) -- South Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Saturday held a working-level talks to discuss setting up a hotline between leaders of the two countries, Seoul's presidential Blue House said.

Three working-level officials from the Blue House and the unification ministry held talks with their DPRK counterparts for about three hours from 10:00 a.m. local time (0100 GMT) at Tongilgak, a DPRK building at the border village of Panmunjom.

The lists of delegations were not unveiled for security reason, according to local media reports.

The two sides allegedly discussed where and how to set up and manage the hotline between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un.

Moon and Kim agreed to have their first phone conversation through the established hotline before their first summit on April 27 at Peace House, a South Korean building in Panmunjom.

Another round of working-level dialogue will reportedly be held next week to finalize the establishment of hotline.
Source: Xinhuanet| 2018-04-07 15:36:18|Editor: Xiang Bo

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BEIJING, April 7 (Xinhuanet) -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday threatened to slap tariffs on 100 billion U.S. dollars of imports from China, drawing strong opposition from China, and evoking criticism from international business leaders, academics and officials.

The following are some of the responses evoked so far.

-- China will fight "at any cost" and take "comprehensive countermeasures" if the United States continues its unilateral, protectionist practices, a spokesperson with the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said Friday.

-- China will immediately fight back fiercely without hesitation if the United States announces a list of additional tariffs on 100 billion U.S. dollars of Chinese products, said Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang on Friday.

-- Martin Wansleben, chief executive of the Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry, said that new tariffs and trade barriers not only inflict additional costs on companies and consumers but also hurt innovation. Imposing new tariffs is "an economic dead end," he said.

-- "These tariffs that have targeted China confirm that the Trump administration intends to bypass the WTO's dispute settlement body and unilaterally rely on U.S. law alone regarding the ongoing trade dispute with China. That is a big mistake," said Jon R. Taylor, political science professor at the University of St. Thomas in Houston, Texas.

-- Xia Xiang, minister-counsellor for economic and commercial affairs in the Chinese mission to the EU, said that recent developments showed the U.S. side has renegaded on its promises and broken the rules of the WTO.

-- Steven Carpenter, president of AmCham China's Central China Chapter, said he is disappointed in Trump and the U.S. government.

"I believe President Trump should follow the rules of the WTO and, if he believes that China is practicing unfair trade with the U.S. then let the WTO review the charges," he said.

"China has already agreed to follow WTO judgments. President Trump and the U.S. Government should follow China's lead and agree to accept the authority of the WTO judgments as well."

Trump's actions will not help generate any goodwill for American companies trying to do business in China, he added.

-- "If there really was a major trade war between the U.S. and China, that would have an aggregate effect on global economic growth," James Brander, trade expert at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver said. "It would certainly be bad for both China and the United States. But I just don't see that happening."

-- Agricultural leaders in the U.S. state of Iowa warned on Friday that rashly imposed tariffs on Chinese products will make American farmers the first casualties.

"We're in limbo. This is a very bad time for agriculture," Iowa Farm Bureau President Craig Hill told Iowa Public Television.

-- "This is what a trade war looks like, and what we have warned against from the start," said Matthew Shay, president of the National Retail Federation, in a statement on Thursday.

"We are on a dangerous downward spiral and American families will be on the losing end," he added.

Shay also said in the statement that these tit-for-tat trade actions could spell disaster for the U.S. economy and make it harder for Americans across the country to afford everyday products and basic necessities.

-- The American Soybean Association also denounced the Trump administration's tariff plans, saying that it was extremely frustrated about the potential trade war with China, the largest customer of U.S. soybeans.

The association has called on the White House to withdraw the tariffs that had led to the retaliation.

-- Mark Zandi, chief economist with the Moody's Analytics, estimated that the Trump administration's recent tariff plans would reduce U.S. economic growth by 0.1 to 0.2 percentage point over the next 12 months.

If tensions escalate, the drag on the U.S. growth will grow, Zandi warned.

-- Canadian international business expert Ian Lee called the trade tensions between the United States and China more than bilateral -- part of a broader issue involving Trump challenging the international trading system.

-- United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who called China a pillar of the multilateral system, said trade wars are always bad for those involved and for the international economy as a whole. "We need to have international cooperation," he emphasized.
KABUL, April 7 (Xinhua) -- At least six militants of Islamic State (IS) terrorist group have been killed following airstrikes conducted by the U.S. and NATO-led coalition forces in two Afghan provinces, authorities said Saturday.

In one attack, a local IS leader named Qari Hekmat along with one of his subordinates was killed after a coalition plane struck a location in Sar Dara area, Darzab district of northern Jawzjan province Friday noon, Hanif Rezai, spokesman of Afghan army Corps 209 Shaheen based in the region, told Xinhua.

Hekmat was leading IS militants in Jawzjan and the group has appointed Habib-ul-Rahman as the temporary leader of IS in the province.

In eastern Nangarhar province, four IS militants were killed after an unmanned plane of the coalition bombed the Dara Takhta area of restive Achin district.

The two provinces have been the scene of heavy clashes between security forces and IS militants.

The group, which emerged in early 2015 in Afghanistan, has yet to make comments on the reports.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-07 16:24:21|Editor: Xiang Bo

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BEIJING, April 7 (Xinhua) -- Peking University is to continue to tighten rules on staff conduct and discipline teachers who fail to live up to standards.

The university took its strong stance in response to mounting calls for the school to investigate an alleged sex scandal involving a former teacher, some 20 years ago.

Shen Yang, a Chinese language professor, is accused of having sexually assaulted a female student who committed suicide in 1998. The matter resurfaced this week after a person who claims to be the victim's former classmate published the allegations online and, demanding a thorough investigation.

Shen, who has left Peking University in 2011 and now teaches in another school, denies the accusation, according to a local media report.

Peking University, however, said in a statement that police investigated the case in 1998 and the school gave Shen an administrative punishment.

The statement did not elaborate on the investigation result or the punishment.

Peking University said it has raised standards of teacher behavior and has been strict and consistent in dealing with teacher behavior.

"In recent years, some teachers were found to have problems. Every case has been thoroughly investigated and offenders have received grave penalties," the school said.
NEW DELHI, April 7 (Xinhua) -- At least eight people were killed and five others injured after a speeding truck ploughed into two passenger auto-rickshaws in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh Saturday, police said.

The accident occurred near Majhgavan in the state's Katni district, some 350 km from Madhya Pradesh capital Bhopal.

"The truck hit the two auto-rickshaws, carrying 13 people, one after the other as its driver lost control of the speeding vehicle. While eight people died in the impact of the crash, those injured have been admitted to a local hospital," a police official said.

The death toll may go up later in the day as the condition of two of the injured are said to be serious, he said, adding that all the victims were occupants of the two auto-rickshaws.

Eye-witnesses told police that the truck was travelling at high speed.

"A probe has been ordered into the incident and a manhunt launched to track down the truck driver who fled the spot leaving the vehicle behind. The driver has been booked for rash and negligent driving," the official said.

Road accidents occur in India mostly due to reckless driving or badly maintained roads and vehicles.
Chinese national flag rises at Wall Street in New York, U.S. , Nov. 16, 2009. (Xinhua/Wang Jiangang)

by Xinhua writer Yang Shilong

NEW YORK, April 7 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. unilateral slapping of steep tariffs on foreign goods is a wrong remedy for its trade deficits but a protectionist step that builds up trust deficits with trade partners by caring increasingly less about rules-based multilateralism.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday threatened to impose high tariffs on 100 billion U.S. dollars of imports from China, in addition to 50 billion dollars of Chinese products his administration listed earlier this week that provoked China's retaliatory tariffs plan.

Responding to this, China said it is fully prepared and will not hesitate to strike back fiercely, according to the Ministry of Commerce (MOC).

The trade friction between the world's top two economies can be traced to the U.S. levy of high tariffs last month on steel and aluminum imports from many countries including China, later with exemptions. China countered with tariffs on 3 billion dollars of U.S. products.





U.S. President Donald Trump is seen on a TV screen announcing tariffs on steel and aluminum, at the White House in Washington D.C., the United States, on March 8, 2018. (Xinhua/Ting Shen)

The latest U.S. moves are part of the new trade barriers stemming from the Trump administration's "America First" policy. They have apparently broken today's multilateral trade rules Washington led countries to establish with the 163-member World Trade Organization (WTO) at the center.

In fact, the United States has benefitted from the rules-based WTO trading system that now covers over 98 percent of global trade. Its current unilateral high tariffs undermine the WTO system, risking an escalation of trade disputes with major trade partners.

For example, in a countermove, South Korea on Friday said it has notified the WTO that it would seek suspension of its tariff concessions on imported U.S. goods worth 480 million dollars.

Protectionism has proved not a viable solution to trade disputes.

In 1930, the U.S. Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act raised tariffs by nearly 60 percent and in the two following years, U.S. exports dropped nearly two-thirds because related countries resorted to similar protectionist measures. As a result, U.S. export markets dried up, domestic industries slowed down, and unemployment rate rose to 25 percent in 1933.

Photo taken on April 4, 2018 shows the World Trade Organization (WTO) headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. (Xinhua/Xu Jinquan)

The historical lesson prompted a new trade approach to be institutionalized at the international level with the creation of the WTO's predecessor -- the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in 1948.

Today, economies worldwide are unprecedentedly interdependent. The United States, as the world's largest economy, cannot act unilaterally, for doing so would entail dangerous consequences at home and abroad.

No country can be better off alone should the WTO-centered multilateral trading system fall apart.

Calling the "America First" ideology the "most unbelievable step backwards," former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright recently urged the Trump administration not to make America "seem like a victim," a mentality that "everything is somebody else's fault."

(John Manzella, founder of the ManzellaReport.com, which provides in-depth analyses on global business, contributed to the story.)
Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-07 16:44:29|Editor: ZD

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DUBAI, April 7 (Xinhua) -- The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Malaysia concluded "Desert Tiger 5" joint military exercise aimed at sharing expertise and enhancing joint military actions, UAE state news agency WAM reported on Saturday.

Brigadier Saeed Rashid Al Shehi, deputy commander of the UAE land forces, and General Dato' Sri Zulkiple bin Hj Kassim, Malaysian chief of army, attended the conclusion ceremony of the joint military drill.

The military exercise was implemented within the framework of the UAE leadership's continued desire "to support and create unique partnerships between both countries in all areas."

The drill was also aimed at raising the level of performance and combat efficiency, and working together based on a strategy to improve the overall ability and combat readiness of the ground forces.

"The UAE land forces have been drafting strategic plans to develop the capabilities of their personnel," WAM reported.

The exercise highlighted "the success of these plans to build their skills and capacities," it said.
MOGADISHU, April 7 (Xinhua) -- The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) has vowed to remain neutral as political crisis between senior government officials and the Lower House Speaker persists.

Francisco Madeira, Special Representative of the Chairperson of the AU Commission (SRCC) for Somalia, reaffirmed respect for the sovereignty of Somalia, saying the AU mission will not take control of Parliament unless requested by the government.

"AMISOM will, therefore, not take control of the House of the People unless the competent Somali authorities request it to do so in full respect and within the parameters of AMISOM mandate," Madeira said in a statement issued on Friday night.

The statement came after AMISOM Commander Paul Lokech said the AU troops had taken over Parliament's security after the Wednesday standoff.

Sources say the Somali government was not happy with AMISOM's intervention on Wednesday when lawmakers were due to debate a no-confidence motion against the speaker.

"The AU and AMISOM recognize and respect the right of the Somali Federal Parliament to determine when, where and how they conduct their business. It is therefore not the responsibility of AMISOM to determine where and how they should handle their parliamentary activities," Madeira said.

Lower House Speaker Mohamed Osman Jawari has been accused by lawmakers of abuse of power and obstruction of constitutional reform. He has, however, survived a motion of no-confidence.

Jawari has instead blamed President Mohamed Farmajo and Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire for escalating the political crisis in the Horn of Africa nation by asking him to resign.

In his statement, Madeira said the AU mission will continue to back the federal institutions until Somalia is ready to tale over its security, and asked rival politicians to resolve the current stalemate in Parliament, which is now divided into two factions opposing each other.

Jawari who was re-elected in 2017 for the second term in office has blamed the prime minister for being behind a motion of no confidence against him and for ordering security forces to occupy Parliament.
FAIZABAD, Afghanistan, April 7 (Xinhua) -- At least eight militants have been killed and two Taliban hideouts destroyed by Afghan army in northern province of Badakhshan, an army source said Saturday.

"On Friday afternoon Afghan National Army (ANA) Air Force A-29 military planes struck two Taliban hideouts in Farghamerawi locality of Wardoj district. The initial information found eight militants lost their lives after the sorties," Hanif Rezai, spokesman of army Corps 209 Shaheen based in the region, told Xinhua.

A hijacked armored military carrier, a heavy gun and three bunkers along with amount of weapons and ammunition were also destroyed, he said.

No civilian was injured during the operation, the army source noted.

Violence has escalated in the northern region over the past few years as Afghan security forces push against the militants in the south and the east.

The Taliban insurgent group, which has been waging an insurgency of about 17 years, has yet to make comments.
JUBA, April 7 (Xinhua) -- South Sudan would go ahead with general elections in case it fails to reach an agreement with the various opposition groups in the next round of talks later this month, government spokesman Michael Makuei has said.

Makuei said the government will move on with elections if the opposition attempts to frustrate the upcoming peace process in a bid to create political vacuum in South Sudan.

"The government is ready to go for the talks at any time. We should not also dismiss the idea of us going for elections," he told reporters late Friday after the weekly cabinet meeting.

"We talk of going for elections when we see that the opposition is not serious and they are dragging their feet with a plan that there will be vacuum that will lead to illegitimacy of the government," Makuei said.

South Sudan was supposed to hold elections in July 2015 but the plan was interrupted after the world's newest nation descended into civil war in late 2013.

The country's parliament in June 2015 extended Salva Kiir's government until July due to the conflict.

A peace deal signed in August 2015 between the rival leaders under UN pressure led to the establishment of a transitional unity government in April, but was shattered by renewed fighting in July the same year.

The agreement provided that elections be held within 30 months, but local and international observers including the United Nations and the African Union (AU) have argued that the current environment in the East African country does not permit conduct of credible elections due to insecurity.

Makuei said the government remains committed to the April 26 peace talks in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to end the conflict.

"We have so many options ahead of us that we may look into when that time comes. But the government is serious and we will be going to Addis Ababa as planned," he said.
NEW DELHI, April 7 (Xinhua) -- A higher court in India Saturday granted bail to leading Bollywood actor Salman Khan, two days after he was sentenced to five years in jail for poaching two endangered antelopes in the western state of Rajasthan two decades back.

The 52-year-old actor was Thursday convicted by a trial court of killing the two blackbucks -- a protected species -- near a remote village in Rajasthan's city of Jodhpur late on Oct. 1 night in 1998 while shooting a movie.

"The district sessions court in Jodhpur has now granted bail to the actor. The court had Friday postponed the bail plea hearing for a day and ordered all papers from the trial court that had handed down the sentence to Khan," a lawyer said.

"The actor will be able to walk out of Jodhpur central jail later this evening after doing all the formalities. However, he has to furnish a bail bond of 50,000 rupees (900 U.S. dollars) as ordered by the higher court," he added.

Though Khan had been convicted by the trial court under Section 51 of Wildlife (Protection) Act, four other actors who starred with him in the movie -- Saif Ali Khan, Tabu, Sonali Bendre and Neelam -- were acquitted though all of them were charged with the same offence.

This is the fourth case filed against Khan in connection with poaching wild animals during the filming of the popular movie, Hum Saath Saath Hain. He had been acquitted in the other three cases by various courts.

Khan is one of Bollywood's biggest stars who has starred in more than 100 films. But he is no stranger to controversies. He has been embroiled in various cases, including a hit-and-run case, and he was jailed twice in these cases -- in April 2006 and in August 2007.

The actor insists he's innocent.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-07 19:09:49|Editor: ZD

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Red Crescent paramedics evacuate wounded people in Damascus, capital of Syria, on April 7, 2018. Five civilians were killed and 30 others wounded Saturday by the rebels' mortar shells amid intensifying military showdown in Damascus' Douma district, according to the state news agency SANA. (Xinhua/Ammar Safarjalani)

DAMASCUS, April 7 (Xinhua) -- Five civilians were killed and 30 others wounded Saturday by the rebels' mortar shells amid intensifying military showdown in Damascus' Douma district, according to the state news agency SANA.

The mortar shells fired by the Islam Army in Douma in the Eastern Ghouta countryside of the capital slammed several neighborhoods on Saturday, prompting the army to respond to the fire sources in Douma.

The sound of shelling was clearly heard in the capital, which has seen a lull of the blind mortar attacks after the rebels withdrew from other parts of Eastern Ghouta late last month.

Douma was supposed to witness a similar destiny as other areas in the Eastern Ghouta, where 43,000 rebels and their families withdrew under a deal with the government toward rebel-held areas in northern Syria.

Three batches of the Islam Army and families withdrew from Douma recently, but as the fourth batch was preparing to leave, the agreement in Douma, which was mediated by Russia, collapsed amid reports of new demands by the Islam Army.

The Islam Army mainly demanded to remain in Douma with its weapons, while the Russians demanded the rebel group to hand over heavy weapons and allow the formation of a police force in that district supervised by the Russians.

The negotiations seemed to have reached a dead end with renewed mortar attacks on Damascus, and a wide-scale military offensive against Douma.

A day earlier, two people were killed and 20 others wounded by the rebels' mortar attack on Damascus.
COLOMBO, April 7 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena has called on all political parties including the opposition to unite to forge ahead with the development agenda in the island country, state media reported Saturday.

Sirisena, in discussion with journalists, said all parties must now give priority to development work which had suffered a set back with recent obstacles such communal riots in the central hills, the government's defeat at the local government polls and a no confidence motion against Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.

He said these obstacles had created certain uncertainty in the country but it was now time for all to unite to expedite with development work.

"I extend an invitation to all the 225 Members of Parliament to join the efforts of the government, irrespective of party differences," Sirisena said.

"Priority now, should be given to development strategies for the benefit of the country," he added.

Sri Lanka has been facing political uncertainty since the government was defeated in a local government poll held in early February.
ADDIS ABABA, April 7 (Xinhua) -- The African Union (AU) and Cameroon have signed agreements for Cameroon to host three pan-African institutions.

The three institutions to be hosted in Yaounde include the Pan African University (PAU) Institute for Governance, Humanities and Social Sciences; the African Monetary Fund (AMF); and the AU Sport Council, according to an AU statement on Saturday.

Sarah Anyang Agbor, AU Commissioner for Human Resources, Science and Technology (HRST), and Lejeune Mbella Mbella, Cameroon's Minister of External Relations, signed the agreements on Friday in Cameroon.

It has taken over ten years of discussion to adopt the decision establishing the three AU institutions and over five years of negotiations to approve the host agreements, said the statement.

The signing of the agreements is significant as it took place barely a few days after the signing of relevant instruments for establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), said the AU Commissioner.

Cameroon said the agreements demonstrate its firm and unwavering commitment to the Africa integration, by hosting in its territory, the seats of three complementary institutions of the pan-African organization.
ADDIS ABABA, April 7 (Xinhua) -- Ethiopia's new prime minister Abiy Ahmed started his first official trip outside Addis Ababa on Saturday to the eastern Somali regional state to resolve deadly communal clashes.

Heavy clashes along the Oromia-Somali boundary since last September has spilled into ethnic violence, leaving scores of people dead and hundreds of thousands displaced.

Ahmed is expected to meet Somali regional state president Abdi Mohammed and religious and community elders in a bid to resolve underlying issues behind deadly communal clashes.

Ahmed, also chairman of Oromo People's Democratic Organization (OPDO), which rules over Oromia, promised in his swearing in speech before Ethiopian parliament on Monday to resolve ongoing tensions and unrest in various parts of Ethiopia.

Oromia and Somali regional states have been locked in a dispute over the delineation of their common boundary for almost two decades.

A referendum in October 2004 was supposed to demarcate the boundary between the two regional states, but its implementation has been stalled ever since, with both sides accusing each other of non-compliance with the referendum results.
KAMPALA, April 7 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations (UN) Refugee agency on Saturday urged Uganda to protect refugees after a two-year-old South Sudanese child was killed in the northern part of the country.

A statement from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) issued here said law enforcement authorities in Uganda must ensure protection of refugees in refugee settlements.

The child, whose body was found on March 29, was killed in the Palabek refugee settlement, Lamwo district. The motive remains unclear.

"This is a terrible tragedy and there is no justification for such a senseless act of barbarism," the UNHCR representative in Uganda, Joel Boutroue, said.

Uganda currently hosts the highest number of refugees in its history, receiving simultaneous emergency influxes from South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Burundi.

The number of South Sudanese refugees in Uganda has exceeded one million, according to UNHCR figures.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-07 20:00:04|Editor: Liu

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Photo taken on April 7, 2018 shows the main venue for Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) in Boao Town, south China's Hainan Province. The Boao Forum for Asia annual conference will last from April 8 to April 11. (Xinhua/Guo Cheng)

BEIJING, April 7 (Xinhua) -- The annual conference of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA), also known as Asia's Davos, has drawn widespread media attention ahead of the brainstorming on issues of global concern.

Themed "An Open and Innovative Asia for a World of Greater Prosperity", the 2018 edition will be held in southern Chinese island province Hainan from April 8 to 11.

"Commentators have long compared the Boao Forum to that in Davos," the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post said in a commentary Saturday. "But given (that) Asia is the world's engine and driver of growth and key decision-makers gather at Boao each year, it would seem to have greater clout. Understandably, given the uncertainty (over) the global economy, hopes are pinned on (Chinese President) Xi (Jinping) to lay out a means of assuring continued development and prosperity."

Titled "Boao Forum for Asia the perfect occasion for Xi to announce major reforms", the commentary also said, "With a looming trade war with the United States as a backdrop, China must make long-term changes to strengthen the nation's economy and make it more resilient to external influences."

British news agency Reuters said Friday President Xi is "expected to unveil reform measures next week and his country's opening up while attending the Boao Forum, China's equivalent of Davos."

British daily The Guardian said Thursday that with trade tensions between China and the United States escalating, "observers on both sides will be watching closely when Xi gives (his) opening remarks" at the event.

Quartz, a business news brand under Atlantic Media, also reported on the annual conference.
OSLO, April 7 (Xinhua) -- Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg on Friday came down heavily on the increasing trade protectionist measures by U.S. President Donald Trump's administration, warning they might lead to "regression, war and conflict."

"A global trade war and increasing protectionism are the last thing the world needs now," Solberg said at her Conservative Party's annual national conference in Gardermoen, north of Oslo.

The concern came after the United States unilaterally decided to levy massive tariffs on Chinese products, aiming to start a trade war.

Earlier this week, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) proposed to impose an additional 25 percent tariff on 50 billion U.S. dollars of imports from China. It was followed by Trump saying on Thursday that he has asked the USTR to consider slapping additional tariffs on Chinese products worth 100 billion dollars.

Solberg said the United States appeared to be "the biggest threat" to free trade while China was acting like one of the "foremost defenders".

Trade and cooperation are important not only for countries trying to lift their populations out of poverty, but also for developed countries like Norway, because trade protectionism will make it harder to achieve sustainable goals, she said.

"Norway is going to be a driving force for ongoing free and fair world trade," she said, warning that "historically, periods of extensive protectionism have led to regression, war and conflict."

On March 23, Norway asked the United States to respect the rules of the World Trade Organization as it fell under new U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum.

The Trump administration last month imposed a 25-percent tariff on imported steel and a 10-percent tariff on imported aluminum, triggering criticism and outrage from around the world.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-07 20:15:09|Editor: Yurou

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A relative of Palestinian journalist Yasser Murtaja, mourns over his body during his funeral in Gaza City on April 7, 2018. Palestinian medical sources said Saturday morning that two Palestinians died as they succumbed to wounds by Israeli soldiers gunfire during the Friday protests east of Gaza. Medics identified one to be 30-year-old journalist Yasser Murtaja and the other being 20-year-old Hamza Abdel-Al from Al-Buraij refugee camp. (Xinhua/Stringer)

GAZA, April 7 (Xinhua) -- Dozens of Palestinian journalists joined Saturday the funeral of their colleague, who was shot dead while covering clashes between Palestinian demonstrators and Israeli soldiers in eastern Gaza Strip on Friday.

Yasser Murtaga, a 30-year-old cameraman from Gaza city, was shot in his abdomen on Friday afternoon east of the southern Gaza Strip town of Khan Younis while he was filming for a local Gaza news and TV production company Ein Media.

Yasser's mother said his dream was "to film the ground from an airplane," adding with tear that "his soul is in the air and his dream comes true."

The Palestinian journalists union condemned in an official statement the killing of Murtaga while working, with his helmet and protection jacket on. The jacket has the the word "Press" on its chest and back.

"This is clear evidence that the Israeli soldiers are directly targeting Palestinian journalists," said the statement, who called on the International Federation of journalists and rights groups to investigate the "crime."

Ashraf al-Qedra, spokesman of the Gaza Health Ministry said on telephone that the Israeli occupation forces opened fire directly at Palestinian journalists, killing Murtaga and wounding eight others with live ammunition and rubber bullets.

Murtaga died after midnight of his wounds he sustained from Friday afternoon. Al-Qedra said that he was shot in the abdomen by a live gunshot that infiltrates into the body and explodes inside.

Murtaga got married in 2014 and he has one son.

He studied at Gaza Islamic University and became the founder of Ein Media for TV and Media production in Gaza.

Over the past seven years, he produced several short and long documentary films together with editors and producers at the company.

Two days before Murtaga was killed, he wrote a post on his Facebook account that he has never been out of the Gaza Strip and his dream is to travel and wander around the world. He failed several times to travel without getting an Israeli permission.

The Palestinian government press office in Gaza also condemned in a statement the killing of Murtaga and the direct shooting at Palestinian journalists while they were covering the rallies, which began on March 30 and will end on May 15.

During Murtaga's funeral, Shadi al-Assar, a Palestinian freelance photojournalist and Muraga's friend, said doctors told him that Muraga was bleeding a lot inside on the way to the hospital.

"Apparently it was a new kind of gunshots that explode into the body and cause internal bleeding," he added.

Al-Qedra confirmed that nine Palestinians, including Murtaga, were shot dead by Israeli snipers' gunfire, besides one died of wounds sustained from last Friday, adding that around 2,850 were injured, including 1,296 by live ammunition and rubber bullets.

Six of the killed were buried on Friday afternoon and evening, and four were buried today in the Gaza City, Nuseirat in central Gaza Strip and Rafah in southern Gaza Strip. Hospitals are still treating the casualties who were shot and wounded Friday.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-07 20:38:37|Editor: ZD

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A doctor checks a boy as he receives heart medical treatment at a hospital ahead of the World Health Day in Sanaa, Yemen, on April 5, 2018. World Health Day falls on Saturday this year, with a theme of "Universal Health Care: Everyone, Everywhere." (Xinhua/Mohammed Mohammed)
Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-07 20:45:16|Editor: Xiang Bo

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BEIJING, April 7 (Xinhua) -- China's five major banks reported faster net profit growth and lower bad loan rates in 2017.

The country's biggest bank, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), saw its net profit up by 3 percent in 2017, while Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, China Construction Bank and Bank of Communications all posted 4-percent-plus growth.

The five banks registered less than 2 percent or even negative growth in 2016.

Zeng Gang with the China Academy of Social Sciences attributed the growth to improved asset quality and rising net interest margins.

Many firms are more capable of paying back their loans as supply-side reform has helped their financial performance, easing the pressure on banks, Zeng added.

The non-performing loan rates of the five banks all fell last year, the first time in six years.

The banking regulator decided last month to lower required provision coverage ratio, a measure of funds set aside to cover bad loans. But four of the five banks raised their provision coverage ratio as their asset quality improved.
An Ethiopian uses his new smart phone in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Sept. 16, 2017. (Xinhua/Michael Tewelde)

ADDIS ABABA, April 7 (Xinhua) -- Ethiopians residing outside the capital Addis Ababa woke up to find mobile internet back working as the service restored on Friday after five months of blackout.

The East African country on Friday restored mobile internet service after it was terminated across the country for the past five months, leaving majority of the country's population to search rare wi-fi and broadband internet services.

Ashenafi Yenew, a young Ethiopian in Bahir Dar city, told Xinhua that the reopening of mobile internet service on Friday morning "was a great surprise" for him and residents of the city.

"Even though the move to terminate mobile internet service was not acceptable in anyway, we have not expected the reopening during this period of time," said Yenew.

Yenew said he had expected the recently institutionalized state of emergency rule "would rule out the restoration of the mobile internet service in its effort to bring order in the country."

The East African country is currently under a 6-month state of emergency rule that came into effect as of February 16, a day after the resignation of the former prime minister Hailemariam Desalegn.

Solomon Dinku, a young university student in Adama city some 100 km south of Addis Ababa, also stressed the importance of mobile internet service for his studies.

"Since it is very difficult to have access to wi-fi or broadband internet service especially during night times, we mostly depend on hard copies for our study," said Dinku.

The mobile internet blackout that was occurred in November last year was not the first as Ethiopia has faced recurrent unrest in different parts of the country since the second half of 2016.

Ethiopia had also previously blocked some social networking sites amid an increased unrest in some parts of the country.

The Ethiopian government has frequently expressed its concern that "anti-peace forces" often use social networking platforms to disseminate false information that targets the country's youth population.

The block on mobile internet service was a major concern since the majority of Ethiopians use their mobile handsets to access the internet.

Ethiopia's state-owned EthioTelecom recently announced that it has more than 57 million mobile subscribers, accounting to more than half of the country's total population.

Maereg Sahlu, a tourist guide in Lalibe town, also told Xinhua that the block on mobile internet was a major inconvenience for many tourists.

"Tourists need mobile internet for various purposes mainly to check maps and also communicate with their relatives back home," Sahlu said.

"Most of the time they were not happy when we tell them to use other options instead of mobile internet service," Sahlu added.

According to Sahlu, the restoration of mobile internet service is "a great news for us and also tourists who come from different parts of the world."

The five-month mobile internet blackout, however, did not affect Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa that is home to more than 140 diplomatic missions and the headquarters of the African Union (AU) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA).

The capital has not experienced anti-government demonstrations or unrest in recent years.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-07 20:56:42|Editor: ZD

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A woman does embroidery at a cooperative at Yongren County of Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province, April 5, 2018. Yongren is a mountainous county mainly of ethnic Yi people. There was a tradition for Yi girls doing embroidery as a hobby in the past. As the market demand for Yi embroidery has grown strongly in recent years, they can do embroidery as a profession to support their families. In 2017, about 280,000 pieces of Yi embroidery were made and the output value of this industry has reached to 33 million yuan (5.2 million U.S. dollars) in Yongren. (Xinhua/Cai Yang)
Mourners and journalists carry the body of Palestinian journalist Yasser Murtaja, during his funeral in Gaza City on April 7, 2018. (Xinhua/Stringer)

GAZA, April 7 (Xinhua) -- Dozens of Palestinian journalists joined Saturday the funeral of their colleague, who was shot dead while covering clashes between Palestinian demonstrators and Israeli soldiers in eastern Gaza Strip on Friday.

Yasser Murtaga, a 30-year-old cameraman from Gaza city, was shot in his abdomen on Friday afternoon east of the southern Gaza Strip town of Khan Younis while he was filming for a local Gaza news and TV production company Ein Media.

Yasser's mother said his dream was "to film the ground from an airplane," adding with tear that "his soul is in the air and his dream comes true."

The Palestinian journalists union condemned in an official statement the killing of Murtaga while working, with his helmet and protection jacket on. The jacket has the the word "Press" on its chest and back.

"This is clear evidence that the Israeli soldiers are directly targeting Palestinian journalists," said the statement, who called on the International Federation of journalists and rights groups to investigate the "crime."

Ashraf al-Qedra, spokesman of the Gaza Health Ministry said on telephone that the Israeli occupation forces opened fire directly at Palestinian journalists, killing Murtaga and wounding eight others with live ammunition and rubber bullets.

Murtaga died after midnight of his wounds he sustained from Friday afternoon. Al-Qedra said that he was shot in the abdomen by a live gunshot that infiltrates into the body and explodes inside.

Murtaga got married in 2014 and he has one son.

He studied at Gaza Islamic University and became the founder of Ein Media for TV and Media production in Gaza.

Over the past seven years, he produced several short and long documentary films together with editors and producers at the company.

Two days before Murtaga was killed, he wrote a post on his Facebook account that he has never been out of the Gaza Strip and his dream is to travel and wander around the world. He failed several times to travel without getting an Israeli permission.

The Palestinian government press office in Gaza also condemned in a statement the killing of Murtaga and the direct shooting at Palestinian journalists while they were covering the rallies, which began on March 30 and will end on May 15.

During Murtaga's funeral, Shadi al-Assar, a Palestinian freelance photojournalist and Muraga's friend, said doctors told him that Muraga was bleeding a lot inside on the way to the hospital.

"Apparently it was a new kind of gunshots that explode into the body and cause internal bleeding," he added.

Al-Qedra confirmed that nine Palestinians, including Murtaga, were shot dead by Israeli snipers' gunfire, besides one died of wounds sustained from last Friday, adding that around 2,850 were injured, including 1,296 by live ammunition and rubber bullets.

Six of the killed were buried on Friday afternoon and evening, and four were buried today in the Gaza City, Nuseirat in central Gaza Strip and Rafah in southern Gaza Strip. Hospitals are still treating the casualties who were shot and wounded Friday.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-07 21:25:21|Editor: Xiang Bo

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GAZA, April 7 (Xinhua) -- Israel has decided to ban the entry of car tires into the Gaza Strip through the Kerem Shalom commercial crossing, a Palestinian official said on Saturday.

The Israeli decision comes one day after Palestinian protesters set fire to hundreds of car tires on Friday near the fence between the Gaza Strip and Israel during the mass protests along the border.

The smoke of burnt tires was meant to block the vision of the Israeli snipers stationed behind the fence, as dozens of protesters have been killed.

"The Israeli authorities have told have notified us they will prevent the entry of four truckloads of rubber tires to Gaza traders tomorrow through the crossing," Gaza border official Raed Fattouh told Xinhua.

Fattouh was not notified whether the Israeli decision is permanent or temporary.

The rally, known as the "Great March of Return," is considered Gaza's largest mass protest in the history of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, as tens of thousands of Palestinians gather near the Gaza-Israel border on a daily basis.

The march is expected to peak on May 15, when Palestinians mark the Nakba Day, the day of their catastrophe, which coincides Israel's 70th Independence Day.
FREETOWN, April 7 (Xinhua) -- Sierra Leone's All People's Congress (APC) presidential candidate Samura Kamara on Saturday paid a visit to the newly elected president Julius Maada Bio and congratulated him on his victory.

Kamara was accompanied by his running mate, Chernor M. Bah, the newly elected mayor of the Freetown City Council, and Yvonne Aki Sawyerr, Secretary General of the APC, among others.

APC has decided to waive an earlier decision to challenge the election result in the Supreme Court.

In the hotly contested runoff presidential election, Bio of the Sierra Leone Peoples Party (SLPP), as an opposition candidate, narrowly defeated the then ruling party candidate Kamara.

Immediately Bio was declared winner by the National Electoral Commission (NEC) and was sworn in as president by the country's chief justice.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-07 21:30:22|Editor: Xiang Bo

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PARIS, April 7 (Xinhua) -- As a unilateral U.S. tariff move against China is disturbing the world, a French expert said U.S. President Donald Trump should be in agreement with China since the two economies are interdependent.

"The economies are too interdependent," said Jean Francois Di Meglio, president of the French think tank Asia Centre, in an interview with Xinhua.

The expert further said Trump "cannot allow himself not to have an agreement with China."

Earlier this week, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) proposed to impose an additional 25 percent tariff on 50 billion U.S. dollars of imports from China. It was followed by Trump saying on Thursday that he has asked the USTR to consider slapping additional tariffs on Chinese products worth 100 billion dollars.

Responding to this, China said it is fully prepared and will not hesitate to strike back fiercely.

The friction between the world's top two economies has jittered the market with U.S. stocks plunged on Friday.

Meglio, however, is sceptical of the possibility of a full trade war between the two economic powers.

"The scenario of a total trade war, with an increase in customs tariffs and a drop in international trade, I don't believe it will happen," he said.

He reckons that multiple motives are behind Trump's tariff actions, internally and externally. First of all is the Senate elections this year.

"The American president is very divisive, he works a lot with ruptures. What interests him, it's to maintain his constituency and for that, please it. Even more so since very important Senate elections are in the crosshairs. He's doing, therefore, what he promised to his supporters: which is to say, to make a caricature, make a trade war with China," he said.

Meglio believes the domestic objective is added with the economic and world governance objectives.

"The philosophy of Donald Trump is completely different than that which prevailed until now," said Meglio.

But in the eyes of the French expert, the United States has another strategic intention. They "do not want to lose their technological advantage," he said.

"I think he wants China to change their sources of imported energy. He also wants to obtain from American companies a repatriation of production centers towards the United States and to redefine the contours of trade exchanges," he said.
BERLIN, April 7 (Xinhua) -- Former Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont said on Saturday that he will remain in Berlin while the legal case on his extradition is pending.

"Berlin is now my residence until the end of this process. If possible I would return to Belgium," Puigdemont made the remarks in the German capital a day after he was released from the Neumunster prison.

In his press conference, Puigdemont called for international mediation and talks over the future of Catalonia, saying Spanish government should have "respect for democracy."

"We want dialogue without preconditions. But those who sit down at the negotiating table must be prepared to review their positions. We always said we were ready," Puigdemont said.

He added that independence of Catalonia is not "the only solution", and he and his colleagues are "ready to listen."

Puigdemont has been fugitive since Catalonia's bid to seek independence from Spain failed last October. The Spanish Supreme Court earlier in March issued fresh arrest warrants against Puigdemont and some other individuals behind the independence bid.

The 55-year-old separatist leader was caught on the entry of Germany from Denmark on March 25 en route to his residence in Belgium.

The German court in Schleswig on Thursday ruled that they will not extradite him on the basis of his rebellion charge, while pending the decision to extradite him on his embezzlement charge.

He was then released after paying a 75,000 euros bail. According to Deutsche Presse Agentur, Puigdemont can now move freely on German soil, but he must report to police once a week and inform prosecutors of any change in residence.
NEW DELHI, April 7 (Xinhua) -- A Russian aircraft with 344 passengers on board made an emergency landing at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport on Saturday evening, Delhi-based news agency Asian News International (ANI) reported.

All passengers and the crew members are reportedly safe.

The flight which was on its way from Phu Quoc in Vietnam to Russia's Yekaterinburg city had some technical glitch and made an unscheduled landing 18:08 local time, said the news agency report.

"Information was received at the police station IGI Airport at 05:22 p.m. regarding emergency landing of flight number ABG 8772, a non-scheduled flight. Now, the flight has safely landed at 06:08 p.m. with 344 passengers on runway number 1129," the media quoted an airport official as saying.

Fire fighters and ambulances were present at the runway as the flight landed, the official reportedly said.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-07 22:35:33|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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ADEN, Yemen, April 7 (Xinhua) -- A total of 22 people were injured during armed confrontations between the Yemeni government forces and armed militiamen in the southern province of al-Dhalea on Saturday, a security official told Xinhua.

The Yemeni government forces backed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) clashed with scores of militiamen over the control of key facilities and institutions in the city of al-Dhalea, leaving 22 people injured at the scene, the local security source said on condition of anonymity.

"Anti-government militiamen launched an attack with grenades and heavy weapons against the UAE-backed Yemeni troops in charge of securing and protecting several key government institutions in the city," the security source said.

He added that the UAE-backed Yemeni troops that repulsed the attack after a two-hour gunbattle and imposed tightened security measures in and around the government-controlled province of al-Dhalea.

Medical sources at the AlNasr hospital confirmed to Xinhua that 22 people were injured from the two-warring sides, including leading members.

The UAE trained and equipped thousands of southern soldiers locally known as the "Security Belt Forces" to fight terrorist organizations and secure the government-controlled provinces, including the port city of Aden.

The newly-recruited southern Yemeni troops in cooperation with the Saudi Arabia-led coalition carried out several anti-terror operations and succeeded in kicking al-Qaida militants out from main cities in the country's southern part.

The impoverished Arab country has been locked into a civil war since the Iranian-backed Shiite Houthi rebels overran much of the country militarily and seized all northern provinces, including capital Sanaa, in 2014.

Saudi Arabia leads an Arab military coalition that intervened in Yemen in 2015 to support the government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi after Iran-backed Houthi rebels forced him into exile.

The United Nations has listed Yemen as the world's number one humanitarian crisis, with seven million Yemenis on the brink of famine and cholera causing more than 2,000 deaths.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-07 23:15:43|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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XINING, April 7 (Xinhua) -- The number of Procapra Przewalskii, an antelope species being listed as endangered, has increased to a record high of 2,057 in the latest survey.

The Spring survey indicates 47 more Przewalski's gazelles, as the rare antelope species is better known, have been spotted in the 13 habitats sampled, said He Yubang, head of the administration of Qinghai Lake National Nature Reserve. A total of 2,010 was recorded in a summer observation last August.

Przewalski's gazelle was named after Nikolai Mikhaylovich Przhevalsky, a Russian explorer who found a specimen and brought it back to St. Petersburg in 1875.

A typical Procapra Przewalskii is 110 to 120 centimeters long and weighing about 15 kilograms. The long-horn animal with a short tail was described as a "ballet dancer" on plateau by Przhevalsky because it jumps in a beautiful curve.

The species used to be found in northern and western parts of China, including Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Gansu and Qinghai provinces, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and Tibet Autonomous Region.

However, the animal can now only be found near Qinghai Lake in Qinghai Province. Its population dropped to around 300 in 1990s. It was listed as endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN).

He Yubang said the habitats of the Przewalski's gazelle also increased to 13 from 7. Some farmland abandoned for local eco-system restoration has become new home of the rare antelope.

The local governments would consult the wildlife protection bureaus when they carry out agriculture, forestry, husbandry, or irrigation projects. Passages and drinking pools are designed for Przewalski's gazelles in new water conservancy and irrigation projects.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-07 23:25:46|Editor: Zhou Xin

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Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak (C) speaks during a campaign event of Malaysia's ruling coalition Barisan Nasional (BN) at an indoor stadium in suburb Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on April 7, 2018. Malaysia's ruling coalition Barisan Nasional, or National Front, which Prime Minister Najib Razak serves as chairman, released its campaign manifesto on Saturday, which includes cash handouts and other kinds of benefits to voters. (Xinhua/Zhu Wei)

KUALA LUMPUR, April 7 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia's ruling coalition Barisan Nasional (BN), or National Front, which Prime Minister Najib Razak serves as chairman, released its campaign manifesto on Saturday, which include cash handouts and other kinds of benefits to voters.

During a grandiose campaign event at an indoor stadium in suburb Kuala Lumpur, Najib promised more than 40,000 attendees that he wanted to lower their cost of living, create more jobs for the young and make "a greater Malaysia with BN."

Aside from raising the minimum wage from the current 1,000 ringgit (258 U.S. dollars) per month to 1,500 ringgit within five years, Najib pledged to create a special grant to reduce the debt of palm-oil farmers, a major group of BN supporters who in recent years have been complaining about rising costs and less income.

As for the poor, Najib said as many as 7 million people have received support through 1Malaysia People's Aid (BR1M), a mechanism he said will expand to cover more people and dole out more cash.

In addition, Najib also tried to seek support of voters in eastern Borneo states of Sabah and Sarawak. By addressing a prominent complaint from the voters in Sarawak, Najib said the federal government will return more gas rights to the two states.

Malaysia's parliament was dissolved effective on Saturday, paving the way for the holding of a general election within the next 60 days in which Najib is seeking another mandate after holding the position for nine years.

This time, Najib is facing the challenge of 92-year-old former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who fell out with Najib over the 1MDB scandal and quit United Malays National Organization (UMNO) in 2016.

Mahathir has said he hoped that the Malay voters, traditionally the supporters of the ruling coalition, could turn to the opposition and change regime this time. The opposition coalition, called Pakatan Harapan, also released their campaign manifesto previously, in which it also promised a slew of benefits to voters.
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, April 7 (Xinhua) -- Brunei has registered an increase of 18.3 percent in the number of tourist arrivals to the country through Brunei International airport in 2017, up to 258,955 tourists compared to 218,809 in 2016.

The number has exceeded the 10 percent growth target set for 2017, which is also the highest number of international tourist arrivals recorded since 2011, according to local daily the Borneo Bulletin on Saturday, quoting a statement from the country's Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism.

Malaysia was the top contributor to tourist arrivals in 2017 due to its easy air accessibility and proximity with a 23.2 percent share, followed by China at 20.2 percent; Philippines at 8.9 percent; Indonesia at 8.7 percent; and Singapore at 5.8 percent.

Over the last three years, tourist arrival growth has showed an upward trend, contributing to the development of the country's tourism industry. This is in part due to the high travel demand from the main market and the introduction and improvement of several tourist products.

Other factors that have also helped contribute to this increase are the improved air connectivity from Royal Brunei Airlines and China's Lucky Air through the introduction of new services for tourists from South Korea and China as well as the introduction of "visa on arrival" to citizens from China.

In addition to the total tourist arrivals by air, a total of 4,057,029 international visitor arrivals were also recorded at other immigration control posts in 2017.
by Maria Spiliopoulou

ATHENS, April 7 (Xinhua) -- Greek Coast Guard rescued 17 refugees from a dinghy off the coasts of Chios island in the Aegean Sea on Saturday, according to an e-mail press release.

The refugees whose nationalities have not been identified were safely transferred to the island's port, the Greek Coast Guard said.

The rescue comes as Greece has started to see an increase of refugee flows via the Mediterranean Sea after two years of relatively lull thanks to the EU-Turkey agreement aimed at stemming the refugee flows to Europe.

In the first two months of 2018, Greece recorded 8,394 arrivals according to the Greek Ministry of Information. It's a growth compared with the 6,336 arrivals registered the same period of last year, according to the e-mail report.

Throughout 2017, the number of arrivals compared to 2016 had shrank by 70 percent, according to Greece's National Coordinating Center for Borders control, Migration and Asylum, according to the same report.

During the peak of the refugee crisis in 2015 and 2016 more than 1 million refugees and migrants had landed on Greek shores and continued their journey to central and northern Europe before the closure of the borders along the Balkan route in February 2016.

About 60,000 people have been stranded in Greece in the past two years, while 21,853 have been relocated in other European countries in the same period.

In 2017, 683 individuals have been returned to Turkey in the context of the 2016 EU-Turkey deal, Greek authorities said.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-08 00:05:53|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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CAIRO, April 7 (Xinhua) -- Egypt condemned the Israeli continuous violence and use of excessive force against unarmed Palestinian civilians who have been marching in ongoing protests for the second week in a row, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

"Egypt rejects the use of force and claiming the lives of civilians participating in peaceful protests demanding legitimate and just rights for the Palestinian people," the statement said.

Egypt urged the international community for earnest work to restore the Palestinian rights including the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital city.

On Friday, at least eight Palestinian protestors were killed and over 1,000 were wounded, including 48 children, during the ongoing "Great Return March" to mark the 42nd anniversary of the "Land Day" demanding the right of return of some 750,000 Palestinian refugees.

Since the rally started on March 30 at the borders between the Gaza Strip and Israel, at least 29 Palestinians were killed and about 2,500 others were injured by the Israeli forces.

Earlier in April, the Cairo-based Arab League expressed full support for the Palestinian request for the International Criminal Court to open an investigation into the recent "war crimes and crimes against humanity" committed by Israel against peaceful Palestinian civilians.

The Israeli deadly crackdown on unarmed Palestinian protestors has been rejected by many states regionally and internationally.

The international community blames Israel for the deadlock of the peace process with the Palestinians due to its settlement expansion policy on occupied Palestinian territories.

The Palestinians seek to establish an independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital city in the light of the UN-proposed two-state solution based on the pre-1967 borders.

Israel is the regional number one ally of the United States, whose President Donald Trump has recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital and expressed plans to move Washington's embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to the disputable holy city despite regional and international outcry.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-08 00:10:54|Editor: Liu

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Smoke rises after the Syrian army's shelling targeted the Douma district in Eastern Ghouta countryside of Damascus, Syria, on April 7, 2018. The Syrian army on Saturday stormed the frontlines of the Islam Army in the Douma district of the capital Damascus' Eastern Ghouta countryside, state news agency SANA reported. (Xinhua/Ammar Safarjalani)

DAMASCUS, April 7 (Xinhua) -- The Syrian army on Saturday stormed the frontlines of the Islam Army in the Douma district of the capital Damascus' Eastern Ghouta countryside, state news agency SANA reported.

The army forces broke through the frontlines of the Islam Army rebels in the farmlands east of Douma amid a state of collapse and chaos among the militant group, said SANA.

This comes as the army unleashed an offensive on Douma, the last rebel-held area in Eastern Ghouta, after an agreement for the evacuation of the Islam Army from that area failed.

Meanwhile, the Islam Army said on its official social network site that its militants foiled the advance of the Syrian army from the farms area on the outskirts of Douma.

For its part, SANA said the media arms of the Islam Army are fabricating news of chemical weapons use in Douma in "a failed attempt to hurdle the advance of the Syrian army."

It stressed the Syrian government's resolve to end terrorism in every inch of Syria.

Meanwhile, local TVs are airing footages of the targeting of Douma, a day after announcing that the Syrian Republican Guard units have started storming Douma.

The escalation of violence comes as the Islam Army backed down on its agreement to leave Douma in Eastern Ghouta toward rebel-held areas in northern Syria.

Douma was supposed to witness a similar destiny as other areas in the Eastern Ghouta, where 43,000 rebels and their families withdrew under a deal with the government toward rebel-held areas in northern Syria.

Three batches of the Islam Army and families withdrew from Douma recently, but as the fourth batch was preparing to leave, the agreement in Douma, which was mediated by Russia, collapsed.

The group also didn't live up to its part of the deal in terms of releasing thousands of kidnaped people in its captivity in accordance with the deal.

The release of the kidnapped people is a main demand of the Syrian government.

Instead, the Islam Army militants have presented new demands for staying in Douma to the Russian.

The Islam Army mainly demanded to remain in Douma with its weapons, while the Russians demanded the rebel group to hand over heavy weapons and allow the formation of a police force in that district supervised by the Russians.

But such demands haven't been approved and intense battles have raged in Douma since Friday.

The ground and aerial offensive of the Syrian army on Douma was coupled with mortar attacks by the militants on residential neighborhoods in Damascus, killing five people and wounding 30 others on Saturday.
KABUL, April 7 (Xinhua) -- The Afghan maternity-related death toll has reduced to 396 in 100,000 live births in 2015 from 1,600 in 100,000 live births in 2002, an official said on Saturday.

Afghan Public Health Minister Firuzuddin Firuz, addressing a ceremony marking the World Health Day, said that the number of death of the children under five is also reduced to 55 in 1,000 live births from 257 in each 1,000 live births in 2002.

The minister urged the authorities to impose high tax on the imports of goods harmful for health.

He said only 5 U.S. dollars was allocated for one Afghan to access health services each year, the lowest sum compared to other countries.

Meanwhile, Dr. Rich Peppercorn, country representative of the World Health Organization (WHO) praised Afghanistan's development in health sector and said that the organization would work with the war-torn country to expand quality health services to the country's remote areas.
Iranians take part in a rally marking the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic revolution on Feb. 11, 2018 in the capital Tehran. (AFP photo)

TEHRAN, April 7 (Xinhua) -- A senior Iranian lawmaker said Saturday that his country will definitely walk away from the 2015 nuclear deal if the United States reimposes sanctions on Iran.

"The most important objective of the JCPOA (official name for the nuclear deal) was the lifting of sanctions" against Iran, said Alaeddin Boroujerdi, Head of Iran's Majlis (parliament) National Security and Foreign Policy Commission.

"If sanctions are reimposed on Iran, we will definitely not remain in the JCPOA," Boroujerdi was quoted by Press TV as saying.

On Thursday, the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, said that Washington would probably get out of the Iran nuclear deal and reimpose sanctions on the Islamic Republic.

She accused Iran of supporting terrorism and violating the terms of the JCPOA and said Europeans were closing their eyes on this, adding that the United States would not do so.

U.S. President Donald Trump has constantly criticized the nuclear pact inked between Iran and Russia, Britain, France, China, the U.S. and Germany in July 2015, in which the West promised to relieve sanctions on Tehran in exchange for a halt in Iran's efforts to develop a nuclear weapon.

Trump has demanded the nuclear deal be altered to eliminate sunset clauses for some of the restrictions it places on Iran, and harden the inspection rules and to limit development of Iran's long-range missiles.

Iran said it will not take any measures beyond its commitment to the JCPOA, nor will it accept changes to this agreement now or any time in the future.

Iran has threatened to likely withdraw from the nuclear deal if it cannot receive economic benefits.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-08 01:26:04|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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SANAA, April 7 (Xinhua) -- The Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen's Shiite Houthi rebels killed three women in an airstrike on a house in the Yemeni northwestern province of Hajjah Saturday noon, a provincial security official said.

Three women were killed and two children wounded when the airstrike hit a family's house in Ram area of Mostaba district, the security official told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

The injured children were in critical condition, said local medics.

Mostaba is about 50 km south of Medi frontline, near the southern border of Saudi Arabia.

It was the latest in a series of airstrikes by the U.S.-backed Saudi-led coalition air force since the start of the war in Yemen more than three years ago.

On Tuesday, a coalition airstrike struck a family house in Monabih district of the northern Saada province, killing two women and injuring four men, according to local officials.

The coalition intervened in the Yemeni conflict in March 2015 to roll back the Iranian-allied Shiite Houthi rebels and support the internationally-recognized President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

The war has killed more than 10,000 Yemenis, mostly civilians, and displaced 3 million others, triggering one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.
Workers install a wind turbine at the wind energy base of Hami in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, June 5, 2015. (Xinhua/Li Hua)

KIEV, April 6 (Xinhua) -- Chinese and Ukrainian business people and officials on Friday participated in a roundtable to discuss renewable energy cooperation.

Themed "Chinese investment in the development of Ukraine's energy," the event brought together about 100 high-ranking guests, including representatives of the Ukrainian government, Chinese Embassy in Ukraine, Chinese companies in Ukraine and Ukrainian companies working with their Chinese partners.

While delivering a speech during the roundtable, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Volodymyr Kistion said that Ukraine is interested in implementing joint projects in green energy with China and called on businessmen of the two countries to actively cooperate in this sector.

"I urge all businessmen, the entire private sector to join our efforts. Together we will build the energy security of our country," Kistion said.

The Ukrainian government developed the country's energy strategy last year, setting a target to increase the share of the renewables in the energy mix to 25 percent by 2035 from the current 4 percent.

Zheng Wei, minister-counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Ukraine, said that China is ready to assist Ukraine in developing its renewable energy sector.

"The Chinese government pays special attention to and actively encourages cooperation between the two countries in the field of energy. The Chinese enterprises establish cooperation with the Ukrainian side based on the principle of mutual benefit and win-win partnership," Zheng said.

The roundtable was organized by Ukrainian association of Belt and Road cooperation "Silk Link."
Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-08 02:11:11|Editor: Zhou Xin

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Austrian Minister for Digital and Economic Affairs Margarete Schrambock receives an interview with Xinhua in Vienna, Austria, on April 4, 2018. A rare collective visit by the Austrian heads of state and government to China is expected to generate multiple agreements on economy cooperation, and progress in future collaboration over infrastructure projects under the Belt and Road Initiative, Margarete Schrambock told Xinhua. (Xinhua/Pan Xu)

VIENNA, April 7 (Xinhua) -- A rare collective visit by the Austrian heads of state and government to China is expected to generate multiple agreements on economy cooperation, and progress in future collaboration over infrastructure projects under the Belt and Road Initiative, an Austrian minister has told Xinhua.

In an interview with Xinhua in Vienna, Austrian Minister for Digital and Economic Affairs Margarete Schrambock said her country and China are expected to sign two key cooperation agreements under the Belt and Road Initiative.

Leading a 250-strong delegation of business representatives, cultural and scientific delegates as well as federal ministers, Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen and Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz have set a diplomatic record in Austria's modern history with their first joint visit to China in the coming days.

The Belt and Road Initiative will be high on the agenda as Van der Bellen and Kurz visit Beijing, Schrambock said.

The initiative, proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013, aims to create greater trade, infrastructure and people-to-people links between Asia, Europe, Africa and beyond by reviving and expanding the ancient Silk Road routes. The modern version comprises an overland Silk Road Economic Belt and a 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.

"I think we need more discussions on silk road (project). We are very interested in, for example, becoming the end-point of the railway," she said, referring to the much-anticipated high-speed rail line from Belgrade to Budapest.

Austria, she said, is also interested in having cooperation with China on China-Europe freight train service and China-Europe land-sea express route.

The China-Europe rail service is considered a significant part of the Belt and Road Initiative. It is expected to boost trade between China and Europe, China's largest trading partner.

To this point, China Railway Express has been running between China and Europe, however, no train has yet to arrive in Austria. China-Europe land-sea express route is also expecting a breakthrough in cooperation with Austria.

Schrambock also noted that current Austrian coalition government had just assumed office last December, Austria and China are just starting discussions over the Belt and Road Initiative cooperation.

Schrambock, who had spent 22 years on the IT industry, had also worked with Chinese companies, including Chinese tech giant Huawei. She sees the silk road not only a physical road, but also as a digital one, saying that it is important for both nations to cooperate over e-commerce.

It is important, she said, for digital companies on both sides to work together, and as both countries have high levels of innovations in this field, there are opportunities for cooperation.

There will also be agreements on trade and on e-commerce, and Austrian products can reach Chinese consumers easier, she said.

Around 650 Austrian companies are doing business in China, she said. A total of 30 Austrian companies are expected to sign agreements with Chinese companies that will be worth around 1.5 billion euros (1.8 billion U.S. dollars), according to the minister.

She said her country welcomes investment by Chinese companies. Austria is at the heart of Europe, geographically seen as a bridge between western and eastern European states.

While the two countries differ greatly in size, Schrambock said China, as the world's second-largest economy and Austria's most important trading partner in Asia, has undoubtedly strong prospects for the future.
TRIPOLI, April 7 (Xinhua) -- Libya's criminal investigation department on Saturday found the remains of three children who were kidnapped by the largest armed gang in the western Libya more than two years ago.

The children, who came from the family of Al-Shershari, a Libyan businessman, were found killed in Abu Issa area between Sorman and Al-Zawiya in western Libya after they were abducted for ransom in December 2015.

"After investigation into those involved in the kidnapping of the Shershari children, they confessed of killing the three children who were kidnapped more than two years ago," Haitham Mohamed, spokesman of the criminal investigation department, told Xinhua.

"In presence of prosecutors and forensics, their remains were found buried in a forest south of the city of Sorman. After exhumation of the remains and samples taking, we found that the remains belong to the kidnapped Shershari children," Mohamed added.

The spokesman said that the remains of the children, who were seven, nine, and 13 years old when they were kidnapped, were taken to the city's hospital.

The department posted images of the exhumation of the children's remains on its official Facebook page.

The forces of the criminal investigation department in March raided a location of a criminal gang involved in murdering and kidnapping in Sorman, some 60 km west of the capital Tripoli, after the Attorney General issued arrest warrants against them.

The department forces killed five gang members and injured and arrested Nemri Al-Mahjubi, leader of the gang.

The criminal group is believed to be one of the largest and most dangerous gangs in western Libya.

According to the Attorney General, the gang is involved in more than 30 cases of murder, kidnapping and attack on government offices, most notably the kidnapping of the three children.

The fate of the three children had remained unknown since their abduction, a case that drew wide public attention in Libya.
CHICAGO, April 7 (Xinhua) -- ChemChina's purchase of Syngenta not only helps facilitate the Swiss company's operation in China, but also adds wings to its further development worldwide.

"We are really, really happy that ChemChina has purchased Syngenta because it gives us a very strong way of contributing more to the modernizing of agriculture in China," Andrew Guthrie, Syngenta Regional Director China, told Xinhua in an interview.

"What Syngenta is able to do is to bring the world's leading technology to China and to its growers. And because of the acquisition by ChemChina, we have the great support to do this."

In June 2017, ChemChina, a state-owned enterprise with full name as China National Chemical Corporation, purchased Syngenta, a global Swiss agribusiness that markets seeds and agrochemicals, for 43 billion U.S. dollars, the largest transaction ever clinched by a Chinese company overseas.

The marriage between ChemChina and Syngenta is not accidental. Before the tie was knotted, ChemChina and Syngenta had forged a very strong working relationship.

They had worked closely on a potato project in Dingxi in China's northwestern Gansu Province, in which they brought technology, products and advice to farmers there and increased the yields by more than 30 percent.

"The biggest challenge that we have is that China is such a big country with lots of different crops at 200,000,000 farming households. If we're really going to make a difference, our biggest challenge is how do we reach 200,000,000 farming households," Ruthrie said.

Being purchased by ChemChina, "we are in a completely new chapter now."

ChemChina has strong relationships within China. "One of the most crucial things about making a difference in China is around the collaborations and the partnerships that we will form," Guthrie added.

Since the acquisition by ChemChina, Syngenta has received a very strong support and interest from all of its key stakeholders across China, because everbody realizes the Syngenta assets are now part of China, Guthrie said.

To be connected with more Chinese institutes which have a lot of investments in agriculture R&D through ChemChina is also what Syngenta would love to do. "This leads to a really good win-win opportunity for both Chinese institutes in agriculture and some in Syngenta that we're trying to accomplish", said Jeff Rowe, president of Syngenta Global Seeds North America and China.

Now being a Chinese multi-national, Syngenta has moved some of its most experienced business leaders in the world to China, Rowe told Xinhua. "We are in the process of moving top talent that we have anywhere in the world to China."

Syngenta invests over one billion dollars in research and development every year, and is now very much focused on solving the problems that growers have in China, as well as all around the world.

After the acquisition, "China is now a global player in the agriculture research and development," and is now the third pillar of global R&D center after the United States and countries in Europe, Ruthrie said. "We want to continue to invest and expand China's R&D center".

In the meantime, Syngenta hopes to be a vehicle to help companies in China bring more Chinese technology to the rest of the world. "Projects and initiatives like the Belt and Road are very important and we hope we can make a contribution to those sorts of initiatives as well," Ruthrie said.

"Syngenta's acquisition is a very, very big step for ChemChina in the China market, but also globally, in all the big markets and agriculture markets in the world," Rowe said.
PARIS, April 7 (Xinhua) -- France on Saturday denounced escalating violence in the Gaza Strip where Israeli forces have killed scores of Palestinian protesters, calling on Israel to exercise the "utmost restraint", the foreign ministry said in a statement.

"France reiterates its condemnation of the Israeli army's indiscriminate fire. All light must be made on these serious events," foreign ministry spokesperson Agnes von der Muhll said.

"The use of force must be proportionate, in accordance with international humanitarian law, in order to avoid new victims," she said in the statement.

Von der Muhll said putting an end to the blockade in the Gaza Strip and lifting restrictive measures as well as guaranteeing credible security for Israel will help respond to the humanitarian crisis and prevent the escalation of tensions in the region.

"France remains convinced that the end of violence can only be ended by the resumption of a real dialogue to finally implement a political solution allowing two states, Israel and Palestine, to live side by side in peace and security," she added in the statement.

A Palestinian journalist was killed earlier on Saturday in the Gaza protest. The death toll in Gaza has risen to 29 since the beginning of the protests on March 30.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-08 04:26:37|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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TEHRAN, April 7 (Xinhua) -- Iran is considering exports of electricity to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Iran daily reported on Saturday.

"Given that neighboring countries, Afghanistan and Pakistan in particular, need electricity, necessary measures should be taken to link Iran's power grid to theirs," Deputy Executive Director of Iran Power Generation, Distribution and Transmission Company (Tavanir) Davoud Manzour said on Saturday.

Iran is currently exporting 1,400 megawatts of electricity to Iraq, Manzour said, adding that the country is expected to turn into a regional hub in power generation and supply.

In January, Iran's Deputy Energy Minister Alireza Daemi said that Iran is mulling plans to boost power exchanges with regional states, particularly its neighbors.

Daemi said that the Islamic republic is planning to increase electric exchanges with regional countries, including Russia, Tajikistan and the Persian Gulf littoral states.

"The current power grid network and the exchanges of electricity enable Iran to be connected to Georgia via Armenia's power grid and to Slovenia and Europe via Turkey," the official said.
CHICAGO, April 7 (Xinhua) -- University of Chicago's annual China Forum was held Saturday to discuss China-U.S. economic topics.

The forum gathered speakers like Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President and CEO Charles Evans, Nobel laureate Lars Hansen and other renowned economists. This year's theme was "U.S.-China Dialogue in an Era of Transformation."

Asked about China-U.S. trade issues, Evans said that although his role as a leader in the Federal Reserve Bank is not involved in the trade issues, as an economist he thinks that "economy benefits tremendously from well-understood stable trading rules and in environments."

He said the Federal Reserve Bank has great interest in "how it plays out" if "things were to continue to evolve in an unanticipated fashion."

The Federal Reserve Bank knows that businesses have benefited tremendously in putting together supply chains, Evans said.

The University of Chicago China Forum is an annual event organized by students and faculty. Its goal is to promote mutual understanding and opportunities for collaboration between China and the United States. This year's forum addresses U.S.-China dialogue in fields of economics, healthcare, technology and finance.
HARARE, April 7 (Xinhua) -- Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa arrived in Harare International Airport Saturday morning, after his five-day state visit to China.

Before leaving China, Mnangagwa wrote on his Facebook page to tell Zimbabweans that a lot of achievements were made from the state visit.

"I conclude my first state visit outside of Africa, an historic visit which will help bring further crucial momentum to our economy," he said.

Mnangagwa said he had held "many fruitful discussions with political and business leaders in China, including President Xi Jinping, and secured a host of deals which will make a real difference to the lives of Zimbabweans."

"They will focus on road, rail, air and dam construction projects..." he said.

Numerous agreements were also signed by the two countries to advance areas of economic cooperation, skills development, education and other facets of the economy, he added.

Apart from the China trip, Mnangagwa has been to Switzerland for the World Economic Forum, Ethiopia and Rwanda for African Union summits and to several countries in the Southern African Development Community region since taking over from former president Robert Mugabe last November.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-08 04:41:41|Editor: Zhou Xin

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Police officers stand guard at the site of the vehicle plowing in Muenster, Germany, on April 7, 2018. Three people including the perpetrator died and a dozen more injured, after a van plowed into crowd in the old town of western German city of Muenster, interior minister of State North Rhine-Westphalia Herbert Reul told media Saturday night. (Xinhua/Luo Huanhuan)

FRANKFURT, April 7 (Xinhua) -- Three people including the perpetrator died and a dozen more injured, after a van plowed into crowd in the old town of western German city of Muenster, interior minister of State North Rhine-Westphalia Herbert Reul told media Saturday night.

There have been no reports of casualties of Chinese nationals in this attack so far, the Chinese Consulate General in Dusseldorf told Xinhua.

A male driving a Volkswagen-Campingbus hit a group of people, who were sitting in an outdoor terrace of local restaurant in the old town of Muenster on Saturday afternoon, German newspaper FAZ reported.

The driver as perpetrator, who shot himself dead after the attack, was suspected to be psychologically disordered, German media reported.

Police were searching the driver's accommodation near the central railway station of Muenster, since a suspicious object had been found in the van.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed her deep shock about the attack, saying in a statement that "everything imaginable is now being done to make sure of the fact and to support the victims and their relatives".

The motivation of the attack remained unclear, as the authority hadn't clarified whether the attack was terror-related or not.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-08 05:46:51|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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BAGHDAD, April 7 (Xinhua) -- Turkish forces pushed some 20 km into the mountainous border area in the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan in northern Iraq, Kurdish media said on Saturday.

"The Turkish forces backed by artillery and airstrikes entered about 20 km into the territory of Kurdistan and established military bases in the border areas of the Kurdistan region," said a statement released on the official website of Iraqi President Fuad Masoum's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).

"During the past few days, Turkish warplanes and artillery bombarded villages and border areas in the region of Bradust, which resulted in displacement of a large number of people from those villages and border areas," the Kurdish website said.

According to the Kurdish Rudaw news, "the Turkish forces bombarded the areas of Rubia, Bunkistan, Bir Ibrahimi, Korate and Rupi at about 1:45 p.m. (1045 GMT)."

"These areas are populated and the Turkish bombardment resulted in the displacement of more civilians," Rudaw quoted Ihsan Chalabi, mayor of Iraqi border town of Sidakan, as saying.

"During the past 72 hours, the Turkish aircraft attacked Bradust region for nine times, while the Turkish warplanes continuously fly over the region," Chalabi said, adding that the Turkish forces are dropping troops on some mountains after the bombardment.

Rudaw also said that the Turkish forces stationed atop of eight mountain peaks after airdrops on border areas in Iraq's Kurdistan region.

Last month, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the beginning of operations to clear the mountainous area of Iraqi Kurdistan region and Sinjar area, some 70 km west of Mosul, from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militants.

Turkish forces frequently carried out anti-terror operations, airstrikes and artillery bombardment targeting the positions of the PKK militants, with main focus on Qandil mountainous region, where the group's main base is located.
ALGIERS, April 7 (Xinhua) -- Algeria and Angola confirmed Saturday "great potential" for exchanges between the two countries, stressing the importance of enhancing economic cooperation and political relations.

Visiting Angolan Foreign Minister Manuel Augusto said Saturday in Algiers after a meeting with his Algerian counterpart Abdelkader Messahel that they explored ways and means of moving forward their economic, trade and technical cooperation.

Augusto mentioned that Algeria has more advanced experience, and "it is important to establish a mechanism of partnership that is beneficial for both countries."

He added that his visit "is part of the reaffirmation of our friendship with Algeria, whose support has been fundamental to the independence of Angola."

For his part, Messahel said it was agreed that the Algerian-Angolan joint commission will be held soon, preparing for "the revision of the existing legal framework between the two countries."

He said "we have 29 signed agreements, but we will have to update some of them and explore new ways of cooperation, given the changes that have occurred in the economies of both countries."

"I also informed him of the challenges we face, namely the fight against terrorism and illegal immigration," added Messahel.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-08 06:06:54|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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SAO BERNARDO DO CAMPO, Brazil, April 7 (Xinhua) -- Brazil's embattled ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Saturday said he will turn himself in to authorities, after missing a 5 p.m. Friday deadline to do so.

"I will do as they asked, because I want to transfer the responsibility to those who have unjustly accused me," Lula told thousands of supporters gathered outside the Metalworkers' Union in Sao Bernardo do Campo, Sao Paulo, where he began his career as a union leader.

Lula, who insists he is innocent of wrongdoing, denied that he was trying to evade justice by ignoring a judge's order to surrender to federal police, after his lawyers lost their latest appeal against their client's 12-year sentence for alleged corruption.

The two-time president was accompanied by leaders of his left-leaning Workers' Party and his successor and protege Dilma Rousseff, who was impeached in 2016, as well as several leftist presidential candidates running in October elections.

Lula's hopes of running for reelection were dashed this week with the decision that he must begin serving his sentence, despite pending appeals.

He has maintained the charges that he accepted the gift of a luxury apartment from construction giant Odebrecht (now called OAS S.A) in return for government building contracts were politically motivated to prevent Brazil's leading progressive candidate from taking part in the electoral process.

According to the ex-president, he didn't want to turn himself in but his aides and advisers convinced him that evading justice would not be a good option.

Others suggested he seek asylum in neighboring Uruguay or the embassies of other countries, said Lula, adding he is too old for that and prefers to face his opponents "eye to eye."
Source: Xinhua| 2018-04-08 06:21:55|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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JERUSALEM, April 7 (Xinhua) -- The Israeli army on Saturday denied deliberately targeting a Palestinian journalist who was shot dead while covering mass protests on Friday near the border between the southern Gaza Strip and Israel.

The Israeli army has launched an investigation into the incident, said the army in a statement.

Palestinian journalist Yasser Murtaja was reportedly killed by gunshot from the Israeli soldiers. Hundreds of Palestinians, including Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh, attended the funeral of Murtaja in Gaza, Palestinian sources said.

At least nine Palestinians were killed by the Israeli troops and about 500 wounded in the second mass protest along the Gaza border on Friday. And the total deaths have risen to at least 31 killed by Israeli fire since last week, according to Palestinian sources.

"For weeks, we have been warning against coming close to the fence and calling on Gaza's residents not to obey the orders of the terror group Hamas and refrain from terror activities and other violent acts against Israel," said the Israeli army's statement.

"Despite this, since last Friday the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) have been dealing with tens of thousands of people approaching the fence, all instigated by Hamas," it added.

According to the Times of Israel, Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman said Saturday night "I don't know who is or isn't a photographer. Anyone who operates drones above IDF soldiers needs to understand he's putting himself in danger."

"We saw dozens of cases in which Hamas terrorists used ambulances, dressed up as Red Crescent workers, and dressed up as journalists," added Liberman.

It is reported that the Palestinian press association denounced the murder of Murtaja, and announced plans to contact the International Court of Justice in The Hague regarding the matter.
The opposition Democratic Coalition and LMP parties have decided to withdraw individual constituency candidates in favour of the other party, DK spokesman said.

Zsolt Greczy told a press conference that LMPs Csaba Kiss would step out of the race in favour of DKs Sandor Ronai in Dunakeszis 5th constituency in Pest county. In return, DKs Istvan Krauze will compete thanks to LMPs Ilona Matkovich withdrawal in Vac.



Both candidates have a chance of beating the ruling Fidesz party, he said, adding that talks were ongoing to make further tactical withdrawals with a view to unseating the government.



Meanwhile, Greczy accused the government of concocting potential election fraud by opening ten temporary crossings at the Hungarian-Romanian border on election day.



This is yet another sign of Fideszs attempt to commit large-scale electoral fraud by exploiting the voting rights of Hungarians beyond the borders, he said, adding that Hungarian citizens living in Romania fictitiously declaring Hungarian addresses could double their vote by sending a letter and by voting in person.



DK will turn to the election observers of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) with a request they investigate each case of suspected fraud, the spokesman said.
By RALPH ANSAMI

[email protected]

Ironwood  The Ironwood City Commission on Monday will consider awarding a $76,050 bid for a private company to mow the Riverside Cemetery grass in the summer.

The bid from Saaris Lawn Service, of Montreal, Wis., is for a three-year contract.

The only other bid received was from Harma Lawn and Property, of Hurley, for $101,250 for three years.

At their last meeting, commissioners balked at a plan by city manager Scott Erickson to have three part-time summer city workers cut the grass at the cemetery. Erickson recommended purchasing two new mowers for the three workers.

He said the summer employees could be assigned to other tasks if the commission chose to hire the private firm for mowing, however.

Commissioners had suggested Erickson perform a cost analysis on using the workers versus hiring a private firm.

In a memo to city commissioners, Erickson said the cost would be comparable.

He noted that Saari has provided very good lawn service in previous contracts with the city and his final recommendation was to go with the private firms three-year bid.

The commission will also consider a bid Monday for $38,000 from Nasi Roofing LLC, of Hurley, to re-roof the Memorial Building courtyard roofs. It was the only bid received.

The project will be completed by June 15 and funding will come from previously budgeted general fund money.

The commission will also consider purchasing a $22,587 brush chipper.
By RICHARD JENKINS

[email protected]

LANSING  UPX Minerals, a subsidiary of Highland Copper, has requested direct metallic mineral leases from the state of Michigan for almost 4,000 acres of land in Iron and Marquette counties.

The Department of Natural Resources announced the request to lease the mineral rights for approximately 3,965 acres Friday.

Roughly 3,845 acres of the land UPX is seeking to lease the mineral rights for is in Marquette Countys Champion, Michigamme, Negaunee, Ishpeming and Marquette townships. The other approximately 119 acres would be leased in Iron Countys Crystal Falls Township.

While the state owns the mineral rights properties, the surface land is primarily owned by a mixture of large timber companies and small landholders.

In the state of Michigan, you have what you call severed mineral rights, said Tim Lynott, the finance manager for Highlands Michigan operation. So somebody else can own the surface, but the state controls the minerals.

If the lease agreements are approved, Lynott said the goal of the acquisition would be for additional exploration opportunities beyond the companys current UPX holdings in the central U.P.

Highland acquired the original 447,842 acres in Houghton, Baraga, Ontonagon, Dickinson, Marquette and Iron counties known as its UPX properties in May 2017. It has since been conducting test drilling on the property, announcing in November it was encouraged by preliminary drilling results.

In addition to its holdings in the central U.P., Highland is developing projects in Gogebic and Ontonagon counties and the Keweenaw region.
Arizona News

Phoenix, Arizona - Attorney General Mark Brnovich announced two businesses that sold work-from-home opportunities are banned from telemarketing and operating in Arizona for six years. First Progress, Nortec Strategies, and their owner, Eli Rabadi, will also pay $22,300 in restitution to consumers who purchased websites from them.

My office has zero tolerance for unscrupulous telemarketers that invade our privacy and refuse to follow state telemarketing laws, said Attorney General Mark Brnovich.

The Attorney Generals Office launched an investigation into First Progress and Nortec Strategies after consumers complained about deceptive statements allegedly made by the businesses when marketing websites to out-of-state consumers. During the investigation, the Attorney Generals Office identified several unlawful marketing practices allegedly employed by the businesses, including making deceptive statements about the value and profitability of the merchandise sold and failing to register as a telemarketer with the State of Arizona.

The Attorney Generals Office is in the process of contacting consumers who may be eligible for restitution. In addition, anyone who purchased a website from First Progress or Nortec Strategies and has not received a refund or credit card chargeback may be eligible for restitution if they submit a complaint to the Attorney Generals Office by May 26, 2018.

Consumers can contact the Attorney Generals Office in Phoenix at (602) 542-5763, in Tucson at (520) 628-6648, or outside the metro areas at (800) 352-8431. Bilingual consumer protection staff is available to assist. Consumers can also file complaints online by visiting the Attorney Generals website at https://www.azag.gov/complaints/consumer .
Arizona News

Tucson, Arizona - Attorney General Mark Brnovich announced a grand jury indicted Dr. David Alan Ruben, a medical doctor and board certified psychiatrist, on 26 felony charges, including Fraudulent Schemes and Artifices and Administration of Narcotic Drugs. The Tucson District Office of the Drug Enforcement Administration and Special Agents from the Arizona Attorney Generals Office investigated this case.

Dr. Ruben, 70, is the owner of Healthcare Southwest, a pain management medical clinic in Tucson. Pursuant to an Arizona Medical Board Order in February 2016, Dr. Ruben was prohibited from prescribing, administering, or dispensing any Schedule II controlled substance for two years. Despite the order, Dr. Ruben allegedly prescribed Hydrocodone and Oxycodone to 11 different patients on 25 separate occasions between September 2016 and March 2017.

Dr. Rubens medical license was suspended by the Arizona Medical Board effective April 06, 2017.

All defendants are innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Assistant Attorney General Jarred McBride of the Healthcare Fraud and Abuse Section is prosecuting this case.
Arizona News

Tucson, Arizona - Attorney General Mark Brnovich announced a Pima County jury found Carlos David Nogales Sr. guilty of operating a national drug and money laundering scheme involving more than $2.8 million. Nogales was found guilty of 35 felony counts including Fraud, Forgery, Money Laundering, Controlling a Criminal Enterprise, and Possession of Marijuana for Sale.

The case was investigated by the Arizona Attorney Genera's Office Southern Arizona White Collar and Criminal Enterprise and Special Investigations Section along with the Pima County Sheriffs Department. The investigation began after a Department of Economic Security audit revealed Nogales fraudulently received $30,000 in state benefits by not disclosing income and assets on his applications. Between 2011 and 2015, Nogales used more than a dozen people to launder money across the country in exchange for marijuana shipped to the East Coast. Nogales also had 20 lbs. of marijuana in his possession at the time of his arrest.

Nogales is currently in custody and faces more than 9 years in prison.

His sentencing is set for May 25, 2018.

Assistant Attorney General Jared Kreamer-Hope is prosecuting this case.
Latest News

Washington, DC - This past week, I hit the road for our third Back to Our Roots RV tour, driving across Michigan, Ohio and now Kentucky. As always, these tours are an opportunity to escape the noise of Washington and hear directly from the American people.

While Congress continues its work on the Farm Bill, rural prosperity, and many other agriculture priorities, this administration remains committed to being a voice for Americas farmers, ranchers, producers, and foresters.

In the 11 months since I was sworn in as U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, I have traveled to 35 states, helping fulfill President Donald Trumps promise that the men and women of America, who once felt forgotten, never will again.

On Thursday, I met with members of the Kentucky Farm Bureau in Mays Lick and toured the Harold White Lumber Company in Morehead. On Friday, I will visit Sorghum Farm and Mill in Jeffersonville, tour Montgomery County High Schools agriculture department and visit Keeneland in Lexington and have lunch with the racetrack staff.

During each trip, all across the country, we hear about the same issues time after time: trade and the economy, the workforce and burdensome regulations. Trump and his entire administration have heard these concerns and are working tirelessly on your behalf. I stand with him as he stands with you in addressing these important issues that impact us all.

First, Trump is committed to ensuring our economy grows and thrives. That is why he led the fight to pass historic tax cuts and reforms back in December, which are already benefiting the agriculture community. When it comes to trading goods and products with our partners and allies, this administration is committed to sending the bounty of American harvest around the globe.

As Vice President Mike Pence said, President Trump is also working with the USDA and members of our administration to renegotiate existing trade agreements and reach new and better deals  that will bring a bounty into our farms and ranches and forests at every corner of the world.

Through lower taxes and aggressive trade principles, the president is fulfilling his promise to help our economy thrive.

Second, as we all know, our economy cannot succeed without a capable and legal workforce. Trump understands we must have an equipped and competitive workforce. That is one reason why he signed an executive order establishing the Interagency Task Force on Agriculture and Rural Prosperity, which I proudly chaired. We offered recommendations for ways we could provide our workforce, primarily those in rural America, with world-class resources, tools and support systems.

Our task force also stressed the importance of assisting our workforce through infrastructure reforms. Enacting Trumps infrastructure plan would create jobs for our rural workforce and unleash our economys full potential. Infrastructure has been the core of American economic success for more than two centuries. Americas infrastructure needs attention; our nations prosperity is at stake.

Growing our workforce also involves engaging the next generation. One highlight of my travel has always been meeting young agriculture leaders, from FFA and 4-H, who have heard the call to help feed, clothe and fuel the world. Seeing these youth leaders and encouraging them to face the challenges ahead is a priority of mine and a priority of this administration.

Finally, if we are going to encourage the next generation to step forward, we must first tackle the burdensome regulations facing todays industry. Throughout this tour, I have heard from farmers and ranchers who are hamstrung by meddlesome rules. They know that Trump has aggressively and effectively dismantled unnecessary barriers to productivity, eliminating 22 federal regulations for every new rule added. Trumps regulatory agenda meets the needs of rural Americans who are held back by harmful decisions that came from Washington.

The president hears the needs of the American people, and his administration is acting now. As I met with the people of Michigan, Ohio, and Kentucky this week, I heard their concerns and was able to share the work were doing to make American agriculture great again. Whether its ensuring our economy thrives, our workforce grows, or needless regulations are repealed, we are acting now to fulfill our presidents promises and fulfill USDAs motto to Do Right and Feed Everyone.
Latest News

Phoenix, Arizona - Attorney General Mark Brnovich announced a jury found 52-year-old Lauri Vanlitsenborgh guilty of Possession of a Dangerous Drug (Methamphetamine) for Sale, Manufacture of a Dangerous Drug (Methamphetamine), and Possession of Chemicals or Equipment, or both, for the Purpose of Manufacturing a Dangerous Drug (Methamphetamine).

In April 2015, detectives with the Phoenix Police Departments Drug Enforcement Bureau executed a search warrant at Vanlitsenborghs home. While executing the search warrant, police found over a quarter pound of methamphetamine, a drug sale ledger, electronic scales, and baggies. In the kitchen, police found liquid methamphetamine, acetone, and an active methamphetamine wash lab. The wash lab was being used to convert brown methamphetamine into crystal methamphetamine.

Vanlitsenborgh absconded during trial and there is currently a warrant out for her arrest. Anyone with information on Lauri Vanlitsenborghs whereabouts should immediately contact local law enforcement.

Assistant Attorney General Nick Saccone prosecuted this case.
Coun Perez reiterates warning to barangay leaders involved in drugs

07 Aug 2017 Hits:37 Comments(0)

Liga ng mga Barangay President, Councilor Jerry Perez yesterday reiterated his warning to all barangay officials from using or selling drugs. Perez said he is closely monitoring the activities of all the barangay officials and vowed sanctions against erring leaders. Aqui gane na mio barangay ya quita ya iyo na puesto cunel dos barangay leaders quien mas temprano ya sale positivo na...
By Evan Duggan

VANCOUVER, April 6 (Xinhua) -- Knee-jerk reaction in the simmering trade dispute between China and the U.S. will only serve to escalate the confrontation, say Canadian trade experts.

"The problem with that is these types of punitive import duties don't work in trying to curb the behavior that both the U.S. and China are trying to establish," said Mike Manjuris, a trade expert at Ryerson University in Toronto.

U.S. President Donald Trump's playbook seems to be pursuing punishment instead of parley, Manjuris told Xinhua in an interview. "Call it the knee jerk reaction of the (U.S.) administration, and specifically the President."

He said both parties should pursue a diplomatic course in the short-term and create legislation over the long term to handle specific bilateral trade grievances without harming the overall flow of products between the world's two largest economies.

On Friday, China said it would fight back at any cost if the U.S. continues down a path of import duties against Chinese products.

That came shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to slap an additional 100 billion U.S. dollars in tariffs on Chinese goods, escalating the rhetoric from an earlier threat of 50-billion U.S. dollars in various tariffs.

On Wednesday, China responded to Trump's initial threat by announcing a list of 106 U.S. goods that would be targeted by retaliatory tariffs, including soybeans, whisky, beef and aircraft.

"The U.S. is trying to hurt China in... the technology sector," Manjuris said. "It's an area where China is trying to further develop and that's what they took aim at first."

Manjuris said punitive import duties would only lead to a "tit for tat" trade war. "When that starts to happen, that's not good for anybody."

He said if these "knee jerk" reactions continue, the entire global economy could suffer.

James Brander, a trade expert at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, said it's premature to label this a trade war, as the tariffs have yet to take effect - and may not.

"I think it's just actually typical Donald Trump," he said. "He's posturing and making threats, and then pulls back from the threats. It's clearly all part of the negotiating strategy that has used in his private sector activities, which he has taken with him to the White House."

Brander said he remains optimistic that this dispute gets settled without any tariffs taking hold.

"If there really was a major trade war between the U.S. and China, that would have an aggregate effect on global economic growth," he said. "It would certainly be bad for both China and the United States. But I just don't see that happening."
ROCKFORD: At least three people were dead following an incident of shooting on a private charter bus in Rockford, Illinois on Saturday morning. The suspect has reportedly escaped.

The incident took place at about 3:30 am. The suspect, reportedly a passenger on the private charter bus, shot at others near Auburn Street and Johnston Avenue. The driver then drove to Springfield Avenue where the driver called police and met with officers, reported CBS news.

On arrival, the police discovered three bodies inside the bus. The Rockford Police Department is calling for anyone with information to come forward to help the investigation.

Earlier today, four people were killed and over 30 injured after a car ploughed into pedestrians in German's Munster city on Saturday. The vehicle hit bystanders in the western German city, nearly 400 kilometres away from capital city Berlin. Six of the wounded are reportedly in critical condition. The driver of the car, which crashed into the crowd, later killed himself.
Patna: The BJP a partner in the ruling coalition in Bihar has accused the administration of having acted in a partisan manner against members of the majority community in the aftermath of the communal flare-ups in various districts recently.

A memorandum to this effect was submitted to the Director General of Police KS Dwivedi on Friday by a party delegation comprising state vice-president Devesh Kumar, chief whip in the state Assembly Arun Kumar Sinha, MLA Sanjiv Chaurasia and media in-charge Pankaj Singh. "In the memorandum, it has been stated that in districts like Aurangabad, Nalanda and Samastipur, the majority community resorted to aggression only upon provocative acts by anti-social elements from among the minority community," Pankaj Singh said in a statement.

The BJP delegation further alleged, "in the aftermath of the incidents of violence that took place around Ram Navami, those belonging to the majority community have been arrested in large numbers while the administration has gone soft on the minorities."

The delegation demanded among others release of all innocent people and a high-level enquiry into the alleged partisan approach adopted by the police during such incidents, Singh said.

The state government has drawn flak over the spate of communal clashes witnessed in various parts of the state in the past few weeks. Proceedings of the state Assembly during the budget session, which concluded earlier this week, were stalled by opposition parties like the RJD, the Congress and the CPI(ML) a number of times over the issue of the recent spurt in communal violence.

RJD leaders had also targeted Chief Minister Nitish Kumar charging him with having surrendered before an "aggressive" BJP. The chief minister had expressed displeasure over communal violence on a number of occasions.
Jodhpur: After spending two nights in the Jodhpur Central Jail, Bollywood star Salman Khan was on Saturday granted bail in the 1998 blackbuck poaching case in which he was proclaimed guilty. The court however has said that the actor would need its permission if he wants to travel abroad while out on bail.

Hundreds of fans gathered outside the court premises and celebrations erupted the minute news of the bail reached them. Crackers were burst and sweets were distributed although the Bishnoi community - which revers blackbucks - have vowed to keep up the pressure. Nonetheless, relief was not just for Salman and his fans but for family members as well. Sisters Alvira and Arpita have been camping in Jodhpur since Thursday and will now get to possibly take Salman back to Mumbai by Saturday evening.

Salman was pronounced guilty in the case on Thursday and sentenced to five years in prison. His legal team appealed for a more lenient punishment and also moved motion for bail but the matter was moved to Friday. On Friday, the judge reserved his order for one more day. Even on Saturday, there was some doubt about Salman's release as the judge hearing the bail application had been transferred in a routine process. Judge Ravindra Kumar Joshi however did arrive in court and heard arguments from both sides before granting bail in the post-lunch session.

Legal drama aside, there was much drama outside as well when one of Salman's bodyguards reportedly got into a confrontation with members of the press. He was denied entry into the courthouse.
The Jodhpur SC/ST Court will pronounce verdict in Asaram Bapu rape case on April 25. The hearing in the case was completed earlier on Saturday. The self-styled godman has been accused of sexually assaulting a minor girl over a period of nine years.

If convicted, Asaram faces maximum sentence of 10 years. He is also facing a rape case in Gujarat.

The Jodhpur Police arrested Asaram on August 3, 2013. He's been inside the prison since then. Several courts have repeatedly denied his bail requests.

In 2013, a Surat-based girl filed a case against him, alleging sexual assaults between 1997 and 2006 when she was living in his ashram on the outskirts of Ahmedabad city. The girl belonging to Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh was a student at the ashram.

The Supreme Court had earlier pulled up the Gujarat Police for delay in completion of recording of evidence in one of the rape cases against self-styled preacher Asaram Bapu, lodged in Jodhpur jail, and directed it to conclude the process within five weeks.

Asaram's counsel had on January 15 told the court that in the Gujarat case, out of 92 witnesses, 22 material witnesses have been examined, 14 of them have been dropped and rest need to be examined.

Two Surat-based sisters had lodged separate complaints against Asaram and his son Narayan Sai, accusing them of rape and illegal confinement, among other charges.

Last year, the apex body of sages issued two lists of fake babas containing names of 17 fake sages and self-styled godmen. The lists consist of names as Asaram Bapu, his son Narayan Sai, Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, Radhey Ma, Nirmal Baba, and Rampal.

Last year, another self-styled godman  Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh  was convicted of raping two sadhvis or female followers. A CBI special court awarded 20-year jail term. Following the conviction, Dera followers went on a rampage in Panchkula and Sirsa.
On Saturday evening, Bollywood superstar Salman Khan stepped out from Jodhpur Central Jail, after spending two nights there. Earlier in the day, Salman was granted bail in the 1998 blackbuck poaching case.

Dressed in black tee, denim, dark shades and a cap, the superstar left the premises of the Jodhpur Central Jail in a car with nearly 13 bodyguards. Salman later reached Mumbai via a chartered plane. Sisters Alvira and Arpita, who have been camping in Jodhpur, since Thursday, have reportedly joined the actor.

The processes at the jail premises is over. We are arranging security at the airport and security in transit, said Amandeep Singh Kapoor, DCP (East) Jodhpur on. Several policemen and security vehicles followed Salman's car to ensure safety and security.



Police personnel disperses the crowd that had gathered in Bollywood actor Salman Khan's support outside Jodhpur Court, in Jodhpur on Saturday. (PTI photo)

The court, however, has said that the actor would need its permission if he wants to travel abroad while out on bail.

Two days ago, a Jodhpur court proclaimed him found him guilty under Section 9/51 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act in a blackbuck poaching case while acquitting all other actors accused - Saif Ali Khan, Tabu, Neelam and Sonali Bendre. The Bollywood superstar was sentenced to five years in jail and fined Rs 10,000.

Thousands of fans gathered started bursting firecrackers and distributing sweets immediately after the news of his bail reached them.

Salman spent Thursday and Friday nights inside a small and solitary cell in Barrack No. 2 which has a wooden bed, four blankets and a cooler.

Meanwhile, the Bishnoi Samaj said that it will appeal against the order in the Rajasthan High Court. The Bishnoi Samaj had registered the complaint against Salman for killing the two blackbucks 20 years back. The Bishnois consider the blackbuck to be the reincarnation of their religious Guru Bhagwan Jambeshwar also known as Jambaji.
New Delhi: Three people, including a teacher, were arrested from Himachal Pradesh on Saturday in connection with CBSE's Class 12 Economics paper leak.

Police were tracking the three persons - the teacher, a clerk and a support staff - and finally nabbed them from Himachal. They will now be questioned as part of the investigations.

Reports of the Economics paper leaking in handwritten form before the exam (March 26) rocked CBSE last month and the consequent paper had to be cancelled. The re-exam will be held on April 25.

Apart from Class 12 Economics, the Maths paper for Class 10th too was allegedly leaked. After a massive uproar - primarily by students and parents, CBSE decided not to conuct a re-test for Class 10.
Congress MP Jairam Ramesh has written to Rajya Sabha chairman M Venkaiah Naidu urging him to convene a special two-week session in May-June to discuss important issues. The letter comes a day after the Budget session of Parliament ended on Friday in a washout.

In his letter, Ramesh wrote that a special session may help retrieve some of the lost prestige of Parliament. "Why dont you try and persuade the Government to convene a special two-week session sometime in late May or early June to both pass important legislation and also have debate and discussion on burning political, economic and social issues? I am aware that the Monsoon session will be called sometime in mid-JuIy but a special session sends a different signal altogether. There is no doubt that the complete washout has inicted great damage to Parliament as an institution and I think a special session may help retrieve some of its lost prestige," he wrote adding that he was making the suggestion in his personal capacity.

Attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi led central government, he said that the Centre in the last four years has failed to communicate and engage in meaningtul and serious dialogue with political parties. "It is the responsibility of the Government of the day to communicate and engage in meaningtul and serious dialogue with all political parties to ensure the smooth functioning of Parliament. That was very much in absence in recent weeks. In fact, it has been absent all through the past four years," he alleged.

Both the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress have been blaming each other for the impasse with the Prime Minister accusing the opposition party of taking parliamentary proceedings "to a new low".

The NDA MPs would be holding a fast on April 12 to protest the opposition's behaviour in Parliament, while Congress chief Rahul Gandhi told party workers to hold a fast on April 9 to "expose" the BJP's "lies" on the issue.

While the first-half of the session -- January 31 to February 9 -- recorded 134 per cent productivity in the Lok Sabha and 96 per cent in the Rajya Sabha, in the second-half, from March 5 to April 6, the lower house recorded just four per cent productivity and the upper house eight per cent.

In his valedictory remarks, Venkaiah Naidu rued that he had little to say in terms of what the Rajya Sabha did but a lot about what it did not. "While it is customary for the Chairman on this day to give a brief account of what has been done and delivered by the House, today I am compelled to reflect on what could not be done during such an important session," he had said.
NEW DELHI: Soon after Bollywood actor Salman Khan was granted bail by the Jodhpur sessions court in the 1998 blackbuck poaching case, hundreds of fans on Saturday gathered outside the court premises to celebrate the superstar's relief.

Overjoyed with the order, fans of Salman Khan also gathered outside his residence in Mumbai.

Fans of #SalmanKhan gather outside his residence in Mumbai and celebrate following Jodhpur Court's verdict in #BlackBuckPaochingCase. The Court granted him bail in the case. pic.twitter.com/STrcQuihjY  ANI (@ANI) April 7, 2018

Crackers were burst and sweets were distributed although the Bishnoi community - which revers blackbucks - have vowed to keep up the pressure. Nonetheless, relief was not just for Salman and his fans but for family members as well. Sisters Alvira and Arpita have been camping in Jodhpur since Thursday and will now get to possibly take Salman back to Mumbai by Saturday evening.

The Rakhi sisters of Salman Khan - Saba and Farah - also celebrated the actor's relief in Patna.

Fans of #SalmanKhan gather outside his residence in Mumbai and celebrate following Jodhpur Court's verdict in #BlackBuckPaochingCase. The Court granted him bail in the case. pic.twitter.com/STrcQuihjY  ANI (@ANI) April 7, 2018

Salman is expected to be released by 7 pm tonight after the bail order is submitted to jail authorities. He will be released on two bail bonds of Rs 25,000 each.

On Thursday, the Bollywood star was pronounced guilty and sentenced to five years of imprisonment for killing two blackbucks. He has been in the Jodhpur Central Jail for the last two nights.

Salman's bail plea was reserved for a day on Friday by judge Ravindra Kumar Joshi, who has been transferred to Sirohi.
Mumbai: Indrani Mukerjea, a prime accused in the Sheena Bora murder case, had to be rushed to JJ Hospital from Byculla jail late on Friday night after she complained of feeling uneasy.

It is being suspected that Indrani may have been given an overdose of medicine which led to her health deteriorating. While medical officials and jail authorities have not yet made any official statement, Indrani has previously been admitted to a hospital for medicinal overdose as well.

Sources say Indrani has been kept under observation and that her health is being monitored constantly.

Indrani Mukerjea's lawyer Gunjan Mangla visited #Mumbai's JJ Hospital to see her. Hospital authorities did not allow her to meet Mukerjea, stating that she needs to take permission from jail authorities first. pic.twitter.com/QNwgRBNG3C  ANI (@ANI) April 7, 2018

Indrani is the prime accused in Sheena Bora murder case which took place on April 24, 2012, and came to light in 2015 with the arrest of her driver Shyamvar Rai.

Her husband Peter Mukerjea is a co-accused in the case  over his alleged role in the disappearance of her daughter.
JODHPUR: Soon after actor Salman Khan was granted bail on Saturday, the Bishnoi Samaj has said that it will appeal against the order in the Rajasthan High Court. The Bishnoi Samaj had registered the complaint against Salman for killing the two bluckbucks 20 years back. The Bishnois consider the blackbuck to be the reincarnation of their religious Guru Bhagwan Jambeshwar also known as Jambaji.

His fans, on the other hand, were elated with his bail order. Several of his supporters had gathered outside the court in Jodhpur as well as outside his home in Mumbai. He was held guilty on Thursday and spent two nights behind bars in the Jodhpur Central jail. His friends and well-wishers from the film industry also expressed their happiness over the decision.

Director of Salman's upcoming film "Race 3" Remo D'Souza said, "I am happy that he has got bail. After working with him so closely I have become a huge fan of him not only as an actor but also as a human being. Almost 90 percent of the shoot for 'Race 3' is over and the remaining portions will mostly be shot in India."

Producer of "Race 3" Ramesh Taurani said he is "happy" that the actor has come out of jail. "For us, Salman coming of this was more important. Our prayers have been answered. The shooting of 'Race 3' is almost over, a romantic song is left, which will feature Salman and Jacqueline."

Director Anees Bazmee, who has worked with Salman on "No Entry", hopes the "Sultan" star will soon be out of this case. "I am very very happy. He is a family, a very dear friend so I wanted me to be free at the earliest from all this. At the same time, we have to follow the law of the land. We are hopeful the higher court will look at things properly and he will be out of this soon," he said.

Salman was on Saturday granted bail on a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh by District and Sessions Court Judge Ravindra Kumar Joshi. However, the 52-year-old actor will have to secure special permission from the court if he plans to travel outside the country.
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that India and Nepal have agreed to build a new railway line to link Kathmandu with India. He said adding that the two countries have agreed to expedite implementation of all connectivity projects. The PM made the announcement in a joint press conference with Nepal PM KP Oli.

"We aim at improving waterways and railways with Nepal. Today we reviewed the progress in various such connectivity projects. We have strong relations when it comes to the aspect of security and are committed to stopping misuse of our open borders," PM Modi said.

The Nepal PM also said that he has come to India to explore ways to enhance cooperation and take it to newer heights. "Nepal attaches great importance to its relations with India, our countries enjoy age-old historical ties and have many things to offer to each other. I invited PM Modi to pay a visit to Nepal at the earliest convenient time, I am hopeful that the visit will take place soon," Nepal PM Oli said.

Earlier in the day, PM Modi held discussions with his Nepalese counterpart to deepen bilateral ties between the two neighbours. The two leaders are believed to have discussed an entire gamut of issues concerning their bilateral ties.

"Strengthening the special and people-centric partnership based on historical and cultural context. PM @narendramodi warmly welcomes Prime Minister of Nepal K P Sharma Oli at Hyderabad House for delegation-level talks continuing the long-standing tradition of high-level visits," Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted.

Modi had on Friday met the Nepalese prime minister at the Prime Minister's official residence in Delhi. Oli had also met President Ram Nath Kovind on Saturday and was given a ceremonial reception at Rashtrapati Bhawan.

The Nepalese Prime Minister underscored the significance of friendship at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, saying, "Friendship is most important and there is no comparison with friendship. Any treaty any agreement, everything starts with friendship. With our neighbours, particularly with India, we first expect friendship."

Oli's three-day visit is in line with the tradition of a Nepalese premier visiting India on his first overseas trip.
New Delhi: Bollywood superstar Salman Khan has now spent two nights in a small cell in the Jodhpur Central Jail. Convicted in the 1998 blackbuck poaching case on Thursday, the actor's bail plea was reserved for a day on Friday by a judge who has now been moved as part of a routine transfer.

Looking to get bail for Salman, the team of defence lawyers had argued on Friday that there is a threat to his life. Ravindra Kumar Joshi, district and sessions judge at Jodhpur court, reserved his order till Saturday but has now been transferred to Sirohi. The decision was announced in an order by the Registrar General of the High Court. Joshi will be replaced by Chandra Kumar Sonagra but it is not yet clear if he will take charge on Saturday. Legal experts believe that if Sonagra does not take charge, Salman could spend the entire weekend in jail. They, however, also say that bail pleas may be transferred to other courts on the grounds of unavailable judges.

The transfer of Joshi though is an absolutely routine process. In its order, the Registrar General of the High Court also announced the transfer of 87 District Judges and promotion of 20 judicial officers. For Salman though, it is of no significance.

Salman was found guilty under Section 9/51 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act in a blackbuck poaching case while all other actors accused - Saif Ali Khan, Tabu, Neelam and Sonali Bendre - were acquitted. The Bollywood superstar was sentenced to five years in jail and fined Rs 10,000.

He has now spent two nights in jail in a small but secure cell which has four blankets, a wooden bed and a cooler.
NEW DELHI: Congress president Rahul Gandhi yet again attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the alleged favours given to pass the multi-crore Rafale fighter jet deal. Issuing a 'Modi Scam Alert', Rahul on Saturday tweeted: "15 Billion $ fighter jet deal re-tendered. PM's friends race to tie up STRATEGIC partners. RAFALE, 40,000 Cr. loss to exchequer was "Sayonara" money to French, so PM could re-tender contract and favour friends. (sic)."

Rahul has been accused the Narendra Modi government of causing over Rs 40,000 crore loss to the exchequer in the purchase of Rafale fighter aircraft from France. The Congress has been claiming that the 36 Rafale fighter planes with the French government was finalised by the Centre at a higher price than the previous deal for 126 medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) negotiated by the UPA government.

While the Congress has been asking the Centre to reveal the price of the deal, the Modi government has denied the request. Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the price of the jets cannot be revealed in the interest of national security.

"Rahul Gandhi is searching for ammunition against the government but hasn't found anything. So he's fishing. Rafale is a classic example of inter-governmental agreement to help our air forces. In every way we have got a good deal, both in terms of preparedness as well as on the price. But revealing the price would mean compromising national security. I don't want to satisfy Rahul Gandhi's ego and reveal details of avionics, ammunitions and the changes made as per the country conditions to this sophisticated aircraft," she had said.

India and France signed an agreement in March on the Exchange and Reciprocal Protection of Classified or Protected Information during the visit of French President Emmanuel Macron, replacing an earlier pact signed in 2008.

It defines the common security regulations applicable to any exchange of classified and protected information between the two countries.
New Delhi: Citing continuing support to cross-border terrorism from Pakistan, India said today it was difficult to proceed with the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) initiative under current circumstances.

The issue of organising the SAARC Summit came up for discussion during a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepalese counterpart K P Sharma Oli, who is in India on a three-day visit.

"The Prime Minister (Modi) mentioned that he very enthusiastically participated in the Kathmandu (SAARC) summit, but given the current state of play where there is cross-border terrorism - and this is a disruptive force in the region. It is difficult in such circumstances to proceed with such initiatives," Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale told reporters.

SAARC Summits are usually held biennially hosted by a member state in alphabetical order. The member state hosting the summit assumes the Chair of the Association.

The last SAARC Summit in 2014 was held in Kathmandu, which was attended by PM Modi.

The 2016 SAARC Summit was to be held in Islamabad.

But after the terrorist attack on an Indian Army camp in Uri in Jammu and Kashmir on September 18 that year, India expressed its inability to participate in the summit due to "prevailing circumstances" and stepped up diplomatic pressure on Pakistan. Nineteen Indian soldiers died in the attack.

The summit was called off after Bangladesh, Bhutan and Afghanistan also declined to participate in the Islamabad meet.

Maldives and Sri Lanka are the seventh and eighth members of the initiative.

During his visit to Kathmandu last month, Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi sought Oli's support for convening the SAARC Summit in Islamabad.

Abbasi has also urged Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena "to play his role for early convening of the summit".

"While India is very supportive of all regional connectivity and regional cooperation issues, the views expressed by the prime minister (Modi) was Prime Minister Oil was well aware of the circumstances," Gokhale said.

The foreign secretary said the Nepalese prime minister told Modi he was looking forward to host the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation Summit this year. BIMSTEC excludes Pakistan.

Oli also gave a "positive reference" to the sub-regional Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal (BBIN) initiative, Gokhale said.
Jodhpur: A prison official where Salman Khan has now spent two nights has denied reports that selfies were clicked with the Bollywood actor inside Jodhpur Central Jail. Emphasising that mobiles continue to be strictly prohibited inside, he said that no special concession has been given to any celebrity inmate here.

Salman Khan spent Thursday and Friday night inside a small and solitary cell in Barrack No. 2 which has a wooden bed, four blankets and a cooler. Local reports said that selfies with the actor were clicked inside the jail but authorities maintain rules are being strictly adhered to. "No mobile phones or selfies are allowed inside. He (Salman) is being served food by us and no food from outside is being allowed," said an official.

The 52-year-old has been found guilty of shooting two blackbucks in an incident dating back to 1998. He has been sentenced to five years in prison although fellow actors accused in the case - Saif Ali Khan, Tabu, Neelam and Sonali Bendre - were let off.

While fans and well-wishers have been praying for bail for Salman, his legal team too has been working hard to both reduce the sentence and get some relief for the actor.


NEW DELHI: Shortly after Bollywood superstar Salman Khan was granted bail by the Jodhpur sessions court in the 1998 blackbuck poaching case, Asaram Bapu said that whoever walks out of this jail is good. The self-styled godman added that his influence will help Salman to quit smoking and reduce his coffee intake.

Salman stepped out from Jodhpur Central Jail on Saturday evening, after spending two nights. He has been released on two bail bonds of Rs 25,000 each. On Thursday, the Bollywood star was pronounced guilty and sentenced to five years of imprisonment for killing two blackbucks.

Earlier in the day, the Jodhpur SC/ST Court announced that it would pronounce the verdict in Asaram Bapu rape case on April 25. Asaram has been accused of sexually assaulting a minor girl over a period of nine years.

If convicted, the self-styled godman faces a maximum sentence of 10 years. He is also facing a rape case in Gujarat.

The Jodhpur Police arrested Asaram on August 3, 2013. He's been inside the prison since then. Several courts have repeatedly denied his bail requests.

In 2013, a Surat-based girl filed a case against him, alleging sexual assaults between 1997 and 2006 when she was living in his ashram on the outskirts of Ahmedabad city. The girl belonging to Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh was a student at the ashram.
UJJAIN: A man threw ink at Patidar quota agitation spearhead Hardik Patel in Madhya Pradesh's Ujjain on Saturday afternoon. The accused was immediately apprehended by authorities. The 24-year-old leader, who in the state for a three-day visit, had stopped for at a hotel for address a press conference.

Patel has just stepped out of the car, when the accused, Milind Gurjar, threw ink at him. Patel's supporters caught hold of the accused and later handed him over to the police.

"The man has been arrested and is being questioned. He has admitted that he threw ink as he was annoyed that Patel was allegedly fooling the Gurjar and Patidar communities for his own interest," OP Ahir, in-charge of the Nankheda police station, told PTI.

Eyewitnesses alleged that Gurjar was beaten up by Patel's supporters, before he was handed over to the police.

Patel later addressed the press conference and attacked the BJP-led NDA government for being "anti-farmers".

The Patidar leader, who's been vocal against the BJP-led Centre, earlier said that Congress would have got an absolute majority in Gujrat had he met Rahul Gandhi.

He also announced earlier that he will not contest Lok Sabha elections in 2019, despite attaining the eligibility age of 25 years.

Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) leader on Friday has approached the Gujarat High Court against a lower court decision rejecting his discharge application in a sedition case filed against him by the crime branch of Ahmedabad police in 2015, reported news agency PTI.

A case of sedition was registered against Patel and others by the crime branch following violence during an agitation in August, 2015 demanding OBC reservation benefits for the Patidar community.

He has been accused of inciting violence with intention to dislodge the government after a rally addressed by him turned violent in August 2015. At least 13 people had died in the violence.

The Patidar leader earlier attended several programmes at Neemuch and Mandsaur. He is scheduled to arrive at Bhopal tonight, from where he is expected to proceed to Garhakota in Sagar district to participate in a farmers' rally

With agency inputs
SHILLONG: A police constable in Meghalaya was killed after the car of the state's Health Minister A L Hek's son rammed into his motorcycle. The accident took place at Fourthfurlong area in the town last night in the wee hours, police said on Saturday. The incident left another police personnel injured.

28-year-old Aibansharai Nongsiej - who rammed his Mercedes car into the two police personnel - was at the driving seat while the accident happened, East Khasi Hills district SP Davis Marak told PTI.

Constable P D Sangma who is an armed branch jail personnel was rushed to the civil hospital where the doctors declared him brought dead while the other constable who with him on the bike is said to be in critical condition.

Asked he said Aibansharai appeared to be alone in the vehicle when the accident occured and had helped in taking the policemen to the hospital.

The SP said both the vehicles were seized and an investigation is on to find out if the minister's son was in an inebriated condition when he was driving the car.

"We are waiting for a medical report in the case," Marak said.

Hek said his son is cooperating with the investigation in this regards.

(With inputs from PTI)
Janhvi Kapoor and Ishaan Khatter, who have been shooting for Dharma Production's 'Dhadak' currently, were clicked after their film shooting in Mumbai's Andheri. While Janhvi was dressed in a summary ethnic wear, Ishaan was seen donning a white tee and denim.

The duo was seen heading towards their car. Check out the photos here:

Directed by Shashank Khaitan, 'Dhadak' is the Hindi adaptation of the 2016 Marathi movie 'Sairat' and is about two teenagers, who battle the rigid caste system for their love for each other. The film is slated to hit screens on July 20.

The film also stars Aditya Kumar of Gangs of Wasseypur fame. Aditya will be seen essaying the role of Janhvi's brother in the film. Meanwhile, apart from 'Dhadak', Ishaan will also be seen in 'Beyond the Clouds' opposite Malavika Mohanan.
New Delhi: In a bizarre turn of events, comedian-turned-actor Kapil Sharma took to Twitter on Friday to hurl choicest abuses at his critics, media and the system. He targeted Spotboye editor Vickey Lalwani in one of his tweets and has now filed a legal complaint against the editor and his rumoured ex-girlfriend and producer Preeti Simoes and her sister Neeti Simoes.

According to ANI, Kapil Sharma filed a police complaint against his ex-managers Neeti, Preeti and journalist Vicky Lalwani accusing them of trying to extort Rs 25 lakh from him. He alleged that Vicky Lalvani started a false and malicious propaganda to defame him on digital media after he refused to pay him the amount.

Kapil Sharma filed a police complaint against his ex-managers Neeti, Preeti and journalist Vicky Lalwani for trying to extort Rs 25 lakhs from him, alleged Vicky Lalvani started a false & malicious propaganda to defame him in digital media after he refused to pay him the amount pic.twitter.com/F50H1tSDFt  ANI (@ANI) April 7, 2018

Kapil Sharma tweeted a copy of the complaint filed by him against Vicky Lalwani, Preeti Simoes and Neeti Simoes. He captioned it, "Some people just want to defame you for few bucks, but it will take ages to take a stand against the wrong ...I shall do it today n forever."

Some people just want to defame you for few bucks , but it will take ages to take a stand against the wrong ....

I shall do it today n forever pic.twitter.com/KHYxUobthD  KAPIL (@KapilSharmaK9) April 6, 2018

In his complaint, Kapil has alleged harassment by Spotboye and its editor Vicky Lalwani on the insistence of Preeti and Neeti. The report further stated that negative posts by Spotboye kept increasing and began to affect his mental and emotional health as false and malicious remarks were made about career, finance and relationships.

A tweet against Vicky Lalwani, which was later deleted by his team

Kapil's abusive tweets on Twitter came as a shocker for all his fans and the media fraternity. All his abusive tweets were later deleted and a tweet stating that his account was hacked was posted from his account.

"Hi all, please ignore the previous offensive tweets as my account was hacked. Apologies for the inconvenience caused. Love and regards to all," the tweet read.

However, Kapil soon revealed that his tweets were deleted by his team and his account was not hacked. He targeted the media again in his tweet.

"Maine jo b likha tha apne dil se likha tha.. it was my team who deleted my tweets .. But main is kutte bikaayu reporter se darne wala nahi hu.. he can write anything for anybody just for few bucks. Shameless," he wrote.

Maine jo b likha tha apne dil se likha tha.. it was my team who deleted my tweets .. But main is kutte bikaayu reporter se darne wala nahi hu.. he can write anything for anybody just for few bucks. Shameless  KAPIL (@KapilSharmaK9) April 6, 2018

Kapil made a comeback to small screen recently with 'Family Time With Kapil Sharma' but it has failed to garner a positive response. Rumours were rife that soon the show will go off air. He hogged the limelight last year for his infamous mid-night brawl with fellow actor Sunil Grover. Followed by which Grover left his show along with other actors.
New Delhi: Bollywood actor Salman Khan, who was granted a bail by the Jodhpur court in the 1998 blackbuck poaching case, today arrived at his Mumbai residence.

As expected, a host of celebrities and his close friends from the industry arrived at the landmark sea-facing Galaxy Apartments to meet the star. Salman's former girlfriend and 'Tiger Zinda Hai' co-star was among the celebrities who arrived at the actor's residence to extend her emotional support.

Katrina was snapped arriving at the Galaxy Apartments.

Several other actors were also seen arriving at Salman's residence to meet their favourite actor. Take a look at the photos:

On Thursday, Sonakshi Sinha, Ramesh Taurani, Sneha Ullal, Poonam Sinha, Daisy Shah, Amrita Arora were seen arriving at his residence.

Earlier, the actress was expected to visit Jodhpur to meet Salman, who was announced guilty and sentenced to a five-year imprisonment for killing the rare antelopes during the shooting of 'Hum Sath Sath Hain'. However, the actor was released from the jail after getting bail from the Jodhpur district and session court.
In a big respite for actor Salman Khan, who was convicted and sentenced to a five-year imprisonment in the 1998 blackbuck case, was on Saturday released from the Jodhpur jail on a bail.

Following the completion of all the legal formalities and paperwork, Salman left for the Kalani airport with his sisters Alvira Agnihotri, Arpita Khan Sharma and nephew Ahil. His bodyguard Shera was also spotted accompanying the actor in his car as they headed to the airport.

The actor was driven by the police escort to the Jodhpur airport from where he flew to Mumbai.

We bring to you some of the latest visuals of the 'Bajrangi Bhaijaan'. Take a look.

Upon arriving in Mumbai in a chartered plane, Salman was seen holding his baby nephew Ahil in his arms as he came out of the airport and headed to his car.

On the other hand in Mumbai, several thousand, ranging from toddlers in arms to youth, elderly men and women, many carrying placards and banners with Salman's pictures were seen waiting eagerly at both the Mumbai airport and outside his Galaxy Apartments after he was granted bail by the Jodhpur district and the session court.

Meanwhile, the trouble for the actor doesn't seem to end as the Bishnoi community has vowed to move to Rajasthan High Court against the court's decision to grant bail to the actor. Also, Salman has been asked to be present in the Jodhpur court on May 7 for the next hearing in the case.

Salman was sentenced to five years in prison after being convicted of killing two blackbucks in Jodhpur during the shooting of his movie 'Hum Saath Saath Hain' in 1998. The other four accused - actors Saif Ali Khan, Tabu, Neelam, and Sonali Bendre - were acquitted in the case.
Jodhpur: There is unlikely to be any respite for Bollywood superstar Salman Khan who is in Jodhpur central jail following his conviction and sentencing in the 1998 blackbuck poaching case. The District and Sessions Judge, who was scheduled to hear Salman's bail plea in the case has been transferred by the Rajasthan High Court.

The Rajasthan High Court transferred Sessions Judge Ravindra Kumar Joshi along with other 86 district judges late on Friday night. Joshi was scheduled to take the decision on the bail plea, filed by the actor in Jodhpur Sessions Court on Saturday.

Salman was convicted on Thursday in the 1998 blackbuck poaching case and sentenced to a five-year jail term by a Jodhpur court. However, the other actors Saif Ali Khan, Tabu, Sonali Bendre and Neelam Kothari accused in the case were acquitted.

The 'Dabangg' actor was accused of killing two blackbucks on October 2, 1998, in Kankani village in Jodhpur during the shooting of the film 'Hum Saath Saath Hain'.

The 52-year-old actor has spent two days at the Jodhpur Central Jail and is awaiting a response to his bail plea. His bail application is expected to be heard around 10.30 by the sessions court today.

This is his fourth stint in the Jodhpur Central Jail. He has earlier spent a total of 18 days in the jail in 1998, 2006 and 2007, all for cases of poaching.

(With inputs from ANI)
New Delhi: As Salman Khan was granted bail by a district and session court in Jodhpur in the 1998 blackbuck case, the entire Bollywood fraternity rejoiced and lauded the decision and expressed their joy on the social media.

Salman's one of the closest friends from Bollywood Preity Zinta, who visited the actor in the jail on Friday, posted an inspirational message on Instagram that read "Hope is seeing light inspite of being surrounded by darkness." "This too shall pass!! When all else fails it's hope one holds on too," she captioned the picture.

Director Remo D'Souza, who for the first time has directed the 52-year-old star in their upcoming film "Race 3", posted a photo of Salman on Twitter and captioned it "All I know is I love Salman Khan and a big fan of him as an actor but bigger FAN as a human."

No Beauty shines brighter than that of a good heart .. To one of the kindest , sweetest human being I have come across FAN for LIFE ... we love you bhai @BeingSalmanKhan pic.twitter.com/a4sonQlNBD  Lizelle (@Lizelle1238) April 7, 2018

'Tiger Zinda Hai' director Ali Abbas Zafar, shared a picture of the actor on Instagram with three heart emojis.

Angad Bedi tweeted a photo of Salman from the film and wrote "Our Tiger... Stay strong bhai."

Actress Sonam Kapoor said, "You're the best! Always by your side Salman Khan".

You're the best! Always by your side! pic.twitter.com/40GrtD4afU  Sonam Kapoor (@sonamakapoor) April 7, 2018

Salman's 'Sultan' co-star Amit Sadh said the superstar was the only "guy other than my own father , I look up to , and want to be like ... Love you Sk sir ... And thankyou for being my inspiration."

Bobby Deol wrote alongside his picture with Salman, "I love you mamu".

LOVE YOU MAMU A post shared by Bobby Deol (@iambobbydeol) on Apr 6, 2018 at 12:49pm PDT

Sonakshi Sinha also left a post on Instagram:

Check out some other reactions:

It's true like "Sun rises in the east" that you have to pay the price of being celebrity @BeingSalmanKhan  Ankit Tiwari (@officiallyAnkit) April 7, 2018

So happy for @BeingSalmanKhan finally, much deserved relief for him and his family. Can't keep a good man down for long. Hope justice prevails in the case as i have full faith in the judicial system. __ #WeLoveYouSalmanKhan  Aftab Shivdasani (@AftabShivdasani) April 7, 2018

"A Good deed is the best Prayer". Welcome brother @BeingSalmanKhan . #WeSupportSalmanKhan  sonu sood (@SonuSood) April 7, 2018

Glad .... Bail finally, for "Good Samaritan" @BeingSalmanKhan ...  Rahul Dev Official (@RahulDevRising) April 7, 2018

So happy for the bail of my dear brother @BeingSalmanKhan . Relieved. Come home. 'JAI HO!'#SalmanKhan  Adnan Sami (@AdnanSamiLive) April 7, 2018

I respect Our Legal System but Law should be same for all if @beingsalmankhan can be convicted though he is celebrity then such people who r assaulting a poor guy and making a video of their criminal act should also be punished.. They r safe cuz they r not @BeingSalmanKhan ..__ pic.twitter.com/1ikLMNtzAO  King Mika Singh (@MikaSingh) April 6, 2018

The update also came as a big respite for Salman's fans who have been praying day and night for his release from the Jodhpur jail. While they are celebrating the news, a section of them has gone berserk on the Twitter.

Here, a look at the messages shared on Twitter in support of Salman after he was granted bail by the court:

Thanks You very much ____ pic.twitter.com/3Wn428ePFY  Amran Khan (@mdamranctg00) April 7, 2018

______ __ ____ ______ _____ ____ __ _____ _____ ___ ____ ___ __ __ _____ ___ _____ __ ____ ____ __ ____  Sandeep Dahiya (@Sandeep79312366) April 7, 2018

A lot of Bollywood celebrities including Sonakshi Sinha, Saif Ali Khan, Jacqueline Fernandez, Shatrughan and Poonam Sinha, Malaika Arora Khan and Daisy Shah among others were seen visiting Salman's residence Galaxy Apartments to meet his parents. Filmmaker Sajid Nadiadwala, who is a close friend of the actor, is in Jodhpur with Alvira and Arpita.

District and Sessions Judge Ravindra Kumar Joshi allowed Khan's plea for bail and suspension of the sentence so that he can file an appeal against his conviction and sentencing. Khan, who had spent two nights in the Jodhpur Central Jail after his sentencing on Thursday, granted bail on a bond of Rs 50,000 and two sureties of like amount.

The actor was convicted by a trial court and sentenced to five years in prison for killing two blackbucks during the shooting of 'Hum Saath Saath Hain' here.
Guwahati: National award winning Assamese film-maker Munin Barua passed away on Saturday following a prolonged illness, family sources said.

He was 72 and is survived by wife Manjula Barua and two children. Barua, popularly called Bhaimon da, was suffering from cancer and breathed his last at his residence here in the wee hours today, his family sources said.

His wife, Manjula Barua is a costume designer in the Assamese film industry.

Recipient of National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Assamese in 2005 for his film 'Dinabandhoo', Barua's popular films include 'Pratima', 'Pita Putro', 'Pahari Kanya', 'Prabhati Pokhir Gaan',

'Hiya Diya Niya', 'Daag', 'Nayak', 'Kanyadaan', 'Bidhata', 'Barood', 'Rong', 'Raamdhenu' and 'Priyar Priyo'.

He was also awarded the state award for best director for his film 'Nayak' for the year 2001-02 and had received the Lifetime Achievement Award 2017 from Prag Cine Awards for his immense contributions to Assamese film industry.

In 2000, his film 'Hiya Diya Niya' created history as 'blockbuster hit' in Assamese cinema and helped in reviving the state's film industry.

He had also written scripts for many plays for mobile theatre. Besides films, Barua also directed TV serials like 'Papu Nikur Xongbad' and the telefilm 'Rudra'.

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and former chief minister Tarun Gogoi expressed grief over Barua's death and extended their condolences to the bereaved family.

Barua was cremated with full honours at the Nabagraha crematorium this afternoon.
NEW DELHI: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi for nearly half an hour. The meeting comes amid a massive outcry by Dalit outfits and Opposition over the Supreme Court's order on the SC/ST Act.

The BJP's Lok Sabha MPs Ashok Kumar Dohrey from Etawah and Yashwant Singh from Nagina are the latest to join other Dalit colleagues, who have publicly expressed their unhappiness

In a letter to PM Modi, Dohrey said that the Dalits and tribals across the country, especially in Uttar Pradesh, are being framed by police in false cases after the protests, leading to a sense of growing insecurity among them.

He also met the Prime Minister over the matter and got a positive response, Dohrey told PTI. PM Modi was sensitive to my concerns, he added.

Singh was, however, unsparing in his criticism in his letter to the Prime Minister.

Nothing has been done for Dalits in the last four years, he reportedly said, adding that representatives from the community like him were finding it increasingly difficult to address the concerns of their constituents.

Several judicial decisions had hit their rights, he said, demanding that the government should bring laws for the community's welfare, including quota in private sector.

Prior to these, Robertsganj Lok Sabha MP Chhotelal had written to PM Modi and accused UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath of scolding him when he went to take up an issue with him.

While these three Dalit parliamentarians of the BJP have approached Modi with their concerns, Bahraich MP Savitri Bai Phoole has virtually turned a rebel. She held a 'Save Constitution' rally in Lucknow last month in which BJP flags and symbols were missing.

She has repeatedly spoken about attacks on the Constitution and speculation is rife she may join the Bahujan Samaj Party, which she had earlier left to join the BJP.

Political watchers believe that the disquiet among the BJPs Dalit MPs may have serious repercussion for the saffron party as they are all from UP, which has the largest population of the community and sends 80 MPs, more than any other state, to the Lok Sabha.

On Friday, a massive row had sparked within Ambedkar Mahasabha after the organisation's president had announced the 'Dalit Mitra' award for CM Adityanath.

Ambedkar Mahasabha chief Lalji Prasad 'Nirmal' had declared that the award will be conferred to the Chief Minister on Babasaheb Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar Jayanti, April 14.

This did not go down well with members of the association, who claim that the award should have gone to a deserving member of the community and not Adityanath who has been accused of 'pursuing anti-Dalit policies'.

(With inputs from PTI)
Berlin: At least four people were killed and over 30 injured after a car ploughed into pedestrians in German's Munster city on Saturday. The vehicle hit bystanders in the western German city, nearly 400 kilometres away from capital city Berlin. Six of the wounded are reportedly in critical condition.

The driver of the car, which crashed into the crowd, later killed himself. "The driver shot himself," a police spokeswoman said, as reported by new agency AFP.

German police are now searching for two more attackers allegedly involved in Munster ramming, reported Sputnik news.

Confirming the attack on Twitter, the city police said that there are some casualties.

#Kiepenkerl Es gibt Tote und Verletzte. Bitte den Bereich meiden. Mehr Infomationen gibt es hier. Wir sind vor Ort  Polizei NRW MS (@Polizei_nrw_ms) April 7, 2018

Images broadcast by German television showed several police and firefighting vehicles clustered around a street in the centre of the picturesque medieval city of 300,000 people.

Members of the public were warned to stay away from "inner city areas" by police.

Asking people to stop speculating about the incident and spreading rumours, officers urged residents to avoid the city centre to allow investigators to get to work.

German authorities have called the incident an attack, though there was no immediate official confirmation of a motive.

The vehicle reportedly collided with a group of pedestrians around the Kiepenkerl statue in the old town.

Last year on the same day - April 7 - a truck mowed down people in Sweden's Stockholm. The incident, later categorised as a terror attack, killed 5 and injured 14.

Germany has been experiencing several terror attacks in recent years, including through the deadly use of vehicles.

In December 19, 2016, Tunisian national Anis Amri, 24, hijacked a truck and slammed it into a crowd of people at a Christmas market in Berlin, killing 12 people and injuring 48.

Amri was shot dead by Italian police in Milan four days later after travelling through several European countries. The Islamic State (IS) group claimed responsibility for that attack.



With agency inputs
Lahore: Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed mocked the US decision to designate JuD's political front Milli Muslim League (MML) as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation, saying the move has proved the party's "credibility. In a setback to Saeed's political ambition, the US on Tuesday designated the MML as a terrorist organisation, making it difficult for it to get registered with Pakistan's election commission.

Pakistan is set to hold general elections this year. "Well, a party's that is banned by the US is the one that actually holds some credibility," Saeed, who is the chief of the JuD, said at a rally to reaffirm his pledge to mobilise people from across Pakistan for the cause of Kashmir.

The Americans, he added, understand that this is the political party they cannot be an ally with. Saeed also asked Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi to dedicate the rest of his day in office for the cause of Kashmir.

"The US will exclude your name from among its loyalists, but that will be a matter of honour," he said. He asked Abbasi to hold a sit-in outside the UN office along with his cabinet against the "Indian atrocities in Kashmir".

Anti-India slogans were raised at the rally. Rallies were also held in Islamabad, in the port city of Karachi and elsewhere in the country to mark Kashmir solidarity day.
New Delhi: Under glaring spotlight for leaking user data to UK based analytics firm Cambridge Analytica, Facebook will send a notification to its users on Monday (April 9) providing complete details about the nature and extent of the breach.

Close to 2.2 billion users of Facebook would reportedly receive a notification on top of their news feed come Monday. This notification is expected to contain a link that would show users the app they use and what data has been shared with these apps. There would be a procedure to shut these apps which are synced with Facebook, as well. Media reports also suggest that of all the users, 87 million would get a more detailed notification admitting their data has been shared with Cambridge Analytica.

(Also read: How to protect your Facebook data)

Facebook has been under fire since news of the data breach made headlines the world over. Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has admitted to the mistake and has asked for forgiveness. He has also confirmed that while most affected users are in the United States, users in Philippines, Indonesia, and the UK too may have had their data leaked.

(Also read: Zuckerberg says Facebook needs a few years to fix problem)

The very-public apology has not cut ice with critics who have called for users to delete their accounts to prevent any instance of similar data leaks in the future. Many social media enthusiasts too have come out and voiced their concerns in recent weeks.
After getting an anchor to become the country's first transgender news anchor, Pakistan is now all set to open doors to its first-ever school for the transgender community.

According to a report in Pakistan-based Dawn, the school will begin operations from April 15 and will help members of the transgender community play a larger role in the development of society and enter the mainstream. Named The Gender Guardian, the school will offer complete 12 years of education from primary to higher levels, and then even at a college level. In addition, it would also offer technical courses in fields such as hair styling, fashion designing, mobile repairing and graphic designing.

The first branch of the school will open in Lahore and 40 students have already registered. Founder Asif Shahzad has also confirmed that two more branches would be opened in the foreseeable future.

The scheduled opening of the school for the transgender community has largely received a positive response in an otherwise conservative Muslim country. There is, however, a general consensus that changing social attitudes towards the community is an uphill struggle and that it will take time and effort to raise awareness and bring all on a level playing field.
Read original article at 112.ua

Today, on April 7, Orthodox Christians celebrate the Annunciation - the third most important holiday after Easter and Christmas - as a memory of the good news for the Virgin Mary about her immaculate conception and the birth of the Son of God.



Origin of the holiday



According to the New Testament, after Mary became engaged to Joseph, the archangel Gabriel came to Nazareth with good news. He informed her that the Holy Spirit miraculously descended upon her, and the Virgin in the womb carried the Son of God. Maria was frightened, but the envoy reassured her and persuaded that she was chosen.



This story was first described in the Gospel of Luke.



In the customs of European peoples, this holiday was associated with the beginning of spring and the new agricultural year. In the English tradition, it was called the "Day of Mary" (until 1752 it marked the arrival of the New Year).
According to the preliminary estimates, in 2018 Ukrainian Easter basket would cost an average of 25 USD

Read the original text at 112.ua.

Open source

The Easter basket is a custom attribute of one the most important Christian holidays, which Ukraine celebrates on April 8 this year. A solemn divine service to be held in the temples on Sunday night, after which by the consecration of Easter eggs, Paska (Easter sweet bread), and other traditional dishes (horseradish, cheese, butter). After a long fast, priests bless the worshipers to use again "the indecent" (not only lean dishes). The rich Easter table symbolizes the heavenly joy and supper of the Lord.

The Easter basket stuffing is always arguable (whether products, not mentioned in the prayer for sanctification, like sweets, juices, olives, spirits, are appropriate), so we will focus on products more or less common for all regions of Ukraine. According to the preliminary estimates, in 2018 Easter basket would cost an average of 25 USD.

What to put in the Easter basket and how much does it cost? Full Easter basket includes traditional meat products, cheese, eggs, Easter sweet bread, butter, cream and hard cheeses, as well as additional products  tomatoes, cucumbers, apples, and red wine.

The cost of the homemade Easter sweet bread would amount to 3 USD per 1 kg. The price will be higher if you buy it in shops and supermarkets.

The most expensive goods from our holiday set would be meat products (if you take 0.5 kg): home-made sausage  3,9 USD (7,9 USD per 1 kg) and baked ham  3,6 USD (6,5-7,2 USD per 1 kg). The sausage has risen in price by 41.7% during the last year, while ham  by 38.2%. Cured pork fat costs 1,3 USD (2,6-3,8 USD per 1 kg). Speaking about the dairy products, hard cheese will be the most expensive  2,5 (5-6 USD per 1 kg) and butter  2,2 USD (4,1-6,4 USD per 1 kg), while cream cheese will cost about 1,1 USD (2,2-3,3 USD per 1 kg). An average price for the eggs is 1 USD per dozen. The price of horseradish (for 250 g) remained at the level of last year - about 0,4 USD.

The average price for tomatoes is 2,2 USD, cucumbers 2,4 USD, apples 0,6-1 USD.

Open source

The average cost "Cahor" wine is 3,4 USD per bottle.

For the third consecutive year, Ternopil is the region, where Easter basket is the cheapest - 23 USD.

In the Sumy region, its price will be 23,5 USD, in Rivne region  24 USD, in Khmelnytsky region  24,1 USD, in Chernihiv region  24,2 USD, in Kirovohrad and Volyn regions  24,22, in Zaporizhyia region 24,3 USD, in Chernivtsi region  24,2 USD, in Lviv region - 24,4, in Vinnytsia region  25,3 USD, in Mykolaivs region  25,4 USD, in Poltava region  25,5 USD, in Cherkasy region  25,5 USD, in Luhansk region  25,6 USD, in Dnipropetrovsk and Kherson regions  25,7 USD, in Kharkiv region  25,7 USD, in Odesa region  25,8 USD, in Ivano-Frankivsk region  26 USD, in Kyiv region  26,1 USD, Zhytomyr region  26,1 USD, in Donetsk region  26,7 USD, in Transcarpathian region  27,2 USD. The Easter basket in Kyiv would be the most expensive  29,2 USD.

During the year, the holiday basket has risen in price by 5,3 USD (or 26.9%). According to experts, this is due to the relatively early Easter, when prices for seasonal vegetables are still high. Therefore, if you take the traditional set without buying any additional products, you can spend 19,5 USD.

In this case, it is worth considering that the pre-holiday hype would provoke prices growth, so think about buying the products in advance.

Open source

Classic Easter sweet bread recipe

Preparing the dough:

500 ml of milk

11 g of dry yeast

1-1.3 kg of flour

6 eggs

200 g of butter

300 g of raisins

1 tsp. of vanilla sugar

Preparing the glaze:

2 egg whites

100 g of sugar

* We used information from the National Research Center "Institute of Agrarian Economics"
112 Agency

From the beginning of Saturday, April 7, the militants carried out 17 shellings of Ukrainian positions, as a result of which one soldier of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was wounded. This is reported by the press center of the Donbas conflict headquarters in Facebook.



In the Donetsk direction, militants fired from grenade launchers near Avdiivka and Vodyanoe, from large-caliber machine guns - in the Hnutovo district.



Not far from Talakivka, enemy troops used an anti-tank missile system, and near Shyrokine, Slavne and Pavlopil an enemy sniper worked.



Also under fire from small arms got Ukrainian soldiers in Avdiivka, Vodiane, Slavnye and Pavlopil.



In the Lugansk direction, the militants used hand-held anti-tank grenades and heavy machine guns near Luhanske settlement.



"As a result of enemy attacks, one Ukrainian soldier was injured: he was taken to medical institution and received the necessary medical assistance," the report said.

Related: Volker calls on Russia and militants to stop intimidating OSCE monitors
The line crossing will be carried out in a set order according to the Ukraines legislative requirements

Open source

Ukrainian side has reduced order of the demarcation line crossing for 72 hours for the residents of Donbas conflict zone during the Easter celebrations, as the Donbas conflict zone HQ reported on Facebook.

The line crossing order is reduced for 72 hours during the Easter celebrations for the residents of several towns located on the demarcation line. It starts from 08:00 on April 7, 2018, the message says.

It was noted, that the residents of the front villages can cross the demarcation line to visit their relatives, who live on the territory, which is not controlled by Ukraine. The line crossing will be carried out in a set order according to the Ukraines legislative requirements.

As we reported earlier, another ceasefire was set in Donbas conflict zone at midnight on March 30. This time it is dedicated to Easter.

The representatives of the OSCE stressed the importance of the ceasefire orders and the disciplinary measures if the ceasefire is violated. They also emphasized the importance of the offensive actions and surveillance operations, non-use of return fire and withdrawal of weapons.

Earlier, the representatives of the Donbas conflict zone HQ called the leaders of ORDLO (separated districts of Donbas and Luhansk regions) for desisting the shootings during the Easter celebrations.
Open source

Special Representative of the US Department of State for the Affairs of Ukraine Kurt Volker demanded from Russia and the militants supported by it to stop threats to the OSCE observers. He wrote about this on his Twitter.



"Russia and its supporters in the east of Ukraine should stop threatening or intimidating the OSCE SMM and begin to implement Minsk agreements," Volker said.



This statement is a reaction to the incident that took place on April 5 near the Kremenets, occupied by militants in the Donetsk area. Then the militants did not allow the OSCE monitors to launch a drone and threatened them with weapons.



We recall, on March 23, the OSCE mission resumed monitoring of the situation in Donbas conflict area with the help of unmanned vehicles.



Information on the threats of militants to observers arrives quite often, the mission has repeatedly stated about hindering its work in the conflict area of Donbas.



For example, on March 5, the militant of "DNR" armed with automatic weapons scolded the OSCE observers and threatened to shoot them.

Related: Holy Fire delivered to Ukraine from Jerusalem
The fire was brought by the delegation of the Kyiv Patriarch

112 Agency

Holy Fire has been delivered to Ukraine from Jerusalem. The plane arrived on Saturday, April 7, at the airport "Boryspil". This was reported on the air of the 112 Ukraine TV channel.



The fire was brought by the delegation of the Kyiv Patriarch.

Holy Fire descended in the Jerusalem church of the Holy Sepulcher. It is considered a sanctity for believers, and its appearance is called a miracle.



It comes down every year on Saturday before the Orthodox Easter in the church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. The service of convergence of the Holy Fire commits the Jerusalem Patriarch personally in the chapel of the Holy Sepulcher. Then Christians spread fire with candles and special lamps all over the world.

Related: Annunciation 2018: Traditions and celebration of this holiday in Ukraine
112 Agency

Residents of the Norwegian city of Vadso near the border with Russia heard the siren and thought that the war with Russia has begun. This is reported by the Norwegian TV and radio company NRK.



It is noted that the alarm sounded on April 6 at about 23:50, employees could turn it off only after fifteen minutes.



During this time, the concerned residents called the police, as many of them, at the sound of the siren, thought about the attack of Russia.



"Many people suggested the worst, for example, a war," said police officer Jan-Olaf Schoelberg.



As it is noted, several sirens are installed in the city, but only one of them has turned on. The reasons for this have not yet been established.



It is reported that in sunny weather from the city of Vadso, the territory of Russia, in particular the dilapidated nuclear plant, is clearly visible, and when sirens turn on, many residents think about the eastern neighbor.



We recall, in September 2016, Norway began to build a fence of steel rods on the border with Russia. On October 13, 2017, the head of the Norwegian Ministry of Defense announced that Norway would deploy an armored battalion near the border with Russia.

Related: Holy Fire descends in Jerusalem
Ukraines President Petro Poroshenko called French deputies for counterworking the construction of the Nord Stream  2. He said it at the meeting with the delegation of French parliamentarians headed by Valeria Fort-Munteanu, the Chairman of the France-Ukraine friendship group in the French National Assembly, as the press office of Ukraines President reported.

The President called the parliamentarians for taking up an active position to prevent any contacts with the occupational authorities in Crimea. He also stressed the importance of the mutual definite counterwork of the construction of the Nord Stream  2, the message says.

It was noted that the parties have discussed the question of the activation of the economic cooperation and the reform implementation in Ukraine. Besides, they have negotiated the points of the Ukraine-France cooperation within the EU and NATO.

Poroshenko has also emphasized the visit of the French National Assembly delegation to Donbas and thanked them for the support of Ukraines sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Russias leading energy enterprise Gazprom and its partners intend to start implementing the Nord Stream-2 project worth almost 10 billion euros in April 2018. The 1,200-kilometers-long pipeline is to be laid through the Baltic Sea, linking Russia and Germany  bypassing Ukraine, Poland, and the Baltic States. The capacity will be twice larger than that of Nord Stream-1. The construction is to be complete by late 2019.

The construction of gas pipeline Nord Stream-2 doesnt imply terminating the transit of Russian gas through Ukraine, but the transit can be preserved only through competitive tariffs and canceling the Ukrainian lawsuits against Gazprom.
The planes are taking off from the Rostov-on-Don airport. Their flights are not included in the official schedule

Russian mercenaries are being transferred to Syria by planes of Cham Wings, Syrian private airlines, as it was stated in Reuters report, published on April 6.

The planes are taking off from the Rostov-on-Don airport. Their flights are not included in the official schedule.

Vladymyr, Russian citizen, who has been in Syria as a military serviceman under the contract four times, told the news agency, that Russian military airplanes are used to transfer the mercenaries only in the case if they do not fit in Cham Wings charters.

Reuters did not define the total number of mercenaries transferred to Syria, explaining that all of the passengers could not stay in Syria. Services to track aircraft location showed that Cham Wings charter flights planes were taking off from Rostov-on-Don.

Earlier, according to the mass media, around 300 soldiers of Vagner private military company, connected with the Kremlin, died and were injured as a result of the attack by the U.S. ruled coalition in Syria on February 7. These military servicemen took part in a mission supporting Bashar al-Assad, the President of Syria.

It should be noted that CNN has published pictures of the attack, shot by the unmanned aircraft. The attack was conducted by the international pro-government coalition headed by the USA in Deir ez-Zor in Syria.

The Russias Foreign Ministry informed about possible loss of five Russian citizens in Syria as a result of the U.S. air attack.
Open source

The U.S. Congressmen have introduced a bill on sanctions against Russia due to the poisoning of Sergei Skripal on April 6. Mike Turner, the representative of the Republican Party, and his Democratic colleague Joaquin Castro are the authors of the initiatives. The document was published on Castros website.

The politicians noted in the joint statement that Russias government has authorized an attack on the British territory, which is a violation of the international law. The Congressmen intend to react on the escalating aggression of Russias President.

The bill provides sanctions against individuals involved in the Skripals case and Russian financial institutions, till Putin stops acting towards the murder of expatriates and dissidents outside of Russia.

We must sent a specified bipartisan statement that the U.S. and its allies will not tolerate such illegal actions, Turner and Castro stressed.

According to the Hill, if the Congress approve the bill, the new sanctions will be based on the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, which Donald Trump, U.S. President, signed in August 2017.

As we reported earlier, the U.S. imposed new sanctions against Russian oligarchs and companies on April 6. The new sanctions concern a possible Moscows intervention in the U.S. elections in 2016.

Russian businessmen and entrepreneurs, whose wealth is more than $1 billion are on the sanctions list. Alexey Miller, CEO of Gazprom, Nikolai Patrushev, Secretary of the Security Council of Russia, and Aleksandr Zharov, the Head of Roskomnadzor (Federal Service for Supervision in the Sphere of Telecom, Information Technologies and Mass Communications, - ed.) appeared in the sanctions list as well.
Pavlo Klimkin stated, that the negotiations are to be held only after it is greed with his French and German colleagues

Ukraine is ready to the Norman format meeting of Foreign Ministers if the questions of security, prisoners release, peace-support mission will be included in the agenda, as Pavlo Klimkin, Ukraines Foreign Minister said it on air of Inter TV channel, Interfax Ukraine reports.

I am going to talk with the Germans Minister within the next few days. Three of us will meet first or we will have a phone conversation, then we will see, what should we do with Russias situation, he said on Friday answering the question whether the Norman format meeting will be held in the nearest future.

The Foreign Minister noted, that the questions of security, prisoners release and the idea of the peace-support mission in Donbas are the key aspects.

Earlier, the Norman format meeting within the Munich Security Conference on security was hot held. The negotiations was to be held on February 16. Pavlo Klimkin, Ukraines Foreign Minister explained that the German delegation could not come.

Klimkin discussed the questions of the prisoners release and the UN peace-support mission in Donbas with Sergey Lavrov, Russias Foreign Minister, but the negotiations did not give any results.

The Normandy Four leaders stated that they would consider possible ways of to accelerate the implementation of Minsk Agreement within next months.
PLEASE NOTE!

Due to the March 23, 2020 NM DOH Public Health Order, These Event Listings Are Not Accurate!

All non-essential businesses are closed, public gatherings are prohibited!

(One day some of these events will be rescheduled or will resume, but they are not happening now!)
YEREVAN, APRIL 7, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan on April 7 addressed congratulatory message on Motherhood and Beauty Day, the Presidential Office told Armenpress.

The message reads:

Dear women,

I congratulate you on the occasion of Motherhood and Beauty Day. I wish you all the best. Let this bright spring holiday become a fresh start for your success.

Motherhood has always been sacred in the perceptions of our nation, and we can see that the tradition continues today. I am convinced that this will be the case in the future.

Ever since the Avarayr, Armenians have fought for our greatest values - family, motherland and faith. For hundreds of years, the same formula has been at the heart of our challenges: protecting our mothers, sisters and brides means protecting homeland and faith.

As a sign of respect and reverence, today we bow our heads to our soldiers mothers who give birth and bring up lions whelps. We also express gratitude to our mothers, sisters and women for the significant role they play in promoting progress and development in our country.

Dear women, reiterating my congratulations on Motherhood and Beauty Day, I wish you family warmth, children worthy of pride, happiness and peaceful skies.

English translator/editor: Aneta Harutyunyan
YEREVAN, APRIL 7, ARMENPRESS. Amalya Yeghoyan, deputy minister of transportation, communication and information technologies, held a meeting with executives of seven Armenian-based major international IT companies, the ministry told ARMENPRESS.

The official held a similar meeting earlier with start-up founders. The deputy minister said the goal of these meetings is to develop the 2018-2019 action plan for the development of IT through team work and discussions.

The executives of the companies presented issues of concern regarding educational, taxes and human resources.

Our next step will be analyzing issues and suggestions. A working team will be created on the sidelines of the ministry-private sector partnership and we will have an action plan, she said.

According to experts, education and tax agencies should rapidly respond to the developments since the IT sector is the most rapidly developing area in the Armenian economy.

English translator/editor: Stepan Kocharyan
YEREVAN, APRIL 7, ARMENPRESS. Speaker of the Parliament of Armenia Ara Babloyan on April 7 addressed a congratulatory message on Maternity and Beauty Day, the Parliament told Armenpress.

The message says:

Dear mothers,

I cordially congratulate you on the occasion of Maternity and Beauty Day.

The love and devotion towards Motherland start from you which never end, as your motherly feelings. After the sublime of mission awarding life you have continuous important role in the human, public and state life. Your sowed kindness and warmth serve as a faithful guide in the inter-personal and also inter-state contacts. As a pillar of family, as a completeness of best human qualities with your wisdom and love you beautify the world and prompt us how to build the relationship between people and countries.

With the feeling of gratitude I would like to separately congratulate the soldiers mothers, due to their sons our border is reliably defended, and the dignified peace is guaranteed.

I express my deepest respect to the mothers with many children with congratulations, who with their special participation shape the demographic picture of the country.

I wish all of you health, happiness and welfare.

English translator/editor: Aneta Harutyunyan










YEREVAN, APRIL 7, ARMENPRESS. A cryptocurrency mining center will be opened near the Hrazdan TPP in Armenia. The first block will house a mining farm and various service-related hardware solutions, while the second block will house all companies of the zone.

ARMENPRESS talked with Irina Golovanova, PR manager of Armenian Blockchain Forum (ABF) and ECOS over the subject.

At first, please tell us where in particular is the mining center planned to be opened ?

The mining center [will be opened] in the territory adjacent to the Hrazdan TPP. The first block is a site near the Hrazdan power station, it will house a mining farm and various services related to hardware solutions. The second block is a 4-5-storey building, it will house all companies of the zone: the ABF itself (which deals with education, forums, etc.), the FEZ organizer, R & D laboratories, the accelerator as an organization, coworking and service companies that will help start-ups.

As we were earlier informed, the crypto-mining farm will be based on a tax-free zone. What kind of privileges will the new zone offer to the mining center?

When placing the mining equipment on the territory of the FEZ, the value added tax will not be included in the cost of the equipment. At the same time, the company must comply with the direction of activity stated in the FEZ. For example, the company has come to develop an application for blocking, and it will receive benefits, but if it is instead engaged in mining - no privileges.

Who are the investors going to be? How much investments are expected?

The list of investors at the moment is not disclosed. The state provides non-financial support. Direct investment in business will be at least $ 30 million annually from private investors.

ECOS-M signed an agreement with Hrazdan Thermal Power Plant on supplying the mining center with power, how will this process be technically implemented?

Technically, this is a connection to Hrazdan Thermal Power Plant and receiving a capacity of 50 MW. There is also an agreement on a potential increase in capacity to 200 MW.

The cryptocurrency sector isnt regulated in Armenia yet, it is interesting to know how will the new companies operate under such conditions? Is there any international practice on how its possible?

The created free economic zone is called to become a point of attraction of technological start-ups from all over the world and provide comfortable conditions for their development. Within the framework of the new ecosystem, an identification center will also operate, the purpose of which will be to ensure compliance of the participants of the FEZ with the requirements of international organizations.

No transactions in crypto-currencies will be performed until the issue of a crypto-currency in Armenia is settled.

Interview by Ani Nazaryan

ARMENPRESS will present the official approach of the government over the regulations of the crypto-currency market and the launch of the FEZ.

English translator/editor: Stepan Kocharyan
YEREVAN, APRIL 7, ARMENPRESS. A number of major programs are being implemented in Lori province aimed at developing tourism in Armenia, Governor of Lori province Artur Nalbandyan told Armenpress.

In terms of tourism development Loir province has serious programs within its strategy. We will see the results of our programs in the upcoming years. We already have achievements in terms of some of the programs  17% increase in number of tourists compared to the last three years. In this sense the year of 2017 was unprecedented, the number of tourists drastically increased. We are implementing a lot of programs not only with local self-governance authorities, but also with international structures. The Governorate is also engaged in these activities. All points are clearly included in the 2017-2025 strategy, and based on years we expect tourism growth as it is one of the key branches of the economy, the Governor said.

He said the Lori Governorate cooperates with the French region of Marseille, and tourism agencies already opened in Tumanyan and Stepanavan communities. The Governor informed that there are respective lines for hikers on how to get from Stepanavan to Dsegh, Tumanyan House-Museum. Nalbandyan added that the mapping works are already being carried out, and this program will launch very soon.

As for the roads of the province, the Governor said the construction works of Odzun-Stepanavan highway completed last year, and this as well can contribute to tourism development.

At the moment the construction of Vanadzor-Alaverdi-Bagratashen inter-state highway is underway which again will contribute to tourism development, he said, adding that thanks to the construction of this road the transportation of goods will increase and, of course, major changes will take place in the economy.

Interview by Lilit Demuryan

English translator/editor: Aneta Harutyunyan






YEREVAN, APRIL 7, ARMENPRESS. The ministry of education and science of Armenia had earlier suggested a new bill whereby the re-examination opportunity for students would be abolished. Under the current system, students of universities are entitled to three re-examination attempts in case of failing an exam. The bill suggest using solely the minimal and maximal credits system  a student either gains enough credits during the year to pass to the following year, or he/she doesnt.

But executives of universities say that although the model is being used worldwide, the transitioning in Armenia wont be swift and easy.

ARMENPRESS talked with Vice Rectors of several universities about this proposed change, as well as another change  the attempt to decrease the number of admission applications based on randomly selected professions, and applicants will give the exams partly.

Yerevan State Universitys Vice Rector for Academic Affairs Alexander Grigoryan says abolishing the re-examination model is a familiar method which is applied abroad. Grigoryan says transitioning to the model will certainly be difficult, because the complete preparation of the universities requires time.

Serious work is required and I think the Yerevan State University will be ready for the new bill, he said.

Tsolak Akopyan, Vice Rector of Academic Affairs of the Valery Brusov State University of Languages and Social Sciences, said a transition-at once will be difficult.

But the fact that students will chose how many credits during how many years and when to graduate  in four or six years, this is an accepted option, he said.

Arkadi Barkhudaryan, Vice Rector of for Academic Affairs of the national university of architecture and construction, said he opposes the bill and students should at least have one re-examination chance.

English translator/editor: Stepan Kocharyan
YEREVAN, APRIL 7, ARMENPRESS. At least two Afghan soldiers were killed and three others were wounded in a Taliban attack.

The assault happened in the Sar-e Pol province of Afghanistan. The firefight lasted more than half an hour.

RIA Novosti reported that the wounded soldiers have been hospitalized and are in a stable condition.

English translator/editor: Stepan Kocharyan
YEREVAN, APRIL 7, ARMENPRESS. Armenias minister of economic development and investments Suren Karayan visited Zenni Co.Ltd representing SALI brand to get acquainted with the companys activity, the ministry told Armenpress.

Founder of the company Beglar Ignatyan introduced the minister on the companys production capacities and new equipment which, according to the businessman, increased the productivity and the production quality. The minister was also introduced on Zenni companys new Ignatyan brand.

The company representatives discussed with the minister the opportunities to promote the production in foreign markets, as well as issues relating to the upcoming programs.

Beglar Ignatyan said the goal of their business is to make Armenias high-quality leather item production recognizable to the world. He thanked the minister for productive cooperation.

The company had 8.5% production growth in 2017. The products were exported to the EAEU countries, as well as were sold in the Armenian market.

English translator/editor: Aneta Harutyunyan
YEREVAN, APRIL 7, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan received on April 7 outgoing Ambassador of Russia to Armenia Ivan Volinkin.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the Presidents Office, Serzh Sargsyuan thanked the Ambassador for the significant work done during his tenure and his great contribution to the development of Armenian-Russian relations.

President Sargsyan recorded with satisfaction that the political dialogue between Armenia and Russia, as well as economic relations consistently develop. Humanitarian, military-technical cooperation also dynamically develop.

Ivan Volinkin thanked President Sargsyan vor appreciating his work and stressed that it was possible to realize thank to the joint efforts of the entire Embassy stuff and supporters who love Armenia and have done their best to contribute to the expansion and deepening of relations between the two countries.

Ambassador Volinkin noted that the personal contribution of the Presidents of Armenia and Russia in the strengthening of Armenian-Russian friendly relations is of key importance.

The Ambassador shared the opinion that numerous achievements have been recorded in bilateral relations, hoping the tendency will continue in the future.

Ivan Volinkin assessed it a great honor to work in Armenia and noted during that period he not only enriched his experience as a diplomat but also learned a lot from the Armenian people which will be very useful for him during his future work and the entire life. The Ambassador assured that Armenia is in his heart and that he will have opportunities to return to the country that has become close to heart for him.

President Serzh Sargsyan awarded the outgoing Ambassador with an Order of Friendship as a sign of gratitude for his significant contribution to the development of diplomatic relations between Armenia and Russia, and strengthening of friendship between the peoples of Armenia and Russia.

English translator/editor: Tigran Sirekanyan
SAN FRANCISCOToday, the Erotic Service Providers Legal, Education and Research Project (ESPLERP) issued the following statement in the wake of the federal governments seizure of popular adult site, Backpage.com:

"Todays seizure of Backpage is a government shutdown of the First Amendment rights of consensual sex workers. The government has again invaded our private lives and those of our clients, taking the United States another step deeper into totalitarianism. Their moral crusade to save us is being done against our will, and is putting our lives in incredible danger, said Maxine Doogan, of the Erotic Service Providers Legal, Education and Research Project.

"The widespread anti-sex work crackdown that we predicted under SESTA/FOSTA has begun, and the bill hasnt even been signed into law.

"Even before the passage of SESTA/FOSTA, sex workers saw the closure of several important networks that provide support and sustenance: subreddits where we communicate were the first to go, followed soon after by the closure of CityVibe, an important advertising platform used to meet clients safely, followed by the closure of the Craigslist Personals section. None of these spaces had been accused of facilitating sex trafficking. However the risk of potential liability under SESTA/FOSTA meant that these corporations are now unwilling to take the risk of allowing even what we believe to be constitutionally protected sex work a safe space or a voice.

"While SESTA/FOSTA await the signature of the President to be signed into law, we cannot stress enough that it is more important than ever that sex work be decriminalized. Our recent lawsuit, ESPLERP v. Gascon [case #16-15927], seeks to establish a right to sexual privacy whereby consenting adults can enter into private arrangements, which may involve payment, without fear of prosecution. That would allow sex workers who face harassment, assault, theft, trafficking, or other crimes to get the same justice as any other worker. It would also stop law enforcement arresting consensual sex workers and our clients. And decriminalization would help all workers more freely exchange information and resources, which can literally mean the difference between life and death.

"As we stated previously, there were already plenty of federal and state laws to address forced labor. The government didnt need the provisions in #FOSTA or #SESTA to seize Backpage.com. Our workers are now panicking, worried about their food, rent, and physical safetyand they shouldnt be.

"Sex workers will die because of this recent move by federal government. The politicians that campaigned for #FOSTA and #SESTA and the celebrities who stumped for it, played a huge role in erasing our voices now have blood on their hands. We seriously question their commitment to fight against sex trafficking and we call on them to support our fight to decriminalize sex work."

The Erotic Service Providers Legal, Education and Research Project (ESPLERP) is a diverse community-based coalition advancing sexual privacy rights through litigation, education, and research. Contributions to support the court case can be submitted through our crowd fundraiser LitigateToEmancipate.com.
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Clay and Mecklenburg county boards said Penland and Trotman weren't eligible to run; state board said locals didn't get three-vote majority needed to reject candidacies

8-1 for hours from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. April 29 at the Board of Elections site in Gaston County. Sunday early voting was used there in 2016.

5-4 along party lines, with Circosta joining Republicans, to open four satellite sites from 1 to 5 p.m. April 22 and 29 in Harnett County.

7-2 to open the Government Center from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. April 29 in New Hanover County.

The Bipartisan State Board of Elections and Ethics Enforcement approved appeals by two Republican primary candidates, reversing decisions by Clay and Mecklenburg county elections boards that had disqualified the candidates from running.Some members at the April 4 meeting said their hands were tied by a state Supreme Court decision arising from Gov. Roy Cooper's lawsuit to block Republican-backed legislation that reformulated the state board. Members debated statutory provisions and competing legal theories. All parties agreed they were in uncharted territory.The state elections board also retained Sunday early voting in Gaston and New Hanover counties, and allowed it for the first time in Harnett County.The state board approved appeals by Dwight Penland , a Republican primary candidate for the Clay County Board of Commissioners, and Nora Trotman , a GOP candidate in state Senate District 37. The decisions centered on a new state law that requires county election board rulings to get three-vote majorities.The Clay County board voted 2-0 against Penland, with one board member abstaining. The MeckIenburg County board voted 2-1 against Trotman.Local officials argued vehemently that the state board should ignore the new law and let them rule on evidence presented at county election board hearings.State board attorney Josh Lawson urged members not to sidestep the new law. Lawson said a number of counties were in discord in the summer of 2017. Cooper's separation-of-powers lawsuit challenging the new makeup of the state election board caused uncertainty. The law also expanded the county boards from three members to four.The General Assembly and the governor's office asked the Supreme Court to clarify the situation.The Supreme Court temporarily allowed county boards to act even though none had four members. It also clarified that county boards must get three votes to constitute a binding majority decision. Lawson said county boards were notified of the changes.During debate on Penland's case, Republican state board member John Lewis said the vote had to follow the governing statute.he said.Republican board member Stacy Eggers said.Don Wright, a Wake County attorney representing Clay County, asked the state board to uphold Penland's disqualification.Wright said.The county board ruled that Penland didn't live in the district, and wasn't eligible to seek a seat on the County Commission. It noted he paid property taxes in Towns County, Georgia.Penland, a former Clay County commissioner and Clay County school board member, is registered to vote in Clay County. He claims the Georgia-North Carolina border is ill-defined, and county tax officials refuse to swear to the accuracy of the maps they use.The state board voted 6-3 to reverse the county board, restoring Penland to the ballot.The board voted 5-4 along party lines to reverse the Mecklenburg board, reinstating Trotman. Unaffiliated board member Damon Circosta joined Republicans to form the majority vote.The county board received two challenges to Trotman's candidacy. The board alleged she had not registered as a Republican at least 90 days before filing for office, as required by law. The challenge further said Trotman did not submit her own filing papers. North Carolina Republican Party Executive Director Dallas Woodhouse turned in the paperwork.Trotman claimed she was affiliated with the Republican Party for more than a year - satisfying the language of the state law. GOP officials provided documents supporting her, and said she was a dues-paying member of the Mecklenburg County Young Republicans.The board disqualified Trotman, citing her decision not to appear or to send a representative to a hearing and argue she was a valid candidate.State board Chairman Andy Penry pushed the notion that Trotman's case differed from Penland's because Trotman did not attend the county hearing.Lewis said the county decision was invalid because it did not meet the three-vote requirement. The state board has an obligation to ensure the law is enforced equally, he said. If members veer from that principle,he said.He questioned why some board members were treating Trotman's appeal differently than Penland's because Trotman had an even stronger case for reversing the county order.On Sunday early voting, the board voted:
Now that it is fully apparent, to all who have the ability to pay some modicum of attention, that Imposter President Biden has extreme cognitive issues, in addition to being an inveterate liar: Can OUR Republic continue with this Executive Office that has completely failed, so many times, on far too many issues here at this early date in this abysmal presidency?

No, Joseph R. Biden is completely unqualified, morally and cognitively, to represent real Americans, and lead this Republic of disparate peoples.

Yes, Joseph R. Biden has started whispering again, even softer now than before; so, I know he still cares, plus, OUR media will soon stop reporting on Afghanistan in favor of OUR Socialist ideals.
Amid the chaos of Trump's illegal ban on refugee claimants and other migrants from Muslim-majority nations, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted "To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength #WelcomeToCanada."



Observers at the time noted that Trudeau's tweet was long on feel-good rhetoric, short on meaningful action. Canada has an agreement with the USA that prevents refugee claimants that the US rejects from trying again in Canada before being deported back to their home countries where they face imprisonment, torture and death.





Trudeau's government was given the opportunity to revise this policy, allowing refugee claimants rejected by Trump to have their claims heard in Canada. They did not make this revision.

The National Post used public records request to measure the effect of this ultimately empty rhetoric on refugee claimants around the world and discovered that Trudeau's message created chaos everywhere, but especially  and most cruelly  in countries that the Trump administration had blacklisted.

Consular staff and immigration authorities sent urgent messages seeking clarity on the meaning of Trudeau's tweet, as they were bombarded with queries from prospective migrants and refugees.



An IRCC official told diplomats on Feb. 2 that the lines, approved by the Privy Council Office, were also being shared with officials at the Canada Border Services Agency. The suggested response started with: "We are working with the United Nations Refugee Agency, U.S. officials and our missions abroad to clarify the current situation and determine what our next steps might be." Trudeau ultimately stood by the message in his tweet but began adding, during public appearances, that "there are steps to go through" to be considered a refugee. Canada did not change the number of refugees it would accept through resettlement programs. But Conservative politicians would go on to blame the tweet for encouraging an uptick in irregular crossings by asylum seekers at the Canada-U.S. border, particularly in Manitoba and Quebec.

Trudeau tweet caused influx of refugee inquiries, confusion within government, emails reveal [Marie-Danielle Smith/National Post]

(Image:

Lorie Shaull, CC-BY-SA)
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Page: 1 2 Illinois Town Bypasses Constitution, US Citizens Given 60 Days To Turn In Guns Or LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: kaput

04-07-2018 02:59 AM











Post: #1 Illinois Town Bypasses Constitution, US Citizens Given 60 Days To Turn In Guns Or

Advertisement Illinois Town Bypasses Constitution, US Citizens Given 60 Days To Turn In Guns Or Become Criminals [/size]



Residents of a town in Illinois were just handed down an unconstitutional decree from their local government, they now have 60 days to give up their guns or be fined up to $1000 per day...



As the state promises gun rights activists theyre not coming for their guns, behind the scenes theyre pleading for it to happen. And now the feared gun grab is occurring. Residents in Deerfield, Illinois have 60 days to surrender their assault weapons or face fines of $1000 per day per gun.



The gun ban ordinance was passed on April 2nd with residents left with few choices of how to dispose of their valuable assault weapons. Upon careful reading of the ordinance, residents will be left with revolvers, .22 caliber plinking rifles, and double barrel shotguns to defend their homes and families from criminals who could care less about the law.



Fines for not disposing of the weapons range from $250 to $1000 per day per gun for those who choose not to comply with the citys ordinance. While a fine may seem reasonable to some, as TFTP has reported on multiple occasions, failure to pay fines always results in police action. It is not far-fetched to predict major turmoil and arrests in the event of non-compliance.



One example of the so-called assault weapon is the Ruger 10/22 which can accept magazines that hold more than 10 rounds. Even though the 10/22 is not listed in the list of guns the village wants to see banned, the gun cannot legally be possessed in the village.



Residents have been instructed to either sell their guns, transfer the ownership to someone who lives outside the village, surrender their guns to Deerfields sheriff, or begin paying the fines.



Deerfield mentioned a number of cities where mass shootings took place, including Sutherland Springs, TX where 26 people were killed in the First Baptist Church. That shooting was actually stopped by a man who used the very gun Deerfield voted to ban. No mention was made of that fact in the ordinance.



Also included in the gun ban were semi-automatic pistols which can accept higher than 10 round magazines. Thats virtually all full size semi-automatic pistols.



Even though the village trustees ignored the pleas of residents to leave their guns alone, and passed the ordinance anyway, many residents were encouraged to ignore the gun ban and engage in civil disobedience.



More



https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-04-0...-or-become [ ][/size]Residents of a town in Illinois were just handed down an unconstitutional decree from their local government, they now have 60 days to give up their guns or be fined up to $1000 per day...As the state promises gun rights activists theyre not coming for their guns, behind the scenes theyre pleading for it to happen. And now the feared gun grab is occurring. Residents in Deerfield, Illinois have 60 days to surrender their assault weapons or face fines of $1000 per day per gun.The gun ban ordinance was passed on April 2nd with residents left with few choices of how to dispose of their valuable assault weapons. Upon careful reading of the ordinance, residents will be left with revolvers, .22 caliber plinking rifles, and double barrel shotguns to defend their homes and families from criminals who could care less about the law.Fines for not disposing of the weapons range from $250 to $1000 per day per gun for those who choose not to comply with the citys ordinance. While a fine may seem reasonable to some, as TFTP has reported on multiple occasions, failure to pay fines always results in police action. It is not far-fetched to predict major turmoil and arrests in the event of non-compliance.One example of the so-called assault weapon is the Ruger 10/22 which can accept magazines that hold more than 10 rounds. Even though the 10/22 is not listed in the list of guns the village wants to see banned, the gun cannot legally be possessed in the village.Residents have been instructed to either sell their guns, transfer the ownership to someone who lives outside the village, surrender their guns to Deerfields sheriff, or begin paying the fines.Deerfield mentioned a number of cities where mass shootings took place, including Sutherland Springs, TX where 26 people were killed in the First Baptist Church. That shooting was actually stopped by a man who used the very gun Deerfield voted to ban. No mention was made of that fact in the ordinance.Also included in the gun ban were semi-automatic pistols which can accept higher than 10 round magazines. Thats virtually all full size semi-automatic pistols.Even though the village trustees ignored the pleas of residents to leave their guns alone, and passed the ordinance anyway, many residents were encouraged to ignore the gun ban and engage in civil disobedience. Hamburgerwagon

lop guest

User ID: 1337

04-07-2018 03:05 AM











Post: #2 RE: Illinois Town Bypasses Constitution, US Citizens Given 60 Days To Turn In Guns Or

Patriots need to flood that city. LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 1337

04-07-2018 03:14 AM











Post: #3 RE: Illinois Town Bypasses Constitution, US Citizens Given 60 Days To Turn In Guns Or

Hamburgerwagon Wrote: (04-07-2018 03:05 AM) Patriots need to flood that city.

How can an unconstitutional law be enforced ? How can an unconstitutional law be enforced ? LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 1337

04-07-2018 03:14 AM











Post: #4 RE: Illinois Town Bypasses Constitution, US Citizens Given 60 Days To Turn In Guns Or

I wonder how this is going to turn out? LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 1337

04-07-2018 03:16 AM











Post: #5 RE: Illinois Town Bypasses Constitution, US Citizens Given 60 Days To Turn In Guns Or

LoP Guest Wrote: (04-07-2018 03:14 AM) I wonder how this is going to turn out?

FIGHT? FIGHT? LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 1337

04-07-2018 03:18 AM











Post: #6 RE: Illinois Town Bypasses Constitution, US Citizens Given 60 Days To Turn In Guns Or

Are they 100 miles from the border? Then they are in a constitution free zone. LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 1337

04-07-2018 03:20 AM











Post: #7 RE: Illinois Town Bypasses Constitution, US Citizens Given 60 Days To Turn In Guns Or





LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 1337

04-07-2018 03:24 AM











Post: #8 RE: Illinois Town Bypasses Constitution, US Citizens Given 60 Days To Turn In Guns Or

LoP Guest Wrote: (04-07-2018 03:14 AM) I wonder how this is going to turn out?

Illinois could be a test bed to see how many will comply with that illegal order. If masses of people Obey and turn in their guns then that could be used as a guide for other states. Illinois could be a test bed to see how many will comply with that illegal order. If masses of people Obey and turn in their guns then that could be used as a guide for other states. LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 1337

04-07-2018 04:08 AM











Post: #9 RE: Illinois Town Bypasses Constitution, US Citizens Given 60 Days To Turn In Guns Or

The line in the sand has been drawn, Deerfield will go down and in the history

books too. 1110.00

Manifest Alchemy

User ID: 1337

04-07-2018 04:44 AM



Posts: 13,415









Post: #10 RE: Illinois Town Bypasses Constitution, US Citizens Given 60 Days To Turn In Guns Or

Any such ordinance is against the law, as it violates the 2nd Amendment of the US Constitution. Any fines applied constitute theft and racketeering. "The Precipitant has a smaller place in reality, thus it is mortal."

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8uMCQrAxylM

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0619bdpOolA (This post was last modified: 04-07-2018 04:46 AM by 1110.00 .) LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 1337

04-07-2018 05:01 AM











Post: #11 RE: Illinois Town Bypasses Constitution, US Citizens Given 60 Days To Turn In Guns Or

send in the army to arrest the local government and restore the constitution for the citizens LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 1337

04-07-2018 05:04 AM











Post: #12 RE: Illinois Town Bypasses Constitution, US Citizens Given 60 Days To Turn In Guns Or

Hitler confiscated guns from Jews, since they'd been conducting revolution in Germany.



Wanna go for round two? LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 1337

04-07-2018 05:11 AM











Post: #13 RE: Illinois Town Bypasses Constitution, US Citizens Given 60 Days To Turn In Guns Or

if you lived anywhere near here you'd know no one gives a sh*t. And, anyone that did left a long time ago. Revolution is laughable.



no one here cares. LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 1337

04-07-2018 05:17 AM











Post: #14 RE: Illinois Town Bypasses Constitution, US Citizens Given 60 Days To Turn In Guns Or

LoP Guest Wrote: (04-07-2018 05:11 AM) if you lived anywhere near here you'd know no one gives a sh*t. And, anyone that did left a long time ago. Revolution is laughable.



no one here cares.

they dont need to, the majority of colonists didnt give a f*#k or fight, a minority won their freedoms for them they dont need to, the majority of colonists didnt give a f*#k or fight, a minority won their freedoms for them LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 1337

04-07-2018 05:18 AM











Post: #15 RE: Illinois Town Bypasses Constitution, US Citizens Given 60 Days To Turn In Guns Or

LoP Guest Wrote: (04-07-2018 05:17 AM) LoP Guest Wrote: (04-07-2018 05:11 AM) if you lived anywhere near here you'd know no one gives a sh*t. And, anyone that did left a long time ago. Revolution is laughable.



no one here cares.

they dont need to, the majority of colonists didnt give a f*#k or fight, a minority won their freedoms for them



let me know when you get some wealthy financial backers to finance your terrorist group



let me know when you get some wealthy financial backers to finance your terrorist group Advertisement


















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News / National

by Staff Reporter

Two United States of America senators, Messrs Jeff Flake and Chris Coons - who were involved in the drafting of a recently proposed amendment to the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act (ZDERA) - arrived in the country yesterday on a whistle tour during which they will discuss Zimbabwe-US relations before flying back on Sunday.The delegation landed at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport yesterday afternoon and is expected to meet separately President Mnangagwa, members of civic society and opposition political parties in two days before flying back.US embassy's public diplomacy officer Ms Stacy Lomba confirmed the development, saying the head of delegation, Senator Coons, would address the media this afternoon."The delegation is here in Harare to meet the President of Zimbabwe, civic society and opposition political parties," she said."Remember, the senators participated in the ZDERA amendment and they will depart on Sunday after meeting all the targeted people."Senators Coons and Flake and members of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee introduced a Bill to lay a framework to try and mend relations between the US and the new Government in Zimbabwe. The senators made numerous demands which they said Zimbabwe should meet before sanctions imposed on the country in 2001 could be removed.President Mnangagwa advised the senators to first visit Zimbabwe so they could make their comments from an informed point of view.The US embassy issued a statement yesterday inviting journalists to a media briefing today."Senator Chris Coons will address a media briefing on Saturday (April 7, 2018) at 2.15pm at Armadale Lodge in Borrowdale," said the embassy."You are invited to this event, which will start promptly and ends at 2.45pm. The briefing provides you with an opportunity to understand US's position on the future of the US-Zimbabwe relations."Last month, the US government proposed what was termed a revised version of the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act of 2001, with a lot of prescriptive demands similar to those made by the MDC-T and its alliance partners the same month.President Mnangagwa last month urged the US administration to make informed decisions on Zimbabwe and stop reading only the text of opposition political parties that are afraid of elections.He said the US should have an appreciation of the situation on the ground to make rational decisions.Messrs Flake (Republican) and Coons (Democrat) - who are members of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee  recently unveiled a proposed revised version of ZDERA of 2001.They proposed conditions similar to demands made by the MDC Alliance through its Plan and Environment for A Credible Election (PEACE) document launched by its presidential candidate, Mr Nelson Chamisa, last week.
Opinion / Columnist

"Chinese mega deals will help Zimbabwe develop, 'leapfrogging 18 years of isolation!" screamed the headlines!Why has China allowed Zimbabwe to fall behind by 18 years, to start with? After all Zimbabwe - China relationship dates back to liberation struggle years and Mugabe has had his "look East" policy since the late 1990s!In 1995 to 1999, Zimbabwe had the last of two five-year IMF and WB sponsored Economic Structural Adjustment Programme (ESAP). The programmes were meant to revive the country's flagging economy but failed to do so. Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe's then president, blamed the failure on IMF and the WB for imposing unworkable programmes on Zimbabwe!Zimbabwe had accepted the two ESAPs as a condition for further financial assistance from the two Brentwood financial institutions and other Western institutions. Harare did not implement most of the reforms proposed in the programmes, most of which were common sense and logical. It was therefore rich President Mugabe to blame others when he was the author of his own down fall!In a typical Robert Mugabe move, he announced that Zimbabwe would not be repay its IMF and WB debts. This was a pre-emptive move, of IMF and WB announcement stopping all financial assistance to Zimbabwe for failing to service her existing debts! Mugabe wanted the cutting of financial assistance from the West to be seen not as punishment for failing to repay his debts but as an act of defiance on his part!Mugabe followed the IMF tussle with his "Look East!" policy to underline he was breaking lies with the West in favour of new ties with the East-block countries. He singled out the Chinese whom he called Zimbabwe's "all-weather friends" although the two countries had not been that close until then.The Chinese had helped train and arm Mugabe's freedom fighters during the war for independence but as soon as Zimbabwe gained her independence Mugabe had openly flirted with the West. China's economic fortunes in 2000 were lot better than they were in 1980! Mugabe was nothing more than an opportunistic old lover presenting an old flame wilted flowers nicked a grave.Of course, the Chinese were not to taken in by Mugabe's tomfoolery and clumsy flattery. It is no exaggeration to say China has earned billions of dollars in diamonds, gold and other minerals and raw materials and from selling its products in Zimbabwe. In return Zimbabwe has lost most of her industries which could not compete with the cheap Chinese import and earn very little else. Other African countries who have ties with China have certainly far better fared than Zimbabwe has done."We know that while China has stood by us in recent years and has granted loans and other forms of economic support to Zimbabwe, it should be a big surprise to many that that is actually not as much as other African countries with weaker political and historical ties with China enjoy," reported The Herald. "For example, Zimbabwe does not feature in the top 10 destinations of direct Chinese investment from 2003 to 2017. Egypt is number one, followed by Nigeria, Algeria, South Africa, Mozambique, Ethiopia, Angola, Niger, Zambia and Morocco."In addition, Zimbabwe does not feature among the top six recipients of loans from China Eximbank from 2000 to 2015. Ethiopia is number one, followed by Angola, Kenya, Sudan, Cameroon and DRC."These figures are more than enough evidence that although there has been much talk about increasing economic co-operation between Zimbabwe and China since 2000, the relations hadn't reached a stage where our African neighbours have attained. "We suspect that the key reason why this is so is that our politics in recent years had become too toxic even for our closest of friends," The Herald reasoned.China stopped granting Zimbabwe loans for the same reason IMF stopped - Zimbabwe was failing to repay her debts!When President Mnangagwa took over from Mugabe following the November 2017 coup, he has spent most of the time wooing western  not eastern  investors just as Mugabe had done after independence. Sadly, for President Mnangagwa no western investors have answered his "Zimbabwe is open for business!" clarion call.Western investors have shied away from Zimbabwe since Mugabe's fall-out with IMF in 1999 because his regime was considered a gang of lawless thugs. President Mnangagwa had a chance to prove the regime had changed by keeping his promise to hold free, fair and credible elections. He has made the promise, but it is clear he has no intention of doing so.It is now clear to President Mnangagwa that he will have to look somewhere else and not the west for Zimbabwe's economic revival and thus, like Mugabe, he too has turned to China. Poor China, another bunch of withered flowers nick from grave!"They (Chinese) want more action still on corruption. They are asking why they should throw good money after bad," said Stephen Chan, a professor of world politics at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London.He was commenting on high powered Zimbabwe delegation of 88 business CEO and 10 ministers plus the hangs-on accompanying President Mnangagwa on a four-day state visit to China. Their mission is to secure the mega deals."And they feel they were treated very unkindly over mining rights (Zanu PF seized the Chinese run Anjin Investments, a diamond mining company)."Who bites the hand of the one feeding you? In traditional Chinese manners, that was churlish behaviour. President Xi is a very hard man.""It is not from the "mega deal" benevolence of the secretive Chinese that Zimbabwe should expect her economic recovery and prosperity but from the regard of the profit of honest and open investor and banker." To paraphrase the great economist, Adam Smith.Indeed, the Chinese will be offering Zanu PF the usual help to rig the coming elections and thus make sure Zimbabwe stays within China's sphere of influence. The "mega deals" China will offer will be nothing but a sugar coating to make it easier for the populous to swallow the bitter pill of another rig elections and the years of the corrupt and tyrannical Zanu PF misrule to follow.Of all the foreign nations, China has been Zanu PF's most important partner in dragging the nation into this political and economic hell-on-earth we are stuck in today. Anyone who therefore believes that China will now help us get out of this hell-hole much less "leapfrog 18 years!" in naive!
Opinion / Letters

REF: Grievances over unpaid gain by Grain Marking Board (GMB) for last season

Honourable Minister I am a poor farmer in Mashonaland Central province doing my farming in Centenary where I sell my produce at GMB Centenary branch.I write this with so much pain honourable having tried to get my money from five receipts amounting to $3050 maize grain which has not been paid between the periods of 17 September to 8 November 2017.It is very sad to tell you that I have been frustrated and have failed to return in the field because I do not have capital as GMB still holds my money tossing me from one office to another because I used EcoCash.Had I known that using EcoCash would give me so much stress I would have opened an account.I engaged Centenary branch manager Fungai Mpeswe who delayed me for months before referring me to Dura House where I was directed to accounts department and met Farai Musiiwa.Musiiwa told me that they deposited the money to Steward Bank Harare on my EcoCash number 0772737512 but since last year to date I have not got a single cent.Having tried all these avenues to no avail I called you honourable on your netone line and you said I should go back to Dura but there is nothing going on.I believe I am not the only farmer being deprived of my hard owned cash in many remote areas, the expenses I am meeting in trying to get my money are now too much for me.Surely we can say Zimbabwe is open for business to the international word, but how can it be open for business to foreigners yet not open to me a poor farmer.United we stand Divided we fall, comrades.Your troubled farmerMacdonald Sithole
They are some of the most spectacular sights in the sky: globular clusters, tight collections of hundreds of thousands or even millions of stars. Now, using the Hubble Space Telescope  and ancient math  astronomers have accurately measured the distance to one of the oldest ones in our universe.

Until now, astronomers have used the brightness, or luminosity, of stars to calculate the age of globular clusters. But this method has produced readings that are inaccurate by 10 to 20 per cent. That's enough to make some estimates come in older than the universe itself.

Calculating these distances is crucial to our understanding not only of how the universe formed but of how we got here ourselves.

"All this can fold into how the galaxy formed," Don VandenBerg, co-author of the new study published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters and professor at the University of Victoria, told CBC News. "It's all part of the origin of things."

Researchers looked at globular cluster NGC 6397 within our galaxy and used a novel method to calculate its distance, employing math as old as science itself: trigonometry.

A simple way of understanding this method is to hold your index finger out in front of you at arm's length. Close your right eye and note the position of your finger against a background. Open it and then do the same with your left eye. You will notice that your finger seems to move against the background, though in reality it didn't move at all. This is called parallax.

Every six months, over a period of two years, as Earth orbited the sun, the team of astronomers used the Hubble Space Telescope to study this apparent shift of NGC 6397. Capturing the stars as they moved across the telescope's view, they measured the distance of 40 stars within the globular cluster to be about 7,800 light-years away, with just a three per cent margin of error  far better than the previous margin of 10 to 20 per cent.

Story continues

The shifts, or wobbles, of the stars were only 1/100th of a pixel on the telescope's camera and were measured to a precision of 1/3,000th of a pixel.

"This is like standing on Earth and measuring the size of a car tire on the moon to within one-inch accuracy," Tom Brown an astrophysicist at the Space Telescope Science Institute and lead author of the paper, told CBC News.

You get a sense of just how distant the cluster is in the video below.

And, amazingly, the astronomers calculated that this particular globular cluster was ancient: 13.4 billion years old, to be precise. Looking at it, we see it as an infant in a galaxy that is roughly 13.8 billion years old.

Jewels in the cosmos

Globular clusters are found in halos around galaxies. The stars within them are gravitationally bound and look like a fuzzy ball of light in small telescopes. But in powerful telescopes you can see thousands upon thousands of individual stars, believed to be created at the early stages of the universe's formation.

Since they're so old, astronomers have been seeking to use them to better measure the distance to other objects as well as understand their evolution.

Astronomers had been using open clusters  stars that were formed from the same cloud of gas and dust and that are loosely held together by gravity  to measure distances. But these younger, closer stars didn't provide much accuracy.

This new research changes all that.

"This helps give the foundation to models that are used in many parts of astronomy  not just looking at stars but also looking at distant galaxies," Brown said. "And this particular cluster is the anchor in one of the most widely used models in astronomy for interpreting distant galaxies."

The research team hopes to further refine the accuracy of the measurement of the distance to NGC 6397 to within one per cent when the European Space Agency's Gaia space telescope releases its second round of collected data, scheduled for later this month.
By Tatiana Ramil SAO BERNARDO DO CAMPO, Brazil (Reuters) - Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva turned himself in to police on Saturday, ending a day-long standoff to begin serving a 12-year prison sentence for corruption that derails his bid to return to power. Lula moved out in a convoy of black police SUVs after pushing his way out of the steel workers union headquarters where he had taken refuge, as militant supporters sought to stop him from surrendering to police. He entered police custody more than 24 hours after a court deadline on Friday afternoon. In a fiery speech hours earlier to a crowd of red-shirted supporters of his Workers Party outside the union building, Brazil's first working class president insisted on his innocence and called his bribery conviction a political crime, but said he would turn himself in. "I will comply with the order," he told the cheering crowd. "I'm not above the law. If I didn't believe in the law, I wouldn't have started a political party. I would have started a revolution." Lula's imprisonment removes Brazil's most influential political figure and front-runner from this year's presidential campaign, throwing the race wide open and strengthening the odds of a more centrist candidate prevailing, according to analysts and political foes. It also marks the end of an era for Brazil's left, which was out in force in the streets outside of the union headquarters in the industrial suburb of Sao Paulo where Lula's political career began four decades ago as a union organizer. The throngs of supporters, which began gathering when he arrived late on Thursday night, dissuaded police from trying to take him into custody and heightened concerns about a violent showdown. Supporters blocked Lula's first attempt to leave the union building on Saturday afternoon, pushing back against fellow party members trying to open the gate for his car to leave. Workers Party chief Gleisi Hoffmann pleaded with supporters to let him exit. He will be flown by police to the southern city of Curitiba and held in a special jail cell where he will begin serving his 12-year sentence. Lula was convicted of taking bribes, including renovation of a three-story seaside apartment that he denies ever owning, from an engineering firm in return for help landing public contracts. "I'm the only person being prosecuted over an apartment that isn't mine," insisted Lula, standing on a sound truck alongside his impeached handpicked successor Dilma Rousseff and leaders of other left-wing parties. A Brazilian Supreme Court justice on Saturday rejected the latest plea by Lula's legal team, which argued they had not exhausted procedural appeals when a judge issued the order to turn himself in. Under Brazilian electoral law, a candidate is forbidden from running for office for eight years after being found guilty of a crime. Rare exceptions have been made in the past, and the final decision would be made by the top electoral court if and when Lula officially files to be a candidate. The union where Lula, 72, sought refuge was the launch pad for his career in the late 1970s leading nationwide strikes that helped to end Brazil's 1964-85 military dictatorship. Lula's everyman style and unvarnished speeches electrified masses and eventually won him two terms as president, from 2003 to 2011, when he oversaw robust economic growth and falling inequality amid a commodities boom. "Those who condemn me without proof know that I am innocent and I governed honestly," Lula said in a video message to his supporters. "Those who persecute me can do what they want to me, but they will never imprison our dreams." (Additional reporting by Lisandra Paraguassu, Ricardo Brito and Jake Spring in Brasilia; Writing by Anthony Boadle and Jake Spring; Editing by Sandra Maler)
A Winnipeg pot activist convicted of drug trafficking after selling cannabis to undercover police has now pleaded guilty to importing fentanyl into Canada.

Ray Alder John Csincsa pleaded guilty Friday to importing the drug from China on three separate occasions in 2016.

Csincsa first caught the attention of Winnipeg police in 2015 after he began openly smoking pot on social media and advertising his cannabis delivery service on Facebook.

He was arrested in April 2016 after an undercover officer bought half an ounce of marijuana for $110 cash. It was the fourth time an undercover officer purchased pot from Csincsa in a matter of months, court documents say.

Csincsa pleaded guilty in April 2017 to four counts of drug trafficking in relation to the pot sales and was sentenced to eight months, as recommended jointly by the defence and the Crown.

Further charges

At the time of his sentencing for the pot charges, Csincsa had already spent five and a half months in jail and would have been released from custody but he remained behind bars on charges of importing a controlled substance.

Those charges came after Canadian Border Services officers in Vancouver intercepted a suspicious package addressed to "Thomas Greene" at a Church Avenue home in Winnipeg.

Tests confirmed the package contained 9.258 grams of fentanyl, with an estimated street value of $14,800.

Csincsa was arrested and charged on July 29, 2016, after he identified himself as Thomas Greene to an undercover RCMP officer who was acting as a delivery person.

CBSA officers had intercepted a similar package from the same sender in May 2016 that also contained fentanyl, a statement of claim says.

Officers searched Csincsa's home and found additional quantities of fentanyl, marijuana and Valium, and seized $4,780 in cash.

In a Winnipeg courtroom Friday, Csincsa pleaded guilty to importing fentanyl on both occasions as well as a third time between May 31 and July 22, 2016.

In all, Csincsa admitted to importing 14.25 grams of fentanyl, and the guilty pleas mean further charges will be dropped by the Crown.

A sentencing hearing for Csincsa has been scheduled on June 4.
British authorities have said that two Guinea pigs and a cat owned by former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal died in the wake of his poisoningallegedly carried out by Moscowin the U.K. city of Salisbury.

Skripal, a former officer for Russias military intelligence who switched allegiances to the United Kingdom, was victim of an apparent chemical attack almost a month ago. Forensic analysis revealed that Skripal and his daughter first came into contact with a nerve agent at their house, with the highest concentration of it found on their front door.

Related: Russia likens U.S. meddling comments to Nazi German propaganda

Trending: Aurora Station: Luxury Space Hotel Will Launch in 2021, California Start-up Says

The attack triggered a mass expulsion of Russian diplomats from dozens of countries after the U.K. alleged that the subtance came from Russia. But Moscow has repeatedly casted doubt over the British investigation, questioning its logic and protesting that the Kremlin receives no special briefings about the victims health.

It was Russias Foreign Ministry and embassy in London that raised questions about the fate of the Skripal family pets. The embassy said in a statement that Sergey and Yulia Skripal had two guinea pigs and two cats.

To better understand what happened to Sergey and Yulia Skripal, it is essential to know if the animals also suffered from chemical poisoning,the statement read. We have therefore officially requested the Foreign Office to provide us with the respective information, including on whether the animals are receiving any treatment.

Don't miss: South Korean Presidents All Seem to Suffer Turbulent DownfallsPark Geun-hye Is No Exception

The response arrived quickly, though from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs rather than the Foreign Office.

04_06_Skripal

Hannah McKay/Reuters

Story continues



"When a vet was able to access the property, two guinea pigs had sadly died," a spokeswoman for the British environment ministry told AFP late on Thursday.

Most popular: Poisoned Double Agent Skripal Is Recovering and No Longer in Critical Condition

"A cat was also found in a distressed state and a decision was taken by a veterinary surgeon to euthanize the animal to alleviate its suffering. This decision was taken in the best interests of the animal and its welfare."

Whether the Skripal family had a second cat is not immediately clear.

Meanwhile, the British ambassador to the United Nations, Karen Pierce, has compared welcoming Russia as part of the investigation to Scotland Yard inviting in Professor Moriarty, in reference to the arch nemesis of fictional detective Sherlock Holmes.

This article was first written by Newsweek

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Page: 1 2 Venezuela's Doctors Losing Hope Sarah

Registered User

User ID: kaput

04-07-2018 07:41 AM



Posts: 3,975









Post: #1 Venezuela's Doctors Losing Hope

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With major shortages of medicines, many doctors are joining the exodus of people trying to find a better life abroad



After six years of studying and working part-time jobs, Cristian Diaga, 24, will soon graduate from medical school in Caracas, Venezuela. But instead of continuing his training in a top hospital in the country, as he had hoped, he is taking a job in a fast-food restaurant in Argentina  a situation he says is much more preferable.



I do feel bad leaving. I think everyone would like to give something back to their country, but right now it is my life and future and all my possibilities to help my family to get out of this madness, he says.



More than half of Venezuelans between 15 and 29 want to move abroad permanently, according to a poll carried out by the US firm Gallup and shared exclusively with the Guardian.



In Venezuela, it feels like we are all just dying slowly and theres no hope for a change. I dont care if Im gonna work as a doctor or not. I just want to have food, medicines, security, a house, a car, and be able to give a good life to my loved ones, he says.



But its not as though many of Diagas relatives still live in the country  the majority have fled to Argentina by road through Brazil. And soon he will join them.



My younger brother had to leave because the urgent medicines [he needs] cant be found here and with my mums salary its impossible to buy them in another country.



If I go to Argentina, at least I will be with my family and together I think well be able to make progress, he says.



Shortages of medicines are well-documented in Venezuela, with patients often having to buy prescriptions and basic medical supplies using contacts abroad and risk having them sent over, or purchasing at highly-inflated prices on the black market. But many are going without.



Every day we see people dying for diseases that we know exactly how to cure but when you dont even have gloves, masks, gauzes, medicines or some big but necessary equipment, its too hard.



And at the same time its scary, because some families have ended up hitting us, frustrated and feeling that we dont want to do anything to save their loved ones and that we are guilty for this dramatic situation, he says.



Colombia, which officially took in more than half a million Venezuelans over the last six months of 2017, is continuing to to be a destination of choice among those looking for a better life. Elena Rincones, 25, a political scientist from Caracas, is relocating there this month to make sure she has access to the medicine she needs.



Id rather be working as a waitress and being able to ship my father his meds than watch him die slowly because we cant find them nor afford them if we do. Last month alone I spent 10 times the minimum wage most Venezuelans earn on my dads medicine for his diabetes.



And last time I got sick, I had to look in about six pharmacies to get the medication I needed. There are no medicines, people are even dying due to lack of antibiotics, she says.



continued

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/a...D=ref_fark 'It feels like we're all dying slowly': Venezuela's doctors losing hopeWith major shortages of medicines, many doctors are joining the exodus of people trying to find a better life abroadAfter six years of studying and working part-time jobs, Cristian Diaga, 24, will soon graduate from medical school in Caracas, Venezuela. But instead of continuing his training in a top hospital in the country, as he had hoped, he is taking a job in a fast-food restaurant in Argentina  a situation he says is much more preferable.I do feel bad leaving. I think everyone would like to give something back to their country, but right now it is my life and future and all my possibilities to help my family to get out of this madness, he says.More than half of Venezuelans between 15 and 29 want to move abroad permanently, according to a poll carried out by the US firm Gallup and shared exclusively with the Guardian.In Venezuela, it feels like we are all just dying slowly and theres no hope for a change. I dont care if Im gonna work as a doctor or not. I just want to have food, medicines, security, a house, a car, and be able to give a good life to my loved ones, he says.But its not as though many of Diagas relatives still live in the country  the majority have fled to Argentina by road through Brazil. And soon he will join them.My younger brother had to leave because the urgent medicines [he needs] cant be found here and with my mums salary its impossible to buy them in another country.If I go to Argentina, at least I will be with my family and together I think well be able to make progress, he says.Shortages of medicines are well-documented in Venezuela, with patients often having to buy prescriptions and basic medical supplies using contacts abroad and risk having them sent over, or purchasing at highly-inflated prices on the black market. But many are going without.Every day we see people dying for diseases that we know exactly how to cure but when you dont even have gloves, masks, gauzes, medicines or some big but necessary equipment, its too hard.And at the same time its scary, because some families have ended up hitting us, frustrated and feeling that we dont want to do anything to save their loved ones and that we are guilty for this dramatic situation, he says.Colombia, which officially took in more than half a million Venezuelans over the last six months of 2017, is continuing to to be a destination of choice among those looking for a better life. Elena Rincones, 25, a political scientist from Caracas, is relocating there this month to make sure she has access to the medicine she needs.Id rather be working as a waitress and being able to ship my father his meds than watch him die slowly because we cant find them nor afford them if we do. Last month alone I spent 10 times the minimum wage most Venezuelans earn on my dads medicine for his diabetes.And last time I got sick, I had to look in about six pharmacies to get the medication I needed. There are no medicines, people are even dying due to lack of antibiotics, she says.continued LoP Guest

lop guest

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04-07-2018 07:55 AM











Post: #2 RE: Venezuela's Doctors Losing Hope



Should enter to run Venezuela's leadership contest?







https://www.focus-economics.com/countries/venezuela



"As the country descends deeper into crisis, it is gearing up for presidential elections now scheduled for 20 May, after they were initially moved forward to 22 April from December, when they are usually held. Many political parties opted to not participate in what they see as fraudulent elections that lack legitimacy. Moreover, the U.S. and the EU are contemplating additional sanctions against the country, while a group of Latin American nations, known as the Lima group, rejected the election and its outcome." Who else thinks lopShould enter to run Venezuela's leadership contest?"As the country descends deeper into crisis, it is gearing up for presidential elections now scheduled for 20 May, after they were initially moved forward to 22 April from December, when they are usually held. Many political parties opted to not participate in what they see as fraudulent elections that lack legitimacy. Moreover, the U.S. and the EU are contemplating additional sanctions against the country, while a group of Latin American nations, known as the Lima group, rejected the election and its outcome." LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 1337

04-07-2018 08:17 AM











Post: #3 RE: Venezuela's Doctors Losing Hope



Venezuela went so wrong

Found interesting fact



"In December 2009, Venezuelas central bank released the gold reorganizing. They had a 10 year plan to increase gold reserves  they didnt declare the amount they plan to increase due to the financial crisis and the decreasing confidence in USD, and they called this year the year of gold.



Actually the plan worked for while, where the reserved amount rose from 355T to 365T by 2011; Nevertheless, it didnt work for a long time. The country faced a severe crisis in 2016

(Unanticipated plunge in oil price)

caused a sell-off of two thirds of its gold reserves in a lower price than 2010"



https://www.fxempire.com/education/artic...omy-396969 In trying to understand howVenezuela went so wrongFound interesting fact"In December 2009, Venezuelas central bank released the gold reorganizing. They had a 10 year plan to increase gold reserves  they didnt declare the amount they plan to increase due to the financial crisis and the decreasing confidence in USD, and they called this year the year of gold.Actually the plan worked for while, where the reserved amount rose from 355T to 365T by 2011; Nevertheless, it didnt work for a long time. The country faced a severe crisis in 2016caused a sell-off of two thirds of its gold reserves in a lower price than 2010" LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 1337

04-07-2018 08:24 AM











Post: #4 RE: Venezuela's Doctors Losing Hope

LoP Guest Wrote: (04-07-2018 08:17 AM) In trying to understand how

Venezuela went so wrong

Found interesting fact



"In December 2009, Venezuelas central bank released the gold reorganizing. They had a 10 year plan to increase gold reserves  they didnt declare the amount they plan to increase due to the financial crisis and the decreasing confidence in USD, and they called this year the year of gold.



Actually the plan worked for while, where the reserved amount rose from 355T to 365T by 2011; Nevertheless, it didnt work for a long time. The country faced a severe crisis in 2016

(Unanticipated plunge in oil price)

caused a sell-off of two thirds of its gold reserves in a lower price than 2010"



https://www.fxempire.com/education/artic...omy-396969

I think the very simple explanation is the 2007/8 crash.... some nations where simply overwhelmed with what happened as they will be through the next crash point, though hopefully this one will bring us out of this depressed era. I think the very simple explanation is the 2007/8 crash.... some nations where simply overwhelmed with what happened as they will be through the next crash point, though hopefully this one will bring us out of this depressed era. LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 1337

04-07-2018 08:51 AM











Post: #5 RE: Venezuela's Doctors Losing Hope

LoP Guest Wrote: (04-07-2018 08:24 AM) I think the very simple explanation is the 2007/8 crash.... some nations where simply overwhelmed with what happened as they will be through the next crash point, though hopefully this one will bring us out of this depressed era.

Guessing the future

And hoping on outcomes

Was the cause for the past crisis it seems



An even headed balanced approach

With various contiguency plans

Has proved to create stability in the past



After QE programs in west failed

The dire attempt at Operation Twist 2011

Seemed to be action that stabilized markets

(Basically extending the average maturity of bonds)

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_...ee_actions



An independent reserve bank is crucial:

Venezuela's currently seem inept

By still holding its interest rate excessively high



Perhaps its planned obsolescence Guessing the futureAnd hoping on outcomesWas the cause for the past crisis it seemsAn even headed balanced approachWith various contiguency plansHas proved to create stability in the pastAfter QE programs in west failedThe dire attempt at Operation Twist 2011Seemed to be action that stabilized markets(Basically extending the average maturity of bonds)An independent reserve bank is crucial:Venezuela's currently seem ineptBy still holding its interest rate excessively highPerhaps its planned obsolescence LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 1337

04-07-2018 08:55 AM











Post: #6 RE: Venezuela's Doctors Losing Hope

Sarah Wrote: (04-07-2018 07:41 AM) 'It feels like we're all dying slowly': Venezuela's doctors losing hope



With major shortages of medicines, many doctors are joining the exodus of people trying to find a better life abroad



After six years of studying and working part-time jobs, Cristian Diaga, 24, will soon graduate from medical school in Caracas, Venezuela. But instead of continuing his training in a top hospital in the country, as he had hoped, he is taking a job in a fast-food restaurant in Argentina  a situation he says is much more preferable.



I do feel bad leaving. I think everyone would like to give something back to their country, but right now it is my life and future and all my possibilities to help my family to get out of this madness, he says.



More than half of Venezuelans between 15 and 29 want to move abroad permanently, according to a poll carried out by the US firm Gallup and shared exclusively with the Guardian.



In Venezuela, it feels like we are all just dying slowly and theres no hope for a change. I dont care if Im gonna work as a doctor or not. I just want to have food, medicines, security, a house, a car, and be able to give a good life to my loved ones, he says.



But its not as though many of Diagas relatives still live in the country  the majority have fled to Argentina by road through Brazil. And soon he will join them.



My younger brother had to leave because the urgent medicines [he needs] cant be found here and with my mums salary its impossible to buy them in another country.



If I go to Argentina, at least I will be with my family and together I think well be able to make progress, he says.



Shortages of medicines are well-documented in Venezuela, with patients often having to buy prescriptions and basic medical supplies using contacts abroad and risk having them sent over, or purchasing at highly-inflated prices on the black market. But many are going without.



Every day we see people dying for diseases that we know exactly how to cure but when you dont even have gloves, masks, gauzes, medicines or some big but necessary equipment, its too hard.



And at the same time its scary, because some families have ended up hitting us, frustrated and feeling that we dont want to do anything to save their loved ones and that we are guilty for this dramatic situation, he says.



Colombia, which officially took in more than half a million Venezuelans over the last six months of 2017, is continuing to to be a destination of choice among those looking for a better life. Elena Rincones, 25, a political scientist from Caracas, is relocating there this month to make sure she has access to the medicine she needs.



Id rather be working as a waitress and being able to ship my father his meds than watch him die slowly because we cant find them nor afford them if we do. Last month alone I spent 10 times the minimum wage most Venezuelans earn on my dads medicine for his diabetes.



And last time I got sick, I had to look in about six pharmacies to get the medication I needed. There are no medicines, people are even dying due to lack of antibiotics, she says.



continued

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/a...D=ref_fark

This is the same Socialism that the leftist liberals are pushing the US to have. This is the same Socialism that the leftist liberals are pushing the US to have. LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 1337

04-07-2018 09:08 AM











Post: #7 RE: Venezuela's Doctors Losing Hope

LoP Guest Wrote: (04-07-2018 08:51 AM) LoP Guest Wrote: (04-07-2018 08:24 AM) I think the very simple explanation is the 2007/8 crash.... some nations where simply overwhelmed with what happened as they will be through the next crash point, though hopefully this one will bring us out of this depressed era.

Guessing the future

And hoping on outcomes

Was the cause for the past crisis it seems



An even headed balanced approach

With various contiguency plans

Has proved to create stability in the past



After QE programs in west failed

The dire attempt at Operation Twist 2011

Seemed to be action that stabilized markets

(Basically extending the average maturity of bonds)

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_...ee_actions



An independent reserve bank is crucial:

Venezuela's currently seem inept

By still holding its interest rate excessively high



Perhaps its planned obsolescence

Interesting perspective, but still the crash of 2007/8 does play into this as will the coming crash, which if we are honest has to happen to force the a change on the markets...



When we look at a similar period, the one that is closest to ours in a most landscapes is the Long Depression, we can see the crash point that led them in, and the crash point that finally freed up the markets to take advantage of the industrial revolution..



A lot of the smaller players where hurt in that period... as they will be now.. for my mind that plays into what is happen in Venezuela, as the Greek crisis played into Barclays attempts to get Argentina back into the world markets, as the rise in protectionism is playing in Brexit talks.. the notion of Britain going after free trade deals in the middle of a Trade war between US and China will probably force Britain to drop trade barriers instead..



Am not sure what is coming is going to be good for anyone short term, but mid to long term it might release the markets to realign and free up the cash stockpiles that have been hoarded since this all started.... Interesting perspective, but still the crash of 2007/8 does play into this as will the coming crash, which if we are honest has to happen to force the a change on the markets...When we look at a similar period, the one that is closest to ours in a most landscapes is the Long Depression, we can see the crash point that led them in, and the crash point that finally freed up the markets to take advantage of the industrial revolution..A lot of the smaller players where hurt in that period... as they will be now.. for my mind that plays into what is happen in Venezuela, as the Greek crisis played into Barclays attempts to get Argentina back into the world markets, as the rise in protectionism is playing in Brexit talks.. the notion of Britain going after free trade deals in the middle of a Trade war between US and China will probably force Britain to drop trade barriers instead..Am not sure what is coming is going to be good for anyone short term, but mid to long term it might release the markets to realign and free up the cash stockpiles that have been hoarded since this all started.... LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 1337

04-07-2018 09:13 AM











Post: #8 RE: Venezuela's Doctors Losing Hope



This is the same Socialism that the leftist liberals are pushing the US to have.

[/quote]



Classic liberalism is opposed to socialism



Theres a crisis happening

With definitions



I wont paste link for term again

Its just grimacing

And telling

Everytime its misused Donald J Trump

Homer's University of GREATNESS

User ID: 1337

04-07-2018 09:18 AM



Posts: 6,934









Post: #9 RE: Venezuela's Doctors Losing Hope

LoP Guest Wrote: (04-07-2018 08:17 AM) In trying to understand how

Venezuela went so wrong

Found interesting fact



"In December 2009, Venezuelas central bank released the gold reorganizing. They had a 10 year plan to increase gold reserves  they didnt declare the amount they plan to increase due to the financial crisis and the decreasing confidence in USD, and they called this year the year of gold.



Actually the plan worked for while, where the reserved amount rose from 355T to 365T by 2011; Nevertheless, it didnt work for a long time. The country faced a severe crisis in 2016

(Unanticipated plunge in oil price)

caused a sell-off of two thirds of its gold reserves in a lower price than 2010"



https://www.fxempire.com/education/artic...omy-396969

"Go with the flow, like a twig on the shoulders of a mighty stream" Del Griffith



LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 1337

04-07-2018 09:33 AM











Post: #10 RE: Venezuela's Doctors Losing Hope

Call Bernie He'll help! LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 1337

04-07-2018 09:36 AM











Post: #11 RE: Venezuela's Doctors Losing Hope

LoP Guest Wrote: (04-07-2018 09:13 AM) LoP Guest Wrote: (04-07-2018 08:55 AM)

This is the same Socialism that the leftist liberals are pushing the US to have.

Classic liberalism is opposed to socialism



Theres a crisis happening

With definitions



I wont paste link for term again

Its just grimacing

And telling

Everytime its misused

[/quote]



I know how you feel.... it makes me cringe when either side seems to use it in it's current context, almost the diametric opposite of it's meaning.. Classic liberalism is opposed to socialismTheres a crisis happeningWith definitionsI wont paste link for term againIts just grimacingAnd tellingEverytime its misused[/quote]I know how you feel.... it makes me cringe when either side seems to use it in it's current context, almost the diametric opposite of it's meaning.. LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 1337

04-07-2018 09:49 AM











Post: #12 RE: Venezuela's Doctors Losing Hope

More oil than anywhere else on earth and people are starving. Not to mention a perfect climate for growing food and abundant natural resources.



Total fucking retards.. Builder of the Adytum

Enemy of the State

User ID: 1337

04-07-2018 10:14 AM



Posts: 6,633









Post: #13 RE: Venezuela's Doctors Losing Hope

Wow, that would suck being a doctor in that shithole.



They should come here.



Maybe we could pay them a bit less than real doctors that went to real medical schools. LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 1337

04-07-2018 10:42 AM











Post: #14 RE: Venezuela's Doctors Losing Hope

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_lib...ted_States



"Liberals as a group are referred to as the Left and conservatives the Right. The Democratic Party is considered liberal, the Republican Party is considered conservative.



The term "modern liberalism" in this article refers only to the United States. In a global context, this philosophy is usually referred to as social liberalism." "Liberals as a group are referred to as the Left and conservatives the Right. The Democratic Party is considered liberal, the Republican Party is considered conservative.The term "modern liberalism" in this article refers only to the United States. In a global context, this philosophy is usually referred to as social liberalism." LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 1337

04-07-2018 11:06 AM











Post: #15 RE: Venezuela's Doctors Losing Hope

LoP Guest Wrote: (04-07-2018 10:42 AM) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_lib...ted_States



"Liberals as a group are referred to as the Left and conservatives the Right. The Democratic Party is considered liberal, the Republican Party is considered conservative.



The term "modern liberalism" in this article refers only to the United States. In a global context, this philosophy is usually referred to as social liberalism."

USA likes to assume

Within its borders is global



Adam Smith, Hobbes, Malthus, Hayek

(And plethora of others)

Are regarded as contributing to theories

Of classical liberalism in literature

That have shaped economies

We experienced in west up until recently

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_liberalism

Its been the task of modern politics

To confuse terms

To push their agendas



Chief reason i wont use term

Perhaps its best if we discard it altogether

For the sake of clarity





Honestly nitwit

Do labels contribute much to discussion anyway? USA likes to assumeWithin its borders is globalAdam Smith, Hobbes, Malthus, Hayek(And plethora of others)Are regarded as contributing to theoriesOf classical liberalism in literatureThat have shaped economiesWe experienced in west up until recentlyIts been the task of modern politicsTo confuse termsTo push their agendasChief reason i wont use termPerhaps its best if we discard it altogetherFor the sake of clarityHonestly nitwitDo labels contribute much to discussion anyway? Advertisement


















An earlier version of this article was published in the March issue of The Liberal.



Maj. Gen. (res.) Gershon Hacohen is a senior research fellow at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies. He served in the IDF for forty-two years. He commanded troops in battles with Egypt and Syria. He was formerly a corps commander and commander of the IDF Military Colleges.



BESA Center Perspectives Papers are published through the generosity of the Greg Rosshandler Family

Updates throughout the day at http://calevbenyefuneh.blog spot.com. If you enjoy "Love of the Land", please be a subscriber. Just put your email address in the "Subscribe" box on the upper right-hand corner of the page.Twitter updates at LoveoftheLand as well as our Love of the Land page at Facebook which has additional pieces of interest besides that which is posted on the blog. Also check-out This Ongoing War by Frimet and Arnold Roth. An excellent blog, very important work.

.

..BESA Center Perspectives Paper No. 785..03 April '18..The intensity of the reactions in Israel to the Polish death camps law, which forbids accusing the Polish people of any sort of involvement in Nazi crimes, exposed a sensitive nerve in Israels collective identity. The memory of the Holocaust is, of course, common to the countrys Jewish citizens, but on this issue the reactions from the left side of the map were more vociferous. It was claimedthat because the Holocaust constituted the justification for Israels existence, the Polish law requires a particularly harsh reaction.This assertion, however, couldnt be further from the truth. While the Holocaust was undoubtedly a traumatic and pivotal event in Jewish history, it was not, and cannot be, the justification for the existence of the state of Israel.What was the word Holocaust two years before the Holocaust? asked the poet Meir Wieseltier. The longing for Zion, in contrast, existed long before the founding of the Zionist movement in the late nineteenth century. As Theodore Herzl stated in his closing address to the Sixth Zionist Congress in Basel in August 1903: I want to state now in the language of our ancestors an ancient consolation that for me is also a commitment: If I forget thee, Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill.In practice, however, when it comes to state ceremonies for official foreign guests, the required visit to Yad Vashem creates the (wrong) impression that the state of Israel was born from the Holocaust. The IDF gives the Holocaust a similarly prominent emphasis, something I experienced firsthand while attending a dinner for a delegation of American generals a few years ago. The Israeli general who hosted the event told his guests that tomorrow you will visit Yad Vashem and understand the story of the state of Israel. I challenged his assertion, saying that if the Zionist story was only about finding a safe haven for persecuted Jews, then Brooklyn offered a no less adequate alternative than the Land of Israel. Indeed, absent the Jewish Peoples millenarian attachment to its ancestral homeland  as Zionisms founding fathers explained decades before the Holocaust, and as the League of Nations observed in its 1922 decision to give Britain the mandate to establish a Jewish national home in Palestine  there is no justification for the existence of the state of Israel.In his book, the Israeli author A.B. Yehoshua rejects the Biblical/religious justification for Israels existence on the grounds that it may be valid for the religious person himself, but it is has no moral meaning for someone who is not only not religious but not even Jewish. In a similar vein, he claims that the historical attachment to the Land of Israel cannot bestow a right to return and disinherit those already living there. All that remains to justify the Zionist endeavor, in Yehoshuas view, is a right based on Jewish persecution. And what can offer a starker example of such persecution than the Holocaust?Yet in the Zionist conception, even at a time when distress figured largely in motivating Jews to emigrate to Israel, the Land of Israel is the historical national home ofJewish People  not a place of refuge for persecuted Jews. There is a very wide gap between David Ben-Gurions goal of the full and complete redemption of the Jewish People in its Land, the ingathering of the exiles, national sovereignty and the goal of providing a refuge to a homeless and persecuted people.If physical security were the only thing Israeli Jews seek, then it is arguable that, Israels technological and military prowess notwithstanding, all that it has achieved in its 70 years of existence is the replacement of one kind of existential threat (e.g., pogroms and genocide attempts) with another (such as the Iranian nuclear program). Yet according to the Zionist idea, which was accepted without question for decades, the purpose of the Jewish People in the Land of Israel is not to seek a safe haven but to rebuild a national home. Security can be a key byproduct of Jewish statehood, but not its objective.The essence of Zionism as a national liberation movement is the Jewish Peoples return to history as a sovereign actor  a nation among the nations. Insofar as the Holocaust is not the justification for its sovereign existence, Israels response to the Polish law must consider pragmatic considerations in the changing political arena.
MONDAY, April 9, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Folks using online message boards to learn more about their heart implant should take any advice they come across with a grain of salt.

Researchers report it's as likely as not the guidance they find will be bogus.

About half of the advice related to heart implants found on an anonymous online board was either erroneous, controversial or not specific enough for people to know whether it would apply to them, said lead researcher Christopher Knoepke, an instructor of cardiology at the University of Colorado in Denver.

"Patients should be advised that discussions on these online message boards can provide some good, basic information, but more complicated and in-depth advice may be problematic," Knoepke said.

For the study, Knoepke and his colleagues reviewed two years' worth of messages on an anonymous message board regarding implanted cardiac defibrillators (ICDs).

ICDs monitor a person's heart rhythms and deliver a correcting shock if they detect a dangerous rhythm.

The researchers then assessed each piece of medical advice.

About half of the advice offered on the message board was deemed generally appropriate, the researchers said.

As for the other half:

About 24 percent was simply bad advice that wouldn't help most patients.

About 6 percent was controversial advice, where even experts would disagree whether it was a good idea or not.

About 20 percent of the advice did not provide sufficient context; there was no way for a person to know whether the advice would be good for them or not.

Some of the bad advice included recommendations for specific vitamins and supplements, with no noting of potential interactions with heart medications, Knoepke said.

In other instances, risks associated with the devices were understated. For example, the researchers found advice that underplayed the risks of infection related to having the ICDs' electrical leads either implanted or removed, Knoepke said.

But there also were instances where the risks of having an ICD were overstated, such as the effects of small electrical appliances on the function of the devices, he said.

"Somebody recommended that an individual not use an electric shaver, or not get a tattoo near the device, because there would be a small electromagnetic field around the tattoo needle," Knoepke said.

American Heart Association spokesman Dr. Michael Ho said this sort of bad information could potentially dissuade a heart patient from agreeing to a lifesaving ICD.

On the other hand, Ho said he is reluctant to rule out these message boards as a source of patient information.

"There potentially is benefit to these chat rooms as well, because patients can share their experiences of having an implant," said Ho, a professor of cardiology with the University of Colorado School of Medicine. He was not part of the study.

"They may learn about new technology or things that other patients have done to change the way they live with having an ICD," Ho said.

Knoepke agreed, saying that patients often take much heart from knowing "there are communities of people out there who are like you and want to share their experience and provide information and support."

However, patients should still read these boards with a critical eye, both Knoepke and Ho said.

More general information about ICDs usually can be trusted, Knoepke said.

"The less it has to do with you as an individual patient, the more likely it is to be good advice," Knoepke said.

People with specific questions -- about medications, pacing parameters, device programming or particular procedures -- would do best to seek answers from their doctor, Knoepke said.

Patients also can run message board advice past their doctor, or check it against websites from reputable sources such as the American Heart Association or the American College of Cardiology, Ho said.

"I think it's important for patients to get information from multiple sources, to see if the information converges for them," he said.

The findings were to be presented Saturday at an American Heart Association meeting, in Arlington, Va. Research presented at meetings is considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

More information

The American Academy of Family Physicians has more about ICDs.
FRIDAY, April 6, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Ecstasy and molly have other deadly company on the club drug scene. A new study finds odds of opioid misuse are higher than average among electronic dance music devotees.

Of almost 1,000 EDM partygoers questioned in New York City last summer, about 1 in 10 said they had misused opioids such as OxyContin, Vicodin and heroin in the previous year.

"We've always known that electronic dance music party attendees are at high risk for use of club drugs such as ecstasy or molly, but we wanted to know the extent of opioid use in this population," said study author Joseph Palamar. He's an associate professor of population health at New York University School of Medicine.

OxyContin (oxycodone) was the most widely used opioid painkiller among the 19- to 40-year-olds, followed by Vicodin (hydrocodone), Percocet, codeine and purple drank, which is typically a codeine-laced cough syrup (other names include sizzurp and lean).

The 10 percent rate of past-year opioid misuse is more than twice the national rate of 4 percent among Americans 18 and older, the researchers noted.

Study participants were surveyed as they entered electronic dance music parties at nightclubs and dance festivals. Nearly 24 percent reported opioid misuse in their lifetime, about 10 percent in the past year, and 5 percent in the past month.

Fifteen percent said they had snorted and 11 percent said they had injected opioids in the past year. Both methods increase the risk of addiction and abuse, the researchers said.

The study also found that past-month opioid use was more likely for cigarette smokers and those who used other drugs, including amphetamines, methamphetamine and cocaine. And partygoers who'd previously sampled opioids were much more likely to do so again if offered them in the future, according to the study.

With the United States in the midst of an opioid epidemic, the findings show that opioid prevention programs must target EDM partyers, the researchers said.

"This population of experienced drug users needs to be reached to prevent initiation and continued use [of opioids]," Palamar said in a university news release. If opioids are combined with other drugs, the risk of overdose increases, he added.

In 2016, approximately 11.5 million Americans had misused prescription opioids, and 1.8 million met the criteria for addiction or abuse, the researchers pointed out.

The study was published online March 27 in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence.

More information

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has more on the opioid epidemic.
FRIDAY, April 6, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Narcissists aren't more likely to pursue partners who are already taken, but it doesn't stop them, a new study finds.

Study leader Amy Brunell wanted to find out if people with narcissistic traits were more likely than others to engage in what she calls "mate poaching."

"I thought it was possible that there might be something appealing about the 'game' of mate poaching that might appeal to narcissists, because they are known to play games," said Brunell, an associate professor of psychology at Ohio State University.

The study focused on a group of college students who had personality traits that the researchers described as "grandiose narcissism." These traits include selfishness and inflated self-importance. Narcissists tend to take advantage of people and are less likely to feel guilty about it. Still, grandiose narcissists can appear to be charming and socially skilled, the researchers said.

Brunell's study of hundreds of college students revealed that the narcissists among them did more often pursue people who were already in a relationship. But they weren't necessarily motivated by the fact that a person was already spoken for.

"They seem to not discriminate between those in relationships and those who are single. It could be that they just go after whoever appeals to them without regard for relationship status," Brunell said in a university news release.

"Understanding the behavior of narcissists is important because it helps us better understand the people who are in our lives -- and the types of people we don't necessarily want in our lives," she said.

The study was published online March 27 in the journal PLOS One.

More information

The American Psychological Association has more on narcissism.
The Union government has banned imports of hormone oxytocin to stop its misuse in livestock industry, where it causes hormonal imbalances and shortens the lives of milch animals. The Government has decided to rely on domestic production to satisfy requirements of hormone. It has asked customs officials to step up vigilance against those likely to try and smuggle oxytocin into India.

Contents Background

Oxytocin

Misuse

Background

India had halted retail sales of oxytocin as prescription-only drug in 2014, but failed to curb illegal sales and the volume of imports was unclear. Even, Drug Technical Advisory Board (DTAB) in February 2018 had recommended import ban of oxytocin. It also had recommended that sale be limited to registered government hospitals and clinics and bar code system should be used on all forms of drug to ensure tracking and prevent abuse. For adopting its recommendations, DTAB proposal had proposed amendments to section 10 of Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 and rule 96 of Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945.

Oxytocin

Oxytocin, often called love hormone, is released naturally in human bonding activities such as sex, childbirth and breastfeeding. It is uterine stimulant hormone, prescribed for initiation of uterine contractions and induction of labour in women as well as stimulation of contractions during labour. It is also used to help abort fetus in cases of incomplete abortion or miscarriage, and control bleeding after childbirth. It may be used for breast engorgement.



Misuse

It is a controversial hormonal injection that is used widely in the dairy industry, agriculture and horticulture. The drugs abuse in animals shortens their lives and makes them barren sooner. Even its misuse is reported among trafficked children, injected to accelerate puberty among girls. It is also being misused to speed up deliveries for pregnant women in overcrowded government hospitals.
India, South Korea joint anti-piracy, search and rescue exercise Sahyog-Hyeoblyeog 2018 was conducted in Bay of Bengal off the Chennai coast in Tamil Nadu. The exercise was conducted between Indian Coast Guard (ICG) and Korean Coast Guard (KCG) as part of proposed establishment of MoU between them to improve maritime security in Indian Ocean Region (IOR).

Sahyog-Hyeoblyeog 2018

The exercise aimed at developing working level co-operation and aenhanced inter-operability between coast guards of both countries in fields of maritime search and rescue. The exercise witnessed varied scenarios such as prohibition of a pirate vessel, cross boarding, fire fighting, hijacking of merchant vessel and its subsequent rescue and search and rescue (SAR) demonstration.

For the exercise, ICG had deployed Dornier aircraft along with ICG Shaurya, Rani Abbakka, C-423, C-431. KCG had deployed its lone ship BADARO. As part of the exercise, ships of ICG and KCG undertook strategic exercises and drills to counter piracy and carry out maritime law enforcement tasks. Dornier aircraft deployed by IGC undertook out sea-air coordinated search along with five ships. KCS ship took part in this search and rescue exercise.
Death row exoneree Anthony Graves, along with capital defense lawyers, legal groups and former federal judges, criticized Texas' request to speed up federal death penalty appeals by pointing to the cases of men who were taken off death row long after their sentences were handed down.





Anthony Graves spent 12 years on death row before a conservative federal court tossed out his wrongful capital murder conviction. Texas courts had previously rejected all of his appeals.





I had to get out of the state of Texas and into the federal court system to get help, he told The Texas Tribune Friday. If it was up to the state itself, I would have been executed.





Its a point he made in arguing against a pending request by the state to speed up the federal appeals process in death penalty cases. Hes not alone: Several lawyers, former judges and legal groups have asked the federal government to deny the request by bringing up the cases of people, like Graves, who were taken off death row long after their sentences were handed down.





As first reported by the Houston Chronicle, Texas is currently awaiting a decision from U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions on whether its state appellate system is competent enough to limit death row appeals in federal court. If approved, the time frame for inmate attorneys to file petitions in federal court after state appeals would be cut in half, the courts would have set deadlines on when to rule on the cases, and the scope of claims that could be considered would be further restricted.





The request was originally made in 2013 under Republican Gov. Greg Abbott when he was the states attorney general, but it was tabled by the Obama administration. Then in November, the Sessions-led Department of Justice notified Texas it would begin reviewing the petition for faster appeals and asked for updated information.





Texas Attorney General Ken Paxtons office complied.





Opting-in would serve several purposes for Texans, including sparing crime victims years of unnecessary, stressful delays, ensuring that our state court judgments are respected by federal judges as cases progress, and reducing the excessive costs of lengthy federal court proceedings, said AG spokeswoman Kayleigh Lovvorn in a statement earlier this week.





Currently, the average inmate on Texas death row has been there for more than 15 years.





Federal law says that the nations top prosecutor can allow a state to opt in for these greater restrictions in federal appeals if it appoints competent representation for poor capital defendants in post-conviction appeals at the state level. So far, no state has been certified, though Arizonas petition is also currently being reviewed, according to the Department of Justice. In February, a capital defense group and several death row inmates filed a federal lawsuit challenging the lawfulness of the certification process.





Texas said in a December letter to the department it does have a competent state appellate system in place, but public comments from different groups involved in the capital punishment process argued otherwise. Graves and others have pointed to his case as an example of how the state often get its wrong, arguing that the safeguard of the federal reviews can be lifesaving.





Despite the fact that Mr. Graves was represented by attorneys deemed competent under Texas law at every stage of the proceeding, it took twelve years of sustained litigation for his legitimate constitutional claims  and his innocence  to be discovered, presented, and acknowledged, and for relief to be granted, wrote Bryce Benjet, an attorney for the Innocence Project, in a statement asking the government to deny Texas petition.





A former U.S. district judge from Texas' eastern district, Leonard Davis, also asked for the government to deny Texas request in a public comment. Davis, who was appointed by President George W. Bush, said death-sentenced prisoners in Texas often miss out on full and fair consideration of their constitutional challenges because of inadequate legal representation in state appeals.





He wrote of Christopher Wayne Shuffield, a former death row inmate whose lawyer in state appeals failed to investigate a challenge to his future dangerousness. His federal appellate lawyer was able to bring up the claim, and Shuffields sentence was changed after Davis ruled on the case, he said. Davis said hes concerned that if Texas is approved for the stricter federal guidelines, the case would have gone the other way.





I am also concerned that Texas will continue to fall short in its efforts to guarantee state habeas counsel that will timely investigate and present all viable constitutional challenges to their clients capital convictions and death sentences, Davis wrote. It would be a travesty of justice if Mr. Shuffield had been executed on the basis of false evidence that he was a violent man in jail.





The high profile case of Duane Buck was also mentioned in a statement filed by the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. Buck, a black man who had an expert witness testify at his trial that his race made him more likely to be a future danger, was re-sentenced to life in prison last year in Harris County after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Buck had incompetent counsel for allowing the testimony. Bucks appeals had lost in state courts.





Graves has been a free man for more than seven years now. He was eventually exonerated of the murders that landed him on death row, but he said Friday the newly revived petition is a slap in the face, and, since the state has asked for its approval to be applied retroactively to 1995, affects many death row inmates currently in appeals.





There are literally innocent people shaking in their boots at the thought that theyre going to speed up their appeals process, he said. If this was in place when I was on death row, I would have been executed.

 | 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
The clock may have run out on one avenue pursued by defense attorneys on behalf of inmates on Nebraska's death row.





Death penalty opponents argue a 2016 U.S. Supreme Court decision in a Florida case - which said jurors must make every finding necessary in order for someone to be sentenced to death - puts the constitutionality of Nebraska's sentencing procedures in doubt.





But Friday, in arguments before the Nebraska Supreme Court in the case of Marco Torres, it appeared it might be too late for him and others on the state's death row to rely on the 2016 decision in their appeals.





That's not because the justices seemed convinced Nebraska's sentencing method was constitutional or that the U.S. Supreme Court decision only applied to new cases going forward.





They didn't get that far. And it appears they might not - at least in Torres' case.





All because he and most others on death row didn't raise the issue within a year of the Jan. 12, 2016, decision in Hurst v. Florida.





Torres' appeal, filed 5 months too late, was the first citing the Hurst decision to reach Nebraska's highest court.





Friday, as defense attorney Jeff Pickens of the Nebraska Commission on Public Advocacy began to argue the court should wait for the U.S. Supreme Court to answer whether Hurst applies retroactively, justices quickly jumped in, asking how they "get past" the1-year statute of limitations.





"Well, that's a great question," Pickens answered.





While it appears that one year has passed since the decision at issue, he pointed justices to another U.S. Supreme Court decision in 2006 that says courts ought to consider whether the administration of justice is better served by addressing the merits raised or dismissing a case.





"That's what I'm hanging my hat on," he said.





Justice William Cassel said he had a bit of a quarrel with the premise that the district court had denied Torres due process to raise the issue when it dismissed his appeal without a hearing, citing the missed deadline.





"They (defendants) do have an opportunity. They may choose not to use it. But that's their problem, isn't it?" Cassel asked.





Pickens countered, asking whether a judge would automatically rule in favor of 1 side in a civil case - as compared with Torres' criminal case - without giving notice to anybody involved or having a hearing.





"I suspect that probably would not happen," he said.





Pickens said he thinks Torres' case is one where a trial court could consider that "the best interest of justice would be for the court not to dismiss the case based on statute of limitations and go ahead and get to the merits."





But, Justice Stephanie Stacy said, there is no "interest of justice" exception to the state's statutory time limitations on appeals.





Solicitor General James Smith said the Nebraska Supreme Court is required to uphold state law and doesn't have the authority to add an "interest of justice" exception when the Legislature never put such language in statute.





"Frankly, the analysis can and should end there," he said.





Smith stated it simply: The cases at issue in Torres' motion were more than a year old, so his motion is time-barred on its face.





The district court's reason for dismissing the motion was correct, he said, and that court's decision should be affirmed.





Justice Lindsey Miller-Lerman asked Smith if it was his position that the court didn???t need to get into the Hurst decision, even if Hurst ultimately raised a new principle and was retroactive.





Yes, Smith said.





In Hurst, the nation's high court found that a man's death sentence in a 1998 murder case violated the Sixth Amendment because, under Florida's sentencing scheme, a judge, not a jury, made the critical findings necessary to impose the death penalty.





In Nebraska, juries decide whether aggravating factors exist to justify an execution. If so, a 3-judge panel then determines whether the aggravating factors outweigh any mitigating factors in the defendant's favor to warrant a death sentence.





This week, Amy Miller, legal director of the ACLU of Nebraska, said the Hurst decision is also raised in the appeal of death-row inmate John Lotter.





"But whether or not it will have any impact on another case I think is the troubling concern," she said, seeming to refer to Carey Dean Moore.





State officials this week asked the Nebraska Supreme Court to set an execution date for Moore, who killed 2 cab drivers in Omaha in 1979 and has been on death row for nearly 38 years.





If the Supreme Court issues an execution warrant, Moore could be killed by lethal injection before the Hurst issue even is decided.





Torres, 43, was sent to death row on 2 counts of 1st-degree murder for killing roommates Timothy Donohue, 48, and Edward Hall, 60, in Grand Island in 2007. His DNA was found at the crime scene and he had used Hall's debit card 2 days before his body was found.





 | Report an error, an omission, a typo; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece, a comment; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com



Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! DONATE!





"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,

but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde
A divided Florida Supreme Court on Thursday ordered resentencing for a Death Row inmate who was convicted in the 2004 sexual assault and murder of 11-year-old Carlie Brucia - a Sarasota County case that drew national attention.





The 4-3 decision vacating the death sentence of Joseph P. Smith came in one of dozens of appeals filed by Death Row inmates after a January 2016 U.S. Supreme Court decision that found Floridas death-penalty process was unconstitutional because it gave too much authority to judges, instead of juries.





That U.S. Supreme Court decision and subsequent Florida Supreme Court rulings have led to requirements that juries must unanimously agree on critical findings before judges can impose death sentences and must unanimously recommend the death penalty.





A jury recommended in a 10-2 vote that Smith be sentenced to death. Though that occurred before the 2016 U.S. Supreme Court decision, the Florida Supreme Court has applied the unanimity requirements retroactively to many cases.





In Smiths case, the jury did not make the requisite factual findings and did not unanimously recommend a sentence of death, said Thursdays majority opinion shared by Chief Justice Jorge Labarga and justices Barbara Pariente, R. Fred Lewis and Peggy Quince. Instead, the jury recommended the sentence of death by a vote of 10 to 2.





The opinion said the Supreme Court has no way of knowing if the jury unanimously found what are known as aggravating factors that help determine whether defendants are sentenced to death and if aggravating factors outweighed mitigating circumstances.





Further, this (Supreme) Court cannot speculate why the two jurors who voted to recommend a sentence of life imprisonment determined that a sentence of death was not the appropriate punishment, the opinion said.





Justices Charles Canady, Ricky Polston and Alan Lawson dissented. Canady and Polston did not explain their dissent, though they have frequently dissented in other cases stemming from the 2016 U.S. Supreme Court decision.





Lawson also did not explain his reasons but cited a dissent he wrote in February in a separate case. In that case, he said the court should use a proper rational jury test and that the case involved findings that no objectively reasonable jury, properly instructed, would have failed to unanimously make in support of a unanimous death recommendation.





The Brucia case drew widespread attention, in part, because a surveillance camera showed Smith grabbing the girl by the arm and leading her away from a carwash. Brucias body was found four days later naked from the waist down except for a sock on her foot, and a medical examiner said she was sexually assaulted while she was still alive and died of strangulation, according to a brief filed in the Supreme Court by Attorney General Pam Bondis office.





The Supreme Court decision Thursday upheld a ruling last year by Sarasota County Circuit Judge Charles E. Roberts that Smiths death sentence should be vacated because of the unanimity issue. Roberts wrote, however, that prosecutors could seek to reimpose a death sentence when a new sentencing hearing is held.





Bondis office in an October brief asked the Supreme Court to uphold Smiths death sentence.





A rational jury certainly would have unanimously recommended death had it been instructed that a unanimous recommendation was required. Smith did what nearly every parent fears most; he grabbed young C.B. and kidnapped her while she was walking home from a friends house, Bondis office said in the brief, which referred to the child by her initials. Smith then sexually battered and horrifically murdered the young victim. This was a highly aggravated case and the mitigation was minimal, at best, in comparison to the very weighty aggravation.

 | Report an error, an omission, a typo; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece, a comment; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com



Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! DONATE!





"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,

but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde

New Service of Florida, Jim Saunders, April 6, 2018
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Page: 1 2 The Secret Team The CIA and Its Allies in Control of the United States and the Wo Uppity Me

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04-07-2018 01:11 PM



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Post: #1 The Secret Team The CIA and Its Allies in Control of the United States and the Wo

Advertisement The Secret Team

The CIA and Its Allies in Control of the United States and the World

L. FLETCHER PROUTY Col., U.S. Air Force (Ret.)

Copyright  1973, 1992, 1997 by L. Fletcher Prouty All Rights Reserved



PDF read online or download the book



http://www.paranoiamagazine.com/wp-conte...A0TEAM.pdf Quote: Les pauvres n'ont-ils des Euros ?

Alors laissez les pauvres 'sh*t' dans les rues L. FLETCHER PROUTY Col., U.S. Air Force (Ret.)Copyright  1973, 1992, 1997 by L. Fletcher Prouty All Rights ReservedPDF read online or download the book Uppity Me

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04-07-2018 01:22 PM



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Post: #2 RE: The Secret Team The CIA and Its Allies in Control of the United States and the Wo

Quote: Les pauvres n'ont-ils des Euros ?

Alors laissez les pauvres 'sh*t' dans les rues KingBum

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04-07-2018 01:55 PM



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Post: #3 RE: The Secret Team The CIA and Its Allies in Control of the United States and the Wo

This was a good paper I remember reading it back in 1990s explained alot of the Dulles actions prior to missile crisis. Idealism is the fools shepherd and the braggarts laurels.



Its time to stop pointing fingers, finger pointing gets us nowhere...Steve.



504100 - My number when not logged in. KingBum

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04-07-2018 02:08 PM



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Post: #4 RE: The Secret Team The CIA and Its Allies in Control of the United States and the Wo

Sorry forgot this Idealism is the fools shepherd and the braggarts laurels.



Its time to stop pointing fingers, finger pointing gets us nowhere...Steve.



504100 - My number when not logged in. Strategos

Against Dystopia

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04-07-2018 03:46 PM



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Post: #5 RE: The Secret Team The CIA and Its Allies in Control of the United States and the Wo

to read later to read later LoP Guest

lop guest

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04-07-2018 04:21 PM











Post: #6 RE: The Secret Team The CIA and Its Allies in Control of the United States and the Wo

Ay, remember the part on The Terminator when Arnold grabs the dude and tosses him off the phone?



Bro I'm gosh darn dying lol. I gotta watch that part on Youtube now lol. light on sinister secrets

lop guest

User ID: 1337

04-07-2018 04:24 PM











Post: #7 RE: The Secret Team The CIA and Its Allies in Control of the United States and the Wo

I would know of this because inevitably somewhere along the

line both groups would come to the Department of Defense for

hardware support. I actually designed a special office in the Pentagon

with but one door off the corridor. Inside, it had a single room with

one secretary. However, off her office there was one more door that

led to two more offices with a third doorway leading to yet another

office, which was concealed by the door from the secretary's room. I

had to do this because at times we had CIA groups with us who

were now allowed to meet each other, and who most certainly would

not have been there had they known that the others were there. (For

the record, the office was 4D1000--it may have been changed by

now; but it had remained that way for many years.) LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 1337

04-07-2018 04:27 PM











Post: #8 RE: The Secret Team The CIA and Its Allies in Control of the United States and the Wo

KingBum Wrote: (04-07-2018 01:55 PM) This was a good paper I remember reading it back in 1990s explained alot of the Dulles actions prior to missile crisis.

He was one shady bugger. He deserved to be fired. I suspect Kennedy signed his death warrant that day. He should have cleaned house. He was one shady bugger. He deserved to be fired. I suspect Kennedy signed his death warrant that day. He should have cleaned house. light on sinister secrets

lop guest

User ID: 1337

04-07-2018 04:28 PM











Post: #9 RE: The Secret Team The CIA and Its Allies in Control of the United States and the Wo

There is another category of writer and self-proclaimed

authority on the subjects of secrecy, intelligence, and containment.

This man is the suave, professional parasite who gains a reputation as

a real reporter by disseminating the scraps and "Golden Apples"

thrown to him by the great men who use him. This writer seldom

knows and rarely cares that many of the scraps from which he draws

his material have been planted, that they are controlled leaks, and

that he is being used, and glorified as he is being used, by the inside

secret intelligence community.

Allen Dulles had a penchant for cultivating a number of such

writers with big names and inviting them to his table for a medieval

style luncheon in that great room across the hall from his own offices

in the old CIA headquarters on the hill overlooking Foggy Bottom.

Here, he would discuss openly and all too freely the same subjects

that only hours before had been carefully discussed in the secret

inner chambers of the operational side of that quiet Agency. In the

hands of Allen Dulles, "secrecy" was simply a chameleon device to

be used as he saw fit and to be applied to lesser men according to his

schemes. It is quite fantastic to find people like Daniel Ellsberg being

charged with leaking official secrets simply because the label on the

piece of paper said "TOP SECRET," when the substance of many of

the words written on those same papers was patently untrue and no

more than a cover story. Except for the fact that they were official

"lies", these papers had no basis in fact, and therefore no basis to be

graded TOP SECRET or any other degree of classification. Allen

Dulles would tell similar cover stories to his coterie of writers, and

not long thereafter they would appear in print in some of the most

prestigious papers and magazines in the country, totally unclassified,

and of course, cleverly untrue.





The dab hands of fake news, so called LoP Guest

lop guest

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04-07-2018 05:13 PM











Post: #10 RE: The Secret Team The CIA and Its Allies in Control of the United States and the Wo

[ ]STOP

BEING

RETARDED

















FUCKNUTS [/size] LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 1337

04-07-2018 05:22 PM











Post: #11 RE: The Secret Team The CIA and Its Allies in Control of the United States and the Wo



In 2008, foreign national, War criminal, George Soros 'quietly' financed to overthrow of Our US government.. He then placed ( finance + murder) another foreign national, criminal to become POTUS.

Soros is a frustrated dictator 'wannabe'..He admired Hitler and even worked for him, indirectly, against his own people (said "Was the best days of his life". He liked the way Hitler controlled the masses and has even financed this kind 'murderess mob' control against the citizens of this nation.

For his crimes against this nation and it's citizens.. as a foreign national he could and should be deported.

But he is still running the show and ( he is still too powerful and owns to many powerful people ) no one has the balls to even try.

The Soros Marxist Mafia owns Our government, the Democratic Party, RINO's and the MSM..In 2008, foreign national, War criminal, George Soros 'quietly' financed to overthrow of Our US government.. He then placed ( finance + murder) another foreign national, criminal to become POTUS.Soros is a frustrated dictator 'wannabe'..He admired Hitler and even worked for him, indirectly, against his own people (said "Was the best days of his life". He liked the way Hitler controlled the masses and has even financed this kind 'murderess mob' control against the citizens of this nation.For his crimes against this nation and it's citizens.. as a foreign national he could and should be deported.But he is still running the show and ( he is still too powerful and owns to many powerful people ) no one has the balls to even try. LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 1337

04-07-2018 05:32 PM











Post: #12 RE: The Secret Team The CIA and Its Allies in Control of the United States and the Wo





http://lunaticoutpost.com/thread-22278.html You're new one world government should feel very at home. It was tested using this forum. engineering

Banned

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04-07-2018 06:01 PM



Posts: 5,299









Post: #13 RE: The Secret Team The CIA and Its Allies in Control of the United States and the Wo

Uppity Me Wrote: (04-07-2018 01:11 PM) The Secret Team

The CIA and Its Allies in Control of the United States and the World

L. FLETCHER PROUTY Col., U.S. Air Force (Ret.)

Copyright  1973, 1992, 1997 by L. Fletcher Prouty All Rights Reserved



PDF read online or download the book



http://www.paranoiamagazine.com/wp-conte...A0TEAM.pdf

It's almost like the CIA is running guns to the cartels so they can stay in power & then mule tons and tons of drugs back into the USA to poison everyones minds to make them easily controlled by Hollywood & MSM or something.

Because everybody knows what happens in the USA eventually happens to the rest of the world.





One more f*cking thing...



The CIA trained UBL the guy who masterminded the terrorist attacks on New York & here we sit with the god damned MSM praising these f*cking clowns as they continue to make one catastrophic f*#k up after the next.



Piss on the cartels, Mexico, the CIA, the MSM, social media & all the others groups that work to destroy the minds of young people. It's almost like the CIA is running guns to the cartels so they can stay in power & then mule tons and tons of drugs back into the USA to poison everyones minds to make them easily controlled by Hollywood & MSM or something.Because everybody knows what happens in the USA eventually happens to the rest of the world.One more f*cking thing...The CIA trained UBL the guy who masterminded the terrorist attacks on New York & here we sit with the god damned MSM praising these f*cking clowns as they continue to make one catastrophic f*#k up after the next.Piss on the cartels, Mexico, the CIA, the MSM, social media & all the others groups that work to destroy the minds of young people. LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 1337

04-07-2018 06:25 PM











Post: #14 RE: The Secret Team The CIA and Its Allies in Control of the United States and the Wo

LoP Guest Wrote: (04-07-2018 05:22 PM) The Soros Marxist Mafia owns Our government, the Democratic Party, RINO's and the MSM..

In 2008, foreign national, War criminal, George Soros 'quietly' financed to overthrow of Our US government.. He then placed ( finance + murder) another foreign national, criminal to become POTUS.

Soros is a frustrated dictator 'wannabe'..He admired Hitler and even worked for him, indirectly, against his own people (said "Was the best days of his life". He liked the way Hitler controlled the masses and has even financed this kind 'murderess mob' control against the citizens of this nation.

For his crimes against this nation and it's citizens.. as a foreign national he could and should be deported.

But he is still running the show and ( he is still too powerful and owns to many powerful people ) no one has the balls to even try.





You should educate yourself on what Germany was like before Hitler. They had crushing economic depression, sex shows, gay clubs and child pedophilia on every corner.



The normal people were crying out for help to come and sure enough, along came Hitler You should educate yourself on what Germany was like before Hitler. They had crushing economic depression, sex shows, gay clubs and child pedophilia on every corner.The normal people were crying out for help to come and sure enough, along came Hitler LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 1337

04-07-2018 06:33 PM











Post: #15 RE: The Secret Team The CIA and Its Allies in Control of the United States and the Wo

LoP Guest Wrote: (04-07-2018 06:25 PM) LoP Guest Wrote: (04-07-2018 05:22 PM) The Soros Marxist Mafia owns Our government, the Democratic Party, RINO's and the MSM..

In 2008, foreign national, War criminal, George Soros 'quietly' financed to overthrow of Our US government.. He then placed ( finance + murder) another foreign national, criminal to become POTUS.

Soros is a frustrated dictator 'wannabe'..He admired Hitler and even worked for him, indirectly, against his own people (said "Was the best days of his life". He liked the way Hitler controlled the masses and has even financed this kind 'murderess mob' control against the citizens of this nation.

For his crimes against this nation and it's citizens.. as a foreign national he could and should be deported.

But he is still running the show and ( he is still too powerful and owns to many powerful people ) no one has the balls to even try.





You should educate yourself on what Germany was like before Hitler. They had crushing economic depression, sex shows, gay clubs and child pedophilia on every corner.



The normal people were crying out for help to come and sure enough, along came Hitler

Yes..I know all that sh't..and it sounds like America after Barry and Soros took control..and along came Hillary. Yes..I know all that sh't..and it sounds like America after Barry and Soros took control..and along came Hillary. Advertisement


















What I remember most about that day in the conference room of the Rapid City Journal newsroom was how heavy my right hand felt.





So heavy, in fact, that I couldn't raise it when Editor Michael LeFort asked for volunteers - to witness the killing of a human being.





My hand seemed immovable as other hands went up among the reporters gathered around the conference-room table. And I was happy - if that is a word that can be used in this scenario - to see that Bill Harlan's hand was one of them.





An exceptionally talented, experienced reporter, Harlan was one of the many old hands, including me, that the Journal still had on staff during the summer of 2006. He was also a former medic during the Vietnam War, with life-and-death experiences I never had and can't clearly imagine.





"I think it should be Harlan. That seems pretty obvious," I said at some point about the witnessing role as we discussed the formation of a coverage team for the first state-sanctioned execution in South Dakota in 59 years, and which roles different staffers would play.





It was obvious, too, that I didn't want to take 1 of 2 spots reserved for media representatives to witness the execution by lethal injection of 24-year-old Elijah Page of Athens, Texas. Page was 1 of 3 men convicted of the horrific - a word that isn't overused here - March 12, 2000, torture and murder of a 19-year-old Chester Allan Poage of Spearfish.





It was a gruesome crime that began with a video game invitation by Poage to 3 young men he thought were friends. It turned into a robbery at his home and ended in a stream bed in the woods down in otherwise serene Higgin's Gulch near Spearfish. Along the way, his attackers tried to poison Poage before beating, kicking, stabbing and pummeling him with stones, as they ignored his pleas for mercy.





The details are shocking, sickening, heart breaking. And the crime sent Page and Briley Piper to death row, following guilty pleas to first-degree murder charges. Their accomplice Darrell Hoadley stood trial and was convicted, and got life in prison without parole.





While Piper was fighting his death sentence - he still is on death row - Page gave up and asked to be executed.





In the preparations leading up to the Page execution, the Associated Press got one witness spot. The Journal got the other. And I knew Harlan was the right Journal reporter for the unenviable job. He knew it, too.





"I volunteered because I thought it was an important story and I thought I was an experienced reporter who was qualified to do it," Harlan said the other day in a telephone interview from his home in Columbus, Georgia. "I thought it should be done well."





I did, too. And if I had been assigned the witness role, I would have done it, as well as I could. But I was glad it was Harlan, not me.





I was part of the Journal team being assembled that summer of 2006 by LeFort to cover the execution, scheduled for Aug. 29 at the South Dakota State Penitentiary in Sioux Falls. And our team offered coverage - first from Rapid City, then from Sioux Falls - for weeks leading up to the night of the execution.





On the day of the scheduled execution, it seemed awkward and tense around the prison, the ominous sort of feeling you have when a storm is coming. And that was more noticeable as the hours and minutes ticked off.





I was to be in the prison at the time of the execution, in a room set up for reporters to file stories, and nearby to meet with witnesses after Page was killed. But into the late afternoon I was still working on stories outside the walls. That's where I saw Art and Sue Guettler of Spearfish and their daughter, Misty, who had dated Page, walk slowly out of the prison following their last visit to the condemned man.





The execution day was supposed to be reserved for immediate-family visits. But because of their close relationship with Page, the Guettlers got permission from Circuit Judge Warren Johnson - who had sentenced Page to death - for a last visit.





About 25 minutes after the Guettlers came out, Page's sister, Desiree Page, and father, Kenneth Chapman, also left the prison, joining the Guettlers on a small lawn across the street from the prison. There they spoke in quiet tones and hugged.





None of them wanted to be interviewed at that time.





By that point, Harlan was back at his motel room, getting ready for the unenviable coverage chore he faced that evening. Or thought he faced. But just a few hours before the lethal injection, then-Gov. Mike Rounds postponed the execution, saying there was a conflict between the planned 3-drug execution mixture and state law, which Rounds said limited the execution mix to no more than 2 drugs.





"I was in my motel room out by Interstate 90 tying my tie and getting ready to go to the prison when the call came in," Harlan said. "I remember it exactly because I was so relieved. I was relieved even though I had volunteered to do it."





Turns out, he would still do it, 11 months later. The 2007 state Legislature fixed the legal conflict that worried Rounds, and the new law took effect on July 1. The execution was rescheduled for the 11th.





The Journal team was reassembled. The preview stories were filed. We gathered in Sioux Falls. And Harlan joined Carson Walker of the Associated Press and other witnesses in a room outside the execution chamber on the evening of the 11th.





About 6 p.m., Page ate his last meal of steak with A-1 sauce, jalapeno poppers with cream, onion rings, tossed salad, lemon ice tea, coffee and ice cream. At 10:11 p.m. he was declared dead from the injection. Moments earlier, he declined an offer by Warden Doug Weber to make a last statement.





Harlan, Walker and a few other witnesses were in one of the witness rooms, watching the execution through a window. And once the curtain was opened just prior to the execution, they were just a few feet from where Page lay on a gurney in the tile-floored execution chamber.





"When they opened the curtain, it revealed the room, which was very spare," Harlan said. "I heard a gasp for cry from some other room, some kind of cry."





The execution itself didn't take long and was handled in an efficient, matter-of-fact way, he said.





"My impressions haven't changed in 11 years," Harlan said. "The thing that really struck me was how mundane it all was, how routine it all seemed."





Harlan and Walker later described the last moments of Page's life after the lethal injection.





"I guess we described the same scene in every execution that goes well," he said. "There were a couple of deep, snoring sounds and one last rattling breath and that was about it."





But of course, however matter-of-fact the execution appeared, it was anything but routine in South Dakota. Harlan was witnessing the 1st execution in South Dakota since 1947, when 33-year-old George Sitts died in the electric chair in the South Dakota Penitentiary for the murder of 2 law-enforcement officers. Sitts was the only person executed in that chair.





There are places where executions really are routine, however, including Huntsville, Texas, where the son of a Rapid City woman was executed in 2010. My wife, Mary Garrigan, then also a reporter at the Rapid City Journal, was sent to Huntsville to cover the execution of 41-year-old Kevin Varga on May 12th, 2010.





Varga was on death row in the Huntsville State Prison, along with Billy Galloway, who was executed the day after Varga. Varga, Galloway and Deannee Ann Bayless, all of Sioux Falls, and Venus Anderson of Revillo were convicted of the beating death of David Logie of Fayetteville, N.C., during a robbery in Greenville, Texas.





Mary spent time in Huntsville during the days leading up to the execution, with interviews with Varga's mother, Beth. A passionate opponent of the death penalty, Mary did her job in offering balanced coverage but refused a spot among witnesses of Varga's execution.





"I just don't think you can every unring that bell. And I didn't want that image in my head for the rest of my life," she said the other day, as we talked about her trip to Huntsville and the exceptional reporting she did there. "Also, I just felt like being there would somehow make me complicit in it. I just couldn't do it."





Mary had that conversation with Michael LeFort before she left for Huntsville.





"He said that was fine, although he would have preferred to have a local byline on the execution story," Mary said.





That was understandable. But Michael and Journal readers wouldn't get that story first hand from Mary. That would have to come from other reporters. What they did get from Mary, however, was a meaningful examination of a state and community where executions are common. Her stories included interviews with residents of Huntsville and reporters who witness executions regularly and worked to prevent them from becoming mundane.





Journal readers also got an unusual look at the life of Varga family members leading up to the execution. Mary and Beth Varga made a connection down in Huntsville, one that isn't forgotten when they happen to run into each other in Rapid City.





"I guess the last time I saw her was about a year ago at a second-hand store," Mary said. "We had a nice talk. But it's always a little weird, because we have that horrible connection."





Beth Varga did witnesses the execution, and she heard her son's final words as the lethal injection took his life: "Mom, I'm going."





Imagine what it was like for a mother to hear those words come from her son, as his life ebbed and vanished. Whatever horrid things he did, it was still a moment where a mother heard her son speak his final words and take his last breath.





We should pause here, of course, to remember the horrors that Chester Allan Poage's mother, Dottie Poage, faced in hearing and reading about the details of her son's death, at the hands of Page and Piper and Hoadley. We can't forget that mother's suffering. Ever. Or how her son suffered. And what his mom went through knowing of that suffering, as she grieved his death.





I know Mary didn't forget that loss and that pain, even as she allowed herself to feel the anguish of another mother whose son took part in that horrid act, yet remained her son.





Mary is glad she wasn't there in person to see and hear the end of Kevin Varga's life. But she saw and heard enough in Huntsville. And emotions returned as she reviewed some of those stories recently.





"I got very sad and kind of nauseous reading through them and thinking about those people again," she said. "My own opposition to the death penalty is what kept me out of the execution room. And the whole experience in Huntsville only reinforced my certainty that the death penalty doesn't solve any of our crime problems."





It also reinforced her sense of respect for the work she did for most of her adult life.





"Reading those stories also made me remember what a great and unusual privilege the job of being a reporter is, to be given that kind of access to people's lives and their stories and pain," she said. "I was always amazed when people granted me that gift, and I still am."





A gift indeed, as difficult as it can sometimes be. None of us on the death-penalty coverage team had assignments quite so difficult as Harlan's. Although 11 years later, he says he doesn't feel scarred by the experience.





"I've been with good friends when they died, in a much more horrible way than Page. And that affected me," Harlan said. "And the people we were fighting, we killed a number of those people. And that affected me. This? Who knows? Having experience with PTSD, I'm not too quick to say it didn't bother me."





Maybe more than witnessing the execution, covering the gruesome details of the murder case itself bothered Harlan, as it bothered any of us who wrote about it.





"In retrospect, I probably went into too much detail covering how that kid was murdered," Harlan said. "It was horrific. It was ISIS like. I'm not even sure ISIS does anything quite so horrific. He was tortured. And I was not in favor of the death penalty and still am not. But if anyone deserved it, he (Page) did."





Plus, Harlan said, Page wanted that end himself. Sought it. Finally got it.





Regardless of all that, Harland remains opposed to the death penalty. He considers the state-sanctioned execution of 1,472 people - and counting - in the United States since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. And he adds in shameful failings like Abu Ghraib and the rejection of certain immigrant groups, sometimes including kids, and wonders about our nation's presumed spot on a moral high ground in the world.





"I don't know how we square ourselves as the human-rights leader of the world," he said.





Beyond the moral issues in the taking of a human life, Harlan considers other points of opposition to the death penalty.





"Think of the opportunities lost, the ones you might have had with life without parole," he said. "First, you'd eliminate a lot of the appeals. Then you'd have decades to study these people and try to figure out what was going on. Maybe you couldn't but maybe you would. You might learn something that could help in all this."





Maybe even something that could help prevent such murders? Who knows? The argument isn't new, and it isn't finished.





U.S. Supreme Court rulings in the 1960s called into legal question death-penalty laws and practices in certain states, and along with a growing movement against the death penalty brought a decade-long moratorium on executions in the United States. By 1976, the high court had clarified what it considered constitutional and some states began re-writing their laws to accommodate the ruling, so they could resume executions.





On Jan. 17, 1977 those state-sanctioned killings resumed when convicted killer Gary Kilmore, 36, was executed in Utah by a firing squad. Last year there were 23 executions in the United States. And there have been 7 so far this year, 4 of them in Texas. The last was on March 27 when Rosendo Rodriguez III was killed with an injection of Pentobarbitol.





The next execution is scheduled for April 19th in Alabama. And there are dozens more, according to the Death Penalty Information Center, on the schedule stretching into 2023.





So Elijah Page was just 1 of many before, since and yet to come. But he was also one who sticks with the people who cared for him, and for the people who lost an innocent loved one - Chester Allan Page - to the deranged, murderous actions of Page and his 2 cohorts.





In a much-less personal way, Page is also the one who sticks with those of us who were part of that Rapid City coverage team, especially the team member who watched as Page took his last breath.





The team member I was relieved not to be.

 | 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
Oli is scheduled to meet External Affairs' Minister Sushma Swaraj, Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and other delegation level officers over the course of the day. (Photo: Twitter | @rashtrapatibhvn)

New Delhi: Nepal's Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, who is on a three-day visit to India, was given a ceremonial reception at Rashtrapati Bhawan on Saturday.

Oli stressed on the importance of friendship to maintain peaceful ties between neighbouring countries.

Friendship is most important & there is no comparison with friendship. Any treaty any agreement, everything starts from friendship. With our neighbours, particularly with India, we first expect friendship, the Nepal prime minister said at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

President Ram Nath Kovind also met the Nepal PM to discuss upon a range of bilateral issues of India and Nepal.

Further External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will have a detailed discussion with Oli at Rashtrapati Bhawan regarding the foreign policy and related issues. Later, Oli will lay a wreath at Mahatma Gandhi's samadhi at Raj Ghat.

Also Read: Nepal to return Rs 950 Cr in demonetised cash to improve ties with India

He is also scheduled to hold discussions with the delegation-level officers of India at the Hyderabad House. Some of the important development projects will be inaugurated at the House followed by an interaction with the press.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Nepal PM KP Sharma Oli. (Photo: Twitter | @narendramodi)

Oli will meet Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu at his residence in the afternoon. He is also scheduled to meet Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh at Rashtrapati Bhawan in the evening.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi with his Nepalese counterpart Khadga Prasad Oli as his wife Radhika Shakya looks on during the ceremonial reception at the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on Saturday. (Photo: PTI)

New Delhi: In an attempt to go past the bitterness of recent incidents and build a forward-looking relationship, visiting Nepalese Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli and Prime Minister Narendra Modi held talks on Saturday and decided on new game-changer initiatives including a cross-border electric rail link between Kathmandu and Raxaul in Bihar, connecting Nepal to the Indian railway system, and a separate river transport system that could give Nepal a route all the way to the sea.

Though Mr Olis visit is taking place against the backdrop of increasing Chinese influence in Nepal, Indian foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale claimed that the countries did not discuss China or OBOR during bilateral talks.

Mr Gokhale said that the two PMs discussed Saarcs future but the issue of demonetisation (by India in 2016 and its effects on Nepalese nationals) did not come up.

Mr Oli, who is widely seen as pro-China in his approach and policies, said that Nepal wants to erect a strong edifice of trust-based relations between two close neighbours (India and Nepal). He added that Nepal wants to create a model relationship with India based on principles of equality, justice, mutual respect.

We need support of our friends. Relation among neighbours is different from other relations. This is based on mutual respect, he said.

Reciprocating the goodwill, PM Modi said, Through our efforts, Nepal will get extra connectivity to the ocean... It will get directly connected to the sea... Nepal will be not only land-linked but also water-linked PM Olis vision of prosperous Nepal and developed Nepal is compatible to sabka sath, sabka vikas.

PM Modi added, We both will prevent misuse of our open borders with each other. We will advance our joint security interests.

In a veiled reference to the Madhesis, people mostlu of Indian origin residing in the Nepalese plains that border Bihar, Mr Modi expressed hope that Kathmandu will take all sections along in Nepals march to progress. The Madhesis have often complained of being left out of the power apparatus by the Nepalese hill people and this had strained ties between the two countries in 2015-16. Mr Oli said he wants to see an early realisation of the open market provision of the bilateral power trade agreement.
Microsoft in India claims that it is committed to helping everyone in bringing their digital transformation vision to life across every industry. (Photo: Microsoft)

Microsoft has announced that the company will invest US $5 billion in the Internet of Things (IoT) globally over the next 4 years. This increased investment will support continued research and innovation in IoT, which is ultimately evolving to be the new intelligent edge. With Microsofts IoT platform spanning cloud, operating system and devices, the company is planning to simplify the IoT journey so any customerregardless of size, technical expertise, budget, industry or other factorscan create trusted, connected solutions that can improve business and customer experiences.

This will support Microsofts technology platform, as well as supporting programs thereby enabling continued research and development in key areas, including securing IoT, creating development tools and intelligent services for IoT and the edge. Customers and partners can expect new products and services, offerings, resources and programs.

IoT gathers momentum in India:

Microsoft in India claims that it is committed to helping everyone in bringing their digital transformation vision to life across every industry. The investment will ensure that the company continues to meet all its customers and partners needs, both, now and in the future, as they develop new and increasingly sophisticated IoT solutions. IoT is gathering momentum in India and impacting daily lives: saving electricity, resources, predictive healthcare, automobile safety and more. Microsoft Azure is the preferred platform powering a variety of IoT devices.

IoT Monitoring of Water Quality:

Authorities across States have turned to IoT to monitor drinking water quality for its citizens. TechSpan Engineering has implemented a monitoring system built on the Azure IoT platform, using sensors provided by the Austrian firm s::can and their India Partner Aaxis Nano. Using the combination of Microsoft cloud, IoT and data, the solution taps into the sturdy s::can sensors to provide measurements across 17 parameters  from Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) and Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD), Chloride and Fluoride levels to temperature and colour. The solution is currently being used for monitoring drinking water quality online in cities like Bangalore and New Delhi.

IoT based Smart Lighting:

Microsoft claims that its  Azure IoT is supplying Indias first Smart Street Lighting Project for the pink city of Jaipur, underscoring Microsofts mission of transforming public spaces digitally. The Jaipur Municipal Corporation (JMC) operates and maintains over 100,000 public street lights within the city. Microsofts partner Samudra LED has now deployed a customised Microsoft IoT-platform-based solution created by ISV Precimetrix to monitor, control and manage smart LED public street lights. The project is supposed to benefit 1.65 million people through improved street lighting and a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 36,750 metric tons per year. It will also result in $1 million per year in fiscal savings accrued to the government due to reduced energy consumption.

Researchers at IISc Bangalore are also using a network of IoT sensors coupled with Microsoft Azure analytics to find how cloud technologies can help tackle water scarcity in cities.

IoT in Agriculture:

Microsoft says its FarmBeats is a research project for agriculture to enable data collection from various sensors, cameras and drones. It comprises two broad areas viz., a data-acquisition system consisting of drones and sensors and a data-analysis system consisting of connectivity pieces, cloud storage, and predictive analysis.

IoT in the Automobile Sector:

Earlier last year, Tata Motors announced it will leverage Microsofts connected vehicle technologies that bring together AI, advanced ML, and IoT capabilities on Microsofts Azure cloud, to create a highly personalised, smart and safer driving experience across the digital life of a vehicle owner.

Tyre Express, a startup for lifecycle management for fleet operators, has developed an IoT based Tyre Performance Management Solution. Powered by the Azure IoT Hub, Tyre Express is helping build operational efficiency for commercial vehicle fleet operators by tracking tyre performance. In India, procurement of new tyres for a commercial vehicle approximately costs about Rs 1-1.5 lakhs. Fluctuations in pressure and temperature can have a dramatic effect on their lifespan.

Tyres are one of the largest consumables for fleet operators after fuel. Operating a vehicle with tyre pressure 20 per cent below rated pressure increases fuel consumption by 5-10 per cent and reduces tyre life by 15 per cent to 20 per cent. The new IoT platform helps monitor tyre performance in real time to help customers take suitable action and improve operational efficiency, reduce costs, and improve profitability.

IoT in Manufacturing for Predictive Maintenance:

Tetra Pak is employing new, digital tools that enable its cloud-connected machines to predict when equipment needs maintenance, averting many breakdowns. Sensors on more than 5,000 Tetra Pak filling machines at customers sites globally, all connected to Microsoft Azure, feed real-time performance data to the company for monitoring and analysis  nearly 700 million data points each year. As a result, maintenance can be scheduled precisely and efficiently.

Microsoft IoT Central:

IoT will lead to a $1.9 trillion productivity increase and $177 billion in reduced costs by 2020 (A.T. Kearney). This effect will be pervasive, from connected homes and cars to manufacturers to smart cities and utilitiesand everything in between. Pre-empting this, Microsoft announced Microsoft IoT Central, the first scalable IoT SaaS solution, that has built-in support for IoT best practices and security along with the reliability, regional availability, and global scale of the Azure cloud. Microsoft IoT Central allows companies to build production-grade IoT applications in hours and allow them to manage all the necessary backend infrastructure or can hire new skill sets to develop the solutions.

Microsofts IoT offerings include operating systems for devices, cloud services to control and secure them, advanced analytics to gain insights, and business applications to enable intelligent action. With each implementation, customers and partners are overcoming challenges of building an IoT solution that harnesses massive amounts of data. Whether theyre building products that transform the home, office or factory floor, one thing remains clear: IoT is a collaborative, multi-disciplinary effort that spans cloud development, machine learning, artificial intelligence, security and privacy.

Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter.

Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter.
Court papers say Mouhib used the knife to stab the boy in the upper back then cut his neck, severing his head. (Representational Image)

New York: Authorities say a woman used a large-bladed kitchen knife to sever the head of her seven-year-old son in rural western New York.

Police arrested 36-year-old Hanane Mouhib after Abraham Cardenas was found dead Thursday night in a home in the town of Sweden, about 15 miles (24 kilometers) west of Rochester. She was charged with second-degree murder.

Court papers say Mouhib used the knife to stab the boy in the upper back then cut his neck, severing his head.

Police were responding to a call about a suicidal person with a knife.

Mouhib is being held in the county jail without bail. She had not been assigned a public defender at midday Friday.
Ryanair's Kyiv-Berlin flight to be launched on Sept 3

The number of Ryanair's flights from Kyiv will grow to 11.

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The United States supports a free and open Indo-Pacific, said U.S Deputy Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Alex Wong.

By free, he said, we mean, we want the nations of the Indo-Pacific to be free from coercion, that they can pursue in a sovereign manner the paths they choose in the region. Secondly, the United States wants the societies of the various Indo-Pacific countries to become progressively more free in terms of good governance, fundamental rights, transparency, and anti-corruption.

By open, the U.S. first and foremost means open sea lines of communication and open airways. These open sea lines of communication are truly the lifeblood of the region with 50 percent of trade going through the waters of the Indo-Pacific, particularly through the South China Sea.

The United States continues to support free, fair, and reciprocal trade. Two-way trade every year with the Indo-Pacific region is $1.4 trillion. U.S. foreign direct investment in the region is $860 billion a year. And both those numbers are going up. But when you talk about free, fair, and reciprocal trade, said Deputy Assistant Secretary Wong, there are two parts to that. Number one, there is setting the rules of the road of free trade for trade agreements.

But number two, the rules of free trade must be enforced. Nations must not be allowed to force technology transfer or steal intellectual property. If the rules arent enforced, over time, the free, fair, and reciprocal trading regime is weakened and that is to the detriment of not only the United States prosperity but the prosperity of the region and the world as a whole.

Building infrastructure will be critical to expanding economic growth in the Indo-Pacific region. Without the right bridges, roads, air and sea ports, it is almost impossible for any country, let alone an entire region, to achieve their full economic potential. The United States will work with like-minded partners to strengthen transparency and governance in infrastructure financing to ensure that these projects meet their needs and do not saddle them with unaffordable debt.

The United States looks forward to working with countries in the Indo-Pacific region that share its vision of a stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific where sovereignty is upheld and a rules-based system respected.
The imperiled Lake Urmia in northwestern Iran has shrunk further, losing another 23 square kilometers (roughly nine square miles) of its surface area within a year, local media reported.

Meanwhile, the deputy Minister of Agricultural Jihad of the Islamic Republic, Ali Akbar Moradi says the volume of annual precipitation in Iran, compared with last year, shows a 50% drop.

Earlier, the provincial head of lake Urmia Restoration Project, Farhad Sarkhosh had disclosed, On Feb 13, lake Urmia covered 1,856 sq. km (roughly 716 sq. miles) of waterbed, down from 2,104 sq. km (roughly 812 sq. miles) on the same date of last year.

The Islamic Republics authorities, have attributed the shrinkage to the significant drop in precipitation across the country.

However, according to the deputy of the Ministry of Agricultural Jihad, the existences of 40,000 illegal wells in the surrounding areas have further complicated the matter.

Five years ago, President Hassan Rouhani and his first cabinet launched a task force for the revival of Lake Urmia, a UNESCO biosphere reserve.

Nevertheless, the task force has not been successful, so far, and the lake has continued to shrink.

Recently, the Islamic Republics Vice President, Eshaq Jahangiri suggested that transferring water from the Caspian Sea and foreign resources is being considered as a way to save the depleting lake.

Without giving any details, Jahangiri has also vowed to allocate Billions of dollars in foreign lines of credit for the revival of Lake Urmia, if necessary.

Urmia has depleted drastically due to a variety of factors, including the construction of a 15-km causeway to shorten the travel time between Urmia and Tabriz cities and the construction of several dams that have choked off water from the mountains on either side of the lake.

A report compiled by the UN Development Plan (UNDP) says human factors, particularly building numerous dams over the rivers flowing into the lake, have further complicated the fate of the largest inland body of water in Iran.

Nonetheless, the Moradi believes that illegal water wells have played a pivotal role in shrinking Lake Urmia.

Out of more than 350,000 illegal water wells across Iran, more than 40,000 are located around Lake Urmia, Moradi says, adding, The livelihood of many people is tied to these illegal wells. Therefore, blocking the illegal wells is not an easy task.

Earlier, the Deputy President, the head of the Department of Environment and former minister of agriculture, Isa Kalantari had accused former President Ahmadinejad of ordering people to drill for water wells wherever they wanted.

Within three days after Ahmadinejads order, the number of licenses for drilling new water wells tripled and thousands of wells were drilled everyday across the country.
Irans Telecommunications minister has criticized the governments cyber-attack monitoring center for failing to detect an attack that led to the hacking of several Iranian data centers on the evening of April 6, despite a warning about the attack ten days before it took place.

Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi first said in a tweet Friday evening Several Iranian data centers came under cyber attacks tonight. Some of the smaller routers have been changed to factory setting.

Later, in another tweet, Jahromi claimed that MAHER, Persian acronym for the Computer-related Events Operation and Coordination Center, Has monitored and controlled the attack and the data centers settings have been brought back to normal.

One day after the cyber-attack, Jahromi said that MAHER should have issued a special warning. He promised that his ministry would investigate and deal with the failure.

MAHER announced on Saturday, Major companies and data centers including Afra Net, Asia Tech, Shuttle, Pars Online and Respina have resumed their normal operations.

Irans Telecommunications Ministry revealed on Saturday that ten days ago CISCO, the US company that manufactures network equipment had warned about the vulnerability of the router switches that were attacked Friday night.

The ministry said that many companies freeze their networks settings during holidays, and that the companies did not update their settings as MAHER failed to inform them of the imminent attack. Friday is a weekend day in Iran.

A number of Iranian websites were reportedly down for several hours following the Friday night attack.

The Ministry of Telecommunications and Information Technology says that 35 thousand router switches have been attacked by hackers.

The data companies Respina, ISIRAN, and Shuttle were most seriously affected by the attack, said the ministry.

Explaining about the origin of the attack, the ministry said, An image of the US flag that was used in hacking with a slogan about intervention in US elections, as well as the timing of the attack indicate that it has not originated in the Middle East.

IRGC-linked Fars news agency quoted U.S. Cert, a US government computer emergency center, as attributing the attack to the Russian government.

There seems to be no trace of such a statement by the U.S. Cert. Fars might be referring to a previous general warning by the agency about Russian hackers.

Meanwhile, Symantec, a pioneer company in the area of confronting cyber attacks, says Dragon Fly hacking group is responsible for the attack.

Iranian administrative centers website have been subjected to several cyber attacks during previous years.

Irans Oil Ministry was targeted by a major cyber attack in 2012, when the ministry and the National Iranian Oil Companys communication system and internet network were hacked.

In June 2016, hackers made inaccessible the websites of the Iranian Statistical Center, State Registrar Office, and several Foreign Ministry websites including those of Irans embassies in Argentina, Ukraine,Russia and Kyrgyzstan.

The Iranian Cyber Space Police claimed at the time that three Saudi-linked companies were involved in the attack. Nevertheless, the cyber crimes investigation center of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) announced that it has arrested the hackers.

In February 2018 hackers defaced the websites of a number of Iranian newspapers including Qanoun, Arman and Setareh Sobh. Iranian authorities later claimed that the attack had originated from the US and UK.

Since 2012, Iran has been named responsible for cyber attacks on a few U.S. banks, a dam near New York, and for an attempt to hack Obama administration officials user accounts.

A Carnegie Endowment for International Peace report released in January said that Iranian intelligence organizations, like their counterparts in other countries, have been increasingly involved in cyber intelligence and cyber attacks, targeting Iranian opposition in Iran and abroad as well as civil right institutions, government offices and businesses in the US, Israel, Germany and Saudi Arabia.

The report which was focused on Irans destructive activity in cyber space, said Iran uses misleading user accounts as cover in order to conceal its responsibility while taking credit for its hacking capability.

Recently the U.S. imposed sanctions against 10 Iranian real and legal entities on charges of hacking hundreds of U.S. and international universities.

Meanwhile, last September Iran was accused of involvement in hacking user accounts of a number of members of the British Parliament.
A hardline Iranian cleric claims that President Rouhanis government intends to filter the messaging app Telegram and put the blame on the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Ayatollah Ahmad Alamolhoda, the supreme leaders representative in the eastern city of Mashhad said in a speech on Friday April 6 that the government has concluded that all problems of the country and moral corruption result from Telegram and the app should be filtered. However, it wanted to make the leader responsible for the unpopular move, he claimed.

Almost half of the Iranian population (ca. 40 million) uses the app for personal and professional purposes.

Alamolhoda said that he had advocated filtering of all foreign messaging apps four years ago, but the government had attacked him at the time. Now, he says the Rouhani administration has reached the same conclusion.

Telegram and Instagram were temporarily blocked by the government during the recent anti-establishment protests that rocked the country in late December 2017 and early January this year, but the ban was lifted a few days later when the unrest subsided.

Based on some unconfirmed reports, members of Irans High Council for Cyberspace recently had a meeting with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei in which he criticized the governments decision to unblock Telegram after it had filtered it during the unrest.

The chairman of the Iranian Parliaments national security and foreign policy committee, MP Alaeddin Boroujerdi who is close to Khamenei, announced recently that at the highest level of the country, it has been decided to replace Telegram with a domestic app due to its destructive role. By highest level, he probably refered to the supreme leader.

In a public speech in December last year, President Rouhani said that he was not supporting restrictions on accessing social media. Referring to his minister of telecommunication he said: Our minister is here and he promises that his finger never will push the filtering button.

On April 3 the president denied the rumors regarding the filtering of Telegram and said that such a move would make people unhappy and it would harm the job market.

Ayatollah Alamolhoda, however, claimed on Friday, that the government has changed its mind in this regard and will block the app in the future. The hardliner whose son-in-law was Rouhanis rival in the last presidential election, is famous for radical statements and actions. He staunchly opposes concerts in his city and has been successful in canceling some events that had received permits by the government.

Despite his fierce opposition to social media, he himself has an official Telegram channel with more than 4600 members where his speeches and statements are being posted on a daily basis.

In a pole on his Telegram channel, he has asked his audience what they would do in case that the app is filtered. Ironically, 90% of the people who have answered the question said that they would still use Telegram with the help of an anti-filtering software.
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Iran, Russia and Turkey unite against the Alliance of Eternal Goodness LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: kaput

04-07-2018 03:26 PM











Post: #1 Iran, Russia and Turkey unite against the Alliance of Eternal Goodness

Advertisement Today, Russia, Turkey, and Iran urged all countries to take an active part in restoring Syria not in words but in deeds. This concerns economic and political measures. Questions at the press conference were not limited to the topic of Syria; Skripal was discussed again.











Oy vey. Oy vey. LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 1337

04-07-2018 03:44 PM











Post: #2 RE: Iran, Russia and Turkey unite against the Alliance of Eternal Goodness

Predicted 2500 hundred years ago in Ezekiel 38. But thanks for the info. LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 1337

04-07-2018 03:59 PM











Post: #3 RE: Iran, Russia and Turkey unite against the Alliance of Eternal Goodness

LoP Guest Wrote: (04-07-2018 03:44 PM) Predicted 2500 hundred years ago in Ezekiel 38. But thanks for the info.

Since you're into that, you might find this interesting.







Since you're into that, you might find this interesting. LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 1337

04-07-2018 04:10 PM











Post: #4 RE: Iran, Russia and Turkey unite against the Alliance of Eternal Goodness

Good, lets hope it is the beginning of the end of jewish supremacy in the world. The world is sh*t thanks to their interference!!!! conspiracyparty

Registered User

User ID: 1337

04-07-2018 04:14 PM



Posts: 1,025









Post: #5 RE: Iran, Russia and Turkey unite against the Alliance of Eternal Goodness

Quote: Good, lets hope it is the beginning of the end of jewish supremacy in the world.

The world is sh*t thanks to their interference!!!!

A large part of their strength comes from Jewish supramacists in USA.

Just check how many billionares and lobbies they have. A large part of their strength comes from Jewish supramacists in USA.Just check how many billionares and lobbies they have. KingBum

Registered User

User ID: 1337

04-07-2018 04:16 PM



Posts: 4,200









Post: #6 RE: Iran, Russia and Turkey unite against the Alliance of Eternal Goodness

LoP Guest Wrote: (04-07-2018 04:10 PM) Good, lets hope it is the beginning of the end of jewish supremacy in the world. The world is sh*t thanks to their interference!!!!

No the world's sh*t thanks to everyone me and you included the sooner people get that the sooner we can do something about it. No the world's sh*t thanks to everyone me and you included the sooner people get that the sooner we can do something about it. Idealism is the fools shepherd and the braggarts laurels.



Its time to stop pointing fingers, finger pointing gets us nowhere...Steve.



504100 - My number when not logged in. Flic Vange

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User ID: 1337

04-07-2018 04:23 PM



Posts: 1,777









Post: #7 RE: Iran, Russia and Turkey unite against the Alliance of Eternal Goodness

KingBum Wrote: (04-07-2018 04:16 PM) LoP Guest Wrote: (04-07-2018 04:10 PM) Good, lets hope it is the beginning of the end of jewish supremacy in the world. The world is sh*t thanks to their interference!!!!

No the world's sh*t thanks to everyone me and you included the sooner people get that the sooner we can do something about it.

Well, love to know what I have done, worked since school, brought a family up, own my own house, never done anything wrong, how have I ruined the world??? Well, love to know what I have done, worked since school, brought a family up, own my own house, never done anything wrong, how have I ruined the world??? Voltaire: I detest your views but I would give my life to protect your rights to express them.



https://globalcrypto.exchange/i/R0NYMTYxMDUyMDY0OQ==



Bitcoin-bc1qq9r87uasrxv59hz92zy9t47r96aezdfuqnujfx

Bitcoin-bc1qq9r87uasrxv59hz92zy9t47r96aezdfuqnujfx LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 1337

04-07-2018 05:01 PM











Post: #8 RE: Iran, Russia and Turkey unite against the Alliance of Eternal Goodness

LoP Guest Wrote: (04-07-2018 03:44 PM) Predicted 2500 hundred years ago in Ezekiel 38. But thanks for the info.

LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 1337

04-07-2018 05:05 PM











Post: #9 RE: Iran, Russia and Turkey unite against the Alliance of Eternal Goodness

bolbobiggins Wrote: (04-07-2018 04:23 PM) KingBum Wrote: (04-07-2018 04:16 PM) No the world's sh*t thanks to everyone me and you included the sooner people get that the sooner we can do something about it.

Well, love to know what I have done, worked since school, brought a family up, own my own house, never done anything wrong, how have I ruined the world???

you are still a sinner, you constantly hatemonger on Israel, the apple of GOD's eye, probably an atheist, and generally an all around douchebag.



yes, you've done a lot wrong in life....you are not the "good" person you like to think that you are. you are still a sinner, you constantly hatemonger on Israel, the apple of GOD's eye, probably an atheist, and generally an all around douchebag.yes, you've done a lot wrong in life....you are not the "good" person you like to think that you are. Flic Vange

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04-07-2018 05:22 PM



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Post: #10 RE: Iran, Russia and Turkey unite against the Alliance of Eternal Goodness

LoP Guest Wrote: (04-07-2018 05:05 PM) bolbobiggins Wrote: (04-07-2018 04:23 PM) Well, love to know what I have done, worked since school, brought a family up, own my own house, never done anything wrong, how have I ruined the world???

you are still a sinner, you constantly hatemonger on Israel, the apple of GOD's eye, probably an atheist, and generally an all around douchebag.



yes, you've done a lot wrong in life....you are not the "good" person you like to think that you are.

Any Godfearing person, anyone with a conscience should be against those wrong doers, well if knowing right from wrong, makes me a bad person, so be it. They are not Gods Chosen, they are Gods forsaken. And no, I may not be religous as such, but have strong Christian values. And according to these people being a Christian is hateful and bigoted. Please read their disgusting Talmud, now that is hateful and bigoted! Any Godfearing person, anyone with a conscience should be against those wrong doers, well if knowing right from wrong, makes me a bad person, so be it. They are not Gods Chosen, they are Gods forsaken. And no, I may not be religous as such, but have strong Christian values. And according to these people being a Christian is hateful and bigoted. Please read their disgusting Talmud, now that is hateful and bigoted! Voltaire: I detest your views but I would give my life to protect your rights to express them.



https://globalcrypto.exchange/i/R0NYMTYxMDUyMDY0OQ==



Bitcoin-bc1qq9r87uasrxv59hz92zy9t47r96aezdfuqnujfx

Bitcoin-bc1qq9r87uasrxv59hz92zy9t47r96aezdfuqnujfx
















WASHINGTON, April 6 (Reuters)

U.S. President Donald Trump and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed of the United Arab Emirates agreed on Friday to push for unity among Gulf nations, the White House said, amid a bitter standoff between Qatar and other U.S. allies in the region.

The two leaders agreed in a telephone call that members of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council "can and should do more to increase coordination with each other and with the United States," the White House said in a statement.

The UAE, along with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt, cut off travel and trade ties with Qatar last June, accusing it of supporting terrorism and their arch-rival Iran. Doha has denied the charges and has said the countries aim to curtail its sovereignty. The dispute pits key U.S. allies against each other and has complicated efforts to maintain a united front against Iran.

Earlier this week, U.S. officials said the Trump administration was postponing until September a summit with Gulf Arab leaders that had been planned for May. A crowded diplomatic calendar and lack of progress in negotiations to end the dispute were cited as reasons by officials.

Trump last month met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who was on multi-week tour through the United States, and is scheduled to meet with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani April 10.
Baku, Azerbaijan, April 7

Trend:

Over the past 24 hours, Armenias armed forces have 102 times violated the ceasefire along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said April 7.

Armenians were using large-caliber machine guns and mortars.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
Baku, Azerbaijan, April 7

Trend:

Palestine attaches great importance to deepening cooperation with Azerbaijan, Foreign Minister of Palestine Riyad al-Maliki said April 6 at a meeting with Chairman of Azerbaijani Parliament Ogtay Asadov, the Azerbaijani Parliament said in a message.

Asadov said that such meetings between friendly countries of Azerbaijan and Palestine are of great importance in terms of further development and strengthening of bilateral relations.

Stressing that Riyad al-Maliki visits Azerbaijan for the fourth time as a minister, Asadov highly appreciated the Palestinian foreign ministers participation in the Mid-Term Ministerial Conference of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) in Baku.

It was mentioned that the relations between the peoples of Azerbaijan and Palestine are based on historical brotherhood, common religious and cultural roots.

The people and the government of Azerbaijan have always provided political and economic support to the people of Palestine and intend to continue this support in the future, Asadov said.

Azerbaijan has always defended fair position of Palestine in making decisions that meet the interests of Palestine as part of international organizations - the UN, OIC, the NAM, he added.

Azerbaijan as a party involved in a regional conflict and as a country the lands of which are occupied understands the problems of Palestine and adheres to the settlement of the Middle East issue in a peaceful way in accordance with the norms of international law, Asadov noted.

Expressing gratitude for the warm welcome, Riyad al-Maliki spoke about participation in the Mid-Term Ministerial Conference of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) in Baku and his meetings as part of the visit.

It was noted that regular meetings of delegations within prestigious organizations are very important in terms of exchanging views on issues of concern.

Highly appreciating the meeting with President Ilham Aliyev, the guest expressed gratitude for the bold position of the Azerbaijani president at the OIC emergency summit on Jerusalem.

Riyad al-Maliki said that the Palestinian state and its people support Azerbaijans fair position in the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and its settlement within the international law.

During the meeting, the sides exchanged views on issues of mutual interest.

Chief of Azerbaijani Parliaments apparatus Safa Mirzayev and other officials attended the meeting.
Baku, Azerbaijan, April 7

By Elchin Mehdiyev  Trend:

The 18th Ministerial Conference of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) which was held in Baku on April 5-6 under Azerbaijan's chairmanship testifies to the recognition of Baku as one of the diplomatic centers in the world, Azerbaijani MP Aydin Mirzazade told Trend April 7.

Despite Azerbaijan has recently joined NAM, the country has become an active participant in the movement, he said. Azerbaijan is making an important contribution to the common interests of the NAM member-states.

The holding of this conference in Azerbaijan testifies to the confidence of the NAM member-states in this country, Mirzazade said.

The Azerbaijani MP stressed that the expression of the attitude in the final document of the conference to the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the importance of the implementation of the four resolutions of the UN Security Council once again testify to the recognition of Azerbaijans fair position in the world.

"The decision about holding a number of important NAM events in Azerbaijan can be assessed as another diplomatic success of the country, he said. I think that Azerbaijan has once again demonstrated that it acts in compliance with democratic, international norms of law."

The Mid-Term Ministerial Conference of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), titled Promoting International Peace and Security for Sustainable Development was held in Baku on Apr.5-6.

A meeting of senior officials was held on April 3-4 to prepare for the ministerial conference.

The NAM member-states, representatives of countries and international organizations that obtained observer status in NAM, attended the conference.

Moreover, 120 countries participate in NAM. Seventeen countries and 10 international organizations have observer status.
Baku, Azerbaijan, April 7

By Ilhama Isabalayeva  Trend:

One of the main goals of Azerbaijan's participation in the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and holding of an interim conference of the foreign ministers entitled "Maintenance of international peace and security for the sake of sustainable development" is to convey the truth about the country to the world, Azerbaijani MP Asim Mollazade told Trend April 7.

Azerbaijan uses all international platforms to convey the countrys realities to the world, he said.

"One of these platforms is NAM, Mollazade said. The final document of the conference which was held in Baku also reflects the issue related to the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Azerbaijan's territorial integrity is supported in this document in accordance with the norms of international law ."

Azerbaijan must continue this activity in all international organizations, he said. The whole world must know about the violation of the rule of law and that the occupation of Azerbaijani territories by Armenia is a threat to peace and stability.

An interim ministerial conference of the foreign ministers entitled "Maintenance of international peace and security for the sake of sustainable development" was held in Baku as part of NAM on April 5-6.

Moreover, 120 countries participate in NAM. Seventeen countries and 10 international organizations have observer status.

The final document of the ministerial conference has reflected the issue about the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. According to the document, the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict poses a threat to international peace and stability and it must be resolved on the basis of the principles of international law and within Azerbaijans territorial integrity which was recognized at the international level.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
Baku, Azerbaijan, April 7

Trend:

Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev has signed an order regarding measures to improve education infrastructure in Agdash and Barda districts.

Under the presidential order, the Education Ministry is allocated 2,595,000 manats for the construction of 9 modular schools for a total of 412 pupils in two districts.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr.7

By Leman Zeynalova - Trend:

It is necessary to redouble, or triple the efforts to resolve the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, said Azerbaijans Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov in an interview with TRT World.

He noted that the situation on the line of contact is not so good. Armenia violates the ceasefire much often, said the foreign minister.

We call it sporadic shootings. More serious clashes can be started after this sporadic shootings. Trenches on the line of contact are very near to each other. Sometimes the distance between the trenches is less than 100 meters. Of course, that is a huge danger. he said. I dont think that diplomacy is exhausted. But we need to redouble, or triple our efforts.

The minister noted that in order to achieve the conflicts settlement, first of all Armenian troops should be withdrawn from Azerbaijans occupied territories.

We have agreed to seriously intensify the negotiations after the completion of electoral processes in Azerbaijan and Armenia. At the end of the story we will bring some result. We expect it to be a just result. Because the international law is on the side of Azerbaijan, Mammadyarov added.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr.8

By Leman Zeynalova, Vugar Imanov - Trend:

The Azerbaijani embassy in Germany, in cooperation with the law enforcement agencies of the country, is checking the presence of citizens among the people who suffered as a result of the attack in Germanys Munster, Hikmat Hajiyev, spokesman of Azerbaijans Foreign Ministry, told Trend.

He noted that additional information will be provided if any.

As the compatriot living in Munster told Trend, there are no Azerbaijanis among the victims as a result of the attack in the cafe in Munster.

"The attack was committed by a mentally ill German," the he said, noting that the cafe is visited mainly by the rich.

A man drove a van into a group of people sitting outside a popular restaurant in the old city center of Muenster in western Germany on Saturday, killing at least two of them before shooting himself dead, 20 injured, and six of those seriously injured.
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, April 7

By Huseyn Hasanov - Trend

The complex modernization of the textile industry contributes to the growth of competitiveness of Turkmen textile, the Neutral Turkmenistan newspaper reported.

A variety of products have been supplied to the domestic and foreign markets, the range of which is steadily growing thanks to big investments made in the establishment of high-tech enterprises.

Turkmenistan cooperates with such foreign companies and big financial structures as the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Japan Bank for International Cooperation.

According to the article, the Ashgabat textile complex, the Turkmenbashi textile complex, the Turkmenbashi jeans complex, the Rukhabat and Geok Tepe complexes are unique in their capabilities. The innovative equipment made by Germanys Monforts has been installed at the jeans complex.

During the modernization, the equipment made by Switzerlands Rieter company was installed at the Tejen cotton mill. A workshop for the production of twisted cotton yarn with a capacity of 1,300 tons per year was commissioned at the Serdar cotton yarn factory in Kaka district. The workshop was provided with the equipment made by Switzerlands SSM company and Germanys Saurer company.

The equipment made by such German companies as Trutzschler and Schlafhorst has been installed at the cotton-spinning mills in Turkmen-Kali district.

The Bayramali textile complex is being reconstructed. The equipment made by Germanys Karl Mayer company will be used there.
Baku, Azerbaijan, April 7

By Maksim Tsurkov - Trend:

Repair of the Turkmen Berkarar roll on/roll off passenger (RoPax) ferry, which is being conducted in Baku at the Zykh Shipyard owned by Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping CJSC, will be completed in the near future, Rauf Valiyev, head of the company, said at a meeting with Ambassador of Turkmenistan to Azerbaijan Mekan Ishangulyev, Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping CJSC said in a message.

The parties stressed that cooperation between the two countries is developing dynamically in all spheres, including in the field of maritime transport.

Rauf Valiyev informed the ambassador in detail about the work on the Berkarar vessel, the message said. Head of Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping CJSC noted that the vessel will be provided with the necessary technical support.

The sides also exchanged views on the possibilities of cooperation in the field of transit cargo transportation.

Rauf Valiyev also informed the guest about the successful activity and importance of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR). He said that the activity of the TITR International Association as a single group of legal entities is fruitful.

Ishangulyev, in turn, thanked the leadership of Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping CJSC for the help rendered to the Berkarar vessel and said that his country is always interested in cooperation with Azerbaijan in the shipping industry.

At the meeting, the parties discussed issues related to the use of vessels of the oil fleet of the shipping company, education and training of Turkmen citizens in the Azerbaijan State Maritime Academy, the message noted.

The vessel was built in Croatia, and made the first sea voyage to Baku in January 2015.

The ferry is designed for transportation of trucks and other vehicles, as well as passengers. The vessel can simultaneously transport 53 trucks and 200 passengers.

The vessels speed can reach 17.6 knots per hour. The deadweight of the vessel is 2,400 tons.
Baku, Azerbaijan, April 7

By Ali Mustafayev  Trend:

Negotiations on resolution of the dispute on calculation of profit shares between Kazakhstan and Karachaganak Petroleum Operating are being postponed for several months, the Vice-Minister of Energy of Kazakhstan Magzum Mirzagaliyev said at a press conference.

"Discussions on Karachaganak project remain active. We meet almost daily with the representatives of Karachaganak Petroleum Operating. Considering that the list of issues that we are discussing is big, we agreed to extend negotiations until May-June 2018. We still hope that during this time we will be able to agree on everything," said Mirzagaliyev.

The first memorandum on the settlement of the dispute over the calculation of shares of profit between Kazakhstan and the shareholders of the Karachaganak Consortium was extended until the end of the first quarter of 2018. The parties have already started to find common solutions of the issue, according to Minister of Energy Kanat Bozumbayev.

Previously Kazakhstan sued a consortium led by BG Group Plc and Eni SpA, which is developing the oil and gas condensate giant Karachaganak field, for $1.6 billion.

The dispute between Kazakh authorities and the consortium was over the calculation of profit shares.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr.7

By Leman Zeynalova  Trend:

Iran could help Azerbaijan to export its electricity to other countries, Azerbaijans ambassador to Iran Bunyad Huseynov said referring to electricity swap contract between the two countries.

Iran's transit route in comparison to other routes is much economic and is 40 percent cheaper in terms of costs and 60 percent shorter in terms of time, the envoy said in an interview with IRNA.

Commodities are shipped from Mumbai in India to Iran's Bandar Abbas on the southern coast of Persian Gulf and then transferred to Azerbaijan's Astara and then Russia, the diplomat elaborated explaining the low cost of Iran's transit routes.



He said that if the two countries' railways are connected, commodities loaded on the train in Bandar Abbas can be easily transferred to Europe and Russia.



Tehran-Baku cooperation is not limited to their bilateral ties and there have been trilateral and multilateral agreements between these two neighboring countries with other partners in the region including Georgia, Russia and Turkey, the envoy believes.

Power plants of Azerenergy JSC, Azerbaijans electricity producer, generated almost 6 billion kilowatt hour of electricity in January-March 2018.

Azerenergys power plants generated over 1.95 billion kilowatt hour of electricity in March 2018 as compared to 1.96 billion kilowatt hour in March 2017.

In 2017, Azerenergy generated 21.9 billion kilowatt hour of electricity as compared to about 22.6 billion kilowatt hour in 2016.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn
Baku, Azerbaijan, April 7

By Ali Mustafayev  Trend:

Tajik Foreign Minister Sirodzhiddin Aslov will pay an official visit to Russia on April 8-9, where he will meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a message.

The ministers are expected to discuss bilateral relations, prospects for the development of cooperation between Moscow and Dushanbe in the political, trade-economic and humanitarian fields. The parties also plan to exchange views on international and regional issues.

"We are also focusing on interaction in regional formats (CIS, CSTO and SCO), supporting Dushanbes policy within chairmanship in the Commonwealth of Independent States organization in 2018, aimed to improve the organization's activities, which will contribute to strengthening the effectiveness of the work of the CIS and Tajikistans own international authority," - the message said.
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, April 7

By Huseyn Hasanov - Trend

According to Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedovs decree, ambassador Ata Serdarov was dismissed in connection with the transfer to another job.

Serdarov has headed the representative office of Turkmenistan in the EU since March 2017. Moreover, he served as Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Turkmenistan to Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.

Earlier it was reported that Serdarov has been elected chairman of the Democratic Party of Turkmenistan this week, which in total unites more than 211,000 citizens.

The possibilities of diversifying gas supplies from Turkmenistan to Europe are being discussed within the joint Turkmenistan-EU committee. The corresponding negotiations have been held since 2011.

The project of laying a 300-kilometer gas pipeline along the Caspian seabed to the shores of Azerbaijan is optimal for the supply of Turkmen resources to the European market.

Afterwards, Turkmen fuel can be supplied to Turkey, which borders with European countries.
Baku, Azerbaijan, April 7

By Ali Mustafayev  Trend:

President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev visited the construction site of Tashkent City complex.

The head of state got acquainted with the construction process of a five-star hotel and a congress hall, the press service of the President of Uzbekistan said in a message.

Mirziyoyev gave relevant instructions to the managers of the projects for the high-quality construction of the facilities in accordance with modern requirements, providing broad conditions for major international events, pointed out to take into account geological, seismological and climatic factors.

The modern complex, built on an area of 80 hectares between the streets of Navoi, Olmazor, Islam Karimov and Furkat, will include business centers, shopping centers, hotels, offices, congress hall, exhibition halls, modern apartment buildings, restaurants, artificial lake, fountains, etc.
Baku, Azerbaijan, April 7

By Gazenfer Hamidov  Trend:

Iran loaded and unloaded 1.045 million tons of metal products at its ports over the last month of last Iranian fiscal year (Feb. 20-March 20).

The figure indicates a 19.7 percent increase year-on-year, according to the latest report released by Irans Ports and Maritime Organization.

However, on a monthly basis, loading/unloading of metal products through Iranian ports witnessed a rise of 6.3 percent.

The Islamic Republic of Iran exported 854,794 tons of metal products through its ports across the country over the last Iranian calendar month (Feb. 20-March 20), which indicates a 7.33 percent rise compared to the preceding month.

In the meantime, the country imported 190,043 tons of metal products through the organizations ports.

The organization loaded and unloaded 3.32 million tons of minerals and construction materials in the one-month period, which is 4 percent less than in the same month of the preceding year.

About 3.424 million tons of minerals and construction materials were exported through the countrys ports, 9.6 percent more year-on-year.

The report also says that 51,207 tons of machinery, vehicles and spare parts were loaded and unloaded at Iranian ports, registering a fall by 10.4 percent compared to the same period of the preceding year.

Irans machinery, vehicle and spare part imports via the ports amounted to 42,035 tons in one-month period.

Iranian ports saw loading and unloading of a total of 12.698 million tons of various goods and commodities, including food and metal products between Feb. 20 to March 20, 0.3 percent less year-on-year.

In total, over 153 million tons of various goods have been loaded/unloaded at Iranian ports during the last fiscal year.

The volume is 5.5 percent more than the loaded/unloaded products in the preceding year.
Baku, Azerbaijan, April 7

By Gazenfer Hamidov  Trend:

Irans exports to the US witnessed a significant fall in 2018, meanwhile the US increased its exports to the Islamic Republic by over 67 percent.

Trade turnover between Iran and the US stood at $27.5 million in the first two months of 2018.

The figure is 7 percent more compared to January-February 2017, according to the statistics of the United States Census Bureau.

The US exports to Iran accounted to $20.4 million in the 2-month period, which is 67.2 percent more year-on-year.

Meanwhile Iran's exports to the US decreased by 47.4 percent to $ 7.1 million in the same time span, according to the report.

In February 2018, Iran and the US had a trade turnover worth $14 million, $11.6 million of which accounted for the US exports to Iran.

The US exports to Iran in 2017 reached $137.7 million, which is 19.9 percent less year-on-year.

Iran's exports to the US decreased by about 27.9 percent to $63.2 million in January-December 2017.

During 2016, the US exported $172 million worth of goods to Iran, mostly agriculture products and medical equipment, and imported $87.7 million worth of goods from Iran, mostly pistachios and carpets.

Removal of international sanctions against Tehran in 2016 only contributed to Irans imports to the US, which experienced a 700-percent rise year-on-year, while the overall trade stood at $260 million, 11 percent less than the preceding year.
Tehran, Iran, April 7

By Kamyar Eghbalnejad  Trend:

Germany-based Europaeisch-Iranische Handelsbank AG (EIH) has agreed to allocate 30 million euros in refinance to Export Development Bank of Iran, the head of international affairs department at Exports Development Bank of Iran, Hamdireza Maboudi told journalists in Tehran.

Maboudi said that the amount will be spent on financing imports of goods and services into the country.

The agreement has envisaged a payback period of six months for staple products, medicines as well as medical equipment and one year for raw materials. The interest rate on the loan is set at 2.75 percent.

Iran had earlier finalized similar agreements with India, China, South Korea, Denmark, Austria and Russia worth $40 billion for financing major development projects in the country.
A senior Iranian lawmaker says the Islamic Republic will definitely walk away from the landmark nuclear deal it signed with the P5+1 group of countries in 2015 if the United States re-imposes sanctions on Tehran, Press TV reported.

"The most important objective of the JCPOA (the nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action), was the lifting of sanctions," Chairman of the Iranian Parliament's Committee on National Security and Foreign Policy Alaeddin Boroujerdi said on Saturday.

If  sanctions are re-imposed on Iran, we definitely will not remain in the JCPOA," he added.

The US ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, said on Thursday that Washington would probably get out of the Iran nuclear deal and re-impose sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman visited the headquarters of Apple in San Franciscos Silicon Valley, Al Arabiya reports.

During the visit, the crown prince met with Apple CEO Tim Cook and discussed several joint projects, including app development in Saudi Arabia, as well as enriching Arabic educational content and creativity in classrooms.

The meeting also discussed job opportunities to enable Saudi youth to obtain training at the company's headquarters.

After the meeting, Prince Mohammed was given technical presentations on education, health and marketing.

The crown prince also visited the Steve Jobs Theater and was briefed on the contemporary voice applications that the tech giant is working on.

Prince Mohammed was accompanied by Saudi ambassador to the United States Prince Khalid bin Salman and members of the crown princes official delegation.
During his visit to Seattle in the United States, Saudi Arabias Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman browsed the latest technological advancements in aviation, air defense, missile technology and satellite communications at Lockheed Martin, the aerospace and defense company's headquarters, Al Arabiya reports.

Mohammed bin Salman also looked into the THAAD high-tech air defense system. Saudi Arabia is looking to purchase THAAD and localize its production.

Lockheed Martin expressed plans to establish a research and development center in the kingdom in cooperation with the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST).

At the headquarters, there was a display of the command, control and communication system which will be relocated and localized in Saudi Arabia.

The crown prince also looked into satellites currently under construction for the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology and Arabsat. The Saudi-owned satellites are considered to be the first of their kind, and the most efficient and accurate.

The high-tech capabilities of the satellites will enhance the kingdoms capabilities in space technology.

The first Saudi satellite is set to provide high-capacity and advanced Ka-Band capabilities. It will also provide military, security and civil sectors with a secure satellite network for visual, telephone and internet communications.

The satellites frequency will extend to the Middle East, Africa and Europe. It is expected that the satellites will be delivered by the end of this year.

At the end of his visit, the crown prince signed the final piece to be placed on the Saudi satellite before its launch with the words above the clouds.
A total of 22 people were injured during armed confrontations between the Yemeni government forces and armed militiamen in the southern province of al-Dhalea on Saturday, a security official told Xinhua.

The Yemeni government forces backed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) clashed with scores of militiamen over the control of key facilities and institutions in the city of al-Dhalea, leaving 22 people injured at the scene, the local security source said on condition of anonymity.

"Anti-government militiamen launched an attack with grenades and heavy weapons against the UAE-backed Yemeni troops in charge of securing and protecting several key government institutions in the city," the security source said.

He added that the UAE-backed Yemeni troops that repulsed the attack after a two-hour gunbattle and imposed tightened security measures in and around the government-controlled province of al-Dhalea.

Medical sources at the AlNasr hospital confirmed to Xinhua that 22 people were injured from the two-warring sides, including leading members.

The United Nations has listed Yemen as the world's number one humanitarian crisis, with seven million Yemenis on the brink of famine and cholera causing more than 2,000 deaths.
22:20 (GMT+4) A man drove a van into a group of people sitting outside a popular restaurant in the old city center of Muenster in western Germany on Saturday, killing at least two of them before shooting himself dead, police said, Reuters reported.

The vehicle plowed into people sitting at tables outside the Grosser Kiepenkerl restaurant, which is popular with tourists.

At 15:27 (1327 GMT), a vehicle drove into the outside area of the restaurant ... three people were killed, 20 injured, and six of those seriously injured, police spokesman Andreas Bode said, adding: The perpetrator killed himself in the vehicle.

It was not immediately clear whether the perpetrator was among the three killed, or whether his death took the number of dead to four. A police spokeswoman said separately that there were at least three people dead.

A security source said the perpetrator was probably German.

The Sueddeutsche Zeitung said the man was a German with psychological problems who had no terrorist background. The Interior Ministry in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, home to Muenster, would neither confirm nor deny the report.

Bode said the identity of the perpetrator was not yet clear. Investigators were looking at the possibility that other suspects fled the scene, though they had no evidence that this was the case, he added.

It is far too early to speak of an attack, Bode said. We have cordoned off the area widely. The crime scene investigators are checking out the crime scene, trying to identify, investigate and secure traces. That is our current task.

The police spokeswoman said: The danger is over.

The incident came one year to the day after a truck attack in Stockholm that killed five people.

It also evoked memories of a December 2016 truck attack in Berlin that killed 12 people. In that attack, Anis Amri, a failed Tunisian asylum seeker with Islamist links, hijacked a truck, killed the driver and then plowed into a crowded marketplace, killing 11 more people and injuring dozens of others.

I am shocked by the news from Muenster, said Andrea Nahles, parliamentary leader of the Social Democrats, junior partner in Chancellor Angela Merkels ruling coalition.

My thoughts are with the victims and their relatives, she added. I hope that our authorities can quickly clarify the background to this incident and wish the local forces much strength for their work.

Government spokeswoman Ulrike Demmer tweeted: Awful news from Muenster. Our thoughts are with the victims and their relatives.

19:12 (GMT+4) A vehicle drove into a group of people in the western German city of Muenster on Saturday, killing several of them and probably the driver, police said, Reuters reported.

There are several dead, probably including the suspect, a police spokeswoman said.

A security source added: The scenario is such that an attack cannot be ruled out.

Mass-selling daily Bild reported in its online edition that three people had died in the incident. It showed pictures of where police had cordoned off an area of the city.

The incident evoked memories of a December 2016 truck attack in Berlin that killed 12 people.

Anis Amri, a failed Tunisian asylum seeker with Islamist links, hijacked a truck on Dec. 19, 2016, killed the driver and then ploughed it into a crowded marketplace, killing 11 more people and injuring dozens of others.

18:55 (GMT+4) A car drove into a group of people in the western German city of Muenster on Saturday, killing several and injuring others, Reuters reported citing Spiegel Online.

It was not clear whether the incident was an attack, it added.
The United Kingdom's Metropolitan police have said they had arrested a man suspected of supporting terrorism upon his arrival from Morocco, Sputnik reported

"On Saturday, 7 April, Detectives from the Met's Counter Terrorism Command arrested a 55-year-old man on suspicion of encouragement of terrorism and dissemination of terrorist publications, contrary to the Terrorism Act 2006," Met Police said in a statement.

The man was arrested at 11.02 GMT at Gatwick Airport when he arrived at the United Kingdom from Morocco, it noted.

The suspect is held in custody at a south London police station, the statement continued.

The United Kingdom has faced a number of terror attacks in 2017, most prominently three attacks in London, which took place in Westminster, on London Bridge, and outside the Parsons Green Tube station, and a bombardment at a concert in Manchester on May 22, the latter of which took the lives of over 20 people and left several hundreds wounded.
Russia is considering an option of payments for oil in national currencies, in particular with Turkey and Iran, Energy Minister Alexander Novak told reporters, TASS reports.

The parties are interested in it but there is also a matter of conversion of currencies and their further use, he added.

"There is a common understanding that we need to move towards the use of national currencies in our settlements. There is a need for this, as well as the wish of the parties. This concerns both Turkey and Iran - we are considering an option of payment in national currencies with them. This requires certain factors in financial and economic sector and in banking sector," he said.

Novak noted that if there is an opportunity to make payments in national currencies and companies are ready for it, it is necessary to study properly conversion of this currency and its further use.
Russias Industry and Trade Ministry expects to sign special investment contracts with German carmaker BMW and Korean Hyundai before the end of 2018, Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov told reporters, TASS reports.

Special investment contract is a new mechanism to support foreign and domestic automobile producers. Its key advantage is in guaranteeing standing taxation conditions in exchange for a guarantee of investments to be made by the business.

Hyundai plans production of engines in St. Petersburg in the next three years. As part of this project the signing of a special investment contract is expected. The annual capacity of the production facility will be 150,000 units. This will help the company to increase local manufacturing content to 60%. Hyuindai already has its own plant in St. Petersburg - Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Rus, which produces models of Hyundai Solaris, Hyundai Creta, Kia Rio and Hyundai Creta.

For several years, BMW has been assembling its cars for the Russian market in Kaliningrad (the countrys westernmost region) at the site of the local carmaker Avtotor. However, taking into account the changes in the rules for obtaining discounts and subsidies for automotive companies, the assembly site has become less profitable.

In 2017, BMW announced plans to make a final decision on construction of a full-cycle plant in Kaliningrad. By June, BMW, Avtotor, the Industry and Trade Ministry are to determine the terms of a special investment contract. In early 2018, BMW announced the establishment in Kaliningrad, a subsidiary of OOO BMW Rusland Automotive.
Baku, Azerbaijan, April 7

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

Turkey is in talks with Russia on the purchase of Kornet anti-tank guided missiles, Turkish media reported April 7.

The negotiations are also being held with Russia on cooperation to strengthen the armor of Turkish tanks.

On Dec. 29, 2017, Turkey signed a loan agreement with Russia to purchase the S-400 Triumph air defense systems. The total purchase price was $2.5 billion and the first supplies are scheduled for late 2019-early 2020.
Baku, Azerbaijan, April 7

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

The Turkish Air Force continues operations against militants of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) terrorist group in northern Iraq, the General Staff of Turkish Armed Forces said in a message April 7.

The antiterrorist operation is being conducted in the Hakurk district.

Six terrorists were killed as part of the operation on April 7, the message said.

On April 6, the Turkish Air Force launched a large-scale military operation as part of the fight against the PKK terrorist group, and a total of 89 PKK terrorists were killed as part of the operation.

The conflict between Turkey and the PKK, which demands the creation of an independent Kurdish state, has continued for more than 30 years and has claimed more than 40,000 lives.

The UN and the European Union list the PKK as a terrorist organization.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
Baku, Azerbaijan, April 7

Trend:

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused France of supporting terrorists, Turkish media reported.

"France supports terrorists and hosts terrorists at Elysee Palace. You can't explain it and you can't get rid of terrorism. As long as the West feeds these terrorists, it will sink," Erdogan said.

Turkish president noted that 4,000 terrorists have been neutralized during Operation Olive Branch in northwestern Syria's Afrin.

"4,000 terrorists have been neutralized in Afrin as I was recently informed. I have not yet counted the terrorists neutralized in Turkey, abroad and in northern Iraq. If we add them, this figure may reach 4,200 or 4,300," he said.
The US administration has imposed sanctions on 189 Russian-related individuals and entities as part of various sanction programs since Donald Trump became the US President, a senior administration official told a video conference, TASS reports.

"In total, this administration has designated 189 Russian-related individuals and entities under our various sanctions programs," the official said.

"These sanctions are in addition to our recent cyber action, which sanctioned five entities and 19 individuals for their role in conducting destabilizing activities, including interference in the 2016 U.S. election," the official said.

"We have also led efforts to hold Russia accountable for specific actions, including our sanctioning of Russians targeted for activities related to the North Korea program, transnational criminal organizations, our Global Magnitsky program, and the Sergei Magnitsky Act," the official added.
The Trump administration is considering ways to require imported automobiles to meet stricter environmental standards in order to protect U.S. carmakers, according to two sources familiar with the administrations thinking, Reuters reports.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said President Donald Trump will promote free, fair and reciprocal trade practices to grow the U.S. economy and continue to (bring) jobs and manufacturers back to the U.S.

Two U.S. automotive executives said Friday they believed the idea had been floated in White House talks last week by Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, but said the auto industry had not asked for the changes or backed them.

A Commerce Department spokesman referred a Reuters request for comment back to the White House, which has not responded.

U.S. automakers have long urged removal of non-tariff barriers in Japan, South Korea and other markets that they believe unfairly hinder U.S. exports. There are also concerns that any new non-tariff U.S. barriers could violate WTO rules.

The story was first reported Friday by the Wall Street Journal.

Citing unnamed senior administration and industry officials, the Journal said Trump had asked several agencies to pursue plans to use existing laws to subject foreign-made cars to stiff emission standards.

It appears such non-tariff barriers could have a greater potential effect proportionately on European automakers, which collectively import a greater percentage of cars from plants outside the United States, according to sales figures from Autodata.

In comparison, Japanese and Korean brands made about 70 percent of the vehicles they sold last year in the United States at North American plants. European brands built only 30 percent in North America.

Foreign automakers operate 17 assembly plants in the United States, 12 of which are owned by Asian manufacturers. Virtually all of those are non-union plants, many of them in southern states.

Imported vehicles accounted for about 21 percent of the 17.2 million sold last year in the United States, according to Autodata.

The White House initiative was still in the planning stage, with officials at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency working to craft a legal justification for the policy, the paper said.

The EPA and the Commerce Department, which the newspaper said was also involved in the effort, did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Reuters. Neither did representatives for Ford Motor Co and General Motors, nor for the United Auto Workers union, which represents workers at those automakers.
A fire was reported on the 50th floor at Trump Tower in New York on Saturday and the New York Fire Department said it was responding to the blaze, Reuters reported.

President Donald Trump was in Washington.

Social media video showed a small fire that was visible from the structure in center Manhattan.

The New York Fire Department said on its Twitter feed that it was a three-alarm blaze and there were no immediate reports of injuries.
KYODO NEWS - Apr 7, 2018 - 10:46 | All, Japan

A ceremony was held Saturday to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge, the world's longest suspension bridge.

The bridge, which has a central span measuring a record 1,991 meters and is 3,911 meters long overall, connects the major port city of Kobe and Awaji Island, both in Hyogo Prefecture in western Japan.

Construction took around 10 years, with work on the bridge completed on schedule in September 1996, despite a major earthquake centered on Awaji Island in January 1995 that damaged part of the structure. The bridge opened to traffic on April 5, 1998.

The Akashi Kaikyo Bridge, together with another bridge linking Awaji Island and Tokushima Prefecture on the island of Shikoku, provides a seamless link between Shikoku and Japan's largest main island of Honshu.
KYODO NEWS - Apr 6, 2018 - 23:31 | All, World

Japan has notified the World Trade Organization of its intention to join as a third party the United States' complaint against China over alleged theft of intellectual property, a source close to the matter said Friday.

If China and the United States approve Japan's participation, Tokyo would be able to express its views in the WTO consultations, the source said.

As part of retaliatory measures against China, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative launched the complaint on March 23, saying China uses discriminatory licensing requirements to compel the transfer of technologies from U.S. companies to Chinese companies.

China appears to be breaking WTO rules by denying foreign patent holders, including U.S. companies, basic patent rights to stop a Chinese entity from using the technology after a licensing contract ends, the USTR said.

Japan has also been concerned over recent years by the same issue and also has huge stake in the matter, according to Japan's notification sent to the WTO.

If Japan's participation in the WTO consultations is accepted, Tokyo is set to say that the Chinese measure regarding technology transfer is distorting the competitive environment between companies, the source said.

The European Union has also decided to seek to join the U.S.-China consultations as a third party, rather than jointly filing the complaint with the United States, the source said.

Under the WTO dispute settlement process, the United States and China will first consult over the issue. If they fail to reach a mutually agreed solution through consultations, the United States may request the establishment of a WTO dispute settlement panel to review the matter.
Kerala's COVID-19 death toll to cross 32,000 mark as 8,000 more to be added

The deaths which had been left out from the list for various reasons till June 14 will now be included in the official list
Researchers from the School of Medicine in Ribeirao Preto (FMRP), at the University of Sao Paulo (USP), in collaboration with international groups, have developed indices that provide information about the prognosis of cancers, aid in the choice of the most appropriate therapy to be used and identify potential targets for the development of new drugs. The article reporting these results - Machine Learning Identity Stemness Features Associated with Oncogenic Dedifferentiation - will be published on April 5 in Cell.

To perform the study, researchers at the Omics laboratory from the Department of Genetics of the FMRP combined the use of artificial intelligence algorithms, genomic data from 12,000 samples from 33 different types of tumors, and an understanding of how progression of cancer occurs.

According to Houtan Noushmehr, senior author of the study, the methodologies used in this work are part of a new trend in biomedical sciences research, consequence of the large amount of molecular data currently available. "The present challenge is to manage, interpret and analyze different categories of data," says Noushmehr, "which requires researchers to integrate knowledge in biology, computer science and statistics." He considers the training of young scientists to manage coherently these massive data amounts as his main task, both as a teacher and a researcher.

These results build on the group's previous studies, including one also published in Cell, that identified important genomic features of brain tumors. "The goal is that our index can be used one day in the clinical routine," explains Tathiane Malta, first author of the study, "as additional information for the clinician to choose the most appropriate treatment for each patient and tumor." In addition to the Ribeirao Preto team, researchers from Harvard University, in the United States, and the University of Poznan, in Poland, also authored the study.

Cancer stem cells

According to a currently accepted understanding, transformations that healthy cells undergo when growing tumors include mainly two characteristics: The loss of their specific features and the acquisition of the ability to multiply in a disorderly fashion. This process can also be considered as a loss of specialization, with tumor cells become progressively undifferentiated. Typically, the sub-population of cancer stem cells "drives" tumor growth. The stemness indices developed by the researchers provide a measure of how much the tumor cells resemble stem cells.

Artificial intelligence

Based on the idea that there is a similarity between tumor cells and stem cells, the USP researchers used a machine-learning algorithm to detect and systematize molecular characteristics of healthy stem cells and differentiated cells derived from them. The software analyzed thousands of cells at different stages of differentiation, to identify typical molecular signatures of stem cells. With this information, they created two independent "stemness-like" indices, based on gene expression and DNA methylation. The indices range from zero to one, with zero meaning low similarity to stem cells, and one high similarity.

The Cancer Genome Atlas program

The database from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) program includes samples from primary tumors of 12,000 people, covering 33 different types of cancers. Over the last 10 years, scientists involved in the program have generated and stored data on genetic and epigenetic changes in tumors. Using the stemness indices, the researchers detected the tumoral degree of stemness in the TCGA samples. Results

The main finding of the study is that stemness indices provide a measure of the path of tumor cells towards "de-differentiation", with higher indices correlating with tumor aggressiveness in many types of cancer. Accordingly, the researchers found that metastatic tumors have high rates of similarity to stem cells. In addition, the stemness indices could allow the identification of new targets for anticancer drugs, aimed at halting the progression of the cells towards de-differentiation. "If we can identify the point at which the tumor cells start to have characteristics of stem cells, we can prevent this trajectory and avoid its aggravation," Noushmehr adds.

###

Universidade de Sao Paulo

Universidade de Sao Paulo is a state-funded university in the Brazilian state of Sao Paulo. It is the largest Brazilian university and the country's most prestigious educational institution, the best university in Ibero-America,[and holds a high reputation among world universities, being ranked 100 worldwide in reputation by the Times Higher Education World University Rankings. USP is involved in teaching, research and university extension in all areas of knowledge, offering a broad range of courses.

The university was founded in 1934, regrouping already existing schools in the state of Sao Paulo. The university has subsequently created new departments, becoming one of the largest institutions of higher education in Latin America, with approximately 90,000 enrolled students. Currently, it has eleven campuses, four of them in the city of Sao Paulo. The remaining campuses are in the cities of Bauru, Lorena, Piracicaba, Pirassununga, Ribeirao Preto and two in Sao Carlos.

Ribeirao Preto Medical School (FMRP) at University of Sao Paulo (USP) provides excellence in patient care and in higher education, by training health professionals with a high level of qualification and qualified researchers in its graduate programs, which produce high-quality innovative research with international insertion. In this context, OMICs Lab aims to identify and understand the epigenomic signatures that define normal and disease states. The ultimate goal is to help develop better therapies and cures for complex diseases such as diabetes and cancer. To this end, we generate (by our own and through our collaborators), next generation sequencing data across a multitude of -omics type data, genomics, epigenomics, proteomics and transcriptomics and perform mechanistic studies. A main focus of the lab is to train and educate the next generation of scientists skills in analyzing and interpreting these data types and by doing so we introduce important skills in the scientific method, bioinformatics and leadership. For more information, visit http://www.fmrp.usp.br, http://www.usp.br or bioinformatics.fmrp.usp.br and find us on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
Arizona just advanced its ranking among blockchain-friendly states, bringing corporations one step closer to submitting all of their data on distributed ledger technology.

Governor Doug Ducey has signed House Bill 2603, or the Corporations/Blockchain Technology bill, as an amendment to the Arizona Revised Statutes, which already supports signatures and records secured through blockchain technology and smart contracts. With the amendment, data thats stored and shared by corporations on the blockchain also becomes valid.

Arizonas blockchain bill was first introduced to the House in February and passed the State Legislature in a matter of weeks. HB 2603 received strong support from lawmakers, including unanimous support from the Senate and only a handful of nay votes in the House. The bill was transmitted to Governor Duceys desk in late March, where he signed it into law on April 3.

The goal is to allow in a couple years for corporations to submit their records on a blockchain, Representative Jeff Weninger, the sponsor of the bill and a champion for blockchain innovation in the state, told a local news publication.

Last year at about this time, Rep. Weninger introduced the law that recognized blockchain-fueled signatures and smart contracts as valid, which really set in motion the innovation that would follow from policymakers looking to catapult their state as a hotbed for innovation.

Another Weninger bill is the Running Nodes/Blockchain/Regulation Prohibition act, which would block cities from preventing an individual from running a node on blockchain technology in a residence, or cryptocurrency mining. Rather, he believes its a decision that should be made at the state level.

Meanwhile, northwest of Arizona in Washington, the pendulum is swinging to the other side, where local policymakers have placed a moratorium on bitcoin mining applications for the time being.

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Arizona and Fintech

The Southwestern state has taken a leadership position with blockchain, and they have more innovation ahead. Rep. Weninger is co-sponsoring a bill to allow tax payments in bitcoin. The tax bill is taking a bit longer to make its way through the Legislature, but it could be a model for other states to adopt if it passes.

The state is looking to fintech more broadly to bolster the economy, as evidenced by the fintech regulatory sandbox that became a reality last month. It gives entrepreneurs the ability to come to the state and focus on testing their products without the cumbersome legal regulatory fees and expenses that typically accompany innovation.

Featured image from Shutterstock.



The post Arizonas Corporate Blockchain Bill Becomes Law appeared first on CCN.


In this segment of the MarketFoolery podcast, host Mac Greer, Jason Moser of Million Dollar Portfolio, and David Kretzmann of Hidden Gems Canada weigh in on the conflict that President Trump is ratcheting up with China.

Beijing's response -- a threat to impose countertariffs on a range of U.S. exports, including soybeans, China's largest single U.S. import. Stocks plunged briefly on the news, then the market basically decided to ignore it. Now, part of that is likely because none of the tariffs on either side have actually gone into effect yet -- and on the U.S. side, imposing them could take a while. The Fools look at these threatened maneuvers as negotiating tactics. But for their listeners, one question looms large: Should we adjust our investing strategy to account for this new variety of macroeconomic menace?

A full transcript follows the video.

More From The Motley Fool

This video was recorded on April 4, 2018.

Mac Greer: Guys, let's begin with a potential trade war. In response to proposed tariffs by the Trump Administration on software patents and other technology, China has proposed new tariffs on U.S. products including cars, whiskey and soybeans, which is the biggest U.S. export to China. Guys, this morning, I was really fired up about this story. In the pre-market, it was looking ugly. The market opened sharply down. But now, the market has turned that frown upside down.

David Kretzmann: That didn't take long.

Greer: It didn't take long, and that may be related to a statement made by the president's economic advisor, Larry Kudlow, right before our taping today. Kudlow told reporters that the market shouldn't overreact to trade measures, saying the market correction is mild and overdue. Kudlow went on to say that the president is a free trader at heart. So, what does it all mean for investors?

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Kretzmann: Well, there's a lot of back-and-forth going on between the U.S. and China. I think it's important to take a step back and recognize that these tariffs aren't going into effect right away. I think the best way to look at it at this point is, these are really negotiating tactics from the Trump Administration and, on the other side of the table, China. In the case of the U.S. proposed tariffs, companies have until May 22nd to review and probably object to the tariffs being put in place. From there, the U.S. government would have 180 extra days to review whether or not they want to put those tariffs in place and to what extent they would put them in place. So really, the worst-case scenario here is, the tariffs would probably go into place in a couple of months or even later this year if they even go into place at all. But, at this point, I look at it as negotiating tactics. I don't think the U.S. or China really wants these tariffs to be put in place. I don't think either country really benefits.

Greer: Jason, it sounds like a better term might be a proposed trade war.

Jason Moser: Yeah. That's it, right? Nobody really wants a trade war. I think David's right, I think it's really more or less a couple of strong-willed individuals just trying to lob up some strong negotiating tactics and get the conversation started, at least.

I think, the question we get when we see headlines like these is, "How should I change my investing strategy? What should I do as an investor? How should I change or adjust?" And honestly, the best part about our investing style -- which is, as we always talk about, investing in businesses, focusing on longer periods of time, taking things with a grain of salt and focusing on the bigger picture -- the best part about our investing style is, when you run into these kinds of stretches, there's volatility, the markets are down, and you think, "Woah!" But then, go take a look at your portfolio, particularly look at the holdings that you've had in there for a long time. And by "a long time" I mean three, four, five years, even longer. The nice part about our style of investing is, there's a good chance, if you're investing in good businesses and you've held them for three, four, five years, even longer, even in times like these, those positions are still doing really well. They're still typically going to be rewarding your portfolio.

So, I think it's always nice to take a step back, take a look at your portfolio, look at those companies you've been holding on to for a long time and ask yourself, do I really need to change what I'm doing? Because in the long run, it seems to be working, these short-term sorts of moves notwithstanding. And perhaps it's an opportunity to add a little bit to those positions that are doing so well.

Greer: David, pushing back on Jason's point a little bit --

Moser: Don't push back on me.

Greer: OK, Jason, I'm going to push back on your point directly. If I'm a shareholder in a company like Boeing (NYSE: BA) -- Boeing last year agreed to sell 300 planes to China. That's around $37 billion worth of planes. Boeing estimates that China could buy more than a trillion dollars of aircraft over the next 20 years. That's not nothing.

Moser: I'm going to pull my Tim Cook card, I would never be an investor in Boeing in the first place, Mac. How about that?

Greer: Oh, what a dodge!

Kretzmann: He doesn't accept the premise of your question, Mac.

Moser: That's right.

Greer: You reject the premise. But, if you're a Boeing shareholder, do you look at this story, and do you look in a potential trade war, and say, "You know what? Maybe I should get out."

Kretzmann: I think it's premature to do that. Obviously, Boeing has a diversified business, it isn't just selling to the U.S. or to China. And hopefully you're not investing so much into Boeing that you're losing sleep at night over this proposed trade war. With our style of investing, as JaMo was outlining there, if you have a diversified portfolio of quality businesses, they're not going to be all companies largely dependent on China for the bulk of their revenue, I think you can afford, in this case, to continue holding Boeing or a company like that, that's a little bit more dependent on China for the long-term. Like I mentioned earlier, I just don't see these tariffs being put into place, at least to the extent that I think both countries are jockeying for at this point.

Moser: Yeah. And to your point, I think that's a good one.

Greer: Thank you. I appreciate that.

Moser: All companies are not created equally; all markets and industries are not created equal. There are certain companies or industries that are going to be a bit more exposed to this than others. And I think one we've seen a lot discussed here recently is appliances and electronics, a lot of that stuff that's imported over here, chances are we have a house full of them. And on the one hand, in theory the price of things like home appliances and electronics could go up.

I also was thinking about this from the other side of that, though. It doesn't necessarily mean that a retailer has to pass on those costs, especially if that retailer is run by someone who takes a longer outlook and is focused more on being the Earth's most customer-centric company, for example, [coughs] Jeff Bezos and Amazon. But, I mean, there are examples of retailers out there that will forgo that short-term profitability in order to build up that loyal customer base, and they would view things like this as a bit more temporary in nature. So, that's another way to look at it.

Kretzmann: I would say, at the end of the day, I would be nervous about letting macro events drive your investing decisions one way or another. Our former Fool colleague Morgan Housel, he had an article looking back at previous Administrations. The Bush Jr. Administration was supposed to be good for airlines and energy. Those industries turned out to perform terribly under his tenure as president. Obama was supposed to be great for clean energy, and that industry by and large really performed poorly, from an investing perspective.

For me, it comes down to, don't let those macro decisions drive your investing decisions. At The Fool, we tend to be bottom-up investors. Focus on finding great, quality businesses that you think have good odds to perform well over the next five years or beyond, regardless of which administration or political party has power at that given time.

Greer: And it sounds like you're both saying, this could end up being more of a trade kerfuffle, right? Not a trade war.

Kretzmann: I would lean more toward that.

Greer: Kerfuffle.

Kretzmann: Kerfuffle, I like it.

Greer: Can we all say that together, kerfuffle?

Kretzmann: Kerfuffle.

Moser: Kerfuffle.

John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. David Kretzmann owns shares of Amazon. Jason Moser has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Mac Greer owns shares of Amazon. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Amazon. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
By Nandita Bose and Melissa Fares

NEW YORK, April 6 (Reuters) - The Trump administration's trade dispute with Beijing could slam U.S. retailers if tariffs are implemented and lead to higher prices or a shortage of merchandise.

President Donald Trump late on Thursday said he was considering penalties on $100 billion in Chinese goods, without specifying which goods he would target. That would be in addition to the proposed tariffs on $50 billion of imports from China that Washington unveiled last week. Trump's first round of $50 billion in tariffs mostly targeted industrial goods and electronic components.

The threatened U.S. tariffs could be little more than a negotiating tactic aimed at forcing China to address its intellectual property policies. But some retailers and apparel companies are sounding the alarm bells.

The two biggest categories of U.S. imports from China last year were communications and computer equipment, totaling $137 billion according to U.S. Census data. Cellphones and computers, key portions of these categories, were spared from the initial tariffs list. Apparel and footwear, both labor-intensive industries in China, made up a combined $39 billion in U.S. imports.

"It's this rhetoric around another $100 billion in tariffs that concerns us because certainly within that next pool of categories it would be hard to exclude apparel and footwear, said Robert DLoren, chief executive of Xcel Brands Inc , a clothing supplier to Macys Inc, Hudsons Bay Co and others.

"If tariffs were to be introduced on apparel, the very next day I will be on a plane to China and I will be working with my factories, trim suppliers, mills to have each of us assess how much tighter we can work to deal with this, he said.

Jonathan Gold, the National Retail Federation's vice president for supply chain and customs policy, also expressed concern over what the new set of tariffs might entail.

"Our concern is that the new set of tariffs will turn to more consumer products not on the list and will now include things like apparel, home goods, shoes, all of those basic retail goods coming in from China, Gold said.

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"As companies make their buying decisions especially for the holiday season, which they do six, nine to 12 months in advance they are trying to figure out how they will do this going forward.

Should a trade war ensue, retailers with vast global supply chains may suffer less than others. Costco Wholesale Corp , Walmart Inc, Home Depot Inc and Lowes Companies Inc, for example, have the ability to acquire products in multiple markets and could move to tap alternative markets such as Vietnam, Bangladesh or Colombia for merchandise.

"Many retailers will do just fine, but you have to have other markets where your products can go, said Brandon Fletcher, an analyst at broker-dealer Sanford C. Bernstein.

"Lets say you pre-committed six months ago to buying a whole bunch of TVs from China. Now, the tariffs might force that to be a 25 percent higher price. And so you say, OK, I dont want to sell these in the U.S. because I have to pay the tariff. Well, is there a tariff for China on selling televisions to Mexico? Nope."

Walmart has reduced its supply chain exposure to China quite a bit over the years as lower cost goods became available out of Vietnam, while Costco has sourcing offices in a number of core markets beyond China, Fletcher noted. In contrast, Best Buy Co Inc depends heavily on China to source smaller TV sets and other low-priced merchandise, and there are no easy alternative supply countries, he said.

Best Buy declined to comment on how the tariffs might impact the company's supply chain.

At Dollar General Corp, a substantial amount of imported merchandise comes from China, according to a company filing dated March 23. A spokesman for Dollar General declined comment.

At Target Corp, China is its single largest source of merchandise. It said in its annual report, the imposition of additional tariffs or duties on imported products could adversely affect its business. "Like all companies, we are monitoring the situation very closely," a Target spokeswoman said.

As the cost to make goods in China has gone up over the past decade, many retail and apparel companies have moved some production to Vietnam, Bangladesh and Indonesia. For instance, Gap Inc purchased 28 percent of its apparel in China in fiscal 2013, according to Christopher Svezia, a senior vice president of research at investment services company Wedbush. By fiscal 2017, the apparel chain bought 22 percent of its merchandise in China and 25 percent in Vietnam, he said. "Theres definitely been some movement out of China across the board, Svezia said.

Gap did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

"You cant just say lets go to Pakistan or North Africa. Its not so easy," said Xcel Brands' DLoren. "It will take years to build out the supply chain. Even if you have the capital you wont be able to find the factories," he said. "Production lines are booked months or years in advance. (Reporting by Nandita Bose and Melissa Fares in New York Additional reporting by Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles and Aishwarya Venugopal in Bengaluru; Editing by Tom Brown and Chris Reese)
Last week, the world was greeted by yet another heart-warming tweet from the White House regarding its position on immigration. Fears of a caravan of migrants fleeing harsh conditions in Central America and headed to the US border had prompted president Donald Trump to demand tougher immigration laws and slam the idea of a deal for undocumented immigrants brought to the US as children. Not exactly what the poet and refugee Emma Lazarus imagined when she wrote: Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled massesyearning to be free.

What if we created a system that appealed to the economic self-interest of host nations, instead of their humanitarian impulses? The caravan tweet is, of course, fully consistent with Trumps earlier comments about not wanting migrants from shithole countries. And sadly they capture a sentiment that many rich Western nations share when it comes to refugees, who are often treated as a cost to be avoided. But this response only drives home the fact that the plight of refugees does not stop at the borders of the countries theyre fleeing from, but are reinforced when they reach the borders of countries that reject them.

What if we depended less on potential host nations humanitarian impulses, and instead created a system that appealed to their economic self-interest? What if nations perceived self-interest could be better aligned with the humanitarian needs of refugees?

We begin with three basic propositions: Countries that create refugees can and should pay a price for it, countries that take them in can and should be paid for it, and refugees can and should have a say in where they go. Those three principles suggest a possible solution: We would allow refugees to assert a financial claim against the governments that have persecuted them, and alsoif they wishto trade that claim (a kind of refugee debt) to a host nation, thereby lessening the economic resistance and giving them some control over their own fates.

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The mechanics of the proposal are best illustrated with a concrete example like the Rohingya, who are sometimes called the worlds least wanted. A recent United Nations report concluded that Myanmars army and police have murdered hundreds of Rohingya Muslims, gang-raped women and girls, and forced countless Rohingya from their homes in a situation that former U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson described as ethnic cleansing.

We would allow refugees to assert a financial claim against the governments that have persecuted them, and alsoif they wishto trade that claim. Myanmars army has largely absolved itself of any blame for a crisis, and hundreds of thousands of Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Australia and other neighboring countries. Some of those countries have gone to great lengths to shelter them; countless lives have been saved or improved as a resulta testament to the enormous success of international refugee law. But many lives have also been lost, as Rohingyalike millions of other displaced persons across the globefind themselves caught between oppression at home and rejection abroad.

Xenophobia and racism are important factors driving the Rohingya crisis and others like it. But part of the story is economic. Potential host nations are responding to what they perceive as the costs of caring for refugees. Those costs tend to be concentrated among countries that can ill afford them, like Bangladesh, which now hosts more than half a million Rohingya refugees from Myanmar. We imagine that local populations find these costs especially unpalatable when they are the result of some other nations malfeasance.

The kind of state-supported oppression that the Rohingya seem to be facing is already forbidden by international law. The problem, as in so many other areas of international law, is that there is not a sufficient enforcement mechanism when those rules are violated, unless powerful nations like the US have strong individualized incentives to step up. In the case of the Rohingya, this has not been enough.

The world might look dramatically different if international law and practice can help generate the refugee debt we describe. This debt would be held by refugee groups against the nations that persecuted themthey would, in effect, have a financial claim against the governments that oppress and force them to flee. The size of the debt could be determined by an international institution (perhaps the UNHCR) based on the size of the group, the harm it has suffered, the prospects for its repatriation, and other factors.

Such a claim would of course be ephemeral without a strong enforcement mechanism. After all, private individuals and groupsespecially those in dire straitsface all kinds of legal and practical obstacles when it comes to forcing payment out of a sovereign nation.

Refugee groups should be able to trade their claim to a host nation, which could then pursue it. Refugee groups should therefore be able to trade their claim to a host nation, which could then pursue it. This would increase the host nations incentives to accept the refugees (by lessening the perceived cost of doing so), and also increase the chances that the debt is actually paid, since the host nation would be in a much better position than the refugees to enforce it. For example, countries that trade frequently with each other could use these claims as offsets against other sovereign debts. Between them, Bangladesh and Thailand import hundreds of millions of dollars worth of goods from Myanmar, and in recent years have also been receiving untold numbers of Rohingya refugees. Thailand could offset the cost of the latter against the former.

Obviously, the local law of the oppressing nation wont help the enforcement such a claim, but thats not necessarily a problem. If the claim were to be recognized in the courts of nations that host the worlds trading capitals, it would generate a cost that oppressive, refugee-creating nations would not be able to easily ignore.

Ours is but one of many recent proposals on the table to help ease the global refugee crisis. Many of those proposals, however, rely on host nations accepting the burdens of protection voluntarilyprecisely the costly obligation that has caused so many of them to balk. We know our proposal cannot come close to eliminating the perceived cost, but maybe it can make a difference at the margin in reducing the part of the resistance to refugees that is based on economics.

There are problems with what we propose, of course. One is the difficulty of collecting debt claims against a sovereign state that does not want to pay. But even the most insular of misbehaving states has to transact on the international markets for food, oil, and arms. No trading partner wants to risk its claim being seized to pay someone elses debtsa technique perfected by wall street investors who brought a recalcitrant Argentina to its knees in federal court in New York some years ago (and without the support of the US government).

Another potential criticism is that we unduly commodify matters of human safety and dignity. But refugees are already commodified. The current regime treats them as nothing more than a cost. We want to make them not into assets, but agents.

Joseph Blocher & Mitu Gulati are professors at Duke University School of Law. Their related article in the Columbia Human Rights Law Review is, Competing for Refugees: A Debt-Based Solution to a Humanitarian Crisis.

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TOKYO (Reuters) - Nissan Motor Co Ltd on Wednesday said it would resume building and selling cars in Pakistan next year, becoming the latest global automaker to operate in a market tipped to expand in coming years as vehicle ownership increases among a growing middle class.

The Japanese automaker said it would start producing its entry-level Datsun brand at a plant in Karachi owned by partner Ghandhara Nissan Ltd, which will invest 4.5 billion Pakistani rupees ($39.00 million) to upgrade facilities after Nissan ended local production in 2010.

Nissan joins automaking partner Renault SA, along with Hyundai Motor Co and Volkswagen AG in announcing increased presence in Pakistan after the government in 2016 introduced policies to promote growth in the auto industry, dominated for decades by Japanese automakers including Toyota Motor Corp and Honda Motor Co Ltd.

With a population of nearly 200 million people and growing, Pakistan is a market with big growth potential, posting annual sales of 200,000 cars in 2017, up 60 percent from 2014. That compared with sales of over 2 million passenger vehicles a year in neighbouring India, which has a population of 1.3 billion.

"There's a big population and the level of (car ownership) is low. It's a good-sized market which is growing," said Peyman Kargar, a senior vice president at Nissan who heads operations in Africa, the Middle East and India, adding that the country's annual sales were likely to grow to 300,000 by 2022.

The Ghandhara Nissan plant, which has an annual capacity of 6,000 vehicles, would produce "several (Datsun) models based on the same platform to optimise the investment", Kargar said, declining to name specific models.

In neighbouring India, Nissan markets its Datsun Go series of compact hatchbacks and people-carriers, while it launched its new Cross compact crossover sport utility vehicle (SUV) in Indonesia earlier this year.

It will contribute technical assistance in the upgrade, while the automaker will also assess and assist local components makers in supplying parts. Kargar said he hoped local parts would initially comprise around 20 percent of vehicles, increasing afterwards.

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Comprising 6 percent of global sales, Africa, the Middle East and India is a growth area for Nissan, and Kargar said he expected to double the region's contribution to overall sales by 2022.

Nissan's bet on Datsun to succeed in Pakistan comes as increasing sales of the entry-level brand has been a bright spot in India, a highly competitive market where the automaker's market share has eased to around 1.6 percent due to sluggish demand for its marquee Sunny sedan and its SUVs. In the 11 months to February, Nissan posted an 8 percent fall in overall Indian vehicle sales.

($1 = 115.3800 Pakistani rupees)

(Reporting by Naomi Tajitsu; Aditional reporting by Aditi Shah; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
* International donors offer loans and grants

* Macron says Beirut has "unprecedented responsibility"

* PM Hariri vows to bring down level of state debt (Adds news conference, updates aid figure)

By John Irish and Marine Pennetier

PARIS, April 6 (Reuters) - Lebanon won aid pledges exceeding $11 billion on Friday at a Paris conference aimed at rallying international support for an investment programme to boost its economy, French President Emmanuel Macron said.

The pledges include $10.2 billion in loans and $860 million in grants, France's ambassador to Lebanon Bruno Foucher said on Twitter.

Lebanon, which has been battered by seven years of war in neighbouring Syria and is hosting more than a million Syrian refugees, wants the funds for investment to overhaul its infrastructure and lift dwindling economic growth.

Donors in turn want to see Lebanon commit to long-stalled reforms. In a nod to those demands, Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri pledged to reduce the deficit of the budget as a percentage of GDP by 5 percent in the coming five years.

Macron told Hariri in a news conference the aid aimed to give Lebanon a fresh start, adding that it put "an unprecedented responsibility" on authorities there to carry out reforms and preserve peace in the country.

"It is important to continue reforms in the coming months," Macron said, adding: "We'll be by your side."

Lebanese officials said the aid included $4 billion in World Bank loans, 1.1 billion euros ($1.35 billion) in loans from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the renewal of a previously pledged $1 billion credit line from Saudi Arabia.

"It's a start of a new process to modernise our economy, renovate our infrastructure and free up the private sector's potential," Hariri said. Growth in Lebanon has sunk to less than 1 percent from a previous average of 8 percent, he said.

The Lebanese parliament last week passed a 2018 budget that projects a narrower deficit than in 2017. Standard Chartered, in a research note, called the budget a "positive sign".

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The Paris conference, convening 50 countries and organisations, including Saudi Arabia, United States, Russia and Qatar, decided to set up a follow-up mechanism to track progress towards reform.

The International Monetary Fund said in February that Lebanon's fiscal policy needed a consolidation plan that stabilised debt and then began to reduce it.

Diplomats have said Lebanon's success in attracting international support from donors and the private sector will hinge on reforms.

"Lebanon needs significant investments to upgrade its basic infrastructure, which today no longer allows it to provide all these citizens with essential public services in good conditions," French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told the conference.

"On the other hand, Lebanon needs major reforms of its economy, structural and sectoral."

He said France would provide 400 million euros in concessionary loans and 150 million euros in donations for Lebanon, which is still rebuilding from its 1975-90 civil war. ($1 = 0.8174 euros) (Reporting by John Irish in Paris and Laila Bassam in Beirut; Writing by Tom Perry and Ingrid Melander; editing by Andrew Roche)
If President Trump really cares about small businesses threatened by giant retailers, the proper target isnt Amazon (AMZN). Its Walmart (WMT).

Trump, of course, has been on a tirade against Amazon, essentially complaining about 3 things: 1. It doesnt pay the US Postal Service enough for package delivery; 2. It doesnt collect sales tax on third-party products sold on its site; 3. It hurts small businesses.

Trumps Treasury Secretary, Steven Mnuchin, joined in the fight on April 6, telling CNBC that Amazon has absolutely dominated the retail business; theyve put tons of retailers out of business. The president is focused on Amazon and the economic issues that are impacting retailers all around the country.

The true titan of retail

FILE PHOTO: An employee arranges shopping carts in front of the logo of Walmart outside a store in Monterrey, Mexico February 12, 2018. REUTERS/Daniel Becerril/File Photo

But Walmart, not Amazon, is the true titan of retail, and its also a scarier small-business bogeyman. Walmarts 2017 revenue was $486 billion. Amazons was just $178 billion. That makes Walmart 2.7 times larger than Amazon. Walmart employs 2.3 million people, 1.5 million of them in the United States. Amazon employs 566,000 (and doesnt break out US numbers). Walmart isnt growing as fast as Amazon, which is the biggest retailer online, but Walmart still has a much bigger footprint in the US economy.

Walmart probably hurts small businesses more than Amazon does, as well. The Walmart effect is well-known, by now. When a Walmart opens up, nearby retailers go bust by the dozens, because they cant match Walmarts scale or low prices. To preserve local businesses, some communities wont even let Walmart open stores.

Amazons effect on small businesses is more mixed. It certainly does pressure local shops on both price and convenience, because it lets shoppers buy thousands of everyday items without even leaving home. But many small businesses sell through Amazon, reaching a nationwide or even global market theyd never find on their own.

Walmart also uses the US Postal Service to deliver packages, and if it doesnt get rates similar to what Amazon pays, then somebody at Walmart screwed up. Yet Trump hasnt complained about Walmart (or any other retailer) using the Postal Service as its delivery boy. Only Amazon.

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Third-party tax collection affects both retailers. Amazon collects sales taxes in two states, Washington and Pennsylvania, that have passed laws requiring it to do so. Walmarts marketplace program allows third-party vendors to sell on its web site, similar to Amazon, and collects taxes if the vendor wants it to. But Walmarts leaves it up to the vendor to decide. This is basically a situation where state laws need to catch up with technology, which they probably will. More states are likely to pass laws requiring shoppers to pay sales tax on online purchases, just as they do in stores. That will settle it.

Trump might use his position as president to call for better state laws, or even a federal one, solving the tax-gap problem regarding online retailers. But hes not. Instead, hes claiming that Amazon is harming small businesses by not collecting sales tax on their behalf. Um, what?

Presumably, he means that small businesses selling on Amazon (Group 1) have an advantage over small businesses not selling on Amazon (Group 2), because the first group sells without a sales tax, while the second group does charge a sales tax. So a product ordered on Amazon from a Group 1 seller would effectively be cheaper than the identical product bought in a store from a Group 2 seller, with the entire difference being the amount of the sales tax. But if it were really this simple, then Group 2 would level the playing field by joining Group 1 and selling on Amazon! Trump dismissed.

In reality, Trumps criticism of Amazon has nothing to do with its business practices. What really irks Trump is its CEO, Jeff Bezos, who also owns the Washington Post, which dings Trump repeatedly in its journalism. Walmarts CEO, Doug McMillon, doesnt own any news organizations critical of Trump, and the small amount of money hes donated to politicians in recent years has all gone to Republicans. Walmart is probably safe from Trump, even if it shouldnt be.

Editors note: This story has been corrected to reflect the fact that Walmart lets third-party vendors sell products on its web site, similar to the way Amazon does.

Confidential tip line: rickjnewman@yahoo.com. Encrypted communication available.

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Rick Newman is the author of four books, including Rebounders: How Winners Pivot from Setback to Success. Follow him on Twitter: @rickjnewman

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The island nation of Bahrain announced Wednesday that it discovered a shale reserve with at least 80 billion barrels of crude oil.

Like other producers, Bahrain's government relies on oil revenues to fund itself, and its deficit was worsened by the oil crash that began in 2014.

Halliburton will frack the shale reserve to evaluate how much oil in the find is actually extractable.

Bahrain announced on Wednesday that it discovered at least 80 billion barrels of crude oil in a shale reserve.

The island kingdom to the east of Saudi Arabia is the smallest and oldest energy producer in the Persian Gulf, according to Bloomberg.

Depending on how much is extractable, the discovery could beef up Bahrain's output in the region that includes heavyweights such as the United Arab Emirates and Iran. Like other producers, Bahrain's government relies on oil revenues to fund itself, and its deficit was worsened by the oil collapse that began in 2014.

Bahraini officials expect production from the well to be up and running within five years. The country currently produces about 50,000 barrels of oil per day, AFP reported.

The US oil producers Halliburton and Schlumberger were among the three consultants that worked on the discovery, Bahrain's National Oil and Gas Authority said in a statement.

An "agreement has been reached with Halliburton to commence drilling on two further appraisal wells in 2018, to further evaluate reservoir potential, optimize completions, and initiate long-term production," the statement added.

But Halliburton could find that only a fraction of what's underground is recoverable. According to Bloomberg, citing a local newspaper, the new discovery could one day supply 200,000 barrels per day.

Bahrain isn't part of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, an oil cartel, but was one of 11 non-members that agreed to cut their output to help reduce a global oversupply of oil.

Story continues

NOW WATCH: Wall Street's biggest bull explains why trade war fears are way overblown

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SEE ALSO: TOM LEE: There's a $25 billion reason bitcoin could stop plunging by mid-April
Oracle chief executive Safra Catz criticized the bidding process for a huge Pentagon cloud computing contract in a private dinner with President Donald Trump on Tuesday, complaining that it seemed designed for Amazon to win, according to people familiar with the matter.

Trump heard her out and said he wants the contract competition to be fair, but made no indication hed interfere in the bidding, the people said. Oracle orcl , where Catz shares the CEO title with Mark Hurd, is competing with Amazon amzn for the contract, a point she didnt emphasize to Trump, the people said.

The president has repeatedly attacked Amazon and its chief executive, Jeff Bezos, and the multi-billion dollar Defense Department contract for cloud computing services is a potential opportunity to hurt the company.

Trump invited venture capitalist Peter Thiel, a longtime supporter, to dine with him at the White House, and Thiel brought Catz as one of his guests.

Amazon didnt immediately respond to requests for comment. Oracle declined to comment.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Trump isnt interfering in the contract decision.

The president is not involved in the process, Sanders said at her daily press briefing, adding that the Defense Department runs a competitive bidding process.

The Pentagon intends to award a single company the multi-year cloud services contract. That plan has drawn criticism from lawmakers as well as Amazon competitors including Microsoft msft , International Business Machines ibm and industry groups that include Oracle. Theyre worried the plan to award the work to a single firm will favor Amazon, which is dominant in the cloud services market.

The Defense Department has said it wants to shift to the cloud for a tactical edge on the battlefield and to modernize its technology infrastructure. A final request for proposals, which outlines a contract as long as 10 years, is scheduled to be released in May with an award by the end of September.

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Amazon Web Services is Amazons fastest-growing and most profitable business, subsidizing its international e-commerce expansion and investments in video streaming and devices. Its profits help satisfy investors while Bezos pumps money into long-term initiatives that arent profitable. Amazon had operating income of $4.1 billion on sales of $178 billion in 2017, and it would have lost money without AWS.

Trump has repeatedly attacked Amazon in a series of tweets since March 29 that initially drove down the companys market value by as much as $55 billion before Tuesday. He has not publicly mentioned the Defense Department contract.

But the president has repeatedly shown his willingness to publicly weigh in on Pentagon contracting decisions.

As president-elect, he criticized costs for Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter jet as out of control and let the CEO of rival Boeing listen in on a call to the Air Force general managing the program. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis later agreed to conduct a study into developing an advanced version of Boeings older Super Hornet fighter as an alternative. No report was ever issued.

Trump eventually embraced the F-35, taking credit for reduced costs in a contract that already was under negotiation when he entered office.

He also asked Boeing to cut costs for new Air Force One planes and boasted of securing savings.

But he hasnt yet sought to put his thumb on the scale in the middle of a contract competition, which would risk a lawsuit by a losing company protesting White House interference.

We dont do procurement by tweet. It doesnt exist. The president actually has no say in the specific award of a contract, said Stan Soloway, president of consulting firm Celero Strategies and a former Defense official under President Bill Clinton. Any political interference at all would be illegal and inappropriate.

Other topics discussed at the dinner Tuesday night included national security issues and North Korea.
A man drove a van into a street cafe in the western German city of Muenster, killing two people and injuring 20, then fatally shot himself on the scene, authorities said.

While crashing a vehicle into civilians recalls recent terrorist attacks, including one on a Christmas market in Berlin in 2016 that killed 12 people, German police and federal officials warned against jumping to conclusions about the incident on Saturday. Six of the injured were in serious condition.

The dead suspect is a German national with a history of psychological problems and police are searching his apartment, Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper reported, without saying how it got the information.

"Must do everything to find out what is behind this act," German Justice Minister Katarina Barley said on Twitter. "Terrible news from Muenster," deputy government spokeswoman Ulrike Demmer tweeted.

The crash happened at about 3:30 p.m. in the old town of Muenster, city police spokesman Andreas Bode told reporters. Television networks ran a photo said to have been taken shortly after the crash that showed overturned restaurant tables in the city's old town on one of the first sunny weekend afternoons this spring.

Police are investigating if other attackers may have fled from the vehicle, though there's no immediate evidence that there were accomplices, Bode said. A suspicious item was found in the van, which is currently being investigated.

The incident is reminiscent of an attack in the Christmas market attack in the German capital, where a Tunisian killed 12 drove a semi-truck into a crowd. Terrorists recently also used trucks in London and France to carry out attacks.

See original article on Fortune.com

More from Fortune.com
The U.S. put additional pressure Friday on China, with President Donald Trump using Twitter to say that the World Trade Organization (WTO) favors the government in Beijing.

The WTO announced on Thursday that China began the process of launching a complaint against the U.S. over the Trump administrations tariffs, which China claims would be in excess of the United States bound rates. The U.S. filed a complaint last month regarding Chinas intellectual property rights.

In his tweet, Trump did not offer details on how the WTO favors China over the U.S. The Asian country has been a member of the trade body since 2001.

National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow reiterated the administrations stance on Chinas trade practices during an interview with FOX Business' Stuart Varney on Friday.

China refuses to play by the rules and the laws, and you cant have free trade unless you get through these illegal action of China, Kudlow said.

Trumps tweet came a day after Trump threatened to escalate the tit-for-tat conflict with tariffs on an additional $100 billion worth of Chinese imports. Beijing said on Friday it was prepared to respond to any new trade measures.

The U.S. announced tariffs last month on imports worth $50 billion, targeting 1,300 products. The president has said the measures are intended to force China to stop stealing intellectual property from U.S. companies.

Related Articles
Trade warriors? President Trump with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing last year. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

President Donald Trumps strong rhetoric and new tariffs may drum up support from his base, but theres ample evidence of their counter-productiveness to the administrations goals of better international trade.

Aggressive trade policy and action can yield concessions and other positive results like the new trade deal with South Korea and increased pressure on North Korea by China, as Ian Bremmer of Eurasia Group has noted.

But it can also turbocharge a spirit of animosity between an international relationship that can severely shake up the dynamics of dealmaking.

We are not in a trade war with China, that war was lost many years ago by the foolish, or incompetent, people who represented the U.S. Now we have a Trade Deficit of $500 Billion a year, with Intellectual Property Theft of another $300 Billion. We cannot let this continue!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 4, 2018

The Fake News Washington Post, Amazons chief lobbyist, has another (of many) phony headlines, Trump Defiant As China Adds Trade Penalties. WRONG! Should read, Trump Defiant as U.S. Adds Trade Penalties, Will End Barriers And Massive I.P. Theft. Typically bad reporting!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 5, 2018

Up to this point, China has clearly tried to leave itself an out to negotiate with Trump, wrote Patrick Chovanec, chief strategist at Silvercrest Asset Management, in a Twitter thread. But if he keeps raising the stakes so publicly, they will conclude he is bent on humiliating China, and the political cost of being seen to bend to him will rise. This happened with Mexico.

Mexico all over again

From the outset of the campaign, which began with the infamous rapists monologue, Trump has harangued Mexico with tweet after tweet. As Yahoo Finance reported last year, the attitude south of the border became so toxic to Trump that any cooperation by Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto on a border wall would be seen as treason. As Mexican journalist Alejandro Hope put it to Yahoo Finance, these are issues of national pride and national dignity.

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So far, Mexico has not paid a cent for Trumps wall, but the president has demanded funding from Congress, and also asked the military to pay for it.

With Mexico being one of the highest crime Nations in the world, we must have THE WALL. Mexico will pay for it through reimbursement/other.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 27, 2017

We are in the NAFTA (worst trade deal ever made) renegotiation process with Mexico & Canada.Both being very difficult,may have to terminate?  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 27, 2017

Trumps aggressive rhetoric didnt stop at the wall and went into trade and Nafta, leaving Mexico in a position of having to take a hard line, again to preserve dignity. So far, it has not made the concessions Trump wants, leaving the Mexican business community with the view that Nafta was dead and that it should move on.

I think Trump has been very surprised by his inability to get either Mexico or Canada to budge on Nafta, or to drive a wedge between them. He assumed they were both just weaker and would have to fold by now, Chovanec continued.

Though Trumps own rhetoric constantly highlights American pride and dignity, his actions and tweets suggest he forgets that other countries also have strong national pride that can shape policy. Now this situation is rearing its head in China.

Trump isnt the only one with a base, you know, said Chovanec.

U.S. President Donald Trump tosses a hat into the crowd as he arrives to speak at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego, California, U.S. March 13, 2018. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

Jorge Guajardo has a unique view of Mexico, China, and the U.S., having been an Ambassador to China from Mexico and a consul general in Texas. He told Yahoo Finance that Trumps rhetoric in China will put President Xi Jinping into a corner, just as he did with Mexico.

You can not conduct these things through humiliating other countries  it puts their leaders in an impossible position, Guajardo said. They cannot be seen to concede anything under pressure. Theyd rather endure hardship than be humiliated. Its doomed to fail.

Neither Pena Nieto nor Xi has to worry about re-election  a Mexican president serves a single six-year term called a sexenio and Pena Nietos is almost up  but Guajardo noted that the societal pressure still applies. And in the midst of a trade standoff, its even more pointed.

Every president, whether term-limited or for life, has to earn his mandate every day, Guajardo said. The whole thing about Xi for life is so that he can make China strong, he will not remain president for life by showing weakness.

Chinese President Xi Jinping walks to deliver his speech at the closing session of the National Peoples Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China March 20, 2018. Picture taken with a slow shutter speed. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

The backfiring potential of aggressive rhetoric was laid bare by Chinas Ministry of Commerce spokesperson Gao Feng on Friday, who said the aggression would result in lifting the rock to smash their own feet.

Under these circumstances, its impossible to discuss any negotiations on the issue, Feng said. We will never seek any confrontations, but if confrontations come our way we will resolutely fight back.



Ethan Wolff-Mann is a writer at Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter @ewolffmann. Confidential tip line: FinanceTips[at]oath[.com].

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Why Mexico wont ever pay for Trumps wall: treason

Mexican business leaders have already moved on from Nafta
alaska airlines

Jeff Chiu/AP

A woman, Meaghan Hess, claims her family was mistreated after they were removed from an Alaska Airlines flight on Monday, according to NBC News.

After Hess' brother Patrick, who has Down syndrome, vomited "a small amount," he and his parents were removed from the flight and rebooked on a flight for the next morning.

The airline reportedly didn't offer to help pay for lodging for the night and told the family that they should have been charged for their rebooked flight.

A woman claims her family was mistreated after they were removed from an Alaska Airlines flight on Monday, according to NBC News.

Meaghan Hess told NBC News that her parents were traveling with her teenage brother, Patrick Hess, when the incident occurred. Shortly after boarding flight 779 from St, Louis to Seattle, Patrick, who has Down syndrome, vomited "a small amount," Hess, who was not traveling with her family at the time, said.

The family was then removed from the aircraft and booked on a flight for the next morning, but the airline reportedly failed to offer to help pay for lodging for the night, Hess claims. An airline representative reportedly later told the family that they should have been charged for the rebooked flight.

Hess told NBC that she thought the airline's conduct amounted to "disability discrimination," and later said on Twitter that she was more bothered by how the airline treated the family after they left their original flight than by the fact that they were removed.

"JUST TO BE CLEAR: not so much about getting kicked off the flight but the horrible treatment after the fact!!" she wrote on Friday.

Hess told NBC News that the airline left her family "stranded at the airport for nearly eleven hours knowing that my family had nowhere to go for the night."

"Instead, all they did was hand my parents a black garbage bag, saying that my brother could just throw up in that."

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After Hess reached out to Alaska Airlines via Twitter, the airline's customer service account reportedly expressed sympathy for the family's situation.

"I'm truly sorry for your family's experience," an airline representative reportedly said. "Safety of all passengers is our number one priority. I am glad to see that we re-booked them at no fee in the morning. I apologize that we cannot provide hotels in these situations."

The airline reportedly upgraded the family to first class for their flight home.

The airline's contract of carriage says that it has the right to refuse transport to "passengers who are incapable of completing a flight safely, without requiring extraordinary medical assistance during the flight."

"We apologize that Patrick and his family had a difficult experience traveling with us," an Alaska Airlines spokesperson told Business Insider. "When a guest is actively ill prior to a flight, it is safer for them to be treated on the ground than in the air, where medical assistance is limited. In this case our guests symptoms did not improve and we were concerned for his wellbeing. We understand that this change put the family in a difficult situation and have reached out to them."

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An Afghanistan-made hat known as a "Mazari hat" has been in high demand in markets across Afghanistan and parts of Pakistan since Manzoor Pashteen, the leader of a Pashtun movement, started wearing it at public rallies and protests.

The red and black Mazari hat is a traditional garment worn mostly in northern Afghanistan's Balkh province. Recently, it has become popular as a symbol of peaceful protest and has earned the nickname "Pashteen hat."

Yama, a hat seller in Kabul, who like many Afghans goes by one name, told VOA that demand for the hat has soared in recent months.

"It used to be called Mazari hat. Now it is called the Pashteen hat. In the past, the hat came in one design. Now there are several designs that customers could choose from," Yama said. "People have started to like the hat and they buy it in great numbers as well."

Pashteen, whose movement espouses the human rights of Pakistan's ethnic Pashtun community, recently explained how he came to begin wearing the hat.

"Our people are poor. A young man who was a cleaner in the village one day took his hat off and told me that he could not afford a nice hat. I told him, 'Give it to me, I will give you mine,' " Pashteen said at a public gathering in Pakistan. "The hat may not have monetary value, but its moral value is priceless."

Pashtun Grievances

Pashtuns, who are the largest ethnic group in Afghanistan but a minority in Pakistan, have felt neglected and targeted in Pakistan for some time. That long-simmering anger boiled over in January with the death at police hands in Karachi of Naqeebullah Mehsud, a 27-year-old shopkeeper-turned-model.

Police said at the time that Mehsud had been killed in a shootout with members of the Pakistani Taliban, but an internal inquiry cast doubt on that claim, saying Mehsud had no evident link to any militant group. The killing sparked days of protests and a weekslong march in Pashtun-dominated northwestern Pakistan. It also prompted the establishment of Pashteen's group, known as the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement, or Pashtun Protection Movement.

In a recent Facebook video, Pashteen reiterated his movement's demands and urged an end to atrocities against ethnic Pashtuns.

"There is war in our homeland which must stop. You [military] have carried out military operations. We have never opposed them. If you want to carry out operations against the Taliban, do them by all means, but we are against extrajudicial killings, disappearances and persecution of people under the pretext of the war against the Taliban," Pashteen said.

The protest movement has also won support from Malala Yousafzai, the young woman who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize after being shot in the head for advocating girls' education in Pakistan.

Government's Stance

Pakistan's government claims Pashteen's movement has been influenced by outsiders, particularly by the government of Afghanistan  a charge rejected by Afghan officials.

Major-General Asif Ghafoor, director-general of Inter-Services Public Relations (DGISPR), told reporters in Pakistan recently that the government has accepted the movement's legitimate demands.

"You have seen that it [the movement] found new angles. The movement began to get the most support from Afghanistan. Different voices started to flow in. I personally met Manzoor Pashteen. He is a wonderful young boy. He came here and then met with the prime minister as well," Ghafoor told reporters.

"Whatever genuine demands he had have been met," Ghafoor added.

Pashteen denies that any outsiders are involved in the movement.

"They say we are NDS [Afghan intelligence agency] and RAW [Indian intelligence agency] agents. I tell them prove it," Pashteen said in a live video Wednesday on Facebook. "We do not demand one thousand evidences. Just one is sufficient."

Pashteen has increasingly relied on social media to get his message across to followers and supporters, complaining that local Pakistani media have not covered the activities of his movement.

"Pashtun Long March story has reached New York Times, but Pakistani media is still shying away from it. I wonder why," Asim Yousafzai, a D.C.-based author, wrote on his Twitter feed.

"If an animal falls into a gutter, media would be all over the news. Our march continued peacefully for weeks and the local media did not cover us," Pashteen said in February. "We gathered in Islamabad against this very discrimination that's present in the system against us."
Inferred Resource at 0.5g/t gold cut-off grade 17Mt @ 1.15g/t gold for 629,000 ounces



Mineralization remains open for expansion

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, April 05, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Velocity Minerals Ltd. (TSXV:VLC) (Velocity or the Company) announces that it has filed a NI 43-101 Technical Report on SEDAR (the Report) entitled NI 43-101 Technical Report; Mineral Resource Estimation for the Rozino Gold Deposit, Republic of Bulgaria, dated 5 April 2018 (effective date March 21, 2018). The Technical Report was written by an independent Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure. The Report is available on SEDAR under the Companys profile and is also available on the Companys web site.

Inferred Mineral Resource estimates for the Rozino gold deposit (Rozino or the Project), based on 2m down-hole composited gold assay grades, are reported for a range of cut off grades (Table 1). Highlights include:

17Mt @ 1.15g/t gold for 629,000 ounces at 0.5g/t cut-off grade; and

8.2Mt @ 1.68g/t gold for 443,000 ounces at 0.8g/t cut-off grade;

Estimated resources extend to the base of mineralized drilling at around 190m depth, with around 90% of estimates from depths of less than 110m and less than 1% from below 150m; and

The mineralized system remains open for expansion and drill testing is ongoing.

Table 1: Inferred Mineral Resource estimates at selected cut-offs, effective date March 1, 2018(1)

Cut Off Grade Tonnes Gold Gold gold g/t million g/t ,000 ounces 0.2 45 0.62 897 0.5 17 1.15 629 0.8 8.2 1.68 443 1.0 5.7 2.03 372 1.2 4.2 2.37 320 (1) Mineral resources were estimated by Jonathon Abbott, a member of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists and employee of MPR Geological Consultants Pty Ltd of Perth, Australia. Mr. Abbott is a Qualified Person, as defined by National Instrument 43-101.

The Company plans to publish a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) in the second half of 2018, which will include an updated Mineral Resource estimate.



Resource Estimate Methodology

Recoverable resources were estimated for Rozino using Multiple Indicator Kriging (MIK) with block support adjustment, a method that has been demonstrated to provide reliable estimates of recoverable open pit resources in gold deposits of diverse geological styles.

The Rozino sampling database includes 186 diamond holes for 29,924m of drilling, of which 86 drill holes (14,289m) completed by Asenovgrad Geoengineering EAD are not included in the resource estimation dataset due to insufficient quality control data. Drilling used in resource estimation total 78 (12,009m) drill holes and comprise 44 drill holes (7,475m) completed by Velocity, 28 drill holes (3,794m) completed by Hereward Ventures Ltd. (Hereward), and 6 drill holes (740m) completed by Asia Gold Inc. (Asia Gold). The remaining angled drill holes from the database are located outside the mineralized envelope and did not inform the resource estimation.

Samples from Velocitys diamond drilling provide 63% of the estimation dataset, with angled diamond holes drilled by Hereward and Asia Gold contributing 32% and 5%, respectively.

Estimated resources are constrained within a mineralized envelope interpreted from 2m down-hole composited gold grades and geological logging from diamond drilling and surface trenches. The envelope captures intervals of greater than 0.1 g/t, with the lower boundary reflecting the contact between variably mineralized sedimentary rocks and un-mineralized basement. It covers an area of approximately 780m by 600m. Estimated resources extend to the base of mineralized drilling at around 190m depth, with around 90% of estimates from depths of less than 110m and less than 1% from below 150m.

Bulk densities of 2.2, 2.4 and 2.6 tonnes per cubic metre were assigned to completely weathered, transitional and fresh material, respectively, using surfaces representing the base of complete oxidation (BOCO) and top of fresh rock (TOFR) interpreted by Velocity. Within the resource area the depth to BOCO averages around 7m, with fresh rock occurring at an average depth of around 18m.

Quality Assurance / Quality Control

The work program at Rozino was designed and is supervised by Stuart A. Mills, CGeol, the Company's Vice-President Exploration, who is responsible for all aspects of the work, including the quality control/quality assurance program. On-site personnel at the project rigorously collect and track samples which are then security sealed and shipped to ALS Global laboratory in Romania. Samples were prepared and analyzed by fire assay using a 30-gram charge in compliance with industry standards. Field duplicate samples, blanks and independent controlled reference material (standards) are included in every batch.

Hereward and Asia Golds diamond core from angled drilling was sampled and analyzed by industry standard methods. The core was generally halved for analysis with a diamond saw over generally 1m intervals, and samples were analyzed for gold by fire assay by commercial laboratories. Information available to demonstrate the reliability of these results includes duplicates and blanks for both data sets and certified reference standards for Asia Golds drill results.

General Notes with Respect to Technical Information

The mineral resource disclosed herein has been estimated in accordance with the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum CIM Definition Standards for Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves (CIM, 2014).

Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.

Any known legal, political, environmental, or other risks that could materially affect the potential development of the Mineral Reserves are detailed below in the section entitled Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information.

Qualified Person

The technical content of this news release has been approved for disclosure by Jonathon Abbott, a member of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists and employee of MPR Geological Consultants Pty Ltd. Mr. Abbott is a Qualified Person, as defined by National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Abbott is independent of the Company.

About the Rozino Gold Project

Velocity has been exploring and drilling at Rozino since August 2017, completing 7,300m of diamond drilling in 2017 and publishing a maiden Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate in Q1 2018; 17Mt @ 1.15g/t gold for 629,000 ounces at 0.5g/t cut-off grade with 8.2Mt @ 1.68g/t gold for 443,000 ounces at 0.8g/t cut-off grade. Approximately 90% of estimated resources at depths of less than 110m from surface and less than 1% below 150m from surface. Mineralization remains open for expansion.

The Company continues to drill in 2018 with a view to publishing an updated mineral resource estimate and preliminary economic assessment (PEA) in Q3 2018, approximately one year after initiating exploration. On completion of the PEA, the Company will exercise its option for a 70% interest in the project and will move forward in joint venture with its Bulgarian partner.

About the Balkan Gold Project

Velocity formed an Exploration and Mining Alliance (Alliance) with Bulgarian operating partner Gorubso Kardzhali A.D. (Gorubso) in February 2018. The Alliance is the cornerstone of the Balkan Gold Project.

Within the Balkan Gold Project, the Companys portfolio of assets in Bulgaria includes exclusive access to a modern, centrally located CIL plant for processing of material from gold projects in the surrounding area. The Company has negotiated an option to earn a 70% interest in any or all of seven advanced gold projects, including the Rozino Project where drilling is ongoing. In addition, the Company has negotiated an option to earn a 50% interest in the operating Chala Gold Mine.

The Alliance area covers all existing and future Gorubso and Velocity projects within an area of 10,400km2 covering the prospective Eastern Rhodope Gold Mining District in southeastern Bulgaria.

The Agreement contemplates the exploration, development, and mining of the various projects within the Alliance area and provides for an option/joint venture mechanism by which Velocity and Gorubso will partner to maximize value for both companies.

About Velocity Minerals Ltd.

Velocity is a gold exploration and development company focused on eastern Europe. The Companys management and board includes mining industry professionals with over 100 years of combined experience spanning Europe, Asia, and the Americas as employees of major mining companies as well as founders and senior executives of junior to mid-tier public companies. The team's experience includes all aspects of mineral exploration, resource definition, feasibility, finance, mine construction and mine operation as well as a track record in managing publicly listed companies.

About Bulgaria

Bulgaria is a member of NATO (2004) and a member of the European Union (2007). The local currency (BGN) has been tied to the Euro since 1999 (1.956 BGN/EUR). The country is served by modern European infrastructure including an extensive network of paved roads. Bulgaria boasts an exceptionally low corporate tax rate of only 10%. The countrys education system is excellent with good availability of experienced mining professionals in a favourable cost environment. Foreign mining companies are successfully operating in Bulgaria. The countrys mining law was established in 1999 and updated in 2011. Mining royalties are low and compare favourably with more established mining countries.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors

"Keith Henderson"

President & CEO

For further information, please contact:

Keith Henderson

Phone: +1-604-484-1233

E-mail: info@velocityminerals.com

Web: www.velocityminerals.com

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.

This news release does not constitute an offer of sale of any of the above-mentioned securities in the United States. None of the foregoing securities have been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "1933 Act") or any applicable state securities laws and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons (as defined in Regulation S under the 1933 Act) or persons in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from such registration requirements. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor will there be any sale of the foregoing securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION: This news release includes certain "forward-looking statements" under applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to: statements related to proposed exploration and development programs at Rozino, grade and tonnage of material and resource estimates and the Alliance. Often, but not always, forward looking statements can be identified by words such as "pro forma", "plans", "expects", "may", "should", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", "believes", "potential" or variations of such words including negative variations thereof, and phrases that refer to certain actions, events or results that may, could, would, might or will occur or be taken or achieved. In making the forward-looking statements in this news release, the Company has applied several material assumptions, including without limitation, that market fundamentals will result in sustained gold demand and prices, the receipt of any necessary permits, licenses and regulatory approvals in connection with the future development of Rozino in a timely manner, the availability of financing on suitable terms for the development, construction and continued operation of Rozino, and the Companys ability to comply with environmental, health and safety laws.

Forward looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. Such risks and other factors include, among others, operating and technical difficulties in connection with mineral exploration and development and mine development activities for Rozino, including the geological mapping, prospecting and sampling programs for the project, the fact that the Companys interests in Rozino (Tintyava property) is only an option and there is no guarantee that the interest, if earned, will be certain, actual results of exploration activities, variations to the geological and metallurgical assumptions (including with respect to the size, grade and recoverability of mineral reserves and mineral resources), the timing and amount of estimated future production, costs of production, capital expenditures, the costs and timing of the development of new deposits, the availability of a sufficient supply of water and other materials, requirements for additional capital to fund the Company's business plan, future prices of precious metals, changes in general economic conditions, changes in the financial markets and in the demand and market price for commodities, possible variations in ore grade or recovery rates, possible failures of plants, equipment or processes to operate as anticipated, accidents, labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry, delays in obtaining governmental and regulatory approvals (including of the TSX Venture Exchange), permits or financing or in the completion of development or construction activities, changes in laws, regulations and policies affecting mining operations, hedging practices, currency fluctuations, title disputes or claims limitations on insurance coverage and the timing and possible outcome of pending litigation, environmental issues and liabilities, risks related to joint venture operations, and risks related to the integration of acquisitions, as well as those factors discussed under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Company's annual management's discussion and analysis and other filings of the Company with the Canadian Securities Authorities, copies of which can be found under the Company's profile on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com. Information concerning mineral reserve and mineral resource estimates also may be considered forward-looking statements, as such information constitutes a prediction of what mineralization might be found to be present if and when a project is actually developed and / or is in production. The actual results or performance by the Company could differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, any forward-looking statements relating to those matters.

Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements in this news release or incorporated by reference herein, except as otherwise required by law.
CALGARY, Alberta, April 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Snow Eagle Resources Ltd. (Snow Eagle) (NEX:SEG.H) and CannaTest Photonics Ltd. (CannaTest) (collectively the Companies) previously announced their intentions to amalgamate and be called FluroTech Ltd. (FluroTech), which will constitute Snow Eagles qualifying transaction. Upon completion of the qualifying transaction, the shares of the resulting issuer will trade under the symbol "TSX-V.TEST".



The companies are pleased to announce they have received the third installment of the comment letters from the TSX-V on April 4th, leading them to expect the approval process will be completed in late May, with shares trading shortly thereafter.

The timing of the listing of FluroTechs shares will now likely coincide with the roll out of the marketing and branding of FluroTech, commencing with the launch of the website containing FluroTech corporate information and introducing the CompleTest brand.

Described below are the product categories and their development status:

Testing Devices

Portable Testing Device  Development of the device is complete and prototypes are being manufactured for use in field trials with Licensed Producers (LP). Field trials are expected to begin the week of April 16th.

Desktop Testing Device  Hardware in the desktop testing device which is similar to the portable device and has been completed. The mold for the device shell is currently being tested, with delivery of the first production shells expected in May. These first production devices will be utilized in field trials thereafter.

Roadside Testing Device  Preliminary design of the roadside testing device is underway with development scheduled to commence mid-April expecting completion this summer.

Testing Kits

Heavy metal test kits  The final version of the heavy metals test kits, which includes testing for cadmium, lead and mercury, are ready for the first round of external field trials with LPs and is scheduled to commence the week of April 16th.

THC & CBD test kits  Third party validation of the CBD reagents is complete, with validation of the THC reagent in progress. THC and CBD potency field testing is expected to commence in June, once final selection of the antibodies required for detection has been made.

Pesticides/Chemicals  Six of the Companys ten targeted pesticide tests are at various stages in the development cycle. All ten of the pesticide tests are expected to be launched in the fall of 2018.

Extraction Kits

The bill of materials for the extraction kits has been completed and transitioned to operations. The extraction process for potency and heavy metals testing will be finalized upon completing of the field trials. Our operations team in preparation of sales ramping up this summer is engaged in supplier negotiations as well as determining the final packaging of our branded test kits.

It is expected the Company will launch its marketing program to LPs with respect to direct sales of the portable and desktop testing devices for heavy metal and potency tests this summer.

CannaTest has filed its first Canadian patent and will be engaged in filing additional patents as required to ensure its proprietary technology is properly protected. This is an ongoing process that will continue for several years. CannaTest is excited to continue to expand its patent portfolio.

Danny Dalla-Longa, CEO of CannaTest, would like to take this opportunity to thank all shareholders of both CannaTest and Snow Eagle for their continued support and look forward to an exciting year as the merged Company operating as FluroTech brings the first of its CompleTest products to market this summer.

About CannaTest/FluroTech

CannaTest is a technology and marketing Company whose core business is focused on the commercialization of a new spectroscopy-based technology in the cannabis and hemp industries. CannaTest has exclusive ownership of the technology for the purpose of testing and identifying organic and inorganic compounds contained within biological samples derived from cannabis or hemp plants. Using the technology, CannaTest has developed a two-part solution comprising an instrument called CompleTest and consumable testing kits. CompleTest is a portable and customizable device that, upon the completion of its development, will assist producers in the cannabis and hemp industries in optimizing and tracking the quality and safety of their products.

Contact Information

CannaTest Photonics Ltd.

7 - 3535 Research Park Road NW

Calgary, AB T2L 2K8

Snow Eagle Resources Ltd.

436 Lands End Road

North Saanich, British Columbia V8L 5L9

Danny Dalla-Longa

403.680.0644

danny@dalcocap.com

David Tonken

778.426.3329

tonken@icrossroads.com

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information generally refers to information about an issuers business, capital, or operations that is prospective in nature, and includes future-oriented financial information about the issuers prospective financial performance or financial position. The forward-looking information in this news release includes disclosure about the future performance of the Company.

The Company made certain material assumptions, including but not limited to prevailing market conditions and general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties to develop the forward-looking information in this news release. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

Actual results may vary from the forward-looking information in this news release due to certain material risk factors. These risk factors include, but are not limited to, adverse market conditions and regulatory and other risks associated with the medical cannabis industry in general. The Company cautions that the foregoing list of material risk factors and assumptions is not exhaustive.

The Company assumes no obligation to update or revise the forward-looking information in this news release, unless it is required to do so under Canadian securities legislation.
Hello Everyone,I am looking for some inputs on a brand new school - Asia School of Business ( http://www.asb.edu.my The first batch actually graduated just last month.Its based on KL and started by the central bank of Malaysia. They have a 10 year MOU with MIT to share faculty etc.. but the degree one would get would be from ASB along with a certificate of completion from MIT.PROs:1. Situated in Asia, growing market, should help get deeper understanding2. 60-70% content taught by MIT faculty for batch of 20203. New school, almost a startup type environment, open to changes4. Very Practical course with the MIT action learning focus5. 100% scholarshipCons:1. No known name / brand, future is uncertain2. Although diverse, the batch size is very small for the class of 2020 - expected to be <50 people3. Not much data to decide on - first batch graduated last month so overall employment data is not available.I have been working at Google for 4.5 years and got a 760 in GMAT. I couldnt make it to any of the top US schools but got through IESE. However, after visiting the campus I was not wowed by it.Should I even be considering ASB as no one knows where it will go, and what other decision criteria should I use?Appreciate different thoughts on this, as I only have a few days to decide.
Yo,I am currently in the QFIN at WU Vienna. The decision heavily depends on your background. If you come from a business background, you will have a tough time in Vienna (in most cases) with the challenging stuff that you gonna learn. While most students get to know each other in weekly parties etc. you will spend most of your "social time" doing homework with them. Furthermore, you will learn a lot of theoretical stuff here. It is a lot of maths. But if you already did a lot of maths in your bachelors, its gonna be rather easy most of the time. A big plus is the fact that you will have professors who spent significant time in Wharton, Princeton, etc. And Prof. Hornik (director of the programme and who teaches a lot) is just a genius.And btw, we also have a bloomberg terminal afaik(although access is somewhat restricted)But judging from your post, I wouldnt recommend going to WU.
sandysilva wrote:

The law requires all Jordanian banks to provide any information or statistics that Central Bank of Jordan requests and stipulate penalties for non compliance.



A) The law requires all Jordanian banks to provide any information or statistics that Central Bank of Jordan requests and stipulate penalties for non compliance.



B) The law requires each Jordanian bank to provide any information or statistics that Central Bank of Jordan requests and stipulate penalties for non compliance.



C) The law requires that all Jordanian banks provide any information or statistics that Central Bank of Jordan requests and stipulate penalties for non compliance.



D) The law requires that each Jordanian bank provides any information or statistics that Central Bank of Jordan requests and stipulates penalties for non compliance.



E) The law requires that each Jordanian bank provide any information or statistics that Central Bank of Jordan requests and stipulates penalties for non compliance.



Guys please also provide your reasons. Your reasoning might help me resolve the queries I have.

Subjunctive at work.D and E use stipulates so can be eliminated.Each in b is awkwardBossy verb plus that plus base verb is the correct usage. So, C.I am not sure though
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New York, Apr 7 (JEN): The United Nations refugee agency is scaling up its assistance to the rapidly growing number of Venezuelans arriving in Brazil, with daily arrivals averaging 800 in recent days amid the worsening political and socio-economic situation in their country.

As the complex political and socio-economic situation in their country continues to worsen, arriving Venezuelans are in more desperate need of food, shelter and health care. Many also need international protection, William Spindler, spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), told reporters in Geneva, Switzerland.

More than 52,000 Venezuelans have arrived in Brazil since the beginning of 2017. Of those, 25,000 are asylum seekers, 10,000 hold temporary resident visas, while the rest are working to regularizing their status, according to UNHCR. The Governments latest estimates show that more than 800 Venezuelans are entering Brazil each day.

An estimated 40,000 have entered through the isolated northern state of Roraima and are living in Boa Vista, the state capital, Spindler added.

With numbers growing, public services such as health care and sanitation are becoming stretched, Spindler said.

Authorities recently declared a state of emergency and have allocated about $58 million for emergency humanitarian assistance for people coming from Venezuela.

For its part, UNHCR has been working closely with the Brazilian Government to register Venezuelans and ensure all arrivals have proper documentation.

Once documented, Venezuelan asylum-seekers, as well as those with special stay permits, have the right to work, and access health, education and other basic services.

Venezuelans who are living on the streets are facing growing risks, including sexual exploitation and violence.

To mitigate those risks, two new shelters have been opened in Boa Vista over the last two weeks. UNHCR is managing the new shelters, which are each nearly at its capacity of 500 people. Priority is given to families with children, pregnant women, elderly people and others with specific needs.

UNHCR is also helping the Government identify Venezuelans willing to relocate voluntarily from Roraima to other parts of Brazil as relocation will provide longer-term solutions and ease the strain on local communities in Roraima.

Two flights, operated by the Brazilian Air Force, are leaving Boa Vista this week. One left yesterday, flying 104 Venezuelans to Sao Paulo. The second is expected today to Sao Pablo and Cuiaba, the capital of the Mato Grosso state located in the centre of the country.

UNHCR has recently requested from donors an initial $46 million to implement its regional response plan for Venezuelans in the main host countries, including Brazil. So far, this plan is only four per cent funded.

UNHCR/Reynesson Damasceno
Presumably motivated in part by the public unrest that he has witnessed in recent weeks, Heidari declared that the offending media outlet owed an apology to Iranian Arabs. His remarks may help to keep the broader issue of Irans mistreatment of minority groups in the spotlight. The story underlying those remarks may suggest that the Arab population is subject to particular neglect, in comparison to other minorities; but the story also follows upon a number of other reports on ongoing and frequently escalating persecution of both ethnic and religious identity groups.

A number of these reports focus on collective actions and clashes between Iranian security forces and the groups in question. For instance, the CHRI reported last week that Tehran had stepped up its attacks on Kurdish activists and Kurdish regions of the country in the wake of mass anti-government protests that spanned every major city and town in Iran throughout the end of December and much of January.

Those protests also gave rise to clashes in February between security forces and the religious minority group known as Gonabadi dervishes, after numerous members of the Sufi sect gathered near the home of their leader Noor Ali Tabandeh out of fear that he would be arrested as part of the regimes crackdown on activists and dissidents. Last week, IW reported that upwards of 350 dervishes were still being held in detention after being arrested against the backdrop of the protests, and that many of them had been prevented from contacting friends of family.

Such reports raise questions about whether protesters who were wounded during their arrest have ever received medical treatment. And these questions are made more imperative by the multitudes of reports regarding the withholding of medical treatment for political prisoners, including minority rights activists.

On Friday, World Watch Monitor called attention to two such cases as they relate to the persecution of Irans Christian faith community. Each of the men in those cases, Naser Navard Gol-Tapeh and Hadi Asgari, have been separately sentenced to 10 years in prison for allegedly proselytizing for Christianity. The religion is technically defended in the Iranian constitution as a traditional Iranian faith alongside Islam, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism, but converting from Islam to any other faith is illegal and may even be grounds for capital punishment.

The World Watch Monitor article indicates that Gol-Tapeh was also arrested alongside three Azeri nationals when security forces raided a wedding party. He was confined to Evin Prison in January of this year and has since made several appeals for medical treatment, all of which have been denied. This practice of obstructing access to medical care has often been used to exert additional pressure on political prisoners, or as a form of punishment. And in September of last year, the practice was given unprecedented attention following the viral spread of post-operative images of Alireza Rajaie, who lost an eye and part of his jaw to surgery for a cancerous growth that went undiagnosed for several months while he was in prison.

This attention has likely helped to focus international activism on some of the current victims of the practice. World Watch Monitor notes that Asgari, for instance, has been the subject of expressions of concern by four United Nations officials. Last month, the Christian converts family provided the money that should have won him temporary release for the Iranian New Year holiday of Nowruz, so that he could receive medical treatment. However, the application for release was rejected without explanation and he remains in Evin Prison alongside many of the Iranians who have been arrested on political and religious grounds.

These cases serve to highlight the familiar trend of individual activists and scapegoats being targeted on the basis of the Iranian regimes attitudes toward the identity groups to which they belong. Another ostensible example of this was featured by CHRI on Tuesday. The report indicated that Emadeddin Mollazeri, a rights activist for the Baluchi ethnic minority, had disappeared following a sudden prison transfer on March 14.

The prosecutor in Mollazeris case reportedly visited him in prison to declare that he would not be released under any circumstances. Afterwards, the defendant lodged a formal complaint, and his disappearance may constitute retaliation against this and against his efforts to inform the public about his situation.

In this light, Mollazeris case highlights not only the systematic mistreatment of Irans ethnic minorities but also the regimes efforts to enforce secrecy about its mistreatment of detainees in general. His disappearance follows upon a number of instances of suspicious deaths in Iranian prisons, including that of Kavous Seyed-Emami, an Iranian-Canadian university professor who had been targeted for arrest on the basis of his environmental activism. In this case and several others, authorities attempted to dismiss the deaths as instances of suicide while also obstructing independent autopsies and pressuring the families of the deceased to avoid speaking to the media.

The National Council of Resistance of Iran has endeavored to keep track of the regimes ongoing response to the January protests and their subsequent offshoots, and it has determined that at least 14 individuals have been tortured to death so far after having been arrested for participation in the uprising.
The opposition members who resided in Camp Liberty spent years being subjected to inhuman attacks and medicals sieges. One hundred and seventy-eight residents lost their lives there.

Many of the residents were finally safely transferred to Albania where they were warmly received. It was a major achievement when the final residents left Iraq and it was considered a major humanitarian success following a strong initiative that involved a significant amount of diplomatic pressure. This involved the United Nations, ISJ, US Senators and Congressmen, members of Parliament, American dignitaries and European politicians.

Vidal-Quadras calls for immediate action to be taken so that the Islamic Republics campaign against the dissidents is quashed. He emphasises that the Iranian regime has targeted the main opposition group, the Peoples Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI or MEK), for decades and it has killed over 100,000 activists.

He also said that the assassinations and executions of MEK members and sympathizers are accompanied by a massive demonization operation by Tehran and its agents and lobbyists.

The Iranian regime is in a desperate situation following the widespread protests that started at the end of December in which people protested in over 140 cities across Iran. The people were calling for regime change because they know that it is their only chance of freedom, democracy and human rights.

To counter its increasing isolation, the regime is upping its campaign of suppression and is now targeting the MEK in Albania. At the end of March, Albania media reported that its security forces had arrested two Iranians that came to gather intelligence and spy on the MEK. Vidal-Quadras warned: Past experience has proven these sorts of activities to be preludes to terrorist acts. And to complement this effort, the Iranian regime is preparing actions at the European Parliament, with the help of some pro-Iran MEPs, designed for disseminating lies and allegations against the opposition.

He mentioned that Irans Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) recruited Iranian-born Massoud Khodabandeh and his British wife Ann Singleton to demonise the MEK. If it has not been for the British Parliamentary Committee for Iran Freedom and other MPs, they would have been given a platform at the British Parliament to distribute misinformation about MEK.

Singleton has travelled to Albania at least three times in the past few months where she speaks out against the MEK each time.

Vidal-Quadras said that Singleton and several others are due to participate in a meeting at the European Parliament in the next few days (in continuation of their activities against Iranian people and MEK.)

He said that it is essential for the relevant authorities to act immediately, especially when there are indications from past events that a terrorist attack could be imminent. He stressed that the regime is not just compromising the safety of the Iranian refugees and MEK members, but Europe as a whole.
Welcome to KARMABrooklyn! We hope that the news and other information we post on this b log will be useful to residents and merchants in Kensington and Windsor Terrace. If you'd like to contact us, write to us at karmabrooklyn [at] gmail [dot] com.
The Ukrainian Orthodox Church celebrates Easter on April 8 this year.

The Easter Eggs (Pysankas) Festival opened in Kyiv on April 5.

This year, not only giant eggs but also painted figures of Easter bunnies are on display on Kyiv's Sofiyska Square.

The number of the bunny sculptures exceeds 300.

Read alsoCanadian students learn Ukrainian tradition of Easter painting

Not only professional artists but also amateurs painted and decorated the exhibits.

One can find bunnies "dressed" in the Ukrainian national costume, wearing furs. There are also "mystery" and "extraterrestrial" creatures, and many others.

As part of the festival, an area for children was traditionally opened on the nearby Mykhailivska Square.

The event will last until April 22.

This year, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church celebrates Easter on April 8.
Mtabi Ebeula speaks softly as he remembers fleeing the Democratic Republic of the Congo with his family to escape the rebels.

They were killing people, he says. I left because of them.

Ebeula is a small, 57-year-old man who lives with his wife and nine of his 11 children. He is in a new home in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The family arrived in the United States from Tanzania on March 14.

For 20 years, Ebeula and his family lived in a refugee camp in Tanzania.

Ebeula is a carpenter, so he did work around the camp. During that time, he began the long, difficult process to request resettlement in the U.S. Two of his sons also live in the U.S. - one in Texas and the other in Minnesota.

The Church World Services, or CWS immigration and refugee office in Lancaster is resettling the Ebeula family. CWS is one of nine American nonprofit organizations that are supported by the U.S. State Department. Their job is to resettle refugees across the country.

However, the Trump administration has reduced the number of refugees to 45,000 for 2018. The government also is admitting refugees more slowly. So far it has admitted about 10,000.

As a result, the State Department told resettlement organizations that they need to shrink their operations.

A State Department official told VOA the move will improve efficiencies and permit the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program to continue with less money.

Fewer refugees are a big hit for nonprofit groups

The CWS office in Lancaster gets $1.2 million from the State Department for its programs. It has already removed some employees. Office director Sheila Mastropietro said six workers have been told to leave the office and two others were sent to different jobs.

Weve been in Lancaster for over 30 years, Mastroprieto told VOA. She added that the office had grown to 31 people who support nine refugee programs.

Mastroprieto believes it will be difficult for CWS and other resettlement organizations to find employees if U.S. policy changes to permit more refugees.

She said that people move into other jobs and are not available to return to refugee organizations.

The Trump administrations lower refugee number has reduced arrivals in Lancaster.

In 2016, we had 360, and this year well only get 125 people, Mastroprieto said. She added that in 2017 her group expected 550 refugees but received only 270 because of the Trump administrations travel ban.

The nationality of those arriving in Lancaster has changed, too. In the past it was mostly Syrians and Somalis, said Mastroprieto. Now, the refugees come from Myanmar and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Citizens from Syria and Somalia are among those who have been barred from entering the U.S. under the travel ban.

With a population of nearly 60,000, Lancaster is a center of manufacturing, food processing and farming. CWS helps refugees find jobs in these industries. This is important because each refugee gets a one-time grant of $925 from the U.S. government to settle in. This money has to pay for housing, food, and other costs. Refugees must find a job quickly.

The Lancaster office gets jobs for 80 percent of the refugees, said Mastroprieto. She said that many times she gets calls from businesses looking for refugees for jobs they cannot fill.

No tips for police officers

CWSs Omar Mohamed teaches the Ebeula family as part of a 90-day support program.

You cannot give money to police officers or government officials, even as a thank-you for assistance. No money, he warned.

A volunteer translates Mohamed's English into Swahili. They are both Somali refugees.

CWS explains the citys public transportation system and helps the refugees receive a social security cards so they can work. They help children begin school. Working with the citys many churches, CWS organizes English classes.

Lancaster citizens appear to have accepted the refugees who shop for fresh vegetables at the central market in downtown.

Mecks Market manager Bruce Markey welcomes them.

I think its wonderful for us as a city. I think it brings many cultures togetherIf you cant open your arms to people that need it, then whats the point, honestly?"

Other residents are less pleased. Anne Flynn, who also works at the market, likes the refugee resettlement system, but adds I have no problem with people coming, as long as they want to live like Americans.

It is estimated that 65 million people are living as refugees around the world. Mastroprieto believes America should not forget its policy of resettling people fleeing war and persecution.

For the Ebeula family coming to Lancaster offers a fresh start after living for years in a refugee camp.

This is my new country now, Ebeula says.

Im Susan Shand.

And I'm Dorothy Gundy.

Bill Rogers reported this story for VOA News. Susan Shand adapted it for VOA Learning English. Mario Ritter was the editor.

_____________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

carpenter  n. one who works making or fixing wooden objects or wooden parts of buildings

efficiency  n. the ability to do something or produce something without wasting materials, time, or energy

translate  v. to explain one language into another language

manager  n. one who controls people and things at an office or store

persecution  n. the practice treating someone badly because of race or religious or political beliefs

ancestry  n. the people who were in your family in past times
From VOA Learning English, this is American Stories.

Our story is called The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky. It was written by Stephen Crane. Today, we will hear the second and final part of the story.

Dont know whether there will be a fight or not, answered one man firmly, but therell be some shooting -- some good shooting.

The young man who had warned them waved his hand. Oh, therell be a fight fast enough, if anyone wants it. Anybody can get in a fight out there in the street. Theres a fight just waiting.

The salesman seemed to be realizing the possibility of personal danger.

What did you say his name was? he asked.

Scratchy Wilson, voices answered together.

And will he kill anybody? What are you going to do? Does this happen often? Can he break in that door?

No, he cant break in that door, replied the saloon-keeper. Hes tried it three times. But when he comes youd better lie down on the floor, stranger. Hes sure to shoot at the door, and a bullet may come through.

After that, the salesman watched the door steadily. The time had not yet come for him to drop to the floor, but he carefully moved near the wall.

Will he kill anybody? he asked again. The men laughed, without humor, at the question.

Hes here to shoot, and hes here for trouble. I dont see any good in experimenting with him.

But what do you do in a situation like this? What can you do?

A man answered, Well, he and Jack Potter -- 

But, the other men interrupted together, Jack Potters in San Antonio.

Well, who is he? Whats he got to do with this? Oh, hes the town policeman. He goes out and fights Scratchy when he starts acting this way.

A nervous, waiting silence was upon them. The salesman saw that the saloon-keeper, without a sound, had taken a gun from a hiding place. Then he saw the man signal to him, so he moved across the room.

Youd better come with me behind this table.

No, thanks, said the salesman. Id rather be where I can get out the back door.

At that, the saloon-keeper made a kindly but forceful motion. The salesman obeyed, and found himself seated on a box with his head below the level of the table. The saloon-keeper sat comfortably upon a box nearby.

You see, he whispered, Scratchy Wilson is a wonder with a gun -- a perfect wonder. And when he gets excited, everyone gets out of his path. Hes a terror when hes drunk. When hes not drinking hes all right -- wouldnt hurt anythingnicest fellow in town. But when hes drunk -- be careful!

There were periods of stillness. I wish Jack Potter were back from San Antonio, said the saloon-keeper. He shot Wilson once, in the leg. Hed come in and take care of this thing.

Soon they heard from a distance the sound of a shot, followed by three wild screams. The men looked at each other.

Here he comes, they said. A man in a red shirt turned a corner and walked into the middle of the main street of Yellow Sky.

In each hand the man held a long, heavy, blue black gun. Often he screamed, and these cries rang through the seemingly deserted village.

The screams sounded sharply over the roofs with a power that seemed to have no relation to the ordinary strength of a mans voice. These fierce cries rang against walls of silence.

The mans face flamed in a hot anger born of whiskey. His eyes rolling but watchful, hunted the still doorways and windows. He walked with the movement of a midnight cat. As the thoughts came to him, he roared threatening information.

The long guns hung from his hands like feathers, they were moved with electric speed. The muscles of his neck straightened and sank, straightened and sank, as passion moved him.

The only sounds were his terrible invitations to battle. The calm houses preserved their dignity at the passing of this small thing in the middle of the street.

There was no offer of fight -- no offer of fight. The man called to the sky. There were no answers. He screamed and shouted and waved his guns here and everywhere.

Finally, the man was at the closed door of the saloon. He went to it, and beating upon it with his gun, demanded drink. The door remained closed.

He picked up a bit of paper from the street and nailed it to the frame of the door with a knife. He then turned his back upon this place and walked to the opposite side of the street. Turning quickly and easily, he fired the guns at the bit of paper. He missed it by a half an inch.

He cursed at himself, and went away. Later, he comfortably shot out all the windows of the house of his best friend. Scratchy was playing with this town. It was a toy for him.

But still there was no offer of fight. The name of Jack Potter, his ancient enemy, entered his mind. He decided that it would be a good thing if he went to Potters house, and by shooting at it make him come out and fight. He moved in the direction of his desire, singing some sort of war song.

When he arrived at it, Potters house presented the same still front as had the other homes. Taking a good position, the man screamed an invitation to battle.

But this house regarded him as a great, stone god might have done. It gave no sign. After a little wait, the man screamed more invitations, mixing them with wonderful curses.

After a while came the sight of a man working himself into deepest anger over the stillness of a house. He screamed at it. He shot again and again. He paused only for breath or to reload his guns.

Potter and his bride walked rapidly. Sometimes they laughed together, quietly and a little foolishly.

Next corner, dear, he said finally.

They put forth the efforts of a pair walking against a strong wind. Potter was ready to point the first appearance of the new home. Then, as they turned the corner, they came face to face with the man in the red shirt, who was feverishly loading a large gun.

Immediately the man dropped his empty gun to the ground and, like lightning, pulled out another. The second gun was aimed at Potters chest.

There was a silence. Potter couldnt open his mouth. Quickly he loosened his arm from the womans grasp, and dropped the bag to the sand.

As for the bride, her face had become the color of an old cloth. She was motionless. The two men faced each other at a distance of nine feet.

Behind the gun, Wilson smiled with a new and quiet cruelty.

Tried to surprise me, he said. Tried to surprise me! His eyes grew more evil. As Potter made a slight movement, the man pushed his gun sharply forward.

No, dont you do it, Jack Potter. Dont you move a finger toward a gun yet. Dont you move a muscle. The time has come for me to settle with you, and Im going to do it my own way -- slowly, with no interruption. So just listen to what I tell you.

Potter looked at his enemy. I havent got a gun with me, Scratchy, he said. Honest, I havent. He was stiffening and steadying, but at the back of his mind floated a picture of the beautiful car on the train. He thought of the glory of the wedding, the spirit of his new life.

You know I fight when I have to fight, Scratchy Wilson. But I havent got a gun with me. Youll have to do all the shooting yourself.

His enemys face turned pale with anger. He stepped forward and whipped his gun back and forth before Potters chest.

Dont you tell me you havent got a gun with you, you dog. Dont tell me a lie like that. There isnt a man in Texas who ever saw you without a gun. Dont think Im a kid. His eyes burned with anger and his breath came heavily.

I dont think youre a kid, answered Potter. His feet had not moved an inch backward. I think youre a complete fool. I tell you I havent got a gun, and I havent. If youre going to shoot me, youd better begin now; youll never get a chance like this again.

So much enforced reasoning had weakened Wilsons anger. He was calmer. If you havent got a gun, why havent you got a gun?, he asked. Been to church?

I havent got a gun because Ive just come from San Antonio with my wife. Im married, said Potter. And if I had thought thered be a fool like you here when I brought my wife home, I would have had a gun, and dont you forget it.

Married! said Scratchy, not at all understanding.

Yes, married. Im married, said Potter, clearly.

Married? said Scratchy. Seemingly for the first time, he saw the pale, frightened woman at the other side. No! he said.

He was like a creature allowed a glance at another world. He moved a pace backward, and his arm, with the gun, dropped to his side.

Is this the lady? he asked.

Yes, this is the lady, answered Potter.

There was another period of silence.

Well, said Wilson at last, slowly. I suppose we wont fight now.

We wont if you say so, Scratchy. You know I didnt make the trouble.

Potter lifted the bag.

Well, I guess we wont fight, Jack, said Wilson. He was looking at the ground.

Married!

He was not a student of good manners. It was merely that in the presence of this foreign condition he was a simple child of the wildlands. He picked up his fallen gun, and he went away. His feet made deep tracks in the heavy sand.

_______________________________________________________________

QUIZ

Try this Listening Quiz to check your understanding.

Quiz - 'The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky,' Part Two Start the Quiz to find out Start Quiz

___________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

feverishly - adv. done in a way that involves intense emotion or activity : feeling or showing great or extreme excitement

muscle - n. a body tissue that can contract and produce movement

Old West / Wild West - expression. the western United States in its frontier period characterized by roughness and lawlessness

pace - n. a single step or the length of a single step

passion - n. a strong feeling of enthusiasm or excitement for something or about doing something

saloon - n. a business where alcoholic drinks are served

saloon-keeper  n. a person who runs a bar; a bartender

whiskey - n. a strong alcoholic drink made from a grain (such as rye, corn, or barley)

Teachers, here is a lesson plan for this story:


00:00:00 ALICE WINKLER: How do you know when youve truly arrived? Maybe it's when youve won a string of prestigious awards; maybe it's when youre one of the only household names in your field; but certainly, it's when youve been asked to make a guest appearance on The Simpsons.

00:00:19 MARGE SIMPSON: We asked Frank Gehry to build us a concert hall.

00:00:24 FRANK GEHRY: Behold! The new Springfield Concert Hall!

00:00:28 And none of this would have happened if not for a letter I received from one little girl.

00:00:32 MARGE SIMPSON: I wrote that letter!

00:00:34 FRANK GEHRY: You wrote I was the bestest architect in the world?

00:00:37 MARGE SIMPSON: Well, aren't you?

00:00:38 MAYOR QUIMBY: All in favor of building a 30-million-dollar screw-you to Shelbyville?

00:00:42 SPRINGFIELD CITIZENS: Aye!

00:00:44 ALICE WINKLER: If you've never seen that episode of The Simpsons, it's a must. Some rude boys of Springfield skateboard across the bodacious titanium curves and swoops of the new Frank Gehry concert hall.

00:00:57 FRANK GEHRY: Get off my masterpiece, you punks! I'll call your mothers!

00:01:02 JIMBO JONES: Yo, Frank Gehry, like curvy linear forms much?

00:01:06 FRANK GEHRY: Ah!

00:01:07 ALICE WINKLER: Frank Gehry, the architect and designer who has altered the landscape of cities throughout the world, actually played himself in that episode, and hes the subject of this episode of What It Takes, a podcast about passion, vision, and perseverance from the Academy of Achievement. Im Alice Winkler.

00:01:31 OPRAH WINFREY: "Hattie Mae, this child is gifted," and I heard that enough that I started to believe it.

00:01:37 ROGER BANNISTER: If you have the opportunity, not a perfect opportunity, and you don't take it, you may never have another chance.

00:01:44 LAURYN HILL: It all was so clear. It was just, like, the picture started to form itself.

00:01:48 DESMOND TUTU: There was no way in which a lie could prevail over the truth, darkness over light, death over life.

00:01:56 CAROL BURNETT (quoting CARRIE HAMILTON): Every day I wake up and decide, today I'm going to love my life. Decide.

00:02:04 JOHNNY CASH: My advice is, if they're going to break your leg once when you go in that place, stay out of there.

00:02:08 JAMES MICHENER: And then along come these differential experiences that you don't look for, you don't plan for, but boy, youd better not miss them.

00:02:21 ALICE WINKLER: Im going to be upfront here. Its not easy to create an audio program, no pictures, about a very visual subject, but lucky for me, Frank Gehry has designed some of the most iconic buildings in the world. Still, if you need a reminder of what Gehrys buildings look like, pause this podcast and go look up pictures of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, or Walt Disney Concert Hall in L.A., the Dancing House in Prague, the Louis Vuitton Foundation in Paris, the Weisman Art Museum in Minneapolis, the Pritzker Pavilion in Chicago.

00:03:00 Just look at any building designed by Frank Gehry and marvel. It looks like sculpture. Its powerful and playful. Its eccentric. It was created by a dreamer. And, if youll indulge me in a bit of poetic license, it all started with gefilte fish.

00:03:22 FRANK GEHRY: She held the Sabbath and did the gefilte fish thing. I dont know. There was something magical about her that I always felt.

00:03:31 ALICE WINKLER: Frank Gehry is talking there about his grandmother Leah Freedman, who made her own gefilte fish. Well circle back to the fish in a moment, but Gehry has a lot of vivid memories of his grandma, sitting on the floor creating worlds with him from roughly hewn blocks of wood. This was in Canada, where he was born and raised.

00:03:54 FRANK GEHRY: The folklore about her was that she was a foundry operator in Poland, in Lodz  L-O-D-Z  a woman foundry operator. She was before her time, and I miss her.

00:04:10 ALICE WINKLER: So back in the old country, Frank Gehrys grandma was in the business of casting metal into shapes. Now, I dont think theres a gene for that, but its an interesting coincidence. Then his grandfather, also from Lodz  after fleeing anti-Semitism in Poland and arriving in Canada  opened a hardware store.

00:04:33 FRANK GEHRY: The hardware store is where I got to play with all the gadgets and fix and do pipes and glass-cutting and all that stuff, materials. I was really into that.

00:04:45 ALICE WINKLER: Frank Gehry is nothing if not famous for his use of unexpected materials, or maybe better put, his use of materials to unexpected ends. Hes made bricks look like curtains of fabric, and steel look like sails billowing in the wind. In the 1980s, he was hired by Formica, the company that makes the plastic laminate used for kitchen countertops. They wanted him to design something that would show off their newest line.

00:05:15 Frank Gehry chose to make a fish lamp with jagged scales that glowed when the light shone through. And you know what? Those fish lamps look kind of like the carp his grandma Leah would bring home, alive, to make her gefilte fish. Now you see where I was going?

00:05:36 FRANK GEHRY: Grandma bought the fish. Shed bring it home, put it in the bathtub. Yes, all that  but that happened to all Jewish families. In fact, people have written books about it.

00:05:46 So its normal. I dont think thats why the fish appeared in my work.

00:05:53 ALICE WINKLER: Maybe not, but when he recorded this interview with journalist Gail Eichenthal for the Academy of Achievement in September of 2016, Gehry seemed to leave open the possibility, at least a little, when she pressed him on it, but you need to understand, the fish lamp was only the beginning. Fish, whether realistic or abstract, became a major motif in Frank Gehrys work. And if you go take another look at some of his buildings, you might just see that theyre a little fishy.

00:06:27 Well, heres Frank Gehrys explanation for the fascination. In the early 1980s, architects were looking for an alternative to the cold and inhuman style of modernism, and they gravitated toward whats now known as postmodernism.

00:06:47 FRANK GEHRY: I remember being in a lecture somewhere, or in a conference somewhere, and they were all talking about how wonderful the new architecture was, and I objected. I said that the postmodern work came from Greek temples. Greek temples were anthropomorphic, and I said, "If you have to go back, you can go 300 million years before man to fish." And I just said that.

00:07:18 Now, where it came from, whether it came from grandma and the fish, I dont know. But it was something that interested me because I was looking for a way to express movement with architecture because I couldnt do decoration that was postmodern. I was looking for something to replace feeling in a building.

00:07:40 ALICE WINKLER: Interestingly enough, although he had no interest in a backward glance at classical Greek architecture, he found his inspiration for the future in classical Greek sculpture, the Elgin Marbles, specifically, that once graced the top of the Parthenon.

00:07:59 FRANK GEHRY: So if you look at the Elgin Marbles, those warriors are pressing the shields into the stone, and you feel the pressure, and you feel the horses are moving, and you feel the  and if they could do that with inert materials, I thought, "Why not see if that could become an architectural direction that would enliven the buildings, humanize them, and create humanity?"

00:08:29 ALICE WINKLER: In other words, Gehry wasnt interested in the specific designs of the Elgin Marbles. He was just stirred by how solid materials could be made to express movement; and movement, for Gehry, was an essential component of feeling, of play, and he found a perfect vehicle for expressing all of that in the undulating form of a fish. Picture the way a fish moves, the way its body can gently fold side to side.

00:08:58 As Gehry points out, Michelangelo spent years practicing drawing folds. He wanted to achieve the flowing feel of fabric in his work. Theres just something very powerful, Gehry says, about a fold.

00:09:14 FRANK GEHRY: And you know, the reason is, when youre a baby, youre in your mothers arms, and youre in the fold, and theres something primitive, beautiful, and humanity about it, and I thought the Greeks knew how to express it. Can we do that in architecture? And the fish became  because I used it as a title  or I said that  I then started to sketch fish and realized that there was something there to look at, emulate, and try to play with.

00:09:47 ALICE WINKLER: He started looking at Japanese woodcuts of fish, which he loved. He constructed a 35-foot wooden fish for a fashion show in Italy. Next, he created a fish for a show at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis.

00:10:01 FRANK GEHRY: I cut off the tail. I cut off the head. I got rid of the eyes and everything  made it as abstract as I could  and it still worked. You still felt the movement.

00:10:18 ALICE WINKLER: Mind you, this all came after Gehry was already in his 60s. Now, as I record this episode, hes 87. TIME magazines art critic Richard Lacayo described Gehry as having, quote, "One of the greatest later-in-life creative surges in history. Youd have to compare it to the late quartets of Beethoven," unquote.

00:10:45 So before getting any further into a discussion of these iconic, flowing, Alice in Wonderland-esque buildings that Frank Gehry has been designing for the past 25 years, lets step back to his architectural beginnings. What interested him about architecture in the first place? Well, in a 1995 interview for the Academy of Achievement, he said he wasnt doing so well in college, and he was trying to figure out what might ignite a flame in him.

00:11:16 FRANK GEHRY: Just on a hunch, I tried architecture, tried some architecture classes, and at first I didn't do great. In fact, I flunked the first class in perspective drawing, and it really got me angry, so I went back the next semester and took it and got an A. And once I got in it, I was off to the races, except, the first half of the second year, my teacher came in, called me in and said, "This isn't for you. You're not going to make it." And somehow I worked through that.

00:11:49 And that guy works at the airport. I see him every once in a while  the teacher  but he acknowledges his mistake, of course, but I mean I just sort of kept going. It was dogged persistence once I got into it.

00:12:04 ALICE WINKLER: And that persistence was fueled by his broader philosophy.

00:12:08 FRANK GEHRY: What got me excited in the beginning were the social issues. I come from a very lefty liberal family in Canada, and architecture looked like it was the panacea, you know. You could make housing for the poor and make wonderful cities and city planning in the future and so on. That was the initial turn-on, and all the way through  so that lasted me all the way through school, actually.

00:12:37 When I got out of school and started to hit  I hit the brick wall that you can't do any of that. It doesn't exist. You can't do it. There are no clients for social housing in America. There's no program, no nothing. City planning? Forget it. I mean it's a kind of bureaucratic nonsense. It has nothing to do with ideas. It only has to do with real estate and politics.

00:13:00 And I used to say, "I don't want to do houses for rich people." I always said that through school. "I'm just not going to do that." But I started to find some excitement in the forms, the spaces, the being able to conceive of something and then see it built, the process of building, the working with the craftsmen. It's an energy and it's a mind game, too.

00:13:28 It's trying to get these people motivated, and I guess it's like directing a movie. It's similar.

00:13:34 ALICE WINKLER: And like directing a movie, theres a long process that comes before what Gehry calls the moment of truth. That process includes developing a relationship with the client, investigating possible sites, researching the physical and cultural context of the location, wrangling over budget. But finally, the question is always there: "What are you going to make?"

00:14:02 When Gehry was starting out, he told interviewer Gail Eichenthal, he surrounded himself by artists more than architects, people like Jasper Johns, whose sense of freedom and lack of philosophy he found refreshing.

00:14:17 FRANK GEHRY: And in L.A., when I started doing my architecture, the first few buildings, like the Danziger building, got a lot of criticism from the guys I grew up with in architecture. They were friends; the ones who are alive are still my friends. But they didnt understand what I was doing, and it was just a little box so I couldnt understand why there was so much feeling about it.

00:14:43 And I didnt know how to talk to them about it. I couldnt get that kind of rap that justified one thing or another, and the artists were making things. It was more hands-on. They were  you know, Larry Bell was working with the glass, and I spent a lot of time in his studio with him, talking to him. And he would take breaks on the guitar and sing about  hed make up funny songs.

00:15:11 And Billy Al was doing some slick paintings, and there was no off-putting discussion. I mean it was pure, and I liked being with them, and I liked emulating them. It felt right for me.

00:15:43 I think the idea  the issue, though, is: Is architecture an art? In the Renaissance, it was an art. Giotto became an architect, and Michelangelo became an architect. All those great guys became architects. So that was a normal thing. Somehow, in our times, its become a functional object that we have an AIA. We have organizations.

00:16:14 Its become very businesslike and is antithetical to being a work of art, and I think, since I had my epiphany about the moment of truth and all that being the same, Ive tried to keep it on the plane as art. And even though some of the artists are upset about that, or have said publicly Im a plumber  Richard Serra, for example  thats whats kind of been missing in the profession, is that sense of responsibility to that ethos, or whatever it is  that you have a responsibility to make a beautiful building.

00:16:57 GAIL EICHENTHAL: You know, I think theres also a sense of responsibility about wanting to do something new, not wanting to repeat yourself over and over; thats been very clear in your career. And I was really, still though, surprised to read a quote from you recently, I think, involving the TED Talks, about  that you always have a sense of insecurity when you take on a new project, almost like its your first project, and theres a sense that you dont really know where youre going.

00:17:27 FRANK GEHRY: Thats a healthy insecurity, I think. I think most people who create stuff  you know, Ive talked to a lot of musicians and people  Wayne Shorter, a great quote is: "You cant rehearse what you aint invented yet."

00:17:56 I think, you know, its a kind of an invention trip. Its not  you cant talk about it. You just sort of make  you can talk about it but  and its not precious. I dont mean to create a precious surrounding it, but its simple. Its unpredictable. Its questioning. Its a lot of Why? and I guess I grew up with the Jewish Talmud that starts  I mean its  almost every other page is Why?

00:18:29 My grandfather embedded me with that, so I think that curiosity  Stay curious. Youve heard that. People always tell somebody, Stay curious, and it does lead to making something special. Now, not everybody can do that, but I think that aspiration is a good one.

00:18:51 ALICE WINKLER: As Frank Gehry says, its almost impossible for him to talk about how he comes up with his ideas, his art, but as he stumbles around looking for the words, he does arrive at some interesting metaphors to describe what he cant really describe.

00:19:08 FRANK GEHRY: I don't know how to  it's intuitive. You don't  it's very difficult to explain why you do things, why you curve something, or why you  it becomes an evolution of thought and ideas, and I feel like  you know the picture of the cat pushing the ball of string, and you just keep pushing it, and it moves around. Then it falls off the table and creates this beautiful line in space.

00:19:39 I think creativity  I guess James wrote that it was like poking around in a deep well with a big stick, and every once in a while you would pull this stick out and something was there. These ideas are not easy to describe. They're easy to rationalize, after the fact, like the sense of movement is easy to rationalize, or certain materials, or certain constructs and shapes and forms.

00:20:12 But basically, you're looking for  I am  trying to make buildings and spaces that will inspire people, that will move people, that will get a reaction. Not just to get a reaction but to get a positive reaction, hopefully, a place that they like to be in. And my greatest thrill is to still be friends with the clients and people that helped me make these buildings.

00:20:40 ALICE WINKLER: Of course, the kind of people who hire Frank Gehry for a project are open to his experimentation and are looking for something far out of the ordinary, but they are still clients. And clients come with constraints, like budget and the location of the site itself, and if the client is a museum or symphony hall, institutional politics. Dont those tend to curtail an architects creativity and nudge him toward conformity? Gehrys response to that? Well...

00:21:13 FRANK GEHRY: Gravity is a constraint, but that is, to any artist, manageable. Every artist confronts a series of issues that are constraints. Those constraints are then turned, by the artist, into a positive force to make something  make their mud pie, whatever it is  and I think we learn to do that. So I don't  I think we make it  I mean when  I had a house recently with no constraints, and I had a horrible time with it.

00:21:49 I had to look in the mirror a lot. "Who am I? Why am I doing this? What is this all about? What is the social relevance of this?" There was none, and finally, the owner gave me a quote from Oscar Wilde, which I  but it didn't  I can't remember the quote, but it was, in essence, that everything didn't have to be relevant. You could make a folly, and that there was some value in that, and then I lived on that for a while and made the so-called folly, which he's not going to build anyway. But I think we turn those constraints into action.

00:22:23 ALICE WINKLER: Constraints may be the scaffolding for creativity, but about 25 years ago, advancements in computer technology lifted one constraint that was holding Gehry back from some of his most daring designs, though he is loath to admit it.

00:22:41 FRANK GEHRY: Well, I don't like the computer, except as a gadget to explain myself to the contractors, but I did, in the course of working with it, get into trying to design on it, even though I hate the imagery. And I likened it to, like, putting my hand in the fire and seeing how long you could keep it in there before I pulled it out.

00:23:06 So I would sit at the thing. It took about three minutes or four minutes before the fire got too hot and I'd pull it out.

00:23:13 ALICE WINKLER: His hand adjusted to more heat over time. Remember, he was dreaming of bringing movement into architecture but didnt yet have a way to make his most elaborate visions a reality, until he was introduced to a company that made software for building airplanes.

00:23:32 FRANK GEHRY: Since I've gotten involved with buildings that have shape to them that are very difficult to describe to a contractor, to a builder, I've made a relationship, by some circuitous route through IBM, to the people in France that make the Mirage airplane, Dassault. And they have a software  or a program, CATIA  that allowed us to describe steel structures and curved structures in a way that demystified them for the builder so that they weren't afraid and didn't add  superimpose  fear costs on the project.

00:24:22 And we've been very successful in that, and I think it's turned the tide. In other words, most architects and contractors are in mortal battle from the day they start. The contractor is scared of the costs and losing money, and the architect is pushing to get his or her dream to fruition, and they're in conflict. And Ive found, through this funny gadget, that the architect can become the master builder, can become the leader, can direct the project, and the contractor likes it.

00:25:04 They would rather be the child in the equation than the parent, and they'd rather have the conceiver take a parental role. So it's through this technology that I've found, in the few projects now, that it's been very possible to change that relationship in a positive way for everybody.

00:25:30 ALICE WINKLER: The test run for this new partnership with the software company was not actually a building. It was  what else? A giant fish.

00:25:43 This one, a gold-toned abstract beauty of a sculpture, 170 feet long, commissioned for the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. The new cutting-edge software allowed Gehry to communicate his vision of multiple compound curves to the builder, and its success led Frank Gehry to make an enormous leap. It freed him to create a new architectural language for the construction of whats widely considered one of the most  if not the most  influential buildings in a generation, the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, a city in the Basque region of Spain.

00:26:28 FRANK GEHRY: Bilbao was not quite as bad as Detroit but almost. It was the steel industry gone, the shipping industry gone. It looked pretty sad. People were down  you know, felt let down. The kids were graduating high school and splitting as soon as they could, and the Basques are really a proud culture.

00:26:52 ALICE WINKLER: There was also, at the time, a strong and sometimes violent Basque nationalist movement in the region. One of the hopes of the museum was that it would revitalize the city, bring in tourism and money, and quiet the unrest, all of which it did, but it started when Tom Krens, the Guggenheim Foundations director, hired Frank Gehry for the job.

00:27:17 FRANK GEHRY: I went to Bilbao. I meet the people. They take me with Tom to the site in Bilbao, in town, where they wanted to build it. Theres an old 19th-century building that was  the exterior wall of it was left, so its kind of like a fence, and then the interior was vacant. Anyway, I found myself at dinner, sitting next to Tom and having some drinks, and everybody was happy and clink, clink, clink, and they asked me, "Mr. Gehry, what do you think of the site?"

00:27:54 And I said, without a blink, "That's the wrong site." I said, "The reason its the wrong site is that the wall, the 19th-century wall, which fits into the neighborhood perfectly  in order to build a museum like you want, youd have to tear it down, and that would destroy the continuity of the neighborhood, and I think its a beautiful relic. You shouldnt tear it down, and you can find other uses for that site that are more communal with that wall and can work with it."

00:28:32 And I was sitting there as I was talking, thinking, "When's he going to kick me?" And he never did, and so it went over like a clunk, right? There was this sort of clunk. Gehry came in. Clunk. But they were nice. They took us up on the hill overlooking the city. We had a few more drinks. Everybody was sort of, "So, okay, if you dont like that site, where would you put it?"

00:29:02 And I said  I saw this bridge, and I saw this site with a brick factory, and it looked derelict, and I dont know what got in me. I said, "There." Now, I dont usually do things like that. I would have taken, you know  if Id  in another circumstance, I would have taken more time and said, "Lets study this one. Lets study this one." I brazenly said, "There."

00:29:29 GAIL EICHENTHAL: There, right on the river.

00:29:30 FRANK GEHRY: Yeah, right at the bend, right by the bridge. And you could see from the hill, looking down, that there was a straight-line view to City Hall across the river. So I felt like, in Bilbao, that there is some visual virtue in the city, the hills around the bridge, and I assumed that they would clean it all up eventually, which they did, and it would be a big asset for the viewing of art, so thats what led to the building.

00:30:10 GAIL EICHENTHAL: Talk about the Bilbao Effect, the fact that now the name Bilbao is synonymous with your building.

00:30:22 FRANK GEHRY: Well, they asked for that. When I had my first official meeting with the city, when we were selected, they asked me if I could do the equivalent of the Sydney Opera House because they said  and this was the minister of commerce, Jon Azua, whos still there  that they needed this to be a generator, a commercial generator to bring people.

00:30:51 And you know, what do you say to that? You say, "Ill do my best, but its not a slam dunk. I dont know if I can do it. I mean I havent done it before, but maybe." When the building was being built, the city was skeptical, and there was one article in the paper, "Kill the American Architect." That made me nervous.

00:31:21 GAIL EICHENTHAL: Kill the American architect?

00:31:23 FRANK GEHRY: Yeah. Because they were a hostile culture with each other. The separatist thing was going on, and they didnt like the idea of somebody coming in from Mars, and they didnt understand what I was doing. This jumble of metal  "What are you doing?"

00:31:42 Its only after they saw it, everything clicked, and I could live there for the rest of my life for free. If anybody sees me  I was in India somewhere in a plaza, and some lady saw me. There was a group of tourists from Bilbao. I didnt know they were over there, and she saw me, and she said, "Gehry, Gehry!" And they all came running, and I had  I was like the Pied Piper.

00:32:09 Obviously, it worked. Im happy it worked, and I dont know why it worked. Its a magic trick, I think. I did my best, and thats what came out.

00:32:26 ALICE WINKLER: Another bit of magic: the computer software Gehry used to design the building made it cheaper to build. The costs became entirely predictable, and in the end, Gehry says, it was a downright bargain for the City of Bilbao.

00:32:44 FRANK GEHRY: That was nirvana. That was, you know, eureka, the eureka moment, Archimedes, and 

00:32:53 GAIL EICHENTHAL: That you realized it could be built under budget?

00:32:56 FRANK GEHRY: Yes, and so Bilbao  and nobody wants to believe this. Its the craziest thing. You cant get people to believe it. It was built for $300 a square foot in '97. Thats it. I cant help it. Its fact. Since its opened, its earned close to four billion euros for the city, which changed the politic. There are no more separatists. Theres a big smile on the community. The building brings in people, and so they're all family now. So I feel loved there, anyway.

00:33:35 GAIL EICHENTHAL: And it occurs to me that theres a Bilbao Effect in downtown Los Angeles, with Disney Hall, that I dont think anyone could have anticipated, and certainly there were years when you didnt even think it would be built.

00:33:45 FRANK GEHRY: Right. The normal  when you do a public building that has a board and people on it, theres always somebody on the board thats a builder that knows how to do everything better than the architect, so you have to go through all of that. I mean when I first showed the model, they brought a contractor, who was the biggest contractor in L.A., and I finished my presentation, and the board clapped.

00:34:14 They loved the drawings and everything. They turned to him and said, "What do you think?" And he said, in my office, with me present, "Its beautiful, but it cant be built." Well, its there, and hes not, so I think youve got to come with reality. You know, when youre thinking like this, when youre having  youve got to make sure its right and it can be built. Youve got to make sure its budget-conscious.

00:34:44 I mean nobody knows this about Disney Hall. It cost 207 million dollars. Period. That was the budget, and we made it. When they talk about it, they add all the other costs that they screwed up in there  over the years that it was mismanaged by people that the Philharmonic trusted  but the real budget was 207. And so Im very budget-conscious. That means a lot to me, to be able to look a client straight in the face and say, "Heres what you asked me for. Heres the money you told me you had, and heres what it looks like."

00:35:26 Now, in the period of design, they can add to it  I mean, or subtract, and say, "No, I want it higher. And that costs 20 million more. And you say, "Okay, are you willing to do that?" You know, if you want a marble kitchen top that costs $50 more, well okay, its your choice, but you dont have to do it. I dont have a gun at your back to say, "Youve got to have that marble."

00:35:53 And I love that its an open  I dont know how many architects practice like I do. I've always assumed they did, but the clients tell me they dont.

00:36:04 GAIL EICHENTHAL: The open-mindedness?

00:36:06 FRANK GEHRY: Yeah, and that theyre willing to confront the budget and money as youre designing it rather than the usual thing. The client loves the object. You put it out to bid, and its 30% over budget, and they start talking to the contractor, who says, "Well, if you straighten this out and straighten that out, we can do it," and then pretty soon the contractor is now designing the building.

00:36:31 And you dont get what you wanted in the first place, but, "Oh, my God, I couldnt afford it, and I love Mr. Gehrys work, but I couldnt afford it." You know, Im not that guy. Im not going to go there. Im not going to let that happen.

00:36:52 ALICE WINKLER: It can sometimes seem like everything Frank Gehry touches turns to gold, but he has had critics, and he has had ups and downs, despite being one of the most sought-after architects in the world. One time, just a couple of years ago, he even lost his temper at a press conference and flipped the bird at a reporter who dared to ask whether his buildings were anything more than spectacle.

00:37:19 Gehry later apologized, of course. Interviewer Gail Eichenthal wanted to know, as their conversation came to a close, whether Gehry thought failure and disappointment were inherent components of his creative process.

00:37:34 FRANK GEHRY: You know, I'm searching for  you know, you start on a track with the beginnings of an idea, and then I'm searching for how to manifest it. And I try a lot of things, and sometimes things look like I've seen them before, or they feel lacking in importance or integrity or whatever stuff, whatever yardsticks I have in my head that I keep applying.

00:38:11 I also create crises myself. As Im working, Ill get finished and feel very satisfied about the direction somethings going, and then a day later I find  in my head, I figure out some kind of missing link, something I wasnt aware of, and then it blows it all up in my mind. And I come in, in a very bad mood and dont know what to do, and I pull the team around and  I have a lot of talent here in the club, so to speak.

00:38:48 And so that's been helpful, but I think its healthy to question. Usually, it turns out better after I go through this thing.

00:39:01 GAIL EICHENTHAL: It seems to me that as an artist and as an architect, you have to always sort of negotiate with an interior critic. This would be true of a novelist; true, as well, the idea that sometimes the critic needs to be quiet, and other times the critic needs to come out. And I wonder how you deal with that in your own creativity because you seem to be a somewhat self-deprecating person.

00:39:30 FRANK GEHRY: Yeah, Im more critical than any of you guys could be, but the thing I dont like is the cliche critic thing that  the latest one was, on Bilbao, they had a list of all the great buildings of the century, and Bilbao's there, and there's a little thing, and it says its a great building... Of course, its messy, and of course its wasteful of materials and egregiously over-spatial.

00:40:08 It said something very negative, and the person that wrote it  I called the editor, and I said, "Prove it. I challenge you to prove it." And I think there's a snarky reporting  which youre aware of, Im sure  that doesn't do anybody any good. I mean we can be critical. I like to hear peoples criticism if its not snarky, and if its not based on some kind of feeling thats pro forma: "Frank Gehry did the building. Therefore, its got to be wasteful. Therefore, its got to be expensive."

00:40:51 Ive tried this in a lecture with business people. I started the lecture, and I said, "Before I lecture, what Id like to ask the audience: How many people here think my buildings are expensive?" And everybody puts up their hand. "How many people here think Im a prima donna?" Everybody puts their hand up. Well, both things are not true. So if critics did their homework, then we could have a real discussion. They could disagree with the forms and the character, the space, or the direction it took, but get the other facts right.

00:41:31 GAIL EICHENTHAL: What about the critic within yourself who has somehow enabled you to create a world of amazing buildings?

00:41:40 FRANK GEHRY: The critic in myself is terrible, the worst critic. Some days Id like to shoot him.

00:41:49 GAIL EICHENTHAL: You once said that when you first saw Bilbao, you saw the mistakes.

00:41:54 FRANK GEHRY: I came over the hill and saw it there, and I said, "God, what have I done to these people?" Disney Hall, I sat there with Ernest and Deborah, and Esa-Pekka was conducting with the first rehearsal.

00:42:11 GAIL EICHENTHAL: Ernest Fleischmann, Deborah Borda...

00:42:12 FRANK GEHRY: Yeah.

00:42:13 GAIL EICHENTHAL: ...and Esa-Pekka, the conductor.

00:42:15 FRANK GEHRY: Yeah, and I was watching the bass player because I knew the bass response was the most difficult. And so they started, and the bass guy, I was looking at him, he saw me, and he went  and then Esa-Pekka stopped after about ten minutes and turned around and said, "I think well keep it."

00:42:38 GAIL EICHENTHAL: Thank you for your time and your great works of art.

00:42:42 FRANK GEHRY: Thank you.

00:42:53 ALICE WINKLER: Architect, designer, and artist Frank Gehry. He spoke to the Academy of Achievement in 1995 and again in 2016. If you want to learn more about him, head over to achievement.org. And please, let us know how were doing. Leave your comments on iTunes or Stitcher or any of the great places you find your podcasts. Im Alice Winkler, and this is What It Takes from the Academy of Achievement.

00:43:23 And its always good to end with a little gratitude, so to the Catherine B. Reynolds Foundation, thank you for funding What It Takes.

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Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb Axia Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb B.V., Bristol-Myers Squibb Belgium S.A., Bristol-Myers Squibb Business Services Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Canada Co., Bristol-Myers Squibb Canada International Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Delta Company Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Denmark Filial of Bristol-Myers Squibb AB, Bristol-Myers Squibb EMEA Sarl, Bristol-Myers Squibb Egypt LLC, Bristol-Myers Squibb Epsilon Holdings Unlimited Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb Farmaceutica Ltda., Bristol-Myers Squibb Farmaceutica Portuguesa S.A., Bristol-Myers Squibb GesmbH, Bristol-Myers Squibb GmbH & Co. KGaA, Bristol-Myers Squibb Holding Germany GmbH & Co. KG, Bristol-Myers Squibb Holdings 2002 Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Holdings Germany Verwaltungs GmbH, Bristol-Myers Squibb Holdings Ireland Unlimited Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb Holdings Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Holdings Pharma Ltd. Liability Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb Ilaclari Inc., Bristol-Myers Squibb India Pvt. Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb International Company Unlimited Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb International Corporation, Bristol-Myers Squibb Investco L.L.C., Bristol-Myers Squibb K.K., Bristol-Myers Squibb Kft., Bristol-Myers Squibb Luxembourg International S.C.A., Bristol-Myers Squibb Luxembourg S.a.r.l., Bristol-Myers Squibb MEA GmbH, Bristol-Myers Squibb Manufacturing Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb Marketing Services S.R.L., Bristol-Myers Squibb Middle East & Africa FZ-LLC, Bristol-Myers Squibb Norway Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb Nutricionales de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Bristol-Myers Squibb Peru S.A., Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharma (HK) Ltd, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharma (Thailand) Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharma Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharma EEIG, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharma Holding Company LLC, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharma Ventures Corporation, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceuticals Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceuticals Unlimited Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb Polska Sp. z o.o., Bristol-Myers Squibb Products SA, Bristol-Myers Squibb Puerto Rico Inc., Bristol-Myers Squibb Puerto Rico/Sanofi Pharmaceutical Partnership Puerto Rico, Bristol-Myers Squibb Romania S.R.L., Bristol-Myers Squibb S.A.U., Bristol-Myers Squibb S.r.l., Bristol-Myers Squibb SA, Bristol-Myers Squibb Sanofi Pharmaceuticals Holding Partnership, Bristol-Myers Squibb Sarl, Bristol-Myers Squibb Service Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb Services Sp. z o.o., Bristol-Myers Squibb Spol. s r.o., Bristol-Myers Squibb Theta Finance Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb Trustees Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Verwaltungs GmbH, Bristol-Myers Squibb de Colombia S.A., Bristol-Myers Squibb de Costa Rica Sociedad Anonima, Bristol-Myers Squibb de Guatemala S.A., Bristol-Myers Squibb de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Bristol-Myers Squibb/Astrazeneca EEIG, Bristol-Myers Squibb/Pfizer EEIG, Bristol-Myers Squibb/Sanofi Pharmaceuticals Partnership, Bristol-Myers de Venezuela S.C.A., CHT I LLC, CHT II LLC, CHT III LLC, CHT IV LLC, CR Finance Company LLC, Cardioxyl Pharmaceuticals, Cardioxyl Pharmaceuticals Inc., Celem LLC, Celem Ltd., Celgene, Celgene A.B., Celgene AS, Celgene Ab (Finland), Celgene Alpine Investment Co. II LLC, Celgene Alpine Investment Co. III LLC, Celgene Alpine Investment Co. LLC, Celgene ApS, Celgene B.V., Celgene BVBA, Celgene Brasil Produtos Farmaceuticos Ltda., Celgene CAR LLC, Celgene CAR Ltd., Celgene Chemicals Sarl, Celgene China Holdings LLC, Celgene Co., Celgene Corporation, Celgene Distribution B.V., Celgene EngMab GmbH, Celgene Europe B.V., Celgene Europe Limited, Celgene European Investment Company LLC, Celgene Financing Company LLC, Celgene Global Holdings Sarl, Celgene GmbH [Austria], Celgene GmbH [Germany], Celgene GmbH [Switzerland], Celgene Holdings East Corporation, Celgene Holdings II Sarl, Celgene Holdings III Sarl, Celgene Ilac Pazarlama ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Celgene Inc., Celgene International Holdings Corporation, Celgene International II Sarl, Celgene International III Sarl, Celgene International Inc., Celgene International Sarl, Celgene K.K., Celgene Kft., Celgene Limited [Hong Kong], Celgene Limited [Ireland], Celgene Limited [New Zealand], Celgene Limited [Taiwan], Celgene Limited [UK], Celgene Logistics Sarl, Celgene Ltd, Celgene Luxembourg Sarl, Celgene Management Sarl, Celgene NJ Investment Co, Celgene Netherlands B.V., Celgene Netherlands Investment B.V., Celgene Pharmaceutical (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Celgene Pte. Ltd., Celgene Pty Ltd, Celgene Puerto Rico Distribution LLC, Celgene Quanticel Research Inc, Celgene R&D Sarl, Celgene RIVOT LLC, Celgene RIVOT Ltd., Celgene RIVOT SRL, Celgene Receptos Limited, Celgene Receptos Sarl, Celgene Research Incubator At Summit West LLC, Celgene Research S.L.U., Celgene Research and Development Company LLC, Celgene Research and Development I ULC, Celgene Research and Development II LLC, Celgene Research and Investment Company II LLC, Celgene S. de R.L. de C.V., Celgene S.L.U., Celgene S.R.L., Celgene SAS, Celgene Sarl AU, Celgene Sdn Bhd, Celgene Services Sarl, Celgene Sociedade Unipessoal Lda, Celgene Sp. Z.o.o., Celgene Sro [Czech Republic], Celgene Summit Investment Co, Celgene Switzerland Holding Sarl, Celgene Switzerland II LLC, Celgene Switzerland Investment Sarl, Celgene Switzerland LLC, Celgene Switzerland Sarl, Celgene Tri A Holdings Ltd., Celgene Tri Sarl, Celgene UK Distribution Limited, Celgene UK Holdings Limited, Celgene UK Manufacturing II Limited, Celgene UK Manufacturing III Limited, Celgene UK Manufacturing Limited, Celgene d.o.o., Celgene sro [Slovakia], Celmed LLC, Celmed Ltd., ConvaTec Divestiture, Cormorant Pharmaceuticals, Cormorant Pharmaceuticals AB, Crosp Ltd., Delinia Inc., Deuteria Pharmaceuticals Inc., DuPont Pharmaceuticals, E. R. Squibb & Sons Inter-American Corporation, E. R. Squibb & Sons L.L.C., E. R. Squibb & Sons Limited, EWI Corporation, EngMab Sarl, F-star Alpha, FermaVir Pharmaceuticals L.L.C., FermaVir Research L.L.C., Flexus Biosciences, Flexus Biosciences Inc., Forbius, Galecto Biotech, GenPharm International L.L.C., Gloucester Pharmaceuticals LLC, Grove Insurance Company Ltd., Heyden Farmaceutica Portuguesa Limitada, IFM Therapeutics, Impact Biomedicines Inc., Inhibitex, Inhibitex L.L.C., Innate Tumor Immunity Inc., JuMP Holdings LLC, Juno Therapeutics GmbH, Juno Therapeutics Inc., Kosan Biosciences, Kosan Biosciences Incorporated, Linson Investments Limited, Mead Johnson (Manufacturing) Jamaica Limited, Mead Johnson Jamaica Ltd., Medarex, Morris Avenue Investment II LLC, Morris Avenue Investment LLC, MyoKardia, O.o.o. Bristol-Myers Squibb, Oy Bristol-Myers Squibb (Finland) AB, Padlock Therapeutics, Padlock Therapeutics Inc., Pharmion LLC, Princeton Pharmaceutical Products Inc., Receptos LLC, Receptos Services LLC, RedoxTherapies Inc., Route 22 Real Estate Holding Corporation, SPV A Holdings ULC, Seamair Insurance DAC, Signal Pharmaceuticals LLC, Sino-American Shanghai Squibb Pharmaceuticals Limited, Societe Francaise de Complements Alimentaires(S.O.F.C.A.), Squibb Middle East S.A., Summit West Celgene LLC, Swords Laboratories, VentiRx Pharmaceuticals Inc., Westwood-Intrafin SA, Westwood-Squibb Pharmaceuticals Inc., X-Body Inc., ZymoGenetics, ZymoGenetics Inc., ZymoGenetics LLC, ZymoGenetics Paymaster LLC, iPierian, and iPierian Inc..
The following companies are subsidiares of American Tower: 10 Presidential Way Associates LLC, 3267351 Nova Scotia Company, 3286208 Nova Scotia Company, 3298099 Nova Scotia Company, 52 Eighty LLC, 52 Eighty Partners LLC, 52 Eighty Tower Partners I LLC, ACC Tower Sub LLC, AT Kenya C.V., AT Netherlands C.V., AT Netherlands Cooperatief U.A., AT Sao Paulo C.V., AT Sher Netherlands Cooperatief U.A., AT South America C.V., ATC Africa Holding B.V., ATC Africa Shared Services (Pty) Ltd, ATC Antennas Holding LLC, ATC Antennas LLC, ATC Argentina C.V., ATC Argentina Cooperatief U.A., ATC Argentina Holding LLC, ATC Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., ATC Atlantic C.V., ATC Atlantic II B.V., ATC Atlantic III B.V., ATC Backhaul LLC, ATC Brasil  Servicos de Conectividades Ltda., ATC Brazil Holding LLC, ATC Brazil I LLC, ATC Brazil II LLC, ATC Burkina Faso S.A., ATC CSR Foundation India, ATC Chile Holding LLC, ATC Colombia B.V., ATC Colombia Holding I LLC, ATC Colombia Holding LLC, ATC Colombia I LLC, ATC EH GmbH & Co. KG, ATC Ecuador Holding LLC, ATC Edge LLC, ATC Ethiopia Infrastructure Development Private Limited Company, ATC Europe B.V., ATC Europe LLC, ATC European Holdings Inc., ATC Fibra de Colombia S.A.S., ATC France Cooperatief U.A., ATC France Holding II SAS, ATC France Holding SAS, ATC France Reseaux SAS, ATC France SAS, ATC France Services SAS, ATC GP GmbH, ATC Germany Holdings GmbH, ATC Germany Services GmbH, ATC Ghana ServiceCo Limited, ATC Global Employment B.V., ATC Heston B.V., ATC Holding Fibra Mexico S. de R.L. DE C.V., ATC IP LLC, ATC India Infrastructure Private Limited, ATC Indoor DAS Holding LLC, ATC Indoor DAS LLC, ATC International Cooperatief U.A., ATC International Financing B.V., ATC International Financing II B.V., ATC International Financing II Holding LLC, ATC International Holding Corp., ATC Iris I LLC, ATC Kenya Operations Limited, ATC Kenya Services Limited, ATC Latin America S.A. de C.V. SOFOM E.N.R., ATC MIP III REIT Iron Holdings LLC, ATC Managed Sites Holding LLC, ATC Managed Sites LLC, ATC MexHold LLC, ATC Mexico Holding LLC, ATC Niger Wireless Infrastructure S.A., ATC Nigeria C.V., ATC Nigeria Cooperatief U.A., ATC Nigeria Holding LLC, ATC Nigeria Wireless Infrastructure Limited, ATC On Air + LLC, ATC Operations LLC, ATC Outdoor DAS LLC, ATC Paraguay Holding LLC, ATC Paraguay S.R.L., ATC Peru Holding LLC, ATC Polska sp. z o.o., ATC Ponderosa B-I LLC, ATC Ponderosa B-II LLC, ATC Ponderosa K LLC, ATC Ponderosa K-R LLC, ATC Sequoia LLC, ATC Sitios Infraco S.A.S., ATC Sitios de Chile S.A., ATC Sitios de Colombia S.A.S., ATC Sitios del Peru S.R.L., ATC South Africa Investment Holdings (Proprietary) Limited, ATC South Africa Services Pty Ltd, ATC South Africa Wireless Infrastructure (Pty) Ltd, ATC South Africa Wireless Infrastructure II (Pty) Ltd, ATC South America Holding LLC, ATC South LLC, ATC Spain LLC, ATC TRS I LLC, ATC TRS II LLC, ATC TRS III LLC, ATC TRS IV LLC, ATC Tanzania Holding LLC, ATC Telecom Infrastructure Private Limited, ATC Tower (Ghana) Limited, ATC Tower Services LLC, ATC Uganda Limited, ATC Uganda ServiceCo (SMC) Limited, ATC Watertown LLC, ATC WiFi LLC, ATS-Needham LLC, ActiveX Telebroadband Services Private Limited, Adquisiciones y Proyectos Inalambricos S. de R. L. de C.V., Agile Airband Ohio LLC, Agile Connect LLC, Agile IWG Holdings LLC, Agile Network Builders LLC, Agile Networks Indiana LLC, Agile Networks Site Development LLC, Agile Towers LLC, Alternative Networking LLC, American Tower Asset Sub II LLC, American Tower Asset Sub LLC, American Tower Charitable Foundation Inc., American Tower Delaware Corporation, American Tower Depositor Sub LLC, American Tower Guarantor Sub LLC, American Tower Holding Sub II LLC, American Tower Holding Sub LLC, American Tower International Holding I LLC, American Tower International Holding II LLC, American Tower International Inc., American Tower Investments LLC, American Tower LLC, American Tower Management LLC, American Tower Mauritius, American Tower Servicios Fibra S. de R.L. de C.V., American Tower Tanzania Operations Limited, American Tower do Brasil - Cessao de Infraestruturas Ltda., American Tower do Brasil  Communicacao Multimidia Ltda., American Towers LLC, BR Towers, Blue Sky Towers Pty Ltd, Blue Transfer Sociedad Anonima, Broadcast Towers LLC, CNC2 Associates LLC, California Tower Inc., Cell Site NewCo II LLC, Cell Tower Lease Acquisition LLC, Central States Tower Holdings LLC, Colo ATL LLC, Colo Atl, Communications Properties Inc., Comunicaciones y Consumos S.A., Connectivity Infrastructure Services Limited, DCS Tower Sub LLC, Eaton, Eaton Towers (Lilongwe) Limited, Eaton Towers Ghana (M) Limited, Eaton Towers Ghana Limited, Eaton Towers Holdings Limited, Eaton Towers Kenya Limited, Eaton Towers Limited, Eaton Towers Niger S.A., Eaton Towers Uganda Limited, Essar Telecom Infrastructure, Eure-et-Loir Reseaux Mobiles SAS, GTP Acquisition Partners I LLC, GTP Acquisition Partners II LLC, GTP Acquisition Partners III LLC, GTP Costa Rica Finance LLC, GTP Infrastructure I LLC, GTP Infrastructure II LLC, GTP Infrastructure III LLC, GTP Investments LLC, GTP LATAM Holdings B.V., GTP LatAm Holdings Cooperatieve U.A., GTP Operations CR S.R.L., GTP South Acquisitions II LLC, GTP Structures I LLC, GTP Structures II LLC, GTP TRS I LLC, GTP Torres CR S.R.L., GTP Towers I LLC, GTP Towers II LLC, GTP Towers III LLC, GTP Towers IV LLC, GTP Towers IX LLC, GTP Towers V LLC, GTP Towers VII LLC, GTP Towers VIII LLC, GTPI HoldCo LLC, Ghana Tower InterCo B.V., Global Tower Assets III LLC, Global Tower Assets LLC, Global Tower Holdings LLC, Global Tower LLC, Global Tower Partners, Global Tower Services LLC, Gondola Tower Holdings LLC, Grain HoldCo LLC, Grain HoldCo Parent LLC, GrainComm I LLC, GrainComm II LLC, GrainComm III LLC, GrainComm LLC, GrainComm Marketing LLC, GrainComm V LLC, Haysville Towers LLC, IW Equipment LLC, IWD Equipment LLC, IWG Holdings LLC, IWG II Holdings LLC, IWG II LLC, IWG Miami LLC, IWG Towers Assets I LLC, IWG Towers Assets II LLC, IWG-TLA Australia Pty Ltd., IWG-TLA Canada Corp., IWG-TLA Encanto 1 LLC, IWG-TLA Encanto 2 LLC, IWG-TLA Encanto 3 LLC, IWG-TLA Encanto LLC, IWG-TLA Holdings LLC, IWG-TLA Media 2 LLC, IWG-TLA Media LLC, IWG-TLA Telecom LLC, IWL-TLA Telecom 2 LLC, Idaho Tower Company LLC, InSite (BCEC) LLC, InSite (MBTA) LLC, InSite Borrower LLC, InSite Co-Issuer Corp., InSite Guarantor LLC, InSite Hawaii LLC, InSite Issuer LLC, InSite Licensing LLC, InSite Towers Development 2 LLC, InSite Towers Development LLC, InSite Towers International 2 LLC, InSite Towers International Development LLC, InSite Towers International LLC, InSite Towers LLC, InSite Towers of Puerto Rico LLC, InSite Wireless Development LLC, InSite Wireless Group, InSite Wireless Group LLC, Insite Wireless LLC, Invisible IWG Holdings LLC, Invisible Towers LLC, JT Communications LLC, LAP Inmobiliaria Limitada, LAP Inmobiliaria S.R.L., LL B Sheet 1 LLC, Lap do Brasil Empreendimentos Imobiliarios Ltda, Lease Advisors-AU PTY LTD, Loxel SAS, MATC Digital S. de R.L. de C.V., MATC Infraestructura S. de R.L. de C.V., MATC Servicios S. de R.L. de C.V., MC New Macland Properties LLC, MCSU Properties LLC, MHB Tower Rentals of America LLC, MIP III Iron Holdings LLC, MIP III U.S. Iron LLC, Microwave Inc., Municipal Bay LLC, Municipal-Bay Holdings LLC, New Towers LLC, PCS Structures Towers LLC, R-CAL I LLC, RSA Media Inc., Repeater Communications Group I LLC, Repeater Communications Group II LLC, Repeater Communications Group III LLC, Repeater Communications Group IV LLC, Repeater Communications Group LLC, Repeater Communications Group V LLC, Repeater Communications Group VI LLC, Repeater Communications Group of New York LLC, Repeater IWG Holdings LLC, Richland Towers LLC, Signum/IWG Tower Corp., Southeast Network Access Point LLC, SpectraSite Communications, SpectraSite Communications LLC, SpectraSite LLC, T8 Ulysses Site Management LLC, TLA PR-1 LLC, TLA PR-2 LLC, Telecom Lease Advisors Management 2 LLC, Tower Management Inc., Towers of America L.L.L.P., Transcend Infrastructure Holdings Pte. Ltd., Transcend Towers Infrastructure (Philippines) Inc., Turris Sites Development Corp., Turris Sites IWG Corp, Tysons II DAS LLC, UNIsite, Uganda Tower Interco B.V., Ulysses Asset Sub I LLC, Ulysses Asset Sub II LLC, UniSite LLC, UniSite/Omnipoint FL Tower Venture LLC, UniSite/Omnipoint NE Tower Venture LLC, UniSite/Omnipoint PA Tower Venture LLC, Vangard Wireless LLC, Verus Management One LLC, Viom Networks, and Virdi IWG Holdings LLC.
The Hershey Co. engages in the manufacture and market of chocolate and sugar confectionery products. The firm operates through the following geographical segments: North America; and International and Other. The North America segment is responsible for the traditional chocolate and non-chocolate confectionery market position of the company, as well as its grocery and snacks market positions, in the United States and Canada. The International and Other segment is the combination of all other operating segments which are not individually material, including those geographic regions where the company operates outside of North America. Its brands include Hershey's, Reese's, and Kisses. The company was founded by Milton S. Hershey in 1894 and is headquartered in Hershey, PA.

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Ormat Technologies, Inc. operates as a holding company. The firm engages in the provision of geothermal and recovered energy power business. It operates through the following segments: Electricity, Product and Energy Storage. The Electricity segment focuses in the sale of electricity from the company's power plants pursuant to PPAs. The Product segment involves in the manufacture, including design and development, of turbines and power units for the supply of electrical energy and in the associated construction of power plants utilizing the power units manufactured by the company to supply energy from geothermal fields and other alternative energy sources. The Energy Storage segment consists of battery energy storage systems as a service and management of curtailable customer loads under contracts with U.S. retail energy providers and directly with large commercial and industrial customers. The company was founded in 1965 and is headquartered in Reno, NV.

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Suncor Energy Inc. operates as an integrated energy company. The company primarily focuses on developing petroleum resource basins in Canada's Athabasca oil sands; explores, acquires, develops, produces, transports, refines, and markets crude oil in Canada and internationally; markets petroleum and petrochemical products under the Petro-Canada name primarily in Canada. It operates in Oil Sands; Exploration and Production; Refining and Marketing; and Corporate and Eliminations segments. The Oil Sands segment recovers bitumen from mining and in situ operations, and upgrades it into refinery feedstock and diesel fuel, or blends the bitumen with diluent for direct sale to market. The Exploration and Production segment is involved in offshore operations off the east coast of Canada and in the North Sea; and operating onshore assets in Libya and Syria. The Refining and Marketing segment refines crude oil and intermediate feedstock into various petroleum and petrochemical products; and markets refined petroleum products to retail, commercial, and industrial customers through its other retail sellers. The Corporate and Eliminations segment operates four wind farm operations in Ontario and Western Canada. The company also markets and trades in crude oil, natural gas, byproducts, refined products, and power. The company was formerly known as Suncor Inc. and changed its name to Suncor Energy Inc. in April 1997. Suncor Energy Inc. was founded in 1917 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.

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More and more voices are rising against the Polisario separatist group provocative incursions in the Sahara buffer zone wherein the secessionists, who are armed, funded and sheltered by Algeria, have established military installations, in a blatant violation of ceasefire agreement and UN resolutions.

In Brussels, member of the European Parliament Gilles Pargneaux said the deployment of the Polisario militia in Bir Lahlou and Tifarity in the buffer zone is an unnecessary provocation.

Their presence in this area threatens the ceasefire that has ensured regional stability since 1991, added chairman of the EU-Morocco friendship group.

He also voiced deep concern over the situation in the Guerguerat buffer strip, saying that the Sahara issue is above all a question of stability for the region and for Europe.

For Pargneaux, the United Nations remains the only place where a political solution can be found, calling all other international bodies to facilitate UN work, without interference or obstacles.

In a message conveyed Wednesday to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres by Moroccos top diplomat Nasser Bourita, King Mohammed VI branded the Polisario incursions in the buffer zone as provocative and unacceptable.

The royal message comes after a phone call to Guterres during which the Moroccan Sovereign expressed deep concern regarding the Polisario acts in Bir Lahlou and Tifarity.

The King made it clear that such incursions represent a threat to the ceasefire agreement and violate international law and UN resolutions in addition to undermining the political process.

The Monarch cited, in this regard, Algerias responsibility in perpetuating the Sahara conflict, which has dragged on for over four decades.

In Rabat, Head of Govt Saad Eddine El Othmani renewed on Thursday Moroccos firm stand rejecting all attempts by the Algeria-backed separatists to alter the status quo in the buffer zone, affirming that the North African Kingdom will counter and foil these hostile moves.

At a news conference held Wednesday in New Yok after his meetings with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and President of the Security Council Peruvian Gustavo Meza-Cuadra, Moroccan foreign minister Nasser Bourita said the ceasefire implemented in 1991 is threatened by the actions of the Polisario militiamen.

Morocco will not allow a change on the ground. If the U.N., the international community, dont take their responsibilities, Morocco will take its own responsibility, he warned.

Bourita said he shared facts and evidence during his meeting with Guterres, including satellite photos taken March 26 and March 29 that he said show Polisarios construction in the buffer zone.

The Moroccan Foreign Minister said the U.N. is responsible for maintaining the ceasefire and it should react to the real and serious threat to that ceasefire.

In his annual report on the Sahara submitted Wednesday to the 15 members of the Security Council, the UN Secretary General urged Algeria to make important contributions to the political process and to step up its commitment to the negotiation process.

According to some analysts, such a statement shows that the United Nations understands that Algeria is an involved party in the Sahara issue and should be part of the solution as everybody knows the Algerian authorities pull the strings behind the scene in this regional conflict for geostrategic interests.

Before his trip to New York, Bourita was in Washington where he met US Acting Secretary of State John Sullivan.

A statement by Spokesperson for the State Department, Heather Nauert, issued after the meeting said the United States expressed its commitment to United Nations-led efforts to find a peaceful, sustainable, and mutually acceptable political solution to the long-standing dispute over the Western Sahara.

Acting Secretary Sullivan thanked Foreign Minister Bourita and the Moroccan people for their strong friendship and partnership with the U.S. on shared priorities, including in the global fight against ISIS, Heather Nauert said.

Later Wednesday, the State Department issued another statement reiterating that for The United States, the Morocco-proposed autonomy plan in the Sahara is serious, credible and realistic.

We maintain that the autonomy plan is serious, credible and realistic and represents a bold approach to find a final settlement to the Sahara issue, said the US Department of State, underlining that the autonomy plan could meet the aspirations of populations to manage their own affairs in peace and dignity.
Taliban rise to power in Afghanistan drives up opium prices on the black market

Azerbaijan President and Georgia PM meet in Baku

Armenia FM receives Bulgaria Ambassador

Putin approves of Turkey's impact on situation in Karabakh

Erdogan's spokesperson states the case when Turkey will normalize relations with Armenia

Yerevan State University holds event in memory of its students killed in 44-day war (PHOTOS)

Biden's aide meets with Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia

PM: Hayko was one of bright representatives of contemporary Armenian art of music

Military expert: What happened a year ago is terribly dangerous game against Armenias ally Russia, friendly Iran

Armenia FM, Red Cross delegation head discuss issue of Armenian POWs in Azerbaijan

Karabakh representative to Armenia: Artsakh historical, cultural heritage under Azerbaijan occupation is under threat

Artsakh representative to Armenia: Initial damage from war is about 42m AMD

Karabakh representative to Armenia: Azerbaijanis killed 80 Artsakh civilians during 44-day war

North Korea tests newly developed hypersonic missile

Silvio Berlusconi turns 85

Armenia national detained in Georgia for selling counterfeit excise stamps

Lava from erupting volcano in the Canary Islands reaches ocean

Armenia Iranologist: Azerbaijan faces a number of challenges

Trump urges Congress to investigate circumstances of US troops withdrawal from Afghanistan

896 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Sergei Parajanov's son, director Suren Parajanov, dies aged 63

Russia peacekeepers in Artsakh conduct comprehensive exercise to prevent possible violations

Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps deputy commander compares Azerbaijan president to small child

Man, 61, jumps from Yerevan bridge

World oil prices dropping

Georgia PM hopes to contribute to normalization of Armenia-Azerbaijan relations

Newspaper: Armenia PM terrified again

Newspaper: Armenia new ambassador to US cannot find common ground with local Armenian community

WHO chief expects China collaboration in 2nd phase of studies into coronavirus origins

Aliyev rules out possibility of granting any autonomy to Armenians of Karabakh

TRT Haber: Erdogan and Biden to meet on sidelines of G20 Summit in Rome

France and Greece announce signing of nearly 3 billion-euro defense deal

Armenian opposition MP to UK Ambassador: Azerbaijan's encroachments on Armenia's territory are inadmissible

Armenia justice minister meets with students of Yerevan State University, discusses justice reforms

Armenia Ombudsman: Azerbaijan bears liability for injuring Armenian serviceman in Kut village today

Deputies of opposition "Armenia" faction meet with UK Ambassador

Karabakh emergency situations service: Azerbaijan transfers remains of 3 servicemen to Armenian side in Shushi

Armenia Security Council Secretary receives US Ambassador

Armenia Investigative Committee launches case on soldier wounded from Azerbaijani army's gunshot in Kut village

Digest: PACE adopts report on Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict, 125 Armenian POWs reportedly detained in Baku

Aliyev says he is ready to meet with Armenia's Pashinyan and work on a peace treaty

Azerbaijan MOD receives new commander of Russian peacekeeping contingent in Karabakh

Armenian analyst: Armenia's recognition of Artsakh as part of Azerbaijan isn't in Moscow's favor

Head of Armenia's Verin Shorzha village: Fire set by Azerbaijanis was put out this morning

Dollar goes up in Armenia

Freedom House concerned about criminal case against Facebook user who insulted Armenia PM in a comment

Armenia Deputy PM, US Ambassador discuss situation regarding Goris-Kapan motorway

Judge deprives the lawyer and the client to exercise their rights to defense

Uzbek soldier dies on border with Afghanistan

Legislature opposition factions petition to Armenia President

Armenia MOD: Soldier wounded by shot fired by Azerbaijan army

Brazilian president says idea of creating nuclear weapon is utopian

Armenia parliament majority member: Work of committee investigating 44-day war circumstances will begin soon

Georgia PM to leave for Azerbaijan

Armenia's My Step Foundation has new executive director

9-year-old Victoria - youngest victim of 44-day Karabakh war

Armenia ex-deputy PM, current opposition MP Armen Gevorgyan has 2 new advocates

Person killed in front of Yerevan park was daughter of well-known businessman in Armenia

Russias Putin, Turkeys Erdogan to discuss situation in South Caucasus

Armenia soldier wounded after Azerbaijan provocation

Lavrov: Minsk Group Co-Chairs reached agreement with Armenia, Azerbaijan to resume working trips to Karabakh

Azerbaijan and Turkey reach new gas agreement

38 Artsakh civilians were killed by Azerbaijan by way of physical violence, stabbing, beheading, close-range shooting

Armenia, Sweden sign memorandum on judicial collaboration

US threatens Turkey with new sanctions over S-400 missiles

National Interest: Nagorno-Karabakh - a year of US failure in the South Caucasus

Armenia ex-president Kocharyan, former deputy PM and now MP Gevorgyan criminal case court hearing resumes

Armenia Central Bank chief attends international online research conference

World copper price slows increase

Opposition Armenia Faction in parliament demands account from authorities

Explosion in Sweden injures some 20 people

Armenia revenue committee chief, Italy envoy discuss prospects for cooperation in tax, customs administration

772 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

PACE adopts proposal of Armenian Ombudsman on creation of demilitarized zone

World oil prices going up

Protest staged outside Armenia health ministry, police apprehend doctor

Earthquake shakes Greece island

1 dead, 1 wounded after shooting occurs in Yerevan

Newspaper: No holding of office without joining Armenia ruling party

Newspaper: Armenia files only 2 lawsuits against Azerbaijan with international courts

Armenia ombudsman: Azerbaijan soldiers setting fire near Gegharkunik Province villages

Frank Pallone: I will continue to push for Aliyev, Erdogan to be held accountable for their deadly actions

OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs discuss Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with US Department of State representatives

Joe Biden receives third dose of COVID-19 vaccine

Armenia Ombudsman receives delegation of Swedish National Courts Administration

Guterres hopes for continued dialogue between Yerevan and Baku

Karabakh President: Principle of self-determination is on agenda, we will still fight for territorial integrity

Armenia Deputy PM's Office on Aliyev's statement on trilateral meeting in October

Fire breaks out in research center of IRGC in Tehran, leaving 2 dead

Event commemorating martyred heroes of 44-day Artsakh war held at Yerablur Military Pantheon in Armenia

Advocate: Baku is keeping Armenian captives hostage in order to achieve political goals

Erdogan holds phone talks with Aliyev

EU Special Representative: Scars have not healed yet, but there is opportunity to rebuild South Caucasus

Russia Embassy in Armenia pays tribute to victims of 44-day Karabakh war with moment of silence

PACE adopts report on humanitarian consequences of the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan

Stefan Schennach: In our society there is no place for phenomenon such as Azerbaijan's 'war trophy park'

PACE Vice-President: Final and peaceful settlement of Karabakh conflict will require difficult concessions

Aliyev: Armenia needs to realize the current reality with regard to borders

UK delegate to PACE solely interested in demining issue in the context of Karabakh conflict

French delegate to PACE calls on protecting population of Nagorno-Karabakh
Erdogan is certain that peace in Middle East depends on Turkey-Russia relations

Taliban rise to power in Afghanistan drives up opium prices on the black market

Azerbaijan President and Georgia PM meet in Baku

Armenia FM receives Bulgaria Ambassador

Putin approves of Turkey's impact on situation in Karabakh

Erdogan's spokesperson states the case when Turkey will normalize relations with Armenia

Yerevan State University holds event in memory of its students killed in 44-day war (PHOTOS)

Biden's aide meets with Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia

PM: Hayko was one of bright representatives of contemporary Armenian art of music

Military expert: What happened a year ago is terribly dangerous game against Armenias ally Russia, friendly Iran

Armenia FM, Red Cross delegation head discuss issue of Armenian POWs in Azerbaijan

Karabakh representative to Armenia: Artsakh historical, cultural heritage under Azerbaijan occupation is under threat

Artsakh representative to Armenia: Initial damage from war is about 42m AMD

Karabakh representative to Armenia: Azerbaijanis killed 80 Artsakh civilians during 44-day war

North Korea tests newly developed hypersonic missile

Silvio Berlusconi turns 85

Armenia national detained in Georgia for selling counterfeit excise stamps

Lava from erupting volcano in the Canary Islands reaches ocean

Armenia Iranologist: Azerbaijan faces a number of challenges

Trump urges Congress to investigate circumstances of US troops withdrawal from Afghanistan

896 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Sergei Parajanov's son, director Suren Parajanov, dies aged 63

Russia peacekeepers in Artsakh conduct comprehensive exercise to prevent possible violations

Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps deputy commander compares Azerbaijan president to small child

Man, 61, jumps from Yerevan bridge

World oil prices dropping

Georgia PM hopes to contribute to normalization of Armenia-Azerbaijan relations

Newspaper: Armenia PM terrified again

Newspaper: Armenia new ambassador to US cannot find common ground with local Armenian community

WHO chief expects China collaboration in 2nd phase of studies into coronavirus origins

Aliyev rules out possibility of granting any autonomy to Armenians of Karabakh

TRT Haber: Erdogan and Biden to meet on sidelines of G20 Summit in Rome

France and Greece announce signing of nearly 3 billion-euro defense deal

Armenian opposition MP to UK Ambassador: Azerbaijan's encroachments on Armenia's territory are inadmissible

Armenia justice minister meets with students of Yerevan State University, discusses justice reforms

Armenia Ombudsman: Azerbaijan bears liability for injuring Armenian serviceman in Kut village today

Deputies of opposition "Armenia" faction meet with UK Ambassador

Karabakh emergency situations service: Azerbaijan transfers remains of 3 servicemen to Armenian side in Shushi

Armenia Security Council Secretary receives US Ambassador

Armenia Investigative Committee launches case on soldier wounded from Azerbaijani army's gunshot in Kut village

Digest: PACE adopts report on Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict, 125 Armenian POWs reportedly detained in Baku

Aliyev says he is ready to meet with Armenia's Pashinyan and work on a peace treaty

Azerbaijan MOD receives new commander of Russian peacekeeping contingent in Karabakh

Armenian analyst: Armenia's recognition of Artsakh as part of Azerbaijan isn't in Moscow's favor

Head of Armenia's Verin Shorzha village: Fire set by Azerbaijanis was put out this morning

Dollar goes up in Armenia

Freedom House concerned about criminal case against Facebook user who insulted Armenia PM in a comment

Armenia Deputy PM, US Ambassador discuss situation regarding Goris-Kapan motorway

Judge deprives the lawyer and the client to exercise their rights to defense

Uzbek soldier dies on border with Afghanistan

Legislature opposition factions petition to Armenia President

Armenia MOD: Soldier wounded by shot fired by Azerbaijan army

Brazilian president says idea of creating nuclear weapon is utopian

Armenia parliament majority member: Work of committee investigating 44-day war circumstances will begin soon

Georgia PM to leave for Azerbaijan

Armenia's My Step Foundation has new executive director

9-year-old Victoria - youngest victim of 44-day Karabakh war

Armenia ex-deputy PM, current opposition MP Armen Gevorgyan has 2 new advocates

Person killed in front of Yerevan park was daughter of well-known businessman in Armenia

Russias Putin, Turkeys Erdogan to discuss situation in South Caucasus

Armenia soldier wounded after Azerbaijan provocation

Lavrov: Minsk Group Co-Chairs reached agreement with Armenia, Azerbaijan to resume working trips to Karabakh

Azerbaijan and Turkey reach new gas agreement

38 Artsakh civilians were killed by Azerbaijan by way of physical violence, stabbing, beheading, close-range shooting

Armenia, Sweden sign memorandum on judicial collaboration

US threatens Turkey with new sanctions over S-400 missiles

National Interest: Nagorno-Karabakh - a year of US failure in the South Caucasus

Armenia ex-president Kocharyan, former deputy PM and now MP Gevorgyan criminal case court hearing resumes

Armenia Central Bank chief attends international online research conference

World copper price slows increase

Opposition Armenia Faction in parliament demands account from authorities

Explosion in Sweden injures some 20 people

Armenia revenue committee chief, Italy envoy discuss prospects for cooperation in tax, customs administration

772 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

PACE adopts proposal of Armenian Ombudsman on creation of demilitarized zone

World oil prices going up

Protest staged outside Armenia health ministry, police apprehend doctor

Earthquake shakes Greece island

1 dead, 1 wounded after shooting occurs in Yerevan

Newspaper: No holding of office without joining Armenia ruling party

Newspaper: Armenia files only 2 lawsuits against Azerbaijan with international courts

Armenia ombudsman: Azerbaijan soldiers setting fire near Gegharkunik Province villages

Frank Pallone: I will continue to push for Aliyev, Erdogan to be held accountable for their deadly actions

OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs discuss Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with US Department of State representatives

Joe Biden receives third dose of COVID-19 vaccine

Armenia Ombudsman receives delegation of Swedish National Courts Administration

Guterres hopes for continued dialogue between Yerevan and Baku

Karabakh President: Principle of self-determination is on agenda, we will still fight for territorial integrity

Armenia Deputy PM's Office on Aliyev's statement on trilateral meeting in October

Fire breaks out in research center of IRGC in Tehran, leaving 2 dead

Event commemorating martyred heroes of 44-day Artsakh war held at Yerablur Military Pantheon in Armenia

Advocate: Baku is keeping Armenian captives hostage in order to achieve political goals

Erdogan holds phone talks with Aliyev

EU Special Representative: Scars have not healed yet, but there is opportunity to rebuild South Caucasus

Russia Embassy in Armenia pays tribute to victims of 44-day Karabakh war with moment of silence

PACE adopts report on humanitarian consequences of the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan

Stefan Schennach: In our society there is no place for phenomenon such as Azerbaijan's 'war trophy park'

PACE Vice-President: Final and peaceful settlement of Karabakh conflict will require difficult concessions

Aliyev: Armenia needs to realize the current reality with regard to borders

UK delegate to PACE solely interested in demining issue in the context of Karabakh conflict
The overall atmosphere in Cyprus with regard to the minority languages is very positive, says a new report by the Council of Europes Committee of Experts under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages published alongside the Committee of Ministers' Recommendation on the issue.

Despite budgetary constraints, the implementation of the Charter provisions concerning the Armenian and Cypriot Maronite Arabic languages has improved. However, the Committee of Experts recommends that steps be taken to expand the teaching of these languages and strengthen their presence in broadcasting.

According to the experts, Cypriot authorities have also taken measures to raise awareness of the Armenian and Maronite minorities, including through supporting cultural activities which demonstrate an interest from the speakers in promoting their languages. Both minorities have a Representative seat in the parliament.

The reports says Armenian is taught in pre-school, primary and lower secondary education; an Armenian radio programme is broadcast on a daily basis. However, it is not taught in upper secondary education and there is no regular presence of the language in on Cypriot television.

The Committee of Experts encourages the authorities to advance the protection of Armenian and Cypriot Maronite Arabic via providing teacher training for Armenian and Cypriot Maronite Arabic and ensuring the appropriate presence of both languages in broadcasting.
The United States of America has included in the list of sanctions around three dozen Russian oligarchs and officials who are considered close associates of Putin, Zhamanak newspaper writes on Saturday.

They, in fact, are contenders for sanctions, included in the so-called Kremlin list, consisting of 200 people. The list also includes also Armenians, among them billionaire Samvel Karapetyan, the only one of the three Armenians, who is directly involved in the events in Armenia and who in is also an actor in Armenia.

Of course, it is unlikely that the US will apply sanctions against Karapetyan, but beyond all doubt, the process itself will affect him as much as it impacts the Russian elite and the economic situation.

On the other hand, several months ago, Samvel Karapetyan presented his investment plans in Armenia in the energy sector in the presence of the US Ambassador. These plans include cooperation with a well-known American company, which will become an example of large US investments in Armenia.

The economic importance of this cooperation is not so important for Samvel Karapetyan, as a political component, since it is obvious that Karapetyan is trying to create a platform for dialogue with the American side in Armenia to neutralize risks in Russia.

In this context, it is interesting to what extent this affected the elections of the Prime Minister in April, as well as the role and ambitions connected with Karen Karapetyan, since he had obvious ambitions with Karen Karapetyans premiership a year ago, and during the election campaign announced the creation Investors Club in Armenia.

It is noteworthy that on the day when the Karapetyans in Armenia announced the Investors Club, in Artsakh Serzh Sargsyan made a counter-statements saying he would always be there where he will be in demand for solving security problems. Afterwards, Serzh Sargsyan also participated in the presentation of a $1-billion investment program of Samvel Karapetyan, and the US ambassador was also present, but not Karen Karapetyan.

Samvel Karapetyan, of course, was included in the list of candidates for US sanctions after the events described above, but it is possible that this is aimed at controlling his activities in Armenia in order to rule out any deviation from the reached agreements, otherwise the sanctions of the Kremlin list will also be applied against him.

This is one of the scenario of further developments when it will become possible to stop the immediate engagement of a big business in politics. First it was done in February 2015, with the involvement of Samvel Karapetyan, Zhamanak writes.
Home | News | Crime/Legal | South African police beat Nigerian Businessman to death

The Nigeria Union South Africa has confirmed the killing of a member, Kingsley Ikeri, at Vryheid Town in KwaZulu Natal Province on Aug. 30.

Mr. Ikeri, 27, was a businessman and native of Mbaitoli in Imo State.

Mr. Bartholomew Eziagulu, Chairman of the Union in the province, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Durban on Friday that Mr. Ikeri was allegedly tortured to death by the police.

He said the unions investigations revealed that the police arrested Mr. Ikeri and a friend on suspicion that they were carrying hard drugs.

He said while interrogating him, the police used plastic to cover his face to extort information from him.

In the process, he suffocated. When the police took him to the hospital, he was confirmed dead, he said.

Mr. Adetola Olubajo, the Secretary General of the Union, said the national secretariat had been informed about the death of the Nigerian.

He said the body had informed appropriate Nigerian authorities and the police in South Africa.

NAN reports that a senior diplomat from the Nigerian Consulate in Johannesburg had visited Vryheid on a fact-finding mission.

Some members of the union and other Nigerians accompanied the diplomat to the town.

In December 2016, Metropolitan Police in Cape Town had suffocated Victor Nnadi to death, also from Imo State.

A total of 116 Nigerians have been killed in South Africa through extrajudicial means in the last two years, according to the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Mrs. Abike Dabiri-Erewa.

Seven in 10 of the killings were carried out by the South African Police.

The presidential aide disclosed this sometime in February when she met with the South African High Commissioner to Nigeria, Lulu Louis Mnguni in Abuja.

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Home | News | General | Top Post Graduate Diploma Education Programmes  in NDA!

Do you have an idea to study in Nigerian Defence Academy and get a post graduate diploma from there? Its one of the best military educational institutions in Nigeria. It provides the best cadres for the Nigerian Army. So, what can you achieve by studying there? Lets take a look!

Nigeria Defence Academy

Its the only military university located in Nigeria. The academy is situated in Kaduna. The whole duration of training in this educational institution is five years. It includes four years of studying and one year of military service. Nevertheless, the Military Academy is considered to be one of the best on the continent!

READ ALSO: Best overseas scholarship for Nigerian students

Nigerian Defence Academy was also one of the first military institutions in Africa. It was established in 1964. In the previous state, the academy was the British Royal Military Forces Training College. During the proclamation of independence, the academy was also known as the Nigerian Military Training College.

The academy started offering undergraduate programmes for military officers. For today, it also holds a privilege to provide post graduate diploma of education in Msc and Ph.D. for civilian and military specialists. Nevertheless, the main mission remains the same  Regular Combat Course, where cadets should go through four years of studying and then one year of military service.

Post Graduate Diploma in NDA

Department of Computer Science

If you are a computer geek, then its the choice for you! You can get a diploma in the following courses:

Computers Science

Department of Biological Sciences

In this department, you will find the modern technological laboratories that will help you to conduct any studies. NDA provides the following courses:

Biotechnology

Department of Mechanical Engineering

If you are more prone to get post graduate diploma of education in the mechanical sphere, then you must choose this department to study as it provides the following course:

Mechanical Engineering

Department of Electrical Electronic Engineering

Electrical devices will always be in trend for Nigeria. Check the following course to get your diploma!

Electrical Electronic Engineering

Department of Civil Engineering

If you want to understand not only mechanics but relationships with people, then you may choose to get a diploma in the following course:

Civil Engineering

Department of History and International Studies

You can learn a lot from the past of our history if you choose the following courses to pursue:

Public Administration

Leadership Studies

Department of Geography

Its a nice idea to study more about the geography of our wonderful country! Choose one of the following courses to study!

Environmental Management

Remote Sensing and GIS

Department of Economics and Management Sciences

If you want to be a manager, then you should study here and get your post graduate diploma in management!

Department of Accounting

If you want to get deep in the numbers, then you should acquire a post graduate diploma in Logistics and Transportation or Accounting and Finance.

Master Diploma in NDA

Department of Political Science and Defence Studies

You can achieve the following Master Degree diplomas if you study there

Public Administration

Strategy and Security Administration

International Affairs and Strategic Studies

Department of History and International Studies

If you want to get a Master Degree in the history, then choose one of the following courses:

Leadership Studies

Development Studies

Conflict, Security, and Development

Department of Economics and Management Sciences

If you want to do business in Nigeria, then you can try to get a Master Degree in Business Administration!

Department of Physics

If you want to continue your education in the science sphere and get a Master Degree, then you should check the following courses

Solid State

Nuclear and Radiation

Department of Chemistry

This department has one of the best chemical laboratories in the country! You must check it and get one of the following Master courses:

Organic Chemistry

Material Science and Explosive

Analytical Chemistry

Department of Biology

Master of Science in Biology with talents can always get the best university jobs in Nigeria. Check its Master courses!

Parasitology

Medicinal and Poisonous Plants

Biotechnology

Department of Mathematics

If you are befriended with numbers, then you can try to get a Master Degree in Applied Mathematics

Department of Mechanical Engineering

You can try your skills in acquiring a Master Degree in the following courses:

Thermofluid and Energy Engineering

Production Engineering

Department of Geography

You can always find a better solution to using Nigerian resources if you choose one of the following courses:

Defence and Strategic Studies

Military History

International Studies

Environmental Management

Remote Sensing And Geographic Information System

Department of Accounting

If you are good at calculating money, then you should choose one of the following courses:

Accounting

Economics

Ph.D. Programmes

You can get a Ph.D. in the following courses of Nigerian Defence Academy:

International Studies

Military History

Economics

Conclusion

The post graduate diploma of education from Nigeria Defence Academy can be your ticket to the brighter future. Do not miss your chance and become a student or cadet of this educational institution today!

READ ALSO: Crescent University school fees

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Source: Naija.ng

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Home | News | General | Just in: Buhari visits late Senator Bukar's family in Daura

President Muhammadu Buhari has condoled with the family of late Sen. Mustapha Bukar, who died on Wednesday, April 4, in Abuja.

The late Senator represented Katsina North Senatorial District before his death following an illness.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Buhari, who arrived at the residence of the late senator as 6:00 pm on Friday, said the deceased was his very close ally in difficulties and in joy.

His death has deeply touched me personally and officially, the president said, adding that Nigeria would miss the wisdom and political sagacity of Bukar.

President Buhari vpaid a condolence visit to the family of Senator Bukar in Daura. Photo source: Bashir Ahmed

READ ALSO: Army arrests kidnap kingpin during Kaduna raid

Buhari prayed fervently for the repose of the soul of the deceased and urged the family to bear the irreplaceable loss.

He described Bukar as humble, honest hardworking and God fearing personality who placed national interest above all other considerations.

He played politics with decency, decorum and understanding; his death is a personal loss to me and the nation in general.

The president is expected to leave Daura on Monday. Photo source: Bashir Ahmed

Responding, Abdullahi Bukar, elder brother to the deceased, thanked the president and said the family was very appreciative of the visit.

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NAN reports that the President was in company of the Governor Katsina State, Aminu Bello Masari.

President Buhari is expected to depart Daura on Monday.

NAIJ.com earlier reported that President of the Senate, Abubakar Bukola Saraki, on Wednesday, April 4, expressed deep sorrow over the death of the senator representing Katsina North, Senator Mustapha Bukar.

In a statement by the Senate presidents special adviser, media and publicity, Yusuph Olaniyonu, in Abuja, Saraki described the death of Senator Bukar as one too many coming a few weeks after the Red Chamber lost Senator Ali Wakili.

Lagosians groan as President Buhari's visit grounds activities - NAIJ.com TV

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Home | News | General | CAN disowns Arewa Pastors Forum, challenges group to publish list of clerics on opposition payroll

By Luminous Jannamike

ABUJA  The Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, has dissociated itself from a group of Northern clergy under the aegis of Arewa Pastors Peace Initiative, Nigeria, APPIN, who visited President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday to pledge their support to him and his government.

New CAN President, Rev Ayokunle

APPIN, under the leadership of Bishop John Abu, had told President Buhari during the meeting that those accusing his administration of nursing an Islamisation agenda were opposition elements trying to destabilise the government.

The group, which also described President Buhari as God sent, promised to liaise with Pastors in Eastern and Western parts of the country to fish out their colleagues allegedly being used by enemies to cause violence by propagating hate speech using the alter of God.

However, in an official statement issued on Friday night by the CAN President, Rev Dr Samson Olasupo Ayokunle, through his Special Assistant on Media and Communications, Pastor Adebayo Oladeji, the umbrella Christian body in Nigeria, urged the members of APPIN to produce a list of clergymen on payroll of the opposition party.

The statement reads: The attention of the leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has been drawn to a group of clergymen under the aegis of Arewa Pastors Peace Initiative, Nigeria (APPIN)

CAN does not know any of them and their organisation is even alien to the Association and fortunately enough they did not claim to be part of CAN. We are happy that the Northern Christian Association of Nigeria (Northern CAN) has also disowned them.

We are totally disappointed that a group of people who claimed to be Pastors will be visiting the President without asking for the freedom of Leah Sharibu and over 100 Chibok girls who are languishing in the captivity of the Boko Haram terrorists, whose only crime is their religion.

We wonder why these supporters of our President, who claimed to be Servants of God, would not ask him to stop the unending killings going on under his watch in the Christian predominant communities in the North Central and some states in the South.

They were so concern with the 2019 election that they forgot to tell the President that the primary duty of any serious government is to provide security to the governed irrespective of their religious and ethnic affiliation.

Telling President Buhari that the opposition had hired some pastors against his government speaks volume of where they are coming from and who they are in the body of Christ.

We are waiting for the list of the pastors whom they know that are on the pay roll list of the opposition who are allegedly guilty of hate speech. We all know how those who engaged in such an ungodly exercise in the Bible ended up.

The Christian Association of Nigeria will not be discouraged by the activities of those whose agenda include but not limited to polarisation of the Association and blackmailing its leadership. We cannot turn the blind eye to the ordeal of our brothers and sisters anywhere in the country.

Those who are not concerned about the violence in the country are also free to associate and express their views while Jesus Christ, the Head of the Church is on the throne to reward loyalty and judge the betrayals sooner or later.

CAN as an organisation is apolitical and we always ask our members to pray for President Buhari and other political office holders in the country to rule with the fear of God.

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Home | News | General | Why Obaseki sacked Commissioner, others over street sweepers protest

Dismisses crisis with FG over Benin Industrial Park project

SIMON EBEGBULEM,

BENIN CITY

Since he assumed office as governor of Edo State, Governor Godwin Obaseki has repeatedly told people, particularly government officials about his resolve to wield the big stick against any official that tried to sabotage his efforts in making the state one of the best in the country.

As a matter of fact, on the day of the swearing in of Commissioners, Obaseki declared that this administration intends to industrialize the state and make Edo an investment haven. And any Commissioner who fails to key into the Edo project will be shown the way out. He is popularly referred to as the Wake and See Governor, following his ongoing beautification of the cities and road constructions across the state. However, the people of the state woke up last Wednesday to hear of the sacking of a commissioner, Permanent Secretary and Mr Aiyemenkhue Akonofua as the General Manager of the state Waste Management Board. After that announcement, a major shake up was equally witnessed in most of the Ministries in the state where Permanent Secretaries were redeployed. This is the first time most people were seeing the other side of the governor.

Godwin Obaseki

The problem of the officials of the Ministry of Environment started last Tuesday after Women and youths who were engaged to sweep the streets of Benin City by the Edo State Waste Management Board, stormed the state government House, protesting non-payment of their six months salary. The street sweepers carried brooms and palm fronds, casting aspersions against the government. They battled security agencies at the Government House gate and forced themselves into Government House. They alleged that the state government was responsible for the non payment of their salaries, having sacked the contractors earlier handling the street sweeping.

One of the protesters who gave her name as Osarodion Ogechi claimed that Chairman of the Board, Prince Aiyamenkhue Akonofua, promised to pay them before the Easter holidays but nothing was heard from him. According to her, We have been working for the past six months and we have not been paid. They promised to pay before Easter but they failed to keep to their promise. We are here to demand for our money. When the contractor failed to pay us, we protested and the state government decided to handle the payment themselves. It is the Edo State Waste Management Board that is supposed to pay us but we have not seen the money. Another protester, Mrs. Gladys Nkpor, said many of them have been evicted by their landlords over inability to pay house rents. They have not paid us. We come out as early as 4am to keep the roads clean but we dont get paid.

Saturday Vanguard gathered that the protest embarrased Obaseki especially after seeing the old women lamenting alleged neglect by government which the governor felt was not the true situation. On Wednesday, April 4, Obaseki was said to have arrived the state Exco Meeting an angry man, expressing his disappointment about the way and manner some officials have been conducting the affairs of government. He particularly frowned at the protest staged by the sweepers attributing the problem to the failure of the concerned officials to do their jobs. The governor further lamented what he described as sluggishness in payment of contractors and others despite approvals and vowed that henceforth he would not hesitate to show erring officials the way out of his government.

Few minutes after the Exco meeting, the government in a statement signed by the Secretary to the state Government, Osarodion Ogie, announced the sack of the Commissioner for Environment and Sustainability, Mr. Reginald Okun and the General Manager, Edo State Waste Management Board, Mr. Aiyamenkue Akonofua.The governor also directed that the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Environment, Mrs. Obahiagbon R.E., be redeployed. The statement directed the affected officials to handover their assignments to the most senior government official in their offices with immediate effect. They are also to handover any government property in their possession to the appropriate authorities.

In the statement, the government thanked the disengaged officials for their service to the state and wished them well in their future endeavours. Shortly after that, Obaseki redeployed top civil servants across Ministries, Agencies and Departments (MDAs). The redeployment affected permanent secretaries, who were reshuffled across MDAs, even as six newly sworn-in top officials were assigned offices.

At the swearing-in ceremony, Obaseki tasked civil servants to be diligent and committed to their duties, adding this administration is committed to strengthening the state civil service for optimal productivity. Civil servants should be ready to contribute their quota. He maintained that capacity building and training for civil servants would be given top priority in his administration, as they will be used as criteria for promotion. Strong institutions are needed to drive development and we are determined to fix our civil service to ensure its reforms.

Obaseki also used the opportunity to dismiss the claim by the PDP that the state was at war with the Federal Government over the Benin Industrial Park project initiated by his administration. According to him, The project is currently being developed at a considerably fast pace. Government is already receiving subscription requests for space within the facility from investors within and outside the country. To buttress this, three co-developers have already indicated interest to work on the project, even as we expect that over 1000 companies will be hosted at the park. Also, it appears that the tale bearers within the Edo Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have forgotten that there is harmony in governance between the Federal Government and the Edo State Government. It is laughable that they will try to concoct a non-existent feud between both levels of government, which are being efficiently run under the same political party, the APC. It is understandable that some people within the ailing Edo PDP, who do not wish Edo people well, are apprehensive about the huge success being recorded by this administration in industrialising the state. They are worried by the frenetic pace with which major industrialization projects in the state, including the Benin Industrial Park, Gelegele Seaport and others are being implemented. So they are concocting lies and outright falsehood with the intention of misinforming Edo people and Nigerians.

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Home | News | General | Emelumba: Pushing for participatory representation

The huge crowd was expected. The top political stakeholders in attendance were expected. The outpouring of genuine solidarity and support from a grateful people adorning T-shirts proclaiming loudly the latest slogan in town: TOGETHER, WE WILL actually confirmed that Hon. Declan Mbadiwe Emeluba, a one time senior editor in Vanguard Newspaper, a former ranking member of Imo State House of Assembly is still popular among the constituents of Oru West, Ohaji/Egbema and Oguta Local Governments that make up the Federal Constituency in Imo State. It also meant that the people were still appreciative of his glorious stewardship which set a bench mark and new pace of representation in the entire area.

Although the people had been putting pressure on Emelumba to contest the House of Representative seat, he had to first consult with God. After that he sought the approval of his family, the very first casualty of his busy schedule, and finally the major stakeholders. In accord Concordia (apologies to late K.O. Mbadiwe), the stakeholders affirmed with their presence at the formal declaration of Hon. Emelumba for the House of Representative seat, that they support his bid.

Emelumba

From Oru West Local Government Area came Barr. P.C. Mgbenwelu, Chief G.G. Iheaka, Chief Fab Ogbonna, Prince Chika Onyemenem, Barr. Azubuike Ilokasi and the LGA party Chairman Comrade Kenneth Akunakwe. At Ohaji/Egbeme, Hon. Tony Okere, Hon. Ben Johnbosco, Hon. Golden Nwosu, State Publicity Secretary of PDP, Damian Opara and the LGA Party Chairman Damnia Ezerue showed with their presence that Emelumba remains their choice.

The scenario was not different in Oguta local government area where Hon. Gerald Ironna, a national officer of PDP, the State Deputy Financial Secretary Hon. Okedo and LGA Party Chairman, Fred Opiah led other top PDP Stakeholders to welcome Emelumba to the local government as he took the first all important step of getting the approval of the people in his political quest.

Apart from the large turnout of people to all the three local government areas, one thing that stood clear was the admission by speakers after speakers that Hon. Emelumba is not only qualified for the seat but also his antecedents when he was in the State House of Assembly, naturally puts him at a higher pedestal above his co-contestants. They were also thrilled and excited that his message centred on the people; his mission on the people and his manifesto on the people. True to the ideology of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which proclaims that power belongs to the people, Emelumba made it abundantly clear that he looks up to them as his platform and power base.

If the people were gratified about such a humble disposition from the journalist, publisher, author and former Special Adviser (Media) to Governor Achike Udenwa, they were convinced beyond doubt that he meant business when he rolled out his manifesto entitled: Mission 2019: Service to the people. Succor for the needy. Under this mission statement encapsulated in the broad objectives of the PDP, he catalogued service to the people to include (a) Pure legislative duties (b) Enhancement/Enforcement of 13% derivation principle (c) Economic empowerment (d) Accountability and (e) Promotion of Federal Constituency through social integration. Under succor for the needy, Hon. Emelumba who lost the mother at a tender age spoke emotionally of his desire to consummate his work of charity by ensuring that widows and orphans receive a special treatment from him if God favours him and the people elected him as a member of the House of Representatives in 2019.

Although all the envisaged programmes resonated with the people, the aspects of economic empowerment and promotion of Federal Constituency through social integration connected with them more. Under the economic empowerment, Emelumba promised to provide 60 graduates from the three local governments that make up the Federal Constituency jobs. One hundred and forty youths will receive training in skills acquisition of their choice and provided equipment. Similarly 400 indigent women will receive N20,000 each to improve their petty trade. And because Emelumba did a similar thing when he was a member of Imo State House of Assembly between 2003 and 2011, they believed him.

They were also enchanted when he promised to organize Annual Cultural Festival in honour of late Nze Obi of Egbema; institute an annual Senator Arthur Nzeribe leadership lecture series as well as empanel an essay competition among secondary schools in honour of late Secretary to Imo State Government, Nze Ignatius Umunnah.

It was also interesting that Hon. Emelumba brought a fresh idea on how to rejuvenate the 13 percent derivation principle for oil producing states which for sometime has been cornered by governors. He pledged to sponsor a bill which will compel the Revenue Mobilization, Allocation and Fiscal Commission to directly allocate the 13 percent fund to the oil bearing communities. This proclamation received a standing ovation in both Ohaji/Egbema and Oguta local governments which are oil producing communities. It is on account of the two local government areas that Imo derived its status as an oil producing state.

Hon. Emelumba who flaunted his legislative experience, including the seven years he has spent at the National Assembly as one of the legislative aides, said the people should take it for granted that he will provide quality, effective and participatory representation. According to him In essence, I do have a solid pedigree which has been further fortified by my sojourn in the National Assembly in the last seven years. I can say without much fear of contradiction that to a very reasonable extent, I do know the essentials of the in and out of Chamber politics of the National Assembly.

Against this backdrop, I want to affirm that when I say I am driven to contest by a passionate desire for service to the people and to provide succor for the needy, I mean what I say and say what I mean.

While pledging to subject himself to scrutiny by stakeholders every second week of June every year by holding accountability meetings with each LGA within that week where stakeholders will look at his record of performance and determine the progress made and the way forward, he told them that he will be a servant leader who will always derive his power from them.

Speaking, one of the stakeholders, Prince Chike Onyemenem said they were not only impressed by the presentation of Hon. Emelumba but encouraged by his honesty, humility and cerebral fecundity which he described as the essentials expected of a leader of his caliber. He promised on behalf of his colleagues to take the message of TOGETHER, WE WILL to the grassroots and prayed to God to crown Emelumbas efforts with success.

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Coca-Cola 5by20 Star program graduate Carmelita Aspiras looks after her sari-sari store, which grew after she applied her learnings from the program.

When Carmelita Aspiras opened her sari-sari store in 2012 to help fund her youngest sons college education, she struggled to keep the business afloat. During her stores first two years, she toiled with constantly depleting inventory and increasing debts. However, things began to change in 2015 when Carmelita joined the Coca-Cola 5by20 Sari-Sari Store Training and Access to Resources or Star program. Here, she underwent training on business professionalism, planning, and management which helped her conquer financial barriers and improve her small enterprise. When I joined the Coke 5by20, I didnt expect the positive effect it would have in my life. We really enjoyed our training because we learned a lot and experienced so many new things that we didnt expect we would ever go through in our lives, she says. Carmelita is just one of over 130,000 women micro-entrepreneurs that Coca-Cola has helped through the Star program since it was established in 2011. In line with the global campaign, the program aims to empower 200,000 Filipinas by 2020. With a growing number of participants in the STAR program, Coca-Cola Philippines decided to measure its impact among the trainees, conducting a research from 2015 to 2017 comprised of five waves of surveys among 500 graduates. The training proved to be highly beneficial for Carmelita as she easily put into practice her learnings like applying correct mark-up prices to products and paying attention to customer preferences and competition. According to the 5by20 Impact Report, 97 percent of the Star program participants found the training useful while 98 percent of them applied their learnings to their business.Upon using these newly-acquired skills, Carmelita also became a part of the 96 percent of women who reported business growth in their sari-sari stores and whose income, revenue and inventory size increased by 12 percent, 17 percent and 20 percent, respectively.Now, with a thriving sari-sari store business, Carmelita moves forward with entrepreneurial confidence, applying her learnings beyond the store, to other supplementary ventures such as selling home-cooked meals, offering made-to-order Filipino desserts and baked goods, and even selling clothes and shoes. She funds her side projects with income from her sari-sari store business to continuously invest towards a more stable financial future. Just as Carmelita now sees a clear path towards her goal of financial success, 65 percent of the Star micro-entrepreneurs are also confident of their future financial stability, substantially rising by 32 percent compared to the base line survey in 2015. The Star program was launched by Coca-Cola Philippines to complement the 5by20 global initiative of the brand which aims to empower 5 million women by 2020. Implemented in partnership with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, the program has become one of the most responsive and inclusive advocacies in the region which equips women micro-entrepreneurs with the necessary knowledge to achieve economic stability by giving them access to training, resources, and peer mentoring. The Star program has been implemented in 54 locations nationwide, with nearly 500 accredited facilitators aiming to help 200,000 women reach financial success.
Home | News | General | Gas flare, acid rain still haunt Niger Delta

By Emma Amaize & Chioma Onuegbu

This report which was first published yesterday continues today with highlights of the oil exploration-related pollution and health challenges being suffered by residents of Bayelsa and Rivers states as well as other states of the Niger Delta.

BAYELSA

Corroded roofs, crumbling structures

Bayelsa has had a long history of gas flaring being the place where crude oil was first discovered in commercial quantity in Nigeria with the people exposed to the hazards associated with the industry.

Many of the communities are without electricity, their daily source of light being the orange colour flame illuminating the night from the flare sites in their environment, and the main cause of acid rain in the region. Sadly, many of the communities have no potable water and rely mainly on rain water and their equally polluted rivers, creeks and rivulets for domestic use and consumption.

Destroyed roofsproduct of gas flaring in Bayelsa State

The people have had to contend with rusty roofs caused by vagaries of the elements as a result of gas flaring, which cause acid rain and speed up the decay of building materials, especially roofing sheets and paints.

We change our roofs regularly Ukpo

A community leader from Imiringi, one of the several communities hosting gas flare sites in the state, Anthony Ukpo, said: We have experienced acid rain several times in the past, except that it doesnt occur too frequently. However, most of our people are ignorant and unaware of it. As a matter of fact, our roofs do not last long. We change our roofs more frequently than people elsewhere, that I can categorically and authoritatively state.

No ailment linked to acid rain yet  Dr Anthony

Though Dr. Ihedioha Anthony, the Medical Director of Christ the King Catholic Hospital Imiringi, Ogbia Local Government Area, could not confirm any ailments attributed to acid rain, he highlighted that there were other ailments from oil related issues like polluted water sources and environmental degradation.

He said: We do not have clear-cut cases of ailments arising from acid rain but what is prevalent from the patients we have here are water-borne diseases like diarrhoea, vomiting, among others, arising from polluted sources of drinking water in these areas.

An industry source in the area told Vanguard INSIGHT that the completion of the Shell Petroleum Development Company, SPDC-sponsored gas turbine plant at Imiringi to provide electricity for the four host communities of Imiringi, Elebele, Otuseaga and Oruma will help curb the gas being flared in the area.

Alagoa, environmentalist demands scientific study

Also, residents of Tombia in Yenagoa Local Government Area had in the past complained of air pollution, allegedly emanating from oil and gas facilities located near the community, a development that prompted renowned Niger Delta environmentalist, Comrade Alagoa Morris, to call for the conduct of studies to measure the adverse impact of a gas plant located in Gbarantoru operated by Shell.

We have got reports of air pollution, very high temperature caused by gas flare, poor fish catch from the Nun River, amongst others. There is a need for studies by scientific experts to compare results with the baseline studies in the EIA report, Morris had stated.

Roofs destroyed by acid rain from gas flares in Iko, Akwa Ibom State

The story is not different at Angiama in the deep swamp of Southern Ijaw council area, as according to Chris, an indigene of the area:We have suffered a lot of damage as a result of the daily gas flared. It is only in this part of the world that you see people living close to pipeline and also gas flare site. Our creeks/rivulets, economic trees, food crops, fishing nets/traps, have been impacted seriously. Even the water that the ordinary man can fetch from the creeks and drink is severely polluted.

According to him: Apart from the pollution caused to our land and water, we also suffer atmospheric pollution. Our roofing sheets no longer last as they deteriorate as soon as they are laid on the roofs. We cannot be suffering all these things simply because we are having oil around us.

RIVERS

Experts fear cancer eruption in PH, environs

In Rivers State, the scariest manifestation of acid rain as a consequence of ceaseless emission of hydrocarbon into the environment has been the case of soot ravaging the populace, especially in Port Harcourt, the state capital and environs. Aside the massive oil pollution of Ogoni land, the soot has been the most unsettling to Rivers people in recent years.

From surface discomfort being experienced by the majority of the population, ranging from excessive dust in homes, clothing and cars, impaired breathing from inhaling the soot to the destructive corrosive force on roofs and sundry property, experts have indicated that the soot is carcinogenic and likely to cause different forms of cancer to residents in the foreseeable future under prolonged exposure.

Like other cities exposed to largely uncontrolled flares from oil and gas producing firms, petrochemicals and other industries and machines that emit high magnitude of hydrocarbon into the atmosphere, the soot has been part of the life of people living in Port Harcourt and environs for years.

The heightened health scare posed by the soot in Rivers is, in part, said to have been aggravated by rampant operation of illegal refineries with indiscriminate emissions from the crude locally fabricated machinery employed. This was further compounded by reactive burning of the illegal refineries by security operatives whenever they confront the perpetrators.

Start fight against cancer now  Dr. Emmanuel

Dr. Ochele Emmanuel, consultant surgeon and deputy chairman, Medical Adversary Committee, Special Projects and Linkages University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, UPTH, said: This case of black soot has been there. We know whatever you burn turns into hydrocarbon substance.

From medical literature, it is established that hydrocarbon agents have been implicated for causation of cancers for virtually all parts of the body, cancer of the lungs, cancer of the aesophagus, cancer of the stomach, cancer of the pancreas and cancer of the skin. So the issue of the soot should not confound anybody. The degeneration into cancer may take long but are we going to wait till 15 to 20 years when 10 persons out of 100 develop cancer? We do not have the resources to face such challenges. We know it will have cumulative effect one day. For now people will begin to develop respiratory problems, skin irritations.

6,000 Rivers people risk cancer  Dr. Green

Consultant surgeon at the Braithwaite Memorial Specialist Hospital, Port Harcourt and former chairman, Nigeria Medical Association, Rivers chapter, Dr. Furo Green, deploring black soot, stressed that six million Rivers people are at risk of cancer over hydrocarbon. The spectrum of diseases from hydrocarbon pollution, he stressed, ranges from asthma, chronic bronchitis, asphyxia to even infertility, with children most vulnerable, adding that if it is not checked over a period of time, it can progress to cancer and even death.

Green explained: Inhaling these hydrocarbon particles can lead to acute inflammation of the airways which can graduate to hyper stimulation of the airway and actually precipitate asthmatic attack in individuals predisposed to asthma. Over a long period it can precipitate chronic obstruction of the airways referred to as chronic bronchitis, possibly end up as malignancy or even kill the individual.

Hydrocarbons after prolonged exposure can predispose to cancer, especially of the lung, because that is the area where it is settled. Other long-lasting conditions that may arise from hydrocarbon poison include infertility as demonstrated by Prof. Georgewill of the Department of Pharmacology at the UPTH, where he was able to demonstrate that fertility is significantly affected by hydrocarbon poisoning.

But in children the effect can be unpredictable. A child very normal now could actually develop acute respiratory problem, meaning that a child who never had asthma can actually precipitate to one and if care is not taken the child could die from asphyxia. So the effect of these particles are more pronounced in children right now but over a period of time, it will lead to lungs condition.

Stain everywhere  Mrs. Chibuike

Sharing her experience just like several other affected residents, a dweller, Mrs. Chika Chibuike, informed thus: I am aware of the black soot. You wake in the morning and you see black stains in your room. Use a white clothe to clean the chairs or the television, it will be as if you cleaned charcoal. The thing is happening every day. When you pick or clean your nose you will also notice the black deposits. I heard that it can cause cancer but God is protecting me and my family. That is why I try as much as possible to cover our food and close the windows.

Wishful measures

In the heat of public worry over the soot, the Rivers State government, through Dr. Theophilus Odagme, then Commissioner of Health, had declared that the contents of the black particle had not been determined, but that government had sent samples for test towards ensuring that the situation was brought under control and to guarantee that its effect on health of residents of the state was mitigated.

A state government task force then followed in Aluu, a Port Harcourt suburb, with closure of three companies: Chinese Government Company, CGC; HSH Engineering Company and AUC Ashphalt Company, for allegedly operating machines emitting high magnitude of hydrocarbons into the atmosphere.

Industry regulator, National Oil Spill Detection Response Agency, NOSDRA, on its part, said it would engage air quality experts. Presenting measures to be adopted to body of heads of stakeholders, including security agencies in the state, international oil companies, government agencies, and non-governmental organizations, OluWai-Ogosu, an environmentalist, said plans have been split into short, medium and long term actions.

Kenneth Aroh, Secretary of a Technical Committee to that effect, told the stakeholders that, Experts will be engaged to carry out 24 hours monitoring of soot, in strategic zones in Port Harcourt and environs to find out source and origin.

The state has been demarcated into 18 zones for easy assessment by the experts; there is the availability of sampling equipment to cover the zones. A long term measure which would last for six months and above would commence immediately the first phase is concluded and Air Quality Index, AQI, would be established in the state.

Director of NOSDRA in the state, Mr. Cyrus Nkangwu, expressed satisfaction with the response of the key stakeholders over the call to find solution to the pollution. Nkangwu also advised the public to cultivate the habit of planting of trees. Laudable as these measures seem, no significant improvement seems to be in sight for residents as the soot remains everywhere.

Navys rethink: The Nigerian Navy in a bid to sustain its unending fight against illegal oil refineries without aggravating air pollution through indiscriminate burning of impounded illegal refining machinery, has introduced application of Swamp-Buggy Operation.

Navy announced the new measure when the Rivers State special committee headed by the Commissioner for Environment, Professor Roseline Konya, visited to cross-pollinate ideas on concerted efforts at arresting the soot menace.

The Commander, NNS Pathfinder Port Harcourt, Commodore, William Kayoda said: There is swamp buggy operation going on. The Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral, has assured us that he will give us every needed support to aid our fight against illegal refinery and the task must be carried out in full. The cry now is the soot ravaging the state and the new approach now is the use of swamp buggy to see that we continue in this fight.

Warning: Dr. Emmanuel, however, cautioned: The government should do everything possible to ensure that our society is clean. They can do that by ensuring that illegal refineries, the petroleum industries, where there is gas flaring and release of effluent into the atmosphere is reduced to the minimum, even the automobile and artisans who burn tires often.

Federal Ministry of Environment should devise a way of monitoring the IOCs and oil processing companies to actually know how much pollution they are emitting into the environment. If we have had such audit before now, it would have been easy to know what is happening in these companies. It is time the Federal Government and its related agencies look more closely at what is happening at these mega hydrocarbon industries that are operating in the Niger Delta.

To the public, he further cautioned: Wash your hands as often as possible because even where you wash your hands you will see that the lather of the soap itself is black. Children should be protected; close your windows, wash your fruits and cover your food to reduce the loads of these hydrocarbons. Clean your floor and furniture with moist towels to reduce the accumulation of the soot; and when you are exposed outside wear a nose-mask or cover your nose with handkerchief to minimise the volume inhaled.

AKWA IBOM

Problem endemic in AIbom

Eket, Esit Eket, Eastern Obolo, Ibeno, Mbo and Onna local government areas in Akwa Ibom are the epicenters of oil exploration and exploitative activities. These oil-producing areas are, therefore, affected by the attendant adverse effects of unbridled oil production by the local and multinational oil and gas companies. One of such damning effects is the acid rain apparently occasioned by the unabated gas flaring by these firms.

The main source of these acids in rainwater in these communities is the Exxon Mobil Producing gas flaring operations at nearby onshore and offshore locations. The consistent flaring has left a devastating effect on the surrounding environment, where activities of the oil exploration and exploitation are greatest. The roofs are covered in black soot, and are corrosive, while the ground waters are oily and sticky. Residents of Ibeno are not happy with the obvious lack of social amenities such as potable water, hospital, among others, in their area.

The huge ball of fire like a massive oven spewing chemical substances into the atmosphere becomes visible as one approaches the Exxon Mobil Terminal in Mkpanak, Ibeno Local Government Area. For close to five decades, the Mkpanak community has lived in the throes of these adverse oil production activities, while the facility has produced millions of barrels of crude oil, which rake in billions of naira into its coffers, while the community has lived in abject poverty.

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Home | News | General | Offa robbery: We are going all-out to ensure we arrest them  Police

Offa robbery: Over thirty people were reported killed on Thursday when a gang of armed men attacked banks and a police station in Owode Market Area in Offa Local Government Area in Kwara state.

Offa robbery

The police howere said fifteen people were killed in the Offa robbery attack, according to AFP Friday.

They attacked the police station and at the same time attacked two banks, said Kwara state police spokesman Ajayi Okasanmi, adding that nine police and six civilians died in the violence.

The gang invaded a busy commercial area where several banks and the police station are located in broad daylight around 4:50 pm (1550 GMT), said Okasanmi.

We are going all-out to ensure we arrest them, he said, adding that the haul from the robbery was not immediately known.

The robbers charged into the banks and shot people on the spot before making off with bags of cash on stolen motorbikes, said a witness.

They split into two groups. One group attacked the divisional police station where they opened indiscriminate fire, said a resident who witnessed the attack, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The other group attacked the two banks, shooting people they met inside, many of them in the head, he said.

They carried away money in sacks from the banks and fled on motorcycles they seized from okada (motorcycle taxis) riders.

 Despicable act 

Senate President Bukola Saraki, one of Nigerias highest-ranking politicians, commiserated with the victims of the savage attack in Offa.

In a statement released Friday, Saraki said the robbery is a despicable act committed by cruel individuals.

Gang attacks are a persistent problem for Nigeria, adding to security woes in a country already grappling with the Boko Haram Islamist insurgency.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has had to deploy military throughout Nigeria, West Africas largest economy, to quell violence in the absence of a strong police force and rigorous legal system.

On Wednesday, Buhari reiterated his support for $1 billion in emergency funding for weapons purchases to fight security threats across the nation, though critics warn that similar defense spending in the past has been tainted by corruption.

Police and military in the country were subject to intense scrutiny in February after it emerged that they were unable to repel Boko Haram fighters who stormed the town of Dapchi and abducted 111 schoolgirls.

Since then, 105 of the schoolgirls have been returned following negotiations with the Nigerian government, though six others  including one Christian who refused to denounce her faith  are still unaccounted for. The five others are believed to have died in the initial stages of the kidnapping.

Military and police are overstretched in Nigeria, which, along with fighting Boko Haram jihadists in the north, is battling militants and pirates in the oil-rich south, a simmering separatist movement in the east and a bloody battle between herdsmen and farmers spanning the vast central region.

Fighting fires on so many fronts takes an economic toll. This week Nigerias central bank governor Godwin Emefiele said the herdsmen-related violence poses a key risk to the countrys economic growth.

Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara has promised to pay the medical bills of victims of Thursdays Offa robbery attack.

Ahmed made the promise when he visited the victims at the General Hospital in Ilorin on Friday.

The governor had earlier ordered that the victims be relocated to Ilorin from Offa for adequate treatment.

He also directed that medical experts be mobilised from other states to Ilorin so as to give the victims prompt treatment and support.

Ahmed, who went round the wards to meet with the victims, described the incident as unfortunate.

He commiserated with families who lost loved ones and also prayed to God to grant the injured victims quick recovery.

We will take care of all their hospital bills, we must begin to watch each others back.

The job of policing is everybodys job, when we see strange people in our communities, we must learn to report to appropriate security agencies.

Activities like this took sometimes in planning and execution, Ahmed said.

The governor also stressed the need for community policing, maintaining that the police would work efficiently if they have information.

He reiterated his governments support to strengthen the security agencies in the state, especially in the area of logistics.

Ahmed, however, noted that there was huge problem of financing in the country, but pledged that his government would work around it because the situation was now becoming precarious.

He maintained that his government would not allow the lives of the citizens to be on the line again.

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Home | News | General | RIVERS 2019: Show courage to upstage PDP, Amaechi charges APC

By Davies Iheamnachor

The Minister of Transportation, Mr. Chibuike Amaechi, has expressed worries that members of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Rivers State have not shown enough courage to defeat the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the 2019 elections in the state.

Amaechi, however, charged APC members in the state to show enough readiness to unseat the incumbent administration of Chief Nyesom Wike, noting that APC has all it takes to win all the positions in 2019.

Amaechi

Amaechi spoke yesterday at Opobo Town, Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Area of the state during a reception ceremony in his honour organised by Free Rivers Development Initiative, FRDI.

Amaechi, the former governor of the state, said: We are here to show gratitude to each other. During our administration, we did land reclamation in the community and it was to go further than this but there was no much sand for it.

You must start mobilizing from now for the election. You must show enough anger to chase this present people out of office. You have not shown enough of such anger that you want to take over.

Amaechi stated that he would later do a comparison of his first tenure as the governor of the state and the administration of Wike in his first four years for people of the state to judge and learn lessons.

He said: I have not started, when I start we will compare my first tenure with Wilkes own, just to prove a point to Rivers people. I am grateful to Opobo people for their good will to me.

The Minister of Transportation told the people of Opobo to blame it on their traditional rulers and chiefs if their son does not emerge as the next governor of the state, adding that the chiefs of the area were running away from change.

Meanwhile, the Director-General of Nigerian Maritime Safety and Security Agency, NIMASSA, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, lauded Amaechi for his developmental drives in the area while serving as governor of the state.

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Malaysian Trade Minister YB Dato Sri Mustapa Mohamed

Malaysian traders are now more optimistic about doing business with Filipino entrepreneurs. Malaysian Trade Minister YB Dato Sri Mustapa Mohamed says the Philippines growing population, now at more than 100 million, and fast rising economic growth which is forecast to average 6.2 percent annually between 2018 and 2020, offer enormous opportunities to expand bilateral trade and investments. Despite being Malaysias fourth largest trading partner among Asean countries, I feel that our trade has not reached its full potential. In comparison with other Asean countries, our bilateral trade with the Philippines is relatively modest, and hence more vigorous efforts and marketing activities need to be undertaken to further stimulate stronger growth of trade, he says. Mohammed attended the recently concluded Malaysia Promotion Programme, a significant initiative, brought by the Malaysian government and private sector together as a National Blue Ocean Strategy , to promote and enhance Malaysias brand and visibility as an ideal trade, investment and tourism destination. The Philippines was chosen as the first country in Asean for the program which was held on March 11 to 18. It kicked off with a Malaysian food fair dubbed as Citarasa Malaysia. Malaysia considers the Philippines as the perfect choice for the first MPP. The expanding economy and the introduction of more business friendly policies by the Philippines government will create huge opportunities and incentives for Malaysian companies to venture and expand their presence in the country, Mohamed says. Economic sectors such as construction and building materials, ICT, healthcare, hotel and tourism, banking, legal services and franchise are among those targeted for investments by Malaysian companies and I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to the Philippines government for continuing to facilitate Malaysian investors in the country, he says. Malaysia achieved record performance with 19.4-percent growth to $412.1 billion in 2017. Exports reached $217.4 billion last year. The trade performance helped Malaysias economy achieve a growth of 5.9 percent, higher than the expected target set by the government and international financial institutions. Mohamed says the trade performance and economic growth were the results of the right and effective economic policies that have been put in place to facilitate businesses to prosper and expand both in the domestic and international markets. In the context of our regional and bilateral trade, Asean accounts for the largest export market with 29 percent of our global exports going into the region. The Philippines remains an important market and trading partner for Malaysias export, he says. Malaysian exports to the Philippines grew 21.2 percent in 2017 to $3.85 billion while bilateral trade also grew 26.1 percent to $5.94 billion.One of the areas that we should focus on and develop strategies to expand bilateral trade is on e-commerce. Asean is among the biggest e-commerce adopters in the region but online sales in the region are still very low as compared to other global markets such as China, USA and Europe, Mohamed says. Data from A.T. Kearney show that online sales in Asean only account for about 2 percent of global e-commerce transactions but the potential of growth is very huge as more online users, especially the young population, are getting on board and will be the key drivers for e-commerce in the future. Malaysia has established a strategic alliance with Alibaba to develop the worlds first Digital Free Trade Zone to facilitate and bring more SMEs into exporting their products and services in the global markets. DFTZ will provide physical and virtual zones to facilitate SMEs to capitalize on the convergence of exponential growth of the internet economy and cross-border e-commerce activities. Under Asean, we have developed a masterplan on Asean ICT and connectivity to support the e-commerce ecosystem and infrastructure. We are also in the process of finalizing the Asean Agreement on E-commerce which will further streamline regulations to promote greater digital connectivity and lower operating barriers to entry for businesses in Asean, Mohamed says. I also understand that the Philippines and other Asean countries have developed their own digital strategies and e-commerce roadmap and as such, the private sector particularly the SMEs in Asean should be assisted and urged to adopt e-commerce in their exporting strategy, he says. The Malaysian official acknowledges the immense potential for Malaysia and the Philippines bilateral trade and investment relations to expand in view of the greater economic integration under AEC and the strong growth on economic potential in both countries. The Philippines is also bullish to bring out the countrys best brands out to Malaysia and the rest of the world, in support of big and small Filipino entrepreneurs, with special emphasis on increasing Halal certification for most Philippine products and brands. Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez says Halal certification will open up a larger market for Filipino enterprises that are going overseas. Theres a bigger market out there if we intensify our campaign to have as many industries, companies and products to go for Halal certification. The global market for Halal products and services is at $3.3 trillion and where were at, were not even close to scratching the surface, Lopez says. Lopez says the government is optimistic that more Filipino companies will soon have their presence in the mainstream Malaysian market on top of the big Filipino brands Petron Corp., San Miguel Corp. and Universal Robina Corp. We want more exposure. We continue to participate in Malaysia International Halal Showcase because this venue really promotes Philippine Halal-certified products. And if we are successful in this, we expect more and more products to be Halal-certified, Lopez says.
Home | News | General | Tension in Ekiti as traditional worshippers prevent demolition of shrines

- Traditional worshippers in Ekiti state have prevented the demolition of some shrines

- The state government's demolition team were engaged in a heated argument with the worshippers

- It was gathered that some houses were marked for demolition while many corpses were marked for exhumation in the state

Some traditional worshippers have prevented the demolition of shrines in Ekiti state on Friday, April 6.

The worshippers had engaged a team of the Ekiti state demolition experts in an argument in Ado-Ekiti.

Daily Trust reports that the exercise took a dramatic turn when budldozers returned in Ado-Ekiti for the demolition of structures close to the two shrines, two sacred trees and other structures directly adjacent the palace of Ewi of Ado Ekiti, Oba Rufus Adeyemo.

READ ALSO: 8 officers, 9 civilians killed during Offa robbery - Police

The shrines - "Ogun" and "Ejeye Oka Ere" - are located within the premises of Arowa of Ado-Ekiti's court.

The state government however has said it will not yield to pressure by the traditional institutions in the city to stop the demolition.

It was also gathered some houses were demolished on Thursday, April 5, while seven tombs were marked for exhumation.

During the demolition on Thursday, no fewer than four corpses were said to have been exhumed and relocated.

READ ALSO: CAN disowns Arewa pastors who visited President Buhari in Aso Rock

Residents said armed security operatives were deployed to the area to prevent the degeneration of the crisis.

Also, a protest which led to the temporrary suspension of the demolition process had ensued in the area.

A family member of one of the corpses exhumed said the compensation paid by the state government did not cover the displacement of the corpses or the demolition of the shrine.

NAIJ.com earlier reported that a 10-year old boy was killed in Owerri during the demolition of the Eke Ukwu market.

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The boy, Somtochukwu Ibeanusi, was said to have been hit by a stray bullet after violence escalated between traders and security operatives during the demolition of the market.

He was buried amid tears his family compound in Anambra state on Wednesday, September 20, 2017.Otodo Gbame: I lost four children to the demolition

Otodo Gbame: I lost four children to the demolition - on NAIJ.com TV

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Home | News | General | I acted my way out of British prison  Michael Balogun

By Jon Kelly

He spent his early life in and out of jail  then Michael Balogun decided he wanted to study to become an actor at one of the worlds most prestigious drama schools. Could this seemingly impossible ambition be the catalyst he needed to turn his life around?

As he sat alone in his prison cell, thinking about all the chances hed messed up, Michael Balogun made a decision: if he couldnt work out what to do with his life that night, he would hang himself.

Balogun closed his eyes and began remembering scenes from his life. The father who abandoned the family. The mother who was sent to prison for dealing drugs. The day he was taken into care and his first forays into street crime. His own jail sentences. The opportunities to go straight he had squandered.

And then a thought flashed into his mind. Acting He could try acting.

To anyone who had never met Balogun, it would have seemed a wildly incongruous ambition. But its one he eventually realised. Last year he graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (Rada), one of the worlds most prestigious drama schools.

And when he took his place on stage for the first time at the National Theatres new production of Macbeth alongside such celebrated actors as Rory Kinnear and Anne-Marie Duff, he marvelled at how far he had come. I would never have imagined myself here, he thought to himself.

Balogun grew up in Kennington, south London, in an unusual home. My dad wasnt around, my mum was going on holiday a lot, travelling a lot, and it was me and my sisters in the house, alone, he says. There were always people coming in and out. One of his early memories was watching his mother argue with two men. As they left, Balogun saw one of them put a gun in his waistband.

The most traumatic period of his childhood began when he was aged about seven or eight, with his mothers arrest. No-one can look after a child better than their own mother, he says. It was like the end of the world for me.

She was sentenced to 15 years in prison, but somehow the authorities didnt realise that Michael and his two sisters had been left alone in the house to fend for themselves. The three of them were used to it, he says. His older sister took care of the housework and sorting out the familys benefits. We kind of just kept it how it was whenever mum went on holiday.

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One day, a year or two later, Balogun fell ill at school. I remember the teachers saying, Oh, were going to call your mum, and I remember being like, Nah, nah, dont worry, its fine. Eventually they worked out his mother was in prison. Social services were alerted. Balogun and his sisters were taken into care and then went to live with an aunt.

After this, he started to go off the rails.

His criminal career began in Sainsburys, where he went to steal doughnuts  I didnt really have much money and I just needed to eat sometimes, he says. By the time he started secondary school, hed fallen in with a crowd of other south London teenagers with difficult backgrounds.

I started off stealing, then I started robbing people on the street  handbags and all that stuff. Mugging people. From there he progressed to selling cannabis at school, and by the time he was 16 or 17 he was dealing in heroin and crack cocaine on the streets of Kentish Town, north London and Portsmouth.

When he received his first prison sentence  three-and-a half years for possession of heroin with intent to supply  jail felt like a rite of passage. But he still found the experience deeply traumatic.

That first night, when the door closes behind you and you realise that youre just in a room, youre going to be here until you finish your sentence  thats when reality kicks in. Prison was a university for crime. He was jailed again soon after his release.

After he was freed a second time, Balogun decided to try going straight. He applied for a job with a High Street bank and, at his interview, he boasted that he was a great salesman who could sell any product  not mentioning, of course, where hed acquired his sales experience.

Impressed by his confidence, the panel offered him a job. He worked on a cashiers till selling mortgages and packaged accounts. And, true to his word, he was good at it. This was before the credit crunch where if you went into a bank, theyd offer you all this stuff, he says. Thanks to Baloguns efforts, the branch shot up the companys sales league table. I was succeeding. I was making that branch where I was working the number one branch in that area.

His aptitude didnt go unnoticed and he was offered a promotion at another branch. Then, one day, Michael was taken aside. They called me in: What were you doing between this time and this time? Those were the times Id been in prison. Theyd found out. Balogun had never admitted to his employers that hed served time in jail. He was dismissed.

His sacking shattered his confidence in his ability to hold down a straight job. I just decided to do what I knew best, which was selling drugs, and crime.

Soon after, he was in a nightclub with a group of friends when he got into an altercation with another group. Some guy pulled out a gun, and because I had a gun on me it all got a bit hectic and it ended up being a shootout. I ended up trying to shoot someone.

Today, at the age of 34, Balogun says he cant believe he could do such a thing.

Obviously at the time I knew what I was doing was wrong, he says.

But I always justified it because I was like, This is the life Ive lived. This is the background Ive come from. This is what we do.

But looking back now I realise that what I did was stupid and reckless and disgusting. Its a big regret.

Balogun was caught and sentenced to nine years in prison for his part in the incident.

Back inside, at HMP Blantyre House, Kent, Balogun resolved to turn his life around. He decided he wanted to be a chef  I used to watch Gordon Ramsays Kitchen Nightmares religiously every week  and a friendly prison officer suggested he apply for a training place at The Clink, a charity-run restaurant inside HMP High Down, Surrey (it now operates three more restaurants at prisons around England and Wales).

Balogun earned a catering NVQ there, and became eligible for day-release work towards the end of his sentence. He was told a job had been found for him in a place hed never heard of before  at Rada, in the drama schools canteen. Balogun was delighted  this would be a chance to hone his skills and earn some money. Plus, I thought theres probably going to be some attractive women floating around, if Im honest, he says. Obviously, having been in prison a few years, you know?

He was nervous when he arrived at Rada, and his time there didnt go well at first. Balogun was told that his vegetable-chopping was too slow and he was relegated to serving drinks at the bar. I was a bit moody because I was like, I didnt come her to work on a bar, I came here to learn to cook, he says. I wanted to be a chef and had all these ideas and ambitions about opening up a restaurant.

Then one day the manager asked if he wanted to watch one of the plays performed by Radas students. Balogun, who had never been inside a theatre except on a trip to watch Starlight Express when he was at primary school, jumped at the opportunity.

He was ushered into the auditorium. The play was Measure For Measure. Whenever I thought of Shakespeare, I just thought of, like these guys running around in old clothes, he says. But this was a modern-dress staging, set in present-day America. I was like: Oh, theyre doing New York accents and its set in New York and people are acting quite contemporary and normal.

Another revelation was a production of Mercury Fur, Philip Ridleys controversial play about a post-apocalyptic London. Balogun was mesmerised. Its one of those things where you watch a play and you forget about life. You are just there and inside this thing, watching everything happen, and it just takes you.

When he went back to prison that night, Balogun raved about what hed seen. He took his friend and fellow inmate Marvin through the plot, acting out scenes and impersonating the characters.

What struck Marvin, however, was the vivid manner in which Balogun had recounted the play. Marvin told him: I reckon you could be an actor, you know, bruv. Because youre very dramatic, the way you tell stories. You get into it, you lose yourself.

Balogun wasnt convinced. Surely being an actor wasnt for the likes of him?

He pushed all this to the back of his mind. And anyway, Balogun was about to squander his chances for redemption again.

Taking a mobile phone into prison was strictly forbidden. But, says Balogun, I was being a bit greedy and I wanted to talk to a couple of friends. As he returned from Rada one day he tried to sneak a phone into his locker. A prison officer spotted it and, straight away, all his privileges were revoked.

No more day release, no more Rada. No more open prison, category-D status  instead, a transfer to closed conditions at HMP Elmley, Kent.

I think theres something in me, this self-destruction, he says. This has happened to me a lot in my life. Messing things up, constantly.

To cope with the culture shock of returning to a closed prison, Balogun was smoking the synthetic cannabinoid, Spice. It messes up your head a lot, he says. I was having psychotic episodes.

It was at this low ebb that Balogun gave himself a night to decide how to make something of his life, or kill himself. As he closed his eyes and went over memories in his head, he suddenly made the connections between what those around him had been saying.

Marvin, his former fellow inmate, wasnt the first person who had suggested he might have an aptitude for the stage. Hed befriended some of the drama students, some of whom had asked him to practise their lines with them, and one had suggested he was good enough to do it professionally. At school, he recalled, his teachers told him he was a natural performer. Before hed been exposed as an ex-convict, his superiors at the bank had praised his energy and charisma.

It all made sense to him now  acting was his best chance of redemption. As soon as that thought came in my head, I just felt like something had been lifted off, he says. And I knew  instinctively, inside of me  knew that was the right thing to do.

The next day, a psychologist came to see him in his cell about his psychosis. Im fine now, he said to her. He told her about his plans to become an actor  and, by coincidence, it turned out the psychologist was a part-time drama teacher. She began bringing him plays each week to read  Noel Coward, Shakespeare. He didnt understand King Lear the first time he read it, but he was determined to learn.

And as he started to make sense of what he was reading, he felt validated  that he could really do this. And what better place to do it than Rada? He was still in contact with students there, who told him how tough it was to get in. Each year 5,000 would apply and only 28 would be admitted.

After his release, his determination to get into Rada hadnt diminished. But even in the unlikely event that he got in, how could he raise the 28,000 course fees? Hed never heard of student loans. He thought: Ill go back to what I know best  which is drug-dealing  for a bit, save up some money.

So he was selling drugs again  except this time, alongside his illicit business activities, Balogun was taking Shakespeare classes run by a homeless charity. But once again, the police caught up with him, and he ended up back in prison. It was the final wake-up call he needed that he had to quit crime for good.

Six months later, Balogun was released again, and he began applying straight away to drama schools.

For his Rada audition, Balogun chose the St Crispins Day speech from Henry V. When he was younger, he was a bit of a rogue. And then he has to become king, so he has to step up to the plate. This is an emotional, rousing speech. I remember reading it and thinking, I can do this one.

He performed it as though he was talking to his mates in prison.

We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;

For he to-day that sheds his blood with me

Shall be my brother; be he neer so vile,

This day shall gentle his condition.

Sometime after the audition, his phone rang. A withheld number. Rada calling to let him know how hed done.

His heart began beating faster. Wed like to offer you a place on the BA in acting, a voice down the line told him.

He lay on the floor of his mums kitchen and cried.

This month, as he walked out in front of an audience at National Theatre for the first time, and saw Duff and Kinnear on stage alongside him, Balogun thought about the epiphany in the prison cell that brought him there.

Obviously circumstances do affect you, and events that happen in your life  but there comes a time in life where you need to take responsibility, he says.

I strongly believe that your imagination is powerful, and thats where the magic is. If you have an idea, a motivation to do something  just do it, because youll be surprised what you can do.

Source: bbc.com

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Home | News | General | SGF wants agencies to comply with procurement plans, records

Abuja  Mr Boss Mustapha, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), has directed pararastatals and agencies to comply with the Federal Government circulars on procurement plans and records.

Secretary to the Federal Government, Boss Mustapher

Mustapha gave the directive on Saturday in Abuja at the 2018 Procurement Retreat for Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of Federal Government parastatals and agencies.

The retreat, with the theme Public Procurement for Sustainable National Development was organised by the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), in partnership with the office of the SGF.

Mustapha represented by Mr Olusegun Adekinle, a Permanent Secretary in the Office of the SGF, cautioned government agencies against doing business with contractors without proper registration on the national database.

He called on participants at the retreat to constantly liaise with their supervisory ministries to ensure strict compliance with the provisions of the Public Procurement Act.

The SGF said government would not hesitate to deal with erring agencies that were yet to submit their procurement plans and records for 2017 and 2018.

It is mandatory for every government agency to use the public procurement documents as authorised by the BPP, such as, the Standard Bidding Documents (SBDs) and other BPP documents.

All agencies must de-emphasise the use of selective tendering methods as the norm rather than the Open Competitive methods as prescribed by the Public Procurement Act.

Agencies must ensure that they have the final engineering design for any project to reduce the high rate of fluctuations and variations, he said.

Mustapha said the Federal Government was in the process of implementing E-Procurement process that would help prevent corruption, adding that BPP was a preventive agency.

He called on the retreat participants to embrace accountability, transparency and integrity in procurement process, adding that the idea was to enhance budget implementation process.

I therefore, urge you CEOs to be thorough and careful in the discharge of your responsibilities in the public procurement process with the highest sense of accountability, ethics and integrity.

It is expected that all factors militating against effective performance of budget implementation will be addressed promptly, he said.

In her remark, Mrs Winifred Oyo-Ita, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation said the retreat was apt considering the need to enhance the capacities of CEOs of parastatals and agencies.

Oyo-Ita represented by Mr Mr Ndubusi Okeji, a Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Head of Service said the continuous capacity building of CEOs on procurement process would enhance professionalism.

She said the retreat would impact positively in budget preparation and implementation and pledged the commitment of her office to continuously collaborate with the BPP. (NAN)

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Home | News | General | Public officials steal through procurement process - Ibrahim Magu

- Ibrahim Magu has revealed how some public office holders steal money in Nigeria

- The EFCC's chairman said stealing from government coffers is perpetrated by head of public sector organisation through procurement processes

- According to Magu, nobody can stop the fight against corruption

The chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, has revealed how public office holders loot the treasury.

Magu said thees officials steal funds through procurement processes in their various ministries, departments and agencies.

The EFCC scribe said the act of stealing from government coffers is carried out by head of public sector organisation through procurement deals.

READ ALSO: All 'bad eggs' in PDP have decamped to other parties - Makarfi boasts as party receives 500K decampees in Katsina

While speaking at a procurement retreat for chief executives/accounting officers of public agencies EFCC chairman, Ibrahim Magu, warned the CEOs to stick strictly to the 2017 budget in the award of contracts or face prosecution.

Magu said: It has come to our knowledge that heads of public offices try to steal from public covers through the procurement processes."

For us everybody has a duty to fight corruption. I want to warn that only strict adherence to 2007 Procurement Act will save you from jail term.

Nothing will stop us in the fight against corruption; nothing. I say nothing, nothing at all.

Nobody, nobody can stop the fight; it has come to stay and we are determined. We are unrelenting in the face of serious adversity; serious adversity. Nothing can stop us.

READ ALSO: FG compiles fresh looters' list, includes names of senators, ex-governors, ministers

Even though corruption is fighting back, we will continue to fight and we will win at the end of the day because we are not fighting corruption as an individual.

Every Nigerian should join in the fight against corruption.The appeal is that we want to mobilise everybody. The best strategy in fighting corruption is to bring everybody on board and I am telling you, we will succeed; no doubt about that," Magu said.

NAIJ.com earlier reported that Magu had said that Nigerians have the strength to defeat corruption that has ravaged the system.

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Describing corruption as Nigeria's number one enemy, the EFCC chairman said the commission is relentless in the fight against corruption.

He also said no Nigerian can afford to be on the fence in this effort to rid the country of its "Enemy Number One".

The EFCC stage a walk against corruption - on NAIJ.com TV

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Source: Naija.ng

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UP GRAINS members (from fifth from left) Atiana Inzon, Albert Caraan, Alexandrinne Pinca, and Mark Mariano with (from left) UPLB International Students Division head Dr. Erick Vernon Dy, UPLB Students Organization and Activities Division head Allen Nazareno, UPLB Office of Student Affairs administrative officer Maritess Mojica, and CID Communication PR manager Camille Antonio

Agriculture is not particularly popular a career path among the youth. It is not considered a lucrative profession, and there is a perception that those who go into it end up as a farmer burning under the sun in a remote farm. A student organization in University of the Philippines-Los Banos aims to remove the stigma by promoting agriculture through various activities involving agricultural biotechnology. For its unwavering efforts to promote and revitalize agriculture in the country, the University of the Philippines Genetic Researchers and Agricultural Innovators Society or UP GRAINS was recognized by Lenovo Philippines as an Outstanding Tech Visionary in this years Ten Accomplished Youth Organizations (TAYO) 15 awards held recently at New World Manila Bay Hotel. TAYO, now on its 15th year, is considered the nations premier search for outstanding youth organizations that have created a huge impact in addressing the countrys pressing concerns. The Lenovo Outstanding Tech Visionary award is a special citation given to the organization with the most meaningful project that addresses key issues through the innovative use of technology. Lenovo Philippines chose UP Grains for its Lakbioteknolohiya project.With their project Lakbioteknolohiya, UP GRAINS showed dedication and creativity in addressing the long-standing problem of the publics lack of interest in agriculture. This is in line with Lenovos Different is Better philosophy that is built around a fundamental belief that innovation is the best way to address challenges and embrace progress, said Lenovo Philippines country general manager Michael Ngan. Lakbioteknolohiya is an information and workshop drive held in high schools and communities where agriculture is the main source of income.Most of the lessons taught are from UPLBs curriculum, such as DNA extraction, Hydroponics, Plant Disease Diagnosis, and Fermentation Technology. Hands-on exercises on urban farming and agricultural biotechnology experiments are also included in the workshop, and all of these are geared towards improving agricultural production and maintain quality agro-environments. Because UPLB is the only school that offers a course in Agricultural Biotechnology, we took it upon ourselves to teach the masses the many benefits of agriculture and encourage them to engage in the practice, said Albert Caraan, a member of UP GRAINS and the project head of Lakbioteknolohiya  Camarines Norte. The first division-wide edition of the project saw members of the organization teaching in the province of Camarines Norte, where an estimated number of 300 students and teachers participated. After the project, Caraan shared that the participants used the knowledge that they obtained to conduct their own research and activities in order to help improve their regions agriculture. But for Caraan, the most important takeaway from the project is the renewed interest among the youth to take up agriculture in the future, both in college and as a career option. Seeing the students willingness to take up agriculture-related courses really made our day, as this has been objective ever since we began in 2014  to promote agriculture in order to attain a very strong agricultural sector in the near future, he enthused. Together with the award, UP GRAINS also received P20,000 and a Lenovo laptop.
Home | News | General | Pray for our leaders - Sultan urges Nigerians

- Nigerians have been urged to pray for their leaders so as to enable them to deliver the mandate entrusted in them

- The Sultan of Sokoto Alhaji Saad Abubakar III said this at the distribution of Zakkat proceeds in Goronyo local government area of Sokoto state

- He also urged the people to always give out Zakkat as enshrined in the teachings of Islam, saying that the gesture bring succour to the needy

The Sultan of Sokoto Alhaji Saad Abubakar III, on Saturday, April 7, urged Nigerians to pray for leaders to succeed in delivering the mandate entrusted in them by the people.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Abubakar spoke at the distribution of Zakkat proceeds in Goronyo local government area of Sokoto state.

READ ALSO: MMM officially shuts down operations worldwide

The Sultan said: Sustainable prayer is always a key to success, so as leaders we need nothing more than the prayers of our subjects and good advises for us to succeed in the task ahead of us.

As such, I urge all Nigerians to sustain prayers for leaders for them to perform well for the advancement of the country.

Moreover, our primary responsibility as leaders is to ensure more development, as such we always need your sustained prayers in order to achieve it, Abubakar said.

The Monarch further commended Sokoto state government, the state Zakkat and Endowment Commission and wealthy individuals for assisting less privileged persons in the state.

He urged the people to always give out Zakkat as enshrined in the teachings of Islam, saying that the gesture bring succour to the needy.

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Abubakar cautioned those engaged in street begging to abandon the bad behaviour and look jobs to do so as to become productive.

In his remark, Gov. Aminu Tambuwal, represented by the Commissioner for Religious Affairs, Alhaji Abdullahi Maigwandu pledged to sustain all government programmes targeted at the very poor in the society.

Tambuwal commended the Sultanate Council for its support in ensuring the success of all government programmes.

Earlier, Chairman of the commission, Malam Lawal Maidoki commended members of the district Zakkat committee for their perseverance and selfless service.

The district head of Goronyo, Alhaji Sambo Usman announced that 20 cows, 30 sheep and 30 goats as well as 25 bags of grains were collected as Zakkat in the area for distribution to the needy.

Meanwhile, NAIJ.com had reported that former Sokoto state governor, Alhaji Attahiru Bafarawa, said God is punishing the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) for its sins and urged members to intensify prayers to seek forgiveness from God.

It is the sins that the PDP members committed that God is punishing them with it, Bafarawa bluntly told members at the PDP Northwest zonal rally on Saturday, April 7, in Katsina.

Almighty Allah does not make mistakes and that was the reason why when the PDP offended him, he snatched the power and handed it to APC, he said.

Aliko Dangote invites IT billionaire Bill Gates to Nigeria on NAIJ.com TV:

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Source: Naija.ng

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Acting President Constantino Guvheya Nyikadzino Chiwenga has sent a condolence message to South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa and the people of South Africa following the death of liberation struggle icon and veteran, Nomazano Winifred Madikizela-Mandela.

Madikizela-Mandela died in the early hours of Monday.

In a statement on Thursday, Acting President Chiwenga said he learnt of the death of the icon and stalwart of the African National Congress with deep shock and profound sorrow.

"On behalf of the Government and people of Zimbabwe, Zanu-PF party and on my own behalf, I wish to express our deepest condolences to Your Excellency and through you, to the Government and People of the Republic of South Africa, the ANC, as well as the Madikizela and Mandela families on the loss of this legendary heroine," said VP Chiwenga.

"The late Madikizela-Mandela will forever be remembered for her bravery and the numerous sacrifices she made in the epic struggle against the inhuman apartheid system, a struggle for which she suffered personal humiliation, house arrests, banishment, solitary confinement and prolonged disruption of family life."

VP Chiwenga said in spite of all the brutal attempts by the apartheid regime to break her resistance, Madikizela-Mandela remained strong and resolute.

She became the leader and personification of the internal opposition to apartheid.

In Madikizela-Mandela, Acting President Chiwenga said, Zimbabwe had a friend and comrade in arms to rely upon and he was consoled by the fact that she lived to witness the realisation of her dream of a free, democratic and non-racial South Africa.

"We are confident that South Africans, the ANC and her family find solace in the rich legacy that she has generously bequeathed to all of them as well as to those still fighting for liberation against the forces of oppression,' he said.

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Commodity prices have been relatively strong lately, especially in the energy markets, and that's good news for Franco-Nevada (NYSE: FNV). The streaming and royalty-based financing company has set its sights on becoming better diversified, with the intent of boosting its exposure to oil and gas to complement more fully its portfolio of precious metals streaming arrangements.

Franco-Nevada had a strong 2017, but investors want to know whether the company can sustain its positive momentum into 2018 and beyond. Here are some of the things that executives shared with investors in Franco-Nevada's most recent conference call.

1. Don't count gold out at Franco-Nevada

The current wave [of growth] has been diversification in the form of oil and gas. I expect the next wave of growth on the mineral side will be project financing as the industry gets back to building mines again. Asset fund management is limiting the amount of new equity available to the sector, and bank capital requirements are limiting the amount of project debt. So I believe streaming will play a meaningful role in the coming round of mine financings. -- Paul Brink, SVP of Business Development

Franco-Nevada has made substantial acquisitions recently to bolster its position in the oil and gas industry, but it's important to understand that precious metals still make up the lion's share of Franco-Nevada's business. About 90% of revenue in 2017 came from gold, silver, and platinum group metals, and even the company's most ambitious targets had oil and gas rising to only about 20% of total revenue. That simply reflects the fact that precious metals will remain the bread and butter of Franco-Nevada's portfolio, and Brink sees fundamentals in that area improving in the near future in a way that could lead to greater success for the company.

2. Look to Cobre Panama for growth

The key [asset], of course, is Cobre Panama, and we're watching that very closely. Right now, Panama is proving to be a very receptive country for investment. We see no pushback from the government. We see them very commercially minded. There we haven't seen any [non-governmental organization] issues. It's been very receptive, so that's what's giving us the confidence to put more money in that country. -- CEO David Harquail

Story continues

One issue that companies in the mining industry always have to pay attention to is the need to work well with labor organizations. Latin America has seen contract renegotiation efforts on a regular basis for mine workers, and given how much exposure Franco-Nevada now has to the Cobre Panama project, some analysts worry that a labor dispute could cause material damage to the streaming company's financials. Harquail did his best to allay those concerns, as Franco-Nevada has sought to invest largely in well-established operations with good relationships with various stakeholders. Nevertheless, political risk is always present, and investors are wise to consider it in assessing Franco-Nevada's prospects.

Drilling rig equipment at a snow-covered woodland site under a blue sky.

Image source: Franco-Nevada.

3. Energy will remain a big deal for Franco-Nevada

There certainly is opportunity to spend [$420 million in] capital [in the Permian]. The nature of the landholdings in the U.S. is such that most of the mineral title is held by individuals, and so there is a tremendous inventory of mineral title and hence royalties that we can buy, and there are a lot of private equity-backed companies in the U.S. that are looking to sell packages of those royalties. ... It's a matter of picking the right opportunities and also just balancing off how much oil and gas exposure we want, versus gold and other precious metals. -- Jason O'Connell, VP of Oil and Gas

Franco-Nevada has purchased oil and gas interests in several locations, including the STACK play in Oklahoma and Alberta's oil sands region. Yet the Permian Basin of West Texas remains one of the most fertile prospects for new investment, and Franco-Nevada believes there's more opportunity there than ever before. When asked whether the company anticipates continuing to invest in oil and gas at last year's run rate of roughly $420 million annually, Franco-Nevada's key oil and gas division executive said that a lot depends on the strategic direction that the overall company takes. Nevertheless, there are many opportunities in the region, and it's up to Franco-Nevada to identify the best ones and then come up with lucrative terms for moving forward.

4. Lower U.S. taxes are coming

Our projection for effective tax rate for 2018 is about 17%. -- CFO Sandip Rana

Tax reform has had a positive impact on many companies, and Franco-Nevada looks like it'll be one of them. In fact, once operations in Panama kick in at top gear, the company anticipates effective tax rates to fall to around 13% in the next three years. That's good news for shareholders, especially because lower taxes could mean larger distributions in the future.

Keep watching Franco-Nevada

Franco-Nevada built up good business momentum heading into 2018, and shareholders are hopeful about the company's prospects. Even though its stock price has foundered somewhat in recent months, strong fundamental performance could help turn shares around in the coming year.

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Dan Caplinger 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.
The New Zealand dollar initially tried to rally during the trading session on Thursday but rolled over rather significantly. After Justin Trudeau suggested that the NAFTA talks are going well, the US dollar picked up strength as a resolution to that trade agreement could be good for the USA.

The New Zealand dollar initially tried to rally during the day on Thursday but found enough resistance near the 0.73 level to roll over. This coincided with Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, suggesting that the NAFTA talks are progressing quite well. I think that the market will find buyers eventually though, especially as we approach the jobs number, because it is such a major influence on where we go next. The jobs number being good for the US could send this market lower, but I think more than likely that initial reaction will be reversed as it will be considered a risk on move, and the New Zealand dollar will probably pick up a bit of momentum.

The 0.73 level will probably be a target, followed by the 0.7350 level. Ultimately, I think this market is still going to go looking towards the 0.75 handle, an area that is not only psychologically important, but structurally important as well. I expect volatility, but the volatility is going to be a short-term issue, and once we get a bit of clarity after the jobs number, I think that the overall uptrend should continue. If we get good news out of the trade war front with the US and China, that could help the New Zealand dollar as well, as it should allow for the movement of capital throughout Asia, which of course the New Zealand dollar is highly leveraged to. The meantime, these pullbacks should offer value.

NZD/USD Video 06.04.18

This article was originally posted on FX Empire

More From FXEMPIRE:
Curitiba (Brazil) (AFP) - Brazil's ex-president and leftist icon Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva flew in Saturday to the prison in Curitiba where he is due to serve his 12-year sentence for corruption, following days of drama that marked the downfall of once one of the world's most popular politicians.

The 72-year-old, former two-term president arrived by police helicopter on the roof of federal police headquarters in Curitiba, the southern city where Brazil's historic anti-graft "Car Wash" investigation is based.

As the helicopter landed, demonstrators outside let off volleys of fireworks, while riot police fired tear gas, filling the air with explosions and smoke. Eight people were lightly injured, including one hit by a rubber bullet, the fire department said.

It was a fittingly chaotic end to four days of intense tension as Brazil wondered whether the Workers' Party founder would finally be put behind bars.

He was found guilty last year of taking a luxury apartment as a bribe from a construction company and is the "Car Wash" probe's biggest scalp -- though Lula says the conviction was rigged.

Lula, who despite the scandal leads easily in polls ahead of October presidential elections, tried to get his sentence delayed in a marathon appeal at the Supreme Court in Brasilia on Wednesday.

When that was turned down, he engaged in a standoff with authorities in his hometown Sao Bernardo do Campo, outside Sao Paulo.

Surrounded by thousands of supporters at the metalworkers' union building in the suburb, he brazenly ignored an order to turn himself in by Friday.

On Saturday, he agreed to be taken into custody, only to find himself blockaded by his own supporters, with a crowd mobbing his car, shouting "Don't surrender, stay here Lula!"

At last, surrounded by bodyguards, Lula pushed through the seething throng of supporters on foot late Saturday, then got into a police vehicle and was taken to Sao Paulo airport for the flight to Curitiba.

Story continues

A jail cell with extremely good conditions by the standards of Brazil's often violent, desperately overcrowded prisons -- including a hot private shower and toilet -- awaited him.

- Fireworks and tears -

After his arrest, fireworks and cheering broke out in parts of Brasilia, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and other cities among those who long considered Lula responsible for the tide of graft sweeping over Brazilian politics.

But supporters cried openly at the exit of a man they remember for removing tens of millions of people from poverty and for connecting with voters in a way few, if any, other modern Brazilian politicians have managed.

An outsized figure in recent Brazilian history and revered around the world among leftists, Lula managed to cross political divides while president and oversaw a booming economy.

With him almost certainly knocked out of the presidential election, the race is likely to be thrown wide open. In polls, Lula currently scores more than double his nearest rivals.

However, analysts say that instability in Brazil means surprises remain possible.

The next potentially explosive legal development could come as early as Wednesday, when local media report that the Supreme Court may revisit the current law on incarceration during appeals.

Today, anyone convicted and losing a first appeal -- which is Lula's case -- has to conduct any further appeals in prison. But there is pressure to change that so that higher court appeals could be pursued in liberty, which would mean freedom for Lula.

- Emotional farewell -

In an emotional hourlong speech before his arrest in Sao Bernardo do Campo, Lula called himself "an outraged citizen" over the graft conviction.

He said that Brazil's top anti-corruption judge, Sergio Moro, "lied" about him being given the apartment by a big construction firm as a kickback.

"I am the only human being to be put on trial for an apartment that does not belong to me," he said.

Lula accused the judiciary and Brazil's most powerful media conglomerate of assisting a right-wing coup with the ultimate aim of preventing him from competing in the race.

"They don't want me to take part," he said. "Their obsession is to get a photo of Lula as a prisoner."

But, crucially, Lula said he would drop his dramatic show of resistance and comply with the arrest warrant.

After the speech, Lula was lifted onto the shoulders of supporters who chanted, "I am Lula."
Gold Coast, Australia, April 7, 2018 (AFP) - - Rightwing politician Pauline Hanson slammed the segments on Aboriginal culture at the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony as "absolutely disgusting", saying they didn't reflect Australian society.

Hanson, an anti-immigration firebrand known for her outspoken views, said the ceremony's opening sequence was "over the top", but denied her views were racist.

"I thought it was disgusting, absolutely disgusting," she told Australia's Sky News, criticising the "20 minutes" sequence featuring a man playing a didgeridoo.

"I've got nothing against the Aboriginal people but I'm sick and tired of being made to feel as if I'm a second-class citizen in my own country.

"I am indigenous. As far as I'm concerned, I was born here, this is my country as much as anyone else... anyone who is of Aboriginal descent, the same age as I am, why have they got more right to this land than what I do?"

Three people were arrested before Wednesday's ceremony after Aboriginal protesters clashed with police on horseback, highlighting enduring tensions over indigenous rights.

Protesters have dubbed the Gold Coast Games the "Stolenwealth Games", a reference to the colonisation of Aboriginals' ancestral lands.

Hanson added: "Criticism is not racism and I'm sick and tired of people having a go at me because it's 'racism'."

th/pst
DAENEE BARTOLOME

THE Canadian Embassy has denied the application for a visa of a Filipina tattoo artist set to represent the country in the Vancouver Tattoo and Culture Show on April 20-22. All hopes of Daenee Bartolome vanished when, after 15 days, she got her passport and found out her application was denied.Top government officials were also saddened by the newsDepartment of Foreign Affairs Director and former deputy Consul General for Canada Atty. Anthony Mandap, Director of Canada Division Office of American Affairs Jaime Ramon T. Ascalon, and Department of Tourism Secretary Wanda Teowho all endorsed Bartolome as the first Filipina tattoo artist to join the event attended by tattoo enthusiasts from round the world. The letter of denial stated she had no travel history, sufficient funds and personal assets. Bartolomes mother revealed that her daughter had P300,000 in her bank account, a property with her Filipino-Canadian fiance and a house in Sta. Rosa, Laguna where she resides with her family. My daughter earns as a tattoo artist. Her income comes from her craft. She pays the correct taxes, too, said the mother in Filipino. A formal email invitation from Kara Johns, business manager of Vancouver Tattoo Convention, arrived two days after Bartolome filed for a visa. The letter was also sent to the embassy via email and fax.The embassy replied to Johns, also through email, saying all supporting information/documents should be included with the application. Bartolome will apply again on Tuesday, seeking assistance from the Canadian ambassador to the Philippines John Holmes and this time with the formal invitation from the convention. The invitation should have been submitted with the application. The Embassy usually asks for documents like these, said Consul Anthony Mandap. Founder of Philippine Tattoo Artists Guild Ricky Sta. Ana also expressed dismay over the denial. He also submitted his application on Wednesday and was hopeful he would receive his visa together with Bartolomes. Its okay if I dont make it. I usually have shows in other countries. It is more important for me that Daenee gets in, as she is the first Filipina to join a very big and prestigious tattoo convention, said Sta. Ana.
nope. their products are overrated anyway. 9 for 30ml of rosehip oil? bye

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Wait, r u saying it is ridiculously cheap or expensive? Coz all "legit" brands sell it for $20+ for 1 floz or less.

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expensive. i get mine from amazon prime, 9 for 100ml. they also do 50ml for 6

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I haven't liked any of the products from them that I've tried, the description always makes it sound great and then the result is meh.



now I worry about him poisoning the stock or something lol /paranoid

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the ordinary's 'Buffet' is amazing. I hope they never stop making it.

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i just ordered the buffet, since a friend has been raving about it to me for the last two weeks. so im relieved to see this comment lol



i dont dread interactions with humans, but i get a lil anxious about beauty products hahahaha



Edited at 2018-04-07 04:24 pm (UTC)

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This is what I was initially looking into ordering from them (as well as 1 or 2 other things) but I've been seeing how messy their Instagram is for a while now and I'm just like mmm idk if I trust them with shit I'm going to be putting on my face

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I wasn't blown away by the products.

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i'm using the vitamin c suspension and i heard SUCH good reviews. doesn't seem to help my dark spots tho.

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Ugh I hate when people take pics of the homeless. Like they're not for your tourist album, leave them alone. It's one thing if you actually take the time to talk to them or give them money/food, but I see SO MANY tourists stop, take pics, and walk away.

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wtf i didn't know people do this, it's never crossed my mind to take a photo of a homeless person. why would they do that?

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I have no idea. Yes, it's sad and can be alarming because it's not expected when you go on vacation. But they're human beings.

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wtf i didn't know people do this



Did you not see the photo of the homeless person in the post? Only asking because I know ONTD has a tendency to read headlines.

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I see this most often when there's someone sleeping on the subway. Tourists get SO worked up about it, like just move to a different car or don't take public transit.

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wow I've never seen anyone do this but if I did idk if I'd be able to contain myself tbh.

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... who does this? Like small 600 population townsfolk have never seen a homeless person? That's inconceivable

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It's so rude and really dehumanizing. People have such shitty attitudes towards the homeless even when they think they're being kind or supportive or think they're helping - usually they aren't and are just being gawking assholes.

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I read the interview. He is way up his own ass. A sounds like a possible trump supporter

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I'm this close to bulk buying the rosehip oil, lactic acid and hyaluronic acid because I'm paranoid he's going to close down the brand lol. Maybe I'll throw in the squalane oil for good measure.

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I liked their hyaluronic, I've tried moisturizers with it as an ingredient and it made my skin feel drier but theirs didn't.

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Why would he close down the brand? It's always sold out

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Cos he seems not...ok and I'm worried some minor thing might set him off lol.

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the store in London is shit, they don't have scanners for the products and it takes forever to checkout even w contactless

wouldn't be surprised if its money laundering tbh



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that sounds super annoying and i would never want to shop there. i hate checking out at stores as is.

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Estee Lauder can't do shit because they only hold 28%, his friend, one of the original investors, holds another 28%, but Truaxe is the majority stakeholder with 44% so he does what he wants, even if that means destroying his own company.



He gave an interview to Racked that's, *ahem*, interesting:



And the fired co-CEO talked to Elle: I was about to buy a bunch of shit from them when he started imploding, these last few interviews he's given after axing US staff, the picture of the homeless dude, the way he responds by trying to doxx people, I legit think he's mentally ill.Estee Lauder can't do shit because they only hold 28%, his friend, one of the original investors, holds another 28%, but Truaxe is the majority stakeholder with 44% so he does what he wants, even if that means destroying his own company.He gave an interview to Racked that's, *ahem*, interesting: https://www.racked.com/2018/4/6/17201884/deciem-the-ordinary-brandon-truaxe-social-media And the fired co-CEO talked to Elle: https://www.elle.com/beauty/makeup-skin-care/a19694275/nicola-kilner-former-co-ceo-deciem-getting-fired-profile/

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I'm on the same boat with about to bite the bullet so I followed them on instagram and he seems insane and up his own ass.

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So if Estee Lauder and Brandon's friend came to an agreement they could force Brandon out? Sounds brutal.

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I was thinking that! If he goes nutso couldn't they just "team up"?



It always reminds me of that quote "51% or nothing"...which is true I guess.

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Probably, but the people around Brandon have all drank the kool-aid

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that racked interview is a mess omg

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I really admire and look up to Nicola. She has dealt with what happened to her with so much grace, humility, and forgiveness when she was fucked over for no reason other than male jealousy and clearly Brandon being in love with her and not being able to accept that it's not reciprocal. She sounds like a really good person. She is a powerhouse of a woman and I hope she has lots of options open to her because of how stellar her reputation is.

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i'm also worried he's having mental health issues and is in the midst of a breakdown

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Overhyped tbh

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I really wanted to try their products, but rn Ill refrain myself. I still have a couple of kproducts I should use up anyway :(

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OMG their "respect trump" post. welp not gonna buy.

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https://www.instagram.com/p/BhMRtmlAJ-2/?hl=en&taken-by=deciem

......Whether you agree or disagree with some or all thoughts of @realdonaldtrump, please respect him as the President of a powerful nation and dont compare me with him. Your comparison would make both of us, and anybody intelligent, angry. Please respect Presidents of countries and founders of businesses in the same way that you would respect your family, your friends, your colleagues and our collective world at large.  -Brandon

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If anyone knows of a good alternative for a hyaluronic acid serum I'm all ears since I'm about halfway through my Ordinary one. I know Trader Joe's has one but I'm kind of concerned that won't be very high quality.

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Mizon makes one that's p affordable ( $13 on Amazon Prime ), Yeouth & Timeless both make affordable HA serums too, I dunno if price is an issue for you, but LRP just came out with one, Hyalu B5, that I'm dying to try

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ty

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I use and love Hada Labo Gokujun Hyaluronic Lotion

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yes, I need that too. I mean, Ordinary's HA serum isn't like top quality, but it's so cheap. And I don't vant to resort to buying non cruelty free HA serum :(

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https://www.reddit.com/r/SkincareAddiction/comments/7welmh/misc_list_of_product_alternatives_to_the_ordinary/ There's a list of alternatives for almost every TO product on reddit!

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I second the mizon one

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I think he needs to see a mental health professional. Caroline Hirons dismissed people's concerns as him being eccentric but he could be having a manic episode or be going through something serious. I'm amazed that no one has stepped in yet, surely this very public crisis is affecting sales and company morale.

Edit: Thought it was best to clarify that I was perspective-taking, not suggesting that sales were the main concern here. Brandon appears to be unwell and making very rash, arrogant decisions. Someone should look out for him and convince him to seek help.



Edited at 2018-04-07 02:56 pm (UTC)

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tbf vhen she made those statements he vasn't behaving quite as erratic and the stories vere just beginning to come out. I don't think she's addressed it since? (vhich is vise, tbh).

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oh lord i haven't watched this but i bet it's fucking good



*also i hope they don't make star lord a douche in this film, the whole 'why are you massaging his muscles' rang some alarms for me lol pls keep him cute and protective not douchey*



Edited at 2018-04-07 05:35 pm (UTC)

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she is so badass, i hope she kicks some serious alien ass

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that was qT

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I love her.

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She killed me with that wink

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i love her <3

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I love her so much <3

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OKOYE

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she is everything

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best part of that teaser lmao

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Girl just wants a Starbucks on wakanda

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aahhhhh she's the besssssttt

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idk what made my day more Bucky smiling at Steve and saying something funny like were back in Captain America: The First Avenger or that shot of Sam and Bucky standing next to each other. its all good, someone get me the fic

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It was definitely the shot of Sam and Bucky that did it for me.

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@ marvel! Im begging you for a buddy cop movie starring these two I would watch Falcon & The Winter Soldier ten times in theaters! If youre not gonna do it for me do it for Stackie at least

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Why is Buckys wig constantly terrible tho?

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I always like friendship moments best in these movies.



Edited at 2018-04-07 06:27 pm (UTC)

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SAME

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Yassss

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Sam and Bucky in a scene. God, let me get what I want.

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I can already tell the scene with TChalla leading Wakanda is gonna be so epic

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I'm already getting anticipatory goosebumps.

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I want to know what's so secretive about this film that they are going to such lengths to keep it hidden? The actors were not even given the full script, only their parts. Chris Evans had to read his script and hand it back to people waiting outside his house. The press can't screen it until the week of. They can't even tell the title of part 2.



WTF? They didn't even go this far with Star Wars.

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i cant help but think maybe someone will end up betraying the avengers and siding with thanos (not loki). it's also gotta be something not in the original comic story for them to be this secretive about it.

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Tom Holland said he didnt even know which characters he shot his scenes with. Hopefully, something major happens or everyone is gonna be let down by the hype even if it turns out to be a good film.

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Yeah apparently, the scenes he has with Benedict Cumberbatch was not even him. It a Benedict stand-in with dots on their face.

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how are you supposed to act effectively when you don't know who else is in the scene? this seems extra for the sake of being extra.

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Spoiler alert: everyone dies and gets revived in the next movie.



I'd be really surprised if they managed to do something actually shocking.

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Create hysteria that will bring even more $$ in.

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i read a theory its less about a death but more about possible time travel? but idk, sounded like a cool concept tho

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Probably trying to prevent spoilers and build up hype/ box office? It's Avengers. The first two did over a billion each. They probably want to outdo both

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building anticipation and hype

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i sincerely hope bucky and steve hugged just before and this manly bicep clap isn't the entirety of their reunion

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Thiiiis

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Ugh I didn't want to watch anymore but....Okoye...



I'm gonna be a mess with this movie.



Yess at those shots of Bucky/Sam and Shuri.

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Omg I want to watch so badly but I'm in a restaurant with my grandparents.

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I'm going to voice an unpopular opinion here, but I'm ready for Bucky to stop being a thing. His boring man problems have been going on for like four movies too long. I'm also sick of Loki and I hope to god Hawkeye has the barely-speaking part he deserves.



Basically, Black Panther II with some Avenger extras, that's the movie I want.

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I don't think that's an unpopular opinion. We all know only the Captain and Tumblr care about him. ;-)

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So many people want him to play a big role in Black Panther 2 and Im like no, we already had to suffer through Martin Freeman, we dont need another token white guy. Beside if anyone is gonna be the next Cap, it should be Sam cause Anthony Mackie has tons of charisma.

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Remember after Civil War and some stans people wanted Black Panther to be Bucky ft. Black Panther? It was awful. I cackled when Bucky was only in the post credit scene for like 20 seconds.

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mte. the fact that bucky was p much the entire cause of the riff in civil war and made me feel bad for tony of all people is ridiculous.

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i want bucky and cap both to die

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i want storm to crossover in the sequel..

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I'd watch loki any day over strange and the guardians and spider child. I bet we get stuck with them living.

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OT but hello Varric! i love your icon <3

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I wouldnt mind Bucky, but even though theyve dragged his story out over so many movies I feel I hardly know him, plus there has been almost zero evidence of this great friendship with Steve.

I just cant care all that much about any of these characters

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IDK if I would classify being tortured as a POW for 90 years 'boring man problems' but ok lol you're allowed to not like him

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Yesss to Bucky and Sam being together. I heard from some interview that most of their scenes are together and I'm here for it.

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God, I hope so.

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Bucky is boring but I like him paired with Sam.

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I hope Wakanda stays in the forefront and doesn't become the ~exotic backdrop.



Here for the Wakandans and Cap.



Thanos makes absolutely ZERO impact in these trailers and teasers.

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Too many dudes.

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Blocked content :/

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Does this one work for you? It the only one I found apart from the one I embed on the post.





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So strange, theyre both saying theyre not available in my country. The US isnt allowed to watch Graham Norton?



Thanks for trying :)

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Is there a new "pak" kind of thing to add to the URL? Both are blocked 4 me 2

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https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6hfte5



this worked for me this worked for me

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has anyone seen it yet? i really enjoyed it but im not sold on the ending.

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I enjoyed it overall but there were a few things I wasn't sold on

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[ Spoiler (click to open) ] I know people are complaining the family did some stupid mistakes, but I was so in the moment during the movie it did not bother me. Also their mistakes seemed doable compared to all the great lengths they went trough to guarantee their protection. When you are controlling yourself 24/7 you will end up messing up on the tiny things. I saw it yesterday! I wasn't going to because I'm terrified of horror movies, but then I read some spoilers and thought I would be okay and I'm glad I went because the movie is so good! And surprisingly emotional.

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Ending was the worst part, ruined the movie for me TBH.

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Dam it Tom Holland!







Dam Andrew Garfield for insulting the Sony executive(s?)!

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Speaking of andrew i know tasm2 was a mess but i thought the first one was decent and I still have a soft spot for him as spiderman

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lmao bless tom and his madonna story

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Ahhh 6 more days, I really hope the people at my theater will be quiet during the movie

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praying for you tbh



i had 3 high school girls shining the lights from their phone screens everywhere multiple times, giggling when shit got too tense, and making lame remarks in response to something a character did/said, another girl who was on her phone like 5 times and not realising it's off-putting as fuck to anyone sitting behind her/not even putting her phone on silent so it rang for a good ten seconds, and a woman who ANSWERED HER PHONE and spoke in a hush.



we've been to heaps of movies lately so this was all so out of the ordinary.

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There were some teen gigglers in the back row, but they were eventually reeeeeeal quiet. I didnt hear them again after 20 minutes in. Fingers crossed for you!

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I loved this episode! Everyone was so funny in it and I always appreciate when Kylie is on, because you can tell she and Graham genuinely like each other.



Tom talking about all this great lengths Marvel went trough not to reveal him anything, including filming scenes where he is on his own and then 5 minutes later fucking it up was hilarious to me.

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Not to mention him saying he didnt even film with Benedict! Lmao



They should keep him on lockdown

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Nooooo! Keep him on the loose! Hahahah



He still did a better job of promoting the movie than Jenner, Ruffalo and Elizabeth did the last time.

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I sat behind Graham when he went to see Courtney Act during the Edinburgh Fringe and he was LIVING for the Kylie medley that she did! Him and his partner/friends were all singing/clapping/swaying along in their seats.

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i really loved a quiet place! so cool watching a movie mostly in sign language, and that the actress playing the daughter is actually deaf. i still think get out is a superior horror movie but it was pretty well done



but we saw it in a sold-out theater and people wouldnt stop fucking coughing

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I never noticed how noisy Buncha Crunch is until I was trying to enjoy it during the movie lol

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lolol i'm normally fucking up popcorn and buncha crunch at a movie but we were full of margs and mexican food, but when the movie was first starting i heard someone shaking buncha crunch and i looked over at them and gasped and they appeared ashamed

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Man, thats so annoying. I have a cough, but I took shots of cough syrup and ate a cough drop before the movie so I wouldnt annoy anyone lol

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I wanna watch but it's blocked. :(

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Lmao Tom!!



I think I'm gonna see A Quiet Place today.

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I just cant stand John. Im really not looking forward to him getting directing jobs he doesnt deserve.

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he is dont pay attention to this sad soul

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All I can think about is that he was on that Michael Bay Heroes of Benghazi movie, when he tried to re-launch himself as an action star.

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Nah, hes a good dude.

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I opened the email notif like why tf am I getting a post undate about these two aholes? tom is such a cutie tho it almost makes up for me having to be reminded of the other two's existence. almost, but not quite.

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what did Graham and Kylie do to you???

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assigned seating?

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This has happened to me twice now. it's so annoying.

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Two shows for the price of one.



I saw this at AMC too but it's one of the old half-revamped Carmike ones so people were just obnoxious and ignorant.

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Assigned seating is so shitty especially when you have 50/50 of the audience actually following the seating. I once saw a girl have to get up five separate times because she didn't want to sit in the seat she purchased (last row) and I guess she thought she'd get lucky and be able to sit where she wanted. Kept finding a new seat, getting her shit all settled and cozy, and then the person would come and she'd have to move.

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I thought it was scene in a trailer that Tom's on a different planet with Pratt? Like, the scene where he's Starlord is talking about Iron man with his plan?

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Is it? I remember Iron Man and Starlord on the trailer but I dont remember Peter being on it. I was surprised he talked about it so openly but if it was on the trailer good for him for keeping the intreview spoiler free.

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China and the United States have hit a dead end in trade talks, with dialogue between the worlds two biggest economies cut since Washington ramped up threats.

Former Chinese officials and observers said the suspension of talks  revealed by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce late on Friday  reflected Chinas frustration with its difficult negotiating position and its desire for Washington to scale down its expectations of compromise from Beijing.

Some observers also said that if Washington did go ahead with threatened tariffs on an additional US$100 billion in Chinese goods, Beijing might go one step further and target US companies in China.

US politicians break ranks over Donald Trumps nuts trade moves against China

US officials had said that both sides were trying to resolve the dispute but Commerce Ministry spokesman Gao Feng rejected suggestions that there were any talks, adding that such discussions had not taken place for a period of time.

He ruled out the possibility of any kind of negotiations under current circumstances, taking a tougher line than Beijings earlier position that it was always willing to engage in talks to resolve the issue.

Gao also said China had drafted detailed countermeasures to hit back at the US and no options would be excluded.

The last publicly reported trade talks between US and Chinese officials were on March 24, when Vice-Premier Liu He told US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in a phone call that China would defend its interests. That conversation followed Lius trip to Washington, where he was given the cold shoulder.

White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said on late Friday that there were back-channel discussions with China and Trump might give China a list of suggestions as to what we would like to have come out of this. He gave no details of the discussions.

Chinese analysts said China still saw dialogue as the way forward, but the US was demanding too much and unfairly penalising China by exempting several countries from the tariffs.

Story continues

The US has always set Chinas concession as the goal for negotiations. But this is not negotiation, former commerce vice-minister Wei Jianguo said. It is condescending and domineering.

Does Trump even have an endgame in trade war with China?

Wei said the possibility of a trade war spilling over into a financial war or affecting US companies operating in China could not be ruled out.

China has too many points of attack to choose from, he said, saying semiconductor firm Qualcomm and machinery giant Caterpillar could be subject to tighter national security and environmental reviews.

But some Chinese analysts were not impressed with the ministrys rhetoric.

I dont agree with saying that no negotiations can be staged under the current circumstances, Renmin University international relations professor Shi Yinhong said.

We should vow strong retaliation but we should still express our willingness to sit down at the negotiation table, to leave leeway for reconciliation. If both sides continue behaving like this, then an all-out trade war will loom.

Tariffs on an initial US$50 billion in Chinese goods are not expected to come into effect until June, after a public comment period. And China has not announced the effective date of its retaliatory measures proposed on Wednesday, leaving room for negotiation.

US trade threats raise risks for Chinas industrial tech ambitions

Shi said that if Chinese and US officials did not communicate before that deadline it will be a historic diplomatic failure.

Pang Zhongying, distinguished professor of global studies at Ocean University of China, said there was little trust between China and the US.

China is not clear whether the US really wants negotiations, Pang said. China is fully aware that the situation is grave and escalating. It has repeatedly expressed its intention for dialogue, but to no avail.

Wei said Gaos comments did not suggest that China refused to engage in future talks.

The current atmosphere is not for negotiations but the gate to future negotiations has not been shut. We still welcome talks but it has to be done in a good atmosphere, where both sides are equal and with sincerity to solve the issue, he said.

Huo Jianguo, senior research fellow at the Centre for China and Globalisation and former director of a research institute under the ministry, said the US should not expect too big a compromise from China.

There must be time for both sides to sit down for a talk before June, he said.

Additional reporting by Associated Press

This article China-US trade talks hit dead end but theres still room to move first appeared on South China Morning Post

For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2018.

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In this photo taken Monday, March 26, 2018, Rwanda's President Paul Kagame opens the Next Einstein Forum conference in Kigali, Rwanda. The largest-ever gathering of scientists in Africa has met to encourage a new generation of breakthroughs on the continent. (AP Photo/Andrew Meldrum)

South African geneticist Vinet Coetzee held up a malaria-diagnosing scanner that she said can be developed for use in Africa's rural areas without the need for blood samples or lab tests.

"This can be rapid, affordable and non-invasive," she said. "It can reduce health inequality and bring us one step closer to a world free of malaria."

The prototype was among the research projects highlighted at the Next Einstein Forum conference last month in Rwanda to encourage the development of young scientists across Africa. Organizers called it the largest-ever gathering of scientists on the continent.

"We can go from a dark continent to a bright continent," said Nigerian chemistry professor Peter Ngene, who described how he plans to use nanotechnology to store solar energy efficiently in hydrogen batteries.

Rwandan President Paul Kagame, the current chair of the African Union, opened the gathering by linking scientific progress to Africa's development at large.

"Knowledge economies are prosperous economies," he said. "Today, more than ever before, adequate math and science proficiency is a prerequisite for a nation to attain high-income status and the gains in health and well-being that go along with it."

The president added: "For too long, Africa has allowed itself to be left behind." As the continent catches up it cannot afford to leave out women and girls, Kagame said, urging Africans not to accept the global gender gap in science as inevitable.

"The movie 'Black Panther' gives positive role models of African women in science," said Eliane Ubalijoro, a professor at McGill University in Montreal, who pointed out the large number of women at the conference. "We are creating Wakanda right here!"

Africa lags behind the rest of the world in scientific output, but research on the continent is growing rapidly and a few countries like Ethiopia, Kenya and Mali have increased their research and development spending efforts "to the level of a middle-income economy," according to the UNESCO Science Report .

The Next Einstein Forum began in 2013 to help the continent move forward and now sponsors 19 African science fellows, along with an Africa Science Week at schools in 30 countries. At the conference the forum launched Scientific African, a quarterly, peer-reviewed journal to publicize new research.

The forum is an offshoot of the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences, which provides full scholarships for students to earn masters' degrees in mathematics at centers in Cameroon, Ghana, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania. More than 1,500 students from 43 African countries have graduated from the program since 2003, with 32 percent of them women.

The program to encourage Africans to study mathematics is the brainchild of South African-born physicist Neil Turok, who grew up as his parents fought apartheid, the country's former system of racial oppression.

"My parents took pride in combatting injustice and they were thrown in jail. It was difficult for me personally but it was good for my studies because I threw myself into my work," he told the conference.

Turok attained international success in physics and mathematics, collaborating with Stephen Hawking, teaching at Princeton and becoming the director of the Perimeter Institute, an independent research center for theoretical physics in Canada.

Challenged by his father to do something for Africa, Turok founded the mathematical institute in 2003. A decade later, the Next Einstein Forum was launched.

"We can draw strength from hardship," said Turok, who said he believes the world's next Einstein can be an African. "When Africans enter science in large numbers, with their diversity, backgrounds and motivation, they will make massive, transformative discoveries. Those discoveries are just waiting there to be made."

Explore further Landmark science forum aims to halt Africa brain drain

 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
WashingtonThe United States struck President Vladimir Putins inner circle, imposing sanctions on seven of Russias most influential oligarchs and stoking a diplomatic crisis some have dubbed a new Cold War. Those hit include metals magnate Oleg Deripaska, described as operating for the Russian government, as well as Alexei Miller, director of state-owned energy giant Gazprom. Any assets they hold in areas under US jurisdiction could now be frozen. Also on the list are tycoon Suleiman Kerimov, under investigation in France over allegations he brought in millions of euros in suitcases full of cash, and Kirill Shamalov, a billionaire reported to be Putins son-in-law. Russias state arms exporter, a key tool in Putins efforts to support the modernization of his own military by selling advanced hardware around the world, was also added to the sanctions list. In all, President Donald Trumps administration targeted seven oligarchs, 12 companies they own or control, 17 senior Russian officials and the state-owned arms export company Rosoboronexport. The United States is taking these actions in response to the totality of the Russian governments ongoing and increasingly brazen pattern of malign activity across the world, a senior administration official told reporters. This included their occupation of Crimea, instigation of violence in eastern Ukraine, support for the Assad regime in Syria... and ongoing malicious cyber-activity, the senior official said. But most importantly this is a response to Russias continued attacks to subvert western democracies. Nevertheless, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said the new sanctions did not mean that Trumps offer to sit down with Putin in Washington is off the table. As the president has said, he wants to have a good relationship with Russia but thats going to depend on some of the actions by the Russians, she said. However, at the same time, the president is going to continue to be tough until we see that change take place. And were going to continue working forward in what we can to have that meeting and have a meeting with Vladimir Putin at some point. Russias foreign ministry promised a tough response and said the United States had joined the enemies of the market economy and honest and free competition as they use administrative methods to eliminate competitors such as Rosoboronexport. The requisitioning of private property and other peoples money is known as theft, the ministry added. Campaigners against Kremlin corruption welcomed the US move.Bill Browder, a US-born British financier whose lawyer Sergei Magnitsky died in a Russian jail while investigating alleged tax fraud, tweeted that Washington was finally hitting Putin and his cronies where it counts. The measures were taken under a US law passed to punish Russia for its alleged bid to interfere in the 2016 presidential election, engage in cyber-warfare and intervene in Ukraine and Syria. Trump had long disputed the idea that Russias alleged cyber-espionage and propaganda efforts sped him to victory in the election, seeking better relations with Putin. But Congress persisted, backed by evidence from US intelligence agencies, and in March the administration finally imposed sanctions on 19 Russian entities for malicious cyber attacks. In parallel, and to Trumps fury, former FBI chief Robert Mueller has been empowered as a special prosecutor to investigate possible collusion between the presidents campaign and Russia. So far Mueller has indicted 19 people, including 13 Russians, and reports suggest he may soon ask to interview Trump himself. US officials confirmed that their action against the oligarchs was in part related to Russias alleged interference in the US vote, but stressed the broader nature of their concerns. The Russian government operates for the disproportionate benefit of oligarchs and government elites, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said. Russian oligarchs and elites who profit from this corrupt system will no longer be insulated from the consequences of their governments destabilizing activities. Ties had already plummeted to a post Cold War low over last months attack on a former Russian double agent living in England. Sergei Skripal is recovering in hospital, but officials in Britain and its ally the United States say he was poisoned by Novichok, a nerve agent they say only Russian intelligence could have deployed. Trumps administration reacted by expelling 60 Russians they accused of being spies working under diplomatic cover and Moscow responded in kind.
BlackBerry Limited provides intelligent security software and services to enterprises and governments worldwide. The company leverages artificial intelligence and machine learning to deliver solutions in the areas of cybersecurity, safety, and data privacy; and endpoint security management, encryption, and embedded systems. It offers BlackBerry Spark software platform that includes a suite of security software products and services comprising BlackBerry UEM, BlackBerry Dynamics, and BlackBerry Workspaces solutions; and BlackBerry Spark SDK to promote the evolution of a platform ecosystem by enabling enterprise and independent software vendor developers to integrate the security features of BlackBerry Spark into their own mobile and web applications. The company also provides BlackBerry Internet of Things (IoT) solutions, including BlackBerry QNX, BlackBerry Certicom, BlackBerry Radar, BlackBerry Jarvis, BlackBerry AtHoc, BlackBerry Alert, SecuSUITE, and other IoT applications. As of February 28, 2021, it owned approximately 38,000 worldwide patents and applications. The company has a partnership with the University of Windsor to develop and deliver a cybersecurity curriculum for the university's graduate master's program in applied computing; and an agreement with Amazon Web Services, Inc. to develop and market BlackBerry's IVY, an intelligent vehicle data platform. The company was formerly known as Research In Motion Limited and changed its name to BlackBerry Limited in July 2013. BlackBerry Limited was incorporated in 1984 and is headquartered in Waterloo, Canada.

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Magna International Inc. designs, engineers, and manufactures components, assemblies, systems, subsystems, and modules for original equipment manufacturers of vehicles and light trucks worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Body Exteriors & Structures, Power & Vision, Seating Systems, and Complete Vehicles. Its Body Exteriors & Structures segment provides body and chassis systems, as well as engineering and testing services; exterior systems, including fascia and trims, front end modules, front integration panels, liftgate modules, active aerodynamics, engineered glass, running boards, truck bed access products, and side doors; and roof systems, such as modular and textile folding roofs, and hard and soft tops. The company's Power & Vision segment offers dedicated hybrid, dual and e-clutch, and manual transmissions; engine drive plates and accessories; AWD/4WD products, rear drive modules, and hybrid and battery electric drive systems; transmission, engine, and driveline components; advanced driver assistance systems, camera systems, ultrasonic sensors, and electronic controllers; interior and exterior mirrors, actuators, door handles, overhead consoles, and camera monitoring systems; head, tail, and fog lamps; signal and other lighting products; and latching systems, door modules, window systems, power closure systems, hinges and wire forming, and handle assemblies. Its Seating Systems segment provides seat structures, mechanism and hardware solutions, and foam and trim products. The company's Complete Vehicles segment offers vehicle manufacturing and engineering services. It also designs, engineers, and manufactures tooling products. Magna International Inc. was founded in 1957 and is headquartered in Aurora, Canada.

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This combination of pictures created on April 6, 2018 shows a group of young Mexicans helping a compatriot migrant to climb the metal wall that divides the border between Mexico and the United States to cross illegally to Sunland Park, from Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua state, Mexico. AFP

Ciudad Juarez, MexicoPresident Donald Trumps orders to deploy thousands of National Guard troops to secure the US frontier with Mexico did not stop one determined migrant from hopping the border wall on Friday. With the help of three other men  two to give him a boost and one to stand as a lookout  the young man jumped the rusty metal barrier that separates Ciudad Juarez from Sunland Park, New Mexico. The whole operation took less than two minutes. He couldnt get over! He was taking forever, said one of the men who helped him, telling AFP he has seen people scale the six-meter (20-foot) wall in one minute flat. He then ran off to avoid being spotted by US Customs and Border Protection. The young border jumper, who hailed from southern Mexico, meanwhile disappeared into the desert, running toward a group of houses just visible on the horizon.Trump has unleashed a flurry of furious tweets ever since seeing news reports on a caravan of more than 1,000 Central American migrants crossing Mexico toward the United States.On Thursday he ordered 2,000 to 4,000 National Guardsmen to the border  drawing a bitter reaction from Mexico. The activists organizing the migrant caravan have announced they will no longer try to reach the border en masse, and individual migrants and families have each begun going their own way. Many remain in central Mexico. But some have already made it to the border, according to Javier Calvillo, a Catholic priest who runs a shelter for migrants in Ciudad Juarez. Five migrants who were part of the caravan arrived here this week, but theyre already gone, he said. They crossed into the United States, or tried to.
Personal information belonging to more than 130,000 Finnish citizens have been compromised in the third largest data breach ever happened in the country.

The data breach affected a website maintained by the New Business Center in Helsinki (Helsingin Uusyrityskeskus), that is company that provides business advice to entrepreneurs.

Data batches have overwritten username and password for over 130,000 users. The violation occurred on an open website for business ideas (liiketoimintasuunnitelma.com). reported the local media Svenska.

After the discovery of the data breach on 3rd April, the new business center in Helsinki has taken down the affected website.

The bad news for the Finnish citizens is that the password stored on the website were in plain text.

The Finnish Communications Regulatory Authority (FICORA) is warning users of a massive data breach.

About 130,000 user accounts and plaintext passwords have been revealed. Other confidential information may also have been disclosed. Due to the number of user accounts exposed, this is Finlands third largest data breach. states the advisory published by FICORA.

We are very sorry for all the people who have been subjected to crime and who may be affected by mental or financial disadvantages. Unfortunately, we are not yet able to know exactly how many people are and what information this information breaks. We have filed an offense report, and the parties do not need to report to the police separately, said Jarmo Hyokyvaara, Chairman of the Board of the New Business Center of Helsinki.

The maintenance and security of our service was the responsibility of our subcontractor, our long-term partner. Unfortunately, the security of the service has not been enough to prevent this kind of attack. This is, in part, our mistake, and as a subscriber and owner of the service we are responsible for this.

The New Business Center in Helsinki added that detailed information about its users was not exposed because they were stored on a different system, which was not affected by the data breach.

The company reported the security breach to law enforcement that is investigating the case.

Once the website will be online again, users are recommended to change their passwords immediately, I also suggest changing the passwords on any other service online for which the customers used the same credentials.

Pierluigi Paganini

(Security Affairs  New Business Center in Helsinki, data breach)

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Malaysians are increasingly looking to Singapore for investment properties. This according to global property consulting firm Knight Frank. Speaking at the launch of the 12th edition of The Wealth Report in Malaysia, Knight Frank Malaysia executive director James Buckley said that besides Singapore, such investors were looking at other mature markets like UK and Australia.

The Malaysian investors were not only looking at traditional property sectors such as residential, office, retail and hotels, but are also diversifying their search for investment properties by looking into purpose built student accommodation, Mr Buckley said.

Investment properties

Image credit: Pixabay

Increasing student numbers and a structural under supply have driven rental growth and occupancy. Education is less correlated to the health of the general economy which investors are also attracted to, added Knight Frank Malaysia executive director James Buckley.

Student accommodation offers better returns as investment properties than offices and residential housing, are recession-proof and a great diversifier in any portfolio. Singapore was the largest cross-border investor in student housing assets globally in 2016, with our sovereign wealth fund GIC partnering global student accommodation specialists to buy such investment properties in Europe, Australia and America.

Knight Frank Malaysia associate director, international project marketing Dominic Heaton-Watson said for the London market, Malaysians are targeting city fringe locations that have connectivity and linked to rail, as well as high yield assets in east London.

Malaysians are investing in London for a few reasons. Firstly, they are looking at prime site assets that offer high yields, and secondly, its for diversification, he said.

Brexit fears appear to have had little impact on investment in student accommodation in the UK with levels increasing by 17 per cent in the year 2017. According to Mr Heaton-Watson, London still ranked No 2 in the future economic performance category.

Story continues

This is due in part to the impressive growth of the creative and tech sectors as well as large-scale infrastructure investment, he said.

According to data provided by Wealth X for The Wealth Report the number of ultra-wealthy individuals  those with US$50 million or more in net assets  increased by 10 per cent in 2017, equivalent to 11,630 individuals, taking the global population to 129,730.

Asia has overtaken Europe in absolute numbers of ultra-wealthy individuals. As at end of 2017, Asia boasted 35,880 ultra-wealthy individuals compared to 35,180 in Europe.

According to the Report Singapore is at the fifth spot on an overall global ranking as a favoured destination for property investments among the worlds ultra wealthy. In the Reports ranking of the cities that matter most to the ultra wealthy, Singapore also took fifth spot. It was the only city in Asia which occupied the top 5 spots.



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The post Investment properties in Singapore are red hot for Malaysian investors appeared first on iCompareLoan Resources.
Ernawati made great sacrifices for the well-being of her family. She was married at 14 to a man six years her senior and became the breadwinner two years later, when she first travelled to Saudi Arabia, to work as a domestic helper. She never complained, we are told, and earned enough to pay for one of the best houses on the rural outskirts of Sukabumi, a chaotic city of 318,000 people in West Java, Indonesia.

Ernawati now spends her days chained up in a small storeroom in the house she worked so hard to build, bound in such a way that she cannot properly stand. Now 23, she has no window or light and the door to her room remains closed for most of the day. She is forced to relieve herself where she lies, and most of the time she eats nothing other than rice and vegetables.

Hong Kongs domestic workers share stories of ill-treatment, poor living conditions and rights abuses

Her crime? She has been diagnosed with schizophrenia and we cant even afford to take her to the hospital, says her mother, Abtyah. We cant let her free because she harms herself and others. Even if I leave her a longer chain, she will start to kick the wall until her feet bleed, she adds.

Someone visits her every five days to provide medication  mostly sedatives such as diazepam  but we cant force the family to improve her living standards, says Sugih, a health worker at the rudimentary Sukabumi health centre. Its not uncommon for those who suffer mental disorders to be chained in Indonesia.

According to a 2016 report by Human Rights Watch, more than 18,000 people with mental illnesses are chained or locked up in the country. This practice even has a name  pasung. It was banned in 1977 but authorities admit that it still continues and have drafted a plan to fully abolish it next year, a plan that appears doomed from the start.

If free treatment is still restricted to 40 days only, families will keep their relatives locked up, says Abtyah, who doesnt believe that Ernawati is schizophrenic. In her opinion, her daughters distress has something to do with the last job she had.

Story continues

It was her third trip [to Saudi Arabia], Abtyah says. She stayed for two years the first time and 19 months the second. She was happy and made a good deal of money. But everything changed in 2016, when she again returned to the Saudi capital, Riyadh. She wanted to earn enough to provide a good education for the [three] children, aged between two-and-a-half and nine. A month later, I got a call from the consulate. They told me she was unwell and that she would be sent back.

Indonesias mentally ill abused and left to languish in shackles

Sukabumi authorities picked Ernawati up in Jakarta and took her to the local hospital.

She was a different person, Abtyah says. She was violent and refused to talk. Doctors said she was suffering from some kind of trauma, but soon Ernawati started to say that she couldnt remember what happened to her in Saudi.

Doctors thought she might have been a victim of abuse at the home she was working in, but still diagnosed her as schizophrenic.

Her mother opens the storeroom and Ernawati greets us with a broad smile. Her room smells. Do you know why your mother keeps you like this? I ask, through a translator. I dont know. But if she releases me I promise to be good, says Ernawati.

I ask whether something happened in Saudi Arabia. I cant remember. Ernawati pulls her hijab over her hair and begins singing verses from the Koran.

Her husband fled when he saw her in this condition, says Abtyah, failing to hold back her tears. My husband died in 2014, and I cant make enough money to sustain everyone.

[When Ernawati came back from Saudi Arabia] she was a different person. She was violent and refused to talk. Doctors said she was suffering from some kind of trauma, but soon Ernawati started to say that she couldnt remember what happened to her in Saudi

Abtyah, mother of Ernawati, a former domestic helper

Sugih believes a traumatic experience in Saudi Arabia could have triggered Ernawatis collapse, and points out that abuse in the Middle East is rife. Thats why [in 2015] Indonesia decided to ban domestic workers from travelling to 21 countries in the region, says the health worker.

Sexual abuse, slavery-like working conditions and even cases of murder have ensured the ban stays in place. Between January and July last year, 39 Indonesian domestic workers died in the Middle East and Africa, according to Indonesian government statistics, but many still find their way to those regions, assisted by traffickers. The United Nations estimated in January last year that there were close to half a million undocumented Indonesians working as maids in Saudi Arabia alone.

Human-trafficking fears after Filipino helper dies in mainland China

Most would rather be elsewhere, though.

Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore are the most sought-after destinations, says Isah, a Sukabumi sponsor, as scouts, or primary recruiters, are known. Isah knocks on doors looking for prospective domestic helpers and is the one others look for when they want to go abroad.

I tell them how it works, help to prepare the documentation required, and transfer them to an agent in Jakarta for training, says Isah, who is paid one million rupiah (US$73) per woman by the agent. But I have to bear the cost of their trip to Jakarta and only get paid if they pass the medical examination, she says.

Most of the time, employers [in Hong Kong] offer the minimum wage ... Although its a higher amount than the one offered in Singapore ... living conditions are usually worse because homes tend to be much smaller

Isah, domestic worker recruiter

The agent in the Indonesian capital, who must be registered with the government, arranges passports and visas, and provides training according to the requirements of the destination country.

It usually takes around two months for Hong Kong and Taiwan. They receive language classes and training in other skills, including house chores and elderly care, explains Isah, who was once a domestic helper herself. At 42, Im too old to go back. But I can use my experience to help others. Most women care only about their salary, but there are other factors to take into account.

Taiwan offers the best pay  about nine million rupiah  but also has higher demands. Most people there are hired to work with the elderly, which means they must have some Mandarin skills. Taiwan is also the only country where there are certain physical standards: women should be no less than 153cm tall and some employers even demand to know their weight.

Indonesia reviews Hong Kongs domestic worker conditions amid calls for further minimum wage rise

Hong Kong comes second, but is losing its appeal, she says, although, it seems, that is not because of the murder in 2014 of two young Indonesian women by British banker Rurik Jutting. The case involving Erwiana Sulistyaningsih, the Indonesian domestic helper tortured by her Hong Kong employer in 2013, has had some impact, but the women interviewed for this article cite wages and living conditions as the main reasons Hong Kong is losing its lustre.

Most of the time, employers there offer the minimum wage of about eight million rupiah. Although its a higher amount than the one offered in Singapore  six to seven million rupiah  living conditions are usually worse because homes tend to be much smaller, says Isah, who is about to send another three women to the Lion City. Thats why Singapores allure is growing among those who cherish a nicer environment.

A 2013 International Labour Organisation report estimated that 2.5 million Indonesians work as domestic helpers abroad, more than a third of all the migrant workers from the country, and many come from the Sukabumi region.

Its one of a few hotspots for maids in Indonesia; not because people here are poorer, but because success stories compel others to try and go abroad, says Jejen Nurjanah, co-founder of Serikat Buruh Migran Indonesia, an NGO that provides support and legal advice to domestic helpers.

Having herself worked as a domestic helper, Jejen has experienced the dark side of the occupation.

We now assist hundreds of women in need. Their main problems are physical violence, labour exploitation ... wage arrears, confinement and bureaucratic trouble

Jejen Nurjanah, co-founder of an NGO that provides support to domestic helpers

I was employed in Abu Dhabi when I fell from the second floor and broke my legs, she says. I was returned to my [receiving country] agent because the family refused to take care of me, and he locked me up. I couldnt move, so he took the chance to grope me. He tried to rape me, but I threw hot tea in his face. I discovered how helpless we are abroad.

On her return, after the intervention of police and a Philippine domestic helper organisation, Jejen met many women who had faced similar abuse and decided to do something about it.

We now assist hundreds of women in need, she says. Their main problems are physical violence, labour exploitation  many dont even get a weekly day off and are subjected to 18-hour workdays  wage arrears, confinement and bureaucratic trouble.

Spare me the crocodile tears, Hong Kongs treatment of domestic workers is modern slavery

Susilawati, 38, is still waiting to get paid. It has been more than a year since she returned to Sukabumi and her Malaysian employer owes her eight months wages, the equivalent of HK$24,100, an average annual income in Indonesia.

There was some problem with the residence permit and I was detained for four days. The employer released me on bail, but I guess he was scared of the authorities and bought me a ticket back to Jakarta. He asked me to open a bank account at home so he could wire the money, but he never did, claims Susilawati, who says she doesnt even know the name of the ethnic Chinese man who had hired her. It was something like Yu Su, she mumbles.

We are at Susilawatis home, and she shows me her passport, which highlights one of her weaknesses in bright purple ink. Illiterate, it says on the page where she is supposed to sign her name. She has worked abroad for the past 18 years, but cannot read or write.

That lack of education is common among Indonesian domestic helpers and, Jejen acknowledges, makes them vulnerable to abuse.

Everything was fine in the beginning, Susilawati says. They even increased my salary from 700 ringgit [US$181] to 1,500 ringgit. But there were a few hiccups. In 2005, my mother died and my employer didnt allow me to come back home for the funeral.

Hong Kongs errant domestic helper agencies are everywhere and unafraid of the law

In 2011, aside from my usual work, my employer demanded that I go to sell chickens in the market and made me work every day of the week. It was exhausting, because the couple has five children and I had to take care of them, too. And it was troublesome because the police found me in the market and I had no permit for such work, says Susilawati, explaining that in such circumstances, she was forced by both her employer and police officers to lie and say it was a one-off. A few times I was forced to lie to consulate authorities about my working conditions, too.

She will never work as a domestic helper again, she says. A mother of four, Susilawati wants to stay at home and away from trouble. She and her husband now grow rice and bananas on a small plot of land. They sell a little cows milk to neighbours.

When there is nothing to do in the field, my husband goes to a sand-processing plant as a labourer, so we can make anything between 20,000 and 100,000 rupiah per day, she says. Its enough to survive on.

Not every domestic helper has a horror story to tell, however.

There are horrible stories coming from everywhere, but those are still a minority, Jejen says. And we see an improvement of working conditions in many countries. Hong Kong and Taiwan are good examples, because they have approved regulations for domestic helpers. Having a strong legal framework helps the employers, the agents and the employees.

Their jobs improve their families living standards and raise womens status in society. But theyre also prone to abuse and exploitation. And that will only change when we empower women and sensitise employers

Jejen Nurjanah

Isah sees improvements. Minimum wages have also been slightly increased, and cases like Erwianas  she has turned to activism now  have helped to raise public awareness in the recipient countries.

Irma Santika, 29, is looking forward to returning to Hong Kong, where she worked between 2015 and last year, when her contract ended.

I will leave again at an auspicious date, she says, when we visit her home. A shaman will determine when its the best time to leave. The sooner, the better. But I think it wont happen until May, she smiles.

Indonesian domestic helpers Hong Kong success stories  how they save and take courses to open businesses back home

Like many others from Sukabumi, Irma was advised to leave by a family member. One of my aunts has been working in Hong Kong for a decade and she said a girl like me could make much more money there than farming here, she says. She was right. At first I was worried about the language barrier and I travelled to Saudi Arabia, where the pay is bad and the work exhausting because homes are much larger and there is no weekly day off.

Having worked for two years in Saudi Arabia, she returned to Indonesia, at the age of 16, to be married.

Then I chose to seek an agent to arrange for the training Hong Kong requires, she says. It took almost three months to learn basic Cantonese and English, but my conditions improved greatly.

Irma signed a labour contract in Indonesia and the agent paid her two million rupiah upfront. In Hong Kong, the agent takes half of our salary for the first six months, says Irma, who earned the minimum wage and appreciated the cleanliness and safety in the SAR. And if we have trouble with our employer, the agent takes care of us and looks for a new job.

Always on duty: foreign domestic helpers around the world

Laws are enforced, the police are not corrupt and people treat women better. The only thing I disliked is that my contract forbade me from wearing the hijab and praying, so I had to do so secretly.

Irma plans to work for another two years in the city before helping her husband open a home-appliances repair shop with the money she earns.

Men here are lazy, so women have to go abroad and work hard, she says, laughing.

Yiyin, 33, would agree with that. She worked in Saudi Arabia and made a considerable amount of money by Sukabumi standards, but managed to save nothing.

I had trouble with my husband, she says of the man she married at the age of 14, because he spent all the money I sent. At the beginning, I couldnt understand how, then my brother told me that he had a second wife and was spending the money on her. I wanted to build a house and buy a car, but 

Jejen has heard this story many times.

Men [in Indonesia] are lazy, so women have to go abroad and work hard

Irma Santika, domestic worker

Women work hard while men spend the money, she says. Its free flow for them. But families are strained by the long separation and couples often break up. As usual, women suffer the worst.

When she first left for Saudi Arabia, in 1990, Aliyah was a teenager  and an orphan. I had nobody to support my education, so I dropped out in third grade and managed to get some family members to lend me money to go there, she says. I thrived.

When she returned, she married, had a son and built a good house on the outskirts of Sukabumi. She became an inspiration for many other young women. However, when she returned from her second contract in the Middle East  this time in Kuwait  she did so to get divorced. My first husband neglected our son and misused our savings, she says.

Film review: The Helper  Hong Kong foreign domestic workers lives and dreams revealed in heartfelt documentary

Her second marriage was no more successful. I was the only one earning a living, so I had to leave for Malaysia for another two years, Aliyah says. It seems men cant wait that long without cheating on their wives.

Again single, Aliyah returned to Saudi Arabia. And there, she says, her life turned upside down.

I had bad luck and jumped employers a few times Aliyah recalls. At the home of one of them, I met a Filipino man who worked in construction and who I could talk to, because he had been working in Malaysia and spoke Bahasa.

They started a relationship and she ran away from the house in which she worked. A week later, they married. The couple rented a flat and Aliyah gave birth to a girl.

I had to work illegally and hide from the authorities because I had no contract, but everything was fine for almost four years, says Aliyah, who was eventually caught and repatriated.

When she returned to Sukabumi last year, Aliyah found that her house was no longer hers.

My brother had sold it without my consent, she says. And he had already spent the money. And then her Filipino husband disappeared, too. We had kept in touch for a while, but one day I found that his phone was out of service and I have had no news from him since.

In June last year, Aliyah decided to go back to work as a domestic helper, but failed to pass the medical examination Jakarta-based agents insist upon before any training is given. She was HIV positive.

I have no idea how I got infected, says Aliyah, crying. I dont know if my husband has it. I am just happy that my daughter is free from it.

Why foreign domestic helpers in Hong Kong must live in their employers home

They live together now in a wooden shack, a far cry from the comfortable house Aliyah worked so hard to build. She is estranged from her now-married son, and things are getting worse.

I have so many health issues that I cant stand for a long time, I cant work, and even small scratches  she points to one on her knee  dont heal and become a real problem. Aliyah is getting no antiretroviral medication and often feels unwell.

Families are strained by the long separation and couples often break up. As usual, women suffer the worst

Jejen Nurjanah

In Jejens opinion, Aliyah is a good example of how the personal lives of domestic helpers are shattered by repeated trips abroad. And we see a worrisome trend: girls are endangered at an earlier age because many agents are faking documents or paying corrupt officials to amend originals so that 14- and 15-year-olds appear as adults, says the activist. Some manage to get these girls to the Middle East despite the ban, using smaller airports to avoid controls and bribing officials to turn a blind eye.

Even so, Jejen believes domestic helpers abroad greatly help their local communities. Their jobs improve their families living standards and raise womens status in society, she says. But theyre also prone to abuse and exploitation. And that will only change when we empower women and sensitise employers.

Most are common families in need of a helping hand and mean no harm. But they need to realise that maids are also humans with families, and deserve to be treated as such.

This article Indonesian domestic helpers on sex abuse, slavery-like conditions they endure working overseas first appeared on South China Morning Post

For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2018.

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BRASILIAThe imminent jailing of Brazils Lula may have dealt a crippling blow to the countrys left, but it has also shaken up their political rivals on the right, most of whom are also under investigation for graft. There has been a deafening silence around the arrest of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is facing 12 years behind bars for taking bribes and money laundering, especially given that his political demise likely removes the main frontrunner in Octobers presidential elections. Operation Car Wash went much further than anyone expected, including those in the main parties, the big figures in Congress and even [President Michel] Temer himself, said Sylvio Costa, founder of the specialist website Congresso em Foco. In their minds, he would never go so far. They are completely stumped, he told AFP. And what was likely to be at the forefront of their minds was this, he said: If Lula, who is so popular and who has topped all the polls this year, becomes a prisoner, what is going to happen to me? According to Congresso em Foco, nearly 40 percent of lawmakers and federal senators are currently under scrutiny for alleged misuse of public money or for receiving backhanders. Breaking it down, more than half of Brazils 81 senators and just over a third of its 513 lawmakers have been ordered to appear in court in connection with allegations of graft. The arrest of a hugely popular figure like Lulawho was convicted for accepting a luxury seaside apartment as a bribe from a construction firm linked to Petrobrascomes in the context of a growing climate of violence. Last month, a campaign bus carrying Lula came under fire as it was traveling between towns in southern Brazil ahead of the Oct. 7 presidential election. Only one shot was fired and no-one was hurt but it raised the alarm over tensions ahead of the vote in which Lula had hoped to make a comeback.Even his chief rival, the outspoken hard-right populist Jair Bolsonaro, appeared to be at pains to calm the situation. Brazil has scored a goal against impunity and corruption, but its hardly that. The enemy still has not been eliminated ... This year, we must elect a president, a man or a woman who is honest, who has God in their heart and who is a patriot, he said in remarks far from his usual aggression-filled campaigning. Temer himself has kept silent. Last year, the conservative leader became the first president in Brazils history to be charged with corruption. Already charged on two counts and possibly facing a third, he has so far managed to escape trial through being shielded by a loyal Congress. But all that will change when he steps down from office. Writing on Twitter, Sao Paulo Governor Geraldo Alckmin, who is seeking to unite a wide range of right-leaning centrists in the upcoming election, said: It is regrettable to see the order to arrest a former president but I am convinced this symbolizes an important change in Brazil: the end of impunity. The law is applicable to everyone, wrote Alckmin who is running for the PSDB, a center-right party whose former head Senator Aecio Neves stood down as a candidate after being charged with corruption. And Rodrigo Maia, leader of the Federal Chamber of Deputies and also a former presidential candidate under investigation as part of Operation Car Wash, said nobody who holds public office in any country should celebrate an order to jail a former head of state. But on social media, it was a very different story with the arrest order hailed by civil society organizations who had backed the 2016 impeachment of leftist president Dilma Rousseff, Lulas protector and successor.
By Delphine Schrank and Lizbeth Diaz

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - A "caravan" of Central American migrants pressed on through Mexico on Friday, greatly diminished in size a day after hundreds of exhausted members left a field where they had been stranded all week, pressured by government officials who have been under fire from U.S. President Donald Trump.

About 800 people were left in the caravan, said Irineo Mujica, director of Pueblo Sin Fronteras, a group that has since 2010 been staging annual caravans to ensure safe passage for migrants and draw attention to their rights.

This year's caravan had about 1,500 migrants at its peak, but people began to leave the group after immigration authorities stalled it in the southern town of Matias Romero and screened men, women, and children following pressure from Trump.

Organizers later decided to end the caravan in Mexico City instead of the U.S. border as had previously been intended.

Pueblo Sin Fronteras director Mujica told Mexican radio from Campo Nuevo in the eastern state of Veracruz that he was with about 150 migrants from the caravan who were waiting to board a train on Friday.

Another 600 migrants, he said, mostly from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, had already made it to the central city of Puebla for a conference with U.S. and Mexican immigration lawyers who were due to give instructions on how to seek asylum.

Earlier, he had told Reuters the group was struggling to find transportation for the migrants. By Thursday evening, most of the women and children had boarded buses, leaving the park which since Sunday had been littered with piles of clothes and makeshift tents. The men, packs on their backs and lacking bus fare, prepared to board a freight train or to walk 24 hours to the next city.

Though not all of the migrants in the caravan who spoke with Reuters said they wanted asylum in the United States or Mexico, at least a dozen described facing lethal threats from gangs or even their own authorities.

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"Even in the night, it's not hot, but the cold assaults you," Carlos Francisco Portillo, a former soldier from El Salvador, said of the long walk. "You can't advance much," added another migrant from Nicaragua.

The train was barely safer, added Portillo, unless you strapped yourself to the roof for sleep to avoid falling off. His choice was to either take the freight train, walk all night, or head home to near certain death from a gang.

(Editing by David Gregorio)
A rebel ambush in Yemen killed dozens of Sudanese soldiers belonging to a Saudi-led coalition fighting on the side of the government, military sources and the insurgents said Saturday. The Iran-backed Huthi rebels hit the Sudanese military convoy in the northern province of Hajjah before dawn on Friday, according to military sources. The losses were reported to be the heaviest suffered by Sudanese troops in Yemen since they were deployed in the war-torn country in 2015. "The Sudanese soldiers were lured into a trap by the rebels" who allowed them to advance into areas where they were waiting to attack them, a Yemeni military officer told AFP on condition of anonymity. The Huthis reported the attack on their Al-Masirah website, saying dozens of Sudanese soldiers had been killed and armoured vehicles destroyed. There was no immediate comment from Sudan, which has deployed hundreds of soldiers as part of the coalition that Khartoum joined in 2015 after breaking decades-old ties with Tehran. On Thursday Yemeni military officials said hundreds of soldiers from Saudi Arabia and Sudan had arrived in the north to reinforce troops deployed around rebel stronghold Saada. President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi's government was driven from Yemen's capital after the Huthis overran the city in 2014, sweeping southwards from their northern bastion. The coalition led by mainly Sunni Saudi Arabia has since struggled to close in on rebel strongholds. Nearly 10,000 people have been killed since the coalition joined the Yemen war in 2015, triggering what the United Nations has called the world's largest humanitarian crisis. The Huthis have launched a string of ballistic missile attacks on neighbouring Saudi Arabia from northern Yemen. The rebels say the missile attacks are retaliation for Saudi-led air raids. Both the coalition and the United States -- a key ally of Saudi Arabia -- have accused Iran of arming the Huthi rebels. The Sudanese military has largely refrained from offering details of its operations within the coalition against the Huthis. In a rare announcement in April 2017 the army said that five of its troops had been killed while fighting for the coalition. In January 2016 the army had said it had lost one soldier in Yemen.
A high-ranking Islamic State commander in Afghanistan has been killed in an airstrike, officials said Saturday, as Afghan and US forces dial up attacks on the militant group. Qari Hekmat was the top commander of IS's Afghan franchise in the northern province of Jowzjan, where the group established a stronghold after coming under intense pressure in the eastern province of Nangarhar. Hekmat was killed Friday in an Afghan airstrike in Darzab district, the defence ministry said in a statement, describing him as "one of the key figures" for IS in northern Afghanistan. He was involved in or responsible for "deadly terrorist attacks" and has been replaced by Mawlawi Habib-ul-Rahman, the ministry added. Provincial governor Lutfullah Azizi confirmed Hekmat had been killed but said US Forces carried out the airstrike. US Forces did not immediately respond to AFP's request for comment. "Our intelligence sources have identified his body. His death will affect the recruitment of Daesh and disperse IS fighters in Afghanistan's north," Azizi said, using the Arabic acronym for IS. Afghan and US forces have ramped up airstrikes and ground offensives against IS fighters in Jowzjan in recent months as the group seeks to expand its foothold in the country. Afghan security forces last month detained a French woman fighting for IS in the same district of Jowzjan. AFP has reported that French and Algerian fighters, some arriving from Syria, have joined IS in the restive province. In January, Afghan forces caught the group's "head facilitator of foreign forces". Two months later, his two successors were killed in a US airstrike, NATO's Resolute Support mission said previously. Jowzjan provincial police chief Faqir Mohammad Jawzjani said Hekmat's death was "a big blow" to IS in the north. "He was the founder of Daesh in northern Afghanistan and had recruited fighters," Jawzjani said. He said Hekmat was killed on Thursday in a joint operation between Afghan and foreign forces. IS first emerged in Afghanistan in 2014 as NATO combat troops withdrew from the country and handed over responsibility to Afghan security forces. Despite being vastly outnumbered by the Taliban, IS has claimed responsibility for devastating attacks in Kabul and elsewhere in the country. Some Western and Afghan officials believe it has received help from the Haqqani Network, a brutal wing of the Taliban.
ANKARA (Reuters) - Some 108 Kurdish militants have been "neutralised" in operations targeting southeast Turkey and northern Iraq over the past week, Turkey's armed forces said on Saturday.

The military uses the term "neutralised" to refer to operations in which opposition forces have been killed, wounded or captured.

In a weekly roundup, it said it had neutralised 31 militants from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in the southeastern provinces of Tunceli, Mardin, Diyarbakir and Sirnak.

It said 77 other militants had been neutralised in cross-border operations.

Earlier on Saturday, the military said it had neutralised six militants in an air strike targeting northern Iraq's Hakurk region.

Turkey regularly carries out air strikes against PKK targets in northern Iraq, where the group is based in the Qandil mountains, but has also recently threatened to push its operations to Sinjar.

Ankara has long complained that PKK fighters are being given free rein to operate out of Sinjar against Turkish targets.

President Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey would do "what is necessary" if an Iraqi operation against the militants failed, raising the prospect of a possible direct Turkish military operation.

Turkish forces are currently waging a full-scale military operation in the Afrin region of northern Syria against the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia, which Ankara sees as an extension of the PKK.

The PKK, considered a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, has waged a three-decade insurgency in Turkey's largely Kurdish southeast that has killed some 40,000 people.

(Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu; editing by Jason Neely)
When British diplomat Sir George Staunton arrived in Zhoushan (or Chusan as it was known in the West) aboard warship HMS Lion in 1793, he warmly described the islands main harbour town of Dinghai as comparable to Venice.

He was not alone in his admiration. The East India Company had first tried to establish a British trading base in Zhoushan in 1700, and for the next 150 years, the British eagerly continued the effort, long before anyone considered the merits of Hong Kong.

Today, as my bus speeds past the smog-shrouded forest of chimneys and cooling towers that make up Ningbos industrialised eastern suburbs, en route to modern-day Zhoushan, it is difficult to share their enthusiasm.

Dinghai nowadays is becoming more a city of shopping malls and skyscrapers  no Hong Kong, certainly, but no boondocks either, says Liam DArcy-Brown, author of Chusan, a detailed history of European interest in the island published in 2012. Brown has kindly offered some guidance for the trip.

As the smog clears and the city of Dinghai comes into view in weak sunshine, it is easier to understand the attraction. The towns picturesque harbour offered British ships a well-protected deep-water anchorage, and an easily defended settlement in proximity to key trading centres in the Yangtze valley for much-coveted tea, porcelain and silk.

Today, the harbour is studded with dozens of modern merchant ships and narrow river boats, which cluster around the sleepy civil passenger terminal. It is hard to imagine that during the 1840s there were some 5,000 Europeans living in this area.

Theres very little evidence of the British presence left, sadly, Brown says. There are, however, still a few traces if you look carefully enough.

On July 5, 1840, during the first opium war, HMS Wellesley launched its first devastating broadside into this waterfront area of Dinghai, having issued a cursory ultimatum to General Zhang Chaofa. The battle lasted little more seven minutes as residents fled for neighbouring Ningbo.

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Troops under the command of Captain Charles Elliot landed and scaled a nearby rocky mount, which they called Joss House Hill.

Where a white Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) coastguard station now stands, British forces celebrated obtaining their first possession in China, more than six months before the flag was raised at Possession Point on Hong Kong Island  the area where British forces took formal possession of Hong Kong.

As Brown explains in his book, when British Foreign Secretary Lord Palmerston learned that Captain Elliot later withdrew from Zhoushan and agreed with the Qing authorities to swap the island for Hong Kong, he was livid. Elliot was promptly replaced by Sir Henry Pottinger, who ordered the military re-occupation of Zhoushan in September that year.

The details of the opium war in eastern China are largely forgotten in the West but not, it seems, in Zhoushan, where there is an immaculately maintained Opium War Ruins Park commemorating its impact on the city.

The park is on the picturesque wooded slopes of Xiaozhu Mountain to the west of the old port. In 1841 this area was a battlefield, a defending Chinese force of some 5,800 troops having dug themselves in. After six days of fighting the British 49th Regiment of Foot, also known as the Hertfordshires, were victorious, and pitched its tents; the area became known as 49th Hill.

Within the park, by the side of the granite steps that ascend the hill, the graves of some of the Chinese troops who died in the fighting have been restored and dot the bluebell-strewn slopes.

The three Chinese generals  Ge Yunfei, Wang Xipeng and Zheng Guohong  who died are commemorated in a memorial hall nearby. The spot where General Zheng fell in battle is marked near the gates of an old Buddhist temple complex.

There are one million people in Zhoushan and every one of them knows about the opium war, says local businessman Han Xue when asked about the history of Zhoushan as he walks with his wife through the park.

Han asks where I am from and if I know anything about what he refers to as the drugs war. However, when I explain my British ancestry, and ask him about the historical link between Zhoushan and Hong Kong, he offers no further comment.

Forgetting history means betrayal, warns a panel at the parks small museum, near the summit of the hill. Among the exhibits and drawings on display are some British cannons and the uniform of a 19th-century British army officer. At the museums entrance, a group of local schoolboys read about Zhoushans bloody history.

What is your feeling when entering the Dinghai ancient battlefield ruins of opium war or standing in front of the anti-British soldier memorial tombs? asks the panel. It then explains that this is where the first gunfire of the opium war occurred in 1840, an event that marked the start of modern Chinese history.

The schoolboys greet me in stilted English, but despite my attempts to question them in both English and Mandarin, they too shake their heads blankly at any reference to Hong Kong.

The terrace outside the museum offers a wonderful panorama over the spring blossom to the harbour below. Given the history lesson available inside, perhaps it is no accident that there is now a PLA naval base in the western harbour, where a ghostly grey frigate is berthed.

It is a delightful stroll along the peaceful, tree-shaded paths of the park on a sunny spring day. But walking east, back to the town centre, it is evident that the waterfront area has experienced a different fate from that of Hong Kong.

There is a noticeable absence of high-rise blocks of luxury flats, international banking headquarters or opulent shopping malls. Traditional shop houses sell nothing more glamorous than shackles, steel wire rope and industrial batteries, and the aroma of noodles, dumplings and samsa (a hot pastry envelope containing lamb and vegetables) emanates from the popular Xinjiang restaurants.

If Britain had not handed Zhoushan back to China and withdrawn its troops in July 1846, it might have been a very different scene. The island was retained only as a guarantor of Chinese compliance with the terms of the Treaty of Nanjing.

Many, like Benjamin Waterhouse  the agent for the British trading company Jardine Matheson on the island  lobbied the British government that if maintained as a free port, nothing could prevent Chusan from becoming an emporium of the first magnitude. Britain, however, kept its word and returned it.

The old city was about 1.5 kilometres inland  where the modern city centre now stands  but the old walls have long since been demolished, and the site of the old southern gate is now occupied by a Kentucky Fried Chicken outlet. A few old streets remain, and visitors can walk along the banks of the canals which enthused Staunton in the 18th century. They have not been manicured like the heritage districts of Ningbo and remain scruffy and authentic.

The steps that ascend Joss House Hill behind the old port are no longer accessible, but there is a concrete road which runs up from the western side near a row of seafood restaurants.

In front of an old stone wall is a curious stone monument with an inscription in Chinese. It is a monument to the British 55th Regiment, dedicated to the 430 soldiers of that regiment who died in Zhoushan between 1841 and 1844.

Only a handful of the regiment survived to tell the tale, and the stone was originally erected in the British cemetery to the west of the hill, which is now a construction site. The monument is the only surviving British funerary monument in China outside Hong Kong or Macau, Brown says.

The footprint of Imperial Britain, which made such a huge impact on Hong Kong, can still be traced on Britains first Chinese island. Locally, however, it is not a cause for much celebration.

Getting there: Hong Kong Express and Cathay Dragon offer direct flights to Ningbo (about 2 hours and 15 minutes from Hong Kong). An express bus service (about one hour) runs every 10 minutes from Ningbo South bus station to Zhoushan.

This article Zhoushan, the Chinese island that was very nearly Hong Kong, hasnt forgotten the opium war first appeared on South China Morning Post

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KARACHI, PakistanDancing and chanting in Swahili at a crocodile shrine outside Karachi, hundreds of Pakistani Sheedis swayed barefoot to the rhythm of a language they no longer speakthe celebration offering a rare chance to connect with their African roots. For many Sheedis, the swampy crocodile shrine to Sufi saint Haji Syed Shaikh Sultanmore popularly known as Mangho Piris the most potent symbol of their shared African past, as they struggle to uncover the trail that led their ancestors to Pakistan. Many, like 75-year-old Mohammad Akbar, have simply given up the search for their familys origins. The descendants of Africans who have been arriving on the shores of the subcontinent for centuries, the Sheedis rose to lofty positions as generals and leaders during the Mughal Empire, which ruled swathes of South Asia. But, actively discriminated against during British rule, their traditions began to fade, and they found themselves wholly shunned when Pakistan was created in 1947, absent from the countrys elite political and military circles. Figures are scant but it is generally accepted that Pakistan holds the highest number of Sheedis on the subcontinent, upwards of around 50,000 people. But their history has been scantily written, making it difficult if not impossible for Sheedisincluding even those like Akbar whose ancestors arrived in Pakistan relatively recentlyto trace their antecedents. I came to know in the 1960s that my grandfather belonged to Zanzibar, and we contacted the Tanzania embassy to find our extended family, Akbar told AFP outside his home in Karachi. We were told that we can never reach them until we can identify our tribe, which we dont know, he said. I never tried again. His plight is common, with little in the way of documentation or scholarship on the community. What is available suggests many arrived as part of the African slave trade to the easta notion rejected by many Sheedis, most of whom now reside in southern Sindh province. We dont subscribe to the theories that someone brought us as slaves to this region because Sheedis as a nation have never been slaves, argues Yaqoob Qanbarani, the chairman of Pakistan Sheedi Ittehad, a community group. Others say the communitys origins can be traced back to the genesis of Islam, claiming a shared lineage with Bilalone of Prophet Mohammads closest companions. As the knowledge of their origins has faded, so too have many of their traditions, including the vestiges of Swahili once spoken in parts of Karachi. Swahili has been an abandoned language for some generations now, says Ghulam Akbar Sheedi, a 75-year-old community leader. I remember that my grandmother would extensively use Swahili phrases in our daily conversation, says 50-year-old Atta Mohammad, who now struggles to remember even a few sayings. With so many traditions lost to the past, the Sheedi mela, or festival, at the Mangho Pir shrine has assumed rich significance and been the epicenter of the community in Sindh for centuries.They no longer know why it is held there, they are simply following in the steps and repeating the words of their ancestors. It attracts the Sheedi community from all over Pakistan, Qanbarani tells AFP. We celebrate Mangho Pir mela more than Eid, he adds. The celebration features a dancing procession known as the Dhamal, with men and women in trance-like statesa rare sight in conservative, often gender-segregated Pakistan. The Dhamal dance... is done with great devotion and much delicacy, says Atta Mohammad, who spoke with AFP at the festival. Some of us are captured by holy spirits. Mehrun Nissa, 65, prepares a sacred drink during the mela while translating from what she says is a Swahili dialect. Nagajio O Nagajio, Yo aa Yo.... means now we are leaving to have a drink from the bowl, she explains. Mangho Pir is also home to over 100 lumbering crocodiles that waddle between the devotees near a swampy green pond where they have lived for generations. Legend holds that lice on the Sufi saints head transformed into the reptiles who now live at the shrine. The oldest crocodileknown as More Sawab, and believed to be anywhere between 70 and 100 years oldis feted at the festivals climax with garlands and decorative powder while being fed chunks of raw meat. Even this tenuous link to the communitys past is in danger of being severed, however. The celebrations this March were the first time the festival has been held in nine years, after rising extremism saw Sufi shrines come under threat across Pakistan, with repeated gun and suicide bomb attacks. The situation was not suitable for us as children and women also participate in the mela, said Qanbarani, as heavily armed police commandos flanked the crowd. But with dramatic improvements in security in recent years the community hopes to continue the mela, celebrating traditions that have survived slavery, colonization, and modernization. It is a Sheedi community belief that by honoring the crocodile our whole year will pass in peace, tranquility and prosperity, explains Mohammad. We look forward to celebrating the mela next year, too, and forever.
Delectable chicken rendang. (PHOTO: AFP/Getty Images)

Companies and government agencies in Singapore have capitalised on the rendang-gate fray this week, with their own humorous takes on the controversy that rippled across Southeast Asia after a judge on a British cooking show complained that a contestants chicken was not crispy enough.

The comments about rendang on MasterChef UK have ignited outrage among the people of Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Brunei, who know very well that the dish is cooked in curry sauce and is not fried or crispy.

Recognising the opportunity for publicity, organisations in Singapore have poked fun at the issue in social media posts on Facebook.

Weve compiled some of the best responses so far:

1. IKEA

Swedish furniture store IKEA took the chance to promote its Tolerant frying pan, posting a picture of the kitchen utensil with the words, Tolerates everything. Except crispy rendang, and boasting that it could cook meals to perfection, crispy or not.

2. Singapore Civil Defence Force

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) reported on its fire-fighting efforts while making a dig about the delicacy, posting a warning against leaving cooking unattended.

An accompanying illustration shows a smoking frying pan on a stove, whose contents are labelled le crispy rendang.

Last year, SCDF attended to 402 fires caused by unattended cooking. Dont leave your cooking unattended. #CrispyRendang, says the post.



3. Tiger Beer

Homegrown brand Tiger Beer burnished its culinary credentials, saying, Not everyone gets authentic Asian dishes. But we do.

The beer maker posted a picture of a bottle of its product and a plate of nasi lemak with rendang, expressing its wishes for beer thats cold and rendang thats not crispy.

(Photo: Tiger Beer/Facebook)

4. Jollibee

Fast food chain Jollibee attempted to cash in by highlighting that it, in fact, sells crispy chicken for whoever craves it.

We dont sell rendang. But we do crispy rather well, said the company on its Facebook page.

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5. Ministry of Defence

Even the Ministry of Defence waded into the fray, using the opportunity to raise awareness of the history and wholesomeness of military field rations.

Unfortunately, weve yet to figure out how to make crispy chicken rendang field rations, lamented the ministry in its post.

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The most extraordinary part of A Quiet Place doesnt happen on screen, but in the theater. In an era of distracted viewing when cinemagoers often treat cineplexes as extensions of their living rooms, John Krasinskis hushed thriller not only compels active viewing but rewards itor make that active listening. In the movies near-future (its some time in the early 2020s), the Earth has been invaded by an alien species that relies on sound to target its prey, which means almost anything louder than a whisper can get you killed. The movie cheats its silences sometimes: Theres a score by Marco Beltrami and a scene where Krasinskis character and his wife, played by Emily Blunt, split a pair of earbuds and dance to Neil Youngs Harvest Moon, which fades in a little too desperately. But the movie, whose script is credited to Krasinski as well as Bryan Woods and Scott Beck, is admirably determined to stick to its (silencer-equipped) guns.

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Krasinski and Blunttheir characters are identified in the credits as Lee and Evelyn Abbott, but their names are never spoken aloudhave three children, the oldest of whom, played by Millicent Simmonds, is deaf, and much of the communication between them takes place in subtitled American Sign Language. (Simmonds is deaf in real life and helped teach the other leads.) The movie is never entirely silent, because the world is not, but it makes you hyperaware of the sounds our daily lives often drown out: the soft pad of bare feet on ground (the family goes so far as cushioning the trails around their house with sand), the scrape of a can as it comes off a grocery-store shelf, the sharp creak of a floorboard that will be familiar to any parent whos tried to creep past a sleeping childs room or any teenager whos tried to sneak past their sleeping parents. When the movie cuts to Simmonds point of view, those sounds arent replaced with silence, as they were during the sequences featuring Simmonds in Todd Haynes Wonderstruck, but by a dull, undifferentiated roar, as if someone had turned up a white-noise machine way too loud. The decision is probably partly tacticalmoments of pure silence in a movie theater become an instant referendum on which person in your row is scraping at the bottom of his popcorn bucketbut for a hearing audience, its more effective than simply cutting the volume. You can still hear, but it feels like your ears dont work.

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The movie makes you hyperaware of the sounds our daily lives often drown out.

Krasinski and Blunt are married in real life, with two daughters, and hes built the movies premise into a story thats not just about survival but about lineage. We only get as far as Day 473, which means it hasnt been much more than a year since the aliens landed (which, if you read the newspapers pinned up in Krasinskis command center, you learn was via meteorite, 1950s-style). But it seems as if humanity has been virtually wiped out, and what remains exists only in fearfully isolated pockets. When Krasinski goes to the top of his grain silo to light a signal firethe cities, one assumes, were the first places to gohes answered by a handful of others in the surrounding hills, but theres no suggestion that the survivors should band together or pool their resources. When so much as a stumble or an unguarded cry can mean instant death, theres safety in avoiding numbers.

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Given that premise, the fact that Krasinski and Blunts characters have decided to bear a child in the midst of an impending apocalypse seems about as plausible as a horror-movie victim striding into an unlit basement. A Quiet Place gives them motivation in the form of a family tragedy that takes place in its first few minutes, but it still feels almost homicidally negligent given that they still have two already-born children to protect. Its hard enough to hush a newborn when youd die for a full nights sleep, let alone when it might actually kill you. Here, at least, the movies thematic concerns take precedence over logistical ones. At first, the parents are consumed with keeping their children safe: If we cant protect them, she asks him, who are we? But as the children grow and the hope that help will arrive if they hold out long enough dwindles, their parents focus shifts to providing for what comes after them, knowing that after them could begin at any second.

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A Quiet Place would have greater cumulative impact if Krasinski devoted more time to the familys soundproofed existence and less to its action sequences. It feels like the movie is about 70 percent climactic showdown, with little time to let the feeling of living in a world without sound sink in. (A sequence in which the family sits down to dinner and, after clasping each others hands in prayer, scoops their food onto leafy plates, has a faint whiff of Jeanne Dielmans attention to the quotidian. I could have done with hours more.) But there are moments when the movie takes us firmly by the hand and escorts us down a darkened path, and they lead to one of the most profound of communal pleasures: the sound of a movie audience screaming as one.
Lean on Pete takes its name from a rundown racehorse that, at first, looks like it will provide a familiar emotional foil for a 15-year-old boy as his life falls apart in rural Oregon. This is a pleasing mode we know well: a child, failed by humans, finds companionship and maybe his future with the help of a loyal, seemingly understanding beast. For a while, Lean on Pete looks to fall nicely into this rhythm. But it is all a ruse. This is not a movie about a boy and his horse. It is something far more grueling and merciless, and as the film reveals itself in an increasingly jaw-dropping series of vignettes, its likely to leave you in tatters.

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Lean on Pete is the ugly-cry event of the spring.

Not everyone likes a movie that sneaks up on them, so be advised that Lean on Pete is the ugly-cry event of the spring. But it more than earns its emotional ravages. It opens as the boy, Charley (Charlie Plummer), sets out to find work to support himself and his absent, heavy-drinking father. He winds up at a ramshackle stable managed by a man (Steve Buscemi) whose avuncular qualities barely mask a dark side. Not long into his tenure, Charley becomes enchanted by the titular steed, especially as a violent incident at home leads him to take residence at the stable. In an early sign that this is a very different kind of entry into the boy-and-his-furry-companion genre, Pete has only a very horselike interest in Charley, namely when it comes to feeding and tender pats. Hes hardly anthropomorphized. After the first of the films many, many devastating events, Charley figures out what happens to racehorses when they no longer win, and he takes dramatic action to save his friend.

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I am being vague here on purpose, but its fair to say Charleys journey neither begins nor ends where it would in another movie. In a series of encounters with people on back roads, in the desert, and on vicious city streets, Charleys quixotic rescue mission quickly takes on a harrowing realism. He meets abused granddaughters, newly returned veterans, homeless alcoholics, and plenty of authorities, and each new experience morphs into a haunting examination of Americas fringes and the people who inhabit them. The movies eager, gentle energy becomes sparer and more unforgiving as it goes along. If you think it cant get worse, wait 10 minutes.

But Lean on Pete isnt a slog. Instead, it slowly becomes a riveting chronicle of survival. Its power comes from writer-director Andrew Haighs restraint: He depicts terrible things affectlessly, free from sadism or formal intrusion. Working from Willy Vlautins novel of the same namefans of which already know what theyre in forHaigh grounds the steadily more agonizing story by keeping his focus on what Charley is experiencing at any given moment. As the film takes us from star-capped frontier panoramas to squalid urban trailers, Haigh and Danish cinematographer Magnus Joenck focus on Charley in nearly every frame, so that his desperation becomes ours. Haigh remains most famous for his much-loved gay romance Weekend and his somewhat less-loved HBO series Looking, but here he returns to a mode more familiar from his Oscar-nominated 2015 drama 45 Years: observational, stoic, but also quietly tender. Its as if it pains him to show us what happens to Charley, even as his camera declines to look away.

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Which brings us to Plummer, an 18-year-old actor challenged with playing a teenager who cant let anyone see whats really happening to him. In a movie that shuns melodrama and easy release, Plummer does most of the work in his face, where his shifting expressions suggest a wily interiority. The films Pacific Northwest milieu and scenes from the edge already recall Gus Van Sant, and Plummer somewhat spookily evokes one of Van Sants early muses, River Phoenix, particularly the late actors circaRunning on Empty era of boyish vulnerability and haunted adolescence. At one point, their likeness had me straining into the screen for a closer look. Its hard to imagine Haigh didnt make the connection himself, and its a lofty ghost to conjure, but Plummer proves himself a worthy doppelganger.

Lean on Pete begins and ends with Charley running, bookends that suggest a story that remains in progress. Though we see a glimmer of possibility in the final scenes, it isnt clear what will happen to him. And it speaks to Lean on Petes transformative power that his forward motion in itself feels like a happy ending.
Rep. Ralph Norman, a Republican from South Carolina, apparently thought that the best thing he could do while meeting with constituents at a diner Friday was to pull out his loaded .38-caliber handgun and place it on the table for several minutes. Why? He wanted to make a point that guns are only dangerous if criminals have them.

I pulled it out to make a point that guns dont shoot, he said. People shoot. Norman is tired of the guns being blamed.

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Volunteers for the South Carolina chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America said that Norman argued that they were actually safer with the gun in the room. If someone walks into this restaurant shooting, Norman said he told constituents, Im going to shoot him. Im going to protect you and everybody else in here.

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Thats not quite how those in attendance saw it. Rep. Normans behavior today was a far cry from what responsible gun ownership looks like. I had looked forward to a respectful dialogue with my representative about common-sense gun violence prevention policies, said Lori Freemon, volunteer with the South Carolina chapter of Moms Demand Action for gun Sense in America. Instead, I felt unsafe when he insisted on showing us his loaded gun and keeping it out on the table for much of our conversation.

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Despite the criticism, Norman insisted hes not backing own. Im not going to be a Gabby Giffords, Norman told the Post and Courier afterward, referring to the former Arizona Democratic congresswoman who was shot outside a grocery store during a meeting with constituents in 2011. I dont mind dying, but whoever shoots me better shoot well or Im shooting back.

Mark Kelly, a retired astronaut who is married to Giffords, issued a statement saying that Congressman Norman is righthes no Gabby Giffords. In a tweet he also said that When I think of @GabbyGiffords, I think of courage and public service, not intimidating constituents.

When I think of @GabbyGiffords, I think of courage and public service, not intimidating constituents. Youre no Gabby, @RepRalphNorman. You pull out a gun when you are prepared and need to use it  not for a stunt. https://t.co/kkAHo2eSuE  Mark Kelly (@ShuttleCDRKelly) April 6, 2018

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Kelly was hardly the only one to criticize Norman. Sen. Jeff Flake from Arizona also blasted the South Carolina lawmaker for his words about Giffords. To suggest that she might have avoided being shot had she carried a weapon as she spoke to constituents that morning is inappropriate and inconsiderate, Flake wrote.
Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt is a man who is concerned about his safety. And that concern has come at a steep cost for taxpayers, adding up to some $3 million when pay is included with travel expenses, according to an EPA official who talked to the Associated Press about how Pruitt has been expanding his own personal security detail since coming into office. There is now a 20-member full-time detail on Pruitt, which is three times larger than his predecessors part-time security detail.

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It seems the increased spending on Pruitts security came shortly after he arrived in Washington and promoted a former Secret Service agent to head up his security detail. Pasquale Nino Perrotta, who operates a private security company, quickly began expanding the EPA chiefs security detail so he would be well guarded 24 hours a day, even on family holidays. Multiple agents, for example, accompanied Pruitt to a family vacation in Disneyland.

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The EPA insists Pruitt needs a large security detail because of the unprecedented number of death threats him and his family. But the need for day and night protection means many in his detail racked up lots of overtime and hit annual salary caps of some $160,000.

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These latest revelations come amid a growing list of scandals that have engulfed Pruitt. Trump reportedly asked Pruitt about these controversies during a meeting at the White House on Friday, according to Bloomberg. The president has reportedly reviewed documents related to a lease arrangement he had with a lobbyist to rent a bedroom in a Capitol Hill condo. That arrangement is reportedly the subject of an investigation at the House Oversight Committee. I dont have a lot patience for that kind of stuff, House Oversight Chairman Trey Gowdy told activists at a signing of his new book.

Even as the scandals continue to grow, several prominent conservatives are uniting to come to Pruitts defense. Hes a conservative hero, Dallas investor Doug Deason, whose family is a prominent right-wing donor, told Bloomberg. It would be a huge mistake to do anything other than come out and support him. A group of conservatives even delivered a letter to the White House on Friday to thank Trump for standing by Pruitt. The days of a rogue, agenda driven EPA are over, the group wrote. Scott Pruitt is a bold, capable manager and is right for this job. His record shows you made the right choice picking him. We are certain he will guide EPA through the coming years of your Administration as a courageous and qualified administrator.
Federal law enforcement authorities seized the classified ads website Backpage.com and hit the founder with charges as part of a broad operation that reportedly included lots of raids. Visitors to the site that has long been seen as a haven for online prostitution were met on Friday with a notice that said it had been seized as part of an enforcement action by the FBI, IRS, and Postal Inspection Service. The notice on the site doesnt specify the nature of the enforcement action. Although additional information was expected Friday evening a judge decided the case should remain sealed.

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Looks like no more details today. pic.twitter.com/wpM1wKphsq  Evan Wylge (@EvanWyloge) April 7, 2018

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Michael Lacey, a founder of the weekly newspaper Phoenix New Times and one of the founders of Backpage.com was charged in what appeared to be the end of a federal human-trafficking probe. His lawyer confirmed to the Arizona Republic that his client had been charged as part of a 93-count indictment that remained sealed. Law enforcement officers raided the Arizona homes of Lacey and Jim Larkin, another co-founder of the site.

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The website had long been engulfed by scandal as state attorneys general and anti-sex trafficking groups said it facilitated prostitution and sex trafficking. A senate investigation into sex trafficking, for example, concluded that the website selectively edited words out of ads while also helping posters figure out how to post ads that would not be taken down.

Cindy McCain, the wife of Sen. John McCain who has long spoken up against human trafficking, praised the enforcement action saying that she had long tried to get the company to change its ways. Im sorry that it came to this, she said. We had tried to work with Backpage for many years in an attempt to help them see that what they were doing was harming children and harming young women and young men. And we could never get through to them. McCain told the Arizona Republic that from her understanding officials raided every Backpage office around the world.

Lace and Larkin launched the online classifieds site in 2004 as they built up a network of alternative weeklies around the country. They bought out Village Voice Media in 2005 but later sold all their interests in newspapers in 2012. At the time, they characterized the move as a way to protect the papers from the scandals that engulfed Backpage.
Toxic fury: Mass shooters arent mentally disturbed. Theyre angry, Laura L. Hayes writes. Even when that anger makes itself known before things turn truly tragic, its hard to figure out how to intervene, partly because these men are so unpleasant, cruel, and difficult to be around. New tactics are clearly necessary.

Still around, somehow: Heres your master list of Scott Pruitt scandals, big and small, assembled by an incredulous Ben Mathis-Lilley.

Hooray: We have a new Justin Peters blog series, this time on watching YouTube. (If you missed his Watching Fox blog, catch up.) His first installment: How YouTubers made the recent shooting at the companys HQ all about them.

Behind her back: Dahlia Lithwick explains how high-profile victims of alleged sexual harassment and assault have found themselves betrayed by the lawyers who were supposed to represent them.

For fun: DDL rides the subway.

Taller than I thought,

Rebecca
Hundreds of people attended a funeral Saturday for a Palestinian journalist in Gaza who was killed by Israeli fire while he was covering a demonstration at the Gaza border on Friday. Videos and photos show that Yasser Murtaja, 31, was wearing a blue and white flak jacket labeled PRESS across the front and was holding his camera when he was shot just below the armpit. He was one of six journalists injured during the Friday demonstrations. The Israeli military vehemently denied it targeted journalists but could not explain Murtajas death. The Israeli Defense Forces does not intentionally fire on journalists. The circumstances in which journalists were hit, allegedly by IDF fire, are unknown to us and are being examined, an IDF spokesperson said.

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Hundreds of mourners attend the funeral of Yaser Murtaja, a popular and distinguished journalist killed by Israeli forces while doing his job yesterday. pic.twitter.com/HCXwUl1tK7  Liam O'Hare (@Liam_O_Hare) April 7, 2018

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We were filming as youths torched tires. We were about 250 meters (820 feet) from the fence, freelance photographer Abu Amra told Reuters. Israeli forces opened fire and injuries began. Yaser and I ran to film when suddenly Yaser fell to the ground.

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In a Facebook post written on March 24, two weeks before Israeli forces killed him, Yasser Murtaja writes of his wish to take photos from the air, not the ground, and says: "My name is Yasser Murtaja. I'm 30. I live in Gaza City and all my life I've never traveled." pic.twitter.com/7dcOgDrXck  Alex Kane (@alexbkane) April 6, 2018

At least nine Palestinians were killed and 491 others were wounded by Israeli troops in what was the second mass protest at the border in eight days. This time protesters sought to cloak themselves by burning lots of tires and using mirrors to reflect the sun into the eyes of soldiers. The Israeli military justified its response by saying that several attempts have been made to damage and cross the security fence under the cover of the smokescreen created by the burning tires that the rioters ignited. The Israeli army estimated that some 20,000 people participated in the Friday protest, which was about half of the size of last weeks demonstration. Hamas says the fear of smoke inhalation from the burning tires likely kept many people away from the protest.

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The deaths from Fridays protest mean that at least 31 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since last week, according to the Associated Press count. Hamas, the militant group that rules Gaza, has called for a series of protests until May 15, which Palestinians know as Nakba Day or Day of Catastrophe, marking the day after the date of Israels 1948 founding.
One thing America has learned an awful lot about this past year is nondisclosure agreements. Weve learned how theyre signed, how they are litigated, and how they can turn into libel suits. The other thing weve learned a lot about is lawyers, and how they can use these agreements to do all sorts of things. With news about former Fox News host Bill OReillys settlement agreements emerging this week, weve also learned that a lawyer can represent one side in an agreement, then represent the opposing side.

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More and more, it looks like there are only about eight guys negotiating, advising, and also mediating the shoddy NDAs that govern what women can and (mostly) cant say about the men who rule Hollywood, the media, and the U.S. government. Its all so cozy and beautiful, really. Unless youre the alleged victim, and nobody lets you in on the joke.

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Unsealed settlement agreements between OReilly and two of the women who have accused him of sexual misconduct were made public for the first time this week. A judge released them as part of an ongoing defamation lawsuit against OReilly and Fox News in the Southern District of New York. These settlement agreements are just two of the six known agreements adding up to about $45 million paid out to silence women who accused OReilly of sexual harassment and verbal abuse.

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The defamation suit has three named plaintiffs: Andrea Mackris, a former Fox News producer, who filed a sexual harassment suit against OReilly in 2004; Rebecca Gomez Diamond, a former host on Fox Business Network, who accused OReilly of sexual harassment before settling with him in 2011; and Rachel Witlieb Bernstein, a former Fox News employee who settled with OReilly in 2002 after alleging abuse that did not include sexual harassment. The three women claim that OReilly, Rupert Murdoch, and Fox falsely depicted the women with whom he had signed confidentiality agreements as liars, political operatives, and extortionists after news of OReillys decadeslong history of sexual misconduct was reported by the New York Times a year ago. OReilly has consistently claimed that he did nothing wrong, and that he merely settled with these women to protect his children.

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In an effort to get their defamation suit dismissed, OReilly cited the settlement agreements while moving to keep the documents sealed. He also tried to move the matter to confidential mandatory arbitration. On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Deborah A. Batts refused to order the agreements sealed, saying that OReilly has failed to present compelling countervailing factors that could overcome the presumption of public access to the agreements in question. So the agreements, in all their glory, are now public.

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Thanks to Batts ruling, we now know that the agreements signed by Mackris and Diamond required them to turn over all evidence to OReilly, including audio recordings and diaries. Mackris was also required to disclaim these materials as counterfeit or forgeries if they ever became public, a condition that Mackris new lawyers argue forced her to lie even  under oath.

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The other truly jaw-dropping new revelation was that Mackris lawyer, Benedict Morelli, agreed to work for the other side. Heres the exact text of the provision:

As an inducement to OReilly and Fox News to enter into this Agreement, and as a material condition thereof, the Morelli Firm (i) agrees to provide legal advice to OReilly regarding sexual harassment matters, and (ii) warrants and represents to OReilly and Fox News that it will not, and will not knowingly permit any of its employees, agents or representatives to represent, assist or cooperate with any other parties or attorneys in any action against OReilly, Fox News or the Companies arising out of actual or alleged sexual harassment issues, nor will they encourage any other parties or attorneys to commence any such action or proceeding.

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In other words, the settlement provides that Morelli will give OReilly legal advice on sexual harassment issues and promises that Morellis firm will no longer provide any legal advice to anyone suing Fox or OReilly. Its hard to read that as anything but Mackris lawyer changing sides and joining forces with OReilly as a condition of the settlement agreement. As the Times goes on to note, politely, Such arrangements are considered unethical in the legal community because they can create conflicts of interest between lawyers and their clients and sideline lawyers who have the expertise to bring claims against companies and individuals.

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Its hard not to see a pattern of lawyers holding themselves out as defenders of women while working the back channels to help protect the accused.

Rule 5.6(b) of the American Bar Associations Model Rules of Professional Conduct bars lawyers from entering an agreement in which a restriction on the lawyers right to practice is part of the settlement of a client controversy. And the New York State Bar Association further provides that [a] settlement proposal that calls on the lawyer to agree to keep confidential, for the opposing partys benefit, information that the lawyer ordinarily has no duty to protect, creates a conflict between the present clients interests and those of the lawyer and future clients.

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David Luban, who teaches legal ethics at Georgetown Law, explains that this rule was put in to stop the common practice of including as a term in settling a case that the plaintiffs lawyer cant take any other cases suing the defendant on a related matter. The idea behind inserting a term like that was to take out an especially competent, nettlesome adversary who already understands the nature of the cases and knows a lot about the defendant.

Luban adds that the clause in Mackris settlement agreement appears to be an end run around the rule by having OReilly retain Morelliits not a promise not to work as much as a mechanism to ensure Morelli is conflicted out. His conclusion: This is sleazy  but probably doesnt violate the rules. Subodh Chandra, a plaintiffs civil rights lawyer who has taught professional ethics, says, The double dealing here is extraordinary. To throw yourself into the arms of the opposing parties while settling a case for your client? And to forswear youll ever represent anyone else against them again? That doesnt just raise my eyebrowsit pops them right off of my head.

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Whether Morelliwho maintains that Every step we took was to negotiate the best possible deal for Ms. Mackrishas stepped in a steaming hot pile of ethics violations is a technical question. But its hard not to see a pattern of lawyers holding themselves out as defenders of women while working the back channels to help protect the accused.

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If the OReilly gambit sounds familiar, its because weve heard a similar tale very recently. Last month, Karen McDougal filed a lawsuit in the Los Angeles County Superior Court against American Media Inc. (the parent company of the National Enquirer) seeking to invalidate an NDA preventing her from discussing an alleged affair with Donald Trump. Stephanie Clifford, aka Stormy Daniels, is famously attempting to have her NDA tossed out as well. Both women shared an attorney, Keith Davidson, who is also making news this week, because its no longer entirely clear whether he was working for his clients interests or those of the accused when he had them sign their NDAs. As Scott Pilutik wrote in Slate, McDougal claimed that while he was representing her, Davidson was also communicating with Donald Trumps attorney, Michael Cohen, despite the fact that Trump and Cohen were not parties to McDougals agreement with American Media.

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In an interview with CNN on Wednesday, Davidson claimed that while Cohen has urged him to speak publicly about his representation of Daniels and McDougal, he has been advised by an ethics lawyer not to do so. In that interview, Davidson acknowledged reaching out to Cohen during the final stretch of the 2016 presidential campaign to let him know that he had just negotiated a deal with a powerful media company and McDougal that effectively kept her allegations of an affair with Trump out of public view. He deemed the call a professional courtesy.

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The cherry on top is that the 2004 settlement agreement between OReilly and Mackris evidently went to arbitration in 2007, at which point the settlement was amended. The mediation happened before Marc Kasowitz. As Eriq Gardner observes at Hollywood Reporter, Kasowitz isnt just Donald Trumps longtime personal attorneyhe also later represented OReilly himself. After the Times reported on OReillys harassment settlements last year, it was Kasowitz who put out a statement saying that Bill OReilly has been subjected to a brutal campaign of character assassination that is unprecedented in post-McCarthyist America. This law firm has uncovered evidence that the smear campaign is being orchestrated by far-left organizations bent on destroying OReilly for political and financial reasons.

So, summing up? The guy who mediated the OReilly-Mackris agreement not only went to work for OReilly but also works for the president. But everything is aboveboard here, let us assure you. Its more than depressing in this moment of unprecedented transparency to unearth a secret world of interconnected power lawyers who all row in the same direction for their interconnected power clients. It doesnt much feel like a fair fight when everywhere you look, its the same eight guys versus Gloria Allred.
Some high-flying Silicon Valley companies are famous for the perks they provide to their employees. One of those perks at the top of the list consists of free food and beverages.

Not only do many of those companies provide coffee, soft drinks and snacks, but quite a few actually have full restaurants on site serving hot meals each day.

At one point about six years ago it was estimated to cost Google over $70 million a year to provide free meals to its employees.

Before you fall on the floor in a faint from hearing that number, keep in mind that no one is suggesting you go broke providing free food and drink. It is possible on a modest budget to get the positive impact that comes from providing a stocked break room.

We have a few suggestions for cost effective ways to stock your break room. But first, lets take a look at why it makes business sense to provide beverages and snacks to employees.

Four Good Reasons to Offer A Well-Stocked Break Room

1. Employee Satisfaction

Small businesses like ours may not always be able to match salaries at some larger companies, but studies show that people work in small businesses in part because they like the atmosphere. Anything you can do to make the workday more pleasant, helps your business compete in the employment market, and retain loyal employees.

Remember to try to walk in your employees shoes. As a business owner you might prefer an upscale lunch out once a quarter or an offsite retreat, but employees may value the little niceties that make every day more enjoyable (such as free coffee or subsidized soft drinks).

2. Productivity

Snacks and beverages keep people at the office longer and minimize trips outside the office. People whose bellies are grumbling or who need a boost of caffeine wont be running out to pick up coffee or snacks as often, if there are options right on site.

3. Health

By providing low-calorie and low-sugar snacks and drinks, you can give employees a healthy alternative to fast food and soft drinks. Nearby restaurants may be filled with fast food and high calorie choices. You can reaffirm your companys commitment to staying healthy by the choice of snacks you provide, and potentially contribute to a healthier workforce.

4. Cost

Yes, it costs more to provide snacks and beverages in a break room than not to. But compared to the costs of other perks, such as tuition reimbursement plans or expensive holiday bashes, it may be less expensive and appreciated more. The break room may be available to more employees, too, as more can take advantage of it but may not necessarily be able to attend a holiday party or take advantage of some benefits. Also, snacks in the break room tend to have low overhead and fewer complexities in terms of administration, compared with some other benefits  mainly just stocking and cleaning.

And there are ways to save money.

Stocking the Break Room Inexpensively

Having a well-stocked break room doesnt mean infinite choices or that everything needs to be free.

Limit the items you provide for free. Youre not Google, after all! Most companies look at providing coffee and tea service, a bottled water cooler, and perhaps some inexpensive snacks such as pretzels and fruit.

Provide vending machines for more choices. You can always subsidize the cost of items in a vending machine. For example, you pay half the cost of soft drinks and snacks, and employees pay the other half.

Make one day of the week or month special, where you bring in food. For instance, Fridays could be the day you bring in bagels and fruit salad for everyone. Or once a month bring in pizza or a sandwich tray for lunch. And dont forget the healthy and low-cost alternatives on those days, such as veggies and yogurt dip.

Provide refrigerators and microwave ovens to encourage people to bring their own food. Just having a place to store and heat up the meal you bring to work with you, can be a positive thing.

Buy in bulk. And shop around. You can save a lot of money just through intelligent buying.

Finally, consider letting employees have a say in the choices. You may be surprised what they opt for if you indicate what the monthly budget is. You might even consider taking a company vote giving choices for break room items. Just giving a choice may build positive sentiment in its own right, because you are empowering employees by letting them decide.
Enchong and Maja with a fan (center) from Africa

Enchong Dee and Maja Salvador were taking photos around Paris, France when a woman approached them and called them by the name Ethan and Margaux, their characters in the now defunct primetime series Ina, Kapatid, Anak. In a video posted by Enchong on his Instagram account, the Kapamilya actor asked the woman named Alimah, where she watched their show, to which the woman quipped, In Senegal. It is in Africa. I am very happy to see you because I love this (series) with Margaux, Ethan, and Celine. Enchong also took the opportunity to thank their African fans. His caption read, Shoutout to our beautiful and uber supportive Kapamilyas in Africa. Hoping to visit some countries in Africa one day.Ina, Kapatid, Anak, with the international title Her Mothers Daughter aired in Senegal and other parts of Africa in 2016.It tells the story of Celyn (Kim Chiu) and Margaux (Salvador), two different women who grew up living two very different lives. Celyn was raised in an impoverished family in a province, while Margaux had the life of a princess as the heiress of the countrys biggest shoe company. More ABS-CBN content is expected to air in Africa after the network closed a volume deal with StarTimes, the leading digital TV operator across Sub-Saharan Africa, in October last year. The partnership was made in response to African viewers demand for more Filipino dramas. For more information, visit ABS-CBN International Distributions official website at http://internationalsales.abs-cbn.com.
Usefulness Content Freshness Tired of not seeing the connection between workplace culture and profits? Written by a 25-year experienced international management consultant, Corporate Superpower: Cultivating a Winning Culture for Your Business is the book for you. This book breaks down workplace culture into a simple framework that helps you understand how the pieces of your business workplace culture fit into your goal of being a competitive brand and powerful workforce.

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If culture eats strategy for breakfast as the Peter Drucker quote suggests, whats on the menu? Workplace culture has gained widespread business attention, but definitive answers are elusive. What is a good workplace culture? Is workplace culture the latest HR fad or is it something that every business needs to worry about?

Corporate Superpower: Cultivating a Winning Culture for Your Business is a book that clears the confusion around workplace culture to help businesses learn how to leverage it for competitive success.

What is Corporate Superpower About?

Long gone are the days where the only thing a business needed to offer is good benefits. Todays worker is also looking for a job with a good workplace culture. With websites like Glassdoor, its easier for employees to quickly share aspects of their work culture with the world. This means businesses must now consider customer and employee reviews when marketing their brand.

The problem is, as Oleg Konovalov points out, few businesses understand workplace culture. An even smaller number of businesses know how to leverage workplace culture into a powerful and competitive asset.

Thats why Konovalov tackled the vague concept in his book, Corporate Superpower. In the book, he admits workplace culture is a complex topic:

Culture is intangible, but valuable and critical in terms of the companys existence and success. Yet,itis not simply something to manage. (p. 61)

In other words, you cant put workplace culture on a to-do list and then forget it. Workplace culture must be proactively shaped.

To help business owners understand workplace culture, Konovalov breaks it down into a 3-layered concept with pragmatic, psychological, and transcendent levels. By analyzing workplace culture this way, businesses learn how it works and how to build a better workplace.

That better workplace has what Konovalov calls a strong workplace culture. Strong workplace cultures are professional, excellent at communication and adaptable. They fully leverage their limited resources (time, people, technology) to become a powerfully competitive brand backed by a fully engaged team.

Konovalov is a management consultant, Forbes contributor, author and speaker with over 25 years of experience in assisting businesses with complex business problems. In addition to helping leaders run their businesses, Konovalov runs his own businesses in the UK, Russia and Scandinavia.

What Was Best About Corporate Superpower

Corporate Superpower brings Konovalovs deep insights as a management consultant into the complicated world of workplace culture. Unlike other books on workplace culture, this book doesnt get bogged down in abstract terms and ideas. Instead, Corporate Superpower provides clear definitions and straightforward discussions. This is a perfect alternative for readers who complain workplace culture books are too vague or dont seem applicable.

What Could Have Been Done Differently

While Corporate Superpower explains workplace culture well, it also introduces some concepts that might confuse readers. Specifically, Im talking about metaphysics. Although the metaphysical sections of the book are brief, they dont contain the clarity readers find in other sections. For example, in chapter 10, the book urges leaders to assess their metaphysical resources. Very little explanation of these resources is actually discussed in the book.

Why Read Corporate Superpower

Corporate Superpower is best suited for the business leader who wants to understand workplace culture at a deeper level without hiring an expensive consultant. The book draws on Konovalovs experience as a consultant and teacher to break down complicated concepts, so readers can see the bigger pieces of the workplace puzzle. Using Corporate Superpower, readers can better understand the connection between workplace culture and workplace productivity
The crisis Facebook is going through doesnt seem to be slowing down as CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed yet another practice users  and small businesses especially  will very likely find worrying at best and disturbing at worst. Zuckerberg told Voxs Ezra Klein Facebook scans private messages and the content data sent between users.

Any other time, the reason behind this practice, which is to check the content doesnt conflict with its community standards, could probably be explained away easily. But this is a very bad time for Facebook, as the company tries to cope with the Cambridge Analytica fallout and other data privacy concerns.

For small businesses using Facebook Messenger to communicate with their customers, employees and partners, the latest revelation couble be troubling. Because Bloomberg reported, Facebook scans the links and images people send to each other on Messenger. And if the content is flagged, the chats are read to ensure they abides by its policies.

The next obvious question is, how much of the conversation does Facebook really read?

Bloomberg says, The policy may extend beyond what Messenger users expect. For its part, Facebook explains the system it has in place uses an automated process with photo matching technology to scan images for bad content. It also adds, Messenger doesnt use the data from the scanned messages for advertising.

Facebook told Bloomberg, Facebook designed these automated tools so we can rapidly stop abusive behavior on our platform. But users probably have more questions than answers, and Facebook is trying to follow through with new policies.

New Data Policies

In light of the revelation Facebook scans private messages, among other revelations, Facebook issued a press release to make its data policy more clear.

In the release, the company is clearly trying to reassure, insisting, Were not asking for new rights to collect, use or share your data on Facebook. Were also not changing any of the privacy choices youve made in the past.

With losses totaling around $100 billion in market cap value since the Cambridge Analytica issue came to light, Facebook is doing everything it can to stop the hemorrhaging. This includes Zuckerbergs decision to testify on Capitol Hill on April 10 and 11 before a joint hearing of the Senate Judiciary and Commerce Committees as well as the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

In an official joint statement, Reps. Greg Walden and Frank Pallone, the top Republican and Democrat on the panel, said, This hearing will be an important opportunity to shed light on critical consumer data privacy issues and help all Americans better understand what happens to their personal information online. We appreciate Mr. Zuckerbergs willingness to testify before the committee, and we look forward to him answering our questions on April 11th.
New cave discovered in Demanovska Valley

The cave is unique because its climate.

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There are about 300 caves in Demanovska Valley and most of them are connected in a 40 kilometre long Demanovsky cave system. A new addition to the known system is the recently discovered cave Chladivy dych (Cool Breath).

I noticed a small hole the size of a human head under a rock. Warm air was coming out from the hole and nearby moss had drops of water, which meant that I was near wet cave air, said Pavol Herich, the head of the Speleology club, as cited by the TASR newswire.

He measured the temperature the next day and together with an expedition group started to dig.

They found a 600 metre long cave. Even though there are about 80 similar caves in Slovakia, this one is unique, according to Pavol Herich, because its climate.

Air inside the cave has a strong flow. Only a few caves have a climate like this. Moreover, it was probably filled with ice during the ice age, Herich said, as quoted by TASR.

Besides that, the cave is home to several kinds of bats; finding the bat home enriches knowledge about their overwintering places. However, the most important factor is the formation of the cave, which aids in understanding the middle heights of the Demanovsky cave system.

Its like finding a missing piece that we assumed was somewhere. But before we found it we didnt know if this part of the cave system existed or where it was located, explained Herich for TASR.

The Demanovska Valley hides many unknown places that can be helpful when researching climate development as it provides insight into past climate changes.

There are many caves in Slovakia. About 7,000 have been discovered but the majority are not accessible to the public.

7. Apr 2018 at 7:55 | TASR, Compiled by Spectator staff
The following companies are subsidiares of Sysco: 2234829 Alberta ULC, 2234842 Alberta ULC, A. M. Briggs Inc., A.M. Briggs, Almacen Fiscal Frionet Caldera S.A., Almacen Fiscal Frionet Limon S.A., Appert's Foodservice, Arnotts (Fruit) Limited, Asian Foods, Bahamas Food Holdings Limited, Bahamas Food Services Limited, Brake Bros, Brake Bros Foodservice Ireland Limited, Brake Bros. Foodservice Limited, Brake Bros. Holding I Limited, Brake Bros. Ltd., Brakes Foodservice NI Limited, Buchy Food Service, Buckhead Beef Co., Buckhead Meat & Seafood of Houston Inc., Buckhead Meat Company, Buckhead Meat Midwest Inc., Buckhead Meat of Dallas Inc., Buckhead Meat of Denver Inc., Buckhead Meat of San Antonio LP, Buzztable Inc., CAKE Corporation, Central Seafood Co., Christys Wine & Spirits Limited, Clafra Aktiebolag, Colorado Boxed Beef Co - Specialty meat-cutting division, Corporacion Frionet Sociedad Anonima, Crossgar Foodservice, Crossgar Foodservice Limited, Crown I Enterprises Inc., Cucina Acquisitions (UK) Limited, Cucina Finance (UK) Limited, Cucina French Holdings Limited, Cucina Fresh Finance Limited, Cucina Fresh Investments Limited, Cucina Lux Investments Limited, Curleys Quality Foods Limited (Third Party), Davigel Belgilux S.A., Davigel Espana S.A., Desert Meats & Provisions, Distagro, Doerle Food Service, Doughtie's Foods Inc., Dust Bowl City LLC, Eko Fagel Fisk o mittemellan AB, Enclave Insurance Company, Enclave Parkway Association Inc., Enclave Properties LLC, European Imports, European Imports Inc., Figg Inc., Freedman Meats, Freedman Meats Inc., Freedman-KB Inc., Fresh Direct (UK) Limited, Fresh Direct Group Limited, Fresh Direct Limited, Fresh Holdings Limited, FreshPoint, FreshPoint Arizona Inc., FreshPoint Atlanta Inc., FreshPoint California Inc., FreshPoint Central California Inc., FreshPoint Central Florida Inc., FreshPoint Connecticut LLC, FreshPoint Dallas Inc., FreshPoint Denver Inc., FreshPoint Hawaii LLC, FreshPoint Inc., FreshPoint Las Vegas Inc., FreshPoint North Carolina Inc., FreshPoint North Florida Inc., FreshPoint Oklahoma City LLC, FreshPoint Pompano Real Estate LLC, FreshPoint Puerto Rico LLC, FreshPoint San Francisco Inc., FreshPoint South Florida Inc., FreshPoint South Texas Inc., FreshPoint Southern California Inc., FreshPoint Tomato LLC, FreshPoint Vancouver Ltd., Freshfayre Limited, Fruktservice i Helsingborg AB, GHS Classic Drinks Limited, Gilchrist & Soames Inc., Gilchrist & Soames UK Limited, Guest Packaging LLC, Guest Supply, Guest Supply Asia Limited, Guest Supply Singapore Pte. Ltd., International Food Group, Isakssons Frukt & Gront AB, J & M Wholesale Meats, J. Kings Food Service Professionals, J. Kings Food Service Professionals Inc., Kent Frozen Foods, Les Ateliers Du Gout, Liquid Assets Limited, M&J Seafood Holdings Limited, M&J Seafood Limited, Manchester Mills LLC, Mayca Autoservicio S.A., Mayca Distribuidores S.A., Menigo Foodservice AB, Mitshim Etatu Supply LP, Newport Meat Company, Newport Meat Northern California Inc., Newport Meat Pacific Northwest Inc., Newport Meat Southern California Inc., Newport Meat of Nevada Inc., North Star Holding Corporation, North Star Seafood, North Star Seafood Acquisition Corporation, North Star Seafood LLC, PFS de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Palisades Ranch Inc., Pallas Foods, Pallas Foods Farm Fresh Unlimited Company, Pallas Foods Unlimited Company, Pauleys Produce Limited, Promotora del Servicios S.A. de C.V., Restaurangakdemien AB, Restaurant of Tomorrow Inc., Rohan Viandes Elaboration SAS, SMS Bermuda Holdings, SMS GPC International Limited, SMS GPC International Resources Limited, SMS Global Holdings S.a.r.l., SMS International Resources Ireland Unlimited Company, SMS Lux Holdings LLC, SOTF LLC, SYY Netherlands C.V., SYY Panama S. de R.L., Serca Foodservice, Servicestyckarna I Johannes AB, Servicios Ameriserve S.A. de C.V., Shenzhen Guest Supply Trading Co. Limited, Societe Civile Immobiliere (SCI) Bianchi Montegut, Societe Civile Immobiliere (SCI) De Boiseau, Societe Civile Immobiliere (SCI) De Garcelles, Societe Civile Immobiliere (SCI) J.D. Lanjouan, Societe Civile Immobiliere (SCI) Le Dauphin, Specialty Meat Holdings LLC, Stockflag Limited, Stockholms Fiskauktion AB, Supplies on the Fly, Sysco Albany LLC, Sysco Asian Foods Inc., Sysco Atlanta LLC, Sysco Autoservicio S.A., Sysco Baltimore LLC, Sysco Baraboo LLC, Sysco Bermuda Partners L.P., Sysco Boston LLC, Sysco Canada Holdings S.a.r.l., Sysco Canada Inc., Sysco Central Alabama LLC, Sysco Central California Inc., Sysco Central Florida Inc., Sysco Central Illinois Inc., Sysco Central Pennsylvania LLC, Sysco Charlotte LLC, Sysco Chicago Inc., Sysco Cincinnati LLC, Sysco Cleveland Inc., Sysco Columbia LLC, Sysco Connecticut LLC, Sysco Corporation, Sysco Corporation Director's Deferred Compensation Plan Trust, Sysco Corporation Employee's 401(k) Plan Trust, Sysco Corporation Executive Deferred Compensation Plan Trust, Sysco Corporation Good Government Committee Inc., Sysco Corporation Retirement Trust, Sysco Corporation Supplemental Executive Retirement Trust, Sysco Corporation Supplemental Unemployment Benefits Plan Trust, Sysco Detroit LLC, Sysco Disaster Relief Foundation Inc., Sysco EI VI S. s.r.l., Sysco EU II S.a.r.l., Sysco EU III S.a.r.l., Sysco EU IV Capital Unlimited Company, Sysco EU IV S. s.r.l.., Sysco EU V S. s.r.l., Sysco Eastern Maryland LLC, Sysco Eastern Wisconsin LLC, Sysco Foundation Inc., Sysco France Holding SAS, Sysco France SAS, Sysco George Town II LLC, Sysco George Town Limited S. s.r.l.., Sysco Global Finance LLC, Sysco Global Finance LLP, Sysco Global Holdings B.V., Sysco Global Resources LLC, Sysco Global Services LLC, Sysco Grand Cayman Company, Sysco Grand Cayman II Company, Sysco Grand Cayman III Company, Sysco Grand Rapids LLC, Sysco Guernsey Limited, Sysco Guest Supply Canada Inc., Sysco Guest Supply Europe Goods Wholesalers LLC, Sysco Guest Supply Europe Limited, Sysco Guest Supply LLC, Sysco Gulf Coast LLC, Sysco Hampton Roads Inc., Sysco Hawaii Inc., Sysco Holdings II LLC, Sysco Holdings LLC, Sysco Indianapolis LLC, Sysco International Food Group Inc., Sysco International Inc., Sysco Iowa Inc., Sysco Jackson LLC, Sysco Jacksonville Inc., Sysco Kansas City Inc., Sysco Knoxville LLC, Sysco Labs Europe Limited, Sysco Labs Pvt. Ltd., Sysco Leasing LLC, Sysco Lincoln Inc., Sysco Lincoln Transportation Company Inc., Sysco Long Island LLC, Sysco Los Angeles Inc., Sysco Louisville Inc., Sysco Memphis LLC, Sysco Merchandising and Supply Chain Services Canada Inc., Sysco Merchandising and Supply Chain Services Inc., Sysco Metro New York LLC, Sysco Minnesota Inc., Sysco Montana Inc., Sysco Nashville LLC, Sysco Netherlands Partners LLC, Sysco North Central Florida Inc., Sysco North Dakota Inc., Sysco Northern New England Inc., Sysco Philadelphia LLC, Sysco Pittsburgh LLC, Sysco Portland Inc., Sysco Raleigh LLC, Sysco Resources Services LLC, Sysco Riverside Inc., Sysco Sacramento Inc., Sysco San Diego Inc., Sysco San Francisco Inc., Sysco Seattle Inc., Sysco South Florida Inc., Sysco Southeast Florida LLC, Sysco Spain Holdings SLU, Sysco Spokane Inc., Sysco St. Louis LLC, Sysco Syracuse LLC, Sysco Technologies Cayman Ltd., Sysco Technologies LLC, Sysco UK Holdings Limited, Sysco UK Limited, Sysco UK Partners LLP, Sysco USA I Inc., Sysco USA II LLC, Sysco USA III LLC, Sysco Ventura Inc., Sysco Ventures Inc., Sysco Virginia LLC, Sysco West Coast Florida Inc., Sysco Western Minnesota Inc., The SYGMA Network Inc., Upsys, Victua SAS, Walker Foods Inc., Waugh Foods, and Wild Harvest Limited.
Nevsun Resources Ltd. engages in the mining and development of mineral properties in Europe, Africa, and North America. It explores for gold, copper, zinc, and silver deposits. The company's principal assets include Timok project, a copper-gold development project in Serbia; and Bisha copper- zinc mine in Eritrea. It also holds exploration licenses and permits in Serbia and Macedonia, as well as in the Bisha mining district. The company was incorporated in 1965 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada. As of January 7, 2019, Nevsun Resources Ltd. operates as a subsidiary of Zijin Mining Group Company Limited.

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OPPOs best-selling smartphone F5, which features the first Artificial Intelligence Beauty Technology in a smartphone, is now even more attractive with a limited-time discount of P1,000. With A.I. Beauty Technology, selfies are rendered more natural by analyzing more than 260 facial points in the subjects face.

The F5 is equipped with a 6 FHD+ Full Screen display, allowing a bigger and more immersive screen with the same footprint of a 5.5 smartphone. Along with a powerful octa-core processor and 4GB RAM for seamless multi-tasking, photography is also highlighted with a 20MP front-facing camera and a 16MP f/1.8 aperture rear camera for a crisp and vibrant shooting experience.We encourage our customers to take the opportunity to avail of our limited-time price discount for the best-selling OPPO F5. Its overall appealing package highlighting its superior selfie features is ideal for anyone this season, said Eason de Guzman, OPPO Philippines Public Relations Manager. The limited-time price offer will run from April 6 to 9 at all OPPO authorized stores and resellers nationwide. For more exciting updates, visit OPPO Philippines Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/OPPOPH/.
The following companies are subsidiares of Boston Scientific: 34 Biomedical Merger Corp., 9357-1867 Quebec Inc., Acurate Industria e Comercio Ltda., Advanced Bionics, Advanced Stent Technologies, American Medical Systems, American Medical Systems Europe B.V., Apama Medical, Apama Medical Inc., Asthmatx, Atritech, Augmenix, Augmenix Inc., Augmenix K.K., BSC International Medical Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., BSC Medical Device Technology (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., BTG, BTG Australasia Pty Ltd, BTG Europe B.V., BTG IM Holdings Ltd., BTG International (Holdings) Limited, BTG International Asia Limited, BTG International Canada Inc., BTG International Germany GmbH, BTG International Healthcare Inc., BTG International Healthcare LLC, BTG International Healthcare Limited, BTG International Inc., BTG International Limited, BTG Limited, BTG Management Services Limited, BTG Medikal Limited Sirketi, Bard Electrophysiology, Barosense, Biocompatibles Inc., Biocompatibles International Limited, Biocompatibles UK Limited, Boston Scientific (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., Boston Scientific (South Africa) Proprietary Limited, Boston Scientific (Thailand) Ltd., Boston Scientific (UK) Limited, Boston Scientific AG, Boston Scientific Argentina S.A., Boston Scientific Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., Boston Scientific Benelux NV, Boston Scientific Canada Limited, Boston Scientific Ceska republika s.r.o., Boston Scientific Chile SpA, Boston Scientific Colombia Limitada, Boston Scientific Comercial de Costa Rica BSCR S.R.L., Boston Scientific Far East B.V., Boston Scientific Gesellschaft m.b.H., Boston Scientific Group plc, Boston Scientific Hellas S.A., Boston Scientific Hong Kong Limited, Boston Scientific Iberica S.A., Boston Scientific India Private Limited, Boston Scientific International B.V., Boston Scientific International Finance Limited, Boston Scientific International S.A., Boston Scientific Israel Ltd., Boston Scientific Japan K.K., Boston Scientific Korea Co. Ltd., Boston Scientific Lebanon SAL, Boston Scientific Limited, Boston Scientific Ltd., Boston Scientific Medical Device, Boston Scientific Medical Device Limited, Boston Scientific Medizintechnik GmbH, Boston Scientific Middle East FZ-LLC, Boston Scientific Middle East SAL, Boston Scientific Nederland B.V., Boston Scientific Neuromodulation Corporation, Boston Scientific New Zealand Limited, Boston Scientific Nordic AB, Boston Scientific Peru S.A.C., Boston Scientific Philippines Inc., Boston Scientific Polska Sp. z o.o., Boston Scientific Portugal - Dispositivos Medicos Lda, Boston Scientific Pty Ltd, Boston Scientific Romania S.R.L., Boston Scientific S.A.S., Boston Scientific S.p.A., Boston Scientific Scimed, Boston Scientific Scimed Inc., Boston Scientific Services Private Limited, Boston Scientific TIP Gerecleri Limited Sirketi, Boston Scientific Technology & Engineering Services Private Limited, Boston Scientific Uruguay S.A., Boston Scientific Vietnam Company Limited, Boston Scientific de Costa Rica S.R.L., Boston Scientific de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Boston Scientific del Caribe Inc., Boston Scientific do Brasil Ltda., Bravo Bidco Limited, BridgePoint Medical, Cameron Health, Cardiac Pacemakers Inc., Cardiac Pathways Corp, Catheter Innovations, Claret Medical, Claret Medical Inc., Cosman Medical, Cosman Medical LLC, CryoCor, Cryterion Medical, Cryterion Medical Inc., Cryterion Medical Ireland Limited, EKOS LLC, EMcision, EMcision International Inc., EP Technologies, EP Technologies Inc., Electron Acquisition Corporation, EndoChoice, EndoChoice Holdings Inc., EndoChoice Inc., EndoChoice Innovation Center Ltd., EndoChoice Israel Ltd., Endotex, Enteric Medical Technologies, Galil Medical Inc., Galil Medical Ltd., Galil Medical UK Limited, Guidant, Guidant Delaware Holding Corporation, Guidant Europe NV, Guidant Puerto Rico B.V., Hong Kong Medtech Trading Limited, Intelect Medical, Millipede, Millipede Inc., NXT Merger Corp., Notebook Merger Sub Ltd., Novate Medical Limited, NxThera, NxThera Inc., PT Boston Scientific Indonesia, PneumRx GmbH, PneumRx LLC, PneumRx Liimited, Protherics Medicines Development B.V., Protherics Medicines Development Limited, Protherics UK Limited, Provensis Limited, RMI Acquisition Corp., Remon Medical Technologies, Rhythmia Medical, Robert S. Smith M.D. Inc., Roxwood Medical Inc., SNS Merger Corp, Sadra Medical, Sadra Medical Inc., Securus Medical Group, Securus Medical Group Inc., Special K Merger Corp., StarMedTec, Stream Enterprises LLC, Symetis, Symetis SA, Target Therapeutics, Target Therapeutics Inc., The LumenR Tissue Retractor System, Veniti, Veniti Inc., VertiFlex, Vertiflex Inc., Vessix Vascular, Xlumena, Zuma Investment Pty Ltd, iogyn, nVision Medical, and nVision Medical Corporation.
HOME Credit Philippines, the fastest growing consumer finance company in the country, has officially launched their mobile app, My Home Credit. Since its successful pilot launching last October 2017, the app has reached over 214k installs via Playstore.This app by Global Fintech company Home Credit is an effective and innovative way of servicing their large customer base of over two million clients nationwide. There is no more need for paper billswith the mobile apps push notifications, they can now check their due dates and receipts of successful payments. Think of it as a digital loan assistant. Home Credits very own mobile app team ensured that from overview of loans, status and modes of payment, up to notifying them with the successful receiptevery detail about their loans is in the palm of their hands. Not only thatsince the Philippines is the fastest growing app market in Southeast Asia, HCPH is taking advantage of this opportunity to engage with its customers. Imagine having one simple application as a touchpoint between the company and its customersconvenient, isnt it? The apps original features include the quick loan and payments overview and schedules, together with the app messages so customers will never miss a due date.Recently, the mobile app team even added a chat feature for customers who prefer non-voice contact. Now, all they have to wait for are the online loan application and online payments features! Our mobile app team has upcoming developments lined up this year, which our customers can look forward to. Our plan for My Home Credit is more than just loan monitoring. Customers can also participate in promos and contests with great prizes at stake, and we have much more surprises to keep it exciting for them, HCPH Chief Product & Marketing Officer Franchette Cardona shared. In a country with the largest number of active social media users, HCPH has also brought its customer service to a social media level. And with Filipinos spending plenty of time daily for their online activities, smartphones have become a good channel to reach themindeed, Home Credit is truly focused on its customers. Home Credit customers can download the app from Google Playstore for free: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ph.homecredit.myhomecredit&hl=en. To learn more about Home Credit, you may visit www.homecredit.ph.
The following companies are subsidiares of Exxon Mobil: AKG Marketing Company Limited, Aera Energy LLC, Al-Jubail Petrochemical Company, Ampolex (Cepu) Pte Ltd, Ancon Insurance Company Inc., Barnett Gathering LLC, Barzan Gas Company Limited, Caspian Pipeline Consortium, Celtic Exploration Ltd., Coral FLNG S.A., Cross Timbers Energy LLC, Ellora Energy Inc., Esmeroon Oil Transporta Imperial Oil Limited, Esso (Thailand) Public Company Limited, Esso Australia Resources Pty Ltd, Esso Deutschland GmbH, Esso Erdgas Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH, Esso Exploration Angola (Block 15) Limited, Esso Exploration Angola (Block 17) Limited, Esso Exploration and Production Angola (Overseas) Limited, Esso Exploration and Production Chad Inc., Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited, Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria (Deepwater) Limited, Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria (Offshore East) Limited, Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited, Esso Exploration and Production UK Limited, Esso Global Investments Ltd., Esso Italiana S.r.l., Esso Nederland B.V., Esso Norge AS, Esso Petroleum Company Limited, Esso Raffinage, Esso Societe Anonyme Francaise, Exxo Holdings Inc., Exxon Azerbaijan Limited, Exxon Chemical Arabia Inc., Exxon International Finance Company, Exxon Luxembourg Holdings LLC, Exxon Mobile Bay Limited Partnership, Exxon Neftegas Limited, Exxon Overseas Corporation, Exxon Overseas Investment Corporation, ExxonMobil (China) Investment Co. Ltd., ExxonMobil (Taicang) Petroleum Co. Ltd., ExxonMobil Abu Dhabi Offshore Petroleum Company Limited, ExxonMobil Alaska Production Inc., ExxonMobil Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., ExxonMobil Australia Pty Ltd, ExxonMobil B Resources Company, ExxonMobil Capital Finance Company, ExxonMobil Capital Netherlands B.V., ExxonMobil Central Europe Holding GmbH, ExxonMobil Cepu Limited, ExxonMobil Chemical France, ExxonMobil Chemical Gulf Coast Investments LLC, ExxonMobil Chemical Holland B.V., ExxonMobil Chemical Services (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., ExxonMobil China Petroleum & Petrochemical Company Limited, ExxonMobil Development Africa B.V., ExxonMobil Development Company, ExxonMobil Egypt (S.A.E.), ExxonMobil Exploracao Brasil Ltda., ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Malaysia Inc., ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Norway AS, ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Romania Limited, ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Tanzania Limited, ExxonMobil Finance Company Limited, ExxonMobil Financial Investment Company Limited, ExxonMobil France Holding SAS, ExxonMobil Gas Marketing Europe Limited, ExxonMobil General Finance Company, ExxonMobil Global Services Company, ExxonMobil Golden Pass Surety LLC, ExxonMobil Holding Company Holland LLC, ExxonMobil Holding Norway AS, ExxonMobil Hong Kong Limited, ExxonMobil International Services SARL, ExxonMobil Iraq Limited, ExxonMobil Italiana Gas S.r.l., ExxonMobil Kazakhstan Inc., ExxonMobil Kazakhstan Ventures Inc., ExxonMobil LNG Services B.V., ExxonMobil Lubricants Trading Company, ExxonMobil Oil Corporation, ExxonMobil PNG Limited, ExxonMobil Petroleum & Chemical BVBA, ExxonMobil Petroleum & Chemical Holdings Inc., ExxonMobil Pipeline Company, ExxonMobil Production Deutschland GmbH, ExxonMobil Production Norway Inc., ExxonMobil Qatargas (II) Limited, ExxonMobil Qatargas Inc., ExxonMobil Ras Laffan (III) Limited, ExxonMobil Rasgas Inc., ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company, ExxonMobil Russia Kara Sea Holdings B.V., ExxonMobil Sales and Supply LLC, ExxonMobil Technology Finance Company, ExxonMobil Ventures Finance Company, ExxonMobil Ventures Funding Ltd., Fujian Refining & Petrochemical Co. Ltd., Golden Pass LNG Terminal Investments LLC, Golden Pass LNG Terminal LLC, Gulf Coast Growth Ventures LLC, Imperial Oil Limited, Imperial Oil Resources Limited, Imperial Oil Resources N.W.T. Limited, Imperial Oil/Petroliere Imperiale, Infineum Italia s.r.I., Infineum Singapore Pte. Ltd., InterOil Corporation, Jurong Aromatics Corporation Pte Ltd, MPM Lubricants, Marine Well Containment Company LLC, Mobil Australia Resources Company Pty Limited, Mobil California Exploration & Producing Asset Company, Mobil Caspian Pipeline Company, Mobil Chemical Products International Inc., Mobil Corporation, Mobil Equatorial Guinea Inc., Mobil Erdgas Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH, Mobil Exploration & Producing Australia Pty Ltd, Mobil International Petroleum Corporation, Mobil Oil Australia Pty Ltd, Mobil Oil Exploration & Producing Southeast Inc., Mobil Oil New Zealand Limited, Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited, Mobil Producing Texas & New Mexico Inc., Mobil SerLimited, Mobil Venezolana De Petroleos Inc., Mobil Yanbu Petrochemical Company Inc., Mobil Yanbu Refining Company Inc., Mountain Gathering LLC, Mozambique Rovuma Venture S.p.A., Palmetto Transoceanic LLC, Papua New Guinea Liquefied Natural Gas Global Company LDC, Permian Express Partners LLC, Phillips Exploration LLC, Qatar Liquefied Gas Company Limited, Ras Laffan Liquefied Natural Gas Company Limited, Ras Laffan Liquefied Natural Gas Company Limited (II), SPI Limited, Saudi Aramco Mobil Refinery Company Ltd., Saudi Yanbu Petrochemical Co., SeaRiver Maritime Inc., South Hook LNG Terminal Company Limited, Tengizchevroil LLP, Terminale GNL Adriatico S.r.l, Trend Gathering & Treating LLC, Wolverine Pipe Line Company, XH LLC, XTO Delaware Basin LLC, XTO Energy Canada, XTO Energy Inc., and XTO Holdings LLC.
The following companies are subsidiares of LyondellBasell Industries: A. Schulman, A. Schulman 's-Gravendeel B.V., A. Schulman AG, A. Schulman Asia Limited, A. Schulman Belgium BVBA, A. Schulman Canada Ltd., A. Schulman Castellon S.L., A. Schulman Europe GmbH & Co. KG, A. Schulman Europe International B.V., A. Schulman Europe Verwaltungs GmbH, A. Schulman Gainsborough Ltd, A. Schulman GmbH, A. Schulman GmbH (Austrian Branch), A. Schulman Holding Company France S.A.S., A. Schulman Holdings (France) S.A.S., A. Schulman Holdings S.a.r.l., A. Schulman Inc., A. Schulman Inc. Limited, A. Schulman International Inc., A. Schulman International Services BVBA, A. Schulman Ireland Limited, A. Schulman Magyarorszag Kereskedelmi Korlatolt Felelossegu Tarsasag, A. Schulman Nordic AB, A. Schulman Plastics (Branch), A. Schulman Plastics (Dongguan) Ltd., A. Schulman Plastics (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., A. Schulman Plastics (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., A. Schulman Plastics BVBA, A. Schulman Plastics India Private Limited, A. Schulman Plastics PTY. LTD., A. Schulman Plastics S.r.l., A. Schulman Plastics SAS, A. Schulman Plastics bvba Bornem Sucursala Cluj-Napoca, A. Schulman Plastics organizacni slozka, A. Schulman Plastk Sanayi ve Ticaret Anonim Sirketi, A. Schulman Plasticos do Brasil Ltda., A. Schulman Polska Sp. z o.o., A. Schulman Real Estate GmbH & Co. KG, A. Schulman S.A.S., A. Schulman S.a.r.l., A. Schulman Thermoplastic Compounds Limited, A. Schulman Thermoplastic Compounds Sdn Bhd, A. Schulman de Mexico S.A. de C.V., A. Schulman del Peru S.A.C., A.Schulman Poznan Sp. Z o.o., ARCO Chemical, AS Global Holdings Inc., AS Mex Hold S.A. de C.V., AS Worldwide LLC, AS Worldwide LLC & Cie S.C.S., ASI Akron Land Co., ASI Employment S.A. de C.V., ASI Investments Holding Co., Al Waha Petrochemical Company, BKV Beteiligungs- und Kunststoffverwertungs-gesellschaft mbH, BMC Deutschland GmbH, BMC Dongguan Limited, BMC Far East Limited, BMC TetraDURTurkey Plastik Hammadde Kompozit Uretim Sanayi ve Ticaret Limted Sirketi, Basell (Thailand) Holdings B.V., Basell Advanced Polyolefins (Dalian) Co. Ltd., Basell Advanced Polyolefins (Suzhou) Co. 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Issues of concern to people who live in the west: property rights, water rights, endangered species, livestock grazing, energy production, wilderness and western agriculture. Plus a few items on western history, western literature and the sport of rodeo... Frank DuBois served as the NM Secretary of Agriculture from 1988 to 2003. DuBois is a former legislative assistant to a U.S. Senator, a Deputy Assistant Secretary of Interior, and is the founder of the DuBois Rodeo Scholarship.
A top Vietnam Customs official has admitted that there are a few rotten apples among his force, and vowed to put measures in place to keep them from spoiling the barrel.

Hoang Viet Cuong, deputy director general of the General Department of Vietnam Customs, made no secret that some customs officers have not been educating themselves morally, during reception of a government delegation on Friday.

Cuong was addressing Mai Tien Dung, Minister and Chairman of the Government Office, who led a delegation of government officials to visit the Ministry of Finance, which manages the customs department, for talks on streamlining business conditions.

Our stance is to implement strict disciplinary actions on violating officers, Cuong said.

The general department is also drafting a code of conduct, which will be used during in-house training programs for customs officers, he added.

At Fridays meeting, Minister Dung acknowledged the finance ministrys efforts in the management of state budget but reminded the customs deputy chief of recent complaints about officers misbehaviors.

Customs officers must be attentive and open when engaging with the people and business representatives, Dung said.

If possible, technology should be put to use to minimize person-to-person contact.

Nguyen Minh Thao, an expert who studies business environment from the Central Institute for Economic Management, said businesses still have to pay unofficial fees to complete customs procedures.

This is a form of petty corruption, she said.

The amount businesses are made to pay at each step along the way may not be much, but if you add them all up it will be a huge number, Thao said.

Twenty-eight percent of more than 3,100 businesses polled in a 2015 survey by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) said they had to pay customs officials pay under the table to get paperwork done.

Air travelers have often complained about customs officers purportedly demanding money to have their luggage pass customs check without troublesome questionings.

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A student has been refused entry on a bus in the central city of Da Nang after trying to pay the small fare with a large-denomination banknote.

The attendant of the No.7 bus, operated by Da Nang-based Quang An 1 JSC, asked the student to get off as he did not have enough change for the VND5,000 ticket paid with a VND100,000 bill on April 1. (VND22,000 = US$1)

Upon learning of their childs being denied entry, the students parents on April 2 made a complaint to the online portal of the Da Nang administration, asking to have the bus attendant sanctioned.

The municipal Department of Transport handled the complaint and confirmed the incident was true after working with Quang An 1.

The company is contracted with operating five subsidized bus routes in Da Nang.

Following a request by the transport department that the attendant, identified as Tran Duc Tai, be sanctioned, the bus operator announced on April 5 that he was suspended from work.

A Quang An 1 bus is seen in Da Nang, central Vietnam. Photo: Tuan Son / Tuoi Tre News

Da Nang is Vietnams third biggest metropolis and has been regarded as the countrys most livable city due to its booming economy, beautiful scenery, and a friendly environment.

This year, Da Nang has also been voted as one of the worlds ten best places for foreigners to live by the international tourism magazine Live and Invest Overseas.

The Da Nang online portal was launched in February 2016 for local citizens to report their problems directly to authorities. The website has been proven effective since its inauguration, with many complaints handled and solved timely.
A former chief of Vietnams Police General Department has been taken into custody for four months for investigation of his role in a giant police-backed online gambling ring smashed last year, the Ministry of Public Security said.

The arrest warrant for Phan Van Vinh, who retired as director general of the ministrys police general department in July 2017, came along with a decision to start criminal proceedings against him on Friday.

The probe is being taken by police in the northern province of Phu Tho, which busted the high-profile ring, which involves several police officers including Major General Nguyen Thanh Hoa, former head of the hi-tech crime prevention division under the Ministry of Public Security, in September 2017.

Vinh, born in 1955 and resides in the northern province of Nam Dinh, is detained for the charge of abusing position and power while performing duties.

The former lieutenant general is accused of being involved in the case of using the Internet to appropriate assets, organize gambling, gamble, illegally trade invoices and launder money in Phu Tho and some other provinces and cities.

Also on Friday, State President Tran Dai Quang signed a decision to strip Vinh of the title Peoples Public Security officer. His house in Nam Dinh was also searched by police the same day.

File photo of Phan Van Vinh, former director general of Vietnams Police General Department.

Initial investigation has found that Vinh committed all of his wrongdoings during his time serving as the countrys top police chief.

Vinh signed several documents to recognize the Hi-Tech Security Development and Investment Ltd. Co. (CNC), the main company behind the online gambling ring, as a professional unit under the Ministry of Public Security.

The ring, whose headquarters was in Phu Tho, the capital city of Phu Tho Province, managed to expand its network to across the country with several dozen thousand dealers and sub-dealers.

At the CNC headquarters in Phu Tho, where servers of the online gambling sites were kept, police discovered an office with the name sign of Hoa, the former head of the hi-tech police unit.

Police are investigating if Vinh received revenue share from the massive online gamble operations.

Vinh was the provincial police chief of his hometown of Nam Dinh, before being appointed to lead the Police General Department.

He was known for overseeing several high-profile crime cases.

These include the investigation to find an underage culprit that killed all members of a family in a gold shop robbery in the northern province of Bac Giang in 2011, and the arrest of Nguyen Duc Kien, a banking mogul who was in 2014 handed a 30-year jail term for fraud, tax evasion and illegal trade.

Police search the house of Phan Van Vinh in Nam Dinh, northern Vietnam, on April 6, 2018. Photo: Tuoi Tre

83 people involved

Phu Tho police are expanding a probe into the case to clarify the responsibility of concerned persons.

Former major general Hoa, who was arrested on March 11, is accused of organizing gambling relating to this case.

Other defendants include Phan Sao Nam, chairman of the VTC Online Telecommunications Company and Nguyen Van Duong, chairman of the CNC.

Nam and Duong are accused of being the masterminds behind the online gambling ring.

Nguyen Thanh Hoa (left) and Phan Sao Nam

As of March 14, the investigation agency had launched legal proceedings against 83 people involved in the case.

The probe initially found that the money paid via legal and illegal payment gateways exceeded VND9.58 trillion (US$422 million).

As many as 97 percent of the total payments, or more than VND9.29 trillion ($409.25 million), were made via pre-paid mobile phone cards and game cards, whereas some VND168 billion ($7.4 million) was sent from bank accounts.
Vietnams Minister of Public Security To Lam has requested that the entire police force tighten discipline and refrain from any law or corruption offences, in the wake of recent high-profile cases involving police officers.

The request was conveyed to all units under the ministry, and local-level police units countrywide in a dispatch signed by the minister on Friday.

The Ministry of Public Security has achieved several milestones in fighting against crimes and ensuring public and social order in recent years, but there are still unsolved issues with regard to discipline and ethics of police officers, according to the document.

The ministry has detected and sanctioned multiple cases involving police officers, including high-ranking officials, who assisted or abetted criminals or committed fraud or asset misappropriation.

These cases have been reported by local press, and these media reports could well be abused, such as turned into fake news and spread on social media, by hostile forces, which will damage the reputation and image of the police force.

Minister Lam has demanded that discipline among the police force be tightened, with head of police units now tasked with keeping a close watch on their subordinates in order to detect corrupt officers before their commit any wrongdoings.

File photo Phan Van Vinh, former director general of the Police General Department who is being investigated for his role in an illegal online gambling ring.

The latest example for high-ranking police officers to involve in crimes is the online gambling ring busted in September 2017, with a former head of the Police General Department and an ex-chief of the hi-tech police unit among those probed.

Former lieutenant general Phan Van Vinh, who was director general of the ministrys police general department until July last year, was arrested and taken into custody for four months on Friday to clarify his role in the ring.

Major General Nguyen Thanh Hoa, former head of the hi-tech crime prevention division under the Ministry of Public Security, was also detained and stripped of his title in March for the same probe.

These two top police officers are among 83 defendants being investigated for their role in the illegal gambling ring that raked in more than VND9.58 trillion (US$422 million) from online punters countrywide.
Mondays Australian Story profiles former military commando Mick Bainbridge who, after struggling with PTSD, is now helping other veterans.

When the War Is Over is introduced by Archibald prize-winning artist Ben Quilty.

The fact that Mick had been in second commando unit meant that he was someone, he was really someone. And when I met him he was a broken no-one. Ben Quilty

Its easy to call someone crazy to discredit them, but I knew what my rights were, and I dug my heels in I was fighting for my rights. I was fighting as hard as I could . Former commando, Mick Bainbridge

After five overseas deployments, former commando Mick Bainbridge was left battling a crippling case of PTSD.

When Mick sought support from his command to move to a training role he says was told to go back to Afghanistan or leave the Army altogether.

Former Senator Jacqui Lambie, who has followed Micks case, is incensed by his treatment.

I have had many veterans come to me because they have been done over not just by Defence but by the Department of Veterans Affairs. What happened to Mick was even more outrageous. He had been completely done over. Former Senator Jacqui Lambie

A bitter battle for entitlements ensued which Mick says culminated in a malicious report to police that triggered a terrifying raid on his home.

Already enrolled in a law degree, Mick decided that instead of getting mad he would get even, employing his new-found knowledge to take on the system.

Now as the NSW RSLs youngest councillor ever, hes using his legal skills to help other veterans fight for their rights.

We desperately want to curb and stop the suicide rate. Im not going to stop until I do, Mick Bainbridge says.

8pm Monday on ABC.
The second season of National Geographics anthology series Genius shifts from Geoffrey Rush as Einstein to Antonio Banderas as Pablo Picasso.

Retaining its concurrent storylines of younger and elder subject, a silver-haired Banderas depicts the famed Spanish painter from 1937, when Hitler is bearing down on Europe.

Despite refusing commissioned work, Picasso is coerced into painting Guernica at the Spanish Pavilion at the Paris International Exposition. His mural, a response to the bombing of a village during the Spanish Civil War, was to become one of his most celebrated artworks and stands as a powerful anti-war statement.

This is contrasted by ambitions of the young artist circa 1890s whose one pursuit in life is to paint the perfect painting.

As a child the young Pablo prays to God to give up Art if his ill sister lives, but after she dies he carries guilt for a long time. Despite his fathers desires that he become and Art teacher the adolescent Pablo dreams beyond scholarly pursuits.

In Art class he shows talent beyond his years, even if the styles he learns are traditional and conventional.

You must draw straight lines, his teacher demands. Without discipline, you will fail.

The focus in the first episode falls heavily on Picasso as young man, played by Alex Rich, who isnt such a bad choice for a young Banderas (although it feels like he is mimicking his accent). As Spain goes to war with the US, Picasso yearns for his own freedom and hiding from the army encourages him to break the rules.

But he still lacks his own artistic voice, further encouraged when he meets artist / poet Carlos Casagemas (Robert Sheehan), with whom he rooms.

The adult Picasso is also cavalier, having an affair with photographer Dora Maar (Samantha Colley), sometimes to the protests of other socialites. Its a very male-dominated first chapter.

She makes me wish I was 18, he declares.

Writer / director Ken Biller assumes duties previously helmed by Ron Howard and writer Noah Pink. Hans Zimmer provides a flamenco score, and the production design is dripping in European period.

Whether Banderas screen presence gets in the way of something close to Picasso remains to be seen (I suspect it will). Perhaps when he resembles the elderly artist we recall from vintage film reels the two will marry a little better.

In the meantime Genius helps paint an image of the artist, the man, in between the lines.

Genius 2 premieres 7:30pm Tuesday April 24 on National Geographic.
CORRUPTION and money-laundering is something the government have always claimed to be cracking down on hard. However, in an investigative piece by Finance Uncovered, they found that JP Morgan was defending themselves from a lawsuit by the Nigerian government against a claim of $875 million plus interest, they allege that they have been grossly negligent in making payments to Nigerian oil minister, Chief Dan Etete from a company he set up to award himself an oil contract.

In the latest twist, JP Morgan have alleged in court that British authorities gave the green light to transfer the funds from this corrupt oil deal to the Nigerian politician.

UK implicated in corruption

The allegation is aimed towards the UKs biggest anti-money laundering unit and it is claimed that they gave the green light to transfer $875 million from the company involved in the corrupt oil deal and Etete, who set up the company. The US bank claim that they sought consent from the Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca) to make the payments, however, they were given the green light to go ahead with the payments instead of them being blocked. There has been no explanation as to why the decision was made and this raises significant concerns over the UKs ability to tackle serious crime such as money laundering.

Interestingly, the payments were to be made in two instalments, one in 2011 and the other in 2013 and Soca, who are the main anti-corruption unit, report directly to the Home Secretary, who was Theresa May at the time. What is even more staggering being that Poca include loopholes within their anti-money laundering remit which almost incentivises for both bankers and coppers.
THERESA MAY this week congratulated a military dictator on his election victory. The end of March saw Abdel Fattah el-Sisi sealed victory in the country's controversial presidential election. The election itself is largely seen as a sham by most commentators and world powers alike, but Theresa May saw fit to congratulate el Sisi instead, a fact that hasnt been picked up by the media.

The irony behind this is that not long after Vladimir Putin won his election, Conservative MPs such as Nick Boles spoke out against EU president, Jean-Claude Junker congratulating him.

Yet they have remained very quiet over Theresa May.

The right kind of human rights abuses

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi on Monday secured a second term in office after winning 97% of the vote. Sisi's only rival for the presidency was Mousa Mostafa Mousa, after several other candidates quit the race. The opposition blames Sisi's government for squeezing potential rivals through what they see as a strategy of intimidation or coercion, but the President says he is not to blame. There was 41% turnout of almost 60 million registered voters.

This seems like a blunder but it highlights how the Conservatives only see Human Rights Abuses when it is a regime or another group that speaks out against their ideology.

In the statement released by Downing Street on Wednesday said the British prime minister had "congratulated" Sisi on his "chance to take Egypt further along the path of democratic transition" and praised his "public commitment to respecting Egyptian presidential term-limits". The problem is that Sisi is a military dictator and originally came to power in a military coup in 2013 which saw 817 protesters maliciously gunned down.

In 2017, Sisi ratified a new law that could well eliminate the little remaining space for civil society, law criminalizes the work of NGOs, providing for up to five-year prison terms for failing to adhere to its provisions such as operating or receiving funds without government approval. It also provides for day-to-day monitoring by officials, including security agencies, and prohibits activities that harm national security, public order, public morality, or public health, vague terms that authorities can use to outlaw legitimate work.

He is also a brutal dictator who had all viable election opponents arrested, barred or forced to withdraw , and who routinely tortures protestors and political opponents. Firstly, this is not the first time Mrs May and her government have been vocally on the side of brutal regimes, they support Israel (something that even Sisi condemns) and Saudi Arabia, who both continue to inflict human rights abuses in Palestine and Yemen. Yet when it comes to Russia, the public are essentially told that they are the bad guys. Irrespective of the obvious abuses committed by Putin, the British government should be condemning all these regimes equally.
It is common to say that Magellan was the first to circumnavigate the globe, but this really isn't true. Magellan lead the expedition. He organized the five ships and crews that left Spain in 1519, and for the most dangerous parts of the journey, meaning the areas that were unknown to Europeans, Magellan was the commander. Magellan had traveled to the Moluccas previously and so he brought a great deal of experience and vision to the expedition. You could even argue that given the fact that Magellan had visited the Western edge of the Pacific years prior, his reaching the Philippines in 1521 would mean that he had traveled around the world, albeit in different pieces.





But in terms of undertaking a full, continuous voyage around the world, Magellan wasn't the first. After crossing the Pacific, passing through (rather violently) the Marianas, he made his way to the Philippines. He was killed there after his hubris compelled him to get involved in a conflict between tribes. After Magellan falls in battle, several of his subordinates emerge to take command to try to finish the voyage. The one who emerges as being most consequential is Juan Sebastian Elcano, who is often times the forgotten captain of the voyage today.





By the time the expedition reaches the Philippines, the crew was at the edge of European imagination and knowledge of the globe. The Orient was well known to the Occident. I say well known, not in the sense that the information was accurate, but rather trade and other types of exchange had existed for more than a millennia, So in some ways, the remainder of the trip isn't as historic, it traveled routes Europeans, especially the Portuguese were increasingly familiar with. But the second half of the journey had its own difficulties. There were still severe morale problems and dozens of men refused to continue on the journey, wishing to stay in various ports in Africa and Asia and return later. There were still weather dangers, angry indigenous people and imperial conflicts.





Elcano took command from the Moluccas onward and eventually captained the Victoria, the only remaining ship of the original five, back to Spain on September 6, 1522. As a reward for his leadership in completing the voyage he was given a lifetime pension as well as a coat of arms. The motto was used in the title of this conference in Valladolid Primus Circumdedisti Me or You Were the First to Circumnavigate Me.





Elcano is an interesting historical figure, and both the way that he is commemorated and also forgotten can be instructive. Much of Magellans circumnavigation story goes largely unremembered or untold because of the way it conflicts with the great hero navigator mythology. Some of these things represent regional or ethnic tensions or divisions, such as Magellan not being Spanish yet being celebrated as a Spanish historical figure. For Elcano, he was from a Basque region of what is today Spain, and in another post, I may or may not delve into these sorts of differences and distinctions.





Elcanos presence himself on the voyage was due to a deal that he made in order to forgive a debt. During the voyage, he, like most everyone else on the trip, ran afoul of Magellan when he joined a mutiny and was punished. This is not to take anything away from Elcano, but simply show that the ways that Magellans conduct is often sanitized, trickles down to other figures, who also end up being paper-thin in their historical glory.





Listed below is a biography of Juan Sebastian Elcano.





***********************





Biography of Juan Sebastian Elcano

by Christopher Minster

Updated May 14, 2017

ThoughtCo





Juan Sebastian Elcano (1486-1526) was a Spanish (Basque) sailor, navigator, and explorer best remembered for leading the second half of the first round-the-world navigation, having taken over after the death of Ferdinand Magellan . Upon his return to Spain, the King presented him with a coat of arms that contained a globe and the phrase: You Went Around Me First.





Soldier and Merchant

In his early years, Elcano was an adventurer, fighting with the Spanish army in Algiers and Italy before settling down as captain/owner of a merchant ship.





When he was forced to surrender his ship to Italian companies to which he owned money, he found he had broken Spanish law and had to ask the King for a pardon. Young King Charles V agreed, but on the condition that the skilled sailor and navigator serve with an expedition the King was funding: the search for a new route to the Spice Islands, led by Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan.





The Magellan Expedition





Elcano was given the position of ships master on board the Concepcion, one of five ships making up the fleet. Magellan believed that the globe was smaller than it actually is and that a shortcut to the Spice Islands (now known as the Maluku Islands in present-day Indonesia) was possible by going through the New World. Spices such as cinnamon and cloves were immensely valuable in Europe at the time and a shorter route would be worth a fortune to whoever found it. The fleet set sail in September of 1519 and made its way to Brazil , avoiding Portuguese settlements due to hostilities between the Spanish and Portuguese.





Mutiny





As the fleet made its way south along the coast of South America looking for a passage west, Magellan decided to call a halt in the sheltered bay of San Julian, as he feared continuing in bad weather. Left idle, the men began to talk of mutinying and heading back to Spain. Elcano was a willing participant and had by then assumed command of the ship San Antonio.





At one point, Magellan ordered his flagship to fire on the San Antonio. In the end, Magellan put down the mutiny and had many of the leaders killed or marooned. Elcano and others were pardoned, but not until after a period of forced labor on the mainland.





To the Pacific





Around this time, Magellan lost two ships: the San Antonio returned to Spain (without permission) and the Santiago sank, although all of the sailors were rescued. By this time, Elcano was captain of the Concepcion, a decision of Magellans that probably had much to do with the fact that the other experienced ships captains were executed or marooned after the mutiny or had gone back to Spain with the San Antonio. In October-November of 1520, the fleet explored the islands and waterways at the southern tip of South America, eventually finding a passage through that to this day is known as the Strait of Magellan.





Across the Pacific





According to Magellans calculations, the Spice Islands should only be a few days sail away. He was badly mistaken: his ships took four months to cross the South Pacific. Conditions were miserable on board and several men died before the fleet reached Guam and the Marianas Islands and were able to resupply.





Continuing westward, they reached the present-day Philippines in early 1521. Magellan found he could communicate with the natives through one of his men, who spoke Malay: they had reached the eastern edge of the world known to Europe.





Death of Magellan





In the Philippines, Magellan befriended the King of Zzubu, who was eventually baptized with the name of Don Carlos. Unfortunately, Don Carlos convinced Magellan to attack a rival chieftain for him, and Magellan was one of several Europeans killed in the ensuing battle. Magellan was succeeded by Duarte Barbosa and Juan Serrao, but both were treacherously killed by Don Carlos within a few days. Elcano was now second in command of the Victoria, under Juan Carvalho. Low on men, they decided to scuttle the Concepcion and head back to Spain in the two remaining ships: the Trinidad and the Victoria.





Return to Spain





Heading across the Indian Ocean, the two ships made a stop in Borneo before finding themselves at the Spice Islands, their original goal. Packed with valuable spices, the ships set out again. About this time, Elcano replaced Carvalho as captain of the Victoria. The Trinidad soon had to return to the Spice Islands, however, as it was leaking badly and eventually sank. Many of the Trinidads sailors were captured by the Portuguese, although a handful managed to find their way to India and from there back to Spain. The Victoria sailed on cautiously, as they had gotten word that a Portuguese fleet was looking for them.





Reception in Spain





Miraculously evading the Portuguese, Elcano sailed the Victoria back into Spain on September 6, 1522. The ship was crewed by only 22 men: 18 European survivors of the voyage and four Asians they had picked up en route. The rest had died, deserted or, in some cases, had been left behind as unworthy of sharing in the spoils of the rich cargo of spices. The King of Spain received Elcano and granted him a coat of arms bearing a globe and the Latin phrase Primus circumdedisti me, or You Went Around Me First.





Death of Elcano and Legacy





In 1525, Elcano was picked to be chief navigator for a new expedition led by Spanish nobleman Garcia Jofre de Loaisa, who intended to retrace Magellans route and establish a permanent colony in the Spice Islands. The expedition was a fiasco: of seven ships, only one made it to the Spice Islands, and most of the leaders, including Elcano, perished of malnutrition during the arduous Pacific crossing.





Because of his elevation to noble status upon his return from the Magellan expedition, Elcanos descendants continued to hold the title of Marquis for some time after his death. As for Elcano himself, he has unfortunately been mostly forgotten by history, as Magellan still gets all the credit for the first circumnavigation of the globe. Elcano, although well-known to historians of the Age of Discovery , is little more than a trivia question to most, although there is a statue of him in his hometown of Getaria, Spain and the Spanish navy once named a ship after him.





Source: Thomas, Hugh. Rivers of Gold: The Rise of the Spanish Empire, from Columbus to Magellan. New York: Random House, 2005.




SANTIAGO, April 7 (Reuters) - China's Tianqi Lithium Corp said there were errors in a Chilean government agency's effort to block its purchase of a stake in local mining company SQM, local newspapers La Tercera and El Mercurio reported on Saturday (Shenzhen: 002291.SZ - news) .

Tianqi representatives challenged Chilean state development agency Corfo's claim that buying the stake would enable China to dominate the world lithium market and emphasized that Tianqi is a private company, the papers said.

The Corfo case seeking to limit Chinese participation in Chilean lithium mining is being closely watched as companies around the world try to shore up supplies of the key material in electric vehicles and cellphone batteries.

The head of Chile (Stuttgart: 704599.SG - news) 's National Economic Prosecutor's office, known by its Spanish-language acronym FNE, met on March 29 with three lobbyists for the Chinese miner to discuss "Corfo's complaint against Tianqi," according to Chile's lobbyist transparency website.

According to both papers, Tianqi's lawyers told the FNE at the meeting that "this is a Chinese private company, open on the stock exchange, in which the Chinese government has no interference."

A Chilean public relations agency representing Tianqi locally confirmed to Reuters the statements were made to both papers. Tianqi representatives in China had previously declined to comment on the case.

Tianqi lawyers also told FNE that the lithium market participation data used by Corfo in its claim was incorrect and overestimated Tianqi's participation in the global lithium industry, the papers said.

Corfo, which manages natural resources including mining in Chile, filed the complaint that was first reported by Reuters last month. It seeks to avoid a potential sale of the 32 percent stake in SQM held by Canada's Nutrien to Tianqi or any other company "controlled by the Chinese State."

The agency said a sale to Tianqi or any company backed by the Chinese state could affect "the competitive rivalry of the market" of the key mineral used in the manufacture of batteries for electric cars.

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Together, Tianqi and SQM, the world's second largest lithium producer after Albemarle, would control 70 percent of the world lithium market, according to the complaint.

The FNE has until August, with the possibility of further extensions, to determine whether to launch a full investigation.

Canadian fertilizer company Nutrien must sell its stake in SQM by next March as part of an agreement with regulators for the merger of Agrium (Dusseldorf: AGU.DU - news) and Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan (Xetra: 878149 - news) , which created Nutrien. (Reporting by Felipe Iturrieta; Writing by Caroline Stauffer)
Catalonia's former leader Carles Puigdemont addresses a news conference in Berlin, Germany, April 7, 2018. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke

Thomson Reuters

BERLIN (Reuters) - Former Catalan President Carles Puigdemont said on Saturday he hoped to live in Belgium once legal proceedings are concluded in Germany, where he was released on bail on Friday.

"My wish is to return to Belgium. But only after the end of the proceedings here in Germany, not before," he told reporters in Berlin.

"My plan is to remain of course in Berlin. It is my residence now until the end of this process," he added. Asked where he would stay in Berlin, he laughed and replied: "Well, the police know."

(Reporting by Sonya Dowsett; Editing by Paul Carrel)

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KIGALI (Reuters) - Rwanda's President Paul Kagame appointed Uzziel Ndagijimana as finance minister in a cabinet reshuffle, his office said.

Kagame swept to a landslide victory in a presidential election last year, securing a third term in office and extending his 17 years in power.

Late on Friday, he promoted state minister of finance Ndagijimana to replace Claver Gatete as finance minister, the office of the presidency said.

Gatete, a previous central bank head credited with overseeing a period of relative monetary stability, was named minister for infrastructure.

The economy has been rebuilt with a focus on technology, mining, tourism and agriculture following the 1994 genocide of 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and politically moderate Hutus.

Growth rates have averaged 5-6 percent over the last decade. This year, the International Monetary Fund expects its economy to expand by 7.2 percent.

In another move, Kagame named Yvonne Manzi Makolo as chief executive of the national carrier RwandAir. The airline sacked its previous head in April last year.

(Reporting by Clement Uwiringiyimana; Editing by Aaron Maasho; Editing by Janet Lawrence)

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For many adults, shortness of breath while exercising, climbing a flight of stairs, picking something off the floor or even being intimate is an everyday part of life, a new study has revealed. But while shortness of breath may be common, its never normal and may be a sign of lung disease, health experts warn.

The survey commissioned by the British Lung Foundation revealed that three in 10 British adults struggle to catch their breath after walking up a flight of stairs, The Independent reported Wednesday. The survey covered 2,000 adults, their overall exercise habits and what activities left them gasping for air. Four in 10 were short of breath after running to catch a bus and one in four experienced shortness of breath during sex. One in 10 needed to catch their breath after picking up something off the floor.

04_05_stairs

Alex Livesey/Getty Images

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The survey also revealed that it takes most adults 38 seconds to catch their breath, but for one in 20 it can take over two minutes before they are able to breath correctly again.

But Dr. Doreen Addrizzo-Harris, a professor in the Department of Medicine, Division of Pulmonology, Critical Care & Sleep Medicine at NYU Langone Health in New York, argues that just because this sensation may be widespread doesnt mean it should be ignored. Shortness of breath is never normal, Addrizzo-Harris told Newsweek. It should always be a concern, especially if it is new or progressive.

The most common causes of shortness of breath are either a lung or heart condition, low red blood cell count or being out of shape, according to Addrizzo-Harris. Pulmonologists use a patients age and life history to better understand what underlying cause may be causing their shortness.

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If it's a young person who is running a race and they are complaining of shortness of breath, its likely asthma related, said Addrizzo-Harris. If they are female and heavily menstruating, they may be anemic.

Shortness of breath may also be a sign of various pulmonary diseases such as COPD, interstitial lung disease, a group of diseases characterized by lung scarring or pulmonary hypertension.

Dr. Fernando Martinez, who specializes in pulmonary critical care at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York, told Newsweek that any type of shortness of breath should not be ignored. "We recommend to individuals that it is worth complaining about that sensation, said Martinez, explaining that, in most cases, shortness of breath is usually a sign of a heart or lung disease or being in poor shape.

Addrizzo-Harris advises that to minimize shortness of breath when you first start exercising, try to begin working out with a slow program and slowly progress over the course of several weeks. If youre still having trouble catching your breath, it may be time to see a specialist.

This article was first written by Newsweek

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philippines duterte speech angry

Dondi Tawatao/Getty Images

Cambridge Analytica's parent company SCL Group claimed it was behind Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's election-winning "man of action" image.

Now-deleted briefs from the company's website implied it refashioned Duterte's persona from a kind and honorable to one focused on toughness.

At a press club in Manila in 2015, Cambridge Analytica's CEO Alexander Nix said the company could win an election for a "fundamentally flawed" candidate using the "right combination of strategies."



Cambridge Analytica's parent company may have helped reinforce Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's tough-guy image to help him win the nation's presidency, according to deleted documents.

SCL Group, the entity which controlled Cambridge Analytica, appeared to once boast on its website that it had been a crucial player in Duterte's 2016 election victory, driving a campaign promising a violent crackdown on crime.

A report by The South China Morning Post cited an archived SCL webpage hyping a plan that branded a Filipino candidate as a "strong, no-nonsense man of action."

It does not name Duterte directly, but the link seems clear.

"In the run up to national elections the incumbent client was widely perceived as both kind and honorable, qualities his campaign team thought were potentially election-winning," the site reportedly said.

"But SCLs research showed that many groups within the electorate were more likely to be swayed by qualities such as toughness and decisiveness. SCL used the cross-cutting issue of crime to rebrand the client as a strong, no-nonsense man of action, who would appeal to the true values of the voters."

While SCL group claims to have rebranded Duterte as a "tough" candidate, he had already garnered a notorious reputation while serving seven terms as mayor of Davao City; the leader once admitted links to local "death squads," who executed over a thousand people involved in the drug trade during Duterte's rule.

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Duterte certainly amped up his tough rhetoric with the implementation of a bloody "war on drugs" shortly after being elected in 2016. Local and international groups have called to investigate the killing of thousands of Filipinos by police units since Duterte took office, with rights groups claiming the death toll could be over 12,000.

A map of SCL's worldwide offices still lists Manila as an area of operation.

Duterte and his government have not yet commented on any potential links to the SCL group.

Cambridge Analytica's CEO bragged about the company's success in Manila in 2015

alexander nix

Pedro Nunes/Reuters

Prior to the 2016 election, Cambridge Analytica's now-suspended CEO Alexander Nix, who is also a director of SCL, gave a speech to members of the Philippines' press club in Manila, according to the Post.

According to The Manila Times, Nix claimed that his company had seen a "100% success rate" in election campaigns around the world, including Asia, Africa, and Europe. Nix bragged that the data firm could get an otherwise "fundamentally flawed" candidate elected easily by highlighting their positive traits.

"Even if you have just one staggering likeable trait, given the right combination of strategies, you could win an election against a very formidable opponent," Nix said.

Several people with knowledge of Cambridge Analytica's campaigns have said that Nix was known to greatly exaggerate the company's methods and abilities.

The political-research company is currently at the center of a massive Facebook data scandal, which may have exposed the personal data of up to 87 million users to Cambridge Analytica.

Nix was suspended as CEO of the company last month as the company continued to grapple with the mounting scandal.

Cambridge Analytica has recently garnered attention for its role in helping Donald Trump's 2016 US presidential campaign and its social media strategy. The company's executives were caught on tape boasting about helping secure Trump's win.

Other political actors in several countries, including St. Kitts and Nevis' and Nigeria, may have also used SCL Group and Cambridge Analytica's services to help election campaigns.

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FILE PHOTO: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un speaks as he paid an unofficial visit to Beijing, China, in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in Pyongyang March 28, 2018. KCNA/via Reuters

Thomson Reuters

BEIJING (Reuters) - The Chinese government's top diplomat hopes that planned summits between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and the presidents of South Korea and the United States will "take the fuse" out of the situation on the Korean peninsula.

After a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, China's State Councillor Wang Yi said he hoped the summits would bring the issue of North Korea's nuclear program back into the realm of dialogue and negotiations.

"We all welcome and support the apparent improvement in the situation on the peninsula and appreciate the efforts of all parties," Wang, who is also China's foreign minister, said on Thursday, in comments posted on his ministry's website.

He hoped the three leaders would take the opportunity to completely defuse the situation, he added.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and U.S. President Donald Trump have both agreed to meet Kim. Trump has traded barbs with the North Korean leader for much of his time in office as Pyongyang pursues development of nuclear weapons capable of hitting the United States.

North Korea was "suffocating" under international sanctions, Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said on Thursday, adding, "They need an out."

Speaking at Duke University in North Carolina, Haley said, "When the president ends up speaking with Kim, the conversation has to be about denuclearizing. Not some of it, all of it. We don't want an irresponsible actor to have nuclear weapons."

She added, "But we're going into this very cautiously, very much knowing that he's looked at the Iran deal, he's seen what he can get and he's seen how he can push through loopholes, and we're not going to let that happen again."

Last month, China said it won a pledge from Kim, who was on a surprise visit to Beijing for talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, to denuclearize the Korean peninsula.

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China and Russia are both permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, which has imposed sanctions on North Korea in a bid to force negotiations with Pyongyang.

Tension on the peninsula has eased following a flurry of diplomatic activity in the lead-up to February's Winter Olympics held in South Korea.

North and South Korea have agreed to hold their first summit in more than a decade on April 27, while Trump has said he would meet Kim by the end of May.

Trump has threatened to withdraw the United States from an accord between Tehran and six world powers, signed in 2015 before he took office, unless France, Britain and Germany help to agree a follow-up pact by that date. Trump does not like the deal's limited duration, among other things.

(Reporting by Tom Daly and Min Zhang; Additional reporting by Michelle Nichols at the United Nations; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

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A Chinese sperm bank apparently has a plan in place to make sure its future citizens are good Communists. The Third Hospital of Peking University is requiring donors to be loyal supporters of the Communist Party, according to a statement released Wednesday on its WeChat web page.

The Beijing-based hospital has listed a series of requirements for potential donors in a six-week long donation drive that kicked off this week, The Telegraph reported. The requirements asked that donors have no serious illnesses or obvious signs of hair loss, color blindness or weight problems," among other criteria.

GettyImages-868824626

Fred Dufour/AFP/Getty Images

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Donors between 20 and 45 years of age must also love the socialist motherland, support the leadership of the Communist Party, be loyal to the partys cause and be decent, law-abiding, and free of political problems.

According to the South China Morning Post, potential donors will need to pass two tests before being allowed to donate. The first round of testing will check the quality of the donors semen and the second will assess general health and fitness.

The sperm bank will pay potential donors who pass the two rounds of testing 200 yuan ($32 USD), while men who successfully donate will be paid 5,500 yuan ($872 USD). Donors will be asked to donate around 10 times in a span of six months to make sure there is sufficient specimen for artificial insemination.

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A doctor at the hospital told the South China Morning Post that donors will not have to undergo testing to confirm their political loyalties. It would be fine as long as you consider yourself suitable, the unidentified doctor said.

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BBC News reported that the hospitals statement on WeChat was later deleted from social media on Friday evening.

The demand for sperm in China has skyrocketed since the end of the one-child policy in 2015. Chinas National Health Commission said there are only 23 sperm banks in the communist nation, and many are suffering from donor shortages.

Couples hoping to use sperm banks to conceive must prove that husband is infertile or could pass along a genetic disease.

This article was first written by Newsweek

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BERLIN (Reuters) - Former Catalan President Carles Puigdemont said on Saturday he would remain in Berlin while a German court considers whether to extradite him to Spain on a charge of misuse of public funds but he hoped to return to live in Belgium eventually.

A German court on Thursday rejected an extradition request for Puigdemont on the more serious charge of rebellion for his role in the campaign for the region's independence that could have resulted in a decades-long jail sentence in Spain.

"My wish is to return to Belgium. But only after the end of the proceedings here in Germany, not before," he told reporters in Berlin.

"My plan is to remain of course in Berlin. It is my residence now until the end of this process," he said.

Puigdemont, who fled Spain five months ago for Belgium after his administration's declaration of independence from Spain led to Madrid taking direct control of the regional government, was arrested last month on a Spanish-issued warrant as he entered Germany.

The Spanish government has said it would respect the German court's decision. But Spain's Supreme Court said on Friday it was considering consulting the European Court of Justice on the ruling, without giving more details.

Spain's Supreme Court reactivated international arrest warrants last month for Puigdemont and four other Catalan politicians who went into self-imposed exile last year.

(Reporting by Sonya Dowsett; Editing by Janet Lawrence)
FILE PHOTO: President of Ghana Nana Akufo-Addo speaks during Africa CEO Forum at the Sofitel Hotel Ivoire in Abidjan, Ivory Coast March 26, 2018. REUTERS/Luc Gnago

By Kwasi Kpodo

ACCRA (Reuters) - Ghana President Nana Akufo-Addo defended his government's approval of expanded military cooperation with the United States on Thursday, saying that it would enhance peace efforts in West Africa.

He said the deal, which was approved by parliament last month and allows for the deployment of U.S troops and their military equipment in Ghana, was in line with previous international pacts and did not constitute an offer to Washington to establish a military base.

Opposition lawmakers boycotted the vote after failing to block its approval, leaving members of the ruling party to ratify it.

"It is our firm belief that the agreement will help enhance our defence capability, and offer an important layer of support in our common effort to protect the peace in our region," Akufo-Addo said in a televised speech.

It was his first comment on a deal widely criticised by Ghanaians, including civil society groups and minor political parties.

Thousands of Ghanaians last week protested in the capital Accra against the agreement, in a rare public display of opposition to a growing foreign military presence in West Africa.

The deal will also allow U.S troops to use an airport runway that meets U.S. standards, and have free access to Ghana's radio spectrum. In return, the United States will invest $20 million in equipment and the training of Ghanaian troops.

Akufo-Addo rejected assertions by critics that the deal would allow the United States to establish a military base in Ghana.

"So let me state with the clearest affirmation that Ghana has not offered a military base, and will not offer a military base to the United States of America," he said.

"Indeed, the United States of America has not made any request for such consideration and, consistent with our established foreign policy, we will not consider any such request," he added.

(Reporting by Kwasi Kpodo, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)
Updated | Until April 15, heres a convenient excuse for any troubles in your life: Its all the fault of a quirk of the planetary dance that constantly unfolds across our solar system. Right now, Mercury is in retrograde, and astrology buffs claim that the planets apparent loop backward in our skies somehow makes life here on Earth more complicated. Theres even a handy website you can check to confirm the innermost planet is a valid scapegoat for your troubles.

But scientists who study Mercury arent looking for excuses. Theyre churning through a treasure trove of data produced by a recent NASA visit and anticipating the October launch of a new mission headed back to Mercury. All of that effort is directed toward solving the puzzles the planet represents: because not only are scientists not sure how it came into being, but what the last spacecraft to visit Mercury found wasnt at all what they expected.

Mercury is just so weird and so exotic compared to the moon and other terrestrial planets, Kathleen Vander Kaaden, a planetary scientist at the engineering company Jacobs Engineering Group working on a contract at the NASA Johnson Space Center in Texas, told Newsweek. Its just a very exciting planet.

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To untrained eyes, its weirdness may not be clear. Mercury is a tiny hunk of mostly metal, barely larger than the moon, dressed in a drab gray-brown and covered in scars left by billions of years of impacts. It speeds around the sun, which makes its surface incredibly hot during the day, but without an atmosphere blanketing it, the planet rapidly cools off every night. All that heat from the sun also creates a comet-like tail of sodium gas streaming away from the star.

The last spacecraft to visit Mercury was NASAs Messenger mission, which circled the planet from 2011 to 2015 before purposefully crashing itself into it. Messenger revealed that the planet had once been volcanically extremely active, that its dense core was even larger than scientists had expected, and even that the planet is shrinking.

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Those discoveries have complicated the process of trying to piece together Mercurys entire life story. Typically, planets that form near each other have pretty similar interior structures. Venus, Earth and Mars all have a small dense metallic core at their centers surrounded by a thick blanket of rock.

But Mercurys structure looks very different. Its missing most of that rocky sheath, and scientists arent sure why. Perhaps Mercury formed elsewhere, then migrated in toward the center of our solar system. Perhaps it has always been here but had a catastrophic encounter with something even larger that scraped off its skin of lighter material. Scientists know there must be a secret in Mercurys past to explain why it is mostly metalthey just dont know what it is.

Its too big a mystery to tackle all at once, so instead scientists investigate smaller questions that feed into the bigger picture. Vander Kaaden, for example, is trying to replicate Mercury in miniature in her lab. Using tiny mixes of metal and rock that mimic the planets layers, she then forces them into low-oxygen, high-pressure conditions like those of the planets past. Then, she compares the results to measurements Messenger took of Mercurys surface in search of a better understanding of how the planet formed and changed over time.

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Some of that change is lost in the distant past, like rock formed by the giant sea of magma that likely once covered the planets surface, which was later buried by eruptions of lava that stopped about 3.5 billion years ago. Or at least scientists thought they had stopped. But then Messenger spotted magma that had oozed out here and there across the planets surface and bright reddish splotches that seem to suggest there have been some explosive eruptions as well.

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Its those bright patches that have fascinated David Rothery, a geoscientist at the Open University in the U.K., who points out that until Messengers data, scientists had no idea Mercury might have had volcanic activity on its surface within the past billion years. What were realizing now is thats not the end of the story, he said. We really want more detailed images of these vents and the craters in which they occur.

Rothery and his colleagues dont know yet whats driving those explosionshes not even willing to assume there are volcanoes involvedbut he says it has to be some compound that can turn to gas. And heres another weird thing: Mercury is full of compounds that usually turn to gas and dissipate off into space quite quickly. In particular, theres much more sulfur than scientists had expected to find.

The rocks on the surface that we found out from Messenger are just fascinating because they dont look like any of the predictions that were made before the spacecraft got there, Nancy Chabot, a planetary scientist at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland, told Newsweek.

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Chabot focuses her time on whats tucked within the rock, particularly hidden in craters at the planets poles, where the sun doesnt shine: water ice. Chabot and others studying Mercury dont know yet if the water has always been there or was brought there by the comets that bombard its surface. And right now, she and her colleagues know much more about the North Pole than the South Pole because of Messengers path around the planet.

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NASA

But the next spacecraft to visit Mercury will offer a much better picture of the South Poleand its coming soon. Just three years after the Messenger mission ended, Mercury scientists are already preparing its successor, a joint European and Japanese mission called BepiColombo that will launch in October. BepiColombo will take seven years to reach its destination, but once it does, it will separate into two individual orbiters. Until then, scientists studying Mercury will occupy themselves with what they have.

Theres still plenty of fruit on the Messenger tree, Rothery said. Well be happily working with Messenger data until BepiColombo gets there for sure.

Sean Solomon, a planetary scientist at Columbia University in New York who was one of the leading scientists behind Messenger, is confident that its successor will bring back as many questions as answers, thanks to its new instruments and flight plan. Thats true with every planet in our solar system, he said. We have never been so wise as to fully anticipate what our neighboring planets would look like.

Even when Mercury appears to move backward in our sky, it moves forward in science.

This story has been updated to correct Kathleen Vander Kaaden's affiliation.

This article was first written by Newsweek

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Britain's Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson speaks during a banquet with diplomats at Mansion House in London, Britain March 28, 2018. REUTERS/Simon Dawson/File Photo

MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Russian embassy in London has sent a request for a meeting of its envoy with British foreign minister Boris Johnson to discuss the case of an ex-Russian spy and his daughter poisoned in Salisbury, the RIA news agency reported on Saturday.

"We hope for a constructive response from the British side and are counting on such a meeting in the very nearest future," the agency cited a spokesman for the Russian embassy saying.

The Foreign Office confirmed it had received the request for ambassador Alexander Yakovenko to meet Johnson, but called the request a diversionary tactic.

"We will be responding in due course," it said in a statement.

Relations between Russia and Britain have plunged to their lowest for decades since former Russian spy Sergei Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia, 33, were found slumped unconscious on a bench in Salisbury last month.

Both were found to be suffering from the effects of a nerve agent but are now recovering in hospital.

Britain blamed Russia for the poisoning and asked it to explain what happened but Russia denies any involvement and has suggested Britain itself carried out the attack to stoke anti-Russian hysteria.

Both have subsequently accused each other of trying to deceive the world with an array of claims, counter-claims and threats.

At a session of the executive of the global chemical weapons watchdog earlier this week, Russia called for a joint inquiry into the poisoning of the Skripals but lost a vote on the motion.

The two then swapped insults at the United Nations Security Council on Thursday where Russia warned Britain it was "playing with fire" by accusing Moscow.

Saturday's Foreign Office statement said: "Its over three weeks since we asked Russia to engage constructively and answer a number of questions relating to the attempted assassinations of Mr Skripal and his daughter.

"Now, after failing in their attempts in the UN and international chemical weapons watchdog this week and with the victims condition improving, they seem to be pursuing a different diversionary tactic."

(Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin and Stephen Addison; editing by Jason Neely and Stephen Powell)
Sinclair Broadcast Group forced its local news anchors to read a script warning viewers about the danger of false news. Now a consumer watchdog group is trying to force Sinclair stations to run ads warning viewers about the companys monopolization of local media.

Washington D.C.-based Allied Progress said it bought a six-figure ad buy across four Sinclair-owned stations in order to run a 30-second ad featuring a viral video of Sinclair anchors across the country reading the same company-mandated monologue on bias in the news media. The ad encourages viewers to contact the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and ask it to block a proposed $3.9 billion merger between Sinclair and Tribune Media that would give the company unprecedented control over local news broadcasts.

On Friday afternoon, Allied Progress executive director Karl Frisch said the ads were shipped Thursday morning to run Friday, but the ads had yet to run. A Baltimore station blamed the delay on a review of the spot, according to Frisch, who was told by three of the four stations that the ad will begin running this weekend. The fourth, a Sinclair station in Seattle, told Firsch on Friday it was still waiting for final approval of the ad.

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Ive been part of many media buys, Ive never seen a review process take this long, Frisch told Newsweek.

Sinclair did not respond to multiple calls for comment. Three of the four Sinclair stations that were sent the ad buys declined to comment on the ads. The ad department at Baltimores WBFF could not be reached by press time.

What happens when your local news isnt local? This, a narrator intones in the ad, before a clip from the viral video, created by Deadspin, show anchors across the country reading the same script.

Sinclair owns this station and nearly 200 others, the ads narrator says. Now Sinclair is trying to control local news stations in 72 percent of American homes. Tell the FCC to stop the Sinclair merger.

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The buy would have the ad run 175 times over the next week on Sinclair stations in Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Seattle and Des Moines, Allied Progress said in a Thursday press release.

Our hope with the ad was to point out that what youre seeing is what they are able to with 170 some stations, Frisch told Newsweek. The Tribune merger is highly problematic, but it's just the beginning.

The Justice Department and the FCC are required to review the proposed merger, which would give Sinclair control of more than 210 stations across the country. Sinclair, which currently owns more than 170 stations in more than 80 markets nationwide, has been criticized by former and current employees, many of whom have contracts that force them to pay damages to the company if they resign, for allegedly forcing a conservative bias onto local news broadcasts.

The company has required local stations to read scripted political statements on-air for many years. A former employee wrote in The New York Times that scripts were given to anchors during the George W. Bush administration that said Democrats were trying to undermine the United States and that the former president was winning the war on terror. In 2004, the company barred its affiliates from airing a Nightline segment in which anchor Ted Koppel read the names of more than 700 fallen American service men and women who had died in the Iraq war. In more recent years, the company had stations broadcast commentary segments criticizing former President Barack Obama. In 2015, the company began forcing stations to run daily updates from its  Terrorism Alert Desk.

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Company chairman David Smith defended the company to The New York Times on Tuesday, calling the scripted segments standard practice in the industry. He also told the Times it was nonsense to claim the company used required scripts to push a right-wing agenda.

Frisch said he knew it would be difficult to get the ads on the air. Its really a choice for them to accept them or not, Frisch said, explaining how Allied Progress choose the four stations that received the ad buys. Allied Progress chose WBFF in Baltimore because its the companys flagship station; KDSM in Des Moines because its represented by Republican Senator Chuck Grassley, who heads the judiciary committee, which has jurisdiction over mergers; WJLA in Washington, D.C. because it broadcasts in the nations capital; and KOMA in Seattle because theres been a lot of coverage Sinclair employees being dissatisfied with their corporate overlords there, Frisch said.

The FCC review of the merger has been halted twice, and its own commissioners have agency criticized the agency for aiding the company in its move to acquire Tribune. Democratic FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel tweeted this week that the agencys big media policy decisions all seem custom-built for the business plan of Sinclair Broadcasting. Last November, the FCC voted to overturn long-standing media ownership rules that prevented companies from owning two of the top four broadcasters in a local media market, a move which aided Sinclairs bid to acquire Tribune.

Sinclair has been a supporter of President Donald Trump, who defended the company this week, tweeting Monday Sinclair is far superior to CNN and even more Fake NBC, and again Tuesday that The Fake News Networks are worried about the competition and quality of Sinclair Broadcast.

This article was first written by Newsweek

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An employee at the gun store that sold the gun used in the YouTube headquarters shooting last week has said there was nothing to suggest the suspect would go on to use the weapon for an unprovoked attack.

Manny Mendoza, rangemaster at The Gun Range in San Diego, California, confirmed to Mercury News that Nasim Najafi Aghdam legally purchased the 9mm Smith & Wesson pistol from his store on January 2.

After the mandatory 10-day waiting period had passed, Aghdam picked up the gun on January 16, the same day YouTube announced a change in how users will receive revenue from uploading content to the site.

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Mendoza said there was nothing memorable about the purchase from Aghdam. Its not like she stood out, he told Mercury News. I wish we could look into someones soul.

San Bruno Police Chief Ed Barberini previously said that Aghdam went to a gun range to practice with the semi-automatic weapons she bought before launching the attack at the YouTube headquarters. Mendoza said that to the best of his knowledge, she did not use any of the stores 13 shooting lanes.

Nasim Najafi Aghdam video

Nasim Najafi Aghdam

Officers visited the Jackson Arms Shooting Range in South San Francisco, a few miles from YouTube headquarters, as part of the investigation.

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The Gun Range got in contact with police after seeing reports of the shooting and recognizing Aghdam as a previous customer of theirs.

Three YouTube employees were injured at the shooting on the San Bruno before Aghdam turned the gun on herself. Its as tragic as can be, Mendoza said of the incident.

Police have said they are planning to delve deeper into Aghdams past in order to fully develop a possible motive for the attack.

Story continues

Her father, Ismail Aghdam, said she had become angry at the site after believing they were trying to "suppress" content creators.

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In one video posted under her online name Nasime Sabz , she can be heard complaining that YouTube filtered my channels to keep them from getting views!"

The frequent poster used YouTube to promote veganism and animal rights, often with elaborate production values.

On the day of the shooting, YouTube announced they will be changing the eligibility requirement for monetization to 4,000 hours of viewing time within the past 12 months, with channels needing at least 1,000 subscribers.

"This will be a long and very methodical investigation," said Geoff Caldwell, a police commander in San Bruno.

This article was first written by Newsweek

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People wondered why Prince Harry and Meghan Markle did not attend Easter services with the royal family. Queen Elizabeth was there, but Prince Philip was home following a hip injury. Prince William and a pregnant Kate Middleton were there but not their children. That was probably Duchess Kate's last public appearance before she gives birth to the couple's third child later this month.

Trip to the United States

According to ABC News royal contributor Omid Scobie, Meghan flew back to the United States to give her mother an update on her wedding plans to Prince Harry on Saturday, May 19.

The bride to be left London last Thursday and went back to her native Los Angeles. It was her first time in America since she moved away last November following the announcement of her engagement to Prince Harry. It was a surprise that she was able to get away without any reports of it until she returned.

Meghan Markle flew home to Los Angeles over Easter weekend to update her mother on the couple's wedding plans  https://t.co/FUu9txfo7k pic.twitter.com/yO2a6KvK1J  Good Morning America (@GMA) April 4, 2018

Meghan shared as much as she could with her mother, but she and Harry are planning to fly Doria Ragland to London ahead of the wedding so she can help make the final preparations and meet the royal family.

The social worker and yoga instructor will meet her daughter's future in-laws for the first time and see the wedding dress before Meghan walks down the aisle on May 19.

#MeghanMarkle jetted out to Los Angeles last Thursday to spend quality time with her mother Doria and share details of her wedding preparations for her #RoyalWedding to Harry next month. Meghan and Harry are flying Doria to London before the wedding.  pic.twitter.com/z5ZrEp47P6  Royally_Petite  (@RoyallyPetite) April 4, 2018

Meghan's supporters

Details of Meghan's wedding dress have been kept a top secret -- and for very good reason.

The dress designer has not been revealed, but that person has been making periodical trips to Kensington Palace for Meghan's fittings.

Besides her mother, Meghan will have her best friend Jessica Mulroney close by her side to support her in the final days before the wedding. It has not been determined if she will be a bridesmaid or a maid of honor.

After all, Jessica is a bridal consultant and reports say she is helping Meghan make major decisions pertaining to the wedding.

While the dress is kept under wraps, Harry and Markle did announce that Philippa Craddock, London's popular florist, is taking care of all the flowers for the church and the two receptions. One reception will be given by Queen Elizabeth after the wedding at St. George's Hall at Windsor Castle with about 600 guests.

Prince Charles will host another reception later in the evening at Frogmore House on the grounds of Windsor Castle with about 200 family members and close friends.

It looks like plans are coming together for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding next month.
Esequiel Hernandez Jr. was an American citizen, a teenager living with his family in Texas when he was killed by United States Marines in 1997. Amid President Trumps cries for increased patrol of the Mexico-US border, those who still remember Esequiel are doubtful that a heightened armed military presence will solve anything.

Who was Esequiel Hernandez Jr.?

He had just turned 18, but Esequiel wasnt yet sure what he wanted to do with his life. The day he was killed, he was on his familys property herding goats. His bedroom wall had a Marine recruitment poster adorning it.

The teen carried a rifle to protect the herd from wild dogs and coyotes that were common around the area. Not long after he left the family home with his goats, Esequiel was dead. Camouflaged Marines were hiding in the brush nearby with their M-16s. Esequiel bled to death about 300 yards away from his house.

Conflicting accounts of his death called into question whether Esequiel had fired shots at the Marines first. His relatives and Texas Rangers who investigated dont think that the teen ever saw the troops, who wore blackened faces and camouflage that mimicked the landscapes natural foliage.

PBS later ran a documentary on the shooting, using publicized radio transcripts to quote the Marines.

Hes armed with a rifle, appears to be herding uh  some goats or something, one Marine said. Afterward, the men claimed, Esequiel had shot at them from across a ravine, and the next radio communication stated, Were taking fire.

The next quote said simply, Our Marines took him out.

Later, an autopsy presented evidence that Esequiel was facing away from the hidden Marines when he fired his rifle.

But those who defended the moves of the military that day claimed that Esequiel looked directly at the men and raised his rifle to shoot.

A judge determined that Corporal Clemente Banuelos had fired on the teen in self-defense. However, the federal government later paid Esequiels family $1.9 million to settle their claim.

Trumps position on border safety

A local activist told the media that Were all suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome thats 20-years old, over the circumstances surrounding the teenagers death. According to his younger brother Margarito, his mother, passed away in 2017, still in shock and riddled with grief over her boys death.

Recently, Representative Beto ORourke of Texas referenced Esequiels killing on Twitter. His comments against Trump indicated that This is what happens when we militarize the border.

A woman who said she went to school with the slain teen responded to questions about Trumps border plans with concerns over the safety of the move. With between two to four thousand National Guard troops at the border, Trump hopes to cut down on illegal immigration and drug trafficking.

But at what cost? Residents of Presidio and the surrounding area wonder.

Other Americans have posed similar questions regarding the cash cost of Trumps proposed wall. If human lives arent valuable enough, Trump wants billions of dollars for construction of a mostly concrete wall. After claiming hed make Mexico pay for the wall, now he expects the U.S. military to fund it.

Critics speculate whether more walls will help anything, especially when these Marines who killed an American teenager, on his own property, were given a free pass.
During the most recent presidential election in 2016, a lot of voters felt somewhat duped after the polls closed and they realized that a large number of Fake News Sites popped up to sway votes and tamper with one of America's most passionate pastimes: politics. Love it or hate it, mainstream media is one of the biggest sources of coverage when it comes to an election, especially that of the highest office in the country.

The rise of Facebook fake news

The previous election was special in that one of the front-runners for the Republican candidate, Donald Trump, practically built his platform around the fact that mainstream media spreads false information, things that were taken out of context in one way or another, and, you guessed it, fake news.

The passion that he displayed and his convincing tone that resonated with voters across the board ultimately lead Americans to seek alternatives to news outlets like Fox News, MSNBC, and CNN, which was one of Trump's main targets throughout his campaign and still to this day.

With the booming demand for more news outlets came a surge of fake news sites - almost as if Trump spoke them into existence. Social media was the fake news creator's dream, especially sites like Facebook, Instagram, which Facebook owns, and Twitter, where sharing any and everything happens like wildfire, either because people feel that there's an important message that they think everyone should know about or just because they want the likes, shares, and followers.

Where the ads played their part

With all of its many, always prevalent ads, Facebook was slammed by critics across the nation for its lack of responsibility in vetting its advertisers with the type of scrutiny that they should have been. To rectify this, Mark Zuckerberg posted on Facebook stating that the company would allow "Issue ads" for advertisers to post politically related ads during an election, however, the ads could not endorse any one candidate that was running for office over the other.

Facebook released information to state that they had recently removed as many as 270 accounts that were established in Russia - accounts whose sole purpose was to spread false information to American voters during the 2016 election season. Not only did they spread false information, but the fake news sites were noted for supporting the Trump campaign and pumping fiction into the election left and right.

Even still, the Facebook CEO knows that there's only so much that they can disallow in the wake of coming election season. These steps by themselves wont stop all people trying to game the system, Zuckerberg stated in his Facebook post. But they will make it a lot harder for anyone to do what the Russians did during the 2016 election and use fake accounts and pages to run ads.
In recent days, Israeli military forces launched an attack on peaceful Palestinian protesters, killing 17 and leaving hundreds more injured. They were commemorating the anniversary of their expelled from Israel territory and claiming their right of return. This is the most recent violent attack on Palestinians by Israeli forces since 2014. A report by Al Jazeera provided most of the information used in this article. It seems like this conflict and its brutality is never going to find a peaceful way to resolve the differences between the parts involved in it.

The rest of the world just can watch and horrified themselves with the incapability of the international entities as the United Nations to stop the murdering of millions of Palestinians whose only sin is trying to return to the land that once was their home.

Although this war has left a scar in the history of humankind, a lot of people ignore the reasons and the interests behind it. Understanding the conflict means to take a look of the history book and review the facts that occurred in the 20th century when the Civil War for the Holy Land took place, exactly after the mess caused by the second world war.

In this article, you will find a little information to start to comprehend one of the bloodiest battles in the Middle East.

Civil war and the catastrophe

After the victory of the allies and the finish of the second world war in 1945, other conflicts started to appear. For example, the tension between Israel and the Arab states for the control of the Palestine territory, which finally triggered a civil war in 1947; this war ended with a new territorial distribution in the middle east and with the catastrophe that is an expression used by the Palestinian Arabs who refer to the date when they were expelled from their home by Israel.

Palestinian right of return or the sacred right

After the events that concluded with the Israel declaration of independence and the catastrophe, the UN emitted a resolution that established that "refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbours should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date, and that compensation should be paid for the property of those choosing not to return and for loss of or damage to property which, under principles of international law or equity, should be made good by the Governments or authorities responsible." Until today this right has been negated and that is the main reason for the discontent of the Palestine people and their continuous protests against Israel government.
After just over a year in office, Donald Trump continues to face criticism from his political opponents and the majority of the mainstream media. In an attempt to paint the administration in a more positive light, the president's son decided to go back into the vault and bring up an old interview that his father did with Oprah Winfrey.

Very proud to have a President do what what he said he was going to do. For decades now @realdonaldtrump has been signaling the alarm against the hollowing out of America. Other countries have been Dumping and screwing over America for too long. Time to get tough! #maga #tbt pic.twitter.com/B7EIcrHxFb  Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) March 8, 2018

Don Jr. uses Oprah

When Donald Trump announced his campaign for president back in June 2015, he quickly came under fire after referring to illegal immigrants from Mexico as "rapists" and "murderers." From the moment that seed of controversy was planted, Americans took a side of either support or opposition when it came to Trump.

Fast forward to present day and Trump is facing increased criticism due to his policy proposals, political agenda, and the scandals that have plagued his administration.

While the president is sitting on an approval rating under 40 percent, his son Donald Jr. is coming to his defense. In a tweet sent out on March 8, Don Jr. used a clip from a 30-year old interview with Oprah Winfrey to help promote his dad's agenda, while adding his own message in the process. "Very proud to have a President do what what he said he was going to do," Don. Jr tweeted.

"For decades now Donald Trump has been signaling the alarm against the hollowing out of America. Other countries have been 'Dumping' and screwing over America for too long," the younger Trump tweeted, while concluding, "Time to get tough!" and using the hashtag "MAGA." In the video clip, Trump is seen talking to Oprah where he speaks about the United States being in debt and getting taken advantage of by other nations, which is the same language and talking points used today.

Instant backlash

Following the tweet sent out by Donald Trump Jr, critics of the administration hit back. "He still doesn't love you more than Jared. Enjoy being the domino that brings down the presidency," one tweet read.

Yeah, your father is indeed a prince, he has surrounded himself with the best felons on earth, they have lied, cheated, and stolen from the American people, but I do feel that their light is about to dim and they will receive the ultimate punishment. Thanks Mr Mueller  Randy Hadley (@randy_hadley) March 8, 2018

Why isn't he sitting up straight here? Were the bone spurs painful or did he get spanked too hard the night before?  ReadyForImpeachment (@igneousidol) March 8, 2018

Too bad he won't be President when your ass goes to jail.#Resist #LockHimUp #Resistance  Michael Dean (@mkdean911) March 8, 2018

"Yeah, your father is indeed a prince, he has surrounded himself with the best felons on earth, they have lied, cheated, and stolen from the American people, but I do feel that their light is about to dim and they will receive the ultimate punishment.

Thanks Mr. Mueller," one Twitter user wrote. "Hey when he paid off Stormy to keep quiet about 'paternity information,' you figure that was about Eric or Barron?" a follow-up tweet added.

Well, hes certainly been doing a lot of screwing.  That Cec (@girl_cec) March 8, 2018

Just think he's doing it again, only for the betterment of the upper 1% which I am sure you will benefit too, millions & millions & millions of dollars floating into your pockets. You are as lame as you dad is. Lamest president ever.  StableGenius (@Cynthiaisone) March 8, 2018

Hey when he paid off Stormy to keep quiet about paternity information, you figure that was about Eric or Barron?  John Dalton (@Dalton642) March 8, 2018

"Just think he's doing it again, only for the betterment of the upper one percent which I am sure you will benefit too, millions and millions and millions of dollars floating into your pockets. You are as lame as you dad is. Lamest president ever," yet another tweet stated. "Well, hes certainly been doing a lot of screwing," a sarcastic social media user tweeted out.
The highly anticipated second season of "Marvels Jessica Jones" finally hit Netflix just last month, and trust me, it did not disappoint. Two years was a long time to wait for the second season but the payoff sure was worth it. However, Jessica Jones isnt the only Defenders team member that fans have been waiting for. Just last month the trailer for the second season of "Luke Cage" was released as well and fans went wild. Thirty days later and the vibe isn't quite as positive.

Heroes for Hire team-up?

Of course, as we all know, "Luke Cage" is returning to Netflix in June for its second season as Mike Colter revives the titular role.

Recently a new photo was released revealing the return of Finn Jones Danny Rand (a.k.a Iron Fist) in the second season of "Luke Cage." Thats right, everybody, Marvels most problematic TV character is back to ruin yet another viewing experience.

It would be an understatement to say that "Marvels Iron Fist" was poorly received. The overwhelming dislike of the character wasnt limited to his own shows first season but even spilled over into the Netflix crossover. Most fans whove watched "The Defenders" will agree that Danny Rand was the worst part of the show. Many took to Twitter to express their disdain over Danny entering the world of Cage. No one asked for this, is what many fans are saying.

In fact, some go as far as to say that the team-up signals the decline of the show.

Others speculate that Iron Fists appearance in "Luke Cage" signals a future "Heroes For Hire" series. For now, a "Heroes for Hire" crossover seems to be nothing but rumors and fan speculation and well all have to wait and see what Danny and Luke are up to in season 2.

However, British film magazine Empire was able to get a quote from show-runner Cheo Hodari Coker: Danny helps Luke channel his chi, said Coker regarding Danny Rands "brief" appearance in the show's second season. I guess Luke will be learning some new moves.

Misty gets her arm back

In other "Luke Cage" news, Simone Messick's Misty Knight will be getting the iconic bionic arm worn by her comic book counterpart.

During "The Defenders" season finale Mistys arm was severed in the battle against The Hand.

With her new bionic arm and a growing friendship between her and Colleen Wing, the "Heroes for Hire" crew will soon be complete. Nonetheless, all shall be revealed when "Luke Cage" Season 2 hits Netflix on June 22, 2018.
Acacia Mining plc, together with its subsidiaries, mines, processes, and sells gold in Africa. The company has three gold mines in north-west Tanzania, including Bulyanhulu, Buzwagi, and North Mara; and a portfolio of exploration projects at various stages of development in Tanzania, Kenya, Burkina Faso, and Mali. It also produces co-products, such as copper and silver. The company was formerly known as African Barrick Gold plc and changed its name to Acacia Mining plc in November 2014. The company was incorporated in 2010 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom. Acacia Mining plc is a subsidiary of Barrick Gold Corporation.

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Medical marijuana ordinance clears first reading by city council

The Aberdeen City Council has approved the first reading of an ordinance outlining regulations for medical cannabis establishments within the city limits.
SAN FRANCISCO  A fierce Northern California storm Friday shut down Yosemite National Park, threatened mudslides in wildfire-ravaged wine country and could present the first test of a partially repaired offshoot of the nations tallest dam that nearly collapsed last year.

Recent heavy rainfall has led to problems for a state recovering from devastating wildfires, forcing people to flee their homes repeatedly for fear of debris flows tearing down hillsides stripped bare by flames. But the downpours also have provided relief as parts of California plunged back into drought less than a year after a historic dry stretch

The so-called Pineapple Express carrying moisture from Hawaii had dumped around 2 inches (5 centimeters) of rain in many areas and as much as 5 inches (12 centimeters) in Sonoma County by Friday evening, according to the National Weather Service.

Some places in the Santa Cruz Mountains south of San Francisco could see up to 8 inches (20 centimeters) of rain over a three-day period, leading forecasters to warn of possible flooding, mudslides and rockslides.

San Francisco International Airport reported about 150 flights  10 percent of the flight schedule  were cancelled because of the weather and others were delayed an hour or more.

A cancelled flight stranded Santa Rosa native Lydia Smith who was trying to reach Oregon for a baby shower.

Im like on the verge of tears, she told KGO-TV.

Yosemite National Park closed campgrounds and lodging in its busy Yosemite Valley because of flooding concerns, with the Merced River there expected to peak 5 feet above flood stage on Saturday.

The opener of the San Francisco Giants-Los Angeles Dodgers weekend series was rained out, the first at the Giants ballpark in 12 years.

About 50 miles north in wine country scorched during October wildfires, the National Weather Service predicted 4 to 6 inches (10 to 15 centimeters) of rainfall through Sunday.

The city of Santa Rosa, one of the hardest-hit burn areas, brought in extra firefighters and emergency personnel, fire department spokesman Paul Lowenthal said.

Its not the amount of rainfall worrying city officials but the rate at which it falls, he said. Workers have been monitoring hundreds of storm drains, especially those protecting neighborhoods destroyed by fire.

When we start talking about half an inch of rain or more an hour, thats where were more susceptible to mudslides and debris flow in and around our burn zones, Lowenthal said.

The weather service issued several flood warnings throughout Northern California ahead of the expected atmospheric river, a long plume of subtropical moisture stretching to areas near Lake Tahoe.

To the north, state officials warned this week that they may have to use the partially rebuilt spillway at Oroville Dam for the first time since repairs began on the badly damaged structure last summer.

Behind the dam, Lake Oroville has been filling up all winter, and more water was coming in than flowing out Friday. The water level was last at 793 feet (242 meters) and dropping. If it reaches about 830 feet (253 meters), water managers say they will open the gates to the spillway.

In February 2017, a massive crater opened up in the 3,000-foot (914-meter) concrete chute that releases water from Lake Oroville, Californias second-largest reservoir.

Crews shut down the spillway for inspections just as a major storm dumped a torrent of rain. The lake quickly filled, and water began flowing over an emergency spillway that had never been used.

The water eroded the barren hillside beneath the spillway, leading to fears it would collapse and release a wall of water that could swamp communities downstream. Authorities ordered nearly 200,000 people to flee, but the crisis was averted.

California officials say they hope to avoid using the main spillway but are confident it can safely function.

News that the spillway may be needed has concerned some people in the city of Oroville, said Genoa Widener, a vocal critic of the water agency.

While some of her friends have decided to leave for the weekend to be safe, Widener said shes not concerned the storm will pose a threat. Still, shes frustrated theres even a question about it.

They have the lake rise so much in the last month to try to have some kind of water stored going into the summer, she said. So theyve kind of put us in this position again.

Leroy Mudrick said hes not worried because the water level is much lower than it was before last years storm.

The lake is still way down, Mudrick said.
Copyright  2018 Albuquerque Journal

When the governor last month appointed Michael Brasher to the University of New Mexico Board of Regents, Brasher cited in a Journal interview his ongoing service on the State Board of Finance as relevant higher education experience.

Indeed, the Board of Finances significant authority extends to many college and university matters.

The seven-member panel led by Gov. Susana Martinez in recent months has granted approval for New Mexico State University to proceed with a $21.5 million dormitory project and for Western New Mexico Universitys master of nursing and post-master family nurse practitioner certificate.

But its precisely the boards level of involvement in higher education that some say will require Brasher to tread carefully now that he also has governance responsibility at UNM.

Some lawmakers and government ethics advocates contacted by the Journal say Brasher should at the very least recuse himself from any Board of Finance votes involving UNM.

And some are also questioning the wisdom of putting Brasher on two boards where the potential conflict exists.

For me its just frustrating because weve got so many qualified people in the state  why do we need to have one person do two separate things?  Dont we have a bigger pool to choose from? said Viki Harrison, executive director of Common Cause New Mexico, which describes itself as a nonpartisan organization that promotes transparent, accountable government.

Its not that hes not a great guy. Hes got an impeccable record. Im not saying that. Im just saying that hes already doing something, and so youre putting him in a position where hes got conflicts of interest right off the bat. And I just think weve seen this in so many instances, with so many people, so many governors.

Martinez appointed Brasher to both boards. But neither she nor Brasher is talking about how Brasher intends to navigate his dual roles.

Martinezs spokesmen and Brasher have not responded to Journal inquiries on the subject.

Harrison said Brasher should erect serious firewalls between his two roles to maintain the publics trust. She said he should not participate in anything at the Board of Finance that is monetarily benefitting the university.

The Board of Finance has a say in many public agency actions.

Colleges and universities must get their approval to issue revenue bonds, purchase real property, construct new buildings, do any major remodeling projects or add graduate programs.

UNM has gone to the Board of Finance recently with its masters program in Native American Studies and with a plan to buy 0.786 acre of land in Taos for a new Harwood Museum of Art parking lot. The board approved both.

But the board was also the notable foil in UNM Hospitals 2012 plan for a new hospital. The board effectively killed the effort by never voting on the project, thus preventing UNM from proceeding.

The university has since conceived a different proposal for a new hospital, though it remains in the planning stages.

Some prominent lawmakers contacted say that Brasher should start recusing himself from certain BOF decisions.

Rep. Patricia Lundstrom, a Gallup Democrat who chairs the House Appropriations and Finance Committee, said Brasher should not vote on any UNM-specific project.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman John Arthur Smith, D-Deming, said Brasher should recuse himself on any higher education vote  even those not specific to UNM.

Quite frankly, I think his vote would be tainted just by the position hes in for all of higher education, Smith said.

Sen. Steven Neville, an Aztec Republican, said that many UNM  and possibly some other higher education votes  could present a conflict for Brasher. He said Brasher should consider, on a case-by-case basis, recusing himself from the BOFs various university decisions, even if only to combat public perception that he has a conflict.

I think its going to be a bit of a tightrope hes going to have to walk to make sure he does the job right, Neville said. Im not saying its impossible, (but) hes going to have to be very cautious.

According to the states Governmental Conduct Act, full disclosure of real or potential conflicts of interest shall be a guiding principle for determining appropriate conduct for public officials and at all times, reasonable efforts shall be made to avoid undue influence and abuse of office in public service.

Kathleen Sabo of the nonpartisan nonprofit New Mexico Ethics Watch said it would be prudent for Brasher to avoid any Board of Finance votes involving UNM.

When it comes to votes involving other institutions with which UNM sometimes competes  such as New Mexico State University  she said its less obvious, but she hopes it inspires an open dialogue.

It would be great if the Board of Finance as a whole would discuss the matter out in the open, she said.

State Treasurer Tim Eichenberg, a Board of Finance member, said the matter has not been discussed by the board, since it hasnt met since Brashers appointment to the regents.

Eichenberg said he can only assume that Brasher will recuse himself from any UNM matters, calling him an honorable man. He said he does not think Brasher must sit out votes on all higher education requests.

Michael Brasher is going to do the right thing, and, that would be, he would not vote on an issue before the Board of Finance that concerns the University of New Mexico, he said.
A federal judge has centralized four of the lawsuits stemming from the Gold King Mine spill for hearing before a federal court in Albuquerque against the wishes of the state of New Mexico and the Navajo Nation.

Three of the suits were already seated in New Mexico, including those brought by New Mexico, residents of New Mexico and the Navajo Nation. The fourth suit was brought by the state of Utah, which hoped to delay a decision on running all of the lawsuits through the same federal judge.

The New Mexico residents, part of the McDaniel lawsuit, told the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation they supported the centralization, according to the panels order issued Wednesday.

Given the apparent complexity of the factual issues, as well as the potential for significant tag-along activity centralization is warranted, federal Judge Sarah Vance, chair of the panel, wrote in the order.

The lawsuits target Environmental Restoration LLC, the company working on contract with the Environmental Protection Agency at the Gold King Mine near Silverton, Colo., in 2015 when the mines containment system burst and flooded the Animas River with more than 3 million gallons of toxic wastewater, including more than 500 tons of heavy metals.

The company sought to have all of the lawsuits streamlined through one jurisdiction.

But New Mexico and the Navajo Nation had hoped informal coordination and cooperation would suffice to keep the lawsuits moving.

We look forward to working alongside the other injured parties to recoup the damages done to our environment, cultural sites, and our economy, Matt Baca, spokesman for the New Mexico Attorney Generals Office, wrote in a statement.

The order says the four lawsuits will be heard before Chief Judge William P. Johnsons federal court in Albuquerque in order to streamline the lawsuits by avoiding duplicative, complex discovery and eliminate the potential for inconsistent ruling on sovereign immunity, government-contractor immunity, and other issues.

Colorados legislature has approved legal action against the company and federal government, but an official lawsuit has not been filed.

EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt said in March that the federal government is close to finishing its assessment of roughly 400 individual claims for financial damages related to the spill.
Albuquerque Police Department detectives investigate after a woman was shot and killed at the Palisades RV Park on Central near 98th early Thursday Prev 1 of 3 Next

Police have released the names of the three people who were killed around the city over the past nine days.

Albuquerque Police Department spokesman Simon Drobik identified the victims as 55-year-old Shirley Olguin, Benjamin Hutchinson, 39, and Vernon Adrian Talamante, 34.

Officers found Olguin fatally shot outside the Palisades RV Park, on Central near 98th street, in the early morning hours of March 29.

Police have not said what led to the shooting or if they have any suspects in the case.

Three days later, on April 1, police say Hutchinson and another man were in a fight at the Flying J truck stop in west Albuquerque, near 98th and Interstate 40, when Hutchinson was intentionally struck by a car. He was taken off life support a few days later.

The other driver fled the scene after striking Hutchinson. Investigators have released surveillance photos of the car they believe he was driving  a silver Chevrolet Cobalt with a Pennsylvania license plate and photos of a person of interest taken from inside the store.

The most recent homicide investigation began Wednesday, when officers responding to a shooting call found Talamante shot to death in a home at the Russwood apartment complex, in the 4200 block of Atrisco NW, north of Ladera.

No arrests have been made in the case but Drobik said they interviewed numerous witnesses at the scene.

Police have not said what led to that shooting or given any other details.

The Journal was not able to reach the families of Olguin or Hutchinson, but spoke with Talamantes wife Thursday.

Jessica Talamante said she had a bad feeling when her sister-in-law called to tell her the apartment she shared with her husband, who went by Adrian, was inundated with yellow tape and police vehicles.

My heart just dropped, she said. You just knowyou get that feeling.

The family waited on the outskirts of the complex until around 10 p.m., when officers broke the news.

Talamante said she doesnt know why her husband was killed and police didnt give her any details, except that it happened inside neighbor Brandon Cruzs apartment.

Cruz was taken away by police as a witness but released later.

Cruzs mother, Sandra Lucero, said she spoke to her son after his release.

Lucero said her son told her two men, who he didnt recognize, said something along the lines of whats up to Talamante and Cruz as they walked into Cruzs apartment.

They didnt think nothing of it, she said. While Brandon was closing the door, (one of the other men) kicked the door open and they started shooting.

Lucero said a bullet grazed her sons arm, and went through his shirt, as he was behind the doorTalamante was fatally shot.

I dont know if he was the target or what, she said.

The deaths of Olguin, Hutchinson, and Talamante come on the heels of a spate of homicides throughout March.

In the past three weeks, 10 people have been killed around the city and only one arrest has been made.

And police have reported a total of 19 homicides throughout the year, with five of them resulting in arrests. By this time last year the city had seen 11.
SANTA FE  An overflowing bathroom sink has raised nuclear safety issues at Los Alamos National Laboratory.

Water from the sink on the first floor of the labs Plutonium Facility recently leaked into a basement used to store drums of radioactive transuranic waste, according to a report by a federal oversight board.

The brief report by inspectors for the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) said the leak raises issues about nuclear criticality safety, or the issue of preventing uncontrolled nuclear reactions.

The water didnt cause any problems, according to the lab. But the DNFSB suggested it could be a warning about what could happen if more dangerous liquids were involved. On the first floor of the Plutonium Facility, the water reached an area near the aqueous processing rooms, said the DNFSB.

The report says the National Nuclear Security Administrations Los Alamos Field Office is examining whether the incident challenges assumptions about what would happen if spills of fissile solutions  liquids able to undergo nuclear fission  were to leak into the basement where large volume geometrics are currently uncontrolled.

No one the Journal reached Friday could say with confidence what the phrase about uncontrolled geometrics means.

A LANL spokesman said, During the week of March 5, 2018, a few gallons of water overflowed from a sink in one of our administrative areas of TA-55 (the labs Technical Area 55) with a small amount eventually settling in our basement rad storage area. The basement area of TA-55, which is specifically designed to isolate and contain water intrusions, functioned as designed and there were no incidents.

There was no contamination associated with this water overflow, and it did not occur in an area of the facility where radioactive materials are processed.

LANL critic Greg Mello of Los Alamos Study Group said the basement is a staging area for wastes containing fissile material. If a fissile solution leak could find its way into the basement in sufficient quantity, a criticality (incident) could occur, especially in combination with other factors that might be present in any accident, such as fire-fighting water. This is going to have to be analyzed  and one way or another, fixed.

We never dreamed water could leak to the basement from the first (processing) floor, now apparently proved by a bathroom faucet, said Jay Coughlan of Nuclear Watch New Mexico.
AUSTIN, Texas  Arizona and Texas announced Friday that they would send 400 National Guard members to the U.S.-Mexico border by next week in response to President Donald Trumps call for troops to fight drug trafficking and illegal immigration.

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey said about 150 Guard members would deploy next week. And the Texas National Guard said it was already sending Guardsmen to the border, with plans to place 250 troops there in the next 72 hours as an initial surge, according to a Guard spokesman. Two helicopters lifted off Friday night from Austin, the state capital, to head south.

The total so far remains well short of the 2,000 to 4,000 National Guard members that Trump told reporters he wants to send. New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinezs office said Friday that it had not yet deployed any Guard members. The office of California Gov. Jerry Brown did not respond to questions about whether it would deploy troops.

Trumps proclamation Wednesday directing the use of National Guard troops refers to Title 32, a federal law under which Guard members remain under the command and control of their states governor. This leaves open the possibility that Californias Brown could turn him down.

Defense Secretary James Mattis Friday night approved paying for up to 4,000 National Guard personnel from the Pentagon budget through the end of September. A Defense Department memo says the National Guard personnel will not perform law enforcement functions or interact with migrants or other persons detained without Mattiss approval. It said arming will be limited to circumstances that might require self-defense, but it did not further define that.

Deployments to the border under former presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama both occurred under Title 32. Bush sent around 6,000 troops in 2006, and Obama sent 1,200 Guard members in 2010.

Trumps proclamation blamed the lawlessness that continues at our southern border. Trump has suggested he wants to use the military on the border until progress is made on his proposed border wall, which has mostly stalled in Congress.

After plunging at the start of Trumps presidency, the numbers of migrants apprehended at the southwest border have started to rise in line with historical trends. The Border Patrol said it caught around 50,000 people in March, more than three times the number in March 2017. Thats erased a decline for which Trump repeatedly took credit. Border apprehensions still remain well below the numbers when Bush and Obama deployed the Guard to the border.

News reports of a caravan of Central American migrants passing through southern Mexico also sparked angry tweets from the president. The caravan of largely Central American migrants never intended to reach the U.S. border, according to organizer Irineo Mujica. But Trump has repeatedly cited it as an example of what he called Americas weak immigration laws.

Department of Homeland Security officials have said Guard members could support Border Patrol agents and other law enforcement agencies. DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said this week that guard members could help look at the technology, the surveillance, and that the department might ask for fleet mechanics. Federal law restricts the military from carrying out law enforcement duties.

From 2006 to 2008, the Guard fixed vehicles, maintained roads, repaired fences and performed ground surveillance. Its second mission in 2010 and 2011 involved more aerial surveillance and intelligence work.

Leaders in both Arizona and Texas said Friday that they were working with federal planners to define the Guard members mission.

The Arizona National Guard said in a statement Friday that it would provide air, reconnaissance, operational and logistics support and construct border infrastructure.

As the helicopters were taking off Friday in Texas, Guard spokesman Lt. Col. Travis Walters said that the 250 troops going is what our initial surge is so that we can then very quickly roll in a larger amount of forces as needed. Walters did not specify where the first round of troops would be stationed.

About 100 Guardsmen remain deployed as part of the existing state mission in Texas Rio Grande Valley, the busiest corridor for unauthorized crossings on the southwest border.

Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, now Trumps energy secretary, originally sent about 1,000 Guard members to the border in 2014 in response to a surge in the number of unaccompanied immigrant children crossing the Rio Grande.

___

Associated Press writers Bob Christie in Phoenix and Susan Montoya Bryan in Albuquerque contributed to this report. Nomaan Merchant reported from Houston.
Regarding the editorial Too few really favor immigration compromise published March 31, the editorial board of the Albuquerque Journal failed to do its research before writing its opinion.

(I believe) there are several inaccurate assertions in the editorial.

First, it claims that advocates do not want to compromise on obtaining a solution for the plight of 1.8 million Dreamers. The facts say otherwise.

The truth is the Trump administration, which ended the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Sept. 5, 2017, has rejected several compromises that would have exchanged $25 billion for a border wall in exchange for a path to citizenship for 1.8 million undocumented youth  most recently in negotiations on the omnibus budget bill. The Trump administration also worked against a similar compromise on the Senate floor in February, forged by a bipartisan group of senators because they wanted the elimination of the family immigration and diversity lottery visa systems as well. Despite reservations with constructing a border wall, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) supported the compromise.

Second, the editorial claims that immigration proponents, in advocating for sanctuary policies, are unwilling to work with federal officials to deport immigrants who have committed crimes. Again, local jurisdictions, including Albuquerque, have not cooperated with federal initiatives such as Secure Communities, which require all immigrants who are detained  even if for a small infraction such as a broken tail light  to be handed over to the federal authorities. Families in New Mexico and across the nation live in fear, often terrified to go shopping, visit the doctor or go to church, much less report crime.

In the interest of public safety, these local enforcement officials believe that keeping trust and cooperation with immigrant communities is in everyones interest, as it helps them better identify and prosecute criminals in our neighborhoods. In addition, local jurisdictions have few resources and no legal obligation to assist with civil immigration enforcement, which is the sole responsibility of the federal government. And, despite assertions to the contrary, officials across the nation do cooperate with federal officials to hold those immigrants they consider a threat to the community.

Finally, as to my position, I have consistently maintained that appropriate enforcement is an essential element to any reform of the current immigration system. This is consistent with Catholic teaching, which reaffirms the right of a sovereign nation to control its borders. I would question the efficacy, expense and ethics of a 2,000-mile wall however, especially when, according to government statistics, net migration across our southern border is at its lowest point since the 1970s.

As I and the U.S. bishops have advocated for years, the best way to address the challenge of illegal immigration humanely and effectively is to adopt immigration reform legislation which would include a citizenship path for undocumented immigrants with equities in our country, reform the legal immigration system, and address the root causes of migration, such as conflict and poverty, in sending countries. Such reform should necessarily include enforcement measures which uphold the rule of law in a manner that respects human rights and human dignity.

Sadly, Congress and successive administrations have failed to take this step, even after several tries. I, and many other Catholics and Americans of good will, will continue to speak out until Washington does its job.
WASHINGTON  To reading, writing and arithmetic, we can now add solidarity.

The new teacher activism  born in West Virginia and spreading to Oklahoma, Kentucky and Arizona  is not a flash in the pan. And its about more than the demand for higher wages and benefits. It is a revolt against decades of policies that gutted public institutions.

More immediately, it is a response to the decimation of state spending on education since the 2008 recession. The economy has recovered, but state support for education has not. In an excellent report last November on K-12 expenditures, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities showed that in 29 states, total state funding per student was lower in the 2015 school year than in the 2008 school year in real terms.

In Arizona, spending per student was down an astonishing 36.6 percent; in Oklahoma, it had dropped 15.6 percent; in Kentucky, 5.9 percent. Among the states, Concordia University-Portland reported, Arizona (at $7,489) and Oklahoma (at $8,082) ranked, respectively, 48th and 47th in 2015 per-pupil outlays.

(New Mexico spending was pegged at $9,752 per pupil, above Colorados $9,245 and below Californias $10,467.)

As a marker of our countrys political direction, the teacher strikes and demonstrations are part of a larger upheaval against conservative assumptions that have long been embedded in the countrys thinking, in some cases going back to the 1970s. They should be seen in tandem with the student-led revolt against National Rifle Association orthodoxy on gun control and the mobilization against President Trump.

Progressives and moderates have been winning elections in unlikely places. Democrat Conor Lambs victory in a very red Pennsylvania district last month is a prime example of a trend visible all over the nation. In eight special elections in Oklahoma since Trump took office, according to an analysis last month by FiveThirtyEight, the swing to Democrats was 32.1 percentage points. It ranked behind only Kentucky, which held just two special elections in that period.

And progressives have been clawing back lost ground in some of their former strongholds. On Tuesday, a liberal backed by Democrats was elected to Wisconsins formally nonpartisan state Supreme Court. Rebecca Dallets triumph marked the first time the party had won an open seat on the top court since 1995.

The interaction of broad opposition to Trump, growing engagement on the Democratic side of politics, and specific revolts against conservative ideas suggests that we may be at the beginning of an uprising that transcends the moment.

In 1978, California passed the property-tax-slashing Proposition 13, which portended the Reagan Revolution and a general shift to the right. The measure reflected conservative activism and the power of right-wing money. But it was also a sign of genuine popular feeling that property taxes on average homeowners had risen too high, too fast. The anti-tax movement quickly took hold across the country.

Todays rebellion, Prop 13 in reverse, is also built on genuine disaffection, in this case over the impact of deep budget cutbacks in conservative states, usually to support tax cuts tilted toward corporations and the well-off.

The teachers are bringing this home by refusing to confine their energies to their own pay. They are highlighting the deterioration of the conditions students face  aging textbooks, crumbling buildings, and reductions in actual teaching time. About 20 percent of Oklahomas school districts have gone to four-day weeks.

The focus on school funding could also transform our education debate. A legitimate desire for education reform and widespread interest in charter schools as one vehicle for change have often elided into unrestrained teacher- and union-bashing. Parts of the right have used both as cover for undermining the very idea of public education.

The red state insurrections are a reminder of something that can be lost in our back-and-forth about school reform: Money matters. You cant run a decent school system on the cheap. If you could, successful suburban school districts wouldnt invest so much, and teacher pay is part of this. Genuine reformers arent wrong to demand improvements in school quality. But they need to separate themselves unequivocally from those who simply want to trash public services.

Its too early to be certain that 2018 is 1978 turned on its head. But it would be short-sighted to overlook the signs that conservative ideology is on the defensive and that most voters are exhausted by divisive and self-absorbed presidential leadership. We have a lot of problems to solve, and the old right-wing bromides are only making them worse.

Dionnes columns, including those not published in the Journal, can be read at abqjournal.com/opinion  look for the syndicated columnist link. Copyright, Washington Post Writers Group; e-mail: ejdionne@washpost.com. Twitter: @EJDionne.
Fox News host Laura Ingraham has apologized, as has the network, for nothing more serious than her tweet: David Hogg rejected by four colleges to which he applied and whines about it. (Dinged by UCLA with a 4.1 GPA  totally predictable given acceptance rates.)

The 17-year-old Hogg, a survivor of the Feb. 14 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., is the new face of the anti-gun movement, having achieved overnight victim status, reserved, apparently, only for those on the left, which supposedly insulates him from criticism.

Hogg rejected Ingrahams apology and called her a bully. Whatever happened to sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never harm me? If Hogg thinks he is being bullied by Ingraham, how would he react to a real bully, the kind who punches you in the face?

Instead of adopting a poor me stance, Hogg should have asked to appear on Ingrahams show where the two could have debated the issues. He didnt make this request; instead he swiped at Ingraham in the media. Isnt there something a little cowardly about that?

I first met Laura Ingraham in the early 80s when she was a student at Dartmouth College. Even then she was smart, articulate and opinionated. She and two male colleagues got into a battle with the college administration over a student publication called The Dartmouth Review. The conservative campus newspaper often satirized the growing political correctness movement, including attempts by the school to remove its Native American mascot.

Laura is a kind, compassionate woman and a practicing Roman Catholic. She is a single mother of three adopted children who might have experienced a far different life without her. She is also a breast cancer survivor.

The left says things far worse than what she tweeted about David Hogg. My hate mail makes her remarks seem tame by comparison, but I dont demand apologies. I can take it.

Speaking of comparisons, recall what Joy Behar said on ABCs The View about Vice President Mike Pences Christian faith. She mocked his beliefs and suggested they might reflect a mental illness.

Apparently under similar pressure from ABC, Behar apologized on the air and went further, calling the vice president and apologizing to him directly, which he graciously accepted.

In an interview with The Outline, Hogg spewed the worst profanities and insulted parents, who he thinks are stupid because they are not fluent in social media. Where is parental discipline when its needed most? If he were my kid and behaved as he does, hed be grounded. If the behavior continued, hed have to find somewhere else to live.

Some sponsors have pulled their commercials from Ingrahams show, as some did after Behars insulting remark.

This is the wrong approach. Instead of boycotts and threats, how about celebrating the First Amendment by encouraging people to say what they think? Then viewers can decide whether to buy what a program is selling or change channels. That was what the left said to do in the 1980s when conservatives were upset by some TV programming. If you dont like it, change the channel, they said. If that was an option then, why isnt it one now?

Debate is better than boycotts and pressure, egged on by groups that raise funds from this type of controversy. The country and its politics would benefit from genuine debate, rather than attempts to silence people with whom we might disagree.

Let David Hogg speak his immature mind and let Laura Ingraham have her say. And then let them debate each other, assuming Hogg doesnt want to adopt another role, that of coward.

Email: tcaeditors@tribpub.com. Copyright, Tribune Content Agency LLC.
They blend in to veterans groups, military parades and usually sport a hat or jacket displaying the logo of a branch of the service. They tell intriguing stories about their military exploits with highly trained and super-secret special forces like the Navy Seals, Green Berets or Army Rangers. Some may let you see their Medal of Valor, Silver Star or Purple Heart. You instinctively want to thank them for their service. But beware. Those patches and medals can be bought online as fast as you can type in a credit card number.

The reality is that someone who passes themselves off as a war hero by displaying a medal they did not earn is guilty of violating the Stolen Valor Act of 2013. An earlier version of the Act was found to have abridged free speech and was declared unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court, but the latest version is very specific. It is a federal crime to flash a medal and pose as a war hero for personal gain. An imposter can be fined, sentenced to prison for up to a year  or both. Twenty-seven states have also passed similar laws, New Mexico being the latest.

Some military frauds buy medals at memorabilia shows and pose as heroes simply to make themselves look important. Many others violate the law by soliciting or earning money from their deception.

Gilbert Rainault of Colorado claimed he was a Green Beret suffering from PTSD and traumatic brain injury. His false tale attracted an angel investor who loaned him considerable money to start ODA Tactical & Apparel company. When his benefactor became suspicious and questioned him about his military service, Rainault bolted, taking valuable merchandise and firearms and leaving behind whats alleged to be a $100,000 debt. He was arrested earlier this year on multiple charges of fraud, criminal impersonation and weapons possession. He was never a Green Beret.

William Hillar of Maryland raked in more than $171,000 by posing as an expert in counterterrorism, drug trafficking and human trafficking and sold training programs to various public safety groups. He lied for 12 years, and in 2011 the FBI caught on. He was ordered to repay all he earned, sentenced to 21 months in prison for wire fraud and ordered to perform 500 hours of community service at the states veterans cemeteries. I could give you countless more examples of stolen valor.

Why does this matter? My pal, Gordon Hamel, an Army combat medic with the 25th Infantry Division in Vietnam put it best. Thousands of vets who served honorably have gone to jail and thousands more are living on the streets, he wrote me in a recent e-mail. To see some gutless (expletive) wearing decorations that guys who were killed didnt get eats away at those of us who lived a year of horror.

Hamel says no one can spot a military poser faster than an actual military veteran. The giveaways include how they wear their uniform and where they place the medals and patches they buy.

If you have doubts about someones story, request a Freedom of Information Act report or write to the Military Records Archive in St. Louis. Be aware, however, that facility had a disastrous fire in 1973 and lost up to 80 percent of the Army and Airforce files up until 1964. Dont think crafty phonies dont take advantage of that gap. If someone tells you the military has no record of their service because of that fire, be suspicious.

Websites like MilitaryPhony.com post current reports of military fraudsters complete with their photos, military documents and FOIA reports. Administrators say that stealing the valor of true heroes is often just the tip of criminal activity.

We have uncovered countless cases of criminal activity associated with individuals we expose, a message on the site reads. They often go through the lives of people around them like a tornado, leaving a trial of emotional, physical and financial destruction.

I guess if youd lie about being a war hero lying, cheating and stealing from others might come easy.

GuardiansOfTheGreenBeret.com, which features a Heroes and a Zeroes section, also keeps an up-to-date roster of imposters. A recent posting exposes a 32-year-old man, dressed in full Green Beret regalia including a 12th Special Forces Group Flash patch on his beret. That was an immediate red flag to the sites investigators because the 12th Group was deactivated in September 1995 when the fraudster was just nine years old. I discovered one can buy a Flash patch for just $4.49 online; a Special Forces green beret costs $17.95.

There are some 20 million military veterans in the United States. Nearly all of them are either hard-working, taxpaying citizens or unemployed, struggling and even homeless. We should not wait until Novembers Veterans Day to honor them. We should praise them every single day for their service. But we should also not believe every person who claims a grand military career. True vets deserve the truth.

www.DianeDimond.com; e-mail to Diane@DianeDimond.com.
Former state Rep. Idalia Lechuga-Tena seems to have a hard time grasping simple concepts of democracy, so well try to boil them down for her.

 Politicians shouldnt seek to represent a legislative district when they dont live in that district.

 Individuals cant vote in the United States if theyre not U.S. citizens.

 And equating her situation with lawmakers from around the state who stay in Santa Fe during the legislative session is preposterous. As is her contention that if a judge rules she should be disqualififed, so should they.

When a candidate is trying to convince voters that she is the best person for a particular office, that candidate ought to try to put her best foot forward. But Lechuga-Tenas approach so far leaves the impression shes either clueless or not accustomed to having to follow the rules  neither of which instills confidence.

Lechuga-Tena, a Democrat, is seeking to run against fellow Democrat and incumbent Debbie Sarinana in the June 5 primary for the House of Representatives District 21 seat. Lechuga-Tena was kicked off the ballot for living outside the district she wants to represent, which covers much of Albuquerques International District.

She didnt dispute she was living outside the district. She does argue that the home she owns is still her permanent residence because shes registered to vote there, lived there before agreeing to rent out her house for a year and intends to move back once the renters leave. Indeed, her tenant, through tears, testified she received a termination notice in February directing her to leave the home by early April.

Lechuga-Tena and Marco Gonzales, her lawyer/husband, also argue theres no physical residency requirement for House members under state law.

State District Judge Nancy Franchini disagreed, ruling that an intent to return to her home in the district wasnt enough. The judge determined Lechuga-Tena was required to live in the district on Jan. 29, the day the election proclamation for the primary was issued.

Franchini made the right call, and her ruling should be upheld, despite the appeal Lechuga-Tena filed with the state Supreme Court warning of absolute chaos at the Legislature if the decision stands. She compares her situation to that of legislators who leave their home districts for a month or two each year to rent a place in Santa Fe during legislative sessions.

Nonsense.

There is a vast difference between leaving your home for a 30- or 60-day session to represent your constituents and moving to another district while you rent out your home for a year as Lechuga-Tena did. We hope the Supreme Court rejects this appeal. But if some obscure precedent exists that convinces justices to reinstate her candidacy, we urge voters to think long and hard about whether they want someone who lives in that gray area between right and wrong to represent them in the state House of Representatives.

After all, this isnt the first time that Lechuga-Tena has been mired in controversy.

When she was appointed to the District 21 seat in 2015, she acknowledged she had only recently moved into the district. At the time, she also acknowledged that about a dozen or more years earlier, she voted in a local election before she was a U.S. citizen. She has called it an honest mistake, and we have no reason to question that.

Still, the fact she parachuted into the district just before she was appointed in 2015 and is parachuting back in on the eve of the 2018 primary leaves the impression shes a political opportunist more interested in capturing a House seat than actually serving the people of House District 21.

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.
SANTA FE  State Rep. Kelly Fajardo, R-Belen, won a court decision this week securing her spot on the ballot.

Fajardo faced a lawsuit aimed at disqualifying her as a candidate because of a typo on the header of some of the petitions she used to gather voter signatures. Her name was misspelled as Fajado.

State law has rather strict rules on the information in headers.

But Fajardo said in social media posts that she was glad that the court recognized the complaint for what it was: a cynical attempt by special interest groups to manipulate the outcome of an election by clearing the field. Tactics like these discourage good people from running for office and fuel the publics suspicions that the political process is rigged.

Fajardo is the only Republican candidate in House District 7, based in Valencia County. In the fall, she is set to face Democrat Leroy Baca of Belen.

Its certainly the time of year for ballot challenges. Republican Sharon Clahchischilliage of Kirtland also withstood a ballot challenge over a petition header.

Two Democrats in the governors race are also sparring over whether one of them should be kicked off the ballot.

Jeff Apodaca challenged the validity of petition signatures turned in by state Sen. Joseph Cervantes.

Cervantes turned back the challenge on Thursday, but Apodacas campaign plans to appeal.

Any ballot changes must be resolved by April 20  45 days before the election  to leave enough time to print ballots and send them to military and overseas voters, according to the Secretary of States Office.

CYBERATTACK MONEY: New Mexico is getting some extra money to improve election security and guard against cyberattacks on the voting system.

Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver said the state will receive $3.7 million in federal funding as part of the $1.3 trillion federal spending bill signed last month.

The money comes after Russian agents targeted election systems in the United States before the 2016 general election, according to the U.S. Homeland Security Department.

My staff and I are in the process of determining the best way to maximize these funds to bolster our election security at the state and county level and improve our elections overall, Toulouse Oliver said in a news release.

She credited U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., with helping to secure the funding.

Dan McKay: dmckay@abqjournal.com
Today, thousands of tourists make the semiannual pilgrimage to the middle of nowhere, where, nearly 73 years ago, night became day, J. Robert Oppenheimer became death and hell rumbled into the heavens.

This desolate spot in the aptly named Jornada del Muerto desert is the Trinity Site, open to the public twice a year, where the first atomic bomb was unleashed early July 16, 1945.

Only it wasnt the middle of nowhere.

Tourists will likely not hear much about the thousands of New Mexicans who lived in the shadow of the mushroom cloud at Trinity, many of whom have died or struggled with bouts of cancer and disease they say are attributable to the bombs radiation that contaminated their communities.

But if these tourists stop outside the gates to Trinity Site, if they stop to chat with the people there holding protest signs, theyll hear about the Tularosa Basin Downwinders.

Theyll hear from Tina Cordova.

I talk to people from all over the world who come to see Trinity, said Cordova, an Albuquerque businesswoman who grew up in Tularosa. They often have not heard about what part we played in the process, how we were enlisted into the service of our country without our consent, without being acknowledged or compensated or cared for. They dont hear our story on the inside. The government never tells the rest of the story.

But, for 13 years, Cordova has. And she has told it in this column since 2010.

But the people she needs to listen to her and to act are in Washington, D.C.  and that has proven to be tougher than approaching folks outside the gates of the Trinity Site.

We continue to wait, she said. And people continue to suffer.

The story begins in Tularosa, her small hometown 45 miles from Trinity. As a child, she said it was hard to find a family for miles that had not been afflicted with thyroid cancer or other thyroid-related diseases, leukemia, brain tumors or autoimmune diseases, such as lupus and scleroderma.

Many in Cordovas own family died from cancer; many others battled cancer, including her.

It was hard, she said, not to believe a link existed between the abnormally high number of illnesses in these communities and the long-term effects of radiation that had fallen in 1945 like snow, without warning or explanation, fouling water sources, the land, the vegetation, the livestock, and the livelihoods of residents then and the generations that have followed.

In 2005, she co-founded the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium, which has collected hundreds of stories and more than 1,200 health surveys about death, disease and the bomb as told in town hall meetings, focus groups and scientific studies of residents who still suffer from the fallout.

In 2015  70 years after the Trinity Site blast  Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., became the first federal lawmaker to travel to Tularosa to listen to the residents stories. He backed a bill seeking to amend the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, or RECA, to include the downwinders of New Mexico so that they could receive compensation, just as the residents of Nevada, Utah, Idaho and Colorado, exposed to radiation from the Nevada Nuclear Test Site, do.

The bill went nowhere.

Last year, a revised bill was introduced, this one sponsored by Sen. Michael Crapo, R-Idaho, along with Udall and fellow New Mexico Democrat Sen. Martin Heinrich, among others.

Besides the New Mexico downwinders, this bill also seeks compensation for uranium miners in Idaho, Colorado and Montana.

The bill was assigned to the Senate Judiciary Committee, which has twice scheduled Cordova and others to testify. Both times, the meetings have been canceled.

A similar bill in the House, sponsored by Rep. Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., and 36 cosponsors from both parties, also remains snagged.

Still, Cordova said she and the consortium are trying to raise enough money to send 10-12 of them to Washington to testify this summer before Congress, if given the chance.

Weve got the data, weve got the science, weve got the stories, she said. Now, we just need the time.

Because, she said, time is running out. Although many of the people who lived in the shadow of the mushroom cloud are dead, the radiation aftermath continues, the diseases flourish, the need continues.

If you go to the Trinity Site today, and even if you dont, I hope you hear that part of the story.

UpFront is a front-page news and opinion column. Comment directly to Joline at 823-3603, jkrueger@abqjournal.com or follow her on Twitter @jolinegkg. Go to www.abqjournal.com/letters/new to submit a letter to the editor.
Copyright  2018 Albuquerque Journal

Jim Nelson was trying to make a buck, not help the drug addicted and mentally ill.

Bernalillo County was selling a 5,860-square-foot residential facility in the South Valley, and Nelson had to pay only about $160,000.

It was such a good deal. I was going to flip it, said the general contractor and investor. I could have sold it for $50 a foot and made a pretty good chunk of change.

He paid for it in cash, closing on it in February 2017.

Nelson, who has been a real estate investor for 25 years, said nothing appeared odd about the sale at first. Both he and the county used real estate brokers. He used a title company that didnt find any liens against or other problems with the property, which has an administrative wing, group living space and a large kitchen. No one disclosed any adverse material facts about the stucco complex at 305 Lagunitas SW.

But when he wanted to refinance it, he learned that, in 2005, the property, through an agreement with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Supportive Housing Coalition of New Mexico, became restricted. It could be operated only as a supportive home for homeless people with drug addictions or mental illnesses.

A Restrictive Real Estate Covenants document for the property said it must be used for those purposes until 5 p.m. on Aug. 31, 2035. A different Declaration of Restrictive Covenants for the same property says the home has to be used only for those purposes until the same date in 2025.

He said the county never disclosed the restriction on the property when it sold it to him.

I didnt think I would be restricted just to drug addicted and homeless people, he said. That kind of limits you on who your buyers might be.

The county disagrees, and contends that it did reveal the covenants.

The big kicker: The document said that if the owner uses the home for anything other than that specific form of supportive housing, the owner has to pay HUD up to $749,490.

The covenant comes with a $750,000 lien, said Nelson, who thought he was going to undertake a couple months worth of work, then flip the property, possibly as a retirement home or long-term care facility.

The county instructed a frustrated Nelson to hire an attorney.

The county manager wants to work with him, we really do, said Larry Gallegos, a Bernalillo County spokesman. We kind of feel like he needs an attorney so we can do some negotiations.

In a letter to Nelson in December, Assistant County Attorney Eric Schuler told Nelson that the county has no legal interest in the property.

The county encourages you to seek legal counsel regarding this matter and to pursue any legal remedy that you deem appropriate. Nevertheless, the county contends that it performed its obligation during the sale to disclose these covenants to you for your consideration, Schuler said. Your decision to ignore them is not within the countys duties.

Karen Martinez, the countys real estate broker for the transaction, didnt return a phone call or email about the sale.

The purchase agreement between Nelson and the county doesnt mention the restrictions on the property.

Years of vacancy

The agreement to run the property as a supportive housing program was made in 2005. In 2010, the county was granted the property by HUD and the Supportive Housing Coalition of New Mexico to run it as a shelter for homeless women.

But, Gallegos said, because of intense pushback from nearby neighbors, the county never moved forward with the plans. The building sat vacant for years, and the county eventually sold the property to Nelson. The county used the proceeds for a voucher program for people getting out of jail.

The county knew (about the restrictions)  and they are basically saying, Were a bigger, more resourceful entity than you, and we can outlast you in court. It doesnt matter that we lied. It doesnt matter that we knew. You are going to have to sue us,' Nelson said. It sucks.

For the last five months, Nelson has rented the property to Expect a Miracle Ministries, a faith-based organization that runs a discipleship program for those who are overcome by lifestyles that have left them weary, empty and miserable, according to its website.

The facility has a history of helping those in need.

At one point in the early 1960s, it was used as a home for the Pedro Pans, who were Cuban orphans who fled from the Castro regime to the United States through religious organizations, according to the Pedro Pan of New Mexico Association.

Of the more than 14,000 Pedro Pans, New Mexico accepted 374 of them, which was the most of any state other than Florida. Most of them lived with foster families in Albuquerque, but 53 boys grew up in the home that Nelson now owns.

Septic squabble

In addition to the HUD restriction, there is disagreement over the propertys sewage system. The purchase agreement says that if the property has a septic tank, the seller must provide documents showing it was inspected to ensure it meets state standards. But, the agreement said it did not have one.

But both sides now agree there is a septic tank that doesnt work and needs to be replaced or repaired.

Nelson contends that is the countys responsibility, and Schuler, in his letter to Nelson, said the county denied any liability about the sewage system.

Nelson said after a year of working with HUD, the federal agency agreed recently to release some of the restrictions on the property. Officials from the agency didnt return calls for comment.

But Nelson said hes still not clear about what restrictions are currently on the property, what would happen if its used for different purposes, what needs to be done about the faulty septic tank and who would want to purchase the property with those unanswered questions.

And he said hes losing money and not interested in carrying on as the owner of a home for the mentally ill and drug addicted.

Im just trying to cover cost. I have to mitigate my damages, Nelson said. Im not a nonprofit. This is not my business. Im a builder, not a babysitter.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip  Hundreds attended the funeral of a well-known Palestinian journalist in Gaza on Saturday who was killed while covering mass protests along the Israeli border the previous day.

Yasser Murtaja died from a gunshot wound he sustained while filming Friday in an area engulfed in thick black smoke from protesters setting tires on fire. Israeli troops opened fire from across the border, killing at least nine Palestinians and wounding 491 others in the second mass border protest in eight days. The deaths brought to at least 31 the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli fire since last week. The border area appeared calm Saturday.

Witnesses said Murtaja was over 100 meters (yards) from the border, wearing a flak jacket marked press and holding his camera when he was shot in an exposed area just below the armpit.

The Israeli military has said it fired only at instigators involved in attacks on soldiers and was investigating Murtajas death amid a very hectic environment.

The IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) uses means such as warnings, riot dispersal means, and as a last resort firing live rounds in a precise, measured way, it said Saturday. The IDF does not intentionally target journalists. The circumstances in which journalists were allegedly hit by IDF fire are not familiar to the IDF, and are being looked into.

Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since a 2007 takeover and calls for Israels destruction, has called for a series of protests until May 15, the anniversary of Israels founding when Palestinians commemorate their mass uprooting during the 1948 war over Israels creation.

The Islamic group hopes the mass protests can create pressure to break a border blockade enforced by Israel and Egypt since 2007, without having to succumb to demands that it disarm. The blockade has made it increasingly difficult for Hamas to govern. It has also devastated Gazas economy, made it virtually impossible for people to enter and exit the territory, and left residents with just a few hours of electricity a day.

Israel argues that Hamas could have ended the suffering of Gazas 2 million people by disarming and renouncing violence.

It says Hamas is exploiting the mass marches as a cover for attacking the border fence, and has vowed to prevent a breach at all costs. The military said that on Friday protesters hurled several explosive devices and firebombs, using the thick plumes of smoke from burning tires as cover, and that several attempts to cross the fence were thwarted.

Colleagues said Murtaja was not affiliated with Hamas or any other militant group, and there were no Hamas symbols normally seen at the funerals for militants.

In an apparent sign of solidarity, Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh attended the funeral Saturday.

The Return March is a battle of truth and awareness, Haniyeh said of the protests. Yasser held his camera to direct the arrows of truth to convey the image of the besieged people.

At the funeral, Murtajas body was draped in a Palestinian flag with his flak jacket reading press placed upon him as he was carried through the streets of Gaza. The drone he had used for shooting footage of Gaza hovered above to film his funeral. Dozens of his close friends and colleagues were sobbing after the coffin was taken out of the morgue.

Murtaja, 30, was the co-founder of Ain media, a local TV production company that has done projects, including aerial drone video, for foreign media clients such as the BBC and Al Jazeera English. He was one of the first to bring a drone camera into Gaza and his images captivated many of its residents who have never seen Gaza from above since it has no airport or skyscrapers.

His death, along with the other recent casualties, seemed likely to draw renewed criticism from rights groups that have branded Israels open-fire orders on the border as unlawful, after Israels defense minister warned that those approaching the fence were risking their lives.

Three other journalists sustained tear gas injuries and at least one cameraman a gunshot in his leg, health ministry and media activists reported.

AIDA, a network of more than 70 non-government organizations operating in the Palestinian territories, condemned Saturday what they called the unlawful killing of civilians Friday. It follows accusations from the United Nations human rights office that it has indications of Israeli forces using excessive force the previous week.

The European Union on Saturday issued a statement saying Fridays violence raises serious questions about the proportionate use of force which must be addressed.

Witnesses described the area in which Murtaja and others were shot as a chaotic scene in which protesters torched large piles of tires, engulfing the area in black smoke that was meant to shield them from Israeli snipers. Footage showed that visibility was limited and the faces of some of the activists were covered with black soot.

Israeli troops on the other side of the fence responded with tear gas, rubber-coated steel pellets and water cannons, as well as occasional live fire. Footage taken of the wounded journalist shortly after he was shot shows medics frantically bandaging his chest and trying to connect an IV drip. Murtaja himself is seen moving his head from side to side and talking to those around him before he is placed on a stretcher and taken to an ambulance.

Just two weeks ago, Murtaja posted a drone photo of Gazas seaport at sunset on his Facebook page with the following caption: I wished I could take this photo from the sky, not from land. My name is Yasser Murtaja, I am 30 years old. I live in Gaza City. I have never traveled.

Friends say it reflected his greatest wish  to escape Gazas isolation.

Hana Awad, his colleague and close friend, said he had long dreamt of traveling and was recently granted an Al Jazeera scholarship for training in Doha. She described him as active and friendly and not at all interested in politics.

We didnt know his political views, he was passionate about his job and wanted to travel and learn, she said of Murtaja, who was the father of a 2-year-old boy.

____

Mohammed Daraghmeh contributed from Ramallah, West Bank.
LAS CRUCES  New Mexico State University students can expect a 3.5 percent tuition hike next school year. Faculty and staff can expect a pay increase.

During a special meeting Friday, three of the five Board of Regents were present and voted in favor of the tuition increase a week after regents said they did not want to increase tuition as a means to get the university out of its financial struggles.

The regents present to vote were Vice Chair Kari Mitchell, Jerean Hutchinson and Chris Saucedo. Chair Debra Hicks was present only during the first half of the meeting and did not vote. Student Regent Margie Vela was not present.

I think increasing gives us a little heartburn, Mitchell said. The objective of the increase is to direct the bulk of that increase into investment to grow our university in a way that were less dependent on these types of increases going forward.

In a work session on March 28, the regents were presented with tuition increase options by Andrew Burke, NMSU senior vice president for administration and finance, as a method for the university to somewhat dig itself out of a $3 million deficit in the next years budget. During that meeting, the regents said that they did want a tuition increase.

The initial proposal called for a 3 percent increase, but it still left the university about $886,000 in the red. During Fridays meeting, Burke also presented cases for 2.5 percent, 3.5 percent and 4 percent tuition increases. Only the 4 percent increase would put the university at a surplus.

The annual cost to attend NMSU is $7,122, for in-state, full-time undergraduate students. With the approved increase, the cost will be $7,371 next school year. The increase is expected to bring in $2.67 million after taking into account an expected decrease in enrollment. The university must still come up with $350,000 to balance the budget.

Many of the universitys financial woes stem from its inability to enroll and retain students. While freshmen enrollment is up, overall NMSU enrollment has continued to decline. This years enrollment is about 14,500 students  down 3,500 students from its height in 2009.

Several entities and departments on campus are working to turn that number around  including student success initiatives, orientations and freshman experience courses  but lack of funding has slowed growth.

The frustration sometimes is that were slow to react, pure and simple. As an academy, we are, Regent Jerean Hutchinson said.

Differential tuition tabled

The regents have looked into other revenue stream options including applying varying, or differential, tuitions to certain colleges and programs based on the expense of providing that education. It was with intent to have that extra income be another source for reinvestment, but the regents have since learned that the colleges and programs who proposed such measures needed more time to implement them.

I know that were of course disappointed that we are not seeing the differential (tuition) proposals or strategies we talked about, Mitchell said.

While the regents were hoping for the differential tuition option, Provost Dan Howard said he was against it because NMSU already has trouble graduating students.

If you look at our upper classmen, our seniors, what weve done is weve talked to students who arent quite getting to the finish line. What keeps them from getting to the finish line is often economic, Howard said. Adding additional burdens to those students I think is a bad idea if our goal, and I think our goal is, to retain those students and get them to the graduation finish line.

Where the money will go

The regents approved the new tuition rate with the condition that the net revenue from the tuition increase would go to the Strategic Investment Pool for the new chancellor, which will allow the chancellor to spend money on new initiatives without waiting for the next budget cycle.

Current NMSU Chancellor Garrey Carruthers will retire July 1.

Many may recall with Chancellor Carruthers starting his position, we budgetarily allocated an investment fund for him, Mitchell said. Its common practice when you bring a new chancellor in theyre not restricted for an entire budget cycle before effectively acting on those best practices that can bring about the needed changes.

In addition, the regents called that the initial reallocation and budget reduction amount from the 3 percent increase proposal of $885,900 remain in that category for the university to find somewhere else.

The regents also approved a pay increase for faculty and staff. The board approved 2 percent merit-based compensation increase for faculty, a 2 percent merit-based compensation increase for exempt staff, a $1,000 flat rate compensation increase for non-exempt staff and a $500 reward for graduate assistants but whether that would be distributed via stipend or tuition waiver was not determined.

In order to allow the chancellor to review the program of how merit will be rewarded, the faculty and exempt staff will see their increase no later than Sept. 1. Non-exempt staff will see their increase July 1, at the start of the budget cycle.

The last time NMSU faculty received a raise was in 2015 with a 1.5 percent raise. They also had a 2 percent raise in 2013 and a 1 percent raise in 2014.

Regent Hutchinson said that while she would like to give faculty and staff more money, it is difficult when there arent any students to bring money in.

We always look at salaries as we havent (raised) it and I agree our greatest assets are our faculty and staff, but lets talk about some of the reasons why we havent been able to do that, Hutchinson said. Weve got to change the way we historically have done business.

The new budget also calls for $2 million in scholarship investments and $300,000 in recruiting.

Community college

Regents OKd a 3 percent tuition increase for Dona Ana Community College, which puts it in line with the cost of attending the NMSU Grants campus, Burke said.

Tuition will not go up at NMSU branch campuses in Alamogordo, Grants and Carlsbad.

Faculty and staff at the community colleges will also see the 2 percent merit-based compensation increases.

Increased parking price

In addition to tuition and fees, the regents approved a $7.50 flat-rate, across the board increase to parking fees on campus.

NMSU does not have parking structures and charges significantly less than their peer institutions. According to numbers stated during the board meeting NMSU students pay $440 less than their counterparts at the University of New Mexico and $90 less than students attending the University of Texas at El Paso. Faculty parking at NMSU is $362 and $390 cheaper than UNM and UTEP, respectively.

Burke said that while parking prices are a sensitive issue on campus, he believes it is the right move to help fund maintenance.

Monica Dunivan, chair of the NMSU Employee Council said that while a couple council members were not happy about the price increase, the council as a body, understood the university has low parking permit rates and are OK with the increase.

On the new chancellor

Regent Mitchell said the Board of Regents plan to announce five candidates for the new chancellor position on Monday. There is a special regents meeting at 10 a.m. Monday, April 9, in the Regents Room of the Educational Services Building, when the candidates are expected to be announced. The following two weeks will allow for the candidates to come to the campus and interview in-person with the regents.

The new chancellor is expected to be named at the regents meeting on May 11.

Ali Linan can be reached at 575-541-5476, alinan@lcsun-news.com or @Ali__Linan on Twitter.



2018 the Las Cruces Sun-News (Las Cruces, N.M.)

Visit the Las Cruces Sun-News (Las Cruces, N.M.) at www.lcsun-news.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
HOUSTON  Since he launched his run for president, Donald Trump has said things about immigrants and the U.S.-Mexico border that no other U.S. president has. But now hes reached directly into his predecessors playbook by sending in the National Guard.

When former presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama deployed the Guard to the border in 2006 and 2010, they were pushing Congress to pass wide-ranging overhauls of immigration policy. Both overhauls failed. A 2011 government review estimated the Bush and Obama deployments cost at least $1.3 billion.

Trump is also trying to reshape immigration law. But Congress so far has funded a fraction of the border wall he promised during his campaign, so the president said this week he wants 2,000 to 4,000 Guard troops on the frontier until the wall goes up. Trump called the deployments crucial to helping the U.S. Border Patrol, which after a drop-off last year has returned to apprehending about as many people as it typically does.

In a tweet Saturday, Trump said: We are sealing up our Southern Border. The people of our great country want Safety and Security.

Texas and Arizona officials said the first 400 soldiers will be in place within days, and Defense Secretary James Mattis said the Pentagon would foot the bill for the full 4,000, if needed, through September.

Heres a closer look at the recent history of National Guard deployments, what the presidents who ordered them said at the time and what the state of the border was then versus now:

___

OPERATION JUMP START, June 2006-July 2008

WHAT THE PRESIDENT SAID: For decades, the United States has not been in complete control of its borders, Bush said. As a result, many who want to work in our economy have been able to sneak across our border, and millions have stayed.

In announcing the operation, Bush called on Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform. Using rhetoric very different than Trumps, Bush called immigrants without legal status a part of American life.

These are real problems. Yet we must remember that the vast majority of illegal immigrants are decent people who work hard, support their families, practice their faith, and lead responsible lives, he said.

HOW MANY TROOPS: Up to 6,000 Guard members in the first year, reduced to 3,000 in the second year.

WHERE: About 2,400 were sent to Arizona in the first year, according to a 2008 review the Guard published about the operation. Another 1,500 were sent to Texas that year, 1,200 to California, and 900 to New Mexico. The Guard members came from all over the United States.

WHY: Bush said he was trying to buy time to bolster Border Patrol staffing, which eventually grew by about one-third. He said the troops would assist Border Patrol by operating surveillance systems, analyzing intelligence, installing fences and vehicle barriers, building patrol roads, and providing training. He said Guard members would not assume law enforcement responsibilities and that the U.S. is not going to militarize the southern border.

WHAT THE GUARD DID: While Guard members could not make arrests on their own, according to government figures for the two-year operation, Guard members helped in almost 12 percent of migrant apprehensions and 9 percent of border marijuana seizures.

COST: $1.2 billion, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office.

PROBLEMS: In a 2009 article for Joint Force Quarterly, Maj. David M. Church, an Army National Guard commander during Operation Jump Start, said the operations sudden formation gave the National Guard and U.S. Customs and Border Protection little time for preparation, acquaintance, and coordination. The two agencies struggled to communicate and share information without prior coordination and a solid unity of effort between them, though those issues eased over time.

___

OPERATION PHALANX, July 2010-Sept. 2011

WHAT THE PRESIDENT SAID: Were not going to solve the problem just solely as a consequence of sending National Guard troops down there, Obama said. Were going to solve this problem because we have created an orderly, fair, humane immigration framework in which people are able to immigrate to this country in a legal fashion; employers are held accountable for hiring legally present workers.

HOW MANY: Up to 1,200 Guard members initially, though some remained in operations that continued beyond the initial deployment.

WHERE: About 560 members were sent to Arizona. According to Maj. Gen. Hugo Salazar, the head of the National Guard in Arizona, all four Southwest border states supported the operation with their own Guard members.

WHY: Obama said the Guard could help on intelligence, dealing with both drug and human trafficking along the borders and free up Border Patrol to handle more law enforcement duties.

WHAT THE GUARD DID: According to a Government Accountability Office review of figures from the start of the deployment through May 2011, the Guard assisted in 6 percent of all migrant apprehensions and 2.6 percent of marijuana seizures.

COST: $110 million through the first year, according to the Government Accountability Office.

PROBLEMS: Critics questioned whether the deployment was worth the expense, especially since Guard members could not make arrests on their own. John David Franz, the mayor of the border city of Hidalgo, Texas, told The Washington Post: As a mayor, I am not going to say we dont want more security. But as a taxpayer? I would say something different.
AxisRooms, Indias leading travel distribution solutions provider for hotels and travel accommodation has been nominated in the 2018 World Travel Awards in two categories for Asias Leading Hotel Booking Solutions Provider and Asias Leading Travel Technology Provider 2018.

AxisRooms has earlier won the Asia's Leading Hotel Booking Solutions for the year 2016 and 2017.

AxisRooms is the only Indian company that has been nominated in 2 categories, Asia's Leading Hotel Booking Solutions Provider 2018 and Asia's Leading Travel Technology Provider 2018 in the Distribution segment of the World Travel Awards 2018 announced recently.

Mr. Anil Kumar Prasanna, CEO for AxisRooms said, "We are very delighted with the nominations as our case studies and testimonials to communicate the bottom-line impact of AxisRooms products for hoteliers, but authentic reviews give prospects a glimpse into the unfiltered relationships that we have with our clients, which is invaluable,". He further added, "We are the only Indian Hotel technology company which has made it to the nomination list for both Asias Leading Hotel Booking Solutions Provider 2018 and Asias Leading Travel Technology Provider 2018. The nomination to the World Travel Awards 2018 will help augment our internal feedback processes and make it easier for hoteliers to learn about our services. We were the winner of Asia's Leading Hotel Booking Solutions in 2016 and 2017 and this time we have been nominated for the third time in a row. We have also won the award for Top rated channel manager 2018 in Hoteltech awards 2018.

World Travel Awards was established in 1993 to acknowledge, reward and celebrate excellence across all sectors of the tourism industry. Today, the WTA brand is recognized globally as the ultimate hallmark of quality, with winners setting the benchmark to which all others aspire. Each year, it covers the globe with a series of regional gala ceremonies staged to recognize and celebrate individual and collective success within each key geographical region. WTA gala ceremonies are widely regarded as the best networking opportunities in the travel industry, attended by government and industry leaders, luminaries and international print and broadcast media.
Moving forward on its commitment to improve the lives of local communities in Assam, Indias largest Science-based Ayurveda specialist Dabur India Ltd today announced the expansion of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) drive in the state with the adoption of two new government schools in Tezpur  Jyoti Soworani Lower Primary School and Binapani Lower Primary School. Dabur has pledged to improve the overall infrastructure in these two schools this year.

As a first step, the Company distributed new sets of Desk-Benches and Teacher Tables in the two schools as part of its School Support Programme to improve the learning experience for students in these schools. At a special event organized at these schools, Dabur donated 18 sets of Desk-Benches to Jyoti Soworani Lower Primary School, Nikamul, Tezpur and 30 sets of Desk-Benches and 3 sets of Teacher Tables to Binapani Lower Primary School, Hasara Nepali Basti.

A special programme was also organized on the occasion to raise awareness amongst the school-going kids about the importance of Environment Sustainability through a mass plantation drive. The development work in both the schools are being carried out through Daburs CSR arm Jivanti Welfare & Charitable Trust.

Speaking on the occasion, Dabur India Ltd Vice President-HR & IR Mr. Partho Ganguly said: At Dabur, community development is not merely a buzzword at Dabur. Its ingrained in our DNA. Promotion of education is a key pillar of the CSR strategy as we believe that education is both the means to a better life and a key to ensure overall development of the society. In a bid to improve enrollment levels and reduce the dropout rates in rural and semi-urban schools, Dabur has taken up the responsibility of improving the infrastructure in schools and improving the learning experience for children in Tezpur.

Going forward, Dabur plans to undertake complete revamp of the school infrastructure, which includes revamping the classrooms and improving the sanitation facilities in these schools. Prior to this, Dabur had undertaken a major revamp of Dhekidol LP School, which included upgrading the classrooms and building, revamping the sanitation infrastructure for students besides construction of a concrete boundary wall. Besides, Dabur has also adopted Chapaguri Government Junior Basic School.

The School Support initiative is a result of detailed discussions with the school authorities and has been developed keeping their specific needs in mind. After detailed discussions with the school administration and local community members to identify the need gaps in each school, we have commenced our development activities. Our intention is to develop and turn them into Model Schools for the region, Dabur India Ltd CSR Head Mr. A. Sudhakar said.
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After a year marked by increased hostilities and rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula, a thawing of relations between North Korea and South Korea is prompting some to view the issue of reunification with renewed optimism.

In February, North Korea sent a delegation to the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, where North Korean leader Kim Jong-uns sister Kim Yo-jong became the first member of the ruling family to set foot on South Korean soil since the end of fighting in the Korean War in 1953.

She came with an invitation for South Korean President Moon Jae-in to visit Pyongyang. A meeting between the two leaders has been scheduled for later this month, prompting analysts to speculate that the isolated country is suffering from increased sanctions.

As the South Koreans who remember life in a united Korea get older, many in the generations that follow do not share strong familial ties with North Korea and have mixed feelings about both the likelihood and the benefit of reunification.

Here, three South Koreans share their hopes and fears surrounding the possibility of reunification.

Yon Irae: North Korea needs to denuclearise

Yon is a priest and activist. She supports recently convicted President Park Geun-hye and is sceptical about a reunification with North Korea.

I dont think Kim Jong-uns talk of peace and reconciliation is genuine [Screengrab/Al Jazeera]

I was born in Gangwon province [which borders North Korea]. There, people are brought up to be a bit more aware of national security compared to other provinces.

During my childhood, when we heard that a wooden vessel had arrived with North Korean people and families on it, we ran out to check.

When we went out, we saw a North Korean family, about five or six people, crawling out of the vessel. Even at a young age, when I saw that, I felt sorry for them. They looked so shabby and gaunt.

So even then I had the impression that North Korea was a scary country. Now, I believe were still at war with North Korea.

I joined the protest two years ago when I realised our country was in a bad situation. I have been coming out to join the Taegukgi Revolution Peoples Movement Corps protest every Saturday since then.

Now, I believe we're still at war with North Korea. Yon Irae, priest and activist

I dont think Kim Jong-uns talk of peace and reconciliation is genuine. If he wants to talk, North Korea needs to denuclearise. But the current government is begging for a dialogue and giving whatever they [North Koreans] ask.

For unification, denuclearisation should happen before anything else. If North Korea denuclearises and the UN and the 50 million South Korean people can accept it, and if we are talking about unification without nuclear weapons and with liberal democracy, we will welcome it. We will put our hands up and clap out of joy.

The people of this country have become stronger after experiencing the Korean War and our people are extremely strong. We have experienced countless wars in our 5,000-year history. We have survived every tough war and I think this history makes our people strong, we have a strong will to survive.

Min Hyeonjong: I dont have any personal ties with North Koreans

A young graduate student, Min has never known life without the North Korean threat. He says his time in the military made him more empathetic towards his neighbours.

We have had more experience with provocations than with talks and dialogues [Screengrab/Al Jazeera]

My parents were very sympathetic to North Korea, more so than my peers. So when I found out that my peers were thinking negatively about North Korea, it was surprising to know.

When you contrast between the opinion about North Korea and political issues that people in their 20s have, as opposed to those in their 30s and 40s, you find that lots of young people are more conservative than adults.

We have had more experience with North Korean provocations than with talks and dialogues and I think this still has a big impact on perspectives.

When I was in the military, I was taught that North Korean people are not the enemies. The enemies are the North Korean regime and the North Korean military. Min Hyeonjong, graduate student

Although some people my age are opposed to the idea of reunification, I think there is a consensus among South Korean society about reunification and its in the constitution too that the peaceful reunification must be pursued by the South Korean government.

When I was in the military, I was taught that North Korean people are not the enemies. The enemies are the North Korean regime and the North Korean military.

I think that distinction is important because the North Korean people could be part of South Korean families, which was true for my grandpa.

My grandpa has moved from North Korea to South Korea because he was personally opposed to communism and his relatives were fighting against the North Korean regime in North Korea. Our grandparents generations had lots of familial ties with North Korean people.

It has been 70 years since we have been separated and I dont have any personal ties with North Korean people so I think that that will definitely impact the South Korean view of North Korean people and North Korea itself.

Hyun Namhoon: U nification should happen no matter what

Hyun is the CEO of a newspaper that serves families separated from their loved ones in North Korea. The newspaper was founded by his father, a refugee from the North.

I feel responsible to print the paper as long as members of the [refugee] community are still alive[Screengrab/Al Jazeera]

My father came down to South Korea as a refugee during the Korean War. He had to do all sorts of hard labour jobs but one day, he became a journalist at a South Korean daily newspaper called Hankook Ilbo.

He also had a business and ultimately he launched Odo Newspaper, which catered to the North Korean refugee community.

My father started his newspaper because he wanted to inform the community with news from their home and news about unification. It became a specialised newspaper for the refugee community.

At first, the community welcomed our paper. It was delivered by post and was so popular that some readers would keep the copy until the next one arrived.

But, with the development of the internet and TV, and because many of the refugees of my fathers generation have passed away, the size of our paper has become smaller.

I think unification should happen no matter what. But we need to have a well-prepared unification. The two countries have a gap in everything, including education and culture. Hyun Namhoo, newspaper owner

I feel responsible to print the paper as long as members of that community are alive.

It must have been very lonely and difficult for my father, but he doesnt talk about it. He is a typical North Korean refugee type, who doesnt share such matters with his family.

There wasnt any prejudice [against our family]. The reason why South Korea could become a wealthy nation in a very short period of time is because both North Koreans and South Koreans all became one in a tough time and they worked really hard. I think this is very impressive.

I think unification should happen no matter what. But we need to have a well-prepared unification. The two countries have a gap in everything, including education and culture.

Experts will make the calculation, but if we want to prevent conflicts between North Koreans and South Koreans, then we need to be on some kind of similar level for education and ideology. After that, unification should happen.

Editors note: These interviews have been edited for clarity and brevity.
Collapsing buildings and heart attacks kill five as 6.9-magnitude earthquake hits Guatemala and southern Mexico.

At least five people have been killed in a 6.9-magnitude earthquake that struck in western Guatemala near the border with Mexico, according to Guatemalan authorities.

Wednesdays deaths included a woman in the city of San Marcos who was killed by a falling wall and a homeless man in the town of San Sebastian Retalhueleu who was struck by the collapse of part of a church, AP news agency said. Both locations were close to the epicentre.

Three women in different departments died from heart attacks attributed to fright caused by the pre-dawn quake. At least seven other people were wounded.

Various buildings made of mud and straw collapsed as a result of the earthquake [Reuters]

The earthquake hit 15km northwest of San Marcos, around 1:30am at a relatively deep 111km, the US Geological Survey reported. The shallower the earthquake, the more dangerous it can be.

Authorities reported moderate damage to homes, power cuts in some departments, and some landslides that blocked highways.

Video footage aired by rescue teams showed collapsed homes in western Guatemala, especially ones made of mud and straw in the poor Central American country.

We greatly mourn the loss of lives, President Jimmy Morales said.

No tsunami warning

The mountainous region is sparsely populated with communities scattered around the base of the dormant Tajumulco volcano. Most residents are small-scale farmers or run small businesses.

Officials said classes in the area would be cancelled on Wednesday to allow school buildings to be inspected.

The earthquake also rattled the Guatemalan capital, waking residents but without causing damage there.

Video footage aired by rescue teams showed collapsed homes in western Guatemala [Reuters]

There was no tsunami warning after the earthquake.

In the southeastern Mexican state of Chiapas, 11 people were treated for injuries. Twenty houses and five schools were damaged, state officials said. Local Civil Protection authorities said the quake was felt throughout the state.

Guatemala is in a risk zone for tremors, located where the Caribbean Cocos tectonic plates converge with North Americas tectonic plates.

San Marcos was hit by earthquakes in 2012 and 2014 that left dozens dead.
Mustaribeen are an elite Israeli undercover unit that disguises themselves as Arabs or Palestinians.

They are dressed like Palestinian protesters, speak with the same accents and expressions, and show the same mannerisms. Their faces covered with checkered keffiyehs or balaclavas, they chant against the Israeli army and sometimes throw stones in the direction of the soldiers, all while drawing in other protesters as they get closer and closer to the army.

Then, quick as a bang, the scene erupts, and this group suddenly turns on the rest of the Palestinian protesters, brandishing guns that were concealed under their shirts, firing in the air, grabbing those nearest to them and wrestling them to the ground.

The army advances and takes into custody the Palestinians that were caught, as the rest of the protesters disperse, screaming out one word as a warning to others: Mustaribeen!

Disguised as Arabs

Mustaribeen, or mistaarvim in Hebrew, is a word that is derived from the Arabic mustarib, or one that is specialised in Arabic language and culture. In Israeli security terms, the word denotes security forces who disguise themselves as Arabs and carry out missions in the heart of Palestinian societies or other Arab countries.

The agents are given rigorous training, and in operations concerning the occupied territories, are taught to think and act like a Palestinian. Their main missions, according to Israeli affairs expert Antoine Shalhat, include gathering intelligence, arresting Palestinians, and  in their eyes  counterterrorist operations.

The first mustaribeen unit was established in 1942 before the state of Israel came into being until 1950, Shalhat said. This unit was part of the Palmach, an elite division of the Haganah militia, which went on to later become the core of the Israeli army.

Not much is known about these agents because they operate in secret, he added. The Israeli army dissolves these units once their work is found out, and forms new ones to take their place.

The agents must speak Arabic as if it is their mother tongue, Shalhat said. They undergo courses to master Palestinian dialects and Arabic accents according to which Arab country they operate in, such as Yemen or Tunisia.

Not much is known about these Israeli agents because they operate in secrecy [Mohamad Torokman/Reuters]

These courses take between four to six months and include how to master customs and religious practices, such as fasting and praying.

The agents use makeup and wigs to complete their disguise but are chosen according to how similar their physical features are to Arab countenances.

In total, the training can take up to 15 months, and consists of operational field work such as driving and sniping, how to move around in crowded Palestinian settings, and arms training.

One of the most well-known units was the Rimon, which was established in 1978 and remained active until 2005, Shalhat said. Their work was mostly concentrated in the Gaza Strip. Another unit that operated in Gaza was called Shimshon during the 80s and 90s.

The Duvdevan 217 elite unit is still operative within the army. It was established during the 1980s by [former Israeli prime minister] Ehud Barak and currently functions in the West Bank and is considered the most active and secretive.





Presence in recent protests

In December, Palestinians protested US President Donald Trumps decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israels capital. Hundreds were arrested by Israeli forces, and 10 people were killed across the West Bank and Gaza Strip in the first two weeks.

During one of the protests at Ramallahs northern entrance near the illegal Bet Il settlement, a group of mustaribeen infiltrated the protest and arrested three young Palestinian men, according to journalist Rasha Harzallah.

They were only there for 10 minutes, said Harzallah, who was standing the closest to the first Palestinian protester arrested on Wednesday, December 13. They were dressed exactly like the other Palestinian protesters, and threw a sound grenade at them.

They were about five in total, and pulled out their guns and began firing in the air, she continued. The army then suddenly advanced in huge numbers, and they began firing live bullets at people and in the air, even at the journalists.

Harzallah, who works for the official Wafa news agency, said that the agent nearest to her was wearing a dark red shirt and had his face covered with a keffiyeh.

Before, he was standing on the front line with the other Palestinian protesters throwing rocks at the Israeli army, she said.

The army then suddenly advanced quickly. Then I noticed the red-shirted man on top of a Palestinian protester, and he was waving his gun towards me and the photographer next to me shouting dont get close!'

How can they tell who they are?

Harzallah explained that before the mustaribeen made their presence known, the protesters were throwing stones at the Israeli army. But the soldiers did not respond, which immediately raised suspicions.

They did not do anything, she said. From experience, the protesters know that when the Israeli army stops firing sound grenades, tear gas, rubber bullets  then theres a big probability that the mustaribeen are present among them. But how can they tell who they are?

In the 2015 protests commonly referred to by Palestinians as the Intifada of the knives, Harzallah witnessed another raid by the mustaribeen, which she described as much worse.

They fired their weapons at two Palestinians, one in the head and the other in his leg from point-blank range, she said.

I saw them drag the Palestinian they had shot in the headI thought he was dead because I saw bits of his flesh on the ground.

The young man, Mohammed Ziyadeh, lived; he remains partially paralysed.

In an interview with Al Jazeera shortly after the incident, Ziyadeh relayed from his hospital bed that after being beaten by the mustaribeen, they fired a bullet at his head and he lost consciousness.

When I came round, they began interrogating me, but I told them I could not remember anything, he said, his speech slurred. They took me to the hospital and beat me up again.

Ziyadeh underwent two surgeries and was interrogated and beaten after each one. His lawyer finally managed to set him free, and shortly after he was able to move one of his legs again.

With the emergence of the mustaribeen in protests, Palestinians have learned to become more vigilant.

One way of differentiating themselves from the undercover Israeli agents is tucking their shirts into their waistbands, where concealed weapons would be seen.

They should also take caution when a group drags other protesters closer to the army, Harzallah said, and make sure that there is a group monitoring other protesters.

Follow Linah Alsaafin on Twitter at @LinahAlsaafin
The windows of the mosque were painted in yellow, red and green, the colours used by PKK for its flag.

Assailants have vandalised a mosque in Germanys capital, Berlin, writing slogans on its windows and covering parts of them with paint.

Officials at Mescid-i Aksa mosque blamed supporters of the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) in Syria and the banned Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), for the overnight attack, Turkeys state-run Anadolu news agency reported on Friday.

The windows of the mosque, which is run by the Turkish-Islamic Union for Religious Affairs (DITIB), association, were painted in yellow, red and green, the colours used by the groups for their flags.

The PKK is listed as a terrorist organisation in Turkey, the European Union and US.

Spade of attacks

In recent years, there have a number of attacks against mosques in Germany.

In March, the Aksemsettin Mosque  belonging to the Muslim-Turkish association Islamic Community National View (IGMG)  in the town of Lauffen am Neckar was attacked and set alight.

Also in March, in the southern city of Ulm, a mosque run by the local Turkish community was attacked with Molotov bombs.

In September 2016, a mosque and a convention centre were bombed in the eastern German city of Dresden.

At the time, German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said the attack was all the more scandalous, as it happened on the eve of the 10th annual meeting of the German Islam Conference.

Germany has a three million-strong Turkish community, many of whom are second and third-generation German-born citizens of Turkish descent whose grandparents moved to the country during the 1960s.
Salman Khan is expected to leave Jodhpur Central Jail on Saturday after he was granted bail worth $770.

Bollywood actor Salman Khan has been granted bail days after he was sentenced to five years in prison in a high-profile blackbuck poaching case.

Mahesh Bora, a lawyer for Khan, told reporters a judge had signed a bail form of 50,000 rupuees ($770).

According to the defence counsel, the District and Sessions Judge Ravindra Kumar Joshi granted the actor bail after listening to the prosecution and defence arguments for about an hour.

The 52-year-old was convicted last Thursday by a district court in Jodhpur of violating the countrys wildlife law two decades after he allegedly shot and killed two blackbucks during a hunting trip in 1998.

He was accompanied by four fellow actors who were all shooting the film, Hum Saath Hain, at the time. The actors were accused of being involved in the hunting trip but were all acquitted.

For years, the case has been faced with several delays, including efforts to dismiss parts of the charges. The trial began only in 2013.

The Indian antelope, also known as chinkaras, is an endangered species and revered by residents of Rajasthan. The animals are granted the highest protection under the countrys Wildlife Protection Act 1972.

According to local media reports, Khan is set to leave the Jodhpur Central Jail, where he has spent the previous two nights, before the end of Saturday.
Puigdemont was released after he was arrested in Germany, pending a decision on extradition to Spain.

Former Catalan President Carles Puigdemont has said that he would remain in Berlin while a German court considers whether to extradite him to Spain on a charge of misuse of public funds, but he hoped to return to live in Belgium eventually.

A German court on Thursday rejected an extradition request for Puigdemont on the more serious charge of rebellion for his role in the campaign for the regions independence that could have resulted in a decades-long jail sentence in Spain.

My wish is to return to Belgium. But only after the end of the proceedings here in Germany, not before, he told reporters in Berlin.

My plan is to remain of course in Berlin. It is my residence now until the end of this process, he said.

Puigdemont, who fled Spain five months ago for Belgium after his administrations declaration of independence from Spain led to Madrid taking direct control of the regional government, was arrested last month on a Spanish-issued warrant as he entered Germany.

Spain respects decision

The Spanish government has said it would respect the German courts decision. But Spains Supreme Court said on Friday it was considering consulting the European Court of Justice on the ruling, without giving more details.

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Spains Supreme Court reactivated international arrest warrants last month for Puigdemont and four other Catalan politicians who went into self-imposed exile last year.

Spains Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said on Saturday that his government upholds and abides by court rulings in Spain and elsewhere.

Puigdemont left jail in Germany on Friday after a court said he could be released on bail.

Puigdemont walked out of the Neumuenster prison, nearly two weeks after he was arrested while travelling from Finland back to Belgium.
Gaza protest bring back memories of early Palestinian resistance

Non-violent protest tactics employed the demonstrators in Gaza are reminding many of the first Intifada in the late 1980s.
Grace Mugabe accuses gold miners of invading her farms

Zimbabwes former first lady is embroiled in several controversies and she claims she is being victimised.
Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras says Ankara uses Greek soldiers as pawns to blackmail, an accusation Turkey denies.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has demanded the release of two Greek soldiers jailed in Turkey, arguing that they should not be pawns to blackmail.

Human life and human freedom are not, and should not be, pawns to power games and blackmail, Tsipras said in a statement to Documento newspaper published on Saturday.

In the past, we returned Turkish soldiers who crossed a few metres into Greece while on patrol. I expect the Turkish president to do the same, he said.

The two Greek soldiers are being held in pre-trial detention in Turkey, which accuses the duo of illegally crossing the border on March 2. The soldiers said they lost their way in the fog.

Turkeys state-run Anadolu Agency reported last month that military sketches were found on a USB stick carried by the soldiers, adding that the soldiers are accused of espionage.

In addition to the USB, two phones were found on Lieutenant Aggelos Mitretodis and Sergent Dimitrios Kouklatzis, along with a crypto-phone.

Athens contends that Turkish authorities have not given adequate details of the charges and on what evidence they are based.

Erdogan slams Greece

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has slammed both Greece and the European Union for pressuring Ankara for the return of the Greek soldiers, noting that his country is still awaiting the return of eight Turkish soldiers who fled an attempted coup in 2016 and are seeking asylum in Greece.

A few days ago we caught two Greek soldiers who breached the border and there was an outcry from the whole of the West, Erdogan said last week.

They told us you are a large state, give them to us, he added, apparently referring to calls by top EU officials at a summit in Varna, Bulgaria, last month for Ankara to free the Greek soldiers.

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Im very sorry but we also have rule of law. That case is in with the judiciary. Whatever justice decides, he said.

You did nothing about those terrorists, you didnt say anything about them to Mr Tsipras, Erdogan said, apparently referring to the eight Turkish soldiers in Greece.

Greece had hoped to secure the release of the Greek soldiers before Sundays Orthodox Easter celebration.

The issue has strained an already tense relationship between the two NATO allies and regional rivals.

The Greek Supreme Court has conclusively blocked the extradition of the eight Turkish soldiers, arguing that they would not have a fair trial in their home country amid an ongoing purge of suspected Erdogan opponents.

Additionally, Ankara and Athens are at loggerheads over the exploration of gas reserves in the eastern Mediterranean.
Qatar receives invitation from Arab League Secretary-General to attend the summit in the Saudi capital on April 15.

The ongoing Gulf crisis will not be on the agenda of the Arab League summit planned in Riyadh in mid-April, a spokesperson for the Qatari foreign ministry said.

In statements to the Turkish state-run news agency Anadolu on Saturday, spokesperson Lolwah al-Khater said Qatar had received an official invitation from Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Abul-Gheit to attend the summit in the Saudi capital on April 15.

Doha has not yet decided on its representation level at the summit, she said.

Al-Khater ruled out that the Gulf crisis will be discussed during the meeting, saying Qatar, however, is committed to pursuing dialogue to resolve the crisis.

We have repeatedly reiterated our commitment to dialogue to resolve the crisis without undermining Qatars sovereignty and national interests, she said.

Meetings to prepare for the annual summit are scheduled to start in Saudi Arabia on Monday.

Last summer, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain collectively severed ties with Qatar, creating one of the biggest crises in inter-Arab relations in recent history.

The four nations accuse Doha of supporting terrorism, a claim vehemently denied by Qatar.
When French President Emmanuel Macron flew into Riyadh for hastily arranged talks with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in November it was all smiles in public, but in private a tough dialogue over Iran signalled a change between the allies.

Whether that was a momentary tiff or a longer-lasting complication may become clear when the prince, or MBS as he is also known, arrives in Paris on Sunday for a two-day visit that will focus on the crises in Yemen, Syria and Qatar and the Iran nuclear deal.

After trips to the UK and the United States with major contracts envisaged, MBS will attend cultural events, political meetings and an economic forum. While a tourism project between the two countries will be announced, MBS is not expected to clinch any mega-deals.





French officials dismiss any notion that the absence of huge contracts reflects any weakening in the relationship, saying they seek a new method of working with the worlds largest oil exporter that does not depend on eye-catching new business.

A warm relationship between Riyadh and Macrons predecessor Francois Hollande did not result in the sharp expansion of business Paris had sought.

Competition is fierce so we had to rethink the models of relationships. Less talk about major contracts and more focus on sectors that are less spectacular such as health, education and tourism, said a senior French diplomat.

But analysts note the 32-year-old crown prince has emphasised closer ties with US President Donald Trump just at a time when Macron has, in turn, sought to improve relations with Iran and vowed to preserve the nuclear deal.

Several Western and Arab diplomats describe the November exchange as tense. According to three officials, the meeting was dominated by MBS threatening to curb relations with France if Macron did not alter his desire to dialogue with Iran, Riyadhs regional rival, and push business interests there.

Macron, the officials said, reminded MBS of Frances position in the world as a nuclear power, permanent member of the Security Council member and that France was free to do what it wanted.

French diplomat

Weapons sales

In recent years, France had nurtured new links with the Sunni-ruled Gulf Arab states due to its tough stance on Iran in nuclear negotiations, and the broad similarity of their policies on conflicts across the Middle East.

However, MBSs uncompromising efforts to counter Irans growing influence in the combustible Middle East are sometimes perceived as reckless in Paris.

The relationship could go either way, but its clear that Prince Mohammed feels more love from Trump than Macron, said a second French diplomat.

While Macron recognises the reforming aspirations, he sees that MBS could be a real loose cannon and what he is doing in Yemen and Qatar and the talk on Iran has potential to add fuel to regional fire.

The visit comes amid growing pressure on Macron at home from lawmakers and rights groups over Frances weapons sales to the Saudi-led coalition fighting Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.

A private letter sent to Macron from 12 international non-governmental organisations urged him to pressure MBS to ease a blockade on Yemeni ports and suspend French arms sales.

It is a bit of a new method of cooperation with Saudi Arabia that relies less on contracts, admittedly important but intermittent, and which will translate into a common vision. This is the general tone that will be given, an official in the French presidency said.
The ban has been described as a dangerous precedent and a cowardly breach of the freedom of worship.

Israel on Friday prohibited the Azan, the Muslim call to prayer, at the Ibrahimi Mosque in the West Bank city of Hebron, also known as Al-Khalil, according to Palestinian Religious Endowments Minister Yousef Adais.

In a press statement, Adais described the move as a dangerous precedent and a cowardly breach of the freedom of worship.

Continued Israeli violations against the mosque clearly show that the occupation authorities, along with the settlers, are trying to exert total control over the areas Muslim holy sites, the minister asserted.

Mosque divided

In 1994, Baruch Goldstein, an Israeli American Jewish settler, gunned down 29 Palestinian Muslims as they prayed at the mosque before being killed himself.

Since then, the mosque  believed to have been built on the tomb of Prophet Ibrahim  has been divided into a Muslim section (45 percent) and a Jewish section (55 percent).

The Ibrahimi Mosque is located in Hebrons Old City district, where some 400 Jewish settlers now reside under the protection of about 1,500 Israeli soldiers.

In the past, Israel has attempted to place a ban on all mosques from using loudspeakers to call worshippers to prayer.

In March 2017, a bill to muffle mosques passed a charged parliamentary session as a preliminary reading with 55 votes in favour and 48 against as the assembly broke out into chaotic arguments.

Under the proposed law, occupied East Jerusalem, which Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed in a move that is not recognised internationally, would be included in the ban.


We won this case, make no mistake about it  I believe the United States won as well, said Farhaj Hassan

The New York Police Department has agreed not to conduct surveillance based on religion or ethnicity and to listen to Muslims as it develops new training materials as part of a deal to settle claims it illegally spied on Muslims for years after the September 11 attacks.

We won this case, make no mistake about it. But as a member of the armed forces, I believe the United States won as well, said Farhaj Hassan, a US Army reservist and the lead plaintiff in the 2012 lawsuit in federal court in Newark, New Jersey.

No one likes to take on the cops. Cops are good, he said. But in this case, when cops were acting bad, it had to be done.

Todays settlement sends a message to all law enforcement: Simply being Muslim is not a basis for surveillance, said Farhana Khera, executive director of Muslim Advocates, a legal advocacy and educational organization.

Lawsuit

The lawsuit came after The Associated Press revealed in a series of Pulitzer Prize-winning articles how the NYPD infiltrated Muslim student groups and put informants in mosques as part of a broad effort to prevent terrorist attacks. In New Jersey, the department collected intelligence on ordinary people at mosques, restaurants and schools starting in 2002, the AP news agency reported.

At a news conference, the plaintiffs noted that surveillance programme never produced a terrorism lead as it spied on at least 20 mosques, 14 restaurants, 11 retail stores, two grade schools and two Muslim student associations in New Jersey.

The deal came after a Philadelphia appeals court in 2015 likened the surveillance programme to when Japanese Americans were interned during World War II and discrimination before racial unrest in the 1950s and 1960s forced change.

The ban

The court settlement bans the police department from conducting surveillance without suspicion on the basis of religion or ethnicity and calls for the Muslim litigants to provide input into a new policy guide to control the police departments Intelligence Bureau. It also requires NYPD counterterrorism probes in New Jersey to follow the Handschu Guidelines, which resulted from a 1971 lawsuit by the Black Panther Party alleging police engaged in widespread surveillance of legitimate political activity.

The agreement announced Thursday by the city and the Islamic community also calls for the city to pay $75,000 in damages and nearly $1m in legal fees. It also ensures surveillance in New Jersey will follow rules defined in another landmark civil rights case.

It also requires the city to pay $47,500 to businesses and mosques harmed by surveillance and $25,000 to individual plaintiffs in $5,000 increments. The city also will pay $950,000 in legal fees for plaintiffs.

This settlement demonstrates a continued commitment by the NYPD to safeguard individual constitutional rights while keeping New York the safest city in America, said Zachary W Carter, the citys top lawyer.
Prime Minister Shahid Abbasi urges Taliban to avail the Afghan governments latest offer of direct talks without delay.

Islamabad  Pakistan and Afghanistan have called upon the Afghan Taliban to join a new peace process in the war-torn country, after a visit by the Pakistani prime minister to his countrys northwestern neighbour, a statement said.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani called upon the Taliban to avail the Afghan governments latest offer of direct talks without delay, according to a statement released by the Pakistani PMs office late on Friday.

Both leaders called on the Taliban to respond positively to the peace offer and join the peace process without further delay, said the statement. They agreed that there was no military solution to the ongoing Afghan conflict and that the political solution was the best way forward.

In February, Ghani offered to reopen negotiations with the Afghan Taliban without preconditions, despite ongoing attacks.

He offered to recognise the group as a political party, and proposed a ceasefire and exchange of prisoners in a bid to begin a process that could end more than 16 years of war.

The Taliban have not yet officially responded to that offer.

A previous attempt at direct negotiations between the Afghan government and Taliban leadership  supported by Pakistan, the United States and China  fell apart in 2015, after news of the death of then Taliban chief Mullah Muhammad Omar leaked to the press.

Easing tension

Abbasi met Ghani and Afghan chief executive Abdullah Abdullah during his day-long visit to the Afghan capital Kabul. He also met Hizb-e-Islami chief Gulbuddin Hekmatyar.

The Pakistani prime ministers visit was aimed at reducing tensions between the neighbours, both of whom accuse each other of allowing armed groups to use their soil for attacks on the other.

Afghanistan has long alleged that Pakistan allows the Afghan Taliban and Haqqani Network leadership to find safe haven on its soil. Pakistan accuses Afghanistan of not doing enough against Pakistan Taliban fighters allegedly based in the Afghan provinces of Nangarhar and Kunar.

Both sides deny the allegations.

On Friday, Pakistani Prime Minister Abbasi announced a gift of 40,000 tonnes of wheat for the Afghan people, and pledged to waive an additional regulatory duty on Afghan exports to Pakistan, a statement from his office said.

The two sides also pledged to move forward on a number of economic and infrastructure initiatives that would increase rail, road and gas pipeline links between them, Pakistans foreign ministry said.

An Afghan foreign ministry statement on the meeting, however, was more circumspect, saying only that the two sides pledged to operationalise a new framework for dialogue between them, dubbed the Afghanistan-Pakistan Action Plan for Peace and Solidarity (APAPPS).

The two countries to avoid public blame games and instead use APAPPS cooperation mechanisms to respond to mutual issues of contention and concerns, read the Afghan statement.

Asad Hashim is Al Jazeeras Web Correspondent in Pakistan. He tweets @AsadHashim.
Yaser Murtaja succumbs to wounds after being shot during Fridays protests, bringing death toll to 31 since March 30.

A Palestinian journalist shot by Israeli forces during a mass demonstration along the Gaza border has died of his wounds.

Yaser Murtaja, a photographer with the Gaza-based Ain Media agency, was shot in the stomach in Khuzaa in the south of the Gaza Strip on Friday, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

Murtaja, 30, was hit despite wearing a blue flak jacket marked with the word press, indicating he was a journalist.

Hosam Salem, a photographer at the scene of the incident, told Al Jazeera on Friday that he witnessed Murtaja drop to the ground after being shot by Israeli forces.

Yaser was filming with his camera next to me when we heard the sound of gunfire, Salem said. He just fell on the ground and said, Ive been shot, Ive been shot.'

The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate said seven other reporters were injured in Fridays protest, in what they described as deliberate crimes committed by the Israeli army.

# ..         #__   . pic.twitter.com/OB82uIbNvD     (@PalinfoAr) April 7, 2018

The union posted photos of journalist Khalil Abu Athira, who was shot during his coverage of Gazas protest on Friday.

It also called for mass participation in the funeral of Murtaja, and for a protest to be held at 12pm (09:00 GMT) at the Manara Square in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah.

They also called for the United Nations to protect journalists and to implement UN Resolution 2222 into concrete steps.

In a statement, the Israeli army said that it does not intend to shoot at journalists, and the circumstances in which journalists were allegedly injured by [the Israeli army] gunfire are unknown and are being investigated.

March of Return rallies

In addition to Murtajas death, the health ministry announced on Saturday the killing of another man, 20-year-old Hamza Abdel Aal, bringing the number of those killed during Fridays protests to nine.

A total of 31 Palestinians have now been shot dead since the start of the protests on March 30, when tens of thousands took to the border area with Israel, demanding the right of return for Palestinian refugees.

Live ammunition, rubber-coated steel bullet and tear gas fired at the rallies by Israeli soldiers, wounded at least 1,400 thus far.

The Palestinian health ministry reported that on Friday 491 people were injured by live ammunition after Israeli forces fired on protesters who had gathered near the Israeli border in the besieged Gaza Strip.

At least 33 of the injured have been described by the ministry as critical cases.

Fridays demonstration was the second in as many weeks of a planned, weeks-long sit-in dubbed the Great March of Return.

Its main message is to call for the right of return for Palestinian refugees who were driven from their homes in the territories taken over by Israel during the 1948 war, known to Arabs as the Nakba

Around 70 percent of Gazas two million population were forced from their homes and now live in a territory of about 360sq km, which has been described as the worlds largest open-air prison.

Israel has drawn sharp criticism for its open-fire orders along the border, including its warnings that those approaching or trying to damage the fence would be targeted.

On March 31, a day after the first protest took place, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised Israels troops for guarding the countrys borders.

Well done to our soldiers, he wrote in a statement.

On April 1, Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman rejected any independent investigation into the killings. There will be no such thing here. We shall not cooperate with any commission of inquiry, he told Israeli public radio.

Lieberman warned on April 3 that protesters who approach the border between Gaza and Israel will put their life in danger.
Government forces accused of dropping poisonous chemicals on last rebel stronghold in Eastern Ghouta.

A chemical attack in Douma, the last rebel-held stronghold near Syrias capital, Damascus, has killed at least 70 people and affected hundreds, rescue workers have told Al Jazeera.

The White Helmets, a group of rescuers operating in opposition-held areas in Syria, said on Saturday that most of the fatalities were women and children.

Seventy people suffocated to death and hundreds are still suffocating, Raed al-Saleh, head of the White Helmets, told Al Jazeera, adding that the death toll was expected to rise as many people were in critical condition.

Al-Saleh said that chlorine gas and an unidentified but stronger gas were dropped on Douma.

White Helmet volunteers are trying to help the people but all that we can do is evacuate them to another area by foot because most of the vehicles and centres went out of service.

One member of White Helmets told Al Jazeera that an entire family had suffocated to death as they hid in their cellar, trying to seek shelter from air raids and barrel bombs.

The US government has warned of a global response against Syria if reports of the chemical attack are confirmed.

The Syrian government, however, is calling it a fabrication, dismissing talk of the Syrian army using poisonous gas as farcical.

Much of the city is destroyed

On Sunday, pro-Syrian opposition Orient television reported that negotiations to reach a final agreement over Douma were underway between the Jaish al-Islam rebel group and the Russians.

There was no immediate comment from Jaish al-Islam, which controls the city, the last remaining under rebel control in Eastern Ghouta.

Pro-government forces and their allies on Friday launched a fierce air and ground offensive on Douma.

Syrias state news agency SANA said the heavy bombardment, which shattered 10 days of calm, was in response to shelling by Jaish al-Islam on residential areas in Damascus.

SANA reported that the shelling killed four people and caused material damage. Jaish al-Islam denied the accusation.

Douma has been subject to intense air strikes and much of the city is destroyed, Moayed al-Dayrani, a resident of Douma and medical volunteer, told Al Jazeera, adding that doctors were struggling to reach all the victims.

We are currently dealing with more than 1,000 cases of people struggling to breathe after the chlorine barrel bomb was dropped on the city. The number of dead will probably rise even further.

The Douma Media Centre, a pro-opposition group, posted images on social media of people being treated by medics, and of what appeared to be dead bodies, including many women and children.

Rescue workers also posted videos of people appearing to show symptoms consistent with a gas attack. Some appeared to have white foam around their mouths and noses.

Symptoms of a chlorine attack include coughing, dyspnea, intensive irritation of the mucous membrane and difficulty in breathing.

Limited medical help

Ahmad Tarakji, president of the Syrian American Medical Association, said that there are only a few physicians and medical staff [still] in Douma to treat the high number of casualties.

Speaking to Al Jazeera from Fresno, in the US state of California, Tarakji said that many families currently in Douma are taking shelter in basements to protect themselves from barrel bombs and shelling.

Using those chemical weapons like chlorine or similar products, by de facto this gas goes down to the basement and those people  are getting intoxicated with those chemical weapons and thats why the casualties are high, he added.

In recent years, the Syrian government has been accused of using chemical weapons as a tool against the armed opposition, an allegation it denies.

100,000 trapped

Rebels in Eastern Ghouta had managed to keep Syrian military forces at bay during years of war, but a four-year government siege of the district has led to a humanitarian crisis with severe shortages of food and medicine.

Last week, two rebel groups reached evacuation deals with the Russian army, which resulted in about 19,000 people leaving for the northern province of Idlib.

They included fighters from the Faylaq al-Rahman and Ahrar al-Sham rebel groups, their families and other residents.

Rebel groups argued that the evacuation amounts to forced displacement, but gave in after weeks of intense bombardment.

Hanan Halimah, a former Douma resident, told Al Jazeera that more than 100,000 civilians were still trapped and unlikely to receive any assistance as the city had suffered devastating damage during the latest government assault.








Rescuers say around 50 air raids pummel Douma, which has been partially besieged by the Syrian government since 2013.

Syrian government forces and their allies are pressing ahead in an offensive to capture Douma, the last rebel-held town in Eastern Ghouta.

The White Helmets, a group of rescuers operating in opposition-held areas in Syria, said on Saturday that more than 50 air raids had struck the town, which sits just 15km east of the capital, Damascus, over the past 24 hours.

At least 30 civilians, including women and children, were killed in Fridays air raids, the group said.

It also said there were cases of suffocation among civilians from residential areas after they were targeted by poison gas chlorine'.

In recent years, the Syrian government has been accused of using chemical weapons as a tool against the armed opposition.

Cases of suffocation between the civilians in residential neighborhood in the city #Douma after it was targeted by poison gas Chlorine. @SyriaCivilDefe teams are working to inspect the place and transfer the injured to medical centers. pic.twitter.com/07FrrKns31  The White Helmets (@SyriaCivilDef) April 7, 2018

Syrias state news agency SANA said the heavy bombardment, which shattered 10 days of calm, was in response to shelling by Jaish al-Islam, the armed group in control of Douma, on residential areas in Damascus.





SANA reported a number of casualties and material damage as a result of the shelling. Jaish al-Islam denied the accusation.

On Thursday, evacuations of civilians from Douma were suspended, days after hundreds of opposition fighters and their families safely left Douma under a Russian-brokered deal.

In recent weeks, government forces have retaken most of Eastern Ghouta through a combination of ground assaults and Russia-brokered evacuation deals.

Some opposition groups have condemned these evacuations as forced displacements.

Rebels in Eastern Ghouta have managed to keep Syrian military forces at bay during years of war, but a four-year government siege of the district has led to a humanitarian crisis with severe shortages of food and medicine.

Great concern

Speaking on Friday, Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for the United Nations, said the renewed outbreak of fighting in Douma is of great concern to us.

There are still a number of people who are besieged and trapped in the area, he told reporters at the UN headquarters in New York.

He added that is a violation of international law to target civilian infrastructure and civilians.

Last week, two rebel groups reached evacuation deals with the Russian army, which resulted in about 19,000 people leaving for the northern province of Idlib.

They included fighters from the Faylaq al-Rahman and Ahrar al-Sham rebel groups, their families and other residents.

Rebel groups argued that the evacuation amounts to forced displacement, but gave in after weeks of intense bombardment.

The evacuation agreements followed a Russia-backed government offensive in February and March that killed hundreds of people in Eastern Ghouta.

Syrias conflict, which started with peaceful anti-government demonstrations in March 2011, escalated into a full-blown war that has claimed more than 300,000 lives and driven about half of the countrys prewar population of 22 million from their homes.
UK farmers concerned about future post-Brexit

For more than forty years, Brussels has influenced the way in which agriculture was done in the UK, but with Brexit looming, there is both hope and trepidation about the inevitable changes coming.
An international event aiming to break fears and prejudices against Muslims and promote empathy has been launched in Kings Cross station in central London, the capital of Britain.

The event this week will see young Muslims promoting mutual understanding in public places in various countries, including Germany, the Netherlands, France and Austria.

Hello, I am a Muslim

The Islamic Community Milli Gorus (ICMG) group said in a statement on Thursday that thousands of young Muslims living in Europe, Australia and Canada will take to the streets to deliver their Hello, I am a Muslim message to introduce themselves.

Contacting people individually is the most natural and the best way of promoting understanding and empathy, the ICMG said.

We have prepared the Hello, I am a Muslim events to encourage mutual communication and cooperation between Muslims and non-Muslims, said Kemal Ergun, the groups president.

More than 500 mosques across Europe will also take part in the initiative, according to the ICMG statement.

A group of young Muslims from Islami Community Milli Gorus (ICMG) give roses to passersby at Kings Cross [Anadolu]

Islamophobia

A study into the day-to-day experiences of British Muslims, carried out by the Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC) in 2016, found a sharp rise in the number of people reporting verbal abuse and an increase in the number of physical attacks since the survey was last undertaken in 2010.

Hate crimes rose in UK around the time of a June 2016 referendum on Britains departure from the European Union, or Brexit.

Religious or racially aggravated offences increased in the months leading up to the vote  from about 3,500 recorded incidents in April 2016 to more than 5,000 in June of the same year. In June 2017, reported hate crimes peaked at 6,000.

Muslims and their centres in Germany and Spain have also been the target of hate crimes.

There were 950 attacks on Muslims and mosques in Germany in 2017, according to new government figures.

In Spain, more than 500 Islamophobic incidents were recorded in the same year, including incidents against women and children and several mosques, according to a civil society group.

A mosque in the town of Roosendaal in the Netherlands, was set on fire in November 2015.

The Hello, I am a Muslim initiative aims to encourage mutual communication and cooperation between Muslims and non-Muslims [Anadolu]




Demonstrators protest against Britains complicity in Israels apartheid after 31 Palestinians are shot dead in Gaza.

London, England  Demonstrators of all ages and nationalities have gathered in central London to call for an end to the killing of Palestinians by Israeli forces.

Up to 2,000 people stood outside Downing Street on Saturday, where the official residence of Prime Minister Theresa May is located, chanting slogans such as Free, free Palestine and holding placards reading Stop Israels War Crimes in Gaza and Gaza, Stop the Massacre.

The protest came a day after Israeli troops killed at least nine people, including journalist Yaser Murtaja, during demonstrations along the Gaza border.

A total of 31 Palestinians have been shot dead in the besieged enclave since the start of the peaceful protests on March 30, when tens of thousands took to the border area with Israel to demand the right of return for Palestinian refugees.

The rally in the UK capital was organised by the Friends of Al-Aqsa, Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Palestinian Forum in Britain and Stop the War groups.

Similar events were held in the British cities of Manchester, Bristol and Sheffield.

Not my own

Among the demonstrators in London were Jews who do not identify with Zionism, the political movement claiming the Jewish right to an independent state.

Israel is a terrorist state. It is ethnically cleansing the indigenous people of Palestine. Our country [UK] was wrong to give the country to people based on their religion through the Balfour Declaration, demonstrator Joana Mazouzi told Al Jazeera.

To think that I could go there tomorrow and live there and yet someone who was born there and has got five generations cannot  Its appalling, she added.

Where is the world? Mazouzi asked.

Glyn Secker, secretary for Jewish Voice for Labour, said Israels actions against the Palestinians are putting it at odds with the founding values of Judaism.

Core Jewish values are derived from core human values, there is no difference. And therefore you can say you are not being true to Jewish values if you are committing 70 years of gross violation of Palestinian rights.

Protesters did not gather only in London, but in several other UK cities [Claire Gilbody Dickerson/Al Jazeera]

UK complicit in Israels apartheid

Since the Gaza bombardment in 2014, the UK has licensed 140m worth of arms to Israel, according to the Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT).

Shabbir Lakha, from Stop the War Coalition, said Britains monetary support of Israel makes it complicit in the atrocities taking place against Palestinians in the occupied territories.

Despite peaceful unarmed protesters being shot, there is a complete silence and lack of condemnation from our government, Lakha told Al Jazeera.

But more deep into the situation, we see that our government has close alliance with [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahus government as it continues to sell arms to it, despite Israel violating international law.





Lakha added that it was absolutely important that we are here in opposition and to shame the governments actions.

His view was echoed by protester Molly Dunne, 20: It is completely against their [UK] interest to show any genuine interest in the Palestinian government because, like the US, they have their claws and economic interest in Israel, and the Zionist have a huge sway over what the government does.

Luke Farrer, 21, called the UK to boycott, disinvest and sanction Israel, while also drawing a parallel between Israels practices in the occupied territories and apartheid, a decades-long system of racial segregation in South Africa.

The only reason why the [South African] apartheid stopped is after America started to sanction South Africa, but [ex-British Prime Minister] Margaret Thatcher and the UK were a big part of that [lobbying the US to impose sanctions].

If we were to vocalise dissent about what is going on in Palestine and Israel then maybe  that would set in motion more traction in America, which I think would be really beneficial to freeing Palestine, he told Al Jazeera.

While May has fallen short of expressing any condemnation against what the Labour opposition party called the inhumane killing of unarmed protesters, a statement by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn read out at the protest said, firing live ammunition into crowds of unarmed civilians is illegal  and cannot be tolerated.

The statement added: They [Palestinians] have a right to protest against their appalling conditions and the continuing blockade and occupation of Palestinian land, and in support of their right to return to their homes and their right to self-determination.

Corbyn stressed the urgency of negotiations for a two-state settlement and called on the UK to support a call by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for an independent international inquiry into the killing of protesters in Gaza, as well as a review of its arms sales to Israel.












Dr Marc Lamont Hill is an award-winning journalist and author and is the Steve Charles Professor of Media, Cities, and Solutions at Temple University. Hill is known for his work addressing the intersections of race, justice, politics and culture. His latest best-selling book is We Still Here: Pandemics, Policing, Protest and Possibility which follows on the success of Nobody: Casualties of Americas War on the Vulnerable from Flint to Ferguson. Hill has received numerous prestigious awards from the US National Association of Black Journalists, GLAAD, and the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences.
There's a new term for some of the new faces in Donald Trump's administration: super-hawks. In fact another term has also been coined for Trump's cabinet: the war cabinet... Actually, when you look into it, you'll quickly find (or remember) that the term super-hawks has been used a fair few times before! Remember the neo-conservatives? The term was used about them just before -- and after -- the Iraq War of 2003. And if you go back a little further in history than that you'll also find that some of those in Ronald Reagan's administration (as well as Reagan himself) were classed as super-hawks. In fact the term goes back to the Vietnam War and even well before that.

So, yes, the term super-hawks is little more than political rhetoric.

The other point is that if we now have super-hawks, then their predecessors must have been plain old hawks. This means that those on the Left will always see right-wing (or conservative) governments has being made up of hawks (of some description). Indeed, the very act of engaging in any war/intervention at any time over any issue is hawkish to those who're already against capitalist democracies.

Interventionism

Perhaps the trick is to take a middle way between knee-jerk interventionism and claiming that whatever happens in foreign countries has no effect at all on what happens in the United States. That is, perhaps it's best to intervene only when there's a direct impact on -- or threat to -- the U.S. That, of course, leaves the big problem as to what's actually meant by the words direct and threat here. And these words can be debated until the cows come home.

The extreme interventionist position can be summed up in the often-quoted (i.e., by radical-left sources) pre-Iraq War phrase, Baghdad today, Tehran and Damascus tomorrow. (Did any neo-conservative ever actually say this or is it simply an Internet meme?) Nonetheless, at the other end of the scale you have the non-interventionist or isolationist (which can be said to be the logical conclusion of non-interventionism) view that that the United States should never intervene anywhere outside of the U.S. itself. However, is this position actually held by many on the Right? When it comes to the Left, on the other hand, many do indeed believe that no U.S. intervention at any time and for any reason can ever be acceptable. That's because it will be a capitalist state which will be doing the intervening. In other words, any intervention by a capitalist state will be -- by definition -- wrong. So, such an intervention will be all about oil or at least all about something not stated by the interveners.

It's also very odd that many of those who speak out against any military intervention also say that sanctions against Iran don't work. That seems to be a roundabout way of saying (as Britain's Stop the War Coalition has said): Hands off Iran! Basically, there are many on the Left who ideologically and politically support Iran. Indeed, many left-wing leaders have also worked for Press TV, Iran's state-run news outlet. For example, the leader of the British Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, is one such radical socialist who's worked for Iran's Press TV. (He can also be found speaking at a demo in the Hands off Iran video just linked.)

The Threat From Iran

So what about Iran's threat to U.S. interests (as it's often put)? That's hard to quantify. Indeed, the words U.S. interests can be stretched so widely that anything that happens in Iran and its satellites can be seen as being a threat to U.S. interests.

Nonetheless, what we have here is the historical threat of what has often been called the Shia crescent.

Iran is a Shia state. So now (i.e., after the Iraq war) is Iraq. Syria is also led by a Shia minority. If we move further afield, we also have a large and powerful Shia population in Lebanon. There are also relatively large numbers of Shia Muslims in Pakistan, India, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, Kuwait, Bahrain, Tajikistan, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Qatar

Iran is the spiritual home of most Shia. Iran also arms, funds, and trains militia in many counties which have Shia populations. It's also on very good terms with the political leaders of some of these countries. Thus, in theory at least, we could have a Iranian-led political block of immense power in the region.

Of course, it's not quite that simple.

There are so many Islamic sects in this part of the world (as well as many non-Muslim minorities) that total Shia power is perhaps unlikely. And even among Shia there are rivalries. Nonetheless, those with minor differences often unite together against those they see as being greater mutual enemies.

For example, Syria's Bashar al-Assad has little in common with Iran's theocrats -- except, of course, that he's of the Alawite branch of the Shia religion. In addition, many Shia in Iraq don't like kowtowing to Iran either. This basically means that no matter how close these religious or ideological groupings are, the very fact that they're separate political power-blocks means that total Shia unification will prove to be almost impossible.

Invade Iran?

It can be said that whatever action the United States takes against Iran, many will compare it to the situation which occurred just before the intervention in Iraq in 2003. In other words, they'll say that the U.S. doesn't know what it's getting into. This is odd, really, because that's almost true by definition. That is, there's never been a single war (or intervention) in which those involved could have forecast every detail of the future and therefore known beforehand what they were getting into. Indeed wars, interventions or even economic changes involve so many variables that no one can ever know -- in complete detail -- what they're getting into.

All this was of course true of Iraq in 2003.

Post-2003, the omniscient retrospecters condemned George W. Bush and the U.S. government for failing to be excellent futurologists. Nonetheless, it can indeed be said that the Bush government underestimated the danger of tribal Islamic loyalties in the Iraq case. Then again, many on the Left also entirely factored out Islam because left-wingers saw this religion -- and still see it -- as a mere epiphenomenon of material and political conditions (i.e., Marx's sigh of the oppressed creature and all that). So Islam and Islamic rivalries were -- and still are -- played down by all sides.

Nonetheless, Iran is both directly and indirectly involved in nearly all the wars and conflicts in the Middle East and just beyond.

Of course, the main conflict is in Syria. And Syria is closely allied to Iran.

In more concrete terms, in January this year, the former U.S. Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, said that the U.S. should keep its forces in Syria after the defeat of Isis in order to go on to then defeat Bashar al-Assad. This, he believed, would limit Iranian influence in that part of the world.

Opposed to the Syrian part of the (Iranian-led) Shia crescent is Sunni Turkey. Perhaps Sunni Turkey itself wants to resurrect something like its own historic Sunni crescent -- i.e., the Ottoman Empire. Thus, the Turkish army has been pouring into northern Syria over the last few months (specifically after the Kurds suffered a major defeat in Afrin in January). Not surprisingly, Hassan Rouhani, the president of Iran, demanded that Turkey immediately pull out. (The U.S. is allied to the largely secular -- i.e., politically secular! -- Kurds.)

There's also the Sunni-Shia war as it's played out in the Saudi Arabia-Iran war.

This has been recently and graphically shown with what's been happening in Sunni-majority Yemen. In this case, there's been Iranian intervention on the Shia side. (Iran provides funding and weapons to the Zaydi Shi'ite Houthi rebels.) And the Sunni states of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar have intervened on the Sunni side.

More clearly of all, a military intervention in Iran would of course impact on neighbouring Shia-led Iraq. So it's not a surprise that Iraq's prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, believes that a U.S.-Iran war would actually be fought out in Iraq, not Iran.

There are also tactical (i.e., not political or moral) reasons for not intervening in Iran and elsewhere.

Take the destruction of Iran's nuclear capacity.

The new U.S. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, suggested that it would take under 2,000 sorties to destroy the Iranian nuclear capacity. Mr. Pompeo believes this to be an acceptable figure (hence the word under). Then again, whether or not 2,000 sorties is regarded as a little or a lot, if Iran really is an existential threat to the United States and to countries in the Middle East, then if it takes 2,000 sorties to quell that threat -- then, surely, so be it!

Paul Austin Murphy writes on politics and philosophy. He's been published in the New English Review, The Conservative Online, Philosophy Now, Human Events, Intellectual Conservative, Brenner Brief (Broadside News), etc. Murphy's blogs are Paul Austin Murphy on Politics and Paul Austin Murphy's Philosophy
It was the films most wonderfully stirring scene.

Cheering crowds, including newly released concentration camp victims still in their black and white striped prison garb, swarmed to meet Comrade Stalin, who had descended from the sky in his personal plane to celebrate the Russian victory over the last Nazi forces in Berlin.

Glory to Stalin! He is forever true, the crowd shouted and sang. They simply could not contain their euphoria.

Stalin, clad in a snow white, bemedaled jacket matched with crisp, sharply creased black trousers, slowly descended the stairs. He then greeted the victorious military leaders one by one, all the while graciously accepting the acclaim of the fevered mob.

Later, Sofiko Chiaureli, the beautiful daughter of the films director Mikheil Chiaureli, recalled the initial viewing of the ecstatic scene from the film The Fall of Berlin. The entire Politburo was gathered to view it.

The film was running. My father was sitting at the back. Of course, everybody had their eyes glued to the screen, but my father was watching Stalin and observing his reactions because for him it was a matter of life or death.

In the episode where Stalin emerges from the big plane and the whole of Berlin kneels down before him, my father saw that Stalin slowly raised his hand and then wiped tears from his eyes. Only then could my father breathe freely and say to himself, Im saved.

Chiaureli could breathe again, knowing that at least for a time he would not suffer the fate of Stalins portraitist, who was shot dead because he painted Uncle Joes face realistically, pockmarks and all.

Sofika added, Stalin really did like the film. After the showing, he said to my father, Bravo!

Then the Man of Steel said regretfully, If only I had done it and had really gone to Berlin.

Stalins wonderfully inspiring entry to Berlin never happened. The reality was the reality of Potemkinland, a fantasy conjured in order to deceive the masses.

But the fact that a scene never happened did not matter to the Soviet propagandists who wished to make up truth to bolster the Communist Partys goals of transforming Russian society and indeed, the entire globe. The whole Soviet system was built on lies. As Alexander Solzhenitsyn was later to write, In our country the lie has become not just a moral category but a pillar of the State.

An unceasing attempt to establish the Lie and to destroy the truth has been as characteristic of the Left here in America as it was in Soviet Russia.

The Lie has become systemic because a reductionist ideology based on lies has thoroughly invaded the academia, the media, and the body politic. It has metastasized to the point that if it is not eradicated -- not just modified -- the body will die.

What is the chief characteristic of the great Lie that grips so many of Americas institutions? It is that human beings are on their own when it comes to the pursuit of Truth. The issue has been the same since the creation of mankind. It is the belief in the sovereignty of the individual as opposed to the sovereignty of God. For the radicalized modern, humans are on their own to make up and to act on their self-authorized reality, assuming the place of God/gods.

Propagandists, some of whom feared for their lives if they did not lie, made up a hagiography that lionized Stalin. But the stories about the Man of Steel who was ushering in a glorious future for his nation were not true. The new communist reality he created had to be forced down the throats of the Russian people, who died in the millions. The Lie lived only because millions who told the truth were eliminated.

The lie that there is no God except for the Self devoted to power and destruction is the lie behind all twentieth and twenty-first-century ideologies, all of which have an evil simplicity that reduces mankind to a singularity, be it by theories of race, class, economics, or gender.

To put it another way, the greatest lies are not one-off incidents. They are not the occasional white lie to the wife who asks, Does this dress make me look fat? They are not the lies wherein people of conscience say the equivalent of, No! No Jews are here. They are not even the lies of the con artist who still knows he is conning people. Most people who tell those sort of lies still know they are lying.

No, the biggest lie, and the one currently afflicting our society, is the total loss of discernment between what is truth and what is a lie. It is the belief there is no truth possible. It is the belief we can make up our own truth as we see fit. It is the belief that we may use power to force others to submit to the lie.

It is to the Wests great shame that its top intellectuals believed and still believe in the great lies that nearly annihilated Russia. As John Sullivan pointed out in National Review some years ago:

It was in the West that the most extravagant lies of Stalinism were believed most strenuously -- and not by ordinary citizens but by the intellectuals who embraced or even merely flirted with Soviet totalitarianism. Some very clever people on the left swallowed the Moscow show trials whole and the myths of the Gulag as reformist prisons whole. French intellectuals continued to do so as late as the 1970s when Solzhenitsyn arrived in the West and finally made them ashamed of their willed gullibility. As the Soviet experience fades into history, we should probably expect that its crimes will be increasingly denied or marginalized by people sympathetic to its, er, ideals.

Sullivan goes on to point out how absurd the lies became during the Soviet purges:

A passage on the Moscow purges and the Gulag includes the story that the director of the Leningrad zoo was accused of forcing the local corps de ballet to perform at night in front of the monkeys cages in order to drive the monkeys mad. What is more he confessed to the crime and was given a long sentence.

In some circles in America today, innocent people are being harassed, targeted for dismissal from their positions in academia and the media. They are being asked to believe the equivalent of the idea that ballet drives monkeys mad and the person responsible for the madness should be put behind bars while the monkeys and their psychotherapists roam free to take power.

While the radical powers that be may not be sending people to jail for making monkeys crazy, they are criminalizing people who believe humanity is divided into two sexes; male and female. They are going after people who believe marriage is between a man and a woman. They are harassing parents who do not want their children subjected to hormone therapy and mutilation because the kids are confused about their identities as boys or girls.

Stalin at least acknowledged he was not really in Berlin at the time of the Russian victory over Nazi Germany. He still grasped the fact he told lies. He told them and enforced them because he was addicted to power.

But the new radical Left has completely lost any idea of what the truth actually is. They have absorbed the Lie completely; but like Stalin, they prefer speaking only power to truth tellers who expose their Lie. Power alone is seen as truth.

Now is the time for all good men and women to stand up and tell the Truth.

To do otherwise is to grant the victory to people who are pathological liars who see no distinction between good and evil or the truth and the lie; and who are intent on silencing those who see the difference.

Fay Voshell holds a M.Div. from Princeton Theological Seminary, which awarded her the prize for excellence in systematic theology. She is a frequent contributor to American Thinker. Her thoughts have appeared in many other online publications, including National Review, CNS, Fox News, LifeSiteNews, and RealClearReligion. She may be reached at fvoshell@yahoo.com
A 2016 article by the American Journal of Medicine claims that homicide rates in the U.S. are 7 times higher than an average of other high income countries. This conclusion is based on a select list of OECD nations compiled in 2010. The lowest income nation on the list is Hungary, where per capita GDP is $28,000 per year. Turkey and Mexico did not make the cut because their per capita GDPs are respectively $25,000 and $19,000. Latvia and Estonia are not on this list, presumably because Latvia joined the OECD in 2016 and Estonia joined in December of 2010. Turkey, Estonia, and Latvia have murder rates comparable to those in the U.S. Mexico exceeds the U.S. by about 4 times. Most would agree that Mexico is not high income but the case for excluding these other three nations is not as clear cut.

If the list were to include all of Eastern Europe, Russian and Lithuania would surpass the U.S. in homicides per capita. Only when the U.S. is compared with affluent Western nations that were never under the iron curtain does its murder rate far exceed all other in the sample. The AJM attributes this grim statistic to high levels of gun ownership in the U.S., but the authors fail to point out that two of the safest nations in the world (Switzerland and Finland) rank 3rd and 4th in per capita gun ownership.

The U.S. has almost double the gun ownership rate of Finland and (according to a table in the AJM article) 12 times the gun homicide rate. Does this mean there is a critical mass for gun ownership where the murder rate increases exponentially? If this is true, why do heartland states with the highest levels of gun ownership have some of the lowest murder rates in the U.S.?

Since the link between gun ownership and homicide is unclear, what other factors are at play? How else does the U.S. stand out from all these Western nations other than in gun ownership and homicides?

According to data from WHO, the adolescent fertility rate in the U.S. far exceeds that of Western Europe, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Teenage mothers in Western nations often raise their children without fathers, and fatherlessness has been liked to violent crime in young men. When comparing the U.S. to other Western nations with higher levels of teenage pregnancy (Eastern Europe and Latin America), the U.S. murder rate is nowhere near the top (Fig. 1). This graph excludes 10 countries where the homicide rate exceeds 20 per 100,000. Beyond this murder rate the effect of adolescent fertility is less evident, possibly because other factors such as drug trafficking and poor governance start to play a larger role. At the top of the list of nations excluded from the graph is El Salvador, where the murder rate was 108 per 100,000 in 2015. This is over 20 times the murder rate in the U.S during the same year.

Fig. 1: The adolescent fertility data is from the World Health Organization. The homicide data is from the World Bank. The unlabeled points crowded on the lower left include Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and all the nations in Western Europe. All information was compiled from 2011 to 2015. Belrs. = Belarus, Grn. = Grenada, Sur. = Suriname, Antig. = Antigua & Barbuda

Fig. 2: The single parent households data is from the Kids Count Data Center. The homicide data is from the Death Penalty Information Center.

Unsurprisingly, there is also a relationship between single parent households and homicides per state (Fig. 2). All races are adversely affected by single parenting, but since the overall illegitimacy rate among blacks now exceeds 70%, it also comes to no surprise that most of the states where the rate is 40% or higher are more than 20% African American. The murder rates in these states concurs with FBI data showing that African Americans commit half the homicides even though they make up only 12% the overall U.S. population. The media underreports black-on-black homicides because condemning police officers for their mistakes (both real and imagined) is the path of least resistance. This gutless journalism cost black lives because it demoralized the police and emboldened the killers.

Mass shootings make up a tiny percentage of U.S. homicides but as in the case other violent criminals, many of these killers (Parkland, Las Vegas, Charleston, and Newtown) also grew up in broken homes. The Parkland shooting was also a perfect storm of criminal negligence. First, because armed deputies were ordered to wait outside the building during the worst part of the rampage. Second, because the FBI failed to act on a tip. Third, because school officials failed to make police referrals that would have denied the shooters right to buy a gun. The last failure is the most egregious because it goes far beyond mere laziness or incompetence; it was a deliberate plan to minimize the so-called school to prison pipeline.

Even gun rights supporters agree that some regulations are needed to prevent guns from getting into the wrong hands, but few adolescents are mature enough to distinguish between lack of legislation and lack of enforcement. Consequently, encouraging students to march on Washington for an agenda they do not understand is wrong. In the absence of other perspectives for enhancing school security it is indoctrination. If David Hogg ever wises up, he will condemn the news organizations that shamelessly disseminated his sophomoric comments.

Antonio Chaves teaches biology at a local community college. His interest in economic and social issues stems from his experience teaching environmental science.
Employees of the Denver Post published an editorial aimed at its owners, a New York hedge fund, pleading, "The Denver Post Must Be Saved."

No doubt the editorial mimics similar pieces from 120 years ago where blacksmiths and wheelwrights pleaded to be saved as well.

At The Denver Post on Monday, more than two dozen reporters, editors, photographers, videographers, page designers, digital producers and opinion staff will walk out the door. Our marching orders are to cut a full 30 by the start of July. These heartbreaking instructions raise the question: Does this cut, which follows so many in recent years that our ranks have shriveled from more than 250 to fewer than 100 today, represent the beginning of the end for the Voice of the Rocky Mountain Empire? The cuts, backed by our owner, the New York City hedge fund Alden Global Capital, also are a mystery, if you look at them from the point of view of those of us intent on running a serious news operation befitting the city that bears our name. Media experts locally and nationally question why our future looks so bleak, as many newspapers still enjoy double-digit profits and our management reported solid profits as recently as last year. We call for action. Consider this editorial and this Sunday's Perspective offerings a plea to Alden  owner of Digital First Media, one of the largest newspaper chains in the country  to rethink its business strategy across all its newspaper holdings. Consider this also a signal to our community and civic leaders that they ought to demand better. Denver deserves a newspaper owner who supports its newsroom. If Alden isn't willing to do good journalism here, it should sell The Post to owners who will.

Sell it? Who's stupid enough to buy it? The dead tree newspaper industry is circling the drain as surely as buggy whip makers and the carriage manufacturing industry gave up the ghost.

A flagship local newspaper like The Post plays a critically important role in its city and state: It provides a public record of the good and the bad, serves as a watchdog against public and private corruption, offers a free marketplace of ideas and stands as a lighthouse reflective and protective of  and accountable to  a community's values and goals. A news organization like ours ought to be seen, especially by our owner, as a necessary public institution vital to the very maintenance of our grand democratic experiment.

Is there an online publication that can't accomplish the exact same things? There lies the essence of why newspapers are becoming obsolete. Their only selling point appears to be that they proclaim themselves to be "gatekeepers" and the arbiters of who and what should be held "accountable." Whatever public trust they once possessed, they have squandered in the name of advocacy journalism. They do not deserve to be "saved" by anyone, much less a public they "serve" only in a blatantly partisan sense.

I like editor Lifson's complaint about newspapers: "I get ink on my hands." That pretty much sums up the importance that we should attach to the demise of another iconic business who is going the way of other obsolete and useless companies whose nostalgic pleas to survive should not move us.
Here are my thoughts on Emma Gonzalez, a high school senior who survived the February 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida.

The first thing that we learn about Emma Gonzalez in the February 26, 2018, issue of Harper's Bazaar Magazine is that she is 18 years old, Cuban, and bisexual. Next, she tells us about her participation at the recent March for Our Lives, where she gave moving remarks to bring about stricter gun control. And yet Emma has been severely criticized by some Cuban-Americans and Americans. What gives?

Apparently, Emma has not paid attention to the power of symbols. At the March for Our Lives, Emma wore an olive-green jacket with a Cuban flag patch on her right arm. The words of "Welcome to the Revolution" from another student rang in the background.

It would be unthinkable to speak against institutional racism at a public event and be clad head to toe in white Ku Klux Klan robes and hoods. No one would pay attention to the message.

Here is an analogy. You may have a young job applicant who graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University but dressed with the same attire that Emma wore to the March, and see how far she gets in the job interview. Not far! Optics play a larger role in whom and what we like than on what others say or write. We've been taught that if you want to get far in corporate America or the federal government, you always dress to impress when going to a job interview. The question is not whether this is fair or unfair. The bottom line is that this is reality.

Similarly, Emma's garb brought back horrible memories to most Cuban-Americans of rebels coming down from the Sierra Maestra mountain range and confiscating the guns of civilians as a way to install a totalitarian regime that has lasted fifty-nine years.

While this South Florida-born daughter of a Cuban refugee who came to this country in 1968 professes pride in her Cuban heritage by insisting on putting the accent on her surname, she has alienated the majority of the Cuban-American community by her actions. To these Cuban-Americans, olive-green fatigues remind them of Fidel Castro and his rebel army. Rather than putting so much emphasis on the accent of her surname, she should have refrained from displaying symbols that brought back so many negative memories of Communist Cuba.

To non-Cuban Americans, Emma's clothes helped to label her as a radical activist that brought them back memories of the violent confrontations of the 1960s.

Symbols have consequences  some of which are not positive. Her sexual orientation was irrelevant to the goal that she was aiming to accomplish. It would have been better for Emma to have worn clothes with the American flag on them.

Do I think Emma is a communist? No. But I do think she is greatly inexperienced  at least with the decision-makers she was trying to influence.

After all, Emma was directing her lobbying efforts to the congressmen in Washington, D.C.  not those in La Habana.
I didn't have to travel to the Gaza Strip to encounter pure hatred for my beliefs. I found it yesterday (from Jews!) in a local Jewish Community Center where, for years, I've given a series of talks on the survival of Israel and American Jewry. I believe I happen to be the only politically conservative lecturer among about 50, who voluntarily offer their services to the JCC. This particular program was supposed to be a friendly political debate between a very progressive rabbi and me.

Those present who supported my opinions and were already accustomed to the progressive views of their neighbors treated the rabbi's outlook and statements with their usual "yawn, sit back, and listen to the rant" attitude. However, during my time at the podium, the rabble of the radical left could not restrain themselves and launched into stand up-and-shout tirades that required the program's director to be summoned to the hall. And these were Jews foaming at the mouth against another Jew who was focusing on the Democratic Party's abandonment of Israel and the explosion of campus and national Jew-hating during and even after the eight Obama years.

There seems to be a violent, pathological loathing and scorn emanating from Progressive Jews against anyone attempting to reason with them or even discuss a problem that affects...them, their children, and their grandkids. Talking, chatting with them, or having a chairside discussion even mentioning a conservative point of view always ends up with flaming eyes; pointing of shaking fingers; and, of course, the end of any viable, pleasant conversation. And even, sometimes, the end of relationships.

The defeat of Hillary Clinton at the hands of Trump was the tipping point of their rationality. Their dreams were shattered. Their hopes for a continuation of the Obama radical doctrine-filled future were ripped apart. There is little hope that they will ever bow down to reason, sit out the next eight years as we did, and work to the growth of this nation and themselves. It will not get better. This 1930s-like-in-Germany situation will only get worse. The solution: Stay strong, resilient, knowledgeable  and fight back.
The media are going after Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt for traveling first class and only paying $1,500 per month for a condo, pretending it's all a matter of ethics.

It's nonsense. They actually are going after him because he dares reverse some of the rules the Environmental Protection Agency implemented without going through Congress. Dissent is just not allowed from Democrat policies, and the media are the method of choice for Democrats, using it to go after any Trump administration person they don't like. Here's a typical headline: "Scott Pruitt's job in jeopardy amid expanding ethics issues."

Somehow I don't remember any of Obama's people fired for massive ethical violations, including Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin for working for the Clinton Foundation, the State Department, and a consulting group at the same time. Clinton aide Cheryl Mills also did work for the foundation at the same time she was working for the State Department.

That wasn't even the half of what went down during the Obama administration. The huge donations to the Clinton Foundation from foreign countries doing business with the State Department, along with escalating speech fees for Bill and Chelsea were obvious kickbacks or illegal campaign donations. But nobody's head was called for when those things made the news.

The media cared so little about all the ethics and actual law violations of Hillary that they almost universally supported putting her, Huma, and Cheryl in the White House.

Just look at the flavor of how things were done during the past administration:

A spring 2012 email to Hillary Clinton's top State Department aide, Huma Abedin, asked for help winning a presidential appointment for a supporter of the Clinton Foundation, according to a chain obtained by POLITICO. The messages illustrate the relationship between Clinton's most trusted confidante and the private consulting company that asked for the favor, Teneo  a global firm that later hired Abedin. Abedin signed on with the company while she still held a State Department position, a dual employment that is now being examined by congressional investigators. Abedin's status as a "special government employee" has been questioned by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), who has raised concerns about any overlapping duties and whether they posed potential conflicts of interest. Abedin also worked as an adviser to the Clinton Foundation, the nonprofit founded by former President Bill Clinton.

Are we to believe that Obama's and Hillary's people didn't fly first class?

A top aide to Hillary Clinton at the State Department traveled to New York to interview job candidates for a top job at the Clinton Foundation, a CNN investigation has found. The fact that the aide, Cheryl Mills, was taking part in such a high level task for the Clinton foundation while also working as chief of staff for the secretary of state raises new questions about the blurred lines that have dogged the Clintons in recent years. Upon entering office as secretary of state, Hillary Clinton and the Clinton Foundation agreed to a set of rules to ensure any activities by the foundation would not "create conflicts or the appearance of conflicts for Senator Clinton as Secretary of State."

Or this, which shows the extent of the bribery but doesn't call for anyone to lose their job:

During and before the four years Hillary Clinton was secretary of state, the Clinton Foundation run by her husband took tens of millions of dollars from foreign governments and corporations. Many of these donors had a lot riding on Clinton's decisions. Saudi Arabia gave the foundation up to $25 million, and Clinton signed off on a controversial $29 Billion sale of fighter jets to the country. Oil companies gave the foundation around $3 million, and Clinton approved a lucrative gas pipeline in the Canadian tar sands they'd long sought.

The FEC has been asked to investigate whether a $130,000 payment from Trump's attorney to a porn "star" for a seven-hour rendezvous that might have occurred twelve years ago was an illegal campaign contribution.

Why were there no calls for investigations of foreign payments to the Clinton Foundation and to Bill himself as illegal campaign contributions? The speech fees paid to Hillary and Chelsea after she left the State Department were also obviously campaign contributions in order to gain favor. It would be easy to determine what the kickbacks or campaign contributions were by looking at amounts before she was secretary of state and after she was secretary of state and compare them to what she and the Foundation receive after she has no favors to sell. And there's a trail of quid pro quo deeds that makes crimes even more visible.

But even as the press reported these things, there was no feeding frenzy calling for firings, such as we are seeing now with Scott Pruitt. Double standard, anyone?
Donald Trump signed a memorandum ordering agencies to end the practice known as "catch and release."

The Bush-era policy allowed for the release of border-crossers from detention who were without papers to await the determination of their status in court.

The Hill:

The memo signed by Trump orders the Department of Homeland Security, in coordination with other agencies, to submit a report to the president within 45 days "detailing all measures that their respective departments have pursued or are pursuing to expeditiously end 'catch and release' practices." The report instructs departments to share information on any contracts to construct or operate detention facilities along the border as well as steps taken to assign asylum officers at detention facilities, among other measures. As part of the order, Trump is requesting "a detailed list of all existing facilities, including military facilities, that could be used, modified, or repurposed to detain aliens for violations of immigration law at or near the borders of the United States." Trump has also directed Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen to identify any other resources or steps "that may be needed to expeditiously end 'catch and release' practices." White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders characterized catch and release, the practice of paroling detained immigrants who await a court's determination on their status, as "dangerous."

Not only is it dangerous; it makes a mockery of U.S. sovereignty. The notion that we should trust lawbreakers who cross the border to show up in court only to be deported is idiotic. The majority of those detained at the border never appear before a judge and disappear into the vast illegal alien underground.

President Obama vastly expanded catch and release from the policy followed during the presidency of George Bush to where immigration authorities were actually busing illegals into the interior of the U.S. Trump's order will end that practice.

Will the end of the program have an effect on the number of people trying to cross the border illegally? If a prospective border-jumper knows he will be detained until his hearing, he may think twice about trying to come into the U.S. illegally.

Of course, the end of this policy will be challenged in court. It faces an uncertain fate, given the proclivity of U.S. courts to frown on detaining anyone for long periods of time. But coupled with a hefty increase in the number of immigration judges being planned by A.G. Sessions, the wait times for deportees should drop substantially.
While the factual news reporting of the Washington Post raised doubts about Israel's claim that Hamas militants attacked Israelis with Molotov cocktails and live ammunition, at least the Post's editorial section confirmed that Israel's claims were true (Falling into Hamas' trap, 4/3/18).

The editorial, however, had the temerity to lambaste Israel's response to the Hamas-orchestrated riot even while acknowledging Israel's "right to defend its border." The editors deny Israeli claims that if the rioters (not "demonstrators," as the Post coverage has falsely labeled them) had been able to breach the border fence, many more would have been killed or injured. The Post quoted no source for its preposterous allegation. Would the Post editors prefer to see the bloodshed resulting from a border breach, or do they think they have greater military expertise than the Israeli Defense Force?
Samsung is improving the Gear S3 battery life with a new update to the software that appears to be getting pushed out to users and having been started recently. While some may feel the battery life on the watch was already decent enough for their own purposes, its been reported that the previous update which introduced a handful of sizeable new features and changes to the device also had some negative impact on the battery life for a wide range of users. This update going out now seems to be correcting that issue so users can continue to operate their smartwatches the way that they had been used to before the battery life was decreased.

Since this an update that is primarily being sent out with a focus on the battery, naturally the update is fairly small in size in regards to the download file and it also only comes with one other change in addition to the battery improvements, and this is an improvement to the stability of the Bluetooth connection, which some users were apparently having problems with. The software update is reportedly hitting devices for users in South Korea, but also for users in the U.S. as well as Canada.

Theres no current mention of the update hitting devices in other regions, so it may be a little while before it shows up in additional countries. If Samsung is pushing this update out in stages then youll want to keep an eye out for it whether youre in one of the three countries where the update is currently hitting devices or not, as theres always a chance it could show up for your device unannounced just like with the users where the update is being reported. The update shouldnt be too big since it only brings improvements for a couple of things, in which case it shouldnt take too long to download, though Samsung still recommends you download the update via Wi-Fi.
Samsung Electronics is suing the government of South Korea over a chip factory working conditions report that Seoul said will publicize later this spring, having been petitioned to do so by local activists and media outlets. The company moved to stop the disclosure of the report on Monday, having filed a complaint with the Central Administrative Appeals Commission and a separate appeal with the Suwon District Court. Samsung officially confirmed the move several days later, arguing that the report would expose its trade secrets such as proprietary equipment and materials used by its semiconductor manufacturing facilities.

Samsung and every other company operating in the Far Eastern country that deals with potentially dangerous chemicals are required to provide competent government organizations with regular reports on the working conditions of their employees. Such reports arent private by default but South Korean nationals and organizations are able to petition for their publication, after which Seoul is required to seek an opinion on the matter from the firm whose report was requested to be publicized. The ultimate decision on whether to divulge the contents of any particular report is the governments to make, with the only legal requirement for reaching it being consulting independent experts in relevant fields while deliberating on any given petition. The lawsuit Samsung filed targets the Ministry of Employment and Labor that decided to publish its report earlier this year, having said doing so will allow employees to prove work-related illnesses more easily.

Samsung argues doing so is reckless, especially at a time when China is trying to compete with the companys semiconductor business which the government officially considers part of national core technologies. The company recently said it isnt worried about Chinas chip ambitions in the near-term because of the large technological gap between the two. The original request seeking the publication of the working conditions report was filed by a family of a former Samsung employee who worked at one of the companys factories and died in 2014 after being diagnosed with leukemia which was alleged to have been caused by an industrial accident or prolonged exposure to certain chemicals. The dispute between Samsung and Seoul is unlikely to be resolved before late summer.
Verizon is still committed to the 3.5 GHz Citizens Broadband Radio Services spectrum and will be launching first CBRS-enabled smartphones by the end of the year, the network operator said earlier this week. The New York-based wireless carrier claims it already strongly encouraged original equipment manufacturers to embrace the technology and help commercialize it in the near future, having added that the 2018 debut of those offerings will be just the beginning, with such products being set to expand aggressively over the course of the next year.

A number of popular handsets from OEMs such as Samsung and Apple already support CBRS, i.e. band 48 thats required for 3.5GHz connectivity in the United States. A similar version of the technology is also available via band 42 in Japan, with several telecom regulators in Europe presently planning auctions that will also make that spectrum available on the Old Continent, thus benefiting existing handsets that support it and incentivizing OEMs to release more such devices going forward. Verizon has been testing the technology alongside the likes of Google, Qualcomm, Nokia, and Ericsson, having also revealed CBRS contributors have recently been experimenting with it using a broad range of private LTE sites.

CBRS is an unconventional wireless solution that many industry players are optimistic about and see it as a potentially significant improvement over traditional 4G LTE despite the fact that band 42 may not be used for 5G, at least not initially. In terms of the end-user experience, 3.5GHz frequencies can allow for the same voice, text, and data transmission features as other LTE bands already do, with the main difference being the manner in which spectrum is assigned to users. Instead of large blocks, network operators can leverage small CBRS spectrum portions on a per-case basis and return any unnecessary chunks for third-party deployment, with the system of utilizing and returning it being entirely automated, thus improving efficiency and possibly lowering buildout costs compared to traditional mobile services. As such, CBRS is expected to be a particularly attractive proposition for B2B solutions and Verizon isnt the only stateside carrier currently exploring the technology, with AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint doing the same.
The Senegalese Gendarmerie showcased its recently purchased military vehicles produced by Nurol Makina, a Turkish defense manufacturer, on its Independence Day. Ejder Yalcin and Ejder Toma armored vehicles will be used to fight terrorism and organized crime.



Turkish-made Ejder Yalcin at military parade for Independence day in Senegal (Picture source: posta.com.tr)

Senegal's Gendarmerie (somehow an army-police force) displayed twenty-five recently purchased 4x4 armored vehicles called Ejder Yalcin and four riot control vehicles called Ejder Toma for the first time during the last Independence Day parade in the capital Dakar. The Ejder Yalcn weighs 14 tons and provides protection against explosives. It can accommodate up to 11 personnel in times of emergency and can carry loads of up to four tons. It can reach speeds of 120 kilometers per hour. The riot control Ejder Toma can reach speeds of 110 kph and can carry five tons of water.

Chief of Defense Staff, Lt. Gen. Cheikh Gueye said the army is showing a preference for Turkish weapons, vehicles, and techniques. "Turkish products have an optimal quality and a fair price in the field of vehicles and accessories," said Gueye.

Gueye also raised the possibility of increasing military cooperation between Senegal and Turkey, which could lead to the purchase of additional types of products. "It is common to see Turkish defense industry equipment in many African countries," he said.
NHTSA

According to Toyota, a component in the respective assembly may have been manufactured incorrectly and over time could lead to the sudden loss of braking assist while driving. The driver is notified of the failure by the illumination of a warning light, a warning message and an audible tone.The cars involved in the recall are 2018 Camry and Highlander, and 2017 Sienna and Tacoma. One model from the Lexus lineup, the RX350, is also affected by this possible fault. The carmaker did not say whether it is aware of incidents caused by this problem.For all involved vehicles, Toyota and Lexus dealers will replace the vacuum pump with a new one at no cost to customers. All known owners of all the involved vehicles will receive a notification by first class mail by late May, says Toyota in a statement.Owners of the said vehicles who want to know in advance whether the cars they drive are subject to this recall can go to the official website of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ).This recall is the third one involving the Camry this year. Last week Toyota said it might need to replace engines as a whole on some 1,730 vehicles, after it found the pistons were produced with a diameter larger than the specification."Back in February, 11,800 Camrys of the same 2018 model year were designated for a recal l due to the possibility that the fuel pipes and the fuel hoses in the engine compartment were not properly connected during the assembly process.As for the Lexus, it too is subject to another recall caused by a possible problem with the air bag systems.
Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) has ordered ride-hailing service provider Uber to continue operating its app beyond April 8, as the local antitrust commission reviews the Grab-Uber deal.

This new directive effective puts Grab's acquisition of Uber to a halt while the review is ongoing.

In an official announcement on March 26, Grab Holdings, Inc. (GHI) confirmed their acquisition of all assets of Uber B.V. (UBV) and Uber Systems, Inc. (USI) in Southeast Asia and has started to carry out the terms of its sale. MyTaxi.PH, Inc. (MTPH), Grab's local arm followed with an announcement that Uber drivers would be migrated into its platform and that the Uber app would no longer be of use in the Philippines by April 9.

"The PCC believes that Uber is capable of operating its ride-hailing app in the country, despite its claims that it has already exited the Southeast Asia market," PCC Chairman Arsenio M. Balisacan said.

Exercising its mandate to protect competition in a looming monopoly and ensure the welfare of the riding public and affected drivers, the PCC has issued a set of Interim Measures while the commission conducts an in-depth review of the Grab-Uber deal.

"Uber is highlighting its exit, but what it does not emphasize enough is its integration with Grab. Thus, Uber is not truly exiting the Philippine market, but rather effectively merging their operations with Grab here. The deal makes Uber a part-owner of Grab," Balisacan said.

"This move by Uber in the Philippine market leads to further substantial concentration of what is, to begin with, an already highly concentrated ride-sharing market. This virtual monopolization of the market by Grab can harm the riding public," he added.

On Thursday, April 5, the PCC conducted a public hearing with Grab and Uber representatives regarding the imposition of interim measures.

The PCC likewise ordered both providers to maintain the independence of their business operations and other conditions prevailing prior to 25 March 2018. These include: ride hailing and delivery platforms; pricing and payment policies including incentives and promotions to riders; product options; customer and rider database; and on-boarding of new partner drivers as well as the fees, charges, and incentives to partner drivers, among other measures.

"Ubers compliance with our antitrust counterpart in Singapore to extend the operation of its app indicates the feasibility of continuing its operations in the Philippines as well," Balisacan said.

A merger or acquisition review using competition lens will determine whether the merger of two players in the ride-sharing market will substantially lessen competition. The PCC may prohibit any merger should anti-competitive concerns arise out of the transaction review.

PCC is mandated under the Philippine Competition Act to review mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures of firms across all sectors. PCC is committed to ensure that Grabs acquisition of Uber in the Philippines will not harm the interest of the riding public.
The NTSB and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University officials are working together to determine what caused the PA-28R-201s wing to fall off in mid-flight last week. The resulting accident killed two: Zach Capra, an ERAU student, and an FAA designated examiner, John S. Azma, conducting a checkride. Flight training resumed on Thursday for all aircraft at ERAU except the PA-28s. They remain grounded until inspections are completed.

The Daytona Beach News-Journal reports that witnesses, including air traffic controllers, said the aircrafts wing departed the aircraft, causing it to spin out of control and then slam into a cow field about a half mile from Daytona Beach International Airport.

NTSB Investigator Aaron McCarter said during a news conference Thursday they are focusing their initial efforts on that fact. They are looking at maintenance and engineering records. The maintenance records for the Piper Arrow have already been provided by the school. The investigation into the crash will include metallurgists examining the planes wreckage, but a wing detaching inflight is rare, the investigator said.

There are at least two Special Airworthiness Information Bulletins (SAIB), CE-11-13 and CE-11-12R1, saying the aircraft has the potential for corrosion on the wing front spar at the fuselage attach fitting. One warns of the potential for corrosion on the wing rear spar at the fuselage attach fitting. The SAIBs mention the increased risk associated with high moisture and salt water.

Capra was on a checkride for his commercial certificate and set to graduate on May 7. The ongoing investigation may take between 18 months to two years as is typical for the agency.

See the Daytona Beach News Journal article here.

See a YouTube video of Roy Williams of Airframe Components explaining a Piper main wing spar inspection here.

See the SAIBs here.
In a week during which five military crashes killed seven service members, an article in the current issue of Newsweek raises questions about funding, training and maintenance in U.S. military aviation units. The number of service members killed in noncombat aviation was 37 in 2017almost double the 19 who died in 2016, the piece states. If 2018s rate of accidents continues, this year could be higher still.

A Marine Corps AV-8B Harrier II jet crashed this week in Djibouti and a Super Stallion crashed in California the same day. On Wednesday of this week an Air Force Thunderbird F16 crashed near Las Vegas and a CH-53 helicopter suffered structural damage in Djibouti. In March, an HH-60 Pave Hawk in western Iraq and an F/A-18 near Key West, Florida crashed. Just yesterday, Friday, April 6, 2018, an AH-64E Apache helicopter conducting routine training crashed in the local training area of Fort Campbell, Kentucky, killing two.

Defense Secretary James Mattis has warned that funding cuts are affecting the number of flight hours, maintenance and overall training available for U.S. troops, the story says. According to the piece the Pentagon says the accidents are not related and denied there is a crisis but that things arent normal.

Read the Newsweek article here.
Part of the reason China was willing to take a harder line against North Korea was to curry favor with the U.S., but Trump has proposed tariffs on Chinese exports anyways, ratcheting up trade tensions.

Why it matters: Beijing is now reassessing its priorities when it comes to North Korea, according to Jenny Town, managing editor of 38 North, and may be less willing to keep up the pressure.

Between the lines

Obviously China has other motivations in sanctioning North Korea, Town says: they were frustrated with North Korea and they dont want North Korea to have nuclear weapons. But this trade war changes the calculus in Chinese-U.S. relations, including on North Korea.

That's especially true given that Trump himself suggested in a NYT interview he would reconsider trade issues with China given its stance on North Korea:

"China...If theyre helping me with North Korea, I can look at trade a little bit differently, at least for a period of time. And thats what Ive been doing."

 Trump in December, 2017

China's calculus

Robert Manning, a former senior strategist with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence under Barack Obama, says China's "concern for stability" informs the reluctance to pressure North Korea. They're worried "if they squeeze too hard," they could help precipitate a "collapse," he says.

That is threatening to the Chinese for two reasons, per Manning. One, "the Chinese understand that missiles can be pointed in all directions," including at them, and they also share a border which, in the case of collapse, could mean a humanitarian crisis in Chinese territory.

What's next?
Sergei Skripal, who was poisoned in Salisbury, England last month with a nerve agent, is responding to treatment and is no longer in critical condition, the AP reports. Its been a month since Skripal was poisoned along with his daughter, Yulia Skripal, who has been awake for over a week.

The backdrop: The U.K. along with France, Germany, and the U.S. blame Russia for the poisoning of Skirpal, and countries around the world have expelled Russian diplomats in retaliation.
Conventional wisdom sends "smart money" looking to the bond market to interpret investor expectations on things like economic growth or inflation. Sometimes those cues are loud and clear  but for the better part of this year, the signals sent by Treasury yields seem broken.

Why it matters: The market still has things to tell us. But it's gotten harder to decode those messages amid all the noise and the complexities of the pandemic economy, says Drew Matus, chief market strategist at MetLife Investment Management.
Two days before completing his second term in office, President Serzh Sarkisian made clear on Saturday he and the outgoing Prime Minister Karen Karapetian will bear "the burden of responsibility for Armenias government for the next four years.

Meeting with Karapetian in the presidential palace, Sarkisian gave further indications that he will take over as Armenias prime minister later this month and thus remain the countrys most powerful man. He said he also envisages a key government role for Karapetian, praising the latters 18-month track record.

Taking this opportunity, I want to thank you for the good job and friendship and want you to pass on my thanks to the members of the government, Sarkisian said in televised remarks.

We have worked together very well in this period but must also bear in mind that our party won a popular vote of confidence in the [April 2017] parliamentary elections and that the Republican Party (HHK) has a mandate to form a government until 2022, he went on. And that means the burden of responsibility for the countrys development will be on the Republican Party and us in the first instance: me, as the partys chairman, and you, as the partys first deputy chairman.

Obviously, members of the partys executive body, council and territorial chapters will bear responsibility, but I am talking here about personal responsibility. And we are certainly obliged to stay the course.

So we still have a lot to do, he said, implying that the HHK leadership will formally nominate its candidate for prime minister next week.

The ruling party, which has a comfortable majority in the parliament, is widely expected to install Sarkisian as prime minister on April 17. Karapetian, for his part, is tipped to become first deputy prime minister chiefly responsible for the Armenian governments economic policies.

Karapetian and all members of his cabinet will tender their resignations immediately after Armen Sarkissian, a businessman and diplomat who has lived in Britain for nearly three decades, is sworn in as Armenias new president on Monday. Sarkissian (no relation to Serzh) will have largely ceremonial powers due to the countrys switch to a parliamentary system of government.

Karapetian told Serzh Sarkisian that his cabinet has succeeded in achieving all macro-objectives which were set up by you. He said he looks forward to striving to meet very ambitious socioeconomic targets in the years ahead.

That will certainly require hard and consistent work and audacity, said the 54-year-old former business executive. We do see the directions in which we should move forward. I think that very interesting times await us.

According to our forecasts, for the next three or four years we are going to achieve certain economic successes which will allow us to implement long-lasting, fundamental and profound reforms, he declared.

Karapetian pledged to embark on such reforms after being appointed prime minister in September 2016. His governments stated efforts to improve the domestic investment climate and tackle corruption have been praised by the International Monetary Fund but dismissed as a gimmick by the Armenian opposition. Opposition leaders have questioned official statistics showing that Armenias economy grew by 7.5 percent last year.

Opposition groups are even more critical of Sarkisians decade-long presidency, calling it a gross failure. They also accuse the outgoing president of breaking a 2014 pledge not to become prime minister in 2018. Some of them are planning to stage street protests next week against his apparent plans to extend his rule.
Trend:

High-speed electric trains manufactured by the Swiss Stadler Rail Group will be used in the future to transport passengers from Baku to Russia, including Dagestan, Javid Gurbanov, chairman of the Azerbaijan Railways CJSC, said.

He said this at a meeting with a delegation headed by Dagestan's Minister of Tourism and Folk Art Crafts Rabiyat Zakavova, the Azerbaijan Railways said in a message April 6.

Gurbanov pointed to the radical innovations introduced on the railways of Azerbaijan, including participation of the Azerbaijan Railways in international transport projects, emphasized the great importance of these projects for the regional countries.

He noted that a number of international events are held to develop the tourism sector in Azerbaijan.

The sides further discussed the issues of simplification of customs procedures for freight and passenger transportation via railways, and influx of Russian tourists to Azerbaijan using the opportunities of railways.

It was stressed that a decision has been made to build a railway to the Shahdag Mountain Resort, which will help develop tourism between the two countries.

The Dagestani guests highly appreciated the radical changes in the country and on the railways, further stressing that this would play an important role in strengthening mutual ties.
Trend:

The Mid-Term Ministerial Conference of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), titled Promoting International Peace and Security for Sustainable Development, in Baku was very effective, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza said.

Arreaza made the remarks at a press conference on April 6, adding that important discussions were held at the Mid-Term Ministerial Conference.

He noted that NAM calls for ensuring peace and stability in the world, respect for the principles of international law, non-interference in the internal affairs of countries, and cessation of conflicts.

Our goal is this, and therefore we are here and discuss these issues, Arreaza noted.

The minister expressed his gratitude to Azerbaijan for hosting the event. Arreaza noted that Azerbaijan makes a significant contribution to the maintenance of peace and stability in the world.

NAM includes 120 states. Seventeen states and 10 international organizations have an observer status in NAM.

In 2019, the Republic of Azerbaijan will host the 18th Summit of NAM and will be chairing NAM in 2019-2022.
Trend:

There is a high level of relations between Azerbaijan and Iraq, Deputy Foreign Minister of the Republic of Iraq Said Shorsh Khalid told reporters in Baku on April 6.

He noted the possibility of further improving the relations between the two countries.

"I think we have to boost our relations in the energy sector. Iraq and Azerbaijan have a huge potential for it," he added.

Said Shorsh Khalid noted that the number of Iraqi tourists coming to Azerbaijan has increased over the past two-three years.

"If 2,000-3,000 tourists from Iraq traveled to Azerbaijan four-five years ago, now this number is about 65,000," he said.
Trend:

The international mission of the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) Interparliamentary Assembly (CIS IPA) will be in Baku April 8 to observe the presidential election to be held April 11 in Azerbaijan, the Baku branch of the International Institute for Monitoring Democracy Development, Parliamentarianism and Suffrage Protection of Citizens of IPA CIS Member Nations (IPA CIS IIMDD) told Trend April 7.

The international observation mission will include MPs from Russia, Tajikistan, Moldova, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, as well as staff and experts of the IPA CIS IIMDD.

The mission members will observe the presidential election in Baku and the Azerbaijani districts. Meetings of international observers in the Azerbaijani Parliament, the Central Election Commission (CEC) and with the presidential candidates are also planned.

After the election, international observers of the CIS IPA will hold a press conference.
Trend:

Azerbaijan's state oil company SOCAR has commissioned 1,222 new wells over the past 15 years, SOCAR President Rovnag Abdullayev said in an interview to the website of the ruling New Azerbaijan Party.

He said that the main task of Azerbaijani oil industry in recent years has been to maintain a stable level of production with a view to supply the processing industry with raw materials.

"It is known that Azerbaijan's oil industry has an ancient history, that's why Azerbaijani oil industry's workers as pioneers of oil production all over the world have rich experience. However, many fields, which are on the balance of SOCAR have already depleted, since they have been exploited for many years, which, in turn, leads to a natural decline in production. However, due to the great experience and competence of the Azerbaijani oil industry, we managed to maintain a stable production of oil in old fields and even recorded the highest level of production in the last few years in many of them, " said Abdullayev.

He noted that this is primarily linked with the expansion of drilling operations.

"Over the past 15 years, more than 2 million meters of drilling operations have been completed and 1,222 new wells have been commissioned. This trend will continue in the future," Abdullayev said.

In 2017, SOCAR drilled 115,200 meters and completely fulfilled the set plan.
Kazakhstan fully adheres to the principles of global and regional security and stability, the Deputy Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan Yerzhan Ashykbayev said at the conference of the member countries of the Non-Aligned Movement, held in Baku.

The deputy minister stressed that Kazakhstan supports the idea of nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament.

We also consider it necessary to create nuclear-weapon-free zones, including the Middle East, Europe and Africa," Ashykbayev added.

The deputy minister recalled the Kazakhstans initiative to achieve a nuclear-free world and support for UN documents to address global and regional problems with the goal of establishing peace in conflict zones.

The Non-Aligned Movement unites 120 states that do not participate in military blocs. Kazakhstan has an observer status in this organization.
Trend:

Azerbaijan plans to open direct flights to Indonesia and prepare special offers for Indonesian tourists coming to Azerbaijan to visit holy places.

The issue was discussed at a meeting of Azerbaijans Culture and Tourism Minister Abulfas Garayev and Indonesian Deputy Foreign Minister Abdurrahman Mohammad Fachir, Azerbaijans Culture and Tourism Ministry said in a message April 6.

At the meeting, the sides discussed issues of cooperation in culture and tourism between Azerbaijan and Indonesia, including the corresponding legal framework, mutual participation of the two countries in holding events, tourism exchange, and joint projects.

It was also noted that positive contribution is made by expansion of ties in culture and tourism, cooperation as part of international organizations, cultural events held in Azerbaijan to promote Indonesian culture, including the Indonesian Cultural Festival, organized for the second time in Baku.
A man who was drunk when he crashed into and killed a Houston teenager as she was coming home on her prom night was sentenced Friday to 32 years in prison.

Edin Palacios, a native of Guatemala, pleaded guilty to a felony murder charge on Monday. Police said on May 14, 2016, he ignored a police officer trying to pull him over on suspicion of drunken driving and ran a red light, killing 18-year-old Jocelynn Valero and injuring her date.

Prosecutors said Valero and her prom date were returning home from IHOP, where they ate after prom, when she was killed.

PAST COVERAGE: Driver in fatal prom crash arrested without bail, could face deportation

Palacios, 28, will be deported after he serves his sentence, his lawyer, Emily Detoto said.

Between Palacios' guilty plea and sentencing, Detoto filed a motion to set aside the indictment and instead have Palacios charged with causing death while evading a police officer, which carries a lower sentence, she said. That motion wasnt granted.

Palacios would have pleaded guilty earlier, but the state didnt want to waive the right to a jury trial and couldn't come to agreement with Detoto on a sentence, Detoto said. The state asked for a 50-year sentence for the murder charge, she said.

Officials with the Harris County District Attorneys Office could not immediately be reached for comment.

NOTABLE CRIMES IN HOUSTON OF 2018

While in jail, Palacios attended Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, took classes through Houston Community College and participated in religious activities, Detoto said.

Its tragic because a life was cut short, but whats also tragic is that my client had otherwise lived an impeccable life, his lawyer said. He was educated; he had goals also. Theres no winners here at all.

Valero and her date were seniors at Yes Prep North Central.

The day her daughter died, Macrina Valero, asked for justice for the teen, whom she described as a "good, respectful" girl who aspired to become a detective.

"She was everything to me," Valero said in a post distributed across social media that Saturday afternoon.

St. John Barned-Smith contributed.
A San Antonio man is facing child sex assault charges after his 12-year-old relative accused him of abusing her.

The girl made the outcry in March after her mother told her she would spend some of her spring break at the home of Albert Charles Castro, 73, according to the arrest affidavit.
Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based Broward Health appointed four new executives across the system.

The health system named David Clark assistant vice president of corporate services. He is equipped with 15-plus years of experience as a senior administrator of capital projects and healthcare programs. In his new role, he will be responsible for major construction projects at Broward Health. He is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives.

Janene John joins the health system as chief human resources officer at the 200-bed Broward Health Coral Springs (Fla.). She previously served as human resources director at Memorial Healthcare System in Hollywood, Fla.

Romaine Layne will serve as Fort Lauderdale-based Broward Health Imperial Point's associate CFO. She most recently served as controller at North Shore Medical Center in Miami.

Broward Health selected Netonua Reyes, BSN, MSN, to serve as COO and chief nursing officer at Broward Health Imperial Point. She comes to Broward from Jackson Health North in Miami, where she served as director of nursing. She is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives and Emergency Nurses Association.
If you are not at the table then you could be on the menu is an astute observation for todays organizations and individuals practicing healthcare.

Active participation and passionate discussion, input and leadership are vitally needed from physicians, medical staff leadership and associations to impact legislation and develop smart policy and influence the future of Healthcare. A healthy influence also requires physicians and healthcare executives to collaborate and navigate across the dramatically changing environment of politics, regulations and economic realities.

The California Medical Association (CMA) understands and has lived by this mission since 1856. CMA constantly monitors and implements strategies to manage threats and opportunities to the practice of medicine. This article reviews the current California Legislative session (2017-2018) and the bills that could detrimentally affect healthcare in the California and the nation.

Preventing the rise of healthcare operational costs is paramount to patients and the industry. Recent studies have suggested that physicians spend twice as much time completing administrative tasks as they do seeing patients. This is unacceptable and negatively affects delivery of care. CMA aims to lessen and streamline the administrative requirements placed on physicians so they can spend more time with patients, which improves health outcomes and increases practice profitability. An example includes:

SB 199 (Hernandez): The California Healthcare Cost, Quality and Equity Atlas

CMA helped to defeat this measure, which would have created additional administrative reporting requirements on physician practices.

Allowing physicians to practice without the threat of a frivolous lawsuit is one of CMAs core tenets. CMA works to ensure that trial lawyers efforts to increase malpractice liability are beaten back, and the association opposes any effort to increase malpractice premiums. Additionally, CMA advocates to protect physicians from exposure to new areas of liability. One of the bills included:

AB 219 (Wiener) Long-term care facilities: right of residents

CMA obtained amendments to ensure that physician liability would not be increased for those practicing in long-term care facility settings acting in the best medical interests of their patients.

Critical is the defense and advocation of the physicians ability to negotiate fair contracts with payors. Protecting the economic viability of physician practices ensures that physicians are financially capable of providing service for patients and protects access to care. Below is a bill that was defeated:

SB 538 (Monning): Hospital contracts

CMA helped to defeat this measure because it allowed health plans and health insurers to eliminate the Providers Bill of Rights, which helps guard a physicians ability to negotiate fair and reasonable contracts and break up integrated healthcare systems.



For the full report and categorical rundown of policy and legislation, view CMAs Value of Advocacy report covering over 20 pieces of legislation or contact Janus Norman, Senior Vice President, Centers of Government Relations and Political Operations at jnorman@cmanet.org.

Hjalmer Danielson is Senior Director of Medical Group Engagement at California Medical Association, hdanielson@cmanet.org
CVS Health is working with Dublin -based drugmaker Adapt Pharma to provide uninsured patients coupons for Narcan.

Narcan is a nasal spray version of the opioid overdose-reversal drug naloxone. The initiative coincided with a national public health advisory U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams, MD, issued April 6, which called for individuals at-risk of opioid overdose and their family and friends to carry the drug.

"CVS Health is dedicated to preventing and addressing opioid abuse in the communities we serve," said Thomas G. Davis, vice president of professional services with CVS. "We are proud to support the advisory issued by Surgeon General Adams by enhancing our ongoing efforts to educate patients about the life-saving importance of naloxone. We are also pleased to work with Adapt Pharmaceuticals to provide a coupon for Narcan nasal spray to CVS Pharmacy patients without insurance and we appreciate their partnership."

To learn more, click here.

More articles on opioids:

GOP lawmakers consider dropping Medicaid restrictions on opioid addiction therapy: 4 things to know

3 first responders hospitalized for accidental fentanyl exposure in Massachusetts

Misuse of nonopioid pain drug on the rise: 3 things to know
All smiles: (from left) then Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, former US Senator George Mitchell and then Prime Minister Tony Blair after the signing of the agreement at Stormont

Still divided: the largest peace wall in Belfast at Cupar Way, which separates the Catholic Falls Road from the Protestant Shankill area

At the Beechhill fishery near Belfast, anglers relax next to the pond and reel in their catch on a showery spring afternoon. The Northern Ireland Cross Community Angling Club attracts hundreds of enthusiasts from housing estates and flats across the city and beyond.

One of the volunteer organisers, Scott Lonsdale, says: "The mood here is chilled and relaxed. When people are fishing, they are escaping from their lives in the city - and we do not care who they are."

There is no need for peace walls in this soothing enclave away from the hurly-burly. As the website of the cross-community club puts it, there are no barriers of creed, nationality, language or age around here. According to Scott, fishing is something to be enjoyed by everyone who turns up.

Twenty years after the Good Friday Agreement was signed, fishing is one area where any lingering community tensions in Belfast's working class areas can be ignored and literally cast aside. As one angler tells me: "Fish know no borders."

But, two decades after the agreement was brokered at Stormont, with the world's Press there to witness the hand of history on then-Prime Minister Tony Blair's shoulder, the Northern Ireland which it produced is the proverbial curate's egg: its critics would say it only works well in parts.

It has not created a utopia, but the signatories can at least console themselves at the commemorations that the violence has not returned.

Jonny Byrne, lecturer in criminology at Ulster University, has studied closely the barriers between some communities across Northern Ireland. "What we see is a twin-track peace process," he says. "For half the population, it has been fantastic and their lives have changed fundamentally for the better."

The centre of Belfast - with Titanic Quarter, Victoria Square and St George's Market - has been revamped and is, in parts, unrecognisable. But not everybody has seen the benefits of a Troubles-free city.

"There are communities across the north where little has changed - apart from the absence of violence," Mr Byrne adds.

In the middle-class areas of south Belfast, communities mix freely, as they always did to a certain extent during the Troubles. More than half of the population believe community relations have improved, the Northern Ireland Good Relations Indicators survey suggested recently.

The survey found that 52% of adults and 59% of young people believed relationships between Catholics and Protestants are better than five years ago.

But that still leaves a significant section of the population who do not believe relations have improved significantly.

When he brokered the Good Friday Agreement 20 years ago, US Senator George Mitchell spoke of his vision for the future of Northern Ireland. "I have a new dream; to return to Northern Ireland in a few years and sit in the visitors' gallery in the northern Assembly," he said.

"There we will watch and listen as the members debate the ordinary issues of life in a democratic society. There will be no talk of war, for the war will have long been over. There will be no talk of peace, for peace will be taken for granted.

"On that day, the day on which peace is taken for granted in Northern Ireland, I will be fulfilled and the people of goodwill everywhere will rejoice."

The guns may be silent and consigned to arms dumps, but there is still a sense that Northern Ireland has not escaped from the legacy of the conflict.

It is a deeply embedded part of the culture that still haunts the society.

"We have not yet found a new language for the post-conflict period," says Jonny Byrne. "We are still talking as if the Troubles were still on, about the legacy of the conflict, security, peace walls and paramilitaries."

George Mitchell's hopes that Northern Ireland politicians could escape issues of war and peace in their Assembly have been dashed.

The Troubles are constantly raised in the back-and-forth debates between the DUP and Sinn Fein.

And most disappointingly of all for Senator Mitchell, the Assembly itself is not up and running, discussing and working through the humdrum details of everyday life. But at least, some form of peace has somehow held together through it all.

"You could say there are probably at least 1,000 people who are alive today because of the Good Friday Agreement and the absence of large-scale violence," says Peter Sheridan, chief executive of Co-operation Ireland and a former PSNI police officer.

"We are not spending our time walking behind coffins every day and seeing bombs exploding on the street every day, and people have tended to forget that."

Sheridan says that one of the most positive legacies of the Good Friday Agreement is the invisibility of the border.

The former policeman recalls how different the border was at the time of the agreement.

By the time the deal had been signed, the customs posts had already gone, but there was still a heavy security presence.

"People forget that, along 10 miles of the border in south Armagh, there were 12 Army watchtowers, four helicopter landing sites, six permanent checkpoints, four police stations and many roads sealed off."

Under the Good Friday Agreement, unionists could still preserve their British identity in the UK, while nationalists could assert their Irishness, feeling a sense of unity across a border that didn't seem to exist.

According to Sheridan, there was also a growing tendency of people to see their nationality as Northern Irish.

The problem now is that Brexit and the question marks over the border have created a new mood of political and economic uncertainty amid fears that a physical frontier will return.

The absence of large-scale violence may be something to celebrate 20 years on.

However, Sheridan believes that genuine reconciliation needs to go a lot further in Northern Ireland.

"Most of us underestimated how long it would take," he says. "Peace is not just about an absence of violence. It is about learning to live together as citizens."

When it comes to genuine integration, the picture in Northern Ireland is a decidedly mixed bag.

Michael Wardlow, of the Equality Commission, says workplaces have changed dramatically over the past 20 years and are much more mixed than they used to be.

However, the number of children who are educated together in integrated schools remains stubbornly low.

When he was First Minister, Peter Robinson described Northern Ireland's education system as a "benign form of apartheid which is fundamentally damaging to our society".

Out of 340,000 children currently going through school in Northern Ireland, just 23,000 are in integrated schools.

"There is a big demand for integrated schooling among parents, but it is not being incentivised enough," says Mr Wardlow.

Research by academics at Queen's University showed that children who attended integrated schools were more likely to reject traditional identities and allegiances than those who had attended a segregated school.

While only 7% of children go to integrated schools, there is a new emphasis on "shared education", where students from different schools come together.

While fully integrated schooling has been slow to materialise, schools are being encouraged to share classes, facilities, teachers and even buildings.

In one of the most ambitious projects, up to 4,000 pupils from six schools in Omagh will be educated on a single campus at Strule, the site of the former Lisanelly Army base.

While the overall research figures show a softening in attitudes between communities, there are some areas across Northern Ireland that continue to have physical and psychological barriers between them.

There is no more potent symbol of this division than the 'peace walls' that divide communities in Belfast, Londonderry and some towns across Northern Ireland.

The Cupar Way wall is among the most famous, dividing the loyalist Shankill area from the nationalist Falls Road.

Built as a "temporary measure" almost half a century ago, it is now almost double the height of the Berlin Wall.

Adrian Johnston, chairman of the International Fund for Ireland, says: "There are now more peace walls in Northern Ireland than there were when the Good Friday Agreement was signed."

Mr Johnston said only a minority of people in the areas near the barriers wanted them taken away immediately, but the vast majority wanted them removed within the lifetime of their children or grandchildren.

It is no coincidence that every area where there are peace walls are among the most socially deprived enclaves across Northern Ireland and these were the areas that were most heavily scarred by the Troubles.

According to the International Fund for Ireland, nearly 70% of Trouble-related murders took place within 500 yards of the peace walls.

"It did not help of course that these interface areas were among the most heavily hit by unemployment during the economic crisis," says Peter Sheridan.

Many who want the peace walls preserved say they do so for the sake of security, but Jonny Byrne says they are also seen as a way to demarcate territory. "They are now perhaps less about security than protecting identity," he says.

He adds the experience of the Troubles in Northern Ireland was highly variable and some people were hardly touched by it all.

"Northern Ireland is a paradox, where you can live cheek-by-jowl, and one community experienced almost nothing during the Troubles, and another experienced the most horrific instances of violence," he says.

Twenty years after the agreement, Northern Ireland has reached a point of political stalemate - and Brexit has worsened tensions.

"What we need now is maturity, leadership and a willingness to take risks," says Mr Byrne.

Those qualities were not lacking among the motley bunch of politicians who came together to sign the Good Friday Agreement in 1998.

It remains to be seen if they can be found among the present generation of leaders, who have shown a reluctance to put aside divisions and govern together.
Nadia Forde is at that delicate moment in a showbiz career when managers and agents see if the bright promise of modelling and pin-up jobs can act as a springboard to acting.

She'll appear in a movie, for release in early summer, called Once Upon A Time In London, playing the wife of lead character Jack 'Spot' Comer, a notorious real-life gangster who was a forerunner of notorious London gangland kingpins the Kray twins.

"I'm excited to see how it does," she says. "It took so much work on everyone's part. There are so many uncertainties in film, you never know what's going to happen. This will be my first big role - I can't believe I get to do this for a living. Acting has always been what I wanted to do. "

The instability of the nomadic showbiz life makes Nadia "nostalgic" for Dublin, her home city.

She's just back for a few days from London, where she lives with her fiance, rugby uber-hunk Dominic Day, who currently plays for Saracens. They've been together two years, and she's followed him to Australia and Japan, where he had stints playing professionally. She talks of kids and forever.

A few weeks after we meet, she announces her engagement to Day on Instagram, and tells me: "To be honest, I debated whether to share the news or not because I want to keep the details of how it happened to ourselves, but obviously we are on cloud nine.

"Dom planned the whole thing. It was a complete surprise, and both of our families are incredibly excited for the future."

Initially, Nadia was wary of dating another high-profile rugby player - she previously had a long-term romance with Leinster star Luke Fitzgerald. However, she accepted a date with Dom, and neither of them has looked back since.

"Since day one, it's just been effortless," she says. "Before, I was thinking, 'Oh God, do I really want to go down that road again?' But it's been amazing. I don't worry about him, and I would say that it's the only relationship I've ever had where that worry wasn't there. He's so laid-back, he's basically horizontal."

It was Day, she explains, who helped her lose weight, urging her to look more closely at what she ate. It transpired that a lot of getting into shape was about her allergies.

"I never felt like I had to change my body, but I wasn't looking after myself and I wasn't in a good place emotionally," Nadia says . "I was eating the wrong stuff. I had intolerance tests done, and my health became more important to me than anything else. That was when the weight came off. I was able to figure out what worked for me and go to the gym and push myself. It was eggs and dairy that I was allergic to.

"Don't get me wrong, I still have my chipper bag of chips with loads of salt and vinegar. It's not like I'm at home eating lettuce leaves.

"Growing up, we ate whatever was put on the table, and there was no 'realising what food groups work for you' or whatever. It was Dom who said, 'You can't stay in this pain any more'."

So entwined is Day in her life that Nadia has now taken a "back seat" to him in her beloved Nana's affections. Bernie Paolozzi was "the original stage mum", and raised Nadia after her parents split up and her mother began suffering from serious mental health issues.

"I was living with my parents until I was about seven or eight," Nadia says. "My mum just wasn't able to look after us after my dad left. I don't really want to divulge what she had, but she was ill.

"It just wasn't a healthy environment for us, and she just wasn't able to raise kids. She was in a bad way for a very long time, up until she passed away.

"Our relationship well, I don't know what the term is 'estrangement'? It was like that for a very long time. The rest of the family got involved, so it was like a village raising us, with Nana being the glue holding everything together. I really admire her, because she'd raised her own children and she really committed to the extra 20 years of raising us."

Did Nadia ever feel angry at either of her parents for not being able to take proper care of her? "It's a hard question to say who I held more to account," she explains. "As I get older, I kind of understand more what my mother went through as a woman. I am going through phases in my life that she went through. I relate to the decisions she had to make about relationships."

What about Nadia's father? "My dad is my only dad. He's in and out. I just want him to be happy. I have a relationship-ish with him. We're working on it. You only get one father - it might not be that he talks to you every day or every week, but I approach it now with no judgment. Resentment can eat away at you. I think I was just confused and didn't really understand, and it was more that.

"He doesn't need to raise me now, so I'm coming at it from a different angle. You can't control how someone treats you, you can only control how you react. If someone hurts you, it's crap, it hurts and it takes time, but you have to let it go, because they aren't necessarily going to walk through the door and apologise. You can't walk around carrying that with you for the rest of your life. I wouldn't expect him to have done anything different to my mum."

Berenice, her mother, died in June 2015, and the grief came over Nadia in waves. It was during a modelling trip to Spain that she knew she needed a break.

"I was in Ibiza with Vogue Williams a few weeks after my mum passed away," she recalls. "We were doing a job for a brand. I remember just finding it so hard. I thought, 'I'm not ready for this yet'."

The time away made her think about her own future. "I want to be a mum one day, but I know I won't be perfect even if I try my best," she says. "I hope my kids will have that understanding of me."

Nadia's childhood was spent at a stage school in Dublin, but when she became a teenager her life became "just carnage" and the acting fell away. She got into modelling and almost immediately began to do well. Constant rumours of her relationship with Rory McIlroy - always denied - enhanced her profile. A place on I'm a Celebrity followed - she'd the dubious honour of being attacked by Katie Hopkins, who called her "as thick as a house brick and equally interesting".

She understands the "symbiotic" relationship between her and the Press, but there's a price to pay, too. "Seeing photographers outside my mum's funeral was a wake-up call to me," Nadia says.

"There was nothing I could do about it, because it's public and a church, but it was a moment when I was asking, 'What am I doing to let this happen?' Hearing the gossip about myself, well, people close to me know the truth, but I suppose some people will believe whatever they read."

Nadia knows exactly what she makes in a year, and is careful not to overspend. She works at being squeaky clean and her social media feeds would lead one to believe her life is one long, gauzy dream. But how closely does it tally with reality?

"Well, sometimes there are 10 shots taken for one picture I use, and sometimes there are 30," she answers.

You'd imagine that if anyone was primed to join the #MeToo brigade, it would be a model-turned-actress, but Nadia is wary of burning any bridges. When I raise the spate of recent accusations that have circulated on social media and ask her if she can relate, she replies: "I don't want to get anyone in trouble. This moment is important because from now on we'll know what is right and what is over the line. If women had spoken up about this stuff a hundred years ago, we wouldn't have been listened to. I can easily say 'no' to someone, so I've never felt vulnerable to someone."
Sinn Fein's Northern Ireland MEP has claimed to have obtained secret Civil Service documents outlining "the disastrous consequences" Brexit will have on Northern Ireland.

Martina Anderson called on the Civil Service to release the documents to the public.

The assessments looked at the border, the customs union and single market, and the availability of labour for key sectors such as health, agri-food and manufacturing post-Brexit. No further details of the assessments have been published.

"I have met the interim head of the Civil Service and directly challenged him to release all assessments publicly so people can see the full extent of the outworking of Brexit," she said.

"Despite initial Civil Service claims that it had no assessments, we have now received more than 30 papers on the impact of Brexit which it had shared with the British government."

Ms Anderson said the information had to be "dragged" out of the Civil Service. She added: "It paints a bleak picture and shows that Brexit will have a hugely detrimental impact on these key sectors, jeopardising future growth and potentially creating a real crisis in our health service.

"If the Civil Service had this information, it begs the question of what other information on Brexit it has and is not releasing. I am reiterating my call for all assessments on the impact of Brexit held by the Civil Service to be made public immediately so the public are fully aware of it."

Analysis published by the UK government in February said the Northern Ireland economy would take a 12% hit if there is no Brexit deal. The figures suggest that if a trade deal is agreed the Northern Ireland economy would take an 8% hit. In the event of a so-called soft Brexit, in which the UK would participate in the single market, the Northern Ireland economy would take a 2.5% hit.

The Executive Office did not comment on Ms Anderson's claim last night.
A former star youth player for Tyrone GAA who was jailed in 2014 for killing his father was released on compassionate grounds to attend his brother's wedding, it has been revealed.

Accompanied by prison guards on Tuesday, Sean Hackett attended the service at St Davog's Church in Dromore before later being escorted back to Hydebank Young Offenders Centre in south Belfast.

In January 2013, aged 18, he shot his 60-year-old father Aloysius Hackett twice in the head in the driveway of the family home in Augher.

While he admitted to the shooting, Hackett denied it was murder.

The court heard he had been suffering from depression in the months before the killing after splitting with his girlfriend.

His original 10-year sentence was later reduced by three years after he appealed on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

New evidence found Hackett had been in a delusional state of mind at the time. He was previously granted compassionate leave to attend the funeral of his father.

The Tyrone GAA boss Mickey Harte has been a consistent supporter of the young man's recovery.

During the trial he referred to him as "a very quiet, unassuming, lovely young gentleman... very warm and very caring".

In 2016 Hackett took legal action against prison authorities, claiming they had failed to provide proper medical treatment for his delusional disorder.
It was the tragedy that led a seaside town to become a community of lifesavers.

When news of pensioner Geoff Cartwright's death emerged last summer, the people of Newcastle were heartbroken.

The popular teacher, an Englishman who had made the coastal spot his home for almost 50 years, was knocked down and killed just yards from his house.

He had been out to his local for a pint and a game of pool with his brother Reggie, who was visiting from England.

Now, less than eight months on from the incident, as they continue to deal with their grief, Mr Cartwright's family has taken inspiration from the "kind, warm and community-spirited" grandfather to bring life-saving equipment to the town he loved.

Son-in-law Jason Atkinson, who is married to the master bricklayer's youngest daughter Jacqueline - the fifth of six children - led fundraising efforts on behalf of the family to buy and campaign for defibrillators to be fitted right through Newcastle and the surrounding area.

"Geoff was such a lovely man," said Jason (49). "In the 20 years I knew him I never heard him say a cross word. He loved it here and he was so well-liked that people we meet in shops and round the town are still, all these months later, talking about the fact he's gone.

"Geoff was very kind, he went out of his way to help people so we think something like this, which is going to help to save people's lives, is something he would have been all for.

"The only thing is, he wouldn't be one for lots of attention - he was very modest, so he'd probably give off if he knew it was all being done in his name."

The sudden nature of Mr Cartwright's death sent shockwaves through the town last year. The incident happened after 10.30pm on a Thursday night.

Father-of-two Jason, a taxi driver in the town, arrived at the scene at South Promenade in the harbour area of the town shortly after it happened.

"It was very upsetting," he said. "My wife had had a call to say her dad had fallen, so she rang me to go up and see him. But when I got there, of course it was so much worse. God bless the Newcastle lifeboat because they had been in the pubs nearby after a day's training, so they came out to try and save him.

"He was too badly injured though, and he died as he got to the doors of the hospital. We take it as a blessing though that they say he won't have suffered, he won't have felt the pain."

Geoff's wife Rosaleen, who was from the area, had passed away three years earlier. They had married in 1963.

An 18-year-old man was arrested after the incident on August 24 last year on suspicion of driving whilst unfit and causing death by dangerous driving.

The police are currently preparing a file for submission to the Public Prosecution Service.

Along with Geoff's son Barry and other members of the family, Jason and Jacqueline decided to do something positive in the months after the incident, and enlisted the help of Dan O'Reilly and the Newcastle Lions Club to make a big impact on the town.

"Everyone in the family was in such a terrible state of shock after what happened," he said.

"This has given us something to focus on. The reality is there's still no closure, and everyone is still very, deeply upset about it all so to do something like this has changed the focus a bit.

"Geoff was such a nice man, it's important to get a positive out of what happened.

"Defibrillators can be used by anyone, they can honestly, practically save lives, and the response from the town has been fantastic. We've raised almost 10,000, we've bought four defibrillators and given money to other charities as well.

"Businesses and individuals in the town have really got behind it and some have even bought their own so we'll have 10 in total in the area.

"We've achieved much more than we set out to do and we just want people to know they're here, and what to do if they ever need to use them. Geoff would be pleased and it's something we're happy to do in his name."

Dan O'Reilly outlined the benefits of a defibrillator.

"If people come upon someone having a heart attack, call the ambulance service for a code to the nearest defibrillator.

"It helps to be trained in CPR and using the equipment, and we are in the process of training up members of the community.

"However, they are fantastic machines and very straightforward to use. People should not be nervous.

"When operating one, the machine itself will issue instructions and they will not cause harm to the person in need.

"Be confident if you need to save a life. Defibrillators will make a huge difference in an emergency."

Locations of the life-saving equipment

Installed: Bonny's Caravan Park, Tullybrannigan Road; Sunnyholme Caravan Park, Castlewellan Road; AJC Electrics, Main Street.

Due soon: Base Coffee Shop, Main Street; Maken's Bar, South Promenade; The Barbican, Dundrum Road; The BonBon, Main Street; Newcastle Ambulance Station, Castlewellan Road; Maghera Inn, Maghera, and; Castlewellan Community Centre, Circular Road, Castlewellan.
Former United States First Lady and Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has said that she is 'deeply concerned' at the political situation in Northern Ireland.

Mrs Clinton has made numerous trips to Northern Ireland over the years in a variety of roles including as President Bill Clinton's First Lady and as President Obama's Secretary of State.

President Clinton is credited with helping to get the Good Friday Agreement over the line and he will receive the Freedom of Belfast next week as part of the agreement's 20th anniversary celebrations.

Mrs Clinton sat down with Northern Ireland news website The Detail for an interview this week to discuss the current political issues facing Northern Ireland, including Brexit..

She famously visited Belfast with President Clinton in late 1995 and said that the experience had a profound affect on her.

Going to Belfast and then later that trip to Derry in November of 1995 was one of the most important, transformational experiences that I personally ever had in a public political context, she said.

You hear about what happened in the Troubles, you read about it, but going to Belfast, when there was by no means a consensus that a different path forward was possible, meeting some of the major players on both sides of the community divide, some of whom wouldnt talk to me or shake my hand.

Standing at the city hall in front of that huge crowd for the lighting of the Christmas tree and seeing the hopefulness and the incredible energy of people of all ages, particularly young people and young parents.

Mrs Clinton questioned what political parties could gain from the political impasse at Stormont.

Its a good time to be reminded that there is still work to be done, including establishing a government," the former Senator said.

Im deeply concerned about what is not being done in pursuit of a governing agreement. Im discouraged that the impasse has lasted so long. And now Im just wondering, those who refuse to come together to create a government, what is the future they expect?

Are they hoping to just maintain a status quo where no decisions, good, bad or indifferent, are made and where some of the promise of a peace dividend will not be fulfilled? Do they honestly think that that can be a long-term strategy? I dont.

She said that Northern Ireland political leaders where able to overcome much bigger issues in the past than those facing the country today.

I worked with leaders who had been in the midst of the Troubles, who found a way to co-operate. They didnt fall in love with each other, but they were able to move beyond the implacable contempt, to try to create that better future for those children I saw that night in Belfast," Mrs Clinton said.

Mrs Clinton said that Brexit was a backwards step for Northern Ireland

Much of what the Good Friday accords covered were border issues, people wanted to trade and travel and support each other. Nobody knows what Brexit is going to mean."

Obviously, I dont support it. I think it was a shortsighted and unfortunate decision that was in great measure motivated by misconceptions and myths about what was happening in the relationship with the EU," she said.

Thats for the UK to sort out, but they better figure out what to do about the Border in order to maintain the peace. Who wants to go back to a time when it was frightening to cross the Border, it was frightening to go to the pub at night, it was frightening to walk your child to school?

Who wants to go back to that?

I would hope that the political leaders would find a way forward that would make it very clear were not going back.
Tony Blair's former chief of staff says Brexit can be stopped and the Irish border can be the catalyst.

Jonathan Powell was the Government's chief negotiator on Northern Ireland during the Good Friday Agreement.

He now says it is impossible for Prime Minister Theresa May to fulfil all of her red lines regarding Brexit which include leaving the customs union and single market.

These are incompatible with Britain's legal obligation to the Good Friday Agreement which ensures there is no border between Northern Ireland and the Republic and north-south co-operation is fully protected.

Mr Powell was speaking as the 20th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement approaches.

He said: "There's every chance to stop Brexit and I think it's the Northern Irish border that will trip the whole thing over."

He says if Dublin and Brussels stick to their guns about insisting there are no hard borders after Brexit, and as a result refuse to sign off on a withdrawal treaty if the British won't stay in a customs union and single market, then Mrs May will be left with no option but to stay in the EU.

"Otherwise the UK will crash out and chaos will ensue for the country's economy, as well as on citizens rights and the border.

"It would almost certainly involve the immediate imposition of tariffs across a range of sectors especially on British farmers, who would face charges for exporting to the EU.

"If the EU and Republic of Ireland really mean what they say about not having a hard border; I don't actually see a way of resolving that apart from staying in the customs union and single market which Theresa May says is not going to happen.

"We'll get to October and if we don't get an exit agreement and we're in a crisis because we're then leaving with no agreement. Or we'll have to stay."

Mr Powell believes when the public as well as most MPs realise what may unfold, they will demand another referendum.
The trial of a man accused of raping and murdering an Irish woman in Goa began yesterday.

Danielle McLaughlin (28), from Buncrana, Co Donegal, was killed during a holiday in the Indian state in March 2017.

Her body was discovered in an isolated field in a remote area near the holiday hot spot of Canacona.

A post-mortem examination found the cause of her death was brain damage and strangulation.

Local man Vikat Bhagat was arrested a short time after the murder and CCTV footage allegedly showing him and Ms McLaughlin together is a key piece of evidence in the trial.

The man who discovered Ms McLaughlin's body on 14 March 2017 was questioned in court yesterday.

"I was going to my field when I saw her body. It was naked," Prashant Komarpant said.

"Her face was smashed and covered in blood," he added.

The prosecution presented photographs of the crime spot to the court which showed the presence of the first witness.

Defence lawyers raised questions about the clarity of the photos and discrepancies in the appearance of the witness but Prashant confirmed to the court that he was in the photos.

"It is me. I can tell you by my attire and the cap I was wearing", he told the court.

The case will resume on April 13.

Earlier this week Ms McLaughlin's family told RTE that they will never have closure regardless of what happens in the court case.

But her mother Andrea said the family is happy with the Indian legal system where they have the right to legal representation in the murder trial.

She said: "I would like to know what really happened."

Andrea added that she would love "whoever did this to give empathy and reach out to tell me why".

She said the grief never ends and that there was a constant pain in her heart that aches with the loss of her daughter.
Police wish to speak to the female passenger

Police are appealing to the public to help them identify a woman who spat in a taxi driver's face in Belfast.

On Friday March 30 a Fonacab taxi driver, driving a white Nissan Quashqai dropped a female fare to Edward Street, Belfast.

When leaving the car the woman spat in the face of the driver and police would like to speak to this woman.

A PSNI spokesperson said: "Her description is 5'8", well built, black hair tied up in a headscarf, swarthy complexion. Wearing a leopard print coat, dark skirt, black tights and black knee length boots.

"If you can help Police identify this woman contact 07787430046 or 101 quoting reference 727 30/3/18."
A police officer outside the house where Piotr Krowka was found dead

A teenager was last night being quizzed over the murder of a homeless man in Maghera.

Piotr Krowka (36) was found dead on Tuesday in a derelict property on the Glen Road area of Maghera.

The Polish national had been in the area for a number of years and had a sister living nearby.

The PSNI launched a murder investigation and disclosed Mr Krowka had suffered serious injuries to his head and body.

Detectives investigating the murder arrested a 19-year-old man yesterday evening.

Last night he remained in police custody.

The murder shocked the local community.

Glen Parish priest Fr Patrick Doherty said: The local community are very shocked and sad. Well continue to have the family in our prayers.

I would have seen him around a few times in the town. Sometimes he came into the church during the day. Perhaps it was for the heat.

With the language barrier, I didnt know that much about him, but he was getting some help and support from people.

Fr Doherty clarified the disused property wasnt a parochial house, as had been previously reported, but had once been the home of a school teacher.

Jerome Mullan, the Honorary Consul of Poland for Northern Ireland, was shocked by Mr Krowkas killing.

Its very sad news. No doubt his sister will be making arrangements for his funeral in due course, but it is a murder inquiry so Im not sure when his body will be released, he said.

Its obviously very shocking and my sympathies go to his family.

Ive offered my consular services and its been reported to the Polish embassy in London.

DUP Mid Ulster MLA Keith Buchanan said: This is a quiet rural community where neighbours are shocked that a man has been murdered on their doorstep.

People should help the police with the investigation.

I know the entire area will be holding this mans family foremost in their thoughts.

Sinn Fein MLA Ian Milne also encouraged anyone with information to contact the police.

First and foremost, I want to send my sympathies to the family and friends of the victim, he said.

Our thoughts and prayers are with them as they deal with the tragic and sudden loss.

Estate agent Kim Convery revealed she had helped Mr Krowka in the past.

He did tell me he was homeless and had nowhere to stay, she told the BBC.

He hadnt been washing or eating. He asked me for some hot water, so we filled a flask for him. (We are) absolutely devastated to hear he has passed its unbelievable.

Detective Chief Inspector Geoff Boyce said: I am keen to identify Piotrs movements between Good Friday and Easter Tuesday, when his body was discovered, and I would appeal to anyone who was in contact with or who may have witnessed Piotr during this time to please contact us.

Police also want to hear from anyone who noticed anything suspicious at the house.
A United Ireland will never happen, a senior DUP MP insisted yesterday.

Sir Jeffrey Donaldson spoke out following the furious reaction to party leader Arlene Foster saying she would consider leaving Northern Ireland in the event of reunification.

Mrs Foster said: "If it were to happen, I'm not sure that I would be able to continue to live here. I would feel so strongly about it (that) I would probably have to move."

The former First Minister was speaking on Patrick Kielty's documentary My Dad, the Peace Deal and Me, which aired on BBC One on Wednesday.

The DUP leader qualified her comments when asked where she would go, explaining she did not think a united Ireland was likely to happen.

Sinn Fein councillor Patrice Hardy described the comments as "quite remarkable from a previous joint First Minister".

"There is a place for all unionists in a new Ireland, a place for both orange and green," she wrote on Twitter.

Alliance leader Naomi Long also rounded on Mrs Foster, describing her comments as "sad but not entirely surprising".

Other unionists also disagreed, including UUP leader Robin Swann, who told the News Letter: "This is my home. It is the only home I have ever known and I will not be leaving it."

However, Sir Jeffrey yesterday backed his leader and repeated her sentiments, saying he did not believe that there was any "realistic prospect of a united Ireland".

"As Arlene Foster pointed out in the Patrick Kielty programme, a united Ireland is not going to happen," Mr Donald said. "It was a hypothetical question because there is no realistic prospect of a united Ireland.

"Mrs Foster was reflecting how the Protestant population dwindled in the Republic of Ireland after partition.

"Those with a British identity did not feel welcome.

"Sinn Fein spins to unionists that they would be welcome in a united Ireland.

"Yet when unionists look at how Sinn Fein-controlled councils treat unionists currently within Northern Ireland, there is a very different reality.

"Sinn Fein blocks Armed Forces recruitment days, wouldn't present awards to teenagers in cadet forces, won't allow the Union flag to fly a few days per year, relegates English to a second language, celebrates PIRA murderers, mocks PIRA victims, snubs the Royal family and bans the sale of poppies. The list goes on.

"Sinn Fein's actions speak louder than their words."

Sir Jeffrey also stressed that Mrs Foster pointed out a number of advantages of the Union in footage that was cut from the show.

"While not broadcast on the programme, Arlene rightly pointed to the strong arguments for the Union, whether the economy or our fantastic and invaluable NHS," he said.

"Over the coming months, the DUP leadership will travel to every corner of Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom, promoting the benefits of the Union.

"It is always useful to debate and refresh the minds of the next generation as to why Northern Ireland's place within the Union is so important, whether from a historical, cultural, economic, social or security point of view."
Irish Government ministers are struggling to communicate with their counterparts in Northern Ireland since the collapse of the Stormont Assembly despite the looming threat of Brexit, former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has warned.

Mr Ahern, who was speaking to mark the 20th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement at an event at Dublin City University (DCU) yesterday, said the breakdown in communications was not acceptable.

"I know from talking to Irish Government ministers that there are many issues they want to talk to Northern colleagues about, but they have no one to talk to," Mr Ahern added.

"It's not fair to the people of Northern Ireland and it's not what the Good Friday Agreement is about."

He said that despite the challenges of Brexit and the "distraction" it was causing the UK Government, no one had the right to "undo" the Good Friday Agreement and stressed that a Northern Irish border "hard, soft or sunny side up" would be a "disaster."

He said the Good Friday Agreement had been long fought for with "human politics" involving all sides.

Mr Ahern also insisted that a border would "upset everyone on the island of Ireland."

"It would be a travesty for everyone," he said.

"We don't want any border. It's a frictionless border where we can drive freely on this island."

Mr Ahern said he "failed to understand the logic of British negotiators" regarding Brexit and the customs union, stating that when the UK leaves the EU, agreeing trade deals will be very difficult.

"What country will give a trade deal to a country of 80 million people?" he asked. "That's not better than a trade deal with 450 million people (in the EU). I don't get that and I don't know of any country stupid enough to do that when they have an agreement with 450 million."

Reflecting on the Good Friday Agreement some 20 years later, Mr Ahern said one of his only regrets was that the decommissioning of paramilitary weapons took nine years.

When asked by members of the audience whether he thought there was any way that peace here could act as a roadmap to a similar settlement between the Palestinians and the Israelis, Mr Ahern responded that he did not believe so because both sides were still locked in blaming each other.

"If people are not prepared to accept that the status quo is untenable, then speaking about a peace process is useless," the former Taoiseach said.

"We have to break it down (so) there's no blame.

"If we really want a peace process to work, you have to give peace a really good chance.

"You have to be as inclusive and as comprehensive as possible."
Amber Rudd will challenge social media companies to do more to rid the web of gang-related content as she launches a Government drive to bear down on serious violence.

The Home Secretary is expected to call for platforms to spell out explicitly that such material is forbidden on their sites.

She will also emphasise that stop and search is a vital tool and announce ministers are looking at extending the powers so police can seize acid from suspects carrying it in public without good reason.

The measures, which will be outlined on Monday, are part of a wide-ranging blueprint to tackle serious violence.

Plans for the strategy were first announced in October but it has been finalised against a backdrop of calls for action after a spate of fatal stabbings and shootings in London.

The wave of violence has sparked fresh scrutiny of police budgets, declining officer numbers and reductions in the use of stop and search.

National figures show police in England and Wales registered rises of a fifth in offences involving knives or sharp instruments and firearms in the year to September.

Launching the strategy, the Home Secretary is expected to call on social media firms to do more to tackle gang material hosted on their sites.

She will urge them to make an explicit reference to not allowing violent gang content, including music and video, on their platforms.

Concerns have been raised that material posted on social media is driving feuds that rapidly spill out into violence on the streets.

Last weekend Met Police Commissioner Cressida Dick warned that trivial disputes online can escalate within minutes.

In another step the Home Office said it plans to consult on extending stop and search powers to enable officers to stop and search someone they suspect is carrying a corrosive substance in public without good reason.

Currently police can stop and search individuals for corrosive substances but only if they believe the person in possession intends to use it as an offensive weapon and cause injury.

The recent spate of violence has prompted scrutiny of a sharp reduction in stop and search activity, with use of the powers at the lowest level since current data records started 17 years ago.

Reforms were introduced in 2014 to ensure the tactic was used in a more targeted way following criticism over the number of stops of black and minority ethnic individuals.

Announcing the consultation on extending stop and search powers to include acid, Ms Rudd said: I see no good reason why any young person should be carrying a corrosive substance in the street.

She added: Stop and search is a vital policing tool and officers will always have the Governments full support to use these powers properly.

Ms Rudd revealed that a new Offensive Weapons Bill will be introduced within weeks.

It will include a new offence of possessing acid in a public place, prevent sales of acids to under-18s and stop knives being sent to peoples homes when bought on the internet following concerns age verification checks can be sidestepped online.

The proposals will also make it illegal to possess certain offensive weapons like zombie knives and knuckle-dusters in private and introduce a new two strikes regime meaning criminals repeatedly caught with acid will face an automatic custodial sentence.

Ms Rudd said: This Government has always stood for law and order and to tackle violent crime effectively, robust legislation and powerful law enforcement must be in place.

Labour argued that talking tough is not enough.

Shadow home secretary Diane Abbott said: The Tories need to put their money where their mouth is, give the police the resources they need to keep people safe and pursue a collaborative approach to tackling violent crime on our streets.
A Palestinian protester hurls stones at Israeli troops during a protest at the Gaza Strip's border with Israel (Khalil Hamra/AP)

Jeremy Corbyn has condemned the illegal and inhumane actions of Israeli troops following violence at the border with Gaza.

The Labour leader said the Israeli response, which has claimed the lives of at least nine Palestinians and wounded scores more, was an outrage.

Israeli troops opened fire from across the border, killing at least nine Palestinians  including a journalist  and wounding 491 others on Friday in the second mass protest in eight days.

The killing and wounding of yet more unarmed Palestinian protesters yesterday by Israeli forces in Gaza is an outrage.



I have asked for this statement to be read at today's demonstration supporting the Palestinian people in Gaza: https://t.co/KzxZU83cIg  Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) April 7, 2018

In a message read out at a demonstration outside Downing Street, Mr Corbyn said: The killing and wounding of yet more unarmed Palestinian protesters yesterday by Israeli forces in Gaza is an outrage.

The majority of the people of the Gaza Strip are stateless refugees, subject to a decade-long blockade and the denial of basic human and political rights.

More than two thirds are reliant on humanitarian assistance, with limited access to the most basic amenities, such as water and electricity.

They have a right to protest against their appalling conditions and the continuing blockade and occupation of Palestinian land, and in support of their right to return to their homes and their right to self-determination.

Firing live ammunition into crowds of unarmed civilians is illegal and inhumane and cannot be tolerated.

We stand in solidarity with the Israelis who have taken to the streets this last week to protest their governments actions.

The silence from international powers with the responsibility of bringing a just settlement of the Israel-Palestine conflict must end.

The UK Government must support the UN secretary-generals call for an independent international inquiry into the killing of protesters in Gaza and review the sale of arms that could be used in violation of international law.

The events in Gaza and the threat of renewed conflict underlines the urgent necessity of genuine negotiations to achieve a viable two-state settlement that delivers peace, justice and security to both Palestinians and Israelis.
Police Community Support Officers standing outside the Salisbury home of Sergei Skripal, who is no longer in a critical condition (Ben Mitchell/PA)

Speculation is mounting that Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia could be able to offer officers investigating the Salisbury nerve agent attack missing clues as the pair continue to recover.

The former double agent is responding well to treatment, improving rapidly and no longer in a critical condition, Salisbury District Hospital said.

Mr Skripal, 66, and his 33-year-old daughter Yulia were left fighting for their lives in hospital after being found unconscious on a park bench in Salisbury on March 4.

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said the improvement in the condition of Mr Skripals was great news and testament to the quick work of the emergency services.

Sergei Skripals improved condition is both great news, and testament to the quick work of our world-class emergency services and NHS staff, who have been paramount to his and Yulias recovery. I thank all involved and wish Sergei & Yulia a quick return to full health.  Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) April 6, 2018

Police believe Mr Skripal and his daughter, who was visiting him from Russia, first came into contact with the Novichok agent at his home in Salisbury, Wiltshire.

Ms Skripal made her first public comments on Wednesday shortly after Russian TV reported that she had contacted her cousin Viktoria in Moscow to say she and her father were recovering and that she would soon be discharged.

The UK authorities have refused to grant Viktoria Skripal a visa to come to Britain, with the Home Office saying her application did not comply with the immigration rules.

The improvement in Mr Skripals condition was revealed by Dr Christine Blanshard, medical director at Salisbury District Hospital, who said speculation about when the two could be released from hospital was just that  speculation.

The Foreign Office said the pair were likely to have ongoing medical needs.

The Russian Embassy said it hoped the improvement in the Skripals health will contribute to the investigation of the crime perpetrated against them.

Moscow has denied being responsible for the poisoning of the Skripals but the incident has plunged diplomatic relations between Russia and the West into the deep freeze.

We welcome the news of progress in Sergei Skripal recovery. Read comment: https://t.co/ROOMo5VFKh pic.twitter.com/29JmlYcqQW  Russian Embassy, UK (@RussianEmbassy) April 6, 2018

A Foreign Office spokesman said: We are very pleased that both Mr Skripal and his daughter Yulia are improving. This is a tribute to the hardworking and talented NHS staff in Salisbury who have provided outstanding care.

The NHS will continue to provide ongoing care for the Skripals, both of whom are likely to have ongoing medical needs.

Let us be clear, this was attempted murder using an illegal chemical weapon that we know Russia possesses.

Meanwhile, Russia continued to raise questions about the fate of the pets at Mr Skripals home.

Two guinea pigs were found dead at the property and a cat, which was found in a distressed state at the house, was put down.

The Russian Embassy said: Regarding the dead guinea pigs and the malnourished cat, it is said unofficially that they were taken to the Porton Down facility and incinerated there.

But it remains unclear if their remains were ever tested for toxic substances, which would constitute useful evidence, and if not, why such a decision was made.

Overall, it is difficult to avoid the impression that the animals have been disposed of as an inconvenient piece of evidence.
The Prince of Wales speaks during a reception hosted by the Governor of Queensland (Arthur Edwards/The Sun/PA)

Prince Charles has joked he will never again be able to fit into a pair of budgie smugglers as he approaches his 70th birthday.

Speaking at an event in Brisbane attended by people celebrating the same milestone this year, the heir to the throne said he knew only too well the strange feeling of disbelief at reaching that age.

Confessing he did not feel like it was long since his parents were 70, he said: I do know only too well  and understand  the strange feeling of disbelief that this is actually happening and that never again, for instance, will it be possible to squeeze into a pair of budgie smugglers.

I dont know about you, ladies and gentlemen, but now bits of me keep falling off at regular intervals.

Dont worry, they keep telling me, you have brilliant genes.

But the trouble is I cant even get into them either!

Finally tonight, The Prince of Wales attended a reception at Government House as a guest of @QldGovernor & met people who share the 70th year of his birthday. #RoyalVisitAustralia pic.twitter.com/EORgp96zk8  The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall (@ClarenceHouse) April 6, 2018

Charles, who made the speech at a reception hosted by the Governor of Queensland Paul de Jersey, turns 70 on November 14.

The prince also took the opportunity to speak of his fondness for Australia, which he first visited 52 years ago.

When I first came to Australia, Australian manhood was partly defined by how many schooners of beer you could line up on the bar  and drink  before the pubs closed early, he said.

Highlighting once again the challenges facing the environment, he warned that we are destroying our own life support systems, along with our childrens and grandchildrens future.

Describing Australia as an example for us all, Charles hailed Aussie values as a force for good.

He added: Amidst all this, the Aussie character that is so exemplified by the concept of fairness and fairgo is what I believe the world needs so desperately and so urgently  a fairgo for people, our planet and for nature herself.
Forensic officers at the scene in South Park Crescent in Hither Green (Gareth Fuller/PA)

A pensioner who fatally stabbed an intruder at his home should not have been arrested, a member of a powerful parliamentary committee has said.

Sir Christopher Chope said it was completely unwarranted to arrest people in circumstances such as those faced by Richard Osborn-Brooks.

The 78-year-old retirees detention on suspicion of murdering intruder Henry Vincent, 37, drew widespread condemnation from members of the public.

A 78-year-old man who was arrested following a fatal stabbing in #Lewisham has today been informed that no action will be taken. Our thoughts remain with the families whose lives have been devastated by these events. https://t.co/GT1Zf4cZNT pic.twitter.com/zJK4VJs4QJ  Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) April 6, 2018

Nearly 20,000 people signed a petition calling for the probe to be shelved, while more than 7,000 was raised to pay for his legal costs.

On Friday the Metropolitan Police said he would face no further action over Vincents death.

Mr Osborn-Brooks had been arrested on suspicion of murder before being freed on bail following the incident on Tuesday.

Expand Close A police car and cordon outside the property of Richard Osborn-Brooks on South Park Crescent in Hither Green, London (Henry Vaughan/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp A police car and cordon outside the property of Richard Osborn-Brooks on South Park Crescent in Hither Green, London (Henry Vaughan/PA)

Sir Christopher, who sits on the Commons Home Affairs Select Committee, said that arresting the pensioner was a step too far.

It is one thing to question people but to  arrest people in these circumstances is completely unwarranted, the Tory backbencher told The Times.

It is a sad reflection on the criminal justice system that it has required the force of the press and public opinion to reach this decision.

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Scotland Yard said on Friday that its decision to drop the investigation followed a consultation with the Crown Prosecution Service.

Detective chief inspector Simon Harding stressed there had been a thorough investigation into the circumstances of Vincents death.

He said: Whilst there might be various forms of debate about which processes should be used in cases such as this, it was important that the resident was interviewed by officers under the appropriate legislation of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act; not only for the integrity of our investigation but also so that his personal and legal rights were protected.

An inquest will further review the circumstances into Mr Vincents death in a public forum, the detective said.

Bob Neill, chairman of the Commons Justice Select Committee, praised the police for their expediency in releasing Mr Osborn-Brooks.

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It is sensible and the right result, but actually not very surprising, as the law clearly permits the reasonable use of force in self defence (and in defence of others  such as his wife) in this sort of case, the Conservative MP and former criminal barrister told the Daily Mail.

The police had to investigate it but its to their credit that they did so quickly and reached the right decision. In that sense the system has worked.

The force said in a statement that it had informed Vincents family of the development and explained to them the reasons why no charges will be brought.

In January, Vincent was named and pictured by Kent Police investigating a distraction burglary when jewellery and valuables were stolen from a man in his 70s.

Expand Close Henry Vincent was named as the man killed (Kent Police/PA) Press Association Images / Facebook

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Officers were then called to reports of a burglary in progress at 12.45am on Tuesday, after two men entered the house on South Park Crescent in Hither Green, south-east London.

One suspect, armed with a screwdriver, forced the homeowner into his kitchen when he discovered them, while his accomplice went upstairs, the force said.

Detectives believe a struggle ensued between one of the males and the homeowner and the intruder was stabbed in the upper body. It is unclear what implement was used to deliver the fatal blow.

Both men then apparently attempted a getaway, but Vincent collapsed nearby on Further Green Road.

An accomplice attempted to drag him towards a van but eventually left, according to a witness.

Paramedics from London Ambulance Service took him to a central London hospital where he died at 3.37am.

The second man has not been found and remains wanted by police.
The last sighting of Julie Reilly was on February 6 (Police Scotland/PA)

The family of a missing woman has issued an emotional appeal, as police said they cannot rule out a sinister explanation for her disappearance.

Julie Reilly, 47, was last captured on CCTV at a Glasgow supermarket on February 6.

Two months on, her mother Margaret Hanlon, 69, begged her daughter or anyone with information about her to get in touch.

If anyone knows of Julie's whereabouts please don't let us go on like thisMargaret Hanlon

Accompanied by Ms Reillys sister Lynne Bryce, 36, she said: Please, please if you are out there somewhere Julie, please let us know youre ok.

We are all so sick with worry for your safety.

If anyone, anywhere knows of Julies whereabouts please dont let us go on like this  Im begging you from the bottom of my heart.

Julie is a daughter, a mother, a sister, an auntie, and a grandmother to a beautiful grandson who turned one in February. We all need her home.

She said Ms Reilly, who was reported missing on February 15 after failing to make appointments, would never miss these.

She added: This is so not Julie. She would be with us now if she was able.

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Police said they have no direct evidence pointing to a sinister outcome but cannot exclude this.

Forensic searches of her home near Shieldhall Road in Govan are ongoing but detectives stressed her disappearance is still a missing persons inquiry.

Detective Chief Inspector Mark Bell from the Major Investigations Team said: I cannot exclude that something sinister has happened to her but it is my absolute wish and sincere hope that I find Julie alive and well.

He said Ms Reilly has had a number of issues in the past and elements of her private life give him concern.

The detective said the forensic search of her home was to ensure that nothing untoward had happened in the property but said there was no wider threat to the public.

Julie has never gone missing before. For me at this time I dont see an obvious trigger as to why Julie would go missing. That is what causes me concern, he said.

If someone does know something about Julies welfare, where she currently may be right now or the circumstances which have led to her disappearance, I would ask that person to really consider their conscience and to contact the police.

He also appealed for sightings and said officers had spoken to 216 bus passengers on routes Ms Reilly was a frequent user of, leading to potential positives which are being followed up.

The last known sighting of the missing woman was via CCTV at 5pm on February 6 at Aldi in Paisley Road West, Govan.

Police Scotland has employed its underwater unit, dog branch and specialist search officers as part of the investigation.

Ms Reilly, who has been known to use the surnames Hanlon, Martin and Collins, is white, around 5ft, with a medium build and dyed blonde short hair.

When last seen she was wearing a pink jacket, jeans and aqua trainers.

Anyone with information is asked to call 101.
A 17-year-old boy has been charged with murder after a teenager was stabbed to death in east London.

Israel Ogunsola, 18, was found fatally wounded in Link Street, Hackney, by officers on patrol at around 8pm on Wednesday and was pronounced dead 25 minutes later.

His father Dele Ogunsola, who lives on the nearby Jack Dunning Estate, confirmed on Thursday afternoon his teenage son was the victim, although he is yet to be officially named by police.

Detectives investigating the murder of a teenager in #Hackney have charged a 17-year-old male [A] with his murder and possession of an offensive weapon. https://t.co/uwaN1nLQLd pic.twitter.com/wdzItLdXW1  Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) April 7, 2018

A 17-year-old boy appeared at Thames Magistrates Court on Saturday charged with murder and possession of an offensive weapon, Scotland Yard said.

He will next appear at the Old Bailey on April 10, while a second 17-year-old arrested on suspicion of murder has been bailed to a date in mid-April.
Arizona and Texas have announced that they will send 400 National Guard members to the US-Mexico border by next week in response to President Donald Trumps call for troops to fight drug trafficking and illegal immigration.

Arizona governor Doug Ducey said about 150 Guard members would deploy next week. And the Texas National Guard said it was already sending Guardsmen to the border, with plans to place 250 troops there in the next 72 hours. Two helicopters lifted off Friday night from Austin, the state capital, to head south.

The total remains well short of the 2,000 to 4,000 National Guard members that Mr Trump told reporters he wants to send. New Mexico governor Susana Martinezs office said that it had not yet deployed any Guard members. The office of California governor Jerry Brown did not respond to questions about whether it would deploy troops.

Our office is working closely with @AZNationalGuard, @DeptofDefense and @DHSgov on plans to deploy approximately 150 national guard members to the border next week  Doug Ducey (@dougducey) April 6, 2018

Mr Trumps proclamation on Wednesday directing the use of National Guard troops refers to Title 32, a federal law under which Guard members receive federal pay and benefits, but remain under the command and control of their states governor. This leaves open the possibility that Californias Brown could turn him down.

Deployments to the border under former presidents George W Bush and Barack Obama both occurred under Title 32. Mr Bush sent around 6,000 troops in 2006, and Mr Obama sent 1,200 Guard members in 2010.

Mr Trumps proclamation blamed the lawlessness that continues at our southern border. Mr Trump has suggested he wants to use the military on the border until progress is made on his proposed border wall, which has mostly stalled in Congress.

After plunging at the start of Mr Trumps presidency, the numbers of migrants apprehended at the southwest border have started to rise in line with historical trends. The Border Patrol said it caught around 50,000 people in March, more than three times the number in March 2017. That has erased a decline for which Mr Trump repeatedly took credit. Border apprehensions still remain well below the numbers when Bush and Obama deployed the Guard to the border.

News reports of a caravan of Central American migrants passing through southern Mexico also sparked angry tweets from the president. The caravan of largely Central American migrants never intended to reach the US border, according to organiser Irineo Mujica. But Mr Trump has repeatedly cited it as an example of what he called Americas weak immigration laws.

Department of Homeland Security officials have said Guard members could support Border Patrol agents and other law enforcement agencies. DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said this week that guard members could help look at the technology, the surveillance, and that the department might ask for fleet mechanics. Federal law restricts the military from carrying out law enforcement duties.

The Arizona National Guard said in a statement that it would provide air, reconnaissance, operational and logistics support and construct border infrastructure. Leaders in both Arizona and Texas said they were working with federal planners to define the Guard members mission.

From 2006 to 2008, the Guard fixed vehicles, maintained roads, repaired fences and performed ground surveillance. Its second mission in 2010 and 2011 involved more aerial surveillance and intelligence work.

Former Texas governor Rick Perry, now Mr Trumps energy secretary, also sent about 1,000 Guard members to the border in 2014 in response to a surge in the number of unaccompanied immigrant children crossing the Rio Grande, the river that separates the US and Mexico in the state.

About 100 Guardsmen remain deployed as part of that existing state mission.
A picture of Carlos Puidgemont is fixed in front of the entrance building of a prison in Neumuenster, northern Germany (Frank Molter/dpa via AP)

Former Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont has made a renewed call for Spanish authorities to open negotiations over Catalonias secession claim, a day after he was released from a German prison.

Mr Puigdemont told reporters that he hoped a German courts decision not to extradite him to Spain on charges of rebellion shows that dialogue is needed to defuse the political conflict in his home country.

I hope the situation could help  Spanish authorities understand that political measures are needed, Mr Puigdemont said at a press conference in Berlin.

Expand Close Former Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont (Britta Pedersen/dpa via AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook

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This opens a new opportunity of dialogue.

The former leader left a German prison in Neumuenster on bail on Friday, almost two weeks after his arrest, after the Schwesig state court in Germany decided the charge of rebellion did not warrant extradition.

Mr Puigdemont can still be extradited on the less serious charge of misuse of funds to hold Catalonias banned independence referendum last year.

Germany Justice Minister Katarina Barley applauded the courts decision to free Puigdemont on bail.

Katarina Barley told daily Sueddeutsche the judges decision was absolutely right and what she had expected.

Expand Close (Carsten Rehder /dpa via AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook

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Ms Barley said it was now up to Spain to prove their other charges against Mr Puigdemont, which she said wont be easy.

Misuse of public funds carries a sentence of up to eight years in Spain, while a rebellion sentence can reach 30 years.

Mr Puigdemont told reporters he would stay in Berlin at a location that he has yet to determine until his extradition case is concluded.

If he is not sent back to Spain, he said he would plan to return to Belgium where he has established residency in Waterloo since fleeing there from Spain in October.

The former Catalan leader was detained on a European arrest warrant after entering Germany on March 25.

He was trying to drive from Finland to Belgium, where he had been living since fleeing to escape arrest in Spain.
A van crashed into tables of people drinking outside a popular bar in the German city of Munster, killing two people and injuring 20 others before the driver killed himself, police have said.

A top German security official said there was no indication of an Islamic extremist motive but officials were investigating all possibilities after the deadly crash at 3.27pm local time on a warm spring day.

Witnesses said people ran away screaming from the city square after the crash.

Police quickly set up a large cordoned-off area for their investigation and ambulances rushed to the site.

Herbert Reul, the interior minister of North Rhine-Westphalia state, where Munster is located, said the driver of the grey van was a German citizen.

He stressed that the investigation was at an early stage but said "at the moment, nothing speaks for there being any Islamist background".

"We have to wait, and we are investigating in all directions," Mr Reul said, adding "(he) wilfully drove into a crowd of people."

Mr Reul said two people were killed in the crash and the driver shot himself dead.

BREAKING: Heavy police presence after a possible Van crash in #Muenster pic.twitter.com/GCRf9gUyHY  Daniel  (@thedaniel3009) April 7, 2018

That is lower than the earlier police toll of three dead plus the driver.

Police spokesman Peter Nuessmeyer told the Associated Press that he could not confirm German media reports that the perpetrator reportedly had psychological issues.

Another spokesman, Andreas Bode, told reporters that police were checking witness reports that other perpetrators might have fled from the van at the scene.

Hours later, police spokeswoman Vanessa Arlt said that "we didn't find anything (to those reports) but we're still investigating in all directions and not excluding anything".

Police tweeted that residents should "avoid the area near the Kiepenkerl pub" in the city's historic downtown area where a large-scale police operation was under way.

Officers also said they found a suspicious object in the van that they were examining to see if it was dangerous.

They told German news agency dpa that was the reason authorities cordoned off such a large area.

The Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper said the suspect's apartment was being searched for possible explosives.

Mr Bode said six of the 20 injured were in a severe condition.

Munster University Hospital put out an urgent call for citizens to donate blood - and so many people rushed to help that long lines of donors formed.

Jan Schoessler, who was among those in line, said dozens of people were waiting shortly after doors opened at 7pm.

The university cancelled the call after only an hour and thanked everyone on Twitter "for your overwhelming support".

Munster, a major university city, has about 300,000 residents and an attractive medieval city centre that was rebuilt after the Second World War.

TV footage showed a narrow street sealed off with red-and-white police tape.

Dozens of ambulances were near the cordoned-off area and helicopters were flying overhead.

The Kiepenkerl is not only one of the city's best-known traditional pubs, but also the emblem of the city, depicting a travelling salesman with a long pipe in his mouth and a big backpack on his back.

Ugur Hur was working at a nearby cafe in central Munster when the crash took place.

"I heard a loud bang, screaming. And the police arrived and everyone was sent out," he said. "A lot of people were running away screaming."

Lino Baldi, who owns an Italian restaurant near the scene of the crash, told Sky TG24 that the city centre had been packed with people out enjoying a Saturday market and summer-like temperatures, which had risen to 25C (77F) from just 12C (53.6F) a day earlier.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she was "deeply shocked by the terrible events in Munster".

"Everything conceivable is being done to investigate the crime and to support the victims and their relatives," Mrs Merkel said in a statement.

"My thanks go to all the responders at the scene."
Most people can recall what they were doing when the historic Good Friday Agreement was announced on April 10, 1998.

I was in the midst of a career turning point as I prepared to leave Queen's University after 14 crowded years as its first information director and return to full-time writing.

My first reaction was that the GFA would make life less difficult at Queen's for the new vice-chancellor professor George Bain compared to his predecessor Professor Sir Gordon Beveridge.

Sir Gordon was a good man, but too sensitive for the academic jungle at Queen's. He and I had to face huge PR problems including the dropping of the national anthem at Queen's, as well as a fair employment imbalance, but somehow we managed to pull through.

However, my overriding emotion on April 10, 1998 was one of relief that the GFA was signed and that this might herald the beginning of the end of Northern Ireland's self-inflicted crucifixion.

I did not think of the collective role of the churches, but of the individuals who had given the churches a path to peace.

One such person was the founder of Corrymeela the Rev Dr Ray Davey, a Presbyterian minister who was light years ahead in his hard-headed vision of reconciliation.

He and colleagues like the Rev John Morrow, another Presbyterian, were not supported wholeheartedly by the rank and file of the church - many of whom regarded reconciliation as a sign of weakness rather than of strength.

Another Corrymeela veteran, the Rev Harold Good, worked hard for many years, and still does, to build bridges.

He became Methodist president and deservedly was awarded the World Methodist Peace Prize.

The late senator Gordon Wilson, another Methodist, spoke out powerfully for a "lack of ill-will" after his daughter Marie, and 10 other innocent people, were murdered in a no-warning IRA explosion at the Enniskillen Cenotaph in 1987.

Sometime later a frail Gordon Wilson had the courage to confront Provisional IRA members in a hideout in Donegal.

He was distressed by the hard faces he encountered, but we will never fully know how much his agony as a bereaved father helped to pave the way towards peace.

Many others played a courageous role, including the Protestant clerics who showed leadership by secretly meeting Provisional IRA leaders at Feakle in Co Clare in 1974. The meeting ended in farce when the Gardai raided the hotel where they met, and the Provisionals made a hasty retreat.

The church leaders included the Presbyterian general secretary the Rev Dr Jack Weir, the Anglican Bishop of Connor Arthur Butler and Canon Bill Arlow, assistant secretary of the Irish Council of Churches - all of whom were criticised for their initiative.

In another context, Archbishop Robin Eames, the Anglican primate, and Dr Cahal Daly, his Roman Catholic counterpart, also showed steadfastness in displaying publicly their solidarity, but this was sorely tested during one of the terrible Drumcree stand-offs.

Another former Presbyterian moderator, the Rev Dr Ken Newell, formed a productive peace-making initiative with Fr Gerry Reynolds of Clonard.

It is invidious to mention individuals because I am sure that there were and are people I have inadvertently left out.

However, it is sufficient to note that there were many clergy and laity in the churches who contributed individually to making peace a reality.

Sometimes all the credit is given to the major politicians like Sir John Major and Albert Reynolds, as well Tony Blair, Bertie Ahern, Bill Clinton, George Mitchell and many others, including John Hume and David Trimble.

However, let's not forget the clerics and church members who also played their part and are often overlooked still.

The search for a lasting peace goes on and we still need strong leadership from all sides - including the churches - to prevent our hopes from 20 years ago being buried in the ashes of sectarianism which has been the plague of Irish and Anglo-Irish history. Sadly, where are the big leaders today?
Win Myat Aye, Myanmars minister for social welfare, relief and resettlement, will visit Bangladesh on April 11and 12 to meet with officials from Bangladeshs foreign affairs and home affairs ministries to discuss delays with the repatriation of Rohingya Muslim refugees who live in massive displacement camps in southeastern Bangladesh.

Nearly 700,000 Rohingya poured out of northern Rakhine state during a brutal military crackdown that began in late August 2017 in response to deadly attacks by Muslim militants on police outposts. Though Myanmar and Bangladesh have signed agreements for the return of refugees who wish to return voluntarily to Rakhine, Myanmar officials have verified only about 500 from an initial list of more than 8,000 supplied by Bangladeshi officials.

Myanmar says some refugees have not completed their repatriation application forms correctly. Win Myat Aye, who is in charge of the repatriation program, discussed his upcoming visit to Bangladesh, which may also include stops at refugee camps as he has requested, with reporter Thinn Thiri of the Radio Free Asia (RFA) Myanmar Service, a sister entity of BenarNews.

What follows is an edited version of their conversation:

Radio Free Asia: What is the intention of Myanmars top-level delegations first trip to Bangladesh?

Win Myat Aye: The intention is to discuss with Bangladeshi authorities the delay in refugee repatriation.

RFA: Will you meet members of the Bangladeshi government or United Nations officials?

WMA: As far as I know, the Bangladeshi government has arranged for us to meet with the ministers of foreign affairs and home affairs. If they can arrange it, we will go to the refugee camps as well.

RFA: What is the main reason for the delay of the refugee repatriations?

WMA: If the process goes according to the agreement between Bangladesh and Myanmar and if the refugees filled out the forms according to the agreement, it shouldnt be delayed. But it didnt turn out the way we expected it to. If the refugees had filled out the forms according to the agreement, the process would be faster than it is right now. We will talk about it when I am in Bangladesh.

RFA: Will the Myanmar government work with U.N. agencies such as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and United Nations Development Program (UNDP) on the refugee issue? What agreement does the government have with these agencies?

WMA: In the agreement [with Bangladesh] we already talked about working together with the U.N. agencies on this issue when it is necessary. We have already talked about it with the UNHCR and UNDP as well.

RFA: In February, Bangladesh sent Myanmar a list of 8,032 refugees who want to return home, and Myanmar authorities have approved 900 people, according to Myint Thu, permanent secretary of Myanmars Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The number includes about 500 Muslims and about 400 Hindu refugees who also fled to Bangladesh from northern Rakhine and had been approved for return prior to the issuance of the list. What are you doing about the rest of the refugees in Bangladesh?

WMA: As I told you before, the forms they filled out were not according to the instructions in the agreement. Thats why we needed more time to verify people. We sent a list of those whom we could verify to Bangladesh, but we havent heard anything back yet.

RFA: What results do you expect from your trip to Bangladesh, especially on the issue of refugee repatriation?

WMA: Bangladesh and Myanmar are neighbors, so the refugee issue is both countries problem. People who lived in our country fled to Bangladesh. We have a responsibility to take them back, and both countries have agreed to the refugee repatriation. Bangladesh and Myanmar have to work together on this issue by maintaining a good relationship. We will have a good outcome because I am going to Bangladesh to discuss with Bangladeshi authorities about how we can have smooth cooperation.
Vous etes confrontes a une infestation par la puce, la punaise de lit ? Voici plusieurs actions qui sont a mettre en uvre pour faire []
By Geoff Percival

Tax advisory giant Deloitte has called on the Government to further delay the introduction of its new sugar tax until July to allow beverage companies time to ready themselves.

While it has welcomed the tax, Deloitte said introducing the levy in three weeks time doesnt allow businesses sufficient time to prepare for its consequences.

The levy will apply to sugar-sweetened drinks with a sugar content of between five and eight grams per 100ml, at a rate of 20c per litre, and 30c per litre for anything over eight grams.

It will likely increase the cost of a can of soft drink by 10c and bring in 40m per year for the exchequer.

It was first flagged a couple of years ago before being formally included in Budget 2018 proposals last October.

The levy was supposed to come into being yesterday, but was recently delayed until May 1 pending formal EU approval and satisfaction that it doesnt break state aid laws.

The Department of Finance is confident of getting the formal EU go-ahead in the coming weeks and introducing the levy next month.

The UK, which introduced its sugar tax yesterday, doesnt require the same approval from Brussels.

The department has also rubbished suggestions the tax has been rushed, saying guidance from both it and Revenue has been available to companies for some time. Deloitte, however, claims guidance has only been available since late last month.

This presents businesses with a very short timeline to get to grips with the tax and understand, not alone the rules that apply to the tax, but also the commercial implications for their business, said Deloittes director of tax John Stewart.

There are a number of administrative processes businesses will now have to go through including registering for the tax as a supplier, identifying all the products that will be subject to the tax... and determining the rate that applies to those products, in addition to... completing additional tax returns every two months and submitting separate claims for refunds of sugar tax on exports.

Deloitte wants the deadline for claiming refunds on the tax extended from six months to four years.

Some businesses have already said they will largely be unaffected by the introduction of the new levy.

Earlier this week, Tesco Ireland said it will not need to increase the price of its own-label carbonated soft drinks as all have already been reformulated to have their sugar content reduced in readiness for the introduction of the tax.

The migration towards lower-sugar content means that 75% of Britvic Ireland which owns the likes of Club and MiWadi  product will not be liable for the tax.
Julia went to elementary school at Holy Angels in Avenue and high school at St. Marys Academy in Leonardtown where she graduated in 1944. Julia then attended nursing school at Garfield Memorial Hospital in Washington, D.C. She became a registered nurse in 1948 and returned to work at St. Marys Hospital in Leonardtown.

In 1950, Julia met a handsome sailor who was stationed at the nearby Piney Point Naval Station. She would become Mrs. Jack Jones on May 26, 1951. Jack and Julia welcomed their first born in 1952 and then two months later relocated to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. While on Oahu, the couple welcomed their second child. After Jack was transferred to California, Julia flew back with two toddlers and less than a year later was greeted by their third child. After moving across country a few more times, Jack retired from the Navy in 1962 and the family came back to California living in Concord, Pleasant Hill and then Napa in 1969.
A man has gone missing from his home in Co. Offaly.

Gardai have asked for the public's help in finding 26-year-old Edgars Leimanis, who is missing from his home at Newberry Close, Edenderry since Saturday, March 31.
The Irish border question must be clarified by this summer, the SDLP leader has said.

Any hardening of the frontier will be a deliberate violation of Northern Ireland's political process by the British Government, Colum Eastwood added.

He addressed party members at the SDLP annual conference at Titanic Belfast and urged another New Ireland Forum amid change caused by Brexit, saying: "The Irish Government must know that we need full clarity on the border this side of the summer.

"We can't let it slip until the EU Council meeting in October.

"The backstop is not our first choice, but it is our ultimate protection."

The backstop means in the absence of another solution, regulations relating to North-South matters - like the all-island economy - would continue to be aligned with the EU after Brexit in a year's time.

It was part of a December blueprint agreed between the British Government and the EU.

The border is the subject of intense discussion at official level in Brussels after the EU agreed to go on to discuss transitional arrangements in the Brexit negotiations.

Mr Eastwood added: "The only people who will actually end up delivering that backstop are the hardened Brexiteers who are determined to inflict economic self-harm.

"Anything short of these proposals, any hardening of the border, will be a deliberate violation of our political process by the British Government. They have no right."

He said the Good Friday Agreement which instituted north/south arrangements was sovereign, adding: "That Agreement belongs to the people of Ireland and we are only people with the right to change it.

"There are increasing numbers of politicians on both islands carelessly queuing up to rip it apart.

"We cannot and we will not allow it."

Mr Eastwood said the Good Friday Agreement had come of age, and told the crowd: "If Good Friday 20 years ago was to be the final destination of slow learners - let us not allow it to fall victim to fast wreckers.

"The choice remains the same.

"The Irish and British peoples across this island can retreat from each other or we can again choose to work, live and govern together.

"In time, when we are forced to look history full in the eye, let us not say that we narrowed our minds and thus narrowed the horizon.

"Let us instead say that we acted with courage, generosity and vision."

- Digital Desk and Press Association
Latest: 9.20pm:A van crashed into tables of people drinking outside a popular bar in the German city of Munster, killing two people and injuring 20 others before the driver killed himself, police have said.

A top German security official said there was no indication of an Islamic extremist motive but officials were investigating all possibilities after the deadly crash at 3.27pm local time on a warm spring day.

Witnesses said people ran away screaming from the city square after the crash.

Police quickly set up a large cordoned-off area for their investigation and ambulances rushed to the site.

Herbert Reul, the interior minister of North Rhine-Westphalia state, where Munster is located, said the driver of the grey van was a German citizen.

He stressed that the investigation was at an early stage but said "at the moment, nothing speaks for there being any Islamist background".

"We have to wait, and we are investigating in all directions," Mr Reul said, adding "(he) wilfully drove into a crowd of people."

Mr Reul said two people were killed in the crash and the driver shot himself dead.

That is lower than the earlier police toll of three dead plus the driver.

Rescue workers stand outside the crime scene after a car crashed into a group of people leaving several dead in Muenster, Germany, today. Photo: AP Photo/Ferdinand Ostrop.

7.20pm: A van crashed into a crowd outside a popular bar in the German city of Munster, killing several people and injuring 20 others before the driver killed himself, police have said.

Police spokesman Peter Nuessmeyer said he could not confirm German media reports that the perpetrator was a middle-aged German man who reportedly had psychological issues.

Another police spokesman, Andreas Bode, told reporters the driver fatally shot himself in the van after the crash. He said the driver's identity was not yet known and that it was too early to speculate about his motive.

He said police were checking witness reports that other perpetrators might have fled from the van at the scene of the crash.

Police tweeted that residents should "avoid the area near the Kiepenkerl pub" in the city's historic downtown area where a large-scale police operation was under way.

Mr Bode said six of the 20 injured were in a severe condition.

Police also said they found a suspicious object in the van that they were examining to see if it is dangerous.

They told German news agency dpa that was the reason authorities cordoned off such a large area around the crash, which took place at 3.27pm local time on a warm spring day.

The Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper also said the suspect's apartment was being searched for possible explosives.

Munster, a major university city, has about 300,000 residents and an attractive city centre rebuilt after the Second World War.

German news channel n-tv showed a narrow street sealed off with red-and-white police tape.

Dozens of ambulances were near the cordoned-off area. Helicopters were flying overhead.

The Kiepenkerl is not only one of the city's best-known traditional pubs, but also the emblem of the city, depicting a travelling salesman with a long pipe in his mouth and a big backpack on his back.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she was "deeply shocked by the terrible events in Munster".

In a statement, Mrs Merkel said "everything conceivable is being done to investigate the crime and to support the victims and their relatives. My thanks go to all the responders at the scene".

Germany's top security official said he was "dismayed by the terrible incident" and that city and regional police were working hard to work out what happened.

6.15pm: German police said they are checking reports that other perpetrators may have fled from the van which crashed into a crowd in Munster.

5.05pm: Several people have died and dozens have been injured after a car ploughed into pedestrians in the German town of Muenster, the Federal Ministry of the Interior has said.

Included in the death toll is the driver of the car, who police report fatally shot himself after the crash.

At least 3 people have died and 30 injured in the Muenster incident, German newspaper Bild reports https://t.co/A0c6y7kA6t pic.twitter.com/OC3RlYAxcV  Bloomberg Quicktake (@Quicktake) April 7, 2018

Police said a suspicious object has been found in the van and that they are still examining what kind of an object it is and whether it is dangerous.

Police told German news agency dpa that the object was the reason why a large area around the scene was sealed off after the crash.

Muenster mayor Markus Lewe said the reason for the crash is still unclear.

The Federal Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said in a statement that he was dismayed by events and said his thoughts are with the victims and their families.

Bundesinnenminister #Seehofer besturzt uber Geschehnisse in #Munster #Kiepenkerl: Die Polizei arbeitet zur Stunde an der Aufklarung des Vorfalls - wir stehen in engem Austausch. Fur aktuelle Informationen auch @Polizei_nrw_ms folgen. pic.twitter.com/bZ7LPenGQU  Bundesministerium des Innern, fur Bau und Heimat (@BMI_Bund) April 7, 2018

The University Hospital in Muenster is also urging people to donate blood this evening.

+++Wichtige Information +++



Aufgrund des Groeinsatzes in Munster ist unsere Blutspende (Domagkstrae 11) ab 19 Uhr geoffnet.



Fur weitere Informationen verweisen wir auf die Kollegen der @Polizei_nrw_ms  Uniklinik Munster (@UK_Muenster) April 7, 2018

4pm: Several people are dead and others are injured after a car drove into a crowd in Germany, local police have said.

Police vans lined up in downtown Muenster, Germany today. Photo: dpa via AP.

The car is reported to have driven into pedestrians in the western German city of Muenster this afternoon.

Police say the driver of the car has killed himself, according to German news agency dpa.

This was confirmed by local police, but the exact number of casualties is yet unknown.

Firefighters walk in downtown Muenster, Germany today. Photo: dpa via AP.

Police tweeted that residents should "avoid the area near the Kiepenkerl pub", where a large-scale police operation is under way.

They also advised people to be aware of inaccurate reports on social media and to avoid speculation.

Kiepenkerl is a popular bar in the city's historic downtown area.

- Digital Desk and Press Association
Thousands of Palestinians have protested along Gaza's sealed border with Israel, engulfing the volatile area in black smoke from burning tyres.

Israeli troops opened fire from across the border, killing at least nine Palestinians and wounding 491 others - 33 of them seriously - in the second mass border protest in a week, Gaza health officials said.

A well-known Palestinian journalist was among the dead, and hundreds of others suffered other injuries, including tear gas inhalation, the officials said.

Early on Saturday, Palestinian health officials confirmed that Yasser Murtaga had died from a gunshot wound sustained while covering demonstrations near the Israeli border in Khuzaa. The area was the scene of large protests on Friday, and was covered in thick black smoke.

Mr Murtaga was over 100 meters from the border, wearing a flak jacket marked "press" and holding his camera when he was shot in an exposed area just below the armpit. Journalists were in the area as protesters were setting tyres on fire.

The Israeli military has said it fired only at "instigators" involved in attacks on soldiers or the border fence. It had no immediate comment.

Mr Murtaga worked for Ain media, a local TV production company that has done projects, including aerial drone video, for foreign media. He was not affiliated with Hamas or any other militant group.

The latest casualties were bound to draw new criticism from rights groups that have branded Israel's open-fire orders on the border as unlawful, after Israel's defence minister warned that those approaching the fence were risking their lives.

The UN human rights office said on Friday that it has indications that Israeli forces used "excessive force" against protesters last week, when 15 Palestinians were killed or later died of wounds sustained near the border.

An Israeli military spokesman defended the rules of engagement.

"If they are actively attacking the fence, if they are throwing a molotov cocktail that is within striking distance of Israeli troops or similar activities, then those persons, those rioters, become, may become, a target," said Lt Col Jonathan Conricus.

Friday's large crowds suggested that Hamas, the Islamic militant group that has ruled Gaza since a 2007 takeover, might be able to keep the momentum going in the next few weeks. Hamas has called for a series of protests until May 15, the anniversary of Israel's founding when Palestinians commemorate their mass uprooting during the 1948 war over Israel's creation.

Israel has alleged that Hamas is using the mass marches as a cover for attacking the border fence, and has vowed to prevent a breach at all costs.

The military said that on Friday, protesters hurled several explosive devices and firebombs, using the thick plumes of smoke from burning tyres as a cover, and that several attempts to cross the fence were thwarted.

Gaza's shadowy Hamas strongman, Yehiyeh Sinwar, told a cheering crowd in one of the protest camps on Friday that a border breach is coming.

The world should "wait for our great move, when we penetrate the borders and pray at Al-Aqsa," Sinwar said, referring to the major Muslim shrine in Jerusalem.

He was interrupted several times by the crowd, who chanted, "We are going to Jerusalem, millions of martyrs!" and "God bless you Sinwar!"

The mass protests are perhaps Hamas' last chance to break a border blockade enforced by Israel and Egypt since 2007, without having to succumb to demands that it disarm. The blockade has made it increasingly difficult for Hamas to govern. It has also devastated Gaza's economy, made it virtually impossible for people to enter and exit the territory, and left residents with just a few hours of electricity a day.
Russian officials have requested a meeting with the UK's Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson to discuss the nerve agent attack on former double-agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia.

The British Foreign Office confirmed that it had received a request from the Russian Embassy for a meeting with Mr Johnson, one of the most vocal British Government critics of Vladimir Putin's regime over the attempted assassination.

It comes as speculation mounted that the Skripals could be able to offer officers investigating the Salisbury nerve agent attack missing clues as the pair continue to recover.

An FCO spokeswoman said: "We have received a request. We will be responding in due course."

Mr Skripal, 66, and his 33-year-old daughter Yulia were left fighting for their lives in hospital after being found unconscious on a park bench in Salisbury on March 4.

The former double agent is "responding well to treatment, improving rapidly and no longer in a critical condition", Salisbury District Hospital said.

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said the improvement in the condition of Mr Skripal was "great news" and "testament to the quick work" of the emergency services.

In a statement posted on its website on Saturday, the Russian Embassy said "interaction" between it and the Foreign Office was "utterly unsatisfactory".

They added: "We believe that it is high time to arrange a meeting between Ambassador Alexander Yakovenko and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson in order to discuss the whole range of bilateral issues, as well as the investigation of the Salisbury incident.

"Ambassador Yakovenko has already sent a respective personal note to the Foreign Secretary.

"We hope that the British side will engage constructively and that such meeting is arranged shortly."

Moscow has denied being responsible for the poisoning of the Skripals but the incident has plunged diplomatic relations between Russia and the West into the deep freeze.

The Russian Embassy had previously said it hoped the improvement in the Skripals' health will "contribute to the investigation of the crime perpetrated against them".

Ms Skripal made her first public comments on Wednesday shortly after Russian TV reported that she had contacted her cousin Viktoria in Moscow to say she and her father were recovering and that she would soon be discharged.

The UK authorities have refused to grant Viktoria Skripal a visa to come to Britain, with the Home Office saying her application "did not comply with the immigration rules".
A Russian request for a meeting with Boris Johnson to discuss the nerve agent attack on former double-agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia has been dismissed as a "diversionary tactic" by the UK.

The Foreign Office confirmed that it had received a request from the Russian Embassy for a meeting with Mr Johnson, one of the most vocal Government critics of Vladimir Putin's regime over the attempted assassination.

The Russian government said it hoped the UK would "engage constructively" with the request for ambassador Alexander Yakovenko to have face-to-face talks with Mr Johnson.

The latest exchanges in the diplomatic spat came as speculation mounted that the Skripals could be able to offer officers investigating the Salisbury nerve agent attack missing clues as the pair continue to recover.

In a statement posted on its website on Saturday, the Russian Embassy said "interaction" between it and the Foreign Office was "utterly unsatisfactory".

They added: "We believe that it is high time to arrange a meeting between Ambassador Alexander Yakovenko and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson in order to discuss the whole range of bilateral issues, as well as the investigation of the Salisbury incident.

"Ambassador Yakovenko has already sent a respective personal note to the Foreign Secretary.

"We hope that the British side will engage constructively and that such meeting is arranged shortly."

We believe that it is high time to arrange a meeting between @Amb_Yakovenko and Foreign Secretary @BorisJohnson in order to discuss the whole range of bilateral issues, as well as the investigation of the Salisbury incident. https://t.co/hOHA18Lclf pic.twitter.com/cS8XMDiXM7  Russian Embassy, UK (@RussianEmbassy) April 7, 2018

Moscow has denied being responsible for the poisoning of the Skripals but the incident has plunged diplomatic relations between Russia and the West into the deep freeze.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: "It's Russia's response that has been unsatisfactory.

"It's over three weeks since we asked Russia to engage constructively and answer a number of questions relating to the attempted assassinations of Mr Skripal and his daughter.

Now, after failing in their attempts in the UN and international chemical weapons watchdog this week and with the victims' condition improving, they seem to be pursuing a different diversionary tactic.

"We will of course consider their request and respond in due course."

Whitehall sources said Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov had turned down the chance for discussions and dismissed the embassy's move as the "latest in a series of Russian disinformation attempts".

Mr Skripal, 66, and his 33-year-old daughter Yulia were left fighting for their lives in hospital after being found unconscious on a park bench in Salisbury on March 4.

The former double agent is "responding well to treatment, improving rapidly and no longer in a critical condition", Salisbury District Hospital said.

The Russian Embassy had previously said it hoped the improvement in the Skripals' health will "contribute to the investigation of the crime perpetrated against them".

Ms Skripal made her first public comments on Wednesday shortly after Russian TV reported that she had contacted her cousin Viktoria in Moscow to say she and her father were recovering and that she would soon be discharged.

The UK authorities have refused to grant Viktoria Skripal a visa to come to Britain, with the Home Office saying her application "did not comply with the immigration rules", prompting a suggestion from the Russian side that the British had "something to hide".

- Digital Desk and Press Association
Among his many warnings about the rise of artificial intelligence, Elon Musk has said that autonomous machines are more dangerous to the world than North Korea and could unleash "weapons of terror." He has compared the adoption of AI to "summoning the devil."

Now the billionaire inventor and Tesla chief executive - who believes artificial intelligence could help trigger the next world war - has issued another severe warning about how super-intelligent machines could come to dominate the world.

Artificial intelligence might one day rule the world, and not in a good way, warns Elon Musk

Those super computers could become "an immortal dictator from which we would never escape", Musk warns passionately in the new documentary Do You Trust This Computer?

In the documentary, directed by Chris Paine (the man behind 2006's Who Killed The Electric Car?), Musk joins a growing chorus of experts warning that intelligent machines are already fundamentally changing our society by amassing personal data, advancing science and medicine and beginning to create new forms of super intelligence.
With all the car-making troubles that are hounding Tesla these days -- from the Model 3 bottlenecks to the furious cash burn -- it's easy to overlook the company's SolarCity headache.

But 16 months after Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk kicked up controversy by acquiring the solar-panel installer founded by two of his cousins, its obligations are a strain on Tesla's finances. The $US2 billion purchase came with a $US2.9 billion debt load, and a chunk of that is soon coming due.

The debt deadline adds to the pressure on Elon Musk, whose company burns cash at a rate of $8,170 a minute. Credit:AP

That's bad timing for a company churning through about $US6,500 ($8,170) a minute and trying to stave off the need for another capital raise.

"SolarCity debt may not be the immediate cause of Tesla's problems, but it certainly isn't helping right now," said Alexander Diaz-Matos, an analyst at credit research firm Covenant Review.
A frozen food company previously linked to two outbreaks of hepatitis A in NSW has been linked to a third outbreak, after seven people in Sydney, the Central Coast and Wollongong became ill after eating frozen pomegranates.

NSW Health confirmed on Friday that the seven people who had contracted hepatitis A had all purchased and consumed Creative Gourmet's frozen pomegranates, which are sold at Coles.

The company had to remove its frozen mixed berries products from supermarket shelves in June 2017 and also in 2015 after they were linked to separate outbreaks of hepatitis A.

Creative Gourmet issued a nationwide "precautionary recall of a relatively small batch" of its frozen pomegranates on Saturday, after being contacted by NSW Health overnight with results of preliminary testing.
An irreplaceable collection of 3700 artworks by leading Australian artists - including Arthur Boyd, Sidney Nolan, Charles Blackman and John Perceval - remains vulnerable to destruction by firestorm without government support for the expansion of Boyd's Bundanon property, south of Wollongong.

Two years after announcing hopes for the redevelopment of the 1100-hectare property that Boyd gifted to the nation in 1993, and a year after unveiling its masterplan design, the Bundanon Trust has yet to secure necessary state and federal government funding.

Arthur Boyd with then prime minister Paul Keating at the gate to Bundanon in 1993. Credit:Bundanon Trust

The trust is seeking to relocate Bundanon's unique collection, valued at $37.5 million, to a new purpose-built, underground fireproof store and contemporary gallery at Riversdale, where a new creative learning centre, cafe and accommodation wing for 64 people is also planned.

The collection also includes works by Pablo Picasso and Brett Whiteley, an archive of the Boyd family's papers, two book libraries and works donated by artists in residence including Polixeni Papaetrou.
Oak Knoll District grapegrower Steve Moulds has been named the 2018 Napa Valley Grower of the Year.

Napa Valley Grapegrower vice president Paul Goldberg said, Steve has contributed to the overall success of the Napa grape growing community in many ways. Among numerous achievements, Steve has exhibited a long-standing commitment to sustainable and high-quality farming practices, he has helped define the role of the Farmworker Foundation in educating and improving the lives of farmworkers throughout the valley, and his service to the Grapegrowers and other community organizations has been unparalleled.

Moulds began his farming career in the early 1970s, on a ranch in Morgan Hill, raising animals to sell at auction. During that time, he served in the Department of Social Services in Gilroy, helping Spanish-speaking migrant workers gain skills and remove barriers to employment.

While serving in the Peace Corps, he worked in Orocuina, Honduras, focusing on rural community and agricultural development. Moulds was instrumental in building schools there and he established a co-operative savings and loan, which is still in operation.

In 2000, he and his wife Betsy moved to the Oak Knoll District, where they planted 11 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon and committed themselves to producing high quality winegrapes.
Wes Anderson turned to stop-motion animation for his latest feature film, Isle of Dogs. Credit:Markus Schreiber Whatever format he uses, all Anderson's films share themes of ruptured or dysfunctional families, disaffected children (or disaffected men who still feel like children) and an innocent curiosity about the world, pressed into framings that are precisely constructed and profuse with detail. He says that no matter how determined he is at the beginning of a film to do something different, once it is put together "people say they can tell in 10 seconds it's by me". He gives an ironic little snicker. "I don't want to have a limited palette, but I do." A still from the film Isle of Dogs. Isle of Dogs differs from his other films, however, in a way that nobody would have expected: in its own whimsical way, it is overtly political. Along with his writing partners Jason Schwartzman and Roman Coppola, Anderson conceived Megasaki as a city in the future as it might have been imagined in the '60s.

As such, it is a sort of dystopian version of The Jetsons. The evil mayor, who is also Atari's uncle, holds vast underground rallies where scientists present "fake news" accounts of why dogs are the enemy. Trash Island is an environmental abomination kept just out of sight and thus way out of mind, as are its resident outcasts. Tracy Walker in the film Isle of Dogs. Credit:Fox Searchlight Pictures "Our dogs are people," says Anderson. "They are voiced by people, they think like people, but they go through the experiences of dogs. What happens to them is the society of which they are part turns against them. Eventually there is a manipulation of the populace to kill them. This is obviously not something that is entirely about dogs." The dogs are voiced by Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Bob Balaban, Liev Schreiber, Jeff Goldblum, Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson; Frances McDormand voices a central role as a Japanese translator who tells us what's going on at Mayor Kobayashi's rally. It's a starry ensemble, most of whom are Anderson regulars. "I don't think any of us are considered 'normal' people," he said once. "It's probably more a family of crazy uncles. But there's an energy that comes from people who are friends."

The world changed a good deal, he says, during the four years or so that it took to conceive, write, build and animate the film. Donald Trump was elected US President, of course, but the three writers drew on the past and on stories from around the world. "There was a certain point where it was like life was imitating the art we hadn't finished making," says Anderson. "And I'm sure, as much as we wanted to create something that is just true to itself, everything was finding its way in there." I ask if they have heard of Manus Island. Anderson splutters with that ironic half-laugh again. "It did cross my mind. Yes. Yes, that story was international." None of this has anything to do with the film's Japanese setting. That was an aesthetic choice, grounded in his enthusiasm for Akira Kurosawa's detective films, the woodblock prints from the early 19th century made by Hokusai and Hiroshige and Hayao Miyazaki's animations: he wanted to be able to work with those graphic styles, architecture and the cultural quirks he enjoyed on his one trip to Japan more than a decade ago. A friend he made on that trip, the Japanese writer and broadcaster Kunichi Nomura, acted as cultural adviser and translator and directed the Japanese voice actors, taking the role of the mayor himself. "We sort of combined a lot of different things at once, so I hope people in Japan will feel it has an authenticity even while it is, of course, a complete fantasy," he says.

As might be expected, there has been something of a backlash by America's cultural watchdogs against this latter-day japonaiserie. Anderson made what was first seen as a bold decision to have the Japanese characters speaking Japanese, sometimes without translation; we don't have to understand everything. This was hailed at the film's Berlin Film Festival premiere as a step forward  there are no awful put-on Japanese accents  but the fact that the dogs speak in English have since led to accusations that the Japanese are being "othered". Those cultural quirks, meanwhile, are racist cliche. Perhaps the core argument there should be that Anderson should have stayed away from trying to tell a story in Japan altogether. Before the backlash started, I asked him if he had any anxieties about representing another culture. "I don't know if I have anxiety about it because for us, it's a way to learn about something," he says. "When you make a movie, you're both trying to share what you have already gathered and trying to share your inspirations. I think anxiety is unavoidable, especially for anxious people, but I try to keep it away as far as possible. Because what I want to do is trust the movie we want to make. I think our version of Japan is quite an invented thing. It has Japan in it, but we have the luxury that it's a fable." Of course it is. It's a film with talking dogs. "Animation is not my thing," says Anderson. "I don't see a lot of animated movies. The Miyazaki movies I don't watch because they are animated but because they are magic."
FRANCOIS TRUFFAUT: CHILD OF THE CINEMA melbournecinematheque.org. Australian Centre for the Moving Image, Monday April 9, Monday April 16, and Wednesday April 25 Young Chihiro must fend for herself in Studio Ghibli's masterpiece, Spirited Away. Francois Truffaut was one of the signature directors of the French New Wave, who, despite dying in 1984 at the comparatively young age of 52, left a sizeable and eclectic body of work. This Melbourne Cinematheque season looks at the recurring ideas in his movies, such as his transformative use of American pulp fiction. Truffaut's second feature, 1960's Shoot the Piano Player (, PG, 80 minutes), is based on David Goodis' crime novel Down There, although in relocating to Paris the tale of a reticent former concert pianist, Charlie Kohler (Charles Azvanour), hiding out in another life who becomes caught up with his brothers and the gangsters pursuing them, he turned the genre inside out. With Raoul Coutard's freewheeling cinematography and the discursive voiceovers, Truffaut created a crime film where relationships  both tragically failed and gorgeously hopeful  are the focus; a tense kidnapping in a car turns into a discussion about desire that builds to a raucous pitch. The hard-boiled moves have a comic certainty as the mood shifts with inventive ease. POP AYE

 M, 102 minutes. Cinema Nova, now screening The star turn in this melancholic Thai drama comes from Bong, the elephant that plays the title role. Worn by time and given to moments of comic diffidence played with exceptional timing, the pachyderm is the perfect travelling companion for Thana (Thaneth Warakulnukroh), an ageing Bangkok architect ground down by professional and personal setbacks. Thana's mid-life crisis inspires him to buy Pop Aye, who is living as little more than a prop for the tourist trade, with the idea being to return him to their mutual rural home. Their episodic journey, punctuated by momentary danger and bittersweet encounters, moves at Pop Aye's pace, but in writer/director Kirsten Tan's debut feature there's a steady accretion of defining information that comes to explain both Thana's situation and how he found himself there. In an often developed landscape the pair look out of place  the long shots in particular capture the film's distinct mood  but unlike many road movies distance travelled doesn't confer understanding. Tan knows that you can't go home again. A BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO GHIBLI acmi.net.au. Australian Centre for the Moving Image, until Saturday April 21.
HARROW



8.30pm, ABC

As we inch maddeningly closer to finding out whether or not our erudite hero, forensic pathologist Dr Daniel Harrow (Ioan Gruffudd) is himself a killer, we're again sidetracked by another gruesome find, this time on train tracks. There's an uncomfortable storyline about evil, sex-crazed Chinese tycoons taking our land and our women. Meanwhile, Harrow's daughter Fern (Ella Newton), continues to skulk and sulk.

Harrow.

ATLANTA



9.25pm, SBS Viceland

It's party time for the Atlanta boys with big dreams as Earn (Donald Glover) and Alfred (Brian Tyree Henry) head out on the town with the sole intention of generating some social media hype about Alfred (aka Paper Boi) in order to boost his rap career. Fast, funny and fluid, this sharp streetwise dramady, now in its second season, just keeps getting better.
Q: At 60 I have decided to go it alone after 30 years of monogamous marriage. I would like to think there may be the opportunity for relationships and intimacy in my future. However, I feel more naive, inhibited and less educated than when I was a young woman. Can you suggest a starting point for re-educating myself?

A: You have decided to "go it alone", so this is now your time. Begin this new life by falling in love with yourself. Give yourself the time, and space, to go through the upheaval of setting up your own home, and tying up loose ends from the past. Be kind to yourself, and cut yourself some slack. No matter how sure you are about your decision there will be painful moments disentangling a 30-year edifice.

Illustration: Jim Pavlidis

You cannot fully experience love and intimacy with another until you love yourself. When you love yourself you will make better choices. You will make sure that you stay safe. You will have the resilience to survive rejection or difficulties.

Before you actively pursue new connections, take stock of where you are. You might get a health check, and make some decisions about your lifestyle so that you can get the most out of life. It is not necessary to look like a model to find romance, but you need to be well to enjoy life.
A group of French backpackers and students have been arrested and more than $200,000 cash seized after a police sting on an alleged drug distribution ring operating in Sydney's inner east.

The arrests follow a five-month investigation by Strike Force Oramzi, formed by officers from the Surry Hills Region Enforcement squad, to investigate the supply of MDMA, cocaine, LSD, ketamine and cannabis.

One of the French nationals arrested on Friday over the alleged drug distribution ring. Credit:NSW Police

At about 7am on Friday, five search warrants were executed at properties in Darlinghurst, Haymarket and Tamarama.

Seven French nationals and one Thai woman, all of whom are in the country on tourist, student or working visas, were arrested in the operation,
Just before 10am on Friday, Audrey Blair and her friends, one of them still carrying his blanket, were ordered out of Brisbane's central square.

It was nothing new for the handful of homeless young people, part of a dozen-strong group aged between 12 and 20, and used to police telling them to move on.

Police move a group of homeless young people on from King George Square in Brisbane.

The one thing different about Friday was the justification. Half a dozen police, some of many brought in from throughout Queensland told them they had to make way for the Duchess of Cornwall, Ms Blair said.

It's like they're trying to make everything look perfect, she said.
A man has been found dead inside a car on the side of the road leading to a Commonwealth Games venue.

Emergency services were called to Mount Gravatt-Capalaba Road at Burbank, in Brisbane's south-east, about 9am where they found the man's body in the car.

Police closed the road in both directions between Prout and Brightview roads at 1:40pm and spectators heading to the cycling were advised to monitor the situation.

The scene had been cleared by 4.30pm, alleviating any concerns that spectators travelling to the Anna Meares Velodrome in Chandler could face delays on Saturday evening.
The Perth woman accused of sexually abusing her own children as part of a suspected child porn ring has been remanded in custody after facing court on Saturday morning.

The case has been described as absolutely devastatingby WA police. Credit:WA Police

No bail application was made for the 39-year-old woman who faces scores of child sex abuse charges after detectives from Taskforce Mirzam discovered a recording device with videos showing adults, both male and a female, engaging in sexual acts with a young girl.

On Friday another 81 charges were added to those already being faced by the woman.

It will be alleged between 2011 and 2016 the woman sexually assaulted her biological daughter, son and a 14-year-old girl.
"At 3.27pm, a vehicle drove into the outside area of the restaurant ... three people were killed, 20 injured, and six of those seriously injured," a police spokesman said, adding: "The perpetrator killed himself in the vehicle."

The vehicle ploughed into people sitting at tables outside the Grosser Kiepenkerl restaurant, which is popular with tourists.

Berlin: A man drove a van into a group of people sitting outside a popular restaurant in the old city centre of Muenster in western Germany on Saturday, killing at least two of them before shooting himself dead, police said.

The attack sparked fears on a continent that has been hit repeatedly by attacks in which vehicles have been turned into weapons in crowded city centres. But a top German official said that investigators did not believe the attack was by a terrorist.

"At the moment, there is no evidence that there is any Islamist background" to the attack, said Herbert Reul, the interior minister of North-Rhine Westphalia, the state where Munster is located. He said the suspect was a German citizen and that investigators are still working to establish a motive. Reul said that two victims and the attacker died in the incident, lowering the toll from what authorities previously said was three victims.

A senior German security official briefed on the investigation said that investigators believe the attacker was the 48-year-old in whose name the van is registered and that he had recently tried to take his life.

Police also dispatched a bomb squad to the scene to check whether there were explosives in the van, the senior security official said.

The van injured 20 people, six seriously, after it ran into a group of outdoor tables at a restaurant, North Rhine-Westphalia police spokesman Andreas Bode told reporters.
New York: A 67-year-old man died after being injured in a fire at Trump Tower in midtown Manhattan on Saturday, the police said.

The man, identified by The Associated Press as Todd Brassner, was in an apartment on the 50th floor at the time of the fire, which was reported about 5.30pm local time, the police said. He was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Property records obtained by The Associated Press indicate Brassner was an art dealer who had purchased his 50th-floor unit in 1996.

A firefighter inside Trump Tower.

Four firefighters suffered injuries that were not life-threatening, Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro said at a news conference.
Melbourne: Russian ambassador Grigory Logvinovs recent broadside against the disgraceful behaviour of Australias media comes as the embassy appears to embrace a more propagandistic tone.

The embassy has in recent months released defensive statements, a blistering critique of a specific article, and talking points to cast doubt on the Londons response to the Skripal poisonings.

Even the number of Twitter followers for the embassy shot up (albeit from a low base figure). The embassys website shows nearly as many releases in the first three months of this year, as all of last year  and, while many of the releases are standard diplomatic fare, a change in tone on geopolitical matters is hard to miss.

Russian Ambassador Grigory Logvinov Credit:Fairfax Media

In recent years where there was this propaganda taking place at a domestic level [in Russia], whilst on the international stage diplomats continued to use a more rational factual discourse, said La Trobe University politics lecturer Robert Horvath. That is something that has changed in recent years.
Was the income tax department in hurry to achieve its tax collection targets by March 31st, by any means? That's what the Bombay High Court observed while hearing a tax dispute case between the I-T department and Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trust (Shirdi), following which it directed the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) to conduct a probe against overzealous officers.

The bench of Justice Sandeep Shinde and Justice MS Sanklecha at Bombay High Court, in their order against the I-T department stated, "The entire exercise, here, appears to be only to assist the revenue to collect some amount of taxes prior to March 31, 2018. This is certainly not expected of an Appellate Authority such as the CIT (A) who adjudicates disputes between the Revenue and the Assessee on a regular basis."

The Bombay High Court set aside the order dated March 23, 2018 passed by the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) on the Shirdi Trust's stay application. Not only that, the bench directed the registry to serve a copy of its order upon the CBDT to make an enquiry of certain complaints.

"If the allegations made by the Petitioner (Shirdi Trust) are correct, CBDT will take coercive measures to ensure that its officers, deal with the assessee's fairly and in accordance with the law," the order directed.

The case

The I-T department believes that every cash amount or bullion items donated by anonymous devotees in 'hundi' at Shirdi temple in Maharashtra is 'black money', against which Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trust needs to pay 30 per cent of tax.

For the assessment year of 2015-16, the Deputy Commissioner of Income Tax (DCIT) on December 31, 2017, passed an order under Section 143 (3) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (the Act) against Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trust determining an amount of Rs 122.04 crore as tax payable.

After series of hearing before CIT (A), in an order dated March 23, 2018, the trust was directed to determine the amount payable on the individual heads of demand at varying percentages of the constituents of demand, aggregating to Rs 122.04 crore.

It resulted in an aggregate amount of Rs 15.16 crore being payable before the balance of the aggregate demand of Rs 122.04 crore could be stayed.

But at the same time, Commissioner of Income Tax (Exemption) also threatened to attach the Shirdi Trust's bank account and reopen past two assessment years' cases.

Before that, on March 20, Shirdi Trust had attended the final hearing of its appeal before the CIT (A), as called for. The trust was heard extensively on merits of its appeal from the order dated December 31, 2017 of the Assessing Officer.

At the conclusion of the hearing on 20th March, 2018, the trust signed an order sheet, prepared by CIT (A), which recorded that the appeal has been finally heard. But on same day, the trust got a telephonic call from the office of the CIT (A) to remain present in the office of the CIT (A) on March 21, 2018 at 10:30am.

Shockingly, at the meeting held on March 21, 2018, the CIT (A) commenced / started the hearing of the stay application filed by the Shirdi Trust along with its appeal. At the end of the day, the CIT (A) informed the trust that that even if the order on the pending appeal is passed on March 27, 2018, it would not be possible to issue the order before March 31, 2018.

On March 22, the Trust's CA received a call from the office of the CIT (E) directing the trust to deposit at least Rs 20 crore before March 31, 2018.

"Further, CIT [Exemption] informed the Shirdi Trust that failing to deposit the amount of at least Rs 20 crore would lead not only to the attachment of the trust's bank accounts but also reopening of the assessment for the past two Assessment Years", the trust complained in its petition.

CBDT directed to probe

The HC found the coercive measures of I-T department "very serious", particularly when the Assessing Officer or the CIT (E) could have dealt with the request of deposit by passing an order on the application under Section 220 (6) of the Act filed by the Shirdi Trust.

In the absence of denial on affidavit by the CIT (A) and CIT (E) the allegations in the petition cannot be discarded. "However it would be best if the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) carry out the necessary investigation on the above allegations and if there is truth in it, it would take corrective action on the same", the order directed.

The HC made it clear that if the allegations in the petition filed by Shirdi Trust are correct, then such failures on the part of its officers needs to be corrected by the CBDT before it becomes the norm.

The Court observed that failing corrective measures by the CBDT would only result in our entertaining petitions from orders under the Act as the alternative remedy would cease to be an efficacious remedy, if such arm twisting measures dehors application of the law, are adopted by the Revenue.

Thus, the Bombay HC has directed the CBDT to carry out necessary investigation on the allegations made in the petition and if found correct, to take corrective measures to ensure that its officers shall not be overzealous in seeking to recover maximum revenue before March 31 of any financial year in total disregard of the law.
American aerospace and defence major Lockheed Martin has welcomed India's mega procurement initiative for fighter jets worth over USD 15 billion and said that it looks forward to responding to the initial tender.

India yesterday began the process to acquire a fleet of around 110 fighter jets in one of the biggest such procurements in recent years globally which could be worth over USD 15 billion.

At least 85 per cent of the aircraft will have to be made in India while 15 per cent of them can be in a flyaway condition.

An RFI (Request for Information) or initial tender for the mega deal was issued by the Indian Air Force and the procurement will be in sync with the government's 'Make in India' initiative in the defence sector, officials said.

"Lockheed Martin welcomes India's fighter aircraft Request for Information (RFI) and we look forward to responding to it," said Dr Vivek Lall, vice president, strategy and business development at Lockheed Martin.

"The F-16 remains the only aircraft programme in this competition with the proven performance and industrial scale to meet India's operational needs and 'Make in India' priorities including unmatched export opportunities," he said.

Indian-American Lall was last year instrumental in the decision of the Trump administration to sell top-of-the-line unarmed drones from General Atomics.

Lockheed Martin has positioned the newest Block 70 variant of its F-16 aircraft for the Indian Air Force, while Boeing has offered its F/A-18 Super Hornet Block III for the Indian Navy.

"The two aircraft have been positioned complementarily, and the purchase of the pair is an interesting proposition for policymakers from both countries," US-based think-tank Atlantic Council said in a report released in New Delhi yesterday.

In the report, 'India's Quest for Fighter Jets: Make in India vs Make America Great Again', it said China's bellicose incursions in the Indo-Pacific region are challenging US geostrategic supremacy in the region.

Consequently, improving India's capacity to play a stronger role in the region would play a critical role in the US grand strategy, the think-tank said.

While offshoring both the F-16 and F/A-18 assembly lines would appear to contradict Trump's promise to create more manufacturing jobs in the US, nuances in that policy could open a window of opportunity, Atlantic Council said.

The F-16s and the F/A-18 Super Hornets manufactured in India would not be sold to the US, it said.

The F-16 production line will be used to service the orders from the Indian Air Force, as well as any follow-on international orders.

Noting that the US Air Force has not bought an F-16 since 1999, and is transitioning its multi-role fighter force to the F-35, the think-tank said that any additional F-16 orders would be for non-US customers. An India partnership presents a way to sustain F-16 production, with all the economic and strategic benefits that result, it said.

Similarly, the F/A-18 Super Hornet production line would also be used to service orders for the Indian Navy, with all US orders manufactured in the US.

Despite the shift of production lines, there is a considerable work-share component in the proposals by Lockheed Martin and Boeing, which would present a reasonable case for setting up production lines in India, despite the obvious hindrances that such an operation would ordinarily pose for a foreign investor, the think-tank added.

India's latest hunt for over 100 fighter jets is the first mega procurement initiative for fighter jets after the government scrapped the process to acquire 126 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) for the IAF around five years ago.

The IAF has been pressing for expediting the process to acquire the aircraft citing declining strength of its fighter squadron as some of the ageing jets are being phased out.

Currently, the IAF has 31 fighter squadrons as against authorised strength of 42 squadrons.
The District and Sessions Judge who was scheduled to hear Salman Khan's bail plea has been transferred along with 87 others. Jodhpur Sessions Judge Ravindra Kumar Joshi who was expected to hear Khan's case has been moved out as well as Dev Kumar Khatri, the judge who gave the 5-year sentence to the actor in the blackbuck poaching case.

The actor who is currently in prison following the verdict on Thursday appealed for a bail. However, the judge asked for a record of the previous trial.

According to a report by NDTV, this reshuffling of judges is usual practice but judges in Rajasthan are usually transferred between April 15 -30 every year. It is done as per recommendations of a committee set up by the Rajasthan High Court.

On Thursday, Judge Khatri, while pronouncing the judgment said, "The way the accused killed two innocent black bucks in violation of the wildlife laws..he is a film star, people emulate him and look up to him and there has been a rise in poaching incidents, so leniency is not justified given the severity of the crime, the evidence and the circumstances."

Salman Khan was sentenced to jail term while the other accused, co-stars Saif Ali Khan, Neelam, Tabu, Sonali Bendre and a local, Dushyant Singh were acquitted due to lack of evidence. The actors were accused of killing two blackbucks while filming for Sooraj Barjatya's Hum Saath Saath Hain in 1998.

The actor is currently lodged in Jodhpur Central Jail.
Facebook-owned WhatsApp refuted reports that it is keeping track of the messages and said that it collects very little data and every message is end-to-end encrypted.

WhatsApp was responding to concerns by experts that the popular instant messaging service with over 200-million active users in India might not be as secure as being claimed. Questions were also being raised over certain provisions of the user agreement wherein most of its wrongdoings would go un-remedied and un-challenged.

WhatsApp collects very little data and every message is end-to-end encrypted. Contrary to recent comments in the media, we are not keeping track of the friends and family you have messaged, a WhatsApp spokesperson told PTI.

"The privacy and security of our users is incredibly important to WhatsApp. Invite links are an optional feature available to group administrators to be used only with trusted individuals," the spokesperson told PTI in response to a question.

The popular messaging platform, which was acquired by Facebook in 2014, has one billion users globally and is one of the most popular mediums of instant messaging in India.

In the aftermath of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, WhatsApp has come under attack from critics.

"One-to-one communication between users are encrypted and may be as secure as WhatsApp claims. But the metadata, information about the calls, is likely being mined by the company," Vivek Wadhwa, a top American technology entrepreneur and academic, told PTI a day earlier.

He also said, "WhatsApp has admitted that it is sharing information about identity and device information with Facebook, allowing it to do the dirty work in snooping on users."

Wadhwa said that the group chat feature of WhatsApp puts users at greater threat than their postings on Facebook because of the availability of mobile phone numbers.

Noting that almost one-quarter or more of the world's population is using WhatApp for free, eminent New York-based attorney Ravi Batra said that it makes money by harvesting user data and using it in conjunction with others including Facebook.

"There is an old saying: There is no free lunch. Yet, there is a new brave digital world - that is free to use, and the costs and profit of providing the free services must come from 'mining' the habits and data connected to each user," he further said.
Salman Khan has reached Mumbai after being granted bail by the Jodhpur Sessions Court on a bond of Rs 50,000 and two sureties of the same amount. The 52-year-old actor had to spend two days at the Jodhpur Central Jail after he was convicted in the blackbuck poaching case. Meanwhile, Salman fans have gathered outside the Galaxy Apartments in Bandra, where he lives, to welcome him on his return.

As the news broke, fans in Jodhpur, Mumbai and all across the country took to the streets to celebrate the verdict. However, this is not the end of the case for Khan. The next hearing will be on May 7 and the actor cannot leave the country without the court's permission. The Bishnoi community, the force behind this case has decided to appeal to Rajasthan High Court against the bail.

Bollywood star Salman Khan was sentenced to five years in prison on Thursday after the Dabangg actor was convicted of killing two blackbucks in Rajasthan. Khan has been asked to pay a fine of Rs 10,000 in the 19-year-old case as well. However, Khan's co-stars Saif Ali Khan, Tabu, Sonali Bendre and Neelam who were also accused were acquitted. Meanwhile, along with 87 other judges, Jodhpur Sessions Judge Ravindra Kumar Joshi who was set to hear Khan's case today has been transferred and so is Dev Kumar Khatri, the judge who gave the 5-year sentence to the actor in the blackbuck poaching case. According to reports, this reshuffling of judges is usual practice but judges in Rajasthan are usually transferred between April 15 -30 every year. It is done as per recommendations of a committee set up by the Rajasthan High Court. There was a lot of speculation before the hearing that the actor might not get his bail today because of this reshuffle.

The Case



While filming for the Barjatya's multi-starrer, Salman Khan along with his co-stars Saif Ali Khan, Tabu, Sonali Bendre and Neelam, along with a local, Dushyant Singh allegedly went on a hunting session and killed two of the endangered animals near Kankani village in Jodhpur. The Bishnoi community, who are known for their environmental activism was enraged by this incident and filed a case against the actors. Not only for poaching, Khan was also accused of keeping an arm with an expired arm licence. He was later acquitted of that account. Moreover, the actor was also accused of killing two chinkaras in Bhawad and one in Mathania. He was acquitted of those charges as well by the Rajasthan High Court.

Here are the LIVE updates of the bail plea hearing:

8:29pm: Salman Khan greets his fans gathered outside his Bandra house.



8:05pm: Salman fans have gathered in numbers outside in Bandra residence to get a glimpse as the 52-year-old returns home.



7:50pm: Salman Khan has touched down at Mumbai Airport. He is now en route to his home after spensing two days in the Jodhpur Central Jail.

5:49pm: Salman Khan on his way home from Jodhpur.

5:44pm: Salman Khan leaves Jodhpur prison.

5:28pm: Relatives of Jodhpur Central Jail prisoners say police isn't letting them meet their relatives inside jail. "It's for the 1st time I'm unable to meet my husband," says a woman who has come to meet her husband in jail.



Relatives of Jodhpur Central Jail prisoners say police isn't letting them meet their relatives inside jail. 'It's for the 1st time I'm unable to meet my husband',says a woman who'd come to meet her husband in jail. #SalmanKhan who was lodged in same jail would be released shortly pic.twitter.com/jlGhdgoEkT - ANI (@ANI) April 7, 2018

5:26pm: "Procedure at the jail premises is over. We are arranging security at the airport and security in transit. Once that is done, we will move him," said Amandeep Singh Kapoor, DCP (East) Jodhpur.



Procedure at the jail premises is over. We are arranging security at the airport and security in transit. Once that is done, we will move him: Amandeep Singh Kapoor, DCP (East) Jodhpur on #SalmanKhan pic.twitter.com/juiSRYPXgM - ANI (@ANI) April 7, 2018

4:24pm: "So happy for the bail of my dear brother," says singer Adnan Sami.



So happy for the bail of my dear brother @BeingSalmanKhan . Relieved. Come home. 'JAI HO!'#SalmanKhan - Adnan Sami (@AdnanSamiLive) April 7, 2018

4:14pm: "I am happy that he has got bail. After working with him so closely I have become a huge fan of him not only as an actor but also as a human being. Almost 90 percent of the shoot for 'Race 3' is over and the remaining portions will mostly be shot in India," says Remo D'Souza, director of Salman Khan's upcoming movie, Race 3.



4:02pm: "He has already been punished mentally for 20 years for his big mistakes n still waiting for justice (sic)," says filmmaker Subhash Ghai.

Thanx God

Good deeds will always pay @BeingSalmanKhan a full justice finally. He has already been punished mentally for 20 years for his big mistakes n still waiting for justice. God bless u salman @beinghuman - Subhash Ghai (@SubhashGhai1) April 7, 2018

3:48pm: "Believe in the power of justice and the God above," tweets Neil Nitin Mukesh.



And he finally gets Bail. @BeingSalmanKhan more strength to you bhai. Believe in the power of justice and the God above. #WeSupportSalmanKhan - Neil Nitin Mukesh (@NeilNMukesh) April 7, 2018

3:41pm: The road outside the Jodhpur prison has been strewn with rose petals by Salman Khan's fans.



3:38pm: According to India Today, the Bishnoi community will approach the Rajasthan High Court to appeal against bail granted to Salman Khan.



3:29pm: Fans of Salman Khan gather outside his residence in Mumbai and celebrate following Jodhpur Court's verdict in the blackbuck poaching case.

Fans of #SalmanKhan gather outside his residence in Mumbai and celebrate following Jodhpur Court's verdict in #BlackBuckPaochingCase. The Court granted him bail in the case. pic.twitter.com/STrcQuihjY - ANI (@ANI) April 7, 2018

3:26pm: "He will have to submit two bonds of Rs 25 thousand each, he cannot leave the nation without the court's permission and will have to appear here again in person on May 7," said Mahipal Bishnoi, lawyer of the Bishnoi community.



He will have to submit two bonds of Rs 25 thousand each, he cannot leave the nation without the court's permission and will have to appear here again in person on May 7: Mahipal Bishnoi, Lawyer of Bishnoi community. #BlackBuckPaochingCase pic.twitter.com/zPoAvtSL1W - ANI (@ANI) April 7, 2018

3:22pm: Police is dispersing the crowd outside Jodhpur jail.



3:21pm: The next hearing has been scheduled for May 7. Meanwhile Salman Khan will not be allowed to leave the country without the court's permission.



3:10pm: Salman Khan fans celebrate outside Jodhpur court and Jodhpur jail.



3:08pm: "The bail order must reach the jail authorities only after that will Salman Khan be released today. The bail bond takes about 20 minutes to fill out. The verification process takes about an hour after which he can be released. He could be released at about 7.30 pm," said lawyer Bharat Bhusan Sharma.



3:00pm: Salman Khan has been granted bail on surety of Rs 50,000.



Salman Khan granted bail by Jodhpur Court in #BlackBuckPoachingCase pic.twitter.com/SvtyQk1RxY - ANI (@ANI) April 7, 2018

2:55pm: "You will come out a winner," says Sonu Sood.

"The sad duty of politics is to establish justice in a sinful world" you will come out a winner my brother @BeingSalmanKhan #WeSupportSalmanKhan - sonu sood (@SonuSood) April 7, 2018

2:22pm: The order is likely to be pronounced at 3pm. Earlier around noon, the court had said it would pronounce the order after lunch.



Also read: The atonement! How Salman Khan built Being Human to help thousands



1:45pm: "Salman is one guy who is ready to take the rap. He is ready to take the rap, the blame (on himself). He is human at the end of the day. Who doesn't make a mistake? I definitely make a mistake. But when he makes a mistake, it is blown out of proportion," says actor-filmmaker Mahesh Manjrekar to PTI.

1:42pm: Sonam Kapoor extends his support to the actor.

You're the best! Always by your side! pic.twitter.com/40GrtD4afU - Sonam Kapoor (@sonamakapoor) April 7, 2018

12:17pm: "Social work is not for show. Court will only see witness, prosecution and defence," says Lalit Bora, investigating officer of the case.

11:46am: "No mobile phones or selfies are allowed, no outside food is coming inside," said a jail official.

No mobile phones or selfies are allowed, no outside food is coming inside, jail authorities are serving him food: Jodhpur Jail official on #SalmanKhan #BlackBuckPaochingCase pic.twitter.com/rzHF89mfDa - ANI (@ANI) April 7, 2018

11:24am: Defence had argued for the bail, called the witness unreliable.

Also read: Can 'Brand Salman' survive the jail term?

11:10am: The hearing is over. The verdict will be pronounced post-lunch.

Verdict will be pronounced post lunch, we have concluded our arguments: Hastimal Saraswat, #SalmanKhan's lawyer #BlackBuckPaochingCase pic.twitter.com/l6wJrGPf4f - ANI (@ANI) April 7, 2018

11:04am: Meanwhile, Prosecution has argued against the bail, citing witness accounts.

10:51am: According to reports, the judge is currently hearing both sides before taking a decision.

10:46am: The actor, as of now, has spent two nights at the jail. The bail application was filed on Friday but the judge wanted a report from the lower case.

10:44am: Judge Ravindra Joshi, who is hearing the plea met CJM Dev Khatri who sentenced Salman Khan to jail before starting the case.

10:39am: District and Sessions court judge Ravindra Kumar Joshi arrives at Jodhpur Court.

#Rajasthan: District & sessions court judge Ravindra Kumar Joshi arrives at Jodhpur Court, he will be hearing #SalmanKhan's bail plea. Khan was awarded a 5-year jail term in #BlackBuckPaochingCase. pic.twitter.com/9GsbkO6uTn - ANI (@ANI) April 7, 2018

10:38am: Eighty-seven judges in Rajasthan have been transferred under a routine shuffle, including Justice Joshi who was scheduled to hear the plea. But Justice Joshi did not recuse himself will be hearing the plea today.
SANTA ROSA  Sonoma County officials have extended until April 19 the final date for homeless people to vacate two encampments in the Roseland area of Santa Rosa.

The tent camps behind a Dollar Tree store that at one time housed as many as 100 people were to be vacated on Tuesday, but attorneys for the Homeless Action! advocacy organization challenged the countys proposed action in federal ourt.

At a hearing in San Francisco Thursday, District Court Judge Vince Chhabria proposed the Sonoma County Community Development Commission keep the camps open three more weeks. The judge said closing the encampments without replacement housing options raises constitutional questions.

The Community Development Commission owns the land occupied by the camps and wants it cleared so it can begin developing a 175-apartment unit housing project that includes affordable units.

In a response Friday to Judge Chhabrias proposal, Chief Deputy County Counsel Alegria De La Cruz said the challenge that delayed the camps closure not only caused confusion among the homeless occupants but added to the number its occupants.
Our Promise: Welcome to Care2, the world's largest community for good. Here, you'll find over 45 million like-minded people working towards progress, kindness, and lasting impact.

Care2 Stands Against: bigots, racists, bullies, science deniers, misogynists, gun lobbyists, xenophobes, the willfully ignorant, animal abusers, frackers, and other mean people. If you find yourself aligning with any of those folks, you can move along, nothing to see here.

Care2 Stands With: humanitarians, animal lovers, feminists, rabble-rousers, nature-buffs, creatives, the naturally curious, and people who really love to do the right thing.

You are our people. You Care. We Care2.
The biggest Democratic challenge involves California, where the party thinks it can win House races in as many as seven Republican-held districts, most of which Clinton carried in 2016.

But the states nonpartisan primary system complicates those prospects. In the Southern California district held by retiring Republican Representative Darrell Issa, Democratic aspirants include the man who almost defeated him last time, another candidate who was an early front-runner and two wealthy hopefuls with little experience but lots of money to spend in an expensive media market.

There are more Republican candidates, but they include local elected officials with track records of attracting votes. Its not much of a reach to imagine two Republican finalists with only a combined third of the vote.

Theres a similar worry in the Orange County district of incumbent Republican Dana Rohrabacher, who is so controversial that hes being challenged by a former chair of his own county party and a Republican state legislator. Democrats say they have a couple of candidates who could defeat Rohrabacher in a one-on-one contest, but are less confident about the mathematics of a multi-candidate race.

Democrats recently helped their cause in another potentially problematic Orange County district. There, a couple of Democratic candidates dropped out under party pressure and there now seems to be a clearer path for a top Democrat to make the runoff for a seat now held by retiring Republican Representative Ed Royce.

Albert R. Hunt is a Bloomberg View columnist. He was the executive editor of Bloomberg News, before which he was a reporter, bureau chief and executive Washington editor at the Wall Street Journal.
Photo: Summerland Equine Development Committee The Summerland Rodeo grounds are used for several equine events.

An Okanagan businessman is raising money to help improve and upgrade the Summerland Rodeo grounds.

"Its a long way from having rodeo there, but it would be great to upgrade fencing and camping facilities for equestrian events, 4-H shows and other activities," said Tim Bugera co-owner of Kelowna's OK Corral and several liquor stores in the Okanagan, including the Peacocks Perch in Summerland.

"It's a great spot with Trout Creek nearby ... many facilities like this one are being lost in the Okanagan, so it would be a good economic draw for the community."

Bugera hopes a fundraiser during the grand reopening of the OK Corral tonight will raise $500, which his company and another in Summerland would match.

Located on 70 acres, the existing facilities include a large outdoor riding arena with grandstand, a warm-up arena, clubhouse, and concession.

Some of the items on the wish list include: outdoor lighting, permanent covered stabling, camping sites with water and electricity, washrooms with showers, kitchen facilities, and an indoor riding arena.

Those wishing to help support the revitalization efforts can find out more information here.
Photo: Nick Griffiths

A U.K. man who lost three toes to frostbite in a Yukon race says he can't think of a better place for them to go than into people's drinks.

Nick Griffiths plans to donate his amputated appendages to the Downtown Hotel in Dawson City, Yukon, home of the famed Sourtoe Cocktail.

Griffiths says he spent a year training for the eight-day Yukon Arctic Ultra race, a 483-kilometre race that follows the Yukon Quest trail  one of the world's toughest sled-dog races.

He says he was disappointed to have to drop out of the race when a ranger identified frostbite on his ear, nose and fingers, but he didn't realize how bad his toes were until they were examined in hospital.

Griffiths says doctors and nurses at the Whitehorse hospital where he was treated told him about the Sourtoe Cocktail, which is a shot of alcohol of the drinker's choice along with a genuine dehydrated toe.

He's keeping the toes in a jar filled with medical-grade alcohol at home in Bolton, England, until he figures out a way to send them to Dawson City.
It may take longer to get your mail. Postal Service changing 'service standards'
All three of these moments - the wall, Syria, and tariffs - reveal Trump as the circus acrobat he's always been, captured in mid-flight this week as he tries to swing safely from one policy trapeze to another.

The president is used to being a performance artist, of course, and he relishes the role. His entire presidential campaign resembled the reality TV performances that helped salvage his faltering business career, and the historic turnover of his White House personnel echoes his signature TV line, "You're fired."

But the transition from reality TV to presidential reality is tricky for Trump because he never acquaints himself with the substance of policy issues he'd have to master if he really wanted to deliver on the grandiose, divisive promises that fueled his campaign.

Trump first leaped into the public eye decades ago on the back of what he called "truthful hyperbole," his willingness to dissemble about his business accomplishments to get good press. Playing that game instead of managing his operations effectively unwound his real estate and casino holdings in the 1990s and almost left him personally bankrupt. He would have remained a punchline had "The Apprentice" not come along in 2004 and rehabilitated him.

Trump offered voters heaps of hyperbole as he dissembled his way through the 2016 campaign. He now has the federal government, an economy, and national security to tend to - and promises to keep. Everything that follows from here will be a referendum on whether the reality TV star who glided down an escalator at Trump Tower nearly three years ago can get away with running a reality presidency.

Timothy O'Brien is the executive editor of Bloomberg Gadfly and Bloomberg View. He has been an editor and writer for the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, HuffPost and Talk magazine. His books include "TrumpNation: The Art of Being The Donald."
Is sleeping good for you? Daily naps help memory, patience, and decrease risk of heart attacks

Are naps truly necessary? Even though it might be enticing to take a short break from one's day-to-day activities, some people avoid naps because they have so many things to accomplish and there's not enough time.

However, health experts are encouraging people to reconsider the way they view naps. In fact, they believe taking short naps everyday can be beneficial to people.

For one thing, taking an hour-long nap everyday can help people remember things. A study conducted by researchers in Germany revealed that people who nap did better in remembering specific words and pairs. They conducted a simple test on participants by letting half of them take a nap while the other half watched a DVD. After, they were given a memory test and the nap group did five times better than the DVD group.

Another good case for naps is that it helps people become more patient. Researchers from the University of Michigan published a study in the journal Personality and Individual Differences and wrote that nappers were better in dealing with frustrating tasks.

Participants were tasked to draw geometric designs on a computer screen, and those who took an hour-long nap before the exercise managed to draw for 90 seconds. In comparison, those who watched a nature documentary instead of napping gave up after just 45 seconds.

Lastly, napping can actually help prevent heart disease. This is what Michael Twery of the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute told The Washington Post about a study made on 23,000 Greek adults who regularly took "siestas" or mid-day naps. The study showed that these individuals are less likely to die of a heart disease.

"Napping may help deal with the stress of daily living," he said. "Another possibility is that it is part of the normal biological rhythm of daily living. The biological clock that drives sleep and wakefulness has two cycles each day, and one of them dips usually in the early afternoon. It's possible that not engaging in napping for some people might disrupt these processes."
Mark Driscoll returns with new book 'Spirit-Filled Jesus'

Pastor Mark Driscoll is set to release another book years after allegations of plagiarism surfaced. "Spirit-Filled Jesus: Live by His Power" will hit bookshelves in October this year.

In a press release, Driscoll stated that he hatched the book based on his experience in pastoring individuals who come to him for different problems. The new book will guide readers into achieving a life centered on Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit.

"People often turn to self-help, and self-help, quite frankly, is of no help," the pastor said. "What we need is the Spirit's help. The Holy Spirit empowered the life of Jesus."

"Spirit-Filled Jesus" will also tackle his own painful experiences, as well as that of his wife, Grace. The book will delve into topics like family, relationships, emotional health, forgiveness and overcoming temptations. Charisma House will publish the book.

Driscoll's last book release was in 2013 with "A Call to Resurgence: Will Christianity Have a Funeral or a Future?" A year later, Driscoll stepped down as pastor of the Mars Hill Church in Seattle, which he co-founded in 1996, when allegations of plagiarism and bullying emerged.

Radio personality Janet Mefferd called out Driscoll for copying 14 pages of Peter Jones' book "Gospel Truth/Pagan Lies: Can You Tell the Difference?" in writing "A Call to Resurgence." The book's publisher Tyndale House, however, denied the allegations and Mefferd removed any proof of her accusations, such as her video interview with Driscoll, on her website. The Mars Hill Church also allegedly paid $200,000 so that Driscoll's book would appear on the best-seller list of the New York Times.

Following the controversy, Driscoll granted an emotional interview to reveal the details that led to the decision to leave Mars Hill. The pastor also apologized for the mistakes he made as the leader of the ministry.

Today, Driscoll is the pastor and founder of Trinity Church in Arizona. The church opened in 2016.
St. Helena police are enforcing a new ordinance aimed at keeping commercial trucks out of residential neighborhoods.

A city ordinance passed last October designates Highway 29 as a truck traffic route and requires trucks weighing over 10,000 pounds to take the most direct route from Highway 29 to their destination when delivering within the city limits.

The St. Helena Police Department is in middle of a soft rollout of the new ordinance, said Police Chief Bill Imboden. Police sent a letter to every business in town explaining the new restrictions and posted a notice on the Caltrans website.

Instead of handing out tickets, so far officers have just given truck drivers a printed copy of the pertinent parts of the ordinance.

Hopefully the word will get out and people will stop the behavior without us having to issue citations, Imboden said.

The ordinance was passed at the urging of Councilmember Geoff Ellsworth, in response to complaints about trucks using Sulphur Springs, South Crane, Valley View, Spring, Allyn, Madrona, and other residential streets to bypass heavy traffic on Highway 29.

Violators could be subject to a misdemeanor charge and a $1,000 fine.
Rick Warren on 'why some Christians find it so hard to hear God's voice?'

Ever wondered why some Christians find it so easy to hear God's voice and talk to Him, while others fail miserably? Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Church has said that Christians should be "positioned correctly" so that they can hear God speak.

"Sometimes we don't give God a chance to talk to us. We've made up our minds. We want to do what we want to do, not what God wants us to do. Our hearts are hardened, and we're unwilling to listen," he wrote on his website. "When you have a closed mind, of course He's not going to talk to you!"

But if believers really want to hear from God, they have to make some changes in their lives. Warren said these are often "mental barriers" that keep people from hearing God's voice. The first of these barriers is pride. If believers think they don't need God in their lives and want to handle things themselves, then they are probably closed off to His message.

The next barrier is fear. "A lot of people can't hear God because they're afraid to hear God speak. Maybe you think that hearing God's voice or sensing his leading makes you some kind of religious fanatic," Warren explained.

And lastly, believers have to conquer bitterness before they can properly talk to God.

"When you hold on to hurt, resentment, or a grudge, you're not going to be able to hear God, because your heart is hardened. It has grown cold and made you defensive, even to God's love," he said.

Warren encouraged people to let go of their resentments. It might be difficult, but he said that it's for their own sake. The pastor added that resentment is a self-inflicted wound that keeps people from living their best lives. By letting it go, they are not letting their oppressors off the hook but they are simply moving on with their lives.

He also reminded people that everything in life is temporary, so they need to focus on "eternal realities" - like spending eternity with God in heaven.

"Everything you see around you is temporary. The building you're in, the computer or cellphone you're staring at, and even your body will one day disappear from existence. Yet it's what you can't see around you that will last forever. And those realities are what truly matter," he said.
NEW YORK  Technology that once promised freedom from the confines of an office has, for many workers, become a ball and chain, blurring the lines between work hours and, well, any other hours. A New York City Council member wants to put a stop to that.

The proposal would bar employers from requiring employees to respond to non-emergency emails, texts and other digital communications outside regular work hours. It would also outlaw retaliating against workers who choose to unplug.

The recently introduced legislation is only in the beginning stages, with initial committee hearings expected sometime in June, and doubters wonder how it could work, especially in always-buzzing New York City.

But bill sponsor Rafael Espinal, a Democrat who represents parts of Brooklyn, said the legislation is needed because the city that never sleeps isn't supposed to be the city that never stops working.

Work has spilled into our personal lives, he said. We're always connected to our phones or to a computer once we leave the office.

It's important, he said, for people to be able to draw a clear line between the workplace and their personal lives, to give them time to connect with their family, friends, reduce their stress levels and be able to go back to work and perform at their optimal level.

The legislation would cover private companies with more than 10 employees. There would be exemptions for certain types of jobs that require people to be on call. Barring emergencies, bosses wouldn't be able to demand that workers check work emails or messages in off hours.

Companies that violated the rule would face fines of at least $250 per incident.

Espinal said he was inspired by a French law that took effect this year that gave employees the right to ignore off-hour communications.

Employers who wanted to return a communication could do so.

If you love your job and you love what you're doing, I highly doubt that you will stop working, Espinal said.

The reality, though, is that the world has become a 24/7 place, and adhering to a policy like the one Espinal is proposing would be detrimental to a company's competitiveness, said labor lawyer Louis DiLorenzo of Bond, Schoeneck & King, who has spent years representing management and employers.

The problems are going to be tremendous, DiLorenzo said. I just don't think you can legislate against progress.

He also questioned how it would be enforced, and how an emergency would be defined.

I can't think of a business that we represent that there aren't times where a lot of people wouldn't think of them as emergencies, but the client does, he said.
MADRID  Spanish and Portuguese authorities announced Friday that they have taken down a criminal network that has been making large profits by smuggling glass eels to Asia.

Authorities across the continent have been trying to tackle the smugglers, who take European glass eels to Asian countries, where they are raised into adults and their meat commands high prices for local delicacies.

The trading of the European eel has been restricted since 2009 under the rules of the CITES convention for the international trade of endangered wildlife. The European Union has banned all exports outside the bloc and regulated internal sales, although an underground black market in eels has thrived in recent years.

In the latest operation against the traffickers, four Chinese citizens, three Spaniards and three Moroccans were arrested in Spain in an operation coordinated by the European Union's police body, Europol.

Spain's Civil Guard said 1,014 pounds of glass eels were seized in southern Spain. Their market value, once the eels have grown into adults, was estimated at over $490 million.

More than 100 tons of juvenile eels evade wildlife traffic controls every year in Europe, according to Andrew Kerr, chairman of the Sustainable Eel Group.

That's nearly one fourth of the total European eel natural stock, Kerr said Friday. It's the biggest wildlife crime action in Europe, and it's hidden from everyone.

Friday's disclosure showed how the ring exported the baby eels bought in Spain through Portugal and Morocco and how the eels were concealed in suitcases or in cargo containers and sent to Hong Kong, mainland China, South Korea and other Asian countries.

Because eels can't be bred in captivity, the wriggling glass eels or elvers are usually fished and raised to maturity in aquaculture companies in Asia, where pollution, climate change and poaching has diminished stocks of the Japonica Anguilla species.
Wells Fargo & Co.s ties to the gun industry may soon be costing it business.

The American Federation of Teachers, a national union with 1.7 million members, may drop the bank as a recommended mortgage lender because of its financial involvement with gunmakers and the National Rifle Association, according to correspondence released Friday to Bloomberg News by the AFT.

Last year, Wells Fargo assisted 1,600 AFT families with home financing, Tim Sloan, the banks chief executive officer, said in his letter to the union.

If they want the mortgage market from teachers then they have to make a decision, and thats what were saying to them, AFT President Randi Weingarten said in an interview. If they decide that they still want to do that business with the NRA and gun manufacturers, then were not going to offer our members their mortgage program.

Weingarten first contacted Sloan on March 29, according to three letters made public by the union. She expressed alarm that Wells Fargo helped the two biggest U.S. firearm and ammunition companies access $431.1 million in loans and bonds since December 2012, when 20 schoolchildren and six staff members were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.

In response, Sloan said the bank valued its relationship with the teachers union.

We believe that the best way to make progress on the complex issues concerning gun violence is through the political and legislative process, Sloan wrote. He added, I do not believe that the American public wants banks to decide which legal products consumers can and cannot buy.
WASHINGTON  U.S. workers are increasingly benefiting as employers struggle to fill millions of open jobs.

More people who had given up looking for work are renewing their job hunts, more employees are confident enough to quit to look for other jobs and pay is gradually picking up.

U.S. employers added just 103,000 jobs in March, the Labor Department said Friday, the fewest in six months. And job growth in January and February was revised down by a combined 50,000.

But the unemployment rate remained 4.1 percent, a 17-year low, the government said. And the government's overall jobs report suggested that the labor market remains fundamentally healthy.

The pullback in hiring in March was likely payback in part for an explosive gain in February, economists said. Employers added 326,000 jobs that month  the largest monthly haul in two years.

Overall, looking through the volatility, employment growth is trending higher and wage growth is starting to heat up, said Paul Ashworth, an economist at Capital Economics.

The government's report also suggested that employers are trying harder to fill jobs by hiring people they might have overlooked before. That's helping people who were previously left behind.

For example, the number of long-term unemployed  people out of work for six months or longer  has fallen sharply in the past two years, to just 1.3 million. That's down from a peak of 6.8 million not long after the Great Recession ended.

For years after the recession, economists worried that long-term unemployment would leave millions of Americans without up-to-date skills, potentially unable to find work again.

More Americans are also encouraged about their job-finding prospects and have come off the sidelines to look for work. The government counts people who are out of work as unemployed only if they're actively searching for jobs.

Many employers are being forced to offer higher pay to keep and attract workers. Average hourly pay rose 2.7 percent in March compared with a year earlier, a slight pickup from February.

Michael Feroli, chief U.S. economist at JPMorgan, calculates that wages grew 3.2 percent in the first three months of the year, the biggest such gain since the recession.
Area middle school, high school and college students participated in the STEM Challenge hosted by the University of Houston Clear Lake.

A press release from the event coordinator states the purpose of the competition is "to engage and stimulate the interest of our younger generation and to overcome their insecurities about STEM fields, so that they pursue STEM careers."
West University Place Councilwoman Kellye Burke faced a class C misdemeanor charge April 4 following an alleged berating of a group of teenage girls because one them was wearing a Trump T-shirt. The Harris County Precinct One Constable's charged her with disorderly conduct.

The incident occurred March 31 at Tinys Milk & Cookies in West U as the girls said they were standing in line. It reportedly began because one of the girls was wearing a "Trump: Make America Great Again" T-shirt.

"A tall, short-haired blond woman came up to them and screamed, 'Grab em by the (expletive) girls!'" the father of one of the teenagers told www.click2houston.com. He declined to be identified for fear of retaliation against his daughter.

The man said when the group tried to laugh off the situation, Burke screamed it again and began to frighten them. He said Burke then repeated, "MAGA, MAGA, MAGA!" in reference to "Make America Great Again."

Burke has reportedly reached out to the family to apologize. A native Texan, she has lived in West U for more than a decade and was elected to the city council in May 2017. She issued a statement through her attorney April 5, which reads:

"I have repeatedly apologized for the bad judgment I used and making the statement I did, but I do not believe repeating the words of the president of the United States is a crime. However, I will apologize again on behalf of myself, the president of the United States and all the media outlets who repeated his words both electronically and in print."

In response to the incident, West U Mayor Susan Sample released the following statement:

"Thank you for reaching out about the city's position on one of its council member's actions last Saturday. The reported comments definitely do not speak for the City of West University Place's government or employees. My position as mayor, however, does not afford me any official authority with respect to matters such as this. Neither the city council nor the mayor has any authority to remove fellow council members.

"I am glad to know that this council member, who was independently elected by our city voters, is taking responsibility for her own actions and has reached out to the affected families to apologize for her remarks.

"This incident is a reminder that part of our responsibility, as elected officials, is to set a good example of civil discourse for those we represent, particularly our young people. I hope that my Council colleagues and I will move forward in that spirit in doing the work we were elected to do."
By Danielle Steel. Strangers pull together to avert a disaster involving two flights from New York to San Francisco.

2. The Punishment She Deserves: By Elizabeth George. Detectives Havers and Lynley investigate the death of a deacon accused of a serious crime in a historic medieval town in England.

3. The Great Alone: By Kristin Hannah. A former prisoner of war returns from Vietnam and moves his family to Alaska, where they face tough conditions.

4. The Rising Sea: By Clive Cussler and Graham Brown. A scientific team searches the globe for the threat causing sea levels to rise at an alarming rate.

5. The Bishops Pawn: By Steve Berry. Cotton Malone discovers revelations about the day the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated.

6. Little Fires Everywhere: By Celeste Ng. An artist upends a quiet town outside Cleveland.

7. The Woman in the Window: By A.J. Finn. A recluse who drinks heavily and takes prescription drugs may have witnessed a crime across from her Harlem townhouse.

8. The Escape Artist: By Brad Meltzer. Nola Brown, a painter and trained soldier, discovers a military secret that traces back to Harry Houdini.

9. Before We Were Yours: By Lisa Wingate. A South Carolina lawyer learns about the questionable practices of a Tennessee orphanage.

10. An American Marriage: By Tayari Jones. A newlywed couples relationship is tested when the husband is sentenced to 12 years in prison.

1. Russian Roulette: By Michael Isikoff and David Corn. Details of the 2016 presidential election, with an emphasis on Russias possible involvement.

2. Secret Empires: By Peter Schweizer. The author of Clinton Cash describes what some politicians might do to enrich themselves while in office.

3. Fire and Fury: By Michael Wolff. A journalist offers an inside account of the first year of the Trump White House.

4. Educated: By Tara Westover. The daughter of survivalists, who is kept out of school, educates herself enough to leave home for university.

5. Astrophysics for People in a Hurry: By Neil deGrasse Tyson. A straightforward, easy-to-understand introduction to the universe.

6. Ill Be Gone in the Dark: By Michelle McNamara. The late true-crime journalists search for the serial murderer and rapist known as the Golden State Killer.

7. Obama: By Pete Souza. More than 300 pictures of the former president by his White House photographer, with behind-the-scenes stories.

8. Enlightenment Now: By Steven Pinker. A case for using reason, science and humanism to counter pessimistic views of Western civilization.

9. The Last Black Unicorn: By Tiffany Haddish. The comedian recounts growing up in South Central Los Angeles and finding success after a period of homelessness.

10. In the Shadow of Statues: By Mitch Landrieu. A memoir by the mayor who called for the removal of four Confederate monuments in New Orleans.

New York Times
If Otto Penzler were an actual detective, his desk would surely be littered with expense receipts, manila photograph envelopes, overflowing ashtrays, coffee-cup rings and maybe a mugshot book he pilfered from the local PD.

Instead, the 75-year-old New Yorker is  and not just by his own admission  the worlds foremost authority on crime and detective fiction. In 1975, he founded his own publishing house, Mysterious Press, and won an Edgar Award as editor of The Encyclopedia of Mystery and Detection two years later. Two years after that he founded Mysterious Bookshop, a retail library of about 60,000 whodunits now located in Manhattans Tribeca neighborhood.

When it comes to legacy, Mr. Penzlers only wish is to be remembered as the best in the murder business, the New York Times noted last year.

Youll get no argument from him.

Once you write an encyclopedia, youre the worlds leading expert on a subject, Penzler laughs.

By his own arithmetic, Penzler has edited at least 60 mystery anthologies since that encyclopedia. His latest is The Big Book of Rogues and Villains (Vintage/Black Lizard), which  at nearly 75 stories and 900 pages  could well be the worlds bloodiest doorstop.

Published last fall, its another worthy entry in the series that began in style with 2007s The Big Book of Pulps and has since grown to include books devoted to treachery, locked-room mysteries and ghost stories. Sherlock Holmes and Jack the Ripper got one book apiece; other titles include Bloodsuckers, Coffins and Fangs.

I dont want to sound like a salesman here, but in truth theyre the biggest bargain in publishing, Penzler says. Theyre 25 dollars, and they have the equivalent of five books in them.

More Information 'The Big Book of Rogues and Villains' By Otto Penzler Vintage/Black Lizard 928 pages $25 See More Collapse

Penzler acknowledges the topic of rogues and villains, a murky area roughly bounded by larceny and murder, was a tougher sell to his editor than other books in the series. But as the saying goes, this time its personal.

I just love the idea of these clever criminals, he says. And then some of them are not that clever; theyre just vicious, but they seem to fit into the same kind of book.

A lot of the rogues are not at all villainous, Penzler adds. They may be thieves, but theyre not violent; they dont really hurt people. They frequently steal from people who are not that terrific and maybe deserve to be stolen from.

Which is not to say altruism ranks high on any of these characters list of qualities.

Quite a few of them either take a little percentage for themselves or they take all of it for themselves, Penzler chuckles. But there is a Robin Hood mentality in a lot of these stories.

Spanning the years 1824  the date of Washington Irvings The Story of a Young Robber  through 2015, Rogues and Villains includes other well-known authors Robert Louis Stevenson, Jack London, Bram Stoker, Sinclair Lewis and Perry Mason creator Erle Stanley Gardner. Modern mystery fans will smile upon seeing the work of Max Allan Collins, Donald E. Westlake, Lawrence Block and First Blood author David Morrell.

Much of the value of Rogues and Villains, though, lies in the way Penzler  who estimates he reads between 400 and 500 stories for one of these anthologies  dusts off authors whose once bright achievements have inevitably faded into history.

Those might include William Irish, pen name of Cornell George Hopley-Woolrich, whom Penzler calls arguably the greatest writer of suspense fiction of all time; late-Victorian male-female collaborators L.T. Meade and Robert Eustace; or Edgar Wallace, creator of charming lady rogue Four Square Jane.

Similarly, the book reintroduces several characters who in their day numbered among the most popular in all of fiction, although some of them underwent radical transformations. The Cisco Kid, hero beloved by 1940s-60s radio, TV, film and comic-strip audiences, actually began as a bona fide Texas outlaw created by O. Henry in 1907. Leslie Charteriss Simon Templar, aka The Saint, was in many ways as suave and resourceful as 007  which makes sense; the late Roger Moore played both characters, starting with Templar in the 1962-69 TV series.

On the other hand, Penzler notes that Maurice LeBlancs Prince of Thieves Arsene Lupin is a national hero in France whose books remain in print today. Hes also partial to A.J. Raffles, the quintessential gentleman burglar created by E.W. Hornung, who was Sir Arthur Conan Doyles brother-in-law.

Raffles, Penzler thinks, certainly should be better known.

Another of his personal favorites is American Frederick Irving Andersons Infallible Godahl, who first appeared in the Saturday Evening Post in 1913. Andersons conceit was that Godahl was so brilliant he was never even suspected of any crimes; the police and the public only learned about them through a journalist intermediary.

The police eventually were so incapable of catching whoever this mastermind criminal was that they paid him not to commit crimes, says Penzler. How cool is that?

Plenty of villains are as fascinating as they are despicable. Penzler says the best of them can be boiled down to one word: pulpy.

In order for a villain to have lasted in fiction, they have to have really big crimes in mind, he explains. World domination, taking over a government, stealing all the gold from Fort Knox. The James Bond villains are a great example of villains that have such massive egos and plans that theyre fascinating in their way.

Although the character doesnt appear in Rogues and Villains, Penzler points to Hannibal Lecter as a perfect example of contemporary villainy, saying he prefers the offstage Lecter of Red Dragon and Silence of the Lambs to his greater ubiquity in Harris later books.

I think were horrified at the absolute worst acts that any human being could conceive of, Penzler says. Were appalled and disgusted and fearful, but we still have to watch (Lecter) because hes got something that makes him compelling.

Reflecting over the eight eras and nearly 200 years covered in Rogues and Villains, Penzler says he thinks the nature of literary villainy hasnt changed quite so much as the style used to describe it. That, he thinks, has gradually grown more graphic. Audiences may also be more likely to sympathize with the characters motives, he adds.

Theyre not killing people for the sport or because theyre psychopaths, theyre killing people for a reason, says Penzler of characters such as Lawrence Blocks hit man, Keller. So we accept them and kind of find ourselves in their corner.

To wit, Penzlers choice for the most fiendish tale in his entire book is George Fielding Eliots The Copper Bowl, in which a young girl is tortured and murdered in particularly nauseating fashion. The story was originally published in December 1928, the height of the pulp-fiction era.

I talked to a guy who has written about the pulps endlessly, Penzler recalls. I was so shocked by this story that I (couldnt) believe I read it, and that it was published because it was so horrifying. And he said, In the pulp world, this is generally regarded as the most evil story ever published.

People in the 1920s and 30s were not accustomed to that kind of overt violence, he says. Were a little anesthetized to it today.
Months of infighting and legal wrangling within the Galveston County Republican Party finally ended Friday -- at least temporarily.

Party Chairman Carl Gustafson and a group of eight precinct chairs dissatisfied with his leadership came to an agreement in Galveston County Constitutional Court on Friday, days after visiting Judge Lisa Burkhalter implored the two sides to settle their differences rather than drag out a prolonged legal fight.

"I'm glad we were able to reach an agreement today," said Reese Campbell, the attorney representing three of the eight precinct chairs. "It's unfortunate that an agreement had to be reached in a courtroom instead of a meeting. Nobody wins in this situation."

Gustafson, the party chairman had accused the eight precinct chairs -- referred to as the steering committee -- of attempting a "political coup" to oust him and take control of the local GOP's bank account. He alleged that the steering committee called an unauthorized meeting in November with the intention of amending the county party's bylaws to remove him as chair.

The steering committee countered that Gustafson was trying to use the court to enrich himself and that he has no individual right to control the bank account since the account is in the name of the Galveston County Republican Executive Committee.

In response to the infighting, Moody National Bank filed a lawsuit in February against the Galveston Party Executive Committee, of which Gustafson is the chairman, asking the court to declare who had legal rights to the party's bank account.

The agreement, which came after several hours of closed-door negotiations between Todd, Campbell and Tom Dickens, the attorney representing the other five precinct chairs, will stay the case until July 16, and keep the existing relationship with Moody National Bank in place - meaning that Gustafson will remain in control of the party funds - until the new party term begins in June.

The precinct chairs also agreed to take no action on the county party bylaws until the new term starts, at which point the bylaws can be rewritten and ratified by the party, including Gustafson, who was re-elected as chairman in the March primary. All eight of the precinct chairs in the steering committee will be seated in the next party term, except for Janis Lowe, who was defeated in the primary. Another, Kathy Rogers, will enter a runoff election against Kevin Holland II in May.

The parties, including Moody Bank, also agreed to dissolve the lawsuit if the agreement is not violated by either side by July 16, and that all parties would bear their own costs and attorney fees.

"What everyone's trying to do is restore the party back how it should be, so it can conduct business the way it was intended to be conducted  for the betterment of the party," said Alton Todd, Gustafson's attorney. "Hopefully, everybody can put their disagreements behind them. I'm confident this group can."

And yet while the legal battle subsided, the lingering tension in the courtroom was palpable. As soon as the agreement was announced and the hearing adjourned, Gustafson walked out of the courtroom without speaking or looking at the precinct chairs sitting across the room.

When asked whether he was pleased to put the party turmoil behind him, Gustafson gave a clipped response.

"I feel fine with it," he said. "I signed it."

Alicia Youngblood, one of the precinct chairs on the steering committee, sounded less convinced that the two sides could move forward. Youngblood said that while removing Gustafson as chairman "would have made things more smooth," she was satisfied with the agreement struck on Friday.

"We can move forward and continue our business as a Republican Party in Galveston County, and I think we're gonna be fine," Youngblood said. "I think it might be difficult, maybe. We'll see."

Youngblood added that there were still many outstanding issues to sort out before July 16.

The party has a tentative meeting scheduled for April 24, but it's unclear if the eight precinct chairs that challenged Gustafson will be allowed to attend per the terms of the agreement. There is also the matter of writing new bylaws for the new party term, which is what started the dispute in the first place.

But when asked whether he would welcome the precinct chairs back into the fold, Gustafson struck a different tone.

"I would love to be able to do that," Gustafson said. "I always have an open door and I'm always open to resolving differences."

Nick Powell covers Galveston County for the Chronicle. Follow him on Twitter and send him tips at nick.powell@chron.com
Pastor Leo Tyler was actively seeking a challenge when he was assigned to a new position at Bear Creek United Methodist Church.

He ended up getting more than he bargained for when, seven weeks later, Hurricane Harvey struck. The 54-year-old pastor and his congregants rose to the occasion, organizing a massive relief effort, one that continues to provide services today. Tyler credits his congregation for its generosity and hard work in a time of need.

I just happened to be there to coordinate, Tyler said. This is a network of heroes.

Tyler was welcomed to the congregation, located at 16000 Rippling Water Drive, with a July 4 weekend celebration. The church was preparing for its 40th anniversary celebration. In that history, Tyler was its first black senior pastor.

A few weeks later, Tyler was watching the weather, as Harvey roared to the coast. He canceled services on Sunday, Aug. 27. By Monday morning, Tyler still could not get out of his house. But his phone had been ringing all weekend, with people asking if they could shelter in the church. Around 40 families in the church lost their homes.

Tyler opened the doors to his church for his congregation and area residents to take refuge. While stuck in their home, Tyler and his wife served as a call center for those in need. Church member Wendi Perez organized rescues.

We rallied the troops, and Wendi was our boots on the ground, Tyler said. As we were getting reports, Wendi would find someone with a boat, with a truck. She jumped on it like it was her job.

Once Tyler was able to return to the church, he turned it into a distribution center for supplies, toys, snacks and personal items. In addition, the church partnered with the Houston Food Bank and MESA-Outreach to serve meals. Volunteers delivered food in the neighborhood as well.

Bear Creek United Methodist opened its nursery on Saturdays to provide free child care. Church member Al Balboni started organizing work crews, and congregants headed out to the neighborhood to muck out and gut homes.

You know how when you face trouble, all at once, you become stronger than you thought you were? Tyler said. Thats exactly what happened. These guys went all day for several weeks.

The calls continue to come in, and Bear Creek United Methodist hasnt stopped responding. The church has a goal of returning 30 families to their homes by May.

Anne Mosk has known Tyler for 10 years. He was her pastor at First Methodist before he went to Bear Creek, and she followed him there, becoming a regular at his weekly sermons.

She has been impressed with the churchs outreach for Harvey relief.

Theyre so active, and its not just one of them, its all of them, she said.
March 23

An officer was dispatched to the 2600 block of Robinhood in reference to a burglary of a habitation, which had already occurred.

An Officer was dispatched to the 1200 block of Old Spanish Trail to meet with a Harris County Precinct 6 Constable Deputy who had an individual (Diego Gonzalez) in custody for open warrants with the City of West University Place Police Department. The subject was transported to the West University Jail and booked on the warrants without incident.

March 24

An Officer observed a vehicle traveling southbound in the 5400 block of Buffalo Speedway with its registration lamps out. The Officer initiated a traffic stop and upon further investigation, the driver confessed to having marijuana inside of the vehicle. The driver subsequently was issued a citation for No Driver's License and enrolled in a Misdemeanor Marijuana Diversion Program.

Officers responded to a theft call at the 4000 block of Bellaire Blvd, The store's loss prevention officer observed a subject (Xavier Thomas) shoplift items, walk out and then board a Metro bus. Officers located the Metro bus and the suspect with the merchandize inside. The Officers detained the subject and returned him to the area where he was positively identified and taken in to custody for Theft.

March 25

At 12:53 pm, a Police Officer spoke with a victim, in the 4100 block of Bissonnet, in reference to a theft, which had already occurred.

Officers were dispatched to a theft call at the 4000 block of Bellaire Blvd. The store's loss prevention officer observed a subject (Justin Stephens) shoplift items. Officers located the suspect walking eastbound in the 3900 block of Grammercy. The Officers detained the subject and returned him to the area where he was positively identified. The subject was subsequently arrested for the offense of Theft with 2 or more previous convictions.

At 9:25 PM, an officer was dispatched to the 4400 block of Bissonnet to meet with a Bellaire Police Department officer who had a subject in custody with outstanding warrants with the City of West University Place and Houston Police Department. The subject was taken into custody without incident and booked on the warrants.

March 26

An Officer was dispatched to the 4600 block of Beechnut St. to meet with a City of Bellaire Police Department Officer who had a subject in custody for open warrants with the City of West University Place Police Department. The subject was transported to the West University Jail and booked on the warrants without incident.

Officers were dispatched to a Forgery in Progress in the 5600 block of Kirby. Bank employees were reporting that a suspect was inside the bank, attempting to cash a fraudulent check. Officers arrived and confirmed information from bank employee, and suspect was detained.

An officer was dispatched to the West U PD Lobby to see a complainant in reference to lost property.

March 27

At 10:56 a.m., an officer was dispatched to the West U PD Lobby to see the complainant/victim in regard to theft that already occurred.

At 4:29 pm, an officer was dispatched to the West U PD Lobby in reference to found property.

Officers were dispatched to a subject down in the 5600 block of Auden. Officers located the subject and found her to be intoxicated. A family member responded to the scene to take custody of the subject. The female was cited for Public Intoxication.

March 28

An officer observed a vehicle stopped in a moving lane of traffic in the 2600 block of Albans. After further investigation the occupant was arrested for Public Intoxication.

An officer was dispatched to the West U PD Lobby in regards to an identity theft report.

At 5:12 pm, an officer was dispatched to the West U PD Lobby in regards to an identity theft report.

Officers were dispatched to the 6500 block of Brompton to investigate the report of a homeless subject being inside a vacant house. When officers arrived they learned the subject had fled the scene and left several personal items behind. When the owner of these items was contacted, it was learned they had been lost the previous day. The items were returned and the remaining property was stored.
On the palm-lined grounds of a mansion near San Diego, the sun rose one morning upon a grim tableau in the courtyard. "Unspeakable and crazy," a man who saw it would later tell a courtroom. It seemed to defy explanation.

Rebecca Zahau, who lived in the Coronado mansion with her boyfriend, was hanging from a balcony, naked and dead. There was a T-shirt in her mouth. Red rope curled around her neck; other strands bound her feet and her wrists behind her back.

Flecks of black paint dotted the 32-year-old's body, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported. Inside the guesthouse, someone had used the same paint to write on a door: "She saved him can you save her."

If the circumstances of Zahau's death in 2011 were hard to understand, the official explanation for it a few months later proved impossible to accept for many - especially her relatives and spectators who treated the investigation like a game of Clue.

Zahau had done it all herself, the San Diego County Sheriff's Department and medical examiner announced. The T-shirt, the message, the hanging, everything. She had been depressed and especially distraught for two days before her death - after her boyfriend's 6-year-old son fell from a staircase in the same mansion, sustaining injuries that would kill him.

Police have never wavered from that conclusion. And yet seven years later, the case continues to resist explanation. On Wednesday, a jury in a wrongful-death suit decided that authorities were wrong.

Zahau did not kill herself, the civil jury said. She was killed by the man who found her body.

That man is Adam Shacknai, a Mississippi riverboat captain who was visiting with his wealthy brother and Zahau at their mansion in July 2011.

The reasons for Shacknai's visit were not pleasant. His brother's young son had fallen from a staircase landing on July 11, the Union-Tribune reported, and was slowly dying in a hospital.

Zahau picked Shacknai up from the airport the day after the fall, according to the newspaper. That evening, the two left Jonah Shacknai at the hospital and returned to the mansion.

Adam Shacknai would later say they parted ways upon arrival: that he slept alone in the guesthouse and found Zahau hanging in the courtyard as he walked outside to grab a coffee the next morning, July 13.

"I got a girl hung herself in the guesthouse," he told a 911 dispatcher, the Union-Tribune wrote. "It's on Ocean Boulevard across from the hotel - the same place you just came and got the kid yesterday."

Shacknai stood on a table and cut Zahau down with a kitchen knife, which to police explained why a knife lay near her body when they arrived.

Investigators would later discover traces of menstrual blood on the knife's handle, the Union-Tribune wrote. But an autopsy had found the same between Zahau's legs.

Detectives found no sign of trauma or a struggle, no blood or bruising that could not be explained by a woman who noosed herself, gagged herself, bound her own hands and feet and jumped off a balcony.

The sheriff announced her death as a suicide in September 2011.

A few days later, the department had to release a second statement:

"The interminable allure of this tragedy by a small faction of the media only prolongs the unspeakable loss shared by two families," it said.

But it wasn't only a small faction of the media that was second guessing the police.

The case was a sensation. Multipart Reddit threads obsessed over every stray detail in the saga - every contradictory quote in a newspaper, and line of background conversation in 911 audio. The sheriff's department, under constant public pressure, created a web page devoted entirely to the concluded investigation. This only provided more fodder for amateur detectives.

Finally, the Tribune wrote, it was Zahau's mother, sister and their lawyers who convinced a jury the police got it wrong.

The wrongful death lawsuit against Adam Shacknai, which went to court last month, was in some ways nearly as strange and macabre as the scene at Zahau's death.

Her family's attorney openly accused Shacknai of "murder" in closing arguments this week, the Associated Press reported: of beating her around the head, sexually assaulting her with the knife handle, strangling her to death and staging the hanging.

As photographed by the Union-Tribune, a family lawyer even recreated the woman's hanging inside the courtroom - complete with a naked mannequin and a replica of the bizarrely painted bedroom door: "She saved him can you save her."

In contrast, the paper reported, a sheriff's detective testified, "There is no suggestion of a homicide in this case. None."

Forensics experts and official autopsy reports backed him up.

Shacknai testified, himself, rebutting the family's allegations: "I was never in the house. . . . I never hit Rebecca on the head or anywhere else. . . . I never tied her up."

Zahau had suffered molestation and domestic abuse in her life, a psychologist testified for the defense, and was depressed even before her boyfriend's son fell from the landing.

The child's fall was "the straw that broke the camel's back," the psychologist said, according to the Union-Tribune. Zahau performed CPR on him and thought at first she saved his life - but was then asked not to visit him as his condition worsened in a hospital, lest she upset the child's mother.

Shortly before Zahau's death, the Union-Tribune reported, her boyfriend called her to tell her the child would likely not recover, possibly tipping her toward her dramatic suicide.

On Wednesday, however, the jury decided 9 to 3 that Shacknai had intentionally battered Zahau and caused her death. Unlike criminal trials, civil trial jury decisions in California only require three-quarters of the jurors to agree.

No explanation was given for how they reached the decision, but Shacknai was ordered to pay Zahau's family $5 million "for the loss of her love and companionship," the Associated Press reported.

"Shacknai hung his head as the verdicts were being read," the newspaper wrote.

After the decision was announced, the San Diego County Sheriff's Department released a statement standing by its conclusions but also offering to meet with the family "to look at any new evidence that came out of the civil trial."

The dead woman's sister, Mary Zahau-Loehner, stood in front of reporters outside the courtroom and wept.

"She was murdered, and she doesn't deserve to be treated the way the sheriff's department treated her," Zahau-Loehner said. "For seven years, we had to fight to just prove that she didn't commit suicide. It's been a long time."
A 31-year-old Houston nurse was beaten and stabbed in the arm after being called a "sand n**ger" among other racial and religious slurs Thursday night, a Muslim civil rights advocacy group and Harris County Sheriff's Office reported Friday.

The victim, who wore a hijab or Islamic headscarf, was driving home from work at the North Cypress Medical Center when she was almost sideswiped by a red SUV, the Houston chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations said in a news release.

When the victim pulled over into a parking lot on Huffmeister Road and got out of her car to check for damage, the driver of the red SUV made a U-turn and also pulled over. The driver, whom the victim described to police as a white male with tattoos, shouted "oh my God, it's a raghead," "it's a f**king raghead," and called the nurse a "sand n**ger" and "desert monkey."

The woman attempted to get back inside her car but the passenger side door was locked, allowing the attacker to wave a knife in her face and hit her with the weapon's handle on her shoulder and arms, CAIR said.

TEXAS POLICE VID: 'That's why we keep having to hit you'

"A person who was riding in the alleged attacker's SUV got out of that vehicle and tried to restrain him, but not before the Muslim nurse was stabbed in the arm, severing an artery and resulting in loss of blood, some of which got on the attacker," CAIR said. "The attacker's companion convinced him to get back in his SUV and they left the scene, while the victim returned to her hospital and had the artery cauterized and the wound stitched."

CAIR said the alleged attacker is described as a white male, 20 to 35 years of age with tattoos on his arms and neck. A more detailed description provided to the Harris County Sheriff's Office said the attacker was 5 feet 8 inches tall, about 175 pounds with a thin build, dark hair and wearing a white t-shirt and dark colored pants.

Police said the man with the attacker was of unknown height and hair color, thin build, wearing a white t-shirt and dark colored pants.

Anyone with any information is asked to call HCSO at 713-221-6000.

This is a developing story.

See the hate groups that are active in Texas above.

Fernando Ramirez is a reporter for Chron.com and the Houston Chronicle. You can follow him on Twitter at @fernramirez93.
A man who attempted to kidnap a young child at the Houston Zoo was shadowing the group prior to the abduction attempt, Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo said Friday.

A class of young children was on a field trip at the zoo Tuesday when the attempted abduction happened. A chaperone, who was overseeing a group of four children on the field trip, had to run after one child who abruptly ran away.

OUT: GOP Rep. Farenthold resigns from Congress

As the chaperone was chasing down the rogue child, the man swooped in and attempted to take one of the remaining three children but failed, Acevedo said.

The targeted child did not immediately come forward to the chaperone but instead opened up to parents at home that night. The parents called police the next day, Acevedo said.

"At the end of the day, we're happy this child was not taken," Acevedo said. "We need to bring this person to justice."

The suspect, who did not have a child with him, was seen on surveillance video following the group of children around the zoo before the abduction attempt, Acevedo said. He said anyone in charge of children should always be aware of their surroundings.

"It happens this fast," Acevedo said, snapping his fingers. "When you're in public spaces with your child or with young children, you really have to pay attention."

The suspect is described as a male about 5 feet, 8 inches tall, weighing approximately 155 pounds.

Anyone with information about the abduction attempt can call Houston Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS (8477).

Jay R. Jordan is a breaking news reporter at Chron.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JayRJordan.
Oak Ridge North City Council Member Alex Jones, 48, says he has always been the type of person who enjoys helping and serving others.

The former Navy man who has lived in the city of Oak Ridge North for more than a decade is running for his second-term as the Council Place 3 seat representative. Jones is running against challenger Martha Stedifor, and he said he wants to serve another term because he wants to continue serving his community.

Jones, who said he never really had political aspirations before he began his career as council member, started attending city council meetings in mid-2014. After becoming interested in "hot-button issues" such as mobility in the city, where he described Robinson Road as a "parking lot," he realized he enjoyed listening to residents and council members discuss ways to find solutions.

Jones said he grew interested in how the city would eventually fix the traffic congestion that tormented residents as they drove through Robinson and Hanna Roads.

"I became interested in seeing how the city was going to deal with this," Jones said. "I liked hearing what the council was saying and hearing both sides of an argument."

Challenging claims made by Stedifor regarding the city's debt, Jones said that they city has not taken on debt since 2013, when the city pulled a loan to pay for roads and intersection repairs. Since then, Jones claims that the city has paid down its debt by nearly $1.9 million in the last four years.

The debt owed by the city is a result of poor financial planning by the city officials who had not made any attempt to save any funds for future repairs, Jones said.

Jones said he initially took on a role in the city serving as a member of the Oak Ridge North Planning & Zoning Board where he felt he could make the most difference. He said he was heavily involved in board decisions involving restructuring broad neighborhood rules that left much up for assumption during the four to six months he served.

Shortly before he ran unopposed for the council in 2016, he was asked to fill a vacant seat on the Economic Development Corporation Board.

As a council member, Jones has been involved in handling drainage issues following multiple rain events in Oak Ridge North that caused ponding and some flooding in neighborhoods across the city.

Jones, a University of North Texas graduate, has been married for 13 years and has three children, all of whom attend Oak Ridge High School feeder schools.

Jones currently sits on the EDC Board. He started serving in the military in 1991 and was honorably discharged in 1993.
Martha Stedifor, a 12-year resident of Oak Ridge North, spent a portion of her life teaching community college students how to estimate blueprints.

Stedifor, who is challenging incumbent Alex Jones for the Oak Ridge North City Council Place 3 seat, said after attending many council meetings and gaining an understanding of how her community operates, she's ready to make decisions for the city of roughly 4,000 residents. She also wants to help residents learn more about their community.

Through one-on-one campaigning and reaching out to residents via social media, Stedifor said she's able to gauge what most concerns the community.

The biggest issues plaguing the city, in her opinion, are declining property values due to widening roadways, mobility, safety and transparency in government.

Stedifor also claims city officials don't provide enough information about major decisions to residents.

While Stedifor may have grown up in Dallas, she has lived in North Houston for the majority of her life.

The rustic beauty of pine trees that cover much of The Woodlands is originally what attracted Stedifor to the area. The close-knit community is why she said she has made Oak Ridge North her home. She said she wants to keep it the way it is.

"I want to keep Oak Ridge North as the bedroom community it's always been," Stedifor said in a recent interview with The Villager. "I don't want super highways. I don't want commercial property at the back. I want it to be like the people want it to be. People brought their homes here for a reason."

If elected, Stedifor said the first thing she'll do when she's in office is take a deep dive into the city's finances and then restructure the budget.

"So first thing is just to fix the budget," Stedifor said. "We have taxes coming in. We have a lot of different money that comes into the city and (we) need to be able to follow that money. Know where it's coming from and going in what particular part of the budget."

Stedifor claims the city is building "mounting debt" by constructing roadways previously voted down by residents of Oak Ridge North.

Stedifor was married for 25 years before her husband died in 2003. She has two daughters and four grandchildren.

Stedifor spent most of her working years in either construction or accounting. Most recently, she taught classes for eight years at Lone Star College, where she helped students understand the ins and outs of estimating blueprints among other things.
The Woodlands Waterway Arts Festival had a drizzly start Saturday morning, but that didn't prevent attendees who braved the wet and cold weather from viewing the variety of artworks on display.

From metalwork and sculptures to digital and hand painted pieces, the arts festival offers something for all tastes.

Artist Edward Loedding, of Brandon, Vermont, is a digital painter. This is the first year Loedding has showcased his work at the festival, pieces which feature lifelike white floral designs. Loedding's work is on display in booths 129 and 130.

"This is something I call visual choreography. It's a digital process that includes photo montage, digital painting and printing with a one-of-a-kind printer that prints with paint. The migration from painting in oils to painting digitally was to find a way to create where I could be changing and moving everything throughout the process because I consider it a visual dance," Loedding explained. "So placing all of those movements precisely was very critical to me."

Loedding said his inspiration comes from the idea that human beings have the capability to experience beauty.

"What inspires me is the knowledge that we have the physiological tools to experience life beautifully and wonderfully, and artwork is the path that can teach us how to get there," Loedding said.

Greg Robertson, of Rock Steady Designs in New Mexico, brought natural, hand carved stone water features to the festival.

"This is all hand carved stone from Arizona and New Mexico. They're all water features. Every piece is unique. Every piece is individually made and designed," Robertson said. "I do all the designs. We fabricate all of the basins and everything in house and then I do all the installations the week after the show."

Robertson said he lets the rock patterns influence his sculpting decisions, such as carving designs or letting the rock striations make their own statement.

"Nature definitely inspires me-the more natural looking rocks. I'm cutting those stones out of the slabs and sort of seeing what I end up with, and I'm fine tuning that. As far as the more sculptural pieces, the inspiration is the color and the shape of the stone. Some stones lend themselves to more graphic work and other stones lend themselves to more shaping," Robertson explained. "If the stone's busier and has more striations in it, I won't tend to put so much graphic work. If it's more uniform in color, then I'll tend to do more artistically."

Robertson has been showing at the festival for four years. His artwork can be found at booths 117 and 118.

Locally-based artist Suzanne Seiler said she also draws inspiration from nature.

"Nature is beautiful. You can't get anymore beautiful than what God created," Seiler said.

Although The Woodlands resident has been to the festival before, this is the first time Seiler attended as a vendor. Her art falls into the mixed media 2D category and features paper mosaics of birds and flowers. She is displaying her work in booth 149.

"This is fine paper mosaics. It's a technique that I created about six years ago. I take all papers of different colors and different textures, and cut each one to precision and create a picture much like a tile mosaic. After it's all cut to precision, I take and put a glaze over each individual tile so that it captures the light and makes them look like tile on glass mosaics," Seiler explained.

Another Texan artist, Mychal Mitchell, of Austin, takes festival attendees on a trip to 14th-century Europe and earlier with her ancient bookbinding skills.

"I'm a bookbinder. I make leather journals and photo albums. It's an old Italian style of binding that monks used to do in Venice several centuries ago. They're leather with papers stitched directly into the leather with hemp twine and then the closures that I do is different than the way they did them centuries ago. I use door hinges from the 1880s and ice box hinges with padlocks. They're my little special touch," Mitchell said. "I was just making them for fun for friends while I was studying in grad school and ended up making a living doing it, so I just kept doing it."

Mitchell has been a regular vendor at the arts festival since its inception. Her work can be found at booth 409.

The Woodlands Waterway Arts Festival runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday at Town Green Park. The weather forecast calls for mostly sunshine and temperatures in the mid-50s that will slowly rise into the mid-60s in the afternoon.
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Chicago Tonights Vinicky to present Marmaduke lecture

by Pete Rosenbery

CARBONDALE, Ill.  Amanda Vinicky, a correspondent and segment host with WTTW-TVs Chicago Tonight, will present the Virginia Marmaduke Scholarship Lecture next week at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.

Vinicky will discuss Contemporary Journalism at 7 p.m., Thursday, April 12, in Lawson Hall, Room 101. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Amanda understands the necessity for journalists to have a multimedia skill set and shes a great example of a young journalist who has already built a significant reputation in the field, Deborah Tudor, interim dean of the College of Mass Communication and Media Arts, said. Shes a great role model for our students.

Has covered Illinois state politics for more than a decade

Vinickys primary focus is on Illinois government and politics. Prior to joining Chicago Tonight in 2017, she covered Illinois government and state politics for a decade as statehouse bureau chief for NPR and the Illinois Public Radio network.

The Springfield Business Journal recognized her as one of its 40 under 40 outstanding young professionals in Springfield in 2016.

Actively uses social media to augment her reporting

H.D. Motyl, interim chair of the Department of Radio, Television, and Digital Media, said Greg Petrowich, WSIU executive director, watched Vinicky at work in Springfield earlier this year and was impressed with her simultaneous use of numerous media platforms.

Besides typing notes, she was tweeting, hitting up Facebook and still staying on top of the address, Motyl said. I thought she would be a great person for our students to meet and learn more on how she works.

Shes young, a very active journalist in the state, and shes hip to social media and how to use it, Motyl said.

Vinicky earned a masters degree in Public Affairs Reporting from the University of Illinois Springfield and bachelor degrees in political science and journalism from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Will meet with Marmaduke scholars while on campus

Vinicky will also have lunch with present and future Marmaduke scholars while she is at SIU. The scholars include:

Dakota Holden, sophomore, radio, television and digital media

Abbey La Tour, senior, journalism

Kerkyra Sacketos, senior, radio, television, and digital media

Jordan Taylor, senior, radio, television, and digital media

Michael Thornton, sophomore, radio, television, and digital media

Isaac White, senior, radio, television, and digital media

Lecture and scholarship honors journalism icon

The lecture honors the late Virginia The Duchess Marmaduke, a Southern Illinois native and groundbreaking Chicago journalist. A native of Carbondale who spent much of her later life in Pinckneyville, Marmaduke died in November 2001 at age 93.

The Marmaduke lecture series is the result of a $1.22 million gift from Marmadukes estate  the largest gift in SIUCs College of Mass Communication and Media Arts history. The gift funds the Virginia Marmaduke Mass Communication and Media Arts Endowed Scholarship, along with a lectureship and media center activities research also named in her honor.
BRAZORIA - This little coastal-bend town between two rivers calls itself the cradle of Texas, with good reason. Jane Long, Stephen F. Austin, Sam Houston, James Fannin, Mirabeau B. Lamar, Dr. Anson Jones and William Barret Travis all spent time in the area during the early decades of the 19th century. If you were a war dog or a crazeorian, as agitators for Texas independence were labeled, chances are you did your plotting in Brazoria.

I was poking around Brazoria County a few days ago, looking for information about Mary Austin Holley, Austins favorite cousin, when I came across an early Brazorian barely known beyond the county, even though she certainly deserves to be. I found her - found a life-sized mannequin of her, that is - at the Brazoria Historical Museum.

Dr. Sofie Herzog practiced medicine in Brazoria from the 1890s into the early years of the 20th century. A general practitioner and the first woman to serve as head surgeon for a major American railroad, she wore a necklace of 24 bullets she had extracted from Brazoria-area gunshot victims. The necklace was her good-luck charm, she said.

Her bullet-extracting technique was unique. Instead of probing the wound with a finger, potentially causing further injury and infection, she positioned the victim in such a way that gravity would bring the bullet to her within 24 hours. For an abdominal wound, for example, she would suspend her patient a couple of inches above the bed. She reported to a medical conference that every one of her first 17 patients were up and about by the 12th day, ready to shoot or be shot at any time.

This fascinating woman was born Sofia Deligath, the daughter of a physician, in Vienna, Austria, in 1846. At age 14, she married another prominent Vienna physician, Dr. Moritz Herzog, and the couple had 15 children, including three sets of twins. Eight died in infancy.

In 1886, Moritz Herzog accepted a position at the United States Naval Hospital in New York City, and his wife, between the many births and deaths, somehow found time to study medicine in New York. She returned to Vienna for further study and earned a medical degree from the University of Graz. She practice medicine for nine years in Hoboken, N.J. Her husband died in about 1895.

The Herzogs' youngest daughter, Elfriede Marie, met a Brazoria merchant named Randolph Prell, who was visiting relatives in Philadelphia, where she was teaching school. The two were married in Hoboken in 1894. Sofie Herzog decided to join them in Brazoria, where, at 49, she resumed her medical practice. Three years after coming to Texas, she became the first female member of the South Texas Medical Association and in 1903 was elected vice-president of the organization.

She was a character, almost a caricature, says Dortha Pekar, a local historian and retired Brazoria librarian. Pekar has researched Herzogs life for more than 30 years and keeps her memory alive by impersonating the good doctor for school groups, civic organizations and Texas history enthusiasts. Pekar says she knows Dr. Sofie so well her presentations are stream-of-consciousness monologues.

It took a while for the locals to grow accustomed to the newcomer. They werent used to women doctors, particularly women doctors who cut their hair short, wore a mannish, wide-brimmed hat and favored a tailor-made split skirt when she made house calls astride a horse. One of three physicians in town, she eventually became known, affectionately, as Dr. Sofie.

She saw patients from all walks of life, regardless of skin color. She wasnt just a good doctor; she was a good person, a 106-year-old black man who had known her told Pekar some years back.

With railroads knitting the state together in the early 1900s, Dr. Sofie began treating workers laying track in South Texas for the St. Louis, Brownsville and Mexico Railway. Their work was hard and dangerous, and Dr. Sofie frequently got called out to repair broken legs, smashed limbs and other hazards of the trade. Local railroad officials relied on her, and when the position of chief surgeon opened up, they readily endorsed her application. She got the job - until bigwigs in the St. Louis home office ruled it was no job for a lady. They insisted she resign.

She refused. When Pekar channels Herzog, she has her saying: I was a woman when you hired me, and nothing has changed in that respect since. The officials backed down, and she remained chief railroad surgeon until a few months before her death at age 79.

During her 30 years in Brazoria, Dr. Herzog operated a drugstore in connection with her medical practice, concocting many of her own medicines. She built a hotel, the Southern, which became Brazorias social center. She bought and sold real estate. After getting into a dispute with a priest over the neglected Catholic cemetery, she built Brazorias Episcopal Church.

She had her own way of doing things, Pekar told me, the homemade Herzog mannequin sitting at her desk and perhaps listening in on our conversation.

Her 24 bullets, strung between gold links by a Houston jeweler, wasnt her only eccentricity. The drugstore that fronted her office and the office itself became a museum filled with her various collections. She collected walking sticks, carved and painted in many shapes and colors, from around the world. She was an avid hunter, and on the walls were stuffed birds, a javelina head and antlers. Animal-hide rugs covered the floors. She skinned, dried and mounted rattlesnake skins on wide, red-satin ribbons, and her doctors kit rested on alligator feet.

She also collected malformed fetuses from miscarriages she attended and kept them in bottles on her office shelves. Her collection, including a new-born with two heads and three arms, went to John Sealy Hospital in Galveston after her death.

In 1913, Herzog married Col. Marion Huntington, a twice-widowed plantation owner. He was 70, she 67. They lived on his plantation, Ellersly, 7 miles from Brazoria, and she commuted to work each day in her Ford runabout, the first in the area. She also was one of the first Brazorians to own a telephone.

Following a paralytic stroke, Dr. Sofie died in a Houston hospital on July 21, 1925. She was laid to rest wearing her bullet necklace.
U.S. Rep. Al Green on Friday proposed legislation to make it easier for deported immigrants with American families to legally return, speaking at a news conference with the family of Jose Escobar, a Houston man whose deportation last year became emblematic of President Donald Trumps tough immigration policies.

This family has been torn apart by the government, said Green, a Houston Democrat. This bill would allow the Escobars of this country to return without the enormous amount of red tape.

Escobar, who participated in the press conference via computer from his aunts house in El Salvador, qualifies for a green card through his American wife, Rose. But congressional prohibitions keep immigrants who have been here without authorization from returning legally for as long as 10 years.

The legislation, co-sponsored by Illinois Democrat Luis Gutierrez, would allow immigrants with spouses or children who are U.S. citizens to apply for readmission without being subject to the bans.

His son Walter, 8, joined the press conference, reaching out to touch his mother when she cried and vowing to stay strong.

Even when this family is broke, well still keep fighting, the boy said.

The legislation stands little chance of passing in the current political climate. Lawmakers in Washington have been unable to reach agreement on any immigration policy, not even on protecting young immigrants who came here illegally as children, an idea that largely has bipartisan support.

And on Friday, the Trump administration further ramped up its crackdown on immigration, announcing a zero-tolerance policy of criminally prosecuting all those who cross the border illegally.

Though simply being here without authorization is a civil offense, improper entry is a federal misdemeanor. But most federal prosecutors limit which migrants they prosecute, because the sheer volume of offenders requires enormous resources, both in time and expense.

The new practice would swell already overburdened federal dockets at the border and revives a controversial program known as Operation Streamline that started in Del Rio more than a decade ago.

Read more:Trump pressing for mass criminalization of illegal border crossers

Deported with $20

Green said he understood that passing his proposed legislation would be difficult, and likely would take time. But he said many on Capitol Hill felt similarly compassionate about constituents like Escobar who qualify to legally remain here but are caught in a Catch-22.

By law, they must apply for their green cards at U.S. embassies in their countries of birth. But as soon as they leave, they are prevented from coming back by the 3- and 10-year restrictions that punish those who have ever been here illegally, no matter how briefly.

Im used to providing for my family, Escobar, 32, said through the shaky Internet connection. Its hard for me because Im away from my kids. Its been a year and a lot of things have changed.

Escobar was one of the first immigrants to be deported after Trump took office and announced everyone here illegally would be a priority for deportation. During the last two years of his administration, President Barack Obama, who removed a record number of immigrants, had focused instead on those who were criminals or had recently arrived here.

Read more: Deported immigrant trying to adjust to life alone in the foreign land of his birth

Escobars case made headlines across the country.

He came here from El Salvador as a teen, following his mother to Houston when he was 13 and qualifying for a temporary protected status for residents of certain countries that had been ravaged by natural disasters. Unbeknownst to him, he eventually lost his legal status through a paperwork error.

By the time he realized the mistake and married Rose, his high school sweetheart, his lawyer told him that it was too late. The government had already initiated deportation proceedings because of his lapsed legal status. If he applied for a green card through his wife, he would likely have to spend years outside the country waiting to adjust his status.

Not knowing what to do, the Escobars continued with their life. They had two children, Walter and Carmen, and bought a middle-class home in Pearland where Escobar helped run a paint company and juggled a contracting business on the side.

Eventually immigration agents found him, but Obamas administration in 2012 granted Escobar a temporary reprieve, allowing him to stay here legally as long as he committed no crimes and checked in with the administration every year.

He did as he was told, and then the rules changed.

Soon after Trumps announcement, Escobar arrived at his annual immigration appointment in February 2017, only to be quickly deported with just $20 in his pocket.

Well still keep fighting

At the press conference Friday, Rose Escobar tearfully pleaded for compassion.

Its been a year already, and I am hurting. My children are hurting, she said. Im working overtime, Im selling my husbands equipment ... Im a daughter, Im a mother, Im a wife. All I want is my family back.

Read more: Family of deported immigrant struggles to adjust to new normal

She said the last year has almost broken her family, and she has been overwhelmed with hateful comments on social media for not doing things the right way, when what, she asks, could she have done?

Im not ordering a burger, she said. I am doing things the right way and look how long its taking.

Her son has had to be the man of the house. He worries about his mother, especially when she cries.

Carmen, 3, no longer wears diapers and speaks in full sentences, all precious developments her father has had to watch through an iPad screen from thousands of miles away.

In the coastal town of La Union, he stays in his aunts house, too afraid to wander the streets where gangs prey particularly on those they dont know. Such violence has made El Salvador one of the most dangerous countries in the world.

Walter speaks shyly about his father.

What I miss about my dad is when he makes me food I like, the boy said. I miss  my dad taking me to school.

He looked at the cameras, standing tall.

Even when Donald Trump is still here, the boy said, were going to fight until the end.
AUSTIN  Two helicopters deployed an initial wave of Texas National Guard troops to the Mexico border area Friday night, even as their exact duties remained unknown.

In the past, National Guard troops deployed to the border have served in logistics, communications and support roles only, not involved in making arrests or enforcing laws. Under federal law, they are limited to support roles.

However, Brig. Gen. Tracy Norris, commander of the Texas Army National Guard, said the role for this mission will be dictated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security which is overseeing the deployment of troops under an order issued by President Trump on Wednesday.

She said the Guard troops being deployed "will be armed" for self-defense, but would not elaborate on what additional duties they may be assigned by DHS.

The first two UH-72 Lakota helicopters lifted off at dusk from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport with approximately two dozen planning and logistics personnel, as other Guard troops were leaving from Houston and other sites. Norris said the force eventually would grow to 250 troops within the next 72 hours.

"The Texas National Guard is a force that is trained and ready," Norris said, stressing that Texas' Guard deployment is being coordinated with similar activations in New Mexico, Arizona and California.

The initial Texas deployments will begin planning, logistical and, perhaps, patrol support for law enforcement agencies already positioned along Texas' border with Mexico. Additional aircraft, vehicles, surveillance gear and other support equipment will arrive in the coming weeks.

Troops among those deployed Friday said they had been notified earlier in the day of the open-ended mission.

Already, 100 Texas Guard troops are deployed along the border under the state-initiated "Operation Secure Texas" support operation ordered two years ago by Gov. Abbott, an activation that is costing state taxpayers just under $1 million a month. Beginning Friday, the federal government will pick up the entire tab.

Lt. Col. Travis Walters, state public affairs officer for the Texas Military Department, said the initial "boots on the ground" being sent to the Texas border initially will determine where the remaining troops will go, and what they will do.

In past deployments of Guard troops to the Texas border, he said, "they have been in observation, reporting and support roles." This time, he said, "DHS will determine what the requirements are."

DHS officials in Texas said Friday they had no details on the planned role for the Guard.

On Wednesday, Trump signed a memorandum dispatching the Guard to the U.S. border with Mexico, a development that followed his increasing calls for more border security as a large caravan of U.S.-bound migrants was said to move northward through Mexico. Many of those in the caravan, which had dropped to about 800 people Friday, are from El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala. Organizers have said the caravan will end in Mexico City.

Insisting in the memorandum that "the security of the United States is imperiled by a drastic surge of illegal activity on the southern border," Trump said the troops would work with federal agents and state police already assigned to the border.

"During the administrations of Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, the National Guard provided support for efforts to secure our southern border," the memo states. "The crisis at our southern border once again calls for the National Guard to help secure our border and protect our homeland."

Immigration advocacy groups have criticized the move, and complained of what they said was a militarization of the border. Mexican politicians condemned Trumps decision. According to the Associated Press, the Mexican Senate approved a resolution calling for the suspension of that countrys cooperation with the United States on immigration and drug trafficking operations in retaliation.

The small contingent of Guard troops already deployed along the border, as part of a two-year, $800 million state initiative to curb smuggling and illegal border crossings, support federal agents and the Texas Department of Public Safety.

Abbott, who has maintained a dwindling Guard presence along the border, was among the first to applaud the presidents call for a troop surge.

For months, border crossings have been historically low despite a spike last month that U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials was being closely monitored. Other officials suggested it a seasonal uptick.

A DHS study last fall had determined the border was the most secure it had been in years.

Trump has directed top federal officials to compile a report within the next month outlining steps that can be taken quickly to combat an increase in crossings, and to curb "a drastic surge of illegal activity on the southern border."

Like Abbott, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey has welcomed the deployment. "Washington has ignored this issue for too long and help is needed. For Arizona, it's all about public safety," he tweeted.

Friday's deployment of Texas Guard troops was the latest since 2006.

Back then, President George W. Bush send 6,000 troops to Mexican border as part of Operation Jump Start, which lasted two years and cost $1.2 billion. President Barack Obama sent 1,200 troops to the border in 2010 at a cost of $500 million, and Texas Gov. Rick Perry spent millions in 2014 to send troops there to back up his criticism that federal officials were lax on border security  just as he ramped up his unsuccessful presidential campaign.

mike.ward@chron.com

twitter.com/ChronicleMike
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A storage tank at a Houston chemical plant caught fire Friday evening, although the company told officials there is no threat to public safety.

Houston firefighters were called out to the TPC Group Houston Operations plant in the 8600 block of Park Place Boulevard, just south of Texas Highway 225, around 5:50 p.m. A portable storage tank containing water and hydrocarbons caught fire, according to TPC Group Houston Operations spokesperson Sara Cronin.
A man was found dead from a gunshot wound in his second floor apartment in west Houston Friday night.

Houston Police said officers were dispatched to the Village at Piney Point, in the 2600 block of Lazy Hollow Drive, around 9:30 p.m. after gunshots were reported.
The man accused of killing an 8-year-old in Houston has been denied bond.

Devonte Lockett, 18, was charged Thursday with the murder of Tristian Hutchins, who died March 28 after being caught in the crossfire of a March 1 shooting that Houston Police say was gang related.

Witnesses told police that they saw Lockett shooting from the passenger seat of a vehicle in the 3900 block of Scott Street, where Hutchins and his 5-year-old sister were sitting in a Nissan Versa, according to court records. Hutchins' sister was also struck in the leg.

In the weeks after - and as Hutchins remained hospitalized in critical condition - city and community leaders pleaded for witnesses to come forward and for the city to unite to stem the gun violence that has killed 11 children in the city since December 2016.

Some of those cases 11 cases remain open, Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo said, and investigators are still looking for other suspects in Hutchins' death.

Mayor Sylvester Turner on Friday also announced an additional $1 million in overtime pay to assist the police force as it combats gang and gun violence.

Annual violent crime and homicide rates in the city have for the most steadily declined in the last two decades, mirroring trends seen in most American cities over the same time period.

But city leaders have stressed that there is still much more that could be done to stem violence and to revitalize communities plagued by it.

"One homicide in our city is one homicide too many," Turner said Friday.

Robert Downen covers crime for the Houston Chronicle. Follow him on Twitter or email him at robert.downen@chron.com.
Two Dallas-area teenagers are behind bars after Collin County police said the duo stole more than $1,000,000 in cash and coins from a home.

Anthony Sotelo, 19, and Fernando Lopez, 18, were allegedly discovered by the Dallas Police Department with nearly half a million in cash, 23 ounces of marijuana, gold bullion and five firearms, according to a Collin County Sheriff's Office news release.
Spam nightmare is on the way for Texans Eric Goldman, a professor at Santa Clara University School of Law, explains how the state's new...

George Springer is selling his Missouri City home for $1.8M Springer moved to the property in search of privacy after winning 2017 World Series MVP.
Race advocates and the media are greeting a new Government Accountability Office report on racial disparities in school discipline as a vindication of Obama administration policies. The GAO found that black students get suspended at nearly three times the rate of white students nationally, a finding consistent with previous analyses. The Obama Education and Justice Departments viewed that disproportion as proof of teacher and principal bias. Administration officials used litigation and the threatened loss of federal funding to force schools to reduce suspensions and expulsions radically in order to eliminate racial disparities in discipline. The GAO report, which implicitly rubberstamps the Obama approach, comes just as Trump education secretary Betsy DeVos is evaluating whether to rescind Obamas school discipline directives. DeVos should go forward with that rescission: the administrations policies were fatally flawed, as is the GAO report that attempts to justify them.

The GAO report ignores the critical question regarding disciplinary disparities: do black students in fact misbehave more than white students? The report simply assumes, without argument, that black students and white students act identically in class and proceeds to document their different rates of discipline. This assumption of equivalent school behavior is patently unjustified. According to federal data, black male teenagers between the ages of 14 and 17 commit homicide at nearly 10 times the rate of white male teenagers of the same age (the category white in this homicide data includes most Hispanics; if Hispanics were removed from the white category, the homicide disparity between blacks and whites would be much higher). That higher black homicide rate indicates a failure of socialization; teen murderers of any race lack impulse control and anger-management skills. Lesser types of juvenile crime also show large racial disparities. It is fanciful to think that the lack of socialization that produces such elevated rates of criminal violence would not also affect classroom behavior. While the number of black teens committing murder is relatively small compared with their numbers at large, a very high percentage of black children71 percentcome from the stressed-out, single-parent homes that result in elevated rates of crime.

The GAO report makes no effort to control for family structure in looking at different discipline rates. The report did control for the percentage of poor students in any given school, which is defined by the proportion of students receiving free lunches. It found that black students in schools with lower rates of student poverty are still disciplined more than white students. But we dont know whether those black students themselves were more likely to come from single-parent homes, and we most certainly do not know how those suspended black students actually behaved in class compared with their white counterpartsthe most relevant question of all.

Observational studies of classroom behavior are in short supply, the result of the taboo against researching racial behavioral disparities. But the GAO did not even avail itself of what data do exist on student behavior. The Justice and Education Departments recently released their annual report, Indicators of School Crime and Safety. Black students self-reported being in a physical fight at school at over twice the rate of white students in 2015a data point certainly relevant to the question of racial rates of school discipline. Schools that were 50 percent minority or more reported weekly gang activity at nearly ten times the rate of schools where minorities constituted 5 percent to 20 percent of the population. Reports of gang violence in schools with less than 5 percent minority populations were too low to be usable statistically. Widespread weekly disorder in classrooms was reported in schools with at least 50 percent minority populations at more than five times the rate as in schools with 5 percent to 20 percent minorities. More than four times as many high-minority schools reported weekly verbal abuse of teachers compared with schools with a less than 20 percent minority student body. Widespread disorder and teacher abuse at schools with less than 5 percent minority populations was again too low to be statistically reliable. These facts are also relevant to judging the likelihood of student misbehavior and resulting discipline.

The GAO, like the civil rights offices of the Obama Education and Justice Departments, ignored these data. Instead, the GAO adopted a favorite tactic of academic bias researchers: it claimed that black students are disciplined more frequently for offenses that are allegedly subjective or largely based on school officials interpretations of behavior. For the GAO and the activists, it therefore follows, without further proof, that that supposed subjectivity results in an outpouring of teacher and principal bias.

The GAOs allegedly subjective categories include insubordination, defiance, disobedience, and classroom disruption. It is a stretch to deem those categories subjective, let alone impermissibly sothey refer to actual behavior. The GAO report complained that a Kentucky school district that had been sued by the Obama administration did not specify all the behaviors that constitute failure to follow directions, deliberate classroom disruption, and profanity. The bureaucratic effort that would be required to define these categories more specifically while covering the necessary range of misbehavior would be wasted. These infractions are clear enough, and teachers and principals should be trusted to apply them fairly. Given what we know about the breakdown of family socialization in the black community, it is wholly consistent that black students would be more prone to insubordination and classroom disruption.

Objective metrics regarding attendance show the identical racial disparities. As U.S. Civil Rights Commissioner Gail Heriot shows in a forthcoming report, the rate of chronic truancy (defined as 18 or more unexcused absences) was five times higher for black elementary school students in California than for white students. That objective behavioral disparity tracks the subjective behavioral disparities and grows out of the same home and socialization challenges that produce classroom disobedience.

The GAO report superficially reviewed a handful of bias cases brought by the Obama Education and Justice Departments against school districts. Since the GAO uses the same behavior-free analysis, its no surprise that it parrots the conclusions of those suits. The report provides only two concrete examples of allegedly biased discipline. A black tenth-grader in Kentucky with 19 previous disciplinary referrals was given a one-day suspension for skipping school, whereas a white 12th-grader with 28 previous disciplinary referrals who had skipped school was given only a conference with the principal. One would need to know several things before concluding that this disparate treatment was the result of bias. What were the grounds for each students previous disciplinary referrals: smoking a cigarette, or punching his teacher? How many previous warnings and alternative discipline methods had each student received? The younger black students rate of referrals is outpacing the older white students by more than a third. That suggests that he was more of a problem student.

The reports other example of biased discipline concerned a black student in a California school dedicated to teaching Hmong culture. The students parents were asked on a few occasions to pick him up for misbehavior. Because the school did not keep adequate records on such informal discipline, the GAO agrees with the Obama Education Department that the requests to pick up the student must have been biased.

The report notes that boys are disciplined at higher rates than girls but mysteriously fails to level charges of sex discrimination against school teachers and administrators. It does not explicitly note, though it is true, that whites are disciplined at higher rates than Asians. According to GAO logic, school officials must be biased against whites. In fact, white students misbehave more than Asian students, just as boys misbehave more than girls. Males dominate the criminal-justice system, and Asians barely show up at all. These adult criminal predilections track the rate of impulse control in children.

The New York Times gloats that the report undercuts conservative claims that the Obama administration policy has resulted in a decline in school safety. But the GAO did not look at school safety rates at all. Numerous reports have documented just such an effect, however. The Manhattan Institutes Max Eden found that students in New York City schools reported much higher levels of violence and disrespect after Mayor Bill de Blasio limited school suspensions. A student was stabbed and killed in history class in a New York school where teachers reported a dramatic drop in discipline. Two researchers with the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty recently reported on increased school violence across the country. The district attorney in St. Paul called the rise in attacks on teachers a public health crisis. The district attorney in Syracuse forced schools to return to traditional disciplinary policies after a teacher was stabbed. Charlotte is experiencing an increase in guns, drugs, and assaults on teachers; school assaults in Durham increased more than 50 percent last year. And the education of students, especially black students, is suffering as well. Wisconsin schools that adopted the non-punitive disciplinary measures advocated by the Obama administration (and now, the GAO) had lower reading and math achievement than schools that stuck with traditional discipline.

Teachers are among the most liberal professionals in the country. Education school is one long marinade in white-privilege theory. Yet were supposed to believe that once these social-justice warriors enter the classroom, they are unable to evaluate their black students fairly. Overcome by prejudice, they see disruption and defiance where none exists. The opposite hypothesis is more likely: teachers strive mightily to avoid removing black children from classrooms. They do so only after other means of discipline have been exhausted, and they do so in order to preserve the right of other students to learn in a safe and orderly environment and to instill a sense of consequences in students who break the rules.

The GAO report is a product of ideological blinders, a disappointment from an agency that once stood for nonpartisan analysis. Secretary DeVos can learn very little from it. She should reject the counterfactual claims of systemic bias in the nations schools and rescind the destructive Obama-era school-discipline directives. Then she should commission a host of observational studies of student behavior to put to rest, once and for all, the myth that only racism explains differential rates of school discipline.

Photo: Steve Debenport/iStock
Jet-setting Americans are missing out on hundreds of dollars of free travel annually by failing to take advantage of one simple thing: travel-focused credit cards. Collectively, Americans leave $22 billion worth of free travel expenses on the table per year, NerdWallet found in its recent 2018 Travel Credit Card Survey. On an individual level, those who don't take advantage of travel rewards cards miss out on an average of $277 a year. That number is even higher for new cardholders who earn lavish sign-up offers. These offers alone are worth an average of $450 after fees, NerdWallet reports. Combined with points earned throughout the first year, new cardholders receive an average of $901 in rewards.

It's still important to use credit cards responsibly. You should never sign up for a new credit card just to get perks or overspend simply to earn more points, something 34 percent of survey respondents cop to doing. In fact, the fear of taking on debt keeps 34 percent of Americans from signing up for a travel card at all. And if you're already in debt, it's probably best to stay away. But "for consumers who can stay within their budget and plan to travel anyway, a travel rewards card will save them money over time, as rewards will reduce what they spend out of pocket for travel," NerdWallet reports.
In 2017, China imported $12.8 million worth of U.S. spirits and nearly $9 million of this, was whiskey.

"This is a symbolic target on American culture because bourbon is so intertwined with who we are," said whiskey collector Bill Thomas.

Amanda Macias/CNBC

America's beloved liquid spirit is caught in the cross hairs of Washington and Beijing's trade battle. This week, China threatened to slap a 25 percent levy on 106 U.S. products, including types of whiskey such as bourbon. "Bourbon is truly Americana," began whiskey collector Bill Thomas, proprietor of Washington D.C.'s Jack Rose Saloon, which is popular for its extensive bourbon selection. "When you talk about tariffs on steel or aluminum or anything else, bourbon just can't be produced anywhere else than the United States," he said. "So in many ways, this is a symbolic target on American culture because bourbon is so intertwined with who we are." China's list of tariff targets came less than 24 hours after President Donald Trump unveiled a list of proposed tariffs on Chinese imports involving the robotics, information technology and aerospace industry. Trump suggested another counterpunch late Thursday to the tune of an additional $100 billion in tariffs against China. In response, a Chinese Ministry of Commerce representative said Friday, that the U.S. "is very arrogant" and that "China is prepared and will not hesitate" to react.

What this means for drinkers and collectors

The bar at Jack Rose Dining Saloon in Washington, DC. Courtesy of Jack Rose Dining Saloon

Amid this trade war, Jack Rose's Thomas, who boasts a personal whiskey collection of nearly 6,000 bottles, said consumers may see an uptick in prices. "If distillers decide to increase the price of whiskey and bourbon that is kept domestically, that would be a negative impact for collectors and drinkers," said Thomas, who curates Jack Rose's whiskey collection of nearly 2,700 bottles. "But to be honest with you, for the quality of spirit that bourbon is, it's still very cheap and inexpensive spirit. It's probably overdue for a price increase." Despite the potential for a higher price point, Thomas believes now may be a good time as any other for aficionados to beef up their whiskey collections. "As far as rare bottles go, if distilleries effectively stop shipping over those because they aren't as profitable, then that would actually be good for me and those who want greater accessibility to those spirits," he said. It could be bad news for distillers, though. In 2017, China imported $12.8 million worth of U.S. spirits. Nearly $9 million of that total was whiskey, according to figures provided by the Distilled Spirits Council, a trade association representing the liquor industry. "Right now, the U.S. exports about $1.5 billion worth of spirits abroad, and many producers in America are pinning their future growth to exports," explained Reid Mitenbuler, author of "The Bourbon Empire: The Past and Future of America's Whiskey." Mitenbuler noted that many distilleries have invested in expansion projects in order to boost their supply for lucrative foreign markets. "Without a market to sell to, they might have problems recovering these investments," Mitenbuler told CNBC. While distilleries plan their operations 20 years out, in order to account for the time it takes to produce and age their product, Jack Rose's Thomas said that even a small hiccup in the marketplace will be unpleasant for the industry.

'The distilleries aren't going to be happy'

Barrels of Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey age in a warehouse at Jack Daniel's Distillery in Lynchburg, Tennessee. Luke Sharrett | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Earlier this year, as the Trump administration was considering what action to take on steel and aluminum tariffs, the European Union hinted at retaliating with trade taxes on Kentucky bourbon. In 2017, the Bluegrass state exported $154 million worth of bourbon to the EU, which is up from $128 million in 2016, according to data from the International Trade Commission. Amid the proposed tariffs, the Kentucky Distillers' Association issued a statement saying such taxes would "harm consumers through higher prices and more limited product availability, and significantly threaten the distilling renaissance that is creating industry jobs and generating billions in capital investment." Since the entirety of bourbon production can only occur within the U.S., per a 1964 congressional resolution, a tariff on this spirit is a strategic political punch to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's home state. As the birthplace of bourbon, Kentucky produces 95 percent of the world's supply, employs approximately 17,500 workers, and generates a cool $8.5 billion annually.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., sits behind a barrel of Kentucky bourbon. Bill Clark | CQ Roll Call | Getty Images
Thursday night, President Trump tripled down on his unilateral threat to impose tariffs on Chinese imports  upping the level from $50 billion to $150 billion and putting American businesses, consumers and the U.S. economy in the crosshairs of an escalating trade confrontation between the world's two largest economies.

The president has raised the stakes on an already dangerous gambit, making careful planning for an off-ramp all the more important.

It's time to take a step back before the administration moves forward.

President Trump is right when he says China's unfair and discriminatory trade practices must end. For years, the Chinese government has engaged in heavy-handed economic behavior and unfair trade practices that harm the U.S. economy.

When investing and operating in China, many American businesses have been hurt by intellectual property theft, forced technology transfers, and discriminatory treatment in government procurement. China has also erected barriers against U.S. manufacturing, services, technology, agricultural, and digital industries.

While some progress has been made in certain sectors, as well as improvements in currency and environmental policies, business leaders agree with President Trump that the existing dialogue between China and the United States has yielded insufficient tangible results.

The president's threatened tariffs are a poor way to address these systemic problems. His actions are eroding market and business confidence and risk reversing the successes of his tax and regulatory policies. However, if the current tit-for-tat does result in China and the United States coming to the negotiating table constructively  and this remains far from certain  the goal must be to secure lasting economic reforms in China that make it easier for America's businesses to compete, win, and create jobs.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer are correctly focused on long term economic reforms that the Chinese government must institute. The White House's chief economic advisor, Larry Kudlow, puts it simply: "[T]he path to free trade must include tremendous reforms  stopping the illegal and unfair trading practices" of the Chinese government. Negotiations that do not achieve such reforms would make this a wasted effort.

Constructive negotiations with China shouldn't focus on punishing the Chinese or on superficially reducing the trade deficit. The pain caused by punitive measures will likely be inflicted most heavily on the United States  not China  and the U.S. trade deficit with China and other countries is largely driven by U.S. savings and investment decisions, not by unfair foreign trade practices.

The administration should not settle for concessions that temporarily reduce America's trade deficit with China but fail to address larger problems facing U.S. businesses and workers.

The administration should do much more work in coordination with America's international partners, as it is starting to do in the World Trade Organization, where Japan and Europe have asked to join the United States in challenging China's discriminatory treatment of foreign intellectual property. Establishing a united front with our allies would increase pressure on China to change its unfair practices, and allow fair access to and participation in its market as well as reduce the risk that China will punish U.S. companies while embracing their foreign competitors.

The administration should set specific deadlines for clearly identified, tangible reform. It should outline actions that the United States will take in coordination with our international partners if China fails to address our concerns.

Once at the table, if both countries are willing to negotiate constructively, the president's proposed tariffs should be postponed so that talks have an opportunity to produce results. Any new investment restrictions on China should likewise be deferred to maximize the opportunity for negotiations to achieve positive change in China.

America's businesses are eager for a level playing field that helps U.S. companies compete and provides a fair system and economic prosperity for both countries. But lasting economic reform in China will not happen overnight  and it will not happen without strong, sustained, coordinated leadership between the United States and like-minded countries.

Our nation's business leaders are eager to help the president get this right for the American economy and U.S. businesses and workers.

Joshua Bolten is President & CEO of the Business Roundtable, an association of chief executive officers of leading U.S. companies.
Here's a round-up of the most important deals in venture capital from the past week.

Exits

Daniel Ek, chief executive officer and co-founder of Spotify AB. Akio Kon | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Spotify went public through a direct listing on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday. One analyst at Stifel called the music streaming service one of the best value deals on the internet behind Amazon and Netflix. The streaming music service closed its opening week with shares trading at $147.92, a 12 percent drop from its opening share price of $165.90. It has a market capitalization of over $26 billion.

Bicycles belonging to bike-sharing company Mobike are lined up on a street in China on Jan. 1, 2017. Zhang Peng | LightRocket | Getty Images

Meituan Dianping, an online provider of on-demand services in China, agreed to acquire bike-sharing service Mobike for $2.7 billion, Reuters reported. Both tech companies are funded by Chinese gaming and social media giant Tencent. The deal could help Mobike compete against other bike-sharing services, especially Alibaba-backed Ofo. Alibaba announced that it will acquire the rest of food delivery and services-booking platform Ele.me for about $5 billion. Ele.me, which roughly translates to "Hungry?" in English, is the top online food ordering platform in China. Ele.me's early backers included by Matrix Partners and Sequoia Capital.

Source: PluralSight

Pluralsight filed confidentially to go public. The company delivers online video training courses to software developers, IT administrators, and creative professionals who need to pick up or maintain tech skills for work. Impossible Foods raised another $114 million to make a plant-based alternative to ground beef that tastes at least as good as a traditional burger. CEO Patrick O. Brown is a Stanford geneticist who previously started the nonprofit Public Library of Science. Investors in the new round included Sailing Capital and Temasek.

Chesnot | Getty Images

Sir Richard Branson and Tencent co-founder Alvin Liu are among investors in Atlanta-based Bitpay. The company has raised $40 million in a series B round of funding to make it easier to buy or sell things and conduct cross-border transactions using cryptocurrencies including bitcoin.

6 River Systems co-founders (L-R): Chris Cacioppo, Jerome Dubois and Rylan Hamilton.

Founded by former Kiva execs, 6 River Systems raised $25 million in a series B round of funding led by Menlo Ventures, with Norwest Venture Partners, Eclipse Ventures and strategic backers iRobot also in the round. The company's robot, the "Chuck," works alongside humans in warehouses and fulfillment centers. It autonomously guides workers to any item they need to pick or pack, minimizing the time they spend searching and walking the aisles. Siemens venture arm, Next47, is among investors in DeepScale, a developer of "perception software" for self-driving vehicles. DeepScale raised $15 million in a round of funding that also included AutoTech Ventures, Truck Ventures and Steve Cohen's Point72. A&E Networks and Google's Gradient Ventures are among investors pouring $10.5 million into Ubiquity6, a computer vision and augmented reality start-up. Ubiquity6 was founded in 2017 by graduates of Stanford, Metamind, Facebook, Tesla, Twitter and Zynga. Index Ventures led the deal, which also included First Round Capital and Kleiner Perkins. Dockless bike-sharing companies have attracted big rounds of venture funding in the U.S. and China. Now a Brazilian start-up, Yellow, has locked in a $9 million seed round. Monashees and Grishin Robotics led the investment. Poly6, a company that makes plastics out of citrus peels, raised $6.5 million from investors including Varkain and Quake Capital. According to the company's website, CEO Keith Hearon developed Citrene, the company's bio-based polymer, as a postdoctoral fellow at MIT.

Funds and firms
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A Delta Airlines Boeing 747 in flight. Source: Boeing

On an afternoon in late October 2008, in a conference room overlooking Delta Air Lines' Atlanta campus, Richard Anderson got word. The Department of Justice had just approved the carrier's some $2.6 billion-merger with Northwest Airlines, a deal that gave birth to the world's biggest airline at the time. The airline's general counsel told Anderson, the Delta CEO who ran the company until 2016, that it could close in a few days. "How about now?" Anderson recalls asking. "We want this to be irreversible." The tie-up, which was unveiled 10 years ago this month, set off a frenzied deal-making decade among airlines. The industries had faced bankruptcies, low-cost competitors, a brutal recession and a spike in fuel prices. U.S. passenger airlines had lost a record $60 billion from 2001 through 2005, according to Airlines for America, an industry trade and lobbying group. Consolidation was necessary to stabilize, said Douglas Steenland, who was the CEO of Northwest Airlines at the time of the 2008 merger with Delta. For years, "the public was in essence being subsidized by airline employees through wage cuts and through the shareholders, through loss of their equity," he said. The merge-or-die mentality eventually shrunk the number of big U.S. airlines from seven to four. Those four companies control three-quarters of the U.S. commercial air travel market. Regardless of how loud cries for boycotts get after on-board incidents go viral  like the violent dragging of a passenger off a flight that was serving United Airlines last year  the industry's merger mania has also left passengers with fewer alternatives.

'Just like the bus'

On average, U.S. consumers have seen lower airfares and more service, which airlines had cut back significantly in the wake of their mergers and the last recession. Commercial airlines operated 3,235 domestic routes in June 2008, and 3,346 were on the schedule for June 2018, according to PlaneStats.com, part of consulting firm Oliver Wyman. Nationally, airfares fell to about $336 in the third quarter of 2017, the Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics' most recent available data show. That's the lowest since at least 1995. Lower oil prices and cheaper-to-operate aircraft helped. The consolidation has allowed lower-cost competitors to come into the marketplace, also helping to pressure fares, said Seth Kaplan, managing partner at trade journal Airline Weekly. And more travelers are taking to the skies than ever. U.S. airlines carried a record 848 million passengers last year  a roughly 14 percent jump from ten years ago before the Delta merger. "It was unusual for the average person (to fly) unless they had to go to a funeral," said Robert Mann, a Long Island-based aviation consultant who has worked at American, TWA and PanAmerican World Airways "Now, it's become just like the bus."

First dibs

As fuel prices surged and the economy faltered a decade ago, executives from Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines wanted to be the first to merge. "We wanted to go first," said Steenland. That lessened the regulatory hurdles and provided a choicer partner, he said. "We had to start grinding out the synergies because the industry was in distress," said Anderson, who now heads Amtrak. There, he is dealing with a host of problems, including a recent spate of accidents. Newly emerged from bankruptcy (Delta and Northwest emerged within weeks of one another and had filed on the same day in 2005) and posting its first full-year profit since 2000, Delta was staring down a U.S. recession and expensive fuel. Steenland called them "two punches to the gut." Delta's Anderson and his then counterpart Steenland  a former colleague from Anderson's days as CEO of Northwest  hatched a plan to merge in an all-equity deal. Atlanta-based Delta and Eagan, Minn.-based Northwest announced their deal on April 14, 2008.

A 'Reese's Peanut Butter Cup' merger

The two companies had little route and fleet overlap, and vastly different cultures. "Northwest was an analytical powerhouse...but labor relations and passenger service were lacking," said Jamie Baker, a senior airline analyst at J.P. Morgan Chase. "Pre-merger Delta, on the other hand, was arithmetically challenged and did little in the way of financial analysis, but they fostered a very strong employee culture and were well-regarded by customers. "It's the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup of mergers  chocolate and peanut butter, successfully integrated into an investment grade balance sheet," he said. Delta received its third-investment-grade rating last September, from Standard and Poors. After the Delta-Northwest tie-up, it touched off a frenetic game of musical chairs among airlines. In 2010, United and Continental merged, followed by Southwest and AirTran in 2011. Finally, American Airlines and US Airways merged in 2013. As Anderson and Steenland predicted, it faced the most challenges by going last. It faced the toughest government opposition of the four, although the Justice Department ultimately gave the combination the green light, giving way to what is now the world's biggest airline. "The combination of Delta and Northwest was a notable event, especially inside American's headquarters building," wrote Gary Kennedy, American Airlines' former general counsel in his new book "Twelve Years of Turbulence." The new company had eclipsed American's footprint.

Delta gobbles up Northwest

"There's no such thing as a merger of equals," Anderson said. "There has to be one organization in charge." The organization in question was Delta, the largest of the two airlines. Combined the two airlines had about 75,000 employees, according to the company. Merging first has proved helpful to Delta. The combined airline integrated its workforce long before the slew of other combined airlines started the messy and expensive task. Flight attendants at Northwest were unionized and voted to leave their labor union  Delta's flight attendants were not and are still not unionized, unlike its other large U.S. legacy airline competitors. While pilot seniority issues persisted after the merger was complete, completing a pilot contract before the deal closed was one less headache for the combined airline to deal with, said Mann, the aviation consultant. Gobbling up Northwest set the tone for Delta's aggressive international expansion. Northwest forged a joint venture with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines in 1997. Delta had formed its own with Air France, which merged with KLM in 2004. Delta has reached deals for joint ventures or minority stakes in airlines including Virgin Atlantic, China Eastern, Canada's WestJet, AeroMexico and Brazil's Gol. Late last month, it announced its joint venture with Korean Air, expanding the international footprint of an airline whose roots stretch back to the 1920s when its used propeller planes to dust crops in Georgia, and later in Louisiana and Peru.

Service cuts

Some of airlines' smaller hubs became post-merger casualties over the past decade. In the years that followed, Delta pulled back sharply from its Memphis hub, as well as Cincinnati. It's all part of a trend that left customers in midsize U.S. cities with fewer airlines and routes to choose from, and in some cases higher fares. Memphis had 8,344 departures in 2008, and has lost three-quarters of them  more than any other U.S. airport, according to PlaneStats.com data. Delta's old hub of Cincinnati lost nearly 60 percent of its departures over the last decade, the second-biggest decline. Service from Continental's former hub in Cleveland is down 50 percent over the past 10 years.

Attracting new investment

U.S. airlines' recent stretch of profitability has drawn investment from Berkshire Hathaway, whose CEO Warren Buffett, had shunned airlines for years after a bet on U.S. Airways soured. It is now one of large U.S. airlines' biggest shareholders. The airline industry "has eaten up capital over the past century like almost no other business because people seem to keep coming back to it and putting fresh money in," he told The Telegraph in 2002. "I have an 800 number now that I call if I get the urge to buy an airline stock. "I call at two in the morning and I say: 'My name is Warren and I'm an aeroholic.' And then they talk me down," the billionaire investor said. Since he first disclosed a roughly $1.28 billion-bet on three carriers in 2016, he has added Southwest to the mix, and bought more shares. That's given him a position in the four carriers worth about $7.2 billion, based on a recent filing and Friday's closing prices. Buffett said in February that he wouldn't rule out owning an entire airline.

Source: Delta Flight Museum

Meanwhile, there's little question that the remaining air carriers are as strong as they've ever been. Delta, the largest U.S. airline by market capitalization, has posted a profit every year since 2009. Its 2017 net profit margin of nearly 9 percent outpaced its closest competitors. American's profit margin was close to 5 percent and United's about 6 percent, according to FactSet data. Delta is slated to report first-quarter earnings next Thursday. "Delta's current prosperity exceeds even our most ambitious forecasts from the time of the merger," said J.P. Morgan's Baker, an outcome that was helped along by consolidation across the industry, he added. Delta's stock is up 17 percent over the past 12 months, trading recently at $53 a share, outpacing the S&P 500, which is up around 10 percent over the same period. Delta and its peers have struggled to convince investors of their value, however. Delta is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of about 11, roughly half that of the S&P 500.

Flexing muscles

Airlines are also flexing their muscles in Washington. Late last year, Delta and other carriers sent the Department of Transportation a long list of regulations they would like to see repealed. Those include reporting the number of pets that die in its cargo holds to full-fare pricing, which displays taxes and fees to consumers. The Department of Transportation shelved an Obama-era proposal to request information on transparency of air fare displays, which could include a growing number of fees and other add-ons, a move that airlines requested.

Challenges remain
The possible replacement of Deutsche Bank Chief Executive John Cryan could be discussed on a call with board members scheduled on Sunday evening by Supervisory Board Chairman Paul Achleitner, German newspaper Handelsblatt reported.

Achleitner has invited the supervisory board to an "Update Call", the paper reported, adding the invite did not contain further information about the call's possible content.

But it quoted supervisory board sources as saying Achleitner might give information about the possible replacement of Cryan, the British chief executive officer who has been in office less than three years.

Achleitner has initiated a search to replace Cryan, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters last week, following a flurry of negative headlines after the bank reported a third consecutive annual loss.

Handelsblatt cited financial sources as saying that Cryan could be replaced before Deutsche Bank's annual general meeting, which is scheduled for May 24.

A spokesman for Deutsche Bank declined to comment.
It's "very important" that Europe responds to Russia's "unprecedented" behavior, the Vice President of the European Commission Valdis Drombrovskis told CNBC, in the wake of the nerve agent attack on a former spy. Several European countries decided to expel some Russian diplomats from their national territories last month. The decision followed a nerve agent attack on a former spy, Sergei Skripal, and his daughter in the U.K. The British Prime Minister Theresa May blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin for the attack. "Certainly there are concerns with this Skripal case. It was indeed chemical weapons used on European territory, so it's quite unprecedented," Dombrovskis told CNBC's Steve Sedgwick at the sidelines of the European House Ambrosetti Forum on Saturday. "Europe has been clear it's not going to tolerate some kind of aggressive behavior from Russia," the former Latvian Prime Minister said, noting that it's "very important" to react to that kind of behavior.

One of the key hurdles for Europe, though, is its reliance on Russian energy. According to the European Commission's website, "the EU imports a significant amount of oil, natural gas, uranium, and coal from Russia." There have been a few occasions when Russia decided to reduce its energy supply, leading to energy shortages in Europe. For instance, in 2009, Russia's energy provider Gazprom cut natural gas exports to Europe, leading to higher prices in Ukraine and shortages in different European countries. "(EU-Russian) relations are complicated but then it takes both sides to be willing to engage constructively and stop certain aggressive behavior," Dombrovskis said. "So far, as we see there are still some issues," he added.

EU economic reform at a 'critical juncture'

The man in charge of the euro and financial stability wants to see the euro zone implementing key economic reforms  to be better equipped against a financial crisis in the future.

Valdis Dombrovskis John Thys | AFP | Getty Images
Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman and Google co-founder Sergey Brin

Pics or it didn't happen. The Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met with a host of Silicon Valley executives this week, including Google co-founder Sergey Brin, Magic Leap CEO Rony Abovitz, and Virgin founder Richard Branson, photos show. Widely known as "MBS," the Prince stopped by Google's headquarters in Mountain View, California to rub elbows with a handful of company leaders. Here he is shaking hands with Hiroshi Lockheimer, the Google SVP who runs Android, Chrome, and other platforms, while CEO Sundar Pichai, Google's SVP of technical infrastructure, Urs Holzle, and leader of Google's cloud business, Diane Greene, appear in the background.

Google Android exec Hiroshi Lockheimer shakes hands with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman at Google headquarters in April 2018.

He and Sergey Brin, Google's cofounder and current president of parent company Alphabet, also met. They discussed cloud computing and the establishment of a research and development center for Saudi youth, according to an Arabian news publication. The chief executive of the world's largest energy company, Saudi Aramco, told CNBC last month that the company wanted to partner with the likes of Amazon and Google to build a tech hub in the kingdom. No word on whether Google's other cofounder, Larry Page, showed up.

Google co-founder Sergey Brin and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in April 2018.

The Prince also met with Rony Abovitz, CEO of augmented reality company Magic Leap.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman with Magic Leap founder Rony Abovitz

He apparently got his own demo of the extremely secretive product.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman tries on a pair of Magic Leap augmented reality goggles.

MBS also stopped by to chat with Virgin Group's Richard Branson and met with Apple CEO Tim Cook, too.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman at Virgin Galactic with Richard Branson (middle) and an executive.
Lower Manhattan, as seen from Exchange Place in Jersey City. Javier David | CNBC

Real estate prices in New York City have cooled but remain astronomically high, so Jennifer Tobias, a senior designer at the Studio Sofield design firm in lower Manhattan, found a nearby refuge. Located just across the Hudson River from Manhattan's West Side, Jersey City is being touted by some as the latest alternative to New York City's torrid real estate market. It's where Tobias joined a growing number of area residents who find Jersey City more affordable when compared to its more famous neighbor. "My apartment is a 310 square foot studio in a 28-unit building," Tobias told CNBC recently. Her unit cost $195,000 when she bought it in 2007, and she said that its current value is $312,000. "A similar apartment in New York City would easily cost twice as much," she added. Her residence faces Van Vorst Park, which has a farmer's market, Shakespeare performances and outdoor movie nights. A wide range of restaurants and bars can be found within an eight-block radius, and the overall cost of living is low. She isn't only getting a more affordable lifestyle across the river. New York's outer boroughs like Brooklyn and Queens, have traditionally offered lower cost housing. However, prices there have also skyrocketed in recent years, forcing residents of modest means to look elsewhere. Enter New Jersey, which for years dwelled in the shadow of its larger-than-life counterpart across the Hudson, but has definitively come into its own. Places like Jersey City have emerged as alternatives to the Big Apple for cosmopolitan-minded residents.

'Avoid sticker shock'

According to a real estate report from PricewaterhouseCoopers, Jersey City has established itself as the go-to for people fleeing New York City. Its growth can be attributed to an influx of "highly educated millennials," many of whom work in Manhattan's technology service companies, Pricewaterhouse noted. "Renters and buyers alike are taking notice and helping to make Jersey City the fastest growing metropolitan area in the state," said Ralph DiBugnara, vice president of retail sales at the New Jersey-based mortgage lender Residential Home Funding. He cited an average home price of $391,000 and an average rent of $1,500 per monthsubstantially lower than what Zillow cites as Manhattan's median home price of over $1.3 million, and median rent of $3400. Agent Gina Castrorao of the New York City-based real estate company Triplemint said that Jersey City's real estate prices depend in large part on proximity to the Hudson River. "There are rents ranging from $1,200 to $10,000," she said. "Typically, the closer you are to the water, the higher the prices will be."

It is true that high growth markets like Jersey City do often eventually become victims of their success, and are branded as 'too expensive.' John Boyd president, Boyd Company





Scott Bierbryer, co-founder of the apartment marketplace startup VeryApt.com, said that those who work in Manhattan are well-served by transportation options that offer a short commute into the city. Those interested in buying luxury property have many options as well. These include 99 Hudson, an 82-story condominium owned by Chinese developers that's currently under construction. When it's complete, the building will offer virtually every amenity residents can get east of the Hudson River, minus the high prices: Unit prices start under $1 million. "Buyers can avoid sticker shock by saving an average of 10 percent on purchases at 99 Hudson, compared to newer properties in DUMBO, and an average of 38 percent versus Lower Manhattan," said Edwin Blanco, a sales manager with Marketing Directors, who represents the property.

A view of Jersey City skyline from an early morning run. Kathleen Elkins | CNBC
White House Chief of Staff John Kelly reportedly threatened to resign in late March, political website Axios reported on Saturday, adding to speculation of a rift between Kelly and his boss, President Donald Trump.

On March 28, Kelly engaged in a heated Oval Office discussion with the president, according to the publication. While en route to his office, the retired general vowed to quit before Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen reportedly "talked him off a ledge."

A senior administration official told Axios that calling it a threat was "probably too strong, it was more venting frustration."

Since taking the reins as Chief of Staff, Kelly and Trump are said to have a tense relationship. The former has experienced difficulty reining in his impulsive boss, who is said to be isolating his top lieutenant from key decisions, according to a report in The Associated Press.

Staffers currently believe Kelly's days in the White House might be numbered, The AP reported, though talk of his imminent departure has swirled around Washington for some time.
Conservative MP Boris Johnson speaks as he visits Bristol on May 14, 2016 in Bristol, England.

The Russian embassy in London has sent a request for a meeting of its envoy, Alexander Yakovenko, with British foreign minister Boris Johnson to discuss the investigation of an ex-Russian spy and his daughter poisoned in Salisbury, the RIA news agency reported on Saturday.

"We hope for a constructive response from the British side and are counting on such a meeting in the very nearest future," the agency cited a spokesman for the Russian embassy saying.

The British Foreign Office confirmed it had received the request.

"We will be responding in due course," a spokeswoman said.
Ryan Knight, a Democratic activist in Los Angeles, called for a boycott of Apple in February because it hadn't responded to calls to delete a channel from the National Rifle Association from its streaming-video service after the Parkland, Fla., school shooting.

"Dear @Apple," Mr. Knight wrote on Twitter. "Your silence is deafening. #BoycottApple." More than 330 accounts retweeted the message.

How did Mr. Knight post the message? He used an iPhone.

More from the New York Times:

Unknown tech brands aren't like groceries. Don't just grab them.

Apple hires Google's A.I. Chief

'The Business of War': Google employees protest work for the Pentagon

As the reach and influence of Silicon Valley's tech giants have increased, so have the calls to boycott their products and services. The problem is that pulling off a boycott is not exactly easy: The tech companies' products are so pervasive that they are difficult to avoid.

That issue was crystallized in recent weeks with Facebook. Hundreds of people deleted their accounts after revelations that the political-data firm Cambridge Analytica had improperly harvested the information of 50 million Facebook users. Yet many of those same people promptly instructed their friends to find them on Instagram, which is owned by  you guessed it  Facebook.

"It's exactly the same company. I realize it's ridiculous," said Sachi Cunningham, a documentary filmmaker in San Francisco who deactivated her Facebook last week and shifted her attention to Instagram, where, she said, the conversation is less toxic.

Ms. Cunningham, who has freelanced for The New York Times, added that she had immediately begun missing Facebook as a research tool for her documentaries. "I don't know if I can get out of the ecosystem," she said.

People looking to punish major tech companies by abstaining from their products have been bedeviled time and again by the difficulty in escaping them. After Google fired an engineer, James Damore, for criticizing the company's diversity efforts last year, hundreds of people on social media called for a boycott of the company. But an analysis of nearly 7,000 tweets using the hashtag #BoycottGoogle since August showed that 26 percent of the tweets came from devices using Google's Android software, according to Keyhole, a social-media research firm.

One Twitter account named Milton Prescott tweeted on Aug. 8: "Google's firing of James Damore proves his point completely. I will no longer be using Google for any services. #BoycottGoogle." The tweet came from an Android device. A message to the account went unreturned.

Even Breitbart is running into the same dilemma. The conservative website is planning to host a panel on how tech platforms like Facebook suppress conservative voices  and it said it would livestream the discussion on Facebook. Breitbart didn't respond to a request for comment.

Marisa Richardson, a program manager at a life-sciences company, said she began boycotting Amazon recently after learning that it offered the NRA channel on its streaming-video service. So when she needed laundry detergent, she avoided the e-commerce site and instead braved the crowds and traffic  and spent a few dollars more  at a nearby Target.

But a few days later she shopped at the Whole Foods near her home in Oakland, Calif. "I completely forgot that they're owned by Amazon," she said.

After the shooting in Parkland in February, gun-control activists called for a boycott of certain Apple and Amazon services because they hosted the NRA channel.

People used the hashtag #March1NRABoycott to spread the message on social media. An analysis of about 58,500 tweets with the hashtag showed that nearly half came from an iPhone or an iPad, according to Keyhole. Those included popular tweets using the #March1NRABoycott hashtag from the actress Alyssa Milano.

"Had I sent the same tweets from an Android phone, the same issue would apply. There is an NRATV app for Android phones," Ms. Milano said through a spokeswoman. "We are only just beginning to understand how these companies have infiltrated not only our ideologies, but also our lives in the most in-depth way imaginable."

Nearly a third of the 4,700 tweets using the #BoycottApple hashtag since August came from iPhones, according to Keyhole.

"I do have an iPhone, but as a customer of Apple's, am I not allowed to hold them accountable?" Mr. Knight, the activist who used an iPhone to call for an Apple boycott, said in an interview.

Our columnist Andrew Ross Sorkin and his Times colleagues help you make sense of major business and policy headlines  and the power-brokers who shape them.

Eddy Cue, a senior executive at Apple, recently said that the NRA channel didn't violate the company's policies. Facebook, Google and Amazon didn't respond to requests for comment.

Many of those who recently abandoned their Facebook accounts are still in the company's orbit, not only with Instagram but also with the company's popular messaging apps WhatsApp and Messenger.

When Cher recently deleted her Facebook page, she said on Twitter, "2day I did something VERY HARD 4 me." But her Instagram account, with 768,000 followers, was still active.

Likewise, Elon Musk, chief executive of SpaceX and Tesla, deleted the Facebook pages of both companies  but left their pages and his personal account active on Instagram. The photo-sharing platform, he said on Twitter, is fine "so long as it stays fairly independent."

Stephen Cox, 39, a woodworker in Los Angeles, recently posted on Facebook that he was deactivating his account in favor of Instagram. When someone commented that the two sites were owned by the same company, he replied, "It's a double-edged sword, but for me one edge is slightly more blunt than the other."

Instagram has proved an effective hedge for Facebook against people losing interest or trust in its main site. While the percentage of American adults who use Facebook has remained flat at 68 percent since 2016, according to a January survey of 2,002 American adults by the Pew Research Center, Instagram use rose to 35 percent from 28 percent over that period. Instagram is also more popular with younger people than older people, according to the survey.

Rayven Bruzzese, 26, a sign-language student in Philadelphia, said she had been a frequent user of Facebook for years but deleted her account in March because she found it upsetting and a drain on her time. Now she spends her time on Instagram.

While she acknowledged the irony of moving to another Facebook-owned service, she said her options were limited. Few of her friends are on Twitter, and many have stopped using Snapchat.

"Where am I supposed to go?" she said. "I wish there was something else."
Europe is finding it hard to follow the actions that U.S. President Donald Trump has taken on global trade, a top European Union (EU) official told CNBC Saturday at the European House Ambrosetti Forum.

Trump has taken several unilateral actions deemed by Europe as damaging to global trade. The president's comments on Twitter as well as sudden decisions to impose new tariffs on imported goods are "quite unconventional" and difficult to understand by European policymakers.

"Sometimes, at least for the Europeans, it is a little bit difficult to follow," Jyrki Katainen, Vice President of the European Commission told CNBC's Steve Sedgwick.

According to the former Finnish prime minister, Trump should use the rules under the World Trade Organization (WTO) to settle all the disputes affecting the U.S.'s trade deficit.

"President Trump is using quite unconventional methods on tradebut there's been a lot of words, little implementation, which is good," Katainen said.

Since the start of March, the rhetoric involving global trade has toughened after Trump's decision to impose metal tariffs, including on its own allies. Since then, a couple of countries have avoided the higher duties, including Europe and Canada, but others like Japan and China haven't.
wide swath of the farm economy could be impacted if China goes ahead with tariffs

Soybeans are harvested Princeton, Illinois. Daniel Acker | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Targeting soybeans

The lion's share of the U.S. agribusiness trade to China involves soybeans, which are grown in many farm states where Trump received strong support during the 2016 presidential election. Top soybean growing states include Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Nebraska, Indiana, Missouri, Ohio and the Dakotas. The U.S. sold approximately 33 million tons of soybeans in 2017 to China, or nearly one-third of the beans imported by the Asian country. By comparison, Brazil shipped more than 50 million tons of soybeans last year to China and represented about 57 percent of the total imports. China buys roughly half of U.S. soybean exports, or about $14 billion annually, and roughly one in three rows of soybeans grown on the nation's farms goes to the world's second-largest economy, according to the American Soybean Association. Overall, U.S. agricultural exports to China represent almost $20 billion annually for American farmers. Experts say that if China cuts agricultural exports, it could impact a wide swath of the farm economy  from small to large farmers. It could reduce profits for farmers and make them more willing to delay large purchases, such as new machinery, and encourage them to cut back in other places.

In farming communities, that pain will filter down to other businesses so it's not just agriculture that will get hit. It's going to be everything from the local co-op to local law firms Dan Kowalski vice president, CoBank

There's already been volatility in the futures markets tied to the tariff threat on soybeans. Other potential impacts could be shipments turned back from Chinese ports or purchases canceled. The world's second largest economy is also the top buyer of U.S. sorghum, which it uses to feed livestock, but an anti-dumping investigation is expected to curtail purchases this year. Economists say China's tariffs could create a situation where global agricultural sellers such as the European Union and South America could take share away from the United States in key agricultural commodities sold to China. For example, if China diversifies suppliers and buys less from the U.S., countries such as Brazil may have an incentive to expand soybean acreage.

Sagging farm income

China's planned tariffs on U.S. agriculture come as the nation's farm belt is already struggling after years of low crop prices. Some farmers are considering exiting the business. In February, the U.S. Department of Agriculture predicted net farm income in 2018 would fall to lowest level in nominal terms since 2006. "The reality is the farm economy is already hurting, so making the U.S. a residual supplier of grains and meat to China will just lower farm incomes further," said Dan Kowalski, vice president of the Knowledge Exchange division at Denver-based CoBank, a major agricultural and rural lender. "In farming communities, that pain will filter down to other businesses so it's not just agriculture that will get hit. It's going to be everything from the local co-op to local law firms," he added. Meantime, the Trump administration is looking at ways to cushion the blow for farmers. "It's not probably very smart in these kind of things to lay all your cards on the table about what you're going to do," USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue said Thursday during remarks at an event in Kentucky.

A warehouse of processed soybeans ready for shipment at Peterson Farms Seed facility in Fargo, North Dakota. Dan Koeck | Reuters

Farm relief

That said, Perdue indicated that the president authorized him "to use the authorities we have within current appropriations  the Commodity Credit Corporation and others  to develop a plan once we see what the impact of these tariffs will be." Perdue didn't elaborate, but some agricultural experts suggest it would be a mistake for the administration to resort to subsidies. For one, they said it could lead to retaliation by other agricultural exporters, even if it helps in the short term. "Subsidies are just a patchwork and not sustainable," said Luis Ribera, an agricultural economist at Texas A&M University in College Station. "They usually disrupt markets and harm producers in the long run." At the same time, experts point out that the White House has time to decide before the new round of tariffs on some 1,300 Chinese goods  or about $50 billion worth of products  goes into effect, since there will be a 30-day comment period for business interests and other parties. Also, that will be followed by a period up to 180 days, where the president can decide before taking the next step to formalize the duties against the Chinese.

Ripple effects

Yet that extended timeline is cold comfort to some. "If the rhetoric continues to amp up, the impact could be significant in the medium and longer term," said CoBank's Kowalski. "You're talking about price impact, obvious trade impacts of less product being sent overseas and ripples throughout the supply chain." In early March, Trump unveiled a 25 percent duty on steel imports and 10 percent charge on aluminum imports, essentially targeting suppliers such as China. That ultimately led to China's finance ministry to unveil retaliatory tariffs on up to 128 kinds of U.S. goods, including pork, nuts, wine and fruit. Effective Monday, duties of up to 25 percent went into effect on 128 U.S. products, including pork, wine, nuts and fruit. One in 4 hogs in the U.S. is sold overseas, and the Chinese are the world's top consumers of pork. At about $1.1 billion, mainland China and Hong Kong together are the third-largest market for U.S. pork based on value. Last year, China was the second-largest volume market for the American pork industry after Mexico. Most of the soybeans shipped to China are used for soy protein to feed roughly 700 million pigs in the country, or to make cooking oil. China doesn't grow enough soybeans to fill its domestic demand, but the crop it does produce is mostly for human consumption.

'Battle between 2 governments'
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Cleverly attacks Khan for failing to crack down on knife violence

Mayor faces storm of criticism as crime wave continues  Daily Mail

Labour MP attacks May for failing to meet victims families  The Sun

Sadiq Khan is too obsessed with getting on TV and taking selfies with fans rather than tackling Londons crime wave, a top Tory has stormed. James Cleverly, a Vice Chair of the Conservative Party, told LBC that the London Mayor hasnt adopted any strategic thinking like Boris Johnson did when he was in charge. He lashed out at the Labour Mayors priorities, saying he was obsessed with getting on the telly, obsessed with getting photographed, obsessed with social media. Mr Cleverly was speaking as a spate of violent crimes took place in the capital this week  including six stabbings in just 90 minutes last night The Braintree MP, who used to work in the London Assembly, said the Tories Time For Action campaign in 2008 had focused on the drivers of youth crime, and included running youth groups and keeping young people in education. And that police numbers in the capital were around the same as they were in 2013, despite cuts to budgets.  The Sun

>Today: ToryDiary: Londons local elections. Beware of spin.

Fraser Nelson: May ignored the evidence on stop-and-search, to criminal effect

A few years ago, Theresa May set out to make a hard-hitting speech about how too many law-abiding black men were being stopped and searched by the police. Her officials got to work on it, but soon hit a problem: the only in-depth study showed that, if anything, white men were the ones being singled out. There was no evidence to suggest any kind of racial discrimination. It was all a bit embarrassing, so reference to this study was removed from the draft of the speech  and the then home secretary went ahead anyway with her spirited jaccuse. Black men, she said, are up to seven times more likely to be stopped and searched. It cannot continue. Politically, the speech was a great success. It was a potent charge, and it helped to establish Mrs May as a reformer with a social conscience. Her figure was technically correct: when compared with the general population, young black men are far more likely to be searched. Its just that if you look at those on the streets of an evening (as the Home Office had done), the bias vanishes.  Daily Telegraph

The Prime Minister must act to deliver tough justice  James Forsyth, The Sun

Teenagers die as we fail to tackle London violence  Harriet Sargeant, FT

Scottish Tories attacked over rape exemption from welfare cap

Scrap two-child limit, urge religious leaders  The Guardian

Tory peer claims making passports in France will cost millions in lost tax

Ruth Davidson and the Scottish Conservatives have come under fire over the abhorrent rape clause one year after the controversial welfare reform was brought in. SNP and Labour politicians urged the Tories to rethink their support for the policy, branding it despicable and absolutely heart-breaking. It was established as part of UK Government benefit reforms which limit families to claiming tax credits for their first two children. One of the exemptions to this is the so-called rape clause, which requires women to prove a child was conceived through rape or during an abusive relationship to qualify for the benefit The Tories were repeatedly challenged on their support for the benefit change during last years election campaign. SNP MP Alison Thewliss called on the 13 Scottish Tory MPs elected then to consider whether the policy was justified.  The Scotsman

Handing the contract for Britains post-Brexit blue passport to a foreign company will cost 162million in lost taxes, a senior Tory peer warned Theresa May last night. In a letter, Lord Naseby called for the decision to award the work to Franco-Dutch group Gemalto rather than UK rival De La Rue to be reversed. He said that although the foreign bid is 120million cheaper, Britain will be left worse off because of lost tax. His claim is based on analysis by a leading London investment house which estimates that 162million in tax would be raised in a decade if De La Rue printed the passports  compared to just 25million of UK taxes that would flow in from the Gemalto contract.  Daily Mail

Ministers to crack down on plastic cutlery to make airports greener  Daily Telegraph

>Today: Nick Faith in Comment: We need a Brexit that is open for business. Letting Melrose take over GKN would be a sign well get one.

EU: Miliband says Opposition must back a second EU referendum

India demands easier migration in exchange for trade deal  The Sun

David Miliband has demanded another European Union referendum with the former foreign secretary saying the public need a say on the final deal to avert the damage of Brexit. Putting himself at odds with the Labour Partys official stance on leaving the EU, he joins former prime ministers John Major and Tony Blair, and the Liberal Democrat leader Sir Vince Cable in calls for another vote. His comments come at difficult time after Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was embroiled in a row over alleged antisemitism within his party Hes accused both the leadership of the Labour and Tory of appalling act of short-sightedness by starting a two-year countdown to Brexit last year.  Daily Express

Comment:

No new migrants to be allowed here without benefits  Iain Duncan Smith, Daily Mail

as Trimble warns that special status for Ulster would inflame loyalist paramilitaries

David Trimble, whose support was critical in creating the Good Friday agreement, has warned that the Irish government risks provoking loyalist paramilitaries with its stance on the border after Brexit. In a wide-ranging interview to mark the 20th anniversary of the agreement, Lord Trimble said any special deal to keep the region within Europe would destroy a key tenet of the agreement that there would no constitutional change without majority consent in Northern Ireland the former first minister of Norther Ireland said he believed loyalist paramilitaries could reactivate if the principle of consent enshrined in the agreement was put in danger by any post-Brexit deal demanded by the Irish government and nationalist parties.  The Guardian

Hard border could provoke eruption of civil disobedience  The Times

UK urged to come up with fresh plan to end border deadlock  The Guardian

Irish ships to bypass British ports after Brexit  Daily Telegraph

Sinn Fein MEP claims to have secret impact papers  Belfast Telegraph

Comment:

Tory lurch to the right is an illusion  Matthew Parris, The Times

Labour 1) Secret recording apparently shows Corbyns plans to make deselection easier

MPs urge leadership to clean up governing body  Daily Telegraph

Labour 2) MP heckled for backing protest against anti-Semitism

Jeremy Corbyn plans to make it easier for moderate MPs who oppose his leadership to be deselected, one of his close allies has claimed in a secret recording. Momentum founder Jon Lansman said the Labour leader wants to overhaul party rules to lower the threshold for deselection. Mr Lansman  who helped run Mr Corbyns leadership campaign  made the claims to a meeting in London which was covertly recorded at a meting in London on March 26. It comes as many moderate MPs have been bombarded with abuse and threats of deselection from Corbynista supporters Mr Lansman also claimed the Labour leader supports moves to sideline the powerful trade unions, according to the recording obtained by the Daily Mirror.  Daily Mail

A Labour MP who attended a demonstration against antisemitism was heckled at a meeting of her local party. Thangam Debbonaire, 51, the MP for Bristol West, was trying to face down internal party critics. A motion criticising the protest last month was defeated by 108 votes to 84. The demonstration in Parliament Square was convened over concerns about anti-Jewish behaviour in Labours ranks. Ms Debbonaire was among more than 40 Labour MPs to attend. The motion stated that when people see inequality, ecological disaster and war alongside the accumulation of unprecedented wealth in the private hands of a few it is reasonable that they seek explanations. Portions of the media and politicians hostile to the Labour Party have weaponised allegations into unfair criticisms of the party and Jeremy Corbyn.  The Times

Leaders allies tried to block action against anti-Semites  Daily Mail

Jews will flee if Corbyn becomes Prime Minister, warns rabbi  The Times

More:

Officials tweets cause transgender row  The Times

>Yesterday: Profiles: The Jews in Britain

Labour 3) Corbyn ally echoes Kremlins attack lines over Salisbury

Sergei Skripal improving rapidly  FT

Russian rant shows they are rattled, claims ex-national security adviser  Daily Mail

Corbyn ally Chris Williamson echoed Kremlin attack lines in an appearance on RT as he claimed the Salisbury attack was being used to distract attention from Brexit. The former shadow minister, one of Jeremy Corbyns most vocal supporters, defied warnings Labour MPs should no longer appear on the Kremlin-funded channel. He said Boris Johnson had raced ahead of the evidence to accuse Vladmir Putins regime and insisted Mr Corbyn had been right to urge caution. And Mr Williamson said the timing of the nerve agent attack was very convenient for the Government  a central part of Russias denials it was involved. The Derby North MPs intervention is a new escalation of Labours criticism of the Government, a day after the party demanded an inquiry into Mr Johnson appearing to exaggerate evidence from the Porton Down laboratory.  Daily Mail

Comment:

Johnson has now moved from post-truth to post-shame  Marina Hyde, The Guardian

>Yesterday:

UKIP fields 75 per cent fewer candidates in local elections

Ukip has been judged virtually dead after the party registered 75 per cent fewer candidates for next months local elections than stood in 2014. The anti-EU party is on course to have only about 550 candidates, or 12 per cent of those possible, on May 3, according to its spokesman. This is down from 2,193 candidates, or 52 per cent of all seats, that Ukip fielded four years ago in the last comparable poll. Nominations for candidates closed at 4pm yesterday and analysis by Lord Hayward, a Conservative pollster, showed that Ukips tally of candidates had declined even in former strongholds Lord Hayward said that Ukip appeared virtually dead as an election fighting organisation. It confirms the disastrous fall of Ukip from public attention, he said.  Daily Mail

News in Brief:
The Secret Barrister: Stories of the Law and How Its Broken

You arrive at dinner and find yourself sitting next to a criminal barrister, or jobbing criminal hack, as he modestly describes himself. He starts to tell you in a vivid, first-hand manner about the inexcusably squalid, inefficient and unjust way in which our lower courts operate.

The first five minutes of this is highly entertaining. He brings that seedy and incompetent world alive, and cannot resist a good anecdote, whether or not it took place when he was present:

special mention must go to a defendant at Chelmsford Crown Court in August 2016, who, upon receiving his 18-month sentence for racist abuse, told Judge Patricia Lynch QC that she was a bit of a cunt. Her Honours reply  You are a bit of a cunt yourself  was a little naughty, but also, in many ways, everything that could be said.

The next half hour is interesting too. He asserts that if the criminal justice system were the NHS, it would never be off the front pages, because so many things go wrong, and there are, to name but one recurrent fault, so many inexplicable blockages in the channels of communication between the Crown Prosecution Service and the police:

Walk into any criminal court in the land, speak to any lawyer or ask any judge, and you will be treated to uniform complaints of court deadlines being repeatedly missed, cases arriving underprepared, evidence being lost, disclosure not being made, victims being made to feel marginalised and millions of pounds of public money being wasted. And, as a result, every single day, provably guilty people walking free.

And yet your neighbour  whose name you didnt catch, and who, you find, is at work on a book in which he will write with the freedom conferred by anonymity  plainly loves his work. He is also actuated by a passion for justice which survives innumerable disappointments.

He admits that the core motivation which lures someone to the Bar is the cry for attention, the desperate need to be centre stage in the climactic scenes of peoples lives. But he also reckons that barristers possess, beneath their sated vanity and affectations of brash nonchalance, a quiet but sincere desire to help people.

The Secret Barrister is, in fact, more optimistic, even more conservative (with a small c), than the 12 chapters of accidents which he recounts might suggest. As he himself writes:

For all that the preceding pages might reasonably be interpreted as a counsel of despair, there is much that is fundamentally good about our justice system. The underlying principles, accidental and incoherent though their evolution may have been, have been exported around the globe for good reason: the presumption of innocence and burden of proof, the right to a fair trial, the right to independent legal representation, equality of arms, an independent judiciary, non-partisan tribunals of fact and the other fiercely debated, non-exhaustive aspects of the rule of law on which our present settlement is premised, all stand as self-evidently necessary to our instinctual conceptions of justice.

He is good on the impossibility of putting victims first, if the perhaps falsely accused is to receive a fair trial. And he brings out the folly of pursuing weak cases, simply to cater to public demand for something to be done:

It is horribly difficult prosecuting sex cases. They are often compounds of the most combustible elements in the prosecutorial spectrum: extremely serious and distressing allegations; usually limited evidence beyond the word of the complainant; the complainant themselves may well be vulnerable and damaged and may have a personal, criminal or medical history which impinges upon their credibility. These cases usually invite media attention, plus there is the historical weight of state failure to act in previous such cases, and there is enormous public pressure to improve upon conviction rates perceived as historically paltry.

It is evident that just as our hospitals get asked to look after a lot of vulnerable people who need other kinds of care, preferably administered in their own homes, so our courts are swamped by damaged and incompetent people who certainly need help, but are unlikely to have their lives mended by exposure to the rigours of an adversarial system of justice.

Anyone contemplating a career as a criminal barrister should read this book. But for the general reader, it offers too great a weight of evidence. We get the point quite quickly, but our neighbour, the Secret Barrister, proves impossible to stop, and does not in fact stop until he has written 343 pages.

He has a lot to say about the defects of our legal system, and he says it pretty well. This is the kind of book of which members of the chattering classes will know they ought to approve, whether or not they actually get round to finishing it.

But the chapters are labelled clearly enough to make it possible to focus only on those aspects of legal incompetence in which one is most interested. And one of the authors most amiable characteristics is his love of quoting great remarks by the illustrious dead. Here is Mr Justice Frankfurter in 1950, in the United States Supreme Court:
Nick Faith: We need a Brexit that is open for business. Letting Melrose take over GKN would be a sign well get one.

Nick Faith is Director of WPI Srategy.

At first glance, the recent decision by shareholders in GKN, a British engineering company which produces components for the aerospace and automobile industry, to accept a deal to sell the company to Melrose Industries, a buy-out group which specialises in turning poor performing companies around, is not particularly interesting to the average Conservative voter.

But this isnt just a story about two British companies fighting over which management team is best placed to improve its performance. It is more a fundamental issue about the merits of open competitive markets, and the role of the government in policing those markets.

During the lead up to the GKN shareholder vote, Unite ran a politically savvy campaign drumming up cross-party support to oppose the Melrose bid. They implored the government to intervene on the grounds that technology and jobs risk being shipped abroad and that national security could be at risk. They even suggested that ministers plans for the UK to be a leader in electric vehicles could be derailed.

The problem with Unites argument was that, under the Enterprise Act, ministers can only block a takeover on grounds of media plurality, financial stability or national security issues. As it appeared that none of these issues related to the deal, Greg Clark appeared to have gone further than was necessary by extracting binding commitments from Melrose on future investments and disposals.

Gavin Williamson then entered the debate. He is reported to have concerns that the deal could have implications for Britains national security. If he decides to pursue this line of argument, the Business Secretary will have no option but to refer the deal to the Competition and Markets Authority.

Every time such a notice has been issued on national security grounds in the past, the deals have been allowed to proceed following a preliminary assessment. In each of those cases, the buyer was foreign and gave the government guarantees on how it would operate. Melrose has already given such assurances. Given Melrose is also a British headquartered company run by a British CEO, and that GKN does not rank in the top 50 suppliers to the MoD, it is highly unlikely that national security could be in jeopardy.

An intervention by the Defence Secretary could also have serious unintended consequences on the UK economy. Government intervention in a deal between two private companies will fray the nerves of business leaders and investors. In the context of Brexit, such a move would send yet another signal that Britain is not the open, free trading nation it purports to be.

At a time when the very concept of open, competitive markets is being called into question by the Left, the last thing the British economy needs is for a Conservative government to play the interventionist card. By doing so, they would simply play into Labours hands.

This is not to say that where there is a clear case of market abuse, the government or regulator shouldnt step in as a referee. But intervening in a deal which on the face of it appears to be about improving the performance of a company is a risky move. The populist appeal of opposing the takeover of GKN may look attractive, but dig into the details and it is hard to see how such a move is justified.

If Conservatives think that matching Jeremy Corbyns anti-market approach to business transactions will boost their political standing, I fear they may be in for a shock. The Conservative Partys greatest electoral asset has always been its ability to manage the finances and work constructively with the business community. By undermining business investment in a manner which is more akin to Frances protectionist approach, the party could find themselves heading to the next general election with inward investment decreasing, which will ultimately impact jobs, wages and living standards. That would increase Corbyns appeal and move him one step closer to Downing Street.
SOUTH STORMONT, Ontario  Stormont, Dundas & Glengarry (SD&G) Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) officers are currently at the scene of a two (2) vehicle collision on Highway 401 (between McConnell Road and Boundary Road), South Stormont Township.

Preliminary investigation has indicated that at approximately 4:15pm, a passenger vehicle was travelling Eastbound on Highway 401 when, for reasons under investigation, a commercial rental vehicle entered the Highway 401 travelling Westbound in the eastbound lanes and collided with the eastbound passenger vehicle.

The adult male driver (lone occupant) of the eastbound passenger vehicle was taken to hospital with serious non-life threatening injuries.

The wrong way adult male driver was not injured and was taken into Police custody.

SD&G OPP continue to process the scene and investigate the collision with the assistance of the OPP Traffic Collision Investigators (TCI).

As the investigation continues, a section (both Eastbound and Westbound lanes) of Highway 401 between McConnell Road and Boundary Road, South Stormont Township is closed to traffic with indicated detours in place.
Intel said it is embedding dedicated product security experts throughout the company as part of new effort to stay ahead of future security threats.

The plan is among new details the Santa Clara, Calif.-based chipmaker provided on Friday for its new Product Assurance and Security group, which was established in January in the wake of the Meltdown and Spectre vulnerabilities that were disclosed at the beginning of the year.

Leslie Culbertson, who was appointed leader of the group in January, wrote in a Friday blog post that the Product Assurance and Security team is "designed as a center of security excellence  a sort of mission control  that looks across all of Intel." The group's task is looking "longer-term at the evolving threat landscape and continuously improving product security in the years ahead."

[Related: New Intel High-Performance CPU Brand Expected To Push PC Channel Sales ]

To do that, Culbertson said the group has centralized the company's best security talent while also ensuring that product security experts are embedded throughout the organization.

Intel also sees opportunities to create deeper partnerships with academic researchers and security experts "to accelerate security innovation throughout the entire industry," Culbertson wrote. Furthermore, she said the company believes that collaboration with operating system and software vendors, systems manufacturers, cloud providers and other chipmakers is essential for the future.

"We expect bad actors will continuously pursue increasingly sophisticated attacks, and it will take all of us  working together  to deliver solutions," Culbertson wrote.

The semiconductor company already saw this level of collaboration after the Meltdown and Spectre vulnerabilities were, Culbertson said, which she hopes will continue.

"My challenge to the industry is to maintain the same level of collaboration we demonstrated is possible earlier this year," she said. "If we can continue to work together at that scale, imagine the possibilities."

The newly established Product Assurance and Security group is part of Intel's security-first pledge. The company has already issued software patches in Intel products from the last nine years to protect against Spectre and Meltdown, and it plans to release processors in the second half of this year with hardware-level protection. At the same time, Intel has decided to not issue patches to certain older CPUs due to "limited ecosystem support and customer feedback," the company said earlier this week.

Wallace Santos, CEO of Maingear, a Kenilworth, N.J.-based system builder and Intel partner, told CRN that Intel's new security plans fall in line with what the company has been telling him.

"For us, we think Intel handled it properly. We thought the communication was very good once we become aware of the situation, and we think the action plan is good too," he said.
Marking the 70th anniversary of Costa Crociere, the company announced its ships will get a new livery that pays tribute to Italy.

A stylized Italian flag, as well as the name of the ship, will be painted on the bow in a specially designed new font in larger lettering, the company said.

The first ship to display the new livery was the Costa Mediterranean. The logo was painted during a short cruise in the Mediterranean: on April 5, during a port call at Marseille, the left side of the bow was painted, and the day after in Savona, the right side of the ship got its updated paint scheme.

Costa said it plans to have the new livery painted on all its ships by the end of the year. The company's new ships under construction will also receive the new look.
MILFORD  An overturned vehicle shut down all but one lane on a stretch of Interstate 95 northbound for a little less than a hour on Friday evening.

The crash was reported by the Department of Transportation shortly after 9 p.m. between exits 40 and 41. One lane was left open to traffic, though the DOT did not specify which lane.
GREENWICH  By late March, the first migrating ospreys will return to the shores of Connecticut to reclaim and rebuild their nests and reconnect with mates.

And one special pair that nests in Greenwich has been the subject of documentary filmmaker Jacob Steinberg.

From 1:30 to 4 p.m. March 4, Steinberg will present two showings of clips from his feature-length documentary, Osprey, followed by a question-and-answer session. The event is part of the Bruce Museums Fred Elser First Sunday Science at the Seaside Center.

The film, which he has been working on since 2012, is in the editing stages. Steinberg expects it to be ready for screening this fall.

Its a brand-new cut, he said, so its modern and up-to-date with our footage. It demonstrates the fantastic conservation history of the osprey, how remarkable the species past has been.

Steinberg has been cultivating his relationship with and filming an osprey pair in Greenwich for seven years.

A harbinger of spring, ospreys travel thousands of miles yearly, he said, and are surprisingly open to humans.

By watching one pair for so long, you really learn so much, Steinberg said. Its a personal drama unfolding year after year for you. ... Osprey will grab you and theyll keep you.

He will be accompanied by Genevieve Nuttall, former coordinator of Connecticut Audubons Osprey Nation citizen program.

Nuttall will explain how the public can become involved in monitoring osprey nests around the state to better understand the health of Connecticuts osprey population.

The seashore birds have a better chance of being protected in the future, after DDT almost drove them to extinction in the 1970s, because of their distinct, captivating personalities, she said.

They are so charismatic and give chance for anyone, not just researchers, to be scientists, said Nuttall. Anyone can go out during the summertime and watch an osprey pair court, incubate and raise the chicks to fledglings.

And observing this species is really important, she said, because, in case a new pesticide or chemical, or any other environmental factor, starts to harm them, Connecticuts citizen scientists will know right away since they keep such a great track record of all the nests in the state.

The event will be held at the Innis Arden Cottage in Greenwich Point Park, Old Greenwich.

For more information on the event, Bruce Museum Seaside Center Manager Cynthia Ehlinger can be contacted for more information by email at cynthiae@brucemuseum.

org or by phone at 203-413-6756.
Everything to Know About the Cult That Took Over a Tiny Oregon Town, Featured in Netflixs Wild Wild Country

People/April 6, 2018

By Adam Carlson

There are few aspects of the story of the Indian guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and his Oregon commune that dont sound too strange to be true.



A bombing, a murder plot and a mass poisoning  all of it revolving around a group of thousands of people who followed their Rolls-Royce-driving leader.



Wild Wild Country, a six-part documentary series released last month on Netflix, traces the strange story from past to present, featuring interviews with several former Rajneesh devotees.



The show has put a spotlight on a case that made national headlines throughout the 80s before fading somewhat from collective memory.



Heres what you need to know about what happened, according to reports through the years from PEOPLE, the New York Times, the Oregonian and others.

Yes, a Guru Did Move to the Middle of Oregon

Rajneesh  born in India around 1932  came to America in 1981 already the leader of an eponymous religious group that he had founded in 1974, in Poona, India.



A former journalist and philosophy professor, Rajneesh was a prolific author and speaker whose teachings were distributed via books, cassettes and videos; that, along with member donations, provided a significant operating income.



Also in 1981, Rajneeshs group purchased the approximately 64,000-acre Big Muddy Ranch in Oregons Jefferson and Wasco counties, where John Wayne and Katharine Hepburn had once filmed a movie. The space, which covered about 100 square miles a few hours east of Portland, soon became home to thousands of Rajneeshs sannyasins, or followers, many of whom came from upper- and middle-class families in America and Europe.

The Bhagwan preached a peculiar mix of teachings that crossed traditions from both East and West, including a focus on mysticism, sexual freedom, the abolition of family and encounter therapy (which encouraged authentic face-to-face dialogues between two people or within a group).



His followers, also called Rajneeshees, wore only clothes in the sun-like colors of red, orange and purple. Meanwhile the Bhagwan was known for most of his years in Oregon for his daily appearances in one of his many Rolls-Royces, reportedly owning between a few dozen and as many as 91.



Beyond that, though, Rajneesh stayed silent except for communicating with his deputy and longtime secretary, Ma Anand Sheela.



It is impossible that Bhagwan would ever ask people to kill anyone. But if he asked me to do it, I dont know. I love and trust him very much, group member Shannon Jo Ryan, then known as Ma Amrita Pritam, told PEOPLE in 1981. To me he is God. He sees more clearly than I do. But if I want to say no to Bhagwan, Ill say no.

The Group Clashed With Outsiders Over Its Growth

According to the New York Times, Rajneesh came to America after conflicts with government officials in Poona over his groups tax-exempt status. In the U.S. he settled first in Montclair, New Jersey, where the group had purchased a castle and operated one of its centers out of a storefront.



We are very concerned about our property values, our children and about this becoming an international headquarters for a free-sex cult, one local told the Times in 1981.



Not long after, Rajneesh relocated to the ranch in Oregon, beginning years of escalating tensions between his followers and the dozens of locals already in the area, particularly those residents of the town of Antelope, not far from the groups property.



We thought they were a friendly bunch, Mayor Margaret Hill told PEOPLE in 1982. Lots of food, lots of free booze  it was a great party.



Such seeming friendliness faded as the Rajneeshes pushed first to incorporate their ranch as its own city, Rajneeshpuram, and then  through quirks in the states election laws  used their numbers to take control of Antelopes city council, at one point officially renaming it after their leader. (This came despite an unsuccessful attempt by locals to abolish Antelope rather than see newcomers elected to lead it.)



The group was also able to purchase a sizable amount of real estate in the tiny town, including its general store.



With time, the ranch itself developed to include 300-seat cafeteria, barns, greenhouses, a mall, dozens of homes and a 160-room hotel.



Such expansion efforts were met in turn by pushes from local and state officials charging that the group was involved in voter fraud and other unscrupulous tactics. The Rajneeshes argued that this resistance was thinly disguised religious discrimination.

About the Poisoning and Other Crimes

Against this social and political conflict came more serious altercations: In 1983, a Portland hotel owned by the group was bombed by an Islamic militant (though no one was killed) while in 1984, hundreds of residents of the Wasco County seat where the Rajneesh ranch was located became ill from salmonella infections.



Later investigation discovered that 10 restaurants in The Dalles had had their salad bars infected by followers of Rajneesh in an attempt to suppress voter turnout and ensure the group could gain seats on the county commission.



Sheela, long the groups public face during Rajneeshs years of silence, abruptly left the ranch in 1985 and later pleaded guilty in connection with the large-scale poisoning, among other charges, for which she served about two years in prison.



In the 90s, two British followers of Rajneesh were convicted for conspiring to murder a U.S. attorney general in retaliation for his investigation of the group. By that point, however, Rajneesh himself had already died in India, where he relocated after being deported from America after a criminal guilty plea.

What Became of the Leaders and the Ranch?

The Oregon commune dissolved in the months after Rajneesh left the country and remained abandoned for years afterward, falling into foreclosure. (Strangely, some of the groups barns and mobile homes were sold to another religious group, this one in Montana.)



Rajneesh died in 1990 at 58 from heart disease after returning to Poona, according to the Times. Before his death, he had told his followers to refer to him simply as Osho.



After her prison sentence, Sheela moved to Europe and more recently has lived and worked in Switzerland, running care homes for those with mental disabilities.



My own personal conflict with Bhagwan was a bigger issue, she told the Oregonian in 2011. My love for Bhagwan had a priority over all problems.



His crime, according to federal prosecutors? Arranging a series of fake marriages between Indian nationals and his followers to gain them resident status.

To see more documents/articles regarding this group/organization/subject click here.
Agents find explosives laboratory and white supremacist literature at Wisconsin flat

Associated Press/April 6, 2018

Beaver Dam, Wisconsin  Court records say a state Department of Justice agent found an explosives laboratory and white supremacist literature while investigating a fatal explosion at a Wisconsin apartment building.



State investigator Kevin Heimerl says he found 13 jars of the explosive triacetone triperoxide, or TATP, in the Beaver Dam home, along with bomb-making instructions. WKOW-TV reports Heimerl says containers labeled TATP were also found in an apartment garage.



The explosion last month killed 28-year-old Benjamin Morrow, who lived in the apartment. Authorities say they also found white supremacist literature in the bedroom. It is not clear if Morrow identified as a white supremacist.



TATP can explode if subjected to heat, friction, static electricity or shock. Authorities were forced to burn down the apartment building because the chemicals were too volatile to remove.

To see more documents/articles regarding this group/organization/subject click here.
Pa. Senate moves to allow opt outs of masks in schools. What's next
Nepals Prime Minister KP Oli is in India this week for his first foreign visit as the head of a new government. Much like his predecessors, he is signalling that he values ties with India but unlike most, he is also coming after three years of difficult times when the relationship seems to have hit a rough patch.

He comes with a renewed political mandate and so he has also taken a hard line on a range of issues from suggesting that debt trap on account of Chinas BRI is Indian perception to arguing that his nations constitution is now perfect.

Indian commitments

He expects fast delivery of Indian commitments and wants to connect to the seas through both China and India. He wants to update relations with India in keeping with the times. India, on the other hand, is also likely to draw out its red lines clearly.

While a red carpet is being rolled out, New Delhi is likely to underline that it would find it difficult to buy power from Nepal if China build those dams. So, clearly, there is now a new phase in Indias ties with its closest neighbour.

The scale of victory for the Left coalition can be expected to bring some stability to a country that has faced continuous political turmoil for the past two decades. After the Maoist insurgency ended, several prime ministers have come and gone, unable to manage a political transition in the erstwhile Himalayan kingdom effectively.

The constitution-making process was equally tortuous, with the eventual promulgation of a new document in 2015, leading to the mobilisation of the Madhesi groups in the Terai region against what they perceived to be a discriminatory document.

The blockade along the Nepal-India border in September 2015 by Madhesi groups was blamed on India and it was then that Oli emerged as a vocal critic of New Delhis policy towards Nepal, even as he made his intention of taking his country closer to China clear.

Oli secured Chinas support during the six-month-long blockade and after he was forced to resign, he had accused India of effecting a government change by forcing Maoists to withdraw support from his government through a remote control. Oli made it an electoral issue by raising the India bogey during his campaign, scapegoating New Delhi for the blockade and for breaking the coalition.

The blockade along the India-Nepal border due to the Madhesi crisis indeed had angered a large part of the Nepalese population, allowing China to step in as an alternative to India by providing not only internet access but also alternative trade routes.

Nepals economy has been ailing since the 2015 earthquake as its reliance on aid and remittances remains at an all-time high. Chinas attraction under such circumstances is quite natural. Beijing has pledged $8.3 billion (Rs 53,900 crore) to build roads and hydropower plants in Nepal even as Indian commitments remain in the realm of $317 million (Rs 2,000 crore).

Chinese activities

As part of its ambitious One Belt, One Road initiative, Beijing is looking into the possibility of connecting Kathmandu to Lhasa in Tibet via railways at an estimated cost of $8 billion (Rs 51,900 crore). Chinas activities have been steadily expanding in Nepal after Kathmandus support for OBOR materialised. This happened despite Indias stiff resistance to OBOR.

The Modi governments proactive outreach to Nepal in its early days suffered a setback due to the Madhesi crisis. The Deuba government had decided to cancel a major $2.5 billion (Rs 16,200 crore) hydroelectric project awarded to Chinese state company China Gezhouba Group in November 2017 much to the annoyance of Beijing.

The new government in Nepal is keen to reverse the decision. Oli had warned against revoking the plan. The issue here is about foreign investment and such decisions cannot be taken on a whim, he had said. Chinese President Xi Jinping is likely to visit Nepal in March 2018.

He was supposed to visit in 2016, but the trip had to be cancelled due to a change of government in Nepal. Chinas major security interests in Nepal include its border with the Tibet autonomous region, a potential hotbed of domestic instability over questions of sovereignty.

Engage Kathmandu

While New Delhi will be viewing the developments in Nepal with some concern, for Kathmandu there is a greater room for manoeuvrability now between China and India. India cannot and should not prevent Nepal from developing closer links with China so long as Kathmandu remains cognisant of vital Indian interests. Nepali leaders also recognise that the links with India, which traverse history, culture, and geography, cannot be severed so easily.

While Oli may look like a difficult proposition for India, New Delhi should also be aware that all governments in Nepal have tried to play the China card vis-a-vis India. Oli will not be unique in that respect, nor will he be the last. India will have to engage the new Nepali government pro-actively and work towards ensuring that its interests do not become marginal in the new dispensation in Kathmandu.

(Courtesy of Mail Today)

Also read: Why the Nokia 6, 7 Plus and 8 Sirocco work for India
Why did Mamata Banerjee choose to call on Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on the same day as the latter's party colleague and former MP was thrashed by alleged Trinamool activists?

She couldn't have timed it better even as media channels showed a blood-spattered face and head of former CPI(M) MP Ram Chandra Dom, a victim of the violence, allegedly unleashed by the Trinamool Congress henchmen to prevent the Opposition candidates from filing nominations for panchayat polls.

Criticism and condemnation flew thick and fast, especially when senior Trinamool leader Partha Chatterjee feigned ignorance about the incident. As TV channels prepared to dwell on the ongoing violence, all of a sudden, the focus got shifted.

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee suddenly felt the urge to call on an ailing Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, still considered one of the biggest crowdpullers for the Left brigade. She dropped in at his Palm Avenue residence, spent half an hour, enquiring about his health, talking about books but not a word on politics.

She came out and shared with the media what happened inside. A little over a month ago, Banerjee had instructed her officials to repair her predecessor Bhattacharjee's house and had sent her best wishes and sweets on the occasion of his birthday. She was willing to visit him then as well, but since Bhattacharjee was not keeping well and was not ready to meet visitors, she had to drop her plans.

But visiting Bhattacharjee on the same day as her party supporters and workers allegedly unleashed a spate of violence was a politically calibrated move to shift the focus from the ongoing tension.

The purpose was to send a message to people that she as an individual has a big heart and can rise above petty politics. By dropping in at Bhattacharjee's place and spending some time with him, she succeeded in diluting the bile that the Left brigade was spewing on Trinamool Congress for mercilessly attacking their leaders.

The Left leaders definitely had to be cautious in choosing their invectives against the Trinamool Congress, for the chief minister yet again projected a rare example of political decency, irrespective of what her ultimate motive was.

Political observers, however, felt that the signal was for the masses - the Left comrades and supporters who were choosing to leave the flock and join the BJP. It was a clear message that party supporters and workers, looking for a shelter, should consider the Trinamool Congress and not the BJP as an option. This is because the nominations for panchayat polls filed so far indicate that only Trinamool Congress and BJP candidates are neck-and-neck in the contest, leaving the Congress and the Left far behind.

Rumours are rife that the increase in the vote share of the BJP is happening at the expense of the Left and so it could be a ploy to indicate that Mamata Banerjee is a firm believer of the Leftist ideology, as is often said she's more Left than the the Left, and had good relation with leaders such as Jyoti Basu and shares good equation with current leaders such as Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and Somnath Chatterjee.

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A British Sikh Report (BSR) launched in the UK Parliament five years ago found 95 per cent of the members of the tiny minority were proud of being born or living in Britain.

"It is great to see a proactive approach being taken by the British Sikh community to highlight their concerns, wants and needs in such a comprehensive way,'' the BBC quoted Paul Uppal, then a Conservative MP for Wolverhampton South West, as saying.

"The British Sikh community has made and continues to make a huge contribution to our nation," noted Labour leader Ed Miliband in his assessment of the BSR.

Sikhs in the UK

The Sikh diaspora makes up a fraction - 430,000 - of the UK's total population of around 66 million.

Punjab's Maharaja Duleep Singh, who was exiled in 1849 after the Anglo-Sikh wars, was the first recorded Sikh settler in Britain.

Almost a hundred years later, a number of Sikhs from Punjab moved to the UK for industrial employment. Some years later, they were joined by the community counterparts from East Africa. Another set of migration took place in the 1980s-1990s during the unrest in Punjab.

Image: @MEAIndia/Twitter File photo

UK-India ties

The United Kingdom is the fourth-largest inward investor in India, after Mauritius, Singapore and Japan, with a cumulative equity investment of $24.37 billion between April 2000 and December 2016, according to a brief on foreign relations posted on the MEA's website. This, the brief says, accounts for around seven percent of all foreign direct investment into India.

At the same time, India continues to be the third-largest investor in the UK and emerged as the second-largest international job creator in the UK.

Defence, education and science and technology are other pillars of the bilateral relationship.

Why UK Sikhs top bilateral agenda?

Yet, hawks in New Delhi establishment rolled a story out in none other than a leading business daily that "Sikh extremism" in the UK will "figure high" on prime minister Narendra Modi's agenda when he meets his British counterpart Theresa May in London later this month.

The story was couched in a characteristic jargon that makes no distinction between extremism, radicalisation and terrorism on the one hand and activism on the other. It was meant to be that way.

Words were thrown like popcorn on purpose. "India is likely to seek strong action over reported growth in Sikh extremism in the United Kingdom, just as in Canada and Australia," the news report declared.

Action? What action? And for what?

In 2015, PM Modi shared a dossier with the then UK prime minister, David Cameron, alleging "Sikh radicalisation" in Britain.

For domestic media back home, every complaint that our country now increasingly tends to make to other nations about communities and people makes up a banner headline over other news.

Sikh activism is not radicalism: Leeds

For the British though, it wasn't fun. The Leeds university took up the matter as a research subject. Its findings flew straight into the face of the so-called dossier.

"This research highlights that Sikhs have no conflict with Britain or the West. There is much unresolved trauma in the Sikh community around the events of 1984 which continues to drive many Sikhs to activism," the Leeds research, released November last year, found. "However, in terms of incidents and issues, the most frequently reported incidents of violence involving Sikhs in Britain have taken place against other Sikhs."

In line with the BSR report of 2013, the study found much Sikh activism in Britain contributed positively to the integration agenda, particularly in the form of humanitarian relief. The research underscored Sikh role during natural disasters, "such as floods in Somerset and Hebden Bridge, and incidents such as the Grenfell Tower fire, where members of the public required support".

Unlike the popcorn usage prevalent in India, the survey report made a clear distinction between activism and radicalisation. And it traced the root of the British Sikh activism to the devastating events of 1984, starting from Operation Blue Star to the massacre of thousands of Sikhs in the streets of New Delhi and other major cities of India for at least half-a-week after the assassination of then PM Indira Gandhi.

1984 justice struggle has moved overseas

Thirty four years on, no perpetrator of the gory killings of 1984 has been punished by the Indian state. Evidence was destroyed purposely during the first of the series of investigations.

Thirty-four years means a generation-and-a-half. Punjab and the Sikhs of India have since moved on.

When you drive into the Sikh majority state, from Chandigarh right up to Amritsar, there's absolutely no unease in the air. No separatism in popular psyche, no major Hindu-Sikh tensions, let alone terrorism.

Drive deeper into towns and villages of Punjab and you'll find many houses in rows padlocked. Whosoever has the resources and the means is moving out to either Canada, the United States, Europe or to Australia and New Zealand. This is a purely economic migration.

The events of 1984 are not a part of regular public discourse in Punjab. But that doesn't mean it didn't happen. In a bigger culture where effigies of a mythological demon king, Ravan, are burnt every year, you cannot expect an entire community to forget mass murders and public lynchings of its members in 34 years.

It's just that the theatre of struggle for justice has moved. It has moved from Punjab and Delhi to the developed world. It has moved to where Sikhs now share power - Canada, the UK, Australia and New Zealand.

Their small size and difficult history aside, the community has established itself as a powerbroker in the international community. The Sikhs in those countries have risen through the ranks - from farm labourers, lorry drivers to mayors, police chiefs, lawmakers and ministers.

And with that phenomenal rise, they took up 1984 vociferously to international forums. Just last year, the Ontario legislature in Canada passed a motion calling the 1984 anti-Sikh violence a "genocide", a politically-charged term.

Exactly a month before The Economic Times reported the Sikh subject topping Modi's agenda with the UK prime minister, Britain promised to discuss with him the alleged persecution of Christians and the Sikhs in India during his April visit. This, after British MPs raised the demand that the matter be taken up with Modi on a priority.

"My frequent jousting partner, the honorable member for West Dunbartonshire (Martin Docherty-Hughes), alluded to a consular case that we continue to work closely on," a news report quoted British foreign-office minister for Asia Mark Field as saying.

"He made some profound points about prime minister Modi and about Christian and Sikh minorities in India. We will do our best to raise some of those in an appropriate manner at the Commonwealth heads of government meeting in mid-April to ensure that Parliaments voice is properly heard.

Counter-complaints won't gloss over 1984

The bloodshed of 1984 in an India governed by the Congress party is now seen as the seed of right-wing and aggressive majoritarianism that's gaining a firm foothold in the country under the BJP rule.

Local party politics is fading out of the bigger picture. The questions instead are being raised internationally about the Indian state and its commitment to its secular Constitution.

India's ties with the Sikh diaspora are set to sink further and strain its relations with the countries like the UK, Canada, Australia or a Trump-less US in the future if powers in New Delhi didn't settle 1984 once and for all.

Blame game is no solution.

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The year was 1977. It was the Indira Gandhi-led Congresss annus horribilis. The Jayaprakash Narayan-led Sampoorn Kranti movement created a storm that decimated and drove the Congress party out of power for the first time in 1977. Most people had suspected that the Congress might just lose. But the quantum of defeat was an absolute shocker.

The Congress won a measly 154 seats and Indira Gandhi was defeated by Raj Narain in Rae Bareli, this time fare and square. The unimaginable had happened and the queen had been beaten by the clown. This was the time when Indira Gandhi and her Congress party had been written off by the political pundits. 1977 was the year when Indira Gandhi reached the nadir in politics.

Image: PTI photo

Six months after the colossal defeat, Indira Gandhi found herself in a godforsaken, nondescript village named Belchi in Bihar, where 11 Dalits had been shot and then burnt alive one by one. It was March of 1977 and the Janata Party government had just come to power with a massive mandate and humongous expectations.

Although the gruesome Belchi massacre had sent shockwaves across the nation, no minister of the newly elected Janata party government at the Centre or the Bihar government had shown any sympathy by visiting the victims and they were too busy celebrating their win and pursuing their politics of vengeance and vendetta against Indira and Sanjay.

This was the time when the Congress was for the first time ever described as a sinking ship. Indira Gandhi found herself on a sticky wicket. She was still reeling under public wrath after subjecting the nation to 18 months of coercive Emergency. She had lost the 1977 general election in a humiliating manner, her own partymen had mounted a rebellion against her and, to make matters worse, the Shah Commission was set up by the Morarji government to settle scores with her and to inquire corruption charges against her with an imminent arrest on the cards.

It was under such extremely precarious circumstances with the odds heavily stacked against her that Indira Gandhi decided to visit Belchi which turned out to be her moment of political redemption. Even before the Janata Party government could react, Indira travelled by train, jeep and tractor, through mud, slush and floods and even on an elephant back to reach Belchi.

Image: PTI photo

The demoralised and frightened villagers greeted her as a long lost daughter and a liberator. There were no black flags. No hostile mobs. Not even a single anti-Indira slogan. It seemed as if the people had forgiven her for the excesses and atrocities of the Emergency. The villagers cheered her and raised slogans like: Aadhi roti khayeigein, Indira ko bulaingein (we will live on half rotis, but will bring Indira back). And "Indira tere abhao men Harijan mare jate hain" (Indira, in your absence, Harijans are being killed). It was hard to believe that she was the same Indira Gandhi who had been mercilessly beaten at the polls only six months back.

Indira Gandhi returned from Belchi as a more confident politician with immense self-belief that she could still stage a comeback. The rest as they say is history. The tide had turned and the Congress resurrected making a spectacular comeback in the 1980 general elections.

It is said that history has a tendency to repeat itself and one can find uncanny similarities between the situation of the Congress after 1977 rout and its situation today.

Today, Rahul Gandhi's Congress finds itself in a similar position as Indira's Congress was decades back: an election rout, corruption and graft allegations, questions raised on his style of functioning and leadership, the tussle for power within the party, among several other things.

Almost four decades after its first-ever election defeat, the Congress today faces the danger of being consigned to the dustbin of history. The grand old party has been decimated to a paltry tally of 48 seats in the Lok Sabha and it is in power in only four states. What is even more scary is that "Congress-mukt Bharat" has become a buzzword for political discourse in the country.

People who have penned down obituaries of the Congress opine that the decline is an irreversible process and its death is almost certain. However, there are those who believe that this is another lean phase for the party and it will be back to its winning ways.

I was in an environmental studies class in college and the teacher asked the class to provide some examples of "disasters". Some mischievous back-bencher whooped and replied, Rahul Gandhi. And the whole class of some 120-odd 17-18-year-olds burst into laughter. This was after Rahuls Twitter witticisms had created headlines and the media was busy showing changing public perception about him.

However, the ground reality is that Rahul is still considered to be "pappu", a diffident dilettante and a reluctant politician. Rahul needs to change this perception. A modern-day political party cant afford such a sharply negative public perception of its leader as it will only spoil its electoral fortunes. Indira was derided as "goongi gudiya", Rahul is lampooned as "pappu". Rahul needs to reflect on how Indira went from being mocked as "goongi gudiya" to being hailed as "Durga".

If Indira could reinvent herself, rebrand and rejuvenate the Congress after its 1977 debacle and emerge as the undisputed leader of her party, can Rahul also revive the partys prospects and more importantly how?

Disenchantment is there but can Rahul do a 1980 in 2019? But Rahul Gandhi is no Indira Gandhi. And Narendra Modi is no Morarji Desai. The BJP under the Modi-Shah duo is not a mashup of disparate elements which the Janata Party under Chandra Shekhar was. But if Rahul tries to match Indiras zeal to fight and stage a comeback, he would surely boost his partys morale and chances in 2019.

The BJP will come out all guns blazing in 2019 and use every weapon in its ammunition to repeat its 2014 success while the Congress under Rahul will try do what Indira did in 1980.

Will 2019 be another 2014 or another 1980?

Only time will tell us that. But we need to remember the old saying of the jungle, No two elections in India are the same!

Postscript: Indira Gandhi in 1980 overcame the challenges from Morarji Desai - a politician from Gujarat. Incidentally, 38 years later, Rahul Gandhi also faces a mammoth political challenge from another politician from Gujarat - Narendra Modi.

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It seems another controversy is set to rock the judiciary. A public interest litigation has been filed in the Supreme Court by former law minister Shanti Bhushan challenging the manner in which CJI Dipak Misra exercises his administrative powers.

The manner of exercise of these administrative powers was the sole bone of contention between the CJI and the top four dissenting judges who held a press conference in January. Despite the CJI issuing a formal roster, the matter is far from being settled.

Administrative powers refer as to how the cases are allocated in the Supreme Court - the number or the strength of the bench, which bench will hear the matter, its coram, etc. If its a constitutional matter, then the CJI needs to constitute the bench and also the time when the hearing shall commence. To get swayed by the term "administrative" would be deeply misleading. Its not just mere clerical "administration" in the ordinary sense, but a crucial component of delivery of justice.

In the corridors of top judiciary the "mood" of the bench is an often-used term. It refers to beliefs that judges may hold on a public matter which they may have expressed during a hearing or the alleged "political leanings".

In the past six months, much has changed about the way we talk about the Supreme Court. The unsaid is spoken of and the lines for contempt have been pushed.

Thanks to the top four judges who held the historic press conference and spoke of the irregularities in the Supreme Court and the manner in which the CJI office is functioning, it is now no more a hushed discussion as to how some benches are considered to be "preferred benches" which may give a "desired outcome". The undertone of the allegation is that of the executive interference and the political leanings of judges.

The allegation is not of corruption, but of impropriety or cosying up to the powerful executive. Justice J Chelameswar asserted that allegation once again in his latest letter to the CJI.

After the top four judges made their grievances public, the chief justice of India who is rightly the "master of the roster" and holds exclusively the administrative powers in the Supreme Court came up with a formal roster system. The roster divided the cases on the basis of their nature, but the CJI held the sole domain to hear politically sensitive public interest litigations.

In the tenure of CJI Dipak Misra, who assumed office in August 2017, the top four judges have remained out of all the crucial constitution benches, including Aadhaar, Centre versus Delhi government etc. This is different from the tenure of former CJIs like Justice JS Khehar and Justice HL Dattu.

Further, under the new roster, the CJI holds the exclusive domain to hear all public interest litigations. The Supreme Court Bar Association and many legal luminaries had suggested that top five judges should be allocated PILs after schisms between the CJI and the top four judges became public.

The present PIL filed by Shanti Bhushan points the above alleged concentration of power with the CJI office. The plea says: The master of roster cannot be unguided and unbridled discretionary power, exercised arbitrarily by the honble chief justice of India by hand-picking benches of select judges or by assigning cases to particular judges. Any such power or its exercise would result in a subversion of democracy and the rule of law as guaranteed under Article 14 of the Constitution. The authority of the honble chief justice of India as master of roster is not an absolute, arbitrary, singular power that is vested in the chief justice alone and which may be exercised with his sole discretion."

The matter is likely to be mentioned for urgent hearing. Key questions remain unanswered. Since the CJI is a party in this case, who shall allocate this case and to which bench. Is such a case admissible per se?

The petition seeks that the top five judges of Supreme Court must hear the matter.

The silence after the historic press conference should not be construed as all is well within the judiciary. It is perhaps the lull before yet another storm.

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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.
Bunzl plc operates as a distribution and services company in the North America, Continental Europe, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and internationally. The company offers food packaging, films, labels, counter-service packaging, foodservice disposables, take-out food packaging, first aid products, point of purchase displays, stationery, bags, and cleaning and hygiene supplies to grocery stores, supermarkets, retail chains, convenience stores, food wholesalers, ethnic grocers, and organic food outlets. It also provides food packaging, napkins, disposable tableware, food service disposables, guest amenities, light and heavy catering equipment, cleaning and hygiene products, and safety items to hotels, restaurants, caterers, the leisure sector, and food processors and packers; and footwear, gloves, safety helmets, workwear, harness equipment, tools, safety signs, traffic management, and ancillary site equipment, as well as ear, eye, respiratory, and face protection products to customers in the industrial and construction markets. In addition, the company offers cleaning systems, floorcare items, hand cleansing products, hygiene paper, janitorial products, cleaning machines, mops, polishes, and protective clothing and washroom chemicals to facilities management companies, contract cleaners, and other industrial and healthcare customers; and counter service packaging, point of purchase display items, stationery, and cleaning and hygiene products to department stores, boutiques, office supply companies, retail chains, and home improvement chains. Further, it provides gloves, aprons, bandages, facemasks, gowns, headwear, mattress covers, overshoes, procedure packs, tapes, wipes, incontinence products, and swabs to the healthcare sector, including hospitals, retirement and nursing homes, and doctors' surgeries and clinics; and various products to government and education establishments. Bunzl plc was founded in 1854 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.

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Everest Re Group Ltd. is a holding company, which engages in the provision of reinsurance and insurance services. It operates through the following segments: U.S. Reinsurance, International, Bermuda, and Insurance. The U.S. Reinsurance segment writes property and casualty reinsurance and specialty lines of business, including marine, aviation, surety, and accident and health business, on both a treaty and facultative basis, through reinsurance brokers, as well as directly with ceding companies primarily within the U.S. The International segment offers foreign property and casualty reinsurance through Everest Re's branches in Canada and Singapore and through offices in Brazil, Miami, and New Jersey. The Bermuda segment comprises reinsurance and insurance to worldwide property and casualty markets through brokers and directly with ceding companies from its Bermuda office and reinsurance to the United Kingdom and European markets through its UK branch and Ireland Re. The Insurance segment writes property and casualty insurance directly and through brokers, surplus lines brokers, and general agents within the U.S., Canada, and Europe. The company was founded in 1999 and is headquartere

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Greenhill & Co., Inc. pays an annual dividend of $0.20 per share and currently has a dividend yield of 1.35%. Greenhill & Co., Inc. has been increasing its dividend for 3 consecutive year(s), indicating that it does not yet have a strong track record of dividend growth. The dividend payout ratio of Greenhill & Co., Inc. is 14.71%. This payout ratio is at a healthy, sustainable level, below 75%. Based on earnings estimates, Greenhill & Co., Inc. will have a dividend payout ratio of 9.22% next year. This indicates that Greenhill & Co., Inc. will be able to sustain or increase its dividend.

View Greenhill & Co., Inc.'s dividend history.
William Lyon Homes (NYSE:WLH) released its earnings results on Wednesday, November, 6th. The construction company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.07. The construction company had revenue of $466.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $487.15 million. William Lyon Homes had a trailing twelve-month return on equity of 6.98% and a net margin of 3.04%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.68 earnings per share.

View William Lyon Homes' earnings history.
China Unicom (Hong Kong) Limited, an investment holding company, provides cellular and fixed-line voice, and related value-added services in the People's Republic of China. It also provides broadband and other Internet-related, information communications technology, and business and data communications services. In addition, the company offers communications technology training, technical, and Internet information and value-added telecommunications services; telecommunications network construction, planning, and technical consulting services; and consultancy, survey, design, and contract services relating to information and construction projects. Further, it provides customer, project design consultation and management, property management, e-payment, venture capital investment, communications technology development and promotion, auto informatisation, financial, data processing, and tourism and information services; advertising design, production, agency, and publication services; technology development, transfer, and consulting services; and technology promotion service of intelligent transportation system's products. Additionally, the company offers technology development and consultation, and other services; technology research and development, consultation, and services of TV video and mobile video; internet of things technology, and online data processing and transaction services; and big data, and cloud computation and infrastructure services. It also provides online video and reading materials; network music; financing leasing services; and data analysis and application services, as well as sells handsets and telecommunication equipment. As of December 31, 2019, it had approximately 254 million 4G subscribers, 83 million fixed-line broadband subscribers, and 54 million fixed-line local access subscribers. The company was incorporated in 2000 and is based in Central, Hong Kong. China Unicom (Hong Kong) Limited is a subsidiary of China Unicom (BVI) Limited.

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The following companies are subsidiares of Ingersoll Rand: 211 E. Russell Road LLC, Air-Relief, Belliss & Morcom Brasil, Belliss and Morcom, Boardwalk Enterprises, Charm Merger Sub Inc., CompAir, CompAir (Hankook) Korea Co. Ltd., CompAir Acquisition (No. 2) Ltd., CompAir Acquisition Ltd., CompAir BroomWade Ltd., CompAir Canada, CompAir Finance Ltd., CompAir GmbH, CompAir Holdings Limited, CompAir Holman Ltd, CompAir International Trading (Shanghai) Co Ltd, CompAir Korea Ltd, CompAir South Africa (SA) (Pty) Ltd., CompAir UK Ltd, CompAir USA, Consolidated Distribution Holdings Ltd., DV Systems Inc., Emco Wheaton, Emco Wheaton GmbH Branch, Emco Wheaton Gmbh, Emco Wheaton UK, Emco Wheaton USA Inc, Enza Air Propriety Limited (South Africa), GD Aria Holdings #2 Limited, GD Aria Holdings Limited, GD Aria Investments Limited, GD First UK Ltd, GD German Holdings GmbH, GD German Holdings I Gmbh, GD German Holdings II GmbH, GD German Investments GmbH, GD Global Holdings, GD Global Holdings II, GD Global Holdings UK II Ltd., GD Global Ventures I B.V., GD Global Ventures II B.V., GD Global Ventures III B.V., GD Industrial Products Malaysia SDN. BHD., GD Investment KY, GD UK Finance Ltd., Gardner Denver (Thailand) Co. Ltd., Gardner Denver Austria GmbH, Gardner Denver Bad Neustadt Real Estate GmbH & Co KG, Gardner Denver Belgium NV, Gardner Denver Brasil Industria E Comercio de Maquinas Ltda., Gardner Denver CZ + SK sro, Gardner Denver Canada Corp, Gardner Denver Cyprus Investments II Ltd., Gardner Denver Cyprus Investments II Ltd. - US Branch, Gardner Denver Cyprus Investments Ltd., Gardner Denver Cyprus Investments Ltd. - US Branch, Gardner Denver Deutschland GmbH, Gardner Denver Engineered Products India Private Limited, Gardner Denver FZE, Gardner Denver Finance II LLC, Gardner Denver Finance Inc & Co KG, Gardner Denver France SA, Gardner Denver France SAS, Gardner Denver Group Services Ltd, Gardner Denver Group Svcs Ltd, Gardner Denver Hoffman, Gardner Denver Holdings, Gardner Denver Holdings Limited, Gardner Denver Hong Kong Investments Limited, Gardner Denver Hong Kong Ltd, Gardner Denver Iberica, Gardner Denver Industries Ltd., Gardner Denver Industries Pty Ltd., Gardner Denver Industries Pty Ltd. Branch, Gardner Denver International, Gardner Denver International Ltd., Gardner Denver Intl Ltd Middle East Regional Rep Office, Gardner Denver Investments, Gardner Denver Italy Holdings S.r.L., Gardner Denver Japan, Gardner Denver Kirchhain Real Estate GmbH & Co KG, Gardner Denver Korea, Gardner Denver Korea Ltd, Gardner Denver Ltd, Gardner Denver Ltd South Africa, Gardner Denver Ltd., Gardner Denver Ltd. Branch (Ireland), Gardner Denver Machinery (Shanghai) Co, Gardner Denver Machinery (Shanghai) Co., Gardner Denver Nash Brasil Industria E Comercio De Bombas Ltda, Gardner Denver Nash Deutschland GmbH, Gardner Denver Nash LLC, Gardner Denver Nash Machinery Ltd, Gardner Denver Nash Machinery Ltd., Gardner Denver Nederland BV, Gardner Denver Nederland Investments B.V., Gardner Denver Oberdorfer Pumps, Gardner Denver Oy, Gardner Denver Petroleum Pumps, Gardner Denver Polska Sp z.o.o., Gardner Denver Pte Ltd., Gardner Denver S.r.l., Gardner Denver Schopfheim GmbH, Gardner Denver Schopfheim Real Estate GmbH & Co KG, Gardner Denver Schweiz AG, Gardner Denver Slovakia, Gardner Denver SudAmerica S.r.l., Gardner Denver Sweden AB, Gardner Denver Taiwan Ltd., Gardner Denver Thomas, Gardner Denver Thomas GmbH, Gardner Denver Thomas Pneumatic Systems (Wuxi) Co., Gardner Denver Thomas Real Estate GmbH & Co KG, Gardner Denver UK, Gardner Denver Water Jetting Systems, Garo Dott. Ing. Roberto Gabbioneta S.r.l., Hamworthy Belliss & Morcom, ILMVAC (UK) Ltd., ILS Innovative Labor Systeme, ILS Inovative Laborsysteme GmbH, Indonesia Foreign Trade Representative Office, LeROI, LeRoi International Inc, MP Pumps Inc., Mako Compressors, Nash, Nash Elmo, Oina VV, Oina VV Aktiebolag, Robuschi, Rotary Compression Technologies, Runtech Systems, Runtech Systems (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Runtech Systems Inc., Runtech Systems OY, Shanghai CompAir Compressors Co Ltd, Shanghai Compressors & Blowers Ltd., Syltone, TCM Investments, TIWR Real Estate GmbH & Co. KG, TODO AB, Tamrotor Marine Compressors AS, Thomas Industries, Thomas Industries Inc., Tri-Continent Scientific, Welch Vacuum Equipment (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Zinsser Analytic, Zinsser Analytik GmbH, and Zinsser NA.
India began its search for new planes for the Indian air force in 2003 to replace its Soviet-era MiG fighters. (Photo: PTI)

New Delhi: India is seeking to buy around 110 fighter jets, the air force said in a request for information issued on Friday, marking the first step toward a long-delayed deal that could be worth more than $15 billion.

Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Saab and Dassault Aviation are among the manufacturers expected to compete.

The aircraft must be built largely in India as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modis drive to build a domestic industrial base.

The air force said in a notice that 85 per cent will have to be made in India by a Strategic Partner/Indian Production Agency.

Lockheed has offered to move its F-16 production line in Fort Worth, Texas, to India and make it the only plant worldwide to produce the F-16 for not only India but also other countries, said Vivek Lall, vice president, strategy and business development at Lockheed Martin.

Lockheed has teamed with Indias Tata Advanced Systems to build the planes locally while Swedens Saab has entered into a partnership with the Adani Group, a resources conglomerate. The other contenders have not announced their local partners.

The tender will be open for makers of both single engine and twin-engined combat jets, in a widening of the field. The Eurofighter Typhoon and Russian aircraft are also potential contenders under the new requirements.

A spokesman for Dassault Aviation which makes the twin-engine Rafale declined to comment.

Earlier, the defence ministry had sought expressions of interest from single-engine manufacturers which effectively restricted the contest to Lockheeds F-16 and Saabs Gripen fighter jets.

But in February the government asked the air force to open up the competition to twin-engined aircraft, in the latest flip-flop in policy that has delayed the acquisition process for years and left the air force short of hundreds of planes.

India began its search for new planes for the Indian air force in 2003 to replace its Soviet-era MiG fighters.

The request for information is open until July, the air force said. A request for proposal will then be issued followed by bid evaluations and contract negotiations. The process could take years, officials say.
New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation questioned a former senior central bank official on Friday about a gold import scheme as part of inquiries into a $2 billion fraud at state-run Punjab National Bank, a source familiar with the discussions said.

The source told Reuters that officers from the federal police had been seeking background information from former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Deputy Governor HR Khan on the 80:20 scheme and that it was not a grilling exercise.

In 2013, the RBI and the previous government implemented the 80:20 rule to help rein in a spiralling current account deficit, forcing importers to export at least 20 percent of the gold that they brought into the country.

The restrictions were later eased as the deficit narrowed and the scarcity of gold hit Indias jewellery exports.

Khan, who retired from his post at the RBI in 2016, declined a Reuters request for comment.

However, the source said: The Central Bureau of Investigation wanted to understand the background of the 80:20 scheme, why it was relaxed and on what basis trading houses were chosen to import gold.

Earlier, a government source said that Khan had been questioned but declined to give any further details.

It is not immediately clear why investigators believe there is a connection between that scheme and the PNB fraud. This was allegedly perpetrated over a period of years by two jeweller groups that raised loans from overseas branches of Indian banks using nearly $2 billion of fraudulent guarantees issued by some rogue PNB staffers.

Four senior RBI officials were also quizzed by investigators on Thursday, but sources told Reuters they were not suspected of wrongdoing either, and had been called on to explain how banking processes work.

Police have also quizzed PNB and other bank officials, and made at least 20 arrests in the case that came to light in early February. PNB has said it is working with police and regulators in the investigation.
Mumbai: After spending two nights in Jodhpur Central Jail, actor Salman Khan was granted bail by Jodhpur Court in 1998 blackbuck poaching case. Salman Khan is likely to be out of Jodhpur Central Jail by 7.30 pm. The fans and industry well-wishers are extremely happy with the news while expressing their thoughts on social media:

Actor Neil Nitin Mukesh said:

And he finally gets Bail. @BeingSalmanKhan more strength to you bhai. Believe in the power of justice and the God above. #WeSupportSalmanKhan  Neil Nitin Mukesh (@NeilNMukesh) April 7, 2018

Salman Khan's co-star Sonakshi Sinha wrote:

Director of Salman Khan's upcoming 'Race 3', Remo D'Souza said:

Filmmaker Subhash Ghai wrote:

Thanx God     

Good deeds will always pay @BeingSalmanKhan a full justice finally. He has already been punished mentally for 20 years for his big mistakes n still waiting for justice. God bless u salman @beinghuman  Subhash Ghai (@SubhashGhai1) April 7, 2018

Actor Rahul Dev said:

I respect the law but must confess the verdict saddens me. My heart goes out to @BeingSalmanKhan & his family members. 5 yrs is too harsh! I hope they review the decision, in lieu of his great humanitarian work & grant him bail tom #WeSupportSalmanKhan #BlackbuckPoachingCase  Rahul Dev Official (@RahulDevRising) April 5, 2018

So happy for @BeingSalmanKhan finally, much deserved relief for him and his family. Cant keep a good man down for long. Hope justice prevails in the case as i have full faith in the judicial system.  #WeLoveYouSalmanKhan  Aftab Shivdasani (@AftabShivdasani) April 7, 2018

Im so happy that my brother @BeingSalmanKhan was finally granted bail! Today I will dedicate 2 songs to my big brother at @IPL ..., pic.twitter.com/H7S1auzLVz  King Mika Singh (@MikaSingh) April 7, 2018

Salman will have to furnish two bail bonds of Rs 25,000 each as a personal bail bond.

Salman's co-stars and Bollywood actors - Saif Ali Khan, Sonali Bendre, Tabu and Neelam Kothari - were acquitted by the court for the lack of evidence.

The actor's lawyer had approached the court with his bail application of 51-pages on Friday, but the hearing was deferred off till today after the judge asked for the entire case records.
Mumbai: Salman Khan is one of fittest actors in Bollywood. In fact it wont be wrong to call him the first actor who has focused on fitness and inspired many others to do the same.

Also Read: Salman Khan bail plea: Hearing over, judge to pronounce order after lunch

The actor was convicted and sentenced to five years in jail on Thursday in the 20-year old blackbuck poaching case.

Shortly after the sentence was pronounced on Thursday, Salman Khan was taken to Jodhpur Central Jail.

After being put off on Friday, Bollywood superstar Salman Khans bail hearing begun on Saturday morning and will reportedly be announced post lunch at 2 pm.

Also Read: Blackbuck poaching case: Quit because of transfers, says investigating officer

Even though he refused dinner and breakfast on the first day, Salman did not back out of working out while spending his time in prison.

According to a report on Times Of India, the actor worked out from 3:30 and continued until 6:30pm on Friday, with a mix of crunches, push ups, skipping and jumping.

Also Read: Law should be same for all: Mika Singh on Salman Khan's blackbuck poaching case

His co-stars and co-accused Saif Ali Khan, Tabu, Neelam and Sonali Bendre, who had accompanied the actor that night, were acquitted and returned to Mumbai they same day post the verdict, while Salman spent 2 nights in the jail.

The killing took place near a village of Bishnois, who are passionate about protecting the animals. On hearing the gunshots, the villagers came out running and some were among the 28 witnesses whose evidence against the actor was crucial in the conviction.
While watching movies as a kid, Shaitya Santhosh dreamt of becoming a part of them. She yearned for a small role, but was blessed with a meaty role when she grew up. That happiness echoes in her voice as she talks about her debut as the heroine of the movie Ningal Camera Nireekshanathilanu, directed by Vinayan P.S. It is all because of luck and Gods grace, she says. I play the central character and the story revolves around me, she adds. Bhagath Manuel and Hafiz Ali play the two male leads. It was her television days that fetched her this offer. I started learning dance at the age of three. I used to take part in school and college youth fests.

Then, I started appearing as guest artist on television shows such as Comedy Festival (Mazhavil Manorama) and Comedy Stars (Asianet). I also did a brief appearance in two episodes of the popular sitcom Uppum Mulakum, which turned out to be a hit on YouTube. The movie offer came as a surprise. The directors wife found me on a television show and suggested me for the character, she says. There were other offers, but I chose Ningal Camera as it has a strong story and character, she adds.

A still from the location.

In the movie, Shaitya appears in two getups. The character Ancy hails from a village and moves out for studies. When she is at home, she is seen in traditional attire. She has a modern outlook when she is away from home, says the artist, who earlier did character roles in Jo and the Boy and King Liar. Though Ancy was a challenging character, portraying it on screen wasnt so difficult for Shaitya.

It was because everyone on the set was so friendly and I enjoyed doing it. I was lucky to be a part of this venture, she says. During interviews of cine artistes, I have heard them saying it was painful for them to leave the set as it was like a family. I felt that emotion on the sets of Ningal Camera Nireekshanathilanu, says Shaitya, a native of Ranni in Pathanamthitta. Right now, she lives in Kottayam and pursues Law at CSI Law College, Ettumanoor.

Shaitya Santhosh

Shaitya is grateful to her parents for letting her follow her dream. They are the reason I am here now. My father runs a business and my mother is a housewife. My mother loves dance and wished to be under the spotlight in her young days. She is realising her dream through me. I am also thankful to my guru Saji Ochira sir and Paulson uncle, who is an artist, concludes Shaitya, the winter-born girl. I was born in Delhi during the winter. So my parents called me Shaitya, derived from Shaithyam, she smiles.
Is it a bookstore? Is it a cafe? Is it an event space? Its Atta Galata, which, like its name, is always exciting. You can browse for books without having to tiptoe! Run by the creative, hugely gutsy Lakshmi and Subodh Shankar, this is the bookstore for the reader, by the reader, as Subodh puts it. Atta Galata turned seven on April 1 and has, over the years, emerged as a platform for creativity of all kinds, whether you want to express or imbibe. Lakshmi and Subodh talk to Darshana Ramdev about their extraordinary journey.

"Wanna buy a bar?" Made famous by countless sitcomes, "Wanna buy a bar" is a familiar urban refrain for aimless youths. For Lakshmi Shankar, owner at Atta Galata, however, no tale is complete without a twist. "Let's start a bookstore," she would tell her husband, Subodh, from time to time. When they returned home from a stay in Singapore, she asked her favourite question once more: "Let's start a book shop." This time, Subodh said yes.

Nestled away in its first floor hidey-hole in a busy side lane in Koramangala, the average visitor's first impression of Atta Galata is one of pleasant bewilderment. This is perhaps, one of the only places in the city where copies of Ponniyan Selvan, poetry by Bhartiyar and Kannadasan fly off the shelves. It's heartenig to see at a time where books are on the decline, regional books even more so. Youngsters come bounding up the stairs asking for Tamil books for their grandparents and Lakshmi, a lover of Tamil literature, is always happy to help.

Rows of books line the walls and a little cafe flanks the farthest end of the store. Its proprietor, the curly-haired, bespectacled Lakshmi, bustles about the place, shifting furniture (and its hapless occupants) around and generally making her sometimes stern presence felt. "My daughter always laughs at how I push visitors around," laughs Lakshmi, who was, at the time of this interview, driving her teenager to Gokarna. "I like to stick to the idea that it adds to the ambience!"

"I asked Subodh if he would run the cafe and he agreed," says Lakshmi, who decided she needed another, more gregarious hand on board. "I'm not much of a people-person but Subodh is extremely easy to talk to," she explains. This was of the essence: They began Atta Galata, as Subodh puts it, "Without short, medium and long term missions and visions. We were readers who wanted a place where other book lovers could come and feel happy." A three-pronged approach with books, a cafe and a lineup of events seemed the most balanced. "I asked Subodh over and over - 'Will you feel bad later?' He's a software person and here I am, talking about buns and yeast!" Subodh was a sporting partner and took on the challenge at once.

The origins

Seven years ago, on April 1, Atta Galata opened its doors to the public. The year prior had been spent conducting what Lakshmi describes as a series of "mundane but necessary" tasks. Without a background in books or business, they began with blank slate. "What does a bookstore actually do? What do they stock? What percentage of the book's price do we receive? These were the things I had to learn," says Lakshmi. This meant traipsing to publishing houses, making contacts and zeroing in on authors. "I"m glad I did it, though. I became a familiar face. By the time Atta Galata opened, they all knew the 'crazy lady who wanted to start a bookstore'!" says Lakshmi, who, despite her rather serious exterior, has a quietly riotous sense of humour.

Soon, Atta Galata became a regular fixture at literary festivals. Their store at the BLF each year sees sales hit the roof with Kannada and regional literature finding exemplary demand. Lakshmi adds, however, that this is where the excitement tends to peak. "We have younger authors as well and they do well at the festivals. The classics, however, always have their readers. Usually older people looking for a few moments of nostalgia."

The adda

Their first event was the launch of a children's book. "They sent their author to us very bravely. I felt quite sorry for the author because only five kids showed up!" It was a rocky start, with challenges that would manifest several times over the next few years. "It takes about three years to find your balance," Lakshmi remarks.

People of all ages began to troop into the space: "They all look a little puzzled, even to this day, about what Atta Galata actually is," Lakshmi remarks. "I quite like that!" The college students make straight for Subodh's cafe, where they appear perfectly content without a standup gig, live music or anything else to anticipate: a phenomenon that continues to mystify Lakshmi. "Once in a way, a kid walks up to me and says he bought a book. I don't know whether to be wary of this or keep it going!"

Poetry Festival

There seemed to be no shortage of amateur poets at the store, and all of them were given the room to read their work. "We decided to do something more serious," says Lakshmi. That was the start of the Bengaluru Poetry Festival, the third edition of which will take place this August. "Finding sponsors is very hard, nobody wants to give you money!" They sought the advice of Shinie Anthony, who said, "Just take the plunge." We have a great team, who is happy to stay in the background and make sure everything is in place. Its a tough journey but it helps to have people who want to take it with you.

Non-curated

We had a man who wrote nano poetry, Subodh exclaims. The techie in him was thrilled to find a poet who wrote in binary code. His company had printed it on their chips, which you can see with an electron microscope, he recalls. When Prasad, the poet in question, arrived to launch his book, he had no audience. This is part of it, though. Even so, there is so much creativity in this city and putting yourself out there takes guts. Im glad to see it happen.
Photo: Paul Fegmann/Twitter An image of the aftermath, which was shared on Twitter by a local resident.

Three people are dead and many more injured after a van rammed into a crowd of people outside a restaurant in Munster, Germany, on Saturday afternoon. The driver shot and killed himself while still in the vehicle after the crash. His suicide led police to treat the incident as a terrorist attack, but terrorism may not have been the drivers motive.

It was subsequently reported that the driver was a 48-year-old German citizen with a history of mental illness. Germanys interior minister announced that there is no evidence that the Munster man, who apparently worked as graphic designer, had any links to Islamist terrorism.

At least 20 people were hurt in the crash, including six with life-threatening injuries. Police had earlier reported that four people had died during the incident, but later corrected the total. (The three total fatalities include the driver.)

After police found a package with wires inside the vehicle, the area was evacuated while the bomb squad was brought in to investigate. The drivers apartment has been searched for explosives.

Police also investigated witness reports that two additional perpetrators may have fled the vehicle after it crashed, but those reports do not appear to have been confirmed, leaving the driver as the sole suspect.

The incident happened just before 3:30 p.m. in a cobblestone plaza outside the Kiepenkerl bar in the citys popular old town. Images of the aftermath showed that the van smashed through several cafe tables before coming to a stop. Eyewitnesses reported seeing the vehicle approach the site at high speed.

Saturday was the warmest day of the year so far in the city, so it is likely that the pedestrian area, which is filled with cafes and shops, was crowded.

Special forces personnel were deployed in Munsters city center following the incident, and police have asked people to avoid the area and stay in their homes, and have repeatedly warned against spreading rumors.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel issued a statement on Saturday thanking the first responders and explaining that everything conceivable is being done to investigate the crime and to support the victims and their relatives.

Though the motive of this driver remains unclear, the Munster incident follows numerous terrorist attacks that have weaponized vehicles throughout Europe over the past three years. The last such ramming attack in Germany happened in December of 2016, when a Tunisian man who had pledged allegiance to ISIS drove a stolen tractor trailer into a crowded Christmas market in Berlin. 12 people were killed in that attack. Saturdays incident also comes approximately one year after a vehicle ramming attack killed four people in Stockholm, Sweden. An additional 34 people were killed in vehicle attacks which struck London, Barcelona, and New York last year.

Below are images of the aftermath in Munster that have been shared on social media:

#Munster #Muenster #Germany

Van crashed into this outdoor seating area of a restaurant in downtown. Talk is now about 3 dead and 50 injured, police confirm driver committed suicide with a handgun pic.twitter.com/qa16OUew4P  Experience Germany (@ExperienceGER) April 7, 2018

Die Polizei hat das Kiepenkerlviertel mittlerweile sehr weitraumig gesperrt, Seelsorger sind vor Ort und helfen. #Munster pic.twitter.com/z1PxvmyCjj  Rafael Buschmann (@Rafanelli) April 7, 2018

Tater hat sich erschossen, sagt der Pressesprecher der Polizei. Eventuell noch weitere Tater fluchtig. Verdachtiger Gegenstand gefunden. @BILD_Ruhrgebiet @ pic.twitter.com/4PnOWibc9N  michael engelberg (@engelberg_ms) April 7, 2018

This is a breaking news story and this post has been continuously updated to reflect new information, and has been reframed to include the confusion over the drivers motive.
This is unheard of, unseen and unforeseen. Or why a 50-page catalogue being printed for a book launch ceremony? What Kannur witnessed on Saturday was a one-of-a-kind event. A programme so unique that 60 authors  veterans, amateurs, experimentalists, writers by chance and more  united to publish their works at one venue. Diverse genres and styles, one thing was in common, friendship. This novel initiative by publishing house Insight Publica based in Kozhikode is a tribute to the state of Kerala that turned 60 in 2017.

So much has happened from January to this big day of accomplishment. Journalist-turned-author V.H. Nishad, editor of the novel series and one of the writers, chronicles, The first thought came in the year 2017. Hunting down young writers was the next thing. Most of us being active authors in parallel, a WhatsApp group was formed. We discussed who writes what, read aloud what we wrote, sat and travelled together, selected titles and made creative interventions on how the cover pages should be, he says thanking Sumesh Insight, the editor, for his resolve. The cause turned to be so genuine that one author, Amal, sat in Japan and wrote his work.

Experimental writers are aplenty. One has tried his hands at a graphic novel. Nishad himself is a character in his novel; another one has interspersed text in both Malayalam and English, and it goes like that. Abdul Salam, a college professor and a poet, was forced to be a novelist. His was Meenpoocha. No mainstream publisher has dared to release 60 books at once. For some, it was time for a comeback. I was made to try my hands at a genre I am new to. Above all, theres camaraderie. One author is my teacher. A student, whose guide he was, is another. We were given a creative quotation, says Salam.

R. Thushara, whose writing stint began with a novel, had a long sabbatical. For her, it was a chance to return to where it all started. The break occurred once I got married. I have a family  husband and three kids  to take care of. Writing faded in the long run. Kids go to school and I came up with a collection of poetry in the meantime. Never thought Id be writing a novel once again, until this assignment came calling. The ceremony had no mic announcement or any other signs of formality. Like the way we planned, it ended so well, says Thushara from Kozhikode.

All 60 books would soon tour the book expo of Kerala State Library Council.
The couples highlighting as to how the same devices that often help bring couples closer can push them apart, thereby potentially putting relationships at risk. (Photo: Pixabay)

New Delhi: In today's digital world, it has become common for couples to depend on devices to communicate and stay connected with each other. However, according to the latest Kaspersky Lab study, 55 per cent of couples have argued about device overuse.

The couples highlighting as to how the same devices that often help bring couples closer can push them apart, thereby potentially putting relationships at risk.

Many people today depend on devices to stay connected with their friends and family, and the same is true for those in relationships. Indeed, couples today frequently use devices and online messaging services to strengthen their relationship.

This digital devotion also extends to shared devices, as 53 per cent people say their relationship has improved since sharing their online activities, such as accounts and devices. Clearly, there are positives that come from using devices, but there are also some negatives that need to be considered.

The research found that device usage can also lead to arguments between loved ones about a range of issues such as overuse and cybersecurity incidents. 51 per cent respondents argued about a device being used during a meal or face-to-face conversation. In addition, over half (55 per cent) of the respondents said arguments with their partners have taken place due to too much time being spent on a device, Furthermore, access to devices has also been flagged as a source of friction in relationships.

Almost half (45 per cent) of the respondents agreed to argue over their partners forgetting to charge the device, while 28 per cent agreed that losing devices cause disagreements among couples.

Additionally, 24 per cent of the couples agreed to have a shared device infected with malware, while 19 per cent said relationships were hampered when their partners lost money due to malware.

"The capabilities of modern devices have created huge opportunities for couples, enabling them to constantly stay connected and build their relationship even when they are not together. But, there are cons as well as pros to take into account. These same devices which help couples to secure their love when they are apart can also cause arguments when they are used irresponsibly. By making a conscious effort to take care of their digital lives - Including devices, accounts and online activities - and to not neglect their partners in the physical world, people can enjoy the many benefits that the digital world offers without upsetting their other half," said Dmitry Aleshin, VP for Product Marketing, Kaspersky Lab.
Around one-third of pregnant women are unsure whether it is safe to continue running when expecting. (Photo: Pixabay)

A new study now suggests that running during pregnancy is actually safe.

Women who jog while pregnant are not more likely to have babies born prematurely or of a low birth of its kind, said the study.

The study says that infant well being is unaffected regardless of how far their mothers ran or if they did so throughout all three trimesters.

Speaking about it, lead author Professor Andrew Shennan, from King's College London, said that women can continue accustomed exercise during pregnancy, and they would encourage this to ensure a healthy outcome for both her and her baby.

A previous study has already suggested that high-intensity running affects the cervix and therefore foetal wellbeing, however, the scientists of the current research argue this trial assessed just six pregnant athletes, not average runners.

Around one-third of pregnant women are unsure whether it is safe to continue running when expecting, according to a poll by the charity Tommy's.

Guidelines recommend 30 minutes of moderate daily exercise for most pregnant women to reduce their risk of weight gain, pre-eclampsia and gestational diabetes.

According to professor Janice Rymer, vice president for education at the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists said that the new study shows that, in the majority of cases, it is safe for both the mother and the baby if a woman who runs regularly continues to do so during her pregnancy.

Results further suggest pregnant runners are more likely to require forceps or a vaccum device during labour, which may be due to their greater pelvic floor muscle tone.

In addition, those who never run during their pregnancies are on average 2.3kg (5lbs) heavier than those who continue to do so.

The findings were published in the journal BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine.
Researchers, however, still want to know whether elderly patients and those in developing countries can use similar apps.

An experimental smartphone application could monitor changes in Parkinsons disease symptoms throughout the day, sending data to doctors to help them treat patients, U.S. researchers say.

Like diabetes, Parkinsons has variability and symptom fluctuations, which can also vary the treatment. We cant measure these fluctuations at home, and you can only do so many measurements in the clinic, said senior study author Suchi Saria of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

The app developed by Saria and her colleagues asks patients to complete five tasks that assess speech, finger tapping, gait, balance and reaction time. From that, it generates a mobile Parkinsons Disease score, which doctors can use to assess symptom severity and adjust medication, the team writes in JAMA Neurology.

Parkinsons disease is a neurodegenerative disorder that affects dopamine-producing nerve cells in the brain. Symptoms include tremors, body stiffness, slow movement and difficulty walking.

This new development is very exciting because this wasnt feasible even a few years ago, Saria said in a telephone interview. Patients seem eager, willing and curious to do this with their phones.

The researchers developed their app, HopkinsPD, for Android smartphones to assess performance on the five tasks as often as patients want to use the app. The mobile score is based on the types of assessments usually done in doctors offices.

To test the app and the scoring system, the researchers recruited 129 patients who completed more than 6,000 smartphone assessments. Scores ranged from 0 to 100, with higher numbers indicating more severe symptoms. Participants completed the tasks before and after their first daily dose of dopamine medication. They also completed standard assessments in the clinic.

Symptoms varied by an average of 14 points through the day, information that could help doctors understand the highs and lows for their Parkinsons patients.

The team also found a strong correlation between the mobile app score and the in-office rating scales. On average, the mobile app score also decreased more than the official scales when dopamine medication was taken, which could highlight its sensitivity and accuracy in monitoring real-time symptoms, the authors note.

The data from the phone aligns beautifully with what we found with classic instruments in the clinic, Saria said. It gives us a sense of patients motion and movement, like breadcrumbs along the way to understanding their symptoms.

A limitation of the study is that only five tasks are used to measure behaviors and symptoms, the authors acknowledge. Additional studies will evaluate whether changes in the app score represent a significant difference experienced by patients.

We physicians may measure phenomena we think are highly relevant, but patients may disagree, said Dr. Alberto Espay, director of the James J. and Joan A. Gardner Center for Parkinsons Disease and Movement Disorders at University of Cincinnati in Ohio, who wasnt involved in the study.

Also, it will be important to determine if the machine-learning component will require less active entry of data by patients, rendering it easier to use long-term, Espay said in an email. Long-term adherence will be important to ascertain if this application . . . can capture data for patients in their home settings.

Researchers want to know whether elderly patients and those in developing countries can use similar apps, said Ye Wang of the National University of Singapore, who wasnt involved in the current study.

These ubiquitous technologies can and should be used to help doctors with their diagnosis, Wang told Reuters Health by email.

They are diagnostic aids and are not supposed to replace doctors, he said. But perhaps they can be part of the screening process.
Hyderabad: Diabetic patients must get their oral health evaluated every six months, according to the guidelines of the World Health Organisation, but in practice, it is found that this is not followed. A recent study by the New York University and East Carolina University collaborate the fact that diabetics across the world are not visiting dentists as regularly as required. Experts state that diabetic patients meet the dentist only when there is severe pain in the teeth, inflammation or while they have difficulty in eating.

The study states that 65 per cent of the visits happened only when there was a pain or inflammation or any other unbearable condition. Preventive check-ups as recommended were not followed. Dr S. Jagadeesh, professor and dental surgeon at the Government Dental College and Hospital explained: The practice is hardly followed in India. There is very little awareness regarding care for oral health required by diabetic patients. Most of them seek treatment only when the problem is very severe such as pain, inflammation or gum problems. If they have a routine check up, the problem can be identified early and tackled but this is not followed.

From the patients evaluated at the clinics, a two-way relationship was observed between diabetes and oral health. Diabetic patients have increased risk of inflammation of gums, surrounding tissue and bone. Periodontal disease has adverse effect on blood glucose control which contributes in the progression of diabetes. Periodontal diseases are called the sixth complication of diabetes after kidney disease, damage to the retina and heart disease. The major lacuna which is being seen is that healthcare providers and public healthcare professionals are not creating the required awareness for oral health care, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Dental Association.
The cable tied a knot in the bladder and caused bleeding when the man tried to pull it out himself. (Photo: Pixabay)

In a bizarre and shocking case, doctors in China, successfully removed a three-foot-long phone cable from a pensioner using laser technology in northeast China.

The sexagenarian apparently thought of inserting a cable up his male appendage to stop itchiness in the urethra that was caused by prosatitis, an inflammation of the prostate, reported Mail Online.

However, the cable tied a knot in the bladder and caused bleeding when the man tried to pull it out himself.

According to Kankan News, the man inserted a one-metre-long (3ft) phone charging cable into his penis to relieve the itchiness caused by the inflammation.

He was rushed to the Dalian Hospital where Dr Gao Zhanfeng, a urologist at the hospital noticed the cable, measured five millimetres (0.2inches) wide, had tied a knot inside the man's bladder under a scan.

Speaking about t Dr Gao said that the knot kept on getting tighter whenever the patient tried to pull it out causing bleeding in the bladder.

Dr Gao decided to user lasers to cut the knots inside and pulled the cable out by sections.

He said the patient was lucky for not inserting any metal or hard materials, otherwise the bladder could be impaled by the sharp objects.
BENGALURU: In yet another security lapse at the Parappana Agrahara Central Prison in the city, a 36-year-old man serving life-term has allegedly ended his life by hanging inside the jail on Thursday night. The deceased has been identified as Masthi Kumar alias Mahesh, a native of Shivamogga.

Kumar had killed his wife in 2015 and was convicted for the same by a local court in Shivamogga in January 2017.

Kumar was lodged at B1 barracks where he was staying with 24 other inmates for the past 10 months.

According to jail officials, Kumar as usual left his barrack along with other inmates to learn music. The music classes lasted till 7.30 pm, after which the inmates returned to their barracks.

Instead of leaving the room where music classes were held, Kumar hid himself inside. After the room was locked, he hung himself to a window rod using a towel.

The incident came to light when the prison authorities carried out a head count of the inmates at the B1 barrack and found Kumar missing.

Upon checking the room where music classes were held, Kumar was found hanging, a jail official said.

Kumar was rushed to Victoria Hospital where the doctors declared him brought dead.

Previous suicide attempt

Kumar had on July 29 last year escaped from Victoria Hospital where he was admitted after he consumed phenyle in an attempt to end his life. Kumar had escaped while security officials were changing their duty.

A case was registered at the V.V. Puram police station in this regard. Later the police launched a manhunt and nabbed Kumar at his lover's house in Chitradurga in November.

Second suicide this year

This is second suicide in the prison this year and it exposes the security lapses on part of the jail officials.

On February 27 this year, Jaishankar alias Psycho Shankar, a serial killer and rapist, had committed suicide by slitting his wrist with a razor.
The duo suffered head injuries and has been in ICU for a few days.

CHENNAI: In an interesting incident near Chengalpattu, a two-wheeler borne robbers met with an accident and are being treated in ICU in Chengalpet government medical college hospital. Police seized a stolen mobile phone from them on Friday.

The incident occurred when a Jharkhand-based software engineer Sanjay Kumar (28) was riding two-wheeler near Chengalpattu on April 2 night, alone. A 4-member gang had waylaid him and robbed his smartphone worth Rs 40,000 and wallet containing Rs 1,500 at knifepoint, according to police.

Police also said that Sanjay tried to chase them, but one of the robbers had attacked him with a knife. Based on the complaint by Sanjay, Chengalpet taluk police registered a case.

Meanwhile, police traced Sanjays mobile phone signal. Interestingly, the signal pointed to Chengalpet government medical college hospital. When we visited the hospital, we came to know that Siva (25) and Dinesh Babu (21) of Vallam had met with an accident when fleeing from Sanjay on April 2, the police said.

The duo suffered head injuries and has been in ICU for a few days. Upon gaining consciousness, we interrogated them and seized the mobile phone. However, their other 2 friends have escaped with the wallet. We are trying to nab them too, the police said.
In a complaint filed on Friday, the karate champion said she boarded an auto-rickshaw after her karate class to go home when the traffic constable, who was in uniform, boarded the same vehicle and sat next to her. (Photo: ANI | Twitter)

Chandigarh: A traffic police constable in Haryana has been arrested and suspended for allegedly sexually harassing a 21-year-old national-level woman karate player in a shared auto-rickshaw in Rohtak on Thursday.

In a complaint filed on Friday, the karate champion said she boarded an auto-rickshaw after her karate class to go home when the traffic constable, who was in uniform, boarded the same vehicle and sat next to her. He then asked for her mobile number and wanted to strike a friendship with her, the woman added.

The constable persisted since she refused to talk to him. But when the constable began touching her, she hit him in self defence before asking the auto-driver to take the vehicle to a women police station, she alleged.

The player also alleged that the senior woman police personnel at the police station persuaded her to not press charges and said that she would rebuke the constable.

But after the incident was brought to the notice of Rohtak's police superintendent Pankaj Nair, an FIR was immediately lodged and the woman police officer was transferred.

"A case under relevant provisions has been registered against the constable, Yaseen, for harassing the woman in the auto-rickshaw. He has been arrested and placed under suspension," senior police officer Ramesh Kumar told news agency PTI.

(With inputs from agencies)
Police said the deceased's family identified him seeing his teeth and that all the arrested accused have been sent to jail. (Photo: File | Representational)

Ghaziabad: More than three-and-a-half months after a man went missing from the Gyaspur village of the area, the Newari Police arrested four people for allegedly kidnapping and beheading him, police said on Friday.

Senior Superintendent of Police Vaibhav Krishna said that an FIR was lodged on March 18 by a person called Ajit Kumar of the Gyaspur village in which he alleged that his brother Bobby had gone missing on December 19.

The complainant alleged in the FIR that his brother had gone to Choubli village in the Chapruli town of Baghpat district with another person, Pradeep, of the same village on December 19, the SSP said.

Kumar said he filed a police complaint three months after Bobby went out with Pradeep as he lost all hopes of his coming back.

After the complaint was filed, the SSP said, the police launched an investigation and nabbed four people -- Pradeep, Shushil, Manoj and Baburam  on Thursday.

During interrogation, Pradeep confessed that he wanted to eliminate Bobby due to some old enmity with his family, the police said on Friday.

The accused had allegedly given Bobby an alcoholic drink before beheading him with a spade, they said.

As per his plan, Pradeep took Bobby with him at his brother-in-law's house, where he was given the alcoholic drink and beheaded, they added.

Police said the body and the head of the deceased were buried in two separate pits in sugarcane fields and the accused also looted his Rs 15,000 and the motorbike.

They said the information shared by Pradeep led them to the filed from where they recovered his skull, clothes, looted cash, the motorcycle and also the spade used in the alleged crime.

Police said the deceased's family identified him seeing his teeth and that all the arrested accused have been sent to jail.
Bad tenant. Photo: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Someone really hates Scott Pruitt, and they keep leaking unflattering information about the EPA administrator to make sure that the rest of the country does, too.

The latest leak comes courtesy of Politico, which is reporting that Pruitt was such a poor tenant at his $50-a-night Capitol Hill room that his disgruntled landlords had to eventually change the locks on him.

Pruitt, Politico reports, was only supposed to live in the condo for six weeks as he got settled in D.C. But when the six weeks were up, he asked the condos lobbyist owners if he could stay. This happened repeatedly, and the owners  energy lobbyist Steve Hart and his wife, health-care lobbyist Vicki Hart  began to wonder if he would ever leave.

The couple, Vicki and Steve Hart, became so frustrated by their lingering tenant that they eventually pushed him out and changed their locks. After trying to nudge Pruitt out of their home over the course of several months, the Harts finally told Pruitt in July that they had plans to rent his room to another tenant.

Scott Pruitt is the Kato Kaelin of Capitol Hill. He is the long-term houseguest who takes advantage of his hosts and refuses to take a hint about when its time to leave, one person told Politico.

Calls for Pruitts firing have grown louder over the course of a scandal-plagued week. By Friday evening, at least 64 House Democrats were calling for his resignation or firing, an opinion White House chief of staff John Kelly reportedly reached last week. But based on a Friday-morning tweet, Trump has no interest in parting ways with Pruitt, who he thinks is doing a great job.
(Top) The accused and (Right) the seized marijuana

BENGALURU: In a major drug haul, the Narcotics Wing of the Central Crime Branch (CCB) arrested nine people of a Kerala-based gang and recovered 108 kg of marijuana, worth Rs 50 lakh.

The arrested include the kingpin Nailesh alias Nandakumar (36). Following credible information, policemen in plain clothes waited outside Naileshs house in Indiranagar for hours and arrested him the moment he arrived in his car.

During the search operation at his residence, the police came across many bags of marijuana stashed inside.

Along with Nailesh, his eight associates Anas, Prajeel Das and Shafi from Kochi, Akshay Kumar from Mallapuram, Sajan from Thiruvananthapuram, and Shinaz, Nabeel and Mustaq from Thrissur were also arrested.

Nailesh is a wanted criminal in Kerala, the police said.

City Police Commissioner T. Suneel Kumar said that Nailesh used to procure marijuana from Vishaakapatanam and Odisha, and sell it to dealers in Bengaluru, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

"Nailesh is a wanted criminal and several complaint against him under Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act have been registered in Kerala and one in Jeevan Bima Nagar police station in Bengaluru a few years ago," Kumar said.

The arrest happened after the police got a tip off that the gang had arrived from Odisha with marijuana.

Nailesh told police that he along with his gang members sold the marijuana in 10 gm packets to college students in Ejipura, Marathahalli, Banaswadi, Hennur, K.R. Puram and Ramamurthy Nagar.

The gang also used to sell the contraband in Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
New Delhi: Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli who is on a three-day visit to India, received a ceremonial welcome at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Saturday. Prime Minister Oli arrived in Delhi on Friday and was received at the airport by Home Minister Rajnath Singh. He met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday evening.

This is PM Oli's first visit to the country after he took charge as the prime minister for the second term in February.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Nepal PM KP Sharma Oli issued a joint press statement on Saturday afternoon.

Also Read: We first expect friendship: Nepal PM KP Sharma Oli at Rashtrapati Bhavan

Here's what Prime Minister Narendra Modi said during the joint press statements in New Delhi:

We (India) will continue to support Nepal as per that country's priorities

We have agreed to expedite implementation of all connectivity projects

We have agreed on new railway line to link Kathmandu with India

India and Nepal have close ties in defence and security. We will work together to stop misuse of our open border

In our meetings over the last two days, Prime Minister KP Oli told me about Nepal's economic progress and inclusive development

I believe my motto of Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas and Mr Oli's motto of Samriddh Nepal, Sukhi Nepal are complimentary

Both of us (PM Modi and his Nepali counterpart PM Oli) are working for the prosperity and well-being our citizens

I assured him (PM Oli) India will continue to be a strong partner for Nepal

I have assured Nepal PM Oli that India will cooperate in Nepal's economic and social development

Ahead of the joint press statement Prime Minister of Nepal KP Sharma Oli and PM Modi inaugurated India-Nepal petroleum products pipeline from Delhi.

PM of Nepal Khadga Prasad Oli & PM Modi inaugurateIndia - Nepal petroleum products pipeline from #Delhi. pic.twitter.com/30wvtoVe1t  ANI (@ANI) April 7, 2018

Here's what Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli said during the joint press statement in New Delhi:
'RAFALE, 40,000 Cr. loss to exchequer was 'Sayonara' money to French, so PM could re-tender contract and favour friends,' Rahul Gandhi tweeted.(Photo: Twitter | @INCIndia)

New Delhi: India's bid to purchase 100 fighter jets in a deal that is expected to cost over USD 15 billion has given Congress President Rahul Gandhi more teeth to attack Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the Rafale fighter jets deal.

Rahul Gandhi on Saturday tweeted to say that the previous big-ticket deal to buy the French-made Rafale multirole jet fighters led to "Rs 40,000 crore loss to the exchequer".

India has sent a "request for information" (RFI) RFI to plane-makers in a deal that will translate into the world's largest order for fighter jets.

"RAFALE, 40,000 Cr. loss to exchequer was 'Sayonara' money to French, so PM could re-tender contract and favour friends," Rahul Gandhi tweeted.

Modi Scam Alert!



15 Billion $ fighter jet deal re-tendered. PM's friends race to tie up STRATEGIC partners.



RAFALE, 40,000 Cr. loss to exchequer was "Sayonara" money to French, so PM could re-tender contract and favour friends.https://t.co/X4oTNjkXTK  Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) April 7, 2018

The RFI contains information about how the Indian Air Force (IAF) plans to shortlist and finalise the fighter jets.

Plane-makers such as SAAB AB of Sweden, Lockheed Martin Corp. and Boeing Co. of the US, Dassault Aviation SA of France, MiG of Russia, and the European consortium Eurofighter are expected to compete for India's jet fighter deal.

Congress has been alleging that the Modi government finalised the Rafale deal with the French government at a price much higher than what the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government had clinched to buy 126 medium multirole combat aircraft (MMRCA).

In July 2015, a year after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party BJP came to power in the Centre, former defence minister Manohar Parrikar had told the Rajya Sabha that the government had withdrawn the MMRCA deal.

Though the Congress has been asking the Centre to reveal the cost of the Rafale deal, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has declined to do so citing national security concerns.

Also Read: Demand to disclose Rafale deal details 'unrealistic': MoD attacks Cong

India and France in March 2018 has signed an agreement on "exchange and reciprocal protection of classified or protected information" when French President Emmanuel Macron was in India. Both sides also agreed to create an annual defence dialogue at the ministerial level.

The agreement defines common security regulations applicable to any exchange of classified and protected information between the two countries.
Sri Reddy came to the film chamber in a salwar kameez and started slipping down to her undergarments in front of video cameras and photographers. (Facebook Screengrab | Sri Reddy)

Hyderabad: In a shocking incident, an aspiring Tollywood actress Sri Reddy on Saturday went topless outside the Telugu Films Chamber of Commerce at the Jubilee Hills in Hyderabad to protest against casting couch in the Telugu film industry.

Sri Reddy alleged that she was sexually exploited by many producers and directors and was asked to send inappropriate pictures and videos to get a chance in Telugu films. She also threatened to expose names of people who exploit young, aspiring actors.

Sri Reddy came to the film chamber in a salwar kameez and started slipping down to her undergarments in front of video cameras and photographers. "This is the only way I can think of expressing my grief. If I have shown myself nude to several people in the film industry and despite that have got no roles, the only way I can protests is by going nude publicly," she said.

(Photo: ANI/Twitter)

The actress said she would make the issue bigger if film producers did not encourage local talent. "They give roles to actresses imported from Mumbai or others places, whereas we local girls are only sexually exploited on the promise of being given roles," Reddy was reported as saying.

She also alleged that she has been denied membership of the Movie Artistes Association (MAA) despite having acted in three films.

Sri Reddy said despite having applied for the membership card she had not been given that. She said that she had sent nude photos and videos to several people in the film industry who had demanded that so that she could be given a film role.

"They see the videos and give no roles. They have even asked for live nude videos from me. That is the extent to which they go to take advantage of women who seek roles," The Times of India reported Sri Reddy as saying.

Speaking to journalists in front of the film chamber she expressed her disappointment by saying, "Why Telugu actors like me don't get a chance. They should give 75 per cent chances to Telugu people in films. I want membership in Telugu film chamber. Why are they not giving it? I have done three films.

"They will ask us to send inappropriate pictures and videos. Are we girls or things to play with? But we will not get an opportunity," she added.

Sri Reddy said no roles were given to Telugu girls in the film industry. She alleged that Telugu girls are sexually taken advantage of. "I myself have been sexually exploited," she said.

"We reached the spot soon after receiving information and shifted her from there. She staged a protest raising many grievances. We counseled her before shifting her," said K Srinivas, Inspector Banjara Hills.
Farmers bury themselves neck-deep in the sands of Cauvery river at Odathurai bathing ghat on Friday demanding immediate constitution of Cauvery Management Board (CMB). (Photo:DC)

TIRUCHY: Police arrested 20 farmers including Mr P. Ayyakannu, state president of the 'Desiya Then Indiya Nathigal Inaippu Vivasayeegal Sangam', who unmindful of the scorching afternoon sun, buried themselves neck-deep in the sands of the Cauvery river at Odathurai bathing ghat here on Friday, demanding immediate constitution of Cauvery Management Board (CMB).

The protesting farmers sported Namams on their forehead, even as some of them slung a human skull garland around their necks. As their agitation venue on the southern banks of the river Cauvery is alongside arterial roads leading to Thanjavur, Chennai and other places, passersby in large numbers stopped to watch the farmers spectacle, causing a huge traffic jam in the area.

On information, police rushed to the spot and urged Mr. Ayyakannu to give up their agitation. Since he refused, police removed them from the scene.

Mr. Ayyakannu told newsmen that the Union government was playing with the livelihood of Tamil Nadu farmers by not forming the CMB, even after the Supreme court's direction.

He said the Centre did not ensure the legitimate share of Cauvery waters to Tamil Nadu which faced the prospect of becoming a desert. He appealed to the Union government to form the CMB immediately and defuse the crisis.
Even if 100 trucks are deployed every day to clean the lake, they will cause huge traffic jams on Ring Road.

Bengaluru: One of the important suggestions made by the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) to clean up Bellandur Lake was desilting. But it seems impossible as it may require 10 lakh trucks with a carrying capacity of 25 tonnes to clean up the big lake.

Mr Nagesh Aras, a lake activist and a resident near the lake, said, Even if 100 trucks are deployed every day to clean the lake, they will cause huge traffic jams on Ring Road. But the authorities are not considering the traffic factor at all.

Mr Aras added: "The experts committee report calls for regular harvesting, which should be done 2-4 times a year for best results. It also called for desilting of the lakes. Instead, BDA does neither: they do de-weeding, which means complete removal of the macrophytes which leaves the sewage water untreated."

In May 2017, the government announced that it does not have the manpower to desilt the lake, while the BDA cited lack of funds to take up the cleaning work.

Last week, Bellandur Lake wardens were empowered to levy fines and issue challans against the violator responsible for dumping garbage and polluting the lake. But the activists call it tokenism and question the efforts of the BDA in protecting the lake.

It is too early to say if such marshals can be deputed at other lakes as well. Those near Bellandur Lake have not been effective, and have caught only a few violators, Mr Aras pointed out.

On using CCTV cameras to prevent dumping, he said that some strategic areas around the lake have not been covered by the cameras. The footage is hardly monitored, and most importantly, Solid Waste Management (SWM) system is not in place. Lake marshals have not been effective, he said.

In February, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagare Palike (BBMP) was accused of dumping construction debris at Varthur lakebed. There have been instances of BBMPs waste management contractors dumping garbage near Bellandur Lake.
HYDERABAD: Every time there is a heavy downpour in Hyderabad, pictures of traffic police assisting citizens, easing congestion, removing manhole covers go viral on the internet and are applauded. However, this time around, people are questioning as to what the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) teams are doing and why is it always the police who have to go beyond all their limits. Hyderabad witnessed heavy rains along with thunderstorm on Friday evening. Several places in the city came to a stand- still while commuters were trying to avoid pot holes and waterlogged roads, with many looking up to the traffic police for help.

Hyderabad traffic police as always won many hearts on the internet on Saturday after pictures showing the traffic constables standing in knee deep water, removing fallen branches, debris and performing their duty went viral. A traffic police J. Srinivas was seen cleaning a manhole for passage of rain water near Imax theatre. Several such pictures were shared on the internet. However, citizens pointed out that police were paying the price of negligence of GHMC officials. One Pavan Kumar Bejugam, while appreciating the police action, tweeted: If GHMC is not proactive, then traffic police is reactive for this kind of cause (sic).

While praises were showered on the police, simultaneously many social media users were asking the whereabouts of GHMC officials and questioned the condition of roads. One Shiva R. said that the pictures of police going out of their way to help people should be shown to civic body officials as: We dont repair or sanction new roads. Had GHMC maintained the roads, you wouldnt have had to face this situation (sic) Meanwhile, GHMC emergency teams, however, were doing their bit in clearing stagnant points, fallen trees etc. On the other hand, a social media user even pointed out that these pictures were directly exposing the failures of the government.
KANNUR: Eramangalath Chitralekha, an auto driver from a dalit family of Edatt here, is a victim of CPM persecution for over a decade. The attacks started when they burnt her autorickshaw following differences of opinion with the union leaders in 2005. After a series of attacks, she had to flee from her home at Kattampally. "Even after years of persecution, the CPM is not satisfied with its vendetta. That is why now they are targeting the five-cent land where the construction of my home is midway," she told DC.

The UDF government had given her five cents of land to construct a home. Through a recent move, the LDF government decided to take back the land citing that she has another piece of land in her name. It also withdrew an order allotting Rs 5 lakh to her to construct the house. The Congress and the BJP have rallied behind her.

Chitralekha said that the CPM men were now trying to take away the land which she had received during the UDF regime. "It is a shame for the CPM and its class and mass organisations to hunt down a dalit woman for more than a decade," she said. The reason for the present CPM ire against her might be the attempt by British scriptwriter Fraser Scott, who visited her recently, to shoot a film based on her life and struggles. "I cannot see any other reason for the series of actions by the party against me recently," she said.

Chitralekha, who had bought the autorickshaw by pledging the land provided by her grandmother, felt that she was being oppressed because she was a woman and a dalit. She lives with her husband Sreeshanth, grandmother Narayani and children Manu and Megha. A host of UDF leaders, including K .Sudhakaran, K.M. Shaji MLA and Satheesan Pacheni, and BJP leader Valsan Thillankery visited Chitralekha's house on Saturday. KPCC president M.M. Hassan may go thereon Sunday.
New Delhi: In an attempt to go past the bitterness of recent incidents and build a forward-looking relationship, visiting Nepalese Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli and Prime Minister Narendra Modi held talks on Saturday and decided on new game-changer initiatives including a cross-border electric rail link between Kathmandu and Raxaul in Bihar, connecting Nepal to the Indian railway system, and a separate river transport system that could give Nepal a route all the way to the sea.

The Indian offer to enhance Nepals connectivity comes at the time of Chinas aggressive infrastructure offensive in the Himalayan country in the form of One Belt One Road initiative.

On Saturday India and Nepal also decided to build a new partnership in agriculture, defence, energy and trade, a reflection of Indias bid to actively counter China in the region.
KOZHIKODE: Union tourism minister Alphons Kannanthanam on Saturday accused Kerala of losing opportunities to tap its potential. He said the state government had ignored his direction to submit a proposal to improve primary facilities at all its beaches. "It has been months since I sought a detailed proposal, but the government failed to submit it, thereby missing a chance to get the Central funding," he told reporters here.

"The proposals included developing toilets, parking areas, changing rooms and other facilities. It went out on September 27, but the state's tourism minister did not respond." He said the state could have easily availed Rs 100 crore for these projects, which stands lapsed now. "The major reason why there has been a decrease in the flow of tourists to the state is the lack of these facilities. A bad review about many tourist spots is getting circulated," he said. "But the state government is not bothered. A lot of developmental activities have to be initiated in the tourism sector here to change this perception."
Yulia Skripal and cat. Photo: Facebook

The pets of Sergei Skripal*, the former Russian spy who fell victim to a nerve agent attack in the U.K. last month, are dead, and Russia says they may hold valuable clues about the true circumstances of their owners poisoning. But theres a problem. British authorities have already destroyed the bodies of the animals.

At the United Nations Thursday, Russias ambassador blamed everyone but his own country for the poisoning of Skripal and his 33-year-old daughter Yulia in Salisbury, England. Moscow believes with a high degree of probability that other nations are behind the attack, Russian ambassador Vassily Nebenzya said. He added that blaming Russia for the attack is a coordinated, very well-planned campaign to undermine Moscows influence around the world.

Nebenzya also brought up Skripals pets. The 66-year-old had two cats and two guinea pigs when he fell ill, Nebenzya said, and Russia wants to know what happened to them. On Friday, the British government revealed that they were dead.

When a vet was able to access the property, two guinea pigs had sadly died, a spokesperson for the U.K. Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) said in a statement. A cat was also found in a distressed state and a decision was taken by a veterinary surgeon to euthanise the animal to alleviate its suffering.

According to The Sun, the bodies of the pets were quickly incinerated to avoid contamination from the deadly nerve agent that nearly killed their owners. This has not sat well with Russia.

Are they seriously saying that nobody had a look at the pets at alleged crime scene? Were the animals remains tested for toxic substances? Or just disposed of as an inconvenient piece of evidence? pic.twitter.com/pcZoeAsyqy  Russian Embassy, UK (@RussianEmbassy) April 6, 2018

Is that normal practice? Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova asked on Facebook. She wrote that the bodies of the animals are important evidence in this poisoning case.

The more we know, the worse the picture looks, she added.

Meanwhile, the owners of the pets are getting well. Doctors said Friday that the elder Skripals condition is improving rapidly and that he is no longer in critical condition. His daughter, meanwhile, is doing so well that she will be leaving the hospital soon.

*This piece has been updated with the correct spelling of Sergei and Yulia Skripals last name.
KOCHI: Kerala is set to lose a whopping Rs 16,000 crore if the 15th Finance Commission had its way and punished the state for its gains on social indicators. The commission's controversial terms of reference (ToR) suggests the use of 2011 census while deciding the share of states in central funds. Research by Dr K.K. George and Dr K.K. Krishnakumar of the Kochi-based Centre for Socio-Economic and Environmental Studies (CSES) showed the state losing Rs 7,800 crore on the population share.

The study, titled Terms of Reference of the 15th Finance Commission; Implications for Kerala, also apprehends losing another Rs 8,200 crore as it has made no specific reference to the weightage to be given for management of ecology, environment and climate change. The silence is a departure from the 13th and the 14th commission awards. Changing the population reference period, they say, goes against the assurance in the Parliament to encouraging control of the population a national goal then and also now.

"Kerala will be the second highest looser on this account with Rs 7,800 crore during the five year period," the study said. Tamil Nadu is the topper on the list with a loss of more than Rs 10,000 crore while major gainers are Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh. Another area of concern is the lack of clarity on the issue of allocation taking into account ecological concerns. The study says the 13th Finance Commission, for the first time, was asked to examine the needs of states to manage ecology, environment and climate change consistent with sustainable development.

This has been continued in ToR of the 14th FC, and they earmarked 7.5 percent of the tax share for this. The criterion used for horizontal sharing among the states was the share of each state in the forest area. Kerala has received 2.76 percent of the total share under this which has been computed to about Rs 8,200 crore.

This item is not shown as a separate one in the ToR of FC 15 unlike in the last two. The authors felt that "by giving less importance by way of not giving a separate item in the ToR, the States including Kerala have reasons to be apprehensive about the financial allocation to States on this account. In that case, Kerala will be losing a minimum of Rs 8200 crore."
Hyderabad: There is still no clarity on the implementation of the Land Ceiling Act for distribution of Rs 4,000 per acre as cheques to farmers.

According to this Act, 50 acres of land is the maximum limit one can own. However, the government data shows that there are several farmers who own more than 50 acres and the government is yet to take a decision on how to deal with such farmers.

Recently, during verification, it was found that a whopping 854 ac-res was registered in the name of a single farmer in Warangal district. This would mean th-at this farmer will be eligible to claim 68.32 lakh every year. However, officials said this could be an error that occurred during data entry and it could be 8.54 acres which the officials are now reverifying.

Though Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao owns 85 acres of farmland in Erravelli, only 37 acres is on the name of the CM and the rest is held by his son and minister K.T. Rama Rao. The CM and his son are eligible for Rs 6.80 lakh sop every year. However, the CM already announced to give up the sop and urged all rich farmers to follow suit. But no major response has been received so far.

As of now, transport minister P. Mahender Reddys family and fin-ance minister Etela Rajender's family have announced to give up the subsidy.

According to the stati-stics of the agricultural department, 62 per cent of farmers in TS hold less than 2.5 acres of la-nd, 24 per cent own land between 2.5 and 5 acres, 11 per cent own between 5 and 10 acres, less than 3 per cent own between 10 and 25 acres and 0.88 per cent own more than 25 acres of land.

The Chief Minister calculated that if those who own land between 5-10 acres, 10-25 acres, and more than 25 acres give up the subsidy, it would mean 15 per cent of the 71 lakh farmers would have foregone the subsidy voluntarily.

The government has made it clear that the initiative will be voluntary and there are no plans to make it compulsory.
Mysuru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was on Friday dismissive of the Janata Dal(S)s claims that the state would have a re-poll three months after the coming assembly elections if no party got a majority to form the government.

The opposition parties are delusional. The JD (S) will be restricted to 25 to 30 seats, he declared.

Mr Siddaramaiah, who spoke to reporters at the Suttur Math, at the foothills of the Chamundeshwari Hills and near his home in Sharadadevinagar, said he would ensure the defeat of both former Chief Ministers, B S Yeddyurappa and state JD(S) chief, H D Kumaraswamy in their respective constituencies.

When it was pointed out that both leaders were going all out to defeat him, he retorted, Are they the only ones who can flex their muscles? I will try to defeat both Yeddyurappa and Kumaraswamy.

Would he campaign for a week in the constituencies they were contesting from? He shot back, Why do we need a week, one day is enough. Asked if Mr Yeddyurappa and Mr Kumaraswamy were likely to join hands to defeat him in Chamundeswari constituency, Mr Siddaramaiah recalled they had tried to once in 2006. But people are with us now, he asserted.

As for Mr Yeddyurappa and Mr Kumarswamys threat that his political career would come to an end in Chamundeshwari, he said, It is only a political statement. Mr Deve Gowda sat in the constituency for ten days , cried and did all sorts of things in 2006, but the people of the constituency did not leave me, and they will not desert me even now.

When it was pointed out that senior leaders like Mr Vishwanath and Mr Srinivasprasad from the region were no longer with the Congress, he said, They have nothing to do with Chamundeshwari. I did not win because of them.

Deploring that there was an attempt to weaken the Prohibition of Atrocities Against Dalits Act, he accused the Union government of being anti-Dalit. Although nine Dalits have died during protests so far, it has not come out with a single statement, he regretted.

Rahul Gandhis sixth-leg of Ktaka tour begins today

Congress President Rahul Gandhi will be touring Bengaluru division for two days from Saturday for campaigning ahead of the May 12 Assembly polls in the state.

Mr Gandhi will tour Kolar, Chikkaballapura and Bengaluru as part of his sixth-leg of poll campaign in the state, party sources said.

The Congress president will begin his tour by visiting Kudumalai Ganesha temple at Mulbagal and will later take part in a roadshow. He is also scheduled to address corner meeting and public meeting at Kolar and Chikkaballapura, respectively.

On April 8, Gandhi is scheduled to take part in an interaction with Safai Karmacharis and industrialists in Bengaluru, following which he will address a public meeting here to mark the conclusion of 'Janashirvada Yatra'. The Congress President had earlier toured in northern and coastal districts, also in old Mysuru and central Karnataka districts. Visits to temples, maths, church and dargha were part of Mr Gandhi's successive trips to the poll bound state.

Though the party has not announced any Chief Ministerial candidate, it has projected Chief Minister Siddaramaiah as its face.
Vijayawada: During an all-party and all-associations meeting held on Saturday, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu made some mildly inflammatory comments. He said the government will form a two-layered organisation in which all like-minded associations, organisations, unions and political parties will take part in to fight with the Centre to achieve Special Category Status and also for the implementation of the provisions in the AP Reorganisation Act.

Mr Naidu chaired the all-party and all-associations meeting that was held on Saturday to discuss his recent trip to Delhi as part of the effort to pressurise the Centre to grant the Special Category Status. YSRC, BJP, Jana Sena, Left parties and the Congress had decided to abstain from the meeting.

BJP floor leader in AP Assembly, P. Vishnukumar Raju, wrote to Mr Naidu saying that his party would not attend the meeting and also accused him of taking a completely different stand for political reasons. The organisation will have two layers or committees. One will be an organising committee and the other will be a coordination committee. The organisation will be fo-rmed soon and the committees will finalise a way forward to deal with the Centre.

I appeal to all the unions, organisations, associations and political parties to be a part of this organisation. Our only agenda is Andhras future. Si-nce we have a years time for the polls, we need to st-rategise accordingly to mai-ntain and sustain the mom-entum until then, Mr Naidu said.

The Chief Minister also said that some political parties are puppets in the han-ds of the BJP, in the same manner that many Indians supported the British during the freedom struggle. He wondered why the Oppos-ition leader Y.S. Jagan Mohan Redy was targeting him instead of talking anything against Mr Modi who denied the Special Category Status to the state.

Former minister and convener of Uttarandhra Char-cha Vedika Konatala Rama-krishna, who also took part in the meeting, suggested that the government should also combat the Centre through legal means.

He also suggested that the TD government should reach out to Opposition parties like YSRC and put aside differences to fight for a common cause.
Hyderabad: Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao has sou-ght the CPMs support for his proposed Federal Front at the national level against the BJP and the Congress. For the first time, Mr Rao gave an appointment to the CPM leaders to meet him at Pragathi Bhavan.

CPM politburo member B.V. Raghavulu and state secretary Tammi-neni Veerabhadram met the CM to seek the state governments help to organise a five-day All-India CPM conference in the city from April 18.

Mr Rao promised all the government support for the event which the Kerala CM, former CMs of West Bengal and Tripura and other national leaders would be attending. In this context, a discussion took place on the national and state level issues.

The CM explained to the CPM leaders the need for a qualitative change in the national politics. The CM said that despite the country attaining independence 70 years ago, the people were still suffering due to several issues and many problems were still not solved. This was nothing but the failure of the successive central governments, he noted.

The CM said that it was the faulty policies of the Congress and the BJP, which resulted in the present situation.

The CPM leaders agreed with the CMs views. They also appreciated the CM for taking the initiative to bring in a qualitative change in the country. They said that there was a need for a change in the countrys political scenario.


Bengaluru: In what could well prove a major game-changer in pollbound Karnataka, the Jagatika Lingayat Mahasabha, which has been espousing the need for separate religion status for Lingayats, resolved to support the Congress and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and issued a clarion call to its members to vote en masse for the ruling party in Assembly polls on May 12.

With more than 250 seers in attendance at a meeting in here on Saturday, this Mahasabha, a parallel entity of All India Veerashaiva Mahasabha, vowed to support Mr Siddaramaiah for championing their cause of a separate religion tag for their community. In addition, they threatened to move the Supreme Court in case the BJP-led NDA government decides to reject the recommendation of the state government on this issue.

Mathe Mahadevi in conversation with a seer at a meeting of Lingayat pontiffs in Bengaluru on Saturday. (Photo: DC)

Immediately after the meeting, Mathe Mahadevi, head of Basava Bharma Peetha, Koodalasangama, was all praise for the Chief Minister during her interaction with the media saying though he was not born a Lingayat, he had proved beyond doubt that he was an ardent follower of Basavanna and demonstrated "Basava Sankalpa" through many deeds including recommendation to the Union government for separate religion tag for Lingayats.

Though it was seers like her who launched an agitation in support of their demand, the state government acted swiftly by constituting the Justice H.N. Nagamohan Das committee to look into the memorandum submitted by seers and others on the need to accord a separate religion status for Lingayats. This committee of experts submitted its report to the state government within two months, and the cabinet discussed the report over two meetings before making a recommendation to the Union government, she added.

Lambasting BJP president Amit Shah for stating that he would not allow division of Veerashaiva-Lingayats, she sought to know whether Mr Shah held the post of the President, Prime Minister or chairman of the National Minorities Commission to make such statements. She charged that Mr Shah was functioning like a dictator without holding any constitutional post.

She hailed the Chief Minister for not buckling under pressure from the seers of Veerashaiva Panchapeeta and putting the report of Justice Nagamohan Das committee in cold storage. He not only ignored their threats about state-wide protests but also travelled to Koppal to unveil a statue of the 12th century reformer to demonstrate that he was a follower of Basavanna and supported the establishment of Basava Dharma.

The seer criticized the RSS for launching a vilification campaign against those leaders who were demanding separate religion status for Lingayats and even went to the extent of alleging that they were trying to divide the country and religion. She also clarified that members of the Jagatika Lingayat Mahasabha were not anti-Hindu since they follow Indian culture but had only sought separate religion status.
The five MPs are Vara Prasad Rao V, YV Subba Reddy, PV Midhun Reddy, YS Avinash Reddy and the party floor leader Mekapati Rajamohan Reddy. (Photo: ANI/Twitter)

VIJAYAWADA: As the Telugu Desam and the YSRC have intensified their agitation in Delhi on Saturday, the Delhi police have shifted YSRC MP Mekapati Rajamohan Reddy, who has been on an indefinite hunger strike at AP Bhavan, to Ram Manohar Lohia hospital on Saturday afternoon.

Mekapati, along with the four other MPs, has resi-gned from his Parliament membership on Friday. He was moved to the hospital after doctors noticed fluctuations in his BP level and he started vomiting.

YSRC honourary president Y.S. Vijayalakshmi visited Mekapati at the hospital. CPM national secretary Sitaram Yechury has expressed solidarity to YSRC MPs hunger Strike at AP Bhavan.

Meanwhile, YSRC leaders and followers have been organising relay hunger strikes in all the constituencies across the state in support of the hunger strike by the party MPs in New Delhii. YSRC followers also participated in bike rallies and carried out half-naked protests for Special category status for AP.
Hyderabad: Former Union minister S. Jaipal Reddy lambasted Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP national president Amit Shah and Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao.

He told mediapersons on Saturday that Mr Modi did not know policies and Mr Shah was a businessman who knew little about politics.

If Modi is a middle-aged man, Amit Shah is an infant, he said.

There was never such a stalemate in the Lok Sabha which was adjourned sine die on Friday. The BJP stalled discussion on the no-confidence motion out of fear of being exposed of its failures in the last four years and was helped by AIADMK and TRS, he added.

Mr Reddy termed TRS as a tail of BJP and as-ked the CM to spell out who he was supporting.

He alleged that KCR had a dark agreement with Mr Modi and should be prosecuted as he indulged in a big economic crime by showing wrong figures in the Budget.

About the third front proposed by Mr KCR, Mr Reddy said it was an utter flop and pointed to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjees statement that without Congress at national level, it would not be possible to form an anti-BJP front.

Mr Reddy said personally Mr Kodandaram, who floated Telangana Jana Samiti, was a good man and he could not make any comments about the new party at this juncture.

He condemned reports that he was behind Mr Kodandaram in floating the party.
Vijayawada: Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu once again hit out at the BJP saying that he countered each of the partys allegations during his two-day visit to New Delhi.

The Chief Minister recalled the criticism of the BJP which was trying to propagate that the TD pulled out from the alliance and the NDA for political gains. Telugu Desam was charged with attempt to block the BJP attempt to strengthen its position in the state. Mr Naidu said he had never seen such attitude of the BJP earlier insisting that this leadership appears to be strange. Mr Naidu said that the BJP was losing it credibility only because of this attitude. He opined that the BJP kept TD aside with the intention that TD may act independently.

Addressing in the TDLP meeting on Friday, Mr Naidu said one should have confidence of winning before going for a battle.

He suggested to take this movement constructively forward and the fight should be moulded to favour people. He told both the trust and confidence are the weapons to soldiers.

Mr Naidu appreciated the cadre for holding cycle rallies in all the 175 constituencies though intimated late in the night. He also suggested to continue the spirit until justice is done to the state.

Mr Naidu said he will support constructive protests but will not spare any unrest creating activities. He opined that the ruling party would resolve the issues but not create issues. He said MLAs should be additional strength to party and they should introspect how far they can help to strengthen the party. He suggested to come out of the cocoon that their leader will take care of the things.
The ruling BJP and the Opposition parties have disparate explanations why the Budget Session of Parliament, which ended on Friday, was a complete washout. The inevitability of this had become clear once the government was able to have the Union Budget for 2018-19 passed. The ruling side appeared to care for little else.

The government held the Opposition guilty for making noise and not let the two Houses run. But isnt it the job of the Opposition to make a noise and force debate on key issues? Or, should we have a rubber-stamp Parliament?

The Opposition desired time to be allotted for their issues to be taken up. But the government didnt care to engage with them, though this is the time-honoured tradition.

The subjects raised by the Opposition go to the heart of the matter as far as the governance of the country goes; to wit, farm distress, the pathetic banking sector and the massive PNB scam involving high-profile individuals considered close to the highest levels of the government, the destabilising effects on the economy of demonetisation and the hastily-devised implementation of the GST, the attacks on dalits across the country, the delicate situation in J&K, and the poor shape of neighbourhood diplomacy. There were also crucial regional issues such as special status for Andhra Pradesh and the management of Cauvery waters.

It is a pity that Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan permitted opportunity for the Budget proposals for Rs 89 lakh crore to be passed by voice vote without discussion. She did not show concrete concern that the Lok Sabha was badly disturbed as the Opposition felt it was being disregarded by the government. Ms Mahajan had the powers to remedy this. The exalted position of the Speaker gave her the moral  and political  authority to advise the government to engage the Opposition in meaningful dialogue.

Not doing so produced a mockery of democracy. Taxes collected from the people will be spent by the government in an arbitrary manner  without discussion in Parliament (but technically with parliamentary approval!) as happens in a despotism or a one-party state, say North Korea or China.

Another grotesque example of the wilful perversion of the parliamentary system was that notices of no-confidence motion given by the YSR Congress, TDP and the Congress  backed by an array of Opposition parties  were simply disregarded. Instead of bringing order to the House for the motion to be taken up by using the ample powers at her command, the Speaker shrugged her shoulder, citing Opposition noise.

This has been a terrible time for our Parliament not because one or another issue could not be debated, but because depraved parliamentary practice was on view. BJP MPs propaganda that theyll forgo their salary for the lost time does not alleviate anything. One of them, Subramanian Swamy, has rightly scoffed at the idea.
The Salman Khan poaching case has to be seen first in the narrowest perspective of whether he is guilty. If he did indeed kill two endangered blackbuck antelopes he deserves the jail sentence of five years. However, the larger picture is symptomatic of how there are two Indias  one for the rich and famous and the other for aam aadmi. The way the justice system allowed 20 years to lapse in a cause celebre before arriving at a verdict, imposed to the extent of the guilty being in jail at least for a couple of nights, is illustrative of the stark contrast between two Indias. This is a clear case of justice being delayed and by the clever use of every dilatory tactic available to the haves. The speed with which a bail application was taken up and order reserved comes in complete contrast to the lugubrious pace of one of the most gripping cases under the Wildlife Act.

The judiciary cannot be swayed either by the tall poppy syndrome by which the famous must be brought down so as to serve as a warning to all others. Nor can it consider that the culprit may have been through a personal reformatory process by which he has done very good social work over the years. The other consideration of so many billions of rupees said to be hanging on each of his movies and every move of his cannot alter the prime consideration of delivery of justice. The last word has not been heard on this matter as a more exhaustive judicial appeal process is certain to follow. The tragedy of India is not all who are proved to be guilty and punished have the wherewithal to milk the system for a virtual lifetime of delays so the accused are at liberty for all intents and purposes.
Whoever said let there be light!

Was not paying the electricity bill



 From Dildo Deykey Dekho by Bachchoo

In democratic politics perception is everything. You can fool some of the people all the time and a majority of voters most of the time. The leader of the UK Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, has been accused of turning a blind eye to the anti-Semitism, which Jewish organisations claim is rife in his party.

In order to counter, or perhaps to aggravate their claims, he attended a Passover ceremony held by a Jewish fundamentalist organisation called Jewdass. This anarchist group of a few hundred in the UK is not looked upon favourably by any other Jewish formation as they deny the right of Israel to exist. They claim they have Gods word, the Torah on their side.

Mr Corbyn hasnt explained why he went. It has caused as much puzzlement as, say, Rahul Gandhi attending an ISIS celebration of Eid to show he was not against minorities. Maybe not!

My failed attempt to find a parallel to what is a crisis for the UK Labour Party was prompted by a philosophical or semantic quest. Mr Corbyn has of course assured the press that the party will root out anti-Semitism from its ranks but the national mood is sceptical. He is avowedly anti-Zionist and anti-Israels policies towards the Palestinians. Where is the dividing line which separates these perfectly legitimate political stances from being anti-Jews and taking a Mein Kampf line?

Just a question, and heres another.

In the last few months, I have received several mails and texts which ask me to consider whether the Narendra Modi-led BJP government can be defined as fascist. I must admit that in my student days, and later, I have thrown the word about without a considered evaluation of its precise connotations. Like calling someone a bastard without meaning that they were born out of

wedlock.

But provoked to consider the democratically elected and largely popular government of Mr Modi in that light, I looked for some precise definition of the word.

I assure you, gentle reader, that the Internet is rife with descriptions, some favourable, of Hitler, Mussolini, Nazism and that breed. The controversial definition, adopted by self-confessed Right-wing groups themselves, is a table of 14 criteria which seem to be hitting the target.

It was drawn up in 2003 by a Xerox-and-Mobil-Oil executive called Laurence W. Britt. This table of criteria for fascism has had a chequered history. Mr Britt compiled it as an antidote to fascist ideology, but when it appeared on social media the far right and openly fascist groups adopted it to stick the label, however thin the glue, on to people they disapproved of, such as President Barack Obama.

The adoption of Mr Britts table by undesirables doesnt negate or disqualify it. Here it is:

Fascism embraces powerful nationalism

It has a disdain for human rights

It identifies enemies and scapegoats to make a unifying cause.

It supports the supremacy of the military.

It is rampantly sexist.

It seeks to control the mass media

It is obsessed with national security

Religion and government are intertwined in its ideology

Corporate power is protected

Labour power is suppressed

Intellectuals and the arts are disdained or victimised

There is an obsession with crime and punishment

There is rampant cronyism and corruption in the regimes ranks

There is widespread election fraud.

The list, or many of its clauses, fits several contemporary regimes. How would, for instance, the Saudi regime, having recently lifted the ban on women driving cars, fare?

I suppose a score of 10/14 would characterise any regime as fascist. A lower score could brand it proto-fascist.That being said, all 14 criteria involve an assessment. Fascism is in the eye of the assessor.

Nevertheless, like one of those health, IQ, personality or other pointless tests offered to the public on various websites today, its a good test or pastime for all BJP politicians and even ordinary members of the party to undertake and make undisclosed assessments in the privacy of their prayer or yoga rooms.

And turning to the UK, is it true, for instance, that the Brexitwallas have rallied their supporters around a strong if unspoken sense of nationalism? Or take clause six: American Presidents cant go around blatantly censoring the press, but isnt Trumps fake-news canard, hostility to CNN and the newspapers who oppose him and his legal attempts to gag the likes of Stormy Daniels some way towards fitting in with the spirit of clause 6?

In Britain this week Mr Corbyn is being challenged to expel from the Labour Party its members who have blatantly denied that the holocaust took place. These lunatics aside, the world knows that the Third Reich was the classic and instigating example of Britts clause 3 which points to the regime making scapegoats of a class or group in order to rally support. No one, not even the most ardent opponent of anti-Semitism has this week claimed that the presence in the Labour Party of these holocaust-deniers and Jew-haters is a deliberate strategy to rally supporters.

Nevertheless, the party is tainted by their presence and Mr Corbyns refusal so far to expel them. That has resulted in 17,000 members leaving the Labour Party. If I was a conspiracy theorist I might argue that the high command of Labour may have calculated that the loss of Jewish and liberal voters would be amply compensated for by stronger support from some in the immigrant Muslim

communities and by recruits from far-left anti-Israelis. I am not for a moment saying I have the slightest indication that this is true. But let me suggest one of the idle pastimes beloved of Social Media followers: A scribe points from one to ten by testing the Indian governments closeness or conformity to each of Britts clauses. It passes the time more engagingly than shelling peanuts on the local train.
Quran maintains that the doctrinal differences of the different religious communities are not incidental or lamentable but rather they represent the desire and design of the Divine as a vital factor of peaceful human existence.

Sometimes, people pledge loyalty (baiah) to a particular religious group or Islamist party to the exclusion of all other people  both Muslims and non-Muslims. Thus, they assume that this is the devoutness (tasallub) that the Islamic Shariah has required from them to be the pure and devout Muslims or Momins (believers). But in reality, this attitude goes completely against the basic Quranic principles of mutual recognition (taaruf), toleration (tahammul) and moderation (tawassut) that Islam has emphasised with paramount importance. In fact, its linguistic equivalent in Arabic tasamuh (liberality) and its verbal derivatives samaha (leniency) are greatly valued in the Hadith traditions. The holy Quran says:

The truth is that (all) believers are brothers to one another. So make peace between your two brothers and always fear Allah, so that you may be shown mercy. (Al-Hujurat: 10).

As a matter of fact, Islam sets good faith and noble character as the only criterion for an exalted position in the sight of God, as clearly stated in the Quran: O people! We created you from a single male and a female, and (divided) you into peoples and tribes, so that you might recognise one another. Surely, the most honourable amongst you in the sight of Allah is he who fears Allah the most. Certainly, Allah is all-knowing, all-aware. (Al-Hujurat:13).

Quran maintains that the doctrinal differences of the different religious communities are not incidental or lamentable but rather they represent the desire and design of the Divine as a vital factor of peaceful human existence.

Rejecting the right of people to have different beliefs is akin to the rejection of God himself. Therefore, tasamuh (inclusivity), tahammul (tolerance) and taaruf (mutual recognition) are broader Islamic notions and greater human values shared by Muslims and non-Muslims alike. There should be no dichotomy between Muslims and Kafirs, between believers and disbelievers, between polytheists and monotheists.

The verses in the Quran forbid the religious fanaticism which often appears in the disguise of devoutness. But it creates adverse impact on the humanity at large.

It often causes one to act against the essential Islamic virtues and human values.

Denigrating other peoples faith traditions, such persons often misquote the Islamic scriptures to support their extremist views.

Such religious fanaticism leads to ideological extremism and for radicalism, which results into a stereotyped image of the religion that the radical individual falsely claims to follow.
People find it hard to trust bankers these days, and who can blame them? So many have taken the country for a royal ride, and played with money that doesnt belong to them in the first place. The latest scandals and developments involving some of the biggest, most influential and high-profile names in the banking sector are proof enough of the deep-rooted rot that has corroded our banking system. Some would say the corruption model currently in vogue was introduced right after the radical nationalisation of banks that took place in July 1969 under Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. God knows what her intentions were at the time, but in retrospect it sounds like a phoney and deeply flawed reform that only helped politicians to get richer. What we are witnessing today is nothing short of mass-scale looting. And to think this systematic deception (which is now under investigation) has been going on for close to a decade. Where were the regulatory bodies when all this gol maal was taking place? How come nobody demanded more vigilance? Better checks and balances? Is it possible that successive governments were kept in the dark while this wholesale thievery was taking place? Nirav Modi and his partners in crime are sure to be laughing at how effortlessly they conned everybody and waltzed off with crores and crores and crores of other peoples money. The question of getting either the stolen money or them back to India doesnt arise. Whether or not he is living the good life of a wealthy fugitive in St. Kitts is immaterial. The fact that he has brazenly got away with multiple crimes is what bothers citizens. It is said Prime Minister Narendra Modi (no relation, let me hasten to add!) is keen to show that his government means business. He is not only cleaning up our beaches and streets, he wants that broom to clean up the banking establishment too. Or so the story goes. His admirers believe him. Sceptics wonder whether all of this is one more drama to show up the lapses and gross malpractices indulged in by the previous UPA government. As citizens, we dont really care what his motivations are, so long as we see some concrete results. Thus far, there has only been big talk. All that noise needs to translate into action. A few key arrests should follow  its the next logical move.

Just as we were absorbing the number of zeroes in the NiMo scam, along comes an equally juicy bank robbery. This time, it involves a lady who was hailed across continents as a dynamic global leader  one of the most successful female bankers in history. A woman who had won every conceivable award in her sector (banking), not just in India, but across the world. She was routinely featured in important power lists, and had made it to coveted platforms that applaud influencers from various fields. Today, this same lady is being subjected to some sharp and merciless criticism in the media, while the banking industry has gone into a huddle, wondering what comes next?

If her dodgy decisions are being examined closely, will her mentors and former bosses be spared? The handling of ICICI Bank MD-cum-CEO Chanda Kochhar could turn out to be the test case India is waiting for. While the banks board has expressed full faith in her, the sentiment across the board is totally different. In fact, there are any number of people waiting impatiently for more details to emerge in the public domain before they open their mouths. Stories about her unconventional methods have been doing the rounds for a while. But she was considered way too clever and well connected for anybody to raise questions about her modus operandi. Now that the suspect dealings and documents have surfaced, it will be one hell of a challenge for her to protect her reputation, and more importantly, the reputation of her bank.

Cherchez la femme has been turned on its head in Ms Kochhars case, with her businessman husband being in the line of fire. Simply put, it appears to be a case of someone ratting on the Kochhar couple. Perhaps a jealous former colleague or an envious competitor. On the face of it, this sounds like a classic sweetheart deal  the banker wife sanctions a `3,250-crore loan to Videocon promoter Venugopal Dhoot, in exchange for a juicy `64-crore deal for the mister. Come on, if this is not nepotism/quid pro quo, what is? The bigger question is: why is the ICICI Bank board supporting the boss lady? At least, for the moment? Then there are the rumours about another sweetheart deal with a builder who has provided a swanky duplex on Worli Seaface to the couple, and surprise, surprise... got a coveted plot cleared in Goregaon for an ambitious project.

This is just the beginning. God knows what more the investigating agencies might unearth over the next few days. What a shame, really! Chanda Kochhar had positioned herself as the ultimate role model for corporate women. She was projected as a woman who had it all. A professional who had made it on her own terms, thanks to her brilliance and hard work. Impeccably clad in fine silk sarees and wearing top-of-the-line jewellery, her blow-dried hair and discreetly made-up face picture ready at all times, she was the idealised image of a female careerist  feminine, strong, capable. A woman who knew her priorities and balanced her family life beautifully with the myriad demands on her time. Soft-spoken and charming, Chanda Kochhar could so easily have gone down in history as the Model Female Banker. Today, that position seems under threat.

Perhaps she will emerge unscathed and victorious. But Mr Deepak Kochhar has already taken the role of Ceasers wife in banking circles. No amount of serious damage control is likely to change that.
Facebook has been reportedly talking to numerous health organisations, including Stanford Medical School and American College of Cardiology, regarding the user-data-sharing agreement.

As though the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica scandal wasn't enough, a new report states that the social giant was also planning to gather medical information from a few hospitals. The mission also roped in a secret doctor.

Facebook has been reportedly speaking with hospitals last year to gather information about users health data. Reported by CNBC, the aim is to collect the anonymized patients data and match it up with the user data it had collected. As part of a proposed research project, the anonymized data includes patients illnesses and the prescriptions allotted to them by their respective hospitals.

However, the research project has taken a pause due to the ongoing Cambridge Analytica's data breach debacle. Since the debacle was about collecting users data and 'selling' it to the political gains, this other project might have halted for a while.

"This work has not progressed past the planning phase, and we have not received, shared, or analyzed anyone's data," a Facebook spokesperson told CNBC.

Facebook has been reportedly talking to numerous health organisations, including Stanford Medical School and American College of Cardiology, regarding the user-data-sharing agreement.

The company claims the data shared would be anonymous that means not knowing any user/patients name or whatsoever. Using a proposed computer science technique named hashing the collected anonymous health data would match the user data set that the company has collected. Facebook says all this data would only be collected for medical community research only.

As mentioned on CNBC, For instance, if Facebook could determine that an elderly patient doesn't have many nearby close friends or much community support, the health system might decide to send over a nurse to check in after a major surgery.

With the ongoing scenario, this proposed project would have raised concerns amongst the users; since their data is being collected might be misused similar to the Cambridges data breach scandal.

According to CNBC, this investigative effort of sharing medical data was led by an interventional cardiologist called Dr Freddy Abnousi and this proposal was under the purview of Regina Dugan, the head of Facebooks Building 8 program. Freddy's role on his LinkedIn account states that he is 'leading top-secret projects.'

Facebook provided a quote from Cathleen Gates, the interim CEO of the American College of Cardiology, explaining the possible benefits of the plan:

"For the first time in history, people are sharing information about themselves online in ways that may help determine how to improve their health. As part of its mission to transform cardiovascular care and improve heart health, the American College of Cardiology has been engaged in discussions with Facebook around the use of anonymized Facebook data, coupled with anonymized ACC data, to further scientific research on the ways social media can aid in the prevention and treatment of heart diseasethe no. 1 cause of death in the world. This partnership is in the very early phases as we work on both sides to ensure privacy, transparency and scientific rigour. No data has been shared between any parties."

On the other hand, health institutions are utterly careful on sharing patients data due to the stricter federal privacy and state laws. Keeping this mind, Facebook proposed to obscure personally identifiable information, such as names, in the data being shared by both sides.

However, in early 2014, there have been reports that Facebook has manipulated thousands of several user's news feeds to apparently study whether certain types of content made people happier or sadder. Facebook later apologised for the study.

Furthermore, the health policy experts have raised concerns about the privacy of the users, with this Facebooks collecting health data initiative.

According to CNBC report, Facebook had issued a statement, when asked about the plans of the initiative, which states,

"The medical industry has long understood that there are general health benefits to having a close-knit circle of family and friends. But deeper research into this link is needed to help medical professionals develop specific treatment and intervention plans that take social connection into account."

"With this in mind, last year Facebook began discussions with leading medical institutions, including the American College of Cardiology and the Stanford University School of Medicine, to explore whether scientific research using anonymized Facebook data could help the medical community advance our understanding in this area. This work has not progressed past the planning phase, and we have not received, shared, or analyzed anyone's data."

"Last month we decided that we should pause these discussions so we can focus on other important work, including doing a better job of protecting people's data and being clearer with them about how that data is used in our products and services."

Initially, this proposed collection of user-health-data projects primary focus was on cardiovascular health of the patients; however, people are still concerned about Facebook collecting their data and they still believe that the data might be in jeopardy.

Facebook has recently admitted that information of up to 87 million people, mostly in the US, may have been improperly shared with the British political consultancy firm Cambridge Analytica.

Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter.

Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter.
The White House on Friday said the administration was implementing new sanctions on Russian oligarchs, government officials, and entities for their roles advancing Russia's malign activities. (Photo: File)

Washington: The Trump Administration wants a positive relationship with Russia, but for this to happen, Moscow needs to significantly change its behaviour, the White House has said.

The comment from the White House came hours after the US administration sanctioned seven Russian oligarchs, 12 companies, and 17 top government officials and allies of President Vladimir Putin.

"We want a positive relationship with the Russian government, but for this to happen, there must be a significant change in their behaviour," White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters on Friday at her daily news conference.

"The sanctions and the totality of the administration's actions, which are in keeping with Congress' wishes, prove the president is absolutely correct when he says no one has been tougher on Russia," Sanders said.

She said the ball was in Russia's court as their actions would decide the kind of relationship Moscow has with the US in near future.

"As the president has said, he wants to have a good relationship with Russia, but that's going to depend on some of the actions by the Russians," Sanders said.

"However, at the same time, the president is going to continue to be tough until we see that change take place. And we're going to continue working forward to have a meeting with Vladimir Putin at some point," Sanders said.

Top American lawmakers welcomed the sanctions on Russia.

Senator John McCain said the sanctions were "a clear message" to Putin and warned that the Russians would pay heavily for their alleged aggression in Ukraine and Syria.

"The US must press forward with a broader strategy to deter and, if necessary, defeat Russian aggression and counter Russian malign influence activities. Anything less will only encourages Putin to continue attacking us, our allies, and democracies around the world," said McCain.

The White House on Friday said the administration was implementing new sanctions on Russian oligarchs, government officials, and entities for their roles advancing Russia's malign activities.

The sanctions target seven Russian oligarchs and the 12 companies they own or control, 17 senior Russian government officials, and a state-owned Russian weapons trading company and a bank it owns.

As a result, all assets subject to US jurisdiction of the designated individuals and entities, and of any other entities blocked by operation of law as a result of their ownership by a sanctioned party, are frozen, and US persons are generally prohibited from dealings with them.

Additionally, non-US persons could face sanctions for knowingly facilitating significant transactions for or on behalf of the individuals or entities blocked by the US on Saturday.

The fresh sanctions are the latest step by the US against Russia following the poisoning of a former Russian spy in England, interference in the US 2016 election and a cyber attack, CNN said.

According to the White House, the Trump administration has consistently confronted Russian activities that threaten US institutions, its interests, or its allies.

Among other sanctions and measures, the Trump administration has taken action to call out and confront Russian efforts to undermine the United States.
Donald Trump signed a memorandum on Friday ordering the end of the policy known as catch and release, in which illegal immigrants are released from detention while awaiting a court hearing on their status. (Photo: File/AP)

Washington: US Attorney General Jeff Sessions ramped up calls on Friday to criminally prosecute immigrants who cross illegally into the United States, adding to a barrage of statements on immigration by the administration of President Donald Trump this week.

Pointing to an upswing in border crossings to levels seen during former President Barack Obamas tenure, Sessions said he was ordering US attorneys offices near the Southwest border to prioritize bringing cases against first-time offenders.

Once border crossers are charged with illegal entry and deported, they can be charged with a felony carrying significant jail time if they are caught crossing illegally again.

Trump signed a memorandum on Friday ordering the end of the policy known as catch and release, in which illegal immigrants are released from detention while awaiting a court hearing on their status.

Ending catch and release was one of Trumps central promises during the 2016 campaign, but immigration authorities have faced a shortage of space to house people who have been detained.

Among the measures outlined in the memo, Trump directed the departments of Defense and Homeland Security to produce a list of military facilities that could be used to detain illegal immigrants.

Earlier this week Trump pledged to deploy the National Guard to assist with border operations because he has not been able to secure funding to fulfill a central campaign promise of building a wall along the US-Mexico border.

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis signed a memo on Friday authorizing the deployment of up to 4,000 National Guard troops. The memo said the troops will not perform law enforcement activities or interact with migrants.

About 150 National Guard members from Arizona will deploy to the border next week, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey said on Twitter. The Texas National Guard said it was preparing to send about 250 troops to the border within three days.

The United States has sent military to the border a number of times over the years.

Sessions directed the US attorneys offices in southern California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas to prosecute all the cases referred to under the criminal entry statute, known as 1325, to the extent practicable.

Sessions in April 2017 had instructed prosecutors to increase their focus on criminally charging first-time offenders as well as people with multiple entries.

Some federal prosecutors, defense attorneys, and judges have expressed concerns that charging border crossers en masse is a drain on court resources.

Supporters of Sessions approach have said that criminal penalties deter repeat crossers, while detractors have said the prosecutions can deny legitimate asylum seekers the ability to properly file claims.

This will be assembly-line justice, where large numbers of defendants are forced through the system without adequate time to consult counsel, Cecillia Wang, a deputy legal director at the American Civil Liberties Union, said in a statement.

In December 2017, a group of immigrant advocacy organizations filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Homeland Securitys Civil Rights and Civil Liberties division claiming that some immigrants being criminally prosecuted for crossing the border were being forcibly separated from their children.

A Justice Department spokesman declined to comment on the complaint.
New York: Facebook expects to uncover additional violations of users personal data, the companys No 2 executive has said as the social media network continues to face severe backlash over its user data scandal.

Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg said the company is doing audits, but warned it could find more data breaches.

I am not going to sit here and say that were not going to find more because we are, Sandberg said in an interview to NBC. Sandberg stressed that the social media giant cared about privacy all along.

But I think we got the balance wrong, she said. I think we were very idealistic and not rigorous enough and then theres the possible misuse. What we are focused on is making sure those possible use cases get shut down.

Last month, a whistleblower who previously worked for Cambridge Analytica came forward to claim that the British-based firm had used a third-party app to obtain private information from more than 50 million Facebook profiles without the users knowledge.

Later, it emerged that the firm had accessed the information of as many as 87 million people. As to why Facebook took so long to address the Cambridge Analytica data breach, which was first reported in 2015, Sandberg told NBC we thought that the data had been deleted.

She added that Facebook believed Cambridge Analytica deleted users data because they gave us assurances, and it wasnt until other people told us it wasnt true.

She said the company should have come clean sooner and admitted that data may have been breached instead of waiting two years, but she rejected the idea that Facebook officials were trying to hide what happened, the NBC report said.

She admitted that Facebook should have notified users of the breach.

Sandbergs remarks come days before Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg is scheduled to testify before Congress next week amidst the fallout from the data scandal.
Several people injured as a car ploughed into a crowd in the western German city of Muenster on Saturday, police reported. (Photo: Twitter/ Daniel Kollenburg)

Berlin: At least three people died Saturday when a vehicle ploughed into busy cafe and restaurant terraces in the German city of Muenster before the driver shot himself dead.

Images on social media showed smashed and upturned tables and chairs strewn accross the pavement outside an eaterie in the centre of the picturesque medieval city.

At least 20 people were injured, six of them seriously, according to police, while media reports said the driver had been behind the wheel of a delivery van.

A police spokeswoman in the western city, Vanessa Arlt, told AFP that the driver of the vehicle "shot himself".

"The perpetrator drove into several cafe and restaurant terraces in a major square in the centre of Muenster," Arlt added.

Police spokesman, Andreas Bode, said it was "too soon" to call the incident a deliberate attack.

According to the online edition of the Spiegel magazine, German authorities were "assuming" the incident was an attack, though there was no immediate official confirmation of a motive.

"Terrible news from Muenster," German government spokeswoman Ulrike Demmer said in a tweet, saying local police were providing regular updates.

"Our thoughts are with the victims and their loved ones."

Images broadcast by German television showed police and firefighting vehicles clustered around a street in the centre of the city of 300,000 people.

Armed police were deployed and officers urged residents to avoid the city centre to allow investigators to get to work.

Germany had long warned of the threat of more violence ahead after several attacks claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group, the bloodiest of which was a truck rampage through a Berlin Christmas market in December 2016 that left 12 people dead.

The attacker, Tunisian asylum seeker Anis Amri, hijacked a truck and murdered its Polish driver before killing another 11 people and wounding dozens more by ploughing the heavy vehicle through the festive market in central Berlin.

He was shot dead by Italian police in Milan four days later while on the run.

Germany has since been targeted again in attacks with radical Islamist motives.

In July 2017, a 26-year-old Palestinian asylum seeker wielding a knife stormed into a supermarket in the northern port city of Hamburg, killing one person and wounding six others before being detained by passers-by.

German prosecutors said the man likely had a "radical Islamist" motive.

And at the end of October, German police arrested a 19-year-old Syrian identified only as Yamen A. suspected of planning a "serious bomb attack" using powerful explosives.

IS also claimed responsibility for a number of attacks in 2016, including the murder of a teenager in Hamburg, a suicide bombing in the southern city of Ansbach that wounded 15, and an axe attack on a train in Bavaria that left five injured.

Germany remains a target for jihadist groups, in particular because of its involvement in the coalition fighting IS in Iraq and Syria, and its deployment in Afghanistan since 2001.

German troops in the anti-IS coalition do not participate in combat operations but support it through reconnaissance, refuelling and training.

Germany's security services estimate there are around 10,000 Islamic radicals in Germany, some 1,600 of whom are suspected of being capable of using violence.

Chancellor Angela Merkel has allowed in more than one million asylum seekers in the past two years -- a decision that has driven the rise of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which charges that the influx spells a heightened security risk.

IS also claimed several similar attacks in Europe, including a rampage along Barcelona's Las Ramblas boulevard in August 2017 that killed 14 and left more than 100 injured.

The deadliest such incident in recent years was in the French resort city of Nice in 2016, where a man rammed a truck into a crowd on France's national July 14 holiday, killing 86 people.
Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said war is not the solution to the decades-long conflict in Afghanistan. His remarks Saturday came a day after he visited Kabul and met with the Afghan leadership. (Photo: File)

Islamabad: Pakistans prime minister says Afghanistan has accepted his offer to revive stalled peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban.

Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said war is not the solution to the decades-long conflict in Afghanistan. His remarks Saturday came a day after he visited Kabul and met with the Afghan leadership.

Pakistan has praised Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghanis overture to the Taliban in which he offered to recognize the radical religious group as a political party.

The Taliban have not officially responded but have reiterated their demand to talk to the US before holding talks with Kabul.

Pakistan hosted the first direct peace talks between Kabul and the Taliban in 2015 but those talks ended when Kabul announced death of Taliban founder Mullah Mohammed Omar.
To the president, America is one big Trump rally. Photo: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

The 45th president of the United States is such a powerful font of misinformation that its often difficult to isolate and analyze specific things he says that are factually dubious or flat-out wrong. But this week hes been promoting a particularly odd and potentially significant meme: that hes a whole lot more popular than is indicated by any objective measurements.

Out of nowhere, at a West Virginia event ostensibly aimed at publicizing the effects of the GOPs 2017 tax cut bill, Trump revived his post-2016 election claims that millions and millions of Californians had voted multiple times, robbing him of a national popular vote victory over Hillary Clinton. He offered no evidence for this stunning allegation, perhaps because none exists.

But Trumps assertions of unverified popularity were not strictly retrospective. He also spent some time this week bragging about  and exaggerating  a single polls assessment of his current job approval numbers:

Thank you to Rasmussen for the honest polling. Just hit 50%, which is higher than Cheatin Obama at the same time in his Administration.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 3, 2018

The honest polling bit was presumably an allusion to his past unsupported claims that most polls  i.e., the ones that dont give him the kind of numbers he gets from Rasmussen  are fake. This in turn apparently depends on his belief  debunked repeatedly  that most of the polls were way off in 2016 (thats true only if buy his massive-voter-fraud fantasy).

But in any event, his Rasmussen shout-out is as dubious as his general attitude toward polls. For one thing, while Razs daily tracking poll did indeed show his approval rating hitting 50 percent on Monday  and hey, 51 percent on Wednesday!  its back down to 47 percent on Friday. And its been bouncing around the mid-to-high 40s for months, also reaching 50 percent in February, and last year in April and June. Anyone even vaguely familiar with polling knows that Rasmussens polls have a distinctly pro-Republican house effect. That doesnt mean the data it produces is useless, but does mean it strays so regularly and predictably from polling averages that a thumb on the scale is wise:

Polling firms' house effects on Trump job approval, relative to aggregate.



+4% Rasmussen

+3% Politico/Morning Consult

+1% SurveyMonkey

-2% Ipsos/Reuters

-2% YouGov/Economist

-3% Gallup



Data courtesy @pollster pic.twitter.com/TUasaeteld  Drew Linzer (@DrewLinzer) April 3, 2018

Accordingly, one of the more reliable polling average methodologies, at FiveThirtyEight, adjusts Rasmussens findings to counteract the house effect. So Fridays 47 percent Trump approval rating goes into the averages as 42 percent. Another polling average source, RealClearPolitics, does not adjust polls for house effects, but similarly shows Rasmussen as being off-kilter (the current RCP average for Trumps approval ratings is 41.5 percent). In case you want to dismiss FiveThirtyEight as a liberal site (despite its against-the-grain predictions in 2016 that Trump had a real chance to win), it should be noted that RCPs management is quite conservative.

Touting Rasmussen as the only honest poll was not enough for Trump, though. In a radio interview today, the president suggested that his job approval number should have been higher:

A poll just came out now, Rasmussen, its now 51, Trump said. They say that its 51 but add another 7 or 8 points to it.  They dont want to talk about it, but when they get into the booth theyre going to vote for Trump.

This belief in the shy Trump voter, of course, is based on an theory that had some currency early in the 2016 presidential nominating contest, but was eventually disproved, as Politico noted at the time:

[T]heres little evidence that shy Trump voters actually exist. In the Republican primaries, he didnt outperform his poll numbers relative to his leading challengers  and, until he ran away with the nomination in late April and May, he performed significantly worse than the polls suggested.

Perhaps Trump thinks the shy Trump voter phenomenon was proven true by the general election results, which showed the polls were wrong  except they really didnt, unless you buy his voter fraud theory. You see how quickly Trumps reasoning takes you down the rabbit hole to slippery contentions based on other slippery contentions.

What we cannot really know, of course, is whether the president really believes what hes saying, or just wants other people to believe what hes saying. But the circular nature of his disinformation can be seductive to people who are inclined in his direction anyway. If the mainstream news about him is fake and so are the non-Rasmussen polls, then theres only one source of information you can trust: the man himself. Evil as it is, its as good a method as any to keep his troops feeling upbeat and ready to vote.
In a setback to Saeeds political ambition, the US on Tuesday designated the MML as a terrorist organisation, making it difficult for it to get registered with Pakistans election commission. (Photo: File)

Lahore: Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed on Friday mocked the US decision to designate JuDs political front Milli Muslim League (MML) as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation, saying the move has proved the partys credibility.

In a setback to Saeeds political ambition, the US on Tuesday designated the MML as a terrorist organisation, making it difficult for it to get registered with Pakistans election commission.

Pakistan is set to hold general elections in 2018.

Well, a partys that is banned by the US is the one that actually holds some credibility, Saeed, who is the chief of the JuD, said at a rally.

The Americans, he added, understand that this is the political party they cannot be an ally with.

Saeed also asked Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi to dedicate the rest of his day in office for the cause of Kashmir.

The US will exclude your name from among its loyalists, but that will be a matter of honour, he said.
Another week of political left vs. political right rhetoric on immigration. The spark for this latest round of flame-throwing was President Donald Trump calling for National Guard troops to help protect the southern border. While the act itself will do little to change the dynamic at the border, (similar orders were carried out by President Barack Obama in 2010 and President George W. Bush in 2006), the hyperbole it has ignited has fanned the rage of operatives and organizations across the political spectrum. The nation is exhausted by this perpetual battle that yields no national security improvements, no certainty for dreamers, no support for law enforcement and no way out for those trapped in the system  but which delivers plenty of dollars for those who profit from division.

It really doesnt have to be this way. The rule of law and compassion are completely compatible when it comes to immigration. Utahns have shown a desire, and ability, to tackle immigration in a way that is both commonsense and compassionate. Dealing with known criminals is different than addressing the needs of children of illegal immigrants, and no one should confuse or conflate the two.

Trump has struggled to lead within the cross-section of campaign rhetoric and governing reality. He has attempted to get to a solution through sometimes flailing efforts that have caused those on the political right to flinch and those on the political left to wince. He has, however, proposed a solution for DACA far beyond what Democrats in Congress have put forward and further than many Republicans wanted to go. Sounds like the perfect setting for real reform  if it werent for politics.

The biggest challenge for the Trump administration has been dealing with members of Congress in both political parties, along with the outside groups that raise enormous amounts of money and run political campaigns using immigration as a wedge issue. Wrangling all of these interests would make the president king of the swamp.

The vast majority of Americas immigration challenges could be solved in an afternoon on the floor of the U.S. House and Senate  because everyone agrees on most of the critical steps. Almost everyone believes America must have border security. A country that doesnt have authority over its borders is not a country.

There is consensus on the need for a more sophisticated entry and exit system to track who comes in and who leaves the country. If Disneyland can tell you where your family is anywhere in the park, if your smartphone can tell you how far out your Uber driver is and if your family app can tell you when your child arrives at piano lessons  surely the American government is capable of tracking who comes in and out of the country.

Making legal immigration simple, fair and faster while maintaining rigorous scrutiny also has broad support. Modernizing the entire system including visas, green cards and other work programs is achievable.

Partisans will breathlessly shout, But you havent addressed the 12 million people who are here illegally! This is where I trust the American people more than the politicians. If all the other steps are completed, the number of people here illegally would be a much smaller number, maybe even below 6 million. Out of that total, a percentage of them will have criminal convictions  I trust the American people to know what to do with bad actors.

The remaining number will be very sympathetic cases  I trust the American people, who are among the most compassionate people in the world, to know what to do in such circumstances.

This is a slightly simplistic approach to the immigration issue. But only slightly. The question is, who will lead? Who is willing to call on both sides of the aisle to live up to the principles they profess to believe? Who is willing to say "no" to the fake fights and false choices being served up by so-called leaders in Congress? Who is willing to say "no more 2,000-page bills no one has read"? Who is willing to challenge the motives and fundraising methods of special-interest groups? Who will put forward a step-by-step series of legislation?

The most important thing for the nation relating to immigration policy is for there to be real dialogue on the issue rather than more of the same old divisive rhetoric. Immigration policy can be accomplished in a way that is fair under the rule of law and compassionate. For the good of the nation and the future of the country, it is time to actually address immigration.
SALT LAKE CITY  A Salt Lake man with a history of sex offenses in Utah is facing multiple felony charges of sexually exploiting a minor.

The Utah Attorney General Office's Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force on Wednesday arrested Douglas Lynn Carter, 65, for allegedly possessing child pornography. On Friday, he was formally charged with nine counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, a second-degree felony; and possession of a firearm by a restricted person, a third-degree felony.

The investigation began Feb. 28 when the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children contacted Utah authorities about someone uploading child pornography.

On Wednesday, investigators interviewed Carter, who admitted "he had been accessing child sexual exploitation material depicting young prepubescent boys for several years. Douglas stated he accessed the illegal content several times per week and as recent as one day prior to the service of the warrant," according to a Salt Lake County Jail booking report.

The arresting officer noted in the report that Carter was convicted of child sex abuse in 1985 and was sentenced to the Utah State Prison. He was also convicted of forcible sex abuse in 2002 and again sentenced to prison, according to the report.

Child porn was found on Carter's cellphone in addition to "multiple writable CDs and DVDs," the report states.

During a search of his residence, authorities also found a handgun and ammunition.

"Douglas stated he knew he was a convicted felon and he apologized for having the firearm," the report states.

After his arrest, investigators asked a judge to set a bail of $250,000 in this case "based on Douglas documented history of abusing children and the frequency which he accesses and views child sexual exploitation material."

Prosecutors, however, on Friday requested a bail of $500,000, stating that "he is a danger to the community" and that although he "claims to have had no sexual contact with children since his release from prison," he has "admitted to having approximately 25 child victims with 'skin to skin' contact and approximately 200 child victims of frottage," the charges state.
SALT LAKE CITY  Lehi police have closed their investigation into a business executive's claim that a state senator tried to extort him as part of a plan to discredit his efforts to overturn a controversial election law.

Investigators found "no evidence of extortion whatsoever," Sen. Todd Weiler, R-Woods Cross, said in a tweet Thursday.

"It's disappointing that valuable time and resources had to be spent on politically motivated publicity stunt," he said.

Dave Bateman, founder and CEO of Lehi-based Entrata, claims Weiler offered a woman Bateman dated "a million dollars" to make a false sexual harassment claim against him.

As evidence, Bateman played on Facebook a voicemail he obtained from a co-worker of a woman he dated, both of whom work for his property management software company.

Its Todd Weiler. Hey, at the Jazz game you were talking to some of my well-connected friends and now we have another friend whos a lawyer who thinks he could get your friend a million dollars if she doesnt go to Europe. I think you know what I mean. Give me a call, Weiler says on the voicemail.

Weiler said he was approached by a friend of the woman who was seeking a lawyer after her hours and responsibilities were cut at Entrata. He said he was conveying from the lawyer she shouldnt go on a trip with Bateman if she intended to pursue legal action. The voicemail was the last of several conversations Weiler had with the friend of the woman.

Bateman said in a Facebook post he was shocked at the "gross oversight" of one Lehi detective.

"It was clear to me the investigation was compromised from my first meeting with the detective. I provided the detective with a mountain of evidence, some of which he flat out refused to even receive from me," Bateman said.

Lehi police were not available for comment Friday.

Bateman's accusation came amid GOP infighting over SB54, a law the Utah Legislature passed four years ago creating an alternative path to Utahs long-standing caucus/convention system for securing a partys nomination for elected office. Under the law, candidates may also collect voter signatures to get on the primary election ballot.

Bateman agreed to pay off the Utah GOP debt incurred fighting the law in court and fund further appeals.

A three-judge panel in 10th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the law in a 2-1 decision last month. Republicans this week hired a lawyer to seek an "en banc" review of the ruling by all the judges in the 10th Circuit.
SALT LAKE CITY  A national environment organization says Salt Lake City is a rising star in solar energy development, as Utah's capital city has seen the number of completed projects grow from dozens in 2007 to hundreds in 2017.

On Wednesday, Environment America ranked the city No. 10 among its "Solar Stars" in terms of megawatts of solar energy used per capita last year compared to 70 other U.S. cities.

"Solar is booming," said Tyler Poulson, sustainability program manager for the city.

According to the rankings, Salt Lake City rises above other major cities including Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco, but is eclipsed by Honolulu, Las Vegas and Denver.

"We've seen solar grow a lot within city limits, primarily on residential rooftops," Poulson said.

Poulson's department submitted city data from last year to Environment America, which used the data to determine Salt Lake City's ranking.

The citywide numbers show exponential growth in solar energy over the past 15 years. In 2009, 40 solar projects were completed as compared to 677 in 2017; 645 of those new solar installations were residential, and 32 belonged to commercial projects, Poulson said.

"There's kind of this even broader story about Utah generally. We're still one of the top 10 solar states," Poulson explained.

The Solar Energy Industries Association ranks Utah eighth nationally in its solar energy usage. According to statistics from the association, more than 6,000 people in the state work in the solar energy industry.

"I think that solar's been very visible in Utah for the past few years and has grown very quickly," said Kate Bowman, solar project coordinator for Utah Clean Energy.

She believes several factors have contributed to this trend, including a state tax credit first enacted in 2001 for residential and commercial properties.

The state Legislature recently reinstated the residential solar tax credit, giving households $1,600 in nonrefundable tax credit that will slowly decrease until it is phased out in 2025, according to the Governor's Office of Energy Development website.

There is also a 30 percent federal tax credit for residential renewable energy that will decrease until it expires in 2021.

Poulson said Salt Lake City officials believe these tax incentives, though they won't last forever, "provide a reasonable glide path for sustained solar development."

Scott Cramer, president of Salt Lake-based residential solar energy equipment installer Go Solar Group, said solar energy "fits the mentality" of many people in the community.

"Residential solar power is one of the best ways to reverse the air quality issues that Salt Lake City faces," he explained. "The Salt Lake City demographic loves to take control of its surroundings and the outdoors, and Utahns owning the power they produce via solar jives with that lifestyle."

The Beehive State has seen "steady growth" in renewable energy over the past decade.

"I think that there are a lot of exciting things happening in the clean energy industry right now," Bowman said.

The cost of solar energy is falling, and new clean energy technologies "can work together" to modernize how we use electricity, she explained.

The Salt Lake City sustainability program manager agrees.

Improved technologies, falling costs and education have led to what Poulson sees as "a pretty clear signal that residents prefer clean, renewable energy."

"People want more wind, and they want more solar. There's just a strong social preference for renewable energy," he said.

"We envision solar continuing to grow, more and more rooftops to have solar panels going forward, and we're certainly encouraging that. ...We're cheering on what's happening," he said.

The city is working with Rocky Mountain Power to find ways to add "more large-scale renewable resources" to the grid and hopes to have 100 percent renewable energy for the community's electricity supply by 2032, Poulson added.

Rocky Mountain Power is reducing the output of its other sources of energy  including hydroelectric plants, coal plants and natural gas plants  to make room for solar energy, according to Dave Eskelsen, a spokesman for the company.

Rocky Mountain Power has invested in a solar power plant and has contracts with other solar power plant owners in the state.

Low-cost solar energy has helped Rocky Mountain adjust the output of its power plants.

"Its becoming a bigger part of our resource mix than ever before, and we think that will continue, Eskelsen added.

Correction: An earlier version incorrectly stated Utah Clean Energy's solar project coordinator as Katie Bowman. Her name is actually Kate Bowman.
Editor's note: A version of this article was previously published on the author's blog.

As early as April or as late as June, NASA plans to launch the next generation planet finder, an orbiting telescope called the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite or TESS, which will have a field of view 400 times that of the Kepler instrument. Since its launch on March 6, 2009, Kepler has discovered 3,705 confirmed planets with 612 in multiple-planet systems and 4,496 candidate planets, according to the latest count.

The new orbiter promises to open the heavens in terms of planetary research.

"TESS will survey the entire sky over the course of two years by breaking it up into 26 different sectors, each 24 degrees by 96 degrees across," states a NASA fact sheet. "The powerful cameras on the spacecraft will stare at each sector for at least 27 days, looking at the brightest stars at a two-minute cadence." As with Kepler, the new satellite will look for transiting exoplanets whose presence is deduced when starlight periodically dims.

The stars TESS will examine are 30 to 100 times brighter than those studied by the Kepler project, allowing follow-up studies to more readily confirm or discount candidates. "TESS will also cover a sky area 400 times larger than that monitored by Kepler," the NASA fact sheet continues.

Although the survey will encompass a much larger region than Kepler's, this does not equate to 400 times the number of stars because Kepler stared at myriad stars during its four-year prime effort and more in the later K2 project. TESS will examine 200,000 of the brightest and nearest stars, says NASA (more than twice that, according to an MIT estimate), while Kepler studied 150,000 dimmer stars in its main program.

According to a March 6 advisory inviting media representatives to cover the launch, TESS will blast off from Cape Canaveral aboard a Space-X Falcon 9 rocket possibly as soon as 4:32 p.m. MDT, April 16.

Kepler's main project has been to stare at stars in the same quadrant, and most of the stars that were examined were dim, which made detection and verification difficult. TESS won't be as limited, which should make those jobs easier.

"The technology involved in TESS is mind-boggling," said Seth Jarvis, director of Salt Lake's Clark Planetarium at The Gateway. "Just the orbital mechanics employed to get it to its position in space from where it will perform its observations make you marvel at how much precision can be applied to an object so distant, so delicate, and moving so quickly."

According to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Kavali Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, one of the project partners, TESS may record more than 3,000 planet candidates. (The institute also says the satellite will monitor more than 500,000 stars, compared to NASA's 200,000 estimate.) The discoveries may include about 500 Earth-size and super-Earths (up to twice our planet's diameter).

"TESS will detect small rock-and-ice planets orbiting a diverse range of stellar types and covering a wide span of orbital periods, including rocky worlds in the habitable zones of their host stars," the institute predicts.

Jarvis said, "Searching for exoplanets by using the tiny dimming of stars created by a transiting planet involves receiving zillions of bits of brightness data, not knowing if within that cacophony of ones and zeros there is a signal that can be teased-out, and then applying ferocious amounts of math and computer power to see if there's a needle hidden in all that hay."

Another aspect to consider, Jarvis said, is that the transiting method can't possibly detect all the planets orbiting the stars it studies. Undoubtedly, most of these will not happen to glide between the star and the satellite. The star is a small point as seen from Earth, and only coincidence would bring one of its planets exactly in line with TESS.

Kepler and other detectors have shown that the Milky Way may host 1 trillion stars, Jarvis said. TESS will help refine our knowledge and improve our estimates about the likelihood of life on alien planets.

"I cannot think of a more terrifying question for us to explore than, 'Are we alone?'" he added. "Think of the implications associated with knowing the answer to that question, whether it's 'yes' or 'no,' with certainty."

Jarvis said an answer that we are alone would raise many questions, including, "How is that even possible?" But an answer that we aren't alone also raises confounding new questions, he said.

"Yikes! Where are they? How far away are they? Are they anything like us? What can we know about them? Do they know about us? Do they have the same history, questions, dreams, and problems that we do? What could we possibly say to each other? Can we communicate with them? Should we?" Jarvis said.

Determining whether we are the only intelligent life in the galaxy is one of the most important goals of astronomy. The answer, if it can be found, will have a profound effect on our civilization.

Jarvis said humanity is hard-wired to explore, and that failing to look for that answer "would be a betrayal of our intelligence."
Specifications of Samsungs upcoming mid-range Galaxy A6 and A6 Plus smartphones have leaked again. As per the fresh report, the smartphones will feature an Infinity Display design and the Galaxy A6 is said to feature a 5.6-inch full-HD+ display with a 2220  1080 resolution, same as the Samsung Galaxy A8 (2018), whereas the Galaxy A6+ might come with a 6.0-inch screen with FHD+ resolution, which is also seen on the Samsung Galaxy A8+ (2018). Both their screens could sport a pixel density of around 441 ppi and feature an 18.5:9 display aspect ratio.

As per the report, the Galaxy A6 could be powered by an octa-core Exynos 7870 SoC, coupled with 3GB RAM and 32GB of onboard storage. Whereas the Galaxy A6+ might be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 SoC and feature 4GB RAM with 32GB of onboard storage. The leak is consistent with previous reports, but we advise to take it with a pinch of salt as its not from a known source. The two devices were previously spotted on US FCC website and as per that listing, the Galaxy A6+ might actually be running on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 SoC. The FCC listings also hints that the two phones might launch running on Samsung Experience 9.0, based upon Android Oreo.

Apart from the Galaxy A6 series smartphones, rumours suggest that the company is also working on its flagship Galaxy Note 9. A new render video of the smartphone was posted online recently, which is based upon the ongoing rumours of the smartphone, along with the current market trends in terms of design. The video shows the Galaxy S9 featuring a rectangular candy-bar design with rounded corners and its seen in black, silver, blue, and gold colour variants. There is also an S-pen in matching colours. As rumours suggest that the device might feature an in-display fingerprint scanner, the video shows the same and also with even thinner bezels, compared to the current S9 series smartphones.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 is rumoured to launch around August 2018 and its specs were also revealed in a Geekbench listing. As per the listing, the alleged Galaxy Note 9 is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 SoC, which is also equipped in the companys current flagship Galaxy S9 and S9+ smartphones, and features a model number SM-N960U. It could come with 6GB RAM and scores 2190 and 8806 in a single-core and multi-core performance benchmarks respectively.

Its interesting to note that the Samsung Galaxy S9+ powered by the Exynos 9810 SoC, which we tested, scored 3769 in single-core and 8938 in multi-core performance tests. If the Geekbench score of the Galaxy Note 9 with Snapdragon 845 is to be believed, then it underperforms when compared to Galaxy S9+ with Exynos 9810 SoC. The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 is also expected to launch running on the latest version of Android 8.1 Oreo and the listing suggests the same.
NCLT reserves order in Essar Steel case after hearing ArcelorMittal, Numetal

The Ahmedabad bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has concluded hearing arguments from all the parties in the Essar Steel bankruptcy case and decided to reserve its order.

In the final round of hearings today the NCLT heard arguments from Numetal and ArcelorMittal, both of which in the race to acquire the bankrupt Essar Steel, as the two once again tried to convince the tribunal over their disqualification by the resolution professional, claiming that rules have been followed before submitting their bids.

The tribunal, comprising adjudicating authority Manorama Kumari and Harihar Prakash Chaturvedi, kept its order reserved for a future date, possibly on 12 April.

Numetal and ArcelorMittal knocked on the doors of NCLT over their disqualification in the first round of bidding claiming that rules have been followed before submitting bids.

Senior counsel Mihir Thakor, appearing for Numetal, today said his client has challenged the resolution professional's decision to disqualify it from the first round of bidding because "there was no impropriety in restructuring Numetal".

While admitting that Numetal was formed by the promoters of the Essar Steel itself "with the purpose of submitting the resolution plan to acquire Essar Steel, Thakor said that was no bar on Numetal to bid for Essars assets.

RP's lawyer Darius Khambata had on Friday told the bench that Numetal's bid was rejected because Essar Steel promoter Ravi Ruia's son Rewant Ruia was, in some way or other, in control of Numetal through Aurora Trusts.

He said such an arrangement was in violation of the section 29 (A) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code(IBC).

Thakor, however, said Numetal had undergone substantial structural changes as far as Rewant Ruia's role in Numetal is concerned.

"It was originally intended to be a promoter's company before the introduction of section 29(A). But then, it ceases to be a promoter's company. Thus, just because it was a promoter's company in the past, it should not be disqualified," argued Thakor.

Appearing for ArcelorMittal, senior counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi said Numetal's demand that Mittals should first pay up the debt of Uttam Galva, an NPA firm, "is a classic case of diversion and deflection".

Singvi said while on one side Numetal questions the non-payment of debt on Uttam Galva, on the other side "Ruias themselves brought Essar Steel to its kneels by making it an NPA".

Lenders had disqualified both ArcelorMittal and Numetal, the only two bidders for the 10-million tonne capacity, debt-laden Essar Steel at Hazira in Gujarat citing technical issues, including their ownership structure.

Essar Steel owes more than Rs45,000 crore to over 30 banks.

The two companies challenged the lenders' decision at the NCLT soon after they were disqualified, following which the NCLT allowed rebid till 2 April.

ArcelorMittal along with Nippon of Japan, Anil Agarwal's Vedanta and Numetal along with JSW Steel have put in bids in the final round.
Facebook moves to make electoral ads transparent and accountable

Facing widespread criticism for the handing over of personal data of 87 million users to a political consultancy, Facebook has decided to increase transparency and accountability for electoral and issue ads.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg will appear before the US Congress next week to address queries relating to the harvesting of personal data of 87 million users by Cambridge Analytica, the British political consultancy, which worked for President Donald Trump's campaign.

The company announced important changes to the way it manages ads and pages on Facebook and Instagram, its photo and video-sharing social networking service. These are designed to increase transparency and accountability, as well as prevent election interference, said Facebook.

"Advertisers will be prohibited from running political ads electoral or issue-based until they are authorised, Facebook said, announcing plans to make advertisements on its platform more transparent.

Last October, FB had allowed only authorised advertisers to run electoral ads. It has now decided to extend the requirement to anyone that wants to show issue ads  like political topics that are being debated across the country.

It is working with third parties to develop a list of key issues, which will be refine over time. Advertisers will be prohibited from running political ads  electoral or issue-based  until they are authorised. The ads will also be clearly labelled political.

The company said it is investing in artificial intelligence and adding more people to help find advertisers who should have gone through the authorisation process. We realise we wont catch every ad that should be labeled, and we encourage anyone who sees an unlabeled political ad to report it, said an FB statement.

People can do this by tapping the three dots at the top right corner of the ad and selecting Report Ad. 
Walmart finishes due diligence on Flipkart, may pay $10-12 bn for stake

Walmart completed a thorough due diligence process on ecommerce firm Flipkart this week, Reuters reports. The US retail giant is looking to take a controlling stake of 51-per cent or more in the Indian company.

Walmart has already floated a shareholder agreement, or offer proposal, and is looking to shell out about $10 billion to $12 billion for the stake that would value Flipkart at roughly $20 billion, one of Reuters sources said. Walmart has already floated a shareholder agreement, or offer proposal, and is looking to shell out about $10 billion to $12 billion for the stake that would value Flipkart at roughly $20 billion, one of Reuters sources said.

A deal is far from finalised, however, and talks between the two parties and investors in Flipkart are ongoing, said another source.

A stake in Flipkart would pit Walmart against Amazon.com in India, and according to media reports Amazon is exploring a rival offer for India's largest home-grown ecommerce player.

Walmart is now seeking a bigger stake than previously expected. It was reported in February that Walmart was in talks to purchase a stake of over 40 per cent in Flipkart, which is backed by the likes of SoftBank Group, Tiger Global, eBay, Accel Partners, Naspers, Tencent Holdings and Microsoft Corp.

Walmart and Flipkart declined to comment. SoftBank also declined to comment, while Tiger, its other lead investor, was not immediately reachable for comment.

Bengaluru-based Flipkart, started by two former Amazon employees, is fighting Amazon to grab a bigger piece of Indias massive online retail market which, according to Morgan Stanley, could be worth $200 billion in a decade.

Walmarts investment would give Flipkart not just additional funds to fight Amazon, but also arm it with a formidable ally with extensive experience in retailing, logistics and supply chain management.

It is seen as a more likely investor than Amazon. A person familiar with the matter told Reuters that the probability of a Flipkart-Amazon deal was low, and that such a deal may spark competition fears as Flipkart and Amazon dominate Indias e-commerce market.

For Walmart a deal would open up a vast market and another front to take on its biggest rival. It may look to bring in some of its own people on the legal and finance teams at Flipkart, one of the sources said.

Walmart would also likely have a say in the appointment of a chief financial officer at Flipkart, if the deal is concluded, said another of Reuters' sources.

Two of the three sources said Tiger Global Management, Accel Partners and Naspers were likely sell their entire stakes in Flipkart to Walmart if a deal is reached. Japans SoftBank, which has invested in Flipkart through its Vision Fund, may also consider selling a part of its roughly 20-per cent stake if Walmart offers a good price.
Donald Trump is skipping the White House Correspondents Dinner. Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images

For the second year in a row, President Trump will skip the White House Correspondents Dinner.

Margaret Talev, White House Correspondents Association president, said in a statement Friday that Trump is sitting out the event but actively encourag[ing] members of the executive branch to attend and join us as we celebrate the First Amendment. Thats a change from last year when the administration boycotted the dinner.

There is something a little bit different about their posture, the administrations posture this year, Talev said Friday. She added that its a good thing the White House is softening its stance on the WHCD, though its not really clear why. Trump certainly hasnt toned down his criticism of the fake news, which remains a near-daily target of his tweets.

Just today he criticized the media for reporting on the corruption of EPA administrator Scott Pruitt. In a radio interview that aired Friday morning Trump said hes skipping the event because the media is so bad and so fake. Allowing his underlings to attend the WHCD hardly registers as a step in the right direction.

While Trump wont be on hand for the event Saturday, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders will. And hopefully she bring along a few jokes from her dad.
IAF issues global RFI for production of 110 fighter jets in India

The defence ministry is expected to issue one of the largest global tenders, worth around $15 billion (Rs90,000 crore), for manufacture of fighter jets in India, under the `Make In India policy of the government.

The Indian Air Force on Friday issued a Request for Information (RFI) to major global manufacturers of fighter jets to produce around 110 fighter jets in the country, according to press reports. The Indian Air Force on Friday issued a Request for Information (RFI) to major global manufacturers of fighter jets to produce around 110 fighter jets in the country, according to press reports.

The contract mandates that 85 per cent of the planes must be built in India as part of Narendra Modi government`s drive to build a domestic defence industrial base.

As per the terms of the contract, foreign manufacturers will have to collaborate with an Indian partner to set up a production line for the fighter jets.

As per the RFI issued by the Indian Air Force for the fighter planes, "85 per cent will have to be made in India by a strategic partner/Indian production agency".

Also, under the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) induction programme, IAF will now allow makers of both single engine and twin-engine combat jets to participate in the tender.

A number of fighter jets, including the Eurofighter Typhoon, Lockheed`s F-16, Saab's Gripen and Russian aircraft MiG-35 are potential contenders under the new requirements.

It is not known whether Dassault Aviation, which was earlier expected to corner the contract, will bid again.

Earlier, the defence ministry had sought expressions of interest from single-engine manufacturers which effectively restricted the contest to Lockheed`s F-16 and Saab`s Gripen fighter jets.

The IAF is in urgent need of new fighter jets as its operational strength has depleted with just 31 squadrons, as against the 42 it needs to counter the combined threat from Pakistan and China.
Gender roles highlight gender bias in judicial decisions: study

Judges may be just as biased or even more biased than the general public in deciding court cases where traditional gender roles are challenged, according to a new study published in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science.

This study examined the role of gender bias relating to judges and legal decisions, and the sex discrimination worked both ways, sometimes against women and sometimes against men.

"These results show that judges' ideology and life experiences might influence their court decisions," said Andrea Miller, PhD, a visiting assistant professor of psychology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. "Many judges are not able to factor out their personal beliefs while they are considering court cases, even when they have the best possible intentions."

More than 500 judges from a state court system (68 per cent men, 30 per cent women, and 2 per cent unidentified) participated in the study in an effort by that court system to address gender bias. The court system wasn't identified for confidentiality reasons.

"The judges who participated in the study did so at great personal and professional risk because they care deeply about confronting the possibility that there might be social group disparities in case outcomes," stated Miller, "This state court system has become a leader in the search for evidence-based solutions to the problem of implicit bias."

More than 500 lay people (59 per cent men, 41 per cent women) also were recruited online to take part in the study.

The judges and lay people analysed two mock court cases, including a child custody case and a sex discrimination lawsuit where the plaintiff was presented as either a man or woman.

The participants also completed surveys about their beliefs in traditional gender roles, such as stereotypes that women are more interested in raising children than in their careers and that children are better off if their fathers are the primary breadwinners for the family.

In the sex discrimination lawsuit, the plaintiff alleged that he or she was denied a promotion after taking six weeks of paid parental leave to care for an adopted baby. The plaintiff also wanted to introduce expert evidence from a psychologist about research on sex discrimination. Judges who supported traditional gender roles were more likely than lay people with similar gender ideologies to dismiss the case or rule against a female plaintiff.

In the divorce case, the father and mother both sought primary custody of their two children. Both spouses worked full-time jobs and sometimes had conflicts with caring for their children. Judges and lay people who supported traditional gender roles allocated more custody time to the mother than to the equally-qualified father, but the judges were even more biased in favouring the mother than were lay people. Only three per cent of the judges in the sample gave the father more custody time than the mother.

"In both of these cases, support for traditional gender roles was associated with decisions that encouraged women to engage in more family caregiving at the expense of their careers and discouraged men from participating in family caregiving at all." Miller said.

"Cultural ideas about gender bias may shape judges' decision-making as much as the rest of us," Miller said. "The significant expertise that judges possess doesn't inoculate them again decision-making biases, and we can't expect much change until we see policy reforms that address decision-making procedures in the courtroom."
India, Nepal to bolster defence ties, enhance connectivity and trade

India and Nepal have agreed to boost bilateral ties with increased cooperation in key areas of defence and security, connectivity and trade. The announcement comes after talks between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepalese counterpart Khadga Prasad Oli.

Setting aside concerns over Nepal awarding key development projects to rival China, PM Modi said India will continue to support Nepal on the country's priorities even as both sides have agreed to expedite all connectivity projects.

The prime minister said cooperation between the two countries will enhance Nepal's democracy.

Modi also said the two countries agreed to lay a new railway line to link Kathmandu with India.

India and Nepal have close ties in defence and security and will work together to stop misuse of their open border, Modi said.

Oli said he has come to India to take the bilateral ties between the two countries to newer heights in keeping with the realities of the 21st century.

We want to erect a strong edifice of trust-based relationship between the two close neighbours that we are, he said.

The Nepalese prime minister is on a state visit to India from 6 to 8 April, at the invitation his Indian counterpart.

The two prime ministers comprehensively reviewed the entire spectrum of multifaceted ties between the two countries.

They welcomed the growing partnership between the two governments, private sector and at the peoples level and resolved to work together to take bilateral relations to newer heights on the basis of equality, mutual trust, respect and benefit.

Recalling that the close and friendly India-Nepal relations are built on the strong foundation of shared historical and cultural links and close people to people contacts, the two prime ministers underscored the importance of regular high-level political exchanges in cementing bilateral ties.

Prime Minister Modi stated that the Indian government's Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas is a guiding framework for Indias engagement with its neighbours for a shared vision of inclusive development and prosperity.

Prime Minister Oli stated that after the landmark political transformation, his government has given priority to economic transformation with the motto Samriddha Nepal Sukhi Nepali. Modi congratulated the people and the government of Nepal for successful conduct of local level, federal parliament and first-ever provincial elections in Nepal and appreciated their vision for stability, and development.

The two Prime Ministers inaugurated the Integrated Check Post at Birgunj in Nepal. They hoped that its early operationalization will enhance cross-border trade and transit of goods and movement of people bringing greater opportunities for shared growth and development.

The two prime ministers also witnessed the ground breaking ceremony of the Motihari-Amlekhgunj cross-border petroleum products pipeline at Motihari in India.

The two leaders underlined the need for expeditious implementation of bilateral projects in Nepal, and to reinvigorate the existing bilateral mechanisms to promote cooperative agenda across diverse spheres.

Three separate joint statements on the following key areas of mutual interest were issued today. These include:

A new India-Nepal partnership in agriculture;

Expanding rail linkages by connecting Raxaul in India to Kathmandu in Nepal; and

New connectivity between India and Nepal through Inland Waterways.

The two prime ministers agreed that the visit has imparted new dynamism to the multifaceted partnership between the two countries.

Prime Minister Oli thanked Modi for the invitation and warm hospitality extended to him and his delegation. He also extended an invitation to Prime Minister Modi to pay an early visit to Nepal, which Modi accepted. The dates would be finalised through diplomatic channels
Salman gets bail in 1998 blackbuck killing case

Bollywood superstar Salman Khan, who spent two nights in a Rajasthan jail in the 1998 blackbuck poaching case, was granted bail by a Jodhpur district court on Saturday afternoon.

Salman had been found guilty in the case and had been given a five-year jail sentence by a lower court. Salman had been found guilty in the case and had been given a five-year jail sentence by a lower court.

Incidentally, judge Ravindra Kumar Joshi, who heard the actors bail plea, is among the 87 judges  including the one who had sentenced Salman  being shifted to other courts as part of the annual transfers policy of the Rajasthan high court.

Salman had been given a five-year jail sentence by the lower court for killing two blackbucks in 1998 at a village near Jodhpur. He was travelling in a vehicle and was there in connection with the shooting of the film Hum Saath Saath Hain.

Other actors in the film including Saif Ali Khan, Tabu, Neelam Kothari and Sonal Bendre, who were also travelling with him, were initially charged in the case. However, they were recently acquitted by the Jodhpur sessions court.

The case against Salman was filed by members of the Bishnoi community who revere antelopes. They had been chasing the case for nearly 20 years and were pleased with the judgement.

However, following the bail given to Salman, they have decided to approach the Rajasthan High Court.

Salman has been claiming innocence in the case and his lawyers said that the animals died of over-eating and were killed by dogs. The actor had also been accused of killing two chinkaras. But in 2016, the Rajasthan High Court acquitted him in that case.

The actor has spent 18 days in jail in these cases  in 1998, 2006, 2007 and now.
Indrani Mukerjea falls ill, rushed to Mumbai's JJ Hospital

Indrani Mukerjea, the former head of INX Media who is in custody over the murder of her daughter Sheena Bora, was rushed to the state-run JJ Hospital in Byculla, Mumbai late on Friday night. Doctors said that she was rushed to the emergency ward in a delirious condition.

Mukerjea was admitted to the hospital after complaining of uneasiness and difficulty in breathing, confirmed Deputy Commissioner of Police Virendra Mishra.

According to a senior doctor at the hospital, she was brought in at 11.15 pm in a drowsy state. She underwent blood tests and a physical examination before being admitted to the cardiac intensive care unit. Her stomach wash has been sent for analysis, the police added.

Medical superintendent Dr Sanjay Surase said today, We are still evaluating her. Currently, she has been shifted to the critical care unit from the emergency ward for observation. Her condition is stable.

Mukerjea, the co-founder of INX media, is currently lodged in Byculla womens jail. She was present in court on Friday afternoon before a Special CBI Court hearing the case. She was taken back to jail at around 5 pm. Mukerjea complained of difficulty in breathing around 10.30 pm and was taken to the hospital by prison authorities, an official said.

This is not the first time that Mukerjea has been rushed to the hospital in a semi-conscious condition. In 2015, she was admitted to JJ for a suspected drug overdose. She had remained hospitalized for nearly a week, even as conflicting reports arose on what led to her hospitalization.

The case history forwarded by the Byculla prison superintendent on Friday disclosed that symptoms of chronic small vessel ischemic changes are appearing. Further her blood pressure was fluctuating and remained at a high level. It also revealed that sometime inside the jail said she was suffering from blackouts. It further revealed that she had lost substantial weight and was found disturbed inside the cell.

Sheena (24) was abducted and murdered on 24 April 2012, allegedly by her mother Indrani, Indranis former husband Sanjeev Khanna, and driver Shyamvar Rai in conspiracy with Peter Mukerjea. Sheenas body was dumped of the next day at a deserted spot in Raigad. Rai was arrested on 21 August 2015, in an illegal arms case and later revealed the alleged details of the Sheena murder.


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We spend a great deal of time and effort trying to make healthcare more affordable and to ensure better outcomes. Too often, the upshot is to reduce all problems and challenges to a singularity in search of a silver bullet. It never works, but it seems like human nature to take that approach.

Salesforce has taken a tactic that is bearing fruit, in part because it isn't really trying to fix healthcare. Instead, it has set a more modest goal of making the information flow a little better. It turns out that this can have big positive effects.

Like many industries, healthcare began its information automation odyssey many decades ago by building systems of record -- places that stored diagnostic data for rapid retrieval. Initially that was plenty, because a single doctor usually took care of the patient. When multiple specialists began treating the same patient, data got big and demands for it increased significantly.

Today an army of people participate in patient care -- from nurses and technicians to doctors, both generalists and specialists -- and they all need access to the patient's data. Hospital IT was set up to serve the information needs of doctors in the hospital, but data consumers increasingly call for data in and out of the hospital and at all hours.

The End of Hospitals?

This is all brought home in "Are Hospitals Becoming Obsolete?" published earlier this week in The New York Times. In the article, author Ezekiel J. Emanuel, MD, presents some startling information for the layperson. For example, the peak year for hospitalizations in the United States was 1981, and they have been declining ever sense.

In 1981, there were 6,933 hospitals in the U.S., while there are now 5,534. It's not healthier lifestyles that account for the decline, though. Healthcare, like Elvis, has left the building in favor of clinics, ambulatory surgical centers, birthing centers and other noncritical care centers.

Patient data has not kept up with the trends. Much of it still exists at the hospital or other places where it first was gathered. For instance, lab or radiology studies may remain on the servers of a hospital or radiology practice, and primary care doctors must be able to log into those systems to get results.

It's also not unheard of for a doctor to need multiple datasets on a screen at the same time to make intelligent treatment decisions.

Enter Salesforce

What's needed today are integrative systems -- what we in the business world might call "systems of engagement" or even "systems of intelligence." Such systems might capture data from the relevant third-party applications in a practice's geography to provide practitioners with all the necessary patient information on a screen or at least on a device.

When necessary, those systems should be able to crunch raw data to produce the information that practitioners need to make decisions.

Salesforce's approach has been to capture care data from various sources, extract information through artificial intelligence and other methods, and then deliver it to the healthcare provider at the point of service, which puts the patient in the center of the care network. It also opens a lot of new opportunities that hospital systems don't have the bandwidth to address.

For instance, a patient on a long-term treatment plan -- such as for diabetes or asthma, for instance -- would benefit not simply from a diagnosis and a prescription, but also from a friendly phone call. Simple periodic check-ins can do much to help patients stay on plan and avoid costly readmissions. The technology needed for this approach to healthcare is all in the CRM bucket.

This approach fundamentally changes healthcare. It goes from a 20th century model of fixing something that's broken to a 21st century model of preventing an outage. It's the same basic idea as the Internet of Things, only with people. In the IoT, it's preventing a machine outage; when applied to people it's supporting wellness.

My Thoughts

Many cloud computing enthusiasts have despaired of ever seeing much progress on that front for healthcare. It's too this or too that, or just too hard to expect healthcare providers to cross the chasm to cloud computing.

Perhaps we've been looking in the wrong places for results. Hospital and practice-based systems do a good job as systems of record, and rebuilding them in the cloud might have benefits -- but at unacceptable costs. Even if the costs were low, we'd be fixing the wrong problem.

When cloud computing arrived at the front office, it changed the work of the front office. We're seeing the same thing now in the back office. Business processes that barely could be imagined are coming on stream.

The same appears to be happening in healthcare. Although there's still a long distance to travel, the flexibility of the cloud and the creativity of its users have been opening new vistas, even in the stodgy world of healthcare IT.

Denis Pombriant is a well-known CRM industry researcher, strategist, writer and speaker. His new book, You Can't Buy Customer Loyalty, But You Can Earn It, is now available on Amazon. His 2015 book, Solve for the Customer, is also available there. Email Denis.


By John R. Platt

April, goes the old saying, is the cruelest month, so perhaps it should be no surprise that one of the most anticipated books being published this month is about the infamous death-by-dentist of Cecil the lion. But that's not all, and the rest isn't necessarily cruelApril will also see the publication of fantastic new books about living a zero-waste lifestyle, taking back our public lands, how fossil fuels hurt indigenous peoples and a whole lot more.

Honestly there are more environmental books coming out in April than any one person could read, but we've tried to pick what looks like the best of the bunch for you. The full list14 amazing titlesincludes books for just about every reader, from dedicated environmentalists to Earth-friendly kids. There's even one for poetry fans. You can check them all out belowlinks are to publishers' or authors' websitesand then settle down in your favorite reading chair for a month of great page-turning.

Wildlife and Endangered Species:

Lion Hearted: The Life and Death of Cecil & the Future of Africa's Iconic Cats by Andrew Loveridge  Advance word on this book is already reigniting the complex emotions around this case. Written by the scientist who studied Cecil the lion for eight years until the big cat was shot by American dentist Walter Palmer, Lion Hearted is about more than just Cecil and Walter; it's about the plight faced by all of Africa's disappearing lions. This gets our vote for the book of the month.

The Plant Messiah: Adventures in Search of the World's Rarest Species by Carlos Magdalena  It's a sad fact in conservation that endangered plants often don't get enough attention, whether it's from the general public, governments or even researchers. Maybe this impassioned memoir from Magdalena, a globe-trotting horticulturalist who spent his life saving endangered plants, will help to turn that around a little bit.

Back From the Brink: Saving Animals From Extinction by Nancy Castaldo  Here's one for younger readers, the true stories of how humans came close to killing off species like wolves, alligators and the California condor, as well as how we kept them from disappearing forever. Good lessons if we want the next generation to succeed in saving the species around them.

Darwin Comes to Town: How the Urban Jungle Drives Evolution by Menno Schilthuizen  Wildlife and cities don't mix, right? Well, not so fast. Some species are adapting to live in urban environments, either by changing their behavior or by evolving new physical characteristics. It's never going to be as good as living in natural habitats, but for some species life goes on, as this book reveals.

Oceanic by Aimee Nezhukumatathil  Poetry about a planet in peril. This isn't strictly about wildlifeit covers a lot of environmental topicsbut many of the poems in this thought-provoking volume are about animals, including Bengal tigers, bees and a whole lot more.

Green Living:

Why Good People Do Bad Environmental Things by Elizabeth R. DeSombre  An academic book, but one that asks some important questions we should all be considering if we hope to change our own behaviors or those of the people around us.

Trash Revolution: Breaking the Waste Cycle by Erica Fyvie What's the impact of the stuff around us, and how can kids make informed decisions about the products they buy? Fyvie and illustrator Bill Slavin provide the answers in this book, which comes our way from the delightfully named publisher, Kids Can Press.

Zero Waste: Simple Life Hacks to Drastically Reduce Your Trash by Shia Su  Did you know the average American produces 4.4 pounds of garbage a day? Yikes. Well, here are 168 pages of tips on how to reduce your trash footprint all the way down to zero. Not a bad goal!



The Parents' Guide to Climate Revolution: 100 Ways to Build a Fossil-Free Future, Raise Empowered Kids, and Still Get a Good Night's Sleep by Mary DeMocker  Sleep is a good thing, as is having a planet on which to sleep. Bill McKibben provides the foreword to what sounds like an essential book.

Public Lands:

This Land Is Our Land: How We Lost the Right to Roam and How to Take It Back by Ken Ilgunas  The perfect book for the times we live in, when public lands are increasingly under assault and even national monuments are at risk of disappearing.

Energy Development and Indigenous Rights:

Life in Oil: Cofan Survival in the Petroleum Fields of Amazonia by Michael L. Cepek  For half a century, the indigenous Cofan nation of Ecuador has struggled under the ecological destruction of the fossil-fuel industry. Cepek, who has worked and lived with the Cofan for more than 20 years, tells their story, revealing how oil extraction has threatened these marginalized people but also how they have remained resilient.



Damming the Peace: The Hidden Costs of the Site C Dam by Wendy Holm (editor)  A massive, $10 billion hydroelectric dam project on British Columbia's Peace River could threaten the First Nations peoples who live nearby. This volume dives deep into the potential impacts and decades of governmental cover-ups related to this long-planned project.



Climate Change:

Brave New Arctic: The Untold Story of the Melting North by Mark C. Serreze  We all know now that the Arctic is melting, but how did we come to find that out? Serreze, director of the National Snow and Ice Data Center, provides a firsthand account of how scientists first observed and understood these changes and how they will affect the planet.

Lyme: The First Epidemic of Climate Change by Mary Beth Pfeiffer  Ticks like warm places; climate change is making more places warmer. That's already causing tick-borne illnesses like Lyme to travel to new areas and hurt more people, a situation Pfeiffer explores. (For more on this topic, check out our article and interactive maps, "Climate Goes Viral.")

Looking for even more new eco-books? Check out our previous "Revelator Reads" columns for dozens of additional recent recommendations.

Reposted with permission from our media associate The Revelator.


In the wake of the ICICI Bank-Videocon loan saga, the government has changed its nominee on the board of ICICI Bank. Amit Agrawal who was serving as the government's nominee Director on the board has been replaced by Lok Ranjan, Joint Secretary, Department of Financial Services, with effect from April 5, 2018.

The Department of Financial Services informed the bank about the replacement on April 5. It is not certain if the government changed its nominee due to the recent developments.

Nevertheless, the board extended its full support and gave a clean chit to its MD and CEO Chanda Kochhar. Even Deepak Kochhar, husband on Chanda Kochhar mentioned to India Today TV that she was not aware of his 50:50 tie-up with Videocon Group Chairman Venugopal Dhoot. "Chanda did not know when I set up NuPower. I knew Dhoot through social circles. I told her when Dhoot exited," he told India Today TV.

The Kochhars are under lens since whistleblower Virendra Gupta's disclosures in 2016 regarding the Rs 3,250 crore plus Rs 660 crore loans and alleged quid pro quo in the form of an identical 10 per cent foreign funding (Rs 325 crore and Rs 66 crore) in Kochhar's husband Deepak Kochhar's company NuPower Renewables. Deepak Kochhar and Videocon promoters - the Dhoots - had together set up a 50:50 JV NuPower Renewables in 2008. These revelations led to allegations of propriety and conflict interest.


The Swedish Krona had another strong day on Thursday, revelling in the better risk appetite as markets took another breath after a volatile week in equities.

A weaker Euro helped push EUR to SEK exchange rate lower, as the Norwegian Krone also enjoyed a positive day in what has been a good 48 hours for the Scandies.

FX analysts at Danske Bank believe that with the deeply oversold SEK, there may be room for a further correction to the downside,

Some may argue that the Swedish housing market has troughed already.

"We disagree (see Danske Bank Housing price indicator, 4 April 2018) and that is one reason why we have a negative take on the SEK and still doubt that the time has come for a material rebound.

"That said, a large part of the recent spike in EUR/SEK toward 10.30 is probably more about global risk sentiment.

"If investor risk appetite improves, there is room for a downward correction in EUR/SEK
Almost every article published by swissinfo.ch containsa percentage, an age, an amount of money or some other figure.Heres a round-up of the most interesting statistics to appear in the past weeks stories.

Monday

9,000,000,000

A new star has been found nine billion light-years from Earth, with help from scientists at the University of Geneva and Lausannes Federal Institute of Technology. MACS J1149+2223 Lensed Star 1, or Icarus for short, is 100 times more distant than the furthest stars studied so far.

Tuesday

7

Venezuela protested against a series of grotesque and illegal sanctions imposed by Switzerland, including a ban onseven senior Venezuelan officials from entering or passing through the country.

Wednesday

35

The number of years Switzerlands most infamous bank robber had spent in prison on his release.

Thursday

751,800

The number of Swiss citizens who live outside Switzerland; 54.5% are women.

Friday

8,482,200

Following a decade of annual population growth of above 1%, the rate dropped to levels seen at the beginning of the millennium. A total of 8,482,200 people lived in Switzerland at the end of 2017. Women outnumbered men by 72,676.
The French presidency condemned "the violence" in Gaza on Monday after 52 Palestinians were killed in clashes with Israeli forces during protests over the US embassy opening in Jerusalem.

President Emmanuel Macron will speak to all the actors in the region in the coming days, his office said in a statement.

Macron had warned repeatedly of the repercussions of President Donald Trumps decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, it added.

The decision, announced by Trump in December, contravenes international law and UN Security Council resolutions, Macron said at the time.

Tens of thousands of Palestinians demonstrated along Gazas border with the Jewish state against the controversial embassy opening on Monday.

It was the bloodiest day in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since a 2014 Gaza war.
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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is to visit Britain in May, a top official said Saturday, as Ankara sticks to its position of refusing to blame Russia for an attack on an ex-spy.

Relations between London and Ankara have over the last years been relatively robust, without the tensions that have plagued relations between Turkey and other European powers such as Germany.

But while EU nations have rushed to join Britain in condemning Russia and expelling diplomats over the attack in England on ex-spy Sergei Skripal, Turkey has been much more circumspect.

Erdogan will be paying a visit to the UK in May, presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin told foreign reporters in Istanbul, without giving a date.

We look forward to this visit.

The Turkish president has made relatively few bilateral visits to Europe since the failed 2016 coup although he did travel to France at the start of this year.

Kalin denied that Britain should be disappointed with Turkeys reaction to the attack on Skripal, saying we would like to see the perpetrators of this attack brought to justice.

But he reaffirmed Turkeys unwillingness to follow London and most of its EU allies by blaming Russia for the poisoning.

There seems to be a lot of discussion still going on.

The question of who exactly did it and what is the full story is still unfolding, Kalin said.

Turkey has built flourishing relations with Russia after overcoming a 2015 crisis over Syria and President Vladimir Putin paid a two day visit to Ankara last week.

We have good relations with Russia, we have good relations with the UK. We would not want to see any further tension between two countries with whom we have good relations, said Kalin.
MEDIA RELEASE



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

APICS Inland Empire Spring Symposium on May 5 at Harvey Mudd College



"Managing Rapid Growth When Manufacturing & the Supply Chain is Hot"

CLAREMONT, CA  April 6, 2018 APICS Inland Empire Chapter (APICS-IE), the leading association for supply chain and operations professionals, is proud to announce the Spring 2018 Executive Panel and Networking Symposium focusing on: "Managing Rapid Growth When Manufacturing & the Supply Chain Are Hot". The event will be held on Saturday, May 5, 2018 at Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, California.

This event marks the seventh year that APICS-IE convenes a Spring conference and expert panel to share insights on global supply chain trends and strategies. In addition to insightful take-aways, engaging dialog and collegial networking, APICS-IE serves as a resource for supply chain professionals seeking certifications and industry connections.

"Manufacturing is on an upswing and the pressure is on to attend to unparalleled customer expectations while maximizing profits. Many manufacturers are seeing this as a huge opportunity to be industry leaders" commented Lisa Anderson, APICS-IE Chapter Leader and President of LMA Consulting Group. The panel discussion allows for insights and key learnings to be shared by executives and experts in manufacturing and supply chain. "Every time we meet as supply chain professionals to share experiences and best practices, it makes us stronger and more valuable contributors to the growth of our businesses" she concluded.

The symposium attracts industry professionals from throughout the Inland Empire and Southern California and welcomes students. The Spring Symposium is being hosted by Harvey Mudd College as part of the strong partnership with APICS-IE. "APICS Inland Empire Chapter has been a valuable partner to us. Our students have been able to meet with and learn from manufacturing and supply chain professionals. They have worked on projects solving real business challenges and have competed in student case study competitions. These are great experiences in preparing for the business world" commented Kash Gokli, Professor of Manufacturing Practice and the Engineering Clinic at Harvey Mudd College. The students at Harvey Mudd College recently won the APICS regional student case competition and an award for Innovation by the Manufacturing Council of the Inland Empire at the recent Manufacturers' Summit.

The APICS-IE Spring Symposium, "Managing Rapid Growth When Manufacturing & the Supply Chain Are Hot" will be held Saturday, May 5, 2018 from 8:00-11:30 AM at Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, California. Fees to attend are $15 for members, $25 for non-members and students are free. A breakfast buffet is included. Register online at: https://conta.cc/2GhXymm



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A former national ranking member of the Bandidos testified Friday that the groups latest president kicked his predecessor out of the biker club for appearing on a television documentary.

William Big G Ojemann, a Bandidos member from 2008 until 2013, said George Wegers, who was the Bandidos president from 1998 until his arrest in 2005, had his Bandidos patches revoked by his successor, Jeffrey Fay Pike, because Wegers appeared in a report about the club.

Pike was like, (expletive) him. We dont do interviews. We dont do TV, Ojemann testified, recalling a conversation he said he had with Pike in 2012. It was a patch-pull offense.

Ojemann is the latest ex-insider to testify against his former Bandidos brothers at the racketeering trial in San Antonio of Pike and ex-national vice president John Xavier Portillo.

Pike, of suburban Houston, took the reins of the Bandidos until he and Portillo, who became vice president in 2013, were arrested in January 2016, according to testimony.

Though Wegers returned to the Bandidos after serving a 20-month prison sentence for racketeering charges, he is no longer in the club because of the documentary, Ojemann said, without specifying which one.

Ojemann, who was 6 foot 3 inches tall and weighed 420 pounds while he was national sergeant-at-arms, said he and other Bandidos members carried out beatings or intimidation of rivals or wayward Bandidos on direct or indirect orders from Pike and Portillo.

While much of the testimony to date has come from Bandidos from San Antonio and focused largely on Portillo, Ojemann is the first ex-Bandido from the Houston area to testify. He said he became close to Pike and saw some of his decisions firsthand.

For instance, Ojemann said he attended a meeting in 2011 at the Mason Jar restaurant in Houston in which Pike and other national members talked about Pikes proposal to split the Bandidos from chapters in Europe and Australia.

Ojemann said most Bandidos appeared to back Pike, who also called for a new patch to represent the club, but there was a faction who didnt, including John Galveston John Lammins, who was president of a chapter in Costa Rica, and Ernest Morgas, an El Paso chapter president.

Ojemann said that as he rode with Pike back to his house, the Bandidos president seethed.

I remember him turning down the radio and saying he wanted Galveston Johns (backside), Ojemann said. He was pissed. He wanted Galveston John (expletive) up.

Ojemann said he and another national member were tasked with trying to find Lammins. Ojemann said that on one occasion, Lammins was tipped off and didnt show up to where Ojemann and others would have pummeled him, or he was in places that were too public for an attack.

But other members from San Antonio did beat up and kick Morgas out of the Bandidos, Ojemann said.

Prosecutor Eric Fuchs asked Ojemann about the difference between Bandidos in Houston and those in San Antonio.

San Antonio is known as the jungle. The lions den, Ojemann said. San Antonio always handled business. If you needed violence done, you put in a call to San Antonio.

Ojemann said Houston had to be more laid back.

It was the big boss backyard, Ojemann said. For the most part, everybody knew, dont cause no (expletive) in Houston.

But defense lawyers for Pike and Portillo attacked Ojemanns testimony as self-serving or of being fabricated to wrongly accuse their clients in order to save himself from lengthy prison time in his own drug case.

Under cross-examination, Ojemann admitted being involved in drug trafficking with another Bandidos member. Initially indicted on drug and gun counts that would have left him facing a minimum of 15 years and up to life in prison, Ojemann said he pleaded guilty in federal court in Houston to reduced charges. And that, Pike and Portillos lawyers argued, could leave Ojemann facing a sentence closer to two years, maybe even probation.

Pikes lead attorney, Dick DeGuerin, also said some of the incidents Ojemann testified about were part of Pikes efforts to clean up the Bandidos.

Pike did not approve of members dealing in drugs, which was one of his concerns with the chapters in Europe and Australia, DeGuerin said. And there were some Bandidos members in those chapters who, when arrested, were found to have pictures of Osama bin Laden at their homes, DeGuerin said.

You knew that Jeff was concerned that with the war on terrorism, the Bandidos might get a reputation that they have terrorists? DeGuerin asked.

Ojemann agreed with that and with DeGuerins assertion that Pike was disappointed with Ojemann for his involvement in drugs.

Portillos lead lawyer, Mark Stevens, noted that what Ojemann told investigators in debriefings differed from his court testimony.

Stevens asked him if he had told agents he left the club after losing interest in it over matters he didnt agree with. Ojemann refuted that, maintaining that Pike kicked him out, though Pike allowed him to remain in good standing.

Stevens pressed Ojemann on whether he had ever said before that he left the club by mutual agreement.

Those words never came out of my mouth, Ojemann answered.
The Reserve Bank of India moved to bar banks and other entities that it regulates from having any linkages to virtual currency dealers, leading to a plunge in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies on local exchanges on Friday.

The government and the central bank have previously cautioned the public on cryptocurrencies, with New Delhi earlier this year vowing to eliminate the use of digital currencies, which it considers illegal in the country's payment system.

Entities regulated by the RBI shall not carry out transactions with individuals or businesses dealing in virtual currency, the RBI said on Thursday after issuing its bimonthly monetary policy report.

In India, Bitcoin, a volatile cryptocurrency, plummeted to a low of 350,001 rupees or about $5,392, according to crypto-currency exchange Coinome, compared with its international market price of $6,617.

Before the announcement, Bitcoin had been trading at about a 5 percent premium to its overseas price, said Vishal Gupta, co-founder of Block Chain and Cryptocurrency Committee, an industry body, noting it is now trading at a significant discount.

"This seems to be a very aggressive move," said technology law expert Namita Viswanath, a principal associate at IndusLaw.

"Instead of the RBI taking a holistic approach and seeing how to curb potential misuse, it seems to be a rather broad-stroke approach of completely prohibiting this altogether."

Late on Friday, the RBI issued a more detailed that stated any regulated entities which already provide services to facilitate dealing with virtual currencies will have to cut all ties within three months.

The Indian government has previously linked cryptocurrency investments to "Ponzi schemes" that offer unusually high returns to early investors.

It has set up a panel to look into the issues relating to cryptocurrencies and plans to appoint a regulator to oversee unregulated exchanges.

But Thursday's announcement raised concerns about the exit options for investors who currently hold cryptocurrencies.

Gupta estimates that at least 4 to 5 million people in India hold some kind of cryptocurrency and that 60 percent of them entered the market between October and December, when prices were at a peak.

"Most of these people are already sitting on capital losses," he said. "Now the asset has become dead. You can't transact with it. If you transact with it, your bank accounts are going to be shut."

Virtual currencies raise concerns of consumer protection, market integrity and money laundering, among others, the RBI said on Thursday.

"If the government stands firm on their decision then we will have to eventually pivot our business model from crypto-fiat to crypto-crypto hence omitting the fiat part in totality," said Shivam Thakral, CEO of BuyUcoin, a cryptocurrency exchange.
Several months before a federal grand jury indicted state Sen. Carlos Uresti on 11 felony charges in May, and well over a year before a jury ultimately convicted him on all counts, state Rep. Roland Gutierrez figured Urestis Senate seat would eventually fall into limbo.

So he started campaigning across the sprawling, 35,000-square-mile district, visiting West Texas every six to eight weeks to build connections among communities such as Alpine and Pecos before returning to San Antonio, where he practices law between legislative sessions.

Former U.S. Rep. Pete Gallego, a Democrat who entered the race Thursday, sees West Texas  including his hometown of Alpine  as the center of his strongest support. Hes aiming to win Urestis seat using the network he built from 22 years in the Legislature and a single term representing the 23rd Congressional District.

Gallegos entry intensifies the race for the seat still held by the incumbent, with an uncertain election date hinging on Urestis possible resignation and Gov. Greg Abbotts decision to subsequently call a special election.

Uresti said immediately after his conviction that he planned to appeal the ruling and would not step down from office. A district judge denied a request Thursday from Uresti and co-defendant Gary Cain for a new trial. That action typically precedes the appeals process.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick stripped Uresti of his committee assignments after he was found guilty of multiple fraud and money laundering counts. In June, when Uresti will be sentenced, he faces years in federal prison and payment of millions of dollars in restitution. Also, the Senate may vote to expel Uresti with a two-thirds vote.

I dont think the Texas Senate is going to allow him to serve one day in the Legislature, so on day one, theyre going to fire him, theyre going to get rid of him, Gutierrez said. And so, therell be a special election. Worst-case scenario, I think youre looking at the spring of 2019. Best-case scenario, Carlos finally has an epiphany and does the right thing, and I think that he will.

Urestis legislative career is effectively dead, said Brandon Rottinghaus, a political science professor at the University of Houston.

His political future may still be in doubt, but his ability to deliver in terms of legislative support to his district is effectively zero, Rottinghaus said. So thats something voters have to consider if he decides to run again.

When is the election?

Gallego and Gutierrez both acknowledged that several electoral uncertainties remain, including whether the Senate District 19 seat will make it onto the November ballot.

With a San Antonio base, Gutierrez would have the advantage if the election occurs in November because Bexar County would likely make up close to 60 percent of the voter turnout, said Mark Jones, a political science professor at Rice University. A lower-turnout election would yield a higher percentage of the vote in rural areas, Jones said, playing to Gallegos strengths.

What I will tell you is that I have a massive amount of friends and supporters and relationships throughout those counties. I have a network that is enthusiastic and excited about this race, Gallego said.

Jones also speculated that the recent fourth-place finish of Jay Hulings in the 23rd Congressional District Democratic primary might have emboldened Gallego to run because Hulings had been backed by Julian and Joaquin Castro, seen as emblematic of the Bexar County Democratic establishment. Jones said the Castro brothers had put the kibosh on Gallegos congressional candidacy but that their abject failure to get Hulings into the runoff may have spurred on Gallego in this case.

Since Gutierrez launched his official campaign March 10, he has rolled out several waves of endorsements from supporters. On Tuesday, he claimed 87 supporters, including U.S. Rep. Filemon Vela, D-Brownsville, a slew of current and former state representatives, and local elected officials from across the district.

The district covers 15 counties and parts of two others, Bexar and Atascosa, and runs along the U.S.-Mexico border for about 400 miles from Brewster County to Maverick County. It reaches north to the New Mexico state line at Reeves County.

Each has an advantage

To Gutierrez, the support of officials in places such as Brewster and Val Verde counties attests to his months of outreach in those areas. Hes likely to receive his strongest support in San Antonio, where hes represented House District 119 on the South and East Sides since 2008 after serving on the City Council.

Weve made so many relationships throughout the last 16 months, and youve seen that from our endorsement list, Gutierrez said. Its not like you can knock on somebodys door on day one and just expect them to give you their seal of approval. It takes time, it takes building those relationships, it takes trust.

Without mentioning Gutierrezs endorsements, Gallego said he had built a solid foundation and was running a campaign from the ground up. He said hes already put 170,000 miles on his 2015 Chevrolet Tahoe in driving around West Texas.

You dont build it from the top down. And so where Im spending my efforts is building an organization thats grass roots, from the ground up, so that we can call people, and on the day that you need them to show up they will be there for you, he said.

When asked about Gutierrezs head start in the race, Gallego said he wanted to wait until the jury had reached a verdict about Uresti. Both candidates released statements soon after Urestis conviction.

Look, I think Roland can do whatever he wants to do, Gallego said. He was out there early on. I chose to be more respectful, I think, of the process and waited until the jury had made its determination. But thats just me. That was my decision. Every candidate is free to do what they want to do.

The two candidates voting records generally show Gutierrez as the further-left candidate, with Gallego among the more conservative Democrats in Congress from 2013 to 2015. In an interview, however, Gutierrez classified himself as socially liberal and fiscally conservative.

Gallego, when asked if he would take more progressive stances running in a blue-leaning district after three times running for a swing congressional seat, said he would listen to what voters want.

I think it doesnt lean blue. I think it is blue. The eventual senator is going to be a Democrat, Gallego said. And I will tell you, Im a big believer in representing the district. Im a big believer in understanding fundamentally what people want, what people think, what people look forward to, and taking their voice into the Legislature.

Other Democrats will likely jump into the race, and Republicans are eyeing the seat because of the unpredictable nature of special elections. Since the most recent redistricting round, Uresti has won re-election 56 percent to 40 percent in 2016 and 59 to 41 in 2012.

Gallego confirmed a report in the San Antonio Current that he recently met with state Rep. Philip Cortez and City Councilman Rey Saldana at Landrys Seafood House. Gallego did not confirm that the three discussed Urestis seat, though Cortez and Saldana have been floated as potential candidates.

Did we have dinner? We absolutely had dinner, Gallego said. Weve known each other for a long time. And literally, genuinely, we are all friends. I think people probably read a little too much into that. But its always nice to be talked about.
AUSTIN  The woman who drove a family vehicle over a cliff in California last month had adopted her six children out of foster care in the Houston area and likely received more than $270,000 in state money to help care for them.

Records also show that Jennifer Jean Hart and her spouse, Sarah Hart, had been accused several times of abuse and neglect involving the children over the years and that at one point Sarah Hart pleaded guilty to domestic assault.

The couple and three of the children were killed March 26 when their vehicle ran off a cliff on the Pacific Coast Highway about 180 miles north of San Francisco, crashing into the shoreline below. The three other children are still missing and feared dead. Investigators have said the crash may not have been an accident, and Mendocino County Sheriff Tom Allman is calling it a crime.

Texas paid a Jennifer Jean Hart monthly adoption subsidies over the past decade for the children, who were adopted out of foster care, according to the state comptrollers office. Though the Department of Family and Protective Services wouldnt confirm whether the Jennifer Jean Hart who received the money is the same Jennifer Jean Hart who was driving in the deadly crash, they did confirm that the woman who was driving and Sarah Hart had adopted the six kids from Texas.

Now Playing: Authorities believe there were six children inside an SUV that plunged off a cliff in California Monday - one of them a black boy whose tearful image went viral after he hugged a white police officer during a 2014 protest. Video: Time

The Harts lived in Minnesota when the six children were adopted from Texas foster care. Siblings Abigail, Hannah and Markis were adopted in 2006 from Colorado County, west of Houston, according to DFPS statements. The second sibling group, Sierra, Jeremiah and Devonte, were adopted from Harris County in 2009.

Most families that adopt Texas children out of foster care get monthly payments  ranging from $400 to $545 per child  to help cover costs of care until the child turns 18, according to DFPS. Jennifer Jean Hart received a $1,897 payment each month, with the most recent dated March 2, according to the state comptroller. Five of the Hart children are minors, while one is 19.

While living in Minnesota, Washington and Oregon, the women faced allegations of child abuse and neglect, according to news reports. Months before one of the adoptions was finalized, a report was made that Jennifer Jean Hart hit her 6-year-old with a belt. Its not clear whether Texas child protection officials were notified.

Though interstate adoptions arent common, roughly 300 to 400 foster children living in Texas are adopted each year by parents living outside Texas, according to state data. The adoptions usually involve children who are harder to place, such as those in large sibling groups or with serious disabilities, adoption attorneys said. The process is more burdensome and time-consuming because it requires sign-off from entities in two states.

Training and vetting for the Harts would have been completed by an agency in Minnesota, which would have then submitted a home study to Texas officials for approval. After a trial visit, the children would typically move in with the prospective parents for a six-month test period before the adoption would be finalized.

It was likely within that trial period when police in Alexandra, Minnesota, were called in September 2008 after one of the Hart children had a bruised arm. The 6-year-old told police that Jennifer Jean Hart had hit the child with a belt, according to a police report that redacted the childs name and gender.

Sarah and Jennifer Hart denied knowledge of the bruise in an interview with authorities but said the child had fallen down eight stairs a few days earlier. The couple also told police that the child had been constantly going through food issues, including stealing snacks at school and eating out of garbage cans or off the floor.

The police closed the case, but it was also reviewed by Douglas County Social Services, according to the report. The outcome of any investigation, however, is unclear. A spokeswoman for the agency declined comment this week, citing privacy.

Texas DFPS did not say directly whether it knew about the claims.

In any adoption, we try to look at absolutely everything to ensure that it is a good match  that the child or children are getting a permanent and loving home, said spokesman Patrick Crimmins in a written statement. A typical adoption includes trial visits, and at least a six-month placement with the adoptive parents. During that time, for out-of-state adoptions, the child welfare agency in that state would be monitoring the family and reporting back to us, and we in turn report it to judge overseeing the case. The judge reviews all the information on the adoptive parents and decides to approve, or deny, or ask for more information.

Little is known about the childrens lives in Texas because foster care records are confidential and court documents regarding adoption are generally sealed.

In 2010, while the family still lived in Minnesota, one of the daughters complained of bruises and owies on her stomach at school, according to a police report. The child later told authorities that her mother, Jennifer Jean Hart, had spanked her and put her head under water in the tub.

In interviews with police, Sarah Hart said she had been the one who spanked the child after losing her temper. She later pleaded guilty to domestic assault.

The multicultural family then moved to West Linn, Oregon. Devonte Hart drew media attention in 2014 when he was pictured hugging a police officer in Portland, Oregon, during a Ferguson-related protest. The family next relocated to Woodland, Washington. Days before the crash, Washington authorities had visited the Harts home after a neighbor reported the parents for neglect.

The three children still missing are Devonte, 15, Hannah Hart, 16, and Sierra Hart, 12, according to the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office. Jennifer and Sarah Hart, both 38, were found dead at the scene, as were Markis Hart, 19, Jeremiah Hart, 14, and Abigail Hart, 14.
On paper, Matt Beebe and Steve Allison  the GOP candidates in a runoff for Texas House Speaker Joe Straus open seat  would seem to align on the issue of gun rights.

Both are members of the National Rifle Association. Both boast A-ratings from the organization. And both consider themselves strict constructionists and strong supporters of the Second Amendment.

But a brewing clash between gun rights activists and police in Olmos Park has revealed a subtle contrast between the two Republicans that befits their respective footing in the Texas GOP.

Allison, a longtime friend of Straus, believes police have a right to order anyone who is openly carrying a gun in public to produce a license for the firearm. Beebe, a tea-party backed conservative who twice opposed Straus in the primary, sees that as a violation of the Constitution. (In Texas, licenses are required for handguns but not long guns.)

I do think (police) have a right to ask to see a license where theres a weapon involved, Allison said on Friday. Particularly with the increased concern over school shootings and terrorism, I think the police have to have the right to protect themselves and us.

Beebe disagreed.

That is not what our Constitution says, and I absolutely support the constitutional view that we are not to be subject to search and seizure when all we are doing is carrying out lawful acts, he said. Unless you suspect me of a crime  youre starting to breach those Fourth Amendment rights that I have.

The debate is not merely of philosophical interest. In recent days, tensions between activists and police reached a boiling point in Olmos Park, a bedroom community just north of downtown that marks the southwestern end of Straus district.

Last week, Olmos Park police tased and arrested CJ Grisham, president and co-founder of Open Carry Texas, at a small gun rights demonstration on McCullough Avenue. In a video of the incident, Olmos Park Police Chief Rene Valenciano is seen approaching the demonstrators and ordering them to get on the ground, a request they refuse.

Do you have a license to carry a gun? Valenciano asks.

He doesnt need a license to carry a rifle, an activist responds.

Youre interfering with the duties right now, an officer says, prompting the activist to retort: You have no duty to disarm a law-abiding citizen.

From there, the video disintegrates into a blur of cursing and shouting. Grisham was charged with assault of a police officer, interfering with the duties of a public servant and obstructing a roadway. Two other activists also were arrested.

Those arrests have spawned a much larger rally scheduled for noon on Saturday. More than 100 activists, most toting firearms, are expected to converge at Melrose Place and Howard Street and march to Olmos Park City Hall.

We anticipate that there will be some people carrying long guns  rifles or shotguns, said Rick Briscoe, a member of Open Carry Texas. There very probably will be some people carrying handguns with a license to carry handguns.

Briscoe likened the open carrying of firearms to walking down the street smoking a cigar with a cell phone in your hand. He said participants will be protesting the violent conduct of the Olmos Park Police Department and calling for Valenciano to be relieved.

Our intention is to conduct a peaceful, lawful event, present a petition to the city government and go home, he said. We expect cooperation from the Olmos Park police to allow this peaceful, lawful event to be conducted without interruption.

Beebe stressed that the protesters will be exercising their constitutional rights. But even he was wary of this particular exercise.

Its not necessarily the wisest approach, he said. Two guys that were lawfully exercising their rights spent a night in jail, and one of them got tased. Both had concussions. In that respect, its hard to argue that that worked out well for anyone.

Allison acknowledged the right to carry guns openly at the rally, as long as protestors recognize public safety concerns, he said, and the right of police to see licenses.

Beebe bristled at that.

What Steve is asking for is a new class of abridged rights, a new justification for abridged rights, he said. Im uncomfortable with that approach.
UK farmers have said Irish fodder aid schemes add to concerns over the impact months of wet weather are having on fodder supplies and prices.

Diminishing fodder supplies in the Republic of Ireland led the Irish Government to introduce a fodder transport subsidy scheme in January, with payments of between 3 and 17 per bale transported, depending on size.

Meanwhile, dairy processors in the republic, which were previously sourcing fodder on the domestic Irish market on behalf of their milk suppliers, have switched to sourcing from mainland UK, with the first Dairygold subsidised shipment totalling 2,500 tonnes having arrived at Rosslare port on Thursday (April 5), and more loads due to follow in the coming days.

The 2013 Irish fodder crisis saw the importation of some 10,000 tonnes of fodder into Ireland, mainly from the UK.

Dai Miles, Farmers' Union of Wales (FUW) Milk and Dairy Committee Chairman, said the persistent wet weather has left many fields in Wales "completely saturated" for months, and grass growth remains "extremely poor" across the country.

He said that the removal of fodder from the UK market through the Irish schemes would add to existing pressures on the UK market.

We fully sympathise with Irish farmers regarding the pressures they are under, but with prices already extremely high in the UK and pressures mounting in parts of Wales, the impact of the Irish schemes for our members is naturally a concern, he added.

Above all else, farmers in Wales need to see a dramatic improvement in the weather. Otherwise, we will have to urgently consider schemes similar to those operating in the Republic of Ireland.

'Diminishing supplies'

Farmers are becoming increasingly concerned about the recent cold weather which in turn has put a pressure on fodder supplies.

Farmers across the country have experienced one of the wettest winters following persistent rainfall which has made conditions difficult.

A period of low temperatures have also been a contributory factor to slow growing conditions for grass.

The cold winter followed by a late spring has resulted in lower than average grass covers across many farms.

Mr Miles added: Many of our members are unable to turn cattle out onto the land and this means an increasing reliance on diminishing fodder supplies as cattle remain housed.

We alerted the Welsh Government to concerns about the impact of fodder shortages many weeks ago, and reports of acute problems in some regions are increasing.

Ulster Farmers' Union President Barclay Bell said soil has been at saturation point and as a result there were "real difficulties" in doing field work.
When Salman Khan was convicted in the 1998 Blackbuck Poaching Case on April 5th, the industry and his fans mourned the verdict on social media. But to the lie relief, the superstar was granted bail today.He and his team got down to all legal proceedings to get the bail finalised. Two surety bonds of 25,000 each were to be submitted along with signing of various papers that prohibit Salman Khan to leave the country without prior permission from the government and court. Another court session will be held on May 7th, 2018 now.Finally, all legalities have been dealt with and Salman Khan is out of the Jodhpur jail and heading back to Mumbai.
Bail For Salman

Reportedly Salman has been granted bail by Jodhpur court on surety of Rs. 50000.

Mahipal Bishnoi, lawyer of Bishnoi community was quoted as saying by ANI, "He will have to submit two bonds of Rs 25000 each, he cannot leave the nation and will have to appear here again on May 7."

The District and Sessions Judge Ravindra Joshi, heard Salman's bail plea in blackbuck poaching case today before his transfer. Dev Kumar Khatri, the judge who sent Salman to jail has also been transferred.

A Yearly Routine

Both the judges are among 87 judicial officers transferred by the Rajasthan High Court. Reportedly, judges in Rajasthan are usually transferred between April 15 and 30 every year on the recommendation of a committee set up by the High Court.

These Two Would Be Replacing Joshi & Khatri

As per a NDTV report, 'Judge Joshi has been transferred from Jodhpur to Siroh in Rajasthan. He will be replaced by Chandra Kumar Songara, district and sessions judge of Bhilwara. Meanwhile, Judge Khatri will be replaced by Samrendra Singh Sikarwar, who is the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate in Udaipur.'

A Recap

On Thursday, Salman was sentenced to five years in prison after being found guilty of killing two blackbucks in Jodhpur while he was shooting for Hum Saath Saath Hai in Jodhpur in 1998.

Judge Joshi emphasized that 'the accused is a film star and people look up to him.' Explaining his decision, he added, "The way the accused killed two innocent black bucks in violation of the wildlife laws...he is a film star, people emulate him and look up to him... and there has been a rise in poaching incidents, so leniency is not justified given the severity of the crime, the evidence and the circumstances."
Salman Khan was sentenced to 5-years in prison and a fine of Rs 10,000 was levied on the actor for killing two blackbucks on that fateful night of October 2, 1998 during the shoot of Hum Saath Saath Hain at a village in Rajasthan. The case prolonged for two decades and now Salman's lawyers are doing everything they can to get him out of prison through bail.

The lawyers began another round of argument today sharp at 10:30 am and the judge is likely to deliver the verdict on Salman Khan.

11:10 am - The judge concluded that the verdict will be pronounced post lunch, confirmed Salman Khan's lawyer Hastimal Saraswat.

10:40 am- Judge hearing the arguments from both the sides again and is likely to deliver the verdict.

10:20 am - Salman Khan's sisters, Arpita Khan and Alvira Agnihotri arrive at the Jodhpur Court.

10:30 am - The lawyers begin their arguments right on time and both the sides are confident about their case.

10:00 am - Judge Ravinder Kumar Joshi arrives at the Jodhpur Court amidst tight security.
Kapil Abuses A Journalist!

But soon, this message was also deleted. There was also a tweet which said his account was not hacked. Kapil again tweeted, Maine jo b likha tha apne dil se likha tha'! And abused a journalist by calling him kutte bikaayu'.

Kapil's Tweet

His tweet read, "Maine jo b likha tha apne dil se likha tha.. it was my team who deleted my tweets .. But main is kutte bikaayu reporter se darne wala nahi hu.. he can write anything for anybody just for few bucks. Shameless." - (sic)

Kapil Files Harassment Case Against His Ex-Managers & A Journalist!

Now, the actor-comedian has filed harassment case against his ex-managers - Preeti and Neeti, and against a journalist (who claimed and reported that Kapil abused him). The recorded call was also attached in the article.

'Some People Just Want To Defame You For Few Bucks!'

Kapil tweeted, "Some people just want to defame you for few bucks, but it will take ages to take a stand against the wrong. I shall do it today and forever." - (sic)

Copy Of Complaint

The copies of complaint that Kapil shared on his Twitter had, "My Client states about 6 months ago his close associate Mr.Gurjot was approached by a person and told to part with Rs 25 lacs to contain the recently damaging content on Mr.Kapil Sharma by a specific media company - 'Spotboye'." - (sic)

The Statement Further Said

"This person also explained that they have a lot of personal information about my client and only a few knew this and that within a few days. Eventually this will bring Kapil Sharma down." - (sic)

Complaint Copy

"My client states all these instances of false and malicious publicity affected him emotionally and he has also sought professional counselling and is also under medication." "My client states that this harassment is caused by Ms. Preeti, Ms Neeti and Mr. Vicky of Spotboye." - (sic)

Kapil Upset With Negative Stories!

On the other hand, the journalist told ANI that Kapil is upset about the negative' stories about him. He was quoted as saying, "Apparently he was upset about some stories against him. I was only doing my work. He called me, used abusive language and also said offensive things about my daughter. He handled his success very well but couldn't handle his drop."

Lalwani Will File A Complaint Against Kapil

Apparently, Lalwani will file the complaint against the TV show host for abusing and threatening. He was quoted by DNA as saying, "We have enough proof to support our argument. He lashed out at my family."

Kapil Sharma's New Show In Trouble!

Meanwhile, it is being said that Kapil has not shot for a new episode for his new game show, Family Time With Kapil Sharma, which has left the channel with no option but to telecast old episodes.

Kapil Isn't Talking To His Team!

A source was quoted by IE as saying, "Kapil has been keeping to himself and seems like he is depressed and worried over something. He isn't talking to his team or interacting with anyone."

The Source Said

"After the Rani Mukherjee shoot got cancelled, the team couldn't get through to Kapil and no other episode could be shot for the week. With nothing to showcase, the channel has decided to air his old episodes to keep his fans happy."
These crucial judgements will drive the next foundation stone of the right to privacy in India through the judgment of the Supreme Court.

Editor's Note: This is a two-part series which will be taking stock of all the important arguments that have taken place so far in the Aadhaar Supreme Court hearings. Part 1 will focus on Days 1 to 15 and Part 2 (to be published tomorrow) will focus on Days 15 to 25 of the hearings. To read our complete coverage of the Aadhaar Supreme Court hearings, head over the list of stories at the end of the article.

Hearings in the Aadhaar case before a Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court have been in progress since 17 January 2018. In the fight for the fundamental right to privacy, among other rights, in relation to Aadhaar, several crucial arguments have been made. These will drive the next foundation stone of the right to privacy in India through the judgment of the Supreme Court.

Here is a recap of the last 25 days of hearings in 25 contentions.

Part I lists the contentions made from Days 1 to 15, by senior counsels Shyam Divan, Kapil Sibal, Gopal Subramaniam and Arvind Datar.

From Days 1 to 7, senior counsel Shyam Divan presented his arguments on behalf of the petitioners, presenting his stand that the eminent domain, or the right of the government to take public property for private use, did not extend to the human body.

1. The integrity of Aadhaar process and private party involvement: The lack of integrity in Aadhaar enrolment and authentication processes was the first issue raised. Issues of data collection in the absence of a law, inadequate qualifications of the personnel appointed, and the lack of reliability of biometric processes were asserted. The involvement of private parties who were without UIDAI control was also asserted as a concern. In support, the 49,000 blacklisted enrollers and findings of enrollers selling data collected for a price was cited.

2. On authentication via biometric information: The collection of biometric information, it was argued, violates a persons fundamental right to bodily integrity. The open-ended definitions of biometric and core biometric information under the Aadhaar Act further points to unconstitutionality. Later, senior counsel Kapil Sibal argued that making the receipt of a governmental benefit conditional on the waiver of constitutional rights amounted to an unconstitutional condition. Senior counsel KV Vishwanath also pointed to another problem, that biometric authentication only resolved one issue with the diversion of subsidies  identity fraud.

3. Three tests for a valid restriction of privacy: Based on the Puttaswamy judgment, three tests were drawn out to validate an infringement of privacy: the existence of a law, legitimacy of purpose, and proportionality of the encroachment. The lack of a law for collection prior to 2016 was pointed to. The large-scale collection and storage of data, it was further argued, does not meet the test of proportionality.

4. Real-time surveillance from electronic footprints: Technical evidence was provided showing how the electronic footprint created via Aadhaar authentication records enabled real-time tracking of a person. In relation, issues of data aggregation and data sharing with the State Resident Data Hubs was also raised. Later, senior counsel Meenakshi Arora also argued on the chilling effect created by an apprehension of surveillance. Foreign judgments were cited which held that secret surveillance had the ability to undermine a democracy. More importantly, there is a need to protect the future generations from such surveillance.

5. Fundamental right violations cannot be validated in retrospect: On Section 59 of the Aadhaar Act which seeks to provide retrospective validity to Aadhaar, it was argued that the violation of a fundamental right could not be validated in retrospect. The Bench later observed that a law may supplement the absence of a law in retrospect, but it could not validate the breach of a law in retrospect. Senior counsel KV Vishwanath later argued that even if Section 59 was a valid validating provision, it could not declare compliance with safeguards for the infringement of privacy, when there was none.

6. Aadhaar based exclusion: Extensive arguments were made on the issue of Aadhaar-based exclusion, particularly that Aadhaar was causing more inclusion than exclusion. Incidents such as diversion of pensions and food grains, starvation deaths, etc. were pointed to. The State cited exception handling mechanisms under Section 7, but the petitioners countered that the situation on the ground could not be ascertained by looking at the law. The Bench also expressed concerns with the exclusion being caused on the ground.

On Days 8 to 10, senior counsel Kapil Sibal argued the case, arguing that Aadhaar was like an RTI Act for the state and that the Aadhaar case was the most important case before the Courts since ADM Jabalpur.

7. Section 7 and 57: It was argued that Section 57 of the Aadhaar Act, which allows the use of Aadhaar to be extended by even private entities, could be constitutional only if it was interpreted to only establish another identity document. The Bench was sceptical, noting that the governments interpretation was that it allowed other entities to make Aadhaar mandatory. Next, on Section 7 (which also establishes the link with Aadhaar as a money bill), it was argued that this was not essential to the Aadhaar Act, and the same purpose could be achieved by amending the Food Security Act.

8. Aadhaar doesnt establish status: A key argument raised was that a persons entitlement to a benefit was based on his status, and this is a factor which Aadhaar does not establish. It was further questioned if it was constitutional to provide only one option to prove identity.

On Days 11 to 13, senior counsel Gopal Subramanium argued that notwithstanding the progress in technology, the Constitution cannot be obfuscated.

9. Algorithms and preference to the virtual person: The sole of Aadhaar, it was argued, was continuous authentication, which gave a preference to the virtual person over the natural person. This ability to cause the civil death of a person was handed to an algorithm that was unreliable, irrational and over which the state had no control. Further, the algorithm had the effect of removing the state as an intermediary for the citizen.

10. Violation of dignity, the golden thread between Articles 14, 19, and 21: Dignity, it was argued, is the golden thread running between these three articles, and this was violated by Aadhaar. The Aadhaar system led to the exposure of the most marginalised section of society as the most marginalised, violating their dignity. Subjecting an entire population to identification procedures on the assumption that they all are impersonators violates dignity. Further, the identification of a citizen through a number objectifies and depersonalises the individual, thus being completely destructive of dignity.

11. CIDR code and the L1 Contracts: Shyam Divan had previously pointed out that the government has no ownership over the CIDRs code. Gopal Subramanium additionally raised the issue of the L1 Contracts and the access granted to Aadhaar data thereby. Senior counsel Anand Grover later argued that this sharing of data made Aadhaar insecure ab initio.

On Days 14 and 15, senior counsel Arvind Datar presented his arguments on the Aadhaar- bank account linkages.

12. Aadhaar-Bank account linking under Rule 9 of the PMLA Rules: Rule 9 of the PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) Rules was first compared to the RBIs Master Direction of 2016, which allows six identity documents. Rule 9, however, mandates Aadhaar with PAN. Arguing on which of the two would prevail, it was argued that there was no hierarchy between the two. Further, not linking bank accounts as such leads to them being made non-operational. This was argued to be draconian and a violation of the right to property. Further, asking people to either consent or have their accounts blocked was no consent at all.

13. Aadhaar, the SSN and smart card: Aadhaar was also compared to the adoption of the Social Security Number (SSN) in the US. The SSNs adoption and its subsequent rejection as a de facto standard universal identifier in the US was discussed. In view of this, it was argued that Section 57 allowing the use of Aadhaar for any purpose could not be interpreted to mean use for all purposes. Aadhaar was also previously compared to the Israeli smart card system, which was voluntary and did not involve centralisation of biometric data.

Part II, to be publishe tomorrow, will deal with contentions on Days 15 to 25

You can read out coverage of the Aadhaar Supreme Court case below.

Why SC needs to look into technical evidence of Aadhaars surveillance capabilities

Lack of governmental ownership of CIDRs source code can have serious consequences

Will State give citizens rights only if they agree to be tracked forever, asks lawyer Shyam Divan

Coalition for Aadhaar: A collective of private companies wants to ensure that Aadhaar ID and related services continue to be offered

Petitioners argue on centralisation of data and challenge Aadhaars claims on savings

Petitioners argue for a voluntary ID card system that does not collect user data

Petitioners argue that receipt of govt benefits cannot be at the cost of compromising fundamental rights

Aadhaar is architecturally unconstitutional, argue the petitioners

Petitioners argue that Aadhaar violates dignity by objectifying and depersonalizing an individual

Petitioners seek compensation for starvation deaths and extension of March 31st deadline

Section 7 exception in Supreme Courts interim order greatly affects peoples constitutional rights

Entire Aadhaar project is beyond the stated objectives of Aadhaar Act, argue petitioners

Petitioners conclude their arguments on 'the number of the beast' Aadhaar, highlighting various issues

Aadhaar hearing: Political liberties cannot be foregone for economic and social justice, states the Bench

Aadhaar hearing: UIDAIs presentation discusses Aadhaar enrolment, updation and authentication processes in detail

Aadhaar hearing: Supreme Court expresses concerns with data breaches, Aadhaar security and profiling

Aadhaar hearing: Petitioners question UIDAI on verification of residency requirement, de-duplication rejections and authentication failures

Aadhaar hearing: Attorney General argues that pervasive collection of fingerprints meets proportionality requirements

Aadhaar hearing: Bench criticises the argument that Aadhaar can prevent bank frauds and terrorists from acquiring mobile numbers

The author is a lawyer and author specialising in technology laws. She is also a certified information privacy professional.
Demanding withdrawal of the review petition filed by the Centre on the SC/ST Act, ABHM wrote a letter to the prime minister with their blood on Saturday

Demanding withdrawal of the review petition filed by the Centre in the Supreme Court against the court's ruling on the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha (ABHM) wrote a letter with their blood to the prime minister on Saturday.

Members of the ABHM in Aligarh wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying if the review petition is not withdrawn, the members will protest in New Delhi's Ramlila Maidan "by going bald".

Aligarh: Members of Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha wrote a letter to PM Modi with their blood, demanding the withdrawal of the review petition filed by the center on the SC/ST Act, say in case that is not done they 'will conduct protests by going bald at Delhi's Ramlila Maidan.' pic.twitter.com/6xeaNX5FXY  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) April 7, 2018

On Thursday, members of the Bhartiya Dalit Panthers Party had also written a letter in blood to Modi and President Ram Nath Kovind against the alleged dilution of the Act by the Supreme Court, a Business Standard report said. The party members also paid tributes to those who lost their lives during the Bharat Bandh protests.

On 2 April, the Centre formally filed its review petition in the Supreme Court against the apex court's ruling on the SC/ST Act, in which it will seek a review of the recent judgment by which safeguards were put on arrests under the Act.

According to PTI, the Centre sought restoration of the SC/ST Act provisions that made certain offences cognisable and non-bailable. The government also sought an open-court hearing on the matter, reports said.

The Centre had on Monday moved the Supreme Court to seek the recall of its judgment that ruled that there would be no automatic arrest of an accused following a complaint moved under the SC/ST Act.

The government, in its review petition, told the Supreme Court that its 20 March verdict will violate Article 21 of the Constitution for the SC/ST communities and sought restoration of the provisions of the SC/ST Act.

With inputs from agencies
Alleging atrocities against Dalits have increased since the 'Bharat Bandh', the Bhim Army on Saturday said it will hold a peaceful protest in Delhi on 18 April during which the demonstrators would 'court mass arrest'

New Delhi: Alleging atrocities against Dalits have increased since the 'Bharat Bandh', the Bhim Army on Saturday said it will hold a peaceful protest in Delhi on 18 April during which the demonstrators would "court mass arrest".

At a press conference in New Delhi, the Dalit emancipation group's national president, Vinay Ratan Singh, and its members demanded that the people from the community held by the police in connection with the 2 April incident be released.

"We are also demanding that a judicial probe be ordered into the incident and anti-social elements who infiltrated into Dalit groups during the protests be brought to book," Singh said.

The Bhim Army leader alleged that the country would face a "civil war-like situation" if the government did not step up and took actions to stem the caste-related violence.

"So, we are going to hold a protest on Parliament Street on 18 April. And, all those people who are facing persecution or false cases will assemble and court mass arrest. We even invite all those who advocate justice to join us," Singh told reporters.

Asked how many people are likely to join the protest, he claimed that "people will come from different states in big numbers".

"We are not going to offer any resistance, and we all would be coming prepared to face even a hail of bullets. We will be coming prepared knowing that we may not return alive," he said.

Bhim Army's Delhi unit convener Sujit Samrat said that BJP lawmakers were now writing to the government about "Dalits being targeted by the police, pulled out of their homes and beaten".

Singh said the Dalit community was oppressed for centuries, "but we still do not want to take the route of violent retaliation".

"If we also do the way the other side has been doing, our country will be plunged into a civil war-like situation, and the very idea of India will cease to exist," he said, alleging violence against Dalits after the 2 April bandh had increased.
The Bihar Cabinet has reduced the fee for various competitive examinations for women candidates of all categories of the state.

Patna: The Bihar Cabinet has reduced the fee for various competitive examinations for women candidates of all categories of the state.

The decision was taken at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday, Cabinet Secretariat Department's principal secretary Arun Kumar Singh told reporters.

The fee reduction would be applicable to the examinations conducted by Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) and Bihar Staff Selection Commission (BSSC), he said.

The examination fee has been reduced from Rs 600 to Rs 150 for preliminary test and from Rs 750 to Rs 200 for mains examination.

The Cabinet also gave its nod for creation of posts for reconstitution and restructuring of the Bihar Administrative Service (BAS) cadre, Singh adding that the number of various posts of BAS had gone upto 1634 from current 1150.

The decision would increase the number of posts such as deputy collector, senior deputy collector, under secretary, deputy secretary, joint secretary and special secretary, he added.

It also gave its nod to Road Construction Department's proposal to construct four state highways at a cost of Rs 1482 crore, Singh said and adding four SHs are  Kadiraganj-Khaira (SH-82), Akbarnagar-Amarpur (SH-85), Udakishanganj-Bhatgama (SH-58) and Bihiya-Jagdishpur Bihta (SH-102).

In an another decision, the cabinet enhanced the corpus of Bihar Contingency Fund (BCF) from Rs 350 crore to Rs 7079.61 crore till 30 March, 2019 for carrying out relief work in the event of natural calamities, the principal secretary said.

The Cabinet also gave its nod to certain amendments to 'Affordable Housing and Slum Rehabilitation and Redevelopment Policy 2017' for lower income group, he added.
The BJP  a partner in the ruling coalition in Bihar  has accused the administration of having acted in a partisan manner against members of the majority community.

Patna: The BJP  a partner in the ruling coalition in Bihar  has accused the administration of having acted in a partisan manner against members of the majority community in the aftermath of the communal flare-ups in various districts recently.

A memorandum to this effect was submitted to the Director General of Police KS Dwivedi on Friday by a party delegation comprising state vice-president Devesh Kumar, chief whip in the state Assembly Arun Kumar Sinha, MLA Sanjiv Chaurasia and media in-charge Pankaj Singh.

"In the memorandum, it has been stated that in districts like Aurangabad, Nalanda and Samastipur, the majority community resorted to aggression only upon provocative acts by anti-social elements from among the minority community," Pankaj Singh said in a statement.

The BJP delegation further alleged "in the aftermath of the incidents of violence that took place around Ram Navami, those belonging to the majority community have been arrested in large numbers while the administration has gone soft on the minorities."

The delegation demanded among others release of all innocent people and a high-level enquiry into the alleged partisan approach adopted by the police during such incidents, Singh said.

The state government has drawn a flak over the spate of communal clashes witnessed in various parts of the state in the past few weeks.

Proceedings of the state Assembly during the budget session, which concluded earlier this week, were stalled by Opposition parties like the RJD, the Congress and the CPI(ML) a number of times over the issue of the recent spurt in communal violence.

RJD leaders had also targeted Chief Minister Nitish Kumar charging him with having surrendered before an "aggressive" BJP.

The chief minister had expressed displeasure over communal violence on a number of occasions.
Three people, hailing from Himachal Pradesh, have been arrested in connection with the alleged leak of the CBSE Class XII economics paper

Three staff members of a school in Himachal Pradesh were arrested from Una district in connection with the alleged leak of the CBSE Class XII economics paper on Saturday, according to several media reports.

#CBSEPaperLeak: Three, including a teacher, clerk & support staff, arrested from Himachal Pradesh over the leak of XII class Economics paper which was leaked in handwritten form. pic.twitter.com/hcypTOUPzo  ANI (@ANI) April 7, 2018

According to The Times of India, Delhi Police's crime branch arrested a teacher, a clerk and a support staff. India Today reported that one of those arrested is a superintendent of a Himachal Pradesh-based school.

The CBSE announced a re-examination for CBSE's Class XII economics exam and Class X maths exam after it emerged that the question papers for this year's paper were allegedly leaked.

Union education secretary Anil Swarup had said that the re-exam for Class XII will be held on 25 April but a decision on the CBSE re-exam for Class X would be taken later. However, it was later decided that re-exam of Class X paper would not be held as the CBSE did not find any trend that the leak would have any impact on the examination.

The mathematics exam of Class X and economics exam of Class XII were held on 28 March and 26 March respectively.

Recently, the Supreme Court dismissed a batch of petitions challenging board's decision to conduct the re-examination. The apex court said that the decision to hold retest is completely under the jurisdiction of CBSE and that it top court can't decide writ petition on matter.

With inputs from PTI
After months of stress in ties, India and Nepal agreed to crank-up cooperation in connectivity, trade, agriculture and border security as Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave an assurance that New Delhi remains committed to strengthening the partnership as per Nepal's priorities

After months of stress in ties, India and Nepal on Saturday agreed to crank-up cooperation in connectivity, trade, agriculture and border security as Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave an assurance that New Delhi remains committed to strengthening the partnership as per Nepal's priorities.

Seeking to readjust the ties, Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, on a three-day visit to India, held wide-ranging talks with Modi, who also assured the visiting leader that India would always back Nepal in its quest for development.

Viewed as an important visit, Oli has flown in a 54-member high-level delegation to India, seeking more investment from India's public as well as private sector.

This is Oli's first foreign trip after returning to power for the second term in February.

Here is the full text of the statement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the state visit of Nepal prime minister KP Sharma Oli:

Prime Minister of Indias neighbour and Friend, Federal

Democratic Republic of Nepal,

Right Honorable KP Sharma Oli Ji,

Respected Members of the delegation,

And media representatives present here,

It is a great pleasure for me to welcome you all here in India. This visit of prime minister Oli ji is happening at the backdrop of the recently concluded historic democratic process in Nepal. Last year, the people of Nepal once again expressed their confidence in democracy and the federal system. Successful conduct of local body, state and federal parliamentary elections is a very big achievement for the government as well as public of Nepal and they are the climax of the changes that started in 2006. For this, I congratulate both the people and the government of Nepal very much. Nepal has now entered a new era of political history. As a neighbouring friend country, and as the world's largest democracy, this golden chapter of the history of Nepal is a matter of great joy for us in India too.

Friends,

In our meetings of yesterday and today, Prime Minister Oli ji gave me detailed information about his bold vision for the rapid economic development of Nepal and the creation of a happy and inclusive society.We also discussed how India can partner with Nepal to realize this vision. I understand that my basic principle of "Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas (Together with all, development for all) for Indias development and the vision of prime minister of Nepal for a "Samruddha Nepal, Sukhi Nepal (Prosperous Nepal, Happy Nepal) are complementary to each other. And so, we both agree that we have to move ahead with the hopes and expectations of a public-centred vision, the common goals of development, and the happiness and prosperity of the people of both the countries.

Friends,

India has a very long history of participation in the development of Nepal. I have assured prime minister Oli ji that India will continue to cooperate with them in their efforts of Nepal's economic development and prosperity. As always, this cooperation in the future also will be based on the priorities and requirements set by the Government of Nepal. An important result of our commitment to this cooperation is the decision of cooperation in inland waterways.With our assistance, Nepal will get an extra connectivity to the sea. And the country of Everest will be able to connect directly to the ocean.I believe that this is a historical beginning. Nepal will not only be 'land-linked' but 'water-linked'also. Similarly, we also want to increase rail connectivity.And so we have also agreed to jointly develop a new rail line linking India with Kathmandu. One of the dimensions of connectivity is related to the infrastructure for trade and movement of people. Just a few moments ago, we inaugurated Birgunj-Raxaul Integrated Check Post. This ICP will be the new highway of centuries-old geographical, historical, social, economic and cultural relations between India and Nepal. In our today's meeting, we also reviewed the progress of all the connectivity projects. Both of us have agreed to speed up all possible connectivity projects be it an oil pipeline, or integrated check posts, or the Terai roads.

Friends,

India and Nepal, both are agricultural countries. And so, today we have started a new partnership in the agricultural sector and through this partnership, we will extend our cooperation on subjects like organic farming, animal husbandry, soil testing, agricultural research and agricultural education.I am happy that the prime minister Oli is taking out time to visit Pantnagar Krishi Vishwa Vidyalaya. I, together with the prime minister Oli ji, also reviewed progress in projects related to water resources and energy. We both agree to accelerate work on projects like Arun-3, Pancheshwar and Saptakosi-Sunkosi.

Friends,

India and Nepal have a close and deep connection on the matters of defence and security. We both agree to prevent the abuse of our open border and to pursue our shared security interests. The open border between the two countries has been a living bridge between the common people of both the countries. Along with the development of Ramayana and Buddhist circuits, we will also increase our cooperation in the areas of skill development, education and health. This will further strengthen our traditional relations between our two countries. I believe that the historic initiatives that we have taken today will make an important contribution in realizing our vision of the development of both the countries.

Friends,

Mutual cooperation, dialogue and exchanges of experience between the two countries can play an important role in strengthening Nepal's federal democratic system. Once again, I, very warmly welcome prime minister Oli ji, his wife and the entire delegation in India. And I also want that we meet again.

Many many thanks.

The entire text has been taken exactly as posted on the Ministry of External Affairs website and has not been edited by Firstpost for style or content.
Indrani Mukerjea, prime accused in the Sheena Bora murder case, was rushed to JJ hospital from Byculla women's jail on Friday night

Indrani Mukerjea, prime accused in the Sheena Bora murder case, was rushed to the JJ Hospital from Byculla women's jail in Mumbai on Friday night, according to several media reports.

Indrani Mukerjea, accused in Sheena Bora murder case, admitted to JJ Hospital in #Mumbai pic.twitter.com/gs1CjOA0yT  ANI (@ANI) April 6, 2018



The Indian Express reported that Indrani was brought to the hospital at 11.15 pm after she complained of uneasiness and difficulty in breathing. Indrani was admitted to the cardiac intensive care unit after undergoing blood tests and a physical examination, The Indian Express report further said.

However, quoting sources at the hospital, India Today reported that Indrani's condition has stabilised and that she was shifted to the critical care unit from the emergency ward. She is currently under observation.

This is Indranis second such hospitalisation since being lodged in the jail. In 2015, she was admitted to the same hospital in a semi-conscious condition after a suspected overdose of anti-depressant pills.

Indrani, who is also an accused in the INX Media case, is currently undergoing trial for the murder of her daughter Sheena Bora in April 2012, along with her husband and ex-media tycoon Peter Mukerjea and her ex-husband Sanjeev Khanna.

Her former driver Shyamwar Rai, who was one of the prime accused, turned an approver after he approached the court saying that he wanted to "disclose all truths". Rai has claimed to have taken part in Sheena's killing by strangulation and that he was present at the time of the murder in 2012.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh has urged Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu to persuade the government to convene a special session of Parliament in May-June.

New Delhi: Congress leader Jairam Ramesh has urged Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu to persuade the government to convene a special session of Parliament in May-June to pass important legislations and debate issues of national importance.

In a letter to the chairman, he said the special session would send a different signal and help retrieve the lost prestige of Parliament due to the complete washout of the Budget Session.

Why don't you try and persuade the government to convene a special two-week session in late May or early June to both pass important legislations and also have debate and discussion on burning political, economic and social issues? Ramesh said in the letter.

He, however, made it clear that his suggestion was purely in my personal capacity.

I'm aware that the Monsoon Session will be called sometime in mid-July but a special session sends a different signal. There is no doubt that the complete washout has inflicted great damage to Parliament as an institution, he said.

The Rajya Sabha member hoped that the chairman would consult with leaders of all political parties to ensure that this did not happen again.

Ramesh also lauded Naidu for being careful about not putting the entire blame on anyone and instead called it a collective failure.

He said he agreed with Naidu on this, but added that it was the government's responsibility to communicate and engage in a meaningful and serious dialogue with all political parties to ensure the smooth functioning of Parliament.

That was very much in absence in recent weeks. In fact, it has been absent all through the past four years, he alleged.

The second part of the Budget Session of Parliament was washed out after differences between the government and the opposition while discussing key issues.

Both the Opposition and the government have blamed each other for the washout and are holding day-long fasts across the country as a mark of protest.
J Jayalalithaa gave instructions for two hours from her hospital bed on action to be taken on the Cauvery issue, an ex-Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary told a panel.

Chennai: Former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa gave instructions for two hours from her hospital bed on the action to be taken over the Cauvery issue, ex-Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary P Rama Mohana Rao told a panel probing her death.

He said thee late Jayalalithaa on 27 September, 2016 instructed her government secretaries, including him, on the Cauvery issue from the Apollo Hospital bed where she was admitted on 22 September that year.

The former Chief Secretary told reporters that he recounted this meeting during his cross-examination by counsel for Sasikala on Saturday at the panel.

He said he told the Justice A Arumughaswamy Commission of Inquiry that then Advocate General R Muthukumaraswamy also participated in the meeting in 2016.

"She spoke with zest on protecting Tamil Nadu's rights on Cauvery," Rao said, adding that her instructions to them covered the stand to be taken in the Supreme Court and arguments to be adduced to get the Centre form the Cauvery Management Board.

"I was asked about her frame of mind that day and if she had given instructions on Cauvery. I deposed saying she was in a good frame of mind and gave instruction on the matter," Rao said, adding the meeting was held between 4 pm and 6 pm that day.

The former top bureaucrat said Jayalalithaa also asked them about the action being pursued by them.

To a question, he said, "I did not give any political opinion. I gave my answers to questions during cross-examination."

Counsel for the jailed leader VK Sasikala, N Raja Senthoor Pandian, said that in the event of the Commission not inquiring key witnesses, "however big they may be, like Chief Minister K Palaniswami or Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam, we will examine them after making due representation to the Commission."

Jayalalithaa was admitted to Apollo Hospital for fever and dehydration on 22 September, 2016. After a prolonged hospitalisation, which stretched to 75 days, she died on 5 December, 2016.

The Tamil Nadu government constituted the Commission of Inquiry last September under the Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1952, to go into the circumstances leading to Jayalalithaa's death. The panel's terms of reference were to inquire into the circumstances and situation leading to the hospitalisation of Jayalalithaa (on 22 September, 2016), and treatment provided till her demise.

The Commission had invited all those having "personal knowledge and direct acquaintance" in the matter to furnish information to it till Saturday.

Following Jayalalithaa's death, suspicion on the circumstances leading to her demise was raised by several persons, including the present Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam and his followers.

Then a rebel party leader, Panneerselvam and his followers had demanded a probe into her death, either a judicial inquiry or a CBI probe.

After the unification of the factions led by Chief Minister K Palaniswami and O Panneerselvam, the government constituted the panel. The probe was a key condition put forth by the Panneerselvam faction for merger.
Justice J Chelameswar said that impeachment cannot be an answer to every question or problem and there is a need to correct the system

New Delhi: Justice J Chelameswar, the senior-most Supreme Court judge after the Chief Justice of India, on Saturday said allocation of important and sensitive cases to different benches should be done transparently and not in an arbitrary manner.

"We are not questioning his (Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra) authority as master of roster but it should not be exercised in an arbitrary manner but in a transparent manner," Chelameswar said.

Buttressing his point that not everything was right in the allocation of cases, Justice Chelameswar said: " You come and walk in the corridor of the Supreme Court and you will hear that the allocation of cases is not transparent."

He was talking to journalist Karan Thapar at an event, "Role of Judiciary in Democracy", organised by Harvard Club of India in Delhi. The conversation went on for about 90 minutes.

Speaking about the Opposition chorus seeking an impeachment of the chief justice, justice Chelameswar said it was "not an answer for every problem".

"Some system is required to be set-up so that these problems don't arise."

Responding to a question whether he apprehended government blocking the elevation of Justice Ranjan Gogoi as the next Chief Justice of India after Justice Dipak Misra retires, he said: " I am not an astrologer. I hope it will not happen. If it happens then it will prove what we had said in the press conference (on January 12, 2018)."

He was one of the judges who held an unprecedented press conference in January, mounting a virtual revolt against the chief justice and listing a litany of problems that they said were plaguing the country's highest court.

They warned that these problems, including allocation of cases by the Chief Justice, could damage Indian democracy.
As Home Minister Rajnath Singh received Nepal's prime minister KPS Oli and his 53-member delegation at the New Delhi airport on Friday afternoon, the moment marked the culmination of a fundamental shift.

As Home Minister Rajnath Singh received Nepal's prime minister KPS Oli and his 53-member delegation at the New Delhi airport on Friday afternoon, the moment marked the culmination of a fundamental shift in the modalities of bilateral relationship. Managing this transformation has been a key focus area for India's diplomacy in its immediate neighbourhood.

Oli's gesture to keep alive the tradition of a new Nepalese prime minister making India the first foreign destination should not be overemphasised. His insistence on seeking a trust-based relationship, despite the backdrop of acute past acrimony, is rooted in realism. For India too, the gradual shift from exceptionalism towards realism is evident. With realism as the new basis, ties are being recalibrated between two old neighbours who share border, and an ancient civilisational and cultural connect.

This realism is rooted in a new reality arising out of China's formidable rise. As Beijing goes about bending regional magnetic fields to its gravitational pull, this new reality demands a change in behaviour from both sides.

For India, it requires an acceptance that its exceptionalism in regional sphere is over. This is a stiff challenge for a country that has long believed in its primacy in the subcontinent and has formulated its foreign policy based on this exceptionalism. A refusal to accept this reality, however, may result in misadventures of the kind New Delhi embarked upon during the 135-day blockade of Nepal. There's an argument to be made that the manoeuvre failed in its primary target  building pressure on Nepalese leadership to amend its Constitution and factor in India's concerns over lack of a pluralistic approach  and instead facilitated Nepal's tilt towards China.

This should make it evident for India that its geostrategic and civilisational primacy will now have to be contextualised within this new realism where New Delhi's concerns, red lines and insecurities are not an automatic, let alone primary consideration for its smaller neighbours as they go about exercising their choice. Instead, India must take a long-term view of its strategic worries and introduce greater transactionalism in its approach to bilateral ties. This is a crucial but inevitable shift from the predominantly moral posturing that marked its Nehruvian foreign policy tenets.

Fortunately, this is happening. We increasingly see a greater emphasis on transactionalism in India's approach based on a realist interpretation of events. Oli's consolidation of power in Nepal on a nationalist manifesto fueled by an anti-India sentiment; Kathmandu's desire to renegotiate treaties and special provisions based on new realities; open embrace of China's Belt and Road initiative; preference to Chinese companies over Indian in generating hydropower; courting of Chinese infrastructure projects, investments in sectors of energy and tourism; breaking India's monopoly in cyber connectivity that saw New Delhi lose its captive market  all these developments could have caused a permanent rift in bilateral ties.

We saw instead from India a pragmatic approach that sought to address the new realities. Since Oli's second shot at premiership  this time with an overwhelming mandate  New Delhi has worked hard with Oli administration behind the scenes to bring a modicum of stability in ties. Prime Minister Narendra Modi placed two phone calls to congratulate Oli on regaining prime ministership and increased engagement with Nepalese leadership on multiple levels.

As Prashant Jha writes in Hindustan Times, "There was a view in Delhi that India must do what it could to stop the Oli-Maoist combine from coming to power. But this was quickly overruled External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj made a visit to Kathmandu before the Oli government took over and, defying protocol, spent most of her time with UML leaders (then still in opposition) and met Nepali Congress leader and PM Sher Bahadur Deuba at the end. Besides, the Indian ambassador to Nepal - senior diplomat Manjeev Puri - has been on a charm offensive to woo Oli. (His) India visit is a culmination of this intensified diplomacy."

Jha argues that the recalibration is not without costs. For instance, India is facing charges of 'Oli appeasement' from old allies Nepali Congress, New Delhi also seems to have dropped its reservations over denial of rights to Madhesis leading to a sense of betrayal among the India-origin residents of Madhes province, and there's also the apprehension that cozying up to Oli will rob India of strategic space. These fears are not unfounded but the realist approach to diplomacy is based on managing contradictory tensions. This is where transactionalism comes in.

Media reports indicate that during his scheduled meeting, Modi may impress upon Oli that awarding contracts to Chinese companies for generating hydropower may force India to avoid buying power from Nepal. According to Jyoti Malhotra in The Indian Express, India may replicate its hydro-cooperation model with Bhutan in Nepal only if Indian companies are roped in. The article quotes a government official as saying "You can't expect India to buy power from a Chinese-built project. Let Nepal take Chinese assistance to build those dams and let China buy back the power produced from there."

It is debatable whether public airing of views that should be restricted to negotiation table are beneficial but there should be no doubt that this is far removed from the moral preaching that marked India's erstwhile approach. Greater engagement within clearly defined boundaries should help foster bilateral ties because just as India needs to accept new realities, Nepal, too, has to come to terms with the fact that it cannot sever umbilical ties with India in favour of an exclusive courtship of China. The Middle Kingdom's chequebook diplomacy might sound like a lucrative option for infrastructure-hungry south Asian nations but it comes at a great coercive cost.

Oli has put up a brave front, of course. He has refused to accept the painful realities that accompany Chinese investment in overseas infrastructure projects, preferring to cast his overtures within the paradigm of 'win-win' partnership that is straight out of Xi Jinping's propaganda machinery.

The Nepalese prime minister, however, would be well aware that there are "no free lunches in geopolitics," as Carnegie India senior fellow Constantino Xavier writes in The Wire. "Beyond Chinas idealist narratives of 'win-win', all countries are driven by cost-benefit calculations and cold interests Beijings current promises of support for Nepal will thus also come with a price. The cases of Myanmar and Sri Lanka since the 2000s reflect the Chinese modus operandi with all its devastating consequences, as grandiose infrastructure projects quickly turned into liabilities for the host countries, increasing their debt and, in turn, allowing Beijing to convert its financial clout into political leverage."

Getting taken in by Middle Kingdom's sweet aphorisms is never a good idea. Chinese investments are of dual use, so is its diplomacy that hides an imperialist core beneath genial outreach. In Pakistan, which has received prolonged Chinese investment and interest, there's a fear that Islamabad sovereignty is already at risk of getting undermined. In a startling recent incident, Chinese workers thrashed Pakistani law enforcement officials and vandalised police vehicles. The rowdy behaviour seems to have gone entirely unpunished, according to Pakistani media reports.

Xavier also argues that beyond a point, China will refrain from backing Nepal against India as soon as it detects an anomaly in cost-benefit ratio. There is no reason to think, however, that Kathmandu wants such a zero-sum approach. As ANI has reported, while briefing the House of Representatives in Kathmandu ahead of his India visit, Oli has promised not to take any steps that may foster feeling of disparity between the two nations. During interviews to Indian newspapers, the Nepalese prime minister has been at pains to point out that he seeks India's friendship.

"In terms of our expectations from this visit, I want to make it clear. The starting point of our neighbourhood policy is friendship. If you say tell me three things Nepal needs from India, I would say, the first is friendship, the second is friendship and the third is also friendship. We have completed our political struggle, but now there is a new phase, of Nepals struggle for development and prosperity," he told Suhasini Haidar of The Hindu.

Oli's words shouldn't be seen as rhetoric. Nepal, like many other smaller south Asian nations, is in need for faster growth and development and often it will take decisions that may or may not align with India's interests. For India, the key will be to separate its insecurities from worries. If that can be done efficiently, a lot of space will emerge to engage with neighbours based on principles of realism.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday held discussions with his Nepalese counterpart KP Oli to deepen bilateral ties between the two neighbours.

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday held discussions with his Nepalese counterpart KP Oli to deepen bilateral ties between the two neighbours.

The two leaders are believed to have discussed an entire gamut of issues concerning their bilateral ties.

"Strengthening the special and people-centric partnership based on historical and cultural context.

"PM @narendramodi warmly welcomes Prime Minister of Nepal KP Sharma Oli at Hyderabad House for delegation-level talks continuing the long-standing tradition of high-level visits," Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted.

Dialogue among friends! PM @narendramodi and Prime Minister of Nepal K.P. Sharma Oli had a fruitful discussion to expand bilateral ties in all areas, especially in developmental cooperation, trade & investment, agriculture, energy, connectivity & people-to-people contacts. pic.twitter.com/28qav3DGEL  Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) April 7, 2018

Modi had on Friday met the Nepalese prime minister at the Prime Minister's official residence in New Delhi.

Oli's three-day visit is in line with the tradition of a Nepalese premier visiting India on his first overseas trip.
Nepal prime minister KP Oli was accorded a ceremonial welcome at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Saturday.

New Delhi: Nepal prime minister KP Oli was accorded a ceremonial welcome at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Saturday.

Oli who is on his first visit to India after returning to power in February was received by his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi.

Oli, his wife Radika Shakya and a 54-member high-level delegation arrived on Friday on a three-day state visit.

Viewed as an important visit amidst a strain in ties, Oli had an informal meeting with Modi at his official 7, Lok Kalyan Marg residence, on Friday evening.

Oli also met Congress president Rahul Gandhi and former prime minister Manmohan Singh and discussed "various dimensions of Nepal-India relations", according to the Nepalese embassy.

Modi and Oli will hold delegation level talks on Saturday at the Hyderabad House and are expected to sign a number of agreements.
Expressing concern over flouting of procedure while reconstituting the 13th PCI, various media associations jointly demanded the government's intervention.

New Delhi: Expressing "grave" concern over flouting of procedure while reconstituting the 13th Press Council of India (PCI), various media associations on Saturday jointly demanded the government's intervention to restore the credibility of the organisation.

Accusing the PCI Chairman of overlooking precedents and adopting a process to keep out certain media associations and candidates, they demanded that the proposed meeting of the "truncated Press Council" be deferred till the full council is reconstituted.

"PCI Chairman had called a meeting of the reconstituted council with only eight members  five MPs and three official nominees  out of 28 members, leaving out the rest of the representatives of the print media organisations as their names are yet to be notified and the Press Council reconstitution is still underway," a joint statement by as many as eight media organisations said.

The print media organisations held a joint meeting on Saturday to discuss the situation arising out of the PCI Chairman's actions in reconstituting the 13th Press Council.

They said that the PCI Chairman's overlooking of precedents and flouting procedure had "cast serious doubts over the autonomy and neutrality of the council, which is mandated to preserve and protect the freedom of the press".

"The meeting demanded the government should intervene to restore the credibility and sanctity of the Press Council of India. This will go a long way in demonstrating the will of the government to protect and preserve the freedom of the press, vital to any democracy," the joint statement said.

The organisations present in the meeting included All India Newspaper Editors Conference, Indian Journalists Union, Indian Newspaper Society, Working News Cameramen Association, Hindi Samachar Patr Sammelan, National Union of Journalists (India), All India Small and Medium Newspapers Federation and Press Association.
Seeking to reset ties, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepalese counterpart KP Sharma Oli held wide-ranging talks and vowed to step up overall engagement and take the relationship to newer heights on the basis of 'equality, mutual trust and respect'

New Delhi: Seeking to reset ties, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepalese counterpart KP Sharma Oli on Saturday held wide-ranging talks and vowed to step up overall engagement and take the relationship to newer heights on the basis of "equality, mutual trust and respect".

After the delegation-level talks, Modi said India will always stand by Nepal in its quest for all-around growth, asserting that deeper cooperation between the two neighbours will strengthen democracy in Nepal.

In his press statement, Oli, who is seen as favouring a closer relationship with China, said his government wants to build a strong edifice of "trust-based" relationship between the two nations.

"Relations between neighbours are different from those of others. Neighbourhood realities make peaceful coexistence, based on the principles of equality, justice, mutual respect and benefits a necessity for shared destiny," Oli said in the statement in presence of Modi.

Both the prime ministers called the talks "very satisfactory", Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale told reporters, adding the focus of the deliberations were on boosting cooperation in sectors like defence and security, agriculture, trade besides enhancing connectivity through railway network and waterways.

"I have come to India this time with a mission to explore ways and means to enhance our relations to newer heights, commensurate with the realities of the 21st century. We want to erect a strong edifice of trust-based relations between the two close neighbours that we are. We want to create a model relationship," Oli said.

According to a joint statement, the two prime ministers resolved to work together to take bilateral relations to newer heights on the basis of "equality, mutual trust, respect and benefit".

There were indications that India was losing its leverage in Nepal and it became more apparent after the victory of the left alliance in the general elections following which Oli was sworn in as the prime minister.

In 2016, Oli had publicly criticised New Delhi for interfering in Nepal's internal matters and accused it of toppling his government.

"Being close neighbours, our destiny is intertwined. Prosperity is our common goal," said Oli.

Gokhale said Modi conveyed to Oli that India will remain a reliable partner of Nepal and it is committed to deepening its ties with Kathmandu.

According to the joint statement, the prime ministers of India and Nepal agreed to construct a new electrified rail line, with India's financial support, connecting Raxaul in India to Kathmandu.

Both sides also decided to develop the inland waterways for the movement of cargo, within the framework of trade and transit arrangements, providing additional access to sea for Nepal.

Interestingly, no bilateral agreements were signed after the talks between the two sides.

The Nepalese prime minister said he also shared with Modi Nepal's concerns about the alarming scale of trade deficit and stressed on the need of implementing measures to expand Nepal's export.

Assuring all possible support to Nepal, Modi said the Nepalese prime minister's vision for a "prosperous Nepal and developed Nepal" was in sync with his vision of "sabka sath sabka vikas" (together with all, development for all).

The two sides released separate joint statements agriculture, railway linkages and connectivity through inland waterways.

Recalling his meeting with Modi two years ago, Oli said since then, Nepal has achieved comprehensive transformation in many ways.

"Having reached a stage of political stability following the recent elections, Nepal has now embarked on the joinery of social-economic development with the motto 'prosperous Nepal: happy Nepalis'," he said.

Modi also hailed successful conduct of national and provincial polls in Nepal and complimented its people for reposing their faith in the democracy.

The prime minister said India will continue to support Nepal as per that country's priorities, adding both sides have agreed to expedite all connectivity projects.

The prime minister said both sides will enhance defence and security ties. "We have strong relations when it comes to the aspect of security. We will work together to stop misuse of our open border," Modi said.

Oli also invited Modi to visit Nepal.

"I invited prime minister Modi to pay a visit to Nepal at the earliest convenient time, I am hopeful that the visit will take place soon," he said. Gokhale said Modi is expected to visit Kathmandu this year.

Modi said there has been a long history of India's contribution towards Nepal's development and that he has assured Oli that it will continue.

The Nepalese prime minister said his country needs support from its friends adding "relations among neighbours is different from other relations. This is based on mutual respect."

The two prime ministers inaugurated the integrated check post at Birgunj in Nepal through remote control from here which is expected to enhance cross-border trade.

The two prime ministers also witnessed the groundbreaking ceremony of the Motihari-Amlekhgunj cross-border petroleum products pipeline at Motihari.

The two prime ministers underlined the need for expeditious implementation of bilateral projects in Nepal, and to reinvigorate the existing bilateral mechanisms to promote cooperative agenda across diverse spheres.

Oli said he has also conveyed to Modi Nepal's desire to see an early realisation of the open market provision of the bilateral power trade agreement, which was concluded between the two sides in 2014.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) will examine the documents recovered from the Maoists during anti-Naxal operations in Giridih district in March.

Giridih (Jharkhand): The National Investigation Agency (NIA) will examine the documents, including hundreds of Aadhaar Cards, recovered from the Maoists during anti-Naxal operations in Giridih district in March, a police officer said.

The Jharkhand government has recommended for NIA probe into the recovery of Aadhaar cards, ATM cards and documents related to bank accounts recovered from the Naxals during the operations, Additional Director General of Police RK Mallick said on Friday.

As many as 15 Maoists, including Sunil Soren who was carrying a reward of Rs 25 lakh on his head, sub-zonal commander Shekhar alias Charlie and Sohan Manjhi, were arrested during the operations, he said.

Apart from a large quantity of arms and ammunition, the security personnel had seized 1125 Aadhaar cards, 60 ATM cards and documents related to 200 bank accounts in course of subsequent search operation, he said.

Mallick said the number of Naxals in the state had drastically come down due to intensive anti-Naxal operation launched jointly by the state armed police and the CRPF in the state.

"We'll crush the Naxal menace as only 500 to 600 Naxals are present in the state," he said.

Asked about senior Maoist leaders operating in the state, Mallick said all top ranking leaders including, Prayag Majhi, Misir Besra and Prasant Bose, who were carrying a reward of Rs 1 crore each, were on police radar and they would be apprehended soon.
Pakistan has raised the Kashmir issue with UNSC president, saying the situation in the Valley and the 'escalation' of tension along LoC pose a threat.

United Nations: Pakistan has raised the Kashmir issue with UN Security Council president, saying the situation in the Valley and the "escalation" of tension along the Line of Control pose a threat to international peace and security.

Pakistan's envoy to the UN Maleeha Lodhi in a tweet on Friday said that she raised the issue of Kashmir with president Of the Security Council for the month of April Ambassador Gustavo Meza-Cuadra, the Permanent Representative of Peru to the United Nations.

She said the "grave situation" in Kashmir and "escalation on the LoC pose a serious threat to international peace and security."

Lodhi also discussed the Kashmir situation with members of the Pakistani and Kashmiri community at Pakistan's mission on Friday at a meeting to mark 'Kashmir Solidarity Day', she said in another tweet, posting pictures of the event.

Earlier, Lodhi had tweeted that Pakistan will continue to support the "heroic struggle of our Kashmiri brothers and sisters."

Lodhi repeated her stance that a "peaceful settlement" of the Kashmir issue in accordance with relevant UN Security Council resolutions is a "pre-requisite for lasting peace and stability" in South Asia.

Pakistan continuously raises the Kashmir issue at the UN seeking the world body's intervention in the dispute with India. But New Delhi has always maintained that Kashmir is a bilateral issue with Islamabad.

While UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has expressed concern at the situation in Kashmir, the UN has maintained that India and Pakistan need to find a peaceful solution through "engagement and dialogue".

Last week, Indian security forces undertook three counter-insurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir in which 13 militants were killed, including those responsible for the brutal killing of Lieutenant Umar Fayaz.

Three Army jawans and four civilians were also killed in Anantnag and Shopian districts of Jammu and Kashmir. Out of the 13 terrorists, 11 have been identified and all of them are locals, officials have said.
Salman Khan, slapped with a five-year jail term for the Blackbuck killing case is one in a long list of film personalities who have had a brush with the law

Bollywood superstar Salman Khan, slapped with a five-year jail term for the Rajasthan Blackbuck killing case  and now given bail  is one in a long list of film personalities who have had a serious brush with the law, grabbing headlines over the years.

Owing to his exalted status and the kind of money invested over him, Salman, 52, invariably stands out as the numero uno among those who have grappled with the law, police and courts.

For, this is the second time in the past decade that he has been in-and-out of courts and lock-ups, the first for the 28 September 2002 road accident case when his Toyota SUV rammed into a bakery and killed one pavement dweller in the posh Bandra.

After walking the full length of the keel, he was sentenced to five years in jail but was acquitted on appeal in December 2015. Now, the Maharashtra Government has challenged the acquittal of "Bhai" -- as he is fondly known in Bollywood  before the Supreme Court.

**

Immediately prior to this, his friend and another "Bhai" Sanjay Dutt virtually created history by becoming the first major film personality to be convicted and also one to complete his full jail sentence.

Despite many controversies, he finally walked out of Yerawada Central Jail, Pune in February 2016, with the halo of his larger-than-life hero image still intact.

Dutt was sentenced to five years by the Supreme Court for illegal possession of weapons after the bloody Mumbai communal carnage of Decemebr 1992-Januarry 1993 and its fallout in the form of the 12 March 1993 serial bomb blasts, India's biggest terror strike till date which left 257 dead.

**

In May 2001, actor Fardeen Khan, son of the late Feroze Khan, shot into the headlines after he was arrested from Juhu for buying cocaine from a tout. He was tried before a Special NDPS Court, but after over a decade, granted conditional immunity from prosecution.

**

The former Big Bucks of Bollywood, leading diamantaire Bharat Shah was involved in alleged shadow funding of the film, Chori Chori, Chupke Chupe (coincidentally, starring Salman Khan), produced by Nasim Rizvi.

Shah was accused of allegedly financing the film which was made under orders from an absconder mafia don, but was later acquitted by a Special MCOCA Court.

**

Actress Monica Bedi grabbed the headlines in September 2002 when she was arrested along with mafia don Abu Salem by the Portuguese authorities for entering the country with fake documents.

After a term in a Lisbon prison and a long legal battle, the duo was deported to India in November 2005 to face multiple cases by various agencies.

While Salem is in jail facing various cases, Bedi was arrested in a forged passport case. The Supreme Court upheld her conviction but reduced her sentence from five years jail to two-and-half years, which she had already spent in prison as an undertrial and she walked out free in July 2007.

**

In June 2009, Bollywood was shocked when actor Shiney Ahuja was arrested on charges of raping his maid-servant.

Though the victim was later declared hostile, the case against Ahuja continued. He was sentenced to seven years in jail against which he appealed before Bombay High Court. He is currently out on bail.

**

In a crime of passion, small-time actress Maria Susairaj and her ex-naval officer boyfriend Emile Jerome Mathew allegedly joined hands to kill a TV company executive Neeraj Grover at his Mumbai flat in May 2008.

Later they chopped up the body into pieces, put it in a suitcase and dumped and burnt it on the outskirts of Mumbai.

After a three year legal battle, Maria was acquitted of the murder charge. She was held guilty for destruction of evidences and awarded three years in prison, while Mathew is serving a 10-year jail sentence.

**

Actor Sooraj Pancholi, son of Bollywood actor-couple Aditya Pancholi and Zarina Wahab is embroiled in a case of abetment of suicide of British-American actress Jiah Khan, who was found dead at home in June 2013. The matter is in the courts.

**

Bollywood's Chhote Nawab Saif Ali Khan, the 10th in the royal hierarchy of the erstwhile Pataudi State in modern-day Haryana, got into fisticuffs with an NRI businessman Iqbal Mir Sharma, at a five-star hotel in February 2012.

Accompanied by his friends, including future wife Kareena Kapooor, Saif was arrested and let out on bail and the matter has been referred for mediation by a Mumbai court.

**

Another headline grabber was the alleged involvement of well-known music director Nadeem Saifi, of the erstwhile Nadeem-Shravan duo, who is wanted-accused for the killing of music baron Gulshan Kumar in August 1997.

At that time, Nadeem was in London and to evade arrest he stayed there. Later, the UK House of Lords upheld the London High Court's ruling against his extradition and rejected Indian government's plea for a review of the decision.

**

In April 2016, the Thane police busted an international narcotics racket in which one of the prime suspects named is well-known actress Mamta Kulkarni and her husband, alleged drug lord Vicky Goswami.

The case acquired international dimensions with the Indian, American and Kenyan authorities investigating the matter. A Mumbai court has declared the Kulkarni-Goswami couple as absconders.
CPM leader Sitaram Yechury on Saturday visited Andhra Pradesh Bhavan in Delhi and extended his support to YSR Congress Party legislators

New Delhi: CPM leader Sitaram Yechury on Saturday visited Andhra Pradesh Bhavan in Delhi and extended his support to YSR Congress Party legislators who have sat on a hunger strike demanding special category status to the state.

Yechury's visit came on the second day of the hunger strike.

Addressing the YSR Congress Party members present in Delhi, Yechury said he was not visiting them "to get appreciation. This is our duty and responsibility."

"On the day the bill to bifurcate the state came to Parliament, I asked about sharing of electricity, water and government employees. But there was no answer. (Then) I asked why was it taken up without proper homework," Yechury said.

He said "nothing has happened", despite then prime minister Manmohan Singh giving an assurance that the special status would be given to Andhra Pradesh for five years and then Rajya Sabha member Venkaiah Naidu promising to extend the status to 10 years if a BJP government comes to power.

On the TDP first allying and now moving away from the BJP, Yechury said: "We asked TDP why they were again getting into alliance with BJP after being out of power for 10 years in the united Andhra Pradesh following the previous alliance."

"They said 'BJP will be at the Centre and we will form government in in state. Both will work for special status' they said. Now we can see where we are standing after four years of alliance," he said.

The five YSR Congress Party members sitting on the indefinite hunger strike on Friday resigned from Lok Sabha over the "failure" of the Centre to grant the status to Andhra Pradesh.

Mekapati Rajamohan Reddy, 73 and one of the five MPs sitting on the hunger strike, was today taken to RML Hospital after he complained of uneasiness.

Earlier on Saturday, doctors had examined the leaders and said no medical intervention was required at the moment.
Optimum use of technology to reach out to masses, message of a casteism and communalism-free new India were some guru mantras Modi gave to party workers on Friday

Optimum use of technology to reach out to the masses, message of a casteism and communalism-free new India, and knowledge of schemes rolled out by the government  these were guru mantras that Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave on Friday to the party workers on the 38th Foundation Day of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). His address to the party workers via video conferencing sounded like a foundation laying ceremony of the BJP's poll strategy to face the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

The prime minister's address may hold tremendous importance at a time when the BJP is finding it increasingly difficult to retain its voter base due to massive Dalit unrest that shook the nation recently. Modi's speech addressing the party workers is seen as loaded with damage control measures.

While advising the party workers to have control over themselves, he said, "I appeal to you to keep control over your words and your emotions, and work towards creating a new India which is clean and free of casteism, communalism and poverty by the time India celebrates 75 years of its freedom in 2022."

His words were seen as loaded with a strong political message before the national polls, which may strike the right chord among the discontent Dalits.

Angst among the Dalits have shown up as major cause of concern for the ruling party across many states.

Soon after the party defeated the CPM in Tripura Assembly election held in February, a group of over-enthusiasts brought down a statue of Lenin. This was followed by the defacing of Dalit icon Bhimrao Ambedkar's statues in various states. Moreover, Tamil Nadu also saw defacing of legendary Periyar's statue with whom Dalits identify themselves closely.

The prime minister on Friday also talked to a young Dalit BJP worker and reiterated his trust on the party workers.

While conversing through the NAMO app with the prime minister, Ravi Tawar's, a Dalit youth said, "You have always talked about a new India. We would like to assure you that we will contribute to achieve the vision of a new India."

The prime minister reiterated, "The success the party has achieved today is because of the party workers. I express my heartfelt respect to those party workers who have made the party as successful as it is today."

The BJP seems to have taken the schemes launched by the Centre as a poll plank before next year's elections. The prime minister, too, advised party workers to work earn more knowledge about them. "The more knowledge you have about the schemes, the more you will be able to help people in availing them. You need to go to the people and advise which schemes can solve their problems," he said.

He also cited the example of Janaushadhi Pariyojana, the cheap medicine scheme under the Department of Pharmaceuticals and advised them to create more awareness about it. The prime minister in his speech also advised the party workers to use technology to its optimum to reach out to the people. "We should not think that our phone is a only a medium to talk to people. The day people will think the phone as a medium of availing services provided by the government, they will truly be empowered," he said.

He also said that the common man should feel that the government is "in his hands" as a phone.

He seemed to have successfully conveyed the message to the party workers as Apoorva Singh, a worker in the party, said to Firstpost: "We will certainly achieve the dream of a new India with the help of technology as suggested by the prime minister."

She also said that the prime minister's vision of a digital India has not only attracted the younger generation towards technology but also elderly people.
BJP has to somehow prevent fragmentation of Hindu votes by addressing the incongruities and tensions inherent within its coalition ahead of the battle for 2019.

As 2019 general election slowly draws near, we are witnessing a fascinating clash of ideas and strategies. A year is an eternity, of course, when even a week is a long time in politics. The temptation to argue for or against Narendra Modi's return should be resisted at this stage. That said, skeletal contours of the fight are already visible from the broad brush strokes in political discourse  it will be BJP versus BJP as much as Narendra Modi versus the Rest. This was evident (though not obviously so) from the prime minister's addresses to party leaders and workers on Friday, BJP's 38th foundation day.

Modi is a more perceptive politician than his peers  one of the reasons why he still enjoys a sizeable lead in popularity over the rest (see the recent surveys here and here). He would be aware of the rising and palpable restiveness among groups who constituted BJP's ambitious social coalition leading to a consolidation of Hindu votes in 2014.

Despite strong centrifugal forces acting against it almost since inception, the consolidation arguably held its ground at least till the Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh. Now, however, the impossibility of a political coalition sans social adhesion is becoming stark. The Hindu vote is showing signs of getting fragmented again along the old caste lines.

The Opposition senses this and is trying its best to accentuate this fragmentation by constantly hammering at the fault lines. It is in this context that we should see Rahul Gandhi's frequent attacks on RSS and BJP as "antithetical forces to Dalit cause" or the rather outlandish charge that SC/ST Act has been diluted by Supreme Court and BJP is complicit in the development.

,                  | /RSS        ... pic.twitter.com/7QXCKUoGMe  Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) April 6, 2018

The Supreme Court ruling diluting provisions of arrest in the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act comes in the backdrop of growing atrocities against Dalits & Adivasis across India. Leaders from opposition parties will meet President Kovind this evening to share their concerns.  Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) March 28, 2018

Opposition's attempt is to bear enough pressure on BJP so that it collapses under the weight of its contradictions. It has smelt blood after a successful experiment in Uttar Pradesh. The coming together of arch-rivals BSP and SP symbolises the renewed effort to capitalise on this fracture. If Dalits, Yadavs, OBCs and Muslims agree on a broad arrangement to keep the BJP out of power, that could pave the way for a new kind of social coalition. The stability of this arrangement could be questioned but that worry can wait for now.

Gorakhpur and Phulpur created a momentum that could be carried forward in Kairana. The dry run was completed in Gorakhpur where BJP's Brahmin candidate was beaten by SP's man from the strong Nishad community. Such an eventuality in 2019 may not only rob BJP of power, it could strip the party down to its 'upper caste' roots and reverse the gains that Modi and Amit Shah have tried to painstakingly accumulate.

BJP's task is clear. It has to somehow prevent this fragmentation. To do so, it must address the incongruities and tensions inherent within its coalition. BJP's battle for 2019, therefore, must also be fought with itself. It has so far done a shoddy job in addressing these contradictions. One by one, its own Dalit MPs are dissenting against the top leadership, insisting that the party has done little to reduce the marginalisation of Dalits in the last four years.

BJP MP from Uttar Pradesh's Nagina, Yashwant Singh, writes to PM Modi, says, 'Being a Dalit my capabilities have not been put to use, I only became an MP because of reservation,' adds that, 'In 4 years the govt has done nothing for the 30 crore Dalits of the country.' pic.twitter.com/nbao7d6tzd  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) April 7, 2018

In another incident, tribal MP from Robertsganj, Uttar Pradesh, Chote Lal Kharwar wrote to the prime minister, alleging "mistreatment by the Yogi Adityanath government". According to a report in Times of India, " Chhotelal said he met state BJP chief Mahendra Nath Pandey thrice 'to save his dignity'. He also met state BJP general secretary Sunil Bansal and other party functionaries, but there was no help."

The rift is now open. Yogi has refuted the charges of Ashok Dohre, another Dalit MP. Dohre had complained to Modi that youth from lower castes in Uttar Pradesh are being targeted by police as a backlash against the 2 April agitation. Dohre had also alleged that Dalits were being dragged out of their homes and beaten up. The chief minister, according to another Times of India report, has denied it, claiming that "No innocent person was being targeted by police."

The message is clear. BJP's base is imploding. The Uttar Pradesh unit is also battling charges that BJP workers from the lower caste are being deliberately kept out of power structure and political power is gathering yet again in the hands of dominant upper castes.

As Delhi University professor Abhinav Prakash writes in Swarajyamag, "The situation is worse at the village and district level, where anyone from the upper-castes with some connection to dial up in the BJP has started to behave brazenly with the other social groups. The abrasive behaviour of the orthodox elements among upper-castes at the local level due to the mistaken belief that our time has come again is already touching the dangerous point as all these small incidents continue to add up and spread far due to easy connectivity via mobile and social media. It is just like how Yadavs used to behave during the Samajwadi Party (SP) rule."

This, of course, presents a fertile ground for the Opposition to exploit. Modi understands this. During Friday's speech to leaders during the parliamentary party meeting, and during the address later to all karyakartas through the Narendra Modi app, the prime minister laid down his plan to prevent this implosion. A careful reading reveals a simple mantra: engagement, engagement, engagement.

In the short clip attached to this tweet, it can be witnessed how the prime minister is explaining BJP's booth mobilisation machinery to a worker and upholding it as the key to electoral success. He evidently believes that sustained and sincere engagement with voters at every booth in every constituency will enable party workers to give honest feedback to the leadership, based on which policies can be formulated to tackle all issues. If the chain remains intact, stresses Modi, there will be no failure.

This is what I told Mamta, a BJP Karyakarta belonging to Delhi, who wanted to know how I managed to keep calm in the midst of a busy schedule. Mamta also wanted me to share a message for all booth-level workers, whom she described as Election Warriors. pic.twitter.com/MQ15LngQtj  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 7, 2018

This is an intriguing approach. It reinforces the notion that for Modi and Shah, issues that create noise in media hold little importance. Electoral success is unrelated to a party's strength in winning media debates and related to its strengths in remaining engaged with people 24x7. That said, Modi also obliquely admitted that the current restiveness within Dalits and OBCs against BJP is due a lack of a slack in their communication strategy.

He has asked party MPs to organise "mass contact programmes in villages with 1,000-plus population and ensure 100% enrolment" in governments flagship programs. The MPs have also been tasked with explaining the benefits of prime minister's schemes to the masses. Around 20,844 villages that have over 50 percent SC/ST population are set to receive greater attention from MPs. Modi has also asked MPs to "take out Sabka saath sabka vikas yatra in their areas. All MPs will spend a night in these villages while ministers will spend two nights in different parts of the country, a BJP leader who attended the meeting quoted PM Modi as saying," according to a report in Hindustan Times.

Greater engagement is obviously a key part of Modi's plan but he won't back down from challenging the Opposition's attempts to portray BJP as "anti-Dalit". The political discourse won't be one-sided for sure.

"They are unable to accept that the son of a poor mother can become prime minister. They are unable to accept that people born in backward castes can also occupy top positions in the country," he told workers during the interaction.

This, then, is the rough blueprint of Modi's plan to help BJP counter the centrifugal forces that are threatening to tear apart BJP's carefully stitched coalition. Whether or not it succeeds may go a long way in defining the results in 2019.
Senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala has urged the Election Commission not to delay the announcement of the date for the bypoll to Chengannur Assembly constituency in the state.

Thiruvananthapuram: Senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala has urged the Election Commission to not delay the announcement of the date for the bypoll to Chengannur Assembly constituency in the state.

Chennithala had sent a letter in this regard to the Chief Election Commissioner Om Prakash Rawat on Friday.

"However, the date for the Chengannur bypoll had not been announced so far even after the date for the Karnataka Assembly election was declared," the Leader of Opposition had stated in the letter.

"The reason for the delay is not yet clear," he said.

The bypoll was necessitated following CPM MLA KK Ramachandran Nair's death in January, he added.

A triangular contest is expected as major fronts, including the ruling LDF, Opposition UDF and BJP, have announced the candidates and begun campaigning, Chennithala said.

Saji Cheriyan, a senior CPM leader, was the candidate of the LDF while the UDF has announced D Vijayakumar as its candidate.

The BJP is fielding former state party president PS Sreedharan Pillai.

The bypoll result would be seen as a referendum to the nearly two-year-old LDF government headed by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

The Opposition Congress had already made it clear that the by-election result would be a reflection of not only the rule of the state government but also that of the BJP-led NDA at the Centre.

Chengannur was one of the traditional strongholds of the UDF but lost it to the LDF in the Assembly elections in 2016.
The Congress will hold a rally at the Ramlila Maidan on 29 April to protest the environment of 'distrust and intolerance' in the country.

New Delhi: The Congress will hold a rally at the Ramlila Maidan on 29 April to protest the current political situation and the environment of "distrust and intolerance" in the country.

Congress general secretary Ashok Gehlot on Saturday said that after four years of the NDA rule in the country, "people of every section of society are feeling suffocated".

"There is an environment of fear, distrust, and intolerance everywhere. In view of the situation, the Congress has decided to organise a rally on 29 April at the Ramlila Maidan in Delhi," he told reporters.

Gehlot said their party president Rahul Gandhi has always believed that in a democracy politics is done with a lot of love, peace, and compassion, whereas the Modi government is "weakening" the democratic culture of the country.

"After the NDA came to power, only false promises were made and in the last four years, nobody felt that 'ache din aa gaye hain'," said Gehlot.
AAP nominees depend on a handful of volunteers and on donations from public and well-wishers to fund their campaigns, but they are not daunted by this.

Bengaluru: Electoral success may elude the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), but it seems determined to keep trying its luck in every possible political battle. After its recent drubbing in the North East, the Arvind Kejriwal-led party has shifted its focus down south and is confident of making a dent in the Karnataka Assembly election. The state will go to polls on 12 May to vote representatives to the 224-member Assembly.

"We are not contesting the state Assembly election just for the sake of contesting, but to win the election," said a confident AAP co-convener Shivakumar Chengalraya.

This despite the fact that AAP lost in all 28 constituencies in the state during the 2014 Lok Sabha polls  its vote share was a negligible 0.8 percent. Besides, it has no representation in any municipal council, including the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP).

In Karnataka, AAP is pitching candidates in 18 constituencies, notable among them being Renuka Vishwanathan in Shantinagar, Mohan Dasari in CV Raman Nagar, Santosh Nargund in Hubli-Dharwad Central, and Syed Asad Abbas in BTM Layout and Lingaraj Urs in KR Puram.

"We have already started our election campaign. We have selected the right candidates to contest in the elections. Our candidates have no criminal cases. They are not like the candidates of other political parties," said AAP Karnataka state convener Prithvi Reddy.

The AAP candidates are ahead of others in canvassing for votes in Bengaluru and other cities. "We have already put up banners and commenced campaigns at public places such as parks and bus stations," said Dasari.

In Bengaluru district, the AAP candidates are contesting from only nine of the 28 Assembly constituencies. As of now, the campaigning here has been restricted to putting up banners, posters, and meeting voters at parks between 6 am and 9 am.

Urs, the grandnephew of former Karnataka chief minister late Devaraj Urs, said he was looking for the right opportunity and grabbed it when Prithvi Reddy invited him to contest from KR Puram. He is visiting slums along with his supporters to garner support.

"My granduncle, the late Devaraj Urs, worked for the upliftment of poor. I am banking on his charisma to become popular among the slum dwellers," he said. Urs, a member of Kannamangala Gram Panchayat since 2015, said his focus would be on providing quality education, healthcare, environmental protection, and improving infrastructure.

In closely watched Shantinagar, former IAS officer Renuka Vishwanathan is fighting against Congress MLA NA Haris, who is embroiled in a controversy following his sons arrest in an assault case.

AAPs disadvantages: Limited campaign resources, lack of known face in state leadership

The partys candidates may be hopeful of success and are going all out to woo voters, but they dont have the manpower or resources that are at the disposal of candidates from major political parties like BJP, Congress, and JD(S).

AAP nominees depend on a handful of volunteers and on donations from public and well-wishers to fund their campaigns, but they are not daunted by this.

"Money and muscle power cannot win elections. Voters are intelligent. They know how to vote for the right candidate. I agree that the Congress candidate won the last election by spending a lot of money. He is ready to spend a huge amount of money this time too, but I am confident the voters will reject him," said Urs.

Another disadvantage is the party leaderships inability to connect with the people. The lack of a known face to lead the party in Karnataka is also considered a negative.

Political analysts opine that the AAP candidates will only make their token presence felt in the Assembly election and that the main fight would remain among Congress, BJP, and JD(S).

"The presence of AAP candidates will not have any impact on the outcome of the election. To become really popular among the voters, they should have started strengthening their cadre right after the last Assembly polls in 2013 or the Lok Sabha election in 2014," says Sandeep Sastry, pro-vice chancellor of Jain University.

Though AAP had fielded well-known personalities as its candidates  former Infosys director V Balakrishnan, former law professor Babu Mathew, former chairperson of the Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights Nina Nayak  in the 2014 Lok Sabha election, the public has forgotten them.

"I have never seen AAP candidates during the last four years. They come and make some noise only during elections and disappear to reappear during the next election," said Hemanth Kumar, a resident of CV Raman Nagar.

A few AAP leaders have also expressed disappointment over the party leaderships failure to tie-up with likeminded political outfits.

"It would have been better if our leadership had focused on one or two Assembly segments instead of announcing candidates for 18 constituencies," says one of the AAP candidates on a condition of anonymity.

However, the AAP state convener said the partys campaign would gain momentum after filing the nominations. "Our leader Arvind Kejriwal will participate in the rally to be taken out on the day of filing nominations. As of now, we are receiving good feedback and support from the public. If the goodwill of people is converted into votes, nothing will stop AAP from entering the Karnataka state Assembly. For that to happen, we have to wait till the election results are announced," he said.

AAP, which won Delhi in 2015 with a thumping majority  67 of 70 legislative seats  lost the plot somewhere down the line. Its attempts to make inroads into other states have only been disappointing. It contested and lost polls in Goa, Punjab (notably, it won 20 seats there), and Gujarat. It contested six seats in Meghalaya and three in Nagaland, losing eight of them.

Undeterred, the party intends to contest polls in Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Chhattisgarh this year. The party has courted many controversies, the latest being party president Arvind Kejriwal having to apologise to BJP leader Nitin Gadkari and Congress leader Kapil Sibal's son Amit for making unverified allegations of corruption against them.

AAP is free to test the political waters in Karnataka again, but the outcome is expected to be anyones guess.

The author is a Bengaluru-based freelance journalist and a member of 101Reporters.com, a pan-India network of grassroots reporters.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday slammed BJP chief Amit Shah's remarks equating the Opposition parties with animals.

Kolar Gold Fields: Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday slammed BJP chief Amit Shah's remarks equating the Opposition parties with animals, alleging that the "disrespectful statement" reflected his "mentality" that considered Dalits, tribals, minorities and even his own party leaders "worthless".

"Calling the entire Opposition animals... see according to Amit Shah and the basic vision of the BJP and RSS, there are only two non-animals in this country. There is Narendra Modi and there is Amit Shah," Gandhi told reporters.

"Everybody else, as far as they are concerned, are animals. That's fine, that is the way they look at the world. It is a disrespectful statement, but we don't take what Amit Shah says with much seriousness," Gandhi said.

Taking a swipe at Shah, the Congress chief said it was the mentality that there were only two or three people in this country "who are worth anything, who understand everything and everybody else is a worthless person."

"It's not only Dalits, it's tribals, it's minorities. It doesn't stop there. It's Advani, Manohar Joshi, even Gadkari, it's everybody," he said.

"The thing is that the BJP people internally don't have guts to say it to you. They say it to us," Gandhi said.

The Congress president said, "the fact of the matter is between Amit Shah and Modi. They are convinced, there are only two human beings in this country. That's all, that's the reality."

At a rally in Mumbai to mark BJP's foundation day on Friday, Shah had equated Opposition parties to 'snakes' and mongoose' and 'dogs' and 'cats', who are seeking to unite despite their inherent differences to take on the BJP in next year's Lok Sabha polls.

Later, Shah said his intention was not to equate Opposition parties with animals.

At the rally, Shah had said, "The countdown for 2019 (polls) has begun. Attempts are being made for Opposition unity. When huge floods occur, everything is washed away. Only a 'vatvriksha' (banyan tree) survives and snakes, mongoose, dogs, cats and other animals climb to save themselves from the rising waters."

At a press conference, Shah later said, "What I meant was political parties having no ideological similarities are coming together out of fear of Modi."
Reuters

Facebooks Chief Technology Officer Mike Schroepfer will answer questions from British lawmakers on the social media giants recent data scandal on 26 April, a parliamentary committee said on 6 April.

Facebook Inc said on 4 April that the personal information of up to 87 million users, mostly in the United States, may have been improperly shared with political consultancy Cambridge Analytica, up from previous estimates.

Lawmakers had asked Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg or another senior Facebook executive to explain to a parliamentary committee how the data got into Cambridge Analyticas hands. Committee chair Damien Collins has said it was astonishing that Zuckerberg was not prepared to answer questions himself.

The Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee said it would also hear from former Cambridge Analytica chief executive Alexander Nix on 18 April, his second hearing, as well as from Aleksandr Kogan, a research associate at the centre of the scandal, on 24 April.
AFP

Facebook was aware more than two years ago of Cambridge Analytica's harvesting of the personal profiles of up to 87 million users and cannot rule out other cases of abuse of user data, chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg said.

Sandberg, who joined Facebook in 2008 from Google, has been largely silent since the privacy scandal broke but she gave interviews on 5 and 6 April to the National Public Radio and NBC's Today Show.

"We know that we did not do enough to protect people's data," Sandberg told NPR. "I'm really sorry for that. Mark (Zuckerberg) is really sorry for that, and what we're doing now is taking really firm action."

"Safety and security is never done, it's an arms race," she said. "You build something, someone tries to abuse it."

"But the bigger (question) is, 'Should we have taken these steps years ago anyway?'" Sandberg said. "And the answer to that is yes.

"We really believed in social experiences, we really believed in protecting privacy, but we were way too idealistic," she said. "We did not think enough about the abuse cases and now we're taking really firm steps across the board."

Facebook has been scrambling for weeks in the face of the disclosure of the hijacking of private data by the British consulting group working for Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign.

That's on us

Sandberg said Facebook was first aware two and a half years ago that Cambridge Analytica had obtained user data from a researcher who put up a poll on Facebook.

"When we received word that this researcher gave the data to Cambridge Analytica, they assured us it was deleted," she said. "We did not follow up and confirm, and that's on us, and particularly once they were active in the election, we should have done that."

Sandberg was asked by the Today Show if other cases of misuse of user data could be expected. "We're doing an investigation, we're going to do audits and yes, we think it's possible, that's why we're doing the audit," she said.

"That's why this week we shut down a number of use cases in other areas, in groups, in pages, in events, because those are other places where we haven't necessarily found problems, but we think that we should be more protective of people's data," she told NPR.

Sandberg said that starting 9 April, the social network will put on top of its news feed "a place where you can see all the apps you've shared your data with and a really easy way to delete them."

Sandberg said Facebook also should have been more proactive in dealing with Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. "That was something we should have caught, we should have known about," she told NPR. "We didn't. Now we've learned."

"We're going after fake accounts," she told the Today Show. "A lot of it is politically motivated but even more is economically motivated."

Zuckerberg accepted responsibility this week for the failure to protect user data but maintained he was still the best person to lead the network of two billion users. He is to appear before a US congressional panel next week to address privacy issues.

Facebook shares were down slightly in mid-morning trading in New York on 6 April.
tech2 News Staff

While Huawei still appears to be on a launching spree with the launch of the Enjoy 8 in China today, another smartphone expected to be called as Honor 10 has been spotted online. The smartphone comes with the iPhone X-like notch, which was also seen on the recently launched P20 series of smartphones.

The images of the Honor 10 spotted on Playfuldroid! show that the smartphone will feature a fingerprint on the front face of the device, at the bottom chin below the display. The fingerprint will also be used as the home button on the device.

The display of the Huawei Honor 10 shows the EMUI like skin and the rear side of the device shows a dual-camera setup. An LED flash sits beside the horizontally placed dual-camera on the rear side of the device. The website suggests that the images of the smartphone might be of another device as well so do take this information with a pinch of salt.

A report on Gizmochina suggests that the smartphone will come with a Kirin 970 SoC. It is expected to be the next version of Honor 9 and will come in two RAM and storage variants, with 64 GB storage and 4 GB RAM or 6 GB RAM and 128 GB internal storage.

Huawei launched three smartphones in Paris Huawei P20, P20 Pro and the Porsche Design Mate RS. One of the smartphones, the Huawei P20 Pro is expected to come in India as teasers of the device have been spotted on the official website of the company. The P20 Pro comes with a triple rear camera setup which includes a 40 MP f/1.7 primary sensor, along with a 20 MP monochrome sensor as well as an 8 MP telephoto sensor. The Huawei P20 Pro also gets a 24 MP f/2.0 front-facing camera for selfies. It is priced at 899 Euros in Europe (approximately Rs 72,300) for a 6 GB RAM with 128 GB of storage.
tech2 News Staff

Chinese smartphone manufacturer Vivo has finally launched its brand-new Vivo V9 smartphone in the Philippines. The company on 19 March launched the Vivo X21, which is the more powerful version of the Vivo V9. The Vivo V9 will be launched on 23 March in India after the company preponed the event from the earlier 27 March launch date.

As reported earlier the smartphone comes with an iPhone X-like notch at the top of the display and 16 MP+5 MP dual-camera setup aligned vertically on the rear side of the device. It has a 24 MP selfie camera that comes with features like AI Face Beauty Natural Light, Studio Light, and Monochrome background which the Vivo claims makes selfie photography a better experience on its smartphone. Another feature that uses AI and the front camera is face unlock allows the users to unlock the smartphone by simply looking at their smartphone.

The Vivo V9 features a 6.3-inch FHD+ display and is powered by a 3,260 mAh battery. The smartphone comes with Micro-USB port for charging and runs on Snapdragon 626 SoC with its CPU clocked at 2.2 GHz. It packs 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of internal storage. The internal storage can be expanded using an external microSD card. The smartphone will come with Android 8.1 Oreo and has been launched in gold and black variants for the Philippines.

GizmoChina reports that the selfie-smartphone will be launched in countries where the company has launched the previous versions of the V series of smartphones, so it's clear that India falls on that list.

Vivo X21 and X21 UD were unveiled in China on 20 March. The X21 UD variant comes with under-display fingerprint scanner, the X21 has fingerprint placed on the back of the smartphone. Vivo is the first smartphone brand to bring the under-display fingerprint scanner feature to the market. The Vivo X21 starts from CNY 2,898 (approx Rs 29,000), while the X21 UD is priced at CNY 3,598 (approx Rs 36,000) in China. Vivo X21 comes with 3 GB RAM/64 GB storage and 6 GB RAM/128 GB storage variant, while the X21 UD only comes with 6 GB RAM/128 GB option. There are no details on weather the premium smartphone will be launched in India.

Vivo India recently appointed Amir Khan as its ambassador replacing Ranveer Singh in India.
PTI

Facebook-owned WhatsApp refuted reports on 7 April that it is keeping track of the messages and said that it collects very little data and every message is end-to-end encrypted.

WhatsApp was responding to concerns by experts that the popular instant messaging service with over 200-million active users in India might not be as secure as being claimed. Questions were also being raised over certain provisions of the user agreement wherein most of its wrongdoings would go un-remedied and un-challenged.

WhatsApp collects very little data and every message is end-to-end encrypted. Contrary to recent comments in the media, we are not keeping track of the friends and family you have messaged, a WhatsApp spokesperson told PTI.

"The privacy and security of our users is incredibly important to WhatsApp," the spokesperson told PTI in response to a question.

The spokesperson said invite links were an optional feature available to group administrators but it must be used only with trusted individuals.

"Whenever a new member joins a group all members receive a notification that includes whether the person was added via group link or by an administrator directly. Group members can always see everyone in the group including their phone number and their name. We make it easy to leave a group or block unwanted messages with one tap, the spokesperson said.

The popular messaging platform, which was acquired by Facebook in 2014, has one billion users globally and is one of the most popular mediums of instant messaging in India.

In the aftermath of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, WhatsApp has come under attack from critics.

"One-to-one communication between users are encrypted and may be as secure as WhatsApp claims. But the metadata, information about the calls, is likely being mined by the company," Vivek Wadhwa, a top American technology entrepreneur and academic, told PTI a day earlier.

"WhatsApp has admitted that it is sharing information about identity and device information with Facebook, allowing it to do the dirty work in snooping on users.

Wadhwa said that the group chat feature of WhatsApp puts users at greater threat than their postings on Facebook because of the availability of mobile phone numbers.

Noting that almost one-quarter or more of the world's population is using WhatApp for free, eminent New York-based attorney Ravi Batra said that it makes money by harvesting user data and using it in conjunction with others including Facebook.

"There is an old saying: There is no free lunch. Yet, there is a new brave digital world, that is free to use, and the costs and profit of providing the free services must come from mining the habits and data connected to each user."
The former Russian spy, Sergei Skripal, who was found slumped in an English city after being poisoned is no longer in critical condition and is 'improving rapidly', the hospital treating him said.

London: The former Russian spy who was found slumped in an English city after being poisoned is no longer in critical condition and is "improving rapidly", the hospital treating him said Friday.

It was the first news of Sergei Skripal's health improving since the 66-year-old ex-double agent and his daughter Yulia were found poisoned on a bench on 4 March in Salisbury, southwest England.

The affair has sparked a bitter diplomatic crisis between London and Moscow and prompted a wave of tit-for-tat expulsions of diplomats between Russia and the West.

Skripal "is responding well to treatment, improving rapidly and is no longer in a critical condition,"according to Salisbury District Hospital director Christine Blanshard.

As for his daughter, 33, "her strength is growing daily and she can look forward to the day when she is well enough to leave the hospital", Blanshard added.

Britain's interior ministry on Friday rejected a visa application by Sergei Skripal's niece to visit the country, because it "did not comply with the immigration rules", the home office said.

Viktoria Skripal told Britain's Sky News television: "I was sure that this would happen.

"They (the British) must have something to hide."

'Ongoing medical needs'

Russia's embassy in London said the decision was "regrettable and worrying" and "doesn't hold water".

Britain blames Russia for the poisoning of the Skripals  a charge the Kremlin furiously denies.

A British Foreign Office spokesperson praised medical staff continuing to treat the pair and noted they are "likely to have ongoing medical needs".

Its statement added: "This was attempted murder using an illegal chemical weapon that we know Russia possesses."

The first public comments by Yulia Skripal since the poisoning emerged on Thursday.

"My strength is growing daily," she said in a statement released through the police.

Scientists said the Skripals had likely been treated with Atropine  a drug used to counter the effects of nerve agents  and marvelled at their partial recovery given the circumstances.

"As far as we know from the literature, there is no specific antidote for Novichok," Ralf Trapp, an expert on chemical weapons, told AFP, referring to a batch of nerve agents allegedly developed by Moscow in the Soviet era.

"What you basically do in such cases is stabilise the life functions of the body  breathing, heartbeats  and give Atropine to counter-balance the symptoms, hoping that the body will recover," he added.

Novichok's disputed origins

Moscow earlier Friday rejected a British newspaper report that the nerve agent Britain says was used against Skripal came from a military facility on the Volga River.

On Thursday, The Times cited British security sources saying they believed the Novichok nerve agent was manufactured at a facility in the town of Shikhany southeast of Moscow.

"We are aware of claims of this sort by our British colleagues," Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters on a visit to Belarus.

"We will not trust in them, we would like to check them but they are not letting us do that."

He accused London of trying "feverishly and convulsively to look for some new confirmation of their absolutely indefensible position".

Russian officials said earlier Friday that no chemical weapons were ever stored at Shikhany, although they stopped short of specifically addressing the claim that Novichok was made there.

"This laboratory was never part of the scope of our work," Mikhail Babich, the Kremlin's envoy in the Volga region and former chairman of the state commission for chemical disarmament, told Interfax news agency.

"All the bases where chemical weapons were stored are well-known. Shikhany is not one of them."

He said there used to be another such facility in the surrounding Saratov region but it was not located in Shikhany.

The Times report came after the British defence laboratory analysing the nerve agent said that it could not say whether the substance came from Russia.

Russian authorities have insisted the country never had any programmes to develop the chemical weapon.

Last month, Russian scientist Leonid Rink told state media he worked for 27 years at a state laboratory in Shikhany, where the development of Novichok formed the basis of his doctoral dissertation.

According to the website of the State Scientific Research Institute of Organic Chemistry and Technology, its branch in Shikhany is involved in work related to "ensuring the security" of the country and destruction of chemical weapons.

In September 2017, Russian president Vladimir Putin said Moscow had destroyed its last chemical weapons.
Pakistan's prime minister arrived in Afghanistan on Friday for a day-long visit many see as an effort to ease strained relations between the two neighbors and revive a push for peace talks with the Taliban.

Kabul: Pakistan's prime minister arrived in Afghanistan on Friday for a day-long visit many see as an effort to ease strained relations between the two neighbors and revive a push for peace talks with the Taliban.

Shahid Khaqan Abbasi was welcomed by Afghan president Ashraf Ghani and the two inspected an honor guard at the Presidential Palace in Kabul before heading in for meetings.

A statement issued by the Afghan presidential palace after the meeting said the two sides discussed counterterrorism, Afghan-led peace talks and border violations. They also discussed refugee and repatriations issues, the exchange of prisoners and finalisation of the Afghanistan-Pakistan Action Plan for peace and solidarity.

Abbasi, accompanied by several other top Pakistani officials on the trip, his first to Kabul since becoming prime minister last year, is to hold meetings with a string of Afghan officials, according to Ghani's spokesman, Shah Hussain Murtazawi.

Pakistan has been under pressure from Kabul and Washington to stop offering safe havens to militants blamed for attacks in Afghanistan, a charge Islamabad denies.

Pakistan, widely believed to be the only party that can bring the Taliban to the negotiating table, also insists its influence over the insurgents has been exaggerated.

Kabul and Islamabad regularly trade accusations of harboring the other country's militants and the harsh language has underscored the strains between them.

Late on Thursday, Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement rejecting a claim made by Kabul that Pakistan violated Afghan airspace with Pakistani Air Force raids inside Afghan territory during counter-terrorism operations earlier in the week.

The statement said information about the ongoing "operations is shared with the Afghan security forces on a regular basis." In the latest military actions, Pakistan told the Afghan about them and stressed that these operations were on Pakistani side of the border, it said.

Islamabad accuses Kabul of failing to take action against militant groups who continue to attack Pakistan from their sanctuaries across the border in Afghanistan.

"Pakistan urges Afghanistan to focus on taking effective counterterrorism actions, including plugging in of large gaps existing along the Afghan side of Pakistan-Afghanistan border," the statement said, adding that "it is also important that the Afghan government should refrain from the blame game."

Also on Thursday, Javid Faisal, deputy spokesman for Afghanistan's chief executive, Abdullah Abdullah, said that Pakistan's support was critical to talks with the Taliban and that Abbasi's visit would help improve the troubled Afghan-Pakistan relations.

In January, President Donald Trump lashed out at Pakistan, saying the United States had "foolishly" given Pakistan more than $33 billion in aid over the last 15 years and had gotten nothing in return but "lies & deceit." Washington later confirmed it is withholding $255 million in US military aid to Pakistan this year.
Pakistan's prime minister says Afghanistan has accepted his offer to revive stalled peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban.

Islamabad: Pakistan's prime minister says Afghanistan has accepted his offer to revive stalled peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban.

Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said war is not the solution to the decades-long conflict in Afghanistan. His remarks Saturday came a day after he visited Kabul and met with the Afghan leadership.

Pakistan has praised Afghanistan president Ashraf Ghani's overture to the Taliban in which he offered to recognise the radical religious group as a political party. The Taliban have not officially responded but have reiterated their demand to talk to the US before holding talks with Kabul.

Pakistan hosted the first direct peace talks between Kabul and the Taliban in 2015 but those talks ended when Kabul announced death of Taliban founder Mullah Mohammed Omar.
A US embassy car hit a motorcycle here in Pakistan on Saturday, killing a man on the spot and injuring one other

Islamabad: A US embassy car hit a motorcycle here in Pakistan on Saturday, killing a man on the spot and injuring one other.

The US defence air attache, who was driving the white Land Cruiser, hit the motorcyclists near Islamabad's Daman-e-Koh area.

The US official was not arrested owing to their diplomatic immunity, however, the police took custody of the vehicle.

A statement released by the US Embassy confirmed the accident.

The embassy is in contact with the local authorities to probe into the incident, the statement added.

The embassy has been cooperating in the investigation, a police official said.

Police also said that the white colour SUV was driven by Colonel Joseph Emanuel at the time of the accident.

In 2011, American intelligence operative Raymond Davis, 42, was arrested in Lahore on charges of killing two Pakistani citizens and thus kicked off a huge diplomatic crisis between the two countries.

Pakistani authorities had charged him with murder, but the Obama administration insisted he is an "administrative and technical official" attached to its Lahore consulate and has diplomatic immunity.
Formula 1s governing body the FIA has given F1 tyre suppliers Pirelli the green light to reduce the tread depth on their slick tyres by 0.4 millimetres at three races this year in a bid to combat overheating issues.

Pirelli found in pre-season testing that the new asphalt at Spains Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya produced more grip and less tyre wear, which means more rubber stayed on the tyre which in turn can lead to surface overheating.

As Great Britains Silverstone and Frances Paul Ricard circuits also feature new asphalt for this season, like Barcelona, Pirelli opted to reduce the tread depth, and therefore the amount of rubber on the tyre, for those three races.

This was a recommendation that we ourselves brought to the FIA  as we have done in the past at some races  because it is less disruptive than nominating harder compounds, which was the alternative, said Pirellis Head of Car Racing, Mario Isola.

Apart from making a set of tyres weigh around one kilogram less, there is no appreciable difference in performance; so in effect this is an invisible change.

It only applies to the three races in Spain, France and Britain: there is no alteration to the tyre specification planned for any other events.

"We tested the solution last year, and in terms of performance or other consequences, they are almost transparent.

"Obviously the reason we stayed on the standard tyre for this year was in normal circumstances you wear the tyre, and if you don't have enough thickness, you wear the tyre too quickly."

This is not the first time Pirelli have made such a request - the tyre supplier reduced the tread depth in 2011 and 2012 for the Belgian and Italian Grands Prix.
The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) has set up a team to monitor fintech developments and assist its efforts to finalize the regulatory regime for cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin.com News is reporting this weekend. SCROLL DOWN FOR MORE

A self-regulatory approach is the most likely in South Africa with a non-government body expected to adopt rules and implement industry standards. The central bank in Pretoria would formulate policy structure should all go according to plan.

Regulation through self-regulatory organizations may be a more likely solution, Bridget King, Finance and Banking Practice Director at a leading South African law firm, told the Business Report.

- Aaron Goldstein, Gambling911.com
BOULDER, Colo. (Associated Press)  A Colorado man accused of defrauding investors of more than $1 million in a Bitcoin-based investment scheme has eluded being served charging documents and federal regulators are seeking permission to serve him via email.

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed a complaint against Dillon Michael Dean and his company, The Entrepreneurs Headquarters, in New York in January.

The Boulder Daily Camera reports prosecutors have been unable to serve Dean the summons and complaint because he is concealing his whereabouts.

The CFTC asked the court on March 20 to allow them to use other forms of service, including email, or that he be considered served because "there is no doubt that Dean is aware of this lawsuit." That request hasn't been addressed so the commission on Wednesday asked for an extension of time to serve the summons.
From Greg Swank, 12-4-2 You are about to read a list of 45 goals that found their way down the halls of our great Capitol back in 1963. As...
Amex Pay with support for contactless payment launched in India News oi-Abhinaya Prabhu Heres another digital payment solution in India.

With the increase in digital payments in India, American Express has announced the launch of Amex Pay, its mobile payment service in the country. This service allows the American Express card users make payments based on QR codes and contactless payments via the Amex mobile app. Notably, a few cards are not eligible to be used with Amex Pay and the contactless cards are not a mandate to use this feature.

The Amex Pay feature is available on Android devices with NFC and running Android 4.4 KitKat or higher. Also, iOS devices running iOS 11.2.6 can be used for the Amex Pay. For now, the contactless payments are not supported on iOS. Moreover, the device should be able to read QR codes using the camera app to carry out the QR-code based payments.

In order to register for Amex Pay, you need to log in to your American Express account on either the Android or iOS app of the Amex Mobile app. Then, choose Register with Amex Pay, grant the required permissions and enter the OTP you received in order to complete the verification process. In order to make the QR-based payments, you need to click on Pay with Bharat QR, scan the code, and enter the amount. Now, you need to confirm the same and enter the card's PIN to complete the process.

To make NFC-based contactless payments, you need to make sure your smartphone supports NFC and the same is set up already. Now, you need to set Amex Pay as a default tap and pay service. Hold your smartphone close to the payment terminal to do the transaction.

As per the FAQ section of American Express' Amex Pay, "You can use Amex Pay to make contactless purchases with your eligible Android device wherever American Express contactless payments are accepted. Just look for the contactless symbol at check-out. You can make a payment using the QR functionality wherever you see the American Express logo on a Bharat QR sticker."

Nokia 8 Sirocco, Nokia 7 Plus and Nokia 6 First Impressions

Notably, Samsung Pay was introduced in India with support for the Americal Express credit cards and charge cards those are eligible for the payment.

Best Mobiles in India

Facebook, To stay updated with latest technology news & gadget reviews, follow GizBot on Twitter YouTube and also subscribe to our notification. Allow Notifications
Botswanas newly appointed 30-year-old minister Bogolo Joy Kenewendo is being celebrated on social media by many Africans, who say her appointment despite her age is a rare feat that needs to be replicated across the continent.



Kenewendo was one of the ministers appointed by Botswanas new president Mokgweetsi Masisi, who in his inaugural address pledged to invest in the youth and create job opportunities for them.



Kenewendo, appointed the Investment, Trade and Industry Minister becomes Botswanas youngest ever minister, two years after she was appointed by the former president Ian Khama as a member of parliament.



While some social media users have cautioned against celebrating her appointment simply because of her age, Kenewendo is no stranger to the portfolio shes been tasked to manage.



She has previously worked as a trade economist in the Ministry of Trade and Industry in the Government of Ghana.



Who is Bogolo Joy Kenewendo?



The youthful minister is passionate about development, poverty eradication, reducing inequalities and empowering women and youth.



Kenewendo founded Molaya Kgosi, a women leadership and mentorship programme which was inspired by the young African women leaders forum which was hosted by Michelle Obama in 2011.



She was one of two youth delegates to represent Botswana at the 64th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, where she presented a statement of African youth to the UN Secretary General.



Kenewendo holds an MSc in International Economics from the University of Sussex in the United Kingdom and was a recipient of a prestigious Chevening Scholarship in 2012.



When she is not making history as a young achiever, Kenewendo spends her time travelling, doing yoga, reading and has previously said a tall glass of wine with a friend always does the trick.

Source: africanews.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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GREENWICH  A teach-in and rally, featuring speeches from the Black Lives Matter organization and other activists, is coming to Greenwich on Saturday, April 14.

Medea Benjamin, a co-founder of the Code Pink protest movement that arose in opposition to the war in Iraq, will speak, as well as Hawk Newsome, a leader of the regional Black Lives Matter group.

Organizers said they are holding the event in Greenwich in hopes of connecting with the community on social justice issues.

Nick Mottern, a longtime pacifist and anti-war activist who lives in southern Westchester County, N.Y., is working to organize the event at Greenwich Common.

Mottern, who has a history of protests outside National Guard facilities and of displaying a mock-up of military drones in public spaces, said Greenwich was chosen for a reason.

Greenwich has a concentration of wealth, and people have a special ability to influence politics and policy, he said. This is a good place for the conversation we want to have.

Organizers of the event, the Greenwich Rally and Teach-In for Peace and Economic Justice, have been handing out pamphlets about the event at the train station, and they plan to distribute fliers at Greenwich High School.

Mottern said organizers are making a special effort to attract young people to the teach-in event.

Its to make people acquainted with the wars going on now that arent well known. We want to bring attention to the pattern of military engagement, said Mottern, 79, a U.S. Navy veteran.

Rather than hold a march, organizers decided to make the event more of a discussion, with a question-and-answer period following a dozen or so speakers.

The event will run from 11 a.m. through the early afternoon Saturday. More information, and a final list of speakers, will be posted on the groups Facebook page, @Greenwich Rally, or Greenwich Rally and Teach-In for Peace and Economic Justice.
There are certain skills that no first responder ever wants to use, but must be prepared to employ  including those needed in the event of a mass casualty incident.

A contingent of Greenwich police officers recently joined other emergency-service personnel from Fairfield County in three days of specialized, hands-on mass casualty training at Fairfield Regional Fire School to practice how to handle these types of situations.

The highly realistic training scenarios prepare police, fire, medical technicians and dispatchers to work together in the event of a major disaster, such as a plane crash, a bus accident or a shooting rampage.

Weve done this for a long, long time, said Greenwich police Lt. John Slusarz.

The recent simulation was an offshoot of ongoing monthly training for local emergency responders sponsored by the National Center for Biomedical Research and Training. The groups next monthly session will be Wednesday in New Canaan. In the last, responders were trained in hemorrhage control.

Because of Greenwichs location, first-responders in town have repeatedly trained for disaster scenarios involving dozens or hundreds of casualties.

We have three highways going through the town, Metro-North, and an airport next door. Thats a lot of transportation infrastructure. We need to be prepared for mass casualties, Slusarz said.

The weekend training event, which took place March 27 to March 29, simulated an active-shooter scenario. The focus was developing the skills needed for police, fire, medical and communication units to work together.

The training is important to make sure all the players are trained for interoperability, the lieutenant said.

Greenwich emergency personnel could be deployed in another jurisdiction if needed, so training with colleagues in the region helps improve communications.

The training is designed to provide first responders with the dynamic of  active shooters, hostile events, said Bill Ackley, a Stamford EMS captain and an instructor for the National Center for Biomedical Research and Training, who helped lead the training efforts.

The initiative is federally funded through a national preparedness program at no cost to states or communities, Ackley said.

About a dozen different agencies from Connecticut were represented at the recent drills.

It sounds kind of odd to people that police, fire and EMS need to practice to work together, Ackley said. They think they work together on a regular basis.

But typically, fire or EMS personnel are initially on the outskirts of a situation while police handle it. But, Ackley said, in a large incident  like a mass casualty  its all hands on deck.

Its important to learn to integrate what each agencys responsibilities are, Ackley said.

On the third day of the course, first responders practiced four active shooter drills, said Bridgeport fire Capt. Giovanni Sanzo, one of many first responders to participate in the training.

More Information Who participated Greenwich Police Department Norwalk Police Department, Norwalk Hospital EM and Norwalk 911 Stamford EMS and Stamford police and fire departments Aquarion Water Company Police Department Bridgeport Fire Department and AMR Connecticut State Police Danbury Police Department Fairfield Fire Department and Fairfield Regional Fire School Stratford EMS, Stratford police and fire departments and Stratford 911 Westport 911 See More Collapse

The police had a real person (shooter) that moved throughout the building, he said. There were live patients with injuries, for fire and EMS to treat and care for. Ambulances were brought in to simulate bringing a patient out of the building and into an ambulance for transport to a hospital.

Scott Bisson, the director of training for Fairfield Regional Fire School, said the program used mannequins and live actors with special effects makeup to simulate realistic victims.

This is extremely realistic, hands-on training that brings all disciplines together in a unified command structure that we hope will never need to be used at scenes of active violence, Bisson said.

He stressed the importance of practicing before an incident takes place.

Sanzo said the fire department was fortunate to participate in the training.

The Bridgeport Fire Department has recognized the unfortunate growing need for its members to be prepared to respond to an active shooter, the captain said.

During the course, Sanzo said, police were trained on how to enter the scene, stop the attack and provide quick lifesaving medical treatment to victims. Fire and EMS worked to integrate with law enforcement efforts to form rescue task forces.

The RTFs are designed to allow medical and fire personnel to enter a scene under police security, Sanzo said. He said treating the victims before moving them can increase their odds of survival.

In Norwalk, police Lt. Terry Blake said it was an easy decision to have members of the police department attend the three-day ATIRC training in Fairfield.

We have always had members attend these events, said Blake.

That city developed a response plan for emergency situations  including mass casualty incidents  in 2016. It was done in collaboration with Norwalks fire and police departments, emergency medical services and the office of emergency management.
GREENWICH  Growing up in Montclair, N.J., Ted Gilman was drawn to the natural world that surrounded him even before he was gifted his first Petersons Field Guide to the Birds at 5 years old.

He spent his childhood learning from nature.

I lovingly blame my mother ... for putting my playpen and baby stroller out on the front porch and being blessed by the lottery of genetics to have good eyes and ears, Gilman said.

Once he got out of the stroller and playpen, he was unstoppable  crayfishing in the local river, birdwatching around parks on Saturday mornings, building bird feeders with his kid carpentry tools  or simply exploring the 100-by-75-foot space he had as a backyard every day.

These days Gilmans backyard is Audubon Greenwich, where he has lived and worked since 1977. Each day he explores it with the same enthusiasm he did the Jersey suburbs of his youth  and encourages others to do the same. The education specialist and senior naturalist has become one of the most recognizable people in town, and not just for his lanky height and distinctive beard. During his years here, countless visitors to Riversville Road have had their eyes and ears opened to the natural world through Gilmans gentle guidance.

To celebrate his accomplishments and the undeniable impact he has had on the community, Gilman, 68, will be awarded the Katie OBrien Lifetime Achievement Award at Audubon Connecticuts Environmental Leadership Awards Benefit on April 26.

As he looked back this week on the life that earned the honor, Gilman credited support from family and educators during those nascent years to the fact that he now lives the life of his dreams.

Gilmans parents supported his love for birds and nature then, and his mother at 104 still does today. But he was also encouraged by members of his community and schools.

Miss Taylor, my third grade teacher, did a bird unit, he said, thinking back to his time at Watchung Elementary School while looking out Wednesday at the fog hanging lazily across the Audubon Greenwich landscape.

Another really neat affirmation for me was sixth grade. I was invited from Miss Elliss class to go back to Miss Taylors class, to talk to younger students about birds, he said. Talk about being affirmed in your interest and supported. Ive had so many mentors and supporters. I tell people every day that when I teach I am repaying, paying back, paying forward all the blessings I have had through the years.

Those who know Gilman and who work with him say his debt has been paid in full, and then some.

I think that one of the interesting things is that when youve been so engaged in the work that Ted has been for as long as he has been, your impact becomes multigenerational, said Audubon Public Programs Manager Eli Schaffer.

Some who discovered nature through Gilman as youngsters are now his colleagues.

Audubon Greenwich Director Michelle Frankel studied with Gilman as a teenager in the centers Summer Ecology Workshop for Educators.

She said she still remembers that summer in 1986 so vividly, for it impacted the decisions she made about her adult life and career.

It was my first exposure to an intensive, immersive experience learning about ecology in such a hands-on way, said Frankel. I was in awe at how knowledgeable Ted was  like a walking nature encyclopedia, but so humble and unassuming that you never felt foolish for knowing so little compared to him.

His passion for nature and childlike curiosity was contagious, and it is difficult to describe how deeply inspired I was by the experience. I felt like I had found my home among these like-minded people, and discovered my path in life.

The centers communications assistant, Ryan MacLean, was 13 years old when he went to his first Audubon Greenwich Christmas Bird Count, where he saw a wild eastern screech owl. Gilman called it in with a near-perfect rendering of its signature descending whistle, MacLean said. From that point on I practiced whistling like a screech owl, just like Ted.

Ten years later he was hired by Audubon Greenwich as a seasonal naturalist for its fall hawk watch  his first job out of college.

One night several years later I joined him for a public Harvest Moon Night Walk where we once again tried to call some owls, MacLean said. Ted let me do the call for the barred owl and after a few of my best attempts two owls landed right in front of the group assembled for the walk. As the excited group watched the owls Ted gave me a nicely done pat on the back, which Im sure hes been able to give to the hundreds of others that hes mentored to share nature with people.

Gilman said Rachel Carson in her 1965 book, The Sense of Wonder, influenced his decision to teach about the environment and about birds.

A childs world is fresh and new and beautiful, full of wonder and excitement, she wrote. It is our misfortune that for most of us that clear-eyed vision, that true instinct for what is beautiful and awe-inspiring, is dimmed and even lost before we reach adulthood.

If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder ... he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, excitement and mystery of the world we live in, Carson wrote.

You dream of having kids get support for their interests and be affirmed for what theyre interested in, Gilman said. It makes me a poster child, a product of this.

At 12 years old he was banding birds; going to the New Jersey Audubon Societys Montclair Hawk Watch  a seven minute walk from his house. Later he became involved with the Urner Ornithological Club when he could explore more on his own.

Gilman went on to study biology at Earlham College in Richmond, Ind., which he described as a small co-educational Quaker college. There, under the guidance of his vertebrate zoology professor James Cope, he got involved with the schools natural history museum, which was largely run by students.

With Cope, who was also director of the museum, Gilman performed all kinds of field work  like banding bats in caves and watching prairie chickens.

At Cornell University, where Gilman earned his masters in environmental education, he was roommates with Stephen Kress, who would become vice president of bird conservation at the National Audubon Society.

I feel like a seed dropped in a fertilizer pile, said Gilman. Ive had a list of mentors up one arm and down the other.

The list of people who would count Gilman as a mentor over the past 40-plus years is unknowable.

He is a fixture, and really, like, this beacon of everything that Audubon Greenwich is about, said Schaffer. His commitment to Audubon Greenwich is reflected in the thousands of people who have learned from him. The way they light up talking about something he taught them is contagious to the people they are talking to about it.

There is no way, Schaffer said, to overestimate the impact Ted has had on the people he has interacted with.
Nokia announced a bunch of smartphones for the Indian market at a special event that took place a couple of days ago. And today the first of those devices has already become available to purchase in the subcontinent.

We're talking about the Nokia 6 (2018), a refinement of the original Nokia 6 from last year, which was the first smartphone carrying that brand following its revival by HMD Global.

You can buy the new Nokia 6 (2018) from the company's official online store for India. It is priced at INR 16,999, which currently translates into $261 or 213.

For that amount of cash you're getting a 5.5-inch 1080p panel (still sporting the not-trendy-anymore 16:9 aspect ratio), the Snapdragon 630 chipset, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of expandable storage, and a 3,000 mAh battery. The primary camera is a 16 MP sensor with f/2 aperture and dual-tone flash, while selfies are dealt with by an 8 MP f/2 snapper with 84-degree field-of-view. Check out our hands-on review right here.
Published on 2018/04/07 | Source

A poster and trailer for award-winning filmmaker Lee Chang-dong's latest film was released on Thursday.

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"Burning" is Lee's sixth feature film after "Green Fish" (1997), "Peppermint Candy" (1999), "Oasis" (2002), "Secret Sunshine" (2007) and "Poetry" (2010).

The mystery drama revolves around three young people who stumble upon a mysterious incident.

The film stars Yoo Ah-in and Hollywood actor Steven Yeun.

The film is set for release next month.
There are some things that only our forefathers will know. There are other things that our generation may know which generations to come will never know.



How did we get here? How do we allow our traditions, culture and heritage go extinct? Only some things are deemed important to keep and remember while others are left to be forgotten.



The big question always is this: whose responsibility is it to keep the tradition going and the culture from going extinct? In Ghana, there are some meals which were top of every households menu in some years back but are no more mentioned today.



This is worrying because in a few years, these meals may be completely forgotten and this will spell the beginning of the end of some part of our rich culture. Jumia Food, Africas leading food delivery platform throws back to some of these Ghanaian dishes.



Aprapransa  Quite a funny name as this is, aprapransa (literally meaning cleaning of the hand) was a widely enjoyable meal in the 80s and early 90s. Although some people still enjoy it at special events and on special occasions, the meal is gradually fizzling out. Ask any Ghanaian below 15 years of age if he/she knows what aprapransa is and the answers will shock you. We cannot fault them because, over the past few years, a shift towards continental and foreign cuisine has resulted in this near extinction. Made of roasted corn flour and palm oil, aprapransa is often eaten with crabbes and meat with palm nut soup on the side. Such a tasty meal shouldnt be allowed to just leave our dining tables.#Bringbackouraprapransa.





Gari fotor  Another delicacy! As the name suggests, this meal is made from gari and stew. Many people prefer to use the oil from their stews to make this. Widely considered as a meal from leftover food, gari fotor is very tasty and can be eaten with fried eggs, meat, fish and other protein. It can also be used to supplement waakye. Some people also mix dry gari with shito to make gari fotor. This is a saviour to many students especially those in senior high schools. Ga-shit is the preferred name in such quarters. Gari fotor although still exists, can be found rarely in small quantities . A few local restaurants still serve this but generally, it is losing presence and may gradually completely be forgotten.#Bringbackourgarifortor.



Mpotompoto  As the direct translation of this suggests, this meal is a mix mix. Made from diced boiled cocoyam, onions and tomatoes all mixed together in one pot and allowed to boil, mpotompoto used to be one of the very popular after school dishes in many Ghanaian homes. How could we all forget how delicious this was. Why dont we eat this anymore? Fried rice, indomie and potato chips seem to have replaced this. Children of today may never know what mpotompoto is even though the name automatically generates interest. Loved by all ages, this Ghanaian meal should be brought back. A few dips into it and you are satisfied. We cant let it die off just like that. Lets go back to it.#Bringbackourmpotompoto.



3to  colourful birthday cakes! These are all we see on birthdays today. A true indication that some meals are going extinct. Remember the days when you wake up on your birthday to a big bowl of mashed yam mixed with palm oil and garnished with eggs? At other times, it was mashed ripe plantain in palm oil with groundnut and boiled eggs. 3to is the name and it was enjoyed by all. The number of eggs reflected your age and it was a family tradition. Everyone loved it and it was something worth looking forward to. Today. Where is this tradition? Why have we replaced this meal with cakes and chinese meals and other foreign stuff? Lets not throw away our culture like this. #Bringbackour3to



Kokonte  This may be arguable because many people still love it and this meal can be seen occasionally at events and some chop bars. But Kokonte used to be very popular and was a regular feature on many household menus. Made from dried cassava dough and eaten with palm nut or groundnut soups, this meal is super delicious. Popularly known as face the wall because many people used to hide to eat it, Kokonte is a great meal to have at any time of the day. Little by little, we are allowing it to go extinct as more and more people shift to foreign meals.It is a highly satisfactory and nutritious meal and allowing it fade away just like that would be really disturbing. #BringbackourKokonte

Source: Ghana/Jumia Travel









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
Published on 2018/04/07 | Source

South Korea's intense birth as an economic system is documented in "Haewon", a raw look at two incidents in 1947 and 1948.

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"Haewon" (2017)

Directed by Gu Jahywan

Synopsis

According to a survey by the U.S. military government in 1946, 78% of the South upcoming Korean people wanted socialism and only 14% capitalism. In this situation, by appointing the pro-Japanese collaborators and the rightists, Rhee Syngman, who had not received the people's support, massacred those groups and civilians that were political stumbling blocks. In dealing with the Jeju 4.3 uprising in 1947 and the Yeosun incident in 1948 and The upcoming Korean War having broken out, massive civilian massacre became regularized.

Festival

The 43rd Seoul Independent Film Festival

Release date in Korea : 2018/05/10
Published on 2018/04/07 | Source

Added episode 12 captures for the Korean drama "Queen of Mystery Season 2" (2018)

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Directed by Choi Yoon-seok-II, Yoo Yeong-eun-I

Written by Lee Seong-min-II

Network : KBS

With Kwon Sang-woo, Choi Kang-hee, Lee Da-hee, Park Byung-eun, Kim Hyun-sook, Kim Won-hae,...

16 episodes - Wed, Thu 22:00

Synopsis

"Queen of Mystery" tells the story of a prosecutor's wife who's always dreamed of being a detective. After actually solving a case, she ends up in an unlikely crime-fighting duo with a young police captain.

Broadcast starting date in Korea : 2018/02/28

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Published on 2018/04/07 | Source

Added episodes 7 and 8 captures for the Korean drama "Switch - Change The World" (2018)

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Directed by Nam Tae-jin

Written by Baek Woon-cheol, Kim Ryoo-hyun

Network : SBS

With Jang Keun-suk, Han Ye-ri, Jung Woong-in, Jo Hee-bong, Shin Do-hyun, Ahn Seung-hwan,...

32 episodes - Wed, Thu 22:00 (2x35min)

Formerly known as "Operation King" (, gong-jak-wang)

Synopsis

A smart con artist impersonates a prosecutor. He passed all the necessary exams, but never managed to get work in the legal profession.

Broadcast starting date in Korea : 2018/03/28

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By Vasia Orion | Published on 2018/04/06

After confirming its premise and three main leads, the Korean drama adaptation for "Life on Mars" has entered the supporting casting rounds, with Kim Young-pil having now officially joined the project. His character sounds like a mix of an antagonist and a comedic relief, so we get a little cheeky element added.

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Kim Young-pil plays Kim Kyung-se, an elite of the police force serving as the head detective and top visual of the western police precinct. Kyung-se is a shameless man who prepares more thoroughly for press briefings than he does for investigations, making sure his face is the first in line for photos. He will be clashing with the head of the homicide team, Gang Dong-cheol (Park Sung-woong).

Kim Young-pil has commented "I recently signed on with a new agency, and I have been trying to join this work since. It is exciting being able to join this highly expected piece. I will try my best to show you a good performance". I hope this work will meet his expectations and ours.

Written by: Orion from 'Orion's Ramblings'

Sources (1)
Bertie Ahern said that Irish Government ministers are struggling to communicate with their counterparts in Northern Ireland since the collapse of the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Mr Ahern, who was speaking to mark the 20th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement at Dublin City University, said the breakdown in communications due to the collapse of the Northern Ireland Assembly a year ago, was not acceptable.

"I know from talking to Irish Government ministers, that there are many issues they want to talk to northern colleagues about but they have no one to talk to," Mr Ahern said.

"It's not fair to the people of Northern Ireland and it's not what the Good Friday Agreement is about."

All sides needed to "work and make society better," Mr Ahern said. "To do that, you need engagement and that's missing at the moment."

The former Taoiseach told the seminar that despite the challenges of Brexit and the "distraction" it was causing the British Government, no one has the "right to undo" the Good Friday Agreement and that a Northern Irish border "hard, soft or sunny side up" would be a "disaster".

He said the Good Friday Agreement had been long fought for with "human politics" involving all sides and a border "would upset everyone on the island of Ireland".

"It would be a travesty for everyone," he said.

"We don't want any border, it's a frictionless border where we can drive freely on this island."

Mr Ahern said he "failed to understand the logic of British negotiators" regarding Brexit and its view on the customs union, stating that when Britain leaves the EU, trade deals will be very difficult.

"What country will give a trade deal to a country of 80 million people?" he said.

Stupid

"That's not better than a trade deal with 450 million people (in the EU).

"I don't get that and I don't know of any country stupid enough to do that when they have an agreement with 450 million.

"They (the UK Government) will have to send Boris (Johnson) round the world several times to do deals with that logic..."

One of the only regrets Mr Ahern said he had regarding the Good Friday Agreement was that decommissioning of weapons in Northern Ireland took nine years. But, still today, the Agreement, was the best solution for the peace process.

No good was coming from a division in the Northern Ireland Assembly and all it proved was that the peace process was ongoing, he said.

When asked by members of the audience at the university if there was any way the Northern Irish agreement could be a road map for the Palestine-Israeli conflict to reach resolution in future, Mr Ahern said he didn't believe so because both sides were still proportioning blame.

"I've been to the Middle East a number of times," Mr Ahern said. "What I always say to the groups there is I believe the first thing before you start (talks) is there has to be a broad acceptance that the status quo is untenable.

"If people are not prepared to accept the status quo is untenable, then speaking about a peace process is useless".
Graham Caswell (23) was fined 200 and banned from driving for four years. (stock photo)

A driver who collided with a railing at a fast food drive-through later tested positive for cocaine, a court heard.

Graham Caswell (23) was fined 200 and banned from driving for four years.

The defendant, of Boot Road in Clondalkin, admitted before Tallaght District Court to drug-driving at McDonald's car park in Tallaght on January 16, 2017.

Garda Laura Owens said she was called to the scene shortly after midnight following reports of a traffic collision near the drive through.

Sample

Gda Owens said Caswell, who was driving a black Seat, had collided with a railing. He provided a blood sample to gardai and it came back positive for cocaine.

Defence lawyer George Burns said Caswell, who had no previous convictions, had a diploma in business.

He claimed disability benefit as he was born without part of an arm.

Mr Burns said Caswell's behaviour on the night had been foolish and out of character. He was helping to care for his mother, the court heard.

Judge Patricia McNamara postponed the ban until October to allow Caswell to get his affairs in order.
Broadcaster Miriam O'Callaghan has ended speculation over her political ambitions by announcing that she will not run in the presidential election.

The RTE star was asked a number of times at a charity event on Thursday if she would stand for presidency but refused to confirm, replying instead that current president Michael D Higgins is "wonderful".

Last month, she had fuelled speculation that she was considering running for Aras an Uachtarain when she announced that she is to take a break from her summer chat show.

However, the presenter confirmed in a series of tweets last night that she was not going to run in the presidential election.

"As a journalist, I'm much more comfortable reporting on stories than being at the centre of them," she wrote.

"Over recent years, I've been touched and a little embarrassed when people have approached me at charity events around the country and suggested that I should run for president.

"Out of respect to them, and to our serving president, I have always declined to engage in those discussions. However, given the recent resurgence of speculation, I want to state that I will not be a candidate in an upcoming presidential election," she said.

The mum-of-eight, who fronts Prime Time on RTE, added that she wanted to clarify that: "I have always been, and will always remain, independent of any political party."

Miriam said that she will not be doing her usual summer chat show because of other commitments.

Documentary

"I'm looking forward to spending the summer working on a landmark documentary about the 50th anniversary of the civil rights marches in the North and the Troubles," she said.

President Michael D Higgins's term is due to conclude before the end of this year. He previously said he would be a one-term president but has recently hinted he would like a second term, saying he had laid "solid foundations" since replacing Mary McAleese in 2011.

Miriam's confirmation that she won't run came after presidential hopeful Gerard Craughwell said the broadcaster may have been "flying a kite" on a potential Aras bid by dropping her summer chat show.

Mr Craughwell said he would be delighted to see her name put forward as a presidential rival.

"I hope she does run. I think it is time that those who are interested came out of the woodwork and declared their intention," he said this week.
Sebastian Barczuk, who has been charged with murder, with his head in his hands. Photo Gareth Chaney Collins

A man has been charged with the murder of a homeless man whose body was found on a roadside in north county Dublin.

Sebastian Barczuk (29) told gardai "I'm innocent" when the charge was put to him, a court heard.

He was charged following the death last August of Polish national Michal Kurek, whose body was found with multiple stab wounds along a road in an isolated area in Ballyboughal.

Judge Michael Walsh remanded Mr Barczuk in custody after he was taken before Dublin District Court yesterday.

The accused, who has no fixed address, is charged with murdering Mr Kurek at a place unknown on either August 3 or 4 last year.

Yesterday, Garda Ross Rowan said he arrested the accused at Balbriggan Garda Station at 10.33pm the previous night. The arrest was for the purpose of charging him with the murder of Mr Kurek, contrary to Common Law, Gda Rowan said.

Charged

He then charged him at 10.55pm. Mr Barczuk replied "I'm innocent" to the charge after caution, Gda Rowan continued. He was handed a copy of the charge sheet.

The garda said he had no objection to legal aid.

Solicitor Brian Coveney, for the accused, applied for free legal aid and handed a statement of Mr Barczuk's financial means in to court.

He said there was no application for bail being made "given the nature of the charge".

Bail on a murder charge can only be granted in the High Court.

Mr Barczuk, wearing a black jacket, black sweater and grey tracksuit bottoms, sat with a Polish interpreter, who translated the proceedings.

Judge Walsh certified for an interpreter to be assigned to the case for future court appearances.

The accused remained silent during the brief hearing.

Mr Kurek's body was found by the side of a road in Grange, Ballyboughal, at around 10.40am on August 4.

He was in his mid-30s, had lived and worked in Ireland for a number of years but was reported to have been homeless at the time of his death.
Special prayers for people brutally "disappeared" by the IRA were said at the funeral of a man who led efforts to have their remains recovered and buried by loved ones.

Frank Murray, former head of the Irish civil service, worked for 11 years as co-director of the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims' Remains (ICLVR).

At his funeral Mass in Foxrock, Dublin, his son Paul said he was dedicated to this work after his retirement as secretary to the government.

His father's big regret was that remains of three of the 16 concerned remained unlocated and these people - Columba McVeigh, Joe Lynskey and Robert Nairac - were given special mention during the prayers.

Expand Close The coffin of Frank Murray is carried from the Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour in Foxrock, Dublin / Facebook

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Whatsapp The coffin of Frank Murray is carried from the Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour in Foxrock, Dublin

Mr Murray's co-director of the ICLVR, Kenneth Bloomfield, a former head of the North's civil service, also attended.

President Michael D Higgins, who worked as a minister with Mr Murray from 1992 until 1997, led the official attendance which included senior politicians, civil servants, gardai and army personnel.

Mr Murray (76) retired from the civil service's most senior post in 2000 and did a number of jobs for government in the ensuing years, right up until his sudden death last Saturday.

Director

Mr Murray also served as a director of Independent News & Media (INM), which publishes the Herald and other leading titles. Terry Buckley, an INM director, represented the company at his funeral.

The Taoiseach was represented by his aide de camp, Comdt Caroline Burke. Others attending included former ministers Alan Dukes and Mary Hanafin and former government press secretary Joe Lennon.

Requiem Mass was celebrated by Fr Arthur O'Neill, parish priest of Foxrock, and Fr Paul Turley, a Redemptorist from Clonard in Belfast.

Also assisting at the Mass was Dermot McCarthy, Mr Murray's immediate successor to the most senior job in the national administration. Since his retirement from the civil service in 2011, Mr McCarthy has been ordained a deacon and he read the gospel and said the parting prayers.

Born in Carrick-on-Shannon in September 1941, Mr Murray was "a proud Leitrim man all his life". He met his wife of 52 years, Maureen, after joining the civil service in 1960.

Liam Cosgrave, a former Cathaoirleach of Seanad Eireann, recalled that Mr Murray was his father's private secretary when he served as Taoiseach from 1973-77. Mr Murray and Liam Cosgrave Senior had remained life-long friends.
Two manhunts are under way for two young Dublin criminals in relation to separate gun seizures on the capital's northside.

The latest seizure happened late on Thursday night in the Dromheath Estate in Mulhuddart when armed gardai carried out a planned raid of a house and discovered a loaded handgun, a small quantity of ammunition and around 10,000 of cocaine.

The target of the operation was not in the property at the time and a manhunt was continuing for him last night.

It is understood that the firearm was discovered in a bed with the drugs and ammunition hidden nearby.

The operation was carried out by detectives from Blanchardstown Garda Station, who were backed up by the Armed Support Unit.

Gardai do not believe that the seizure is connected to the deadly Hutch/Kinahan feud but the weapons were "most likely" to be used in a simmering dispute in the locality where the seizure happened.

The on-the-run suspect was not previously known to gardai for involvement in serious offences.

Meanwhile, another manhunt is also in place in relation to a completely separate gun seizure in the Coolock area on Tuesday afternoon.

Surprised

Sources say that gardai are "very surprised" that a criminal described as a "gilly" has still not been arrested.

The "gilly" who was allegedly operating for a gangland "serial killer" had a deadly cache of firearms as part of an escalating feud in north Dublin.

The arsenal - including a sub-machine gun and four handguns - was seized in Coolock following a garda pursuit.

"Gardai are surprised that this individual has not been picked up. In fact there are now concerns for his safety," a source said.

Tuesday's major firearms seizure is part of an escalating gang war between crime groupings in the Coolock area.

There has been a major increase in armed patrols in the locality as tensions continue to increase.

Specialist gardai are seriously concerned that a bitter feud there is threatening to spiral out of control after the murder of Ken Finn in February.

A search was last night continuing after the low-level criminal fled after discarding the bag containing the firearms.

Gardai have established that this individual is linked to a "serial killer" and the two criminals have been spotted together.

Shortly before 4pm on Tuesday, gardai conducting a routine patrol signalled for a vehicle to stop on the Greencastle Road.

The car was ordered to halt but sped away from the scene, which resulted in gardai giving chase.

After a short pursuit, the car crashed on the Priorswood Road, and the driver fled the area. He was pursued through Ferrycarrig Park, where he discarded a bag and escaped.

A subsequent search of the bag led to five firearms and a significant quantity of ammunition being recovered.

There was an armed garda presence for follow-up searches in Coolock on Tuesday night.
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LOS REVOLUCIONARIOS NO TOMAN CACA-COLA No se trata solamente de un capricho, sino de una sana actitud en todos los sentidos. Desde la solidaridad con el pueblo colombiano donde la empresa Caca-Cola ha cometido los mas grandes abusos contra sus trabajadores incluyendo el presunto secuestro y asesinato de los dirigentes del sindicato, hasta la proteccion de la salud de nuestros hijos, enviciados por ese jarabe de cola y azucar, que les produce obesidad prematura. Pensemos tambien los revolucionarios, que ese dinero que gastamos en los refrescos es utilizado por esas empresas para financiar el terrorismo en nuestro pais. Es cierto, no se trata solo de la Caca-Cola, sino tambien de la cerveza, de los cigarrillos y todos esos articulos innecesarios y mas que eso, daninos para nuestra salud. Podriamos incluso pensar en un dia de parada para cada uno de ellos. Es cuestion de irnos organizando. Pero para empezar, que tal si dejamos de comprar Caca-Cola y sus similares?



























Cuando lo extraordinario se vuelve cotidiano...



Discurso del Acto de Grado en Barinas en 12 de Febrero del 2005 Queridos Graduandos:



Mas que un discurso, quiero dirigirles algunas palabras que escribi anoche, despues de visitar en las clinicas, a los estudiantes heridos, a consecuencia de los enfrentamientos con la policia de hace apenas dos dias.



Me ha tocado por razones del destino, ser la persona que les otorgue el titulo que bien merecieron con sus estudios. Y me siento sumamente orgulloso de serlo. Me consta que la Universidad de Los Llanos Occidentales Ezequiel Zamora, a pesar de lo dicho por los enemigos de esta universidad, es una universidad de primera.



No tendremos la mejor planta fisica, en los salones hace calor. En el comedor hace calor. Pero no es en lo material que las cosas deben valorarse. El mayor capital es el ser humano. Y en eso, nuestra UNELLEZ, lo digo con conocimiento de causa, esta sobrada. Los llaneros venezolanos son nobles, valientes, de coraje.



En la UNELLEZ hacen vida, en este momento, aproximadamente 67000 personas. El 97% de ellas son estudiantes. Jovenes que, como Ustedes hasta el dia de hoy, buscan ese titulo, que constata los anos de dedicacion y de estudio.



Los jovenes son el rio de la vida, ustedes graduados deben ser los capitanes de esos barcos que naveguen por el rio de la vida.



Nuestra Patria atraviesa momentos muy dificiles porque decidio dejar de ser esa matrona de edad vetusta y complaciente, para ser joven, rebelde y altanera. Nuestra imagen ya no es la de una acaudalada ricachona mayamera. En nuestro rostro brilla ahora la sonrisa del Che Guevara, con su diente delantero torcido, su pelo largo y su boina con la estrella.



Entender esto, a mi me ha tomado practicamente toda la vida. Tengo 53 anos, y ya perdi mi oportunidad de derramar sangre joven a causa de un ideal.



Ustedes son jovenes, estan en la flor de la vida. No cometan por favor el error de renunciar a su instinto de rebelion. El Che Guevara fue Ministro de a Economia en Cuba. Los billetes y las monedas se adornaban con su rostro. Nada de eso le importo. Primero fue a Angola donde paso un penoso ano de combate. Despues se fue a Bolivia, donde encontro la muerte. El Che era el ultimo que comia, el que cargaba la mochila mas pesada. Siempre se sacrificaba por los demas en un estoicismo que mas parecia fervor religioso que ideologia marxista.



Si quieren un modelo de vida. Ahi lo tienen.



Dije hace unos momentos que el 97% de la poblacion de la UNELLEZ es estudiante. Se imaginan Ustedes la Universidad que podriamos tener si todos los estudiantes tuvieran la abnegacion, la combatividad del Che?



Los momentos que se avecinan van a requerir de una gran unidad del pueblo venezolano. La alternativa de continuar siendo libres o regresar a la pobreza se nos planteara en los proximos dias de forma enmascarada, o quizas peor, desenmascarada, vestida con uniforme de soldado del Imperio.



Por nuestra parte podemos esperar lo mejor. La macroeconomia no podria ir mejor, la justicia social ha mejorado notablemente. Las misiones ocupan un papel muy importante en el pago de dicha justicia social. Aqui en Barinas ya hemos cumplido con dos de las misiones, la mision Robinson y la mision Sucre. No hay analfabetismo y no hay exclusion en la educacion superior, en estas tierras de Zamora.



Pero ay malhaya! Son precisamente estos exitos los que nos hacen mas antipaticos al Imperio. Para ellos, somos inclusive un mal ejemplo que se esta contagiando al resto del continente y cuidado sino al resto del mundo.



Nunca venceremos al Imperio. Estara siempre ahi, acechando. Por lo menos hasta que el mismo no se autodestruya. Porque, sepanlo senores, el neoliberalismo es canibal. Cuando le ataque el hambre, se devorara a si mismo.



Ustedes, queridos graduandos, a partir de hoy pasan a conformar la elite profesional que debe sostener este pais en los proximos cuarenta o cincuenta anos. Anos decisivos para el logro de nuestra libertad y del rescate de nuestra Soberania.



No se dejen comprar. No se dejen corromper. No se dejen gritar. No se dejen pisar. Que nadie les diga que comer, o que vestirse, o que leer. Sean siempre autenticos, rebeldes, contestatarios. Pero eso si, profundamente patriotas, dignos de ser hijos de Bolivar.



Muchas gracias y que Dios los bendiga.





Alguna duda?



Medio siglo de Holocausto Palestino



Oscar Zanartu Nacio en Caracas en 1960. Ha realizado exposiciones individuales en las galerias Minotauro, Clave y San Francisco, y en salas de Coro, estado Falcon, y Puerto Ordaz, estado Bolivar. En Paris su obra ha sido exhibida en el Centro Cultural Tanagra, en la Exposicion Cite Internationale des Arts, en las galerias De Mars y Arver Space, al igual que en la Galeria Municipal Levallois, en Levallois Perret (Francia). En muestras colectivas, su obra se ha expuesto en Belgica, Francia, Estados Unidos y Venezuela; en Caracas intervino en la exposicion "Del genesis a la memoria", 1995, organizada por la Fundacion La Previsora. En 1982 obtuvo el Premio Nacional Critven y en 1990 la Mencion de Honor Jose Antonio Paez, en la Embajada de Venezuela en Paris. En 1991 se le concedio el primer premio de Pintura Itinerante, en Levallois Perret, Francia.



OZ1



OZ2



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Homenaje a Jason Galarraga



La Victoria de Samotracia



Odalisca



Mas fotos de la nevada del pasado agosto 2008



























La Sierra Nevada de Merida



Nuestro precioso Churum Meru



Homenaje a Picasso



Autoretrato



Sabes lo que bebes en una Coca-Cola?

La formula de la Pepsi tiene una diferencia basica con la de la Coca-Cola y es intencional, para evitar el proceso judicial. La diferencia es a proposito, pero suficientemente parecida como para atraer a los consumidores de Coca-Cola que prefieren un gusto diferente con menos sal y azucar.

Mi profesion?

Tuve que aprender quimica, entender todo sobre componentes de gaseosas, conservantes, sales, acidos, cafeina, enlatado, produccion, permisos, aprobaciones y muchas otras cosas. Monte mi propio mini-laboratorio de analisis de productos.

Sal en la Coca Cola?

A patadas. El Cloruro de Sodio no solo refresca sino da mas sed, como para pedir otra gaseosa. Y no resulta desagradable porque la sal mata literalmente la sensibilidad al dulce... del que por cierto tambien tiene mucho: 39 gramos de azucar.

De los 350 gramos de producto liquido, mas del 10% es azucar, o sea que en una lata de Coca-Cola mas de un centimetro y medio es puro azucar en polvo. Aproximadamente tres cucharadas soperas llenas de azucar por lata!!La formula de la Coca Cola es muy sencilla:

Concentrado de azucar quemado caramelo- para dar color oscuro y gusto

Acido fosforito (para darle el sabor acido)

azucar (HFCS-jarabe de maiz de alta fructosa)

Extracto de hojas de la planta de Coca (Africa e India) y otros pocos aromatizantes naturales de otras plantas

Mucha Cafeina

Conservante que puede ser Benzoato de Sodio o Potasio

Dioxido de Carbono en cantidad para sentir freir la lengua cuando se bebe

Sal para dar la sensacion de refrigeracion

El uso del acido fosforito y no del acido citrico como en todas las demas gaseosas, es para dar la sensacion de dientes y boca limpia al beber. El acido fosforito literalmente frie todo y dana el esmalte de los dientes, cosa que el acido citrico lo hace en menor grado.Trate de comprar acido fosforito para ver las mil recomendaciones de seguridad que te dan para su manipulacion (quema el cristalino del ojo, quema la piel, etc...). Esta prohibido usar el acido fosforito en cualquier otra gaseosa; solo la Coca Cola tiene permiso. Porque claro, sin el acido fosforico, la Coca Cola sabria a jabon.El extracto de coca y otras hojas casi no cambia en nada el sabor. Es mas bien un efecto cosmetico. El extracto forma parte de la Coca-Cola porque legalmente tiene que ser asi. Pero sin el, no se nota ninguna diferencia en el gusto, que esta dado basicamente por las cantidades diferentes de azucar, azucar quemada, sales, acidos y conservantes.Sabor a que...? ja, ja, ja.

Aqui en Bartow, sur de Orlando, hay una empresa quimica que produce aromatizantes y esencias para zumos. Envian diariamente camionadas de sales concentradas y esencias para las fabricas de helados, gaseosas, jugos, enlatados y comida colorida y aromatizada.Cuando visite por primera vez la fabrica, pedi ver el deposito de concentrados de frutas, que deberia ser inmenso, especialmente los de naranja, pina, fresa y tantos otros. El encargado me miro, se rio y me llevo a visitar los depositos inmensos... pero de colorantes y componentes quimicos.

Las gaseosa de naranja no contiene naranja.

En los zumos dizque de fresa, hasta los puntitos que quedan en suspension estan hechos de goma (una liga quimica que envuelve un semi-polimero).

Pina, es un popurri de acidos y goma.

La esencia para helado de aguacate usa peroxido de hidrogeno (agua oxigenada) para dar la sensacion espumosa tipica del aguacate.

Bebidas Light?

Quieres saber la cantidad de basura que tiene un refresco 'light'? Yo ni siquiera los uso para destapar mi lavaplatos pues temo que danen los tubos de PVC. Los productos endulzantes 'ligth' tienen una vida media muy corta. Por ejemplo el

Despues de toda mi experiencia con la produccion de bebidas embasadas, puedo afirmar sin dudar un segundo: la mejor bebida es el agua, como tambien los jugos exprimidos de naranja o limon. Nada mas, cero azucar y cero sal.



Publicado por loretahur



En realidad, la formula secreta de la Coca-Cola se puede detallar en 18 segundos en cualquier espectrometro optico, y basicamente la conocen hasta los perros. Lo que ocurre es que no se puede fabricar igual, a no ser que uno disponga de unos cuantos millones de dolares para ganarle la demanda que te metera la Coca-Cola ante la justicia (ellos no perderian).La formula de la Pepsi tiene una diferencia basica con la de la Coca-Cola y es intencional, para evitar el proceso judicial. La diferencia es a proposito, pero suficientemente parecida como para atraer a los consumidores de Coca-Cola que prefieren un gusto diferente con menos sal y azucar.Tuve que aprender quimica, entender todo sobre componentes de gaseosas, conservantes, sales, acidos, cafeina, enlatado, produccion, permisos, aprobaciones y muchas otras cosas. Monte mi propio mini-laboratorio de analisis de productos.A patadas. El Cloruro de Sodio no solo refresca sino da mas sed, como para pedir otra gaseosa. Y no resulta desagradable porque la sal mata literalmente la sensibilidad al dulce... del que por cierto tambien tiene mucho: 39 gramos de azucar.De los 350 gramos de producto liquido, mas del 10% es azucar, o sea que en una lata de Coca-Cola mas de un centimetro y medio es puro azucar en polvo. Aproximadamente tres cucharadas soperas llenas de azucar por lata!!La formula de la Coca Cola es muy sencilla:Concentrado de azucar quemado caramelo- para dar color oscuro y gustoAcido fosforito (para darle el sabor acido)azucar (HFCS-jarabe de maiz de alta fructosa)Extracto de hojas de la planta de Coca (Africa e India) y otros pocos aromatizantes naturales de otras plantasMucha CafeinaConservante que puede ser Benzoato de Sodio o PotasioDioxido de Carbono en cantidad para sentir freir la lengua cuando se bebeSal para dar la sensacion de refrigeracionEl uso del acido fosforito y no del acido citrico como en todas las demas gaseosas, es para dar la sensacion de dientes y boca limpia al beber. El acido fosforito literalmente frie todo y dana el esmalte de los dientes, cosa que el acido citrico lo hace en menor grado.Trate de comprar acido fosforito para ver las mil recomendaciones de seguridad que te dan para su manipulacion (quema el cristalino del ojo, quema la piel, etc...). Esta prohibido usar el acido fosforito en cualquier otra gaseosa; solo la Coca Cola tiene permiso. Porque claro, sin el acido fosforico, la Coca Cola sabria a jabon.El extracto de coca y otras hojas casi no cambia en nada el sabor. Es mas bien un efecto cosmetico. El extracto forma parte de la Coca-Cola porque legalmente tiene que ser asi. Pero sin el, no se nota ninguna diferencia en el gusto, que esta dado basicamente por las cantidades diferentes de azucar, azucar quemada, sales, acidos y conservantes.Sabor a que...? ja, ja, ja.Aqui en Bartow, sur de Orlando, hay una empresa quimica que produce aromatizantes y esencias para zumos. Envian diariamente camionadas de sales concentradas y esencias para las fabricas de helados, gaseosas, jugos, enlatados y comida colorida y aromatizada.Cuando visite por primera vez la fabrica, pedi ver el deposito de concentrados de frutas, que deberia ser inmenso, especialmente los de naranja, pina, fresa y tantos otros. El encargado me miro, se rio y me llevo a visitar los depositos inmensos... pero de colorantes y componentes quimicos.Las gaseosa de naranja no contiene naranja.En los zumos dizque de fresa, hasta los puntitos que quedan en suspension estan hechos de goma (una liga quimica que envuelve un semi-polimero).Pina, es un popurri de acidos y goma.La esencia para helado de aguacate usa peroxido de hidrogeno (agua oxigenada) para dar la sensacion espumosa tipica del aguacate.Quieres saber la cantidad de basura que tiene un refresco 'light'? Yo ni siquiera los uso para destapar mi lavaplatos pues temo que danen los tubos de PVC. Los productos endulzantes 'ligth' tienen una vida media muy corta. Por ejemplo el aspartamo , despues de tres semanas mojado, pasa a tener gusto de trapo viejo sucio.Para evitar eso, se agregan una infinidad de otros productos quimicos, uno para alargar la vida del aspartamo, otro para neutralizar el color, otro para mantener el tercer quimico en suspension porque sino el fondo de la gaseosa quedaria oscuro, otro para evitar la cristalizacion del aspartamo, otro para realzar el sabor, dar mas intensidad al acido citrico o fosforito que perderia su sabor por el efecto de los cuatro productos quimicos iniciales... y asi sucesivamente.Un consejo final !!Despues de toda mi experiencia con la produccion de bebidas embasadas, puedo afirmar sin dudar un segundo: la mejor bebida es el agua, como tambien los jugos exprimidos de naranja o limon. Nada mas, cero azucar y cero sal.Publicado por loretahur

MARGARINA o MANTEQUILLA La margarina fue producida originalmente para engordar a los pavos; cuandolo que hizo en realidad fue matarlos.Las personas que habian puesto el dinero para la investigacion quisieronrecobrarlo asi que empezaron a pensar en una forma de hacerlo.Tenian una sustancia blanca, que no tenia ningun atractivo como comestible,asi que le anadieron el color amarillo, para venderselo a lagente en lugar de la mantequilla.Que tal esa?... Ahora han sacado algunos nuevos sabores para vender mas alos incautos como usted y yo.CONOCE USTED la diferencia entre la margarina y la mantequilla?Siga leyendo hasta el final... porque se pone bastante interesante!Comparacion entre mantequilla y margarina:

1.- Ambas tienen la misma cantidad de calorias.

2.- La mantequilla es ligeramente mas alta en grasas saturadas: 8 gramos,comparada con los 5 gramos que tiene la margarina.

3.- Comer margarina en vez de mantequilla puede aumentar en 53% el riesgo deenfermedades coronarias en las mujeres, de acuerdo con un estudiomedico reciente de la Universidad de Harvard.

4.- Comer mantequilla aumenta la absorcion de gran cantidad de nutrientesque se encuentran en otros alimentos.

5.- La mantequilla provee beneficios nutricionales propios mientras lamargarina tiene solo los que le hayan sido anadidos al fabricarla.

6.- La mantequilla sabe mucho mejor que la margarina y mejora el sabor deotros alimentos.7.- La mantequilla ha existido durante siglos mientras que la margarinatiene menos de 100 anos.

Ahora... sobre la margarina:

1.- Es muy alta en acidos grasos trans. (Si, esos que recien ahora loscientificos descubrieron que son malisimos y los gobiernoscomenzaron a prohibirlos) .

2.- Triple riesgo de enfermedades coronarias.

3.- Aumenta el colesterol total y el LDL (el colesterol malo) y disminuye elHDL (el colesterol bueno).

4.- Aumenta en cinco veces el riesgo de cancer.

5.- Disminuye la calidad de la leche materna.

6.- Disminuye la reaccion inmunologica del organismo.

7.- Disminuye la reaccion a la insulina.

Y he aqui el factor mas inquietante (AQUI ESTA LA PARTE MAS INTERESANTE! ):A la margarina le falta UNA MOLECULA para ser PLASTICO...!!Solo este hecho es suficiente para evitar el uso de la margarina de porvida, y de cualquier otra cosa que sea hidrogenada (esto significaque se le anade hidrogeno, lo cual cambia la estructura molecular de lassubstancias).Usted puede ensayar lo siguiente:Compre un poco de margarina y dejela en el garaje o en un sitio sombreado.Dentro de unos dias notara dos cosas:

* No habra moscas; ni siquiera esos molestos bichos se le acercaran (esto yale debe decir a usted algo).

* No se pudre ni huele mal o diferente porque no tiene valor nutritivo; nadacrece en ella. Ni siquiera los diminutos microorganismos puedencrecer en ella.Por que? Porque es casi plastico!!



No a la guerra, Si a la Paz



Misterios de la ciencia...



Los costos de la guerra



medicos y capitalismo...



Capitalismo...



medicos (2)



Quien educa a nuestros hijos?



Los Medios...



Sin Palabras...



Chistes feministas

- Cual es el problema, Eva?

- Se que me has creado, que me has dado este hermoso jardin, todos estos maravillosos animales y esa serpiente con la que me muero de risa... pero no soy del todo feliz...

- Como es eso, Eva? - replico Dios desde las alturas.

- Me encuentro sola, y ademas estoy harta de comer manzanas...

- Bueno Eva, en tal caso, tengo una solucion... creare un hombre para ti.

- Que es un hombre?

- Un hombre sera una criatura imperfecta, con muchas artimanas. Mentira, hara trampas, sera engreido... vamos, que te va a dar problemas... Pero, va a ser mas fuerte y rapido que tu y le gustara cazar y matar cosas... Tendra un aspecto simple, pero como te estas quejando, le creare de tal forma que satisfaga tus... eh... necesidades fisicas... Y tampoco sera muy listo, y destacara en cosas infantiles como pegarse o dar patadas a un balon... Necesitara tu consejo siempre para actuar cuerdamente.

- Suena bien - dijo Eva, mientras levantaba la ceja ironicamente.

- Cual es el truco?.

- Pues... que lo tendras con una condicion.

- Cual?

- Como te decia, sera chulo, arrogante y muy narcisista... asi que le tendras que hacer creer que le hice a el primero... recuerda... es nuestro secreto... de mujer a mujer.





Por que a los hombres no les puede dar la enfermedad de las vacas locas?  Porque todos son unos cerdos

Un dia, en el Paraiso, Eva llamo a Dios: Tengo un problema.- Cual es el problema, Eva?- Se que me has creado, que me has dado este hermoso jardin, todos estos maravillosos animales y esa serpiente con la que me muero de risa... pero no soy del todo feliz... - Como es eso, Eva? - replico Dios desde las alturas.- Me encuentro sola, y ademas estoy harta de comer manzanas...- Bueno Eva, en tal caso, tengo una solucion... creare un hombre para ti.- Que es un hombre?- Un hombre sera una criatura imperfecta, con muchas artimanas. Mentira, hara trampas, sera engreido... vamos, que te va a dar problemas... Pero, va a ser mas fuerte y rapido que tu y le gustara cazar y matar cosas... Tendra un aspecto simple, pero como te estas quejando, le creare de tal forma que satisfaga tus... eh... necesidades fisicas... Y tampoco sera muy listo, y destacara en cosas infantiles como pegarse o dar patadas a un balon... Necesitara tu consejo siempre para actuar cuerdamente.- Suena bien - dijo Eva, mientras levantaba la ceja ironicamente.- Cual es el truco?.- Pues... que lo tendras con una condicion.- Cual?- Como te decia, sera chulo, arrogante y muy narcisista... asi que le tendras que hacer creer que le hice a el primero... recuerda... es nuestro secreto... de mujer a mujer.Por que a los hombres no les puede dar la enfermedad de las vacas locas?  Porque todos son unos cerdos

Ellas...



Ellas (2)...



Tres venganzas femeninas VENGANZA NUMERO 1

Hoy mi hija cumple 21 anos y estoy muy contento porque es el ultimo pago de pension alimenticia que le doy, asi que llame a mi hijita para que viniera a mi casa y cuando llego le dije:

-Hijita, quiero que lleves este cheque a casa de tu mama y que le digas que: Este es el ultimo maldito cheque que va recibir de mi en todo lo que le queda de su puta vida!!! Quiero que me digas la expresion que pone en su rostro.

Asi que mi hija fue a entregar el cheque. Yo estaba ansioso por saber lo que la bruja tenia que decir y que cara pondria.

Cuando mi hijita entro, le pregunte inmediatamente: -Que fue lo que te dijo tu madre?

-Me dijo que justamente estaba esperando este dia para decirte que no eres mi papa!



VENGANZA NUMERO 2

Un hombre que siempre molestaba a su mujer, paso un dia por la casa de unos amigos para que lo acompanaran al aeropuerto a dejar a su esposa que viajaba a Paris.

A la salida de inmigracion, frente a todo el mundo, el le desea buen viaje y en tono burlon le grita:

- Amor, no te olvides de traerme una hermosa francesita Ja ja ja!!

Ella bajo la cabeza y se embarco muy molesta.

La mujer paso quince dias en Francia.

El marido otra vez pidio a sus amigos que lo acompanasen al aeropuerto a recibirla.

Al verla llegar, lo primero que le grita a toda voz es:

- Y amor me trajiste mi francesita??

- Hice todo lo posible, - contesta ella - ahora solo tenemos que rezar para que nazca nina.



VENGANZA NUMERO 3

El marido, en su lecho de muerte, llama a su mujer. Con voz ronca y ya debil, le dice: - Muy bien, llego mi hora, pero antes quiero hacerte una confesion.

- No, no, tranquilo, tu no debes hacer ningun esfuerzo.

- Pero, mujer, es preciso - insiste el marido - Es preciso morir en paz.

Te quiero confesar algo.

- Esta bien, esta bien. Habla!

- He tenido relaciones con tu hermana, tu mama y tu mejor amiga.

- Lo se, lo se Por eso te envenene, hijo de puta!!!



machismo y cibernetica



Chiste machista La NASA ha enviado al espacio una mision experimental tripulada por dos monos y una mujer.Apenas abandona la atmosfera, se establece comunicacion con Houston.

-Atencion, simio 1, verifique sistemas hidraulicos, controle adecuada presion de los propulsores de arranque. A 60.000 pies disminuya un 25% la velocidad.

El simio hace la sena de OK.

-Atencion, simio 2, nivele al cruzar la estratosfera y active sistemas anticongelantes. No olvide monitorear sistemas de comunicacion e indicadores de presion. Comprendido?.

El simio hace la sena de OK.

-Atencion, Houston llamando a mujer: no se olvide.

-Mujer: Si, si, ya se! -interrumpe enojada- que no me olvide darles de comer a estos monos de mierda y que no se me vaya a ocurrir tocar nada!.



.Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti.

Un abogado mantiene un romance con su secretaria.Al poco tiempo, esta queda embarazada y el abogado, que no quiere que su esposa se entere, le da a la secretaria una buena suma de dinero y le pide que se vaya a parir a Italia.Esta pregunta: Y como voy a hacerte saber cuando nazca el bebe ? El abogado responde: Para que mi mujer no se entere, tan solo enviame una postal y escribe por detras: Spaghetti. Y no te preocupes mas, que yo me encargare de todos los gastos.

Pasan los meses y una manana la esposa del abogado lo llama al bufete, algo exaltada: Querido, acabo de recibir el correo y hay una postal muy extrana viene desde Italia. La verdad, no entiendo que significa.El abogado, tratando de ocultar sus nervios, contesta:Espera a que llegue a casa, a ver si yo entiendoCuando el hombre llega a casa y lee la postal, cae al suelo fulminado por un infarto.Llega una ambulancia y se lo lleva. Ya en el hospital, el jefe de cardiologia se queda consolando a la esposa y le pregunta cual ha sido el evento que precipito tan masivo ataque cardiaco.

Entonces la esposa saca la postal y se la muestra diciendole: No me explico, doctor; el solamente leyo esta postal. Vea usted mismo lo que trae escrito.Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti."Tres con salchicha y albondigas y dos con almejas



Gol !!!!



Chistes de Borrachos Entra un borracho a su casa todo manchado con lapiz labial por todos lados hecho un desastre, y la mujer le pregunta:-Hombre que te paso?Y el borracho le responde:-No me vas a creer, me pelee con un payaso!



Este es un borracho que entra en un bar y le dice al camarero:-Me da cinco copas de whisky?Al rato:-Me da cuatro?Al rato:-Me da tres copas?Despues:-Me da dos copas?Luego le dice:-Me da una copa?Y le dice al camarero:-Ves? Cuanto menos bebo, mas borracho estoy!


Washington County Public Schools early dismissal policy under review

Washington County Public Schools has proposed changes to its policy for students who leave school early during the day
The ukulele has two obvious selling points: it is affordable and easy to carry. But could the unassuming four-string instrument also incarnate the spirit of punk rock? Since forming three decades ago, the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain has helped build a new audience for what it calls the bonsai guitar, playing musically faithful but thoroughly tongue-in-cheek renditions of popular tunes.

Starting its latest US tour, the orchestra -- clad in evening finest, including tuxedo jackets and bow ties -- quickly pulled in dozens of smartphone-snapping onlookers as the eight ukuleleists strummed their way through AC/DCs Highway to Hell. Playing with the Australian headbangers poetry, soloist Ben Rouse sang, Hey Satan / Paying my dues / Playing in a ukulele band, as the players raised their instruments to the heavens in mock defiance.

A member of The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain. (AFP)

Asked why he took up the ukulele, fellow player Jonty Bankes said, Basically, its cheap and rather easy to play, so for people like us it was a godsend. But the self-styled orchestra has noticed a power in the tiny instrument over the years -- with gigs including two nights at Carnegie Hall, a set at the Glastonbury Festival in England and a private party at Windsor Castle for Queen Elizabeth IIs 90th birthday.

The thing is, when you bring a ukulele out and start playing it, it does actually make people smile, Bankes said. Its an unthreatening, friendly instrument which causes a bit of happiness worldwide, really, he said.

- Started as a joke -

Co-founded by Kitty Lux -- whose death last year at 59 brought a rare serious note to the ensemble with a memorial concert -- the group initially was interested not in the ukulele itself but in the irreverent energy of punk rock, then on its wane.

Musicians Dave Suich and Peter Brooke Turner of The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain, (AFP)

Punks could form a band and play three chords, if indeed they could play three. The way that the band started, the same thing happened said Leisa Rea, who nonetheless had learned guitar before ukulele.The instrument was a bit of a joke, I suppose, and we turned everything on its head. The spirit of punk is alive in the band, she said.

We dont take ourselves too seriously. Were British, so weve got to have some sense of humor, really, she said. Rea fronted the group for its take of the Eurythmics Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This), with an amplified bass ukulele holding the rhythm under seven ukuleles of different pitches. Its a good way of detecting if a song is any good, she said. If you can play it on a ukulele, its a pretty good sign that its a decent song.

- From irony to mainstream -

Despite the orchestras wide travels, it has never played in Hawaii, the birthplace of the instrument initially modelled after a miniature Portuguese guitar. The group is eager to make it to the island chain, but its failure so far to make it there is not entirely accidental. The orchestra avoids Hawaiian music -- as well as songs of early 20th-century British film star and ukulele enthusiast George Formby -- as it instead tries to surprise audiences.

A man takes a picture while The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain play in Central Park. (AFP)

But the ukulele has become less of an oddity for audiences since the bands formation in 1985. Native Hawaiian artist Israel Kamakawiwoole found an international following in the 1990s with his mellow ukulele songs, while pop artists, notably the indie rock godfather Stephin Merritt, have found ample possibilities with the ukulele.

Orchestra member Dave Suich said he hoped the group has helped increase the popularity of the ukulele, especially in schools, where the little four-stringer has been giving stiff competition to the recorder as a first instrument for children.

People younger than 40 dont know that its funny, Suich said. They just think you play an instrument.

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Filmmaker Abhinay Deo, who is fascinated by the comic genre, loves to explores its various different forms in his films. His debut directorial Delhi Belly (2011) was a black comedy, and his latest release, Blackmail, too falls in the same genre. I have incredible interest in humour presented in a different manner. I love watching films by Alfred Hitchcock and reading books of this genre. Such works not only make you laugh, but are also engaging, he says.

Apart from humour, Deo is fond of thrillers and has explored the same through his film Game (2013) and the TV series, 24 (2013 and 2016). So, does he plan to explore other genres in the coming future? He replies, Yes. A romantic comedy is ready and Id like to work on it. I also have an action comedy on my mind.

After his debut in 2011, he took a two-year break before working on the TV finite series. Even after Force 2 that released in 2016 he took a two-year gap. Asked why he prefers to take breaks in between, Deo says he prefers to wait for the right script.

I need a script that expects the best out of me. The story needs to be appealing enough, for me to put my heart and soul into it. I dont rush into things. I am on the lookout for something new, so that the audience also does not get bored. After Delhi Belly, Ive been thinking of making a comedy, but the scripts werent good. It took me six years to find the right one, he states.

Interact with Shreya Mukherjee on Twitter @Shreya_MJ
As Salman Khan spent his second solitary night in the Jodhpur Central Jail, actor Jacqueline Fernandez and Bollywood director David Dhawan visited his family in Mumbai to show support. They were spotted by the paparazzi gathered outside Galaxy Apartments in Bandra.

Jacqueline is one of the few representatives of Bollywood to visit Salmans home on Thursday. She has worked with Salman in Kick and his upcoming film, Race 3. David has directed Salman in several hit films like Biwi No. 1, Judwaa and Partner.

Arbaaz Khans ex-wife and Salmans ex-sister-in-law Malaika Arora also visited the family with her sister Amrita on Wednesday. Check out their pictures:

A post shared by Manav Manglani (@manav.manglani) on Apr 6, 2018 at 10:43pm PDT

Meanwhile, Salmans sisters Alvira and Arpita visited him at the Jodhpur Central Jail on Thursday. They were accompanied by his bodyguard, Shera. Alvira also signed autographs for children gathered outside the gate.

Salman was convicted by a trial court and sentenced to five years in prison for killing two black bucks during the shooting of Hum Saath Saath Hain in 1998. The sessions court had on Friday reserved its decision on Bollywood superstars bail plea for Saturday and called for the records of the case from the trial court.

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Salman Khan has been granted bail in the 20 year old blackbuck poaching case against him. However, even with all the times he has been on the wrong side of the law, he is just one in a long list of film personalities to do so over years.

Owing to his exalted status and the kind of money invested over him, Salman, 52, invariably stands out as the numero uno among those who have grappled with the law, police and courts.

For, this is the second time in the past decade that he has been in-and-out of courts and lock-ups, the first for the September 28, 2002 road accident case when his Toyota SUV rammed into a bakery and killed one pavement dweller in the posh Bandra.

After walking the full length of the keel, he was sentenced to five years in jail but was acquitted on appeal in December 2015. Now, the Maharashtra Government has challenged the acquittal of Bhai -- as he is fondly known in Bollywood -- before the Supreme Court.

Sanjay Dutt

Immediately prior to this, his friend and another Bhai Sanjay Dutt virtually created history by becoming the first major film personality to be convicted and also one to complete his full jail sentence.

Despite many controversies, he finally walked out of Yerawada Central Jail, Pune in February 2016, with the halo of his larger-than-life hero image still intact.

Dutt was sentenced to five years by the Supreme Court for illegal possession of weapons after the bloody Mumbai communal carnage of Decemebr 1992-Januarry 1993 and its fallout in the form of the March 12, 1993 serial bomb blasts, Indias biggest terror strike till date which left 257 dead.

Fardeen Khan

In May 2001, actor Fardeen Khan, son of the late Feroze Khan, shot into the headlines after he was arrested from Juhu for bying cocaine from a tout. He was tried before a Special NDPS Court, but after over a decade, granted conditional immunity from prosecution.

Bharat Shah

The former Big Bucks of Bollywood, leading diamantaire Bharat Shah was involved in alleged shadow funding of the film, Chori Chori, Chupke Chupke (coincidentally, starring Salman Khan!), produced by Nasim Rizvi.

Shah was accused of allegedly financing the film which was made under orders from an absconder mafia don, but was later acquitted by a Special MCOCA Court.

Monica Bedi

Actor Monica Bedi grabbed the headlines in September 2002 when she was arrested along with mafia don Abu Salem by the Portuguese authorities for entering the country with fake documents.

After a term in a Lisbon prison and a long legal battle, the duo was deported to India in November 2005 to face multiple cases by various agencies.

While Salem is in jail facing various cases, Bedi was arrested in a forged passport case. The Supreme Court upheld her conviction but reduced her sentence from five years jail to two-and-half years, which she had already spent in prison as an undertrial and she walked out free in July 2007.

Shiney Ahuja

In June 2009, Bollywood was shocked when actor Shiney Ahuja was arrested on charges of raping his maid-servant.

Though the victim was later declared hostile, the case against Ahuja continued. He was sentenced to seven years in jail against which he appealed before Bombay High Court. He is currently out on bail.

Maria Susairaj

In a crime of passion, small-time actress Maria Susairaj and her ex-naval officer boyfriend Emile Jerome Mathew allegedly joined hands to kill a TV company executive Neeraj Grover at his Mumbai flat in May 2008.

Later they chopped up the body into pieces, put it in a suitcase and dumped and burnt it on the outskirts of Mumbai.

After a three year legal battle, Maria was acquitted of the murder charge. She was held guilty for destruction of evidences and awarded three years in prison, while Mathew is serving a 10-year jail sentence.

Sooraj Pancholi

Sooraj Pancholi arrives at the Sessions Court for a hearing in the Jiah Khan suicide case in Mumbai. (PTI)

Actor Sooraj Pancholi, son of Bollywood actor-couple Aditya Pancholi and Zarina Wahab is embroiled in a case of abetment of suicide of British-American actor Jiah Khan, who was found dead at home in June 2013. The matter is in the courts.

Saif Ali Khan

Saif Ali Khan arrive at Mumbai airport after been acquitted in the black buck killing case in Mumbai, India, on Thursday. (Hindustan Times)

Bollywoods Chhote Nawab Saif Ali Khan, the 10th in the royal hierarchy of the erstwhile Patudi State in modern-day Haryana, got into fisticuffs with a NRI businessman Iqbal Mir Sharma, at a five-star hotel in February 2012.

Accompanied by his friends, including future wife Kareena Kapooor, Saif was arrested and let out on bail and the matter has been referred for mediation by a Mumbai Court.

Nadeem Saifi

Another headline grabber was the alleged involvement of well-known music director Nadeem Saifi, of the erstwhile Nadeem-Shravan duo, who is wanted-accused for the killing of music baron Gulshan Kumar in August 1997.

At that time, Nadeem was in London and to evade arrest he stayed there. Later, the UK House of Lords upheld the London High Courtas ruling against his extradition and rejected Indian governments plea for a review of the decision.

Mamta Kulkarni

In April 2016, the Thane police busted an international narcotics racket in which one of the prime suspects named is well-known actress Mamta Kulkarni and her husband, alleged drug lord Vicky Goswami.

The case acquired international dimensions with the Indian, American and Kenyan authorities investigating the matter. A Mumbai court has declared the Kulkarni-Goswami couple as absconders.

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While most of Bollywood stays silent about Salman Khan being found guilty in the blackbuck poaching case, a nurse has lend her voice of support to the actor. The nurse, who helped deliver Salman is hoping for his release.

Rukmani Bai visited a temple in Indore and prayed for his release. Bai, who is also known as Salmans third mother, was working at Indore nursing home when the actor was born there on December 27, 1965.

Read: Salman Khan spends second night in Jodhpur jail as he waits for bail, all quiet in Bollywood

Soon after the news of Salmans conviction came in, Bai visited a Hanuman temple in Indore and wished for his early release.

The actor was sentenced to five years in prison on April 5 after being held guilty of killing two blackbucks in Jodhpur during the shooting of his movie Hum Saath Saath Hain in 1998.

The actor is currently serving time in Jodhpur Central Jail.

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Bollywood superstar Salman Khan spent a second night in Jodhpur Central Jail after the judge hearing his bail plea adjourned the matter for Saturday. Khan was on Thursday convicted of killing two blackbucks, an endangered species of the antelope, and sentenced to five years in jail.

Both the prosecution and defence lawyers completed their arguments in court on Saturday morning and the judge is expected to pronounce his order post lunch.

On day one, the actor, who is prisoner No. 106, had several visitors in jail, including actor Preity Zinta and his sisters.

However, most of Khans Bollywood colleagues kept a low profile and were cautiously sympathetic towards the actor, arguably the industrys most saleable star.

Among those who did voice support were director Subhash Ghai, actor-politicians Jaya Bachchan and Raj Babbar, and actor Varun Dhawan.

Saif Ali Khan, who was acquitted in the case, and Shatrughan Sinha with wife Poonam and daughter Sonakshi called on the family. Ramesh Taurani, producer of Race 3, which is still under production, and ex sister-in-law Malaika Arora also visited the family at their Galaxy Apartments home in Mumbai.

Filmmaker Sajid Nadiadwala, a close friend of Salman, cancelled the success party of his latest release Baaghi 2 and left for Jodhpur soon after the verdict.

But most big stars, including Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan, Shabana Azmi and Javed Akhtar, known for articulating their views and are active on social media, stayed quiet.

This is Salmans fifth stint in jail, on charges such as poaching and killing a pedestrian in a hit-and-run case in 2002 in Mumbai.

Co-accused in case silent

Actors Saif Ali Khan, Tabu, Neelam Kothari and Sonali Bendre, who were also accused in the case for abetment, have yet to comment on Salmans conviction.

The trial court acquitted the actors, and a local Dushyant Singh, on grounds of giving them the benefit of the doubt.

Neelams husband Samir Soni told PTI after the verdict, I am happy for Neelam and the rest. I dont know why Salman was singled out. It seems his celebrity status has come in the way.

Others from the industry were cautiously sympathetic.

I hope he gets justice in the coming times. I am sure, he is a strong man and peoples good wishes are with him which will help him overcome the difficult times... It is my personal experience that Salman Khan is a good human being and has done a lop of philanthropic work for the welfare of people, irrespective of caste or community, Raj Babbar had said.

I am extremely shocked, film director Ghai said, adding that he had full trust in the Indian judiciary which has many other doors for an appeal for final justice.

Jaya Bachchan said the punishment was harsh, and added that Khan had done a lot of humanitarian work.

Actor Varun Dhawan, who was in Delhi to promote his upcoming film October, tweeted: I know for a fact that Salman bhai and his family have the utmost respect and faith in our judiciary system. Salman Khan is one of the strongest and most genuine people I know and Im sure he will come out of this stronger.

(With PTI inputs from Mumbai)
The Indian chapter of animal rights group PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) has condemned the decision of a Jodhpur Court to grant bail to Bollywood actor Salman Khan in connection with the 1998 blackbuck poaching case.

While Salman Khan gets to go back home to his movie star life for now, blackbucks were made to pay the highest price, with their lives, PETA India CEO Manilal Valliyate said in a statement.

READ | Salman Khan walks out of Jodhpur jail after bail in blackbuck poaching case, fans wait for him in Mumbai

Terming the decision in the actors case unusual, the NGO states that these days, wildlife crime matters are commonly fast-tracked, bail is often denied, and offenders regularly receive seven-year prison sentences.

Valliyate further said that the NGO has been involved in the case of a man from Maharashtra who killed a baboon as his first offence and has been denied bail for a record five times, and added that such cases usually warrant seven-year prison sentences.

Police stand guard outside the house of Bollywood actor Salman Khan after a court in Jodhpur granted him bail. (REUTERS)

If animal abusers now expect to get bail easily or to have their cases dragged out, they are in for a major surprise, the CEO remarked.

The actor had on Thursday appealed for a bail following his conviction in the 20-year-old case.

READ | Bollywood celebrates Salman Khans bail with photos, wishes on social media

Salman was sentenced to five years in prison after being convicted of killing two blackbucks in Jodhpur during the shooting of his movie Hum Saath Saath Hain in 1998.

The other four accused - actors Saif Ali Khan, Tabu, Neelam, and Sonali Bendre - were acquitted in the case.

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Telugu actor Sri Reddy on Saturday stripped herself in front of the Movie Artistes Association (MAA)s office in Hyderabad to protest against the alleged trend of casting couch in the Telugu film industry.

The actor was among the first in the Telugu film industry to respond to Me Too campaign against sexual harassment of women and has been vocal against sexual exploitation of aspiring female artistes in the industry.

She came to the MAA office at Film Nagar in the upscale Jubilee Hills in the afternoon and suddenly started removing her clothes one after the other and then squatted in front of the office half-naked.

She told the media that she had to go topless only to expose the indifferent attitude of the association towards her complaint on the existing casting couch trend in the Telugu film industry.

She alleged that the producers and directors were importing heroines from Mumbai and Chennai, denying roles to the local heroines despite them being talented.

The reason is simple. Heroines from other states would go to any extent to satisfy the big people in Tollywood, whereas the local artistes are not so bold, she alleged.

Two days ago, Sri Reddy took to Facebook to express her desire to meet chief minister K Chandrasekahr Rao to discuss about the trend in the Tollywood. She threatened to go nude in public, if the chief minister did not bother to give her audience.

Sri Reddy also accused movie artistes association of denying her a membership just because she questioned the wrong-doings in the film industry. I will make it a big issue at the national and international level, if my demands are not met, she said.

The Jubilee Hills police after coming to know about the protest rushed to the spot and took her into custody.

Assistant commissioner of police K Srinivasa Rao said Sri Reddy had refused to lodge a formal complaint about her grievances against the film industry. She said she is denied opportunities. We assured her that we would take action if she gives us specific complaint. But, she is reluctant, he said.

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Superstar Salman Khan returned home after spending two days in Jodhpur Jail post his 5-year prison sentence for his involvement in the poaching of an endangered species, black buck. At the Mumbai airport, he received a heros welcome with thousands of fans lined up at and outside his Bandra home too on Saturday evening.

Several thousands, ranging from toddlers in arms to youth, elderly men and women, many carrying placards and banners with Salmans pictures had been waiting to see the star after he was granted bail by Jodhpur Session Court Judge R. K. Joshi.

Loud screams of joy went up with frantic waving and clicking pictures on mobiles as soon as an apparently healthy and cheerful Salman stepped out of the Mumbai Airport after alighting from Jodhpur by a chartered flight.Sporting a dark t-shirt, a cap, he was accompanied by his sisters Alvira and Arpita, besides his omnipresent personal bodyguard Shera.

See | Salman Khan welcomed by fans

#SalmanKhan arrives in Mumbai. He was granted bail by Jodhpur Court in #BlackBuckPoachingCase pic.twitter.com/dn3hnhFGWr  ANI (@ANI) April 7, 2018

For that Being Human touch, Salman carried Arpitas one-year old son, who appeared bewildered by all the noisy attention his famous Mamu was getting. Despite frenzied catcalls, shouts of Salman Khan Zindabad from the fans, the family quickly stepped into their waiting vehicles without any public interactions

En route, some daring fans even attempted to follow his motorcade, but at one point when the vehicles halted due to traffic congestion, Shera and his team of bouncers were seen firmly requesting them to avoid speeding after them in the heavy evening traffic.

Police had a tough time controlling the huge crowds of fans both at the airport and outside his residence, the landmark seafacing Galaxy Apartments Bandra west. At both the venues, many fans, especially young girls and elderly women, could be seen unabashedly shedding tears of joy and relief as their favourite star finally returned home from the 20-year old legal ordeal that culminated in a five-year jail sentence for killing the protected Blackbucks.

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Actor Varun Dhawan is busy promoting his next film, Shoojit Sircars October that releases next week. While Varun has had a string of hits ever since he made his debut six years ago, October, in particular, is touted to be his bravest choice so far. Some even feel it can turn out to be a make or break film in Varuns career. In a freewheeling conversation, the actor reveals how it was preparing for his role, shooting for the film, being paired opposite newcomer Banita Sandhu, and the pressure to excel.

From the trailers and posters, October looks quite intense and makes you curious. Do you feel youve pushed the envelope with this unique kind of a genre?

Shoojitda is a very interesting person and this film is not a cliche love story. It shows you what the definition of love is. Its a much misused term today and used very badly by people, including myself. While shooting, I actually understood the meaning of love and it hit me so strongly. As a kid when I used to ask mom what is love, shed explain it to me in the purest way but as we grow, it becomes so adulterated and you wonder how the same word can have so many different meanings. So, October beautifully explains that to you.

Was it tough doing all the chores when you were shooting for the film in a Delhi hotel?

For me, it was going back to the school. I was doing all the work  from cleaning the pots and lifts to making beds and attending to foreigners who were staying at the hotel. I also did something, which Ive never done before. It was 3.30 in the morning and I had to ride a bike on Delhi highway and thats really scary with all the trucks and honks. I did that for three hours and then I got bronchitis attack the next day, but thats all worth it.

Being paired opposite a debutante in sixth year of your career  was that a risk in any way?

There was no apprehension. At some point, even I was new, and the kind of part Banita is playing is very challenging. And I think that we needed a fresh face for that. Shoojitda was actually looking for a newcomer only. Even for my role, he auditioned a lot of people but I think when I went to his office, he just got convinced and gave me this role. Also, when you see the film, its not only one newcomer. There are 30 new artists. Shoojit wanted to cast everyone around the main characters and honestly, I did feel that I have to do a lot.

When co-starring with a newcomer, is there an additional responsibility on your shoulders to make sure the film works?

Thats the way I feel about every film. When it comes to the commercial side of it, regardless of what film I do and with whom I do, I always feel that pressure. I always feel its my responsibility. I have obviously taken the decision that I want to be part of this film and if I am going on a rise, all my fans are going on a rise because of me, so thats my duty towards them.

We have many female actors from the younger crop working with male superstars in the industry. Do you feel youre missing out on working with senior female stars such as Priyanka Chopra, Kareena Kapoor Khan and others?

I dont know if I am missing but I would definitely want to work with them, as they have a lot more experience. I am greedy that way and I have so much more to learn from all of them. If an opportunity arises, I would love to do a film with most of them. Also, I think age and all doesnt matter. If there is a story, which justifies the casting, it is fine and we should not have any double standard about this.

Interact with Monika Rawal Kukreja at Twitter/@monikarawal
Recently, yet another grand old Mumbai institution shut its doors, raising the expected voices against the fickle ways of a cruel city. How many of us who lamented the passing of Strand Book Stall still shop at bricks and mortar stores, or even read ink on paper books, is anybodys guess. The lure of cheap books and e-books is tough to resist. But its always dispiriting to read epitaphs for bookshops. Good time, then, to take a quick imaginary stroll down real bookshops. The physical world cant be written off just yet. Here we go:

Wayword & Wise (Ballard Estate, Mumbai)

Its becoming a bit much, all the artisanal this and handmade that. The latest entrant to the twee brigade is curated. But the books at this curated bookshop are emphatically handpicked by the peerless Virat Chandhok. Every time I go, he hands me a new book by Adam Phillips  psychoanalyst and literary essayist. Hes sussed me out. And hell figure you out, too, in that quiet and assured way of his, backed by years of experience starting with the legendary Lotus House Books opposite Bandra Talao.

The cinema section at that store was a treasure. Here, theres a dazzling array of illustrated books, science and philosophy, whimsical meanderings that defy genre and, of course, a solid literary collection. A relatively new Mumbai establishment, it will warm the heart of any curmudgeon.

Blossom Book House (Church Street, Bengaluru)

This is a bookshop I could write love letters to. On old paper. Using a fountain pen. No, scratch that out. A well-worn Nataraj pencil. This three-storied structure, which evolved out of a pavement, is the stuff of readerly dreams. Piles of used books semi-neatly arranged, and catalogued on the computer. Thimbles of tea in musty aisles, served by the young ladies who manage the store, wearing jasmine flowers in their hair.

The poetry section is unfairly small, and most of the fun is contained in the fiction section on the first floor. But oh, the countless joys. Ive bought almost all my Muriel Spark novels here. And am making giant strides towards completing my Iris Murdoch collection. So if you happen to be headed that way, check with me, please.

Full Circle Bookshop & Cafe Turtle (Khan Market, New Delhi)

Delhi has so many bookish corners and arty hubs that to single out one space would be the job of an amateur. Or a Mumbaikar. Im guilty on both counts. This bookshop is a little treat, with its lively selection (on my last visit, I bought a book by journalist Ravish Kumar, an illustrated retelling of the Ramayana from Sitas perspective and Kiran Nagarkars new book). Upstairs, theres a vegetarian cafe that has a small but satisfying selection of carbs with cheese. The bookshelves are busy  which is all you need in a bookshelf  and the staff is attentive. This is best followed by a peep into the legendary Bahrisons Booksellers not far in the same market. A double treat.

Books Actually (Yong Siak Street, Singapore)

Tucked away in a hipster locality in Singapore is this gentrified gem. Its aesthetic interiors house not just books, but also growling cats (who must not be disturbed) and uber-cool literary merchandise. Theyre so cool, they allow you to pick up beautifully printed poetry from a jar for free. Theyre so cool, they often print their own stuff. (I picked up Joshua Ips poetry collection, Making Love with Scrabble Tiles. Theyre quirky and fun.) The shop is so cool, they organise events on interesting subjects, and print their monthly schedules on pretty bookmarks. A funky slice of Singapore between those Slingers and the incredible zoo.

Shakespeare and Company (Notre Dame, Paris)

Not just an ignoramus, I also confess to being a name-dropper. Ive never been to France, so all that I know about this iconic bookshop is from friends whove visited and brought me back stories, pictures, bags and brochures. Ive been told I would love it. So I took a 360-degree virtual tour. And I did. Started by the eccentric George Whitman, who once described the space as a socialist utopia masquerading as a bookstore, its known for its top-notch collection of English language books.

The history of the place boasts names such as Hemingway, Ginsberg, Miller and Baldwin. And if you volunteer to work at the store during the day, you get to sleep in its aisles in the night! Its even made its way into our own pop culture via the weepathon, Ae Dil Hai Mushkil (2016). I spotted the lead pair toting Shakespeare & Co bags on their Europe jaunt. The universe is sending me all these signs. A bientot, Paris!.

From HT Brunch, April 8, 2018

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It takes Nawazuddin Siddiqui just 20 minutes to get ready for the shoot in a patch of open space in the heart of the Versova Koliwada (fishing village). Unfortunately, the place stinks. I wonder if hell back out. But no. Nawaz walks right in, does exactly as the photographer orders, and continues to do what he needs to do despite the scorching heat and his not exactly summery designer suit.

 I have not changed... I still wear similar clothes to what I wore when I was a junior artist!

Photo shoots are also acting, and you need to be serious about them, says the actor. If you focus on other things, your craft suffers.

Nawazuddin started his career as a junior artist. Today, he is one of the top actors of the Hindi film industry, and all that matters to him is his craft. Mai toh jaisa tha, bilkul waisa hi hoon abhi bhi (I have not changed), says Nawaz. I wear similar clothes to those I wore as a junior artist, but today people think my clothes must be fashionable since I am wearing them!

Nawazuddin Siddiqui, who started his career as a junior artist, is today one of the top actors of the Hindi film industry (Outfit, Lecoanet Hemant; sunglasses, Opium; lapel pin and pocket square, The Tie Hub; shoes, Daponair) (Prabhat Shetty)

Under his skin

Although Nawaz is a star today, you certainly wouldnt know it by his behaviour. Stardom doesnt suit me, he shrugs. I can play the character of a star very well, though, and you would be convinced that I live that life. I am good with characters.

Nawaz is undoubtedly one of the finest actors India has ever produced. He can convincingly play Saadat Hasan Manto, a rebellious and controversial author, and equally convincingly become Bal Thackeray, one of Indias most polarising politicians.

The more I see that [glamorous] life from close proximity, the more convinced I am that I dont want that for myself... I find that lifestyle very fake 

It is the fight and the challenge to reach to the core of a character and make it as real as possible on screen that delights me, not the money or fame, says Nawaz. Even my bit roles  in six years I did so many films in which I had just one scene that I used to call myself the one-scene master  I did with similar zeal and sincerity. If success has changed anything, it has given me the power to choose better films.

He recalls how Gangs of Wasseypur (2012), his breakthrough movie, catapulted him to the league of Indias best actors almost overnight. I got at least 250 film offers. Producers sent me blank cheques, says Nawaz. One thing I learned from the rise and fall of my seniors in this industry is that when you are faced with such sudden and huge success, instead of going on a signing spree, it is better to pause. If I had signed those films at that time, I am sure my career would have ended within a few years. Instead, I signed smaller films. The success of GoW definitely provided me with options.

With a number of commercial hits to his credit, Nawaz has unwittingly become part of the glamour world, but he doesnt care for it. The more I see that life from a close proximity, the more convinced I am that I dont want that for myself, he says. I find that lifestyle very fake. I am a simple person and I am comfortable as I am.

With a number of commercial hits to his credit, Nawaz has unwittingly become part of the glamour world, but he doesnt care for it (Suit, Lecoanet Hemant; T-shirt, Jack & Jones India; lapel pin and pocket square, The Tie Hub; sunglasses, Opium; socks, Happy Socks ) (Prabhat Shetty)

No mans hero

Nawaz still leads a humble life. But this doesnt mean you will spot him at the nearby tapri, enjoying his morning tea. People recognise me and it is risky to roam around in public. But then, I am mostly preparing for some role, or busy shooting, and there isnt much scope to go out, he shrugs.

These days, most of Nawazs journeys are within himself or into the minds of the characters he is playing. My reference points for building a character are real people, he says. Twenty years of struggle introduced me to so many different characters that my memory bank is well stocked: I have enough resources for the next 15 years! Thats because I was jobless for a very long time, and all I did then was observe people.

When I came to Mumbai, nobody could have imagined a Bollywood hero who was just 5 foot 6 inches tall, dark complexioned, and looked the way I do...So I didnt really have a reason to be delusional about my prospects 

Nawaz did not grow up wanting to be a star; all he wanted was to act. Sirf yeh tha ke koi role mile, to uske peechhe padh jao, bas (I only wanted to focus on any role that I landed), says Nawaz. I always wanted to do theatre, and I was doing that in Delhi. But there is almost no money in theatre. So I shifted to Mumbai in 1999, hoping to earn a living by acting in television serials, and doing bit roles in movies. I just wanted to keep acting.

Becoming a Bollywood star was beyond the realm of his dreams. When I came to Mumbai, nobody could have imagined a Bollywood hero who was just 5 foot 6 inches tall, dark complexioned, and looked the way I do. And I didnt believe in magic. So I didnt really have a reason to be delusional about my prospects in Bollywood, he laughs.

When he came to Mumbai, Manoj Bajpayee, his senior at the National School of Drama (NSD) in Delhi, had already broken the glass ceiling in Bollywood for unconventional-looking leading men.

I remember I had a tiny role of a waiter in Shool (1999), where Manoj was paired with Raveena Tandon, says Nawaz. I had just a one-line dialogue, which I forgot when I saw him under the spotlight! However, Manoj moved to Mumbai after bagging Bandit Queen (1994). I had no offers and no money. I did whatever roles I got. I didnt have a big dream or a strategy in mind. At that point, I could afford neither. It was about survival. To be able to act, you need to first be alive. So the struggle then was not to bag a film but simply to get one square meal a day.

Fake calls and food

Within 15 days of arriving in Mumbai, Nawaz was flat broke. He was living in a tiny apartment in Goregaon East, sharing a room with six other men. We were struggling actors, all jobless, all broke. Most days we didnt have money to buy proper food, but we would talk about acting and movies and cheer one another up, recalls Nawaz.

Every morning we would walk to various production houses and casting offices armed with our bio datas and pictures. We would put those in the letter boxes religiously, and the watchmen would even more religiously take the whole bunch out and throw them in the dustbin. This was a regular affair.

We all had pagers in case there was a casting offer. But no one ever got a call. Out of frustration, I would often go to the nearby telephone booth, call myself on the pager and leave a message saying: Call me immediately, Subhash Ghai!

We were asked to be part of the crowd...The idea was to do the role, but not to show our faces. We needed the money, but didnt want our colleagues from NSD to spot us doing these crowd roles!

It sounds like fun now, but then it really was about empty stomachs. We had gone without food for a long time, remembers Nawaz. A friend in casting told me there was an ad film being shot at Goregaon Film City and they might need extras. We walked for almost three hours to reach Film City, where they were shooting inside a bus. We were asked to be part of the crowd. My friend read a newspaper, while I acted like a man taking a nap. The idea was to do the role, but not to show our faces. We needed the money, but didnt want our colleagues from NSD to spot us doing these crowd roles!

Anyway, we got Rs 2,500 each for that, but since we were not members of the junior artists association, we had to pay their coordinator a bribe of Rs1,000 each. But then we went to a restaurant and drank and ate as if there was no tomorrow. The bill came to a whopping Rs2,200, we didnt care. We even took an auto back home, which left us with Rs 100. We felt like kings. I remember that day vividly, because it was after a very, very long time that we had had proper food.

Even today, more than the pay cheque, it is the complexity of the character that is the deciding factor for Nawaz (Suit, Mitesh Lodha; sunglasses, Opium; lapel pin and pocket square, The Tie Hub; socks, Happy Socks; shoes, Metro Shoes) (Prabhat Shetty)

King of the heap

Clearly, Nawazs journey has been a quintessential Bollywood rags to riches story. A farmers son from a small village in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, who left a career in chemistry for the National School of Drama while working as a watchman to make ends meet; whose financial constraints made him leave theatre and relocate to Mumbai; who made his film debut in Sarfarosh in 1999 with a blink-and-miss-it role, is today sharing the limelight with Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan.

However, the pay cheque still does not matter to Nawaz. The complexity of the character is the deciding factor. Success has given him that freedom. Today, if instead of dal chawal he is hungry for meatier roles, it is because he can afford it.

(Join the conversation on twitter using #RichesToRags)

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From HT Brunch, April 8, 2018

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American Airlines Group Inc. ordered 47 Boeing Co. 787 Dreamliners for long-range flying, expanding its fleet of the advanced carbon-composite jetliners and hurting Airbus SEs ambitions to expand its wide-body aircraft sales in the US.

In a related move, American cancelled an order for 22 of Airbuss twin-aisle A350 jets, a purchase placed by predecessor carrier US Airways, according to a statement Friday. The Boeing deal is worth a total of $12.3 billion before customary discounts.

The move underscores the difficulty that Airbus has faced in the US--the largest aviation market and a Boeing stronghold. The Dreamliner deal marks the second time this year that Boeing has convinced an Airbus wide-body customer in the US to switch to the 787. Hawaiian Airlines, the sole customer for Airbuss A330-800, decided last month to order 10 Dreamliners instead.

Adding more of the fuel-efficient Boeing aircraft will allow American to simplify its fleet and shed some of its oldest long-range jets.

Streamlining goal

This was a difficult decision between the Boeing 787 and the Airbus A350 and A330neo, Robert Isom, Americans president, said in the statement. In the end, our goal to simplify our fleet made the 787 a compelling choice.

With the plan, American will reduce the number of wide-body aircraft types it flies to three from five, reducing maintenance and training costs. American previously said the number of A350s it had ordered was too small for it to operate profitably. It already plans to shed another small fleet of 20 Embraer SA E190 jets. American had delayed taking the A350s in both 2016 and 2017.

The deal includes 22 787-8s, the smallest member of the jet family, and 25 of the 787-9 variant -- more than doubling Americans fleet of Dreamliners, Boeings most-advanced aircraft. All of the new 787s will be powered with General Electric Co.s GEnx-1B engines.

The 787-8s will begin arriving in 2022, followed a year later by the first of the 787-9s, the carrier said. American will use the planes to replace aging Boeing 767-300s and, later, its Airbus A330-300s and the oldest of its Boeing 777-200s.

Order deferral

American also deferred delivery of 40 Boeing 737 Max narrow-body planes to between 2025 and 2026. The aircraft originally were to arrive in 2020-2022. The deferral will better match future planned retirements, the carrier said.

Airbus has said it has a series of ongoing sales campaigns for the A330neo with more than 100 airlines that currently operate the older version of the plane. The 250-seat A330-800 is on track for its first flight in the middle of this year, with the bigger -900 variant set to enter into service around the same time with launch operator TAP -- Air Portugal.
The stories of sexual harassment at the workplace seem to have grown from a trickle to a steady stream in recent times. We hear of a professor who found it amusing to use sexual innuendo when addressing his students at a prestigious university, of an internationally acclaimed environment guru preying on women in his institution, powerful movie producers who thought success gave them carte blanche to demand sexual favours. But, the good news is that more women are hitting back, trying to bring their tormentors to justice or at least exposing them.

I wonder how many people know that women need to thank a class action suit filed by women workers at an iron ore mine in Minnesota, which was finally settled for $3.5 million. It did not translate into much money for the women workers of the mine but it did set a precedent for sexual harassment cases from then onwards. The story of their struggle is captured beautifully in the film North Country, starring the luminous Charlize Theron as the main protagonist. The story revolves around the struggle of a woman, Josey Aimes, who portrays the real life miner Lois Jenson who takes up a job in the mines in Minnesota and who is resented by her male colleagues and her own father who feel that she is taking a job which should rightfully have belonged to a man. The level of harassment that she suffers is shocking from the verbal to the physical and any protest is criticised as being the result of women not having a sense of humour. Her morals are questioned, she is shamed but she fights on.

The saga of Therons battle against the men at her workplace and her father is inspiring. Her anger is always tempered by the fear that she will lose this job, which enables her to give her children a good quality of life. It is this fear that leads to the silence, which perpetuates ugly behaviour at the workplace. In India, getting a job is tough enough for a woman. Hanging on to it involves many compromises, among them facing harassment in the workplace. A survey conducted by the Indian National Bar Association a year ago found that of 6,047 respondents, 38% admitted to facing harassment at work and a staggering 69% said they kept quiet about it for fear of losing their jobs.

Marvelling at the tenacity and courage of Lois Jenson, the remarkable woman who fought her male harassers to a standstill, I could not help but remember the Indian woman who fought so relentlessly for justice and whose case brought about the historic Vishaka Guidelines on sexual harassment. The judgment in 1997 was followed by the 2013 law on making the workplace safer for women at least in law.

Given her background, Bhanwari Devis case is as remarkable, if not more, than that of Jenson. Here was a woman brought up in a patriarchal environment dominated not just by men but by upper caste men and who yet had the courage to take on the system.

It was in 1985 that she enrolled as a saathin for the Rajasthan governments women development project. Her opposition to child marriage and dowry was resisted forcefully by the men and women in her village, yet the feisty woman refused to back down. When she found out that a nine-month old baby was about to be married  she herself was married at six  she informed the police. They did nothing. The babys marriage went ahead. The response to this intervention by Bhanwari was terrifying. She was gang raped by her upper caste neighbours and her husband was beaten unconscious. She did not get the justice she hoped for. Her rapists were acquitted and she is still fighting for redress.

But the only good thing that came of her suffering is that a number of womens rights groups got together and filed a PIL in the Supreme Court and this led to the landmark guidelines. Today, she is largely forgotten, no serious film has been made on this amazing woman. She continues her work in the same village she has always stayed, refusing to be browbeaten by the ostracisation she faces. If women can take on harassers in the workplace today, it is due to the efforts of this largely forgotten woman who still believes that she will one day get justice and who is unafraid of her attackers who live in the same village.

lalita.panicker@hindustantimes.com
Two bike-borne youths robbed ATM cash boxes containing 25 lakh in a daylight robbery in Roorkee on Saturday.

The accused also shot at and injured the guard of cash delivery van, in which the money was brought for loading in an ATM of Axis Bank near BSM square in the city.

The robbery created ripples in the city. After getting the information, deputy inspector general of police, Garhwal range, Pushpak Kumar Jyoti and senior superintendent of Haridwar police Krishan Kumar VK arrived on the scene and took stock of the situation.

According to the Ganga Nahar police, the van of Secure Value, a company entrusted with the job of replenishing ATMs with cash in the city, arrived with cash boxes to fill up the Axis Bank ATM near BSM square at around 1pm. While two employees entered the ATM, the security guard, Shakeel Ahmed, stood guard near the van.

The employees were carrying out their task of refilling cash into the ATM, when two bike-borne youths arrived on the scene. While one of the youths grabbed the guard from behind, the other shot at him. Ahmed fell on the ground. Despite bleeding profusely, he tried to stop the assailants, but they entered the ATM kiosk hurling a revolver in the air and scaring the people around. They snatched the cash boxes containing Rs 25 lakh from the employees pointing revolver at them and vanished in the nearby by-lanes on their bike.

The entire incident took place in about two minutes.

The company employees immediately informed police and their higher authorities about the robbery.

Later, the injured guard was taken to a private nursing home by the police.

A case of attempt to murder and armed robbery has been registered at the Ganga Nahar police station and investigations are on. The police were monitoring the CCTV cameras installed at the ATM and nearby premises to nab the culprits. They were also taking help from forensic experts.
Noting that the state is going through a nearly constitutional crisis over delay in holding urban local body poll, Congress leader Harish Rawat on Saturday sought Governor KK Pauls intervention.

Former chief minister Rawat said by not holding the civic polls on time, the BJP government has disregarded both judiciary and the state election commission.

The state was to hold civic poll in April. The last urban local body poll in the state was held in April 2013.

Rawat urged the governor to direct the state government to hold talks immediately with the state poll panel on electoral notification and polling dates.

Just to gain political mileage, the BJP government is deliberately delaying the civic poll process. When chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat is not giving time for a meeting with state election commissioner Subardhan for almost six months, it gives impression about attitude and thinking of the BJP government towards constitutional institutions and norms, Rawat said.

On the recent Dalit protest, the former CM said the central governments apathy towards Dalits in many states, including Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, has resulted in disenchantment and anger among the community.

Rawat also announced to stage a silent sit-in-protest at Jeopata village in Haridwar on Ambedkar Jayanti on April 14.

In BJP-ruled states, condition of Dalits has been woeful, said Rawat, who is speculated to contest the 2019 general election on Congress ticket from Haridwar.
Talks between Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh chief secretaries on the contentious disputed assets issue remained inconclusive here on Saturday with both sides claiming headway on most aspects.

The top bureaucrats of the two neighbouring states deferred further discussions on the issue till their next meeting to be held in Lucknow a month later.

All pending issues were discussed There was a consensus on most issues A final decision on those issues may be taken in a meeting to be held in Lucknow a month later, Uttarakhand chief secretary Utpal Kumar Singh said at a press conference that was also addressed by his Uttar Pradesh counterpart Rajiv Kumar.

Obliquely hinting at a possible attempt at resolving differences on certain issues, he said a road-map in that connection would be prepared in the intervening period ahead of the next meeting to be held in the UP capital next month.

Singh, however, dubbed both the sides having satisfactorily resolved the issue of Alaknanda Hotel in Haridwar as a significant achievement.

The UP government has submitted its proposal for a hotel they plan to build on a land near the existing Alaknanda (hotel), for which approval would be granted in future, he said.

The move comes after the UP government had agreed to hand over the Alaknanda Hotel to Uttarakhand in January this year following the Supreme Courts intervention.

Similarly, they have submitted to us yet another proposal for a guesthouse they plan to build in Badrinath for devotees belonging to that state visiting the shrine town (in the Chardham), Singh said referring to the Uttar Pradesh government. He added the proposal would be favourably considered.

Officials from both sides met after chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat and his UP counterpart Yogi Adityanath in a meeting held in that state last year agreed on a chief secretary-level meeting to discuss the contentious issue of the disputed assets.

Incidentally, many of its key aspects remain unresolved after Uttarakhand was carved out of Uttar Pradesh about 18 years ago.

Singh said the pending issues pertaining to more than a dozen departments were discussed between the officials representing the two states. The departments the top official referred to include housing, food supply, animal husbandry, forest, industries and Uttarakhand Seeds and Tarai Development Corporation etc.

Singh, however, expressed his inability to share details of the pending issues discussed at the meeting. I am not going into the details, which cant be shared by the chief secretaries of the two states without obtaining the permission of their respective governments, he said.

Singh, however, said efforts from both sides were on and all pending issues would be resolved within a short time.

Echoing the similar sentiment, UP chief secretary Rajiv Kumar said several issues were progressing towards resolution.

About other (read unresolved) issues a road map will be readiedThe groundwork in that connection will be ready before the next meeting, he said.

Kumar hoped that a final solution relating to the pending cases would be found.

To a query, he said most (95-98%) of the pending issues pertaining to financial dues between the two states had been resolved. Giving an example of the pension dues he said all related issues pending up to the year 2011 had been resolved.

Dues relating to pension post that year (2011) are being handled by the accountant generals of both the states in consultation with the Reserve Bank of India authorities, Kumar said.

Replying to another query, he hoped that the accounts relating to the hydropower projects located in Uttarakhand would be settled by the two states in a month.

All issues relating to that would be resolved following a survey, Kumar said when told that Uttarakhand has no land available for compensatory afforestation to be carried out in lieu of the trees coming in the submergence area of the Pancheshwar Dam to be built jointly by Uttarakhand and neighbouring Nepal.
Seven more people were arrested on Saturday for a stoking a communal flare-up at Augustmuni town in Uttarakhands Rudraprayag district, police said, adding that the situation has been brought under control.

Three people, including two from Uttar Pradesh, were booked on Friday for fanning communal tensions through a fake Facebook post that claimed that a Muslim boy raped a Hindu girl at Agastmuni.

Shops were burnt and public property was vandalised, following which section 144 of Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) was enforced which empowers the magistrate to prohibit assembly of more than four people in an area.

Additional forces from adjoining Pauri, Tehri and Chamoli districts were deployed at Augustmuni, and police took out a flag march on Saturday. Security was scaled up in Ukhimath, Guptkashi and Rudraprayag in Kadernath valley, police said.

The post circulated on Facebook attached a picture of a couple in a compromising position, police officials said. Rudraprayag superintendent of police (SP) Prahlad Singh Meena ruled out rape. In fact, someone in a building clicked a picture of a couple in a compromising position, and it was dubbed as a rape incident, he had said.

Rudraprayag district magistrate (DM) Mangesh Ghildiyal through a post on social media had also refuted rape. We had enforced Section 144 in the area until normalcy resumes, Ghildiyal said.

Mehkar Singh and Santu, both from Amroha in UP, and Soni Kumar from Haridwar were arrested on Friday for uploading the picture and the post on Facebook. They were booked under the IT Act and sections 354C and 299 of IPC.

The situation is under control, said Pushpak Jyoti, deputy inspector general (DIG), Garhwal range.
The Congress will hold a rally at Delhis Ramlila Maidan on April 29 to protest against an environment of distrust and intolerance created in the country, party general secretary Ashok Gehlot said.

Stating that people were suffocated under the four-year tenure of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government, Gehlot said: There is an environment of fear, distrust, and intolerance everywhere. In view of the situation, Congress has decided to hold a rally on April 29.

Congress workers are also slated to go on a day-long fast at all state and district headquarters across the country on April 9 to expose the BJP governments lies on various issues and also to protect and promote harmony and brotherhood.

Gehlot said that while Congress president Rahul Gandhi believed that in a democracy politics should be done with love, peace, and compassion, the Centre was weakening the democratic culture of the country.

In four years, no community has felt that good days have arrived. Every community is in pain and fear. Businesses have been affected, economic situation is in doldrums. Institutions like the judiciary, Parliament, RBI, ED, CBI, are being weakened and misused. Even the Election Commission is not spared..., he said.

During the rally, the main opposition party is likely to attack the Centre on several issues, including bank frauds, farm distress, Rafale deal, price rise and rising unemployment.

The April 29 rally is seen by political observers as an extension of the Congress plan to reach out to people after the second half of the Parliaments budget session was washed out. The ruling side has held the Congress responsible for the frequent disruptions that led to House adjournments.

Reacting to Gehlots charges, BJPs media department chief and Rajya Sabha MP Anil Baluni said the Congress has been trying to create fear and spread confusion ever since the 2014 election. Rahul indulges in politics over dead bodies. In a democracy, people give their judgment through election. Congress has lost elections after election, but has refused to take lessons, he said.
The 2018-19 budget of Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) received flak from councillors as they objected to the estimation and expenditure assessments in the budget, demanding amendments before sending it to the Haryana government for final approval.

The budget for 2018-19 has shown an income of 2,290 crore and expenditure of 1,884.59 crore. The civic body has also reported a surplus worth 406 crore. In the budget for fiscal 2017-18, the MCGs income and expenditure were 1,657.41 crore and 1,327. 87 crore respectively.

Of the total 35 MCG councillors, 26 councillors were present in the budget meeting which was brought forward from April 9 to April 7. The councillors said they were not given adequate time to assess the methodology of budget expenditure and income of previous years.

RS Rathee, councillor of Ward 34, said, We strongly opposed expenditure and income assessments as they are inflated. Property and fire tax collection worth 342 crore is inflated, as the amount includes the backlog of last several years. While only 15 crore in revenues was collected from advertisement in the last fiscal, the estimate for fiscal 2018-19 has been pegged at 100 crore. Such an assessment is flawed and we demand an amendment. The budget presented today is full of such inflated figures.

Read I Gurgaon: MCG likely to hike its budget for upkeep of sectors transferred from Huda

Barring a few, most of the councillors present in the budget meeting were new and had little knowledge of budgetary assessment.

Only three days ago, we got a message about the budget meeting. We had been informed earlier that the meeting will be held on April 9. We are not happy with the budget as it flawed and lacks on many fronts. We were never consulted while officials were preparing the budget. We want the MCG to hold discussions with us before sending it to the government for its approval, Hemant Kumar, councillorfor Ward 28 said.

Madhu Batra, councillor for Ward 16, said, The officials have sold us a dream when the city lacks basic amenities. The budget doesnt provide for amenities for residents in my ward.

The officials ducked all questions posed by councillors regarding 400 and more outsourced employees, numbers of privately hired vehicles, funds worth 150 crore allocated to the Municipal Corporation of Faridabad (MCF) and 500 crore to Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA).

Yashpal Yadav, MCG commissioner, said, The objections raised by councillors were addressed by the officials and House approved the budget later It will soon be sent to the government for approval. We took note of the objections and suggestions and they will be incorporated in the budget.
Uttar Pradesh BJP parliamentarian Yashwant Singh accused his own government at the Centre of doing nothing in four years for Dalits, as he ratcheted up growing dissent among the scheduled castes after an alleged dilution of a law protecting them.

He said in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi that Dalit MPs like him in the ruling party are victims of atrocities against scheduled castes and it has become difficult for them to answer to the community.

When I got elected, I met you to request for the passage of the bill to provide reservation in promotion. Several organisations of the community make such pleas to us day and night. But your government has not done a single work for the direct benefit of about 300 million Dalits, the MP for Nagina constituency wrote.

Singh, a qualified physician from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi, said in the letter: Being a Dalit my capabilities have not been put to use. I only became an MP because of reservation.

The first-time parliamentarian is the fourth scheduled caste MP from Indias most populous state to red-flag the government on Dalits in less than a week  after Savitri Bai Phule, Chhotelal and Ashok Dohre, representing Bahraich, Roberstganj and Etawah constituencies respectively.

UP has 17 Lok Sabha seats reserved for scheduled castes (SC) and the BJP won all of them in the 2014 parliamentary elections. SCs constitute over 22% of the states population.

Singhs letter signals a growing discomfort among Dalit MPs of the BJP, disturbed with a series of events, that latest being a Supreme Court order that allegedly had whittled down safeguards guaranteed by the SC/ST atrocities act to the marginalised communities. The top court order triggered Dalit nationwide protests, which were marred by violence that led to the death of about a dozen people.

The MPs fear that marginalisation of Dalits could affect the BJPs prospects in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Singh alleged that courts were chipping away at the rights of Dalits because the community has no representation in the judiciary. 70% of Indias wealth is with 1% of its population, which enjoys patronage of the government, he wrote.

According to party leaders, the views expressed by the Dalit MPs could mean something else. Some of them are probably looking for new avenues, fearing that they will be denied tickets in 2019, said a BJP leader associated with party affairs in UP.

Another leader, who also refused to be identified, said Phule, Dohare and Singh dont have a BJP background and could be laying the ground to return to our rival parties.

A Dalit MP of the BJP, who doesnt want to be named, said Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati set the cat among the pigeons by supporting arch-rival Akhilesh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party in the bypolls to the Gorakhpur and Phulpur Lok Sabha seats in UP. The two makes a formidable opposition in UP, the parliamentarian said.

The two parties have hinted that they might forge an alliance in 2019, considered a worrying prospect for Dalit MPs of the BJP.

The BSP contested 403 seats in the 2017 assembly elections and polled 1.93 crore votes, while the Samajwadi Party fielded candidates in 311 seats and got 1.90 crore votes. The BJPs tally was 3.44 crore votes in 384 seats.
Clashes between supporters of the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) and opposition parties over the filing of nominations for the panchayat polls rocked Bengal for the sixth straight day on Saturday, with the opposition accusing the TMC of using strong arm tactics.

Even as opposition parties accused the police of being silent spectators, additional director general of police (ADGP) Anuj Sharma announced at the state secretariat that more forces were being sent to Birbhum, North 24 Parganas and North Dinajpur districts. The additional forces will be led by three senior IPS officers. The police have so far shown restraint but now we will crack down, Sharma said.

On Friday evening, veteran CPI(M) leader Basudeb Acharya was injured, allegedly by ruling party supporters, when they were leading processions of party candidates going to file their nomination. A day earlier on Thursday another Marxist leader and seven-time Lok Sabha MP Ramchandra Dom was attacked.

On Saturday, the opposition alleged that intimidation and strong arm tactics were visible in Kolkata also.They claimed that a number of young men stood at the gate of the South 24 Parganas district administrative building in Alipore, the citys most upscale neighbourhood and stopped even media persons from taking photographs. But they did not lodge a complaint with the police..

The TMC has brushed aside the oppositions allegation of a reign of terror by the TMC cadres in connivance with the police.

The distance between the Alipore administrative building and the state secretariat is around 3km. If this kind of intimidation is taking place in the heart of Kolkata, we can conclude that either the government has lost control on law and order, or, it is directing the violence from the secretariat. In any case, administrative control seems to have been leased out to goons, alleged Rahul Sinha, BJP national secretary and former state president.

Monday is the last day for filing of nominations. In a petition in the Supreme Court, the Bharatiya Janata Party has appealed for extending the nomination process to enable their candidates and those of other opposition parties to contest in the polls.

On Saturday a series of incidents were reported from different districts across the state.

Several persons were injured in Birbhum district when BJP and Trinamool Congress supporters clashed in Mohammad Bazar area. Crude bombs were hurled at a procession taken out by BJP supporters some of whom were carrying sticks, spears, bows and arrows.

Bengal police deputy chief Anuj Sharma claimed that on Saturday trouble makers infiltrated into Bengal from neighbouring Jharkhand.

We have found that people from neighbouring Jharkhand entered Birbhum district through the border at Dumka and created trouble, Sharma said at Nabanna.

When asked about the affiliation of these people, Sharma did not name any party but showed reporters a video in his phone. In the video, people wielding weapons were also carrying BJP flags.

In the industrial town of Durgapur in West Burdwan district, BJP district president Laxman Ghorai and four others were injured in a clash between the party workers and those of Trinamool Congress.

Left candidates had to return without filing nomination when a mob of masked men armed with sticks manhandled them outside the office of the police superintendent of Bankura.

The candidates were going to file their nomination. Suddenly hundreds of people carrying sticks and weapons blocked out path, pushed us around. They were shouting slogans like Mamata Banerjee jug jug jio and Jai Siya Ram. It was clear that the police were under their control and not the other way round, alleged Sujan Chakravarty, CPI(M) MLA.

But Mamata Banerjees government quickly washed its hands of the violence.

Section 144 of CrPC is enforced where nomination is filed. Why should Sujan Chakravarty go there in a procession? They are staging a drama, remarked urban development minister Bobby Hakim. Calcutta high court has said that district police supers would ensure nominations.

The Trinamool Congress also rubbished claims of the opposition that the party was short-circuiting the election process.

We have not reached such a sorry state of affairs that we will obstruct other parties from filing nomination, claimed Arup Khan, district Trinamool president, refuting Chakrabortys allegation.

In Kandi, Murshidabad, TMC supporters obstructed a procession led by state Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury. Congress workers retaliated by staging a demonstration and blocking roads in front of Kandi police station.

It is clear that if one has to file nomination one has to come here with an armed force. Ruling party workers are not allowing opposition candidates to go near the offices to file papers. Then there is police to block your way. Today our workers were beaten up. They did not thrash me, perhaps because I am the local MP, Chowdhury alleged.

I came here with party workers, thinking after the Calcutta high court interim order on Friday that filing of nomination will be allowed, added Chowdhury.

In East Burdwan, rival supporters used stones, tube lights and even benches in a face-off between Trinamool and CPI(M) workers outside the district magistrates office.

In Delhi, CPI(M) leaders Hannan Mollah and Brinda Karat led a small demonstration outside Banga Bhavan on Hailey Road to protest against the intimidation and violence in Bengal to prevent nomination.

Opposition leaders alleged that the ruling party has devised the new strategy of rigging the nomination process instead of rigging elections.

In Kolkata, Congress workers began an agitation in front of the State Election Commission office. Police arrested a busload of agitators from the spot. On Friday Left leaders agitated at the same spot from 2 pm to 10 pm.

One election does not end a political career. The chief minister must remember that this horrible situation will return to haunt her someday, remarked Chowdhury.

State election commissioner A K Singh who convened a meeting of election observers on Saturday, advised them to work neutrally.

I have told the observers that if there is violence bring it to our notice, Singh said.

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A special SC/ST court in Jodhpur on Saturday reserved its order for April 25 in a rape case against self-styled godman Asaram Bapu after the final arguments were completed.

Judge Madhu Sudan Sharma reserved the order after the final arguments, that stretched for over five months, were completed on Saturday, victims counsel PC Solanki said.

The court asked Asaram to remain present in the court on April 25 when it will announce the verdict.

A minor girl had in August 2013 accused Asaram of rape at his ashram in Manai village near Jodhpur. The girl, who belonged to Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh, was a student living in the ashram. Asaram was arrested on August 31, 2013 and sent to Jodhpur central jail.

Two months later, the Jodhpur police filed a charge sheet against Asaram and four co-accused booking them under relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, Solanki said. Asaram was also booked for human trafficking.

Public prosecutor Pokarram Bishnoi said during the course of the trial, the prosecution examined 44 of the total 58 witnesses, while defence examined 31 witnesses.

If convicted, Asaram faces maximum sentence of 10 years, victims counsel said.

Asaram is also facing a rape case in Gujarat.

Earlier, the Supreme Court had refused to grant bail to Asaram in the two sexual assault cases.

The apex court on Friday pulled up the Gujarat Police for delay in completion of recording of evidence in the rape case registered in that state and directed it to conclude the process within five weeks.

Asarams counsel on January 15 told the court that in the Gujarat case, out of 92 witnesses, 22 material witnesses have been examined, 14 of them have been dropped and rest need to be examined.

Two Surat-based sisters had lodged separate complaints against Asaram and his son Narayan Sai, accusing them of rape and illegal confinement, among other charges.
The Delhi Police said on Saturday they had arrested three employees of a private school in Himachal Pradeshs Una for allegedly leaking the CBSE Class 12 economics question paper by circulating its handwritten copies on a mobile messaging service.

Commerce teacher Rakesh Kumar, clerk Amit Kumar and peon Ashok Kumar  all employed at the DAV Centenary Public School  leaked the paper on WhatsApp on March 23, special commissioner of police (crime) RP Upadhyay said. The examination was conducted on March 26.

Rakesh Kumar, deputed as a centre superintendent in Jawahar Navodaya Public School, had gone to collect the question papers of computer science and informatics practices from a Union Bank of India branch. However, from there he picked a packet of Economics paper as well, said Upadhyay.

The three school employees then allegedly asked one of Rakesh Kumars students from his private tuition classes to write down the contents of the question paper and took photos of the document.

Rakesh also sent a copy of the photograph to a female relative in Chandigarh to help her son pass the exam, but she went on to share it with others and from there it went viral, said Upadhyay.

The police had earlier arrested two teachers of a private school and a coaching centre tutor in Delhi for allegedly leaking photographs of a printed copy of the paper. The CBSE has announced that the economics paper will be held again on April 25, sparking protests by students and parents.
Several organisations and individuals were provided funds for spreading violence during the Bharat bandh in the Gwalior-Chambal region that claimed eight lives, Madhya Pradeshs inspector general of police (Intelligence) Makrand Deouskar said on Saturday.

He clarified this was preliminary information and police were looking into leads on individuals suspected of funding the violent activities on April 2 in different districts.

Initially, police suspected the violence was by leaderless mobs, but investigation of funding has raised the possibility of coordination and planning to foment trouble.

A police officer associated with the probe said, Money was provided for banners, posters, lathis etc. It was but natural that youngsters armed with lathis would indulge in violence.

Incidentally, Gwalior police arrested a deputy manager of a bank after identifying him from videos of violence. He maintained they were all for peaceful protests, and he had no idea how it turned violent, said the officer, who did not want to be named.

So far, four government employees have been suspended for taking active part in the bandh during which several people were also injured and property worth lakhs was vandalised.
The government is likely to appoint five new judges to the Calcutta high court next week, a law ministry official has said. The step could end a nearly two-month old strike by lawyers protesting vacancies in the high court (HC).

If the law ministry notifies the appointments, we will withdraw our strike, said Uttam Kumar Majumder, president of the Calcutta HC Bar Association. Majumder said West Bengal lawyers are angry because 39 of the 73 posts of judges are vacant. HC lawyers have been on strike since February 19 and on Wednesday said they will extended their strike to April 19 .

Law ministry data shows there were only seven new appointments in the last two years, with only one judge appointed to the Calcutta HC in 2016. Last month, three new judges were appointed. All other high courts except Karnataka have more than half the judges posts filled, Majumder said.

A senior official said the law ministry alone could not be blamed for vacanies at the HC. The Calcutta HC collegium  the body of senior-most HC judges that selects candidates and recommends their names to the Supreme Court collegium, which finally clears the appointments  is yet to send names for 24 vacancies in the court, said the official.

The Calcutta HC had recommended 30 names in 2016 and 2017. Of these, the SC recommended 13 and we have already appointed 10, he said.

The law ministry had last year sent back two of these three names to the Supreme Court collegium and held back one, said the official. The two lawyers did not meet the minimum age criteria of 45 years when their candidature was considered.

Officials also said that in recommending candidates for certain vacancies, the senior judges involved with the appointment process had not followed the Memorandum of Procedure (MoP)--guidelines that govern judicial appointments. If a criterion is laid down in the MoP, why should it be relaxed? a ministry official said. He asserted that the ministry is supposed to bring any infirmities to the notice of the SC collegium.

This year of the seven names sent by the HC, the Supreme Court cleared five and the government is in advanced stages of appointing those candidates as judges.
The Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM), an affiliate of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, has questioned if it wasnt conflict of interest that the India director of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is also on the board of directors of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

The appointments committee of the Union cabinet approved in August last year Gates foundation head Nachiket Mors reappointment as a member of the eastern local board of the federal bank and nominated him to its central board.

The Gates Foundation is regulated by the RBI and it is an absolute conflict of interest to have Mor on its board of directors. The government should have not allowed this, said Ashwani Mahajan, the national co-convenor of SJM on Saturday.

In his defence, Mor said that all appointments to the RBI board are made by the central government in accordance with the relevant provisions of the RBI Act.

The SJM, which works on economic issues and pushes for indigenous production, wants the Centre to draft a policy detailing conflict of interest, bar bureaucrats from advocacy groups, and keep organisations from specific fields out of government-controlled panels.

The Gates Foundation has been in the crosshairs of the SJM, which had written to the Centre, alleging conflict of interest in the health ministry for signing a memorandum of understanding with the US billionaire-couples charity to augment efforts to achieve universal immunisation.

The SJM prepared a draft white paper on the Gates foundation, questioning its influence on health policies, particularly the immunisation drive.

The organisation had accused the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) of collaborating with multinational companies to import food for infants, not permitted under law.

The SJM said the government should ensure its policies are not influenced by advocacy groups.

There is a working group on nutrition formed by the NITI Aayog, which has on board multi-national companies that manufacture packaged food and beverages, which again is a conflict of interest, Mahajan said.

Responding to the allegation, a Niti Aayog official who does not want to be named said the government think tanks job is to hear all voices. He said no important role has been assigned to members of any of these corporates.

But the RSS affiliate insisted that clearer and stricter guidelines should be placed to ensure policies are not influenced by pressure groups.

The issue of conflict of interest was raised by PM Narendra Modi. It is a serious issue and the government must take urgent steps to ensure that policy-making is not affected by commercial interests, Mahajan said.

In 2015, Modi told senior BJP colleagues that party MPs having conflict of interest should avoid becoming members of parliamentary committees.
Justice Jasti Chelameswar of the Supreme Court said on Saturday that he hoped justice Ranjan Gogoi will not be overlooked for the post of chief justice of India (CJI) for taking part in an unprecedented press conference on January 12 where the four senior-most judges aired their differences with present CJI Dipak Misra over his handling of sensitive cases.

The second senior-most SC judge also said moves by some opposition parties to seek the impeachment of Misra were not a solution and called for debate on a restructuring of the countrys top court. He also ruled out seeking government employment after he retires on June 22.

I am not an astrologer who can predict if Justice Gogoi will be ignored for the post of the next chief Justice of India. I hope this will not happen, Chelameswar said at an event on The role of Democracy organised by the Harvard Club of India in Delhi.

But if it happens, it will prove that the problems that were pointed out in the January 12 press conference were correct.

Chelameswar was responding to a question whether Justice Gogois chances of being made the next CJI, after Misra retires in October, would be scuttled for being a part of the press conference that focused on lapses in the Supreme courts functioning. Apart from justices Chelameswar and Gogoi, judges MB Lokur and Kurian Joseph raised several issues, including allocation of cases, by CJI Misra.

There have been instances where case having far-reaching consequences for the Nation and the institution had been assigned by the Chief Justices of this Court selectively to the benches of their preference without any rationale basis for such assignment. This must be guarded against at all costs, they wrote in an open letter to the CJI .

On Saturday, among the many sensitive topics that justice Chelameswar spoke about in an interview at the event with senior journalist Karan Thapar was the contentious issue of the power exercised by the CJI as the master of the roster .

He said the CJI undoubtedly had the power to constitute benches to hear different cases as the mater of the roster. But this power has to be exercised for achieving some public good. It cant be exercised just because it is there. All power is trust and it has to be done for some public good, he said.

On the Prasad Education Trust case, justice Chelameswar said, I am still struggling with the question that what was it that required the reversal of the orders passed by me . I did not pick up the case. It was brought before me. It was too serious a matter and the matter was required to be heard by a constitution bench as the allegation pertained to judges and the suspicion that judicial strings were being pulled by the accused.

The Prasad Education Trust case surfaced last year when the Central Bureau of Investigation arrested a retired judge of the Orissa High Court and five others in a bribery case. And the case travelled to the Supreme court for an independent inquiry. The case was admitted by a bench headed by Justice Chelameswar and it passed an order to set up a constitution bench of five senior most judges of the Supreme Court to hear the petition that sought an independent probe of the case.

CJI Misra set up a five -judge bench to hear the order passed by the justice Chelameswar bench. The five-judge bench annulled the order.

Speaking on the problem of cases being assigned to preferential benches by the CJI, Chelameswar cited the case of disproportionate assets amassed by late former Tamil Nadu chief minister J. Jayalalithaa. What happened? The case was assigned as per roster. The judgment was reserved for almost a year. What purpose was served?

Justice Chelameswar confirmed that the Jayalalithaa case was among the many cases that had caused the four senior-most judges anguish that led them to hold the January press conference.

The question is what is the basis on which such sensitive cases are allocated. Is a system being followed, would this kind of allocation be good for the institution when such allocation is undermining the system, he asked.

On the recent move by some political parties to remove the CJI by introducing an impeachment motion against him, Chelameswar said it would not solve the problems of the judiciary. I do not know why the nation is obsessed with impeachment, he said. Impeachment cant be an answer to everything. There have to be other mechanisms in place to deal with such problems.

Justice Chelameswar also made it clear that after his retirement on June 22, he would not seek any employment from the government. I am saying it on record that after my retirement, I will not seek any appointment from the government.
India is likely to seek Nepals commitment on security and step up defence ties with it when the Prime Ministers of the two countries, Narendra Modi and K P Oli, meet on Saturday, officials familiar with the plans said.

Nepal is a key neighbour of India, sharing a border of 1,850 km with five Indian states of Sikkim, West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand  and in the north with China.

The geographical location of Nepal and a large and porous border with India mandates that the security concerns are interlinked between the two countries. And Nepal has been a close friend and partner of India. So security concerns come upfront, said an official.

Another official said Prime Minister Oli is expected to assure India that it will not allow its soil to be used against neighbours.

Whether it is India or China, this position has been articulated already, the official said.

Oli is seen as a leader who wants to build China as a key partner of Nepal, stepping up trade and business ties.

Recently his government had signed up for Chinese President Xi Jingpings One Road One Belt initiative and other economic cooperation even as India tries to find its old verve.

However, just ahead of his visit, Oli had said that he would desist from anything that would be disgraceful to Nepal and wants to maintain a dignified relationship with India.

Oli had also expressed his countrys interest to revive a USD 2.5 billion hydroelectric project with China. This deal with Chinas Gezhouba Group Corporation, is touted as Nepals biggest hydropower project. Hydropower cooperation is a key aspect of India-Nepal ties.

India is also ready to step up defence ties with Nepal, especially in areas of training and joint exercises. In his earlier stint, Oli had accused India of destabilising his government after the blockade.

An official said that the two countries are also engaged in discussions on the joint statement where India would welcome the new constitution of Nepal.

Pacts related to agriculture research and development, education, seeking the possibility of inland water navigation ways and railway cooperation are expected to be signed after the meeting between two Prime Ministers on Saturday.

On Friday, Oli sought investments from Indian businesses and said Nepal offers investor-friendly environment and incentives for industries.

He said areas such as infrastructure, tourism, power, agriculture and IT hold huge opportunities for investors.

The bilateral trade between the two countries was USD 5.9 billion in 2016-17.
Union minister Jayant Sinha on Saturday demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the Ramgarh lynching case of a Muslim trader, raising doubts over the police investigation, in which a local court convicted and awarded life sentence to 11 people last month.

On March 21, the court had awarded life imprisonment to 11 cow vigilantes, including a local BJP leader, for lynching 55-year old Alimuddin alias Asgar Ali for carrying what they claimed was beef in his vehicle last year.

Addressing media after releasing the partys manifesto for the April 16 urban local body polls in Ramgarh, which is part of his Lok Sabha constituency Hazaribag, Sinha said legal help would also be provided to the convicts.

We respect the judicial process. But from whatever I have gathered after consultations and studying the various facets (of the case), I firmly believe that complete justice has not been done. I am not a police officer, and I have not done a detailed inquiry, but as per my understanding, complete justice has not been done. I consulted senior lawyers and also took advice from the party (BJP) on the matter. I have decided to write to the (Jharkhand) chief minister (Raghubar Das), requesting him to recommend a CBI probe, the minister said.

The court of additional district judge Om Prakash held guilty all the accused under Section 302 (murder) and other offences of the IPC, making it the first case in the country in connection with cow vigilantism and related violence in which the accused were convicted. The BJP-ruled Jharkhand witnessed a series of lynching of Muslim cattle traders in the months of May and June in 2017.
Pakistans top leadership on Friday expressed concern over what it described as rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir and extended political and diplomatic support to the Kashmiris demand for the right to self-determination.

In a message issued on the occasion of Kashmir Solidarity Day, Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said some 20 people had died in what he called Indian aggression.

He added that India continues to deny the people of Kashmir the right to self-determination enshrined in UN Security Council resolutions.

Abbasi also described the Kashmir issue as an unfinished agenda of Partition and one of the oldest disputes on the agenda of the UN Security Council. While condemning the current violence in Kashmir and the detention of Hurriyat leaders, he said the world community should help in ending rights violations and ask India to allow fact-finding missions into Kashmir to conduct an investigation.

Pakistan will continue to extend its political, moral and diplomatic support to the Kashmiri people until the realisation of the right to self-determination, he added.

Read | Win Kashmiri hearts the way we have in Swat, Balochistan: Pakistan NSA to India

A special meeting of Pakistans cabinet on April 2 adopted a resolution to observe Friday as Kashmir Solidarity Day.

In a separate message, foreign minister Khawaja Asif said Kashmir remains the core dispute between the two countries and peace in the region will remain elusive until its resolution in line with the will of the Kashmiris.

Asif also accused India of trying to resolve disputes through the barrel of the gun.

Musadik Malik, the special assistant to the Prime Minister, while speaking at a ministerial meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) in Azerbaijan, claimed efforts to equate the movement in Kashmiris with terrorism can never deter Kashmiris.

He said durable peace can be achieved by resolving outstanding disputes, without which dividends of peace and development will remain unfulfilled.

India accuses Pakistan of stoking unrest in Kashmir by backing cross-border terrorism, a charge denied by Islamabad.
Why is the responsibility of family planning imposed only upon women and not men? This question raised by a Kerala man who recently underwent a vasectomy is garnering a lot of attention on social media.

Habeeb, a native of Palakkad district in Kerala, recently shared his experience of undergoing vasectomy on his Facebook profile, explaining why its a better option than women undergoing tubectomy.

Habeeb and his wife, Anju, decided to go for permanent contraception after the birth of their second child.

We decided that if Anju were to undergo another Caesarean section, then she would get a tubectomy done in the same procedure. Otherwise, I would get a vasectomy done, he wrote.

After weighing all the options, he decided to undergo vasectomy, a surgical procedure for male sterilisation.

He narrates his entire experience of undergoing the procedure that he says took hardly 20 minutes. He was able to ride back home on his own.

The doc said that there should be no need for any extra precautions except for not doing things like raising something very heavy for a week. I came home and started eating and drinking. The next morning, I walked in the usual way, wrote Habeeb.

He went on to highlight the fact that how tubectomy, which is a female sterilisation method, is a comparatively costlier and complicated procedure.

Vasectomy is a simple procedure. It will not affect ejection, ejaculation or orgasm. It is a relatively painless surgical procedure with a shorter recovery period. There are no restrictions as such, and sexual relationship can be resumed very soon.

At the same time, tubectomy is a major surgery. This is the best option for those undergoing a caesarean since both can be completed at the same time. But what if you have a normal delivery? For this procedure, you will get general anesthesia and the recovery can take about weeks. The possibility of infection and other complications are relatively high.

He then questioned, Why is it that when it comes to family planning, we dont opt for a relatively simpler option like vasectomy and make women undergo a more complex procedure?

He ends his post with a word of advice for women.

So, dear women, at a time when both men and women have equal options to partake in family planning, when theres a much easier operation than the one you will have to undergo, if the man is lovingly pushing you towards the surgery, you must tell him, You go and undergo this procedure. Anyway, its not as challenging/demanding as giving birth to a child.

Since being shared on April 4, his eye-opening post has got more than 2000 reactions, 500 comments and 200 comments so far.

Let your message be an eye opener to the ignorant . You are really great. Proved yourself to be a good husband and a confident male, wrote one social media user.

Another commented, We all know these procedures. But your perception is really inspiring to all....God Bless....
Seers of the influential Lingayat maths (monasteries) on Saturday applauded the Karnataka government for recognising the sect as a religious minority. One seer even urged Lingayats to support chief minister Siddaramaiah in the assembly polls.

The Karnataka government notified the Lingayat sect as a religious minority in the state last month, and forwarded an expert committee report on the subject to the Centre, asking it to take a final call.

The move divided opinion in the state, with the Lingayats coming out in support, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) called it a gimmick by the CM with an eye on the May 12 polls.

Thanks to Siddaramaiah, Lingayats have got the separate religion status, said Mate Mahadevi, seer of the Basava Dharma Peetha in Bagalkot district. Speaking at a meeting of the Forum of Lingayat Mathadipathies (pontiffs) in Bengaluru, she added, Siddaramaiah did not raise this issue, we brought it up. But within 10 months, he has delivered on our demands.

The seer said, We must support him, we must not hide. He could have kept the file pending, but he brought in the notification before the model code of conduct could come into force.

She urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to gift Lingayats separate religion status on April 18, the birth anniversary of Basavanna (the 12th century philosopher who is credited with having formed the sect).

Shivamurthy Murugha Sharanaru, pontiff of the Murugha Math, too backed the state governments move, but declined to comment on political support for the ruling Congress.

The state government has supported us completely and now we will agitate till the central government grants us the same status. We will support those who supported us, he said.

Asked if the seers had decided to support the Congress, he replied, Not everything can be said openly.

The seers at the meet criticised BJP president Amit Shahs remarks last week that he would not let the community be divided for political reasons. Reading a note issued by the pontiffs, Jaya Mrutyunjaya Swamy of the Koodalasangama Math said, Who is Amit Shah to make such statements? Is he the president? With what authority has he made such irresponsible statements? We condemn this.

BJP spokespersons in Karnataka declined to comment on the stand taken by the seers at the meet. Lingayats, believed to be about 15% of the states population, were long considered a BJP support base, more so for the partys chief ministerial candidate, BS Yeddyurappa, who is a Lingayat.
Moving to reset their wobbly relationship, India and Nepal on Saturday identified new areas of bilateral cooperation, including the construction of an India-funded railway line connecting Raxaul in Bihar with Kathmandu, and reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening their partnership on a framework of quality, mutual trust and respect.

Nepals Prime Minister KP Oli, on the second day of a three-day visit to India, called for a trust-based relationship between the two sides after holding talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who stressed bilateral security ties and a commitment to stop the misuse of their open border .

Besides the proposed rail

link, India and Nepal identified inland waterways and agriculture as potential new areas of cooperation.

Nepal is a key neighbour of Indias, sharing a 1,850 km border with five Indian states -- Sikkim, West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

To its north, Nepal borders China.

Oli, on his first overseas visit since being sworn in in February as the head of a Communist government for the second time, is seeking to thaw a relationship that has been uneasy because of his pro-China image.

India, for its part, has rolled out the red carpet for the Nepal leader as it s strives to counter Chinas influence.

Prime Minister Modi assured Prime Minister Oli that India remains committed to strengthening its partnership with Nepal as per the priorities of the Government of Nepal, a joint statement issued after the meeting between the two leaders said.

Relations between neighbours are different from those of others. Neighbourhood realities make peaceful coexistence, based on the principles of equality, justice, mutual respect and benefits a necessity for shared destiny, Oli said.

With the objective of expanding connectivity, the two sides agreed to construct a new electric railway line, with Indias financial support,linking Raxaul with the Nepal capital.

As a first step, it was agreed that Government of India would, in consultation with the Government of Nepal, carry out preparatory survey work within one year, and the two sides would finalise the implementation and funding modalities of the project based on the Detailed Project Report, said a separate statement titled Expanding Rail Linkages: Connecting Raxaul in India to Kathmandu in Nepal.

The two leaders referred to the progress made in the implementation of Phase 1 of India-Nepal cross-border rail link projects. The railway lines from Jayanagar to Janakpur/Kurtha and from Jogbani to Biratnagar Custom Yard will be completed in 2018, and work on the remaining stretch of ongoing rail link projects -- Jayanagar-Bijalpura-Bardibas and Jogbani-Biratnagar -- will be taken forward on a priority basis.

Taking cognizance of their geographies and noting the development of inland waterways in both countries, the two Prime Ministers took the landmark decision to develop the inland waterways for the movement of cargo, within the framework of trade and transit arrangements, providing additional access to the sea for Nepal, said a separate statement on inland waterways.

The two sides also decided to launch a New Partnership in Agriculture that will focus on collaborative projects in farm research and development, education, strengthening of supply and value chains, climate resilience, research in seed technology, soil health, strengthening the infrastructure of plant protection laboratories, research in indigenous genetic resources, animal husbandry, veterinary research and development facilities, agro-forestry, bio-pesticides and bio-fertilisers.

Our future lies in the expansion of the economic facility and improving investments. Agriculture is one of the areas where India has made significant progress and Nepal could learn from it, Oli said.

(With inputs from PTI)
Pakistan has raised the Kashmir issue with United Nations (UN) Security Council president, saying the situation in the Valley and the escalation of tension along the Line of Control (LoC) pose a threat to international peace and security.

Pakistans envoy to the UN Maleeha Lodhi on Friday in a tweet said she raised the issue of Kashmir with president of the security council for the month of April ambassador Gustavo Meza-Cuadra, the permanent representative of Peru to the United Nations.

She said the grave situation in Kashmir and escalation on the LoC pose a serious threat to international peace and security.

Lodhi also discussed the Kashmir situation with members of the Pakistani and Kashmiri community at Pakistans mission on Friday at a meeting to mark Kashmir Solidarity Day, she said in another tweet, posting pictures of the event.

Earlier, Lodhi had tweeted that Pakistan will continue to support the heroic struggle of our Kashmiri brothers and sisters.

Lodhi repeated her stance that a peaceful settlement of the Kashmir issue in accordance with relevant UN Security Council resolutions is a pre-requisite for lasting peace and stability in South Asia.

Pakistan continuously raises the Kashmir issue at the UN seeking the world bodys intervention in the dispute with India. But New Delhi has always maintained that Kashmir is a bilateral issue with Islamabad.

While UN secretary general Antonio Guterres has expressed concern over the situation in Kashmir, the UN has maintained that India and Pakistan need to find a peaceful solution through engagement and dialogue.

Last week, Indian security forces undertook three counter-insurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir in which 13 militants were killed, including those responsible for the brutal killing of Lieutenant Umar Fayaz.

Three army jawans and four civilians were also killed in Anantnag and Shopian districts of Jammu and Kashmir. Out of the 13 terrorists, 11 have been identified and all of them are locals, officials have said.
Pakistan on Saturday summoned Indias deputy high commissioner JP Singh in Islamabad to protest unprovoked ceasefire violations by Indian forces along the Line of Control (LoC).

Pakistans foreign office spokesman Mohammad Faisal summoned Singh and condemned the unprovoked ceasefire violations on Saturday in Nikial sector.

Faisal alleged Indian forces along the LoC and the international border are continuously targeting civilian populated areas with heavy weapons.

He claimed that unprecedented escalation in ceasefire violations by India is continuing from the year 2017 when Indian forces committed 1,970 ceasefire violations.

The deliberate targeting of civilian populated areas is indeed deplorable and contrary to human dignity, international human rights and humanitarian laws, he said adding that ceasefire violations by India are a threat to regional peace and security and may lead to a strategic miscalculation.

He urged the Indian side to respect the 2003 ceasefire arrangement, investigate this and other incidents of ceasefire violations, instruct Indian forces to respect the ceasefire, in letter and spirit and maintain peace on the LoC and the international border.

He also urged India to permit the UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) to play its mandated role as per UN Security Council resolutions.

India maintains that the UNMOGIP has outlived its utility and is irrelevant after the Shimla Agreement and the consequent establishment of the Line of Control.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of not letting Parliament function because he feared facing questions on corruption.

Who stopped Parliament from running? The allies of BJP  the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), he said at a rally in Chikkaballapura on the last leg of the Congresss Janashirvada Yatra.

At an earlier rally in Kolar, he said the PM was insulting Dalits and BR Ambedkar every day. On the one hand, Modi folds hands before Ambedkar, and on the other, he tries to undo everything Ambedkar did. One minister says the constitution will be changed, but Modi doesnt utter a single word, Gandhi said.

He also slammed Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shahs remarks equating opposition parties with animals.

State BJP spokesperson CN Ashwathnarayan said Gandhi should have demanded the TDP let the House function. Besides, they are no longer in NDA.
Peace talks with militant groups, including ULFA (Progressive), are heading in the right direction, Union minister of state for home affairs Kiren Rijiju said at a press meet in Guwahati on Saturday. The progress is being reviewed on a case to case basis, and the talks are in final stages, he added.

On the ongoing talks with the Arbind Rajkhowa-led ULFA (P), he said the Centre has agreed to the genuine demands of the group in principle and instructions have been given to give the settlement a final shape.

Asked about the Naga peace talks, where the framework agreement came in for criticism from various quarters because the content is still not known, Rijiju said, Many people do not understand the framework agreement. The Centre had signed a framework agreement for the settlement of the Naga issue with Issak-Muivah faction of National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-IM) in 2015.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader said in the framework agreement, the issue of sovereignty and some other serious issues that were a part of the Naga agenda were dropped. Talks are going on according to the Indian constitution, he added.

Rijiju said the Centre is committed to a clear, tangible solution, and pointed out that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his visit to Nagaland in the run-up to the elections, had spoken about a solution in a few months.

He said the talks with Naga groups are on for a political solution and not one inch of territorial integrity of other states will be compromised in the process.

Rijiju spoke about the governments special development packages for border areas, but steered clear of a question on increased Chinese aggression, saying, It is too sensitive an issue to comment on.
Chief minister K Palaniswami on Saturday discussed with his cabinet colleagues the next legal steps over Tamil Nadus plea in the Supreme Court, seeking contempt action against the Centre for not constituting the Cauvery Management Board (CMB) within the stipulated period of six weeks.

Deputy chief minister O Panneerselvam, fisheries minister D Jayakumar, law minister CV Shanmugam advocates representing the state in the court, including counsel Shekhar Naphade, attended the meeting, the government said.

Tamil Nadu moved the contempt plea in the apex court on March 31, seeking action against the Centre for allegedly failing to form the Cauvery Management Board and the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) within six weeks as ordered by the court on February 16.

In the plea, Tamil Nadu has said the central government was bound to give effect to the judgement by framing a scheme top put in place the CMB and the CWRC within six weeks.

On February 16, the Supreme Court raised the 270 tmcft share of Cauvery water for Karnataka by 14.75 tmcft and reduced Tamil Nadus share, while compensating it by allowing extraction of 10 tmcft groundwater from the river basin, saying the issue of drinking water has to be placed on a higher pedestal.

With the apex courts verdict, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and the Union Territory of Puducherry would be annually entitled to 404.25 tmcft, 284.75 tmcft, 30 tmcft and 7 tmcft of Cauvery water respectively out of the total of 740 tmcft.

The court had granted six weeks time to the Centre to formulate a scheme to ensure compliance of its 465-page judgement on the decades-old Cauvery dispute, which modified the CWDT award of 2007 and made it clear that it will not be extending time for this on any ground.

It had said its verdict on Cauvery water allocation will continue for the next 15 years.
Vice president M Venkaiah Naidu on Saturday urged foreign media not to form opinions about India based on reportage in our hyper-critical English media.

He said truth and objectivity will be the casualties if happenings or developments are covered from a purely subjective perspective rather than a broader cultural, historical, social and economic context. Naidu was addressing a gathering at the 60th anniversary of The Foreign Correspondents Club of South Asia in New Delhi.

He said foreign correspondents must be well acquainted with the culture, history, ethos, traditions and ways of life of a country before covering developments or any events there.

The entire country cannot be described as intolerant on the basis of some stray incidents of communal violence, Naidu said.

In a vast country like India, some stray incidents of communal violence might occur. At best, those are aberrations. If a handful of religious fundamentalists indulge in violence, the entire country cannot be described as intolerant and that majoritarianism is being imposed. Nothing is farther from the truth, he said.

India is a flourishing and vibrant parliamentary democracy with a free press and complete religious freedom to its people, he added.

In 2015, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had slammed an article in The Economist that described Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a divisive man.

The party had dubbed the piece as out of sync with the ground realities and lacking objectivity.

Naidus speech comes days after the Prime Ministers Office overturned an information and broadcasting ministrys guidelines on fake news, which called for punitive measures like the cancellation of a journalists accreditation if found propagating fake or slanted news.

The Vice President drew attention to the need for contextualisation and cited the variation in the reportage on terrorist violence to buttress his point. Commenting on the reach of news and the speed with which it travels, he said it is imperative for foreign correspondents to provide nuanced, balanced and objective coverage.
Pakistans National Security Advisor Naseer Khan Janjua advised Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan Ajay Bisaria that the Narendra Modi government should win the hearts of Kashmiris much like Pakistan has done in the Swat Valley in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and in restive Balochistan province. He proffered this counsel to Bisaria in a meeting at the Pakistan Prime Ministers Office (PMO) two days after Indian security forces gunned down 13 extremists in Kashmir, according to senior Indian officials familiar with the matter.

The officials, who asked not to be named, said Bisaria politely replied to the Pakistan NSA on April 3 that it was not Indian security forces but Pakistani infiltrators who were vitiating the atmosphere in the Kashmir Valley through mayhem and violence. What he left unsaid was that thousands lost their lives and millions were displaced during Pakistans military operations against the Taliban and Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM) militants in Swat over the past decade, and the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and Jundallah extremists in Balochistan since 1948.

The Pakistani deep state is unhappy at Janjua engaging Bisaria after the counter-terror operations in Kashmir, with foreign minister Khawaja Asif and former interior minister Nisar Ahmed Chaudhry taking strong exception to the meeting at a time when, according to them, Kashmiris are facing state terrorism.

However, the two countries decided to take incremental steps on the humanitarian front to remove deep-seated negativity among the populace on both sides of the border. Among the suggested steps was a proposal to revive the joint judicial committee, defunct since 2008, to exchange mentally unsound prisoners and fishermen who find their way to jails in the other country. This was first proposed by external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj to the Pakistan High Commissioner in October 2017 and Islamabad responded to it on March 7, 2018.

The April 3 meeting reiterated the commitment of both countries to move forward on this, apart from ending harassment of diplomats on both sides. The officials cited above said Bisaria has also been assured by Pakistan foreign secretary Tehmina Janjua of membership of the Islamabad Club.

Experts say Pakistans willingness to take steps to improve its relations with India is largely due to pressure from the Trump administration, which wants Islamabad to deliver on the terror front or else be prepared for hard steps from Washington. The grey-listing of Pakistan by Financial Action Task Force (FATF) followed by the US designation of Milli Muslim League, a party floated by 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed, as a terrorist outfit on April 2 are indicators that Trump administration is mulling additional steps to ensure that terror factories are closed by Islamabad. An official statement issued in Islamabad after Bisarias meeting with Janjua said they discussed ways to improve bilateral relations and the recent worsening situation in Kashmir. Janjua expressed serious concerns over alleged rights violations and said the use of force alone can lead us nowhere, the statement said.

The statement said Bisaria acknowledged the two countries need to improve their relations and suggested working on small steps such as the exchange of prisoners, visits of medical teams and trade initiatives. The envoy and Janjua agreed to explore possibilities for cooperation and improving relations to move towards a comprehensive process of dialogue.
A male tiger--RT-91that was translocated from Ranthambore to the Mukundra Hills Tiger Reserve (MHTR) in Rajasthans Kota earlier this month, killed its first prey on April 3, state wildlife officials said on Saturday.

The adult tiger killed a buffalo inside the reserve, three days after being tranquilized and relocated to the MHTR, said deputy conservator of forest (MHTR) T Mohanraj.

The tiger didnt kill a prey for the first three days of its stay at the reserve as it had already been fed at the Ramgarh Vishdhari sanctuary but finally the big cat made its first kill within the reserve on April 7, where 22 cheetals and two buffaloes were kept as the prey base, he said.

The tiger mauled a buffalo calf early on April 3 and fed on it, said Mohanraj.

Usually a tiger kills one prey in a week, which is sufficient for it, he said, adding that it was a normal behaviour of a tiger.

In 2013, the MHTR was declared as the third tiger reserve in Rajasthan, but it took more than five years for the wildlife department to reintroduce a tiger in the reserve, where the big cats had disappeared from the forests for decades and RT-91 is the first tiger to be reintroduced at the reserve.

Born at the Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve in Sawai Madhopur district, tiger RT-91 had left the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve and was living in the peripheral forests near Bundi and was frequenting populated areas, wildlife officials said.

The wildlife department has housed RT-91 in 24 hectare enclosure within the MHTR for a soft release of the tiger and to help it get accustomed with the new environment of the reserve.
Ukrainian model Daria Molcha, 20, who was arrested from a city hotel on April 3 by the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) on charges of staying illegally in India without a valid visa, has revealed details of her Indian friends who facilitated her entry into the country via Nepal using fake documents, including a forged Indian driving licence, the police said.

Based on the revelations by Daria, who is currently lodged in Gorakhpur district jail, police and security agencies are preparing to interrogate her Indian friends, including Gorakhpur-based Anuj Poddar and Delhi-based Imsham Kashif, both businessmen.

The police said they found objectionable photographs of Daria with a senior Delhi cop, an airport official and some Kolkata cadet officers on her smart phones and tablets. This led them to believe that the Ukrainian model may have been used as a honey trap to procure confidential information related to internal security and hence they alerted the Intelligence Bureau (IB).

STF inspector Satya Prakash told mediapersons that the model, who was arrested with 18,000 US dollars, smart phones and tablets, was booked under sections of IPC dealing with document forgery, committing fraud and under the Foreigners Act.

According to STF officials, Daria entered the country illegally sometime in March this year and stayed at Imshams house in New Friends Colony for 15 days before flying to Gorakhpur using fake documents on April 2. She was then scheduled to leave for the Gulf via Nepal with Anuj Poddar. However, before she could leave, the STF nabbed her in Gorakhpur.

Assuring stern action against those who helped her illegal stay in the country, SSP Shalabh Mathur said, A fake driving licence has been recovered from the Ukrainian model who had crossed into India without any valid visa. The issue is serious. Those who helped her cross the border and also gave her shelter are under scanner and action will be taken against them. For now a probe is on. Soon the whole racket will be busted.

As per reports, Daria first arrived in India in 2016 and stayed here for some time. She worked as a model with Karma modeling agency and to increase her contact she started visiting Urban Club where she came in contact with Poddar and Imsham Kashif. However, due to her suspicious activities, her visa was blacklisted and she left the country.

In December 2017, she again arrived in India on a tourist visa but was made to return from the airport due to the government ban on her stay in the country.

However, in March this year Daria again entered the country using fake documents that she obtained with the help of her Poddar and Imsham. Police and security agencies are also probing why she continued to visit India despite a ban and her purpose of befriending Indians and reasons to visit China in 2013 along with other Gulf countries before moving to India.
India has rarely seen a full-fledged prison drama. While Hollywood has classics such as Shawshank Redemption or In the Name of the Father, cinema in India is often shy of making this genre, instead peppering it with family drama, revenge and what have you. What is left  in the end  is a brew so unappetizing that you, as audience, are afraid of sampling it.

That, to a large extent, is what ails Mammoottys Parole. The film  as its name suggests  is about a prisoner who is a victim of the circumstances. Mammoottys Alex has been behind the bars for over eight years and is considered a model prisoner now. He is calm under the pressure exerted by prison life and assists the jailer in his everyday duties. There is only one thing that is keeping him going  upcoming parole when he will be allowed to leave prison for a few days to go and meet his son.

The film opens well enough as we meet Alex, the new jailer and the rag-tag bunch around the prison. Along with the hardened criminals, we meet people who are in jail for no fault of theirs. The first 30 minutes of the film goes into establishing the characters and what goes on in a prison cell. A man who harasses prisoners, Bullet Raghav, emerges as the obvious bad guy.

As you are wondering what will happen next, Raghav is found sexually assaulting a young prisoner and Mammootty unleashes his inner hero. The sedate everyman turns into an action hero and the prison drama goes downhill from there. We are thrown a flashback to explain it all: we meet Alex, a teenager who learns Communism at his fathers feet. Once his father passes away, he takes over as the leader of the party to help people. There is a villain in the film, Sudarshan, who doesnt like Alex helping the people he would rather exploit. This enmity leads to Sudarshan befriending the husband of Alexs half-sister, Katherines (Miya George), Varghese. Sudarshan manipulates Varghese into giving a false statement which influences Alexs own son to call him a murderer.

As we return to the present, we hear Mammootty get a parole finally.

As he is set to leave, the inmates celebrate the moment as if they were getting to see their family. Some feel left behind, others want Alex to check up on their family too, and yet again, we see the potential. However, by going the family drama route, director Sharrath Sandith has lost an excellent opportunity. Even as he the camera veers away from the prison and the plot moves on to depict Mammootty returning to his village, there is a sense of loss.

By introducing a conflict  Alexs son Vincent is accused of murder- the director has tried to keep the audience engaged in the second part. This works in parts because, more than the case being solved, we see the mahan avatar of Mammootty who makes it all go away for the sake of his. How he did this is no surprise.

As the film comes to an end with the son realizing his mistakes and reuniting with his father, we are wary because this is what we expect of the television soaps in India, not movies. The formulaic plot of father does all for son is a trope we do not want repeated.

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When Rushabh Thakkar, architect, received a call from a veterinarian to donate his six-year-old Labradors blood, he readily rushed to the clinic to save another dogs life.

The gesture was for a good cause, he said. As our family loves animals, we decided to donate blood for a good cause. It also works the other way round. When Hugo needs blood, he would get it easily, said Thakkar.

Thakkars Hugo was among 17 dogs who were felicitated by the Bombay Veterinary College (BVC) on Saturday for donating blood.

A part of the BVCs annual festival Spandan, the felicitation ceremony was held to spread awareness among animal lovers about the issue.

There isnt enough awareness about blood donation for dogs, which is why we held this function. Every year, we organise the bravehearts felicitation for service dogs. But, this year we wanted to promote this cause because only 1% of pet owners opt for blood donation, said Chiranjeev Pathak, general secretary of Spandan.

A dog is eligible to donate blood, if he weighs more 25kg, is older than six months, well vaccinated, free of parasites and completely fit. Ideally, it has been observed that dogs aged two to six years donate blood, most of whom are Labradors. Compared to four major blood groups in humans, canines have 13 blood groups. These dogs can donate blood around three times a year, and around 300ml of blood is collected in one transfusion

Though, its been more than 10 years since the concept of blood donation for dogs started, there isnt much awareness about it yet, and people are also reluctant because they are too attached to their pets. Dogs suffering from protozoal infection require transfusion regularly, said Dr GS Khandekar, associate professor of Department of veterinary surgery and radiology, BVC.
The state government will have to constitute two separate district disaster management authorities for Mumbai city and Mumbai suburban districts, respectively, after the Bombay high court on Friday struck down a recent notification by the government constituting a common authority for both districts.

The division bench of Justice Abhay Oka and Justice Riyaz Chagla held that the notification of January 2018 contradicted section 25 of the Disaster Management Act, which clearly prescribes separate district disaster management authorities for each district.

This is because the authority is entrusted with diverse duties, said the bench.

The court was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL), filed by activist Sanjay Lakhe-Patil seeking proper implementation of provisions of the Disaster Management Act, 2005.

The bench rejected the state governments stand that it can constitute one authority for two or more districts, as it has been conferred with rule-making power.

This stand itself is disastrous. The state government cannot invoke the limited rule-making power to amend the Central enactment," said the bench.

The court also issued a contempt notice to additional chief secretary, Medha Gadgil, under whose signature the notification was issued. Constituting one authority for two Mumbai districts was a willful breach of the earlier order and therefore it had no option but to issue contempt notice to the signatory, said the bench.

The bench later withdrew the notice after government pleader, Abhinandan Vagyani, made a statement that the government has agreed to form separate disaster management authorities for the two Mumbai districts.
The Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti (MANS) will kick off a year-long awareness campaign from May 1, wherein they will be visiting remote areas of the state and speaking to people about the provisions of the social boycott act.

Though Maharashtra became the first state to pass the Prohibition of People from Social Boycott (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act last year, activists believe that people at ground level are not aware about it.

Maharashtra has caste panchayats operating in remote areas and this act is relevant for these communities, which is why we want to reach out to them. We will start our campaign from Mumbai and then head towards Konkan. A major concern is that even constables and police personnel in the city are not aware of the provisions of this act, said Mukta Dabholkar, daughter of Narendra Dabholkar, founder of MANS.

Mukta also went on to add that as of now only 20 cases have been registered across the state under this act.

Neelam Gorhe, nember of the legislative council from Pune, who was present at the conference where the announcement was made, said she has spoken to chief minister Devendra Fadnavis to arrange for a session where police personnel are informed about the provisions of the act.

Cases related to caste panchayat have increased to 20% from 5-6% ten years ago, said Gorhe.

We call Maharashtra a progressive state because we got this act, but thats not that the case, our state is not progressive, which is why we are still talking about superstitions in 21st century, said Supriya Sule, member of parliament from Baramati.
A night patrolling police van turned out to be a blessing for a homeless pregnant woman who went into labour in the wee hours on Saturday at Ghatkopar. The van rushed the woman in time to a hospital, where she safely delivered a baby boy.

Around midnight on Saturday, the Mumbai police control room received a call about a pregnant woman in her twenties being in pain and unwell.

The Pant Nagar police were informed, after which staff including policewoman rushed to Derasar lane in Ghatkopar (East). The woman is homeless and was rushed on time to Rajawadi hospital, said Rohini Kale, senior police inspector, Pant Nagar police station. Around 1.17am, she delivered a boy. Both the mother and child are safe.

The woman was later identified as Amba. The police are probing about her family. She is currently hospitalised, said Kale.

Last month, a 23-year-old pregnant woman from Jalgaon and her unborn baby died at JJ Hospital after they travelled for eight hours to the city to avail super-specialty treatment.The issue was raised by MLA Eknath Khadse in the Legislative Assembly while highlighting lack of the medical facilities in the Jalgaon civil hospital.
The state government is all set to hold its monsoon session in Nagpur, instead of Mumbai. The decision has been taken to facilitate its plan to change the financial year to January-December and dedicate time to Vidarbha-related issues.

The state has appointed a three-member committee, comprising parliamentary affairs minister Girish Bapat, finance minister Sudhir Mungantiwar and PWD minister Ekanth Shinde, to take a decision on the change in venue. They are expected to announce the decision after a meeting on April 11.

Acting on the recommendation of the NITI Aayog, the Centre suggested the change in financial year, on the grounds that the current system leads to suboptimal utilisation of the working season and needs to be aligned with international practices. The state is thinking of changing its financial year to January-December by holding the budget session in Mumbai in December, said Mungantiwar.

Although the Maharashtra government has stated change in the financial year as the reason for shifting the venue, immediate change in financial year is unlikely. Unless the Centre makes the change, the state will not go for it, according to an official from the finance department. It may happen only after the new government comes into power at the Centre next year, he said.

Another reason behind the shift is to woo voters from Vidarbha. The BJP came to power by winning 44 of the 62 seats in Vidarbha by promising statehood to the region. Statehood is not possible before the elections, but the party wants to assert that it was committed to the development of Vidarbha. Shifting of the monsoon session will help them hold the Nagpur session for three to four weeks, said a BJP minister, who did not want to be named.

The administration has, however, pointed out the technical difficulties. Most government buildings and residential apartments have been rented out for 11 months. Vacating them before completion of the period may become difficult. We have sought opinion from the local administration on solving the problem, an official from the parliamentary affairs department said.
The police on Friday arrested a 20-year-old man Uttar Pradesh for allegedly looting around 975 grams of gold and cash worth Rs2.50 lakh from NMMC leader of Opposition, Vijay Chougules, residence in Airoli.

The theft took place on March 30, when the family members were not home. CTTV cameras installed in the house showed Singh getting out of the house with the valuables. The accused has been identified as Anurag Singh and has been working as an assistant at Chougules office for almost three years.

Chougule stays at Yash Paradise building at sector 8. His office is located close to his residence. Singh often visited Chougules residence for work and hence, he was familiar with the building. Some of Singhs relatives are still employed by the Chougule family.

Pradeep Tidar, senior police inspector of Rabale police station, said, After we got all the details about the accused, we had sent a team of officials to Uttar Pradesh. The team managed to arrest him from Varanasi, and they reached the city on Saturday.

The police have booked Singh under section 381 (theft by clerk or servant of property in possession of master) of the Indian penal code (IPC). So far we have recovered 875 gram gold and Rs1.50 lakh in cash from him. We are interrogating him to get more details. We are also trying to find out if others were involved, said Tidar.

Chougule said, On March 30, I was out till past midnight. My wife was in Bangalore for medical treatment and my son had gone to his in-laws place with his family. So there was no one in the house.

The boy entered my bedroom through the terrace between 8pm and 9pm. He opened the cupboard with screw drivers and then got away with the cash and the jewelry. I learnt about the theft next morning and informed the police, he said.
The Mangrove and Marine Biodiversity Conservation Foundation of Maharashtra, an autonomous society that assists the state government in coastal marine conservation, has set aside a budget of Rs19.2 crore for 2018-19.

Some of the major projects planned for the financial year include setting up turtle and marine rescue centres along Juhu beach in Mumbai, Alibaug in Raigad and Dahanu at a cost of Rs55 lakh, with construction expected to be completed within a year and setting up mangrove parks in Dahisar and Gorai at a cost of Rs50 lakh.

The mangrove ecosystem is found along water bodies such as the sea, creeks, estuaries, bays, and lagoons. They are commonly found in inter-tidal areas  areas between the high and low tide, and provide breeding areas for aquatic animals and are vital to sustain coastal fishing areas. In Maharashtra, mangroves are found along 304 sq km of the coastline, covering 53 creeks and seashores.

The wide range of activities proposed to be carried out by the foundation will give a boost to mangrove and marine biodiversity conservation in the state, said N Vasudevan, executive director of the foundation and additional principal chief conservator of forest, state mangrove cell, adding that during a meeting on March 16, the projects were shortlisted, and the budget was sanctioned earlier this week . There are programmes for mangrove protection and regeneration, coastal livelihood and ecotourism activities, and pioneering initiatives for endangered marine species.

Restoration of degraded mangrove areas in Palghar, Thane, Alibaug, Roha and other areas in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) will be carried out at a total cost of Rs3.2 crore as a part of the budget, said officials. This will include carrying out mangrove plantations at these sites and also removing blockages to facilitate better tidal water flow, said Vasudevan.

Three major projects at a cost of Rs1 crore have been planned as interventions with the fisheries department for mangrove and marine protection. The first project costing Rs25 lakh includes the introduction of square mesh nets across all coastal districts to control overfishing. Based on the success witnessed at Sindhudurg, where square mesh nets were introduced as opposed to traditional diamond-shaped nets (size 20-25mm) that pick up large quantities of juvenile fish, including protected and endangered species, helped sensitise the fishing community about sustainability in their sector. We wish to replicate the same in other districts, said Vasudevan.

The other two projects with the fisheries includes joint patrolling by the forest department and fisheries for protection of marine species at Rs50 lakh, and fishermen that free protected marine mammals and fish from their nets, will be entitled to a compensation of up to Rs25,000 (with total project cost at Rs25 lakh). As a part of the patrolling initiative, it will ensure better enforcement and protection of marine species through the Maharashtra Marine Fishing Regulation Act, 1981, and Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 through both initiatives, said Vasudevan.

For the protection of mangrove trees and assistance for marine mammal or turtle rescue operations, security personnel will be hired from the Maharashtra State Security Corporation for the entire state at a cost of Rs3.5 crore. HT had reported earlier this year that 108 security personnel, of which 12 armed with pellet guns, were deployed in teams for city-wide surveillance of mangrove forests under maximum threat.

WHAT IS THE MANGROVE FOUNDATION

The Mangrove and Marine Biodiversity Conservation Foundation is a non-governmental organisation, under the state government, which was set up in 2012 with the mandate to promote coastal marine biodiversity conservation through resource mobilisation from government, semi-government, non-government and corporate source, with Rs. 140.75 crore in its corpus.

OTHER BUDGETARY ALLOCATIONS IN 2018-19

Other sanctions include providing funds for coastal marine biodiversity research projects at a total cost of Rs. 1.5 crore with institutes such as the Institute of Wood Science and Technology, Bengaluru, studying integrated pest management strategies for mangrove trees and wood anatomical studies. The Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, has been roped in for monitoring the health of mangroves of Maharashtra using real-time satellite imagery.

Setting up cage culture activities across various coastal districts of Maharashtra with an allocation of Rs. 1.82 crore and developing a hatchery for fish species such seabass with the help of Central Institute of Brackishwater Aquaculture (CIBA) Chennai at Rs. 3.2 crore.

Through the Small Grants Programme, the foundation aims to strengthen scientific data on the coastal and marine biodiversity of Maharashtra and provide PhD or post-masters programme researchers with an opportunity to work on their dream projects with expenditure amounting to Rs. 25 lakh. The newly introduced small grants programme will be a shot in the arm for young researchers. Initially, we will be providing five grants of Rs. 2 lakh each to researchers based on applications received by us. Depending on the feasibility of executing such projects, we will be scaling the grants next year as well, said Vasudevan.
Estranged spouses living across continents can now easily seek divorce by mutual consent even without marking physical presence in India. Making it easier for them to get their troubled marriages dissolved at the earliest and start afresh, the Bombay high court on Friday directed family courts not to insist on personal presence of the parties and accept joint pleas for divorce by mutual consent even if the consents are signed by their registered power of attorneys.

Justice Bharati Dangre on Friday struck down a January 1, 2018 order of the principal judge of the family court at Pune refusing to register a petition filed by an estranged couple under Section 13B of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, seeking divorce by mutual consent. The family court had refused to register their plea on the ground that the consent terms did not bear the wifes signature. Instead, her father had signed the document on her behalf.

The single-judge high court bench struck down the order, saying power of attorney is an authorised person through whom pleadings can be duly made and verified. The judge said provisions of the Civil Procedure Code (CPC) are applicable to the proceedings before the family courts and under provisions of the CPC, pleadings can be verified by either the person pleading it or by some other person who is acquainted with the facts of the case.

Due to globalisation a number of educated people are going abroad and it is not possible for each of them to remain present before the court and there is nothing illegal in trying to resolve such difficulties by adopting novel and available ways by use of advanced technology, the judge quoted from the judgment of another judge of the high court.

While the petitioner womans estranged husband was available in Pune, the woman was unable to personally remain present before the family court for signing and verifying the consent terms. This is because she is employed in the United States of America and the terms of her employment did not allow her to return to India when the joint plea was filed in December 2017.

The high court has now directed the family court not to insist upon physical presence of the parties and arrange for verification of the consent terms either through Skype or such other available technology.

Justice Dangre said it was imperative for the family court to accept an application for dissolution of marriage by mutual consent if it stated that the spouses are residing separately for over a year, they have not been able to live together and they have mutually agreed to dissolve the marriage. What the family court has only to do to allow such a plea is to ascertain the factum of marriage and its irrevocable break down with no possibility of any reconciliation, the judge added.
A day after HT highlighted the plight of thousands of University of Mumbai (MU) students whose results were held in reserve, varsity officials said several results have been released. A senior official from the examination department said the number of results held in reserve has now been reduced to hundreds.

Results of several students were held back because their answer booklet for a particular subject could not be traced on the assessment software. We received several complaints from students, which we followed up. In the past one month, we cleared a huge chunk of backlog, said Vinod Malale, deputy registrar (public relations), examinations department, MU.

But in some cases, students have been waiting for more than a month. The university released results of semester seven engineering students on February 23, but results of 114 students were withheld. Even today, 12 of us are waiting for the MU to find the hard copy of our answer booklet and release our results before we sit for the next semester exams, said a final year engineering student.

On Friday, HT had reported that the university could not trace answer booklets of more than 2,000 students across all streams and so their results were held in reserve. Students, who had registered a complaint with the university were informed that one or more of their answer booklets needs to be searched manually and only then can assessment take place.

We have traced several answer booklets and their assessment is underway. The results will be sent to individual colleges soon, said Malale.
Following the death of Lalbaug resident Rajesh Maru by being sucked into the MRI machine at Nair Hospital in January, the civic bodys preliminary findings about cause of the incident reveal that the hospitals security procedure could not be followed that day, as the hospital staff and facilities are overburdened with patients.

Maru, 32, died after being sucked into the MRI machine when he carried an oxygen cylinder  a metal object  into the room. It is prohibited to carry metal objects into the MRI room. A senior civic official said the disproportionate burden on hospital staff and facilities is the reason why the oxygen cylinder could have made it into the MRI room. The incident took place on January 27 this year.

While the committee enquiring into the incident is yet to submit its report, a senior civic official privy to the issue said, There is a strict procedure in place, with checks and balances to ensure such incidents do not occur. However, clearly, the procedure could not be followed that day. The probe report will find out why, but reasons include overburdened staff and facilities at hospitals.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) wants to reduce the burden on civic hospitals by 50%, in order to resolve these issues. It plans to do so through old initiatives such as strengthening its 175 peripheral dispensaries, slowly replacing its private security guards with government policing and use of ID cards for the family of patients to restrict entry of family members to two per patient. The civic official added, Other measures will be decided once the reports findings are revealed. But we have started work on these issues.

The BMC has floated tenders for the third time now to allow private laboratories to give free health tests at 175 civic dispensaries. It also wants to hire more doctors for each dispensary. The BMC noticed that a majority of the patients at civic hospitals come for primary health care, such as basic blood tests and other common diseases such as common cold. It intends to divert this crowd to the dispensaries. This plan has been in the pipeline for some time, under a programme called Aapli Chikitsa.

The civic body also plans to hire government security personnel for crowd management in all its 16 hospitals. The civic official said, We will restrict the number of family members who accompany patients to two, and we need strong security personnel to do so, as we have noticed private security personnel hesitate to use force in such cases.

Both these measures were planned in March 2017 following a slew of attacks on resident doctors by relatives of patients.
To ensure all Zoroastrian Agiaries and Atash Behrams  two types of fire temples, the second being of the highest order in Mumbai have enough funds and are well-maintained, a team has been formed under Athornan Mandal to look after the upkeep of fire temples. The Mandal, an organisation which looks after priests in the community, has floated survey forms within religious organisations to compile data.

We didnt have a complete data of how many priests are actually working and how much they earn. There are times when some Agiaries do not have funds, as a result a few priests are paid lesser than their counterparts. As the community receives a lot of donation, through this initiative their income could be supplemented, said Ervad Ramiyar Karanjia, committee member, Athornan Mandal.

Survey forms that have been circulated seeks details such as land area, built-up area of the property, average worshippers visiting the place, details of various rituals conducted, number of Mobeds (priests) and staff employed and the remuneration paid to them and the details of expenditure incurred by the trust.

Most of these Agiaries are managed by private trusts and are not a part of Bombay Parsi Punchayat (BPP), the main caretaker of Parsi-Zoroastrian properties in the city. As a result, doubts were raised within the community about the survey being conducted.

A part of the community isnt happy sharing certain details about the Agiary because it feels their rights would be infringed upon. But when the survey form was sent to us, there was a clear mention of what the details have been sought for. When the plan is initiated, it will help maintain our religious places better, said Anahita Desai, trustee. JD Amaria Sodawaterwala Agiary, Marine Lines.

Dasturji Khurshed K Dastur, president of Athornan Mandal, said that a fund would be set-up eventually for repairs and maintenance of religious places, to provide kathi (wood), remuneration for priests and other support staff and to make the system of Agiaries and priests self-sustaining.

It has been noted that many Agyaries in India are starved of funds and not able to maintain the property or provide for mobeds and support staff. Some of them also do not have adequate devotees visiting them, as a result of which the profession of clergy becomes unattractive to young Zoroastrians. The final plan, when prepared, will be recommendatory and implemented only if the parties concerned give their approval, said Dastur.
Two days after the state medical education department decided to exclude private medical institutes from the centralised admission process (CAP) for post-graduate (PG) seats, the Maharashtra-Common Entrance Test (MH-CET) cell released a seat allotment list on Thursday night with the names of these institutes.

What followed next was chaos. Hundreds of students, who were allotted seats in private medical institutes, were sent back without confirmation of admission.

We had requested the MH-CET cell to release the seat allotment list, but exclude the 400 seats at private institutes. But they decided against it. Weve been receiving calls from students, who are now worried about their future, said Dr Pravin Shingare, director of the state Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER).

After charging students three and five times the regular fees for management and NRI quota seats for the past few years, private medical institutes in the state approached the state medical education department to allow them to charge five times the regular fees for 35% seats that fall under the management quota as well. Until then, the institutes had requested exemption from the ongoing CAP.

We are demanding [money] to provide students with quality education. Unless we are allowed to do so, we cannot accept any admission because that would be compromising with the future of students, said Kamal Kishore Kadam, president of Association of Management of Unaided Private Medical and Dental Colleges (AMUPMDC).

Along with issuance of seat allotment list, the MH-CET cell also released a circular for state-based private medical and dental institutes, asking them to get permission from the Medical Council of India (MCI) if they want to deny admissions to students.

We are waiting Fee Regulating Authoritys (FRA) final decision, Kadam said .
The Naupada police have recovered Rs1.1 crore from seven arrested employees of a private bank who allegedly cheated the bank of Rs3.6 crore last year.

The case was lodged on November 28 after senior officials complained about the fraud. Three accomplices of the bank employees are on the run.

According to the police, the accused illegally helped 55 customers get housing loans and received 20%-30% commission from them. The majority of the customers are relatives of the accused.

Senior officer Chandrakant Jadhav from Naupada police station said, After the case was registered, the accused did not turn up for work.

The seven employees  Chetan Shere, Nitin Ghadigaonkar, Girish Bhoir, Prashant Keer, Rohit Bhavsar, Ravindra Thakur and Nilesh Mhatre  were arrested in January and are in judicial custody.

They are in the age group of 20-30. They had been working for the private bank for more than one year.

The accused used to process loan applications after the rest of the staff had left for the day, said Jadav. They illegally used login ID and password of their colleagues to sanction the loans, he said. All loans were approved between March 2016 and July 2017.
This Wednesday, President Donald Trump signed a proclamation directing National Guard troops to the U.S. -Mexico border to fight what he calls illegal immigration.

A fifth-generation Arizona rancher who is an outspoken supporter of Trump's border wall said he was "absolutely elated" by the president's National Guard deployment plans.

Trump said Tuesday that wants to use the military to secure the U.S. -Mexico border until his promised border wall is erected.

She expected that there might be arrival of some troops very soon on Wednesday night but other administration officials put up a caution notice about the troop levels, locations and timing as it was still being worked out.

Trump on Thursday told reporters aboard Air Force One that a large portion of the troops he is planning to deploy to the U.S. -Mexico border would stay there until the border wall was built.

A post-Civil War law explicitly prohibits the use of military troops for law enforcement, and a host of laws and Defense Department regulations have extended that law to further clarify that troops can not be used to participate in activities such as making arrests and conducting searches, according to a Congressional Research Service analysis.

According to Nielsen, the effort can be termed to be similar to that of a 2006 operation in which President George W. Bush had to deploy troops for some time in order to help US Customs and Border Protection personnel with non-law enforcement duties other additional border agents needed to be hired and trained.

In Mexico, the country's politicians condemned Trump's deployment decision and Mexico's Senate passed a resolution Wednesday calling for the suspension of cooperation on illegal immigration and drug trafficking in retaliation.

According to a congressional aide, the lawmakers guess it out that about 300 to 1,200 troops may be deployed and that the cost was expected to be around Dollars 60 million to USD 120 million a year. Only Congress has the authority to allocate funds, and while Trump has a little wiggle room, it wouldn't be the money necessary to pull off what he's suggesting. In both cases, troops were deployed through agreements with the state governors, not through federalization of the Guard. Instead, he spoke at length about the "caravan" of migrants traveling through Mexico towards the US border.

A statement issued by the office of New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez, another Republican, said she "appreciates the administration's efforts to bring states to the table".

McIlroy in great shape as Masters second round begins

Their conversations were described by DeChambeau as inquisitive and thought-provoking in the new-age realm of golf and science. He qualified three times, missed the cut every time, but is now poised to make more of an impact than any player could.

Mourinho admits Man City superiority, targets second

Raiola's efforts included proposing the most controversial deal possible - a cross-Manchester move from United to City. A win for Guardiola's side will see them crowned Premier League champions with six games to spare.

Nearly 3 million European Union citizens hit by Facebook data breach

Ms Denham said it was "too early to say" if the changes Facebook is making "are sufficient under the law". Although, as one person said to me this week - perhaps what Facebook did was actually fix Tinder!

Meanwhile, President Enrique Pena Nieto of Mexico blasted President Donald Trump in a video message on Thursday, April5, vowing that "nothing and no one stands above the dignity of Mexico" and adding that the USA president's main gripes were Congress's problem, not Mexico's.

"As commander of Oregon's Guard, I'm deeply troubled by Trump's plan to militarize our border", Brown tweeted. Both the Mexican government and the US Congress so far have refused to fully pay for it.

California Gov. Jerry Brown's administration says it needs answers from President Trump's administration before deciding whether to commit National Guard troops to help protect the border with Mexico.

"We will not allow illegal immigration levels to become the norm".

But the numbers have been slowly ticking up since last April and are now on par with many months of the Obama administration.

Huffman said there were "concerning" trends in the number of border crossings, including an increasing share of families and children that have been arriving at the United States border in recent years, even though overall border crossings are at historic low marks. The monthly increase follows typical seasonal fluctuations.

"President Trump continues to use every cynical political trick in the book to ignite anti-immigrant fervor", House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi said in a statement. He has also been under growing pressure from conservative backers who have accused him of betraying his base for not delivering on the wall, and he was set off by images played on his favorite network, Fox News, of a "caravan" of migrants making their way through Mexico.

"We're looking at a combination of from 2,000 to 4,000".

FILE PHOTO: Soldiers with C Company, First Battalion of the 181st Infantry Regiment of the Massachusetts National Guard stand at attention during a deployment ceremony on Cambridge Common July 8, 2007 in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
The Shiv Sena, which is the ruling party in Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), retained ward 173 in Sion in the civic bypolls that took place on Friday.

Senas Ramdas Kamble won the elections in Sions Pratiksha Nagar, considered to be Senas stronghold, by bagging 6,616 votes. Congress candidate Sunit Shetye won 4,961 votes.

The elections were scheduled after the death of Sena corproator Pralhad Thombare. Shetye is a Sena rebel,who joined the Congress after Sena refused his claim for candidature ahead of the election. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had announced to support Kamble last year.

Saturdays victory for Sena means it retains 94 seats in the BMC, including those of the six former corporators from Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) who defected to Sena and support from four independent candidates. The BJP has 85 seats, including support from two other corporators.

Shetye was defeated by 1,640 votes, despite Congress faring poorly the last time.
More than 250 farmers from Thane district will lose a total of 20 hectares of their land  about twice the size of Oval Maidan  in the proposed Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Railway project, informed the Thane district collector office on Saturday. A meeting was held between these farmers, the collector and officials of the National High Speed Rail Corporation on Saturday in the district planning committee hall wherein the district authorities assured the farmers that they will not suffer any losses due to this project.

The ambitious bullet train project of the central government is passing through several villages in Thane district. The farmers, especially from Diva, had registered their opposition to this project unless the state promises them adequate compensation. To address the fears of these farmers, a joint meeting was held.

Aniruddha Ashtaputre, district information officer, said, The train is passing through nine villages in Thane district. More than 250 farmers will lose a total of 20 hectares of their land in this project. The National High Speed Railway Corporation gave a presentation of the bullet train project to these farmers and the district collector has also assured that none of these farmers will face any losses. The project will be implemented by taking the villagers and farmers into confidence.

Ashtaputre said that the demands of these farmers were heard and authorities would find a positive solution for them.

Sudam Pardeshi, sub-divisional officer of the district, said, The land dealings for bullet train will be done on the lines of the land pooling system adopted for the Mumbai-Nagpur Expressway. The rates will be given as per the May 25, 2016 state governments ruling. The farmers from the areas that come under the developmental plan of the corporation, will get additional compensation equal to the ready reckoner price of the land, so that farmers get twice the price of their land. The land dealings will be done by seeking permission of all those whose names are on the 7 by 12 extract of the land. The whole dealing will be transparent.

A collective land survey of these nine villages will be undertaken, the boundaries will be decided and later the distribution of the land will be established, Pardeshi said. The district has asked the villagers to cooperate with the surveyors. The farmers can also approach the administration to clear any doubt they have regarding compensation, Pardeshi said.

The farmers, though, have demanded compensation equal to four times that of the ready reckoner rate.

Rohidas Munde, president of Agasan village Bachao Sangharsh Samiti, said, We have placed a few demands before the authorities in the meeting. We do not want them to compensate us only as per the ready reckoner rate, as this rate is very low in Diva. We want compensation four times that of ready reckoner rates. We have also demanded jobs for one member of every family that will lose their land in the bullet train project. We also want royalty or pension from the government as we will be losing our livelihood permanently. The authorities have agreed to think positively on these demands.

R P Singh, the project manager of National High Speed Rail Corporation, said, Villages like Savli, Ghansoli, Shil Dawale, Padle, Desai, Betawade, Agasan and Mhatarde will be affected in the project. We will need 13.5 metres for laying of tracks and 4 metres for service road. Total 17.5 metres of area will be required for the project. We will also ensure that the access roads will not be affected while the buildings in the vicinity will be safe from the vibrations caused by the speed of this train.
The government plans to offer 500 million unprivileged people access to government and private healthcare facilities through the recently-announced Ayushman Bharat Yojna. This will be enabled by a cover of Rs 5 lakh per family annually. The scheme is portable across India and a person will be allowed cashless benefits from any public/private empanelled hospitals across the country.

Designed as an entitlement-based scheme, the Ayushman Bharat-National Health Protection Mission (AB-NHPM) is designed to deliver on the basis of the deprivation criteria. This includes, in rural areas, families with only one room with kucha walls and kucha roof, to families with no adult member between the ages of 16 and 59, to female-headed households with no adult male member between the ages of 16 and 59. There are families which comprise disabled members with no able-bodied adult member; SC/ST households; landless households deriving a major part of their income from manual casual labour. The scheme also automatically includes families in rural areas which answer to any one of the following: households without shelter, destitute, living on alms, manual scavenger families, primitive tribal groups, legally released bonded labour. In completion of the loop, for urban areas, 11 defined occupational categories are recognised.

One of the core principles of AB-NHPM is co-operative federalism and flexibility for states. There is provision to partner with the states through co-alliance. This will ensure appropriate integration with the existing health insurance/protection schemes of various central ministries and state governments will be allowed to expand AB-NHPM both horizontally and vertically. States will be free to choose the modalities for implementation. This must be the worlds most imaginative, most inclusive, and largest public health scheme.

To achieve sizeable gains, it is important for the government and industry to develop partnerships with a focus on improving coverage and providing access to quality healthcare services to the people.

Access to tertiary healthcare in India currently faces a huge challenge, both in terms of infrastructure and competent medical professionals, especially in rural areas. The move to open one medical college for every three parliamentary constituencies will help in addressing the challenge related to the availability of healthcare professionals in hospitals, improve access to healthcare and bridge the demand-supply gap. Healthcare is a dynamic space, subject to change, owing to a variety of factors. One of the key drivers of success will be technology. The relevance of technology and digitisation is imperative as we look at newer ways of healthcare delivery services.

India is currently in a state of health transition. Infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, malaria, dengue, H1N1 pandemic influenza and antimicrobial resistance remain a threat to health and economic security. At the same time, we have to confront the emerging problem of chronic non-communicable ailments such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and cancer, which have emerged as leading causes of mortality.

This epidemiological transition is fuelled by social and economic determinants of health, as well as by demographic changes such as an ageing population, by environmental factors like climate change, and by factors such as globalisation and urbanisation.

A continuum of care systems also needs to be established by linking hospitals with health centres and with the community. For AB-NHPM to be successful, effective implementation is the key. For this an independent body or unit may be set up within the ministry of health and family welfare to plan, co-ordinate, and provide technical back-up for the states.

Studies indicate that 65% of the healthcare expenditure in India goes towards outpatient care, which is primarily out-of-pocket expenses. If comprehensive healthcare is the goal, effective financing and delivery of primary healthcare are vital. The setting up of 150,000 health and wellness centres is a major initiative. There is a strong case for public-private partnership in establishing and running these health centres with specific measurable goals. Private participation could be further encouraged by means of tax benefits or subsidies. Existing as well as new district hospitals should be equipped to be on par with corporate tertiary care hospitals.

Hospitals that are empanelled under the health protection scheme should be graded according to their infrastructure and quality of care provided, and then monitored. The government must set up a National Health Regulatory Authority and insist that all state governments set up similar bodies. All the heads of such regulatory authorities should be members of the National Health Regulatory Authority. This would bring in uniformity to Indias healthcare sector.

An integrated approach to implementing these initiatives will have far-reaching effects on Indias healthcare scenario, and we could see a genuinely healthier India. Rationalising treatment or surgical procedures, and use of medicines and diagnostics will bring about a reduction in healthcare costs. This will also lead to stabilising the premiums of the National Health Protection Scheme (NHPS) and ensuring continuous improvements in terms of coverage. India has the problem of big numbers. Just launching NHPS without integrating the wellness centres as well as government infrastructure may not yield the desired results.

I see the scheme as innovative and path-breaking. It is capable of exercising a transformative impact if implemented in an effective and coordinated manner. The enduring interest and level of discussion does reflect the wider realisation in India that only healthy people can build a strong and prosperous nation. An integrated approach in implementation can steer the country towards universal healthcare.

Naresh Trehan is chairman, Medanta Heart Institute

The views expressed are personal
The Chandigarh municipal corporation is staring at a financial crisis with its coffers set to get empty next month. Confirming it, MC commissioner Jitender Yadav said: The fixed deposits have come down to Rs 19 crore from nearly Rs 200 crore. These too will be used up in May for payment of salaries and other committed expenditure.

While hinting that development works will be affected, Yadav said the situation has plunged to a level where we can barely manage salaries and other committed liability this fiscal from the MCs existing resources.

A section of officials in the MC said there might be delay in disbursal of committed expenditure from June, as income from internal sources  such as water bills  is generated every alternate month while the Centres grant comes on quarterly basis.

The only solution that I see for MCs sustainable survival is increase in internal resources and prudence in expenditure. All the councillors are aware of this matter, said Yadav.

Why MC is in the red? No increase in central grant: While the MCs expenditure has been increasing, it has not received adequate grant-in-aid from the Centre. It is getting not more than 10% share in the UT resources against 30% mandated under the Delhi finance commission recommendations. Weak internal resources: The civic body has failed to increase revenue from its internal resources. It has further increased its revenue deficit and put burden on fixed deposits. Wasteful expenditure: The MC has been accused of splurging on public functions and study tours for its councillors and officers. Officials confess that its sanitation contract worth Rs 50 crore per annum in southern sectors is on the higher side.

Centre gives rude shock

Another bad news for the MC is that the Centre has refused to bail it out from its current fiscal mess. The civic body gets its revenue mainly from two heads  its earnings from internal resources and the Centres grant-in-aid, which is basically its share in the UTs revenue. A senior MC official confirmed that there has been no increase in the Centres grant. Last year, the MC got Rs 269 crore. The figure remains the same for 2018-19.

This has come as a rude shock to the MC, which passed Rs 910-crore budget for 2018-19 budget, hoping for an increase in the central assistance. But the gap between projected expenditure and available funds is not set to bridge.

Financial prudence is utmost required now, said the MC commissioner.

No money for maintenance

The MC is not expected to earn more than Rs 450 crore in 2018-19 (including central assistance) where as its annual committed liability is already over Rs 550 crore, including salary, pension, utility bills and maintenance work.

An official in the MCs engineering department, who did not wish to be named, said the civic body is struggling to clear its pending liability to contractors. The amount has soared to Rs 7 crore.

Earlier we were managing the expenditure from fixed deposits. But as these too are on the verge of exhaustion, we fear that we will not be able to carry out road recarpeting or general maintenance, said the MC engineer.
Taking note of the deteriorating law and order situation in the City Beautiful, UT administrator and Punjab governor VP Singh Badnore on Friday exhorted the director generals of police (DGP) of Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh to set up a joint investigative mechanism for sharing information.

Briefing the media after a meeting with the governor, Chandigarh DGP Tejinder Singh Luthra said, A formal system will be established where information about criminals, and resources to nab them will be shared between the police of Chandigarh, Panchkula and Mohali.

Police officials said the new practices were bearing fruit, claiming the number of snatchings had come down in the past fortnight.

Having been pulled up by the Punjab and Haryana high court more than once for failing to rein in crime, UT police have repeatedly claimed that its difficult to trace criminals, who escape the city through Mohali and Panchkula after snatchings, robberies and carjackings.

The tricity police will also exchange their investigation protocols. Besides, Chandigarh police will set up checkposts in coordination with Mohali and Panchkula police, with the hope of instilling fear in the minds of criminals targeting Chandigarh residents, Luthra added.

He said three teams comprising DGPs, senior superintendents of police (SSP) and superintendents of police (SP) will work at different levels for smooth coordination between the three police departments.

To counter the rising crime rate in the city, DGP Luthra said UT police, PCR cops and traffic police have been told to be stringent in the checking of two-wheeler riders.

He said the police were also relying on Union ministry of road transport and highways application Vahan. The app helps cops confirm whether a registration number belongs to the vehicle. PCR personnel have been asked to send daily list of vehicles checked, Luthra said.

Moreover, the whereabouts of convicts out on bail and people acquitted in cases of snatching are being monitored by the police to know about their present activity. Police officials said the new practices were bearing fruit, claiming the number of snatchings had come down in the past fortnight.
Established in the independent India in 1947 with roots in the Lahore varsity, Panjab University has advertised the vice-chancellors post for the first time in its history.

Last date for submitting applications is April 30.

Tenure of the present V-C, Prof Arun Kumar Grover, will end on July 22 this year. He has ruled out applying for the post.

A selection-cum-search committee will be interviewing the candidates before sending the names of shortlisted ones to the Vice-President, who is the varsitys chancellor.

The advertisement states that the applicant is expected to be a visionary with proven leadership qualities, administrative capabilities as well as teaching and research credentials. The applicant needs to have at least 10 years of experience as a professor in a university or in an equivalent position in a reputed research or academic administrative organisation.

Grover got extension in 2015

Prof Grover, who had joined PU as the vice-chancellor on July 23, 2012, got an extension in 2015 just before he was set to retire.

Grover said he will not be applying for the post.

I have already completed my two terms and have no plan to continue. In fact, I have almost shifted out of my place, he said. The Vice-Presidents office has asked the university to advertise the post. No directions were given in the PU calendar on the appointment. Therefore, it is the chancellors call.

A PU alumnus, Grover did his MSc (honours) from the physics department in 1973 and went on to attain a doctorate from the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) in 1979.

In the varsitys history, only two V-Cs  RC Paul and RP Bambah  have served three terms.

The V-Cs post carries a basic pay of Rs 75,000 per month along with Rs 5,000 as special allowance and dearness allowance as applicable under the Sixth Pay Commission. Further, a rent-free, semi-furnished accommodation is also provided on the campus.
Kammara Sambhavam is an upcoming period film with an exciting cast. The film has Dileep, Siddharth, Bobby Simhaa and Namitha Pramod playing pivotal roles and is all about Kammaran Nambiar, who is being hunted . .

At the audio launch of the film earlier this week, an emotional Dileep thanked his fans for their undying love and support. It was the actors maiden public appearance since he was out on bail in the infamous actress assault case.

Speaking about the film at the event, he said the story was pitched to him by director Rathish Ambat a few years ago. The project couldnt take off immediately due to certain situations. Its a very ambitious project and Im eagerly looking forward to its response. In the film, I sport three getups. When we were confused whether I should grow beard for one of the looks is when I got trapped in a tsunami and got jailed. I had grown beard in jail and we used that look in the film, said Dileep, thanking producer Gokulam Gopalan for not losing his faith in him. He had invested around Rs 10 crore when I was arrested. Ill be eternally thankful to him as he believed I would come back. I see Kammara Sambhavam as my rebirth.

Siddharth, who plays a crucial role in the film, makes his Malayalam debut with Kammara Sambhavam. Not long ago, he described Dileeps character as most complicated and layered via a tweet. He wrote that the wrinkles of Kammaran hide many layers of truth of the character. He went on to add that its the toughest film in his career yet.

Having gone on the floors way back in 2016, the films shoot had to be stalled in 2017 after Dileep was arrested. The shooting recommenced in October last year and was recently wrapped up. Produced by Gokulam Gopalan under his banner Sree Gokulam Movies, the film will be Dileeps first major release of 2018. The film is expected to hit the screens for Vishu.

Follow @htshowbiz for more

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Ram Charans Rangasthalam is having a dream run at the box-office with over Rs 130 crore earnings and still counting. Apart from impressing audiences and critics alike, the film has won over personalities from the film fraternity. After Jr NTR, its the turn of superstar Mahesh Babu to heap praise on the film directed by Sukumar.

Having recently returned from Spain after shooting a song for Bharat Ane Nenu, the first thing Mahesh did upon landing in Hyderabad was to watch Rangasthalam. Rangasthalam. Raw, rustic and intense. Sukumar, you are truly a master of the art. Devi Sri Prasad, you are a Rockstar for all the right reasons. Rathnavelu, as always brilliant, he tweeted.

Mahesh said, Mythri Movie Makers excelled as producers once more. He even said that this is the career-best performances of Ram Charan and Samantha. Congratulations to the whole team. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

Rangasthalam... raw, rustic and intense... @aryasukku you are truly a master of the art. @ThisisDSP you are a Rockstar for all the right reasons. @RathnaveluDop as always brilliant   Mahesh Babu (@urstrulyMahesh) April 6, 2018

.@MythriOfficial as producers have excelled once more :) Ram Charan & @Samanthaprabhu2 this surely is your career-best performance.Congratulations to the whole team Thoroughly enjoyed it :)  Mahesh Babu (@urstrulyMahesh) April 6, 2018

In an earlier tweet, Jr. NTR said that no other actor could have done this role better than Ram Charan. Just saw Rangasthalam. Hats off to you Charan. You truly deserve all the applause and accolades that you are getting. Take one from me too. No one could have done it better. Respect.

Rangasthalam, a revenge drama set in the 1980s, features Ram Charan in the role of a small-time village mechanic with a hearing impairment. The film also stars Aadi Pinisetty, Samantha Akkineni, Jagapathi Babu and Prakash Raj in crucial roles.

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As a debate over bringing down iconic figures rages around the world, including in India, Mahatma Gandhi has become the target of an effort to have his statue removed from the campus of Carleton University in Ottawa, the capital of Canada.

The campaign is being spearheaded by Kenneth Aliu, president of the Institute of African Studies Student Association (IASSA). In an opinion piece for the independent weekly Charlatan, Aliu accused Gandhi of anti-black racism and called for the removal of the statue.

It appears the universitys administration isnt likely to accept that demand.

While Aliu was not available for comments despite agreeing to speak with Hindustan Times, he said in a radio interview that he started examining this issue after the 2016 protests at the University of Ghana over a statue of the Mahatma being placed there.

While mentioning Gandhis philosophy of non-violence in his oped, Aliu wrote that it is insufficient to state the obvious about Gandhi without questioning the legacy of the man we have collectively placed on a moral pedestal. He added, Gandhi was a racist. He utilised anti-Black racism as a weapon to bargain with the British about the subjugation of Indians living in South Africa.

Aliu continued: He was known to explicitly refer to Black South Africans as Kaffir, a derogatory term on the same level as the N-word. In his 20 years in South Africa, Gandhis racism towards black peoples was made clear.

The statue of the assassinated father of the Indian nation was officially unveiled on October 2, 2011, or Gandhi Jayanti, at the initiative of the Ottawa-based Mahatma Gandhi Peace Council( MGPC), which has the objective of promoting education in Mahatma Gandhis principles and beliefs, especially those related to peace and non-violence.

The life-size statue was donated by the Indian government through the Indian Council of Cultural Relations.

While the university administration did not respond to a request for comment, MGPCs president Rashmi Gupta said the council had been assured by the varsity president that the statue will remain.

Dr (Alistair) Summerlee, president of the university, reassured MGPC, observing that if he was asked about this issue, he will be convincing in his defence of an individual who meant a great deal to India, Indians and to global citizens. Gandhiji, according to him, was a greatly revered and respected figure and that the president and the board had the final say in any moves to remove statues or memorabilia to any individual on campus and this would not be a direction that the university will pursue, she said in an emailed response.

Responding to Alius charge of anti-black racism, Gupta acknowledged Gandhi had made certain remarks way back that raised some concerns, but those came before he evolved to become the Mahatma. She said there was a similar debate over the statue when it was first installed at the campus, but such protests were inspired by this misplaced notion of prejudice.

Gupta pointed out that the first statue of Gandhi in South Africa was unveiled in 1993 at Pietermaritzburg by none other than the father of the modern, post-apartheid nation, Nelson Mandela. She quoted Mandela as saying, Gandhi must be forgiven those prejudices and judged in the context of the time and circumstances. We are looking here at the young Gandhi, still to become Mahatma, when he was without any human prejudice save that in favour of truth and justice.

But the debate at Carleton may be far from over, as Aliu stressed the opposing position in his piece: The removal of the statue is one way of correcting that history and rethinking the narratives we tell - especially in an institution responsible for creating critical thinkers.

India has witnessed a debate of its own on the toppling of statues by political opponents, starting with the destruction of a statue of Communist icon Lenin in Tripura, where 25 years of Left rule ended in March . Since then, statues or busts of Dalit icon BR Ambedkar, social reformer and founder of the Dravidian movement EV Ramasamy Periyar and Jan Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mookerjee have been vandalised in different parts of the country.
A man drove a van into a group of people sitting outside a popular restaurant in the old city centre of Muenster in western Germany on Saturday, killing at least two of them before shooting himself dead, police said.

The vehicle ploughed into people sitting at tables outside the Grosser Kiepenkerl restaurant, which is popular with tourists.

At 15:27 (1327 GMT), a vehicle drove into the outside area of the restaurant ... three people were killed, 20 injured, and six of those seriously injured, a police spokesman said, adding: The perpetrator killed himself in the vehicle.

It was not immediately clear whether the perpetrator was among the three killed, or whether his death took the number of dead to four. A police spokeswoman said separately that there were at least three people dead.

The identity of the perpetrator was not yet clear, the spokesman said. Investigators were looking at the possibility that other suspects fled the scene, though they had no evidence this was the case, he added.

It is far too early to speak of an attack, he said.

The police spokeswoman said: The danger is over.

The incident came one year to the day after a truck attack in Stockholm that killed five people, and also evoked memories of a December 2016 truck attack in Berlin that killed 12 people.

Anis Amri, a failed Tunisian asylum seeker with Islamist links, hijacked a truck on Dec. 19, 2016, killed the driver and then ploughed it into a crowded marketplace, killing 11 more people and injuring dozens of others.

I am shocked by the news from Muenster, said Andrea Nahles, parliamentary leader of the Social Democrats, junior partner in Chancellor Angela Merkels ruling coalition.

My thoughts are with the victims and their relatives, she added. I hope that our authorities can quickly clarify the background to this incident and wish the local forces much strength for their work.
Amid allegations of China engaging in massive land grabbing in the Maldives, the Pentagon on Friday said it was a cause of concern for the US.

Asserting that the US was committed to a free and open Indo-Pacific rules-based order, the Pentagon said anything else would cause the US concern.

The US is committed to a free and open Indo-Pacific rules-based order. We have seen concerning developments in Maldives as far as the Chinese influence is concerned, Joe Felter, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for South and Southeast Asia, told PTI in interview.

Its in Indias backyard. We know its of concern to India. So, yes, (the situation in Maldives) is a concern. We will see how it plays out. It emphasizes some of our priorities identified in our National Defence Strategy, the top Pentagon official said.

He was responding to a question on the allegations of a Maldivian opposition leader and a former foreign minister, on the Chinese land grabbing activities in the island nation with the potential of developing them into a military outpost.

Felter said these developments were a cause of concern for all states that supported the maintenance of a rules-based order.

If you look at similar activities across the region, it gives us some cause for concern. From Djibouti to, Gwadar put to Hambantota port in Sri Lanka, and now potentially the Maldives and then extending further east, its of concern, he said.

Other countries in the region have expressed similar concern, including India, he noted.

We believe the interests of all states- large and small- are best served by maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific and a rules-based order. Some of Chinas activities that weve observed give us concern because they do not seem to be consistent with those interests. I suspect India shares these concerns as well, Felter said.

During a recent visit to the US, Ahmed Naseem, a former foreign minister of Maldives, had alleged that China was meddling in internal affairs of Maldives and had indulged itself in a massive land grabbing endeavour which if left unchecked would pose a major strategic threat to both the US and India.

China, he alleged, appeared to be keen on building a base in the Maldives which one day may house warships and submarines.
Pakistans prime minister says Afghanistan has accepted his offer to revive stalled peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban.

Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said war is not the solution to the decades-long conflict in Afghanistan. His remarks Saturday came a day after he visited Kabul and met with the Afghan leadership.

Pakistan has praised Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghanis overture to the Taliban in which he offered to recognize the radical religious group as a political party. The Taliban have not officially responded but have reiterated their demand to talk to the US before holding talks with Kabul.

Pakistan hosted the first direct peace talks between Kabul and the Taliban in 2015 but those talks ended when Kabul announced death of Taliban founder Mullah Mohammed Omar.
Pakistan is in direct talks with Russia for buying sophisticated military hardware including air defence systems, fighter jets and battle tanks, the countrys defence minister has said.

Khurram Dastgir Khan confirmed that Islamabad was interested in buying weapons from Moscow in an interview to the Russian news agency on Thursday, in which he also talked about increased cooperation with Kremlin which mirrors Pakistans wider geostrategic concerns.

Air defence system is a different kind of weapon we are interested. We are very much interested in a very wide range of the Russian weapons technology. We are in negotiations (on air defence systems) and once we conclude negotiations, we will be able to announce them, Khan told a Russian publication, according to local media reports.

The minister said Islamabad was interested in acquiring T-90 tanks from Moscow as part of a long-term deal rather than committing itself to a single purchase.

Negotiations for the purchase of Russian Su-35 fighter jets are in their early stages and an agreement in this regard may be reached in the next few years, he said.

Talking about security issues in South and Central Asia, the defence minister noted that both Pakistan and Russia were interested in a stable and democratic Afghanistan.

We respect Afghanistans sovereignty. Stability in Afghanistan is important for Pakistan to be able to develop its own prosperous future, to access the Russian market, for example, by land route. Democratic and stable Afghanistan is in the deep interest of both Russia and Pakistan, the minister stated.

He also lauded recent efforts by the Kremlin to bring stability to Afghanistan. We are supporting the Russian regional approach to Afghanistan and we hope that not only Russia but also China, Iran and of course the United States can sit together at the table and devise a way in which we can achieve internal peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan, Khan was quoted as saying by Sputnik.

Khan told the Russian news agency that Islamabad was looking forward to enhance defence cooperation with Moscow in all areas, which include procurement of weapons, military training exercises and intelligence sharing.

In the defence field, we signed a historical and unprecedented Pakistan-Russia defence agreement in 2014. As a result, we have been able to conduct joint exercises.

Pakistan has purchased Russian Mi-35 helicopters and now we are looking at a much wider range of defence cooperation. In terms of training, Pakistani officers are coming to Russia and Russian officers are going to Pakistani facilities for training, he told reporters.

We are also now discussing a wider range of military exercises, we are looking at a wider range of military equipment and intelligence sharing, Khan said on the sidelines of the Moscow Conference on International Security.
A tanker crashed into a historic mansion on the shores of Istanbuls Bosphorus on Saturday after its steering equipment became locked, broadcaster CNN Turk said, adding that traffic in the strait had been suspended in both directions.

Towboats and coast guard vessels were sent to the area after the crash and the Vitaspirit tanker, carrying a Maltese flag, was pulled back from the crash site and brought to shore, CNN Turk said.

There were no immediate reports of casualties, but footage from the crash showed extensive damage to the historic seaside mansion located under the Fatih Sultan Mehmet bridge, one of the three crossings between Istanbuls Asian and European sides.

The Hekimbasi Salih Efendi Mansion has stood on the shores of the Bosphorus Strait since the 18th century and is used to host weddings and concerts, according to the mansions website.

Tanker collides into waterfront mansion in Istanbuls Bosphorushttps://t.co/cxrMdwB0iB pic.twitter.com/T3cX2W1xhu  Hurriyet Daily News (@HDNER) April 7, 2018

The Bosphorus is one of the worlds most important choke points for maritime oil transports, with more than 3 percent of global supply - mainly from Russia and the Caspian Sea - passing through the 17-mile waterway connecting the Black Sea to the Mediterranean.

It is also used by vessels carrying grain from Russia and Kazakhstan to international markets.
Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer John Moores new book, Undocumented: Immigration and the Militarization of the United States-Mexico Border, takes a poignant visual look at the 2,000 miles of porous land boundaries he describes as beautiful and terrifying.

Moore compiled 176 pages of photography spanning a decade of work as a staff special border correspondent for Getty Images.

The work, released by PowerHouse Books, is the most comprehensive photography volume published in the United States by a single author focusing exclusively on immigration at the border with Mexico. Moore will be in Houston for a conversation with the public May 9 at River Oaks Bookstore.

Moores lens intimately captures the human complexity of a phenomenon currently at the center of national debate. His view is from the perspective of both the migrants and the federal authorities in charge of deterring illegal entry into this country.

Moore has previously covered international conflicts and wars around the world. He was part of the Associated Press photo team that won a Pulitzer Prize in 2005 for covering the war in Iraq; he was also a finalist in 2012 for his visual accounts of the Arab Spring while working for Getty Images.

John Moore in Houston 'Undocumented' By John Moore Powerhouse Books, 176 pages, $50 See More Collapse

Where is the beauty of the border in his new book? What is terrifying about the region? Moores offers a window into his process.

Q: What motivated you to create this book?

A: I had been photographing immigration issues for years, but when then-candidate (Donald) Trump made border security a top campaign pledge, it again became a big news story. So I photographed along every mile of the U.S.-Mexico border and covered the story from as many perspectives as I could. I assumed that the issue would wane if he lost the election, but he didnt.  I found myself back photographing on the border a week after the vote. At that point, it also became clear that this long-term project should become a book.

Q: What is the relevance of this book in America today?

A: Americans are on the receiving end of a lot of misinformation when it comes to undocumented immigration. Most people get their news within their own echo chambers. This book is a work of photojournalism, and I want the readers to draw their conclusions about the issue from the images in the book and the experiences I write about. I dont try to tell them what to think. The release of Undocumented is incredibly timely, but that also would probably have been the case at any time during this administration.

Q: What are the most challenging aspects of working as a photojournalist covering border issues?

A: Access is always the most challenging issue for almost any sort of in-depth journalism. In the case of this project, I wanted to photograph from the perspective of immigrants on one side and federal law enforcement on the other. I had been based in Latin America for seven years earlier in my career, so Spanish-language skills really helped me in connecting with immigrants both in Central America and Mexico but also around the United States. In terms of photographing law enforcement, U.S. immigration agencies are essentially military in the way they operate. I spent years photographing the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, often embedded with the military. I learned how to operate in that environment.

Q: And on the flip side, what was the most rewarding aspect of working on this book?

A: Photographing people and places that are difficult to access, telling stories that are hard  thats really rewarding.

Q: What did you learn from this work on a professional level and on a personal level?

A: This story has reinforced something Ive learned over the course of my career. That is, if the people I photograph feel I am honest and fair, they will give me extraordinary access to their lives, often in some of the most difficult moments. I try very hard not to abuse that access.

Q: Is there any photo in the book that you value in a special way?

A: One afternoon I was photographing U.S. Border Patrol agents as they tracked a group of undocumented immigrants through thick brush after the group had crossed the Rio Grande from Mexico into Texas. The agents had a K-9 unit, and the dogs were sniffing and racing through the mesquite as they closed in on the group. I heard barking, and when I caught up to them, the agents were pulling out a half-dozen dust-covered immigrants from under thorny branches. They grouped briefly in a clearing, and I looked down and saw that a handcuffed couple were holding hands. The woman, her thumbnail painted red, was gently caressing his hand. That small gesture of comfort, of humanity, stays with me. I had no chance to interview them, so I never knew from where they came  what and who they left behind. I never knew if they had traveled together or met in that very moment. I never knew what they had paid to make this difficult journey, nor what they felt when it ended in failure.

Sometimes photographs leave us with more questions than answers, and thats OK, as long as they make us feel.

Q: What would you like for people to take away from this book?

A: Id like people to think of immigration and the border with Mexico in a more nuanced way. I wanted to both humanize the plight of undocumented immigrants and reveal how they are dehumanized in this current environment of xenophobia in the United States.

Q: Briefly in each case, how would you describe the border from the following perspectives?

 Physically: Its varied, rugged, beautiful and terrifying, often all at once.

 Artistically: Its best seen from above, as a thin line, dwarfed by vast landscape.

 Professionally, from the view of the photojournalist: Its many thousands of pictures and counting.

 Politically: Its a lightning rod.
Newland Communities executives spent two years buying up Katy Prairie cattle pastures to assemble the 3,600-acre site of the companys new master-planned community. They dubbed it Elyson  a tribute to Ely Freeman, one of the original settlers of the Katy area.

The location, adjacent to the Grand Parkway, was ideal. The fine public schools in Katy ISD would be a big draw for families. The topography, though, was a problem: Three flood plains crossed parts of the property.

Developers prefer to avoid the regulations involved in building in flood plains, and prospective buyers are leery of the risks and the relatively high flood insurance premiums. To overcome these obstacles, Newland turned to a well-established procedure: the company decided to raise homes above the flood plain with dirt, or fill, excavated from other areas of the site.

While the use of fill for this purpose is not uncommon in the Houston area, some experts say its questionable  particularly at a time when long-held assumptions about flood resilience are being re-examined in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.

The big problem in the Houston area is, you start using fill, you can fill so much that theres no storage left, said Larry Larson, director emeritus of the Association of State Floodplain Managers.

Harris County requires developers to offset fill by creating an equivalent amount of water storage, typically through on-site detention. Such rules reduce adverse impacts but dont eliminate them, Larson said.

Jim Blackburn, a Houston attorney and Rice University professor who has emerged as a leading voice in discussions about protecting the Houston region from catastrophic floods, said the use of fill to lift property out of flood plains is legal, but arguably unethical. It sends the wrong message, creating a perception of safety from flooding that may not be justified.

Ted Nelson, the president and chief operating officer for Newland Communities west region, said engineers hired by the company provided assurances that using fill to elevate lots, along with other steps to ensure good drainage, would provide a high level of flood protection.

We had the ability to do this all within the site that we were considering purchasing, Nelson said. The soils there were good; we could use them for fill dirt. The system actually slows down the release of that flood water into the Addicks Reservoir.

Assured they were safe

Nelson said the homes in Elyson, which is in an early stage of development, are being elevated one foot above the 100-year flood plain level, and the foundation slabs add another 12-15 inches.

Harvey reveals flaws of government by MUD

In contrast, some of the homes in two neighborhoods in The Woodlands where fill was used were raised less than a foot above the flood plain level, according to Federal Emergency Management Agency documents. More than 300 homes flooded in these neighborhoods, Timarron and Timarron Lakes.

Owners who had been assured that their homes were safe from rising water now struggle to understand how to make good decisions when so many of the old rules no longer seem to apply, said Don Hickey, a bank executive whose home in Timarron Lakes flooded.

I was somebody who was informed, said Hickey. Someone who is not informed doesnt have a chance.

When Hickey bought his home, he made sure it was more than five feet above the 100-year flood plain because he knew floods from nearby Spring Creek in 1994 had exceeded that level. Even so, Harveys rains put 7 inches of water into his house.

A post-Harvey analysis by Hickey and other residents concluded that most of the homes that flooded during the hurricane were built on land that was raised using fill.

As Newland Communities planned the Elyson development, the San Diego-based company in 2016 obtained so-called LOMR-F documents  letters of map revision based on fill  for more than 300 home lots in the first section of the northwest Harris County community. These documents empowered the company to tell buyers, accurately, that their homes were not in the 100-year flood plain, which is land deemed to have a 1 percent chance of flooding in a given year.

Lenders typically require buyers of homes in the 100-year flood plain to purchase federal flood insurance, which is optional outside the flood plain. Structures in the flood plain also can be subject to stricter building requirements.

Increasingly, though, the reliability of this standard as a measure of flood risk is being questioned. The Houston area has experienced three 500-year floods  events with a 0.2 percent chance of occurring in any given year  since 2015. And a recent Houston Chronicle analysis found that almost three-quarters of the 204,000 Harris County homes and apartment buildings damaged by Harvey were outside the 100-year flood plain.

The 100-year flood plain is obsolete, said Blackburn.

As development of Elyson continues, many, but not all, of its planned 6,200 houses will require fill, Nelson said. The use of LOMR-F documents, he said, is a fairly common way of developing in many locations. Its not new by any stretch of the imagination.

Harris County issued 17 permits in 2017 for projects that obtained LOMR-F letters, according to county Flood Control District spokeswoman Dimetra Hamilton.

Build, flood, rebuild: Flood insurances expensive cycle

Newer subdivisions fared best

The concerns about the use of fill are part of a broader debate about what responsible development looks like in a post-Harvey era. Its a contentious discussion, as shown by the City Councils narrow 9-7 approval on Wednesday of stricter development rules proposed by Mayor Sylvester Turner.

Questions about where and how to build are particularly resonant for developers of large suburban projects like Elyson, which have big footprints that cover prairies and fields with hard surfaces that dont absorb water.

Much of the recent discussion about these developments, particularly those in the flourishing market west of the city, has focused on their effect on flooding downstream. But flooding within the communities can be a problem as well.

People like to live near water, and the streams that course through many of the areas most successful suburban developments are at once a marketing tool and a potential source of misery when torrential rains push them out of their banks. In Fort Bend County, for example, Harveys rains flooded hundreds of homes in master-planned communities along the Brazos River.

Rising river: Harvey overwhelmed some levee systems. Future storms could do worse.

Overall, newer subdivisions fared better through Harvey.

Since Harris County updated its regulations governing new subdivisions in 2009, more than 75,000 single-family homes have been built in the countys unincorporated areas. Of those, about 470 flooded during the hurricane.

One of the safest places to be in Harvey was in a new house, said Scott Davis, senior vice president of Meyers Research, a real estate consulting firm.

For developers eyeing new projects in flood plains, adding fill is one of several ways to obtain map revision letters from FEMA. Some Houston-area developments where this technique was used have fared well during recent major floods.

In Bridgeland, a master-planned community more than three times the size of Elyson that also obtained LOMR-F documents, not one house flooded from rising water during Harvey or the Tax Day Flood in 2016, said Heath Melton, vice president of master-planned communities for the Howard Hughes Corp., the developer of Bridgeland and The Woodlands.

Melton attributes that record in part to new guidelines enacted after Tropical Storm Allison. He cited the communitys detention, pipe sizes and other drainage systems.

When Harvey struck last August, close to 2,900 homes were occupied in Bridgeland, located east of the Grand Parkway and south of U.S. 290.

Looking ahead

Elysons drainage system performed well during Harvey, according to a report by the engineering firm BGE Inc. The company reported in September that Harvey had flooded streets in the development, but no water entered any of the 94 houses occupied at that time. The risk of flooding could increase, however, as more structures are built on the property.

The site of the new master-planned community features clusters of finished houses dwarfed by vast stretches of empty land with home sites staked out. The eight home building companies involved in the project have posted "lot available" signs around the property.

Jennifer Jones, whose family moved into its new house in Elyson last year, said she and her husband researched the flood issues and understood that the land where her house stands had been in a flood plain until the builder elevated it with fill.

Absolutely, Jones said, when asked if she was confident these steps would protect her house from flooding. She said she was assured that no houses in Elyson flooded during Harvey, arguably the worst flood that weve ever had.

Nelson said its up to home builders to inform residents about flooding issues. Strictly speaking, he added, there is no requirement to inform them because were not in a flood plain.

Hickey, for his part, said he and his neighbors have learned to be skeptical of assurances from builders and developers.

The Woodlands was built not to flood, he said. Everybody has this sense of, Oh, this is The Woodlands. Im buying the brand. Im buying the protection.
Almost seven months after Hurricane Harvey bore down on southeast Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott's office has lifted the suspension of environmental regulations he put in place in the early days of the storm, a move environmentalists called long overdue.

"It was an ill conceived, bad idea from the start," said Ilan Levin, an attorney with the nonprofit Austin-based Environmental Integrity Project. "It did nothing useful (and) it sowed confusion among industries."

TCEQ spokeswoman Andrea Morrow said in an email that the decision to lift the suspension "was the culmination of weeks of review and discussion between the TCEQ and the governor's office to determine the best course of action."

RELATED STORY: Silent Spills, Part 1: In Houston and beyond, Harvey's spills leave a toxic legacy.

The governor's decision comes just weeks after the Houston Chronicle and the Associated Press published a series on the government's inaction following more than 100 toxic spills on land, in water and air during and after Harvey, even though documents show that benzene, vinyl chloride, butadiene and other known human carcinogens were among the dozens of tons of industrial chemicals released throughout Houston's petrochemical corridor and surrounding neighborhoods and waterways.

The news organizations found that only a handful of the industrial spills had been investigated by federal regulators and Texas regulators say they have investigated 89 incidents statewide. Testing by state and federal regulators of soil and water for contaminants largely was limited to Superfund toxic waste sites.

Now Playing: Houston Department of Health and Human Services suggests that some areas exposed to Hurricane Harvey's flood water recorded higher than normal amounts of E. coli just as of last week. Video: Houston Chronicle

Environmentalists made their opinions known on the matter earlier this week, sending a letter to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality demanding the rules be enforced again.

"There was little justification for suspending these environmental and health rules in the first place, but certainly none seven months later," said Luke Metzger, Environment Texas' executive director who signed the letter. "I'm glad Gov. Abbott recognized that and, hopefully, not too much damage was done by his writing polluters a blank check."

RELATED STORY: Environmentalists call on state to lift environmental regulations suspension post Harvey.

On Aug. 28, three days after Harvey began pummeling the Houston area, Abbott suspended many environmental regulations relating to air pollution, wastewater and fuel standards for vehicles.

The governor's Harvey disaster declaration suspended environmental reporting and record-keeping rules, as well as liability for unauthorized emissions for the duration of the disaster declaration, an order most recently renewed on March 16. A spokesman for the state environmental agency said the suspensions apply only when rules would hinder disaster response.

On Thursday, James Person, assistant general counsel in the governor's office, sent an email to TCEQ agreeing that it was time to lift the suspension.

"The TCEQ now asserts that the suspension is no longer necessary," Person wrote. "Based on the TCEQ's assertion and our office's review, the Office of the Governor hereby grants TCEQ's request to terminate the temporary suspension of those rules."

The governor's office declined to comment Friday.

RELATED STORY: Forecasters predict a less brutal hurricane season in 2018.

With the rules suspended for almost seven months, environmentalists say the damage already may be done.

"The state, basically, shot itself in the foot," Levin said. "It will be hard for the state to collect penalties from companies that may have egregious violated the laws because the first thing their lawyers will do is hold up governor's order as their shield."

It also means that some "bad actors" could have used the suspension to continue to circumvent the law long after the storm, Levin added, though he believes most Houston industries reported releases as they would have if the rules had not been suspended.

"I think that if a company is trying to circumvent the law or to avoid having to report, then, yes, the governor's order could help that bad actor. I think the order could invite some companies to pollute with impunity," he said. "It'll eventually come out ... (but) at this point, we don't know."

The Chronicle and AP's reporting found that a number of companies continued to report toxic releases even as Abbott's suspension was in effect in part because federal laws also require reporting pollution. But the state did little independent monitoring at spill sites to verify whether those Harvey reports were accurate.

Morrow said TCEQ still will evaluate the Harvey-related incidents "as part of conducting routine investigations in areas impacted by the hurricane."

Alex Stuckey covers science and the environment for the Houston chronicle. You can reach her at alex.stuckey@chron.com or twitter.com/alexdstuckey.
Texas history teaches us a compelling lesson about the importance of acting quickly in the wake of a natural disaster.

After powerful hurricanes struck the Gulf Coast in 1875 and 1886, Galveston civic leaders debated whether they should protect their city by building a seawall. They talked and squabbled about it for years, but as time passed so did the sense of urgency that suffused the debate following both storms.

Only after the 1900 hurricane killed an estimated 8,000 people did Galveston finally take action and construct the seawall thats protected the island ever since. The deadliest natural disaster in American history finally ended the arguments. Historians can only speculate how many lives wouldve been saved if the city government had stopped dithering about it and built the seawall years earlier.

EDITORIAL: Monty Python antics amok as City Hall debates flooding

That history lesson seems especially relevant today, in light of what happened last week at Houston City Hall. Mayor Sylvester Turner and a majority of council members seized the moment and adopted new standards mandating that all new construction in Houstons floodplains must be built higher off the ground. But the close vote split largely along party lines following three hours of contentious debate. As the city presses ahead with its response to Harvey, the mayor must work on building greater consensus among council members. And its clear some council members need to quit carrying water for the real estate industry.

Right now, buildings constructed in the 100-year floodplain  in other words, in places thought to have a 1 percent chance of going underwater in any given year  must be built at least one foot above the flood level. Beginning Sept. 1, the rules become more demanding, and they apply to a wider range of properties. All new buildings within the 500-year floodplain  which have a 0.2 percent of going under water in any year  must be built at least two feet above the projected flood level.

EDITORIAL: The clock is ticking on Houston's next flood

Some council members  mostly Republican-leaning, though City Hall is technically non-partisan  think the new rules go too far. Councilman Jack Christie proposed an amendment that would have relaxed the proposed elevation requirements in the 500-year flood plain and link the rules to each propertys specific history and flood risk. Councilman Greg Travis, pointing out that the 100-year flood plain is expected to expand when federal authorities release new maps, proposed rolling back the rules after those maps are released.

Both of those amendments failed. But the story behind the changes proposed by some council members reveals quite a lot about whats gone haywire with real estate development in Houston. As the Chronicles Mike Morris and Rebecca Elliott reported, Christies amendment was crafted largely by the Houston Association of Realtors. Another Travis amendment was developed with the help of the Greater Houston Builders Association. And Councilman Michael Kubosh basically said in an open council meeting that he trusted the opinions of Realtors over the citys engineers.

In addition to Christie, Travis and Kubosh, council members Mike Knox, Brenda Stardig, Steve Le and Mike Laster also voted against the new rules.

As weve written before, Houstons politicians should stop listening to the builders, developers and real estate agents who spent decades recklessly building in flood pools and paving the Katy Prairie.

EDITORIAL: Has Houston learned nothing after Harvey?

Still, council members had some legitimate complaints about how these new rules were rolled out. The mayor first discussed the policy changes in late January, but the Department of Public Works and Engineering didnt release an analysis of the data behind the proposal until six weeks later, after the window for public feedback had already closed. Council members have griped for decades that mayors dont give them enough time to review proposals before they come up for a vote, but these new development standards could have been introduced with more finesse. As the mayor proposes future flood mitigation measures, we hope he taps the consensus building talents he developed in the Texas Legislature to win more widespread acceptance of his agenda.

As Galveston learned the hard way more than a century ago, the aftermath of a disaster creates a limited window for action. The new standards adopted last week mark a long overdue shift in the citys laissez faire attitude toward real estate development. Just like Galveston after the 1900 storm, we can only wonder how many lives and how much property would have been saved if our city government had acted earlier.
So wheres ol Black Jack when we need him?

In 1916, when President Woodrow Wilson sent Gen. John J. Black Jack Pershing into Mexico at the head of a punitive force of 12,000 soldiers, he at least had a plausible, albeit debatable, rationale for his mission. Mexican revolutionary Francisco Pancho Villa and his Villistas had transgressed the border at Columbus, N.M., burning the little town and killing 18 Americans. Pershing went after him, but after nine months of chasing Villa through the rough, rocky terrain of northern Mexico, the frustrated general cabled the president: Villa is everywhere, but Villa is nowhere.

President Donald Trump may or may not know about Pershings futile expedition, but ignorance is irrelevant with this president. His decision to dispatch the military to the U.S.-Mexico border  yet another impulsive action by the most ill-informed, ill-equipped chief executive in American history  will be just as futile as Pershings mission, in large part because its a trumped-up rationale. It was inspired by a report the cable TV-obsessed president saw on Fox & Friends about a caravan of illegals making its way toward the U.S. border. Shortly after ordering the military to the border, the president reinforced his warning about illegals on the move by reverting to his Mexican rapists meme. Women are being raped at levels that nobody has ever seen before, he told a rapt West Virginia audience on Wednesday night.

EDITORIAL: Outrage about a Texas border death reflects distortions, partisan posturing and outright lies

The facts about border security and undocumented immigration? Oh yeah, the facts: Illegal border crossings are at their lowest level since 1971. Most members of the group headed north are women and children fleeing violence and poverty in Honduras and El Salvador. The group likely will disperse before it reaches the U.S. border, thanks in part to efforts by Mexican immigration officials to assist them. Oh, and theyre not headed to the United States to get in on DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) as Trump claimed; only young people who got here before 2007 are eligible.

The facts, of course, are superfluous to the man in the White House. Whats important is that mid-term elections are looming, he hasnt built his big, beautiful wall and he needs a scapegoat to divert the attention of his potentially restive, true-believing base. Time to send in the troops.

The presidential pronouncement is a textbook example of how decisions are made in this White House: Fox News sets the agenda, a Pavlovian president with demagogic tendencies responds with lies and ridiculous hyperbole and Cabinet secretaries with earnest mien and grave remarks scramble to implement ill-conceived policy. The new normal in this fractured nation would be laughable if it wasnt such a perversion of good and thoughtful governance.

EDITORIAL: America will be spending billions chasing after a border problem that no longer exists

Until we can have a wall and proper security, we are going to be guarding our border with our military, Trump said, adding, thats a big step, we really havent done that before, or certainly not very much before.

Of course, thats not true either. In 2006, President George W. Bush responded to requests from border governors by deploying 6,000 troops to help with support activities. Four years later, President Barack Obama sent 1,200 National Guard troops to the border to support operations against drug and human traffickers. Gov. Greg Abbott and his predecessor, Rick Perry, also dispatched National Guard troops to the border, where they almost died. Of boredom.

NIXON: Rhetoric doesn't match reality on the border

Imagine a president who prides himself on his salesmanship, who seems to be becoming more aware of the power of the White House bully pulpit; imagine that president making a sincere effort to repair this nations broken system of immigration. He would be pushing Congress to resolve the plight of the Dreamers, streamline our visa bureaucracy, reform our immigration courts, implement a functioning guest-worker program, find a path to legalization for the 11 million undocumented who are living among us as good neighbors and, yes, fortify the border in a sensible way.

Sadly, the president we have is not interested in fixing the immigration problem. He prefers to demagogue the issue, concoct make-believe crises and skewer scapegoats.

An old Army buddy of Pershings once observed: Stupidness and vagueness irritated him more than anything else. That faint rumble coming from Arlington National Cemetery these days may not be traffic on a nearby parkway. Given the times we live in, it could be an old soldier rolling in his grave.
Most people are shocked to hear that tuberculosis continues to exist across the world. While TB is preventable and treatable, it is not being prevented or treated in many developing and developed countries and remains a leading cause of deaths worldwide. Unfortunately, according to the World Health Organization, more than 10 million people get sick from TB annually, and 1.7 million people die from the disease each year.

While recent data shows that 95 percent of cases and deaths are in developing countries, TB cases continue to occur in the United States with more than 9,000 patients diagnosed annually. Notably, Texas is one of three states with the highest number of TB cases nationwide. As a busy international city for commerce, travel and tourism, Houston remains vulnerable to global health problems. Serious TB cases are diagnosed every day in Houston. At the Tuberculosis Clinic at Texas Childrens Hospital, physicians see over 20 children per week. Every year approximately 40 children in Houston become sick from TB, and 230 children are infected with the TB bacteria that require treatment to prevent them from becoming sick.

Drug-resistant TB has become a serious public health problem worldwide. In 2014, 480,000 people developed multidrug-resistant TB, which increased to 600,000 cases by 2016. Multidrug-resistant TB is very difficult and expensive to treat. Patients start on up to six medications for at least two years and only 50 percent of patients who receive treatment are cured. The average cost of treating a patient for multidrug-resistant TB is over nine times as high ($154,000 compared to $17,000) as patients with drug susceptible TB. Without continued attention and funding, its only a matter of time before physicians lack options to treat TB.

Through dedicated attention, focused expertise and improved funding, we have reduced the number of TB cases in our country. Efforts helping to eliminate TB in the United States and abroad must continue to sustain these efforts.

The United States continues to show excellent leadership in supporting TB treatment and research. In Congress, the Comprehensive TB Elimination Act of 2008 was bipartisan legislation U.S. Rep. Gene Green sponsored with former U.S. Reps. Heather Wilson, R-N.M, and Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis. The bill was signed into law by President George W. Bush. It provided funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to respond to international outbreaks of multi-drug resistant TB. It also increased funding for the elimination of TB. The law also expanded research on TB diagnostic and treatment tools at the CDC and National Institute of Health.

The Comprehensive TB Elimination Act provided the resources necessary to develop new tools to better diagnose TB infection and molecular tests that more accurately and rapidly identify resistant strains of drug-resistant TB. In addition, the first new TB drugs in the past 45 years (Bedaquiline and Delamanid) were recently introduced and are now being used to successfully treat patients with multidrug-resistant TB.

The United States has done an excellent job providing funding for global health. In the last few years, Congress has shown a commitment to funding medical research and combating disease outbreaks. The National Institute of Health received a $3 billion boost in funding, allowing new research that could lead to cures for ailments and disease that are increasingly difficult to treat. Our country has also been the largest contributor to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, providing more than $4 billion in the past three years alone to help combat TB and other infectious diseases worldwide.

Despite the many challenges, there is cause for hope. Through tremendous effort, strong expertise, and improved funding, we have reduced the number of cases of TB. Yet more remains to be done to achieve the goal of ending the TB epidemic by 2030.
ASSOCIATED PRESS Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi attends a function to mark the national Panchayati Raj or village civil council day, in New Delhi, India, Friday, April 24, 2015. Modi on Friday urged Panchayat members to work with a five-year vision with concrete development plans to bring about positive changes in their village and also emphasized on the need for education, according to local reports. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Internet search giant Google apologised yesterday for any confusion or misunderstanding that arose over the listing of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modis photos appearing in image search results for query on Top 10 criminals in India.

But Modi is not the only misfit on that page. The search page also includes eminent public figures like Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, the founder of Art of Living, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Lawyer and Politician Ram Jethmalani, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, and Bollywood actress Sonakshi Sinha.

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So what exactly is going on? This isnt the first time that Googles algorithm has thrown up some completely whacked out results. A popular technique, known as Google bombing was used by pranksters and SEO experts to make George W. Bush the first result for the term miserable failure.

Nothing personal about it: Modis photo appears thrice in Google Image search, right next to extremists like Hafeez Saeed and Osama Bin Laden

If you take a closer look at the source for these results where Narendra Modis photo comes from, two of these are from Topyaps.com, which is creating a perfect viral storm with this post. Another one of these photos comes from a 2014 newswire where Modi promised that the Supreme Court will set up special courts to deal with politicians with criminal backgrounds. Scroll further down, and you now see reaction stories to this new development being indexed too.

As more and more stories connect Narendra Modi to the keywords top 10 criminals in news stories and on Twitter, this search result is likely to become indelible unless Google takes deliberate steps to remove Narendra Modi from the result. This is what they did with George W. Bush, who is no longer the top search result for "miserable failure".

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Just a few weeks ago, users found out that typing Nigga House in Google Maps would direct the user to the White House. In that particular case, it turns out hackers had created a fictitious business which was verified by Google. The next step is to have this business reclaimed from another Google account, which then allows you to change the name and location of the business.

As long as Google remains the world's most popular search engine, SEO experts and hackers will continue their attempts to influence search results, for amusement and profit.

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Robert Mizerek via Getty Images Identity theft on the web

Have you ever trawled the internet to find out if account names were available for celebrities? Do you own any of them? Congratulations, you are a cybersquatter. A lot of people like to acquire accounts and domain names of celebrities just to get some attention or money. Let's take a look at some cases where Indians squatted shamelessly on the web, rather than by the roadside.

Recently, Facebook's CEO Mark Zuckerberg bought the domain maxchanzuckerberg.org for $700 from a boy in Kochi. Amal Augustine, a final year engineering student told TOI that he has been doing domain registrations of such sort for quite a while.

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"I have registered quite a few domain names and I have been doing it for some time. I registered this domain name when their baby was born last December", Augustine, a student of KMEA engineering college, told TOI.

In September 2015, Sanmay Ved owned Google.com for a minute. The former Google employee bought the domain for a mere $12 when he found that 'Google.com' was available for purchase. Later on, Google paid him $6006.13 which he donated to the Art Of Living. Later, on hearing about the cause, the search giants doubled his reward.

In 2014, Qaiser Ali from Lucknow found out that @PMOIndia handle was up for grabs as officials had changed the handle to @PMOIndiaArchives for a while. So he took a chance and changed his handle to PMO India. He even tweeted out from the account once before alerting officials that the handle was with him.

A few days ago a man created a fake government website and was later arrested. A Delhi-based businessman had filed a complaint against him for posting a fake tender. The man, Tarun Gupta was arrested with  8 lakh cash in his possession. He had made a fake website of a sub-department of the Ministry of Skill Development and had conned many people.

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In the past, techies have squatted on domain names like salmankhan.com and amitabhbacchan.com. Foreigners have also capitalized on Indian domain names. A German man called Mathias Stricker sold yoga.in for 1 crore. A company called Axsiom made $10000 for selling www.gurunanak.com.

On the international front, too, there have been a lot of incidents of cybersquatting. The highest deal so far was for vacationrentals.com for $35 million.

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If you are working from home, make sure to include these three affordable and tasty food in your diet
When a couple decides to divorce, there are, of course, a lot of items accumulated over time that need to be sorted through.

Russell Crowe knows that first-hand: as he and his ex-wife Danielle Spencer are about to be officially divorced, the actor has decided to put a range of his possessions up for sale.

In an auction hosted by Sotheby's on April 7, Crowe will auction off over 200 of his personal items.

The sale is aptly titled "The Art of Divorce," and is on the day of both Crowe's birthday and his wedding anniversary.

He apparently has a dark sense of humour about the whole ordeal, considering he donned a tuxedo and raised a toast in a photo from the print catalogue.

The list is full of obvious objects like artwork from Australian artists, movie memorabilia, luxury watches and guitars from his days in the band 30 Odd Foot Of Grunts.

But Crowe has also collected some bizarre and unconventional things over the years that you can purchase for a hefty load of cash.

From dinosaur bones to duelling pistols, here are nine of the strangest items you can purchase from Crowe's divorce auction.

Brown Leather "Boxer's Protector" Worn in Cinderella Man

(Credit: Sotheby's (Credit: Sotheby's)

A "boxer protector" seems to be a fancy term for a jock strap. This particular one was worn by Crowe himself in the 2005 film, supported by elastic and featuring a brown suede leather finish.

Estimated price: $500-600

1890 Leandro Bisiach Violin from Master and Commander

(Credit: Sotheby's (Credit: Sotheby's)

This violin used by his Master and Commander character Captain Jack Aubrey is the most expensive in "The Art of Divorce" collection. A musician friend hunted down the Italian-made violin from the 19th century. There's even a piece of silk Crowe put beneath his chin when he played the instrument in the movie.

Estimated price: $110,000-$140,000

Denzel Washington's Seat Back from American Gangster

(Credit: Sotheby's (Credit: Sotheby's)

Crowe has a letter of proof stating that this was in fact the back of Washington's chair during the filming of the 2007 film.

Estimated price: $400-600

Monkey 1964 by Artist Sidney Nolan

(Credit: Sotheby's (Credit: Sotheby's)

A random monkey painting was in Crowe's possession which now you can own if you can pay the price.

Estimated price: $30,000-$50,000

The Templar Tunic and Chain Mail worn by Russell Crowe in the film Robin Hood

(Credit: Sotheby's (Credit: Sotheby's)

In case you have an occasion for wearing full chain mail, Crowe's costume from his role as Robin Longstride in the 2010 film is up for sale. A letter of its ownership states it was taken from the body of Robert of Loxley.

Estimated: $15,000-$25,000

A TrueTone L21 "Tobacco Sunburst" Acoustic Guitar inscribed by Les Paul

(Credit: Sotheby's (Credit: Sotheby's)

One of the less pricier items of Crowe's collection is his 1960s guitar inscribed by Les Paul. With a rosewood bridge and base, it features an inscription from Paul saying, "To Russell, call me and I'll help you tune this mother." The guitar, however, isn't playable.

Estimated price: $300-500

Three Billboard Special Surveys from the estate of the late Mr. Johnny Cash and Mrs. June Carter Cash

(Credit: Sotheby's (Credit: Sotheby's)

Crowe purchased three Billboard charts from Sotheby's back in 2004 that were originally from Johnny Cash's home office until his death. On the charts, there are two Hot Country Singles with "Folsom Prison Blues" listed as the number one track.

Estimated price: $2,000-$3,000

A Cased Pair of 18th-Century Duelling Pistols

(Credit: Sotheby's (Credit: Sotheby's)

It's not surprising the actor would have duelling pistols, but it's curious how much he actually used them for duels. Each one has a brass barrel, silver plate and steel fittings and horn mounted ebonised plunger, within a later fitted and velvet lined walnut case applied with foliate brass strap work, each pistol with an oval brass disc stamped F. HOUSE.

Estimated price: $5,000-$8,000

A Mounted Mosasaur (Platecarpus Ictericus) Skull from the Late Cretaceous Period

(Credit: Sotheby's (Credit: Sotheby's)

The most iconic of Crowe's items are dinosaur bones. The dinosaur skull - found in the Niobara Formation in Kansas - comes mounted in a case. But the best part about them? Crowe purchased them from Leonardo DiCaprio.

Estimated price: $35,000-$45,000
A pair of major agricultural pests have combined to produce a mega-pest that could threaten crops around the world.

Losses from the original pest species, cotton bollworms and corn earworms, already amounts to billions of dollars worth of food.

But a hybrid of the two, shows signs of rapidly developing resistance to pesticides and it scientists fear it could cross international boundaries undetected, wiping out all the crops it comes across.

Bollworms and earworms are closely related. The bollworm has its origins in Africa, Asia and Europe while the earworm is a native of the Americas.

Both are in fact moth caterpillars and they feed on more than 100 plant species including vital crops like corn, cotton, tomato and soybean.

A team of Australian scientists who discovered the hybrid mega-pests think the combination of international species could be creating a new strain with unlimited geographical boundaries.

It is impossible to tell which individuals are hybrids just by looking at them, meaning by the time the hybrids have been detected it may be too late.

"A hybrid such as this could go completely undetected should it invade another country," said Dr Paul De Barro, a biosecurity expert at Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO).

The scientists studied nine from Brazil and found that every one was a hybrid.

Alien attacks: The invasive species damaging the UK Show all 5 1 /5 Alien attacks: The invasive species damaging the UK Alien attacks: The invasive species damaging the UK Grey Squirrel The Eastern Grey Squirrel has decimated the population of native red squirrels in the UK, partly through the spread of the squirrelpox virus to which Greys are immune. There are thought to be only 30,000 red squirrels left in England, with the main UK population (121,000) located in Scotland. Alien attacks: The invasive species damaging the UK Japanese Knotweed This bamboo-like weed can grow as much as three to four metres in ten weeks while its roots spread seven metres horizontally, often destabilising buildings. The Royal Horticultural society warn that "eradication requires steely determination". Alien attacks: The invasive species damaging the UK North American Signal Crayfish The signal crayfish was introduced to Britain in the 1970s and, like the grey squirrel, carry a disease (the caryfish plague) which is fatal to the UK's native populations. They're also larger and more aggressive than British crayfish and can easily adapt to a range of aquatic environments. Alien attacks: The invasive species damaging the UK Giant hogweed Even in Latin, the Giant Hogweed is spectacularly named (Heracleum mantegazzianum) and although it looks nearly identical to regular hogweed (apart from in its size) it exudes a sap that can cause blisters and scars and even blindness. Alien attacks: The invasive species damaging the UK Killer shrimp These crustaceans were first spotted in the UK in 2010 and are too small (3mm to 30mm in size) to easily eradicate. They prey on native shrimp species and have been known to kill simply for fun. NNSS/Crown Copyright/PA Wire

"No two hybrids were the same suggesting a 'hybrid swarm' where multiple versions of different hybrids can be present within one population," said Dr Tom Walsh, a CSIRO researcher who undertook the study.

But while Dr Walsh and his colleagues observed the hybridisation happening in Brazil, they suggested it could have severe consequences for Australia  a nation that has had its fair share of problems with invasive species.

Australia already has its own species of bollworm and Dr De Barro warned there was no room for complacency when considering future biosecurity risks.

"It is critical that we look beyond our own backyard to help fortify Australia's defence and response to biosecurity threats, said De Barro. "As Australia's national science agency, we are constantly looking for new ways to protect the nation and technology like genome sequencing, is helping to tip the scales in our favour."

The mega-pest discovery was documented in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

In Australia, a combination of pesticides is currently being employed to manage the nations bollworms, but chemical resistance is a major cause for concern.

Bollworms are generally better at developing resistance than their earworm cousins, and are immune to the effects of many major insecticides.

However, within the hybrid swarm they studied in Brazil the scientists found creatures that were largely earworm in their genetic makeup, but with bollworm DNA coding for pesticide resistance.

The scientists warned that the Brazilian case highlighted the threat that new agriculturally problematic strains of pest could soon spread throughout the rest of the Americas.

"On top of the impact already felt in South America, recent estimates that 65 per cent of the USA's agricultural output is at risk of being affected by the bollworm demonstrates that this work has the potential to instigate changes to research priorities that will have direct ramifications for the people of America, through the food on their tables and the clothes on their backs," said Dr Craig Anderson, one of the studys authors.
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Years before cofounding Black Lives Matter, Alicia Garza sat in a cramped kitchen sipping a sweet gin drink from a plastic cup, waiting for a pan of turkey legs to finish cooking.

The kitchen belonged to Betty Higgins, a retired bus driver in San Franciscos Bayview neighbourhood. Higgins  or Ms Betty as everyone called her  was a fixture of the community, and as a neighbourhood organiser at the time, Garza wanted to pick her brain. But when Garza would knock on her door, Higgins would brush her off. Something wasnt clicking. Then Garza realised that if she wanted to have a real conversation with Higgins, she had to put down her clipboard, go inside and talk while Higgins cooked and took care of her kids.

I had to learn its not about getting through your list of things, she says. If youre going to visit Ms Betty, youre going to sit there for a couple hours. At the end, youre going to eat good food, and shes going to be, like, This person cares about me.

The lesson was about more than that one connection: Garza was also starting to learn that food and cooking can be as crucial to her work as they had always been to her personal life.

Black Lives Matter was born in 2013, after George Zimmerman was acquitted in the shooting of Trayvon Martin in Florida. Garza took to Facebook from her Oakland, California, home, and wrote a letter. She concluded it by saying, Black people. I love you. I love us. We matter. Our lives matter, Black lives matter.

Over the next year, those last three words grew into a national movement. I stopped being how Im used to being, Garza recalls, which is relatively anonymous. At her favourite restaurants, she would be approached by strangers, all of them weighing in on how the movement could change, be better, do more. The lack of privacy, the monumental expectations  they have made for a high-intensity life. So, to relax, Garza, 37, does what she has always done. She cooks.

Garza fries tilapia while reflecting on the relationship between her activism and cooking (Gus Aronson)

When she was in New York recently for a week of meetings and events, Garza agreed to make dinner with me in my Brooklyn flat, and to talk about her work. Although the kitchen wasnt her own, Garza moved with relaxed ease, making sure her cutting board was always clean and her counter organised. She sliced strips of bacon in half and cooked them down for the collard greens before generously seasoning a pile of flour for dredging her fish fillets.

Even while chopping, stirring, peeling and tasting, Garza speaks slowly and thoughtfully.

As she empties a bowl of fresh corn kernels into a large cast-iron skillet, Garza is careful to turn the pans handle so it doesnt jut out past the stove top. Its something she learnt from her mother, so you dont brush it and get scalded from whats on the stove. In the kitchen, Garza often draws on tips her grandmother gave her, and things she saw her mother do. This creamed corn, rich and comforting, was passed down from Garzas grandmother to her mother, and then on to Garza. Tonight, the corn and collard greens are complements to the main dish, her fried fish. Its a trifecta from her childhood. She cuts the onions her own way, and uses more of the collard stems than her grandmother would, but Garza doesnt stray too far from the family recipes.

My mum made this food for us because it was what she knew how to cook, but also because she had to figure out how to sustain a family on the cheap, Garza says. This is what we had access to, because we were locked out of the economy.

There is something about being nourished that I think must change your biochemistry (Getty)

During her childhood, Garza and her family lived in the North San Francisco Bay area. Her mother worked a number of jobs  for the US Postal Service, in a department store stockroom, and as a housekeeper. Her days were long, and by the time she got home from work, it was usually too late to cook. On the dinner table many nights were takeaway containers and microwave meals. Garza woke early on the weekends and made breakfast (eggs, cinnamon toast, bacon) while her mother slept.

She started to trust me in the kitchen, that I wasnt going to burn it down, Garza says, laughing. When her mother did have time off, she cooked all day, piling the table high with creamed corn, collard greens and Garzas favourite: fried chicken. Each of those meals was a special occasion.

On quiet nights, when Garza is craving the flavours of her family, she makes these dishes or others from her mothers table. Often, she cooks for Malachi, her husband and fellow activist. She says Malachi is a good cook, but when he stirs a pot thats meant to be left alone, dips his finger in her sauce or turns a pans handle the wrong way, Garza sends him to wait in the dining room while she finishes the meal. Then, the kitchen is all hers. Its just me by myself, which I really like, she says.

Since Black Lives Matter grew into a national movement, Garza has rarely been home for a stretch of more than three days. But when she is home, she cooks all the time. Sitting at her dinner table might be a handful of old friends, and one or two new ones, but they must be folks who I trust immensely. Although Garza is so often surrounded by crowds, her work sometimes feels shockingly lonely. Some people only interact with you because they think youre close to something that they want. Do you want to have a security system in your house? Do you want to get death threats by email? Its this side of Garzas life that even her close friends rarely see.

When Garza is cooking, she has an open-door policy. Friends and colleagues whom she loves and trusts are welcome to come and share their ideas and hopes for the movement. But theyll have to do so in her kitchen, while she tends to a pot of beans or makes her grandmothers smothered pork chops. There is something about being nourished that I think must change your biochemistry in a kind of way, she says. If I need to have a hard conversation with someone, Id way rather do it over food.

Its with this same spirit that cookbook author Julia Turshen wrote her most recent book, Feed the Resistance. Kitchens and dining room tables arent just places to make food, says Turshen, whose writing often centres on social causes and calls to action. Theyre also safe and familiar places to gather, connect, organise, plan and to recuperate. Food not only changes the feeling in a space, it also shifts behaviour. When we feel safe and comfortable, were free to have uncomfortable-but-important conversations.

Garzas inclination to organise and plan over food is deeply personal. Yet she follows in the footsteps of many great activists and leaders before her. Food sustains movements, says Fred Opie, author of several books and a professor of history and foodways at Babson College in Massachusetts. Food also starts movements.

If I need to have a hard conversation with someone, Id way rather do it over food (Gus Aronson)

Over a plate of ribs at Alecks Barbecue Heaven in Atlanta, Martin Luther King Jr met with colleagues, devised strategy and planned his speeches. During the Montgomery bus boycott of the 1950s, Georgia Gilmore opened a makeshift restaurant in her Alabama home after being fired from her job for speaking out against the bus drivers. She sold pound cakes, pies and cookies at local businesses, and she started the Club From Nowhere, a group whose proceeds supported transportation for those boycotting the buses.

There would not have been successful movements without the thousands of people who gave up their own, without any help financially ... to buy food, Opie says. From fried chicken to cakes and pies made by members of the Club From Nowhere, there were literally thousands of people baking and raising money.

Recommended Black Lives Matter movement awarded major peace prize

In her work before Black Lives Matter, Garza craved the kind of relationship she had formed in Higginss kitchen. Conversation had been relaxed and, over a shared meal, she had become familiar with Higginss hopes and dreams. All good organising is based on a foundation of relationships, she says, as she dips a tilapia fillet into seasoned flour. She found that sometimes her fellow organisers, too wrapped up in the business of their daily lives, were not making time to enjoy the long meals and conversation that had informed so much of her work. I needed thought partners. People that I could talk to, that I could trust. In her work now, Garza is creating space and time for that trust to build.

Last year, she hatched the idea for a new organisation. This new project is all about transforming black communities into constituencies, she says, reaching into the fridge for a bottle of hot sauce. Her goal for this work, part of what she calls the Black Futures Lab, is to build progressive political movements in small towns, major cities and, ultimately, nationwide. To better understand what communities need across the country, Garza and her team have launched a massive survey. To reach people who are often overlooked by online surveys  namely LGBT+, immigrant and imprisoned communities  Garza has sent out organisers to collect responses in person.

Her work has already helped elevate Black Lives Matter to a national platform. But even to Garza, creating another organisation, with such large goals, seems overwhelming at times. How is she coping? Over lunch, of course. Before she and her team start their work, there is always a meal. We dont sit in a room and talk at each other. We break bread together. Its a time for us to get present.

When the fish shes been watching turns a golden brown, Garza removes it from the pot and brings her dishes to the table. Years ago, she stood at Higginss front door with a clipboard, trying to talk politics and hash out logistics. Now, shes taking her time, letting conversations unfurl, enjoying the process.

Theres an important story to tell around the way food helps us reconnect with ourselves, she muses, as she helps herself to a crisp piece of fish, a portion of greens and a big spoonful of corn. At Garzas table, a home-cooked meal is always the first order of business.

Recipes

(Washington Post)

Creamed corn

4 servings

Whats nice about this version of the Southern classic side dish is that the sauce cooks into the corn, making the vegetable quite tender.

The dishes here are adapted from family recipes by Alicia Garza.

5 ears fresh corn

8 tbsp unsalted butter

 tsp salt

 tsp freshly ground black pepper

 tsp garlic powder (granulated garlic)

230ml whole milk

Use a sharp chefs knife to cut the kernels from each ear of corn. Place the kernels in a large bowl.

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add the corn, along with the salt, pepper and garlic powder, stirring to incorporate.

Stir in the milk; increase the heat so the mixture is bubbling at the edges. Cook for 1 to 2 hours, until the milk solids are visible and there is very little liquid left in the pan. Be sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the pan often, to prevent sticking.

At this point, the corn kernels should be quite tender. Transfer to a serving bowl; serve warm.

(Washington Post)

Collard greens

4 servings

This recipe proves that collards do not have to be long-cooked to take on flavour and become tender.

Ingredients

4 slices thick-cut bacon (115g total)

450g (about 1 bunch) collard greens

1 small white onion, cut in half and thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

 tsp salt

Pinch freshly ground black pepper

Line a plate with paper towels. Cut the bacon crosswise into 2-inch long pieces. Place in a large, cold skillet and cook over medium heat, until crisp. Transfer the bacon to the lined plate to drain; remove the pan (with reduced bacon fat) from the heat.

Rinse the collard greens. Working in batches, stack the leaves, roll them tightly and cut crosswise into -inch-wide strips, discarding only the thick base of the stem.

Return the skillet of bacon fat to medium heat. Add the onion and the garlic; cook for 5 or 6 minutes, until the onion becomes translucent and the garlic is fragrant. Stir in the salt and pepper.

Add the collard greens to the skillet; cook for 10 to 15 minutes, until they are wilted and have turned several shades darker.

Transfer the greens to a serving bowl. Chop the cooled bacon into -inch pieces. Top the greens with bacon; serve warm.

 The Washington Post
There is no way Christina Mouratoglou can remember every conversation shes had with her customers. After all, she and co-owner Adrien Carre have had thousands trickle into Mazi, Londons beloved modern Greek restaurant, since opening in 2012.

But there is one that stands out.

One of our regular customers is a local, famous British film director and he told me once that what we do here is like a theatrical show. Whenever its 6pm, we dim the lights, light the candles and open the doors.

The feeling, she explains, is intoxicating: You become a little bit of a rock star. You learn to crave the applause, you want to hear, Oh my gosh, this is delicious.

Yet, it isnt her ego that keeps Mouratoglou in the industry; it is her sense of passion for what she does.

Its exhausting, she admits. In fact, Mouratoglou and Carre work Monday to Sunday, and take no holidays or weekends. What keeps me going is the love for what I do. Its my pleasure to go to work and serve our customers.

Even as a teenager, Mouratoglou had a passion for Greek food. After moving to the UK from Greece when she was 18, Mouratoglou realised she couldnt find the same quality ingredients she grew up with  and it drove her nuts.

Im talking 16 years ago, when I moved here, you couldnt find good feta. It sounds ridiculous, but I used to bring my own olives, feta and olive oil with me when I went out. She even admits that when people wanted to bring her presents from home, shed only request they bring her olive oil.

Mouratoglou and Carre: We had to take steps into the Greek food revolution (Nicolas Buisson)

Before Mazi opened, the only places Londoners could find Greek cuisine were restaurants that played up the old touristy cliches, says Mouratoglou. After meeting her partner Carre, they both realised they had to do something about it. Together, with his 15 years of experience in the restaurant industry and her deep understanding of Greek food, they decided to show a different side of Greek cuisine with Mazi.

One of the most popular dishes the restaurant serves is feta tempura with lemon marmalade and caper meringue. She explains how chefs squeeze just a bit of lemon to make the fresh, zingy marmalade. This, to her, is an example of how they give their dishes a modern twist, while preserving what makes them special.

We dont want you to taste it and say it doesnt taste Greek.

After six years of success, Mouratoglou and Carre wanted to encapsulate the flavours of Mazi, and there was no better way to do that than to write them down to share. The result of this is their debut cookbook, Mazi: Modern Greek Food.

The book is inspired by Mazis most popular dishes, but also includes a few of Mouratoglous most beloved family recipes. She emphasises that these are not your typical Greek recipes, which is no surprise, as her devotion to food became ingrained through her unique upbringing.

I grew up in a family where when we would have lunch, wed be discussing what we would have for lunch the next day, says Mouratoglou. Our life revolved around food. They all are true foodies. They would go miles to pick up the right ingredients.

The key to Mazis success is rooted in Mouratoglous willingness to celebrate her familys deep-rooted passion for classic Greek cooking, while also being open to modern inspiration.

The new cookbook combines Mazis best dishes with treasured family recipes (Nicolas Buisson)

From social media, I can follow restaurants around the world, says Mouratoglou. I can get inspiration from a traditional Greek place, but then bring it back to Mazi and do it the modern way. Thats how I do my research.

Shes also realised that social media allows her customers to play a more active role in the dining experience.

We have so many people coming up to us with a phone and theyll show us a picture from our social media and tell us: I want to order this one.

If its not abundantly clear already, Carre and Mouratoglou have established something special with Mazi.

We had to take steps into the Greek food revolution. We opened Mazi and then I felt that it was time to share these recipes. People kept asking for them, so we knew it would be a great idea to write a cookbook to share this with people. Not just people in London, but people nationwide.

Now theyve released their cookbook, they are planning on opening a new restaurant, next autumn. Mouratoglou explains that it wont be another Mazi, as to her, Mazi is so special and we wouldnt want to replicate it anyway.

She does explain that itll be Greek food, but as usual, itll have a new twist. And after that project, Mouratoglou says theyll move on to the next one, because after all  the show must go on.

Mazi: Modern Greek Food by Christina Mouratoglou and Adrien Carre is out now. Photography by Nicolas Buisson. Published by Octopus (25)
Brunching out...

If the words pizza brunch dont excite you, then Im afraid we can never be friends. Forget cellar door; I dont think there are two more beautiful words in the English language.

Aside from its euphonic charm, its also the main draw at Radici, Francesco Mazzeis laid-back and slightly cavernous Islington restaurant. The premise is simple: pizza, if you go down that route, along with eggs, pancakes and the option to add on bottomless prosecco for 15 per person.

Funnily enough, its the other brunch dishes we enjoy even more than the pizza. Tuscany meets Puglia is Eggs in Purgatorys burlier cousin, boasting a beautifully thick and rich pappa al pomodoro, on top of which sits two white ovoids.

Cut into one of them: a poached egg. And the other? Burrata, wonderfully creamy and immediately Instagram friendly; the red of the tomato soup mixing with the white of the cheese and the green of the basil on top, in the most Italian way possible. Its enough to make you sing Inno di Mameli.

Pizza brunch: are there two better conjoining words?

Thats not to say the pizza isnt excellent. It really is. The base has the lightness of dough thats been allowed to properly prove over several days, and the tomato sauce on the margherita is outstanding. Its a noteworthy pizza, even at a time where you can get great pizza across London. A pizza brunch might seem almost oxymoronic; pizzas being perfectly constructed for an evening in or the end of a night out.

Incredibly tasty  and importantly Instagram friendly

But when you reduce a pizza to what it really is  a well-balanced combination of pliable bread, cheese and tomato  it becomes clear that its essentially a breakfast food, and it works perfectly as one here. Still, if a margherita sounds odd for brunch, you can go down the smoked salmon and avocado route, or perhaps pancetta and baked egg on their pinsa.

This trattoria provides great value, particularly for a restaurant in the Mazzei empire. Its a lot more accessible than Sartoria in Mayfair, and wont break the bank like LAnima can. Is it as good as either of those restaurants? Maybe not, but it ultimately rests on whether you feel its a pizza brunch thats missing in your life.

Brunching in...

Indian spiced potato rosti, haddock and poached egg stack recipe

A beautiful Indian recipe which finds traditional Indian spices being complimentarily soothed by the presence of coconut milk and flavours of mint. You'll also be taken through the process of making a sambal and chutney.

Cook in: 25 mins

Serves 4

400g Fluffy potatoes (such as Maris Piper or King Edward), peeled

4 Smoked haddock portions, about 180g per portion

200g carrot, peeled

2 tsp curry powder

2 egg yolks

1 tsp fresh coriander

2 spring onions, finely chopped

120g spinach leaves

20g butter

4 large eggs

2 tbsp sunflower oil for frying

1 tbsp white wine vinegar

Grate the potato and carrot into a clean tea-towel and squeeze out any water. In a large bowl add the grated potato and carrot and mix in the curry powder, spring onions, egg yolk and coriander. Mix well.

Divide the rosti mixture in 4 and then shape into rosti shapes. Heat the sunflower oil in a large frying pan and cook the rostis until golden and crisp before turning to cook on the other side. While theyre cooking, place a pan of water on the stove about 3 inches deep and bring to a simmer, adding a tablespoon of white wine vinegar.

Pop your grill on high. Place the haddock onto a tray, dot with 10g of the butter and cook for about 6-7 minutes. Crack the eggs into the simmering water and poach for 3-4 minutes. Lastly, melt the remaining 10g of butter in a saucepan and cook the spinach until wilted.

To plate up, place the rosti on your plates, top with the spinach, then the haddock and finally the poached egg. I like to sprinkle a little curry powder before serving.

Recipe from Lovepotatoes.co.uk
On 17 June 1963, the body of murdered civil rights leader Medgar Evers was borne through the streets of Washington, bound for a historic black church on 14th Street.

People bared their heads and wept as the hearse passed, followed by hundreds of mourners. Evers had been assassinated in Mississippi five days earlier and was to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

Twenty-five thousand people would turn out to view his body at the John Wesley AME Zion Church. Therell be no trouble, an NAACP leader said. Only ... troubled consciences. Washington was, after all, the coloured mans paradise, as some whites called it.

 Martin Luther King Jr.'s last speech before being assassinated, in 1968 in Memphis

Despite decades of slavery, segregation and discrimination, Washington was said to be special. There was, of course, the huge Ku Klux Klan march in 1925, and the real estate covenants that barred blacks, and the swathes of poverty and want.

But it wasnt Mississippi. There was a solid black middle class. And there were vibrant self-contained business districts like the glittering Black Broadway of U Street. To some, it was a pleasant village  a secret city, as a noted historian called it, sheltered and walled off from the white world outside. But to others, it was a prison from which there was no escape, and within which there was misery, anger and frustration that had smouldered for more than 100 years.

On 4 April 1968, the paradise erupted, and on 14th Street outside the church where Evers had rested five years before, the village was burning. Last week marked the 50th anniversary of the paroxysm of rioting, destruction and arson that engulfed broad sections of Washington after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr in Memphis. In three days of upheaval, 13 people were killed. Two of them were never identified. The skeleton of a third was found in the rubble and identified three years later, according to news accounts.

Kings death blew the lid off black Washingtons pressure cooker (AP) (ap)

Hundreds of blazes left vast avenues of burning wreckage and nightmare scenes of desolation. The air was filled with smoke and the smell of tear gas, and the streets were littered with broken glass and tumbled-down bricks, as if in the aftermath of an air raid. Stretches of the city resembled combat zones, and 13,000 members of the Army, Marines and National Guard were brought in to regain control.

Businesses were devastated. Display windows were smashed and merchandise was carried off in waves of looting. More than 200 liquor stores and taverns were looted, burnt or destroyed, according to a post-riot report by the Alcohol Beverage Control Board. Drugstores, markets, shoe stores, clothing, furniture and appliance stores were hit. Looters seized everything from cough drops to a grand piano.

It was anger, said Tony Gittens, then a student activist at Howard University who took to the streets. Real anger. It was justified. Thats what I thought. It was absolutely justified. It was almost like what they asked for.

It had to blow, he said.

Charlene Drew Jarvis, a fourth-generation Washingtonian and former member of the District of Columbia Council, recalled: There was a confluence of anger and hurt about the death of Martin Luther King. But there was also a way of breaking out of a cage in which African-Americans felt they had been contained.

On Washingtons High Street, only store fronts remain standing after the 1968 riot (Washington Post) (The Washington Post)

A lot of it had to do with, Weve been contained here. Were angry about this. We owe nothing to people who have confined us.

In the end, 7,600 people were arrested and hundreds were injured.

What had happened to paradise?

Had it ever existed?

If so, could it ever return?

Washington has been transformed in the decades since the riot. The ravaged corridors now sparkle with new prosperity and new residents, many of them white. Much of the boom has bypassed African-Americans, edging some out of old neighbourhoods, while others remain stuck in impoverished communities plagued by violence, bleak housing and beleaguered schools. Recently, a black cashier at a trendy market on 14th Street remarked to a black customer marvelling at the well-heeled clientele: I grew up here. Its not my city anymore.

The remnants of darker times

In 1910, a judge in the District of Columbia ruled that a 7-year-old mixed-race child named Isabel I Wall was Negro, and therefore barred from attending a white school in the segregated city. Isabel looked white, according to news accounts of the time, and her mother was white. But her grandfather, OSB Wall, had been a freed slave, a noted abolitionist and a pioneering black officer in the Union army.

He was Washingtons first black justice of the peace, appointed in 1869 by President Ulysses S Grant. He was an official with the Freedmens Bureau  the agency set up to help freed slaves  and a member of the District of Columbias legislature, according to historian Daniel J Sharfstein. A lawyer and a champion of Washingtons black community, he became a member of the citys black elite.

But 19 years after he died in 1891, amid mounting racial oppression, his son, Stephen  Isabels father  began what Sharfstein called his escape from blackness. Stephen Wall built a house in the white enclave of Brookland and enrolled his daughter in the local white school. My child is as white as any, he said. But after the school heard about Isabels ancestry, she was expelled.

Her family sued. The court ruled, however, that the existence of black ancestors, no matter how distant, was enough. The child is of Negro blood, the judge concluded. Her racial status is that of the Negro. Washington was then in the midst of some of the darkest years of racial segregation and discrimination. As enslaved people on local farms, black people had been in Washington before it was Washington and were present as the city and institution of slavery evolved.

In the late 1700s and early 1800s, slaves hired out by their masters helped build the US Capitol and the White House, and sometimes were allowed to keep a little of the money they earned for their owners. But the horrors of slavery were there for all to see. The local jail served as a kind of holding pen for slaves and kidnapped free blacks headed elsewhere, according to historian Constance McLaughlin Green in her 1967 book The Secret City: A History of Race Relations in the Nations Capital.

One observer wrote of watching from a door of the Capitol as a slave coffle passed, men, women and children ... bound together in pairs, some with ropes, and some with iron chains.

In 1849, a little-known congressman from Illinois named Abraham Lincoln introduced a bill calling for the abolition of slavery in the District. The bill never passed. And it wasnt until 1862, when Lincoln was president, that Congress enacted a law freeing the 3,100 slaves owned by Washingtons residents. After the Civil War, there was a temporary flowering of desegregation in Washington as public transportation, among other things, was integrated. But bitter opposition remained.

In one case, a District streetcar conductor tried to drag the renowned abolitionist Sojourner Truth off his car. She hung on but injured her shoulder, according to Douglas R Egertons book The Wars of Reconstruction. Truth sued, and the conductor was fired. But as the progressive era of Reconstruction ended, the city and the country began a long descent into a period of discrimination and resegregation that would last more than a century.

In Washington, decent jobs grew more and more scarce. In 1908, the State Department had no black employee above the grade of messenger, according to Green. Of the fire departments 498 firefighters, nine were black. Of the citys 731 policemen, 39 were black.

The separation of the races is more nearly complete [in Washington] than in any other city of the Union, wrote one observer quoted by Green.The situation was made worse when newly elected President Woodrow Wilson cleared many blacks out of government jobs and segregated government lunch rooms and restrooms.

I have never seen the colored people [of Washington] so discouraged and so bitter, the prominent black leader Booker T Washington wrote in 1913. Six years later, in July 1919, the city exploded into outright race warfare.

Spurred by media hysteria and reports of an alleged black crime surge, gangs of white servicemen attacked a black neighbourhood. The conflict spread, and black residents fought back. More than 30 people were killed before the fighting waned.

The 1920s brought no solutions and no respite. In 1925, Washington welcomed the Klan. Thirty thousand robed Klan members strode up Pennsylvania Avenue from the Capitol, then down to the Washington Monument. Businesses said they were disappointed because they had not ordered enough merchandise to serve so large a crowd.

The air was filled with smoke and the smell of tear gas, and the streets were littered with broken glass (Getty)

The Depression brought more misery The government set up an Alley Dwelling Authority to rid the city of the most squalid homes, almost exclusively occupied by African-Americans.

In 1937, 9,000 District houses were illuminated only by oil lamps, 11,000 families lacked indoor toilets, and 7,000 tenements didnt have indoor water taps, according to Greens history. Schools, theatres and the Boy Scouts were segregated. Blacks could not try on clothes at many department stores.

When full integration of the fire department was proposed later, the union representing firefighters objected. Firemen must of necessity sleep, cook, eat and wash in rooms common to all, it said in a statement. To live together in an integrated firehouse is inherently distasteful ... and integration would be a serious social discrimination.

By 1941, black leaders were fed up. They called for a massive march for jobs in Washington that July. Alarmed, President Franklin D Roosevelt tried to get it called off. Black leaders refused, and Roosevelt signed an executive order requiring nondiscrimination at government agencies and plants with defence contracts. It was the first time since the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, Green noted, that a president had signed an official order protecting the rights of African-Americans.

Upheaval in the village

The metal trash can was sitting outside a Peoples Drug store in northwest Washington. It was made of corrugated metal, with handles on the sides, and as Stanley Mayes watched, a man picked it up and hurled it through the stores glass window.

The date was 4 April 1968. Word was on the street that Martin Luther King Jr had just been assassinated. And Mayes, 18, was witnessing the opening scenes of unrest that would torment the city for the next 72 hours and leave sections of the capital in ruins for 30 years. It made no sense to me, he recalled. He and his parents lived around the corner on Wallach Place, and he and his siblings had been reared there.

The neighbourhood, which would become a centre of the rioting, had been a wonderful spot to grow up. There were big families like his. Everybody knew all the local kids, Mayes, 68, said in a recent interview. You could go block after block after block and call people by name. And the streets around the bustling crossroads of 14th and U were alive with celebrities. One might see entertainers such as Harry Belafonte or Junior Walker, boxers such as Sugar Ray Robinson, and civil rights figures such as King.

Soldiers stand guard in a Washington street with the ruins of buildings that were destroyed during the riots (Rex) (REX)

Mayes remembers being swept up in a King march for district home rule when he was 12 or 13. There were three movie theatres, a radio studio where a disc jockey named Lord Fauntleroy Bandy spun records and a joint called Wings-n-Things that was known for the mumbo sauce. It was very much the village, he said. We didnt have to leave the community for anything.

But outside the community, racial unrest had exploded the previous summer across the country, in places such as Newark, where 23 people were killed, and Detroit, where 43 people were killed.

A presidential panel was set up to find out why. King already knew why. Discrimination is the hellhound that gnaws at Negroes in every waking moment, he had said later that summer. The governments Kerner Commission report was issued six months later. Our nation is moving toward two societies, one black, one white  separate and unequal, the report concluded. Discrimination and segregation ... now threaten the future of every American.

Among other things, the report found, life expectancy was almost seven years longer for whites than non-whites. Maternal mortality for non-white women was four times higher than for white mothers. And infant mortality for babies one month to one year old was almost three times higher for non-white infants. In 1968, Washingtons population of 854,000 was 67 per cent black, the highest black percentage of any major American city, according to a Washington Post study of the riots done that year.

Washington suffered from all the ills of other big cites. But there had been no riot. Was the city riot proof, or filled with tinder that had not yet been ignited? By then, the civil rights story had faded from the newspaper front pages, replaced by Vietnam War news. Kings 1963 March on Washington was now five years in the past. And there were rumblings of trouble.

A button shows Martin Luther King Jr and the Rev Ralph David Abernathy, who helped to organise the Poor People's Campaign (Alex Jamison)

In 1966, there had been a running fight between police with dogs and rock-throwing black residents protesting an arrest at an Anacostia precinct house. Demonstrators said they were clubbed. A policeman said he was knocked down and stomped. By 1968, President Lyndon Johnsons 1964 declaration of a War on Poverty sounded empty. And King was planning a big poor peoples protest in Washington for late April.

On 2 April, outside the Peoples Drug, a tense standoff between police and bystanders developed over a fight between local youths and store security guards. Objects were thrown at the store and at police cars. The police arrested two men, but left the area quickly, and the tension eased.

Two nights later, at the same intersection, the outcome would be different.

Epilogue

After the 1910 court case declared Isabel Wall black, her family left Brookland and eventually settled in Georgetown. The family had changed its name to Gates. And Isabel attended the local white school.

Stanley Mayes eventually left Wallach Place to attend Rutgers Law School and have a career in law, banking and investment. In the early 1980s, he bought a house on Wallach Place across the street from his parents. He lives there still.

The street, exclusively black when he was a youngster, has changed. Today, he said, of the 60-odd houses on the block only four are owned by black people.

This month Tony Gittens, now director of FilmFest DC, officiated at the wedding of some white friends in Washington. But such ties across the races remain uncommon, he said.

Washington is still a pretty segregated place, he said. Thats the way it is. That hasnt changed since 1968.

 Washington Post
The sixth sense birds use to visualise Earths magnetic field has been demystified, as two teams of scientists claim to have identified the source of their powers.

Birds are known to navigate using magnetism, not only in their day-to day lives but also on long migrations that can cross entire continents.

This ability is referred to by scientists as magnetoreception, but how exactly birds are able to do it has remained the subject of much speculation.

Now, scientists have pinpointed a substance in birds eyes that gives them the power to perceive magnetic fields  a protein called Cry4.

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Two separate studies conducted in robins and zebra finches have described a role for Cry4 in the visualisation of magnetic fields.

Previous work has suggested a group of proteins to which Cry4 belongs called cryptochromes  which are found in the eyes and are involved in regulating circadian rhythms  also have a role in magnetoreception.

To identify which cryptochrome was responsible for this sense, scientists at Lund University in Sweden examined the presence of three of them  Cry1, Cry2 and Cry4  in the bodies of zebra finches.

They found that Cry1 and Cry2 did what would be expected of substances that regulate daily rhythms  their appearance in the finches fluctuated depending on the time of day.

Cry4, on the other hand, remained constant, suggesting this protein had another role that required it to be active regardless of time.

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"Cry4 is an ideal magnetoreceptor as the level of the protein in the eyes is constant, said Atticus Pinzon-Rodriguez, a doctoral student and lead author of the study published in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface.

This is something we expect from a receptor that is used regardless of the time of day.

Mr Pinzon-Rodriguez added that their results indicate that other animals, perhaps all of them, have magnetic receptors and can pick up on magnetic fields".

The findings by the Lund team were supported by another group based at the Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg in Germany, which arrived at similar results after studying the presence of Cry4 in robins.

They also found that this intriguing substance appears to be concentrated in parts of the robins eyes that received a lot of light. This supported the idea that magnetoreception is a light-dependent, visual ability.

Further evidence for Cry4s role in navigation came when the scientists compared levels in robin eyes with those found in chickens.

While robins in some northern parts of Europe migrate south annually to escape the harsh winters, chickens are strictly non-migratory.

These lifestyle differences were matched by the appearance of Cry4 in the bodies of the different birds.

When the migratory season came around, the Oldenburg scientists found increased levels of Cry4 in the robins, presumably to prepare them for their big trip, while no such increase took place in the chickens.

These findings were published in the journal Current Biology.

While the results from both teams point to Cry4, they say that more research will be necessary as much about magnetoreception still remains unknown.
Stephen Lawrences mother Doreen has suggested the continuing police investigation into her sons 1993 murder should be closed.

Baroness Lawrence said police should be honest and shelve the inquiry if  as she suspects  they have no more worthwhile leads to investigate.

In an interview marking the 25th anniversary of her 18-year-old sons death at the hands of a gang of racist thugs in Eltham, south-east London, Lady Lawrence suggested it made no sense to continue spending taxpayers money on the investigation if it now has no hope of succeeding.

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She told the Daily Mail she had met the Scotland Yard officers working on the case at the end of February and said she didnt think they had a single significant lead to go on.

Lady Lawrence said: I dont think they have any more lines of inquiry. They say theyre carrying on the investigation, but carrying on doing what? If theyve come to the end, they should be honest say theyve come to an end and stop.

I think theyre carrying on pretending everythings fine because they dont want to hear what Ill say if it is stopped.

It has long been accepted that Stephen was stabbed to death by a group of up to six white men in an unprovoked racist attack as he waited at a bus stop with a friend on 22 April 1993. But to date, only two people have been convicted of murder, after a 2012 trial.

Lady Lawrence, who has campaigned tirelessly to bring all the killers to justice, said: As Stephens mother, I think all of the gang should be behind bars spending time for murder.

But its six years now since those two convictions and Im very conscious that the money for the investigation is coming out of the public purse.

Had the police done their job properly in the first place we wouldnt be here. But they were incompetent and racist. They are the reason we are here today.

Failings in the initial 1993 police investigation led to the suspects being released because the Crown Prosecution Service ruled there was insufficient evidence to secure a conviction.

It took until 2012 and the discovery of new DNA and fibre evidence before Gary Dobson and David Norris were found guilty of murder under joint enterprise and jailed for life.

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In 1999, in a watershed for the British justice system, Sir William Macphersons inquiry into the initial murder investigation found that the Metropolitan Police was institutionally racist.

Over the years there have been a succession of attempts to secure justice for Stephen Lawrence.

Stephens parents Neville Lawrence and Lady Lawrence launched a failed private prosecution against Dobson, Norris and other suspects in the case in 1994.

Then, in 1996, a murder trial at the Old Bailey against Dobson and two other defendants collapsed after identification evidence was ruled inadmissible.

At a 1997 inquest, a jury concluded Stephen was unlawfully killed by five white youths.

The current investigation into the murder has involved the offer of a reward of up to 20,000 for details leading to a successful prosecution and a televised Crimewatch reconstruction of the attack.

The 25th anniversary of Stephens death will be marked with a memorial service and a concert, but Lady Lawrence, 65, said she needed to draw a line under some aspects of her campaigning.

She said: I cant keep doing this. I just want time for me  time to reflect.

Ive been on the go for 25 years. I havent stopped. I dont think Ive even completely grieved for Stephen.

If you spend 25 years fighting for justice, where do you find the time? There isnt any. You pick up your grief and put it down; pick it up and put it down because there is always something you need to do.

She added that the 2012 convictions of Dobson and Norris had lessened some of the anger she feels.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: The investigation into the murder of Stephen Lawrence remains in an active phase. The Met continues to hold regular meetings to update the family.
Stop and search powers are not being used enough, one of Britains most senior police chiefs has claimed.

Sara Thornton, chairman of the National Police Chiefs Council, called for officers to be supported in their use of stop and search as rates of gun and knife crime have surged.

Ms Thornton argued that backlash against the controversial powers had gone too far and stressed it was an important tool in protecting the public.

This power may have been used too freely in the past, but the pendulum has now swung too far in the opposite direction, she wrote in an article for the Daily Telegraph. Our officers must know that we back them to use their powers  lawfully and respectfully, but with confidence.

Ms Thornton, who served as chief constable of Thames Valley police between 2007 and 2015, Ms Thornton said that police were trained to exercise the powers with dignity and respect, while advances such as body-worn cameras could increase public support for the method.

She wrote: I am not advocating random stop and search, or abusing our powers in headlining-grabbing crackdowns. I am advocating policing that we know works, targeted patrols of hotspots, with our officers certain we are behind them to use their judgment and their powers in the public interest.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan also backed the use of stop-and-search powers, telling BBC Radio 4s Today: What you will see over the course of the next few weeks and months is what we have seen over the last few weeks and months which is stop-and-search based on suspicion of carrying an offensive weapon going up, more arrests as a consequence of this intelligence-led stop-and-search going up and hopefully our city becoming safer.

Defending his actions over the past few days, he said: I have been here working, grappling with this issue, adding that he had been working with Londons Metropolitan Police and the deputy mayor for policing and crime.

He also called on called members and friends of people carrying knives to help tackle the problem.

 Cressida Dick on London knife crime spike: 'We clearly, as a city, have a big problem'

You could be a mum or dad, big brother, big sister, a friend, a girlfriend, a boyfriend who knows somebody carrying a knife, leaving their home with a knife, involved in criminality  theres no honour in keeping that a secret. You should try and prevent that person carrying a knife, leaving home with a knife.

Some 300 extra officers are being deployed in badly hit parts of the capital amid a spike in deadly violence, while the Metropolitan Police Chief Cressida Dick had to insist the force had not lost control of capitals streets.

It emerged on 5 April that the Met has opened 55 murder investigations in London this year and there were six non-fatal stabbings from the night of 5 April into the morning of 6 April in the capital.

The rising wave of violent crime meant the number of suspected murders in March was higher than that of New York.

On 6 April a 30-year-old man was arrested in Hackney over the murder of 17-year-old Tanesha Melbourne-Blake who was gunned down in the north London district of Tottenham earlier this week.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 20 September 2021 Florist Judith Blacklock puts the finishing touches to a floral carousel installation in Halkin Arcade, which she has designed with Neill Strain for the Belgravia in Bloom festival, running from September 20-26, in London PA UK news in pictures 19 September 2021 Bubbles surround Manchester Uniteds Cristiano Ronaldo before the match against West Ham at London Stadium Action Images/Reuters UK news in pictures 18 September 2021 Children take part in the Settrington Cup Pedal Car Race as motoring enthusiasts attend the Goodwood Revival, a three-day historic car racing festival in Goodwood, Chichester, Reuters UK news in pictures 17 September 2021 Hugo, 7, from London rides past a 4x7 metre rainbow arch, made entirely of recycled aluminium cans, which has been installed by recycling initiative 'Every Can Counts', in partnership with The City of London Corporation in front of St Paul's Cathedral in London, to encourage members of the public to recycle their drinks cans ahead of recycling week, which starts on 20 September PA UK news in pictures 16 September 2021 Sheikeh MOhammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, leader of Abu Dhabi, leaves Downing Street after meeting with Boris Johnson PA UK news in pictures 15 September 2021 Children pose by ice sculptures depicting people collecting water by charity Water Aid to show the fragility of water and the threat posed by climate change in London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 14 September 2021 Heavy rain covers the A149 near Kings Lynn in Norfolk PA UK news in pictures 13 September 2021 Luke Jerram's 'Museum of the Moon' at Durham Cathedral PA UK news in pictures 12 September 2021 Inspirational young fundraiser Tobias Weller crosses the finish line, near his home in Sheffield, as he completes his latest epic feat where he swam and triked his way to the end of his awesome year-long Ironman Challenge. This is the third challenge Tobias, who has cerebral palsy and autism, has completed, raising more than 150,000 for his school and Sheffield Children Hospitals charity PA UK news in pictures 11 September 2021 British player Emma Raducanu, holds up the US Open championship trophy winning the women's singles final of the US Open in New York AP UK news in pictures 10 September 2021 People paddle board during a misty morning in Ullswater, the second largest lake in the Lake District, Cumbria PA UK news in pictures 9 September 2021 Troops from Wiltshire based 4 Armoured Close Support Battalion Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers during final inspection at Wellington Barracks in London, ahead of providing troops for the Queens Guard PA UK news in pictures 8 September 2021 Workers cross London Bridge during the morning rush hour in London Reuters UK news in pictures Mixing it up: Painting it up press view in London A gallery employee poses for photographers next to a painting entitled Prairie by British artist, Louise Giovanelli during the exhibition 'Mixing it up: Painting it up' at the Hayward Gallery in London EPA UK news in pictures 6 September 2021 Traders in the Ring at the London Metal Exchange, in the City of London, after open-outcry trading returned for the first time since March 2020, when the Ring was temporarily closed due to the pandemic PA UK news in pictures 5 September 2021 People enjoy the warm weather on Sandbanks beach, Poole PA UK news in pictures 4 September 2021 Demonstrators from Animal Rebellion and Nature Rebellion protest in Trafalgar Square in London. PA UK news in pictures 3 September 2021 South Africa's Ntando Mahlangu (centre) wins the Men's 200 metres T61 Final ahead of second placed Great Britain's Richard Whitehead at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games PA UK news in pictures 2 September 2021 A young common seal on the beach at Horsey Gap in Norfolk, as hundreds of pregnant grey seals come ashore ready for the start of the pupping season. PA UK news in pictures 1 September 2021 Goldfinches fighting over food in a garden in Strensham, Worcestershire PA UK news in pictures 31 August 2021 Gold Medallist Sarah Storey of Britain celebrates on the podium Reuters UK news in pictures 30 August 2021 Extinction Rebellion protesters hold a a tea party on Tower Bridge in London EPA UK news in pictures 29 August 2021 A police office tussles with a demonstrator on Cromwell Road outside the Natural History Museum during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion in London PA UK news in pictures 28 August 2021 Members of the British armed forces 16 Air Assault Brigade walk to the air terminal after disembarking a Royal Airforce Voyager aircraft at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire POOL/AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 27 August 2021 Fabio Quartararo crashes during a MotoGP practice session at the British Grand Prix, Silverstone Circuit Action Images via Reuters UK news in pictures 26 August 2021 An Extinction Rebellion activist holds a placard in a fountain surrounded by police officers, during a protest next to Buckingham Palace in London Reuters UK news in pictures 25 August 2021 Gold Medallist Great Britains cyclist, Sarah Storey, celebrates after winning the Womens C5 3000m Individual Pursuit Final at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. It was her 15th Paralympic gold Reuters UK news in pictures 24 August 2021 A demonstrator dressed as bee during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion on Whitehall, in central London PA UK news in pictures 23 August 2021 Former interpreters for the British forces in Afghanistan demonstrate outside the Home Office in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 22 August 2021 Police officers form a line in front of the entrance to the Guildhall, London, where protesters have climbed onto a ledge above the entrance during an Extinction Rebellion stage a protest PA UK news in pictures 21 August 2021 People take part in a demonstration in solidarity with people of Afghanistan, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 20 August 2021 People zip wire across the sea from Bournemouth pier towards the beach. PA UK news in pictures 19 August 2021 Supporters of Geronimo the alpaca gather outside Shepherds Close Farm in Wooton Under Edge, Gloucestershire PA UK news in pictures 18 August 2021 Former Afghan interpreters and veterans hold a demonstration outside Downing Street, calling for support and protection for Afghan interpreters and their families PA UK news in pictures 17 August 2021 Military personnel board the RAF Airbus A400M at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, where evacuation flights from Afghanistan have been landing Reuters UK news in pictures 16 August 2021 Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer takes part in a minute's silence at Wolverhampton police station for the victims of the Plymouth mass shooting last week PA UK news in pictures 15 August 2021 2Storm, a ten-metre tall puppet of a mythical goddess of the sea created by Edinburgh-based visual theatre company Vision Mechanics, makes its way alongside the seafront at North Berwick, East Lothian, during a performance at the Fringe By The Sea festival PA UK news in pictures 14 August 2021 A woman and two young girls look at floral tributes in Plymouth where six people, including the offender, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident PA UK news in pictures 13 August 2021 Forensic officers in the Keyham area of Plymouth where six people, including the shooter, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident on Thursday evening PA UK news in pictures 12 August 2021 Children ride horses in the River Eden in Appleby, Cumbria, during the annual gathering of travellers for the Appleby Horse Fair PA UK news in pictures 11 August 2021 Stella Moris (left) reacts after talking to the media outside the High Court in London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal, n London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal. The US government has won the latest round in its High Court bid to appeal against the decision not to extradite Julian Assange on espionage charges PA UK news in pictures 10 August 2021 Students react after they receive their A-Level results at the Ark Academy, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 9 August 2021 The final athletes from Great Britain arrive home including Jason Kenny, Laura Kenny and Katie Archibald (front left-right) at Heathrow Airport, London following the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games PA UK news in pictures 8 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Olympic stadium in Japan PA UK news in pictures 7 August 2021 People from the Glasgow Southside community take part in the Govanhill Carnival, an anti-racist celebration of pride, unity and the contributions immigrants have made to the community in Govanhill, at Queen's Park, Glasgow PA UK news in pictures 6 August 2021 Chijindu Ujah of Britain, Zharnel Hughes of Britain, Richard Kilty of Britain and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake of Britain celebrate winning silver as they pose with Asha Philip of Britain, Imani Lansiquot of Britain, Dina Asher-Smith of Britain and Daryll Neita of Britain after they won bronze in the women's 4 x 100m relay during Olympic Games Day 14 Getty UK news in pictures 5 August 2021 A protester places flowers on a photograph of an executed man during a demonstration organised by supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) to protest against the inauguration of Iran's new president Ebrahim Raisi in central London AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 4 August 2021 England's Joe Root looks on as India's KL Rahul doesn't make it to a catch during day one of Cinch First Test match at Trent Bridge, Nottingham PA UK news in pictures 3 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny and Jason Kenny with their silver medals for the Women's Team Pursuit and Mens Team Sprint during the Track Cycling at the Izu Velodrome on the eleventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 2 August 2021 Great Britains Charlotte Worthington competes during the Womens BMX Freestyle Final at the Tokyo Olympics PA

The teenager was killed in a drive-by attack as she sat chatting with friends in a killing that shocked the capital.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick said the spate of violence in the capital was very worrying, describing the spike as unusual.

She defended the forces record of bringing criminals to justice and said she believed the perpetrators of the recent killings would face the courts.

On 6 April a section 60 order, granting police stop and search powers across the Borough of Newham, was announced in response to an incident where a 13-year-old boy was stabbed.

A Met officer said that stop and search efforts on members of the public had been increasingly uncovering weapons.

Recommended Pioneering programme leads fight against knife crime in London

However Sergeant Paul Perversi said that the popularity of smartphones and social media has massively encouraged more people to challenge officers during a search, with many people stopping to film the process and post footage online.

I would say it happens more often than not, he said. If you stop two people out of 10, you will have five people who get their phone out. Then you go and search on YouTube and Im there.

Ms Thornton said that the increase in violent crime was not limited to London, with figures showing knife crime has increased by 21 per cent and gun crime by 20 per cent year-on-year across the country.

Meanwhile the use of stop and search has fallen dramatically, with section 60 powers falling in use from 1,429 instances to 23 between 2011/12 and 2016/17 in London.

As a policing method, stop and search has been criticised for disproportionately targeting poorer areas and ethic minority groups.

Agency contributed to this report
A police team on the front-line of London's knife crime battle have been finding more gangs weapons on the capital's streets, amid a series of killings which have left over 50 people dead already this year.

The Metropolitan Police's Territorial Support Group (TSG) have been on hand throughout the week, after several knife attacks occurred within London, with seven teenagers being injured in stabbings on Friday alone.

This year has seen a 21 per cent increase in knife crime, marking the highest figures since 2011.

Sergeant Paul Perversi said stop-and-search efforts on members of the public had been increasingly uncovering weapons, while social media was causing disputes to quickly escalate into violence and was allowing people to challenge officers during stop-and-searches.

With whats happening in the last week, we are seeing more and more groups of youths going around and congregating at the hotspots," he said. "We will stop them, we have been utilising that power  but we have to use it proportionally.

Personally on our beat we are finding more weapons. That could be to do with demographics or the area. Between us all we have come across victims of knife crime  it is horrendous when you see a victim with a knife wound, it makes you think.

Commenting on the sharp rise in knife crime, he added: They put a video on YouTube and then they get stabbed.

But despite the surging levels of violence, the unit does not let statistics distort its judgment on who to search, the sergeant claimed.

We are not a figure-run sort of department, he said.

The popularity of smartphones and social media has massively encouraged more people to challenge officers during stop-and-searches, he said. Many choose to stop and film the process before uploading it online.

The tactic is a key component of the unit's work. However, it has received severe criticism for disproportionately targeting ethnic minority groups and poorer areas.

If you stop two people out of 10, you will have five people who get their phone out. Then you go and search on YouTube and Im there.

UK news in pictures Show all 49 1 /49 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 18 September 2021 Children take part in the Settrington Cup Pedal Car Race as motoring enthusiasts attend the Goodwood Revival, a three-day historic car racing festival in Goodwood, Chichester, Reuters UK news in pictures 17 September 2021 Hugo, 7, from London rides past a 4x7 metre rainbow arch, made entirely of recycled aluminium cans, which has been installed by recycling initiative 'Every Can Counts', in partnership with The City of London Corporation in front of St Paul's Cathedral in London, to encourage members of the public to recycle their drinks cans ahead of recycling week, which starts on 20 September PA UK news in pictures 16 September 2021 Sheikeh MOhammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, leader of Abu Dhabi, leaves Downing Street after meeting with Boris Johnson PA UK news in pictures 15 September 2021 Children pose by ice sculptures depicting people collecting water by charity Water Aid to show the fragility of water and the threat posed by climate change in London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 14 September 2021 Heavy rain covers the A149 near Kings Lynn in Norfolk PA UK news in pictures 13 September 2021 Luke Jerram's 'Museum of the Moon' at Durham Cathedral PA UK news in pictures 12 September 2021 Inspirational young fundraiser Tobias Weller crosses the finish line, near his home in Sheffield, as he completes his latest epic feat where he swam and triked his way to the end of his awesome year-long Ironman Challenge. This is the third challenge Tobias, who has cerebral palsy and autism, has completed, raising more than 150,000 for his school and Sheffield Children Hospitals charity PA UK news in pictures 11 September 2021 British player Emma Raducanu, holds up the US Open championship trophy winning the women's singles final of the US Open in New York AP UK news in pictures 10 September 2021 People paddle board during a misty morning in Ullswater, the second largest lake in the Lake District, Cumbria PA UK news in pictures 9 September 2021 Troops from Wiltshire based 4 Armoured Close Support Battalion Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers during final inspection at Wellington Barracks in London, ahead of providing troops for the Queens Guard PA UK news in pictures 8 September 2021 Workers cross London Bridge during the morning rush hour in London Reuters UK news in pictures Mixing it up: Painting it up press view in London A gallery employee poses for photographers next to a painting entitled Prairie by British artist, Louise Giovanelli during the exhibition 'Mixing it up: Painting it up' at the Hayward Gallery in London EPA UK news in pictures 6 September 2021 Traders in the Ring at the London Metal Exchange, in the City of London, after open-outcry trading returned for the first time since March 2020, when the Ring was temporarily closed due to the pandemic PA UK news in pictures 5 September 2021 People enjoy the warm weather on Sandbanks beach, Poole PA UK news in pictures 4 September 2021 Demonstrators from Animal Rebellion and Nature Rebellion protest in Trafalgar Square in London. PA UK news in pictures 3 September 2021 South Africa's Ntando Mahlangu (centre) wins the Men's 200 metres T61 Final ahead of second placed Great Britain's Richard Whitehead at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games PA UK news in pictures 2 September 2021 A young common seal on the beach at Horsey Gap in Norfolk, as hundreds of pregnant grey seals come ashore ready for the start of the pupping season. PA UK news in pictures 1 September 2021 Goldfinches fighting over food in a garden in Strensham, Worcestershire PA UK news in pictures 31 August 2021 Gold Medallist Sarah Storey of Britain celebrates on the podium Reuters UK news in pictures 30 August 2021 Extinction Rebellion protesters hold a a tea party on Tower Bridge in London EPA UK news in pictures 29 August 2021 A police office tussles with a demonstrator on Cromwell Road outside the Natural History Museum during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion in London PA UK news in pictures 28 August 2021 Members of the British armed forces 16 Air Assault Brigade walk to the air terminal after disembarking a Royal Airforce Voyager aircraft at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire POOL/AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 27 August 2021 Fabio Quartararo crashes during a MotoGP practice session at the British Grand Prix, Silverstone Circuit Action Images via Reuters UK news in pictures 26 August 2021 An Extinction Rebellion activist holds a placard in a fountain surrounded by police officers, during a protest next to Buckingham Palace in London Reuters UK news in pictures 25 August 2021 Gold Medallist Great Britains cyclist, Sarah Storey, celebrates after winning the Womens C5 3000m Individual Pursuit Final at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. It was her 15th Paralympic gold Reuters UK news in pictures 24 August 2021 A demonstrator dressed as bee during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion on Whitehall, in central London PA UK news in pictures 23 August 2021 Former interpreters for the British forces in Afghanistan demonstrate outside the Home Office in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 22 August 2021 Police officers form a line in front of the entrance to the Guildhall, London, where protesters have climbed onto a ledge above the entrance during an Extinction Rebellion stage a protest PA UK news in pictures 21 August 2021 People take part in a demonstration in solidarity with people of Afghanistan, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 20 August 2021 People zip wire across the sea from Bournemouth pier towards the beach. PA UK news in pictures 19 August 2021 Supporters of Geronimo the alpaca gather outside Shepherds Close Farm in Wooton Under Edge, Gloucestershire PA UK news in pictures 18 August 2021 Former Afghan interpreters and veterans hold a demonstration outside Downing Street, calling for support and protection for Afghan interpreters and their families PA UK news in pictures 17 August 2021 Military personnel board the RAF Airbus A400M at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, where evacuation flights from Afghanistan have been landing Reuters UK news in pictures 16 August 2021 Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer takes part in a minute's silence at Wolverhampton police station for the victims of the Plymouth mass shooting last week PA UK news in pictures 15 August 2021 2Storm, a ten-metre tall puppet of a mythical goddess of the sea created by Edinburgh-based visual theatre company Vision Mechanics, makes its way alongside the seafront at North Berwick, East Lothian, during a performance at the Fringe By The Sea festival PA UK news in pictures 14 August 2021 A woman and two young girls look at floral tributes in Plymouth where six people, including the offender, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident PA UK news in pictures 13 August 2021 Forensic officers in the Keyham area of Plymouth where six people, including the shooter, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident on Thursday evening PA UK news in pictures 12 August 2021 Children ride horses in the River Eden in Appleby, Cumbria, during the annual gathering of travellers for the Appleby Horse Fair PA UK news in pictures 11 August 2021 Stella Moris (left) reacts after talking to the media outside the High Court in London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal, n London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal. The US government has won the latest round in its High Court bid to appeal against the decision not to extradite Julian Assange on espionage charges PA UK news in pictures 10 August 2021 Students react after they receive their A-Level results at the Ark Academy, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 9 August 2021 The final athletes from Great Britain arrive home including Jason Kenny, Laura Kenny and Katie Archibald (front left-right) at Heathrow Airport, London following the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games PA UK news in pictures 8 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Olympic stadium in Japan PA UK news in pictures 7 August 2021 People from the Glasgow Southside community take part in the Govanhill Carnival, an anti-racist celebration of pride, unity and the contributions immigrants have made to the community in Govanhill, at Queen's Park, Glasgow PA UK news in pictures 6 August 2021 Chijindu Ujah of Britain, Zharnel Hughes of Britain, Richard Kilty of Britain and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake of Britain celebrate winning silver as they pose with Asha Philip of Britain, Imani Lansiquot of Britain, Dina Asher-Smith of Britain and Daryll Neita of Britain after they won bronze in the women's 4 x 100m relay during Olympic Games Day 14 Getty UK news in pictures 5 August 2021 A protester places flowers on a photograph of an executed man during a demonstration organised by supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) to protest against the inauguration of Iran's new president Ebrahim Raisi in central London AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 4 August 2021 England's Joe Root looks on as India's KL Rahul doesn't make it to a catch during day one of Cinch First Test match at Trent Bridge, Nottingham PA UK news in pictures 3 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny and Jason Kenny with their silver medals for the Women's Team Pursuit and Mens Team Sprint during the Track Cycling at the Izu Velodrome on the eleventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 2 August 2021 Great Britains Charlotte Worthington competes during the Womens BMX Freestyle Final at the Tokyo Olympics PA UK news in pictures 1 August 2021 EPA

Earlier this week, the Labour MP for Tottenham, David Lammy, accused Theresa May and her home secretary, Amber Rudd, of attempting to evade responsibility after the number of killings in London this year exceeded 50. Mr Lammy made the comments in the wake of a stabbing on Wednesday evening, which left 18-year-old, Israel Ogunsola, dead.

On Thursday he told BBC Radio 4s Today programme: "What were seeing today is the worst Ive ever seen it. There are parents, friends, families, schools traumatised and grieving. And there is absolutely no sign at the moment of reduction in the violence.

There is no single cause. What Im concerned about is what drives the gangs in the turf wars and thats an 11bn cocaine drugs market. We are the drugs market of Europe and I think the police and our country have lost control of that drugs market. You have children as young as 12, 13, being recruited into gangs to run drugs.

Im hearing nothing about what were going to do. Drugs are prolific. Its like Deliveroo, theyre as prolific as ordering a pizza. You can get them on Snapchat, WhatsApp. That in the end is driving the turf war and its driving the culture of violence thats now becoming endemic.
Facebook has revealed it has suspended Canadian political consultancy AggregateIQ (AIQ) after reports that the company may have improperly had access to the personal data of users of the social media network.

The suspension comes after whistleblower Christopher Wylie claimed there were links between AIQ and Cambridge Analytica and its parent company SCL.

This has led to AIQ being mentioned in connection with claims that the Brexit vote was unfairly influenced by precisely targeted online advertising.

It was alleged last month that Cambridge Analytica may have improperly acquired the data of millions of Facebook users.

Cambridge Analytica has also come under scrutiny in connection with its role working for Donald Trump in the later stages of his US presidential election campaign.

The alleged data breach has also placed huge pressure on Facebook.

The social media network said on Wednesday that the personal information of up to 87 million users, mostly in the US, may have been improperly shared with Cambridge Analytica  a significant increase on the 50 million estimate cited by many news outlets.

Facebook has now issued a statement saying: "In light of recent reports that AggregateIQ may be affiliated with SCL and may, as a result, have improperly received Facebook user data, we have added them to the list of entities we have suspended from our platform while we investigate.

"Our internal review continues, and we will cooperate fully with any investigations by regulatory authorities."

AIQ, however, has a statement on its website strenuously denying any links with Cambridge Analytica, SCL, or the alleged data breach.

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

On the homepage of its website, AIQ states: AggregateIQ is a digital advertising, web and software development company based in Canada. It is and has always been 100 per cent Canadian owned and operated.

AggregateIQ has never been and is not a part of Cambridge Analytica or SCL. Aggregate IQ has never entered into a contract with Cambridge Analytica. Chris Wylie has never been employed by AggregateIQ.

AggregateIQ works in full compliance within all legal and regulatory requirements. It has never knowingly been involved in any illegal activity.

All work AggregateIQ does for each client is kept separate from every other client.

AggregateIQ has never managed, nor did we ever have access to, any Facebook data or database allegedly obtained improperly by Cambridge Analytica.

Mr Wylie, who worked for Cambridge Analytica in 2014, has told MPs on the Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee that he thought Britain could have voted to remain in the EU without what he called cheating by the official Vote Leave campaign.

Shahmir Sanni turned whistleblower after working for Vote Leave as a volunteer (C4 News) (Channel 4 News)

This followed claims by another whistleblower, Shahmir Sanni, who worked for Vote Leave. Mr Sanni told The Guardian that to get round EU referendum campaign spending limits, Vote Leave donated 625,000 to a separate group called BeLeave.

Mr Sanni this money was then spent on hiring AIQ to devise precisely targeted online advertising aimed at persuading people to vote for Brexit.

Mr Wylie told MPs that AIQ had a significant conversion rate of between 5 per cent and 7 per cent  and had told him it had targeted five to seven million people for the referendum.

I think it is completely reasonable to say there could have been a different outcome of the referendum had there not been, in my view, cheating, Mr Wylie said.

The Canadian federal agency charged with protecting privacy rights of individuals said on Thursday that it, along with its counterpart in British Columbia, would jointly investigate Facebook and AIQ over the ongoing data controversy.

British Columbia's privacy commissioner was separately investigating AIQ over whether the Victoria-based company had broken provincial personal privacy rules for its role in the Brexit campaign.

Cambridge Analytica has denied all the claims made against it, and said it deleted everything related to the alleged data breach in its entirety in 2015.

In defending itself in connection with data obtained via Facebook, the company has said: When Facebook contacted us to let us know the data had been improperly obtained, we immediately deleted the raw data from our file server, and began the process of searching for and removing any of its derivatives in our system."

Stephen Parkinson, a senior figure in the Vote Leave, denied the group had dodged spending limits and said it had at all times acted entirely within the law and EU referendum regulations.

But in issuing the denial, Mr Parkinson, who is now the prime ministers political secretary, was accused of revealing a relationship with Mr Sanni, effectively outing the whistleblower as gay.

Mr Parkinson has said it was impossible for the relationship to have remained private once Shahmir decided to publicise his false claims in this way.
The British public are overwhelmingly willing to ditch plans for a post-Brexit trade deal with the United States in order to protect the UKs high food safety standards, new polling seen by The Independent shows.

The finding amounts to a public vote of no confidence in Theresa Mays Brexit trade strategy, which aims to paper-over a potential hit to EU commerce by having global Britain sign deals with other countries around the world  the richest of which is the US.

American trade negotiators are expected to demand Britain opens its markets to US foodstuffs that are currently illegal under EU rules as the price of a free trade agreement. Practices banned in the EU but currently widespread in the US including chlorine-washed chickens, hormone-treated beef, meat from animals fed on chicken faeces and crops washed with controversial herbicide chemicals.

A recent US trade department appraisal of EU safety regulations complained of costly and burdensome stipulations in European regulations on meat and described aspects of the EUs regulations on the use of chemicals as simply unnecessary.

When asked whether ditching current standards would be a price worth paying for a deal, a full 82 per cent of the public said keeping current regulations in place should take priority  even if they killed a deal  compared to just 8 per cent who said a free trade agreement with the US should go ahead.

Theresa Mays trade chief, Liam Fox, has defended the possible legalisation of banned US agricultural practices, telling MPs that he was a great believer in giving the public a choice over what they are eating and that there are no health reasons why you couldnt eat chickens that have been washed in chlorinated water. The international trade secretary has said the media are obsessed with such meat.

The polling, commissioned by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) and conducted by Opinium, also shows that the public favour alignment with EU regulations to secure a better trade deal with the EU. A wider report drawn up by the progressive think tank also shows Leave and Remain voters are equally opposed to any reduction in food standards.

Secretary of State for International Trade Liam Fox has defended the potential introduction of chlorine-washed chicken to British supermarkets (PA)

Other trade-offs and hurdles to the global Britain strategy emerged this week after Indias high representative in the UK said increased free movement for Indians to come to Britain would need to be offered for India to open its markets to UK goods. Though such a move to loosen immigration control would likely give the UK an economic boost, it would likely undermine the Governments longstanding goal of reducing immigration to the tens of thousands.

Last week Japans chief diplomat told The Independent that it would prioritise a deal with the European Union over one with a post-Brexit Britain.

 What is still needed to complete a deal with the EU?

Marley Morris, senior research fellow at IPPR and author of the report said: Our new polling finds that there is little public appetite for a deregulated, buccaneering Britain post-Brexit. The public overwhelmingly prioritise food safety over a trade deal with the US.

They also favour continuing to align with EU consumer, environmental, and employment standards over deregulating. With the US commerce secretary Wilbur Ross suggesting that the UK ditch rules on food imports as a precondition of a trade deal, our polling reveals that independently striking trade deals around the world will be no easy ride for the UK government, and will come with its own set of political dilemmas.

US president Donald Trump has expressed enthusiasm for a great and very big and exciting trade deal with Britain after it leaves the EU.

Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Show all 29 1 /29 Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Inauguration - 20 January 2017 US President Donald Trump acknowledges the audience after taking the oath of office as his wife Melania (L) and daughter Tiffany watch during inauguration ceremonies swearing in Trump as the 45th president of the United States on the West Front of the US capital in Washington on 20 January, 2017. Photographer Jim Bourg: "This photo was shot with one of two remote cameras. The cameras were monitored and triggered remotely and the pictures were transmitted to clients worldwide within minutes of being taken." Reuters/Jim Bourg Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Obama farewell address - 10 January 2017 US President Barack Obama wipes away tears as he delivers his farewell address in Chicago on 10 January, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "In his final days in office, Obama made a visit home to Chicago. As he spoke from the stage to his wife and daughter in the audience, he became emotional when he talked about what they had sacrificed during his time in office. I turned from photographing the Obama women embracing to find him onstage wiping away tears." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Inauguration - 20 January 2017 A combination of photos shows the crowds attending the inauguration ceremonies to swear in U.S. President Donald Trump at 12:01pm (left) on January 20, 2017 and President Barack Obama sometime between 12:07pm and 12:26pm on January 20, 2009. Reuters/ Lucas Jackson/Stelios Varias Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Liberty Ball - 20 January 2017 US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump attend the Liberty Ball in honour of his inauguration in Washington on 20 January, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "What I see when I look at this picture is the end of a very long day, not to mention weeks and months of preparation by many photographers, editors and network experts and the beginning of everything since." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Inaugural Law Enforcement Officers and First Responders Reception - 22 January 2017 US President Donald Trump greets Director of the FBI James Comey as Director of the Secret Service Joseph Clancy (L), watches during the Inaugural Law Enforcement Officers and First Responders Reception in the Blue Room of the White House on 22 January, 2017. Photographer Joshua Roberts: "I have covered the White House for 16 years and normally either the President or the pool is in position when an event starts. In this case the President was not where anyone expected him to be. In fact, he was almost blocking the door when the pool came in. We had to scramble to find a position without bumping him or the furniture as he greeted and thanked members of law enforcement for their security efforts during the inauguration. Luckily, he greeted FBI Director James Comey a few seconds after the pool had made its way into the room." Reuters/Joshua Roberts Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Private phone calls to world leaders - 28 January 2017 US President Donald Trump, is joined by his staff, as he speaks by phone with Russia's President Vladimir Putin in the Oval Office on 28 January, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "Very early in the Trump administration, weekends were as busy as weekdays. On Trump's second Saturday the official schedule said he would be making private phone calls to a number of world leaders including Russia's Vladimir Putin. I arrived early and, before sitting down at my desk walked up to Press Secretary Sean Spicer's office. He, too, was just taking his coat off. I gingerly made the suggestion that previous administrations had sometimes allowed photos of such phone calls through the Oval Office windows on the colonnade. To my mild shock, he didn't even think about it twice. "We'll do it!" he said. In truth, I really only expected the Putin call, but we were outside the windows multiple times throughout the day as the calls went on." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Senior advisor Kellyanne Conway - 27 February 2017 Senior advisor Kellyanne Conway (L) attends as US President Donald Trump welcomes the leaders of dozens of historically black colleges and universities (HBCU) in the Oval Office on 27 February, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "We're often asked how much access we have to the Trump administration, and the answer is we have an awful lot. President Trump himself is very comfortable in the spotlight, and his aides are similarly unfazed by cameras. In this instance, senior advisor Kellyanne Conway was so comfortable in our presence she seemed not to consider the optics of kneeling on a Oval Office sofa to take pictures with her phone." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Angela Merkel heads to Washington - 17 March 2017 Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel and US President Donald Trump hold a joint news conference in the East Room of the White House on 17 March, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "Chancellor Merkel made one of the earliest important visits of any US allies to meet Trump in his first months in office. When world leaders give joint news conferences they don't always tend to give each other their full attention - but Merkel watched Trump intently at several key moments, and here seemed particularly rapt." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Trump welcomes truckers to the White House - 23 March 2017 President Trump reacts as he sits on a truck while he welcomes truckers and CEOs to attend a meeting regarding healthcare at the White House on 23 March, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "The White House organised a listening session with truckers and CEO's of major American companies, regarding healthcare reform. An 18-wheeler tow truck was parked on the South Lawn of the White House and as Trump welcomed the truckers someone invited the him to come and sit in the driver's seat. Trump jumped into the cab and started yelling and pretending to drive - creating one of the most memorable pictures of the year. A lesson learned, always be prepared for the unexpected." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Air Force One - 6 April 2017 US President Donald Trump talks to journalists members of the travel pool on board the Air Force One during his trip to Palm Beach, Florida on 6 April, 2017. Carlos Barria: "During the many trips to President Trump's residence in Florida it is usual to see the president coming to the back of the plane to chat with journalists. During one of the trips to the so called 'Winter White House', Trump had a long talk with reporters while the Air Force One entertainment system was playing one of the latest Star Wars movies. As I was listening to Trump talk I was also looking at the movie waiting for a part of the movie to frame the mood of the day. Of the many scenes, I choose the one with Darth Vader." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures 100 Days - 27 April 2017 US President Donald Trump speaks during an interview with Reuters in the Oval Office of the White House on 27 April, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "A day before President Trump's hundred days in office I was part of the team that interviewed the commander-in-chief in the Oval Office. I was only allowed to photograph Trump during the last five minutes of the interview. The time was very tight so I had to move fast as I had pictures in mind that I wanted to shoot. I walked into the Oval Office and saw that the President had printed maps of the country showing areas in red where he won. I raised my hands holding my camera as high as possible to get the best view of the scene using a 16mm wide angle lens." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures 100 Days - 27 April 2017 US President Donald Trump reacts as he arrives at Harrisburg international airport, before attending a rally marking his first 100 days in office in Pennsylvania on 29 April, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "President Trump travelled to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to celebrate his hundred days in office with a victory rally. He was in friendly territory as he won with a big difference over his opponent Hillary Clinton in Pennsylvania, during the November elections. As usual when the commander-in-chief arrives local residents gather to greet him. This time a small group of military personnel attended the arrival. Surrounded by secret service agents Trump walked from the Air Force One and raised his hand in a sign of victory as the crowd cheered him on." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures White House staffers - 2 May 2017 White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer (L) and White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus watch as US President Donald Trump presents the U.S. Air Force Academy football team with the Commander-in-Chief trophy in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington on 2 May, 2017. Photographer Joshua Roberts: "Covering the White House does not just mean covering the President. White House staffers are an important part of the story and their relationship with the President and each other is an indicator of how things are going in the West Wing. The tendency is to focus exclusively on the President once an event starts but I always try to look around to see how people are reacting as things unfold." Reuters/Joshua Roberts Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Secret Service - 4 May 2017 Secret Service agents use a presidential limousine as cover from spraying water as US President Donald Trump lands via Marine One helicopter in New York on 4 May, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "The best part of any trip to New York City with the sitting US President is the helicopter ride into Manhattan. The ride out at night can be stunning. Here, Secret Service agents protect themselves from the spray from the East River as Trump lands on the helipad." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures NATO Summit - 25 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump wait the arrival of French President Emmanuel Macron (unseen) before a lunch ahead of a NATO Summit in Brussels on 25 May, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "One of the best parts of travelling overseas for White House coverage is the chance to see the U.S. president in different environments and (literally) a different light. Here, Trump and his wife came out of the shadows to greet France's President Macron." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Trump meets Putin at G20 summit - 7 July 2017 US President Donald Trump meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin during their bilateral meeting at the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany on 7 July, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "On July 7, I witnessed one of the most important meetings of President Trump's first year in office. Trump met Russian President Vladimir Putin during a bilateral meeting at the G20 summit in Germany. The world's eyes were on these two leaders after speculation about Russian interference during the 2016 US elections. We entered the room for less than two minutes, where I took dozens of pictures. But there was this very interesting moment when Trump extended his hand to Putin for a handshake. Putin paused for a second and looked at Trump's hand. That was the picture that I was looking for, a little moment that seemed to say a lot." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures First lady - 8 July 2017 First lady Melania Trump chats with US President Donald Trump during their return from Germany at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland on 8 July, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "After President Trump's trip to Germany he arrived back at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. First Lady Melania Trump said goodbye to Trump as she was heading off in a different direction that day. While chatting a breeze blew Melania's hair up in the air." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Made in America product showcase - 17 July 2017 Vice President Mike Pence laughs as President Donald Trump holds a baseball bat as they attend a Made in America product showcase event at the White House on 17 July, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "This summer the White House organized an event to showcase 'Made in America' products. All kinds of exhibitors brought their products as the President and Vice President toured the event. One of the companies was Marucci Sport, a manufacturer of baseball bats based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. As Trump approached a table full of baseball bats, photographers at the event, including me, rushed to get a good angle hoping that he would pick up a bat. As we predicted, he did. He took one and joked around as though he was hitting something hard. The only thing closer to him right there, was the media." Reuters Donald Trump's first year: in pictures White House staffers - 25 July 2017 Former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski says hello to reporters as he and White House advisors including Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci accompany President Trump for an event celebrating veterans at AMVETS Post 44 in Ohio, July 25, 2017. Jonathan Ernst: "The most visible person in any White House is naturally the President, followed by the press secretary. But there are also the staff who support them. For those of us covering the Trump administration, there seem to be more compelling figures in the West Wing than ever before. It's crucial to know who's who and why they're important. When I raised my camera and back-pedalled ahead of the group to take this image Lewandowski gave me a hello. I liked the photo, but had no idea it would go a little bit viral, especially since Scaramucci, who was the biggest mover and shaker that week, was hidden back in the pack. But I guess the image catches a glimpse of what it's like to be a West Wing staffer on the road." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Campaign rally - 3 August 2017 US President Donald Trump arrives at a rally in West Virginia on 3 August, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "President Trump travelled to Huntington for one of his usual campaign rallies. While members of his family spoke to the crowd he was waiting under a black curtain to be introduced. Suddenly he walked onto the stage, one of the first frames that I took was of his hand. I set my exposure for the light on the stage hoping to create this dark background and it worked." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Staring into the solar eclipse - 21 August 2017 Without his protective glasses on, US President Donald Trump looks up towards the solar eclipse while viewing with his wife Melania and son Barron at the White House on 21 August, 2017. Photographer Kevin Lamarque: "On a day when everyone, and I mean everyone, was told not to look at the eclipse without protective glasses, Trump, President of the United States, couldn't help himself." Reuters/Kevin Lamarque Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Hurricane Harvey - 2 September 2017 US President Donald Trump poses for a photo as he and first lady Melania Trump help volunteers hand out meals during a visit with flood survivors of Hurricane Harvey at a relief centre in Houston, Texas on 2 September, 2017. Photohrapher Kevin Lamarque: "Trump, eager to deliver the image of a hands-on response to Hurricane Harvey, made this visit to a relief centre and obliged this woman with a selfie as Melania continued to work." Reuters/Kevin Lamarque Donald Trump's first year: in pictures White House - 15 September 2017 Donald Trump welcomes 11-year-old Frank Giaccio as he cuts the Rose Garden grass at the White House on 15 September. Frank, who wrote a letter to Trump offering to mow the lawn, was invited to work for a day at the White House along the National Park Service staff. Frank was so focused on his task that he did not notice the President arrive to surprise him. He took his father jumping in to grab his attention and point Trump out. Photographer Carlos Barria said: The image of Trump shouting at a kid who is mowing his lawn might have many interpretations in today's politically polarized United States. But for me it was just a kid who loved what he was doing, to the point he almost appeared to ignore the President." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Take a knee - 27 September 2017 A man kneels with a folded U.S. flag as the motorcade of U.S. President Donald Trump passes him after an event at the state fairgrounds in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S., September 27, 2017. In September, soon after Trump had made comments condemning NFL players who kneel during the national anthem, he made a day trip to a rally in Indianapolis. Jonathan Ernst managed to capture a man on one knee with a tri-folded flag and was able to use a portion of the sign on the building he was kneeling in front of to track the man down and tell his story in full. US Army veteran Marvin Boatright wanted to send a message against social injustice. Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Hurricane Maria - 3 October 2017 President Donald Trump throws rolls of paper towels into a crowd of local residents affected by Hurricane Maria as he visits Calgary Chapel in San Juan, Puerto Rico on 3 October, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "During an afternoon visit to Puerto Rico for President Trump to survey damage from Hurricane Maria and greet some of its victims, Trump made a stop at a church where food and supplies were being distributed. Among the items were paper towels and Trump, apparently caught up in the moment, decided to distribute some of the rolls." Reuters Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Jared Kushner - 1 November 2017 White House Senior adviser Jared Kushner sits behind President Trump during a cabinet meeting in Washington on 1 November, 2017. Photographer Kevin Lamarque: "The role of Jared Kushner has gone through a series of changes. He began front and centre as a high profile adviser, but as time has passed and issues surrounding him have surfaced, he has become more of a background figure." Reuters/Kevin Lamarque Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Trump in China - 9 November 2017 Donald Trump and China's President Xi Jinping shake hands after making joint statements at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on 9 November, 2017. Photographer Damir Sagolj: "It's one of those "how to make a better or at least different shot when two presidents shake hands several times a day, several days in row". If I'm not mistaken in calculation, presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump shook their hands at least six times in events I covered during Trump's recent visit to China. I would imagine there were some more handshakes I haven't seen but other photographers did. And they all look similar - two big men, smiling and heartily greeting each other until everyone gets their shot. But then there is always something that can make it special - in this case the background made of US and Chinese flags. The first time it didn't work for me. The second time I positioned myself lower and centrally, and used the longest lens I have to capture only hands reaching for a handshake." Reuters/Damir Sagolj Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Air Force One - 10 November 2017 US President Donald Trump boards Air Force One to depart for Vietnam from Beijing Airport in Beijing, China, November 10, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "There is a Reuters photographer in the tight pool covering the US president for every appearance he makes 365 days a year. This was just one of 32 images of mine that were transmitted on the Reuters wire of President Trump visiting China and Vietnam that day. You never know when a sudden interaction, a gust of wind or a unique facial expression will lead to a striking image that grabs peoples' attention." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures ASEAN handshake - 13 November 2017 Donald Trump registers his surprise as he realises other leaders, including Russia's Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, President of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte and Australia's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, are crossing their arms for the traditional "ASEAN handshake" as he participates in the opening ceremony of the summit in Manila on 13 November, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "Having covered a few ASEAN summits, I knew to expect the ASEAN handshake. Not everyone in the room knew to expect the ASEAN handshake. A lot was written about this unscripted moment, and what deeper meaning it might have. The simple truth is that sometimes in life there are unscripted moments." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst

Responding to the new findings, a Department for International Trade spokesperson told The Independent: We have been clear that the UK will maintain its high animal welfare and environmental standards in future free trade agreements.

The Opinium polling for IPPR took place between 19 and 22 January 2018 and asked a weighted sample of 2,004 UK adults.
The Russian embassy in London has requested a meeting between its envoy Alexander Yakovenko and Boris Johnson, to discuss the situation in Salisbury.

We hope for a constructive response from the British side and are counting on such a meeting in the very nearest future, a spokesperson for the embassy said, according to Russias RIA news agency.

The request comes as Sergei and Yulia Skripal appear to have made a remarkable recovery after being attacked using a nerve agent in Salisbury last month.

The former MI6 spy and his daughter may soon be in a position to reveal the chain and time of events leading up to their poisoning, and who may have carried out it out.

Responding to the meeting request, a Foreign Office spokesperson said: Its Russias response that has been unsatisfactory. Its over three weeks since we asked Russia to engage constructively and answer a number of questions relating to the attempted assassinations of Mr Skripal and his daughter.

Now, after failing in their attempts in the UN and international chemical weapons watchdog this week and with the victims condition improving, they seem to be pursuing a different diversionary tactic.

We will of course consider their request and respond in due course.

Earlier this week, Russias ambassador to the United Nations warned Britain it was playing with fire over its response to the attack.

Couldnt you come up with a better fake story? he said, adding: We have told our British colleagues that youre playing with fire and youll be sorry.

Theresa May says it is highly likely Moscow was behind the incident. The UK, the US and other allies in the West have expelled more than 150 Russian diplomats in response.

Yulia Skripal, who had issued a public statement through the police saying she woke up a week ago and am glad my strength is growing daily, will be questioned before her father unless his condition improves dramatically.

Skripal attack aftermath  in pictures Show all 15 1 /15 Skripal attack aftermath  in pictures Skripal attack aftermath  in pictures Scene of attack Members of the emergency services in hazard suits fix the tent over the bench where Sergei and Yulia Skripal were found unconscious on a park bench in Salisbury in March 2018. Getty Skripal attack aftermath  in pictures Victim - Sergei Skripal The retired Russian colonel and former double agent for MI6 was in a critical condition in hospital for more than two months after being exposed to novichok in Salisbury. He was given refuge in the UK after being jailed in Moscow for treason. Mr Skripal came to Britain as part of a high-profile spy swap in 2010 in which four men were exchanged for ten Russian "sleeper agents" in the US. In this image he is speaking to his lawyer from behind bars in Moscow in 2006. AP Skripal attack aftermath  in pictures Victim - Yulia Skripal Yulia Skripal was struck down by a novichok poison alongside her father Sergei. Facebook Skripal attack aftermath  in pictures Scene of attack A police officer stands guard outside a branch of the Italian chain restaurant Zizzi where the pair dined at before falling ill. It was boarded off whilst investigators worked on the building and later found traces of the chemical weapon within it. AFP/Getty Skripal attack aftermath  in pictures Scene of attack Large areas of central Salisbury were cordoned off by police following the discovery of the Skripals. Traces of nerve agent were also found in The Mill pub. PA Skripal attack aftermath  in pictures Victim - Nick Bailey Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey, rushed to the aid of the Russian ex-spy and his daughter who were targeted with a nerve agent. He was hospitalized after aiding them and didn't leave until three weeks after the attack. Wiltshire Police/Rex Skripal attack aftermath  in pictures Police investigation - Skripals home Police believe they were poisoned at home, and detectives found the highest concentration of novichok on the front door of Mr Skripals house. Getty Skripal attack aftermath  in pictures Theresa May visits scene of attack Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May spokes with Wiltshire Police's Chief Constable Kier Pritchard near where the Skripal's were found. Britain expelled 23 Russian diplomats over the nerve agent poisoning and suspended high-level contacts, including for the World Cup on March 14. Theresa May told parliament that Russia had failed to respond to her demand for an explanation on how a Soviet-designed chemical, Novichok, was used in Salisbury. AFP/Getty Skripal attack aftermath  in pictures Skripal days before attack Sergei Skripal days before he was exposed to Novichok, that has left him fighting for life. ITV News Skripal attack aftermath  in pictures Police investigation - military involvement British soldiers were deployed soon after the attack to help a counter-terrorism investigation into the nerve agent attack. One of the places they were asked to help out with was Skripal's home and it's surrounding. They were asked to remove a vehicle connected to the agent attack in Salisbury, from a residential street in Gillingham. AFP/Getty Skripal attack aftermath  in pictures Police investigation Personnel in protective coveralls and breathing equipment cover an ambulance with a tarpaulin at the Salisbury District Hospital. AFP/Getty Skripal attack aftermath  in pictures Police investigation The investigation extended to the grave of Sergei Skripal's son Alexander in London Road cemetery. Getty Skripal attack aftermath  in pictures Police investigation The Counter Terrorism Policing Network requested assistance from the military to remove a number of vehicles and objects from Salisbury. EPA Skripal attack aftermath  in pictures Home Secretary visits scene of attack Home Secretary Amber Rudd visited the scene of the nerve agent attack at the Maltings shopping centre on 9 March. Getty Skripal attack aftermath  in pictures Yulia Skripal speaks for the first time Yulia Skripal, speaking for the first time, said she felt lucky to have survived the nerve agent attack in Salisbury which left her fighting for life. Ms Skripal said her life had been turned upside down by the assassination attempt. But the Russian national added she hoped to return to her homeland one day, despite the Kremlin being blamed for the attack. Reuters

Ms Skripal supposedly spoke on the telephone with her cousin Viktoria in Moscow who was due to visit her in hospital. During the call Yulia told Viktoria she may not be given a visa, and yesterday the UK authorities confirmed that the visa application has been refused.

This led to an immediate charge of further cover-up by Russian officials who have already accused the UK of carrying out the attack.
Ukip will stand 75 per cent fewer candidates for next month's local elections than just four years ago  prompting the claim the party is virtually dead.

The crisis-hit anti-EU party is on course to contest only about 550 seats across England  or 12 per cent of the total  down from 2,193, at its height in 2014.

Even in former strongholds, such as Sunderland, Hyndburn in Lancashire, Nuneaton in Warwickshire, and Fareham in Hampshire, Ukip is fielding either no candidates or just one or two, an analysis shows.

In Liverpool, Wolverhampton, Maidenhead and Colchester, it will fail to fight any seats, said Lord Hayward, a Conservative pollster.

To all intents and purposes, it would appear that Ukip are virtually dead as an election fighting organisation, he said. It confirms the disastrous fall of Ukip from public attention,"

Ukip scored 17 per cent when the equivalent seats were last contested, in 2014, when the party was led by Nigel Farage, but has since imploded, losing no fewer than three leaders.

It was forced to turn to members to raise emergency funding to meet huge legal bills which threatened the party with bankruptcy.

Gerard Batten, the interim leader, has claimed that the party is now safe after raising over 300,000 from its 20,000 subscribers.

In a statement, he said: Six weeks ago we had no local election campaign planning in place. In a short space of time, the party has rallied and organised a respectable number of candidates.

We will be campaigning hard to retain those seats we are defending, and fighting to win some new ones.

The collapse of Ukip is expected to help the Conservatives escape heavy losses outside London, in the elections on 3 May.

However, the Tories are heading for their worst ever local election results in the capital, as new younger voters desert the party, Lord Hayward has predicted.

The number of Tory councillors in the capital is expected to fall below the 519 seats the party held in 1994, as John Majors government fell apart in bitter splits over Europe.

At least three London councils are expected to fall to Labour and the Liberal Democrats in May, with the Conservatives also facing a fight to cling onto the flagship town halls of Wandsworth and Westminster.

Londons fast-changing population  with a dramatic influx of younger voters, who are largely pro-Labour and pro-EU  leaves the Tories vulnerable to an historic defeat.

Nevertheless, Theresa May is expected to survive the near-meltdown, provided the Tory vote holds up outside London, rather than face the leadership challenge once predicted.

She has enjoyed a boost to her standing from her tough stance against Russia over the poisoning of Sergei Skripal and her position has also been stabilised by progress in the Brexit negotiations.
A couple who allegedly beat a four-year-old boy to death for spilling his cereal, have been charged with his "senseless" murder.

Police accused the boys mother, Lisa Smith, 19, and her boyfriend Keiff King, 26, of repeatedly hitting Tahjir Smith in the head and torso at their home in Abington, Pennsylvania.

The pair admitted they used their hands to give Tahjir a butt whooping, investigators said.

The boy was found limp and unresponsive" by police and paramedics when they arrived at the property.

He was later pronounced dead at Abington Jefferson Health Hospital.

The final autopsy report showed that the toddler died from multiple blunt injuries, thermal injuries and shock, and concluded that the cause of death was homicide.

Calling it a senseless killing, Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele said:The forensic pathologists determination that Tahjirs death was homicide shows what detectives found in our investigationthat this was a violent, sustained beating of a 4-year-old that caused his death.

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

And it was a beating at the hands of the mothers boyfriend and the mother, the very person entrusted to care for the boy.

The have been charged with first-degree murder and will appear in court on 18 April.
Former Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has said he will surrender to police, a day after defying a judges order to start serving a 12-year prison sentence for corruption.

Popularly known as "Lula", he has said his prosecution is politically motivated and has been orchestrated to prevent him from running for president in Octobers election, which he was favourite to win.

The 72-year-olds legal team lost a bid to stop him from going to prison, while he appeals his conviction, just minutes before the deadline for his arrest expired.

Judge Sergio Moro said Lula had to present himself on Friday evening. He was not to be handcuffed and would be given a special cell in the southern city of Curitiba, according to a court document.

The union building in an industrial suburb of Sao Paulo where Lula began his career as a labour leader was surrounded by thousands of supporters and members of his Workers Party wearing red shirts and waving red flags.

The crowds dissuaded police trying to arrest him after the deadline set by the judge. The police said they would not act during the night to seize Lula as negotiations proceeded on a suitable way to end the standoff.

The head of the Workers Party, senator Gleisi Hoffmann, said Lula would take part in a mass at the union headquarters to commemorate the birthday of his late wife Marisa Leticia.

He was convicted of taking bribes from an engineering firm in return for help landing government contracts, including a three-floor seaside resort that he denies owning.

Under Brazilian electoral law, a candidate is forbidden from running for office for eight years after being found guilty of a crime. Rare exceptions have been made in the past and the final decision would be made by the top electoral court if and when Lula officially files to be a candidate.

The supporters crowding the streets by the union office cheered defiant speeches and called the case a political witch hunt.

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

Lula was initially found guilty of corruption and money laundering in July 2017. In January, an appeals court unanimously upheld the charges against him and he was sentenced to prison.

His conviction stems from an anti-corruption investigation known as Operation Car Wash, with the accusations emerging after he left office in 2011.

Lula is yet to exhaust the appeals process and there are still two higher courts  the Superior Court and the Supreme Court  who he can submit appeals to.

Neither would reassess the underlying case upon which he has been sentenced to prison and would instead evaluate whether legal procedures were followed accordingly and if his constitutional rights were breached.

If either court were to deliberate in his favour the process could take months or even years. However, Lula's sentence could be annulled and released if either were to rule in his favour.

Additional reporting from Reuters
Former Panama dictator Manuel Noriega has died, aged 83.

There was no immediate information on the cause of death, which occurred late on Monday.

Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela tweeted that the death of Manuel A. Noriega closes a chapter in our history.

The former US ally and suspected CIA informant was ousted by an American invasion in 1989, when Panama was openly being used as a staging post for cocaine shipments.

Noriega later served a 17-year drug sentence in the United States.

He spent the first two decades after his ouster in US and French jails and the final years of his life in a Panamanian prison for murder of political opponents during his 1983-89 regime.

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

In recent years, Noriega had suffered various ailments, including high blood pressure and bronchitis.

In 2016, doctors detected the rapid growth of a benign brain tumour that had first been spotted four years earlier. In January of this year, a court granted him house arrest to prepare for surgery on the tumour.

In 2014 Noriega sued the makers of the Call of Duty video games for casting him as a villain.

Additional reporting by agencies
Former Mexico president Vicente Fox has mocked Donald Trump with a T-shirt criticising his plans to build a border wall between Mexico and the United States, which reads: "Cant build a wall if your hands are too small."

The T-shirt refers to a joke which came about during the US 2016 presidential campaign and was most notably used by Mr Trumps primary challenger Marco Rubio, who ridiculed him about the size of his hands during a debate.

Mr Fox posted a picture of himself wearing the T-shirt on Twitter on Friday and a link to where to buy the product, which is no longer available. The design shows Mr Trump as a baby building a wall with toy bricks. Hoodies and long-sleeved shirts were also listed for sale with the same design.

Mr Fox has been a staunch critic of the presidents plans to build a border wall between Mexico and the US, as well as his intentions to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

In March, Mr Trumps plans received a setback after lawmakers awarded him only $1.6bn (1.14bn) of the $25bn he had requested for the construction of the wall and for extra border security measures.

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

Money raised from the T-shirts will be used to fund Mr Foxs non-profit group, Centro Fox, which provides training for leaders in Mexico and Latin America, he said.

Mr Fox served as the president of Mexico for six years from 2000 to 2006.
A politician from South Carolina pulled out his loaded pistol during a meeting with his constituents to make a point about gun safety, according to advocacy group members who were present.

Representative Ralph Norman placed the gun on a table for "several minutes" while arguing that the presence of the weapon in the room made his constituents safer, according to volunteers for the South Carolina chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America.

"Norman's behaviour today was a far cry from what responsible gun ownership looks like," said Lori Freemon, a volunteer who attended the meeting, in a news release. "I had looked forward to a respectful dialogue with my representative about common-sense gun violence prevention policies."

"Instead, I felt unsafe when he insisted on showing us his loaded gun and keeping it out on the table for much of our conversation."

A spokesman for the politician could not be immediately reached.

Mr Norman told the Post and Courier, however, that he pulled out the gun during a public meeting over breakfast at a Rock Hill diner to make the point that guns are only dangerous when they are in the hands of criminals. As a concealed carry permit holder, Norman said he often carries his guns with him in public.

The demonstration, he said, was intended to prove to constituents that "guns don't shoot people, people shoot guns," according to the Post and Courier. Mr Norman told the attendees that if someone were to walk into the diner and begin shooting at them, he'd be able to protect them because of his gun.

March for Our Lives  in pictures Show all 13 1 /13 March for Our Lives  in pictures March for Our Lives  in pictures Demonstrators chant during the protest for gun legislation and school safety AP March for Our Lives  in pictures Trevon Tre Bosley, 19, of Chicago, the brother of Terrell Bosley who was killed in 2006 in a case of mistaken identity, speaks during the rally AP March for Our Lives  in pictures Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School student Delaney Tarr speaks at the rally AFP/Getty March for Our Lives  in pictures Protestors line the streets in Washington Getty Images March for Our Lives  in pictures People arrive for the March For Our Lives rally against gun violence in Washington, DC AFP/Getty March for Our Lives  in pictures Protestors carrying placards in Washington AFP/Getty March for Our Lives  in pictures Protestors hold up placards in Washington AFP/Getty March for Our Lives  in pictures Schoolchildren wear targets ahead of the rally Getty March for Our Lives  in pictures Attendees congregate in preparation for the march Getty March for Our Lives  in pictures Students brought a host of innovative placards AFP/Getty March for Our Lives  in pictures The movements main demand is the banning of assault rifles Getty March for Our Lives  in pictures Since the Florida shooting, students have called for urgent gun reform AFP/Getty March for Our Lives  in pictures In the wake of the Florida attack, President Donald Trump called for teachers to be armed AFP/Getty

"I'm not going to be a Gabby Giffords," Mr Norman told the Post and Courier afterwards, referring to the 2011 shooting of an Arizona congresswoman during a public appearance in the Tucson area. "I don't mind dying, but whoever shoots me better shoot well or I'm shooting back."

Norman said he does not regret pulling out his gun - and in fact plans to conduct the same demonstration at other constituent meetings moving forward, according to the Post and Courier, and denied that any of the attendees at Friday meetings jumped or appeared frightened by the gun.

"I'm tired of these liberals jumping on the guns themselves as if they are the cause of the problem," Mr Norman told the newspaper. "Guns are not the problem."

The Washington Post
This is the destruction wrought by a tornado that hit Ohio this week, bringing up to 100mph(161 km/h) winds to some areas.

The tornado hit Franklin County Ohio, according to the National Weather Service, causing the most damage near an interstate highway. Multiple town homes were damaged, and a free-standing garage was completely destroyed.

Other homes had garage doors pushed in and pieces of roofing stripped off. At least eight electric transmission poles were also downed, according to the weather service.

"It was like God's hand just slammed down right here," Grove City resident Jon Glazer told the Columbus Dispatch.

Emergency Preparedness Manager Dave Callahan told the Associated Press that about 600 customers did not have any electricity that afternoon. Nearby Grove City allowed those affected to warm up at the local YMCA.

There were no reported injuries.

Five different tornadoes touched down in Ohio on Tuesday and Wednesday, according to the weather service. Ohio sees an average of 19 tornadoes per year, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Last week Roseanne Barr  who, with the hit reboot of her show, has become one of the most prominent Donald Trump supporters in the country  tweeted that the president has freed hundreds of children a month from sexual bondage. He has broken up trafficking rings in high places everywhere, she wrote. (The tweet has since been deleted.)

Barrs tweet, puzzling to the casual observer, was a reference to QAnon, an expansive, complicated pro-Trump conspiracy theory. The theory is fascinating as an artefact of our current political derangement, but more than that, its profoundly revealing about the lengths to which some Trump supporters will go to convince themselves that his presidency is going well.

As Paris Martineau explained in New York magazine, QAnon was born last October, when someone claiming to have Q level security clearance started a cryptic thread on 4chan, the online message board and troll playground. It was titled, The Calm Before the Storm, a phrase Trump had recently used. Q posted hints, some in the form of questions, ostensibly meant to help clued-in Trump supporters understand what was really going on in Washington beneath the facade of chaos and incompetence. (What is military intelligence? Why go around the 3 letter agencies?)

From these clues, a sprawling community on message boards, YouTube videos and Twitter accounts has elaborated an enormous, ever-mutating fantasy narrative about the Trump presidency. In the QAnon reality, Trump pretended to collude with Russia in order to create a pretext for the hiring of Robert Mueller, the special counsel, who is actually working with Trump to take down an inconceivably evil and powerful network of coup-plotters and child sex traffickers that includes Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and George Soros.

QAnon points out that this is the beginning of the end for the Clintons, said Jerome Corsi  a prominent proponent of the lie that Obama was born in Kenya  on a YouTube broadcast in January. He warned that the world would be forced to contend with films of innocent children pleading for their lives while people are butchering them. Once that happens, presumably, Trump will be revealed as a master of 12-dimensional chess who successfully distracted smirking elites with his buffoonery while he was quietly saving the world.

Posts on other websites, as well as YouTube videos, Twitter accounts and even a book, have taken the theory in countless directions, encompassing characters from model Chrissy Teigen to disgraced politician Anthony Weiner. The creativity poured into QAnon is striking; its like something between a sprawling work of crowdsourced postmodern fiction and an immersive role-playing game.

But for many people, QAnon is very real. Barr has tried to make contact with Q on Twitter. InfoWars, the website run by conspiracy theorist Alex Jones  who has a close relationship with Trump confidant Roger Stone  has consistently promoted it. Last month, Cheryl Sullenger, senior vice president of the anti-abortion group Operation Rescue, posted an article on the groups website about an intel drop from Q revealing a White House plan to end Planned Parenthood. Sean Hannity retweeted a post with the #QAnon hashtag.

Recommended Michelle Obama compares Trump to neglectful parent

Some elements of the QAnon conspiracy theory  secret elites, kidnapped children  are classic, even archetypical. In all Western culture, you can argue that all conspiracy theories, no matter how diverse, come from the idea of the Jews abducting children, Chip Berlet, the co-author of Right-Wing Populism in America: Too Close for Comfort, told me. Stories about globalists stealing children for sex arent that far removed from stories about Jews stealing children to use their blood making matzo.

One twist, however, makes QAnon unusual. Conspiracy theories are usually about evil cabals manipulating world events. QAnon, by contrast, is a conspiracy theory in which the good guys  in this case, Trump and his allies  are in charge. Its a dream of power rather than a bitter alibi for victimhood. It seems designed to cope with the cognitive dissonance caused by the gap between Trump as his faithful followers like to imagine him and Trump as he is.

Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Show all 29 1 /29 Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Inauguration - 20 January 2017 US President Donald Trump acknowledges the audience after taking the oath of office as his wife Melania (L) and daughter Tiffany watch during inauguration ceremonies swearing in Trump as the 45th president of the United States on the West Front of the US capital in Washington on 20 January, 2017. Photographer Jim Bourg: "This photo was shot with one of two remote cameras. The cameras were monitored and triggered remotely and the pictures were transmitted to clients worldwide within minutes of being taken." Reuters/Jim Bourg Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Obama farewell address - 10 January 2017 US President Barack Obama wipes away tears as he delivers his farewell address in Chicago on 10 January, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "In his final days in office, Obama made a visit home to Chicago. As he spoke from the stage to his wife and daughter in the audience, he became emotional when he talked about what they had sacrificed during his time in office. I turned from photographing the Obama women embracing to find him onstage wiping away tears." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Inauguration - 20 January 2017 A combination of photos shows the crowds attending the inauguration ceremonies to swear in U.S. President Donald Trump at 12:01pm (left) on January 20, 2017 and President Barack Obama sometime between 12:07pm and 12:26pm on January 20, 2009. Reuters/ Lucas Jackson/Stelios Varias Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Liberty Ball - 20 January 2017 US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump attend the Liberty Ball in honour of his inauguration in Washington on 20 January, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "What I see when I look at this picture is the end of a very long day, not to mention weeks and months of preparation by many photographers, editors and network experts and the beginning of everything since." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Inaugural Law Enforcement Officers and First Responders Reception - 22 January 2017 US President Donald Trump greets Director of the FBI James Comey as Director of the Secret Service Joseph Clancy (L), watches during the Inaugural Law Enforcement Officers and First Responders Reception in the Blue Room of the White House on 22 January, 2017. Photographer Joshua Roberts: "I have covered the White House for 16 years and normally either the President or the pool is in position when an event starts. In this case the President was not where anyone expected him to be. In fact, he was almost blocking the door when the pool came in. We had to scramble to find a position without bumping him or the furniture as he greeted and thanked members of law enforcement for their security efforts during the inauguration. Luckily, he greeted FBI Director James Comey a few seconds after the pool had made its way into the room." Reuters/Joshua Roberts Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Private phone calls to world leaders - 28 January 2017 US President Donald Trump, is joined by his staff, as he speaks by phone with Russia's President Vladimir Putin in the Oval Office on 28 January, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "Very early in the Trump administration, weekends were as busy as weekdays. On Trump's second Saturday the official schedule said he would be making private phone calls to a number of world leaders including Russia's Vladimir Putin. I arrived early and, before sitting down at my desk walked up to Press Secretary Sean Spicer's office. He, too, was just taking his coat off. I gingerly made the suggestion that previous administrations had sometimes allowed photos of such phone calls through the Oval Office windows on the colonnade. To my mild shock, he didn't even think about it twice. "We'll do it!" he said. In truth, I really only expected the Putin call, but we were outside the windows multiple times throughout the day as the calls went on." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Senior advisor Kellyanne Conway - 27 February 2017 Senior advisor Kellyanne Conway (L) attends as US President Donald Trump welcomes the leaders of dozens of historically black colleges and universities (HBCU) in the Oval Office on 27 February, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "We're often asked how much access we have to the Trump administration, and the answer is we have an awful lot. President Trump himself is very comfortable in the spotlight, and his aides are similarly unfazed by cameras. In this instance, senior advisor Kellyanne Conway was so comfortable in our presence she seemed not to consider the optics of kneeling on a Oval Office sofa to take pictures with her phone." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Angela Merkel heads to Washington - 17 March 2017 Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel and US President Donald Trump hold a joint news conference in the East Room of the White House on 17 March, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "Chancellor Merkel made one of the earliest important visits of any US allies to meet Trump in his first months in office. When world leaders give joint news conferences they don't always tend to give each other their full attention - but Merkel watched Trump intently at several key moments, and here seemed particularly rapt." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Trump welcomes truckers to the White House - 23 March 2017 President Trump reacts as he sits on a truck while he welcomes truckers and CEOs to attend a meeting regarding healthcare at the White House on 23 March, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "The White House organised a listening session with truckers and CEO's of major American companies, regarding healthcare reform. An 18-wheeler tow truck was parked on the South Lawn of the White House and as Trump welcomed the truckers someone invited the him to come and sit in the driver's seat. Trump jumped into the cab and started yelling and pretending to drive - creating one of the most memorable pictures of the year. A lesson learned, always be prepared for the unexpected." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Air Force One - 6 April 2017 US President Donald Trump talks to journalists members of the travel pool on board the Air Force One during his trip to Palm Beach, Florida on 6 April, 2017. Carlos Barria: "During the many trips to President Trump's residence in Florida it is usual to see the president coming to the back of the plane to chat with journalists. During one of the trips to the so called 'Winter White House', Trump had a long talk with reporters while the Air Force One entertainment system was playing one of the latest Star Wars movies. As I was listening to Trump talk I was also looking at the movie waiting for a part of the movie to frame the mood of the day. Of the many scenes, I choose the one with Darth Vader." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures 100 Days - 27 April 2017 US President Donald Trump speaks during an interview with Reuters in the Oval Office of the White House on 27 April, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "A day before President Trump's hundred days in office I was part of the team that interviewed the commander-in-chief in the Oval Office. I was only allowed to photograph Trump during the last five minutes of the interview. The time was very tight so I had to move fast as I had pictures in mind that I wanted to shoot. I walked into the Oval Office and saw that the President had printed maps of the country showing areas in red where he won. I raised my hands holding my camera as high as possible to get the best view of the scene using a 16mm wide angle lens." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures 100 Days - 27 April 2017 US President Donald Trump reacts as he arrives at Harrisburg international airport, before attending a rally marking his first 100 days in office in Pennsylvania on 29 April, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "President Trump travelled to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to celebrate his hundred days in office with a victory rally. He was in friendly territory as he won with a big difference over his opponent Hillary Clinton in Pennsylvania, during the November elections. As usual when the commander-in-chief arrives local residents gather to greet him. This time a small group of military personnel attended the arrival. Surrounded by secret service agents Trump walked from the Air Force One and raised his hand in a sign of victory as the crowd cheered him on." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures White House staffers - 2 May 2017 White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer (L) and White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus watch as US President Donald Trump presents the U.S. Air Force Academy football team with the Commander-in-Chief trophy in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington on 2 May, 2017. Photographer Joshua Roberts: "Covering the White House does not just mean covering the President. White House staffers are an important part of the story and their relationship with the President and each other is an indicator of how things are going in the West Wing. The tendency is to focus exclusively on the President once an event starts but I always try to look around to see how people are reacting as things unfold." Reuters/Joshua Roberts Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Secret Service - 4 May 2017 Secret Service agents use a presidential limousine as cover from spraying water as US President Donald Trump lands via Marine One helicopter in New York on 4 May, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "The best part of any trip to New York City with the sitting US President is the helicopter ride into Manhattan. The ride out at night can be stunning. Here, Secret Service agents protect themselves from the spray from the East River as Trump lands on the helipad." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures NATO Summit - 25 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump wait the arrival of French President Emmanuel Macron (unseen) before a lunch ahead of a NATO Summit in Brussels on 25 May, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "One of the best parts of travelling overseas for White House coverage is the chance to see the U.S. president in different environments and (literally) a different light. Here, Trump and his wife came out of the shadows to greet France's President Macron." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Trump meets Putin at G20 summit - 7 July 2017 US President Donald Trump meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin during their bilateral meeting at the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany on 7 July, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "On July 7, I witnessed one of the most important meetings of President Trump's first year in office. Trump met Russian President Vladimir Putin during a bilateral meeting at the G20 summit in Germany. The world's eyes were on these two leaders after speculation about Russian interference during the 2016 US elections. We entered the room for less than two minutes, where I took dozens of pictures. But there was this very interesting moment when Trump extended his hand to Putin for a handshake. Putin paused for a second and looked at Trump's hand. That was the picture that I was looking for, a little moment that seemed to say a lot." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures First lady - 8 July 2017 First lady Melania Trump chats with US President Donald Trump during their return from Germany at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland on 8 July, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "After President Trump's trip to Germany he arrived back at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. First Lady Melania Trump said goodbye to Trump as she was heading off in a different direction that day. While chatting a breeze blew Melania's hair up in the air." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Made in America product showcase - 17 July 2017 Vice President Mike Pence laughs as President Donald Trump holds a baseball bat as they attend a Made in America product showcase event at the White House on 17 July, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "This summer the White House organized an event to showcase 'Made in America' products. All kinds of exhibitors brought their products as the President and Vice President toured the event. One of the companies was Marucci Sport, a manufacturer of baseball bats based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. As Trump approached a table full of baseball bats, photographers at the event, including me, rushed to get a good angle hoping that he would pick up a bat. As we predicted, he did. He took one and joked around as though he was hitting something hard. The only thing closer to him right there, was the media." Reuters Donald Trump's first year: in pictures White House staffers - 25 July 2017 Former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski says hello to reporters as he and White House advisors including Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci accompany President Trump for an event celebrating veterans at AMVETS Post 44 in Ohio, July 25, 2017. Jonathan Ernst: "The most visible person in any White House is naturally the President, followed by the press secretary. But there are also the staff who support them. For those of us covering the Trump administration, there seem to be more compelling figures in the West Wing than ever before. It's crucial to know who's who and why they're important. When I raised my camera and back-pedalled ahead of the group to take this image Lewandowski gave me a hello. I liked the photo, but had no idea it would go a little bit viral, especially since Scaramucci, who was the biggest mover and shaker that week, was hidden back in the pack. But I guess the image catches a glimpse of what it's like to be a West Wing staffer on the road." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Campaign rally - 3 August 2017 US President Donald Trump arrives at a rally in West Virginia on 3 August, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "President Trump travelled to Huntington for one of his usual campaign rallies. While members of his family spoke to the crowd he was waiting under a black curtain to be introduced. Suddenly he walked onto the stage, one of the first frames that I took was of his hand. I set my exposure for the light on the stage hoping to create this dark background and it worked." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Staring into the solar eclipse - 21 August 2017 Without his protective glasses on, US President Donald Trump looks up towards the solar eclipse while viewing with his wife Melania and son Barron at the White House on 21 August, 2017. Photographer Kevin Lamarque: "On a day when everyone, and I mean everyone, was told not to look at the eclipse without protective glasses, Trump, President of the United States, couldn't help himself." Reuters/Kevin Lamarque Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Hurricane Harvey - 2 September 2017 US President Donald Trump poses for a photo as he and first lady Melania Trump help volunteers hand out meals during a visit with flood survivors of Hurricane Harvey at a relief centre in Houston, Texas on 2 September, 2017. Photohrapher Kevin Lamarque: "Trump, eager to deliver the image of a hands-on response to Hurricane Harvey, made this visit to a relief centre and obliged this woman with a selfie as Melania continued to work." Reuters/Kevin Lamarque Donald Trump's first year: in pictures White House - 15 September 2017 Donald Trump welcomes 11-year-old Frank Giaccio as he cuts the Rose Garden grass at the White House on 15 September. Frank, who wrote a letter to Trump offering to mow the lawn, was invited to work for a day at the White House along the National Park Service staff. Frank was so focused on his task that he did not notice the President arrive to surprise him. He took his father jumping in to grab his attention and point Trump out. Photographer Carlos Barria said: The image of Trump shouting at a kid who is mowing his lawn might have many interpretations in today's politically polarized United States. But for me it was just a kid who loved what he was doing, to the point he almost appeared to ignore the President." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Take a knee - 27 September 2017 A man kneels with a folded U.S. flag as the motorcade of U.S. President Donald Trump passes him after an event at the state fairgrounds in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S., September 27, 2017. In September, soon after Trump had made comments condemning NFL players who kneel during the national anthem, he made a day trip to a rally in Indianapolis. Jonathan Ernst managed to capture a man on one knee with a tri-folded flag and was able to use a portion of the sign on the building he was kneeling in front of to track the man down and tell his story in full. US Army veteran Marvin Boatright wanted to send a message against social injustice. Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Hurricane Maria - 3 October 2017 President Donald Trump throws rolls of paper towels into a crowd of local residents affected by Hurricane Maria as he visits Calgary Chapel in San Juan, Puerto Rico on 3 October, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "During an afternoon visit to Puerto Rico for President Trump to survey damage from Hurricane Maria and greet some of its victims, Trump made a stop at a church where food and supplies were being distributed. Among the items were paper towels and Trump, apparently caught up in the moment, decided to distribute some of the rolls." Reuters Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Jared Kushner - 1 November 2017 White House Senior adviser Jared Kushner sits behind President Trump during a cabinet meeting in Washington on 1 November, 2017. Photographer Kevin Lamarque: "The role of Jared Kushner has gone through a series of changes. He began front and centre as a high profile adviser, but as time has passed and issues surrounding him have surfaced, he has become more of a background figure." Reuters/Kevin Lamarque Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Trump in China - 9 November 2017 Donald Trump and China's President Xi Jinping shake hands after making joint statements at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on 9 November, 2017. Photographer Damir Sagolj: "It's one of those "how to make a better or at least different shot when two presidents shake hands several times a day, several days in row". If I'm not mistaken in calculation, presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump shook their hands at least six times in events I covered during Trump's recent visit to China. I would imagine there were some more handshakes I haven't seen but other photographers did. And they all look similar - two big men, smiling and heartily greeting each other until everyone gets their shot. But then there is always something that can make it special - in this case the background made of US and Chinese flags. The first time it didn't work for me. The second time I positioned myself lower and centrally, and used the longest lens I have to capture only hands reaching for a handshake." Reuters/Damir Sagolj Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Air Force One - 10 November 2017 US President Donald Trump boards Air Force One to depart for Vietnam from Beijing Airport in Beijing, China, November 10, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "There is a Reuters photographer in the tight pool covering the US president for every appearance he makes 365 days a year. This was just one of 32 images of mine that were transmitted on the Reuters wire of President Trump visiting China and Vietnam that day. You never know when a sudden interaction, a gust of wind or a unique facial expression will lead to a striking image that grabs peoples' attention." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures ASEAN handshake - 13 November 2017 Donald Trump registers his surprise as he realises other leaders, including Russia's Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, President of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte and Australia's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, are crossing their arms for the traditional "ASEAN handshake" as he participates in the opening ceremony of the summit in Manila on 13 November, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "Having covered a few ASEAN summits, I knew to expect the ASEAN handshake. Not everyone in the room knew to expect the ASEAN handshake. A lot was written about this unscripted moment, and what deeper meaning it might have. The simple truth is that sometimes in life there are unscripted moments." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst

On Thursday, the usually even-keeled Mike Allen published a piece in Axios titled, The case for extreme worry, about how those close to Trump are panicked by his erraticism. The presidents whims and resentments have led to stock market convulsions and may soon result in painful tariffs that affect American farmers, an important part of his base. Muellers special counsel investigation continues to close in. Republicans have lost special election seats in red-leaning areas all over the country. But QAnon offers assurance that everything is under control.

Barr, for example, retweeted a QAnon post arguing that right-wing criticism of the omnibus spending bill, legislation many on the right deplored, was shortsighted. In releasing funds to the military, it said, the bill would set off a climatic series of events: Swamp drain begins, military seizes TRILLIONS in cabal assets, returning them to the people. An inspector general report would then reveal the establishments unspeakable crimes, after which the strings will be cut from the propaganda machine and people will stop falling for the garbage MSM, or mainstream media. Trump, and those who believe in him, would be vindicated.

You dont create a wild fantasy about your leader being a covert genius unless you understand that to most people, he looks like something quite different. You dont need an occult story about how your side is secretly winning if its actually winning. Publicly, many right-wing politicians and pundits disdain the Mueller investigation and pretend to believe that Trumps ties to Russia are negligible. But among part of the Trump base, the effort to explain them away appears to be creating psychic strain.

You cannot possibly imagine the size of this, said a Q dispatch last month. Trust the plan. Trust there are more good than bad. Q almost certainly doesnt know any state secrets, but he, she or they understand that some fervent Trump supporters require more reassurance than theyre willing to admit. Their desperate conviction that they will be proven right about Trump betrays a secret fear that they will be proven wrong.

The New York Times
Bollywood star Salman Khan has been granted bail while he appeals the five year jail sentence that he was handed after being convicted in a 20-year-old poaching case.

One of the highest paid actors in the world, Khan was convicted of the 1998 shooting two rare blackbuck deer from his car window at a wildlife preserve near the city of Jodhpur, in the country's north west.

The animals are protected by India's wildlife laws. Public prosecutors alleged that the 52-year-old and four other actors in the car with him fled the scene, leaving the carcasses behind.

Hundreds of Khans funs were cheering outside the court as the actors attorneys request for bail was granted.

The poaching incident allegedly took place during the shooting of Hum Saath Saath Hain. Four of his co-stars  Saif Ali Khan, Sonali Bendre, Tabu and Neelam  were also tried in the case.

They were all acquitted although it was found they were in the jeep that Khan was believed to be driving.

It was alleged he killed the blackbucks before they all fled the scene after being spotted and chased. They were said to have left the animals behind.

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

Khan had previously been sentenced to jail terms of one and five years in related poaching cases.

In 2006 he was convicted for killing the blackbucks and sentenced to five years in jail.

After spending one week in prison, the sentence was suspended by the Rajasthan High Court.
Japan has activated its first marine unit since the Second World War to bolster its defences against China.

They will be trained to counter invaders on Japanese islands along the edge of the East China Sea which it fears could be vulnerable to attack by China.

After taking office in 2012, Japans prime minister, Shinzo Abe, has been wary of the rise of China. In November last year, he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping and discussed amending their countries often troubled relationship, which has been tainted with hostility since the end of the Second World War.

Both leaders emerged from the talks with feelings of optimism and expressed a shared commitment to solving the problems of Kim Jong-uns aggressive regime in North Korea.

As China has continued its expansion in the disputed South China Sea, new fears have arisen in Tokyo.

In a ceremony held at a military base near Sasebo on the south-west island of Kyushu, around 1,500 members of the Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade (ARDB) wearing camouflage lined up outside amid cold, windy weather.

Given the increasingly difficult defence and security situation surrounding Japan, defence of our islands has become a critical mandate, Tomohiro Yamamoto, vice defence minister, said.

The troops conducted a 20-minute mock exercise for the public, which saw them recapture a remote island from invaders.

The formation of the Japanese marine brigade is controversial because amphibious units can project military force and could, critics warned, be used to threaten Japans neighbours.

In its post-Second World War constitution Japan renounced the right to wage war.

The brigade is the latest component of a growing marine force that includes helicopter carriers, amphibious ships, Osprey tilt-rotor troop carriers and amphibious assault vehicles, meant to deter China as it pushes for easier access to the Western Pacific.

China, which dominates the South China Sea, is outpacing Japan in defence spending. In 2018, Beijing which claims a group of uninhabited islets in the East China Sea controlled by Tokyo, will spend 1.11 trillion yuan (125.33bn) on its armed forces, more than three times as much as Japan.

The activation of the 2,100 strong ARDB takes Japan a step closer to creating a force similar to a US Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) able to plan and execute operations at sea far from its home base.

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

Theyve already demonstrated the ability to put together an ad hoc MEU. But to have a solid, standing MEU capability requires concerted effort, said Grant Newsham, a research fellow at the Japan Forum for Strategic Studies.

If Japan put its mind to it, within a year or year and a half it could have a reasonable capability.

In January, Japan protested to China over a Chinese military vessel entering waters in the East China sea, near disputed islands.

The recent events mark ongoing conflicts between geopolitical forces within the region, including the United States, who are expanding their presence amid rising hostility from North Korea.

Pyongyang is currently experiencing increasing isolation from its neighbours because of its nuclear programme and could be excluded from the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics. However, the International Olympic Committee has said Kim Jong-un is committed to having North Korea participate in the 2020 games.

Additional reporting from Reuters
Hungarys nationalist prime minister, Viktor Orban, claims Poles and Hungarians have a common goal in maintaining Christianity in their countries as the leader progresses towards a third consecutive term in power.

Mr Orban, who commonly presents himself as the defender of Europe and Hungary from Muslim migrants, is well in the lead to win Sundays general election according to the latest opinion polls.

Mr Orban has held his position as prime minister since 2010. His right-wing, populist leadership, which echoes elements of Donald Trumps rise to power, has seen the 54-year-old attain a firm grip of the media, allowing him to dominate the public agenda and propagate ethnic nationalism.

On Friday, he said Hungarys future would be decided for decades in the forthcoming vote, in which he vowed to protect his nation from the rust of Muslim migrants.

A third straight term for Mr Orban could embolden Hungarys longest serving post-communist premier to solidify a Central European alliance against the European Unions migration policies and against a deeper integration of the bloc, which he opposes.

It would also give a lift to other right-wing nationalists in Central Europe, in Poland and in neighbouring Austria, which could expose flaws in the EU.

We will win again on Sunday as we have won battles in the past which looked impossible for many, Mr Orban told a few thousand supporters waving the national flag in the town of Szekesfehervar, west of Budapest.

We have built the fence, defended the southern border ... Migration is like rust that slowly but surely would consume Hungary.

Earlier on Friday he voiced common cause with Poland, whose governing Law and Justice (PiS) party is under fire from the EU over their refusal to take in migrants under a quota system and over their efforts to tighten state control of their courts and media.

We believe Poles and Hungarians have a common path, common fight and common goal: to build and defend our homeland in the form that we want ... Christian and with national values, Mr Orban said at the unveiling of a statue marking a 2010 plane crash that killed the Polish president.

Polands PiS leader, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, attending the ceremony commemorating the plane crash in Russia in which his twin brother was killed, endorsed Mr Orban ahead of Sundays vote.

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

At a rally in Budapest on Friday, Socialist prime ministerial candidate Gergely Karacsony accused Mr Orban of having abused his strong political mandate.

There is no other man who had so much power and who has abused it so much, Mr Karacsony told hundreds of supporters.

Mr Orban has been a recipient of criticism for his far-right views. In January 2015, after the Charlie Hebdo terrorist attacks in France, he quickly blamed immigrants for the events and refrained from listening to alternative arguments, such as radicalisation, socioeconomic problems, disenfranchisement and the troubled upbringing of the attackers, both of whom grew up in an orphanage.

However, he has sought to capitalise on his countrys turbulent history with foreign powers, which includes foreign invasions and the Treaty of Trianon which settled the post-First World War borders of Hungary, one of the successor states of the defeated Austro-Hungarian Empire. The events left Hungary deprived of its multicultural communities.

Mr Orban, who has had previous spats with EU, has been accredited with the economic growth which his country has experienced over the last year, with the economy expanding by 4 per cent in 2017 and the national unemployment rate dropping to 3.8 per cent from 11.4 per cent since he first came to power.

His re-election could lead to Hungary taking an even more critical approach towards the EU, after lamenting Brussels, Berlin and Paris in February for facilitating the advance of Islam.

Additional reporting from Reuters
Authorities in Rome have removed a large anti-abortion poster showing an 11-week-old foetus in the womb from a wall near the Vatican after a public outcry.

Beside the foetus was the message: You are here because your mother has not aborted you.

The poster was part of a campaign launched by the pro-life organisation Pro Vita Onlus ahead of the 40th anniversary of the legalisation of abortion in Italy, which falls on 22 May.

Pro Vita has described abortion laws as a way to suppress unborn children and called abortion pills a human pesticide.

The poster caused outrage among Italian pro-choice groups including Vita di Donna Onlus, which started an online petition for the posters removal.

Monica Cirinna, a Democratic Party senator, wrote on Twitter: Its shameful that posters against a State law and the right of women to choose have been allowed to appear on the streets of Rome.

Several members of the Democratic Party wrote a joint statement opposing the poster.

These are images that offend the sensibility of all the people who have suffered the end of a pregnancy for the most different reasons, it read. To defend life with such raw and violent messages does not belong to the history of women or the city.

Giorgia Meloni, leader of far-right party Brothers of Italy, came out in support of the poster.

She congratulated Pro Vita on the campaign in a Facebook post and told them they were on the right track.

Pro Vita defended the poster, arguing it was intended to shake millions of consciences.

The truth hurts and can sometimes make people hysterical, it said.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

In addition, the president of Pro Vita Onlus, Tony Brandi, spoke on local radio to defend the poster: "Let's talk about the free choice of women. Is the child, whose life begins with conception, a kidney? A liver? A lung? Organs with which we can do what we want? No, it's a child.

If that poster were to be removed, the signal would be: We are not in dictatorship, we are in tyranny. There is no more freedom of expression in Italy.

The poster was taken down on Friday afternoon to the delight of many campaigners.

Local activist group Aurelio In Comune posted a picture of the blank wall on Facebook with the caption: Poster removed! We have won  completely!

Pro Vita said that the government of Rome had taken away "the freedom to fight for life" by removing the poster.

Abortion is a divisive issue in Italy despite being legal since 1978.

Although legislation allows women to terminate their pregnancy in the first 12 weeks, doctors can decline to perform abortions for personal or religious reasons.

Seventy per cent of Italian gynaecologists decline to perform terminations, according to a 2016 report from the Italian health ministry.

Meanwhile those who terminate a pregnancy illegally face fines of up to 10,000 (8,722).
Government ministers are struggling to communicate with their counterparts in Northern Ireland since the collapse of the Stormont Assembly and despite the looming threat of Brexit, former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern warned.

Mr Ahern was speaking at DCU to mark the 20th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement and said the breakdown in communications was unacceptable.

"I know from talking to Government ministers that there are many issues they want to talk to Northern colleagues about but they have no one to talk to," Mr Ahern said. "It's not fair to the people of Northern Ireland and it's not what the Good Friday Agreement is about."

He said despite the challenges of Brexit and the "distraction" it was causing the British government, no one had the right to "undo" the Good Friday Agreement and a Northern Irish Border "hard, soft or sunny side up" would be a "disaster".

He said the Good Friday Agreement had been long fought for, with "human politics" involving all sides, and a border "would upset everyone on the island of Ireland".

"It would be a travesty for everyone," he said. "We don't want any border, it's a frictionless Border where we can drive freely on this island."

Mr Ahern said he "failed to understand the logic of British negotiators" regarding Brexit and its view on the customs union, stating that when Britain leaves the EU, trade deals would be very difficult.

"What country will give a trade deal to a country of 65 million people?" he said.

"That's not better than a trade deal with 450 million people (in the EU). I don't get that and I don't know of any country stupid enough to do that when they have an agreement with 450 million."

Mr Ahern said one of his only regrets was that decommissioning weapons in Northern Ireland took nine years.

When asked by the audience if there was any way the Northern Irish agreement could be a road map for the Palestine-Israeli conflict to reach resolution, Mr Ahern said he didn't believe so because both sides were still apportioning blame.

"If people are not prepared to accept the status quo is untenable, then speaking about a peace process is useless.

"We have to break it down and there's no blame. If we really want a peace process to work, you have to give peace a really good chance, you have to be inclusive and as comprehensive as possible."
Irish shipping companies are making plans to bypass British ports after Brexit and travel direct to the continent to avoid new customs checks and possible tailbacks.

Irish hauliers, who use Britain as a staging post to travel to Europe, have brought forward new direct routes, despite promises by the British government that future trade will be frictionless, as it is now, and agreement on a Brexit transition period prolonging the status quo until the end of 2020.

Michel Barnier, the European Union's chief Brexit negotiator, has repeatedly warned that frictionless trade is impossible outside of the bloc's single market and customs union even if there is a UK-EU free trade agreement.

CLdN, a shipping company in Luxembourg, has introduced two "mega vessels" on new direct freight routes between Dublin and the ports of Zeebrugge, Belgium, and Rotterdam, in the Netherlands.

Irish Continental Group will boost weekly freight capacity from 120 to 1,155 lorries between Dublin and the French port of Cherbourg this summer.

Brittany ferries will this month start a service between Cork and Santander in Spain

"In anticipation of Brexit, the shipping community was looking for alternative solutions," CLdN told the 'Financial Times'. Freight between Ireland and the UK will continue to be busy even if the direct routes do lessen the traffic.

Meanwhile, the former chief British negotiator on Northern Ireland believes Brexit can be stopped and the Northern Irish Border could be the catalyst.

Jonathan Powell said it was impossible for UK Prime Minister Theresa May to fulfil all of her red lines regarding Brexit, which include leaving the customs union and single market. These are incompatible with Britain's legal obligation to the Good Friday Agreement which ensures there is no Border between Northern Ireland and the Irish State, and North-south co-operation is fully protected.

Mr Powell, who was also Downing Street chief of staff under British Prime Minister Tony Blair from 1997 to 2007, was speaking as the 20th anniversary agreement approaches.

He said: "There's every chance to stop Brexit, and I think it's the Northern Irish Border that will trip the whole thing over."

If Dublin and Brussels stick to their guns about insisting there are no hard borders after Brexit, and as a result refuse to sign off on a Withdrawal Treaty if the British won't stay in a customs union and single market, then Mrs May will be left with no option but to stay in the EU, he said. ( Daily Telegraph, London)
Ulster says no: a sign close to the border on the main road between Newry and Dundalk

"Our national journey out of the EU is almost over - and a glorious view awaits." As the clock ticks towards Brexit that is the worldview of the UK's foreign secretary Boris Johnson.

Yet, the vista Boris sees differs dramatically from the economic analysis and the reality on the ground in the agri-food sector.

Uncertainty has been the only constant since the UK voted to exit the EU.

The impact of the 2016 referendum was immediate as farmers and agri-businesses felt the pinch. Sterling slumped, and the horticultural sector took a hammering as some mushroom producers went to the wall.

Two years on, uncertainty remains the defining feature of Brexit with no one knowing what the terms of departure will be, when a deal will be completed or how long the transition period from EU membership to the new 'global Britain' will take.

On this side of the water, the potential impacts of a hard Brexit on farming and agri-businesses have been well signalled.

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Yet as the incoming UCD Professor of Agriculture and Food Economics Dr Michael Wallace points out, key policy makers in the UK still don't appear to accept the potentially destructive impacts of Brexit for the UK's agri-food sector.

In his current position with Newcastle University, Dr Wallace has studied the impact on UK agriculture and the future of direct payments for farmers post Brexit.

The UK government has suggested that the CAP payments which currently account for about two-thirds of average farm incomes in Britain should be phased out in the longer term.

However, Dr Wallace says there has been no confirmation that the devolved administrations will be granted money from Westminster for agri support policies for their jurisdictions.

Expand Close Glass half full? Agriculture Minister Michael Creed, Dr Michael Wallace and Aoife Byrne, UCD, at the UCD Brexit event. Photo: MacInnes Photography / Facebook

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Whatsapp Glass half full? Agriculture Minister Michael Creed, Dr Michael Wallace and Aoife Byrne, UCD, at the UCD Brexit event. Photo: MacInnes Photography

Regions such as Northern Ireland and Scotland could be hardest hit.

Dr Wallace said farming in these regions is less diversified than England and more reliant on beef and sheep markets.

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Looking at the bigger picture, there are concerns that a 'cheap food policy' post-Brexit would lead to imports of cheaper chicken from the US and beef from the South American powerhouses.

Dr Wallace says that a Unilateral Free Trade (UFT) scenario would expose British farmers to direct competition from low-cost global exporters.

British farmgate prices would shrink towards world market levels and could decimate farm incomes.

This in turn would have drastic knock-on effects for Ireland given that 50pc of our beef exports are sold to Britain.

Speaking at a Brexit briefing in UCD, Dr Wallace added that the Food and Agriculture Policy Research Institute (FAPRI) trade model projections suggest that UK beef prices could decline by 40pc in this scenario.

Agriculture Michael Creed warned there are very few policy, business or financial decisions to be made over the coming months and years that will not be affected by Brexit.

Mr Creed said he held hopes that we were in reality only a third of the way towards the final British exit from the EU.

Transition

The European Council has agreed a draft of the Withdrawal Agreement, which contains a potential transition period of up to December 2020. This will now be negotiated.

"While the exact set of actions necessary to avoid a hard border on the island have not yet been finalised, both the EU and UK negotiating teams have committed to discussions over the coming weeks in order to progress this issue," he said.

However, he stressed it was British public opinion that may lead the way on food policy as consumers have indicated they will not buy cheaper products such as chlorinated chicken.

Ireland does not want to give up on its "hard-won" UK market, said Minister Creed.

Officials have met with the CEOs of the three major UK retailers - Tesco, Sainsburys and ASDA - to assure them that Irish produce is there for the long haul and standards will remain high.

Ireland continues to seek free access to the UK market, without tariffs and with minimal additional customs, he stressed.
The first shipment of fodder arriving in Buttevant County Cork for farmers. Pic:Mark Condren.

Michael Creed may not control the weather, but he might be best advised to pay better attention to it.

While farmers are said to have an obsession with the climate and the variables in our atmosphere, few are as qualified to comment on it Desmond McHugh.

Desmond is a farmer in Co Leitrim. He doubles up managing the family farm with operating a Met Eireann climatology station.

There are 400 similar stations dotted across the country used to monitor temperatures and rainfall.

It is tough work and those manning the stations must be disciplined and vigilant to make sure they record accurate readings daily.

Each person manning a station records the figures and then sends the data to Met Eireann headquarters every month to be analysed.

However, the process means these people can spot trends and go through their own records to observe weather patterns and make judgments on how our weather has been.

They also feed in to State bodies and organisations that play a role in peoples everyday lives.

Met Eireann use Desmonds figures to improve its weather forecasting services.

Data from the 400 stations is also shared with An Garda Siochana, Irish Water and local authorities, who may use the data to carry out essential public services.

Desmond uses them to observe farming conditions. Minister Creed might be best advised to have a look at them.

Last November, Desmond expressed concern at a looming fodder crisis because of a lack of consecutive dry days in the previous four months.

The ground is soaked, he said. He could back it up.

Desmond recorded an average of 23 dry days for the same period over the past nine years.

Between July and October last year, he recorded 528.8mm of rain falling at his Co Leitrim station. This represented a significant 54pc increase on 2016. The highest amount of rain during those four months came on August 22, the same day as the devastating floods that hit Co Donegal.

He warned this rain prevented some farmers getting a second cut during the summer to provide for cattle in winter.

It has a knock-on effect because it takes the land a longer time to recover after a huge amount of rain. We dont know what the future holds, so if it continues to stay wet, there will be an accumulative impact.

This will have an impact financially because it means they will have to go out and invest in feeding cattle.

It stayed wet but Mr Creed must not have been listening.

Less than two weeks after Desmonds warning, a gaggle of Fianna Fail TDs sat opposite Mr Creed in Leinster House warning him of the looming fodder crisis.

We are extremely concerned as to what is unveiling itself across the country, particularly along the west coast, with regard to an emerging fodder shortage, warned agriculture spokesman Charlie McConalogue.

You will be aware of the unprecedented weather we have experienced.

He warned livestock had been housed early, silage and fodder was not saved and available supplies were depleting quickly.

He was urged to take urgent action.

The minister insisted: There are available supplies of fodder across the country as a whole for those farmers who may require it to supplement their supply.

Yet now we are importing feed to prevent cattle from starving. If Mr Creed had paid more heed, perhaps he would have heard what the farmers were telling him all along.
On Friday, March 9, Siobhan Madden, was tidying her desk at the AIB bank in Adare, Co Limerick, in preparation for taking the following week off to go to Cheltenham, when she got a prank call.

Or so she thought.

Siobhan hails from the Cork village of Liscarroll, 25 miles away, where she is honorary secretary of the Point-to-Point.

It was there that a woman named Alice Canty, whose family have run the post office for generations, was born in 1900.

She went on marry Clare man John Higgins. Their three children include Michael Daniel Higgins, now Ireland's ninth President.

Last summer, a staunch member of the Liscarroll Point-to-Point Committee made a submission inviting the President to attend its annual race meeting, on March 25.

The phonecall for Siobhan was from the Aras to confirm that visit.

This was following on from the tremendous success of last year's race-meeting, which marked the 100th anniversary of the birth of Vincent O'Brien, Irish racing's most influential figure, in the other half of the parish, Churchtown.

Run with the support of the O'Brien family and Coolmore, the meeting included a display of some of his famous memorabilia. A crowd of 3,000 attended.

This area is widely regarded as the home of jumps racing, as the first known steeplechase, now legendary, took place between Buttevant Church and Doneraile Church in 1752.

Some 115 point-to-points a year are now held in Ireland, the majority run by hunt clubs as their main annual fundraisers.

The sport is rightly seen as a nursery for national hunt racing. Graduates have included several Gold Cup winners, including Denman, who won at Liscarroll.

Point-to-points are the ultimate pop-up event.

Thanks to the generosity of landowners, racetracks are magically created by dedicated volunteers from fields which are ordinary farmland throughout the rest of the year.

A track, parade ring, bookies ring, marquees and ancillary services are put in place. Then there is the publicity, getting sponsorship and other administration.

Michael D spent almost three hours pressing the flesh, with jockeys, owners, stewards, etc, as well as ordinary Paddy and Patsy Punters who filed up to meet him.

Such a visit is surely a strong signal that he intends going for another term as President.

Meanwhile, the real business of the day continued - runners, winners, fallers. Conversations were peppered with the likes of, "Are you making money?", "Have you any tips for me?" and "Will you have a bag of chips?"

One jockey who fell was asked, "are you all right?" In the typical vernacular of those thrill-seeking souls who people this robust sport, he replied, "sure the ground is soft."

The going in Liscarroll was softer, but loose rather than the tacky, on the exact same date, 34 years earlier; an occasion which has special resonance for my own family.

My 16-year-old brother Gerry had his first ride in a point-to-point on a mare owned and trained by my mother Rita, named Rainy Weather. She won by 20l, fulfilling his childhood dream. It was one of the proudest moments of my life.

The sport has become more professional but it was lovely to see there is still room for the smaller guy, with Lisnagar Oscar, bred, owned and trained by Fermoy butcher and long-time points supporter Denis Fitzgerald receiving a traditional boisterous reception.

Just before leaving, my pal Siobhan introduced me to the PRO, a young man named Michael Purdon.

"So how are you going to follow this up?" I asked mischievously. "Oh, Trump or Obama," he replied, in like manner, adding, "watch this space."

It was a fun day out.
European Union sugar companies have emerged from the cocoon of production quotas and are now fighting to survive in a fiercely competitive world market with prices and profits plunging.

The EUs largest sugar producer, Suedzucker, has said it expects to report an operating loss of 100 million to 200 million euros in its sugar segment in 2018/19 while its rivals are also struggling.

At the current price level, there is hardly a sugar company in Europe which can still produce at a break-even, a spokesman for the EUs number two producer Nordzucker said.

The EU abolished limits on sugar beet production at the end of September 2017, dramatically boosting output and paving the way for the EU to become a net exporter for the first time in more than a decade.

The rise in EU production has come at a time when appetite for sugar is declining in the increasingly health-conscious trading bloc, throwing supplies onto a world market already awash with the sweetener.

Everyone can produce as much as they want and initially everyone only looked at the cost side of the equation and tried to reduce production costs by processing more beet and producing more sugar, F.O. Licht analyst Stefan Uhlenbrock said.

Expand Close A farmer operates a tractor and a seeder in his field to sow sugar beets in the village of Cramoisy, France, March 27, 2017. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo / Facebook

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Whatsapp A farmer operates a tractor and a seeder in his field to sow sugar beets in the village of Cramoisy, France, March 27, 2017. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo

But this leaves out of consideration that prices must collapse if all key players do the same and raise output massively - and this is the situation right now. Over time this will result in a survival only of the fittest.

Associated British Foods, parent of British Sugar, has been shielded to some extent by diversification. The companys other businesses include the fashion chain Primark.

Around 16 percent of ABFs profits came from sugar so clearly its not the driving force, said George Salmon, analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.

For sugar, theyve been very clear, saying that removal of quotas causing a weaker sugar price is going to have an impact.

QUOTA CUSHION

EU sugar prices had been underpinned by production quotas and import tariffs under the regime which ended last autumn and were often far above world market levels.

The need to compete in a global export market has largely closed the gap.

The European Commission reported an average price for white sugar during January of 374 euros a tonne, down 26 euros from December and the lowest level in records dating back to 2006.

Expand Close French farmer Jean Vierling holds sugar beet seeds at his farm in Schnersheim, near Strasbourg, France, March 29, 2018. REUTERS/Vincent Kessler / Facebook

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Whatsapp French farmer Jean Vierling holds sugar beet seeds at his farm in Schnersheim, near Strasbourg, France, March 29, 2018. REUTERS/Vincent Kessler

That gives you an idea of the speed at which the European market is converging with the world market. With London sugar prices at around 280 euros, it is likely that the EU price has fallen further since January, said Francois Thaury, sugar analyst at Agritel.

Analysts expect the global sugar market to remain in surplus for at least two seasons and possibly longer following a sharp rise in production particularly in India and Thailand.

EU producers are already committed to buying a large tonnage of beet from farmers in the coming season at prices where they may struggle to make a profit.

For the moment, this price signal has not yet reached the sugar beet growers because most contracts are not directly tied to market prices, said Timothe Masson of French sugar beet growers group CGB.

We estimate that the total sugar beet area in the EU will be stable this year because in many countries there hasnt been a price signal to growers. Any correction will more likely be next year.

Analyst Green Pool has forecast a smaller global surplus of 5.95 million tonnes in 2018/19 following a huge surplus of 11.51 million in the current season.

The Australia-based analyst expects EU white sugar exports will climb to 3.50 million tonnes in 2017/18, up from 1.38 million tonnes in the prior season.

STORAGE AID?

Still we think some sugar will need to be carried forward, given the global market is in over supply. The question is whether the Commission steps in with exceptional measures, which could include private storage aid, Green Pool analyst Josh Rossato said.

Help, however, is not yet on the way.

The oversupply is global and puts pressure on prices everywhere, a source at the European Commission said.

The Commission has currently no plans for any further measures but we remain vigilant and are continuously monitoring the sugar market.

Falling sugar consumption in the EU has added to the woes of sugar producers.

Sugar has become, in some eyes, the new tobacco, said Fintan Ryan, analyst at Berenberg, which downgraded shares of Suedzucker this week.

The demand in Europe isnt growing from consumers. All the incremental growth in the sector on a global basis comes from emerging markets.

The trend in Britain has been exacerbated by food and drinks makers reformulating their products ahead of the introduction of a sugar tax on April 6.

Sugar consumption on a per capita basis has been falling for decades in the UK. It (the sugar tax) could accelerate the decrease, Uhlenbrock said.
Already the 2018 Tourism Ireland marketing campaign is well underway, and for the first two months of the year visitor numbers were up 8pc, according to figures from the Central Statistics Office

Below are five areas that the sector is targeting in 2018.

One  North America

Tourism Ireland says that it aims to have revenue from North American visitors alone grow by 7pc this year to 1.78bn.

The revenue will be generated by a 5pc increase in visitors from North American, with an expectation of 1.93 million North American visitors coming to Ireland this year, the industry body says.

As part of its campaign to attract more visitors from North America, Tourism Ireland, the body responsible for marketing the island of Ireland as a holiday and business tourism destination, is running a major TV campaign on ABC, NBC, and CBS in the US in what it describes as five priority markets: New York, Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia and Washington DC.

Two  the Wild Atlantic Way campaign

The all-Ireland body is also running a number of other initiatives including a new 1.8m Wild Atlantic Way initiative, which is says will target 10 million people from Britain.

As part of the campaign, funding of 500,000 will be provided by a Failte Ireland programme aimed at supporting businesses along the Wild Atlantic Way to position themselves to benefit from the tourism campaign.

Three  reaching out to our third largest visitor market

Meanwhile, in January, the body unveiled a new strategy targeting a 20pc growth in German visitors by 2021.

Germany is the third-largest market for tourism to the island of Ireland, and last year the island welcomed around 660,000 German visitors, according to figures from Tourism Ireland.

Four  Europe

Other campaigns going on across Europe include an advertising campaign highlighting Cork running in Paris metro stations, as well as advertising campaign for Ireland in metro stations in Rome, Milan and Brescia, as well as in 13 different airports around Italy.

Five  Asia

Meanwhile earlier this year officials from Tourism Ireland undertook a series of engagements in Hong Kong with key travel decision-makers, including the Hong Kong Association of Travel Agents, the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong, Jet Tours and Flight Centre, in a bid to increase the number of tourists to Ireland from the Asia-Pacific region this year.
As part of this months Independent.ie Industry Spotlight, we take a look at the key numbers in Irelands largest indigenous industry.

The tourism industry is responsible for in excess of 4pc of Gross National Product in the Republic of Ireland and employs approximately 281,000 people aross the island, according to figures from Tourism Ireland.

So far this year Ireland has welcomed an additional 84,700 tourists this year, a 7.9pc increase on the same period last year.

In total there were approximately 10.65 million overseas visitors to Ireland last year, generating a massive 5.78bn in revenue for the economy.

Last year saw especially strong growth in tourism numbers from North America, with visitor numbers to Ireland from the region increasing by over 16pc.

The number of North American visitors is now so significant that Ireland now welcomes one in ten of all American visitors to Europe.

As well as the North American market increasing, last year also saw record numbers of tourists arriving in Ireland from Australia and developing markets (up almost 13pc); and from Mainland Europe, up 5pc year-on-year, with important markets like Germany, France, Spain, Italy and the Nordic Region all recording good growth, Tourism Ireland said.

The strong performance of the sector has been helped by increases in direct air access to Ireland. In addition, the all-Ireland body said that its market diversification strategy has been a key factor in the increased numbers.

Looking East, in 2017, 70,000 Chinese visitors to the island of Ireland an increase of around 10,000 on 2016, and these numbers are expected to continue with the launch of direct flights between Hong Kong and Dublin this summer, as well as direct flights between Dublin and Beijing, with a service from Dublin Airport set for take-off on June 12.

Hainan, Chinas largest independent airline, will fly the Dublin-Beijing route four times a week using an Airbus A330-300 aircraft, it says.
A RESIDENT of the tiny west Cork village of Ballylickey has appealed a decision to grant permission for a multi-million euro, five-storey extension to a hotel near Dublin Airport owned by Tifco.

Objector James Wharton has claimed the project will create unsustainable additional traffic and that the bigger hotel will impede enjoyment of the adjoining Santry Park.

Mr Wharton has also requested an oral hearing from An Bord Pleanala. Tifco applied for planning permission last November to add 60 new bedrooms to its Santry property which is close to the airport.

That would see the number of bedrooms at the hotel rise to 269.

Fingal County Council approved the plan at the end of February. In a one-page submission to both the council and An Bord Pleanala, Mr Wharton claimed that the proposed development is "excessive" and "inconsistent with the enjoyment of the facilities at Santry Park". The park adjoins the hotel. He also claimed the extension would "interfere" with the skyline.

Contacted by the Irish Independent, Mr Wharton said he had no comment.

Mr Wharton is understood to be originally from Cork.

Pressed as to why, as a resident of Ballylickey, he had objected to a hotel development on Dublin's northside more than 300km away, he again declined to comment.

Tifco owns and operates close to 30 hotels in Ireland and is the country's second-largest hotel group after Dalata.

In 2016, Tifco also took over the company that operates the Travelodge franchise here.

The hotel group is backed by Goldman Sachs and is partly owned by Aidan Crowe and DID owner Gerry Houlihan. Mr Houlihan and his family also owns Clontarf Castle in Dublin, which is managed by Tifco.

Last month, Tifco was formally put up for sale with a price tag estimated to be in the region of 600m.

Goldman Sachs has been an investor in Tifco since 2014, when it bought the hotel group's debt from Irish Bank Resolution Corporation, formerly Anglo Irish Bank.

The sale of Tifco will include properties around the country and the new owner will also have the option to pre-fund a new 392-bedroom hotel on Dublin's Townsend Street.

Tifco owns 18 of the hotels in its portfolio and manages the remainder, which include the Heritage Resort at Killenard in Co Laois and the Metropole in Cork.

It also owns sites for two new hotels in Dublin.
Turning the ship before it hits the iceberg
Latvia's Rietumu Banka, in which Irish billionaire financier Dermot Desmond owns a one-third stake, has said it is terminating its relationships with more than 4,000 corporate customers it has classified as being in a 'prohibited risk' category.

The move comes after the United States accused the Baltic country's third-largest bank, ABLV, of "institutionalised money laundering" earlier this year.

Rietumu Banka said that its affected clients were previously classified by it as 'high-risk'. Labelling them prohibited risk means the bank will terminate its relationship with the customers within two months.

It reclassified the customers last month, according to Rietumu's newly-published annual report.

In February, the US Treasury Department's Crimes Enforcement Network claimed that ABLV had links to North Korea's ballistic missile programme, an allegation the bank had strenuously denied.

But the US moved to freeze ABLV out of the US banking system. The US probe prompted investors to start pulling funds from ABLV and caused significant turmoil in the Latvia's financial sector. The European Central Bank instructed the Latvian banking regulator to impose a moratorium on outgoing payments from ABLV, and the bank is now being liquidated.

The United States called for changes to Latvian banks' business models, and for improvements to anti-money laundering mechanisms.

"These changes affect not only services to the existing customers of the bank [Rietumu Banka] but also require review of potential target markets and customers of the bank," Rietumu's annual report noted.

It said that its corporate customers who are now classified by Rietumu as 'prohibited risk', represent about two-thirds of all the bank's non-Latvian corporate customers. It added that the majority of the prohibited risk customers are domiciled outside the EU and OECD countries, in off-shore jurisdictions.

Rietumu said it will no longer accept any customers from outside the EU or OECD countries.

Rietumu's board members include Mr Desmond, as well as Brendan Murphy, who is deputy chairman. Mr Desmond first acquired a stake in the Latvian bank in 2005. Rietumu said in its annual report that, following the US intervention, it started last month to translate all customer balances previously denominated in dollars, to euro.

"Management is confident that the measures in place at the bank at this moment, planned future changes to the business model and implemented strategy, are sufficient and appropriate to ensure further successful operations of the bank and the group," its annual report noted.

It said details of its new strategy won't be available until Latvian authorities publish and adopt into law new legislation designed to tackle US concerns. However, Rietumu expects to have completed preparation of its new strategy by June.

Rietumu Banka has also performed stress tests to assess the potential impact of different, severe adverse scenarios on its financial position. "None of the stress-testing scenarios resulted into the bank's or group's liquidity or capital adequacy levels falling below required thresholds," it said.

Rietumu Banka had just over 3bn in assets at the end of December, a 13.4pc fall compared to a year earlier. Its net profit after tax last year tumbled to 33.5m from 82.3m in 2016.
With the move away from directories, online firm has grown

Operating profits at the firm behind the goldenpages.ie site jumped by 36pc to 3.7m in 2016, new accounts show.

The firm, FCR Media, only last November exited examinership and new accounts show that FCR Media Ltd increased its operating profits in 2016 in spite of gross profits declining by 12pc, going from 10.1m to 8.9m.

The firm's exit from examinership, which secured the jobs of 73 employees, was approved by the High Court after a restructuring of the company's liabilities.

The company secured fresh investment from two investors during the period it was in examinership. The business has decided to cease publishing the print version of the Golden Pages and is to focus on its online business.

The new accounts show that the company's pre-tax profits declined by 18pc, from 2.43m to 1.98m in 2016.

The main factor behind the drop in profits was the firm writing off 1.7m in investments. This compares to a write-off of 195,000 in 2015.

The increase in the write-off was partially off-set by interest payments reducing from 1m in 2015 to 657,113 in 2016.

The company's cash during the year reduced from 666,844 to 21,644.

The firm's accumulated profits reduced from 3.5m to 1.4m largely as a result of a 3.8m actuarial loss on the company's defined benefit pension scheme.

Pay to directors declined from 405,930 to 380,701.

Numbers employed by the firm reduced from 132 to 116 with salaries reducing from 6.2m to 5.29m.

The directors state that the company will continue to penetrate the Irish market with its website and e-commerce solutions and build search campaigns to engage buyers through local directory and pay per click solutions.

FCR Media Ltd sought the protection of the courts after FCR media group withdrew its interests in the Irish market meaning the firm could no longer pay its debts as they fell due.

The wider FCR Media Group provides search and advertising services in 10 countries in Europe and has more than 1,000 employees across its operations.

The Irish business's debts to creditors, including revenue as of July 21 last, were 5.5m.

The alternative to examinership was a winding-up with a deficit of 8.9m liabilities over assets.
Drinks organisation the Irish Spirits Association (ISA) yesterday has launched a strategy to capitalise on the increasing popularity of gin.

The 'Strategy for Irish Gin 2018-2022' identifies the main target markets for Irish gin and sets out goals and actions for the sector.

"The Irish gin industry is ambitious, and our ambitions are increasingly global," said Pat Rigney, chair of the Irish gin working group in the ISA and founder of The Shed Distillery in Co Leitrim.

However Mr Rigney said that the association was "concerned" about some of what he described as "the unintended negative implications of the Public Health (Alcohol) Bill", in particular in respect of labelling requirements.

Last year saw a 44pc increase in sales of gin in Ireland, according to data from performance management company Nielsen.

While Ireland will remain the most important market for the sector, producers have identified the UK, Spain, Germany, the US and Canada as priority export markets.

The ISA strategy also sets out four key goals, as well as a number of actions to deliver on the vision and growth targets for Irish gin.

Among the goals is the development of world-leading standards for Irish gin, the promotion of Irish gin worldwide, starting with the five key target markets, as well as ongoing support for the viability of Irish gin producers.
Dublin-based SMBC Aviation Capital, the world's fourth-largest aircraft lessor, has closed a $600m (489m) funding round.

The round compromised a $200m term loan and a $400m revolving credit facility with a consortium of primarily Asian banks. Proceeds from the funding will be used for general corporate purposes.

In a statement yesterday, SMBC said that the transaction generated strong interest from the banking market resulting in a high level of over subscription.

"The level of interest in this transaction further demonstrates the market's confidence in our business and our commitment to diversifying our funding sources," Barry Flannery, chief financial officer of SMBC, said.

"We are delighted to broaden our relationships with some of the leading banks in both the Asia Pacific region and in aviation generally. Together with our corporate bond programme and ongoing shareholder support, this will underpin the delivery of our future growth".

In November, SMBC reported a pre-tax profit of $167m (142m) in the first half of its financial year. That was up 3.1pc year-on-year. Revenue and other income hit $566m (461m) in the first half.

SMBC has aircraft assets of $10.5bn (8.5bn), including 248 owned, and 177 managed aircraft. It has commitments to buy about 251 aircraft.
Independent News & Media chief executive Michael Doorly told staff their jobs were not at risk

The former chairman of the country's largest media publishers has vowed to defend himself against a range of serious allegations made by the corporate watchdog.

Leslie Buckley, who stepped down as chairman of Independent News & Media (INM) last month, said he intended to robustly defend his position.

Mr Buckley said he was "appalled" by what he described as "the widespread circulation and sharing" of an Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement (ODCE) court document.

He said the affidavit contained "the most serious and damaging of allegations relating to my tenure as chairman of INM plc".

These concerns are due to be outlined to the High Court on April 16, when ODCE director Ian Drennan will seek the appointment of inspectors to INM.

Among other issues the affidavit claims Mr Buckley directed a major "data interrogation" exercise, where it is claimed IT back-up tapes were removed from INM's premises to a company outside the jurisdiction in October 2014. It is alleged they were "interrogated".

Fears have been expressed that several people, including journalists, had their emails searched.

Mr Buckley broke his silence over the controversy yesterday.

In a statement, Mr Buckley said he believed "due process and fair procedures" had been "completely and wholly disregarded".

"I will continue to co-operate fully with the ODCE and will robustly defend my position against each and every allegation. I am advised to reserve my position," he said.

The company's chief executive Michael Doorly told staff at the company's Dublin headquarters the 815 jobs in INM were not at risk. He said the company was profitable and financially stable.

Mr Doorly said INM's board was now dealing with issues raised by the ODCE and the Data Protection Commissioner.

If inspectors are appointed it would be a costly exercise, he said, but would not detract from the business.

"I just want to assure you that you shouldn't be going home having sleepless nights," Mr Doorly told staff.

"There may be questions people have to answer. They will be dealt with. It's not you. Nobody in this building should be afraid of anything. You have done nothing wrong."

Mr Doorly said it was alleged magnetic back-up tapes were taken and later returned.

He said he believed these contained emails, but not human resources or payroll information.

The chief executive said he could not give staff any assurances about what allegedly happened in 2014 and that this needed to be investigated.

Mr Doorly said there had been a lot of comment on the affairs of INM in the media.

"It is understandable and to be expected, but disappointingly some of the comment has questioned the integrity of the journalism within INM," he said.

"That is not acceptable. We have a proud tradition of covering national and international news for over 100 years.

"We have nothing to hide from and nothing to fear. We will continue to support independent journalism and the journalists who pursue stories that are relevant and groundbreaking."
What is going on at Independent News & Media (INM)? The company, Ireland's largest media group and publisher of the Irish Independent, is at the centre of controversy over a major suspected data breach.

It is feared magnetic tapes used as a back-up for the company's IT system were taken out of its premises, brought to another country and "interrogated".

There are fears the email communications of several people, including high-profile journalists like 'Sunday Independent' deputy editor and television presenter Brendan O'Connor may have been accessed.

How big was the suspected breach?

It has not been fully quantified, but things may become clearer as investigations by the corporate and data control watchdogs progress.

What is known is that in the course of its probe, the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement found a list of 19 names described as "persons of interest". This list was shared by people working for companies external to INM who allegedly accessed the data.

The Press Ombudsman and the National Union have expressed concerns that the confidentiality of sources may have been undermined.

Who was on the list?

The list contained Mr O'Connor, his 'Sunday Independent' colleague Maeve Sheehan and former INM journalist Sam Smyth.

It also included two senior barristers who worked for the Moriarty Tribunal. Several former INM directors and staff were also named, as were people working in public relations and investor relations. There was also a lawyer who works for telecommunications company Cable and Wireless.

Have any of the people on the list been in the news lately?

Yes. Former INM director of corporate affairs Karl Brophy, who now runs a public relations firm called Red Flag Consulting.

The firm and Mr Brophy are being sued by businessman Denis O'Brien, who alleges it engaged in a conspiracy against him and defamed him. The allegations are denied.

The case revolves around the creation of a dossier about Mr O'Brien. It has been ongoing since October 2015 and rarely far from the headlines. Mr O'Brien is INM's largest shareholder and his other major interests include telecommunications firm Digicel.

What was the purpose of the list?

While there has been much speculation, the document it was found on does not explain its purpose, other than to suggest the data was searched for the names.

How could the suspected data breach have happened?

The ODCE, which has been investigating a range of corporate governance issues at INM for the past year, alleges the suspected data breach was directed by former INM chairman Leslie Buckley, a close business associate of Mr O'Brien

It claims the data back-up tapes were taken in October 2014 and shared with at least six companies external to INM.

The ODCE also claims two invoices associated with the data interrogation were discharged by Blaydon Limited, a company owned by Mr O'Brien.

According to the ODCE, Mr Buckley claimed the data interrogation was part of "a cost reduction exercise". Mr Buckley is said to have told the watchdog he authorised the work so he could find out more detail about the awarding of a professional services contract and that he wanted to consider whether the cost and duration of this contract could be renegotiated.

Does the ODCE accept this explanation?

ODCE director Ian Drennan says he is not convinced and wants the issue probed further. He says some of the output of the data interrogation "does not have any obvious connection to the cost reduction purpose asserted" by Mr Buckley.

Have either Mr Buckley or Mr O'Brien commented publicly on the controversy?

Mr Buckley issued a statement yesterday saying he planned to defend his position robustly. A spokesman for Mr O'Brien said he was not commenting.

What else is the ODCE examining?

The watchdog wants inspectors to be appointed to INM by the High Court to examine other concerns too.

These relate to whether "inside information" was unlawfully disclosed to third parties outside INM; allegations by former INM chief executive Robert Pitt in relation to the aborted deal for INM to buy Newstalk; and concerns Mr Pitt raised about a proposed success fee for a company owned by Mr O'Brien in connection with the sale of shares INM held in an Australian media group.

The whole thing sounds pretty damaging. Does it threaten the future of the company?

INM's chief executive Michael Doorly has warned that there will be significant costs for the company if inspectors are appointed.

But he has given INM's 815 staff assurances that their jobs are not under threat.

He says the company is profitable and stable financially and is looking to the future.
Workers watch as a machine loads soybeans into the Stella Pearl cargo ship headed to China at the Tiplam terminal in Santos, Brazil

As the trade dispute between the United States and China was gaining steam last month, a half-dozen Chinese dancers and a person in a panda bear suit paraded across a stage inside a hotel lobby in the heart of Argentina's wine country.

The March 24 ceremony celebrated the Washington-based Inter-American Development Bank's (IDB) choice to hold its next annual meeting in Chengdu, China, a decision criticised by the United States, whose regional influence has been increasingly challenged by the Asian economic superpower.

Just over a week later, China imposed tariffs on a range of US products from frozen pork to wine in response to US President Donald's Trump's decision to place tariffs on steel and aluminium from countries including China.

The trade fight, which escalated further on Wednesday with China targeting key American imports including soybeans, planes and cars in retaliation for proposed US tariffs on $50bn (40bn) in Chinese goods, has left Latin America in the middle, analysing risks and opportunities.

"The US is forcing countries in the region to choose between the US and China," said Margaret Myers, director of the Latin America and the World programme at the Inter-American Dialogue. "It's putting Latin American countries in a very challenging position while at the same time not offering a particularly attractive policy."

China, whose demand for raw materials increased during rapid economic growth the past two decades, is already the top trade partner for countries ranging from Brazil, Latin America's largest economy and the world's top soybean exporter, to tiny Uruguay.

Rather than celebrating a chance to gain market share, Brazil and Argentina responded cautiously to the tariffs on Wednesday. Brazil's Agriculture Ministry declined to comment. Argentina, the world's number three soy exporter, said it was "analysing the situation".

Analysts in both countries said, however, the tariffs could force China to purchase more soybeans and soy-based products from South America.

Latin American countries' turn to China for financing has alarmed Washington even as its own policy toward the region shifts.

Trump's December 2017 national security strategy said China was seeking to "pull the region into its orbit through state-led investment and loans".

David Malpass, the US Treasury Department's undersecretary for international affairs, said at a March conference in Buenos Aires that China's hosting of next year's IDB meeting "does not serve the interests of the Western Hemisphere".

In response, IDB President Luis Alberto Moreno noted that the IDB would hold a special meeting for the bank's 60th anniversary in Washington next year, saying: "We have found the best of all worlds."

President Trump's trade policies and rhetoric about immigration have disturbed even the most US-friendly governments in Latin America.

Before the United States temporarily exempted Brazil from planned steel tariffs, a Foreign Ministry official said trade relations between the two countries were in "uncharted waters".

Argentina is threatening to take Washington to the World Trade Organization over biodiesel import tariffs.

While the United States is the IDB's largest shareholder, it backed out last year of one of the bank's key funds. Still, China's perceived disregard for projects' social and environmental costs has generated opposition within Latin America.

Civil society groups from Ecuador, Argentina and Peru set up an alliance to present information on "multiple human rights violations" linked to Chinese investments to the United Nations, according to a February statement from global nonprofit alliance Civicus.

Chinese foreign direct investment, or FDI, in the region has increased by $70bn since 2012, according to the Adrienne Arsht Latin America Centre. While the US remains the largest source of FDI, its share fell to 20pc in 2016 from 25.7pc in 2015 and 24pc in 2012, according to the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean.

Data from the Inter-American Dialogue and Boston University show lending from Chinese state-run banks to countries in the region exceeded $20bn in 2015 and 2016.

Since 2005, those loans have exceeded combined financing to the region from the IDB, World Bank and CAF, a Latin American development bank.

Commercial banks like ICBC are becoming increasingly active, Myers said, and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) - a two-year-old Beijing-based multilateral lender - is seeking to partner with the IDB on projects in the region, such as roads, railways, ports or tunnels that could improve connectivity with Asia.

Seven Latin American countries including Argentina have been approved to join the AIIB, although none have yet paid in to become full members.

(Reuters)
In the opening scenes of A Quiet Place, a mother (Emily Blunt) and her children wander the aisles of a devastated supermarket. Something bad has happened: the shop shelves are almost empty and, outside, the deserted street is lined with long-abandoned cars. Wordlessly, the woman and her brood search for food and when one of the kids drops something, they all freeze. Noise is the enemy here and we'll shortly find out why.

From the tattered covers of discarded newspapers we learn that an alien species arrived a few years ago - fierce, lizard-like creatures that feast on human flesh. They have giant bodies and heads like praying mantises, but cannot see so they hunt by sound. Those humans who have survived have learned to conduct their daily lives in silence, and for the woman and her husband (John Krasinski, who also directs), every day is a carefully choreographed battle to survive.

They and their three children live on a secluded farm which the resourceful husband has rigged for survival: a closed circuit TV system warns him of advancing extraterrestrials and as one of their kids (Millicent Simmonds) is deaf, the family communicates fluently in sign language.

Every chore and activity has been modified to reduce the risk of a potentially deadly noise, but sooner or later someone's bound to make one, and on the way home from the supermarket the youngest child manages to coax a battery-operated toy to life, which has devastating consequences.

Soon after, the mother falls pregnant and the father is busily making arrangements for the new arrival. But he's working against time, because babies cry and if that obstacle can't be overcome, none of them are going to live for very long.

Meanwhile, tensions mount between the deaf girl and her father, who's reluctant to let her help with his survivalist chores. And when she runs away, she inadvertently sets in train a series of events that will put them all in terrible danger.

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Best known as a comic actor who first came to prominence in the American version of The Office, John Krasinski has written and directed films before, but nothing to suggest he was capable of something like this. Because A Quiet Place is hard to find fault with: it's a note-perfect horror film that sticks to its own fantasy logic, never makes the mistake of over-explaining anything and doesn't out-stay its welcome either.

An hour and a half is about as much as anyone wants to feel frightened for and Krasinski's film fills its 90 minutes with exquisitely crafted fear.

The idea of blind monsters who hunt by sound is a brilliant one because it gives the film built-in tension, and its own particular mini-universe of terror. These things can appear from nowhere and pounce with incredible speed, so any time someone drops a fork or coughs too loud, the entire family freezes and listens out for any advancing clatter through the surrounding corn fields.

Moments of relief are rare and the father shares a joyous few seconds with his young son when he takes him to a waterfall where the rushing water beats off the rocks so loud you can shout as much as you want. The film's most memorable scene, though, involves a nail, a step and a heavily pregnant woman.

Video of the Day

Krasinski's real-life wife Emily Blunt has expanded her range considerably in recent years, and utterly convinces as a mother who can only use expressions and those eloquent eyes to express her fierce protective love for her children. She's excellent, as is her husband's film.

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Films coming soon...

Rampage (Dwayne Johnson, Naomie Harris, Malin Akerman, Jeffrey Dean Morgan); Making The Grade (Ken Wardrop); Truth or Dare (Lucy Hale, Tyler Posey, Sophia Taylor); Custody (Lea Drucker, Denis Menochet); Western (Meinhard Neumann).
Anja, Jan and Andreas Lindemau, from Cologne, Germany, brave the wet weather during a trip to Howth, Co Dublin. Photo: Damien Eagers

Mother Nature is set to offer some long-overdue respite from rain, sleet and icy temperatures.

The next five days will see a marked improvement in temperatures together with spells of bright sunshine.

But 30 Dart passengers were left ruing the extreme weather after they were stranded for three hours at Bray Head on Thursday night when overhead wires were torn down and damaged.

The incident occurred between Bray and Greystones.

The weather brought yet more misery for Irish farmers as thousands of acres of farmland were left under flood waters as rivers across Munster broke their banks.

Cork, Kerry and Waterford got almost 50mm of rainfall in just 24 hours. The heavy rainfall resulted in widespread flooding of secondary roads.

However, we now have better weather to look forward to.

Met Eireann predicted "a marked improvement" in temperatures, which will now rise to 14C.
Dr Bobby Smyth said the dip in 999 calls good was good news

There were 100 fewer emergency calls to Dublin Fire Brigade on Good Friday this year, despite the end of Ireland's 90-year pub opening ban.

The brigade confirmed yesterday that the number of calls had fallen compared with 2016.

Dublin City Mayor Micheal Mac Donncha said the fact that pubs had opened had "illuminated the phenomenon of stocking up in supermarkets on Holy Thursday".

"It was as if the pubs were going to be closed for a week," Mr Mac Donncha said.

"It's good the stocking up has reduced as it seems it could have been connected to people binge drinking at home at parties on Good Friday. That's why this drop in calls could have happened."

Donall O'Keeffe, chief executive of the Licensed Vintners' Association, also welcomed the news and said he wasn't surprised as drinkers were monitored by pub staff in safe environments, unlike unmanned house parties.

"We have always felt the pubs were the safest, most controlled places to enjoy a drink in a social environment where people are drinking with their neighbours, friends and colleagues," he said.

"It just goes to show drinking socially in pubs is preferable.

"There are no free measures, no free pours, and the owners, managers and staff manage the premises and situation to make sure people are not out of hand, that they are not a danger to themselves or others.

"We create a safe atmosphere to have a drink, but in people's homes, there aren't controls and measures on how much everyone consumes.

"We were delighted with Good Friday. It was good for locals - and for tourists to be able to go for a drink and a bite to eat."

Responsible drinking advocate and psychologist Dr Bobby Smyth said there would need to be more research over an extended period see if a link could be established between fewer 999 calls and pubs opening on Good Friday.

A Dublin Fire Brigade spokesman said: "A lot of call-outs are alcohol related. We normally see a lot of house parties and drinking on Good Friday.

"We were 100 calls down on last year. We haven't done a detailed analysis of that, and that could take some time, but it's good news so far."
Police at the scene of the Salisbury attack (Andrew Matthews/PA)

The Russian diplomat expelled from Ireland as part of the Salisbury investigation has left the country.

A high level group recommended to the Irish government that the named individual leave the country by last night.

The British investigation into the attempted assassination of ex-spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia remains live.

A family relative has been denied entry in to the UK to visit them.

Their cousin Viktoria, who had applied for a short-term entry visa, says the pair became sick as they perhaps ate something wrong.

In the meantime, an Irish diplomat is making their way back to Dublin following a tit for tat expulsion by the Kremlin.

The Irish government has criticized the Russian move as unjustified.
Junior doctor spokesman Dr Paddy Hillery said today that this was an opportunity for the Government to enhance our medical workforce

A family doctor has revealed the personal, emotional toll of losing six patients to suicide in the past five years.

Dr Illona Duffy, a GP in Co Monaghan, said she had to pronounce three of these patients dead.

"I had personal dealings with all of them," Dr Duffy told the annual conference of the Irish Medical Organisation in Killarney, Co Kerry.

She is now calling for doctors to be offered debriefing after trauma, saying they can be left out of counselling after being involved in tragedy.

Dr Duffy was commenting after two doctors had described the extent of stress among medics and said a survey showed one in three hospital doctors in Ireland was suffering burnout.

Dr Blanaid Hayes, an occupational physician in Beaumont Hospital, said a national survey outlined how burnout could have an impact on patient care.

Emergency consultants who are in the frontline in caring for patients on trolleys had the highest level of burnout.

Risk factors include being female, young, working long hours and having low levels of job satisfaction.

"Surgeons who took part in the survey were working 70 hours a week," she told the session on the health and welfare of doctors.

The findings showing one-third of hospital doctors in Ireland suffer burnout is high by international standards.

A similar study in the Netherlands found that their rate was one-in-five.

Dr Ide Delargy, who is involved in the Practitioner Health Matters Programme - a free service for doctors who have health problems - said some doctors who were functioning might have chaotic lives behind the scenes.

She spoke about one doctor, who has an alcohol addiction problem and social workers involved in the care of the family's children,

She said doctors could fall into drug abuse because of "easy access to pharmaceuticals" which is a serious risk.

The confidential and key service had supported a number of doctors, including a surgeon who was self-prescribing opiates, Dr Delargy added.

The surgeon had complex and underlying issues and was suffering unresolved grief after the death of his mother three years previously.

Dr Delargy said the doctor, who stood down from practice for a time, underwent therapy, including detox.

"A tipping point can be a patient complaint about a doctor to the Medical Council," she said.

GPs who worked in isolation were at risk, she said.

Doctors overcame a lot of hurdles, but this resilience could be tested due to workplace issues, conflict and bullying, Dr Delargy explained.

They also faced high patient expectations and could be affected by moving to another job.

The support organisation's annual report to be published shortly will show that 58pc of the doctors helped over the course of a year had a mental health problem.

Some 29pc suffered from substance abuse and 13pc had mental health and substance abuse issues.

"Many doctors don't themselves have a GP," said Dr Delargy. However, once they are helped and supported, the success rate tends to be very good, with around 80pc going back to work. In most cases the doctors refer themselves to the programme.

The risks of doctors working in a "toxic environment" was highlighted, and they were urged to be vigilant for colleagues under stress.
The exodus of Irish-educated medical graduates is draining the health service of much-needed doctors in hospitals and the community, where some GP surgeries are having to turn patients away.

The lack of interest by so many doctors in consultant jobs in Irish hospitals was described as "utterly shocking" by one of the country's leading health chiefs.

Leo Kearns, chief executive of the Royal College of Physicians, said he found it incredible that 84 positions for full-time hospital consultants were advertised in 2016, but in 51 cases there were two or fewer applicants.

In 22 cases there was only a "single applicant", and no appointment was made in 22 instances, he told the annual conference of the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO).

It comes as Health Minister Simon Harris, who is to address the gathering of doctors this evening, is expected to finally announce that talks on a new contract for GPs are set to begin in the coming weeks.

Referring to the failure to attract doctors to hospital posts, Mr Kearns said: "This is extraordinary. Talk about Ireland being at the leading edge or being first class.

"We never really in recent history had difficulty in attracting people into these types of roles in Ireland. And now we are. We absolutely are."

He pointed out that there are 20 areas of the country without a permanent GP.

"We aspire to a world-class health system. But I think we have a Trojan horse in the middle of it which is going to undermine that aspiration and expectation very significantly."

Mr Harris is to confirm that talks with the IMO on Fempi cuts as well as a new GP contract will begin in the coming weeks.

Mr Harris, who has overseen record numbers of patients on hospital waiting lists and people on hospital trolleys this winter, is expected to tell the doctors' union this evening that he has briefed his Cabinet colleagues about the imminent start of GP contract talks.

The talks were supposed to have been completed last year and headway made at this stage on extending more care of patients in the community, taking some of the pressure off hospitals.

However, the talks look set to drag on for months.

Significant increases in general practice are expected to be pledged, although the full cost has yet to be revealed.

It is expected that if medical card fees to GPs which were cut in the recession are to be restored the bill could be 120m.
Scientists will combine 3D printing with stem cell and gene therapy technologies to repair joints in a groundbreaking new way.

Professor Fergal O'Brien has been awarded a highly prestigious 3m European Research Council (ERC) Advanced Grant for a research project that aims to revolutionise the treatment of damaged articular joints such as the knee or ankle.

His work will develop a scaffold from bio-material, capable of repairing bone and cartilage. The body's own cells will be allowed to integrate with this to repair a much greater area of damaged tissue.

The work aims to transform the way articular cartilage injuries are treated. It could help address common health issues from a range of chronic conditions such as injuries that lead to osteoarthritis.

Prof O'Brien works with the RCSI (Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland) Department of Anatomy and AMBER, the Science Foundation Ireland-funded materials science research centre.

The award is one of just three ERC Advanced Grants being made to Irish Institutions this year.
HMV staff say they are outraged after the company went into liquidation the night before they were due to receive redundancy pay.

Staff will now have to apply through the Governments Insolvency Payments Scheme to get the money theyre owed.

HMV stores have closed their doors once again, three years after they were handed a lifeline by investment company Hilco Capital.

The music chain went into liquidation last night, meaning staff did not receive the redundancy packages they were owed today.

The remaining stores in Liffey Valley, Henry Street, Dundrum and Limerick all closed over the last few weeks, with employees being told they would receive their redundancy pay on September 9th.

They were originally meant to receive their packages on the day of closure, but received written notification from Hilco advising them that they would be paid in September instead.

Some employees have taken to social media to express their frustration.

The Rubberbandits also took to Twitter, stating Irish HMV staff are getting f*cked over.

Irish HMV staff are getting fucked over. pic.twitter.com/HdI9WUxWv8  Rubber Bandits (@Rubberbandits) September 9, 2016

Robyn Long, a former employee at HMV in Limerick, described the actions of Hilco Company as a premeditated act, a calculated and despicable move to deny us our dues.

Im literally broke. Everyone that was working there was counting on this money. One of the staff members is getting married tomorrow. If they had said from the beginning that we had to go through the Government insolvency fund, then fine, but theyve been feeding us stories for weeks, she told Independent.ie.

Hilco Capital have issued this statement in response: All employees entitlements such as holiday pay and redundancy are protected by the state, and claims will be progressed as soon as a liquidator has been appointed.

In February 2013, Deloitte Ireland announced that HMVs then-16 stores in Ireland were to close permanently with the loss of 300 jobs.

Hilco then stepped in, successfully negotiating with landlords and suppliers to re-open stores at the above locations.

The company then decided it needed to move towards more digital based business as it looks to compete with services such as Netflix, announcing its plans to close the remaining stores in July.

Larry Howard, Managing Director of Hilco, was unavailable for comment.
Drug dealers are using sales websites to advertise drugs and are demanding payment be made via Bitcoin or Western Union to avoid sting operations by gardai.

Drugs such as cannabis, cocaine and ecstasy are being openly advertised on a number of websites.

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The below advert for "top quality bud shelf" appeared on the website 'Buy n Sell' this week.

Independent.ie contacted the advertiser - who uses the moniker "Michael Jackson" - via email and the popular messaging app Kik.

We enquired about the price of ecstasy pills and were told: "What I'm doing is business and there is no illegal stuff with a fixed price. You can bargain on the price.

"We take charges to deliver to our clients in and out of Dublin."

He agreed to sell five pills for 50 and asked where would suit to meet.

"We work in teams. We have put in place a new method of payment that will guarantee and secure you are not a cop. We accept payment via Bitcoin, Western Union or MoneyGram.

"Cops don't pay for drugs so to be sure you are not a cop, you do the payment first. Keep the receipt for reference and hand it to me when I'm there with your goods."

The owner of the Buy n Sell website told Independent.ie his "heart is broke" with the number of people who are registering on the site to advertise drugs.

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Tommy Macken, from Mullingar, Co Westmeath, set up the site six months ago.

He said he has to stay up until "all hours of the night" removing the adverts.

"I keep blocking them and they keep starting again as it is free to register. They usually set them up at 1am or 2am in the morning. I'm a one-man operation and I am at the end of my tether. You're trying to do things right and then these people are coming along setting up adverts selling drugs."

Drug dealers are increasingly using buy-and-sell websites and social media to sell their product.

Popular online ad-hosting sites are working with gardai and passing on the details of anyone found to be selling illegal drugs.
Farmers would have refused an offer to import fodder in February, Agriculture Minister Michael Creed has claimed.

Mr Creed, who faces criticism for not intervening in the crisis sooner, also rejected suggestions the Government should have moved earlier on the fodder issue.

However, farmer groups and the Opposition claimed they have been calling for a direct intervention since late last year.

They said the Government's initial attempts to address the crisis failed to prevent it spreading across the country.

Mr Creed is already under fire for a stark U-turn on fodder earlier this week.

He announced funding to import 20,000 tonnes of feed after previously saying farmers could go online and that there was "clearly an availability of fodder in the country".

Mr Creed yesterday vowed that the Government's fodder support scheme would be extended into June for livestock farmers if required.

However, he rejected suggestions he should have intervened earlier.

"If I had approached the co-ops and asked them on February 1 if we should have started importing fodder, they would have said 'no, we won't do it'," he said.

"If we had started importing at an earlier stage and we had got an early or a normal spring?

"What we have been doing all along is dealing with a dynamic situation which is changing on an almost weekly basis.

"We are working with all of the stakeholders including the co-ops, Teagasc, individual farm organisations and taking it as appropriate at any given time."

After parts of the country faced further deluges of rain, Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) president Joe Healy said some farmers would not have sufficient resources left to buy the imported fodder.

He also called on Mr Creed to suspend all on-farm inspections while the crisis is ongoing.

Fianna Fail agriculture spokesman Charlie McConalogue said the minister should have intervened much earlier.

"The problem is the minister was in denial and did not have a suitable scheme in place to address the issue," he said.

"In February, what the minister should have done is made efforts to make sure the fodder we had was stretched as much as possible.

"This could have been done if meal vouchers had been handed out.

"I think the minister has totally mishandled the issue," he said.

Mr Creed insisted a Government initiative to underwrite the import of 20,000 tonnes of fodder from overseas would help alleviate the problem.

He added that if the poor weather continues, 40,000 tonnes of fodder or more would be imported until June if necessary.

Under the 1.5m scheme, the Government is paying for the transport of fodder from southern England into Ireland, where it is then provided to farmers at cost price.

The scheme is operating in liaison with Irish co-ops but Fianna Fail called the establishment of the scheme a "U-turn".

Mr Creed acknowledged that the long, challenging winter has been a very difficult time for farmers.

"When we move from this very difficult period, I think all of us - all stakeholders - will have to sit down and learn the lessons from this in terms of changing weather," he said.

"This is the second time in five years we are in this situation."

Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association president Pat McCormack said Glanbia's acquisition of fodder yesterday showed the crisis had grown significantly.

"Most of Glanbia's work is done in the east of the country but it was in the west where the initial fodder fears grew," he said.

"It buying up fodder shows farmers in various parts of the country have been hit."
Junior doctor spokesman Dr Paddy Hillery said today that this was an opportunity for the Government to enhance our medical workforce

The grandson of the late President Dr Patrick Hillery has warned of the pressures driving so many Irish-educated doctors abroad.

Dr Paddy Hillery, who is training to be an emergency consultant, said the health system was not set up to retain our doctors.

"Training has improved in Ireland but it would still not hold up to other international training schemes," he said.

This is due to the length of time it takes, as well as the volume of patients a trainee sees.

"If you look at the Australia system, the trainees would see fewer patients and would see them more in conjunction with consultants.

"In Ireland, doctors see a wide range of patients and gain valuable experience but they do not have as much direct trainer time.

"This is partly due to pressures of overcrowding but also because there are not as many consultants in the system are there are internationally."

He said consultants were very keen to train but don't have enough time to devote to it.

"We are losing trainees to Australia and Canada where they have higher ratios of consultants to trainees."

They also are offered higher salaries and rest time.

"We don't have good financial support for international training courses we have to undertake. We are expected to go on courses to bring back skills to improve the Irish system."

There could be between 40 or 60 patients in an emergency department but just three doctors to deliver the care, he said.
Special prayers for all those brutally "disappeared" by the IRA were said at the funeral of a man who led efforts to have their remains recovered and buried by loved ones.

Frank Murray, former head of the Irish civil service, worked for 11 years as co-director of the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims' Remains (ICLVR). At his funeral Mass in Foxrock, Dublin, his son Paul said he was dedicated to this after his retirement as secretary to the government.

His father's big regret was that remains of three of the 16 concerned are still unlocated and these people - Columba McVeigh, Joe Lynskey and Robert Nairac - were given special mention during prayers.

Mr Murray's co-director of the ICLVR, Kenneth Bloomfield, a former head of the Northern Ireland civil service, also attended.

President Michael D Higgins led the official attendance, which included senior politicians, civil servants, gardai and Army personnel.

Mr Murray (76) retired from the civil service in 2000 but did a number of jobs for the government, right up until his sudden death last Saturday.

Mr Murray also served as a director of Independent News & Media, and Terry Buckley, an INM director, represented the company at his funeral.

An Taoiseach was represented by aide de camp Comdt Caroline Burke. Others attending included former ministers Alan Dukes and Mary Hanafin, and former government press secretary Joe Lennon.

Requiem Mass was concelebrated by Fr Arthur O'Neill, parish priest of Foxrock, and Fr Paul Turley, a Redemptorist from Clonard Monastery, Belfast.

Also assisting at the Mass was Dermot McCarthy, Mr Murray's successor to the most senior job in the national administration. Since his retirement he has been ordained a deacon and he read the gospel yesterday.
The newly crowned Tipperary Rose has paid tribute to her late grandfather who lost his battle with kidney failure six years ago.

Pharmacist Laura Durkan (26) from Glenconnor, Clonmel was crowned Tipperary Rose in Thurles last weekend.

Durkan, who is promoting the work of Irish Kidney Association, described her win as a timely selection at the beginning of Organ Donor Awareness Week.

She said her late grandfathers kidney failure experience  had a profound impact on herself and her family.

Six years ago, my grandfather Paddy Durkan, whom I was very close to and loved dearly, passed away in his eighties following over a decade of three times weekly dialysis treatment.

We are grateful that the dialysis treatment kept him alive for so long.

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However, towards the end it took its toll and he became very sick and just didnt have the physical or emotional will to continue the arduous treatment with its side effects, which in the final months, left him without any quality of life. He passed away peacefully two weeks after his final dialysis treatment. The medical and nursing staff who cared for him in Castlebar were outstanding in their knowledge, compassion and care for him throughout his dialysis journey, she said.

The key message of Organ Donor Awareness Week is that families need to talk to each other about organ donation. Families can keep the reminders of their willingness to donate visible by carrying the organ donor card and permitting Code 115 to be included on their drivers license.

Its heartening to hear that the number of people who received organ transplants last year has increased, Durkan said.

This can give hope to all those people who are languishing on waiting lists, and their families, hoping that they will be called for a life-saving transplant. While sadly my grandfather did not get a transplant I hope that other families who have an elderly relative waiting for a kidney transplant can take heart in knowing that senior age doesnt have to be a barrier to organ transplantation.

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I understand that a number of older people were among those who underwent transplants last year including many in their seventies and even one in their early eighties. I would encourage everyone of all ages to discuss organ donation with their family and let their wishes be known.

Durkan said she is looking forward to using her profile to promote awareness about organ donation.

I hope that I can use my profile in this international competition to raise awareness about the plight of people in organ failure and the undisputable benefits of organ donation and transplantation while honouring the memory of my dear grandfather, Paddy Durkan from Ballybeg, near Ballina.

Organ Donor Awareness Week is organised by the Irish Kidney Association and supported by the ODTI (Organ Donation Transplantation Ireland), and takes place from until today April 7.

Organ Donor Cards can also be obtained by phoning the Irish Kidney Association tel. 01 6205306 or Free text the word DONOR to 50050. Visit website www.ika.ie/card
The once-rural north Dublin suburb of Kinsealy has been firmly embedded in public consciousness ever since the late Taoiseach Charles Haughey earned the moniker "Squire of Kinsealy" for his lavish lifestyle at his palatial 18th-century estate in Abbeville.

A five-minute drive away from Abbeville, which has long since been sold, new estates are springing up at Kettles Lane, close to Dublin Airport. Ardstone Homes is building a 148-unit residential development there called Muileann, and, nearby, Tolmac Construction has begun selling homes at a new enclave called Blackthorn Place.

The later development, which is equidistant to Swords and Malahide, consists of just seven three-bed detached homes. The properties were launched during St Patrick's weekend and four are still available.

Each of the houses measures 1,216 sq ft, with prices ranging from 460,000 to 480,000. Outside, there is a canopy over a grey front door flanked by side glazing and white frames to the high-performance double-glazed windows. There is cobblelock both to the front driveway and to the back patio.

The fitted kitchen is supplied by KDS Joinery, though appliances aren't included. All the bedrooms have fitted wardrobes, and there is tiling to the kitchen, utility, guest lavatory, bathroom and ensuite. Each of the A-rated homes have an air-to-water heat pump.

Blackthorn Place is a two-minute drive from the airport and a five-minute drive from Swords village. Access to both the M1 and the M50 is also close by.

Viewings at the development are being held every Saturday and Sunday, from 1pm to 2pm, and by appointment.

Enquiries: Lawrence J Conway (01) 234 3105
Faking it: Leonardo DiCaprio as conman Frank Abagnale Jr in Catch Me If You Can (2002).

From high earnings to emergency landings, we asked airline pilots to reveal the secrets of flying.

The autopilot pretty much does everything

Theres no point denying that the autopilot does most of the work, Sam Bray, a Monarch pilot, told Telegraph Travel earlier this year. On a regular flight the autopilot does around 90 per cent of the flying.

Pilots usually handle the landing, but many modern aircraft and airports even possess an Autoland system, which is sometimes deployed in thick fog.

Pilots do not even have to see the runway before we touch down at airports such as Heathrow where the facilities are advanced, said Steve Allright, a BA captain.

They earn just as much as youd imagine

If youre imagining 140,000/165k a year, that is.

The British Airline Pilots Association (BALPA) has said that, while a typical starting salary is around 36,000/42,300, that has the potential to rise to a whopping 140,000/165,000.

Given that aspiring aviators must cough up around 80,000/94,000 (Aer Lingus says "approximately 100,000") to attend flying school, and that theyre responsible for the lives of hundreds of people every day, we think thats fair.

And get some good travel benefits...

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Normally, all full-time workers and their immediate family are entitled to complimentary, space-available transportation throughout their carriers network, with upgrades to first or business class if empty seats permit, says Patrick Smith, a US pilot and author of Cockpit Confidential.

In addition, reciprocal agreements between carriers allow employees of one airline, plus their eligible family members, to fly on another subject to what are called ZED fares. Its a fantastic deal. If I want to fly from Bangkok (above) to Seoul on Korean Air or Thai Airways, itll cost around $70. New York to Amsterdam on KLM, about $100.

CB anyone? A photo posted by Santiago Borja (@santiagoborja) on Jun 16, 2016 at 7:20pm PDT

They spend the flight taking photos for Instagram

Well, not all of them, and not the whole flight. But there is a large contingency of commercial airline pilots to be found on the photo sharing website, such as Santiago Borja, who took this dazzling shot in the summer:

Is it legal? That depends on when the photo is taken.

Both UK and US regulators say pilots should refrain from all non-essential activities during critical phases of flight, normally below 10,000 feet.

Using you phone will NOT make the plane crash

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Were still told to turn off our phones, or put them in flight mode, during take-off and landing. The general assumption is that their signal interferes with navigation instruments, and could even cause a crash.

No chance, said BAs Steve Allright, in our Q&A for nervous fliers.

Patrick Smith adds: Aircraft electronics are designed with interference in mind. To date there are no proven cases of a phone adversely affecting the outcome of a flight.

At least half of all phones, whether inadvertently or out of laziness, are left on during flights. If mobiles were that great a concern, the policy would be more actively enforced.

They sometimes nod off...

After the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) proposed changes to pilots' working hours, passengers were treated to the revelation that nearly half of pilots have fallen asleep in the cockpit, according to research by the BALPA.

The truth is, were exhausted, an anonymous pilot told Readers Digest in 2013. Our work rules allow us to be on duty 16 hours without a break.

"Thats many more hours than a truck driver. And unlike a truck driver, who can pull over at the next rest stop, we cant pull over at the next cloud.

They love a tricky landing

Expand Close A commercial jet approaches Princess Juliana airport in Saint Maarten (2013). Photo: Deposit / Facebook

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Whatsapp A commercial jet approaches Princess Juliana airport in Saint Maarten (2013). Photo: Deposit

Telegraph Travel recently quizzed a clutch of pilots about their favourite airports to touch down at earlier this month.

Naples, Madeira, Innsbruck and Gibraltar cropped up frequently, and they all have one thing in common: they are among the trickiest in Europe, with pilots often needing special training before theyre allowed to tackle them.

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You might not be told when theres a problem with the plane...

"We tell passengers what they need to know, Jim Tilmon, a retired American Airlines pilot, told Readers Digest in 2013. We dont tell them things that are going to scare the pants off them. So youll never hear me say, Ladies and gentlemen, we just had an engine failure, even if thats true.

Patrick Smith adds: Being blunt about every little problem invites unnecessary worry, not to mention embellishment. But with even an outside chance of an evacuation in mind, you have to be kept in the loop.

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But dont be surprised if you hear a terrifying announcement

While pilots do their best not to cause panic, they occasionally fail.

Miserably.

In 2014 a pilot told fliers that a technical problem could have led them to "a quick, watery grave". And readers have heard their fair share of thoughtless announcements, including the following:

Ladies and gentlemen we shall be making an unscheduled landing and steep approach to Tampere airport, the plane is on fire, thank you.

Ladies and gentlemen, we were just struck by lightning.

Good afternoon. You will have noticed that it's a bit hairy in the skies and the wind is against us. We require a steep take off out of here and it will be tricky but hold on to your seats, it's Friday night and I've got a wedding reception to go to. Over and out.

Emergency landings happen all the time

Rather than being the rarity you might presume, figures released last month revealed that Heathrow Airport alone experiences around one emergency landing a week. Fifty-one occurred in 2013, 40 in 2012, 54 in 2011, 66 in 2010, and 55 in 2009 - a total of 266 in five years.

Lightning strikes are common, too (but don't worry about it)

According to Patrick Smith: "Planes are hit by lightning more frequently than you might expect - an individual jetliner is struck about once every two or three years on average - and are designed accordingly.

"The energy does not travel through the cabin electrocuting the passengers; it is discharged overboard through the plane's aluminium skin, which is an excellent electrical conductor.

"Once in a while there's exterior damage - a superficial entry or exit wound - or minor injury to the plane's electrical systems, but a strike typically leaves little or no evidence."

God bless the Faraday cage.

Read more:

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Telegraph Media Group Limited [2021]
Pictured were sisters Alice Evelyn (age 6) and Katie Mia OShaughnessy-Larkin (age 11) from Louth both receiving overall winners in their categories at the Toyota Dream Car Art Contest Ceremony at Haughton House, Dublin Zoo

Toyota Ireland is delighted to announce the finalists in the 2018 Toyota Dream Car Art Contest. Nine children from across Ireland were chosen from out of close to 1,000 entries for their exceptional artistic skills and inventive ideas, at an official awards ceremony in Haughton House, Dublin Zoo.

The Dream Car Art Contest reinforces Toyota's commitment of being 'Built for a Better World' as entrants are encouraged to make the most of their innovative ideas and set their imagination free with creativity. The contest offers a platform for bright young minds across Ireland to imagine and share their dream car of the future.

The chosen nine Irish winners will now go forward to represent Ireland in Toyota's worldwide art contest. If their artwork makes the final of the global competition they could win a grand prize of a once-in-a lifetime trip to Japan with their parents in August 2018.

Nine fantastic artists were chosen, with three finalists in each category (Under 8 Years, 8-11 Years and 12-15 Years). 1st place winners within each category were presented with an Acer Iconia Tablet, 2nd place received a Polaroid Snap Instant Digital Camera and 3rd place recipients were awarded a ProFlight Seeker Camera Drone.

Under 8 Years

1st Prize Alice Evelyn O'Shaughnessy-Larkin (Age 6, from Louth) - "The Angel Love Car"

2nd Prize John Eugene Casey (Age 6, from Louth) - "Toyota Star Maker"

8-11 Years

1st Prize Katie Mia O'Shaughnessy-Larkin (Age 11, from Louth) - "The Music Car"
Kayleigh ORourke, O Fiaich Institute of Further Education who received 2nd place in the PLC Photography Section of the LMETB Robert Ballagh Art Competition pictured with Samantha Clitheroe at the awards ceremony held in the Droichead Arts Centre

Evelina Kaminskaite, O Fiaich Institute of Further Education who received 1st place in the PLC/VTOS Section of the LMETB Robert Ballagh Art Competition pictured receiving her award from Eilish Flood at the awards ceremony held in the Droichead Arts Centre

The Awards Ceremony for the LMETB Robert Ballagh Art Competition took place in the Droichead Arts Centre, Drogheda.

This competition is open to students and learners attending all of LMETB's 17 Secondary Schools, 4 Post Leaving Cert Colleges, 3 VTOS Centres, 9 Youthreach Centres, and Ard Ri Community National School.

The Competition is open to any student or learner who wishes to submit a painting. This year the competition was expanded to include VTOS centres, LMETB's Ard Ri Community National School, and a new Photography Section which was judged by renowned local Photographer, Des Clinton.

The judge of all of the painting entries, arguably Ireland's most well-known living Artist, Robert Ballagh, expressed his delight at the high standard of entries this year. Mr. Ballagh gives his time for free and he is delighted that the Competition bears his name.

Speaking at the launch of the Awards, one of the three Competition Organisers, Declan Clarke from Scoil Ui Mhuiri in Dunleer, stated that the reason that it was founded was to provide an opportunity for budding artists across LMETB's education providers to showcase their talents and to achieve some recognition for same. A second organiser, Deirdre Harrington, also noted that students who received Merit recognition have gone on to become winners.

Approximately seventy people attended the Awards night. The Droichead Arts Centre proved to be an excellent venue once again, and both the winners and their families and teachers were brimming with pride as they collected their prizes of Art Packs for the runners-up (sponsored by Creagal Art) and iPads for the category winners, as presented by Eilis Flood, Principal of Scoil Ui Mhuiri who was also representing LMETB.

There are twenty eight winning entries on display. This exhibition will remain open until April 7th next, and entry is free. Please check the Droichead Arts Centre's website for opening times.
Senator Gerry Horkan with members of the organising committee at the Holi Festival of Colours held in the Blackrock Community Centre

Khushboo Agarwal, Kauneet Kainth and Kamaljeet Kainth at the Holi Festival of Colours held in the Blackrock Community Centre

The Holi Festival of Colour was marked in Blackrock when the Kalinga Academy of Social Sciences Ireland (KASSI) hosted a cultural event in Blackrock Community Centre last weekend.

The traditional launch of the festival is in the first few days of March, but as that period coincided with a snow storm that shut down most of the country, the festival event was rescheduled until the end of the month.

The Holi festival signifies the onset of spring, and was presented by the charity KASSI with help of local artists, and some travelling from Dublin.

The festival of colours, Holi, is celebrated by Hindus all over the world and is one of the biggest festivals on the Hindu calendar.

At the event in Blackrock, there was an opportunity for a multi cultural celebration as local people joined with members of the Indian community to mark the day.

Organisers also conducted a survey to evaluate the impact and interaction between different communities which such types of events might foster.
Following research by the students that revealed 50 different cultures in the school, this only provided further impetus for the organising Steering Group of students in their planning for Culture Day at Dundalk Grammar School. The diversity of culture in schools in Dundalk has brought a richness of perspective and ideas in to the education system, and the idea of having a Culture Day in the school was to tap in to this rich tapestry of culture.

Often students are sitting in the same class beside a student from a different ethnic background, or whose family tree goes back to another country, without having a full knowledge of that country or culture. Culture Day provided the opportunity for students to do whatever they wished to positively highlight their culture. Through a better understanding of each other's culture, the hope was to bring the cultures closer together. To highlight the diversity, but to bring together through shared understanding. The overriding feeling of the Day was that it exceeded all expectations in achieving this goal.

A visitor to the school on the Day could not but have been struck by the colour on display, be it the cultural dress of many of the students, the abundance of stalls giving visual display to many countries, and the colour of the decorations and posters put up to highlight the Day. What resulted was a relaxed and informal atmosphere about the school as students soaked up the pleasant atmosphere of the Event. Live music played over lunch time. A Soccathon ran through the afternoon. Teachers organized various activities with their classes to embody the message of the day. Some wonderful world map posters had been prepared by students, depicting the origins of the many students at the school. With so much going on, there was a noticeable buzz about school that day.

Perhaps it is fair to say that the highlight of the Day, and the Event which stood out, was the Cultural Presentation Event staged by the students in the afternoon. The range of performances put on gave full exposure to the talents, and the diversity of culture, of the student population. Poetry, Singing, Dancing, Strings Music, Piano, Video. The richness of cultural diversity was all there.

The Day had started with a special Assembly put on by the students, and ended with the Presentation Event. In between, so much had gone on. This was the first such Day held in the School. The organizers were delighted that it had exceeded the hopes of their highest expectations.

Celebration of Culture Day will now become an Annual Event at Dundalk Grammar School. The Steering Group can be proud of their role in organising the very first one. Their theme was "Acknowledge Diversity, Work towards Unity".
Fianna Fail TD for Louth and East Meath Declan Breathnach has stated this week that people know that if there is any form of a return to a border whether technological or not is a backward step.

'Trade talks will start before the border is agreed and that is like putting the cart before the horse. The Irish Government have done a good job with the relationship they have built up with EU leaders who going by their utterances are on the side of Ireland. Theresa May will have to sign up to an agreement to secure an open border. I am disappointed that our Taoiseach has said it may be October now before an agreement is signed.'

'So many aspects of trade between these islands will be negatively affected. Take agriculture, with milk travelling from South to North on multiple daily trips for processing. Take our fishing industry, any suggestion that Britain would take its waters back would be detrimental.

Our fishing industry, be it in Cogherhead, Annagassen, Kilkeel and beyond would suffer greatly. I was told recently that 64% of our mackerel catch comes out of British waters and 34% of our prawn catch.'

'It is my belief that the UK will end up in an election situation if the DUP pulls the plug because of dissatisfaction over the border issue'.

'We need to get clarification on the border as soon as possible. Theresa May and her party are still dodging this very important issue. They still want to have their cake and eat it too.'

'It is paramount that the Good Friday Agreement, now in its 20th anniversary year is upheld in all its parts. We need to be able to bring all parties and none along with the idea of a unity of purpose, at least for now, not necessarily a unity of land'.
The homeless crisis which peaked in Dublin two years ago is now hitting rural counties, with the latest figures showing that there were 150 people homeless in Louth.

Sinn Fein TD for Louth and East Meath Imelda Munster has hit out at the government over the cost of housing people in B&Bs, saying that the government needs to provide social and affordable housing if they want to solve the housing emergency continues to spiral out of control.

The figures contained in the Department of Housing's Homelessness Financial Report for 2017 revealed that 1,360,968 was spent housing people in B&Bs in County Louth, as well as a payment of over 500,000 to Dundalk Simon Community' and over 145,000 to Drogheda Homeless Aid.

Deputy Munster noted that the figures from the Department of Housing show that in February 2018 there were 150 people homeless in the county, an increase of 44.2% from the same time last year, which she described as 'an absolutely shocking increase'.

She criticised the government for not allocating money to Louth County Council to build houses, noting that the council had 53 acres of land banks lying idle. These land banks include over 16 acres at Ballymakenny outside Drogheda, 12 acres in Kilkerley, 9 acres at Louth Village, 7 acres on Mount Avenue and 5 acres at the Point Road, Dundalk.

Fianna Fail TD Declan Breathnach has suggested that action could be taken to 'deal with the unscrupulous Vulture Funds coming in to buy up distressed mortgages and the housing problem in one move - by offering distressed mortgaged properties to the Local Authorities at the same knock-down prices that the vulture funds are getting them for.'

He praised Louth County Council for its 'great track record on acquiring vacant properties under CPO'

"When you look at the homeless figures, it is imperative that urgent action is taken. In Louth, 65 people presented as homeless in January 2018, and a further 79 tenancies are being supported in order to prevent families becoming homeless."

'In Louth, there is a significant number of vacant dwellings arising from defaulting housing loans or actual repossession orders,' he said, estimating that it accounting for 80% of all vacant dwellings. 'The financial institutions have in the first instance targeted the buy to let sector or defaulting landlords.' He felt that as a large number of these dwellings are former local authority units and thus would be very suitable to the needs of the local authority.

Mr Joe McGuinness, Director of Service with Louth County Council, said: 'We are equally concerned at the continued high numbers of people presenting as homeless and living in supported accommodation.'

'There is no doubt that the peak in homelessness which Dublin experienced two ears ago is now hitting rural Ireland, including Co Louth.'

He confirmed 'a significant rise of homelessness in Drogheda' but the rate was tapering off in Dundalk.

The lack of affordable houses in the rental markets was a major factor and the council was working to provide solutions for people who were finding it difficult to afford accommodation in the private sector.

'The Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme has been quite successful, particularly in Dundalk and north Louth. By the end of April we will have no families in B&Bs or hotels in Dundalk and north Louth although the same can't be said about Drogheda.'

Meanwhile, the Council is carrying out its 2018 Housing Needs Assessment which is a review of those applicants for social housing supports who were qualified on the social housing waiting list with Louth County Council prior to April 21st 2017.

Mr McGuiness said it was very important for people to fill in the forms which are being sent out and if they have moved, to let the council know of their new address. 'If people don't respond or have moved away, it will be assumed that they no longer have a housing need.'
Dundalk's Ominous Omin recently joined a number of top Irish street artists in painted striking murals in Dublin as part of an on-going campaign to highlight Dublin City Council's policy of removing street art.

The battle between the council and street artists began when the artists' collective, Subset, painted a large mural in Smithfield to coincide with the visit of rapper Stormzy to the city last year.

Despite the public acclaim for the piece, the council deemed it an unauthorised development which required planning permission and ordered that it be removed, and it was subsequently painted over with grey paint.

The same thing has happened to a number of other murals created by the group, including one of Blindboy Boatclub from The Rubber Bandits and Luke Kelly, and Subset are now fighting back.

Earlier this month, they invited a number of prominent Irish artists, including the acclaimed Joe Cashlin, to become involved in the greyareaproject.

Ominous Omin, who recently undertook a project at the Long Walk in conjunction with the Dundalk BIDS Office, created a large colourful piece in Grattan Street, Dublin, which he calls 'Swings and Roundabout'.

'The full expression is 'What you lose on the swings, you make up for on the roundabouts' so the situation is balance,' he explains. 'The piece aims to continue the current conversation around the #greyareaproject and the systems surrounding large scale art in public in the hope to strike some kind of balance between the two.'
Dancers Siobhan Krol and Sarah Maxwell at the announcement of Drogheda as the venue for Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann 2019

Fleadh Cheoil 2018 might have been secured by Drogheda, but organisers say it is a week long event that will benefit the entire county.

Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann will take place in Drogheda from Sunday 12th August to Sunday 19th August 2018. It will feature workshops for young musicians, competitions, concerts, singing, ceillis and lots of events throughout the week.

In a special presentation to Louth County Council last week, Lolo Robinson, Cathaoirleach Drogheda Comhaltas and Padraic Kierans, Fleadh Executive committee told the meeting there were just over 130 days until Drogheda would host the biggest event of its kind in Ireland this year.

They revealed that upwards of 400,000 visitors are expected to the town over the course of the Fleadh, and there would be competitions held in 27 different venues.

It will cost an estimated 1.4 million to host the Fleadh, and fundraising is ongoing, including the search for corporate sponsors.

A 2,000 seater dome at St. Dominic's Park is being planned for the event along with a 'gig rig' from where twelve hours of music will be performed every day during the Fleadh.

Fleadh TV will be broadcasting four nights of events from Drogheda, to an audience in excess of 60,000.

The organisers explained how accommodation has proved one of the biggest challenges.

Already all hotel and B&B and guesthouse accommodation in Drogheda has been booked for the event.

A campsite which will accommodate up to 3,000 people set on 26 acres at St. Fechins complex is being set up, with a bus shuttle service in and out of the town

But the challenge to accommodate all visitors to the town has seen the Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann organising committee calling on people across Louth to consider renting out a spare room, or their entire home, to some of the visitors who will attend the festival in August.

Lolo Robinson said: 'The people of County Louth are no strangers to opening up their homes to visitors and giving them a Cead Mile Failte to remember.'

She added that renting out a room would give the visitors a first-hand experience of what a real Irish welcome is.

Padraic Kierans added that along with the 'phenomenal' experience of hosting the Fleadh, it was 'important both from a Comhaltas perspective and a tourism perspective that we build a legacy.'

'This will be the biggest audience that will attend any event in Ireland this year,' he added

He said the committee were getting 'a lot of positive engagement' from across Louth, but welcomes any support, including volunteers, sponsorship, the renting out of homes etc from any part of the county.

'The impact of the Fleadh will be felt all the way from Carlingford to Baltray. It will be a fantastic event.'

Dundalk Councillor, Maeve Yore, congratulated the committee on their work to date. She added that she is volunteering at the Fleadh and looked forward to its success.

But she asked if accessibility for disabled people was being taken into account.

Director of Services at Louth County Council, Paddy Donnelly said accessibility was one of the key themes for the Fleadh, and among the many measures being taken was to ensure that all infrastructure being provided was accessible for all.

Cllr. Oliver Tully said he wished the committee 'every success in hosting the Fleadh' adding 'I look forward to seeing Drogheda, and Louth, showed off to its very best.'

Cllr. Dolores Minogue said that she was 'delighted' Drogheda was hosting the Fleadh, and agreed that it will be a 'whole County Louth event.'

Cllr. Mark Dearey said securing the Fleadh was the 'ultimate prize' congratulating all involved in the process.

'One of the legacies that I hope will come from hosting the Fleadh is that Drogheda and Dundalk together we are better, and that this will ensure we appreciate our joint heritage.'

He asked if transport was being looked at, and in particular the frequency of rail services.

Mr. Kierans said the committee had been in touch with all transport providers, all of whom, except Iarnrod Eireann, were looking at putting on extra services during the Fleadh.

He added that Iarnrod Eireann may review their services closer to the event happening.

Cllr. Anne Campbell added that it was an opportunity also to host a 'Green Fleadh'.

She asked if the environmental aspect of hosting the event of this size, and in particular dealing with the waste emerging had been assessed.

She also suggested the 'keep cups' which could be Fleadh branded and would cut down on the large amount of disposable coffee cups which would likely be used.

Discounts for people reusing the keep cups would encourage less disposable cups, she added.

The council heard a waste provider for the event is set to be appointed at some stage in April, and organisers will be looking at a number of initiatives which would reduce the environmental impact of an event this size.

Cllr. Frank Godfrey asked who would foot the bill if the Fleadh 'lost money' citing the case of Ennis, where money had been lost in hosting the event.

Mr. Donnelly said the organisers were focused on ensuring the Fleadh was a success, adding 'We are not intending to lose money, it is not an option we are looking at.'

Councillors also queried who the headline acts might be to launch the Fleadh, but were told these were 'a closely guarded secret.'

Mr. Donnelly quipped 'Although I do believe the Pope is visiting Ireland in the summer!'

Anyone across Louth can register their interest in taking part in the Fleadh by for example volunteering, providing sponsorship or renting out accommodation by visiting www.droghedacomhaltas.com, contacting their main office on 041 98 76178 or by e-mailing drogheda.acc2018@gmail.com
Reports of domestic violence committed by the man who went on to murder Garda Tony Golden were not correctly logged by Gardai, according to a report released last week.

The report on the garda review of events leading up to the murder of Garda Tony Golden in Omeath in October 2015 found that Gardai did not correctly classify reports of domestic violence by Ms. Siobhan Philips against her former partner Adrian Crevan Mackin on the garda PULSE system.

The review also highlighted Gda. Golden as 'an exemplary member' of the Garda, outlining 'his actions were beyond reproach.'

Garda Tony Golden was shot and killed when he accompanied Siobhan Philips as she went to collect her belongings from the house she had shared with Crevan Mackin at Mullach Alainn, Omeath.

Crevan Mackin also shot and seriously wounded Siobhan Philips before turning the gun on himself.

The review noted two incidents that could be classified as complaints to the Garda of domestic abuse and violence, one on September 6, 2015, and another on October 10, 2015.

It stated that neither incident was recorded in a manner that would comply with 'relevant policy and HQ instructions.'

The report of the reviews findings said it was evident that a member of An Garda Siochana did not deal with the initial report to him at Dundalk garda station strictly in accordance with policy, and that there was an obligation on him to record a complaint from Siobhan Philips when she attended the station.

However, it said that 'significant actions' were taken by all relevant members for the purpose of addressing the issue subject of the complaints. It also found that even if the incidents had been properly recorded, it is unlikely that Garda Golden would have taken a different course of action.

Disciplinary proceedings were not being considered, but the review said the force has implemented a number of developments in respect of how it treats victims of domestic abuse.

The Minister for Justice and Equality, Charlie Flanagan laid before the Oireachtas the report setting out the outcome of the review by the Garda authorities of events leading up to the murder of Garda Tony Golden, and the shooting and serious injuries inflicted on Siobhan Phillips by her former partner Adrian Crevan Mackin who then turned the gun on himself.

The Minister said that while the review highlighted the two incidents 'were not recorded in accordance with relevant policy and procedures, it does not appear that the classification of the incidents was a causative factor in these tragic events on the night of the shootings.'

'The murder of Garda Tony Golden at Omeath in October 2015 was a tragic loss for his family and his colleagues. We should never forget that Garda Golden was a brave man who gave his life doing his duty as a Garda and serving his fellow citizens.'

'I understand the review undertaken was done so with great sensitivity and involved a complex piece of work. I am appealing for continued sensitivity for those who have suffered greatly as a result of these events, especially the widow and children of Garda Golden and his wider family and Ms. Phillips and her family members. My deepest sympathies are with them.'

The Minister added: 'The shooting of Garda Golden and Ms. Phillips was an abhorrent crime.'

'Ms. Phillips is a young woman who has suffered great trauma and serious injuries as a result of the events of that day.'

'The Golden family have lost a dearly loved husband, father, brother and son. Garda Golden died selflessly doing his duty in seeking to protect the members of the community he served.'

He said the review had identified that the actions of Garda Golden were 'beyond reproach.'

The Minister also indicated that, in terms of the separate review undertaken by Assistant Commissioner Eugene Corcoran, 'it is important to note that certain allegations in respect of the murder of Garda Golden are currently being examined by GSOC in two investigations.' These investigations have been ongoing since April 2017.

The GSOC investigation was launched after an RTE Primetime programme raised questions about the dealings gardai had with Crevan Mackin after he was arrested for firearms offences and later charged with IRA membership.

He was on bail for these charges when he murdered Garda Tony Golden.

Minister Flanagan told the Oireachtas last week: 'I have been assured by GSOC that the publication of this report will not have any adverse impact on the independent investigations underway and we should not prejudge the outcome of those investigations.'

The Minister stated: 'Conscious of the gravity of this matter and the concerns expressed by the family of Ms. Siobhan Phillips, as well as by local public representatives, I took decision in the public interest to publish this report. The report is subject to a number of minor redactions for necessary legal and security reasons.

In responding to concerns relating to the recording and classification of crime statistics the Minister stated: 'Ensuring that we have robust crime data is a very important element in effectively preventing and responding to all forms of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. 'As the CSO have stated, there is ongoing engagement between it, An Garda Siochana and other crime statistics users, including my Department and the Policing Authority, in relation to the issues that need to be resolved to ensure our crime data is robust and corresponds to international best practice.'

The Minister further noted the recent measures being taken which are designed to improve the manner in which An Garda Siochana deals with victims of domestic abuse and welcomed the increased focus by An Garda Siochana on vulnerable victims of crimes against the person, including where the incidents of criminality occur in a domestic setting.

He added: 'Tackling domestic violence is an essential priority for the Government. New legislation strengthening protections for victims is currently before the Oireachtas and a multimillion euro domestic violence awareness campaign is underway.'

'I welcome the measures taken by An Garda Siochana to improve their responses to domestic violence cases and in particular I welcome the introduction of the 'Revised Policy of An Garda Siochana on Domestic Violence Intervention'.

Minister Flanagan added: 'Important progress has been made in recent years including the establishment of the Garda National Protective Services Bureau led by a Chief Superintendent, as well as a nationwide network of Garda Victim Services Offices with dedicated staff in each of the 28 Garda Divisions.'

He explained 'The Bureau is tasked with improving services to victims, improving the investigation of sexual and domestic violence incidents, and identifying and managing risk.

As a further measure to ensure that victims are placed at the heart of Garda service, Divisional Protective Services Units (DPSUs) will also be established in each Garda Division.

'This has already been rolled out on a phased basis starting with 3 Divisions - Louth, Dublin Metropolitan Region West and Cork City. The next phase of DPSUs have provisionally been identified and will be launched in the coming months.'
The duo Chualainn, brothers John and Enda Kelly, will be doing a mini-tour of Wicklow in aid of the Irish Cancer Society.

The first show will take place this Friday, April 6, in the Taylor Centre on the Vevay Road in Bray. They will also play the Brockagh Centre in Laragh on Friday, April 27, while other dates are yet to be confirmed in Blessington, Baltinglass and Tinahely.

John and Enda - the Kelly Brothers - were born and reared in Bray and were introduced to singing early in life.

Their father was a classically trained tenor and their mother a feis winner, and both had a great love of singing and harmony.

When John was 11 and Enda just eight, their parents were already encouraging them to sing Everly Brothers songs among other classics.

In their late teens and early 20s, they travelled the country in an old Volkswagen van singing in the pubs and clubs for the love of the music session and the craic. During this time they developed a country folk style.

When the time came for them to settle down, the guitars were put away, the dream was put on hold and the lads got married and raised families. But now with families raised, guitars in hand, they're back together and the dream is alive again.

When asked what kind of music they do they answered 'we take songs, break them down and put them back together the Chualainn way - we experiment with harmonies.'

Chualainn are two great voices brought together to create the most beautiful close harmonies. They sing country and Irish classics in their own silky style, along with many self penned songs.
Co Wicklow Public Participation Network is inviting community groups and individuals to find out the facts, discuss the issues and learn how they can have their say over the proposed expansion of the UK's nuclear programme.

A public meeting has been organised for 7.30pm on Tuesday, April 10 in An Tairseach Ecology Centre at the Dominican College in Wicklow town.

Attracta Ui Bhroin of the Environmental Law Initiative at the Irish Environmental Network will present information about current proposals to develop a new nuclear power plant, Hinkley Point C, which is 150 miles from Ireland. She will also present considerations for geological storage for radioactive waste in Northern Ireland.

Discussions will take place on the UK's approach to the potential impacts on Ireland and Ireland's readiness to respond to a serious nuclear incident. The meeting will also look at public health risks, impacts to agriculture, agri-foods and tourism, marine and the general environmental.

Anyone interested in attending should register for the event by emailing countywicklowppn@gmail.com.
Most Colourful Entry: Cllr Jennifer Whitmore presenting the award to Charlie Galligan (and Iona the dog), Rebecca Galligan, Aidan Foran, Aisling Foran and Odhran Wall from the Triple A Alliance

The St Patrick's Day Parade awards were handed out last Thursday evening in a ceremony at Greystones Municipal District offices.

Holyhead Sea Cadets were among those to receive an award, and were presented with Best Uniformed Entry. Lieutenant Commander Sue Williams presented a framed photograph to Cathaoirleach Derek Mitchell as a thank you.

The Cadets had travelled over for the St Patrick's weekend celebrations.

Lieutenant Commander Sue Williams expressed her thanks and appreciation for their welcome and the wonderful hospitality of the people of Greystones. Representatives from the Cadets came back to Greystones especially for the awards evening.

The Sea Cadets had spent many months fundraising for their trip to Ireland.

They enjoyed their time in Greystones, staying at the YWCA Coolnagreina on Trafalgar Road.

They attended the 1st Wicklow 2nd Dublin St. Kilian's Scouts Big Breakfast on St Patrick's Day morning, and a second big breakfast at the Harbour Cafe, Greystones Harbour Marina, on the Sunday morning.

Greystones Sailing Club hosted the contingent for the Wales vs France rugby match on Saturday afternoon.
Anna OToole and Brian Levis, placed the wreath at the Monteith monument

Captain Robert Monteith, of the Irish Volunteers, was honoured at a special commemorative event held in Newtownmountkennedy on Easter Sunday.

The ceremony took place beside the monument of Monteith made out of Wicklow granite and bronze, which was unveiled in 2016. The monument was designed by architect Huw O'Toole.

Sunday's wreath laying and flag raising event was organised by Robert Byrne and also featured contributions from relatives of Captain Robert Monteith.

Deputy Pat Casey was in attendance, while some traditional music was provided by the O'Brion's, with Bobby Byrne providing the trumpet salute.

Also adding to the occasion with their presence were members of the IUVNA Post 21, whose primary role is providing advice and assistance to members and their families who have been affected by their overseas service.

14-year-old Bobby Dowling impressed with his rendition of 'The Foggy Dew' on guitar.

Brian Levis, a great grand son of Captain Monteith, and Anna O'Toole, also a relative of Monteith, both placed wreaths at the base of the monument. Mary Byrne read from 'Monteith's Story' and Bernard Mooney and Huw O'Toole also both carried out readings.

Thanks were also passed onto Sean Kenna for providing the sound system for the occasion.
Charleville Heritage Society has been informed by John Farrelly, chief executive officer of the Charities Regulator, that it has been approved for charitable status.

A submission had been made under Section 39 of the Charities Act 2009 and the Charleville Society has now received its registered charity number 20163709 (RCN). The good news was conveyed to the Society by email on last Tuesday afternoon.

Charleville Heritage Society is a sub-committee of Charleville Chamber, but is a stand-alone committee organising events on the history and heritage of Charleville under the chairmanship of Cllr Ian Doyle. As well as organising monthly meetings of members, the society has also twinned with the Heritage Society at Croesgoch near Fishguard in Wales, and a party of members will visit Wales next August.

The Society took part in the recent Sat. Patrick's Day Parade in Charleville where they carried banners with the names of personalities associated with the history of Charleville.

Their next talk will be at the start of May and will be in association with the National Famine Commemoration, which is on at UCC on Saturday the 12th May.

That meeting will also be designated the second annual Ted O'Riordan Memorial Lecture.

Details of the lecture are presently being finalised and will be available shortly.
Millstreet marked the 1916 Easter Rising and those involved in the War of Independence at an impressive ceremony in the Town Square on Easter Sunday.

A special monument committee involving a cross section of the community have worked tirelessly towards enhancing the symbol of the War of Independence. The monument was officially launched in 1927 by Minister for Home Affairs Austin Stack and refurbished in recent years.

Despite the inclement and chilly conditions, Millstreet Pipe Band led a parade to the Town Square where at the monument Tony McCarthy laid a wreath to acknowledge those who sacrificed their lives for independence and particularly five natives from the greater Millstreet region.

Amongst those commemorated at the monument is Captain Con Murphy who in 1921 became the first volunteer of Oglaigh na hEireann to die before a firing squad since the 1916 executions.

Also commemorated are Paddy McCarthy, killed by the Black and Tans; Mikie Dineen, fatally wounded by the Crown Forces in Ivale; Bernard Moynihan, killed by the Black and Tans near Rathcoole, and Michael Twohig, murdered on the railway track near Shananuck.

The deeds of the five martyrs and those who fought in the 1916 Rising were acknowledged by speakers at the Millstreet commemoration presided over by Tom Meaney.

The tricolour was risen by Con Foley under the bugle playing of John Dineen followed on the proclamation read by Jerry Doody with a decade of the rosary recited by Siobhain Bean Ui hEalaithe. An oration delivered by historian Gerry White recalled the deeds of national and local figures who are fittingly acknowledged at the 91st Annual staging since the Millstreet Monument was erected.

Also remembered at the commemoration were the late Donnacha Murphy and Paddy Dineen who continuously supported the annual gathering. Thanks were expressed by Chairman Jerry Lehane to all those who assisted towards the commemoration.

It initiated in the mid 1920s where survivors from the War of Independence convened to erect a fitting memorial to those colleagues. The monument was sculptured by Kryle Holland and the proposed inscription was initially checked by Maire Nic Shuibhne, sister of the former martyr and Lord Mayor of Cork Terence McSweeney.

Cullen poet Domhnall O Conchubhair composed the poetry and the monument was unveiled in 1927. Though renovated in 1983, the monument deteriorated in subsequent years before the present Millstreet National Monuments Committee took on the refurbishment task and maintained it to a key focal point in the centre of Millstreet Town.
Fine Gael MEPs Sean Kelly, Mairead McGuinness, Brian Hayes and Deirdre Clune have jointly nominated the Irish Men's Sheds Association for the 2018 European Citizen's Prize, which recognises projects or individuals that promote cross-border cooperation and EU values.

Speaking on behalf of the delegation, Leader of Fine Gael in the European Parliament, Sean Kelly said: "The Men's Sheds motto is 'Men don't talk face to face. They talk shoulder to shoulder'. It creates a space where men can otherwise discuss health issues and emotions while engaging in purposeful activities."

He said: "This advances the health and well-being of the participating men by combatting issues such as loneliness and isolation while creating a culture where men can openly discuss their thoughts and feelings without stigma."

The Association is part of a larger network of Men's Sheds associations in England, Scotland, Wales, Finland, and Greece thereby inducing European cohesion and it provides information, resources and support for others to set up their own Sheds. Together with the other European branches, it is strengthening European integration and the MEPs said that was why they nominated them for this prize.

The European Citizen's Prize celebrates projects and initiatives that facilitate cross-border cooperation or promote mutual understanding and EU values. Winners will be announced later this year ahead of an official prize-giving ceremony at the European Parliament, Brussels in October.

This nomination follows the successful submission of the Irish youth organisation, Foroige, by the Fine Gael/EPP Group MEPs last year which won the 2017 European Citizen's Prize.
The figures contained in the latests Daft.ie sales report for the first quarter of the year are unlikely to surprise many who have an interest in the housing market.

That's the view of the reports author, assistant professor of economics at TCD Dr Ronan Lyons, who said the reason that house prices are rising was not complicated.

"The growth in demand far exceeds the growth in supply," wrote Dr Lyons.

He said the "fundamental barometer" of a healthy housing system was that, where new demand occurs, new supply follows quickly.

"This should be true of the housing system as a whole - i.e. both market and social housing segments. But a closer look at the figures reveals just how dysfunctional Ireland's housing system is," wrote Dr Lyons.

This is no more apparent than across Cork, with the latests Daft.ie report showing that the average asking price for a house in the County has increased by a staggering 48.9% since its 'trough' in 2013.

The report showed that the average asking price has increased by 2.9% since the start of this year, compared to 2% for the same period in 2017. Figures also showed that houses in Cork County are on average 8.5% more expensive than they were at the same point 12-months ago.

Widely regarded as a key barometer of the Irish housing market, the report analyses trends within residential sales providing a comprehensive review of activity within the sector over specific time frames.

It showed that at the end of March the average asking price in Cork stood at 213,228 compared to 196,275 12-months ago. That figure represented a 9.2% increase on the same period in 2016.

While all of the counties in Munster experienced year-on-year increases, Waterford was the only one to come near to Cork, with an average asking price of 210,728.

At the end of March the average asking price for home in Kerry stood at 185,744 (up by 8.9% on 2017), Limerick 173,256 (up 8.5%), Clare 170,957 (up 8.2%) and Tipperary 165,729 (up 7.4%).

Cork City remains by some distance the most expensive place to buy in Munster, with house prices having risen by a whopping 59.3% when compared to those of the housing trough of four-years ago, with the average now standing at 213,494.

Nationally, average house prices have risen by 50.3% - or almost 83,000 - since their lowest point during the third quarter of 2013.

South County Dublin remains the most expensive area of the country to buy, with the average asking price standing at 587,069, a year-on-year increase of 7.1%. Counties Longford, Leitrim, Sligo and Roscommon remain the cheapest counties in which to buy a house in the country.

The problem of limited housing supply, is still one of the key reasons behind the steady increase in house prices, with just 20,300 homes on the market nationally at the end of March. This represents a reduction of almost 3,700 on the same period in 2017 and a 67.4% reduction from its peak of almost 63,000 in October 2008.

This trend is reflected in Munster, with just 6,600 properties up for sale last month, a year-on-year decrease of 7% and the lowest total since early 2007.

Professor Lyons said Ireland was in the middle of a century-long process of moving from rural households of roughly four persons to as predominantly urban society of two persons per household.

"This has huge implications for what we build and how. Supply will be needed in and around the cities - and predominantly in apartment form. What is clear is this is not happening," said Professor Lyons.

He pointed out that planning permission was granted for just over 5,000 apartments nationwide in 2017 and for 20,000 dwellings in total - less than half the likely demand.

"It is often said that the mantra in housing is 'location, location, location'. For housing policy in Ireland it needs to be 'supply, supply, supply'," said Professor Lyons.
Tim Lucey, chief executive Cork County Council, Nicola Radley, corporate affairs and Mayor of County Cork Cllr Declan Hurley gearing up for the Cork County Hall 50th anniversary celebration. Photo: Daragh McSweeney/Provision

For half-a-century it has proudly dominated the Leeside skyline and this year marks the 50th anniversary of the completion of Cork's County Hall, an iconic building that boasts panoramic views of the city and surrounding countryside from its top floor glazed pavilion.

Designed by former county architect Patrick McSweeney, the building was completed in 1968 and at the time was the tallest building in Ireland standing at a vertigo-inducing 64.3 metres.

At the time the high-rise solution was a radical architectural concept that had never before been attempted in Ireland and County Hall only lost its status as the country's tallest building in 2008 to The Elysian.

When completed in 1968, the design was a single, elegantly proportioned, vertical block with a textured surface of pre-cast concrete tracery which formed a latticework over the building that eliminated the need for scaffolding during construction.

A redevelopment project began in 2002, as the original concrete facade had been severely eroded and the panels were replaced as part of an expansion scheme. An extra storey extended the building's height to 67m with a glazed pavilion offering panoramic views of Cork city and environs.

To mark the 50th anniversary of the building The Mayor of County Cork, Cllr Declan Hurley, has issued an open invitation to the public to join him at a special celebration in the foyer of County Hall at 1pm on Monday, April 16.

It will see the official unveiling of a fascinating exhibition that will go on display at then venue telling the story of the County Hall from its inception to the present day.

Cllr Hurley and Cork County Council chief executive Tim Lucey will also unveil a special plaque marking the occasion. Cllr Hurley said it was fitting that the milestone should be formally recognised.

"County Hall has become synonymous with Cork and is a landmark building that resonates strongly with Corkonians. For that reason, I and asking people to join us on the day and enjoy the exhibition and this magnificent building," he said.

Tim Lucey also waxed lyrical about the impact the building has had on Cork.

"At the official opening in 1968 the then county manager Michael Conlon said the County Hall belonged to the people Cork. It continues to do so and will continue to be a building that delivers for the people of Cork," he pledged.
Dairygold CEO Jim Woulfe has said "robust performance" across all of the company's interests helped deliver "very strong financial results" during the course of 2017.

Mr Woulfe was commenting after the company, Ireland's largest farmer-owned cooperative, published its annual results for the year, announcing an operating profit of 32.4 million which was a marked increase on the figure for 2016 of 17.5 million.

According to the results, the company generated a turnover of 965.5m for the year ending December 31, 2017 - an increase of 28% on the previous year.

Despite a slowdown in the final quarter of the year, the company said its turnover across the 12-month period was "positively impacted" by continued milk production expansion on suppliers' farms and "strong global dairy markets" during 2017.

The co-op's milk production volumes increased to 1.3 billion litres (up by 8.3% on 2016), representing a cumulative volume increase of 55% since 2009. This put them well-ahead of the ambitious targets in the Government's National Strategic Plan.

The company said that global dairy market returns during 2017 were "significantly stronger" than in 2016, something that was reflected in the Society's average milk price of 37.6 cent per-litre, which represented an increase of 10.6 centre per litre when compared to the previous year.

Dairygold CEO John O'Gorman described 2017 as a "milestone year" for the co-op with a record number of milk supplies.

"I'm pleased to see that our members continued to fulfil their on-farm ambitions, encouraged by improved dairy market returns, while the Society continued to evolve and strengthen its position," said Mr O'Gorman.

"We achieved a key goal to ensure all milk supplied this year was from SDAS (Sustainable Dairy Assurance Scheme) farms and we also celebrated the official opening of our nutritionals campus in Mallow," he added.

At the end of 2017 the net asset value of the business stood at 335.5 million (up from 307.5 million in 2016), with net bank debt reduced by 10% to 79.6 million, a level the company described as "prudent" given the scale of the organisation and levels of profitability.

2017 saw Dairygold continue its ambitious capital spending programme, with the co-op investing an additional 13.4 million in the business, bringing total investments over the past five years up to 162.1 million, primarily in its four processing sites in Mitchelstown, Mallow and Mogeely.

"I am pleased to report that Dairygold delivered very strong financial results in 2017, buoyed by a robust performance across all its businesses. A solid foundation of dairy investment has delivered increased milk processing capabilities and is enabling sustained business development," said Mr Woulfe.

"2017 was a successful year for Dairygold, delivering a robust financial performance and strengthening its balance sheet, while paying leading prices for milk and grain to its members."

Dairygold's retail business delivered what was described as "another solid performance" with increased turnover driven by demand for builders and farm hardware, with the company saying it will invest 11.5 million to enhance its store network over the next two years.

The company said that in recognition of the growing global consumption of infant and adult nutrition to support healthy lifestyles "significant investment will be made at the Mallow Nutritionals campus over the next two years to enable the production of a range of new nutritional products.

While the report was positive the company did say that "continued uncertainty" in relation to the issue of Brexit was a "key concern". The company said it was focussed on developing alternative routes to market and on product diversifications as part of its risk mitigation and value-added strategies.

"Dairygold is working with all industry stakeholders and Government at the highest level to ensure the challenges for the Irish dairy industry are understood and address as part of the negotiations," read the report.
Mary Crilly, The Cork Person of the Month for March with L-R: Manus OCallaghan, awards organiser; Niamh Lehane, Lexus Cork; Ann-Marie OSullivan, AM OSullivan PR and Pat Lemasney, Southern. Photo: Tony OConnell Photogtaphy

A leading campaigner in the field of sexual violence has reiterated her call for the establishment of separate courts that would allow for the fast-tracking of sexual assault and rape cases.

Mary Crilly, who established the Sexual Violence Centre in Cork City more than three decades ago, made the call after she was announced as the recipient of the prestigious Cork Person of the Month award for March.

The award comes exactly 35 years after Ms Crilly established the Centre, the first in Cork to introduce counselling and support to women, men and teenagers who have experienced sexual violence or child sexual abuse.

Since then she and her dedicated team have been to the fore in helping victims of sexual abuse, with awards organiser Manus O'Callaghan saying her dedication and compassion have helped shine light into the lives of thousands of people.

"Mary Crilly is thoroughly deserving of this accolade for the tremendous work she has done since the centre opened in 1983," said Mr O'Callaghan.

Through the centre Ms Crilly and her team also engage in comprehensive research, provide training and education and work closely with government and both statutory and voluntary agencies in order to help influence social policy Ms Crilly said the services the centre offers to survivors of rape and sexual assault are free of charge and provided by highly experienced staff. These include the free-phone helpline number at 1800 496 496.

"This is the first contact that many people have with the centre and we acknowledge the courage it takes to make that first call or visit us at 5 Camden Place in Cork City," said Ms Crilly.

"We get thousands of calls to our helpline every year and hundreds of callers to Camden Place. The courage of those people has kept me going all those years," she added.

In addition to calling for separate courts for fast-tracking sexual assault and rape cases Ms Crilly, the director of the centre, also called for the introduction of mandatory sentencing and a commitment from An Garda Siochana to prioritise investigations into child sexual abuse where digital technology is a factor.

While the Sexual Violence Centre is involved in a range of activities, its most important work is the direct provision of services to the survivors of rape, sexual assault and child sexual abuse. The services are confidential, and free of charge.

Ms Crilly said people make contact with the centre for many different reasons.

"They may have been assaulted or know someone who has been assaulted. Information, advice and support are available where someone finds themselves a victim of rape or sexual assault, for adult survivors of child sexual abuse, and those experiencing sexual harassment or domestic violence," she said.

"They may be young or old, recently assaulted, assaulted many years ago, or abused in childhood. All however, have been effected by sexual violence at different stages of their lives. The door of Sexual Violence Centre is open to all, irrespective of the nature of the sexual violence they experienced or when it occurred," she added.

For more about the Centre and its work visit www.sexualviolence.ie.

Mary Crilly's name will now go forward for possible selection as the Cork Person of the Year for 2018, the winner of which will be announced at a gala awards event next January.
Despite the extensive publicity surrounding the Macroom 'pay for paint 'scheme, only nine people applied for funding and only two properties were actually painted.

At the Blarney Macroom Municipal District meeting, councillors heard that there was 22,500 in the kitty for the Blarney/Macroom Municipal District Streetscape Painting, Signage & Improvement Scheme 2018.

However, just two availed of grants. Municipal District Officer Claire O'Neill said the money allocated to the two paint jobs was less than 1,000 meaning there's 21,500 left in the kitty. The members had agreed to assign 10,000 from the General Municipal Allocation which brought the total initially to 22,500.

She said there was extensive promotion of the scheme and while there were nine applications just two applicants were given the green light and had works done. Tom Molloy, Senior Executive Officer, Municipal District Operations & Rural Development, told the councillors that some property owners did not like the colour palette on offer. However, he said the palette "is not sacred but is only a guide."

"Some properties need more of a push on this as some owners didn't mind if their properties were painted or not. What we could do is work with the Tidy Town committee," he said.

The meeting heard that the focus for 2018 will be Cork Street, New Street and Castle Street in the town. However, Cllr Bob Ryan (FF) said that the paint scheme is "truly excellent" and if Macroom people were not interested taking it up then there were plenty of other villages who would love it.

Cllr Ted Lucey (FG) said that towards the end of August, they should review the paint scheme and if it was not being taken up in the town then, as Cllr Ryan suggested, they should start to look towards villages in the region.

In the detailed report from the council on the Streetscape Painting, Signage and Improvement Scheme 2018 , it is stated in a letter circulated by Claire O'Neill that a contribution to a maximum of 100% will be paid towards the cost of materials where it is proposed the tenant/owner will undertake the works themselves if availing of a grant for materials only.

The report also stated that tenants or owners of buildings can avail of a grant of up to 50% of the full cost of painting the facades of buildings which may include paint, labour, scaffold/hoist and other materials. Priority will be given to full facade, for example shop fronts and overhead. Two quotations from registered painting contractors will be required. However, applications on a full street basis - which is 10 or more adjacent buildings on one street - will be prioritised over individual applications.

It is also stated that priority will be given to applications received by April 27,2018. In addition, tenants or owners in the town centre can avail of a grant up to 50% of the cost of replacing existing plastic, neon and printed signs with heritage type signs.

Cork County Council is encouraging the use of Irish in signs and recommends that applicants incorporate Irish into their proposal.

A contribution to a maximum of 100% will be paid towards the cost of materials where it is proposed the tenant/owner will undertake the works themselves.

If availing of the grant for materials only, there is a disclaimer form to be completed and returned. For this application, just one quotation only for materials will suffice. It is also stated that where a scaffold/hoist is required a permit must be sought in advance from CCC at a cost of 125 per month.
Disco Divas Sister Sledge are among the headline acts set to grace the Townlands Carnival in Macroom in July

Despite being a relative newcomer to Cork's vibrant summer festival calendar, the Townlands Carnival in Macroom has already gained an enviable reputation as one of the most eclectic events of its kind anywhere in he country.

Billed as spectacular assault on the senses that "breaks the boundaries of expectation" Townlands will see the idyllic grounds of the Rusheen Farm Estate transformed into a purpose-built festival playground for three glorious days of great music and family fun from July 20.

Now in its fourth year, Townlands has gained a certain renown for its mercurial musical line-ups - mixing different musical genres into a giant melting pot of sound and vision with appeal to music lovers of all tastes.

This year will be no different with US disco legends Sister Sledge joining British electronic pioneers Leftfield and the Irish trad favourites Kila as headline acts for the extravaganza.

Other acts set to grace the stages of Townlands 2018 include UK ragga DJ and MC General Levy, rave legends Altern8, English DJ and production duo Stanton Warriors and a clutch of top Irish acts including King Kong Company, The Eskies, The Latchikos, Cian Finn and Cula Bula.

While music may be the main focus of the three-day extravaganza, there will be plenty going on around the carnival site, with a plethora of weird and wonderful attractions just waiting to be discovered and explored around every corner.

For example the Village Green Area will host a diverse community of artists, musicians, environmental activists, slam poets, artisan craftspeople and foodies with the aim of generating a true community spirit while keeping carbon emissions to a minimum.

In keeping with the family friendly ethos of the weekend, Townlands 18 will also incorporate plenty of attractions to keep the little ones occupied including the 'Shiver Me Timbers' family area, the hide-away Bell Tent for families with toddlers and the Kids Beatz Disco.

For more information about the Townlands Carnival 2018 including the full programme of events over the weekend, camping options, ticket prices and availability visit www.townlandscarnival.com.
Freemount mountaineer Denis O'Brien was making final preparations for his ascent of Mount Everest as part of an international team at the start of this week.

As you read this report, Denis, along with the other members of the team, will be getting ready to fly to the small Lukla Airport in eastern Nepal. The building of the airport was overseen by the first men to scale Mount Everest, Edmund Hillery, and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay.

The airport is deemed to be the most dangerous landing strip in the world. However, Lukla is popular because it is the location from which most mountaineers commence their climb to the base camp on Mount Everest.

Denis left Dublin for Doha on Wednesday and then flew on to Kathmandu Airport to join the rest of the team, which is climbing under the auspices of Ascent Himalayas.

They then spend their time checking out their equipment to ensure that everything is in readiness for the climb. Following their arrival in Lukla the team will set out to climb Island Peak in preparation for the ascent on Everest.

They will remain on the mountain for a number of days to acclimatise, which at 6,189 metres is six times the height of Carrantouhill, Ireland's highest peak. Denis will be away for the next two months and is due home again on June 6.

As he headed off, a great many locals in the Freemount and Charleville areas wished him the best in his attempt to summit the world's highest and toughest peak to climb - and supported his bid with sponsorship cheques.

To follow the progress of the team, those interested can log on to Ascent Himalyas.

To assist Denis with the huge financial outlay involved in a venture of this kind there is a 'go fundme' account organised. If anybody wants to contribute to the fund they should contact this site.
A man died after he sustained injuries in a fall through a piece of plastic perspex while working on the roof of a hay-barn in Banteer, an inquest heard this week.

James Culloty (63) from Waterloo, was repairing a corrugated roof on a lean-to attached to the hay-barn when the accident happened, reported Louise Roseingrace in the Irish Independent.

His co-worker said the married father of two was walking on the roof when 'all of a sudden he was gone.'

Garda Paul Manton of Glantane Garda Station said Mr Culloty fell 8 foot 7 inches through a piece of plastic perspex sheeting on the roof. The perspex is not designed to take the weight of a man, the garda said. Mr Culloty fell onto a raised galvanised pipe railing in the shed, before landing on the ground. The railing was around 4ft off the ground, Dublin Coroner's Court heard.

Donal O'Riordan said he hired Mr Culloty to carry out the repairs to the roof of the hay-barn near Banteer, after he detected a leak. He said Mr Culloty gave a quote to repair the roof after examining the job from the ground. The work was to take two days to complete.

Mr Culloty was described by his colleague Patrick O'Sullivan as 'in good form' as they started the job on August 29, 2016. He said the accident happened at 4.30pm.

"I didn't see it I just heard the bang. All I heard was the crash," Mr O'Sullivan said.

He went down to find Mr Culloty on his knees in the hay-barn.

"He said 'if I get some fresh air I'll be grand'," Mr O'Sullivan said but he was concerned for his co-worker. He encouraged him to call a local nurse who in turn called an ambulance.

The injured man was transferred to Cork University Hospital. He was diagnosed with severe chest injuries including multiple fractured ribs, a left kidney injury, a fractured left hip and fractured breast bone. He suffered a collapsed lung in the fall and had a pre-existing lung disease due to smoking.

His injuries were severe but survivable, but doctors found it difficult to adequately ventilate him, Coroner Dr Myra Cullinane said.

Mr Culloty was transferred to the Mater Hospital in Dublin where he suffered a stroke and died on September 6, 2016.

The cause of death was due to the injuries sustained from a fall on August 29 2016, with a clot and a stroke as contributory factors.

Coroner Dr Myra Cullinane returned a verdict of accidental death.
Be it with The Illegals at the annual Arts Festival, standing alongside Eugene Ginty at Seagrave House for a Christmas show in Dunany or last Sunday night - taking to the stage at the Westcourt Hotel - former Eurovision winner Niamh Kavanagh never disappoints.

A woman who has seen it all in her career, Niamh just keeps reinventing the wheel - from panto to the Grammys - her journey continues to evolve.

'I like playing in Drogheda and this area,' she states.

She was full of praise for the sparkling Westcourt ballroom, describing it as a great venue.

Her task last weekend was entertaining the fine crowd at a fundraiser for the Dominican Church repair fund.

Indeed, she revealed that later in the year she would be returning to the church itself to play an intimate acoustic gig.

It's 25 years since she won the Eurovision and has kept that light shining since.

'I'm 32 years gigging this year and it's great,' she says.

She has a packed schedule - including a tour with a number of former Eurovision winners - while she has just appeared on Masterchef!

Her range of music is pretty unique, switching from era to era without fault.

But what's her favourite song?

'A tough question, but I love 'I can't Make You Love Me' by Bonnie Raitt,' she says. 'I enjoy all kinds of music really.'

Sunday's event was another highlight for Fr Jim Donleavy who says that the new painting job on the interior of the church will begin this week and will take up to a month to complete.

After that, they'll look forward to a busy summer .

Under threat in recent years, the Dominican seems to have a brighter future than ever.

'I've said it before and I'll say it again, the only way I'm leaving the church is when Paddy Townley wheels me out,' he told the audience.
The Awards Ceremony for the LMETB Robert Ballagh Art Competition took place in the Droichead Arts Centre, Drogheda,

This competition is open to students and learners attending all of LMETB's 17 Secondary Schools, 4 Post Leaving Cert Colleges, 3 VTOS Centres, 9 Youthreach Centres, and Ard Ri Community National School.

The Competition is open to any student or learner who wishes to submit a painting. This year the competition was expanded to include VTOS centres, LMETB's Ard Ri Community National School, and a new Photography Section which was judged by renowned local Photographer, Des Clinton.

The judge of all of the painting entries, arguably Ireland's most well-known living Artist, Robert Ballagh, expressed his delight at the high standard of entries this year. Mr. Ballagh gives his time for free and he is delighted that the Competition bears his name.

Speaking at the launch of the Awards, one of the three Competition Organisers, Declan Clarke from Scoil Ui Mhuiri in Dunleer, stated that the reason that it was founded was to provide an opportunity for budding artists across LMETB's education providers to showcase their talents and to achieve some recognition for same. A second organiser, Deirdre Harrington, also noted that students who received Merit recognition have gone on to become winners.

Approximately seventy people attended the Awards night. The Droichead Arts Centre proved to be an excellent venue once again, and both the winners and their families & teachers were brimming with pride as they collected their prizes of Art Packs for the runners-up (sponsored by Creagal Art) and iPads for the category winners, as presented by Eilis Flood, Principal of Scoil Ui Mhuiri who was also representing LMETB.

There are twenty eight winning entries on display. This exhibition will remain open until April 7th next, and all local schools are encouraged to visit it over the next three weeks. Paul McCann, the third Competition organiser, thanked Collette Farrell, Tony Conaghy and all of the staff in the Droichead Arts Centre for hosting the event, Mary Creavin Ludden from Creagal Arts Supplies for donating the runner-up prizes, and Conor Thorne of Dealg Design in Ardee for the excellent framing job that they had done.

Eilis Flood praised the students for their outstanding work. She also complemented their parents and teachers for their mentoring and encouragement. Finally she thanked Robert Ballagh and Des Clinton for judging the competition.

The Exhibition of Winners and Merit Awards from the Competition will continue until 7th April next and entry is free. Please check the Droichead Arts Centre's website for opening times.
The Irish Blood Transfusion Service (IBTS) held its annual Gold Drop and Porcelain Pelican Awards Ceremony for the North-East, Midlands region in the Headfort Arms Hotel in Kells, Co Meath.

One hundred and twelve 50 time Donors received their Gold Drop and eight 100 time Donors received their Porcelain Pelicans at the ceremony. Donors and their guests attended from counties Meath, Cavan, Monaghan, Louth, Westmeath, Longford, and North County Dublin.

Stephen Cousins, National Donor Services Manager was MC for the ceremony and welcomed everyone and congratulated all the Donors on their significant achievements. Prof. Anthony Staines, Chairperson of the Board of the IBTS performed the opening address and thanked all the Donors saying that donating 50 times and 100 times is the perfect example of human generosity. Prof. Anthony Staines presented each of the 50 Time Donors with their Gold Drop awards and the Porcelain Pelicans to the 100 Time Donors.

Emma Gilbey, a Recipient Speaker was honoured to speak at the awards. Following complications after the birth of her baby Charlie, she had emergency surgery which lasted four hours and where she lost four litres of blood. She walked Charlie to his 1st day of school last September, which wouldn't have been possible without Donors. She said that their award should take pride of place in their homes. Their generosity restores her faith in humanity. Paul McKinney, Operations Director presented Emma with a bouquet of flowers and she received a heart felt round of applause.

Mr. Paul McKinney, Operations Director paid tribute to the donor's fantastic achievement of donating 50 and 100 times. The enormity of it is immense. 100 donations is a lifetime of giving. He also thanked the Local Voluntary Organisers, the Red Cross, the Order of Malta, Na Cailini in Ballybay, Civil Defence, ICA, Scouts, G.A.A. and the many individuals who organise, promote and assist the work of the IBTS in the community.
Members of the Louth/Meath branch of the Parkinson's Association joined members from all over the country as they protested outside Leinster House.

Chief Executive, Paula Gilmore, handed over a petition with 11,000 signatures appealing for government funding for the Association's work to Minister of State, Helen McEntee TD.

The protest was also attended by Marian Harkin, MEP and EU Ambassador for People with Parkinson's as well as many TDs and Senators from across the political spectrum.

The Parkinson's charity gets absolutely no core funding from government despite the fact that it tries to help 12,000 people living with the degenerative neurological condition. It has 18 branches around the country and runs a free phone helpline which provides information and also offers a call-back service from a Parkinson's Nurse Specialist.

The protestors were also demanding a nationwide Parkinson's Nurse Specialist Service. The National Collaborating Centre for Chronic Conditions guidelines state there should be one Parkinson's Nurse Specialist for every 300 patients, putting Ireland way below the recommended number. At present there are only five specialist posts for the entire country and one of these is vacant. Another position is part-time and one is funded by the Parkinson's Association.

Outside Dublin, the only two full-time Specialist Nurses are based in Limerick and Galway with none at all in Cork, the south east, Kilkenny, the rest of Leinster, the midlands or the border region.

"Parkinson's is the second most common degenerative neurological condition after Alzheimer's, yet the health services for people here are not as good as in many other EU countries. We could do so much more if we had some funding," said Chief Executive, Paula Gilmore, "We could expand the Nurse Service nationwide. We could put more structures in place, helping branches at local level, and we could increase the publications we provide."
The monthly meeting of Louth County Council descended into chaos when the Chief Executive Ms Joan Martin left the chamber following accusations by Sinn Fein Cllr Tomas Sharkey that the council was 'dysfunctional'.

And the meeting was suspended for around 45 minutes after a heated exchange between Director of Service Frank Pentony and Cllr Sharkey, with the former Dundalk Town Clerk declaring: 'I do not take lightly being assassinated by Sinn Fein at the top table and they are good at that and always were.'

The chamber erupted into bedlam with Cllr Tomas Sharkey accusing him of making an 'absolutely disgusting and disgraceful' comment which defamed all ten Sinn Fein members, and that there could be no working relationship with the officials.

The outburst came after a testy meeting as councillors questioned the Chief Executive who had stated that funding had been found to make up the shortfall in revenue resulting from the suspension of pay-parking in Drogheda, after the by-laws had been challenged.

She explained that a review of the council's finance at the closing of accounts for 2017 had identified a surplus of 250,000 and that further money was due from the Irish Public Bodies.

She refuted claims by Cllr Kevin Callan that she had mislead the council during the budgetary process and also told Cllr Frank Godfrey that it was 'incorrect' that they had collected any money illegally from pay-parking.

She had got legal advice that the by-laws were 'unsatisfactory' but as that legal advice had been sought by her as Chief Executive she was not going to make it available to members.

Cllr Tomas Sharkey argued that the real issue was one of governance and decision making. He questioned the Council's risk management auditing, citing examples, and claimed that the local authority was 'dysfunctional' and it was only a matter of time before they ended up before the Public Accounts Committee.

Ms Martin refuted any suggestion that the council was dysfunctional and asked him to withdraw his statement, which he refused to do.

The meeting was adjourned by chairman Cllr Colm Markey and when it resumed after the tea break, the Chief Executive left the chamber as the debate continued.

Cllr Sharkey refused to withdraw his comments, maintaining his stance that the council was dysfunctional.

It was then that Mr Pentony said: 'I do not take it lightly being assassinated by Sinn Fein at the top table and they are good at that and always were.'

Cllr Sharkey branded the remark 'absolutely disgusting and disgraceful' and a slight on all the Sinn Fein members. He claimed it showed that was Louth County Council was being managed by people with those views. As the chairman asked him to stop speaking, he declared 'We have legal rights not to be called assassins and murderers.'

The meeting was again adjourned and as it resumed some 45 minutes later, Mr Pentony said he wished to withdraw unreservedly the remarks, made in the heat of the moment, and to apologise to anyone he may have offended.

Cllr Sharkey said he believed that each and every Sinn Fein member of the Louth County Council had been defamed as there was an allegation of criminal activity against them and he wouldn't accept the apology. He wanted to hear from the Chief Executive that those remarks were not the view of the officials and would be dealt with through the proper procedures.

He then proposed an emergency motion requesting the Chief Executive to attend the rest of the meeting which was carried even though members heard that they had no authority to make the Chief Executive be in attendance.

Ms Martin didn't attend the remainder of the meeting which continued for another two hours.
For more than two months, the rape trial at Belfast Crown Court had Ireland both sides of the border agog, and now, in the wake of not-guilty verdicts for all four accused, things are no different.

It has captured our attention in a way that only very extreme cases do.

While these four men all leave without a conviction, something has stirred in our psyche and the issue of what constitutes rape, and consent has finally been given the debate it deserves. While we are all more willing to talk about it, and as many of us have shared our opinions on the case both during and after with friends and family, the reality is that victims of rape will almost certainly be deterred given the fallout of the Belfast case.

It is reported that an investigation has been launched after the complainant's identity was posted online. It is an offence to do this, but in social media land, some people believe that anything goes, that they can post whatever they like and not be answerable for it.

This alone would terrify any victim. The thoughts of your identity being made public, on top of the court case itself, would almost certainly be enough to deter most people from making a complaint to the authorities.

At the heart of this case was the issue of consent, and this is what needs to be more widely discussed. It is what we need to educate our young people about.

There is a misconception out there that all rapists are strange weirdos lurking in back streets to grab their prey. Sadly this is just not the case and the reality is that if the issue of consent were more prominent, then there would be no ambiguity about one's intentions. It is about respect for others and their boundaries and that when a woman says 'no', that should be all it takes, and her wishes should be respected.

The protests in the wake of the Belfast verdict are of course, in reaction to that particular case, but they are also indicative of a deep frustration within society regarding the treatment of women in general. The so called 'locker-room talk', uninvited gropes here and there, smutty, sexist remarks and unfortunately sometimes - more serious violations have been happening for generations and the tide is finally turning.

There is no place for it in this country any more, and that message is finally hitting home.
Acclaimed author and Skerries native Shane Hegarty dropped into his old school to help celebrate World Book Day.

Best-selling local author Shane Hegarty, the creator of the popular Darkmouth series, made his annual visit to the school.

Shane was born and raised in Skerries, where he now lives with his own family.

World Book Day has become firmly established as Ireland's biggest annual event promoting the enjoyment of books and reading. The main aim is to encourage children to explore the pleasure of books and reading by providing them with an opportunity to have a book of their own.
A group of 5th class pupils from Balbriggan ETNS have created a project asking the wider community to take action in order to help achieve the Global Goals.

The UN Goals for Sustainable Development (or Global Goals) is an international agreement with 17 targets to achieve by the year 2030. These targets include the eradication of poverty and hunger, climate action, improved education, responsible consumption and reduced inequalities.

The group in Balbriggan ETNS had been learning about Irish Aid and their partner countries in the developing world and decided to do something to help with problems that were affecting these countries in particular.

The three areas that the group were inspired to tackle were overuse of plastic, climate change, and the environmental damage caused by 'fast fashion'. The team researched the three areas and created a business card to raise awareness of some of the issues. They also delivered presentations to classes around the school, presented their work at the Green Schools EXPO held in the RDS and followed up by creating an episode of 'Global Goals TV' where they looked at the problems and possible solutions.

They are asking everyone in the community to be more aware of the need for responsible consumption and in particular their use of plastic. In Ireland, we use two million plastic-coated coffee cups every day. Plastic straws can only be used for the length of one drink and can then take 200 years to break down.

On a global level, we use one million plastic bottles every minute and these can take more than 450 years to break down.

Skipping the straw and using a reusable container for coffee and water can make a big difference to global overuse of plastic.

The group will be entering their project in the Our World Irish Aid Awards.

Irish Aid is the Government's development aid programme, which works to fight global poverty. The awards give pupils the chance to learn more about the developing world and to speak out for a better future for all the world's people.

The Balbriggan school has been a national finalist for the past three years and will have their fingers crossed to do the same this year.
It was the flag itself that was at the centre of a flag raising ceremony held at Malahide Community School recently where the school community marked the 170th anniversary of the first raising of the Irish tricolour.

An official bugler whose father bugled for the famous Army No.1 Band brought a sense of occasion to the flag raising ceremony to mark an important anniversary for the nation.

As often is the case when national anniversaries are celebrated in Fingal, the Black Raven Pipe Band who were founded by Thomas Ashe, were also on hand to lend suitable music to the occasion which was organised by the history department of the school.

The school also used the ceremony as a learning opportunity for students with a talk on the history of the tricolour given by flag historian, Dr Pat Callan.

The anniversary of the flag first raising was also a time for celebrating the nation's culture and staff and students alike gathered for an Irish music session at the school on the day.

The Irish Tricolour flag was first flown publicly by Waterford man and Irish American Patriot Thomas Francis Meagher in his native city at the Wolf Tone Confederate Club at 33 The Mall, Waterford on March 7, back in 1848.

On April 15 he presented a fabulous version of the Tricolour made from the finest French silk to the citizens of Ireland.
Daniella Timperley from Randalstown and Niall Gosson from Rush who have been announced as the 2018 Pramerica Spirit of the Community Volunteers of the Year

A Rush student has been recognised for his contribution to community life and been honoured among 20 young people around the country in the Pramerica 2018 Spirit of Community Awards.

Niall Gosson is a sixth-year student from St Joseph's Secondary School and volunteers with Rush Tourism, a voluntary group dedicated to putting Rush back on the tourism map, working with Fingal County Council to achieve a coastal heritage trail and a Kenure House Demesne heritage trail in Rush.

Working throughout his transition year, Niall dedicated his time to raising funds to start the heritage trail through selling commemorative mugs and following meetings with the council heritage boards, maps are now in place in the town to highlight the routes.

Niall also co-ordinated an exhibition in the local library celebrating 700 years of Kenure House and gave talks as part of Heritage Week in Ardgillan castle where he volunteers at events throughout the year. As well as working on the tourism heritage project, Niall also helps at his local Park Run and a with his local Scouts group where he is a rover leader.

As part of his award Niall was presented with a gold medal and 1,000 for the charity of his choice,

Niall will also travel on an all expenses trip to Washington DC to meet the other awardees from similar programmes all across the World.

The programme which is run in partnership with the National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals (NAPD) and the General Teaching Council for Northern Ireland (GTCNI), rewards post-primary students for acts of volunteerism and the contribution they make in their communities.
Donabate Community College is holding its annual Spring Fair on Sunday, April 15.

There will be BBQ, tea, cakes and lots of food. fun and games. preloved clothes, toys, and books. It runs from 2pm to 5pm and there will also be live music from local talent.

Bernie Dowling Coffee Morning

The annual Bernie Dowling Coffee Morning in aid of the St. Francis Hospice, Raheny takes place on Friday, April 27 at in The Skerries Harps Clubhouse, Dublin Road, Skerries, from 10:30am to 12:30pm.

Lusk group on visit to twin town

A group of 36 people from Lusk have travelled to its twin town, Thorigne Fouillard in France.

The group comprises Scoil Rince Fingal dancers, musicians and members of the community.

2018 marks the 25th anniversary of the friendship and a great programme of events has been organised.

The local group spent five days in France and enjoyed a reception in the City Hall and had a great time by all accounts.

The trip included a visit to the miniatures of Claret in Domagne

They are looking forward to welcoming their French friends to Lusk next year.
Fingal Together for Yes launched its campaign on Balbriggan beach

The Fingal campaign for a Yes vote in the upcoming referendum on repeal of the Eighth Amendment got underway at Balbriggan Beach where the 'Together for Yes' campaign for the region was launched.

Fingal Together for Yes, along with its supporters, a number of community groups and local political representatives campaigning for a Yes vote, including Louise O'Reilly TD, Clare Daly TD, and Fingal county councillors such as Cllr Duncan Smith, Cllr Jimmy Guerin, Cllr Daire Ni Laoi and Cllr Malachy Quinn, took part in a public action on the beach in Balbriggan, to launch their campaign.

Together for Yes, Fingal is the regional branch of Together for Yes, a nationwide, unified movement with the goal to remove the Eighth Amendment from the Irish constitution and as campaigners put it 'fully establish compassionate healthcare for women in Ireland'.

A dozen women, representing the 12 Irish women thought to travel for abortions or take pills illegally at home, every day, walked through the town of Balbriggan and on to the pier.

Hilary Darcy, a spokesperson for Fingal Together for Yes said: 'The mood then became celebratory with members of the public sharing why they were voting Yes and sharing their hopes for a more compassionate Ireland.

'Men, women and children then joined together to spell out a large 'Together for Yes' and write their own messages of support in the sand.'

The launch of Together for Yes, Fingal sees local activists join with hundreds of civil society groups across Ireland to work together for a Yes vote in the upcoming May referendum.

Together for Yes, Fingal spokesperson Hilary Darcy said, 'We are bringing people in Fingal together to work for a Yes vote in the referendum.

'It is vital that we vote yes so doctors can prioritise the life, health and well-being of the woman who is pregnant.

'We have groups all over north county Dublin organising canvassing and information stalls. If people wish to get involved, please get in touch.'

An upcoming referendum will ask the electorate if they want to repeal or retain the Eighth Amendment, which recognises the equal right to life of the mother and the unborn. The Government has indicated that, if repealed, legislation would be introduced to allow for abortion up to 12 weeks of pregnancy. It is set to propose to make terminations lawful where an appropriate medical practitioner has certified that the pregnancy has not exceeded 12 weeks. A period of 72 hours must elapse between certification and the termination being carried out.

Beyond 12 weeks, termination will only be available in exceptional circumstances, such as the risk of serious harm to the health or life of the woman, in emergency situations, or in cases of fatal foetal abnormality.
Patrick Nally, Exauce Masamuna, Luis Caro, Luke O Beirnes, Katie Thompson, Abi White, Selina Antonio, Yasmine Musodi, Tobi Ajagbbe and Vincent Began at the mental health awareness day at Bremore Educate Together Secondary School

Yvonne Hynes, Selina Antonio, Yasmine Musodi and Jane Wade at the mental health awareness day at Bremore Educate Together Secondary School

The students and staff of Bremore Educate Together Secondary School are hoping to be able to fly an 'amber flag' at the school in recognition of the school community's efforts to promote positive mental health among the student body.

The school is participating in the nationwide 'Amber Flag' initiative and recently sent off its completed application to secure the award.

The Amber Flag initiative aims to encourage schools, colleges, clubs, societies and other community organisations to promote and actively bring about a culture change in the promotion of positive mental health within their organisations.

It is aimed at enhancing the already good work that is going on where mental health is concerned by offering an award.

In schools that have taken on the initiative, like Bremore Educate Together Secondary School in Balbriggan, the subject of mental health becomes a daily topic of conversation leading to a cultural shift that aims to break the stigma around mental health issues.

The programme aims to promote mental health and well-being for all, prevent mental health problems through increasing awareness, providing social support and reducing risk factors such as racism, bullying and isolation.

The programme also seeks to improve the quality of life for students with mental health problems by promoting recovery through awareness and education.

The school established an Amber Flag Committee to drive the initiative forward and the Balbriggan school has hosted numerous events in an effort to promote the positive mental health message in every corner of the school.

As Bremore Educate Together Secondary School approached the deadline for its Amber Flag application, recently, it gathered staff and students together and held a special flagship event.

The event was dubbed the 'Sunshine Walk' and involved a dawn walk to Balbriggan Beach where the participants symbolised the lifting of anxiety that promoting positive mental health can bring, by forming a human 'worry chain' on the beach and then breaking it.

The initiative got some fantastic community support with Borza take-away and the local Supervalu combining to fuel the walkers with a hearty breakfast after their bracing early morning walk.

The school's first year participating in the programme is now complete and their application for an Amber Flag award has been sent in. The school community will not have long to wait for a decision on their application and it's hoped that the Amber Flag committee in the school will have good news to report to the students, very soon.

Congratulations goes to the school for taking on the programme, the Amber Flag committee which have organised the various events through the year, and to all the students who participated in those events. It is an issue that has never been more important and the school deserves credit for taking it on.
The flow of raw sewage into the waters off Rush has finally been stopped with Irish Water confirming that the 9.7 million Rush Wastewater Collection Network Project has been completed.

The new wastewater system will stop the discharge of a staggering 8,300 wheelie bins of raw sewage per day into the sea off Rush.

Irish Water has completed the Rush Wastewater Collection Network Project stopping the discharge of untreated sewage into the sea.

The 9.7 million project has stopped the equivalent of 8,300 wheelie bins of raw sewage per day into the sea benefiting over 9,000 residents, tourists and the environment in Rush, according to the utility company.

The completion of the project will significantly improve the bathing water at South Beach Rush, North Beach and Harbour Road Beach. The project has also stopped raw sewage surcharging along Skerries Road during times of heavy rainfall.

Before the project began approximately 75% of sewage generated in Rush discharged untreated into the Irish Sea.

the situation resulted in public protests on the beach and while the project to put the problem to bed, once and for all, has been disruptive to the local community, the news that it is complete and the flow of raw sewage into the Rush sea will be celebrated locally.

The project included the construction of the new sewer pipes and pumping stations to collect and transfer wastewater from existing outfalls and overflows to the foreshore and then onwards to the wastewater treatment plant at Portrane.

New pumping stations have been constructed at South Shore, North Beach and East Shore, Rush. The project will improve the bathing water quality at South Beach in Rush and has improved the capacity of the network for the future development of Rush.

Commenting on the announcement, Esther White, Regional Lead with Irish Water said: 'The completion of the new wastewater collection network scheme of sewer pipes and pumping stations for Rush is a significant milestone for Irish Water. Since we took over the responsibility for water and wastewater services in January 2014, addressing the need to eliminate the discharge of raw sewage into the sea at Rush has been a top priority. We are delighted today to announce that the project is now complete.

'This project will benefit the community that live, work and socialise in Rush, it will also benefit tourists that visit the area and the environment. Stopping the discharge of untreated sewage into the sea will improve the bathing water, beaches and marine life. Irish Water is delighted that the project has now been completed and thanks the community for their patience and understanding while we carried out this work.'
A serial thief who stole household appliances and handled stolen toys has been given a six month suspended sentence and bound to the peace for three years.

Mother-of-two Amisoara Olteanu has 'no explanation' as to why she offended but knows she is at the 'last chance saloon', her solicitor told Judge Dermot Dempsey at Balbriggan District Court.

The 32-year-old, who has 11 previous convictions, including seven for theft, went into Lidl supermarket on Market Green in Balbriggan last October and stole two food processors and a vacuum cleaner.

She left the store and was later caught after gardai viewed CCTV footage of the theft. Garda Aidan Marks said the footage showed the defendant getting into a Volkswagen People carrier outside the supermarket

The previous day the defendant was at Applegreen Service Station Southbound on the M1 and was identified as the person who stole toys worth 133. She was arrested and detained and made a number of admissions.

No property was recovered.

The defendant, of Hampton Street in Balbriggan pleaded guilty to the theft of 190 worth of appliances from Lidl at Market Green on October 12, 2017.

She further pleaded guilty handling stolen property, namely toys worth 133 at Applegreen Service Station.

Her solicitor said the defendant 'doesn't intend to give a convoluted explanation'. 'She has no explanation,' the solicitor said.

The solicitor said the accused came to Ireland in 2002 and has two young children who are attending school.

'She is a stay-at-home mum and is single. She is in a precarious situation if she goes into custody,' the solicitor said, adding the 32-year-old has 300 with her in court.

'She knows she is at the last chance saloon,' the solicitor said.

Handing down a four month suspended sentence for the theft from Lidl, Judge Dempsey bound her to the peace for two years on her own bond of 200. He further imposed a six month suspended sentenced for handling stolen property and bound her to the peace for three years.

Judge Dempsey warned her 'if you appear before this court again on similar charges it's custody you are facing'.
The people of Swords got their first chance to come face to face with the plans for MetroLink at County Hall, last week where there the town became the first stop on a Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) road show of public consultation sessions on the light rail project that aims to deliver passengers from Swords to Sandymount in 50 minutes via Dublin Airport and the City Centre.

An estimated 300 people attended the first information session which gave locals the chance to view the plans for MetroLink up close and personal and speak to some of the team driving the long-awaited project forward.

A spokesperson for Transport Infrastructure Ireland told the Fingal Independent: 'TII was pleased with the level of public engagement regarding the development of MetroLink in Swords.

'The overall response was positive with a real desire from members of the public to get the project started as soon as possible.'

The event marked the start of an extensive public consultation process on the project and as well as these public events being staged along various points of the proposed route, individuals and groups can also make submissions online or by post and plans and supporting documents for the project can be viewed at metrolink.ie

In those public consultation documents, the TII lays out the rationale for the process, saying: 'We recognise that it is important to involve the public, businesses, residents, local authorities, political representatives and all other key stakeholders at the earliest opportunity. We welcome support, insights and observations for this proposed project.'

The portion of the Emerging Preferred Route for MetroLink that will most concern people in Swords commences at Estuary Station in Swords which, despite its name, is located north of Lissenhall. This is also the location for a proposed 3,000 park and ride car spaces. From Estuary the route proceeds south on lands adjacent to the western boundary of the R132, rising onto an elevated structure which passes over Estuary and Seatown, Malahide and Pinnock Hill roundabouts, with stations located at Seatown and Swords Central.

The route returns to existing ground level immediately south of the Pinnock Hill roundabout travelling along the central median of the R132 to Fosterstown Station.

From Fosterstown Station the route enters a short tunnel beneath the R132, rising to travel at surface level on lands adjacent to the western boundary of Swords Road until it goes underground immediately north of Dublin Airport.

While this is the preferred route for this portion of the line, an alternative route within Swords is up for consideration, between Fosterstown and Estuary Stations which in the preferred route, runs on an elevated structure along the central median of the R132,

Consideration is being given to running the majority of the route at surface level along the central median of the R132, with grade separation at Estuary, Seatown, Malahide and Pinnock Hill roundabouts.
Community groups across Wexford received 415,309 in support from 18 companies last year.

The latest figures from Business in the Community Ireland show how employees supported 145 community partnerships and volunteered over 758 hours to local groups and projects. In addition, they provided 119,565 in cash donations, 45,451 in employee fundraising and 250,292 in in-kind donations.

The companies involved were: Aldi, Bank of Ireland, BT Ireland, Dawn Meats Group, Energia, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, ESB Group, Gas Networks Ireland, Heineken Ireland, KBC Bank Ireland, Lidl Ireland, Musgrave Group, PwC, RTE, SSE Ireland, Tesco Ireland, Ulster Bank Group, Vodafone Ireland.
The Fine Gael Government have come in for much criticism in recent months - a lot of it justifiable - but the left wing denunciation of the decision to expel a Russian diplomat amid the fallout from the nerve agent attack in the UK is completely unjustified.

When Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Tanaiste and Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney announced last week that Ireland was to send a diplomat back to Russia they were pilloried by left wing politicians who accused the Government variously of abandoning neutrality; bandwagon jumping and doing the bidding of Teresa May.

Let us be clear the decision to expel the diplomat was made in support of a fellow European nation - our nearest neighbours - on whose soil, it appears certain, the agents of an often malevolent foreign power carried out a chemical weapons attack that has put the lives of hundreds of people at risk.

In response and in a creditable display of diplomatic restraint 26 countries have now expelled Russian diplomats, many of whom are also alleged to have been working as intelligence agents.

Russia has issued a series of increasingly unbelievable statements denying its involvement and - as would have been predicted by the other 26 governments - Vladimir Putin's regime has replied with tit-for-tat expulsions of its own.

This is the standard response to such incidents and while the diplomatic chess game might seem repellent to many it is how these things have been done for decades to prevent war.

This leads on to the Irish lefts' claim that Mr Varadkar's Russian move threatens Irish neutrality. To be clear, it absolutely does not.

Ireland's policy of neutrality - which is applied loosely at the best of times - relates to times of actual war.

Britain and Russia are not at war. They are in the middle of a hot-tempered diplomatic row over an heinous cross-border crime that is alleged by Britain to have been carried out by the agents of its supposed ally.

Ireland is not only permitted to take sides in such disputes we are obligated - by numerous treaties - to offer our support to our democratic allies. If a shocking incident like the Salisbury nerve agent attack were to happen in Tralee or Wexford wouldn't we be asking for international friends' backing?

Other opponents of Mr Varadkar's stance argued that there isn't sufficient proof that Russia is responsible and that the Irish Government is simply parroting the ill-informed opinions of the hawkish British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson.

Mr Johnson comes across as a bloviating buffoon but as one of its most senior ministers even he is unlikely to be "uninformed" about a matter as sensitive as this one.

Furthermore it wasn't actually Mr Johnson who convinced the EU that Russia was behind the incident. That duty fell to the UK's National Security Advisor and after his briefing the EU was quick to agree that there was no other "plausible" explanation.

It all comes down to who you believe. Is it the UK and 26 other democracies or Vladimir Putin and his regime?

That might be a hard question for some, but not for most.
Like their counterparts in Dublin and London professional and amateur artists in the kingdom will soon have the chance to exhibit and sell their work in the beautiful surrounds of a park.

Inspired by similar spaces at Dublin's St Stephen's Green and Hyde Park in London Tralee Chamber Alliance is planning to open an outdoor exhibition space in Tralee Town Park this summer.

The new 'Art in the Park' exhibition space will provide artists an opportunity to exhibit and sell their work on the park railings along lower Denny Street and Ivy Terrace.

Tralee Chamber Alliance hopes to host the first exhibition on Saturday, June 2 from 11am to 5pm with the weekly event to continue every Saturday until the end of August.

"Art in the Park will provide an opportunity for artists to socialize, network and to gain from visitors, patrons and colleagues both encouragement and critique in the summer months and other seasonal events," said Tralee Chamber Alliance Arts and Events Officer Mary Greene."

"Visitors will have the opportunity to view the artworks and meet with the artists to learn about their work," she said.

By paying a minimal registration fee of 50 - which covers indemnity insurance and promotional costs - artists will be provided with a 9ft by 4.5ft space on the park railings.

Artists will only by licensed to exhibit their own original artwork and the public will be able to purchase works directly from the artist.

Artists can exhibit drawings, paintings, prints, photography and artworks are not required to be framed.

Artists who would like to exhibit are asked to register by May11. Tor register, or to learn more email artsofficer@tralee.ie for details.
Get the gloves on and the rubbish bags out as it's time to clean up any bit of litter spoiling Ireland's tidiest small town.

Listowel Tidy Towns are urging everyone out this coming week for the annual clean-up week that has proved such a key part of the town's battle against litter as well as its success in the national competition.

"The national Tidy Towns competition begins in earnest in Listowel next week with the annual clean up week taking place in the town," Tidy Towns acting PRO Jimmy Moloney said this week.

"Listowel, twice winner of Ireland's Tidiest Small Town in recent years, has continue to progress in the competition finishing just three points behind overall winner Birdhill last year," Jimmy added in a statement underlining just how close the Fealeside jewel is to all-out victory in the contest.

The clean-ups will start each evening next week at 7pm, lasting just one hour with all equipment to be provided. The locations are as follows: Monday, April 9, Listowel Town Park; Tuesday, April 10, College Cross; Wednesday, April 11, Convent Cross; Thursday, April 12, the car park in front of the Cinema; and Friday, April 13, Caroll's Yard off The Square.

"For Listowel to maintain and grow its position all help is needed and appreciated!" Jimmy added, urging Listowel out in numbers.
The staff at B-Mobile in Tralee are preparing to leave behind the comfort of their store next week, when they head off on their charity trek up Carrauntoohil.

The five strong team will head up the mountain on Sunday, April 8 and will be raising money for the Irish Cancer Society while doing so.

"We were all sitting around discussing what charity we could raise money for and it turned out to be an easy decision to choose the Irish Cancer Society," said B-Mobile's Tadhg Fleming, speaking to The Kerryman.

"We've all known someone who has been affected by cancer so that was how we came to choose the society. They do great work so hopefully we can raise some money for them," he continued.

Luckily, a few of the team have been up the mountain before so that should ensure a safe passage up and down for the tech crew. "We've just picked up a load of Easter Eggs so we'll see," Tadhg laughed, when asked about training.
A hero barman rescued a young woman from a vicious attack in the centre of Listowel in the early hours of Monday, coming between her and her assailant to get her into his van while immediately raising the alarm.

The young woman (18) was subsequently rushed to University Hospital Kerry where she was treated for her injuires, including severe bruising to her face. The vicious assault happened in Charles Street at roughly 4am as the girl was walking home having been socialising in the town earlier.

The Kerryman understands that the young woman knew the male who attacked her. A man was later arrested. Gardai are now following a definite line of enquiry in the investigation.

Gardai described her rescuer as 'heroic' this week as they appealed for information from anyone who might have witnessed the attack.

The barman had been driving home in his van after work when he came upon the scene, immediately rushing to the young woman's aid, saving her from further injury and getting her into the safety of his vehicle.

"His actions were quite heroic in rushing to the immediate aid of the young woman," a spokesperson for the gardai told The Kerryman.

Gardai arrived on the scene within minutes as they co-ordinated an emergency response that saw the young woman taken to hospital in Tralee. She is thankfully expected to make a full recovery.
Primary schools across Kerry are losing access to teachers to more urban areas due to the lack of sustainable teaching work in the county.

The lack of substitute positions and maternity leave positions in Kerry means that teachers are leaving to work in more populated areas putting schools across the county under pressure for cover when needed.

Principal of St Oliver's National School, Ballycasheen, Killarney, Rory Darcy a member of the Killarney branch of the INTO, said that this issue needs to be addressed in counties like Kerry: "It is hard to find sustainable teaching work in rural areas. There is a huge lack of substitute teachers in Kerry because they are moving to other areas.

"We can't have teachers sitting at home waiting for a call for work. The more rural the area the more difficult it is to get substitute cover."

He says that a substitute supply panel for a cluster of schools is needed urgently in Kerry.

One of the key concerns for teachers in Kerry and across the county at the INTO conference in Killarney this week is the issue of pay parity.

The differing scales of pay for teachers is leading to the loss of graduates to foreign countries, according to Mr Darcy.

Currently younger teachers who entered the profession from 2012 onwards are on a lower scale than their colleagues who started in the years prior to that. Over a 40 year career this will mean the loss of 100,000 in comparsion to their colleagues. Teachers who started in 2017 are also on a different scale.

Unions have long called for this to be eliminated and while some of it has been restored the call from this year's INTO conference is for the situation to be addressed immediately. If not the threat of strike action does exist, the teacher's union has warned.

Minister Richard Bruton attended the conference on Tuesday and was heckled by some teachers when he arrived about the pay issue. The ASTI and TUI teachers unions also called for the end to pay discrepancies for teachers this week.

The pay for new entries to the civil service, including for teachers, will start later this month.
Concerns have been raised following reports that a notorious triple rapist - with links to Tralee - is seeking to be housed in Kerry following his early release from prison.

Serial rapist David Hegarty was jailed for 13 years in 2009 after he attacked a Filipino nurse near the bus station in Cork city centre the early hours of the morning in May 2008.

Hegarty, a father-of-one with a former address of Nutley Road, Mahon, Cork, had previously received a 10-year sentence for raping two female students in Cork centre on October 5 and October 27, 1998.

He was released early in 2006 and raped his third victim just two years later.

Earlier this year Mr Hegarty was released from prison having qualified for 25 per cent remission of his sentence.

He is understood to be living in homeless accommodation in the Phoenix Park area of Dublin.

It has been reported that following abuse from other residents in shelters where he has been accommodated since he was released he has sought to be rehoused outside the capital.

It is understood that Mr Hegarty has contacted the Probation services about making an approach to local authorities in Kerry and Cork regarding the securing of new accommodation in one of the counties.

The agencies concerned are understood not to have made an offer of accommodation.

Though the 41-year-old is originally from Cork he has links to Kerry.

In the period between his release in 2006 and his third attack in mid 2008 he is understood to have spent several months living in Tralee while training to become a chef.

The late justice Paul Carney described Hegarty as someone who "had a propensity to rape" and said there was a possibility he would do it again when handing down his sentence in 2009.

Mr Justice Carney said Hegarty "deserved a life sentence" but because the Court of Appeal had overturned a decision in a previous case, he said he was unable to do so, sentencing him instead to 13 years.

He also ordered that Hegarty be supervised for 10 years after his release.
Works will begin in the coming weeks to create a new casual trading area in Kenmare town following a long and protracted battle to put in place a designated area for traders in the town.

Up until now traders were operating primarily in The Square area but are now to be moved across the road to a designated area which runs around the town park. There will be 29 spaces for traders.

There will be a loss of car parking spaces to accommodate the designated trading area but this will be offset by the movement of traders to the new area, according to council management.

A new traffic flow system will also be put in place for the new trading area which will see traffic operate in a one way system - entering at Park Lane and exiting at East Park Lane (Quill's Corner).

Some concerns were raised by the public in submissions on the traffic proposals including 65 signatures on a submission from road users and residents in the areas that the traffic flow proposal would "exacerbate" traffic delays. However, council management said that there was no option but to move ahead with the plan.

It is hoped to have the new designated trading area in place by early summer after councillors also voted last week to approve the new casual trading bye-laws, which will now regulate trading in Kenmare.

Kerry County Council had drawn up casual trading bye-laws for the town in 2016 but parties objected to the conditions laid out and they came before the court.

The bye-laws were finalised at District Court last year with amendments but an appeal was lodged to this decision. This was subsequently withdrawn allowing the casual trading bye-laws to be put in place.

The casual trading bye-laws were put out to public consultation and 56 submissions were received by the local authority including a number from local businesses and local residents.

The new trading bye-laws allow for trading six days a week excluding Sunday. Fair days have also been incorporated into the casual trading bye-laws including on February 27, August 15, and December 15 as as well as May 22 and 23, July 1 and 2, September 26 and 27 and November 20 and 21.

Anyone wants to now trade in the designated trading area must apply for a licence and the council reserves the right to grant or refuse such licenses.

Only certain items are allowed to be sold - fast food, slow food (olives etc), crafts and second hand or assorted goods and livestock. A maximum of two bays shall be allocated per trader and a fee of 15 per space per day or 50 per day for two adjoining spaces.
Wexford company YellowBelly Beer has teamed up with BrewDog of Scotland to produce 'Kottbusser', a once-forgotten German beer style at the YellowBelly brewery in Wexford.

The collaboration follows BrewDog's decision to work with 10 breweries around Europe on a series of new beers. BrewDog Brewing Manager John Allen said the company is always looking to collaborate with exciting brewers from all over the world.

'When it came to Ireland, the guys and the beers from YellowBelly Beer really caught our attention after featuring them in our bars last year,' he said. 'Brewing with the team was awesome and they're definitely destined for great things with the selection and quality of beers they are making.'

BrewDog and YellowBelly are brewing two versions of the Kottbusser, a kettle-soured beer featuring Scottish heather honey and Mr Jeffares Wexford Blackcurrants, and a straigher version without the sour edge.

The latter will be brewed at Brewdog's Ellon site in Scotland.
Agricultural land prices in the New Ross district are on the up with several parcels of land being snapped up recently at auction.

Anne Carton of PN O'Gorman said that they had overseen three very successful auctions in the past number of weeks.

'The recent Irish Farmers Journal Land Price report for 2017 is showing that land prices for 2018 are on the increase. We have had a number of successful auctions over the past three weeks which generated a lot of interest.'

A 62-acre non residential holding in Ballinvegga, New Ross which is situated adjacent to the N30. The lands were well laid out and were suitable for tillage and grazing and was offered for sale in four lots, one of which, a lot for 1.58 acres, was sold before auction.

The remaining three lots were sold, following strong local interest, to a neighbouring farmer for 610,000.

A 48.7 acre non residential parcel of land at Whitechurch, New Ross which is located within minutes of the R733 was also sold to local farmers.

The lands which were in two divisions had excellent frontage onto three roads and in permanent pasture generated strong interest and was sold to local farmers for 600,000.

The final lot, 29.6 acres at Ballalog, Tullogher, was offered in three lots and following negotiations post auction all lots were sold to two local farmers. The guide for this was 7,000 per acre.

Further land sales being handled by P N O'Gorman include a 29.6 acre non-residential holding at Ballilogue, The Rower, Co. Kilkenny which is being auctioned off on Wednesday, April 11, with a guide price of 240,000.

Ms Carton said: 'figures achieved so far this year augur well for land prices and are certainly showing an increase on the published 2017 levels.'
The Tiny Tots group taking part in the 2 Many Dance Moves show in the YMCA hall.

The talents of the kids from 2 Many Dance Moves were showcased recently to raise money for the Irish Cancer Society.

Becci Whelan of 2 Many Dance Moves organised Dance for Daffodils to help raise awareness and support Daffodil Day.

Becci said that she felt the Irish Cancer Society was a very worthy cause to support.

'At 2 Many Dance Moves we are passionate about positive social change in our community. This year we decided to donate our profits from our Easter showcase to the Irish Cancer Society.

'The Irish Cancer Society is a charity very close to my heart because I lost my beloved dad Nicko Whelan after a short battle to cancer six years ago.'

Becci said that each dance on the night was dedicated to people who was dealing with cancer, those fighting cancer and their families.

She said that money is still coming in but expects to have raised between 200 and 300 for the Irish Cancer Society.

Nicko who was well known for working in the community and was no stranger to the stage himself encouraged Becci to start a dance school in 2008.

2 Many Dance Moves is an energetic and innovative contemporary and modern dance company which delivers first-class, safe and spectacular dance to children aged from three years up to teenagers. The new term registration takes place on April 7 at The Cabin Arts Hub from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
The County Wexford Darkness into Light walks were launched last Wednesday evening in the Dunbrody Visitor Centre.

Ger Tobin of the New Ross organising committee said that four Darkness into Light walks will take place across County Wexford this year, in New Ross, Enniscorthy, Courtown and Wexford town.

The launch was hosted by the New Ross organising committee with representatives from all the other three areas in attendance.

CEO of Pieta House, Brian Higgins, also attended the launch and spoke about the services Pieta House provides.

The launch was also attended by representatives of Pieta House in Wexford and Waterford.

Ger said there had been a great turnout on the night and everyone had been very impressed by the efforts of the New Ross committee.

Ger said that each of the four areas is hoping to see an increase in participants this year to help raise even more money for Pieta Hosue.

'There was a great atmosphere at the launch last week and the Electric Ireland representative, Kevin Ryan, said it was one of the best launches he had ever been at. We made a big effort to dress the room and had lots of tea lights which Pieta House provided. Paula Fox had specially designed chocolate bars. The Dunbrody Visitor Centre were very kind and gave us the room which provided fantastic views making the evening very special.'

Mr Higgins of Pieta House thanked Kevin Ryan of Electric Ireland for their continued and valued sponsorship of the Darkness Into Light fundraiser which now takes place at 180 venues around the world and involves over 180,000 people walking in support of suicide prevention.

Mr Higgins said that 'Darkness Into Light has replaced the stigma of suicide with acceptance, when you speak about suicide and take it out of the shadows you defeat it',

The Darkness into Light walks will take place nationally and internationally at 4.15 a.m. on May 12 and participants must register online.
Some of the New Ross district's most beautiful and dramatic areas formed the backdrop of gothic horror film The Lodgers, which was launched in New Ross recently in front of a large crowd.

The red carpet launch was attended by Loftus Hall owner Aidan Quigley,

The entire film was shot over a month last year in Wexford, where other locations included Tintern Abbey, Johnstown Castle and Clongeen. A number of locals who had roles as extras and crew members attended the premiere.

Julianne Forde of Tailored Films said: 'A huge thank you to everyone who made the film possible - Aidan Quigley, all the extras, crew members, Wexford County Council, all of the people involved in the locations, Johnstown Castle, the OPW, Coillte, Tintern Abbey, Hook Tourism, Clongeen Parish Hall, Clongeen Shop and everyone in Wexford, thank you', she said.

The credits included a dedication to the late Martin Waters, a friend of shopowner Jimmy Lawlor, who helped out with filming in Clongeen.

Loftus Hall owner Aidan Quigley recalled Julianne arriving down to view the location. It wasn't the first approach he had about using the house as a film set but it was the best match and the story perfectly suited the place.

Aidan said he was delighted to have been able to attend last year's Toronto International Film Festival where The Lodgers was shown during the spooky 666th anniversary of Loftus Hall. When people in Canada heard how old the house is they were blown away. Toronto was celebrating 150 years as a city.

'What we don't realise really is the depth of our heritage', said Aidan who had a special word of thanks for Caroline Godkin, Economic Development Officer with Wexford County Council.

The Lodgers stars Charlotte Vega (American Assassin), Bill Milner (Son of Rambow), Moe Dunford (Patrick's Day, Michael Inside), David Bradley (Harry Potter, The World's End) and Deirdre O'Kane (Noble).

Nominated for three IFTAS, the film is set against the backdrop of 1920s rural Ireland. Anglo Irish twins Rachel and Edward share a strange existence and every midnight, the mansion is haunted by the sinister presence of The Lodgers who enforce three rules upon the twins.

When troubled war veteran Sean returns he is immediately drawn to Rachel who in turn begins to break the rules, putting her into a deadly confrontation with her brother and the curse that haunts them.
In the wake of the Belfast rape trial, Wexford Labour Party representative Joe Ryan has called on the IRFU to consider helping to fund local rape crisis centres around the country after Wexford Rape Crisis Centre reported an increase in calls to its telephone help line coinciding with media coverage of the case.

Speaking after the acquittal last week of four defendants including two high-profile rugby players, Mr. Ryan who is chairperson of Wexford Women's Refuge, said his concern is for victims of sexual assault regardless of whether they have been through the courts or not.

'I met this week with Mairead Sinnott, chairperson of Wexford Rape Crisis Centre, who informed me that calls to their telephone line increased significantly at the start of the trial,' he said.

'As social and mainstream media focus on the outcome of the trial, for some people, the result revives deep and long buried personal trauma. The reality is that any person hoping to seek counselling for this trauma will have to wait due to a lack of funding'.

Mr Ryan said he understands that the Rape Crisis Centre needs all the donations it can get just to maintain its services and currently has a waiting list of 14 people for its counselling services.

'Two of the individuals involved in the Belfast case were suspended from their contracts with the IRFU and Ulster Rugby.

'Without prejudice to what they decide, I think it is appropriate for the IRFU, through a charitable trust, to contribute to rape crisis centres like Wexford, in order to help them deal with the increase in demand that this case has generated because of the media focus', he said.

'We know that many cases of alleged sexual assault don't come before the courts for many reasons. This hides the reality that there are people out there who are traumatised and trying to rebuild their lives. Proper funding for Rape Crisis Centres is essential to help victims to do just that'.
Wexford Comhairle na nOg held a Youth Health Expo at the Presentation Secondary School recently.

Healthy Ireland funding was secured through Wexford County Council which allowed Comhairle members to participate in training and workshops to build awareness around four elements of health: smoking cessation, physical health, nutrition, and sexual health. This knowledge was subsequently relayed, by the students, to their peers, at the Expo.

During the Expo, students were able to take part in various physical activities which highlighted the variosu different ways in which to keep fit. They were able to write up exercise plans, snack plans, and even enter a plank and hula hoop competition.

FDYS Chief Executive Officer Kieran Donohoe congratulated Comhairle na nOg on the exciting event, saying: 'Young people have solutions to problems and it is vital that we listen to their opinions. FDYS is proud to be collaborating with all the support partners in this initiative.'

The event was supported by a number of organisations including: Pobal, Healthy Ireland, FDYS, LCDC, Department of Health, Department of Children and Youth Affairs, and the Presentation Secondary School. For further information on Comhairle na nOg, contact Paula Kelly on 053 92 34574.
The annual Easter Parade in New Ross was well attended by members of various organisations and the public as the community came together to mark the 102nd anniversary of the Easter Rising.

The events began in St Mary's and Michael's Church where Mass was celebrated, with music from the Holy Family Confraternity Band and the FCA Pipe Band. Following this, the parade began at Irishtown and made its way to St Stephen's Graveyard where Monsignor Joe McGrath receited a Decade of the Rosary.

Following this, Batallion Quartmaster Sergeant Thomas McDonald read the Proclamation and Mary Furlong, wearing her father John O'Neill's medals, laid a wreath at the memorial. A minute's silence was held and a lament was played by the FCA Pipe Band. The two buglers, Shonagh Rawson and Nick Cooney subsequently played 'The Last Post' and 'Reveille' before the FCA Pipe Band finished proceedings with a rendition of the national anthem.

John Bennett, of the organising committee, thanked all those who had supported the event, in particular District Manager Sinead Casey and Joanne Cooney for making her PA System available to the group. He thanked all who had attended to commemorate an important moment of Irish history.
An exhibition of Parisian Lithographs and Recent Paintings by the acclaimed Irish artist Mick Mulcahy opened at the Pigyard Gallery in Selskar, Wexford last weekend and will continue until April 21.

Mulcahy who lives in Wexford and is a member of Aosdana, is regarded as one of Ireland's foremost artists whose expressive use of colour and bold graphic style are instantly recognisable. His distinctive iconography draws on his extensive travels with primitive peoples as well as personal experience.

Outside of Ireland, the award-winning artist has received many honours and his work has been exhibited in venues around the world including New York, London, Paris, Brussels and the Museum of Modern Art in Seoul.

Mulcahy represented Ireland in the Sydney Biennale and his work is included in several Irish embassy collections. He has illustrated two books of poetry for President Michael D. Higgins. In recent months, he has collaborated with Paris master printer Christian Bramsen at exclusive Parisien art printing firm Atelier Clot, Bramsen & Georges which was established in 1896.

The atelier has collaborated with renowned artists including Degas, Matisse and Picasso.

The result is a collection of limited editions of superb quality prints in rich colour at collectible prices.

This is the third solo exhibition of Mick Mulcahy's work that the Pigyard Gallery has mounted. The guest speaker at the opening of the exhibition was the art reviewer Tom Mooney.
The County Wexford-based artist Richard Carr is celebrating some good news as his upcoming solo exhibition has been chosen to feature as part of Culture Ireland's National GB18 Programme, promoting Irish Arts in Britain.

Building on Ireland's special history and relationship with its nearest neighbour, Culture Ireland and the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht are supporting a special focus on Irish artistic activity in Britain in 2018.

The GB18 programme will present a vibrant, contemporary and high quality programme of over 60 projects, including a range of events across artistic disciplines in high-profile venues, institutions and festivals in Britain.

Richard (30) has been working with Dr. Michael Petry Director and Roberto Ekholm, curator of the Museum of Contemporary Art, London towards his first international solo exhibition which is due to open at MOCA in July.

The exhibition will feature as part of the GB18 Visual Arts strand alongside high profile Irish practitioners such as Sean Lynch and Jesse Jones.

Richard has recently spent time working in Iceland, recording various aspects of its sonic landscape.

His exhibition takes the story of Melkorka as a starting point. According to the famous Laxdaela Saga, Melkorka was an ancient, Irish Princess who took a personal vow of silence as she was taken as a slave to Iceland. Relying on the practice of listening, she carves out a place for herself in this new world, all without uttering a word.

This Saga of the Laxdalers gives an insight into the early connections between the islands of Ireland and Iceland. The Icelandic Sagas and Irish Folklore share one of the oldest histories of storytelling in the world.

Entitled Dumb Listenings his exhibition will utilise the sounds gathered from Iceland to create a new sonic installation made specifically for the Museum of Contemporary Art, London.

Since returning home to Wexford, Richars has been provided with a studio space by OpenGorey to aid the development and completion of his work while ArtLinks have awarded him their 2018 Professional Development Award for Professional Artists.

Richard has exhibited widely and his work has been featured on Lyric FM and been reviewed in many prestigious art publications. He has won and been shortlisted for many awards and bursaries at home and abroad.

He obtained a BA (Hons) in Fine Art from the Wexford Campus of IT Carlow and a Masters Degree in Fine Art from the National College of Art and Design.
Mercy College students gave up social media for a day and raised more than 1650 for Trocaire which was given to Ms Janine Heavy from Trocaire

More than 100 Mercy College students took part in the Trocaire Lenten Campaign 'Sign Up, Sign Out' challenge to raise much needed funds for Trocaire and to support the amazing work they do all over the world.

First year to sixth year students took on the challenge and gave up social media for 24 hours on the 7th of March.

Some students handed in their phones to the school to avoid the distraction of Snapchat, Instagram or Facebook at home.

On the day, activities were organised at lunch time in the music and art rooms.

Students took part in a sing along with special guest Dave Flynn from Music Generation who played the guitar and sang.

Students also had the option to go to the art room and design, colour, paint their views on social media on a clear canvas, organised by Ms. Coll.

The fundraiser was a huge success and Mercy College raised more than 1650 and are still receiving donations from proud family members and friends.

The religion teachers Ms McIntyre and Ms Kelly assisted in the organisation as well as Cliona Jordan, fifth year student who offered endless enthusiasm and encouragement to the student body.

Ms Janine Heavy, a representative from Trocaire visited the Mercy College on Wednesday the 14th of March to speak to students about the agency's work in overseas development and how the money raised by students will be used to help families all around the world.

Ms Heavey received a cheque for 1612 on the day and she thanked all of the students for successfully taking part in the fundraiser and also the organisers.
A total of 600 people attended a one day Mental Health Promotion event organised by HSE Sligo/Leitrim Mental Health Services entitled "Change Your Mind Festival" which took place recently in the Clayton Hotel.

The aim of the festival is to raise awareness regarding the importance of prevention and fight against Stigma in mental health. People of all ages had the opportunity to enjoy the countless activities that were on offer.

Dr Ignazio Graffeo Psychiatry Registrar with Sligo/Leitrim Mental Health Services and one of chief organisers of the festival said that they were very happy with the event.

He said: "We are extremely thankful to those who came to the festival and supported us with their presence and their kind words.

"We created an atmosphere with no barriers, no prejudices, positive and constructive that opens new scenarios for the future of Mental Health," he added.

The festival started at 10am with a 5km charity walk/run on site. This was followed by traditional American Irish Folk Music with Rick Epping, Leonard Barry & Friends. During the day attendees had the opportunity to listen to more than 20 mental health professionals from within the HSE and from a number of other organisations speak about positive mental health and stigma prevention.

There were also a vast array of workshops for children to attend.

There was storytelling with Happily ever After Storytelling, and a fitness class for children with Rinka North Sligo.

Throughout the day various demonstrations took place including Arts & Crafts, Painting, Baking and Cooking. A number of Arts & Crafts were on display including a display of artworks produced by service users. 'We drum Ireland' hosted a drumming workshop for all ages. Finally those attending the festival rocked out the evening with The Mass Band from Sligo and The RobotRock from Dublin. There was a surcharge to complete the 5k Charity walk/run of 10 for adults and 5 for children. All monies collected from this will go towards Sligo and Leitrim Mental Health Associations.
Heartless thieves broke into the Sligo Leitrim Mountain Rescue base on Good Friday and stole thousands of euro worth of life-saving equipment, including all of their torches.

The rescue team has been left reeling after they discovered the break-in at their base beside the old Sligo Gaol behind Sligo County Council buildings on Riverside on Saturday morning.

The base was completely ransacked and 3,500 worth of equipment was stolen.

"It's a new low. I don't think we would have seen anything like that in the past whereby people have no regard whatsoever for the safety of the public," said SLMR spokesperson Alan Sayers.

The team has taken immediate steps to secure their base and have identified the thieves' route into and out of the yard.

"We know that they came in from the Governor's House end, there's a low wall and they stole a County Council ladder and wheelbarrow to get over the wall. Having gained entry into the yard the thieves broke in our door and also the nearby Civil Defence door," he said.

The base was thoroughly ransacked and an estimated 3,500 worth of equipment was stolen, including a number of jackets, backpacks and, devastatingly, all of their new LED torches bought only a month ago.

"It's a rotten blow. We put an awful lot of work into the base - we only hosted a national conference there a few weeks ago," Alan told The Sligo Champion.

"It was a professional enough job - the Gardai say they left no forensics. Their route was well planned but we recovered the ladder and the wheelbarrow along the route of their escape," he said. Alan claims the theft of the torches has now left both the public and rescuers in danger: "Even for our training sessions, most of our call outs are in heavy mist or at night. It leaves us vulnerable as well," he said.

"Having fundraised extensively throughout 2017 with the help of a very generous populace of Sligo and Leitrim we are now faced with a huge and urgent bill as well as having to add more security features to our base. The old maxim of no honour among thieves is an understatement here," he said.

"These individuals have put our lives and the lives of potential casualties at significant risk. We are working closely with An Garda Siochana and will be monitoring the second hand market for our equipment."

A spokesperson for Mountain Rescue Ireland, Ruth Cunniffe said: "Teams are largely self-funding for operational matters.

"Taken in tandem with the break ins to cars and theft of equipment from the Galway Mountain Rescue Team on March 21st this is a seriously worrying trend which will impact us," she said.
The trips to Crozon in France or Kempten in Germany are the mainstays of Sligo's Town Twinning relationships.

As of last week, there were 19 students from Kempten visiting Sligo, along with two teachers, and staying with local host families.

"As I speak they're out horse riding in Grange," said Michael Clancy, of Sligo Town Twinning voluntary body.

It has taken over the running of the town twinning with Sligo County Council since the old Sligo Borough Council was done away with in 2014.

The Kempten town twinning is 26 years going, while the Crozon twinning will be 39 years running this year.

"Crozon was the original town twinning," said Michael. "They are our Celtic cousins and we have great connections with them," he said.

The Crozon town twinning has been "quite successful" down the years, said Michael, having made so many trips and won numerous awards.

Crozon visitors will make the return trip to Sligo next year for a bigger 40th Anniversary celebration.

President of Sligo Town Twinning and one of the founding members Dymphna Gorman said anyone who makes the trip "sees the area better than a tourist would ever see it."

"We're given an extra welcome by the people of Crozon. They absolutely love Sligo people. They kind of adopt you from the minute you arrive. It's really lovely," she told The Sligo Champion.

"They're so welcoming, with open arms. They make that extra bit of effort to show you places, their favourite places and restaurants," she said.

Organisers are keen to stress that sporting clubs in Sligo are welcome to join the trip as Crozon clubs are "only too delighted to welcome their counterparts."

The Crozon Kayaking Club are visiting Sligo in May and will camp in Strandhill.

Plenty of activities, receptions and excursions are planned for the week 19th-26th May.

"It's a great chance to practice your French, enjoy some great shopping or just sit back and watch the waves," said Dymphna.

"It's not-for-profit. We just want to introduce people to our twin town and let them like it as much as we like it. That's why it's so successful over the years. Everyone is more than welcome to come, young or old," she added.

The Friendship Twinning Charter between the two towns was signed in 1979. Crozon boasts a rugged coastline, beaches and historical sites.
People living out their twilight years should be able to watch GAA games on free to air television.

That's according to Cathaoirleach of Sligo County Council Councillor Seamus Kilgannon.

He tabled a motion at last week's meeting of Sligo Municipal District calling on the Council to urge the GAA to ensure any matches broadcast on channels requiring subscription fees are also made available on free to air TV.

"It's sad for people in their twilight years for whom going to the pub to watch a match is just not an option," he said.

He was supported by Cllrs Tom MacSharry, Gino O'Boyle and Marie Casserly. Cllr MacSharry said it was a big issue in hospitals and nursing homes which didn't have Sky subscriptions.
More than 200 adults and children celebrated different cultures from around the world at a special event held recently.

It was organised by the Sligo Intercultural Forum and the Sligo Family Resource Centre.

The Intercultural Event took place in the Methodist Hall on Wine Street and it was a way for people to celebrate different cultures, music and there were lots of great dishes for people to sample.

The organisers said it was a brilliant occasion for everyone involved.

The cuisine saw dishes from India, Korea, Syria, Nigeria and Zimbabwe being plated up.

There was a real festival atmosphere with a range of music from around the world adding to the occasion.

The organisers said adults and children took part in this event with many people attending for the first time.

It was a real celebration with an opportunity in particular of welcoming those people who have moved to Sligo since last St Patrick's Day.
IT Sligo won Best in Animation and Best in Games Design at Games Fleadh 2018 at the LIT Thurles Campus recently.

The Best in Animation, went to IT Sligo students Hound Hunt, Daniel Reilly, Joseph Kennedy, Clodagh Dooley and Patrick Lawless and Best in Game Design, went to G-Team, James Mahady, Daniel Szczodrowski, Konrad Dryniewicz and Philip Darcy also from IT Sligo. Former President of IT Sligo, Prof. Vincent Cunnane handed out the prizes as he is now LIT President.

IT Dundalk won the Robocode Final, IT Carlow were crowned Game Studio College Champions while four teams from LIT Thurles also won major awards.

More than 300 people, including secondary school students and their teachers, attended the all-island games design and development competition for third-level students.

Supported by Microsoft Ireland, EA Games, First Data, Game Sparks, Smyths Toys Superstores, and the Irish Computer Society, the 15th annual Games Fleadh took place at LIT's Thurles Campus which is home to the B.Sc in Computing in Games Design and Development.

While Storm Emma forced a change of date for this year's event, it couldn't stop it reaching the next level of success with the most nail biting Robocode final in its 15-year history.

In all 26 teams took part in various game design and development competitions. The entries were viewed, played and tested by the public including the significant number of second level students and teachers. They were at the event to learn more about how coding games will help them master the new Leaving Certificate Computer Science module. Judges from EA Games, Romero Games and First Data reviewed all Game Studio entries.
Cllr Declan Bree, Cllr Gino OBoyle and Cllr Chris MacManus were among the supporters of the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign who participated in a solidarity vigil in Sligo.

Members and supporters of the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign in Sligo have called on the Government to expel the Israeli Ambassador and boycott Israeli goods after Israeli soldiers opened fire during mass demonstrations in Gaza on Good Friday.

Campaigners gathered outside the G.P.O. yesterday (Monday 2nd April) to participate in a vigil to protest against the killing of 16 unarmed Palestinians during the demonstrations and to express solidarity with the Palestinian people.

The protesters displayed Palestinian Flags and carried placards which read: "Boycott Israeli Goods", "Freedom and Peace in Palestine", "End U.S. aid to Israel".

The violence erupted on Friday after mass demonstrations took place demanding the right of return for Palestinian refugees and their descendants to land in Israel.

Palestinian hospitals were reeling after one of the enclave's bloodiest days outside of open war, in which Israeli soldiers shot 773 people with live ammunition, according to the ministry of health.

More than 1,400 people were wounded, mostly by bullets but also rubber-coated rounds and tear-gas inhalation, the health ministry said.

"We are calling on the government to expel the Israeli Ambassador and we are appealing to all people of conscience to join the global Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign that aims to compel Israel to respect Palestinian rights and international law," said spokesperson Aine Daly.

She told members that the vigil was organised to protest against the deliberate killing of 16 unarmed Palestinians and the wounding of 1,500 others by Israeli forces when thousands of Palestinian protesters marched near Gaza's border with Israel on Friday last to mark the 42nd anniversary of Land Day.

"The scenes in Gaza are reminiscent of 'Bloody Sunday' in Derry in 1972 where unarmed protesters were shot down in cold blood," said Ms Daly.

"This massacre and the continuous human rights abuses being suffered by the Palestinian people, the continued occupation and destruction of Palestinian lands and Palestinian homes in breach of the Geneva Convention and numerous United Nations resolutions, is an affront to all of us whole believe in freedom and democracy," she added.

Local elected representatives including Councillors Declan Bree, Cllr Gino O'Boyle and Cllr Chris MacManus were among those who participated in the protest.

The Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, declared Saturday a national day of mourning. More demonstrations are planned.

The UN secretary general, Antonio Guterres, has called for an independent and transparent investigation into the violence, according to his spokesman Farhan Haq.
The People First Easter 1916 Commemoration Ceremony took place in Sligo also this Easter Sunday.

Led by flag-bearers carrying the Tri-colour and the Plough and the Stars, participants in the ceremony marched from Cairns Drive to the Republican Plot in Sligo cemetery where Sligo County Councillor Declan Bree introduced this year's guest speaker Eddie Glackin of the Peadar O'Donnell Socialist Republican Forum.

"Ten years after the banking crisis, Ireland's moneyed elite are wealthier than ever before. Over the past 12 months the combined wealth of Ireland's 300 richest people has risen to 79 billion.

"Ireland now has one of the highest proportions of billionaires per head of population - one billionaire for every 313,000 people. That is more than twice the proportion of people with similar wealth in more affluent countries such as Kuwait, the United States and Sweden," Mr Glackin said in his oration.

"How can such obscene wealth exist side by side with the growing levels of homelessness and poverty in our country?"

"There certainly is a recovery for the wealthy elite and for big business," he said. "Profits are up, CEOs' bonuses are up, shareholders dividends are growing. But at the same time ordinary workers are seeing their living standard under constant downward pressure, with many workers rights being eroded through precarious employment practices.

"Clearly it is now time that decisions that affect the people and the country were removed from the establishment politicians and their paymasters in big business and put under democratic public control. Maybe then we could start to build the Republic that the men and women of 1916 fought so bravely for," he said.

Mr Corey Whyte, who presided at the ceremony said: "Our fight for fairness and equality within Irish society comes at a time when the gap between rich and poor has never been greater.

"A time when our fellow citizens are being allowed to die on Irish streets as a direct result of continued failed policies. Policies that have seen thousands of children, women and men denied the basic foundation for stability, in having a place to call home.

"It is in the context of such failed policies that we must look at the Ireland of today and ask ourselves how far the ideals and values of Easter 1916 have been realised," he said.

Following the oration as pipers played a lament a wreath and floral tributes were laid at the Republican Plot by Ms Brenda Barr on behalf of People First; Ms Sinead Costello on behalf of the Connolly Forum and by Ms Laura Scanlon on behalf of the People's Movement.

The ceremony concluded with the National Anthem.

Earlier those participating in the event laid floral tributes at the grave of Republican Socialist and People First activist Marcus Murray.
Holly Kavanagh, Emma Kinsella, Gillian Roark Shannon, Odhran Mahon, Shane Mc Loughlin, Principal Siofra Gallagher, Eoin Ivanoff and Dylan Byrne at the bake sale at Tinahely NS

The fifth and sixth class pupils at Tinahely National School worked together in aid of a worthy cause recently as they hosted a charity bake sale at the school.

Inspired by the story of fellow students in Knysna, South Africa, whose school had been vandalised during the school holidays, the Tinahely children were eager to show support and raise money towards the clean-up operation.

First up was a no-uniform day where each child donated 2 and enjoyed a the chance to wear their own clothes to school.

They also hosted a successful bake sale before they commenced the Easter mid-term break.

All the children baked and donated cupcakes and sweet treats then turned the school hall into a shop and their classroom into a cafe where customers could enjoy their purchases.

They had a great day and raised in excess of 700 to help their fellow schoolchildren while also learning lots of new things about how people live on the other side of the world.
The Wicklow branch of BirdWatch Ireland have a number of different events lined up this month.

Next Tuesday, April 10, BirdWatch Ireland's Niall Hatch will present 'The Land of the Rising Sun' at the Glenview Hotel at 8 p.m. Niall will read stories about his trips to Japan, including encounters with Steller's Sea Eagles and gorgeous Red-Crowned Cranes.

An outing to Tomnafinnoge Wood has been organised for Saturday, April 21, with the group meeting in the main car park at the north end of the wood near Tinahely at 10 a.m.

Wicklow branch members may also be interested in a talk by Andrew Power on 'Wildlife in the Sinai Peninsula and the rare Sinai Hairstreak Butterfly' at the Wexford Wildfowl Reserve tomorrow (Thursday, April 5) at 8 p.m. Andrew has given several talks for the Wicklow Branch in the past and many members will know him as a former Little Tern warden at Kilcoole.

The branch also recently held a well-attended outing to Kilcoole. Justin Ivory led the 25 strong expedition.
Laoighse Geoghegan, Ciara Ward, Aaron Mac Fhionnlaoich and Emma Kearns fundraising for their bungee jump in aid of HOPE

Students and staff at Gaelcholaiste na Mara in Arklow are hard at work raising funds ahead of a sponsored bungee jump in aid of the Hope Foundation.

Ten students along with teacher Aaron Mac Fhionnlaoich and school secretary Fiona Redmond are preparing for the 160ft jump at Moneylands Farm, Arklow, on May 20 and are keen to recruit other volunteers to take part.

The Hope Foundation is a Irish charity working with street and slum children in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), India. HOPE funds and operates over 60 projects in Kolkata that offer child protection, education, healthcare, training and an emergency response to those who are most forgotten.

This year, students from Gaelcholaiste na Mara are participating in the Hope Foundations School Immersion Programme. Through this, students can travel to Kolkata for one week and visit the projects, where they will witness the work of HOPE and the extremities of life in Kolkata.

As part of their fundraising campaign, they have already raised more than 10,000 through cake sales, coffee mornings, school events and sales of the Hope chocolate bars.

However, the biggest event is yet to come and great excitement is mounting ahead of the bungee jump.

A registration day took place in the Bridgewater Centre where the volunteers signed up a few more willing supporters and spread the word about their work for the HOPE Foundation.

Each jumper must raise 250 before the big day on May 20.

Anyone who would like to do the bungee jump can sign up at www.eventbrite.ie (search for Arklow Jump) or email ArklowJump2018@gmail.com

Further information is available online at www.facebook.com/GCMKolkataFund/videos/409740392812865/
(Front) Fr David Brough, Dave Guilfoyle, Mary OBrien from Arklow Cancer Support, Mark Whelan and James OToole at the start of the Roosters run in aid of Arklow Cancer Support and the Wicklow branch of the Alzheimer Society of Ireland

There was great excitement at Arklow Cancer Support on Good Friday as the volunteers gathered to cheer on members of the East Coast Roosters Motorcycle Club as they set off on their annual fundraising circuit of Ireland run.

A total of 25 motorcyclists including East Coast Roosters members and friends set off for a three-day ride around Ireland during which they visited almost every one of the 32 counties. This year's event was a fundraiser for Arklow Cancer Support and the Wicklow branch of the Alzheimer Society.

Fr David Brough attended the launch and blessed the bikes and motorcyclists ahead of their journey.

In excess of 10,000 was raised for the Cancer Support group while the proceeds of a raffle on Easter Sunday for the bikers' welcome home event at Christy's was donated to the Alzheimer Society.

Organiser Mark Whelan of East Coast Roosters said that this year's event was a great success and even saw the participants detour to catch up with Arklow runner Mary Nolan Hickey in Crosshaven on her Lap of the Map to show her some local support.
A conference on Ireland's native woodlands will take place on April 30 and May 1 at the Glenview Hotel.

The event is titled '20 Years A-Growing' and is organised by Woodlands of Ireland to celebrate two decades of work to restore, manage and create new native woodlands in Ireland. Anyone with an interest in native woodlands is encouraged to attend.

Presentations by leading Irish and international experts will cover a wide range of topics, from managing native woodlands and hedgerows to flood management and woodlands for water protection, while panel discussions will focus on the steps that should be taken to ensure Ireland meets its ambitious targets to plant and restore native woodlands, especially over the next three years.

Other topics will include the recent arrival of the great spotted woodpecker, spiders and other invertebrates from native woodlands, invasive species and climate change, ecosystem services, seed saving, deer ecology and re-wilding.

A field excursion on the second day will take participants on guided walks around County Wicklow to learn more about the management and establishment of native woodlands in practice.

This will include visits to Deputy's Pass, Glenealy and Ballycoyle, Glencree, both of which have been restored and expanded under the Native Woodland Scheme. They will also visit a site at Ballygannon, Rathdrum, which has been restored under the People's Millennium Forest Project.

Ireland has the lowest forest cover of all European countries at 11 per cent land cover, of which only 1.5 per cent is native woodland. On average, over 40 per cent of the 33 EU Member States are wooded. Up to 2020, Government targets are to create up to 6,500 acres of new native woodlands and to manage nearly 5,000 acres of existing native woodlands in the current Forestry Programme.

'This highly anticipated conference is essential for landowners, farmers and woodland owners interested in afforesting their land with native woodland or managing their existing native woodlands,' said Dr Declan Little, project manager at Woodlands of Ireland. 'They will hear first-hand how this can be best achieved, as well as generous incentives and technical supports that are currently available to do so.'

To book go to nativewoodlandsconference.com.
Eileen Ellis from Glenart School, Marie ORegan from St Johns Senior School, Louise Kearns, Principal of Glenart College, and Colin Heslin from Arklow Library with author Marilyn Taylor and some of the children taking part in the One Community, One Book initiative

A successful literacy and literary event aimed at school children in the Arklow area drew to a close at the local library recently.

'One Book, One Community' welcomed 150 students from Glenart College and St John's Senior School for four weeks of reading Far Away Home by Marilyn Taylor, discussing the book, fun quizzes and even meeting the author herself.

A ceremony as part of the finale awarded students for taking part in two competitions including producing alternative titles and illustrated book covers and imagining they were characters in the book by writing diary entries.

The pilot project, which it is hoped will be rolled out on a wider scale in future years, featured a visit from well-known teen novelist Marilyn Taylor at the start of the project and the book at the centre of the project was 'Far Away Home' which won the Bisto teen fiction Book of the Year in 2000.

'Far Away Home' is based on the true story of two young Jewish children, Karl and Rosa, who were transported to Ireland in 1938 as part of project Kindertransport, which saw hundreds of child refugees evacuated from the terrors of Nazi Europe. These two came to Northern Ireland and the book tells the story of their lives before and after their journey here.

The project involved a partnership between Arklow Library, St John's Senior School and Glenart College and was also supported by a Parents Book Club, involving parents and guardians from St Joseph's National School, St John's Senior School and Glenart College.

'One Book, One Community' has been part of Arklow library's first ever Literary and Arts festival 'Way with Words'.
Fintan Clarke of Friends of the Murrough standing were the original Monkey Poles foundation used to stand over 20 years ago, showing the amount of erosion that has occurred

Minister for Health Simon Harris has met with the Minister of State with Responsibility for the OPW to press home just how urgently the Murrough requires protection in order to prevent further erosion.

Stormy weather conditions in December of 2015 meant Irish Rail had to carry out emergency works on New Year's Day 2016 to strengthen protection near to the railway line.

Wicklow County Council also installed protection works along a sections of the popular coastal walk.

However, Storm Emma caused plenty of devastation, with some five metres of the Murrough washed out to sea.

The Minister of State with Responsibility for the OPW, Kevin 'Boxer' Moran, visited the site in January and this week he met Minister Harris to discuss concerns over further erosion.

Speaking after the meeting, Minister Harris said: 'The issue of coastal erosion has been highlighted for a long time and, in my time as Minister for OPW, I ensured it was a priority.

'In recent years, however, concerns have intensified, especially in and around the Murrough. Recent adverse weather has only highlighted the urgency of works to halt the erosion.

'I met with Minister Moran to raise my concerns about the speed at which action is being taken. He is fully aware of the urgency of action and has arranged for officials from his Department to meet with Wicklow County Council on the matter. The first meeting has now taken place and another will take place shortly.'

Minister Harris said he will continue to push for urgent action to protect Wicklow's coastline.

Last week, Fintan Clarke from Friends of the Murrough told this newspaper that, followed the destruction caused by Storm Emma, there are serious fears that the last of the coastal path could be washed away.

'Something will have to be done and soon. The sea is already practically licking the railway line. A few more storms and there won't be any of the Murrough left,' he said.
Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell pose at their Walk of Fame Stars ceremony in Hollywood, California on May 4, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / FREDERIC J. BROWNFREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images

Goldie Hawn has said forgiveness is important when it comes to men because they are built differently to women.

The Hollywood actress, who has been in a relationship with actor Kurt Russell for 33 years, told Radio Times: "Men are men."

Hawn, 71, continued: "It's how we handle it.

"I wouldn't want testosterone running through my veins, I really wouldn't.

"Women are not built the way men are.

"Men are designed to spread their seed, that's how they propagated the world.

"So forgiveness is important."

Asked whether she had to forgive much herself, Snatched star Hawn said: "When I was very young I had a couple of incidents.

"Men can be kind of crazy and it also has to do with a lot of things about the woman.

"How does she handle herself? How does she carry herself? How does she deal with these situations?

"Because they come up all the time for women whether they are movie stars or not."

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The star said in those situations she would "look the man in the eye and say, 'Don't ever do that again'."

"I used my words," she said.

"But I'm not talking about the really heavyweight stuff. If you start getting groped then absolutely you fight back.

"You do not allow that to happen."
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva gestures to supporters in front of the metal workers union headquarters in Sao Bernardo do Campo, Brazil (Nelson Antoine/AP)

Former Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has told thousands of supporters that he will turn himself in to police.

However, he also maintained his innocence and argued his corruption conviction was simply a way for enemies to make sure he does not run for  and possibly win  re-election in October.

The public comments were da Silvas first since the Supreme Federal Tribunal, the countrys top court, ruled against his petition on Thursday to remain free while he continued to appeal against his conviction.

That ruling set in motion a series of events that would have been unimaginable just a few years ago.

Judge Sergio Moro, who oversees many of the so-called Car Wash cases, ordered an arrest warrant for da Silva, giving him until 5pm local time on Friday to present himself to police in Curitiba, about 260 miles south west of Sao Bernardo do Campo.

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Da Silva instead hunkered down with supporters in the same metallurgical union that was the spiritual birthplace of his improbable rise to power in one of the worlds most unequal countries.

The police and Car Wash investigators lied. The prosecutors lied, said da Silva, as a few thousand supporters cheered.

I dont forgive them for giving society the idea that I am a thief, he continued.

Still, da Silva said he would turn himself in to go there and face them eye to eye.

Da Silva did not say where or when he would turn himself in. Party leaders have suggested it would be later on Saturday.

Police have made clear they do not want to take da Silva with force at the union, a confrontation that could turn violent.

The intention is not to force compliance at any cost, but rather follow the order the best way possible, with tranquility and without a media show, president of the federal police Luis Antonio Boudens said in a statement late on Friday.

Anna Julia Menezes Rodrigues, a specialist in criminal law at Braga Nascimento e Zilio, said da Silvas defiance up until this point did not turn him into a fugitive. It just meant that it was now up to federal police to carry out the warrant, she said.

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Last year, Judge Moro convicted da Silva of trading favours with a construction company in exchange for the promise of a beachfront apartment.

That conviction was upheld by an appeals court in January.

The former president has always denied wrongdoing in that case and in several other corruption cases that have yet to be tried.

However it happens, the jailing of da Silva will mark a colossal fall from grace for a man who rose to power against steep odds.

Born in the north east, da Silva rose through the ranks of the union in the countrys industrial south.

In 1980, during the military dictatorship, he was arrested in Sao Bernardo do Campo for organising strikes. He would spend more than a month in jail.

After running for president several times, in 2002 da Silva finally won.

He governed from 2003 to 2010, leaving office an international celebrity and with approval ratings in the high 80s.

Former US president Barack Obama once called da Silva the most popular politician on Earth.

Workers Party leaders insist that da Silva, 72, will still be the partys candidate in October.

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Technically, the fact that he will be jailed does not keep him off the ballot.

But in August, the countrys top electoral court makes final decisions about candidacies.

It is expected to deny da Silvas candidacy under Brazils clean slate law, which disqualifies people who have had criminal convictions upheld. Da Silva could appeal against such a decision even though doing so from jail would be more complicated.

The former leader is the latest of many high-profile people to be ensnared in possibly the largest corruption scandal in Latin American history.

Over the last four years, Brazilians have seen near-weekly police operations and arrests of the elite, such as former Odebrecht chief executive Marcelo Odebrecht.

Investigators uncovered a major scheme in which construction companies essentially formed a cartel that doled out inflated contracts from state oil company Petrobras, paying billions in kickbacks to politicians and businessmen.
Ambulances near the scene in Munster (dpa via AP)

A car has crashed into a crowd in the western German city of Munster, killing several people and injuring others, police said.

Police tweeted that residents should avoid the area near the Kiepenkerl pub, where a large-scale police operation is under way.

Kiepenkerl is a popular bar in the citys historic downtown area.

The German news agency dpa reported that the car drove into the crowd.

Dpa later quoted police as saying the driver of the car has killed himself.

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A spokeswoman for German Chancellor Angela Merkel said our thoughts are with the victims and their families.

Spokeswoman Ulrike Demmer, writing on Twitter, called the crash terrible news.
A sperm whale which had been found dead on the coast of Murcia in southern Spain had ingested 29kg of plastic waste. (Stock picture)

A sperm whale found dead on the coast of Murcia in southern Spain was killed by gastric shock caused by ingesting 29kg of plastic waste, authorities said.

The young male's stomach and intestines were found to contain rubbish including plastic bags, raffia sacks, pieces of nets and ropes and even a plastic jerry can, marine experts said after a post-mortem examination.

The whale, almost 10 metres in length and weighing more than six tonnes, was found dead on a beach in Cabo de Palos at the end of February.

The grim find of the cause of death has prompted Murcia's regional government to launch a campaign against the dumping of plastic waste in the ocean.

The director-general for the natural environment in the Murcian government, said plastic waste in the ocean had become one of the biggest threats to marine life around the world.
Next Tuesday will mark the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, a document which - along with the negotiations that birthed it - continues to be a reference for peacemakers across the world. Every war is different, with its own unique rhythms and characteristics, but the story of how the Northern Ireland conflict was brought to an end after three decades remains inspiring far beyond this island.

Growing up in Cork, some key moments in the conflict pushed beyond the blur of news bulletins to lodge in my childhood memory - the tremble in Gordon Wilson's voice when he recalled his last conversation with his dying daughter Marie as they lay trapped in the rubble of the Enniskillen bombing; the grainy footage of loyalist paramilitary Michael Stone throwing grenades at mourners as he ran across Milltown cemetery during the funeral of three IRA members killed by the British army's SAS in Gibraltar; the image of Fr Alec Reid kneeling beside the bloodied, half-naked body of one of two British corporals killed at the subsequent funeral of one of those who died in Stone's attack.

Years later I moved to Belfast as an undergraduate where the history of the conflict formed part of my studies. The experience of living there as a student and later as a cub reporter covering the post-Good Friday Agreement news cycle - which still featured sectarian killings and paramilitary feuds - for local and international media was to lay the foundation for my work later reporting on societies either wracked by conflict or navigating fragile post-conflict situations.

I found the story of this island, its experience of colonialism, its struggle for independence and the achievement of peace in Northern Ireland, resonated with many I met in troubled parts of the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Europe.

The Irish example, albeit sometimes based on a rather muddled reading of history, has been cited to me by figures ranging from Taliban commanders in Afghanistan to insurgents in Iraq; from ETA activists in the Basque country to Maoist guerrillas in India.

Peacemakers have, in turn, taken up the Northern Ireland peace process as a model to - if not follow to the letter given the particularities of every individual conflict - at least learn from. "What happened in Northern Ireland is one of the best examples of what Churchill said about it being better to jaw-jaw than war-war," a mediator in Africa once told me.

For Jonathan Powell, who was Tony Blair's chief negotiator during the peace process, the experience was seminal. He has written extensively about how Northern Ireland taught him the importance of talking to all protagonists in a conflict, no matter how unsavoury. He has been criticised for going as far as advocating that approach when it comes to Isil. Powell recently worked on Libya, as Britain's special envoy to the country, but the two main factors that made the Good Friday Agreement possible - a recognition by armed actors that there was no military solution to the conflict plus the existence of leaders that could deliver their respective communities - are not yet present there.

I know of one person from Belfast who was key to knitting together cross-community projects in the 1990s who has met with Libyans keen to learn how grassroots reconciliation efforts were begun and continue in Northern Ireland today. I recall a mediator in another conflict in the Middle East telling me wistfully: "We are still looking for our own John Hume, Gerry Adams and David Trimble."

Exporting the lessons learned in Northern Ireland has featured in Department of Foreign Affairs strategy; a conflict resolution unit was established within Iveagh House in 2007, beginning with a project in Timor-Leste. Key players in the peace process have supported similar efforts in other areas of conflict including Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, the Philippines and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. One of those, Fr Alec Reid, went on to mediate in the Basque conflict, helping to broker ETA's 2006 ceasefire.

Two years ago, then US president Barack Obama paid tribute to the Northern Ireland peace process and the lessons it offered the world.

"One of the things that you've seen in Northern Ireland that's most important is the very simple act of recognising the humanity of those on the other side of the argument. Having empathy and a sense of connection with people who are not like you," he said.

"This is a challenging time to do that because there is so much uncertainty in the world right now, there's a temptation to forge identities, tribal identities, that give you a sense of certainty, a buffer against change. And that's something our young people have to fight against, whether you're talking about Africa, or the Middle East, or Northern Ireland, or Burma."
Former double agent Sergei Skripal, who was poisoned in the English city of Salisbury, is no longer in a critical condition and is "improving rapidly", according to his doctors.

The ex-Russian military intelligence officer has been in hospital for more than a month after he was apparently exposed to a weapons-grade nerve agent, along with his daughter, Yulia.

She was also exposed to the poison which has been identified as belonging to the Novichok family.

Doctors reported last week that her condition had improved and that she is now stable.

On Thursday, Ms Skripal spoke for the first time since the poisonings and said her father was "sleeping", raising hopes that both may recover and give investigators vital clues about how and why they were targeted.

In a major development yesterday, doctors at Salisbury District Hospital announced that Mr Skripal's condition had improved significantly and that he was "responding well to treatment".

The British government has blamed Russia for the spy attack, but Moscow has denied all accusations of wrongdoing.

Dr Christine Blanshard, medical director at Salisbury District Hospital, said: "Following intense media coverage yesterday, I would like to take the opportunity to update you on the condition of the two remaining patients being treated at Salisbury District Hospital.

"Last Thursday, I informed you that Yulia Skripal's condition had improved to stable. As Yulia herself says, her strength is growing daily and she can look forward to the day when she is well enough to leave the hospital.

"Any speculation on when that date will be is just that - speculation.

"In the meantime, Yulia has asked for privacy while she continues to get better - something I'd like to urge the media to respect.

"I also want to update you on the condition of her father, Sergei Skripal. He is responding well to treatment, improving rapidly and is no longer in a critical condition.

"As you will appreciate, I won't be giving any further updates at this time."

The Russian Embassy in the UK described the development as "good news".

Police believe that Mr Skripal (66) and Ms Skripal (33) first came into contact with the Novichok agent at his Salisbury home.

They were found unconscious on a park bench in Salisbury on March 4.

The Salisbury spy attack sparked a major deterioration in relations between the UK and Russia with both expelling diplomats and engaging in a war of words. British Prime Minister Theresa May has been bolstered in her response to the incident by the support of the UK's international allies who have rowed in behind Britain and backed her claim of Russian culpability.

Russia has appealed to the UK to issue visas to relatives of the Skripals so they can visit them in hospital.

The Kremlin also warned on Thursday that Britain is "playing with fire and will be sorry" over its response to the poisonings as the two countries traded jibes at the United Nations.

On Wednesday, Russia lost a vote at the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in The Hague on its demand for its experts to be involved in testing samples of the substance used in the Salisbury attack.

Meanwhile, two guinea pigs were found dead at Mr Skripal's home after the property was sealed off for investigations. The UK department for environment, food and rural affairs added that a cat was also found in a distressed state at the house and a decision was taken to euthanise the pet.
Rescuers stand in downtown Muenster, Germany, Saturday, April 7, 2018. A vehicle crashed into a crowd Saturday in the western German city of Muenster, killing three people and injuring 20 others. The German news agency dpa has quoted police as saying the driver of that car in Muenster has killed himself. (Bernd Thissen/dpa via AP)

Police gather in downtown Muenster, Germany, Saturday, April 7, 2018. A vehicle crashed into a crowd Saturday in the western German city of Muenster, killing three people and injuring 20 others. The German news agency dpa has quoted police as saying the driver of that car in Muenster has killed himself. (Bernd Thissen/dpa via AP)

People stay in front of a restaurant in Muenster, Germany, Saturday, April 7, 2018 after a vehicle crashed into a crowd (Stephan R./dpa via AP)

A van crashed into tables of people drinking outside a popular bar in the German city of Munster, killing two people and injuring 20 others before the driver killed himself, police have said.

A top German security official said there was no indication of an Islamic extremist motive but officials were investigating all possibilities after the deadly crash at 3.27pm local time on a warm spring day.

Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close People stay in front of a restaurant in Muenster, Germany, Saturday, April 7, 2018 after a vehicle crashed into a crowd (Stephan R./dpa via AP) Police vans in downtown Muenster Photo: (dpa via AP) Police block a street near a place where a vehicle drove into a group of people Photo: Reuters / Facebook

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Whatsapp People stay in front of a restaurant in Muenster, Germany, Saturday, April 7, 2018 after a vehicle crashed into a crowd (Stephan R./dpa via AP)

Witnesses said people ran away screaming from the city square after the crash.

Police quickly set up a large cordoned-off area for their investigation and ambulances rushed to the site.

Herbert Reul, the interior minister of North Rhine-Westphalia state, where Munster is located, said the driver of the grey van was a German citizen.

He stressed that the investigation was at an early stage but said "at the moment, nothing speaks for there being any Islamist background".

"We have to wait, and we are investigating in all directions," Mr Reul said, adding "(he) wilfully drove into a crowd of people."

Mr Reul said two people were killed in the crash and the driver shot himself dead.

That is lower than the earlier police toll of three dead plus the driver.

Police spokesman Peter Nuessmeyer told the Associated Press that he could not confirm German media reports that the perpetrator reportedly had psychological issues.

Another spokesman, Andreas Bode, told reporters that police were checking witness reports that other perpetrators might have fled from the van at the scene.

Hours later, police spokeswoman Vanessa Arlt said that "we didn't find anything (to those reports) but we're still investigating in all directions and not excluding anything".

Police tweeted that residents should "avoid the area near the Kiepenkerl pub" in the city's historic downtown area where a large-scale police operation was under way.

Officers also said they found a suspicious object in the van that they were examining to see if it was dangerous.

They told German news agency dpa that was the reason authorities cordoned off such a large area.

The Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper said the suspect's apartment was being searched for possible explosives.

Mr Bode said six of the 20 injured were in a severe condition.

Munster University Hospital put out an urgent call for citizens to donate blood - and so many people rushed to help that long lines of donors formed.

Jan Schoessler, who was among those in line, said dozens of people were waiting shortly after doors opened at 7pm.

The university cancelled the call after only an hour and thanked everyone on Twitter "for your overwhelming support".

Munster, a major university city, has about 300,000 residents and an attractive medieval city centre that was rebuilt after the Second World War.

TV footage showed a narrow street sealed off with red-and-white police tape.

Dozens of ambulances were near the cordoned-off area and helicopters were flying overhead.

The Kiepenkerl is not only one of the city's best-known traditional pubs, but also the emblem of the city, depicting a travelling salesman with a long pipe in his mouth and a big backpack on his back.

Ugur Hur was working at a nearby cafe in central Munster when the crash took place.

"I heard a loud bang, screaming. And the police arrived and everyone was sent out," he said. "A lot of people were running away screaming."

Lino Baldi, who owns an Italian restaurant near the scene of the crash, told Sky TG24 that the city centre had been packed with people out enjoying a Saturday market and summer-like temperatures, which had risen to 25C (77F) from just 12C (53.6F) a day earlier.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she was "deeply shocked by the terrible events in Munster".

"Everything conceivable is being done to investigate the crime and to support the victims and their relatives," Mrs Merkel said in a statement.

"My thanks go to all the responders at the scene."
A court has granted bail to Bollywood superstar Salman Khan, who is appealing against his conviction on charges of poaching rare deer in a wildlife preserve two decades ago.

Khan was sentenced on Thursday to five years in prison on the charges and was immediately sent to jail.

Judge Ravindra Kumar Joshi ordered him to sign a surety bond of 50,000 rupees (550) on Saturday before he could be set free in Jodhpur, a town in western India.

He is likely to be released from jail later on Saturday.

Khans overjoyed fans danced outside the courtroom and chanted We love you, Salman.

Khans sisters, Alvira and Arpita, were present during the hearing.

His lawyer Mahesh Bora has challenged the conviction and sentence, and Khan will remain on bail pending the outcome of the appeal.

Four other Bollywood stars also accused in the case  Saif Ali Khan, Sonali Bendre, Tabu and Neelam  were acquitted by Chief Judicial Magistrate Dev Kumar Khatri on Thursday.

They were in the jeep that Salman Khan was believed to be driving during the hunt in 1998. Tabu and Neelam both use just one name.

Khan says he did not shoot the two blackbuck deer.

The 52-year-old Khan has starred in more than 90 Hindi-language films. But he has also had a reputation as a Bollywood bad boy, known for his run-ins with the law  including a fatal car accident  and his troubled relationships with women.
Thousands of Palestinians have protested along Gaza's sealed border with Israel, engulfing the volatile area in black smoke from burning tyres.

Israeli troops opened fire from across the border, killing at least nine Palestinians and wounding 491 others - 33 of them seriously - in the second mass border protest in a week, Gaza health officials said.

Expand Close A wounded Palestinian demonstrator is evacuated during clashes with Israeli troops at the Israel-Gaza border in the southern Gaza Strip yesterday. Photo: Reuters/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa / Facebook

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Whatsapp A wounded Palestinian demonstrator is evacuated during clashes with Israeli troops at the Israel-Gaza border in the southern Gaza Strip yesterday. Photo: Reuters/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa

A well-known Palestinian journalist was among the dead, and hundreds of others suffered other injuries, including tear gas inhalation, the officials said.

Early on Saturday, Palestinian health officials confirmed that Yasser Murtaga had died from a gunshot wound sustained while covering demonstrations near the Israeli border in Khuzaa. The area was the scene of large protests on Friday, and was covered in thick black smoke.

Mr Murtaga was over 100 meters from the border, wearing a flak jacket marked "press" and holding his camera when he was shot in an exposed area just below the armpit. Journalists were in the area as protesters were setting tyres on fire.

The Israeli military has said it fired only at "instigators" involved in attacks on soldiers or the border fence. It had no immediate comment.

Expand Close Protesters carry away a wounded youth (Adel Hana/AP) / Facebook

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Whatsapp Protesters carry away a wounded youth (Adel Hana/AP)

Mr Murtaga worked for Ain media, a local TV production company that has done projects, including aerial drone video, for foreign media. He was not affiliated with Hamas or any other militant group.

The latest casualties were bound to draw new criticism from rights groups that have branded Israel's open-fire orders on the border as unlawful, after Israel's defence minister warned that those approaching the fence were risking their lives.

The UN human rights office said on Friday that it has indications that Israeli forces used "excessive force" against protesters last week, when 15 Palestinians were killed or later died of wounds sustained near the border.

An Israeli military spokesman defended the rules of engagement.

"If they are actively attacking the fence, if they are throwing a molotov cocktail that is within striking distance of Israeli troops or similar activities, then those persons, those rioters, become, may become, a target," said Lt Col Jonathan Conricus.

Friday's large crowds suggested that Hamas, the Islamic militant group that has ruled Gaza since a 2007 takeover, might be able to keep the momentum going in the next few weeks. Hamas has called for a series of protests until May 15, the anniversary of Israel's founding when Palestinians commemorate their mass uprooting during the 1948 war over Israel's creation.

Israel has alleged that Hamas is using the mass marches as a cover for attacking the border fence, and has vowed to prevent a breach at all costs.

The military said that on Friday, protesters hurled several explosive devices and firebombs, using the thick plumes of smoke from burning tyres as a cover, and that several attempts to cross the fence were thwarted.

Gaza's shadowy Hamas strongman, Yehiyeh Sinwar, told a cheering crowd in one of the protest camps on Friday that a border breach is coming.

The world should "wait for our great move, when we penetrate the borders and pray at Al-Aqsa," Sinwar said, referring to the major Muslim shrine in Jerusalem.

He was interrupted several times by the crowd, who chanted, "We are going to Jerusalem, millions of martyrs!" and "God bless you Sinwar!"

The mass protests are perhaps Hamas' last chance to break a border blockade enforced by Israel and Egypt since 2007, without having to succumb to demands that it disarm. The blockade has made it increasingly difficult for Hamas to govern. It has also devastated Gaza's economy, made it virtually impossible for people to enter and exit the territory, and left residents with just a few hours of electricity a day.
Thousands of Palestinians have protested along Gazas sealed border with Israel, engulfing the volatile area in black smoke from burning tyres.

Israeli troops opened fire from across the border, killing at least nine Palestinians and wounding 491 others  33 of them seriously  in the second mass border protest in a week, Gaza health officials said.

A well-known Palestinian journalist was among the dead, and hundreds of others suffered other injuries, including tear gas inhalation, the officials said.

Early on Saturday, Palestinian health officials confirmed that Yasser Murtaga had died from a gunshot wound sustained while covering demonstrations near the Israeli border in Khuzaa. The area was the scene of large protests on Friday, and was covered in thick black smoke.

Mr Murtaga was over 100 meters from the border, wearing a flak jacket marked press and holding his camera when he was shot in an exposed area just below the armpit. Journalists were in the area as protesters were setting tyres on fire.

The Israeli military has said it fired only at instigators involved in attacks on soldiers or the border fence. It had no immediate comment.

Expand Close Palestinian protesters during clashes with Israeli troops along Gazas border with Israel, (Adel Hana/AP) / Facebook

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Whatsapp Palestinian protesters during clashes with Israeli troops along Gazas border with Israel, (Adel Hana/AP)

Mr Murtaga worked for Ain media, a local TV production company that has done projects, including aerial drone video, for foreign media. He was not affiliated with Hamas or any other militant group.

The latest casualties were bound to draw new criticism from rights groups that have branded Israels open-fire orders on the border as unlawful, after Israels defence minister warned that those approaching the fence were risking their lives.

The UN human rights office said on Friday that it has indications that Israeli forces used excessive force against protesters last week, when 15 Palestinians were killed or later died of wounds sustained near the border.

An Israeli military spokesman defended the rules of engagement.

If they are actively attacking the fence, if they are throwing a molotov cocktail that is within striking distance of Israeli troops or similar activities, then those persons, those rioters, become, may become, a target, said Lt Col Jonathan Conricus.

Fridays large crowds suggested that Hamas, the Islamic militant group that has ruled Gaza since a 2007 takeover, might be able to keep the momentum going in the next few weeks. Hamas has called for a series of protests until May 15, the anniversary of Israels founding when Palestinians commemorate their mass uprooting during the 1948 war over Israels creation.

Israel has alleged that Hamas is using the mass marches as a cover for attacking the border fence, and has vowed to prevent a breach at all costs.

The military said that on Friday, protesters hurled several explosive devices and firebombs, using the thick plumes of smoke from burning tyres as a cover, and that several attempts to cross the fence were thwarted.

Gazas shadowy Hamas strongman, Yehiyeh Sinwar, told a cheering crowd in one of the protest camps on Friday that a border breach is coming.

The world should wait for our great move, when we penetrate the borders and pray at Al-Aqsa, Sinwar said, referring to the major Muslim shrine in Jerusalem.

He was interrupted several times by the crowd, who chanted, We are going to Jerusalem, millions of martyrs! and God bless you Sinwar!

The mass protests are perhaps Hamas last chance to break a border blockade enforced by Israel and Egypt since 2007, without having to succumb to demands that it disarm. The blockade has made it increasingly difficult for Hamas to govern. It has also devastated Gazas economy, made it virtually impossible for people to enter and exit the territory, and left residents with just a few hours of electricity a day.
New York, Apr 7 (JEN): The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday marked World Health Day, and the agencys 70th anniversary, with a strong call for universal health coverage, to ensure that all people can get quality health services, where and when they need them, without suffering financial hardship.

Health is a human right. No one should get sick and die just because they are poor, or because they cannot access the health service they need, said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in his message prior to the Day, which is marked annually on 7 April.

According to WHO, at least half the worlds population do not have coverage for full essential health services, with about 100 million people living on $1.90 or less a day because they have to pay for health care.

Universal health coverage is a political choice. It takes vision, courage and long-term thinking, said Tedros, adding But the payoff is a safer, fairer and healthier world for everyone.

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres recalled that WHO was founded on the principle that the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being.

Since then, average global life expectancy has expanded by 23 years, he continued, noting the eradication of smallpox and the dissipation of polio.

Guterres stressed that although millions more children live to celebrate their fifth birthday, people around the world still lacked vital health services.

Today, we join WHO in recommitting to ensure that everyone, everywhere, gets the health services they need, Guterres said.

Join me in calling for Health for All, concluded the Secretary-General.

As part of the landmark 2030 Agenda and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), all UN Member States agreed to try to achieve universal health coverage by 2030.

When people have to pay most health service costs themselves, often the poor cannot obtain what they need and even the rich may fall victim to financial hardship from long-term illness.

Universal health coverage requires strengthening health systems in all countries  with robust financing structures being key. It emphasizes not only what services are covered, but also how they are funded, managed, and delivered.

WHO maintains that pooling resources from compulsory funding sources, such as mandatory insurance contributions, can improve health service coverage by spreading the financial risks of illness across a population.

Health services, including traditional and complementary medicine services, organized around the comprehensive needs and expectations of people and communities will help empower them to take a more active role in their health and health system.

Over the past seven decades, WHO has spearheaded efforts to rid the world of killer diseases and fight against deadly habits, like tobacco use.

Good health is the most precious thing anyone can have, Mr. Tedros said in a separate message. When people are healthy, they can learn, work, and support themselves and their families.

When they are sick, nothing else matters. Families and communities fall behind. Thats why WHO is so committed to ensuring good health for all, he underscored

Many countries have successfully eliminated measles, malaria and debilitating tropical diseases, as well as mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis.

New WHO recommendations for earlier treatment, efforts to access cheaper generic medicines and innovative partnerships have produced vaccines against meningitis, Ebola and the worlds first for malaria.

UN Headquarters in New York celebrated World Health Day, WHOs 70th Birthday and Universal Health Coverage with a special event on shaping future health systems that leave no one behind.

It also launched a set of six stamps commemorative UN World Health Day stamps to promote worldwide awareness and action to achieve health for everyone around the world.

 UNICEF/UN0159228/Naftalin




Jodhpur, Apr 7 (IBNS): Actor Salman Khan, who has been convicted in a 20-year old Blackbuck poaching case, spent his second night in the Jodhpur Central Jail on Friday.

The court on Friday reserved its bail order till Saturday.

After hearing Salman's bail plea for about 40 minutes, the court decided to pronounce its order on Saturday.

Following the reserve of the order, defence lawyers were disappointed, report said.

Salman, who has been imprisoned for five years on Thursday, spent the last night in Jodhpur Central Jail.

The actor was also fined Rs. 10,000.

The four other co-accused  actors Saif Ali Khan, Tabu, Sonali Bendre and Neelam  have been acquitted.

The Bishnoi community, known for their deep respect for their forests and animals, expressed satisfaction over the verdict.

The actors were accused of poaching a blackbuck, an endangered species protected under the Indian Wildlife Act, in Kankani village of Jodhpur during the shooting of film Hum Saath Saath Hain in September, 1998.

Khan was convicted under Section 51 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972.

Final arguments of the case were completed in the trial court on Mar 28, after which chief judicial magistrate Dev Kumar Khatri had reserved the judgment for Thursday.

.

According to the complaint, Salman Khan had killed two black bucks.

He was also charged for possessing a weapon with an expired license.
New Delhi, Apr 7 (IBNS): The Indian Air Force said in a Request for Information on Friday that it will be buying over 100 new fighter jets, in what is expected to be the world's largest deal.

The said deal is expected to cost more than Rs. 100,000 crores or USD 15 billion.

According to reports, manufacturers such as SAAB of Sweden, Lockheed Martin and Boeing of the United States, Dassault of France, MiG of Russia and the European consortium Eurofighter are expected to compete for India's requirement.

According to the Indian Air Force, '85 percent will have to be made in India by a Strategic Partner/Indian Production Agency'.

It also said that the first aircraft must be delivered within three years of contract signing.

Meanwhile, commenting on the new deal, Congress President Rahul Gandhi tweeted, "Modi Scam Alert! 15 Billion $ fighter jet deal re-tendered. PM's friends race to tie up STRATEGIC partners. RAFALE, 40,000 Cr. loss to exchequer was "Sayonara" money to French, so PM could re-tender contract and favour friends."

image: twitter.com/Ng_Eng_Hen
New Delhi, Apr 7 (IBNS) : Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli who is on a three-day visit to India, met his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi at the Hyderabad House in the national capital on Saturday to hold delegation-level talks before signing a number of agreements, reports said.

The two will also deliver press statements after the talks. This is Oli's first visit to the country after he assumed office as Prime Minisater for the second term in February.

Earlier, the visiting dignitary received a ceremonial welcome in the Rashtrapati Bhavan as he called on President Ramnath Kovind.

"India's abiding interest is in the stability and economic prosperity of Nepal. India stands ready to expand cooperation with Nepal as per Nepal's priorities", the President posted on Twitter after receiving the Nepal PM at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

"No other countries in the world have the bonds of friendship and cooperation that exist between India and Nepal. Regular exchanges of visits at the highest political level demonstrate the priority that we attach to our special partnership", Kovind tweetd.

Oli along with his wife Radhika Shakya, also paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi at Raj Ghat.

The Nepal PM arrived in Delhi on Friday and was received at the airport by Home Minister Rajnath Singh. He met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the evening shortly after arrival.

Besides official engagements in New Delhi, the Prime Minister of Nepal will be visiting G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology in Pantnagar, Uttarakhand.

Oli is scheduled to return to Nepal on Apr 8.
New Delhi, Apr 7 (IBNS) : Asserting that India would continue to be a strong development partner of Nepal, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that both countries have agreed to work towards a new railway line to connect Kathmandu with India.

In a joint statement with his Nepalese counterpart KP Oli, PM Modi said both nations have "deep ties" in defence and secuirty and "We agree on stopping the misuse of our open border."

"We aim at improving waterways and railways with Nepal. today we reviewed the progress in various such connectivity project..We have strong relations when it comes to the aspect of security and are committed towards stopping misuse of our open borders," Modi said.

The PM said India's contrivution in Nepal's progress goes back a long way and both the nations are working for the prosperity and well-being of their citizens.

"We believe my motto of Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas and Mr Oli's motto of Samriddh Nepal, Sukhi Nepal are complimentary," Modi said.

Nepal PM Khadga Prasad Oli said that Nepal attaches great importance to its relations with India. "Our countries enjoy age old historical ties and have many things to offer to each other..I invited PM Modi to pay a visit to Nepal at the earliest convenient time, I am hopeful that the visit will take place soon," Oli said.

The visiting dignitary said he has come to India with a mission to enhance our relations to newer heights commensurate with the realities of the 21st century.

"We want to create a model relationship. A relationship that is cherished forever," he said.

Oli said Nepal has now completed a very crucial transition phase after three tiers of elections."During this transitional juncture we need support and cooperation of our friends," he said.

Oli, who is on a three-day visit to India-his first after assuming office- had earlier received a ceremonial welcome in the Rashtrapati Bhavan as he called on President Ramnath Kovind.

Oli along with his wife Radhika Shakya, also paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi at Raj Ghat.

The Nepal PM arrived in Delhi on Friday and was received at the airport by Home Minister Rajnath Singh. He met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the evening shortly after arrival.

Besides official engagements in New Delhi, the Prime Minister of Nepal will be visiting G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology in Pantnagar, Uttarakhand.

Oli is scheduled to return to Nepal on Apr 8.
New Delhi, Apr 7 (IBNS): K. P. Sharma Oli, the Prime Minister of Nepal, called on President of India Ram Nath Kovind at Rashtrapati Bhavan here on Saturday.

Welcoming Oli to India, the President said he was happy to note that this was his first visit abroad after his appointment as the Prime Minister of Nepal.

The President said that India holds him in the highest regard for his leadership and contribution to advancing the cause of India-Nepal partnership.

"We are confident that under his wise leadership, Nepal will chart a new course of rapid socio-economic transformation for its people," he said.

The President said that no other countries in the world have the bonds of friendship and cooperation that exist between India and Nepal.

"We are bound together not only by a shared geography but by history, culture, civilisation and close people to people and familial ties. Regular exchanges of visits at the highest political level between the two countries demonstrate the priority that we attach to our special partnership. India abiding interest is in the stability and economic prosperity of Nepal," he said.

"We wish to take forward our relationship on the basis of goodwill, mutual trust and mutual benefit," Kovidn said.

The President said that India values its economic and development partnership with Nepal.

India stands ready to expand cooperation with Nepal as per Nepals priorities.

"We believe that enhanced connectivity between our countries will boost our economic growth and benefit our citizens," Kovind said.
Islamabad, Apr 7 (IBNS): General Nicholas Patrick Carter, Chief of General Staff (CGS) UK Army, has arrived on two days official visit to Pakistan, officials said.

He met Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa.

During the meet, bilateral issues and regional security situation was discussed, Pakistan's Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement.

UK CGS acknowledged positive results of Pakistan's efforts against terrorism and recent measures taken along Pak-Afghan Border including the fencing for improvement in border control.

Bajwa highlighted the need for collective action within a collaborative framework to help encourage peace and stability in the region.

The visiting General along with COAS visited Girdi Jungle, Balochistan today which has recently been sanitised.

The delegation was given detailed briefing on security situation and security operations in support of Khushal Balochistan program.

The visitors were highly appreciative of the professionalism and dedication with which the sanitization operation had been conducted.

Girdi Jungle, a small village before 1979, had swelled to a town of around 60,000 inhabitants with the majority being Afghan refugees.

"Over the years it had been converted into a hub of criminal and narco activities, facilitating both smugglers and terrorists in their nefarious agenda," read the statement.

The area is now free from inimical influence.

The visitors also flew over the border town of Brabchah and were briefed on the peculiar environment of the area and steps taken to secure Pakistan- Afghan border in Balochistan.

"The dignified and ordered resettlement of Afghan refugees and measures to spread dividends of peace in larger region also came under discussion during the visit," read the statement.

Image: ISPR
Guwahati, Apr 7 (IBNS): Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju on Saturday said that the Home and External Affairs Ministry will examine the proposal of issuing work permit to the Bangladesh nationals.

Giving his reaction on Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangmas proposal of issuing of work permit to Bangladesh nationals, Rijiju said that the proposal given by the Meghalaya CM is positive in one sense, but before accepting it the entire mechanism must be made clear, so that it does not have an adverse impact.

The Union minister said that, the North Eastern region particularly Assam has been affected by the illegal migrants and the region facing this problem since long time.

External Affairs ministry and Home Affairs ministry need to sit together, discuss what is going to reification. But the proposal, I think due consideration and we will look it, Rijiju said.

Recently, Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma mooted the idea of issuing of work permit to the Bangladesh nationals, when he met External Affairs minister Sushma Swaraj in New Delhi.

The Meghalaya CM has proposed it to address the challenges of infiltration.

On the other hand, the MoS for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju said on the Naga peace talk issue in a press conference held in Guwahati on Saturday that, the Naga peace talk is going on since long time and framework agreement was signed and sovereignty and some other serious issues have been dropped from the agreement. The framework agreement stated that, the unique history, identity of Nagas are being recognised.

The talk is going on smoothly and we are monitoring the progress of the talk. PM Modi also said that, the result will come during our time. Centre is committed to a clear, tangible solution. This will not have any kind of adverse repercussion to Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur, Rijiju said.

On the other hand, the Union minister said that, talks with the insurgent groups of northeast are now in final stages.

The progress of talks with different insurgent groups is being reviewed on a case by case basis, Rijiju said.

Rjiju further said that, ongoing talks with the Arobinda Rajkhowa-led ULFA (P) now in final stages and the Home ministry is now agreed to the genuine demands and already instructed to prepare the final shape.

(Reporting by Hemanta Kumar Nath)
Guwahati, Apr 7 (IBNS) : Security forces have nabbed four militants belonging to the anti-talk faction group of Karbi Peoples Liberation Tiger (KPLT) in Assams West Karbi Anglong district.



Based on specific intelligence about presence of militants of anti- talk faction of the outfit group, unit of Red Horns Division launched a series of joint operations along with police at multiple locations in West Karbi Anglong district from Apr 2 to 7.

The joint operations team continuously tracked the movement of KPLT (AT) militanst with and the apprehension of one militant led to the other and finally four KPLT (AT) militants were apprehended from different locations in the hill district.

Security personnel had recovered two 9 mm beretta pistols, one point 32 mm pistol, one point 22 mm pistol, nine live rounds, one fired case and ten fake extortion letters in possession from them.

In recent days , there is a reported increase in the activities of KPLT (AT) faction.

The successful joint operation has dealt a blow to the plans of KPLT (AT) faction which has been lately trying to establish its prominence in the hill districts .

(Reporting by Hemanta Kumar Nath)
New York, Apr 7 (JEN): As the world officially remembers the genocidal murder of 800,000 Rwandans in 1994, United Nations leaders warn that ethnic cleansing and mass atrocities continue to blight humanity and call for sharper action to prevent such wholesale violations.

Twenty-four years ago, on 7 April, ethnic Hutus in Rwanda began the frenzied slaughter of Tutsis, moderate Hutus and others in what is widely regarded as one of the darkest episodes in recent history.

In memory of the Rwandan victims  and as a sombre reminder of the international communitys failure to intervene  the UN observes 7 April every year as an international day of reflection.

Today we remember all those who were murdered and reflect on the suffering of the survivors, who have shown that reconciliation is possible, even after a tragedy of such monumental proportions, said Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in a message for the grim anniversary.

Rwanda has learned from its tragedy; so must the international community, Guterres said, expressing concern about the rise of racism, hate speech and xenophobia around the world.

These base manifestations of human cruelty provide the breeding ground for far more evil acts, the Secretary-General said, adding that he was particularly troubled by the systematic killings, torture, rape and humiliation of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar.

The brutal persecution of the Rohingya, which has caused more than one million members of the ethnic and religious minority to flee to Bangladesh, was also first in the mind of Adama Dieng, the UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, in an interview with UN News.

The horrific acts committed against the Rohingya will one day be brought before an international court, Dieng said, and I have no doubt that they will be determined as crimes against humanity, as ethnic cleansing and possibly as genocide.

Judicial punishment for such crimes is a start, but for more attention must be devoted to preventing them, said Dieng, a native of Senegal and leading international jurist.

We said at the end of the Second World War Never Again, but we witnessed the genocide of the Tutsis in Rwanda; we witnessed the genocide of the Muslims in Srebrenica, he said, referring to the Bosnian Serb armys slaughter in 1995 of thousands of Muslims who were rounded up in the town of Srebrenica, even though it had been declared a safe area by the UN.

An international framework of law and tribunals has evolved for holding accountable those who commit crimes against humanity.

In 1948, following the horrors of the Second World War, the fledgling UN adopted The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. Genocide was defined as certain acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.

At the UN World Summit in 2005, all Member States formally accepted the responsibility to protect their populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity. They also agreed that when countries fail to do so, the international community has an obligation to intervene, through action by the Security Council and in accordance with the UN Charter.

But enforcing that international Responsibility to Protect victimized populations has often been hamstrung, Dieng said, as key countries invoke the principle of non-interference in internal affairs. He expressed frustration that the Security Council has not taken stronger action to prevent atrocities against civilians in Syria and South Sudan as well as Myanmar.

Genocides do not take place all of a sudden, Dieng said, highlighting the importance and possibility of prevention.

Genocide is a process, he said. The Holocaust did not start with the gas chambers. It started with hate speech.

In Rwanda and Bosnia, too, mass killings followed escalating hate speech and dehumanization. That is why I should say that the world failed the Rwandan people, the world failed the Bosnian people, and I hope that the world will not fail the Rohingya population, he said.

The UNs annual day of reflection on the Rwandan genocide is important, Dieng said, as a way first to honour those who fell to those crimes, but also as a lesson for the future.

Secretary-General Guterres, in his statement, stressed that states have a fundamental responsibility to protect their populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity.By remembering what happened in Rwanda, we are also sending a strong message to whoever around the world is inclined to commit such a crime, he said.

It is imperative, he said, that we unite to prevent such atrocities from occurring, and that the international community sends a strong message to perpetrators that they will be held accountable.

To save people at risk, we must go beyond words, he said.

The UN will hold a commemorative ceremony on the Rwandan genocide at its New York Headquarters on 13 April on the theme Remember, Unite, Renew.

UNICEF/UNI55086/Press
Kabul, Apr 7 (IBNS): Taliban terrorists attacked Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers posts in Afghanistan's northern Sar-i-Pul province, leaving at least 2 security personnel killed, media reports said on Friday.

Three other ANA soldiers were hurt in the incident, reports said.

Maj. Mohammad Hanif Rezaee, spokesman for the 209th Shaheen Corps, told Afghanistan's Pajhwok Afghan News the Taliban stormed the ANA post in the Balghali village of the provincial capital.

At least two soldiers were killed and three others wounded in the overnight assault, he told the news agency.

Taliban spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmadi told Pajhwok Afghan News the insurgents had seized the army post and killed a number of soldiers.

Civilians were left unharmed in the entire incident.


Kabul, Apr 7 (IBNS): Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi visited Kabul on Friday and discussed issues related to Pakistan-Afghanistan relations with the country's President Ashraf Ghani.

At the invitation of President Ashraf Ghani, Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi accompanied by Foreign Minister, Interior Minister, Governor KP and National Security Adviser visited Kabul, on Friday.

President Ghani and Prime Minister Abbasi held one on one meeting followed by delegation level talks at the Afghan Presidential Palace.

"President Ghani and Prime Minister Abbasi discussed the entire gamut of Pak-Afghan relations including peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan, counter-terrorism, return of Afghan refugees, bilateral trade and regional connectivity," Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The two leaders agreed that Afghanistan Pakistan Action Plan for Peace and Solidarity (APAPPS) provided a useful framework for broad based and structured engagement on all issues of mutual interest and decided to operationalize the five working groups under APAPPS.

Prime Minister Abbasi welcomed President Ghani's vision for peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan and his offer of peace talks to Taliban.

"Both leaders called on the Taliban to respond positively to the peace offer and join the peace process without further delay," read the statement.

They agreed that there was no military solution to the ongoing Afghan conflict and that the political solution was the best way forward.

"The two leaders reiterated that terrorism was a common enemy and threat," it said.

They agreed not to allow their soils to be used for anti-state activities against each other.

Both the leaders agreed that peace, prosperity and stability of the two countries are interlinked.

They reaffirmed their resolve to work together to address all issues of bilateral and transit trade.

They also expressed their firm resolve not to allow politics to affect their economic relationship which was important for the welfare of the peoples of the two countries.

"The two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to regional connectivity as they had done in Herat on 23rd February 2018 while jointly inaugurating the entry of TAPI Gas Pipeline from Turkmenistan into Afghanistan. They agreed to hold an early meeting of the Joint Economic Commission to take forward planning and implementation of key rail road gas pipeline and energy projects that would integrate Pakistan and Afghanistan with Central Asia. The two leaders also agreed to move forward on Chaman-Kandahar-Herat railway line, Peshawar-Kabul Motorway, and other connectivity projects which can help realize the tremendous potential of South and Central Asian Regions by providing shortest access through the sea ports of Gwadar and Karachi. They emphasized early completion of TAPI and CASA-1000 projects," read a statement issued by the Ministry.

The Prime Minister also met Chief Executive Dr. Abdullah Abdullah. Both leaders discussed the entire range of bilateral matters and agreed on regular leadership contacts.

Prime Minister of Pakistan announced a gift of 40 thousand tons wheat for the Afghan people. He also announced waiver of additional regulatory duty on Afghan export to Pakistan to help lift the Afghan economy.

The two sides also agreed to initiate discussions on consular matters and exchange of civilian prisoners.

President Ghani and Prime Minister Abbasi reaffirmed their resolve to build trust and confidence between the two countries by working closely for peace, prosperity and stability in their countries.

The two leaders agreed to continue the exchange of high level visits.

Prime Minister Abbasi extended invitations to President Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah to visit Islamabad at their earliest convenience.

Prime Minister met with senior political leaders including Gulbadin Hekmatyar, Ustad Mohammad Mohaqiq, Ustad Mohammad Karim Khalili, Pir Sayed Hamed Gailani, to convey the support of the government and people of Pakistan to all ethnic groups in Afghanistan and underscore Pakistan's commitment to peace and stability in Afghanistan.



Image: Ashraf Ghani Twitter page
Kabul, Apr 7 (IBNS): Taliban attack in Arghandab district of Afghanistan's southern Zabul province left at least four policemen killed, media reports said on Saturday.

The attack reportedly left two others injured.

Amir Jan Alokozai, district administrative chief, told Pajhwok Afghan News the incident took place on the outskirts of the district late on Friday night.

Taliban spokesman, Qari Yousaf Ahmadi, told the Afghanistan-based news agency that one of their members infiltrated the security post and killed four policemen

Afghanistan has witnessed rise in terrorist attack incidents in recent times.

More than 10,000 civilians have lost their lives or suffered injuries during 2017, according to the latest report by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) documenting the impact of the armed conflict on civilians in Afghanistan.

The human cost of this ugly war in Afghanistan  loss of life, destruction and immense suffering  is far too high said the Secretary-Generals Special Representative for Afghanistan, Tadamichi Yamamoto, during the launch of the latest annual report in Kabul.

The report detailed that in 2017, UNAMA and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) documented 10,453 civilian casualties  3,438 killed and 7,015 injured.

The findings show that the majority of civilian casualties resulted from suicide attacks, improvised explosive device, ground engagements, targeted killings, explosive remnants of war and air strikes.
Two goats were recently found standing on a narrow beam on a 50-foot-high bridge in Pennsylvania, USA. It is believed that the animals escaped a farm nearby and walked all the way up the bridge trying to shelter themselves from the rains.

Pennsylvania Turnpike facebook

The animals were seen stranded on the Mahoning River Bridge by the local police. The authorities then called the transport department and highway toll officials to rescue the animals. A huge crane lent by the transport department eventually saved the goats in the nick of time.

Also read: 90-Year-Old Woman Sells Her Goats To Gift A Toilet To Her 102-Year-Old Mother-In-Law

The Pennsylvania Turnpike, the toll authority, posted photos of the goats and their rescue on Facebook. One photo shows a crane being lowered along with two officials rescuing the goats.

Pennsylvania Turnpike facebook

The Facebook post has been shared over 50,000 times and people are baffled how the animals climbed such a high bridge.

One user wrote, "I seriously doubt they needed rescuing." Another one commented, "They were probably just fine. They are goats! Best balance and climbing abilities! Left alone they would have finished their stroll across the bridge and found something else to climb."

Also read: In A Bid To Help Parents, Zimbabwe Schools Allow Them To Pay Their Children's Fee With Goats

The goats have now been returned to where they belonged. Here's hoping they didn't find their escapade too exciting to do it again!
We may not show it all the time, but there are many things that annoy a Delhiite. It's not blissful ignorance that makes us this way. Some of it is the automatic assumption that people will find some way to deal with it, find a jugaad; another reason could be that some days a Delhiite just doesn't want to deal with things they know won't change anytime soon. Somewhere between these two things, we seem like we've got it all figured out but the truth spills out some time or other. The space below is an attempt at understanding matters -- from funny to downright serious -- that perhaps we won't miss that much if one day they were to suddenly disappear.

Here's what annoys a Delhiite:

1. Road rage

Seriously people. Calm the f*ck down. We're not going get where we're going any sooner if this is the moment you decide to pick an argument with me.

INDIATV

2. Autowallahs and the barely alive meters they drive around with

If you're driving an auto, please keep one that has a functioning meter. I don't especially look forward to half an hour of haggling.

REUTERS/Anindito Mukherjee

3. "Bhaiyaaa..." No. That's not how Delhi people talk

That's how we all talk when addressing strangers. It's almost a term of endearment. Nothing to judge here.

MapmyIndia

4. ..that Delhi is the rape capital of India

Delhi might have the largest number of reported rape cases in the country but something's amiss here. This doesn't mean rapes aren't taking place elsewhere in the country, and neither does it automatically make other cities like Mumbai and Bengaluru safer. The sad truth remains: women have yet to feel safe, be it any part of the country.

REUTERS/Anindito Mukherjee

5. Hot/warm paani in golgappas

Why? Just. Why?

YUMMYTUMMYAARTHI.COM

6. People who have no sense of personal space

There's no saving your soul if you have enter a queue.

REUTERS/Amit Dave

7. Baraats that have no qualms about blocking traffic

No, go on. Take your own time.

Erik Fantasia/youtube

8. Showoffs and their exclusive behaviour

"Patta hai mera baap kaun hai?" Nope. Don't care.

Fukrey/movie still

9. Packed metros

...because god forbid you have a life, or work.

Citizen Journalist Review

10. Weather. Extreme weather. All year round

Why is it so hot? Why is it so cold? Why is it raining so much? These are some of the frequently asked questions that confirm the fact.

REUTERS/Anindito Mukherjee

11. Parking. Rather the lack thereof

REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

What things do you think should be on the list?

With inputs from Dilliwallahs.
It's jet set, go, all over again! India has kicked off a fresh dogfight for its $20 billion "mother of all defence deals" by re-inviting global aviation majors to compete for producing fighter jets in India under the government's "strategic partnership" policy.

IAF on Friday issued a preliminary global tender or RFI (request for information) to acquire 110 fighter jets, of which 85% are to be built in India with a domestic strategic partner or production agency.

The aviation majors have to submit their responses to the RFI, which also stipulates that 75% of the fighters will be single-seat jets, by July 3.

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"The project will cost an estimated Rs 1.25 lakh crore. IAF hopes to issue the formal tender or RFP (request for proposal), inviting technical and commercial bids, within 6-12 months of getting the responses to the RFI," said a top source.

Though its very early days as yet because the entire process of submission of RFP bids, complex evaluation and field trials will take some years, the aim is to set up a second fighter manufacturing line in India to supplement the long-delayed production of indigenous Tejas jets.

IAF, after all, is grappling with just 31 fighter squadrons (each with 18 jets) when at least 42 are required to tackle the "collusive threat" from Pakistan and China. Moreover, the 10 existing squadrons of old MiG-21s and MiG-27s are slated for retirement by 2022.

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The RFI comes after the NDA government scrapped its two-year-old plan to produce 114 single-engine fighters with foreign collaboration at an estimated cost of Rs 1.15 lakh crore, and asked IAF to go in for a wider competition by including twin-engine fighters as well, as was first reported by TOI in February.

But this will ensure a repeat of the original MMRCA (medium multi-role combat aircraft) project for 126 jets, which was initiated by the previous UPA regime in 2007 but could never be inked due to a deadlock in the final commercial negotiations with the eventual winner of the contest, the French Rafale fighters.

The new RFI has also been issued to the six contenders in the scrapped MMRCA project, which were F/A-18 'Super Hornet' and F-16 'Super Viper' (US), Gripen-E (Sweden), MiG-35 (Russia), Eurofighter Typhoon and Rafale, who will now field their latest variants for the new contest.

bccl

The NDA government had junked the MMRCA project, under which the first 18 jets were to come in flyaway condition and the rest 108 being licensed produced by defence PSU Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL), in June 2015. It had then gone in for the off-the-shelf acquisition of 36 Rafales under the 7.8 billion Euros (Rs 59,000 crore) contract inked in September 2016.

The NDA government contended the 36-Rafale contract was inked to meet IAFs "critical operational necessity", but the Congress has attacked the deal for being "non-transparent and overpriced" with no transfer of technology.

bccl

The 36 Rafales alone, which will be delivered in the 2019-2022 timeframe, will of course not make up the fast-depleting number of fighter squadrons, especially because HAL has so far managed to deliver only six of the 324 Tejas fighters planned for induction in the long-term.

In the MMRCA sweepstakes, the single-engine F-16 and Gripen-E as well as the twin-engine Russian MiG-35 and American F/A-18 were rejected after exhaustive field trials in the original MMRCA contest, while the twin-engine Rafale had emerged the winner over Eurofighter Typhoon in 2012 after commercial evaluation. But the project could never be sealed. This time, a beleaguered IAF is keeping its fingers crossed.
Azad Hind Fauj Veteran Fauzi Sheikh Ramzan Qureshi passed away in Odisha on April 3. He had fought beside Netaji Subash Chandra Bose in Burma and Japan and was also taken a prisoner.

He lived in a village in Mandosil, Paikmal Block of Bargargh district in Odisha and was aged more than 90 years. He was recently honoured by state government on Netajis birthday on January 18. While most of the political parties today claim the legacy of Netaji, this man lived in poverty throughout his life and did not receive his pension as a freedom fighters.

Even at the age of 92, Sheikh Ramzan would repair umbrellas to make a living for his two children Halima, 22 and Alim 21. Sheikh was highly motivated by Netajis slogan of, Give me blood and I will give your freedom, this slogan attracted him towards the INA. After independence, he even tried to join the army but was not able to.

His silent death shows how we treat people who have done so much for our nation.
Bitcoin has had a bit of a wild time the last few months. After peaking at $20,000 last month, the cryptocurrency has seen a stark drop in value that has investors worried.

Well, it has the short-term and new investors worried at least, whereas bitcoin veterans seem to be assured it will soon recover. So why exactly is that?

Bitcoin dropped to $10,000 yesterday, half of what its peak value was in December. People are selling in a panic, likely because of the uncertainty after South Korea also banned cryptocurrencies in the country. This followed close on the heels of a similar China ban last year, as well as France and the US also promising investigations into the matter.

Many observers of this say the Bitcoin bubble has burst. But if you look at Reddit, a lot of long-term investors say this is normal. Many are denying this is a crash, instead calling it a market correction of sorts. And theres some precedent for that to be true.

Consider this. When the market value peaked, quite a few investors would have decided to take their gains and leave. This in turn, because the number of Bitcoins now available in the market is higher, would have somewhat driven down their cost. Once that happens, other users would see the dip and panic, thinking they need to sell and get out before the market crashes. That then drops the value further. Thats the market correction theory proposed.

ALSO READ: Bitcoin Value Crashed By $2,000 in A Few Hours, Right After It Hit Its Highest Ever Mark

It goes on to say that, once the value has bottom out here, others will see the lower prices on Bitcoin and decide its time to buy, thus picking the price back up again and starting a chain reaction in the reverse of what happened before. As Redditor vegarde puts it:

"At some point, people start to think "ok, this is freaking insane gains! I will sell!". Once enough people do that, usually around psychologically important numbers (like, close to 20k), it will affect the price. This will make other people think "Fu*k, it's going a little down! I'll cash out my gains here". And bring the price even more down. And this will continue until it meets the "Fu*k! these coins are cheap now. It has to go up now!"-crowd. It's not magical at all."

In fact, many experts believe this is good for Bitcoin as a whole. The more frequently a correction happens as a cryptocurrencys value rises, the smaller the market correction that happens. In this case, Bitcoin climbed about $10,000 in the space of a month without a correction, so its a hard one.

Of course, the volatility of Bitcoin is scary. But as much as these investors say its natural, theres never really any guarantee of whats going to happen. In years past, Bitcoin has faced similar dips in value in January, before eventually picking up a month or so later. But the situation has changed somewhat now. This time around, there are many more investors that could potentially panic and sell, causing the crypto to further spiral.

It could be mere days or months before we see the value pick up to a point where people arent worried about a crash anymore. Until then, your best bet is to probably just hold and ride it out instead of panicking and selling lower than you bought.
As Israeli Forces Open Fire on Unarmed Palestinians, Jimmy Panetta Helps "Congratulate" Israel by Santa Cruz News

Friday Apr 6th, 2018 10:26 PM

Congressman Jimmy Panetta, who represents California's central coast, was a member of a Democratic congressional delegation that visited Israel on March 26 to congratulate the nation on the 70th anniversary of the establishment of its government. Our delegation is pleased to be able to extend the congratulations of the American people to the people of Israel as we celebrate the 70th anniversary of Jewish state this spring, Nancy Pelosi, the leader of the delegation stated ahead of the March 26 visit. There is no greater political accomplishment in the 20th Century than the establishment of the State of Israel, she stated on behalf of the Democrats. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tweeted that he had an "excellent meeting" in Jerusalem with the congressional delegation, and included a picture of himself with Panetta and the other delegation members.

As Panetta was meeting with Israeli officials, that country's defense forces were planning to shoot Palestinians in Gaza during the Land Day demonstration planned later that week to coincide with Israel's founding, which Palestinians refer to as the Nakba, or "catastrophe". In 1948, more than 750,000 Palestinians were expelled from their homeland in to make way for the establishment of the state of Israel.



As reported on Mondoweiss.net, Israel's army announced on March 26 that dozens of snipers" would be deployed at the demonstration in Gaza, a decision that eventually lead to a bloody massacre against unarmed Palestinians on March 30, leaving 17 demonstrators dead and at least 1,416 Palestinians wounded. 758 were shot by live ammunition, 148 were injured by rubber-coated steel bullets, and others were injured by tear gas, concussion grenades, and other "less lethal" weapons.



On the same day as the massacre, March 30, Panetta released a public statement on his congressional website, and through social media, describing his visit to Israel with the delegation. Panetta's statements omitted any reference to the bloodshed in Gaza. He instead posted a benign photo of the delegation and him meeting with "Palestinian youth in Jerusalem".



The congressional delegation also visited Afghanistan and Jordan, and Panetta's public statements following the visit focus on the regional military security of the United States in the Middle East.



Congress has an important oversight role for our national security, including our counter-terrorism operations in the Middle East, and needs to ensure that our policies and resources are in place to keep our nation safe, Panetta said in a public press release.



Panetta's press release continues to seemingly justify the length of the war in Afghanistan, the longest war waged by the United States.



Having served in Afghanistan, this trip was a great opportunity to return, see, and assess the current conditions on the ground as well as the needs associated with Operation Resolute Support. As a member of the House Armed Services Committee and co-chair of the National Security Task Force, it was an important visit to evaluate our near and long-term strategy in the region. Our trip provided my fellow Members of Congress and me with the first-hand experience and understanding that we need to work on smart, strategic, and strong national security policies regarding the Middle East," Panetta's March 30 press release states.



Panetta served as an officer in the military and was stationed in Afghanistan in 2007. According to his congressional biography, he was assigned to a "special operations task force" as an intelligence officer responsible for "finding high value enemy targets".



Panetta represents California's 20th congressional district, which includes all of Monterey and San Benito Counties, and parts of Santa Clara and Santa Cruz Counties. The voting population that voted him in is largely anti-war.



On their website, the Monterey Peace & Justice Center is encouraging the public to speak out against the massacre that occurred during the Land Day demonstrations, and is urging community members to contact Panetta, who they say has been "supporting Israel".



In addition to meeting with Netanyahu. the congressional delegation met with Israel's Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who told them the nation of Iran poses the greatest threat to stability in the Middle East. Lieberman also thanked the US Congress for its long-term support of Israel, and for approving this year more than $700 million for the Israeli anti-missile defense system.



The Israel Trip highlights Panetta's expertise at creating public statements that pivot from a strong advocacy for "national security" positions, and are tempered by softer, more vague statements in support of "peace".



The Land Day protests in Palestine will continue until May 15, and in the last twelve hours at least seven more Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli army, and hundreds more have been wounded by Israeli gunfire.



Jimmy Panetta remains silent.





Photo: Jimmy Panetta and the Democratic congressional delegation meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
My company, CircleCI, is a big believer in the blameless postmortemthe idea that when you discuss a project and take emotion out of the picture, you create a true learning experience. Following our migration to a microservices architecture, we had a good opportunity to run a blameless postmortem on what we did right and wrong, and what wed do differently next time. If youre thinking about starting the journey to microservices, Id like to share some advice for creating a smoother transition.

Our move away from monolithic architecture took on urgency when we had a 24-hour outage in 2015. We wanted to be cautious: Wed heard a lot of tales of poor decision-making when transitioning full-stop into microservices. On the other hand, incremental changes to architecture werent bringing the transformation we needed.

Early wins breaking up our architecture gave us confidence that this was the right direction for our team, and we decided to go all in. Almost immediately, the wheels started coming off the wagon. Engineering productivity ground to a halt. We realized we were throwing people into an unfamiliar environmentlike moving from the small-town comfort of the monolith to the unknown microservices big city.

In our post-mortem, we came up with three sources of friction in our microservices migration, and we developed ways to address them.

1. Decision-making

Analysis paralysis is being faced with a decision thats so complex that you spend ages considering all the options without pulling the trigger on anything. The solution is to make hard decisions early on, and then reduce future decision-making to exceptions onlychoosing to go in another direction only when that initial decision fails you.

In our case, we said to our engineers, Were a Clojure shop. Its not an option for you to decide what language or stack youre going to use. We all know Clojure, and it has treated us well.

In deciding to use gRPC, Postgres, Docker, and Kubernetes, we felt like we had agreed on a common stack that would serve the project. It turns out that the nuances of those decisions were more complex than we anticipated: What version of Clojure? What libraries?

While we thought we had made our important decisions upfront, we didnt anticipate the depth of decisions we were going to run intowe werent even close. So, what did we learn? We could have spent more time creating guidance upfront, but in an agile world, that isnt a great investment of time. Instead, your team needs a very clear definition of how to make decisions, who can make them, and how to share those decisions efficiently with the rest of the team. Because you cant anticipate every decision at the outset, make sure you have clear protocols to smoothly handle the unexpected.

Related video: What are microservices? A quick look Developers are finding a new way to create apps and programs. Heres a quick look at how microservices work, and what it means for IT shops and their development operations.

2. Novelty

Engineers love new stuff. Sometimes, its because the old stuff hasnt satisfactorily solved our problems, in which case it makes sense to seek new solutions. But there are times when old stuff might be the right choice for your microservices project. Moving to microservices is on its own a significant change, so limiting additional changes is a wise strategy.

At CircleCI, wed been a MongoDB shop since 2011. It was the devil we knew, as they say. But when we moved to microservices, we decided this was a good opportunity to go back to PostgreSQL, which many of us preferred. Turns out, folks didnt know Postgres as deeply as wed assumed, and this ended up creating more friction and novelty, not less.

To understand which tools and systems are being used solely because of novelty (or because of habit), uplevel communication among team members. Invest time in figuring out how youre going to roll out each tool for broader use (and for better reasons than novelty). You dont want to find out that everyone is trying to solve issues independently and running into the exact same problems, when switching to a common tool would help everyone move faster.

3. Repetition

In line with novelty, repetition is a problem that will drag down your microservices ambitions if you dont stop it in its tracks. In our case, we found out that three engineers each decided to write their own libraries to deal with the gRPC communication framework. That was two engineers worth of time wasted.

The lesson we learned was that we could use shared components for infrastructure concerns. The value of microservices is in the autonomy they unlock, but with that autonomy comes increased overhead. The key is to find the areas where the value created by shared components outweighs the overhead. But dont leave it up to individual teams to make those trade-offs; its imperative to make it someones job, so that person can assess the overall benefits to the team. Shared components that dont solve the needs of other teams dont end up being shared components.

In our case, we created guilds, which are cross-team groups built around areas of expertise. (We used Spotifys model for creating guilds.) For example, our site reliability engineering (SRE) guild has a weekly meeting that anyone can attend. When people are working on the same problemlike a gRPC library or connecting databaseswe can centralize the work.

Today, more than a year after our initial launch, were feeling the impact of microservices. Were running at five times the utilization of the previous platform, and the old operational concerns (like slow builds and outages) have largely disappeared. We were successful because we recognized that this project was an investment in engineering, not a product delivering value to customers.

Getting buy-in on this point is key when youre breaking up architecture into microservices, because youll be making a lot of upfront decisions and investments. If you choose to approach a transition like this piecemeal, be aware that youll be facing a lot of rework. Make sure to have a healthy conversation about this investment before you take the first small steps toward microservices.
Cattle Futures Grind Lower, Seeking Beef Demand Barchart - 41 minutes ago Live cattle futures ended the Tuesday session with 30 to 40 cent losses in 21 delivery months. The back months firmed up for the close, ending mostly lower but within 7 cents of UNCH. USDA confirmed... LEV21 : 122.000s (-0.33%) LEG22 : 132.325s (-0.06%) GFU21 : 154.400s (+0.10%) GFV21 : 156.125s (+0.87%)

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GOP Blocks Debt Ceiling Market Tea Leaves - Wed Sep 29, 5:19AM CDT Monday evening the GOP blocked raising the debt ceiling and the markets paid yesterday. What will we see today?

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Russia's Ambassador to Ireland has said people have been sending him letters of support after the Salisbury spy poisoning.

Yuri Filatov also said Moscow 'knows nothing' about the 'crazy' British accusation that it attacked former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter with a nerve agent in the UK last month.

His comments come after the two countries traded harsh words at a special UN meeting over the issue last night.

Ambassador Filatov saifd it was clear to him that not everyone thinks Russia is to blame.

"I have received numerous letters form Irish citizens which were very critical of situation ... including the language of their own government ... they are rejecting attempts to put the blame on someone without producing any evidence."

Meanwhile, according to doctors at Salisbury District Hospital Sergei Skripal is "responding well to treatment, improving rapidly and is no longer in a critical condition".

Dr Christine Blanshard, medical director at Salisbury District Hospital, said: "Following intense media coverage yesterday, I would like to take the opportunity to update you on the condition of the two remaining patients being treated at Salisbury District Hospital.

"Last Thursday, I informed you that Yulia Skripal's condition had improved to stable. As Yulia herself says, her strength is growing daily and she can look forward to the day when she is well enough to leave the hospital.

"Any speculation on when that date will be is just that - speculation. In the meantime, Yulia has asked for privacy while she continues to get better - something I'd like to urge the media to respect.

"I also want to update you on the condition of her father, Sergei Skripal. He is responding well to treatment, improving rapidly and is no longer in a critical condition.

"As you'll appreciate, I won't be giving any further updates at this time."

- Digital Desk
Silver hair has gone mainstream, writes Eimear Ryan, as she wonders if she should embrace the trend

My six-year-old niece is a hairdressing enthusiast. Let me do your hair! is a popular request, and one that, as an aunt, is relatively easy to fulfil. You just sit on the couch, lean back, and surrender your head. A few slightly-too-vigorous strokes of the hairbrush is the worst that can happen.

Or so I thought. During our most recent styling session, my niece started laughing. I found a white one! she said, combing through what I thought of as my brown hair. Youve loads of white ones!

At the age of 31, its time to accept the fact that Im going grey. More and more, Ive noticed silver hairs starkly shining out from between the dark ones. I didnt think Id have to worry about this for ten years or more.

While grey hair is seen as distinguished on men  see George Clooney, Richard Gere, Anderson Cooper et al  its still culturally regarded as ageing on women. Im not sure if I have the confidence to embrace my greys just yet. Is it time to start dyeing?

According to Breda OMahony, stylist at Guapa Hair Salon on Tuckey Street, Cork, those of us who are dark-haired might notice the signs earlier.

With blonde hair, you dont notice it as much, she says.

With dark hair, they stand out a lot more. So if youre dark and colouring your hair, youll notice the grey in the roots. A lot of dark-haired clients start slowly going lighter and lighter with their colour so the grey hairs arent as obvious.

This rings true for me. My dark hair is unforgiving; the greys stand out so much they may as well be neon, as far as Im concerned.

However, OMahony says this isnt necessarily the case.

I always think people take more notice of it themselves than others do.

I mention that Ive been pulling out my grey hairs as I find them, as a kind of stopgap. Is there any truth to the old wives tale that if you pull out a grey hair, ten more will grow back in its place?

Not necessarily  but pulling them out still isnt the best solution.

A lot of people pluck them out and the problem with that is when it grows, it stands out from the head. It doesnt lie flat with the rest of the hair, so then it becomes more noticeable. If you dont pluck them, theyll grow normally and be disguised by the rest of your hair.

According to OMahony, theres a more evidence-based reason for the early onset of grey hair.

I personally think its a hereditary thing, because my mom went grey at seventeen, I went grey at 17, and my son started going grey at 17. Its been exactly the same throughout the generations.

Ive read that its better to cut grey hairs rather than pluck them; still not the best advice, according to OMahony. Theyre still going to grow upwards! And when more come along, youll end up with all these short little hairs. If youre blow-drying, itll end up looking fuzzy.

She tells me that, generally speaking, she advises her clients not to fight the onset of grey hair.

Its definitely getting trendier. We have a few women that are letting their grey hair grow out. If you have a nice colour grey its worth doing, but theres a salt-and-pepper grey that, depending on the texture of the hair, mightnt look as nice. But I do think theres a lot more people embracing their grey.

While silver manes may be on trend, and dyed hair is always an option, its the in-between thats the difficulty, says OMahony.

If youre letting it grow out, theres a tricky in-between stage where you might have a few inches of colour left, she says. I encourage my clients to persevere if theyre growing it out  you can get a colour in an hour, but going with your natural shade is a more permanent solution. A lot of people think its ageing but it depends on the grey you have. If I think it wont suit you, Ill say that, but if a person wants to try it Id say definitely go for it. And you can always get your hair coloured in an hour, theres always that option.

While dyeing your hair long-term can have some adverse effects  from skin irritation to hair breakage  OMahony says it doesnt need to be this way. One option is a semi-permanent colour, which involves little to no harsh chemicals.

Semi-permanents dont create a bad condition for your hair, she says. You wouldnt get full coverage with it, but it would tone down the grey a lot. They wash out in six to eight weeks and theyre more affordable as well. Other products can be more damaging  permanent dyes would be a little bit harsher, but theyre still not terrible. Its bleaches, really, that would do the damage.

Masking, a temporary treatment to cover grey hairs around the hairline, is another option.

If theres a particular section of your hair with greys, we can blend it with the natural colour of your hair, says OMahony.

Any last advice to those looking to take the plunge and rock their grey hair?

If you go with grey, your treat might be to get it blow dried every week and then itll look great, instead of spending the money on colour.

You can also get some nice shampoos that will clean out any yellow tones to give it more of a silvery finish. If youre thinking of doing it, Id say go for it.

Grey-haired role models

Whether theyre naturally grey or dyeing their locks silver, these women are proving that grey hair can be sleek, chic and stylish...

Miranda Priestly

The most memorable character in the 2006 movie The Devil Wears Prada, Miranda Priestly (portrayed by Meryl Streep) conveys style and authority  and inspires terror in her subordinates  with her sleek silver bob. Priestly is reportedly based on Vogue editor Anna Wintour, who has yet to go grey but, on this evidence, should really consider it.

Caitlin Moran

A grey-haired role model ever since she appeared on the cover of her acclaimed 2011 feminist manifesto, How to Be a Woman, with a fabulous skunk streak in her hair. Plus, with her penchant for colourful Doc Martens and denim shorts, shes a style icon for feminist tomboys everywhere.

Joan Didion

The 83-year-old Didion has been many things in her life: A renowned essayist, a towering intellectual, the crush of a thousand English grad students and the subject of the brilliant Netflix documentary, The Center Will Not Hold. In 2015, in a delightful turn, she was one of the faces of luxury French brand Celine, rocking oversized shades and a steel-grey bob.

Zosia Mamet

Shoshanna may have been the youngest Girl, but actress Zosia Mamet flirted with granny chic in 2014 with a sharp grey power bob. Though Mamet has sported a number of hair colours down the years, from platinum blonde to her natural brown, her silver do is still our favourite.

Helen Mirren

Mirren has long been a proponent of grey hair, from adopting Elizabeth IIs iconic grey helmet for her role in The Queen (2006), to playing a colonel in 2015s Eye in the Sky. Though she occasionally goes blonde for roles (such as the 2010 action film Red), she usually flaunts her grey hair on the red carpet and beyond. Most recently, Mirren brought her icy grey locks to the runway, modelling LOreals spring/summer 2018 collection, and looked every inch the supermodel.
By Rachel Marie Walsh

Stars on the red carpet this week.

Blake Lively

Blake Lively wore Chanel to celebrate A Quiet Place, her friend John Krasinskis directorial debut, in New York.

She styles herself, drop earrings and and a big stack of crystal and steel bracelets are very much her thing.

Extending the black leather below the bust might flatter the waist more, design-wise, but she can certainly pull off horizontal stripes.

Emily Blunt

Emily Blunt is the star of her husbands film(in art as in life, Im sure).

This is the New York premiere so Prabal Gurung, who is both locally educated and politically expressive with his work (Gloria Steinem is a fan), seems the perfect choice.

This dress is part of a collection inspired by the the matriarchal Mosuo tribe of China and Indias activist Gulabi Gang.

Their common colour is pink and the embellishments echo those on saris.

Lea Seydoux

Lea Seydoux wore Louis Vuitton head-to-toe at the Paris premiere of LIle Aux Chiens.

This look got great online reviews, probably because it is such commercial ready-to-wear, i.e. not so much red-carpet exclusive as fantasy office clothes.

The smart skirt-suit is classic but Im not a fan. I understand the appeal of a pussy-bow neckline but Ill never like them.

Paz Vega

Paz Vega wore a Second Skin Company jumpsuit to the premiere of her TV drama Fugitiva in Madrid.

Maybe she was going for a theme look because between the understated gingham-print, tonal makeup and super-structured hair she is unlikely to stand out in a crowd.

Even just adding a metallic shoe would make this outfit more interesting.
Gel moisturisers, conditioners and hand creams  Rachel Marie Walsh has the low-down on the best.

Gel moisturisers

BEST BUY Simple Water Boost Hydrating Booster, 8.49

5

Gel moisturisers are semi-solid, water-based creams that spread easily and absorb quickly.

Done well, they are a light and refreshing means of hydrating skin, while delivering reparative actives.

This product category best suits normal and oily combination types, as it will not fortify dry-skins depleted moisture barrier. Simple is full of great bargain buys.

Most are cleansers but Water Boost is also one to look out for if you have combination skin. The refreshing mix of anti-inflammatory extracts and lightweight water-binders leaves skinned calm, soft, and free of greasy residue.

Kiehls Glow Formula Skin Hydrator, 34, at Debenhams.ie from April 25

2

This moisturiser debuted on the Academy Awards red carpet, where Emma Stones artist used it as makeup preparation.

It is particularly fit for that purpose, as the glow of the title refers to reflective pigment in the formula. This ingredient is not skincare.

Theres nothing wrong with a little makeup in your skincare, per se, but the amount is far greater than that of pomegranate extract, which the brand touts as its star ingredient, colouring the bottle to match.

Theres lots of willow bark extract and squalane, which are very soothing and moisturising, respectively, but ultimately theres more bottle-space on makeup and scent than not.

Clarins Hydra-Essential Moisturising Reviving Eye Mask, 33

2

This is an eye treatment with a gel-cream texture.

Like the Kiehls Hydrator above it contains makeup ingredients in which you may not wish to sleep (Clarins recommends wearing it overnight or for 10 minutes in the morning).

It also contains fragrance that can irritate skin, especially around the eyes. The three reparative and soothing extracts the brand highlights in the product info  horse chestnut, carrageenan and leaf of life  are present in meagre amounts; none make it even halfway up the ingredients list (written in descending order of content).

Clinique Moisture Surge 72-Hour Auto- Replenishing Hydrator, 34

4

This pink gel-cream is sold as a supercharged version of Cliniques original Moisture Surge.

The promise of 72-hour wear is silly, as no woman is going to go three days without washing, but it does have a richer, more protective texture than the look suggests.

The formula has a lot of reparative green tea and ladys thistle, plenty of soothing aloe extract and a moderate amount of hyaluronic acid.

A tube or bottle package would do a better job of keeping all these great ingredients stable. It is fragrance- and alcohol-free and best suits normal to dry skin.

Leave-in conditioner

Moroccan Oil Mending Infusion, 32.22 at feelunique.com

5

This treatment is named for its ability to smooth split-ends (physically remaking them is impossible) using silicones, argan oil and several plants.

The infusion is superfood-based quinoa and baobab seed extracts and the plant collagen galactoarabinan and helps fortify lengths.

Camellia oil enhances softness and shine. Like most of this brands conditioners, Mending Infusion is lavender-scented.

It is a lovely conditioner for medium-to-thick hair, but dont count on repaired ends.

Grow Gorgeous Full Bodied Volumising Leave-in Conditioner, 18

3

Grow Gorgeous was seeded by Deciem, the no-frills Canadian beauty company that started The Ordinary, but unlike their skincare sister, do not seem to prioritise real benefits over scent.

The conditioner is packed with wheat protein. This does indeed leave hair full-bodied, but also starts to feel like build-up if you dont use clarifying shampoo sometimes.

The third most prevalent ingredient is perfume. This doesnt improve condition and in fact there is little here in great enough amount to hydrate hair or create great shine.

Briogeo Rosarco Milk Reparative Leave-In Conditioning Spray, 20.75 at BeautyBay.com

5

Briogeo is one for natural beauty-lovers. This conditioning milk is 98% naturally derived and free from silicones, parabens, phthalates and sulfates.

Infused with rosehip, argan, and coconut oils, the formula remains light and creates no gunky buildup.

It leaves hair soft and manageable and smells of citrus fruits. This is not a styling tool, per se, but it certainly helps make the most of your natural texture.

BEST BUY Bleach London Leave It, Yeah Conditioning Potion, 6.85 at CultBeauty.co.uk

5

This brand has a couple of products available at Boots, but this spray is currently online only. It is definitely worth the wait.

Bleach is, as the name suggests, a colour-focused company and this formula contains film-forming polyquaternium compounds thought to extend your shades vibrancy, even if you wash daily.

It also has wheat and silk amino acids to boost and strengthen strands, respectively, and plenty of softening coconut extract.

SPF hand creams

BEST BUY Neutrogena Norwegian Formula Visibly Renew Elasti-Boost Hand Cream SPF 20, 6.49

5

UV rays cause some 90% of non-DNA related skin-ageing. Hands, like the neck and decolletage, are areas we think of less than the face, so keeping a tube of this in your glove compartment is a good idea.

The formula is a bargain, packed with shea butter and reparative soy, as well as broad-spectrum sun protection.

The emollient base forms a rich moisture barrier and is sensitive-skin friendly.

Ultrasun Anti-Pigmentation Hand Cream SPF30, 20.46 at Escentual.com

5

Swiss suncare brand Ultrasun offers lots of lovely ways to keep your skin safe, and this one comes with side-benefits.

UV protection is itself anti-pigmentation but combined with the fruit-based antioxidants in this formula also works to repair existent damage.

Plant waxed form a comforting moisture barrier that wont bother sensitive types. Unlike most hand creams, this formula is water-resistant, which prolongs the efficacy of the UV filters.

LOccitane en Provence Almond Velvet Hands Broad Spectrum SPF15, 21

4

There is a lot to like about this cream. Sweet almond oil is indeed helpful in keeping hands velvety, as are the glycerin and sunflower, Vitamin E oils in the mix.

The brand is generous with these ingredients, which also function as antioxidants that can help protect against free radical damage when paired with daily, broad spectrum sun protection.

The formula is mildly fragranced enough to be sensitive-skin friendly.

My only issue is the weak sun protection. Factor 15 is pretty flimsy, even in a product one applies as frequently as hand cream.

Dr Ceuticals Hand De-Age Cream SPF15, 12.99

2

This one has the same weak protection, as well as very little content that serves to de-age skin.

The fragrant ingredients far outnumber the lone antioxidant, sea daffodil, which falls near the bottom of the ingredients list.
The Rev Martin Luther King fought for many issues throughout his life as a minister and the leader of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, speaking out against various barriers holding back black people, Hispanics, Asian Americans, and Native Americans.

Fifty years after his assassination, some of these barriers have fallen  but others remain. Here is a look at five civil rights issues King addressed in his lifetime and where they stand now:

SEGREGATION

Four days after Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama, city bus, King exhorted a crowd at the Holt Street Baptist Church to launch a bus boycott.

Now let us go out to stick together and stay with this thing until the end, he told the thousands gathered at the church that day in 1955.

A US federal court ended racial segregation on Montgomery public buses, elevating King into the national spotlight. Years later, he stood behind president Lyndon Johnson at the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which banned segregation in public places and employment discrimination on the basis of race or national origin.

Still, Kings legacy concerning desegregation remains mixed, according to Gordon Mantler, a professor at George Washington University.

Yes, the traditional spaces like lunch counters and restrooms were integrated, said Mantler.

But some lunch counters were shut down and public pools became private.

And while schools became largely integrated in the 1980s, many have resegregated. In 1988, for example, about 44% of black students went to majority-white schools nationally. Only 20% of black students do so today, according to a study examining the nation 50 years after the release of the landmark 1968 Kerner Report.

The Kerner Report came from a commission created by Johnson in 1967 to examine the causes of urban riots in the 1960s. It blamed them largely on poverty, joblessness, and tension with police and minority communities.

VOTING

Kings participation in the 90km march from Selma, Alabama, to the state capital of Montgomery elevated awareness about the troubles blacks faced in registering to vote.

Johnson addressed a special session of Congress after marchers were attacked by white mobs and police, successfully urging lawmakers to pass the Voting Rights Act.

Here, Mantler said King achieved a lasting effect. By the 1970s and 1980s, the American South had elected thousands of blacks to various offices, compared to almost none in the 1950s.

Black and Latino coalitions sprouted in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and Houston to elect people of colour to local and federal offices  and eventually aided in electing the nations first black president.

POVERTY

King was assassinated in Memphis while coming to the aid of striking sanitation workers. He was also in the midst of organising the Poor Peoples March on Washington, a campaign that sought to highlight the economic and human rights of poor citizens of all ethnic backgrounds struggling with poverty.

Former senator Fred Harris of Oklahoma, the last surviving member of the Kerner Commission, said the fight to reduce poverty remains one of Kings most significant unfinished works. There are far more people who are poor now than was true 50 years ago, said Harris. Inequality of income is worse.

The percentage of people living in deep poverty  less than half of the federal poverty level  has increased since 1975, according to a study marking the 50th anniversary of the Kerner Report.

About 46% of people living in poverty in 2016 were classified as living in deep poverty  16 percentage points higher than in 1975.

Rev William J Barber II, a Goldsboro, North Carolina, pastor who is leading a multi-ethnic Poor Peoples Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival this year, said tackling poverty remains a moral obligation for the nation.

After 50 years, we still have work to do, he said.

HOUSING

During Kings lifetime, landlords could refuse to rent to black people and Latinos, and racial covenants and redlining allowed people of colour to be excluded from buying homes in certain neighbourhoods.

After Kings assassination, Johnson asked Congress to pass the long-stalled Fair Housing Act, which banned refusing to rent or sell housing based on race, religion, sex, disability, familial status, or national origin.

In the decades after the acts passage, black homeownership rose by almost six percentage points. But those gains were wiped out from 2000 to 2015, when black homeownership fell six percentage points.

Harris, the former senator, said black people were disproportionately affected by the subprime loan crisis of the late 2000s, which contributed to the further racial and economic segregation of neighbourhoods, especially in urban areas.

WAR

I oppose the war in Vietnam because I love America, King told an audience at New Yorks Riverside Church in 1967. I speak out against this war, not in anger, but with anxiety and sorrow in my heart, and, above all, with a passionate desire to see our beloved country stand as the moral example of the world.

King had concluded that militarism, like poverty, was stalling the US from living up to its ideals. And Mantler said King felt it ultimately could lead to fascism.

Today, the US remains involved in the war of Afghanistan, and maintains military bases around the world.

Mantler said the nation did not heed Kings warning that war damages the nations moral authority.

Both parties fight to give more money to the Pentagon, Mantler said. It hasnt changed.

And that support for militarism often comes at the expense of fighting poverty, he said.
America loathes marchers but loves martyrs, writes Jesse Jackson, and that fatal bullet in Memphis 50 years ago made Martin Luther King Jr a martyr for the ages.

As we commemorate the 50th anniversary of the assassination of the Reverend Martin Luther King, we cannot merely dwell on how he died, but also on how he lived.

He mobilised mass action to win a public accommodations bill and the right to vote. He led the Montgomery bus boycott and navigated police terror in Birmingham.

He got us over the bloodstained bridge in Selma and survived the rocks and bottles and hatred in Chicago. He globalised our struggle to end the war in Vietnam.

How he lived is why he died.

As he sought to move beyond desegregation and the right to vote and to focus on economic justice, antimilitarism and human rights, the system pushed back hard.

In the last months of his life, he was attacked by the US government, the press, former allies and the military industrial complex. Even black Democrats turned their backs on him when he challenged the partys support for the war in Vietnam.

A growing number of Americans had a negative view of Dr King in the final years of his life, according to public opinion polls. A man of peace, he died violently. A man of love, he died hated by many.

America loathes marchers but loves martyrs. The bullet in Memphis made Dr King a martyr for the ages.

We owe it to Dr King  and to our children and grandchildren  to commemorate the man in full: A radical, ecumenical, antiwar, pro-immigrant and scholarly champion of the poor who spent much more time marching and going to jail for liberation and justice than he ever spent dreaming about it.

This is a painful time of the year for me because it is when I am asked to remember the most traumatic night in my life.

We had come to Memphis in 1968 to support striking sanitation workers in their fight for better wages and safer working conditions.

On the evening of April 4, Dr King was going to take a group of us, including the Rev Ralph Abernathy, Andy Young, Hosea Williams and Bernard Lee, to dinner at the home of the Rev Billy Kyles, not far from where we were staying, the Lorraine Motel.

Police stand with civil rights leaders Ralph Abernathy, Andrew Young, and Jesse Jackson, and others on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel over body of slain American civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Pic: Joseph Louw/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images

As we prepared to go, Dr King cheerfully admonished me, the youngest of the group, for not being suitably dressed for the evening. I wasnt wearing a tie. Doc, the only prerequisite for dinner, I joked back, is an appetite, not a tie. We laughed. Dr King loved to laugh.

After dinner, we were going to attend a rally for the sanitation workers. I had brought the Operation Breadbasket Orchestra from Chicago to play at the rally.

Dr King, always the hottest ticket in any town, was scheduled to speak. Hed be hard pressed, though, to top the speech he gave the night before at the Mason Temple in Memphis, where he pledged that we, as a people, will get to the promised land.

It was raining cats and dogs, but the Mason Temple, part of the Church of God in Christ, was nearly full. I was sitting behind Dr King on the pulpit.

He spoke with such pathos and passion that I saw grown men wiping away tears in the sanctuary.

Im not worried about anything, Dr King told the crowd of about 3,000. Im not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.

None of us took those words as a premonition. We had heard similar sentiments from him before. Maybe we were in denial.

While danger was all around, we never thought the Martin Luther King we knew and loved, admitted to Morehouse College at 15, graduated and ordained at 19, a PhD at 26, awarded the Nobel Peace Prize at 35, would be dead at 39.

On April 4, the fatal shot rang out just after 6pm as we were about to get into the cars to go to dinner. Dr King was on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel. I was in the parking lot below.

A couple of hours later, Mr Abernathy, Dr Kings successor, gathered us at the Lorraine. By then much of urban America had already moved from shock and sorrow to rage and flames.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at a meeting in Queens, N.Y., on March 26, 1968. Pic: John Orris/The New York Times

We had a choice: surrender to our own anguish and anger, or honour the slain prince of peace by picking up the baton of nonviolent direct action.

With deep breaths, the baton firmly in our hands, we went to Resurrection City, the tent city erected by Dr Kings Poor Peoples Campaign in Washington, and continued the work of ending poverty and the war. As the Rev Joseph Lowery said, we would not let one bullet kill the movement.

Dr Kings spirit has been our moral guidepost for 50 years. That spirit is alive today with the high school students of Parkland, Florida, as they push the country toward sensible gun control.

It is alive with the teachers of West Virginia, who are blazing a trail for other workers.

It is alive with Black Lives Matter, the Dreamers, Colin Kaepernick and thousands of African-American voters who defied the pundits and sent an Alabama Democrat to the Senate for the first time in a generation.

It is alive with the Rev William Barber as he resurrects Dr. Kings last crusade, the Poor Peoples Campaign.

He bequeathed African-Americans the will to resist and the right to vote. Yet while we were marching and winning, the powers of reaction were regrouping, preparing a counter revolution.

Five decades ago, a segregationist governor, George Wallace, peddled hate and division in reaction to the civil rights movement. Today, it is the president himself who is inciting anguish, bigotry and fear.

We are in a battle for the soul of America, and its not enough to admire Dr King. To admire him is to reduce him to a mere celebrity. It requires no commitment, no action.

Those who value justice and equality must have the will and courage to follow him. They must be ready to sacrifice.

The struggle continues.

The Rev Jesse Jackson, a former aide to Martin Luther King, is the founder and president of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition.

Copyright 2018 The New York Times
By Adrian Sainz and Kristin M Hall

Clara Esters eyes were fixed on the Rev Martin Luther King as he stood on the concrete balcony of the Lorraine Motel.

King was in Memphis to support a sanitation workers strike, and Ester, a college student, had been marching alongside the strikers as they sought better pay and working conditions.

She and some friends had gone to the motel for a catfish dinner when she saw King chatting happily, not far from where she stood.

Then Ester heard the shot. It was 6.01pm on April 4, 1968.

Im still looking at him, Ester recalled. He looked like he was lifted up and thrown back on the pavement. Next thing I remember, I was stepping over his body, and Im noticing that hes struggling for air.

Kings death changed the world and altered the lives of those who lived through it. Some would spend the rest of their lives fighting for racial equality and economic justice. Others, including Ester, would struggle to come to terms with what they saw.

King had won victories on desegregation and voting rights and had been planning his Poor Peoples Campaign when he turned his attention to Memphis, the gritty city by the Mississippi River.

On February 1, 1968, two sanitation workers were crushed when a garbage truck compactor malfunctioned, sparking a strike by about 1,300 black sanitation workers weary of horrible working conditions and racist treatment in the dirtiest of municipal jobs.

The words that would come to signify their protest  I Am a Man  were not a given with everyone in Memphis at that time.

We didnt have a place to shower, wash our hands, nothing, said Elmore Nickleberry, who at 86 still drives a truck for the department.

King tried to lead a peaceful march on March 28, but it turned violent. Storefront windows were smashed, and police wielded clubs and tear gas.

King went back to Atlanta but vowed to return to show non-violent protest still worked. Criticism mounted in the press. He was suffering headaches and feeling depressed.

He met with his advisers, said the Rev Jesse Jackson, and talked himself out of the depression. He flew back to Memphis on the morning of April 3.

Mike Cody was among the lawyers working to persuade a judge to lift an injunction against a new march who met with King in his motel room.

King felt strongly that unless he could get a success here in Memphis, with these workers using nonviolent, civil disobedience, then he would never get the Poor Peoples March in Washington that summer, said Cody, 82.

Cody was in the crowd that evening at the Mason Temple. Though King was ill, Rev Ralph Abernathy asked him to address the thousands who turned out despite a thunderstorm.

Its a tin roof, so thats banging. Theres rafters up there above us, and the rafters are blowing with the wind and hitting each other and hitting the walls from the fierceness of the wind and the rain, said Rev James Lawson, a civil rights activist.

With little preparation, King delivered a speech that, in retrospect, seemed to foretell his death:

Well, I dont know what will happen now; weve got some difficult days ahead. But it really doesnt matter to me now, because Ive been to the mountaintop.

When he finished, King slumped into a chair. He looked to Cody like a toy that had the air taken out of it. Ministers, men were crying, said Jackson.

Cody went to court the next day with King aide Andrew Young, then dropped Young back at the Lorraine Motel in the late afternoon.

King had spent most of the day in meetings. He asked Young where hed been and then threw a pillow at him. Then everybody picked up pillows and beat me up, said Young.

All of us were in our 30s, and we were acting like 12-year-olds. But it was the happiest I had seen him in a long time.

As dinner approached, King and his friends moved to the motel balcony. King turned to a bandleader who was standing nearby and made a request: Later, could he play his favourite song, Take My Hand, Precious Lord?

Then: Pow! A bullet, recalled Jackson, pointing to the right side of his own face.

At first I thought it was a firecracker or car backfiring, said Young.

Jackson ran towards the balcony steps. Someone said, Doc has been shot, and Get low, said Jackson.

Earl Caldwell, a New York Times reporter who had interviewed King on the balcony the previous day, ran out of his motel room in his boxer shorts. I was thinking, It was a bomb. It was a bomb. Because the noise was greater than a gun, he said.

Sirens blared. People screamed. Police rushed to the motel.

King was rushed to St Josephs Hospital, where college student John Billings worked as a surgical assistant on the night shift.

Three doctors came over and walked to where I was standing. They said, OK Billings, go find somebody in charge and tell them that Dr King has expired, he said.

Billings was then ordered to stay with Kings body until someone could come get him. I walked over, pulled the sheet back, and there he was, said Billings. His eyes were closed. I thought, How strange this is.

Security was heavy when Dr Jerry Francisco, the Shelby County medical examiner, arrived.

Men holding shotguns stood inside and outside the room. After the 90-minute autopsy, Francisco drove home through a city that had been placed under curfew, for fear of rioting.

The streets were just virtually empty. I was the only car moving on the street, he said, recalling that it was eerie.

Coby Smith, a leader of the Invaders organisation, which had a militant reputation, vividly remembers the aftermath, when tanks rolled into neighbourhoods, the National Guard was called in, and police began arresting blacks in the streets.

(Police) had put tape over their badges, said Smith. This was like a war.
In France, a 3D model of a clitoris is passed around primary and secondary schools during sex education classes. Oh thats just the sexually-liberated French for ya, you might say, writes Joyce Fegan.

The anatomically correct model was, however, only introduced in August 2016, following a damning report by the French government into the state of sex education there.

So it appears we arent the only ones in need of revolutionising how we talk to our young people about sex.

The thing about the French and their information around the clitoris is, unlike all other organs in the human body, the clitoriss central role is one of pleasure. This is where we fall down.

After all, who wants to talk to their student or child about sex for pleasure? But, for the most part, our young people are not exploring each others bodies with procreation in mind.

We all need to grow up when it comes to talking about sex. And first off, and most importantly, we need to stop seeing is as wrong or dirty or shameful.

We are sexual beings. If we make out that sex is dirty and shameful, or is forbidden, all we do is ensure we dont talk about it. Our historic catholic roots have ensured we dont talk sex and our bodies, says child psychotherapist Joanna Fortune.

We have generations of shame around sex to overcome. When we dont talk about something it becomes secretive and then it becomes shameful by default. We grew up with the message that only married people had sex and only for procreation purposes.

However, very young children will instinctually explore their own body for pleasure.

Very small children start exploring their own body and discover it feels good. Its important not to say: Oh, thats dirty. Dont shame them, says Ms Fortune.

As parents begin this conversation its important they dont shy away from sex as a healthy expression of the human condition, she adds.

In terms of developmental stages, three to five-year-olds are intensely curious about other peoples bodies and questions about why someone has hair where someone else does not, are perfectly normal.

By the time children reach their early teens, their hormones are in overdrive and they are already experiencing pressure from peers about who is kissing who, explains Ms Fortune.

To ratchet it up a notch in the reality stakes, masturbation and fantasy are very common at this age too, states the psychotherapist.

By the teenage years, the sex-ed conversation must absolutely include pleasure and mutual consent. Its OK to experience the body as pleasurable and not shameful. I have so much empathy for parents here as it isnt a conversation you ever imagine having with your child, but in this day and age, but if you dont the internet will.

Speaking of the internet and to bring in another voice here, lets talk to Shawna Scott who runs Sex Siopa, an online sex shop based in Ireland. Ms Scotts business places her at the forefront of Irish sexuality.

Her clients range greatly in age and her most sought after items include lubricant, vibrators and a book called Bare, which is currently sold out. Bare details the sexual fantasies of real Irish women.

She extremely realistic when it comes to sex education.

Teachers are parents dont want to have to talk to students about sex for pleasure but the vast majority of sex that people have is for pleasure and not reproduction.

Shawna Scott

We have to talk about sex for pleasure so that way we make sure everyone is having a safe and pleasurable time, because at the minute we are teaching about sex in terms of damage control and pregnancy prevention instead of being positive and proactive, says Ms Scott.

Much like Ms Fortune she attributes our reluctance to talk about sex to shame and how conversations lead to the perfect storm of awkwardness.

Parents dont want to talk to kids about sex and kids dont want to be spoken to about sex by their parents. No one wants to imagine the other having sex and it creates the perfect storm of awkwardness, says Ms Scott.

So where does this leave us? We have human beings exploring each others bodies, as is perfectly natural, but only a handful of people talking about it because the rest of us are too embarrassed to, so we put our heads in the sand?

This is where porn enters the debate. If we arent openly discussing sex, pleasure and our bodies in healthy and realistic ways, then information will be sourced elsewhere.

From her work with secondary school students Ms Fortune is acutely aware that pornography is part of our young peoples sex education.

Its fantasy-based, thats its intention. If our young people look at that without critical thinking and emotional intelligence they think that is what sex is.

If you think sex is a hard topic to broach with your young person, then porn is an even harder one. But not talking about one, inevitably leads you to the other.

I would argue, because of the culture our young people have grown up in, that they experience far less shame around their bodies than the older generations.

They have grown up in a culture where contraception was legal, my parents did not. They were born into a society where homosexuality was legal, I was born into one where it was not. They have been born into a country now discussing abortion in terms of healthcare, as opposed to a moral sin.

It is absolutely crucial that we do not take the usual instinctive approach, as is common in most shame-based cultures, and start beating ourselves up because we are too ashamed to address sex and pleasure with our young people.

We need to have empathy for where we have come from. We need to address our own shame around sex and understand where it came from.

And in the irony of all ironies we need to forgive ourselves for the shame we feel, when it comes to the human body and its plethora of functions.
Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has defied an order to turn himself in to police as he hunkered down with supporters at a metallurgical union that was the spiritual birthplace of his rise to power.

The once wildly-popular leader, who rose from poverty to lead Latin America's largest nation, had until 5pm local time to present himself to police in the city of Curitiba to begin serving a sentence of 12 years and one month for a corruption conviction.

At 5pm, however, da Silva remained inside the union with party leaders saying he planned to address supporters.

Federal judge Sergio Moro, seen by many in Brazil as a crusader against endemic graft, issued an order for da Silva's arrest on Thursday so he would begin serving a sentence of 12 years and one month for a corruption conviction.

Three hours before the deadline, it remained to be seen whether da Silva would comply, or instead wait for authorities to pick him up.

The latter would be a logistical nightmare given the thousands of supporters outside and heavy Friday traffic in Sao Paulo, South America's largest city.

Two sources close to da Silva told The Associated Press the former leader would not to go to Curitiba, but instead was considering either waiting for police at the union or presenting himself in Sao Paulo.

"I don't see why he should turn himself in just because judge Moro had an anxiety crisis," Senator Lindbergh Farias, from the Workers' Party, told journalists at the union.

He added: "I think they should have to go through the embarrassment of coming here and taking him in front of all these people.

"That footage will be seen around the world and it will be historic."

Judge Moro's warrant came after Brazil's top court, the Supreme Federal Tribunal, voted 6-5 to deny a request by the former president to stay out of prison while he appealed a conviction he contends was simply a way to keep him off the ballot in October's election.

The 72-year-old is the front-running presidential candidate despite his conviction.

In a statement, Mr Moro said he was giving da Silva the opportunity to come in of his own accord because he had been Brazil's president.

He also said a special cell away from other inmates had been prepared for da Silva at the jail in Curitiba, where Mr Moro ordered da Silva to present himself.

Last year, he convicted da Silva of trading favors with a construction company in exchange for the promise of a beachfront apartment. That conviction was upheld by an appeals court in January.

The speed with which Mr Moro issued the warrant surprised many, as legal observers said there were technicalities from da Silva's upheld appeal that would not be sorted out until next week.

Such technicalities "were simply a pathology that should be eliminated from the judicial world", Mr Moro said in his statement.

A Brazilian judge ordered the arrest of former president Lula da Silva on Thursday https://t.co/PJjS7rgmlG #tictocnews pic.twitter.com/OTXNqxeIuu  Bloomberg Quicktake (@Quicktake) April 5, 2018

Late on Thursday, thousands gathered outside the metallurgical union in Sao Bernardo do Campo where the ex-president, universally known as "Lula", got his start as a union organiser.

Hundreds spent the night sleeping on the street and early on Friday, da Silva waved to supporters from a window at the union but did not speak.

"Why are they in a rush to arrest him?" said former President Dilma Rousseff, who succeeded da Silva and in 2016 was impeached and ousted from office.

"They fear that Lula would get a favorable decision in (a higher appeals) court. That is part of the coup that removed me from the presidency."

However it happens, the jailing of da Silva will mark a colossal fall from grace for a man who rose to power against steep odds in one of the world's most unequal countries.

Born in the hardscrabble northeast, da Silva rose through the ranks of the union in the country's industrial south.

In 1980, during the military dictatorship, da Silva was arrested in Sao Bernardo do Campo for organising strikes. He would spend more than a month in jail.

After running for president several times, in 2002 da Silva finally won. He governed from 2003 to 2010, leaving office a world celebrity and with approval ratings in the high 80s.

Former US president Barack Obama once called da Silva the "most popular politician on Earth".

Since leaving office, things have steadily gotten worse for the leader, who has been charged in several corruption cases.

He has always maintained his innocence while continuing to campaign across the country the past year.

Despite his legal troubles, he leads preference polls to return to office - if by some chance he is allowed to run.

Like so much in a nation that has become deeply polarised, the fact da Silva would soon be behind bars was being interpreted differently by supporters and detractors.

"Brazil scored a goal against impunity and corruption," said Congressman Jair Bolsonaro, a right-leaning former army captain who is second in the polls after da Silva.

"Lula is one of us. He knows what it is like to have a tough life and loves the poor more than the rich," said Antonio Ferreira dos Santos, a 43-year-old bricklayer who was keeping vigil outside the union.

Workers' Party leaders insist da Silva would still be the party's candidate in October.

Technically, beginning to serve his sentence would not keep da Silva off the ballot.

In August, the country's top electoral court makes final decisions about candidacies. It was expected to deny da Silva's candidacy under Brazil's "clean slate" law, which disqualifies people who have had criminal convictions upheld.

However, da Silva could appeal such a decision, though doing so from jail would be more complicated.

Da Silva is the latest of many high-profile people to be ensnared in possibly the largest corruption scandal in Latin American history.

Over the last four years, Brazilians have experienced near weekly police operations and arrests of the elite, from top politicians to businessmen like former Odebrecht CEO Marcelo Odebrecht.

Investigators uncovered a major scheme in which construction companies essentially formed a cartel that doled out inflated contracts from state oil company Petrobras, paying billions in kickbacks to politicians and businessmen.

While Mr Moro, who oversees many cases in the so-called "Operation Car Wash", is hailed as a hero by many, others see him as a partisan hit man out to get da Silva and the Workers' Party.

Da Silva was convicted in July of helping a construction company get sweetheart contracts in exchange for the promise of the apartment.

He denies any wrongdoing in that case or in several other corruption cases that have yet to be tried.

An appeals court upheld the conviction in January and even lengthened the sentence to 12 years and one month.

- Press Association and Digital Desk
Seven people have been arrested over a spate of nitrous oxide thefts after an attempted raid on an NHS hospital, UK police said.

A woman and six men, all from Norwich in Norfolk, were held after Cannock Chase Hospital was targeted in the early hours of Friday, Staffordshire Police said.

It followed a spate of thefts of nitrous oxide - which is also known as laughing gas or hippy crack - from medical sites in the county.

The drug, used medically as a painkiller and anaesthetic, has become a popular recreational drug.

Police said the seven - a woman aged 47 and men aged between 20 and 39 - were arrested when officers swooped on three cars in Winson Green in Birmingham.

Chief Inspector Sarah Wainwright said: "These arrests are a result of shared intelligence and collaborative working between Staffordshire Police and our colleagues at West Midlands Police, Norfolk Constabulary and the Central Motorway Police Group."

The attempted burglary at the hospital took place at around 1.30am on Friday.

We've arrested six men and a woman in connection with a spate of thefts of nitrous oxide cylinders at medical premises across Staffordshire. https://t.co/whwjVfsR6H pic.twitter.com/elNewVxjRt  Staffordshire Police (@StaffsPolice) April 7, 2018

It followed the theft of two oxygen cylinders from Stafford County Hospital at a similar time on April 4th, after thieves gained entry to a store room, police revealed earlier this week.

Earlier on April 4th, at 12.30am, there was an attempted burglary at Cannock Chase when a man got into an outbuilding.

Prior to that, in the early hours of March 31st, Cannock Chase had again been the target as three men in dark clothing forced their way into a store room and took 13 bottles of nitrous oxide before making off in a silver Peugeot 307.

- Digital Desk and Press Association
Counter-terror officers have arrested a 55-year-old man at Gatwick Airport.

The suspect was held on suspicion of encouraging terrorism and dissemination of terrorist publications after flying into the UK from Morocco, police said.

Scotland Yard said he was arrested shortly after 11am on Saturday and is in custody at a police station in south London.

The Metropolitan Police said in a statement: "On Saturday April 7, detectives from the Met's counter-terrorism command arrested a 55-year-old man on suspicion of encouragement of terrorism and dissemination of terrorist publications, contrary to the Terrorism Act 2006."

- Press Association
The multi-agency group, led by Tusla, has only met three times since it was established in May 2015, but is supposed to meet every three months.

The revelation follows the publication last month of a highly critical report by the Garda Inspectorate, highlighting the States continuing failure to establish regional child centres providing all services  medical, policing, and therapeutic  for sexually abused children. The inspectorate called for these centres back in 2012.

The National Steering Committee for Sexual Abuse Services was tasked with setting up four of these centres, in addition to providing national multiagency oversight, co-ordinating regional responses, and establishing three forensic examination centres, in Cork, Dublin, and Galway.

This committee replaced the HSE Ferns 4 Steering Committee, set up in 2011, which was also tasked with developing these services.

Cari, a charity for abused children, is on the steering group. Chief executive Mary Flaherty criticised the lack of progress and said the steering process was not working. Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, gave details on the national group to the Irish Examiner on the back of questions submitted after the publication of the Responding to Child Sexual Abuse report by the inspectorate a month ago.

That report said: Even though there appear to be commitments at very high levels in the Garda Siochana and Tusla to develop child centres, there are still no centres of any type or model in operation and there has been very little progress in the last five years.

Asked when it was due to meet again, Tusla said the committee would now be reviewed by the inter-departmental implementation group which the Government announced after the inspectorates report. Tusla said a multi-agency group had been established to develop a service in Tusla West, stretching from Limerick to Donegal. Ms Flaherty said this group was the most comprehensive of the four regions, but moving at a snails pace.

She said the intention to set up a service in Galway was logical as it already had a specialist 24-hour forensic examination centre for children  the only dedicated service, she said, in the country, compared to six units for adults.

She said there were more than 70 children in Limerick on a waiting list for up to 18 months. There are two assessment and therapy services in Dublin  in Temple Street Hospital and St Louises Unit in Crumlin.

In May 2016, Tusla said it was developing a specialist multidisciplinary service in North Dublin, Louth/Meath, Cavan/Monaghan region. Ms Flaherty said this group, which Cari also sits on, does not involve the gardai (unlike Tusla West) and had now lapsed, having not met for almost a year.

She said Cari had 30 children in Dublin on a list who, at present capacity, would be waiting close to a year for a service. Her colleague, Eve Farrelly, said waiting times for children were unacceptable.

The National Childrens Hospital will have a forensic examination service when it opens in 2021. Ms Flaherty said it was not clear what was happening in the Southern or the South Dublin/Midland regions, and Tusla did not provide information on them. On the implementation group, she said someone had to crack the nut around leadership.

The Department of Children and Youth Affairs said governance and logistics for the centres would be addressed in the Implementation Group.

The inspectorate report said joint interviews of child victims by a social worker and garda had ceased and there were only 16 trained social workers. Tusla said 52 social workers are expected to be trained by end of 2019.

Cari: 1890 92 45 67
Monaghan GP IIlona Duffy said there were six suicide patients in her practice over the last five years.

Speaking at the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) conference in Killarney, Co Kerry, Dr Duffy said she had personal dealings with all of the patients who had taken their lives.

She had gone to three of the patients who died by suicide to pronounce their death.

There was no counselling provided to me at any stage, she said. And I am sure that, for many of us here, it is the very same.

Dr Duffy said the death of a patient by suicide had affected her and it was something she would always remember.

There were several simple measures that could be taken, such as debriefing after trauma, she said.

Earlier, medical director of the Practitioner Health Matters Programme, Ide Delargy, said that the strictly confidential service helped doctors suffering from stress and burnout.

However, doctors were referred on to the Medical Council if a doctor was non-compliant, there was a concern about a practitioners health or there was an imminent risk to the doctor, patients or the public.

Dr Delargy said the service was free of charge for all doctors and deliberately so because doctors under stress for one reason or another were often experiencing financial difficulties as well.

Our experience is that practitioners, instead of seeking help, try to self-manage and self-direct, she said.

They resort to either alcohol and/or other substances to manage their stress, burnout, unhappiness or mental health problems, and that compounds things even further.

Dr Delargy said small and persistent changes in a doctorss performance needed to be taken seriously.

Usually the workplace is the last place where signs of impairment will appear, she said.

Behind the scenes there would be real chaos, said Dr Delargy.

One of the best things you could do for a colleague is point them in the direction of help, she said.

It can be life-changing as well as career-changing for many of our colleagues.

Dr Delargy also referred to the Practitioner Health Matters Programmes 2017 report. It shows that 58% of doctors who had been helped had mental health problems, 29% were suffering from substance abuse and 13% were suffering from a combination of substance abuse and mental health problems.

She said that the programmes success rate was very good.

No matter how difficult the problem is, over 80% of doctors can get back working safely and well, she said.

However, prevention was better than cure and they were working hard on raising awareness of the programme and the importance of early intervention, she said.

The healers also need healing, said Dr Delargy.
In the army, a battalion which usually has a full complement of 25 officers from all ranks is reportedly being run by four junior officers.

Former servicemen have said that they will march to the Dail to highlight the poor pay and conditions endured by their serving colleagues.

Applications for navy recruitment began in September and initially generated 814 expressions of interest. However, most of the applicants dropped out, while many more failed the psychometric test (intelligence test) and the medical/interview.

PDForra president Mark Keane, whose association represents soldiers, sailors, and the air corps, said a maximum of 26 recruits are expected to report for duty at the naval base on Monday. Recruit classes normally consist of 48 personnel, he said.

We have upwards of 60 people departing this year, that we know of, and that figure could be higher as therell be others who decide to get out early, he said. So now were not even keeping pace, we are going backwards. Its a crisis.

We need young blood. If we dont have the numbers we require, it just puts an ever-increasing burden on everyone else.

There is also a critical shortage of engineers and chefs in the naval service, a major lack of air corps pilots, and air-traffic controllers, and army bomb-disposal and cybersecurity experts.

PDForra had warned that the number of people expressing interest in a military career was dropping and, if the trend continues, it would cause serious issues.

There were two general service recruitment drives in 2017. In March last year, 5,210 applications were submitted. That dropped to 2,954 by September.

Independent senator Gerard Craughwell, a former member of the Defence Forces, said he was aware of the battalion which had been stripped of its senior officers. His disclosure was also confirmed by two reliable military sources.

The army, navy, and air corps are down to their lowest number of officers since 1969.

Mr Craughwell said it is critical to retain experienced personnel and that the matter is not being addressed swiftly enough by the Department of Defence, even hough it had been warned repeatedly by the Defence Forces representative associations.

He said that was crystal clear from a University of Limerick report in 2016, compiled following more than 600 interviews with military personnel of all ranks.

Noel OCallaghan, a retired regimental sergeant major, among those organising a Dail march, said he enjoyed his 43 years in the Defence Forces.

I wouldnt recommend it to any young lad now, he said. Its the cheapest job you can get next to Jobsbridge.

Defence Minister Paul Kehoe said he had made a case with the Public Service Pay Commission to secure higher wages to help retain certain Defence Forces specialists.

The department said it is preparing a comprehensive report for the commission which will address recruitment and retention.
The fifth-year physics students at St Flannans College in Ennis have been given the chance to present their space elevator project to industry experts at an international conference if they can get the trip funded.

The opportunity arises from the schools tradition of participation in a NASA competition that invites students to design space settlements and related material.

The St Flannans entry this year was EcoRise, centred around the concept of a space elevator capable of providing much cheaper access to the moon than currently possible. The elevator would run from a base on earth, using cables of super-strong nano-tubes of carbon, to be extracted from atmospheric carbon dioxide.

We wanted to do something to reduce climate change. We had to do an awful lot of research, reading scientific articles and working out a lot of calculations, said George Harrington, one of the team.

With extensive and complex physics explaining how to overcome many obstacles, they outlined the possibilities of constructing a space settlement from asteroid and lunar materials.

The NASA Ames Space Settlement design competition received more than 2,500 entries from 10,000 students around the world.

The six Clare students found out over St Patricks weekend that their project had earned them second prize in the large team category for older students.

But their teacher John Conneely said they will not be able to travel unless they can raise the 13,000 it will cost for the team and two teachers to accept the invitation to take part in the National Space Societys International Space Development Conference at the end of May.

Tara McInerney said she has always loved everything about space, and she would like to study astrophysics in college.

From doing the project, we got to see how much is possible. Its amazing to see how much physics comes into even the small things, said Tara.

Wed love to meet and talk to the worlds experts, and get to see whats going on right now in the world of physics. It would be just brilliant to get to LA, she said.

Tara worked on the chapter in the St Flannans submission relating to the education system that would be used on the space settlement, including the introduction of earth studies and astronomy for pupils from the age of 12.

Mr Conneely said the project was partly inspired by Richard Bransons Virgin Earth challenge, which offers a $25m prize for scalable and sustainable ways to remove greenhouse gases from the earths atmosphere. His students will get to present their proposals to the conference in May if they can get the trip financed.

Weve had great support in the past from some local and international businesses to help send successful students to this event.

This is a great opportunity for companies to help us go again, and to invest in science and technology education, said Mr Conneely.
After Education Minister Richard Bruton backtracked this week on a previous suggestion that unions did not prioritise restoring equal pay for newer entrants, a government figure told the Irish Examiner that unions did not take their chance to make the matter a priority.

In Killarney this week, Irish National Teachers Organisation (INTO) general secretary Sheila Nunan made clear to Mr Bruton that lower pay scales for new teachers were imposed at the end of 2010 on the profession and not, as he previously stated, agreed to by them.

We didnt recommend it then. We didnt vote for it. We opposed it, and we still oppose it, she said.

She also criticised the minister for telling the Oireachtas Education Committee a week earlier that trade unions had not prioritised the pay of new entrants when the Public Service Stability Agreement (PSSA) was negotiated last year.

Ms Nunan told him at the INTO congress on Tuesday that this was fake news and that the three main teacher unions rejected the deal because it did not do enough on pay equality.

Mr Bruton told reporters the teaching unions absolutely clearly prioritised equal pay.

But, he said, the agreement was negotiated for the entire public sector and a process to about new entrants pay would begin on April 27.

The outcome wasnt exactly what the teacher unions wanted but it nonetheless opens a roadmap... to continue to explore those issues, he said.

After the INTO, Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland and Teachers Union of Ireland went on to pass identical motions that could prompt votes for strikes or other action at 4,000 schools, the Government is downplaying the likelihood of fully restoring equal pay in the lifetime of the PSSA up to 2020.

This paper reported yesterday that a senior government figure said public sector unions had the chance to make new entrants pay a core demand last year but did not do so.

Rejecting this, INTO deputy general secretary Noel Ward said the section in the PSSA document setting up a process to address new entrant pay issues and implement the outcome of discussions was a priority of teacher unions in particular.

He said that the Government tried to restrict talks to unwinding separate pay and pension cuts imposed under financial emergencies law.

Allegations that unions did not prioritise pay equality in last years talks should be filed away under fake news, he said.

But he welcomed comments from Disabilities Minister Finian McGrath, a former INTO member, that equal pay is a red-line issue for him in the next budget.
Detectives from Cork arrested and charged Wesley Maughan, aged 18, with a total of three offences when they brought him before Cashel District Court in Co Tipperary during the Easter holidays.

Mr Maughan of Coolnagarra, Burncourt, Cahir, Co Tipperary, is due to appear at Cork District Court on Monday but he turned up yesterday for the purpose of varying bail so that he could reside instead at 173 Priors Gate, Tallaght, Dublin, and sign in daily at Tallaght Garda Station. He is to stay out of Cork except for court appearances and legal appointments.
Dateline A Calculated Political Shake-Up

The Irrawaddy discusses speeches given last week by the state counselor, army chief and new presidentin light of his recent appointment.

Kyaw Kha: Welcome to Dateline Irrawaddy! Last week, the top three leaders of the country State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, newly elected President U Win Myint and Army Chief Senior-General Min Aung Hlaing delivered addresses. We will discuss those speeches. The Irrawaddy English editor Ko Kyaw Zwa Moe and Burmese editor Ko Ye Ni join me to for the discussion. Im The Irrawaddy Burmese chief reporter Kyaw Kha.

A Calculated Political Shake-Up DATELINE IRRAWADDYA Calculated Political Shake-UpThe Irrawaddy discusses speeches given last week by the state counselor, army chief and new presidentin light of his recent appointment. Posted by The Irrawaddy  English Edition on Friday, April 6, 2018

We now have a new president and this shift is quite interesting. Ko Kyaw Zwa Moe, what is your view on this change?

Kyaw Zwa Moe: We can assume that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD) government made such a big change after careful consideration, two years into their term. Before this, there was a lot of frustration with the performance of the NLD government, especially its ministries. The change was made in response to that feedback.

The reason U Win Myint was appointed is strikingly different from that of U Htin Kyaw. As everyone said, U Htin Kyaw was chosen as president because Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was barred from the presidency. But, it is different for U Win Myint. She chose him in consideration of the time after her era. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is over 70 years old now. She seems to have chosen someone who can handle her responsibilities when she can no longer work either because of her health or age. U Win Myint must be her favorite candidate. He has shown his caliber in Parliament over the past two years. And he was elected three times [to Parliament]. I think Daw Aung San Suu Kyi made the move considering the political role of the Tatmadaw and the political privileges given to it by the Constitution.

We are now undergoing a democratic transition. In other words, a democratic transition can be defined as a gradual reduction in the role of the Tatmadaw in politics and the administration. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, her government and the new president have made a political move based on this. We cant lose track of it.

KK: State Counselor Daw Aung San Su Kyi delivered an address on Sunday and I found an interesting point in her speech. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said that she is committed to solving the problems facing the country with collective strength. Ko Ye Ni, what does that mean to you?

Ye Ni: There are two big challenges facing the country as well as the NLD governmentpeace building and the Rakhine issue. She said she would overcome those problems with collective strength. By collective strength, she may refer to the public support for her party, which won the election held according to the 2008 Constitution and formed the government. But I think that when she says collective strength, there are key players like the Tatmadaw, ethnic armed organizations and ethnic people. And there are other key playerssuch as international partners that are helping Myanmar with the Rakhine issue and the peace process. I think she means that all of them should work together toward a common goal.

KK: I also found some interesting points in the speech of the army chief in his address on the 73rd anniversary of Armed Forces Day. Ko Kyaw Zwa, did anything from his speech stick out to you?

KZM: Overall, he focused on national politics like in his previous speeches. I assess that the Tatmadaw has shown either in the past or at present that it wants to solve problems and build peace together with the current government. But at the same time, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar people and political analysts understand that the Tatmadaw definitely is not yet ready to leave the political circle. It is partly because the Tatmadaw has declared itself a patriotic armed force because it was founded by Gen Aung San.

Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing still embraces that concept. So, the army has said that it will engage in national politics. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and domestic political forces understand this. But it is difficult for international partners to accept. So, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi quoted President U Win Myint, and talked about three pointsrule of law and improvement of the socio-economic life of people; national reconciliation and internal peace; and the amendment of the Constitution to provide a foundation for building a democratic federal republic. So, the government has set the rule of law and socio-economic improvement of people as the top priority. It understands that constitutional reforms, which need the approval of the military leadership, will take time. The Tatmadaw has the same view, I think. The Constitution must be reformed, as it doesnt meet democratic norms, but this will take time. The Tatmadaw will take its time and continue playing a part in politics.

YN: The 73rd anniversary of Armed Forces Day is worth noting. Compared to previous anniversaries, the military spent the least amount on this one. Unlike previous anniversaries, it didnt show off its military equipment, and spent on the Sinbyushin military exercise instead. This is a message that the Tatmadaw is reducing its expenditures. Another thing worth noting is that the Tatmadaw seems to have changed its vision though its political stance remains unchanged.

Previously, the army chief talked about protecting race and religion. But in his message on the 73rd anniversary of Armed Forces Day, he talked about the need for hard work to catch up with fellow ASEAN countries. He did not talk about Union spirit but called for Myanmar spirit without racial or religious discrimination. This vision is worth noting, I think. I feel it is closer to Daw Aung San Suu Kyis vision of equality. I think it is the outcome of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi efforts to build trust with the Tatmadaw at the risk of her reputation on the Rakhine issue.

KK: Another interesting thing is that he talked about the ROE [Rules of Engagement]. Everyone knows that there have been human rights violations by the Tatmadaw in some regions and states, and there were calls for taking action against the perpetrators. We dont know yet what kind of punitive action will be taken. I think it will do a lot that the armys top leader has said that action would be taken for the breach of the ROE. Do you think it will have an impact?

KZM: It is good that the army chief has said so. But to what extent practical action will be taken is open to question. Frankly speaking, the Tatmadaw has been under fire for human rights violations. It has been constantly criticized by the international community for human rights violations especially regarding the Rakhine conflict, and clashes in Shan and Kachin states. To answer the criticism, it is important that the Tatmadaw take punitive action in a transparent manner on the ground. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has said that she wants to see an army that is reliable, respected and loved by the people, in other words, a professional army. Everybody wants to see such an army. The Tatmadaw has a lot to do to build itself into that kind of army. It has much to do to improve its image internationally.

KK: I think we should welcome the army chief talking about the ROE. Ko Ye Ni, what is your view on this?

YN: Recently, when there are allegations of human rights violations, the Tatmadaw will launch an investigation and take action against perpetrators, for example, in the case of the killing of 10 persons in Rakhine State, as well as killings in Kachin State. This is a good sign. That the army chief has talked about the ROE is the first step for the Tatmadaw to change public perception of itfrom an oppressive mechanism to a standard army or professional army, which in essence is a national defense force that protects the country and the people. Whether it will really become a standard army will largely depend on how much it is willing to cooperate in security sector reforms, and reform of the 2008 Constitution.

KK: Last question. It is an interesting turning point for Myanmar to have newly elected President U Win Myint. What changes can we expect that are different from the first two years of the NLD-led government? Despite the presidential change, the government still has to work within the framework of the 2008 Constitution. How much can we expect from the new president?

KZM: I think there was a lot of frustration over the past two years, including over the situation in Rakhine State. The peace process has stalled, and the economy was the worst problem. People from all walks of lifefrom businessmen to working-class peoplehave criticized the economic performance of the government. The government has to do something to achieve tangible results. It only has three years until its term ends. In fact, it has only just over two years until the 2020 election period. People dont want to wait two years.

The first thing it needs to do is to ensure rule of law and socio-economic recovery as the president and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi have said. The economy is crucially important. The change of president is good. But the question is to what extent he will be able to exert his executive power to manage each of more than 20 ministries to achieve results. How much can he handle alone? Teamwork is important. Some ministers are almost incapable. How promptly can changes be made to address this problem? Is it necessary to change ministers? The president has been switched. The president should see if the ministers can perform the duties he assigns within deadlines. It is very important. I think the commerce and tourism ministries as well as some others need changes. There is a need to assign the right men to those ministries promptly. Only then, will we be able to see significant changes in the next six months or a year.

KK: I have met three presidents in my life. Looking at the strength of their inauguration speeches and their mannerisms during the speech, I feel like the address of President U Win Myint was pithy, precise and strong. And I like the way U Win Myint spoke actively and confidently. He moved the microphone as he spoke vigorously, and that was very interesting. I feel he is more active than his predecessors. What changes can we expect during his term, Ko Ye Ni?

YN: As weve said, he was appointed for other reasons than U Htin Kyaw. U Win Myint is younger. U Htin Kyaws presidency was largely ceremonial, and U Win Myint seems more like a working president. This is encouraging. As he took office, we had good news about the economy. An IMF report said that Myanmars macroeconomy, which declined in the initial years under the NLD government, has started to rebound and is likely to gain momentum in the coming years. This is good news. Usually, when there is a change of leadership, the economy responds in fear of possible political changes, for example, the exchange rate may increase as a result. But in our case, the change did not affect the market much, and it remains rather stable.

An event just ended as we recorded this Dateline Program. The Ayeyarwady Bank organized a home loan expo, which sold apartments in installments. That the bank provides mortgages shows that it is willing to assume risk in the hope of economic stability or even development in the future. As Ive seen some businesses and projects implemented based on the future economic prospects of the country, we can say that these are good signs. If President U Win Myint can lead a lean and capable cabinet to realize the economic potential of the country, there will be very encouraging news not only for the NLD but also for the socio-economic status of the people.

KK: Thank you for your contributions!
Kooken and Brown-Ajayi Earn Inaugural Inclusive Excellence Awards

April 6, 2018

Sharla Brown-Ajayi (left) and Wendy Kooken (right) were recognized by President Eric Jensen (middle) as recipients of the inaugural Presidents Award for Inclusive Excellence at Illinois Wesleyan.

BLOOMINGTON, Ill.  Wendy Kooken and Sharla Brown-Ajayi have been named 2018 recipients of the inaugural Presidents Award for Inclusive Excellence at Illinois Wesleyan University. The award recipients, announced at Fridays annual Faculty-Staff Recognition Celebration, were nominated by students, faculty and staff, and selected by The University Council for Diversity (UCD).

Wendy Kooken

An assistant professor of nursing, Kooken was described by a student nominator as the peoples champion because she is constantly putting the needs of students before her own so that she can make sure (students) are getting what (they) need from faculty. Another student said, Dr. Kooken is aware and addresses the different cultural needs of her students including social, emotional, and cognitive needs. Dr. Kooken leads a judgement-free classroom and incorporates cultural sensitivity in lectures.

Colleagues noted Kookens efforts to create a dynamic and inclusive learning environment in the classroom. Wendy mentors students and supports student-led research and scholarship projects in diversity, and encourages colleagues to do the same, according to a faculty nominator. Another faculty nomination stated that intercultural fluency permeates her classroom and interactions with students, staff and fellow faculty colleagues. Kookens research has included an analysis of important things African American women with breast cancer had to say about their experiences and their treatment. Kooken also discussed in an article how to provide nursing students with a means to know homeless men as people, not just homeless. According to a colleague, Students have consistently reported that her method changed everything about the way they perceive homeless people, as well as other vulnerable and underrepresented groups.

Kooken received an A.A.S. in nursing at Illinois Central College in 1985. She earned a B.S.N. in 1999 and a M.S.N. in Nursing Administration in 2002 from Bradley University. Her Ph.D. and post doctoral fellowship were completed at Indiana University in 2008 and 2011, respectively. Prior to joining the faculty at Illinois Wesleyan in 2012, Kooken taught for Bradley University, Western Illinois University, Indiana University in Indianapolis, and for Kansas University Medical Center.

Her nursing positions have been diverse and include post anesthesia care at Pekin Hospital, tissue services coordinator for the American Red Cross and American Tissue Services Foundation, and staff nurse at Crittenton Care and Counseling in Peoria. In recognition of her work to increase the diversity of donor families from diverse backgrounds, Kooken was flown to Washington D.C. where, in 2000, she was presented the American Red Cross Second Level Tiffany Award for Employee Excellence.

Sharla Brown-Ajayi

The Senior Administrative Assistant to the Provost, Brown-Ajayi manages the daily operations of the Provosts office and is the liaison between the Provost and all internal and external constituents.

Brown-Ajayi was described by a nominating faculty member as having become a force for inclusion and support for diversity on campus. The nomination continued, She is kind in her interactions with others and insightful about their struggles. She has a strong core of beliefs about the way the world is and the way the world could be when individuals like her speak up, and out, and make diversity and inclusiveness actionable.

Since joining Illinois Wesleyan in 2012, Brown-Ajayi has served the University as the Office Coordinator for MCLL/Hispanic Studies and the Language Resource Center and as the Senior Administrative Assistant to the Mellon Center for Curricular and Faculty Development. She is the co-founder and co-director of the IWU Language School for Kids, and she serves as the advisor of the IWU Black Student Union. Brown-Ajayi is also a co-founder and co-chair of the IWU Black Faculty and Staff Association, and she served on the inaugural Unity Gala planning committee. In these roles, Brown-Ajayi quickly, yet effectively, puts into action the intentions of many.

Additionally, Brown-Ajayi has participated in the Search Advocate/Validity, Equity & Diversity in Hiring Workshops, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion Safe Zone Training, and she attended the Posse Plus Retreat.

Sharla is a dynamic powerhouse of a leader whom students and colleagues seek for guidance and mentorship, according to a faculty member. Sharla not only creates change, she leads others in their efforts to create a more inclusive work environment for all.

Brown-Ajayi earned her bachelors in history from Illinois State University and has over 10 years of experience in education administration.

About the Presidents Award for Inclusive Excellence

The President's Award for Inclusive Excellence  presented to a faculty member and staff member annually  is intended to recognize outstanding contributions made by individuals that champion diversity, inclusion, and sustained commitment at Illinois Wesleyan University. The Award for Inclusive Excellence is intended to recognize the commitment of Illinois Wesleyan faculty and staff who have made exceptional efforts in celebrating diversity and demonstrating a commitment to advancing inclusion to create a safe and supportive community.

Recipients of The Award for Inclusive Excellence are recognized at the springtime Faculty-Staff Recognition Celebration and receive a one-time monetary award of $1,000 for their leadership. Awardees display understanding of the dynamic issues surrounding the intersectionality of race, gender, gender identity, ethnicity, religious heritage, national origin, socioeconomic status, disability, and sexual orientation.

Alumni, students, staff and/or faculty will once again be invited to submit nominations next year. Nominations submitted this year will also be considered for 2019 Presidents Award for Inclusive Excellence. The University Council for Diversity (UCD) and the previous recipient of the award will select awardees based on submitted nominations.

By John Twork
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Middle East Monitor |  

Decades of Israeli occupation and appropriation of land and resources has denied the Palestinian people the right to development, a new study by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has found.

The report, The Economic Costs of the Israeli Occupation for the Palestinian People and Their Human Right to Development: Legal Dimensions, highlights the economic costs imposed by occupation in relation to Palestinian agriculture, water resources, fisheries, mining, tourism, communications, manufacturing and human capital.

According to the UNCTAD press release, under [Israeli] occupation, the Palestinian people and Government are not allowed to carry out essential tasks required for economic and social development to take place.

This prevents them from enjoying the inalienable human right to development, which maintains that every human person and all peoples are entitled to freely participate in, contribute to and enjoy economic, social, cultural and political development, it continues.

The study emphasizes that under international law, the occupying authority has obligations to both the people under occupation and the international community as a whole.

It follows that the international community bears obligations to support the economic development of the Palestinian people and ensure that Israel complies with international law.

Mahmoud Elkhafif, Coordinator of the Assistance to the Palestinian People Unit of UNCTAD, said:

The international community should shoulder its responsibility to promote development in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and ensure that the occupation and its enduring harm to the welfare of the Palestinian people is ended.

Via Middle East Monitor

This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Bonus video added by Informed Comment:

Euronews from last fall: AP: Israel keeps tight grip on Palestinian economy 
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Maan News Agency |  

GAZA CITY (Maan)  A second Palestinian protester was shot and killed by Israeli forces along the Gaza border, the Palestinian Ministry of Health confirmed around 4:30 p.m.

The slain Palestinian was identified as Majdi Ramadan Shabat. He was killed in demonstrations taking place east of Gaza City, in the northern coastal enclave.

Meanwhile, the ministry reported that over 250 protesters had been injured from across the Gaza Strip, as Israeli planes dropped tear gas on protesters.

Bonus video via Informed Comment:

Gaza protests: More unarmed Palestinians killed and wounded | Al Jazeera English

Shabats death brought the death toll in Gaza to 23 since massive demonstrations began on Friday March 30.

Earlier on Friday a Palestinian identified as Thaer Rabia from the northern Gaza Strip town of Jabaliya, succumbed to wounds sustained during Friday protests one week ago.

Around 3:30 p.m., the ministry reported that Usama Khamis Qudeih, 39, was killed in protests east of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.

Fridays protests marked one week since the beginning of the Great March of Return, a weeks-long protests in which almost 1.3 million of Gazas 2 million inhabitants who are refugees are demanding their right to return to their original homelands.

The six-week protest is set to end on May 15th, the 70th anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba, or catastrophe, when the state of Israel was created, leaving some 750,000 Palestinians and millions of their descendants as refugees.

Palestinians have nicknamed this Fridays demonstration Jumat al-Kawshook, which translates to Friday of Tires, as protesters set fire to thousands of tires along the border, creating huge clouds of black smoke in order to confuse Israeli snipers and prevent them from targeting protesters with live ammunition.

Some have also called Fridays protest Black Friday.

On the first day of protests last week, Israeli forces killed 16 Palestinians and injured over 1,000 more with live fire, rubber-coated steel bullets, and tear gas.

Despite widespread outcry from international rights groups who have condemned Israels excessive use of forces against the civilian protesters, Israeli has maintained its open-fire rules for the Gaza border.
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By Frederic Simon | EURACTIV.com |  

Solar power dominated a global ranking of new renewable energy investments like never before last year, with China accounting for more than half of the worlds new capacity, the UN said on Thursday (5 April). Investments in Europe, on the other hand, recorded a massive drop.

The world installed a record 98 gigawatts of new solar capacity in 2017, far more than the net additions of any other technology  renewable, fossil fuel or nuclear  according to new data.

The Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment 2018 report was released on Thursday (5 April) by UN Environment, the Frankfurt School  UNEP Collaborating Centre, and Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

At $160.8 billion, solar power attracted far more investment than any other technology. China saw an unprecedented boom in solar that saw some 53 gigawatts added  more than half the global total  with $86.5 billion invested.

Chinas clean energy push is impressive and good news for the planet, said trade association SolarPower Europe, citing a near 80% reduction in cost as one of the main factors, alongside favourable regulatory frameworks.

China eclipses Europe as 2020 solar power target is smashed

China has reached its 2020 solar power target three years ahead of schedule, after installed capacity topped well over its 105GW target. Europe has been urged to show similar ambition.

Overall, renewable energies were far ahead, at $279.8 billion, towering above new investment in coal and gas generation capacity, which reached an estimated $103 billion.

The world added more solar capacity than coal, gas, and nuclear plants combined, said Nils Stieglitz, President of Frankfurt School of Finance & Management. This shows where we are heading, although the fact that renewables altogether are still far from providing the majority of electricity means that we still have a long way to go.

Last year was the eighth in a row in which global investment in renewables exceeded $200 billion, the report said. Since 2004, the world has invested $2.9 trillion in these green energy sources.

But some regions like the United States and Europe have clearly fallen behind. In the US, investments dropped 6%, to $40.5 billion. In Europe, the fall was steeper, at 36%, to reach $40.9 billion. The biggest drops were recorded in the United Kingdom (down 65% to $7.6 billion) and Germany (down 35% to $10.4 billion).

In countries that saw lower investment, it generally reflected a mixture of changes in policy support, the timing of large project financings, such as in offshore wind, and lower capital costs per megawatt, said Angus McCrone, Chief Editor of Bloomberg New Energy Finance and lead author of the report.

EU warned about lost decade for renewables as costs continue to fall

The cost of generating electricity from renewable energies is set to reach new lows worldwide, according to projections by the International Renewable Energy Association (IRENA), published on Saturday (13 January).

In Europe, green lawmakers have warned about a lost decade for renewables as policymakers negotiate an update to the EUs renewable energy directive, which is considered as the cornerstone of the blocs clean energy policy.

EU heads of states backed a 27% target for renewables as part of the blocs 2030 energy and climate objectives. But critics say the decision, taken in 2014, is based on outdated figures that ignore the impressive fall in renewable energy costs that happened since.

The European Commission, the EUs executive branch, acknowledged these shortcomings and recently came up with updated figures suggesting a 30% target for 2030 would now be achievable at comparable costs. But even that would be close to business as usual, greens argue.

WindEurope, a trade association, said one key ingredient to keep the European renewable industry competitive is to raise the EUs 2030 renewables target to 35%, in line with the European Parliaments demands.

SolarPower Europe agreed, saying Beijings clean energy push is also a wake-up call for Europe to raise its 2030 target to 35%, and remove trade duties in place on solar panels imported from China.

A final decision on the renewables directive is expected under the Bulgarian Presidency of the EU, which finishes on 30 June.

Via EURACTIV.com

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Bonus video added by Informed Comment:

China Matters: Top 5 Mega Solar Projects in China
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Its 4:17 a.m. as I begin this entry. Im scheduled to be at the hospital in 43 minutes for one of my last days on surgical rotation, and Ive been working on the following text message since 3 a.m.:

Hi, team. Im afraid that im burned out and anxious. I will be taking today off. Sorry to be blunt but i felt it better than to make up an excuse. Thanks for all your kindness and education this rotation.

Last week, our class got a surprise email from a physician-leader whos taken it upon himself to visit our school and discuss medical student wellness and burnout. Though I have been contemplating the topic for some time, I finally accepted the fact that burnout is the word I would use to best describe my medical school experience.

I have a strong family history of anxiety disorders and was first diagnosed with depression and anxiety at the outset of my career change towards medicine. Despite the fact that the profession self-selects for those predisposed towards anxiety and perfectionism, I heeded my mentors warning to, during the application process, avoid discussing my perseverance through health issues.

The pinnacle of my life thus far has been achieving matriculation to my top choice medical school; I have worked exceedingly hard for years in order to attain this, but without medical management of my health issues I never would have been so empowered as to actualize this dream. I was firing on all cylinders through the day medical school began  things have changed over the past two-and-a-half years.

I worked as a program supervisor from 7 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. five-and-a-half days a week; I went to Krav Maga classes from 7 to 8:30 p.m. four times a week and once on Saturday mornings. I cooked all my own meals. I was 163 pounds, and I could, for an hour without tiring, throw punches, kicks, knees and elbows while defending against chokes, knife and gun attacks. I spoke to universities, colleges and community groups about humanitarian emergencies and the aid Ive committed myself to since 2007. Then medical school started.

I moved out of state, and within the first couple months of school, I gained 25 pounds. In order to maximize my study time, I stopped taking a weekly day off. I stopped exercising and engaging my passion for self-defense training. I stopped preparing my own food and eating healthfully. I stopped cleaning my apartment. I stopped dating. I stopped my volunteer work, I stopped my leadership work, I stopped my speaking engagements. I continued my medications but have had no time for doctors appointments. I started binge drinking biweekly. I continue binge drinking.

Based on hours-per-week, I have not been any busier than I was in the past but the type of work, the levels of stress and demand are far higher in medical school than ever before. My inclination is to blame myself for my current state, but Ive taken all the ownership that I can, and the problems remain. I am not happy, and Im tired of being blamed by my peers, my school and my mentors for my current state. Folks, Im burned out; Im depressed.

When I feel burned out, I revisit the personal statement I submitted that helped me succeed as one of the 1-in-60 applicants accepted to my medical school; I do my best to live out the core commitments central to this statement; as such, I was recently nominated by my peers for our universitys Student of the Year Award. I remind myself that, despite what I feel, I am not sh*t. I have friends and strangers alike read my essay to show them, Hey, what you see now and who you know now  well  its not really me. Id like to get back to me sometime soon.

On that note, its 5:08 a.m.; I think Ill send that text to my surgical team now. Here goes nothin.

The author is an anonymous medical student.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com
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Tracy Watkins writes:

Its a sign of how much pressure this Government is under that instead of quietly rolling out bad news as everyone headed off on their Easter break it waited till the holiday was over for maximum impact. The proposed 9-12c a litre rise in fuel tax  a double whammy for Auckland to 20c a litre  will go down like a cup of the proverbial in parts of New Zealand where the Governments draft 10-year transport plan proposes a big shift in funding away from roads to public transport.

It isnt just Auckland that will have a regional fuel tax. Their law allows other areas to do one also. So motorists all over NZ could be facing an extra 25 cents a litre.

Less popular may be a separate proposal for a 70kmh speed limit on some rural roads, though it is not part of the Governments clutch of announcements and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has mostly poured cold water on it. But that could easily be lost in translation, and the Government could wear the backlash from provincial and rural New Zealand. Thats probably not what Labour had in mind for its rolling maul of initiatives between now and the May Budget to wrest back the political initiative. But at this stage it would take any headline that shows its getting on with the job, over the distractions of recent weeks. Ardern headed into this week desperately needing to regain her footing after a string of disasters involving Broadcasting Minister Clare Curran, NZ First MPs running amok, and the partys abysmal handling of Labour youth camp allegations.

So announcing a tax hike is not as bad as another scandal!

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Stuff reports:

Labour MP Paul Eagle has apologised for an incident that saw a Wellingtonian call him an entitled douchebag. A Reddit user named Cuthbertus posted about the incident on the New Zealand subreddit on Friday afternoon, saying Eagle rung into their work and swore at them when he couldnt get his way.

The full Reddit thread is quite interesting. It seems a number of people have uncomplimentary stories.

Eagle says the whole thing was a misunderstanding, and that he was swearing at people blocking his way into his office  not someone on the phone.

Of course. Happens all the time.

In a self-described rant this user said Eagle was the most entitled, rude and disrespectful man I have ever had the displeasure of dealing with. It says a lot about a persons character how they treat those with less power than them and Mr Eagle thinks its acceptable to swear at and berate those he does not deem to be of his level. In the comments of the post the user clarified that the Rongotai MP phoned into my work and threw his toys out the cot because he couldnt get his way.

It really doesnt sound like something that was a mistaken conversation.

Eagle said he was talking to a panel-beater on Friday afternoon about getting his car fixed and having a polite but robust discussion about whether or not a separate piece of damage could be fixed at the same time.

This is intriguing. A panel beater will of course fix anything you want them to. But what they cant and wont do is fix damage from two different accidents, and bill them all together to an insurance company. Now maybe it wasnt about that, but why would you be having a robust discussion about it?

Once Eagle was in the office he said he realised he had been hung up on and was confused. Later his insurance company rung to suggest he try a different panel beater.

Which sounds like the panel beater told the insurance company they wouldnt take him as a client.

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Guwahati, April 7 : Security forces had nabbed four militants belonging to the anti-talk faction group of Karbi Peoples Liberation Tiger (KPLT) in Assams West Karbi Anglong district.





Based on specific intelligence about presence of militants of anti talk faction of the outfit group, unit of Red Horns Division launched a series of joint operations along with police at multiple locations in West Karbi Anglong district from April 2 to 7.





The joint operations team continuously tracked the movement of KPLT (AT) militanst with and the apprehension of one militant led to the other and finally four KPLT (AT) militants were apprehended from different locations in the hill district.





Security personnel had recovered two 9 mm beretta pistols, one point 32 mm pistol, one point 22 mm pistol, nine live rounds, one fired case and ten fake extortion letters in possession from them.





In recent days , there is a reported increase in the activities of KPLT (AT) faction.





The successful joint operation has dealt a blow to the plans of KPLT (AT) faction which has been lately trying to establish its prominence in the hill districts .








AUSTIN, April 7: Arizona and Texas announced Friday that they would send 400 National Guard members to the U.S.-Mexico border by next week in response to President Donald Trumps call for troops to fight drug trafficking and illegal immigration.





Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey said about 150 Guard members would deploy next week. And the Texas National Guard said it was already sending Guardsmen to the border, with plans to place 250 troops there in the next 72 hours as an initial surge, according to a Guard spokesman. Two helicopters lifted off Friday night from Austin, the state capital, to head south.





The total so far remains well short of the 2,000 to 4,000 National Guard members that Trump told reporters he wants to send. New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinezs office said Friday that it had not yet deployed any Guard members. The office of California Gov. Jerry Brown did not respond to questions about whether it would deploy troops.





Trumps proclamation Wednesday directing the use of National Guard troops refers to Title 32, a federal law under which Guard members remain under the command and control of their states governor. This leaves open the possibility that Californias Brown could turn him down.





Defense Secretary James Mattis Friday night approved paying for up to 4,000 National Guard personnel from the Pentagon budget through the end of September. A Defense Department memo says the National Guard personnel will not perform law enforcement functions or interact with migrants or other persons detained without Mattiss approval. It said arming will be limited to circumstances that might require self-defense, but it did not further define that.





Deployments to the border under former presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama both occurred under Title 32. Bush sent around 6,000 troops in 2006, and Obama sent 1,200 Guard members in 2010.





Trumps proclamation blamed the lawlessness that continues at our southern border. Trump has suggested he wants to use the military on the border until progress is made on his proposed border wall, which has mostly stalled in Congress.





After plunging at the start of Trumps presidency, the numbers of migrants apprehended at the southwest border have started to rise in line with historical trends. The Border Patrol said it caught around 50,000 people in March, more than three times the number in March 2017. Thats erased a decline for which Trump repeatedly took credit. Border apprehensions still remain well below the numbers when Bush and Obama deployed the Guard to the border.





News reports of a caravan of Central American migrants passing through southern Mexico also sparked angry tweets from the president. The caravan of largely Central American migrants never intended to reach the U.S. border, according to organizer Irineo Mujica. But Trump has repeatedly cited it as an example of what he called Americas weak immigration laws.





Department of Homeland Security officials have said Guard members could support Border Patrol agents and other law enforcement agencies. DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said this week that guard members could help look at the technology, the surveillance, and that the department might ask for fleet mechanics. Federal law restricts the military from carrying out law enforcement duties.





From 2006 to 2008, the Guard fixed vehicles, maintained roads, repaired fences and performed ground surveillance. Its second mission in 2010 and 2011 involved more aerial surveillance and intelligence work.





Leaders in both Arizona and Texas said Friday that they were working with federal planners to define the Guard members mission.





The Arizona National Guard said in a statement Friday that it would provide air, reconnaissance, operational and logistics support and construct border infrastructure.





As the helicopters were taking off Friday in Texas, Guard spokesman Lt. Col. Travis Walters said that the 250 troops going is what our initial surge is so that we can then very quickly roll in a larger amount of forces as needed. Walters did not specify where the first round of troops would be stationed.





About 100 Guardsmen remain deployed as part of the existing state mission in Texas Rio Grande Valley, the busiest corridor for unauthorized crossings on the southwest border.




Israeli troops killed seven protesters in the second mass protest in as many weeks along Gaza's volatile border, as Palestinians torched piles of tires to create a smoke screen to block the view of snipers.

Today's deaths brought to 29 the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli fire in just a week, including 23 protesters. Gaza's Health Ministry said 1,070 people were wounded on Friday, including 293 by live fire. It said 25 of those wounded were in serious condition. Among those hurt were 12 women and 48 minors, the ministry added.

Today's march was the second in what Gaza's Hamas rulers said would be several weeks of protests against a decade-old border blockade of the territory. Israel has accused the Islamic militant group of using the protests as a cover for attacking Israel's border, and has warned that those approaching the fence put their lives at risk. On Friday, thousands of Palestinians streamed to five tent encampments that organizers had set up, each about several hundred meters from the border fence.

Friday's demonstration was the second in as many weeks of a planned, weeks-long sit-in dubbed the Great March of Return. The main message of the protesters is to call for the right of return for Palestinian refugees who were driven from their homes in the territories taken over by Israel during the 1948 war, known to Arabs as the Nakba.

Aljazeera estimates that about 70 percent of Gaza's two million population were forced from their homes in 1948 and now live in a territory the size of the U.S. city of Detroit - about 360sq km - which has been described as "the world's largest open-air prison".

In one camp near the border community of Khuzaa, smaller groups of activists moved closer to the fence after Friday's noon prayers. Associated Press video showed demonstrators torching large piles of tires, engulfing the area in black smoke meant to shield them from Israeli snipers; the faces of some of the activists were covered in black soot. Israeli troops on the other side of the fence responded with live fire, tear gas, rubber coated steel pellets and water cannons.

Palestinians say unarmed protesters were shot last week while posing no threat, and the UN and EU have called for an independent inquiry.

Later today, the shadowy Hamas leader in Gaza, Yehiyeh Sinwar, visited the Khuzaa camp, receiving a hero's welcome. He was surrounded by hundreds of supporters who chanted, "We are going to Jerusalem, millions of martyrs."

Sinwar told the crowd that the world should "wait for our great move, when we breach the borders and pray at Al-Aqsa," referring to the major Muslim shrine in Jerusalem. Israel has said it would prevent a mass border breach at any cost.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 07, 2018 07:42 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
Amid allegations of China engaging in massive land grabbing in the Maldives, the Pentagon today said it was a cause of concern for the U.S.

Asserting that the U.S. was "committed to a free and open" Indo-Pacific rules-based order, the Pentagon said anything else would cause the U.S. concern. "The U.S. is committed to a free and open Indo-Pacific rules-based order. We have seen concerning developments in Maldives as far as the Chinese influence is concerned," Joe Felter, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for South and Southeast Asia, told PTI in an interview.

"It's in India's backyard. We know it's of concern to India. So, yes, (the situation in Maldives) is a concern. We will see how it plays out. It emphasizes some of our priorities identified in our National Defence Strategy," the top Pentagon official said. He was responding to a question on the allegations of a Maldivian opposition leader and a former foreign minister, on the Chinese land grabbing activities in the island nation with the potential of developing them into a military outpost.

Felter said these developments were "a cause of concern" for all states that supported the maintenance of a rules-based order.

"If you look at similar activities across the region, it gives us some cause for concern. From Djibouti to, Gwadar put to Hambantota port in Sri Lanka, and now potentially the Maldives and then extending further east, it's of concern," he said. Other countries in the region have expressed similar concern, including India, he noted.

"We believe the interests of all states- large and small- are best served by maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific and a rules-based order. Some of China's activities that we've observed give us concern because they do not seem to be consistent with those interests. I suspect India shares these concerns as well," Felter said.

During a recent visit to the U.S., Ahmed Naseem, a former foreign minister of Maldives, had alleged that China was meddling in internal affairs of Maldives and had indulged itself in a massive land grabbing endeavour which if left unchecked would pose a major strategic threat to both the U.S. and India. China, he alleged, appeared to be keen on building a base in the Maldives which one day may house warships and submarines.

The island-nation's relationship with India has nose-dived in recent weeks. New Delhi has been critical of the Abdulla Yameen government for imposing emergency in the island nation earlier this year. In recent days in a series of steps to show India its displeasure, Maldives has declined an invitation by India to send a ministerial-level delegation to the Defence Expo, a biennial exhibition of weapons and military hardware, which will be held in Chennai next week, official sources said.

In February, Maldives had declined India's invitation to participate in the eight-day mega naval exercise -- Milan -- from March 6-13. Maldives has also asked India to take back one of two naval helicopters New Delhi had gifted to Male, the latest incident in a series which clearly depicts the deteriorating ties between the two countries. The Times of India quoted a top Maldives government source as saying that the country wanted a Dornier maritime surveillance aircraft instead of the Dhruv Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) which India had gifted to Maldives.

While Male's relationship with India is on a downswing, China, which looks at Maldives as a major participant in its 21st century Maritime Silk Road plan in the Indian Ocean, has made heavy investments in the nation of islands which has 26 tropical atolls and 1,000 small islands.

China's staunch defence of Maldives president Abdulla Yameen, stonewalling international pressure and enabling him to stay in power during the current crisis has been noted by India and U.S. alike and is one of the motivations for Pentagon's observation on the events in Maldives.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 07, 2018 09:46 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
Apr 7, 2018, 5:29am ET

Mercedes-Benz launching subscription service in June?

The pilot program will kick off in two cities.

BMW recently announced plans to launch a subscription service in Nashville, Tennessee. Rival Mercedes-Benz confirmed it will experiment with the concept starting in June.

The yet-unnamed service will kick off in two American cities, according to Automotive News. Mercedes announced it at the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) convention that took place recently in Las Vegas, Nevada. However, the company stopped short of providing full details.

We don't know which cities the brand picked or how long the pilot program will last for. Significantly, we don't know if Mercedes will follow Cadillac, Porsche, and BMW by offering members access to an unlimited number of cars, or if it will join Volvo in letting motorists subscribe to a specific type of car.

The idea isn't to push out the brick-and-mortar dealership. The subscription service will continue to rely on existing dealerships. They'll deliver and maintain the cars, according to the same report.

"The dealer board said if Mercedes was going to do something, we want to make sure it involves us. That was brought up six or eight months ago and clearly made known from the dealer body, and there was an immediate 'absolutely,' " explained Greg Barnes, the president of a company that runs two Mercedes dealerships in Florida.

Mercedes hasn't commented on the report. If it's accurate, we'll learn more details about the subscription service in the coming months.

Photo by Ronan Glon.
Apr 6, 2018, 6:37pm ET

White House considering stricter emissions regs for imports?

The so-called \"non-tariff barriers\" would likely increase costs of foreign vehicles, serving to give American-made cars an advantage in the domestic marketplace.

The White House is reportedly considering stricter emissions regulations for vehicles imported from other countries, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The so-called "non-tariff barriers" would serve to increase relative costs of import vehicles, potentially giving an advantage to American-made vehicles that would not be subject to such regulations.

The proposal was allegedly pitched by US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, without any input from the US auto industry.

Such regulations are shrouded in controversy. Some automakers and US government officials have accused other countries of using non-tariff barriers to sidestep trade agreements and give their own domestic manufacturing a market advantage.

Like many leaks from the Trump Administration, it is unclear if the reports reflect a serious policy shift or perhaps simply posturing as the government attempts to renegotiate NAFTA.




Guwahati, April 7 : Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju on Saturday said that, the Home and External Affairs ministry will examine the proposal of issuing work permit to the Bangladesh nationals.





Giving his reaction on Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangmas proposal of issuing of work permit to Bangladesh nationals, Rijiju said that, the proposal given by the Meghalaya CM is positive in one sense, but before accepting it the entire mechanism must be made clear, so that it does not have an adverse impact.





The Union minister said that, the North Eastern region particularly Assam has been affected by the illegal migrants and the region facing this problem since long time.





External Affairs ministry and Home Affairs ministry need to sit together, discuss what is going to reification. But the proposal, I think due consideration and we will look it, Rijiju said.





Recently, Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma mooted the idea of issuing of work permit to the Bangladesh nationals, when he met External Affairs minister Sushma Swaraj in New Delhi.





The Meghalaya CM has proposed it to address the challenges of infiltration.





On the other hand, the MoS for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju said on the Naga peace talk issue in a press conference held in Guwahati on Saturday that, the Naga peace talk is going on since long time and framework agreement was signed and sovereignty and some other serious issues have been dropped from the agreement. The framework agreement stated that, the unique history,

identity of Nagas are being recognised.





The talk is going on smoothly and we are monitoring the progress of the talk. PM Modi also said that, the result will come during our time. Centre is committed to a clear, tangible solution. This will not have any kind of adverse repercussion to Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur, Rijiju said.





On the other hand, the Union minister said that, talks with the insurgent groups of northeast are now in final stages.





The progress of talks with different insurgent groups is being reviewed on a case by case basis, Rijiju said.





Rjiju further said that, ongoing talks with the Arobinda Rajkhowa-led ULFA (P) now in final stages and the Home ministry is now agreed to the genuine demands and already instructed to prepare the final shape.




Clane will the the centre of attention of traditional music in just over two weeks time when the countys Fleadh Cheoil takes place.

Fleadh Cheoil Chill Dara will take place in the town this year from April 19-22.

Kildare Comhaltas PRO, spokesperson, John Fitzgerald, said they have a number of varied events on during the four days of the Fleadh. We hope it will be of interest to many, he said.

On Thursday, April 19, a Maidin Caife (or coffee morning) will take place in the Westgrove Hotel, where anyone with a gra (love) for Gaeilge/Irish will be most welcome, irrespective of proficiency.

Later that evening the official launch is in Manzor's Clane. Special guests, Ciaran and Aine FitzGerald, will attend.

Ciaran is an 11-time All-Ireland Champion and is the current senior All-Ireland Champion on Concertina and Flute Slow Airs from last year's All Ireland Fleadh in Ennis.

This is the first time in the history of 50 years of Comhaltas in Kildare that these titles were brought to the county.

Aine, his sister, is also a holder of many All Ireland titles.

Admission is free and there will be an open session afterwards where all musicians are welcome.

On Friday, April 20, they hope everyone will dust off the dancing shoes and give them a bit of polish for the Fleadh Ceili in Clane GAA Club at 9.30pm. Donie Nolan and Taylor's Cross Ceili Band will supply the music. Admission is 10 and includes refreshments.

On Saturday, April 20, they hold their Aifreann Traidisiunta (traditional mass) in Clane Church at 6.30pm. This will be followed by the Youth Session in Clane GAA club at 7.30pm.#

SEE ALSO: Kildare's Big C Cancer Choir to sing at Westgrove Hotel, Clane, concert
Gardai in Sligo have recovered vital equipment worth thousands that was stolen from the Sligo Leitrim Mountain Rescue Team last week.

According to Joe.ie two men have been arrested following the seizure.

A spokesperson from the garda press office said officers carried out an extensive search of a property in Sligo yesterday morning.

Following the search two men were arrested and taken to Ballymote Garda station for questioning.

A number of items were seized. Two males were arrested under Section 4 and taken to Ballymote Garda Station. Investigations are on-going.

The Sligo Leitrim Mountain Rescue Team (SLMRT) posted its thanks on social media this morning.

This morning at 10am we were informed by An Garda Siochana Sligo that property belonging Sligo Leitrim Mountain Rescue was recovered overnight. SLMRT welcomes the news. Any equipment recovered will be subject to a full inspection to ensure compliance with health and safety.

"SLMRT wishes to again thank the diligent work of our friends at An Garda Siochana, Sligo. In addition we would like to thank the overwhelming contribution of the Sligo & Leitrim communities and all those who have supported us both nationally and internationally throughout this incident. This is still part of an ongoing investigation and further update will be issued as we get them.

This was the second incident of its kind in the west of Ireland in a matter of weeks.







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MORE THAN one hundred new houses are being planned for the County limerick village of Patrickswell in a number of separate developments.

But the community council in the local area has warned the local authority that it must provide facilities for the increasing population in tandem with developments.

Planning permission has been granted for 49 houses at Barnakyle, just outside the village of Patrickswell. The development will comprise 30 detached, 16 semi-detached and three terraced houses.

A separate planning application, by another developer, is currently being processed for a development of another 49 houses at Ballyanrahan East. This proposal would see six detached, 40 semi-detached and three terraced houses being built.

And in the midst of those private developments, a Part 8 planning application is also underway, proposing 16 social houses in Lisheen Park.

Patrickswell Community Council has objected to the developments on the grounds that Limerick City and County Council must consider public facilities to cater for the population.

We regret having to object to these developments, but we just feel its necessary at the moment to do something to highlight the lack of facilities, said Mike Ahern, PRO for the community council.

The danger is that it just goes on and on and were ignored. It looks like there is even more development to take place in the future, but these are just the blocks of development that are planned at the moment, he added.

The community council notified local people of the developments and their difficult choice to object in a monthly newsletter.

We fully support any housing developments planned for Patrickswell but we feel very strongly about the lack of facilities, which is evident for all to see now.

It is our opinion that the granting of planning permission by Limerick City and County Council for future housing developments must consider what facilities are required and what facilities exist, and fund or assist in the provision of these facilities, read the statement.

The village on the outskirts of Limerick city, which had a population of nearly 850 in the 2016 Census, is well connected by motorway, and is one of the areas being targeted for development as Limericks urban area sprawls.
A GOLDEN display has appeared on Limerick's skyline as the city's prestigious biennial of visual art prepares for launch.

EVA Interational, Irelands biennial of contemporary art, returns to Limerick this April with the work of 56 artists to be put on display across the city. Some are already in situ, including towering Sanja Ivekovics Lady Rosa of Luxembourg in Cleeve's.

Taking its starting point from Nights Candles are Burnt Out, a painting by iconic Limerick artist Sean Keating, the 38th EVA International will feature historical, recent and newly commissioned works.

Venues for this years programme include the Limerick City Gallery of Art, Cleeves Condensed Milk Factory, OCallaghan Strand, the Limerick Clothing Factory, Lord Edward Street, the Hunt Museum and Rutland Street.

Keatings painting, which presents an allegory of the Irish psyche at the time of the construction of the Ardnacrusha hydroelectric dam in 1927, is set to be shown alongside works by artists working across locations, generations and media.

An extended programme of EVA International will also be presented at Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin.

Breaking a tradition dating back to 1990, the 38th EVA International has no title, a decision taken by this years curator Inti Guerrero.

In our current state of nationalisms, hard-borders, protectionism and a complete change of course in humanity, where the liberal belief of a never again seems to be dismantling, the word international suddenly carries an important weight worth embracing, he explained.

EVA International opens in Limerick on April 14 and will run until July.

More information on opening weekend can be found on www.eva.ie.
A LIMERICK man told Judge Mary Larkin he was on new tablets but was not drunk when the incident occurred which resulted in his coming before Newcastle West court.

Paul Healy of 17 Hillview Drive, Abbeyfeale was charged with criminal damage and with threatening and abusive behaviour at Hillview on April 18 last year.

On that date, gardai went to Hillview following a report from a neighbour that Healy was trying to break down his door, Inspector Alan Cullen told the court. The gardai observed blood spatters on the door and wall of the house and then saw the defendant, with his top off and covered in blood, a distance away.

Healy made a number of attempts to break the window of a patrol car, the inspector said. Later, after being arrested, he caused damage to a cell in Newcastle West garda station.

Healy, he said, had 25 previous convictions. I was on tablets, on medication from my doctor, Mr Healy told Judge Larkin. He put me on new tablets and told me not to stop taking them. But he acknowledged he was also told not to drink.

Pleading for his client, solicitor Michael O'Donnell said he had adjusted his ways and was now working six days a week. The damage caused was blood spattering, he said.

How do I know you are not going to break out again? Judge Larkin asked Healy.

I promise I will never again take tablets, he said. I wasn't drunk. I only had three bottles of Budweiser.

He had been working for himself, he added, and wasn't able to handle it. He was now working for an employer.

The judge fined him 100 on one charge of criminal damage to the cell but took a second charge into account. She fined him 150 for threatening and abusive behaviour.

In a second, adjourned case, the same defendant was bound to the peace for 12 months on a charge of threatening and abusive behaviour at St Mary's NS, Abbeyfeale on February 7, 2014.

A charge of assault was taken into consideration.
THE TOP garda responsible for the latest crackdown on retail crime in Limerick city centre has said that a number of arrests have been made following the launch of a new policing operation.

To combat the surge in criminals wreaking havoc among the business community, Henry Street superintendent Derek Smart launched Operation Mierle, which has seen high-visibility of gardai on the streets over the past number of weeks.

Shop thefts, between January and March this year, increased by 25% in comparison to the same timeframe last year in the Henry Street district.

There were 172 reported shop thefts between January and March this year, while there were 142 reported thefts last year.

There were 61 reported incidents in the Roxboro Road district, a small decrease of five reported shop thefts on last years figures.

Supt Smart said Operation Mierle consists of proactive policing of the city from 7am to 3am, targeting known shoplifters.

In that instance, we have had a number of successes where we had one person who had 10 different theft charges, is now in custody before the court. Another person, a female, she had over 14 separate charges of theft in a number of different shops around the city centre. She is in custody before the court, he said.

Supt Smart said it is important that the business community engages with the gardai in relation to criminal activity in the area.

We are there, we are actively on the street, and we will continue to do that. We will endeavour to engage with all shop owners around the city centre. We welcome people to come and talk to us. We have met a number of shop owners and we are in the process of attempting to set up a business watch group in the city centre, on par with a neighbourhood watch which would see around the suburbs.

He said people who wish to organise major events, such as festivals, can contact the community policing for assistance.
STAND aside Paddy the Plasterer and make way for Patricia the Plasterer who is blazing the way for women plasterers in Limerick and around the country.

Now Patricia Brouder, from Carrigkerry, and her son Raymond have set up what must surely be one of the most unique businesses in Ireland: a mother-and-son plastering team, known as PR Plastering.

But as Jim Ahern, Patricias dad, points out with pride: Its in the DNA.

Patricia comes from a long line of plasterers and now with Raymond on the job as well, the tradition has passed down to a seventh generation.

Doing what has traditionally been regarded as a mans job has never posed a problem for Patricia.

It is unusual to some people. Everybody is saying you have an unusual job for a woman, but it is normal for me, she said. And yet Patricia did acknowledge that wherever she goes on a job, locals are likely to comment and even to stop and take photographs.

Her life with the trowel began as a child. As one of a family of four girls, her dad started her off early.

When I was small, he used to give me bits of mortar and I would be moulding away on top of a block. On Saturdays then I used to go out with him and I got used to using the hawk and trowel.

I didnt take to secondary school, Patricia admitted. But she was keen to work and develop her skills at plastering.

She had, she explained, a long apprenticeship in that she started so young. But it was not the usual apprenticeship. The Carrigkerry woman is largely self-taught but watched her dad carefully trying to improve herself every day.

I never looked at books It was just learning on the job. He let me do it, telling me it was right or wrong.

With more than 22 years in the trade under her belt now, Patricia is not afraid to take on any job, inside or out, and has done the work on her own home. Along the way too, she has worked in almost every county in Munster.

When her dad retired around 2005, Patricia got her own van. But the recession hit her hard. It was difficult for men to get work, she said, and even harder for her.

Last year however, she got back into her stride as her son Raymond took his place in the family plastering tradition. But first, she admitted, she had to get her plastering muscles moving again and back into working mode.

You would be stiff at times, is about as much as Patricia will say about the physicality of the job itself. And there are times she has to go to a chiropractor.

But clearly plastering is a job and a way of life that she loves, and, according to her dad with whom she worked until he retired: She is absolutely brilliant.

She is so clean and she comes up with great ideas, Jim Ahern said.

And, said the man who spent over a half century in the trade, she is better than many a male plasterer. The foundations of this family tradition are secure.
Guwahati: The newly launched Health City Hospital today (7 April) conducted the media OPD clinic at Guwahati Press club, where Dr Brajen Lahkar (medicine) from the city based multi super-speciality hospital offered free consultations to over 30 participants.





The Saturday camp at press club was organized under the series of Evening with a Doctor programs for the benefit of press club members along with their close relatives.





Nurses Sanjrambam Naobi Chanu and Joslyn Ramthermawi along with health workers Surajit Baruah, Aswique Iquball , Bhaskar Saikia, Kongkan Talukdar assisted the physician in the camp. Dr Atanu Barthakur, chief executive officer of the hospital and Manuj Kr Deka, project head also graced the camp.




Kathmandu, Nepal: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi have issued a joint communique stressing on the need of strengthening bilateral relations between the neighboring countries- Nepal and India.

A joint communique was issued amid a press conference at New Delhi of India on Saturday.





Here is a full-text of joint statement during the state visit of Prime Minister of Nepal to India:









1.The Rt. Honble Mr. K.P. Sharma Oli, Prime Minister of Nepal, is on a State visit to India from April 6-8, 2018, at the invitation of the Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi.





2. On April 7, 2018, the two Prime Ministers comprehensively reviewed the entire spectrum of multifaceted ties between the two countries. They welcomed the growing partnership between the two governments, private sector and at the peoples level. The two Prime Ministers resolved to work together to take bilateral relations to newer heights on the basis of equality, mutual trust, respect and benefit.





3.Recalling that the close and friendly India-Nepal relations are built on the strong foundation of shared historical and cultural links and close people to people contacts, the two Prime Ministers underscored the importance of regular high-level political exchanges in cementing bilateral ties.





4.Prime Minister Oli stated that his government attaches high importance to further strengthening friendly relations with India. He expressed the desire of the Government of Nepal to develop bilateral relations in a way so as to benefit from Indias progress and prosperity for economic transformation and development. Prime Minister Modi assured Prime Minister Oli that India remains committed to strengthening its partnership with Nepal as per the priorities of the Government of Nepal.





5. Prime Minister Modi stated that Government of Indias vision of Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas is a guiding framework for Indias engagement with its neighbours for a shared vision of inclusive development and prosperity. Prime Minister Oli stated that after the landmark political transformation, his Government has given priority to economic transformation with the motto Samriddha Nepal Sukhi Nepali. Prime Minister Modi congratulated the people and the Government of Nepal for successful conduct of local level, federal parliament and first-ever provincial elections in Nepal and appreciated their vision for stability, and development.





6. The two Prime Ministers inaugurated the Integrated Check Post at Birgunj in Nepal. They hoped that its early operationalization will enhance cross-border trade and transit of goods and movement of people bringing greater opportunities for shared growth and development.





7. The two Prime Ministers witnessed the ground breaking ceremony of the Motihari-Amlekhgunj cross-border petroleum products pipeline at Motihari, India.





8. The two Prime Ministers underlined the need for expeditious implementation of bilateral projects in Nepal, and to reinvigorate the existing bilateral mechanisms to promote cooperative agenda across diverse spheres.





9. Three separate joint statements on the following key areas of mutual interest were issued today:





India-Nepal: New Partnership in Agriculture





Expanding Rail Linkages: Connecting Raxaul in India to Kathmandu in Nepal

New Connectivity between India and Nepal through Inland Waterways





10. The two Prime Ministers agreed that the visit has imparted new dynamism to the multifaceted partnership between the two countries.





11.Prime Minister Oli thanked Prime Minister Modi for the invitation and warm hospitality extended to him and his delegation.





12. Prime Minister Oli extended an invitation to Prime Minister Modi to pay an early visit to Nepal. Prime Minister Modi accepted the invitation; dates would be finalized through diplomatic channels.





New Delhi




This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to Live Science's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights.

The remains of a 6-inch-long mummy from Chile are not those of a space alien, according to recently reported research. The tiny body with its strange features  a pointed head, elongated bones  had been the subject of fierce debate over whether a UFO might have left it behind. The scientists gained access to the body, which is now in a private collection, and their DNA testing proved the remains are those of a human fetus. The undeveloped girl suffered from a bone disease and was the child of an unknown local Atacama woman.

This study was supposed to end the mummy's controversy. Instead, it ignited another one.

This mummified fetus was extracted from the Cemetery of San Jose in Granada. (Image credit: DESIREE MARTIN/AFP/Getty Images)

Authorities in Chile have denounced the research. They believe a looter plundered the girl from her grave and illegally took her from the country. The Chilean Society of Biological Anthropology issued a damning statement. It asked, "Could you imagine the same study carried out using the corpse of someone's miscarried baby in Europe or America?"

As an archaeologist, I share in the excitement around how technology and techniques to study DNA are leaping ahead. As never before, the mysteries of our bodies and histories are finding exciting answers  from the revelation that humans interbred with Neanderthals, to how Britain was populated, to the enigma of a decapitated Egyptian mummy.

But, I have also closely studied the history of collecting human remains for science. I am gravely concerned that the current "bone rush" to make new genetic discoveries has set off an ethical crisis.

Plundering skulls for science

We have seen a rush for human remains before. More than a century ago, anthropologists were eager to assemble collections of skeletons. They were building a science of humanity and needed samples of skulls and bones to determine evolutionary history and define the characteristics of human races.

Researchers emptied cemeteries and excavated ancient tombs. They took skulls from massacre sites. "It is most unpleasant work to steal bones from a grave," the father of anthropology, Franz Boas, once grumbled, "but what is the use, someone has to do it."

The case of Qisuk, an Inuit man, provides an especially egregious example. In 1897, the explorer Robert Peary brought Qisuk and five others to New York from Greenland, so anthropologists could more easily study their culture. Four of them, including Qisuk, soon died of tuberculosis.

Anthropologists and doctors conspired to fake Qisuk's burial to trick his surviving 8-year-old son, then dissected the body and defleshed the bones. Qisuk's skeleton was mounted and hung at the American Museum of Natural History. (It is still disputed today whether Qisuk was only stored at the museum or put on public display.)

By the end of the 20th century, U.S. museums held the remains of some 200,000 Native American skeletons.

These skeletons helped write the American continent's history and foster an appreciation for Native cultures. Yet the insights gleaned from these gathered remains came at a steep price: Native Americans' religious freedoms and human rights were systematically violated. Many Native Americans believe their ancestors' spirits have been left to wander. Others insist that all ancestors should be afforded honor and their graves should be protected.

Today, a U.S. federal law provides for the return of stolen skeletons. Still, the legacy of these collections will haunt us for generations. Many Native Americans are profoundly distrustful of archaeologists. And even after nearly 30 years of active repatriation of human remains, there are still more than 100,000 skeletons in U.S. museums. By my estimation, it will take 238 years to return these remains at this rate  if they are ever even returned at all.

Seeking consent

For too long scientists failed to ask basic ethical questions: Who should control collections of human remains? What are the positive and negative consequences of studies based on skeletons? And how can scientists work to enhance, rather than undermine, the rights of the people they study?

One place to look for answers is the Belmont Report. Published in 1979, this was the scientific community's response to the Tuskegee Study. Over the course of 40 years, the U.S. government denied medical treatment to more than 400 black men infected with syphilis, to watch the disease's evolution. In the aftermath of the resulting scandal, the Belmont Report insisted that biomedical researchers must have respect for people, try to do good as well as avoid harm, and fairly distribute the burdens and benefits of research.

Although these guidelines were intended for living subjects, they provide a framework to consider research on the dead. After all, research on the dead ultimately affects the living. One way to ensure these protections is to seek informed consent from individuals, kin, communities or legal authorities before conducting studies.

In some cases consultation may be unwarranted. A skeleton of our earliest human ancestor, at 300,000 years old, is a patrimony which all of us could claim. However, a fetus with birth defects that is 40 years old  even one sensationalized as a space alien  likely has kin and community that should be considered. Between these two extremes lies DNA research's future of ethical engagement.

Are humans specimens?

In its defense, the journal Genome Research, which published the analysis of the Chilean mummy, stated that the "specimen"  the girl  did not require special ethical consideration. She does not legally qualify as a "human subject" because she is not living. So disregarding the rights of descendants, the editors only concluded that the controversy "highlights the evolving nature of this field of research, and has prompted our commitment to initiate community discussions."

To be sure, such discussions are desperately needed. In the same week that the mummy story hit the news, The New York Times published a profile of Harvard geneticist David Reich. The article celebrates how the jump forward in DNA research has led to sudden, luminous advances in our understanding of humanity's evolution and history. Reich said his dream is "to find ancient DNA from every culture known to archaeology everywhere in the world."

It is a beautiful aspiration. But both scientists and society now know to ask: Where will this DNA come from? Who will give their consent?

Chip Colwell, Lecturer on Anthropology, University of Colorado Denver

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. Follow all of the Expert Voices issues and debates  and become part of the discussion  on Facebook, Twitter and Google +. The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher. This version of the article was originally published on Live Science.
A private race to the moon is back on, without a title sponsor or a big cash prize.

Earlier this year, Google ended its decade-long sponsorship of the Google Lunar X Prize, a $30 million moon race that sought to spur commercial spaceflight and exploration. But Thursday (April 5), the nonprofit X Prize Foundation announced that it's relaunching the race as a non-cash competition (for now), with contest parameters to be worked out over the next few months.

"We are extraordinarily grateful to Google for funding the $30 million Google Lunar X Prize between September 2007 and March 31, 2018. While that competition is now over, there are at least five teams with launch contracts that hope to land on the lunar surface in the next two years," Peter Diamandis, X Prize founder and executive chairman, said in a statement. [Google Lunar X Prize: The Private Moon Race Teams (Images)]

"Because of this tremendous progress, and near-term potential, X Prize is now looking for our next visionary title sponsor who wants to put their logo on these teams and on the lunar surface," Diamandis added.

A new title sponsor would be responsible for funding contingent cash purses, X Prize representatives said.

The original Google Lunar X Prize called for privately funded teams to land a robotic spacecraft on the moon, move it at least 1,640 feet (500 meters) on the lunar surface and beam high-definition imagery back to Earth. The first team to do this would win the $20 million grand prize, and the second would snag $5 million. An addition $5 million was available for various special accomplishments, bringing the total purse to $30 million.

Over the years, more than two dozen teams threw their hats into the ring. But none of them ended up meeting the Google Lunar X Prize's shifting deadline. (The deadline was originally the end of 2012, but it was pushed back several times, finally to March 31 of this year.)

Only five teams remained in the competition to the very end  Florida-based Moon Express, Team Hakuto from Japan, Israel-based SpaceIL, India's Team Indus and international group Synergy Moon. As Diamandis mentioned, these five still plan to go through with their lunar missions, generally to lay the foundation for commercial operations based on moon mining and/or transportation services to the lunar surface.

"We applaud X Prize's decision to continue the Lunar X Prize, with or without a title sponsor," Bob Richards, Moon Express founder and CEO, said in the same statement. "While we plan to win this moon race and are committed to carrying the Lunar X Prize logo, the real opportunity is in opening the lunar frontier and the multibillion dollar industry that follows."

Follow Mike Wall on Twitter @michaeldwall and Google+. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook or Google+. Originally published on Space.com.
Two years ago, in front of a Seattle audience, George Lopezs rude F-word put-down of San Antonio was greeted with cheers in Washington state  and shock here.

It caused quite a social media stir.

After all, San Antonio has been a Lopez tour stop since the days when nobody knew who he was.

He eventually apologized for the slur via Twitter  twice.

The first time, he tweeted, I love you San Antonio, dont let Chisme destroy a great relationship. The second time, he said, Happy Easter! San Antonio, on this day of resurrection, please forgive me. I love you. Im deeply sorry.

READ MORE: George Lopez tells Seattle audience on comedy tour: 'F--k San Antonio'

On Friday night, he apologized a third time, this time in person.

Lopez was in town as part of The Comedy Get Down show with comics Eddie Griffin, Cedric the Entertainer and D.L. Hughley.

Lopez, who opened the show at the AT&T Center and then introduced each of the other comics, put any lingering animosity or questions about his sincerity to bed immediately.

Please forgive me about what I said about San Antonio, bellowed Lopez, who hit the stage at 8:40 p.m. to the beat of Wars Low Rider.

I love you guys. I love you guys.

Cheers, and laughter, were deafening. Some 11,000 fans had been expected Friday.

Dressed in a suit and wearing a vatolicious tan fedora with the brim turned down, he lit into late arrivals.

Between the blacks and the Mexicans, were lucky to start before midnight.

He also tore into President Donald Trump, that naranja (expletive).

(Expletive) that (expletive), Lopez said, rudely skewering a president who has accused Mexicans of being rapists and thieves.

I dont like Donald Trump.  When I see him, Im going to rob him and (expletive) him.

Lopez, 56, then shifted to his road-tested, razor-sharp, tough love barrio-style comedy.

Before the show, fans were willing to let bygones be bygones  mostly. Actually, some gave as good as they got when it comes to put-downs.

They just dont want to have their names associated with it in print against the comedy icon.

(Bleep) that (bleep), joked one man. His concert companion added: Hes a (expletive) comedian. Hes supposed to be dumb.

Im not from here, but I can see how that would upset somebody, another fan said.

Longtime Lopez fan George Urrutia attended the show with his wife, Michelle. He recalled the controversy but shrugged it off.

It doesnt really matter. He was saying something to pump up the crowd, Urrutia said.

His wife said the 2016 hoopla went in one ear and out the other.

I didnt pay too much attention, Michelle Urrutia said.
Albany

Their last try was 15 years ago.

It was 2003, and the nurses at Albany Medical Center who had hoped to form a union were feeling dejected. They had just lost their third attempt at unionizing, this time by 253 votes. On the previous try, in 2001, they lost by 237 votes. In 2000, they lost by a single vote.

Three tries in four years? That must be that, they thought. And they put their heads down and got back to work.

More than a decade later, their numbers have grown. Where once there were 1,200 voting-eligible nurses at the Capital Region's most comprehensive hospital, now there are 2,200. Where once unionized nurses were a relative rarity in New York, now they seem to be everywhere. Nurses have organized in Schenectady and Gloversville, the North Country and the Hudson Valley, and they seem to be enjoying higher pay and better benefits as a result.

And so it is that the nurses at Albany Medical Center feel their time has come again. On Thursday and Friday, after a nearly three-year organizing effort, they will vote again on whether to join a union. This time, they're seeking representation with the New York State Nurses Association, the state's largest nursing union representing 40,000 members.

"With everything I've seen and been through over the years, I believe it's going to happen this time," said Patty Pinho, a nurse of 35 years with Albany Medical Center.

"I'm feeling the same," said Karen Nieto, a 38-year Albany Med veteran who cares for premature babies in the neonatal intensive care unit.

Nieto voted no the last time around. Despite her husband's and father's pro-union stances, she had always had her doubts about unions. But as nurses continued to bring the same concerns to management  as their duties became more computerized and less patient-centered, as her colleagues started fleeing for higher-paying jobs  her feelings changed.

"Everybody is pro-union now," she said. "And we're not being pushed into it: This is what we want to do. This is what we want to see happen, and everybody has this feeling like it's finally going to happen."

Perhaps  but the renewed organizing effort hasn't been without controversy.

A dirty fight

As the election has neared, tensions at the hospital have grown. Nurses report getting daily emails from administrators discouraging them from voting yes. The emergence of "Vote yes," "Vote no" and "NYSNA" buttons has provoked what's been characterized as bullying on all sides. Pro-union flyers have been torn from bulletin boards. Red scrubs  the NYSNA color  have been confiscated. Already scheduled raises and vacation time have been threatened.

Additionally, managers are pulling nurses aside for one-on-one meetings to question them about their intended vote, according to interviews with nearly a dozen nurses. Some have left those meetings crying. Others have been confronted in the parking lot. Meanwhile, the sudden emergence of rarely seen managers orbiting nurses' stations has nurses on edge.

Filipino nurses who are in Albany on work visas were warned that unionizing could jeopardize their immigration status, according to one complaint that was filed with the state.

Albany Med has recruited trained nurses from the Philippines for more than 15 years. On Tuesday, they received a letter from one of those recruiters, longtime Albany Med nurse Lynne Longtin  whose title is "director of clinical quality and nursing research"  expressing disappointment that they would consider unionizing after being able to come to the U.S. and "fulfill the American dream."

"Do you want to pay dues every year rather than send your hard-earned dollars home to the Philippines?" she wrote in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by the Times Union.

"The legacy of the Philippine RN at AMC, it is in your hands," Longtin wrote. "Will it be the well-educated, excellent, compassionate RNs that helped to raise the bar at AMC or the Philippine nurse that helped bring AMC a nursing union and helped to create mediocrity???"

Reports from the union drive caught the attention of Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who on March 29 ordered the state Labor Department to investigate complaints of intimidation, threats and coercion by hospital administration ahead of the election.

It prompted a strong reaction from Albany Med CEO James Barba, who in a memo to staff the next day accused the union of spreading false allegations and said it was "pro-Albany Med employees" who had been subjected to bullying.

"Frankly, the bullying by the labor union supporters demonstrates exactly why a union at Albany Med is a bad idea," Barba wrote.

A letter sent to Barba on Thursday from the state Public Employee Conference  signed by dozens of its member unions  gave a sense of just how heated the rhetoric has become: "Your facility's reputation as the premier medical center in the Capital Region will be irreparably harmed when the public is made aware of the fact that your nursing staff is treated like human chattel," it stated in reference to reports of "veiled threats" and other forms of intimidation.

The letter closed by admonishing Barba to "Put your anti-labor agenda aside, and let your nurses be represented by professionals, so they can concentrate on being professionals!"

Trade-offs

Nurses want a union for many reasons. At the forefront, they say, is a feeling that they are simply not valued.

"I am expendable to them," said Wendy, a nurse who asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation. "They don't value me, and I should be valued."

Turnover also seems to be on the rise, nurses said. Nurses come to Albany Med and stay for a few years, and then leave for higher-paying positions elsewhere. While pay rates vary according to years of experience, nurses interviewed for this story said Albany Med's salaries were lower than those at comparable upstate hospitals.

"The result is we have new nurses training new nurses," said Lisa Eberhart, who has been at Albany Med for two and a half years. "I wasn't even a nurse for barely a year, and they already had me training another nurse. I don't really think that breeds the kind of safe, quality care our community deserves."

Health and retirement benefits aren't great, nurses said, while promotions, raises and scheduling requests appear to be granted based on whims and favoritism.

Staffing levels are sufficient in some units, but not in others, they said. And shifts are increasingly eaten up by computer and data entry responsibilities, leaving nurses less time with patients.

Unionizing could give the nurses a greater voice around these issues, they said.

But joining a union also has its drawbacks, hospital administrators have warned. In emails and fliers, they accused the union of feeding nurses half-truths and misinformation, highlighting successes downstate or up north while remaining silent about less successful bargaining at nearby Ellis Hospital.

Unionizing, they said, will result in a lack of flexible scheduling for nurses who may need to swap shifts at the last minute for family or school obligations.

"Albany Med provides the highest quality of care in the region because we attract and retain the most highly qualified and talented nurses and staff from throughout the region and from around the world," the hospital said in a statement to the Times Union. "Our pay and benefits are competitive, and our care environment is designed to allow our staff to maintain their focus on where it belongs  our patients and their families. We look forward to maintaining an open dialogue with our nurses on how to best provide care in the health care environment now and in the future."

bbump@timesunion.com  518-454-5387  @bethanybump
WASHINGTON - The Pentagon's mission against the Islamic State in Syria remains open-ended despite President Donald Trump's promise of a quick U.S. withdrawal.

Military leaders are focusing on pushing the once-powerful group out of the small foothold it controls in eastern Syria and ensuring that it cannot plot attacks against the United States, a task defense officials have suggested will require a U.S. footprint after the fighting stops.

What remains unclear is how the military will reconcile its vision with that of the president, whose distrust of foreign wars and desire to demonstrate a swift victory were evident in the past week as he vowed that U.S. troops would depart Syria "very soon."

"I want to get out. I want to bring our troops back home," Trump said. "It's time."

Public and private comments reveal a gap regarding America's future role in Syria. Military leaders, mindful of the fleeting nature of earlier military gains in Iraq and Afghanistan, have spoken repeatedly of the need for a robust post-conflict agenda.

Gen. Joseph Votel, the head of U.S. Central Command, predicted that the "hard part" lies ahead, as Syrian towns and cities now free of the Islamic State seek to rebuild and ensure that militants cannot return.

"Of course there is a military role in this," he said.

While commanders warn against leaving before the territory is stable enough to prevent an insurgent revival, the president wants other countries to stabilize the area.

Meeting with senior national security aides the same day, the president sought to limit U.S. involvement in stabilization activities, but did not press for an immediate withdrawal.

Military officials are trying to address Trump's concerns even as they race ahead with their plans for what many have described as "finishing the job."

"The president has actually been very good in not giving us a specific timeline, so that's a tool that we can use to our effect as we move forward," Lt. Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, director of the Joint Staff, told reporters this past week.

In an indication of an evolving Pentagon approach, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis suggested on Friday that the United States had not decided whether it would continue supporting its main partner in northern Syria after withdrawing troops. "We'll work all this out," he said.

For now, military leaders are centering their efforts on the remaining military mission, which presents a sharp contrast to the one they faced in 2014, when militants controlled a vast swath across central and eastern Syria.

After more than four years of intensive airstrikes and U.S.-supported ground operations, only a tiny fraction of that militant domain remains. Estimates of how many Islamic State fighters are in Syria and Iraq range from roughly 1,000 to 3,000, but the message from U.S. commanders is clear: A tactical victory is within reach.

Today, about 2,000 U.S. troops arrayed across northern and eastern Syria conduct a variety of missions. Chief among those is dealing with a small militant force dug in along the Euphrates River near the city of Bukamal, on Syria's border with Iraq.

There, U.S. forces advise and support members of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a Kurdish-dominated force that has been the main American military partner against the Islamic State.

After years of steady progress reclaiming militant-held territory, military leaders expressed frustration when the SDF diverted its efforts to defending the northwest city of Afrin from an onslaught by Turkish-backed Syrian forces.

Turkey has supported an aggressive campaign seeking to ensure that Syrian Kurds, whom it considers terrorists, cannot consolidate positions along its border.

While some Islamic State fighters remain, the campaign against them ground to a near-halt after key SDF leaders departed for Afrin. "The military was within weeks of accomplishing the military component of ISIS fight," said Jennifer Cafarella, who tracks events in Syria at the Institute for the Study of War.

In northern Syria, U.S. troops are expanding their activities around the city of Manbij, where the same Kurdish-Turkish tensions have the potential to erupt in greater violence and, U.S. officials fear, to allow the Islamic State to return.

In the city of Raqqa, which was the seat of Islamic State power until last year, a small number of U.S. troops are supporting contractors ridding the city of improvised bombs and a civilian mission working to restore governance and basic services.

As they are in other areas across northern and eastern Syria, U.S. troops are also training a new local force to keep Raqqa secure.

U.S. troops are also supporting internal security forces in areas along Syria's porous borders. Militants control another pocket of territory in the Euphrates River valley southeast of Deir al-Zour approaching the Iraqi border.

Late last month, Marine Corps Col. Seth Folsom described the Islamic State groups remaining in Syria as "small, disorganized, fractured groups of ISIS fighters" that local forces are seeking to hunt down one by one.

Even if the Islamic State loses every inch of territory it still holds, American military commanders warn that the extremist group will transform into an insurgency.

In a recent report for the New America think tank, analysts David Sterman and Nate Rosenblatt warned that while the U.S. military has rolled back the Islamic State's physical caliphate, it has not addressed the root causes that gave rise to the mobilization of its fighters in the first place. They said economic growth and political inclusion in the areas where the Islamic State recruited insurgents were critical to stopping a similar group from emerging.

The discussions about the future of Islamic State operations are just the latest attempt to craft a successful approach to a conflict whose complexity has defied U.S. policymakers since it erupted in 2011. They take place as the larger Syrian war continues, with a strengthened Syrian government extending its control over rebel areas thanks to support from Russia and Iran.

Anthony H. Cordesman, a former Pentagon official now at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said Russia was unlikely to act as a stabilizing force that would work with the Assad regime to prevent the Islamic State from reemerging.

"Russia is doing a superb job of playing a spoiler role," Cordesman said. "But it is neither capable of dominating a country on the ground nor is it capable of funding any serious form of rebuilding and development."

Cordesman warned that a precipitous exit from Syria could allow militants to regroup and launch attacks into western Iraq.

Although Trump has repeatedly emphasized the need to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria, he has said very little about his perspective on the U.S. military footprint in neighboring Iraq.

About 5,000 American troops have been helping local forces eradicate the Islamic State and stabilize recaptured territory.

- - -

The Washington Post's Karen DeYoung, Shane Harris, John Hudson and Carol Morello contributed to this report.

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Video: President Trump has said he wants to pull all U.S. troops out of Syria where they are supporting the Syrian Democratic Forces in the fight against the Islamic State.(Jason Aldag/The Washington Post)

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TAKARAZUKA, Japan - A female mayor on Friday criticized the Japan Sumo Association for not permitting her to give an address from the dohyo ring to welcome a Grand Sumo spring regional tour, instead making her give her remarks ringside.

"It's frustrating that I'm not allowed [to make this speech on the dohyo] because I'm a woman," said Tomoko Nakagawa, mayor of Takarazuka, Hyogo Prefecture, during a one-day visit to her city by the sumo tour.

"While respecting tradition, I believe [the JSA] should change something that needs to be changed," she said.

Nakagawa also delivered a speech from the side of the ring when the spring regional tour visited her city last year. At that time, the mayor said she had no hesitation when she accepted a request to speak from the side of the ring, which traditionally women are not allowed to stand on.

However, when Nakagawa learned that Ryozo Tatami, mayor of Maizuru, Kyoto Prefecture, suddenly collapsed Wednesday while giving an address on the ring, she asked the following day that the JSA allow her to make a speech from the dohyo.

The association rejected the request, asking her to respect the tradition and instead make her remarks ringside, according to the mayor.

"If the regional tour visits Takarazuka next year, I hope [the JSA] will allow me to give my speech from the dohyo," she said.

At a news conference following her address, Nakagawa said she will send a written request to the JSA that it hold discussions on whether to maintain this tradition, taking into consideration opinions from outside experts.
"We've started building the wall." - Donald Trump, remarks with Baltic leaders, April 3, 2018

- - -

When Donald President Trump signed the $1.3 trillion omnibus appropriations bill in March, he was especially grumpy about the fact that it did not fund his $25 billion request for his long-promised wall along the southern border. (We'll ignore the fact that during the 2016 campaign, he insisted that Mexico would be forced to pay for the wall.)

But since then, the president had been proclaiming that the wall is being built. On March 28, he even tweeted photographs and declared: "Great briefing this afternoon on the start of our Southern Border WALL!"

On March 30, he told a rally in Ohio that "you saw those beautiful pictures. . . . We started building our wall. I'm so proud of it. We started. We started. We have $1.6 billion, and we've already started." Then, in front of the leaders of three Baltic nations April 3, he said it again.

So what's going on here? Is the famous wall being built?

The Facts

The pictures Trump tweeted were of construction in Calexico, Calif. But here's the rub: On Feb. 28 - a month before Trump tweeted - the Desert Sun headlined an article about the construction titled: "In Calexico, Border Patrol starts constructing a border wall. No, not that border wall."

The article said that the Border Patrol had identified the project as a priority in 2009, and that funding for bollard fencing - hollow steel beams spaced several inches apart - had been appropriated in 2017. (If you look closely at Trump's photos, they show 30-foot-high fencing, not a wall.)

"We just wanted to get out in front of it and let everybody know that this is a local tactical infrastructure project that was planned for quite some time," David Kim, assistant chief patrol agent for the Border Patrol's El Centro sector, told reporters.

Indeed, when Trump ran for president, he described his vision of the wall: It would be 1,000 miles long, made of precast concrete slabs, rising 35 to 40 feet in the air. "It's going to be a high wall; it's going to be beautiful," he insisted in 2016, saying it would be "so easy" to get Mexico to fund it.

In 2017, then-White House spokesman Sean Spicer gamely insisted that bollard fencing was actually a wall, to the bemusement of reporters.

Now, the president appears to be engaged in the same bait-and-switch.

With great fanfare in March, Trump toured prototypes of a concrete wall while in California. Yet the language in the appropriations bill is specific: None of the $1.57 billion appropriated for border protection may be used for those prototypes.

Only designs from before May 2017, such as "currently deployed steel bollard designs, that prioritize agent safety," can be used. Moreover, the bill identified that the money for the barriers - about $1.3 billion - could be used only for items listed as "primary pedestrian levee fencing," "primary pedestrian fencing" and "secondary fencing." About $250 million is for secondary fencing, meaning it just backs up other fencing.

In a March 30 briefing for reporters, Customs and Border Patrol acting deputy commissioner Ronald D. Vitiello acknowledged that the agency faced "restrictions on this appropriation. . . . It does not fully fund our needs in the most critical locations." He said the prototypes viewed by Trump would be used to "help us inform a new design standard."

The closest thing to a wall would be the levee fencing, which is a concrete levee topped by bollard fencing. The bill allows for 25 miles in the Rio Grande Valley.

But the bill also bars any spending for a border barrier in the 2,088-acre Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge, one of the nation's top birdwatching sites, with more than 400 species. The administration had chosen the Santa Ana refuge as the first site for a border wall segment because it is owned by the federal government, avoiding legal entanglement with property owners, according to the Texas Observer.

Vitiello also said 654 miles of fencing already exists along the border as a result of the Secure Fence Act of 2006, and Trump's proposed wall would add about 350 miles, for a total of 1,000.

As far as we can tell, from review of local news articles, only 33 miles of new barrier - fencing on top of an existing levee in Hidalgo County, Texas, and a fence in Starr County, Texas - would be funded under the 2018 bill. The rest of the money appears to be for replacing existing fencing or barriers - with fencing.

But Vitiello insisted that the roughly 100 miles of fencing that was funded through 2017 and 2018 appropriations was "all new" because it will replace smaller, less-effective structures, such as barriers made of Vietnam War-era helicopter landing mats. That's what is happening in Calexico, where there is about two miles of landing-mat fencing. Officials said one problem with the landing-mat fencing is that agents could not see through to the other side.

Not to get too technical here, but the definition of a wall is a continuous structure with a common base, while a fence is something that has posts and can be seen through.

Speaking to reporters at the White House on April 4, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said: "If there's a wall before that needs to be replaced, it's being replaced by a new wall. So this is the Trump border wall."

Replacing a "current wall" would count as a "new wall," she said.

The problem is that it's fencing replacing fencing.

The Pinocchio Test

Every administration tries to spin a congressional loss into some kind of victory. But this takes it to new heights of ridiculousness.

The White House failed miserably to achieve its objectives on funding for a border wall, receiving relative peanuts. It sought $25 billion but ended up with 5 percent of that.

Moreover, the money came with strings attached so that it could be used only for fencing, not the "great" and "beautiful wall" promised by Trump.

In Orwellian fashion, fences have now become walls. Even then, the president has secured only enough money to pay for one-tenth of the new fence/wall he has sought. He earns Three Pinocchios.

Three Pinocchios
A lawmaker from South Carolina pulled out his loaded pistol during a meeting with his constituents Friday to make a point about gun safety, according to advocacy group members who were present.

Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., placed the gun on a table for "several minutes" while arguing that the presence of the weapon in the room made his constituents safer, according to volunteers for the South Carolina chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America.

"Rep. Norman's behavior today was a far cry from what responsible gun ownership looks like," said Lori Freemon, a volunteer who attended the meeting, in a news release. "I had looked forward to a respectful dialogue with my representative about common-sense gun violence prevention policies."

"Instead, I felt unsafe when he insisted on showing us his loaded gun and keeping it out on the table for much of our conversation," she said.

A spokesman for Norman could not be immediately reached.

Norman told the Post and Courier, however, that he pulled out the gun during a public meeting over breakfast at a Rock Hill diner to make the point that guns are only dangerous when they are in the hands of criminals. As a concealed carry permit holder, Norman said he often carries his guns with him in public.

The demonstration, he said, was intended to prove to constituents that "guns don't shoot people, people shoot guns," according to the Post and Courier. Norman told the attendees that if someone were to walk into the diner and begin shooting at them, he'd be able to protect them because of his gun.

"I'm not going to be a Gabby Giffords," Norman told the Post and Courier afterward, referring to the 2011 shooting of an Arizona congresswoman during a public appearance in the Tucson area. "I don't mind dying, but whoever shoots me better shoot well or I'm shooting back."

Norman said he does not regret pulling out his gun - and in fact plans to conduct the same demonstration at other constituent meetings moving forward, according to the Post and Courier, and denied that any of the attendees at Friday meetings jumped or appeared frightened by the gun.

"I'm tired of these liberals jumping on the guns themselves as if they are the cause of the problem," Norman told the newspaper. "Guns are not the problem."
It's a common scene along Nigeria's main roads -- barriers stopping cars, machine-gunners poised behind sandbags and stern-looking soldiers checking vehicle trunks and scrutinizing the faces of passengers.

While soldiers held power for 29 years and have always played an internal security role in Nigeria, their deployment has surged since former military ruler Muhammadu Buhari won the presidency in 2015. Operating in all 36 states, they're dealing with a range of crises: Islamist militant attacks in the northeast, simmering unrest in the oil-producing Niger River delta, conflict between crop farmers and herders and widespread robberies and kidnapping.

"The increasing deployment of military forces for internal security operations across the country underscores the profoundly dysfunctional state of Nigeria's public safety institutions, particularly the ineffectiveness of the police force," said Nnamdi Obasi, West Africa analyst for the Brussels-based International Crisis Group.

Army chief Tukur Buratai last month announced the creation of two new divisions and six brigades in what he described as a response to Buhari's directive to expand the footprint of the military nationwide to meet internal security challenges.

"The kind of criminality and the kinds of weapons being used have reached a level of sophistication to a point that the police doesn't have the capacity to handle it and the military has to come in," said Defense Ministry spokesman John Agim. "The situation isn't good for the military; it's not good for the police."

Special forces are being deployed in the northwestern state of Zamfara to battle gangs of bandits that have carried out repeated attacks on villages, Nigerian Air Force spokesman Olatokunbo Adesanya said Wednesday in an emailed statement. At least 32 people were killed in the latest raid last week that targeted the village of Bawan Daji.

The police are stretched, as many officers are assigned to personal security details. At least 150,000, more than a third of the total force, guard so-called "big men" -- politicians, government officials, and the wealthy, according to figures released by the Police Service Commission. That leaves 250,000 cops for the rest of Nigeria.

"Look at the numbers: We are 180 million people and we have 400,000 policemen in the country," presidential spokesman Garba Shehu said by phone. "The police can't be everywhere because of their low number."

Police Inspector General Ibrahim Idris said on March 22 that all police personnel assigned to individuals will be recalled later this month to tackle the manpower shortage. With Africa's top oil producer preparing for general elections in February, political tension is building as campaigns start to get underway. Buhari, 75, hasn't said if he'll seek re-election.

Cooperation between the two forces often breaks down. In February, when the Islamist militant group Boko Haram abducted 110 schoolgirls in the northeastern town of Dapchi after soldiers had withdrawn, the military said it's the police's job to ensure public safety. The police responded by saying the army never officially handed over the area.

The military's involvement in policing is also fraught with risks of politicization in a country of more than 250 ethnic groups almost evenly split between a mainly Muslim north and a predominantly Christian south. Under Buhari, most of the top security commands are run by trusted aides who are fellow northern Muslims.

While the military under Buhari was successful in driving Boko Haram fighters from northeastern towns they previously occupied, it's facing violence in areas such as the central part of the country where mainly Christian farming communities are battling mainly Muslim herders over grazing land.

Former army chief and Defense Minister Theophilus Danjuma accused the military last month of aiding herders who are in conflict with crop farmers and urged people to form self-defense groups.

"For a former military chief and defense minister to say this, it does warrant some investigation," said Clement Nwankwo, executive director of Abuja-based Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre.

Presidential spokesman Garba said such declarations could inflame public opinion and threaten national security. "We must be careful to avoid the mess that destroyed other African countries like Somalia," he said in a statement.

The Buhari administration has a "basic inclination" to respond to internal security challenges with army muscle, according to Crisis Group's Obasi, and it needs to do more to seek non-military solutions.

Last month the government did just that, using what Information Minister Lai Mohammed described as back-channel contacts to secure the release of almost all of the abducted schoolgirls from Dapchi. And the government hopes to start negotiations to end the nine-year conflict with Boko Haram, he said.

"Episodic deployment of military forces will not solve Nigeria's internal security challenges," Obasi said. "What is needed are constitutional, political and administrative responses to grievances and demands in various parts of the country."

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Bloomberg's Michael Olukayode contributed.
On a small island known for olives and wild monkeys in western Japan, Rika Onishi spends her days tasting and sniffing sesame oil. She's one of a small group of Kadoya Sesame Mills Inc. employees who make sure the oil always has the same taste and aroma. "We're getting customers to eat this, so we need to take it seriously," she says.

Founded in 1858, Kadoya imports sesame seeds from Africa and turns them into the edible oil commonly used in Japanese and other Asian cuisines. Generations of families have worked at Kadoya's sole plant on Shodoshima island, meticulously producing thousands of tons of oil a year.

Kadoya is the epitome of smaller Japanese companies' ability to obsess over one niche business, repeating and refining their process over centuries. While little-known outside their spheres, they're frequently among the biggest global players within them. And more often than not, they don't make a fuss about their achievements.

"We're boneheads," laughs Jiro Ozawa, Kadoya's 80-year-old president. Kadoya is "only good at doing one thing," he says. And "160 years isn't actually a big deal."

Maiko Kyogoku, who owns the Japanese restaurant Bessou in New York, begs to differ. She uses Kadoya's oil in most dishes, on everything from udon noodles to Romaine lettuce, for a Japanese twist on Caesar salad. Her father swore by it in his restaurant. "I guess he always knew the good stuff," she says.

Sesame oil is filled with nutrients and has a distinct fragrance and flavor. As well as being used as a cooking oil and condiment in oriental cuisine, it's popular as a massage lotion and in alternative medicines.

Kadoya gets Japanese commodities trading houses to import sesame seeds from countries including Nigeria, Tanzania and Burkina Faso, and then roasts them to give the oil its toasty aroma. Kyogoku of Bessou says Kadoya's oil is nuttier than other brands and has a particularly powerful scent.

"Kadoya is a master of the art of sesame oil," says Yasuyuki Kamata, president and founder of Kamakura Investment Management Co., a shareholder. "It has a loyal customer base because of products that outclass those of its competitors."

Kadoya's shares have more than doubled since June 2016. When asked about this surge, Ozawa initially expresses bewilderment. "I wonder why," he says, before correcting himself. "It's because of our earnings," he says.

Only about one-fifth of the company's shares are freely traded. And while Kadoya is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's main board, no analysts cover the stock, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, even though it has a market value of more than $550 million.

While investors such as Kamakura value Kadoya's immutable artisan qualities, there's also another side to the company, one of remarkable change.

There are two notable examples. When Ozawa's father-in-law Naohei took over as Kadoya's chief executive officer in 1957, sesame oil wasn't used by Japanese households, the company says. It was an institutional cooking oil sold in large vats mainly to tempura restaurants. When Naohei visited the U.S., he noticed different types of edible oils on grocery-store shelves, including canola, olive and coconut, and decided to try to popularize sesame oil in Japan.

"Everyone in the industry thought he was crazy," Ozawa says of Naohei's move. "They said no one would buy it."

Naohei designed a yellow-capped, hourglass-shaped bottle that's simply labeled "Sesame Oil," made to be easily held by people with oil on their hands, and went store to store urging retailers to sell it. Eventually, the founder of what was one of Japan's largest supermarket chains agreed to stock the oil, and sales took off, according to Kadoya. Sesame oil soon became commonplace in Japanese household kitchens.

Later, in the 1970s, Kadoya decided to move beyond Japan. This time, Naohei Ozawa targeted the U.S., particularly its Asian-American communities, betting that Kadoya sesame oil would catch on with customers other than Japanese people.

Today, Kadoya has more than half the market for Japanese sesame oils sold in the U.S., according to the company. "You can't get a robust, roasted sesame flavor from other brands," says Joe Isidori, chef and owner of Black Tap Craft Burgers & Beer in New York. "All the rest fall flat."

Ozawa says he cares about Kadoya's share price but doesn't obsess over it in the way his Shodoshima staff do about the quality of the oil. In any case, he's busy leading the company through its next big change. Because Kadoya only has one factory, some customers are insisting on having contracts with other manufacturers, just in case there's a supply problem.

So after many decades making the oil only on Shodoshima, Kadoya is finally opening a new plant, in Chiba, not far from Tokyo in eastern Japan. While that raises questions of how the company will fare without the generations of tradition it has built on Shodoshima, Ozawa -- perhaps not surprisingly -- is adamant the transition will be fine. Kadoya will rely more on mechanization at its new plant, he says. And ultimately, the product will stay the same.

"The sesame oil used by your grandmother's generation, your mother's generation and your generation is exactly the same," Ozawa says. "It has never changed."
A former national ranking member of the Bandidos testified Friday that the groups latest president kicked his predecessor out of the biker club for appearing on a television documentary.

William Big G Ojemann, a Bandidos member from 2008 until 2013, said George Wegers, who was the Bandidos president from 1998 until his arrest in 2005, had his Bandidos patches revoked by his successor, Jeffrey Fay Pike, because Wegers appeared in a report about the club.

Pike was like, (expletive) him. We dont do interviews. We dont do TV, Ojemann testified, recalling a conversation he said he had with Pike in 2012. It was a patch-pull offense.

RELATED: 'Hundreds of condoms' destroy pipe. police raid Texas massage parlor

Ojemann is the latest ex-insider to testify against his former Bandidos brothers at the racketeering trial in San Antonio of Pike and ex-national vice president John Xavier Portillo.

Pike, of suburban Houston, took the reins of the Bandidos until he and Portillo, who became vice president in 2013, were arrested in January 2016, according to testimony.

Though Wegers returned to the Bandidos after serving a 20-month prison sentence for racketeering charges, he is no longer in the club because of the documentary, Ojemann said, without specifying which one.

Ojemann, who was 6 foot 3 inches tall and weighed 420 pounds while he was national sergeant at arms, said he and other Bandidos members carried out beatings or intimidation of rivals or wayward Bandidos on direct or indirect orders from Pike and Portillo.

RELATED: Affidavit provides detailed timeline of what allegedly happened the night Zuzu Verk disappeared

While much of the testimony to date has come from Bandidos from San Antonio and focused largely on Portillo, Ojemann is the first ex-Bandido from the Houston area to testify. Ojemann said he became close to Pike and saw some of his decisions firsthand.

For instance, Ojemann said he attended a meeting in 2011 at the Mason Jar restaurant in Houston in which Pike and other national members talked about Pikes proposal to split the Bandidos from chapters in Europe and Australia.

Ojemann said most Bandidos appeared to back Pike, who also called for a new patch to represent the club, but there was a faction who didnt, including John Galveston John Lammins, who was president of a chapter in Costa Rica, and Ernest Morgas, an El Paso chapter president.

As Ojemann rode with Pike back to his house, Ojemann said Pike seethed.

I remember him turning down the radio and saying he wanted Galveston Johns (backside), Ojemann said. He was pissed. He wanted Galveston John (expletive) up.

Ojemann said he and another national member were tasked with trying to find Lammins. Ojemann said that on one occasion, Lammins was tipped off and didnt show up to where Ojemann and others would have pummeled him, or he was in places that were too public for an attack.

But other members from San Antonio did beat up and kick Morgas out of the Bandidos, Ojemann said .

Additionally, prosecutor Eric Fuchs asked Ojemann about the difference between Bandidos in Houston and those in San Antonio.

San Antonio is known as the jungle. The lions den, Ojemann said. San Antonio always handled business. If you needed violence done, you put in a call to San Antonio.

Ojemann said Houston had to be more laid back.

It was the big boss backyard, Ojemann said. For the most part, everybody knew, dont cause no (expletive) in Houston.

But defense lawyers for Pike and Portillo attacked Ojemanns testimony as self-serving, or of being fabricated to wrongly accuse their clients in order to save himself from lengthy prison time in his own drug case.

Under cross-examination, Ojemann admitted being involved in drug trafficking with another Bandidos member. Initially indicted on drug and gun counts that would have left him facing a minimum of 15 years and up to life in prison, Ojemann said he pleaded guilty in Houston federal court to reduced charges. And that, Pike and Portillos lawyers argued, could leave Ojemann facing a sentence closer to two years, maybe even probation.

Pikes lead attorney, Dick DeGuerin, also said some of the incidents Ojemann testified about were part of Pikes efforts to clean up the Bandidos.

Pike did not approve of members dealing in drugs, which was one of his concerns with the chapters in Europe and Australia, DeGuerin said. And, there were some Bandidos members in those chapters who, when arrested, were found to have pictures of Osama bin Laden at their homes, DeGuerin said.

You knew that Jeff was concerned that with the war on terrorism, the Bandidos might get a reputation that they have terrorists? DeGuerin asked.

Ojemann agreed with that, and with DeGuerins assertion that Pike was disappointed with Ojemann for his involvement in drugs.

Portillos lead lawyer, Mark Stevens, noted that what Ojemann told investigators in debriefings differed from his court testimony.

Stevens asked him if he had told agents he left the club after losing interest in the club over matters he didnt agree with. Ojemann refuted that, maintaining that Pike kicked him out, though Pike allowed him to remain in good standing.

Stevens pressed Ojemann on whether he had ever said before that he left the club by mutual agreement.

Those words never came out of my mouth, Ojemann answered.
Texas Republican leaders embrace of the Trump administrations efforts to add a citizenship question to the U.S. census in 2020 flies in the face of practical considerations, such as protecting federal funds vital to the state budget and avoiding a reduction in Texas congressional representation.

Why? Because the attitudes of Texas Republican voters on immigration are taking political precedence over the best interests of the state.

Texas polling data shows a negative network of attitudes toward both legal and illegal immigrants among many GOP voters. This creates a significant obstacle to persuading Republican voters to consider the possible negative repercussion of changing the census form. Any Republican leader who might publicly oppose the census order fears angering these voters.

Large majorities of Texas Republicans have regularly expressed a lack of tolerance toward undocumented immigrants in the United States. In the February University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll, 70 percent of Republican voters supported the proposition that all undocumented immigrants should be removed from the country immediately.

The effects of these attitudes already resonate in the political process in Texas. The Republican majority in the most recent Texas Legislature passed an anti-sanctuary city law that required law enforcement agencies to cooperate with federal immigration authorities, and barred local authorities from prohibiting officers from questioning a persons immigration status when the person is legally detained.

The states leadership was playing in tune with their political base: In UT/Texas Tribune polling in October, 88 percent of Republicans supported requiring local law enforcement officials to cooperate with federal immigration authorities, and 69 percent said officers should always be able to question a persons immigration status.

The poll also explored Texans views of legal immigrants and found only a small degree of difference between Republicans disapproval of legal and illegal immigration. In the February UT/Texas Tribune Poll, 62 percent of Republicans expressed the opinion that the United States allows too many people to immigrate here legally, and 49 percent disagreed with the statement that newcomers from other countries enrich Texas with their hard work and values.

GOP voters reservations about the role of immigrants extends to other areas, such as birthright citizenship. Although the debate about birthright citizenship as guaranteed by the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution has, for now, receded from the public agenda, UT/Texas Tribune polling in November 2015, in the wake of proposals by candidate Trump as well as other Republicans to repeal birthright citizenship, 66 percent of Texas Republicans favored repealing this part of the 14th Amendment.

Were immigration competing with other priorities for the attention of Republican voters, there might be potential for state elected officials to redirect voters attention toward realistic concerns about defending the flow of federal funds to the state for social spending, transportation and education. The grounds for the argument hide in plain sight. In the 2016 fiscal year, according to the comptrollers office, federal funds comprised more than a third of state budget revenue at 35.5 percent.

However, immigration and border security routinely top the list of concerns cited by about half of Texas Republicans as the most important problems facing the state. No other issues come close to competing for Republican voters attention.

Given this array of attitudes among the voters who dominate both the selection of state Republican candidates and the winners in the general election, these elected officials remain eternally vigilant in their efforts to remain on the right side of the electorate  and one another  on all things related to immigration.

The result is that they continue to channel the nativist impulses that flow through their base, whatever the policy consequences.
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi has served as state counsellor of Myanmar since 2016. Although she is essentially prime minister, the countrys struggle to build a democracy seems to have stalled.

There is only bad news out of Myanmar, according to Western news reports. Endless sobering articles tell about the persecution of the Rohingya minority, the flight of refugees to Bangladesh, corruption in the courts, ethnic cleansing, repression of journalists, violence by Buddhists and the murder of a top Burmese Muslim adviser to the government.

Critics argue that Suu Kyi lacks the conviction to do what is required to create a modern, stable progressive democracy. However, that is almost surely wrong.

Suu Kyis life story paints a wholly different picture. Her character was forged by the assassination of her father, her work at the United Nations, her house confinement for 15 years as a political prisoner, and the assassination attempt on her that left countless supporters dead or injured.

For 30 years, Suu Kyi has led the fight for democracy in Myanmar. What she lacks is not courage or commitment to democratic values but the institutional capacity to move the country faster toward such goals. By law, the military still holds one-fourth of the seats in Parliament. More than a half-century of dictatorial misrule by the military took a heavy toll on Myanmar.

What was once one of the best-educated nations in Asia is now one of the least educated. What was once one of the richest nations in Asia is now one of the poorest. What was once a colony brave enough to demand its independence from the British Empire is now a timid country terrorized by decades of repression. The risk that the countrys military might again assert full control over the government seems to hover just off-stage.

Suppose that, in a fledgling democracy, for most of the past three decades the universities were closed, government-perpetrated violence was common, the teaching of political science was forbidden, and vast numbers of children were denied even a basic education. What would that mean? One would expect democratic impulses to be stunted and for it to be very difficult to pursue democratic ideals effectively. That is precisely what has happened in Myanmar.

I have spent the past four months teaching as a Fulbright scholar at the University of Mandalay, in Myanmars second largest city. Mandalay is roughly the size of San Antonio, in a country the size of Texas, but with more than twice the population.

The University of Mandalay law school is ranked as the best in Myanmar. However, a visitor cannot help but notice that the library is meager and poorly lit, that parts of the campus crumble in ruins, that birds fly through dusty classrooms even when courses are in session, and that almost the entire middle tier of law faculty is missing.

There are a few experienced, older law professors who survived many decades of military rule and who are reassuringly future-minded. There are also many very young law faculty members  newly minted Ph.D.s who are bright and eager but inexperienced.

Between those two extremes, there is almost no one on the law faculty. That missing generation is the one that grew up when the universities were closed and the teaching of dangerous subjects was forbidden.

The absence of the faculty middle tier means that much of the professional wisdom and courage that comes with experience is missing from the law school. There is no easy way to fill that void. It will simply take time to develop the strengths that are missing. That includes many skills that are indispensable to a strong democracy, such as independent thought, free expression, passionate advocacy and insistence on honest practices.

Experienced Western observers of the Myanmar government say that Suu Kyi faces the same problem. The middle tier of governmental talent is missing. There is no experienced cohort of potential leaders that has grown up under even a weak democratic regime.

The country lacks institutional capacity to move faster toward full democracy. Absent are the wisdom, experience and courage that come from getting a strong basic education, attending good colleges and universities, reading a free press and living in a democratic society.

There is nevertheless some good news. The work to build stronger political and civic institutions in Myanmar continues in many ways.

Interested students and activists regularly pack the U.S.-funded Jefferson Center in Mandalay and the American Center in Yangon to hear speakers, read books, use the internet and meet other reform-minded people.

In my classes, students study the importance of ethics in public life and discuss threats to democracy around the world. They also write papers about the opportunities for building stronger democracies and make class presentations about how to use law to fight corruption in government, education and the professions. They discuss the comparative merits of free trade and protectionism.

The young Burmese faculty members who recently presented papers at a conference celebrating the 25th anniversary of the University of Mandalays law school addressed important topics, such as human rights, shareholder remedies, environmental law, the status of women and the rights of children.

In Naypyidaw, the Myanmars capital, I conducted three training sessions for roughly three dozen progressive members of Parliament about critical issues facing their country. The topics included rule of law, judicial independence and international trade law. Rather than skip these evening programs sponsored by the National Democracy Institute, which is funded by the U.S. State Department, the parliamentary members listened carefully to my translated talks and attentively studied my slides, which had been converted into Burmese. They grilled me with questions to make sure they understood my arguments.

Building an effective democracy takes time, especially when anti-democratic forces are strong and recent history has been brutal. The United States needs to continue to engage with the people of Myanmar and to support their best hopes for the future.

Those hopes are real. One can see that on the faces of the Burmese people on the vibrant streets, on the university campuses and in the market. They know that democracy is much better than dictatorship and prefer global connections to isolation.

At least in the cities, everyone has a cellphone and a Facebook account. While cars are too expensive for most people, electric and gas scooters are fairly ubiquitous. Looking at the people using their phones and riding often two, three or four to a scooter, it is clear that they are happy. They know how far they have come in the past few years, and they want the future, not the past.

However, there is no quick fix for the harm that was done by 50 years of oppressive military rule. Developing effective democratic institutions is a slow process, even in the best of times. Meanwhile, the United States must make a strong investment in Myanmar by developing the important bridges that come from increased trade, tourism, educational exchange and diplomatic support.

The Burmese people deserve that.
Public college students and their parents can thank the Texas Legislature for higher tuition bills come the fall semester.

The Legislatures failure to meet the funding needs of higher education has prompted many of the states public colleges and universities to raise their tuition for the coming school year.

At the University of Texas at San Antonio, tuition will go from $4,945 a semester for 15 credit hours to $4,990 in the fall. It further increases to $5,078 for fall 2019.

At Texas A&M University-San Antonio, the tuition hike approved by the board of regents will increase the cost for 15 semester hours from $3,974 to $4,121.

RELATED: Commentary: Dual credits ease financial burden

Semester-to-semester price coDual credits ease financial burdenmparisons dont tell a complete story of the escalating cost of a college education in Texas. The state has slowly been reducing its share of funding for higher education. And it has become expected that the campuses will make up the difference with tuition. That, however, has not kept some lawmakers from posturing for political benefit, railing against rising tuition rates.

Transferring the tuition-setting authority to regents appointed by the governor to serve on university boards was a clever political move by the Legislature. State lawmakers know they can shortchange higher education because the university boards will feel obligated to make up the difference with tuition.

An added bonus of the arrangement is that it allows the regents, appointees of the governor, to take the heat off elected officials, who can claim no direct involvement in the rising cost of a college education.

But, in truth, cutting state funding for higher education directly causes tuition increases. Denial is a sham, and pointing fingers at regents is an evasion of responsibility.

RELATED: 2 Texas universities land on list of 'best colleges for big paychecks'

In the past three decades, the states share of funding for higher education has dropped significantly. In 1990, about 25 percent of higher education costs were covered by tuition; today that figure is about 46.5 percent. It is not a problem unique to Texas; most other states also have reduced their higher education funding.

Since 2003, when the Texas Legislature transferred tuition-setting authority to university regents, the average tuition at four-year public universities has more than doubled. Since the 2008 recession, state funding of Texas four-year universities has been been reduced by about $1,620 per student, according to a report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities issued late last year.

State leaders get defensive when it comes to discussions of higher education funding. They are quick to point out they have funneled millions more into the higher education budget during the past few legislative sessions. The plain truth is that it has not been enough.

The state is trying to develop more tier-one, research-focused universities. It also has a lofty 2030 goal of 60 percent of Texans  ages 25 to 34  having earned a training certificate or college degree that will enhance their employment possibilities.

Getting there requires a sustained investment in higher education. U.S. Census Bureau figures for 2015 show that only 41 percent of Texas residents in that age group had a certificate or degree.

Recruiting students is the easy part; keeping them enrolled comes with many challenges. And that requires investment in programs that will ensure student success. When funds are tight, these type of programs suffer.

Forcing a larger share of the costs on students and their families could backfire, pricing students  particularly those of modest means  out of the market.

Lawmakers must stop shirking their responsibilities and address the states higher education needs  not to mention their responsibilities for public education, K-12.

Punting to boards of regents and forcing them to bail out the state is disingenuous. That must change in next years legislative session.
Breaking with tradition, the Macalope is here to link to a piece that he likes rather than one that has him banging his antlers against his desk.

Poor desk. It never did anything. It deserves a day off.

Jonathan Kim noticed the same thing the Macalope did about The Verges Vlad Savovs evolving opinion on Airpods.

AirPods and the Three Stages of Apple Criticism.

Yes, just like rockets, pundit opinions can have stages. And both can fail in extravagant and embarrassing explosions.

Kims three stages are Anger, which comes after the product is announced and pundits just know they hate it, Blaming the Victims, when the products success is the fault of those dumb Apple fans, and Acceptance, wherein the pundit realizes, hey, this product is actually good.

The Macalope also made note of Savovs change of heart about the AirPods and both he and Kim give him credit for admitting he was wrong. But Kim is right about this pattern being a Thing with pundits. And not an adorable and helpful severed hand kind of Thing but more like an insidious alien bacteria that can appear as anyone and replace you cell by cell kind of thing and, oh, god, now its an upside-down head walking around on spider legs kind of Thing.

The horny one noticed another set of Apple-related opinion stages. Take what happens when Apple releases a new technology, such as AI, biometrics, or contactless payment. First, pundits will point out that other companies had this before. [Audible scoff] Motorola shipped this two years ago in the Droid Dingus! Apple invents nothing! Then, when the technology is delivered and people use it, unlike the previous incarnations, because Apple actually made it useful, its time to discuss the dangers of said technology. Society as we know it will collapse because iPhones will cause car accidents or hackers will steal your biometric data or simply being able to buy things quickly is a bad idea!

The societal impacts of technologies never seem to come up when Samsung or LG or Huawei (which U.S. intelligence agencies worry may literally be spying for the Chinese government) implements something. It only happens when Apple, the company that actually cares more about the privacy of its customers, does. Call this the Schrodingers Crap paradox, where a company can be chastised for not having invented something but still take all the blame for it.

Read Kims whole piece but his penultimate paragraph is the best for the Macalopes money:

Apple is obviously not a perfect company, and they should not only be held accountable for their mistakes and poor decisions, they should be held to the highest standards possible since, as the worlds leading tech company, what they do has an outsized effect on the entire industry and can set the tone for how all tech companies should behave. However, when criticism of Apple and its products becomes hyperbolic, raging, closed-minded, and involves stereotyping and insulting tens of millions of Apple customers, it may get more clicks, but it doesnt improve Apple products or make Apple a better company.

Lets ride bikes, Jonathan.
For years, scientists have believed that hippocampal neurons stop being generated as we reach old age. But, a new study dramatically overturns this long-held belief. Share on Pinterest A new study concludes that, even in older adults, brain cells continue to thrive. As the population of the United States lives longer and the number of older adults slowly rises, understanding how the brain reacts as it ages is becoming ever more important. Of particular interest is the production of new neurons, or neurogenesis, in the hippocampus. This is a brain region vital for turning short-term into long-term memories, among other tasks, such as navigation. If the hippocampus degenerates, so too does memory performance. Over the years, the idea that neurogenesis in the hippocampus stops as we enter our twilight years has been hotly debated. In rodents and primates, for instance, the ability to grow new neurons in this region has been shown to slow with age . As this occurs, one part of the hippocampus called the dentate gyrus, particularly important for the formation of new memories, shrinks in volume. For some time, scientists have believed that this occurs in humans, too. Recently, researchers from Columbia University and New York State Psychiatric Institute, both in New York City, NY, ran an experiment in the hope of reaching a definitive conclusion.

The aging hippocampus revisited Previous studies have explored hippocampal volume in aging humans, but the results have been hampered by the technical difficulties of accurately measuring parts of the brain using scanning technology. To circumvent these issues, the researchers inspected the whole, autopsied hippocampi of 28 men and women, all aged 1479, who had died suddenly. None of the individuals had long-term health problems or cognitive deficits, and none had had a significantly stressful life event in their last 3 months of life. The team also ensured that none of the individuals had been depressed or taking antidepressant medications. This is important because previous research by the same team demonstrated that antidepressants negatively affect neurogenesis. This recent study was the first to assess the numbers of newly formed neurons and blood vessels in the whole human hippocampus following death. The results are published this week in the journal Cell Stem Cell. Surprisingly, the scientists found that older men and women can generate the same level of new brain cells as younger people. Lead study author Dr. Maura Boldrini, an associate professor of neurobiology at Columbia University, explains the results. We found, she says, that older people have similar ability to make thousands of hippocampal new neurons from progenitor cells as younger people do. We also found equivalent volumes of the hippocampus (a brain structure used for emotion and cognition) across ages. Even the oldest brains, in their 8th decade of life, were still producing new brain cells. The authors write, We found similar numbers of intermediate neural progenitors and thousands of immature neurons.
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Blood pressure is one of the four major vital signs, the others being heart rate, breathing rate, and body temperature. These vital signs can help give a general idea of how well the body and its organs are performing. Changes in a persons vital signs can indicate an underlying health problem or a need to make lifestyle changes. Blood pressure is typically measured using a blood pressure cuff. People who do not have the proper equipment may still want to measure their blood pressure, but this is difficult to do accurately. In most cases, it is better to buy a blood pressure machine or visit a doctor or pharmacy for testing.

Measuring the blood pressure Share on Pinterest Blood pressure may reflect a persons state of health. Blood pressure measures the amount of force blood places on the blood vessels in the body. A blood pressure reading includes two numbers that indicate the pressure inside the arteries as the blood flows through the body. The upper number, called the systolic pressure, measures the pressure inside the arteries as the heart contracts to pump blood. The lower number, called the diastolic pressure, is the pressure inside the artery as the heart rests between each beat. According to the American Heart Association, normal blood pressure is anything below 120/80 mm Hg. If these numbers go higher than 120/80 mm Hg, it is often an indication that the heart is working too hard to pump blood through the arteries. High blood pressure can be caused by many factors, including: stress

fear

high cholesterol

plaque buildup in the arteries Accurate blood pressure readings are important, as high blood pressure may not cause any symptoms until it is dangerously high. Doctors use either electronic or mechanical machines to measure blood pressure in a clinic. In some cases, they may recommend monitoring and recording the blood pressure at home. Monitoring blood pressure at home usually requires a machine that insurance may or may not cover. Reasons a doctor may recommend monitoring blood pressure at home include needing to know the blood pressure at certain times of the day or after taking certain medications. It is possible, however, to take blood pressure without using a machine.

Checking the blood pressure manually Share on Pinterest A stethoscope, blood pressure cuff, and aneroid monitor are required in order to measure blood pressure accurately. To check the blood pressure without the aid of an automated machine, a person will need several medical items. These are: a stethoscope

a blood pressure cuff with a squeezable balloon

an aneroid monitor, which has a numbered dial to read measurements To check the blood pressure manually, sit in a relaxed position with the arm at rest on a table. Secure the cuff on the bicep and squeeze the balloon to increase the pressure. Watch the aneroid monitor and increase the pressure to about 30 mm Hg over the normal blood pressure, or to 180 mm Hg if this is not known. When the cuff is inflated, place the stethoscope just inside the elbow crease under the cuff. Slowly deflate the balloon and listen through the stethoscope. When the first beats hit, note the number on the aneroid monitor. This is the systolic pressure. Continue listening until the steady heartbeat sound stops and record the number from the aneroid monitor again. This is the diastolic pressure. These two numbers are the blood pressure reading. When checking blood pressure at home, it is important to remember: Manual cuffs come in different sizes depending on the size of the arm. Using the right size ensures the most accurate reading.

The cuff should always sit directly on the bare skin.

Take a few deep breaths and relax for up to 5 minutes before measuring blood pressure.

Avoid talking during the test.

Place the feet flat on the floor and sit up straight while measuring the blood pressure.

Avoid checking blood pressure in a cold room.

Support the arm as close to heart level as possible.

Measure the blood pressure at a few different times during the day.

Avoid smoking, drinking, and exercise for 30 minutes before taking blood pressure.

Empty the bladder before taking a blood pressure test. A full bladder may give an incorrect blood pressure reading.

Automated blood pressure machines The easiest and most accurate way to measure the blood pressure at home is to buy an automated blood pressure monitor with an upper arm cuff. The instructions for use may vary with each machine, and a person should follow them carefully to ensure proper operation. If the instructions are difficult to understand, a local pharmacy or doctors office will be able to show a person how to operate the machine correctly. Doctors may ask a person to bring their at-home machine to the office during their next visit to test the accuracy compared to the doctors reading. Using a high-quality machine is important, as inaccurate readings may cause unnecessary or harmful changes in medications or treatments. A variety of blood pressure monitors are available for purchase online and in most drug stores. A person may wish to speak to a doctor about which brand they recommend.

Using blood pressure apps Share on Pinterest Blood pressure apps may not provide reliable measurements. There are apps and wrist devices that claim to measure the blood pressure, but these results are frequently inaccurate and are not a reliable way to monitor a persons health. Apps that log blood pressure results may be helpful for people who need to take regular blood pressure tests, however. Recording a set of readings into these apps may help doctors identify trends in blood pressure and recommend treatments.

Results Blood pressure readings fall into the following categories: Blood pressure status Systolic mm Hg Diastolic mm Hg Normal Less than 120 Less than 80 Elevated 120129 Less than 80 Stage 1 high blood pressure (hypertension) 130139 8089 Stage 2 high blood pressure 140 or higher 90 or higher Hypertensive crisis (seek immediate medical attention) 180 or higher 120 or higher Normal blood pressure is considered anything below 120/80 mm Hg. However, a healthy number may vary from person to person. The numbers may change based on factors such as: age

weight

sex

physical activity

underlying medical conditions Anyone uncertain about their target blood pressure should visit a doctor for guidance. If an at-home reading is higher than usual, it is important to do another reading 5 minutes later to ensure it is accurate. Anyone who experiences a systolic pressure over 180 mm Hg or a diastolic pressure over 120 mm Hg should seek emergency medical care, as this is a sign of a hypertensive crisis.
In 2010, archeological diggings in Imola, Italy, yielded a sad yet intriguing find: the skeleton of a medieval woman with a hole in her skull and the mysterious the remains of a fetus. Scientists concluded that this was a coffin birth, and that the hole was caused by an ancient procedure called trepanation.

Share on Pinterest The ancient remains of a mother and her fetus born in the grave might highlight how much we still dont know about the human body.

An unusual postmortem phenomenon recorded throughout history is the inaccurately dubbed coffin birth.

I say the word inaccurate because it suggests that the body of a deceased pregnant person can give birth to the fetus that it carries.

However, thats not the case at all. After death, the cervix cannot dilate to allow the fetus to pass through. So what happens?

Well, as mortician and author Caitlin Doughty explains, the scientific name of this phenomenon is actually postmortem fetal extrusion and can happen 4872 hours after the death of a pregnant woman.

As the gas in her abdomen builds up due to decomposition, pressure rises to the point that it presses on the uterus so intensely that the unborn fetus is expelled or partly expelled from the mothers body, she says.

In a study now published in the journal World Neurosurgery, researchers from the Universities of Bologna and Ferrara, both in Italy, analyzed the case of one such coffin birth uncovered by archeologists a few years ago.

This case  dated to the Lombard period (7th8th century Italy)  concerned the skeleton of an adult woman, probably aged 2535, and that of her unborn child, found [] between the pelvis and the lower limbs of the adult.

The position of the fetus suggested to the study authors  who are Alba Pasini, Vanessa Samantha Manzon, Xabier Gonzalez-Muro, and Emanuela Gualdi-Russo  that it had been expelled from the body after the mothers death, likely in the manner described above.

The researchers also noted that, looking at the size of the fetuss femur, it may have been around 38 weeks into the mothers pregnancy when she died.

What truly intrigued the scientists was that the mothers remains also held another peculiarity: her skull exhibited a mysterious hole.
Till date more than 11 lakh women have benefited from the maternity scheme 'Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana' (PMMVY), reported Parliament sources. Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi told the Lok Sabha, in a written reply, that her ministry has till now spend Rs 271.66 crore for these beneficiaries under the scheme.

Maternity benefits under 'Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana' (PMMVY) are given to all pregnant and lactating mothers. The scheme aims at providing partial compensation for wage loss in terms of cash incentives so that the woman can take adequate rest before and after delivery of the first living child.

Under the scheme, eligible beneficiaries get Rs 5,000 and the remaining cash incentive of Rs 1,000 for maternity benefit is given under the Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) after institutional delivery, it said.



Source: IANS

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"Number of beneficiaries enrolled under PMMVY has increased to 22,04,182. So far, Rs 2,048.59 crores to all the states and Union Territories have been sanctioned under PMMVY out of which Rs 2,048.40 crores have been released till date," she added.
Salman Khan has been granted bail in the 1998 blackbuck poaching case on Saturday. While this news has upset a lot of people on social media, Bollywood was overjoyed with the court's decision.

The bail comes as a huge relief for the friends and family of Salman, who was released on a bond of Rs 50,000 and two sureties of like amount today. Sessions Judge Ravindra Kumar Joshi heard all the evidence and granted him bail so he could file an appeal for his sentence and conviction.

As the news of him getting out of jail was announced, the Indian film industry took to Twitter to express their content and delight.

The 'Dabangg' star, who spent two nights in Jodhpur Central Jail, walked out a free man this evening and headed to the airport from where he will fly to Mumbai.

Meanwhile, B-town has come forward extending their wishes and support to him. Sonakshi Sinha, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Shilpa Shinde, Subhash Ghai were among the many who expressed their happiness at him walking free.

Sonakshi Sinha visited Salman's family when the verdict was announced and also shared a throwback photograph with the actor. Taking a subtle jibe at Saif Ali Khan, Tabu, Sonali Bendre and Neelam Kothari she wrote "The force and the forcefield #surakshakavach #humreallysaathsaathhai #gotyourback."

Filmmaker Subhash Ghai was the first to support Salman. He tweeted:

Thanx God     

Good deeds will always pay @BeingSalmanKhan a full justice finally. He has already been punished mentally for 20 years for his big mistakes n still waiting for justice. God bless u salman @beinghuman  Subhash Ghai (@SubhashGhai1) April 7, 2018

Shilpa Shinde, Adnan Sami and Sonu Sood were also relieved with the court's decision.

Shhh!! Tiger is back !!



What a good human wants is only the blessings and that has worked for him.



Dhan Dhana Dhan

 Shilpa Shinde (@ShindeShilpaS) April 7, 2018

So happy for the bail of my dear brother @BeingSalmanKhan . Relieved. Come home. 'JAI HO!'#SalmanKhan  Adnan Sami (@AdnanSamiLive) April 7, 2018

A Good deed is the best Prayer. Welcome brother @BeingSalmanKhan . #WeSupportSalmanKhan  sonu sood (@SonuSood) April 7, 2018

Meanwhile, the wishes and cheers don't show any sign of stopping:

Glad .... Bail finally, for Good Samaritan @BeingSalmanKhan ...  Rahul Dev Official (@RahulDevRising) April 7, 2018

So happy for @BeingSalmanKhan finally, much deserved relief for him and his family. Can't keep a good man down for long. Hope justice prevails in the case as i have full faith in the judicial system.  #WeLoveYouSalmanKhan  Aftab Shivdasani (@AftabShivdasani) April 7, 2018

Prayers of millions worked .@BeingSalmanKhan coming home.   Arjun Bijlani (@Thearjunbijlani) April 7, 2018

Fans of #SalmanKhan gather outside his residence in Mumbai and celebrate following Jodhpur Court's verdict in #BlackBuckPaochingCase. The Court granted him bail in the case. pic.twitter.com/STrcQuihjY  ANI (@ANI) April 7, 2018

Salman Khan rightly granted bail @BeingSalmanKhan  Priya Gupta (@priyagupta999) April 7, 2018

Thank God! @BeingSalmanKhan has rightly been granted bail!  Andy Kumar (@iAmVJAndy) April 7, 2018
SEBEWAING -- Christ the King Lutheran School had a special guest at its recent chapel service.

Earlier in the school year, students designated their chapel offerings to support the Lutheran Church Charities K-9 Comfort Dogs ministry. The K-9 comfort dogs are brought into high-stress situations for people to pet, hug, or simply sit next to as a way to deal with the tragedy that has occurred.

The comfort dogs have been deployed to the shootings in Las Vegas and Florida as well as to the victims of the Houston floods recently. The dogs also visit local hospitals and visit patients who are in long-term care. After the service, a comfort dog named Jude, was able to visit with each of the students and thank them for their financial contribution to his ministry.

Jude is from St. Peters Lutheran Church in Three Rivers, Michigan. Since Jude is only two years old, he is only certified to visit hospitals and schools as he is still learning what he is allowed to do. Dogs who have received a certain amount of training are deployed to natural disasters and tragedies. Before he left, Jude did leave two small stuffed animals, one for each school office, which will be available for students to come and use when they need a hug from Jude. Students will hold a contest to name each mini comfort dog.

"It was a pleasure to host Jude, Mr. Jim Craaybeek, his handler, and Mrs. Gretchen Anderson, the presenter for K-9 Comfort Dogs," said David Kaiser, principal of Christ the King School. "Children were able to see who they were collecting money for through their offerings."

"This gave strong confirmation that they did not collect their money in vain," he added. "Seeing the way the students interacted with Jude showed a small glimpse into the ministry that these dogs perform as they comfort those in a time of loss."
BAD AXE -- The Huron County Board of Commissioners will appoint someone to Huron County Planning Commission Tuesday morning.

The seat will fill the remaining two years of a term vacated by former Planner Charles Bumhoffer, who resigned in February.

The board will choose from: Robert Tenbusch of Sherman Township; Michael Lorencz of Brookfield Township; William McPhee of Hume Township; and Bill Renn of Chandler Township.

The board interviewed the applicants March 29.

Renn is the Chandler Township supervisor and a lifelong resident of Huron County. He served 18 years as a director from Huron County in the Michigan Township Association, and was president in 2012.

McPhee is a lifelong county resident and farmer. He served on the Hume Township Board for three terms in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Lorencz, a General Motors retiree, has been the Brookfield Township clerk for 18 years and rents out his farmland.

Tenbusch, also a General Motors retiree, chairs the Sherman Township Planning Commission. He retired to his family farm in Ruth.

The board of commissioners recently appointed Julie Epperson and George Lauinger to the planning commission.

Once Bumhoffer's seat is filled, there remains one open spot on the planning commission that was vacated by Planner Robert Oakes this week. He resigned at the board's reorganizational meeting in protest of Planner Robert McLean's election as chair.

The deadline to apply for the planning commission seat is 5 p.m. May 2.

The board meets at 9 a.m. Tuesday in Room 305 of the county building.
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SACRAMENTO, Cali. -- Nathan and Amy Engelhard, of Unionville, were recently named in the top 10 finalists in the 62nd annual National Outstanding Young Farmers Awards Congress -- the oldest farmer recognition program in the United States.

The Congress was held Feb. 15-18 in Sacramento, California, and sponsored by John Deere, administered by the Outstanding Farmers of America, and supported by the U.S. Jaycees, the National Association of Conservation Districts, and the National Association of County Agricultural Agents.

Nathan and Amy were nominated by a fellow Michigan Farm Bureau Young Farmer (MFB YF) Achievement Award Finalist, Terry Page, who felt that their two-time MFB YF finalist positions earned them a nomination.

Throughout the application process, Nathan and Amy utilized and reflected on their past and current leadership roles within Tuscola County Farm Bureau, namely their committee chair positions as well as Nathan's current role as president and many leadership positions at the state level.

Both Nathan and Amy felt that their previous leadership training from Michigan Farm Bureau gave them a leg up within the competition and were delighted when they were selected as one of 10 couples who made it to the national spot out of almost 40 other competitors from across the United States.

They were also the only organic row crop representative there, as well as the only Michigan delegates in the past 10 years. The fifth generation young farmers manage 1,100 acres in the thumb and raise corn, soybeans, black beans, white kidney beans, adzuki beans, pinto beans and wheat. They are also busy raising the 6th generation. They have an 18 month old son named Lawson and another baby due in May.

During the five-day event, Nathan and Amy participated in extensive interviews with a panel of five judges from across the United States as well as from different sectors of the agriculture industry. Prior to the interview process, they had to submit a 10-page application detailing their farming practices and stewardship and conservation programs that are employed.

Four national winners were selected for the award based on their progress in an agricultural career, extent of soil and water conservation practices, and contributions to the well-being of the community, state, and nation. While they were not selected as one of the top four couples to participate in the 2019 Washington Trip, they both are thrilled and humbled to have participated in this amazing program.

They met nine other couples from across the United States who also shared their farming stories and it was neat to see how everything in agriculture is connected. Both of them strongly encourage nominations of outstanding farming couples from Michigan.

Check out the Outstanding Farmers of America website for more info on how to nominate an individual or couple for 2019 by visiting www.ofafraternity.org.
MIDDLETOWN  City treasurer and lifelong resident Quentin Q Phipps has hit the streets running in a bid for the state House of Representatives in the 100th District.

Phipps, 34, a Democrat and graduate of Middletown Public Schools and Bryant University, is hoping to win his partys nomination to run for the seat being vacated by Democratic state Rep. Matt Lesser.

Since announcing his candidacy earlier this week, Phipps said hes garnered tremendous support from the community. The former Middletown Planning and Zoning commissioner has been city treasurer since 2011 and interested in politics since he was a member of the Keigwin Middle School student council.

I always knew I wanted to serve in some capacity, and politics is one of the ways in which I serve. I always have been interested in having government provide a solution to community issues, said Phipps, who was also a student senator in college and was elected president in his senior year.

Phipps and his team have been building support online and through social media, reaching out to community groups and having one-on-one conversations with the public, he said.

He is hoping to succeed Lesser, who has served 10 years in Middletown, and launched an exploratory committee for a bid for the 9th District Senate seat now held by state Sen. Paul Doyle, D-Wethersfield. Doyle has entered the race for Connecticut Attorney General.

Deputy Mayor Robert Santangelo, a Democrat, also entered the 100th Assembly race last month.

I consider Q to be a personal friend whom I have a lot of respect for, as well as Councilman Santangelo. I think its great to see strong candidates express an interest in state office, said Lesser. Middletown has a strong bench.

Phipps, director of advocacy and policy for Excellence Community Schools in Stamford, also works at the state Capitol as a lobbyist. Much of his professional time is spent as a parent advocate, helping with special education issues, housing and jobs, and as a liaison to lawmakers at the Capitol, he said.

My job is to help parents navigate complex systems in their own communities, and help them make empowered decisions for the betterment of themselves and for their children, he said.

Phipps sees an opportunity at the state level to continue those efforts.

What Im looking to work with the community on is really putting equity at the forefront of all our values (as a way to build stronger communities), he said. We have to make sure we have a fair education plan for all of us, and we have to be able to grow strong jobs that provide a livable wage and good health care.

Equity, he said, is finding solutions to community challenges in a way that works for all. Everyone doesnt necessarily need the same thing, but we do need rights and needs that all need to be accounted for.

For years, Phipps has helped Middletown parents  on a pro bono basis  engage with their elected officials on the school board as well as the state level, he said.

He serves on the boards of directors for Oddfellows Playhouse Youth Theater, Middlesex United Way and Middlesex Substance Abuse Action Council, and is an active member in Cross Street Zion AM. Church, Middletown Young Democrats and many other organizations.

Phipps said he prides himself on being accessible to his constituents.

Often, I get calls on how do you do this in government and I teach people how to do that all the time, he said. I want to demystify complex political issues by taking a community approach, and making sure we have equitable solutions for us all.
A C-130 Hercules aircrew transported 151 Marines and equipment in and out of Iraq on Sept. 26, 2005.

It was a normal, everyday operation for the crew, hauling cargo to airfields in the Middle East. But it marked the first time an all-female crew would take on the mission.

"Frankly, we were disappointed that it was 2005 before an all-female C-130 crew flew in combat," Lt. Col. Carol Mitchell, 310th Airlift Squadron commander, said in a news release.

Mitchell was a captain and the aircraft commander during that flight, according to a recent Air Force release that coincided with Women's History Month in March.

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"We were just doing our everyday jobs, so there was nothing unusual about that day for us," she said, reflecting on the historic flight under the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing.

She added, "We didn't want an all-female crew to be unusual; we wanted it to be normal. Unfortunately, it is not normal yet. In order to get there, we have to stand out to show the rest of the world what we are capable of."

The crew included Mitchell; 1st Lt. Siobhan Couturier, pilot; Capt. Anita T. Mack, navigator; Staff Sgt. Josie E. Harshe, flight engineer; and loadmasters Tech. Sgt. Sigrid M. Carrero-Perez and Senior Airman Ci Ci Alonz. All were from the 43rd Airlift Wing at Pope Air Force Base, North Carolina.

Some of their perspectives have evolved. Back in 2005, Mitchell felt that women shouldn't necessarily be singled out for doing their jobs just because of their gender.

"I enjoyed flying with this crew, but I don't think we should go out of our way to have all-female crews," she said then. "It took a long time for women to become accepted as aircrew members and, now that we are, we would be taking a step back by singling ourselves out rather than blending in with the rest of the Air Force."

The message resonates 13 years later: Don't treat us differently because we're women.

"I was happy to be doing our primary mission: delivering beans and bullets on time and on target," said Mack, now a lieutenant colonel and Air Mobility Command deputy division chief.

"We get to have a direct impact on the folks in the field, bringing them the supplies needed to do their job and then flying them back to go home. There is a real sense of responsibility to do the best job you can do when people are depending on you," she said in the release.

The crew would also fly to Afghanistan and the Horn of Africa during their deployment.

Mack said performance and value are the real milestones for her career, regardless of her gender.

"While it was special to be a member of this crew, I want to emphasize I have always focused on being a great navigator and officer first, rather than a woman in the Air Force," she said.

Duff, nee Harshe, now a registered nurse with 96th Medical Group at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, was the flight engineer at the time. She looks forward to the day a female crew becomes the norm, hopefully in the near future.

"If we want women serving in the military to be treated equally and for gender not to be an issue, then we should not put our gender in the spotlight and make it something 'special,' " she said.

As the Air Force continues its breaking barriers initiative, Mitchell said the service as a whole should recognize women as a crucial part of the conversation.

"We need to do a better job of educating society and our youth so they understand that there are no longer obstacles preventing girls from doing whatever they decide to do, even if that's being an Air Force pilot," she said.

"Brave, pioneering women painstakingly removed those obstacles for us, and we need to take advantage of the opportunities they have provided," Mitchell said.

-- Oriana Pawlyk can be reached at oriana.pawlyk@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @Oriana0214.
CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa -- A nonprofit group dedicated to safeguarding servicemembers' constitutional right to religious freedom has lodged a formal complaint with the Navy after a Bible was spotted in a POW/MIA "Missing Man" table display at U.S. Naval Hospital Okinawa.

The complaint was filed Thursday by the New York-based Law Office of Donald Rehkopf Jr. on behalf of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation and 26 families on Okinawa.

The complaint -- addressed to Navy Medicine West commander Rear Adm. Paul Pearigen -- demands the immediate removal of the Bible from the hospital galley display, the immediate removal of accompanying written materials that describe the United States as being "founded as one nation under God," a Japanese translation of these materials and an independent investigation into who put up the display, as well as "appropriate disciplinary measures" for those responsible.

The complainants include sailors, Marines and Department of Defense civilian employees stationed on the island, MRFF founder and president Mikey Weinstein said Friday.

"Why is that Bible there?" Weinstein said. "Can you imagine if somebody put a Quran there, or the book of Satan, or the Book of Mormon? It violates the [First Amendment's establishment clause] as well as DoD and Navy regulations."

MRFF officials expect the Navy to comply with the request; however, if it does not, they plan to file a third-party inspector general complaint and potentially a lawsuit if the issue remains unresolved, after exhausting all "administrative remedies."

A U.S. Naval Forces Japan spokeswoman referred comment requests to a U.S. Naval Hospital Okinawa spokesman, who did not respond to messages Friday.

After learning about the display, Weinstein, a former Air Force judge advocate general and Reagan Administration lawyer, contacted hospital officials earlier this week and asked them to remove the religious items from the display. He said a Navy JAG assigned to the hospital refused to do so without permission from the hospital commander, Capt. Cynthia Kuehner, who is away on temporary duty assignment.

The fight to remove religious articles from POW/MIA "Missing Man" tables is not new for MRFF. The group has been successful in several other cases, the latest in November when it forced the Denver VA Medical Center to remove religious items from a display.

MRFF has also successfully argued against religious proselytizing during official military functions, and forced the removal of religious historical and holiday displays from common areas on military posts.
3 Soldiers at 10th Mountain May Have Died by Suicide in 2 Days. The Division Is Trying to Figure Out Why.

The Army's 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, New York, is reeling from the suspected deaths by suicide of three troops in...
The Air Force Reserve is ending wing commanders' ability to request a waiver on giving six months' notice before retiring, in an effort to balance gaps in leadership.

"The extension is really a notice of departure from the individual to the Air Force," Lt. Col. Chad Gibson, Air Force Reserve spokesman, said in an email to Military.com. The policy went into effect April 1.

For example, if someone's enlistment expires in May, they separate in May, not six months later, he said.

[Airmen seeking retirement] have always had to submit paperwork six months prior to their desired retirement date. If the wing commander wanted, they could waiver the six-month wait," Gibson explained.

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The Air Force has suspended access to the waivers until Oct. 1, when it is scheduled to be reinstated.

Gibson clarified the measure is not a six-month extension of duty, nor would it be considered a "stop-loss" measure.

Last year, the Air Force walked back rumors it was going to use stop-loss to keep pilots in longer amid its growing pilot shortage.

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein said he was not considering using the policy despite public discussions about the option.

"I want to make it as clear as I possibly can: I am not considering stop-loss," Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein said last April during a discussion at the Heritage Foundation, a think tank in Washington, D.C.

Goldfein said only the defense secretary and president would decide whether to review stop-loss -- an involuntary extension of service -- in "times of emergency."

"It's a tool, and a secretary's tool in the tool bag when we're in a state of emergency, and we're not in a state of emergency," he said.

It is unclear if similar provisions for commanders will be made in the active duty or Guard. Requests for comment were not returned by press time.

-- Oriana Pawlyk can be reached at oriana.pawlyk@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @Oriana0214.
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.
RIL and BP Plc will together invest Rs 35,000 crore for bringing to production three sets of natural gas fields in the Krishna Godavari basin block in the Bay of Bengal by 2022. (Image: Reuters)

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British Petroleum (BP) India is planning to invest over USD 2 billion in the Indian market through its upstream ventures in the next few years, reported Mint.

BP India is expecting nearly 10 percent of BP's global earning to flow from India considering the growing energy demand and plans to invest in cutting-edge renewable and alternate energy technologies, Sashi Mukundan, BP Groups regional president and head of India told the paper.

The firm's total earning in FY17 jumped more than double from the previous year to stand at USD 6.2 billion.

The company has been investing in the Indian market. BP has invested more than USD 8 billion in India in the past seven years. Nearly 95 percent of its investment, or USD 7 billion, has been directed towards exploration and production.

BP India is also working to boost its production along with its partner Reliance Industries (RIL) to produce 10 percent of Indias total gas demand by 2022. The company partners RIL in four hydrocarbon blocks in the country which include  KG D6, R-Series, D55 and NEC 25, in the Mahanadi basin.

"By 2022, we will have all three projects (KG D6, R-Series, D55 ) up and running and we should get to our peak production by 2023 with around 30-35 million metric standard cubic metres per day (mmscmd). Thats a billion cubic feet of gas a day and if you look at the forecast for gas demand in India, that is about 10 percent of Indias gas demand by 2022," Mukundan said.

India is the third largest energy consumer in the world after China and the US, however, the energy demand is likely to rise. With the economic expansion in the country, more people would gain access to power, cooking gas and personal transport that would push Indias energy demand.

To meet the increasing energy demand, India is planning to increase the proportion of gas usage in its energy mix to 15 percent from the current 6.5 percent. The world, on an average, consumes 24 percent of gas in the total energy consumption.

Both the firms  BP and RIL  will be starting natural gas production from the R-Series gas field in the KG-D6 block, where BP holds 33.33 percent stake, in Bay of Bengal by 2020. They are also planning to start gas production from other fields will start by 2021.

In 2017, both the firms had announced plans to invest over Rs 40,000 crore in their hydrocarbon blocks. With the government having allowed a higher gas price of USD 6.78 per million British thermal unit (mBtu) for gas finds in deep water, RIL and BP have decided to work on developing these blocks. This rate is better than the current rate of USD 3.06 per mBtu for fields producing currently, an analyst tracking RIL told the paper on condition of anonymity.

Disclosure: Reliance Industries Ltd. is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments Ltd.
Beer brand Goa King is stepping out of its home market Goa, in an expansion plan that will take it pan-national, and international.

Goa Kings will now be available across eight states in the country.

In a massive expansion spree, Viiking Ventures is investing Rs100 crore to market and expand the reach of Goa Kings Beer. Viiking Ventures is the same company that acquired Kings Beer and re-launched the same as Goa Kings Pilsner Beer in 2015.

Alongside their existing manufacturing facility in Goa, which has the capacity to produce 2 million cases, Viiking has added another manufacturing unit in Jammu. With the Jammu plant, Kings would be in a position to produce 4 million cases of beer annually.

Goa Kings would be available in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Delhi, Kerala and Pondicherry.

The next phase of expansion will take the brand to international markets such as Malaysia, Singapore, USA and the African Continent

Outside the country, Kings is presently being exported to Dubai from where it is sent to Malaysia, Singapore, Nepal, Australia and the United States.

After Viiking took over Kings, the company saw a 300% year-on-year growth.

We have a 6% market share presently and with all the expansion happening with plan to take the share to 10% in the present fiscal year , said Sachiin Joshi, Chairman, Viiking Ventures.

Goa Kings will now also have a lager variant  Goa Kings Maxx. And not just beer, Joshi is upbeat about their new addition to the Viiking Beverage family-a blended whiskey label called the Royal Oak Gold and a vodka product called XXX Vodka. While the whiskey is priced between Rs 650 and Rs 1200 depending on the variety for 750 ml, XXX Vodka costs anywhere between Rs 550 and Rs 1050.
About six months from now, a few thousand top insurance agents from India and around the world will be meeting at Kohala Coast, Hawaii, US for an exclusive interaction with fellow financial professionals at the Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT) annual meeting. What needs to be noticed here is the increase in the number of agents sent by Indias largest insurer, the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC).

The state-owned insurance group held the top position and sent the maximum number of agents for MDRT in 2017. Data from the trade association's website shows that there was an increase of 1,727 agents - a 51 percent increase - sent in 2017 as compared to the previous year.

Founded in 1927, the Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT), is a global, independent association of more than 62,000 of the world's leading life insurance and financial services professionals from more than 500 companies in 69 countries.

Globally, MDRT membership is recognised as the standard of excellence in life insurance and financial services business. And here, LIC has been consistently topped the members' list.

Having entered the life insurance business in 1956, LIC has almost 11.5 lakh agents selling policies. And agent productivity is higher as this is their most prominent distribution channel.

Yet, getting onto the MDRT list is no easy affair. For instance, to qualify for membership in 2018, an agent is required to raise a minimum of USD 164,000 in annual gross income from the sale of insurance and financial products. Further, a minimum of USD 47,500 must be the income from new business generated during the production year.

For the Court of the Table (COT) category, an agent is required to get USD 282,000 of commission and USD 564,000 in premiums. For the Top of the Table (TOT) category, it is USD 564,000 of commission and USD 1,128,000 of premiums.

Source: MDRT, figures in USD

Those who get selected can attend exclusive events and are eligible to learn and interact with some of the top financial services professionals across the world. This not only opens up future partnership opportunities, but can also be a good platform to get information about job opportunities in other markets and companies.

Career development for an insurance agent is not the top priority for companies. While there have been programmes instituted to ensure that the agents have a more meaningful path, attrition has been one of the key concerns that has plagued the sector.

This is primarily because agents do not see a full-time career in the sector. There are still a sizeable number of people selling insurance only as a part-time job. Initiatives like the MDRT can be a source of motivation and agents would end up walking an extra mile to sell their products.

Not just LIC, there are several agents of private companies who qualify for MDRT membership each year. Although the targets may seem too high to an ordinary individual, making the cut could mean a significant shift in the way business is done and a change in the lifestyle of an agent.

Becoming a member of MDRT is definitely an achievement and that extra nudge can mean a better source of livelihood for any insurance agent. At a time when income has been a source of concern for agents, being an MDRT member could help them get access to HNI clients, especially since they do not get a regular salary as other employees.
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Edelweiss Financial Services estimates the top five IT playersTata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys, Wipro, HCL Technologies and Tech Mahindra to clock 1.1-2.2 percent QoQ constant currency revenue growth in Q4FY18. It is of the view that this will get a further 100-120bps cross-currency tailwind boost as major global currenciesGBP, EUR, AUDappreciated versus USD QoQ.

While rupee appreciated a marginal 0.5 percent against USD, it depreciated vis-a-vis other global currencies and is likely to lead to 30-50bps margin tailwinds. Margins are expected to remain steady QoQ (up 20-50bps QoQ for top-5 players). While Edelweiss expects HCL Tech to lead the pack with 2.2 percent QoQ USD revenue growth (60bps inorganic), Infosys, Tech Mahindra, TCS and Wipro are estimated to clock 1.4 percent, 1.3 percent, 1.1 percent and 1.1 percent, respectively.

Cross-currency tailwinds; BFSI and Europe under scanner

With pound, euro and Australian dollar appreciating 4.8 percent, 4.3 percent and 2.2 percent, respectively, QoQ against US dollar, Edelweiss perceives cross-currency tailwinds of 100-120bps for top-five IT companies. While the research firm foresees growth uptick in BFSI for majority companies (except TCS), it expects commentary to be incrementally positive (especially by TCS) going forward.

With rising outsourcing in Europe, Edelweiss expects the geography to sustain its outperformance over North America and also expects FY19 revenue guidance for Infosys and HCLT at 6.5-8.5 percent and 8-10 percent, respectively. While Infosys is expected to maintain a conservative stance on guidance, it expect HCL Techs guidance to include inorganic portion of ~150bps.

Margins expected to remain steady

While closing rates indicate that rupee has depreciated 2 percent QoQ versus the US dollar, the quarterly average rate has appreciated 0.5 percent. But rupeee has depreciated 4.1 percent and 3.7 percent versus GBP and EUR, respectively, QoQ. Hence, the firm foresees positive 30-50bps margin movement for IT companies.

However, Edelweiss do not foresee pricing or cost pressures in existing or new deals. Accordingly, it estimates margins to remain broadly stable as automation and pyramid rationalisation efficiencies will be offset by higher onshore hiring.

Outlook: Revenue acceleration in FY19 on the cards

With improving economic outlook in US, higher adoption of outsourcing in Europe and digital services gaining scale, revenue acceleration looks certain for Indian IT companies. Also, Retail and Energy & Utility verticals have turned around and growth revival in BFSI fuels strong prospects for IT industry.

While mid caps are expected to outpace large peers during current quarter, Edelweiss perceives positive bias to large caps in the medium-to-long run as digital gains scale on account of execution capabilities. The house has maintained BUY on Infosys, HCL Tech and Tech Mahindra and HOLD on TCS and Wipro.
With that, we bring our coverage to a close. Thanks for staying tuned.

20:40 A vehicle drove into a crowd in the western German city of Muenster on Saturday and killed several people, as per a Reuters report. "There are several dead, probably including the suspect," a police spokeswoman said. A security source added, "The scenario is such that an attack cannot be ruled

out."

20:20 India has called it difficult to proceed with the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) initiative under current circumstances, citing continuing support to cross-border terrorism from Pakistan. The issue of organising the SAARC Summit was discussed on Saturday during a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepalese counterpart KP Sharma Oli, who is in India on a three-day visit.

"The prime minister (Modi) mentioned that he very enthusiastically participated in the Kathmandu (SAARC) summit, but given the current state of play where there is cross-border terrorism - and this is a disruptive force in the region. It is difficult in such circumstances to proceed with such initiatives," said Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale.

19:28 On a proud moment for India, Tennis icon Leander Paes became the most successful doubles player in the history of Davis Cup with a record 43rd win before young guns Ramkumar Ramanathan and Prajnesh Gunneswaran pulled off the must-win rubbers as India advanced to the World Group Play-offs with a sensational 3-2 win over China on Saturday.

19:00 A Russia-bound aircraft from Vietnam with 345 passengers on-board made an emergency landing at the T-3 terminal of the IGI airport in New Delhi, after suffering an engine failure, as per a DIAL spokesperson.

16:08 Federal Bank Ltd on Saturday entered into a partnership with Fortune Wealth Management Company Ltd, one of the leading stock broking companies of South India for providing Portfolio Investment Scheme (PIS) services to NRIs. The step will enable non-resident Indian clients to invest in Indian equity markets on repatriable and non-repatriable basis.

18:00 Hundreds of Air France' flights have been cancelled as pilots, cabin crew and ground staff pursued a fifth day of strikes aimed at securing higher pay. The walkout has affected international and domestic travel, with a quarter of long-haul flights cancelled.

17:47 The Shiv Sena won the bypoll to Ward 173 of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). Its candidate Ramdas Kamble defeated the Congress' Sunil Shetye by a margin of 845 votes. The election was held yesterday.

17:40 Salman Khan walks out of Jodhpur Central jail hours after he was granted bail, will return to Mumbai tonight

17:20 A special SC/ST court in Jodhpur reserved its order for April 25 in a 2012 rape case against Asaram after the final arguments were completed, on Saturday. The self-styled godman had been accused by a teenage girl of sexual assault at his ashram in Manai village. The girl, who belonged to Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh, was a student living in the ashram.

17:10 Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and AAP leader Kumar Vishwas were today granted exemption from personal appearance for the day by a city court in a criminal defamation case filed by the BJP leader against the AAP member. The other accused in the case -- Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, and AAP members Raghav Chadha, Sanjay Singh, Ashutosh and Deepak Bajpai -- were acquitted by the court on April 3 after Jaitley accepted their apologies for their statements against him in connection with alleged irregularities in the DDCA.

16:45 Continuing India's winning spree at the ongoing Commonwealth Games, Venkat Rahul Ragala became the fourth Indian weightlifter to claim a gold medal. The 21-year-old Rahul, who is a Commonwealth Championships gold-medallist, lifted a total of 338kg (151kg+187kg) to finish on top.

14:59 In a major relief to superstar Salman Khan, the Jodhpur Sessions Court granted him bail after he was sentenced to 5 years imprisonment in the 1998 blackbuck poaching case on Saturday.

The Delhi Crime Branch has arrested a teacher, a clerk and a member of the support staff of an examination centre in connection with the March 28, 2018, CBSE class 12 Economics paper leak case.

The question was copied by hand and was leaked ahead of the examination.

13:24 The US Department of Justice has called for making public Harvard University's admission data after a lawsuit against the Ivy League institution alleged that it discriminated against Asian-American students in its admission process for years.

A lawsuit was filed in November 2014 by anti-affirmative action group Students for Fair Admissions, alleging that Harvard's admission processes discriminate against Asian-American applicants.

12:28 am Rajiv Kochhar, CEO of Avista Advisory Group and brother-in-law of ICICI Bank chief Chanda Kochhar is being examined by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Saturday for the third consecutive day.

The investigative agency has already questioned Rajiv for over 14 hours over the passed two days.

The agency is looking to ascertain whether there was any conflict of interest in restructuring loans extended to Videocon Group by ICICI Bank.

11:37 am Former head of INX Media, Indrani Mukerjea, who is lodged at Mumbais Byculla Jail for the alleged murder of her daughter Sheena Bora, was shifted to JJ Hospital on Friday for a suspected overdose.

According to News18 sources, Mukerjea was taken to the hospital in a delirious condition and is believed to have taken an overdose of antidepressants.

11: 28 am As arguments from the defense and prosecution in the blackbuck killing case against actor Salman Khan are over, the judge is likely to pronounce his order on his bail plea at 3 pm.

11: 27 am The prosecution argued that Salman Khan's bail plea application should be rejected as eyewitness accounts proves the actor's guilt of killing two blackbucks in October 1998. Hoever, the defense counsel argued that the eyewitness accounts are not true and have numerous discrepancies.

11:20 am American aerospace and defence major Lockheed Martin has welcomed India's mega procurement initiative for fighter jets worth over USD 15 billion and said that it looks to responding to the initial tender.

India began the process to acquire a fleet of around 110 fighter jets on Friday in one of the biggest such procurements in recent years globally which could be worth over USD 15 billion.

At least 85 per cent of the aircraft will have to be made in India while 15 per cent of them can be in a flyaway condition.

10:38 am Actor Salman Khan's bail plea hearing commenced on Saturday morning as Judge Ravindra Kumar Joshi will continue presiding over the court proceedings.

10:33 am Chief Judicial Magistrate (rural) Dev Kumar Khatri (the judge who pronounced Salman's sentence) is currently in a meeting with Judge Ravindra Kumar Joshi (the judge currently hearing Salman's bail plea), according to News18. Both judges are among the 87, who have been transferred in a routine shuffle.

10:07am: Goa has issued an alert to all the vessels and casinos operating off the state's coast following an intelligence input about possible arrival of terrorists on board a fishing trawler, the state's ports minister told PTI.

09:58am: Weightlifter Sathish Kumar Sivalingam has given India its third gold in the men's 77 kg event at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast.

This has taken India's total medal count so far to five.

Sathish, who had also won a gold in Glasgow four years ago, lifted a combined effort of 317kg. He is the first Indian weightlifter to have bagged back-to-back gold medals at the Commonwealth games.

09:49am: Salman Khans bail plea case now has a new twist. The Sessions Court judge Ravindra Kumar Joshi and trial court judge Dev Kumar Khatri are said to have been transferred, a News18 report said.

Joshi is part of the 87 judicial officers transferred as part of a routine annual reshuffling exercise undertaken in Rajasthan every year. Khatri is the one who convicted and sentenced Salman Khan.

Following Joshi's transfer from to Siroh from Jodhpur, judge Chandra Kumar Songara will take over his place.

09:42am: The US Citizenship and Immigration Services has reached the Congressionally-mandated 65,000 H-1B visa cap for the fiscal year 2019, it said in a statement.

The agency, which looks after legal immigration to the US, also received a sufficient number of H-1B petitions to meet the 20,000 visa US advanced degree exemption, known as the masters cap, it said in a statement.
Three staff members of a school in Himachal Pradesh were arrested today by the Delhi Police in connection with leak of CBSE's Class 12 economics paper, police said.

Centre superintendent Rakesh, Clerk Amit and peon Ashok of DAV School in Himachal Pradesh's Una district were arrested by the Crime Branch, a senior Delhi Police officer said.

The three accused were brought to the national capital from Una and after questioning they were arrested, the officer said.

A hand written copy of the economics paper was leaked through Whatsapp, a day before the examination on March 26.

On March 30, the CBSE announced that it would re-conduct the class 12 economics exam throughout the country on April 25.
India Economy

Citing continuing support to cross-border terrorism from Pakistan, India said today it was difficult to proceed with the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) initiative under current circumstances.

The issue of organising the SAARC Summit came up for discussion during a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepalese counterpart K P Sharma Oli, who is in India on a three-day visit.

"The prime minister (Modi) mentioned that he very enthusiastically participated in the Kathmandu (SAARC) summit, but given the current state of play where there is cross-border terrorism - and this is a disruptive force in the region. It is difficult in such circumstances to proceed with such initiatives," Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale told reporters.

SAARC Summits are usually held biennially hosted by a member state in alphabetical order. The member state hosting the summit assumes the Chair of the Association.

The last SAARC Summit in 2014 was held in Kathmandu, which was attended by Modi.

The 2016 SAARC Summit was to be held in Islamabad.

But after the terrorist attack on an Indian Army camp in Uri in Jammu and Kashmir on September 18 that year, India expressed its inability to participate in the summit due to "prevailing circumstances" and stepped up diplomatic pressure on Pakistan. Nineteen Indian soldiers died in the attack.

The summit was called off after Bangladesh, Bhutan and Afghanistan also declined to participate in the Islamabad meet.

Maldives and Sri Lanka are the seventh and eighth members of the initiative.

During his visit to Kathmandu last month, Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi sought Oli's support for convening the SAARC Summit in Islamabad.

Abbasi has also urged Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena "to play his role for early convening of the summit".

"While India is very supportive of all regional connectivity and regional cooperation issues, the views expressed by the prime minister (Modi) was Prime Minister Oil was well aware of the circumstances," Gokhale said.

The foreign secretary said the Nepalese prime minister told Modi he was looking forward to host the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation Summit this year. BIMSTEC excludes Pakistan.

Oli also gave a "positive reference" to the sub-regional Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal (BBIN) initiative, Gokhale said.
The hearing on actor Salman Khan's application for bail and suspension of sentence in the 1998 black buck poaching case has been completed and the order will be pronounced after lunch.

District and Sessions Judge Ravindra Kumar Joshi heard the arguments of prosecution and defence which lasted for about an hour, defence counsel Mahesh Bora said.

Khan's sisters - Alvira and Arpita - were present during the hearing.

In a late night development, Joshi was transferred to Sirohi as part of a reshuffle.

The actor was on Thursday convicted by a trial court and sentenced to five years in prison for killing two black bucks during the shooting of "Hum Saath Saath Hain" here.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh has urged Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu to persuade the government to convene a special session of Parliament in May-June to pass important legislations and debate issues of national importance.

In a letter to the chairman, he said the special session would send a different signal and help retrieve the lost prestige of Parliament due to the complete washout of the Budget Session.

Why don't you try and persuade the government to convene a special two-week session in late May or early June to both pass important legislations and also have debate and discussion on burning political, economic and social issues? Ramesh said in the letter.

He, however, made it clear that his suggestion was purely in my personal capacity.

I'm aware that the Monsoon Session will be called sometime in mid-July but a special session sends a different signal. There is no doubt that the complete washout has inflicted great damage to Parliament as an institution, he said.

The Rajya Sabha member hoped that the chairman would consult with leaders of all political parties to ensure that this did not happen again.

Ramesh also lauded Naidu for being careful about not putting the entire blame on anyone and instead called it a collective failure.

He said he agreed with Naidu on this, but added that it was the government's responsibility to communicate and engage in a meaningful and serious dialogue with all political parties to ensure the smooth functioning of Parliament.

That was very much in absence in recent weeks. In fact, it has been absent all through the past four years, he alleged.

The second part of the Budget Session of Parliament was washed out after differences between the government and the opposition while discussing key issues.

Both the opposition and the government have blamed each other for the washout and are holding day- long fasts across the country as a mark of protest.
CPI (M) leader Sitaram Yechury today visited Andhra Pradesh Bhavan here and extended his support to YSR Congress Party legislators who have sat on a hunger strike demanding special category status to the state.

Yechury's visit came on the second day of the hunger strike.

Addressing the YSR Congress Party members present there, Yechury said he was not visiting them "to get appreciation. This is our duty and responsibility."

"On the day the bill to bifurcate the state came to Parliament, I asked about sharing of electricity, water and government employees. But there was no answer. (Then) I asked why was it taken up without proper homework," Yechury said.

He said "nothing has happened", despite then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh giving an assurance that the special status would be given to Andhra Pradesh for five years and then Rajya Sabha member Venkaiah Naidu promising to extend the status to 10 years if a BJP government comes to power.

On the TDP first allying and now moving away from the BJP, Yechury said: "We asked TDP why they were again getting into alliance with BJP after being out of power for 10 years in the united AP following the previous alliance."

"They said 'BJP will be at the Centre and we will form government in in state. Both will work for special status' they said. Now we can see where we are standing after four years of alliance," he said.

The five YSR Congress Party members sitting on the indefinite hunger strike yesterday resigned from Lok Sabha over the "failure" of the Centre to grant the status to Andhra Pradesh.

Mekapati Rajamohan Reddy, 73 and one of the five MPs sitting on the hunger strike, was today taken to RML Hospital after he complained of uneasiness.

Earlier today, doctors had examined the leaders and said no medical intervention was required at the moment.
Congress

The Congress will hold a rally at the Ramlila Maidan here on April 29 to protest the current political situation and the environment of "distrust and intolerance" in the country.

Congress general secretary Ashok Gehlot today said that after four years of the NDA rule in the country, "people of every section of society are feeling suffocated".

"There is an environment of fear, distrust, and intolerance everywhere. In view of the situation, the Congress has decided to organise a rally on April 29 at the Ramlila Maidan in Delhi," he told reporters.

Gehlot said their party president Rahul Gandhi has always believed that in a democracy politics is done with a lot of love, peace, and compassion, whereas the Modi government is "weakening" the democratic culture of the country.
China growth: Slowdown concerns in US and China, due to the trade war between the two countries, have caused global investors to worry. (Image: Getty Images)

China's state media has rallied against the United States warning its trade protectionism actions would end in defeat and that the only option now was to hit the United States hard enough so it will "remember the pain".

"If the US says that it will pay any price, it must be firmly attacked," China's official Xinhua news agency said on Saturday.

China warned on Friday it was ready with a "fierce counter strike" of fresh trade measures if the United States follows through on President Donald Trump's threat to slap tariffs on an additional USD 100 billion of Chinese goods.

On Wednesday, China imposed USD 3 billion of tariffs on U.S. fruits, nuts, wine and pork, just hours after the Trump administration proposed duties on some 1,300 Chinese industrial, technology, transport and medical products.

Rising trade tensions between the world's two largest economies follows a U.S. finding that China was engaging in unfair trade practices in connection with intellectual property protections. China rejects the charge.

China's media, which is strictly controlled by the government, has come out in defence of the country, painting the country as a victim of an overly aggressive United States bent on taking illegitimate unilateral action.

"The White House has completely lost its sense of reality!," said the ruling Communist Party's People's Daily newspaper in a Friday commentary, alleging the United States is acting unilaterally and engaging in trade protectionism.

Meanwhile, the nationalist Global Times said in an editorial published late on Thursday that the "Chinese are aware that the only option now is to hit the US hard enough so that it will remember the pain."
Flooding In Yosemite (1-9-17) View Photos

A Flood Warning remains for the Merced River at Pohono Bridge in Yosemite National Park, effective until further notice or until the Warning is cancelled.

On Saturday at 8 AM, the Merced River had reached flood stage at 10.0 feet.

As of early this morning, the Merced River was well above the flood stage at 13.1 feet.

According to the National Weather Service, the Merced River is now forecast to fall below 10 feet late this morning, then forecast to recede to near 7 feet after midnight tomorrow.

Northside Drive and Southside Drive, which are the main roads in Yosemite Valley, are flooded and are closed to traffic. The swinging bridge at Chapel Meadow has flooded along with Lower Pines Campground and Housekeeping Camp l.
Thanks to President Donald Trump, China just dealt U.S. farmers their latest blow.

The Asian country said Wednesday it plans to impose 25 percent duties on soybeans and other U.S. farm goods including wheat, corn, cotton, sorghum, tobacco and beef. The move comes in retaliation to proposed American duties on its high-tech goods. China is the largest buyer of American soybeans, with the trade worth about $14 billion annually.

The brewing trade war comes as U.S. farm income was already forecast to drop to a 12-year low and threatens one of the few sectors of the American economy with a net trade surplus. Agricultural groups have blasted the Trump administration's hard-line stance, with the American Soybean Association saying that growers will face "devastating" effects. Exports are at risk at a time when growers are already facing stiff competition from Brazil and battling crop surpluses.

"As agriculture continues to be the pawn in these trade wars, it makes the prices we receive at the farmgate much more volatile and uncertain," said Justin Knopf, a farmer in Saline County, Kansas. He grows wheat, corn, soy, sorghum and alfalfa on about 4,000 acres with his dad and brother.

"I know the president keeps saying we'll get a great deal," Knopf said. "In the meantime, it's really discouraging to have our commodity prices and our family's revenue be impacted so much because of what's happening on trade."

China's proposed duties could be felt strongest in the U.S. heartland, where Midwest voters helped secure Trump's election victory. The escalating trade spat threatens to weaken some of that support. The top producers of soybeans include political battleground states like Ohio and Iowa.

"Soybean tariffs impact U.S. Midwest political swing states and come at a cost that China appears willing to pay," Damien Courvalin, an analyst at Goldman Sachs, said in a report.

The trade spat is the latest in a long list of farmer woes. An overhang of grain supplies has sparked a protracted struggle in the agricultural economy as crop prices stayed near historical lows. The decline in producer profits has crimped spending, hindering sales for companies like Monsanto. Years of sluggish profits have also forced more farmers to take out loans to keep afloat.

The duties also come just as U.S. farmers are making acreage decisions for this season. While some growers have already begun sowing, the bulk of the Midwest will gear up for planting once weather conditions turn more favorable. The government last week had forecast soybeans to unseat corn as the largest-seeded domestic crop for the first time since the 1980s.

Global demand for the oilseed has surged in recent years, driven by record Chinese purchases. China is the world's largest pork producer and relies on imports for feed supplies.

U.S. Ambassador Terry Branstad last month warned China against retaliatory measures aimed at imports of the oilseed and said any efforts to curb the trade would harm the Asian nation's regular citizens more than American growers. In an email on Wednesday, Paul Burke, North Asia Regional Director of the U.S. Soybean Export Council, said duties on soybeans will hurt both U.S. farmers as well as Chinese soy processing, animal producers and consumers.

On Wednesday, May soybean futures fell as much as 5.3 percent in Chicago, a record loss for the contract, before paring the decline. The duty against U.S. soybeans isn't yet priced into the markets, as the tariff remains a threat with an unclear timeline, analysts at Rabobank International said in a report.

Traders will continue to focus on the timing of the tariffs. U.S. soybean shipments typically fall at this time of year as buyers shift to Brazil, where the harvest is well under way.
Top injury attorney Thomas J. Henry is putting San Antonio's elite party scene on the map.

Last week, the Alamo City-based lawyer threw a $4-million bash at a Stone Oak club to celebrate the 18th birthday of his son, Thomas Henry Jr.

"Migos, Ashanti, Ja Rule, J Balvin and Diplo ... could be a list of Grammy performers -- or just some of the performers and guests at an 18-year-old's $4 million birthday party in San Antonio," TMZ described the shindig in an article published Thursday.

Other sites, like XXL and Daily Mail, also reported on the jaw-dropping event.

Shae Savin, Henry family publicist, dished on more party details.

RELATED: Thomas J. Henry threw his son a star-studded 18th birthday party

Aerial performers, burlesque dancers and contortionists supplemented already wow-worthy performances by Migos, J Balvin and Diplo.

That night's theme was Great Gastby and the entire Henry family showed up wearing Versace's 2018 Spring Collection, Saving said.

"There were performances by Migos and J Balvin, a special DJ set by Diplo and DJ Ruckus, aerial performers, burlesque dancers, contortionists and more! The entire family was dressed by Versace from the designer's 2018 Spring Collection."

Other celebrity guests included Ashanti, Rumer Willis, Lance Bass, Josh Henderson, Adrienne Bailon, Joanna Krupa, Aubrey O'Day and Austin Mahone.

The birthday boy got a fully loaded blue Ferrari and an IWC Portugieser Tourbillion watch.

The prominent injury attorney has earned a reputation of being an extravagant entertainer  he hosted an lavish quinceanera for his daughter, Maya, last February then followed up a year later by backing this year's Maxim Super Bowl party. Those bashes brought in names like Nick Jonas, DJ Khalid, Travis Scott and Pitbull.

See newly released photos of the event everyone wanted to be at in the gallery above.

Madalyn Mendoza is a digital reporter for MySA.com. Read more of her stories here.| mmendoza@mysa.com | Twitter: @MaddySkye
Harking back to the early years of the future community that would become The Woodlands, one cannot help but notice the impact a team of urban planners, architects and other specialists had on the development founded by George Mitchell. One of the key players in the formation, design and creation of The Woodlands as it is known today is Robert Heineman, vice president of planning for The Woodlands Development Co.

Heineman, who holds an undergraduate degree in architecture from Rice University and a Master of Architecture in Urban Design from Harvard University Graduate School of Design, became involved in The Woodlands in 1971 as a college intern. He later returned to work for Mitchell in the development stages of the community in 1972. Today, Heineman's presence is still felt in a large way, as he remains involved in daily work and planning of various projects - like the recently completed Woodlands Waterway - and as an active member of the township's Development Standards Committee.

QUESTION: You had a unique story of how you became involved in The Woodlands, how did that come about?

HEINEMAN: I applied and was accepted as a summer intern in 1971. I was a student at Harvard and my parents sent me an article about George Mitchell and The Woodlands. It was kind of down my alley as far as my graduate degree. I returned in 1972 as a full-time planner and never left. The Woodlands officially opened in 1974. I've always been interested in the structure of a city and how buildings relate in planning and real estate development. Harvard Design School allowed students to take classes in the law school, the business school and M.I.T. I became interested in more than individual buildings.

QUESTION: Can you describe a bit of the history behind The Woodlands and what the original concept for the community was?

HEINEMAN: The concept of The Woodlands was a series of primarily residential villages that would support a downtown area that is now the Town Center and The Research Forest. The basis for a village was a population and service area that would support a grocery anchored retail center. That was the idea. The retail center would also include offices, medical (services), a gas station, a hardware store ... stores that you need on a daily or weekly basis. These (centers) would be located at intersections of major thoroughfares and also served by a major collector road in The Village. In most cases one could access the Village Center without having to get on a major highway or a main road. It was designed to not have to get on a major highway or a main road to get to these centers.

QUESTION: Was there a specific reason for this type of design, the clustered shopping areas, forested roads and not driving on major highways?

HEINEMAN: It was designed to be more efficient. If you look at Houston and many other cities, the retail is designed as strip centers along major thoroughfares - strung out on major thoroughfares-Westheimer, Richmond, Alabama are major thoroughfares filled with retail. The result is the number of trips per day on a normal street in Houston is higher. If you eliminate the strip retail-commercial along the thoroughfares, it becomes a parkway instead of a major thoroughfare. If you design the retail as nodes at major intersections, the thoroughfares become parkways instead of shopping streets: no turn lanes, no slow downs. The result is a higher average speed and the ability to synchronize traffic signals better. The greenbelts along the roadways also maintain the forest image. In The Woodlands you can access most destinations in a village on smaller collector roads, it frees up the major thoroughfares for longer trips. You end up with major thoroughfares that are much more efficient.

QUESTION: The idea of clustering shopping options in one retail center, or "node" as you describe it, seems to have been a priority. Can you discuss that?

HEINEMAN: The Village Centers are all within one or two miles from every home in the village. The other advantage of grouping all the activities together in a "node" is when you go to a grocery story, people think, 'What else do I need.' You can go to several destinations in a single trip, which reduces vehicle miles traveled, which aids in reducing traffic congestion.

QUESTION: You mentioned the boundaries of the villages within The Woodlands are major thoroughfares such as Gosling Road, Research Forest Drive and The Woodlands Parkway, what led to that decision?

HEINEMAN: The whole idea is different from Houston and most cities. Villages are bounded by a major thoroughfare or a streambed or an open space; Bear Branch separates two villages, Spring Creek separates villages. The boundaries of the villages, the major thoroughfares, are topographically at high points. By putting them on the highest ground, during high rain events the major thoroughfares ... they're the least likely to be impassable during a storm in order have access through the community.

QUESTION: The Woodlands has a unique mixture of homes, apartments and neighborhoods, was there a specific philosophy that led to this?

HEINEMAN: George Mitchell wanted a community that was environmentally sensitive, No. 1, and he wanted one where you could live and work in the same community. Within each village, the idea was to have a range of dwelling types and price ranges-not only single family homes, but also condos and townhomes or apartments. In every village there are neighborhoods and condos and apartments or townhomes, a mixture of different economic demographic levels. Rooftops came first, then retail followed. Mitchell's goal was to have one and a half jobs per household. The idea of having a live-work community is what really separates The Woodlands from other planned communities.
With tear gas and burning tires fouling the air and gunfire periodically ringing out from one direction, Palestinian demonstrators and Israeli soldiers faced off along the fence hemming in the Gaza Strip for a second week Friday. Ten Palestinians were killed, including two teenagers, and 1,000 were wounded, Palestinian officials said.

The demonstrations were smaller than those last week, when 21 people were killed. But the death toll was significant, despite a pledge by Hamas, the militant group that controls Gaza, that the protest would be peaceful, and by Israel that it had learned from last week and would use live fire judiciously.

Hamas insisted that demonstrators would be unarmed, though it carved out an exception for rock throwing.

"Today we are sending a message that our struggle is without arms and guns, and we will wait and see if the world receives the message, and pressures Israel to stop its crimes against our people," Mahmoud al-Zahar, a senior Hamas leader, told reporters at the protests in Gaza City. "And if the world fails to do so, we then will be obliged to use our arms."

Israeli military officials had said they would use live ammunition if necessary to stop Palestinians from penetrating or damaging the barrier fence, which is actually at least two fences  one a crude barrier of barbed wire; the other, some yards behind, a more complicated structure equipped with electronic sensors.

The Israelis released surveillance video clips late in the day that they said showed attempts to cut openings in the barrier, and military officials said that some demonstrators were throwing firebombs at Israeli soldiers.

In one instance, in the Shejaiya neighborhood of Gaza City, Palestinians appeared to try to cross the fence and Israeli soldiers responded with live fire. Hundreds of protesters fled from the barrier en masse. Children cried and families took cover behind parked cars until the shots ceased.

"I believe I'm going to cross the fence, even if they shoot me or cut me in half," said Bilal Abu Zaher, 26, who came to the protest on crutches. He said he had been disabled since his house was damaged by an Israeli airstrike in the 2008 Israel-Gaza war. On Thursday, he said, Israeli soldiers shot at his wheelchair, damaging it. On Friday, he was back at the fence.

"I'm here for dignity," he said. "My goal is to return to the land."

A Palestinian journalists' association said that six Palestinian journalists had been shot and wounded by the Israeli army, local news media reported. An Associated Press reporter tweeted Friday night that one of them, a video journalist, had died, bringing the death toll for the day to 10.

The protests are aimed at Israel's blockade of Gaza, which began after Hamas seized control in 2007. Billed as a six-week "March of Return," the demonstrations are to culminate May 15 with Nakba Day, which commemorates the flight and expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians during Israel's 1948 war for independence.

By Friday, it was clear that they had already achieved one Palestinian aim: shifting the focus of international attention away from the struggle between Hamas and the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority  and onto the stark image of Gaza as a prison with Israel as its jailer.

Palestinian protesters flocked to the barrier fence Friday, chanting, waving flags, flying kites  and setting fire to piles of tires.

Hamas, which has been effectively running the protests, said the smoke screen was a defensive measure to protect unarmed Palestinians from being shot, as many were last Friday, the first day of the demonstrations.

Israeli officials insisted the smoke screens were meant to provide cover for militants trying to make it across the barrier fence to attack soldiers and Israeli civilians living in farming communities nearby.

Either way, the smoke screens appeared effective: From the Israeli side, a detachment of Israeli soldiers ensconced behind earthen berms near the Nahal Oz kibbutz could only occasionally glimpse the hundreds of protesters in the Shejaiya neighborhood of Gaza City through vast clouds of acrid black smoke.

The United Nations urged both sides to avoid violence and said there were "strong indications" that Israeli security forces had used excessive force last week in driving back protesters, which may have breached international law.

Elizabeth Throssell, a spokeswoman for the U.N. human rights office in Geneva, said the high casualty toll among protesters who were unarmed or did not pose a serious threat to security forces  and in some cases were running away from the fence  suggested Israeli troops may have used excessive force.

Some protesters had reportedly acted dangerously, but international law permits the use of lethal force only as a last resort in the face of an imminent threat of death or serious injury, she said. "An attempt to approach or cross the green-line fence by itself certainly does not amount to a threat to life or serious injury that would justify the use of live ammunition," she said.

"If there is unjustified and unlawful recourse to firearms resulting in death, that may amount to willful killing and that's a grave breach of the fourth Geneva Convention," she added.

At the U.N. headquarters in New York, the Palestinian ambassador, Riyad H. Mansour, condemned what he described as a failure by the Security Council to do anything to resolve the situation in Gaza.
NORWALK  In the lobby of Norwalks Temple Shalom, young classical guitarists tuned their instruments and softly went over their pieces as they awaited their turn to perform.

Competitors from Norwalk, Westport, Bridgeport, Ridgefield, Hartford, New York and Massachusetts traveled to the synagogue for the semifinals of the first-ever New Horizons Guitar Competition for classical guitarists and songwriters. Additional musicians from China, Russia and California were competing virtually. The grand prizes were a studio recording session for the winning songwriter and $2,000 for the winning classical guitarist  Its the largest competition for kids, prize-wise, anywhere in the world, said organizer David Veslocki.

But while the competition was open to musicians under 18 from anywhere in the world, three of the semifinalists in the senior division strummed together and spoke quietly as they awaited their turn to play. They were all students of the Connecticut Suzuki Guitar Academy, where Veslocki teaches.

Nikhil Goswami of Westport, one of the semifinalists, estimated he and the other semifinalists had known one another for about five years.

When we got as many tapes as we did, Veslocki said, I was really imaging seeing a lot of brand new faces here. While he ran the competition, Veslocki emphasized he was not judging the tapes or the semifinalists.

But he wasnt entirely surprised. The competition is his latest attempt to put Norwalk guitarists on the map  in the past, he has taken students to Carnegie Hall and Spain and had a piece by famous guitarist Andrew York written specifically for them to play.

It really took them to another level, Veslocki said. Now, a few years later, theyre standing up against the best classical guitar players in the world.

How did Fairfield County become such a hub for classical guitar?

Goswami, James Toomey-Wilson, of Norwalk, and Jesse Balkcom, of Bridgeport, all fell in love with guitar at a young age.

Goswami, a Beatles fan, originally wanted to play electric guitar, but when he first encountered classical at age 7, he never looked back. Toomey-Wilson and Balkcom showed such enthusiasm for the instrument early on their mothers bought them guitars when they were toddlers.

He had a little guitar that we bought at Target, and he would imitate the Gypsy Kings, reminisced Balkcoms mother, Cher Balkcom.

The Suzuki method is famous for introducing children to instruments at a very young age, the idea being that music acquisition is not so different from language acquisition. The best Suzuki schools form a community where students are surrounded by music.

Many of the parents and students believed that community was important. I think being a creative boy is not rewarded in todays society, said Toomey-Wilsons mother, Diana. So to have other boys growing into men share that together is a huge deal.

After the classical guitarists had their turn before the judges, the songwriters were up. Marko Katra, of Ridgefield, practiced the chorus of his song, Invisible in the lobby: So I scream and shout, but not matter how loud, you wont hear a single sound because Im invisible.

Katra, who plays guitar, began songwriting after moving from Norwalk to Ridgefield (his first song was about separation). He said he loved the creativity songwriting afforded. It lets you make that song that you want to hear on the radio that doesnt exist yet.

Willow Woodward, 14, of Bedford Corners, N.Y., was competing in the songwriting competition, although, unlike most of the music that day, her songs were meant to be sung to piano. She cited Taylor Swift and Colbie Caillat as influences for her songs Disaster (If we werent a we, it would be a disaster) and Superman (I dont want perfection, I just want affection that comes with all its flaws) and said she had heard about the competition through her songwriting teacher.

I thought it was a good way to perform in front of judges and get people familiar with my songs, she said. I love songwriting  its a great way to express yourself.

The young musicians who moved forward from Saturdays round will travel to New York City on Sunday to perform as finalists in front of a live audience.

Diana Toomey-Wilson said it wouldnt be the first time theyve gone to Manhattan for guitar  in the past, they have attended the New York Guitar Seminar at Mannes. She found the guitar community there enriching as well. It really kind of feeds him to be with these kinds of people, she said.

Its a really cool way to experience the world.
Seoul, South Korea

Park Geun-hye, South Korea's impeached and ousted president, was sentenced Friday to 24 years in prison on bribery and other charges in a case that exposed the entrenched, collusive ties between the government and huge conglomerates like Samsung.

The conviction and sentencing represented a climactic moment in an influence-peddling scandal that drew hundreds of thousands of South Koreans into the streets demanding Park's resignation and shook the country's political and business worlds.

Park  the conservative daughter of a past dictator  is the country's first former leader to be convicted of crimes since two former military-backed presidents were found guilty of sedition and corruption in the 1990s. Park's conviction on bribery, coercion, abuse of power and other charges was the first lower-court ruling on a criminal case to be broadcast live in South Korea.

Many viewed her conviction as a giant step forward for South Korea's democracy, raising hopes that the country would tackle the corruption that accompanied its impressive economic rise. But there are fears that no true reform is possible until the country's powerful conglomerates are held to better account for serious white-collar crimes like bribery.

A Samsung executive implicated in the scandal has already been freed from prison.

At the center of the scandal that brought down Park's government is the allegation that she and Choi Soon-sil, a longtime friend and confidante, collected or demanded large bribes from three big businesses, including Samsung, the country's largest family-controlled conglomerate. Separately, the two women were accused of coercing 18 businesses into making donations worth $72 million to two foundations that Choi controlled.

Park, 66, did not appear in court for her case Friday. She has refused to attend any court hearings since October, staying in her prison cell, complaining of poor health and insisting that she is the victim of a political conspiracy.
JOURDANTON  While a jury was deliberating life or death for a man convicted of killing a San Antonio police officer, lawyers and others in the courtroom were talking about trash.

Yes, you read that right: Trash, more specifically the handling of it.

San Antonio Police Officer Doug Greene, a department spokesman, was called to the stand early Friday, outside of the earshot of the jurors, to explain how he came into possession of a bag of trash from a juror during a recess in the capital murder trial, which was being held in Atascosa County.

RELATED: San Antonio cop killer learns fate

Defense attorneys for Shaun Puente, who was convicted of killing San Antonio police officer Robert Deckard, brought the issue of the trash bag to the attention of District Judge Donna Rayes and said the act could suggest some impropriety by prosecutors.

Greene, who has been attending the lengthy trial in support of Deckards family, told the judge he did not mean to do anything improper; the juror had merely handed him the trash bag, which contained a discarded lunch. Nothing was said during the exchange and he was simply trying to be helpful, Greene testified.

That the trash bag incident was raised at all shows how any perceived misstep could potentially throw a wrench in long, complicated death penalty case.

After lawyers questioned Greene, Rayes chided the officer and any spectators in the gallery. She acknowledged that the courthouse was small but told them to avoid any and all interactions with the jurors, adding that she didnt want the case to end in a mistrial.

After a few hours, the jurors returned and announced they were deadlocked about the punishment for Puente. In turn, Rayes sentenced him to life in prison without parole.
The family of a missing 81-year-old San Antonio man confirmed Saturday morning he was found dead near his home in southern Bexar County.

Pete Carreon, who was first reported missing on Jan. 20, 2018, was found dead in a ditch on private property near his home Thursday evening by workers clearing brush, according to the Bexar County Sheriff's Office. His body was in an advanced stage of decomposition, sheriff's say.
AUSTIN  The Texas National Guard said Friday night it would send 250 troops to the border in the coming days to augment 100 already there, along with equipment, vehicles and aircraft in support of President Trumps immigration and drug crackdown.

Guard personnel will head to the U.S.-Mexico border as part of the expanded mission as early as Saturday , with others going in the coming weeks, but the guards commander Friday could not say exactly how many.

Speaking at the Armed Forces Reserve Center in Austin, Brig. Gen. Tracy Norris didnt rule out the possibility that troops could make arrests, though experts have called it unlikely.

The guard still is working with the Department of Homeland Security to decide what tasks the new troops will perform but they will begin heading out immediately, with other soldiers and airmen soon getting call-up orders, Norris said.

To underscore the urgency of the mission authorized by Gov. Greg Abbott, a pair of UH-72 Lakota helicopters loaded with equipment took off for the border from Austin after the brief press conference.

With the authorization and under the authority of Governor Abbott, this deployment has begun with the movement of equipment and troops, Norris said. Within 72 hours, the Texas Military Department will have 250 personnel along with ground surveillance vehicles as well as light and medium aviation platforms.

The presidents initiative means that the states existing border-security mission launched by Abbott, Operation Secure Texas, will see a rise in the number of National Guard troops. Secure Texas now has about 100 volunteer soldiers and airmen serving in a variety of support roles, but was much larger when it first began under a different name four years ago.

Troops serving in Secure Texas have been armed for defensive purposes, serving in what the guard calls observe and report roles, but are not allowed to make arrests. Norris said soldiers and airmen in the new operation also will be armed, depending on the missions needed by federal authorities.

Asked if the troops would be authorized to make arrests or searches, Norris said only that the Texas Guard was working with DHS to determine what the requirements would be.

A Texas Guard spokesman, Lt. Col. Travis Walters, said troops from the Lone Star State had historically served only in observe and report roles.

But we are still awaiting more fidelity from the Customs and Border Patrol and the Department of Homeland Security in what they will ask us to do, he added. Those things are being fleshed out right now.

The Department of Homeland Security  is going to determine what the requirements are, and then they will give them to us and with the consent of the governor, we will move forward with whatever missions that they deem as needed to move forward.

A White House press pool report quoted Trump as saying this week his plan would have a force of 2,000 to 4,000 troops in four Southwestern border states. The Department of Homeland Security has said little about the mission after Trump, in a speech Tuesday, vowed to be doing things militarily on the border.

Texas was one of two states to announce its plans Friday. The Arizona National Guard said that it had activated a team of planners to coordinate the deployment of 150 troops to the border next week, to provide air support, reconnaissance support, operational support, construction of border infrastructure, and logistical support. The troops will allow federal authorities to increase operational control of the region, he said.

New Mexico has said it, too, would be involved in the new mission, but there was no word of its plans Friday night. Gov. Jerry Brown, an ardent foe of Trumps immigration policies, has not said if he will allow soldiers from the California National Guard to support the new operation.

Governors act as commanders of their guard organizations.

In a press conference that lasted less than 10 minutes, Norris said the Texas Guards initial deployment phase would improve command and control, coordination cells and operational planning as requested in support of the federal entities already on the border. Follow-on forces will move to the border once mission requirements and locations are finalized, with notifications likely going to soldiers and airmen next week.

This notification will allow guardsmen  soldiers and airmen  to notify their families and employers in the preparation to report as early as next week, Norris said.

Texas has conducted border-security operations on its own and in conjunction with two other presidents for more than a decade now. Then. Gov. Rick Perry ordered 604 Texas Guard troops working to patrol the Rio Grande in security platoons in 2007.

Abbott followed with a July 2014 call-up of 1,000 guardsmen for duty on the border for Operation Strong Safety, which became Operation Secure Texas. Asked if the new personnel may have different orders from those 100 on duty, Norris said the needs of DHS, Customs and Border Patrol and other federal entities on the border will dictate what the difference will be.

Guardsmen deployed to the border in 2006 and 2010 at the request of President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama acted in support roles and were not allowed to detain migrants or conduct searches.
When fake news blasts traditional media for being "fake news," how does one respond?

Do you shout, I'm not fake, you are? Do you ignore the charge? If you don't fight back, are you affirming the fool? If you do, doth thou protest too much?

The risk of doing nothing, of course, is to go crazy, too.

Call me crazy, but when a local news station is required to have its anchor read propaganda created by its master  in this case Sinclair Broadcast Group  it is not to be taken seriously. Indeed, it is to be feared.

Sinclair recently became the news story when it ordered its 193 local television stations across the country to read an identical script on the air denouncing other traditional news organizations as producers of "fake news," an accusation popularized by the fakest newsy himself, Donald Trump.

Though many even in the news industry were surprised to learn of Sinclair's existence, the family-owned company has been around since 1971. With stations in 89 markets, it is certainly not new. The company has been quietly consuming small- to medium-sized markets for decades and today controls more local news than any other media organization. Sinclair also has affiliations with all the major alphabet and cable networks. Today, it probably has greater reach than any other single cable or broadcast company.

It's a big deal, in other words. And it's about to get bigger. The company is poised to expand even further with a pending $3.9 billion purchase of Tribune Media, which owns 42 other stations, including some in the largest markets  New York, Los Angeles and Chicago.

Although Sinclair's "fake news" campaign, which seemed aimed at boosting Trump, caught the media world's attention, the company has long been a content creator of "must-runs"  editorial and other segments that its broadcast family members were expected to add to their daily run of local news. Injecting opinion into millions of homes, pre-packaged and then delivered by stations that have earned their audience's trust is a long-standing part of the company's defining template.

It is ironic that in an era when fake news from outside sources (see Russia) is a legitimate worry  and while important journalism is being conducted at some of the very institutions Sinclair has chosen to criticize  that this mega-multiplatform media conglomerate is directly imposing its own agenda on unwitting audiences.

The obvious concern should be that once you have hundreds of stations regurgitating the same message to millions of people  how do neutral, third-party entities combat the disinformation?

It's a serious question and it wasn't always thus. Warring media factions where fact and fiction compete for attention is both self-congratulatory and self-defeating. No one wins in the end. Do the media bear some of the blame? Absolutely. Instances of obvious media bias have contributed to the lack of faith that Trump has so masterfully nurtured. But there's a vast difference between editorials and news  or should be  and most traditional news organizations work diligently to protect this essential separation, which is as sacrosanct as that between church and state. Credibility is the only coin of the realm.

Sinclair, by contrast, seems to consider its news stations, mostly in those markets where Trump is still popular, to be personal editorial outlets. With few exceptions, most Sinclair-owned stations had their anchors read the statement, which, reportedly, made many of them squirm. After all, some of those same anchors no doubt hope someday to move up to larger markets and to some of these traditional "fake news" outlets.

In its defense, Sinclair issued a statement Monday expressing surprise that anyone would object to their trying to remind viewers of their high standards compared to traditional, as well as social, media. The statement referred to a recent Monmouth University survey that found that more than 75 percent of Americans believe that traditional TV and newspaper outlets report "fake news."

This is the real and disheartening danger. How does a free nation remain free without a vibrant Fourth Estate? When a media company as vast and penetrating as Sinclair can claim the moral high road while molding and marshaling public thought essentially against a free press it seems not irrational to fear a future featuring a Soviet-style propagandist state.

There is some good news in all of this, however. The same Monmouth survey found that most Americans still find President Trump to be a less-trusted source of information than they do the major cable news outlets. That may be only a pewter lining, but it's something.

kathleenparkerwashpost.com
In 2008, in Heller vs. District of Columbia, the U.S Supreme Court, for the first time, interpreted the Second Amendment of the Constitution to protect the right of law-abiding citizens to use arms in defense of hearth and home.

But in the public debates that have ensued, proponents of unlimited access to weapons have misstated the meaning of the Second Amendment to oppose reasonable gun control.

We who study constitutional law need to oppose this misuse of the law.

The court was extremely careful both to limit the expression of the right and to describe specifically the many limitations on that right. The constitutional right does not include the right to keep and bear an AR-15 or similar weapon.

One can argue that Congress, state legislatures or city councils should not set any limits on keeping and bearing weapons. One cannot correctly argue that the Constitution prevents decision-makers from limiting the sale, possession, trade or use of any weapons, from semi-automatics to machine guns to bazookas to hand-carried Stinger anti-aircraft weapons.

The 2008 Heller decision, as well as three subsequent Supreme Court opinions and opinions of several U.S. Courts of Appeals, have confined the right and listed some of its many exceptions. The constitutional right is limited to use of guns, specifically handguns, for self-defense in the home.

The right excludes machine guns, short-barreled shotguns and other weapons most useful in military service.

The distortion of the Heller opinion in the public arena demands a more careful review of what the decision actually held and actually said.

Heller is the first Supreme Court opinion to interpret the Second Amendment to guarantee any individual rights to keep and bear arms, even though the Second Amendment became law in 1791, 217 years before.

The opinion held that the District of Columbia violated the Second Amendment when it outlawed the possession of handguns and of any functional firearm, even in the home. The court held that Dick Heller, a D.C. special police officer, had the right to keep an unlocked lawful handgun in his home.

Justice Antonin Scalia wrote the court opinion for the five justices in the Heller majority. Four other justices strongly dissented, finding no personal guarantee to keep and bear arms in the Second Amendment.

I quote only the Scalia majority opinion here. The court held the Second Amendments core protection is the right of law-abiding, responsible citizens to use arms in defense of hearth and home.

The court explained: Like most rights, the right secured by the Second Amendment is not unlimited. And nothing in our opinion should be taken to cast doubt on longstanding prohibitions on the possession of firearms by felons and the mentally ill, or laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings, or laws imposing conditions and qualifications on the commercial sale of arms.

The court in Heller also explained: We also recognize another important limitation on the right to keep and carry arms. Heller said, as we have explained, that the sorts of weapons protected were those in common use at the time. We think that limitation is fairly supported by the historical tradition of prohibiting the carrying of dangerous and unusual weapons.

Further, the Second Amendment does not protect those weapons not typically possessed by law-abiding citizens for lawful purposes, such as short-barreled shotguns.

The Supreme Court has found a Chicago statute banning handguns to violate the Second Amendment and struck a Massachusetts law banning stun-guns.

However, the court has upheld a federal law increasing prison terms for mere possession of a sawed-off shotgun.

In addition to the Supreme Court opinions, U.S. Courts of Appeals have gone further to uphold as constitutional government prohibition of certain classes of arms and markets for those arms.

In a 10-4 decision in 2017, the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a Maryland statute banning AR-15s and other military-style rifles and shotguns (referred to as assault weapons) and detachable large-capacity magazines. That court held that these guns and magazines are dangerous even in the hands of law-abiding citizens and are not self-defense weapons. The Supreme Court refused an opportunity to review this opinion.

Even after the Heller opinion, 11 of the 12 U.S. Courts of Appeals have upheld limitations both on most types of guns and the people who may buy or possess guns. Seven appeals courts have upheld state laws outlawing bans on semi-automatic and automatic weapons, and the Supreme Court has refused to hear any appeals from four of these opinions. Four other appeals courts have upheld state laws preventing people convicted of domestic violence or felonies from possessing firearms. The Supreme Court has also refused an appeal from the only one of these opinions appealed to it.

These cases hold that whether to expand or limit gun use is up to the federal, state or local governments, except for the complete exclusion of handguns and stun guns.

The Supreme Court has often faced the dilemma of whether to identify constitutional rights with their national effect, or to allow Congress, legislatures and local government to decide these issues. Many who support very strong national Supreme Court holdings on Second Amendment access to any sort of firearms nevertheless criticize the Supreme Court for its national holdings on desegregation, same-sex marriage or reproductive rights.

Those who seek expansion of Second Amendment rights are seeking court orders overruling the statutes and regulations of Congress, state legislatures and local governing boards. They are seeking court protection to overrule majority rule.

All of us may argue our positions on what weapons should be available and what regulations the community can place on the sale and use of weapons.

However, except in a very limited range of nonmilitary weapons for self-defense of home and hearth, we cannot correctly argue that the Second Amendment or other constitutional provisions prevent government control of weapons or their marketing.

Make your arguments for constitutional rights to AR-15s and Bushmasters, 30- and 100-round ammunition clips, and uncontrolled gun shows for self-defense and sporting. The Constitution does not say that, and you disrespect the Constitution if you say it does.
Re: LaHood defense funds touted, front page, March 28:

Of course, the taxpayers shouldnt pay to defend Nico LaHood in his misconduct complaint by the state bar.

I doubt that the job description for his office includes threatening to destroy the practice of any lawyer who objects to a refusal to disclose important information to the defense in court.

I do wish his hearing was not behind closed doors. I would love to hear what his excuse is for such unprofessional behavior.

Karron Dunlap

Battling epidemic

Re: Losing part of self; All too often, diabetes robs people of their limbs, front page, March 25:

Thank you for featuring the article by Melissa Fletcher Stoeltje. As vascular surgeons, my partners and I encounter hundreds of patients who struggle with diabetes daily. We experience firsthand the effects of this devastating epidemic throughout Texas. From losing circulation in their lower extremities to losing sight to needing dialysis treatments weekly, diabetics and their families often endure a difficult journey.

For more than 42 years, we at Peripheral Vascular Associates, together with many other medical professionals in San Antonio, have sought to be part of the solution to diagnosing and correcting circulation issues. To prevent amputations and create real change, the population needs to be educated regarding diabetes and circulation complications.

We have partnered with community organizations such as the YMCA, Diabetes Collaborative, American Diabetes Association, the Prosthetics Foundation and others to educate patients and the community on the causes and effects of diabetes and how prevention is the best solution.

Seeing a physician well-versed in the symptoms, and who can accurately and appropriately diagnose and guide a patient, is of paramount importance and can be the crucial factor in avoiding the vascular complications of limb loss, stroke, heart attack, renal failure or aneurysm rupture.

By giving diabetes the visibility it needs, as Fletcher Stoeltje did with this extensive article, we are taking the necessary steps to prevent diabetes and shift toward a healthier population.

Dr. Demetrios Macris, Peripheral Vascular Associates

Fodder for blackmail

The presidents extramarital sex life is not troubling because of a moral judgment by liberals.

Its troubling because it shows how susceptible Trump is to blackmail and being compromised by sexual partners and foreign governments.

Mark Porter

Not his piggy bank

The Pentagon got more than $700 billion in the omnibus bill this year (more than it asked for), a 9.5 percent jump over last year. Where is the accountability? The increase alone is larger than the Russian military budget.

Meantime, lawmakers provided $3.3 billion to combat the opioid crisis, $2.1 billion on veterans, $10 billion on infrastructure, $2 billion on higher education and $2.9 billion on child care.

Now, the president thinks he can use Pentagon money to pay for his bases wall, after saying dozens of times Mexico will pay for the wall.

Even though the gluttonous military budget is there, its not the presidents piggy bank.

Adam Castillo

An ill wind

Donald Trump was never presidential timber. More realistically, he was just irreverent, ill-informed, nondiplomatic, Machiavellian particles of sawdust blowing in the wind. We were unfortunate to inherit the wind.

Many conservatives will hope their leaders nominate a stable candidate next time.

George Carrera

Ration ammo

The time has come for our spineless legislators to listen to the young people and defy the NRA and the vast sums of money it is using to control Congress.

The U.S. is notorious and unique among advanced countries for the large number of deaths due to gun violence. We need comprehensive and strict background checks of all gun buyers, as well as limits as to where and by whom guns are sold.

Military-style weapons are not needed within a civilian population, so those types of weapons should be banned.

Since our country is already awash with guns, all ammunition should be rationed. We had all kinds of rationing during World War II, and this could be a workable solution to control the indiscriminate use of firearms. The needs of hunters and sportsmen would not be deprived, but some mentally deranged person could possibly be thwarted from carrying out any nefarious plan to massacre innocent people.

Doris C. Norton

Lets not answer

Re: Dispute erupts over new census question; Citizenship entry seen sparking fear, front page, March 28:

How about all of us refuse to answer the citizenship question? Im as solid a citizen as can be, born in Chicago, 30 years in the military, but I occupy space, pay taxes and use public services just like anybody else.

If my neighbor is afraid to be counted, we both get hurt when the resources get passed out. If nobody answers the question, we make it safer for everyone to participate.

Rasa Silenas

On life support

Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos is not garnering as much press lately as other Cabinet members. She stated on 60 Minutes that her goal is to give poor families the same school choices as wealthier families.

We should all be wearing black because her ideas are the death knell of public education.

Barbara Levine
Insiders say the new National Patriotic Front (NPF)  which has the blessings of ousted former president Robert Mugabe  could suffer a stillbirth, amid damaging internal accusations that the fledgling partys leader Rtd brigadier Ambrose Mutinhiri is incompetent.

Well-placed sources who spoke to the Daily News yesterday said there were already serious ructions within the political outfit, with Mugabes wife Grace and a few of the former Zanu PF bigwigs who are linked to the new party apparently now saying Mutinhiri lacked both the capacity and the energy to go toe to toe with the ruling party and the MDC Alliance in this years national elections.

However, sympathisers of the former securocrat and Mashonaland East provincial minister leapt to his defence yesterday saying he had been set up to fail when he was surprisingly catapulted to the leadership of the party.

There is war inside the party, with Grace and her close former G40 kingpins now pushing for Mutinhiris ouster, claiming that he is incompetent and that she (Grace) is better qualified and placed to lead the party into this years elections.

I really sympathise with Mutinhiri, as looking at the issue in retrospect its now clear that he was set up to fail, as NPF only exists on paper with neither a structure nor followers.

It is also clear now that he was used, just like what Grace and the G40 kingpins did to poor (former Cabinet minister Sydney) Sekeramayi whose name they expediently threw into the Zanu PF succession mix last year when they in fact wanted Grace to succeed Mugabe, one of the insiders said.

This comes as the NPF was due to announce its full team in the run-up to Easter, but inexplicably failed to do so  although it was not immediately clear whether this was linked to the emerging differences.

However, NPF spokesperson Jealousy Mawarire accused President Emmerson Mnangagwas government of peddling falsehoods against the party.I have not heard any complaints about  Mutinhiris leadership and therefore cannot comment on falsehoods planted by the junta to elicit information about our party.

We have all our feet on the ground and our hands on the wheel. We will shake the regime in a big way and will certainly save our people from the shackles put on them on November 15, 2017.

We will send Mnangagwa and his fellow coup organisers out of government through the harmonised elections this year, Mawarire said.

The NPF spokesperson also said they had deferred releasing their list of the partys leadership after learning of the intelligence communitys machinations  which he claimed had been foiled by their delay.

We know the junta has been desperate for that list, and has tried to come up with its own list of our leadership and we are enjoying the desperation and panic shown by this illegal regime.

We are strategic in our planning and the execution of our strategy. We are a party formed in the midst of a coup and operating in a country under a military junta, hence it will be both unprofessional and unstrategic for me, or any organ of the party for that matter to lay bare our strategy to our opponents.

We have clear plans and processes that we are following which will culminate in the unveiling of the full complement of our leadership and the portfolios they are occupying. This process and related events are determined by our party, not the junta or its agents, Mawarire told the Daily News.

The NPF, whose interim leader Mutinhiri abruptly resigned from Zanu PF, was said to be Mugabes antidote to Mnangagwa and the ruling party, following the nonagenarians stunning fall from power last November.

Mugabe has surprised both authorities and ordinary Zimbabweans alike in recent weeks by re-entering the political arena, and holding several meetings with opposition leaders  including openly lending his support to the NPF. The NPF has since revealed that Mugabe has endorsed the party, after he met Mutinhiri at his Blue Roof mansion in Harare, although it denies that the 94-year-old has a formal role in its activities.

Political analysts also told the Daily News yesterday that Mutinhiri lacked both the charisma and the popularity that was required to win against Zanu PF and the MDC Alliance.

I would agree with those saying he is not popular enough. He is actually a big unknown and I dont think he will leave a mark at the elections, especially given his links to the G40 and former first lady Grace Mugabe.

It (NPF) was meant to be a spoiler but not a very big spoiler. I dont think it would have sufficient time to craft its message, build and consolidate its structures before the elections.

It doesnt have any chance to make any big difference on the outcome of the elections, Eldred Masunungure, a respected University of Zimbabwe political science lecturer, said.

Another political analyst, Tawanda Zinyama, concurred with Masunungure saying both Mutinhiri and the NPF would be a hard sell to the discerning Zimbabwean electorate.

I dont think it (NPF) will be sellable to the electorate. The characters are not known and Zimbabwean politics is about personalities. The association of the party with former president Mugabe also undermines its credibility, Zinyama said.

Any party formed on the basis of an agenda other than to serve people is bound to suffer a stillbirth as the demons of power contestations will manifest as soon as possible.

Other than expressing unhappiness with the manner of Mugabes removal, I have not heard what else NPF represents, another analyst, Rashweat Mukundu, said.

When it emerged last month that Grace was facing a probe over her alleged dealings in illegal ivory trade, the NPF leapt to the defence of the former first family, and accused Mnangagwa of harassing the Mugabes.

If Zimbabwe is open for business, it should be open to political business. Hence, people  regardless of their past positions in government  should be allowed freedom of association, choice and expression.

These rights are fundamental to the freeness and fairness of the forthcoming election, and we hope ED goes beyond his mantra of a free election and acquaints himself with the Sadc guidelines and principles governing democratic elections in the region.

These are very clear on what constitutes a free and fair election and we believe he should leave  Mugabe and his family to freely participate in the next elections if they so wish, because its their constitutional right to do so  we have engaged regional powers to look into the matter of Mugabe, Mawarire said then after the NPF had written letters to regional leaders to protect Mugabe from the nonagenarians alleged political harassment.

If you ignore this  you will ignore the Constitution of Zimbabwe, history and your responsibilities and obligations as Sadc, and the consequences will be too ghastly for everyone concerned, in Zimbabwe and in Sadc and the African Union, the NPF added then.

Mugabes 37 uninterrupted years in power were brought to an inglorious end when the military launched Operation Restore Legacy on November 15 last year, which saw the nonagenarian and his then influential wife being placed under house arrest. Several Cabinet ministers linked to Zanu PFs vanquished G40 faction, who had coalesced around Grace, were also targeted in the operation which ended just before Christmas  with the military only retreating back to their barracks after five weeks of executing the operation. The annihilated G40, with the visible help of Mugabe and Grace, was  before the military intervention  locked in a bitter war with Mnangagwa and his supporters for control of both Zanu PF and the government.

 DailyNews

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Peoples Rainbow Coalition (PRC) Leader President Dr JTR Mujuru met the Visiting United States of America Senate Foreign Relations Committee in Harare on the 6th of April 2018. The US Committee is on a Fact finding mission of political reality prevailing in the country post Robert Mugabe era and in view of the pending harmonised elections of 2018.

The PRC leader took the opportunity to brief the Visiting US Senate Committee on the PRC political and electoral demands should the country envisage the holding of free, fair and credible elections. Dr JTR Mujuru highlighted to the delegation that the current Government administration is a product of a military coup and that there is peremptory need for the holding of free, fair and credible elections should the country immediately return to the rule of law and constitutionalism.

The PRC Presidential candidate took the opportunity to take the Visitors through a list of PRC political and electoral demands which demands PRC presented to the office of ED Mnangagwa and copied to Zimbabwe Electoral Commission early this year and how a failure to achieve and implement the reforms would adversely affect the holding of free, fair and Credible elections. For avoidance of doubt the PRC Political and Electoral demands presented by leader of the Government in waiting, PRC are as follows:

1. Issues of electoral intergrity

2. Need for political restraint of traditional leadership authority in electoral processes

3. Demilitarization of electoral processes

4.Issues of Political violence and intimidation

5. Media Reforms for both public print and electronic media.

6. Need for independent Zimbabwe electoral commission

7. Diaspora vote

8. Need for clean and verifiable voters roll

9. Transparency in the procurement of election materials

10. Independent election material audit

11. Election observation and monitoring

12. Independent electoral courts

13. Independent mechanism for receiving complaints

14. Equal engagement of all election Stakeholders

15. Need for Pre agreed road Map.

The PRC leader highlighted to the visitors that there is no indication of the military regime s willingness to implement the critical reforms notwithstanding EDs grand standing on foreign soils to the effect of wanting to facilitate the holding of free and fair elections.

Zimbabweans should also take note that the issue of Zimbabwe Electoral commission took centre stage regarding its independence and politics of exclusion and collusion when it comes to the need of engaging all political parties in the country on matters of political processes ; and more worrying is when ZEC critical manpower would be seen in the company of Zanu pf in countries like Russia in very much unclear circumstances.

Above everything else Mother Zimbabwe needs to assure Zimbabweans that the issue of electoral and political reforms is a non negotiable matter and PRC is ready to take every constitutional means necessary to ensure that the decency and intergrity of Zimbabwean vote is protected. Justice needs to be seen to be done for justice delayed is justice denied. Another workable and great Zimbabwe is possible.

# Mother Zimbabwe for President 2018.

# Dr JTR Mujuru has my vote 2018.

# My Joice My voice My vote My Choice.

Adv Gift Nyandoro

PRC Spokesperson.

Breaking News via Email

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- A dog has been sentenced to death in Germany for killing two people

- Autopsy results confirmed it mauled its owners to death in the German city of Hanover

- The dog, named Chico, is in an animal shelter in the nearby town of Langenhagen and will be euthanised

A Staffordshire Terrier mixed-breed dog was set to be put to sleep after autopsy results on Friday, April 6, confirmed it mauled its owners to death in the German city of Hanover.

The incident, which shocked Germany and prompted a debate about the rules of dog ownership, saw a 52-year-old woman and her 27-year-old son die as the result of the attack in their apartment.

Fire rescue workers captured the dog when they broke into the flat after being alerted by the womans daughter late Tuesday.

READ ALSO: Local vigilantes allegedly prevent SARS operatives from arresting Melaye

The daughter contacted authorities after couldnt reach either family member and spotted the lifeless body of her brother through the window of the flat.

Neighbours said that the man was seriously ill and had been so since childhood. His mother was apparently a wheelchair user.

The dog, named Chico, is in an animal shelter in the nearby town of Langenhagen and will be euthanised.

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Legit.ng had reported that a dog reportedly died saving lives of several people at a wedding party in Maiduguri after it attacked a teenage bomber.

The Nigerian Veterinary Medical Association (NVMA) also gave a posthumous award on the dog for voiding the mass killing.

Survivors of Boko Haram on Legit.ng TV:

Source: Legit.ng
- Kwara state goveror has promised a reward of N5million to anyone with useful information on Offa robbery

- The governor also promised anonymity and security to any willing informants

The Kwara state government on Saturday, April 7, has announced a reward of N5 million for anyone with useful information that can lead to the arrest of robbers who attacked five banks in Offa on Thursday, April 5.

Premium Times reports that the governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed, in a statement by his senior special assistant on media and communications, Muyideen Akorede, called on anyone with useful information on the incident to contact the state police command.

READ ALSO: Federal government to release fresh looters' list

Anyone with information on the robbery should contact the following numbers: 0803 739 1280 and 0803 236 5122.

He said: While we mourn our dead with a heart full of sadness, and care for the injured by paying all their medical bills, we will do everything in our power to bring the attackers to justice and ensure that never again does any community or people in our state experience such tragedy.

The governor also assured informats of anonymity and protection if they come forward with names of the attackers.

PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigerias #1 news app

Recall that Legit.ng earlier reported that no less than seventeen people were killed in Offa, Kwara state, on Thursday, April 5, after a group of armed robbers stormed the town to rob five banks.

The robbers also attacked a local police station in the town, killing eight officers and four people in police custody.

The Kwara police commissioner Lawan Ado said five residents were shot and killed on the street of Offa by the robbers.

Robbers return firearms to Nigerian Police | Legit.ng TV

Source: Legit
What will one not see in this country? Or should we say it is the economic meltdown that is causing all this?

A Nigerian man Che Oyinatumba shared photos of himself on Facebook eating a bowl of locally harvested rice popularly called Abakiliki rice which he devour with a lizard looking meat he called exotic lizard meat.

The man also noted that he washed his meal down with palmwine (nkwu ocha).

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See his post below:

READ ALSO: Rich man buried in a lion-like coffin in Enugu (photos)

He also shared photos of him almost done with his delicacy with an almost empty plate. See post below:

When his friends query him on why he is eating lizard meat, Oyinatumba explained that it boosts his libido.

What will one not see in this Nigeria.

Nigerians answer questions on streets: How long can you last in bed? | Legit.ng TV:

Source: Legit.ng
- The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has dissociated itself from a group of Northern clergy who visited President Muhammadu Buhari recently

- The group described itself as Arewa Pastors Peace Initiative, Nigeria (APPIN)

- CAN said the group is alien to their organisation

The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has dissociated itself from a group of Northern clergy who visited President Muhammadu Buhari recently.

The group which described itself as Arewa Pastors Peace Initiative, Nigeria (APPIN), visited the president on Thursday, April 6 at the presidential villa, Abuja.

They pledged their support to the president and said those accusing his administration of nursing an Islamisation agenda were opposition elements trying to destabilise the government.

CAN said the pastors who visited President Buhari in Aso Rock recently are not known to the organisation. Photo credit: State House

READ ALSO: Disclose your running costs, NASS legislative aides to executive arm of government

In a statement sent to journalists on Friday, April 6, CAN President, Rev Dr Samson Olasupo Ayokunle, media aide, Pastor Adebayo Oladeji, urged the members of APPIN to produce a list of clergymen on payroll of the opposition party.

The statement reads: The attention of the leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has been drawn to a group of clergymen under the aegis of Arewa Pastors Peace Initiative, Nigeria (APPIN).

CAN does not know any of them and their organisation is even alien to the association and fortunately enough they did not claim to be part of CAN. We are happy that the Northern Christian Association of Nigeria (Northern CAN) has also disowned them.

We are totally disappointed that a group of people who claimed to be pastors will be visiting the president without asking for the freedom of Leah Sharibu and over 100 Chibok girls who are languishing in the captivity of the Boko Haram terrorists, whose only crime is their religion.

We wonder why these supporters of our resident, who claimed to be servants of God, would not ask him to stop the unending killings going on under his watch in the Christian predominant communities in the north-central and some states in the south.

They were so concern with the 2019 election that they forgot to tell the president that the primary duty of any serious government is to provide security to the governed irrespective of their religious and ethnic affiliation.

Telling President Buhari that the opposition had hired some pastors against his government speaks volume of where they are coming from and who they are in the body of Christ.

We are waiting for the list of the pastors whom they know that are on the pay roll list of the opposition who are allegedly guilty of hate speech. We all know how those who engaged in such an ungodly exercise in the Bible ended up.

The Christian Association of Nigeria will not be discouraged by the activities of those whose agenda include but not limited to polarisation of the association and blackmailing its leadership. We cannot turn the blind eye to the ordeal of our brothers and sisters anywhere in the country.

Those who are not concerned about the violence in the country are also free to associate and express their views while Jesus Christ, the Head of the Church is on the throne to reward loyalty and judge the betrayals sooner or later.

CAN as an organisation is apolitical and we always ask our members to pray for President Buhari and other political office holders in the country to rule with the fear of God.

Meanwhile, the Catholic bishop of Sokoto diocese, Matthew Kukah, has said it will be difficult for Nigeria to have a peaceful 2019 election, adding that it would be a miracle if the country pulls through the elections successfully.

The respected clergy said this in an interview published in the April edition of The Africa Report magazine.

According to him, there is heightened tension in virtually all states in the country, which would make it difficult for a peaceful election to be achieved.

READ ALSO: President Buhari will defeat Obasanjo, other ex-generals - Aide

Lagosians groan as President Buhari's visit grounds activities on Legit.ng TV

Source: Legit
- Traditional worshippers in Ekiti state have prevented the demolition of some shrines

- The state government's demolition team were engaged in a heated argument with the worshippers

- It was gathered that some houses were marked for demolition while many corpses were marked for exhumation in the state

Some traditional worshippers have prevented the demolition of shrines in Ekiti state on Friday, April 6.

The worshippers had engaged a team of the Ekiti state demolition experts in an argument in Ado-Ekiti.

Daily Trust reports that the exercise took a dramatic turn when budldozers returned in Ado-Ekiti for the demolition of structures close to the two shrines, two sacred trees and other structures directly adjacent the palace of Ewi of Ado Ekiti, Oba Rufus Adeyemo.

READ ALSO: 8 officers, 9 civilians killed during Offa robbery - Police

The shrines - "Ogun" and "Ejeye Oka Ere" - are located within the premises of Arowa of Ado-Ekiti's court.

The state government however has said it will not yield to pressure by the traditional institutions in the city to stop the demolition.

It was also gathered some houses were demolished on Thursday, April 5, while seven tombs were marked for exhumation.

During the demolition on Thursday, no fewer than four corpses were said to have been exhumed and relocated.

READ ALSO: CAN disowns Arewa pastors who visited President Buhari in Aso Rock

Residents said armed security operatives were deployed to the area to prevent the degeneration of the crisis.

Also, a protest which led to the temporrary suspension of the demolition process had ensued in the area.

A family member of one of the corpses exhumed said the compensation paid by the state government did not cover the displacement of the corpses or the demolition of the shrine.

Legit.ng earlier reported that a 10-year old boy was killed in Owerri during the demolition of the Eke Ukwu market.

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The boy, Somtochukwu Ibeanusi, was said to have been hit by a stray bullet after violence escalated between traders and security operatives during the demolition of the market.

He was buried amid tears his family compound in Anambra state on Wednesday, September 20, 2017.Otodo Gbame: I lost four children to the demolition

Otodo Gbame: I lost four children to the demolition - on Legit.ng TV

Source: Legit Newspaper
- The social investment programme of the federal government also known as N-Power, has been described as a flaw

- This was the position of the former governor of Gombe state, Senator Danjuma Goje

- Goje is the current senator representing Gombe Central Senatorial District in the National Assembly

Senator Danjuma Goje has dismissed the social investment programme of the federal government tagged - N-Power, as a failure.

In a series of tweets by the senator seen by Legit.ng on Friday, April 6, Goje said many people are complaining that they have not seen impact of the programme considering the magnitude of funds involved.

Senator Goje is the chairman of the Senate's appropriation committee. Photo source: Twitter

READ ALSO: Continuous funding of existing security agencies won't end insurgency - Peace Corps boss

His words: I am from Gombe, I represent Gombe Central. I am yet to see one single boy who came to tell me that he has benefited from his N500 billion.

Many other Nigerians are saying the same thing. N500 billion for 36 states is about N13 billion. If we spend N13 billion in one year in Gombe state, there is no way I would not have known, other people will also know.

If you spend N500 billion in one year in Nigeria, Nigerians will know. No single All Progressive Congress (APC) person from Gombe state has benefited from this school feeding programme.

No single person from Gombe state has benefited from the N-power. We don't know about it. As far as many of us are concerned, we are completely dissatisfied with what this government is doing.

In a related development, the senator representing Kaduna Central District in the National Assembly, Shehu Sani has reacted to President Muhammadu Buhari's approval of $1 billion (N360 billion) for procurement of security equipment to fight insecurity in the country.

In a post made on his social media pages, the senator condemned the action of the government, stressing that a weapon cannot fight a war without the men to use it.

The APC senator canvassed for more focus on the welfare of the soldiers involved in the operations, instead of buying arms.

PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigerias #1 news app

EXCLUSIVE: Be patient with President Buhari, Femi Adesina tells Nigerians on Legit.ng TV

Source: Legit.ng
- Ibrahim Magu has revealed how some public office holders steal money in Nigeria

- The EFCC's chairman said stealing from government coffers is perpetrated by head of public sector organisation through procurement processes

- According to Magu, nobody can stop the fight against corruption

The chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, has revealed how public office holders loot the treasury.

Magu said thees officials steal funds through procurement processes in their various ministries, departments and agencies.

The EFCC scribe said the act of stealing from government coffers is carried out by head of public sector organisation through procurement deals.

READ ALSO: All 'bad eggs' in PDP have decamped to other parties - Makarfi boasts as party receives 500K decampees in Katsina

While speaking at a procurement retreat for chief executives/accounting officers of public agencies EFCC chairman, Ibrahim Magu, warned the CEOs to stick strictly to the 2017 budget in the award of contracts or face prosecution.

Magu said: It has come to our knowledge that heads of public offices try to steal from public covers through the procurement processes."

For us everybody has a duty to fight corruption. I want to warn that only strict adherence to 2007 Procurement Act will save you from jail term.

Nothing will stop us in the fight against corruption; nothing. I say nothing, nothing at all.

Nobody, nobody can stop the fight; it has come to stay and we are determined. We are unrelenting in the face of serious adversity; serious adversity. Nothing can stop us.

READ ALSO: FG compiles fresh looters' list, includes names of senators, ex-governors, ministers

Even though corruption is fighting back, we will continue to fight and we will win at the end of the day because we are not fighting corruption as an individual.

Every Nigerian should join in the fight against corruption.The appeal is that we want to mobilise everybody. The best strategy in fighting corruption is to bring everybody on board and I am telling you, we will succeed; no doubt about that," Magu said.

Legit.ng earlier reported that Magu had said that Nigerians have the strength to defeat corruption that has ravaged the system.

PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigerias #1 news app

Describing corruption as Nigeria's number one enemy, the EFCC chairman said the commission is relentless in the fight against corruption.

He also said no Nigerian can afford to be on the fence in this effort to rid the country of its "Enemy Number One".

The EFCC stage a walk against corruption - on Legit.ng TV

Source: Legit
Just dont do that: Man kicks moose  and gets similar treatment Anchorage Daily News (mgl)

So 2 Goats Were Stuck On A Beam Under A Bridge ... NPR (David L). OMG, look at the second photo!

An Obsolete Law Prohibits SpaceX From Broadcasting Videos From Space Gizmodo (Kevin W)

BP thinks an oil spill in Australia would be welcome boost for locals RT (Michel G)

Harvard Study: Clearing Your Mind Affects Your Genes And Can Lower Your Blood Pressure WBUR (David L). Problem is the study is methodologically lousy.

Brexit

Stand-off as Lula arrest deadline passes BBC

New Cold War

Syraquistan

US Isnt Leaving Syriabut Media Lost It When Possibility Was Raised FAIR (UserFriendly) Gazans return to border in defiance of Israeli guns Middle East Eye. Chuck L: Among the dead was 15-year-old Hussein Mohammed Madi from Gaza City. Madi was killed east of Gaza City by an expanding dumdum bullet, the ministry said. This kind of ammunition is illegal in warfare. But I guess its OK if youre shooting Palestinians in Gaza. Or are they fish in a barrel?

Big Brother is Watching You Watch

Tariff Tantrum

Trump Transition

Privatizing Health Care for Veterans Doesnt Add Up American Prospect

When History Overtakes a Campaign Promise Inside Elections (UserFriendly)

GOP Rep. Farenthold resigns amid sexual harassment scandal The Hill

Facebook Fracas

Tesla Has a Problem, and Its Not the Model 3 loomberg (Kevin W)

Small U.S. Colleges Join Forces in Effort to Lower Retirement-Plan Costs Gretchen Morgenson, Wall Street Journal

Class Warfare

Antidote du jour (Kittie Wilson via Lawrence R):

See yesterdays Links and Antidote du Jour here.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg wrapped up a three-day visit to the United States on Friday (6 April 2018) with a visit to North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and US Northern Command (NORTHCOM) in Colorado. Accompanied by Canadian Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan, the Secretary General thanked Gen. Lori Robinson and Gen. Pierre St-Amand for their commands unique work in ensuring the security of NATOs two North American Allies.

At NORAD, Canada and the United States work side-by-side to monitor and defend North American airspace against threats  whether posed by aircraft, missiles or even from space. NORTHCOM is responsible for protecting the United States and its waters, but is also responsible for military cooperation with neighbouring Ally Canada.

Noting that his visit came just days before NORADs 60th anniversary, Mr. Stoltenberg stressed the importance of transatlantic cooperation in confronting evolving security challenges. He further noted that the early warning capability of the command is vital for transatlantic defence and thus the whole NATO Alliance.
(Natural News) There arent many things that are older than our love for sweet potatoes. Its been going on for over 10,000 years, and despite its unassuming looks, it is found in over 100 countries, where it has fed countless people the world over.

Sweet potatoes have been domesticated since the prehistoric times, according to scientists. Records from ancient caves in Peru show that people have already grown sweet potatoes since then. Initially, sweet potatoes were native to Central and South America, but European colonizers brought it to Europe in the 15th century. From there, the cultivation of sweet potatoes blew up  spreading to Africa, India, southern Asia, and Indonesia in the next century. These days, you dont need to travel the world for sweet potatoes: They can be found all year round in farmers markets and supermarkets near you.

No part is wasted on a sweet potato

The best part of eating a sweet potato is that no part the plant is wasted, and every part is known to be beneficial for human health.

The flesh is packed with beta-carotene, which the body converts to vitamin A for healthy eyesight. Sweet potatoes also have minerals such as potassium, calcium, iron, magnesium, zinc, and phosphorous. Theyre also teeming with fiber and complex carbohydrates.

A sweet potatos nutrient content depends on the color of its flesh: Orange ones have the highest amounts of beta-carotene, while the purple-fleshed variety contains anthocyanins  antioxidants that give berries and other foods their red, blue, and purple color. In particular, the antioxidants found in sweet potatoes promote heart health, fight inflammation, and keeps bacterial infection, Type 2 diabetes, and certain cancers at bay.

Sweet potato leaves are just as valuable. Theyre excellent sources of vitamin B6 which protects blood vessels and arteries and prevent cardiovascular diseases. Given that the body cannot manufacture B vitamins, its presence in sweet potatoes is a huge factor in keeping us healthy.

According to a recent study, eating the purple leaves of a sweet potato for two weeks can lower the amount of bad cholesterol in the body and prevent plaque from sticking to the arteries. In addition, sweet potatoes are packed with tumor-fighting polyphenols. A six-week study on mice showed that the presence of polyphenols in the body prevents the growth of prostate cancer cells.

Even the skin of sweet potatoes contain antioxidants that fight breast, colon, ovary, and lung cancer cells.

No wonder sweet potatoes are part of child malnutrition programs in developing countries. Even now, agriculturists are studying ways to boost the nutritional content of sweet potatoes even more.

Sweet potato on your table

So, how do you make the most of this superfood thats bursting with vitamin goodness? Here are just some ways to enjoy it.

Baked Sweet Potato Fries  Heres a healthier take on a fast food classic.

Ingredients:

1 sweet potato per person

1 tablespoon of olive oil

Herbal salt and cracked pepper, to taste

Your preferred herb or spice

How to make it:

Preheat oven to 356 F (180 C). Peel off the skin, and cut the sweet potato into strips. You can decide how thick you want your fries to be. Place the strips on a baking tray and lightly brush them with oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper  as well as your herbs and spices. Bake until all sides become golden. You can remove the tray and rotate the strips to ensure an even cook. Remove from the oven, let it cool, and enjoy.

Sweet Potato and Quinoa Medley  The colors are not only fresh in this salad, but it also has the delightful addition of pomegranate and avocado.

Ingredients:

1 cup of quinoa

1 small sweet potato

1 whole pomegranate

1 whole avocado, cut into cubes

2 handfuls of fresh rocket (or arugula)

1 tablespoon of coconut oil/butter

For the dressing:

1 small lemon, juiced

lemon zest

2 tablespoons of olive oil

1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar

Salt and pepper, to taste

How to make it:

Cook the quinoa in a small saucepan. In another saucepan, boil the sweet potatoes until they become tender. While the two ingredients are cooking, deseed the pomegranate and set aside. Remove the quinoa from heat and leave it to cool. Once sweet potatoes are tender and have cooled down, chop them coarsely. In a separate pan, heat coconut butter until melted. Add chopped sweet potato and cook until these become slightly brown and crunchy. Add salt and pepper, if desired. Add the cooked quinoa and half of the dressing in a large bowl and mix well. Put in the cooked potatoes and rocket leaves, and mix again. Top it with avocado and pomegranate, as well as the rest of the dressing.

Find out more food items that can benefit your health by heading to Superfood.news today.

Sources include:

CMS.HerbalGram.org

Medibank.com.au 1

Medibank.com.au 2
(Natural News) An all-male choir in the United Kingdom thats been in existence since 1956 is under assault by a local police chief, whos demanding that women be granted access to the group in order to promote gender equality.

Peter Goodman, who reportedly took over the Derbyshire Police force last summer, insists that the historic Derbyshire Constabulary Male Voice Choirs men-only tradition runs counter to the forces equal opportunity policies, which he wants to see changed to favor women at the expense of men.

Back in September, Goodman asked the choirs chairman, Kevin Griffiths, to begin accepting females, to which he declined. Griffiths stated that it would be difficult to hire the 50-or-so women that the group would need in order to balance out the voices.

Furthermore, all of the sheet music that the choir uses would have to be completely replaced and the entire group restructured  a laborious process that he says would take upwards of 10 to 15 years to fully implement.

We are very good at what we do, and to undertake such a change [becoming a mixed choir] would have required the recruitment of up to 50 new female members with a host of associated costs, Griffiths stated publicly.

We felt that to attempt such a change would have destroyed the choir and felt it was better to sever our association with the constabulary and continue the good work we do under a new name.

In truth, the Derbyshire Constabulary Male Voice Choir was forced to change its name after Constable Goodman revoked the groups authorization to continue using the name back in March. Its also important to note that not a single female has ever actually requested to join the group throughout the entirety of its existence.

Time to disband all female-only gyms, accommodations, businesses, and ladies nights  its only fair!

And why should they, anyway? There are plenty of all-female groups out there that nobody is complaining about, so why this concerted attack on a small, 35-member choir made up of ex-force retirees? Griffiths emphasized this point in his public response when he stated that many of his choir members also sing in mixed-group choirs as well, but that theres just something about a male voice choir.

He also insinuated that Goodmans motivation in demanding this change likely has little do with any concern for equality, but rather serves as a distraction from the fact that Derbyshire Constabulary was recently announced as having the largest gender pay gap in the entirety of the United Kingdom  which is hilariously ironic if you stop to think about it.

If Goodman was really concerned with fairness, hed also be pushing for all female-only groups  which far outnumber male-only groups, by the way  to also be disbanded. This includes women-only gyms and gym hours, private female-only floors at hotels and other places of accommodation, women-only businesses, and of course ladies nights that offer discounts and promotions only to women.

Men face far more discrimination from these types of things than women do, and yet the social justice warriors (SJWs) are nowhere to be found in advocating for mens equality. Its a glaring double standard, but one thats politically correct in the age of female empowerment, which often comes at the expense of male dignity.

After all, women now outnumber men in the American workforce, and for every two men who get college degrees, at least three women will also get theirs  which means men are rapidly getting left behind in modern society. So-called third wave feminism is largely to blame for this, as is a widespread sentiment that women are somehow always victims, even though theyre catered to left and right by political correctness  a privilege that men, and especially younger men, are no longer afforded.

Read LeftCult.com for more coverage of the outrageous stupidity and intolerance of the Left.

Sources for this article include:

BBC.com

TheAtlantic.com

NaturalNews.com
Health officials across the Bay Area are trying to contain a measles outbreak after six people have been infected by one patient, who likely got the highly contagious illness during a recent trip to Europe.

According to an advisory sent out by the Santa Clara County Health Department, the patient whose identity was not revealed, had lunch at Westgate Mall on Mar. 2. It also states the patient was at school in Campbell for two days the same month, where he could have been contagious.

"Measles is actually one of the most contagious diseases that we know about because its spread through the airborne route," said George Han from the Santa Clara Department of Public Health.

Authorities did not release the name of the school to protect the student's identity.

Four other patients have identified in Santa Clara County, another in Alameda County and a seventh in Washoe County, Nevada.

The patient in Nevada is a student on the campus of the University of Nevada, Reno and he reportedly was vaccinated, so there is concern about how he still got infected.

"With measles, the symptoms people get is, they get a fever, they get a rash that begins on the forehead and goes down the body, they have runny nose and cough," said Han.

If left untreated, measles can be deadly. They can cause pneumonia and swelling of the brain.
There are new questions Friday after this weeks shooting at YouTubes San Bruno headquarters. On Tuesday, Nasim Aghdam shot three people at the campus then turned the gun on herself. Hours before the shooting, Mountain View Police found Aghdam in her car and questioned her. But there is still one nagging question: Could police have done anything to stop the shooting?

The NBC Bay Area Investigative Unit found Mountain View police did not run Aghdams name through a database of all registered gun owners in California. Law enforcement personnel across the state have the ability to access the database, but Mountain View officers didnt check Aghdams name when they encountered her at a Walmart parking lot early Tuesday morning.

Meanwhile, the San Bruno Police Department said after the 38-year-old opened fire at YouTube, authorities did check the states database of registered gun owners and found her name. If Mountain View police officers had run a search in that same database, they would have learned Aghdam owned a 9mm handgun.

After officers in Mountain View encountered Aghdam asleep in her car and found she had been reported missing in San Diego, they contacted her family.

Aghdams father expressed concern that Aghdam may have driven 500 miles to the Bay Area to visit YouTube. Mountain Views police chief confirmed Aghdams father said his daughter was upset with the company.

Mountain View police say officers didnt notice any red flags when they spoke with Aghdam hours before she shot three YouTube employees.

A department spokesperson said officers may run names through the registered gun owners database in situations when they suspect domestic violence or mental illness, for example. She said because Aghdam didnt pose a threat, there was no reason for officers to check and see if she owned a gun.

Police must balance a persons civil liberties and constitutional rights, and to check the database because someone is sleeping in their car may violate those rights, the spokesperson said.

She also said officers come across a lot of people who have issues with a tech or social media company and the call from Aghdams father didnt raise alarm.
A California social justice advocacy group is hoping to bring relief to a section of the states prison population the group says was left behind by recent criminal justice reform efforts. We The People Org, founded by long-time California criminal defense attorney Tom Loversky, is gathering signatures in an effort to get the Fair Sentencing and Public Safety Act of 2018 onto the November ballot.

The initiative would be a further step toward dismantling the States Three Strikes Law, Loversky said. If approved by voters, the initiative would require a Third Strike in most cases to stem from a violent offense and would require inmates serving life sentences for a non-violent third strike to be re-sentenced.

Loversky said the initiative is designed to fill in some of the gaps left by recent reform efforts, such as Proposition 57 and Proposition 36, which helped reduce the states swelling prison population.

Prop 57 was passed by the voters with the intention of doing that, but what happened is there were some loopholes that were taken advantage of so that a great many non-violent offenders have still been kept in custody and are doing life sentences, Loversky said.

Specifically, Loversky is referring to Third Strikers serving life sentences because of a non-violent third strike. Prop 57 ended up not being applied to Third Strikers, and Prop 36, which removed a third strike for certain non-violent offenses, did not affect inmates with a serious, but non-violent third strike.

People are being held for long, long periods of time without the ability to go back into the public even though theyve been rehabilitated, Loversky said. So were hoping to change that.

Kevin Chatman, originally given more life sentences than he could count on one hand after receiving a third strike for a non-violent crime, was released after serving six years because of Prop 36. Hes now working with We the People Org to further reform efforts.

Three Strikes is a terrible law and we need to get rid of the Three Strikes law, Chatman said. Prop 36 was very good for it and did a lot of things, but it didnt get everything.

Chatman said most of the nearly 3,000 inmates serving life sentences for a non-violent third strike have been rehabilitated and would be good, law-abiding citizens if given the opportunity.

We want an opportunity to have a good job, pay our bills, be tax-paying citizens, and be good neighbors, he said.

Releasing non-violent third strikers would amount to significant cost-savings for the state, Loversky said. The California Legislative Analysts Office estimated that in time, savings could exceed $100 million annually, although counties would end up incurring additional costs upwards of $10 million because of increased county community supervision populations.

According to Loversky, the money saved by the state would be shifted towardrehabilitation efforts, juvenile offender prevention programs, and tuition relief in higher education.

The initiative would not apply to certain inmates, however, including those whose third strike is for certain sex crimes, a firearms-related offense, or if a prior offense was for rape, child molestation, or murder.

Loversky said hes confident that if passed, most inmates released as part of the initiative would stay out of trouble.

There is good, solid rehabilitation going within the Department of Corrections [and Rehabilitation], so when these people get released, theyre not going out and committing more crimes, Loversky said.

Click here for more on We the People Org and the Fair Sentencing and Public Safety Act of 2018.
Businesses looking to make San Francisco their new home are increasingly shying away, according to commercial real estate agents and brokers with decades of experience. Industry insiders blame soaring rent, high labor costs, and a dangerous mix of trash, feces, and used needles scattered along the citys streets and sidewalks.

"They're telling us that the city is filthy, that they don't want to be there," said Hans Hansson, a native of San Francisco who owns Starboard, the city's largest independently owned commercial real estate firm.

"We have a lot of people that have initially expressed interest to come out here and have chosen not to," he said. "They test the waters  they kind of check things out and you don't hear from them again."

Hansson, who employs 22 commercial estate agents, says businesses have backed out of real estate deals in San Francisco, in part, because of concerns over a lack of cleanliness along nearby streets and sidewalks.

"It's definitely worse and it's dangerous," he said.

Hans Hansson is a Broker at Starboard Commercial Real Estate, and says his 22 agents are having a harder time selling San Francisco to clients who are looking for storefronts. They shied away because they saw needles on the ground, they saw feces on the ground, they saw tents, they said how can you operate like this.

Vacant Shops on Rise, 'Dirty Streets' Partly to Blame

While empty store fronts are fairly rare in San Francisco, the number of vacant shops in the city has increased over the past year and has been on a slow rise since 2013, according to an industry report by Cushman and Wakefield.

San Francisco's retail market boasted an overall vacancy rate of 3.2 percent at the end of last year's fourth quarter, according to the report. While the figure represents a slight improvement from the 3.4 percent during the previous quarter, San Francisco's rate of empty storefronts did increase 0.8 percent from the same time period in 2016.

The high cost of rent and labor are partly to blame, but Hansson believes the city's dirty streets and potential health hazards are making the financial mess even messier.

"It's the last nail in the coffin for a lot of these people," he said. "You are seeing and you will continue to see more and more businesses  getting out."

Hansson is President of San Francisco's Commercial Brokers Association, which recently invited about 30 commercial real estate agents to talk about the state of retail and the citys lack of cleanliness.

NBC Bay Area (Mar 21, 2018)

San Francisco Streets Described as 'Cesspool'

"A lot of people who tour on behalf of larger brands are pretty appalled with the state of our streets in the downtown area," said Pam Mendelsohn, a commercial broker at Cushman and Wakefield who has been helping businesses find homes in San Francisco for more than 30 years.

"People have used the word 'cesspool,'" she said.

Chris Homs of Lockhouse Retail Group said he frequently has to clear debris and homeless encampments in order to show properties to clients. "There's a health hazard of having to step over God-knows-what on the street, whether it be syringes or something else," he said.

NBC Bay Area (Jan 5, 2018)

"Health Hazard" Scaring Businesses Away from San Francisco

In taking the Investigative Unit on a car ride around San Francisco, Hansson expressed his concern that current vacancies will have a snowball effect. "It just starts impacting all the other retailers on the same block. Before you know it, you could have multiple stores that are vacant and you know this is something the city just really hasn't grasped."

In recently surveying 153 blocks of downtown San Francisco, the Investigative Unit discovered trash on every block, 303 piles of feces, and 100 drug needles.

Mohammed Nuru, Director of San Francisco's Public Works Department, recently told NBC Bay Area that half of his Street Cleaning budget  about $30 million dollars  is spent cleaning up feces, needles and homeless encampments throughout the city.

NBC Bay Area (Jan 5, 2018)

'Dirty Streets' Now Clean-Cut Issue in Mayor's Race

The challenge of cleaning the streets has become a focal point in city politics. Nearly every candidate for the upcoming mayors race names "Clean Streets" as a top priority.

"I saw your story and here's the thing  it's one of the things that we have been trying to address for a very long time," said London Breed, Board of Supervisors President and a mayoral candidate. "I wasn't surprised by your story because I get the e-mails, I get the complaints from my constituents."

If elected mayor, Breed says she will make street cleaning a top priority. She promises substantial changes within 90 days of taking office, but stopped short of saying the problem would be completely eliminated.

"I am saying that there will be a significant difference  where it's noticeable."

Part of her plan includes the creation of "safe injection sites," where drug users can inject indoors, under medical supervisor, rather than on the street. Critics argue the centers would essentially legalize illegal drug activity. Proponents, however, say the facilities would provide rehabilitation programs and services for drug users, and believe safe-injection sites would reduce the number of needles left on the streets and sidewalks of the city since the facilities would be responsible for safely disposing of the used needles.

"Opening up one of these sites could save us $2.7 million dollars in not just clean up but also hospital visits and social services and other things that contribute to the challenges that we know we are experiencing on our streets," Breed said. "This is a complicated issue that requires a number of solutions to address the problem. One is clean up. One is behavioral changes."

Breed believes altering "behavior" across the city is critical and feasible in the fight to address the citys lack of cleanliness, an issue she now describes as a "public health crisis."

"What I want to push for is a behavioral change in how people treat our streets  so people stop dumping trash and defecating on the street, and making sure that the money granted to non-profits to reduce homelessness and clean the streets is well spent," Breed said. "We have to focus on making sure that the people that we're paying to do the work they're out there doing the work," she said.

NBC Bay Area (Mar 13, 2018)

Board to Vote on $2.5 Million Plan to Clean Streets

District 6 Supervisor Jane Kim is also running for SF Mayor. "I think the state of our streets is an emergency and it has been for months and we absolutely must be addressing it." In a move that is usually reserved for emergencies, Kim has proposed skipping the normal budget process in trying to reallocate $2.5 million left over from last year's budget to pay for more street cleaning crews and equipment. Her proposal was initially rejected by the Board of Supervisors' Budget Committee, but Kim intends to bypass that committee and bring the plan to the full Board of Supervisors for a vote on Tuesday.

NBC Bay Area surveyed the Board of Supervisors and confirmed Kim is expected to garner a sufficient amount of votes to pass her proposal. According to Kim, the plan would add two additional street cleaning machines, and 19 more street cleaners by July.

"If we're going to be a world-class city then we should act like one," said Hans Hansson.

He recalled a recent experience in trying to convince a business owner to move into a new location in San Francisco.

"I showed a building in a South of Market retail building. I got there early. It was my listing and I was confronted with a homeless man at the door," he said. "I finally convinced him to get out of there. But he had left a pile of feces right at the door."

______________________________________
One person is dead and at least 14 others have been wounded in weekend shootings across the city of Chicago.

The city's first fatal shooting occurred on Saturday afternoon in the 5100 block of West Huron. A 16-year-old boy was shot in the head, leg, and hand just after 5 p.m., and was pronounced dead at the scene.

A 13-year-old boy was also shot in the left thigh, and he was taken to Loyola in stable condition. Circumstances of the shooting are unclear, and police are still investigating.

On Saturday afternoon, three men were shot in the 1700 block of North Tripp at approximately 3:15 p.m. A 23-year-old was listed in critical condition after being shot in the chest. A 25-year-old is in serious condition at Stroger with a gunshot wound to the groin, and a 34-year-old man is in serious condition at St. Mary's with a gunshot wound to his shoulder.

No one is in custody in the shooting, according to police.

The city's most recent shooting occurred Sunday morning at approximately 5:27 a.m. in the 3000 block of West 52nd Street. A 72-year-old man was sitting in a parked car when a person walked up to him and fired shots, striking him in the shoulder. He was taken to Mount Sinai in good condition, according to police.

Friday:

A 21-year-old man was shot in the upper torso while walking in the 2000 block of North Lamon just before 4 p.m. According to police, an unknown man walked up to the victim and pulled out a gun, firing shots at him. He was transported to a local hospital in good condition.

In the 3900 block of West Lexington at approximately 5:36 p.m., a 35-year-old man was shot in the left leg. He was walking down a street when multiple people got out of a car and fired shots at him. The shooters then fled the scene, police said. The man was taken to Mount Sinai, where he is in stable condition.

An 18-year-old woman was shot in the stomach at approximately 7:36 p.m. in the 10100 block of South Winston, police said. The woman was taken to an area hospital after being shot by a 54-year-old man, who remains at large.

A 19-year-old man was in a vehicle in the 3000 block of South Archer when another vehicle pulled up alongside and one of the occupants fired shots. The man was taken to Stroger Hospital in stable condition with a gunshot wound to his left hand, police said.

Saturday:

In the 5900 block of West Lake at approximately 12:48 a.m., a 38-year-old man was sitting in a vehicle when he was shot in the right bicep, police said. He was taken to Loretto in good condition.

A 20-year-old man was shot in the left leg, and a 19-year-old man suffered a graze wound in the 800 block of South California. The 20-year-old was taken to Mount Sinai in good condition, and the 19-year-old refused treatment, according to police.

A 44-year-old woman was shot in the leg at approximately 5:17 p.m. She was taken to Stroger in good condition after being shot in the 3100 block of West Jackson.

A 24-year-old woman suffered a graze wound to the head while sitting in a car in the 2700 block of West 68th Street at approximately 5:30 p.m., police said. She was taken to Holy Cross in good condition.

Two people were shot in the 2500 block of South Drake at approximately 9 p.m., police said. A 52-year-old woman and a 31-year-old man were both shot in the shoulder while walking by a person in a group walking towards them. Both were taken to Mount Sinai in stable condition, and all four people in the group are in custody, police said.

A 22-year-old man was on foot when someone in a passing car fired shots at him, striking him in the groin. The man, shot in the 900 block of West Sheridan at approximately 9 p.m., was taken to Illinois Masonic in good condition.

Sunday:




A van has crashed into a crowd of people in the western German city of Muenster, killing two and injuring approximately 20 people, police said Saturday.

The driver committed suicide inside the van, police said.

Authorities said a motive remains unclear. German police told NBC News that there is no indication that the incident is related to Islamic extremism and officials added that the investigation is ongoing. Police noted that they were not actively seeking any additional suspects, but they were looking into all eyewitness accounts.

The suspect was a German citizen who had recently made a suicide attempt, according to NBC News' German partner ZDF. The vehicle was registered under the suspect's name, they reported.
The city of Groton is taking steps to better assist citizens on the autism spectrum.

In a collaborative effort, the town of Stonington is sharing their award-winning autism software with the city. Its a voluntary opt-in program that gives officers information on how a person on the spectrum communicates, places they like to go to, unique behaviors and more.

For example, if a person at a home officers are responding to has a hearing sensitivity, police will know not to run their sirens.

The software also maps out the bodies of water in the city, from pools to beaches. Drowning is a leading cause of death for people on the autism spectrum.

Its not if youre going to deal with somebody on the spectrum, its when, City of Groton Police Chief Michael Spellman said.

Spellman was on the Board of Selectman in Stonington at the time the software was being developed.

Theres no additional expense. Just salary and want-to, he said, adding the software is an add-on to the system they have now.

About one in 68 children have been identified with autism spectrum disorder, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

If first responders come to my home, I want them to know that I have a kid here with issues. Not just barge in here if I have a problem and expect my son to act like a normal kid would act, Officer Bobby Harris with the City of Groton Police said.

Harris already has 19 years of training on how to respond to a person on the autism spectrum. His son Cameron has Aspergers.

I can offer a lot to parents in this area because I know where to get help for their kids, said Harris, an advocate and resource for families in the city.

Hell also be training his fellow officers. Harris is newly certified as an Autism and Law Enforcement Education Coalition (ALEC) instructor. Hes one of the few certified in the state and will be training other officers in Connecticut how to interact with those on the spectrum.

All Groton City Police and Fire Departments are already ALEC trained. Since then the departments use of force has gone down, Chief Spellman said.

Groton police are planning to host a touch-a-truck event to inform parents about the new software and familiarize those on the spectrum with emergency vehicles, Spellman added.

Eventually he wants to add people with dementia to the program.

Mayor Keith Hedrick said in tandem with Stonington, he hopes it expands even more.

In the future were hoping we can continue this and make this a regional effort, Hedrick said.
A local animal hospital in Cheshire is warning residents about cats contracting the swine flu.

Two cats died from the swine flu in Connecticut last week. According to a veterinarian at VCA Cheshire Animal Hospital, it is very rare for a cat to get the virus.

Dr. Deborah Goul has been a practicing veterinarian for the last 31 years and for the first time shes had to treat two cats for swine flu.

Goul said swine flu is a virus that affects mostly pigs and people and can cause fever and respiratory problems.

Very rare but yes, yes, it can happen, Goul said.

She said both cats that died had the same owner who brought them into the facility with concerns after one cat was having difficulty breathing.

The cat died early last week and soon after, the second cat  experiencing similar symptoms  was brought in and passed away.

Both animals had other pre-existing conditions.

I think that these two kitty cats having underlying disease unfortunately their immune system probably wasnt the best and made them more susceptible, she said.

Similar to humans, pre-existing conditions make the cat more prone to any outside infection.

Dr. Goul said the owner of the cats was also recently sick himself. While it is unusual for a disease to transfer from human to pet and vice versa, it can happen.

The natural thing is to curl up with your beloved pet and ease your discomfort but if you think you have the flu, maybe thats not the best idea and perhaps you, just like other people, should isolate yourself from pets and people, she said.

Theres no treatment available to fight swine flu. An infected cat just needs supportive care to get through the virus.

Doctors suggest keeping surfaces sanitized to prevent any chance of a flu virus from spreading. Cat owner Megan Keeley says shell be doing more sanitizing to protect her feline friend.

Thats something to watch out for because you dont want to expose your cat to your germs, said Keeley.

Dr. Goul said the moment you see any of those signs make sure you bring your cat to a local animal hospital.
A dispute over a convenience stores sign in North Fort Worth has turned into an extraordinary legal battle  with the city suing its own zoning board.

The 7-Eleven at Heritage Trace Parkway and Riverside Drive applied to the Board of Adjustment to replace a small sign out front with a new one roughly twice as large. It would also include electronic numbers to show gas prices.

The board, whose members are appointed by the mayor and council, voted 7-2 to allow the store to install the larger sign.

City Council member Cary Moon, who lives in the nearby Heritage neighborhood, opposes the new sign, saying it's not in line with other businesses in the same area.

He convinced the city attorney to file a lawsuit against the board to appeal its decision.

The suit, in the name of City Manager David Cooke, was filed Monday.

Assistant City Attorney Chris Mosely said the city planned to drop the case after other council members failed to sign off on it.

The city filed the suit without initially consulting other council members because of a tight deadline, Mosely said.

Separately, Moon then filed his own suit and said the Heritage Homeowners Association planned to join him. Heritage is a sprawling neighborhood that includes 3,000 homes and 9,000 people.

"It's a residential street and we don't need a highway sign on it," Moon said.

Ironically, the city attorney will now flip sides, defending the board in the same case it originally had filed, Mosely said.

Mosely added it's a simple case and the judge will likely decide after reading the available documents.

Moon said he will ask for a hearing.

Brian Buell, who owns a bike shop next to the 7-Eleven, said hes not overly concerned about the sign but that it should fit in with the neighborhood.

"It's going to stick out in this area, Buell said. It'll make it easier for them to change the gas prices, OK, I get that. But as far as going that tall, it probably doesn't need to be that big."

Moon said he may file lawsuits in other cases if, in his view, the adjustment board sides with businesses over neighorhoods.

"Over the last year there have been 26 special exceptions applied for on signage and 24 of those have been approved which is an alarming number, Moon said.

The adjustment board is quasi-judicial and unable to comment on cases outside of a public hearing, a city official said.

7-Eleven, which is not a part of the lawsuit, did not return an email seeking comment.
Arizona and Texas announced Friday that they would send 400 National Guard members to the U.S.-Mexico border by next week in response to President Donald Trump's call for troops to fight drug trafficking and illegal immigration.

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey said about 150 Guard members would deploy next week. And the Texas National Guard said it was already sending Guardsmen to the border, with plans to place 250 troops there in the next 72 hours as an "initial surge," according to a Guard spokesman. Two helicopters lifted off Friday night from Austin, the state capital, to head south.

The total so far remains well short of the 2,000 to 4,000 National Guard members that Trump told reporters he wants to send. New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez's office said Friday that it had not yet deployed any Guard members. The office of California Gov. Jerry Brown did not respond to questions about whether it would deploy troops.

Trump's proclamation Wednesday directing the use of National Guard troops refers to Title 32, a federal law under which Guard members remain under the command and control of their state's governor. This leaves open the possibility that California's Brown could turn him down.

Defense Secretary James Mattis Friday night approved paying for up to 4,000 National Guard personnel from the Pentagon budget through the end of September. A Defense Department memo says the National Guard personnel will not perform law enforcement functions or "interact with migrants or other persons detained" without Mattis's approval. It said "arming will be limited to circumstances that might require self-defense," but it did not further define that.

Deployments to the border under former presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama both occurred under Title 32. Bush sent around 6,000 troops in 2006, and Obama sent 1,200 Guard members in 2010.

Trump's proclamation blamed "the lawlessness that continues at our southern border." Trump has suggested he wants to use the military on the border until progress is made on his proposed border wall, which has mostly stalled in Congress.

After plunging at the start of Trump's presidency, the numbers of migrants apprehended at the southwest border have started to rise in line with historical trends. The Border Patrol said it caught around 50,000 people in March, more than three times the number in March 2017. That's erased a decline for which Trump repeatedly took credit. Border apprehensions still remain well below the numbers when Bush and Obama deployed the Guard to the border.

News reports of a caravan of Central American migrants passing through southern Mexico also sparked angry tweets from the president. The caravan of largely Central American migrants never intended to reach the U.S. border, according to organizer Irineo Mujica. But Trump has repeatedly cited it as an example of what he called America's weak immigration laws.

Department of Homeland Security officials have said Guard members could support Border Patrol agents and other law enforcement agencies. DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said this week that guard members could "help look at the technology, the surveillance," and that the department might ask for fleet mechanics. Federal law restricts the military from carrying out law enforcement duties.

From 2006 to 2008, the Guard fixed vehicles, maintained roads, repaired fences and performed ground surveillance. Its second mission in 2010 and 2011 involved more aerial surveillance and intelligence work.

Leaders in both Arizona and Texas said Friday that they were working with federal planners to define the Guard members' mission.

The Arizona National Guard said in a statement Friday that it would "provide air, reconnaissance, operational and logistics support and construct border infrastructure."

As the helicopters were taking off Friday in Texas, Guard spokesman Lt. Col. Travis Walters said that the 250 troops going "is what our initial surge is so that we can then very quickly roll in a larger amount of forces as needed." Walters did not specify where the first round of troops would be stationed.

About 100 Guardsmen remain deployed as part of the existing state mission in Texas' Rio Grande Valley, the busiest corridor for unauthorized crossings on the southwest border.

Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, now Trump's energy secretary, originally sent about 1,000 Guard members to the border in 2014 in response to a surge in the number of unaccompanied immigrant children crossing the Rio Grande.

___

Associated Press writers Bob Christie in Phoenix and Susan Montoya Bryan in Albuquerque contributed to this report. Nomaan Merchant reported from Houston.
A pilot was found dead after a small plane crashed near the Petaluma Municipal Airport Friday night.

The plane came from Alaska and Col. Carleton Morrison was on his way to San Diego from Petaluma before crashing, according to Sgt. Spencer Crum of Sonoma County Sheriff's Office.

Morrison, 75, sent a distress call at 6:40 p.m. Friday, and the airport notified the Sheriff's Office but the plane was discovered later around 10 p.m.

Morrison's colleague Col. Jon Stokes of the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) confirmed his identity Saturday afternoon. Stokes said Morrison began serving in CAP in 2006.

"Col. Morrison was the type of Airman that we should all aspire to be; dedicated, compassionate and always forward-looking," Stokes said.

Morrison's family released a statement Saturday stating, "We are so saddened by the passing of our husband, father, and friend, Carl Morrison. The plane he was flying crashed near Petaluma in Northern California on his way home from a business trip. He has touched many lives. We love him and will miss him greatly!"

The cause of the plane crash is unknown, Crum said. The plane was registered out of Fallbrook, California, in San Diego County, according to the information pulled from the plane's tail number.

The FAA and the NTSB will investigate the incident, according to Allen Kenitzer of FAA's Office of Communications.

No other information was immediately available.
The Sisters of Santa Teresita thanked their life-saving brothers Friday after their minivan full of nuns broke down on Thursday.

"He comes to the window and he says, sisters, do you know how many people behind you are very upset? Like mad? Yeah we know, just get us off, get us off," said Sister Mary James.

Sister Mary James and four more Carmelite nuns from the sisters of Santa Teresita in Duarte, along with a visiting priest from India they had just picked up at LAX airport, found themselves stuck on the 605 Freeway Thursday, with angry eyes passing their stalled out minivan.

"We turned around and they were all looking at us, what could we say," James said.

The California highway patrol officers who assisted posted the photos to Twitter.

"We were in stop and go traffic because it was rush hour," said Sister Michelle Clines, who was behind the wheel. "And I went to go and there was, I lost power, there was no power."

"She's like, I can't get the car started, and I said, in the lane that we're in, we can't move," James said. "It was kinda scary."

They knew it wasn't a gas issue and tried to explain that to the Metro Freeway Patrol.

"He was putting gas in the tank and I said no gas," James said. "We're not out of gas, I just filled it."

"There was sound, it wasn't like a battery, it wasn't like errrrr, errrr, but it wouldn't start," Clines said.

Unfortunately, it's not the first time they've had these car troubles. The sisters have two donated, specially designed dodge caravans to help transport the elderly nuns to doctor's appointments and such. Now one is totally out of commission.

"24 of us on walkers and scooters, that's why we use the vans," James said.

While they hope divine intervention could perhaps find its way to a dealership to help them afford a new van, they know something from above already helped save them on the crowded streets of LA.

"God Bless them, they were great," James said. "That was the divine intervention that God sent them and that they sent the people that they sent."

The sisters wanted to thank the Metro Freeway Patrol and specifically the two CHP officers, Dean Warren and Jeremy Tolen out of Santa Fe Springs.

The sisters say they took their business cards and added them to their prayer books.
Top Kentucky Derby contenders are facing off Saturday at the Santa Anita Park as they vie for the No. 1 title in the 2018 Santa Anita Derby.

The Santa Anita Derby marks the west coasts final step before the Kentucky Derby, the most anticipated annual event in horse racing. Seventeen winners of the Southern California race have gone on to win the Kentucky Derby, with the most recent success in 2014.

The family-friendly event boasts a fashion and hat contest, a kid-oriented fun zone and T-shirt giveaway.

Trainers arrived at the track bright and early at 4:30 a.m. Gates open at 10 a.m. for fans, where over 35,000 people are expected to arrive.
A Tennessee teacher who set off a nationwide manhunt last year after he fled with a 15-year-old student broke down in court after pleading guilty to crossing state lines to have sex with a minor.

Former forensics teacher Tad Cummins, 51, also pleaded guilty Thursday to obstruction of justice before U.S. District Judge Aleta Trauger in federal court in Nashville.

"I cannot be the man I need to be and not tell the truth," he said before losing his composure and starting to weep.

Cummins faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison for crossing state lines for sex with a minor. He also faces up to 20 years for obstruction of justice for destroying his and his former student's cellphones when he fled with her. He will be sentenced later this year.

The victim was in court but did not speak afterward. A spokesman for U.S. Attorney Donald Cochran said prosecutors were relieved on her behalf.

"This decision today to plead guilty pleases us in the fact that at this point the victim will no longer have to face a lengthy trial and can go about her life," spokesman David Boling said afterward.

A federal prosecutor told the court that Cummins engaged in sexual activity with the girl several times in a classroom closet at school and in a car. They first had intercourse after he took her out of state, according to authorities.

Cummins was married at the time and is a father and grandfather. Since he was jailed, he has called his wife  who filed for divorce after he disappeared  to ask for forgiveness, Assistant U.S. Attorney Sara Beth Myers told the court.

Cummins disappeared with the girl last March. They were found in April at a remote forest cabin near Cecilville, California, after a tip to police.

Cummins had planned to take the girl to Mexico and took a kayak from San Diego on a test run, the prosecutor said. He switched license plates twice, disabled his vehicle's GPS system, used aliases, altered his appearance, paid in cash only and used back roads during his nearly six weeks on the run, according to court documents.

Authorities credit the caretaker of the remote northern California property for helping police find the girl and arrest Cummins. The girl was found safe.

Cummins taught at Culleoka Unit School in Culleoka, south of Nashville. He was fired a day after the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation issued an Amber Alert for the teen. The Tennessee Board of Education revoked Cummins' teaching license in July.
What to Know Waterville officials are calling for Republican Mayor Nick Isgro to resign after a tweet earlier this week that David Hogg should "eat it."

The post was in response to an article about Fox News host Laura Ingraham, who mocked Hogg online and lost advertisers.

A Maine mayor is receiving backlash for a tweet making fun of a Parkland, Florida, school shooting survivor.

The Morning Sentinel reports some Waterville officials are calling for Republican Mayor Nick Isgro to resign. Isgro wrote in a now-deleted tweet earlier this week that Parkland student David Hogg should "eat it."

We are deeply disappointed in @nickisgro1's recent tweet about @davidhogg111. As #2A supporters, we don't agree with David's policy ideas, but he should be treated with respect and decency, especially given the terrible tragedy he endured. Mr. Mayor, apologize. #mepolitics pic.twitter.com/HzgS1Y3AvH  THIS STORY IS INCORRECT (@MEtrollNetwork) April 3, 2018

The post was in response to an article about Fox News backing host Laura Ingraham, who lost over a dozen advertisers after mocking Hogg online. The tweet has since been deleted.

The Maine Democratic Party said in a news release Isgro's post was part of a "long line of aggressive and often bigoted social media statements."

Four Democratic city councilors condemned Isgro's comments on Thursday.

Isgro declined to comment when he was contacted on Facebook.
A Florida high-school student who didn't wear a bra one day this week says school administrators told her to cover her nipples because they were distracting her classmates.

The Bradenton Herald reported Friday that 17-year-old Lizzy Martinez decided not to wear a bra under her gray long-sleeve shirt on Monday, and school officials in Bradenton felt she became a target of other students' stares. The school is on Florida's Gulf Coast.

Martinez says the humiliation began when School Dean Violeta Velazquez called her into the office. Martinez felt like she was being bullied by fellow students, but Velazquez said there was a distraction that needed to be addressed.

"She told me that I needed to put a shirt on under my long-sleeve shirt to try to tighten my breasts  to constrict them," Martinez told the paper. "And then she asked me to move around."

Apparently the second shirt was not enough, Martinez said, because she was then sent to the nurse's office. The nurse handed Martinez four bandages, two to cover each nipple, leaving her in tears.

On Thursday afternoon, the school district acknowledged that Braden River school officials could have handled the situation better, but the district said it was only trying to enforce the district's dress code.

"This matter was brought to the attention of the Superintendent's Office for review," the district's general counsel, Mitchell Teitelbaum, said in a prepared statement. "It is undisputed that this matter should have been handled differently at the school level and corrective measures have been taken to prevent a reoccurrence in the way these matters will be addressed in the future."

Teitelbaum went on to say Martinez violated the dress code by dressing in a way that distracted other students, and that school officials were only trying to help her fix the violation.

"You are expected to dress appropriately for school and for the business of learning with proper attention given to personal cleanliness, grooming and neatness," the district's Code of Student Conduct states.

The dress code does not specifically address or require bras.
What to Know A 3-year-old dog named Bandit lived in the woods of the Hudson Valley for half its life

The pooch went missing from an animal hospital in the fall of 2016 and had been living off animal carcasses placed by hunters along a trail

Bandit was eventually captured after Buddha Dog Rescue & Recovery set out traps in the woods and lured him in with animal carcasses

A family dog who went missing in the Hudson Valley a year and a half ago was found living in the woods, eating animal carcasses to survive.

When he was discovered, Bandit the dog had traveled nearly 10 miles from an animal hospital hed escaped from in Gardiner, New York, back on Oct. 8, 2016.

Bandit's family searched high and low for him after he ran away, but even after several sightings he had all but disappeared, according to Buddha Dog Rescue & Recovery.

Fast-forward many months to Feb. 8, 2018, when a local named Tab Calvitti spotted the black dog on the edge of the forest. Although she tried more than once to lure Bandit out of the woods, he had vanished into the thicket.

Calvitti eventually got ahold of Buddha Dog Rescue, who set up a trap and two enclosures to capture the wary dog, who'd been living on carcasses left by hunters on the 27-mile-long Wallkill Rail Trail.

Once the enclosure was set it took five days for him to take baby steps over that threshold, Buddha Dog Rescue wrote in a Facebook post this week.

Watching his antics on video were a constant source of amusement, the post continued. He would chase the critters away from his enclosure, play with toys that we left for him and play bow and do his little playful dance in front of the enclosure.

Rescuers had nicknamed him Wally, but on the day he was finally captured, they learned he was Bandit and had a family.

I immediately called the family, they were in a state of shock and the first words out of their mouths were omg he's alive! Buddha Dog Rescue wrote. Tears of joy and relief flowed.

The family ultimately decided to leave Bandit with Buddha Dog Rescue because they feared he may escape from their fence-less yard and felt he'd be better off with someone who had the time to work with him during his rehabilitation.

When all was said and done, the 3-year-old pooch had spent half his life in the dense, swampy woods of Ulster County.

He will need a lot of time, love and training to learn what it's like to live in a home again, Buddha Dog Rescue wrote.

Despite all the effort it took to coax Bandit out of his wilderness home, Buddha Dog Rescue says it was all worth it to bring this boy to safety.
What to Know Gloucester Township Police officer faces an assault charge after he allegedly hit a 13-year-old girl in the face

Officer John Flinn was taking the girl into custody at the time

A police video released Friday shows the girl face down as she is hit

A New Jersey police officer is facing an assault charge after prosecutors say he hit a 13-year-old girl in the face while taking her into custody last month.

In the March 8th incident, which was captured on video by a fellow officer's department-issued body camera, Gloucester Township Police officer John Flinn can be seen hitting the victim in the side of the face as he attempted to handcuff her, prosecutors said.



Police encountered the girl while responding to a disturbance call in the Camden County township, investigators said.



A review of the police video released Friday shows the girl face down with both arms pulled behind her back when the blows are delivered. She can be heard crying out after being hit. (Here's the full video. A warning that some may find it disturbing.)

Flinn, a 27-year-old who has been a Gloucester Township police officer since 2015, was suspended after the incident.

The case was turned over to the Camden County Prosecutor's Office for investigation.

Prosecutors said Friday they've charged Flinn with simple assault.



It's not clear if Flinn has retained legal counsel. The girl was not charged in the original incident.


What to Know More than 100 people tried to march over the new Tappan Zee Bridge Saturday afternoon but were stopped by state troopers and snowplows

The marchers were bringing attention to injustices facing black women in rural and suburban areas of the state

The protesters ultimately crossed the bridge via a slow-moving caravan of vehicles

Dozens of protesters who planned to march across the new Tappan Zee Bridge in support of black women's rights were turned away by police before they were able to cross the three-mile span Saturday afternoon, so they went over in a slow-moving caravan of cars.



The Black Women's March, organized in part by Black Lives Matter Hudson Valley and 100sistas, was assembled to draw attention to injustices facing black women in suburban and rural communities in New York.

There was a heavy police presence in Tarrytown on Saturday morning as marchers hit drums and chanted No justice! No peace! and Black lives, they matter here!

"We're not scared. Martin Luther King wasn't scared. Our voices will be heard," organizer Vanessa Green said.



As the group of more than 100 people marched towards the bridge, troopers blocked the entrance to the span, officially known as the Gov. Mario Cuomo Bridge, and said the protesters were trespassing and not allowed to cross.

New York Botanical Gardens Wows With Annual Orchid Show

There were no arrests or injuries during the 30-minute standoff between protesters and state police, though at one point the protesters tried to push their way onto the bridge, which was blocked by dozens of troopers and snowplows.

The crowd ultimately turned back shortly before 1 p.m. and returned to a parking lot where they had assembled earlier. Around 3 p.m., the protesters created a caravan of cars and slowly crossed the bridge, honking and cheering as they went.

In a statement, state police spokesperson Beau Duffy said authorities had told event organizers that the bridge was an active construction zone and highway, and that all foot traffic was prohibited.

"We strongly support the interest of any organization to engage in a peaceful march and express their message," Duffy said in the statement. "Which is why the state proactively offered several alternatives to marching on foot across the bridge, including offering other bridges or roads that are safe to walk across or other sites that may be of interest."

Organizers said the event gave them new momentum.

"We'll be back, we'll be back," Green said.
A construction worker is facing arson charges after authorities said he doused his former bosss Queens restaurant and an employee inside with gasoline in an attempt to torch the place.

Andrew Chung was charged with attempted arson and felony reckless endangerment after the alleged attempt to burn down the Islander Seafood restaurant in Elmhurst on Wednesday morning, according to the FDNY.

FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro said Chung, 41, had been quarreling with his employer over wages and was gotten in an argument with the restaurants manager, 45-year-old Tim Cheng, that morning about the timeline getting paid for an odd job he had done in the restaurant.

"He said he wanted to get paid now," said Cheng. "He said he would kill me."

He left during the dispute and returned a moment later carrying a gas canister and splashed it on the floor and an employee and said he wanted to light the place on fire.

But before he could ignite the gas, Nigro said that other employees held him back. He was able to escape, however, and ran from the restaurant before police and firefighters got on scene.

If the gasoline had been lit, many lives would have been in peril because of this dangerous act, said Nigro.

Chung was arrested later Thursday by FDNY fire marshals. Attorney information for the man wasnt immediately available, but his family members said they were shocked by the arrest because he is very charming.

Cheng, meanwhile, added that he doesn't want his former employee to go to jail.

"He worked here for three years, I treat him like my son,"

The owner of the restaurant couldnt be reached for comment Friday night.
What to Know Authorities say a woman used a "large-bladed kitchen knife" to sever the head of her 7-year-old son in rural western New York

Police arrested 36-year-old Hanane Mouhib after Abraham Cardenas was found dead Thursday night in a home in a town outside Rochester

A vigil was held for little Abraham Cardenas was held on Friday night

Teachers gathered Upstate to remember a 7-year-old boy who police say was decapitated by his mother 10 days after she was released from a hospital mental health unit.

Teachers who taught Abraham Cardenas attended the candlelight vigil for him Friday night, a day after he was killed.

Police say the boy's mother, 36-year-old Hanane Mouhib, used a "large-bladed kitchen knife" to stab him in the back and sever his head.

Monroe County Sheriff's deputies arrested Mouhib after her son was found dead Thursday night in the family's home in the town of Sweden, about 15 miles west of Rochester in rural New York. She was charged with second-degree murder.

"There's absolutely no explanation for us," Sheriff Todd Baxter said at a news conference Friday. "The word 'evil' comes to mind."

According to public records, Mouhib is a licensed nurse practitioner who had worked at a Rochester psychiatric center.

Baxter said the sheriff's office received three 911 calls from the home in quick succession around 8:20 p.m. Thursday, one of them reporting a suicidal woman with a knife. When deputies arrived, they had to use pepper spray and a stun gun to subdue Mouhib, who refused to drop the knife, Baxter said.

Court papers say Mouhib used the knife to stab the boy in the upper back then cut his neck, severing his head.

Mouhib's husband, mother-in-law and a 10-year-old boy were in the house with her, Baxter said. He said they hadn't seen any warning signs and were taken by surprise at the slaying.

Mouhib had recently called the sheriff's office seeking assistance with mental health problems, Baxter said. Deputies arranged for her to be taken to a hospital psychiatric unit March 5 and again March 8, when she was admitted to Rochester General Hospital until March 26, he said.

Mouhib is being held in the county jail without bail. She had not been assigned a public defender at midday Friday. Monroe County District Attorney Sandra Doorley said a preliminary hearing is scheduled for April 11 but she plans to present the case to a grand jury before that.

Abraham Cardenas was a first-grader at Barclay Elementary School in the Brockport district.

"This is a very shocking situation for us," District Superintendent Lesli Myers said. She called Abraham "an engaged learner" who "lit up a room any time he entered it." She said grief counselors would be at the school when students return from spring break Monday.
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke acknowledges there is "a lot of opposition" to President Donald Trump's plan to open most of the nation's coastline to oil and gas drilling.

Speaking at a forum on offshore wind energy Friday in Plainsboro, New Jersey, Zinke touted Trump's "all of the above" energy menu that calls for oil and gas, as well as renewable energy projects.

But he noted strong opposition to the drilling plan, adding there is little to no infrastructure in many of those areas to support drilling.

"There is a lot of opposition, particularly off the East Coast and the West Coast, on oil and gas," Zinke said.

He said on the East Coast, only the governors of Maine and Georgia have expressed support for the drilling plan, which has roiled environmentalists but cheered energy interests.

"The rest of the governors are strongly opposed," he said, promising to consider the desire of coastal states when deciding on the drilling plan.

Zinke also took note of the growing number of states that are employing state-level laws to thwart the possibility of drilling off their coasts by banning infrastructure that would support drilling in state waters.

"If local communities don't want it in state waters, the states have a lot of leverage," Zinke said.

He said oil and gas production seems to be moving to waters off Latin America where regulations are less stringent, and added that oil and gas drilling is more environmentally risky that renewable energy such as wind projects, which he said have the greatest growth potential of all the options in America's energy menu.

Yet Zinke would not commit to giving any state an exemption from the program, and specifically noted that Florida has not been exempted. In January, he said "Florida is different" and indicated the state would not be part of the drilling plan.

On Friday in New Jersey, Zinke said Florida has a drilling moratorium already in place.

"No one was exempted," he said.

The secretary also announced that the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management will seek expressions of interest from companies about building wind energy projects in the New York Bight, an area of shallow waters between Long Island, New York, and the New Jersey coast.

Liz Burdock, executive director of the Business Network for Offshore Wind, praised Zinke for supporting wind energy projects.

"The environment, the economy, and our moral commitments contribute to the importance of U.S. offshore wind as a key component of the 'All of the Above' energy policy," she said.
Did you see him?

Sylvester Stallone aka Rocky Balboa made a surprise appearance Friday at the Rocky statue outside the Philadelphia Art Museum.

Mayor Jim Kenney and a handful of fans took photos, shook hands and got signed autographs with the star.

Less than seven days after arriving in Philly to film scenes for the sequel to "Creed," Philadelphia has been buzzing with Stallone sightings.

He was reportedly spotted at Israeli restaurant Zahav in Society Hill and is getting his flex on at Old City gym Sweat.

The star is in town filming "Creed 2," which follows the son of Rockys bestie, Apollo Creed, as the novice fighter prepares for the fight of his life.

Of course, the actor is no stranger to the City of Brotherly Love, having filmed five of the "Rocky" movies in iconic locales such as city hall, the Philadelphia Art Museum steps, Kensington and the Italian Market.

Earlier this week, Stallone took some time out of his first day of shooting to give Philly a little love on Instagram. Check out the stars greeting below:
A popular classified ads website, known to be used for human trafficking across the country, was shut down Friday.

Backpage.com is a website many law enforcement agencies have used to recover trafficking victims here in San Diego

The place where they end up being advertised like a piece of pizza is backpage.com San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan said.

Backpage was launched in 2004. For years it has denied knowingly facilitating sex trafficking and instead, it says helped authorities track down victims of illegal activities.

Theyve been told case after case theyve been given examples of how young innocent kids are being sold on their website but they did not stop," Stephan said.

On Friday, federal agencies, including the FBI, seized the website as well as its affiliated sites. They posted a notice on the sites homepage with few details.

The Department of Justice says a court had ruled the case would remain sealed.

Backpage has profited at hundreds of millions of dollars off the abuse torment and trafficking of children, Stephan said.

In San Diego, investigators have used reverse technology to track images and other tips to trace victims back to the website.

Fifteen-, 14-, 13-year-olds, weve been able to recover from these websites tattooed, branded, sold like a piece of meat, Stephan said. "Its unacceptable."

The seizure Friday should serve as a warning for owners of websites such as Backpage. They will be held accountable, Stephan said.

"Theyre essentially pimps and traffickers themselves, she said.

NBC News reached out to Backpage for a comment, but a representative could not be reached Friday.
What to Know Two men have been accused of illegally smuggling finches into the United States.

The search revealed that the men possessed live finches, concealed in hair curlers and placed in their socks.

Benjamin and Ali have both been released on $20,000 bond and are awaiting trial. If convicted, they can serve up to 20 years in prison.

Two men were arrested Wednesday at John F. Kennedy International Airport after federal authorities said they tried to smuggle songbirds into the country by hiding them in hair curlers.

Victor Benjamin, a 72-year-old Brooklyn man, and Insaf Ali, a 57-year-old Bronx resident, were caught with 26 finches at JFK Airport after being selected for a customs examination, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York. The pair had been flying in from Georgetown, Guyana.

Authorities said a search revealed that Benjamin and Ali had the finches concealed in hair curlers, which they then stashed in their socks. Benjamin allegedly had 14 birds; Ali had 12.

The birds were confiscated and placed in sanitary cages. They were set to be transferred to the U.S Department of Agriculture.

Benjamin and Ali have both been released on $20,000 bond and are awaiting trial. If convicted, they can serve up to 20 years in prison each.

According to the U.S Fish and Wildlife Services, people can enter finches into singing contests. A judge decides between the two birds which has the best voice, and the winning bird can be fetch $5,000.

While finches are available in the U.S, species of the bird from Guyana are believed to have better voices, and are therefore worth more.

Attorney information for the two men wasn't immediately available.
CORRECTION (April 6, 2018, 11:58 a.m. ET): An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that two men convicted of murder were suspected of assaulting three people. Tyrone Michael Hight and James Young are not suspected in the assault and have been in custody since they were arrested in September 2014.

An assistant U.S. attorney and a U.S. marshal were assaulted outside D.C. Superior Court on Thursday after two men were convicted of murder and the officials left the courthouse.

The female attorney, the male marshal and a second woman were attacked about 2:50 p.m. Thursday as they left the H. Carl Moultrie Courthouse on Indiana Avenue NW, a block north of the National Mall, a police report says.

One person grabbed the attorney's hair, punched her in the face and knocked her to the ground. A second person spit on the woman who was with the attorney and the marshal. As the marshal detained the person who attacked the attorney, that person spit in his face.

The attack occurred after a jury convicted Tyrone Michael Hight, 26, and James Young, 25, of robbing and killing 38-year-old Willard Carlos Shelton of Alexandria, Virginia, on the 2500 block of Pomeroy Road SE. After the killing in August 2014, Young threatened a government witness, and Hight convinced someone who was not a witness to the shooting to lie to police, prosecutors said. Hight and Young are set to be sentenced in June.

The two suspects in the assault Thursday were expected to appear in court Friday afternoon. Police arrested one person for assault and a second person for assaulting, resisting or impeding officers and resisting arrest.

Stay with News4 for more details on this developing story.
Physician-assisted death has been legal in Washington, D.C., since February 2017, but no patients have been prescribed the life-ending drugs, and people who want them say they cant find doctors to prescribe them.

Mary Klein is dying of cancer. She worked with advocates to get the D.C. Council to pass the death with dignity law last year.

Now shes looking for a doctor who will prescribe the drugs, but theyve all said no.

Ill be meeting with the fifth one later today, she said.

Eleven patients have contacted the group Compassion & Choices looking for a doctor to prescribe the drugs.

We basically have a law in place thats meaningless, because there are just too many regulatory roadblocks in place, Compassion & Choices CEO Kim Callinan said.

The D.C. Department of Health issued regulations requiring doctors and patients register with the government.

Klein and others say those registration requirements are keeping doctors from prescribing the drugs.

The anxiety and lack of certainty of not knowing whether I will be able to obtain this legal medication is very difficult for me, Klein said.

D.C. Mayor Muriel, who signed the law allowing physician-assisted deaths, defended the Department of Health requirements but added her administration is willing to work through issues with the new policy.

I dont think saying that were going to have a registration regime is at all onerous, she said.

Two doctors have registered in D.C., but those records are confidential, so patients dont know who they are.

Similar registration is required for medical marijuana in the District, and 5,000 patients and 300 doctors have registered. While those registrations also are confidential, marijuana dispensaries have compiled lists of registered doctors and provided them to patients.

None of the seven states that allow physician-assisted suicide require registration like D.C.s registration.

With less than six months to live, Klein will continue to look for a doctor to help her and patients like her.

We need to have doctors who will support wishes like my wish for the medication for a peaceful death, she said.
Since he launched his run for president, Donald Trump has said things about immigrants and the U.S.-Mexico border that no other U.S. president has. But now he's reached directly into his predecessors' playbook by sending in the National Guard.

When former presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama deployed the Guard to the border in 2006 and 2010, they were pushing Congress to pass wide-ranging overhauls of immigration policy. Both overhauls failed. A 2011 government review estimated the Bush and Obama deployments cost at least $1.3 billion.

Trump is also trying to reshape immigration law. But Congress so far has funded a fraction of the border wall he promised during his campaign, so the president said this week he wants 2,000 to 4,000 Guard troops on the frontier until the wall goes up. Trump called the deployments crucial to helping the U.S. Border Patrol, which after a drop-off last year has returned to apprehending about as many people as it typically does.

In a tweet Saturday, Trump said: "We are sealing up our Southern Border. The people of our great country want Safety and Security.'

Texas and Arizona officials said the first 400 soldiers will be in place within days, and Defense Secretary James Mattis said the Pentagon would foot the bill for the full 4,000, if needed, through September.

Here's a closer look at the recent history of National Guard deployments, what the presidents who ordered them said at the time and what the state of the border was then versus now:

___

OPERATION JUMP START, June 2006-July 2008

WHAT THE PRESIDENT SAID: "For decades, the United States has not been in complete control of its borders," Bush said. "As a result, many who want to work in our economy have been able to sneak across our border, and millions have stayed."

In announcing the operation, Bush called on Congress to pass "comprehensive immigration reform." Using rhetoric very different than Trump's, Bush called immigrants without legal status "a part of American life."

"These are real problems. Yet we must remember that the vast majority of illegal immigrants are decent people who work hard, support their families, practice their faith, and lead responsible lives," he said.

HOW MANY TROOPS: Up to 6,000 Guard members in the first year, reduced to 3,000 in the second year.

WHERE: About 2,400 were sent to Arizona in the first year, according to a 2008 review the Guard published about the operation. Another 1,500 were sent to Texas that year, 1,200 to California, and 900 to New Mexico. The Guard members came from all over the United States.

WHY: Bush said he was trying to buy time to bolster Border Patrol staffing, which eventually grew by about one-third. He said the troops would assist Border Patrol by "operating surveillance systems, analyzing intelligence, installing fences and vehicle barriers, building patrol roads, and providing training." He said Guard members would not assume law enforcement responsibilities and that the U.S. "is not going to militarize the southern border."

WHAT THE GUARD DID: While Guard members could not make arrests on their own, according to government figures for the two-year operation, Guard members helped in almost 12 percent of migrant apprehensions and 9 percent of border marijuana seizures.

COST: $1.2 billion, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office.

PROBLEMS: In a 2009 article for Joint Force Quarterly, Maj. David M. Church, an Army National Guard commander during Operation Jump Start, said the operation's "sudden formation" gave the National Guard and U.S. Customs and Border Protection "little time for preparation, acquaintance, and coordination." The two agencies struggled to communicate and share information "without prior coordination and a solid unity of effort between them," though those issues eased over time.

___

OPERATION PHALANX, July 2010-Sept. 2011

WHAT THE PRESIDENT SAID: "We're not going to solve the problem just solely as a consequence of sending National Guard troops down there," Obama said. "We're going to solve this problem because we have created an orderly, fair, humane immigration framework in which people are able to immigrate to this country in a legal fashion; employers are held accountable for hiring legally present workers."

HOW MANY: Up to 1,200 Guard members initially, though some remained in operations that continued beyond the initial deployment.

WHERE: About 560 members were sent to Arizona. According to Maj. Gen. Hugo Salazar, the head of the National Guard in Arizona, all four Southwest border states supported the operation with their own Guard members.

WHY: Obama said the Guard could "help on intelligence, dealing with both drug and human trafficking along the borders" and free up Border Patrol to handle more law enforcement duties.

WHAT THE GUARD DID: According to a Government Accountability Office review of figures from the start of the deployment through May 2011, the Guard assisted in 6 percent of all migrant apprehensions and 2.6 percent of marijuana seizures.

COST: $110 million through the first year, according to the Government Accountability Office.

PROBLEMS: Critics questioned whether the deployment was worth the expense, especially since Guard members could not make arrests on their own. John David Franz, the mayor of the border city of Hidalgo, Texas, told The Washington Post: "As a mayor, I am not going to say we don't want more security. But as a taxpayer? I would say something different."
The Charger Blog

New communication major Saiful Islam Mannu 21, who has hundreds of credits to his name, is a household name in Bangladesh. "Kind of like how we just say Scorsese or Spielberg," says Professor Tom Garrett. by Jackie Hennessey, Contributing Writer Saiful Islam Mannu 21 has been able to share his extensive expertise with students who are gaining real-world experience creating TV shows and films in the Universitys state-of-the-art communications students.

In the Advanced Screenwriting and the Fundamentals of Production classes this semester is an undergraduate student who knows a thing or two about directing and writing for television. Saiful Islam Mannu 21 has directed 600 TV episodes in Bangladesh, 60 telefilms, 28 one-hour dramas, two feature films and dozens of documentaries.

"In Bangladesh hes known just by Mannu," says Tom Garrett, associate professor and chair of the Department of Communication, Film, & Media Studies. "Kind of like how we just say Scorsese or Spielberg."

Despite his lofty credentials, there is Mannu, collaborating with classmates on an audio project and writing the first 30 pages of his screenplay for class. The Universitys career-focused education is something hes always wanted. "I love it," he says.

How Mannu, who grew up in a family of agricultural workers in a small village in Bangladesh, in a home without electricity, television or access to "any culture  no movies, no theater," went on to become a wildly successful director and then found his way to West Haven is quite a journey.

Mannu and his wife moved to the U.S. last year. Mannus uncle, a Yale professor whose good friend was a longtime mentor of Garretts, help connect the two. "We met and talked about working on a feature film or a project, involving our students, using our facilities," Garrett says.

The next day, as Mannu toured the University with Garrett, a new idea took shape.

"He fell in love with the University and decided to apply," Garrett says.

Now, Mannu is writing the script for his third feature film for his screenwriting class. The piece centers around a young woman born in the United States to immigrant parents and the challenges she faces being part of two worlds. Garrett sees many possibilities.

"Its a project that could have all kinds of crossover, a piece written by an immigrant, a Sundance kind of film that he would develop during his four years here as a thesis project." Tom Garrett

The extensive experience Mannu can share with his fellow students is invaluable, says Paul Falcone, director of studio operations and media production, who says 10 percent of making a film is the artistic and creative ability to tell a story.

Adds Garrett, "The other 90 percent is the hustle, the location scouting, the financing, and the marketing. Mannu knows all about this. We can help him, and he can help our students see the big picture and be involved in the whole experience writing, shooting, and marketing a film. Right now its an idea but you have to visualize something to actualize it."

Mannu first began to visualize a cultural life when as a child he happened upon a Hindu festival in a nearby village in Bangladesh and was drawn to the music and dance. His parents wanted him to become an engineer or to work, as his family did, in agriculture and fishing.

But, after high school, he went to the city of Dhaka, hoping to work for the government-run television station. Without experience, he was told hed have to wait three or four years for a chance to even get in the door. Undaunted, he returned later that night, got into a rehearsal, and offered to play drum rhythms when a drummer didnt show. Later, when they needed someone on the camera crew, he learned on the job  paid only in food  and took on every odd job on the production he could.

"Whatever it is that has to be done, this guy, he will find a way to do it." Saiful Islam Mannu's wife, Sadia Shabnam Shantu, who is the production and costume designer on all of his teleplays and films Garrett

His big break came when he wrote a script and a producer asked him to direct it, launching a successful career now in its second decade. "Thats when my life started," he said. "Now, it starts again."
U.S. Rep. Elizabeth Estys scandal-fueled exit from the race to represent Connecticuts Fifth Congressional District gives the GOP a fighting chance to send a Republican to Washington, D.C., this fall.

But its still an uphill fight for the GOP in a state where the seven-member Congressional delegation is all Democrats, and in a district where Democrats have held control since 2006, when Chris Murphy upset Republican incumbent Nancy Johnson.

I think it has become an extremely competitive district, says Gary Rose, who chairs the department of Government, Politics and Global Studies at Sacred Heart University. It is certainly nowhere near as predictable as it would have been had Esty not left.

Part of the unpredictability is gauging who is in the race. As recently as one week ago, after Hearst Connecticut Media broke news of abuse and sexual harassment in Estys Washington office, the three-term Democrat was still seeking re-election. Her only challenger at the time was former Meriden mayor Manny Santos.

Since Esty dropped out of the race  admitting failed to adequately address harassment by former Chief of Staff Tony Baker and then helped him get a new job with Sandy Hook Promise, there is only one new candidate: former Simsbury First Selectman Mary Glassman.

More candidates from both parties could declare their interest as soon as this week, Republican and Democratic leaders said, ahead of the nominating conventions in mid-May.

We dont have a lot of time - less than 40 days and 40 towns to contact and visit, Glassman said of a 5th District that stretches from Bethel to the Massachusetts line, and from New Milford to New Britain. That is why I jumped in so quickly. Of course there could be a lot of good candidates who run, as there should be for an important seat like this, which doesnt open very often.

If several candidates do jump into the race and compete for political support, it can only elevate interest in what is already a highly anticipated midterm election season, as Democrats in Connecticut fight to take power from the GOP in Congress, and Republicans in Connecticut fight to take back power from Democrats in the governors office.

You have the general unpopularity of Governor Malloy versus the general unpopularity of President Trump, and the question is whether those two will cancel each other out, said Scott McLean, professor of political science at Quinnipiac University. If the Fifth District race is about congressional issues, the election will be more about Trump, because the difference is between a lame-duck governor who will be out in November versus a president who will be there for two more years.

Nick Balletto, the state Democratic Party leader, said the Trump effect would have a big impact on the election.

Trump is the best thing that ever happened to the Democratic Party, Balletto said. He is showing us what is going to happen to this country if we let Republicans control the White House and Congress.

At stake for the 417,000 registered voters in the five cities and 36 towns of the Fifth District is which partys candidate will be the right complement to the unique temperament of Trump.

The Democrats are in a constant state of resistance, said J.R. Romano, the chairman of the state GOP. Trump has demonstrated he is willing to negotiate, but none of the Democrats on the federal level will sit down with him for Connecticuts benefit.

The district has added more registered Democratic voters and more unaffiliated voters than Republican voters since Esty defeated Republican Andrew Roraback in 2012.

Since then, Democrats have registered 19,460 voters, giving the party 132,780 voters, or 32 percent of the total, according to the latest numbers from the Connecticut Secretary of the State. Republicans added 7,570 voters over the same period, giving the GOP a total of 100,370 voters, or 24 percent. More than 9,500 new voters registered as unaffiliated, bringing their total to 177,750, or 42.5 percent of the total.

A national election analyst said Estys exit does not change the likelihood that the Fifth District would be a Democratic hold in November.

What weve seen in elections across the country over the last year is that Democrats are energized and turning out in greater numbers, said Nathan Gonzales, publisher of the Washington, D.C.,-based Inside Elections. If Malloy was running, he would probably lose, but it is hard for me to see Democratic voters taking out their frustration on the Democratic nominees for governor and the Fifth District.

The Esty effect

Estys decision not to seek a fourth term was supported last week by Connecticuts top Democrats. The thinking is that with Esty stepping aside, Democrats can run on the issues and galvanize voters the way Esty did in 2016, when she won 58 percent of the vote, defeating Republican Clay Cope, of Sherman, by 49,000 votes.

But it is likely that Democrats will have to answer for Esty all the way to Nov. 6, analysts said.

Esty is not doing the Democrats any favors by holding onto that seat, because the more she tries to explain herself the more it will look like she is trying to cover stuff up to protect her image, said McLean, who argues that Esty should resign. This is not just an error in judgment - this is a cover-up of an abominable case of sexual harassment and threatening where Esty used government money to pay off and help get her chief of staff another job.

Santos agreed.

She should drop out now, said Santos. What credibility does she have left?

Esty admitted that she made grave mistakes in allowing Baker to stay in her office for three months in 2016 after learning that he had punched and threatened to kill a former female employee in her D.C. office. She said she regretted negotiating a deal with Baker that bound her to silence and required her to write a glowing job recommendation that led to a position with the Ohio state office of Newtown-based Sandy Hook Promise.

Sandy Hook Promise fired Baker shortly before the scandal broke. Esty canceled appearances in Newtown and Danbury last week and declined to comment, except to say through a spokesman that she would resume a full schedule in D.C. this week when the House is back in session.

Rose said Republicans would use the Esty scandal to their advantage, reminding voters of the way the incumbent Democrat abused her powers and betrayed the public trust.

They are not going to let this go at all, Rose said. They are going to keep this alive as long as they can.

Residents of the Fifth District voted for Democrat Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election by just over 50 percent. Clinton won four of the districts five cities  Danbury, Meriden, New Britain, and Waterbury  along with 16 of the districts towns. Trump won Torrington and 20 towns, including New Fairfield and New Milford.

Rose said the key to the race would be the strength of GOP nominee, although there were plenty of variables that made the race a challenge.

I dont know who is more unpopular in the Fifth District  Trump or Malloy or Esty.

I know the answer to that question, the GOPs Romano said. Its Malloy.

Trump has a 36 percent approval rating in this district, and Malloys approval rating is 24 percent, Romano said. What are we going to do, export Malloys policies to Washington?
Accurately detecting a rare, but devastating cause of blindness in premature babies can be done as effectively with telemedicine as with traditional, in-person eye exams, a study published in JAMA Ophthalmology suggests. This is believed to be the first study to directly compare the two approaches.

The finding could enable more blindness-preventing treatment for infants born in rural and other areas where there are few ophthalmologists trained to detect the condition, called retinopathy of prematurity, or ROP. Musician Stevie Wonder went blind due to this condition.

"A lack of access to trained ophthalmologists with experience diagnosing ROP sadly prevents many premature infants from receiving much-needed screening, both in developed and developing countries," said the study's lead researcher, Michael F. Chiang, M.D., a professor of ophthalmology and medical informatics & clinical epidemiology in the OHSU School of Medicine and a pediatric ophthalmologist at OHSU's Elks Children's Eye Clinic.

The study's first authors are Hilal Biten, M.D., and Travis Redd, M.D., M.P.H. Redd is an OHSU ophthalmology resident and Biten was a visiting OHSU scholar who now works at Ankara Numun Training and Research Hospital in Turkey.

Retinopathy of prematurity is caused by abnormal blood vessel growth near the retina, the light-sensitive portion in the back of an eye. The National Eye Institute of the National Institutes of Health reports that while up to 16,000 U.S. babies experience the condition to some degree, only 400 to 600 become legally blind each year as a result.

Some U.S. medical associations recommend an in-person exam, which involves a special magnifying device that shines light into a baby's dilated eye, to diagnose the condition. But trained professionals aren't always easy to find in rural areas and developing countries.

The research team compared the accuracy of in-person exams with digital eye images that were remotely evaluated by professionals. They partnered with seven medical institutions to examine the eyes of 281 infants who were at risk for the condition. Each eye was evaluated both in-person and remotely with a wide-angle telemedicine image.

The researchers found there was no difference in the overall accuracy between the two evaluation methods. In-person examiners were found to be slightly better at accurately diagnosing the condition's later-stage development, but the research team concluded telemedicine could be used to diagnose clinically significant cases of retinopathy of prematurity.
Washington: The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said it has reached the Congressionally-mandated 65,000 H-1B visa cap for the fiscal year 2019 and would conduct a lottery to decide successful applicants for the work visa popular among Indian IT professionals.

The fiscal year begins October 1, 2018.

The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. The technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China.

The USCIS has also received a sufficient number of H-1B petitions to meet the 20,000 visa cap for advanced degree exemption, known as the master's cap, a statement said.

The statement did not mention the exact number of H-1B petitions it received since April 2, when it started accepting applications for the popular work visas for highly skilled Indian professionals.

"We will not have exact petition receipt numbers for a few weeks. However, the USCIS will be conducting a lottery as we have done in past years," Arwen FitzGerald, the USCIS spokesperson, told PTI.

"The agency will reject and return filing fees for all unselected cap-subject petitions that are not prohibited multiple filings," the USCIS said.

The agency said that it would continue to accept and process petitions that are otherwise exempt from the cap petitions filed for current H-1B workers who have been counted previously against the cap, and who still retain their cap number, will also not be counted toward the FY 2019 H-1B cap.

USCIS will continue to accept and process petitions filed to extend the amount of time a current H-1B worker may remain in the United States; change the terms of employment for current H-1B workers; allow current H-1B workers to change employers and allow current H-1B workers to work concurrently in a second H-1B position.
New Delhi: Alleging atrocities against Dalits have increased since the 'Bharat Bandh', the Bhim Army on Saturday said it will hold a peaceful protest in Delhi on April 18 during which the demonstrators would "court mass arrest".

At a press conference in New Delhi, the Dalit emancipation group's national president, Vinay Ratan Singh, and its members demanded that the people from the community held by the police in connection with the April 2 incident be released.

"We are also demanding that a judicial probe be ordered into the incident and anti-social elements who infiltrated into Dalit groups during the protests be brought to book," Singh said.

The Bhim Army leader alleged that the country would face a "civil war-like situation" if the government did not step up and took actions to stem caste-related violence.

"So, we are going to hold a protest on Parliament Street on April 18. And, all those people who are facing persecution or false cases will assemble and court mass arrest. We even invite all those who advocate justice to join us," Singh told reporters.

Asked how many people are likely to join the protest, he claimed that "people will come from different states in big numbers".

"We are not going to offer any resistance, and we all would be coming prepared to face even a hail of bullets. We will be coming prepared knowing that we may not return alive," he said.

Bhim Army's Delhi unit convener Sujit Samrat said that BJP lawmakers were now writing to the government about "Dalits being targeted by the police, pulled out of their homes and beaten".

Singh said the Dalit community was oppressed for centuries, "but we still do not want to take the route of violent retaliation".

"If we also do the way the other side has been doing, our country will be plunged into a civil war-like situation, and the very idea of India will cease to exist," he said, alleging violence against Dalits after the April 2 bandh had increased.
Nagpur: A BJP party office-bearer suffered a heart attack and died on board a special train ferrying workers from Mumbai after the party's 38th Foundation Day rally at BKC on .

Navnit Behre, president of BJP's Indora ward unit in Nagpur, suffered a heart attack close to Dahanu station, some 120 kilometres from Mumbai, around 2:30pm yesterday, BJP Nagpur publicity-incharge Chandan Goswami told PTI.

"The train had left for Nagpur from Bandra station at around 1pm and a little while later Behre started feeling uneasy and suffered a heart attack. Nagpur MLA, Milind Bane, himself a doctor, was travelling in the same train and he checked Behre immediately," he said.

"Dr Bane declared Behre dead after which the train was halted at Dahanu and the body was shifted to a local hospital," Goswami informed.

He added that post-mortem was conducted early today morning and the body would be flown to Nagpur later this evening.
Mumbai: Reluctance to report a sexual assault to police immediately does not mean the victim is lying, the Bombay High Court has said, upholding the conviction of four men for gang-rape.

Justice AM Badar earlier this week dismissed the appeals of Dattatraya Korde, Ganesh Pardeshi, Pintu Khoskar and Ganesh Zole, who had challenged a Sessions Court order of April 2013 sentencing them to 10 years in jail for gang-rape.

They were convicted of gang-raping a woman and thrashing her male friend on March 15, 2012 when the two were returning from Trimbakeshwar in Nashik district.

The convicts claimed that they were framed as they had seen the victim and her friend in a compromising position and threatened to take them to police for indecent behaviour.

The appeals sought to highlight that while the woman claimed that the incident took place on March 15, she lodged the complaint two days later.

Medical examination had ruled out a rape since there was no injury on the woman's body, the appellants said.

The high court, however, upheld the conviction and sentence, citing a Supreme Court's observation in a past case that "rarely will a girl or woman in India make false allegations of sexual assault".

The victim, who comes from a conservative section of society and who is separated from her husband, must have been afraid of stigma and "reflection on her chastity", Justice Badar said.

"She had fear of being looked down upon by the society including her parents... Being overpowered by a feeling of shame on account of gang-rape, her non-approaching a police station immediately...cannot be said to be abnormal and throwing doubt on her version," the judge said.

Because of her secret excursion with a male friend, she must have felt that she would be branded as promiscuous if the incident came to light, the high court said.

"Minor discrepancies" such as delay in lodging the complaint do not weaken her case, the court said.

The judge also held that a mere absence of injuries do not lead to the conclusion that there was no sexual assault.
Bengaluru: About six month ago, some Karnataka Congress leaders used to joke in private that they might do better minus Rahul Gandhis campaign in the Assembly elections. Now, the same leaders are openly admitting that Gandhis campaign seem to be working favourably and the party needs more of him. Actually, the Congress president is leading the party from the front, giving hope to the cadres across Karnataka.

And the party men explain that after Gujarat Assembly elections they are seeing a different Rahul Gandhi who is fully charged and ready to do leg work for the Congress. Rahul Gandhi kicked off his Karnataka tour in the last week of January from Bellary district and has been receiving a good response across the state since then.

Unlike Modi and Amit Shah of the BJP, he mostly travels by a special bus and easily mingles with the people. He took a bus ride from Bellary to Gulbarga, covering a distance of over 400 km and holding public and corner meetings at several places. His first leg was a success and the party decided to stick to the same formula.

In February, he toured Lingayat dominated Mumbai  Karnataka region, comprising seven districts, again in a bus using helicopters occasionally. That leg was also a success. In the third, fourth and fifth leg also Rahul Gandhi mostly used bus to travel length and breadth of the state.

According to Karnataka state Congress working president Dinesh Gundurao, he has already covered almost 2000 km and is full of energy. He is a bundle of endless energy. He inspires both party leaders and workers. He leads us from the front. Wherever Rahul Gandhi campaigned in the last two months, we have got a very good response, he said.

Rahul Gandhi has already travelled through 25 districts in the state and will be touring three more districts on Saturday and Sunday. No Congress president has been to so many districts in the recent past, claim party leaders in Karnataka. If he visits Uttara Kannada and Kodagu in the coming days, Gandhi would be covering all 30 districts in the state. A record for the president of a national party.

His temple run has also been a big hit among Congress supporters. He has visited over a dozen big temples and Mutts during his Karnataka tour and is likely to visit a few more before Karnataka votes on May 12.

The BJP was spreading rumours that Rahul Gandhi is lazy, he cant do hard work, he is not for Hindus etc. But Rahul Gandhi has proved them wrong. The BJP and RSS lies have been exposed. They are now rattled by the response he is getting all over Karnataka, said a senior leader of the Congress.

Unlike in the past, Rahul Gandhi is now using high-end technology to connect with the people. All his tours and rallies are beamed live on social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook. His Hindi speeches are translated into Kannada by a senior leader of the party at every place.

We literally forced Congress and BJP to go for a translator. Earlier, they used to address us in Hindi, which most people dont understand in Karnataka. They used to take us for granted. The Congress has now realized its mistake and all speeches of Rahul Gandhi are translated into Kannada. Even Amit Shahs speeches are translated at many places. But Modis speeches are not, said Arun Javagal, a new-age Kannada activist and a software professional.

Rahul Gandhi is also meeting block Congress and district party presidents in each district, and discussing the poll scenario. He is trying to endear himself to the cadre and local level leaders. It was not the case earlier. We are happy with this. We can frankly exchange our views with him. He listens to us and takes decisions, said a district Congress president.

On Saturday and Sunday, Rahul Gandhi will tour Kolar and Chikkaballapur districts close to Bengaluru. He will address a mega public meeting in Bengaluru on Sunday to mark the end of chief minister Siddaramaiahs Jana Ashirvada Yathre.

One has to wait and see if the support he is drawing gets translated into votes for the Congress.
New Delhi: Justice J Chelameswar who courted a major controversy in January this year by voicing his disapproval against the current CJI and his way of functioning, said on Saturday that impeachment is not the solution to everything and there is a need to correct the system.

On Saturday, while speaking at a discussion organised by the Harvard Club of India, Justice Chelameswar also said that he would not take up any "government job after his retirement".

"Let me make one thing clear. Post retirement, I will not seek any government job posting," said the senior judge of the Supreme Court.

Justice Chelameswar, the senior-most judge after the CJI, said the January 12 press conference he held along with justices Ranjan Gogoi, M B Lokur and Kurian Joseph, was the result of "anguish" and "concern" as their deliberations with the CJI did not achieve the desired results on the issues raised by them regarding the functioning of the top court.

He also made it clear that "impeachment" was not the answer to all problems of the judiciary. The statement comes in the light of Congress leading a move to bring an impeachment motion against CJI Dipak Misra. The draft motion had raised grounds from the allegations of improper allocation of cases to specific benches and abuse of the master of roster theory.

No CJI has ever faced impeachment in the country.

"I don't know why the nation is obsessed about the impeachment business. Impeachment cannot be the answer to every problem. Looks like everybody wants to gain currency by using this term. Someone some days ago said that I should be impeached," said the SC judge.

Justice Chelameswar also said that there was nothing like "natural justice in appointment of judges" and that "judges appointing judges was a phenomenon of the Indian democracy since the last 70 years".

"Some kind of revisiting is required in the case of working of the SC. There are 50,000 pending cases and does all the cases have to be decided by the apex court? Multiple benches itself is a contributor of pendency," said Justice Chelameswar.

A few days ago, he had written a letter to the CJI saying that the "bonhomie between executive and judiciary sounds the death knell of democracy. He also asked, "what was the basis on which some sensitive cases were allotted to some benches? Are you able to sustain the faith of general public in the country?"

"The name of the judge mentioned was cleared by the collegium. CJI Thakur headed collegium first approved it and then again he was recommended by the CJI Khehar-led Collegium. If govt still finds some problem, communication has to be with the SC and not the CJ of the HC," said Justice Chelameswar.

The judge also raised questions on how a non-transparent system leads to suspicion among the public.

"Justice must not only be done, it also must appear to be done. If the process is not transparent then it leads to suspicion and suspicion always damages institutions," said Justice Chelameswar, when he was asked about the functioning of the Collegium system and added that he was in favour of auditing the Collegium system.

He also expressed hope that the controversial January 12 press conference against CJI Dipak Misra would not come in way of elevation of Justice Ranjan Gogoi, who was also part of the virtual revolt, as the next CJI.

"I only hope that it does not happen and if such a thing happens it will only prove what we said in the press conference was true," Justice Chelameswar said.

On being questioned about his dissenting verdict in the NJAC case where the majority ushered in the Collegium system and struck down NJAC in appointing the judges, Justice Chelameswar stated that he would not comment on the verdict but recollected a quote: "I don't believe judgments from the SC to be synonymous with Constitutional truth."
Mumbai: Indrani Mukerjea, prime accused in the Sheena Bora murder case who was admitted in JJ Hospital on Friday night is still in a semi-conscious state, hospital authorities said.

As per preliminary examination and tests, doctors suspect drug overdose to be the reason behind her hospitalisation.

The hospital is awaiting reports of blood and urine tests from the forensic laboratory in Kalina to confirm whether Mukerjea had a drug overdose. She has been shifted from Emergency to the Critical Care Unit.

Sudhir Nanandkar, Dean of JJ Hospital, told CNN-News 18, "She was brought in a highly disoriented state. Her pupils were contracted which leads us to believe that this could be a case of drug poisoning/drug overdose, in addition to problems in the central nervous system."

The hospital, apart from carrying out preliminary blood and urine investigation as well as stomach wash, also did MRI and CT scan of Mukerjea on Saturday.

"A team of doctors are examining her. The MRI scan shows ischaemic changes in brains because of which there is insufficient blood flow to the brain," added Nanandkar.

According to hospital authorities, as per records, she has been taking anti-depressants and an overdose of that could have caused this. However, the doctors have not been able to gather any information from Mukerjea as she has been in a dizzy state ever since admission. Her condition however is stable, said the doctors.

"Whether the drug overdose was intentional or not and what kind of drugs she had taken can only be ascertained after the final reports. If it's ascertained that it's drug overdose, it could be due to anxiety pills or antidepressants in all likelihood" Nanandkar said.

Mukerjea was in the CBI court on Friday till evening in the ongoing trial in the Sheena Bora murder case.

She was admitted to JJ Hospital in 2015 also for suspected drug overdose. There were conflicting reports on her hospitalisation at that time.

Mukerjea was arrested in August 2015 in a sensational murder case in which she allegedly abducted and killed her daughter Sheena Bora in April 2012 and disposed her body in a forest in Raigad. Along with her, her husband Peter Mukerjea, former husband Sanjeev Khanna were arrested apart from driver Shyamvar Rai who spilled the beans on the murder that shook the nation.
New Delhi: The second most senior Supreme Court judge, Justice Jasti Chelameswar said on Saturday that he was not "aware of any government response to memorandum of procedure" and that "some kind of a revisit was needed" on the way the court functions.

Union Law Minister, Ravi Shankar Prasad had said in June 2017 that work on finalising the revised memorandum of procedure  a guideline for appointments to the higher judiciary  was still in progress and that "on some issues, the government had reached an agreement (with the Collegium).

However, on Saturday, Justice Chelameswar, who is part of the SC Collegium, denied having any knowledge of the Centres response to the MoP.

"I am not aware of government response to the Collegium in terms of certain things to be put into Memorandum of Procedure. We have asked the government to tell us the reason behind a collegium recommendation being rejected but we are yet to hear from them," said the Supreme Court judge who is slated to retire later this year.

While recollecting the earlier claim that Justice Chelameswar had made in a letter written to the CJI on "selective appointment of cases to benches", the SC judge said that this problem was not new but had occurred before as well.

On being questioned whether the Jayalalithaa verdict was one such case, Justice Chelameswar replied in the affirmative and said, "Yes. Judgment was reserved for one year. What was the purpose? Didn't the assessment fail there?"

After Justice Chelameswars unprecedented press address along with his brother judges in January this year, the "master of roster theory" one of the most talked about, which later made the CJI adopt a new roster system.

However, the SC judge on Saturday said, "Such a power needs to be exercised with responsibility."

"Undoubtedly, the CJI has the authority to constitute the benches but every power needs to be achieved with some responsibility. It has to achieve some public good. Power cannot be exercised just because you have it," said Justice Chelameswar.

However, when asked as to why all the important matters like Aadhaar and Ayodhya were being handled by a CJI-led bench, which specifically excluded all the four judges who were part of the January press conference, the SC judge replied that he was not "interested" in any of those cases.

"You should be asking these questions to someone else. I am least interested in any of these matters. I bother about my contribution. I would be happy to do minimum work and retire in the next 29 days," said Justice Chelameswar.
Ujjain: A man was today arrested after he threw ink at Gujarat's Patidar leader Hardik Patel at a hotel in the city, police said.

Patel was supposed to address a press conference at the hotel. The accused, Milind Gurjar, threw ink at him, after which the supporters of the Patidar leader caught hold of him. The accused was later handed over to the police.

"The man has been arrested and is being questioned. He has admitted that he threw ink as he was annoyed that Patel was allegedly fooling the Gurjar and Patidar communities for his own interest," OP Ahir, in-charge of the Nankheda police station, told PTI.

Eyewitnesses alleged that Gurjar was beaten up by Patel's supporters, before he was handed over to the police.

Patel, meanwhile, went ahead with his press conference and attacked the BJP-led NDA government for being "anti-farmers".

The Patidar leader earlier attended several programmes at Neemuch and Mandsaur. He is scheduled to arrive at Bhopal tonight, from where he is expected to proceed to Garhakota in Sagar district to participate in a farmers' rally.
Lahore: Mumbai attacks mastermind Hafiz Saeed on Saturday mocked the US decision to designate JuD's political front Milli Muslim League (MML) as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation, saying the move has proved the party's "credibility".

In a setback to Saeed's political ambition, the United States had on Tuesday designated the MML as a terrorist organisation, making it difficult for it to get registered with Pakistan's election commission.

Pakistan is set to hold general elections this year.

Well, a party's that is banned by the US is the one that actually holds some credibility, Saeed, who is the chief of the JuD, said at a rally to reiterate his pledge to mobilise people from across Pakistan for the cause of Kashmir.

The Americans, he added, understand that this is the political party they cannot be an ally with.

Saeed also asked Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi to dedicate the rest of his day in office for the cause of Kashmir. The US will exclude your name from among its loyalists, but that will be a matter of honour, he said.

He asked Abbasi to hold a sit-in outside the UN office along with his cabinet against the "Indian atrocities in Kashmir". Anti-India slogans were raised at the rally.

Rallies were also held in Islamabad, in the port city of Karachi and elsewhere in the country to mark Kashmir solidarity day.
New Delhi: An engine failure forced a Russia-bound aircraft from Vietnam with 344 passengers on-board to make an emergency landing at the T-3 terminal of the IGI airport here, a DIAL spokesperson said.

All standard operating procedures were put into action during the emergency landing at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport at 6:10 pm. All passengers are safe, he said.

The IGI airport police station received information about the emergency landing of the non-scheduled flight, numbered ABG 8772, from the CISF control room at 5.22 pm. The aircraft with 344 passengers on board landed safely at 6.05 pm, DCP Sanjay Bhatia said.

An ATC source said the pilot sought permission for an emergency landing after the right engine of the Boeing 767 aircraft stopped working midair.

The aircraft was going from Phu-Quoe in Vietnam to Yekaterinburg in Russia.
Nagpur: Three labourers, engaged in deepening a well here, today died after they inhaled copious amounts of toxic gas emanating from it, police said.

The incident occurred around 3:30 pm in the basement of Empress City residential building here, they added. "There are six wells in the basement of the building and four labourers were engaged in deepening one of the wells and other plumbing works. They entered one after the other and fell unconscious due to the gas accumulated inside. They died soon after," Rajendra Uchke, Nagpur Municipal Corporation Fire Officer, told PTI.

A fourth labourer was saved as he caught the smell of gas early and came out of the well as soon as he entered, Uchke added. Police said the three have been identified as Deepak Gawte, Ajay Karodi and Chandrakant Barapatre, all in their mid-forties.

"The post-mortem would be conducted on Tuesday. A case has been registered and further investigations are underway," police said.
New Delhi: Despite what has been a difficult period in the relationship between India and its Himalayan neighbour Nepal, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has stuck to precedence and chosen India for his first state visit after election.

With Oli, who had accused India of orchestrating his ouster last time, back in the saddle, India got into action to get things back on track. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had travelled to Kathmandu in February, just ahead of the formation of the Left government in Nepal, in a bid to reset ties. The effort continues as Oli visits India.

The Nepalese Prime Minister had a meeting with Prime Minister Modi at his official residence 7, Lok Kalyan Marg last evening. This meeting was not held in Hyderabad House nor followed by delegation level talks as is the norm which has been scheduled separately for today.

According to sources, this was to allow the two leaders to spend time together without it spilling over into delegation level talks. The meeting that lasted just a little less than an hour was cordial, according to sources, and allowed the two sides to look at all issues pertaining to the bilateral ties.

Indias concerns stem from the apprehension that the Left government could tilt more towards China. This also because after the 2015 Madhesi blockade, that Nepal blamed India for, Kathmandu turned to China for its oil supply.

China tried further spreading its influence in Nepal, and in September last year, the two nations agreed to start technical work to build a cross-border railway link via Tibet. In fact, Nepal also committed itself to Chinas Belt and Road Initiative, though no project has taken off on ground just yet, New Delhi is wary of Nepal getting caught in a China debt-trap.

Meanwhile, in an effort to infuse goodwill again and send a message across to Kathmandu that India shares a special relationship with Nepal, the two Prime Ministers will be jointly inaugurating some projects via video-conferencing.

The first will be a ground-breaking ceremony for the 69 km long pipeline between Motihari and Amlekhganj. The pipeline will deliver 2 million tonnes of petroleum products per year with pumping facilities in Motihari in Bihar. The other one will be the inauguration of an integrated checkpost at Raxual and Birgunj.

However, interestingly the Nepalese Prime Minister met the Congress party leadership headed by party president, Rahul Gandhi even before his meeting with the Prime Minister last evening.

Usually visiting dignitaries meet with the opposition leaders only after engaging with the Prime Minister. It is also noteworthy that not all visiting dignitaries are meeting with opposition leaders over the past four years.

The Ministry of External Affairs seems to have done away with the norm in the present government with sources citing no Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha as a reason for the discontinuation of the practice.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, who chose to meet the then Congress President Sonia Gandhi in 2014, was believed to have requested for a meeting that was facilitated by the Russian embassy itself.

Hence, it becomes significant that KP Sharma Oli not just met Rahul Gandhi, Manmohan Singh and Anand Sharma but did so ahead of his scheduled interaction at 7, Lok Kalyan Marg.
After Kapil Sharma's abusive twitter rant and a threatening phone call to a senior journalist, the Chamber of Film Journalists has condemned the comedian's behaviour in an official statement.

"Chamber Of Film Journalist strongly condemn the misbehaviour of Kapil Sharma towards senior film journalist Vicky Lalwani. As reported by Vickey, he was badly abused by Kapil on phone. Now Kapil has started gaining notoriety for his misbehaviour towards his co-stars and now media persons too."

The statement further stated that one should deal with the inevitable hardships of life with maturity. "Ups and downs are parts of life and one must handle them with maturity. Kapil must realise that such acts will take him nowhere."

"Secondly, he used bad words for Vickey's daughter. This is an unpardonable act. This reflects his state of frustration and this is not good for Kapil himself. May good sense prevail upon him," read the statement.

For the uninitiated, the comedian, who has returned to the small screen with his show Family Time With Kapil, had lashed out at the Indian Judiciary for convicting Salman and a particular portal for spreading negative news with regards to Kapil himself. He had further said that if he was the Prime Minister, he would have hung people who spread fake news.

Some people just want to defame you for few bucks but it will take ages to make a stand against the wrong.. I shall do it today n forever.. pic.twitter.com/Vg8bJoWwhF KAPIL (@KapilSharmaK9) April 7, 2018

Kapil has also filed a police complaint against his ex-managers Neeti, Preeti Simoes and the said journalist for trying to extort Rs 25 lakhs from him. He alleged that the said journalist had started a false propaganda to defame him after Kapil refused to pay him the asked amount.
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Salman Khan Bail LIVE Updates: Actor Returns Home, Waves at Fans as Teary-eyed Salim Khan Looks On In a big relief for Salman Khan, the Jodhpur Sessions Court has granted the actor bail in 1998 blackbuck poaching case. The court has granted bail on surety of Rs 50,000 and set May 7 as the next date of hearing. News18.com | April 07, 2018, 21:22 IST
Mumbai: Acclaimed actress-filmmaker Nandita Das, who was a part of an Indian delegation to Karachi last week, is undaunted by hatemongers who call her anti-national. She hopes small efforts help in building bridges between India and Pakistan.

Nandita, along with over 20 other Indians, participated at the Pakistan International Film Festival (PIFF) in Karachi.

"Mumbai to Karachi is an hour's journey, but has no direct flights because of the tense relations that have only worsened in recent times. For us to fly to each other's country, we have to go via Dubai. Moreover, we only get restricted city-visas that are not valid not for the whole country," Nandita said.

As for being called anti-national for visiting Pakistan at a time when India's relation with Pakistan is at the lowest ebb, she said: "I have come back fully knowing that all that warmth, delicious food and affection that we all got, will quickly fade as the trolls begin to call us anti-national and media will question our intent."

She admits that the political situation couldn't get any worse.

"While it maybe true that the Pakistan government has harboured or at the very least is soft on terrorists, their own people have suffered grievously from this. Is vilifying the people of another country the only way to feel nationalistic?

"Is my love for my country proportionate to how much I can hate another country? Yes, there are some real and some imagined conflicts that we all are locked in. But while that reality - history, geopolitics, and terrorism - is unlikely to change anytime soon, I still believe that small bridges could and should be built. And perhaps one day these small efforts will create a more peaceful and saner world."

This was not Nandita's first visit to Pakistan.

The actress, who has earlier featured in Pakistani film "Ramchand Pakistani", recounted: "The last time I went to Karachi was nine years ago along with the first film I directed, 'Firaaq', to the Kara Film Festival. That festival which has been unfortunately discontinued was organised by a bunch of young filmmakers.

"This one (PIFF) is organised by one of their leading television channels called Hum TV. The force behind this new venture is Sultana Siddiqui, a feisty woman who, with very limited resources and time, put this festival together."

The Indian contingent comprised 22 delegates, including S.S. Rajamouli and Shobu Yarlagadda (director and producer of "Baahubali" respectively), Rekha and Vishal Bhardwaj, Vinay Pathak and scriptwriter Anjum Rajabali among others.

Nandita said they have all returned with happy memories.

"For many of those who accompanied us, it was the first time they had visited Pakistan and they were surprised by the overwhelming warmth and hospitality that we were received with. I have in fact always felt that our perceived sense of animosity would dissipate if we made the effort, or rather we were just allow to meet, in person."

At the PIFF, there was much discussion on Indian cinema's contribution to Pakistan.

"Both Indian and Pakistani film fraternities came together on various panels to explore ways in which we could collaborate and issues of common interest, like the shrinking space for independent cinema and how to navigate through the different genres of films. The idea of a South-Asian Forum for people in films and television was floated and across the board it immediately found resonance.

"This would create such a pool of talent from the entire subcontinent and I am sure some very unique and interesting projects would emerge."
Hyderabad: Telugu Film Chamber employees were in for a surprise on Saturday morning when Tollywood female actor Sri Reddy sat topless outside the office in Hyderabad to protest against the existence of casting couch in the industry.

Reddy alleged that she was asked to send inappropriate pictures and videos to get a chance in Telugu films, and threatened to expose names of people who exploit young, aspiring actors.

The actor came to the film chamber attired in Indian wear and started slipping down to her under garments in front of the cameras.

Why Telugu actors like me don't get a chance. They should give 75% chances to Telugu people in films. I want membership in Telugu film chamber. Why are they not giving it? I have done three films, Reddy said while expressing her disappointment.

"They will ask us to send inappropriate pictures and videos. Are we girls or things to play with? But we will not get an opportunity, she added.

The aspiring actor was later taken to a police station. "She was there to lodge her protest. We told her to protest in a democratic way and not resort to such acts. She has not given any complaints regarding her allegations to police till now, said a police officer.

Earlier this week, Reddy, in a Facebook post, had alleged that a top director used to 'roam around' near her house and used to harass several women and ask for video calls.

The Tollywood industry has, however, called her allegations false and baseless and even lodged a complaint against her for making derogatory remarks against the fraternity.
Kolar Gold Fields (Karnataka): Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday slammed BJP chief Amit Shah's remarks equating opposition parties with animals, saying that the "disrespectful statement" reflected his "mentality" and tore into the Modi rule, alleging there is a collapse of the government.

Gandhi said the saffron party chief and BJP-RSS considered that there were only two "non-animals" in the country-- Shah and Modi- and that dalits, tribals, minorities and even his own party leaders "worthless".

The Congress chief made an acerbic attack on Modi, saying, "there is a basic loss of control and you can see that, you can see that in Modi's demeanour, you can see it in his expression, you can see it in his speeches." In an all-around attack on the Modi rule, he alleged there was a collapse in government due to complete financial mismanagement, demonetization and implosion of the financial system.

"Nirav Modi is an example, Vijay Mallya, Lalit Modi, Piyush Goyal.... they are all examples," Gandhi said. On the fifth round of his visit to poll-bound Karnataka, Gandhi addressed rallies and roadside meetings in Kolar and Chikkaballapur districts and spoke to reporters.

"Calling the entire opposition animals...see according to Amit Shah and the basic vision of the BJP RSS - there are only two non-animals in this country. There is Mr Narendra Modi and there is Mr Amit Shah," Gandhi told reporters here. "Everybody else as far as they are concerned are animals. That's fine, that is the way they look at the world. It is a disrespectful statement, but we don't take what Mr Amit Shah says with too much seriousness," Gandhi said.

Taking a swipe at Shah, the Congress chief said it was the mentality that there were only two or three people in this country "who are worth anything, who understand everything and everybody else is a worthless person".

"It's not only Dalits, it's tribals, it's minorities. It doesn't stop there. It's Mr Advani, Mr Manohar Joshi, even Mr Gadkari, it's everybody," he said. "The thing is that the BJP people internally don't have guts to say it to you. They say it to us," Gandhi said.

He said "the fact of the matter is between Mr Amit Shah and Mr Modi, they are convinced there are only two human beings in this country. That's all, that's the reality." At a rally in Mumbai to mark BJP's foundation day on Friday, Shah had equated opposition parties to 'snakes' and mongoose' and 'dogs' and 'cats', who are seeking to unite despite their inherent differences to take on BJP in next year's Lok Sabha polls.

At the rally, Shah said that "the countdown for 2019 (polls) has begun. Attempts are being made for opposition unity. When huge floods occur, everything is washed away. Only a 'vatvriksha (banyan tree) survives and snakes, mongoose, dogs, cats and other animals climb to save themselves from the rising waters." Shah later said what he meant was political parties having no ideological similarities were coming together out of fear of Modi.

Continuing his attack, Gandhi said that what was happening to Dalits across the country was 'disgusting'. "Its horrible and our Prime Minister has nothing to say. He is under the impression that respecting Dalits is about going and doing namaskar in front of Ambedkar ji's statue. You destroy everything that Mr Ambedkar stood for, you destroy dalits, you allow them to be killed, murdered and then you say I'm doing namaste in front of Ambedkarji's statue. It shows the mindset."

Charging that there was "complete mismanagement" of foreign policy, he said while China was sitting in Doklam," the Prime Minister sits with the Chinese President on a Jhula (swing) and China enters Doklam, nothing to be said."

One could see in Amit Shah's 'confusion' and the anger he was coming out with - "all people are animals, except myself. It was a demonstration of the complete fracture in the system, Gandhi said. On the Parliament logjam, he said "it is the same idea.

Look, Nirav Modi and Mahul Choksi have a relationship with the Prime Minister. They have taken Rs 30,000 crore and run off."

Gandhi said for the first time, allies of the government were blocking Parliament "to protect the government and Mr Modi. He said the Prime Minister 'doesn't have the guts' to come before the opposition in Parliament and let them speak "because we will tear his government to shreds."

Speaking at a Congress rally in KGF, Gandhi accused BJP leaders of insulting Dalits and adivasis wherever they go. Citing an incident, he claimed Karnataka BJP leaders ate food brought from restaurants during their visit to a Dalit's house.

Alleging that BJP leaders hate Dalits, he said they fold their hands in front of Ambedkar on the one hand and on the other, try to destroy whatever he said or did. "They insult Dalit and Ambedkar daily," he said and dared BJP to even touch the constitution, saying if they did so, then they would see what the Congress party would do. BJP leaders are scared. You might have seen Modi's face, he is in a bad mood these days, there is tension, there is fear."

Gandhi said Modi in his speech on Friday to BJP workers said that lies are being spread. The fact was it was BJP which spreads lies every day "spreading lies is their foundation." Stating that Amit Shah during a speech in Maharashtra had called Karnataka the number one state, he said it was the first time he had seen the BJP President campaigning for Congress.

"He is also in tension, he is a murder accused, and he is in a state of fear. This is the difference between BJP and Congress. Their president is a murder accused, but no one says anything because everyone understands that BJP only needs power, they don't have anything to do with truth and justice," he said.
Kolkata: West Bengal Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Saturday voiced his anger after senior leader and advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi represented the state government in the Supreme Court for a hearing of BJP's petition on the recent panchayat poll violence.

Speaking to News18, Chowdhury said, Trinamool Congress (TMC) workers are targeting Congress workers and preventing them from filing nominations across the state. On the other side, my party MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi ji is helping the TMC by arguing on behalf of the Bengal government at the apex court. He is a lawyer by profession and can do that but this is something which is very confusing to us.

We all know that Abhishek Manu Singhvi was nominated to the Rajya Sabha from Bengal with the support of TMC but there is a massive anger within the ranks of West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee. My workers are asking me why is Singhvi doing this and I feel embarrassed, I dont have an answer.

When asked whether he spoke to anyone in the central leadership of the Congress party, Chowdhury said, I have conveyed my message to the highest leadership.

There is a resentment among Bengal Congress workers after Singhvi argued on behalf of the state government in the SC and in Kolkata. Chowdhury himself pleaded his case for the deployment of central forces during panchayat polls before the Calcutta High Court recently.

I pleaded for central forces before the Calcutta HC because lawyers here are on strike. I am happy with the HC ruling which instructed all SPs, DMs and SDOs to ensure peace during the polls, Chowdhury said.

TMC supporters allegedly attacked a group of Congress leaders in front of Chowdhury when he was on his way to Kandi SDO office to assist his workers to file nominations.

This is not for the first time when Chowdhury expressed his strong opposition towards the ruling party in Bengal.

On July 22, 2017, Chowdhury had, for the first time, ruled out the possibility of joining hands with the ruling Trinamool Congress in 2019 Lok Sabha Elections.

Then, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had urged the opposition to stand shoulder-to-shoulder to oust the BJP. Banerjee had said that Bengal stood with Sonia Gandhi and other opposition leaders - Nitish Kumar, Omar Abdullah, Navin Patanaik - to take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Chowdhury had said, She is now hounded by the BJP in Bengal. Mamata is now scared of BJP, and therefore, she wanted us to rescue her. When Congress was in power, she called for a Congress-mukt Bharat and now she is calling for a BJP-mukt Bharat. She only knows what her intention is.
New Delhi: Allan Octavian Hume laid the foundation of Congress Party in 1885 only to uproot the rising sentiment of cultural nationalism (Hindutva), claims a new book by Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) pracharak Narendra Sehgal.

The book, titled 'Yugparvartak Swatantrata Sainani Dr Hedgewar ka antim lakshya - Bharatvarsh ki Sarwang Swantantrata (Last aim of freedom fighter Dr Hedgewar  a complete freedom of Bharat)', talks about how Dr KB Hedgewar, the founding sarsanghachalak of the RSS in 1925, was a freedom fighter.

The book further goes on to say that the Congress had no movement for freedom and acted like the armour of the British rule. For many years we have been hearing that the RSS had no contribution in the freedom movement. The truth, though, is that Sangh was always present in the freedom struggle. The Sangh does not believe in propagating its work, which is why nobody knows about it, said Narendra Sehgal while talking to News18.

RSS workers believe that Hedgewar was an "unknown and unsung freedom fighter, who neither wrote his autobiography nor rallied to get published in newspapers". Hedgewar, they believe, was convinced of one motto  nahi chahiye pad-yash-garima (I dont want post, fame and name) and "dedicated his life for Bharat".

Sehgal worked on the book for two-and-a-half years and narrated Hedgewars journey in various stages like  Bal Swatantrata Sainani (child freedom fighter), Vipalvi Swatantra Sainani (Revolutionary), Veervrati Swatantrata Sainani (Brave freedom fighter), Chintansheel Swatantrata Sainani (Thinker), Swayamsevak Swatantrata Sainani (Rooted to Hindutva ideology), Parivrajak Swatantrata Sainani (Monk) and Bhavishyadrishtha Swatantra Sainani (Futuristic).

The emphasis of the book is on comparing AO Humes INC with Hedgewars Sangh. After the 1857 freedom struggle, there was a widespread and entrenched feeling of Hindutva. AO Hume laid the foundation of INC to make this sentiment directionless. To counter the anti-Hindutva bid of Hume, Dr Hedgewar established RSS  an outfit of deshbhakt freedom fighters, said the author of the book published by Prabhat Prakashan.

Sehgal further added, If Congress had not been founded by Englishmen, India would have become free much before 1947. There also would have been no division of India-Pakistan and Afghanistan, Tibet, Bhutan all would have been part of Bharat. Most importantly, our youth would not have been inclined towards western culture.

Talking to News18, publisher Prabhat Aggarwal said that people wanted to know more about the RSS. In 2025, the RSS would have completed 100 years. In recent times, the acceptability of RSS has grown. People are getting to know about it. They also have questions regarding its role in the freedom movement. When people have doubts about our role in freedom struggle and are putting up questions, we need to answer them.

Aggarwal also said that there was a need to show the Sanghs contribution in the freedom movement because for so many years we have only known about one family".

What about others like Subhash Chandra Bose, Lala Lajpat Rai and Gopal Krishna Gokhale? he asked.

The book aims to nullify the criticism against Sangh for not participating in the freedom movement. Sangh worked behind the curtains during the freedom struggle, and we can expect more books on the theme in coming days, he added.
Chennai: Amid continued protests in Tamil Nadu over the setting up of Cauvery Management Board, former Chief Secretary Rama Mohana Rao has finally spoken out about his last meeting with late chief minister Jayalalithaa at the Apollo Hospital. Rao has said that he did attend a two-hour meeting headed by Jayalalithaa at the hospital in 2016, when she was undergoing treatment.

Speaking to CNN-News18, Rao said that Jayalalithaa wanted to fight for Cauvery tooth and nail.

Ram Mohana Rao said, "The meeting on Cauvery happened on September 27, 2016. Jayalalithaa spent two hours talking to us and was vehemently giving us instructions. She wanted to fight for the Cauvery issue. Even when she was hospitalised, she had that kind of involvement. She gave detailed dictation and interaction and that was the last meeting we had with her on official matters. We had interacted with her for six days."

To a question on whether spoke to her during her hospitalisation, he said: "All that she had in mind in those six days was the Cauvery court case. She called me from the hospital when I was in the Supreme Court. That was the depth of her commitment and then we lost her. Even today I'm shocked at her demise."

In the absence of a tall AIADMK leader, political analysts say the ruling AIADMK government is not mounting enough pressure on the Centre to set up the CMD. Protests have intensified and opposition DMK has attacked the state government of 'double standards' in handling the Cauvery issue.

So would things have been handled differently had Jaya been alive? Rao chose to dodge the question, and said, I dont want to make political statements.

Several ministers have made contradictory statements on whether or not they met the late chief minister at the hospital, however, the former chief secretary just said that the matter is sub judice.

He, however, admits that once when Jayalalithaa was moved to the special ward, he didnt see her after that.

When the ruling government on September 27 sent out a release that Jayalalithaa had headed a meeting on Cauvery at Apollo, DMK demanded that a picture of the meeting be released.

After Jayalalithaa's death, there have been many conspiracy theories about her death. Now Deputy CM, O Panneerselvam, who had revolted against the state government after her death, had claimed that only Sasikala had access to Jayalalithaa and none of the ministers or bureaucrats met her during her hospitalisation.

However, the former chief secretary's deposition makes it clear that top government officials did meet her at some point during her hospitalisation.
Voters pose outside a polling booth in Karnataka.



People were seen standing in queues to cast their votes in the early hours itself, factoring in that the temperature may go up later in the day. Also, it has been raining in different parts of south interior Karnataka for the last couple of days during the evening hours.



Senior citizens were seen in good numbers standing in queues at various polling stations to cast their votes early.



State BJP chief and party's chief ministerial candidate B S Yeddyurappa, and Pradesh Congress Committee G Parameshwara were among the first to cast votes in Shikaripura in Shivamogga and Yaggere in Tumakuru respectively.



Former prime minister HD Deve Gowda along with wife Chennamma cast their votes at Paduvalahippe in Hassan district. Film actors Ramesh Arvind, Ravichandran, also scion of Mysuru royal family Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar were among the prominent personalities to cast their votes early today.



There are reports about delay in polling due to some technical issues with the electronic voting machines (EVMs) from different parts of the state.



Election for the Jayanagara seat in Bengaluru has been countermanded following the death of BJP candidate and sitting MLA BN Vijaykumar.



The Election Commission has also deferred the polls for Rajarajeswari Nagar constituency to May 28 after a massive row erupted over a large number of voter ID cards being found in an apartment.



Suspecting something fishy, both Congress and BJP have pointed accusing fingers at each other in the matter. "Today people of Karnataka are standing in queues to create history & show the nation the way to liberal, progressive, peaceful & compassionate politics & governance. I thank them for their support & wish them well," Chief Minister Siddaramaiah tweeted.



Over 2,600 candidates are in the fray-- more than 2400 men and and over 200 women. The total voters including service electors according to the 2018 final rolls are 5,06,90,538, of whom 2,56,75,579 male voters, 2,50,09,904 female and 5,055 transgender voters.



Officials said 58,008 polling stations have been set up across the state, of which 12002 have been designated as "critical", with over 3,50,000 polling personnel on duty. Police have made elaborate security arrangements for the smooth conduct of polls that will go on till 6 pm.



"82,157 people have been deployed for poll duty that includes DSPs, home guards and civil defence, and forest guards and watchers," Karnataka DGP Neelamani N Raju said. This also includes about 7,500 personnel from states like Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Chattisgarh, Kerala and Goa, she said, adding, central forces have been deployed.



One among the interesting aspects of this election is that four candidates who have served as Chief Minister of Karnataka are in the fray-- Chief Minister Siddaramaiah (Chamundeshwari and Badami), B S Yeddyurappa (Shikaripura), H D Kumaraswamy (Chennapatna and Ramanagara) and Jagadish Shettar (Hubli-Dharwad Central.)
Patna: Former deputy chief minister and Bihar opposition leader, Tejashwi Yadav, while talking about state-wide communal clashes termed chief minister Nitish Kumar as persona non grata. Yadav said governance had gone for a toss and religion-based tiffs have taken centre stage.

Governance has become zero and communal clashes hero, said Yadav.

The youngest opposition leader in the country also welcomed other parties, except that of Nitish Kumar, to form an alliance with them as they look to raise their status to the national level in a run-up to the upcoming 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

In an interview to News18, Yadav said, It is time Nitish Kumar accepts his failure as a chief minister and resigns.

Edited Excerpts:

Do you see political involvement in the communal clashes that Bihar witnessed in the recent past?

BJPs nasty loss in the recently held by-elections is the reason behind all of this. These clashes were orchestrated by them to hide their loss and divert peoples attention from it.

Mohan Bhagwat has been coming to Bihar, camping here for 10 days, planning and plotting the riots. You tell me, does Bihar have large-scale factories to manufacture domestically-made weapons like swords? It does not. Then where did the swords come from?

It simply means that the swords must have been ordered, shipped and then used. This is simply a failure of the government and nothing else.

And see what the general discussion in the state is? The discussion should be that of employment, youth, labourers, women, poverty or development but see what the agenda is.

Bihar has been home to Gautam Buddha but as long as there is no peace, there cannot be any development. If clashes of this sort are going on, who is responsible? People sitting in the government are responsible. Ministers from the ruling party are delivering hate speeches only for the sake of a few votes.

Nitish Kumars chair is run by people sitting in Nagpur and Delhi. The chief minister has started loving his chair so much that he is ready to put the state at stake. Governance has become zero and communal clashes hero.

How is the party coping in the absence of party leader Lalu Prasad Yadav?

The party and its workers are missing him for sure and pray for his speedy recovery. However, the man has institutionalised a rich legacy and has created individual leaders within the party who can take the weight and responsibilities.

We are working based on his thoughts, targets and agenda.

The Nitish Kumar government has forgotten all its promises to Bihar but we remember all of them. We are going to keep asking the government to come out with explanations and reports regarding what it has been doing.

The government had talked about including the Paswan community in the Maha-Dalit sect but that is still hanging. The government is yet to come out with its annual report with regards to its schemes. Special category status was forgotten. The chief minister keeps boasting of liquor ban but that has been an utter failure. The Police arrest only those who cannot fight their cases and lets the rich free.

Are you looking to form coalitions with new parties?

Yes, we are talking to CPIM. We are already in coalition with the Congress as of now. We are also in talks with a few other regional parties. The point is that we can be in agreement and political coalition with any party except Janata Dal United (JDU).

I would like to welcome other parties and encourage them to join us in our efforts to restore law and order. Not only in the state of Bihar but the country as a whole.

With general elections less than a year away, where do you see your party in the national political space?

Recently, we won the Araria seat, which wasnt traditionally ours. We lost in 1998, followed by 2004 and 2009 as well. In 2014, we won but that was because Nitish and the BJP were not together then. This time, Nitish Kumar, BJP, LGP and RLSP were all together and still they lost the battle. It shows that RJD is winning non-traditional seats. It is sign of what is to come during the 2019 elections.
New York: Facebook expects to uncover additional violations of users' personal data, the company's No 2 executive has said as the social media network faces severe backlash over its user data scandal.

Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg said the company is doing audits, but warned it could find more data breaches.

"I am not going to sit here and say that we're not going to find more because we are, Sandberg said in an interview to NBC.

Sandberg stressed that the social media giant "cared about privacy all along."

"But I think we got the balance wrong," she said.

"I think we were very idealistic and not rigorous enough and then there's the possible misuse. What we are focused on is making sure those possible use cases get shut down."

Last month, a whistleblower who previously worked for Cambridge Analytica came forward to claim that the British-based firm had used a third-party app to obtain private information from more than 50 million Facebook profiles without the users' knowledge.

Later, it emerged that the firm had accessed the information of as many as 87 million people.

As to why Facebook "took so long" to address the Cambridge Analytica data breach, which was first reported in 2015, Sandberg told NBC we thought that the data had been deleted.

She added that Facebook believed Cambridge Analytica deleted users' data because "they gave us assurances, and it wasn't until other people told us it wasn't true."

She said the company should have come clean sooner and admitted that data may have been breached instead of waiting two years, but she rejected the idea that Facebook officials were trying to hide what happened, the NBC report said.

She admitted that Facebook "should have" notified users of the breach.

Sandberg's remarks come days before Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg is scheduled to testify before Congress next week amidst the fallout from the data scandal.
Washington: Facebook isn't just a company. It's a behemoth, with 2.1 billion monthly users, $40 billion in revenue and more than 25,000 employees worldwide.

And that leaves Washington with a daunting task: How do you tame a corporate giant? Or do you even try?

"It's tricky and it's going to be hard, but there are ways it can be dealt with," says Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, a former tech executive who has led investigations into Russian interference on social media over the last year as the top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee. "The idea that we're going to keep the wild, wild West  I don't think it's sustainable."

The picture will begin to come into focus next week. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is scheduled to testify April 10 and 11 before Senate and House committees as his company grapples with the privacy scandal involving Cambridge Analytica, a political consulting firm linked to President Donald Trump.

Facebook's reckoning in Washington comes on multiple fronts. Russia's use of the platform to meddle in U.S. elections, a regulatory investigation that could result in fines of hundreds of millions of dollars against the company for privacy violations, and the Cambridge Analytica episode are all topmost concerns.

But in the capital's pro-business, anti-regulatory climate, it's questionable whether the Republican-led Congress or Trump regulators have the appetite to rein it in.

Facebook is spending millions on lobbying to try to ward off regulations, even seeking to narrow a Senate bill that lawmakers call "the lightest touch possible." It would require more transparency in online political ads, something Facebook says it is providing on its own.

But the stakes grew Wednesday when Facebook revealed that information belonging to as many as 87 million of its users may have been improperly shared with Cambridge Analytica, which gathered the data with the intent of swaying elections. That number was far higher than originally known.

Congress' response to the myriad issues dogging Facebook could depend on Zuckerberg himself. He has apologized for a "major breach of trust" in the Cambridge Analytica episode and Facebook has announced it would stop working with third-party data collectors.

Privacy advocates and legal experts say that's not enough.

"It strikes me as a company that is trying to weather a PR storm and then get back to business as usual and hoping their users forget this ever happened," said Nate Cardozo, a senior staff attorney for Electronic Frontier Foundation, a privacy group based in San Francisco.

Facebook and other social media companies have faced bipartisan criticism over both privacy issues and the Russian intervention. But Trump and his pro-business GOP allies on Capitol Hill have made rolling back Obama-era regulations a priority, which makes any new federal rules for protecting data and privacy unlikely in the immediate future.

Republicans last year struck down online privacy regulations issued during President Barack Obama's final months in office that would have given consumers more control over how companies like Comcast, AT&T and Verizon share information. Critics complained that the rule would have increased costs, stifled innovation and picked winners and losers among internet companies.

And Congress elected to do nothing after Equifax disclosed in September that hackers exploited a software flaw that the credit monitoring company failed to fix, exposing Social Security numbers, birthdates and other personal data belonging to nearly 148 million Americans.

Lawmakers have yet to come up with a fix for the patchwork of conflicting state laws that govern how companies shield personal data and notify consumers when breaches occur. Mike Litt, consumer campaign director at U.S. PIRG, a public interest group, said Congress instead is considering legislation that would exempt credit bureaus from data break notifications and make it harder for states to hold them accountable.

"After the Equifax data breach, we saw Congress talk a good game but fail to follow through on helping consumers," Litt said. "To prevent Congress from letting Facebook off the hook, outraged Americans need to keep up the heat."

To defend its interests in Washington, Facebook has filled its executive ranks with former senior government officials from both political parties. Nathaniel Gleicher, its director of cybersecurity policy, was in charge of cybersecurity policy at the National Security Council during the Obama administration. Joel Kaplan, Facebook's vice president for global public policy, served as a senior aide to President George W. Bush.

The company spent just over $13 million on lobbying in 2017, according to disclosure records filed with Congress. One of the lobbying team's newer members, Sandra Luff, was Attorney General Jeff Sessions' national security adviser when he served in the Senate.

Zuckerberg suggested during a CNN interview last month that he's open to regulation. But he quickly qualified that commitment, saying he'd get behind the "right" kind of rules, such as the bill that requires online political ads to disclose who paid for them. But the company is seeking to weaken even that bill.

Warner acknowledged that even minor regulation of Facebook and other technology companies will be difficult. But he's encouraging them to work with Washington now, before a "catastrophic event" that could shift the landscape or if Democrats win back seats in November's elections.

He suggests several possibilities: requiring Facebook and other companies to disclose the country of origin of ads, creating a self-regulatory body, or even allowing users to move their data from one platform to another.

More drastic measures could be to allow users to own their own data or to hold social media companies more responsible for what is posted on their platforms.

In Europe, Facebook and other tech giants like Google are bracing for tough new data privacy rules that take effect May 25 and will apply to any company that collects data on EU residents, no matter where it is based. The rules will make it easier for consumers to give and withdraw consent for the use of their data.

In the U.S., Facebook's biggest challenge may come from the Federal Trade Commission, which is investigating whether the company violated the terms of a 2011 settlement that made privacy assurances.

Facebook agreed then to settle the commission's charges that it deceived users by assuring them their information would remain private, then repeatedly allowing it to be shared and made public. Each violation of the agreement could carry a penalty of up to $40,000, according to settlement terms, meaning potential fines in the hundreds of millions.

Frank Pasquale, a University of Maryland law professor who's written extensively about how corporations use personal data, said the federal government's antitrust enforcers should be more vigilant with Facebook.

Facebook has completed dozens of mergers and acquisitions since it was founded in 2004. Pasquale said the Obama administration failed to realize the significance of two of Facebook's largest purchases: the photo-sharing app Instagram for $1 billion in 2012 and WhatsApp two years later for nearly $22 billion.

"This is clearly a monopolistic company that is trying to eliminate even the smallest challenge to its domination of the social media market," he said.

The privacy scandal has taken a heavy financial toll on Zuckerberg and Facebook. Forbes Magazine estimated that Zuckerberg's net worth dropped over the last month from $71 billion to $61.7 billion. Facebook's market value has fallen by more than $88 billion in less than three weeks since the scandal broke, from nearly $538 billion in mid-March to about $449.5 billion.
Berlin: At least three people died on Saturday when a vehicle ploughed into busy cafe and restaurant terraces in the German city of Muenster before the driver shot himself dead.

Images on social media showed smashed and upturned tables and chairs strewn accross the pavement outside an eaterie in the centre of the picturesque medieval city.

At least 20 people were injured, six of them seriously, according to police, while media reports said the driver had been behind the wheel of a delivery van.

A police spokeswoman in the western city, Vanessa Arlt, told AFP that the driver of the vehicle "shot himself".

"The perpetrator drove into several cafe and restaurant terraces in a major square in the centre of Muenster," Arlt added.

Police spokesman, Andreas Bode, said it was "too soon" to call the incident a deliberate attack.

According to the online edition of the Spiegel magazine, German authorities were "assuming" the incident was an attack, though there was no immediate official confirmation of a motive.

"Terrible news from Muenster," German government spokeswoman Ulrike Demmer said in a tweet, saying local police were providing regular updates.

"Our thoughts are with the victims and their loved ones." Images broadcast by German television showed police and firefighting vehicles clustered around a street in the centre of the city of 300,000 people.

Armed police were deployed and officers urged residents to avoid the city centre to allow investigators to get to work.

Germany had long warned of the threat of more violence ahead after several attacks claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group, the bloodiest of which was a truck rampage through a Berlin Christmas market in December 2016 that left 12 people dead.

The attacker, Tunisian asylum seeker Anis Amri, hijacked a truck and murdered its Polish driver before killing another 11 people and wounding dozens more by ploughing the heavy vehicle through the festive market in central Berlin.

He was shot dead by Italian police in Milan four days later while on the run.

Germany has since been targeted again in attacks with radical Islamist motives.

In July 2017, a 26-year-old Palestinian asylum seeker wielding a knife stormed into a supermarket in the northern port city of Hamburg, killing one person and wounding six others before being detained by passers-by.

German prosecutors said the man likely had a "radical Islamist" motive.

And at the end of October, German police arrested a 19-year-old Syrian identified only as Yamen A. suspected of planning a "serious bomb attack" using powerful explosives.

IS also claimed responsibility for a number of attacks in 2016, including the murder of a teenager in Hamburg, a suicide bombing in the southern city of Ansbach that wounded 15, and an axe attack on a train in Bavaria that left five injured.

Germany remains a target for jihadist groups, in particular because of its involvement in the coalition fighting IS in Iraq and Syria, and its deployment in Afghanistan since 2001.

German troops in the anti-IS coalition do not participate in combat operations but support it through reconnaissance, refuelling and training.

Germany's security services estimate there are around 10,000 Islamic radicals in Germany, some 1,600 of whom are suspected of being capable of using violence.

Chancellor Angela Merkel has allowed in more than one million asylum seekers in the past two years -- a decision that has driven the rise of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which charges that the influx spells a heightened security risk.

IS also claimed several similar attacks in Europe, including a rampage along Barcelona's Las Ramblas boulevard in August 2017 that killed 14 and left more than 100 injured.

The deadliest such incident in recent years was in the French resort city of Nice in 2016, where a man rammed a truck into a crowd on France's national July 14 holiday, killing 86 people.
Washington: Amid allegations of China engaging in massive land grabbing in the Maldives, the Pentagon on Saturday said it was a cause of concern for the US.

Asserting that the US was "committed to a free and open" Indo-Pacific rules-based order, the Pentagon said anything else would cause the US concern.

"The US is committed to a free and open Indo-Pacific rules-based order. We have seen concerning developments in Maldives as far as the Chinese influence is concerned," Joe Felter, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for South and Southeast Asia, told PTI in interview.

"It's in India's backyard. We know it's of concern to India. So, yes, (the situation in Maldives) is a concern. We will see how it plays out. It emphasizes some of our priorities identified in our National Defence Strategy," the top Pentagon official said.

He was responding to a question on the allegations of a Maldivian opposition leader and a former foreign minister, on the Chinese land grabbing activities in the island nation with the potential of developing them into a military outpost.

Felter said these developments were "a cause of concern" for all states that supported the maintenance of a rules-based order.

"If you look at similar activities across the region, it gives us some cause for concern. From Djibouti to, Gwadar put to Hambantota port in Sri Lanka, and now potentially the Maldives and then extending further east, it's of concern," he said.

Other countries in the region have expressed similar concern, including India, he noted.

"We believe the interests of all states- large and small- are best served by maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific and a rules-based order. Some of China's activities that we've observed give us concern because they do not seem to be consistent with those interests. I suspect India shares these concerns as well," Felter said.

During a recent visit to the US, Ahmed Naseem, a former foreign minister of Maldives, had alleged that China was meddling in internal affairs of Maldives and had indulged itself in a massive land grabbing endeavour which if left unchecked would pose a major strategic threat to both the US and India.

China, he alleged, appeared to be keen on building a base in the Maldives which one day may house warships and submarines.
QUITO, ECUADOR: Ecuador's government said Wednesday it has cut off WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's internet connection at the nation's London embassy after his recent activity on social media decrying the arrest of a Catalan separatist politician.

In a statement, officials said Assange's recent posts "put at risk" the good relations Ecuador maintains with nations throughout Europe and had decided as of Tuesday to suspend his internet access "in order to prevent any potential harm." Assange has since gone silent on social media.

Ecuador granted Assange asylum in the South American nation's London embassy in 2012, where he has remained cooped up ever since. Ecuador has repeatedly tried to find a solution that would allow Assange to leave without the threat of arrest, but with no success. He remains wanted in Britain for jumping bail and also fears a possible U.S. extradition request based on his leaking of classified State Department documents.

Relations between Assange and his host nation have often grown prickly. Ecuador suspended his internet access in 2016 after a WikiLeaks dump targeting Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign. And while former President Rafael Correa hailed Assange's work, the South American country's current head of state has called him a hacker and warned him not to meddle in politics.

As part of an agreement allowing him to stay at Ecuador's embassy, Assange is forbidden from sending any messages that would interfere with the country's diplomatic relations other nations. "He violated that agreement," said Maria Fernanda Espinosa, Ecuador's minister of foreign affairs. She added that Ecuador's government would be sending of a group of diplomats to meet with Assange's legal team in London next week while also continuing a dialogue with British officials on how to resolve "an inherited problem."

Assange frequently tweets more than a dozen times a day, sharing news stories and comments that often focus on global politics and digital security issues. In recent days, Assange had criticized Germany's detention of former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont. He wrote that the European arrest warrant system "allows an abusive government to persecute its opponents across the whole of the EU."

He also chimed in a decision by the United States and more than a dozen European nations to kick out Russian diplomats on Monday following Moscow's alleged poisoning of an ex-spy in Britain. "The manner of and timing of Russian diplomatic expulsions is poor diplomacy," he wrote. Following Assange's remarks, a British minister called him a "miserable little worm" and said it was regretful that he remains in Ecuador's embassy.

Ecuador granted the Australian-born Assange citizenship in December as part of an effort to make him a member of its diplomatic team, which would grant him additional rights like special legal immunity. But Britain's Foreign Office rejected the request to grant him diplomatic status in the UK.
Houston: A 31-year-old Hijab-wearing nurse in the US was stabbed in a roadside attack by a man reportedly motivated by anti-Muslim hate, police said.

A reward of USD 5,000 has been announced for information leading to the arrest of the attacker.

The victim, who is white and wears a Hijab, said that she was driving home early on Thursday morning from her job as a nurse when her car was almost sideswiped by a red vehicle in northwest Harris county, according to the Houston chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Houston).

She got out of her vehicle to check for damage when the car made a U-turn and pulled up behind her, it said.

The driver got out of the vehicle and began screaming obscenities and racial and religious slurs at the woman. She tried to get back into her vehicle through the passenger side, but the door was locked, the organisation said.

The attacker then waved a knife in her face, hitting her with the knife handle on her shoulder and arms. Eventually, he stabbed the woman in the arm, severing an artery and staining himself with blood in the process, it said.

A passenger in the vehicle got out and attempted to restrain the attacker, eventually getting him to climb back in the car and leave the scene, CAIR said.

The woman returned to the hospital where she worked and was treated for her stab wounds.

The two men are described as white males between 20 and 35 years old. The Harris county sheriff's office is investigating the case.

"We hope that anyone who has information about this potentially deadly and apparently bias-motivated attack will immediately contact law enforcement authorities," said Mustafaa Carroll, CAIR-Houston's executive director.
Kabul: Afghanistan forces killed an important Islamic State (IS) commander in an air strike, one year after he defected from the Taliban and established a new IS foothold in the country, security officials said.

Qari Hekmat was killed in a drone strike on Thursday afternoon in the Darz Aab district of Afghanistan's northern Jawzjan province, said Hanif Rezaee, spokesman for the Afghan National Army Air Corps.

He said Mawlavi Habib Ur Rahman has been appointed as his IS successor in the north of the country.

The militant group, also known as Daesh, established a new foothold in the province last year when Hekmat defected from the Taliban, attracting the attention of U.S. forces.

IS claimed responsibility for suicide bombs last month near Shi'ite mosques in Herat and Kabul. Both the Western-backed government in Kabul and the main Islamist militant group, the Taliban, fight Islamic State.

The militant group first appeared in Afghanistan three years ago. As well as its main stronghold in the eastern province of Nangarhar, on the border with Pakistan, its fighters have been active in northern Afghanistan.

While sectarian violence in mainly Sunni Muslim Afghanistan was previously rare, a series of attacks over recent years, many claimed by IS, have killed hundreds of Shias.
Gaza: A Palestinian journalist died on Saturday after being wounded by Israeli fire on Friday while covering deadly protests along the Israel-Gaza border, health officials said.

Yaser Murtaja, 30, a cameraman for Palestinian Ain Media, was the 29th Palestinian killed in the week-long protests.

Photos showed Murtaja lying wounded on a stretcher wearing a navy-blue protective vest marked 'PRESS' in large black capital letters. Health officials said a live bullet had penetrated the side of his abdomen and he succumbed to his wounds in hospital.

An Israeli military spokeswoman said the army was looking into the incident and could not comment further at this stage.

The daily protests, dubbed "The Great March of Return", began on March 30 along the Israel-Gaza frontier, reviving a longstanding demand for the right of return of Palestinian refugees to towns and villages from which their families fled, or were driven out, when the state of Israel was created.

Israel has stationed sharpshooters to stop attempts by Palestinians to breach the border or sabotage the security fence.

Freelance photographer Ashraf Abu Amra told Reuters he was next to Murtaja, whom he said was wearing a helmet and protective vest. Abu Amra said they were both clearly marked as journalists.

"We were filming as youths torched tyres. We were about 250 meters from the fence," said Abu Amra. "Israeli forces opened fire and injuries began. Yaser and I ran to film when suddenly Yaser fell to the ground.

"I screamed to him 'Yaser are you alright?'. He didn't respond and there was blood on the ground underneath him. I knew it was a bad injury and people carried him away," said Abu Amra.

FUNERAL

Video footage showed Murtaja being carried to an ambulance with crowds around and black smoke rising from where protesters had set tyres alight, east of Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip.

Murtaja was married with a two-year-old son. Hundreds of mourners, among them many journalists, attended his funeral on Saturday.

His body was covered with a Palestinian flag and his press jacket laid beside him on the stretcher as it was carried through the streets of Gaza City to his home for a last farewell.

"I made him breakfast, he ate quickly, he was in a hurry to go to work," said Murtaja's mother, Yusra, recounting the morning of the protest.

"I thought he would recover from his injury, I didn't expect his death, but God has chosen him as a martyr, thank God," she said, sitting on the ground as mourners came to the house to pay their respects.

Israel Radio, citing an unnamed source in Gaza, said Murtaja had been operating a camera drone on Friday. Abu Amra and two other Palestinian journalists said Murtaja was not operating a camera drone when shot.

Murtaja, on his Facebook page, had posted two aerial photos taken at the border in the past week. It was unclear if he had taken them himself.

At least three other journalists were wounded on Friday in other locations, Gaza officials said. There have been no Israeli casualties in the protests.

Israel's response to the protests has drawn international criticism, with human rights groups saying it involved live fire against demonstrators posing no immediate threat to life.

Israel says it is doing what it must to defend its border and its troops have been responding with riot dispersal means and fire "in accordance with the rules of engagement".

Hamas, the Islamist group that runs Gaza, says the protests demanding the right of return of refugees will continue.

The Israeli government has ruled out any right of return, fearing the country would lose its Jewish majority.

Israel says many of the dead were militants and that Hamas, which is designated a terrorist organisation by the West, is using the protests as cover to launch attacks along the border and ignite the area, while putting Gaza's civilians at risk.

Hamas rejects this.
New York: The US Department of Justice has called for making public Harvard University's admissions data after a lawsuit against the Ivy League institution alleged that it discriminated against Asian-Americans students in its admissions process for years.

A lawsuit was filed in November 2014 by anti-affirmative action group Students for Fair Admissions alleging that Harvard admissions practices discriminate against Asian-American applicants.

In a filing on Friday in a Boston federal court, the Justice Department called on the court to make Harvard's documents public, saying the government has a substantial interest in the case. Students for Fair Admissions includes over a dozen students who claim they were rejected from Harvard because the it engages in "racial balancing" by capping the number of Asian-Americans it admits each year.

According to a report in The Harvard Crimson, the university paper, the Department of Justice called for the unsealing of the admissions data, which Harvard has repeatedly argued should remain private.

The report said the department's filing also directly tied the admissions lawsuit to its own ongoing probe into Harvard's admissions processes, arguing that the lawsuit overlaps and could directly bear on the separate Justice Department investigation.

"This case thus overlaps with the legal and factual bases undergirding the United States' investigation and could directly bear on that investigation," Matthew Donnelly, a Justice Department lawyer said in the brief.

Harvard's proposal contravenes the law and imperils the interest of the public."

The filing also asserts the department could later sue Harvard itself or could join the case as a friend of the court, depending on how the Students for Fair Admissions suit plays out. The filing calls for "public access" to all summary judgement materials in the case unless a party requests privacy for a "most compelling reason".

The filing also directly urges the court to reject the University's previous request that case-related admissions information remain private.

To be sure, there is weighty interest in protecting the private identities of students and applicants, the filing said. But neither that interest nor any of Harvard's other generalised arguments warrant adoption of Harvard's proposal to file all summary judgment materials under seal.

The Students for Fair Admissions lawsuit alleges that Harvard discriminates against Asian-Americans in its admissions process.

About three years after that suit began, the Department of Justice had launched an investigation into Harvard's admissions practises to look into the allegations.

In 2015, 64 Asian-American groups, including four Indian-American organisations, had also filed a similar complaint accusing the Ivy League institution of discriminating against Asian-American applicants in its admissions process.

The 50-page complaint, submitted to the Office for Civil Rights in the US Department of Education and with the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice in May, had been filed on behalf of Asian American students who, because of their race, have been unfairly rejected by Harvard College because of such unlawful use of race in the admissions process, and/or who seek the opportunity to apply for admission without being discriminated against because of their race.

The US Department of Education had dismissed that complaint.
Vatican City: The Vatican said on Saturday its police had arrested a monsignor who worked as a diplomat at its embassy in Washington and is suspected of possessing child pornography in the United States and Canada.

A statement identified the accused as Msgr. Carlo Alberto Capella and said he was arrested earlier on Saturday in the Vatican after a warrant was issued by the Holy See's chief magistrate at the end of an investigation.

The Vatican statement said Capella, who was recalled from the Vatican embassy in Washington last August, was arrested according to articles of a 2013 law signed by Pope Francis. The articles cited by the statement related to child pornography.

If indicted, the monsignor will have to stand trial in the Vatican and faces up to 12 years in jail.

The scandal is the latest blow to the Catholic Church as it struggles to overcome repeated sex abuse cases among its clergy.

Francis has declared zero tolerance over abuse scandals that have beset the Church for decades, but critics say he has not done enough, particularly to hold bishops responsible for mishandling or covering up abuse.

The State Department notified the Holy See in August of a possible violation of laws relating to child pornography images by a member of the diplomatic corps of the Holy See accredited to Washington, the Vatican said in September.

A State Department spokesman said in September that the United States had requested that the man's diplomatic immunity be waived to open the way for possible prosecution there but the Vatican refused.

Capella entered the diplomatic corps in 2004 and before serving in Washington he held diplomatic posts in Hong Kong and Italy.

It was not possible to reach Capella, who the Vatican said was being held in a cell in the Vatican's police barracks.

After Capella was recalled to Rome, police in Windsor, Canada said they had issued an arrest warrant for him on suspicion of possessing and distributing child pornography on the internet.

A statement by Canadian police at the time said the suspected offences occurred while he was visiting "a place of worship" in Canada.

The recalling and arrest of Capella was the worst involving a diplomat since the case in 2013 of former Archbishop Jozef Wesolowski, who was Polish.

Wesolowski faced charges of paying boys for sexual acts, downloading and buying paedophile material while he was the Vatican's ambassador in the Dominican Republic.

He was recalled to Rome by the Vatican, arrested, and stripped of his duties after a report by Dominican media led to an investigation by Dominican magistrates.

He died in hospital in 2015 at the age of 67 before his trial before a Vatican court could begin.
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NEWTOWN  One year ago, 42-year-old Dan Krauss got the call he had been waiting eight months for  news that doctors had found him a good match for a much-needed heart transplant.

Krauss, of Newtown, had been diagnosed with congestive heart failure 11 years earlier, after what he thought was a cold he couldnt shake landed him in the emergency room at Danbury Hospital. He had spent the following decade on and off the transplant list while doctors used drugs, a defibrillator and a left ventricular assist device to keep his heart working at full capacity.

When he got that call on April 8, 2017  or rather, when his wife called to tell him the doctors had called  Krauss had been on the transplant list since the previous summer. Hearing the news, he felt a muted excitement.

I was excited, but very nervous, Krauss said. I also was very cognizant of the fact that somebody had passed away. It was exciting for me, but I knew somewhere, somebody was losing somebody.

But as tough as it was to process, as it is for many organ recipients, Krauss knew it was a blessing that the person who died was able to give him the ultimate gift  his life.

Krauss surgery, which was performed in a New York hospital, was one of 35,000 organ transplants in 2017.

In New Milford, Danbury and Norwalk hospitals, 23 lives were saved that year through organ donation, and 3,600 more lives enhanced by organ or tissue donation, all coordinated by the Western Connecticut Health Network and New England Donor Services.

Throughout April, which is National Donate Life Month, these organizations and advocates like Krauss hope to increase these figures by raising awareness about the donation process.

For Jackie Woodward, of New Fairfield, this means sharing the story of the day almost nine years ago when her son, Jesse, died in a motorcycle crash.

Woodward said it wasnt until she got the call from New England Donor Services the night after Jesse died that she discovered he was a registered organ donor.

It really threw me for a loop, Woodward said. "I hadnt even thought about it. I said, Cant this wait?

After asking the organization to call back later, Woodward decided that no matter how hard it would be for her, she needed to see the process through  for Jesse.

He was a good soul and had a good heart and he always was helping people, Woodward said. If this kid took the time to check a box...and thought enough to say, Let me give my body, how do I not honor that?

Theagency representative spent hours on the phone with her, Woodward said, asking what she was comfortable donating from Jesses body. He would end up donating both his corneas, his aorta and bones from his upper arm and lower leg.

Woodward, who now shares her story at Donate Life events, said had she known more about organ donation at the time, she probably would have said yes to donating other parts of Jesses body.

At the time, donating organs like his skin made her uncomfortable, Woodward said, but now she knows that it would have helped burn victims or masectomy patients.

If she could do it again, she said, she would say, Take what you can."

Woodward hopes that sharing her story, which she does mostly at events for hospital staffs, will help people understand the full, complicated scope of the donation process for families.

Anybody in the medical field already has a heart to help others, she said. But they need to be educated as to the fact that when theyre saving a life, or unable to save a life, it doesnt necessarily end there for the family.

Having donors families and recipients tell their stories can also help dispel some of the myths of organ donation.

Shannon Beardsley, a hospital relations coordinator with New England Donor Services, said one of the most common misconceptions is that doctors will not work as hard to save the life of someone who is a registered donor.

"If you think it through, its completely unreasonable, Beardsley said. From a medical standpoint, they do everything in their power to save lives. We only come in when all other medical options to save someone have been exhausted.

People also worry that their religion wont allow organ donation  which Beardsley says is untrue of all major religions  or that their bodies will not be viable because of certain medical conditions, their age or how they took care of themselves.

We always say, register yourself, and if for whatever reason you become medically suitable for donation, we'll evaluate it at that point, Beardsely said. But register yourself and provide hope for those 100,000 people waiting on the transplant list.

Beardsely said 20 to 22 people die each day waiting for an organ.

Studies show that 95 percent of US adults support organ donation, but just 54 percent nationally and 46 percent in Connecticut are registered as donors.

One organ donor can save up to eight lives and a tissue donor can help heal up to 75, she said.

Dawn Martin, director of patient care services for Danbury and New Milford Hospital, and Debbie Bailor, a critical care nurse manager, said hearing that news can be the most heartwarming part of the difficult process.

The hospital staff  who work to identify potential donors or notify the organ bank when a patient dies  are often given a limited report from New England Donor Services after a donation about who the organs or tissue went to. These updates help give meaning to the staffs work and often to the families as well, Martin said.

It brings tears to your eyes every single time, she said. Your son, or daughter, or father, or mother can live on to help other people."
NEW MILFORD  Nadine Strossen, a former American Civil Liberties Union president, has seen students growing suspicion of free speech in her own classroom and while speaking at other college campuses.

These observations, coupled with survey results, spurred Strossen to pen her latest book, Hate: Why We Should Resist It with Free Speech, not Censorship. She will discuss this topic from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Temple Sholom.

Often, students consider the opposing ideas they strive to suppress as hate speech, but the Supreme Court has ruled the First Amendment protects the right to express the thoughts that are hated, said Strossen, who has lived in New Milford for 10 years and teaches at New York Law School.

Thats really important if we are to have a vigorous dialogue on public policy issues in a democracy, Strossen said.

She cautioned that not all hate speech is protected and if the words cause serious harm or reasonable fear then it is and should be punished.

Strossen said governments and powerful institutions shouldnt suppress ideas they disagree with.

It has to reside in us as individuals to determine what we want to hear and turn our backs on, she said.

She said the civil rights movement and Martin Luther King Jr.s words were seen as dangerous and hated at the time. Today, the Black Lives Matter movement is also cast as hate speech in certain contexts.

Liberal students on campus should have no illusions that only conservative ideas will be considered hate speech, Strossen said.

She also said trying to prevent free speech of ideas students disagree with can amplify the speakers message and give that person a bigger stage. Most people didnt know who Milo Yiannopoulos, an alt-right commentator and former Breitbart editor, was until his speech at UC Berkeley was canceled following student protests.

Often, Strossen sees that students dont fully understand free speech. In 2015, Yale University students called for the ousting of faculty members who sent an email about Halloween costumes. Last year, students prevented an ACLU official from speaking at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va., about free speech.

As an educator, I thought Ive got a lot of work to do here,  Strossen said, adding that the distinction between agreeing with whats said and defending the act of saying is no longer recognized.

Strossen has always been drawn to advocating for freedom of speech and equality.

Ive always been a big supporter of individual rights and freedoms from as far back as I can remember, she said.

Even as a young child she would question parents and teachers, ensuring there was a reasonable explanation for their directions. Shes instilling this inquisitive nature and critical thinking in her students at New York Law School.

Its important now, more than ever with fake news,  she said.

Strossen has been teaching law since 1984. She started her legal career clerking for a judge in Minnesota just after graduating from Harvard Law School in 1975. She began volunteering with the ACLU as soon as she learned of the organization, continuing that service when she moved to New York City, began practicing at a law firm and then became a professor.

Once she became president, her role with the ACLU switched from that of a case attorney to spokesperson and advocate, which included testifying before Congress. Like most of the attorneys working with the ACLU, she wasnt paid for her work and so continued her teaching job.

Strossen was the president from 1991 to 2008.

Shes still an active spokeswoman and serves on the national advisory council for the ACLU, as well as volunteers for other nonprofits.

To me the ACLU is the most important (of these nonprofits) because we do what the government should do and thats support all fundamental rights despite who you are and what you believe, she said.

Strossen was the first female ACLU president, but its the issues the organization handled under her leadership that stand out to her more than that milestone.

The emergence of the internet in the 1990s and advocating for the same free speech protections online is one of those issues that stands out.

Some of the battles are still being fought, including protecting peoples rights in the fight on terrorism in the wake of the 9/11 attack.

Another salient topic has been racism and mass incarceration. The ACLU coined the term Driving While Black to highlight that black drivers are pulled over more than drivers of other races. The organization spoke out against the Los Angeles Police Department when officers were filmed beating Rodney King, a young African American man, in 1991.

Strossen said shes happy theres more public support for these racial issues, but acknowledged there is still a long way to go.

These struggles take a really long time, she said. On the whole, when you look at rights for all people, weve moved further ahead.
Fourteen New Milford High School students will be competing at the national competition for Distributive Education Club of America, or DECA, which focuses on business.

They advance based on their performance at the Connecticut DECA competition held last month. More than 1,200 students competed, including 42 from New Milford High School.
 AG Sessions announces new "zero-tolerance policy" for immigration offenses ... which could mean ... (a lot or no) more fast-track sentencing? | Main | George Will commentary assails felon disenfranchisement in Florida 

April 7, 2018

"Capital Punishment Decisions in Pennsylvania: 2000-2010: Implications for Racial, Ethnic and Other Disparate Impacts"

The title of this post is the title of this notable empirical paper recently posted to SSRN and authored by John Kramer, Jeffery Todd Ulmer and Gary Zajac. Here is its abstract:

A study of disparity in the administration of the death penalty in Pennsylvania by Kramer, Ulmer, and Zajac (2017) was recently completed for the Pennsylvania Interbranch Commission on Gender, Racial, and Ethnic Fairness. This study collected basic statistical data on 4,274 cases charged with homicide in Pennsylvania from 2000 to 2010, and then collected highly detailed data from courts and prosecutors offices on a subset of 880 first degree murder convictions in 18 counties accounting for more than 87% of all 2000-2010 first degree murder convictions. Utilizing propensity score methods in analyses of these first degree murder convictions, the study examined whether defendants and victims race/ethnicity (separately and in combination), predicted: 1) prosecutors decisions to seek the death penalty, 2) prosecutors decisions to retract a motion to seek the death penalty once it is filed, and 3) court decisions to sentence defendants to death or life without parole. Key findings were: 1) No pattern of disparity was found to the disadvantage of Black or Hispanic defendants in prosecutors decisions to seek and, if sought, to retract the death penalty. 2) Black and Hispanic defendants were not disadvantaged in death penalty sentence decisions relative to White defendants. 3) Cases with White victims, regardless of race of defendant, were 8% more likely to receive the death penalty, while Black victim cases were 6% less likely to receive the death penalty. 4) Prosecutors filed to seek the death penalty in 36% of first degree convictions; but later retracted that filing in 46% of those cases. Moreover, a predominant pattern emerged in which a death penalty filing strongly predicted a guilty plea in these murder cases, and pleading guilty strongly predicted the retraction of the death penalty filing. 5) There were very large differences between counties in the likelihood of prosecutors filing to seek the death penalty, the likelihood of their retracting that filing, and in courts imposing the death penalty. In fact, the biggest extra-legal influence on whether defendants faced or received the death penalty was where their cases were handled. 6) Public defenders were less likely than private or court appointed attorneys to have the death penalty filed in cases they represented. However, public defender cases were more likely to receive the death penalty, and defendants represented by private attorneys were especially unlikely to receive the death penalty. These defense attorney differences also, in turn, varied greatly between counties.

April 7, 2018 at 12:43 PM | Permalink

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On the attorney outcome axis I have to wonder how much of that is a matter of which cases they get handed. Since the cases do not get assigned to a public defender or private practitioner on anything like a random basis I can well believe that something else (such as difficulty of case for example) is what is actually being seen there.

Posted by: Soronel Haetir | Apr 7, 2018 2:38:58 PM

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STAMFORD  A Stamford Superior Court judge made the rare decision to resign his position on the bench last week and rejoin the Greenwich firm he co-founded 21 years ago.

Ridgefield resident Thomas Colin stepped down after serving exactly five years on the bench, most of it ruling on family-court matters, and is now practicing family law at Schoonmaker, George, Colin & Blomberg PC in Old Greenwich.

Before his appointment by Gov. Dannel Malloy in 2013, Colin, 51, was a high-profile divorce attorney who represented former model Stephanie Seymour when she split  albeit temporarily  from Greenwich billionaire Peter Brant.

Colin spent a short time on criminal benches in Stamford and Waterbury. But the Brooklyn, New York, native was sent back to family law - although this time in robes - adjudicating family and divorce cases in Stamford since summer of 2014. Over the past few years Colin, who was raised on the South Shore of Long Island, would occasionally surface on the criminal benches in Norwalk and Stamford.

Colin is only the third judge in 25 years to quit the bench, according to state Judicial Branch figures. Scores of judges over that same time period who served 10 years or longer have retired, many returning to private practice like Colin. For a judge to receive a pension he or she must serve for at least a decade. Superior Court judges annual salary is currently $167,634.

I missed the private practice of law, Colin said in a telephone interview. I did it for 20 years and I missed all that it offers, such as working closely with individuals in more personal and private ways than what being a judge permits.

Colin is leaving behind some admirers who were impressed by how he handled his family courtroom as well as his ability to quickly grasp criminal law, which wasnt his specialty.

Criminal defense attorney Darnell Crosland tried two cases in front of Colin. In one instance in Stamford unbeknownst to the judge he planted a fake gun under a prosecutors chair to illuminate the jury to a chain of custody theory he was raing at trial.

When I heard of his resignation, it was a gift to the bar to have him back. At the same time, it was sad to loose him on the bench because he was so down to earth, intelligent and compassionate. You want him on both sides at the stime time, Crosland said.

I have very rarely appeared in front of someone who I have more enjoyed having as a judge, said family attorney Alexander Schwartz, who has been practicing law for about 35 years.

He was, I think, the first judge who I experienced in Stamford who could actually herd cats, said Schwartz, and who appeared before Colin at two or three trials in the last year. He held everyone accountable for their cases. If you werent prepared, you knew it.

Criminal defense attorney Lindy Urso said Colin appeared to enjoy his time presiding over criminal matters, at which he excelled.

The one problem with becoming a judge... is you have no control over where you sit - and Judge Colin has been stuck the last couple of years doing family law once again, albeit facing the opposite end of the courtroom. I just believe this divorce-court assignment wasn't providing the challenge and change of scenery that his judicial appointment had initially promised, Urso said. His resignation is a huge loss for the people of the State of the Connecticut.

Eugene Riccio, another criminal defense lawyer, said Colin was an excellent judge, despite the fact I dont believe he had a substantial background in that field of the law. He really grasped the nature of the operation quickly for someone who did not practice in that arena, Riccio said.

In his resignation letter to Malloy in mid-March, Colin said he was grateful for being able to work each day with so many dedicated state employees who work so hard to serve the public.

I enjoyed being a judge  it was a great experience, Colin told The Advocate this week. I tried to listen compassionately and apply the law correctly and do the right things.
A week after news of an office harassment-and-abuse scandal led her to forgo a bid for a fourth term in Congress, U.S. Rep. Elizabeth Esty is nowhere to be found.

Meanwhile, the victim at the center of the scandal  Anna Kain  has made a public appeal for passage of a #MeToo bill in Congress.

Esty has canceled public events and turned down requests for comment from reporters, while the story of the toxic culture in her office dribbles out and a steady stream of potential successors  Republican and Democrat  talk about taking her 5th District seat.

She will be back to her regular schedule when the House returns to session next week, where she has a very aggressive agenda for the time she has remaining in office, Tim Daly, Estys chief of staff said. She intends to do all the things that she has always done when the floor is in sessionincluding meeting with her constituents.

Esty, a Democrat, stayed out of the public eye since March 29, when Hearst Connecticut Media reported the alleged harassment and physical abuse of Kain by Tony Baker, the congresswomans former chief of staff.

While Esty issued a written apology for not taking action to protect her staff from Baker earlier, but she has not taken any questions on the matter, which only gets murkier as more details become available. A copy of the separation agreement that Hearst obtained contradicts Estys statement that she fired Baker in 2016. The nondisclosure agreement makes no mention of a dismissal, but instead says Baker was required to submit a letter of resignation, and was given a $5,000 severance award and forgiveness of his student loans.

Even when Esty announced on Monday that she would not seek a re-election as a result of the scandal, the news was delivered via press release.

On Thursday, Esty canceled planned appearances at a town hall-style meeting in Newtown on one of her signature issues  gun law reform in Newtown  and at a government class at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury, where she was to speak about the law-making process.

She has been staying close to her Cheshire home during the last days of Congress two-week spring break, which ends Monday. Friends of Esty said Thursday that she is determined to fill out the remainder of her term, which ends with the swearing-in next January of the next Congress.

But As Esty retreats, Kain has gone public with an appeal to the Senate to pass a bill that would give sexual harassment protections to congressional staffers.

Kain, who worked for Esty until 2015 and said she was screamed at, punched and threatened with death by Baker, posted on Facebook that she is part of a group called Congress Too.

The halls and offices of Congress are bursting with wide-eyed young people who are excited and honored and amazed to have the privilege to do that work in that place, her post said. But the power dynamic and prevalence of harassment and abuse of all kinds on the Hill is unique, and there is no real place for these staffers to go for support when they need it most.

That needs to change.

The Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust, a good government group, called Thursday for the Office of Congressional Ethics to investigate Estys handling of the case.
A Mississippi Sonic Drive-In is the munchies spot of choice for a number of stoners, but staff at that fast food location are not pleased with those partaking on the premises.

Workers at a Sonic in Gulfport, Mississippi, posted a sign two weeks ago informing customers that they will not serve anyone smoking weed, according to the Biloxi Sun Herald.
A 49-year-old Wilton man was sentenced to 37 months in prison for defrauding investors of more than $6 million as a part of a Ponzi-like scheme.

Steven Simmons, 48, was sentenced to 37 months in prison on Tuesday, according Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

In October, Simmons pleaded guilty to using approximately $2 million of hedge fund money he raised between 2013 and this past January for his own personal use, and repaying prior investors with those funds akin to a Ponzi scheme and generating phony financial statements.

Steven Simmons lied to investors about how their money would be used and what returns they could expect. He used investor funds for his own personal use  including the purchase of a house  and provided other investor funds for use in paying back earlier investors. Now Simmons has been sentenced to more than three years in prison for his crimes, said Berman.

Between 2013 and January 2017, Simmons solicited investments by falsely representing to investors that their funds would be used by a hedge fund for legitimate, specified investment purposes.

According to the indictment, Simmons misled a single mother of three children, whose source of funds was an alimony payment received in a recent divorce, telling her that her money would be invested with a hedge fund in securities, resulting in a return of at least 15 percent. Instead, Simmons stole much of the victims investment, using $700,000 of that money to buy a house in Wilton and wiring $700,000 to the personal account of a co-conspirator, Berman said.

Berman said that in another instance, Simmons told a family investment office that its funds would be placed by a hedge fund with a highly successful group of portfolio managers. However, most of the victims money went toward repaying an earlier investor who had demanded the return of its investment, and a remaining $50,000 went into an account controlled by Simmons, authorities said.

Simmons, who lists himself on his LinkedIn page as the head of alternative investments at Sideris Capital Partners in Stamford, also created and provided investors with false monthly statements as a part of the scheme.

Simmons was first implicated in the scheme after Mark Varacchi, founder of Sentinel Growth Fund Management LLC, was brought up on charges of conspiracy, securities fraud and wire fraud charges in February 2017.

Varacchi, who cooperated with investigators, admitted to authorities that he, Simmons and a third man  43-year-old Joseph Meli  had participated in a hedge fund scheme that raised money from investors to buy and resell tickets for hit shows, including Hamilton.

In addition to his prison sentence, Simmons was also sentenced to three years of supervised release, ordered to forfeit $6.9 million  representing the amount of proceeds obtained as a result of the conspiracy, including the forfeiture of property that he bought in Wilton with the proceeds of the fraud and ordered to pay restitution to the victims of the offense.

Berman praised the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and thanked the Securities and Exchange Commission for its assistance in the investigation.


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A recent decision by the Brooklyn Museum to hire a white person as an African art consulting curator has prompted opposition on social media and from an anti-gentrification activist group that argues the selection perpetuated ongoing legacies of oppression.

In response to a letter from the group that stated its concerns, Anne Pasternak, the director of the Brooklyn Museum, said in a statement on Friday that the museum unequivocally stood by its selection of Kristen Windmuller-Luna for the position.

We were deeply dismayed when the conversation about this appointment turned to personal attacks on this individual, Ms. Pasternak said. She also extolled the expertise of Dr. Windmuller-Luna, calling her an extraordinary candidate with stellar qualifications.
SATURDAY PUZZLE  It has been an entire business week since Ive seen you, and last weekends flight of fancy has lost altitude and landed in this minefield of a puzzle by Mark Diehl. There are debuts galore, unfamiliar notable names, and endearing but hardly simple running references to noshing. As icing on the cake, its a pangram; every letter appears at least once in the grid.

I loved some of the clues today, like for LEGO, TUNE, WINDUP, SQUIB, FAIR DICE and OPENS WIDE. I knew nothing about ALDEN or RANKIN and look sideways, a little, at HOSE and HEWER, which sounds like a certain kind of law firm.

Tricky Clues

17A: Well, when I first sussed out this clue I cringed a little, only because Im a bit of a margarita purist (on the rocks with some salt, always nice on a balmy evening, if one of those ever happens again) and not much of a beer fan. Once Id pieced together BEERGARITA, a term Id never seen, I figured this had to be a Homer Simpsonism, but after reading some enthusiastic reviews my interest is (a little) piqued. It doesnt sound very posh, though, does it, and theyre probably $18 at the bar in spite of that. Must make at home.

20A: Supplier of the critical Z and a tiny history lesson, TANZANIA did not formally exist before 1964, when Tanganyika, which had been part of German East Africa on the continents mainland, combined with the Zanzibar archipelago to form a nation. German East Africa was essentially a corporate name for a huge trading company that colonized a large area of Africa in the late 1800s. Zanzibar is one of those places that are like a Grand Central Station of human history.
Ms. Ortega, 55, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder for killing Leo, 2, and his sister Lucia, 6, in a bathtub at the Krim familys Upper West Side apartment on Oct. 25, 2012. The childrens mother, Marina Krim, and her middle child, Nessie, walked in as the nanny plunged a knife into her own throat.

Ms. Ortega has pleaded not responsible by reason of mental disease or defect. To prevail, she must prove that her mental illness prevented her from understanding the consequences of her actions or knowing they were wrong. If a jury agrees, she would be committed to a secure psychiatric facility. If convicted, she faces life in prison.

The outcome of the trial hinges almost entirely on the testimony of experts for both the defense and the prosecution, who have different opinions about Ms. Ortegas state of mind at the time of the slayings. The defense rested its case on Friday, and the district attorney was expected to call its experts on Monday.

Prosecutors have said that Ms. Ortega may have been depressed, but her actions that day show she planned to kill the children because she resented their mother and felt overworked.

Dr. Resnick testified she had succumbed the day of the murders to hallucinations that the Devil was commanding her to kill the children, and suffered from a dissociative episode, meaning she was not aware of what her hands were doing.
All cybersecurity experts who have given electronic voting machines any thought agree. These machines have got to go. To show you why, Im running a mock election using the same dangerous and obsolete machines still in use today. Our election will find out whether Michigan students prefer their own university or our arch rival Ohio State. Here we are. After the chaos of the 2000 election, we were promised a modern and dependable way to vote. Im here to tell you that the electronic voting machines Americans got to solve the problem of voting integrity  they turned out to be an awful idea. One vote for McCain. Huh?! Thats because people like me can hack them all too easily. Im a computer scientist who has hacked a lot of electronic voting machines. I even turned one machine into a video game console. Imagine what the Russians and North Koreans can do. Ive even gone to Congress to raise the alarm. Our highly computerized election infrastructure is vulnerable to sabotage and even to cyber-attacks This is the same electronic voting machine used in Georgia and parts of Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky Mississippi, Tennessee, Texas and even in swing states like Virginia, Florida and Pennsylvania. Millions of Americans voted on paperless electronic voting machines in the 2016 election. Who are you going to vote for? Hundred percent Michigan. Obviously Michigan. Michigan. But heres a little secret between you and me. Ive already hacked these worthless machines. Step one: buy a voting machine on Ebay. Or, if you are the North Koreans, hack the manufacturer and steal their software code. Step two: write a virus. Step three: email your virus to every election official responsible for programming the voting machines with new ballots. Many of these officials are easy to find online. Step four: sip coffee and wait. Step five: hijack the ballot programming and let the election officials copy your invisible malicious code onto the voting machines. Step six: watch your code silently steal votes. All right, here are the results from the electronic voting machines. Ohio State wins 131 to 108. Theres a good reason we computer scientists are paranoid. Its a golden age for hackers. The computer virus that destroyed Iranian nuclear equipment  This is one of the largest data breaches in history. More than one billion of its accounts were hacked. What chance do the people running your local elections really have against Russia or North Korea? OK, everyone. I hacked the voting machines. I do have the real results, because we also counted on paper. Michigan wins! Michigan won in a landslide. And I can say this confidently because I have the real results from the safest and simplest solution. Paper ballots. We need to take a hard look at the equipment that actually records and reports votes. Even though the Senate intelligence committee is finally showing some understanding of the problem, its not enough. All states in this country, the people ultimately responsible for how we vote, In a real election, an official could quickly scan these paper ballots and shortly after, have a human verify the results. Paper plus audits: all elections should be run this way. But if you dont want to believe me or every single expert in cybersecurity whos thought this through, then take it from this guy. Its old fashioned, but its always good to have a paper backup system of voting. Its called paper.
AGAZZANO, Italy  If youre tired of reading terrible things about immigrants  how they never integrate, how they rape and steal, how they deal drugs, how they create no-go zones in European cities  heres a success story to ponder. Id say there are millions of such stories across Europe.

It concerns Ramesh Kumar Balakrishnan, whose first job in Italy was as a babysitter. His language tutor was 5 years old. The little boy would correct him when he made a mistake  Non dire cosi, or Dont say it like that.

That was back in 1997. Balakrishnan, still a teenager, had just arrived from Sri Lanka  where a longstanding civil war was raging  with a high school degree and little else. His next job was washing dishes, 10 hours a day, in a restaurant in Piacenza, on the Po River in northern Italy, earning about $200 a month.

I was afraid, not knowing anything, and Italy seemed immense, he tells me. But there were opportunities. What you need is will.
John Bolton will assume office Monday with his first controversy as President Trumps national security adviser awaiting him. Six weeks ago, he outlined his advocacy of an attack on North Korea in a Wall Street Journal op-ed titled The Legal Case for Striking North Korea First.

Given the gaps in U.S. intelligence about North Korea, he wrote, we should not wait until the very last minute to stage what he called a pre-emptive attack.

Mr. Boltons legal analysis is flawed and his strategic logic is dangerous. As he did before the 2003 Iraq war, he is obscuring the important distinction between preventive and pre-emptive attacks. Under rules of international law based on Daniel Websters interpretation of the Caroline case in 1837, a pre-emptive attack can be legal, but only if an adversarys attack is imminent and unavoidable  when a need for self-defense is instant and overwhelming.

For example, if America had intelligence that North Korea had alerted military forces and was fueling long-range missiles on their launchpads or rolling out missile launcher vehicles, the United States could reasonably assume an attack was imminent and unavoidable and could legally launch a pre-emptive strike in what international lawyers call anticipatory self-defense.
It is no coincidence that Saturdays deadly chemical attack on the suburb of Douma, which killed 49 people in the last rebel-held area, came a year after Mr. Trumps airstrikes on Assad targets. Is this Mr. Assad  or Animal Assad, as Mr. Trump referred to him in a weekend tweet  sending a deadly message to Washington following the decision to pull out troops? Is it a way of Mr. Assad telling the international community that he can do whatever he wants, knowing he will never be punished?

Realistically, the 2,000 American troops have not made a huge difference to the landscape of the war in terms of humanitarian assistance, because the United States never had a vested interest in protecting the Syrian population; the troops were not deployed in a way that, say, could ensure the delivery of food or medicine, or open up besieged towns. But the signal their sudden withdrawal sends to the Syrian people, especially the Syrian Kurds, and the rest of the world will be damning.

Kassem told me that living under the Assad dictatorship for 40 years, the national ideology taught him and his friends that America was the devil. We were taught that America was the enemy, he said. Then we figured out it was all propaganda. But after seven years of atrocities, do you know what my friends and people around the Middle East are saying? That America is the enemy again. Because they see the Russians bombing us and the United States doing nothing. Now they pull out  when they could have been our friend or ally.

Of course, Mr. Trump is not concerned about these things; his sole metric for success is defeating the Islamic State  though the vast majority of Syrian civilians were killed by Mr. Assads forces. But any claim of victory over the Islamic State is premature and naive. As Kassem and others note, the seeds of ISIS 2.0 are already planted in the thousands of angry people who have lost their families, their homes, their country. When there are a million people dead, Kassem said, when most have lost everything, ISIS will say, We told you so.

Mr. Trump has said that with America gone, its regional allies, especially Israel and Saudi Arabia, should pick up the slack. But that could make things even worse. Israel has a long and complicated relationship with Syria, and it has shown little willingness to get more involved. And Mr. Trump is perhaps forgetting that Saudi Arabia is the birthplace of the hard-core Wahhabi branch of Islam, which has inspired jihadists around the globe and could turbocharge a revived Islamic State.

As long as America has had troops in Syria, there was at least hope for a peaceful resolution to the war. Now the bottom is falling out. Kassem says he hears talk about the coming of the Mahdi, whom many Muslims believe will bring about Judgment Day, because the region is engulfed in chaos  a precondition for his arrival. Everyone is talking end of days, he says.
In what is becoming one of the most remarkable chapters in American legal history, the president of the United States is in serious need of top-notch legal help, but apparently cannot find top-notch lawyers to represent him.

As Robert Muellers Russia probe moves forward, the Trump administration has approached a slew of prominent law firms and attorneys, only to be told that while, in the words of Dan Webb and Tom Buchanan of Winston & Strawn, the opportunity to represent the president [is] the highest honor that can come a lawyers way, they must respectfully decline that honor. This left the president relying on a legal team who, with the exception of former Hogan Lovells lawyer Ty Cobb, features no criminal defense lawyers, let alone attorneys with experience in the sort of investigation Mr. Mueller is conducting.

The reasons top firms and lawyers are giving for refusing to work for Trump include conflicts of interests with current clients, the possibility of alienating sources of future business, the presidents reluctance to follow legal advice, his tendency to ask lawyers to engage in what Ted Boutrous of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher referred to delicately as questionable activities, and his history of not paying his bills.

Although these reasons for not taking on the president as a client are plausible, it seems something more profound is at work. After all, given the nature of white-collar criminal defense work, all these firms have extensive experience dealing with complicated conflicts issues, as well as difficult, controversial and otherwise unsavory clients. (By contrast, Bill Clinton secured the services of Bob Bennett, arguably the nations top white-collar criminal defense attorney, to defend him in the context of Ken Starrs independent counsel investigation.)
AUSTIN, Tex.  Texas became the first state on Friday to deploy National Guard troops to the southern border of the United States after President Trump announced this week that he would send the military there.

State officials said 250 Texas National Guard personnel would be dispatched to the border within 72 hours. The mobilization began shortly after 7 p.m. Friday at the Armed Forces Reserve Center in Austin, as two light-utility Lakota helicopters carrying a total of four service members lifted off from the taxiway and flew south past a fading sun.

Brig. Gen. Tracy Norris, commander of the Texas Army National Guard, said the deployment would begin meeting the priorities of the governor and the president in securing our border. In addition to troops, the Guard said it would send ground surveillance vehicles and light and medium aircraft.

The announcement in Austin came the same day that the Republican governor of Arizona, Doug Ducey, said that about 150 members of the National Guard in his state would deploy next week to the border. Other governors have weighed in as well, with their support or criticism of the plan falling along party lines. The Republican governor of New Mexico, Susana Martinez, vowed to send troops soon, while the Democratic governor of Montana, Steve Bullock, refused.
While General McMaster said the United States had liberated nearly all the territory held by the Islamic State, also known as ISIS, he said the American military would continue to carry out operations in Syria until ISIS is completely defeated, population centers are stabilized and refugees can safely return home.

That prospect seemed in doubt last week after Mr. Trump declared, Well be coming out of Syria, like, very soon. At a meeting of the National Security Council on Tuesday, which General McMaster did not attend, Mr. Trump pressed his military advisers to wrap up the campaign immediately.

The advisers, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., demurred, according to a person in the room. Instead, they sold the president on an alternative plan, in which troops would stay in Syria for months  though not years  to stabilize territories liberated from the Islamic State and to train local forces.

General McMaster, people who know him said, favored a deeper commitment to Syria than even Mr. Mattis or General Dunford. His colleagues said he skipped the N.S.C. meeting to attend a military awards ceremony. But his presence would likely not have helped. By that time, Mr. Trump was long past listening to his national security adviser.

The two men had a stilted relationship, even before the president decided to replace him with Mr. Bolton. They got off on the wrong foot during the debate over Afghanistan, these officials said, because General McMaster was so fervent about sending additional troops.

Mr. Trump acquiesced, but unhappily  a frustration that may have colored his views on Syria, they said. The president also bridled at General McMasters military-style briefings, viewing him as pedantic and condescending.

If the presidents treatment stung General McMaster, however, he did not show it. Unlike Rex W. Tillerson, who lamented the inability of people to treat one another with respect after Mr. Trump fired him as secretary of state on Twitter, General McMaster has not taken swipes at the president, either publicly or in remarks to staff members.
Elections have consequences, goes the old saw, and in Virginia a Democratic wave in November remade the political landscape on one of the states longest-running and most contentious issues: whether to expand Medicaid to 400,000 low-income residents.

Republicans lost 15 seats in the House of Delegates and, left clinging to a bare majority, did an about-face on Medicaid expansion  an issue that to many had smacked of Obamacare. But Republicans in the State Senate, who had not faced voters, blocked expansion last month, and lawmakers failed to pass a state budget because of the issue.

Now, as Gov. Ralph Northam orders the House and Senate back to the capital on Wednesday for a special session to fix the problems, what remains of Republican opposition to expansion appears to be cracking.

Two Republican state senators said this week they would accept some form of broader Medicaid benefits, as provided under the Affordable Care Act  enough votes to carry the day on an issue that is widely popular in state polls.
BUDAPEST  During the final days of communism in Hungary, a young, liberal dissident wrote to a foundation run by the Hungarian-American philanthropist George Soros, asking for a grant to finance his research into grass-roots democracy.

Hungary would soon transition from dictatorship to democracy, the student wrote in 1988. One of the main elements of this transition can be the rebirth of civil society.

The student was Viktor Orban. Now the prime minister, Mr. Orban is expected to lead his party to victory in parliamentary elections on Sunday  not as the pro-Western statesman he once promised to be, but as a hero to the far-right, a scourge of civil society (and of Mr. Soros), and the embodiment of the failed promise of liberalism in post-Cold War Eastern Europe.

Each country has its own story. But societies across Central and Eastern Europe are dominated by similar figures  some by politicians who, like Mr. Orban, have lost interest in the liberal democratic project that followed the crumbling of communism in 1989, and others by those with different motivations who have exploited voters growing disaffection with liberalism.
According to Keith New, a spokesman for FedLoan, which is a part of the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency and is the servicer for the forgiveness program, the initial confusion resulted from the fact that information was not provided surrounding the difference in paying the installment amount versus the bill due amount and how the paid ahead status can affect qualifying payments.

Given that FedLoan could have been clearer here, will it arrange for the payments that Dr. White made during this period of confusion to count toward forgiveness? I asked, but Mr. New did not reply.

The Wrong Employer

Only certain jobs  perhaps a quarter of all forms of employment  qualify for public service loan forgiveness. Just to be sure, everyone in the program ought to submit whats known as an employer certification form each year to make sure that his or her employer qualifies or still qualifies.

Edge cases have already been the subject of litigation, as I outlined in a 2016 column. But Chris Golding, who works for the North Carolina Nurses Association in Raleigh, N.C., did not know that. Others at the association thought that it qualified, but you cant get an instant reading on the matter in the time it takes to consider a job offer.

Alas, when Mr. Golding submitted his form, he received a reply last November saying that he was not eligible. There was no detailed explanation, and Mr. Golding said he was unable to get one when he called FedLoan.

The rules state that an employer must provide a qualifying public service. In Mr. Goldings case, the governing language would appear to be a requirement that an organizations primary purpose is to provide public health services. Mr. Golding is a registered nurse. He does not treat patients, but he does support other nurses through education.

Mr. New, the FedLoan spokesman, added a bit more detail. While his employer is a nonprofit 501(c)(6) organization, its primary purpose is not one that would be considered as a public service, he said. He added that FedLoans customer service department had consulted with its own compliance services division in making that determination.
She is one of the people who truly went in the other direction of Martha Graham, and part of what we do now is inviting vastly different perspectives on our legacy, Ms. Eilber said. We want their own separate, unique voices. We want the contrast. It brings context to the Graham classics.

Histoire, which begins with the original duet, now has eight dancers. In its second act, set to music by Astor Piazzolla, the atmosphere has shifted; the first couple return in the middle, but they arent what they once were. Their relationship is frayed, and the tone shifts from light to dark.

Theres a kind of disharmony, and it unravels  whatever they had before is no longer there, Ms. Childs said. And I want that very clear statement: Were in a different time. Theyre bouncing off each other in a way that is in complete opposition to how it was before. Which happens. Its like a breakup.

Virginie Mecene, who performed Histoire as a member of the company in 1999 and is now the director of Graham 2, its pre-professional troupe, taught the duet to two pairs of dancers before Ms. Childs arrived to start work on the second half. Ms. Mecene loved dancing it. Before I did Graham, I was a jazz dancer, and to me all those steps are a little jazzy, she said. It is a different way of moving, especially for a Graham dancer.

She noticed that the current dancers were pushing too hard. I had to tell them, Relax here and Take your time,  she said. They had to calm down and breathe.
WASHINGTON  As ethical questions threaten the Environmental Protection Agency administrator, Scott Pruitt, President Trump has defended him with a persuasive conservative argument: Mr. Pruitt is doing a great job at what he was hired to do, roll back regulations.

But legal experts and White House officials say that in Mr. Pruitts haste to undo government rules and in his eagerness to hold high-profile political events promoting his agenda, he has often been less than rigorous in following important procedures, leading to poorly crafted legal efforts that risk being struck down in court.

The result, they say, is that the rollbacks, intended to fulfill one of the presidents central campaign pledges, may ultimately be undercut or reversed.

In their rush to get things done, theyre failing to dot their is and cross their ts. And theyre starting to stumble over a lot of trip wires, said Richard Lazarus, a professor of environmental law at Harvard. Theyre producing a lot of short, poorly crafted rulemakings that are not likely to hold up in court.
Victoria Toline would hunch over the kitchen table, steady her hands and draw a bead of liquid from a vial with a small dropper. It was a delicate operation that had become a daily routine  extracting ever tinier doses of the antidepressant she had taken for three years, on and off, and was desperately trying to quit.

Basically thats all I have been doing  dealing with the dizziness, the confusion, the fatigue, all the symptoms of withdrawal, said Ms. Toline, 27, of Tacoma, Wash. It took nine months to wean herself from the drug, Zoloft, by taking increasingly smaller doses.

I couldnt finish my college degree, she said. Only now am I feeling well enough to try to re-enter society and go back to work.

Long-term use of antidepressants is surging in the United States, according to a new analysis of federal data by The New York Times. Some 15.5 million Americans have been taking the medications for at least five years. The rate has almost doubled since 2010, and more than tripled since 2000.
By being so readily available, One Medical can reduce visits to an emergency room or an urgent care center, said Dr. Jeff Dobro, the companys chief medical officer.

As primary care doctors become an increasingly endangered species, it is very hard to practice like this, he said.

Long-Term Lifelines

But more traditional doctors like Dr. Purifoy stress the importance of continuity of care. It takes a long time to gain the trust of the patient, he said. He is working with Aledade, another company focused on reinventing primary care, to make his practice more competitive.

One longtime patient, Billy Ray Smith, 70, learned that he needed cardiac bypass surgery even though he had no symptoms. He credits Dr. Purifoy with urging him to get a stress test.

If he hadnt insisted, Mr. Smith said, it would have been all over for me. Dr. Purifoys nurse routinely checks on him, and if he needs an appointment, he can usually see the doctor that day or the next.

I trust him 100 percent on what he says and what he does, Mr. Smith said.

Those relationships take time and follow-up. Its not something I can do in a minute, Dr. Purifoy said. Youre never going to get that at a MedExpress.
In an Op-Ed article this week, the Rev. Jesse Jackson wrote about the need to remember the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as a radical, ecumenical, antiwar, pro-immigrant and scholarly champion of the poor. Readers shared their own reminiscences about Dr. King and their thoughts on the changes in the country since his assassination 50 years ago. Here are some of their comments and Mr. Jacksons responses.  The Editors

Thank you for sharing your witness to these powerful events. Before the recent Alabama election, the secretary of state attempted to move tens of thousands of voters onto inactive rolls. Fortunately, lawsuits brought by the N.A.A.C.P. and tireless efforts of black women to get out the vote denied the states Republicans another stolen election. In the 21st century, the need for vigilance is as keen as ever and there is still much work to do.  Ann, California

Jesse Jackson: With the changing demographics in the country there is a concerted effort by Republicans to make it harder for people of color, women, workers, students, young people, seniors and the disabled to vote. This is mostly a result of our states-rights and local-control voting systems. It will probably surprise you, but the explicit individual right to vote is not in the U.S. Constitution. The Supreme Courts Heller ruling in 2008 gave individuals the right to own a gun, but we still dont have a right to vote. Thats why Im fighting to add a right-to-vote amendment to the Constitution. Congress would then be obligated to pass voting laws with minimum common-sense national standards.

King was not a statue. He was a man of flesh and blood. A man who had fears and hopes. A man who had failures and successes. A man whose wife and kids sacrificed their family time for his struggle for racial justice. To make more of him is to diminish his achievement and give us an excuse for not doing a thing because we have no leader of his stature.
Heat waves claim more lives than any other natural hazard, and in 11 of the countrys largest school districts, in addition to countless smaller ones, many schools do not have air-conditioning.

In the Santa Maria-Bonita School District in California, teachers report that classroom temperatures sometimes reach 90 degrees. Thirty percent of the classrooms in the district lack air-conditioning, primarily because they are in old buildings that do not have the electrical capacity to support portable units. It would cost upward of $45 million to install central air in all classrooms. In 2015 the teachers union asked the school board for that funding, but the request was denied. Some teachers have resorted to offering sweaty and distracted students small cooling towels purchased with donated funds.

At the other end of the temperature spectrum, cold snaps have left children shivering in schools with malfunctioning boilers and drafty windows that do little to protect them when temperatures dip below zero. Low-income and black and Hispanic students are more likely to attend such poorly maintained schools.

This winter, Marietta English, president of the Baltimore Teachers Union, wrote in a letter to the school systems chief executive, Sonja Santelises, that trying to provide a stable learning environment in these extreme conditions is unfair and inhumane. Dr. Santelises acknowledged that too many of our buildings have outdated heating systems, poor insulation and aging pipes as a result of years of inadequate funding for maintenance and facilities improvements.

When it comes to earthquakes, we have seen some progress in terms of seismic upgrades for schools in states such as California and Oregon. But many other places lag woefully behind.

In Utah, hundreds of old school buildings with unreinforced masonry lie along or near the Wasatch Fault and could suffer serious damage, including complete collapse, in an earthquake. And in Washington, one in three children attend schools built before seismic construction standards were adopted statewide. The most unsafe schools are largely in poorer districts.

This is another reminder that these issues are not just environmental. They are social justice issues, too.
STOCKTON, Calif.  In California, known for decades as one of the nations most avid jailers, the trajectory of law and order is shifting. Through litigation, legislation and a series of ballot initiatives, the states prison population has dropped 25 percent over the past decade.

The photographer Joseph Rodriguez has been documenting crime and punishment in California for years and recently focused his gaze on the migration home, in Stockton  a barren outpost in Californias Central Valley.

Gretchen Newby, executive director of the Stockton-based nonprofit Friends Outside, which provides support to prisoners and their families, said the city was experiencing a cluster effect: Large-scale arrests two or three decades ago have combined with newly relaxed parole requirements, leading to the release of long-term prisoners back to the city. Those who have family tend to find their way. But long stretches behind bars leave many without support. Its common to come out with untreated illness, chronic conditions due to age and neglect, Ms. Newby said. How are they going to live? Friends Outside case managers work to answer this question, lining up job interviews and transitional housing.
HOUSTON  Count me among the swelling ranks of the infatuated. I, too, have been Beto-struck.

I have seen the alternative to Ted Cruz  Lord knows we need an alternative to Ted Cruz  and hes a peppy, rangy, toothy progressive with ratios of folksiness to urbanity and irreverence to earnestness that might well have been cooked up in some political laboratory. Could that formula enable Representative Beto ORourke, a Texas Democrat, to wrest Cruzs seat in the Senate from him in November?

By now youve probably heard of Beto  seemingly no one calls him by his surname  and that in and of itself is a marvel. When else has a long-shot Senate candidate with no prior celebrity drawn so much coverage? He has been the subject of lengthy profiles in The Times, The Washington Post, Politico, Rolling Stone and Vanity Fair, which bestowed upon him the mightiest political adjective of them all: Kennedyesque.

He even appeared last month on Bill Mahers HBO show, generating headlines with his response to Mahers characterization of Cruz.

Dont forget, Maher said, hes a giant asshole.

Thats true, Beto concurred.

It was a naughty swerve from his usual niceness, and over lunch in Houston on Thursday, he told me that he regretted it.
WASHINGTON  Ive noticed a weird pattern, in fiction and life, about sexual encounters: Women decide theyre not attracted to a guy theyre nestling with. Limerence is not in the cards. But they go ahead and have sex anyhow.

First, we have college student Margot in The New Yorkers much-discussed short fictional story Cat Person who recoils as she watches Robert undress. But the thought of what it would take to stop what she had set in motion was overwhelming; it would require an amount of tact and gentleness that she felt was impossible to summon. Margot doesnt want to seem spoiled or capricious, so she takes a sip of whiskey to bludgeon her resistance into submission.

Then we have the 23-year-old Brooklyn-based photographer who hooked up with comedian Aziz Ansari at his TriBeCa apartment and talked about it anonymously to the website Babe. She was distressed by his arbitrary choice of white wine at dinner, his rush to sex, the way he jammed two fingers in a V-shape down her throat.

But at his request, she gave him oral sex twice; he briefly performed it on her once.

On 60 Minutes, Stormy Daniels told Anderson Cooper that she was not at all attracted to Donald Trump but she had sex with him (without a condom). She said that she thought maybe I had it coming for making a bad decision for going to someones room alone.
THE SUGARS RECOMMEND

Middlemarch, A Study of Provincial Life, by George Eliot

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Q: Last spring, my girlfriend and I signed a two-year lease on new construction in Brooklyn. In November, we paid a $750-a-year amenity fee to use the gym, pool and outdoor space because we were told that all the features  including a business center, party room, dog run and roof deck  would be available soon. But it took months for some of these features to open, and some, like the roof deck, still arent ready. Our lease does not hold the owner liable for delays, and the agreement, which we signed with the company that operates the amenities, does not list completion dates. Yet were paying for services we cannot use. Do we have any recourse to recoup the $750 fee we paid?

A: In the rush to open a new building, developers frequently start signing leases before the paint dries on roof decks, doggy runs and billiard rooms. The amenities always lag behind, said David J. Maundrell III, Citi Habitats executive vice president of new developments for Brooklyn and Queens. Knowing that schedules are in flux, owners sometimes waive the amenity fee the first year. But yours didnt. In hindsight, it might have been a good idea to wait until all the services were available before you paid, but regardless, you paid in good faith and the owner didnt deliver. So what can you do?
Its no secret that men are overrepresented in certain technical disciplines. So is their self-confidence, a new study suggests.

The study, published this past week in the journal Advances in Physiology Education, found that male egos eclipse those of women among students asked to compare themselves with their classmates.

A male student with an average grade, for example, was predicted to see himself as smarter than 66 percent of his class, according to the study. A female student with the same grade was expected to see herself as smarter than only 54 percent of her class.

That difference is even more pronounced when students compare themselves with individual peers: Men were more than three times as likely as women to say they were smarter than the classmate with whom they worked most closely.
NEW DELHI  Seeking to build an identification system of unprecedented scope, India is scanning the fingerprints, eyes and faces of its 1.3 billion residents and connecting the data to everything from welfare benefits to mobile phones.

Civil libertarians are horrified, viewing the program, called Aadhaar, as Orwells Big Brother brought to life. To the government, its more like big brother, a term of endearment used by many Indians to address a stranger when asking for help.

For other countries, the technology could provide a model for how to track their residents. And for Indias top court, the ID system presents unique legal issues that will define what the constitutional right to privacy means in the digital age.
The crown prince is aware that Saudi Arabia has had a difficult image in the United States, because its been such a conservative country for so many decades. He wants to transform Saudi society in ways that will be very appealing to Americans.

ADAM ARON, the chief executive of the movie theater chain AMC, about Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. During the princes visit to the United States, AMC announced a deal to open the first movie theater in Saudi Arabia in decades.
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Hotels that pretend to be dog friendly yet charge extortionate fees are my literal pet peeve. Not so Kimpton, which is perhaps the paw-friendliest chain. Downtown Denvers 200-room Kimpton Hotel Born opened in August 2017, with a Wild West-goes-modern aesthetic, and when we checked in with our papillon, Huckleberry, we were greeted with peanut butter and molasses treats. That was nearly where our pampering ended, though, as some amenities the hotels website promised  including Tesla rides within a two- mile radius and an art tour of the hotels collection curated by the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver  were not available, nearly three months after opening (both are there now). The hiccups may have been symptomatic of growing pains: Kimpton has launched upward of eight properties a year since International Hotels Group acquired the brand in 2015.

Location

Unbeatable. The hotel sits adjacent to Denvers dazzlingly revamped 1914 Union Station, so guests are within walking distance of Tattered Cover Book Store; the Cruise Room, a 1933 Art Deco time warp of a bar modeled after the Queen Mary; and Sassafras American Eatery in the Highlands neighborhood, which serves the best Southern breakfast Ive had west of Dollywood.
At Sapore Downtown, those range from crispy-chewy, almost-traditional round pies with no added yeast to his triangular, ethereally light aria di pane style and the oddball mozzarella di pane, inspired by Asian-style steamed buns. (They look like slightly smushed spheres of fresh mozzarella, hence the name.)

The menu is only in Italian, but patient, bilingual servers helped my party of two plow smartly through much of the menu in two meals. We were especially enchanted with the no-added yeast Pancetta pizza, which came slathered with pumpkin cream, dolloped with mozzarella, studded with pancetta cotta and topped with generous shavings of nutty, sharp asiago stravecchio. Mr. Bosco told me that he used the pumpkin cream to please the many people who do not like tomato sauce. I love tomato sauce and didnt miss it at all here.

Another winner was the Tatin Cipolla in the rectangular PizzaCrunch category. (You can likely guess that styles distinguishing feature.) On top is a gloriously messy, multi-textured heap of red onion, radicchio, asiago and chopped hazelnuts. La Classica Sempre Buona, in the aria di pane section, features burrata dripping out from under 30-month aged prosciutto as if it were melting ice cream. It is both Instagram-ready and delicious.

Drinks are an afterthought (though there is a short but varied Italian beer list), but dessert is not: dont miss strudel-in-a-glass, a version of that pastry from the northern semiautonomous Trentino-Alto Adige region of Italy deconstructed into layers and tweaked, with welcome additions like ricotta foam and pistachio mousse.

Back to the main act: some of the more out-there creations might not be for everyone. The glistening, fatty slices of tongue topping a mozzarella di pane filled with celery-carrot cream was not my style and we didnt (dare to) try the PizzaBagels, their dough boiled in water aromatized with curry, Amarone wine or barbecue sauce.
WASHINGTON  Federal authorities have taken down Backpage.com, a major classified advertising website that has been repeatedly accused of enabling prostitution and sex trafficking of minors.

Backpage.com and affiliated websites have been seized, a notice on the website says.

Backpage has been under increasing pressure in recent years, in part because it featured ads that included what child advocates said were code words for underage girls, including Amber Alert.

In January 2017, the site shuttered its adult services listings section under mounting criticism from law enforcement groups and senators. But many of the adult listings were simply rerouted to sections of the site dedicated to dating.

Revenue at Backpage increased to $135 million in 2014 from $5.3 million in 2008, according to a Senate report last year. More than 90 percent of the earnings came from adult ads, the California Department of Justice found.
It is the nations largest appeals court, covering nine Western states and dealing with a staggering set of topics from social questions like same-sex marriage to border issues to land resource matters. Because of its size, experts say that Mr. Trump would be unable to reverse its ideological makeup even if he were able to fill all eight vacancies. Some of those nominees would replace judges who had been appointed by other Republican presidents.

But there is no dispute that Mr. Trump has the chance to push it to the right. The dynamics of the court could change in many subtle ways  producing, for example, more sharp dissents that catch the attention of the Supreme Court, said Leonard Leo, the executive vice president of the Federalist Society.

Plus, it is hard to measure the effect of the loss of Judge Reinhardt, who was seen as a major influence on the liberal wing of the court and a talented and articulate legal protector of liberal views. The death of Judge Reinhardt means more than the loss of a liberal vote, said Arthur Hellman, a law professor at the University of Pittsburgh and a leading expert on the appeals court.

The mounting vacancies throw the future of the Ninth Circuit into the continuing Senate clash over the federal judiciary, one area where Mr. Trump has had success, with the enthusiastic assistance of Senator Mitch McConnell, the Kentucky Republican and majority leader. Since Mr. Trump took office, the Senate has confirmed not only Justice Neil M. Gorsuch of the Supreme Court, but also a record 14 appeals court judges and 14 district court judges.

Many more are in the pipeline. I believe thats the most important thing we are doing, Mr. McConnell told a newspaper editorial board last week in Kentucky.

The Trump administration has already put forward two nominees for Ninth Circuit openings. One, Mark Bennett, the former attorney general of Hawaii, has the support of the states two Democratic senators.
Trump administration officials argue that the tariffs on Chinese goods, while not intended to help certain American industries, are necessary to prevent China from continuing to violate international trade rules. They say that less aggressive measures by past administrations failed, and that China has stolen American jobs and technology that are the key to future prosperity.

Its not possible to have true gain without the pain, said Dan DiMicco, a trade adviser to Mr. Trump during the presidential campaign. The battle is worth the victory, and we will win.

But farm-state Republicans like Mr. Cramer believe that their constituents could be a casualty, and they are begging the Department of Agriculture to intervene.

Mr. Trump has directed the department to implement a plan to help farmers cope with the damage from tariffs. But few details have been forthcoming about how such a program would work or how much it might cost. And it is not clear how much the Agriculture Department could do to remedy the damage done to key trading relations in a global economy.

The secretary of agriculture has some authority to help farmers by creating new programs that could draw on funds from the Treasury. For instance, the secretary could direct the Commodity Credit Corporation, a government-owned entity, to purchase soybeans to buoy farmers revenues, said Kent Conrad, a former Democratic senator from North Dakota.

In the past, these powers have been used to provide relief from wildfires and other natural disasters, farm groups said. But such a program could be time-consuming and costly.

All of that has serious consequences, Mr. Conrad said. It has costs to the government at a time when the deficits and debt have already soared, and we are going to have a trillion-dollar deficit. The federal budget deficit, despite the strong economy, reached $598 billion for the first half of the current fiscal year, the Congressional Budget Office said on Friday, $71 billion more than was recorded during the same period last year.
LOME, Togo  The air-conditioner was broken in the sweltering neonatal ward of Togos largest hospital, and only one nurse was on duty to attend to the two dozen infants with life-threatening conditions.

Mothers with babies in the ward were imploring friends and family for loans to buy basic medical supplies from pharmacies around Lome, the capital, because items like drugs, saline solution, latex gloves and packets of clean water were not available at Sylvanus Olympio University Teaching Hospital.

One infant, Tresor Tsolenyanou, was born in February with gastroschisis, a condition in which the intestines are partly exposed through a hole in the abdominal muscles. He shared a crib with several other babies, his bulging torso wrapped in gauze.

In the United States, the survival rate for gastroschisis is 90 percent. But because of the high risk of infection in this overcrowded, understaffed and undersupplied hospital, Tresor was likely to die, said Steven Kagni, the wards attending nurse.
NEW DELHI  The Bollywood star Salman Khan was granted bail on Saturday while he appealed a conviction for killing two rare antelopes, which came with a five-year jail sentence. Its a further twist in a case that has gone on for almost two decades.

Mr. Khan was convicted and sentenced by a court in the city of Jodhpur, in Rajasthan State, on Thursday, and spent the next two nights in jail.

The decision to grant him bail, which was set at some $1,500, followed the planned transfer of 87 judges, including at least one who heard the bail application, by the Rajasthan High Court late Friday evening for unspecified administrative reasons.

Mr. Khans lawyers have requested that the court in Jodhpur also suspend his sentence. The next hearing is scheduled for May 7.
Carles Puigdemont, the former leader of Catalonia, made a renewed call on Saturday for Spanish authorities to open negotiations over the regions secession claim, a day after he was released from a German jail.

Mr. Puigdemont told reporters that he hoped a German courts decision not to extradite him to Spain on charges of rebellion showed that that political measures are needed to defuse the political conflict in his home country.

This opens a new opportunity of dialogue, Mr. Puigdemont said at a news conference in Berlin.

The former president of Catalonia left a German prison in Neumuenster on bail on Friday, almost two weeks after his arrest, after a state court in Germany decided the charge of rebellion did not warrant extradition because the accusation is not punishable under German law. Mr. Puigdemont can still be extradited on the less serious charge of misuse of funds to hold Catalonias banned independence referendum last year.

After Catalonia declared independence last fall, Spains central government dissolved the regional Parliament and charged its leaders with sedition, a move which prompted Mr. Puigdemont to flee into exile in Brussels. He was returning to Belgium from a conference in Finland when he was detained by German authorities on March 25 on a European arrest warrant issued by Madrid.
SZEKESFEHERVAR, Hungary  On thousands of billboards and posters, Viktor Orbans campaign for a fourth term as Hungarys leader in elections on Sunday uses a photo showing a long line of migrants hiking through the countryside.

On the image is one simple message, a red sign: STOP.

It hardly seems to matter that the migration crisis has largely passed and that there are now more posters in Hungary about the danger of immigrants and refugees than actual refugees and immigrants let into the country this past year.

The poster is in keeping with a campaign that has been rife with dirty tricks, false news stories, vicious personal attacks, conspiracy theories and perceived enemies all around.
LONDON  The Russian Embassy in London on Saturday sought a meeting with Britains foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, over the poisoning of a former Russian spy, saying its dealings with Britain over the issue had been utterly unsatisfactory.

Britain replied that its Russias response that has been unsatisfactory, as the two countries continued a bitter public feud over the nerve-agent attack.

The Russian Embassy said in a statement that it was high time for a meeting between Mr. Johnson and its ambassador, Alexander Yakovenko, to discuss the investigation into the poisoning of the spy, Sergei Skripal, and his daughter, Yulia, and the whole range of bilateral issues.

The British Foreign Office said it had received the request and would respond in due course. But in a statement it accused Russia of employing a diversionary tactic and refusing to engage constructively and answer questions about the attack.
The arrest was the latest blow to the Roman Catholic Church as it struggles to overcome repeated cases of sexual abuse among its clergy. The case was also the worst involving a diplomat since that of former Archbishop Jozef Wesolowski, who in 2013 faced charges of paying boys for sexual acts and downloading and buying pedophile material while he was the Vaticans ambassador in the Dominican Republic.

The pontiff has declared zero tolerance for the abuse that has plagued the Church for decades, but critics say he has not done enough, particularly in holding bishops responsible for mishandling or covering up misconduct.

The State Department first notified the Holy See in August of a possible violation of laws relating to child pornography images by a member of the Holy Sees diplomatic corps accredited to Washington, the Vatican said in September.

A State Department spokesman said then that the United States had requested that the mans diplomatic immunity be waived to open the way for a possible prosecution there, but the Vatican had refused. The Vatican did not identify the cleric, but Italian news media reports and an American official familiar with the investigation said it was Monsignor Capella.

He could not be reached for comment; the Vatican said he was being held in a cell in the Vaticans police barracks.
JERUSALEM  The Friday of Tires protest ended with another nine Palestinians killed along the fence hemming in Gaza despite a smokescreen of burning rubber and a second round of international criticism over Israels use of lethal force.

Now, young Gazans are talking about staging a Flower Friday, a Coffin Friday, and even a Shoes Friday at which demonstrators would fling footwear at soldiers to protest Israels longstanding blockade of the impoverished territory and its two million residents.

Far from being discouraged by the smaller turnout on Friday compared to a week earlier, Palestinians seem energized and enthusiastic about sustaining a generally nonviolent form of protest  even if it is Israels harsh response to it and the mounting Palestinian death toll that has put their conflict with Israel back on the international agenda.

The Arab leaders, especially in the Gulf, thought they could neglect the Palestinian cause, said Omar Shaban, director of PalThink for Strategic Studies, a Gaza think tank. They thought its a stable conflict. But it reminds them, the U.S., Israel, the Europeans  all of them  that the problem is still there, guys. Things might seem to be stable, but no. Its boiling.
Police in Youngstown, Ohio, have received over a dozen reports of zombie-like raccoons coming out in the daytime, flashing their teeth and just falling on their backs for no apparent reason.

Youngstown has always had a raccoon population, but the furry mammals usually stayed out of peoples way, only coming out at night to search through their trash cans for food. However, last month, some of the raccoons started acting really strange. They would come out in broad daylight, sometimes walking up all the way to peoples front doors, flash their sharp teeth in a threatening manner and then fall on their back and enter a comatose-like state. Over the past three weeks, such raccoons came to be known as zombie raccoons.

Photo: Tobias Mercer/Wikimedia Commons

72-year-old Robert Coggeshall was one of the first people to notice the raccoons bizarre behaviour. He was playing with his dog in the yard one day, when he saw a raccoon coming his way. That alone was very strange, as the reclusive mammals dont really come out during the daytime, but this one was coming straight for him, so he and the dog went inside the house. The raccoon came up all the way to his door, and then things got really weird.

He would stand up on his hind legs, which Ive never seen a raccoon do before, and he would show his teeth and then he would fall over backward and go into almost a comatose condition, Coggeshall told local news station WKBN. Hed come out of it, walk around and then hed do the same thing again, get on his feet and show his teeth.



Coggeshall, a wildlife photographer and naturalist told the Washington Post that the raccoon repeated the bizarre routine over and over again, for two hours. At one point, he grabbed his camera and started taking photos of it, some of which he later posted on Facebook.

Youngstown police told WKBN that they have received at least 14 similar reports in the past three weeks, with most of the calls coming during the daytime.



Although wildlife experts are yet to offer an official explanation for the raccoons bizarre behaviour, some experts believe that they are likely infected with a disease called distemper. A relative of the human measles virus, this disease usually infects unvaccinated dogs but it is also transmissible to foxes, coyotes and skunks. In 2003, the first tiger reported to be infected with distemper was spotted wondering into the Russian town of Pokrovka. It just sat down on the pavement, completely ignoring everything around it.

Early symptoms associated with distemper include high fever and watery discharges from the nose and mouth, but in the later stages, the virus starts to affect the animals nervous system, causing attacks of hysteria, seizures and fits. the disease is not transmissible to humans.



As news of zombie raccoons in Youngstown started spreading online, the animal control service in Cook County, Illinois, reported a similar outbreak of their own, also attributed to distemper.

What you are most impressed with is these animals walking extremely slowly, and not seeming to care about their surroundings, Donna Alexander, administrator for Cook County Animal & Rabies Control, told CBS Chicago. They are not showing any fear of humans. They are walking around during the daytime. Sometimes they lie down, even though they are completely awake.



There is currently no known cure for distemper, so in order to keep the virus from spreading, infected animals need to be trapped and put down.
A Chinese art student sparked a heated debate online after using the wings of over 500 butterflies to create a series of artworks symbolizing rebirth. While some consider her sick for using butterfly wings as an art medium, others think her creations qualify as original art.

Li Zheng, a fourth-year art student at Quanzhou Normal University in Fujian province, China, created a series of artworks consisting of meticulously arranged butterfly wings as part of her graduation piece. She and her colleagues were instructed by their lecturer to recreate famous artworks using different materials. Li decided she wanted to recreate some of the masterpieces of Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh, but at first, she had no idea what materials she was going to use.

Photo: video screengrab

While doing some research, Li Zheng discovered an artist who used butterfly wings in their art, and she realized that, in most cultures, the tiny insects symbolized renewal and rebirth, which made them a very intriguing art medium. So she somehow got her hands on around 500 butterflies and used their colorful wings to recreate some of Van Goghs paintings, including his famous self-portrait.

Photo: video screengrab

Theres no question that Zhengs butterfly artworks actually look really impressive, but what a lot of people seem to have a problem with is that some of the butterflies she used during the creative process were actually alive. The artist herself admits that, but claims she is not at all ashamed of her actions, because they actually fit into the whole rebirth symbolism. The insects may have died at her hands, but they were (technically) reborn as a piece of art.

Photo: video screengrab

I am not ashamed of my artworks, Li said. While working on these pieces, I actually thought long and hard whether to continue using butterflies as the primary medium. In the end, I decided to keep using them, as I felt that they play a vital role in expressing rebirth, despite the accusations of animal cruelty.

Li Zhengs butterfly wing paintings seem to have split Chinese social media in two. One side is accusing her of killing the insects for a petty purpose and claiming that she has mental problems, while the other believes that her pieces qualify as original art, and accuses her critics of applying a double standard. They say the use of butterflies wouldnt have been an issue had it been done by a foreign artist.

via World of Buzz
A 9-year-old boy from Kerala, in India, has become a social media sensation after videos of him lighting rechargeable LED light bulbs just by touching their electrical contacts with any part of his body went viral online.

Abu Thahir, who hails from Muhamma near Alappuzha, Kerala, discovered his unusual power only recently, while returning home with his father after buying a rechargeable LED light bulb. His father, Nizar, who happens to be an electrician, told reporters that when he passed the light-bulb to his son, it just lit up in his hand. At first, he thought it was some sort of prank, but then he noticed that the bulb lit up whenever the electrical contacts on its bottom touched any part of his sons body.

Photo: Manorama Online

Thahirs aunt was so impressed by his trick that she filmed him lighting up the light bulb with her smartphone and shared it on social media. It quickly went viral and the family started receiving calls from reporters wanting to interview and film the boy. However, he apparently doesnt care much for fame, and is reportedly a bit embarrassed about his celebrity status on Indian social media, which explains why there is currently no high-quality footage of him lighting up light bulbs.

Some sources speculate that another reason for the scarcity of video proof of Abu Thahirs power is that it may be fake. None of the photos and videos Ive seen show the boys entire body, so it is technically possible that low electrical current is made to enter his body and he only acts as a conductor. Other people are saying that the light-bulb itself could have been tampered with, that his electrician father may have installed a small battery inside it.

However, expert Joshy K Kuriakose told Manorama Online that the unusual phenomenon could also be caused by the high salt content in his body.

People who sweat more usually have a high salt content in their body. If the level is unusually high, Kuriakose said. The salt content increases the skins conductivity. This could explain why an LED bulbs lights up when pressed against Thahirs body.

If you connect the two leads of the rechargeable bulb with a wire, it will light up. Thahirs body it will light up. Thahirs body is conducting electricity like a wire, the expert added.

Interestingly, 9-year-old Abu Thahir cannot light up any light bulb, only rechargeable LED bulbs. If he presses the two contacts on the bottom long enough, his whole body will allegedly begin to heat up.



Nazir is really proud of his sons power, calling it a gift from God. As for Thahir, he doesnt mind being able to power up light bulbs, but he doesnt like the fame that comes with his unusual ability. He is currently lying low, preparing for the two school exams he has two take before the summer vacation.
Tweezers have been around for thousands of years, but theyve never really been regarded as one of the coolest tools man ever invented. Well, a Japanese company is looking to change that with its awesome Tweezers of Legend.

Having to pluck a rogue hair strand from your eyebrow or nose is not the most exciting task, but what if your tweezers looked like a legendary sword, the like of which you only see in over-the-top fantasy anime or video games? Now were talking, right? Well, thanks to Japanese company waqwaq Inc., you can now battle your body hair like a fabled hero.

Tweezers of Legends have been commercially available in Japan for the last two years, but last month waqwaq started a crowdfunding campaign to make them available worldwide. With only 3 days to go, theyve already reached their funding goal, so well all be able to become hair plucking legends soon.

Originally, Tweezers of Legend were made of stainless steel and were designed only as miniature sword, but waqwaq has since started making them from titanium, and also introduced new and exciting designs, like miniature lances and staves.

According to the Kickstarter description , Tweezers of Legend are manufactured by wire electric discharge machining.

In this way wire electric discharge machining can cut metal vertically with high precision. This is the feature that is necessary to increase the accuracy of tweezers, manufacturers write. The tip of the tweezers works by matching two flat faces. If there is only a slight distortion on that side, a gap will be formed and you will not be able to grab the thin hair. Tweezers of Legend made with wire electric discharge machining has high precision so that you can grasp the fibers of tissue paper.

So they not only look badass, but should actually be better than regular tweezers as well. Whats not to like!

Tweezers of Legend come in their own special case, and include a detachable key ring to allow you to take them everywhere with you and fight rogue hairs in style.

You can pre-order your very own Tweezers of Legend by pledging 3,800 yen ($36) on Kickstarter, but youll have to act fast, as the campaign ends on April 8. This will earn you the classic metallic sword-shaped tweezers, but if youd like the gold or blue version, youll need to pledge at least 9,000 yen $84).

For now, waqwaq is only selling sword-shaped Tweezers of Legend, but their Twitter page features images of other designs as well, so were likely to see more awesome hair-fighting tools in the near future.



Photos: @fuuuwa/Twitter
'A humanist, not a casteist', says Siddaramaiah on Chamundeshwari campaign trail

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

Chief Minister of Karnataka, Siddaramaiah described allegations of him being inclined towards the Dalits, minorities and backward classes as politically motivated.

"I have also been accused of being arrogant. That is incorrect and it sounds that way because my speech is rough", the Chief Minister said while campaigning for the Karnataka assembly elections.

Siddaramaiah who is contesting from the Chamundeshwari assembly constituency reached also reached out to the Vokkaliga community. While addressing a gathering he said that he was a humanist and not a casteist. There is no truth in the misinformation campaign that is being carried out against me accusing me of being a casteist, he also said. The Chief Minister is on a hectic campaign trail and in Chamundeshwari, he is pitted against former minister G T Deve Gowda of the JD(S).

Siddaramaiah focused his campaign on rejecting allegations of him being inclined towards a particular caste or community. Citing the example of Varuna, his current constituency, he said that the developmental works undertaken by him did not benefit one community. It benefited all, the farmers, in particular, he also said.

"I have won five elections from Chamundeshwari and two from Varuna. This was because he had the support of all the people and not of just one caste", he further added.

Karnataka Assembly Election dates Date of notification April 17 Last date to file nominations April 24 Last date to withdraw nominations April 27 Date of polling May 12 Date of counting May 15
Battle Chamundeshwari: A bumpy road ahead for Siddaramaiah

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

There are murmurs on the streets that the BJP and JD(S) may enter into a secret pact to defeat, Karnataka Chief Minister, Siddaramaiah in the Chamundeshwari constituency.

Political pundits say that Siddaramaiah may finally come out victorious in this battle, but he will have to slog it out. The Chief Minister has been spending a considerable amount of time in his constituency. On Friday, he addressed several gatherings and the tone of his campaign suggested that he is trying to shrug off the casteist tag that the opposition has attached to him. In a passionate plea made to the voters, he described himself as a humanist.

Speaking to a cross-section of the people in the constituency one gets the impression that many still are with Siddaramaiah. He has won this constituency five times in the past. In 2008 he moved out of this constituency owing to delimitation and contest twice from Varuna.

Today he is back to where he began and is sparing no effort to win over the voters. Rajaiah who sells snacks says that if he feels that the Congress is in with a chance, then his vote would go to Siddaramaiah. It is good to have a chief minister from your constituency, he also says.

No easy pickings:

Siddaramaiah threw in the emotional spin at the start of a campaign by announcing that this would be his last outing. Rewind 2013, he had said the same.

'A humanist, not a casteist', says Siddaramaiah on Chamundeshwari campaign trail

Siddaramaiah's is pitted against G T Deve Gowda of the JD(S). He is no walkover and holds considerable sway over the Nayaka, Vokkaliga and Dalit communities. Siddaramaiah will be defeated, says the other Gowda in the JD(S).

Throwing his weight behind G T Deve Gowda is H D Deve Gowda himself. The former PM has toured the constituency and has vowed to defeat Siddaramaiah who was once part of his party.

Karnataka Elections 2018: Congress levels fresh corruption charges against Yeddyurappa

The JD(S) is leaving no stone unturned and has been visiting the Veerashaiva mutts, Dalit colonies and Nayakas. The campaign in the urban pockets too is hectic. The JD(S) boasts of development of the constituency ever since Siddaramaiah vacated it in 2008.

Not entirely safe:

Being a CM is no insurance for a victory, electoral history has shown. The Chamundeshwari constituency has changed a lot. The constituency wears an urbanised feel and the standard of living of the people has improved over the years.

The JD(S) claims credit for the same and this is very much part of its campaign slogan. To make it harder for Siddaramaiah, both Deve Gowda and his son Kumaraswamy have promised to stop the Congress march. They say that they will take revenge as Siddaramaiah had said ahead of the elections that the JD(S) would not even win 30 seats.

Karnataka election may be the last where netas can contest from two seats

The JD(S) has brought in the likes of Srinivasa Prasad and A H Vishwanath to snatch away as many AHINDA votes as possible which Siddaramaiah banks heavily on.

Overall it would be a very interesting constituency to watch out for. The writing on the wall is the battle ahead is anything but easy for Siddaramaiah.

Karnataka Assembly Election dates Date of notification April 17 Last date to file nominations April 24 Last date to withdraw nominations April 27 Date of polling May 12 Date of counting May 15
Bihar: Nitish cabinet decides to reduce examination fees for women candidates

India

pti-PTI

Patna, Apr 7: In a Bihar Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, a decision was taken to reduce the fee for various competitive examinations for women candidates of all categories of the state. The decision was taken on Friday (April 6), Cabinet Secretariat Department's principal secretary Arun Kumar Singh told reporters.

The fee reduction would be applicable to the examinations conducted by Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) and Bihar Staff Selection Commission (BSSC), he said. The examination fee has been reduced from Rs 600 to Rs 150 for preliminary test and from Rs 750 to Rs 200 for mains examination. The cabinet also gave its nod for creation of posts for reconstitution and restructuring of the Bihar Administrative Service (BAS) cadre, Singh adding that the number of various posts of BAS had gone upto 1634 from current 1150.

The decision would increase the number of posts such as deputy collector, senior deputy collector, under secretary, deputy secretary, joint secretary and special secretary, he added. It also gave its nod to Road Construction Department's proposal to construct four state highways at a cost of Rs 1482 crore, Singh said and adding four SHs are - Kadiraganj-Khaira (SH-82), Akbarnagar-Amarpur (SH-85), Udakishanganj-Bhatgama (SH-58) and Bihiya-Jagdishpur Bihta (SH-102).

In an another decision, the cabinet enhanced the corpus of Bihar Contingency Fund (BCF) from Rs 350 crore to Rs 7079.61 crore till March 30, 2019 for carrying out relief work in the event of natural calamities, the principal secretary said. The cabinet also gave its nod to certain amendments to 'Affordable Housing and Slum Rehabilitation and Redevelopment Policy 2017' for lower income group, he added.

PTI

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Blackbuck poaching case: Salman Khan gets bail, Bishnoi community to move HC

India

oi-Deepika

By Deepika

In a huge relief to Bollywood actor Salman Khan, the Jodhpur Court on Wednesday acquitted him in a 19-year-old Arms Act Case. However, Bishnoi's are planning to move Rajasthan High Court against the verdict.

The Bishnoi Samaj, which had registered the complaint against Salman for killing the two bluckbucks 20 years back, have said it will approach the High Court against the verdict.

The Bishnois consider the blackbuck to be the reincarnation of their religious Guru Bhagwan Jambeshwar also known as Jambaji.

Jodhpur jail granted bail to Bollywood actor Salman Khan, who has been sentenced to five years in prison for killing two blackbucks in 1998, today (April 7).

The bail has been granted on a surety of Rs 50,000. As per reports, the actor's fans have begun their celebrations as the superstar is set to walk free.

Salman Khan's lawyer had filed the bail application in the court on Friday (April 6). Judge Ravindra Kumar Joshi had, on Friday, put off the hearing by a day as he wanted to see the entire case record before deciding whether Salman Khan should be granted bail.

The prosecution had opposed the bail to Salman Khan stating that the eye witness accounts make a strong case against the superstar.

Salman Khan has now spent two nights in Jodhpur Central Jail after he was convicted on Thursday. This was Salman's fourth stint in the Jodhpur Central Jail, which also houses religious preacher Asaram Bapu, who has been accused of rape. Salman has earlier spent a total of 18 days in the jail in 1998, 2006 and 2007, all for cases of poaching.

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Story first published: Saturday, April 7, 2018, 18:03 [IST]
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Salman Khan back in Mumbai after serving 2 days in jail for poaching

India

oi-Vikas

By Vikas

Salman Khan gets bail in Black Buck poaching case, to be released soon | Oneindia News

Bollywood actor Salman Khan was on Saturday released from the Jodhpur jail after being granted bail by a district and sessions court here in the 1998 blackbuck poaching case in which he was sentenced to five years in jail.

Immediately after his release, Khan, 52, was driven under police escort to the airport here, a police official said.

Khan walked out of the jail after the prison authorities received the court papers granting him bail, the official said.

Earlier, a Jodhpur Court granted bail to Bollywood actor Salman Khanon a surety of Rs 50,000. As per reports, the actor's fans have begun their celebrations as the superstar is set to walk free.

Salman Khan's lawyer had filed the bail application in the court on Friday (April 6). Judge Ravindra Kumar Joshi had, on Friday, put off the hearing by a day as he wanted to see the entire case record before deciding whether Salman Khan should be granted bail.

The prosecution had opposed the bail to Salman Khan stating that the eye witness accounts make a strong case against the superstar.

#Rajasthan: District & sessions court judge Ravindra Kumar Joshi arrives at Jodhpur Court, he will be hearing #SalmanKhan's bail plea. Khan was awarded a 5-year jail term in #BlackBuckPaochingCase. pic.twitter.com/9GsbkO6uTn  ANI (@ANI) April 7, 2018

Interestingly, Joshi, the Jodhpur Sessions Judge, was among 87 sessions court judges who were transferred. Dev Kumar Khatri, the judge who sent Salman Khan to jail for killing two blackbucks 20 years ago, has also been transferred out in the major reshuffle of Rajasthan's judicial officers ordered by the High Court.

Salman Khan has now spent two nights in Jodhpur Central Jail after he was convicted on Thursday. This was Salman's fourth stint in the Jodhpur Central Jail, which also houses religious preacher Asaram Bapu, who has been accused of rape. Salman has earlier spent a total of 18 days in the jail in 1998, 2006 and 2007, all for cases of poaching.

Khan was lodged in the barracks next to rape accused self-styled 'godman' Asaram, and jail officials said the two exchanged pleasantries on Thursday before retiring for the night. The actor, who is prisoner No. 106, rested for three hours in the afternoon after a lunch of dal, mixed vegetable and chapatti, said an HT report.

Bollywood actors Saif Ali Khan, Sonali Bendre, Tabu and Neelam, who were the co-accused in the case, were acquitted by the court on Thursday. Khan and other actors were accused of poaching blackbucks on the midnight of October 1-2, 1998 during the filming of the Hindi movie Hum Saath Saath Hain.

Villagers of the Bishnoi community, who filed the case against the actors and pursued the poaching case for almost two decades, celebrated on Thursday after Salman Khan's conviction.

[Salman Khan's bail order reserved till tomorrow, one more night in jail for superstar]

Final arguments of the case were completed in the trial court on March 28, after which Chief Judicial Magistrate Dev Kumar Khatri had reserved the judgment.

[Blackbuck poaching case: Here's what judge said while sentencing Salman Khan]

Salman was convicted in one of the cases in 2006 and was sentenced to five years in jail. While the actor spent a week in jail, the sentence was suspended by the Rajasthan High Court. The actor was also booked under the Arms Act as the licence of the gun he allegedly used while hunting had expired. However, the charges were later dropped due to lack of evidence.

Here's the timeline of blackbuck poaching case:

15th October, 1998: Forest department filed a case against Salman for allegedly possessing an arm with an expired license and killing two blackbucks in Kankani village in Jodhpur.

October 2, 1998: A police complaint was filed against the five actors Salman Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Sonali Bendre, Tabu and Neelam for allegedly killing two blackbucks while they were shooting for the movie Hum Sath Sath Hain in Rajasthan's Jodhpur.

17 October, 1998: Khan was released on bail days after he was arrested.

April 10, 2006: Salman Khan convicted in the blackbuck hunting case. He was slapped with a fine and sentenced to five years in jail. He spent a week in jail in Jodhpur before being granted bail.

August 31, 2006: The Rajasthan Court suspended the sentence and ordered the actor to not leave the country without formal permission.

December 18, 2014: Court rejected Khan's plea seeking permission to summon Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) and District Magistrate(DM) of Mumbai as witnesses in the case.

April 29, 2015: Khan appeared in Jodhpur court to record his statement.

July 25, 2016: The Rajasthan High Court acquitted Salman Khan of all charges in the blackbuck poaching case. The High Court said that there was no evidence to prove that the animals which were found dead were shot by the actor's licensed gun.

October 19, 2016: Rajasthan government again appeals to the Supreme Court challenging the High Court's decision.

November 11, 2016: Salman Khan was issued notice by the Supreme Court on an appeal by the Rajasthan government challenging his acquittal in blackbuck poaching case. The top court agrees to fast-track the plea.

Jan 18, 2017: Khan was acquitted of all charges by Jodhpur court.

April 5, 2018: A Jodhpur court has convicted Bollywood superstar Salman Khan in the 1998 blackbuck poaching case, while other actors -Saif Ali Khan, Tabu, Sonali Bendre and Neelam Kothari - have been acquitted.
Communal violence in Bihar: BJP leaders write to top cop demanding impartial probe

India

oi-Oneindia Staff

By Oneindia Staff

Patna, April 7: Last month several districts of Bihar witnessed communal violence that jolted the state's otherwise peaceful and harmonious co-existence of various communities. Violent incidents in Bihar and neighbouring West Bengal started during the celebrations of the Hindu religious festival, Ram Navami.

The communal riots which started from Bhagalpur ended up engulfing eights more districts in Bihar--Munger, Samastipur, Gaya, Siwan, Aurangabad, Nawada, Kaimur and Siwan--in a few days. At least one person was killed and more than 65 were injured during the communal riots.

The Nitish Kumar government is facing severe criticism for allegedly going soft on the hatemongers. Bihar is under the rule of the Janata Dal (United) (JD(U)) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) has alleged that the chief minister did not stop the communal conundrum as it was incited by the BJP, a partner in his government. The RJD also stated that CM Kumar has lost all power after he broke alliance with Lalu Prasad Yadav's party to join hands with the BJP.

Now, a 13-member team of the BJP wrote a letter to the Bihar DGP alleging arrest of innocent people and partial action in incidents of communal violence. The letter stated that administration was strict with majority community and soft towards the minority, reported ANI. The BJP leaders have demanded an impartial probe into the communal riots.

13 members of BJP wrote to #Bihar DGP alleging arrest of innocents & partial action in incidents of communal violence. The letter states that administration was strict with majority community & soft towards minority, demanded impartial probe.  ANI (@ANI) April 7, 2018

The BJP leaders said, "As per the reports received by us, 187 Hindus have been arrested as opposed to only 23 Muslims. One Nasir Khan, a local goon who is one of the main accused, was seen firing in the incident in Aurangabad. In other districts too, anti-social elements of the minority community attacked Ram Navami processions, threw shoes and pelted stones to incite people, following which the majority community people became violent."

"We have urged the police to release the innocent people immediately and not to round them up in future. A high-level and impartial probe should be ordered into the lopsided attitude of the administration in these incidents," the BJP leaders added.
List of all single-use plastic items to be banned from July 2022

Friendship is most important, particularly with India: Nepal PM Oli

India

oi-Vikas

By Vikas

Nepal's Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli, who was accorded a ceremonial reception at the Rashtrapati Bhawan in Delhi today (April 7), said that friendship with neighbours, especially with India is very important. PM Oli also met President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the ceremonial welcome.

"Friendship is most important & there is no comparison with friendship. Any treaty any agreement, everything starts from friendship. With our neighbours, particularly with India, we first expect friendship," he said.

Cementing a unique relationship of friendship! Prime Minister of Nepal, Rt. Honble K.P. Sharma Oli was accorded a ceremonial welcome @rashtrapatibhvn. PM @narendramodi received PM Oli on his first State visit since his election. pic.twitter.com/lWSFLVwQPE  Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) April 7, 2018

Prime Minister Oli arrived in India on Friday, April 6, for a three-day visit. He is slated to hold talks with the top Indian leadership to strengthen the partnership between the two countries. Oli is likely to take up various issues including the early execution of India funded projects in Nepal, implementation of the Mahakali Treaty and construction of integrated check posts.

This is Oli's first visit to India after became the Prime Minister of Nepal for the second time in February this year after the Left Alliance swept the elections in November-December 2017.

The 66-year-old leader is not known to be India-friendly now and experts on South Asian politics believe that New Delhi has a test on its hand now to tackle Nepal, an age-old friend which has shown a strong tendency to lean in favour of China of late.

The Nepalese premier met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday evening ahead of delegation-level talks on Saturday.

"Delighted to meet the Prime Minister of Nepal, Mr KP Sharma Oli," Modi tweeted after the meeting.

Modi also posted photographs on Twitter of his meeting with Oli at the Prime Minister's official residence in Delhi.

Oli, while speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a dinner hosted by the Nepalese Embassy on Friday, said Nepal wants to be close with "every neighbour" and "every friend".

Responding to questions on his discussions with Prime Minister Modi during the meeting, Oli said, "It was excellent".

Earlier in on Friday evening, Oli also addressed members of the Nepalese community at an event at Nepal's Embassy in New Delhi.

(OneIndia News with PTI inputs)
Gadgets Guru director arrested for alleged tax evasion

India

oi-Vikas

By Vikas

The director of the online technology portal Gadgets Guru, Rajpal Singh, has been arrested on charges of non-payment of service tax and GST, said reports. ANI reported that there is a liability of over Rs 8 crores on Singh.

Gadgets Guru is a technology and Information e-commerce site. It is a sister concern of Oracle Telesystems, Singapore. The company headquarters are located in Mumbai and have business offices in Chennai and Pune.

The power to arrest a Service Tax evader was first given in 2013 before which revenue authorities had no power to arrest such persons for non-payment of collected Service Tax. The Finance Ministry had in 2016, proposed 100 per cent increase, to Rs two crore, in the monetary limit for arresting Service Tax evaders.
Sher Bahadur Deuba to take oath as new Prime Minister of Nepal today

Our friendship with India and China remains of 'paramount importance': Nepal at UN

India, Nepal committed to stopping misuse of open borders: Modi

India

oi-Vikas

By Vikas

Asserting that India would continue to work towards the development of Nepal, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday (April 7) said that both countries have agreed to work towards a new railway line to connect Kathmandu with India.

In a joint statement with his Nepalese counterpart KP Oli, PM Modi said both nations have strong relations when it came to security.

"We aim at improving waterways and railways with Nepal. today we reviewed the progress in various such connectivity project..We have strong relations when it comes to the aspect of security and are committed towards stopping misuse of our open borders," Modi said.

PM Khadga Prasad Oli said that Nepal attaches great importance to its relations with India.

"Our countries enjoy age-old historical ties and have many things to offer to each other..I invited PM Modi to pay a visit to Nepal at the earliest convenient time, I am hopeful that the visit will take place soon," Oli said.

PM Oli accorded ceremonial reception at Rashtrapati Bhawan Prime Minister Oli was accorded a ceremonial reception at the Rashtrapati Bhawan in Delhi earlier today (April 7). PM Oli also met President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the ceremonial welcome. India-Nepal bilateral talks at Hyderabad House Prime Minister Oli arrived in India on Friday, April 6, for a three-day visit. He is slated to hold talks with the top Indian leadership to strengthen the partnership between the two countries. Oli was expected to take up various issues including the early execution of India funded projects in Nepal, implementation of the Mahakali Treaty and construction of integrated checkposts. Modi-Oli at Hyderabad House This is Oli's first visit to India after became the Prime Minister of Nepal for the second time in February this year after the Left Alliance swept the elections in November-December 2017. The 66-year-old leader is not known to be India-friendly now and experts on South Asian politics believe that New Delhi has a test on its hand now to tackle Nepal, an age-old friend which has shown a strong tendency to lean in favour of China of late. PM Oli meets President Kovind The Nepalese premier met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday evening ahead of delegation-level talks on Saturday. "Delighted to meet the Prime Minister of Nepal, Mr KP Sharma Oli," Modi tweeted after the meeting. Modi also posted photographs on Twitter of his meeting with Oli at the Prime Minister's official residence in Delhi.

Oli, while speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a dinner hosted by the Nepalese Embassy on Friday, said Nepal wants to be close with "every neighbour" and "every friend".

Responding to questions on his discussions with Prime Minister Modi during the meeting, Oli said, "It was excellent".

Earlier in on Friday evening, Oli also addressed members of the Nepalese community at an event at Nepal's Embassy in New Delhi.

OneIndia News with PTI inputs
Indrani Mukerjea hospitalised, currently in CCU of JJ Hospital

India

oi-Vikas

By Vikas

Indrani Mukerjea, media baron and prime accused in the Sheena Bora murder case, was on Friday evening rushed to JJ Hospital in Mumbai. Indrani was rushed to the emergency ward of JJ Hospital from Byculla prison in a delirious condition, said reports.

Indrani, who is also an accused in INX Media case, was arrested for abduction and murder of her own daughter Sheena Bora in April 2012.

She was hospitalised even in 2015 after she allegedly overdosed on pills. Indrani was reportedly taking anti-epilepsy medicines since September 11, 2015. It was then suspected that she might have accumulated pills beyond the prescribed numbers and then taken them in one go. She was in October 2015 admitted to hospital in the semi-conscious state.

Indrani, the wife of media baron Peter Mukerjea, was arrested by Khar police on August 25 for her alleged role in the murder of Sheena, her daughter from an earlier marriage, in 2012. Sheena, 24, daughter of Indrani, was allegedly kidnapped from outside National College in Bandra and strangled to death in a car by Indrani, her former second husband Sanjeev Khanna and driver Shyamvar Rai.
Jairam Ramesh calls for special Parliament session in May-June

India

oi-Vikas

By Vikas

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh has written to Vice President and Rajya Sabha chairman Venkaiah Naidu, urging the latter to convene a special two-week session in May-June to make up for time lost during the Budget Session, which was marred by disruptions. Ramesh, however, said that he was making this request in his 'personal capacity'.

In the budget session which concluded on Friday, the Lok Sabha spent just 1% of its allotted time on legislative business while the Rajya Sabha spent 6%. In all, 250 hours were wasted while issues like the PNB scam and alleged dilution of the SC/ST Act couldn't come up for discussion.

"I wish to make a suggestion purely in my personal capacity. Why don't you try and persuade the government to convene a special two-week session sometime in late May or early June to both pass important legislation and also have debate and discussion on burning political, economic and social issues," he wrote.

Here is the letter was written by Jairam Ramesh to Venkaiah Naidu:

Both Houses have seen repeated adjournments since the second leg of the Budget Session reconvened on 5 March over several issues. While AIADMK MPs have been protesting over the Centre's failure to form the Cauvery Management Board, whereas Congress has been opposing it.

TDP and YSR Congress Party from Andhra Pradesh have been protesting demanding special status for the state while MPs of Congress, BSP and SP have been protesting over the recent Supreme Court order which diluted the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The TDP and other Opposition parties have also been protesting in the House seeking a no-confidence motion to be taken against the NDA government at the Centre in the Lok Sabha.

According to PRS legislative research, this was the least productive budget session since 2000. The Upper House spent only three minutes on government bills while it was 14 minutes for the Lower House.
Karnataka: Will Congress not allow Kumaraswamy to be CM for full 5-year term?

Is it chief minister Kumaraswamy or chief manager of Congress Ktaka ATM? BJP has an answer

All is well between Congress, JD(S)? Kumaraswamy meets Rahul as Karnataka waits for full cabinet

India

oi-Madhuri

It surely was a gruelling election which had all the essence that one could have asked for. Karnataka witnessed all the big wigs from all political parties hitting the campaign trail for the May 12 Karnataka elections.

We hope you enjoyed out LIVE coverage of the elections. Thank you for staying tuned with us.

Newest First Oldest First Election observer conducted a raid in Banaswadi area and seized Rs 19 lakh along with voter list and other election related materials. FIR registered. RR Nagar MLA Muniratna ran his constituency like an independent Republic where rule of law had no place. People were harassed and abused. False cases were filed against political opponents. Finally, seems like karma has caught up with Muniratna. Massive blow to Siddaramaiah, says BJP. Victory for Democracy! EC orders countermanding of RR Nagar polls after court ordered FIR against Congress candidate Muniratna Naidu for creating more than 10k fake voter ids. With Siddaramaiah's money bag, Muniratna in the dock, Congress is in a big soup in Karnataka, tweets BJP Karnataka. Polling in RR Nagar has been deferred. Polling to now be held on May 28 and counting on May 31. Earlier this week 9746 voter IDs were seized from a flat in the area. According reports, IT sleuths and district election commissioner conduct raids at Congress candidate Ashok Kheny's residence in Bidar. Kheny is contesting from Bidar South constituency. RSS ideologue Ram Madhav, says, "Karnataka Elections 2018 is an important election. Both parties, namely BJP & Congress have invested heavily in it. I am certain that BJP will be in a comfortable position & will get simple majority & will form the government in the state." Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) & Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) being dispatched from Smt. Kamala Bai Educational Institution to polling booths. The Congress has sought for the lifting of the ban on telecasting the Sriramulu video in which he is alleged to be discussing a pay off with a Supreme Court judge to bail out Janardhan Reddy in the illegal mining scam. Law and order is completely under control says Neelamanu Raju, Karnataka state police chief. 22,000 home guards have been deployed for security, she says. BJP MP, Prathap Simha urges EC to monitor religious places on polling day. He said that political parties would use these places to lure voters as there is no restriction on gathering there. Security has been tightened across the state ahead of polling to be held tomorrow. In Bengaluru, 14 additional commissioners, 1 joint Commisioner and 16 DCPs will oversee security. EC officials seize Rs 20 lakh unaccounted cash from a house in Bagalkote. The money was seized from the house of a man named Sandeep Maji. A Congress delegation has lodged a complaint with the Election Commission against Narendra Modi and Amit Shah. The Congress has accused both of misleading people and launching personal attacks. Minister Viany Kulkarnis close aide raided by IT officials. Prashanth Kekare whose house was raided was taken into custody. Congress submits memorandum to the Election Commission regarding allegations of bribery of a Judge by BJP candidate B Sriramulu Income Tax Department conduct raids at house of Congress candidate Satish Sail's close associate Mangaldas Kamat in Ankola. According to reports, IT officials raid Prashant Kekare, a close associate of Congress minister Vinay Kulkarni in Dharwad. I-T sleuths raid a house belonging to a doctor in #Mangaluru. I-T officials scrutinise documents. EC officials seize innova car carrying unaccounted cash amount of around Rs 17 lakh in Devanahalli. Poll officials seize Rs 2.17 crore unaccounted cash in Molakalmuru, Chitradurga. Close associate of Congress leader Ramanath Rai, Kachigudda Sanjeev Kumar, allegedly attacked in Bantwal; 4 others including Kumar's wife injured, 2 cars damaged. Police arrest 2 men for trying to bribe voters at Chikkodi in Belagavi. Accused allegedly tried to bribe voters in favour of Rayabagh BJP candidate Duryodhana Aihole. The EC has directed television channels not to air the Sriramulu video in which allegations of him bribing a judge to bail out Janardhan Reddy was made. The direction comes hours after State Home minister Ramalinga Reddy called what the Congress described as an 'explosive press conference' and released the video clippings which were in circulation on social media. Congress claimed the 'sting operation' revealed that alleged attempts were made to bribe to seek a favourable verdict for Reddy. The party alleged that just one day before the then CJI retired, he passed an order in a case related to Reddy brothers' Oblapuram Mining Company. Here are some tips to vote if you do not have a voter ID card. You can vote as long as your name is on the electoral roll. If you do not have a voter ID, then alternative ID proofs can be carried. They are Passport, Driving License, Service Identity Cards with photograph issued to employees by Central/State Govt PSUs/Public Limited Companies, Passbooks with photograph issued by Bank/Post Office, PAN Card, Smart Card issued by RGI under NPR, MNREGA Job Card, Health Insurance Smart Card issued under the scheme of Ministry of Labour, Pension document with photograph,Authenticated Photo Voter Slip issued by the election machinery, Official identity cards issued to MPs/MLAs/MLCs. The big fear among the candidates especially those contesting from Bengaluru is that polling day is a Saturday. Bengalureans who have this habit of complaining about everything ironically are the worst when it comes to voting. They need to shrug off their weekend mode and go out and vote. In the 2013 assembly the voter turn in Bengaluru was 57 while in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls it was 54. Those are poor numbers. The Income Tax Department (ITD) today said that at Rs 37.33 crore, it has seized "six times" more cash and jewellery in poll-bound Karnataka this time as compared to the last elections in 2013. The poll campaign, for the 224-seat Assembly to be held on May 12, ended today. "From the beginning of the code of conduct period on March 27 to till date, the department has seized unaccounted cash of Rs 31.50 crore and unexplained jewellery worth Rs 5.83 crore. This is nearly six times the seizure made by the department in the last state assembly election in 2013," the department said in a statement. "The seizures are likely to further go up in the last days of electioneering," it added. Even in case, if the EC is able to ascertain that attempt was made to stop people from voting, it can cancel the poll. If the EC finds that a fraud was involved, it could even cancel election to the constituency. The Commission, the sources said, deliberated on the issue and decided to seek more information from the state election adminstration before arriving at a conclusion. The Election Commission tonight deferred a decision on the recovery of nearly 10,000 voter I-cards from a flat in Rajrajeshwari Nagar assembly seat of poll-bound Karnataka even as it sought fresh information from the state election machinery. The Election Commission of India has proposed 450 women-friendly booths. Known as Pink or Sakhi booths, these booths would be run by women only. A team of the EC is on a three day visit to Karnataka. Arrangements such as ramps, wheel chairs and magnifying glasses are also being made to ensure that differently abled persons have a smooth voting experience. Congress will have 35 manifestos. The manifesto committee headed by senior Congress leader, Veerappa Moily is already ready with the draft and the same will be released in another 2 weeks. The manifestos would be district and administrative region wise. There would be one common manifesto for the entire state. P.Muralidhar Rao, National BJP General Secretary and Karnataka in charge and N.Ravikumar, state General Secretary will address media at BJP media centre, Malleshwaram in Bengaluru. Congress president Rahul Gandhi on April 4 visited the Lingayat seminary Siddhaganga Mutt and met the 111-year old seer along with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Congress leader in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and KPCC President G Parameshwara. Gandhi's visit comes against the backdrop of the Siddaramaiah government's move to recommend to the Centre grant of religious minority status to Lingayats and Veerashaiva Lingayats, who are politically powerful. Kannada actor, Sudeep who recently met with JD(S) chief, H D Kumaraswamy has now called on Chief Minister, Siddaramaiah at his residence. There has been a big push to rope in cine stars into this campaign. Following Sudeeps meeting with Kumaraswamy there were speculations of him either joining the party or campaigning for it. Rahul Gandhi accuses Narendra Modi of disrespecting various institutions by having RSS men sitting in every ministry and giving orders. He said if voted to power, Congress would free these institutions of RSS control. "I don't know if you all know that in every single minister's office, there is an RSS man sitting and giving orders. So what can you expect.... nothing but disrespecting the institutions. The banking system of the country has been demolished by having this structure. "18 lakh people are missing from the voting list. We met with the Chief Electoral Officer and urged him to look into it", said Congress spokesperson, Brijesh Kalappa. "At least 18 to 20 lakh names have gone mysteriously missing. It appears as though only members of a particular community find their names missing in the list", Kalappa said. "EC told us that there is still time to rectify this until April 14," he further added. Lies and only Lies!



See how @RahulGandhi fictitiously revokes the SC/ST Act to incite hatred in society. pic.twitter.com/4vcnM0zltM  Amit Shah (@AmitShah) April 5, 2018 BJP President Amit Shah attacks Congress President Rahul Gandhi in his latest tweet, says "Lies and only Lies". He claimed that the Congress president was "lying and fictitiously revoking the SC/ST Act to incite hatred in society." Karnataka Congress on Thursday tweeted saying, "Thank you Amit Shah for speaking the truth yet again. You are turning out to be our Star Campaigner! Karnataka's Silk production hit an all-time high in 2016-17. Major cocoon markets have been modernised & integrated with e-Mandi platform." Manickram Tagore, Secretary, All India Congress Committee, denied reports suggesting announcement of chief ministerial candidate on April 15. He tweeted, "I am surprised that I was misquoted in an article @thenewsminute about things I have neither said nor implied. Thank you @dhanyarajendran for immediately stepping in and clarifying the same and removing this article." Pramoda Devi Wadiyar, wife of late Srikantadatta Narsimharaja Wadiyar, on Thursday ruled out her entry into politics. I am not entering politics. I have been saying this for a long time. I have no interest in contesting elections, she told the media persons as she ended speculations over her possible entry into politics. Amit Shahs visit, which came ahead of the state assembly elections had attracted unnecessary media attention, she felt. The scion of the erstwhile royal family Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar too had no interest in joining politics, she added. Senior BJP leader K S Eshwarappa on Thursday 'advised' Chief Minister Siddaramaiah not to contest from Chamundeshwari Constituency or face a defeat. Taking a dig at Siddaramaiah's statement to the effect that BJP and JDS have joined hands to defeat him from Chamundeshwari segment on the fringes of Mysuru city, the BJP leader said that by making such a statement Siddaramaiah had conceded his defeat. ''When such is the case why should he contest? That too when he has stated that this is his last election?" he asked. BJP General Secretary, incharge of North East and J&K Ram Madhav has been roped in for Karnataka and is looking at crucial aspects of BJP campaign. Madhav has been tasked to push for a decisive shift in BJP campaign efforts and work towards a repeat of Tripura type performance in Karnataka. He held a series of meetings in Bengaluru today with top Sangh functionaries, intellectuals and civil society members, reports ANI. The BJP's first list of candidates for the Karnataka assembly election 2018 is ready. The party has finalised the names of 130 candidates and would release it soon. The BJP has roped in its Tripura architect Ram Madhav for the Karnataka elections. Sources say he met with several eminent persons in the city to discuss the election strategy. Madhav who is the national general secretary will spend a considerable amount of time in the state, sources say. VS Ugrappa, MLC and Minister Sri HM Revanna to hold press conference at 1:30pm on Friday at KPCC Office today. The party claims that the leaders will give "Breaking News against BJP". The Ministry for Home Affairs has stayed clear of the Lingayat religious minority status issue. The issue is beyond it jurisdiction and the Ministry of Minority Affairs would look into it. An MHA spokesperson said that a decision to this effect would not be taken anytime soon as the model code of conduct is in force in Karnataka. We will win 150 seats in the elections. We will provide good and clean governance. We have to realise Narendra Modis and Amit Shahs dream of a "Congress mukt Bharat. Let also ensure that Karnataka is Congress mukt", B S Yeddyurappa said. "People are in distress because of Congress. Crime rate has gone up, farmers have committed suicide. The only solution to all these problems is the BJP", he also said. Karnataka Assembly Elections: Chamrajpet constituency in Bengaluru set to witness an interesting battle. Zameer Ahmed who quit the JD(S) to contest on Congress ticket while Altaf Khan who quit the Congress to quit on JD(S) ticket. The BJP will field a strong candidate to take advantage of the split in Muslim votes. Will the trick pay off? Let us wait and see. Congress MLC, V.S. Ugrappa and Minister Sri HM Revanna to hold press conference at 1:30pm on Friday at KPCC Office today. The party claims that the leaders will give, "Breaking News against BJP". LED van for BJP campaigning will be inaugurated at Bashan Circle in Bengaluru by B.S.Yeddyurappa, P.Muralidhar Rao, Shobha Karandlaje and other leaders today at 2.30 p.m "I will contest from Chamundeshwari constituency and I will definitely win," says CM Siddaramaiah in Mysore. "Son Dr. Yateendra will contest from Varuna constituency if only party high command decides," he said. CM Siddaramaiah visits famous Lingayat mutt in Suttur. Seeks blessings from the seer. The Election Commission of India has sacked Home Ministry Advisor Kempaiah. This action comes in the wake of JD(S) supremo, H D Deve Gowda complaining to the poll body that Kempaiah was using government vehicles to transport money for the elections. Congress leaders begins press conference at KPCC office in Bengaluru. MLS VS Ugrappa releases 3 Income Tax documents against BJP's chief ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa. The party alleged that Yeddyurappa is involved in Rs 1033 Cores scam. Yeddyurappa as CM issued a tender worth Rs. 1033 cr to RNSIL in Upper Bhadra Project.



IT Depts order dated 28/03/2016 after a seizure operation states that Sunil(V.P,Finance,RNSIL) has on oath & based on diary jottings admitted to have paid bribe to BSY: MLC Ugrappa#BSY420 pic.twitter.com/WyydHmT00O  Karnataka Congress (@INCKarnataka) April 6, 2018 Congress levels graft charges on BSY These are not our documents. This is an order against Shri Yeddyurappa by the Income tax department under the Central Govt. Yeddyurappa has even paid a fine for non-declaration, which is in itself an admission of guilt of receiving Rs. 4.11 crore bribe, Karnataka Congress quoted MLC Ugrappa as saying. Former TV journalist and MP Tejaswini is expected to take on HD Kumaraswamy in Ramanagara on a BJP ticket. BJP state general secretary CT Ravi demanded that Jignesh Mewani be barred from entering Karnataka till voting day on May 12. This comes a day after Dalit leader Mevani advised people to disrupt Prime Minister Narendra Modis upcoming rally on April 15. Mevani called for people to enter Modis rally, throw chairs in the air and question the prime minister's promise to generate two crores worth of employment in the state. He said that if Modi does not answer, then he should be asked to leave and take shelter at a Ram Mandir in the Himalayas. Mevani is currently in Chitradurga and he has been appealing to all Dalit groups in the state to not vote for the BJP in the assembly elections. Amit Shah said on Friday he is a Hindu Vaishnav, refuting Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiahs claim that the BJP chief is a Jain. Amit Shah is a Jain. He needs to clarify first whether he is AHINDU. Jain is a separate religion. How can he talk about me like that, Siddaramaiah had said.
Karnataka election may be the last where netas can contest from two seats

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

Politicians tend to contest elections on two seats when they are jittery about a win in one of them. This has been an insurance for politicians to remain in power.

In the Karnataka election, there are several candidates who are contesting on two seats. H D Kumaraswamy of the JD(S) will be contesting from Channapatana and Ramanagara. There are murmurs that KPCC chief, Dr Parameshwar is asking his party for another seat apart from his constituency at Koratagere from where he had lost in 2013.

Reports of the BJP trying to field B S Yeddyurappa from both Shikaripura and another constituency in north Karnataka are also doing the round. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah who is contesting from Chamundeshwari said that he had offers to contest from another constituency in the north. The Congress was mulling fielding him from Badami.

While this has been a routine practise not just in Karnataka, there has been an interesting development in this regard. If the Supreme Court acts on an affidavit filed by the Election Commission of India, then this would be the last time that a candidate would get to contest for two seats.

The EC said that the law is amended to prevent candidates from contesting on multiple seats. This has been used by several political leaders to give themselves an insurance against shock defeats.

In the affidavit, the EC says that Section 33 (7) of the Representation of Peoples' Act needs to be amended so that a candidate is restricted to contesting only from one seat. The affidavit was in response to a petition that sought an amendment to the provision.

The Election Commission said, "when a candidate contests from two seats, it is imperative that he has to vacate one of the two seats should he win both. This, apart from the consequent unavoidable financial burden on the public exchequer and the manpower and other resources for holding byelection against the resultant vacancy, would be an injustice to the voters of the constituency which the candidate is quitting from."

The commission said in case the present provision is retained then there should be an express provision in the law requiring a person, contesting and winning from two seats, to bear the cost of the byelection after he quits one constituency.

The Election Commission proposed amendment of Section 33(7) in the year 2004 to provide that a person cannot contest from more than one constituency at a time. However, in case the existing provisions are to be retained, a candidate contesting from two seats should bear the cost of the byelection to the seat that contestant decides to vacate in the event of him/her winning both seats. The amount in such an event could be Rs 5 lakh for state assembly and Rs 10 lakh for general election," the EC further said in its affidavit.

Karnataka Assembly Election dates Date of notification April 17 Last date to file nominations April 24 Last date to withdraw nominations April 27 Date of polling May 12 Date of counting May 15
Karnataka elections: Is Jignesh Mevani a Congress' proxy? BJP alleges so

India

oi-Oneindia Staff

By Oneindia Staff

Bengaluru, April 7: Activist-turned-politician from Gujarat Jignesh Mevani on Friday created a lot of furore in poll-bound Karnataka after he urged youngsters to disrupt Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rallies in the state. Now, an FIR has been lodged against the Gujarat MLA and Dalit leader after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) filed a police complaint against Mevani.

Police have registered an FIR acting on a complaint by BJP's Chitradurga district president KS Naveen. The saffron party has lodged another complaint with the Election Commission (EC) over Mevani's remarks, reported ANI.

In a press meet in Chitradurga, Mevani asked the youth of Karnataka to create ruckus at the PM's rallies as a mark of protest against the BJP government's failure to provide two crore jobs every year. During the 2014 Lok Sabha election campaign, the then chief minister of Gujarat Modi had told Indians that if the BJP comes to power then the saffron party will create two crore jobs every year.

"Biggest role of Karnataka's youth should be to enter PM's campaign program in Bengaluru on 15th, hurl chairs in the air and disrupt it, then ask him what happened to 2 crore jobs?" Mevani said. He added that if the PM can't answer, he should retire and go to the Himalayas.

#WATCH: Jignesh Mevani says, 'Biggest role of Karnataka's youth should be to enter PM's campaign program in Bengaluru on 15th, hurl chairs in the air & disrupt it, then ask him what happened to 2 cr jobs? If he can't answer ask him to go to Himalayas' #Chitradurga #Karnataka pic.twitter.com/3rykIfOFsp  ANI (@ANI) April 6, 2018

Now, the BJP has alleged that the Gujarat MLA, who is campaigning along with actor Prakash Raj against the saffron party in Karnataka, is a proxy of the Congress. The BJP tweeted that Mevani whose campaign has been funded by the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) is in talks with the Congress to form an alliance in Karnataka.

To prove its point, the BJP posted two pictures along with the tweet. In the first picture, Mevani was seen taking a cheque for his election campaign from the SDPI leaders. In the next image, SDPI leaders were seen with the Karnataka Congress leaders.

"Connect these dots, SDPI funds Mewani election campaign. Cong Chief in K'taka says he's in talks with SDPI over alliance. Mewani lands in K'taka to instigate violence. How integrated & seamless the Congress-Tukde gang works!" tweeted BJP.

Connect these dots,



SDPI funds Mewani election campaign



Cong Chief in K'taka says he's in talks with SDPI over alliance



Mewani lands in K'taka to instigate voilence



How integrated & seamless the Congress-Tukde gang works! pic.twitter.com/aPRvSURZBO  BJP Karnataka (@BJP4Karnataka) April 6, 2018

Although Mevani is yet to react to the allegations of him being a "proxy" of the Congress, the Dalit leader has alleged that "goons" from the BJP tried to disrupt his Chitradurga rally. In a tweet, he questioned why no FIR has been filed against the BJP goons in Karnataka and those who killed Dalits during the recent Dalit protests in various parts of the country.

                            ,                    2        FIR ?  Jignesh Mevani (@jigneshmevani80) April 7, 2018

Recently, the Election Commission (EC) announced the polling and counting dates for Karnataka. While the polling for the 224-member Legislative Assembly will take place on May 12, the counting of votes will be held on May 15 in the southern state.
No arrest of Teesta Setalvad in fund embezzlement case till May 31: SC

Misappropriation: Teesta Setalvad questioned for 6 hours

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

Teesta Setalvad and her husband, Javed Anand were questioned by police officials for nearly six hours in connection with a case relating to misappropriation of funds received by her NGO from the Union HRD Ministry between 2010 and 2013.

Setalvad and Anand were questioned by police officials for almost six hours at the Crime Branch headquarter here, said Assistant Commissioner of Police C N Rajput.

"The couple also submitted some documents as demanded by the Crime Branch for the purpose of probe", he said.

"We recorded their statements today. While they have submitted some documents, they assured that remaining documents will be given later. We may call them again if needed," said Rajput.

When asked if the Crime Branch would probe Congress leader Kapil Sibal's role in the case (as he was the Union HRD minister at the relevant time), Rajput said they have not found any involvement of the Congress leader so far.

Yesterday, the Bombay High Court, while allowing Setalvad and Anand's transit anticipatory bail' plea, had asked them to appear before the Ahmedabad Crime Branch today.

The Crime Branch registered a complaint against Setalvad and Anand last month, alleging that they used fraudulent means to secure funds of Rs 1.

4 crore from the Union Human Resource Development Ministry between 2010 and 2013 through their NGO Sabrang Trust.

The FIR was registered on the basis of a complaint filed by Setalvad's former associate, Raees Khan Pathan.

The case was registered against Setalvad and Anand under various sections, including 403 (dishonest misappropriation of property), 406 (criminal breach of trust), and 409 (criminal breach of trust by public servant, or by banker, merchant or agent) of the Indian Penal Code.
Modi govt did nothing for 30-crore Dalits of the country, alleges UPs BJP MP

India

oi-Oneindia Staff

By Oneindia Staff

Lucknow, April 7: After the recent violent uprising of the Dalits in six states of the country, now, the Narendra Modi government is facing charges from within the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for doing nothing for the members of the community.

In a letter to the Prime Minister, BJP's member of Parliament (MP) from Uttar Pradesh and Dalit leader Yashwant Singh wrote that the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government at the Centre did nothing for the 30-crore Dalits in the country.

Singh, who represents the Nagina constituency in Uttar Pradesh, alleged that his capabilities as a politician have not been put to use by the BJP.

"BJP MP from Uttar Pradesh's Nagina, Yashwant Singh, writes to PM Modi, says, 'Being a Dalit my capabilities have not been put to use, I only became an MP because of reservation,' adds that, 'In 4 years the govt has done nothing for the 30 crore Dalits of the country.'" tweeted ANI.

BJP MP from Uttar Pradesh's Nagina, Yashwant Singh, writes to PM Modi, says, 'Being a Dalit my capabilities have not been put to use, I only became an MP because of reservation,' adds that, 'In 4 years the govt has done nothing for the 30 crore Dalits of the country.' pic.twitter.com/nbao7d6tzd  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) April 7, 2018

Neither the PM nor the BJP has reacted to the letter of Singh which is now in the public domain. Recently, violence erupted during a nationwide bandh by Dalits to protest the softening of provisions of the SC/ST Act.

At least 11 people died and several others were injured in the "Bharat bandh" called on Monday by Dalit outfits to protest the softening of certain provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

Both the BJP and the opposition parties are alleging each other for inciting violence during the bandh. Many Dalits, who took part in the bandh, stated that it was a peaceful protest which was hijacked by anti-social elements with vested political interests.
SC/ST act: Now, a 'blood letter' to Modi demanding withdrawal of review petition

India

oi-Vikas

By Vikas

Two days after a Dalit group wrote a letter with blood to PM Narendra Modi urging him to restore the original Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, members of Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha today (April 7) wrote a bloodletter demanding the withdrawal of review petition.

The BJP-led Central government had last month filed a review petition in the Supreme Court seeking restoration of the provisions of the SC/ST Act. The apex court's March 20 order on the SC/ST act is being seen by some as a dilution of the act.

Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha members have also reportedly threatened to go on a protest by going bald at Delhi's Ramlila Maidan if the review petition is not withdrawn.

On Thursday (April 5), Dalit group, Bhartiya Dalit Panthers Party had written a letter with blood to Prime Minister Modi and President Ram Nath Kovind, appealing to them to restore the original Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

The letter written by the members of the Bhartiya Dalit Panthers Party said that Parliament should bring in an ordinance and restore the original act.

The Supreme Court had on 20 March said that on "several occasions", innocent citizens were being named as accused and public servants deterred from performing their duties, which was never the intention of the legislature while enacting the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The court had said that unless the exclusion of anticipatory bail is limited to "genuine cases and inapplicable to cases where there is no prima facie case was made out, there will be no protection available to innocent citizens".

The government, in its review petition, told the Supreme Court that its 20 March verdict will violate Article 21 of the Constitution for the SC/ST communities and sought restoration of the provisions of the SC/ST Act.
Police were in search of the murder and the beheaded of a young man in Dindugal

Tamilnadu police arrested more than 2 thousand history sheet rowdies across the state

Sri Lankan pirates allegedly attack 4 TN fishermen

India

pti-PTI

Nagapattinam (TN), Apr 7: Four Tamil Nadu fishermen were attacked allegedly by Sri Lankan pirates while they were fishing off Vedaranyam coast, a fisheries department official said on Saturday (April 7).

The fishermen belonging to Seruthur near here were attacked when they were fishing off the Thopputhurai coast last night, assistant director of fisheries department, Nagappattinam, K Gangadharan, said.

Four boats, believed to be from the island nation had approached the fishermen and attacked them with iron rods and snatched away their catch, fishing nets, GPS equipment, at knife-point before fleeing, the official said.

The injured fishermen returned to the shore early today and all the four have been admitted to government hospital in Nagapattinam.

PTI
Tamil Nadu: Palaniswami launches mobile app for farmers

India

pti-PTI

Chennai, Apr 7: In a bid to use technology for farmers' benefit, Tamil Nadu government has come out with a mobile application that will allow farmers to have access to nine types of services including details about their crop insurance.

Chief Minister K Palaniswami launched the bi-lingual 'Uzhavan' (farmer) app in Chennai recently, an official release said on Saturday. The app, which can be downloaded from Google Playstore, can be used by farmers to get information on farm subsidies, book farm equipment and related infrastructure and get details on their crop insurance, besides receiving weather forecast for the next four days, the release said.

The other highlights of the app, available in Tamil and English, include information on available stocks of seeds and fertilisers in local government and private stores, it said. The move was part of government's effort to take to the 'next level', use of technology to aid farmers in their profession, the release added. Palaniswami also launched the 'Amma Bio-Fertiliser' scheme, named after late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, the release said. The initiative was aimed at better management of nature farming, and help boost and maintain soil fertility, it said.

PTI
West Bengals Azaadi movement: An attempt to merge Murshidabad with Bangladesh foiled

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

In West Bengal, the affair is a bloody one. With the local body elections round the corner, the situation in most parts of the state is tense. What is adding to the tension is a crude bomb that was hurled at a procession being held by the BJP.

Murshidabad has been a notorious area and has been witness to several communal clashes. The situation is volatile most of the time and the Intelligence blames it on a highly radicalised set of people.

In this context, it would be interesting to revisit an incident of a few years back which went largely unnoticed. The Intelligence had picked up information that a group of highly radicalised people were making attempts to take on the establishment.

These persons who were in touch with their handlers in Bangladesh were gradually building a momentum in the area and had decided to declare freedom from India. The Intelligence says that the plan was hatched several years back and it was decided that these elements wanted to declare freedom and fight to merge with Bangladesh.

It was very similar on the lines of what we are witnessing in Kashmir. What was worrying was that the movement that was being planned was gaining immense traction. Secret meetings were held in madrasas and other areas to plan the movement. It was decided to either merge Murshidabad with Bangladesh or remain independent. The plotters had even managed to rope in several like-minded locals into their fold.

The funds too were being raised through various mechanisms that included fake currency peddling and also donations. Bangladesh trained terrorists were preparing for a launch into this region and carry out a series of spectacular attacks. However, there were some tough measures that finally foiled the movement, a highly placed source informed.

Murshidabad is no stranger to crime and terror. It has been one of the favourite landing points for terrorists. Recently a plot in Maharashtra was busted in which three terrorists from Bangladesh were arrested. It was found that they infiltrated into Murshidabad and were then launched into Maharashtra.
Kapil Sharma spotted in wheelchair at Mumbai airport, gets angry at paps who asked him if he was okay

'What i wrote came from heart': Kapil Sharma on obscene tweets

India

oi-Vikas

By Vikas

After blaming the hackers for series of highly abusive tweets, comedian Kapil Sharma has now defended himself and said whatever he wrote against journalist Vicky Lalwani "came from heart". Reports say that Kapil has also filed a police complaint against his ex-managers Neeti, Preeti Simoes and Lalvani for trying to extort Rs 25 lakhs from him. He alleged that Lalvani started a false and malicious propaganda to defame him on digital media after he refused to pay him the amount.

Kapil's tweets abusing Lalwani included a lot of F-words and highly offensive words in Hindi. He initially blamed the hackers for abusive tweets and drew flak from the Twitterati who refused to believe it. Kapil later tweeted that whatever he wrote came from his heart and it was his team that deleted those tweets. He also posted the images of the complaint filed. Screenshot of this since-deleted tweets is now doing rounds of social media.

"Maine jo bhi likha apne dil se likha tha... It was my team who deleted the tweets ... But main is kutte bikaayu reporter se darne wala nahi hu... he can write anything for anybody just for a few bucks. Shameless, (Whatever I was wrote, was written from my heart. It was my team who deleted the tweets. But I will not be scared by this sellout reporter. He can write anything for anybody just for a few bucks. Shameless)," he wrote in a tweet.

Kapil also reportedly called up Vicky Lalvani, on Friday evening and threatened him. Lalvani recorded the entire conversation and posted it on YouTube, said a Hindustan Times report.

Lalvani told news agency ANI that Kapil even said offensive things about his daughter and abused him.

"Apparently he was upset about some stories against him. I was only doing my work. He called me, used abusive language and also said offensive things about my daughter. He handled his success very well but couldn't handle his drop," Lalvani said.

The comedian, who became a household name with show Comedy Nights with Kapil, has been going through a rough patch in his career as well as in his personal life. Last year, Kapil had confessed that he was suffering from depression and had undergone treatment for the same.

OneIndia News with PTI inputs
Violence continues to rock Gaza border: 9 more Palestinians, including scribe, killed

International

oi-Shubham

By Shubham

Violence at the Israel-Palestine border continued on Friday, April 6, as nine Palestinians were killed by the Israeli army, seven of whom died during the resumed confrontation between the Palestinian protesters and Israeli troops, Gaza's health ministry said.

The deceased included Yaser Murtaja, a 30-year-old journalist who sustained a bullet injury in his chest despite wearing a vest with a 'press' mark on it at a demonstration in the eastern part of the Gaza City. Murtaja succumbed to his injury on Saturday, April 7. Four other journalists were also injured in the clashes, said Palestinian Journalists' Syndicate.

Thousands of Palestinian protesters started their 'March of Return' on Land Day on March 30 which would culminate on the Nakba Day or the 'Day of Catastrophe' on May 15. It is the day after Israel got its independence in 1948. April 6 was the second Friday of the protests and the blood-spilling was already too high.

The health ministry of Gaza said the Israeli military's strong retaliation has left over 230 Palestinians injured out of a total tally of 1,000 plus. Twenty-five of the injured in gunfire was in a critical state. Over 440 demonstrators were taken to hospitals in Gaza. Twenty-nine people, mostly in their youth, were killed in the violence since the 'March of Return' started.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday condemned Israel's "murder and oppression" in a statement. He also called on the Palestinian envoy to the United Nations, Palestinian representatives in international bodies like European Union and Arab League to raise the issue with the international community to force Israel to give up its iron response to "unarmed demonstrators".

Israeli authorities said the Palestinians, numbering around 20,000, protested in five locations throughout the Gaza Strip and threw stones and firebombs at the border. The Israeli Army said they stopped scores of attempts by the protesters to illegally cross the border and enter Israel.

Gaza's health ministry has appealed to the international community to come to the aid of hospitals in Gaza with medicine and other essential supplies as they were struggling to cope with the situation.
Great garbage patch in Pacific is 3 times bigger than France: Report

International

oi-Shubham

By Shubham

The world is turning out to be a dirtier place. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP), which is an enormous zone of an unending amount of plastic and trash floating between California and Hawaii, has gone bigger to assume a size three times that of France (247,368 square miles) and still growing, a report published in Scientific Reports said last October.

According to the study which took into consideration 1.2 million plastic samples retrieved from the trash swatch, at least 79,000 tons of plastic could be floating around in an area of over 617,000 square miles which 4-16 times bigger than that estimated previously.

"Historical data from surface net tows indicate that plastic pollution levels are increasing exponentially inside the GPGP [Great Pacific Garbage Patch], and at a faster rate than in surrounding waters," the authors of the study wrote. "While this does not necessarily mean that the GPGP is the final resting place for ocean plastic reaching this region, it provides evidence that the plastic mass inflow is greater than the outflow," the Scientific Reports study said.

It was in 1997 that Charles Moore, a marine scientist, went through the mess of plastic and other trash while returning home in Los Angeles. The infamous name of GPGP was later given by American oceanographer Curtis Ebbesmeyer who is known for tracking ocean currents.

Though the GPGP has made its name in folklore as something which can be seen from the space or something called Trash Isles with Al Gore being signed up as its first citizen, the Scientific Reports' study makes the first attempt of taking a comprehensive look at the huge garbage floating in the water.

The patch doesn't only include discarded plastic bottles and fishing nets but even the debris from the tsunami that struck Japan in 2011. But it is the high percentage of the abandoned fishing gear (46 per cent) in the trash which has surprised oceanographers.

"I knew there would be a lot of fishing gear, but 46 per cent was unexpectedly high," Laurent Lebreton, the lead author of the study and an oceanographer with the Ocean Cleanup, told National Geographic. The nettings and other plastic waste cause massive damage to the marine ecosystem by suffocating and injuring the marine life in a large number every year.

The study by Scientific Reports found support in another report done by Britain's Foresight Future of the Sea that said that plastic pollution in the ocean could increase three times by 2050 and that, along with the warming oceans and rising sea levels, pose grave threats to the marine life as well as the water bodies.
Pakistan PM Abbasi holds talks with Afghan President Ghani; 'no breakthrough', says Pak media

International

oi-Shubham

By Shubham

Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Friday, April 6, met the top leadership of Afghanistan including President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah in Kabul where he visited for a day to discuss bilateral issues.

However, a report in Pakistan-based The Nation news site said the two neighbours failed to make a breakthrough although they decided to work together for peace.

The leaders were accompanied by other officials from their respective sides. Senior officials present said though the meetings took place in a 'positive environment', the lack of trust between the two sides was evident, The Nation report added. One official said the two sides displayed a resolve to settle issues but it was still a long way to go, the report added.

Both suspect each other despite the resolve for a united fight

The official said while Afghanistan suspected Pakistan's role in promoting cross-border terrorism, the latter was of the belief that it fell victim to the menace, The Nation report added. It also said the official conceding that though there was no breakthrough, still such talks would help in achieving regional peace in days to come.

Ghani invited Khaqan to Afghanistan in March

In March, Ghani invited Abbasi to Afghanistan with an aim to restart the government-to-government talks between the two countries the relationship between whom has been strained by several issues in the recent times, including the role of the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Pakistan has been accused of supporting them and also harbouring them in its own territory to disrupt any initiative that the government in Kabul takes towards building a close relation with India which has helped it in various sectors. The US of late has also slammed Pakistan recently while speaking on the Afghan strategy, accusing Islamabad of not taking enough steps to contain terrorists.

The Pakistani foreign ministry issued a statement in Islamabad saying Abbasi and Ghani discussed several issues in Pak-Afghan relations like peace and reconciliation in the war-ravaged country, counter-terrorism, bilateral trade, regional connectivity, etc.

Abbasi reciprocated during his visit by extending an invitation to Ghani to go to Pakistan "at his earliest convenience".

The foreign ministry statement said the two leaders agreed that the Afghanistan-Pakistan Action Plan for Peace and Solidarity gave a useful framework for a broad and structured engagement on all issues of mutual concern.

Abbasi supported President Ghani's vision for peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan as well his offer to hold peace talks with the Taliban. Both agreed on the point that terrorism is a common enemy and vowed not to allow their respective territories for conducting operations against the other.
Will review comprehensive global strategic partnership with Biden says PM Modi ahead of US visit

Trade war with US: Chinese media calls Trumps additional tariff call ridiculous

International

oi-Shubham

By Shubham

Amid the escalating trade war with the US, the Chinese state media on Friday, April 6, said US President Donald Trump's threat of undertaking more trade sanctions against China was "ridiculous". It said so after Trump sought an additional $100 billion of tariffs on Chinese products, worsening an already tense situation over the dispute more.

Global Times, which is run by the ruling Communist Party of China's official People's Daily, said in an editorial that the latest intimidation showed the "deep arrogance of some American elites in their attitudes towards China".

On Thursday, April 5, the US president who has focused all his energy in 2018 to penalise China in an "unfair" trade relation asked his trade officials to consider additional tariffs on Chinese products worth $100 billion after already imposing steep tariffs on two occasions in March and April.

China also returned the 'favour' by imposing sanctions on US exports, escalating a trade war which has started sending a message of global repercussion.

The Chinese news publication said Trump went on with his decision caring little about whether the tariffs are actually executed or what could be their impact.

The Trump administration has targeted China for it alleges the latter of stealing its intellectual property and forcing the transfer of technology from the American firms.

"US is climbing tree to catch fish"

Earlier on Friday, the People's Daily also described the USA's action against China was akin to "climbing a tree to catch fish". It said by engaging in a trade war to reduce its trade deficit with Beijing, Washington was "compounding its mistakes".

Washington's attempts at reducing its trade deficit by engaging in a trade war were compounding its mistakes, it added.

"History and reality have repeatedly proved that economic globalisation has provided a strong impetus for the development of international trade and economics," the newspaper said. It also added that the United States was "one of the biggest beneficiaries" of this arrangement.

It also advised the US to increase its own exports instead of targeting Chinese imports.

A number of American firms, however, have not agreed to Trump's trade belligerence, saying it would harm its own people's interests in many ways.
Collapse of Kabul will go down as one of the greatest defeats in American history: Donald Trump

For second year in a row, President Trump to boycott White House correspondents dinner

International

oi-Shubham

By Shubham

US President Donald Trump has made it clear that he would skip the White House Correspondents Association Dinner this year as well, continuing with the tradition that he had set in the first year of his term in office, the White House has informed.

It was, however, communicated by the White House that the president will send Sarah Huckabee Sanders, his press secretary, to the event scheduled on April 28, said the country's media.

"The White House has informed us that the President does not plan to participate in this year's dinner but that he will actively encourage members of the executive branch to attend and join us as we celebrate the First Amendment," president of White House Correspondents Association Margaret Talev announced in a statement.

Trump, who is known to be a fierce critic of the mainstream media and relies more on Twitter to share his viewpoints and even policy decisions, posted on the social media about "Fake News Media" and "so much of the media is dishonest and corrupt!" a few hours after the announcement about the journalists' dinner was made. It did not make his decision to boycott the event for the second consecutive year a surprise.

In 2017, Trump became the first American president since Ronald Reagan to have skipped the annual event. Reagan did not turn up for the assembly in 1981 as he was recovering from an assassination attempt on March 30 that year.

The event typically features a comedian who roasts the president and his team and then the top executive returns it to the press. Trump was mocked in 2011 by the then president Barack Obama and the comedian who turned up for the day - Seth Meyers. Obama had mocked Trump for his continued suspicion over the authenticity of the former president's birth place while Meyers made fun of him for his decision to run for the presidency as well as his white identity.

It was later said in the American media that the mockery had made Trump ferocious to earn recognition in the political world.

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Story first published: Saturday, April 7, 2018, 16:33 [IST]
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.
Three minutes. Buzz. Three minutes. Buzz. Three minutes. Buzz.

Thats what Pride Center board member Heidi Siegel heard over and over again at the organizations monthly meeting a few weeks ago as she attempted to talk about a sex predator who was allowed to work on campus.

They tried to stop me from speaking, she said.

Despite the buzzer going off every three minutes, she refused to stay silent. Siegel continued her impassioned speech for about 15 minutes.

People heckled me. They painted me as a villain. They insinuated that I was a racist. Someone said I was a bad mother, Siegel said. Someone else shouted out that the oppressed had become the oppressors. Someone told me to not come back to the center. My entire speech was just about trust and betrayal.

However, another board member had a completely different take on the meeting.

The latest Pride Center Board meeting was handled like it always is - openly and professionally, said Denise Spivak. All interested members of the community were given fair and ample time to speak, while the Board quietly and respectfully listened.

Richard Alalouf, the executive director of South Florida Family Pride, also attended and backed up Siegels recollection of the meeting.

Related:SFGN's Coverage of the Pride Center Sex Predator Scandal



Siegel, who is a mother, was deeply troubled over the fact that a convicted sex predator had been allowed to work at the Pride Center for years.

The employee in question, Clarence Collins, was found guilty in 1997 on two charges: sexual battery on a victim less than 12 years old and lewd and lascivious behavior on a child under 16. Hes also listed on the sex offender registry. He has worked at the Pride Center in some capacity since 2003.

Meanwhile, the Pride Center controversy has not gone unnoticed by authorities. In a new development this week, Collins was arrested and charged with two criminal charges relating to his status, first failing to re-register as a sex offender, and second, failing to notify law enforcement of a change of address.

Collins apparently lived in Wilton Manors. He has not been able to make his bond, which is set at $3,500, and hes facing a special condition that upon his release, he wear an electronic ankle monitor.

As a member of the board, and as someone who brought her daughter to campus, Siegel didnt know about Collins history.

As soon as she found out about a sex predator working at the Pride Center, she pushed Chief Executive Officer Robert Boo to fire him immediately.

Siegel has since resigned from the board.

Before her resignation, she told SFGN, Im not sure my values are in alignment with the board or the leadership for the Pride Center right now.

Though Spivak said, I and the other Board members fully support [executive director] Robert and think he is doing a great job of handling the situation.

Thats the attitude that led me to resign, Siegel added.

Other current board members include: Mark Budwig, Dr. Leslie Leip, Chris Caputo, Craig Engel, Mitch Bloom, Jason Hagopian, Brenda Hartley, Ernest Olivas, Richard Safaty, Paul Smith, Jane Bolin, and James Walker.

When Richard Alalouf found out about the sex predator, he hoped no one at the Pride Center knew. So when he learned some of them did know, he was angry and felt betrayed.

But his first thought was about his son. He was alone with my kid. That was my immediate reaction.

The playground project at the Pride Center was Alalouf's idea. Its a personal point of pride for him.

They had a duty to my group to tell us about this, Alalouf said. We partnered with them on the assumption that this was a safe place for children to play.

Alalouf runs the South Florida Family Pride, an organization that provides support, advocacy, and fun for LGBT parents with children in South Florida.

His group represents more than 600 families. Over the past few years the group has grown closer to the Pride Center with the building of the playground as well as the organization using the Pride Centers facilities for its events.

CEO Boo told SFGN two weeks ago the employee in question, Clarence Collins, was never on-site during any events involving children.

Thats an absolute lie, Alalouf said. He was there to help me set up, tear down. He was at the front desk when I had 60 children there.

Siegel also disputed Boos statement. She once remembered instructing her daughter to help Collins in the kitchen during another event.

Another member of the community, who did not wish to be identified, sent a photograph to SFGN showing Collins with a child at a Christmas Party at the Pride Center.

SFGN also followed up with an outside group that has used the Pride Centers facilities in the past on whether or not they were asked if children would be at their event. That question never arose.

Boo sent two apology letters to South Florida Family Pride so Alalouf would have something to send to his membership. Alalouf rejected the first letter when he deemed it not apologetic enough, saying that Boo didnt take full responsibility.

In 2015, we built a playground on our campus in order to better serve our community of families. From that point until March 17, The Pride Center was not aware that this employee was prohibited by statutory requirements from being within 300 feet from a playground, Boo wrote in his second letter to SFFP. The simple truth is, I did not know about the statute. This is not an excuse, but the reality. Nothing more, nothing less. I deeply apologize. I learned about the playground statute on Saturday, March 17, and terminated the former employee on Monday, March 19. I took immediate action.

But according to Julie Carson, a city commissioner for Wilton Manors, she brought up Collins to Boo more than a year ago.

I contacted Robert to make sure he was aware that Clarence is a sexual predator, Carson said. I trust Robert and I trusted that he knew the right things to do. In hindsight Im very upset with myself for not following through. I took somebodys word that it was OK.

Alalouf said that many people who attended the recent board meeting stood up in support of Collins with a poor Clarence attitude.

One person said they felt indebted to [Collins] because she was outside and somebody jumped out of the bushes and he helped her, Alalouf recalled. The property isnt safe for children playing on that playground.

Boo also defended Collins to SFGN two weeks ago, saying, The individual was an elderly janitor who decades prior, had one reported incident of inappropriate behavior toward a child. He had served his time and wanted to repay his debt to society. In his years of service at The Pride Center, he did not raise any red flags.

Alalouf rejected that argument: This person is a sex offender. He molested a person under the age of 12 in his 40s. This was not some stupid mistake when he was a teenager.

For Alalouf though, Boos entire defense was a deflection.

The law is clear: Sex offenders are not allowed to work near a playground, he said.

A few years ago, South Florida Family Pride asked the Pride Center to be its fiscal agent, which means the organzation could collect tax exempt donations without being a 501(c)3 nonprofit.

Alalouf terminated that arrangement last week.

I dont trust them anymore, he said. They failed the community. They failed us.

Even though Alalouf is angry, he said, I love Robert to pieces. But this is a slap in the face to the people who donated money for the playground. One family made a $10,000 contribution.

Alalouf added: When the Pride Center started serving growing gay families the dynamics of the Pride Center changed instantly. They pursued that demographic. When it comes to families the gay community has its head in the sand.

As for Collins, Alalouf said, He was a nice guy, yes. but I feel sorry for the child he molested. I feel sorry for the victims family.

SFGN first reported this story two weeks ago and interviewed Boo. SFGN followed up with him this week as more details began to emerge.

He requested the questions be sent via email and then asked for an extension after he missed the deadline. Despite the exemption being granted, his final responses did not address SFGNs questions, which are listed below.

To the best of your knowledge who on staff knew of Clarences sex offender status? Did any of the board know? Ive spoken to some people who feel the Pride Center betrayed them by keeping this a secret. How do you respond? One such person is Richard from the South Florida Family Pride. He feels his organization should have been made aware of this before the playground was installed. Since this organization deals with LGBT families and children why werent they made aware? Richard as well as others have disputed your claim that Clarence was not on-site during any events involving children. Some people have also stated they encouraged their own children to help Clarence out at the Pride Center. How do you respond? About how many people approached you over the years about Clarences sex offender status? It is illegal for a sex offender to work near a playground. Were you not aware of this? Do you know if there have been any other sex offenders who have worked at the Pride Center since you've been there?

Here are the four responses Boo sent back to SFGN:

Upon learning of a statute violation related to our playground and a former employee of The Pride Center, we took immediate and decisive action by terminating the individual."

The Pride Center at Equality Park is a unifying force within the LGBTQ community, delivering vital services. We have always sought to provide a welcoming environment that as a top priority ensures the safety and security of all of our members, partners, visitors and their families."

As the CEO I bear and accept full responsibility for the handling of this situation, including the decision to terminate this individual. I appreciate the fact that The Pride Centers Board of Directors is in full support of the steps taken to date."

We have launched a new task force to review all policies and procedures and to ensure that members of our community continue to place their trust and confidence in The Pride Center.

Collins has found supporters amongst the friends he made while working at the Pride Center. One such person has set up a GoFundMe page page to help raise funds for Collins because he is going through a rough patch, and is having a hard time finding a job and a place to live.

But before that happens, he will have to face a circuit court judge.

Siegel and Alalouf both now believe Boo should resign and the board should launch an internal investigation. So far the board has only committed to form a task force that will review all policies and procedures in an effort to gain back the communitys trust.

Alalouf also believes the playground should be shut down until the Pride Center can ensure every child that visits is safe.

Meanwhile in the city of Wilton Manors, Commissioner Carson said she would add this controversy to the next city commission meeting agenda.

The city will be notifying all of the schools, all of the agencies and any other parties that must be notified by law.

She later added: I hope and pray there are no children that come forward that are victims of sexual abuse. I hope there are no children that have been victimized. Thats my first hope.

Jason Parsley can be contacted at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
IRD Attends Red Lynchburg 'Revival' Hosted by Red Letter Christians

"Growing up in a Pentecostal church, I attended many revivals where the Good News of what Jesus has done and continues to do for us was shared and lost souls were saved. But Red Letter Christians' 'revival' offers more condemnation than the hope of Jesus." -- IRD's Chelsen Vicari



Contact: Chelsen Vicari, Institute on Religion and Democracy,

202-682-4131, 540-239-2170 cell, cvicari@theird.org



LYNCHBURG, Va., April 7, 2018 /Standard Newswire/ -- Evangelical Left activist Shane Claiborne of Red Letter Christians and other Religious Left activists have gathered in Lynchburg, Virginia for a two-day "revival" denouncing "Christian nationalism" and "unrestrained military," amid various other liberal social concerns.



Opening plenary speakers included North Carolina liberal activist Rev. Dr. William Barber II, Tulsa-based Evangelical pastor and author Jonathan Martin, Religious Left fixture Tony Campolo, LGBTQ advocate Brandan Robertson, and former Sojourners-affiliated activist and author Lisa Sharon Harper, among others.



The impetus for the Lynchburg "revival" was sparked several months ago by Claiborne's public criticism of Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr.'s support of the Trump Administration.



IRD Evangelical Action Director Chelsen Vicari is attending the Red Letter Revival. Vicari commented:
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From Truthdig

In this week's episode of "Scheer Intelligence," host and Truthdig Editor in Chief Robert Scheer speaks to former CIA counterterrorism official John Kiriakou, who served nearly 15 years with the agency. Kiriakou, who spoke openly about his opposition to the CIA's torture program, served two years in prison after being charged with espionage and wrote the book "Doing Time Like a Spy: How the CIA Taught Me to Survive and Thrive in Prison."

Scheer and Kiriakou discuss the nomination of Gina Haspel for CIA director. Kiriakou says that "Haspel should be disqualified for her past at the top of the CIA's illegal torture program." He also says her nomination sends the message that CIA agents need not respect the law in order to advance in the agency.

Scheer cites a poll showing a majority of Americans see torture as a tool that makes the nation more secure. "What's happened here?" he asks Kiriakou.

"We've decided that, as a matter of policy, whatever is expedient is OK, because we're the good guys, so we can do whatever we want. And that's clearly wrong," he says.

Kiriakou also says torture has become a partisan issue, with the majority of Republicans supporting its use and the majority of Democrats opposed. Yet, he adds, progressive politicians knew more than they revealed about the extent of the CIA torture program.

Listen to the interview in the player above and read the full transcript of the conversation below. Find past episodes of "Scheer Intelligence" here.

--Posted by Emily Wells

Robert Scheer: This is Robert Scheer with another edition of Scheer Intelligence. It's actually my alternative to the Central Intelligence Agency, and by coincidence our guest today is John Kiriakou, who was sort of a hero at the Central Intelligence Agency, where he worked for almost 15 years. And he overlapped the events of 9/11, and it was John Kiriakou who was in charge of counterterrorism operations in Pakistan, and is an Arab speaker, Arabic speaker, and very knowledgeable in the region, who was involved in the capture of the most important, at that time most important Al-Qaeda operative, who was supposed to have been the No. 3 one, Abu Zubaydah. And the interesting question here is the effectiveness of torture, and the nominee from President Trump to be the new head of the CIA, Gina Haspel, has been referred to [by] some, including John Kiriakou, as "Bloody Gina." Because during that period she was a deputy director of counterterrorism activities, and she was involved in not only conducting these torture experiments and practices in Thailand and elsewhere, but she is also accused of having destroyed 92 tapes that were supposed to be released about the torture program, which don't exist now. So why don't you bring us up to date? We're doing this interview while she's still a nominee. And what is your view of that nomination, and where do you think it's going to end up?

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From Alon Ben-Meir Website

By Alon Ben-Meir and *Arbana Xharra



(Image by Artwork by Gent Selani) Details DMCA





Whenever Kosovo is mentioned we are reminded of the 90s, when Europe and the US provided shelter for hundreds of thousands of Albanians who resisted the tyrannical Milosevic regime. A few years later in 1999, the US, jointly with EU countries, launched NATO air strikes against the Serbs' artillery position to end their atrocities. With the support of Western countries, Kosovo became the newest state in Europe, and this year it celebrates its 10th anniversary as an independent country.

Kosovo is known as one of the most pro-American countries, where boulevards are named after President Clinton, with his 11-foot-tall statue at the entrance of the capital city Pristina. Streets are named after George W. Bush and Beau Biden (the late son of Joe Biden); girls are named after Madeline Albright, and boys after other notable American figures. In 1999, the US built its largest military base in the Balkans, Camp Bondsteel, in the eastern part of Kosovo. Kosovo is defined by its constitution as a secular state; Islamic headscarves and religious instructions are banned in primary and secondary schools.

Now Kosovo is being targeted by Turkey's President Erdogan, who is bent on spreading his Islamic agenda throughout the Balkans. He views Kosovo as easy prey and a means by which to promote his wicked plans, and uses its submissive President Hashim Thaci to do his bidding. Millions of euros are flowing from Turkey to Kosovo through illegal routes, bypassing banks and other legitimate financial institutions. In 2015, Pristina-based Albanian language daily Zeri revealed that Erdogan is increasing his influence through the building of religious institutions, including dozens of new mosques, and the restoration of existing ones built during the Ottoman Empire.

These new and old religious structures are financed through one large donor, the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA), which is directly managed by the Turkish embassy in Pristina. Even more troublesome is that Kosovo's main assets -- the airport and electricity grids -- were sold to companies controlled by Erdogan's son-in-law, when Kosovo's current president was the Prime Minister.

On March 29, Kosovo deported six teachers from Gulen schools to Turkey, becoming the third country after Iraq and Sudan to hand Gulenists over to Erdogan's brutal treatment. Erdogan regularly pressures the EU and US to deport "his enemies" to Turkey, but fortunately none of the Western countries are willing to cave in to Erdogan's anti-Western Islamic agenda.

After the widespread media coverage and civil outcry over these brazen deportations, none of Kosovo's leaders assumed responsibility, albeit Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj dismissed his Interior Minister and intelligence chief over these deportations, stating that this was done without his permission.

No one can trust President Thaci's statement denying any knowledge of the operation, as he is known to be a close ally of Erdogan. In conversation with us, Berat Buzhala, Editor-in-Chief of the largest online media platform in Kosovo, Gazeta Express, said that "The kidnaping of the Gulenists in Kosovo was organized by both presidents, Erdogan and Hashim Thaci."

Buzhala is convinced that Thaci is lying to the public. "Everything that happened was coordinated between them. How else would the Turkish secret service succeed in kidnaping six Gulenists from Kosovo with a private jet from Pristina Airport, in cooperation with Kosovo Police and the Intelligence Agency, and the President is not aware?!" asks Buzhala.

Erdogan has slammed Kosovo's prime minister, Ramush Haradinaj, saying on March 31 that he was "saddened" and that Prime Minister Haradinaj would "pay" after he dismissed both his interior minister and his intelligence chief for deporting the six from Kosovo without his permission, states the Associated Press.

Kosovo civil society and the majority of the media reacted against the abduction of the six Gulenists. Lulzim Peci, former Ambassador of Kosovo to Sweden and Executive Director of the Kosovo Institute for Policy Research and Development (KIPRED), said to us that the scandal of the arrest of six Turkish citizens, and their subsequent handover to Turkey's National Intelligence Organization (MIT) by Kosovo Police, presents one of the most repugnant acts of human rights violations of foreign residents in Kosovo.

"The affected Turkish citizens had not undergone any of the legal proceedings required by the national law, and above all, the Human Rights Convention of the Council of Europe has been gravely violated, taking into consideration that deported citizens are awaiting unjust judicial proceedings in Turkey," said Peci.

In a conversation with Ilir Deda, a member of Kosovo's Parliament representing Alternativa, he too blamed Kosovo's president for this shameful act that has undermined the foundation of the youngest democracy in Europe. "President Thaci went rogue and gave the order to illegally arrest and deport these citizens" fearing for his personal fate, [he] is creating continuous crisis in order to politically survive. This latest crisis has directly created an internal backlash," says Deda.

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From The Hill



Martin Luther King, Jr. memorial

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Fifty years ago Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., one of the greatest human beings who ever walked the earth, ascended to heaven many decades too soon.

Eleven days ago King's 9-year-old granddaughter, Yolanda Renee King, marching with students near the place he once marched and speaking with passion near the place he once spoke, gave living proof that King lives today by bringing hundreds of thousands of people to their feet with these words:

"My grandfather had a dream that his four little children will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. I have a dream that enough is enough. And that this should be a gun-free world -- period. Spread the word have you heard, all across the nation, we are going to be a great generation."

My faith inspires me to believe that as Yolanda said those words to rousing applause, her grandpa was looking down from above with joy, pride and hope.

If King were in Philadelphia next to Thomas Jefferson in July 1776 our Declaration of Independence would almost certainly have proclaimed that "all people are created equal."

King lives today because he embodies a dream of justice that will never die, which those who march in his footsteps believe must someday be the law of the land and the way of the world.

Last Saturday morning CNN host Victor Blackwell, noting that King's bust remains in the Oval Office under President Trump as it did under former President Obama, asked Martin Luther King III what inspiration Trump might take from having King's likeness so near.

Martin Luther King III replied that Trump had also given Pope Francis the gift of his father's collective writings when they met, but that so far it has brought little inspiration and Trump might consider what King wrote and change some policies accordingly.

King lived at a time when many of his people were denied the right to vote and others were beaten, whipped and murdered for championing the cause. He would have been ecstatic to learn that 40 years after his assassination America would elect Obama as our first black president, a monumental achievement of progress, but appalled to learn that his successor as president would spend years peddling the falsehood that Obama was not a true American, a monumental act of indecency.

King lives today when millions of women march across America demanding their right to be free of abuse and asking to be judged by the content of their character and not the coincidence of their gender. He lives today when millions of students march across the nation, supported and admired by their elders and amazingly respected by many of the leading corporations in the land, demanding they be free of mass murder in their classrooms and aspiring to be the next great generation.

King lives today when the "Dreamers" dream about the country they cherish and yearn to no longer be tormented by the president who once promised to respect them with love, and when all men and women dream of being able to love and marry the person of their choice, and when the victimized dream that all of our people will know that all people are created equal and all lives matter equally.

King lives today when students, women, blacks and others seek to create their own Freedom Summer this year, to battle against voter suppression and register tidal waves of new voters, as men and women who championed civil rights succeeded brilliantly in doing, braving bullets and bombings, beginning in 1964.

King lives today because he was a man of greatness and humanity who championed a timeless cause that is beloved by good people everywhere. He was taken from us much too soon, but we continue his march to justice with his memory and model by our side and in our hearts, today and forever.
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I am filled with much sadness at the news of the passing of Winnie Mandela (something I only learnt four days later via Counterpunch- mainly because I have long stopped reading news headlines from commercial propaganda sources, which is fairly every outlet out there- PBS and NPR are no exceptions) on April 2nd.

The world seems to have forgotten this brave and magnificent woman. How simple this orchestrated oblivion was! Once Nelson Mandela became free- all attention shifted to him, and Winnie's multi-decade campaign for, and in honor of Nelson, and Nelson's



Winnie and Nelson as newlyweds

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noble cause was soon forgotten. I always had intense admiration for the lone fighter in Winnie, bravely continuing her campaigns against the brutality of apartheid, and keeping her imprisoned husband's cause alive through excruciatingly lonesome decades. Throughout the 1980s and in fact much longer, she kept alive the conflagration of the anti-apartheid mass movement, once led by her much more renowned husband. I believe her task was in fact much harder than Nelson's, especially with the latter being behind prison walls, from whence his role was much more symbolic, and whose potency Winnie helped maintain at a high level. She was literally in the trenches, year after year, campaigning, lecturing, inspiring thousands. In this manner, she even made powerful campaigners of their daughters, Zindzi in particular, whose speeches at public anti-apartheid events I would find most impressive and moving.

Therefore- after NM's release- it was soon a great mystery to me that the magnificent Winnie was not to be seen in any of the celebratory events, and much less any influential position in the new, post-apartheid government. She simply vanished from the radar screen- a once widely visible symbol of a people's struggle, suddenly gone from the public space. For a long time, this simply made no sense to me. Thereafter, learning that NM and Winnie had separated, and later that NM had re-married, only increased my dismay.



Winnie at the height of her activism

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I questioned inside my mind the very purpose that one as valiant and justice-minded as NM would barely even speak of Winnie, to whom in my mind he definitely owed much of the world public memory of the apartheid and his years on Robben Island. Years ago- I recall reading My Soul Went with Him- Winnie's "soulful" memorializing of NM's imprisonment. And here she was- totally tossed to the wayside- for whatever reason- entirely unknown to me.

I have subsequently come to know about Winnie's trials for apparent political misuse and abuse- and I have frequently felt: how ironic! So many brutal, racist political operatives and leaders under the draconian regimes received great mercy under the magnanimous "Peace and Reconciliation" plan- and here was a woman who had fought so nobly to bring an end to the merciless brutality of apartheid- there was no room for mercy, much less gratitude, towards her. Some might point to more egregious aspects of her "crime." However, I do not see them necessarily add up to the levels of those exonerated under "Truth and Reconciliation. I was even more dismayed while watching portions of the so-called trial of a sullied woman who had given so much to a people's long struggle for freedom, that another individual I have long admired- Bishop Desmond Tutu, actually use unusually stern words towards Winnie while sitting on the inquiry panel. To me, it was a most tragic and disheartening spectacle. I do not know the truth behind such absence of gratitude on the part of our world and its lop-sided justice- but I shall never forget this seeming ingratitude, and never forget the Winnie I have held up as an amazing woman whose courage and sacrifices are an example to all oppressed people. I came to learn of Winnie's departure from this blighted world via a column in the April 6th Counterpunch which remembers Winnie (however, it stops short of accolades which I feel should have been bestowed upon her). This truly is a grossly unbalanced world.

Winnie: This one admirer from Bengal will never forget you!

(Article changed on April 8, 2018 at 20:47)
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Exclusive to OpEdNews: OpEdNews Op Eds 4/7/2018 at 11:06 AM EDT H2'ed 4/7/18

This is a sample of the stuff I've viewed tonight, April 6 2018 regarding the continuing saga of "Russia did it!"

Is a balance of views required? Fu*k no. On the other hand, I've seen some of the Vesti sausage making news"despite reasonable content in terms of preaching to the choir, the product begs. Totally unnecessary. Please stop, Vesti.

Question; perhaps a poll eventually: Does the loss of 25,000,000+ Russian lives during WWII form the basis of a Russian resolution that there can be no world without Russia?

Anyway, here it is:

1. New Recording Between Skripal Sisters -- 198 views, 2 hours ago; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naiq1b-SemE

2. Lavrov's Has Harsh Words for Skripal Affair calls it an: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmFBBXcAS7c

3. Through the looking glass -- UK is playing the role of an absurd villain, Vesti Apr. 6 2016 462, views, 4 hours ago (The Jack is sentenced by the Queen without a trial!!!) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KduUhSH9xqw

4. The Skripals are pulling through- UK Scrambles to: 2298 views, 5 hours https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uufMR236Sbs

5. Zakharova: UK walks back Accusations, But Russian 6809 views, 1 day ago

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Eo-IzrlNOQ

6. Defense Minister Shoigu is Skeptical perhaps the US -- 1739 views, 1 day ago
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Dr. William F. Pepper is shown above with Dr. Martin Luther King in a 1967 photo by Ben Fernandez on the platform of the National Conference for New Politics, which helped launch in Chicago what they and others intended as a new political movement. As Pepper, the planned executive director, recounts in his books, including "Orders To Kill" and "The Plot to Kill King," provocateurs disrupted the movement before it could reach its goals of a mass movement, including a 1968 Third Party presidential ticket that could have been led by King and the famed author / peace activist Dr. Benjamin Spock.

By Dr. William F. Pepper and Andrew Kreig

For the fiftieth anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s murder, the Washington Post last week overcame its tainted history of softball coverage and published a hard-hitting account quoting the King family's disbelief in the guilt of convicted killer James Earl Ray.

The bold, top-of-the-front-page treatment on April 2 of reporter Tom Jackman's in-depth piece --The Past Rediscovered: Who killed Martin Luther King Jr.? -- represents a major turning point in the treatment of the case for the past five decades by mainstream media. Print, broadcast and all too many film makers and academics have consistently soft-pedalled the ballistic, eye-witness and other evidence that undermines the official story of King's death.

This time, the Post and Jackman, an experienced reporter, undertook bold but long overdue initiative. One can only hope that it leads to similar coverage -- rigorous and fair -- for other history-changing events, including current ones that are inherently secret.

The Post's MLK Success Formula

Jackman's method was relatively simple. Reporters use it routinely on other stories that are not so political sensitive as King's death. In this instance, the reporter quoted family members and other experts and provided balance with other perspectives.

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Article originally published in LaborPress

By Robert Weiner, Brad Star and Ben Lasky

Even a broken clock is right twice a day.

Workers and labor as a whole are renowned for speaking in clear, straightforward, down to earth terms. We can say this about President Trump and North Korean president Kim Jong-un's relationship: "Let's talk," is a lot better than, "fire and fury," "Little Rocket Man," "sick puppy," and "My button is bigger than your button;" and from the North Korean side, "deranged," "dotard," and a "gangster fond of playing with fire." As long as the two sides are talking and negotiating (politely), war will be avoided.

Hopefully new National Security Advisor John Bolton, a renowned war hawk, will not provoke Trump to ditch the talks. The stakes are too high. The President's initial instinct to talk rather than fight is bold and correct.

The threat hits home. From New York to Hawaii, there could be over 129 nuclear targets near major cities for other countries to attack. Brookhaven National Laboratories in Long Island, NY is about an hour and a half outside of Manhattan. There's a nuclear training facility in Charleston, SC. Argonne National Laboratory is a 40 minute drive from Chicago. Seattle has a nuclear submarine base 18 miles away.

During his own State of the Union address on Mar. 1, Putin unveiled "invincible" missiles that would render nuclear defenses "useless." His presentation included a North Korea-like cartoon in which missiles landed in the U.S. Media including NBC's Rachel Maddow discovered by a simple Internet search that Putin's cartoon was eight years old. The weapons are speculation, not reality. U.S. intelligence analysts have reported that the missiles may not be ready. But we really can't tell if or when North Korea and Russia are ready to aim at us. Yes let's talk.

President Donald Trump's unexpected agreement to speak with Kim Jong-un "by May" is a good first step. He should go forward despite the White House back-and forth since he made the proposal. Before and during talks, no one overtly fights.

With the pending North Korea meeting, "For the first time in many years, a serious effort is being made by all parties concerned," Trump tweeted. "May be false hope, but the U.S. is ready to go hard in either direction!"

Retired Four-Star Gen. Barry McCaffrey, stated in August 2017 that "our only real military option is to go nuclear" against North Korea should relations deteriorate to irreconcilable. Trump is the first president to use the fact that North Korea has always been willing to talk to establish their national credibility-- the U.S. has been the one to balk.

North Korea is only the tip of the nuclear iceberg. Many other countries possess large nuclear stocks.

Russia is leading the way with 7,000 nuclear warheads, with the U.S. at 6,800. Next are France (300), China (270), the U.K. (215), Pakistan (140), India (130), and Israel (80).

The 1968 Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) is aimed at preventing circulation of arms. Most European, African and South American countries are on board with the treaty and have agreed never to acquire nuclear weapons.

Under the NPT, former Soviet territories Ukraine, Belarus, and Kazakhstan returned their weapons to Russia by the mid-1990s. Iraq dismantled nuclear arms following the 1991 Persian Gulf War. Others that shelved nuclear programs include Argentina, Brazil, Libya, South Africa, South Korea and Taiwan.

India, Israel, North Korea and Pakistan refused to sign or backed out of the NPT. Their absence poses a significant threat. India and Pakistan have a history of hostility and jealousy. Each continues to build nuclear stock to counter the other. In other words, the world still faces dangerous conflicts in many places.

Iran currently has no nuclear weapons, but has attempted to acquire or build them. To the U.N. in 2008, former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad expressed frustration at nations other than his having nuclear weapons access.

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Early in his first term itself, President Xi made it clear that he would not like his two predecessors demit office quietly after two five-year terms he was entitled to under the Constitution.



This two-term clause was introduced into the Constitution after the disastrous Cultural Revolution. To begin with, he managed to declare himself a 'core leader' and then used the party and state machine, including the subservient local media, to create a larger than life image of his, as the supreme leader. He had set aside in the process what Deng Xiaoping, Mao's successor, had termed building "the fate of a country on the renown of one or two people" as "very unhealthy and very dangerous". And got his "Xi Jinping Thought" statutory status by incorporating it in the party constitution last year



Now, Xi Jinping's grand vision of himself remaining at the helm for a lifetime is nudging the ghosts of the horrible past to haunt those who never forgot. No surprise, therefore, Li Datong, a former editor with vivid memories of the past, was quick to remind the nation and the leadership that the Communist party had introduced term limits "after the immense suffering [wreaked] by the Cultural Revolution". He wrote: "......there is emphatically no reason to move in the reverse direction"abolishing term limits would plant the seed once again of chaos in China, causing untold damage".




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Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist
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We are living in the world where the facts "who makes" and "where it is made" are much more important than "what for" issue.

Nowadays the world political scene is divided between superpowers supported by their allies. In order to punish each other for having opposite views the sides criticize any step made by the opponent. Unfortunately, this happens even in case of evident necessity. It is not the secret that the modern system of international security is unable to perform all demanded functions any more. It needs to be reformed. Another question is who and where will decide.

The most likely political platforms for this are the United Nation Organization and OSCE. But the preparatory stage for any new decision should become different forums and conferences, such as the Munich Security Conference and the Moscow International Conference on Security.

This year the Munich Security Conference took place on February 16-18. More than 30 heads of state and government and over 100 cabinet ministers from across the globe came together at the forum for discussions on major international security challenges. As far as the Baltic States concerns, President of Estonia, as well as Lithuanian and Latvian ministers of defence did not miss the event because it was of great importance for the future of their countries and all Europe.

Just another situation developed in March. In Moscow an annual International Conference on Security was held on April 4-5. The fight against terrorism and other pressing security challenges were one the agenda. There is not a single person who is not affected by the discussed topics.

Many European countries considered it unnecessary to visit the event. It makes no sense to blame them for this choice. They have a strong and common view on what is happening in the world. But if abstract from the current geopolitical situation and confrontation between Russia and the West, politicians should see such kind of forums as a chance to find even weak possibilities to make the world safer. Probably the main reason for not attending the event is in the fact that politicians forgot how to listen to each other. They forgot that only discussing controversial issues makes possible to reach a consensus.

Another issue that deserves attention is the list of participants, which is of great interest to the analysts. According to the Russia's Defense Ministry, representatives from at least 95 countries, three deputy prime ministers, 30 defense ministers, 15 chiefs of staff, 10 international organizations and military delegations have come to participate in the International Conference on Security. They include defense ministers of India, South Africa, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Vietnam, Azerbaijan, Belarus, China, Armenia, Mozambique, Serbia, and Israel. Thus, almost half of the UN member-states (total number is 193) sent representatives to the Conference.

It becomes evident that Russia really has powerful partners and allies that are ready to discuss even difficult questions and find mutually beneficial solutions. Those who came do not necessarily agree with Moscow and support its foreign policy but they clearly understand that unfortunately without Russia it is impossible to improve the International Security system.

This fact admitted Thomas Greminger, secretary-general for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. He stressed that Russia is a key partner in issues of the European security. But the Baltic States blinded by hatred to Russia ignore ignored the event thus putting political ambitions higher than common sense.

It is obvious that Russia is not satisfied with NATO's actions near its borders. NATO in its turn disputes the lawfulness of Russia's behavior. Every day confrontation becomes harder and leads to the arms race. The only way out is to discuss things and find the way out. The Baltic States as usual lost the possibility to express their position on key international security issues and be the active actors in global politics.
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Building Movement Politics Means Fighting Democrats

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"In the absence of a renewed, grassroots street offensive against the armed occupation of Black communities, there will be no relief from the daily slaughter."

Cops "have the right to shoot us, they get away with it every day," said a despairing Dawnya Walker, one of 300 community residents that descended on Sacramento, California's city hall to protest the police killing of Stephon Clark in his grandmother's backyard . The numbers show that Walker is correct: U.S. police enjoy near-absolute impunity to gun down young Black males without any reasonable fear of punishment. Eight years of a Black, Democratic president in the Oval Office made not the slightest dent in that American reality, despite the re-emergence in 2014 of an incipient social justice movement under the heading of Black Lives Matter.

The youthful insurgency lost momentum -- waylaid by the inexorable pull of Democratic Party politics and corporate philanthropy -- long before Donald Trump entered the White House and installed a pure Dixiecrat as attorney general. Trumpian malevolence cast an orange chill across Black America. "It has been a long time since any victim was given as much attention as Stephon Clark," writes Margaret Kimberley, in the current of issue of BAR.

"We are enveloped in a toxic miasma of Russia-hate that, by sheer weight and repetition, has infested every aspect of American political thought."

There is "movement" afoot in the U.S., but it does not "arc towards justice." Ever since Trump's electoral victory, the collective national consciousness has been smothered in a maddening fog of manic, industrial-scale propaganda, spewed non-stop by corporate communications conglomerates working hand-in-glove with the most aggressive elements of the surveillance-intelligence "community" and the bi-partisan War Party. We are enveloped in a toxic miasma of Russia-hate that, by sheer weight and repetition, has infested every aspect of American political thought, distorting and subverting even the most progressive-minded "movements" struggling to find a way towards human dignity under late stage capitalism in a profoundly racist country. Voices for peace and social justice are asphyxiated in the pestilential plume -- unless they find their own air.

Damn right, there is a conspiracy -- possibly the loudest one in history! -- megaphoned by a billionaire-owned media screaming "War, War, War" day and night, fouling the public mind with pure reactionary malice. The duopoly contest has devolved into a dance of death between Donald Trump's raw white supremacist nationalism and Democratic Party corporate imperial warmongering.Only fools claim there is space for progressive maneuver in the interstices between such forces.

"The Democratic Party remains under the firm control of the Clinton/Obama forces that reinforced mass Black incarceration in the Nineties and militarized the police in this century."

What is needed is clarity among genuine leftists and serious Black liberationists in the face of rampaging reaction. There is no lesser evil in this house of fear and apocalyptic brinksmanship. The Democrats have colluded in a budget whose gargantuan military outlays will inevitably doom what's left of the U.S. social safety net -- that is, if the human race is not annihilated, beforehand. They have replaced and outshouted the John McCain's and Lindsay Graham's of the Republican Party in demonizing, not just Vladimir Putin, but every government and movement in the world that resists U.S. lawlessness and aggression.

The Democratic Party remains under the firm control of the Clinton/Obama forces thatreinforced mass Black incarceration in the Nineties and militarized the police at unprecedented levels in this century through the Pentagon's 1033 program. In the absence of a renewed, grassroots street offensive against the armed occupation of Black communities, there will be no relief from the daily slaughter and the accompanying political evisceration of Black America.

Yes, it is certain that Trump's very presence encourages the most swinish elements of the police. But it is also true that the Democrats -- including Black Democrats -- have controlled the city governments that maintain the police state in Black neighborhoods and relentlessly disperse our people through gentrification.

"What is needed is clarity among genuine leftists and serious Black liberationists in the face of rampaging reaction."

And now it is the Democrats that take the lead in purging the Internet of dissenting political views, under the guise of defending fragile American minds against foreign manipulation. Silicon Valley -- the big business sector most supportive of Clinton/Obama Democrats -- is thus given license to shape reality in ways that make corporate dictatorship appear both logical and inevitable. Trump's troglodytes could never finesse such a hijacking of fundamental democratic rights, but the Democrats are pulling it off with alarming speed.There's nothing "lesser" about this evil.

When the Democrats got their wish, that Trump win the Republican presidential nomination, they became the predominant party of the U.S. ruling class and the most aggressive defenders of empire. Into Hillary Clinton's campaign "Big Tent" slivered the dregs of the national security state, for whom peaceful coexistence among nations is anathema. Bernie Sanders cannot purge them from their central position in the party. The World Socialist Web Site reports that "an extraordinary number of former intelligence and military operatives from the CIA, Pentagon, National Security Council and State Department are seeking nomination as Democratic candidates for Congress in the 2018 midterm elections." By WSWS's count, if the Democrats capture a majority of seats in the House this November, "candidates drawn from the military-intelligence apparatus will comprise as many as half of the new Democratic members of Congress."

Such a party is incompatible with any domestic social justice agenda -- and a threat to the survival of the species. The Left's job is to disentangle our people from the political clutches of the ruling class and to build independent people's organizations. The Republicans are a white people's problem, but Black activists cannot confront the police, the oligarchs or the warmongers without fighting the Democrats.
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From Smirking Chimp

On March 30, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers shot 773 unarmed Palestinian protesters in Gaza, killing 17 and wounding 1,400. Twenty remain in critical condition. The protesters were marching to demand the internationally mandated right of return of refugees to their cities and villages in what now constitutes Israel.

The Israeli leaders who ordered the massacre were in clear violation of international law. They should be prosecuted for war crimes.

Premeditated Use of Deadly Force Against Peaceful Protesters

The use of deadly force against the peaceful protesters was premeditated. The IDF deployed 100 snipers to the border fence between Gaza and Israel, where 30,000 to 40,000 Palestinians had gathered for the Great March of Return. In a damning tweet, later deleted, the IDF wrote, "Nothing was carried out uncontrolled; everything was accurate and measured, and we know where every bullet landed."

Jihad al-Juaidi, director of the ICU at the al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza, told Al Jazeera that all of the injured people who came to the hospital were shot in the head, pelvic joints or knee joints. "This shows that Israeli forces were shooting-to-kill, or to cause disabilities," al-Juaidi stated.

B'Tselem, a Jerusalem-based human rights organization, characterized the military orders as "shoot-to-kill unarmed Palestinians taking part in these demonstrations."

"Israeli soldiers were not merely using excessive force, but were apparently acting on orders that all but ensured a bloody military response to the Palestinian demonstrations," Eric Goldstein, deputy director of Human Rights Watch's (HRW) Middle East and Africa division, stated.

Senior IDF officers told Haaretz before the protest that a large number of casualties was "a price we would be willing to pay to prevent a breach" of the fence at the border.

Israeli leaders fostered the false narrative that Hamas was sponsoring the protest. Jason Greenblatt, US envoy to Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, followed suit, tweeting, "Hamas is encouraging a hostile march on the Israel-Gaza border" and accused Hamas of "inciting violence against Israel."

But the demonstration was actually organized by several Palestinian civil society organizations. "No Palestinian faction, organization or group can claim this march as its own. Hamas was simply riding the wave," Jamil Khader wrote on Mondoweiss. Palestinian flags, not factional ones, were visible.

Conflating civilians with terrorists and framing the planned response as protection against a security risk, Israeli authorities referred to Gaza as a "combat zone."

Lethal Force Can Only Be Used if Imminent Threat to Life

It is illegal to shoot unarmed civilians under international humanitarian law. Some protesters threw rocks and burned tires near the border fence. But HRW found "no evidence of any protester using firearms or any IDF claim of threatened firearm use at the demonstrations." No Israeli soldiers were killed and "the army did not report any injuries to soldiers."

"Even if a Palestinian was throwing a stone, the chances that under these conditions such an act could cause an imminent threat to life -- the only situation that would justify the use of lethal force under international law -- are infinitesimal," Yousef Munayyer, executive director of the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights, wrote on HuffPost. "Indeed, even if Palestinians were trying to climb the fence, that would not give Israel the right to use lethal force."

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It'll be Cinco de Mayo soon enough, and like always, Americans will get together to celebrate. They will eat Mexican food and drink anything with tequila in it. They will wear sombreros, say the few words they know in Spanish, and talk about how they're commemorating Mexican Independence Day. As a Mexican growing up on the Mexican-American border, I watched a few of these celebrations. Now living in New York, I see them even more. As Cinco de Mayo approaches, the decorations and discounts appear everywhere. The restaurant my friend works in even asked her to wear a "Mexican dress." And, of course, there are the Facebook posts of Americans saying, "Happy Mexican Independence Day!" Followed by party and drinking related emojis.

Let's get something straight: September 16th is Mexican Independence Day. Americans have been celebrating the wrong day. But that's okay.

Quick history lesson: Cinco de Mayo, known as the day of the Battle of Puebla, celebrates the successful Mexican victory against a French invasion in 1862. The Mexican army rose to the occasion and won against all odds. This victory was worth a holiday. Then, the French returned a year later and actually did conquer us until Benito Juarez ejected them in 1867. These days, Cinco de Mayo gets some mention in Mexico, but never the type of wild party that Americans throw, which is funny considering how we tend to throw a party for anything. Now, when we celebrate our Independence on September 16, 1810, that's when we party.

There are people who say that what Americans are doing every May fifth is culturally insensitive, even offensive. I've noticed that these people are rarely non-white, and very rarely Mexican. To me, what's more insulting is how we are stereotyped all year long as low wage workers and criminals, always with ten kids. Maybe one holiday won't change anything, and maybe we will still be seen the same way the rest of the year, but I have to say that Cinco de Mayo actually benefits us. This is the Hispanic St. Patrick's Day, and we Mexicans are immigrants whose holiday became an excuse to drink. And just like the Irish, we know that there's nothing bad about it. This is how we make it in America, we sell and we blend.

So here's one Mexican's opinion: celebrate Cinco de Mayo by all means. Go to Mexican restaurants and order everything on the menu. Buy gallons of tequila, Corona, Victoria, and mezcal. Wear sombreros and ponchos and T-shirts made in Mexico, sold by Mexicans. Cinco de Mayo is the one time during the year that our culture is happily embraced in one form or another, when we're not seen as a plague or used as political pawns. Let us have this at least. Have a shot of tequila with us, we'll tell you which one is the best.

Just please stop telling people that you're celebrating Mexican Independence Day.
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By Edward Curtin

It's been fifty years since Dr. Martin Luther King was murdered in Memphis, Tennessee on April 4, 1968 and nineteen years since the only trial in the case. In that 1999 Memphis civil trial (see transcript) brought by the King family, the jury found that King was murdered by a conspiracy that included governmental agencies. The corporate media, when they reported it at all, dismissed the jury's verdict and those who accepted it, including the entire King family led by Coretta Scott King, as delusional. Time magazine -- dutifully using the pejorative "conspiracy theory" label the CIA had in 1967 urged their mouthpieces to use -- called the verdict a confirmation of the King family's conspiracy theory and "lurid fantasies." The Washington Post compared those who believed it with those who claimed that Hitler was unfairly accused of genocide. A smear campaign ensued that has continued to the present day and then the fact that a trial ever occurred disappeared down the memory hole so that today most people never heard of it and assume MLK was killed by a crazy white racist, James Earl Ray, if they know even that.

Here and there, however, mainly through the alternative media, and through the monumental work and persistence of the King family lawyer in that trial, William Pepper, the truth about the assassination has surfaced. Through decades of research that extends well into the twenty-first century, Pepper has documented the parts played in the assassination by F.B.I. Director J. Edgar Hoover, the F.B.I., Army Intelligence, Memphis Police, and southern Mafia figures. On March 30, 2018, The Washington Post's crime reporter, Tom Jackman, published a four column front-page article, "Who killed Martin Luther King Jr.? His family believes James Earl Ray was framed." While not close to an endorsement of the trial's conclusions, it is a far cry from past nasty dismissals of those who agreed with the jury's verdict as conspiracy nuts or Hitler supporters. The Washington Post has a well-earned reputation for being the CIA's paper of record, but my reading of Jackman's article and its prominent placing suggests a split somewhere in the conscience(s) of journalists at the paper. Or perhaps it is a fortuitous accident. Whatever the case, after decades of clouding over the truth of MLK's assassination, some rays of truth have come peeping through, and on the front page of the WP at that.

Jackman makes it very clear that all the surviving King family members -- Bernice, Dexter, and Martin III -- are in full agreement that James Earl Ray, the accused assassin, did not kill their father, and that there was and continues to be a conspiracy to cover up the truth. He adds to that the words of the highly respected civil rights icon and U.S. Congressman from Georgia, Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), who says, "I think there was a major conspiracy to remove Dr. King from the American scene," and former U.N. ambassador and Atlanta mayor Andrew Young who was with King at the Lorraine Motel when he was shot, who concurs, "I would not accept the fact that James Earl Ray pulled the trigger, and that is all that matters." Additionally, Jackman adds that Andrew Young emphasized that the assassination of King came after that of President Kennedy, Malcolm X, and a few months before that of Senator Robert Kennedy.

"We were living in a period of assassinations," he quotes Young as saying, a statement clearly intimating their linkages and coming from a widely respected and honorable man. So if Ray didn't kill MLK, then Oswald didn't kill JFK, and Sirhan didn't kill RFK is the implicit thought conveyed. Then who killed Malcom X? Could the same parties have killed them all? And who might they be?

But then, as if to pull back abruptly from this line of thought, Jackman quotes David Garrow, a Pulitzer Prize winning biographer of King, who has long held that James Earl Ray killed King. Yet the historian Garrow's statement is so condescending and illogical that a thoughtful person would be taken aback and think: How could an historian say that? Referring to the three remaining King family members as "children," although all are 50-60 years old, he says that they "are part of a larger population of American people who need to believe [my emphasis] that the assassination of a King or a Kennedy must be the work of mightier forces," not the victims "of small-fry, lifetime losers." (Notice how Kennedy, and one presumes he means just one Kennedy, JFK, is thrown in with King to include Oswald in the small-fry, lifetime loser category of the "real" killers, not the childish "need to believe" conclusions of meticulous scholars, such as James W. Douglass, author of the acclaimed JFK and the Unspeakable.) But then comes the kicker. The acclaimed historian Garrow says that credulous "people need to see [my emphasis] a balance between effect and cause. That if something has a huge evil effect, it should be [my emphasis] the result of a huge evil cause." Now anyone who has not completely lost their ability to think knows that an historian's rai son d'etre is to explore facts in an effort to establish believable relationships between effects and causes, not by following a strict scientific method, but by arranging one's research findings (documents, witness interviews and statements, etc.) within a narrative structure to reach logical conclusions. Historians "need to believe" that effects have causes and when they are good historians the issue is not one of balancing but of truth. They follow the evidence to truthful conclusions, no matter where it leads. So for Garrow to dismiss the King family and other Americans because of a delusional "need to believe" is patently absurd and not intellectually honest, yet it is a trope that has echoed down the years whenever there is a need to brush off "conspiracy theorists" as ignorant children.

Then as one reads through Jackman's article he notices three brief statements, one from Robert Blakey, the chief counsel of the House Select Committee on Assassinations, another from John Campbell, who investigated the King murder for the Shelby County, Tennessee district attorney's office, and a third from Barry Kowalski who reinvestigated the case under Attorney General Janet Reno in 1998. All three attest to Ray's guilt. But Jackman gives them little space, approximately a half-page, in an article that extends to nine printed pages.

The remainder of the article -- six printed pages -- is primarily devoted to the work of William Pepper, the attorney for the King family in the 1999 civil trial in Memphis that found the U.S government liable for the killing of King and the author of three books on the murder, including his latest, The Plot to Kill King, a voluminous and heavily documented masterly work that makes an irrefutable case that the U.S. government and not James Earl Ray killed MLK, and to those who support those findings, including King's daughter, Bernice, who is given the final word. Jackman quotes her as saying,

"I don't believe James Earl Ray killed my father. It's hard to know exactly who. I'm certainly clear that there has been a conspiracy, from the government down to the mafia"there had to be more than one person involved in all this. I think it was all planned."

This breakthrough article, the first such piece on the front page of a major newspaper to give such space to critics of the commonplace "lone nut" explanation for MLK's murder, proves Leonard Cohen's words prophetic: "There's a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in."

Even a crack in The Washington Post wherein may dwell persons of conscience, despite the paper's history of doing the devil's work.
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The White Helmets[1], accepted and embraced by Canadian politicians, seek to convey the illusion that Western-supported terrorists[2] are "humanitarian". Nothing could be further from the truth, but Canadian politicians propagate the lie.

Canadian politicians accept and amplify terrorist-supporting narratives despite the absence of corroborating evidence.

Consequently, the "humanitarian intervention" lie is reinforced with a view to increasing Canada's criminal "intervention" in Syria, which will necessarily bring more war and terrorism to Syria.

With these words, MP Iqra Khalid extols the virtues of al Qaeda's PR front, the White Helmets:

"Mr. Speaker, I watched footage of a small boy, covered in dust, face streaked with blood, eyes baring hopelessness, being pulled out of rubble and into an ambulance. The brave people who saved this boy's life, along with tens of thousands like him, wore white helmets, and belonged to the Syrian civil defence. It is a team of 3,700 civilian volunteers who devote their lives to helping vulnerable Syrians in conflict areas. Since 2013, 243 white helmets have lost their lives. They are in Ottawa today so MPs can learn first-hand the brave work they do in Syria, and what our Liberal government support has meant for them on the ground. Support from our government has helped them increase women volunteers in their organization and provide more services for women and children, including access to first aid. I ask my colleagues to join me in commending their bravery, their dedication, and their commitment to saving lives. They are the heroes of our time."[3]

Similarly, with these words, MP Borys Wrzesnewskyj[4] makes the case for increased Canadian "humanitarian intervention" in Syria, presumably based upon the testimonies of visiting White Helmets members:

Unfortunately, Canadian politicians are not interested in independent evidence, which includes testimonies from Syrians recently liberated (by the SAA and its allies) from the captivity and tyranny of Western-supported terrorists in East Ghouta Syria. This is one such testimony[5]:

Prior to the West's criminal, dirty war on Syria, Syria was one the world's safest countries in terms of personal safety.[6]

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By Kerry Eleveld



Trump executive Michael Cohen

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If Donald Trump's longtime personal lawyer Michael Cohen wasn't feeling the heat already, he's about to enter an inferno. Not only did Trump assign him sole responsibility Thursday for the Stormy Daniels imbroglio, but new reporting suggested that special counsel Robert Mueller is zeroing in on Cohen as a lynchpin in the Russia probe. We'll get back to that in a second.

As we close out the week, here's a parting thought to keep in mind: Cohen, a Trump loyalist for about a decade and executor of some of his seediest deals, is now under extraordinary pressure. Cohen, sometimes called "Trump's pitbull," knows where the bodies are buried, so to speak. And now Stormy Daniels' lawyer Michael Avenatti will be hounding him on one Trump pressure point while Team Mueller dogs him on the other. As Avenatti pointed out Thursday:

"More and more eggs are being placed in the Michael Cohen basket. And if this guy doesn't hold up ultimately, whether it's in connection with this case or with Robert Mueller, Katy bar the door -- very bad things are going to happen to this administration."

In short, Cohen's loyalty to Trump is about to undergo a whipsaw stress test. On the Stormy side, here's a rundown of his potential legal troubles, which include fraud, disbarment, and making an illegal campaign contribution.

On the Russia front, McClatchy News reported Friday that Mueller was showing a keen interest in Cohen's dealings with Russian e'migre' and one-time Trump Organization associate Felix Sater. The two worked together on trying to pound out a Trump Tower deal in Moscow at the same time that Trump was running for president.

"The two men have said they teamed with a Russian group called I.C. Expert Consulting, and Cohen last year provided a detailed letter to congressional investigators about the deal and why it did not come to fruition. Appearing on MSNBC last month, Sater said that the local developer had sought financing from the Russian bank VTB, a big lender in Russia but one sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department in September 2014, with its subsidiaries added to the list the following year. "Sater is cooperating with Mueller's investigation and provided more than six hours of closed-door testimony on Wednesday to the Senate Intelligence Committee, which also focused heavily on the deals involving Cohen, according to multiple people with knowledge of the hearing. Sater previously provided similar closed-door testimony to the House Intelligence Committee in December 2017."

Let's just say, there's a lot of meat on that bone. And if Mueller finds any legal improprieties, he will surely leverage every bit of that weight to flip Cohen. To a large extent, Trump's fate now lies at least partially in the hands of Cohen. Will he go the way of Michael Flynn or Paul Manafort?
Worldwide Mobile Marketing Software Market | Top Key Players  G2 Crowd, Marketo, Pulsate, ActiveTrail, SharpSpring, Adobe Marketing Cloud, Mention, Iterable | Forecast till 2025

Mobile Marketing Software Market

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BusinessIndustryReports.com has new research report on the global Mobile Marketing Software Market. The global Mobile Marketing Software market is growing continuously and expected to grow healthy CAGR by Forecast year 2025Mobile marketing Market is multi-channel online marketing technique focused at reaching a specific audience on their smart phone, tablets, or any other related devices through websites, E mail, SMS and MMS, social media or mobile applications. Mobile marketing Market can provide customers with time and location sensitive, personalized information that promotes goods, services and ideas.In a more theoretical manner, academic Andreas Kaplan defines mobile marketing as "any marketing activity conducted through a ubiquitous network to which consumers are constantly connected using a personal mobile device".Marketing through cellphones' SMS (Short Message Service) became increasingly popular in the early 2000s in Europe and some parts of Asia when businesses started to collect mobile phone numbers and send off wanted (or unwanted) content. On average, SMS messages are read within four minutes, making them highly convertible.Get a Premium Sample Report atThis report studies the global Mobile Marketing Software market, analyzes and researches the Mobile Marketing Software development status and forecast in United States, EU, Japan, China, India and Southeast Asia.This report focuses on the top players in global marketG2 CrowdMarketoPulsateActiveTrailSharpSpringAdobe Marketing CloudMentionIterableioAdestraMailigenInsideViewEmarsysMarket segment by Regions/Countries, this report coversUnited StatesEUJapanChinaIndiaSoutheast AsiaMarket segment by Type, the product can be split intoCloud BaseOther BaseMarket segment by Application, Mobile Marketing Software can be split intoLarge EnterprisesSmall and Mid-sized Enterprises (SMEs)More Inquire atMajor Table of Content1 Global Mobile Marketing Software Market Research Report 20182 Global Mobile Marketing Software Market Competition by Manufacturers3 Global Mobile Marketing Software Capacity, Production, Revenue (Value) by Region (2013-2018)4 Global Mobile Marketing Software Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by Region (2013-2018)5 Global Mobile Marketing Software Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by Type6 Global Mobile Marketing Software Market Analysis by Application7 Global Mobile Marketing Software Manufacturers Profiles/Analysis8 Mobile Marketing Software Manufacturing Cost Analysis9 Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream Buyers10 Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/Traders11 Market Effect Factors Analysis12 Global Mobile Marketing Software Market Forecast (2018-2025)13 Research Findings and Conclusion14 AppendixKey questions answered in the report:What will the market growth rate of Mobile Marketing Software market in 2025?What are the key factors driving the global Mobile Marketing Software market?What are sales, revenue, and price analysis of top manufacturers of Mobile Marketing Software market?Who are the distributors, traders and dealers of Mobile Marketing Software market?Who are the key manufacturers in Mobile Marketing Software market space?What are the Mobile Marketing Software market opportunities and threats faced by the vendors in the global Mobile Marketing Software market?What are sales, revenue, and price analysis by types and applications of Mobile Marketing Software market?What are sales, revenue, and price analysis by regions of Mobile Marketing Software market?What are the market opportunities, market risk and market overview of the Mobile Marketing Software market?Purchased this report online with 104 Pages and List of figures and table atAbout usBusinessindustryReports.com is digital database of comprehensive market reports for global industries. As a market research company, we take pride in equipping our clients with insights and data that holds the power to truly make a difference to their business. Our mission is singular and well-defined - we want to help our clients envisage their business environment so that they are able to make informed, strategic and therefore successful decisions for themselves.Media ContactBusiness Industry ReportsPune  Indiasales@businessindustryreports.com+19376349940
Global Wood-Pellets Market 2018- Europe and North America Provides Lucrative Growth Avenues By Forecast to 2023

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"Wood pellet is a solid fuel that is produced by crushing and densifying waste timber like sawdust, forestry residues, and industrial byproducts like old paper and forestry wastes. The length is 1-2 cm and the diameter is generally 6, 8, 10, or 12mm. It is possible to produce 25mm wood pellet at maximum. In Sweden, 6mm wood pellet is encouraged to use in house as it can realize the best condition of combustion. Wood pellet production doesn't need to add binder as lignin, an element of wood, plays a role of binder and helps to pelletize when it is melted by heat.Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the Wood-Pellets in global market, especially in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa. This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, regions, types and applications.Request Sample Report @Industry Regional HighlightsBased on geography, the market is segmented into Europe, Asia Pacific, North America, Central and South America, and the Middle East and Africa. Of these, Europe is a major market for wood pellets and led the market in 2015. The substantial demand for wood pellets from the U.K. has fuelled this regional market. The regional market is propelled by numerous government initiatives such as significant fiscal subsidies to boost the generation of renewable sources of energy. This has incentivized the use of wood pellets to produce electrical energy in this region.Europe and North America Provides Lucrative Growth AvenuesNorth America is another prominent region for wood pellets. Several stiff regulations related to emission norms have fueled this regional market. The recent formulation of federal policies that seek to establish the carbon-neutrality of biomass is another crucial factor boosting the wood pellets market in countries such as the U.S. Furthermore, the continued expansion of wood pellet plants by several manufacturers in various cities of the U.S. is expected to boost the production of wood pellets, thereby catalyzing the regional market.Industry Top PlayersGerman Pellets, Enviva, Pinnacle, Vyborgskaya Cellulose, Rentech, Innogy (RWE), Graanul Invest Group, Green Circle Bio Energy, Zilkha Biomass Energy, Canfor, General Biofuels, BlueFire Renewables, Pacific BioEnergy, Protocol Energy, PFEIFER, Biomass Secure Power, Viridis Energy, Westervelt, New Biomass HoldingAsk For Discount @Market SegmentsMarket Segment by Regions, regional analysis covers North America (United States, Canada and Mexico) Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy) Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia) South America (Brazil, Argentina, Colombia) Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa)Market Segment by Type, covers White Pellet Black PelletMarket Segment by Applications, can be divided into Power Generation Industrial Furnace Civil Use OthersFor More Information @About UsFuture Generic Reports is a market research and consulting organization, offering premium collection of market research reports, custom research and consulting services to corporations, no-profit organizations and government institutions across the globe.The wide range of information is presented by a team of well-trained researchers of specific sectors through exhaustive research. We deliver premier market research services that cover all industry verticals, including chemicals and material, automotive, healthcare, electronics & semiconductor, food and beverage, pharmaceuticals and technology and media.We believe in building an eternal bond with our clients through offering them inclusive research study meeting their specific requirements. Our services are tailored specifically to our clients by proposing them the potential outcome, based on our in-depth analysis and insights for exploring the growth strategies through providing the best possible decision for quality production.Contact UsFuture Genic ReportsUSA Office244, Madison AvenueNew York City, NY - 10016United StatesToll Free +1- 844-445-2861Email: sales@futuregenicreports.com
Vision 2025 - The Future of Global Brake Fluid Market Transformations and Growth Opportunities

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Market ScenarioMost drivers check their engine oil or tire pressure regularly, but very often drivers check the brake fluid in their vehicle. Automotive brake fluid is a type of hydraulic fluid used in hydraulic clutches & brake applications in motorcycles, automobiles and some bicycles. It plays a crucial role as it transfers force when a driver applies the brake. Additionally, automotive brake fluid helps prevent corrosion and serves as lubricant for all movable parts.Industry OverviewThe burgeoning demand for vehicles in countries like China and India is forecasted to drive growth for the automotive brake fluid market. Companies are establishing production sites in these regions so as to satiate the local demand. For instance, BASF opened an automotive brake fluid production plant in Pudding, Shanghai to support the demand of local customers; which in turn is driving demand for automotive brake fluid in China. However, the lack of awareness/understanding among end user is restraining growth of the global automotive brake fluid market.The main route to this market is via the aftermarket, which includes workshops, automotive service centers and retailers for supply to DIY (do it yourself) end users. The retail aftermarket includes general & automotive retailers and petrol forecourts. The remaining market for brake fluid is held by OEMs for the first fill in a vehicle. Therefore, tie ups with OEMs becomes an important driver across all regions since they provide an assured route to the market through the sale of new cars.Request Sample Report @ https://www.futuregenicreports.com/Request-Sample/101109Industry Top PlayersDow,BASF,BP,Exxon Mobil, Total, Valvoline, Shell, Chevron, Fuchs, CCI, Bendix, DATEX, Repsol, Morris, Bosch, Gulf, ATE, MotulMarket SegmentsMarket Segment by Regions, regional analysis covers North America (United States, Canada and Mexico) Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy) Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia) South America (Brazil, Argentina, Colombia) Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa)Market Segment by Type, covers DOT 3 DOT 4 DOT 5 DOT 5.1Market Segment by Applications, can be divided into Passenger Vehicle Commercial Vehicle OthersFor More Information @About UsFuture Generic Reports is a market research and consulting organization, offering premium collection of market research reports, custom research and consulting services to corporations, no-profit organizations and government institutions across the globe.The wide range of information is presented by a team of well-trained researchers of specific sectors through exhaustive research. We deliver premier market research services that cover all industry verticals, including chemicals and material, automotive, healthcare, electronics & semiconductor, food and beverage, pharmaceuticals and technology and media.We believe in building an eternal bond with our clients through offering them inclusive research study meeting their specific requirements. Our services are tailored specifically to our clients by proposing them the potential outcome, based on our in-depth analysis and insights for exploring the growth strategies through providing the best possible decision for quality production.Contact UsFuture Genic ReportsUSA Office244, Madison AvenueNew York City, NY - 10016United StatesToll Free +1- 844-445-2861Email: sales@futuregenicreports.com
Global Acrylic Sheets Market 2018 -Demand of Acrylic Sheet as Alternative of Glass in Various Applications

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Jefferson Middle School art teacher Carrie Keeley took up a printmaking process known as "reduction linocut" about five years ago - and recently won two statewide awards for one of her works using the technique.

"I started by teaching my eighth graders" about it, Keeley said. "I became fascinated with the process of it."

She entered her linocut "Jaybird" in the 54th Annual Michigan Education Association/Midland Art Education Association Purchase Exhibition at MEA headquarters in East Lansing, and won the Juror's Award and the MAEA Purchase Award.

"That was really an honor for me to be recognized by the MAEA," Keeley said in a recent interview.

The piece will be on display until April 18, after which it will become part of the MAEA's permanent collection.

"I've been to the show but never entered the show before," she said. "I just decided, 'I'm going to put some pieces in the show.'"

She called the process of working on reduction linocut "very compelling  a complicated and creative process that I find extremely challenging."

Keeley starts by sketching out her design - backward - in pencil on paper, then pressing the paper onto a block of soft linoleum to transfer the image. After lifting off the paper, she first carves away the areas of the design that will be painted white, then paints those areas. She then continues this process, focusing first on areas that will be painted in lighter colors and proceeding to those destined to be darker.

The carving process "creates actual texture" and the printing - layer by layer of color - "creates implied texture."

"I love pulling the prints and seeing the ink layering materialize. The previous layers of color filter through subsequent layers, adding detail and complexity to the images," Keeley said.

The reduction linocut process lends itself to a series of images - such as a set of butterfly prints - and to different sizes of prints.

A 1995 graduate of Kendall College of Art and Design in Grand Rapids, Keeley was hired by Midland Public Schools in the 1998-99 school year and came to Jefferson in 2002. She earned her master's degree in art education in 2002 from Maryland Institute College of Art.

Keeley said she loves teaching art, including to those "superstars" who embrace it heartily. However, she has a soft spot for those who take a little longer to warm up.

"It's the kids that think they can't do art  they see themselves growing in leaps and bounds. That's the exciting, fun part - getting them excited."

She also sees value in the problems that inevitably arise in making art, and she sometimes sets up challenging issues that lead to skill-building.

"It's OK to have a problem arise  We'll just find a way around it," Keeley said. "It teaches persistence. It teaches them not to fear challenges."

"I really enjoy them. They keep me going  I have the best job in the building."

Keeley believes art can benefit any student.

"My class is for everyone, and all students can learn, grow, create and appreciate art."
The U.S. Department of Agriculture says customers and partners are following the USDA motto of do right and feed everyone. Sarah Longstreth, founder of Good Stead Farm, a source of fresh, local organic food in Midland County, is no exception.

Longstreth has a background in agriculture and with the help of USDA programs, was able to start her own operation.

Feeding Others

Longstreth started farming after graduating college, apprenticing on farms in Maine and Minnesota, and as far away as Jordan and Egypt. That's when she decided she wanted to head home to Michigan and start her own farm.

Good Stead Farm is a staple for good food in the county. It's a community supported agriculture (CSA) farm that feeds 60 families as well as sells at local restaurants and farmers market.

"We currently grow 10 months out of the year, producing for a three-season, 60-family CSA, three local restaurants and the Midland Farmer's Market," said Longstreth, who founded the farm in 2015. "Our products include over 100 different varieties of nearly 45 vegetables, herbs and flowers, as well as pastured chicken and duck eggs and grass-fed and finished lamb."

Longstreth does all of this on just seven acres.

Extending the Growing Season

Longstreth uses three hoop houses to extend the growing season on her farm.

Hoop houses, or seasonal high tunnels, are plastic covered structures that trap heat from the sun to create a warm climate. High tunnels help farmers extend the growing season -- producing crops longer into the winter and earlier in the spring.

This not only improves a farmer's bottom line, it also enables them to provide fresh, local produce for their communities, often year-round. High tunnels commonly incorporate other conservation practices, such as drip irrigation and cover crops, and protect plants from air pollution and pesticide drift.

Seeds of a New Business

Financing is a challenge for business start-ups, and it is especially true for small farms.

"I don't have all these implements and all these really expensive machines," she said. "If I'm not paying on my loan, what are [the lenders] going to take? My harvest tubs? My hand tools? My walking tractor?"

The financing challenge for small farms is often a matter of not having enough collateral in the beginning to offset a private lender's risk in administering the loan. Small beginning farms typically have not yet built up the loan collateral needed for commercial lenders.

By networking with experienced farmers, Longstreth discovered the farm loan programs available through USDA's Farm Service Agency.

"FSA was a really awesome, easy way to think about financing the startup of the farm," she said. "My loan officer was super great, and he was very supportive."

The microloan program helped Longstreth purchase cold storage equipment, a walking tractor and other start-up costs of Good Stead Farm.

Good for the Land

Good Stead Farm prides itself on using conservation practices that improve soil health and favoring heirloom and heritage plant and animal species.

In addition to using hoop houses, Longstreth worked with USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service to plan and implement a variety of conservation practices, including the planting of pollinator habitat and development of plans for best managing pests and nutrients. NRCS also helped her with mulching to suppress weeds, and planting cover crops to improve soil health.

"She's very knowledgeable, and she has educated herself a lot," said NRCS District Conservationist Boyd Byelich.

Byelich and Longstreth are now working together to improve her grazing system. This will include developing a prescribed grazing system to help improve pasture forages and graze with more intensive management.

When working with NRCS, Longstreth received technical and financial assistance through the Organic Initiative of the Environmental Quality Incentives Program.

Savannah Halleaux is the Michigan FSA state communications and outreach coordinator.
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To the editor:

So much misinformation is out there. Sadly, that will always be the case. "Check your facts before you post" is what we all should adhere to. Emotions surely run high and many tend to appreciate what we side and agree with. But please consider and appreciate all sides. Each of us have a right to our opinion.

Please remember that, and no matter the controversy of the moment, we do have the right to express those opinions, agree or not. Be respectful above all, even when our young people, students voice their opinions  they are the future after all and they all have opinions, too, which will differ from one another.

Respect, no more, no less. We are all Americans and one large family and we all know how many disagreements families have. Love and respect each other, period.

DIANE SCOTT

Midland
National Library Week is a time for people to celebrate their love of libraries. This year, the library is turning it around and celebrating its patrons. During the week of April 8, the Grace A. Dow Memorial Library will be offering fun, informative events designed to improve the well-being of its community members.

Each day during this "Week of Wellness," the library will host an event showcasing the benefits of a wellness-related activity. The events are free and no registration is required.

The week starts out with a Journaling program from 2 to 3 p.m. Monday, April 9 on the Mezzanine. Journaling has been shown to help reduce stress and anxiety. It can spark creativity and bring the writer a greater sense of self-confidence as well. Blank journals will be provided or you can bring your own. An expert will be on hand to teach effective journaling, showing how to get the most out of it. There is no expectation of sharing what is written.

On Tuesday, April 10, from 3 to 4 p.m. on the Mezzanine, patrons will learn about essential oils and how they might be used in transforming their health. Oils from roots, seeds, stems and flowers can have positive effects when used correctly and for the right purpose.

The mid-week program held Wednesday evening, April 11, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in the Community Room, will provide in-depth discussions on the benefits of Yoga and Meditation. Both practices promote health and well-being. Judith Powers, Fitness Specialist from Mid-Michigan Medical, will describe what yoga is and how it helps to reduce stress. Skip Renker, Professor Emeritus at Delta College, will do a presentation on the benefits of meditation. A question and answer period will follow the presentations.

Thursday's wellness event is a Tea Tasting. From 2 to 4 p.m. on April 12 on the Mezzanine, patrons will have the opportunity to taste several herbal teas and learn about the health properties of each. Bookmarks with information about the teas will be available to attendees.

The week culminates on Friday evening, April 13, with Emma Brown playing relaxing, soft guitar music in the library from 6:30 to 7:30 pm. What a great way to start the weekend!

Throughout the week, patrons can do some peaceful coloring at stations around the library. And, as always, the Quiet Room is a wonderful place to de-stress anytime. So, mark your calendars and head out to the library for a bit of wellness in your week.

While you are at the library, check out the display of books highlighting the wellness topics. For further information, please contact the Grace A. Dow Memorial Library at 989-837-3449 or visit online at www.cityofmidlandmi.gov/library.

Terrie Ahlers is the supervisor of adult services at the Grace A. Dow Memorial Library.
There's a darkness to Isle of Dogs, a similar tone explored in The Grand Budapest Hotel and Moonrise Kingdom...

The time has come once more where another Wes Anderson film is critically hailed as whimsical, wonderful, delightful fun. Anderson's stop-motion animation Isle of Dogs is very Wes Anderson. It breathes Anderson. It'd be impossible to conceive of this film without Anderson. The cinematography, the humor, the persistent detail in every scene, and the film's score (Alexandre Desplat) are all delightful and pleasant the quaint, idiosyncratic fare you'd only expect from Anderson.

His eccentricities are, at this point, so fully-realized you'd think he carries a color portfolio on his person at all times. Following the tale of a boy, Atari (Koyu Rankin), searching for his banished dog in Trash Island, Isle of Dogs is part a-boy-and-his-dog-love-story and student-activist drama. The voice cast features Anderson's go-to talentsEdward Norton (Rex), Bill Murray (Boss), and Jeff Goldblum (Duke)this time, voicing scruffy, quick-witted dogs.

But now for the elephant in the room. The controversy surrounding Isle of Dogsa Japanophilic film made by a white man about an uprising led by a fictional exchange student, who also happens to be whiteshould have been expected, but it does beg the question where artistry, and in Wes Anderson's case, cultural tourism come into play. The exhaustive playful tone of Anderson's work is what makes his directorial style distinguishable from other filmmakers: The Grand Budapest Hotelinspired by the writings of Stefan Zweig, a novelist who fled Germany after the rise of Hitlerwas set in the fictional European republic, Zubrowka, and showcased the absurdity and violence of totalitarian rule through one of his most whimsical narratives to date.

Only Anderson can make a fictitious, fascist world charmingit's apparently his in-pocket weapon. Plot lines that lack coherency in his convoluted, character-heavy storylines are redeemed by eccentric, meticulously polished realizations of his fictional worlds. His close eye for aestheticism and mise-en-scene is truly one of the most idiosyncratic styles in contemporary cinema, but where exactly do the limitations of his artistry lie?

Surely, reimagining Japan as if to display the very irony and absurdity of its culture enacts a type of violence western society has already inflicted upon Asian culture. This is cultural tourism but laced with Anderson's whimsy, his sly social commentary that's both redemptive and demoralizing. There's a darkness to Isle of Dogs, a similar tone explored in The Grand Budapest Hotel and Moonrise Kingdom, exploring a type of elusive cruelty inflicted by oppressive political regimes and authority figures. Anderson delicately teeters between a story about a boy and his dog and an activist group led by a white American exchange student with an afro. As expected from an Anderson film, it's all beautifully craftedI'll admitbut its very existence is cultural tourisma reimagining of Japan through western eyes and, naturally, through western stereotypes: sushi, kimonos, cherry blossoms, wasabi, taiko drummers.

Imagine Anderson following the tale of a boy in South Side Chicago on a search to find his dog? Thankfully, the day will never come. Anderson can craft a beautiful setting, but Anderson's not very good at balancing out his aestheticism with real-world cultural nuances. He's a filmmaker with the mind of a world-famous interior decorator and pseudo-historian. The appearance of cultural accuracy in Isle of Dogs is simply emblematic of pre-existing ideas and stereotypes about Japanese culture. But I suppose it doesn't matter if it all looks good, if the writing is so pristine you still find yourself laughing at all those cute stop-motion characters.

Wes Anderson has a knack for making amusement parks out of foreign cultures and doing it so well, it's never questioned. His latest three-year-long project is a visual feast and is some of the most brilliant stop-motion animation I've seen in recent years, but it's a clumsy project, and for some, the novelty's worn off.

'Isle of Dogs' Indian Paintbrush

POPDUST Score: 

Shaun Harris is a poet, freelance writer, and editor published in avant-garde, feminist journals. Lover of warm-toned makeup palettes, psych-rock, and Hilton Als. Her work has allowed her to copyedit and curate content for various poetry organizations in the NYC area.

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Assistant Columbia bureau chief

Adcox returned to The Post and Courier in October 2017 after 12 years covering the Statehouse for The Associated Press. She previously covered education for The P&C. She has also worked for The AP in Albany, N.Y., and for The Herald in Rock Hill.
Syndicated and guest columns represent the personal views of the writers, not necessarily those of the editorial staff. The editorial department operates entirely independently of the news department and is not involved in newsroom operations.
Many people are worried about the large number of "unlinked" cases. But they worry for the wrong reason. It does not really mat...
The Post and Courier provides a forum for our readers to share their opinions, and to hold up a mirror to our community. Publication does not imply endorsement by the newspaper; the editorial staff attempts to select a representative sample of letters because we believe its important to let our readers see the range of opinions their neighbors submit for publication.
Political Reporter

Caitlin Byrd is a political reporter at The Post and Courier and author of the Palmetto Politics newsletter. Before moving to Charleston in 2016, her byline appeared in the Asheville Citizen-Times. To date, Byrd has won 17 awards for her work.
Agencies will offer nuclear threat preparedness training to emergency responders this week.

First responders and other emergency personnel can learn how to respond to radiological and nuclear threats at a four-hour course offered by the Guam Homeland Security/Office of Civil Defense and Counterterrorism Operations Support on Monday and Tuesday.

Intended for first responders and emergency management personnel, the course will teach responders how to recognize nuclear or radiological incidences and threats, take appropriate protective measures, notify the public and manage the affected area. An additional course will be offered later this month to teach local officials to offer the weapons of mass destruction (WMD) course themselves.

The course was previously offered 10 years ago and comes in the midst of heightened tensions with North Korea, which last year threatened a nuclear attack on Guam. It also closely follows a ballistic missile false alarm in Hawaii, when an emergency responder mistakenly issued a statewide emergency notification.

Jenna Blas, public information officer for GHS/OCD, said the course is not directly connected to the threat from North Korea, but is important nonetheless.

It is a way for the islands response personnel to learn together, become familiar with protective actions for life safety, and to ensure everyone knows what to do if there was a radiological/nuclear emergency, Blas stated in an email. Blas also noted that several other GHS/OCD trainings are offered throughout the year which are unrelated to radiological and nuclear events.

Guams emergency response plan does include a contingency plan for foreign military threats, Blas said, but details cannot be disclosed due to sensitive material.

Blas could not comment on whether Counterterrorism Operations Support had taken other steps to prepare for a radiological or nuclear threat, but said GHS/OCD continues to offer briefs and presentations on emergency preparedness plans for all hazards, including man-made threats, including addressing advance warning systems, communication and mass care.

The free WMD course (AWR-140) is open to all and will be held in Room 129 at the University of Guam School of Business and Public Administration at the following times:

 April 9  8 a.m. to noon and another from 1 to 5 p.m.; and

 April 10  8 a.m. to noon and another from 1 to 5 p.m.

For more information, contact GHS/OCD State Training and Exercise Manager Patrick Leon Guerrero at (671) 475-9600 or pat.leonguerrero@ghs.guam.gov.

GHS/OCD will offer three additional free courses for radiological/nuclear threat preparedness this month as well.
The sinking of a recreational fishing vessel in Sasa Bay nearly three years ago has prompted another lawsuit in a long-running dispute over the ownership and sale of the vessel.

Typhoon Dolphin claimed the M/V Makena in May 2015. During the storm, it broke free of its mooring at the Marianas Yacht Club and went down in 15 feet of water, just north of Polaris Point, leaving a sheen of diesel fuel on the surface.

There was no insurance on the 50-foot vessel and its considered a total loss.

A lawsuit filed Tuesday, however, contends there should have been insurance on the vessel and it should have been seaworthy and fit for a trip to Hong Kong to be sold.

Thats the argument in a breach of settlement complaint filed Tuesday by Dr. Kia Rahmani, of Guam, against Charles and Ellen Longley of Hawaii.

Their feud over the vessel dates back to February 2012 when Rahmani sold the Makena to the Longleys. According to court documents, Rahmani and some business partners acquired the Longleys interest in two homes in Washington state along with a $3,500 down payment and a promissory note for the balance.

The sale led to the first lawsuit with a claim by the Longleys that Rahmani had failed to provide the most recent survey report of the vessel that they said reflected a much lower value of only $195,000.

Both sides agreed to submit their dispute to mediation which resulted in a settlement agreement and a release of claims in April 2014.

According to the court record, the Longleys agreed they were the owners of the Makena and both sides agreed to pay into a bank account jointly controlled by counsel to the parties. The funds were supposed to be used to make the vessel sea worthy for transport to Hong Kong to be sold.

That didnt happen, according to Rahmanis complaint. He claims he paid $13,000 into the jointly controlled account to repair the Makena and did all things required of him under the settlement agreement. He accuses the Longleys of not paying into the repair account and not providing insurance on the vessel which led to a total loss.

The lawsuit seeks a minimum of $340,000 in damages, plus attorneys' fees. The Longleys have yet to respond.
Writing, at its best, is a lonely life, said Ernest Hemingway in his thank you speech for winning the 1954 Nobel Prize in Literature. For he [the writer] does his work alone and if he is a good enough writer he must face eternity, or the lack of it, in each day.

Writing is a solitary profession, an activity most often undertaken in isolation. It is done alone, most times away from people, including loved ones.

Even in noisy environments, which the newsroom of newspapers is, once writing begins, the individual shuts off the world and gets lonely. Writers are agreed that even when one is not isolated from other people, when writing in the company of other writers, one is still alone.

In a 2005 interview he granted Simon Stanford, Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka described the ideal setting for writing: I mean, ideally, for instance, I think most writers would like a quiet space, complete isolation, in which they control their own time. Spaces of creativity in which there is very little interruption! I think that is the idea and this perhaps is how I began as a writer, finding that space, that intense period in which I am completely alone, completely alone.

Ernest Hemingway

Ernest Hemingway, known for his great works, including A Farewell to Arms and The Old Man and the Sea, explained the lonely feeling in an interview he granted.

He said: When I am working on a book or a story I write every morning as soon after first light as possible. There is no one to disturb you and it is cool or cold and you come to your work and warm as you write. You read what you have written and, as you always stop when you know what is going to happen next, you go on from there.

You write until you come to a place where you still have your juice and know what will happen next and you stop and try to live through until the next day when you hit it again. You have started at six in the morning, say, and may go on until noon or be through before that.

When you stop you are as empty, and at the same time never empty but filling, as when you have made love to someone you love. Nothing can hurt you, nothing can happen, nothing means anything until the next day when you do it again. It is the wait until the next day that is hard to get through.

Okey Ndibe

Two of Nigerias famous writers, Okey Ndibe and Uzor Maxim Uzoatu, relate easily with Hemingway.

Ndibe said: Ernest Hemingways statement captures a fascinating paradox about the vocation of a writer. A writer often creates in solitude  and frequently solitarily  that which he intends to share with multitudes of readers. Of course, its not always the case that the writer writes by withdrawing entirely from others. I, for one, sometimes crave the comforting presence of others, even strangers, as I write. But for the most part, I do my writing in quietude, in those hours after everybody around me has gone to sleepor before they wake from sleep.

Hemingways other pointthat a writer must confront the verdict of literary history utterly aloneis pertinent. The question of whether ones work will survive one is not a question I pose to myself in a conscious manner. Yet, each writer is engaged in an essential gamble. Your work may connect in a vital way to the concerns of readers, and so remain in circulation long after youve passed on. Or it may be a victim of its own narrowness of perspective, or its highness of ambitious, or of the vicissitudes of tasteand

thus pass into oblivion.

Im always aware that writing, a solitary undertaking has, in the end, an intensely social impetus. Writing thats not read by others, that does not speak to a community of readers, over time isto put it mildlya disaster.

Maxim Uzoatu

Yes, the loneliness of the writer is eternal. It is the writer and his paper or his computer. Writing at its best is not group activity. It is incumbent on the true writer to go deep inside his being to pour out his soul. That is why writers suffer and some end up committing suicide!

The experience of a few more writers further clarifies the challenge that has become synonymous with writing.

Maya Angelou

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Maya Angelou was a writer, poet, civil rights activist and award-winning author known for her acclaimed memoir, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, which made literary history as the first nonfiction best-seller by an African- American woman.

In her audiobook, Daily Rituals, she described her routine: I usually get up at about 5:30, and Im ready to have coffee by 6, usually with my husband.

He goes off to his work around 6:30, and I go off to mine.

I keep a hotel room in which I do my work  a tiny, mean room with just a bed, and sometimes, if I can find it, a face basin. I keep a dictionary, a Bible, a deck of cards and a bottle of sherry in the room. I try to get there around 7, and I work until 2 in the afternoon.

If the work is going badly, I stay until 12:30. If its going well, Ill stay as long as its going well. Its lonely, and its marvelous. I edit while Im working. When I come home at 2, I read over what Ive written that day, and then try to put it out of my mind.

I shower, prepare dinner, so that when my husband comes home, Im not totally absorbed in my work. We have a semblance of a normal life. We have a drink together and have dinner. Maybe after dinner Ill read to him what Ive written that day. He doesnt comment. I dont invite comments from anyone but my editor, but hearing it aloud is good. Sometimes I hear the dissonance; then I try to straighten it out in the morning.

Charles Dickens

He wrote such great books as A Christmas Carol and A Tale of Two Cities.

The eldest son of the famous English novelist, widely considered as the greatest of the Victorian era, revealed his daily routine.

Charles Culliford Boz Dickens recalled: No city clerk was ever more methodical or orderly than he; no humdrum, monotonous, conventional task could ever have been discharged with more punctuality or with more business-like regularity, than he gave to the work of his imagination and fancy.

He rose at 7:00, had breakfast at 8:00, and was in his study by 9:00. He stayed there until 2:00, taking a brief break for lunch with his family, during which he often seemed to be in a trance, eating mechanically and barely speaking a word before hurrying back to his desk.

On an ordinary day he could complete about two thousand words in this way, but during a flight of imagination he sometimes managed twice that amount. Other days, however, he would hardly write anything; nevertheless, he stuck to his work hours without fail, doodling and staring out the window to pass the time.

Promptly at 2:00, Dickens left his desk for a vigorous three-hour walk through the countryside or the streets of London, continuing to think of his story and, as he described it, searching for some pictures I wanted to build upon.

Returning home, his brother-in- law remembered, He looked the personification of energy, which seemed to ooze from every pore as from some hidden reservoir. Dickenss nights, however, were relaxed: he dined at 6:00, then spent the evening with family or friends before retiring at midnight.

Loneliness, solitude and being alone

Loneliness is a scary word. And does writing alone or going into solitude to write translate into loneliness? Although some writers have slipped into loneliness, depression and have even committed suicide, there are clear distinctions.

Solitude is a state of seclusion or isolation  lack of contact with people. It may stem from bad relationships, loss of loved ones, deliberate choice, infectious disease, mental disorders or circumstances of employment or situation; or be deliberate.

Loneliness is defined as a complex and usually unpleasant emotional response to isolation. It typically includes anxious feelings about a lack of connection or communication with other beings, both in the present and extending into the future. As such, loneliness can be felt even when surrounded by other people.

According to psychologist John Cacioppo, loneliness works in some surprising ways to compromise health. The net result is that the lonely experience higher levels of cumulative wear and tear. He provided details:

*Perhaps most astonishing, in a survey he conducted, doctors themselves confided that they provide better or more complete medical care to patients who have supportive families and are not socially isolated.

*Living alone increases the risk of suicide for young and old alike.

*Lonely individuals report higher levels of perceived stress even when exposed to the same stress ors as non-lonely people, and even when they are relaxing.

*The social interaction lonely people do have are not as positive as those of other people, hence the relationships they have do not buffer them from stress as relationships normally do.

*Loneliness raises levels of circulating stress hormones and levels of blood pressure. It undermines regulation of the circulatory system so that the heart muscle works harder and the blood vessels are subject to damage by blood flow turbulence.

*Loneliness destroys the quality and efficiency of sleep, so that it is less restorative, both physically and psychologically. They wake up more at night and spend less time in bed actually sleeping than do the non-lonely.

The causes of loneliness or solitude are varied and include social, mental, emotional and physical factors, but being alone to write is by choice.

Although most writers work in solitude, they do not necessarily suffer from loneliness. Solitude could mean privacy or peace. When you are in solitude, you are in your own company, by yourself.

Also, the popular conception of the writer as a lonely figure, an alcoholic or a chain smoker is flawed. For example, it will be laughable to describe Ndibe or Uzoatu as people suffering from loneliness. They are both strong family men and socially active.

However, several studies suggest a disproportionate number of writers report loneliness compared to other professions. That, for sure, is one of the challenges to writing, which requires proper handling.
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When Nigerias information minister, Lai Mohammed, released what was the merit list of Nigerian (alleged) looters, many Nigerians were shocked because, apparently, the scanty names on that list couldnt have been the architects of our backwardness for decades.

The PDP chieftains whose names didnt appear in that list genuinely expressed surprise at such careless show of disrespect for their legendary contributions to Nigerias woes.

I am pretty sure their APC come-raid in the struggle for the ruining of Nigeria who miraculously didnt make the much coveted merit list too would be genuinely shocked, as per espirit de corps. But because they, like whited sepulcher, are now anti-graft saints they would not show it in the media.

Expectedly, the PDP challenged Mr. Mohammed to update the list, with a focus on the near-total exclusion of the APC and its members. The minister, pronto, released another batch containing names of (alleged) looters that were again predominantly PDP members. What followed have been accusations and counter-accusations, with both parties locked in the battle to outshine one another in their records of who ruined Nigeria better.

Reno Omokri, an ex-aide to former president Goodluck Jonathan, in his reaction released his own list of (alleged) looters, a list that expectedly contained names of APC members, some of them serving aides of President Muhammadu Buhari. And so, its been a back-and-forth exchange of rhythm between both parties: there was APCs reggae and then PDPs blues and then the beat goes on and on, ad naseum.

On social media, a few recession-ravaged Nigerians have taken sides, justifying why a broom-wielding looter might be morally conscious than the profligate one with an overpriced umbrella. Or why the one with a tattered umbrella might be a frugal looter compared to the other one with a designer broom. Stockholm syndrome.

The biggest takeaway, for me, is that if there was any doubt about the oft-trumpeted notion that ONLY the common Nigerian can rescue Nigeria from her tormentors, this APC-PDP reggae-blues must have put paid to it. (Did anyone notice that unlike what a section of the media have responsibly done by inserting the word alleged into the list, the real drafters of these list had no thought for the word, perhaps lending credence to the authenticity of their claims?).

In 2017, Waziri Adio, the executive secretary of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) said Nigeria earned a whopping $592 billion from the oil and gas sector from 1999 to 2014. The NEITI boss however lamented that despite the huge resources, Nigerians still live in abject poverty and want.

Between 2014 and 2018, there has been a drop in oil revenue. But it is a no-brainer that NEITI figures would need to be updated to capture proceeds of the three or so years difference if we are to conduct an appraisal in 2018. Yet our roads are still death traps; our hospitals are metaphors for mortuaries; our schools are largely fit for pigs. Life is still short, nasty and brutish.

Apparently, the major massive construction works we have facilitated with the oil revenue are located in the oesophagi of the gluttonous elites we continue to put in power irrespective of party affiliationas the accusations and counter-accusations have shown in recent weeks.

The painful part is that despite that this self-indictment is coming in an election year, they will all get away with it. Apparently, with these in-your-face confessions, one thing is clear: they know they are looters, we know they are looters, they know that we know that they are looters; but they know there wont be consequences.

PDP Chairman, Uche Secondus

In the coming days, the parties would continue with their reggae-blues accusations and counter-accusations. Nigerians, ever the music-loving lots, would simply look on and (selectively) justify their idiocies. Some of us would dance to their rhythm, even. We are patriotic like that.

Seriously Speaking: That Offa Invasion

While an undergraduate in UNILORIN, Offa was one of the few Kwara communities I loved to visit. Serene. Calm. Innocent. Except on few occasions when the perennial Offa-Erin Ile crisis breaks out, the town is for me quite peaceful, at least compared to Ilorin and its hustle and bustle.

On Thursday, some agents of darkness visited the town and unleashed mayhem on innocent residents and security operatives. At the last count, 17 people have been confirmed dead. There are unconfirmed reports that the figure is higher.

Offa has been the focus of too many robbery attacks in recent years and nothing exemplifies our poor, reactionary approach to issues like the fact that the town was attacked yet again and the masterminds had a successful one-hour operation!

We hope the authorities will promptly bring those robbers to book, as the governor said in a statement Saturday morning. Too many innocent Nigerians are being killed needlessly due to our systemic dysfunction. I sympathise with residents of the town, especially those who lost relatives in the deadly attack. Tragic.
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The deadly armed robbery attack which occurred in Kwara State on Thursday left at least 17 persons dead, including eight police officers, police said Friday.

Daredevil robbers struck five different banks in downtown Offa shortly after 4:00 p.m., blowing their ways into the vaults before carting away huge chunks of money. The specific amount is still being ascertained, police said.

The robbers also shot residents at random and launched an assault on a police station within the community, which is also home to a federal polytechnic and situated about 60 kilometres south of Ilorin, the state capital.

Twelve people were killed at the police station, eight of them were police officers, Kwara police commissioner Lawan Ado told PREMIUM TIMES late Friday. The remaining four were suspects in police custody.

The police chief said five persons were killed in indiscriminate shooting by the armed robbers on the streets of Offa. The robbers also made away with arms and ammunition from the police armoury when they attacked the police station.

The police intelligence response team have arrived from Abuja to support the team on ground for a thorough investigation, Mr. Ado said, adding that seven suspects have been taken into custody.

We arrested one person yesterday and six persons today in connection with the robbery, he said. We will stop at nothing to ensure that all the suspects are arrested.

The commissioner confirmed affected bank branches as including Zenith Bank Guarantee Trust Bank, Union Bank , First Bank and Eco Bank.

He said the police have recovered seven vehicles abandoned by the suspects in the outskirts of the town, exhibits he said would form a part of detectives probe into the attack.

Reports of the robbery gripped the nation on Thursday, with some accounts saying the death toll was as high as 30.

Senate President Bukola Saraki, a former governor of the state, dispatched a condolence message to the community on Thursday, promising a bitter end for the attackers and charging security agencies to take urgent measures to ensure that the suspects are arrested and future attacks are forestalled.
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The presidency has reacted to a backlash by members of the senate committee on appropriation on the federal governments social investment programmes.

In a statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President, Laolu Akande, the presidency singled out a senator for blame berating his comment as irresponsible statement.

Members of the committee on Thursday picked holes in the implementation of the social investment programme saying the government has nothing to show for the N1.5 trillion it has attracted since inception.

While appearing before the committee to defend the 2018 budget, the lawmakers demanded the Special Adviser to the President on Social Investment, Maryam Uwais, provide names of the beneficiaries of the social intervention programme from their various states, which the agency promised to submit before the close of yesterday.

You have N500 billion every year, which is unprecedented, totalling N1.5 trillion in three years. I am from Gombe State, and Im yet to see one single boy or girl that has benefited from the programme. I have been active and politicking for 40 years. As far as a I am concerned, I dont know of anybody who has benefited from your programme and this is N13 billion every month, chairman of the committee, Danjuma Goje (APC-Gombe) said.

The presidency faulted the senators condemnation on Friday, saying Mr Goje made an irresponsible statement.

First we would like to hope that the senator was misquoted. And we call on him to make the necessary clarifications.

However were it to be true that he made such wild claims, it would not only be unfortunate but certainly an irresponsible statement, the statement reads.

Mr Akande noted that the programme has only received N175 billion as against N1.5 trillion claimed by Mr Goje.

To restate the facts, while indeed we have budgeted a total of N500B for the 2016 & 2017 Budgets each, including the N100B for the Family Housing Fund in the 2017 Budget, only a total of N175B has so far been released since the commencement of the historic Buhari Social Investment Programme.

It is incredible that the distinguished senator will insinuate otherwise. If actually he was accurately reported, we would say he ought to have requested for the information instead of misleading an entire nation with such an incredible claim.

While the Senator was claiming he knew no one from his state who has benefited from the SIP at a Senate Committee hearing, his colleague from Kogi State, distinguished Senator Atai Aidoko requested from the Special Adviser to the President on SIP, Mrs. Maryam Uwais, (who was before the Appropriations Committee) for a random name of a beneficiary from his state, called the number there and then and got positive confirmation from the beneficiary. That senator then formally announced the outcome of his random call to the entire senate hearing.

Inspite of the cash-trap, the presidency said the programme has benefitted many Nigerians. The statement listed some of the beneficiaries.

For the avoidance of any doubt, there are today in this country 200,000 previously unemployed Nigerian graduates who are receiving their N30,000 monthly stipends as they serve their communities in different capacities including as teaching assistants, Agric extension aides or community health workers.

There are today in our nation more than 7.4 million primary school pupils in 22 States who are being fed one hot meal a day under the Buhari SIP. Almost 300,000 Nigerians are also receiving N5000 monthly cash transfer among our most vulnerable & poorest citizens. Our target for the cash transfer is one million. And there are almost 300,000 Nigerians who have benefited from micro-credit loans of between N10, 000 to N100,000.

These are the facts and the selection process for the beneficiaries are open, transparent and can be easily cross-checked by any diligent inquirer.
Despite Nigerian Armys statement that Operation Cat Race had been extended by two months to further curb incessant killings in some northern states, communities have told PREMIUM TIMES that there are no troops on ground.

Civilian casualties have again spiked within the last two weeks, with reports indicating nearly 200 deaths across four states of Benue, Kogi, Kaduna and Taraba. Some residents said the attacks have been so frequent that it was difficult to readily tell of the positive impact of the troops deployed in their communities.

Coincidentally, the troops disappeared on March 31, the same day the exercise was initially billed to end, according to residents accounts in Benue, Taraba and Kogi States.

The states are amongst the six states that President Muhammadu Buhari identified for troops deployment in February, following unabated cases of deadly attacks linked to herdsmen, kidnapping and cattle rustling.

The Army initially said the exercise would last for six weeks from mid-February to the end of March. But on April 2, the Army said troops would remain in the communities for another eight weeks.

The extension is based on the need to further consolidate on the gains achieved so far by the Army in aiding the nations civil authority to maintain peace and security and due to calls by well-meaning Nigerians, Army spokesperson, Texas Chukwu, said in a statement.

But the soldiers have left the spots they were deployed in after six weeks, according to residents in Benue, where reports said about 40 people have been killed within the past one week with the police confirming recovery of 10 bodies.

The soldiers have left, said Terkura Suswam, founder of Ashi Polytechnic and a community leader in Anyiin, Logo Local Government Area. I have been to their base in Chembe more than three times within the past one week but no single soul was there anymore.

Mr Suswam, brother of former Governor Gabriel Suswam, said the perceived duplicity of the Nigerian security agencies had made it difficult for the locals to trust the government in the herdsmen crisis.

The withdrawal came a month after the police withdrew its special forces from communities in Logo and Guma, the two LGAs that suffered deadly attacks on January 1, which sparked nationwide uproar and demand for Mr Buhari to act.

Two more residents of Anyiin told PREMIUM TIMES in separate interviews that the soldiers had left.

Also, Enoch Nyikyaa, a chief in Logo LGA, told PREMIUM TIMES the soldiers had been withdrawn, saying he was surprised that the Nigerian Army could even deny its actions.

Soldiers from the Operation Ayem Akpatuma were here for about six weeks, but they have all left now, Mr. Nyikyaa said. The chief said he took a tour of Ayilamo, another town in Logo LGA where a detachment was stationed for six weeks, but found no trace of the soldiers. It was here that a family of four was wiped out in an overnight attack on Wednesday, Mr Nyikyaa said.

The residents fear that their communities could be overrun in the coming days if no immediate security measures are put in place. This is also because the police had in February withdrawn special forces previously operating in the areas before soldiers were deployed.

Benue police commissioner, Fatai Owoseni, did not respond to PREMIUM TIMES requests for comments about whether the police would return the special forces to the troubled communities to protect civilian population.

The attacks in Benue, Nasarawa and Taraba have sent hundreds of thousands fleeing from their communities, with many putting up at dozens of camps for internally displaced persons scattered across the region.

Mr Suswam said the situation could get worse in the coming weeks when the raining season begins and the killers would take refuge in overgrown bushes and forests.

In Kogi, a local government chairman told PREMIUM TIMES the soldiers have stopped patrolling troubled communities, leaving them vulnerable to invasion.

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Yes, the soldiers have left now, its unfortunate, said Ohiare Abdulraheem, administrator for Okehi Local Government Area. They were based in my local government when the Operation Cat Race was announced, but now theyre gone.

Mr Abdulraheem said several communities are now left exposed, urging security agencies to consider the plight of the locals.

He also identified five communities where he believed those coming to kill people in his local government are hiding.

Oboro, Omavi, Ohoupe, Oboroke and Eikaohizenyi towards Ajaokuta are the hideouts of the attackers, Mr Abdulraheem said. The security agencies should comb all these areas for residents to ensure a lasting peace for the residents.

Residents in Donga LGA in Taraba also said soldiers are no longer patrolling their communities.

The Nigerian Army spokesperson, Mr Chukwu, would neither confirm nor deny the residents claim that the troops had been withdrawn when reached for comments Friday.

Olabisi Ayeni, a spokesperson for the Nigerian Army 707 Brigade in Makurdi, could not be reached for comments as his two telephone lines were switched off between Friday evening and 11:00 a.m. Saturday morning.

John Agim, a spokesperson for the Defence Headquarters, would only confirm that the exercise had been extended.

The exercise was extended and that is all I could say for now, Mr. Agim, a brigadier-general, said by telephone Friday night.

Taraba police commissioner, David Akinremi, told PREMIUM TIMES he expected the soldiers to still be in the state following announcement that the exercise had been extended.

I understand the soldiers are still on going because the exercise was extended for two months, Mr Akinremi said. I havent received any reports to the contrary.

Mr Akinremi said some residents might be raising alarm because the soldiers moved from their location to other areas.

If theyre complaining, perhaps it was because the troops had moved to other locations where theyre more needed, he said.

The police chief said his men would continue to do their utmost to protect communities whether soldiers are on ground ot not.

There own is special operation, our own is continuous operation, Mr Akinremi said. Our men will always be around to carry out their statutory duties of protecting the people.

He acknowledged killings are still ongoing in the state, but said the isolated attacks are being investigated and police are making efforts to get to know those responsible.

Emmanuel Bello, a spokesperson for Governor Darius Ishaku, said Taraba was under siege even when troops were initially deployed, much less their unverified extension of the exercise.

We are worried that even with the announcement of the extension of the operation, the killing spree has continued unabated, Mr Bello said in a message to PREMIUM TIMES Friday night. So of what value are these exercises if lives are not safe?

Seven bodies have been recovered in Ananum in Donga LGA where the aggressor killed freely. In Takum, a family of five was gruesomely wiped out in the most violent and horrendous fashion, he said.

Mr Bello said the military should be transparent on the actions its taking to end the killings in other to offset its trust deficit, saying Taraba State would cooperate fully with security agencies.

The operation and any of its continuation would only make sense when lives are safe and people can return to their homes and farms. For now, our people are agitated and live in apprehension.

They are targeted and killed with no arrests made. The military has a lot to do to restore faith in their activities. Images of dead bodies making social media rounds only enforce the fears that exercise is not achieving its aim.

The Taraba State Government is willing and ready to cooperate with all the security agencies to safeguard lives. Our people are seriously hoping that professionalism would be upheld and that they can trust the military to keep them safe, he said.
Five years after it was established as a modern political party and three years on as Nigerias ruling party with vast resources at its disposal, the All Progressives Congress (APC) still has no notable presence on social media, it admitted on Friday.

The APC said the famous Twitter account with which it had long been associated is in the hands of a man who holds no official position within the party, and getting him to relinquish the sign-in credentials for the handle has proven fruitless for years.

Philip Obin, a social network marketer from Cross River State, set up the account in February 2013 shortly after the leaders of the legacy parties that became APC announced that their merger talks had pulled through. Mr Obin quickly obtained a Twitter verification badge for the handle and used it to drive APCs online campaign in 2015. The account amassed well over 700,000 followers as at Friday night.

But following a chain of embarrassing engagements which the party neither sanctioned nor had prior knowledge of, the APC has repeatedly disowned the account as unofficial and has accused Mr Obin of being an impostor.

The latest denial came on Friday evening when the party issued a statement to distance itself from overtures allegedly made to a former social media aide to former President Goodluck Jonathan, Reno Omokri.

Mr. Omokri, an ardent critic of President Muhammadu Buhari, claimed on Thursday that the APC, through its Twitter handle, tried to warm up to him several times, attempts he said he rejected. He posted screenshots of the messages.

In a statement to PREMIUM TIMES, Bolaji Abdullahi, a spokesperson for the APC, said the affairs marked the latest embarrassment the unauthorised handle would inflict on the ruling party.

For the avoidance of doubts, we wish to state that Philip Obin was one of the numerous youth volunteers for our party during the 2015 elections. He administered the Twitter handle at the time, Mr. Abdullahi said. But despite numerous appeals to him by various well meaning party representatives, to hand over the handle, Mr Obin has refused and in defiance continues to use it to misrepresent the Party.

In essence, therefore, Mr Obins interactions with Mr Omokri are in his personal capacity and do not involve Party in any way, he added.

Mr Abdullahi threatened other lawful actions against Mr Obin and indicated that the APC would no longer tolerate his conduct, especially in instances where his activities cast the party in bad light.

Giving this latest incident, the Party is now left with no option than to take other lawful actions to restrain Mr Obin from further embarrassing the Party, Mr Abdullahi said. The general public is yet again reminded that the Twitter handle @APCNigeria is not a Twitter handle of the All Progressives Congress.

The party has no official presence on Facebook, the worlds largest social networking platform.

Mr Obin elected not to publicly counter the APC when reached for comments, telling PREMIUM TIMES Saturday morning the matter was purely a family affair.

There are internal issues regarding who manages the account and I would prefer we handle it internally and amicably, Mr Obin said.

Mr Obin said almost all APC leaders, including Mr Buhari and Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, had interacted with the handle at one time or another.

The APC was the result of a groundbreaking merger of top opposition parties in 2013. It was unveiled on February 6 and registered by the Independent National Electoral Commission on July 31, 2013.

Barely two years after, the party went on to claim victory in its first major outing by winning the presidency and sweeping parliamentary and gubernatorial elections in most states in the 2015 general elections  ending the 16-year dominance of the Peoples Democratic Party.

Maximising appeal to the youth was top amongst crucial steps that helped the party to victory. Its online narrative, shaped largely by young professionals with ties to white-shoe companies, overshadowed the efforts of PDP supporters on social media at the time.

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But in February 2013, as politicians were concluding talks on the formation of APC ahead of its formal registration with INEC, some youth were positioning themselves for strategic roles in the partys online presence.

Amongst them was Mr Obin, who quickly set up the account to assume control of APCs activities on Twitter.

Causing trouble

The APC has distanced itself from the backlash that Mr Obin had brought on the party through his use of the Twitter handle. Shortly after results were announced for the February 2016 senatorial re-run election in Benue South District, the handle congratulated David Mark, the candidate of the PDP who emerged winner in the election.

But this was despite the APC candidates rejection of the results, and the party issued a statement disowning the account and reiterated its official position that the exercise that returned Mr Mark was neither free nor fair.

In June 2017, Mr Obin conducted a poll for Twitter users to rate Mr Buharis performance after two years in office. The results were overwhelmingly negative. The party was again compelled to issue a statement distancing itself from Mr Obin.

Several APC insiders who had been a part of efforts to get the handle from Mr Obin said significant financial reward was amongst the compensation package the party offered him.

But he rejected the offers and frustrated all our efforts to get Twitter to delete the account and create a new one for the party, said an APC source familiar with the negotiations. He just wont cave, no matter what.

But two APC officials admitted to PREMIUM TIMES that the account had not been entirely a minus for the party.

He has used the handle to help our communication efforts on social media, especially the activities of the Buhari administration which he had propagated prominently, one official said Friday night.

Its actually going to be a bigger loss if we dont settle the matter with him and instead allow the handle to go to waste, another added.

Mr Obin denied deliberately embarrassing the APC, saying it was virtually impossible for him to have control of all activities at all times.

Social media works are positive at some times and negative at other times, Mr Obin said. You cannot always have control over that.

He reaffirmed his loyalty to the party and Mr Buhari, neither of whom he would publicly criticise.

I respect the party a lot and I wont join issues with the party or President Buhari, he said.

Learning from PDP

Mr Abdullahi, who said he had met with Mr Obin several times in a bid to resolve the stalemate, said the party might eventually shelve plans to get take control of the handle and instead unveil digital communication channels.

The spokesperson said the party might eventually adopt the strategy used by the PDP when the main opposition party found itself at the mercy of its former social media director.

Deji Adeyanju was in charge of the partys @PdpNigeria handle for years. But when the caretaker leadership of the party took charge in 2016, members tried to get him to hand over the account, which he declined.

After months of disagreements, and pleas from Ahmed Makarfi, leader of the caretaker leadership, the party ultimately wrote to Twitter to delete the account with about 188,000 followers. The party unveiled a new account, @OfficialPDPNg, which Twitter immediately verified for the party.

Mr Abdullahi said the APC is working on new accounts across all social media platforms, especially, Faceboook, Twitter and Instagram.

We plan to unveil our digital channels at the upcoming convention, the official said. By then, Nigerians will know all the official handles and be guided appropriately going forward.
The Buhari administration has not spent N500 billion annually on social investment programmes for Nigerians as it has led the public to believe, as that claim has not been cash-backed, the government has confirmed.

The government announced the initiative in 2015 as it came into office, and in last weeks response to American billionaire, Bill Gates criticism of the governments low spending on human capital, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo said the yearly N500 billion social investment package was the biggest in sub-saharan Africa, and unprecedented in Nigeria.

We also decided to put in place an audacious Social Investment Programme to the tune of N500 billion, the largest pro-poor programme in our nations history, and the largest social safety net, at least in Sub-Saharan Africa, Mr Osinbajo said at the Bola Tinubu Colloquium in Lagos March 29.

The initiative aims to provide easy-to-access jobs for the unemployed, feeding for school children and a N5,000 monthly handouts to some of the nations poorest people.

The government claims more than 7.4 million primary school pupils in 22 states have been fed, while almost 300,000 poor Nigerians are also receiving N5000 monthly cash transfer. It said almost 300,000 Nigerians benefited from micro-credit loans of between N10, 000 to N100,000.

The figures have not been independently verified. If implemented as it repeatedly claims, at least N1 trillion would have been expended between 2016 and 2017 when the government fully administered the national budget. The amount would be more if a part of 2015, when the SIP started, is considered. In announcing this purported achievement, administration officials often cite the governments ability to do so despite low oil receipts and generally dwindling revenues.

But the administration has been economical with the truth, and failed to clarify that only a comparatively small chunk of the amount was released.

As at February 3, the administration said it had spent N109 billion of total budget release of N110 billion for the programme.

By this week, the government spent only N175 billion in three years as against N1.5 trillion many Nigerians are led to believe.

That confirmation came Friday after the Senate Appropriations Committee questioned the programme, with lawmakers from the ruling All Progressives Congress expressing doubts about its value.

At a session on Thursday with the Special Adviser to the President on Social Investment, Maryam Uwais, members of the Senate committee picked holes in the implementation of the initiative, and challenged Mrs. Uwais to provide names of the beneficiaries of the social intervention programme from their various states.

You have N500 billion every year, which is unprecedented, totalling N1.5 trillion in three years. I am from Gombe State, and Im yet to see one single boy or girl that has benefited from the programme. I have been active and politicking for 40 years. As far as a I am concerned, I dont know of anybody who has benefited from your programme and this is N13 billion every month, chairman of the committee, Danjuma Goje (APC-Gombe) said.

Mr Gojes comments infuriated Mr Osinbajo, and his spokesperson issued a statement condemning the remark as irresponsible.

But the Senates query served another value: it triggered a disclosure of the the actual amount spent on the programme over three years.

To restate the facts, while indeed we have budgeted a total of N500B for the 2016 & 2017 Budgets each, including the N100B for the Family Housing Fund in the 2017 Budget, only a total of N175B has so far been released since the commencement of the historic Buhari Social Investment Programme.

Odilim Enwagbara, an economist, told PREMIUM TIMES the administrations admission that only N175 billion had gone into the policy was typical.

This is similar to what they did with the fuel subsidy matter. They lied that fuel subsidy had been abolished, but when its expenses became too much and they could no longer cover it up, they opened up to Nigerians that the subsidy is still in place, Mr. Enwagbara said. Theres absolutely no accountability or transparency in this government.

The analyst called on the National Assembly to immediately conduct a public hearing on the matter in order to unravel potential sharp practices that might have characterised the scheme.

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The government has been giving Nigerians the impression that N500 billion was being spent annually on their welfare, but clearly that turned out to be false and I appeal to the House of Representatives and the Senate committees on social policies to conduct a public hearing without delay, he said.

Laolu Akande, a spokesperson for Mr Osinbajo, dismissed allegations of wrongdoing on the part of the administration, saying the fact that money was not released was not sufficient to jump into conclusion.

What I know is that this is the amount that the government could afford at this time, Mr Akande told PREMIUM TIMES by telephone Saturday afternoon.

He said the government would continue to budget N500 billion as projected annual expenditure for the programme, even though it couldnt implement half of it in the last two budget cycles and without assurances that much would change within the next fiscal year.

You dont know what is going to happen in future, Mr Akande said. It is the intention of the Buhari administration to spend a significant part of our resources in investing in our people. This is our own plan. This is our own projection and we will continue to push.

The fact that we were unable to get the money in the past does not mean we would lower our ambition and aspiration for the Nigerian people. It is important that the resources of this country is spent on the generality of the Nigerian people, he added.

But Mr Enwagbara slammed the governments resolve as indicative of its alleged criminality and incompetence.

The Appropriation Act is a a law, so how could the government continue to put amounts into it indiscriminately without proper projection all in a bid to swindle the citizens? Mr Enwagbara said. This government is the most fraudulent and incompetent I have seen since 1999.

Editors Note: This is an updated post reflecting the amount spent by government as of February, 2018.
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A civil society group, Ourmumudondo, on Friday, visited the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) headquarters in Abuja, demanding the prosecution of former Deputy Senate President, Ibrahim Mantu, for electoral malpractices.

Mr Mantu, in an interview on Channels Television, confessed to having rigged several elections.

He said that even though he was not actively involved in the rigging, he compromised election officials, security officers and even agents of rival parties to either assist in rigging candidates of the PDP to victory.

Explaining why he made this confession, he said he decided to confess now because he was tired of the negative perception Nigerians have abroad.

The PDP, however, reacting to this revelation, said Mr Mantus confession was based on personal activities in the elections he participated.

The group, in its letter, said his prosecution will demonstrate INECs stand to prosecute electoral offenders.

#Ourmumudondo said the number of Nigerians who go out to vote has been on a consistent decline due to rigging which infringes on the rights of the Nigerian people.

It is therefore imperative that the electoral umpire, the INEC, the Attorney-General of the Federation, and the law enforcement agencies, rise to this clarion call to prosecute senator Mantu and all his accomplices, the group said according to a report by Punch.

A member of the group, Adebayo Raphael, said Nigerians have lost trust in the electoral system, and only proper actions like this can restore public confidence in the system.

Civil society organisations under the aegis of Transition Monitoring Group, also called on Nigerians to be vigilant during the 2019 general elections to avoid election rigging and other electoral irregularities.

The organisation called on INEC to monitor sources of campaigns funds of political parties in a statement by its chairperson, Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi.

He said, As we wait for senator Mantu and his co-travellers in the business of rigging elections to discharge their moral burden, we call on all stakeholders to be vigilant as the 2019 electoral process shapes up.

TMG makes no mistake about the fact that there are still vestiges of election riggers, who unlike senator Mantu, may just not be ready to confess their infractions on the laws of the land.
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The Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko, Ondo State, has released the school fees for fresh and returning students for 2017/2018 session.

This is four months after Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, visited the institution during the 7th convocation ceremony of the university where he said the school fees will be reviewed in line with the current realities of the state.

According to several screenshots sent to PREMIUM TIMES by students of the institution, the institution school fees has increased from N25,000 to N150,000 for some students while some departments have been billed to pay N180,000.

The returning students of Education Management are expected to pay N120,000 while the freshmen will be paying N150,000.

Returning students in the Departments of Accounting, Economics and Faculty of Law have been billed to pay 150,000 while the fresh students will pay N180,000 respectively.

Also, all faculty of science students are expected to pay N180, 000 for the new academic session.

A student of Faculty of Law who simply identified herself as Oreoluwa told PREMIUM TIMES in a telephone interview that the fee is outrageous for students whose parents are government workers.

Several states are yet to pay their workers yet the Ondo State government considers increment in school fees the best decision as this point. This is outrageous, the student said.

When PREMIUM TIMES contacted the universitys public relations officer, Shola Imoru, he said the tuition varies.

There is no official statement from the university yet. However, the students have been asked to check their portals, he said.

What the university did was to ask them to log on to the portal and see their individual fees.

The increment in school fees seems to be the trend of Nigerian institutions of recent.

On Thursday, medical students of University of Ibadan protested against over 100% increment in accommodation.
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A former PDP National Chairman, Ahmed Makarfi, has claimed that all the bad eggs that gave the PDP a bad name have left for other parties.

Bad eggs have left PDP, the party is now left with people with principles.

I want to assure you that if the party gets power in 2019, it will strive to improve the living condition of Nigerians, he said.

Mr. Makarfi spoke on Saturday during PDP Northwest zonal rally held in Katsina.

At the same event, former Kano State governor, Ibrahim Shekarau, urged Nigerians to obtain their permanent voter cards to enable them elect leaders of their choice in 2019.

No matter who you want to vote as a candidate, if you dont have voter card, you cannot be allowed to do so, he said.

He, therefore, urged all PDP members to intensify efforts toward sensitising other eligible voters to obtain the cards.

Also speaking, the PDP National Chairman, Uche Secondus, said he was impressed with the high turnout of party supporters and expressed the belief that the PDP was still strong enough to win in Katsina State.

PDP is alive in Katsina State, with your support, it will win elections in 2019 in Katsina State and the country in general, he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that some party members from PDM, APGA, and APC defected to PDP at the event.

(NAN)
Primary health care system in Nigeria is dogged by multiple challenges despite billions of naira spent over the decades on health facilities by government at different levels.

Less than 20 percent of the 30,000 public PHCs in the country is fully functional, a recent survey by a nongovernmental body, CISLAC, said.

Going by the blueprint of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), a PHC should have one or more doctors, a pharmacist, a staff nurse and other paramedical support staff to provide outreach services.

It should also have a well-equipped open ward, labour room, children and female wards, doctors office and staff quarters, an ambulance for referrals and drugs and equipment for immunisation, preventive and basic curative care. The centre is also to provide monitoring and evaluation, as well as maternal and child health services.

More Promises, Less Action

The challenges PHCs across the country are facing prompted the Nigerian Senate in February to call on the federal government to put primary health care facilities across the country in good shape. The Senate asked its appropriation committee to ensure that funds were set aside to make the PHCs functional.

However, the Minister of Health, Isaac Adewole, in an interview with PREMIUM TIMES on January 31, stressed that provision of healthcare in Nigeria is a concurrent responsibility of the three tiers of government. Mr. Adewole appealed to the National Assembly to stop creating new PHCs so that existing ones can be put in good shape.

We are also appealing to the National Assembly not to create more PHCs because having a building is not synonymous to a health centre. A building without human resources, equipment and drugs is not a health facility. Everybody wants to build a PHC in his village, but who will run it? So we are begging them to stop creating, he said.

In January 2017, President Muhammadu Buhari flagged off a scheme to revitalise PHCs across the country to enhance the access of Nigerians to qualitative and affordable health services.

Under the revitalisation plan, the government through the NPHCDA and the Federal Ministry of Health wants to make at least one PHC fully functional in each of the wards across the country. In the first phase of the plan, the government selected a PHC in each of the 109 senatorial districts. State and local governments as well as development partners are expected to compleament this gesture by also selecting some PHCs for revitalisation.

In all, the government hopes to revitalise 10,000 PHCs.

Its not FG that is revitalizing, what we said is that we want to see 10,000 PHCs revitalized in Nigeria because if 10,000 is done, it will cover about 100 million people.

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We only did this to stimulate the governors and many of them have taken it up. At the last count, Niger has done 40. We did three in Niger and we call them model PHCs. President Buhari commissioned one in Kuchingoro. In Kaduna the governor has done 255. Ive commissioned in Kebbi, Abia and other states. What we are asking the governors to do is to invest and partner with us.

I can also tell you as of today, the World Bank has done about 1500 PHCs. The EU is committed to 774. The British government is doing 950. FG is committed to 110 last year. This year we will do more. So, over all, we are adding them together and we will now ask the states how many theyve done, where are they located? We are also doing an inventory of the PHCs done by ALGON.

In December last year, the federal government initiated a N28 billion health fund that targets the revitalisation of at least one PHC in each of the countrys 774 local government areas.

Mr. Adewole, who inaugurated the special intervention, said it would be formally rolled out in 2018.

Dysfunctional state of Nigerian health care centres.

While the government shuffles plans, shortage of primary healthcare services continues to force women in Nigeria to patronise untrained traditional birth attendants, despite the serious risks involved.

According to a survey conducted by the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), in Nigeria one in 13 women dies during pregnancy or childbirth.

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Although many of these deaths are preventable, the coverage and quality of health care services in Nigeria continue to fail women and children. At present, less than 20 per cent of health facilities offer emergency obstetric care and only 35 per cent of deliveries are attended by skilled birth attendants.

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American businessman and co-founder of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Bill Gates, at the expanded National Economic Council meeting held at the Presidential Villa, Thursday described Nigerias Primary Health Care system as broken 40 years after the first attempt by the government to make it functional.

The evidence for this can be found in the epidemic of chronic malnutrition or stunting, Mr Gates said.

While noting that a strong primary care system takes care of 90 percent of peoples needs, he lamented that Nigeria is the most dangerous country for child delivery.

Dysfunctional state of Nigerian health care centres.

PREMIUM TIMES exclusively obtained the list of the 109 PHCs the government said it was rebuilding.

Earlier, the newspaper sent reporters to visit PHCs randomly selected  at least one PHC in each of the six geopolitical zones. The reporters found almost all the PHCs they visited in a terrible state, unless the handful revamped by donor organisations and some state governments.

North East: Borno State

Gamboru Health Centre is located in Limanti area of Maiduguri in Borno central senatorial district. Inscribed on some of the furniture is Borno State PHCDA.

The medical personnel would not speak on record because they were not authorised to speak. But they told PREMIUM TIMES that the facility was recently renovated by UNICEF. A plaque showed that the organisation undertook the project.

We know the organisation carried out many renovation last year, said one of the senior nurses.

The state executive secretary of the state PHCDA, Suleiman Melee, said the federal government was yet to start work on any of the three PHCs it selected in the state.

Of course there are minor repairs in some places but they were done by the state government or development partners. As at today, none of the three selected PHCs (by the FG) has been renovated, Mr. Melee said.

North Central: Nassarawa State

Agwatashi PHC in Obi local government in Nasarawa South senatorial district is one of the three centres in the state earmarked for revamping by the federal government.

A tour round the facility showed that it is functioning and well-equipped. It boasts of equipment such as a cold room, staff quarters and a well-stocked drug store. The situation of this centre is way different from those at other centres visited, indicating the world of difference a speedy and faithful implementation of the rehabilitation scheme can make to primary health care delivery in Nigeria.

The facility does not lack basic amenities, it is fully-equipped because this facility is supported by the Decentralised Facility Financing (DFF). Most of the funding sent to this facility is by the DFF and we make judicious use of it, as you can see, the officer in charge, Ayuba Adole, said.

Dysfunctional state of Nigerian health care centres.

There is a functional borehole supplying water round the clock and a generator to supply electricity mostly at night whenever the inverter is out of service.

There were two security men, six medical staff, six voluntary staff and one NYSC member. Mr. Adole, however, said lack of trained medical personnel and ambulance for transportation of transferred patients were major challenges of the centre.

South East: Ebonyi State

The PHC in Ngbo is one of the three selected for renovation by the federal government in Ebonyi State. Ngbo is a village in Ohaukwu Local Government Area of the state.

A staff of the centre who refused to give her name for fear of victimisation said a Federal Government official visited the hospital last year and collected a list of what needed to be done at the hospital.

I was surprised when a few months later a contractor showed up and repainted the building and changed a few wooden doors to iron doors. He also built a generator house and left. That was all they did. No supply of drugs or any equipment. They even did a poor painting job, the staff said.

The hospital, the staff said, has a functional solar electricity system and also a generator, courtesy of the state government.

Our reporter who visited the hospital saw signposts of various renovation jobs done in the past by the federal government through the Subsidy Re-investment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P). These include renovation of the hospital, construction of a motorised borehole and a staff quarters. The staff confirmed that some of those works were actually done by SURE-P.

South West: Ondo State

The PHC system in Ondo State is yet to feel the impact of the revitalisation scheme, as the centres are facing huge funding and facility challenges, PREMIUM TIMES can report.

The PHC visited is located in Ijare, Ifedore Local Government Area in the central senatorial district of the state. It is listed as one of the PHCs selected by the Federal Government but the revitalization plan is yet to be carried out.

A building meant to boost the capacity of the centre to accommodate more patients was abandoned due to lack of funding. The facility is understaffed and lacks basic materials required to care for patients. The facility also lacks adequate manpower, it has no resident or visiting medical doctor.

Dysfunctional state of Nigerian health care centres.

The clinic runs on the Performance Based Funding (PBF) system but hardly has enough fund to buy even reagents for its laboratory or drugs for its pharmacy. It was gathered that the centre is giving about N600,000 a quarter by the state government to pay its ad hoc staff and for running costs. Due to insufficiency of fund, the ad hoc staff had not been unpaid for two months when PREMIUM TIMES visited.

One of the staff who spoke to PREMIUM TIMES off record, as they were not authorised to speak to journalists, said the last time the centre was renovated was in 2009 by the government of former Governor Olusegun Mimiko. PREMIUM TIMES also learnt that during the administration, women were delivered of babies at the centre free of charge and sometimes got gifts.

But at the moment, they are charged a token for delivery materials the hospital could not provide.

We cannot send away patients because we do not have the materials to use. We have to do the little we can, just to ensure they are taken care of, one of the staff said.

The Executive Secretary of the state Primary Health Care Board, Akanbiemu, told PREMIUM TIMES that PHCs in the state were funded by the state government in collaboration with the World Bank.

I am aware that the Federal Government is proposing an intervention in the states, but we are still waiting for that. We know it is coming but we are yet to have it in place, he said.

North West: Kano State

The PHC in Shuwaki is one of the three selected for renovation by the federal government in Kano State. Shuwaki is a village in Kunchi Local Government Area of the state.

As the reporter approached the facility, it became clear that it was still awaiting any kind of makeover. A part of the main gate was falling apart, grass covered the entrance to the main building and the paints were peeling off the walls. The dilapidated PHC was built about 18 years ago and is the only health facility in the community. But it has been provided no equipment or personnel to play the role for which it was built.

We do not have a doctor or nurse, the officer in charge of the centre, Ado Mohammed, told PREMIUM TIMES.

According to Mr. Mohammed, the workforce consisted of five Community Health Extension Workers (CHEW), one Junior CHEW and a lab technician.

Mr. Mohammed said lack of water supply was one of the big problems. We buy water from our own pockets, he said.

Power supply is epileptic and the centre has no generator or inverter. The centre also has no ambulance.

Aisha Sani, a laboratory technician has been at the centre for over five years. Since I have been working in this facility, no renovation has been done. The way I met this place, that is the way it is. No water, the toilet is very bad and no resources at all for a standard health centre.

Gamboru health centre

Mrs. Sani said she stopped running HIV tests at the facility when the authorities stopped providing test kits.

NPHCDA Responds

When PREMIUM TIMES put its findings to the Executive Director, National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Faisal Shuaib, he explained that the revitalisation scheme will be implemented over the course of several years.

All of that is happening. Maybe some of the health facilities that you have gone to have not been handed over to the communities because we do not even have the human resources.

Dysfunctional state of Nigerian health care centres. Dysfunctional state of Nigerian health care centres. Gamboru health centre Dysfunctional state of Nigerian health care centres. Dysfunctional state of Nigerian health care centres.

We have started the process of mobilising about 1,600 basic midwives who will be deployed to help manage some of the health facilities. We are looking at also getting funds from the Basic Health Care Provision Funds which hopefully will provide the resources to equip and provide commodities for some of these health facilities, he said.

Mr. Faisal said it will be a misunderstanding of the plan of government to say just 109 centres would be revitalised.
By: 365 Connect

Gold Muse Creative Award

Contact

Anne Monaghan | Monaghan Communications

***@monaghanpr.com

504.299.3444 Anne Monaghan | Monaghan Communications504.299.3444

End

--, a leading provider of award-winning marketing, leasing, and resident technology platforms for the multifamily housing industry, announced today that the company has received a goldfor its off-campus rental housing search engine,. This prestigious, international award recognizescapability to deliver innovative and creative solutions to meet the rapidly-changing needs of the multifamily housing industry.Theis an international competition for creative professionals who hold the unique ability to inspire through concept, writing, or design in both traditional and electronic media. Administered by the, winning entries are carefully selected according to rigorous standards by a panel of 46 renowned Judges that hail from digital and creative industries from around the globe. This year's competition boasted entries from 37 countries including Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Croatia, Denmark, France, Germany, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Kenya, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherland, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, and United States."We wish to recognize the breakthrough achievements of small and medium-sized firms, and the designers, marketers, artists, writers, photographers, videographers, and digital experts who set the trends of the global creative industry," stated Kenjo Ong, President for the. "We are honored to presentwith this award, which illustrates their creativity, skill, passion, and dedication to their work."was recognized for its go-to search site dedicated to locating apartments near universities,The platform is one of the most unique housing search engines in the industry, enabling renters to search for apartments based on the location of their university. With its robust data capture infrastructure,measures housing trends across college campuses, sharing insights with its growing audience who want to better understand the off-campus rental housing market.Founder and CEO, Kerry W. Kirby, responded, "is excited to have its technology acknowledged on an international level, and we are truly honored to receive this highly acclaimed award. We acquiredjust last year and set out on a mission to enhance the user experience with a redesigned interface and workflow. This award emphasizes our team's unwavering commitment to deliver best-of-breed products that drive our client's businesses to the next level."With an array of highly coveted technology awards ( https://www.365connect.com/ company/awards ),continues to revolutionize the multifamily housing industry with a dynamic platform built on modern-cloud architecture and flexible infrastructure. The platform consumes, integrates, and displays data to streamline operations without sacrificing a seamless user experience. Today, many of the nation's most respected multifamily housing operators utilizeto unify processes and create efficient workflows.is an international competition for creative professionals who possess the unique ability to inspire with concept, writing, or design  whether it's through traditional materials or electronic media. The program is administered and judged by International Awards Associates (IAA) and an elite panel of internationally-recognized creative professionals. For more information, visit www.MuseAward.com was founded in 2003 with an unwavering commitment to transforming how apartment communities market, lease, and retain residents. As a leading provider of award-winning technology platforms for the multifamily housing industry,delivers a fully-integrated suite of comprehensive solutions that automate marketing, simplify transactions, and serve residents after the lease is signed. Theallows its clients infinite expansion, robust integrations, and the ability to revolutionize user experiences.
Media Contact

Enrica J. Ardemagni, PhD

***@ncihc.org

(202) 505-1537 Enrica J. Ardemagni, PhD(202) 505-1537

End

--Washington, D.C.  Julie Burns, MEd, has been named 2018 Language Access Champion by the National Council on Interpreting in Health Care (NCIHC). A leader in improving healthcare to patients and families with limited English proficiency (LEP), Burns has over 25 years of professional translating, interpreting, and training experience. Both bilingual and bicultural, having been raised and educated since age 3 in Mexico, Colombia, and Guatemala, Burns has had a lifelong interest in language, culture, and health since an apprenticeship with a medical anthropologist/pediatrician.Burns will receive her Language Access Champion award at the Interpretini Reception following the first day of the NCIHC's Annual Membership Meeting (AMM) on June 1, 2018 in Denver, Colorado at The Art Hotel. In addition to receiving her award, Burns will also be a participant in a Plenary Panel to be held on June 2. This panel will feature a group of seasoned interpreters who will share their insights on best practices in interpreting as well as efforts to promote language access.In addition to providing direct interpretation and translation services, Burns has 15 years of experience managing and directing interpreter training programs, as well as providing interpreter training for Bridging the Gap of the Cross Cultural Health Care Program in Seattle, WA; Harvard Pilgrim Health Care in Massachusetts;the Massachusetts Medical Interpreters Association (MMIA); the California Healthcare Interpreting Association (CHIA); and the Area Health Education Council (AHEC).Burns holds a MEd in Health Education from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, and certifications from the American Translators Association (ATA)-Spanish to English; State of California; and Certification Commission for Healthcare Interpreters (CCHI).Burns is founder of The Communication Bridge where she has provided interpretation and translation services, and interpreter and cultural competence training since 2007.NCIHC President Enrica Ardemagni noted, "We are thrilled that Julie is being honored this year. She is one of those rare souls who makes everyone smile when they hear her name. She is the consummate professional who has maintained and nurtured her humanity throughout her career and is truly a mentor and role model for so many."For more information about the NCIHC AMM in Denver, visit http://www.ncihc.org/ 2018-membership- meeting . #NCIHC2018Contact Information:Enrica Ardemagni, President
By: Days Capital AG

Contact

Edward Musinski, Nicu Danilov

***@days.ag Edward Musinski, Nicu Danilov

End

-- DAYS.Exchange organizing Oxford Blockchain Conference.This is pre-event for the Longevity Impact Forum organized in order to create a blockchain platform for longevity investments.DAYS founders and Advisors (Liz Parrish, Avi Roy, Omar Fogliadini, Tina Woods, George Lakis) will present a methodology of rating of technologies in the field of anti-aging and AI driven 4P Medicine.Beyond demonstrating promising recent developments, the Conference will uniquely explore the qualitative and quantitative criteria for the assessment of emerging longevity diagnostics and therapies, their potential and actual efficacy and safety, their evidence levels, their potential cost-effectiveness and profitability. In practical terms, the Longevity Impact forum will aim to develop and pilot a pioneering evaluation (Rating) instrument for promising longevity technologies, based on human expert ratings and rankings as well as AI-based expert systems.The purpose of this instrument (rating system), that will be continuously adjusted and improved, will be to facilitate support and funding for truly promising longevity R&D. This instrument will assist policy makers, involved in diverse regulatory frameworks, and investors utilizing various financial instruments.
Wishing for Summer Time All the Time? Not sure how to make it happen? If you find yourself dreaming more and more about escaping the cold, wet weather for year round sunshine, now's your chance!

The Overseas Property Show - SummerTime!

Contact

Chris White

***@theoverseaspropertyshow.com Chris White

End

-- Chris White, CEO of The Overseas Property Show, has announced that the highly-anticipated event will be held in two separate locations. The first - April 28-30 will be at the National Motorcycle Museum, Birmingham 10-6PM and the second - May 3 & 4, 10-6PM and May 5, 10-5PM at The Macron Stadium, Bolton. The six day event will be featuring property in Portugal, Spain, Cape Verde, Bulgaria, Florida and Cyprus. Admission along with parking is free and e-tickets are available online."Our goal is to ensure visitors who come to the show have access to independent opinions, gain valuable information about their location of choice, understand their options, and are able to walk away feeling much more confident about their buying decisions than they did before."Meet the professionals face to face where they will be able to inform you about tax incentives, legal requirements, currency exchange, mortgages, residency requirements and the entire purchasing experience from inception to completion.The exhibitions will provide an opportunity to discover bank repossession gems, holiday and permanent homes in some of the world's best destinations, as well as valuable insight on rental income investments. So Whether you're looking for a retirement home, holiday home, permanent residence or the perfect investment for rental income - The Overseas Property Show is where you want to be to get all your questions answered on how to make summer last all year round.Begin your journey of making summer last all year round by visiting The Overseas Property Show, with our carefully selected, qualified property industry experts taking the guesswork and daunting amount of research out of the equation - it's never been easier!Attendees will also have the opportunity to win a free viewing trip and personalised consultation!Free e-Tickets visit theoverseaspropertyshow.com ( http://www.theoverseaspropertyshow.com/ More information visit info@theoverseaspropertyshow.com
DALLAS, April 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Some of the best and brightest of the plastic surgery world will gather early next month in Washington. The 97th Annual Meeting of the American Association of Plastic Surgeons will be held from April 7-10 in Seattle, attended by professionals from around the country.

The meeting will host doctors who are members of the American Association of Plastic Surgeons and feature presentations and discussions from experts in the field. The event aims to provide information on innovations in plastic surgery and review tried and true practices. The theme of the each day's talks will be aesthetic and reconstructive practices respectively. The final day will host scientific sessions on topics such as "Craniofacial/Pediatrics," "Breast Surgery," "Education," and "New Horizons."

Among the surgeons scheduled to speak at the Reconstructive Seminar is Dr. Sameer Jejurikar, a cosmetic surgeon based in Dallas. Dr. Jejurikar's panel titled "Busy Buttock Fat Grafting Surgeon" will focus on best practices for cosmetic surgery, focusing on safety for The Brazilian Butt Lift. He spoke on a similar topic last month along with other experts in cosmetic surgery, dermatology, urogynecology, and aesthetic medicine at the 2018 Dallas Cosmetic Surgery and Medicine Meeting. The conference discussed the latest innovations in cosmetic procedures including safety and hands on training from experts like Jejurikar. "I have always considered the American Association of Plastic Surgeons to be the most prestigious collection of plastic surgeons in this country and I am tremendously honored and humbled to speak its members," said Dr. Jejurikar.

Dr. Jejurikar has lead the charge for safety in reconstructive surgery in his practice and as a member of the International Multisociety Gluteal Fat Grafting Task Force. The task force is comprised of board certified plastic surgeons who aim to make the Brazilian Butt Lift procedure safer and more transparent. The Brazilian Butt Lift is a gluteal augmentation procedure that allows patients to customize their appearance according to their personal needs. The operation can lead to complications if not executed properly. Dr. Jejurikar and the International Multisociety Gluteal Fat Grafting Task Force are focused on protecting patients by training professionals to protect against complications during the procedure.

The Annual Meeting of the American Association of Plastic Surgery will be held at the Westin Hotel in Seattle. The meeting will commence with a presentation by AAPS president, Mary H. McGrath followed by speeches and presentations by surgeons from around the country.

About Sameer Jejurikar, M.D.

Dr. Sameer (Sam) Jejurikar is a surgeon in Dallas, Texas who specializes in cosmetic and reconstructive surgery, including body, breast, and butt lift procedures at the Dallas Plastic Surgery Institute. Dr. Jejurikar received medical training at the University of Michigan. He completed his residency in plastic surgery and studied aesthetic surgery at the Manhattan Ear, Nose and Throat Hospital. He has worked at Baylor Medical Center as well as the Dallas Day Surgery Center, Forrest Park Medical Center and Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas. Dr. Jejurikar's research has been published by Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery, the Aesthetic Surgery Journal, Annals of Plastic Surgery, the Journal of Surgical Research, and Microsurgery. He regularly gains international recognition for his work in the Dallas area.

SOURCE Dr. Sameer Jejurikar
NEW ORLEANS, April 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- ClaimsFiler, a FREE shareholder information service, reminds investors that they have until May 8, 2018 to file lead plaintiff applications in a securities class action lawsuit against Foot Locker, Inc. (NYSE: FL), if they purchased the Company's shares between August 19, 2016 and August 17, 2017, inclusive (the "Class Period"). This action is pending in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

Get Help

Foot Locker investors should visit us at https://www.claimsfiler.com/cases/view-foot-locker-inc-securities-litigation or call to speak to our claim center toll-free at (844) 367-9658.

About the Lawsuit

Foot Locker and certain of its executives are charged with failing to disclose material information during the Class Period, violating federal securities laws.

On August 18, 2017, the Company revealed negative financial results for the second quarter of fiscal year 2017, including revenue significantly below expectations, attributed in part to lower same-store sales, that many more stores were being closed than previously announced, and that weaker sales were expected for the rest of the fiscal year.

On this news, the price of Foot Locker's shares plummeted.

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

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In Tailspin (Knopf, May), journalist Brill argues that people at the top are bringing America down.

You write that moats are hamstringing America. What are they?

Elites are building moats to protect their power. It could be a corporate CEO, or a politician who doesnt have to worry about re-election because of gerrymandering, or a VA hospital official who doctors records to hide how long waiting lists are and cant be fired because of civil service rules. With moats like that, we lose accountability.

You explore the 1946 Administrative Procedures Act, which inserted due process into federal regulations. Whats wrong with that?

Yeah, whos against due process? Much of the book is about too much of a good thing. The APA made sense: you had unelected agencies with tremendous power doing whatever they wanted. Congress said, lets inject due process to make government agencies accountable. Well, that morphed into thousands of lawyers for, say, the chemical industry gumming up the works with hearings and lawsuits.

You also blame college-based meritocracy for creating moats. Isnt that a good thing?

Modern universities replaced one aristocracy, of wealthy families who used connections to get into college, with a new aristocracy of smart, high-achieving people. That certainly made sense when I went to Yale. But we now have better knowledge workers building better moats.

You discuss the divide between the protected and the unprotected. How does that affect ordinary Americans?

We have two classes: the protected beneficiaries of the knowledge economy, and everyone else. Global trade soared just when technology was automating jobs, which should have made job retraining a government priority. But government just walked away from that, starting in the mid-1960s. So middle-class incomes have frozen and disposable incomes have fallen because of healthcare costs. Meanwhile, the incomes of Wall Street lawyers and hedge fund managers, the 1% who are the beneficiaries, skyrocketed.

Any hope?

Yeah, I write about people working to turn things around: campaign-finance activists; the guy with a former zipper factory in Queens who shows you really can do job training, turning a cab driver or a waitress into an $85,000-a-year coder. People like that could reverse the tailspin.
As an art director at the New York Times for 33 years and co-chair of the MFA design department at the School of Visual Arts in New York City, Steven Heller has had a major impact on the trajectory of graphic designand thats not even mentioning the more than 180 books hes written, coauthored, or edited on design and popular culture. Heller spoke with PW about how he chooses his projectswhich include the forthcoming Head to Toe, coauthored by Mirko Ilic (Rizzoli, Apr.), and The Illustration Idea Book, coauthored by Gail Anderson (Laurence King, Oct.)and why good design matters to non-designers, too.

A new edition of Citizen Designer, which you and Veronique Vienne coedited 15 years ago, is pubbing in May. Has the role of socially responsible design changed in any way since that first edition?

Because the world is shifting back onto that slippery slope of populism and exclusion, I think [the importance of] being a designer who makes messages for the public has increased. You see it with #MeToo, #NeverAgain, etc. I also think, at least for now, designers take their roles as framers of ideas in society a bit more seriously. Design is not just about prettifying, although theres nothing wrong with that.

What new issues or concerns are you addressing in the second edition?

There are more personal responses to sexism, racism, the usual concerns. But there is a piece I love about designing an artificial pancreas that fits outside the body. As Paul Rand once said, probably not really aware of how true his statement was, design is everywhere.

Which other designers, and design books, have been important to you?

I have thousands of books spread out between office, apartment, and weekend house. Most of these books are on art, design, or a combination of the two, plus other drivers. Many of those have added chunks of knowledge and inspiration to my life. Milton Glasers first monograph influenced me a lot. It certainly made me realize I wasnt a very good designer.

Given your packed schedule, how do you decide which book projects to take on?

I once thought I had boundless energy. I also had limitless curiosity, and doing books was a way to expend one and satisfy the other. Ive always been interested in how design works in the context of culture, politics, and so on. Deciding on projects is fairly easy: what do I want to know, and what do I want other designersor nondesignersto know about the art and craft?

What can nondesigners learn from typography and design, and from books on these subjects?

Design and type are integral parts of our experience: if the book is not overly technical but tells a good story, it can be as enjoyable and inspirational as anything that neophytes or nonwhatevers find interesting in books.

Who do you envision as your readership when you write about design?

Depends. Some work is just for designers. But Id like to reach whoever sees its relevance. I try to write accessibly; Im always criticized for not using footnotes. Even when I write about design history, I like the anecdotal approach. But Ive been doing this so long, maybe its time to focus in on something very specific and do the proverbial opus. Then again, maybe not.

Return to the main feature.
Jenny Milchman has a lot to celebrate this spring: her psychological suspense novel, As Night Falls, is being made into a movie, and in May, Sourcebooks is publishing Wicked River. Milchmans fourth thriller is the story of a honeymoon turned struggle for survival when two newlywed Manhattanites, despite a complete lack of any wilderness experience, embark on a canoe trip through the most isolated part of the Adirondacks.

My own aborted honeymoon inspired this novel, Milchman, 49, laughingly confides to a group of Winter Institute 13 booksellers in a noisy Beale Street restaurant. Recounting the tale of her and her new husbands honeymoon misadventures in 1994, Milchman says that what was supposed to be a three-week camping trip ended after only one day, primarily due to swarms of black flies. For years afterward, Milchman says, she had a nagging question: what if we hadnt turned back when we did? What might we have encountered? What might we have learned?

The big difference between Natalie and Doug Larsons honeymoon in Wicked River and her own real-life one, Milchman reveals, is that hers was minus the doubts that my husband was who I thought he was, and [minus] having to survive for days in the woods. Milchmans interrupted honeymoon continued in Paris, thanks to a borrowed credit card.

Milchman describes Wicked River as a cross between Erica Ferenciks River at Night and James Dickeys Deliverance, both of which influenced her. But Wicked River is more than simply a tale of naive urban dwellers venturing into the unknown: its the portrait of a marriage that from the outset is laden with secrets and lies. It is, Milchman says, a tale about how where we come from influences so much of who we areand how we bring that into our marriages. We dont enter marriages solo: all of those relationships are walking with us.

Gender dynamics intrigue Milchman, who in her fiction explores its influence, not just upon the inner workings of her characters marriages but also upon their friendships with others. Noting that males and females approach friendship differently, she explains that she wanted to build up on that contrast in this novel. So while Natalie becomes estranged from her girlfriends after Doug enters her life and takes priority over them, Dougs male friends remain his besties, almost like a gang of lost boys: they all had each others backs.

Milchmans exploration of the impact of gender extends to contentious relationships as well, such as that between the couple and Kurt, a forest dweller who comes upon them and whose villainy is explained by his traumatic childhood. That triangle was very important to me, she says, aware of the way men and women react differently to dangerous situations. While Natalie attempts to placate Kurt, Doug remains defiant. Milchman is also fascinated by who we are when our outer shells are stripped away and we are at our most basic selves. She claims Stephen King as her primary literary benchmark. Going from everyday life, being annoyed because theres a line at the coffee shop, to Am I going to live to see another day? is true of all my books; definitely this one.

Milchman, who grew up in Montclair, N.J., the daughter of a psychologist and a CUNY political science professor, says she was telling stories as early as 18 months: I would tell my mom stories and shed write them down. As a young adult, she wrote poetry. I wanted to be a poet and live in a cabin in the woods, she recalls, laughing at the memory. It wasnt the most practical path.

After graduating in 1992 from Barnard College with a double major in English literature and psychology, Milchman attended the New School and then became a psychotherapist. But she continued to write. Her double life led her to write tales of psychological suspense: it began while she was working with disturbed children at a rural clinic. Milchman treated a cherubic and adorable five-year-old who had just killed the family pet. It was a scary case, she says. I sat down and started writing. I had never written crime fiction before, but it was almost like life was a suspense novel for me, working at that clinic. I realized, families influence so much of who we are, and we all have a story that can get pretty scary.

After her son was born in 2006, Milchman started writing full-time, although it took seven more years to get published. Cover of Snow, Milchmans debut novel, was published by Ballantine in 2013. The thriller, in which a woman tries to understand why her policeman husband committed suicide, received glowing reviews, as well as the 2013 Mary Higgins Clark Award for best suspense novel. Two more novels, also published by Ballantine, followed: Ruin Falls (2014) and As Night Falls (2015).

From the beginning, Milchman says, her writing career was a family endeavor. Her two children marched around the house with homemade signs, chanting, Mommy get published. The entire family later went on crazy long national book tours: a seven-month tour in 2013, a five-month tour in 2014, and a four-month tour in 2015. While Milchman homeschooled the children, her husband, a computer software designer, worked from the front seat, with his hot spot and headset on. Since her children are now 12 and 14, the first leg of Milchmans 25-city national tour in May for Wicked River will be a solo effort. She will undertake the second leg in July as one of four authors participating in Sourcebooks Up All Night Thriller Tour.

Milchman says that stories pour through her. I love the writing of my books, she says, immersing herself so completely into her plots that she feels transported. Im on that river with Natalie and Doug, facing these things, she says. Its a wild ride. Joking that no children or animals are harmed in the making of her novels, Milchman says that despite all the ups and downs the characters experience, she prefers happy endings, because in the real world things dont always turn out the way you like. Her climaxes, she says, always emphasize that justice has been done. People get what they deserve in my books, she says. Im writing to the happily ever after.

Doug and Natalie Larson, she says, are just like the children in a Grimms fairy tale: they go through a wicked dark wood, and when they come out, theyre going to have what they needed all along.
When Troy Johnson began tracking the number of black-owned bookstores in the U.S. in 1999, there were more than 325. By 2014, that number had dwindled to 54, a decline of 83%.

They were closing left and right, and the major ones were struggling, said Johnson, who runs the African American Literature Book Club, an online book database. Today, Johnson estimates, there are at least 108 black-owned independent stores, a number of which have opened in the past six months, marking a substantial reversal. Last year was the first year I added more stores to the list than I took away, he noted.

The surge in black-owned indie bookstores is notable at a time when both bookselling and publishing are wrestling with issues of workforce diversity.

Ramunda and Derrick Young, wife-and-husband owners of the newly opened MahoganyBooks, looked for a physical location for years, but a wave of gentrification in Washington, D.C., left them with few promising options. That changed in early 2017, when they found a location in the Anacostia Arts Center, in the historically African-American neighborhood of Anacostia in Southeast D.C. Ramunda, a former general books manager of the Howard University Bookstore, said opening a store was a logical step toward diversifying the couples business after having run a books website serving predominately African-American readers for a decade.

MahoganyBooks opened in February and is the first bookstore in Anacostia in 20 years. The 500-sq.-ft. store has an adjacent events space for large readings. With tablets for readers to locate books online while they browse, the store fulfills the couples vision of a bookstore 2.0, Derrick said.

Bookstore 2.0 is shorthand for the Youngs effort to integrate the physical store and the long-standing digital operation, creating independent sources of revenue that stand alone but point to one another. In-store technology points to the website, and the website now points to the physical stores events. We thought, if there were another big crazy economic downturn, how would we prepare ourselves so that we would have multiple streams of income? Derrick said.

Opening the bookstore is also a homecoming. Derricks grandmother lived in Anacostia when he was a child, and he frequented the neighborhoods black-owned bookstores. He later worked at the black-owned Karibu booksellers with Ramunda. Speaking about himself and Ramunda, he paid tribute to those earlier stores: We were both kind of nurtured in that way. We both made an effort to be mentored and to understand the experience that readers want when they come into a bookstore.

When forensic anthropology professor Christina Benton opened Janco Books in Las Vegas in October 2017, readers asked if she would model her store after Native Son, a neighborhood African-American specialty bookstore that closed in 2008. Benton expanded the stores African-American section, but she said her interest is in catering to as broad a community as possible. Its a general bookstore owned by an African-American person, she said.

With a selection of new and used books, Janco caters most of all to families that homeschool in the area. They buy the most, because they need to have the resources, Benton said.

In Brooklyns rapidly gentrifying Crown Heights neighborhood, a general bookstore is as far from what Afro-Latina owner Kalima Desuze and her Caribbean husband, Ryan Cameron, wanted to open when they launched the Afro-feminist Cafe Con Libros in late December. Desuze, a retired U.S. Army JAG corps member with masters degrees in social work and public administration, grew up in Prospect Place and credits her trajectory in life to reading feminist African and African-American authors.

A lot of the reason why I opened up the store is because feminism has not always been the province of women of color, Desuze said. Part of my challenge as a black woman, calling my bookstore a feminist bookstore, is that some black women do not identify with the word feminism. But if they took the time to explore they would discover that they are already living it.

In an interview in PW last November about her efforts to open the Lit. Bar, the only bookstore in the Bronx, Afro-Latina bookseller Noelle Santos said that she had encountered discrimination from lenders in financing her effort, until her IndieGogo campaign raised more than $150,000. In contrast, Desuze said her Brooklyn-based backers were supportive. I think it was a combination of a lot of things, she noted. I am independently financially stable. I own my own home and have advanced degrees. My portfolio alone was something that was able to catapult me. Desuze added that without those things, and in a different location in Brooklyn, she believes that discrimination would likely have been an issue.

I dont know if this would be possible in Brownsville, Desuze said of another diverse Brooklyn neighborhood that is not gentrifying, because theres an underlying idea that black folks dont read and Latino folks dont read. She added that even without the challenges that Santos faced, its quite a revolution for black folks to open up a bookstore and to provide these books that are about African-American culture. 

Revolutionary books and a community focus are both part of Marc Lamont Hills approach at his newly opened Uncle Bobbies Coffee and Books in Philadelphia. Hill, an author, CNN contributor, and professor of media studies and urban education at Temple University, decided to take his scholarly knowledge of the history of bookstores and put it to practical use selling books in the Germantown neighborhood of the city where he lives. His dream of owning a bookstore turned into reality after he walked past a vacant building in 2017.

I did some hard number crunching, said Hill, who settled on opening a cafe as a way to create a welcoming space that also had higher margins than a standalone bookstore. The store opened in November and it has exceeded his expectations, he added. People are buying books at a rate we didnt expect.

Hill does much of the buying for the store himself. And though the store has roots in the historic black-owned bookstores he went to as a young man, Hill said there are differences between those and Uncle Bobbies, which has an African-American focus but is a general bookstore with leftist political leanings. Older stores didnt have gender theory, queer theory, environmental studies, and disability studies, he noted. Im expanding what black activist literature is.

Community events have been so successful for the store, Hill said, that he has had to bring in additional staffing. In February, he hosted an event called the Radical Martin Luther King Symposium that drew 600 people to a neighboring church.

Johnson sees differences between the older bookstores and the new wave of stores, many of which have fewer books and larger spaces devoted to coffee and tea, but Hill believes there is still a desire among readers to congregate in a physical bookstore. Amazon has tried to match that [connection to books] with algorithms, but thats not the same as having an elder in the community say, Son, I know you want to read this, but first you have to read this and this and this and this, and then have them talk about the content of these books, Hill said.

Creating a space for those connections to happen over books is the best thing Ive ever done professionally, Hill said. Ive written books, Ive had New York Times bestsellers, but Ive never done anything so gratifying.
In an increasingly digital and information-saturated world, good design may be the key to being understood. The months ahead bring new titles in graphic design and typography, from long-standing names in the field and from relative newcomers, all of them demonstrating the importance of a thoughtfully composed message.

Generations of Conversation

April sees the release of several new books from active and influential designers, some of whom have been working for decades and others young enough to have studied their work at art school. Milton Glaser cofounded Push Pin Studios in 1954 and in 2004 received a lifetime achievement award from the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. His new book, Milton Glaser Posters: 427 Examples from 1965 to 2017 (Abrams) is a compact but thick volume that showcases one image on each 5 1/2  7 5/8 page, with its title and a few sentences of explanation from Glaser on the opposite page.

The graphic designer, who is known for such projects as his I Love NY logo and his publicity poster for the 1967 album Bob Dylans Greatest Hits, says that his style has changed over the years. It used to seem more decorative and now seems more purposeful, he says. Context always determines design. When there is a lot of noise in the atmosphere, silence is a good response.

British publisher, editor, and designer Julian Rothensteins passion for typography may rival Glasers long dedication to artful poster design. Rothensteins A2Z+ (Princeton Architectural Press), now in its fourth iteration, began its life almost 30 years ago as the black-and-white Alphabets and Other Signs (1991) from Rothensteins Redstone Press. For the colorful pages of the new book, Rothenstein raided his and other designers bookshelves for typography he loved and included an introduction by his longtime friend and collaborator, art critic and curator Mel Gooding; he says the two work together so well because we hate rules and academic designations and divisions.

The source material is wide-ranging and includes several Russian book covers, diagnostic eye charts, and statistical proto-infographics drawn by W.E.B. DuBois. Rothenstein imagines the book as an inspiration for designers, and is sure some people will cut it up for collage. Its meant to be useful.

Compared with Rothenstein and Glaser, Oliver Munday and Craig Oldham are relative newcomers. In 2010 Munday was named one of Print magazines 20 best graphic artists under 30, for his illustrations for publications including Time magazine and the New York Times. Dont Sleep: The Urgent Messages of Oliver Munday (Rizzoli, Apr.), with an introduction by the New Yorkers Hilton Als, highlights work that often sticks to a simple color palette, including the black, white, and red book covers for Toures Whos Afraid of Post-Blackness? and Colson Whiteheads The Underground Railroad.

Munday, who continues to do a great deal of editorial work, says there is less time for levity in politics these days, and this translates into his design work. The stakes for communicating have been raised, he says. Any chance to speak should be direct in its appraisal and summary. When sending out signals into the cacophony, you better have something worthwhile to say.

Craig Oldham, in Oh Sh*t, What Now?: Honest Advice for New Graphic Designers (Laurence King, Apr.), is writing for a readership to which he belonged relatively recently. He earned a bachelors degree in graphic design from the U.K.s Falmouth University in 2006, and has since won multiple awards for his design work, which spans fields including branding, publishing, and film. The genesis for What Now? was a lecture series and accompanying book Oldham produced called The Democratic Lecture (2012), which offered advice in a similarly cheeky, informal way.

Oldham says his philosophy of form working in tandem with content inspired the format of the new book, which has a black, white, and neon palette and page thicknesses that vary throughout. I like that the change of pace confronts you in this book, he says. The experience of reading it, that fluctuation of really firm board to suddenly flimsier paper, is just trying to play with the idea that these questions in the book arent set, and change always happens.

Arts and Letters

Several new titles explore the history of typography and delve into new innovations in the field. Steven Heller and Lita Talarico, co-chairs of the MFA Design/Designer as Author + Entrepreneur program at the School of Visual Arts, coauthored Free Hand: New Typography Sketchbooks (Abrams, Apr.). Free Hand reproduces pages from notebooks belonging to designers around the globe, showcasing hand-drawn sketches as well as computer-generated artwork. (For more on Heller, see More Than a Pretty Font.)

The authors write in their introduction, As design becomes a more globalized discipline, and non-Latin writers take their rightful place on the world stage, linguistic diversity is growing. Their volume is an international selection of typefaces that reveals the beauty of letters to the viewer, even when the literal meaning may not be understood. The more than 70 featured designers include Milton Glaser, Sylvia (Di) Kong, and Mohammad Sharaf.

Another title that showcases letter design from around the world, Goodtype: The Art of Lettering (Rizzoli, June), presents the concept sketches and finished designs of more than 120 artists from 30 countries and includes interviews with some of them. Author Brooke Robinson, a graphic designer, has attracted 872,000 followers to her Goodtype Instagram account since launching it in 2013. The account promotes installations, murals, and other work with interesting letter design and builds community with its weekly Goodtype Tuesday design challenge.

While Goodtype presents of-the-moment work, Letterforms: Typeface Design from Past to Future, by designer and educator Timothy Samara (Rockport, July), reaches back through the history of typography, opening with the origins of Western writing circa 3300 BCE. Samara, whose other books include 2004s Typography Workbook, then moves into details such as the intricacies of curve formation, proportion, and structure in modern letter design, while emphasizing the importance of finding inspiration in the everyday.

Other titles take a more fanciful approach. Typographic Specimens: A Natural History of Letterforms (Ammonite, June) purports to draw on a manuscript by the fictional Reverend Jackson Whitehead, who served aboard the HMS Pica, an imagined sister ship of Charles Darwins Beagle. Author-illustrator A.W. Bainbridge has created 112 pages of mystical creaturesCommacat and Fumble Bee, to name twodesigned entirely out of letters, numerals, and punctuation.

The Book of Ornamental Alphabets: Ancient & Medieval (Ilex, Apr.) brings a real book by Victorian artist Freeman Delamotte, who died in 1862, to a modern audience. Delamotte compiled alphabets from sources including manuscripts in the British Museum and inscriptions on medieval royal tombs in Westminster Abbey. Octopus Publishing Group licensing director and former Ilex publisher Roly Allen, who studied Old and Middle English at the University of Manchester, says the book will be of interest to hand letterers and art historians, and perhaps also tattoo artists, because of the selection of gothic alphabets that seem to be popular in that world.

Designing the Everyday into Art

New books with a single focusstatements by President Trump in one case, and the New York City subway in anotheruse graphic design to reframe subjects that have become, for many people, part of the fabric of daily life.

In Hate Is What We Need (Chronicle, Apr.), Ward Schumaker, whose illustrations have appeared in the New York Times, the Atlantic, Le Monde, and Esquire Japan, takes quotes such as The conceit of global warming was created by and for the Chinese and How stupid are the people of Iowa? and recasts them as artful images via stencils and paint. A portion of proceeds will be donated to the ACLU.

One-Track Mind: Drawing the New York Subway (Princeton Architectural Press, May) pays tribute to Philip Ashforth Coppolas 40-year devotion to documenting the New York City subway system in his sketchbooks. Editors Ezra Bookstein and Jeremy Workman combed through Coppolas 2,000 pen-and-ink drawings of subway mosaics, patterns, and typography, and recreated many of them in this book alongside information about the history of each station depicted.

The book, which is being published in conjunction with an exhibition of Coppolas work at the New York Transit Museum Gallery Annex at Grand Central Terminal (through June 2018), demonstrates that, even amid the noise and bustle, beauty may be found anywhere.

Catherine LaSota is associate director of the Center for the Study of Social Difference at Columbia University and runs the LIC Reading Series in Queens, N.Y.

Below, more on the subject of art and photography books.

From Sidewalk to Catwalk: Art & Photography Books 2018

Several forthcoming titles celebrate street stylethose who promote it and those who wear it.

Artistic Representation: Art & Photography Books 2018

A number of new titles give a platform to artists from traditionally marginalized groups.

Not Just a Pretty Font: PW Talks with Steve Heller

The veteran graphic designer, who has authored, coauthored, and edited some 180 books on design, discusses why good design matters to non-designers, too.
Only apologists determined to avert their eyes and cover their ears could deny with a straight face that higher education in America today nurses hostility to free speech.

Sporadic eruptions of that hostility have made the headlines. Last year, in early February, violent protests swept across the University of California, Berkeley against right-wing provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos, causing the university to cancel his speech. In March, Middlebury College students disrupted a talk by the distinguished American Enterprise Institute social scientist Charles Murray and assaulted his host, Professor Allison Stanger, sending her to the hospital. In April, fear of more violence compelled UC-Berkeley to rescind an invitation to the acerbic conservative columnist Ann Coulter. Last fall semester, student efforts to shut down speech on campus skyrocketed.

Less overt forms of hostility to free speech on campus run deeper. Colleges and universities teach students that free speech is merely one among many values. Campus authorities encourage students to expect that schools will silence, or at least cordon off, offensive opinions. In the humanities and social sciences, professors routinely exclude from class discussion, syllabi, and departmental offerings ideas for which a good case can be made but with which they disagree.

Some want to believe that controversies over campus free speech are a tempest in a teapot. While acknowledging that walling off students from disfavored opinions for four or five years may instill bad intellectual habits, the optimists suppose that once these graduates take their place in the real world theyll quickly discover that the Constitution provides broad protection for speech, including the expression of, say, conservative convictions that university majorities often deem appalling and degrading. The hope is that hostility to free speech nursed on campus stays on campuses.

In Speak Freely: Why Universities Must Defend Free Speech, Keith Whittington rejects such complacency. The current crisis of free speech on college campuses, he contends, is both symptom and cause of a larger threat to the maintenance of liberal democracy itself. While liberal democracies have a variety of reasons for protecting free speech, universities must safeguard it because of its utility in generating, testing, and communicating ideas, according to Whittington. Sacrificing speech subverts the very rationale for having a university and hampers the ability of universities to achieve their most basic goals.

A professor of politics at Princeton specializing in American constitutional history, Whittington is proud of his profession and regards the modern university as one of the great achievements of American civilization. Despite the numerous and varied examples he offers throughout his book of the assault on free speech, he cautions against exaggerating the dysfunction in higher education. Yet his contention that university administrators and faculty are shrinking free speech because they are losing sight of the universitys central mission justifies grave concern.

That central mission is, Whittington writes, to produce and disseminate knowledge. This involves both synthesizing existing knowledge and pushing forward knowledges frontiers. These complementary activities  breakthroughs and innovations generally require mastery of what has gone before  ultimately depend on a community of scholars engaged in a conversation that extends across generations and across the globe. The production and dissemination of knowledge also require scholars to communicate their knowledge through teaching. For Whittington, scholarship and teaching are mutually reinforcing aspects of the universitys mission.

Neither a business nor a partisan undertaking, the university  as part of its core mission  was not designed to pursue profit or promote social justice. But, Whittington argues, through dedication to preserving the intellectual treasures of the past, fostering critical scrutiny of institutions and beliefs, and incubating new ideas, universities promote technological change, economic growth, and the general welfare of society.

By adhering to their nonpolitical mission, moreover, they fortify civic life. A university that seeks the truth enhances appreciation of the wisdom embedded in tradition. It sharpens insight into the flaws of established practices. And it cultivates the toleration and thoughtfulness that enable a diverse and free citizenry to live together fruitfully and to deliberate effectively about public affairs.

Whittington associates the two principal rationales for the free speech that sustains the universitys mission with Thomas Jefferson and John Stuart Mill. The Jeffersonian argument focuses on the practical obstacles to restricting speech justly in a free society. While acknowledging the harm caused by nasty sentiments and ugly utterances, it asserts that even the most enlightened official is not sufficiently wise or restrained to wield responsibly the censors awesome power. The Millian argument advances a philosophical claim about human flourishing. It states that the pursuit of truth is central to a well-lived life and depends on testing ones convictions by exploring competing ideas and grappling with unorthodox views.

Against the common belief that universities confront a painful tradeoff between free speech and diversity and inclusion, Whittington observes that the university is an extraordinarily inclusive community because it welcomes all those who wish to honestly examine their lives, their beliefs, their ideals. At the same time, he acknowledges that the university is a challenging community that cannot accommodate those who prefer to be sheltered from such searching interrogations. There are plenty of communities in a free society that provide refuge to members from the unfettered exchange of opinions, but the university  at least if it seeks to generate and communicate knowledge  is not one of them.

In Whittingtons view, the use of trigger warnings and safe spaces on campus to fetter thought and expression represents the abuse of legitimate concerns. The encounter with certain objects, events, or ideas may trigger debilitating symptoms in those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. On campuses today, however, students seek trigger warnings to quarantine topics that they find unpleasant or contemptible.

The idea of safe spaces also springs from a therapeutic context: They were conceived to provide patients a place to share emotions without fear of mockery or reproach. Now students demand them as sites, sometimes extending to the entire campus, cleansed of every discordant belief and unorthodox judgment. Whittington encourages the search for reasonable accommodation for students suffering from genuine medical disorders but firmly resists encroachments on campus free speech based on partisan goals or special pleading. When speech is suppressed, he writes, it is the community that suffers from having their intellectual world darkened.

As a Millian proponent of free speech and the viewpoint diversity in which it thrives, as well as a Jeffersonian pragmatist who knows that university administrators and faculty members  like the rest of us  cannot be safely authorized to police speech, Whittington would also enjoin universities from disciplining faculty for ignorant and vile extramural remarks outside their professional fields.

Whittingtons sophisticated and coolheaded defense of free speech, however, is the rare exception. He is right that if universities are to honor their mission and make their distinctive contribution to the nation, then the members of the campus community will need to preserve the college campus as a sanctuary for serious debate of unorthodox ideas and avoid succumbing to the temptation to make universities echo chambers of orthodox creeds. But where will he find colleagues to rally to the cause?

Reformers, too, must not avert their eyes and cover their ears. A serious campaign to restore free speech on campus will be an arduous and long-term undertaking. It depends on nothing less than educating the educators.
It was never convincing that the coordinated U.S. and European expulsion of Russian diplomats was uniquely a response to a Moscow-inspired chemical weapons attack in Salisbury, a small town in the English countryside.

The facts of that case are well known by now. It was an attempted assassination of a single individual, Sergei Skripal, a turned Russian spy, in which his daughter was just a collateral victim. A proper analogy could be found in the assassination in Malaysia of Kim Jong Uns half-brother in February 2017. For British Prime Minister Theresa May to add that this was a violation of Britains national sovereignty is somewhat of a rhetorical stretch.

Moscow-ordered attacks such as this one, or the fatal poisoning in Britain of ex-Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko in 2006 and the murders of several London-based Russian oligarchs who had fallen out with Russian President Vladimir Putin, are something else. They are individual punishments for opposing Putin, and they serve as warnings to others who could turn against him that they are never out of his reach. The killings of journalist Anna Politkovskaya in 2006 and fearless opposition leader Boris Nemtsov in 2015 were simple assassinations of political opponents at home.

Nearly 30 countries joined in the diplomatic move on Russia. These included 18 EU governments supporting the United Kingdom, as well as the United States and Canada. They were joined by a remarkable list of non-Transatlantic, non-EU governments.

Concurrently, Washington is leading NATO negotiations to increase capacity to head off Russian moves against the Alliances eastern flank. Ahead of a summit meeting in July, agreement is converging around an American proposal to build up forces and increase readiness to deploy.

NATO has already assembled 4,600 troops on forward deployment in Poland and the Baltic States, directly facing the Russian border. Theres also a NATO spearhead force of 5,000 troops ready to reinforce the forward deployment in a weeks time.

Baltic governments are concerned with possible Russian moves to intervene militarily on their territory or at least to weaken NATOs resolve to defend them.

The American plan, as reported in the Wall Street Journal, is for NATO to have 30 battalions. That translates to some 30,000 troops, 30 fighter squadrons, and 30 naval ships, ready to deploy within 30 days. This means increased U.S. commitment to the Alliance. This is another issue on which U.S. President Donald Trump has zig-zagged -- America First vs. American commitment. So far, its been more engagement than retrenchment.

Moscow is now hesitant, taken by surprise at Western vehemence. They are expelling Western diplomats and closing the St. Petersburg consulate. But the fact remains that one country, Russia, is a pariah, confronted by nearly 30.

The tables are turning on Moscow. Putin for a few years intimidated the West. He took Crimea by force, fomented and fed a separatist war in Ukraines southeastern Donbas region, and moved decisively into the Syria wars when former U.S. President Barack Obama stood back.

Russia still has Crimea but is stalemated in the Donbas, and economic sanctions imposed for these and other aggressive policies are working. In Syria, the Iranians have military and political influence at least on a par with Moscow.

The result of Putins gambles is what strategic theory predicts. An aggressive great power either intimidates smaller powers or provokes a coalition against it. The same is happening in Asia, where China is provoking a coalition of Japan, South Korea, and Vietnam. In both cases, however, it is the United States that anchors the smaller country alliances. American leadership in the form of geostrategic guarantees against China and Russia is in the American national interest.

Thus, would-be Putin the Great is humiliated on the international stage, a pariah. His crushing presidential victory a few weeks ago already looks hollow.

Today, if anyone is intimidated it is Putin himself. Testing the Satan-2 missile last week -- supposedly able to strike anywhere in the world and evade all missile defenses -- makes Putin look more like Rocket-boy Kim than a master of the universe.

On a personal level, Putin is fearsome, a judo black belt. But even a black belt knows when to back off. It is when you are overmatched.

Putin is losing the initiative. Hes running out of battles he can wage with impunity. The Western countries, including the Trump administration, are pushing back hard.

All this is encouraging.
The Middle East has assumed a different shape and structure in recent years. Nowhere is this more visible than in the April 4 meeting in Turkey between Russia, Iran and Turkey. This group has become critical in defining the Middle East. It is not necessarily a cohesive group, and its staying power is uncertain. But for the moment, the United States, formerly the defining power of the region, is moving to the margins, and a new architecture has emerged.

Choosing Sides

The change was rooted in two events: the defeat of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Arab Spring. IS was defeated by U.S. troops and Iraqi Shiite irregular militias. The Iraqi militias were supported and in many cases led by the Iranians, who are also Shiites. When IS shattered, the Iranians gained a dominant role in shaping Iraqi foreign policy.

The second event was the Arab Spring, which triggered an uprising in Syria in which the majority Sunni population challenged the Alawite regime in Damascus. A brutal civil war ensued, with a constellation of Sunni factions  from IS to al-Qaida  and pro-Western factions fighting each other and the regime. The war drew in Russian and Iranian forces supporting the Alawites and U.S. forces trying to forge an effective, moderate coalition. The Turks, hostile to the Alawites, bided their time.

Despite the fact that it had no overwhelming interest in Syria, Russia intervened to demonstrate that it could project military power and shape events outside its near abroad. The Iranians, on the other hand, had long been allied with the Alawites and had a substantial presence in Lebanon through their client Hezbollah, which was fighting in defense of the Assad regime. Moscows intervention created a common interest between Russia and Iran.

The Turks, who are Sunni, took the opposing side, against the Assad regime. The Turkish government has grown increasingly Islamic since it survived an attempted coup in 2016, so it naturally sided with the Sunni resistance, but equally important, it sees Iran as a rival in the region. Turkish history also contains numerous conflicts with Russia, and during the Cold War the Turks were closely allied with the U.S. against the Soviets. Relations with Russia grew especially tense after Turkey shot down a Russian fighter jet that it said had violated its airspace. The Turks eventually were drawn into Syria because of their longstanding conflict with the Kurds, whose independence movement is considered in Ankara to be a threat to the territorial integrity of Turkey.

This should have made the U.S. and Turkey allies; both wanted Assad out and both considered Russia and Iran to be their rivals. But the U.S. was in the process of dramatically shifting its strategy. During and after the Cold War, the U.S. strategy was to use economic and political means to shape the world and, failing that, use direct military power. Since the end of World War II and the decline of British power in the region, the U.S. had become a defining presence in the Middle East, with periodic military involvement. After 9/11, periodic military involvement turned permanent, and for a decade and a half, the United States fought extensive military operations. On a global basis, this constant military activity was untenable. Even worse, in the Middle East its military activity was ineffective. The war in Iraq dragged on without a clear, strategic, attainable goal.

Inevitably, the U.S. took up the hard work of clarifying its foreign policy and defining its interests. The suppression of terrorism was one of its goals, but the use of multidivisional forces with thousands of casualties was not an ideal solution. The U.S. reduced its direct military presence, with the result being that in Iraq, for example, Irans presence was more decisive politically than the Americans. It came to rely on the Iraqi Kurds to advance American interests. So when it was seeking to build a coalition against Assad in Syria, the U.S. naturally allied with the Kurdish communities on the Turkey-Syria border.

The choice to reduce its exposure in the region was not irrational, but it had consequences. The nature of the coalition the Americans tried to build strained relations with Turkey, while placing the U.S. on the margins of events in Syria. Whatever concerns Turkey may have had with Iran or Russia in the long run were overwhelmed by the concerns about the U.S.-Kurdish alliance on the border, and the U.S.-Turkish alliance became even more uneasy.

Cooperation in the Moment

In the end, the future of Syria meant the most to the countries that shared the region with it. Turkey shared a border and saw a Kurdish militia movement growing and gaining combat experience in northern Syria. Iran is engaged in a historic struggle between Shiites and Sunnis and saw in Syria an opportunity to expand its influence. Among the outsiders, the war gave Russia an opportunity to reposition itself as a significant power. The United States got involved to destroy IS and contain Iran, but mostly out of habit. Only upon reflection did the U.S. recognize that its interests in Syria were limited. The Americans apparent clumsiness had less to do with competence than with the crosscurrents of a redefined U.S. strategy that was taking shape as the war in Syria raged.

With the U.S. stepping back, the remaining three powers are meeting to consider the next steps in Syria. In the long run, their cooperation is unsustainable. The Turks want to limit Russian power in the Black Sea and the Caucasus. The Iranians remember the Soviet occupation of northern Iran during World War II and see the Turks as a rival. And Iran is also trying to build influence throughout the region  which is welcomed by neither Russia nor Turkey.

But the long run is not right now, and right now they find themselves on common ground. The Russians want to be seen as Americas equal, the Iranians want to fill the vacuum the Americans left, and the Turks want the U.S. to break with the Kurds. There is no common understanding of what should happen in Syria  thats what they are trying to figure out  just that the U.S., even as it draws down its forces and interest in the region, remains the power to play off against.

Rationalizing a great powers strategy in the short term yields strange results. The Russian-Turkish-Iranian bloc is an example.
William Shakespeares Othello is one of the most well-known tragic plays of all time. It tells the story of Othello, a Moorish, acclaimed ge
The United States must support legislation that encourages involvement in the military from those who want to serve, regardless of their sexuality or gender identity.
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Min Sign, an ethnic Kachin NGO worker arrested on April 5, 2018, for allegedly violating Myanmar's Unlawful Associations Act, appears in an undated photo.

Authorities in northern Myanmars Kachin state have arrested and jailed an ethnic Kachin NGO for violating Article 17(1) of the colonial-era Unlawful Associations Act, which prohibits involvement with an unlawful organization, a police official said on Friday.

Min Sign, who lives in Machanbaw township and leads a civil society organization called Nang Shani, was arrested on Thursday for allegedly having links to an ethno-nationalist fighter from the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and is now confined to a jail in Putao township, said officer Khin Zaw from the Machanbaw Police Station.

The militia has engaged in skirmishes with the Myanmar army since 2011, when a 17-year bilateral cease-fire agreement between the two sides broke down.

The latest round of fighting began early this year when government soldiers launched air strikes in the Tanaing gold and amber mining region, an area controlled by the KIA, which relies on its natural resources as a source of income by levying a tax on mine operators.

Min Signs arrest occurred on the same day that the KIA warned mine workers in the isolated Hukawng valley to leave the area before it launched new offensives against the Myanmar military on April 10.

There was fighting between the government army and the KIA in 2013, Khin Zaw told RFAs Myanmar Service. The government armys Battalion 137 filed a complaint against him [Min Sign] under Article 17(1), saying he gave information to the KIA.

The plaintiff, a military official from Battalion 137, an official from the Putao Military Science Unit, and the Putao police are currently testifying in the case, he said.

Because Min Sign is a member of the Putao District World Heritage Site committee as well as a civil society worker, other NGOs, including the Myanmar Lawyers Network, have pledged to help him with his case.

The northernmost point of Kachin state, Putao is the site of a forest complex that houses Mount Hkakabo Razi, Southeast Asias highest mountain standing at 5,880 meters (19,300 feet), a national park, and wildlife sanctuary.

The area was nominated in 2014 as a UNESCO Natural World Heritage Site.

It is impossible

Sign Mon, Min Signs wife who is an assistant headmistress at a local high school, said her husband would not be involved with a rebel group.

We are government staff, she told RFAs Myanmar Service. I am a teacher. I can strongly guarantee that my husband hasnt violated Article 17(1). It is impossible. Hes just a CSO worker and focuses on local peoples problems such as land grabs, large-scale land appropriations by companies, governments, or investors with little or no compensation given to property owners or renters.

The Unlawful Associations Act was used during Myanmars decades of military junta rule to detain those linked to rebel groups, and continues to be used to jail people in Kachin state for being in contact with the KIA.

The law defines an unlawful association as one that encourages or aids persons to commit acts of violence or intimidation or of which the members habitually commit such acts. Article 17(1) of the act sets out prison terms of two to three years and a possible fine for being a member of an unlawful association, making contributions to one, or assisting its operations.

In recent years, local and international rights groups have called on the government to amend or rescind the law, fearing that domestic NGOs might unwittingly come under the scope of the act.

Nang Pu from the Wonlet Foundation, a Kachin state-based NGO, said Nang Shani is the only CSO based in remote Putao and mostly focuses on animal husbandry issues.

When we gather in [Kachin states capital] Myitkyina for CSO forums, he [Min Sign] doesnt usually join in, she said. Other CSO members, including myself, always go to Laiza too, but he has never been there. He is too far away to be able to violate 17(1).

The town of Laiza on the Chinese-Myanmar border where the KIAs headquarters are located was the target of rounds of artillery fire by government forces late last year and in early 2017, the KIA said earlier.

Nang Pu also questioned why police arrested Min Sign five years after they said that he gave information to the KIA.

I feel as though they are trying to muddle the situation, especially at this time when we are trying to work on peace, she told RFA. This situation causes people to lose their trust in the government and in the police. Its politics.

Doi (Dwe) Bu, an ethnic Kachin and former lawmaker from the Unity and Democracy PartyKachin State in the lower house of the national parliament, also raised doubts about Min Sign violating the unlawful associations statute.

As far as I know, he is just a CSO worker, she told RFA. Nowadays, the government is talking with the KIA, and the KIA is constantly keeping in touch with local people, asking for their opinions and suggestions.

If they arrest people who have connection with the KIA, the peace process will not move forward, she said. The KIA or government military should open their doors to hear the peoples and CSOs opinions and suggestions regarding the peace process.

If a CSO worker like him is arrested, peoples participation in the peace process will be delayed and difficult, she said.

A Kachin independence Army sergeant observes recruits at a training camp outside Laiza, a KIA-controlled stronghold in Myanmar's northern Kachin state on the border with China, in a file photo. Credit: AFP No end to fighting

The KIA is one of several militias with which the Myanmar government is trying to end decades of ethnic separatist civil wars and forge peace in the country through a series of peace negotiations launched in August 2016 by Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

The Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), the KIAs political wing, has not signed the governments nationwide cease-fire agreement that eight of the countrys more than 20 ethnic armies inked in October 2015, with two more having joined since then.

The Myanmar military has accused the KIA of illegally using the areas natural resources and taking money from mining businesses that should otherwise go to the state, while the ethnic militia believes the government army has stepped up its attacks on rebel-held territory in hopes of gaining control before the next round of peace negotiations in May.

Over the years, the hostilities have displaced more than 90,000 people who have sought safety in Buddhist monasteries, Christian churches, or displaced persons camps in the state.

The recent bout of fighting this year has forced thousands of miners and their families to flee the area or has trapped them inside war zones in the Tanaing region and in Sumprabung township where they have faced food and water shortages because blocked roadways have prevented them from leaving the area to get supplies.

Rights groups have called on the Myanmar military to allow unfettered humanitarian access to civilians in need in Kachin state.

On Friday, Ursula Mueller, assistant secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and deputy emergency relief coordinator of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), visited Kachin internally displaced persons (IDP) camps during a weeklong visit to Myanmar.

She visited residents of the Maina IDP camp operated by the Kachin Baptist Convention in Myitkyina township, home to more than 2,500 people, many of whom have been displaced since 2011, according to a Facebook post by UNOCHA Myanmar.

They discussed issues they face, including land ownership, leftover landmines, safety concerns, and difficulties accessing their land, the post said.

Mueller also met with local humanitarian organizations and visited a center for women and girls in Myitkyina where she met with women who work on gender-based violence issues in displacement camps, it said.

Reported by Aung Theinkha and Thinn Thiri for RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Khet Mar. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.
Pakistani media outlets and journalists often face consequences for refusing to toe the line of the countrys all-powerful military.

The Pakistani military and its notorious intelligence services have long been accused of stifling the independent media and silencing opposition through intimidation, censorship, and even assassination.

Now observers say Pakistans popular Geo TV is being punished for its tug-of-war with the military. Geo TV, part of Pakistan's largest commercial media group, Jang, was taken off the air in many parts of the country on April 1, with media watchdogs and journalists claiming foul play.

The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PERMA) and the Islamabad government have insisted they were not behind the suspension of the channel. Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal said he launched an investigation on April 3, but the perpetrators have still not been found or named.

With no claim of responsibility, many suspect the military, which has an oversized role in domestic and foreign affairs in the South Asian country.

"Theres no doubt that the military is behind the blackout," says Ayesha Siddiqa, a Pakistani military analyst and author.

Last month, Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa held an off-the-record briefing with a group of journalists in Rawalpindi that was widely reported. Bajwa described Geo TV as "subversive" and warned the channel that it would face consequences for crossing "red lines" by challenging the military, several reporters with knowledge about what was discussed during the briefing told RFE/RL. The military has rejected this account of events.

"The military doesnt want any channel to report about anything that is against [its] interests, certainly not in its ongoing political battle," says Siddiqa. "Geo TV is one of the few Pakistani media outlets that are ready to provide an alternative perspective."

The Pakistani military did not respond to a request for comment.

Tug-Of-War

Geo TV and the military have been at odds since 2014, when Geo TV anchor and journalist Hamid Mir was shot in the port city of Karachi. Mir accused the militarys Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) spy agency of ordering the assassination attempt. Geo TV publicly backed Mirs claims, while the military denied any involvement.

Recently, Geo TV has refused to follow the military's line on the corruption case against ousted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who is embroiled in an ongoing war of words with the military. The Supreme Court in July 2017 disqualified Sharif from office due to corruption charges, which he has refuted. Sharif blamed "hidden hands" for his ousting, an apparent reference to the military.

Allies of the three-time prime minister, who was toppled in a military coup in 1999, have called the case a political vendetta and suggested the military might be behind it.

Pakistani journalists say Geo TV has been of the few outlets in Pakistan that has reported independently on the corruption case and given the side of the Sharif family.

"The establishment wants to scuttle any dissent covered by the media, especially to prevent the voice of Nawaz Sharif from reaching the public," says Marvi Sirmed, an Islamabad-based journalist and human rights activist. "It is important ahead of elections in order to get the public opinion manipulated through other, more obedient media outlets."

Geo TV anchors and senior journalists have also taken a stance against the rolling back of the 18th amendment, which in 2010 decentralized power in Pakistan and brought about a parliamentary system, reversing many changes made by military rulers to the constitution over the last few decades.

"This is not just about Nawaz Sharif, but also about dissent over rolling back the 18th amendment, too," says Sirmed, who claims the military wants to roll back the constitutional amendment "because it is affecting the establishments ability to manipulate policy" and its "control on resources."

Bajwa, in his off-the-record briefing with journalists, was quoted widely as saying that the 18th amendment was "more dangerous than Sheikh Mujibur Rehmans six points."

Rehman was the founding father of Bangladesh, which gained independence from Pakistan after a devastating war in 1971. His six points were a demand for greater autonomy five years before the Bengali war of independence erupted.

The Pakistani military has said Bajwa's comments were taken out of context and that the military was not opposed to the 18th amendment.

Too Frightened

Geo TVs suspension has outraged many Pakistani journalists and media activists who have called it a blatant suppression of press freedom.

Pakistani columnist and analyst Imtiaz Alam has called the suspension of Geo TV an example of "blatant suppression of freedom of press and freedom of expression and peoples right to know."

"Time and again it has been proven that a ban is counterproductive, whether it [is] on a party, person, or on media," Pakistani journalist Mazhar Abbas tweeted on April 1. "Yet we have a habit of repeating the same mistakes time and again..."

A statement on Geo TV's website says that "Pakistan's constitution and law[s] guarantee the fundamental right of access to information to the citizens of Pakistan."

"The arbitrary suspension of Geo TV on cable TV is a direct assault on Pakistan's constitutionally guaranteed right to access information," says Steven Butler, the Asia program coordinator at the Committee To Protect Journalists. "It's outrageous that authorities are either unable to find or too frightened to name those powerful enough to orchestrate the blocking of news distribution."
Kosovo authorities have indicted 11 people from President Hashim Thaci's ruling Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) for allegedly handing out state jobs to people based on their political affiliation.

"The indictment has to do with the criminal activities of hiring, sharing official positions based on party affiliations and friendly connections," a special prosecutor's office said in a statement on April 6.

The accused "worked in co-perpetration...granting unlawful privileges and advantages" to people seeking posts in government agencies and public firms, it said.

The case is based on wiretaps made in 2011 during an anticorruption operation by the European Union police and justice mission (EULEX), set up after Kosovo's 1998-99 independence war to foster rule of law in the former Serbian province.

EU officials say Kosovo's government, led by ex-guerrillas, has not done enough to purge ingrained corruption and organized crime, which is often cited as an obstacle to foreign investment in the impoverished Balkan nation of 1.8 million people.

The PDK party has been in power since 2007. PDK party members indicted on April 6 include a former government minister, a former member of parliament, a current lawmaker, and one current government official -- Besim Beqaj, Kosovo's minister for innovation and entrepreneurship.

Prosecutors said that defendants could be heard in wiretapped conversations offering party supporters jobs at state-financed agencies, among them the rail network, courts and universities, water, energy, and health companies.

Leaks from the wiretaps led to a public scandal in 2016 involving high-ranking PDK officials, including Thaci, who was prime minister at the time.

The scandal was dubbed the "Pronto Affair" by media because Thaci could be heard on a leaked recording answering his phone using the Italian word "pronto" when he received a call from a senior PDK official, Adem Grabovci, who frequently demanded that government officials direct jobs to PDK members.

Grabovci was identified as one of the principle targets of the EULEX investigation.

Kosovo, which has applied to become a member of the EU, must demonstrate a track record of convictions in high-level organized crime and corruption cases to obtain membership as well as visa-free travel in the bloc, EU officials have said.

Last year, Kosovo was ranked 85th out of 180 countries in the corruption perceptions index of Transparency International.

Based on reporting by AFP and Reuters


A local commander of the Islamic State (IS) extremist group has been killed by Afghan security forces in the northern province of Jawzjan, Afghan officials say.

Provincial police chief Faqeer Mohammad Jawzjani said on April 7 that the IS commander, Qari Hekmat, was killed by Afghan forces air strikes on April 5.

The official told RFE/RL that Hekmat was killed along with his bodyguard and two other militants in Jawzjans Darzab district.

Jawzjani said the government forces continue a military operation to clear out the area from IS militants.

Afghan officials earlier said that IS militants in Jawzjan appointed Mawlawi Habib-ur-Rehman, an IS fighter from the northern province of Balkh, as the extremist groups new local commander.

IS militants have a presence in several Afghan districts, mostly in the countrys east near the Pakistani border, but also in some northern provinces, like Jawzjan and Kunduz.

IS doesnt fully control any Afghan district, and it fights both the Afghan government forces and the Taliban for territorial control.

IS has claimed responsibility for several deadly suicide attacks in the capital, Kabul, and other cities, including Herat and Jalalabad.
Kyrgyz President Sooronbai Jeenbekov has dismissed two senior security officials seen as close allies of his predecessor, Almazbek Atambaev, amid tensions between politicians six months after the election.

Jeenbekov signed decrees on April 7 dismissing Abdil Segizbaev, the hard-line head of the State Committee for National Security, and deputy security chief Bolot Suiumbaev, who was also the director of the committees Service for Analysis and Prognoses of Risks for National Security.

The documents on the president's website said both men submitted their resignations.

Their exit follows growing signs of tension between Jeenbekov and Atambaev, who strongly backed his former prime minister in the October 2017 presidential vote but has criticized him in recent weeks.

Atambaev had kept a low profile since leaving office in November. But following his election as head of the ruling Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan (SDPK) on March 31, hes publicly criticized Jeenbekov on several occasions.

Following that criticism, Jeenbekov has fired or accepted the resignations of a string of government and administration officials who are seen as loyal to Atambaev.

Segizbaev has long been criticized for a crackdown on opposition politicians and independent journalists.

In 2016, Segizbaev was embroiled in a political scandal after he publicly presented documents allegedly confirming that several high-profile lawmakers from the opposition Ata-Meken party were involved in shady business activities.

However, the authenticity of the documents has not been verified in subsequent probes.

The document targeted Ata-Meken leader Omurbek Tekebaev, former General Prosecutor Aida Salyanova, and ex-Justice Minister Almambet Shykmamatov.

The three politicians, who are staunch opponents of Atambaev, have since faced criminal charges that they say are politically motivated.

Tekebaev has been sentenced to eight years in prison on corruption charges, while Salyanova was given a suspended five-year sentence in a separate case.

Shikmamatov was accused of fraud.
Russian officials are denying a British newspaper report that the nerve agent used against a former Russian spy in England came from a closed military facility on the Volga River.

Their denials came on April 6 after The Times newspaper cited British security sources as saying they believe the nerve agent, which the British government has identified as novichok, was manufactured and stored at a facility in the town of Shikhany, about 800 kilometers southeast of Moscow.

The closed town of Shikhany is the location of a branch of Russia's State Scientific Research Institute of Organic Chemistry and Technology.

Chemical weapons expert Hamish de Bretton-Gordon told the newspaper that intelligence information he has seen clearly pointed to the Shikhany facility. The quantities of the novichok stored there are sufficient for attacks, but too small for military operations, he said.

Bretton-Gordon also told the newspaper that there was no evidence the novichok came from other laboratories in the former Soviet Union, such as Ukraine or Uzbekistan.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov rejected the British newspaper report, claiming that it showed Britain is "desperately trying every day to find some new confirmation of their totally hopeless stance."

Russia has strongly denied any involvement in the poisonings, which prompted Britain and more than two dozen Western allies to expel over 150 Russian diplomatic staff, in a move reciprocated days later by Moscow.

Mikhail Babich, the Kremlin's envoy in the Volga region and former head of a state commission for chemical disarmament, told Russian news agencies that the Shikhany facility is now being used for work on agricultural chemicals such as pesticides and the disposal of toxic chemicals.

"There are no chemical weapons at those facilities. And in places where there were [chemical weapons], they have been fully destroyed," he told Interfax.

"All the bases where chemical weapons were stored are well-known. Shikhany is not one of them," he said.

Babich claimed that a facility in Gorny in the Saratov region once made and stored chemical weapons, but it was the first Russian facility to dispose of its stockpiles.

According to the Russian research institution's website, the Shikhany facility is now involved in work related to "ensuring the security" of the country and destruction of chemical weapons.

In September 2017, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow had destroyed its last chemical weapons.

Vil Mirzayanov, the scientist who first revealed the existence of novichok who now lives in the United States, has said that novichok, a group of nerve agents, was invented by scientists at Shikhany.

Mirzayanov also has said it is difficult to establish where a dose of the nerve agent might come from, but he said he understands the reasons Britain claims that Russia made the novichok used against former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia on March 4.

"No country has as much experience in manufacturing novichok as the U.S.S.R. and then Russia," Mirzayanov told Russian independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta.

One of the chemists who worked on the nerve agent, Vladimir Uglev, also told Novaya Gazeta that components to produce the weapon could be bought in several countries, so it would be difficult to pinpoint the country of origin.

After receiving critical care at a British hospital since being exposed to the nerve agent, both of the Skripals were reported to be "improving rapidly" on April 6.

Sergei Skripal was a colonel in Russias military intelligence agency when he was convicted of treason in 2006 on charges he spied for Britain.

Russia released him from prison in 2010, sending him to the West in a Cold War-style spy swap. He has lived in Britain since then.

With reporting by AFP, dpa, TASS, Interfax, and Reuters


Russia's embassy in London has requested a meeting with British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson over the poisoning of a former Russian spy in Salisbury, saying its dealings with Britain over the issue had been "utterly unsatisfactory."

The Russian Embassy said in a statement that it was "high time" for a meeting between Johnson and Ambassador Aleksandr Yakovenko to discuss the investigation into the Sergei Skripal poisoning and "the whole range of bilateral issues."

Britain's Foreign Office said it had received the request and would be "responding in due course.

But, in a statement, it accused Russia of employing a "diversionary tactic" and refusing to "engage constructively" and answer questions about the attack.

"It's over three weeks since we asked Russia to engage constructively and answer a number of questions relating to the attempted assassinations of Mr Skripal and his daughter," the Foreign Office said.

"Now, after failing in their attempts in the UN and international chemical weapons watchdog this week and with the victims' condition improving, they seem to be pursuing a different diversionary tactic," it added.

The former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia Skripal, where exposed to a potent nerve toxin and found unconscious on a bench in Salisbury, in southern England, on March 4.

Their conditions have recently improved.

Doctors at Salisbury District Hospital said on April 6 that the 66-year-old Sergei Skripal was "improving rapidly and is no longer in a critical condition." Yulia Skripal, 33, regained consciousness last week and according to a British police statement issued on her on behalf her strength "is growing daily."

Britain accuses Russian President Vladimir Putin's government of trying to kill them with a military-grade chemical substance known as novichok, which was developed in the Soviet Union.

Russia denies involvement in the poisoning, which has triggered a diplomatic crisis between Moscow and the West.

British officials have described the poisoning as "the attempted assassination of two people on British soil, for which there is no alternative conclusion other than that the Russian state was culpable."

The United States and other Western nations have supported the British position, but Moscow claims that London has failed to provide sufficient evidence to back up its accusation and asserts that the nerve agent could have been produced outside Russia.

The elder Skripal, a former colonel in Russias military intelligence agency, was convicted of treason in 2006 by a Russian court that found him guilty of spying for Britain.

Russia released him from prison in 2010, sending him to the West in a Cold War-style spy swap. He has lived in Britain since then.

Based on reporting by AP, Reuters, AFP, and the BBC
Dozens of public schools that were shut down by the Taliban in an area under its control south of Kabul are set to reopen after a deal was reached with the militant group, an Afghan official says.

Salim Saleh, a spokesman for the provincial governor of Logar, said that classes are expected to resume in the afternoon on April 7 or April 8 in at least 30 schools in the provinces Charkh district after a week-long interruption.

The Taliban closed the schools on March 31 after several militants and one of their commanders were killed in a night raid by government forces.

Afghan media earlier reported that Mualvi Mohammad, a Taliban commander, was killed in the Afghan army operation in the area late on March 30.

Saleh told RFE/RL on April 7 that the deal to reopen the school was reached after negotiations between the Taliban and tribal elders in the area.

The official had previously said that authorities were in contact with influential tribal elders and religious scholars in Charkh in an attempt to secure the schools reopening.

Saleh said the Talibans move left some 12,000 students out of school in Charkh, which is about 60 kilometers south of the Afghan capital.

With reporting by tolonews.com and pajwok.com
The Syrian army and allies have intensified shelling and air raids on the town of Douma in eastern Ghouta, a day after air strikes killed at least 40 people in the last rebel holdout near Damascus.

Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on April 7 that at least 30 air raids have been mounted by Syrian and Russian warplanes on Douma since midnight.

According to the Britain-based war monitor, helicopters dropped at least 25 barrels packed with explosives on Douma in the first half of the day. The Observatory said at least eight civilians were killed in the attacks.

The AFP news agency quoted a civil defense worker inside Douma as saying the bombing was still continuing in the morning on April 7.

"The bombing still hasn't stopped. There are three warplanes in the sky and two helicopters," Firas al-Dumi told AFP.

Syrian state television broadcast live footage of air raids over Douma, showing billowing clouds of smoke over the town.

On April 6, government forces and allies targeted Douma with heavy air strikes and ground attacks, after 10 days of calm in the town.

At least 40 civilians were killed in Douma on April 6, the Observatory said.

State news agency SANA said the attacks were retaliation for the shelling of nearly government-held areas by rebels from Jaish al-Islam, which controls Douma.

Thousands of people left Douma in recent days under a Russian-mediated deal, but the evacuations were suspended on April 5.

The military offensive by Syrian government forces and their allies, which involved weeks of intense bombardment, has left more than 1,600 civilians dead and thousands more wounded in eastern Ghouta since February 18, according to the Observatory.

Based on reporting by AFP, dpa, AP, the BBC
Language has long been one of the key battlegrounds in the struggle to determine Ukraine's post-Soviet identity. Yehor Huskov has become an unlikely frontline soldier.

The 33-year-old was born in Soviet Russia to a Russian father and Ukrainian mother before moving when he was a small boy to Dnipropetrovsk. Renamed Dnipro in 2016 as part of Ukraine's decommunization drive, the country's third-largest city remains dominated by Russian speakers.

The family's first language was always Russian. But today, Huskov eschews his mother tongue in favor of speaking his mother's tongue, Ukrainian, a move prompted by both historical and recent events.

"I realized that communicating in Russian in Ukraine was actually a continuation of the work of communist Russifiers who tried in every way to destroy the Ukrainian language and Ukrainian culture," he told RFE/RL in an interview.

While language has long been a hot-button issue across the country, it has become an even thornier issue since Russia's 2014 seizure of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula and intervention in a conflict in eastern regions of Ukraine where the majority of the population speaks Russian as its first language.

"Since then, I basically don't communicate in Russian. Even with Russians, I speak Ukrainian," Huskov added.

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, relations between Ukraine and Russia have often been testy.

Russia has been protective of Russian-speakers in all of the former Soviet republics, and arguably most so in strategically-located Ukraine. About one-third of Ukraine's 45 million inhabitants use Russian as their mother tongue, particularly in the regions.

The 2014 Euromaidan uprising, prompted by anger over Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych's decision to not sign long-planned trade and political association agreements that had rankled the Kremlin, clearly exposed the split among Ukraine's population over efforts to expand beyond Moscow's orbit.

Shortly after Yanukovych's post-Euromaidan flight to Russia and ouster as president, Kyiv's new government repealed a contentious 2012 law signed by Yanukovych that had allowed regions to give Russian or other minority languages official status. The move fueled anti-Kyiv sentiment in the east that escalated into a Russia-backed separatist insurgency.

Russia's aggression hardened attitudes toward Moscow within Ukraine, with language becoming a key means of broadcasting one's national identity.

"I began speaking Ukrainian to discuss the language law," said Serhiy Bilonog, a 20-year-old student who lives in the eastern city of Kharkiv.

Given the prevalence of Russian in eastern Ukraine, Bilonog says making the switch hasn't been easy.

Not only has he had to rewire his brain, he's had to reconfigure his life, from friends to electronic devices.

Still, he believes it's in the country's best interests for more people to follow the lead of those who are making the effort to change their linguistic life.

"If the state encourages everyone to switch to the Ukrainian language, I think it would be effective," he said.

"They have to realize that Russian-speaking Ukraine is a satellite of Russia. And not just for Russia, but for the whole world. If you speak Russian, you are Russian," he added.

National identity has been described as a relationship between consciousness, territory, and language.

The complexity of the relationship between these three is readily apparent in Ukraine, where deep regional contrasts are exacerbated by linguistic differences.

Last year the government approved a new law banning schools from teaching in minority languages beyond primary school level in Ukraine.

In addition to its Russian minority, Ukraine has sizeable Hungarian and Romanian minorities.

The bill has damaged Ukraine's ties with its Western neighbors at a time when post-Euromaidan Ukraine continues to push to join structures such as the European Union.

Still, a leading European rights watchdog said in December that there is a legitimate need for the law even though a provision allowing some subjects to be taught in official EU languages appeared to discriminate against speakers of Russian, the most widely used nonstate language.

In a 2017 study, the Ukrainian Center for Independent Political Research (UCIPR) noted that some of the responses from Russian-speakers showed their community had "radicalized" and become less tolerant of the Ukrainian language.

However, others talked about "painful rifts" and personal shame for being a Russian-speaker in a country other than Russia.

"The multifaceted conflict in Ukraine is certainly one in which agreement over language use will be an important part of a comprehensive resolution process and which will prove key to the consolidation of a national identity and, ultimately, peace," the study said.

Olha Konovalova left the eastern city of Kramatorsk in 2014 because of the Crimean conflict.

When she started volunteering in her new city, Kyiv, she came into contact more often with Ukrainian-speakers and felt the need to communicate in their tongue.

Now, even though she still makes mistakes in her adopted language, she says the decision fundamentally changed her.

"I was just ashamed to speak Russian with Ukrainian-speaking fighters and volunteers who came from the front lines," she said.

"I have military friends who never spoke Ukrainian at all, but now they are teaching it," she added.

The UCIPR study showed that since the conflict in Crimea, more and more native Russian-speakers are speaking Ukrainian, and that their children mainly identify as Ukrainian even if they speak Russian at home.

At the same time, integration is a slower process.

Maksym Olekseyev was born in Zhytomyr, east of the western city of Lviv, but almost exclusively spoke Russian growing up despite having a Ukrainian mother.

That started to change with the mass Euromaidan protests, which spurred the 40-year-old to reconsider many things in life, including the language he speaks.

"I realized that the linguistic question is one of the tools that led to the escalation of the conflict," he said, noting that speaking to his father in Moscow in Russian is "mildly unpleasant."

Iryna Krasina, a 50-year-old philologist, also started to question her native language, even though she has spent her entire life speaking Russian and has lived only in Ukraine.

"I began to wonder why Soviet and Russian figures were always in the first place, and my countrymen were completely forgotten and underestimated," she told RFE/RL.

This led her to take Ukrainian lessons and study Ukrainian culture. Along with her young daughter, she's now fluent in the language even though they are the only Ukrainian speakers in her five-story apartment building.

"I feel freer and think it's due to the language, too. The horizon in front of me is boundless, just like it is for my child," she said.
Former American marine wanted for murder likely in Mexico

US authorities have issued a manhunt for an ex-US marine who is wanted for the murder of his former girlfriend.

The international manhunt was issued this week for 34-year-old Raymond McLeod with US authorities saying he has been spotted in Belize and Mexico, but have not provided details.

McLeod is wanted for the murder of girlfriend, 30-year-old Krystal Mitchell, whose lifeless body was discovered inside a San Diego apartment complex in 2016. The pair, who were both from Phoenix, Arizona, were visiting friends in San Diego where Mitchell was last seen alive in the company of McLeod.

The District Attorneys Office has charged McLeod with her murder and issued a warrant for his arrest.

District Attorney Summer Stephan said, Were not going to let this defendant run from justice and get away with murder.

Were asking anyone with information to come forward so McLeod can be captured, returned to San Diego and held accountable for his brutal crime. Let us not forget the innocent victim who lost her life.

McLeod, who is a former United States Marine, is believed to have fled to Mexico after Mitchells death. He was known to be in Guatemala during March of 2017, and has also been seen in Belize and most recently, Mexico.

Raymond McLeod came to San Diego and committed a brutal crime, said San Diego Police Chief David Nisleit. McLeod fled San Diego and even the United States, however, detectives in our Homicide Unit will continue working each and every lead in this case and will not stop until McLeod is behind bars. Our partnership among multiple law enforcement agencies along with the publics help will ultimately result in McLeods capture.

Catching McLeod will not bring my daughter back, but would prevent this monster from killing someone elses mother, daughter or sister, said the victims mother, Josephine Funes Wentzel who is a former police detective.

It would also mean that Krystals children can sleep at night, knowing hes been stopped. McLeod has a history of extreme violence against women and even a small child.

His tendency is to stalk his victims and strike when they least expect it. He is a ticking time bomb that could go off at any moment and I hope the public will take action and help us bring him to justice, she said.

McLeod is described as a white male, 34-years-old, 511 and weights about 245 pounds, however, authorities say he may have put on weight and grown a beard. McLeod has multiple tattoos on both arms and goes by the nickname of RJ, but may also be using Mateo or Matt to try and hide his identity.

Anyone with information on the location of Raymond McLeod is asked to call Crime Stoppers anonymous tip line at (888) 580-8477 or log onto www.SDCrimeStoppers.org for information on how to send anonymous web and mobile app tips.
Tulum ruins visitor numbers surpass Chichen Itza

Tulum, Q.R.  Updated figures show that the Tulum ruins are the second most visited site in Mexico this year, surpassing visitor numbers of Chichen Itza.

Adriana Velazquez Morlette of the National Institute of Anthropology and History in Quintana Roo, says in the first two months of the year, the archaeological remains of Tulum were placed as the second most visited in the country, surpassing the archaeological site of Chichen Itza.

Between January and February of this year, she said Tulum received 205,360 visitors, a figure only surpassed by Teotihuacan, in the State of Mexico. In contrast, Chichen Itza received 195,312 people, more than 10,000 fewer visitors than Tulum.

The head of the INAH in Quintana Roo stressed that little by little, Tulum has been displacing Chichen Itza as the second most visited archaeological site in the country, noting last year, both sites finished with similar numbers.

It wasnt until the first two months of 2018 that figures show Tulum had surpassed the Yucatan ruins of Chichen Itza. Velazquez Morlette says one reason more people are choosing Tulum is simply distance. Many tourists are preferring to visit Tulum rather than travel the distance to Chichen Itza.

She added that over the Easter holidays, the sites of Tulum and Coba were the most frequented with Tulum counting more than 75,000 visitors and Coba 19,000, figures she says are 15 percent higher than last year.

Of those visiting the sites, Velazquez Morlette says that 70 percent were foreign tourists with the 30 percent balance being national visitors.
Designed and developed on a new modular architecture platform, the new Force Gurkha comes in as a more premium offering as compared to its earlier counterpart
Hyundai

Hyundai i20 hatchback is now discontinued and the new i20 was launched at the 2018 Auto Expo in February. To clear out old stocks of this model from company showrooms, benefits to the tune of INR 1 lakhs are being offered. The older Hyundai i20 received 1.2 liter and 1.4 liter petrol engines offering 83 hp and 100 hp respectively and a 1.4 liter diesel engine offering 90 hp.

The 2018 Hyundai i20 is priced at INR 5.35 lakhs and goes up to INR 7.91 lakhs for the top spec petrol model and the diesel variants are priced from INR 6.73 lakhs to INR 9.16 lakhs. It will be powered by a CVT automatic in the 1.2 liter petrol model so as to take advantage of duty reductions in petrol cars with engines under 1.2 liters.

Maruti Suzuki

MSIL dealers are offering discounts to the tune of INR 1.2 lakhs on the Ciaz sedan. The Ciaz is priced from INR 8.04 lakhs and gets its power from a 1.4 liter Fiat sourced petrol engine offering 92 hp power mated to a 5 speed manual transmission and a 1.3 liter diesel engine offering 90 hp power mated to a 4 speed automatic.

Ford India

The pre-facelift Ford EcoSport, which comes in at a base price of INR 7.76 lakhs for the entry level Ambiente variant and at INR 10.99 lakhs for the range topping Platinum diesel edition is being offered at a discount of INR 1.5 lakhs in order to make way for the 2018 Ford EcoSport launched in India. While the pre-facelift EcoSport had a range of engine options, the refreshed model is presented with a 1.5 liter Dragon petrol engine offering 123 hp and a 1.5 liter diesel engine offering 100 hp power.

Ford India is also offering a discount of INR 1.75 lakhs on the Ford Endeavour SUV. The Endeavour is priced from INR 26.02 lakhs and is powered by a 2.2 liter diesel engine offering 160 hp power and a 3.2 liter diesel capable of 200 hp power.

Skoda India

Dealerships Skoda India is offering discounts upto INR 1.5 lakhs on the Skoda Superb luxury sedan. The current generation Skoda Superb is priced from INR 25.12 lakhs and goes up to INR 32.45 lakhs and dealers wish to clear out stocks as the 2018 Skoda Superb has been announced. The previous generation Superb is powered by a 1.8 liter petrol engine offering 180 hp power and a 2.0 liter diesel engine capable of 177 hp peak power.

Audi India

Cash discounts to the extent of INR 10 lakhs are being offered on the Audi A6 while its smaller counterpart, the A3 sedan can be had for a discount of INR 8 lakhs. The A6 which is priced at INR 53.98 lakhs is on its way out as the company showcased the next gen model at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show and is slated to launch the same in India sometime in early 2019.

The Audi A6 is powered by a 1.8 liter turbo petrol engine offering 190 hp power and a 2.0 liter diesel engine offering 191 hp power. The Audi A3, priced at INR 31.97 lakhs gets a 1.4 liter turbo petrol engine offering 150 hp and a 2.0 liter engine offering 143 hp power.

BMW

BMW 740 Li Pure Design Excellence, priced at INR 1.28 crores is being offered at a discount of INR 12.5 lakhs. The model is brought in as a CBU and is powered by a 3.0 liter, in line, 6 cylinder engine offering 326 hp power and 450 Nm torque mated to an 8 speed automatic gearbox.

The BMW 320d Prestige is the base diesel variant in the 3 Series lineup. It is priced at INR 37.80 lakhs and is now being offered at a discount of INR 9 lakhs. It is powered by a 2.0 liter diesel engine offering 190 bhp power and 400 Nm torque mated to an 8 speed automatic gearbox.

Mercedes Benz

Buyers of the pre-facelift Mercedes Benz S Class can now avail benefits to the tune of INR 12 lakhs. This hefty discount is being offered at company dealerships to clear out stocks as they make way for the new facelift model that was recently launched in India.

While the pre-facelift S Class was powered by a 3.0 liter V6 petrol engine offering 333 hp power and diesel engine capable of 258 hp power, the facelift model gets a new 3.0 liter, 6 cylinder diesel engine which is now BS VI compliant even though it uses BS IV grade fuel that is still on sale in India.

All discount rates and schemes mentioned above can vary depending on dealership and amount of inventory at company showrooms across the country.
[MANILA] The UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have released statements categorically rejecting recent media reports suggesting that a new, infectious and untreatable strain of HIV has been discovered in the Philippines.

There is no new strain of HIV which has been found in the Philippines. The variants of the virus found in the Philippines have not changed and are similar to the strains of the virus found in many parts of Asia and in other parts of the world, UNAIDS has stated.

In addition, there is no conclusive evidence that the strains of the virus found in the country are more infectious than other virus variants, nor is there evidence that they are resistant to the current treatment regimens available."

The statement was released in response to news stories by two international media outlets that were later picked up by numerous local media.

On 9 March, a headline on the website of the German publisher Deutsche Welle (DW) read: "New virus strain behind HIV explosion in the Philippines", with a sub-heading that referred to the AE subtype of the virus as "drug-resistant. The article has since been revised in response to the statements.

There is no new strain of HIV which has been found in the Philippines. UNAIDS

And on 10 March, the London-based The Independent, ran a news story with the headline: "Drug-resistant HIV strain discovered in Philippines could trigger new epidemic, scientists warn." This story was also subsequently amended.

The UNAIDS statement added that as with all strains of HIV, prevention measures such as consistent condom use, pre-exposure prophylaxis and universal treatment which achieves viral suppression are effective in reducing transmission.

It was followed by a joint UNAIDS-WHO release on 23 March which said: All HIV-1 subtypes can be expected to respond to currently recommended ART regimens.

Edsel Salvana, director of the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology at the University of the Philippines, explains that the AE strain of HIV that is prevalent in the Philippines may develop drug resistance to current antiretroviral (ARV) regimens faster or differently than subtype B, which used to be the predominant HIV strain in the Philippines.



"The currently recommended WHO first line regimen may not be appropriate for all subtypes," Salvana says. He points to a WHO HIV drug resistance report released in July 2017, which discussed the increasing drug resistance of the virus across the world.

But Meg Doherty, coordinator of treatment and care with WHO's HIV and Global Hepatitis Programme, tells SciDev.Net that the WHO believes there is ample evidence that all HIV-1 subtypes that are treated with standard first-line antiretroviral (ARV) drugs will respond equally well. This, she says, is backed by evidence of suppressed viral load and improved clinical outcomes across countries and populations."If a person takes ARV drugs daily, as indicated, the virus should be suppressed and emergence of HIV drug resistance mutations should not occur," says Doherty. "Once a person fails a first-line treatment with evidence of an elevated viral load, ARV drug mutations that may have developed may vary by the drugs initiated and possibly by the HIV-1 subtype."
In 1959, a then-teenage lepidopterist Thomas Emmel collected 13 fawn-colored butterflies in the highlands of Mexico.

Nearly 60 years later, those butterflies are finally being recognized as a new species by his colleague Andrew Warren, who named the butterfly Cyllopsis tomemmeli to honor Emmel, now 76 and an internationally recognized Lepidoptera expert at the University of Florida.

It's a fitting tribute to a dedicated scientist and his lifetime devotion to understanding butterflies and sharing his knowledge and passion with the world.

"He's the only person who ever collected it, and it was on this remarkable expedition when he was 17 years old," said Warren, senior collections manager of the Florida Museum of Natural History's McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity at UF.

Warren and a team of colleagues published the species name and description today in Zootaxa.

Back to 1959: Emmel nabbed the specimens on a three-month expedition through southern Mexico and British Honduras, where he accompanied ornithologist L. Irby Davis to record bird songs. Davis had offered him a simple deal: If Emmel would manage the parabolic reflector at dawn and dusk, he could spend the rest of his time collecting butterflies, his primary interest.

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By the end of the trip, Emmel had collected several thousand specimens, including the nine male and four female Cyllopsis tomemmeli he netted at the edge of a pine-oak forest in Chiapas, a state on the Mexico-Guatemala border. At the time, he knew only that they were satyrs, describing them in his notebook as "medium-sized, velvety brown with row of odd-shaped blue ocelli on hind wings, underside very colorful with bands."

The satyrs traveled with Emmel, founding director of the McGuire Center, for decades and through several cross-country moves before finally landing at the center on the UF campus. Grouped with other unsorted Cyllopsis butterflies, they garnered little attention until last fall, when Warren recognized them as an undescribed species.

That's when serendipity stepped in.

"I pulled out that drawer and immediately thought, 'That's new,'" Warren said. "I went upstairs to Tom's office and said, 'Hey, what were you doing on March 26, 1959?' Tom said, 'Oh, well, it was a beautiful sunny morning. I was in the highlands of Chiapas.'"

A few days later, Emmel was at the Xerox machine, copying the detailed field notes he'd taken on the satyrs in 1959.

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Naming the species after Emmel was a natural choice, Warren said.

Although other scientists have scouted the same Mexican highlands, no other Cyllopsis tomemmeli specimens are known besides Emmel's.

His legacy also includes his mentorship of countless professional and amateur lepidopterists, including Warren, who was a high school butterfly enthusiast when he first met Emmel at a summer butterfly biology workshop.

"He has supported me in my research in various ways ever since," Warren said. "He's inspired a lot of people over the years, not just in Lepidoptera but in a lot of fields. He also founded the only institution in the world that's solely dedicated to butterfly and moth research. That was Tom's big vision, and he made it happen."

Cyllopsis tomemmeli rounds out the total known species of Cyllopsis butterflies to 30. Cyllopsis are adept at carving out a home in small pockets of habitat, which could explain why this species has not been rediscovered, Warren said.

The butterfly is about 2 inches wide and dusky brown with jagged red-brown bands on the underside, a characteristic feature of Cyllopsis species. Also notable are two pairs of spots flanked by lines of metallic scales that Warren thinks mimic the eyes and legs of jumping spiders.

Females are slightly paler than males, and male Cyllopsis tomemmeli have furry scales, likely scent distributors, Warren said.

By the time Emmel traveled to Chiapas, he had already been studying and collecting butterflies for nearly a decade. He was 8 years old when his father made butterfly nets for him and his brother John, unsuspectingly launching a lifelong obsession for both.

"He thought we would be interested," Emmel said. "To his great surprise, and eventually regret, it consumed us as a hobby and finally became a profession for me and a continued avocation for my brother."

Emmel said Cyllopsis tomemmeli, a new species hiding in plain sight, is an example of the value of museum collections.

"The fact that something can be preserved for future students and professional people to study at a time when new techniques are available to verify the discovery is very important," he said. "It shows just how long specimens can be preserved, hundreds of years in a museum, and still be invaluable to understanding the changes that have occurred. Climatic change, pesticides, heavy metal pollution in the air -- all that is recorded in the wings and bodies of butterflies."

Study co-authors are Shinichi Nakahara of the Florida Museum and the UF department of entomology and nematology, Jorge Llorente-Bousquets and Armando Luis-Martinez of the National Autonomous University of Mexico and Jacqueline Miller of the Florida Museum.

Nakahara is supported by funding from the U.S. National Science Foundation.
CPB public meet held at Kishoreganj

KISHOREGANJ: Lucky Akhter, leader of Communist Party of Bangladesh(CPB) speaking at Farmers\' Conference at Jashudal Bazar arranged by CPB on Friday. Among others, Comrade Shah Alam, General Secretary, Sayed Nazrul Islam, District President, Adv Enam

Staff Reporter, Kishoreganj :

Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB), Kishoreganj District Unit organised a public meeting was held at Josodal Bazar Maidan on Friday evening.

Comrade Md. Shah Alam, General Secretary of CPB was attended as chief guest while Josodal Unit President Md. Abdul Hye in the chair.

It was addressed among others by CPB Leader Comrade Laky Akhter, District President Comrade Syed Nazrul Islam, its Secretary Adv Enamul Haque, Dr. Idris Ali and Trade Union leader Abdul Satter.
Even before the Trump administration moved to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census, officials in the Bay Areas largest county were concerned with getting a complete count.

Santa Clara County supervisors had already planned to spend a record amount to count every single resident. They voted in March to allocate more than $1 million toward the first phase of the census, weeks before the Trump administrations plans to ask people about their citizenship status prompted legal challenges from cities and states concerned it will scare away large numbers of undocumented residents. It will be the first time in 70 years the question is included, if courts rule the inquiry is legal.

In 2010, Santa Clara County spent $750,000 on the entire process, said David Campos, a deputy county executive.

We have the monumental task of dealing with an administration that has created an atmosphere of fear among the communities that are most difficult to count, said Campos, a former San Francisco supervisor. Especially immigrant communities, which are just terrified of the federal government.

Officials estimate at least 130,000 undocumented immigrants live in Santa Clara County. The supervisors allocation for early census processes will pay for advertising to encourage people to participate and for canvassing resources to identify low visibility housing. Both measures are aimed in part at undocumented immigrants.

The U.S. Census Bureau counted 1,781,642 inhabitants of Santa Clara County in 2010. An accurate count in the decennial tally is crucial, as population helps determine an areas share of federal funding for certain programs and the size of a states House delegation.

Undocumented immigrants arent the only people in the Bay Area living in hard-to-find places. Some live in garages, RVs or in spots with no roofs  Santa Clara County counted more than 7,300 homeless people in 2017. Low-income families and single-parent households also tend to be difficult to count accurately, Campos said.

You can see how its like a perfect storm, he said. Unless places like Santa Clara and San Francisco at the local level make an investment, were going to lose a lot of money. Its billions and billions of dollars. But beyond that, its representation.

San Francisco is among a group of cities and states, including California, suing the Trump administration over the citizenship question. Santa Clara County has not joined in.

County Counsel James Williams said in a statement that the county is evaluating its legal options and will pursue every available avenue to ensure an accurate and complete count, which is essential for our democracy.

The Census Bureaus plan to include a citizenship question virtually assures that the 2020 census will be inaccurate, Williams said. This has profound implications for political representation and funding for the life-saving services that the county provides.

Educating the community is key to an accurate count, said Salvador Bustamante, executive director of Latinos United for a New America, an immigrant advocacy nonprofit in San Jose.

A lot of people are afraid to provide information to strangers. They dont know how that information is going to be used, Bustamante said. The goal for organizations like ours is to educate the community about the importance of this exercise and not to be afraid of it.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

A similar problem arises among Asian Americans, said Quyen Vuong, executive director of the International Children Assistance Network, a Vietnamese American advocacy organization in Milpitas.

The last census found Santa Clara County had the second-largest Vietnamese American population in the nation at 125,695 people, or 7 percent of the countys total.

The 2010 census was an example of what can go wrong, Vuong said. The Census Bureaus Vietnamese translation of the census form said the U.S. was investigating the population instead of tabulating it, which Vuong said was reminiscent of the Vietnamese communist governments efforts to keep close watch on citizens political activities.

There is a very strong fear of government systems among Vietnamese, she said. Theres still a lot of education to be done. A lot of convincing.

Immigrant communities, Vuong said, need reassurance that participating in the census doesnt mean ICE is going to show up at their door.
YouTube's shooter Nasim Aghdam's anguished parents told "Good Morning America" Friday morning that they knew their daughter was frustrated with the social media site, but they never suspected she would shoot someone.

Speaking from the family home in Riverside County, Nasim's father said his daughter wasn't a terrorist and wasn't violent and he didn't know she had a gun.

"Right now I'm thinking she never hurt one ant, how she hurt people," Ismail Aghdam said.

Nasim shot three people at YouTube's headquarters before turning the gun on herself Tuesday afternoon.

The parents told "Good Morning America" they tried to warn police that their daughter was angry with the site. "I said maybe she'd go there and protest or start a fight or something," Ismail said.

Aghdam's father reported his daughter missing Monday and her name was entered into a national missing person's database.

Now Playing: Questions linger in the YouTube campus shooting that injured three people and left the shooter dead when she shot and killed herself. But we still don't know how Nasim Aghdam slipped onto YouTube property so easily. Debora Villalon reports. Video: KTVU

Officers in Mountain View found her sleeping in her car early Tuesday.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

Police said they spoke to her for about 20 minutes but she didn't appear to be a threat to herself or others. She opened fire later that day and then killed herself.

In a separate interview with ABC station KGO, Ismail apologized for his daughter's damaging actions.

"All the U.S. people, all the humans, I apologize. I am sorry. I can't believe it," Ismail Aghdam told KGO.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
As 2001 the movie was nearing completion, one of its creators, writer Arthur C. Clarke, told the other, Stanley Kubrick, This is the last big space film that wont be made on location. There was reason for that giddy exhilaration: 15 months after the April 1968 opening of the movie, Apollo 11 made its trip to the moon. Flags were planted. Footprints were left in the dust. Rhetorical pronouncements were uttered. It could seem like a new human genre opening up. Then the guys came home, refusing to admit disappointment. We were still embryonic  or was it moronic?

In the decades since then, Ronald Reagan (always a movie believer) would enthrall himself with dreams of star wars fireworks as part of our defense strategy. Just the other day, Donald Trump enthused over space as a venue for war  and not just games. But truly NASA is one of those programs our leaders have squeezed dry. If we cant care for our home environment, why scheme over dream locations where a Matt Damon can grow protein from his waste products? Of course, The Martian was shot in Hungary and Jordan, not out there. We are staying home  for the duration, mere tourists in CGI.

Michael Benson has written a lot about space travel in the past, and he admits to recent anticlimax in that area, but hes not deterred. He and Simon & Schuster have published a rich, readable 50th anniversary book, Space Odyssey, and he blasts off with nothing less than the declaration that, The twentieth century produced two great latter-day iterations of Homers Odyssey. One was James Joyces Ulysses (published as a book in 1922), and the other was Kubricks space fantasia.

Well, maybe. Theres some support for this claim. In Sight & Sounds 2012 poll to find the best film ever, critics rated 2001 at No. 6, while film directors pushed it up to No. 2  just below Yasujiro Ozus Tokyo Story (which suggests how antagonistic agendas were in play). For myself, I can bear the future without seeing 2001 again; there are several Kubrick films I prefer  like The Killing, The Shining and even Barry Lyndon.

These choices are personal, and they dont matter very much. 2001 can seem full of uninteresting characters, daft light shows and half-baked ideas. But if its your rapture (and you watch it every year), this is the book for you. Benson is an avid researcher driven on by his own childhood love of the movie. In his enthusiasm, he delivers expert inside stuff, including interview material with the actor Gary Lockwood and immense coverage on how the special effects were done. There are insights into Kubrick, like a moment where Roman Polanski tries to get him to take drugs and Kubrick demurs, feeling he has a talent to protect.

Theres still argument over whether Kubrick is one of our greatest directors or a cold, technologically obsessed fatalist and a control freak running meticulous systems destined to abort. Thats how HAL emerges as the richest character in 2001.

The best portrait of his art and his sadness is in Eyes Wide Open, Frederic Raphaels mordant account of battling with Kubrick on the making of Eyes Wide Shut. On the other hand, sometime Bay Area resident Diane Johnson was very fond of Kubrick and the time they had writing The Shining together. The reason I love that film has to do with its resplendent haunted house, the Overlook, and the films sinister yet comic portrait of a would-be genius, Jack Torrance, who is going mad because he cant cut it.

Enthusiasts for 2001 will hurry to buy this book, though its detail may prove wearisome for skeptics. When it comes to the empire of special effects, perhaps you have to be there in the computer frenzy, while forgetting that raw film is the most special thing. As it is, the people in 2001 can seem a farewell to humanity more than a dawning of fun and personality. Kubrick was determined to be a genius, but he was timid over creating his own material. He was always an adapter, who depended on his originals and trying to surpass them: So he was better than Stephen King on The Shining (which infuriated King), and while he had no chance of matching Nabokovs Lolita, still that film turned out a poignant cheat, in which James Mason and Sue Lyon reached a pathos that Nabokov was too pleased with himself to risk.

As for space, and the mechanics of being there, the detail of Bensons reportage sometimes makes one feel lucky to have escaped these endless journeys. And if Clarke believed that the mysteries of eternity were set to be unfolded, we may now look back on 2001 as a demonstration of Big Questions better left alone or confined to Carl Saganism. (Plus, Clarke himself was not a fan of the film.) The strength of Bensons book is in the human interactions and the emerging complexity of Kubrick himself. He writes a fine account of the films dismal reception, and of how MGM and Kubrick quickly cut it by 19 minutes. Still, this film was a turning point for the church of special effects, the enfeeblement of life in movies, and the surrender to computer culture. Full Metal Jacket would be Kubricks bleak contemplation of a world taken over by process and its rigidities. It places a bullet as our new monolithic fetish.

If you love 2001, so be it  I just hope you might try Tokyo Story, and learn to see The Shining as one of the best straight-faced American comedies. Kubrick still rattles around in my head  he was something very special, yet he inspired some of the silliest things ever said about films. This review included, you may decide.

The 50th anniversary will give ample opportunities for revisiting the film, and hearing the portentous Zarathustra fanfare, along with the muzak of the Blue Danube schmaltz. Is this the greatest music in the movies? Or is it hopeless cliche by now, part of the sour cuteness that Kubrick was inclined to spread on his disenchantment? James Joyce this isnt. Still, on the books jacket, Tom Hanks (star of Apollo 13) says its the greatest moving picture hes ever seen.

So they never showed him Catch Me If You Can?

David Thomsons books include The New Biographical Dictionary of Film, The Big Screen: The Story of the Movies and Television: A Biography. His new book, Sleeping With Strangers, will be published in February 2019. Email: books@sfchronicle.com

Space Odyssey

Stanley Kubrick, Arthur C. Clarke, and the Making

of a Masterpiece

By Michael Benson

(Simon & Schuster;

497 pages; $30)
Right now in Richmond, Contra Costa County sheriffs officials are preparing to expel a deputy they say had unlawful consensual sex with two female inmates at the jail there.

His behavior was, they want you to know, an anomaly.

Let me recap in case you missed this news story: Patrick Morseman, a nearly three-year veteran of the Sheriffs Office, was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of consensual sex with two inmates at the West County Detention Facility. But one of those inmates, a woman who spoke with me by phone from the jail, said she didnt consent to sex  she and her friend, she says, were raped.

Heres the thing. To hear the woman describe it, Morseman apparently didnt fear getting caught by another deputy patrolling the cellblock as he unbuckled his belt.

He wasnt in a rush.

He took his time.

If this is true, how could a deputy be so cavalier, especially at a time when jail operations are already under investigation by state Attorney General Xavier Becerra?

If jail employees arent on their best behavior now, what was it like in the past?

If jail inmates are susceptible to sexual assault, imagine what could be happening to immigrant detainees who have more trouble speaking out? And that was before the detention facility made it harder for immigrant voices to be heard when it banned a San Francisco advocacy group that wants the U.S. to end immigrant detention.

In March, the Contra Costa County Sheriffs Office revoked visitation privileges for Freedom for Immigrants, the organization formerly known as Community Initiatives for Visiting Immigrants in Confinement, or CIVIC.

In response, Rep. Mark DeSaulnier, D-Concord, said it is time for Contra Costa County to end its relationship with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which contracts with the county to detain immigrants.

Remember, it was Freedom for Immigrants that published a letter signed by 27 female inmates at the jail saying that they were being treated poorly because of their immigration status.

Ive been writing about conditions at the detention facility since November when Dianny Patricia Menendez, a native of Honduras, begged an immigration judge in October to be deported rather than endure the jail conditions in Richmond.

She said jail staff there did not allow her  and others  to use the restrooms and forced them instead to urinate and defecate into red biodegradable bags.

The Sheriffs Office denied the inhumane treatment of female detainees.

This time, the inmates are being treated like accomplices.

According to the Sheriffs Office, the women consented. When I asked the Sheriffs Office for comment on the allegations of rape, a spokesman deflected by pointing out that the women have criminal histories and that there was an exchange of funds with money placed into the accounts of the inmates.

The women are prisoners, not sex workers.

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The money was paid to one of the women by Morseman to keep them quiet about what happened, according to the woman who spoke to me. That doesnt mean what happened was consensual sex.

I think that they think its our fault, like maybe we seduced him or on free time we shouldve went about our business instead of being at the deputys desk to give him that, you know, give him any type of reason to interact with us, the woman told me.

The whole incident  in light of the problems at the jail  is extremely troubling.

For now, Morseman remains out of jail on bail. I was unable to reach him for comment.

Scott Alonso, a spokesman for Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton, told me that he anticipates receiving a full report from the Sheriffs Office soon, possibly as early as next week.

The district attorneys office will determine what charges, if any, are brought against Morseman.

Were still hopeful that we can evaluate something soon, but the investigation is ongoing, Alonso said.

Regardless of what happens with Morseman, though, its time to take a hard look at whats happening at the Contra Costa County jails under the leadership of Sheriff David Livingston.
Last month, Laura Ingraham, Fox News queen of snark, tweeted that David Hogg  a 17-year-old who survived the mass shooting in Parkland, Fla., and has been among the eloquent advocates for gun control  whines about being rejected by four universities to which he applied. She linked to an article from the Daily Wire calling him a gun rights provocateur.

For Ingraham and Fox News, such cruel, ad hominem attacks are typical. Vitriol helps boost ratings. After all, Fox is a central part of Donald Trumps America. And Trump, like Fox News, has made bullying and humiliating people into an art form.

But television viewers are also consumers, and the ultimate goal of advertisers isnt getting them to watch a particular television show. Its getting them to buy the advertisers products. Which has caused a problem for Ingraham.

Shortly after Ingrahams attack on David, he called for Ingrahams advertisers to boycott the show. Within days, a slew of them did just that.

As advertisers peeled off, Ingraham tried to take back her comment, saying the spirit of Holy Week motivated her to apologize for any upset or hurt she might have caused David, or any of the brave victims of Parkland.

David rejected the apology.

She only apologized after we went after her advertisers, he told the New York Times. He then tweeted to Ingraham that hed accept her apology if you denounce the way your network has treated my friends and I in this fight. Its time to love thy neighbor, not mudsling at children.

Ingrahams wasnt the first venal, personal attack directed at the Parkland student survivors who have been advocating gun control, as amplified by Fox News.

Republican Leslie Gibson, who was running unopposed for a seat in the Maine Legislature, called David a moron and bald-faced liar, and Emma Gonzalez, another Parkland survivor, a skinhead lesbian. (This was too much for the good citizens of Maine; Gibson soon dropped out of the race.)

But unlike politicians, who only have to survive elections every few years, corporations have to keep their consumers content all the time.

Selling satisfactory products and services is necessary but often not sufficient. Customers also want to feel good about the brands theyre buying. At the least, they dont want to associate themselves with mean-spirited vitriol.

Liberty Mutual, the giant insurer, called Ingrahams comments inconsistent with our values as a company, especially when it comes to treating others with dignity and respect. Nutrish, a pet food brand, said Ingrahams comments are not consistent with how we feel people should be treated. TripAdvisor explained that Ingrahams comments cross the line of decency.

Such explanations sound as if these companies chose to drop Ingrahams show to be socially responsible. In truth, theyre just being smart at doing what theyre set up to do  make money. When it comes to consumer products, cruelty doesnt sell.

Johnson & Johnson didnt explain its decision to pull the plug on Ingraham, but its easy to see why it did. The company spends billions each year trying to persuade consumers that Tylenol, baby powder, Band-Aids and its other products will provide soothing comfort, analogous to a nurturing mother. Yet someone who ridicules a 17-year-old shooting survivor for not getting into the college he applied to is more like an abusive mother.

Behind all this is a new reality. The economy is now centered on intangibles like brand image and intellectual property, the value of which can erode if connected with something nefarious. Look at what happened to Facebook.

Social media can speed up this process. Which is why advertisers reacted as quickly as they did to Davids tweet.

Its also why corporations have quickly ended commercial relationships with famous people accused of sexual harassment and abuse. These companies arent being socially responsible, either. They dont want to sully their brands.

Companies are spending huge amounts seeking to connect their goods to consumers values. They know more about those values than anyone. Which suggests that Americans may have had enough cruelty  coming from Laura Ingraham, from Fox News, from Donald Trump, from the Harvey Weinsteins of the land, from whoever.

Meanwhile, the rest of us should help the process along and continue to vote with our consumer dollars for decency.

 2018 Robert Reich
Retailer Jeffrey Kalinsky is giving himself a big gift for his 56th birthday on Aug. 2: A third store, this one in Palo Altos Stanford Shopping Center.

My first store in Atlanta opened on my 28th birthday and my New York store on my 37th, says the man behind the eponymous Jeffrey stores, known for its forward-looking designer merchandise and high standard of customer service. Its the perfect time of year if youre opening for fall because you can open with fresh inventory.

This is the first new Jeffrey store in 19 years and the first on the West Coast. Kalinsky says that hes always been fascinated by the Bay Area and the tech community and that he truly loves Stanford. Its such a lifestyle shopping center, open air, the climate is nice. All that makes it super appealing.

Almost immediately after scouting the future space, located in the northwest corner of the shopping center near the Macys mens store and encompassing 12,000 square feet, Kalinsky made the deal.

My father told me when I was a kid looking for a bar mitzvah suit, if you love it, buy it, Kalinsky says. You dont need to go round and round. When I opened in Atlanta and New York, I was very decisive too.

Among the designers Jeffrey will carry are Prada, Celine, Balenciaga, Junya Watanabe and the Comme des Garcons main collection for women as well as Gucci, Saint Laurent, Dries Van Noten, Thom Browne, Greg Lauren, Undercover and Dior for men and women.

Theres also going to be a lot of great designer lines with street inspiration, Kalinsky says, naming Off White, Gosha, and Heron Preston as well as shoes and accessories by Gianvito Rossi, Christian Louboutin and Aquazzura.

Kalinsky describes the Jeffrey client as a kind of global citizen who exists in most of the major cities of the world.

When we buy we try and buy the perfect closet, Kalinsky says. Do they need special occasion, do they need clothes to wear on an airplane, to the supermarket? Are they a CEO, a parent? People arent all that different place to place.

Food Guide Top 25 Restaurants Where to eat in the Bay Area. Find spots near you, create a dining wishlist, and more.

Kalinsky got his start in fashion as a shoe buyer at his father Morris store, Bob Ellis, and at Barneys New York. He has been the executive vice president of designer merchandising for Nordstrom since 2007.

Asked about current trends in so-called experiential retail and in-store tech, Kalinsky says that other than the usual in-store DJ, there are plenty of experiences people have right there in the center. Were not doing anything like a cafe or something else they could get elsewhere at Stanford. Treating his clients well, Kalinsky says, is the ultimate experience hes been providing at all his locations.

I grew up in retail and welcome every kind of person, Kalinsky says. The most important thing we can do is acknowledge everyone. After all, its just clothes. Its really the relationships we build that set us apart.
A powerful storm driven by an atmospheric river originating deep in the Pacific has dumped more than double the average rainfall for the entire month of April in San Francisco, forecasters said Saturday.

The storm began Thursday night and continued steadily through early Saturday morning, before tapering off by Saturday afternoon. The storm broke rainfall records Friday in San Francisco and several other surrounding cities.

As of early Saturday, San Francisco recorded 3.43 inches of rainfall from the storm, while Oakland received 3.00 inches. Areas in the North Bay got the most, with parts of Sonoma County drenched by more than 6 inches. The average rainfall for all of April in San Francisco is 1.46 inches.

Rainfall totals in both San Francisco and Oakland broke records for the calendar date on Friday.

Friday was the second wettest day on record in April in San Francisco, Roger Gass, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Monterey, said Saturday. The wettest  3.45 inches  was recorded April 16, 1853.

Minor flooding was reported in Marin and elsewhere, causing traffic jams and some road closures throughout the day Friday. So far, no flooding has been reported in the burn scars left behind by the North Bay firestorm, Gass said.

Damage from the storm shut Muir Woods to visitors and vehicles Saturday, and Stinson Beach to vehicles Saturday and Sunday. It is unclear when both will reopen fully. Stay tuned for reopening dates, the Golden Gate National Park Service account tweeted.

Yosemite Valley lodging, campgrounds and roads are also closed because of potential flooding. Well assess conditions on Sunday, the Yosemite National Park account tweeted.

At the Oroville Dam, officials have been monitoring the storm closely, as its possible they may need to deploy their newly reconstructed flood control outlet spillway next week. Officials said they will need to use it if the reservoirs elevation reaches 830 feet. On Saturday, the elevation reached 795 feet.

At San Francisco International Airport, 164 flights were canceled and 671 were delayed Friday. That happens when we have weather, said Dennis Zamaria, a spokesman for the airport. Weather delays at Oakland International Airport averaged about 20 minutes, a spokeswoman said, with 51 delays and three cancellations. No weather delays were reported out of San Jose International Airport.

Winter has been dry, causing concerns about the possibility of a return to drought conditions. But this storm delivered a significant boost to water totals.

On Saturday, San Franciscos seasonal rainfall was at 78 percent of normal for this time of year  up from 63 percent Thursday. Santa Rosas numbers jumped 10 points to 73 percent of normal, Oakland leapt from 63 percent to 79 percent and San Joses tally rose from 56 percent to 62 percent, according to Steve Anderson, a weather service meteorologist.

These rains weve gotten in late March and this system have helped in our overall deficit, Gass said.

The storm did little to boost Sierra snowpack, because the precipitation turned to rain even at high elevations. There was less flooding than anticipated, however, so not much snow was washed away.

If it were a more prolonged rain event, that would have been a big issue, said Evan LaGuardia of the National Weather Service in Reno. Then a cold front came through, and the storm moved through really fast.

Both in the mountains and the Bay Area, another storm is on the way. Sunday and Monday are expected to be dry, but a new system will probably roll in Tuesday. Its anticipated to be rather weak and not anything close to this type of rainfall, Gass said.
A small plane crashed Friday evening in Petaluma, killing the pilot, officials said.

The Sonoma County Sheriffs Office said only that he was believed to be a 75-year-old man from San Diego County. In a statement posted on Facebook, Colonel Jon Stokes, Pacific Region Commander of the Civil Air Patrol, wrote that the man was Colonel Carleton Morrison, Region Vice Commander of the Civil Air Patrol.

Stokes said that Morrison was previously a lieutenant colonel in the United States Marine Corps who served in Vietnam and retired after 20 years in the military.

Col Morrison was the type of airman that we should all aspire to be; dedicated, compassionate and always forward looking, Stokes said. He will be missed every day.

The search for his plane  which Stokes said was Morrisons personal aircraft began at 6:40 p.m. Friday when the Air Force called the sheriffs office about an emergency transponder activation from a small plane in Petaluma.

Deputies responded to the coordinates given on Sonoma Mountain and were unable to immediately locate the plane, Crum said.

Around the same time, a woman from San Diego County called Petaluma police to say that her husband was overdue home. He was believed to have left the Petaluma Airport for San Diego County, flying alone on a Mooney M20 fix-winged airplane, Crum said.

Around 10 p.m., sheriffs deputies saw a small fire in a remote ravine near the 3600 block of Manor Lane. They hiked to the location and found the downed aircraft, Crum said. Morrison was pronounced dead on scene.

The National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the cause of the crash.
Facebook officials will be traveling  or at least making phone calls  to Europe to respond to concerns that the data of as many as 2.7 million people in the European Union might have been shared with a consulting firm that worked on Donald Trumps presidential campaign.

Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg is planing a call with the EUs justice commissioner, while Faceboks top technology officer is expected to appear before a British parliament committee and its deputy privacy chief will head to Italy.

The company has been refining its response in the wake of revelations that data on as many as 87 million people, most of them in the U.S., may have been improperly shared with research firm Cambridge Analytica. CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who will testify at congressional hearings next week, has changed tack by communicating directly with the press in interviews and a group conference call.

Its clear that data of Europeans have been exposed to a huge risk and I am not sure if Facebook took all the necessary steps to implement change, EU Justice Commissioner Vera Jourova said in an email Friday. This story is too important, too shocking, to treat it as business as usual.

Sandberg sent a letter late Thursday to the EU trying to explain the steps taken to protect data.

Her response isnt sufficient yet for the EU, Jourova said, adding that she will speak with Sandberg about how they intend to ensure transparency and respect the rules of our democratic debate and how they plan to change once new EU privacy rules are in place May 25.

Sandberg and Jourova are scheduled to have a phone call early next week, Jourovas spokesman Christian Wigand said. EU data protection regulators from around the 28-nation bloc will meet in Brussels on Tuesday and Wednesday to discuss their investigations, on which the British watchdog has taken the lead.

The British Information Commissioners Office said that Facebook has been cooperating with regulators, but that it is too early to say whether the policy changes are sufficient.

Other EU privacy regulators also weighed in on the data scandal, with Italian authorities saying on Thursday that they will meet April 24 with Stephen Deadman, Facebooks deputy chief global privacy officer, as part of their investigation into the scandal.

The chief of Italys Competition Authority said Friday the watchdog has also opened an investigation on Facebooks potential unfair practices.

Giovanni Pitruzzella said in a television interviewthat the main focus of the case will be on the misleading message the social media company passes on to its users.

Consumers are not in the position to know that the company passes on its data also for commercial use, he said.

A British parliament committee investigating the impact of social media on recent elections said Friday that former Cambridge Analytica CEO Alexander Nix and former director Brittany Kaiser will be witnesses in its inquiry into fake news. It said that Facebook Chief Technology Officer Mike Schroepfer had also been called as a witness.
Improving global literacy

Sophie Edwards :

Literacy experts and advocates gathered in Oxford this week to discuss the latest thinking around how to promote global literacy.

Despite recent improvements, it remains a major challenge but is massively underfunded and subject to a number of misconceptions, experts said.

The Sustainable Development Goals call for "all youth and a substantial proportion of adults, both men and women, to achieve literacy and numeracy" by 2030. While youth literacy rates have jumped in the past 50 years, progress is not fast enough, experts warned.

Approximately 750 million people over the age of 15 still lack basic reading and writing skills. Two-thirds of these are women, according to the United Nations, with female literacy improving by just 1 percent since 2000. Sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia have the lowest literacy rates, and the poorest and most marginalized are least likely to be able to read and do basic sums.

HRH Princess Laurentien of the Netherlands gave an opening address at this year's World Literacy Summit which kicked off on Monday, calling on literacy to be framed as a "win-win" for everyone, and not simply as an education goal.

"We need to be framing literacy not as an educational issue but [as something] of importance to the ministry of finance because by helping literacy you help crime, poverty, health issues, employment issues," she told Devex.

Here are five key takeaways for development from the two-day conference.

1. Remember adult learning

Historically, donor funding for literacy has focused on young school children and has tended to miss adolescent or adult literacy, according to Katy Newell-Jones of the British Association for Literacy in Development, or BALID. In the past, literacy programs assumed a "trickle up feeling that if we can educate the next generation of children then literacy problems will be solved," she said, but this has been "proved to be so wrong."

Instead, a holistic approach to literacy is needed, Newell-Jones told Devex, which supports adults, especially women, to become literate and which also emphasizes the role of learning within the family, including intergenerational learning and creating a "learning environment in the home." The theme of adult learning was picked up throughout the conference's sessions.

2. Teach in the mother tongue

In many developing countries, lessons are taught in English or another nonlocal language, such as French, from a young age.

In Pakistan, for example, this is has resulted in children learning to read English but with very little comprehension, according to Nadia Naviwala, an adviser to the Citizens Foundation in Pakistan. "Kids in Pakistan do learn to read English; they just have no comprehension of it," she said. "Is literacy impeded because it's being done in a language that's not their own?"

Teachers are also often not proficient in the language they are instructing in, according to Ian Cheffy from BALID.

Instead, children and adults should be learning to read and write in their local languages, he said.

"Parents may be demanding English but let's not ignore local languages," Cheffy said, pointing out that in sub-Saharan Africa more than 1,700 languages are still regularly spoken by 750 million people, and of those 1,100 languages are also being written down. "Let's not marginalize these supposedly marginal languages," he said. Nal'ibali Trust, a charity that aims to promote a culture of reading in South Africa, has made multilingual storytelling the center of its work to drive literacy rates among children. It is crucial for both readers and listeners that written stories are available in local languages, so they can understand and enjoy the experience, according to managing director Jade Jacobsohn, who spoke during the summit.

"Most parents work, and in South Africa they travel a long distance  [so] by the time they get home they're exhausted," and sitting down to read to their child is "the last thing they want to do," she said. In response, Nal'ibali aims to make it as easy as it possible for parents to "access the resources" they need to read to their children. A key component is that books and other materials are "in a language that the child and the parent understands," she said.

She also stressed the importance of recognizing the role played by grandparents, who tend to have lower literacy rates but can still offer oral storytelling. "How do you make sure that [grandparents] know that what they do have is good enough and even if you can't read you can tell a story[and] put value in what they are able to do already," she said.

Matthew Johnson from Universal Learning Solutions, a U.K.-based social enterprise working with governments and donors to improve literacy, agreed that young children can be taught to read English without comprehending what they are reading.

"Let's get on with life and pull in literacy as we go, and people will develop literacy as they go." In order to overcome this, ULS has been piloting an oral storytelling project that enables educators to teach in both English and their students' mother tongue by "creating stories in mother tongue and then adding actions so it becomes universally understandable  then transferring that into English and developing the two side by side," he said.

"The main message is that the more that children hear words - the more they get to experience stories and tell and share stories - [then] the more language and vocabulary and understanding they will have," Johnson added.

3. Don't just hand out books: Foster a love of reading

The emphasis on storytelling in local languages is also key to We Love Reading, an NGO started in Jordan that aims to foster a love of reading among children by training local volunteers to read to them. Rana Dajana, the NGO's founder, told Devex that fostering a love of reading is the first step to improving literacy but is something that many development programs fail to appreciate, instead focusing on inputs such as books.

"It's not about giving books; that is secondary and I have seen books sitting on shelves but not being used," Dajana said. Instead, it is important to "plant the need and the love of books first," which she says leads to direct literacy, as well as a host of other gains by encouraging a love of school.

A molecular biologist by training, Dajana was at the summit to pick up an award from the World Literacy Council, and told Devex that We Love Reading has spread to 36 countries in 10 years with very little donor funding because of its low-cost, "niche" approach to promoting learning through reading and storytelling for pleasure, and its use of volunteers. Last year, the NGO secured funding from UNICEF and has recently begun partnering with international NGOs including Plan International.

4. Embed literacy into other programs

Standalone literacy programs are not necessarily the best approach, according to Newell-Jones from BALID, who argued that literacy and numeracy should instead be embedded into community development projects.

Presenting at the conference, she gave examples of where applying literacy training had led to a "deeper understanding" of the topic being discussed, and thus to better results. For example, she described a program to help women secure land rights in Rwanda by training them up as paralegals. The project was much more effective once the NGO in charge of the project changed the type of language it was using from legal jargon to "simplified land right laws" in the mother tongue, "so that the community women could understand." These changes meant "there was a real understanding of the sensitive topic," but the program is also an example of increasing literacy levels within a community while not explicitly running literacy classes, Newell-Jones said. It is something she wants development programmers to do more of, especially for adults.

"Let's get on with life and pull in literacy as we go, and people will develop literacy as they go," she said. "They don't have to learn the skills first and apply them [later]." Instead, developers can take advantage of "hidden literacies" within communities.

5. Use technology - but use it carefully

According to a 2016 analysis of the global literacy sector by United States NGO Results for Development, donors focus too much on technology at a time when there is a "significant lack of evidence on what types of technology interventions actually work." Critics, including Princess Laurentien of the Netherlands, also warn that the digitalization of communication could have negative impacts on literacy rates.

"We know reading and writing comes through talking, [but] research shows that in this digital age, through social media, we talk less to each other," she told Devex.

However, Sun Books Uganda, a project by the World Literacy Foundation, which presented during the summit, offers an example of how technology can help. It provides low-cost, solar-powered tablets loaded up with "a toolbox of digital books and learning resources to 'off the grid' classrooms with no Internet and electricity." Usually one per classroom, the Sun Books tablets are written in Swahili and English, but Grace Baguma from Uganda's National Curriculum Development Center, which has recently partnered with the NGO, said the plan is to add more languages so that mother tongue can be used as the mode of instruction, especially for younger years.

Word Scientists also presented about its work offering free online resources to improve early reading in Nepal, including lesson guides, teacher tutorials, and books. What is sometimes missed in ed tech interventions, said chief executive Jacob Bronstein, is the need to focus on the content and the software as opposed to the technology itself, since "the tech can't do it alone."

Word Scientists has developed materials intended to be engaging and practical, written in local languages so a teacher can read the story to pupils in their mother tongue before reading it in English. The "software" is also free to access and can be downloaded onto a USB or printed out, and so does not rely on Internet access.



(Sophie Edwards is a reporter for Devex based in London covering global development news including global education, water and sanitation, innovative financing, the environment along with other topics).
In an unusual move, a prominent firm that advises shareholders is urging Wells Fargo investors to oppose the banks longtime auditor following a fake-accounts scandal that has rocked the company.

The firm, Glass Lewis, is making the recommendation as Wells investors prepare to vote this month at the banks annual shareholders meeting to approve KPMG as Wells independent accounting firm for 2018. In a report to investors, Glass Lewis notes it generally supports a companys choice of auditor, except when it believes the auditors independence or integrity has been compromised. KPMG has been Wells auditor since 1931, according to the report.

Given the severity of the fraudulent account activity and KPMGs prior knowledge of the incident, we believe shareholders may question whether KPMG is adequately ensuring the integrity and transparency of financial information, the report said.

Wells Fargo declined to comment. KMPG could not be reached for comment.

Wells Fargo has disclosed that its employees may have created as many as 3.5 million unauthorized customer accounts from 2009 through September 2016, as they pushed to meet quotas in a pressure-cooker sales environment.

In a 2016 letter to federal lawmakers, KPMG acknowledged that it was aware of the illegal conduct but that it was satisfied Wells Fargo management was fully informed about it. In addition, KPMG said the opening of fake accounts was not deemed as having a significant impact on Wells financial statements.

Glass Lewis did not recommend a vote against KPMG last year.

Proxy adviser Institutional Shareholder Services has not yet released its voting recommendations ahead of Wells shareholder meeting scheduled for April 24 in Des Moines, Iowa.

Glass Lewis is also recommending Wells shareholders vote against the re-election of board member John Baker, who has served since 2009.

Glass Lewis said it is concerned about Baker continuing to serve on the boards corporate responsibility committee in light of that bodys failure to adequately identify and respond to the sales scandal.
3 1 of 3 USA Today Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Alan Diaz / Associated Press Show More Show Less 3 of 3





In a week when we learned Mark Zuckerberg was a power user of the Internet, this also happened:

California State Teachers Retirement System Chief Investment Officer Christopher Ailman joined the #DeleteFacebook campaign, tweeting that he removed his personal account because of offensive lack of oversight and poor management. In 2014, he pushed the company to add more female directors, saying there were too many ugly white guys on boards. (The fund still owns shares in the company and maintains a Facebook page.)
There's so much route news this week that we are publishing two posts. Today, let's take a look at Alaska's addition of a pair of transcon flights  including one from San Jose  and Frontier's big bump in service at San Jose and elsewhere. Plus, there's Hawaiian's new hitch up with JetBlue. (Here's Part 2 of this week's routes update.)

Alaska Airlines said this week it plans to beef up its transcontinental options by adding a new route from San Jose to New York, and another frequency from Seattle to New York. Alaska will begin daily non-stops on July 6 from SJC to New York JFK, using an A320 for a 7:05 a.m. departure from SJC and a 4:45 p.m. flight time for the westbound leg from JFK. That will put three airlines onto the SJC-JFK non-stop route; it's currently flown only by JetBlue, but Delta is due to begin service on the route June 8 (Delta's new flight will be a redeye from SJC, as is JetBlue's).

TravelSkills with Chris McGinnis sponsored by See More Collapse

Alaska already flies from SJC to Newark, as does United. An Alaska official told USA Today that to accommodate the two new flights, the airline will use slots at JFK that are currently allocated to Alaska's (formerly Virgin America's) JFK-Los Angeles and JFK-San Francisco routes, meaning the loss of one daily frequency in both markets with just four per day from SFO and and six from LAX.

Meanwhile, Alaska will add a third daily roundtrip in the Seattle-JFK market, also starting July 6 and also using an A320. That flight will offer an early-morning departure from SEA at 7:05 a.m., and the return will leave JFK at 6:56 p.m. (By the way, keep in mind that as Alaska finalizes its merger with Virgin America, flights that currently carry Virgin's VX code in reservations computers are due to change over to Alaska's AS code on April 25, although flight times will generally stay the same.) Alaska is slated to open a new premium lounge late this month in JFK's Terminal 7.

Also at San Jose, airport officials are planning to welcome several new previously announced routes operated by Frontier Airlines, all of which start next week  but as usual with limited frequencies, which are okay for the leisure crowd but don't work well for business travel. On April 8, Frontier will begin offering three flights a week (Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays) between SJC-Austin and SJC-Cincinnati, followed on April 9 by four weekly roundtrips to Atlanta (Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday) and two a week to San Antonio (Monday, Friday). On April 11, Frontier will launch twice-weekly service (Wednesday, Sunday) from SJC to Tulsa.

Frontier also announced a bunch of new low-frequency routes coming up in the weeks and months ahead, including seasonal service from Denver to Spokane starting April 30 four times a week; service from Syracuse, N.Y. to Denver and Raleigh/Durham starting July 2 and to Orlando and Chicago O'Hare beginning August 12; flights from Portland, Maine to Denver and Raleigh/Durham starting July 21 and to Orlando beginning August 12; and service from Harrisburg, Pa. to Denver and Raleigh/Durham starting July 21 and to Orlando as of August 12.

Want to fly from Martha's Vineyard to Ho Chi Minh City on Hawaiian Airlines? That unusual routing will be possible thanks to expanded code-shares between Hawaiian and JetBlue, and between Hawaiian and Japan Airlines. In June, Hawaiian's code will be going onto JetBlue's flights linking New York JFK with Martha's Vineyard and JFK-Nantucket, as well as JetBlue's Long Beach flights to San Jose, Salt Lake City and Oakland. The newly expanded partnership with JAL puts Hawaiian's code onto JAL flights to various points in Japan and Asia from Tokyo's two airports.

Don't miss Part 2 of this week's TravelSkills routes update

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Chris McGinnis is the founder of TravelSkills.com. The author is solely responsible for the content above, and it is used here by permission. You can reach Chris at chris@travelskills.com or on Twitter @cjmcginnis.
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A bank robbery and an attempted robbery at a jewelery store occurred within an hour of each other Friday on the same street in Antioch, in what police said appeared to be separate incidents.

The first incident on Lone Tree Way occurred at 9:51 a.m., when a man walked into the Chase Bank and gave a teller a note demanding cash, indicating he had a gun, police said. No gun was seen by witnesses and the robber left the bank at 4300 Lone Tree Way with an undetermined amount of cash, police said. The robber remained at large Friday afternoon.
The seagoing saga of a yacht illegally anchored in Aquatic Park Cove sailed into new waters when the boat broke free of its anchor, drifted into the Hyde Street Pier and on Saturday was moored at a harbor run by the Port of San Francisco.

Skipper Bryan Pennington, who has openly defied the laws of the San Francisco Maritime Park by anchoring his trimaran close to shore for more than 130 days, was not on board his vessel when it broke free Thursday, said Morgan Smith, acting superintendent for the National Park Service, which has jurisdiction over Aquatic Park. After drifting into the pier, the boat was towed by a private company into the Hyde Street Harbor, which is under the authority of the Port of San Francisco.

As of Saturday, the boat had not been reclaimed by Pennington, who often spends days ashore in the Fishermans Wharf area, then paddles a blue plastic kayak out to his boat, where he sleeps at night.

The boat is waiting to be reclaimed, Smith said Friday. He could get the boat and sail right back into the cove.

Aquatic Park Cove is not a marina, and there are no facilities for pumping out waste. A permit is required for anchoring in the cove, and it allows for a maximum of five consecutive nights and 30 nights total a year in the cove. Pennington has no permit and has been in open violation of the ordinance.

The National Park Service has brought legal action against Pennington, who has pleaded not guilty. The case is scheduled to be heard in federal court on April 26. The government is seeking a stay away order that would give Pennington 72 hours to remove his boat from Aquatic Park.

The case is being closely watched by swimmers with both the Dolphin Club and the South End Rowing Club because Penningtons boat has been anchored in their swimming lanes close to shore. Swimmers say he has been polluting the waters by dumping sewage overboard. Shortly after he put down anchor, the words Move the Boat were painted on the side.

Its great that hes out of there, said Dolphin Club President Ruben Hechanova. The swimmers are elated because there is no obstruction or pollution.

In a brief interview with The Chronicle last month, Pennington, 52, claimed to be a world traveler whose home port is planet Earth. There is a history of him mooring his boat in harbors illegally, and Smith said the Park Service would pursue its case against him regardless of whether he returns to the cove, in order to set a legal precedent.

A representative of the Port of San Francisco did not return a call requesting comment. This is not the first time Penningtons boat has broken free and drifted into the pier.

It didnt appear to do any damage, said Philip Delano of TowBoatUS, which towed the trimaran Thursday. The rigging of the trimaran laid up against the heavy-duty dock lines. It was actually a pretty gentle touch, but it wouldnt have stayed that way once the tide changed.

A park official who declined to be named said Penningtons legal situation would have no bearing on his ability to reclaim the boat, a Searunner 34, which sleeps five.

I will say as a practical matter, were not the Byzantine empire, and we cant put chains around the Golden Horn to prevent him from sailing in or anything like that, the park official said. So theres nothing that would prevent him from sailing back in, and of course wed have to deal with that.
Noah Berger / Special to The Chronicle

The Coliseum BART station in Oakland reopened Saturday evening after three people were stabbed and a suspect arrested, officials said.

A report of a stabbing came in at 2:52 p.m., said Lt. Tyrone Forte of the BART Police Department. Two victims were hospitalized with unknown injuries, said Anna Duckworth, a BART spokeswoman.
Ten men who hunted down and killed rival gang members in San Francisco and Richmond between 2006 and 2013 have been indicted on racketeering, assault, firearms, murder and attempted murder charges, officials said Friday.

The defendants are all alleged members of the street gangs known as the 19th Street Surenos and the 16th Street Surenos  violent offshoots of the Mexican Mafia prison gang that for years has battled its rival Nortenos in San Franciscos Mission District. They are responsible for nine attempted murders and seven murders, including the slaying of a 16-year-old boy at a birthday party in Richmond in 2009, according to the indictment.

Six of the defendants were picked up in the Mission on Thursday when more than 200 federal agents and San Francisco police descended on the neighborhood, officials said during a Friday news conference.

A seventh defendant was in custody in Santa Clara County Jail and three more defendants were in custody in federal prison, officials said.

All 10 men are accused of violently defending their territory in San Francisco, where authorities said they sold hard drugs, committed assaults and robberies, committed drive-by shootings and carried firearms and other dangerous weapons.

The U.S. attorneys office did not identify the victims or elaborate on the circumstances of the crimes in the indictment.

Today, begins the long-awaited path to justice for the victims of these murders and their families and friends they left behind, federal Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Ryan Spradlin said at Fridays news conference.

The defendants are: Jonathan Aguilar, 31, Luis Cid-Salinas, 33, Juan Carlos Gallardo, 29, Josue Gonzalez, 36, Orlando Hernandez, 35, Michael Rebolledo, 30, Mario Reyes, 38, Luis Rojas, 31, Eddy Urbina, 29, and Weston Venegas, 30.

The arrests were the culmination of eight years of investigative work. The San Francisco Police Department had requested help with the cases and resources from Homeland Security Investigations, the criminal enforcement division of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE.

Homeland Security Investigations 6,200 agents deal with cross-border criminal activity, including human trafficking, financial crimes, transnational gang activity and weapons and drug smuggling.

We hope that these arrests will bring a measure of comfort and healing to the families of the victims, many of whom have waited years for justice, San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott said.

Spradlin added that he hopes Fridays announcement will clarify what he called misconceptions about Homeland Security Investigations, following months of public scrutiny stemming from collateral arrests of undocumented people during a 2017 gang crackdown in Santa Cruz.

Santa Cruz police that February assisted Homeland Security agents in the widely publicized raids. It was later revealed federal agents not only arrested suspected MS-13 gang members, but others who were suspected of no other crime but being in the country illegally.

Santa Cruzs then-police chief and its mayor apologized and said federal officials lied to them about the scope of the joint operation, adding they would no longer work with Homeland Security.

Then in August, plainclothes federal immigration agents executed a search warrant during a human-trafficking investigation in Oakland, while local police assisted by blocking traffic in the area.

The incident caused an uproar among several immigrant rights groups wary after the Santa Cruz raids and prompted city leaders to pass legislation restricting the Police Departments ability to cooperate with federal immigration agents.

On Friday, Scott said there were no collateral arrests associated with the latest investigation and said his department was steadfast in upholding San Franciscos sanctuary policies  which prohibit city law enforcement from participating in immigration enforcement.

Spradlin said Homeland Security has found a way to work with San Francisco police to avoid violating city and state immigration policy, while still investigating and enforcing laws concerning certain criminal activity.

We do not initiate or participate in cases because of someones immigration status, he said. When HSI initiates or gets involved in a case, its because of someones suspected criminal activity, and absolutely weve figured out a way to work with each other.
WASHINGTON  Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitts concern with his safety came at a steep cost to taxpayers as his swollen security detail blew through overtime budgets and at times diverted officers away from investigating environmental crimes.

Altogether, the agency spent millions of dollars for a 20-member, full-time detail that is more than three times the size of his predecessors part-time security contingent.

New details in Pruitts expansive spending for security and travel emerged from agency sources and documents reviewed by the Associated Press. They come as the embattled EPA leader fends off allegations of profligate spending and ethical missteps that have imperiled his job.

Shortly after arriving in Washington, Pruitt demoted the career staff member heading his security detail and replaced him with EPA Senior Special Agent Pasquale Nino Perrotta, a former Secret Service agent who operates a private security company.

An EPA official with direct knowledge of Pruitts security spending says Perrotta oversaw a rapid expansion of the EPA chiefs security detail to accommodate guarding him day and night, even on family vacations and when Pruitt was home in Oklahoma. The EPA official spoke on condition of anonymity.

Perrotta also signed off on new procedures that let Pruitt fly first-class on commercial airliners, with the security chief typically sitting next to him with other security staff farther back in the plane.

The EPA official said there are legitimate concerns about Pruitts safety, given public opposition to his rollbacks of anti-pollution measures. But Pruitts ambitious domestic and international travel led to rapidly escalating costs, with the security detail racking up so much overtime that many hit annual salary caps of about $160,000. The demands of providing 24-hour coverage even meant taking some investigators away from field work, such as when Pruitt traveled to California for a family vacation.

The EPA official said total security costs approached $3 million when pay is added to travel expenses.

EPA spokesman Jahan Wilcox said late Friday that Pruitt has faced an unprecedented amount of death threats against him and his family. Americans should all agree that members of the presidents Cabinet should be kept safe from these violent threats, Wilcox said.

A nationwide search of state and federal court records by AP found no case where anyone has been arrested or charged with threatening Pruitt.

The EPA administrator has come under intense scrutiny for ethics issues and outsized spending. Among the concerns: huge raises for two of his closest aides and his rental of a Capitol Hill condo tied to a lobbyist who represents fossil fuel clients.

At least three congressional Republicans and a chorus of Democrats, including House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, have called for Pruitts ouster. But President Trump is so far standing by him.

A review of Pruitts ethical conduct by White House officials is under way, adding to probes by congressional oversight committees and EPAs inspector general.

Pruitt, 49, was closely aligned with the oil and gas industry as Oklahomas state attorney general before being tapped by Trump. The president has praised Pruitts relentless efforts to scrap, delay or rewrite Obama-era environmental regulations. He also has championed budget cuts and staff reductions at the agency so deep that even Republican budget hawks in Congress refused to implement them.
International Management in two languages

G. John Cole :

International management is all about creating global business strategies to foster positive change in international companies and organizations. Study business management with an international dimension and you will emerge fully-equipped to apply business practices on the global stage: sensitive to local cultural and political nuances, to broader economic contexts, and to the minutiae of communicating with international work associates.

European business networks are strengthening, with the EU facilitating more opportunities for graduate mobility. Awareness of different business cultures and knowledge of local languages is becoming more valuable than ever. Bilingual students who choose to study business management in two languages at once will discover a new business culture and the means with which to forge connections to it.

As Harriet Kleiminger, academic head of the NBS Northern Business School in Hamburg Business Management MA, says, 'English is the international language, knowledge of German is a prerequisite or at least a strong advantage for working in Germany, in German subsidiaries abroad or in other companies that operate in the German market.'

In the UK alone, it's estimated that a lack of language skills costs the economy 50bn in lost contracts each year. Employees who can communicate equally comfortably with their local office and international contacts are a significant asset to the businesses that employ them.

The ability to keep up with social and economic developments in a client's region enables a level of direct engagement that just isn't possible when a company relies on translators to bridge that gap. As a bilingual MIM or MBA, you'll develop career opportunities by raising your value within your organization - or making yourself vastly more employable in a market where the language deficit leaves a significant number of vacancies unfilled.

Employees and clients alike will pick up on your impressive empathy levels, problem-solving skills, and perception, too. That's not to mention the improved prospects for your social and professional networks.

NBS's Business Management M.A. is taught half in German, half in English. As each of these is a major business language across the world, if you already speak both then developing your business skills in German and English simultaneously is a distinct advantage for any graduate.

Germany is the world's second-largest exporter, the number one economy in Europe, and directly invests over ten billion dollars in the US each year. There are more native German speakers in Germany than there are English speakers in England, French speakers in France, or indeed native speakers in any other EU state.

As a Master of Management (MIM) rather than an MBA, no work experience is needed to apply. An MIM provides introductory knowledge on entrepreneurship and leadership and is a perfect starting point for students who may want to specialize in one particular business field later.

And it's a more versatile learning model, which is ideal if you see your language, networking, and collaborative skills as a key asset. Harriet Kleiminger identifies the program's most important features as the possibility to study in small groups, experienced and practice-oriented teachers, and internationality - as well as a deepening in business management in contrast to a specialization.

'For students who want to be broad-minded and therefore want to be able to work flexibly, a general education is preferable,' she says. 'We live in a rapidly changing world. This also applies to the specializations. What seems important today will be different tomorrow.

'Building on a good general knowledge base and then specializing on the job is, in our view, a good strategy for the professional world. In addition, it also implies a larger number of job possibilities.'

The program is set to start for the first time in September 2018, so don't wait to register!



(John is a digital nomad and freelance writer for higher education and marketing publications. A native Englishman, he is always on the move but can most commonly be spotted in Norway, the UK and the Balkans).
WASHINGTON  As President Trump moves to fulfill one of the central promises of his campaign  to get tough on an ascendant China  he faces a potential rebellion from a core constituency: farmers and other agricultural producers who could suffer devastating losses in a trade war.

Trumps threat to impose tariffs on Chinese goods came with a presidential declaration that trade wars are good and easily won. But the action has injected damaging uncertainty into the economy as Republicans are already struggling to maintain their hold on Congress in a difficult election year.

While the battle for control of the House will be waged in large part in the suburbs, rural districts in southern Illinois, Iowa, Arkansas and Missouri could prove important. And control of the Senate could come down to Republican efforts to unseat Democrats in North Dakota, Indiana, Missouri and Montana  all states staring down the barrels of a trade wars guns.

With farmers angry and worried as China threatens to retaliate, many Republicans find themselves torn between loyalty to a president who remains broadly popular in rural states and the demands of constituents, especially farmers, to oppose his tariffs.

In North Dakota, a major soybean-producing state, Rep. Kevin Cramer, a Republican who is running for the Senate, sounded restrained last week when he urged Trump to take a more measured approach to China. By Friday, he sounded panicked.

I contacted @SecretarySonny to urge him to use every tool in the Farm Bill, including Commodity Credit Corp programs, to protect ag producers from effects resulting in potential trade actions against China, he wrote on Twitter, referring to Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue. Farmers must know the Admin has their back & I urge them to act swiftly.

Chinas aggressive response to Trumps tariffs is aimed squarely at products generated in the American heartland, a region that helped send him to the White House. A trade war with China could be particularly devastating to rural economies, especially for pig farmers and soybean and corn growers. Nearly two-thirds of U.S. soybean exports go to China.

The tariffs have not yet gone into effect, and the administration is engaging in back-channel talks with the Chinese to try to resolve their differences.

In the meantime, Trump has been escalating his threats, and shows no sign of backing off. On Thursday night, he threatened to impose tariffs on an additional $100 billion in Chinese products.

Trump administration officials argue that the tariffs on Chinese goods, while not intended to help certain American industries, are necessary to prevent China from continuing to violate international trade rules.
SACRAMENTO  Sacramento has agreed to reform its policing practices and pay a black man $550,000 after an officer threw him to the ground over a jaywalking allegation last year and repeatedly punched him in the face, his lawyers said Friday.

The settlement in a U.S. civil rights lawsuit comes as the police department in the capital city has faced intense scrutiny and a series of protests after two officers fatally shot Stephon Clark, a 22-year-old unarmed black man, in his grandmothers backyard last month.

Police Chief Daniel Hahn, who took over the department after Nandi Cains beating was captured on video a year ago, has promised to review the departments use-of-force policies following Clarks death.

The city agreed to update those policies as part of Cains settlement, said his attorney, John Burris.

Mayor Darrell Steinbergs office would not confirm whether Sacramento agreed to changing use-of-force policies for officers or other the details of the settlement until both sides have signed it. Police deferred comment to the city.

Our city is fully committed to transparency and changing training, protocols and procedures to make sure these unacceptable incidents dont occur, the mayor said in a statement Friday.

Cain, whose lawyers say he has signed the deal, alleged that he was targeted because of his race when an officer pulled over and accused him of jaywalking on a residential street. Cain said Officer Anthony Figueroa threw him down when he argued.

Video of the confrontation filmed by a bystander was widely viewed online and generated outrage across the U.S.

That video and footage from a police cruiser dashboard camera show Cain complaining that Figueroa was stopping him for nothing and saying, If you were a real man, you would take your gun away and fight me like a real man.

Cain suffered a broken nose and a concussion, said Burris, who has contested allegations that Cain was jaywalking. The settlement is aimed at preventing similar incidents in the future, the attorney said.

Cains lawsuit also alleged he was abused in jail. He settled that part of the suit with Sacramento County, which runs the jails, for $40,000 last fall, according to the written agreement the county provided. The county did not admit liability.
Barbara Chambers isnt fixated on frills. The principal of Mill Valleys Chambers + Chambers Architects prefers symmetrical spaces with classical finishes, graceful lines and rich textures.

She operates a full-service design studio whose portfolio includes homes in Larkspur, San Francisco, Napa, Lafayette, Mill Valley and beyond.

Chambers served as a Mill Valley planning commissioner from 2010 to 2013 and was featured in the San Francisco Decorator Showcase in 2011 and 2013. Her firm also won Best Professional Bath Space from the Remodelista Considered Design Awards in 2013. Her winning design featured a Japanese soaking tub set atop a bed of river stones, Calacatta marble flooring and deck-mounted Duravit sinks.

A few years back, she helped convert a former church in Eureka Valley into a dramatic 3,400-square-foot residence for This Old House on PBS. The home offers a 24-foot cathedral ceiling, a shallow-firebox Rumford fireplace and a kitchen finished with a birch library ladder that glides on chrome rails.

Originally from Colorado, Chambers earned a bachelors degree (with honors) in fine arts and interior design from the University of Colorado. Chambers later received her masters degree in architecture from the same institution and opened her firm in 1996. For the last 12 years, shes operated out of a building on Miller Avenue in Mill Valley that she owns and designed.

In this lightly edited interview with SFiSHomes, Chambers talks about her influences, her process and cites that inspire her.

Q: How do you draw inspiration for a project?

A: I look at it as were creating a lifestyle. Its not about creating an architectural box. Were focused on the finishes, the colors  the stuff that makes architecture so wonderful.

Q: How has technology changed since you began work as a designer? How has it helped/hindered?

A: Were doing a house in Lafayette and Ive been to the site maybe a total of three times. Everything else is over the Internet and photographs. Its amazing how much you can do with Skype and GoToMeeting. There was a time you couldnt get more than two people on the phone, now you can get several at a time while looking at them. The way technology has advanced over the last 10 years has really transformed our business.

At first I thought sites like Houzz and Pinterest would make it better for people, but instead its like going to a huge shopping mall when all you need is a dish towel. The amount of choices and materials available overwhelm people.

People remodeling a home still have their everyday lives to live. They have work, families and obligations. The process will overwhelm without some help. So we work with clients to get a sense of direction, allowing us to incorporate their preferences into the design.

Over the years, weve vetted thousands of vendors. Our interior designer will cull down the list and give clients three selections to choose from. Picking from three things is a lot easier than picking from 3,000. Its about simplifying the process for the client and making it calm and easy for them.

Q: How do you unwind outside work?

A: I travel and do a lot of retreats for yoga. I work a ton, so its nice to get a break. New York City is my favorite city to travel to, and I go there two or three times a year. Those trips are a chance to unwind and be an observer. One of my favorite parts of traveling is going to nice hotels like the Crosby Street Hotel or Lowell Hotel. Those places inspire me with new ideas.

Q: Where are some of your other favorite places to visit?

A: I just went to Charleston, S.C., and I found it to be one of the most magical places. The architecture there is very aligned with what we do. Its contemporary mixed with modern classical. Theres water there, and in some ways, its a lot like San Francisco. But it was a pleasure to go there because I love classical architecture. What we do is classical with slightly different interpretation, but the roots are in classical. Charleston was really inspiring. I had never been there and I just walked all day. It was block after block of amazing architecture.

Details

Barbara Chambers, Principal, Chambers + Chambers Architects

Established in 1996, Chambers + Chambers Architects has designed a wealth of custom homes in Mill Valley, Napa, Larkspur, Lafayette, Sausalito, San Francisco and beyond. Chambers earned a master of architecture degree at the University of Colorado, and she also holds a bachelors degree in interior design and painting.

Where: 420 Miller Ave., Mill Valley.

Phone: (415) 381-8326

Website: www.chambersandchambers.com.
Who owns your work?

Alyssa Walker :

You work. You work a lot. You produce papers, theses, prototypes, and lab results. You write about all of it. It's yours, right?

Wait-you're doing all of this work at your university? The answer gets murky, especially if you do something that launches your university into the academic spotlight. Confused? You thought you owned all of your work? Rest easy. You might. You might not. You need to understand how intellectual property works, your rights, your responsibilities, and how to navigate the gray areas.

Here's what you need to know about intellectual property-and your rights.

Intellectual Property (IP): The Basics

According to the World Intellectual Property Organization, IP refers to "creations of the mind, such as inventions; literary and artistic works; designs' and symbols, names and images used in commerce."

The law protects IP with patents, copyright, trademarks, industrial designs, and geographical indications so that people can earn recognition or financial compensation from what they invent or create. The purpose of the protection? To stimulate the human capacity for creativity for the greater good, and not exploiting the creator. IP rights can have a direct impact on academia, industry, and trade-and can prevent the production of certain products. IP protections favors publication and public sharing but protects the rights of the human creator.

Two Channels: Copyrights and Patents

There are two major ways to protect your IP at the university level: copyrights and patents. Here's what you need to know:

Copyrights

Copyrights give the individual the "sole and exclusive" privilege to copy, distribute, and use their work.

What can you get a copyright for? Books, poems, painting, computer programs, publications, artwork, processes. The creator can register the copyright, but you don't need to register it to have valid, copyrighted work. A copyright holder can allow others to use their work through exclusive licensing.

Patents

In the US, a patent is a government-issued grant to a patent holder, which gives the patent holder certain rights.

Patents describe an invention and the legal scope of its defined work.

Creators can apply for patents for processes, machines, new products, and product improvements.

What can't be patented? Theories, ideas, laws of nature, and scientific principles.

How do you know if you own your work?

It's hard to tell, depending on your university and country. A lot depends on your institution's rules for the type of creator you are-student, visiting researcher, etc; the type of work; the use of institutional funds, and whether the work is created by one individual or a group.

How do you tell? You need to study the policies of the university or institution, individual contractual agreements, and applicable IP law.

Confused? You should be.

Bottom line? Do your homework. Most universities own the ideas and technologies invented by the people who work for them. They also own inventions created by students-even undergraduates.

If you're not sure and you want clarification on who owns your great idea, make a few phone calls or schedule a few appointments. First one? The US patent office. Second one? Your university president's office.

Get their policies in writing and make sure you understand what they mean so that you face no surprises regarding royalties or "fees."

(Alyssa Walker is a freelance writer, educator, and nonprofit consultant. She lives in the White Mountains of New Hampshire with her family).
Dhaka-Ctg Highway a bright example of govt`s inefficiency

THE expansion of Dhaka-Chattagram Highway--from two lanes to four lanes to decrease the travel time from Dhaka to Chattagram to 4.5 or 5 hours -- was initiated in 2010; a year after the Awami League took office. However, it turned out to be the most talked-about project after the Padma Multipurpose Bridge because of the government's inability to supervise the work progress. Construction works never got momentum for various reasons. As a result, the three-year project took six years and the cost jumped more than doubled. And now ruts have developed on the Highway - within months of completion. It's a total misuse of public money and very unfortunate for the nation.

It is not a new phenomenon that our roads, highways and bridges are most of the time poorly constructed. And the Dhaka- Chattagram Highway which is known as lifeline of economy riddled with ruts - barely months from its construction - is another classic example of continuing inefficiency and poor planning by our Roads and Highways Department (RHD) and hired contractors.

According to Ministry officials, the Road Transport and Bridges Ministry is now seeking Tk 900 crore for maintenance in the next five years. To our utter surprise, though the Ministry is seeking for more funds for the mending job, it did not engage any experts to determine the causes of the ruts.

Another question arises regarding the quality of construction. A number of technical experts have blamed non-stop plying of overloaded vehicles for the rut whereas as another group of experts blamed the high thickness of the "wearing course" (the upper layer of a bituminous broad) and excessive bitumen for the ruts. Whatever the reason be, during the expansion work, the RHD and local and foreign contractors could have checked if the standard of the wearing course was appropriate. We all know overloaded vehicles have been plying in the Highways for decades. And as for more funds for maintenance, the expansion work should have been thoroughly investigated before allocating fresh funds for the repair job.

The present condition of the Dhaka-Chattagram Highway is a bright example of corruption, inefficiency and lack of good governance. We know, it's a crucial highway for the country as it is responsible for carrying 90 percent of the export and import goods from Chattagram Port. We want to see a prompt and viable solution to end the predicament surrounding this highway.






Susan Anspach, the radiant and rebellious actress who personified the 1960s-into-the-70s counterculture in films like Five Easy Pieces and Blume in Love, as well as in the stage musical Hair, died Monday at her home in Los Angeles. She was 75.

Her son, Caleb Goddard, who announced the death Thursday, said the cause was coronary failure.

Anspach (pronounced ONS-bok) had the distinction of playing Sheila, the good-girl-turned-hippie female lead, in the off-Broadway production of the musical Hair that immediately preceded the Broadway run.

The show, which shocked some audiences with its anti-war message, celebration of nonmarital sex and all-nude final scene, ran 45 performances at the Cheetah Theater, a club on West 53rd Street. That was in December 1967. When Hair opened on Broadway at the Biltmore Theater in April 1968, Lynn Kellogg was Sheila.

Anspachs film career, which began soon afterward, hit the ground running. Her first role was in Hal Ashbys The Landlord (1970), about a young white man (Beau Bridges) who buys a building in a black neighborhood in Brooklyn.

Her second movie, the same year, was the now-classic Five Easy Pieces, directed by Bob Rafelson, in which she played the sophisticated New Age intellectual who sleeps with Jack Nicholsons character despite being engaged to his brother.

In Play It Again, Sam (1972), there she was in flashbacks as Woody Allens blatantly critical ex-wife. (I dont feel any rapport with you, and I dont dig you physically, she says, cautioning him a minute later, Dont take it personal.)

In Blume in Love (1973), she left her stuffy divorce-lawyer husband (George Segal), let her hair go wild and moved in with a shaggy out-of-work musician (Kris Kristofferson) who wrote songs about being free.

Vincent Canby of the New York Times was a fan of Anspachs. Writing about Montenegro, a low-profile 1981 comedy set in Sweden, in which she played a bored American wife raucously trying to find her true self, he described her as one of Americas most daring and talented actresses and who has yet to land a film role that shows her off to full advantage. Some would argue that she never did.

I was getting reviews that compared me to Katharine Hepburn and Bette Davis, Anspach told People magazine in 1978. But there were no Hepburn or Davis parts.

Susan Florence Anspach was born in Queens, N.Y., on Nov. 23, 1942, and raised at first by a great-aunt. She was 6 when the aunt died, and she went back to live with her parents, Renald Anspach, a World War II Army veteran and later a factory worker, and the former Gertrude Kehoe, a secretary and the daughter of a Wall Street banker who had disowned her when, in his view, she married down. The couple, Anspachs son said, met in Queens at the 1939 Worlds Fair.

Because of neglect and physical abuse, Susan left home at 15 and, with a Roman Catholic organizations help, moved in with a family in Harlem. She received a full scholarship to the Catholic University of America in Washington, where she studied music and drama, and made her professional debut in Thornton Wilders one-act play Pullman Car Hiawatha at a summer theater in Maryland.

In New York, Anspach had the good luck to fall in with a company of young actors that included Dustin Hoffman, Robert Duvall and Jon Voight, who were then unknown. She made her New York stage debut in a 1965 off-Broadway revival of Arthur Millers A View From the Bridge with Duvall and Voight; she appeared with Hoffman the next year in Turgenevs The Journey of the Fifth Horse.

Her two Broadway appearances, in And Things That Go Bump in the Night (1965) and Lovers (1968), were brief.

Around the same time, she was making her first television appearances; The Patty Duke Show and The Defenders were among her early credits.

Anspach continued to work in both movies and television until her late 60s. One of her last films was Wild About Harry (2009), a family drama (originally titled American Primitive) set in 1973. This time she was part of the older generation, sitting at the head of the dining table in her blond bouffant, surrounded by young people with straight, shoulder-length hair or daring sideburns.

In addition to her son, whose father is Jack Nicholson, she is survived by a daughter, Catherine Goddard, whose father was Steve Curry, an original cast member of Hair; three grandchildren; and a brother, Robert Anspach.

Although Anspach often said that she disdained marriage, she did marry and divorce twice. Her first husband, from 1970 to 1978, was the actor Mark Goddard, who adopted her children. Her second was the musician Sherwood Ball, from 1982 to 1988.

She didnt even think it was a good idea to live with a man, she remarked in her People interview, because if the kids get attached to him and you break up, it just isnt fair. But she still had something of an ever-changing, big, happy family. My closest friends in the world are my ex-lovers, she said.
Palestinian, journalist died as Israel border clash toll rises to nine

Palestinian demonstrators gather at the Israel-Gaza border during clashes with Israeli troops at a protest demanding the right to return to their homeland, east of Gaza City. Internet photo

AFP :

Two Palestinians, including a journalist, have died after being shot by Israeli troops during border clashes, the health ministry in Gaza said Saturday, bringing the total killed in the latest violence to nine.

Thousands of protesters approached the border fence around the Gaza Strip for a second Friday in a row, burning tyres and hurling stones at Israeli forces, who responded with tear gas and live ammunition.

In addition to the nine dead, at least 491 were wounded by Israeli gunfire, the health ministry in the Hamas-run Gaza strip said. Israel estimated the number of protesters at around 20,000, saying they were seeking to breach the border. Numbers were down from the previous Friday, when tens of thousands approached the border in demonstrations that saw Israeli forces kill 19 Palestinians, making it the bloodiest day in Gaza since a 2014 war.

No Israelis were injured on either day and the latest deaths have sparked fresh calls for an investigation.

Among those killed at Friday's protest was Yasser Murtaja, a photographer with the Gaza-based Ain Media agency, who died from his wounds after being shot, the local health ministry said Saturday.

Murtaja's company confirmed his death, with witnesses saying he was close to the front of the protests in

Southern Gaza when he was hit. An AFP photograph taken after he was wounded showed Murtaja wearing a press vest as he received treatment. The Israeli army declined to comment, saying it was reviewing the incident.

The Palestinian Journalists' Syndicate said five other journalists were also shot during the protests, insisting they were wearing clothes clearly identifying them as members of the press. In a statement, the syndicate said it held Israel "fully accountable for this crime." The Gaza health ministry also announced Saturday the death of another man, 20-year-old Hamza Abdel Aal, saying he was shot east of Al-Bureij in central Gaza.

The nine men were expected to be buried Saturday. Weeks of border protests have been called to demand the return of Palestinians to land they were forced from or fled after the founding of Israel 70 years ago.

They come with tensions high as the US gears up to shift its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem after recognising the disputed city as the capital of the Jewish state. Protesters on Friday said Gaza's economic woes were also fuelling frustration.

The territory has been under an Israeli blockade for a decade, while Egypt has mostly sealed its borders in recent years as well, leaving the cramped area of two million people largely sealed off.

Ahmad al-Naqaa, 40, said he was bringing his seven children to the protest because "we are living like sardines." "I am ready to die for our land and our dignity," he told AFP. At the United Nations, Kuwait on Friday called on the Security Council to investigate the deaths.

A Kuwaiti text is expected to be vetoed by the United States after a similar draft declaration was blocked last week. Israel has rebuffed international calls for a probe into last Friday's killings. UN chief Antonio Guterres urged it to "exercise extreme caution with the use of force" ahead of the latest clashes. The Israeli army said its troops opened fire on Friday "in accordance with the rules of engagement".

The military said "attempts were made to infiltrate into Israel under the cover of a smokescreen" and that firebombs and explosive devices were thrown at the soldiers. Israel accuses Hamas, the Islamist movement that runs the Gaza Strip and with whom it has fought three wars since 2008, of using the protests as cover to carry out violence. It claimed more than half the dead from the previous Friday were members of militant groups, including Hamas's armed wing.

Hamas claimed only five of the dead, saying they were participating "in popular events side-by-side with their people." Those killed would receive $3,000 to support their families, Hamas announced ahead of Friday's protests. Late Friday Israeli army spokesman Brigadier General Ronen Manelis classified the operation along the border as a success.

"None of our troops were wounded, the fence was not crossed," he said, noting that what happened last week had "deterred Hamas, which prevented the masses from approaching the fence".

But on the other side, Hamas's leader in Gaza Yahya Sinwar also claimed victory and pledged Palestinians would eventually "break the border and return to our land and pray in Jerusalem". Israel has also banned the entry of tyres into the Gaza Strip, the head of a Palestinian committee for coordinating imports to Gaza said.

The borders were quiet Saturday morning.
OAKLAND (BCN)

An ex-convict with nine prior convictions was convicted of first-degree murder today for the fatal shooting of a 22-year-old man in East Oakland last August.

Jurors deliberated for only one day before announcing their verdict against Troy Seales, 30, of Oakland, for the shooting of Deandre Adams of Oakland in the 8900 block of Olive Street shortly before 10:30 a.m. on Aug. 25.

Seales faces life in state prison when he's sentenced by Alameda County Superior Court Judge Kevin Murphy on May 4 because he also was convicted of shooting at an occupied vehicle and an enhancement clause that he caused Adams' death by personally and intentionally discharging a firearm.

In a courtroom that was packed with Seales' family members and friends on one side and Adams' family members and friends on the other side, prosecutor Butch Ford said in his closing argument on Wednesday that video camera surveillance footage, phone call records, physical evidence and witness statements prove that Seales killed Adams.

Ford also said the fact that Seales "made threats about witnesses disappearing" is a strong indication that Seales knew he was guilty and was trying to cover up that fact.

Ford said Seales' girlfriend told Oakland police that he had stayed with her at her Hayward apartment the night before the shooting and that on the morning of Aug. 25 he grabbed a duffle bag with an assault rifle and a pistol inside and said, "I've got to take care of something" as he rushed out the door.

The prosecutor said the girlfriend told police that when Seales returned a few hours later he told her he thinks he killed a man because the man he shot crashed his car.

Ford said that after Adams was shot he continued driving for a short stretch and then crashed his car.

Oakland police said Adams and a female victim who also was shot were taken to a hospital for treatment but Adams was pronounced dead about seven hours after the shooting. The female victim survived her injuries.

A second man, Dupree Riley, 18, of Tracy, is also charged with murder for Adams' death but Riley's mental health status is under review and he's scheduled to have a mental health hearing on April 12.

Ford said a witness told police that Riley had an ongoing feud with Adams and Seales was armed with an assault weapon and told Riley that they should take care of the matter "once and for all."

Seales' attorney, Todd Bequette, admitted in his closing argument that Seales was in the vicinity of the shooting that day but insisted that Seales wasn't the shooter.

Bequette said the reason Seales rushed to Oakland wasn't to shoot Adams but was because another woman who is the mother of his child called him and accused him of cheating on her.

Bequette said Seales picked up that woman and another woman from a store near the 8900 block of Olive Street where Riley had fired shots at Adams a short time earlier but said that after Seales dropped off the women at a home on 89th Avenue he went back to Hayward.

The defense attorney said the reason that Seales' girlfriend who lives in Hayward told police that Seales had admitted to shooting Adams is that she got mad at Seales after she saw him at a casino with the other woman who is the mother of his child a few days after the fatal shooting.

Bequette said the girlfriend took bits and pieces of secondhand information and twisted it and lied to police "to get back at Troy Seales and to get reward money" from police.

Seales has two convictions for evading an officer, three convictions for possession for sale of a controlled substance, and one conviction each for evading police, first-degree residential robbery, receiving stolen property and being an ex-felon in possession of a firearm.

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272-6290

Defense attorney Todd Bequette (510) 742-9292
SAN FRANCISCO (BCN)

Ten alleged members of a street gang connected to at least seven slayings in the Bay Area have been indicted in federal court, federal prosecutors announced today.

The suspects all belong to the "19th Steet/16th Street Surenos" gang, a racketeering enterprise accused of participating in the pursuit, shooting and killing of rival gang members, as well as drugs sales, firearms violations and assaults and robberies, according to prosecutors.

Six of the suspects were arrested Thursday morning with the help of San Francisco police in the city's Mission District, Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent Ryan Spradlin said this morning.

About 200 law enforcement officers, some from the Richmond and Pacifica police departments, assisted in the arrests.

The seventh suspect was taken into custody at the Santa Clara County jail and the three remaining suspects are currently in the custody of the U.S. Bureau of Prisons, according prosecutors.

The men have been identified as Jonathan Aguilar, 31; Luis Cid-Salinas, 33; Juan Carlos Gallardo, 29; Josue Gonzalez, 36; Orlando Hernandez, 35; Michael Rebolledo, 30; Mario Reyes, 38; Luis Rojas, 31; Eddy Urbina, 29; and Weston Venegas, 30.

According to federal prosecutors, they are all connected to a total of seven killings, one in Richmond and six in San Francisco, all of which occurred between 2006 and 2013.

San Francisco Police Chief William Scott described the suspects as "extremely violent" and said he hopes the arrests would disrupt the cycle of violence they were involved in.

"This is about justice for the victims and their families," Scott said. "We don't give up on these cases and sometimes they're very difficult for a variety of reasons."

According to Spradlin, San Francisco police first contacted HSI eight years ago and asked for assistance with cold case killings dating back to 2006, culminating in today's announcement.

Although HSI is a component of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Spradlin said Thursday's operation was focused on a criminal investigation related to public safety and national security and no collateral arrests of undocumented people were made.

The Sureno gang has roots in Southern California, Mexico and Central America and is affiliated with the Mexican Mafia prison gang, prosecutors said.

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A woman's body was found Friday afternoon in an area where a vehicle went down an embankment in the Oakland hills, police said.

Missing persons investigators with the Oakland Police Department went to the Grizzly Peak area at 8:30 a.m. to search for a missing person.

Police said the search led to the discovery of a vehicle that went over an embankment in the 4900 block of Grizzly Peak Boulevard near Marlborough Terrace.

No one was inside the vehicle when it was found and no one was found near the vehicle.

Police said an Alameda County Sheriff's Office search and rescue team conducted a more extensive search with rescue dogs and a woman's body was found.

The name of the woman has not been released. The county coroner will release the name once the woman has been identified and her family has been told.

One person was injured jumping out of a window to survive a two-alarm structure fire in San Jose Thursday night, according to fire officials.

The house fire at a two-story residence in the 3200 block of Maple Leaf Court began downstairs, Captain Daniel Vega said.

Responders arrived on scene at 11:40 p.m. and determined that a working smoke detector had alerted the family about what firefighters believe might have been a kitchen fire.

The father of the family who lives in the home was able to go back into the house and rescue his parents, but he jumped from the second story when he believed he would not otherwise be able to make it out, according to the fire captain.

The man was transported to a hospital and had an ankle injury, Vega said.

The cause of the fire is still unknown and the investigation of the incident is ongoing.

Ten alleged members of a street gang connected to at least seven slayings in the Bay Area have been indicted in federal court, federal prosecutors announced Friday.

The suspects all belong to the "19th Steet/16th Street Surenos" gang, a racketeering enterprise accused of participating in the pursuit, shooting and killing of rival gang members, as well as drugs sales, firearms violations and assaults and robberies, according to prosecutors.

Six of the suspects were arrested Thursday morning with the help of San Francisco police in the city's Mission District, Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent Ryan Spradlin said.

About 200 law enforcement officers, some from the Richmond and Pacifica police departments, assisted in the arrests.

The seventh suspect was taken into custody at the Santa Clara County jail and the three remaining suspects are currently in the custody of the U.S. Bureau of Prisons, according prosecutors.

The men have been identified as Jonathan Aguilar, 31; Luis Cid-Salinas, 33; Juan Carlos Gallardo, 29; Josue Gonzalez, 36; Orlando Hernandez, 35; Michael Rebolledo, 30; Mario Reyes, 38; Luis Rojas, 31; Eddy Urbina, 29; and Weston Venegas, 30.

According to federal prosecutors, they are all connected to a total of seven killings, one in Richmond and six in San Francisco, all of which occurred between 2006 and 2013.

San Francisco Police Chief William Scott described the suspects as "extremely violent" and said he hopes the arrests would disrupt the cycle of violence they were involved in.

"This is about justice for the victims and their families," Scott said. "We don't give up on these cases and sometimes they're very difficult for a variety of reasons."

According to Spradlin, San Francisco police first contacted HSI eight years ago and asked for assistance with cold case killings dating back to 2006, culminating in Friday's announcement.

Although HSI is a component of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Spradlin said Thursday's operation was focused on a criminal investigation related to public safety and national security and no collateral arrests of undocumented people were made.

The Sureno gang has roots in Southern California, Mexico and Central America and is affiliated with the Mexican Mafia prison gang, prosecutors said.

An ex-convict with nine prior convictions was convicted of first-degree murder Friday for the fatal shooting of a 22-year-old man in East Oakland last August.

Jurors deliberated for only one day before announcing their verdict against Troy Seales, 30, of Oakland, for the shooting of Deandre Adams of Oakland in the 8900 block of Olive Street shortly before 10:30 a.m. on Aug. 25.

Seales faces life in state prison when he's sentenced by Alameda County Superior Court Judge Kevin Murphy on May 4 because he also was convicted of shooting at an occupied vehicle and an enhancement clause that he caused Adams' death by personally and intentionally discharging a firearm.

In a courtroom that was packed with Seales' family members and friends on one side and Adams' family members and friends on the other side, prosecutor Butch Ford said in his closing argument on Wednesday that video camera surveillance footage, phone call records, physical evidence and witness statements prove that Seales killed Adams.

Ford also said the fact that Seales "made threats about witnesses disappearing" is a strong indication that Seales knew he was guilty and was trying to cover up that fact.

Ford said Seales' girlfriend told Oakland police that he had stayed with her at her Hayward apartment the night before the shooting and that on the morning of Aug. 25 he grabbed a duffle bag with an assault rifle and a pistol inside and said, "I've got to take care of something" as he rushed out the door.

The prosecutor said the girlfriend told police that when Seales returned a few hours later he told her he thinks he killed a man because the man he shot crashed his car.

Ford said that after Adams was shot he continued driving for a short stretch and then crashed his car.

Oakland police said Adams and a female victim who also was shot were taken to a hospital for treatment but Adams was pronounced dead about seven hours after the shooting. The female victim survived her injuries.

A second man, Dupree Riley, 18, of Tracy, is also charged with murder for Adams' death but Riley's mental health status is under review and he's scheduled to have a mental health hearing on April 12.

Ford said a witness told police that Riley had an ongoing feud with Adams and Seales was armed with an assault weapon and told Riley that they should take care of the matter "once and for all."

Seales' attorney, Todd Bequette, admitted in his closing argument that Seales was in the vicinity of the shooting that day but insisted that Seales wasn't the shooter.

Bequette said the reason Seales rushed to Oakland wasn't to shoot Adams but was because another woman who is the mother of his child called him and accused him of cheating on her.

Bequette said Seales picked up that woman and another woman from a store near the 8900 block of Olive Street where Riley had fired shots at Adams a short time earlier but said that after Seales dropped off the women at a home on 89th Avenue he went back to Hayward.

The defense attorney said the reason that Seales' girlfriend who lives in Hayward told police that Seales had admitted to shooting Adams is that she got mad at Seales after she saw him at a casino with the other woman who is the mother of his child a few days after the fatal shooting.

Bequette said the girlfriend took bits and pieces of secondhand information and twisted it and lied to police "to get back at Troy Seales and to get reward money" from police.

Seales has two convictions for evading an officer, three convictions for possession for sale of a controlled substance, and one conviction each for evading police, first-degree residential robbery, receiving stolen property and being an ex-felon in possession of a firearm.

A suspect who was killed in a shootout with Fremont police on Thursday night had a warrant out for his arrest and had fled from an officer earlier this week, a police spokeswoman said Friday.

A preliminary investigation indicates that seven officers, including three undercover officers, fired at the suspect after he allegedly pointed a gun at them, Fremont police spokeswoman Geneva Bosques said.

The suspect, whose name hasn't yet been disclosed, fired at officers twice but it hasn't yet been determined if he fired first or the officers fired first, according to Bosques.

Undercover officers spotted the man as the passenger in a vehicle on Fremont Boulevard near Central Avenue at about 6:47 p.m. on Thursday and several marked patrol cars were called in to pull the car over on Fremont Boulevard just before Nicolet Avenue, according to Bosques.

The car stopped at the intersection and the suspect got out of the passenger side and started running so officers chased him, Bosques said.

Police said the man pointed a gun at one of the uniformed officers, so officers fired at him, Bosques said.

Officers followed him behind a nearby ARCO gas station and he pulled out a gun at that point so the officers fired at him, according to Bosques.

The suspect ran away again and fired again so officers continued to shoot at him and he was struck and fell to the ground, Bosques said.

The man was pronounced dead at the scene but no officers or civilians were injured.

Police said they recovered a revolver from the suspect's side with expended casings.

Bosques said undercover officers were assigned to find the suspect after he fled from police earlier this week.

She said in that incident a uniformed officer who's a school security officer knew the man had a probation warrant so he tried to stop a car with the man in it but the car sped off.

That officer didn't pursue the car but he alerted other officers about the suspect, Bosques said.

The warrant was issued for the man because he had removed an ankle monitor he was required to wear for a previous conviction, according to Bosques.

The man also didn't appear in court on Thursday for a felony weapons possession charge for an incident in a neighboring city, Bosques said.

Police have a lot of video footage of the shooting Thursday night from officers' body-worn cameras, video cameras mounted on patrol cars and surveillance cameras from the gas station, according to Bosques.

Sonoma County officials have extended until April 19 the final date for homeless people to vacate two encampments in the Roseland area of Santa Rosa.

The tent camps behind a Dollar Tree store that at one time housed as many as 100 people were to be vacated on Tuesday, but attorneys for the Homeless Action! advocacy organization challenged the county's proposed action in federal court.

At a hearing in San Francisco Thursday, District Court Judge Vince Chhabria proposed the Sonoma County Community Development Commission keep the camps open three more weeks. The judge said closing the encampments without replacement housing options raises constitutional questions.

The Community Development Commission owns the land occupied by the camps and wants it cleared so it can begin developing a 175-apartment unit housing project that includes affordable units.

In a response Friday to Judge Chhabria's proposal, Chief Deputy County Counsel Alegria De La Cruz said the challenge that delayed the camps' closure not only caused confusion among the homeless occupants but added to the number its occupants.

"Given the confusion inside the encampments and the need to ensure people understand what is forthcoming, the Commission offers a final date to vacate the encampment as of April 19 without the need for further orders from the Court," De La Cruz said in her written response to the court.

The Community Development Commission opened a Roseland Village Housing Navigation Center near the camps on Feb. 23 for campers who were living there as of Feb. 21. The Center's outreach workers informed the campers of safe temporary and permanent housing placement options in eight locations that provide housing and health and human services. The Navigation Center is now closed.

De La Cruz said the Community Development Commission will continue to provide those outreach services.

The extension of the date to vacate the encampments will allow time for the remaining occupants to tour shelters and devise housing plans, remove fencing, clear debris and help sort and identify personal belongings for storage, De La Cruz said.

Attorneys for Homeless Action! did not return an email requesting comment Friday afternoon.

###
BERKELEY (BCN)

Police in Berkeley on Friday arrested a suspect believed to be involved in a strong-armed robbery that occurred near the University of California at Berkeley campus.

Police have not released the identity of the suspect.

On Friday at 9:30 a.m., officers responded to People's Park in Berkeley and learned a university employee was robbed, according to the University of California Police Department.

Police said the victim was working when the suspect approached and pulled the victim's cellphone from his hands and kicked and punched the victim.

Officers arrived at the scene and were able to arrest the suspect.

The victim suffered minor injuries in the incident.

###
BD nat'l shot dead in Jeddah

risingbd.com :

A Bangladeshi vegetables vendor has been shot and killed by a Saudi citizen at Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.

The deceased was identified as Azizul Talukder, 40, hailed from Raipura upazila in Narsinghdi. His two sons and a daughter live with their mother in Bangladesh.

Masud Talukder, younger brother of the victim said, "We two brothers ran a vegetables shop at Tabida Sara in Abha, Khamis Mushayt. On Friday, a Saudi citizen came to our shop around 10:00am and asked for some vegetables and fruits, and tried to leave the shop without paying." At one stage, my brother stopped him for the money but the man became furious. Later, the Saudi national went to his home and returned back with a pistol and shot five times. Police detained the Saudi citizen. However, the name of the Saudi citizen was not disclosed.

Confirming the matter, Labour Counsellor Aminul Haque at the Bangladesh Consulate General in Jeddah said that the body was kept at Sarat Abidah General Hospital in Abha.
Father confesses handing over daughter to killers

Md Joynal Abedin Khan with Salam Chowdhury :

The 16-yerd old slain Beauty Akhter was handed over to the killers by her father for allegedly taking revenge on some persons (enemies) at Brahmondora village in Shayestaganj upazila of Habiganj district.

Beauty went on missing on March 16 and police found her body the next day, Bidhan Tripura, Superintendent of Police, Habiganj, told journalist on Saturday.

Beauty's father Sayed Ali confess this yesterday before the court while he was giving the confessional statement under section 164 of CrPC.

District Senior Judicial Magistrate Towhidul Islam recorded Sayed Ali's five-hour statement, reports our local correspondent quoting police and court sources.

Sayed Ali admitted that he took return Beauty from her maternal uncle's house on March 16 and handed her over to the miscreants for killing to take revenge on some persons, the sources said.

But the sources did not unveil the record for the sake of proper investigation. The court also took the statement of witness Asma Akhter, wife of Moyna Mia, the key suspect of the killing mission, according to them

Earlier, Babul Miah, the prime accused of Beauty murder case gave statement before a court in Habiganj confessing to his guilt on Friday night.

Meanwhile, Moyna Miah, who was detained on Thursday, also gave confessional statement over his involvement in the murder.

Habiganj Senior Judicial Magistrate Towhidul Islam recorded their statements under the section 164, said Shayestaganj Police Station Officer-in-Charge (investigation) Manikul Islam, reports media.

Besides, Moyna, in his three-hour statement, confessed that he was directly involved in the murder and disclosed names of some others involved with the murder, said the OC.

In his statement, Moyna said how the murder took place and who were involved in it. Police detained Moyna on Wednesday acting on Babul's statement during his five-day remand. The court also recorded the statement of Beauty's grandmother Fatema Begum.

Babul's mother Kolom Chan Bibi, a female member of Brahmandura union parishad and an accused in the case, was sent to jail at night after expiry of her remand.

Babul Miah was arrested from Beanibazar upazila of Sylhet on March 31.

According to the case statement, Beauty, daughter of Sayed Ali, was raped by Babul of the village on January 21.

As Babul started to threat Beauty's family members to force them to withdraw the case she was sent to her maternal uncle's house at Gunipur village in Lakhai upazila of Habiganj.

Later, she went missing from the house on March 16 and police recovered her body from haor area in Sayestaghanj upazila the next day.

The incident created a widespread outcry among people when a photograph of the victim's body lying on a field went viral on Facebook.

On March 18, her father Sayed Ali filed a case against two people including Babul, and several unknown persons with Shayestaganj Police Station.

Earlier, police interrogated Babul's father-in-law Abdul Kadir, his aunt Johur Chand Bibi and cousin Jhuma Aktar in connection with the murder incident.




Khaleda sent back to jail after check up at BSMMU

Police disperse BNP gathering: 7 held

BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia waving to supporters while returning to prison at Nazimuddin Road after undergoing medical tests at BSMMU on Saturday.

Staff Reporter :

BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia was taken to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) for medical tests on Saturday.

After taking her some X-ray of her knee and some other tests she was taken back to Old Central Jail at Nazimuddin Road in the city where she has been staying since February 8 after a special court sentenced her five years of imprisonment in a graft case.

The BSMMU Director, Brigadier General Abdullah Al Harun, at a press briefing said that Khaleda Zia's health condition is apparently well.

"Khaleda Zia was brought to the Radiology Department of the BSMMU to conduct some X-ray tests. Apparently, she seemed to be fit. But the medical board can say what her health condition is. The reports will be prepared by Sunday and will reach to the jail authorities," he said.

Abdullah Al Harun said that a four-member medical board was present while the tests were conducted in presence of Khaleda Zia's personal doctors upon her wish.

Khaleda Zia did not make any public appearances since her jailing in a graft case on February 8.

The BNP Chairperson was brought out from the jail around 11:15am. An ambulance carrying the former prime minister, reached the BSMMU around 11:30am. Her tests were completed by around 1:30pm. After she reached the hospital, she was taken to cabin No. 512 of the Cabin Block on the 4th floor for check-up.

A wheelchair was taken for her but she went to the Radiology Department from the cabin block on foot and went back to the ambulance from there, the director said.

Wearing a cream colour sharee, she waved hands with smiling face to the waiting journalists and the BSMMU officials after stepping down from the ambulance on the BSMMU premises.

The BNP chief was taken back to the jail at around 2:00pm.

Huge police and prison guards were deployed in and around BSMMU when Khaleda Zia reached there.

Khaleda Zia's two lawyers Barrister Mahbub Uddin Khokon and Advocate Sanaullah Miah went to the cabin to meet her.

Meanwhile, police dispersed and detained several BNP activists as they tried to make a gathering and stage demonstrations in front of the BSMMU.

Khaleda Zia fell sick in the jail on March 29 and postponed a scheduled meeting with the party Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir.

The government on April 1, formed a medical team with four professors of Dhaka Medical College and Hospital to examine her health condition and ensure her treatment in the jail.

Earlier on Friday, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir claimed that Khaleda Zia was having difficulties in walking and she had some neurological problems that needed immediate treatment. He said this after meeting with Khaleda Zia in jail on the day.


Former Sen. Daniel Akaka, a Democrat who represented Hawaii for 36 years in Congress and successfully fought for the belated recognition of Asians and Asian Americans who had fought for the United States in World War II, died Friday in Honolulu. He was 93.

Jon Yoshimura, the senators former communications director, confirmed the death, saying Akaka had been hospitalized for several months, the Associated Press reported.

A World War II veteran, Akaka sponsored legislation in 1996 that led to a re-evaluation of the service records of Asian -Americans who had fought in the 442nd Regimental Combat Team and the 100th Division during the war.

As a result, almost two-dozen Medals of Honor, the militarys highest award, were ultimately bestowed belatedly, some posthumously, on Asian American veterans, most of them of Japanese heritage. Only one had been awarded during the war itself.

After a White House awards -presentation ceremony led by President Bill Clinton in 2000, Akaka said the medals had dispelled apparent wartime discrimination against Asian American military personnel.

The most prominent recipient was Sen. Daniel Inouye, Akakas much better-known colleague  and Hawaiis senior senator  for 22 years in the Senate. Inouye, who died in 2012, had lost his right arm while serving with the 442nd in Europe.

Akaka also successfully pursued legislation that provided one-time compensation for members of the Philippine Scouts, an American-led unit of mostly Filipino and Filipino American recruits who fought alongside U.S. troops but did not qualify for Veterans Administration benefits.

And he secured a formal apology for the United States role in the overthrow of Queen Liliuokalani of Hawaii in 1893 as well as a transfer of land that the federal government had taken.

But he failed in repeated legislative efforts to have Native Hawaiians recognized as an indigenous people so they might receive federal benefits similar to those provided to American Indians and natives of Alaska.

During his Senate years Akaka had stints as chairman of its Committee on Veterans Affairs and of its Committee on Indian Affairs.

Akaka was an outspoken critic of the war in Iraq. On March 17, 2003, three days before the United States attacked that country, he warned the Senate:

If we pursue our current path, we will have a war lacking in many things essential to achieving complete success. It will be a war without broad international support, without sufficient planning for post-conflict reconstruction and stability, without a definite exit time and strategy, and without a firm price tag.

Moreover, he continued, it will be a war with serious ramifications for our long-term readiness capabilities for homeland security and for managing other crises.

A steadfast liberal on most issues, he was known as a champion of federal workers, complaining that his Senate colleagues too often denigrated them and cheerfully froze their pay.

He chaired a Senate subcommittee on the federal workforce and was the chief sponsor of the 2012 Whistleblower Protection Act, which provided safeguards against retaliation to federal workers who report waste, fraud and abuse.

Daniel Kahikina Akaka was born in Honolulu on Sept. 11, 1924, the youngest of eight children. His father was of Chinese and Hawaiian descent; his mother was Hawaiian. He attended public schools.

After service with the Army Corps of Engineers, he graduated from the University of Hawaii in 1952 with a degree in education and taught music, social studies and math in elementary, middle and high schools. He later became a school principal and earned a masters degree.

After Hawaii was admitted into the union in 1959, he was an official in the states Department of Education and was named director of the Hawaii Office of Economic Opportunity, an antipoverty program.

Akaka was first elected to the House in 1976 and easily re-elected afterward. In 1990 he was appointed to fill a Senate vacancy caused by the death of Spark Matsunaga. He was elected that fall and re-elected in 1994, 2000 and 2006. He announced in March 2011 that he would not run again in 2012.

Akaka, who lived in Honolulu, is survived by his wife, Mary Mildred Chong, whom he married in 1948; a daughter, Millannie Akaka Mattson; four sons, Daniel Jr., Gerard, Alan and Nicholas; and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

While he was never known as a key lawmaker, Akaka was familiar to watchers of C-SPAN: His name came first whenever the Senate roll was called and, in his early years, he relished presiding over that body, a duty many of his colleagues regarded as tedious.

In 1992, the Senate presented him with its Golden Gavel Award for presiding for at least 100 hours.

I really was proud of being able to chair the Senate floor over the years and really looked forward to it, he said in a 2011 interview for this obituary.

Even in his final years, he left instructions with the Democratic cloakroom that he would preside in a pinch, saying, Any time you cant find somebody, call me.
Examinees vandalize magistrate's jeep!

Staff Reporter :

A section of rowdy Higher Secondary Examination (HSC) examinees allegedly vandalized a jeep of an Executive Magistrate on the plea of creating panic by him among the students in the examination center at Farakkabad Degree College in Chandpur Sadar upazila on Saturday.

The magistrate, however, said that the examinees have vandalized his jeep as his presence was considered by the students as obstacle to commit unfair means.

Mazedur Rahman Khan, Deputy Commissioner of the district, told The New Nation on Saturday evening, "I visited the examination

center and talked with the witnesses and students to understand the situation."

A three-member probe body was formed to investigate the incident and the committee has been asked to submit the report within three days, the DC said.

Kaniz Fatima, Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) and Chief of the probe body, said that the students vandalized the car as the Abhishek Dash, Assistant Commissioner (Land) created obstacle to copying in the center during the examination.
BEIRUT  Syrian government forces pressed their offensive against the last rebel-held town in eastern Ghouta near the capital Damascus on Saturday under the cover of air strikes as shelling of civilian areas on both sides claimed more lives, state media and opposition activists said.

Syrian troops resumed their offensive on rebel-held Douma on Friday afternoon after a 10-day truce collapsed over disagreement regarding evacuation of opposition fighters. The violence resumed days after hundreds of opposition fighters and their relatives left Douma for rebel-held areas in northern Syria.

By Saturday night, state media reported that troops were approaching Army of Islam fortifications on the edge of the town. It said warplanes bombarded the groups headquarters and command and control center.

State TV said Army of Islam fighters hit several neighborhoods in Damascus with mortar shells, killing six civilians and wounding more than 30.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the bombardment of Douma killed at least eight people and wounded 48, including 15 children.

Some opposition activists in Douma posted photographs of people wearing gas masks, saying government forces shelled the town with poison gas. State media denied the reports, saying such farces about chemical weapons were triggered by the troops quick push toward Douma.

Government forces launched a crushing offensive in February and March on eastern Ghouta, capturing dozens of towns and villages and forcing thousands of opposition fighters to surrender and evacuate the area.

A deal was reached last month to evacuate Douma, but activists and state media reported that the Army of Islam rebel group demanded amendments to the deal.

Russias military said the Army of Islam has forced out leaders who were taking part in negotiations to withdraw from Douma and that their fighters have resumed attacks.

Separately, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been threatening to expand the offensive against Syrian Kurdish militants in northern Syria eastward to the town of Tel Rifat. A spokesman for his office, however, said an operation against Tel Rifat might not be needed. He said Russian President Vladimir Putin told his Turkish counterpart that the main Kurdish militia Peoples Protection Units, or YPG, which Turkey considers a terrorist organization, is no longer present there.
GAZA CITY  Hundreds attended funerals of Palestinians in Gaza on Saturday who were killed during mass protests along the Israeli border the previous day.

Israeli troops opened fire from across the border, killing at least nine Palestinians and wounding 491 others in the second mass border protest in eight days. The deaths brought to at least 31 the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli fire since last week. The border area appeared calm Saturday.

Yasser Murtaja, a journalist, died from a gunshot wound he sustained while filming Friday in an area engulfed in thick black smoke from protesters setting tires on fire.

Witnesses said Murtaja was more than 100 yards from the border, wearing a flak jacket marked press and holding his camera when he was shot in an exposed area just below the armpit.

The Israeli military has said it fired only at instigators involved in attacks on soldiers and was investigating Murtajas death amid a very hectic environment.

The Israeli Defense Forces uses means such as warnings, riot dispersal means, and as a last resort firing live rounds in a precise, measured way, it said Saturday. The IDF does not intentionally target journalists. The circumstances in which journalists were allegedly hit by IDF fire are not familiar to the IDF, and are being looked into.

Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since a 2007 takeover and calls for Israels destruction, has called for a series of protests until May 15, the anniversary of Israels founding when Palestinians commemorate their mass uprooting during the 1948 war over Israels creation.

The Islamic group hopes the mass protests can create pressure to break a border blockade enforced by Israel and Egypt since 2007, without having to succumb to demands that it disarm. The blockade has made it increasingly difficult for Hamas to govern. It has also devastated Gazas economy, made it virtually impossible for people to enter and exit the territory, and left residents with just a few hours of electricity a day.

Israel argues that Hamas could have ended the suffering of Gazas 2 million people by disarming and renouncing violence. It says Hamas is exploiting the mass marches as a cover for attacking the border fence and has pledged to prevent a breach at all costs. The military said protesters hurled several explosive devices and firebombs Friday, using the thick plumes of smoke from burning tires as cover, and that several attempts to cross the fence were thwarted.

Colleagues said Murtaja was not affiliated with Hamas or any other militant group, and there were no Hamas symbols normally seen at the funerals for militants.

In an apparent sign of solidarity, Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh attended the funeral Saturday.

The Return March is a battle of truth and awareness, Haniyeh said of the protests.

At the funeral, Murtajas body was draped in a Palestinian flag with his flak jacket reading press placed upon him as he was carried through the streets of Gaza. The drone he had used for shooting footage of Gaza hovered above to film his funeral. Dozens of his close friends and colleagues were sobbing after the coffin was taken out of the morgue.

Murtaja, 30, was the co-founder of Ain media, a local TV production company that has done projects, including aerial drone video, for foreign media clients such as the BBC and Al Jazeera English. He was one of the first to bring a drone camera into Gaza and his images captivated many of its residents who have never seen Gaza from above.

His death, along with the other recent casualties, seemed likely to draw renewed criticism from rights groups that have branded Israels open-fire orders on the border as unlawful, after Israels defense minister warned that those approaching the fence were risking their lives.

AIDA, a network of more than 70 nongovernment organizations operating in the Palestinian territories, condemned Saturday what they called the unlawful killing of civilians Friday. It follows accusations from the United Nations human rights office that it has indications of Israeli forces using excessive force the previous week.
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Koko's wife, daughters meet Khaleda at BSMMU

UNB, Dhaka :

Sharmila Rahman Shithi, wife of her late son Arafat Rahman Koko, along with her two daughters met BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia for a while on Saturday at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU).

Right after completion of her tests at Radiology and Imaging department of the BSMMU, Shithi and her two daughters-Zafiya Rahman and Zahiya Rahman-met Khaleda. They got the chance just to exchange greetings with her, a high official of the BSMMU told UNB preferring anonymity. Khaleda's lawyer and BNP joint secretary general

Mahbub Uddin Khokan said he arranged the brief meeting in consultation with the jail authorities. He said the BNP chief had a very brief conversation with her daughter-in-law and two granddaughters. Earlier, police restricted Shithi when she along with her two daughters tried to enter the cabin block around 12noon. Then she waited on the hospital premises in their car for some time while the leaders and activists of Jatiyatabadi Mahila Dal surrounded the vehicle and chanted anti-government slogans.

Later, police dispersed the BNP activists and arrested 4 to 5 people them. At one stage, Khaleda's lawyer Khokan and Sanaullah Miah talked to Shithi and took them to a BSMMU room. Police also barred Afroza Abbas, president of Mahila Dal and wife of BNP standing committee member Mirza Abbas from visiting Khaleda. The BNP chairperson was taken back to Dhaka central jail from BSMMU after her medical check-up and tests. Khaleda Zia fell sick in the jail on March 29 and postponed a scheduled meeting with its secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir. On April 1, the government formed a medical team with four professors of Dhaka Medical College Hospital to examine her health condition and ensure her treatment in the jail.

On February 8 last, a special court here sentenced Khaleda to five years' rigorous imprisonment in the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case.
The City of Sydney council is investigating a complaint that the conversion of exhibition space at the Powerhouse Museum for a university classroom breaches planning laws as NSW cabinet is expected to decide the fate of the Ultimo site as early as this week.

Part of the Powerhouse Museum's main temporary gallery space has been renovated as a flexible learning space for up to 400 students of the University of Technology Sydney until the university's contemporary student hub along Parramatta Road opens next year.

The interior of the Powerhouse Museum's Touring Hall, next to the university learning space. Credit:Ryan Stuart

At 1800 square metres, the museum's Touring Hall is one of the largest exhibition spaces in Sydney and forms part of the Wran Building, which was opened in 1988 and renovated at a cost of $25 million six years ago.

The City of Sydney confirmed it had requested further information from the museum following receipt of a complaint about alleged unauthorised works and change of use.
Sampa the Great didn't get the memo that artists should be of the tortured persuasion. She peppers her speech with gales of laughter. She wants you to know: "My childhood was pretty dope."

Things are pretty dope now, too. Last month, Sampa Tembo  as the MC is formally known  took home the Australian Music Prize for last year's Birds and the BEE9. The mixtape has been lauded for its fine stitching of English and Setswana, hip-hop, neo-soul and jazz, and traditional African instruments, harmonies and rhythms.



Now that Tembo will be fielding even more interview questions, the time is right to start gently guiding the narrative. "I want to make sure that I'm very clear in what I'm saying, because I notice a lot that what we assume of the artist becomes the story of the artist." That means starting with "describing where I'm from, as well as where I'm based".

Sampa the Great: ''The culture of rap is liberation music.''

Her earlier years were split between Ndola, Zambia, where her mother was raised ("Everyone is literally your family member. The neighbours are always asking you, 'Where are you going? Why are you going there?'") and the capital of Botswana, Gaborone.

"Gaborone is a vibrant, metropolitan African city," she says. "We don't get to see a lot of the village life, per se. There's a lot of music, and lovely, funny people." It was there that the MC honed her love of spoken word, reading her poetry at school events and the odd open mic night.
SUNDAY, APRIL 8

ART Galleries are usually hands off, but at new group exhibition Tactile (until May 20) visitors can touch some of the installations, including works from Hiromi Tango, Pip and Pop, and Troy Emery. 9am-5pm, Penrith Regional Gallery and The Lewers Bequest, 86 River Road, Emu Plains, free, penrithregionalgallery.org

FASHION The Sherman Centre for Culture and Ideas recently kicked off their SCCI Fashion Hub (until April 21) and today sees a program of talks on ethical apparel. Hear about sartorial sustainability from Wardrobe Crisis author Clare Press, designer Bianca Spender and Vogue India editor-at-large Bandana Tewari. 10am-6pm, Sherman Centre for Culture and Ideas, 20 Goodhope Street, Paddington, free (bookings essential), scci.org.au

Swedish electropop singer and songwriter Tove Styrke.

FAMILY Little ones can watch cultural performances, see a parade of kids in traditional costumes and take part in outdoor games at the annual Children's Festival. 10.30am-4.30pm, First Fleet Park, George Street, The Rocks, free, childrensfestival.com.au
Two of our young grandchildren have earned some money from acting  a 7-year-old in a yet-to-be-released movie and a 12-year-old in a stage play in the theatre. In each case, they have $4000 to invest. Long-term investment in the share market is preferred. However, I believe revenue from shares for minors is taxed at the top rate of 45 per cent. In our case, however, the money has been genuinely earned for work done for and paid by a third party; is there a way around the taxation problem? Can the money so earned be treated the same as an 18-year-old? Alternatively, do you have any other suggestions? JS

Your young thespians will benefit from what is termed excepted income. This is income that escapes the childrens tax which amounts, as you say, to an effective 45 per cent tax.

Child actors  such as these young cast members of Matilda The Musical  benefit from a tax rule called "excepted income".

Excepted income for children under 18 includes employment earnings, and any income from investing that money, which thus exempts your grandchildrens genuine work-related income and any investment earnings on the same. (For the benefit of other readers, excepted income can also include income from a deceased person's estate; property transferred as a result of the death of another person or a family breakdown; any compensation, e.g. damages for injury; superannuation or pension fund benefits or any taxable payments from Centrelink or DVA).

However, excepted income is still taxed at adult rates, i.e. the first $18,200 is tax-free, then any excess up to $37,000 is taxed 34.5 per cent including Medicare, etc. For earnings above the initial threshold, excepted income entitles the children to claim the Low Income Tax Offset. This reduces the first $445 of tax for those earning under $37,000 a year, then phases out at the rate of 1.5 for each additional dollar. The effect is that the first $20,540 is tax-free and the offset dies out above $66,667.
Question: What would breakfast be like without science?

Perhaps like me, you like a simple breakfast. A bowl of cereal and a cup of tea or coffee. It might look simple but there's a vast amount of whirring and clunking behind the scenes. That breakfast would not happen without science.

A lot of science goes into a bowl of cereal. Credit:ROD TAYLOR

The obvious starting point are the enormous improvements in the farm productivity made possible by genetic modifications to plants and livestock. Since the dawn of agriculture, farmers have been improving yields through breeding plants and animals. Then with advances in genetics, scientists such as Augustinian friar Gregor Mendel figured out the basic rules of inheritance. The original wild wheat plants had sparse seed heads, looking nothing like the bulging plants we grow today.

Then of course we need plant food, which was greatly enhanced by the process for producing ammonia fertiliser, invented by Fritz Haber and his colleagues. To pump water onto crops, we use plastic and steel plumbing and diesel-driven motors. For that we can thank metallurgists, chemists, engineers and the geologists who located the ore bodies.
One baby every week is stillborn at the Canberra Hospital with up to 80 babies stillborn every year.

The statistics are slightly higher in the ACT than in other jurisdictions across Australia, but similar internationally across developed nations.

The Baker family from Tumut: William, 8, Jye, Ashlee and Elsie, 5, hold the newly donated Cuddle Cot with a plaque remembering their stillborn baby brother, Jack. Credit:Dion Georgopoulos

About half of those who have a stillborn baby never find out the cause of death.

Jack Baker was born in 2016 at 24 weeks and survived for three days by his parents' side in the maternity ward of the Canberra Hospital. His mother, Ashlee Baker, said he was just too small to live.
Govt failing to observe basic responsibility of saving life: It`s a shame

In the last couple of days there has been a shocking trend in killings across the country. The body of a student, Sagar Dutta, 19, was found in a hostel in Cumillas Race Course area, on the morning of the April 4th. Snigdha Sarkar Dipa, the wife of public prosecutor (PP) Rathish Chandra Bhowmik, confessed on April 7th about her involvement in the March 29 murder of her husband in the statement to a Rangpur court. A father killed his newborn son in Gaibandha, allegedly due to marital discord. On April 5th a man was arrested in Coxs Bazar on charges of raping his own daughter. Pakshi Union Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) president Sadrul Alam Pintu died on Monday after being hacked and shot, allegedly by political opponents, in Ishwardi Upazila of Pabna, on April 2.



Even journalists are not spared. Bangladesh has ranked 10th in the Global Impunity Index of 2017 of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), downgrading from its previous number. Among other South Asian countries Pakistan ranked 7 while India ranked 12. Bangladesh had ranked 11th in 2016 and 12th in 2015. According to the survey, at least seven cases of journalist murders remained unsolved in Bangladesh in the past decade.



An inevitable crisis resulting from greed, jealousy, restlessness, the devilish nature of politics and deteriorating moral standards of all sections of the populace are reasons behind this terrifying trend. Youngsters, mostly dropouts from schools and having no work or business to do, are out on the streets with guns and daggers or acid bottles with such malefic intentions. The apathy of the society to this escalating crisis and failure of the state to address this problem is most appalling. The menacing trend of the social disorder and killing of neighbour's minor child or a business friend on the flimsiest pretext either for money or grabbing business or political rivalry are the deadliest urban upheavals in the country.



But a far greater cause would be that there are basically no consequences for such serious crimes -- it took something like the Holey Artisan attack for the authorities to get behind the killings of the foreign citizens and bloggers in 2015 -- almost a year after their deaths. The politicization of the recruitment of the police is partly the reasons behind their inefficiency. In the murder case of the Italian national Tavella the police famously arrested five people and claimed BNP former ward commissioner Abdul Kaiyum orchestrated the killing -- a clear case of politicization and harassment of the opposition, while the real perpetrators went scot-free for almost a year.



Deaths on roads and rivers cannot be ignored as accidents, the government must bear responsibility. The bureaucrats are making this government irresponsible and anti-people.



The police are used politically and they are not effective to save life or protect the people from crime. But the basic responsibility of a government is to give protection to life. They forget that the people spend crores of Taka for the protection of the minister and prime minister.




A lack of support services are available for young women in Canberra with chronic diseases, a new report has found.

The report from the Women's Centre for Health Matters said while support services may be available for older women in the community, they often failed to adapt for younger patients.

The Women's Centre for Health Matters report said many young women felt medical professionals did not believe them about their chronic pain.

The report surveyed more than 160 Canberra women aged between 18 and 50 with a chronic disease. About 61 per cent of those surveyed had more than one chronic disease.

Centre chief executive Marcia Williams said there had been a growing number of young women in the Canberra community with chronic health issues.
A former NSW police sergeant who worked as a teacher in the ACT for a year in 2016 has been jailed for perjury in relation to a 2013 assault.

Nigel Alfred Davey, 47, was given a 12 month prison sentence with a non-parole period of seven months for making a false statement in relation to his arrest of Regan Sutton in Nowra in June 2013.

Former NSW police sergeant Nigel Davey was jailed for perjury after a 2013 assault with a taser.

Davey appeared in Queanbeyan Local Court on Tuesday for sentencing and also received a 14 month good behaviour bond for the assault of Mr Sutton.

Davey had been on patrol in Nowra when he tasered an unarmed Mr Sutton from the driver's seat of his police car. He later lied about the incident under oath saying Mr Sutton had been armed with a knife and tried to attack him.
Migrant women on visas are being overlooked in the nation's response to domestic and family violence in a worrying trend leaving many in unnecessarily dangerous situations.

These victims, mostly women, are without access to basic human rights because of gaps in legislation and funding that desperately need to be addressed.

Migrant women being denied basic human rights has to stop.

In 2015 the ACT community came to the collective understanding that more needed to be done to address family safety behind closed doors after four domestic violence murders within weeks of each other.

Yet three years on, we're turning a blind eye to an extremely vulnerable group of women, those from migrant backgrounds on partner or dependent visas, who are being told by controlling partners they will be deported if they leave the violent relationship.
A leading Canberra academic has told the Turnbull government's review into religious freedom that Aboriginals are not adequately protected to practice their religion.

Ernst Willheim, a visiting fellow at the Centre for International and Public Law at the Australian National University, said the current legal system failed to accommodate the difference between Aboriginal and "mainstream religions".

An ANU fellow has said the current legal system fails to accommodate differences between Indigenous religion and "mainstream religions".

The submission was one of more than 16,000 received by the review, headed up by former Attorney General Philip Ruddock, recently made public.

The inquiry was announced last year following concerns surrounding religious freedom after same-sex marriage was legalised.
Plans for a massive redevelopment of the Australian War Memorial are progressing and could cost in the order of $500 million, according to memorial director Dr Brendan Nelson.

The War Memorial is currently putting together a detailed business case to present to the federal government to secure funding. It is understood the War Memorial hopes to have the development included in next year's budget.

The Australian War Memorial could receive a $500 million redevelopment. Credit:Rohan Thomson

While Dr Nelson admitted "there's a lot of 'if's' in all this" he said the project had received strong support from both sides of politics.

The ABC originally reported the redevelopment could cost $500 million and while Dr Nelson said the exact figure would not be known until the business case was completed, he said it could conceivably reach that mark.
A 67-year-old man from Sydney was charged with four "serious" assault offences allegedly perpetrated against his new wife, who recently arrived in Australia from China.

In the ACT Magistrates Court on Saturday, Chief Magistrate Lorraine Walker charged the man with two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and two counts of common assault. The magistrate refused bail because of the likelihood of re-offending and the vulnerability of his wife, who does not speak English and has no support networks in Australia, the court heard.

Court documents state the woman is not a permanent resident or citizen of Australia.

Court documents state the man and his new bride had travelled to Canberra for a holiday. The alleged first offence occurred at the Australian War Memorial on April 5 in front of witnesses. It was caught on CCTV and war memorial security staff called police to attend.

It is alleged the man and the woman were having a "heated argument" when the man allegedly began to chase the women, swinging a bag in what security believe was an attempt to hit her in the head.
To invoke the domestic violence provisions, the victim must first be eligible under the legislation, and then must prove that the relationship was real and have evidence of the violence. "It's hard for someone who had been a victim of family violence in a controlled relationship to necessarily give evidence of the finances of that relationship, the social aspects of their relationship, the nature of their household and the future commitment because if they've been controlled, they don't have bank accounts, they have no bills in their name, they may not have an income and they're socially isolated." "If a client can't provide genuine evidence of a relationship, a visa can be refused on that ground," Ms Burn said. "It can be very, very difficult and these situations are very, very common. "We're also concerned that a lot of people don't know about the provisions and are therefore not engaging and remaining in abusive relationships."

And that's just the first step. Once the relationship is deemed genuine, then the victim needs to prove violence occurred. If there is not a finalised domestic violence order from the court, the other option is to attain three types of non-judicial evidence. "It's onerous," Ms Burn said. The concern is that if the IAAAS funding is not available to these women, they will have to navigate the system by themselves. "It is really difficult to navigate even with a migration agent," Ms Burn said.

She said this was because women applying for these provisions are often on a bridging visa, unable to access Medicare, Centrelink and housing. Ms Burn said the women need to be assisted immediately, as soon as they access help. "They've had it drilled into them for a long time that this person has sponsored them to come to Australia and owns them, they're told they will deport them and the women believe that." Ms Burn said changes to the funding of the Home Affairs' IAAAS mean asylum seekers and women experiencing domestic violence won't be able to seek the help they currently do "There will be nothing, unless community legal centres can take on the work. But only migration agents in Australia can give migration advice, so it's difficult and complex," Ms Burn said.

"I've seen clients who have literally been padlocked in their homes while their fly-in fly-out partner leaves them for weeks without food and without access to money." "It's awful what happens, I'm constantly surprised." A spokeswoman for Home Affairs said under the IAAAS "individuals who arrived lawfully in Australia and meet specific eligibility criteria relating to disadvantage are eligible to receive government funded migration assistance". "The department's Family Violence Unit assesses family violence claims made by visa applicants and provides referral advice to support services, including in circumstances where the person is not eligible for a visa under the family violence provisions," the spokeswoman said. She said the department does not release statistics for how many assessments are received by the family violence unit.

Without providing reasons for the cancellations, the spokeswoman said in 2015-16, there were 348 cancellations of partner visas and 474 in 2016-17. The first points of call Zouheir Dalati is the Migration Clinic co-ordinator at Legal Aid ACT. Mr Dalati and Ms Burn created the booklet, Stay Here Stay Safe, to be distributed to organisations and individuals in the Canberra community. The booklet outlines how victims can access the exemption provisions with information that might help to allow them to stay in the country. "The brochure is intended to support caseworkers assisting clients to access the family violence exemptions of the Migration Act because we believe that clients in this situation won't have access to migration agents and lawyers in this space soon," Mr Dalati said.

"I would say one in three referrals to the Migration Clinic are somehow related to family violence provisions and partner visas." "Often we deal with women where we end up knowing that this woman never left the house in two or three years, being locked up for sometimes all of those years with no interaction with the outside and suddenly she is on her own, needing to deal with this complex issue." "If the department believes there wasn't any kind of domestic violence in the relationship then unfortunately she will be deported." More than 40 per cent of the clients at the Beryl Women's Refuge are women from culturally or linguistically diverse backgrounds and a majority of those seek help to escape domestic violence. A representative from the refuge said there was a lack of awareness around what these women were facing and how to help.

"These women have particular unique complexities that are different from other women escaping domestic violence," the representative said. "There is an added layer there they have to contend with, particularly the threat of returning to another country where it is a male dominated society. These women are often not only risking their lives, they're risking the lives of the family back in their home country by bringing shame on them in their community." "This is added to their isolation, the fact most women have English as a second language, and the difficulties they have in accessing services," she said. Story of survival Trisha* married her partner in India a month before he migrated to Australia. Six months later she joined him, and a month after that the violence started.

He would allegedly grab the back of her head and slam it into the bonnet of the car. She said he would punch her repeatedly in the head. Trisha feared for her life. She had nowhere to turn. Her parents, who had illegally paid a dowry for the arranged marriage in India, refused to take her back if she came home. Trisha is one of many migrant women facing this situation, according to a number of sources. Despite being highly qualified in her chosen field in India, she came to Australia as a dependent on her husband's skilled migration visa. Her plan was to study to become qualified in Australia while being supported by her husband.

"I did love him, I just wanted him to love me back the same way, but he didn't," Trisha said. Speaking from a room in the refuge where she was housed for months on end, unable to access government support because of her visa status, Trisha breaks down in tears as she describes the ongoing ordeal. "I didn't think Australia would be like this," she said. "But it is still a better country because here, society is not bothered by what happened but in India it is always a girl's fault, she had to do what he says, she has to compromise and no matter what, she has to stay with him. At least here I could move out." Trisha said there was a gap in the policy when it comes to her situation, and she knows she's not the only one in the same boat.
A 45-year-old Canberra man has been remanded in custody after he allegedly assaulted his former partner and mother of his three children.

The ACT Magistrates Court heard the woman feared for her safety and the safety of their children.

The man, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the children, was charged with two common assaults.

The assaults allegedly occurred on March 26 but police were unable to apprehend the man until this week. He appeared in court on Saturday.

It is alleged on March 26 the man elbowed the woman in front of their young child, and then spat in her face in front of another.
Thank you for an eye-opening report that is both disturbing and encouraging ("Chocolate will taste better this Easter", April 1). Slavery-free chocolate tastes far better and is worth much more than its unjust alternative. So we won't complain when the price of chocolate rises. It is the price of freedom and of human dignity. Meredith Williams Dee Why Quay true heart of city Anne Ring bemoans Sydney's Martin Place not being equal to Melbourne's Federation Square (Letters, April 1). Agreed, Martin Place is merely a wide street closed to traffic within a canyon of tall office buildings. Sydney's living centre is, unarguably, very popular Circular Quay which is the heart of the city, throbbing with activity every day and well into the night. It is so huge, so popular, so obvious Anne does not notice it. The Quay abounds with activity and dwarfs Melbourne's Federation Square. Barry Willis Beecroft

Worst bosses fostering egos The worst bosses are those who always act to protect their own interests, possess an unhealthy inclination to micromanage or control everything and use their employment status to foster their own egos ("Hi-ho, hi-ho: NSW workers are happiest in the land", April 1). Although some may actually derive a perverse satisfaction from watching their employees suffer, most are so caught up in notions of their own greatness that they are often the last to see the negative impact their actions have on their under-appreciated and disempowered employees. John de Bres Rose Bay  Solve homelessness, save cash

The Millers Point sell-off was never going to do anything more than put a dent in the social housing waiting list ("Social housing sell-off a 'failure"', April 1). To be less than transparent with the figures is misleading and reflects the lack of political will to truly make a difference. Finland and the US state of Utah have shown it's possible to practically solve the issue of homelessness as reported. St Vincent's Hospital has reported the costs of the emergency presentation of 15 rough sleepers at $1.3 million, it shows that leaving the situation as is, is more costly than solving the matter. How do we shift the political will or could we redirect some previously slated stadium funds? Gordana Martinovich Dulwich Hill The headline "Social housing sell-off a failure" says it all. Juxtaposed to that article was another claiming the NSW workers were happiest in the land; all very well if you have a full-time job. In the meantime, the government continues along its merry way selling off everything it can for no discernible advantage to the taxpayer. This government will have nothing left to sell off soon apart from its soul; and that's probably already mortgaged to the developers lobby. Stewart Smith North Kellyville Easy fix to protect forests
Advocates say standard methods for assessing drug effectiveness do not work when applied to cannabis. Cautious bureaucrats are restricting access to a life-saving medication, they believe. Dr Alex Wodak estimates that tens of thousands have applied for legal access to medical cannabis. Credit:Photo: Richard Baron The community is onside, the politicians are onside, the government officials are not onside," says Dr Wodak. "Why stop these people? When he legalised medical cannabis in 2016, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said it was about getting this life-saving treatment available to the sick kids who need it most. This is too important to wait, the Premier later said.

But waiting  waiting for the evidence to come in  is part of Australias drug regulation scheme. It takes about 10 months for the Therapeutic Goods Administration to approve a new prescription medicine once its big-pharma backers submit studies proving its effectiveness. These sort of trials do not yet exist for many things people seek to treat with medicinal marijuana. Thats why only one cannabis medication  for multiple sclerosis  has been approved by the TGA. Five-year-old Gemma, who is critically ill, received an early dose of medical cannabis thanks to the Victorian government. This picture was taken at a news conference featuring Premier Daniel Andrews in March 2017. Credit:Eddie Jim

We're getting way ahead of ourselves, says Associate Professor Adrian Reynolds, president of the chapter for addiction medicine at the Royal Australasian College of Physicians. Its interesting that parliament are quick to implement reforms that evidence does not yet support  and yet we provide huge amounts of evidence for things like alcohol harms, and parliament does not want to go there. Professor Farrell, who is director of the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, conducted a systematic review  considered the gold standard for evidence  on cannabis for the TGA last year. It showed reasonable evidence the drug helped children with drug-resistant epilepsy. There was some inconsistent evidence it helped adults with multiple sclerosis. There was good evidence it was as effective as conventional drugs for stopping chemotherapy-induced nausea  but only compared to older, superseded drugs. The evidence for patients with chronic pain was weak and the effect was, at best, modest.

In relation to pain, most of the studies were of medicinal cannabinoids combined with other pain medications, Professor Farrell says. Its quite important that people dont have over-expectations of what it might do. The data is positive, but its modest. The numbers needed to treat is quite high  something like eight or 10 people need to be treated for one to benefit. But beyond that, there is very little high quality evidence for medical cannabis. Doctors are being barraged with requests for cannabis for a huge range of other conditions where the evidence is nowhere near as robust. A survey conducted by the Medical Cannabis Users Association showed depression/anxiety, chronic pain, PTSD, and cancer/leukaemia were the four biggest illnesses people were seeking cannabis to treat. Professor Farrell is still reviewing cannabis as a treatment for depression and anxiety, but says the literature on it is very thin. In fact, other studies suggest cannabis use may increase the risk of developing anxiety and depression.

Advocates point to another review, conducted by America's National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, released last year. Confusingly, it found substantial ... significant and conclusive evidence for the treatment of the same conditions Professor Farrells study looked at. Many studies considered by Professor Farrells review were randomised controlled trials, which compare a drug to a placebo and are considered the best evidence for pharmaceutical effectiveness. Dr David Caldicott, pictured outside Calvary Hospital, Canberra, where he works in the ED. Credit:Melissa Adams Randomised-controlled trials are not the best way to assess medicinal cannabis, says Dr David Caldicott, who teaches a course on medical marijuana based at the Australian National University. Cannabis contains dozens of active compounds  trials tend to test only one or two. It also tends to affect people differently, and tends to be effective only over a long period. These subtleties are not captured by controlled trials.

An entire new study design is needed for cannabis, he says. Many of our colleagues dont quite understand that. The issue has split the Royal Australian College of GPs and the College of Physicians. The problem with medicinal cannabis is we dont yet have the robust evidence the general public would normally expect if not demand, and the medical profession would normally want, says the College of Physicians' Professor Reynolds. Doctors should only prescribe a drug when there is proof it works, he said. Is medicine to remain a scientific endeavour, or is it to become a personal-want-driven endeavour?

Dr Bastian Seidel, president of the College of GPs, is far more bullish. [America's National Academies of Sciences] made very clear that there is substantial and conclusive evidence that medicinal cannabis is effective for chronic pain, and nausea. They say its conclusive, he said. Dr Bastian Seidel (centre), pictured here with Health Minister Greg Hunt (right) in May 2017. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen As scientists argue over the quality of the evidence, patients continue to seek the drug  with many turning to dubious online sources. Deb Lynch found smoked cannabis was the only effective treatment for her painful and crippling condition. I would not be here without it, she says.
I cant tell you how excited and honored I am to be in this seat and in community with you for the first time. It has only been a short time at this poin...

4 days ago
March 13 looked like a red letter day for iGrow Family Day Care as it signed 1775 children onto its books.

Listing its head office as a small white weatherboard home in Sydneys west, iGrow recorded the supposed torrent of new bookings in July - and then backdated each entry for the previous four months.

Zahraa Lami seen leaving her Merrylands home. Credit:Fairfax

Despite this breach of the rules - and missing paperwork from 143,000 logged child care sessions - the government paid out $5.4 million in rebates and benefits over 14 days.

Millions of that was then siphoned into another companys accounts, as part of an alleged childcare fraud that would count as the largest in Australian history.
Julie Bishop judged to be the best chance of taking the LNP to victory at the next election. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

Strange days indeed, most peculiar. On Thursday evening the most tweeted about subject on social media was #LibSpill.

Yes, clearly, while Id been out, seeing a man about a dog, something must have happened! They really were coming for Malcolm Turnbull after all, and going to cut him down, using the same measure he had applied to Tony Abbott, by organising to vote him out on the very day he lost 30 Newspolls in a row.

Quickly, I went to the Fairfax website. Not a word. Over to the News website. Same thing! Somehow, Twitter was convinced that the whole thing was happening, when, in reality, no actual move was afoot. (Insurance policy: I write this on Friday morning  and there really is nothing happening right now. I am not responsible for what blows up this weekend!)

Still, in the spirit of it all, I posted a Twitter poll, asking the twitterati if there was a spill, who of Malcolm Turnbull, Julie Bishop, Peter Dutton and Josh Frydenberg they judged to be the best chance of taking the LNP to victory at the next election.
A man accused of sexually assaulting two teenage girls in Northbridge this week will face court on Saturday.

The 29-year-old man was arrested overnight in relation to what police say were "several incidents" on Thursday.

The man will face court on Saturday. Credit:Josh Robenstone

Police will allege the man struck up a conversation with two girls, aged 13 and 17, on William Street about 8pm before indecently assaulting the younger girl.

The man is then alleged to have sexually assaulted the 17-year-old.
Canberra driving instructors have called proposed changes to the ACT's P-plate laws unnecessary, saying young drivers will be adversely affected.

Under a proposal by ACT Road Safety Minister Shane Rattenbury earlier this week, Canberra P-platers would be banned from driving between midnight and 5am.

Stephanie Wilde,19, is on her P-plates and got her licence through a private driving company. Credit:Elesa Kurtz

Learner drivers would also be required to log at least 100 hours of supervised driving before earning a provisional licence while P-platers would be restricted to one peer-aged passenger at all times.

Ron Hayes, a driving instructor for Pinnacle Driving School with 20 years' experience, said he doesn't agree with the approach.
The news that 311,127 people in Australia may have been caught up in the Cambridge Analytica scandal and had their Facebook information improperly shared with the data analytics company illustrates the reach of one of the greatest ethical challenges facing our generation; the potential of tech companies to deploy their expertise to influence users thoughts, feelings and behaviours. And to use this to influence our elections.

Such activities threaten our right to freedom of thought and democracy itself.

Tech has an ever increasing ability to get inside our heads and work out what we are thinking. In 2015, researchers reported that access to a users Facebook footprint allowed them more insight into that person's personality than their close friends and family. This basic approach was used by Cambridge Analytica when it accessed millions of Facebook profiles and used them to target people with personalised political advertisements.

Tech companies are increasingly able to access our inner world. Credit:redsnapper / Alamy Stock Photo

Many social media users have had no idea exactly how much information about their inner world can be inferred from what they "like". Unfortunately, as we increasingly have to exchange our data for access to basic services, we may have little practical choice about whether we give access to our inner world.
Shanghai: China's state media has rallied against the United States, warning its trade protectionism actions would end in defeat and that the only option now was to hit the US hard enough so it will remember the pain.

"If the US says that it will pay any price, it must be firmly attacked," China's official Xinhua news agency said on Saturday.

US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Credit:AP

China warned on Friday it was ready with a "fierce counter strike" of fresh trade measures if the United States follows through on President Donald Trump's threat to slap tariffs on an additional $US100 billion of Chinese goods.

Earlier this week, China imposed $US3 billion of tariffs on US fruits, nuts, wine and pork, just hours after the Trump administration proposed duties on some 1300 Chinese industrial, technology, transport and medical products.
Their messages spread via slick, hugely popular online videos and video blogs: high definition, high-production value meme-ready content set to booming music. And Sellner says they  and perhaps he  are on their way to Australia. In a nutshell, the Identitarian theme is that foreigners are probably fine as long as they dont come to Europe. In recent months, as migrant numbers ebbed in southern Europe, Identitarians turned to the plight of white South African farmers as their cause du jour. They hammered the claim of an epidemic of white murders ignored by a complicit, leftist media. The issue is far from new. Two decades ago, Nelson Mandela deplored cold-blooded killings on farms, adding killing on farms, like crime in general, have been a feature of South African life for many decades. Official data show an increase in farm attacks in South Africa in the past year, but in the context of a general increase in violent crime. By one count, only 2 per cent of the attacks had a political or racial motivation.

But in the right-wings YouTube bubble it was big new news. Canadian far-right commentator Faith J Goldy tweeted in February that South Africa had become the flavour of the month among like-minded bloggers and there was a rush to get content out. Sellner says they are using it to foretell the future for all of us. [South Africa is] a very telling, a very drastic warning to the whole West about what happened to this so-called Rainbow Nation. I think its very good that we are talking about it now and it gets into the public awareness. When you dont control the national borders, in the end you will be just like these South African townships and farms, you will be forced to defend your life and your family at ... your fences.

Thats what could happen if you are creating these multiculturalist societies where diversity reaches a point and a level where it becomes toxic, violent and dangerous. Within months of the issue going on high rotation in the alt-rightosphere, Australian politicians spoke up. Just imagine the reaction here in Australia if a comparable number of farmers had been brutally murdered by squatters intent on driving them off their land ... we would say this is a national crisis, said former prime minister Tony Abbott. He was following trailblazer Peter Dutton: last month the Home Affairs Minister told The Daily Telegraph that white South African farmers deserved special attention such as fast-tracked visas because of their horrific circumstances. Dutton, in turn, was apparently reacting to a news report and strident columns in News Corp newspapers.

And for this, Sellner claims credit. Minister for Immigration and Border Protection Peter Dutton called for special visas for South African farmers. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Sellner says the key to his group Generation Identitys activism is becoming our own media. YouTube has been conquered by conservatives, he says. This is pressuring mainstream media to report about us, to get into a discussion with us, take these concerns seriously. If they dont do this it will give rise to a huge network, an empire of alternative media. Generation Z, they dont want TV any more, they have their own TV channel on YouTube  [where] dissident thinkers have the most traction, the best flow, the most interest and the most conversation and interaction going on with the videos.

Thats a big threat to mainstream media and it will grow and grow until the mainstream media platforms decide to take these topics into their discourse. It works exactly the same way with political parties, he says. If you are creating a strong and big alternative you are forcing the mainstream to adapt if they dont want to lose traction, they dont want to lose interest. Sellner  whose voice is almost distractingly Schwarzenegger-like  was a moral philosophy student in Austria five years ago when he saw a viral video of an Identitarian stunt in France: the occupation of a mosque in Poitiers. Sellner says it was a declaration of war against this ideology of multiculturalism and the generation of 68, symbolically of course. (He insists Generation Identity are non-violent.)

He and his study group founded Generation Identity in Austria straight away, he says. We were fascinated. It appealed because it chimed with his concerns, such as the Islamisation of Europe, but it was expressed via street theatre activism, banner drops, stuff that conservatives have never been doing before. And he also, he says, appreciated that its a movement that clearly distances itself from any form of racism or chauvinism or actual hatred ... actually we love and cherish different cultures and I think a certain amount of diversity is all the good. But its always a question about the amount. Many  such as Hope Not Hate  simply do not accept Sellners claim that Generation Identity isnt racist. This view is, apparently, shared by the British government, which last month refused entry to Sellner and his v-logger girlfriend Brittany Pettibone, on the grounds that their presence in the UK was not conducive to the public good. Sellner, who had intended to read a speech about free speech at Hyde Parks Speakers Corner, says he was detained for three days and deported in an utter failure of British democracy. He said he was told authorities thought his speech might incite tension between local communities, and that GI was known or accused of inciting racial tensions.

I think this is the bankrupting of freedom of speech in the UK, he says. Sellner insists he and his group arent racist. We dont want to dehumanise anybody or attack a certain group of people, he says. We always direct our activism against decision makers, against policies, against systems not against individuals or groups of people. And GIs websites make sure to put non-violent in bold type, and point out it does not provide a platform for any kind of national-socialist or fascist groups or views. But it has demands including that our borders must be categorically defended against mass migration and the Great Replacement, calling the latter the process by which the indigenous European population is replaced by non-European migrants. One of its three core aims is to stop and reverse this process.

On social media GI goes to great pains to highlight crimes committed in Europe by migrants, with a particular focus on sexual crimes against women. Its unsurprising that GI-related social media attracts exactly the kind of comments that GI claims to eschew. You dont have to scroll far down a typical GI YouTube video before finding Islamophobia, anti-Semitism and racist paranoia. Sellner both accepts and rejects responsibility for this. In a way its guilt by association, he complains. [We are] judged not by the thing we promote, but other people who completely, uncontrollably support or like you. [In] every political side and every political system ... there are the certain trolls and haters. We dont even know if they are real ones or just agent provocateurs. But he agrees they should be judged by how they deal with unsavoury supporters. Thats what we always do, he says. [We are] fuelling the energies of this justified anger that people have, but in a positive and democratic way. Always in my speeches I dont just raise problems ... I always give a solution and my solution is peaceful activism.
Boston: Assault weapons and large-capacity magazines are not protected by the Second Amendment, a federal judge said in a ruling on Friday upholding Massachusetts' ban on the weapons.

US District Judge William Young dismissed a lawsuit challenging the 20-year-old ban, saying assault weapons are military firearms that fall beyond the reach of the constitutional right to "bear arms."

A newly assembled AR-15 rifle in New Britain, Connecticut. Credit:AP

Regulation of the weapons is a matter of policy, not for the courts, he said.

"Other states are equally free to leave them unregulated and available to their law-abiding citizens," Young said. "These policy matters are simply not of constitutional moment. Americans are not afraid of bumptious, raucous and robust debate about these matters. We call it democracy."
While many people can point to a picture of Jupiter or Saturn and call it a "planet," the definition of this word is much more subtle and has changed over time. Many astronomers decided on a new definition in 2006 after the discovery of several worlds at the fringes of the solar system  a decision that remains controversial.

The International Astronomical Union defined a planet as an object that:

orbits the sun

has sufficient mass to be round, or nearly round

is not a satellite (moon) of another object

has removed debris and small objects from the area around its orbit

The IAU also created a newer classification, "dwarf planet," which is an object that meets planetary criteria except that it has not cleared debris from its orbital neighborhood. This definition meant that Pluto  considered a planet at the time  was demoted and reclassified as a dwarf planet.

But not all scientists agree with this classification, particularly after the New Horizons spacecraft flew by Pluto in 2015. The spacecraft revealed a complex world full of geological change. This included mountains reaching as high as 11,000 feet (3,500 meters), a heart-shaped region nicknamed Tombaugh Regio that contains methane ice and other substance, and weird ice-ridged terrain that looks like snakeskin, among many other features Since then, members of the New Horizons team have made scientific presentations arguing Pluto is indeed a planet. The new scientific findings continue to amaze the public, Alan Stern said in 2018.

"I think my two biggest surprises were first, just how utterly amazing Pluto turned out to be  how many different kinds of features were on the surface and even in the atmosphere," Stern said in a NASA podcast interview. "There was something for everyone. And the second amazing finding was how many members of the public really wanted to participate in it and just be a part of this exploration. We expected it would be a big response, but it was much bigger than we thought."

Planetary history

The term "planet" originally comes from the Greek word for "wanderer." Many ancient cultures observed these "moving stars," but it wasn't until the advent of the telescope in the 1600s that astronomers were able to look at them in more detail. Small telescopes revealed moons circling Jupiter  a big surprise to Galileo Galilei (the likely discoverer) and his opponents at the Catholic Church  as well as rings around Saturn and an ice cap on Mars.

Telescopes also revealed the existence of objects not known to the ancients, because they are too far away and small to be spotted with the naked eye. Uranus was found on March 13, 1781, by the prolific astronomer William Herschel. Ceres was discovered between Mars and Jupiter in 1801. It was originally classified as a planet, but it was later realized that Ceres was the first of a class of objects eventually called asteroids. Neptune was discovered in 1846. [Related: Solar System Planets: Order of the 8 (or 9) Planets]

Astronomers continued scouring the solar system's outer reaches in search of a large "Planet X" that was believed to be disturbing the orbits of Uranus and Neptune. While these irregularities were later discounted by further observations, Clyde Tombaugh did spot a smaller object in 1930 beyond the orbit of Neptune. Called Pluto, the object (then called a planet) was relatively small and had a highly eccentric orbit that sometimes even brought it closer to the sun than Neptune is.

Discovery of more worlds

Nothing close to Pluto's size was found in the solar system for more than two generations. That changed in the 2000s, when Mike Brown  a young astronomer at the California Institute of Technology  was in search of a defining research project and decided upon searches for objects in the outer solar system.

In quick succession, Brown and his team discovered several large "trans-Neptunian objects," or icy bodies beyond Neptune's orbit. While discovering icy objects that far away was not unexpected  the supposed Oort Cloud, the birthplace of comets, should have trillions of these things  it was the size that made other astronomers pay attention.

Some of Brown's notable discoveries included Quaoar; Sedna; Haumea; Erisand its moon, Dysnomia; and Makemake. All were found in a relatively short period of time, between 2001 and 2005. Eris (which was originally nicknamed "Xena" after a popular television show of the time) was large enough that some in the media were calling it the 10th planet.

Vote and implications

With this series of discoveries confronting them, the International Astronomical Union spent two years examining the evidence and called a general meeting in 2006 to vote on what the definition of what a planet would be. The delegates present voted on a definition that excluded Pluto, Eris and any other objects that were close to the same size.

The newer designation "dwarf planet" is considered to be an object orbiting the sun that is round, or approximately round, but is smaller than Mercury. The object may also be in an area with several other objects orbiting with it, such as within the asteroid belt. The IAU has only accepted five objects as dwarf planet so far: Ceres, Pluto, Eris, Makemake and Haumea. But there are many other worlds that could one day be classified as dwarf planets according to their characteristics, such as Quaoar, Sedna, Orcus or Salacia. More observations are needed to firm up many suspected dwarf planets' size, for example, which is hard to achieve since they are so far out in the solar system and so small.

There could be as many as 200 dwarf planets in the solar system and the Kuiper Belt, according to some astronomers. The IAU's official list of dwarf plants shows a complex variety of worlds, with most of them including moons and distinctive surface compositions from each other.

Years after the vote, however, there are still scientists that refer to Pluto as a planet. For example, NASA published a video in early 2014 from several speakers at the Pluto Science Conference in July 2013 who repeatedly referred to the world as a "planet". Also, people such as NASA's Alan Stern regularly present their arguments for why Pluto should still be considered a planet, citing problems with the IAU definition such as planets never fully clearing the zone around them.

The New Horizons mission to Pluto added more fuel to the fire, as its complex geological features had many scientists arguing that "planet" was the most befitting status for the world. Data from New Horizons is still being analyzed, and the jury is out on whether the definition of "planet" will be revisited. NASA's Dawn mission also visited the dwarf planet Ceres starting in 2015, revealing features such as a 4-mile-high (6.5-kilometer-high) mountain and various bright spots on its surface.

Searches for worlds are ongoing in the outer solar system, with the most prominent example being the search for "Planet Nine." This is a theoretical planet that might be influencing the orbits of objects in the Kuiper Belt. If it exists, it would be more of a "super-Earth", at four times the diameter of our planet and 10 times as massive.




Happy Saturday, y'all! I hope you're having a great weekend - and those of you, like me, who haven't eaten bread in a week due to Passover... we're about to cross the finish line! Which is a great segway into this week's episode, as the gang argues over the origins of sandwiches.





baby

See, Penny walks in with a pastrami sandwich on Chinese food night. Uh oh. Sheldon feels betrayed. Amy points out that the sandwich was originated by the Chinese, as they've put meat between two pieces of bread going all the way back to the days of the Tang Dynasty.Sheldon can't see how that's so, given John Montagu was the Earl of Sandwich. Therefore, point disproven.Annnnnnd the food truck she bought the sandwich off of was called Pearl of Sandwich. It's all coming together now. Howard and Bernadette scurry off to get their own sandwiches, and Amy and Sheldon continue arguing. Pretty soon, Leonard, Raj and Penny head outside themselves. Finally, Amy asks Sheldon how his Moo shu is.Hm. Sheldon admits that Amy could've been right all along.Good thing all of their pals were there to witness this revelation!... Does anyone elsewant a sandwich now? Or just anything involving bread. Anything at all. It's been aweek, friends.Amy and Sheldon are back in their apartment, when the heavenly aroma of deli meat is wafting in through their window. Sheldon is trying as hard as he can to avoid physically going downstairs and getting a sandwich, as he doesn't want to give into all of his urges. He's still salty about giving into his urge to make a rigid daily schedule... almost as salty as that pastrami.Amy says she'll go downstairs and get the truck to move, but brings along a wad of cash. She could get hungry en route, with the only cure for her starvation being a sandwich! Just a thought. More like an educated guess. Or foreshadowing. Definitely foreshadowing.Back at the Wolowitz residence, Howard and Raj are taking a soak in the hot tub. Raj thanks Howard again for allowing him tohis swim trunks.No givesies backsies! Raj points out that jacuzzi water isn't the cleanest, given it's a small tub with the same water swirling around every inch and crevice. Now i'm reminded why I haven't sat in a hot tub in years. Howard jumps out of the water and puts on his robe. Raj notices something in the bushes!Which i'd be surprised they don't already have, but man, those things ain't cheap. They cost an arm and a leg. And a trip to the hospital if it hits you. Howard says he can fix it up, but wonders out loud whether they should try and locate the owner.Looks like none of the wildlife in the yard is claiming it as theirs, so finders keepers! I can only imagine what they'll use a drone for.Later, Penny walks into the apartment enraged that the pastrami truck is gone, because the tenants association informed the owner that the truck couldn't park there. Leonard's confused about who would complain about something everyone loves. Hm. I wonder, I wonder.Oh yeah... their best friend, is who. The two confront Sheldon, asking if it was him who dun it. He confesses. Penny says she's going to complain to the tenants association about. She writes a strongly worded message, and presses send. Sheldon's phone pings.Yup. Sheldon's the entire association. Party ofAnd he doesn't feel an ounce of guilt towards Penny's misery over her loss of pastrami sandwiches. What a cruel, cruel man. Who is about to face the wrath of Penny. Lord have mercy.Meanwhile, Howard has finished setting up the drone! Raj compares him to the Grey's Anatomy of drones. Yeah, I see the resemblance between Howard and Patrick Dempsey. If you turn your head to the side, close one eye and then the other eye. Twins!It's ALIVE! Raj puts a bowl on his head and tells Howard to try and knock it off. He's close before Bernie walks outside, in complete amazement.Howard lands the drone and shares that him and Raj found it in the yard. Bernie wants them to locate its owner. They say they tried, to no avail. Yeah. They really went to the extremes of whispering in the yard if it belonged to anyone. Nevertheless, Howard mentions that the drone has a built in camera - Bernadette is then concerned that a peeping tom could be watching them. She suggests looking through the video footage to see where the drone initially took off from. The guys begrudgingly agree.Back at what's become the People's Court, Leonard and Penny wonder how Sheldon became president of the tenants association. Well, nobody else was in the running, so he won. And apparently gave a heartwarming speech. None of this surprises me. Amy gets home, and is too confused as she didn't know her fiance was the president. Penny and Leonard want to vote Sheldon out of office. After a back and forth on when the next tenants meeting is, an emergency meeting is called. Amy is summoned to read last meeting's minutes.Well, the meeting lasted two minutes because President Cooper got shampoo in his eyes. Yes, the meeting was in the. Penny and Leonard vote for Sheldon to be removed from his role, but Sheldon points out that there's one more tenant in the room who has a voice.Oh no. He pulls the. Penny interjects that Amy's her best friend. Leonard points out that he once lent her a battery. Amy's as distraught as ever.... Until Sheldon offers for her to attend his next shower meeting. Vote overturned!Maybe they can tell Sheldon which hotel Bill Gates is staying at... in Tasmania.Penny and Leonard are back in their apartment fuming over the meeting gone wrong. Amy walks in, saying she had no choice but to side with Sheldon. Penny asks how she can agree with him when he's being crazy.Amy's yet to see a time where this hasn't been the case. Touche. She proposes a solution - if Leonard can get one other tenant in the building to vote for, Sheldon would be booted out. They're intrigued. Amy reaffirms that they can't tell Sheldon she had anything to do with this, and raids their refrigerator so that it looks like she went to the market.Life with Sheldon sure keeps her on her toes! Literally.At the Wolowitz house, Bernie, Howard and Raj are looking through the seconds of footage on the drone.Daaaaang! Not gonna lie, I thought the drone belonged to some spoiled kid.Any doubts Raj had are put to rest. He likes that she has money, and is willing to spend it foolishly. Perhaps he's found his soulmate. They look closer, and discover that the mystery lady is wearing a pin from the comic book store. Move aside, Sherlock Holmes. There's new sleuths in town.Penny and Leonard have begun their search for a prospective tenant to side with them. First stop: the tenant who's angry they didn't show up at his housewarming party.We're off to a great start!Stop #2: A real hopeful! Until, that is, he reveals that Sheldon has a restraining order against him so he therefore won't be able to attend the meeting. Turns out he locked him on the roof.Thrice. What we don't see is Penny later giving him a high five and asking for an autograph. I guess they were tight on time this episode.The final stop on Leonard's campaign trail is to someone who speaks minimal english.Long story short, she's voting for Sheldon out of lack of understanding. If only Wil Wheaton lived in the building.Howard and Raj make it to the comic book store and Stuart pinpoints the mystery lady - her name's Cynthia! Apparently she stopped coming 'round a while back.And that's why. Raj wants to personally deliver the drone to her, and Stuart says she is in fact single. This is going to endAmy gets home, and Sheldon's doing arts and crafts.Well, making posters to try and sabotage Leonard. Including one that indicates he's too short to use the washing machine. Gotta admit, I laughed at that one. Amy calls Sheldon a raving lunatic, and Sheldon questions what kind of world we'd live in if people stepped aside when they didn't have consent to govern.I ask myself that question daily, but that's a conversation for another day. DEMOCRACY! Sheldon won't stand for it, and returns to work.This next scene is going to blow your mind. Raj returns the drone to Cynthia...Who's very appreciative, and wants to reward Raj for his efforts. He asks for her number... And she gives it to him! Holy cow! This is a breakthrough if i've ever seen one! He walks away, and moments later Cynthia's phone rings. This is going to hell in a hand basket.Oh, alright! She's still charmed! Progress people, progress! I'm totally #TeamCynthia!Sheldon and Amy are sitting down to a meal with Leonard and Penny barge in. Amy has. Well, they've somehow discovered that the lease is under Amy's name, so Sheldon's technically not a tenant. I guess Amy's become their last resort, and she's taking one for the team.How ever did they get that information? Sheldon's saddened, and Amy says she has no choice but to vote for Leonard. Sheldon rebuts their argument with a California law that states that if someone lives in a dwelling for more than 30 days, they're considered a tenant. Just when we think all hope is lost, Amy stands by her change in vote.She admits that this was a difficult decision, trying her best to quoteand console her fiance's ego. Leonard compares this situation to. Sheldon's suddenly okay. He then realizes he can now become the opposition against the president and nag him for the rest of his days.Welp.Moral of the story? Sometimes it takes a fictional superhero to open the mind of a fictional character who doesn't want to give up his fictional presidency. Wow. Inception to the MAX.Finally, Raj is telling Howard about how he really hit things off with Cynthia, and that this all started with the two of them in a hot tub.Howard is tryinghard to erase that from his memory. Raj is really confident that she could be the one!Oh dear. Cynthia is watching Raj and Howard's drone footage. Raj declares that he can't wait to... make babies... with her.In the next episode, we'll see Cynthia throwing her cell phone into a lake. Then she'll seek therapy.To be honest, given Sheldon's controlling personality i'm surprised the writers waited until now to make an episode about who's in charge of decision making in the building. I think the concept is genius. It's fun to watch a make believe election take place where the stakes aren't asas they are in real life. Also, I wish we would've seen more of Raj and Cynthia together before she discovered that footage, but sadly that ended faster than it started. I still have hope that his happily ever after is out there, I just pray he doesn't have to wait to meet her untiladult Halley's wedding.Down below, let me know who out of the friend group you'd vote for as the president of your tenants association, if you enjoyed meeting some of the other tenants in the building (I thought it was so cool!), and if you've flown a drone before. They look awesome, but i'm slightly terrified of them. You know, because it could hit me in the head and all.
Algiers, April 06, 2018 (SPS) - Algeria expressed "satisfaction" with the willingness of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, renewed in his report to the Security Council to prelaunch the talks process and facilitate direct negotiations, in " in good faith, and without preconditions" between the conflicting parties, Morocco and Frente POLISARIO, in order to reach just, lasting and mutually acceptable solution, which guarantees self-determination of the Sahrawi people, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Abdelaziz Benali Cherif said in a statement to APS.

"It (Algeria) also expressed concern over the serious violations of human rights, including the use of torture against Sahrawis in occupied Western Sahara, as well as the restrictions imposed on the access of foreign journalists and human rights defenders to Western Sahara territory, as reported by the UN Secretary-General in the same report, "said Benali Cherif.

In this regard, "Algeria shares the UN Chief opinion that the independent, impartial, comprehensive and lasting monitoring of Human Rights is a necessity in order to protection the Sahrawis," he said.

In the same regard, added the Spokesman, Algeria expresses "concern over Moroccos refusal, also mentioned in the Secretary-General report, to allow the African Union Mission (AU) to return to Aaiun and resume its collaboration with Minurso. The 30th Ordinary Session of the AU Heads of State and Government, held on 28 and 29 January 2018 in Addis Ababa, had urged Morocco to allow this Mission to return to Aaiun."

Moreover, Algeria regrets "the persistence of restrictions and other obstacles imposed by Morocco to the UN Mission for the referendum in Western Sahara (Minurso) which, as reported by UN Secretary-General, undermine Minurso impartiality and are contrary to the Agreement of principle concluded with the Moroccan Government in 2015," he added.

"Algeria will continue to support resolutely and to accompany in good faith the efforts of the UN Secretary-General and his Personal Envoy Horst Kohler, aimed at achieving a just and lasting solution to the conflict in Western Sahara, based on the exercise by Western Sahara people of their inalienable right to self-determination, in accordance with the UN doctrine and practice on decolonization and international legality, "he concluded.SPS

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The summer months are quickly approaching and that means companies everywhere will be looking to hire a fresh batch of interns.

While the running joke may be that interns do busy work for little to no compensation, a recent report by salary-tracking site Glassdoor shows many companies are offering more than fair wages.
STAMFORD  Theres a dangerous secret to the citys busy streets thats becoming more widely known.

Stamford drivers are crazy, said city Rep. Steven Kolenberg, R-16. Its almost like New York light.

In a city where there hasnt been a homicide in more than a year, there have been two pedestrian fatalities in the first three months of 2018.

There have been 292 car-vs.-pedestrian accidents in Stamford since 2015, according to data through March 15 compiled by the University of Connecticut, which collates police crash reports statewide. Of those, 44 resulted in serious injuries and seven were fatal.

As a result, there has been a renewed attention to improve pedestrian safety, including ramped-up traffic enforcement downtown, a safety messaging push and a traffic engineering revamp. These efforts come after the city last year hired a new transportation chief, Jim Travers, and Kolenberg was appointed in December as chairman of the Stamford Transportation Committee.

Since Stamfords last homicide in November 2016, 12 pedestrians have been seriously injured and four have been killed.

While the data shows New Haven is Connecticuts most dangerous city for pedestrians, with nearly 500 accidents since 2015, Stamford is not far behind.

I dont ever want to be the No. 1 city for those accidents, Travers said. We have an obligation to our residents to make sure that theyre safe.

For the first time in more than two decades, Stamford will re-time all stoplights within the next year, and there are plans to improve several dangerous intersections and roundabouts that have been notorious for accidents, Travers said.

Travers said the Transportation Bureau is also installing a new communications system to better link City Hall to the traffic lights. He said nearly all of the projects that are underway have a sidewalk component, connecting city walkways by piecemeal.

For every single improvement project that were doing, whether were doing it through state, federal or city dollars, a pedestrian component is vital, Travers said.

But Travers said the way to a safer city isnt engineering alone. He said the other two key components are enforcement and education. While police handle the enforcement, Travers and Kolenberg are teaming up to provide the education.

Kolenberg has already begun holding public forums on pedestrian safety with a police officer, UConn professor and Travers.

Travers and his team spent Read Across America Day visiting each kindergarten class in Stamford to deliver a simple message from a classic childrens book.

We read Red, Stop! Green, Go! many, many times, Travers said.

The two also plan to film a public service announcement that will be released during the pedestrian-heavy summer. Pending approval by the Board of Representatives, the bureaus budget also calls for hiring a safe streets coordinator, who will spread the safety message even further.

For enforcement, police have taken a new carrot-and-stick approach to downtown streets.

More Information Top roads for pedestrian and car accidents 1. Route 1 44 2. Unknown* 41 3. Route 137 22 4. Summer Street 17 5. Atlantic Street11 6. Bedford Street 9 7. Elm Street 8 8. Grove Street 7 9. Strawberry Hill Avenue 6 10. West Broad Street 6 See More Collapse

Since early February, police have been hawk-eying crosswalks and writing tickets to drivers failing to cede space to pedestrians when crossing legally. Police have issued more than 40 tickets  each $92  to downtown drivers refusing to grant the right of way in the last few months.

Police have also handed out rewards  $10 grocery cards  to pedestrians who crossed streets when signaled and chided those who didnt. Police gave out 50 cards during the one-day initiative last month and issued verbal warnings to several offenders.

It is mutual fault. You definitely see where the cars are at fault, and in a lot of these accidents, you will see the pedestrians at fault, said Police Capt. Diedrich Hohn, who supervises the citys downtown patrol.

This is something we have to do to try and make the streets safer.
Richwood, TX (77531)

Today

Thunderstorms - some may contain locally heavy rain, especially during the morning hours. High around 85F. Winds SSE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%. 1 to 2 inches of rain expected. Locally heavy rainfall possible..

Tonight

Scattered thunderstorms. Low 76F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.
F rom the ghost of infamous street thief, robber and murder Dick Turpin to the Royal Theatre's famous Man in Grey, its little wonder that London is often thought of as one of the most haunted cities in Europe.

It's easy to feel spooked while wandering the city considering the frequency of ghost sightings and things get even worse after discovering the twisted fates that some of Londons resident ghosts met before their deaths.

Whether you believe in the supernatural or not, exploring these spooky hotspots will make for a memorable night; next time youre craving a horror flick, ditch it for some real life spooks and check out Londons most haunted locations.

The Flask, Highgate

The Flask pub in Hampstead

Now a Fuller's pub, the Flask has been around London since 1663, so it should come as no surprise that its seen some dark times. During a late night dinner here, pub-goers may stumble upon the ghost of a man in a Cavalier uniform or the figure of an old barmaid who supposedly hanged herself in the pubs basement. Take heed of a sudden temperature drop and swaying lamp lights, as regulars say those are the sure signs of a spirit has entering the room. Whether or not the rumours are true, the Flask has plenty of stories to tell: highwayman Dick Turpin supposedly evaded capture here by hiding in the pub's stables, while customers have included William Hogarth and Karl Marx.

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77 Highgate West Hill, N6 6BU, theflaskhighgate.com

Greenwich foot tunnel

The Greenwich Foot Tunnel / Jeremy Selwyn

This tunnel, opened in 1902, runs under the river Thames and connects Greenwich to the the Isle of Dogs. Walking down its damp and narrow path will already leave you feeling uneasy, even without the ghosts of a Victorian man and woman strolling over from the other side. While no one knows exactly who this couple are, theyre spotted frequently late at night. Supposedly, their footsteps can be heard bouncing down the leaking walls of the tunnel.

Cutty Sark Gardens, Greenwich, SE10 9HT

Liverpool Street station

Liverpool Street / Andy Rain/EPA

If the fact that a plague pit containing 30 suspected plague victims was discovered underneath Liverpool Street Station doesnt scare you, then perhaps spotting the Liverpool Street Station ghost will. Workers have complained about the ghost of a man in overalls appearing on the eastbound central line platform during closing hours, seemingly waiting for a train that never comes.

Liverpool St, EC2M 7QH

50 Berkeley Square, Mayfair

Real Unexplained Mysteries

This brick house was dubbed as London's most haunted house in the twentieth century both because of its deranged ex-tenant and resident female ghost. Both stories are fascinating and haunting, in all senses. The young woman allegedly threw herself from the top floor after being abused by her uncle and sometimes appears as a brown mist, while longstanding tenant Mr. Myers, a Boo Radley type who locked himself in this house until he passed away, is also believed to haunt the premises. Apparently Myers went mad after he was rejected by his fiancee and let the house crumble around him. He died in 1874 and it's said a maid who slept one night in the attic room was found the next day so deeply distressed that she died the next day in an asylum.

50 Berkeley Square, Mayfair, W1J 5BA

Room 333 at the Langham Hotel, Marylebone

Residency: the Langham Hotel (Google Street View)

If there's one spot to avoid in London, its the third floor of the Langham Hotel, particularly room 333. Sure, there's an eerie relation to the satanic 666, but it's the several ghosts spotted haunting the room that are sure to cause the real fright. Its not just paranormal geeks that believe in this hotel room's horrors, either: the late BBC announcer James Alexander Gordon also claimed that he saw the spectre while staying overnight in the room.

1C Portland Pl, Marylebone, W1B 1JA, langhamhotels.com

Theatre Royal, Drury Lane

/ Matt Writtle

If you ever get a whiff of lavender while watching a show at the Theatre Royal, pick up your stuff and run, because it means that a ghost is in your presence. Spirits, like the Man in Grey or the ghost of Joseph Grimaldi, have sometimes been spotted backstage by actors, directors and stagehands.

Catherine Street, London WC2B 5JF, reallyusefultheatres.co.uk

Queens House

The Queen's House

If youre searching for concrete evidence that a place is haunted, look no further than Queens House. It is most famously known for a photo taken on its tulip staircase in which seems to show two semi-corporeal beings, contrary to the photographers insistence that he was alone when snapping the picture.

Romney Rd, Greenwich, SE10 9NF, rmg.co.uk

Handel House

Handel Hendrix

Right before the opening of the Handel House Museum in 2001, the trust board ordered a Roman Catholic priest to carry out an exorcism for a ghost spotted by two fundraisers. Believed to be the ghost of the famous composer George Frideric Handel himself, the apparition was apparently also spotted by guitarist Jimi Hendrix, who lived next door in the 1960s.

25 Brook Street, Mayfair, W1K 4HB, handelhendrix.org

Highgate Cemetery

Jim Dyson/Getty Images

In 1970, after several spooky sightings of a strange man by locals in the cemetery, magician Sean Manchester declared a vampire hunt on the night of Friday 13 in hopes of finding (and killing) the man. Of course, no vampire was ever found, but that hasnt stopped others from claiming that there is still some kind of paranormal activity occurring in the graveyard.

Hampstead Heath

RDImages/Epics/Getty Images

Several ghosts call the Heath home, such as a small, sad girl on High Street or the spirit of Dick Turpin at the Spaniards Inn. Both have been giving visitors the creeps for years, making Hampstead Heath Londons favourite Halloween location and a definite place to check out after the sun goes down.

North End Way, NW3 7ES
M urder charges have been brought against two people following a surge in violence that has shaken the capital.

One man has been charged with murder after a wonderful 24-year-old was shot close to the Houses of Parliament in February.

And a teenager has been charged with murder over the stabbing of an 18-year-old in Hackney.

In the first incident, Amir Ellouzi was left with a gunshot wound after being allegedly attacked in Westminster at 8.35pm on February 24.

There has been a surge in violent murders this year / PA

Detectives investigating his death arrested a 23-year-old man from south-west London.

Adam Khan, of Barrington Road, had previously been charged with attempted murder and, on Friday, was charged with murder after Mr Ellouzi died from his wounds.

Khan is due to appear at the Old Bailey on Tuesday April 10.

Three other people who were arrested in connection with the investigation have been released with no further action, police said.

London murder rate overtakes New York for first time ever after spate of fatal stabbings and shootings

Following Mr Ellouzis death, his mother told the Standard that he son was an angel.

She said: He was a wonderful boy. We are going to his grave today, we are heartbroken.

Police also charged a 17-year-old with murder in relation to a separate incident in Hackney earlier this week.

The latest victim of London's knife crime epidemic: Israel Ogunsola

Eighteen-year-old Israel Ogunsola died after being stabbed on Morning Lane at around 8pm on April 4.

Police arrested two 17-year-olds on suspicion of murder on the same night and, on Saturday, charged one with murder. He will appear at the Old Bailey on April 10.

The second teenager has been bailed to a date in mid-April.


L eaders in the fight against London's surge in violent crime have said children are carrying blades because they are "fearful they could be the next victim".

As he sought to explain why so many of the capital's youths are resorting to knife crime, Patrick Green, CEO of the Ben Kinsella Trust, said: "For some young people it is that they are genuinely scared.

"They are generally worried because they have seen or heard of incidents in their locality and theyre fearful that they could be the next victim."

Asked why London is seeing a frightening rise in stabbings and shootings, Mr Green added: "When violence grows, fear of violence also grows and can lead to behaviours such as that."

Shot dead in Tottenham: Tanesha Melbourne / PA

Experts in youth violence spoke to the Standard about the recent spate in killings after the Met Police said 55 murder investigations have been launched in London since the start of the year.

Penelope Gibbs, director of Transform Justice, offered another explanation for trend towards violence, saying: "Theres also the issue of drugs and the drugs trade.

"Obviously its quite prevalent in London and unfortunately the kind of organised criminals who run drugs crime use children to deal the drugs and then those children are protecting their territory and their trade."

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan and Diane Abbott, MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington have both told how cuts to police and local youth services have played a part in soaring rates of violence.

Israel Ogunsola, 18, who was stabbed to death in east London

Ms Abbott said: "I think there are a number of factors, I think theres the cuts in policing. Here in Hackney for instance weve lost one in four of our police officers since 2010."

Mr Khan said: "When it comes to prevention and education weve lost 46 per cent of funding for youth provision.

Figures revealed last week suggested capital's murder rate had overtaken New York's for the first time ever.

This week alone four people, including two teenagers, were killed on London's streets as Met Police chief Cressida Dick promised "Al Capone" style tactics to combat the rising death toll.

Scene: police erected a forensic tent in Link Street, Homerton, where Israel Ogunsola died of stab wounds (NIGEL HOWARD) / NIGEL HOWARD 

Tanesha Melbourne-Blake, 17, was gunned down and killed in the street in north London on Monday night.

Minutes later, Amaan Shakoor, 16, was shot in the face in Walthamstow. He died on Tuesday.

Israel Ogunsola, 18, a computer programming student, died from stab wounds in one of two fatal attacks a mile apart in east London yesterday.

In a heartbreaking appearance on the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire Show, Louise Samuels - the sister of Daniel Frederick, who was stabbed to death in east London in January - broke down in tears as she described seeing her brother in intensive care.

She said: "He was a person who liked to liked to smile a lot, he liked to joke a lot. He was very much a family person."

She added: "They just had him there pumping in blood...He had a tear that came down his eye and I asked if he was crying and they said 'I don't think so'.

"And then a tear came down again and I said: 'You know that you're going so...don't be afraid to go'."

The Home Office said in a statement: "All forms of violent crime are totally unacceptable.
C ampaigners have called for radical new policies to tackle drug abuse in London as new figures revealed the worst boroughs for heroin and morphine overdoses.

The Office for National Statistics revealed previously unseen data on hard drug related fatalities across the UK from 2014 to 2016 earlier this week.

The statistics showed the five top hotspots for fatal heroin and morphine overdoses were: Hackney (2.7 per 100,000 people), Haringey (2.6), Camden (2.0), Islington (1.7), and Tower Hamlets (1.6).

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Now legislative reform campaign Transform Drug Policy (TDP) is calling for the introduction of Drug Consumption Rooms (DCRs) to help tackle the drugs epidemic facing London.

TDP founder Danny Kushlick told the Standard: "These are not just numbers - they're people - each of them is someone's child. It could have been yours.

"The UK has one of the highest overdose rates in Europe, which is a direct result of taking a criminal rather than health based approach to the trade and use of opiates.

"In fact, Londoners are six times as likely to die from a drug overdose as people living in Portugal - because they take a health based approach that doesn't criminalise people who use drugs.

"No one has ever died of an overdose in a DCR. That is why Germany, where the focus is on saving lives rather than stopping users, has more than 30 DCRs.

"The UK Government must introduce DCRs as a matter of the utmost urgency, and explore models of legal regulation to better protect those most vulnerable to overdose and death."

The five boroughs with lowest morphine and heroin-related death tolls were Barking, Bexley, Havering, Merton, and Richmond.

Anne Canning, Group Director, Children, Adults and Community Health at Hackney Council said: "The increases in drugs misuse deaths across the country reported by the ONS are a deeply saddening trend and an issue that all local authorities should act to address.

"Public Health England have suggested that an ageing cohort of heroin users, who often have a range of complex physical illnesses as a result of long-term drug use, sadly may make them more vulnerable to death from drug misuse.

"In Hackney we continue to adapt our services to ensure they reflect the ever-changing picture of drug addiction and recovery, to ensure we are best supporting people living in our borough.

"The Hackney Recovery Service provides a range of pharmacological and psychological treatments to support opiate users which focus on stabilising use, minimising harm and detoxing where appropriate."

A spokesman for Haringey Council said: Drug misuse has a devastating and often tragic impact on individuals, their families and friends.

"Haringey has a number of support and recovery services available and we encourage any residents struggling with drugs to get in touch with these services as soon as possible, using the details on our website.

A Camden Council spokesman said: The ONS figures show that there is work to do across the country to address the many underlying factors linked to substance misuse.

Camden Council invests in a range of evidence based treatment services for residents who need support with their drug use.

"A drug-related death review group has also been established to ensure we identify opportunities for prevention and shared learning.

The ONS figures showed drug and heroin overdoses were significantly high in British seaside towns - with 16 in every 100,000 people overdosing in Blackpool.
L ondon was the hottest place in the UK on Saturday as temperatures soared to 18C, amid fine and bright weather across swathes of the country.

Temperatures in the capital were higher than in Barcelona as a warm wind from the south sent the mercury rising.

Friday's 17.3C high has already been surpassed at London City Airport, where temperatures reached 18C in the afternoon.

Met Office meteorologist Helen Roberts said: "There's still a good few hours of heating to go, so it could get a bit hotter than that."

Temperatures are set to soar to 18C in the capital / PA

She predicted highs of between 18C and 19C, but warned the warm weather is not set to last, with showers in the North and West, and outbreaks of rain across central and eastern areas on Sunday.

"Where it's been potentially 18C or more this afternoon in the South East, tomorrow it will be much suppressed, so more like 12C or 13C," she said.

London and the South East will see the best of the warm weather on Saturday, as an area of cloud and rain to the west edges north.

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"Wales and northern England are particularly affected by that and Scotland later, with drier and brighter weather to the north of that across much of the rest of Scotland," said Ms Roberts.

"Overnight that continues to edge northwards across the rest of Scotland.

"Otherwise, a lot of dry weather, but a lot of cloud with some mist and fog developing through the early hours of Sunday morning and then another pulse of rain pushing across southeast England.

"So, it's a wet start across some southern and eastern parts of England on Sunday morning.

"Otherwise, a lot of dry weather around first thing, but quite a lot of cloud as well, with that cloud gradually lifting as the day progresses."

She said a return of an easterly wind from Tuesday will see a mixed picture for the county next week.

Eastern areas will be colder and cloudier, with the west of the country seeing the best of the sunshine and the warmth.
H e may not have attained God status like his father, Prince Philip, but the people of Vanuatu still made sure Prince Charles knew he was pretty special.

For the prince was treated to a colourful ceremony and made a Paramount Chief - senior chief - as he arrived in Commonwealth islands - complete with his own grass skirt.

Charles, wearing a formal lightweight suit and tie with the skirt wrapped around his waist and swathed in Salusalu garlands, posed happily in his native attire, as dancers performed around him.

The skirt presentation was made at the Namanal by Chief Sine Mao Tirsupe, President of the Malvatumauri National Council of Chiefs.

Charles was invited to drink special and powerful kava known as Royal Kava - produced from the root of a plant closely related to pepper - reserved for special occasions.

It was only last consumed during a visit by The Duke of Edinburgh when he toured in 1974.

Charles gets off his plane after arriving in Vanuatu / PA

Charles also met Vanuatu native, Jimmy Joseph, a member of the Prince Philip Movement a religious sect followed by the Katsom people of Yaohnanen village on the island of Tanna, who believe the Duke of Edinburgh is a divine being.

Earlier, Charles was greeted by the British and Australian High Commissioners to Vanuatu, as well as the Vanuatu Minister of Foreign Affairs and watched a traditional dance performance.

On arrival at State House, Charles was greeted by traditional dancers from a local school.

Inside the President's Nakamal, The Prince - whose visit was at the same rank as if it was the Queen - met Oben Moses Tallis, President of Vanuatu and his wife Estelle Tallis. Outside the royal standard was flying.

There was an exchange of gifts and more Kava drinking ceremony before moving onto the lawn where he inspected the guard of honour.

Charles, with Salusalu ceremonial garlands produced from indigenous natural rope fibres, leaves and flowers, was given a chiefs drum stick. He said, Ill bang it in case of emergencies.

A red carpet was laid out for Prince Charles at the airport / PA

He then inspected the Guard of Honour were made up of members of the Vanuatu Mobile Force (VMF), a paramilitary wing of the Vanuatu Police Force.

Red ceremonial mats featured throughout the ceremonial greeting, as they are one of the most widely recognised and deeply respected aspects of Vanuatu's traditions. The mats from the islands of Pentecost and Ambae.

No major event in Vanuatu in life (or death) can occur without the display and exchange of these red mats.

Charles was mobbed when he went to the local market and view handicraft production with Manager Royal Pakoasongi and Women Leaders of the Handicraft Market Association, Helen Calo and Serah Tari.

He bought a bag and a hat, who returned home earlier, for 6,000 Vatu - around 40.

They make wonderful presents, Charles said.

The Vanuatu Government has made a commitment to support locally made products by dedicating the market house to Made in Vanuatu products, including locally made art, jewellery, spices, coffee, chocolate, clothing, soap, home decor, gifts and souvenirs such as baskets, fans and mats. Plastic bags are banned at the market.

Charles, who play a major role at the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting this month alongside the Queen, also met Jonathan Schwass, New Zealand High Commissioner to Vanuatu.

The two discussed the damage caused to the island by Cyclone Pam in 2015 and the subsequent recovery process during a seafront walk.

Later he toured the hospital to see restoration following damage caused by Tropical Cyclone Pam and meet with recently graduated and current students of the Vanuatu College of Nursing Education, before joining an afternoon tea reception.

The Prince met by the Norris Kalmet, Minister of Health and hosted by Dr Tony Harry, Senior Obstetrics and Gynaecology Consultat.

Port Vila Central Hospital is Vanuatus main hospital and was completed in 1975. The hospital has approximately 120 beds across four wards (children, maternity, surgical and general).

Approximately 260 staff work at the hospital, including 17 ni-Vanuatu (those born in Vanuatu) doctors.

The hospital suffered extensive damage from Tropical Cyclone Pam in 2015. Recovery efforts funded by the Australian Government include refurbishment of the laboratory, operating theatre for womens health, mortuary, waste water treatment plant and electrical works of all original buildings.

Prince Philip became a divine being in Tanna because according to ancient Yaohnanen tales, the son of a mountain spirit travelled over the seas to a distant land.

There, he married a powerful woman and in time would return to them.

They had seen the respect accorded to Queen Elizabeth by the colonial officials and concluded that her husband, Prince Philip, must be the son referred to in their legends.

It is unclear just when this belief came about, but it was probably some time in the 1950s or 1960s.

It was strengthened by the royal couple's official visit to Vanuatu in 1974, when a few villagers had the opportunity to actually see Prince Philip from a distance.

The Prince was not then aware of the cult, but it was brought to his attention several years later by diplomat John Champion, who suggested Philip send them a portrait of himself.

He did and the villagers responded by sending him a traditional pig-killing club called a nal-nal.

The duke sent a photograph of himself posing with the club.

Another photograph was sent in 2000. All three photographs were kept by Chief Jack Naiva, who died in 2009.

Earlier at a Governor Generals reception The Prince of Wales joked about his bits falling off and not being able to fit into his budgie smugglers now he is about to turn 70 .

Charles, who reaches the milestone birthday in November, also spoke of his love for Australia - a country where he went to school and first visited over half a century ago.

At a reception hosted by the Governor General Charles said, It is hard now, I find, to believe that all these years have actually passed by, or that I shall soon be seventy. Its not very long ago I remember my parents being seventy, let alone my grandmother being seventy!

I do know only too well - and understand - the strange feeling of disbelief that this is actually happening and that never again, for instance, will it be possible to squeeze into a pair of Budgie Smugglers!

I dont know about you but now bits of me keep falling off at regular intervals! "Don't worry", they keep telling me, "you have brilliant genes!" But the trouble is, I can't even get into them either!

Charles, who was educated at Timbertops, in Australia in his teens, went on, I remember all those years ago, as a newly arrived Pom in this country, landing - I think it must have been at Sydney airport and in those days I remember when you were sitting in your seat and the aircraft came to a stop, various people came round and sprayed you on arrival!

Fortunately I dont think they do that too often now. I soon discovered of course, when I was here, that one of the favourite Aussie pastimes is scaring Poms absolutely rigid with lurid tales of snakes, and crocodiles, funnel web spiders and bull ants and all these horrors!

But, thankfully, I managed to survive all of them  including leeches  when on expeditions in the Bush at Timbertop, he said.

He then praised the Australian spirit and courage.

All these experiences  and meeting so many Australians over all these years  have taught me a lot about the remarkable Aussie character  above all, if I may say so, your strength and generosity of spirit, resilience, unstoppable courage and a unique form of "mate-ship" that so characterised, I think, the incredible sacrifice and service of so many Australians - your fathers, uncles, grandfathers and great uncles - during two dreadful world wars.

He added, On that score, I will shortly be attending the commemoration of their heroic actions and their indomitable spirit at Villers Bretonneux, in France, later this month on my return, and just after the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting.

Whenever it has been tested, the Aussie character has always come up trumps, he said.

So your qualities of determination, tenacity and valour demonstrated so conspicuously on The Western Front are still evident today  as much exemplified by the Fiery's helmet as, of course, the slouch hat.

Fifty-two years ago, when I first came to Australia, Australian manhood was partly defined by how many schooners of beer you could line up on the bar  and drink  before the pubs closed early!

He said Australia was then seen as the "Lucky Country", safely miles away from all the problems afflicting other countries.

Now, perhaps, there is more and more concern about the huge uncertainty in the world and how that affects Australians and their future  whether in regard to Climate Change, affordability of housing, rapid technological change or terrorism.

This is partly why I have spent so much of my life, since I was educated here, trying to raise awareness of these issues and the need to tackle them before they overwhelm us.

For instance, it is truly extraordinary  when you think about it  that scientific evidence" has been endlessly accepted as the basis for modern existence.

And yet with the science of Climate Change and global warming (attested to by the most eminent scientists around the world) it is summarily dismissed as some kind of dastardly plot to undermine the entire conventional economic system  hence former Vice-President Al Gore's concept of "An Inconvenient Truth".

The truth is that our conventional system is undermining Nature's capacity to sustain us, and a vastly growing population, through the destruction we are wreaking on vital natural systems in the atmosphere, on land and in the oceans.

We are destroying our own life support systems, along with our children's and grandchildrens' future.

Many Australians are seeing this and, like me, are becoming ever more concerned. So surely it is essential that we work with Nature and not, as the conventional system does, against her and against Nature's own, unique economy?

As more and more clever technologies are developed in the fields of robotics and artificial intelligence, it seems to me vital to remember that we ourselves are human beings and not machines and that the dignity of human work and interaction is essential to our psychological well-being, he said.

I suspect it is therefore essential to consider very, very carefully the ethical issues around these developments before we end up with machines replacing people with all the disadvantages and dangers that flow from the law of unintended consequences.

Over the years, I have met so many remarkable Australians doing the most extraordinary things in every imaginable corner of the globe.

That is why I think Australia punches so much above her weight in so many different areas. Aussie values and the remarkable character of her people will always be a force for good in the world.

And, as we try to address so many urgent challenges, she continues to offer are example for us all.
R ussia's embassy in London has called for a showdown meeting with Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson over the poisoning of ex-spy Sergei Skripal.

In the latest of a series of provocative statements by Russian officials about the Novichok poisoning affair, the embassy said its dealings with the UK's Foreign Office had been "utterly unsatisfactory."

It said it was "high time" for a meeting between Mr Johnson and ambassador Alexander Yakovenko to discuss the investigation and other issues.

The Foreign Office said it was "Russias response that has been unsatisfactory" but said it would respond "in due course".



Salisbury spy attack: What we know so far

The Foreign Secretary has faced calls for an inquiry after he stated that the defence lab at Porton Down was sure that the agent was made by Russia. The chief executive of the labs later said it could not be certain.

Russian ambassador to the UN Vasily Nebenzya discusses the Salisbury attack at a UN meeting in New York / REUTERS

Mr Johnson hit back on Twitter against what he called Russian attempts to "discredit the UK" over the "key facts" of the case.

He wrote: "1) Porton Down identified nerve agent as military grade Novichok.

"2) Russia has investigated delivering nerve agents,likely for assassination,& as part of this programme has produced and stockpiled small quantities of Novichoks.

"3) Russia has motive for targeting Sergei Skripal."

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "Its over three weeks since we asked Russia to engage constructively and answer a number of questions relating to the attempted assassinations of Mr Skripal and his daughter.

"Now, after failing in their attempts in the UN and international chemical weapons watchdog this week and with the victims condition improving, they seem to be pursuing a different diversionary tactic.

We will of course consider their request and respond in due course.

It came as Russia's UN ambassador this week warned Britain it is "playing with fire" over the Salisbury spy poisoning and "will be sorry".

In comments to a special meeting of UN Security Council requested by Moscow, Vasily Nebenzya referenced Midsomer Murders and Alice in Wonderland as he mocked suggestions of Russian involvement.

Mr Nebenzya accused the West of "using the method of Dr Goebbels - lies that are repeated a thousand times become the truth".

The UK Government has said Russia is "likely" responsible for the nerve agent poisoning of Mr Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia, 33, but Russia has denied involvement.

Moscow has been accused of using diversionary tactics including requests to be involved in an independent probe into the incident.

Jeremy Corbyn has said Russia "has a direct or indirect responsibility" for the "outrageous" attack but had offered "denials and diversion" in response to the allegations.

On Wednesday, Russia lost a vote at the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in The Hague on its demand for its experts to be involved in testing samples of the substance used in the Salisbury attack.

Britain's Ambassador to the United Nations Karen Pierce / REUTERS

Karen Pierce, UK representative to the UN, said: "Allowing Russian scientists into an investigation when they are the most likely perpetrators of the crime in Salisbury would be like Scotland Yard inviting in Professor Moriarty."

Russian news agency Tass later reported that foreign minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters on Thursday: "We will accept the results of any investigation in which we take an equal part and which is transparent, not a secret one."

He added: "Since March 12, we have sent more than 10 official notes requesting access to the investigation."

Mr Lavrov said the "requests have been flatly rejected".

As part of efforts to put forward a united front in response to the crisis, more than 100 Russian diplomats are being sent home from more than 20 countries in what Theresa May has called the "largest collective expulsion of Russian intelligence officers in history".
March 23, 2018 - A gunman kills three people in southwestern France after holding up a car, firing on police and taking hostages in a supermarket, screaming "Allahu Akbar". Security forces storm the building and kill him.

Aug. 17, 2017 - A van ploughs into crowds in the heart of Barcelona, killing at least 13 people, a regional official says, in what police said they were treating as a terrorist attack.

June 3, 2017 - Three attackers ram a van into pedestrians on London Bridge then stab revellers in nearby bars, killing eight people and injuring at least 48. Islamic State says its militants are responsible.

May 22, 2017 - A suicide bomber kills 22 children and adults and wounds 59 at a packed concert hall in the English city of Manchester, as crowds began leaving a concert by U.S. singer Ariana Grande.

April 7, 2017 - A truck drives into a crowd on a shopping street and crashes into a department store in central Stockholm, killing five people and wounding 15 in what police call a terrorist attack.

March 22, 2017 - An attacker stabs a policeman close to the British parliament in London after a car ploughs into pedestrians on nearby Westminster Bridge. Six people die, including the assailant and the policeman he stabbed, and at least 20 are injured in what police call a "marauding terrorist attack".

Dec. 19, 2016 - A truck ploughs into a crowded Christmas market in central Berlin, killing 12 people and injuring 48. German Chancellor Angela Merkel says authorities are assuming it was a terrorist attack.

July 26, 2016 - Two attackers kill a priest with a blade and seriously wound another hostage in a church in northern France before being shot dead by French police. French President Francois Hollande says the two hostage-takers had pledged allegiance to Islamic State.

July 24, 2016 - A Syrian man wounds 15 people when he blows himself up outside a music festival in Ansbach in southern Germany. Islamic State claims responsibility.

July 22, 2016 - An 18-year-old German-Iranian gunman apparently acting alone kills at least nine people in Munich. The teenager had no Islamist ties but was obsessed with mass killings. The attack was carried out on the fifth anniversary of twin attacks by Norwegian mass murderer Anders Breivik that killed 77 people.

July 18, 2016 - A 17-year-old Afghan refugee wielding an axe and a knife attacks passengers on a train in southern Germany, severely wounding four, before being shot dead by police. Islamic State claims responsibility.

July 14, 2016 - A gunman drives a heavy truck into a crowd celebrating Bastille Day in the French city of Nice, killing 86 people and injuring scores more in an attack claimed by Islamic State. The attacker is identified as a Tunisian-born Frenchman.

June 14, 2016 - A Frenchman of Moroccan origin stabs a police commander to death outside his home in a Paris suburb and kills his partner, who also worked for the police. The attacker told police negotiators during a siege that he was answering an appeal by Islamic State.

March 22, 2016 - Three Islamic State suicide bombers, all Belgian nationals, blow themselves up at Brussels airport and in a metro train in the Belgian capital, killing 32 people. Police find links with attacks in Paris the previous November.

Nov. 13, 2015 - Paris is rocked by multiple, near simultaneous gun-and-bomb attacks on entertainment sites around the city, in which 130 people die and 368 are wounded. Islamic State claims responsibility. Two of the 10 known perpetrators were Belgian citizens and three others were French.

Jan. 7-9, 2015 - Two Islamist militants break into an editorial meeting of satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo on Jan. 7 and rake it with bullets, killing 17. Another militant kills a policewoman the next day and takes hostages at a supermarket on Jan. 9, killing four before police shoot him dead.

May 24, 2014 - Four people are killed in a shooting at the Jewish Museum in central Brussels. The attacker was French national Mehdi Nemmouche, 29, who was subsequently arrested in Marseille, France. Extradited, he is awaiting trial in Belgium. (Editing by John Stonestreet and Hugh Lawson).
A s a nation of soap lovers, we laugh or we cry when our favourite character or the love-to-hate villain dies.

And while soap operas are known for strange storylines at the best of times, there is nothing more mysterious that a character who is killed off  only to come straight back to life.

The most recent example, of course, being Pat Phelan in Coronation Street. He fell over a cliff edge by a pretty lighthouse at the tail end of last week, only to rock up in a Bed and Breakfast a couple episodes on, being waited on by a nice Irish lady.

Odd, eh? Yes. But whats weirder is that Phelan is just one in a long line of drama favourites to meet their maker.and decide to turn straight back around again.

Here are six examples of soap characters with nine lives.

Dirty Den  EastEnders

The notorious villain of Walford bowed out in 1989 after being shot and falling into the canal.

He somewhat disappeared after that, supposedly meeting a watery death but he turned up 14 years later and came back to haunt Sharon with his famous Ello Princess line.

Kathy Beale  EastEnders

She's back: Gillian Taylforth as Kathy Beale / BBC/PA

Mother of Ian Beale and Ben Mitchell, Kathy left Albert Square very much alive (which is sometimes unusual for the soap!) for a new life in South Africa in 2000.

A couple of years later, news reached home that shed been killed in a car crash but it was revealed just recently  well, 2015  that it had all been a lie and Kathy returned to the Square, where she has resided once again ever since.

Kat Slater  EastEnders

Kat Slater and Alfie Moon / BBC/Patrick Redmond

Yes, I know what youre thinking  the BBC love a bit of reincarnation.

Only a few weeks ago  narrowly beaten by Pat Phelan for the lead here  Big Mo returned to Walford to tell Stacey and company that Kat had died. The locals rallied around the grieving family and organised a wake at the Queen Vic  only for Kat to rock up at the do in her memory.

Turns out, the famous Slater hadnt died abroad after all  which is weird, considering she drowned in now-axed spin-off show Redwater. It was all just another ploy for money by indebted Big Mo.

EastEnders - Best Villains 1 /8 EastEnders - Best Villains Janine Butcher What hasn't Janine done? Walford's Queen of Evil has spread rumours about Jamie Mitchell's bedroom antics, blackmailed Ian Beale, pushed her blubbering husband Barry off of a cliff, and stabbed herself in an attempt to frame Stacey Slater for attempted murder. Dirty Den Watts Den is Walford's original baddie. He was so keen to retain the title that he even came 'back from the dead' to continue his villainous ways. He served up divorce papers to his first wife Angie on Christmas Day but failed to escape from his second wife Chrissie who thumped him on the head with a doorstop. Stella Crawford Poor Ben Mitchell was subjected to months of abuse from Stella Crawford. The lawyer bullied the boy and even manipulated him into convincing his father Phil Mitchell to get down on one knee and pop the question. As with all EastEnders villains, Stella never did get her happy ever after and met her grizzly end after being confronted by Phil on their wedding day before throwing herself off of a building. Archie Mitchell No one seemed to escape Archies dastardly actions. He stole the Queen Vic from his fiance Peggy Mitchell, devised schemes to control his family, blackmailed Ian Beale and raped Stacey Slater. After narrowly escaping being buried alive by Phil Mitchell, he was whacked over the head with the famous Queen Vic bust. Trevor Morgan Unfortunately for Little Mo there was no end to Trevors wicked ways. He pushed her face into the Christmas dinner and forced her to eat the remains off of the carpet, isolated her from her family, burned her hand with an iron, raped her as punishment for attending her sister Lynne Hobbs's wedding, and tried to frame her for attempted murder. Steve Owen Steve killed Saskia by thumping her with an ashtray before burying her in Epping Forest and proceeding to frame Matthew. Despite his villainous traits he did manage to fit in one good deed. He passed baby Louise (who he planned to take to America with Lisa) to her father Phil Mitchell seconds before his car exploded. Nasty Nick Cotton Nasty Nick's devilish ways are endless. He beat up and killed Reg Cox who was found dead in the show's first episode. He claimed to be a born again Christian but then attempted to kill his "Ma" Dot - twice, murdered Eddie Royle, tried to con Dot by fooling her into thinking he had AIDS and was responsible for the death of DCI Emma Summerhayes after tampering with the brakes in Roxy's car. Andy Hunter He was a member of organised crime gang, The Firm, so there was to be no curbing his gangster ways. He conned his way into bed with Kat Slater and split her up from Alfie. But after two years of torturing Walford residents, he was killed by archenemy Johnny Allen who threw him off of a motorway bridge.

Warren Fox  Hollyoaks

The bad boy of Chester was presumed dead after being crushed by a mirror in a fire back in 2009.

However, he sprang back into life and returned to the bustling village in 2010 with a flashback episode proving how he escaped the inferno with nothing but a couple of scratches.

Kim Tate  Emmerdale

Kim turned up again in the secluded village she called home in May 1997, just a couple months after being found dead at the wheel of a car.

In order to keep up the drama and fake her own death, it transpired that Kim hired a lookalike to drive her car about town to make people think she was still around.

Harold Bishop  Neighbours

His loved ones were left devastated as unlucky Harold was swept out to sea, leaving nothing but his glasses behind on the shore bed.
The formal consultations on forming a new coalition government in Italy kicked off on April 4. The center-right coalition led by the anti-migrant League won 37% of the vote to control the most parliamentary seats while the populist 5-Star Movement won almost 33% to become the single party with the highest number of votes. Neither of them can govern alone. It does not make great difference who President Sergio Mattarella will entrust with the task to form a coalition government: the leader of the center-right League, Matteo Salvini, or Five Star's Luigi De Mayo. The outcome will be the same  the EU will face a crisis over its Russia policy. By and large, the two are at one on the issue  they want the Russia sanctions lifted.

The Five Star is not simply Eurosceptic; its openly anti-EU. The movement has always been known as part of a growing club of Kremlin sympathizers in the West. It shares a pro-Moscow outlook with the League. STOP absurd Russia sanctions tweeted Matteo Salvini to make his position known. It coincides with the opinion of Ernesto Ferlenghi, the President of Confindustria Russia, a non-profit association, who asks for governments support of Italian businesses operating in Russia. Both agree that the sanctions hurt Italian economy. Salvini lambasted his country's decision to expel Russian diplomats over the so-called spy poisoning case. In March, he signed a cooperation agreement with United Russia party.

Its almost certain that Italy, the 3rd-largest national economy in the eurozone, the 8th-largest by nominal GDP in the world, and the 12th-largest by GDP (PPP), will question the wisdom of sanctions war. No doubt, it will be backed by a number of countries, including Greece, Austria, Cyprus, Hungary etc. If not for pressure exercised by the EU and German leadership, the sanctions would have been eased, or even lifted, long ago, especially as Great Britain is on the way out of the bloc. The Skripal scandal can delay the discussions but not for a long time. It will die away. If there were a solid proof to bolster the accusations against Moscow, it would have been presented to public without procrastination to fuel the anti-Russia sentiments. It has not been done. The scandal is doomed to fade away gradually.

The expedience of diplomats expulsions has been questioned in almost all EU member states, including Germany. Its newly appointed Foreign Minister Heiko Maas insists that Europe needs Russia as an ally to solve regional conflicts. According to him, We are open to dialogue and are counting on building confidence again bit by bit, if Russia is ready to do so.

Austria and Greece have refused to join so far but if such a big country as Italy joins them, the EU will be in a tight spot. The sanctions are to be prolonged in early fall but Rome will block their automatic extension. Italy is too big and important to be easily made kneel. This is an EU founding nation. The bloc is facing serious cracks and adding more bones of contention will put into question its very existence. Under the circumstances, gradual easing of sanctions to ultimately lift them is the best solution for the EU. That will put the US and Europe on a collision course, especially at a time the divisions over the Nord Stream-2 gas project go on deepening.

US Ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, has recently stated that Russia is no friend of the US. Moscow is well aware that Washington is not its friend either. Its not about friendship but rather the need for a dialogue on equal terms to address burning issues of mutual interests.

As one can see, the US hostility toward Russia does not strengthen its standing in the world. Quite to the contrary, it makes the gap wider to alienate European allies. The relationship is complicated enough as it is. The pressure exercised by the US and the UK, its staunch European ally, to involve the EU into the anti-Russia campaign provokes stiff resistance. Its strong alliances, not disagreements with close partners that make great powers stronger.

The CAATSA law that allows punitive measures against European allies, the divisions over Iran deal to be probably decertified by the US in May, the European resistance to the US tariff policy and a lot of other things undermine the Wests alliance the US considers itself the leader of. Adding Russia to the list of European grievances hardly makes the US position in the world stronger. By ratcheting up anti-Moscow sentiments it hurts itself to make the America First policy much less effective than it could be, if outright hostility gave place to business-like dialogue.

Looks like those who wish Russia ill have lost an important ally. The more effort is applied to hurt Moscow, the more damage is done to Wests unity.
President Donald Trump, currently polling below 40% job approval rating of his handling of the American Presidency by American voters, has reached the spring of his second year in office, and with it a turbulent economic Easter at that, by deciding to pick a full on trade war with the second largest economy on the planet.

After this remarkably volatile first year of any modern American President and US administration in world affairs, President Donald Trump seemed to be calming down, and finding somewhat of a more stable and responsible stakeholder rhythm in the international order and architecture.

By attempting to focus on grand strategic bargain geopolitics within American foreign policy  where the White House and Trump administration has more freedom of executive power in foreign affairs and diplomacy  President Trump has not proven able as yet to individually intellectually conceptualize a winning strategy as a responsible participating, but leading, stakeholder as well as geopolitical and geoeconomic diplomacy for American power in the early 21st century.

His decision for example to indulge his Office of Trade Representative Peter Navarro in launching a totally unnecessary, uncalled for and unwinnable, plus harmful, stupid trade war with the planets second largest economy, and economy of nearly 1.4 billion customer and consumers, the People's Republic of China, is a case in point. This is a deeply irresponsible, needless, harmful and erratic policy course of action in the run up to the US-Korean Summit.

After much goodwill has been invested in and generated and much hard work has laid a strong foundation for major creative innovations in world affairs it is unfortunate that crude and primitive policy instruments, that only serve to harm American interests have been resorted to. The short term damage that will be felt politically by President Trump's Republican Party in the upcoming mid term Congressional elections could be enough to restore California Congresswoman Representative Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco as Speaker of the House of Representatives and sweep the Democrats back to power in the House for the first time on Capitol Hill since 2010.

A Trump administration sponsored and engineered Trade War thanks to the likes of US administration officials such as Peter Navarro is deeply worrying, disturbing and totally the wrong course of policy at this time in international affairs especially with critical diplomacy underway in the field of North Korean denuclearization.

The Trump Presidency has gotten off to a sputtering and erratic, chaotic start with two Secretaries of State and three National Security Advisors all in the space of 14 months. While the departure of Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State and HR McMaster as National Security Advisor, thus removing the more aggressive Obama era German leaning State Department CIA neocons, is a welcome development and overdue, the embrace of the right wing anti-Russian neo-cons in the form of American nationalist hawk John Bolton as National Security Advisor is an ominous development that needs careful assessment. President Trump needs to finesse his foreign policy and jettison stupid and dangerous ideas of a US-Sino Trade War while also moving towards embracing and delivering a more constructive, trusting and innovative dialogue with President Vladimir Putin's Russia.

President Trump's foreign policy has so far failed to embrace a friendly and constructive more accommodating partnership with President Vladimir Putin's Russia and also has failed to demonstrate a mature commitment to better and stronger relations with China as a strategic partner. The moving away from the Tillerson/McMaster State Department CIA wing is welcome but President Trump has got to do more to assert more policy making inside his administration for better, stronger and healthier relations with two major strategic world powers in the 21st century such as China and Russia.
In Iraq the United States sent in a medical team (the 47th Combat Support Hospital) of medical professionals from United States (army, navy, air force) as well as British, Dutch, German, Australian and Canadian teams to provide medical care for American and NATO personnel. The 47 th also had a growing number of Iraqi medical personnel after it arrived in Iraq back in October 2017. Technically the 47th was there to treat combat and non-combat casualties among the nearly 10,000 NATO military and civilian contractor personnel force. But these foreign personnel suffered few casualties or illnesses and most of the medical care the 47th provided was for Iraqi troops and civilians.

There were a lot of Iraqi medical professionals assigned to the 47th where they got firsthand experience using Western combat medical techniques. Up to 400 patients a day were treated by the 47th which served as a teaching hospital as well as a source of first class care for Iraqi security forces and civilians. Because ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) is largely destroyed in Iraq there are far fewer military and civilian casualties and the presence of the 47th, treating mostly Iraqis, provides a morale boost for security forces still hunting down ISIL groups. There is still a substantial, but shrinking number of civilian casualties (under a thousand dead a month and several thousand wounded each month in 2017.) Civilian casualties are down even more sharply in early 2018. This is enough to keep the 47th busy

One thing Iraqis missed when all American troops were expelled in 2011 was the loss of the Western military medical personnel. General violence and deliberate attacks on Iraqi medical personnel after 2004 left Iraq with few local capabilities like the 47th. There is still a shortage of medical personnel in Iraq but it is much less dangerous to be an Iraqi doctor or nurse and many of the new ones are right out of medical school and inexperienced. So the training aspect of the 47th is a long-term benefit.

The CSH (Combat Support Hospital) is the successor (since 2006) to the much older MASH (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital). Thus a CSH is referred to as cash. There are currently about 25 CSHs in the American military, most of them reserve units. They are organized and equipped to set up and run a large (200 or more bed) hospitals anywhere on short notice. A CSH would also have several sterile operating rooms, one or more emergency rooms plus all the usual departments (radiology, lab, pharmacy, kitchens and living quarters for the 600 or so staff of a CSH. All the equipment for a CSH is designed and packaged for transport by air on short notice.
The latest changes in the government include final approval of constitutional change that enables current leader president Xi Jinping to rule indefinitely, or at least as long as he can hang onto power. This is now the law and Xi wasted no time in making more changes. He introduced the NPS (National Supervision Commission) which has an expanded mandate that makes it the most powerful anti-corruption organization. Until the NPS the most powerful anti-corruption group was the ruling Communist Partys CCDI (Central Commission for Discipline Inspection), which only went after party officials. The NPS can do that as well as investigate any corruption in China, whether it involves a party member or not. The NPS is powerful because it answers directly to the supreme leader (Xi Jinping) and cannot be overruled by anyone but him. The creation of the NPS was a popular move because rich and powerful Chinese who engage in corrupt practices often appear untouchable. No more, unless Xi Jinping owes you a favor.

Provincial leaders were ordered, at the 2017 19th National Congress, to halt the practice of inflating economic data to meet goals set by the national government. Not everyone has complied but all apparently tried. These orders had been issued before but the 2017 version came with assurances that those who did not comply would be subject to intense scrutiny by anti-corruption prosecutors. Most provincial leaders are complying, especially since the government also offered a carrot to go with the stick. Provincial goals are now somewhat more nuanced that just GDP. The new goals stress quality not quantity. This is difficult to sustain because it depends on keeping a lid on corruption, which is a goal rarely achieved in China and never for long. Provincial leaders see official goals are opportunities rather than burdensome requirements. The catalyst for this approach is corruption. What the national government is asking for is that provincial leaders must now fix local problems (poor infrastructure, pollution, falling birthrates and the resulting smaller workforce and growing number of elderly) mainly with local resources. The national government says it is going be more responsive to these provincial problems but that is also a rare event in Chinese history. On top of all this there is a damaged national banking system trying to cope with huge amounts of bad debt (the aftereffect of decades of corruption in lending). This is all good news, but it remains to be seen how much of it turns into reality.

The Cash Conspiracy

China is encountering more resistance to its ambitious program of overseas investment and development. The primary government objective is to obtain access to needed raw materials as well as to build a new, Chinese controlled trade network called OBOR (One Belt, One Road). A third goal is to use those investments to gain political, diplomatic and military power outside China. This plan, as most large scale and ambitious efforts, is running into problems. The main one is that the terms of these investments are subject to a lot of corruption and government interference (Chinese and local). The result of this is many projects are over budget and behind schedule. In a growing number of countries the locals are becoming aware of all the implications of these Chinese investments and becoming, as the Chinese see it, troublesome. For example the Philippines is a typical recipient of growing Chinese investments but many Filipinos see their local corruption as a weakness that the Chinese are quietly seeking to exploit. Thus a recent a Chinese credit rating agency report gave the Philippines an excellent (AAA) rating. This got different reactions in the Philippines. Some saw it as an accurate assessment of how things were going. The rating agency noted that tax and other reforms were underway and that GDP growth was expected to stay strong (at 6.8 percent) even though the Filipino government was seeking something between seven and eight percent. This upbeat assessment made it possible for China to approve new loans to the Philippines. That made a lot of Filipinos uneasy. Thats because China is increasingly using its large foreign investments as weapons. Case in point is the tactic of loaning poor countries large amounts of money for huge development projects (like ports, roads and railroads). The loans are on terms that look attractive but eventually much be repaid. When the debtor nation runs into trouble making payments China offers to reduce the load in return for control (if not majority ownership) of the ports, railroad, airport or whatever. With control of these facilities China can probably run them more efficiently, and profitably. But control means it is easier for China to use the facility for military or espionage purposes. This is called DTD (Debt Trap Diplomacy) and has been a favorite Chinese tactic for over a thousand years by virtue of China having, until a few centuries ago, long been the wealthiest empire on the planet. Nations currently vulnerable (they have large Chinese debts) to DTD are Sri Lanka, Djibouti, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, the Maldives, Mongolia, Montenegro, Pakistan, Venezuela and Tajikistan. Most nations are aware of the DTD trap but where there is a lot of corruption China can create a DTD situation anyway. Some of these DTD efforts go bad and cost China a lot of money, but on average DTD is a net gain for China as it gains military, economic and diplomatic advantages without having to fight.

North Korea

North Korea officials are finding ways to get around new sanctions, aside from having the boss to go China and kiss the ring. For example female university students must now spend two years in China for practical experience after their first two years of university study. That now involves working as waitresses in North Korean restaurant that used to recruit non-students. But the sanctions ended that for a while. Actually this working in China program for university began in 2014 but has now been expanded in order to keep North Korean restaurants open and earning lots of foreign currency. The government is also allowing North Koreans to visit China for extended periods if they have some job lined up that will generate foreign currency for the government. This does not violate the sanctions because these North Koreans are in China to see friends or family or simply as tourists. But on the side they are illegally working, something that is difficult to police if the work is not visible to the general public.

Since the March 25 visit of Kim Jong Un to China there has been a sharp increase in North Korean workers returning (illegally) to China to work. The busloads of North Koreans are being allowed into China and later showing up at work sites. This may have been allowed to encourage Kim Jong Un to behave during his April meeting with the South Korean leader and the May meet with the U.S. president.

South Asia

Pakistan has become more dependent on China for weapons as U.S. sales declined 76 percent in the last five years. The Americans are punishing Pakistan for supporting Islamic terrorism and not doing anything to change that. China has become the major supplier of weapons to Bangladesh and Burma as well although for those two countries China simply offers lower prices. India has in turn bought less from Russia, long the main supplier, and depended more on Western nations (mainly the U.S. and Israel. China has become a major threat to customers Russia long believed they had a lock on. China can offer a wider range of inexpensive weapons similar to what Russia has long offered but deliver stuff of higher quality, higher quantity and customized to customer requirements. Moreover China turns around these orders more quickly. There are still some Chinese weapons suppliers who have acquired some of the bad Russian habits but these are usually bottom feeders supplying the lowest cost stuff to the most desperate customers. China encourages its arms manufacturers to take the high road, except when it comes to practical measures like paying bribes to get the sale and get it delivered.

April 3, 2018: The government is increasing its control over Christian churches in China. The latest move is to ban Chinese online bookstores from selling bibles. That was already illegal because it has long been the law that bibles could only be distributed by government approved and regulated Christian churches. But as online bookstores became more popular in China the government did not immediately apply all its book distribution and censorship to online sales. That has changed, especially when it comes to religious materials. China sees unregulated religions in China as a threat.

April 2, 2018: The Chinese navy deployed some 40 warships, including their lone aircraft carrier for what was described as a training exercise in the South China Sea. Aerial and satellite photos showed this training exercise included a procession of all the warships in two lines as they moved from the naval base on Hainan Island (their main naval base in southern China). This formation appeared to be more for publicity than improving combat skills.

April 1, 2018: A senior Chinese diplomat visited South Korea, apparently to deliver news of the recent meeting between the North Korean and Chinese leaders. China has to approve any deals between the two Koreas and this visit was to clarify what China will allow in the future. This is not required by any international agreement but simply due to the fact that China could disrupt any deal it does not approve of. This was apparently one reason for the March 25 visit of Kim Jong Un to China. The behavior of North Korea over the last few years has been annoying for China and this new North Korean effort to arrange one-on-one meets with other leaders made China look bad and the Chinese wanted to make the best they could of the situation.

March 31, 2018: In northeastern India (Arunachal Pradesh) China has built another base on their side of the border. In addition to several multistory buildings the base has a telecommunications tower and a surveillance tower with several sensors. To the west China has built a new road into tiny Bhutan to get around Indian efforts to halt a Chinese buildup on the Doklam plateau. Bhutan, unlike India, doesnt mind of China builds a new road in Bhutan without asking permission. That is how Bhutan survives having two of the most powerful nations on the planet for neighbors. On this section of the Tibet border China is still building up its military forces (especially air defense and warplanes) on their side of the frontier. India is doing the same on their side and both sides appear getting for another confrontation over conflicting claims on the Doklam plateau. A 2017 confrontation was settled in August 2017 but the standoff continues. The two nations blamed each other for this confrontation that took place in a very inhospitable part of the world. The Doklam plateau is where the Tibet border meets Indias Sikkim State. China is also building new roads to this part of the Tibet/India border. India protests, often with troops, when Chinese construction efforts enter Indian or simply contested territory in this high altitude wilderness. China has most of the advantages here, with more roads and bases on their side of the border, 24/7 satellite surveillance of the area, better communications and electronics in general plus a track record of China winning and India losing. China has made it clear that it believes it owns the Doklam plateau and is determined to assert that ownership without starting a major war. There is a similar situation in the northeast, where India has increased patrols, particularly where the borders of India, China and Burma meet. India wants to detect new Chinese incursions as quickly as possible so the Chinese can be confronted before they can become too established (by erecting structures and building roads).

March 30, 2018: After seven years of effort and several signed, but never ratified, agreements India is still without a base in the Seychelles Islands. China, on the other hand proceeded with large investment project which give the Chinese a larger economic presence on the islands than India. This all began in 2011 when the island nation of Seychelles asked China to come in and establish a military base. It was hoped that would help keep Somali pirates away. The presence of these pirates hurt the local economy, and any help was appreciated. Seychelles had already sent about a hundred of its troops to China for training. Chinese warships going to, or from, Somalia stopped for visits. But a base would be another matter, and something India wanted to prevent. Seychelles is 1,500 kilometers off the African coast and 3,000 kilometers southwest of India. The Seychelles islands have a total population of 90,000 and no military power to speak of. They are largely defenseless against pirates. By 2010 Somali pirates began operating as far east as the Seychelles. India has provided assistance to the Seychelles, as has NATO, but it apparently has not been enough. The Chinese considered the base request, declined but agreed to continue having the Chinese Navy use the Seychelles for resupply and shore leave. India provided patrol boats and reconnaissance aircraft for the Seychelles and after 2012 the international anti-piracy patrol off Somalia shut down the pirate threat in general and to the Seychelles in particular. India persisted with the naval base proposal and twice, in 2015 and 2017, deals were agreed to and signed. But because of local politics in Seychelles neither of the agreements was ever ratified and the current Seychelles government is not interested in negotiating another base deal. Meanwhile more Chinese investments in the Seychelles arrive and are welcomed.

March 30, 2018: China announced major upgrades for the joint Chinese-Pakistani JF-17 fighter. These Block III upgrades mainly involves replacing the mechanical radar with an AESA (phased array) radar and a general upgrade in electronics. The Chinese manufacturer (CAC) is doing this because it has found AESA an essential feature if you want export sales. CAC also builds the J10, which is similar to the JF-17, and installed AESA in the J10 in 2007 so China definitely has the tech. While there have been some export sales the JF-17 failed get more such sales because the aircraft was not considered competitive. That doesnt bother Pakistan, where their first JF-17 squadron became operational in 2010. Upgrading Pakistani JF-17s with AESA will be a first for Pakistan because none of the other Pakistani fighters have it (not even the F-16s.) So far Pakistan is the only user of the JF-17 although Burma and Nigeria have some on order. Pakistan has about a hundred JF-17s. The JF-17 was part of a project that began in 1992 and while it was a joint Pakistan-China development project China supplied most of the money and did most of the work. China, however, does not use the JF-17, only Pakistan. Thats largely because the JF-17 is assembled in Pakistan, although over 40 percent of the components come from China or Russia. The project has gone through several name changes (FC-1, Super 7) and was never a high priority for China. The 13 ton JF-17 is meant to be a low cost ($20-30 million) alternative to the American F-16. The JF-17 is considered the equal to earlier versions of the F-16, but only half as effective as more recent F-16 models. The JF-17 uses the same Russian engine, the RD-93 that is used in the MiG-29. The JF-17 design is based on a cancelled Russian project, the MiG-33. Most of the JF-17 electronics are Western. The JF-17 can carry 3.6 tons of weapons and use radar guided and heat seeking missiles. It has max speed of Mach 1.6, an operating range of 1,300 kilometers and a max altitude of 17,000 meters (55,000 feet).

March 29, 2018: China launched two more Beidou third generation GPS navigation satellites. This makes eight third gen birds so far and 31 altogether (including test satellites). In 2012 China opened Beidou to civilian use and expects to grab a major share of the satellite navigation market from the U.S GPS system by the end of the decade (when Beidou will cover the world using 35 satellites). In 2013 Pakistan agreed to adopt Beidou and give it equal status with the American GPS. China built ground facilities in Pakistan to enhance Beidou so that it can be used for precision applications (like landing aircraft in bad weather). Pakistan was the fifth country to adopt Beidou. Currently Beidou only covers Asia and the Pacific but by 2020 there will be sufficient satellites in service to cover the world. Beidou will be fully operational in 2020 with a restricted (to China and Pakistan) accuracy of 10 cm (four inches) and a public accuracy of 10 meters (31 feet).

March 28, 2018: India denied a media report (by a Japanese publication) that Indian and Chinese warships confronted each other on the 22nd off the Maldives Islands. This follows a Chinese news report in February indicating that there had been a similar confrontation, but there wasnt.

March 26, 2018: The government has completed the shift of the border guard force to the military. Previously the border guards were considered police and answered to non-military officials in the government. That meant that if the military had a problem on the border (like with India or North Korea) they had to go through another (non-military) government department to get a border guard to cooperate with nearby military units.

March 25, 2018: North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un arrived in the Chinese capital. He travelled aboard his personal armored train. This was the first time Kim has travelled outside North Korea since inheriting power in 2011. Pictures of the unique train soon appeared on the Internet but there was no official confirmation until three days later, when the visit ended with an official announcement. Apparently Kim was summoned to China and told by Xi Jinping for a discussion about the relationship between the two countries. North Korea is seeking to obtain a renewal of the Mutual Aid and Cooperation Friendship Treaty between the two countries which obliges China to come to the aid of North Korea if North Korea is attacked. In 2017 China told Kim that China would not automatically help North Korea if North Korea launched an attack on South Korea or the U.S. and then was hit by retaliatory attacks. Kim was also reminded that the Mutual Aid treaty is due to expire in 2021 and renewal is not automatic. The meeting between Xi and Kim ended without any dramatic announcement about what exactly was accomplished but the official rumor was that Kim was told to drop his nuclear weapons program and get what he could get from South Korea and the Americans in return. Kim and his wife returned with about $400,000 worth of gifts from the Chinese, including some items that, according to current sanctions, cannot be sent to North Korea. It was noted that Xi was invited to visit North Korea and the most likely time would be this July, the 65th anniversary of the signing of the armistice that ended the Korean War. That visit is apparently contingent on Kim not screwing up the upcoming meetings with the South Korean president followed, in May, by one with the American president. The meeting in China included North Korea agreeing to again take part in the six-party talks, which were last held in 2009.

March 23, 2018: The national censors have issued more regulations in a growing effort to outlaw parody items directed at the government. This is especially true when video of official events and those attending are recast as parodies of Chinese leaders or institution. This effort to suppress parody and any form of criticism is ongoing because with the Internet and the growing number of educated and affluent Chinese there are more clever and effective critics than ever before. Being Big Brother is not as easy as it is made out to be.

March 22, 2018: An American destroyer (USS Mustin) carried out the second American FONOP (freedom of navigation operation) in the South China Sea. This was the second FONOP for 2018. This one was near Mischief Reef (270 kilometers west of Palawan) off the coast of the Philippines. China protested as they now consider this area part of China. Mischief Reef is much closers to the Philippines (Palawan) than China (Hainan) and according to international law (and a recent international court decision) is Filipino. The Chinese say they have prior claim to most of the South China Sea and basically dares the rest of the world to try and stop them. This makes sense to most Chinese because the Chinese have long called China Zhongguo, which is usually translated into English as middle kingdom. But a more literal and accurate translation is everything under the heavens. Until the 21st century this mainly meant adjacent land areas. But now China points out that everything means the South China Sea as well. Chinese media report these FONOPs as a violation of international law and most now trigger a response by Chinese warships or warplanes. In reality China rarely opposes the American warships. These exercises are meant to affirm that many of the Chinese claims to the entire South China Sea are invalid and that the right to free passage through Chinas EEZ is assured.

In the Indian Ocean the Maldives lifted a 45 day state of emergency that had threatened to escalate into a situation where the Chinese military would intervene to protect its massive investments. China and India had been threatening each other over who should do what in Maldive Islands (just south of India). This conflict heated up at the end of 2017 when China and the Maldives signed an agreement that allowed China to build and operate a Joint Ocean Observation Station. This monitoring station would be built on an atoll that is the closest part of the Maldives to India. Opposition politicians in the Maldives claim China has already taken possession of sixteen small islands and that China has been investing heavily in the Maldives economy and influential politicians. This agreement was apparently obtained by Chinese bribes and assurances that there would be more Chinese investments. Meanwhile the Maldives government was in chaos because elected officials and the Supreme Court judges disagree about who should actually be in charge. The tiny (248 square kilometers spread over 1,192 coral atolls spread over 90,000 square kilometers of water off the southern coast of India) nation has a mostly Moslem (98 percent) population of 430,000 plus 100,000 foreign workers (a third of them illegals). Most of the population is concentrated on about 15 percent of the islands. The per capita income is about $10,000 and most of it is based on tourism followed by fishing. Many young men have been attracted to Islamic terrorism but there is not much religious violence in the Maldives. While a democracy the religious parties and military have kept the government in turmoil by asserting decidedly non-democratic powers.

March 21, 2018: China has sold Pakistan a high-tech missile tracking system that enables Pakistan to develop more accurate and destructive ballistic missiles. This system is key to developing an effective multi-warhead missile, one that can deliver two or more warheads accurately to different targets.

March 19, 2018: China has refused to make any additional loans to Venezuela. China had been a major lender to Venezuela and provided over $50 billion since 2007. Most of these loans are repaid with Venezuelan oil. The amount of oil owed China increases as the oil price declines, which means Venezuela has less oil to sell or use for domestic needs. Venezuelan oil is difficult to refine, which is why the U.S. is the major buyer as the Americans have built special refineries to handle it. China faces huge losses because Venezuela became officially bankrupt at the end of 2017 and its socialist government has wrecked its oil industry and ability to pump and ship oil. The bankruptcy was not unexpected but China knew there would be great risks and potentially high costs for establishing themselves in South America. China will extend payment terms on current loans but is taking a wait and see attitude to the growing political and economic catastrophe in Venezuela.

March 18, 2018: In Bangladesh the army is investigating another case of Chinese weapons (mostly small arms) being smuggled in aboard ships that were not intercepted by the coast guard or in cargoes not inspected at ports. The weapons were for black market arms dealers who sell to Islamic terrorists, gangsters and anyone who can pay.

March 13, 2018: France and the Philippines agreed to cooperate in dealing with Chinese aggression in the South China Sea.

March 12, 2018: In the northwest (Xinjiang province) the local government proudly reminds everyone that there were no terrorism related deaths in 2017. That was the first full year that the current provincial government was in charge. The reason for the sharp reduction in terrorism or separatist activity in Xinjiang has been the introduction of a lot more new technology for monitoring the population. This includes thousands of vidcams and a very effective facial recognition system. This is in addition to a growing list of methods used to collect data on the non-Han Chinese population, especially anything related to ethnic separatism or Islamic terrorism. This helps the government select those who will be sent to re-education camps (for a few weeks or six months or more.) There are currently over 100,000 Moslems (most of them Uighur, ethnic Turks who used to be the majority in Xinjiang) in the re-education camps. That is out of the nine million Uighurs in the province. Uighurs are a shrinking minority as more and more Han Chinese move in. The re-education camps contain very few Han Chinese. A new generation of security analysis software and hardware is replacing a lot of the older manpower intensive data collection methods. Xinjiang is being used as a test site for new Big Brother (as in the anti-communist novel 1984) technology. This is being done in the name of controlling Islamic terrorism (although there is very little of that in China, even in Moslem majority districts) and ethnic separatism (which is a real threat especially in Xinjiang and Tibet). On the other hand the government has made enormous strides when it comes to reducing poverty in Xinjiang and Tibet but that tends to produce more affluent and educated separatists.

March 10, 2018: Some Chinese Uighurs are Islamic terrorists and openly proclaim their membership in groups like TIP (Turkistan Islamic Party). Recently this group released a combat video on the Internet that made it clear the TIP was still working with the Taliban (as they have been doing since the 1990s). Currently TIP is active in the northern Afghanistan (Faryab province) and until 2014 was based in northeast Pakistan (North Waziristan). TIP was founded by and still led by Chinese Turks (Uighurs). TIP has found friends in Turkey and is also active in Syria. All this has made China unhappy. In early 2015 Afghanistan admitted that it had an arrangement with China whereby Afghanistan would seize and turn over to China any Chinese Moslems (especially Turkic Uighurs) found in Afghanistan. About the same time this resulted in a dozen Uighurs arrested in Afghanistan being sent back to China. In return China increased the diplomatic and economic pressure on Pakistan to stop supporting Islamic terrorists attacking Afghanistan. China is the largest foreign investor in Pakistan as well as the main source of modern weapons, so when China talks Pakistan must listen and at least pretend to act. This China link was one reason for Pakistan attacking North Waziristan in mid-2014. Since the late 1980s (when TIP was created) it has largely consisted of Chinese Uighurs from northwestern China (Xinjiang province). Since 2001 TIP has attracted more recruits from other areas in Central Asia that have Turkic populations.
In 2014, after ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) surprised the world by quickly seizing Mosul and declaring an Islamic state that controlled eastern Syria and most of western Iraq American intel analysts concluded that attacks against key ISIL personnel would be a key tactic in defeating ISIL. That was because it was already known that ISIL was created largely by Saddam era administrators and technocrats who had run the Iraqi branch of al Qaeda in an unsuccessful effort to regain control of the country. While this effort was defeated many key people, and a lot of cash got away. While the Iraqi al Qaeda worked on rebuilding its support among Iraqi Sunni Arabs a rebellion broke out in neighboring Syria were the Sunni Arab majority rose up against the Shia minority Assad dictatorship. The Iraqi al Qaeda were not welcome in Syria but set up shop and formed a new baddest of the bad group called ISIL. As had happened in Iraq (2004-08) these tactics divided the rebels and made them easier to defeat. In 2014 the U.S. had a large database of deceased and current Iraqi al Qaeda personnel, including family connections and all manner of biographical detail. That personal data was useful because what was not known was where these key people were at any particular time (the better to capture or kill them).

This was especially true when it came to key technical personnel who could not easily be replaced. Administrative and battlefield ISIL leaders are much more numerous as Iraqi Sunni Arabs were long known as a well-educated bunch. But when it came to some new technologies, like the Internet, there were fewer of these available. Unlike administrative and tactical leaders, who can be replaced with less skilled people who can still do the job that does not work with tech.

With Internet jobs the loss of a few key leaders and their technical staffs had an immediate, substantial and sustained impact. This could be seen most clearly with the ISIL Information War operations, mainly those operating largely via the Internet. Twice since 2014 these targeted attacks against key tech personnel crippled ISIL media operations. The first time was in 2016 when several ISIL media operations were destroyed or crippled. ISIL took months to recover most of the lost capability. The 2016 attacks were based on earlier (2015) operations that killed or captured a few key ISIL technical personnel who comprised their small number of skilled Internet experts. Tracking down and taking down these individuals provided a useful set of procedures for the continued search for key ISIL media and Internet personnel.

The second major victory occurred in late 2017 as ISIL lost control of most of its territory in Syria and Iraq and their media operations in those two countries were not only under frequent attack but were spending most of their time trying to avoid detection and attack. ISIL media activity soon encountered a sharp drop in activity. By early 2018 ISIL had reorganized its media operations by getting some key people out of Syria and Iraq and then setting up an operation that could collect and widely distribute Internet based media produced by half a dozen smaller ISIL franchises in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. But the new organization was much less productive, the price it had to pay for being more dispersed included getting by with less technically capable media personnel.

The Western intel agencies and their growing force of civilian online volunteers gained an edge because of these ISIL defeats. Some of the most effective of these volunteers were anti-ISIL hackers who didnt follow orders but would go after an ISIL target if one caught their attention. The tips and insights provided by the volunteers was frequently accompanied by valuable cultural insights. Thats because many volunteers were tech savvy Moslems seeking to eliminate ISIL and the shame it brought to Islam. These volunteers spoke the same languages as many ISIL operatives and could more easily track down targets on the web than intel agencies whose searchers were closely supervised by several layers of bureaucracy.

Most of these decapitation operations were not directed as ISIL tech personnel but at the ISIL leadership in general. These attacks became more frequent and more effective as ISIL lost most of its territory in Syria and Iraq. This gave key people fewer places to hide and even more importantly forced them to move more frequently and often without the careful planning and preparation they had learned was essential for survival. By early 2017 the impact of the damage was pretty obvious.

While the hunt for the senior leadership got the most publicity these men, especially ISIL founder and leader Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, these men were not the most important targets (unless you goal was headlines and maximum media audiences). The key to crippling ISIL as an organization were those leaders responsible for finance, logistics and media. These were harder to replace and the senior ISIL leaders knew that success at raising huge amounts of cash (mainly via looting and smuggling, but also extortion and ransoms paid to free kidnapping victims and slaves) and maintaining effective communications for the finance and recruiting operations were more important. The logistics included obtaining weapons and explosives and moving them to where they would be most effective.

For example a number of attacks carried out in the months before Mosul fell (and Raqqa was surrounded) in July 2017 led to loss of several key people who managed and ran the ISIL media networks. This included Internet distribution of propaganda and ISIL documents as well as the ISIL Amaq News Agency. Attacks against these media networks have been going on for nearly three years although the results were often kept secret (short or long term) in order to exploit the confusion these losses created within ISIL. Even ISIL would often deny accurate reports of their key people dying or being captured in order to maintain morale.

Early on in this campaign it was noted (by the Western media) that the targets were often technical experts, which ISIL never had enough of. For example in August 2015 a U.S. UAV missile attack in eastern Syria (near Raqqa) killed Juanaid Hussain, a British citizen believed to be the most skilled computer hacker working for ISIL at that time. Hussain was one of the key people in ISILs twitter based recruiting and publicity operation. Hussain did not have world class hacking skills but he came to Syria in 2013 as a bright British teenager who had a talent for hacking, good knowledge of Internet culture and eager to defend Islam any way he could. The U.S. kept the news of Husseins death quiet for a few weeks in order to take advantage of the confusion within the ISIL Internet based networks created by the sudden disappearance of such a key person.

People like Hussian were sought out and killed because of the known effectiveness of these decapitation tactics. This had been perfected and proven in Iraq before U.S. troops left in 2011 and earlier in Israel where it was developed to deal with the Palestinian terror campaign that began in 2000. The Israelis were very successful with their decapitation program, which within five years reduced Israeli civilian terrorist deaths from over 400 a year to less than ten. The Israeli and American decapitation tactics adapted to the techniques and tactics of current Islamic terrorism.

The modern version of decapitation had to adapt to new technologies (Internet, cell phones, laptops) that the Islamic terrorists, especially in Iraq, made use of. The Israelis realized this early on and came up with new investigation and analysis tools to cope. The Israelis had to quickly perfect and put their new tactics to work. Put simply, go after a specific combination of key people to achieve a specific goal. For example, if you want minimize Israeli civilian casualties you have to concentrate on bomb makers and the team leaders who recruit, train and deploy the bomb placers or suicide bombers. If you want to diminish terrorist threats longer term go after more senior leaders, especially the media, financial, intelligence, recruiting and logistics specialists. For other goals you went after a different collection of people. At the same time every arrest or dead terrorist was investigated for more information and Israeli intelligence had some of the most advanced data analysis software available and many of the people inventing and maintaining such software products (which were lucrative products sold mainly to businesses and researchers) were military reservists. Thus the Israelis had the ability to quickly modify the new tech. Same deal with cell phones and PCs in general. Islamic terrorists soon learned that if the Israelis, and later the Americans, got their hands on your cell phones, PCs or whatever they would quickly extract and put to use information that led to the next target. This made decapitation tactics move more quickly than ever before.

Despite all the new tech decapitation tactics are an ancient practice. American troops have used them many times in the past (in World War II, 1960s Vietnam, the Philippines over a century ago, and in 18th century colonial America) but tend to forget after a generation or so. Some things had to be relearned.

So successful has decapitation been that in 2013 Islamic terrorists in Afghanistan and Pakistan openly called for supporters to help develop methods (electronic or otherwise) to deal with the American UAVs that constantly patrolled terrorist sanctuaries in Pakistan (Waziristan) and Afghanistan (the Pakistani border area) and constantly found and killed (with missiles) Islamic terrorist leaders. This has led to the deaths of hundreds of key terrorist personnel and, despite the heavy use of civilians as human shields, few civilian deaths. The Taliban were increasingly frustrated at their inability to deal with this. Decapitation tactics work and while the tactic is ancient they have become more common in irregular warfare because of new technology. This has changed attitudes towards decapitation tactics.

What changed everything were some new technologies unique in military history. Wars have always included attempts to gain victory, or at least an edge, by going after the enemy leaders and other key people. This has always been difficult because the enemy leaders know they are targets and take extensive precautions to protect themselves. This included things like the royal guard, food tasters, and all that. This no longer works and terrorist leaders are scrambling to find ways to avoid this lethal retribution for their wickedness. Islamic terrorists also use decapitation but their favored weapon is the suicide bomber or other lone assassin. But it is easier for key people to avoid a suicide bomber than it is when UAVs armed with guided missiles are used.

The increased use of UAVs to find, identify, and kill terrorists (or enemies in general) led many people in the West and in the Moslem world to assert that this is not effective, fair, or whatever. Some call it murder. But war is murder, and for centuries those involved have recognized that going to war is a messy business, especially once you are in the midst of it. In war the survivors quickly learn two things; those who kill first are less likely to be killed later and those who can kill more of the opponent's leaders will most likely win. Current terrorist leaders may be homicidal fanatics but they know how to count. If the Americans come after them, especially because their organization carried out an attack in the United States that generated a widespread demand from Americans for revenge, the terrorist leaders are dead men walking. The belief is that the Americans will eventually get you, and most terrorist leaders dont want to be killed. Suicide attack duty is for the little people, not the leaders or their children. So the Islamic terrorist propaganda specialists do what they can to protect their bosses. This helped with recruiting, especially among your Moslem men living in the West. But since most of the victims of Islamic terrorist violence are Moslems in Moslem countries, those Moslems who were likely targets of the terrorist violence wanted the decapitation tactics to continue and sought to get the aircraft and missiles so they could do it themselves. This is what the Iraqi and Afghan government did once most foreign troops left. While the aerial surveillance and laser guided missiles worked for the Iraqis and Afghans, it was also discovered that the powerful information gathering and analysis tools were not so easily adopted and used other countries. Those skills require a lot of skilled computer hardware and software personnel and it turned out few nations could match the way the Israelis and Americans adopted, deployed and continued to develop these new systems.

Some components of the new decapitation tactics are easier for others to adopt. Since the late 1990s UAVs, and before that space satellites and high-flying, long endurance recon aircraft (like the U-2 and SR-71), made it possible to find and identify key enemy personnel. But until armed UAVs came along in 2001 there was no way to quickly act on that information. Many opportunities to kill key enemy personnel were missed. Now, with Hellfire missiles (and several other similar weapons) on these UAVs, you can promptly kill what you find. Some pundits find this unsporting, morally indefensible, or otherwise wrong. For military personnel, risking their lives fighting a determined enemy, it's just another way to kill the enemy leadership before the enemy succeeds.

That civilians are also killed is nothing new. During the allied invasion of France in 1944, the several months of fighting required to destroy the German armies in France also left 15,000 French civilians dead in the invasion area and more than that in the rest of France. The Germans did not normally try and hide among civilians, while Islamic terrorists do. The Germans knew they would be attacked no matter where they were. Islamic terrorists do sometimes get away because of the successful use of human shields (and because the order to fire is not given). This attitude ignores the civilians who die because terrorists escape to keep killing. Thus, in war, you can avoid killing civilians, but you do so at the cost of giving enemy personnel immunity that just gets more people killed down the road.
Marine Corps KC-130J Super Hercules aircraft conduct a ceremonial formation flight in San Diego, March 30, 2018, to mark the 75th anniversary of Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 352. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Clare J. McIntire

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The Taliban and the Haqqani network need to part of the Afghan politics, the Pakistani Ambassador to the United States said during a talk on Friday.

In his address at the Kashmir Solidarity Day being celebrated at the Pakistani Embassy here in the city, Ambassador Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry stressed that the Afghan issue does not have a military solution.

Chaudhry was discussing the rising tensions between India and Pakistan and urged the US, as well as the global fraternity, to raise their voices against Indian brutality in Kashmir  something that has seriously aggravated over the past few days.

Pakistan's relations with the US should be based on mutual respect, the ambassador said, noting that any kind of concerns and suspicions may be detrimental to the bilateral relations.

Consequently, "apprehensions and concerns" in the linkage between Washington and Islamabad would be counterproductive to the ongoing anti-terrorism operation and significantly impact the Afghan peace and stability process.

Chaudhry also underscored that for peace to prevail in Afghanistan, its leadership needs to be consulted as well and that the Taliban and the Haqqani network need to part of the Afghan politics.

Responding to a question about the Haqqani network, Chaudhry said Pakistan's message to them and the Taliban "is very clear".

The "Taliban and Haqqanis are Afghanis and they should become part of the political mainstream in Afghanistan".

This, therefore, would make what he called a "comprehensive 'Afghan-led' and 'Afghan-owned' political solution".

"Pakistan stands firm by its commitment not to allow its soil to be used against any country and expect others to reciprocate," he said.
The Chief Justice of Pakistan has approved the appointment of a judge Justice Yawar Ali in the special bench hearing treason case against General (retd) Pervez Musharraf, filling in the space which became vacant after Justice Yahya Afridi who rescued himself from the bench.

The judge rescued himself from the case on the objection raised by the counsel of the Pervez Musharaf citing his bias towards the accused. Although the judge rejected the claims made by the counsel but rescued himself from the case, ultimately dissolving the bench.

Now after induction of Justice Yawar in the special bench, three member bench is now completed with two other judges Justice Tahira Safdar and Justice Nazar Akber and could resume its hearings into the case.

A notification from the law and justice department would also be issued soon in order to allow the bench to resume its hearing into the case which was halted after the dissolution of bench.
No more foggy, cracked mirrors, and no more dark and dingy cubicles that encourage unsightly graffiti.

Otumoetai College students will be toileting in relative luxury later this year after pleading their case for better facilities to the principal and board of trustees.

The school held its annual community workday recently, with funds raised this year going towards an upgrade of the student toilet facilities.

Head students Redemption Te Wiki, Saskia Brinkmann, Thomas Chaney and Becky Dougherty say while their current toilets are practical, they could definitely do with an upgrade.

They serve their purpose, but were continually working to upgrade various aspects of the school, says Becky. The general consensus was that we wanted the toilets to be next in line, says Thomas.

The group agree it was awesome to have the opportunity to decide how the funds from the workday would be spent this year.

Usually the funds are put towards something big, like the gym or new school vans, but this year it will be spent on something we all use, says Saskia.

The toilets are considered the dirtiest place in the school, and when you go in there and find them not looking their best, youre less inclined to want to use them. An upgrade would definitely make the students feel more comfortable.

The students wish list includes better lighting and mirrors, more efficient hand dryers, cubicle doors that lock properly and hooks on the back of doors to keep bags off the floor.

They also believe modern facilities will deter the unsightly graffiti and vandalism commonly found in school toilets.

Principal Russell Gordon says use of the workday fundraising is usually determined by the board of trustees or the senior leadership team. However, this year the decision was put in the hands of the students.

The toilets as they are, are absolutely functional, says Russell. If you walked into a public toilet you would probably have a similar experience as to what our kids would have in their school toileting experience.

That being said, some kids dont particularly like them and they have asked if we could upgrade them beyond the standard we currently have.

The toilet upgrade is likely to be along similar lines to those found in commercial shopping malls.

Were not talking five-star, but well get some designers to come in to provide alternatives, well get students to vote on that and well look to have them finished by the end of the year, says Russell.

The school currently has four blocks of student toilets and plans to spend around $30,000 per block on the upgrade. Two will be designated for girls, one for boys and one will be a unisex block.

The students raised between $20-30,000 from the workday, and the board of trustees will come up with the $100,000 shortfall.

Russell says some students choose not to use the toilets at all during the school day and that affects their learning.

What that tells me is they wont be drinking enough water and, as a result, by mid-afternoon will be becoming lethargic. That, to me, affects their learning. If we can create an environment where kids are happy to use the toilets, were ultimately impacting and improving their learning experience.

Cleanliness of bathrooms was one of the physical elements of the school environment highlighted by young people as having a significant impact on their experience of school in a recently online survey and face-to-face interviews of New Zealand children and young people by the Ministry of Education.
With the rise of social media, selling stolen goods online has become even easier, with buy/sell/swap pages on Facebook becoming the new black market for thieves looking to offload their ill-gotten merchandise.

However, a new local business is hoping to combat this trend with an online tool that allows users to immediately find out whether an item is stolen or not.

SeriSafe and its website provides a database of household items, with owners able to update their own personal inventory and report items stolen instantly.

SeriSafe director Keith Stoneham has been working on the business for two years, and says the website has only gone live in the last few weeks.

At the moment were looking at bringing big commercial operators on board. So far Ive had interest from the Ministry of Education, New Zealand Police, the Insurance Council of New Zealand, and the New Zealand Retailers Association.

Similar to the New Zealand Polices SNAP website, SeriSafe allows users to create a personal list of serial numbers from the items they own, and to report when theyre stolen.

However, Keith says the major difference is the ability for anyone to search the status of any item, provided they have the serial number.

We can do a live serial number search on any product. Before you buy an item you can check it against the database to see if its been marked as stolen or blacklisted.

He says this difference means buyers can avoid receiving stolen goods before any money has changed hands.

It can act as an inventory list as well, so if you are burgled you can print the list off and check the items that are missing, and send it directly to your insurer.

With the website in its infancy, Keith says all thats needed now is serial numbers to fill the database.

Memberships are from as little as $1 per month, or $10 per month for businesses, with schools able to receive an initial 12 months free.

Our aim to create a well-known New Zealand brand which is not only highly trusted but also for the good of all Kiwis, he says.
SARS Sets Out Expectations On Virtual Currency Tax Compliance

by Mary Swire, Tax-News.com, Hong Kong

06 April 2018

The South African Revenue Service (SARS) on April 6, 2018, warned taxpayers that they are expected to declare cryptocurrency gains or losses in calculating their taxable income.

The onus is on taxpayers to declare all cryptocurrency-related taxable income in the tax year in which it is received or accrued, the agency said, noting that failure to do so could result in interest and penalties.

Taxpayers who are uncertain about specific transactions involving cryptocurrencies may seek guidance from SARS through channels such as Binding Private Rulings (depending on the nature of the transaction).

SARS noted that cryptocurrencies are neither official South African tender nor widely used and accepted in South Africa as a medium of payment or exchange. While the word "currency" is not defined in the Income Tax Act, the agency does not consider cryptocurrencies to be a form of currency for income tax purposes or for capital gains tax. Instead, cryptocurrencies are regarded by SARS as "assets of an intangible nature."

The agency said virtual currencies will be taxed under existing guidance and under the normal rules. As such, income received or accrued from cryptocurrency transactions can be taxed on revenue account under "gross income."

Alternatively gains may be regarded as capital in nature. Determination of whether an accrual or receipt is revenue or capital in nature is tested under existing jurisprudence, it said.

Taxpayers are also entitled to claim expenses associated with cryptocurrency accruals or receipts, provided such expenditure is incurred in the production of the taxpayer's income and for the purposes of a trade.

On VAT, the agency noted that the 2018 Budget indicated that the VAT treatment of cryptocurrencies will be reviewed. "Pending policy clarity in this regard, SARS will not require VAT registration as a vendor for purposes of the supply of cryptocurrencies," it said.
It will now be up to the U.S. Secretary of State to make the final decision on whether to extradite him or not. | Read More
Today, April 8

ART People of differing abilities are provided with the opportunity to richly engage with art at an accessible and inclusive exhibition, featuring a range of multisensory works. With Seeing Hands sees local and international artists question the dominance sight plays in art experiences. Until May 20, 11am-4pm, Incinerator Gallery, 180 Holmes Road, Moonee Ponds, free, 8325 1750, mvcc.vic.gov.au

EXHIBITION Wonderland celebrates the timeless stories of Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. The exhibition journeys down the rabbit hole and through more than 40 cinematic instalments. Low sensory visits available. Until Oct 7, 10am-5pm, Australian Centre for the Moving Image, Federation Square, Flinders Street, city, $16-$25, 8663 2200, acmi.net.au

Wonderland

COMEDY Michael Shafar drops punch lines about Kosher Bacon and other things that don't make sense. Shafar has honed his intelligent brand of humour on RAW Comedy, The Leak and The Project. Until Apr 22, today, 7.15pm, Trades Hall, corner of Victoria and Lygon streets, Carlton, $20-$25, 9245 3788, comedyfestival.com.au
When Lena Dunham announced that she had undergone a full hysterectomy in an attempt to deal with the pain of endometriosis, I could completely relate.

For the past month I have been in a state of profound hopelessness, having experienced the debilitating pain of endometriosis every day. Rather than appearing dramatic, Dunham's story  she went to the hospital and refused to leave until they either eliminated her pain or gave her a hysterectomy  looked like action to me.

I felt legitimised, like I wasnt crazy. That what I suffered was in fact difficult. That it wasnt normal. Credit:Stocksy

I have suffered from endometriosis since I was 14. It is a disease in which tissue that normally lines the uterus grows outside the uterus. It's not only painful, it can cause infertility.

In the build-up to my first period, I was struck by such enormous pain that I was nearly rushed to hospital under the assumption I was suffering appendicitis. And then I got my period. I was told this pain was normal. Over the next five years I was frequently suicidal, believing I was extraordinarily weak because I couldn't handle the pain that all women encounter with menstruation.
It's sold in a bottle that looks like soft drink and it tastes like soft drink, says VicHealth's principal program officer for alcohol Maya Rivis. Young kids who are inexperienced around alcohol drink it very quickly and before they know it they're in a lot of trouble. While ciders share of the alcohol market is still relatively small compared with beer and wine, figures from IBIS World show it is the industry's fastest growing drink and worth $361 million in annual revenue. One 1.25 litre bottle of Little Fat Lamb contains eight standard drinks and can be bought for as little as $4. Credit:Paul Jeffers Younger people appear to be part of this trend. Data shows that cider consumption among school students - particularly girls - has skyrocketed in recent years.

According to the Australian Secondary School Alcohol and Drug Survey taken in 2014, 9 per cent of girls aged between 12 and 17 said cider was their most common drink - up from less than 1 per cent in 2008. And while Somersby, Rekorderlig and Strongbow are among the most purchased ciders, sales data seen by Fairfax Media shows that Little Fat Lamb was in the top 10 brands at the start of 2017. Going by the brand's popularity on social media, where fans share memes and photos about getting drunk on Little Fat Lamb, its sales can only have increased since then. One post on Facebook with hundreds of likes uses the "name a more iconic duo" meme template, along with a bottle of Little Fat Lamb and a person slumped face down on a bench. Another says "raise your hands if you've personally been victimised by Little Fat Lamb". Dr Nicholas Carah says the Facebook pages, if they are run by the distributor, are "so far outside" the Alcohol Beverages Advertising Code Scheme, a self-regulated body which fields complaints about booze marketing.

A meme on the Little Fat Lamb Facebook page. "It's this continuous celebration of excessive consumption," he says. "Sometimes you'll see brands on social media winking at that but not in this totally explicit way." The distributor of Little Fat Lamb, Drink Craft Pty Ltd, has fallen foul of the code in the past. In 2015, a complaint was upheld about its packaging having a strong appeal to minors. The company did not respond to a list of questions put to it last week by Fairfax Media, including whether it runs the Facebook pages or what Little Fat Lamb is made from.

The reason Little Fat Lamb is able to be sold so cheaply is tax. When then-treasurer Wayne Swan introduced the so-called alcopop tax in 2008, it was a social measure aimed at reducing binge drinking. Under that scheme, premixed spirt drinks are taxed by alcohol volume. Ciders, however, fall under the Wine Equalisation Tax, which is calculated at 29 per cent of the wholesale price. The cider industry is concerned that the Wine Equalisation Tax is being used to sell what is basically a mixed alcoholic drink more cheaply. "It's an RTD [ready to drink] type product but it's taxed like a cider," says Cider Australia CEO Jane Anderson, who believes the drink is most likely made by fermenting cheap fruit juice imported from China.

The cider industry believes Little Fat Lamb is made form cheap apple juice imported from China. Credit:David Hil As well as taxing by volume, there are calls for a minium price to be introduced on alcohol to help curb binge drinking. In the UK, where cider has been described as "more deadly than heroin", a levy was introduced last year to stop it being sold so cheaply. Similar policies are on the way in Australia. In the Northern Territory, a recent review of alcohol abuse recommended a $1.30 floor price per standard drink. "The evidence around price is really clear, it's a real deterrent for people," says Maya Rivis from VicHealth.
Striking sanitation workers walk past Tennessee National Guard troops armed with bayonets during a 20-block march to Memphis City Hall on March 29, 1968. (King was assassinated days later, on April 4, while in Memphis supporting the strike.) Credit:Charlie Kelly Like former president Barack Obama's sermon after the attack in a Charleston, South Carolina, black church, it was his way of asserting a moral reality larger and more authoritative than guns, hate or the lies of white supremacy. King's activism ran on meaning  rife with symbolism in its marches, hymns and public prayers. It was a metaphoric movement that achieved tangible legislative results, where a march, lunch counter and even a jail stood for other, transcendent realities. Before Twitter and Facebook, King's preacherly style was expected. The black church had always been an incubator of charismatic leaders. In places like Selma, Alabama, or Albany, Georgia, King's physical body was a required presence, like a sacrament. Social media has created a thousand points of autonomy, and the old totems are no longer necessary or welcome.

It has galvanised those who were ignored or underrepresented in King's movement, including women, gays, transgender people and the undocumented. "The central contradiction of the civil rights movement," Jelani Cobb wrote in The New Yorker, "was that it was a quest for democracy led by organisations that frequently failed to function democratically." Civil rights protests in the 1960s were dramatic interruptions of regularly scheduled programming, and their principal actors were stars. Most of today's civil rights leaders do not make speeches for the ages. They have not had a dream or been to the mountaintop. The founders of Black Lives Matter, Alicia Garza, Opal Tometi and Patrisse Cullors, are not household names like King, Jesse Jackson, Ralph Abernathy and Andrew Young. Like Ella Baker before them, they work hard and mostly anonymously. In contrast to the civil rights movement decades before, Black Lives Matter is marked by a spare integrity of language. Like the Puritans' plain speech, leaders express the facts of black existence apart from the distractions of rhetoric or religion. Even the phrase "black lives matter" uses understatement to make a claim so inarguably true that it should be obvious to all. King, who by the end of his life was moving in the direction of Malcolm X, would have been more than OK with Black Lives Matter. Despite the glories of his rhetoric, King had a visceral streak of anger that raged against the senseless waste of black life.

It prompted journalist David Halberstam to dub King "the angriest man in America". Like an Old Testament prophet, he could decree, "Our nation was born in genocide", and trace the sins of the fathers to the present generation. King's anger became the percussive partner to his more famous hope  and to his sorrow. In his last sermon, preached at Washington National Cathedral in Washington, King spoke of children living with rats in Newark and of country people in Marks, Mississippi, foraging for food. Then comes a moment in the sermon when he pauses as if transported back to Newark or Mississippi and, with a sigh too deep for words, says simply, "Poor people". He lets the words stand alone, unadorned. He leaves the pretty metaphors behind.

King's move to Chicago radicalised him. In the north, they played a different kind of hardball. In one of his final essays he complained of "an aggressively hostile police environment". In words that could have been written the morning after Ferguson, he continued, "police must cease being occupation troops in the ghetto and start protecting its residents. Yet very few cities have really faced up to this problem and tried to do something about it. [Policing] is the most abrasive element in Negro-white relations." Towards the end of his life, King enlarged his vision to include poor people of all races and cultures. To dramatise their plight, the preacher was planning a Black Lives Matter-type disruption of traffic and daily life in Washington. He was about to take a dangerous step away from the implicit boundaries of his earlier campaigns. Much has changed in America's national life in 50 years, but the Bible's proverb is truer today than ever: where there is no vision, the people perish. King understood that better than any public person in recent memory. He was our nation's visionary, our teacher. He modelled how to speak to those with whom we disagree and how to respond to hate. He taught us how to get angry. He gave us a new language for hope. And of course, he offered a better dream for America.
The company subcontracted to build the Sydney light rail connecting the CBD to the eastern suburbs will take Transport for NSW to court next week, prompting the Transport Minister to describe the government as an "angry customer".

Transport Minister Andrew Constance on Saturday scolded the Spanish builder Acciona subcontracted by ALTRAC amid reports it had asked the government for an extra $1.2 billion.

A section of the CBD light rail project on George Street in November 2017. Credit:Louie Douvis

Acciona - whose lawyers claim the government misled the contractor on the complexity of utility work involved - has proceeded with a "go-slow" on work, The Australian reported on Saturday.

The new developments come just days after it was revealed the government's external legal bill for the light rail project has already climbed past $15 million.
Erin Goodwin had a bowel condition so severe it meant she had to sleep on the toilet floor.

These days the 37 year old lives her life with a thrill-seeking edge going on nude cruises, adventure courses and climbing Sydney Harbour Bridge.

And she has an ostomy bag to thank for it.

Mrs Goodwin said that there is a misconception that people with ostomy bags have had cancer, are retirement age and they smell.

Just after Easter, she will abseil down QV1 for the QV1 Descent.
The Turnbull government is pushing for a deal with Washington that would let Australian police take a warrant directly to US tech companies and quickly access a suspected criminal's data.

An agreement could help Australian authorities get around the vexing difficulty of accessing encrypted communications, regarded as one of the major challenges for police.

Fairfax Media understands Law Enforcement and Cyber Security Minister Angus Taylor will visit the US in the next fortnight and will express Australias eagerness to strike an agreement as soon as possible to allow each countrys law enforcement agencies to more easily access data held in computer clouds on each others soil.

The talks follow the recent passage of a law by the US Congress that enables American agencies such as the FBI to demand - with a warrant - access to data from US-based tech companies even if the companies are holding that data in overseas clouds - a situation that is increasingly common.

As part of the new CLOUD Act, the Trump Administration can sign individual agreements with other countries to make the arrangement reciprocal. Britain is reportedly the first country in line with the new rules but Fairfax Media understands Australia hopes to be among the next few.
''The least he could do is pay me properly.'' Mr Hilakari said Trades Hall had been in talks with Victorian Labor over the issue and was ''reasonably optimistic criminalising wage theft will become an election commitment. ''This is what a good government should do; if they say no, we are going to campaign on it. The former South Australian Labor government took a policy to last months election to make wage theft a crime while the NSW Labor opposition is moving in a similar direction. Senior Andrews government insiders have ruled out wage theft legislation this year but have left open the possibility of taking a policy to this year's election.

The government is considering multiple requests from union, business and community lobbies ahead of both the budget and the November poll. Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive James Pearson said employers already faced significant financial penalties for wage underpayment. ''Nobody wins if employees lose their jobs when a business closes because of the size of the fine or because the employer has been imprisoned. ACCI chief executive James Pearson is opposed to making wage underpayment a crime. Credit:Andrew Meares He said the Fair Work system was highly complex with workplace awards of over 100 pages. That can be challenging for small business to navigate.

Young Workers Centre coordinator Keelia Fitzpatrick said the union campaign will be launched at a conference on wage theft this Friday. Unions engaged law firm Gordon Legal and a barrister to draw up proposed amendments to the Crimes Act that would regard the intentional underpayment of wages a criminal offence. Ms Fitzpatrick said they had legal advice that its amendments would not contradict existing federal workplace laws. They want a special unit in Victoria Police to deal with the issue. Ms Fitzpatrick cited figures from the Fair Work Ombudsman that showed in 2014/15 it received 14,291 allegations relating to underpayment but launched only 42 litigations on the issue. Victorian Industrial Relations minister Natalie Hutchins said in a brief statement the Andrews government was looking at how to deal with the underpayment of wages.

Victorian Industrial Relations minister Natalie Hutchins did not rule out making 'wage theft' a crime. We take the issue very seriously and are looking at the best way to tackle this growing problem, which particularly affects vulnerable workers. Michelle has been at her wits end to try to claw back wages and entitlements owed to her 17-year-old son Anthony. Anthony, with his mother Michelle, who is attempting to help the 17-year-old recover lost wages. Credit:Paul Jeffers He was owed at least $1000 in unpaid wages and entitlements, she said, from his time working at a restaurant in Melbourne's outer east. In one week he worked 28 hours but was paid for only 13 hours.

When she contacted the restaurant's owner, she was ignored. The owner did not respond to requests for comment from The Age. He also did not attend a mediation session with the Fair Work Ombudsman, she said. Michelle even called police to ask if it would be OK if she could hand out leaflets at his restaurant highlighting her sons case (it was). "I havent done that yet, she said. She is frustrated with how hard it is to resolve this issue. ''Hes never been late to one shift and this is what happened, she said. That belongs to Anthony that money, its a theft, it should be a crime.
Mike Janzen remembers little about the night two years ago when he awoke to get a drink of water and ended up lying on a tile floor.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 6/4/2018 (1271 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Mike Janzen remembers little about the night two years ago when he awoke to get a drink of water and ended up lying on a tile floor.

The Juno-nominated jazz pianist, who grew up in Steinbach and studied music at Providence University College, has opened up about his ongoing two-year recovery from the concussion he sustained on Apr. 3, 2016, and has released a free, Lent-themed solo album that was integral to his healing process.

SUBMITTED PHOTO Pianist Mike Janzen is seen in Toronto surrounded by his wife Jodi and daughters Hadassah and June. Janzens new solo piano album, Songs for Lent, helped him recover from a concussion he sustained two years ago.

"I got up in the middle of the night, went for a drink of water, took two steps, and that was it. I went crashing down," the Toronto-based artist recalled in an interview this week.

Though he hasnt fainted before or since, Janzen said medical explanations for the episode have amounted to little more than "guesswork," and in the immediate aftermath he concentrated instead on getting back to his daily routines.

But in the weeks that followed, the fall proved to have far-ranging implications for his career as a self-employed composer and musician who fronts a successful trio bearing his name.

Janzen was forced to cancel performances as he began to experience telltale concussion symptoms including headaches, nausea, light and sound sensitivity, and vision problems.

"At first, the idea of cancelling gigs was quite difficult to swallow," said Janzen. "I spent a lot of time in a dark basement not feeling very good."

The situation bred financial challenges.

"As a self-employed musician and artist, you dont have benefits when you get hurt," he observed.

But the father of two, whose youngest was born just six months after the concussion, was soon "overwhelmed" by generosity from the local music community.

"They would be sending me cheques in the mail from the gig that I was supposed to play," he recalled.

Prayers, notes, and emails soon flowed in from all across Canada, including the Steinbach area, where Janzens in-laws reside.

"It meant a lot to know that right across the country, but also right in Steinbach, there were a lot of people who every day were taking time out to think about us," he said.

A concussion specialist later gave him a brain therapy regime that included short walks, eye and balance exercises, and brief piano practices.

"Just really simple things, but they really helped," he said.

Reconnecting with music was especially powerful.

"I hadnt listened to music for five weeks," he said. "It was very emotional for me when I finally got to listen to music again."

After two years of disciplined work, he is able to perform in short bursts, most recently at his churchs Easter services last weekend.

"I feel pretty good compared to how I did, but its a process."

Initially, he was hesitant to publicize his injury.

"I always thought I was going to get better right away," he said.

But last week, he decided to blog about his experience to thank the "hundreds of people" who have supported him over the past two years.

Still, effects linger. In the past, it wasnt uncommon for Janzen to pour himself into a musical project for 14 hours a day. Today he must pace himself, limiting his playing to one or two hours.

"Now, when I play a few songs, I have to rest for a little bit after that," he said. "As soon as I overdo anything too much then I have to rest again."

He hopes another year of exercises will alleviate the last of the concussion symptoms, and said he already enjoys being able to hike and cycle again.

"Everythings coming along. It just takes time. Im a lot better than I was last year," he said.

Ever the artist, he found creative inspiration in his difficult circumstances.

"Im hoping that this season has taught me more about breathing and relaxing, and letting my mind rest a bit more as Im playing," he said.

"Ive really tried to look at these last few years as an opportunity to learn, grow and be stretched in ways that I couldnt if I was perfectly healthy."

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In his backyard studio, Janzen began work last fall on a collection of eight solo piano recordings he released one at a time during Lent.

"This was a perfect match for where I was coming out of. The last two years for me have been this forced Lent season," he said.

Later this month, Janzen will rejoin his trio onstage in St Catharines, Ont. for an evening of reimagined Broadway tunes, accompanied by the Niagara Symphony Orchestra.

As he looks ahead to the summer, his main goal is to keep improving.

"My head will let me know when Im ready to start performing again," he said.

Songs for Lent is available for free digital download at mike-janzen.squarespace.com/songsforlent.
Body of 4-Year-Old Boy Found in River Days After His Father Was Found

The body of a 4-year-old boy was discovered in a Georgia river just five days after his father died.

We never lost our resolve. These guys never backed up, said Battalion Chief Bryan Watson said in a 10 a.m. news conference on Friday. We wouldnt quit. We gave our word to the family that we would find this kid.  We gave the family closure.

Authorities confirm they've located a body in the Bibb Pond area of the Chattahoochee River, believed to be 4-year-old Beau Rabon. Our thoughts and prayers remain with this family and first responders. https://t.co/UeHaOs2yq0  Elizabeth White (@LizWhiteNews) April 6, 2018

Beau Rabon was found Friday morningjust days after his father, James Rabon, was pulled from the Chattahoochee River, Watson confirmed to the Ledger-Enquirer. The two had been fishing along the bank of the river about 750 feet south of the Oliver Dam on March 28.

First, the toddler fell into the swift-moving water before his father went in to rescue him, witnesses told officials.

Click here to support Ryan And Beau Rabon organized by Ciera Wages https://t.co/aDIRGfHhAg  ChattWhitewater Park (@ChattWhitewater) April 4, 2018

Neither the boy or his father were wearing a life vest, the officials said.

This is the longest dive operation I have been on, Capt. Daniel Hord, a 14-year veteran with the fire department, told the newspaper. We are here for the family and our hearts go out to them. I think all of us are fathers, brothers. That toll is going to be on anyone. Thats why we do what we do. We are here to serve this city.

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FBI agents walk towards a crime scene on Mission Oaks Boulevard following an explosion in Austin, Texas, U.S., March 19, 2018. (Reuters/Sergio Flores)

FBI Shuts Down Largest Child Sex-Trafficking Website in America

'Now, no child will be sold for sex through this website'

American law enforcement agencies have seized the sex marketplace website Backpage.com as part of an enforcement action by the FBI, according to a notice posted on the website on April 6.

Nearly three-quarters of the cases submitted to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children relate to ads posted on Backpage.com, the center told Congress.

Groups and political leaders working to end forced prostitution and child exploitation celebrated the shutdown of Backpage, a massive ad marketplace that is primarily used to sell sex.

Its a huge step. Now, no child will be sold for sex through this website, wrote Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.), in a tweet.

Heitkamp helped to draft legislation passed by the Senate on March 21 that makes it easier for state prosecutors and victims of sex trafficking to sue social media networks, advertisers, and others that fail to keep exploitative materials off their platforms.

President Donald Trump will sign the bill into law next week, said Heitkamp. The legislation, featured prominently in the popular Netflix documentary I am Jane Doe, amends the Communications Decency Act, which has shielded website operators from state criminal charges or civil liability if they facilitate sex ads or prostitution.

The Backpage.com notice said U.S. attorneys in Arizona and California, as well as the Justice Departments section on child exploitation and obscenity and the California and Texas attorneys general had helped shut down the website.

The Justice Department said late on Friday that a court in Arizona ruled that the Backpage.com case remains sealed, which puts any legal information under wraps. In the posting about the seizure, the department had originally said more information would be made public on Friday evening.

A Phoenix FBI official said that there was law enforcement activity at the Sedona, Arizona home of Michael Lacey, one of the founders of Backpage, but referred further inquiries to the Justice Department.

Reuters was unable to reach representatives of Backpage for comment.

Backpage has affiliates across the country and around the world, and by 2014 brought in annual revenue of $135 million, the New York Times has reported.

Shutting down the largest online U.S. marketplace for sex trafficking will dramatically reduce the profitability of forcing people into the commercial sex trade, at least in the short term, said Bradley Myles, chief executive of Polaris, an international anti-slavery group that runs the National Human Trafficking Hotline.

There would be a dramatic shift in the marketplace starting tonight, he added.

The Supreme Court in January 2017 refused to consider reviving a lawsuit against Backpage that was filed by three young women, who accused it of facilitating their forced prostitution.

In 2016, Texas and California authorities raided the companys Dallas headquarters and arrested chief executive Carl Ferrer and other former company executives on pimping-related charges. The judge in the case ruled the website was protected by the First Amendment, and it was not liable for the speech of third parties.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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The Ford Motor Company logo is pictured at the Los Angeles Auto Show in Los Angeles on Nov. 30, 2017. (Reuters/Mike Blake/File Photo)

Ford Recalls 350,000 F-150s and Expeditions

Car manufacturer Ford announced that its recalling 350,000 Ford F-150 trucks and Expeditions that can roll when parked.

The issue affects 2018 F-150s and Expeditions, the firm said in a statement this week.

Ford recalls 350K newer trucks due to risk of being in different gear than one shown https://t.co/iv7dg30ZV9  MLive (@MLive) April 6, 2018

Ford is issuing a safety recall in North America for approximately 350,000 2018 Ford F-150 and 2018 Ford Expedition vehicles with 10-speed automatic transmissions as well as 2018 Ford F-650 and F-750 vehicles with 6-speed automatic transmissions for a potentially unseated transmission gear shift cable clip, according to the statement.

The company says that one reported accident and injury were related to this condition.

On some of the affected vehicles, a clip that locks the gear shift cable to the transmission may not be fully seated. Over time, a partially seated clip or a clip that becomes dislodged may allow the transmission to be in a gear state different from the gear shift position selected by the driver, Ford said.

This could allow the driver to move the shifter to park and remove the ignition key, while the transmission gear may not be in park, with no instrument panel warning message or warning chime when the drivers door is opened that indicates the vehicle is not secured in park. If the parking brake is not applied, this could result in unintended vehicle movement, increasing the risk of injury or crash.

Ford Issues Recall On 350,000 Vehicles, Citing Problems Putting Them In 'Park' https://t.co/8HBcKkQp6V  NPR (@NPR) April 6, 2018

Ford says the affected vehicles include:

the 2018 Ford F-150 vehicles built at Dearborn Assembly Plant, Jan. 5, 2017 to Feb. 16, 2018;

the 2018 Ford F-150 vehicles built at Kansas City Assembly Plant, Jan. 25, 2017 to Feb. 16, 2018;

2018 Ford Expedition vehicles built at Kentucky Truck Plant, April 3, 2017 to Jan. 30, 2018;

and 2018 Ford F-650 and F-750 vehicles built at Ohio Assembly Plant, April 25, 2017 to March 9, 2018.

The recall encompasses 292,909 vehicles in the United States, 51,742 in Canada, and 2,774 in Mexico.

Ford urges customers to take the vehicle back to the dealership.

Dealers will inspect and verify that the shift cable locking clip was properly installed. If the clip is not properly seated, technicians will adjust the shifter cable and secure the locking clip at no cost to the customer, the statement reads.

More details were not offered by the firm.

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Georgia Sheriff Displays Controversial Warning Sign to Area Visitors

A Sheriff in Georgia put up a sign letting visitors to his county know that citizens there have concealed weapons, and would use them to defend themselves.

Harris County Sheriff Mike Jolley is credited with the sign, which reads, Our citizens have concealed weapons. If you kill someone, we might kill you back. We have ONE jail and 356 cemeteries. Enjoy your stay! according to Fox News.

Harris County Sheriff Mike Jolley invites you to visit, as long as you follow the law. As it should be. https://t.co/vOT2Xi1q61 pic.twitter.com/SULYcCHReq  Nick Short ?? (@PoliticalShort) April 6, 2018

Jolley paid to have the sign made and installed it near his headquarters. In 2015, he also paid to have a sign made. That sign was lauded as the most politically incorrect sign in America, according to The Daily Caller.

That sign, which cost him $553 to make, read WARNING: Harris County is politically incorrect. We say: Merry Christmas, God Bless America and In God We Trust. We salute our troops and our flag. If this offends you LEAVE! according to the Caller.

On his Facebook page, Jolley shared a post with a photo of another sign, which appears to be in the same location near his headquarters. It reads, This office fights against discrimination in all forms, but we stand for the flag and kneel to pray. The photo was posted by a local resident in October 2017 but shared by Jolley just recently.

Jolley told The Washington Post that he changes the sign about every eight months and that he pays for all of them himself. He also said the response to the most recent sign has been 99.9 percent positive.

Jolley doesnt mind the controversy that comes with the messages he put out there. Fox & Friends interviewed him about the 2015 sign.

I spent 20 years in the Army to give everyone the right to disagree with me or anyone else, Jolley said in that interview. Hopefully, if they disagree, they can voice that opinion. But if it offends them, truly offends them, maybe theyre in the wrong country.

He told Fox & Friends that nobody decided to move because of the sign, but instead, more people have expressed interest in moving into the county. He has also received money in support of the sign, and residents have wanted to put the message on shirts and yard signs.

Ive been in office a long time, Jolley told the Post, so I like to stir the pot.

From NTD.tv

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ESKISEHIR, TURKEY - APRIL 05: Turkish police officers stand guard in front of an education faculty after a research assistant shot dead four staffers of Osmangazi University and injured three others in Eskisehir province of Turkey on Apr. 05, 2018. (Photo by Deniz Acik/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

Gunman Kills Four Academics at Turkish University: Rector

ANKARAA gunman shot dead four Turkish academics at their university on Thursday whom he saw as supporters of a Muslim cleric accused by the government of being behind a failed coup in 2016, the university rector said.

The state-run news agency Anadolu said police had arrested the gunman at Osmangazi University in the town of Eskisehir near the capital Ankara. An Anadolu reporter told broadcaster CNN Turk the gunman had surrendered and did not try to escape.

Osmangazi University rector Hasan Gonen said the gunman had worked as a researcher at the institution and had fatally shot the assistant dean, faculty secretary, a lecturer and an education faculty staff member.

Gonen said he believed the assailant was looking for the dean, who was not in the building at the time, when he entered the education faculty and opened fire.

This person had claimed that some members of the university were members of FETO, and he had made similar claims (previously) in court, Gonen said, using an acronym denoting the network of U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen.

Turkeys government accuses Gulen, who has lived in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania since 1999, of having orchestrated the abortive July 2016 attempt by parts of the armed forces to topple President Tayyip Erdogan. More than 250 people were killed in the coup bid. Gulen denies involvement.

Gonen said the gunmans claim was being investigated by authorities prior to Thursdays shooting.

Ayse Aypay, a professor at the university, told Turkish media that some members of staff had repeatedly filed complaints about the gunman. Who will pay the price for protecting him now? Aypay said. She said she would file a criminal complaint to higher educational authorities over their alleged failure to deal with complaints about the suspect.

Eskisehir Governor Ozdemir Cakacak said regional prosecutors had launched an investigation into the incident.

(Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by David Dolan, Dominic Evans and Mark Heinrich)

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Panellists Maria Cheung, an assistant professor and a research affiliate with the Centre for Human Rights Research at the University of Manitoba, and Xun Li, president of the Falun Dafa Association of Canada, at a panel discussion following a screening of the documentary Hard to Believe at the University of Ottawa on April 5, 2018. (Jian Ren/The Epoch Times)

Hard to Believe: Film Explores Chinese Regimes On-Demand Killing of Prisoners for Their Organs

Ottawa event highlights communist states massive atrocities of forced organ harvesting to fuel transplant industry, mainly targeting Falun Gong adherents

Killing innocent people on demand for their organs on a mass scale is such an abhorrence that many find it hard or even impossible to believe.



We are reminded of the constant historical lesson of never again once we recognize massive atrocities that are hard to fathom, said Prof. Gary Goldsand, director of the University of Albertas John Dossetor Health Ethics Centre, at a National Health Ethics Week event at the University of Ottawa on April 5.



Goldsand was referring to the state-orchestrated forced organ harvesting from Falun Gong prisoners of conscience in China, in which compelling evidence has led to multiple international actions, including U.S. and European Parliament resolutions and changes to laws in several countries around citizens travelling to China for transplants.

It just goes without saying that there should be an absolute transparent line, Goldsand said, adding that for the doctors and other health professionals in China involved in this practice, its a fundamental breach of the principles that we hold most dear.



Goldsand was a panellist speaking via video link at a discussion after the public screening of the documentary Hard to Believe.

The multiple-award-winning film explores how transplant surgeons in China are basically committing murder while hospitals and the Chinese communist regime profit hugely and the world has largely turned a blind eye.

The documentary puts a human face on the human rights atrocity through personal stories that include a surgeons confession.

(LR) David Kilgour with David Matas and Ethan Gutmann, co-authors of Bloody Harvest/The Slaughter: An Update, a new report published in June 2016 providing updates to two previous investigations on Chinas lucrative organ transplant industry. (Simon Gross/The Epoch Times)

Rapid Growth of Transplant Industry

Another panellist, Maria Cheung, an associate professor and research affiliate with the Centre for Human Rights Research at the University of Manitoba, highlighted statistics showing the rapid growth of organ transplantation in China since 2000.

The volume and scale of organ transplant in China surpass official figures by many folds, she noted in her presentation, adding that it is carried out by the entire state apparatus, military, and civilian medical establishments.

Chinas official figure is 10,000 transplants per year. In contrast, a June 2016 investigative report estimated that as many as 60,000 to 100,000 transplants a year took place in China from 2000 to 2015, with the source primarily being non-consenting Falun Gong prisoners of conscience.



China began conducting research and clinical experiments in human organ transplantation in the 1960s, but it wasnt until 2000 that the industry entered a period of tremendous growth.



Researchers, the most notable being Canadians David Kilgour and David Matas, a former cabinet minister and an international human rights lawyer respectively, and U.S. investigative journalist and China analyst Ethan Gutmann, have tied this to the far-reaching campaign of persecution against the Falun Gong spiritual practice, also called Falun Dafa.

Launched by the communist regime in 1999, the persecution and accompanying hate propaganda campaign to vilify Falun Gong led to large numbers of adherents ending up in the countrys vast prison and forced labour camp system.

Vancouver practitioners of Falun Gong call on the Canadian government to demand the immediate release of Canadian citizen and Vancouver-based businesswoman Sun Qian, who has been detained in China for over a year for her belief in Falun Gong, at a rally outside the Chinese Consulate on Apr. 6, 2018. (Tang Feng/The Epoch Times)

Some Firsts for Canada in Speaking Out

Noting that this information is very overwhelming, panellist Xun Li, president of the Falun Dafa Association of Canada, said that Canada took a leading role in the world to condemn the persecution prior to any other country.

Canada filed an official protest with the Chinese foreign ministry shortly after mass arrests and detentions of Falun Gong adherents began in July 1999, as reported by The Globe and Mail, Li said.

Canada also was the first country to publicly raise the organ harvesting concern at the United Nations, he added, doing so at the March 2014 Human Rights Council meeting.

Li said he hoped the Canadian government will also speak out publicly to secure the release of Sun Qian, a Canadian citizen held in China since February 2017 for her belief in Falun Gong.

Sun has suffered abuse, torture, and recent intense attempts to brainwash her into renouncing her faith, Li said. She has had her lawyers one after another pressured and intimidated into withdrawing from her case. And she now faces a trial scheduled on April 9, for which her new lawyer has been given very little time to prepare.

For Sun Qians case, I hope the Canadian government can speak publicly, which China fears the most. The same thing with organ harvesting. When you get publicly exposed, this is the most powerful.

Sen. Salma Ataullahjan speaks about her new organ trafficking bill while MP Garnett Genuis looks on at a Parliament Hill press conference on Dec. 12, 2017, in Ottawa. (Limin Zhou/The Epoch Times)

Fighting Forced Organ Harvesting

A common question from the audience was what Canadians can do to help stop the atrocity. Li said they can sign a petition to support MP Garnett Genuiss private members bill, Bill C-350, aimed at fighting forced organ harvesting.

It makes it a criminal offence for a person to acquire an organ that they know was acquired without consent. It also makes those involved in forced organ harvesting inadmissible to Canada, Genuis explained in April 2017 when he introduced his bill.

In hopes of fast-tracking Genuiss bill, Senator Salma Ataullahjan later that year introduced an almost identical bill in the senate, Bill S-240.

Those bills need concerted effort to come to fruition, Li said, to follow in the footsteps of countries that have already passed such legislation, which include Israel, Italy, Spain, and Taiwan.

Panellists Maria Cheung, an assistant professor and a research affiliate with the Centre for Human Rights Research at the University of Manitoba, and Xun Li, president of the Falun Dafa Association of Canada, at a panel discussion moderated by University of Ottawa law professor Y. Y. Chen following a screening of the documentary Hard to Believe at the University of Ottawa on April 5, 2018. (Jian Ren/The Epoch Times)

Seeds of Hope

Talk to your Chinese friends [about this issue], especially those from mainland China, Cheung suggested to the audience. They may say they used to live in China but never heard about it, just as people did not know that students were massacred in Tiananmen Square in 1989, she said.

Thats because the communist regime vigorously covers up the violence they commit, especially because this act, this evil, if exposed to society in China, the [Chinese Communist] Party can no longer exist. This is why they cover it up so much, Li said.

Goldsand advised transplant professionals in the rest of the world to appeal to their counterparts in China, as an additional way to combat the crime of forced organ harvesting.

Its very difficult to change the Chinese government on a political level, he said. Of course we should continue to raise our voices and make this atrocity well known. But I think more effective than appealing to governments is the possibility of appealing to the professionals that are involved.

Katherine Lemay, a volunteer with an Ottawa group working to stop human trafficking, at the Hard to Believe film screening at the University of Ottawa on April 5, 2019. (Jian Ren/The Epoch Times)

Its shocking, said Katherine Lemay, who volunteers for an Ottawa group working to end human trafficking, which has a committee dedicated to ending human trafficking for the purpose of organ removal and harvesting.

This documentary sheds lots of light, but we need more light, more awareness  more research to be put into this and data collection, she said, as well as changing policies accordingly.



Everyone who hears about it is deeply affected by it, said audience member Adam Houston, a doctoral candidate in law at the University of Ottawa. The more they hear about it,  I hope that that will really help to drive change and to drive action on this issue.

Its our role to let more people know. Today you are the seeds of hope to bring this [issue] to society, Li told the audience.

If we remain silent, we are condoning it, Cheung said.
Police Could Use Help Finding These Armed RobbersHere Is Where They Were Last Seen

Authorities are searching for two armed robbers seen on surveillance video Thursday night, April 5, storming into a Thai restaurant in Venice, California, and taking the cash register.

The first clip shows two people with their hoods on entering the Wirin Thai Restaurant through a side door around 10:26 p.m., KTLA reported.

The second clip shows the people, apparently men, going behind a counter and one of them ripping out the cash register.

The third clip shows the men intimidating two employees. At least one of the men was holding a handgun.

The suspects then fled in a silver older model Nissan Altima and were last seen northbound on Lincoln Boulevard heading toward Santa Monica.

There was about $400 in the cash register, a representative for the Los Angeles Police Department said.

No injuries were reported.

The restaurant is located on 2308 Lincoln Boulevard near the intersection with Venice Boulevard in Venice, a beach town bordering Los Angeles.

One of the men was wearing what seemed to be black sneakers, red Nike pants, and a black or dark blue hoodie. The other man was wearing white sneakers, blue jeans, and a gray hoodie.

Information helpful to the investigation could be reported to Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (8477).

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Pregnant Woman Shot in the Head, Baby Delivered Safely

A pregnant woman from Springfield, Ohio, was shot in the head on Thursday, April 5.

The victim was flown to an area hospital whose medical staff were able to save the baby she had been carrying for over 30 weeks, FOX25 Boston reported.

The victim, identified by Dayton Daily News as Lindsey E. Marsh, remains in critical condition. She was shot on the side of her head in a home located at the first block of East McCreight Avenue.

UPDATE: Area pregnant woman shot in head, baby delivered safely https://t.co/tThk6lMeYF pic.twitter.com/0Djb4ATfPa  WHIO-TV (@whiotv) April 6, 2018

Records obtained by FOX25 Boston reveal that the baby is okay, according to the latest check.

Staff at the Miami Valley Hospital performed a C-section to deliver the baby.

Travis Hypes, 25, is accused of shooting Marsh. He was arrested for felonious assault, the Dayton Daily News reported.

Court records obtained by the newspaper reveal that Hypes told police he was the victims boyfriend. He also admitted to shooting her after an altercation they had.

He would tell us he and (the victim) were arguing and this led to the two of them shoving each other, a probable cause affidavit filed in Clark County Municipal Court read. During the shoving Travis said he reach into his right pocket and pulled out a pistol. She shoved him again after seeing the gun, so he shoved her back with both hands. His right hand had the gun in it and as he shoved herit discharged.

After the incident, the boyfriend reportedly ran to his uncles home on East Cecil Street and told him what had just happened.

The uncle then called dispatchers and told Hypes to tell police about the shooting.

In another similar case, a woman in the advanced stage of pregnancy was shot dead in a late-night robbery in Columbus, Ohio, police said, but doctors managed to save the unborn babys life.

The expectant mother was 35 weeks pregnant when she was gunned down at a home in the citys Hilltop area shortly before midnight on New Years Day, WTDN reported.

She was immediately transported to a hospital and reportedly lived long enough for doctors to deliver her baby.

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Stella Artois Recalls Beer Bottles That Might Contain Glass Shards

Alcohol producer Stella Artois said it is recalling some of its beer after it was revealed that pieces of glass may have gotten inside bottles.

Stella Artois, owned by Anheuser-Busch, said the recall applies to Stella Artois 6-packs, 12-packs, 18-packs, 24-packs, Best of Belgium multi-packs in the U.S. and Canada, and Stella Artois Legere 6-packs and 12-packs in the U.S. The recall does not affect other Stella Artois packaging formats, such as cans or draft or bottles of any other production codes.

It added: This recall comes after the detection of a glass packaging flaw in some 11.2-ounce (330ml) bottles that may cause a small piece of glass to break off and possibly fall into the beer. The potentially-affected bottles were manufactured by a third-party which is one of many supplying Stella Artois with glass bottles.

The firm posted a list of imported packages that are being subjected to the recall in the United States and Canada.

The potentially-affected bottles were manufactured by a third-party which is one of many supplying Stella Artois with glass bottles, the company said. We made the decision to voluntarily recall certain packages potentially containing the affected 11.2-ounce (330ml) bottles as a precautionary measure to ensure the safety of our consumers.

The company said that it is working with its distributor to resolve the issue.

The safety of our consumers is our top priority. While the number of potentially-affected glass bottles is very small, we are recalling these Stella Artois packages as a precautionary measure, stated Christina Choi, Global Brand VP of Stella Artois. Our team of technical experts has been working with our third-party glass bottle supplier to ensure this packaging flaw has been addressed.

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Glenview Park in Memphis, Tennessee, where a police chase ended with the arrest of a teen wanted for murder. (Screenshot via Google Maps)

Teen Wanted for Shooting People in Car Caught After Second Police Chase

A 19-year-old was arrested in Memphis, Tennessee for shooting two people in a car and killing one. He told investigators he shot them because they followed his car for several blocks.

On April 5 Jaelen Bell led police on a chase before he jumped out of a stolen car and ran. Police caught up with him and an accomplice, Kurterreon Wilson. While at the homicide bureau Bell admitted to the March 28 shooting, Fox 13 reported.

Thats the day police found Christopher Smith dead and his passenger shot in the leg. Court records say on-scene evidence pointed to Bell as the suspect, according to Fox 13.

Police were unable to locate Bell until an April 3, 911 call about a stolen Chrysler led police on a hunt. While searching, they found Bell and Wilson in a stolen Volkswagen Passat. Police were unable to catch up to that vehicle, and called off the chase, WREG reported.

Police later found them in the stolen Chrysler that same day. Again a chase ensued. This time police were successful in keeping up with the vehicle. Bell jumped out of the Chrysler near a local park. Bell and Wilson were taken into custody, according to WREG.

Several months earlier Bell was arrested after a video of teens parading through a mall while pulling out guns went viral. Four teens were pursued in connection with the Nov. 18 Facebook Live video, according to WREG. The video is 39 minutes long. The teen who filmed the video appears to be present in the cover photo of Bells Facebook page. Charges were eventually dismissed due to a problem affidavit, Fox 13 reported.

It appears Bell hasnt publicly posted on his Facebook page since March 5, 2017. One photo appears to show him holding some kind of large gun. Other photos show him flashing huge rolls of cash. His page also says that his nickname is Squid.

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Trump Admin Orders Zero Tolerance for Border Crossers, End to Catch-and-Release Policy

The Trump administration capped off a week of intense attention to border security with two major announcements on Friday, March 6.

In an unprecedented order to the Justice Department, Attorney General Jeff Sessions ordered federal prosecutors to charge first-time border crossers with illegal entry. Later that day, President Donald Trump ordered the heads of key agencies to do all in their power to end the catch-and-release policy.

Both orders came at the end of a week which included Trumps order to send the National Guard to the Border and NAFTA being used as leverage to compel Mexico to do more about stopping migrants headed to the United States.

Sessions ordered federal prosecutor offices near the Southwest border to prioritize bringing cases against first-time offenders. Once border crossers are charged with illegal entry and deported, they can be charged with a felony, carrying significant jail time if they are caught crossing illegally again.

Trump ordered the Attorney General and the heads of the State, Defense, Homeland Security, and Health and Human Services departments to prepare a comprehensive report detailing all that is being done to end the catch-and-release policy. The report is due in 60 days and the officials have 15 days after that to recommend additional resources and authorities needed to end the practice.

Catch-and-release refers to an immigration policy created by George W. Bush which lets authorities release illegal aliens into the United States once they have claimed asylum and are assigned a court date.

Trump continued to focus on border security on Saturday. The president lambasted California over its sanctuary policies and slammed Democrats for causing the illegal immigration disaster.

We are sealing up our Southern Border, Trump tweeted. The people of our great country want Safety and Security. The Dems have been a disaster on this very important issue!

Border arrests reached 50,308 in March, up 37 percent from February and more than triple from the same period last year.

Zero Tolerance

Sessions said a crisis has erupted on the border, requiring more criminal prosecutions. He issued a similar directive a year ago that addressed a larger number of border crimes and used softer language on new offenders, saying that prosecutors should aim to accomplish the goal of deterring first-time improper entrants.

Border Patrol figures show that Mexicans were much less likely to try crossing again if they were criminally charged instead of being simply turned around. But the operation also severely strained courtrooms and jails and fueled criticism of assembly-line justice.

A conviction for illegal entry carries a maximum penalty of six months in prison for first-time crossers and two years for repeat offenses. In practice, many are deported after pleading guilty and spending a few days in jail.

Sessions pointed to a Border Patrol effort launched in 2005 in Texas as a model. Authorities targeted first-time crossers for criminal prosecution. The practice spread to federal courts in Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico, the Associated Press reported.

Sessions told U.S. attorneys that he is open to other ideas.

Remember, our goal is not simply more cases, he wrote in the order. It is to end the illegality in our immigration system.

Sessions told immigration judges last week that he expects each to complete 700 cases a year starting Oct. 1.

National Guard

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis signed a memo on Friday authorizing the deployment of up to 4,000 National Guard troops. The memo said the troops will not perform law enforcement activities or interact with migrants.

About 150 National Guard members from Arizona will deploy to the border next week, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey said on Twitter. The Texas National Guard said it was preparing to send about 250 troops to the border within three days.

The safety and security of the American people is the Presidents highest priority, and he will keep his promise to protect our country and to ensure that our laws are respected, said White House Press Secretary Sara Sanders.
Two Soldiers Die in Helicopter Crash at Fort Campbell, Kentucky

Two soldiers from the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division stationed at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, died when their AH-64E Apache helicopter crashed on the night of April 6.

According to Army Times, the two soldiers were on a routine training mission at about 9:50 p.m. when they crashed. No one else was injured.

The soldiers names have not been released as next of kin have not yet been notified.

This is a day of sadness for Fort Campbell and the 101st Airborne, said Brig. Gen. Todd Royar, acting senior commander of the 101st Airborne Division and Fort Campbell, in a statement. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families during this difficult time.

This is the seventh aviation accident, and the sixth fatal crash to strike the military in the past four weeks.

Two Navy aviators were killed on March 14 when their F/A-18F Super Hornet crashed on a training flight in Florida.

On March 15 an HH-60 Pave Hawk transport helicopter crashed in western Iraq, killing seven airmen.

Two more crashes occurred on April 3.

In the first, a Marine Corp AV-8B Harrier Jump Jet crashed on takeoff in Djibouti. The pilot ejected from the plane before impact and survived the crash.

Another accident later that day claimed the lives of four marines, whose CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter crashed during a training flight out of Miramar Air Station in California.

Finally, on April 4, a member of the Air Force Thunderbirds aerobatic team fatally crashed in an F-16 near Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada.

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West Virginia Residents Thank President Trump

West Virginia residents became emotional during an event this week featuring President Donald Trump.

Multiple residents became visibly emotional during a roundtable in White Sulphur Springs on April 5.

One of the residents was Jessica Hodge.

Thank you very much, Hodge, her voice shaking, said. We really support you. And this is a big deal. These tax cuts are a big deal. Thank you for listening to us. Thank you for fighting for us. Thank you for caring enough to allow us the opportunity to come here.

Hodge added that her 10-year-old son, who was with her at the event, wanted to be like Trump someday, reported WSLS.

Trump touted the tax cuts at the event, saying the money people are saving is contributing to a healthy economy.

In WV today, President Trump is meeting with workers and businesses who are seeing the benefits of tax reform, just a few of the millions of Americans who are benefiting from new investment, bonuses, and hiring across the Nation. https://t.co/nrWytek9eg  The White House (@WhiteHouse) April 5, 2018

Its had a huge impact on our country and wait till you see the numbers, he said. The numbers are starting to get released by companies and, frankly, families and their spending habitsthey are getting to go out and buy things.

Another resident, Anita Jones, also spoke at the event and thanked Trump.

Jones, a native of Indonesia, said she received a bonus from the bank that employs her after Trumps tax plan was passed, reported Reuters. The specific bank wasnt identified.

Woman tells @realDonaldTrump she will use her one thousand dollar bonus related to tax cuts to pay for trip to her home country of Indonesia to see her parents  Kelly O'Donnell (@KellyO) April 5, 2018

For me, it is such a blessing because Im going to use that money to have a trip for me to go home, to my home country, to visit my parents and my dad that hasnt been well. And I have not been home since 2009, she said. And Im going to bring my son Daniel to go home with me because he forgot everything about where he came from. It is very important for him to do so. So thankful for the opportunity you gave me. And again, Im very honored.

Trump responded to her by saying Thats so nice, thank you, and have a good trip. I know Indonesia very well. Great people. You have some great representatives that have gotten to know very well in Indonesia. So, have a good trip. Thank you.

The tax plan doesnt go into effect until next year but multiple companies have announced bonuses for employees.

Trump has strong support in West Virginia and won the state by 42 percentage points over Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election.

Trump has returned to the state multiple times since taking office.

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WASHINGTON  Rep. Elizabeth Esty was disturbed by reports of her chief of staff abusing her scheduler, but she kept the process of removing Tony Baker under wraps  even telling staff the investigation of his misdeeds was simply a vanilla management review.

And while Esty, D-Conn., fired Baker in July 2016 after receiving the investigative report on his mistreatment of Anna Kain, she insisted to office staff he was leaving to work on the Hillary Clinton 2016 presidential campaign in Ohio.

It was: how to make this a better office, said one former staffer, of the meeting when Esty announced her former chief of staff, Julie Sweet, would be talking to staff individually for the review. There was no hint anything was amiss.

The staffer, speaking on condition of anonymity, also said Baker occupied an unhealthy role in Elizabeths life. She set up an office culture where she was overly dependent on him.

Sweet had a connection to Baker, too. Upon leaving her job as Estys chief of staff, Sweet recommended Baker as her successor.

In interviews last week, Esty insisted she did not know of Bakers abusive behavior toward Kain until the day after a drunken party Baker threw for himself to celebrate his 10th anniversary of working on Capitol Hill.

After the gathering at a bar on May 5, 2016, Baker flew into a drunken rage and phoned or texted Kain about 50 times, threatening to find her and kill her.

The threats led Kain to seek a protective court order.

It was the culmination of a dating relationship that ended by mutual consent in 2013, sources said, followed by instances of him shouting at her  and once punching her in the back  throughout 2014 until her departure from the office in March 2015.

Esty said that when she learned of Bakers abusive behavior following party, she ordered him to seek treatment for alcoholism and anger management. Then, on advice of her D.C. lawyer, Esty brought in Sweet to conduct a full investigation  which ultimately resulted in Bakers dismissal.

Taking the blame

But some staffers saw Sweets questioning as hardly the substance of a hard-hitting probe. Indeed, when Sweet interviewed one staffer, there were no questions on what the staffer knew of Bakers abuse of Kain.

Esty said Sweet found out about the behavior through an intermediary and alerted her. And, Esty said, she fired Baker after receiving Sweets report on July 20, 2016. His last day in the office was July 24 and his last day on the payroll was Aug. 12.

Estys office has not released the contents of the report. Her current chief of staff and acting spokesman, Timothy Daly, declined to comment Wednesday.

In withdrawing from her 2018 re-election bid on Monday, Esty accepted blame for, among other things, not suspending Baker immediately and getting him out of the office pending the results of Sweets investigation.

Esty credited Sweet with playing a key role in the ousting of Baker. But former staff members said Sweet also had brought Baker into Estys office in 2013 as Estys original legislative director because both had previously worked for Rep. Betty Sutton, an Ohio Democrat no longer in office.

And when Sweet left in January 2014 for another position in Washington, she recommended Baker as her replacement.

In firing Baker, Esty said she was hamstrung by House protocols that, among other things, called for a non-disclosure agreement and positive job referrals.

Former staffers nevertheless find it hard to fathom how after firing Baker, Esty could have taken him along with her to the Democratic National Convention, July 25-28 in Philadelphia, for the partys nomination of Clinton for president.

Baker demanded that three other staffers also attend, a source said, and they were forced to pay for the trip out of their own pockets, because it was for a political purpose, not congressional business.

Wielding influence

Bakers accompaniment could be emblematic of what former staffers said was his hold over Esty.

Esty herself described Baker as adroit in carrying out her agenda in Washington, saying he had a key to her in-town apartment for helping out with various maintenance-type needs. But she acknowledged being less aware of the negative side of his character, which included berating staff members loudly in the closely confined congressional office.

The ex-staffer recalled once telling Baker that staff members at Estys Connecticut district offices were afraid of him.

Good! the source said Baker replied. They should be!

Bakers imminent departure from Estys office was not apparent to the three staffers he drafted to go to Philadelphia.

Tony talked to me about future projects, the former staffer said. If hed been fired by the time of the convention, there was no sign of it. He was upbeat and normal.

The source said rumors circulated through the office for weeks, reaching fever pitch when Baker didnt show up for work Aug. 1, 2016.

And a few days after that, Esty announced at a staff meeting that Baker was leaving to return to his native Ohio and work for the Clinton campaign, sources said. In reality, it would take him almost three months to find a job and start working for Newtown-based Sandy Hook Promise as Ohio director.

Esty offered what she termed a limited recommendation on the phone. Baker lost the job early last week after the organization learned of the true reason for his departure from Estys office.
EDWARDSVILLE  Centerstone will host a free screening of the film Suicide: The Ripple Effect at SIUE on Monday, April 9 at 7 p.m.

Kathryn Sime, Director of Advancement with Centerstone, said that the film was a logical choice for the company to host. We are a comprehensive behavioral health provider, she said. We offer mental health counseling, substance abuse help, and wellness program from youth to adult in seven Southern Illinois counties.

Sime said that Centerstone is engaged in the communities they serve. We knew that SIUE and SIU Carbondale have been really successful with their own suicide-prevention programs, she said.

The movie tells the story of Kevin Hines, who jumped from the Golden Gate Bridge in an attempt to take his own life at age 19. He is one of only 36 people to survive the jump. Now, 17 years later, he is on a mission to use his story to help others find hope. The movie is part of a global mission to help reduce the number of suicides and suicide attempts around the world.

Hines will attend the screening to introduce the film. It explores the effects of his suicide attempt on family, friends and the first responders who saved his life.

Kevin Hines is a longtime friend of Centerstone, Sime said. Hes a nationally known mental health advocate looking at the ripple effect of suicide. There is also a ripple effect of suicide prevention.

Hines asked Centerstone to help him finish the movie, and the company did. There will be another showing in May, Sime said. Its in limited release now. The documentary is about 90 minutes long.

It shows both Kevins personal journey as well as other journeys to bring hope, Sime said. Its fairly life-affirming. There are people who work so hard to embrace life.

Hines has spoken to Centerstone Board members, Sime said. Weve worked with him to get other speaking engagements.

Hines mission fits in with Centerstones mission to offer mental health services, Sime said. Last year, Centerstone provided 929 crisis services to adults who were in danger of harm to themselves or others, she said.

The message of the film and of Centerstone is to always ask for help. There are care providers, friends and loved ones who want to help. It reinforces the idea that all of us can be a life-saving force. We dont need magic words. Just say, What can I do to help? and start that conversation. Showing someone that you are there for them can save that persons life.

The presentation of the movie has received sponsorship support from TheBANK of Edwardsville, the Wealthcare Group, Genoa Healthcare, GCS Credit Union and OSF Healthcare.

The screening is free, but Centerstone is requesting that people register so they can ensure enough seating. To reserve tickets, go to their website at https://centerstone.org/events/foundation/the-ripple-effect-edwardsville-il.
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With treasury yields heading higher and a hawkish Fed meeting last week, investors should be prepared for a rotation back into value stocks in the coming sessions. Many of these moves have already started to occur and while it's hard to predict just how long the rotation lasts, its still a smart idea to put together a go-to list of value stocks to consider parking some capital in.

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Brookdale Senior Living, Inc. engages in the operation of senior living communities. The firm manages independent living, assisted living and dementia-care communities and continuing care retirement centers. It operates through the following segments: Independent Living Assisted Living & Memory Care, CCRCs, Health Care Services and Management Services. The Independent Living segment is primarily designed for middle to upper income seniors who desire an upscale residential environment providing the highest quality of service. The Assisted Living & Memory Care segment offer housing and 24-hour assistance with ADLs to mid-acuity frail and elderly residents. The CCRCs segment offers a variety of living arrangements and services to accommodate all levels of physical ability and health. The Healthcare Services segment provides home health, hospice and outpatient therapy services, as well as education and wellness programs, to residents of many communities and to seniors living outside communities. The Management Services segment composes of communities operated by the company pursuant to management agreements. The company was founded in 1978 and is headquartered in Brentwood, TN.

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Buckeye Partners, L.P. owns and operates liquid petroleum products pipelines in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Domestic Pipelines & Terminals, Global Marine Terminals, and Merchant Services. The Domestic Pipelines & Terminals segment transports liquid petroleum products, including gasoline, jet fuel, and various distillates. This segment also provides crude oil services, including train loading/unloading, storage, and throughput; and turn-key operations and maintenance, asset development, and construction services for third-party pipeline, terminal, and energy assets, as well as operates and/or maintains third-party pipelines. It owns and operates approximately 6,000 miles of pipeline located primarily in the northeastern and upper midwestern portions of the United States, and services 100 delivery locations; 110 active terminals that provide bulk storage and throughput services with aggregate storage capacity of 55 million barrels; and 2 underground propane storage caverns. The Global Marine Terminals segment provides marine accessible bulk storage and blending, rail and truck rack loading/unloading, and petroleum processing services located primarily in the East Coast and Gulf Coast regions of the United States, as well as in the Caribbean. This segment owns and operates seven liquid petroleum products and crude oil terminals. The Merchant Services segment is involved in the wholesale distribution of refined petroleum products, including gasoline, natural gas liquids, propane, ethanol, and biodiesel, as well as petroleum distillates, such as heating oil, diesel fuel, kerosene, and fuel oil. This segment also provides fuel oil supply, butane, and distribution services. Buckeye GP LLC serves as the general partner of the company. Buckeye Partners, L.P. was founded in 1886 and is based in Houston, Texas.

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MOSS POINT, Miss. -- Moss Point police have a man in custody for the Jan. 18 killing of a man whose body was found in a car behind an abandoned school.

25-year-old Kendrick Donta Williams was arrested and charged with capital murder in the death of Kellie Remmone Guy, whose body was discovered January 18, 2018 behind the abandoned Ed Mayo Junior High School in the Kreole community.

Williams was arrested in Pascagoula at the Mississippi Department of Corrections Probation and Parole office.

Investigators are searching for a second suspect -- 24-year-old James Gerland Ward of Moss Point.

James Gerland Ward, 24, of Moss Point is considered armed and dangerous and is the second suspect police are looking for in connection with the death of Kellie Remmone Guy. (MPPD)

Ward is considered armed and dangerous and was last seen driving a 2000 Buick Regal-LS, four-door, green in color bearing Mississippi license plate, JKR668.

Anyone with information regarding Ward's whereabouts is asked to contact Detective's Mark Peters or Kimberlee Snowden or the Moss Point Police Department at 228-475-1711.

You may also contact Crime Stoppers at 800-787-5898, or visit the Mississippi Coast Crime Stoppers website at mscoastcrimestoppers.com.
CALGARYAthabasca Oil Corp.s chief executive blasted the Liberal government for not providing regulatory certainty or doing its job to get pipelines built just as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was visiting the heart of oilsands country on Friday.

I would tell him he has to show leadership on the pipeline file. And its not just words, said Athabasca CEO Rob Broen at the companys annual general meeting in Calgary.

He needs to back up Kinder Morgan, the pipeline hes approved, and he needs to see it through to construction and make sure we can put shovels in the ground and get it built for the benefit of all Canadians.

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Trudeau, visiting the new Fort Hills oilsands mine near Fort McMurray, reiterated his support for the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion to the West Coast and repeated the message he delivered during stops in British Columbia earlier this week: that Canada needs to protect both the environment and the economy.

We have to make sure that the balance is right, that were still globally competitive  and competitiveness is something this government will always focus on  but we also shouldnt be part of a race to the bottom of trying to cut standards and pollute more just for the short term, Trudeau said.

Athabasca has regulatory approval to double production to 40,000 barrels per day at its Leismer project and its Corner development has the same approved capacity. But Broen said the company wont formally decide to go ahead with either project amid uncertainty created by government policies and heavy oil price discounts linked to pipeline export constraints.

Broens criticisms echo points raised by the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers in its recent campaign to convince governments to restore investor confidence by cutting taxes and easing regulatory burdens.

CAPP has warned that there are about 50 changes to energy industry policies being contemplated by provincial and federal governments, including recently-proposed sweeping changes to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency and the National Energy Board, that are harming Canadas reputation as a transparent and fair place to do business.

The CEO of Suncor Energy  the oilsands giant that operates Fort Hills and other developments around Fort McMurray  has also warned that Canada needs to up its game to attract investment away from the U.S.

But Steve Williams said Friday he was greatly encouraged by the discussions he had with the prime minister. The two men hugged as the visit wrapped up.

The prime minister has taken the trouble to come here and spend some time with us and understand our challenges better. So I think were going to get some help, Williams said.

During his visit to Fort Hills, Trudeau chatted with workers in the lunch room about carbon taxes and pipeline approvals. He then toured a heavy equipment shop and climbed atop a massive oilsands ore hauling truck.

Trudeaus visit also met with energy industry and local Indigenous leaders.

A handful of pro-oilsands demonstrators held signs reading Canada produces fair trade oil and support our people, support our pipeline.

Both Trudeau and Premier Rachel Notley have touted Albertas carbon tax imposed last year as a tradeoff for having pipeline projects go forward. Athabascas Broen said he doesnt think that strategy is working.

Mike McKinnon, spokesperson for Alberta Energy Minister Marg McCuaig-Boyd, said the provinces climate plan is the reason the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project was approved in the first place.

He said the department agrees, however, that Ottawa needs to do more to help get the pipeline built.

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The Ontario Securities Commission said Friday it is gathering information on several cryptocurrency trading platforms after it received a number of complaints.

The regulator said cryptocurrency exchanges, where the digital tokens are bought and sold, may fall afoul of securities laws.

We are aware of several cryptocurrency trading platforms operating in Ontario and are gathering information about their activities. To date, none have been recognized as an exchange, or exempted from recognition, said Kristen Rose, spokesperson for the commission, in an email.

Rose explained that platforms that offer this type of trading may classify as a marketplace, and would be required to comply with the rules governing exchanges or alternative trading systems.

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If an exchange is doing business in a jurisdiction of Canada, it must apply to that jurisdictions securities regulatory authority for recognition or an exemption from recognition.

The move by the Ontario regulator comes amid the rise of exchanges to trade digital currencies, as well as initial coin offerings to launch new ones. While the original bitcoin cryptocurrency is nearly a decade old, the sharp rise in prices for the new currencies last year created a flurry of interest and start-ups to serve the new market.

Both the exchanges and initial coin offerings have been operating in a grey area as regulators look to define which securities laws and regulations apply to the new offerings.

The decentralized nature of the currencies, and uncertainty over regulations, have raised worries about possible financial scams.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has been investigating a number of cryptocurrency exchanges and initial coin offerings and has already cracked down on several.

In February, the SEC charged former exchange BitFunder with fraud for operating unlawfully as an unregistered securities exchange. The regulator said any platform that engages in the activity of a national securities exchange must register, whether the activity involves digital assets, tokens, or coins.

The U.S. regulator said at the time that it continues to focus on these types of platforms to protect investors and ensure compliance with securities laws.

Earlier this week, Australia released new regulations for cryptocurrency exchanges that require all exchange platforms to register and comply with anti-money laundering regulations or face criminal offence and civil penalty consequences.

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Broken families  through divorce, disappearance or death  in a variety of takes including romance and thriller are at the heart of these novels.

Not Perfect, Elizabeth LaBan, Lake Union

The morning after a huge row with her husband, Tabitha awakens to find him gone. She has no money, no job and two kids to feed, but she is determined to keep up appearances until he gets in touch  if he gets in touch. Her big worry is that he knows a couple of damaging things about her, and in the scrawled note before he departed he threatened to blab. Not Perfect has a lively rom-com vibe to it  there is romance and humour and LaBan has created a likeable cast of characters (even the villain is ultimately sympathetic). The author lives in Philadelphia with her restaurant critic husband  and she just happens to be the author of 2016s The Restaurant Critics Wife.

Every Other Weekend, Zulema Renee Summerfield, Little, Brown

This is a divorce story, channelled through Nenny, who worries about imminent drought, earthquake, home invasions, Russians and all the other horrors an anxious 8-year-old girl from suburban California in 1988 might conjure. Shortly after her parents split, Nenny, her two brothers and her mom go to live with crabby Rick, a Vietnam War veteran and his two unpleasant children, forming a brand new unhappy family. The author would have been around Nennys age in the late 80s and this debut novel has a strong autobiographical whiff.

The Lucky Ones, Tiffany Reisz, Mira

Allison was one of the lucky ones, the orphaned or abandoned children chosen by philanthropist Dr. Vincent Capello to live at The Dragon, a fabulous beach house on the Oregon coast. But when she was 12 she left this idyllic life after someone  presumably one of the other lucky ones  pushed her down a flight of stairs. The story opens 13 years later: Learning that Dr. Capello is near death, Allison returns to The Dragon to say goodbye  and discover who tried to kill her all those years ago. Tiffany Reisz is a prolific author of romantic thrillers, some with an erotic edge.

After Anna, Lisa Scottoline, St. Martins

Lisa Scottolines 31st thriller begins with a cliffhanger, with Dr. Noah Alderman standing up in the courtroom to hear the jurys verdict in his trial for the murder of his stepdaughter Anna. We then turn back to the events leading up to this day: Widower and single dad Noah has remarried, a wonderful woman named Maggie. One day Maggie hears from her teenage daughter, Anna, whom she hasnt seen since she was an infant. Mother and daughter bond, and soon Anna becomes a member of this blended household. But she turns out to be a real handful. Then she is murdered, and the finger of guilt points to Noah.

Rosie Colored Glasses, Brianna Wolfson, Mira

After their divorce, Rex (serious, exacting, strict) and Rosie (fun-loving, sparkly, creative) share custody of Willow, 11, and Aaron, 6, and you can guess which parent the children prefer staying with more. Rosie loves her kids, in fact she is a lot like a kid herself. But there is a downside: This fabulous mom becomes addicted to opiates (Vicodin), which she starts using to turn down the volume of her frenetic life. This sad story unfolds mostly through the eyes of Willow, but Rex and Rosie have their say, too. Author Wolfson writes that she based Rosie on her mother, who died in a car crash during an opiate binge when the author was 9.
I have chairs. Do you want some chairs?

Rick Mercer points to the studio floor, then looks at me expectantly with that famously arched eyebrow.

We are seated at his anchor desk in the 10th-floor studio at CBCs Toronto headquarters. I can sell you them for $20 each. After this week, they have to go.

On Tuesday, after 15 seasons and 277 episodes, the perma-smirking host of the Rick Mercer Report will give his final, indignant rant before signing off.

Its strange interviewing Mercer at the pulpit from which he addresses a still-healthy average of 971,000 viewers every week. Especially since Mercer, 48, is the one normally asking the questions. On this day, hes not wearing his usual host outfit, a black suit, but his writers room garb of argyle sweater and jeans.

Its like being on a talk show! he exclaims, rapping the Lucite table like an auctioneer. This is our second desk. Its got a few dings in it. But its still good.

Mercer is not kidding about the chairs. They are owned by the independent production company he shares with business and life partner Gerald Lunz, which creates the CBC show. The taxpayer-funded bleachers squeaked. So 350 chairs were brought in for the studio audience. And now there are days left to go.

Technically Im gone by the end of the week. Well, I guess it depends on when Gerald and I lay each other off, Mercer says. We might give it another week.

From his start on This Hour Has 22 Minutes to Rick Mercer Report, and a sitcom called Made in Canada in between, the St. Johns native has been Canadas most pointed political satirist for a quarter century. Hes interviewed rock stars and prime ministers. Hes had Stephen Harper read him a bedtime story. Gone a few rounds with heavyweight George Chuvalo. Did the CN Tower edge walk with Jann Arden.

But he will perhaps best be remembered for introducing average Canadians to other Canadians. In a recent episode, for instance, Mercer travelled to Halifax to learn dance moves with the Maritime Bhangra Group, who had scored a viral hit last winter with a video of three men in T-shirts and turbans dancing with snow shovels.

Disparate and funny moments like these, capturing Canada at its best, are a large part of the shows charm. Not surprisingly, asking Mercer what his favourite moment might be gives him pause.

Its really hard to say what were the best moments. Rick Hansen was a childhood hero for me. I did a project on him at school so to meet him was a huge thrill, Mercer says. But thats if youre talking about well-known people. Then Jean Chretien and Jann Arden would be up there. But then there are so many other people who may be oyster fishermen or farmers or cops, who were special and made the show special. And then there were the adventures. Climbing some mountain. Starting an avalanche on purpose. They were all very different but just incredible experiences.

The show defied conventions of television. It wasnt quite news satire like The Daily Show, a travelogue like Rick Steeves: Europe, a sketch show like Air Farce nor a talk show like The Social.

To make it work, you needed someone with the prickliness of Jon Stewart, combined with the approachable persona of travelling weatherman Al Roker. The show found that in Mercer. Along the way, it picked up 12 Canadian Screen Awards and four Geminis.

But before he got there, Mercer broke into prominence on This Hour Has 22 Minutes. Thats where he began those weekly, in-your-face, often political rants.

22 Minutes ideally suited his acerbic skills, allowing him to speak truth to power. As in the time he asked then-presidential candidate George W. Bush what he thought of Prime Minister Jean Poutine. Bush, not catching the reference to Canadas favourite fried food, replied that he wanted a strong relationship to Canada.

But the dynamic on Rick Mercer Report is markedly different. Here the joke is on Mercer himself, not the interviewee. Its as if he intentionally took the bite out of his comedy chops to be more inclusive. And perhaps there couldnt be anything more Canadian than that.

In comedy, your natural instinct is to tear down. Thats because your first great laugh comes at the expense of your teacher. Then you go after the vice-principal. And thats how it gets started. But we had a philosophy we called We dont s--t on Thunder Bay. If we go to Thunder Bay, its because its the greatest place on Earth, Mercer says. As a result, people welcomed me. They trusted me. They knew I wasnt there to make them feel small. It was about celebration.

I remind Mercer, a little uncomfortably, that in a 2014 review of what turned out to be a dismal CBC lineup, I suggested that they cancel the Rick Mercer Report. Of course, that would be the same year Mercer was appointed an officer of the Order of Canada by Governor General David Johnston for his ability to inspire and challenge Canadians through humour.

The criticism was not because I thought the host was untalented but that the format was restrictive. What would happen if, like former late-night cable host Jon Stewart, Mercer were able to fly unleashed from the confines of family-friendly public broadcasting?

People always have a perception of what other people on TV should be doing, but I ended up doing exactly what I wanted to do, although Im flattered you think I should be doing something else, he says.

We realized very quickly we were a family show. We didnt start out that way, but we did change the tone as a result. When youre on TV, you want to be on prime time. I embraced the restrictions. Its never been a mission of mine to say f--k you at 8 p.m.

Have your say

Mercer is leaving at a critical time in the business. CBC has just named its new president, Catherine Tait, who formerly headed Salter Street Films, with a stable that included This Hour Has 22 Minutes. And like fellow comic Stewart, who left his show just as President Donald Trump arrived on the scene, Mercer is leaving CBC when Ontario could potentially have a Premier Doug Ford, the brother of controversial former Toronto mayor Rob Ford.

I have never wished ill on my country to make my job easier, Mercer says, laughing. If Doug Ford does become premier and it results in chaos, I would only wish for good government. But I am really hoping it will be without the chaos part.

Mercer says there was no singular moment that caused him to wrap the show. In show business the show almost always ends the same way. You show up at work and your pass doesnt work, and your stuff is in a box in the corner. The only thing that could damage our legacy is if we stuck around too long.

He says he has projects on the go and a second book of his rants to be released, but he wont divulge more.

I dont want to be that guy that says hes doing all this stuff and then nothing happens. I have big plans and a ton of projects, but I just dont know exactly. It was tough to do other things, but nobody put a gun to my head and said you have to be in two different places in Canada every week and a commentary. But the show had become all-encompassing, but that is the nature of the beast.

Strangely, in all his rants, which have ranged from the need for regulation on social media to the asbestos-ridden money pit of the prime ministers residence, Mercer has avoided talking about public broadcasting.

I think its mainly because I am on the public broadcaster so people would have to take that with a grain of salt, he says. But when I leave I will be a strong advocate. I think there is a need for a strong CBC.

And for someone who invites himself into the homes of Canadians, he has always been protective of his privacy and, in his early years, his sexuality. He has been with Lunz, who also serves as executive producer on the show, since 1990.

There might have been some nervousness on my part in an earlier life, the idea that you might not sell tickets in certain venues. And when I was out there promoting the shows I didnt want to take things sideways with a discussion of my personal life, Mercer says. But its never really been an issue. But when someone asks me what car are you driving, now thats getting personal.

On this weekday, Mercer arrived at his windowless office at 9 a.m. to work on his final rant. It will be filmed in the graffiti-filled back alley off of Queen St. W. that is now the site of TripAdvisor-reviewed walking tours for fans of the show. This will be his 263rd rant, for which some statistician has figured he has walked 42 kilometres.

Im going to try to be reflective. But maybe not too reflective, Mercer says. This is a comedy show after all.

Perhaps what I will miss most are his sketches, most of them ripped from the headlines. They were often sharp, with writing more polished and biting than the Emmy-winning minds, budget and star power of shows such as Saturday Night Live.

On recent episodes, there was Mercer in 2094 cancelling his cable provider because decades into the future people will still be switching between Rogers and Bell. Or Bombardier technicians shovelling money to be burned in an airplane engine because theyve been engineering the taxpayer out of money since 1942.

We have had Mercer to thank for taking the piss out of the high and mighty. And also for making Canada a smaller, more intimate place.

What Ive admired more than anything are shows that go out on our own terms and I think were doing that, Mercer says. And seriously, the chairs. They have to go.

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Sean Hannity will never hit peak stupidity.

It cant be done. The man will never achieve dumbass nirvana. His idiocy is as limitless as the cosmos. Trying to measure it is like trying to calculate pi. Forget the catering and limo service; if Fox News truly cared about its star lunatic it would hire a bodyguard to shadow him and ensure he doesnt injure himself: No, Sean! Dont eat that! Its a plastic apple! Stop it, Sean! Thats not Hillary! Youre punching your own face! Sean, youre wearing your Trump Underoos over your pants! Dont taunt that pit bull, Sean! Its a dangerous stray dog  its not part of the MSM!

Just when I think Hannity cant possibly become a bigger moron, he starts a feud with Jimmy Kimmel. He commences hostilities with a guy who lives for public brawls. He insults an insult comic, which is like slathering pig guts over your torso and leaping into a tiger cage.

Look away, children, the man is gonna get ripped to shreds.

It all started on Monday, when Kimmel mocked Melania Trump and posted a clip in which shes reading a book to kids for Easter. Personally, at this point, Im not a fan of Melania jokes, mostly because I feel sorry for her. But this is what late-night comics do: they make fun of powerful newsmakers.

Of course, since Hannity wouldnt know comedy from a ceiling fan  its all just spinning liberal treachery to him  he was furious. And since taking liberties with anyone in Trumpville is taboo in Hannityland, the White House mascot used his state television pulpit to return fire Wednesday night.

This is brutal, Hannity told his viewers, his rutabaga of a right fist shaking with rage, his pea-sized eyes glistening with disgust. Liberal Jimmy Kimmel. Making fun of the First Lady of the United States and her involvement in the White House Easter Egg Roll  even her accent. Jimmy, youre a despicable disgrace.

Then a few seconds later, after a hapless producer picked a random entry from the Urban Dictionary and reluctantly whispered into his earpiece, Hannity startled his geriatric demo by declaring Kimmel an ass clown.

Now, I dont know if Hannity has lost his mind because hes so freaked out by the Russia investigation. Or if hes just lost without having Obama as a nightly punching bag. I dont know if he was short on material that night after producers gently steered him away from a planned segment on why God doesnt trust immigrants.

What I do know is any war of words between Kimmel and Hannity is a mismatch that cries out for UN intervention, new Geneva Conventions and a mercy rule.

Kimmel is America: his mouth is a nuclear superpower.

Hannity is Costa Rica: hes got a couple of muskets strapped to his molars.

So now its Thursday night.

I open my computer and find out I am at war with Sean Hannity and Fox News, Kimmel tells his audience, before asking with a smirk, What even is an ass clown?

From here, well, this is a family newspaper. So I cant repeat about 80 per cent of what Kimmel said. But it was ugly. It was Hannity-dry-humping-Ivanka-Trump-throw-pillows-and-fantasizing-about-a-shirtless-Paul-Ryan ugly.

Hannity was eaten alive.

Near the end of the four-minute demolition, Kimmel circles back to the slur.

If Im an ass clown  and I might very may well be  you, Sean, are the whole ass circus, he says, as his crowd explodes. Youre the juggler. Youre the trapeze artist. You are the ass lion tamer and the ass human cannonball all jammed into one little car. You are the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey of ass clownmanship.

But I do want to say I appreciate how compassionate youve suddenly become to the plight of immigrants in this country over the last 24 hours. You know what I think is disrespectful to the First Lady? Cheating on her with a porn star after she has a baby. Why dont you rant a little about that, Sean Hannity? And get a haircut, you hippie!

Kimmel clearly hit a nerve.

In the wee hours on Friday, presumably weepy and reeking of whiskey, Hannity moved the feud to Twitter. He posted clips from Kimmels old The Man Show. He called Kimmel a pervert and Harvey Weinstein Jr. He did what Hannity always does after a public humiliation: flail about in the ether and grasp at straws.

Let it go, Sean. You are over your head because there is nothing in your head. Kimmel has got the art of feuding down to a comedic science. And when battling you, he doesnt even need to break a sweat while throwing down: he just has to harness your selective outrage, hypocrisy and unlimited supply of stupid and turn your feeble attacks into lethal counterattacks.

So the longer you keep this feud going, the more you will lose.

When you are an ass circus, there can be no triumphant closing act.

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When I was young and the City of Toronto did something my father didnt like, he would remark: Why doesnt the city just stick to sewers, roads and transit  after all, thats their job.

Infrastructure is the foundation on which the success of a city is built. And any resident of the GTA, and anybody in the market for a new home, should care about infrastructure. We take it for granted when it is there, but we really feel the pinch when it is not.

Now is the time to ensure our elected officials make investment, and building of infrastructure, a priority as we head toward a municipal election.

Any GTA resident who has watched the glacial development of the subway system over the last few decades knows the uncomfortable truth that we need to be building more infrastructure in the right places, and faster.

The GTA is the one of the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in North America, with 115,000 new residents, requiring 55,000 new homes to be built, every year. With an already very low vacancy rate below 1 per cent, and a housing supply challenge (only 44,000 new homes were built last year)  we need to make housing a priority. That goes hand in hand with making infrastructure a priority.

Infrastructure matters to anyone looking for a home. There is no such thing as an off-the-grid house in Toronto or downtown Oakville; communities require a sophisticated infrastructure of roads, highways and access to transit, as well as water and wastewater services.

Intensifying existing communities often requires upgrades to the infrastructure. It is expensive and takes years to build. So ensuring that infrastructure is planned, and built, to support new and existing communities is essential to increasing our housing supply. In turn, increasing housing supply helps drive affordability.

According to Statistics Canada, by 2041 the population of the GTA will swell to 9.7 million people. That is the equivalent of bringing in the combined populations of Vancouver and Montreal. Just housing these additional residents will be a significant challenge, let alone having the workspaces, educational facilities and commuting capacity, in the right places, to support a 40-per-cent increase in population.

Making infrastructure a higher priority in the GTA is a necessity. With municipal elections approaching this fall, BILD will be asking the tough questions about how we can work together to make this vision a reality.
My real estate salesperson has suggested we hold an Open House. What are the things my family can do to protect our privacy and security?

Many salespeople are happy to host Open Houses for their clients because these viewing opportunities can help market a home to interested buyer.

But remember that the decision to go ahead with an Open House is entirely yours. If you have concerns about privacy and security, talk them over with your salesperson.

Your first step is to make a list of any items with sentimental or monetary value  and then either remove them from the house or lock them in a secure location. These items may include personal photos, jewelry, silverware, antiques, portable electronics, prescription medications and other valuables. Hiding them in the sock drawer or under the bed isnt enough.

Its also important to protect yourself from identity theft. That means securing  or in some cases destroying  bills, bank statements, credit card receipts, passports and other important documents, as well as USB data storage sticks. If you have a desktop computer that isnt easily transportable, lock it with a password and switch it off before the showing begins.

When you talk to your real estate agent, ask how they will run the Open House. The Real Estate Council of Ontario enforces legislation that requires a sales rep be present during the showing. Its a best practice to have a salesperson accompany visitors at all times when they tour your home. You can also ask that a second registered salesperson help out by greeting visitors at the door, and asking them to first provide identification and contact information, and then wait in the hallway until your primary rep is available to show them around.

If anything gets damaged or stolen, the guest registry compiled by your salesperson should be handed over to the police. The list is also a useful aid for your salesperson to follow up with potential buyers.

You should also give some thought to the safety of your visitors  clear your outdoor steps and walkways, remove pets from the premises before a showing, and either fix or at least warn your salesperson about potential hazards around your home, such as rooms or stairways in a state of disrepair. Check your home insurance policy for any exclusions that may limit or deny coverage for public functions.

If youre still uncomfortable with having an Open House, you could ask your salesperson to host an Agents Only Open House and restrict admittance to registered real estate salespeople. As well, you could show the property only by appointment to interested buyers.
A U.K. man who lost three toes to frostbite in a Yukon race says he cant think of a better place for the digits to go than into peoples drinks.

Nick Griffiths plans to donate his amputated appendages to the Downtown Hotel in Dawson City, Yukon, home of the famed Sourtoe Cocktail.

It would be quite a novelty one day  to say your granddads toe is in a bar in Canada,  Griffiths said from his home in Bolton, England.

Read more:

Thief returns stolen toe to Yukon bar popular for its for Sourtoe Cocktail

Yukon bar patron swallows famous sourtoe, pays fine, leaves town

Bottoms up to the Sourtoe Cocktail

Griffiths said he spent a year training for the Yukon Arctic Ultra, a 483-kilometre race that follows the Yukon Quest trail  one of the worlds toughest sled-dog races.

Conditions on the first day of the race were especially tough, with temperatures dipping below -40 C and a high level of humidity, he said.

He was disappointed when he had to drop out of the competition 30 hours in, when a ranger identified frostbite on his ear, nose and fingers.

But Griffiths didnt realize how bad his toes were until a doctor at a hospital in Whitehorse explained that the toes and half of his foot werent getting their natural colour back. Instead, they were turning purple and the doctor said he could lose half of his foot.

After five days of treatment, Griffiths was discharged and still hopeful he would be able to keep all of his toes. But in the weeks that followed, they blistered and began turning black.

It was like something from a zombie film, Griffiths said.

A doctor amputated the toes on March 28.

Griffiths has never been to the Downtown Hotel, but said he learned about the Sourtoe Cocktail from a Whitehorse nurse who showed him a video of her downing the beverage, while he was in hospital.

According to the hotels website, adventurous drinkers interested in joining the Sourtoe Cocktail Club should visit the hotels Sourdough Saloon and ask for Captain River Rat. They then purchase a shot of their preferred liquor, pledge the Sourtoe Oath, and watch as a dehydrated human toe is dropped into the glass. Then its bottoms up.

The only rule: You can drink it fast, you can drink it slow, but your lips have got to touch the toe.

Bar manager Jonny Klynkramer said the saloon is looking forward to Griffiths toes, since they only have two pointer toes at the moment.

We always prefer big toes, theyre the meatiest, Klynkramer said.

Since the digits are stored in salt, to keep them dried out, he said they pair best with tequila.

The cringe-worthy cocktail dates back to the 1970s, but over the years toes have been lost, stolen and fallen apart, so the bar is always looking for more donors.

Klynkramer said they get most of their appendages from people who lose digits to frostbite, lawnmower accidents or surgery, and most have been from living donors, as its harder to find someone to remove them from a dead body.

Griffiths wrote the bar an email to see if they were interested in giving his toes a new life.

They wrote back and said theyd really love to have them and I would forever by immortalized in their hall of fame if I did. So I asked the surgeon, when I went into the theatre. And he said, yeah its sort of a bizarre thing to ask for, but you can have em,  Griffiths said.

He put them in three little jars for me in medical-grade alcohol and theyre currently in my bedside cabinet at home. Ive just got to find a way to get them to the hotel, Im not sure if you can just put them in the post.

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LONDON, Ont.A high school principal in London, Ont., faces charges of sexual assault and sexual exploitation dating back nearly two decades.

Provincial police say they have charged 49-year-old Michael Deeb in relation to an alleged incident involving a female student in 2000-2001. Hes due to appear in court on May 7 in London.

Deebs lawyer, Faisal Joseph, tells the London Free Press that his client denies the charges completely and absolutely.

Deeb, whos also a former member of the London Police Services Board, was already under investigation by the Ontario Civilian Police Commission following allegations of sexual harassment.

In that case, a woman alleged on Facebook that Deeb pursued a personal relationship with her after she agreed to tutor his children.

None of the allegations have been proven in court.
Larry Kidd thought he was doing the right thing when he rallied his neighbours to ask the city to make their street safer.

Kidd, 64, lives on Hanson St., a residential road in the Upper Beaches. When he moved there two decades ago it was quiet, but, as many Toronto residents have, hes become anxious about what seems like a growing number of drivers speeding up and down in front of his house.

Concerned for the safety of the young children in the neighbourhood, as well as for his own grandchildren, last fall he decided to do something about it.

He spent hours going door to door asking neighbours to sign a petition to have speed humps installed on Hanson. Although there was broad support for the idea, last month he heard back from the city; the proposal was being rejected.

While transportation services had conducted a study that found hundreds of drivers a day were travelling faster than 43 km/h on Hanson, which has a posted limit of 30 km/h, the street didnt meet the criteria for speed humps, according to city policy.

Kidd said hes frustrated. He thinks the city would rather wait for a collision to happen than take acting to prevent one.

All it takes is just a bad move by one of these drivers, he said.

The attitude seems to be: Lets wait until some poor kid gets hit, and then maybe well think about putting speed bumps in. 

For years, residents, safety advocates, even councillors, have complained the citys process to implement even minor traffic calming projects such as speed humps, chicanes, or mid-block pinch points is unnecessarily complex.

The system is under renewed scrutiny amid growing concerns about pedestrian deaths in Toronto, which in 2016 hit their highest level in more than a decade, and questions about the efficacy of councils $86-million Vision Zero road safety plan.

Dylan Reid, a co-founder of pedestrian safety group Walk Toronto, argues the system is too restrictive.

Its definitely conceived at the moment as a way of discouraging measures unless theyre so obviously required that (city officials) cant say no,  he said. As opposed to taking an approach that says, were trying to make the city safer in every possible way. 

According to the transportation department, the city receives about 500 requests for traffic-calming measures each year, and implements about 30 to 45 of them depending on budget availability.

Simpler traffic calming measures, such as speed bumps cost between $3,000 and $5,000, while larger projects, such as raised intersections can cost as much as $100,000. The citys annual budget for traffic calming on local streets is $400,000.

Projects on busier roads such as traffic lights, stop signs and pedestrian crossings are considered measures for traffic control, not traffic calming. The capital budget for transportation services includes about $2.2 million a year for new traffic-control measures.

For a traffic-calming project on a local street to be approved, it must meet a series of specific criteria called warrants.

First, residents must voice their support by signing a petition, attending a public meeting, or by completing a survey conducted by their local councillor.

Then the proposal must pass a safety assessment that takes into account factors such as the presence of sidewalks and the slope of the road. Thats followed by a technical assessment to determine whether enough drivers are using the street, and if enough of them are driving too fast, if action is warranted.

A report is then submitted to community council, but even if councillors on the committee approve the proposal, local residents must again give their assent through a poll conducted by the city clerk.

The poll is only considered successful if at least 60 per cent of returned ballots are in favour of the installation, and if more than 50 per cent of affected households vote.

The latter requirement can mean that, even if few people in the neighbourhood object to a proposal, the warrant isnt met. According to city data, between 2008 and 2013 there were 119 polls conducted for speed humps. In 91 of them, the majority of residents who voted were in favour. But 40 of the positive polls, or nearly half, were tossed out because not enough residents cast a ballot.

Reid argues the participation threshold should be lowered so that if you do have a core of people who are supportive, and nobody whos really opposed, the measure can go ahead.

Traffic control measures on busier streets are also subject to strict warrant criteria, but dont require community polls.

Council Frances Nunziata (Ward 11 York South  Weston) is among those at city hall who want the warrant process to be more flexible. As do other council members, she has so little faith in the process that she often asks her colleagues to overrule staff advice and approve traffic measures in her ward that dont meet the warrants, and this is allowed under the citys system.

If it makes the community and the people that live on these streets feel safer, to me thats priority, she said.

She points to a tragic case that occurred in her ward last December, when an 85-year-old woman was struck and killed by a driver while crossing Eglinton Ave. just west of Weston Rd.

On that section of road, a TTC bus stop sits across the street from highrise apartment buildings, and Nunziata said that before the collision she had repeatedly asked for a crossing, but was told it wouldnt meet the warrants.

We need to change the whole process, she said. Nunziata argues city staff should be empowered to take into account the wider context of the street, and not merely the technical criteria.

Mayor John Tory said he would support measures to streamline the process.

What we need to have is the flexibility now to move in the interest of public and pedestrian and cyclist safety, and do it in a period of time that is faster and do it in a way that is less cumbersome, he said.

Barbara Gray, the citys general manager of transportation, said there are reasons why the warrant process is so rigorous: the polling is necessary to determine whether locals support changes to their neighbourhood, while in depth analysis is needed to ensure the measure being proposed is suitable for the area.

Installing traffic measures on one street can have unintended effects on the rest of the road network, Gray said, and, if applied in the wrong context, they can even be dangerous, such as when an unsignalized pedestrian crossing is installed on a busy road, for example.

There is a really specific need to do a level of analysis to be able to select whats the right solution for the problem that were trying to solve, Gray said.

She rejected the idea that the warrant process is designed to discourage action. I would say that my observation in going around various parts of the city is weve applied traffic calming in many, many locations, she stated.

Thats not to say city officials are against change. In 2016 council asked staff to review the warrant system, and after a yearlong delay a report on the issue is expected to go before the public works committee in May.

The report will focus on the approval process for traffic control measures on busy streets, but according to Naz Capano, transportation services manager of operational planning and policy, there are no immediate plans to change the process for measures on local roads.

Were looking to add some additional subjective criteria that staff can use for traffic control on busy streets, Capano said.

As an example, he said greater flexibility could be needed to account for things such as mid-block transit stops.

What is available to pedestrians to get to those stops?  Those are the type of things that were considering beyond just the technical warrants, he said.
How do you heal wounds that have been broken open multiple times?

Thats the question facing the Toronto Police Service and the citys queer communities, as debate over police presence in the Pride parade was revived this week.

The relationship between the two groups has been pockmarked for decades. Many in the gay community have had their faith in the police shaken recently by the case of alleged serial killer Bruce McArthur, the disappearance and murder of Tess Richey, and the death of Alloura Wells. The cases have also cracked open old wounds, from the Bathhouse Raids of the 1980s and 2000s to the morality raids of 2016 in Marie Curtis Park.

Police made an attempt to respond to the concerns of the community this week. Police Chief Mark Saunders announced that uniformed officers will not march in this years Pride Parade. Pride Toronto, along with a flurry of community organizations, had asked the police service to rescind its application, citing what it said were insufficient police investigations into the disappearances of McArthurs alleged victims, as well as Richey and Wells. We feel more vulnerable than ever, parade organizers wrote in a Twitter statement.

The Star spoke with members of Torontos diverse queer communities, as well as current and former members of the police, to find out what barriers still exist to reconciliation, whether theres still confidence in Saunders leadership, what steps would be seen as helpful, and if a mended relationship is possible.

El-Farouk Khaki, co-founder, LGBTQ-friendly El-Tawhid Juma Circle Mosque

To mend historic wounds, police should acknowledge their past in their own backyard  not the backyard of the queer community, Khaki said.

Khaki was discussing a mural police erected in the Gay Village in 2016 meant to celebrate the communitys history and strength. He would have rather seen that acknowledgment painted onto police headquarters.

Through his work with refugees and immigrants, Khaki sees many people coming from countries where police are the obvious and often the most violent agents of persecution of LGBT people. But he doesnt see Toronto as a haven from police wrongdoings, citing a ludicrous, and I think rather racist police theory, reported in the Globe and Mail, that when three gay men of colour went missing it was believed theyd returned to their home countries.

Hes unsure how Saunders can be the one to move toward reconciliation with the citys diverse communities, given Saunders partook in what Khaki sees as victim blaming and has allowed the continuation of carding practices.

I dont see how that can be overcome, Khaki said.

George Smitherman, openly gay former Ontario minister and deputy premier

Smithermans first Toronto Pride parade, in 1986, was marked by what he called the snarling face of policing.

It was people that were projecting a disdain, Smitherman told the Star, that they were forced to be on duty; that providing comfort, or providing a safe and accommodating environment for gay people wasnt really their priority.

Over time, he said, he developed positive working relationships with police  but said the same wasnt true for all factions of Torontos queer community. For some, the McArthur investigation was a raw and pressing issue, the most critical one at hand. For others, their daily interactions with police were more important.

Across a community as diverse as the one were part of, our capacity to address issues has to be broader than just one thing, he said. Moving forward, he cautioned against fake consultation, or going through the motions, to reconcile the relationship.

Everybody recognizes the severity of the circumstance, the severity of the disruption in confidence, and the sheer necessity of long-term commitment and dedication and professionalism to see real reconciliation occur.

Julian Fantino, former chief of police

Sit down behind closed doors, devoid of some of the noise, Fantino advised the current police service and queer community. There, they can hash out their issues  perhaps with a third party, he said, since positions were so complex and so entrenched.

Fantino said theres always been ups and downs in the polices relationship with the queer community, and always will be.

He told the Star hed always tried to reach out and listen to issues and address them. But, you know, sometimes its been very difficult, because the expectations and demands at times dont conform to the mandate of the police, so theres always times when friction comes up.

Here, he said, the city is dealing with people on all sides that are honestly motivated.

Fantino met with controversy during his tenure for denying the existence of systemic racial profiling within the police service, telling the Star this week: I feel honestly that if you were to take the rhetoric aside, there was genuine respect between the police and the various communities.

I certainly dont profess that we were perfect.

Monica Forrester, sex work and queer community activist

Forrester said she believes there has always been a disconnect between parts of the LGBTQ community and police, but that over the past month there has been some conversation with police about how they could work better with the trans and two-spirit community.

A steering committee within those communities is set to be organized in the coming months to look at the relationships presently with the police, Forrester told the Star in an email.

The group will also consider ways to ensure community members feel safe reporting incidents to the police, and how the service could best disseminate information about its work.

Hopefully, police will be committed to this process with the communities, Forrester wrote, adding that she hopes their responsibilities and response will change for the better.

Const. Danielle Bottineau, LGBTQ liaison officer

Bottineau said every time she thinks things are calming down and theres time to work on bettering the relationship, something seems to emerge. Weve never really had an opportunity to recover.

It was hard for members of the community to come forward and work on a relationship, she said, when new information seemed to constantly be layered on them.

She said after multiple raids on Toronto bathhouses in the 80s and in 2000, the relationship between police and the queer community was extremely strained and perhaps even broken.

We do need to start doing things better, Bottineau said. She and deputy chief Barbara McLean are rolling out what she called a labour intensive outreach strategy. It will consist of a series of meetings with individuals in the village and beyond where police will listen to not only recent issues, but whatever they feel they want to talk about.

They will also aim to quash assumptions about the police services investigations and practices. Sometimes, Bottineau said, people can resort to filling in the blanks when theres nothing happening.

Lali Mohamed, adviser for the queer Muslim community Salaam

Mohamed says he lives at the intersection of Blackness, queerness and Islam. And, he told the Star, you only have to look as far as the practice of carding to see issues with his communities and the police.

Im not even sure if we can speak to what is or isnt possible if the Toronto police themselves are not willing to acknowledge not only the historical wrongs, but ways in which today they participate in relegating certain communities further to the margins, he said.

He cited, among other cases, a recent CBC investigation on deadly interactions with police, which reported a disproportionate number of Black deaths in comparison to other groups. He also pointed to other issues he saw, from the shooting of people with mental illness to surveillance of Muslim communities.

But he sees calls for Saunders replacement as missing the point.

Im not sure that just switching up the head will miraculously change what I consider fundamental and institutional problems, he said.

Enza Anderson, transgender rights activist and politician

Anderson doesnt mince words when sharing the slurs she heard in 2014, walking past a construction site on the way to work. Faggot, she reported hearing. He-she, another. Hey, dont mess with my boyfriend.

She called the police. And, she said, officers took immediate action. One came to take her statement, then deputy chief McLean and LGBTQ liaison officer Bottineau  both openly gay women  took over. You know your own people, right? You know what you go through, Anderson said.

Her positive experiences with the police service stemmed from being taken seriously, and having her concerns responded to promptly.

These women initiated meetings with the project managers. They went in there, they spoke to them, they even talked to their hate crimes unit to go in there as well and initiate directives to these construction workers, Anderson said. Amid the current debate, she expressed sympathy for the frustration of queer police officers.

Im just at a point now that I respect what both sides are going through, and I dont want to pick sides, she said. I cant.

Beverly Bain, women and gender studies teacher, University of Toronto

Bain said police need to make larger institutional changes before there can be any talk of reconciliation.

When she put her name on a letter to Pride Toronto, asking police be kept out of this years parade, she did so with 30 years of activism behind her.

I think we need to actually go back to why were here today, she said. And why were here is because of the ongoing police relationship with the Black community, Black queers, queers of colour, trans, sex workers. The ongoing violence, police violence, that these particular groups endure on everyday basis.

There can be no police presence in Pride until the community feels policing overall has shifted, she said. That involves looking at all arms of the organization, including the Special Investigations Unit, plus oversight, missing persons, carding and shootings.

But she, too, doesnt believe a new chief would help.

Putting something in place with a system thats exactly the same does not make a difference. You have to change the institution, and the way the institution functions.

Shawn Ahmed, queer Bangladeshi-Canadian Muslim activist

If you ask a dozen people in the queer community their issues with police in Toronto, youll get a dozen answers, Ahmed said. When it comes to what police can do, he says, for some in the community, no change, no olive branch will ever be accepted.

From my own personal experience, a lot of the people who are anti-police are very left-leaning in that they also have a sense that police are a product of capitalism, police are the forceful arm of capitalism, capitalism is bad and therefore the police are bad, he said.

Coming from Bangladesh, Ahmed sees Toronto police in a positive light. People like me come from cultures and countries where we would dream of having police want to march with us in a Pride Parade, he said.

He says the Marie Curtis Park sting wasnt about queerness, it was just about sex in public places, and that he believes officers would have done the same regardless of the sexual orientation of those involved.

Dennis Findlay, key member of bathhouse raid protests in the 80s

Dennis Findlay is still waiting for a proper apology.

A keystone in the backlash to the bathhouse raids in the 80s, showing up at court case after court case, he was horrified to learn of a raid in 2000 during a womens bathhouse event known as the Pussy Palace.

Worse still, he said, in Saunders public expression of regret for the bathhouse raids, he didnt mention the Pussy Palace raid at all. He never once used the word apology. He never once used the word sorry. He never once referred to the Pussy Palace as the second big mistake, Findlay told the Star.

He suggested more consultation, and reaching out in a way thats really visible. Saunders, in his view, could certainly do it if he wanted to.

The temperature between the community and the police force right now is really bad. Its as bad as it was in 1981, Findlay said.

Thats a very long, slow, non-existent learning curve.

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A rock bearing Yoko Onos handwriting has been stolen from the Gardiner Museum, Toronto police say. The theft reportedly occurred around 5:30 p.m. on March 12.

The rock is part of an art exhibit featuring Ono, where patrons can meditate using several river rocks. The stone is inscribed with black ink, and reads love yourself in block letters. It is valued at $17,500 (U.S.), Toronto police media officer Gary Long told the Star Friday evening.

Its a totally interactive (exhibit), theres a bunch of rocks on the ground and people can walk up to them and pick them up, Long said. The intention is that the rocks are returned to the exhibit once the meditation is over.

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Yoko Ono's view from The Riverbed

Yoko Ono's Gardiner Museum show asks you to look, and please touch

She just picked it up and walked away with it.

The woman is wanted in a theft over $5,000 investigation, police say. Anyone with information is asked to call 416-808-5200.

She is described as 55-60 years of age, and standing approximately 54. She was wearing a black coat, red scarf with black stripes, black pants, black hat and black shoes.
SAN DIEGOAttorney General Jeff Sessions on Friday ordered a zero tolerance policy aimed at people entering the United States illegally for the first time on the Mexican border.

Sessions told federal prosecutors in border districts to put more emphasis on charging people with illegal entry, which has historically been treated as a misdemeanour offence for those with few or no previous encounters with border authorities. Smugglers and frequent offenders are usually charged with more serious crimes.

His one-page order lacks specifics on how the policy will be carried out but signals that major change is in the works. He tells prosecutors to ask for additional resources if needed to prosecute cases.

The move caps a week of unusually intense attention to border security that included U.S. President Donald Trumps order for thousands of National Guard members to head to the border.

Sessions said a crisis has erupted on the border, requiring more criminal prosecutions. He issued a similar directive a year ago that addressed a larger number of border crimes and used softer language on new offenders, saying that prosecutors should aim to accomplish the goal of deterring first-time improper entrants.

His new order introduces the zero-tolerance terminology and deals exclusively with the statute applied to first-time crossers, saying a recent increase in illegal crossings requires an updated approach.

A conviction for illegal entry carries a maximum penalty of six months in prison for first-time crossers and two years for repeat offences. In practice, many are deported after pleading guilty and spending a few days in jail.

As a model, Sessions pointed to a Border Patrol effort launched in 2005 in Texas, which targeted first-time crossers for criminal prosecution. It eventually spread to federal courts throughout Texas, Arizona and New Mexico, but didnt reach California.

Sessions said the operation contributed to a decrease in illegal activities but its success has been debated. In 2015, the Homeland Security Departments inspector general called for a fuller account of its impact.

Border Patrol figures show Mexicans were much less likely to try crossing again if they were criminally charged than if they were simply turned around. But the operation also severely strained courtrooms and jails and fuelled criticism of assembly-line justice.

In Tucson, Ariz., 70 people filled a courtroom to plead guilty in collective hearings that could last less than an hour.

Sessions told border prosecutors that he was open to other ideas.

Remember, our goal is not simply more cases, he wrote. It is to end the illegality in our immigration system.

Border arrests, a useful but imperfect gauge of illegal crossings, reached 50,308 in March, up 37 per cent from February and more than triple the same period last year. Thats still less than periodic surges during former president Barack Obamas second term and far lower than the 1990s and 2000s.

Immigration judges overseen by Sessions were told last week of quotas starting Oct. 1, with an expectation to complete 700 cases a year.

The Justice Department cast it as an effort to reduce a court backlog of nearly 700,000 cases, but the judges union and immigration lawyers predicted it would deprive people of fair hearings and provide more grounds for appeal, potentially worsening the backlog.

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SAO PAULO, BrazilFormer Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, long hailed as a standard-bearer of the global left, ended a dramatic two-day standoff with authorities on Saturday, turning himself in to face a 12-year sentence on corruption charges. He has vowed to stage his political comeback from prison.

The move intensified the roiling political drama in Latin Americas largest nation and turned a man former President Barack Obama once called the most popular politician on Earth into the regions most famous prisoner.

His jailing underscores the scope of the corruption probe known as Operation Car Wash that is bringing down political and business leaders across Latin America, and in which Lula is by far the biggest figure yet to fall.

Lula waded through crowds of supporters and surrendered to authorities Saturday evening after a tense impasse in which he avoided prison and hunkered down in the steelmakers union where he launched his career four decades ago.

His backers, linked arm-in-arm in a human chain, tried to prevent his exit, even as a motorcade of police streamed toward the union building outside Sao Paulo.

I will comply with the order, Lula told hundreds of supporters surrounding the union earlier in the day. Later, he was carried off the stage at the headquarters on their shoulders as they chanted his name and showered him with flowers. That way, they will know I am not afraid. I am not running. I will prove my innocence.

Lula has vowed to run for re-election from prison, which in his case will be a private, 160-square-foot room with unfettered access to lawyers and family members in the southern city of Curitiba. But Brazilian law will likely disqualify him from running.

His legal troubles have left Brazils October presidential race  in which he was the frontrunner  wide open, with analysts saying there is now room for out-of-the-box candidates, including a deeply religious conservative decried by the left for his stance on women, gays and lesbians.

While Lula is expected to anoint an alternate to replace him in the elections, his popularity is unlikely to transfer to another candidate. One-third of Brazilians are expected to cast blank protest votes, according to the latest polls.

We see the return of this us versus them dynamic, of poor versus rich, educated class against the working class, a theme that will dominate the electoral cycle, said Alexandre Bandeira, a political consultant in Brasilia. The question is whether he can maintain the activism of his supporters from behind bars.

Lulas arrest both thrilled and devastated the country. Anti-Lula demonstrators sounded horns and lit fireworks as a police motorcade escorted the former president to the police station in Sao Paulo. The day before, demonstrations for and against the former president blocked more than 50 highways around Brazil, according to local media. In his hometown, supporters set tires on fire to protest his imprisonment.

On Saturday, Lula urged his supporters to continue to take action in his absence.

You will burn tires as you so badly wanted, he said. You will represent me.

His arrest marks a victory for Operation Car Wash, which has traced a corruption scheme to the highest echelons of government and unravelled Brazils political class. He is accused of accepting bribes from one of the countrys major construction companies in exchange for government contracts. In addition to his current conviction, Lula faces six other corruption trials.

Lula denies any wrongdoing and has called the investigation a media-led political witch hunt.

If my crime was putting poor, black people in universities, allowing poor people to eat meat, to have their own cars, have their own homes, Lula said, then I will continue being a criminal in this country, because I will do much more.

In 2003, Lula was celebrated as the first working-class president in a country with stark inequality. During his mandate, Brazil rode a commodities boom and Lula became an international icon.

His social programs were credited with lifting 20 million people out of poverty, according to a World Bank study, and he left the presidency with soaring approval ratings. He dreamed of making a comeback and reclaiming his place as the countrys leader through the elections in October.

Many Brazilians nostalgic for the social gains made during the Lula era came out to support him.

If Lula stole, at least he gave some of it to the people, said Jose Antonio da Silva, 52, a steelworker at Mercedes and member of the union. If they want to jail Lula, they need to jail the rest of them, too.

Others celebrated his jailing as the sign of a new chapter in a country where the rich and powerful have historically gone unpunished for corruption.

I hope this is the start of a new era, said Nicolas Nunes, 30, an investment banker in Sao Paulo. Maybe others who stole will also be jailed.

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LONDONRussias embassy in London on Saturday sought a meeting with British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson over the poisoning of a former Russian spy, saying its dealings with Britain over the issue had been utterly unsatisfactory.

Britain retorted that its Russias response that has been unsatisfactory, as the two countries continued a bitter public feud over the nerve-agent attack.

The Russian embassy said in a statement that it was high time for a meeting between Johnson and Ambassador Alexander Yakovenko to discuss the investigation into the Sergei Skripal poisoning and the whole range of bilateral issues.

Read more:

Poisoned ex-Russian spy no longer in critical condition, U.K. hospital says

Britain and U.S. spreading lies and disinformation about poisoning of ex-spy: Russian foreign minister

Russia deepens tensions with U.K. by expelling 50 more British diplomats, support staff

The British Foreign Office said it had received the request and would respond in due course. But, in a statement, it accused Russia of employing a diversionary tactic and refusing to engage constructively and answer questions about the attack.

Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia spent weeks in critical condition after being found unconscious March 4 in the English city of Salisbury.

Their conditions have recently improved. Doctors at Salisbury District Hospital said Friday that the 66-year-old Sergei Skripal was improving rapidly and is no longer in a critical condition. Yulia Skripal, 33, regained consciousness last week and is now in stable condition.

The elder Skripal is a former Russian intelligence officer who was convicted of spying for Britain before coming to the U.K. as part of a 2010 prisoner swap.

British authorities say Russia was behind the attack with a military-grade nerve agent that was first developed in the Soviet Union. More than 250 counterterrorism officers are working to trace suspects and determine how the poison was delivered. British authorities believe the nerve agent was applied to the door of Sergei Skripals house.

Russia has denied responsibility for the attack, accusing London of spreading baseless smears and demanding that the U.K. share its evidence from the investigation.

Britain has given samples of the nerve agent used in Salisbury to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, an international watchdog that is expected to release its findings soon.

The poisoning case has triggered a diplomatic crisis between Moscow and the West. Britain and some two dozen other countries have expelled more than 150 Russian diplomats, and Russia has kicked out a similar number of envoys from those countries.

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VATICAN CITYThe Vatican on Saturday arrested a diplomat recalled from Washington last year amid investigations in Canada, the United States and the Vatican for possession of child pornography.

A Vatican statement said that Monsignor Carlo Capella was being held in gendarmerie barracks inside the Vatican, and that his arrest follows a Vatican investigation.

Police in Windsor, Ont., said Capella allegedly uploaded child porn to a social networking site while visiting a place of worship from over the 2016 Christmas holiday. In the statement, Windsor police accused Capella of accessing, possessing and distributing child pornography.

Windsor police issued a Canada-wide arrest warrant for Capella last September. They say they were alerted by the RCMP in February 2017 and launched an investigation, eventually getting judicial permission to access relevant internet records.

The Vatican recalled Capella, the No. 4 in its Washington embassy, after the U.S. State Department notified it on Aug. 21 of a possible violation of laws relating to child pornography images by one of its diplomats in Washington.

At the time of the Sept. 15 announcement about Capellas recall, neither the Vatican nor the State Department made any mention of a Canadian angle to the case.

Capella was a high-ranking priest in the Vaticans diplomatic corps. He served on the Italy desk in the Vaticans secretariat of state and was part of the official delegation that negotiated a tax treaty with Italy before being posted to the U.S. Embassy last year.

A canon lawyer, Capella is listed online as having written a 2003 paper for the Pontifical Lateran University on priestly celibacy and the churchs criminal code.

The Diocese of London, Ont., confirmed that it helped investigators who had suspicions of possible violations of child pornography laws by using a computer address at a local church.

It declined further comment, citing a police request.

With files from The Canadian Press
SAN BRUNO, Calif. When word spread that the YouTube shooter wasnt a disgruntled man but a woman, the almost immediate assumption was dead wrong: that she was a spurned lover intent on killing her boyfriend.

The quick explanation, attributed to witnesses and unidentified law enforcement sources, first streamed across the bottom of newscast crawlers and on news sites. They reported that a domestic dispute had driven Nasim Aghdam to sneak into YouTubes San Bruno headquarters at lunchtime Tuesday and critically wound one man and injure two women before killing herself.

When I heard that, I literally smacked my hand into my forehead, said Jaclyn Schildkraut, an expert on mass shootings and an assistant professor of public justice at Oswego State University in New York. It was like, Oh, it must be domestic violence because she was a woman. 

While female shooters in public places are rare, history shows that love is never behind such attacks. Like men, female shooters including Aghdam appear to have been motivated by resentment and anger.

The spurned woman assumption in Tuesdays tragedy is an example of enduring sexism and a double standard, Schildkraut said. Of the 14 mass shootings committed by women between 1966 and 2016 only 4 percent of all mass shootings not one was fueled by a domestic dispute.

In interviews with Aghdams family and in numerous videos she posted on YouTube, it became clear late Tuesday that she was furious at YouTube for what she perceived as the censoring of her graphic anti-animal cruelty videos and her pro-vegan stances that had made her a minor social media celebrity in Iran. She apparently didnt know anyone at YouTube.

Women practicing at a shooting range in Santa Clara this week rolled their eyes at the mistaken motive that she was a lover seeking vengeance.

Its a little offensive, said Ashley Katena, 29, who had come with a female friend to Reeds Shooting Range in Santa Clara. That its because shes an emotional female going on a rampage against her spouse.

So why were the media and public so eager to accept the explanation of a scorned woman?

Although women are more likely to target people they know, including domestic partners and children, they are less likely to use a gun, more often choosing poison or suffocation, according to Schildkrauts research. And those crimes tend to happen closer to home. Women who commit such shootings at public places are all the more rare and tend to do so at places that are familiar to them their own workplaces or schools.

The most memorable woman school shooter remains perhaps one of the first: In 1979, 16-year-old Brenda Spencer fired a .22 caliber rifle from her house to the schoolyard across the street in San Diego, killing the school principal and custodian and wounding a police officer and eight children.

When a San Diego Tribune reporter reached her by phone and asked why she was firing on school children, she uttered a response that would be made into a musical hit by the British band Boomtown Rats: I dont like Mondays.

At the University of Alabama in Huntsville in 2010, biology professor Amy Bishop, who had been denied tenure, opened fire at a department meeting, killing three and wounding three.

These shooters have similar types of grievances, whether they are perceived or actual, that male shooters do, said Schildkraut, co-author of Mass Shootings, Media, Myths and Realities. But they are somehow dismissed because of what people believe criminals to be. In our culture today, there is a tendency to justify mens actions and mitigate or downplay womens actions in general.

When 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz killed 17 people at his former Parkland, Fla., high school in February, Schildkraut said, it was Oh, this poor kid wasnt loved enough, his mother died, he was an orphan. There were all these justifications of why he did it. The fact is there is no justification.

The closest to a note or manifesto that Aghdam left to explain her motivations was the angry videos she produced and uploaded to YouTube. She ranted against the company and claimed that YouTube was censoring her videos and cutting into her nascent celebrity and advertising income.

While Aghdam may have shared the kinds of resentments typical of male shooters, she didnt fit the more common pseudo commando persona they tend to take on the ones who show off caches of weapons on their websites and belts of ammunition slung around their shoulders.

Theyre angry and they plot against people who they believe havent given them their due. And in this big display of power, they go out in this perceived blaze of glory to show the world their worth and how powerful they are, said Amy Barnhorst, a professor and vice chair of community psychiatry at he University of California, Davis. Its the narcissist, entitled guy in all that commando gear.

Aghdam wasnt that.

While witnesses said she called out something like come and get me, from the outdoor patio before killing herself, she carried only a single handgun.

And she didnt overly concern Mountain View police, who found her sleeping in a parking lot the night before the shootings. From her license plate they learned that her family had filed a missing persons report a few days earlier. When they notified the family they had found her, the family said they expressed their concern in a follow-up call to police that she had a grudge against YouTube. But police said the family never mentioned anything about her potential for violence. By the next morning she was practicing shooting at a nearby range and by 12:45 p.m. was firing her 9 mm Smith & Wesson into a crowd of panicked employees.

I dont necessarily fault them for it, Barnhorst said of the Mountain View police. Young males are at the highest risk of perpetrating violence, and middle-aged women are just not up there on the list.

Like Aghdam, most mass shooters dont live to explain their motivations: They are either killed or kill themselves during the rampage.

Greg Woods, a lecturer in San Jose States justice studies department, said, We might be selling ourselves short by focusing on the masculine versus. feminine interpretation rather than trying to understand the pure evil that was this act.

Still, theres no real way to know whether she was trying to cast herself, in a twisted, delusional way, as some kind of vengeful heroine.

Maybe this is what she wanted all along, he said, Maybe she embraced the notion of the feminine heroine and saw herself in the starring role.
More and more governments are rushing to confront the dangers posed by Facebook, Google, Netflix and other digital giants. But Ottawa has yet to grow out of its infatuation with them.

In genuflecting to these rapacious American corporations, Justin Trudeau and his two cabinet colleagues entrusted with the file, Heritage Minister Melanie Joly and Democratic Institutions Minister Karina Gould, are failing to stand up for Canadians, Canadian companies and Canadian sovereignty.

Several reasons are proffered for their deference:

They dont want to risk antagonizing the Donald Trump administration in the middle of testy NAFTA negotiations.

They are being particularly nice to Facebook since they are lobbying it to locate a data centre in Canada.

They want Facebook to ensure that the Liberals are not undermined in the 2019 federal election the way Hillary Clinton was in the 2016 presidential election by Russians and others to help elect Trump, the first Facebook and Twitter president.

They dont fully grasp the dangers posed by these American mega-corporations operating mostly above the law across borders.

Or they do but have not the fortitude to tax and regulate these companies to ensure competition, safeguard citizens privacy, stem the flow of hateful and fake content, and stop the steady erosion of democracies. Nothing less would do, given that:

Facebook, Google and others are conducting citizen surveillance far more than the Soviet KGB or East German Stasi ever did during the Communist era.

They have amassed fortunes selling the treasure trove of your and my data, without our permission and without ever compensating us a penny.

They are bleeding mainstream media by stealing news content paid for by someone else and vacuuming up an estimated 75 per cent of digital revenues in Canada that total about $5 billion a year.

Facebook, YouTube, Reddit and others have allowed their platforms to be hijacked by the likes of Daesh and also western hate-mongers  right-wingers, racists, white supremacists, xenophobes, homophobes, misogynists, anti-Semites and Islamophobes.

In fact, the more shocking and sensational the content  murders, suicides, cop chases, cop killings, beheadings, etc.  the higher the audience and the attention span, the bigger the profits.

Similarly, they have had little incentive to monitor, let alone stop, foreign interference to spread political disinformation and stoke discord in democratic societies.

They care not for the privacy of users, and they are not transparent about their users or advertisers.

That the profiles of up to 87 million Facebook users were tapped by the British firm Cambridge Analytica, and allegedly used to help Trump win, is only the latest chapter in the scandal.

Facebook has had as many as 270 million phoney accounts, many used to spread fake news and conspiracy theories, and polarize democracies. In that 2016 election, incendiary Russian posts reached 126 million users on Facebook; 131,000 messages were published on Twitter, and more than 1,000 videos were uploaded to YouTube.

Last month, when U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller indicted 13 Russians for sowing discord in the U.S. political system in that election, he cited Facebook 35 times.

The U.S. Congress has summoned Facebooks Mark Zuckerberg to testify on April 11, and British parliamentarians are angry that he has refused to appear before them. But Trudeau and his ministers have been satisfied meeting his minions informally, trying to coax favours out of them.

While Facebook, Google, YouTube, Reddit and others have broadened the public square, paradoxically theyve also made us anti-social, indeed tribal.

Users cluster in social media bubbles, talk mainly to those who share their interests and prejudices, and bully those they disagree with or dislike. Their alternate reality breeds alternate facts and a post-truth world thats proven to be ideal playing ground for populists  from Donald Trump to Doug Ford.

Yet, the Trudeau government has offered mostly platitudes, contradictory ones at that.

Last fall, Trudeau was said to have warned Facebook to fix its fake-news problem or face undefined repercussions. Melanie Joly, however, said that Ottawa does not want to decide what Canadians should or should not consider fake news. Instead, she went pleading with Facebook to advance media literacy, as though that were the magic potion to cure all the ills caused by the internet behemoths.

Karina Gould has refused to try to stem the tide of poison coursing through social media. She said Ottawa would not follow Germany, which has passed a law forcing online platforms to remove hate speech. Such curbs on speech, she said, wont be acceptable to Canadians. Her free-speech absolutism is American, not Canadian  the Supreme Court of Canada having repeatedly upheld the right of governments to curb hate speech.

Canada used to pride itself on independent thinking and policy leadership, rather than being a supplicant to foreign corporations.

Tomorrow: A digital policy for Canada

Former Star columnist and editorial page editor emeritus Haroon Siddiqui is Distinguished Visiting Professor at Ryerson University in the Faculty of Arts as well as the Faculty of Communication and Design. Siddiqui.canada@gmail.com

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Look at me. Im a normal guy. Its a simple, gut-wrenching plea by a teen captured on video in February.

They looked at him, but I dont know what TTC fare inspectors and Toronto police saw.

Part of the video of a violent takedown captured on YouTube shows 19-year-old John Doe crying desperately while pinned to the ground by three men in TTC fare inspector uniforms. Im hurting, Im hurting, and Ive done nothing wrong.

When Toronto Police officers arrive, they swarm the scene, keeping him down and then haul him up to take him to the cruiser and handcuff him.

At one point there appear to be at least seven men piled on to him.

Such excessive force. Why? Nobody knows. He was unarmed. He was already pinned down by three grown men. He wasnt in any position to run.

Why was he caught in the first place? Nobody knows.

Look at me. Im a normal guy. They looked, and perhaps they saw the wrong skin colour.

A skin colour that translates into danger not innocence.

Young John Doe, who is Black, certainly thinks so, which is why he and his mother launched a lawsuit this week, seeking more than $3 million in damages from the Toronto Police Services Board, the Toronto Transit Commission, two unidentified police officers and three unidentified TTC fare inspectors.

The lawsuit alleges racial profiling, assault, unlawful detention and negligence among others.

John Doe, a student of paralegal studies also working as a food courier, was just another guy on the 512 St. Clair streetcar preparing to exit at Bathurst St. when he was grabbed.

He was suddenly and without warning attacked and thrown to the ground by TTC fare inspectors despite crying for help, held there, not told what was happening, said Hugh Scher, one of his lawyers.

There was never any indication that the fare hadnt been paid. And he had paid, Scher said. Nor was he charged with any offence of TTC bylaw infraction.

At one point, the claim says, the fare inspectors twisted and pinned John Does left shoulder and arm, held his right arm behind his back, and kneeled, sat and held on his back and his legs.

Despite the fact that he noticeably suffered a head injury, he got no medical assistance. At no time did any of the defendants take steps to advise medical personnel of the nature of the force (used)  or of the injuries he sustained, the claim says.

Strangers ultimately accompanied him home to ensure he was safe. Citizens of Toronto and TTC passengers were so distraught with what they saw they wanted to ensure this young man was home safe, said David Shellnut, Does other lawyer.

The TTC would not comment on the claim. There is an ongoing investigation by the TTC on this matter, a spokesperson, Brad Ross, told me. The transit agency is investigating code of conduct violations by a fare inspector.

One of the fare inspectors has been suspended with pay. Toronto police did not want to weigh in, as it would be inappropriate for us to comment while the statement of claim is being reviewed, according to a spokesperson, Kevin Masterman.

John Doe suffered serious physical and psychological injuries as a result of this incident, his claim says.

The list of physical damages include traumatic brain injury, injuries to his head, neck and shoulders. The half-hour ordeal of pain and public humiliation also left the teen suffering from anxiety and depression, nightmares and flashbacks, blurred vision and debilitating headaches.

Here is the tricky thing about racism. How do you prove it? There is data, tons of it to show that Black people are systemically discriminated against by authorities. The newest one is an analysis by CBC News that shows in deadly encounters with Toronto police between 2000 and 2017, more than one-third of the victims were Black.

There is data, tons of anecdotes and studies and court cases to show that Black people are individually discriminated against. But Black people can be violated and killed, and its never enough. Despite all the data, media pundits, responding to the recently announced Liberal plans for a cross-country public consultation on systemic racism, have said either there is no systemic racism or its not a big enough deal.

This incident was captured on video and made the headlines. How many other such passengers are harassed, violated and humiliated out there? Our hope is that people will take note and these kinds of profiling will not be tolerated, Scher said. To ensure that people are treated with dignity and civility. And that theres a level of accountability.

His dignity was fundamentally attacked all because of what? Effectively, he was arrested for being Black.
Fifty years ago this week, the civil rights struggle of Martin Luther King Jr. ended tragically with his assassination on a motel balcony in Memphis, Tenn. As this was happening in 1968, the struggles of Winnie Madikizela-Mandela in apartheid South Africa were only beginning.

The dramatic stories of their lives were being remembered this week in the worlds media, but often in selective, self-serving ways. Largely lost in this haze of popular history was what linked them together.

Although living far from each other in distant worlds, these were two profoundly radical, even revolutionary leaders whose withering analyses of their societies racism endure to this day.

With Martin Luther King, his life was celebrated in the U.S. on Wednesdays 50th anniversary of his death. But he was largely being recast as a widely loved non-violent moderate, instead of what he was at the time of his death: an increasingly unpopular critic of a corrupt and unequal economic system.

With Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, who died Monday at the age of 81, she too was being selectively recast in the Western media. To many outside of South Africa, she was being remembered primarily as the former wife of South African icon Nelson Mandela  and a puzzling figure who kept becoming embroiled in controversy and scandal.

But to many within South Africa, she was far more than that, and the widespread sadness at her passing was evidence of that.

While her husband was in jail  and kept silent  between 1964 and 1990, Winnie was the spirit of the resistance, the young mother who refused to be broken. By surviving decades of torture and cruelty by South African police, including long periods of internal exile and solitary confinement, she was an inspiration to generations of South Africans.

Charlene Smith, a South African biographer of Nelson Mandela, described Winnie as the conscience of a nation who deserves empathy: When Mandela went to jail, he was comparatively safe compared with the perilous life she experienced. The apartheid state punished her because of him  She was tortured beyond anything anyone should endure.

Winnie was also far more radical than her former husband, and was at times critical that Nelson Mandela didnt move more forcefully to eliminate poverty still suffered by black South Africans.

In a similar sense, Martin Luther King Jr. was also becoming more radical in the final years of life as he dwelled on Americas inequality  and was therefore increasingly unpopular among the American political establishment.

In fact, before his death in 1968, King was well on the way to becoming a pariah, according to Gary Younge, author of a book about King and editor-at-large for The Guardian.

By the long, hot summer of 1967, Younge writes, King had, in the midst of the cold war, moved on to questioning capitalism. He quoted King as saying in August, 1967: We must honestly face the fact that the movement must address itself to the question of restructuring the whole of American society.

None of that was recalled by Americas leaders in the tribute to Martin Luther King on Wednesday.

In South Africa, there will be a memorial service and a state funeral for Winnie Madikizela-Mandela next week.

South African satirist Trevor Noah said that people havent forgotten that, when Nelson Mandela and other anti-apartheid leaders were in jail, the movement was held together by women, led by Winnie:

I grew up in a world that was very matriarchal and where women were the most dangerous freedom fighters that existed. Nelson Mandela was an icon but the police in the country were afraid of Winnie Mandela. We had a phrase in South Africa that we still use today:  You strike a woman, you strike a rock. 

In the fullness of her life, Winnie was flawed and imperfect, more of a victim of apartheid than a victor over it. But for many, she was their rock during South Africas darkest hours, and the outpouring of grief next week is expected to be enormous.
ALTON  A traffic crash involving an Alton police sport utility vehicle on Martin Luther King Drive tied up traffic Friday morning, but there reportedly were no serious injuries.

The police vehicle, though, suffered considerable damage.

The Alton Police Departments Traffic Division, and city Safety Review Board comprised of police officers, are investigating the crash to determine cause, any fault and if discipline or charges are warranted.

At about 9:15 a.m. a police officer was traveling northbound on U.S. 67 (Martin Luther King Drive) to back up an officer who was responding to a holdup alarm at The Bank of Edwardsville (4415 Martin Luther King Drive), said Chief Jason Jake Simmons of the Alton Police Department.

Simmons said the alarm turned out to be false, the backup officer was called off from responding and he made a U-turn to travel south on U.S. 67. Simmons said the SUV and a blue, southbound Hyundai then collided under the Homer Adams Parkway viaduct, damaging the sedans drivers side passenger door.

Alton Fire Department personnel came to the scene, with one of its ambulances taking the officer to OSF Saint Anthonys Hospital emergency department to be examined. Hes obviously got a slight concussion from hitting his head on the windshield, Simmons said.

Simmons said the officer went home after leaving the hospital.

He said the SUVs dashboard camera contains video of the crash, which investigators will examine.

LeRoy Walsh, 66, of Kane, said prior to the crash, his wife was driving him about two car-lengths directly behind the Hyundai, both vehicles heading south.

The officer had no (emergency) lights on, he was at the side of the road and just shot into the road in front of it (Hyundai), hit it and flipped around. It (Hyundai) must have been in his blind spot. The older gentleman and his wife in the Hyundai, it was not their fault. We were 60 to 70 feet from the accident.

The man and woman were not injured.

Walsh said two more police officers soon arrived at the crash and ushered him and his wife away from the site.

He did not talk to us or ask us any questions, he said, thinking it odd because they were witnesses.

Emergency responders closed the southbound lanes of the highway for about 40 minutes so as to attend to the vehicle occupants, clear away the car and SUV and clean the pavement.

The police vehicle suffered damage to its rear, including the door, fender and bumpers. A rear wheel also was bent outward, according to a Telegraph photographers observations.

Freds Towing maneuvered the police SUV onto the flatbed of a truck and hauled the vehicle across town to Illinois Route 140 and Fosterburg Road, ostensibly toward Altons city garage to the north. In an apparent change of plans, the truck backtracked and hauled the police vehicle to Rons Auto Body, 833 E. Broadway.

Another tow service removed the Hyundai from the scene.

Reach Linda N. Weller at 618-208-6450 or on Twitter @Linda_Weller
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EDWARDSVILLE  Talking, listening, understanding and connecting across seemingly wide chasms of race and color, sexual orientation, religion, class and socio-economic status, among other things, are taking shape at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville with the help of the Sustained Dialogue (SD) Campus Network.

Sustained Dialogue seeks to transform relationships for the better through meaningful dialogue by creating a space for students to convey and exchange not just their opinions about contentious matters, but also the stories and life experiences behind others perspectives, said Jessica Harris, PhD, interim assistant provost and SD program advisor, along with Bryan Jack, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Historical Studies and Tarsha Moore, advisor for Transition Programs and Outreach in the Office of Student Affairs.

Harris, Moore and others presented the results of the SIUE Sustained Dialogue Program Pilot on Friday, March 30 in the Morris University Centers Conference Center.

Careful attention to creating a learning space for dialogue makes it possible for people from different sides of an issue to learn the root causes of community problems and build better strategies to address these root causes with new allies, continued Harris.

SD is a public peace process, conceptualized by U.S. Diplomat Hal Saunders, from his experience in the Arab-Israeli peace process, including the Camp David Peace Accords and the Cold War dialogues of the1980s. In 1999, Princeton students adapted SD to address identity-based tension, transform relationships across lines of difference and improve campus culture.

The SD Campus Network is on 62 campuses worldwide, and SIUE is the only public university in Illinois included in the network. The University initiated SD because of students feelings of isolation and wanting solutions to campus tensions and conflicts, according to Harris.

SD began in 2017 as both a co-curricular and curricular pilot program for students, said Moore. The eight-week co-curricular program was voluntary and led by peer students. The eight-week curricular program was part of the freshman Honors courses and led by faculty.

SD is beneficial in that it helps to transform relationships, added Moore. It also super-charges conversations, empowers young adults to create change, supports conflict resolution, enhances diversity and more.

When I first came to college, I had no idea what I was walking into, said freshman Bree Marciniak, of Collinsville, who took part in the co-curricular course. But I was relieved when I took part in this program and was able to open up and talk. We are all struggling with something. The classes taught me how to listen better. There is a difference between hearing and listening. Listening makes you grow.

I wish this Sustained Dialogue had been available when I was a freshman, said Austin Darling, a senior psychology major and SD moderator. I came from a small town where there was no diversity, and I came to SIUE trying to find my identity as a gay, white male college student.

I think SD should be mandatory for students, said Terry (T.J.) Riggs, teaching assistant in Campus Recreation, who supervised the SD moderators. It allows you to grow in a variety of ways. I learned more about the LGBTI community, which will be helpful because I have family members who are gay.

What will SD look like in the long term at SIUE? Harris asked the audience. Should we require it for all students? I do not know. That is for us as a University community to decide, but we can start with continuing the SD co-curricular program.
In the spring of 1968, I was on the cusp of graduating  well, being freed  from Catholic elementary school.

It appeared that we would not be able to afford a distant Catholic high school, and I had trepidation about facing a public junior high. I was against the war in Vietnam at that tender age, in part, because I was an altar boy at too many funerals for young soldiers. I was for McCarthy, so I resented RFK. I was pleased that MLK had turned against the war.

I remember a real sense of loss when the news reported the assassination of Rev. King. I dont recall the first time I heard of RFKs speech in Indianapolis that awful night, but I have visited the site as an adult. It can be heard and seen, that five-minute extemporaneous marvel on YouTube.

Looking back, I am struck by the respect RFK showed the crowd that night. Twice he quoted the ancient Greeks. For a moment his grief over his brothers melted into that public loss: In our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God.

It had a touch of the prophetic, both in the sense of looking into the future but also speaking the truth about a situation. He saw us at a crossroads: Increased polarization and bitterness or a path toward replacing violence with compassion and love to deal with the stain of bloodshed.

Indianapolis did not have the riots of other cities that night. Kennedy would not live into the summer, so he could not help tame the savageness of man and make gentle the life of this world. We graduated eighth grade that day.

I am convinced that King had a premonition of his death that night of his last speech in Memphis. The speech has the feel of a valedictory, as he recounts milestones in the struggle for civil rights. King spends time recalling a life-threatening stabbing in New York about 10 years before the speech.

He also goes into sermonic mode. I had forgotten that he does an extended extension of the parable of the Good Samaritan. He used it to speak of a dangerous unselfishness.

King derived an interesting lesson why the two religious figures passed by the stricken man: Maybe it was due to important religious rules and work; maybe it was due to their desire to focus on large issues, the causal root of trouble and not a victim, they were afraid. They also wondered what would happen to them, if they stopped to help. King responds that our question should be what would happen to the person hurt if we do not act. One has the sense that King was addressing his own fear that night.

The famous end of the speech, of course, draws for the story of Moses receiving a glimpse of the Promised Land. He draws on 3,000 years of Biblical history to make a heartbreaking peek into the future.

Instead of treating our fellow citizens with respect for their intelligence, we have descended to a sorry spectacle of aiming at the lowest parts of our nature, from oratory to rants on Twitter.

We have made great strides in our country. Criminal violence escalated for years, but for a quarter-century, its rate declined. State-enforced segregation is lost in a misty past. So many have been integrated into educational and political attainments. Povertys persistence continues to dog too many of our fellow citizens. The environment is so much cleaner. The Promised Land beckons, but it dawns closer for us all.

David Crowley is pastor of First Presbyterian Church, Alton.
Caroline Curran and Conor Price met in Dublin nightclub 'Dicey's' eight years ago.

They got engaged on Tara Hill, the day after they'd attended a friends' nuptials. It was a huge surprise for their friends and family, Conor having managed to plan the proposal without breathing a word to anyone, and the couple celebrated with prosecco in Bellinter House.

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For their big day they chose to tie the knot in Clonabreany House in Meath, having fallen in love with the statement black and white dancefloor in the marquee, and the atmospheric and cosy sibin located down by the guests' courtyard.

The bride wore Charlie Brear, rocking an incredible two-piece crop top and skirt fully embellished with beautiful 3D floral applique. She kept her hair in a simple chic low ponytail, perfect for her modern day princess bride look, and accessorised with Vince Camuto pumps and jewellery from Scribble & Stone and Momuse.

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The couple planned a a classic winter wedding, getting married in January (2018) but added plenty of modern touches. "I really wanted a black tie wedding in a marquee," says Caroline, "with a big band, and then a DJ and sax to dance the night away."

It also happened to be Caroline's birthday that day, which her family and friends managed to mark in the hustle and bustle of the morning with a birthday cake! "It was such a special moment - everyone singing happy birthday and blowing out my candles on my birthday cake, just before the lads split for the church. Best birthday ever springs to mind."



Their photos are by Julie Cummins.

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The Dress

Caroline wore a two-piece by Charlie Brear, which she found in Dublin bridal boutique The Suite. "I totally unexpectedly found it in the first bridal shop I had an appointment with in Drury Street" she said. "I loved coming here for all my appointments, the staff were so wonderful and really just so accommodating. I visited two other bridal shops, but they just didnt compare," Caroline changed her look for the evening's celebrations, wearing a Dawn Fitzgerald silk top for less restrictive dancing!

The Plans

"From the start we decided not to fall into unnecessary stress of planning a wedding," says Caroline. "We booked all of our suppliers quite early, as anyone we really wanted we just approached straightaway. We were also lucky with all the suppliers we picked, from the photographer to the make up artist (Paula Callan and Dean Monks, Callan & Co ), and stationary supplier to the venue, each one was just outstanding at what they do, so it really put us at ease."

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The First Look

Caroline and Conor decided to do a 'first look' before the ceremony, which photographer Julie Cummins was on-hand to capture. Conor arrived to the house with his best man and groomsman just as Caroline was ready and the boys had a sneaky whiskey in the front room. The bridesmaids, family and groomsmen all stayed inside, laughing and giggling while Conor waited along the avenue for Caroline to come out to him, and saw her in that stunning gown for the first time.

The Stand-out Moments

"Walking up the aisle was really special," said the bride, "I just couldnt stop smiling!"

"If I had to pick my really memorable moment however it was after the ceremony. Conor hired a Land Rover Defender and we drove ourselves from the Church to Clonabreany. We were listening to The Rolling Stones, just laughing and beeping at everyone who passed us! The winter sun was just flooding in the jeep windows, and it just felt like I was in a dream, it was absolutely magic!"

The Venue

The couple chose Clonabreany House as their reception venue. "It had a most wonderful marquee, the older house with the large fireplace, the black & white dance floor, the stunning views around the venue and the amazing friendly staff. Also all the accommodation was on site, and each room was just so warm and perfect."

The Food

For the meal Clonabreany served a four course meal which had the bride's favourite fish dishes of monkfish as one of the options. The couple went for a light smoked salmon and wasabi mustard starter, pumpkin and garlic soup, daube of beef and monkfish, and a creme brulee and sticky toffee pudding (it was mouthwatering delicious!) For the drinks reception they served mulled wine and prosecco. "I love the smell of mulled wine on a freezing cold winters day!" says the bride. For evening snacks they served up fish and chip cones.

The Advice

"Dont worry about a thing, just enjoy every bit of the planning as its the only time you will ever do it! If there are any hiccups on the day, you wont even notice as you will be in a total bubble of happiness and love. Also take some time out from talking about the wedding with friends and family, just for a bit of sanity."

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The Honeymoon

Conor and Caroline went to Bellinter House, where they had celebrated their engagement months before for two nights after the wedding, "just to completely chill out!" They then went to Switzerland for five days. "We are also going on our main honeymoon to California this summer. The plan is we are renting a RV and just go on a roadtrip for two weeks along the west coast."
While much of the talk when it comes to weddings seems to be about alternative venues, outdoor and Humanist, in Ireland the majority of 'I do's are said in the church.

According to the most recent CSO results, religious weddings accounted for 63% of all marriages in Ireland in 2017, of which there were 21,262 opposite-sex marriages in total. Over half of these - 52.8% - were Roman Catholic ceremonies.

To marry in a Catholic Church in Ireland, under church law couples must undertake a pre-marriage course. This is mandatory in most dioceses, but is carried out at the discretion of the priest who will be marrying the couple.

Accord, which was set up in 1962 by the Irish Catholic Bishops Conference, runs the pre-marriage course that is generally most widely approved by Catholic priests. It has 55 centres all over Ireland. A typical pre-marriage course with Accord runs for nine hours, and can cost anywhere between 120 and 200, depending on the centre.

There are other privately run pre-marriage courses in Ireland, including Avalon RC and Together which are accepted by some, but not all, priests.

Avalon offers an online pre-marriage course, which costs 99. The certificate for this online course is the same that couples receive for the 'regular' pre-marriage course, however some priests do not accept an online course.

Before you book any marriage course - online or off - you are advised to ask your priest about his specifications first.

Here are six things that tend to surprise couples about their pre-wedding marriage course

1. That they might not actually be required to attend one

While it may be under church law that couples must complete a pre-marriage course, some priests don't insist on it.

According to Accord: "The priest responsible for the wedding has an obligation under church law to ensure that each couple are adequately prepared for their wedding and married life. He can therefore elect to give the marriage preparation guidance to the couple himself but generally speaking the priest will give the couple information regarding formal courses which are run by people like ourselves in Accord. It is therefore best to check with your priest in the first instance as to the type of preparation he feels you could undertake."

2. The waiting list

Depending on where you are in Ireland, marriage courses book up fast. There is no set time before your wedding that you've to do a course, however couples are advised to book at least six months in advance to get a suitable date.

In Dublin for instance, the next available date for a pre-marriage course with Accord is the 15th June. Newbridge in Kildare is another popular centre, with the next available date as 18th May. Together currently run two courses per month in Tallaght, Dublin for which bookings are available in April (and are allocated on a 'first come first served' basis after payment has been mailed). There are currently four available places for cuples in Fermanagh, with bookings for the summer months across Ulster filling up fast.

3. The differences in cost

Accord charges anywhere from 120 to 200 for their pre-marriage course, depending on the centre.

Couples in Longford and Westmeath will pay 170, while those in Tipperary, Portlaoise, Carlow and Kilkenny are charged 150. Roscommon and Sligo based couples can expect to pay 180 and those who avail of the centre in Tuam will be charged 175. Dubliners can expect to pay the most for their course, at 200, while Donegal couples the least at 120.

In the north, Enniskillen brides and grooms will fork out 120 for a course, and in Newry they'll pay 5 more.

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Alternative courses charge anywhere from 100 to 260. For their online pre-marriage course, Avalon charges 99, while Dublin-based Together charge 100 for their day-long course in Tallaght. The Redemptorists in Esker, Galway, charge 260 for their pre-marriage course, which was approved by the Bishop of Clonfert, in 2014.

4. The time it takes

For Accord, it's nine hours in total, usually run over two days (three hours on a Friday evening and six on a Saturday morning) or three evenings midweek. If you do an online course you can expect to spend at least four hours reading and answering a 'quiz' on the reading material before getting your certificate.

Together runs a one-day course, which it splits into four sections, running from 9am until 5pm in the evening on Saturdays and Sundays.

5. The content

There are generally around 20 couples present at any pre-marriage course however there are usually no (or at least very few) 'group exercises'. Topics discussed on the day include family planning (in accordance with the church's teachings) and conflict resolution. Initially couples are given a booklet and asked to answer the questions individually. What couples most find surprising is that there is little to no 'public speaking' involved for them, anything personal is kept between the couple themselves.

6. The fact that it can often be very useful

The most surprising aspect for many couples is that a pre-marriage course can actually be very useful and interesting. Most couples argue, however the majority won't feel the need to bring a third party - in this case a trained therapist - in to solve their issues. A pre-marriage course can iron out a few minor problems in a relationship (such as how much housework you are both expecting each other to do) and can bring up some issues that may not have been completely hashed out.

Some questions that couples often don't ask each other for one reason or another come up, such as; what their agreed level of confidentiality should be, if there are patterns of behaviour that cause concern within the relationship, or if there are any issues that need resolving before tying the knot. Basics problems can also be covered such as knowing each other's general and family health history, making sure there is quality couple-time in the married relationship and knowing where each other's important documents are kept.
Art can be exhausting. It can also be invigorating. Three art festivals within one week can take its toll. But, it did not because I was in the good company of Riyas Komu and other curators. The Australian Arts Council (ACA) had invited us to participate in the visiting international curators programme, along with 11 other curators from different institutions, museums and galleries around the world. It can be exacting. On the contrary, it was exciting. As artist Marco Fusinatos work at the Sydney biennale demonstrated, minimalism can go with maximalism. His work established the fact that noise can coexist with silence.

The 21st edition of Biennale of Sydney was curated by Tokyo-based Mami Kataoka, chief curator of the Mori Museum. Since 2005, the city has been following a tradition of opening any project or festival with a blessing ceremony presided over by an Aboriginal. This time, the biennale opened with a smoking ceremony, which is a cleansing ritual performed only on special occasions. The guidance of ACA project officers Sabina Finnern and Matthew Loftus helped us understand the journey of the Biennale of Sydney, the Adelaide biennale and the Melbourne design triennial.

The high point of the Sydney biennale this time was a conversation between Kataoka and the legendary Chinese artist Ai Weiwei. Sometimes art events can be tiring for the participants. However, Weiweis two worksCrystal Ball (crystal, life jackets) and Law of the Journey (reinforced PVC, with aluminium frame)made up for it all. When an artists work speaks for him, he does not need a pulpit to shout from.

Masters work: Crystal Ball by Chinese artist Ai Weiwei at the Sydney biennale.

This space is not enough to list all the artists who made a lasting impression on the viewers, but the works of Australian artists Brook Andrews and Khalid Sabsabi did have some incredible resonance.

The Sydney biennale was spread across seven sites: Art Gallery of New South Wales, Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Artspace, Carriageworks, Cockatoo Island, Sydney Opera House and, for the first time, 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art.

Each site offered its own speciality, and Kataoka had put a lot of thought into allocating each of the 69 participating artists their space. Among them were four Indian artists and one of Indian origin: Sosa Joseph, Prabhavati Meppayil, Tanya Goel, N.S. Harsha and Simryn Gill.

It was a moment to cherish, and I was pleasantly surprised when a gallerist and collector from Australia asked me if I knew Sosa Joseph. Of course, I replied, because Sosa was part of the first edition of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale. And, it is amazing how things fall into place, and are connected without our knowledge. Kataoka has been a regular visitor to KMB, and it was during one of those visits that Harsha mentioned Sosas name to her. She made it a point to visit Sosas studio in Kochi. Prabhavati, too, was a participating artist in Kochi.

All these thoughts and cross-connections occupied my mind as we cruised through the packed schedule that included visiting various locations of the biennale, meeting artists, directors and curators, and visiting the respective studios and residencies. There was one thing that stood out through all of that: every organisation had a huge responsibility to perform well. And, every one entrusted with that responsibility was a stakeholder in its successful execution. And, I thought, what if the Australian Council of Arts did not have people like Wendy Were and Amrit Gill? They make an important contribution towards ensuring that art does not become tiring, irrespective of how much you pack into the itinerary.

editor@theweek.in
Miniya Chatterji has just moved with her three-month-old to Goa to escape from the pollution. Some of her friends, she casually mentions, are Sanjay Garg, the designer of Raw Mango and William Dalrymple. She has worked with the World Economic Forum, travelled across continents and by her own admission doesn't wear trousers. Chatterji, walks into Perch, a coffee and wine bar in Khan Market, a poster girl for the affluent Indian cocooned from the real world outside. Her book, Indian Instincts: Essays on Freedom and Equality in India which looks at growth, development and democracy through a series of personal essays, is then almost an act of rebellion.

Movingpacked with dataand oddly philosophicalshe hopes that it will get people out of their bubble. We have made these institutions. We haven't stopped to think whether these institutions are really working for us? We are trapped in our creation,'' she says. We have not stopped to see how this stuff is changing my life. There is chaos around us. We need to reflect and introspect.''

Chatterji was the chief sustainability officer for Jindal Steel and Power Group. She has recently quit her job to start her own firm. Her background is financeshe writes for all the right publications, and has worked with the World Economic Forum, and Goldman Sachs in London and the issues of facts, numbers and figures with the practiced ease of a hard-nosed economics person. But it's more than facts; it is aspects of her own life that she weaves in that makes these essays worth reading. She offers a view of modern India, addresses issues like toilets, love, sex, religion, talks about Muslim exclusion and education, gender and corruption.

It is glimpses into the characters that she meetsthe Devadasi child who wants to study, ordinary people on the street in Kolkata who don't want to go to serve in Missionaries of Charity that make her book fascinating. I would like to expand the notion of freedom from just the aspect of independence,'' she says. Her own courtship finds its way into the book, as does her pregnancy. It was maternity leave that finally compelled her to write the book. She was working with Jindal and was asked to take the last two months off because she was pregnant. Chatterji, however, felt she could work till the end. In the tussle that followed, she discovered another aspect of being free that is restricted by society. It was just another aspect that was messy and problematic,'' she says.

And yet, writing about it, and getting people to print it, wasn't easy. It was on the softer subjects that I found people were not so keen to publish my article,'' she says. It is this personal aspect that gets lost in the public that she wants to reclaim. Change happens when you think of our own self,'' she says rather philosophically. You have to prioritise your own life.
US President Donald Trump teed up a fight with the World Trade Organization on Saturday, claiming the 164-country body was biased against the United States.

A day after China asked the WTO to referee a rapidly escalating trade fight with Washington, Trump questioned the organizations impartiality.

"China, which is a great economic power, is considered a Developing Nation within the World Trade Organization," he tweeted.

"They therefore get tremendous perks and advantages, especially over the US. Does anybody think this is fair. We were badly represented. The WTO is unfair to US" Trump has repeatedly expressed skepticism about multilateral bodiesfrom the WTO to the United Nations to NATObelieving they constrain US power.

"Trump has made clear more than once what he thinks of multilateral institutions like the WTO," said Marie Kasperek of the Atlantic Council.

Trumps critics point out that Washington largely dictated terms inside those organisations, which have promoted a move toward more democratic market economies.
The Indian Air Force on Friday launched the process to acquire 110 fighter jets to meet its depleting combat strength. The world's fourth largest air force, which had a strength of 42 squadrons of fighter jets in 2002, will be down to 28 squadrons by 2020 and further down to 19 squadrons by 2042, if the government does not take speedy action, according to an internal estimate of the IAF.

Presently, the IAF has 32 combat squadrons, but needs at least 42 squadrons to handle a two-front war scenario, which means China and Pakistan pose a collusive threat.

But experts believe that the new process looks to be more or less similar to the original medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) programme for 126 jets, launched by the Congress-led UPA government in 2007. Almost a decade later in 2016, the NDA government scrapped the MMRCA programme, citing deadlock in commercial negotiations between Dassault, the manufacturer of the French Rafale jet, and the ministry of defence. Eventually, the Modi government made a government-to-government deal to buy 36 Rafale fighters off-the-shelf to meet the critical operational requirement of the IAF. These 36 Rafale jets are scheduled to be delivered between 2019-2022.

The IAF is now seeking to acquire 110 fighter jets, of which 85% are to be built in India with a domestic strategic partner or production agency.

The global aviation majors have to submit their responses to the request for information (RFI), which also stipulates that 75% of the fighters will be single-seat jets, by July 3.

"IAF's new programme is more or less similar to the original MMRCA project. The only difference I could see is the Strategic Partnership clause, in which the lead partner will be an Indian company to set up the production line. Besides, a clause of 70 per cent service availability has also been included in the new programme. But, if everything goes well, it will take at least five-seven years to finalise the contract. By this calculation, we cannot expect anything before 2023," says retired air vice marshal Manmohan Bahadur. In the original MMRCA contract, 18 aircraft were to come off-the-shelf and the remaining 108 were to be built in India.

Multiple efforts are being planned by the IAF to meet its operational requirements. Apart from 40 LCA Tejas jets, IAF has also ordered 83 additional LCA MK-1As, which will be equipped with more lethal avionics and weaponry. The IAF has projected a need for 324 Tejas jets in the next 15 years; this includes plans to buy 201 Tejas MK-2 aircraft, which have a more powerful engine.

In between, the Air Force is also upgrading its existing fleet of Mirage-2000s, MiG-29s and Jaguars to keep them contemporary and increase their operational capability.

In the new request for information (RFI) for 110 jets, the government has not clarified whether it is looking for single-engine or twin-engine aircraft. Recently, the IAF had withdrawn a project to build 114 single-engine fighters, which was over two-years long and was billed as the 'biggest' Make-in-India programme. In anticipation, two major aviation giants had already announced their collaboration with Indian firms to express their intentions to set up production lines in India. The American F-16, built by Lockheed Martin, and the Sweden's Gripen, built by Saab, were the two contenders for the project.

"The previous programme of 114 single engine jets made competition limited to two-three global players. The new project for 110 combat jets will have more options available in the global market. It gives wider competition," said a officer. The Boeing Super Hornet and the multi-nation Eurofighter are likely to be considered again.
Even as BJP president Amit Shah accused Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah of dividing Hindus over the Lingayat issue, Mate Mahadevi, the first female seer from the community, heaped praise on the Congress leader, saying he has given a big gift to us.

It is due to Siddaramaiah that we are getting recognition. I do not have words to express our feelings. People say that the chief minister is using Lingayats for elections but we made the demands 10 months back, then there was no election," she said.

Karnataka cabinet had recently approved the Lingayat community's demand for a separate religion status.

The chief minister had promised us that an expert committee will look into the issue. The committee later gave an authentic report, she said.

Mahadevi launched a scathing attack on Shah, accusing him of lying and misleading people. Amit Shah said the (Union) government had not received the recommendation file yet. But the minority affairs minister said that he had received it. Shah is lying and misleading people," she said.

She also fired salvos at RSS, saying the Sangh has misguided people that the Lingayats take money from anti-social elements.

They say we are breaking India and Hinduism. We are still part of Hinduism but our religion is Lingayat. We are not anti-Hindu, she said.

Mahadevi urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to gift them the separate religion status on April 18Basava Jayanti.
Various dalit bodies have written to Home Minister Rajnath Singh asking for withdrawal of false cases against dalits registered after the April 2 Bharat Bandh.

Vinay Ratan Singh, president of Bhim Army, said, "The government should set up a judicial committee to investigate the atrocities against the dalits. Innocent youth are being picked up and put in jails after the Bharat Bandh."

The activists alleged that police was randomly picking up youths since then.

The Bhim Army said its activists will court mass arrest on April 18 in Delhi to show their solidarity with those arrested. "It shows how much more can the government be repressive. The protest is against police action on dalits."

Addressing a press conference in Delhi on Saturday, Singh said Chandrashekhar Azad of Bhim Army was not safe in jail as he could be harmed.

He alleged that when it comes to other protesters, police used water cannons but whenever dalits protested, lathi charge and bullets were used by the police.

Singh said they have asked all dalits to gather in Delhi. It will mark the beginning of another movement, he said.

"We also demand compensation for the 11 people killed during the April 2 Bharat Bandh," Anil Chamadia, activist, said.

He alleged the government and police were lenient on those who were using violence as a weapon against dalits.

The activists referred to the case of Raja Chauhan who was caught on camera firing at people during protests. Dalit bodies said as it was revealed the person in question was from the upper caste, it was apparent this was done deliberately to spread violence.
The Bihar unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) demanded an impartial probe into the recent incidents of communal clashes in the state, alleging impartial action was taken against the 'majority' community only.

On Friday, 13 party members met Bihar's director general of police (DGP) and submitted a two-page memorandum that also demanded the immediate release of the "innocent persons."

It stated that following the clashes, the administration was strict with the majority community and showed a 'soft corner' for minority community people.

"As per information, 187 Hindus and 23 Muslims have been arrested. It is mentionable that the main accused in the Aurangabad clash, Naseer Khan, has not been arrested," read the memorandum that was submitted to the DGP.

After the meeting, BJP leader Sanjeev Chaurasia said the DGP assured them of justice.

"DGP has assured us that after the investigation is complete, everything will be clear. No innocent person will be punished and strict action will be taken against culprits," Chaurasia told reporters.

Earlier on Thursday, the Nitish Kumar-led Bihar government had allotted over Rs 2 lakh for repair and restoration of riot-hit Gudri mosque and Jiaul-Ulum Madrassa situated in Samastipur city.

Recently, communal clashes, which had broken out between two groups in Bhagalpur and Aurangabad on the occasion of Ram Navami, spilled over to other parts of the state after miscreants vandalised a Hanuman idol in Nawada.
The old adage in Indian politics that the road to power in Delhi passes through Lucknow has proved especially true in the fortunes of the BJP. Narendra Modi was able to form a government with an effective single-party majority in 2014, almost entirely because of the cushion provided by winning 71 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh. And the massive win in the 2017 Assembly polls will make its difference in Rajya Sabha equations in the coming years, irrespective of the results of the 2019 general elections.

However, the BJP's superiority, and Modi's clout, in Uttar Pradesh could be in for some trouble as a second dalit MP from the state in as many days has written to the Prime Minister with complaints.

After Robertsganj MP Chhote Lal Kharwar complained to the PM of being ill-treated by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on April 5, Nagina MP Yashwant Singh has now written to Modi, saying the Centre has been ignoring dalits.

In his letter to Modi, Singh claimed he became an MP because of reservations and in four years, the government has done nothing for the 30 crore dalits of the country. Singh has also appealed to the Supreme Court to overturn its March 20 decision on the SC/ST Act that provoked violent protests by dalit groups.

Earlier this month, Savitri Bai Phule, a dalit MP from Bahraich, held a rally in Lucknow that demanded there be no changes to the Constitution or policy of reservation. The rally saw extensive criticism of the Modi government. Interestingly, at the rally, Phule also gave priority to the 'blue' colour associated with the BSP, instead of the BJP's trademark saffron and eulogised BSP founder Kanshi Ram.

Even as Modi recently declared that no government has honoured dalit icon B.R. Ambedkar as much as his administration has, the Adityanath government's move to add 'Ramji' to Ambedkar's name and desecration of monuments dedicated to the icon across India have caused unease in the community.

The reordering of political forces in Uttar Pradeshwith the BSP and SP inching toward an alliance and the Congress playing alongcould make the loss of substantial dalit support very costly to the BJP and deny Modi an encore.

(With agency inputs)
Supreme Court judge Justice J. Chelameswar on Saturday rejected the idea of impeachment as a solution to any of the problems plaguing Indian judiciary.

In comments that gain significance in the backdrop of opposition efforts to go for an impeachment motion against Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, Chelameswar said as the apex court observed in its judgment on Justice C.S. Karnan, impeachment cannot be an answer to every question or problem.

"This phrase has gained currency over the last two months. Somebody wrote I should be impeached. A system should be put in place for correcting the system," he said.

Chelameswar, who was in conversation with senior journalist Karan Thapar at a Harvard Club of India event, also hoped that Justice Ranjan Gogoi, who is next in line to be the CJI, is not superseded. He was replying to a question on whether he feared that Gogoi could be superseded on account of having been one of the four senior most judges of the apex court who held an unprecedented press conference in January to voice concerns with regard to the manner in which the present CJI was managing the court.

"I hope it will not happen. If it happens, it will only prove that whatever we said in the press conference is correct," he said.

Chelameswar said he does not believe that he and the other three senior-most judges of the apex court breached any laid down principles by holding a press conference. He said the only restriction on judges is that they cannot give interviews on judgments.

The event saw a big turnout as there was anticipation with regard to what Chelameswar would say on the topic of discussion 'Role of Judiciary in a Democracy'. The immense interest emanated from the judge having taken the lead in questioning the manner in which the Supreme Court is functioning. The judges' press conference had taken place at his residence. More recently, he wrote a hard-hitting letter to the CJI, alleging interference by the government in appointment of judges.

Chelameswar, the second senior most judge in the Supreme Court, retires in June this year.

The judge, who has gained reputation of being a rebel against the system, was largely cautious in his statements as he was queried on the press conference and the issues arising out of it.

However, Chelameswar said that he was not aware of the government's response to the apex court on the draft Memorandum of Procedure for appointment of members of the higher judiciary. The indication was that he and other members of the SC collegium were not in the loop with regard to the developments.

"I am not aware of this letter at all," he said to a pointed question if it means that the CJI did not inform him and the other judges in the collegium about it.

Chelameswar also said that the apex court has communicated to the government that it is okay with the clause that a recommendation of the collegium can be turned down on grounds of national security, provided the government provides material to support its reservation with a candidate.

Asked about Justice Misra overturning the decision of a bench headed by him in the Prasad Medical Trust case on grounds that he had stepped into a zone that was the prerogative of the CJI, Chelameswar said, I am still struggling with the question of what was it that required reversal of the order.

On the criticism that Justice Misra had allegedly allocated sensitive cases selectively to benches, Chelameswar said it was something that had been going on for quite some time, indicating that the wrong practice has preceded the present CJI. He said that while the CJI has the authority to constitute benches, the power is not unfettered and comes with a certain responsibility.

Asked about the CJI keeping with himself PILs in the new roster system, he said, He is the master of roster. If he has the ability to handle the entire world, let him do it.

when asked about former Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalithaa's disproportionate assets case with reference to the issue of hand-picked benches, the judge said, "The judgment was reserved for an entire year. What purpose did that serve? Did assessment (in constituting bench) not fail there?"
Newly appointed Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma has come under severe criticism for toying with the idea of issuing work permit to Bangladeshi nationals to address the challenge of infiltration along with taking the state on the path of economic development by opening up trade with the neighbouring country.

Sangma made this proposal to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj when he met her in New Delhi. The chief minister has proposed work permit to Bangladeshi nationals to address the challenge of infiltration, said Saidul Khan, media adviser to the chief minister.

Sangma also sought Swarajs intervention on road connectivity between Bangladesh and Meghalaya and mentioned the Shillong-Dhaka and Tura-Dhaka routes. Swaraj, however, did not promise anything to the chief minister and replied that she would consider both the requests.

Both the issues are likely to be discussed thoroughly at the North East Chief Ministers Meet to be held in New Delhi on May 4.

The BJP government which shares a very cordial relationship with Dhaka can help the landlocked state of Meghalaya, which shares a 440 km long border with Bangladesh, enhance its trade relations with the neighbouring country for rapid economic development.

However people of Meghalaya are shocked with the proposal of the chief minister. Several NGOs and students organisations are miffed with the idea terming it suicidal. Instead of implementing the long-standing demand of bringing in the Inner Line Permit (ILP) which is prevalent in other tribal states of the North East, our chief minister is doing the opposite thing, said irate students.

Sangma, however, managed to pacify the angry people who are opposed to having any truck with Bangladesh given the illegal migrant problem in the northeast. He said that it was just an idea to usher in economic development by looking towards its southern neighbourBangladesh.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for what he called a re-tendering of an approximately USD 15 billion fighter jet deal.

Taking to Twitter to mock the Centre, Gandhi speculated that Prime Minister Modi could re-tender the contract and favour friends involved with the controversial Rafale deal.

Modi Scam Alert!



15 Billion $ fighter jet deal re-tendered. PM's friends race to tie up STRATEGIC partners.



RAFALE, 40,000 Cr. loss to exchequer was "Sayonara" money to French, so PM could re-tender contract and favour friends.https://t.co/X4oTNjkXTK  Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) April 7, 2018

Modi Scam Alert! 15 Billion $ fighter jet deal re-tendered. PM's friends race to tie up STRATEGIC partners. RAFALE, 40,000 Cr. loss to exchequer was Sayonara money to French, so PM could re-tender contract and favour friends, Gandhi tweeted.

The ministry of defence on April 6 said India is in process of acquiring 110 fighter aircraft.

Reportedly, this is one of the world's biggest military procurement in recent years as it could cost the Indian government a huge USD 15 billion.

Request for Information for procurement of fighter aircraft for Indian Air Force for 110 fighter aircraft has been released by the ministry of defence.

Procurement should have a maximum of 15 per cent aircraft in flyway condition and 85 per cent will be manufactured in India under 'Make in India', said the ministry of defence.

It added that 25 per cent fighter aircraft will be twin seat and 75 per cent single seat.

The Nationalist Democratic Alliance (NDA) government had earlier signed a deal with France based Dassault Aviation of France to purchase 36 Rafale jets.

This is not the first time that Gandhi has alleged corruption in the Rafale deal.

In February, Gandhi posed eight questions to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the deal and alleged that the Prime Minister personally went to Paris and changed the deal.
Indrani Mukerjea, the prime accused in daughter Sheena Bora's murder and former head of INX media, was admitted to the J.J. Hospital in Byculla late on Friday.

According to media reports, doctor said that she was rushed to the emergency ward in a delirious condition. Indrani, is currently lodged in Mumbai's Byculla jail on the charges of murder of her daughter Sheena.

The murder of 24-year-old Sheena Bora came to light in August 2015 after Rai, arrested for illegal possession of a firearm, told police about the 2012 murder of Sheena Bora, Indrani's daughter from an earlier relationship.

Subsequently Mumbai police arrested Indrani Mukerjea, her former husband Sanjeev Khanna, and Rai himself in the Sheena murder case. Rai later turned approver (prosecution witness). Sheena, Indrani's daughter from an earlier relationship, was allegedly murdered in April 2012. Indrani's husband Peter Mukerjea, a former media baron, was also arrested in the case.

According to the CBI, which took over the case later, dispute over financial transactions led to Sheena's murder.
A CAMCORDER VIDEO CAPTURES THE SETTING OF THE STORY, AN ANTIQUE PADDLE WHEELER BOAT ON THE MOVE - THREE TIERS OF WHITE EDWARDIAN ...
After five MPs of the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) tendered their resignations and began an indefinite fast in New Delhi, Party president Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy said that the party would continue its relentless fight for the Special Category Status (SCS) to Andhra Pradesh and will be consistent in achieving the goal.

The YSRCP leader also made it clear that his party would not be attending the all-party meet called by Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu at Velagapudi on April 7.

This day when our five MPs resigned is a historical one and will remain etched in the collective memory of five crore people of the State. We have always said that resignation is our last weapon in the fight for the SCS. It shows our sincerity and consistency, Reddy said at a press conference at his campsite in Sangam Jagarlamudi village.

It has also exposed the lack of credibility of Chief Minister Naidu who has made several U-turns on SCS, Reddy added.

Further lashing out at the chief minister, Reddy said, Till March 15, Naidu was against SCS, after we garnered support from all political parties he took a U-turn and started speaking about the status.

Five MPs from the YSR Congress resigned from the Lok Sabha on Friday. The MPsVara Prasad Rao, Y.V. Subba Reddy, P.V. Midhun Reddy, Y.S. Avinash Reddy and Mekapati Rajamohan Reddysubmitted their resignations to Speaker Sumitra Mahajan.
Moscow today promised a tough response to new US sanctions imposed on seven of Russia's most influential oligarchs following the diplomatic crisis sparked by the poisoning of former spy Sergei Skripal.

We will not let the current attack, or any new anti-Russian attack, go without a tough response, Russia's foreign ministry said in a statement, after the US sanctions which also target 12 companies owned by the oligarchs, 17 senior Russian officials and a state-owned arms export company.

Having obtained zero results from the 50 previous rounds of sanctions, Washington continues to employ fear with the refusal to issue American visas, the threatening of Russian businesses with the freezing of companies' assets and property, while forgetting that the requisitioning of private property and other people's money is known as theft, the ministry added.

Such sanctions place the United States in the category of enemies of the market economy and honest and free competition as they use administrative methods to eliminate competitors in foreign markets.

Yesterday, the United States struck at the heart of President Vladimir Putin's inner circle, stoking a diplomatic crisis that some have dubbed a new Cold War.

Those hit include metals magnate Oleg Deripaska, described by the US as operating for the Russian government, as well as Alexei Miller, director of state-owned energy giant Gazprom. Any assets they hold in areas under US jurisdiction could now be frozen.

Russia's state arms exporter, was also added to the sanctions list.

But the Russian foreign ministry insisted in its statement that no amount of pressure will make Russia deviate from the path it has chosen. The measures were taken under a US law passed to punish Russia for its alleged bid to interfere in the 2016 presidential election, engage in cyber-warfare and intervene in Ukraine and Syria.

But yesterday's announcement also came as Washington and its allies face a new diplomatic crisis with the Kremlin over the poisoning of Skripal, a former Russian double agent, and his daughter on British soil.
US Attorney General Jeff Sessions ramped up calls on Friday to criminally prosecute immigrants who cross illegally into the United States, adding to a barrage of statements on immigration by the administration of President Donald Trump this week.

Pointing to an upswing in border crossings to levels seen during former President Barack Obamas tenure, Sessions said he was ordering US attorneys offices near the Southwest border to prioritize bringing cases against first-time offenders.

Once border crossers are charged with illegal entry and deported, they can be charged with a felony carrying significant jail time if they are caught crossing illegally again.

Trump signed a memorandum on Friday ordering the end of the policy known as catch and release, in which illegal immigrants are released from detention while awaiting a court hearing on their status.

Ending catch and release was one of Trumps central promises during the 2016 campaign, but immigration authorities have faced a shortage of space to house people who have been detained.

Among the measures outlined in the memo, Trump directed the departments of Defense and Homeland Security to produce a list of military facilities that could be used to detain illegal immigrants.

Earlier this week Trump pledged to deploy the National Guard to assist with border operations because he has not been able to secure funding to fulfill a central campaign promise of building a wall along the US-Mexico border.

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis signed a memo on Friday authorizing the deployment of up to 4,000 National Guard troops. The memo said the troops will not perform law enforcement activities or interact with migrants.

About 150 National Guard members from Arizona will deploy to the border next week, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey said on Twitter. The Texas National Guard said it was preparing to send about 250 troops to the border within three days.

The United States has sent military to the border a number of times over the years.

Sessions directed the US attorneys offices in southern California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas to prosecute all the cases referred to under the criminal entry statute, known as 1325, to the extent practicable.

Sessions in April 2017 had instructed prosecutors to increase their focus on criminally charging first-time offenders as well as people with multiple entries.

Some federal prosecutors, defense attorneys and judges have expressed concerns that charging border crossers en masse is a drain on court resources.

Supporters of Sessions approach have said that criminal penalties deter repeat crossers, while detractors have said the prosecutions can deny legitimate asylum seekers the ability to properly file claims.

This will be assembly-line justice, where large numbers of defendants are forced through the system without adequate time to consult counsel, Cecillia Wang, a deputy legal director at the American Civil Liberties Union, said in a statement.

In December 2017, a group of immigrant advocacy organizations filed a complaint with the US Department of Homeland Securitys Civil Rights and Civil Liberties division claiming that some immigrants being criminally prosecuted for crossing the border were being forcibly separated from their children.

A Justice Department spokesman declined to comment on the complaint.

-Reuters
Whichever party Subramanian Swamy is in, he is like a freelance politician. He says whatever comes to his mind. Based on his analysis, he keeps saying things. Basavaraj S. Bommai Karnataka chief minister

Ordinarily, I wouldnt give a toss about the fratricide in the Congresstheir party, their business. However, what the Congress does has a direct fallout for every political party outside the NDA orbit, because almost 200 Lok Sabha seats see a direct BJP-Cong fight. Omar Abdullah National Conference leader

Let me be very honest; I want to be in the playing eleven. If the coach thinks I am not fit for playing eleven when I think I should be there, then I will not sit and warm benches and take perks out of public money. I will play for the coach and team that believes in what I can deliver. Babul Supriyo singer-turned-politician, on joining the TMC after leaving the BJP

He doesnt plan before the game. He observes things on the field and takes a call accordingly. He watches the opposition batsmen and deploys a bowling attack according to that. Virender Sehwag former cricketer, on M.S. Dhoni, former Indian captain
Sujatha Gidla, 53, was born at Kazipet, a small town in undivided Andhra Pradesh, and now in Telangana. Her parents were college lecturers. Gidla studied physics at the Regional Engineering College at Warangal, and later worked as a research associate at IIT-Madras, on a project funded by the Indian Space Research Organisation.



Mevani promises to fight for five acres for every dalit family in Gujarat. This demand is not only just, it is an urgent one as well....[But] he is allied with the Congress, a pro-landlord, pro-upper-caste party that has never been able to uplift dalits.

But, despite her upbringing and education, she found life in India difficult. The reason: She was born an untouchable. Your life is your caste, your caste is your life, Gidla writes in her acclaimed memoir Ants Among Elephants: An Untouchable Family and the Making of Modern India.



When Gidla was 26, she migrated to the US, where people know only skin colour, not birth status. It was only after speaking to her friends in the US that she realised that my familys stories are not stories of shame.



For years, she worked as a programmer at the Bank of New York. In 2009, when the US was in the grip of an economic crisis, Gidla lost her job. She moved on to work in the New York City Subway, becoming the first Indian woman to be employed as a subway conductor. Ants Among Elephants, published last year, and her writings in The Oxford India Anthology of Telugu Dalit Writing, have made her the powerful new voice in dalit literature.



Excerpts from an interview:



What drove you to write Ants Among Elephants?



It started with my own questions about caste. Ever since I was a teenager, I wondered why some people have the misfortune of being born untouchable, and how my family acquired that status. But, I was too ashamed to ask anyone, even my own parents. It was only after I came to America that I managed to overcome this shame.



One day, I rang my mother and asked if she knew how we became untouchables, expecting her to say that it was something we inherited from time immemorial. I was stunned to learn that it happened only a few generations ago. Originally, my ancestors were tribals and lived off the forest. When the forest was cleared by the British, they were forced to seek livelihood in the plains, and that is when they were assimilated into the Hindu society as dependent labourers and outcastes.



Here was a more coherent answer to my questions than I ever hoped to find. We were not made untouchable simply because someone fancied it. It was not just a bad cultural practice, or a whim of the Brahmin class. This came as a revelation to me. I wanted to share it with others.



There was much more to this story than my mother could tell me. She encouraged me to speak to her brother, who, being older than her, knew more about the older generations, and about the society and politics of their times. My uncle [Naxal leader K.G. Satyamurthy, who died in 2012] was an interesting figure. He became politicised during the independence struggle, at the age of 13, and played an active role in political movements all his lifethe communist movement, states reorganisation and Maoism. Through his stories, I was able to combine my familys story with the history of modern India. My mothers stories reflected these events from a different angle and vividly depicted the status of women. The two of them were keen observers and wonderful storytellers, and they loved to talk about what they knew. The book just fell into my lap.



Your views on the dalit anger that Maharashtra (Bhima-Koregaon) witnessed recently, especially in the backdrop of the Elgaar Parishad organised at Shaniwar Wada, Pune?



It is a historical fact that untouchables fought as soldiers in the war between the British and the Peshwas. When I learnt this fact, it touched me deeply because it contradicted the image of dalits being meek and weak. It showed we can be soldiers. And that was what was being celebrated in Bhima-Koregaon. It is a potent thing for us psychologically because untouchables were not traditionally allowed to possess arms. The anger among Maharashtra dalits is a response to their being attacked by right-wing Hindus, with the backing of the government, for peacefully commemorating this piece of history.



There is a new "warriorhood" that the dalits suddenly seem to have discovered. Where is this coming from and where do you think is it headed?



While I sympathise with dalits celebrating Bhima-Koregaon, it is incorrect to claim warriorhood for dalits. This is as absurd as calling Sikhs and Gurkhas warrior races. What Bhima-Koregaon showed was that we, too, can be soldiers, not that we are soldiers by birth.



My book describes an episode much closer to our time where untouchables took up arms and fought valiantlythe Telangana Armed Struggle. Unlike in Bhima-Koregaon, they were not fighting for a foreign power but for themselves. They fought for their livelihood, for land, for dignity. Even poor untouchable women took up rifles against the Nizams Razakars and Nehru's Indian military and the police. I have seen a picture of them in training.



On the other hand, my grandfather's brother was in the British army in the First World War. He used to explode with anger if anyone ever asked him about his experiences in the military. He would remark, "Those white buggers are as bad as the brown buggers. They told us that we would be fighting in the war, but when we got there they did not hand us rifles and guns. They handed us brooms and pans!"



What is the takeaway from the Bhima-Koregaon episode, not just for the dalits and other neglected communities but also for the rest of India? Do you see something else brewing? If yes, what?



The takeaway is that the government is intolerant of any act of assertion by any group that is suffering under its regime. The government is backing the violence against untouchable leaders and supporters. As for things brewing, we hear about Una protests, about student protests in the wake of Rohith Vemula's death, but what the media is hiding is the unrest of the Indian working class.



There have been numerous protests and strikes. Take the auto industry (Maruti-Suzuki, Toyota Kirloskar, Honda), service industries such as IT, teachers, nurses, and garment workers [in Bengaluru]. That, in a real sense, is trouble brewing. And unlike dalits, these people have leverage, a very effective leverage. If they stop working, then the faucet of profits is turned off. If the working class takes up the dalit cause, then there is hope. If they dont take it up, then management will use caste divisionsor any other kind of differences, religious, regional, like the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra doesto divide the workers and easily defeat them. In their own immediate interest, workers should fight for dalit rights.



What, according to you, best describes dalit identity today?



There are many untouchable castes in India. In Andhra Pradesh alone, there are 52 subcastes, each with a different traditional occupation. The only thing they have in common is their exclusion from the Hindu society. So, for me, dalit identity is a negative thing, a form of oppression, something to be overcome. Dalits should demand integration into the Indian society, not celebrate their separate identity.



Many are saying that 2018 will be the year of "new Ambedkarism"...



I am not an Ambedkarite. The new Ambedkarism will be no different from the old.



Although Ambedkar may have thought he was genuinely fighting for untouchables, he sought solutions within the existing framework of a class-divided society with landlords and labourers, capitalists and workers. He insisted that capitalism is the best form of society and merely wanted untouchables to have equal opportunities within this system. This was never going to work because untouchables will never get equality until after every difference and disparity between men and women, Hindus and Muslims, workers and capitalists is removed. Untouchables will never be free under an economic system that requires dependent labour in agriculture. No wonder Ambedkar finally resorted to Buddhism and died disappointed. His idea was to elevate untouchables through reservation in education and jobs and participation in parliamentary system and schemes like separate electorates for untouchables.



Seventy years after Independence, untouchables are by and large in the same place where they were before reservations and reserved constituencies were instituted. Without exception, the Scheduled Caste candidates who run for elections from these constituencies are propped up by local upper caste landlords. Whenever these candidates try to assert themselves, they are harassed and their lives made miserable.



Recently, in a village called Garagaparru, dalits wanted to install a statue of Ambedkar and the upper castes objected. When the dalits refused to give in, caste Hindus imposed a social boycott on 800 families, effectively starving them. A doctor who tried to treat a sick dalit kid was kicked out of the building where he had set up his practice. The sarpanch in that village was a dalit woman.



There has been large-scale ghettoisation of dalits. Efforts to bring them into the mainstream have largely failed. What steps can be taken to improve things?



This is not a recent phenomenon. Untouchability means ghettoisation. By Hindu law, untouchables have always been made to live outside the village in impoverished conditions.



This centuries-old system continues to this day, everywhere in rural India. The situation is not much different in urban localities. My family lived in Elwinpeta, one of the several untouchable ghettos in the city where I grew up. There was a time when we were asked to move out of our house. One of my fathers closest friends, a caste Hindu, offered to rent us a portion of his house. So we packed up, loaded everything into a lorry. When we arrived at the new place, the mans wife was standing outside to tell us we could not move in. We were stranded with a lorryful of things and no place to go.



To bring untouchables into the mainstream, you have to look at the reason for their exclusion, at the kinds of interests for whose sake caste oppression is being perpetuated. You have to strike at the root of the problem.



What do you think of dalit politician Jignesh Mevani and student leader Umar Khalid, and the allegedly provocative speeches they made at the dalit conference in Pune last year?



Jignesh Mevani and Umar Khalid have a right to say what they want. They should not be attacked, they should not be arrested. On the other hand, I believe these two young leaders were displaying false militancy. They were portraying the dalit anger in Maharashtra as a quasi-rebellion. Mevani promises to fight for five acres for every dalit family in Gujarat. This demand is not only just, it is an urgent one as well.



All over India, the main issue for dalits is land. But, as soon as they lay claim to a small piece of unused land, upper-caste landowners in the vicinity seize it. When has the police or the government ever come to the aid of dalits in these cases? When have upper-caste thugs ever been brought to justice? If Mevani somehow manages to procure land for dalits in Gujarat, how is he going to ensure it will stay theirs?



I dont think this can ever be done by working from within the parliamentary framework. Mevani is allied with Congress, a pro-landlord, pro-upper-caste party that has never been able to uplift dalits to any significant extent. [Congress president] Rahul Gandhi will be calling the shots. He told Mevani to apologise to [Prime Minister Narendra] Modi for some innocuous comment. Mevani may be sincere, but his leadership can do no more for dalits than what the Bahujan Samaj Party did.



Mevani promises to fight for five acres for every dalit family in Gujarat. This demand is not only just, it is an urgent one as well.... [But] he is allied with the Congress, a pro-landlord, pro-upper-caste party that has never been able to uplift dalits.



It is being said that the Congress regime was not secular in the true sense and the present one is responsible for intolerance. What change do you think, can dalit leadership propose to bring about in the society?



Congress was the pioneer of communalism beginning with Gandhi and his ideal of Ram Rajya. Then there was the military invasion of the Golden Temple in Amritsar, which was followed by the massacre of more than 3,000 Sikhs in Delhi, orchestrated by Congress leaders and carried out by party thugs. BJP is different from the Congress in that they are open about their religious intolerance. What is urgently needed is defence of Muslims. That should be topmost on the agenda for secularists. Otherwise they can be wiped out without a trace. Besides, many Muslims are dalits and suffer additional discrimination and violence based on their caste status.
Supreme Court judges Adarsh Kumar Goel and Uday Umesh Lalit are known to be predisposed towards safeguarding the individuals right to life and liberty, protecting them from possible abuse of power by the police. On March 20, the two judges, in line with this thought, issued guidelines barring automatic arrest of the accused under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. The order safeguards the individual from false and motivated cases.

Social activist Annie Raja said that the court erred in concluding from the low rate of conviction that there was rampant misuse of the law.

The order, however, became the trigger for violent protests by dalit groups across the country, and activists and political parties called it an assault on the centrepiece of the legal structure put in place to protect dalits from atrocities emanating out of casteism.

The court has written into the SC/ST Act three guidelinesanticipatory bail in cases, if no prima facie case is made out, or where on judicial scrutiny the complaint is found to be prima facie mala fide; arrest of a public servant can only be after approval of the appointing authority and of a non-public servant after approval by the Senior Superintendent of Police; and a preliminary inquiry may be conducted by the Deputy Superintendent of Police concerned to find out whether the allegations make out a case under the Act and that the charges are not frivolous or motivated.

The court said the misuse of the Act necessitated the guidelines. We have already noted the working of the Act in the last three decades. It has been judicially acknowledged that there are instances of abuse of the Act by vested interests against political opponents in panchayat, municipal or other elections, to settle private civil disputes arising out of property, monetary disputes, employment disputes and seniority disputes, the order said. The court relied also on statistics, which showed that conviction rate was only 25 per cent in the cases filed under the SC/ST Act. We are satisfied, in the light of statistics... that there is a need to safeguard innocent citizens against false implication and unnecessary arrest for which there is no sanction under the law, which is against the constitutional guarantee and law of arrest laid down by this court, the order said.

According to Supreme Court lawyer Amit Anand Tiwari, who was an amicus curiae in the case, the order, by introducing the provision of anticipatory bail, has corrected the legal situation vis-a-vis Section 18 of the Act, which prohibited anticipatory bail. The main issue of concern was the bar on pre-arrest bail, as laid out in Section 18, which violates Articles 21 and 14, namely the fundamental rights to life and liberty, and equality, he said.

The Centre, has in its submissions before the court, voiced support for the law having the provision of anticipatory bail. Additional Solicitor General Maninder Singh said in court that in genuine cases, anticipatory bail could be granted.

However, there has been criticism from many quarters that the guidelines have weakened the most important statute that was enacted to protect the SC and ST communities. While dalit groups observed a Bharat bandh on April 2, the opposition parties came down heavily on the Narendra Modi government for its failure in court. The law is finished, said dalit activist Ashok Bharti. How could the court decide on changing the law, saying that it is being misused, without bringing on board any of the community representatives? The National Commission for Scheduled Castes was not heard. The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes was also not asked for its opinion.

Supreme Court lawyer Shilpi Jain said the court had not changed the law. It only safeguards citizens against its misuse. And, its misuse is quite rampant. The judgment is a much-needed intervention, and it is in the interest of justice, she said.

In 2015, out of 15,638 cases decided by the courts, 11,024 cases resulted in acquittal or discharge, 495 cases were withdrawn and 4,119 cases resulted in conviction. Activists contend that the low conviction rate is a result of faulty investigation and shoddy prosecution. Social activist Annie Raja said that the court erred in concluding from the low rate of conviction that there was rampant misuse of the law. How could the court base its decision merely on the figures of the National Crime Records Bureau? Is there any scientific study to link the figures to the reasoning that the law is being misused? she asked.

It is also felt that the order would lead to delay in justice for victims. The court says it is not against dalits, said Raja. But the changes that it has brought about in the law, such as the need for prior sanction and a preliminary inquiry before a case is registered, will only delay and deny justice to the victims.

The Centre has filed a review petition before the bench of Justices Goel and Lalit. However, the court has stood its ground, refusing to grant a stay on its judgment even as it agreed to hear the petition. We are not diluting any provision [of the SC/ST Act]. We are only safeguarding innocent persons from arrest... Can the liberty of innocents be taken away without a proper procedure? the court said in response to the Centres plea for a stay on the judgment and its petition for a review of the order.
Imaging: Binesh Sreedharan

April started on a cruel note.

Nine people were killed and scores injured, most of them in states ruled by the BJP, as angry dalits protested the March 20 judgment by the Supreme Court banning immediate arrest of persons charged under provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The show of strength by dalits left the ruling class stunned, even as it sent a big political message: Governments have to give dalits their due, however symbolic that due may be.

The fact that the agitation had no leadership pointed to the collective anger that has long been simmering. The desecration of dalit icon B.R. Ambedkars statues, the continuing incidents of violence against dalits, the suicide of University of Hyderabad student Rohith Vemula, the rising demands for the abolition of caste-based reservations, and the BJPs alleged plans to review the Constitution have all caused resentment among dalits.

The spontaneity of the protests is a huge worry for the BJP. Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the party had been trying hard to appropriate Ambedkars legacy. From nominating a dalit as Indian president to building monuments to Ambedkar, Modi had been actively trying to keep the dalits on the governments side, as they had voted in large numbers for the BJP in recent elections.

But, the BJPs dalit outreach is in jeopardy because of violent incidents in states ruled by the party. In 2016, as many as 40,801 cases of atrocities against dalits were registered across India. The BJPs ambivalence in dealing with these incidents has angered dalits. In Vemulas case, the party even tried to question his dalit identity.

The BJP can take comfort from the fact that the recent round of protests are not overtly anti-government in nature, but are directed at the Supreme Court ruling. The big question, however, is this: Who will benefit politically from the discontent among dalits, who constitute 16.6 per cent of Indias population?

In Uttar Pradeshwhich sends 17 dalits to each Lok Sabha, the highest number among statesMayawati and her Bahujan Samaj Party derive their strength from the community. The BSP had drawn a blank in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, mainly because its leaders had joined rival parties. But, the recent bypolls in Phulpur and Gorakhpur Lok Sabha constituencies have reaffirmed Mayawatis influence. In the run-up to the elections, Mayawati joined hands with the Samajwadi Party, which largely banks on Yadav and Muslim votes, to defeat the BJP in both the seats.

The BJP could lose 20 to 30 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh, said Ramdas Athawale, dalit leader from Maharashtra and minister of state for social justice and empowerment. Dalits had voted for Modi. They may still vote for him, but the effect of the SP-BSP combine would dent the BJPs tally in 2019.

Interestingly, Athawale and Ram Vilas Paswan, fellow Union minister and dalit leader from Bihar, were the first in the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance to publicly demand a review of the Supreme Court verdict. For the BJP, the gravity of the problem became evident when one of its dalit mascots in UP, Bahraich MP Savitri Bai Phoole, took out a rally in Lucknow targeting the Union government. Come what may, I will fight to protect the interests of dalits, said Phoole on April 1. I will continue to do so, even if I lose my seat.

In her speech, Phoole even referred to the BJPs perceived opposition to reservation in jobs and education. It is being said that they would review the Constitution, and end reservation. How dare they! she exclaimed, before promising the crowd that reservation will continue to be implemented.

The BJP is set to renew its dalit outreach on April 14, Ambedkars birth anniversary. On that day, Modi will inaugurate the Ambedkar Memorial at Alipur in Delhi, and is likely to clear the air on the BJPs stance on matters concerning dalits.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi said the BJP and the RSS were anti-dalit, and that caste-based discrimination were part of their DNA. To defuse the crisis, BJP leaders collectively went into overdrive. Amit Shah said rumours that reservation would be abolished were not true. The script is now old, said the BJP president. Before every election, groups that have vested interests start spreading panic about reservations. The BJPs stand is clear: We fully believe in the Constitution drafted by Babasaheb [Ambedkar], and the rights it has given to SC/ST communities.

Shah has publicly raised the Ambedkarite slogan of Jai Bhim. Privately, many BJP leaders feel that it may not be enough. They want the party to rein in motormouthed leaders who have been making statements on changing the Constitution.

The BJP is now set to renew its dalit outreach on April 14, Ambedkars birth anniversary. On that day, Modi will inaugurate the Ambedkar Memorial at Alipur in Delhi, and is likely to clear the air on the BJPs stance on matters concerning dalits. BJP parliamentarians have been asked to commemorate the day in their constituencies as Ambedkar Nyay Diwas. The occasion will be utilised to counter the oppositions propaganda, and tell the public about the many welfare schemes initiated by our PM, said Kaushal Kishore, BJP MP from Uttar Pradesh.

UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has issued orders to instal Ambedkars pictures in all government offices. In a bid to align the dalit icon with the hindutva ideology, Adityanath has decided to introduce Ambedkars middle name, Ramji, in all references to him in the states official records and correspondences. On April 14, Adityanath will be conferred the title of Dalit Mitra, or friend of dalit, by the Ambedkar Mahasabha in Lucknow.

The BJPs rivals, too, seem to be in a race to outdo each other in celebrating Ambedkars birth anniversary. Mayawati has asked BSP leaders to commemorate the day in all districts. Her newfound ally, the SP, has also decided to celebrate the occasion as never before. All district heads of the party have been directed to hold grand programmes, either at district headquarters or any public place, and apprise the people of Ambedkars contribution in detail, said Naresh Uttam, state president of the SP. Apparently, in a first, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav will garland Ambedkars statue in Lucknow as part of the celebrations.

The Congress, which has been struggling to find a toehold in the state, is also working hard to woo dalits. The party has been observing Dalit Suraksha and Samvidhan Bachao conclaves in all divisions of the state, said Bhagwati Prasad Chaudhary, head of the Congresss SC/ST cell. This will be followed by grand functions on April 14.

Politically, the situation is going to cost the BJP, as its hindutva agenda banks heavily on overriding caste divisions. With dalits asserting their identity, the partys efforts to transform Hindus into a homogenous group seem to be backfiring.

The impact of dalit protests will be felt in Karnataka, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarhstates where assembly elections are due this year. Dalits constitute 16.2 per cent of the population in Karnataka, 17.2 per cent in Rajasthan, 15.2 per cent in Madhya Pradesh, and 11.6 per cent in Chhattisgarh.

Of 224 assembly constituencies in Karnataka, 36 are reserved for the scheduled castes. In all, dalits can influence the poll outcome in 60 seats. In the 2013 assembly polls, the Congress won 17 of the reserved seats, while the Janata Dal (United) won 10 seats and the BJP, seven. In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress won three of four reserved seats.

In the aftermath of the Supreme Court verdict, the BJP is already feeling the heat. Shahs luncheon meeting with dalit leaders in Mysuru on March 31 was marred by protests. B.S. Yeddyurappa, the BJPs chief minister candidate, had been trying to woo dalit voters by holding rallies and dining with dalit families. But, such efforts have been undermined by Union Minister Ananth Kumar Hegdes recent comments on reviewing the Constitution.

Dalit anger may be more acutely felt in Rajasthan, where Rajputs have been asserting themselves and the BJP is facing strong anti-incumbency. On April 3, a day after the dalit protests, a mob of upper-caste people burnt down houses of two dalit leaders, one an MLA and another, a former legislator. A slew of attacks on dalits have also been reported in the state in recent times. Come assembly polls, and the BJP will have a tough time trying to retain the 31 of 33 reserved seats it had won in the 2013 polls.

In Madhya Pradesh, which witnessed the highest number of deaths in the violence on April 2, dalits and tribals together account for about 36 per cent of the population. But, their political influence has been on the wane since 2003, when the BJP came to power and began focusing on wooing the Other Backward Classes.

The Chambal and Bundelkhand regions, where dalits and tribals have considerable presence, were the worst affected by the violence during the protests. In Gwalior, where upper-caste residential areas were targeted, clashes erupted when armed members of hindutva outfits took on dalits. The prevailing situation in the state could prompt dalit voters to look for political alternatives.

But, it remains to be seen whether the dalit anger would really singe the BJP. The party has mastered the complex art of winning elections, as seen in the case of Gujarat last year. The state had witnessed atrocities against dalits, and there was considerable anti-incumbency against the ruling BJP. Still, the party managed a record sixth straight victory in the assembly polls, thanks largely to a fractured opposition. The Congress fortunes were dented as dalit votes went to the BSP. The Congress, which won 77 seats against the BJPs 99, could have easily won a dozen more seats had the dalit votes been not divided.

The BJP will be hoping for a repeat of Gujarat in Chhattisgarh, where Raman Singh has been chief minister for the past 14 years. Ajit Jogi, the former Congress leader who now leads the Chhattisgarh Janata Congress, has plans to contest alone. If that happens, the BJP is likely to gain from the division of anti-government votes.

It means that the dalit anger, by itself, does not spell doom for the BJP. The opposition will have to do much more to earn dividends from this discontent.
The bilateral relationship between India and the Maldives has hit rough weather. Recently, the Maldives entered into a free trade agreement with China, illustrative of the growing alienation with India. The Emergency, declared by President Abdulla Yameenafter refusing to implement a Supreme Court order on February 1seems to have brought the cracks to the surface. The Supreme Court order had dictated that nine opposition leaders, being held on terrorism charges, be released. India expressed its concern with the way Emergency was imposed, citing it unconstitutional. India also refused to meet a special envoy sent by the government, citing scheduling problems. After the Emergency was lifted last week, the Maldives came out strongly against Indias statement, asserting that it was an internal matter. Pakistan chief of army staff Qamar Bajwa visited Maldives recently. He is the first high ranking official to visit after the emergency was lifted. The signal to India is clear, there are certainly other fish in the sea.

The Maldives Ambassador Ahmed Mohamed speaks candidly on the relationship, and cites lack of reciprocal visits as a reason for the unexpected fluctuations. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was scheduled to visit, but had to cancel. He also suggests that India should invest in Maldives. We would welcome a much higher-level project-funding in sync with Indias neighbourhood-first policy, he says. Proactively increasing such engagements will help strengthen the family ties.

The Maldives has come out very strongly against the Indian statement after the lifting of the Emergency. How would you describe the statement?



The Indian press release, as mentioned in the Government of Maldives statement, was devoid of ground realities. The entire constitutional crisis in the Maldives, leading to the declaration of emergency was because the Supreme Court had overstepped its constitutional mandate. Its orders were against the constitutional framework, and contrary to existing laws of the country. India stating that the Maldives should abide by those orders would have actually meant that the government would be going against the letter and spirit of the Maldivian constitution. I would not say that the Indian press release was insensitive. It is just that it was not a reflection of the ground realities in the Maldives.

Has the emergency exposed a rift in the time-tested relationship? Has the Maldives government expressed its displeasure to India?

The declaration of emergency has nothing to do with the perceived rift between the two countries. Our bilateral relations are centuries old. And, in such a long-standing relationship, ups and downs are bound to happen. Reciprocity is the cornerstone of diplomacy. India has been host to a series of high profile Maldivian delegations, but lack of reciprocity of the same is one of the factors for the current ups and downs. I have always maintained that misunderstandings, if any, should be cleared through dialogue and not reach a level of public diplomacy. Having said that, neither country can wish away the other, and we will continue to remain partners in ensuring stability in the Indian Ocean region.



Ahmed Mohamed

The Maldivian ambassador to China has said that India is like a brother, and China, a long-lost cousin. Is this not an escalating quarrel between brothers?



The honourable ambassador was expressing the trilateral relationship in context to a family. I think the reason he used this analogy was because family is one of the most respected components of our societies. As part of our India-first policy, India has continued and sustained partnership in our development. We would welcome a much higher-level project-funding, in sync with Indias neighbourhood-first policy. Proactively increasing such engagements will help strengthen the family ties.



Do you think that there is a growing mistrust between the two countries?



I do not think there is mistrust. This feeling is a result of perception that has been influenced by unnecessary rhetoric. Both countries have always maintained and will continue to maintain communication. These are both at the diplomatic levels and the government levels. The relationship between our two countries is long-standing and time-tested. It is not just me saying this. If you look at the response to a question from Lok Sabha on initiatives taken by the Indian Government to ensure friendlier relations with neighbouring countries, the external affairs ministrys response on March 14, 2018, reiterated the same views.



The Maldives has completed a Free Trade Agreement with China. This is being seen as countering Indian interests.



The Free Trade Agreement with China should not be seen as countering Indias interests. The Maldives and India have the benefit of the SAFTA protocols as well as the India-Maldives Trade Agreement signed in early 1980s, which is in place and doing well. And, to set the record straight as to whether India was caught unaware, I would like to mention that the Indian ministry of external affairs, in response to a question in the Rajya Sabha in January this year, clearly outlined the three-year process that it took to conclude the FTA with China.



There is a belief that China is exerting a lot of influence on the Maldives. Has India ever expressed concern to rethink where the finances come from?



The Maldives respects the contribution and engagement of all its developmental partners, but not at the cost of its sovereignty. All projects that are currently under way are those which will contribute to economic growth, and not projects that have been thrust upon us. The projects are of our choice, and not a result of arm twisting. To say that China is exerting a lot of influence is wrong. India has never expressed concern about the relations the Maldives had with other countries. As a matter of fact, the Indian Ambassador to China has, as recently as on the 24th of this month, gone on record saying that Asian countries are free to have relationships with any third country, including China. This reinforces the belief that India respects the diplomatic engagements of other countries in the neighbourhood.



There seems to be a growing diplomatic standoff and there have been several triggers. The FTA with China, ambassador not being allowed to meet local councillors, and the Emergency. This has been seen as dictatorial.



The fact that the Maldivian constitution, promulgated in 2008despite all the political upheavalsis still supreme, shows that the government is democratic and not dictatorial. Even the state of emergency was governed by the constitution, as the freedom of the press and expression, and the freedom of movement, was not curtailed. Doing so would have been unconstitutional. The events that you mention cannot be termed as triggers to diplomatic standoffs. Diplomatic standoffs result in complete breakdown of communications. This has not been the case with the Maldives and its bilateral and multilateral partners.



Ambassadors have not been allowed to meet opposition leaders. Three of them including the British, tweeted that this was a setback to democracy. Your comment.



It is blatantly wrong to state that ambassadors in the Maldives have been prevented from meeting opposition leaders. The Maldives is a signatory to the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, and respects the diplomatic rights of free movement in the host country, and as such ambassadors have total freedom of unhindered movement.

The unfortunate tweeting, that you mention, can best be attributed to absence of understanding of ground realities. If this question is related to the suspension of some local councillors in 2017, then we should refer to the rules and regulations of the local government authority of the Maldives.



You see, the local government authority rules say that if local councillors desire to meet diplomats, they should seek prior approval from the ministry of home affairs. Some local councillors did not abide by this rule, and were suspended. This was misconstrued as diplomats being prevented from meeting Maldivian politicians. Local governments are part of the national government, hence the need to know the agenda for such meetings, lest it has security implications.



The former President Nasheed had requested India to intervene.



These are unwarranted calls, and amount to high treason. Whatever has been hyped up by military intervention, has been made by the opposition of the Maldives itself. I would not blame anybody, but Nasheed and his partners.



There has been a lot of criticism over the way India handled the situation in your country. Do you think that the special envoy should have been met? Your comment.



Had the meeting of the special envoy taken place, a lot of speculation would have been put to rest. But, the timing proposed by the Government of Maldives for the visit was not suitable for the Indian leadership. Both governments acknowledge the fact that we need to move ahead. As time-tested friends, we need to continue the momentum of more visible engagements.



Is there engagement?



Yes, there is engagement at every leveldiplomatic, government to government, people to people. Ambassadors of both countries are engaged in dialogue with the respective host country.
In January, when BJP president Amit Shah entered Karnataka with his box of electoral tricks, the partys campaign picked up pace. Ahead of the assembly elections, on May 12, party leaders have, in jest, likened the situation to the Big Boss house, a reality show in which contestants have to complete certain tasks to ensure their survival.

Apparently, the BJP, through its social engineering and booth-level management, wants to repeat the route it took in the 2017 Uttar Pradesh elections, which it won hands down.

While the ruling Congress hopes to repeat its 2013 victoryit had wrested 123 of 224 seatsthe BJP, still smarting from being reduced to 40 seats, is hoping to reclaim its lost pride.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiahs populism will be pitted against Prime Minister Narendra Modis development agenda. The real battle, however, will continue to be fought on caste lines. While Siddaramaiah will rely on his Ahinda vote bank, consisting of minorities, backward classes and dalits, the BJP would look to counter with the consolidation of Hindu votes. Shahs pit stopsat prominent temples, powerful mutts, caste conventions and massive ralliesare all part of a well-crafted path to victory.

The BJP is also relying on its invisible army of master strategists to devise micro-level plans. These members have their ears to the ground, and are dissecting communities, decoding political undercurrents and predicting the voters mood.

Shahs mid-February visit to the homes of two slain Hindu activists has been a defining moment in the BJPs campaign. His gesture united and energised right-wing cadres in coastal Karnataka, which is the hotbed of communal violence. Many of the youth killed there belong to the numerically strong Billava community, which dominates the hindutva brigade in the state. The accused in retaliatory attacks on Muslims, too, belong to the Billava community, which resents the Congress for its minority appeasement. And, as if validating such claims, the state government withdrew 175 cases against radical Muslim groups. The BJPs claim that about 25 Hindu activists were killed under Siddaramaiahs rule, triggered a political blame game. But, it seems to have consolidated the Hindu vote. BJP leaders said that a common Hindu identity was a more potent tool to tackle the Congress.

During the previous BJP rule, from 2008 to 2013, the state saw three chief ministers, factionalism, sex scandals and corruption charges against many ministers, including chief minister B.S. Yeddyurappa. The party split into three, which divided the BJP votes. Its vote share dropped from 33.86 per cent in 2008 to 19.89 per cent in 2013. However, Yeddyurappa returned to the BJP just before the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, along with the votes he had taken away, giving the BJP leads in 132 assembly segments. The Congress, which had bagged 122 seats in 2013, had lead in only 77 assembly segments a year later. In the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP got 43.37 per cent of the votes, along with 17 of 28 seats. So, the party is more confident now.

Yeddyurappa, despite his tainted image, is still the BJPs best bet, as he is the only leader with mass appeal and belongs to the Lingayat community, which holds sway in about 100 seats. However, the Lingayats, considered a BJP vote bank, made the party jittery by reviving a longstanding demand for a separate religion status. The movement, supported by a few Lingayat mutts and fuelled by Congress ministers M.B. Patil and Vinay Kulkarni, led to the state government accepting the demand.

Shah, however, said the move would backfire on the Congress as the UPA government itself had rejected the separate religion demand in 2013. Moreover, the BJP has reminded the community of how the Congress had sidelined S. Nijalingappa and Veerendra Patil, its Lingayat chief ministers. Shah has also been talking to hundreds of Lingayat mutts to pacify the community.

Additionally, the BJP has been reaching out to marginalised communities to increase its vote base. Sensing the unrest among the Madigas, a dalit community that has been demanding reallocation of

reservation among scheduled castes, Shah visited the Maadaara Channaiah mutt in Chitradurga. The Madigas have alleged that the dalit reservation is being cornered by dominant castes like the Holayas, but the Siddaramaiah government has not implemented a 2012 reportby a commission headed by Justice A.J. Sadashivawhich recommended redistribution of reservation. Apparently, the Congress did not do so fearing a backlash from the dominant scheduled castes and its own leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and G. Parameshwara. Shahs meeting with the dalit pontiff reasserted the BJPs commitment to the cause.

Moreover, the Union cabinet recently approved the inclusion of the Talwara and Parivara communities (synonymous with Nayakas) in the scheduled tribes list, a move that will help the BJP get more tribal votes. Then, there were Shahs appearances at an other backward classes convention at Kaginele and a fishermen convention at Malpe, which are all part of the BJPs plan to reach out to the smaller communities.

Apparently, the party, through its social engineering and booth-level management, wants to repeat the route it took in the 2017 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, which it won hands down. As part of this plan, Shah has reached out to party workers across the 56,000-odd polling booths, asking them to target the individual voter. He has told them to categorise voters as A+ (hardcore BJP supporters), A (keen supporters), B (sympathisers) and C (non-supporters). Dont look at the candidate, but at the lotus symbol and Modis photo, Shah is said to have told party workers. Your job is to win your booth, not the constituency. When many booths are won, we win the election.

The urban voter, too, is on Shahs radar. As part of the Save Bengaluru campaign, he has reportedly told his men to galvanise the large, but neglected chunk of voters, and the youth, to help the BJP reach its target.

As farmer suicides is a major election issue in Karnatakathe state trails only Maharashtra in the number of such deathsShah has also focused on the farmers. He recently visited the house of Rajendrappa, a farmer who committed suicide two years back, and questioned the Congress governments selective farm loan waiver. He has directed BJP workers to visit the houses of about 3,500 farmers who committed suicide in the past five years.

Shah has also locked horns with Siddaramaiah on the Union governments aid to states. He has repeatedly said that the Modi government had increased Karnatakas share of grants to Rs 2.19 lakh crore, against about Rs 88,000 crore during the UPA rule, and has asked the state how each penny was spent. The Modi government has given huge grants, but the people of Karnataka are unable to reap the benefits because of a corrupt state government, said Shah.

The fortunes of the BJP will now depend on how it finalises its candidate list without sparking a rebellion. Also, it remains to be seen what impact Modis rallies will have.
William Lyon Homes, together with its subsidiaries, designs, constructs, markets, and sells single-family detached and attached homes in California, Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, Washington, Oregon, and Texas. It sells its homes primarily to entry-level, first-time move-up, and second-time move-up homebuyers. The company offers its services through in-house commissioned sales personnel and outside brokers. As of December 31, 2018, it owned approximately 17,649 lots and had options to purchase an additional 11,892 lots. The company was founded in 1954 and is headquartered in Newport Beach, California.

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The following companies are subsidiares of BorgWarner: B80 Italia S.r.l., BERU AG, BW El Salto S.A. De C.V., BWA Receivables Corporation, BWA Turbo Systems Holding LLC, Borg Warner Europe Holdings (PDS) B. V., BorgWarner (China) Investment Co. Ltd., BorgWarner (Reman) Holdings L.L.C., BorgWarner (Thailand) Limited, BorgWarner Aftermarket Europe GmbH, BorgWarner Alternators Inc., BorgWarner Arden LLC, BorgWarner Arnstadt RE GmbH & Co. KG, BorgWarner Asia Inc., BorgWarner Automotive Asia Limited, BorgWarner Automotive Components (Beijing) Co. Ltd., BorgWarner Automotive Components (Jiangsu) Co. Ltd., BorgWarner Automotive Components (Ningbo) Co. Ltd., BorgWarner Automotive Components (Tianjin) Co. Ltd., BorgWarner Automotive Components (Wuhan) Co. Ltd., BorgWarner Brasil Ltda., BorgWarner Chungju Co. 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KG, BorgWarner NW Inc., BorgWarner Netherlands Holdings (PDS) B.V., BorgWarner Oroszlany Kft., BorgWarner PDS (Anderson) L.L.C., BorgWarner PDS (Changnyeong) LLC, BorgWarner PDS (Indiana) Inc., BorgWarner PDS (Livonia) Inc., BorgWarner PDS (Ochang) LLC, BorgWarner PDS (Thailand) Limited, BorgWarner PDS (USA) Inc., BorgWarner PDS Brasil Produtos Automotivos Ltda., BorgWarner PDS Irapuato S. de R.L. de C.V., BorgWarner PDS Mexico Holdings S. de R.L. de C.V., BorgWarner PDS Technologies L.L.C., BorgWarner Poland Sp. z o.o., BorgWarner Pyongtaek LLC, BorgWarner Romeo Power LLC, BorgWarner Rzeszow Sp. z o.o., BorgWarner Shenglong (Ningbo) Co. Ltd., BorgWarner South Asia LLC, BorgWarner Southborough Inc., BorgWarner Spain Holding S.L.U, BorgWarner Sweden AB, BorgWarner Systems Lugo S.r.l., BorgWarner Thermal Systems Inc., BorgWarner Thermal Systems of Michigan Inc., BorgWarner TorqTransfer Systems Beijing Co. 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MOSS POINT, Miss. -- Police in Moss Point apprehended two suspects accused of stealing firearms from a local business, according to police chief Brandon Ashley.

On Tuesday, April 3, two men identified as 42-year-old Chadd Johnson and 31-year-old William Magruder Jr., entered Southern Gun & Ammo located at 3422 Main Street.

While Magruder spoke with the business owner Ralph Weaver Jr., Johnson removed a Smith & Wesson handgun from a display case. After concealing the weapon, both men exited the business and got into Johnson's 2004 Ford Explorer and fled the scene.

The identification and arrest of both individual's was a combined effort of Moss Point Police Department and Mississippi Probation and Parole.

Both individuals were charged with grand larceny because the value of the firearm being in excess of $1,000.
SARATOGA SPRINGS  "This will be about thinking fresh," said celebrity chef David Burke.

Sitting in the dining room of The Blue Hen restaurant at the sumptuously renovated Adelphi Hotel last week, Burke, 55, was speaking specifically about sourcing ingredients from local farms once the growing season starts.

But he was also, if unintentionally, summing up the attitude he's trying to instill in staff at the Adelphi and the Salt & Char steakhouse next door. Both are owned by Saratoga-based Adelphi Hospitality Group, of which Burke has just been named culinary director.

A little later, Burke  who has been associated with dozens of restaurants over the past 30 years, is a cookbook author and has made many appearances on the Food Network  said, "We're putting new systems in place, rethinking the way things have been done."

Most obvious for customers are new menus for both restaurants and for Morrissey's Lounge, as the Adelphi's bar is called. They include Burke signatures such as Clothesline Bacon, an $18 appetizer at Salt & Char with thick slices of cured pork belly slung across what looks like a miniature clothesline; roasted chicken seasoned in a brine that incorporates seaweed; and a $16 potato topped with a lobster tail and splashed with lobster-infused sour cream, called the Sour Lobster Baked Potato.

Salt & Char also serves among its beef choices three large prime-grade steaks, from 24 to 36 ounces and costing $90 to $125, that have been dry-aged in a cooler lined with blocks of Himalayan salt that was built to Burke's specification by Allen Brothers, a top meat supplier in Chicago and a relationship holdover from when Burke had a steakhouse in the Windy City.

The process is proprietary enough to have its own patent, and the menu lists the number: "7,998,517 B2."

"But this isn't only about special-occasion nights," said Burke, whose appointment by the Adelphi Group has been rumored for months but was not finalized until recently. He cited as an example $20 burger-and-a-beer specials and other promotions to lure area residents during quieter months.

The hiring of Burke by the Adelphi Hospitality Group is an attempt to bring stability to an extravagantly expensive project  more than $30 million for the hotel and Salt & Char, according to published reports  with culinary operations beset by difficulty behind the scenes even as diners and critics swooned over top-flight food and drink.

Since long before Salt & Char opened in July 2016, AHG was intent on finding a marquee chef to head its food-service operations in Saratoga and perhaps at future properties it hopes to build. Its first attempt, with internationally acclaimed chef Gray Kunz, ended embarrassingly when a disaffected Kunz left within months of Salt & Char's debut and more than a year before the opening of the Adelphi.

Kunzs immediate successor, Braden Reardon, who had been running Salt & Char on a day-to-day basis under Kunz, stepped up to oversee development of the hotels food service. Reardon resigned in January.

Burke said he visited Saratoga and the Adelphi five years ago at the invitation of executives from AHG's parent company, Richbell Capital, a real-estate firm that bought the hotel in 2012 as its first venture into the hospitality field. Richbell has offices in Saratoga, New York City and Washington. Sources familiar with AHG's thinking said it first approached top restaurant names with a connection to Saratoga: Danny Meyer, whose Union Square Hospitality Group includes major Manhattan restaurants and the Shake Shack chain, which has a location at Saratoga Race Course; and celebrity chef Bobby Flay, a thoroughbred owner and regular visitor to Saratoga and the track. After those negotiations fizzled, Kunz became the signature chef for AHG.

Burke and Jean Marie Philippou, Adelphi project coordinator for AHG, said Burke was the company's first choice from the beginning, but he then was involved in a business partnership uninterested in expansion.

The time was right, and I was able to do it now, Burke said.

Burke has an extensive resume dating back to receiving, at age 26, three stars from The New York Times in 1988 as executive chef of the River Cafe in Brooklyn. His first restaurant under his own name, davidburke & donatella, opened in 2003 on Manhattans Upper East Side. In 2015 he joined ESquared Hospitality, which has about a dozen restaurant concepts including BLT Prime inside the Trump International Hotel in Washington, where President Donald J. Trump has dined.

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Burke was quoted last fall as denying the rumor that Trump put ketchup in his steak, which he prefers well done. The ketchup, Burke told the website DC Eater, "most likely ... was for his fries."

(Confusingly, three restaurant concepts launched by Burke and with his name still on them are owned by Craveable Hospitality Group, the new name of what was once called David Burke Group; Burke, no longer affiliated with Craveable or any of its concepts, is said to be in litigation with the company over his name.)

Burke's contract with AHG calls for him to supervise all things culinary for the Saratoga restaurants, bar and banquets the venues host. He will be a regular presence in Saratoga, he said, but is installing separate head chefs for Salt & Char and the Adelphi to manage day-to-day food service. He said the agreement with AHG does not include provisions to develop food service at future company hotels, which AHG said it plans to develop but has not yet identified publicly.

"I don't have right of first refusal," Burke said. But I would imagine once you take something like this ... and help it succeed, I don't see why they wouldn't ask us to continue. I like to align myself with corporations and partners that are looking to expand anyway, move on to other things eventually, once things have gone well, so we keep that in the back of our head."

For now, he is focused on Salt & Char and the Adelphi.

"This is a beautiful hotel. They put a lot of money into it  they did it correctly  and it should succeed," Burke said. "I'd like to see this around for 50 years, another 100 or whatever it is, and be part of building this to get there."

More for you Restaurant review: The Blue Hen at the Adelphi

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Financial

Teal, Becker & Chiaramonte CPAs PC

Alison Blessing, CPA, joined as firm administrator, effective in late June. Blessing previously served as chief financial officer at the New York State School Boards Association.

Joseph Watroba, CPA, joined the accounting staff. Watroba, who founded the nonprofit Play It Foreward 518 Inc. with his family, previously served as a senior tax accountant at another firm.

Greylock Federal Credit Union

Jean Noel was promoted to market manager. Noel joined in 2001 and previously served as an AVP branch manager.

Stephanie Carlson was promoted to market manager. Carlson joined in 2003 and previously served as a branch manager.

Joe Maffuccio was promoted to market manager. Maffuccio, who joined in 2007, will continue his branch manager duties.

Health Care

OrthoNY

Aruna Sahoo joined as a pain management physician in the Albany and Delmar offices. Sahoo previously served as a partner at Capital Region Pain Management.

Tory Speert joined as a pain management physician in the Clifton Park, Malta and Saratoga Springs offices. A doctor of osteopathic medicine, Speert completed a fellowship at Orthopaedic and Spine Specialists in York, Pa.

Media

The Patient Experience Project

Jennifer Cummings joined as an art director. Cummings has eight years of experience as a graphic designer, working primarily in the automobile and manufacturing industry.

Gretchen DiMaggio joined as an administrative assistant. DiMaggio previously served as vice president of administration for a consulting firm in Chicago.

Nonprofits

Capital Region Chamber

Angela Dixon joined as vice president, talent and inclusion. Dixon previously served as deputy comptroller for human resources and administration for the office of state Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.

Professions

Stantec

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Robert Cartwright was named senior principal in transportation. Cartwright has 25 years of experience in planning, engineering design, construction administration and inspection.

Jeffrey Johns was named principal in transportation. Johns has more than 20 years of transportation design experience.

Services

Saratoga Casino Holdings LLC

Alex Tucker was named general manager of the Saratoga Casino Hotel. Tucker previously served as senior vice president of gaming and finance.

Technology

Create Orthotics & Prosthetics

Cecilia "Cissi" Schaffer joined as CEO and chair of the board of managers. Schaffer previously served as vice president of operations for a commodity trading and logistics company.

Founder Jeff Erenstone will assume the role of chief technology officer. Erenstone previously served as CEO.

 Jennifer Patterson
Detroit

Bargain prices on 2- and 3-year-old vehicles fueled record sales of used cars, trucks and SUVs last year, a trend that is expected to continue because people can save thousands of dollars over buying new.

Used vehicle sales hit 39.2 million vehicles in 2017, more than double the number of new automobiles sold, according to the Edmunds.com auto website. To be sure, Americans for years have bought more used cars than new, but a recent glut of well-equipped vehicles coming off leases is sending more people to the used market.

That cut into new vehicle sales last year, helping to push them down 2 percent. And the trend is likely to continue because leasing remains around a near-record 30 percent of all U.S. new vehicle sales. That will provide an ample supply of used cars for at least three more years, said Ivan Drury, senior manager of industry analysis for Edmunds. (Edmunds regularly provides content, including automotive tips and reviews, for distribution by The Associated Press.)

"In almost every instance, that 3-year-old car is going to save you so much money it wouldn't make any financial sense" to choose new, Drury said.

About 4 million vehicles are coming into the used market from leases this year, many of them cars that can be bought cheaply because buyers are more interested in SUVs.

On average, the buyer of a 3-year-old car can save $14,000 over buying the same car new, according to Edmunds.

New vehicle prices continue to rise to record levels, pushing some people out of the market and making off-lease vehicles even more attractive, Drury said. At the same time, the rate of increase for used cars is slowing due to abundant supply, so the gap between new and used prices is growing.

The average new vehicle in 2012 sold for $30,803. By the end of 2017, that rose by nearly $4,400, according to Edmunds. During the same period, the average used auto price rose $2,784, to $19,462. The difference between new and used prices grew by almost $1,600, from $14,125 in 2012 to $15,714 last year.

The spread between new and used is even more dramatic for a 3-year-old vehicle. Last year, 3-year-old autos sold for about $20,500. From 2012 to 2017, the gap between a 3-year-old vehicle and an average new one grew more than $3,500 to $13,877.

For Jonathan Bursevich, who lives near Fort Lauderdale, Fla., the spread between new and used was just too great to pass up. In December, he bought a well-equipped, mint condition gray 2015 Audi A4 from a dealership for $23,000, a savings of at least $16,000 over the cost of a new one.

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The 25-year-old risk management broker checked prices on Google and found a new A4 to be "way out of my budget." His parents always bought used cars, foregoing the latest features but saving thousands. So he checked and found an Audi-certified used A4 with 46,000 miles on it for a little over half the price of a new one "which I thought was a fantastic value for the car."

The used Audi lacks some technology that's on the new one, including a backup camera and a steering assist feature, Bursevich said. "If I don't feel like I'm in the stone age and everything else works, then I would be more than happy to save money," he said.

The only reason buyers would go for a new vehicle is if the design is dramatically different or if it has new technology they want, Drury said. But not every vehicle has been redesigned, and technology hasn't changed that much in the last few years. Most 2 or 3-year-old cars have backup cameras and Bluetooth technology to link phones to the cars, he said. Many have blind spot detection and other features, he added.

Currently the good used deals are on cars, but even that will change in the next few years as more SUVs are added to the mix of vehicles coming off leases, said Jeff Schuster, a senior vice president at the forecasting firm LMC Automotive.

Seeing the trend toward higher used-vehicle sales and the slowing price increases of used cars, many dealers have changed their business models and aren't marking up used vehicles like they used to, Drury said.

David Kelleher, who runs a Fiat Chrysler dealership in suburban Philadelphia, lowered used vehicle prices and moved more of them last year. As a result, he doubled used-vehicle sales from 45 per month to 90, while new vehicle sales stayed flat.

Buyers, he said, come to the dealership knowing the average price for a used car. "We're pricing to the market rather than the old model, which was you trade the car, put it in the shop and mark it up $2,500," Kelleher said.
Surprise! Kate Hudson and her musician boyfriend, Danny Fujikawa, popped black question mark balloons to let loose the pink in an Instagram reveal that their baby will be a girl.

Dressed in a long, white gown, Hudson, her two sons and Fujikawa each popped balloons, jumping up and down and cheering when pink confetti and smaller pink balloons descended in the Friday post. Hudson wrote below the short video: "If you've wondered why I've been so absent on my social channels it's because I have never been more sick!"

She says she's feeling better and beginning to show, but she didn't say when the baby is due. It's her third child and her first with Fujikawa.

 Associated Press

Ex-DA's opinions ruled irrelevant

Jurors in Bill Cosby's sex assault retrial won't hear why the case was initially dropped four weeks after his accuser came forward in 2005.

Judge Steven O'Neill sided with prosecutors Friday in ruling that ex-District Attorney Bruce Castor's opinions are irrelevant.

Opening statements start Monday.

Castor wrote in a 2005 press release that the case was too flawed and both Cosby and accuser Andrea Constand could be portrayed "in a less than flattering light."

 Associated Press

Casino mogul suing accuser's lawyer

Disgraced casino mogul Steve Wynn has sued the attorney of a dancer who accused him of inappropriate behavior.

Wynn's attorneys filed the defamation lawsuit Thursday against lawyer Lisa Bloom and her firm in U.S. court in Las Vegas. It seeks at least $75,000 in damages.

Wynn resigned from Wynn Resorts in February amid sexual misconduct allegations that he has denied.

Bloom's law firm said last month that she's representing a dancer in the show "Showstoppers" at the Wynn Las Vegas casino-resort. Its news release accused Wynn of leering at female performers in "physically revealing" segments of the show.

Wynn's lawsuit calls the allegations false. His attorney accuses Bloom of intentionally ignoring that Wynn was "legally blind" when she alleges the leering occurred.

Bloom says she'll fight Wynn in court."

 Associated Press

Three Nobel judges have resignd posts

Three judges for the Nobel literature prize have resigned.

Klas Ostergren, Kjell Espmark and Peter Englund released statements or letters Friday to Swedish media but gave few details. Englund wrote in a letter to the tabloid Aftonbladet that his decision was linked to the Swedish academy's decision late last year to cut ties with the head of a Stockholm cultural center over allegations of sexual misconduct.

Judges on the 18-member committee are appointed for life and are technically not permitted to leave.

 Associated Press

Man who damaged actress' car charged

Authorities say a man who hopped atop a car and smashed its windows, while the 4-year-old son of Actress Jaime King was sitting inside, has been charged with battery, child endangerment and vandalism.

Los Angeles County prosecutors said Friday that 47-year-old Paul Floyd could get five years in prison. He has not yet entered a plea, and it's not clear if he has an attorney who can comment for him.

King said her son, James Knight, was badly shaken but safe after the rampaging man jumped on the car he was sitting in with a friend of King's in Beverly Hills.

The 38-year-old actress, who gained fame as a model, has appeared in the films "Pearl Harbor" and "Sin City" and has a role in the forthcoming "Ocean's 8."

 Associated Press

Arnold comes home from the hospital

Arnold Schwarzenegger left a Los Angeles hospital Friday after a heart procedure.

The spokesman, Daniel Ketchell, said in an email that the 70-year-old "Terminator" actor and former California governor is "home and doing incredibly well."

Schwarzenegger underwent a scheduled procedure March 29. A pulmonic valve originally installed in 1997 for a congenital heart defect had to be replaced.

He's been tweeting from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center for several days.

 Associated Press
ALBANY  Could a blue wave be heading to the Capital Region on April 24?

Democrats are hopeful that their national momentum since the election of President Donald Trump will carry over into New York, where they're trying to wrestle away from Republicans the state Assembly seats previously held by Steve McLaughlin and Pete Lopez.

For more than a year, special elections across the country have repeatedly resulted in Democratic candidates outperforming the party's past results. There have been notable headline-grabbing surprises in deep-red territory  including the election of Democrat Doug Jones to the U.S. Senate from Alabama and a congressional win in Pennsylvania by Conor Lamb  but smaller upsets and even narrow losses highlight a recurring trend of enthusiastic Democratic voters disrupting expectations.

The wave crashed on Long Island last spring when Democrat Christine Pellegrino won an Assembly seat in a district that had been in Republican hands for decades, and had voted overwhelming for Trump in 2016. For politicians and campaign operatives across the state, that race was a close-to-home indicator of what could happen in a special election, where turnout is abysmally low and a gap in enthusiasm among voters could make all the difference when the votes are tallied.

Now the movement is being tested in the Capital Region, where Troy Democrat Cindy Doran takes on Schodack Republican Jake Ashby to replace McLaughlin in the Republican-leaning 107th Assembly District, which includes Rensselaer County and a portion of Washington and Columbia counties. In the 102nd District  which includes Schoharie and Greene counties and parts of Albany, Columbia, Delaware, Otsego and Ulster counties  Durham Democrat Aidan O'Connor, Schoharie Republican Chris Tague and Middleburgh independent candidate Wes Laraway are vying to succeed Lopez.

McLaughlin was elected Rensselaer County executive in November, while Lopez was appointed as regional administrator of the federal Environmental Protection Agency in September.

Ashby said he's not paying attention to signs of Democratic inroads elsewhere around the state and nation. "I'm definitely concerned when I see trends like that, but I'm trying to focus on the local issues," he said.

The Republicans who tapped Ashby to run are confident he can turn back the Democratic tide. "We picked somebody that transcends a lot of the partisan debates," said local Republican operative Rich Crist, who managed McLaughlin's run for county executive. "We're not seeing any enthusiasm gap."

Doran is hoping Democratic excitement will hand her an upset. She said voters fed up with the president could make the special election a localized referendum on national politics, even while she tries to talk about her career and regional issues.

"It's going to carry over into this race  because frankly, my predecessor operated like Trump," Doran said. McLaughlin's final months in the Assembly were dogged by the revelation that he had used abusive language against a female aide, and he was sanctioned by the chamber's ethics committee  after election day  for allegedly asking another lawmaker's aide for nude photos.

Doran said that McLaughlin tapped Ashby to run. "I feel like at times I'm running against Steve McLaughlin," she said.

Ashby, however, calls McLaughlin "a positive influence. I think he is certainly helping."

In the more conservative 102nd District, the partisan levees preventing a Democratic wave are higher: Lopez netted about two-thirds of the vote in the district in 2012, the last time he had an opponent. But Tague isn't taking anything for granted in his bid, and is fully aware of the Democratic enthusiasm across the country.

"Anybody who says anything different to you would be lying," Tague said.

One warning sign of a potential wave in the rural district is the fact that O'Connor isn't shying away from his political identity: Instead of running as a nonpartisan candidate, he's embracing a progressive Democratic agenda.

Turnout vs. issues

The romanticized notion that elections are solely decided on the day's issues gets a dose of reality whenever special elections roll around. With only a tiny fraction of the electorate participating, the challenge for campaigns is to simply motivate voters to show up.

"Special elections are a completely different animal" than what happens in November, Tague said.

On the ballot Snapshot of the candidates: Jake Ashby (R, C, I, Reform) A military veteran and member of the Rensselaer County Legislature;

Wants to cut state spending, including waste in the Medicaid program;

Believes school safety should be the purview of local districts. Cindy Doran (D, WFP, Women's Equality) A former business teacher and member of the Rensselaer County Legislature;

Argues that as a Democrat she would be better positioned to deliver results for the district in a chamber dominated by her party;

Invested in securing public education funding and accessible health care. Chris Tague (R, C, I, Reform) A former dairy farmer;

Currently serves as Schoharie town supervisor;

Cut taxes in the town's recent budget. Aidan O'Connor (D, WFP, Women's Equality) Works as an emergency first responder and serves on the Greene County Legislature;

Will defend the Medicaid services that rural communities rely on;

Committed to bringing the same energy as former-Assemblyman Pete Lopez See More Collapse

How the Times Union is driving results A newspaper is a force for bringing to light misbehavior by the powerful, tells the stories of society's most vulnerable, and tracks conversations on the best way to achieve change.

All four major candidates have been campaigning at a breakneck pace, which for some began in December  two months before April's special elections were called by Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Despite the frantic campaigning, though, it's unlikely that any of the candidates will have enough time or resources to get their messages out to all the voters.

"I think these two races are going to come down to who can get the vote out," said Libby Post of Capital Women, a progressive organization formed in response to Trump's election that's backing Doran and O'Connor.

Post's group is hosting postcard parties where they craft hundreds of personal cards to alert voters about the imminent vote.

Despite these efforts, Crist is confident in the Republican effort to get out the vote in the 107th District. "It's going to be a low-turnout race, and we're more engaged in the grass roots than they are," he said.

Tague said he has knocked on 4,000 doors, and believed people were motivated to vote after the encounters. "I noticed that in the last two weeks people are starting to know who I am when I come to the door," he said.

Outside influence

A major force in the Democratic win on Long Island last year was the effort by NYSUT, the powerful state teachers union that invested about $200,000 in an independent expenditure campaign focused on getting out the vote. In that race, NYSUT members voted at a rate that was double that of the general public.

The union is trying to repeat that performance in the 107th District, where local members account for almost 5 percent of the registered vote  a large voting bloc for an election where turnout will likely be less than 20 percent of the electorate.

"We have nearly 4,000 members in the 107th Assembly District. They are passionate about education and they vote," said NYSUT spokesman Carl Korn. "They are already working hard on Cindy Doran's campaign, knocking on doors and volunteering for phone banks."

Doran also has the support of the state AFL-CIO, which is making sure its approximately 28,000 members in the district know the federation's position and  perhaps more importantly  are aware there is an upcoming special election.

The two races are also targets for the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, a national group focused on state-level elections. It played a role in flipping 39 state seats from Republican control since the presidential election  including Pellegrino's win on Long Island.
GLOVERSVILLE  The standoff between police and an armed man acting erratically ended at about 6:30 p.m. Friday, the sheriff's office said on Facebook.

More details  including whether the man is alive or in custody  was not immediately available. Calls to the Gloversville Police Department and Fulton County Sheriff's Office were not returned.

Police surrounded a city home Friday afternoon after a man armed with a shotgun walked through the neighborhood and then began posting videos on social media claiming to be "The Fallen Angel."

The Fulton County Sheriff's Office asked residents in the area of North Main between Fifth and Ninth avenues to stay inside their homes and lock their doors while police negotiated with the man, who had barricaded himself inside a home.

After hours of unsuccessful communication, State Police tactical officers were preparing to enter the house, Fulton County Sheriff Richard Giardino said at 5:25 p.m. An hour later, the sheriff's office posted online that the standoff was over and "everyone involved did a great job."

The Leader Herald reported that shots had been fired at the scene, although it was unclear whether the suspect or the police had discharged their weapons.

How the Times Union is driving results A newspaper is a force for bringing to light misbehavior by the powerful, tells the stories of society's most vulnerable, and tracks conversations on the best way to achieve change.

In the Facebook Live video, the man repeatedly says, "I am the Fallen Angel. Lucifer, may you wash away your sins," before panning the camera to a long gun and ammunition.

In other videos he hugs his dog, and rocks back and forth while breathing heavily. Commenters pleaded that he surrender to police without harming himself.

Law enforcement sources confirmed the videos were taken by the man involved in a standoff with police.
GLOVERSVILLE  The "emotionally disturbed" man locked in an hours-long standoff with police Friday afternoon was found dead inside his apartment when a tactical team entered, city police said.

Multiple people called 911 just before noon Friday to report that a man with no shirt was running in and out of a home carrying a shotgun, Gloversville Police Chief Marc Porter said in a news release.

Officers were sent to the area of North Main Street and Seventh Avenue, where witnesses told them the man pointed the gun at passing cars before entering a multi-unit home at at 312 North Main St., the chief said.

City police shut down a portion of North Main Street, establishing a perimeter around the home, and called in help from the Johnstown Police Department, the Fulton County Sheriff's Office and the State Police.

Police tried several times to contact the suspect by phone and public address systems, as investigators monitored the man's social media. The suspect has not yet been publicly identified by police.

In the Facebook Live video, the man repeatedly said, "I am the Fallen Angel. Lucifer, may you wash away your sins," before panning the camera to a long gun and ammunition.

The man began posting online at around the same time police arrived at the scene, according to law enforcement sources who confirmed the videos were taken by the man involved in the standoff.

In other videos he hugged his dog, and rocked back and forth while breathing heavily. Commenters pleaded that he surrender to police without harming himself.

"The male appeared to be suffering from an apparent emotional crisis and in possession of a shotgun within the residence," Chief Porter said in a statement.

Police determined the man was inside a second-floor apartment and said they did not have reason to believe anyone else was in the building, "although initially, that could not be confirmed."

State Police crisis negotiators and tactical officers were on the scene, as well as the Glove Cities Emergency Response Team. Attempts to communicate with the man were unsuccessful, police said.

How the Times Union is driving results A newspaper is a force for bringing to light misbehavior by the powerful, tells the stories of society's most vulnerable, and tracks conversations on the best way to achieve change.

As police worked on scene, the Fulton County District Attorney's Office obtained a search warrant for the property and an arrest warrant for the suspect.

When the SWAT team determined the man "appeared to be down," they entered the second-floor apartment and found him dead, Porter said.

While clearing all four apartments in the building, tactical officers found an additional person in a separate, second-floor apartment. That person, who was not involved in the standoff, was unharmed, the chief said.

City detectives searched the property using the warrant and the Fulton County Coroner's Office removed the man's body from the scene. An autopsy will be performed Saturday by Dr. Michael Sikirica, a forensic pathologist at Albany Medical Center Hospital.

Porter did not respond to additional questions, including whether police discharged their firearms at any time and how the man died. The chief said additional information would be released Monday.
Washington

The United States punished dozens of Russian oligarchs and government officials on Friday with sanctions that took direct aim at President Vladimir Putin's inner circle, as President Donald Trump's administration tried to show he's not afraid to take tough action against Moscow.

Seven Russian tycoons, including aluminum magnate Oleg Deripaska, were targeted, along with 17 officials and a dozen Russian companies, the Treasury Department said. Senior Trump administration officials cast it as part of a concerted, ongoing effort to push back on Putin, emphasizing that since Trump took office last year, the U.S. has punished 189 Russia-related people and entities with sanctions.

Rather than punishing Russia for one specific action, the new sanctions hit back at the Kremlin for its "ongoing and increasingly brazen pattern" of bad behavior, said the officials, who weren't authorized to comment by name and briefed reporters on condition of anonymity. The officials ticked through a list of complaints about Russia's actions beyond its borders, including its annexation of Crimea, backing of separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine, support for Syrian President Bashar Assad, and cyber-hacking.

Above all else, Russia's attempts to subvert Western democracy prompted the U.S. sanctions, officials said, in a direct nod to concerns that the U.S. president has failed to challenge Putin for alleged interference in the 2016 election that brought Trump to power.

Deripaska, whose business conglomerate controls assets from agriculture to machinery, has been a prominent figure in special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation over his ties to former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort. The Treasury Department said Deripaska was accused of illegal wiretaps, extortion, racketeering, money laundering and even death threats against business rivals.

On the London Stock Exchange, global depositary receipts of En+, an energy company majority-owned by Deripaska, dropped by 19 percent on news of the sanctions. Deripaska's conglomerate, Basic Element, said it regretted the sanctions and was analyzing them with its lawyers.

Putin's government dismissed the sanctions as "absurdity," arguing that the U.S. was punishing companies that have longstanding business ties to the U.S. The Russian Foreign Ministry said the U.S. was "striking at ordinary Americans" by jeopardizing "thousands of jobs."

"American democracy is clearly degrading," the ministry said. "Of course, we will not leave the current and any new anti-Russian attack without a tough response."

To the dismay of Trump's critics and of Russia hawks, the president has continued to avoid directly criticizing Putin himself and recently invited the Russian leader to meet with him, possibly at the White House. Yet in recent weeks Trump's administration has rolled out a series of actions  including several economic and diplomatic steps  to increase pressure on Putin and those presumed to benefit from his power.

"Nobody has been tougher on Russia than I have," Trump said at a news conference on Tuesday.

Yet even as it rolled out the new penalties, Trump's administration left open the possibility of "a good relationship with Russia" in the future. And at the White House, spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said discussions with Moscow about a Trump-Putin summit would not be called off.

Those being punished aren't necessarily involved in the Russian actions in Syria, Ukraine or elsewhere that have drawn consternation from the West. But officials said the goal was to put pressure on Putin by showing that those who have benefited financially from his position of power are fair game.

How the Times Union is driving results A newspaper is a force for bringing to light misbehavior by the powerful, tells the stories of society's most vulnerable, and tracks conversations on the best way to achieve change.

The target list includes some who are closely tied to Putin himself, including top-tier officials involved in Kremlin decision-making and heads of the top state-controlled business entities.

Yet others on the list include some who long have fallen out of favor or hold technical positions.

Targets include:

Kirill Shamalov, who is reportedly Putin's son-in-law, married to his daughter Katerina Tikhonova, although neither Putin nor the Kremlin have acknowledged that she is his daughter.

Igor Rotenberg, the son of Arkady Rotenberg, a friend of Putin's since they were teenagers.

Andrey Kostin, named among government officials, heads the nation's second-largest bank, VTB, which is controlled by the state.

Alexei Miller, the longtime head of Gazprom, the state-controlled natural gas giant. Both Miller and Kostin are longtime key members of Putin's team.
Washington

President Donald Trump plans to skip the White House Correspondents' Association dinner, marking the second year he has shunned the glitzy gathering of Washington journalists he routinely assails as "fake news."

White House Correspondents' Association president Margaret Talev said in statement Friday that the "White House has informed us that the president does not plan to participate in this year's dinner but that he will actively encourage members of the executive branch to attend."

Trump had said he "probably won't do it" in an interview on the "Bernie and Sid" radio show on 77 WABC Radio taped Thursday and aired Friday. Calling the media "so bad" and "so fake," Trump said: "I want to get it straightened out with the press before I do it."

But the president, who has long had an adversarial relationship with the news media, did not elaborate on how he planned to do so. Since his campaign, he has ceaselessly blasted the "fake media" and "dishonest" reporters, singling out specific journalists and news outlets for criticism. He also has avoided holding a traditional news conference for over a year, though he often answers shouted questions from reporters.

True to form, Trump tweeted Friday: "So much of the media is dishonest and corrupt!

How the Times Union is driving results A newspaper is a force for bringing to light misbehavior by the powerful, tells the stories of society's most vulnerable, and tracks conversations on the best way to achieve change.

Traditionally, the president and first lady attend the annual dinner, a fundraiser for college scholarships and a venue for reporting awards, which mixes politicians, journalists and celebrities. The televised event requires the president to smile through remarks by a comedian  who typically roasts the president  as well as deliver a humorous address, teasing the press and political opponents.

Though notoriously thin-skinned, Trump has subjected himself to ribbing before, including New York's Al Smith dinner during the 2016 campaign. But the correspondents' dinner would return him to the site of past humiliation: Trump attended in 2011 and was relentlessly mocked by President Barack Obama and comedian Seth Meyers.

He skipped it in 2016, which came amid the presidential campaign and was the last of the dinners at which Obama was the honored guest.
ONE of the big unanswered questions relating to the relationship between the publicly listed, majority State-owned, First Citizens (FCB) and the publicly listed Jamaican investment company, Barita Investments Ltd (BIL) is whether the T&T bank participated in the current BIL Additional Public Offering (APO) of new shares.
Take what Anand Ramlogan (former Attorney General) says with a ton of salt.

So said Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi, as he responded to claims of a strong relationship between himself and former Police Service Commission (PolSC) member Roger Kawalsingh, and that Kawalsingh was driving a Porsche Cayenne which was still registered in his (Al Rawis) name.
Emma R,

The renovations at the Ambar Green are very minor - in fact, they are only renovating the one a la carte (EL Olivo) and their main buffet, which are located furthest from the room buildings.

Here is the map link, with the legend at the bottom which shows the location of the buffet and EL Olivo in relation to the room buildings for you. Click on the map itself to expand it for easier viewing:

The EL Olivo is the mauve #4 and the buffet is the mauve #3.

Here is more information that may assist you further from some of my other updates that I have recently posted.

The Luxury Bahia Ambar Blue will be undergoing major renovations starting June 1, 2018 and continuing until October 31, 2018. It will be closed during this construction period. Any clients booked into it at this time, during the closure period, will be relocated to Ambar Green. All tour operators have been informed of the closure period and why it is occurring.

When Ambar Blue renovations are complete and it re-opens on November 1, 2018, the Luxury Bahia Ambar Green resort will be renamed as the Grand Bahia Aquamarine.

As Ambar Blue was officially opened on Dec 15, 2007, the following aspects will undergo renovations:

- rooms re-modeled and refurbished

- interior and exterior of the room villas will be renovated

- all of the themed a la cartes will be updated

- a new snack bar

- expansion of pool side deck and new furniture

- lobby to be renovated with new furniture

- a new coffee shop

- no expansion of the existing number of rooms will take place

- it will remain an adult only resort.

With respect to the Luxury Bahia Ambar Green resort  it will become one of the Grand branded series of the Bahia resorts versus the Luxury branded Bahia resorts on November 1, 2018, as stated above.

It will remain an adult only resort.

Guests staying at the new Grand Bahia Aquamarine resort, will not have access to any of the current Luxury branded resorts such as the Luxury Bahia Ambar Blue, Luxury Bahia Esmeralda or the Luxury Bahia Fantasia resort, which includes their a la cartes, lobbies or pools etc.

Guests of the Grand Bahia Aquamarine will have the same benefits/features offered to guests of the other Grand resorts, such as the Grand Bahia Bavaro, Grand Bahia Punta Cana and the Grand Bahia Turquesa resorts  ie: 3 a la cartes for a 7 night stay  there will be no butler service, room service, pillow menu, top shelf drinks, wait service at the beach or pool, and no private beach area. The beach area utilized by the other Grand series of Bahia resorts, will now encompass the guests from the Grand Bahia Aquamarine. Guests of the other Grand series of Bahia resorts will be able to use the facilities of the Bahia Aquamarine resort, as long as they do not have children under 18 years of age in attendance (exception - each resort must still use the main buffet of the resort that they are booked into.)

Plus:

The Bahia resorts in Punta Cana have recently been advised by their construction team from their head office in Spain that renovations will be underway at the Luxury Bahia Ambar Green resort from April 8 to May 31, 2018. All tour operators have also been advised.

The construction will necessitate the closure of the Ambar Green main lobby buffet and the EL Olivo gourmet a la cartes during this period. The construction of a new entertainment area has currently started in the green belt area located in between the Ambar Green and the Ambar Blue resorts. These areas will be cordoned off to minimize the noise and impact of these renovations which will be underway from 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday

During this time frame the following alternatives will be made available to guests of the Luxury Bahia Ambar Green only:

The main buffet for breakfast , lunch and dinner will now be located at the Mashua Nikkei a la carte which is located on the north side of the Welcome Lobby at Ambar Green. Breakfast and lunch will also be offered in both the EL Rodizio and Portofino restaurants located at the Luxury Bahia Ambar Blue resorts. There will also be an option for lunch at the poolside Ambar Blue snack bar called the Las Brisas.

For the dinner service, access to the buffets at each of the resorts in the Bahia complex except the Luxury Bahia Ambar Blue and the Luxury Bahia Fantasia will also be available to Ambar Green guests.

As a compensatory measure, for dinner, a space has been designated for Ambar Green guests, in the specialty a la cartes at the Luxury Bahia Fantasia  namely at the Le Gourmet - Gourmet, the IL Paradisso  Italian and the Garden Circus  Steakhouse.

Hope this does assist you.

John

Brooklin (Bubba King)
May is not school holidays so mostly you will be fine. Obviously book Melbourne for your arrival, and if your GOR days are on a weekend, pre-book those as well.

Eight days to drive to Mackay is good - do include an overnight on Maggie (Forts Walk is a must do) .

You are out of cyclone season in May, so unlikely to have weather bad enough to cancel flights out of Mackay.

A suggestion for your final week is to fly to Longreach for three or four nights do some tours there, then fly to Sydney (stay in the CBD for ease of access to everything including a lot of natural beauty). Longreach will show you some Aussie Outback and pioneer history.

Or, a road trip out to Goondiwindi and south to Coonabarabran, Warrumbungles, Parkes, Dubbo, Orange, Blue Mountains and in to Sydney that way.. Definitely have your Sydney accom booked.

Cheers.
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I wouldn't do it. They have to be at JFK 3 hours before an international flight, so leave Manhattan by 12:30 at the latest.

Landing at 9:30 (if the flight is on time), I wouldn't expect to leave LGA before 10:15.

You posted in the general forum for all of NY State; repost in the NY City forum to attract more readers.
Re: Do you feel safe driving around and staying in a villa?

2. Re: Do you feel safe driving around and staying in a villa?

According to our government, Jamaica is listed as "exercise a high degree of caution due to the high level of violent crime and the state of emergency in St James parish" (https://travel.gc.ca/destinations/jamaica );

both CR and DR are "exercise a high degree of caution", too, "due to crime" in CR (https://travel.gc.ca/destinations/costa-rica ) and "due to high crime rate" in DR (https://travel.gc.ca/destinations/dominican-republic ).

I think how ppl "feel" and the reality/statistics are not always the same. It is the same as going by the trip report of someone who got robbed and by the trip report of someone who says, Oh, we went there, we felt safe, all was fine. Does it prove anything? Not at all.

It seems to me that the first poster gave you a good advice to search info re isolation of the accommodation and the existing security measures in place. Is there a guard, a caretaker, a manager living right there, etc.?

If you click on the Safety and security tab here - - you will find some info.

If you go under the Top Qns about CR on the right side of this forum, you will find the 2nd topic - Safety precautions to avoid crime.

You might find this article Reducing Risk of Crime useful - .
Hello!, me and my boyfriend(20&29 yo) will be traveling to Costa Rica in late July and early August for 20 days. We love beaches and just chilling there, and we also like all kinds of activities! like raffting, canyoning, ziplining, parasailing, hiking, etc, Anything that gets our adrenaline kicking!

We have come up with a possible itinerary but we will like to hear your opinions as well!

Day 1-2: Spend the night in San Jose

Day 2-5: 3 nights in Manuel Antonio(were we would like to parasail, go to the beaches and the NP)

Day 5-10: 5 nights in La Fortuna ( this is were we ideally would be doing most of the adventure activities and visiting waterfalls and hot springs)

Day 10-13: 3 nights in Tamarindo( we are planning on relaxing here and having fun!. I'm also interested in Diamante park because of their zipline, do you think it's worth it to spend a day there? and it is possible to get there on public transportation?

Day 13-15: 2 nights in Monteverde( to do maybe one fun activity and see the cloud forest(?)

Day 15-19: 4 nights in Puerto Viejo( to enjoy the beaches that are in that area punta uva, cahuita NP)

Day 19-20: Last night in San Jose

My questions are: Do you think this itinerary is doable? we will be depending mostly on public transportation and maybe some shared shuttles.

Will you change something? add a place or omit some?

Our budget is pretty restricted, around 100-150 usd per day for the both of us.( not counting the flights)We don't mind not traveling in luxury and eating cheap food.

Thank you! all your comments will be greatly appreciated!! as well as suggestions!
Re: Easiest and less expensive way to navigate in Costa Rica

5. Re: Easiest and less expensive way to navigate in Costa Rica

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Our son is moving to Hanoi in August to take up a teaching position. We have mostly travelled in Europe before, even though usually independently. Excitingly, we have decided to visit him for three weeks, from the end of March. So ... he has the first week of April off, then a long weekend a week or so later. Just myself and my husband. A rough outline ...

1. Fly from London ... unsure Singapore or straight to Hanoi ... HMC ?

2. HMC ? Then Four days at a nice beach somewhere -Bali ? Somewhere else ? not too busy!

3. Hanoi for a week seeing our son and exploring whilst he is at work (this bit is fixed)

4. A long weekend ... ? ha Long cruise when our son is off work.

5. Back to Hanoi ... then unsure ...

. back to Uk by 20th April.

I am sure we could fit more In but a) I have fibromyalgia so this is already a bit of a stretch for me health wise ! Sadly no trekking, long distance busses etc for us ! B) I want to see as much of my boy as I an ! We have a limited budget but dont mind splashing a little for a nice place at the beach.

I would also like to visit Hoi An . I know this is rambling but I am open to suggestions, including dropping HMC.

How hot / humid is it likely to be that time of year ?

Thank you

Edited: 3 years ago
You don't need the 14 day JR Pass just because you go to Hakone or Kawaguchiko: actually it does not pay off. Please get the 7 day JR Pass and also Suica or Pasmo card for local transportations.

You don't need the JR Pass when you go to Kawaguchiko from Tokyo, if you take the highway bus from Expressway Bus Terminal (BUTA) in front of the South Exit of JR Shinjuku Station to Kawaguchiko, which takes only @2 hours and 1,750 yen. You don't also need the JR Pass when you go to Hakone, if you use Odakyu Railway from Odakyu Shinjuku Station: actually, you should use Hakone Free Pass instead.
You may drive one-way though drop-off fee will be charged due to long distance. ASk for quotations from car rentals and compare with train fares.

If I were you, I'd rather enjoy other Hokkaido spots rather than spending time on long driving or train ride just to reach Wakkanai.
Royalton Park Ave recently took over from what used to be Gansevoort Park Ave. They have notified the NY Department of Labor that they plan to lay off 42 employees in a couple of months (June, 2018). I don't know what this means... whether they just plan to rebuild with their own people, whether the hotel was just overstaffed and they will run leaner, whether they are remodeling, or what. The notice does not say it is closing. It sites layoff for economic reasons.

I'm mentioning that Janie because I think you should book a backup plan for next summer. This hotel might be great next summer. Heck, they might be doing a remodel. But don't have it be your only booking. Have a cancelable backup plan

Princess Sparkles, rooftop pools in NYC do tend to be a younger party scene. I don't know whether you will find a hotel where that is not the case. The hotels make money running the rooftop pools as bars vs just having them be a quiet guest amenity.
"Novotel 52nd St." -- The full address is important. It's West (italics) 52nd St. Try to get used to using full addresses in NYC. (If you get into a cab or stop someone for directions, they will not know where you're going if you say that because East and West 52nd Street are both so long.)

Shuttle buses are not recommended on the forum, generally, because they are subject to the vicissitudes of traffic. Depending upon where you fall in line to be dropped off, you could be in the bus/van for hours. Certain companies have terrible records (check with the Better Business Bureau).

"Double tolls" -- that's for taxis leaving Manhattan going to Newark Airport. There's a fixed fee schedule from Newark Airport into Manhattan.

The trains are not expensive. Airtrain (fare included in price) + NJ Transit train from Newark Airport stop to NY-Penn Station = $13 per adult one way. (Reduced fares for seniors and children) Sometimes the trains are held up, but this is pretty rare. There is nothing irregular about the Airtrain. NJ Transit is almost always on time, as well.

Edited: 3 years ago
Hi everyone! I have been doing research on here and Im finding the advice from the forums very helpful. We are coming to New York for four days in April with our three and six-year-old boys. We booked a hotel near but not directly in Times Square. I have some specific questions about a few of our options for places to visit.

(1) Is the Bronx zoo a must see place? We are coming from Boston, and we have a membership to the local zoos here We have Giraffes, gorillas, zebra, lions, and lots of other animals My kids love the zoo, but we wonder if it would be repetitive. We are also considering the Central Park zoo, as it is much closer to where we are staying and might not be a full day commitment.

(2) Also wondering about your thoughts on the Manhattan childrens museum. It gets mixed reviews on here. Also wondering if the museum of natural history would be appropriate for the ages of our boys. We love the Harvard Museum of Natural History in the Boston area.

(3) Is the Staten Island Ferry really easy and free? Perhaps our kids would enjoy that. Is a trip to the Statue of Liberty a full day commitment? What are the other advantages of doing a Staten Island ferry trip?

(4) We were considering going to a mass at St. Patricks Cathedral. How crowded are they? Is it something you guys would recommend? We were considering Saturday evening mass as an option. Other ideas for what to do with three and six-year-old on Saturday night are welcome. In addition, other religious sites in New York would be welcome suggestions. Anything other than the Museum of Jewish heritage which I like a lot but have been to more times than I can count.

(5) Empire State building Yay or nay?

(6) Wax Museum... do you think it would hold any interest for three and six-year-old? Its very close to where we are staying.

(7) Would MOMA or the Guggenheim hold any interest for young kids?

(8) We have an ASTC membership That means we get in free to the Brooklyn childrens museum, the intrepid museum, The New York hall of science in Queens, the math museum, and the Staten Island childrens museum. Are any of them particularly excellent or worth the trek to where they are?

(9) Restaurant recommendations close to the Westin at times square or close to some of the attractions we will be visiting would be appreciated, Especially places that are particularly fun or family friendly. I am interested in visiting Xian hand pulled noodles again We loved that the last time we were in New York City. We are not particularly picky eaters, but I love ethnic food and my husband likes American food So really anything.

(10) Thank you in advance for all of your suggestions! They will be here very helpful to my planning.
- Retired reverend Timothy Njoya lauded Miguna Miguna for welcoming him in Canada

- Miguna was among the group of Kenyans who received Njoya for his treatment after the Saba Saba stalemate

- The controversial lawyer was re-deported to Dubai days after his arrival from Canada

- He was first deported after he swore-in Raila Odinga as the People's president and declaring himself general of NRM

Controversial Lawyer Miguna Miguna became a household name after he brushed shoulders with the government following the swearing-in of Raila Odinga as the People's president on Tuesday, January 30.

What many Kenyans did not know about the fiery lawyer is, he has a different persona that denotes him as caring and compassionate.

Send 'NEWS' to 40227 to receive all the important breaking news as it happens

He was among the Vanguard Kenyan group led by Onyango Oloo and Adongo Ogony who welcomed retired reverend Timothy Njoya in Canada for his treatment after the Saba Saba impasse.

READ ALSO: What's a press statement? Let's be serious for once - Miguna to Raila

Retired Presbyterian Church of East Africa Minister was expected to address the Kenyan community in Toronto, Ontario on August 28, 1997. Photo: Timothy Njoya/ Facebook

READ ALSO: Miguna takes a swipe at Jeff Koinange, Willis Raburu for mocking him with #MigunaChallange

In a statement shared by the retired Presbyterian Church of East Africa Minister on his twitter handle, he was also expected to address the Kenyan community in Toronto, Ontario on August 28, 1997.

"Topping the agenda will be the struggle for democratic reforms and the role of the National Convention Executive Council of which Njoya is a member," read the statement in part.

READ ALSO: We will remove you from office - Miguna Miguna tells Uhuru

What many Kenyans did not know about the fiery lawyer is, he has a different persona that denotes him as caring and compassionate. Photo: Migna Miguna/ Twitter

READ ALSO: Miguna touched by Kisumu man who wanted to die for him

Just like Miguna, Njoya was popularly known for being one of the church leaders who publicly spoke and protested against the autocracy and brutality of the then President Daniel arap Moi in the 1980s and 90s.

In his sermons, he called for the re-introduction of multiparty democracy and strongly defended the freedom of expression which left him arrested on several occasions.

READ ALSO: Ruto lectures Kirinyaga county politicians after youths interrupted his speech

READ ALSO: Kenya police arrest colleague videoed brutally beating up an unidentified Kenyan

Miguna on his part refused to acknowledge President Uhuru Kenyatta as the legitimate president of Kenya despite his inauguration on November 28, 2017.

He went on to declare himself the general of National Resistance Movement (NRM) whose main agenda was to push for electoral reforms.

The move saw him dramatically arrested and deported to Canada after spending days in police custody despite intervention by courts.

Do you have a hot story or scandal you would like us to publish, please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690 and Telegram: Tuko

Fred Matiang'i, Joseph Boinnet and Gordon Kihalagwa slapped with Ksh.200,000 fine

Source: Tuko
The energy cooperation between Ukraine and the European Union is at its height, and the EU fully supports the Ukrainian government's stance on the gas market and the electricity market reforms and ensuring the transparent and independent activity of regulators.

Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman discussed this with Dominique Ristori, the Director General of the Directorate-General for Energy at the European Commission, the Government Portal reports.

"The energy security is of great importance. We must ensure transparency and efficiency of the energy sector. Our views coincide on this issue. We need to go further, carry out reforms. We also should share a common view of the direction and the paths of change," Groysman said.

As Ristori noted, the dialogue between the EU and Ukraine in this direction is intensive. "We are ready to strengthen our support, including by attracting the resources of various international bodies," the representative of the European Commission said.

He noted that the EU was discussing a number of energy directives, primarily in the context of enforcement of the judgments of the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce, the use of alternative gas supply routes to Ukraine and the preservation of gas transit via Ukraine.

"This transit is important for us because of the supply of the resource, and it is also important for you because of the revenues from transit. As for Stockholm, we expect Russia to enforce the judgment. We also expect the existing gas agreements to be complied with and implemented," the Director General of the Directorate-General for Energy at the European Commission said.

Ukraine will remain a reliable partner, the Head of the Government assured.

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President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko called on the French lawmakers to take an active stance with the aim of preventing any contacts with the occupation authorities in Crimea.

The President said this during a meeting with the delegation of French parliamentarians headed by Chair of the France-Ukraine Friendship Group at the National Assembly of France Valeria Faure-Muntian, the presidential press service reports.

"The President urged parliamentarians to take an active stance in preventing any contacts with the occupation authorities in Crimea," the statement reads.

Poroshenko also highlighted the importance of the joint resolute counteraction to the construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.

As noted, the parties discussed the issues of intensification of economic cooperation and the implementation of reforms in Ukraine. The issues of Ukrainian-French cooperation in the EU and NATO were also discussed.

In addition, according to the press service, the parties highly appreciated the intensification of the dialogue between Ukraine and France at the inter-parliamentary level, in particular contacts via the bilateral parliamentary "friendship groups".

The Head of State also praised the visit to Donbas by the delegation of the National Assembly of France and thanked for the continued support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.

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President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko during his visit to Berlin will agree with German Chancellor Angela Merkel upon the details of possible deployment of the UN peacekeeping mission in Donbas.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin said this on the air of Inter TV channel.

"I expect a clear coordination of tactics on how we should deploy the peacekeepers. I expect very clear steps," he said.

Klimkin recalled that he had met with French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian in Paris in February.

"The next step is coordination with the Americans. We have a shared vision, now we should elaborate common tactics," the minister explained.

As reported, President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko will make a visit to Germany on April 10 at the invitation of Federal Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel.

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Klimkin said the attention should focus on security issues, the release of political prisoners and hostages, as well as on a peacekeeping mission.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin has said the meeting of the Normandy Four at the level of foreign ministers of Ukraine, France, Germany and Russia depends on the inclusion in the agenda of issues on establishing security in Donbas, the release of hostages and the deployment of a United Nations peacekeeping mission.

Speaking about upcoming meetings within the Normandy format, the Ukrainian diplomat said he would talk about this with his German counterpart Heiko Maas in the coming days.

Read alsoNormandy Four summit may take place without Russia  Russia's media

"At first, we will have a meeting of three ministers [Ukraine, Germany, France] or we will talk over the phone. We will look then what we have to hold a meeting with Russia," Klimkin told Ukrainian Inter TV channel.

He added the attention should focus on security issues, the release of political prisoners and hostages, as well as on a peacekeeping mission.

"If we include these three issues in the agenda of the Normandy meeting, we will have it at the level of four foreign ministers. We hope we will reach such a meeting in the near future," Klimkin said.
Bolton understands that it is possible to talk with Russia only from a position of coordinated force.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin has said U.S. new national security adviser John Bolton knows how to talk with Russia.

Read alsoU.S. lawmakers propose new Russia sanctions over UK spy attack  media

"I spoke with him many times. Firstly, he is a fantastic, professional and experienced person. Secondly, what is even more important, he is a very determined person, Thirdly, he understands that our struggle is fundamentally important for the democratic world. And fourthly, he understands that it is possible to talk with Russia only from a position of coordinated force," Klimkin told Ukrainian Inter TV channel.

As UNIAN reported earlier, U.S. President Donald Trump shook up his foreign policy team on March 22, replacing H.R. McMaster as national security adviser with John Bolton, a hawk who has advocated using military force against North Korea and Iran.
The crew must come for questioning to the SBU Security Service department on April 10 in connection with the captain's case.

The crew of the Crimean-registered Nord fishing vessel seized by the Ukrainian Border Guard Service in the Sea of Azov on March 25 is at large.

"The crew, except for the captain, is at large. Now they are all in Mariupol, but they must come for questioning to the SBU Security Service department on April 10 in connection with the captain's case," said Anna Sheveleva, the representative of the ship owner, RIA Novosti reports.

Read alsoRussia sets up team to "protect" fishermen from "Ukrainian piracy"

On the eve, the Mariupol court imposed administrative fines on the crew under Part 2 Article 332-1 (violation of entry/exit rules into/from temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, reads the report.

As UNIAN reported earlier, the Russian-flagged and Crimea-registered fishing vessel Nord operated by a crew of 10 was seized by the Ukrainian Border Guard Service in the Sea of Azov on March 25 on charges of infringements on the Ukrainian border crossing rules in relation to the occupied territory. The vessel and crew were brought to the Ukrainian port of Berdyansk.

The Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine announced that the captain of the Nord, who turned to be a citizen of Ukraine, was indicted under Part 2 of Article 332-1 (violation of entry/exit rules into/from temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

Moscow demanded the immediate release of the "illegally" detained crew and the return of the vessel to its legitimate owner, accusing Ukraine of "piracy."

Moscow also threatened to use Russia's Black Sea fleet and navy aviation to ensure secure navigation for Russian vessels in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.
The comprehensive, sustainable and unlimited ceasefire was agreed from March 30, 2018.

Russia's hybrid military forces attacked Ukrainian army positions in Donbas 42 times in the past 24 hours, with two Ukrainian soldiers reported as wounded in action (WIA).

Read alsoOSCE monitors report 255 explosions in Donbas within 24 hours

"In the Donetsk sector, the enemy used proscribed 122mm artillery systems and cannons of infantry fighting vehicles against our positions in the village of Shyrokyne, as well as 82mm mortars near the village of Pisky. The defenders of the villages of Vodiane and Lebedynske, and the towns of Maryinka and Avdiyivka came under fire from grenade launchers and small arms. The aggressor also used heavy machine guns and small arms against our fortified positions near the villages of Talakivka and Hnutove, while the defenders of the town of Krasnohorivka, Butivka coal mine and the villages of Pisky and Kamianka were attacked with the use of small arms. Moreover, a sniper was active near Shyrokyne," the press center of the headquarters of Ukraine's military operations reported on Facebook on Saturday morning.

In the Luhansk sector, the Russian occupation forces fired 120mm and 82mm mortars, grenade launchers and heavy machine guns at the Ukrainian fortified positions near the villages of Luhanske, Valuiske, Troyitske and Novoluhanske.

As UNIAN reported earlier, the Trilateral Contact Group for the settlement of the situation in Donbas on March 26 agreed on a comprehensive, sustainable and unlimited ceasefire from March 30, 2018.
The militants repeatedly used weapons banned by the Minsk agreements.

The Russian occupation forces continue to ignore the agreements of the Trilateral Contact Group on a comprehensive truce set to last throughout the Easter holidays.

Read alsoUkrainian defense minister: Russia masses over 77,000 troops on border with Ukraine

"Since the beginning of the 'Easter truce' established since midnight on March 30, the militants carried out over 230 attacks on the Ukrainian positions while repeatedly using weapons banned by the Minsk agreements," the press center of the headquarters of Ukraine's military operations reported on Facebook on Saturday.

As UNIAN reported earlier, Russia's hybrid military forces attacked Ukrainian army positions in Donbas 42 times in the past 24 hours, with two Ukrainian soldiers reported as wounded in action (WIA).

The Trilateral Contact Group for the settlement of the situation in Donbas on March 26 agreed on a comprehensive, sustainable and unlimited ceasefire from March 30, 2018.
A sniper was active near the villages of Shyrokyne, Slavne and Pavlopil.

Russia's hybrid military forces mounted 17 attacks on Ukrainian army positions in Donbas on Saturday, April 7, with one Ukrainian soldier reported as wounded in action (WIA).

Read alsoRussian proxies attack Ukraine over 230 times since "Easter truce"

"In the Donetsk sector, the militants fired grenade launchers at the Ukrainian fortified positions near the town of Avdiyivka and the village of Vodiane, as well as heavy machine guns in the village of Hnutove," the press center of the headquarters of Ukraine's military operations said in an evening update as of 18:00 on April 7, 2018.

In addition, the occupiers used an anti-tank missile system near the village of Talakivka. A sniper was active near the villages of Shyrokyne, Slavne and Pavlopil. Furthermore, the defenders of Avdiyivka, Vodiane, Slavne and Pavlopil came under fire from small arms.

In the Luhansk sector, the Russian occupation forces opened fire from hand-held anti-tank grenade launchers and heavy machine guns at the Ukrainian fortified positions near the village of Luhanske.
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said U.S. officials would continue to work toward a meeting with Putin at some point.

Preparations for a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin will not be affected by sweeping U.S. sanctions imposed on Friday on Russian government officials and businessmen, the White House said.

Read alsoWhite House confirms Trump's future meeting with Putin

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said U.S. officials would continue to work toward a meeting with Putin at some point, as reported by Reuters.

"As the president has said, he wants to have a good relationship with Russia but that's going to depend on some of the actions by the Russians," she said at a news briefing.

As UNIAN reported earlier, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), in consultation with the Department of State, on April 6 designated seven Russian oligarchs and 12 companies they own or control, 17 senior Russian government officials, and a state-owned Russian weapons trading company and its subsidiary, a Russian bank.
Sergei Skripal is said to be "improving rapidly", just days after daughter Yulia released her first statement since the attack.

The recovery of poisoned spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia has raised hopes the pair could provide new clues to officers investigating the nerve agent attack in Salisbury.

It was revealed on Friday that the former Russian double agent is no longer in a critical condition and is "responding well to treatment" at Salisbury District Hospital, more than a month after he and Ms Skripal were found unconscious on a park bench in the Wiltshire city, Sky News wrote.

Both had been left fighting for their lives after being exposed to novichok, a substance designed to do "irreparable" damage to the body.

Hospital medical director Dr Christine Blanshard has dismissed talk of when they could be discharged as "speculation", but with Ms Skripal now well enough to have issued her first statement since the attack, and her father said to be "improving rapidly", they could soon be well enough to assist the investigation into how they were poisoned.

Police believe they first came into contact with the novichok agent at Mr Skripal's home, with the highest concentration found on his front door.

The remains of the 66-year-old's two guinea pigs and cat, which died in the aftermath of the attack, were incinerated after being examined at Porton Down.

Moscow, which continues to deny accusations that it was behind the attack, had asked the UK government to provide information about the fate of the animals and suggested their incineration represented the disposal of an "inconvenient piece of evidence".

"It remains unclear if their remains were ever tested for toxic substances, which would constitute useful evidence, and if not, why such a decision was made," said the Russian embassy in London.

Russia is also unhappy that the Home Office has refused to grant a visa to Ms Skripal's cousin, Viktoria Skripal, who earlier this week told Russian TV that Yulia and her father could soon be allowed home.

She later told Sky News she thought Britain "had something to hide", and suggested her family members had merely suffered from food poisoning.

Read alsoSergei Skripal niece in Russia "worried and scared" amid information war

But a Home Office spokesman has said the pair are "likely to have ongoing medical needs".

They said: "We are very pleased that both Mr Skripal and his daughter Yulia are improving.

"This is a tribute to the hardworking and talented NHS staff in Salisbury who have provided outstanding care.

"The NHS will continue to provide ongoing care for the Skripals, both of whom are likely to have ongoing medical needs.

"Let us be clear, this was attempted murder using an illegal chemical weapon that we know Russia possesses."

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has also paid tribute to the work of staff at the hospital, and described the improvement in the Skripals' condition as "great news".
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Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) will hold final exams of its Associate Degree Commerce/education, B.Ed (1.5, 2.5 and 4 years), BA, BBA and BS (CS) programmes for the Semester Autumn, 2017 from April 23, it was announced here on Sunday.

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 7th Apr, 2018 ) :Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) will hold final exams of its Associate Degree Commerce/education, B.Ed (1.5, 2.5 and 4 years), BA, BBA and BS (CS) programmes for the Semester Autumn, 2017 from April 23, it was announced here on Sunday.

Roll Number slips are being dispatched to all enrolled students at their postal address, a news release said on Saturday. Date-sheet has been placed at the University's website www.aiou.edu.pk as well.

About 850 exam centers have been set up across the country to facilitate the students to appear in the exam, at close to their residence or work place. According to the Controller Exams, the students who have not received their Roll Nos.

slips so far have been advised to contact their respective Regional Office or Examinations Department in Islamabad for issuance of duplicate slip.

On the directives of the Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Shahid Siddiqui, the AIOU has brought about qualitative improvement in its overall examination system, with the introduction of smart-use of new technology.

Special teams have been constituted to supervise and monitor the examination process. There is a `zero-tolerance policy against any kind of unfair practice. Strict vigilance system has been enforced.

The Students were being fully facilitated at the exams centers, The academic standard of the supervising staff has also been upgraded to ensure the transparency and quality. The AIOUs exam is a big task for the staff of the University as they have to handle more than two million answers copies.
The University of Sargodha (UOS) and University of the Gambia, Gambia (UTG) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), to develop mutually beneficial cooperation

SARGODHA: Apr 7 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 7th Apr, 2018 ) ::The University of Sargodha (UOS) and University of the Gambia, Gambia (UTG) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), to develop mutually beneficial cooperation.

According to a press released on Saturday, the MoU was signed by Dr Ishtiaq Ahmad, Vice Chancellor, UOS and Dr Faqir Muhammad Anjum, Vice Chancellor, UTG, Gambia hare at University of Sargodha. The MoU aimed at exchange of scientific information, academic materials, publications, undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate students and short and long-term faculty.

By signing this MoU, both parties agreed upon cooperation on international seminars, workshops and conferences, research collaboration in areas of mutual interest. On the occasion Vice Chancellor UoS Dr Ishtiaq Ahmad, said that the university was striving to promote culture of quality education and research and innovation by initiating joint ventures and cooperation with international higher education institutions so that it could be recognized internationally.
Primary and Secondary Healthcare Minister, Khawaja Imran Nazeer has directed all concerns to contribute for the cause and make all out efforts to achieve the target which will commence in the district from April 9.

RAWALPINDI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 7th Apr, 2018 ) :Primary and Secondary Healthcare Minister, Khawaja Imran Nazeer has directed all concerns to contribute for the cause and make all out efforts to achieve the target which will commence in the district from April 9.

Minister said that as per recommendations of the National Emergency Operations Centre, Vitamin-A capsules will also be given to the children to boost immunity system, according to a statement issued here on Saturday.

Khawaja Imran said that Punjab government with the support of Sehat Muhafiz polio teams will ensure that province's 19 million under five children are fully vaccinated during the campaign. Secretary Primary and Secondary Healthcare Ali Jan Khan dismissed apprehensions about efficacy of vaccine saying that the OPV is one of the safest vaccines ever developed.

It is so safe it can be given to sick children and new-born. It has been used all over the world to protect children against polio, statement added.

The provincial emergency operations center has constituted over 44 thousand teams who will go door to door to vaccinate all under-five children in the five-day campaign.

They include teams deployed at major bus stands, inter-provincial borders, airports, railway stations and hospitals, he said. While giving details District Superintendent Vaccination Rawalpindi Ch.

Muhammad Hussain informed that CEO, District Health Authority, Rawalpindi Dr. Suhail Ahmed is supervising the over all anti-polio campaign and total 847447 children up to five years will be administered polio drops along with Vitamin A in Rawalpindi district.

He further told that 221 Union Council Medical Officers (UC MOs) will supervise anti polio campaign in their respective union councils while 496 Area In-charge would monitor the smooth working of 2333 mobile Polio teams in Rawalpindi. He said that 287 fixed centers had also been established in Rawalpindi besides 119 transit camps.
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Leader Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) Senator Pervaiz Rasheed has said Pakistan will continue its diplomatic, moral and political support to innocent Kashmiris at global level.

ISLAMABAD, Apr 7 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 7th Apr, 2018 ) :Leader Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) Senator Pervaiz Rasheed has said Pakistan will continue its diplomatic, moral and political support to innocent Kashmiris at global level.

Talking to Radio Programme he said ,"It is fundamental right of the people of Kashmir to choose their destiny according to their own will but their right of self-determination is brutally suppressed by Indian troops.

We acknowledge the sacrifices of innocent people of Kashmir and we are committed to raise the issue of Kashmir at every international platform, he added. Senator further said International community must take action against India for human rights violations and committing war crimes in occupied Kashmir.

Leader said the innocent people of Kashmir are tortured and killed for raising their voice against Indian hostility and aggressions. Pakistan is committed to stand shoulder by shoulder with their Kashmiri brethren in the time of trouble.

"We can observe that now different groups within India are raising their voices for the rights of the people of Kashmir and the people of Kashmir acknowledge the efforts of Pakistan for the rights and freedom of people of Kashmir", he said.
Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said the democracy would flourish and country would progress if the people elect a sincere leadership in next July election

Islamabad(UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 7th Apr, 2018 ) :Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said the democracy would flourish and country would progress if the people elect a sincere leadership in next July election.

He said the PML-N government executed record development works across the country and questioned as why the previous political and dictator's governments failed to carry out development projects despite having same resources.

He said currently around 1500-kilometer long roads were being constructed in Balochistan besides thousands kilometers long others which had been completed. He said both Khuzdar-Shahdadkot and Kaharan-Yakmach road projects would cost Rs 25 billion and facilitate the people travelling from Iran, thus increasing the economic activity.

Khuzdar-Shahdadkot road provides link between Balochistan and Sindh, passing through Wango hills. The cargo transport moving from Gwadar to Sindh would be able to use this road that would be completed at cost of around Rs 15 billion.

The 200-kilometer Kaharan-Yakmach section connects three important districts of Chaghi, Washuk and Kharan. This is the closest link with Iranian border via N-25 and the project would reduce the distance by 250 kilometers.

The project would accelerate the economic activity in the mineral-rich districts as it would ease the transportation of the minerals from Chaghi to Karachi, particularly from Reko Diq. After its completion, the highway could be used by 3,000 vehicles daily with a set speed of 90 kilometers per hour.

The prime minister said both the projects would prove landmark for province's development as road infrastructure was inevitable for development.

He said the minerals of the resource-rich Balochistan would not benefit the locals if they were not explored.

The exploration required peace, infrastructure and public share, he added. He said Balochistan would become the richest province of the country but it required a government duly representing the public.

The prime minister said consequent to political unity and bravery shown by the security forces, peace had been restored from Karachi to Peshawar and Quetta to Lahore and people were leading peaceful life.

The prime minister agreed to the demand of Minister Abdul Qadir Baloch for construction of Nok Kundi-Mashkehl and Kharan-Basima roads on priority. He said as committed by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, LPG-air mix plants were being established in every district of the province.

He also announced an additional Rs 300 million for a solarization project besides committing the construction of a stadium and launch of BISP and health card schemes in the area after completion of poverty survey.

He told the gathering that in July election, they would have to chose either the politics of truth and service or that of falsity and abuses. Referring to the Senate election, the prime minister said a party leader had alleged another party leader of buying his 14 Senators but they were found to be supporting each other in the election of Senate chairman.

He hoped that as the politics of negativity had failed to attract public applause, the PML-N would obtain even more seats than the past in next general election.
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Islamabad Capital Territory Administration has decided to remove the illegal constructions in and around Nullah Korang. It was decided in a meeting held under the chairmanship of Chief Commissioner Islamabad, Aftab Akbar Durrani.

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 6th Apr, 2018 ) :Islamabad Capital Territory Administration has decided to remove the illegal constructions in and around Nullah Korang. It was decided in a meeting held under the chairmanship of Chief Commissioner Islamabad, Aftab Akbar Durrani.

The meeting decided to issue one week notices to the illegal constructors in Nullah Korang to demolish illegal structures failing which legal action will be taken against the violators under the law and ICTA, Police, CDA and Pakistan Environmental Agency jointly take action in the matter.

The participants considered certain legal options to ensure keeping Nullah Korang free from pollution and taking stern action against those who erected illegal constructions along side Nullah Korang.

Chief Commissioner Islamabad told the participants that a task force has been constituted to deal with the issue of encroachments and illegal constructions at Nullah Korang. The meeting was attended by the officials from CDA, Pakistan Environmental Agency and police.

Chief Commissioner Islamabad said that CDA, ICTA, Police and Pakistan Environmental Agency will work together to take action against those who are responsible for polluting the bed of water course.

Pakistan Environmental Agency will prepare their report on pollution and forward it to ICTA, CDA for keeping the area clean. The local population has been asked to construct septic tanks for cleanliness.
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Following a proposal of the Thar Foundation, a non-profit organization of Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company (SECMC), Sindh Government is considering to earmark royalty of Tharparkar's coal exclusively for development of the backward desert region.

HYDERABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 7th Apr, 2018 ) :Following a proposal of the Thar Foundation, a non-profit organization of Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company (SECMC), Sindh Government is considering to earmark royalty of Tharparkar's coal exclusively for development of the backward desert region.

"Since coal production from Thar Coal Block II will commence later this year, the government is considering a proposal to earmark Thar Coal royalty for the region of Thar through Thar Foundation," revealed Shamsuddin Shaikh, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of SECMC and Thar Foundation in a statement issued here on Saturday.

"We can demonstrate effective functioning of all the non-functional Reverse Osmosis (RO) drinking water plants of taluka Islamkot after handover to the Thar Foundation," said Shaikh. He said bio-saline agriculture could be used to stop migration from Thar and turn the region into an unprecedented land of economic opportunities.

Sharing about the progress of the mining and power plant projects, Shaikh was of the view that the company had successfully saved $150 million of the project cost and completion time of 4 months ahead of the schedule.

He said that they would be able to commercially extract coal from October 20, and that the first electron from the 330MWs would be produced on December 31. The CEO said the second phase of the coal excavation would start by mid of this year.

He apprised that without governmental or international funding the Thar Foundation was already carrying out development works in Tharparkar and for the community with a portfolio of Rs.4.5 billion.

He added that through the funds the initiatives like 10 schools for 5000 children, a 250-bed hospital and 2 medical clinics, drinking water schemes, women empowerment programs, disaster management projects and livelihood opportunities had been taken.
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Fatima Jinnah Women University (FJWU), Urdu Department organized a lecture of Amjad Islam Amjad's lecture on Urdu language.

RAWALPINDI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 6th Apr, 2018 ) :Fatima Jinnah Women University (FJWU), urdu Department organized a lecture of Amjad islam Amjad's lecture on Urdu language. Addressing the participants of the lecture organized here in connection with 'Jashan-e-Baharan' the chief guest, renowned scholar, poet, drama writer and analyst Amjad Islam Amjad talked about Urdu language, poetry and Urdu literature.

He said. "Urdu is our language and we should be proud on it. We have to learn and speak our own language. Urdu is our own tradition and we have to transfer the language to our new generation as well." "We should stop treating technology as our enemy, "he said adding, Urdu needs to be inculcated into the youth and technology plays a very important role in it.

" He also replied to the question of the students about promotion of Urdu language saying, "We should play a role to promote our language which is our identity." The Vice Chancellor (VC) FJWU, Samina Amin Qadir addressing the participants said, "We should own Urdu and think into our own language" because language is our heritage." She further said, it would be a great honor for the students and faculty of the university to benefit from Amjad Islam Amjad's thoughts and beautiful poetry.

At the end of the program, the VC presented a souvenir to Amjad Islam Amjad.
Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication has established National Incubation Centers (NIC) across the country to provide a nurturing environment to technology based business ideas to prosper and become viable contributors to our community and economy.

ISLAMABAD, Apr 7 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 7th Apr, 2018 ) :Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication has established National Incubation Centers (NIC) across the country to provide a nurturing environment to technology based business ideas to prosper and become viable contributors to our community and economy.

Pakistan's first largest National Incubation Center (NIC) at Islamabad is up and running, under the public-private partnership providing a comprehensive eco- system for start-ups, incubators and accelerators.

While NIC Lahore has been established at LUMS ,MOS IT Mrs Anusha Rahman has inaugurated in Dec 2017. After the successful launch of NIC Peshawar, NIC Karachi is LMKT's second venture into the national incubation space.

The Karachi incubation center is projected to start operations in the second quarter of 2018. Ignite - The Technology Fund has awarded the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) a project worth PKR 560 million to set-up the National Incubation Center (NIC) in Quetta.

NIC Quetta is the last of the 5 regional NICs that the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecom is funding through Ignite for the promotion of entrepreneurship in the country. In order to promote entrepreneurship in Pakistan Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication has established National Information Technology Park at Chak Shehzad Islamaba and Work on IT Parks in Lahore and Karachi would also be started soon.

Islamabad IT park key features include space for 5000 IT professionals, Data Center, incubation center, Business Centers, and support infrastructure. 14 Software Technology Parks are providing nearly 1 million square feet of space to IT companies with state of the art redundant facilities in numerous cities and more are in the pipeline in various phases.

While talking To APP Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication Anusha Rehman said, in the first there years of the tenure ministry of IT has been determinately working on IT infrastructure and still working on it as only strong infrastructure could take the IT sector to the next level.

CEO Ignite Yusaf Hussain said, National Incubation Centers (NIC) aim to present an opportunity for startups that seek to solve meaningful problems with the help of academia and for corporate. While talking to APP, he said, Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication has established National Incubation Centers (NIC) across the country to transform and thrive in this age of global competition and pervasive change by partnering with the investing in startups.

Yusuf Hussain said that There are 140 project which are going to be execute but in last one year we have funded 30 projects. He said, establishment of the National Incubation Centers would assist in channeling the entrepreneurial drive amongst young graduates of the nation.

He said, Innovation is the need of the hour, and by empowering our youth with the necessary digital skills and entrepreneurial acumen we can enable them to tackle society's most challenging problems.

While responding to a question he said, We are working with universities, Industry and startups because with collective effort we can deliver effective and efficiently. He thanked the present Government for taking important steps for It industry, 3G/4G has given the boost to IT industry.
The colourful book-oriented activities of the mega National Book Festival at Pakistan-China Friendship Center entered its second day of festivities and continues to allure huge number of families and children.

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 7th Apr, 2018 ) :The colourful book-oriented activities of the mega National Book Festival at Pak-China Friendship Center entered its second day of festivities and continues to allure huge number of families and children.

The festival, being arranged by National Book Foundation (NBF), was inaugurated by President Mamnoon Hussain on Friday in presence of Advisor to PM on National History and literary Heritage (NH&LH), Irfan Siddiqui, Managing Director, NBF, Dr.

Inam-ul-Haq Javed and a large number of writers from across the country and Turkey, China and Iran. A large number of families, especially children thronged the venue on Saturday, despite warm weather, and took part in the different colourful programmes which were especially arranged for them.

The visitors took round of the around 132 book stalls, set up by 110 private publishers and NBF and purchased variety of books on discounted rates. The book launching ceremonies, book reading sessions, Book Ambassador Conferences, book launching ceremonies, colourful programmes for children and discussion programmes with renowned writers, were the hallmark of the festival.

A large number of families were seen in the auditorium where special activities for children were arranged especially art workshops, Face Painting, toys and children book stalls, Gogi show, kids Republic and many other attractions.

Fatima, a young girl said, "Gogi show was the activity which I enjoyed the most. The activities for children are really well organized and interesting." Talking to APP, she said, "Such activities are like a source of comfort for the students which refresh them during their tough study routine".

Managing Director, NBF, Dr. Inam-ul-Haq Javed said, "the four-day festival has received over-whelming response from the students, children and families." "Though it is the annual feature, but this year's visitors' enthusiasm is worth seeing", he added.

He said, the objective behind arranging National Book Festival was to promote book reading culture among people especially youth which is the mandate of the Foundation. He said NBF will continue its efforts toward creating a tolerant and knowledgeable society and promoting soft image of the country through arranging such activities.
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All sections of National History Museum,Greater Iqbal Park Phase-II would be inaugurated on April 14, 2018. Official sources told APP that boating lake of Greater Iqbal Park would also be inaugurated on the same day

LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 7th Apr, 2018 ) :All sections of National History Museum,Greater Iqbal Park Phase-II would be inaugurated on April 14, 2018. Official sources told APP that boating lake of Greater Iqbal Park would also be inaugurated on the same day.

He said that Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif would inagurate the project. National History Museum was a mega project of Greater Iqbal Park phase II, which would digitally present all aspects of Pakistan's history as per international standards, the sources informed.

Various segments of the museum would highlight the scenarios of Pakistan Movement and its creation, he said.

He said that digital wall would reflect and present the salient features of Pakistan freedom movement and glory of Pakistan.

Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA) DG Mian Shakeel Ahmad said the park would be proved a milestone for the culture, history and heritage of the country. Mian Shakeel said that first time in the history of Pakistan such project had been initiated and was being completed to give salute to Pakistan heroes of different decades.

He said besides its own security measures, the park's security had also been associated with safe city project.
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Oxfam in Pakistan in collaboration with Bargad held a ceremony to mark the end of their nation-wide campaign to engage youth for sustainable development goals (SDGs) across Pakistan.

ISLAMABAD, Apr 7 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 7th Apr, 2018 ) :Oxfam in Pakistan in collaboration with Bargad held a ceremony to mark the end of their nation-wide campaign to engage youth for sustainable development goals (SDGs) across Pakistan.

Through the campaign over 2000 students from eleven universities in Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi and Quetta were encouraged to work towards climate change, gender equality, inclusive and sustainable growth and peace, justice and institutional development aligned with Pakistan's Vision 2025.

The closing ceremony was held at the Marriott Hotel, Islamabad. Oxfam in Pakistan's Country Director Mohammed Qazilbash appreciated the efforts of the youth of Pakistan and said, "Youth are a catalyst for development and especially in Pakistan where youth constitute more than 60% of country's population.

It is important to invest in youth and champion them in social, economic, science & technology and entrepreneurial roles that will enhance Pakistan's economic and social development. They should be given priority and encouraged to contribute and provide solutions for global problems.

Pakistan is the only country to include SGDs in its national agenda and internal and external partnerships are necessary to realize these goals." The objective of the youth campaign was to involve youth from higher education institutions in Pakistan with the SDGs through orientation and awareness.

The SDG framework provides an avenue where 17 goals and 169 targets call for involving Pakistani youth with the SDGs. The seminars focused on SDG 5 (Gender Equality), SDG 6 (Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all), SDG 8 (Sustained, inclusive and sustainable growth), SDG 11 (Safe, resilient and sustainable human settlements) and SDG16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions).

Pakistan has around 56 million youth and youth spaces are shrinking day by day. There is a dearth for appropriate platforms where youth can express themselves and realize their potential in economic, social and political and civic spheres.

The framework of SDGs provides an avenue that can involve youth in the development process. The speakers called for creating awareness and knowledge about how critical the SDG goals were to improving the lives of people and how to make the process sustainable and inclusive.

They encouraged Pakistani youth to be an active part of achieving the SDGs. Sabiha Shaheen, Executive Director Bargad stated, "We are investing a lot in youth and synchronizing youth through these pilot initiatives while evaluating their progress for further development.

We will use the power of youth to address issues like poverty, gender discrimination, climate change, livelihoods, massive urbanization and conflicts." Oxfam intends to bring about long term change in communities by engaging and mobilizing the youth of Pakistan.

We believe youth have the right to voice their needs, to hold their governments to account, and to be listened to as members of society and rights-holders; as active citizens. They can play a vital role in reducing poverty and transforming their societies. Oxfam aims to enable young people to fulfil this potential and to shape their own futures.
Pakistan and Tajikistan have agreed to establish a working group on tourism in order to strengthen the tourism relations between Pakistan and Tajikistan

ISLAMABAD, Apr 7 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 7th Apr, 2018 ) :Pakistan and Tajikistan have agreed to establish a working group on tourism in order to strengthen the tourism relations between Pakistan and Tajikistan.

A six-member high-level delegation led by Head of the Department on Analysis and Foreign Policy Perspectives (Vision) of the Center for Strategic Research Tajikistan Hakim Abdulohi Rahnamo in a meeting with Managing Director, Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) Chaudhry Abdul Ghafoor Khan decided that the Names of the members will be nominated by Pakistan and Tajikstan.

PTDC and Tajikistan's National Tourism Institutes also agreed to sign an agreement on cooperation in tourism sector, which will help boosting tourism of both countries. Earlier Managing Director, PTDC Chaudhry Abdul Ghafoor welcomed the delegation on arrival at PTDC.

Chaudhry Abdul Ghafoor said Pakistan and Tajikistan have long-term and Muslim-brotherly relations established since long. The visit of delegation will further strengthen the ties between the two countries.

Tajik airline's request for operation of flights from Dushanbe to Islamabad is under consideration and for the purpose; Prime Minister's Advisor on Aviation has already been requested for the support.

He added that visa on Arrival Facility will be introduced for group tourists for more countries and investment opportunities/projects for joint venture in Tourism & Hospitality sector of Pakistan will be shared among potential investors of Tajikistan.

To foster the process, cooperation among national tourism agencies, as well as private sector companies and provincial tourism organizations be encouraged. He recommended that fully sponsored scholarship opportunities should be offered to youth in undergraduate/graduate degree in tourism.

Pakistan is completely safe and secure tourism destination for tourists from all over the world. We have opened our doors for the tourists from around the world to come and enjoy our hospitality, see and believe that we have the most of nature blessed treasures spread all over Pakistan.

MD further added that Development of Road Link and operation of direct flights by National Airlines between Pakistan and Central Asian Republics is also essential for increasing tourist flow. Ambassador of Tajikistan Jononov Sherali, said that the in order to strengthen the tourism relations between Pakistan and Tajikistan, a establishment of a working group on tourism is already under consideration.

Once names of the members are nominated by Pakistan, the working group will start functioning. Head of Tajik delegation Hakim Abdulohi Rahnamo said that entering in to agreement on tourism cooperation will definitely increase tourist flow between the two brotherly countries.

Since its independence in 1991, Tajikistan has developed its tourist industry within a span of only 5 years. The hospitality of Pakistani people is unforgettable. Tajikistan government will offer sponsored training programs in the tourism sector for youth.

The road link and flights will ensure increased flow to both the countries. Other members of delegation include Head of the Department on Social Sciences Problem Studies Of the Center for Strategic Research Kurbonov Abdurahmon Sherovich, Representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan Abdurahmonov Marufjon, Deputy Director of the Institute of Economics and Demography of the academy of Sciences Mirsaidov Abror and Akbarov Akramhoja, Media Executive from National Information Agency of Tajikistan.
Minister for Climate Change Senator Mushahid Ullah Khan on Saturday said progress in the country was not possible till democracy as well as Constitution were respected and democratic rights of the people were accepted.

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 7th Apr, 2018 ) :Minister for Climate Change Senator Mushahid Ullah Khan on Saturday said progress in the country was not possible till democracy as well as Constitution were respected and democratic rights of the people were accepted.

He stated this while addressing the launching ceremony of a book 'Jo Sorat Nazar Aai' authored by Farooq Adil. Advisor to the Prime Minister on National History and Literary Heritage (NH&LH),Irfan Siddiqui and other prominent literary figures were also present on the occasion.

The minister said Pakistan came into being after great sacrifices of our forefathers and it should be strengthened as per vision of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah. He stressed to give respect to vote and opinion of the people.

"There is a complete philosophy behind the slogan to give respect to vote and it is the outcome of struggle for the last 70 years," he said. The minister said every institution should respect others as defined in the Constitution and there was no need to enter into domain of others.

He appreciated the book `Jo Soorat Nazar Aai' of Farooq Adil having short details about behavior and styles of prominent personalities.

Mushahid Ullah Khan said book reading habits were diminishing in this era of social and electronic media.

He said it was not a great achievement to read or write book but the real success was to have real understanding of writings (Sahib-e-Kitab). There was a need to establish strong relationship with books, the minister said.

He said those opposing creation of Pakistan at the time of its existence were now pretending to be more loyal to it. He said Pakistan came into being following a great movement under the dynamic leadership of Qauid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah and sacrifices for this country should be respected.

Advisor to the Prime Minister on National History and Literary Heritage (NH&LH),Irfan Siddiqui said that he was very much acquainted with writings of Farooq Adil and such writings should be followed in the field of journalism and literature. He termed the book launching session as one of the finest sessions held in the book festival.
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The Supreme Court on Saturday sought a report from the Punjab Healthcare Commission regarding steps taken to curb the menace of quackery.

LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 7th Apr, 2018 ) :The Supreme Court on Saturday sought a report from the Punjab Healthcare Commission regarding steps taken to curb the menace of quackery. The court sought a report from the Punjab Health Department about measures taken for new hospitals and improving working of existing hospitals across the province during the past five years.

The court further ordered Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) to decide the applications of two new medical colleges for recognition in the light of its previous orders on the subject. The bench comprising Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar and Justice Ijazul Ahsan passed the orders while hearing a suo motu notice regarding exorbitant fee structure of private medical colleges here at the Supreme Court Lahore Registry.

During the proceedings, the chief justice expressed his dismay over prevalent quackery in the society, besides questioning the performance of Punjab Health Care Commission to curb the menace. The chief Justice also questioned various companies formed in the health department and hiring of officials on big salaries in them.

However, Khawaja Salman Rafique, Provincial Minister for Specialised Healthcare and Medical education, apprised that the government established various new hospitals in the province, besides enhancing facilities in the existing hospitals.

A counsel on behalf of Al-Aleem Medical College apprised the court that the PMDC had conducted the inspection of the college for recognition purpose and final decision would be made by the Council on April 12.

He also informed that University of Health Sciences had also sent a list of 100 candidates for admissions. A PMDC representative submitted that the Council received two more applications from two medical colleges, including Wateen Medical College, Rawalpindi and Muhammad Medical College Kharpur for recognition.

Meanwhile, to a query, a Railways senior officer apprised the bench that the department had suffered a loss of Rs 60 billion. He, however, excused from justifying the losses saying that he dealt with operations wing. At this, the bench summoned the Railways minister and secretary along with audited reports to explain the losses. The matter was adjourned till next week.
The tax awareness day will be observed on April 10 (Tuesday) to educate people about the importance of tax in increasing revenue.

FAISALABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 7th Apr, 2018 ) :The tax awareness day will be observed on April 10 (Tuesday) to educate people about the importance of tax in increasing revenue. The district administration has chalked out various programmes to mark the day.

A meeting to overview the arrangements of tax awareness day was held in DC Office on the direction of Deputy Commissioner Salman Ghani. Chairing the meeting, ADC(G) Khalid Masud Farooka informed that tax day would be observed with fully commitment and the main seminar would be held at New Senate Hall of University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF).

He asked the education department to arrange declamation contest in connection with tax day. He also said to the relevant departments to get awareness of general public and paste the banners & steamers on the public places.

The meeting was attended by Excise Officers Sobia Malik, M. Sameer, Enforcement Officers of Punjab Revenue authority Waseem Sultan, Memoona Irshad, AD Education Sardar Sajid MOF Municipal Corporation Raja Irshad, DOF District Council Zaheerud Din and others.
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Azerbaijan is all set to hold presidential election in a free, fair and transparent manner on April 11 (Wednesday) with registration of eight candidates contesting for the slot including incumbent President Ilham Aliyev. Ilham Aliyev, Chairman of the New Azerbaijan Party is ruling the country since 2003 and if wins again, he will become the president for next seven years.

BAKU (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 7th Apr, 2018 ) , :Azerbaijan is all set to hold presidential election in a free, fair and transparent manner on April 11 (Wednesday) with registration of eight candidates contesting for the slot including incumbent President Ilham Aliyev.

Ilham Aliyev, Chairman of the New Azerbaijan Party is ruling the country since 2003 and if wins again, he will become the president for next seven years. The Election Commission of Azerbaijan has established around 5641 polling stations that will operate in the presidential elections.

Of the total, 5,426 are permanent and 215 are temporary polling stations, set-up countrywide. The authorities concerned have also established 41 polling stations outside Azerbaijan for the presidential election and as many as 13,820 voters are expected to cast their vote in these polling stations.

In order to ensure transparency in election, installation of web cams has also been made in many polling stations. It has been reported that monitoring of election process via web cameras was started about 10 years ago in Azerbaijan.

Whereas for the first time, 500 cameras were installed for the elections, afterwards the number of these devices was increased to 1000. The target is to create an opportunity to watch the election process live in 20 percent of the polling stations.

Cameras are installed with possibility to watch what is going on inside the station until the polling stations are closed. Meanwhile, it has been further reported that Azerbaijan's Central Election Commission (CEC) has accredited 871 international observers including journalists to monitor the presidential election in the country.

They are citizens of 59 countries and represent 58 international organizations. Around 56,864 local observers have been accredited so far, and 1,962 of them were accredited by the CEC and will monitor the election throughout the country and 54,902 observers have the right to observe the elect within the limits of the relevant constituency.

Moreover, 5,099 members who have consultative voting rights were appointed to the lower election commissions by political parties. During visit to different polling stations on Saturday, it has been found that elaborate arrangements have been made to ensure transparency in voting process.

Talking to APP, the representatives of Election Commission, Lala Alieva, Sevinj Mahammadova and Kadija said the the polling would start at 8.00 a.m and will end at 7.00 p.m. More than 5,000 thousands votes from the polling stations locality have been registered and they expressed the hope of more than 80 per cent turn out.

They further said police personnel would be deployed outside these polling stations to ensure security. The election commission representatives also mentioned about a special chemical and laser light gadget to curb any chance of fraudulant activity.

The other candidates contesing the presidential election are Razi Nurullayev political analyst, former deputy chairman of Azerbaijani Popular Front Party. Sardar Jalaloglu - politician, chairman of Azerbaijan Democratic Party.

Previously ran for president in 2013. Zahid Oruc - member of the Parliament of Azerbaijan since 2001. Former deputy chairman of Motherland Party. Ran for president in 2013 and placed 5th. Hafiz Hajiyev chairman of the Modern Equality Party, previously participated in the 2003, 2008 and 2013 elections.

Gudrat Hasanguliyev member of the Parliament of Azerbaijan, chairman of the Whole Azerbaijan Popular Front Party. Previously participated in the 2003, 2008 and 2013 elections. Araz Alizada member of the Parliament of Azerbaijan, chairman of the Social Democratic Party of Azerbaijan.

Previously participated in the 2013 presidential elections and finished seventh. Faraj Guliyev member of the Parliament of Azerbaijan, chairman of the National Revival Movement Party. Previously participated in the 2013 presidential elections and finished eighth.
Morocco's king Mohammed VI on Friday congratulated Abiy Ahmed Ali on the occasion of his inauguration as prime minister of Ethiopia.

RABAT, Apr 7 (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 7th Apr, 2018 ) :Morocco's king Mohammed VI on Friday congratulated Abiy Ahmed Ali on the occasion of his inauguration as prime minister of Ethiopia.

In a message of congratulations, the Moroccan king extended to Ahmed Ali his heartfelt congratulations and sincere wishes of full success in conducting his mission to achieve the aspirations of the Ethiopian people for further progress and prosperity.

The king also voiced his satisfaction with the continued development of cooperation relations between the two countries. He reaffirmed his strong determination to work together with the prime minister of Ethiopia to foster bilateral ties to serve the shared interests of the two peoples and contribute to reinforcing the process of development in Africa.

Ethiopia's parliament has confirmed Abiy Ahmed, 41, as the country's prime minister.
A rebel ambush in Yemen killed dozens of Sudanese soldiers belonging to a Saudi-led coalition fighting on the side of the government, military sources said Saturday.

Aden, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 8th Apr, 2018 ) :A rebel ambush in Yemen killed dozens of Sudanese soldiers belonging to a Saudi-led coalition fighting on the side of the government, military sources said Saturday.

The Huthi rebels confirmed they had targeted a Sudanese military convoy in northern Yemen before dawn on Friday and also reported dozens of deaths among Sudanese soldiers.
The United Arab Emirates said on Saturday that it will give Lebanon's armed forces $200 million (162.5 million euros) in aid to help "stabilise" the country.

Abu Dhabi, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 7th Apr, 2018 ) :The United Arab Emirates said on Saturday that it will give Lebanon's armed forces $200 million (162.5 million euros) in aid to help "stabilise" the country.

The foreign ministry said that $100 million would go to the army and $100 million to other state security services in Lebanon, which borders war-torn Syria. The oil-rich Gulf country said its support was a "continuation of efforts made for the stability and prosperity of (Lebanon's) people." The "resilience and strength" of Lebanon's military and security institutions was a priority given the region's "delicate circumstances", the statement said.

At a mid-March meeting in Rome, the international community pledged to help strengthen the Lebanese army.

France, in particular, said it would release a credit line of 400 million Euros ($492 million).

On Friday, the international community announced it would provide more than $11 billion to modernise Lebanon's economy and strengthen its stability, threatened by regional crises, particularly the war in neighbouring Syria.

The loans and donations, announced at a conference in Paris aimed at supporting the Lebanese economy, are intended to help finance investment projects over the next five years. Fears of an economic crisis have hovered over the small middle Eastern country since the crisis in Syria began more than seven years ago, pushing more than one million refugees to flee across the border into Lebanon.


Last night (Dec. 16, 2017), The Big Bang Theory star, Kaley Cuoco, visited Las Vegas hottest production, Magic Mike Live at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino (Photo courtesy of Magic Mike Live Las Vegas).

Reveling in the steamy choreography, Cuoco and her close friends attended the show twice during an exciting ladies weekend in Las Vegas. Following the high-energy performance, the celebrated actress met with the talented Magic Mike Live cast during an exclusive meet-and-greet where she expressed her admiration for the exhilarating routines.


Affinity Gaming presents the annual Wine to Remember on Saturday, May 19 from 6-9 p.m. at Silver Sevens Hotel and Casinos Oasis Pool to benefit the Alzheimers Association Desert Southwest Chapter and their mission to provide local Alzheimers programs and services (Pictured: Check presentation at last years event  Photo credit: Madison Freedle).

Themed Hot Night in Havana, attendees are encouraged to embrace the spirit of Cuban culture and wear colorful attire for a sizzling reception with rum cocktails, hors doeuvres, silent auction packages and live music.

The mission of the Alzheimers Association is one that is near and dear to me and many of the Affinity Gaming team members, said Affinity Gaming CEO Michael Silberling. As the sixth leading cause of death in the U.S., we are committed to helping support those suffering and their families in any way we can.

We are incredibly grateful for the support of Affinity Gaming and for our continued partnership, said Kelli Kristo Alzheimers Association Southern Nevada regional director. One of the main goals of the Alzheimers Association is to bring awareness to the disease and other dementias that are affecting millions of people and their families.
The U.S. states of Arizona and Texas announced Friday that they will send 400 National Guard members to the U.S.-Mexico border within the next week after President Donald Trump called for more troops on the border.

The Texas National Guard said it was already sending Guardsmen to the border, with plans to place 250 troops there in the next three days.

Within 72 hours, the Texas Military Department will have 250 personnel, along with ground surveillance vehicles, as well as light and medium aviation platforms, Brigadier General Tracy Norris, deputy adjutant general of the Texas Military Department, said.

As early as tomorrow, notifications will go out to soldiers who will be called up as part of the follow-on phase, Norris added.

After Norris made the comments at a news conference in Austin Friday, two helicopters lifted off with troops on board to head to the border.

The Texas National Guard has operated along the Texas-Mexico border for decades in support of both state and federal agencies, he said.

Arizona deploys next week

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey said Friday that about 150 Guard members would deploy next week. The Arizona National Guard said in a statement that it would provide air, reconnaissance, operational and logistics support, and construct border infrastructure.

Trump told reporters on Wednesday that he wanted to mobilize 2,000 to 4,000 National Guard members to support the border patrol on the U.S.-Mexico border. He said in his proclamation that the troops were needed to combat the lawlessness that continues at our southern border.

On Friday, U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis approved the presidents request for up to 4,000 National Guard members to be sent to the border.

Trump has issued a series of angry tweets in the past week about a caravan of Central American migrants passing through southern Mexico and moving toward the United States. He said repeatedly in his tweets that America has weak immigration laws and urged Congress to strengthen them.

Caravan dispersing

On Thursday, he credited the Mexican legal system for dispersing the caravan of migrants and praised his administration for a dramatic drop in the number of immigrants crossing the Southwest border.

In the United States, the active duty military is generally restricted from domestic law enforcement functions, which would include apprehending border-crossers. However, U.S. presidents have deployed the National Guard to the border to act in support roles.

This story was written by VOA News.
Algeria's governing party is urging President Abdelaziz Bouteflika to seek a fifth term even though the 81-year-old has been debilitated by a stroke for years.

The head of the FLN party, Djamel Ould Abbas, formally asked Bouteflika to run in the May 2019 election in a speech Saturday to party lawmakers. Ould Abbas added that "the last word remains with him, of course.''

Bouteflika is barely seen in public, and it's not clear whether he is still really in charge of Africa's largest country.

Ould Abbas praised Bouteflika's record as a leader since winning the presidency in 1999 and bringing a cautious peace to a North African country riven by years of insurgency.

No other presidential candidates have emerged because they are waiting to see whether Bouteflika will run.
Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva defied an order to turn himself in to police Friday, instead hunkering down with supporters at a metallurgical union that was the spiritual birthplace of his rise to power.

The once wildly popular leader, who rose from poverty to lead Latin Americas largest nation, had until 5 p.m. local time to present himself to police in the city of Curitiba to begin serving a sentence of 12 years and one month for a corruption conviction.

Hours after the deadline, however, da Silva remained inside the union building in the Sao Paulo suburb of Sao Bernardo do Campo, about 260 miles (417 kilometers) northeast of Curitiba. Party leaders initially said he would speak in the late afternoon, but later said he would not.

Turning himself in

Two sources close to da Silva told The Associated Press the former leader would not go to Curitiba, but instead was considering either waiting for police at the union or presenting himself in Sao Paulo on Saturday. They spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to share internal deliberations being discussed.

Forcing da Silva out of the union building on a Friday night would be a logistical nightmare given the thousands of supporters outside and heavy Friday traffic in Sao Paulo.

The intention is not to force compliance at any cost, but rather follow the order the best way possible, with tranquility and without a media show, Luis Antonio Boudens, president of the federal police, said in a statement.

Sen. Roberto Requiao told reporters that da Silva planned to attend a commemoration Saturday morning for his late wife, to be held at the union.

Corruption conviction

Anna Julia Menezes Rodrigues, a specialist in criminal law at Braga Nascimento e Zilio, said da Silvas defiance did not turn him into a fugitive. It just meant that it was now up to federal police to carry out the warrant, she said.

Federal judge Sergio Moro, seen by many in Brazil as a crusader against endemic graft, on Thursday gave da Silva 24 hours to present himself to authorities.

The arrest warrant came hours after Brazils top court, the Supreme Federal Tribunal, voted 6-5 to deny a request by the former president to stay out of prison while he appealed a conviction that he contends was simply a way to keep him off the ballot in Octobers election. He is the front-running presidential candidate despite his conviction.

Last year, Moro convicted da Silva of trading favors with a construction company in exchange for the promise of a beachfront apartment. That conviction was upheld by an appeals court in January. The former president denies any wrongdoing in that case or in several other corruption cases that have yet to be tried.

Returning to his base

Friday night, thousands listened to music and speeches outside the metallurgical union in Sao Bernardo do Campo where the ex-president universally known as Lula got his start as a union organizer.

However it happens, the jailing of da Silva will mark a colossal fall from grace for a man who rose to power against steep odds in one of the worlds most unequal countries.

Born in the hardscrabble northeast, da Silva rose through the ranks of the union in the countrys industrial south. In 1980, during the military dictatorship, da Silva was arrested in Sao Bernardo do Campo for organizing strikes. He would spend more than a month in jail.

After running for president several times, in 2002 da Silva finally won. He governed from 2003 to 2010, leaving office an international celebrity and with approval ratings in the high 80s.

Since leaving office, things have steadily gotten worse for the leader, who has been charged in several corruption cases. He has always maintained his innocence while continuing to campaign across the country the past year. Despite his legal troubles, he leads preference polls to return to office, if by some chance he is allowed to run.

Workers Party leaders insist that da Silva, 72, would still be the partys candidate in October. Technically, beginning to serve his sentence would not keep da Silva off the ballot. In August, the countrys top electoral court makes final decisions about candidacies. It was expected to deny da Silvas candidacy under Brazils clean slate law.

Da Silva is the latest of many high-profile people to be ensnared in possibly the largest corruption scandal in Latin American history. Over the last four years, Brazilians have experienced near weekly police operations and arrests of the elite, from top politicians to businessmen like former Odebrecht CEO Marcelo Odebrecht.

Investigators uncovered a major scheme in which construction companies essentially formed a cartel that doled out inflated contracts from state oil company Petrobras, paying billions in kickbacks to politicians and businessmen.

While Moro, who oversees many cases in the so-Called Operation Car Wash, is hailed as a hero by many, others see him as a partisan hit man out to get da Silva and the Workers Party.

This story was written by the Associated Press.
As Pakistan, Afghanistan and U.S. officials meet to discuss peace efforts, regional experts are cautioning such a plan would remain elusive until Pakistan and India agree to ease their proxy war that continues to play out in neighboring Afghanistan.

Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi traveled to Kabul on Friday at the invitation of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to discuss mutual measures against terrorist attacks.

Ahead of the meeting, Alice Wells, U.S. principal deputy assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asia, was in Islamabad to discuss strained bilateral relations, as well as efforts for peace and stability in Afghanistan and the region.

Long-standing animosity

Analysts, however, are skeptical whether the fresh diplomatic push by the United States will be sufficient to realign the security calculus in South Asia, given the long-standing animosity between Pakistan and India.

There are two security dilemmas in the region and unfortunately they intersect in Afghanistan today, Ashley Tellis, senior fellow at Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said.

One is the dilemma between Pakistan and Afghanistan that is independent of India. And of course there is a second security dilemma, which is between India and Pakistan and the struggle for influence outside in the broader region, Tellis said. And Afghanistan has become the arena where that struggle for influence is being manifested most clearly.

Journalist and author Steve Coll, whose latest book Directorate S: The CIA and Americas Secret Wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan, offers a detailed behind-the-scene look at the protracted Afghan conflict claims. He claims there have been proxy war developments between India and Pakistan in recent years.

Both sides are trying to use the same proxy violence strategies against one another, Coll claimed. It only reinforces the belief among Pakistani high command they need purchase on their border region as a kind of forward defense against what they perceive to be long-term Indian intentions.

Coll said he believes Pakistan is willing to accept a certain amount of instability and violence in Afghanistan if they think doing so would prevent it from consolidating as Indias ally.

Hostage to a covert war

Moeed Yusuf, associate vice president of the Asia Center at the U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington, said Afghanistan has become hostage to covert war games between New Delhi and Islamabad.

Yusuf said an understanding needs to be struck between the two South Asian archrivals to roll back the proxy violence in Afghanistan to help stabilize the war-torn country.

If they cant agree on working together, then one country can invest in one area and the other work on another. But at least the animosity between the two should not play out in Afghanistan, Yusuf said.

Carnegie Endowments Tellis said, Pakistan would have to change its strategy considerably. That is, if it continues to treat Afghanistan essentially as a battleground for harming India, then it puts itself in opposition to both the government of Afghanistan and the government of India.

Given this strategy, experts agree the U.S. will have to isolate efforts to stabilize Afghan for a durable peace plan. They were divided, however, on Washingtons direction, given the strategy for Pakistan and Afghanistan announced by U.S. President Donald Trump last August.

Even if recognition is there, I dont see the appetite in Washington to do something about it, Yusuf, of the U.S. Institute of Peace, said. So if the United States is suffering because of this issue, then the U.S. has to take initiative to at least mediate between the two countries to the extent of Afghanistan rather than getting embroiled in bigger issues like Kashmir.

Tellis, however, argued the opposite point of view, saying the general view in Washingtons policy circles is that the India-Pakistan issue is very difficult to solve. It will certainly not be solved anytime soon. And therefore we cannot make Afghanistan hostage to India-Pakistan rivalry.

This story was written by Aman Azhar,
Former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont called again on the Spanish government to begin negotiations over Catalonia's secession declaration.



The former separatist leader renewed the call Saturday at a news conference in Berlin, one day after being released from a German prison in Neumuenster after two weeks of detention.



"The path for political negotiations based on mutual respect, this is what Europe expects. This is what the Catalan people ask for. This is what the Catalan economy, society and culture need," Puigdemont said.



Puigdemont was arrested in Germany as he travelled from Finland to Belgium, where he had been in self-imposed exile after fleeing Spain in October.



The Spanish government has accused Puigdemont of provoking an uprising by attempting to declare Catalonia an independent state after a referendum last year the government says was illegal. Madrid has also accused Puigdemont of misusing public money.



Puigdemont was released on bail Friday pending a decision by German judges on whether to extradite him from Spain.



The Schwesig state court decided the charge of rebellion did not warrant extradition, but Puigdemont can still be extradited on the less serious charge of misuse of funds to hold Catalonia's banned independence referendum.



This story was written by VOA News.
Two people were killed and numerous others were injured when a vehicle was driven into a crowd Saturday in the northwestern German city of Muenster. A third fatality occurred when the driver shot himself inside the vehicle, police said.

Police spokesman Andreas Bode said investigators are checking witnesses reports that two additional people may have fled the vehicle. He also said police are investigating a suspicious-looking object found inside the vehicle.

Officials say six of those hurt in the incident are in critical condition.

Authorities said the victims were a 51-year-old woman from northern Germany and a 65 year-old man from Broken, near Muenster. Prosecutor Martin Botzenhardt said the driver is probably a 48-year-old man from Munich, however, they have no information on a possible background for the crime.

The area where the vehicle drove into the crowd is popular for its shops and cafes, and its proximity to the citys historic cathedral. The targeted area appears to have been the outside seating area of a popular cafe where a number of patrons were enjoying a warm spring afternoon.

'Muenster mourns'

Muenster Mayor Markus Lewe told reporters that "all of Muenster mourns over this horrible thing," expressing compassion for the families of those killed and wishes for a swift recovery for those injured. He said any motive for the attack was not known.

A spokeswoman for German Chancellor Angela Merkel called reports of the event "terrible news." Merkel released a statement saying she was "deeply shocked by the terrible events in Muenster."

German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said federal officials were communicating with their counterparts in Muenster to figure out what happened.

The incident happened in the old part of the city, near a famous 19th-century statue of a traveling salesman, known as the "Kiepenkerl," which became a Twitter hashtag referencing the event.

Germany has been on high alert for terror attacks since a truck crashed into a Christmas market in Berlin two years ago, killing 12 people.

Saturday was also the one-year anniversary of an attack in Stockholm, Sweden, in which a truck crashed into a crowd of people in front of a department store. Five people died in that attack. The attacker claimed to be a member of the Islamic State terror group.
The U.S. military said Monday it carried out an airstrike that killed the northern commander of the Islamic State group's Afghan affiliate.

U.S. Forces-Afghanistan said the strike Thursday in Faryab province killed Qari Hekmatullah and his bodyguard.

Afghan military officials had confirmed Hekmatullah's death on Saturday, saying it happened in a strike in neighboring Jowzjan Province, an area effectively controlled by IS.

The U.S. military is lending more muscle to the fights to root out Islamic State in northern Afghanistan and to convince Taliban insurgents to the south and west to end their differences by coming to the negotiating table.

Buried nearby

Provincial governor Maulvi Latifullah told VOA that after the airstrike, the two were buried in the middle of the night in a nearby village and a few members of the group attended their funeral.

A spokesperson with U.S. Forces-Afghanistan said operations in the area are heating up.

"We are conducting a series of intensive operations in Jowzjan and across all of northern Afghanistan to defeat IS-K," U.S. Forces-Afghanistan spokeswoman Colonel Lisa Garcia told VOA.

Hekmatullah, formerly a member of the Taliban who helped to found IS in Afghanistan, is just the latest high-ranking IS-Khorasan commander to have been killed as part of counterterror operations in the country.

IS-Khorasan leader Abu Sayed was killed in a U.S. airstrike in July 2017 in Kunar province.

Sayed had taken over from the previous emir, Abdul Hasib, who died in April 2017 following what U.S. officials described as a brutal, three-hour firefight in Afghanistan's Nangarhar province.

At the time, top U.S. military officials expressed confidence the fight against IS in Afghanistan was going "in the right direction." But since then, some Afghan officials have expressed growing concerns.

This past December, Afghan officials told VOA that IS had as many as 3,000 foreign fighters in the country, many of them coming from Pakistan and Uzbekistan.

Surge in jihadists

More recently, Afghan National Security Adviser Mohammad Hanif Atmar said those numbers had been bolstered by a new surge of jihadists, many coming to Afghanistan from places like Iraq and Syria.

"We're talking about hundreds of them coming from the Middle East through Pakistan, and other regional groups," Atmar said.

The intensified campaign against IS, and Hekmatullah's death, came amid growing Russian allegations that the U.S. is not doing enough to prevent IS from establishing a bigger foothold in northern regions that border on Central Asian states.

U.S. officials have countered that Russia's influence has done more to destabilize Afghanistan, accusing Moscow of providing weapons and other support to the Taliban. Russia denies those charges.

In the meantime, the U.S. is expanding efforts to cut off the Taliban's access to funding.

U.S. military officials said Saturday that they had carried out a series of precision airstrikes April 3-5 against 11 Taliban narcotics production facilities in Afghanistan's Farah and Nimroz provinces.

U.S. Forces-Afghanistan said in a statement that the strikes, using fighter-bombers, ground attack planes and drones, were the first counternarcotics strikes outside southern Helmand province.

"The Taliban will have no safe havens," said Major General James Hecker, the commander of the 9th Air and Space Expeditionary Task Force-Afghanistan.

"They have become a criminal organization that profits from selling drugs and using those funds to conduct operations that maim and kill Afghans," Hecker said. "By cutting off the Taliban's economic lifelines, we also reduce their ability to continue these terrorist activities."

The U.S. says it has carried out 75 strikes targeting drug production facilities since November 2017, damaging facilities that had helped generate about $200 million in profits for the Taliban.

Hecker said the expanded strikes should send a message to Taliban leaders.

"The only way they can have a peaceful solution is to sit down and reconcile with the National Unity Government," he said.
Nine Palestinians, including a journalist, died after being shot by Israeli troops during border clashes, the health ministry in the Hamas-run Gaza strip said Saturday.

Yasser Murtaga, a photographer with the Gaza-based Ain Media agency, was hit during clashes Friday, the ministry said, despite wearing a press vest.

The Israeli army declined to comment, saying it was reviewing the incident.

In addition to the nine dead, one of them a 16-year-old boy, at least 491 other people were wounded by Israeli gunfire, the health ministry said.

Live fire from Israelis

Israeli soldiers on Friday fired tear gas, rubber bullets and live ammunition to prevent a breach of the border fence. The protesters burned tires near the fence, causing thick black smoke to rise into the air.

Israels military said the Palestinians protesters threw several explosive devices and firebombs and said some demonstrators attempted to cross the border fence.

Palestinian protesters have set up tent encampments a few hundred meters from the fence that separates Israel from the Gaza Strip. Groups of youths have approached the fence to throw stones or to burn tires, risking live fire from Israeli troops.

Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman described the protests as a provocation and warned that anyone nearing the border fence is putting his life at risk.

Israels military estimated the number of protesters Friday to be around 20,000. That is more than in recent days, but less than the 30,000 who protested on the first day of the demonstrations on March 30. That day, 17 Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces.

Protesting Gaza conditions

The United Nations, European Union and human rights groups charge that firing at unarmed demonstrators is an excessive use of force, but Israel has rejected their demands for an inquiry.

The Islamic militant group Hamas, which rules Gaza, says the protests are aimed at highlighting Israels crippling blockade on the coastal territory as well as the so-called right of return, the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their former homes in Israel.

The demonstrations, set to end May 15, are designed to commemorate what Palestinians refer to as the Nakba, or catastrophe, when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians had to flee their land or were expelled during the war in 1948 that led to the creation of Israel.

The demonstration is expected to end at the same time Washington plans to open an embassy in Jerusalem, a move that has infuriated Palestinians, who have claimed the eastern section of the city as the capital of their future state.

This story was written by VOA News. Robert Berger contributed to this report from Jerusalem.
The first man disappeared Monday night, when gunmen stormed his in-laws home in small-town Kashmir. The second disappeared two nights later when the gunmen came back.

The first was shot to death by anti-India militants, police say. The second was beheaded.

In Indian-controlled Kashmir, where the deaths of civilians regularly spark waves of anti-India protests, there hasnt been a whisper of public anger over the two killings, which happened on the rural fringes of the town of Hajin. That silence is, almost always, a signal that militants were involved.

No rebel group has claimed responsibility for the deaths of the men, both of whom were about 25, but police are sure who was behind them.

The two men were innocent and had nothing to do with anything, said police officer Sheikh Zulfikar Azad. These (killings) have been done to spread fear in the area.

Accused of informing

Kashmiris make no secret of their fury at killings by government forces, which regularly trigger bloody protests and demands for azadi  freedom  from Indian rule. But the reactions are far more complicated, tangled in fear and loyalty, when villagers accused of being informers are targeted. Many militants come from places like Hajin, and most Kashmiris support, at least in general terms, the rebels goals.

No one in Hajin would speak openly about what happened to the men, fearing reprisals from both sides in the decades-old fight. But their neighbors said both had been warned earlier by militants to stop working with government soldiers. The brother-in-law of one of the men was killed by militants last year, accused of being an informer for the Indian military.

Several people have been picked up (by militants) in the last few years and let go after warnings, said one local man, speaking on condition of anonymity, fearing for his safety. He said most are freed after being beaten.

Nearly 70,000 dead

Anti-India sentiment runs deep in Kashmir, which in recent years has seen renewed rebel attacks and repeated public protests against Indian rule. Rebels have been fighting India since 1989, demanding Kashmir be made part of Pakistan or become an independent country. India accuses Pakistan of arming and training the rebels, a charge Pakistan denies.

Nearly 70,000 people have been killed in relentless cycles of revolt and military crackdown.

India and Pakistan each control part of Kashmir, but both claim it in its entirety.

The Hajin killings came amid days of widespread protests and clashes against Indian presence, after the Sunday deaths of 13 rebels and four civilians. On Friday, the protests continued in many Kashmiri towns despite a security lockdown, and most shops and business remained closed.

Attacks at night

Police say that Monday night, three armed men barged into the home of Naseer Ahmeds in-laws in a Hajin neighborhood, shooting indiscriminately and wounding three family members. They were looking for Naseer, a part-time driver who also ran a tea stall, whom they quickly dragged away. His bullet-riddled body was found the next day.

Two days later, police say the same men came back, storming into the home of Abdul Gaffar, who was shot but survived. His son Manzoor Ahmed, a laborer and shepherd who tends flocks of sheep, was taken away. His headless body was found Friday.

Gaffar, recovering from his injuries, said only that unknown gunmen had taken his son.

Hajin has faced more than its share of bloodshed.

In the 1990s, it became a center of pro-India counterinsurgent groups, armed and funded by the Indian army when the anti-India armed uprising was at its peak. According to police records, at least 28 militants have been killed by Indian troops during dozens of raids. Several civilians have also been killed in anti-India protests.

On Friday, though, with two of its men dead, Hajin was quiet.
Muslim-American advocacy organizations are hailing a legal settlement with New York City police over the departments surveillance of the community, saying the agreement sends a message that simply being Muslim is not a crime.

The settlement, announced Thursday by lawyers for New York City, the New York Police Department and the Muslim community, resolves a 2012 lawsuit brought by Muslim groups. The suit challenged the lawfulness of a program New York police created after the attacks of September 11, 2001, to gather intelligence on Muslims.

Under the terms of the settlement, the New York Police Department confirmed that it has dismantled the unit responsible for carrying out the intelligence-gathering operation and agreed not to conduct suspicionless surveillance based on religion or ethnicity.

Victory for American Muslims

Farhana Khera, executive director of Muslim Advocates, a legal advocacy organization that initially filed the lawsuit, hailed the settlement as a victory for American Muslims.

Todays settlement sends a message to all law enforcement: Simply being Muslim is not a basis for surveillance, Khera said during a press call with reporters.

Omar Farah, senior staff attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights, a progressive legal advocacy organization that later joined the lawsuit, agreed that the settlement bears the same message.

Attempting to predict criminality on the basis of race or religion is repugnant and it never works  except to humiliate and criminalize targeted communities, Farah said.

Years of spying, not one lead

Muslim Advocates filed the lawsuit after the Associated Press revealed in a series of investigative reports in 2011 and 2012 how the New York Police Department infiltrated Muslim groups and put informants in mosques in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.

As part of the counterterror program, the police monitored at least 20 mosques, 14 restaurants, 11 retail stores, two grade schools and two Muslim student associations in New Jersey, Khera said.

The monitoring included video surveillance of mosques, photographing of license plates, community mapping, and infiltration of mosques, student associations and businesses, she said.

Khera said the surveillance did not produce a single investigative lead.

This was not lawful policing but just blatant discrimination against innocent Americans, she said.

The settlement came after an appeals court in 2015 struck down a lower courts decision to dismiss the lawsuit, prompting New York City to initiate talks with the plaintiffs.

Farhaj Hassan, a U.S. Army reservist and the lead plaintiff in the case, said the settlement was a victory for the United States.

We believe the legal rulings and settlement in this case will endure as part of a broader effort to hold this country to account for its stated commitment and its obligation to uphold religious liberty and equality, Hassan said.

This story was written by VOA's Masood Farivar.
Pakistan's prime minister, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, has said his official meetings with leaders in Afghanistan in the past week have helped narrow a mutual "trust deficit" and the visit will prove to be a "milestone" in promoting regional peace.



Abbasi undertook a day-long visit to Kabul on Friday where his high-level delegation held extensive talks with President Ashraf Ghani and other senior leaders of his government.



The "mutual trust gap can be bridged through sustained meetings and in our meetings yesterday (Friday), we have been able to narrow the trust deficit to a large extent," Abbasi told reporters Saturday.





"We now have to practically prove that we are sincere to the people and to the peace and prosperity of this region," he added.

The Pakistani prime minister said in his "frank and open" discussions with Afghan leaders, both sides have agreed to jointly work toward ending the war in Afghanistan through peace talks rather than focusing on military means.



Abbasi also emphasized the solution to the war in Afghanistan lies in an intra-Afghan dialogue and "we all should help them" in bringing peace to their country.



"We are hopeful that this visit, God willing, will prove to be a milestone in Pakistan-Afghanistan relations and in promoting regional peace."



After Friday's high-level talks in Kabul, both countries jointly urged the Taliban to respond positively to President Ghani's recent offer of unconditional peace talks without further delay.



Ghani's initiative has received widespread domestic and international backing, but the Taliban has avoided commenting on the offer.



Afghan and U.S. officials have long alleged Taliban leaders are sheltering in Pakistan and covertly receive support from the country's security institutions, charges Islamabad rejects as baseless.



There was also no immediate Taliban reaction available to Friday's joint call for the rebels to join the Afghan peace process.



Pakistani and Afghan officials said the meetings between Abbasi and Ghani were held in "a very cordial and friendly atmosphere."



Both leaders "agreed on achieving the common aim of regional security through connectivity"  meaning road, rail, trade and transit links, as well as importing natural gas and power to Pakistan through Afghanistan from resource-rich Central Asian states.



Prime Minister Abbasi extended an invitation to President Ghani to visit Pakistan "at his earliest convenience."



Officials said that progress on the construction of a multi-billion-dollar pipeline to transport natural gas from Turkmenistan to Pakistan and India through Afghanistan, known as TAPI, also was reviewed.



The two countries have also agreed to further an Islamabad-proposed plan for a comprehensive bilateral dialogue, known as the Afghanistan-Pakistan Action Plan for Peace and Solidarity or APAPPS, for strengthening security, economic, political and counterterrorism cooperation.



Rail and road connectivity projects to boost trade and transit activities between and through the two countries also came under discussion. The Afghan side raised the issue of alleged cross-border violations by Pakistani forces and urged Prime Minister Abbasi to use official channels if his country has concerns with regard to militant activity originating from the Afghan side.



The two nations also agreed to form a joint commission to prepare a timetable and mechanism for the dignified repatriation of nearly 3 million Afghan refugees from Pakistan.

This story was written by VOA's Ayaz Gul in Islamabad.
Afghanistan and Pakistan have jointly urged the Taliban to accept Kabuls unconditional offer of peace talks to help find a political solution to the Afghan conflict.



The challenge was issued after crucial daylong discussions between President Ashraf Ghani and visiting Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, with cabinet ministers and national security advisers of the two countries in attendance.



Both leaders called on the Taliban to respond positively to the peace offer and join the peace process without further delay. They agreed that there was no military solution to the ongoing Afghan conflict and that the political solution was the best way forward, read a statement Abbasis office issued in Islamabad.



President Ghani offered unconditional talks to the Taliban more than a month ago in his bid to seek a negotiated settlement to the Afghan war. His initiative received domestic and international backing, but the insurgents have avoided commenting on the overture.



There was also no immediate Taliban reaction available to Fridays joint call for the rebels to join Afghan peace process.



Pakistani and Afghan officials said the meetings between Abbasi and Ghani were held in a very cordial and friendly atmosphere."



Both leaders agreed on achieving the common aim of regional security through connectivity  meaning road, rail, trade and transit links as well as importing natural gas and power to Pakistan through Afghanistan from resource-rich Central Asian states.



Prime Minister Abbasi extended an invitation to President Ghani to visit Pakistan at his earliest convenience.



Officials said that progress on the construction of a multi-billion-dollar pipeline to transport natural gas from Turkmenistan to Pakistan and India through Afghanistan, known as TAPI, also was reviewed.



A video released by Pakistani officials showed Abbasi, Ghani and members of their delegations jointly offering Friday prayers at the palace mosque. Later, the Pakistani prime minister held a separate meeting with Afghan Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah at Abdullah's office.



A separate Afghan presidential statement said both sides agreed to further an Islamabad-proposed plan for a comprehensive bilateral dialogue. It said foreign ministries and national security advisers of the two countries have been tasked with jointly finalizing the proposal, known as the Afghanistan-Pakistan Action Plan for Peace and Solidarity or APAPPS.



Moreover, rail and road connectivity projects to boost trade and transit activities between and through the two countries also came under discussion. Additionally, the Afghan side raised the issue of alleged cross-border violations by Pakistani forces and urged Prime Minister Abbasi to use official channels if his country has concerns with regard to militant activity originating from the Afghan side.



Further, the two nations agreed to form a joint commission to prepare a timetable and mechanism for the dignified repatriation of nearly 3 million Afghan refugees from Pakistan.



The crucial visit came a day after the Afghan government said Pakistani fighter jets violated Afghan airspace and bombed areas in the border province of Kunar, although officials reported no damage.



Islamabad swiftly rejected the charges as baseless, saying Pakistani security forces were conducting counterterrorism operations inside their own territory to deter Afghanistan-based militants from launching cross-border attacks.



A day before traveling to Kabul, Prime Minister Abbasi rejected as a totally flawed narrative allegations that Pakistan covertly supports the Taliban to fuel the Afghan conflict. He noted that Pakistani security forces have cleared all their territory of terrorist groups and operations continue to hunt down their remnants.



We dont accept the narrative that there are any sanctuaries in Pakistan, which result in instability in Afghanistan. That is not the truth. Today, unfortunately, the reverse is true. The people instigating terror in Pakistan are based in Afghanistan, said Abbasi .



Officials in Pakistan said fugitive anti-state militants have taken shelter in ungoverned" Afghan border areas and plot cross-border attacks from there.



U.S. and Afghan officials have long alleged sanctuaries on Pakistani soil have enabled the Taliban to sustain and expand its violent campaign on the Afghan side.



Washington has welcomed Islamabad's renewed diplomatic re-engagement with Kabul, saying an improved mutual relationship is essential in regional efforts against terrorism.



"Obviously, for there to be stability in Afghanistan, there needs to be a strong relationship between Afghanistan and Pakistan, said Alice Wells, U.S. principal deputy assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asia, as she wrapped up a weeklong visit to Islamabad on Monday.



U.S. President Donald Trump in January suspended military aid to Islamabad until it takes decisive action against the militant havens.

This story was written by VOA's Ayaz Gul in Islamabad.
Fireworks and drones are being used to try to drive off thousands of noisy white Australasian cockatoos that are terrorizing parts of suburban Adelaide in South Australia.



Corellas are a type of white cockatoo. In the Australian city of Adelaide, large flocks of these small parrots have damaged street lights, stripped vegetation from trees and peppered homes with droppings.



The local council has used a bird of prey to try to scare the corellas away, along with drones and pyrotechnics. Residents are being encouraged to use noise and lights to move the marauding birds on, but, so far, have had no success.



Glenn Docherty, the mayor of Playford, a district in Adelaide, says the birds have been a real nuisance.



"It can be a bit daunting when you are having a nice, quiet time out the back cooking a barbie (barbecue) and (the) next thing you know you see the flight of the birds," said Docherty. "So over time we have had a falconer, who has come out with a falcon, which is a natural predator of the birds to help disperse the flocks. We use drones to help scatter the birds away along with pyrotechnics and also bird-scaring devices."



Officials say warm weather and ample food have brought the birds further south than usual.



The South Australian state government is being urged by residents to do more to control the corellas. There are concerns the size of the flocks will continue to grow and will encroach further across Adelaide.



There are similar problems in the city of Melbourne, where large flocks of screeching parrots are also causing disturbances. Experts say a previous attempt by state authorities to reduce an out-of-control cockatoo population in the 1980s might be to blame. Back then, permits were issued for corellas to be trapped and sold cheaply as caged pets. However, the birds dislike being locked up and were very noisy in captivity. It is thought many adult birds were simply released back into the wild by their owners, where they have bred prodigiously.



Corellas are considered highly intelligent and able to exploit new sources of food, but little is known about their patterns of migration.



This story was written by VOA's Phil Mercer in Sydney.
A fierce Northern California storm Friday shut down Yosemite National Park, threatened mudslides in wildfire-ravaged wine country and could present the first test of a partially repaired offshoot of the nation's tallest dam that nearly collapsed last year.

Recent heavy rainfall has led to problems for a state recovering from devastating wildfires, forcing people to flee their homes repeatedly for fear of debris flows tearing down hillsides stripped bare by flames. But the downpours also have provided relief as parts of California plunged back into drought less than a year after a historic dry stretch.

Rain was falling throughout much of Northern California on Friday, leading Yosemite National Park to ban all visitors as it expected flooding in its tourist-heavy valley.

The opener of the San Francisco Giants-Los Angeles Dodgers weekend series was rained out, the first at the Giants ballpark in 12 years.

A couple hundred miles to the northwest, in wine country scorched during October wildfires, the National Weather Service predicted 4 to 6 inches (10 to 15 centimeters) of rainfall through Sunday.

The city of Santa Rosa, one of the hardest-hit burn areas, brought in extra firefighters and emergency personnel, fire department spokesman Paul Lowenthal said.

It's not the amount of rainfall worrying city officials but the rate at which it falls, he said. Workers have been monitoring hundreds of storm drains, especially those protecting neighborhoods destroyed by fire.

"When we start talking about half an inch of rain or more an hour, that's where we're more susceptible to mudslides and debris flow in and around our burn zones,'' Lowenthal said.

Flood warnings

The weather service issued several flood warnings throughout Northern California ahead of the expected "atmospheric river,'' a long plume of subtropical moisture stretching to areas near Lake Tahoe.

Some places in the Santa Cruz Mountains south of San Francisco could see up to 8 inches (20 centimeters) of rain over a three-day period, leading forecasters to warn of possible flooding, mudslides and rockslides.

To the north, state officials warned this week that they may have to use the partially rebuilt spillway at Oroville Dam for the first time since repairs began on the badly damaged structure last summer.

Behind the dam, Lake Oroville has been filling up all winter, and more water was coming in than flowing out Friday. The water level was last at 793 feet (242 meters) and dropping. If it reaches about 830 feet (253 meters), water managers say, gates to the spillway will be opened.

In February 2017, a massive crater opened up in the 3,000-foot (914-meter) concrete chute that releases water from Lake Oroville, California's second-largest reservoir.

Crews shut down the spillway for inspections just as a major storm dumped a torrent of rain. The lake quickly filled, and water began flowing over an emergency spillway that had never been used.

The water eroded the barren hillside beneath the spillway, leading to fears it would collapse and release a wall of water that could swamp communities downstream. Authorities ordered nearly 200,000 people to flee, but the crisis was averted.

California officials say they hope to avoid using the main spillway but are confident it can safely function.

News that the spillway may be needed has concerned some people in Oroville, said Genoa Widener, a vocal critic of the water agency.

While some of her friends have decided to leave for the weekend to be safe, Widener said she's not concerned the storm will pose a threat. Still, she's frustrated there's even a question about it.

"They have the lake rise so much in the last month to try to have some kind of water stored going into the summer,'' she said. "So they've kind of put us in this position again.''

Leroy Mudrick said he's not worried because the water level is much lower than it was before last year's storm.

"The lake is still way down,'' Mudrick said.
Almost half of the Australian military personnel who've left the defense force in the past five years have some sort of mental disorder, according to a new study. The Australian government says it is the most comprehensive study ever undertaken in Australia of the effect of military service on the mental, physical and social health of veterans, including those who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan.



For many former Australian service men and women, adapting to civilian life can be tough. According to a new study by the Department of Veterans' Affairs, about half suffer debilitating conditions that include anxiety and depression. Some retired soldiers, however, believe the true number of those affected is much higher.



Robin Lee was in the Australian army for 14 years, and served in Iraq and Afghanistan. He was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder before he left the military in 2015.



He says the system for helping veterans with mental health issues is poor.

"These men are serving, getting problems," said Lee. "They know they have problems but they have to go through a recognition process that is just disgusting. (It has) been mishandled at every level."



The Australian government acknowledges that leaving the military can be a "daunting and challenging experience."



The Veterans Affairs minister is Darren Chester.



"The government is determined to put veterans and their health at the center of everything we do," said Chester. "We are putting veterans first, we are putting veterans' families first. In a nutshell, the research we are releasing today is confirming that we are heading in the right direction but more needs to be done to assist veterans and their families during the critical transitional period to civilian life."



Ministers say that free treatment for any mental health condition is now available to all veterans. The research into the mental and physical impact of Australia's military service is continuing. Six further reports will be released by the end of next year.



The Australian Defense Force comprises the Navy, Army and Air Force. It has more than 100,000 personnel, including permanent military personnel, reservists and civilian employees.



This story was written by VOA's Phil Mercer in Sydney.
The science behind the grain that feeds half the world may have taken a big leap forward.

Scientists are reporting the biggest improvements in rice productivity in decades.

If the results hold up in further tests, it could greatly increase supplies of a critical food staple at a time when the global population is growing rapidlyResearchers found a version of a gene that increased the number of branches in the flowering part of the plant.

The team used conventional breeding to introduce this gene version into five rice varieties. The new strains produced from 28 to 85 percent more rice than their parents.

Thats a huge increase, says University of Arkansas rice breeder Xueyan Sha.

If we can achieve, say, 6 percent, we can probably consider it a great achievement, Sha said.

Sha was not part of the new study, published in the journal Scientific Reports.

He cautions that its a small-scale, controlled experiment, and its not clear how the results will hold up in farmers fields.

Rice yields have not improved much since the big gains of the Green Revolution of the 1960s, aimed at boosting grain production.

Experts say big increases in food production will be necessary to feed the additional 2 billion or so people expected on the planet by 2050.

Not all rice varieties tested by the scientists produced the same hefty gains. Thats another reason for caution, notes rice geneticist Shannon Pinson with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Theres something exciting here, Pinson said. I dont think its as exciting as Green Revolution caliber.

New varieties will be available to farmers in two to four years.

This story was written by VOAs Steve Baragona.
Syrian troops have launched a ground and air assault on the last rebel-held town in eastern Ghouta, killing at least 40 people, according to monitors.

State television showed live footage Friday of thick smoke billowing from different parts of Douma, the largest city in Ghouta. It said Republican Guard forces were pushing in on the town, where the Jaish al-Islam rebel group is holding out.

The fighting comes after other rebel groups in Ghouta accepted safe passage to rebel-held areas northeast of Aleppo.

Russia said last week that Jaish al-Islam accepted a deal to leave Ghouta, which houses tens of thousands of people. However, the evacuations stalled over reports that the rebel group remained divided over the withdrawal.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the war, said the 40 dead in Fridays offensive included eight children.

It said some of the air attacks were likely carried out by Russian warplanes and said dozens of airstrikes hit various parts of the city.

State news agency SANA said Jaish al-Islam launched mortar shells around the capital, Damascus, hitting several suburbs of the city and killing four people. A rebel spokesman denied the group targeted any Damascus neighborhoods.

U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the renewed outbreak of fighting in Douma is of great concern to us.

The violence comes after nearly two weeks of calm in Ghouta, an enclave on the eastern edge of Damascus. In February, Syrias government and its ally Russia launched an air and ground offensive on eastern Ghouta, killing more than 1,600 civilians.
As relations between Beijing and Pyongyang thaw slightly, the prospect of China relaxing its sanctions imposed on North Korea and thwarting U.S. President Donald Trump's maximum pressure campaign makes experts wary.

In an attempt to renew relations with China, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made an unexpected visit to Beijing to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping last month.

Experts on the North Korean economy speculate that Kim may have asked Xi to ease sanctions during his visit and that if Xi, in fact, agreed, the move could complicate the U.S. effort to exert pressure on North Korea ahead of a nuclear summit tentatively set to take place with Trump in May.

It makes sense that Kim would go to China and beg for a relief, said William Brown, an adjunct lecturer in the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service.

And it would also make sense that China would give him a little bit of relief. So I suspect that there is some of that going on, said Brown, a former U.S. intelligence officer who is affiliated with the Korea Economic Institute of America.

Border crossings alleged

According to a representative of North Korea Refugees Human Rights Association of Korea, a South Korean-based group helping North Korean defectors, a source in China saw an influx of what appears to be hundreds of North Korean women arriving in the Chinese border city, Helong. The source said he saw them crossing the North Korean border into the Chinese city on April 2, just a few days after Kim's visit to Beijing, to work at electronics manufacturing factories.

VOA has found the South Korean rights group to be a reliable source in the past but has not confirmed the report of workers crossing into China or authenticated the brief video provided by the group.

If confirmed, it could be a violation of United Nations sanctions. The U.N. Security Council passed Resolution 2371 in August 2017 saying that all Member States shall not exceed on any date after the date of adoption of this resolution the total number of work authorization for (North Korean) nationals provided in their jurisdiction at the time of the adaption of this resolution.

The groups source in China also said, After Kim Jong Uns return (back to North Korea upon his visit in Beijing), the (Chinese) border patrol eased.

Brown thinks Xi could have softened sanctions in return for Kims agreement to halt any ballistic missiles or nuclear weapons tests.

I would be surprised if they didnt make some kind of a deal and that China might relent in some ways, he said.

I also think that China doesnt give away anything to anybody, Brown added. And it would come at some cost. The Chinese presumably are asking for, as in U.N. sanctions, no tests, no nuclear tests.

Jonathan Schanzer, a senior vice president of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and a former terrorism finance analyst at the U.S. Treasury Department, said China has been providing permissive jurisdiction, which makes it easier for North Korea to defy sanctions.

When it comes to North Korea, it lacks enforcement of sanctions, a large amount of financial transactions being processed by Chinese institutions, Schanzer told VOA's Korean Service. This comes despite the fact the U.S. has been trying to place maximum pressure on North Korea.

Brown thinks it is important for (the U.S.) to keep China on (its) side.

'Lack of will'

Schanzer, however, said theres a lack of will on the part of China to implement or to enforce these sanctions, especially now as trade relations between Beijing and Washington have become tense due to Trump imposing tariffs on Chinese imported goods.

China and the United States are farther apart now than they were a few weeks ago, and even then, it was a challenging relationship as it relates to North Korea, Schanzer said.

In mid-March, China submitted its sanctions implementation report to the U.N. Security Council.

In the report, China said it has been adhering to U.N. resolutions that banned exporting iron, steel, industrial machinery, and transportation vehicles and limited exporting petroleum products to North Korea.

China also said in the report that it suspended a plan to extend work permits to North Korean workers beyond December 2019.

Last week, the U.N. imposed what Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., called the largest-ever sanctions against North Korea. The U.N. Security Council added to its previous sanctions list of 27 ships, of which five are based in China, 21 shipping companies, and a Taiwanese man accused of helping the regime circumvent previous sanctions.

This week, the U.S. State Department called on Beijing to press North Korea to give up nuclear weapons.

Our ultimate goal remains the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, a State Department spokesperson told VOAs Korea Service when asked what role China should play in denuclearizing North Korea. We expect that China will use its unique leverage to ensure (North Korea) is serious about credible negotiations that lead down that path of denuclearization.

When Kim visited Beijing, Xi suggested to Kim that they should promote exchanges and cooperation between the two countries. Kim responded in return, saying he would carry on and develop the (North Korea)-China friendship that remains unchanged despite winds and rains, and elevate it to a new high under new circumstances.

Kim met with Xi ahead of the planned summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, slated to take place inside Panmunjom on April 27, and the summit with Trump, set to take place at an unspecified location sometime in May but not yet confirmed.

This story was written by Christy Lee. Jiha Ham contributed to this report which originated on VOA's Korean Service.
A new nationally representative Gallup poll offers more evidence that teachers are of two different minds when it comes to educational technology.

On one hand, the 497 teachers surveyed last month expressed a tepid belief in technologys educational value: 41 percent said they view digital devices as mostly helpful to students education, and another 30 percent described devices as neither helpful nor harmful.

At the same time, though, a whopping 69 percent of those teachers said digital devices are mostly harmful to students mental health, and 55 percent described them as mostly harmful to students physical health.

Those numbers fit into a somewhat cloudy overall picture of teachers, technology, and learning.

So far, for example, the evidence on the impact of technology on student achievement is mixed. A 2016 meta-analysis of 15 years worth of research studies , for example, found that 1-to-1 laptop programs had, on average, a statistically significant positive impact on student test scores in English/language arts, writing, math, and science. But a previous international study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development found that frequent computer use by students was associated with worse learning outcomes.

A raft of prior studies has also shown that even when technology is available in classrooms, teachers are slow to transform the ways they teach .

And even as digital devices have flooded into classrooms, concerns about the impact of technology on student learning and development have started to grow. In February, for example, the nonprofit group Common Sense Medialong a proponent of responsible technology use in schools:mdash;helped launch a Truth About Tech campaign , to warn families and educators about the dangers of technology addiction.

Differences by Grade Level and Age

The new Gallup poll also highlights some interesting differences of opinion among teachers.

Elementary and middle-school teachers, for example, were relatively bullish on ed tech, with 48 percent viewing digital devices as mostly helpful to students education, compared to 23 percent who saw devices as mostly harmful.

High school teachers, on the other hand, were just about evenly split, with 36 percent saying digital devices are mostly helpful, and 34 percent saying they are mostly harmful.

The pollsters also found significant differences by age.

Among teachers under 40 years old, 51 percent said devices were mostly helpful, and 22 percent said they were mostly harmful to students education. But just 36 percent of older teachers viewed devices positively, and 32 percent said they were mostly harmful.

And in a separate study, Gallup found that majorities of U.S. parents of school-aged children were optimistic about both the learning value and health effects of digital devices on their children. A full 87 percent of parents said they believed devices would be mostly helpful for their childrens education.

The takeaway from Gallup?

Despite major growth in the educational technology industry and widespread adoption of digital devices in schools across the U.S., only a slight plurality of teachers see these tools as helpful to students educationand decisive majorities see them as harmful to students physical or mental health, the group concluded in a press release.

The apparent divide between educators and parents on this matter further suggests additional research is necessary to better understand how technology can aid the learning process.

See also:

for the latest news on ed-tech policies, practices, and trends.
Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who has been ordered to serve a prison sentence, surrendered to police Saturday, one day after starting a standoff with police, who were ordered to arrest him.

Da Silva left a metalworkers union building, where he had sought refuge, surrounded by several bodyguards. Earlier, his supporters had tried to block him from leaving.

He then entered a police car and was taken to a Sao Paolo police station. Later, he was to be flown to the city of Curitiba, where Brazil's anti-corruption investigation is based.

In his first speech since the arrest order was issued Thursday, Da Silva told supporters Friday that he was innocent and had been targeted to prevent him from running for president again in October.

Da Silva was to begin serving the 12-year prison sentence Friday on a bribery conviction, but he instead went to the union building in a suburb of Sao Paulo, where years earlier he had launched his career as a labor leader.

Da Silva's lawyers filed an injunction late Friday with the Supreme Court to suspend the sentence after losing an argument in the country's second-highest court that they had not exhausted procedural appeals.

The sentence will probably end the political career of Brazil's first working-class president. Brazilian law prohibits a candidate from running for office for eight years after a criminal conviction. There have been rare exceptions, however, and a final decision would be made by the highest electoral court if he officially files to be a candidate.

Da Silva's mass appeal propelled him to two terms as president between 2003 and 2011, a period of strong economic growth and diminishing inequality. When he left office, his approval rating was 83 percent.
The Trump administration is considering ways to require imported automobiles to meet stricter environmental standards in order to protect U.S. carmakers, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.

Responding to the story, White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said President Donald Trump "will promote free, fair and reciprocal trade practices to grow the U.S. economy and continue to [bring] jobs and manufacturers back to the U.S."

Citing unnamed senior administration and industry officials, the Journal said Trump had asked several agencies to pursue plans to use existing laws to subject foreign-made cars to stiff emission standards.

It appears such nontariff barriers could have a greater potential effect proportionately on European automakers, which collectively import a greater percentage of cars from plants outside the U.S., according to sales figures from Autodata.

In comparison, Japanese and Korean brands made about 70 percent of the vehicles they sold last year in the United States at North American plants. European brands built only 30 percent in North America.

The White House initiative was still in the planning stage, with officials at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency working to craft a legal justification for the policy, the paper said. It said there were hurdles to its implementation, including opposition from some in the administration.

The EPA and the Commerce Department, which the newspaper said was also involved in the effort, did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Reuters. Neither did representatives for Ford, General Motors or Fiat Chrysler.

This story was written by Reuters.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed of the United Arab Emirates agreed Friday to push for unity among Gulf nations, the White House said, amid a bitter standoff between Qatar and other U.S. allies in the region.

The two leaders agreed in a telephone call that members of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council can and should do more to increase coordination with each other and with the United States, the White House said in a statement.

The UAE, along with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt, cut off travel and trade ties with Qatar last June, accusing it of supporting terrorism and their archrival Iran. Doha has denied the charges and has said the countries aim to curtail its sovereignty.

The dispute pits key U.S. allies against each other and has complicated efforts to maintain a united front against Iran.

Earlier this week, U.S. officials said the Trump administration was postponing until September a summit with Gulf Arab leaders that had been planned for May. A crowded diplomatic calendar and lack of progress in negotiations to end the dispute were cited as reasons by officials.

Trump last month met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who was on multiweek tour through the United States and is scheduled to meet with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani April 10.

This story was written by Reuters.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday accused France of abetting terrorists by "hosting them" at the Elysee Palace, amid a diplomatic row between the NATO allies over Paris's support for the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

Relations between Ankara and Paris have been tense in recent weeks, with France one of the most vocal critics of Turkey's two-month-old military operation in northern Syria against the Kurdish YPG, which Turkey considers a terrorist organisation.

That came to a head on March 30 after President Emmanuel Macron met a Syrian delegation including the YPG and its political arm, the PYD, and gave assurances of French support to help stabilise northern Syria against Islamic State.

Turkey said the pledge amounted to support for terrorism and could make France a "target of Turkey."

"France, you are abetting terrorism, supporting it by then hosting them at the Elysee Palace," Erdogan told his supporters in the southwestern province of Denizli. "You will not be able to explain this. You will not be able to rid yourself of this terror burden... As long as the West nurtures these terrorists, you will sink," he said.

The split with France is the latest rift between Turkey under Erdogan and its NATO allies in the West.

Turkey has also been infuriated by U.S. support for the YPG, threatening to extend military operations along hundreds of miles of border, including areas where American forces are deployed.

France, like the United States, has already extended arms and training to the YPG-led militia in the fight against Islamic State, and has dozens of special forces members based in the region, angering Turkey.

Ankara considers the YPG to be an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) that has waged a decades-old insurgency in southeast Turkey.

Turkish forces drove the YPG from the northwestern Syrian town of Afrin last month, amid international criticism from its allies, notably from Macron.

Ankara, meanwhile, has said it expects its allies to move their troops out of the way of a Turkish advance.
The United States says it welcomes the measures taken by Panama to expose and block Venezuelan money laundering, as the government of President Nicolas Maduro has intensified its attempts to circumvent international sanctions.

The White House press secretary said in a statement that the U.S. urged the international community to follow Panamas example and stand together against the Maduro regimes corruption and illegitimate rule.

The U.S. State Department also issued a statement saying that it applauded Panamas March 27 announcement that it will tighten financial oversight of 55 Venezuelans and 15 Venezuelan entities, and support other efforts in the region to fight the abuse of financial systems by corrupt actors.

The U.S. statements reiterated that Venezuela must restore democracy and end the repression and suffering of the Venezuelan people.

Earlier this week, Venezuela responded to Panamas measures by halting commercial relations with Panamanian officials and companies, including regional airline Copa, and raising counter-allegations of Panamanian involvement in money laundering activities.

The suspensions prompted a diplomatic crisis, with both countries recalling their respective ambassadors.

This story was written by VOA News.
The White House has announced sanctions against 38 Russian individuals and companies, saying it is standing up to ongoing "malign activity" by the Russian government against Western democracies in Crimea, Ukraine, Syria and around the world. Russia denies any wrongdoing. VOA Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports from Washington on a move that may deepen the divide between Washington and Moscow.
Republican U.S. Representative Blake Farenthold of Texas, accused by a female former aide of sexual harassment, abruptly resigned from Congress on Friday after admitting to allowing an unprofessional culture to flourish in his Capitol Hill office.

While I planned on serving out the remainder of my term in Congress, I know in my heart its time for me to move along and look for new ways to serve, the 56-year-old congressman who represented Corpus Christi in the U.S. House of Representatives said in a social media video statement.

Former radio show host

While Farenthold has denied the sexual harassment accusation, the former conservative radio show host said in December he would not seek re-election. He made that announcement a week after the House ethics committee said it was investigating him over allegations of sexual harassment, discrimination and retaliation involving a female former staff member.

I had no idea how to run a congressional office, and as a result, I allowed a workplace culture to take root in my office that was too permissive and decidedly unprofessional, Farenthold said in December.

The ethics committee said it was also looking into whether Farenthold had made inappropriate statements to other members of his staff.

His resignation took effect on Friday afternoon. Farenthold, who began serving in Congress in 2011, is the latest of several U.S. lawmakers who have stepped down or not sought re-election after being accused of sexual harassment.

Sexual harassment claim settled

Politico reported in December that the congressional Office of Compliance had paid $84,000 from a public fund on behalf of Farenthold for a sexual harassment claim.

In 2014, his former communications director, Lauren Greene, filed a lawsuit accusing him of creating a hostile work environment, gender discrimination and retaliation, court documents showed.

The two reached a confidential mediated agreement in 2015, according to a statement from Farentholds office that denied any wrongdoing by him.

Reuters has been unable to verify the allegations against Farenthold.

This story was written by Reuters.
Visiting members of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee say Zimbabwe's government must ensure free and fair elections if Washington is to lift sanctions.

Jeff Flake and Chris Coons, both members of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told reporters Saturday in Harare they are happy with how Zimbabwe is progressing since the forced retirement of Robert Mugabe as the country's president last November.



Flake urged President Emmerson Mnangagwa to ensure Zimbabwe hold credible elections so the West can lift sanctions imposed on some members of the ruling Zanu PF party in 2002 after accusations of election rigging and human rights abuses.



"Nothing will please us more than to be able to play a role in the legislative branch and also to recommend to the president that these sanctions are all to be lifted, and the U.S. and Zimbabwe can have not just full diplomatic relations as we do now for commercial ties and to have expanded trade and to remove individuals from that sanctions list, but that depends as we all know on what happens in the upcoming months," said Flake.



That was a reference to Zimbabwe's elections, expected in July or August of this year. Senator Coons was asked what the U. S. and the West expect from the polls.



"We believe there are well known international standards adopted by the African Union, by SADC [Southern African Development Community], by EU [European Union], by others that show what steps are that go from a declaration that we intend to have a free and fair election, to having that election, and steps that follow after an election to re-establishing the rule of law, to re-establishing a sound economic system that is sound, to re-establishing human rights and respect for others. It is not our place to dictate a particular path or steps," Coons said.



Last month, Senators Flake, a Republican, and Coons, a member of the Democratic Party, introduced a bill to reset relations, including laying out steps Zimbabwe's new government needs to takein order to have U.S. sanctions lifted.

This story was written by VOA's Sebastian Mhofu.
Syrian government forces pressed their offensive Saturday against the last rebel-held town in eastern Ghouta under the cover of airstrikes as shelling of civilian areas on both sides claimed more lives, state media and opposition activists said.

Syrian government forces had resumed their offensive on rebel-held Douma on Friday afternoon after a 10-day truce collapsed over disagreement regarding evacuation of opposition fighters. Violence resumed days after hundreds of opposition fighters and their relatives left Douma for rebel-held areas in northern Syria.

A reporter for Lebanon's Al-Manar TV embedded with Syrian troops near Douma said government forces advanced toward Douma from the towns of Misraba and Madiara that were recently captured by troops. Al-Manar TV is run by Lebanon's Hezbollah group, which has sent thousands of fighters to Syria to back government forces.

The government-controlled Syrian Central Military Media said government forces captured several farms Saturday on the southern and western edges of the city, which is home to tens of thousands of people. SCMM said the area controlled by the Army of Islam in and around Douma was 19 square kilometers (7.3 square miles).

The group said its fighters had repelled all government attacks that began Friday, adding that 17 Syrian soldiers had been killed.

By Saturday evening, state media was reporting that troops were approaching Army of Islam fortifications on the edge of the town, adding that street battles could begin soon. It said warplanes bombarded the group's headquarters and command and control center.

State TV said Army of Islam fighters had pelted several neighborhoods in Damascus with mortar shells, killing six civilians and wounding more than 30.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the bombardment of Douma had killed eight people and wounded 48, including 15 children.

Gas attacks alleged

Some opposition activists in Douma posted photographs of people wearing gas masks, saying that government forces were shelling the town with poison gas. State media denied the reports, saying that "such farces about chemical weapons'' had been triggered by the troops' quick push toward Douma.

On Friday, opposition activists said 40 people were killed in Douma while state media said four were killed in government-held Damascus.

Government forces launched a crushing offensive in February and March on eastern Ghouta, capturing dozens of towns and villages and forcing thousands of opposition fighters to surrender and evacuate the area toward Syria's north.

A deal was reached last month to evacuate Douma, but activists and state media reported that the Army of Islam group demanded amendments to the deal.

The Observatory said the Russian response to the Army of Islam was a list of demands, including handing over heavy weapons within three days and light weapons thereafter, in return for government forces' withdrawal from the outskirts of Douma within a week.

The Observatory also said that the Russians promised the rebels that once they handed over their weapons, airstrikes would stop. It added that fighters who handed over their weapons could join a local police force that will be established in Douma, mostly consisting of Army of Islam members who would be given Russian weapons to fight members of the Islamic State group and al-Qaida-linked fighters.

Army of Islam military spokesman Hamza Bayraqdar told The Associated Press by text message, "The Russians are making humiliating demands that mean surrender and handing over the area. This is something that we categorically reject.''

Russia's military said the Army of Islam had forced out leaders who were taking part in negotiations to withdraw from Douma and that their fighters had resumed attacks.

Major General Yuri Yevtushenko, head of the Russian center for reconciliation of the warring parties in Syria, said that "as a result of sharp opposition among the odious militants and those who were prepared to participate in the negotiations process, the former leaders of the group [known as] Abu Humam, Abu Omar and Abu Ali were physically removed.''

He said the information had come from a close aide of Abu Humam.

Observation post in Idlib

In northern Syria, the Turkish military said on its Twitter account that it had established the ninth observation post in the rebel-held province of Idlib as part of the de-escalation agreement with Russia and Iran. Turkey's official Anadolu news agency said the military convoy had reached the town of Morek in Idlib province.

Eastern Ghouta was part of the same de-escalation plan signed last year in the Kazakh capital, Astana. Turkey's presidential spokesman said that the Turkish military presence in Idlib would serve as a "guarantee'' against attacks to ensure that it did not meet the same fate as eastern Ghouta.

Ibrahim Kalin said, "The Russians and the Iranians have a full understanding of this,'' adding that the Syrian regime also understood that "Turkish soldiers are not to be attacked in those areas.''

Elsewhere in Syria, a bomb exploded in the Aleppo town of al-Bab, which is controlled by Turkey-backed opposition fighters, killing nine people and wounding 15, according to the activist media collective Aleppo Media Center. The Observatory said eight people were killed in the blast, which occurred near the town's Grand Mosque.
The White House praised Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster as a "terrific person'' on his last day as national security adviser.

Press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders paid tribute to McMaster, who is leaving after just over a year in office. He'll be replaced Monday by John Bolton, a former ambassador to the United Nations.

Sanders said it had been "a real privilege'' to work with him.

Trump told McMaster last month he wanted a change in his foreign policy team. They differed on policy and never developed a strong personal relationship.

Trump was still fond of McMaster and had hoped to find him a suitable place in the military. But McMaster said he was retiring from the Army.

This story was written by the Associated Press.
Millions of people worldwide face financial ruin; their assets wiped out because of a catastrophic illness or accident that saddles them with staggeringly high health bills they are unable to pay.

This nightmare scenario rarely, if ever, occurs in countries that have universal health coverage. Such systems insulate people from the financial disasters that occur in countries where national health schemes do not exist.

Today, about 100 million people fall into poverty because of health expenditure, said Rudiger Krech, World Health Organization director for health systems and innovation. He told VOA that every country, poor and rich alike, can afford universal health coverage.

It is not just a matter of money, but of political will, of political choice. So, you can afford health coverage for everyone, even if you are not one of the most affluent countries in the world, he said.

For example, he said that relatively low-income countries such as Cuba and Costa Rica have developed good health systems; while in the United States, one of the worlds richest countries, people have to pay huge amounts of their salaries and their income for health services.

We call these catastrophic health expenditures because people are losing their fortune because they had a big accident or an open-heart surgery, he said. So, this still pulls people into poverty.

Half of world lacks full coverage

The World Health Organization reports at least half of the worlds population lacks full coverage for essential health services. More than 800 million people, or nearly 12 percent of the worlds population, spend at least 10 percent of their household budgets to pay for health care, WHO said. In 2015, it said the world spent an eye-watering $7.3 trillion on health, representing close to 10 percent of global Gross Domestic Product.

WHO is on a mission to make it possible for all people and communities to receive the health services they need without suffering financial hardship. As such, it is using this years World Health Day, April 7, to promote the U.N. Sustainable Development Goal that calls for the adoption of universal health coverage in 90 percent of the worlds countries by 2030.

I think this is a goal that people all over the world should aspire toward, said Shih-Chung Chen, Taiwanese minister of health and welfare.

I will not say that it will be achieved by 2030, Chen told a group of visiting journalists, but I think all countries should have the willingness to try to achieve this, and that is why we want to participate in the World Health Assembly. That would allow us to contribute toward that goal.

Last year, China blocked Taiwan from participating in the WHA as an observer and, so far this year, Taiwan has not received an invitation to attend.

Taiwans system

I think that in order to ensure that health is a basic human right, no countrys experience should be left out, said the Taiwanese health minister. We are extremely proud of our universal health coverage system. I think this would be a very important way for us to share with the world.

Taiwans single payer National Health Insurance, a compulsory program that was launched in 1995, provides comprehensive, affordable coverage for the islands more than 23 million inhabitants. The government calculates a family of four pays roughly $100 U.S. per month as the premium. This comes to about 2 percent of the average household income. Average life expectancy in Taiwan has risen to 80 years, on a par with Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries.

More than 85 percent of the people in Taiwan report very high satisfaction with our national health Insurance, Chen said.

Low health expenditure

The health minister told VOA that Taiwans total health expenditure is 6 percent of GDP, the lowest in the world, compared with more than 16 percent for the United States.

The U.S. is entirely capable of providing universal health care to its citizens, he said. However, because the U.S. has a multitude of systems in place that have been there for a long time and there are a lot of stakeholders involved, it would be a bit difficult. In addition, the U.S. places a lot of importance on freedom of choice.

Chen said the world could learn a lot from Taiwans health insurance program. Unfortunately, he said Taiwan was not able to help because it is barred from participating in international organizations such as the World Health Organization.

Krech told VOA it was the United Nations, not WHO, that decided whether Taiwan could be included in international health matters.

We are talking to Member States and obviously Taiwan is not a Member State. But, it is Chinese Taiwan and Chinese Taipei and, therefore, it is under this One China policy.

That does not bar us from discussing with representatives of Chinese Taipei, at all, he said. We have regular exchanges. We see what is happening.

This story was written by Lisa Schlein.
April 7 marks the 70th anniversary of the World Health Organization. It also marks World Health Day. In the past seven decades much has been accomplished, but much still needs to be done.

The World Health Organization has spearheaded efforts to free the world of killer diseases like smallpox. It has formed partnerships to end other diseases, including polio. Only 17 children contracted polio last year. The cases were all in remote areas of Pakistan.

WATCH: On World Health Day, What's Been Accomplished in 70 Years

In March, South Sudan joined the list of countries that have stopped Guinea worm disease. Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter began the campaign to eradicate guinea worm in 1986 when the parasite afflicted 3.5 million people in Asia and Africa. Since then, the WHO has certified 199 countries, territories, and areas as free of Guinea worm disease.

Access to other lifesaving vaccines, like the measles vaccine, is out of reach for many people. Thats why the World Health Organization declared the theme for this World Health Day health for all.

Good health is the most precious thing anyone can have, said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general, in a news release from WHO headquarters in Geneva. When people are healthy, they can learn, work, and support themselves and their families. When they are sick, nothing else matters. Families and communities fall behind. Thats why WHO is so committed to ensuring good health for all.

James Fitzgerald oversees the development of universal health coverage in the Americas at the Pan American Health Organization, a regional division of the World Health Organization.

Much of the world is talking about universal health coverage at the moment. It is one of the global challenges that we have, he said. Universal health care, he added, includes both access to medical care and coverage so families dont have to impoverish themselves to care for a member who is sick.

But there are barriers that prevent people from accessing care, leaving 2 out of 3 people in the Americas as well as half the people in the world without access to health care.

Fitzgerald explains that the barriers are pretty much universal: lack of health care institutions; not enough doctors, nurses, technicians and others involved in the health industry; and a lack of funds for health at the national, local and individual levels. He also cites social discrimination within the health systems.

Its a tall order to get countries to invest in national health services. The WHO argues that when people have access to health care, they live more productive lives, epidemics can be held at bay more easily, and the countries are more likely to prosper.

The story was written by Carol Pearson.
Laughter has replaced fear in Zimbabwe as the dramatic events leading to the resignation of former leader Robert Mugabe are already playing out on stage.

Crowds last week packed a theater in the capital, Harare, as Mugabe and his wife were openly mocked.

Gazing out on the crowd in a public place for the first time since November, a portrait of Mugabe had become a target of ridicule, a far cry from the reverence and dread it once induced. Such portraits of the man who was once the world's oldest head of state at 93 were instantly removed after he stepped down amid pressure from the army, the ruling party and a long-frustrated public.

Some in the audience choked with laughter and others nearly fell off their chairs at the depiction of former first lady Grace Mugabe, long unpopular for her sharp temper and shopping expeditions as the once-populous country crumbled during her husband's 37 years in power.

The former first lady's political ambitions intensified the national discontent and ruling party divisions that led to a military takeover and her husband's downfall. Grace Mugabe's rival and a former presidential confidant, Emmerson Mnangagwa, took power with the backing of Constantino Chiwenga, the military commander who led the takeover.

The new play opened with a restless Grace Mugabe, brought to life by 27-year Caroline Magenga, preparing a speech for a political rally in which she plans to bury Mnangagwa.

In the scene, a waiter responsible for the first lady's room service is forced to sit on the floor and listen to the speech  and is quickly threatened for his suggestion that she avoid attacks on Mnangagwa.

It was a slip of an opinion, Doctor, Your Excellency, Madam President, he stammers apologetically.

From then on, he cheers ferociously at her every word. That is until the president, staggering, enters the Mugabe mansion under the guard of Chiwenga, who announces a house arrest.

Mixing real and imagined events, the 90-minute play has scenes that were unthinkable in Zimbabwe just months ago.

They include Grace Mugabe begging to be allowed to leave for Dubai, trying to seduce the army commander and helping the president's male Cabinet ministers to escape disguised as women.

In this photo taken March, 28, 2018, actor Caroline Magenga, playing former Zimbabwean first lady Grace Mugabe, left, reacts as armed soldiers enter her house during a play dramatizing the events leading to Mugabe's resignation, in Harare, Zimbabwe.

Meanwhile, the elderly Robert Mugabe is depicted as struggling to walk, sleeping in between important negotiations and speeches and eventually agreeing to resign.

He faints at one point after a spirit medium he has consulted for guidance tells him: The spirits are telling me you are about to get a new post: You will be head of your village.

During Mugabe's rule, police routinely arrested artists and banned plays and documentaries perceived as critical of the president.

Now the young cast of the new play, with all of the actors under 35, receives standing ovations.

We used real and imagined events. The play is meant to diffuse a very tense situation that we went through as a country, said Charles Munganasa, the director.

Yet even after his resignation, Mugabe still casts a shadow on the southern African country.

Actors were afraid to come forward when we called for auditions. It is amazing we have been able to do this without any harassment. The era of Robert Mugabe is truly over, Munganasa told The Associated Press.

He said Zimbabwe's military supported the play by allowing actors to wear army fatigues, which are usually off-limits to civilians.

In another indication of the new freedoms of expression, the director made a dig at the former military commander, who is now the country's vice president, over his funny take on English words.

The play's name, Operation Restore Regasi, reflects Chiwenga's pronunciation of the military campaign that led to Mugabe's exit: Operation Restore Legacy.

He always uses R where there is an L, Munganasa said. I hope he never says the word elections in public.
stratovolcano 1117 m / 3,665 ftKyushu, Japan, 31.59N / 130.66E(3 out of 5)1955-ongoing, 1954(?), 1950, 1948, 1946, 1942, 1941, 1940, 1939, 1938, 1935, 1914-15, 1899(?), 1860, 1799, 1797, 1794, 1792, 1791, 1790, 1785, 1783, 1782, 1779-81, 1756, 1749, 1742, 1706, 1678, 1670(?), 1642, 1478, 1471-76, 1468, 778, 766, 764, 716-18, 712(?), 708Explosive(5-day volcano expedition to observe Sakurajima volcano's activity from close)

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Activity at the volcano remains at relatively high levels, similar to what we observed last week. During the past days, vulcanian explosions have been occurring at rates of 2-4 per day, increasing the total number for recorded explosions (*) this year to 32 so far with half of them having occurred during the past 10 days. In addition, the volcano has been showing weak to strong ash emissions most of the time. ...

Stromboli provides one of the most remarkable opportunities to watch volcanic eruptions from close: a natural ridge located 150 m above the active vents. A classic and all-time favorite tour by anyone interested in seeing active volcanoes!

A 3600 y.o. fossil olive tree discovered in the Minoan pumice allows to refine the date of the Minoan eruption on Santorini to the 17th century B.C.

Visiting an erupting volcano is an unforgettable experience. If you're particularly looking to see "Red Hot Lava", these are among the best places to go to.

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Experience one of the geologically most active areas on the planet: the Danakil desert in northern Ethiopia: climb Erta Ale and enjoy the powers of Northen and South craters, the surreal colorful world of salt, geysers and springs at Dallol, the UNESCO world heritage site of the rock hewn churches of Lalibela.!

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Rome's Outdoor Festival hosts a labyrinth of urban culture at Mattatoio.

Outdoor, the largest festival in Italy dedicated to urban culture, returns to Rome with its eighth edition in a new venue: the Mattatoio in Testaccio, from 14 April until 12 May.

Madame

"Heritage" is the theme of the 2018 edition - coinciding with European Year of Cultural Heritage - and the festival programme is organised into five main sections: art, music, television, conferences and market.

Buenoventura

From interactive art labyrinths to concerts and dance floors, the festival promises encounters with artists and television personalities, allowing visitors to choose their own itinerary.

Kid Acne

In addition to Italian and Roman talent, the festival also has international element, with artists such as Kid Acne coming from Britain, Scorpion Dagger from Canada, Toy Cheung from China, Madame and Mathieu Tremblin from France, Berlin Kidz from Germany and Ricky Powell from the US.

Quite Ensemble

Founded in 2010 by the creative agency Nufactory, Outdoor started in the capital's Ostiense neighbourhood before moving to the Ex Dogana in S. Lorenzo and the Guidi Reni District in Flaminio.

UNO
In designing the classes, Bernstein said she was surprised at how little attention most schools paid to the digital worlds its students were immersed in every day  and, as a parent, she often wished she had done things differently with her 15-year-old son. She could find few other classes that included both the kids and parents in broader conversations about tech dependence and digital tracking. Other programs, she said, seemed unrealistic or out of date, aimed at choosing good passwords or avoiding bad chat rooms but silent on the daily questions of attention and privacy.
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InternsME, a UAE-based intern recruitment portal, has been rebranded as Oliv n line with its mission to build the definitive career support made for the youth.

With youth unemployment rates in the Middle East and North Africa now at 29.3 per cent, according to the World Bank, almost twice the global average, Oliv is using technology to empower young communities by connecting talented students and new graduates to leading employers for internships, part-time and graduate jobs.

Announcing the new name, new technology and the same mission at an event last week in Jumeirah Emirates Towers, CEO Jean-Michel Gauthier said: "Oliv is home to thousands of students and graduates scattered throughout the region, who each have their own individual set of skills, ambitions and unique personalities."

"We are working hard to help match them to the right careers and help get their feet on the first rung of the career ladder," stated Gauthier.

We all know that starting a career was never easy and today, its never been harder. But more than 1,000 businesses, including start-ups and globally recognised organisations, use and trust us to help them hire the best emerging talent to grow their business, maintain a healthy talent pipeline and reduce staff turnover, he added.

The event was an opportunity for students and graduates from the UAE and the rest of the world to come together with hiring managers from organisations such as Maersk, Al Nabooda Automobiles, PwC, Beehive, RAK Bank, The Fund, Dubai SME, Bosch, Dubai Angel Investors, DMCC, Danzas and Apco, with many taking part in demonstrations of the new online platform and the CV workshops.

Set to be rolled out on Sunday (April 8), Olivs new platform will be available for students, fresh graduates and young professionals, and with an improved search time of just 12 milliseconds, it will be the fastest career platform experience in the world.

The platform facilitates more than 1,000 interviews every month and has worked with over 1,000 organisations from across the world including Emaar, Canon, Careem, Sephora, Bosch, Turner, ICBC and DMCC.

The platform stimulates the GCCs youth economy with more than 300 new jobs a month, targeted entirely at young people.

In October 2017, InternsME was the first recipient of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Innovation Fund, an initiative by the UAEs Ministry of Finance that helps bridge financing gaps for the UAEs most innovative companies.

"Innovation is truly at the heart of everything we do. Our new name was inspired by young olive trees which require nurturing and care in their early days but have incredible potential to grow and flourish, as well as he internationally recognised symbol of hope," said Gauthier.

From the greatest gift given by Mount Olympus, to the story of Noahs ark and its place on the United Nations flag, the olive tree has a meaningful place in history and a relevance in todays society, he added.

Oliv provides employers with an innovative alternative to expensive recruitment agencies and oversaturated job boards by offering a community of candidates who have been individually screened for their skills, abilities, demographics, proficiencies and personalities.-TradeArabia News Service
Toni Holness, a policy director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland and leading opponent of the Senate measure, said some positive changes were evident in the measures passed Saturday by the House. A provision in the original Senate bill raising the maximum sentence from 20 to 40 years for a second-time offender using a firearm in connection with drug trafficking was stripped from the bill passed Saturday, for example.
This legislation enables strong and effective oversight and coordination, while protecting privacy, civil liberties, and the safety and efficiency of the national airspace, says the proposal, which points to some limits on how long electronic information would be retained. The extra government powers would sunset at the end of 2023, with the possibility of an extension for 180 days. While the law is in effect, semiannual congressional briefings would be required.
Jebel Ali Free Zone, the regions premier trade facilitator and hub, said a total of 513 new companies had last year selected Jafza to set up their operational base, thus reaffirming its position as a destination of choice for businesses.

New companies represent a nine per cent increase in Jafzas portfolio compared with the 470 new companies that registered in 2016. The number of countries from which they come from also rose from 56 to 64 year-on-year.

Jafzas flagship commercial property, Jafza One, achieved 42 per cent growth in its customer base with a 20 per cent rise in occupancy and a 49 per cent increase in leased offices, marking its best annual performance.

Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Jafza Group Chairman and CEO of DP World, said: "Jafza has again proved its ability to attract businesses, retain them and act as a catalyst for growth. The dynamic model weve created through more than 33 years of experience reduces cost for investors, while enabling new opportunities for growth."

"Our ability to consistently outperform the industry even in adverse global economic conditions confirms the status of Jafza as a global destination for foreign companies keen on expanding across the Middle East and Africa markets," he stated.

Jafza is one of Dubais success stories that has developed in line with the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai to make the emirate a hub for business and commerce.

The new-comers have increased the Free Zones active customer base to over 7,500 in 2017. A regional breakdown of the number of companies in Jafza shows that the Middle East dominates with 49 per cent, followed by Asia-Pacific at 28 per cent, Europe 15 per cent, Africa 5 per cent and the Americas 3 per cent.

The electronics & electrical sector continues to lead accounting for 16 per cent of all Jafza-based companies, followed by machinery & equipment (13 per cent); foodstuffs, livestock & agricultural products, retail & general trading and vehicle & transport (all at 11 per cent).

The other industry verticals are metal, steel, construction and services (all at 8 per cent); Chemicals (7 per cent) healthcare and pharma (5 per cent); oil and gas abnd logistics (each at 4 per cent) and other sectors ccounting for two per cent.

Jafza One, is located at the heart of the business community adjoining Jebel Ali Port, rated among the Top 10 container ports globally.

Jafza is a dynamic base for more than 7,500 businesses, from over 100 countries, sustaining over 150,000 jobs. It accounts for almost 32 per cent of total FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) flows into the UAEand contributes 21 per cent of Dubais GDP on a yearly basis. In 2016, it generated trade worth $80.2 billion.-TradeArabia News Service
It also has to do with how you sleep. During REM sleep, we struggle to form new memories, says Robert Stickgold , at the division of sleep medicine at Harvard Medical School. If we wake during or just after a dream, however, we are able to grasp hold of it before it slips away  in other words, we can encode it into longer-term storage. So if you wake during the night, youll probably remember snatches of dreams you were having. On the other hand, if you wake with an alarm clock and cut short your REM sleep, you are unlikely to keep hold of that memory. That sudden switch of focus from being asleep and dreaming to awake and turning off the alarm interferes with the process of remembering.
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Saudi Arabias Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman recently held a key meeting with top Google executives to discuss the co-operation in cloud computing services and opportunities in the digital transformation initiative to localise technology and develop the digital environment, reported Arab News.

The crown prince discussed with Google CEO Pichai Sundararajan and President of Alphabet, Sergey Brin, the establishment of a research, development and training center for Saudi youth and enhancing cooperation in cybersecurity during his visit to the Google headquarters in San Francisco, stated the report.

During his visit, the crown prince was also briefed on the Google cloud and artificial intelligence and computer education, it added.
When, after class, JD objected to the latter, Abbate said the issue was settled  meaning that it fit Rawlss no-harm-to-others definition and, therefore, was not up for discussion. JD pursued Abbate, apparently as part of a premeditated plan to get her liberalism on record. JD then took his tape to another faculty member and at least one dean, but he went unheeded.
In a major move, national carrier SriLankan Airlines has appointed its new board of directors as it seeks to return the loss-making airline to profitability within the next three years.

The company has set up a new board of directors under the chairmanship of Ranjit Fernando in order to accelerate the restructuring process and create the enabling environment to proceed with entering into a Public-Private-Partnership with a strategic investor, said a statement from the airline.

The other board members appointed include Mano Tittewella (Ministry of Finance), Dr Roshan Perera (Central Bank), Air Marshal Kapila Jayampathi (Air Force Commander) and Susantha Katugampala (Lawyer/Barrister).

Fernando was picked up for the top job based on his experience in transforming the then State-owned National Development Bank where he served from its inception in 1979 until his retirement in 2001.

He was appointed as a director and chief executive of the bank in 1989 and gave leadership to the growth of the bank including its privatization and an extremely successful public issue of shares in 1993 and NDB becoming a Universal Bank, adding commercial banking with the acquisition of ABN Amro, insurance, venture capital, stock broking and Investment Banking to its product portfolio.

After retirement, Fernando has functioned as secretary of the Ministry of Industries and Chairman of several public listed companies and the UDA. He is an Attorney-at-Law, possessing a Bachelor of Law (Hons) Degree and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (UK), Chartered Institute of Bankers (UK) and a Companion of the Chartered Institute of Management (UK).

The restructuring and PPP process will continue to be guided by the Officials Committee chaired by the Secretary to the Treasury with the participation of the Secretary, Ministry of Public Enterprise Development and Chairman of the National Agency for Public Private Partnership (NAPPP), Thilan Wijesinghe, said the national carrier.

Wijesinghe serves as the Convener of the Officials Committee. The Officials Committee, set up in September 2017, will continue to refer required areas for direction by the Ministerial Committee chaired by the Prime Minister and for implementation by the Board of SriLankan Airlines.

Aviation Consultants, Nyras of UK, hired after a competitive process in November 2017 by the officials committee, will continue to report to the Officials Committee. This working arrangement is to ensure shareholder (Treasury) interests are adequately addressed in the restructuring process.

The final restructuring plan prepared by Nyras with the assistance of NAPPP has already been presented to the Ministerial Committee and will be submitted to the Cabinet of Ministers for approval upon being endorsed by the new Board of Directors.

Nyras has presented a detailed business plan that demonstrates the SriLankan Airlines Group can become viable in the short to medium term through the restructuring strategy.

This has similarities to the strategy adopted by Swiss Air and Aer Lingus, both advised by Nyras that resulted in turning these loss-making airlines turning into extremely profitable companies.

The NAPPP, with the assistance of Nyras, will coordinate the PPP process that will be implemented in parallel with the restructuring process and advise the Ministry of Finance and Officials Committee. The NAPPP will also advise the Officials Committee on the debt restructuring process designed to mitigate any impact on the General Treasury and State Banks, who are the largest lenders to SriLankan Airlines.-TradeArabia News Service
For months now, so much of Orbans rhetoric has focused on how faraway bureaucrats and boogeymen have subverted Hungarys national interests to line the coffers of what he couches as an international financial conspiracy, a rhetorical line some see as little more than a modern remake of an anti-Semitic trope. Yet it would be a mistake to cast his victory on Sunday  almost a foregone conclusion  merely as an internal assault on the European consensus, even if that is the result.
Only a tiny proportion of the 2 million Palestinians in Gaza are ever able to get out due to tight travel restriction by Israel  which says such limitations are necessary for security reasons due to the militant group Hamas controlling the area  and only sporadic opening of the Egyptian border. For many young people, the 140-square-mile strip of territory on the Mediterranean is the only world they know.
Kind and caring Breda was always thinking of others
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 7/4/2018 (1271 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Tim Cooks book detailing a First World War battle has won the 2018 J.W. Dafoe Book Prize.

Vimy: The Battle and the Legend was published by Allen Lane (a division of Penguin Canada) in March 2017, on the eve of the 100-year anniversary of the First World War battle in France. The J.W. Dafoe Book Prize is worth $10,000, and is awarded to the "best [non-fiction] book on Canada, Canadians, and/or Canadas place in the world" published in the previous year. The 2018 recipient was announced Friday.

Cook will receive the prize  named after John Wesley Dafoe, the longtime editor of the Manitoba Free Press (later renamed to the Winnipeg Free Press)  in a ceremony on May 29 in Winnipeg. A public reading and presentation will take place on May 30 at 7 p.m. at McNally Robinson Booksellers Grant Park location.

The Ottawa-based Cook is a writer and military historian who also won the J.W. Dafoe Book Prize in 2007 for his book At the Sharp End: Canadians Fighting the Great War, 1914-1916.

Other shortlisted titles for the 2018 prize were Christopher Dummitts Unbuttoned: The History of Mackenzie Kings Secret Life, Ken McGoogans Dead Reckoning: The Untold Story of the Northwest Passage, Tanya Talagas Seven Fallen Feathers: Racism, Death, and Hard Truths in a Northern City and Mark Zuehlkes The Cinderella Campaign: First Canadian Army and the Battles for the Channel Ports.
The competition for Amazons second headquarters is only getting fiercer. The politicking that goes with it ranges from subtle and behind the scenes to brazenly in-your-face. At stake is a destiny-changing bonanza that is a modern-day equivalent of a railroad siting.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 7/4/2018 (1271 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The competition for Amazons second headquarters is only getting fiercer. The politicking that goes with it ranges from subtle and behind the scenes to brazenly in-your-face. At stake is a destiny-changing bonanza that is a modern-day equivalent of a railroad siting.

Just last week, an airplane waving a banner proclaiming "No Gays? No Way!" soared for four hours past Amazons Seattle headquarters, imploring the company not to locate HQ2 in states lacking protections for LGBTTQ* employees.

Everybody with an opinion on which place should win is letting the company know.

Amazons decision-makers are weighing many factors among 20 finalist locations, and only they know how much certain variables count: suitable buildings or sites, a highly educated labour pool, international airports and other stated requirements. Whats less easily quantified  and perhaps as important  are local politics and where CEO Jeff Bezos wants to spend time when not at HQ1.

The company will effectively wind up planting a mini-Seattle in the middle of another community, so the political and cultural inclinations of its young, STEM-educated workforce, anticipated to reach as many as 50,000 over time, also could dramatically transform the selected city.

Its the Amazon Effect: endless dog parks, kilometres of new bicycle lanes, new buses, streetcars, streetcar cost overruns, outdoor recreation stores and gastropubs for vegans. Not to mention a slew of Democratic voters who tend to believe in environmental sustainability and sensible gun control.

So when Georgia lawmakers yanked a big tax break for Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines earlier this year over the companys severed ties with the NRA, Amazon executives who keep mum about the second headquarters derby privately expressed skepticism about Atlantas chances. A Boston-area college lecturer pushed the point further in a piece in Forbes: "Deltas NRA Move Gives Boston HQ2 Edge Over Atlanta."

Sure, Peter Cohan, who teaches business strategy at Babson College in Wellesley, Mass., got a little out in front of his skis. Amazon officials have not mentioned a short-short list, and, if one exists, who knows which cities are vying against each other.

But on its face, the idea that self-styled progressive cities in red states  Atlanta or Austin or Raleigh  are at a disadvantage makes sense. No matter how hip the city may be, would Amazon risk setting up shop in a state that might, say, allow cake bakers to turn down gay weddings or ban transgender people from the bathroom of their choice?

Bezoss own positions on many issues are unknown except that he is described as a libertarian who favours gay rights. His most notable foray into Washington state politics came in 2012 when he and his wife donated US$2.5 million to the gay-marriage campaign. Last year, he was awarded the national equality award from the Human Rights Campaign, an advocacy group.

"He is one of those executives who wants to be remembered as being on the right side of history," said Thomas OGuinn, a marketing professor at the University of Wisconsin school of business.

"Part of the quid pro quo is there will be none of this stupid gender bathroom stuff. They are going to demand that the city do everything it can to fight voter suppression. They are going to demand high attention paid to meaningful spending on the environment and more efficient greenhouse reductions."

One of the weirdest moments in tea-leaf reading came when a small website in Arlington, Va. (three D.C.-area sites are finalists), noticed a boost in readership of a post about an award Arlington County received from the U.S. Green Building Council. The accolade apparently drew a high number of views from an Amazon web location working on HQ2.

In Texas, a business group blocked a bathroom bill last summer, before the Amazon competition began. But another attempt at such legislation in the state is possible in 2019.

"Study after study shows millennials in particular want to work for a company that is open and accepting to all its employees," said Chris Wallace, president of the Texas Association of Business. He cited research showing Texas would have lost billions of dollars if the bill had passed.

The Amazon HQ2 list of "key preferences and decision drivers" calls for "a compatible cultural and community environment" and that includes "the presence and support of a diverse population."

In the view of No Gay No Way, which is funded by more than a dozen LGBTTQ* donors and activists, that should rule out places in states with "no comprehensive legal protections" for gays and lesbians. Its a long list: Atlanta, Austin, Columbus, Dallas, Indianapolis, Miami, Nashville, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Raleigh as well as northern Virginia.

But no metropolitan area in contention will be as pro-gay rights, pro-sustainability, pro-composting, pro-climbing walls, pro bring-dogs-to-work as the home of HQ1. (Seattle has more dogs than children, and well-behaved dogs may spend time at work. What better way to keep employees Velcroed to their desks?)

Cities are naturally more liberal than suburbs or rural areas, but the Amazon finalists are more so, voting for Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump by 57 per cent to 38 per cent, according to Echelon Insights, a research and analytics firm. Other top-50 markets favoured Clinton by just three points.

Once Amazon selects a second headquarters, employees (including some Seattle employees who presumably will help set up the new campus) will usher in an unabashed urbanism. They will demand non-car transportation options and prompt a big spike in housing costs. Seattle is often ranked as the fastest growing city in the United States, boasting, if that is the right word, rapidly rising housing and rental prices.

Over time, growth politics become all-consuming, pitting old-timers (you know, those with perhaps five years of residency) against newcomers in battles over density and traffic.

But starting almost from Day 1, the new headquarters city will get a huge boost from massive investment in real estate as tax coffers fill, new restaurants arise and newcomers bearing new ideas energize the place.

New York University marketing professor Scott Galloway thinks all the speculation about the new site is moot at this point.

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"The cake is baked," he said, and the winner is one of three D.C.-area sites. After all, D.C. is where Bezos recently acquired a huge house, where he and his family might want to spend time, where the political action is, where decisions will be made about the companys future. And given that U.S. President Donald Trump has expressed special animus for Amazon, wouldnt it be better to be a player where the decisions are made?

"The only thing standing between Amazon and a trillion-dollar market capitalization is regulation," said Galloway, dubbed the Amazon whisperer after his lucky or brilliant prediction that Amazon would buy Whole Foods last year (it did a few weeks later). "The ultimate prophylactic against regulation is to be the local boy in D.C. No one is going to regulate the guy throwing out the first pitch at the Washington Nationals game, which will be Jeff Bezos."

The Amazon search comes at a time of declining confidence in government, Congress, religion and other institutions, said OGuinn, the Wisconsin professor.

"A public that doesnt believe in other institutions has to start looking at companies to be part of the moral fabric of the country."

Amazon officialdom may not want to play that role. But for competitive business reasons, it has to reflect the social and political values of its young workforce. If thats a culture war, then its one worth fighting.

 Bloomberg News
Canadas dairy system has figured prominently in the rhetorical dust storm surrounding ongoing NAFTA renegotiations. The Canadian government has so far remained steadfastly opposed to any significant change.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 7/4/2018 (1271 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Opinion

Canadas dairy system has figured prominently in the rhetorical dust storm surrounding ongoing NAFTA renegotiations. The Canadian government has so far remained steadfastly opposed to any significant change.

Two documents that surfaced this week help explain why.

The first, the U.S. Department of Agricultures Regulatory Economic Impact Analysis of the Final Decision to Establish a California Federal Milk Marketing Order, has nothing to do with NAFTA.

But it does provide a window on the convoluted world of U.S. dairy policy. If Canadas system of supply management is complicated, the U.S. system is damn complicated.

There are striking similarities, however. Both regulate milk prices, both use price pooling, and both systems have an effect on consumer prices; sometimes consumers pay more than they might in an unregulated market, sometimes they pay less.

In fact, University of Guelph agricultural economist Al Mussell says the two systems are mirror images of each other  with a few notable exceptions.

Although the U.S. supports prices, it does not control supply, which leads to prolonged periods of overproduction. As one observer noted, the U.S.s latest dairy crisis isnt because of Canadas supply management system, its because the U.S. has too much milk.

Canada controls production through quotas. Those quotas have been capitalized into a producers cost of being in business, although they are not factored into the cost-of-production formulas used to set the price of milk. Quota purchase is an asset, not unlike the purchase of farmland, the cost of which has no bearing on the price farmers receive for their grain.

Both countries limit dairy imports. The difference is, Canadian import tariffs are transparent.

"We may have 300 per cent tariffs (on butter), but they have equivalent protective trade measures that are maybe not as high as some our tariffs, but they have the same effect. It is very hard to export to the U.S., I would argue its almost equivalent," Mussell said in an interview. Canadian dairy exports are deemed subsidized and penalized under world trade rules. U.S. dairy exports face no such sanctions.

So for the U.S. to call out Canada in trade talks "is like the pot calling the kettle black," Mussell says.

That brings us to the second document released this week, an analysis by Export Action Global consultants that challenges the notion that Canadian dairy products are overpriced and that consumers fare better in a deregulated dairy market.

The report Dairy Systems Around The World: Are Canadian Consumers and Farmers Better Off with the Canadian Model? is consistent with what Canadian dairy lobbyists have been saying for years.

According to author Adam Taylor, however, the analysis was not commissioned. "We wanted to paint a more fulsome picture of dairy systems around the world especially how both consumers and farmers are affected."

It found that Canadian dairy prices are similar, and in some cases significantly lower than prices in deregulated milk markets in the U.K., Australia, New Zealand and the European Union.

"Virtually all of these jurisdictions swapped regulation for new and larger subsidies," it says.

"Consumers pay for their products once at the retail level and again through their tax dollars."

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The U.S. dairy sector is heavily reliant on another subsidy of sorts, undocumented foreign workers.

The U.S. National Milk Producers Federation issued a report in 2015 that said immigrants, many in the country illegally, make up half the workers on U.S. dairy farms.

If they were lost, milk production costs would rise and retail milk prices would nearly double.

It also notes that simply gaining access to the Canadian market, as the Trump administration is demanding, would not solve the U.S. dairy crisis. Ten per cent of the Canadian market equates with only one per cent of U.S. dairy production. "The Canadian market only becomes attractive if Canada was to permit full access  hence the call by some U.S. interests to dismantle supply management."

But there are also growing calls from within the U.S. dairy sector to mimic the Canadian system rather than push for its demise. Maybe thats why U.S. trade negotiators want it off the radar.

Laura Rance is editorial director at Glacier FarmMedia. She can be reached at 204-792-4382 or laura@fbcpublishing.com
The arrest of seven johns and the seizure of their vehicles during a Thursday night sweep of the West End was music to the ears of a sex-trafficking opponent.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 6/4/2018 (1271 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The arrest of seven "johns" and the seizure of their vehicles during a Thursday night sweep of the West End was music to the ears of a sex-trafficking opponent.

"Im so glad these johns were apprehended and their vehicles were seized," said Joy Smith. The former teacher, MLA and MP started the Joy Smith Foundation to use education to keep Canadians safe from "manipulation, force, or abuse of power designed to lure and exploit them into the sex trade or forced labour."

"That is wonderful, and the Winnipeg police department is to be commended," she said Friday.

Officers from its counter-exploitation unit arrested seven men, ranging in age from 29 to 73, for preying on the vulnerable, the Winnipeg Police Service said.

They were all charged with obtaining sexual services for consideration, had their vehicles seized under the Highway Traffic Act, and were released on a promise to appear. Six of the accused were diverted to the "john school" program for offenders, police said.

The Salvation Armys "prostitution offender program" caters to those "referred by the court as consumers of prostitution." It includes an intake appointment, a full-day session and a closing session.

The Highway Traffic Act says a peace officer, who on reasonable grounds believes a motor vehicle is being operated in the course of committing a specified offence related to obtaining sexual services or procuring, must seize the motor vehicle and take it into the custody of the law.

With a lot of the johns, their families dont know what theyre doing and theres some explaining that has to be done  Joy Smith

Sending an offender to john school and seizing their vehicle chips away at their ability to sexually exploit vulnerable people, said Smith.

"John school is a good idea. You cant get inside their heads, but it is good for them to hear from the victims, to hear their feelings," said Smith, who became aware of the plight when her son, who is a police officer, was a member of the integrated child-exploitation unit.

"They get to hear testimonies from them and about the person controlling them," Smith said. "They just think theyre being sexually serviced by a young girl and dont stop to think what it does to the other person.

"They dont ask what age they are, and there are a lot who are underage women, with a trafficker who controls them."

For victims of sex trafficking, "Its paid rape, is what it is," Smith said. "Its a horrendous life for young women whove gone to hell and back."

Seizing a johns vehicle may also alert the people he lives with to what hes been up to, she said.

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"With a lot of the johns, their families dont know what theyre doing and theres some explaining that has to be done," said Smith.

Manitoba is one of several provinces that amended legislation to allow police to seize, impound and later sell vehicles used in picking up persons selling sexual services on the street, says the parliamentary report Prostitution in Canada: International Obligations, Federal Law, and Provincial and Municipal Jurisdiction.

In Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan, legislation allows police to seize and impound vehicles used in prostitution-related offences. Vehicles will be returned if the accused is acquitted or attends a "john school" to learn about the ramifications of prostitution and its effect on victims.

In Manitoba and Saskatchewan, only first-time offenders are offered the option of attending john school, the report said. If an accused does not complete or fully comply with the john school conditions, his or her drivers licence is suspended.

In Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, if the accused is convicted of the prostitution-related offence, they forfeit the vehicle, the report said.

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 6/4/2018 (1271 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

City puts brakes on Peggo payments

The city said it wont pay its Peggo bill until the transit fare system runs smoothly for at least six months.

Quebec contractor Garival is owed $2.3 million, but the public service recommends waiting to pay the debt until Peggo runs without a hitch, the city said Friday.

Some university students experienced problems loading their U-Pass cards in January, while other riders were overcharged by Peggos auto-reload function in February. One man was accidentally charged $72,000 due to a reloading glitch. The money was repaid.

The Peggo system was rolled out in Winnipeg in 2016, as the city phases out the use of coins and paper bus passes.

Police under budget on salaries, benefits

The Winnipeg Police Service delivered its last quarterly budget update of 2017 to the citys finance committee Friday.

The report shows the WPS came in under budget on salaries and benefits from a year earlier for the first time in recent memory, police said. Costs decreased by $634,000 from 2016.

"With salaries being 85 per cent of our budget, seeing any sort of decrease, even though its a nominal percentage, is a significant event," a police spokesperson said.

Committee chair Coun. Scott Gillingham said he had to read that line in the update a few times for it to sink in, calling the information "remarkable."

Overtime costs were down about $721,000 from 2016.

Revenue from photo enforcement, especially in school zones, was up in 2017, though the report did not say by how much. Traditional ticket enforcement increased by about 11 per cent or 5,840 tickets from a year earlier.

The full report is available on the citys website.

Rapid transit phase 2 is 42% complete

Construction and funding for the second phase of the southwest rapid transit corridor is on target and on budget.

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Members of the citys finance committee were told the project is 42 per cent done.

Construction at Pembina Highway and Jubilee Avenue is ongoing, despite winter conditions. Building of a wall to block traffic noise south of Bishop Grandin Boulevard is finished.

Canadian National Railway has abandoned its request for the city to build a third track in the rapid transit system. It could revisit this idea in the future, a transit spokesperson said.

"CN has removed that particular element or that request from the City of Winnipeg for this project, which was huge for us because it created a significant risk on both schedule and cost."

The next public information session about the transit corridor is set for April 26 at Canad Inns Fort Garry.

 Jessica Botelho-Urbanski
The number of children accessing provincial disability services has grown steadily over the past six years, according to a Healthy Child Manitoba report released this week.

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This article was published 7/4/2018 (1271 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The number of children accessing provincial disability services has grown steadily over the past six years, according to a Healthy Child Manitoba report released this week.

The second child and youth report, which is legislated for release every five years, shows the number of children and their families getting support through Childrens Disability Services has grown to more than 5,500 in 2016-17 from less than 4,800 in 2011-12.

The increase is partly a result of Manitobas growing population, a provincial spokesman said, but mostly due to the increasing prevalence of autism.

There are no firm numbers, just best estimates. Last month, the Public Health Agency of Canada released its first estimates, suggesting one in 66 children in Canada has an autism spectrum disorder that affects communication and behaviour.

"This is a challenge that all jurisdictions are now facing," the provincial spokesman said.

The growth isnt necessarily negative, he noted. As children get diagnosed at younger ages and more people become aware of what is and isnt considered typical childhood development, theyre getting help sooner. That is tied to better and more affordable outcomes.

The number of children who get help barely scratches the surface of those who need it, said Guy Mercier, president of the Manitoba Families for Effective Autism Treatment.

Mercier, who advocates on behalf of parents of autistic children and is himself the parent of an autistic teenage boy, said thats partly because to use the program, a diagnosis must be made. Many parents and guardians wait months, he said.

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"Once you get a diagnosis, a lot of people dont know that there are these disability services," Mercier said. "Even if they do know how to access it, they sometimes dont get them. And then even if they do get workers, they sometimes dont get the support they need because the fundings not there."

The provincial spokesman said Manitoba recently made changes geared toward putting families in touch with support workers more quickly, and pointed to last months budget, which promises additional funding for therapy services, which will mean more workers on the ground.

However, he acknowledged, "predicting future needs is a challenge."

Thats why Manitoba needs to invest time in getting comprehensive numbers, Mercier said.

"What it would help to do is project the number of kids that are going to need services and project the funding thats going to be needed to support these kids, and then ultimately adults, as they go forward."

jane.gerster@freepress.mb.ca
Premier Brian Pallister is warning Ottawa to back off on plans to foist higher carbon taxes on Manitobans than the province is willing to impose  or face a lawsuit.

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This article was published 6/4/2018 (1271 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Premier Brian Pallister is warning Ottawa to "back off" on plans to foist higher carbon taxes on Manitobans than the province is willing to impose  or face a lawsuit.

At a news conference Friday, Pallister said a federal plan to eventually raise carbon prices to $50 a tonne would hurt Manitobas economy.

He blasted a federal official for saying this week Ottawa would create a system for collecting the carbon tax from Manitobans once the provinces $25-per tonne levy failed to meet minimum federal thresholds.

"I have a simple message for Ottawa today: back off or well see you in court," the premier said.

"If you cant prove your plan works better than the Manitoba plan, you have no right to invoke any higher levy on the people of Manitoba."

The federal plan calls for a $10-per-tonne levy starting this fall, rising to $20 at the start of 2019 and another $10 for each of the following three years, ending with a $50-a-tonne tax for 2022.

Manitoba has countered with a $25-per-tonne tax, set to begin this fall, with no subsequent increases.

The province argues this will be as, or more, effective in reducing carbon emissions.

The federal government has always maintained its carbon tax targets are to be a minimum for all provinces.

However, the comment this week by a federal official, quoted in the Free Press, clearly angered Pallister.

The official said Ottawa would eventually establish a parallel process for collecting a top-up carbon tax beyond Manitobas $25 levy.

On Friday, Pallister called such talk "a very real threat" to Manitoba, because it will create "unnecessary uncertainty" in the business community and stifle investment.

He said under the provinces plan, Manitoba would have the lowest carbon levy in the country in three years.

At the same time, the premier called the federal officials comment "an empty threat," because he believes the feds "know they cant beat us in court."

Last fall, Pallister obtained a legal opinion from constitutional expert Bryan Schwartz, who said Manitoba might win a court case if it argued its flat $25-a-tonne levy achieved Ottawas emissions-reduction goals.

Caroline Theriault, a spokeswoman for federal Environment Minister Catherine McKenna, said Friday the federal carbon price schedule is clear.

"Weve also been clear that we will assess each province and territory each year against the federal benchmark," Theriault said.

"Manitobas current approach (instituting a $25-a-tonne levy this year) puts them in very good shape this year and next," she added.

Pallister said there is no guarantee Ottawa wont impose a carbon tax levy of more than $50 a tonne in the future.

"If we let them impose their plan on us, how do we stop them from continuing to raise it?" he said.

The Manitoba Progressive Conservatives have said they will use revenues from the carbon tax to reduce income taxes and shave a percentage point off the provincial sales tax.

Pallister said calls by NDP Leader Wab Kinew to use all or most of the revenues on programs to reduce carbon emissions would harm the economy by taking hundreds of millions of dollars out of Manitobans pockets over the next several years.

On Friday, Kinew criticized the premier for picking fights that dont advance the interests of Manitobans.

He said he hears little from Pallister about the environment and reducing emissions.

Kinew accused the provincial government of treating the carbon tax  expected to generate $248 million per year  as a "cash grab."

"This government still cant point to a single program that is going to be put into place that the average family... could access to make the transition to a lower-carbon lifestyle," he said.

Earlier this week, the NDP used a procedural tactic to delay passage of the provinces Climate and Green Plan Implementation Act until the fall.

The province had planned to begin collecting the carbon tax Sept. 1.

Manitobans will start paying more for gas, diesel and home-heating fuel on Dec. 1, once Bill 16 is assured passage.

The carbon tax is expected to cost a couple with two children about $300 a year.

On Friday, the NDP received rare applause from the Canadian Taxpayers Federation for its action.

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"Kinews delay of the carbon tax will save taxpayers millions," federation Prairie director Todd MacKay said.

On Friday, Pallister said the government is looking for ways to pass the bill sooner.

If it cant, he said, a "logical consequence" would be the province will run a higher deficit than it planned.

Its expected the delay in imposing the tax will cost the provincial treasury about $60 million in revenue.

 with files from Dylan Robertson

larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca
Sagkeeng First Nation says it has filed a notice of application for judicial review against Manitoba Hydro and the province, throwing the weight of the courts into the fate of the proposed Manitoba-Minnesota Transmission Project.

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This article was published 7/4/2018 (1271 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Sagkeeng First Nation says it has filed a notice of application for judicial review against Manitoba Hydro and the province, throwing the weight of the courts into the fate of the proposed Manitoba-Minnesota Transmission Project.

In the process, the Treaty One First Nation beat the Manitoba Metis Federation to the courts.

The federation announced last week it would take legal action against the province, also through a judicial review of Premier Brian Pallisters order to have Hydro cancel a $67.5-million compensation deal with the federation.

The agreement, which the premier called "hush money," was in advance of construction of the proposed $453-million electrical transmission line.

However, the federations hands are tied until the province formally nixes the deal in writing.

In its motion to the Court of Queens Bench, Sagkeeng argued Manitoba "completely" failed in its duty to consult and accommodate the First Nation, located 145 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg.

That failure must be remedied before the project can move through regulatory stages and be approved and it needs a consultation process, the document said.

Judicial review is the process that allows courts to supervise administrative tribunals and allows individuals to challenge state actions, ensuring decisions made by such tribunals follow the rule of law.

Manitoba Hydro is aware of the court action but had no comment Friday, a spokesman for the Crown corporation said.

The issue is the distinction between lip service and meaningful consultation, a Sagkeeng representative said.

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"The government cant simply make up for themselves what accommodation is... From a very practical perspective, how can they know if the accommodation theyve chosen will actually address the concerns of the First Nation until theyve consulted on it?" said Corey Shefman, Sagkeengs counsel with the law firm Olthuis Kleer Townshend LLP.

The proposed Manitoba-Minnesota electrical link has been the focus of controversy between the province, the Metis federation and the former board of Manitoba Hydro.

A group of landowners has also weighed in against the project, but on the provinces side. The Southeast Stakeholders Coalition echoed Pallisters "hush money" comments in its motion to delay regulatory hearings pending an investigation.

Shefman said apart from all that, theres speculation Hydro cant afford to compensate Indigenous groups for megaprojects such as the Minnesota transmission line. The court motion is Sagkeengs way of saying, if a project cant sustain compensation to Indigenous groups, then its not financially viable, he said.

The $453-million Manitoba-Minnesota transmission line would be the final link in a chain to move hydro power from northern Manitoba through the Bipole III transmission line to a station east of Winnipeg, then south across the U.S. border.

alexandra.paul@freepress.mb.ca
It is often said that no one is above the law. Frequently, however, we are reminded that lawmakers not only think they are above the law, for all intents and purposes, they often are.

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This article was published 7/4/2018 (1271 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Editorial

It is often said that no one is above the law. Frequently, however, we are reminded that lawmakers not only think they are above the law, for all intents and purposes, they often are.

A graphic example of this can be found in recent Free Press stories about the travails of some rural municipal elected officials. These councillors  many of them women  have told us harrowing tales of being bullied and threatened by their council colleagues.

The story entered the public consciousness for Manitobans nearly one year ago, when Ritchot Mayor Jackie Hunt was forced to resign after being subjected to repeated bullying and profane attacks by other council members. Although the councillors involved denied wrongdoing, one well-reported incident involved a councillor calling Mayor Hunt a "f---ing b---h" in front of 80 people at a public meeting.

If only her experience was isolated.

In more recent reports, we have learned that another female elected official was told by a colleague he would like to strangle her with her own pantyhose. Others have being subjected to the indignity of motions restricting their opportunities to go to the bathroom during council meetings. Still other female politicians have told tales of finding dead animals left on decks and porches.

This is a disgusting trend, particularly, it seems, for rural municipal councils that seem immune from the concepts of decency and social evolution. Although local governments in major urban centres are not immune from this kind of harassment, these cowardly acts seem to be more common in rural communities where neither the public nor the media pays much attention.

But what to do about it? The reprehensible behaviour of municipal elected officials is a national problem, with most provinces reporting stories similar to those being told in Manitoba. In almost every instance  "almost" being the operative word  local governments and the provincial governments that are responsible for their existence have been unable to find a practical solution.

There has been some progress in improving federal and provincial legislation to make it easier for individuals to come forward with allegations of harassment in all its forms. But, as a nation, we have profoundly failed to create a regime under which elected officials  from Ottawa all the way down to rural municipal governments  can be held truly accountable for their abhorrent behaviour.

Manitoba Municipal Relations Minister Jeff Wharton has been in discussions with the Association of Manitoba Municipalities, which has several times asked for changes to provincial law to impose a standard code of conduct and specific penalties for elected officials who engage in all forms of harassment. To date, the province has been supportive but non-committal about what its prepared to do.

It would be easy to criticize Wharton for the casual approach to addressing such a pressing issue. However, its impossible to escape the fact that when you get deep into the debate over how to curb harassment among elected officials, there are more questions than answers.

Who or what employs an elected official? They are not "employed" per se, but rather are elected by their constituents. And they are not considered civil servants for legal or administrative purposes. That makes you wonder  if elected officials are guilty of some form of misconduct that falls short of a criminal act, to whom or what are they accountable?

Another complicating factor is the issue of privilege.

It is generally accepted that elected officials in this country are shielded from the consequences of workplace safety and health laws, a common avenue of relief for harassment complaints, because they enjoy "parliamentary privilege" over much of what they say and do. This is a device designed to prevent politicians from being manipulated by outside forces.

Although the extent of the protection afforded elected officials has never been fully tested in the courts in the context of harassment or bullying, it is also generally accepted that legislatures do not have the legal authority to pass laws that limit or otherwise change the scope of privilege.

What this means is that at the federal and provincial levels, instances of harassment have been handled through party structures, which allow politicians off with a slap on the wrist or  in cases such as the allegations against Stan Struthers when he was an NDP cabinet minister  no punishment at all.

That kind of approach isnt very helpful at the local government level, where privilege is a more nebulous concept and there is typically no party affiliation.

Privilege is an important democratic concept, but it is too often used as an excuse for lawmakers who tend to shy away from any issue that involves a debate about how to effectively police and punish themselves.

The excuse is being used right now in Ottawa, where the federal Liberal government has mostly failed to deal effectively with a spate of cases in which elected officials have reportedly harassed staff and other elected officials.

A workplace harassment bill introduced in January is a perfect example of the lack of political will at work when it comes to dishing out appropriate punishment to harassers. Bill C-65 would extend protection against all forms of workplace harassment to those working in federally regulated industries. However, House of Commons staff, and those working directly for politicians, only receive a modicum of that protection.

The bill does give staffers a new reporting mechanism and the option of going through an independent mediation that is acceptable to both parties. However, the bill does not prescribe specific penalties. The absence of concrete consequences is a frequent omission in most jurisdictions, as elected officials are loathe to prescribe remedies that might mean giving up a seat.

Not all jurisdictions have wilted in the face of this confounding problem.

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Late last year, an all-party committee of the Saskatchewan legislature developed a new policy to deal with harassment between elected officials. The policy opens up a new reporting mechanism and provides for an investigation to be conducted by a retired judge. Legislators found culpable of some act of harassment can face penalties that range from suspension to being forced to vacate their seats.

Without the gravitas of being an actual law, the new anti-harassment policy is ripe for legal challenge, and can only succeed with the voluntary participation of all politicians and parties in the provincial legislature. Given that allegations of harassment are explosive, politically charged issues, it seems likely that Saskatchewans new policy will face significant challenges.

However, the point here is that Saskatchewan is trying. As is the case with conflict-of-interest legislation, provincial legislatures tend to take a hands-off approach when it comes to punishing elected officials for their misdeeds. That just isnt good enough anymore.

The advent of #MeToo and #TimesUp has signalled a new era in which doing little or nothing to confront abuse and harassment is no longer acceptable. In that context, Manitoba needs to dig a little deeper for a creative solution to curb the toxic behaviour of rural elected officials who seem to think they are living in the 1950s.

In almost every way possible, times up on that kind of thinking.

dan.lett@freepress.mb.ca
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In a memo published late on Friday night, the Trump administration announced it will take concrete measures to indefinitely jail immigrants captured crossing the border. Not since President Franklin Roosevelt ordered the internment of Japanese and Japanese-Americans has the government put in motion mass incarceration on such a scale.

The new policy is part of an overall campaign of terror by the Trump administration, with the complicity of the Democrats, targeting immigrant workers. On Thursday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials raided a meatpacking plant in rural Tennessee, arresting 97 immigrants, in one of the largest workplace raids in recent years.

The Trump administration memo will exponentially expand the constellation of immigrant internment camps that dot the American southwest. It calls for the attorney general and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to allocate all legally available resources to construct, operate, control, or modifyor establish contracts to construct, operate, control, or modifyfacilities to detain aliens for violations of immigration law at or near the borders of the United States.

As of Friday evening, no Democratic Party leader had indicated opposition to the memo. In March, Democrats joined Republicans in passing a $1.3 trillion spending bill that included a provision that grants Trump the power to expand the system of immigrant prisons as necessary to ensure the detention of aliens prioritized for removal.

Friday's memo orders DHS to produce a detailed list of all existing facilities, including military facilities, that could be used, modified, or repurposed to detain aliens for violations of immigration law at or near the borders of the United States. The real purpose of Trumps decision to deploy 2,000-4,000 National Guard troops to the US-Mexico border is to mobilize soldiers to guard makeshift military detention camps or free up ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents to perform that function.

The memo cites as its authority executive orders issued by Trump in January 2017 that call for an end to what Trump refers to as the policy of "catch and release. This is, in fact, a basic principle of due process. Immigrants who are interviewed by an asylum officer and can prove they have a credible fear of returning to their home country are allowed to live in the US as their deportation proceedings play out in administrative court.

Both the memos demand for an appraisal of national detention facilities and its timingcoming after nearly a week of racist, anti-immigrant statements by Trump and the announcement of the deployment of the National Guardindicates that Trump is taking active steps to put his internment plan in motion.

The move is strengthened by a March Supreme Court decision that immigrants do not have the right to bail hearings. As a result, the implementation of Trumps plan will leave tens or hundreds of thousands of immigrants incarcerated for months or even years. The average immigration case is pending for nearly two years.

The memo is based on a fraudulent and racist pretext. It cites the smuggling of drugs and other contraband, and entry of gang members and other criminals at the border of the United States who threaten our national security and public safety.

The overwhelming majority of immigrants crossing the US-Mexico border are workers who have never committed any crime and are seeking refuge from home countries ravaged by decades of imperialist exploitation and US-backed dictators and death squads.

Friday nights memo calls for DHS and the Department of Justice (DOJ) to assign asylum officers to immigration detention facilities to quickly determine whether immigrants have a credible fear of returning to their home countries. The memo demands that these officers ensure that immigrants do not illegally exploit asylum laws to prevent the removal of otherwise removable aliens.

In other words, the administration is giving asylum officers tacit orders to deny the vast majority of worthy asylum applications and ensure the broadest possible deportation. During credible fear interviews, officers routinely commit fraud, make up testimony, destroy immigrants documents and belongings, and force them to sign paperwork they have not read.

The memo also calls on the secretary of state and DHS to take measures against countries that refuse to expeditiously accept the repatriation of their nationals. Some countries, like Somalia, Cambodia and others, do not accept the repatriation of people who do not have documents proving they were born in those countries.

The New York Times and the Democratic Party have downplayed the significance of the directive. The Times wrote Friday night, calling the memo a symbolic move that does not, on its own, toughen immigration policy or take concrete steps to do so.

In fact, the memo orders the Pentagon to put together a list of internment camps and toughen its policies to detain immigrants. The Times and the Democratic Party fear that Trumps movespublished late night Friday in order to receive limited attentionwill generate mass protests akin to those that swept the country after Trump issued his initial travel ban in January 2017.
The massive annual US-South Korean war games known as Foal Eagle and Key Resolve began last week. The drills, which were delayed to allow North Korea to participate in last months Winter Olympics in South Korea, take place amid continuing high tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

The exercises, which usually last two months, will run for just one month and not involve key US strategic assets, such as an aircraft carrier strike group, nuclear submarines and nuclear-capable bombers. The lower-key approach follows the announcement of talks between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in this month, and between Kim and US President Donald Trump, possibly in May.

While the Pentagon, as it ritually does, said the exercises have a defensive character, they are a barely-disguised rehearsal for war with North Korea. Foal Eagle will involve 11,500 American troops and about 300,000 South Korean troops, backed by heavy armour, artillery and war planes. Key Resolve is a two-week, computer-based command-and-control exercise involving 12,000 US and 10,000 South Korean troops.

There is nothing defensive about these war games. They are premised on OPLAN 5015, agreed by the US and South Korea in 2015, that involves pre-emptive strikes on North Korea and decapitation raids to kill its top leaders.

Moreover, while so-called strategic assets will not be involved, a US Navy Expeditionary Strike Group (ESP) will take part in a joint landing exercise at Pohang in South Korea. The ESP features the USS Wasp, an amphibious assault ship that supports a Marine expeditionary unit, helicopters and short take-off/vertical landing F-35B fighter aircraft. The strike group includes three guided missile destroyers.

Designed for rapid deployment, the ESP features a squadron of six F-35Bsthe Marine variant of the fifth-generation fighter. The squadron is the first that has been forward deployedthat is, in a potential or actual war zone.

North Koreas response to the joint war games has been muted, despite protests against the recent sale of hi-tech weapons to South Korea. After South Korean officials took delivery of the first of 46 F-35A fighters in late March, the North Korean state media declared that the purchase gets in the way of the ongoing peace momentum and dialogue and confrontation can never co-exist at the same time.

Nevertheless, North Korea has not issued strident denunciations of the joint exercises or carried out any drills of its own. During last years war games, North Korea launched several medium-range ballistic missiles that splashed down off the coast of Japan. This year, Pyongyang indicated it will not object to the joint exercises and not conduct further testing of its nuclear weapons or missiles prior to talks.

North and South Korean officials last week agreed that the summit between Kim and Moon would take place on April 27 in the truce village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that divides the peninsula. It is only the third summit between top Korean leadersthe others were held in 2000 and 2007. A further meeting of officials from the two Koreas on Thursday finalised protocols and security arrangements.

A South Korean presidential spokesman told the media this week that Moons top priorities would be denuclearisation and sustained peace. According to the South Korean press, one possibility under discussion is a joint statement at the conclusion of the summit committing North Korea to denuclearisation ahead of talks between Kim and Trump in May.

South Korea has made symbolic gestures aimed at creating the appearance of eased tensions on the Korean Peninsula. The latest involved sending a group of musicians, including K-pop stars Red Velvet, to Pyongyang where they entertained North Korean officials, including Kim and his wife, last Sunday.

However, the prospects of a nuclear deal to end the danger of a calamitous war in North East Asia remain slim. Trump, who is a bitter critic of the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran, has insisted that North Korea must abandon its nuclear and missile programs and allow for an ever-more intrusive inspection regimethat is, complete North Korean capitulation. His bellicose threats, including at the UN, where he warned of the total destruction of North Korea, have only driven Pyongyang to accelerate the development of a nuclear arsenal.

Trumps appointment of John Bolton as his national security adviser suggests that the US views any talks with North Korea as the means for staging a provocation that will provide the pretext for war. Bolton, who is notorious for his advocacy of bombing Iran and North Korea to stop the supposed nuclear threat, wrote a comment in the Wall Street Journal in February setting out a pseudo-legal case for a pre-emptive attack on North Korea.

The lack of preparations for a Trump-Kim summit also demonstrates that there is no commitment on Washingtons part to end the confrontation with North Korea. Analyst Victor Cha explained in an interview with MSNBC this week: Usually, you want the summit to come at the end, after youve had a year of negotiations. He warned that the talks could lead to an angry walk-out that would mean theres no place left to go, theres no more diplomacy.

The White House blocked Chas appointment as US ambassador to South Korea earlier this year after the former Bush administration official was critical of Trumps plans for a pre-emptive military strike on North Korea. There is currently no US ambassador in Seoul. In addition, there is only an acting assistant secretary of state for East Asia, and Mike Pompeos installation as secretary of state has yet to be confirmed.

As a result, Trumps National Security Council, not the State Department, has been given the leading role in organising the summit with Kim, with other agencies, including the CIA and Pentagon, giving inputs. The South Korean newspaper Hankyoreh reported that working-level talks between US and North Korean intelligence agencies have already taken place about the summit. Bolton, who takes over as national security adviser on Tuesday, will thus be in a prime position to derail any talks, which he has criticised repeatedly as worthless.
The strike by teachers in Oklahoma will continue into its second week on Monday, following the passage on Friday of a derisory spending bill by the Oklahoma Senate.

The Oklahoma Education Association (OEA), working in collaboration with Democratic and Republican lawmakers, is seeking to end the strike by Tuesday. The union praised the senates action on Friday and called for two additional measures that will do nothing to meet the demands of the teachers.

OEA President Alicia Priest declared Friday, Today the legislature started to hear us. Priest was referring to the revenue and tax bill that is expected to raise $20 million from an internet sales tax and $24 million from the legalization of ball and dice gambling in the state. Both are regressive taxes that would siphon more money from the working class in Oklahomaincluding the parents of many of the students that teachers serve every day.

Priest called for the Senate to take the additional measure of removing capital gains exemptions, saying that this would add an additional $100 million in revenue, and for Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin to veto the repeal of a tax on guests at hotels and motelsanother regressive measure.

The OEA has dropped all references to the main demands initially raised by teachers, including an immediate $10,000 pay raise for teachers, a $5,000 pay raise for school support staff, and $200 million in additional school funding. These measures would themselves not make up for a decade in which real school funding has been cut by more than 28 percent, or an average of $1,000 per pupil each year.

After the OEA published a notice Thursday night declaring that the bills before the Senate could turn the tide for education in Oklahoma and provide the additional funding our students deserve, teachers responded with comments opposing the effort to impose a sellout.

Lindey Robbins commented, Its time for OEA to have a clear and concise ask that teachers can get behind and stop the flip flopping or get out of the way! Another worker, Amy Forister, said, Please explain to your members what OEAs stance is as of right now!! Are we about to settle and walk away with a huge gap in the budget?! Samantha Hendrix commented, Clarification please!! Does this mean OEA wants to settle? We are not ready to settle. It is nowhere near what we asked for.

On Thursday night, Alberto Morejon, an Oklahoma teacher who initiated the Facebook page Oklahoma Teachers WalkoutThe Time is Now! posted a statement pointing to the OEAs efforts to shut down the strike. Morejon stated that after he called on Thursday afternoon for the strike to continue, a high up OEA official complained to him that he had cost us $17,000 for busses tomorrow to bring teachers to the state capital.

At the outset, the OEA and the American Federation of Teachers sought to prevent a strike. Priest initially hailed as historic a last-minute deal by lawmakers on March 29 aimed at averting a strike. It provided a $6,000 pay raiseapproximately half of what teachers demandedand no significant additional school funding.

When teachers rejected the deal, the unions responded by seeking to channel the strike behind support for the Democratic Party, telling teachers that the only way to defend public education was to vote in the November 2018 elections.

The unions initially hoped to limit the strike to one day, but they have not had control over the situation. Their fear now is that if they back a deal that teachers wont accept, they could face a revolt like that which occurred during the nine-day teachers strike in West Virginia.

The unions are trying to wear down teachers with fruitless appeals to Democratic lawmakers. At the same time, they are maneuvering with the legislature to make some gesture that they can sell to end the strike, while counting on a return to work in rural areas.

Above all, the unions want to block any national mobilization of teachers and other sections of the working class. In Kentucky, where teachers have engaged in mass sickouts and protests against a bill slashing pensions, the unions are telling workers not to take further action on Monday.

The Kentucky Education Association released a statement Friday repeating the lie of the media and politicians that any action by teachers will harm students. Our students need us to show up for them in classrooms and schools," it said. "We urge educators statewide not to allow our united efforts to be compromised by continued calls for action that deprive students, parents and communities of the educational services we provide.

In Oklahoma as in Kentucky, the unions are promoting the lie that teachers have supporters in the Democratic Party. In a speech Thursday, Democratic Representative Scott Inman declared that Democrats had been fighting for public education for year after year after year, adding, without you being here, none of this would have happened, so you need to know, whatever happens next week, this has been an enormous success for you.

In fact, the cut in the capital gains tax, which Democrats are now claiming they oppose, was spearheaded by Fallins Democratic predecessor, Brad Henry. Both Democrats and Republicans supported a series of bills passed between 2004 and 2007 that cut the top state income tax rate from 7 percent to 5.5 percent.

A report put out by the Oklahoma Policy Institute notes that the income tax cut has cost more than $1 billion per year to the total budget, including $356 million for education. In other words, the protracted decline in public education funding is the direct result of the transfer of wealth to the corporate elite, supported by both the Democrats and the Republicans.

The cuts to public education were part of savage attacks on all areas of social spending. According to the Oklahoma Policy Institute, from 2009 to 2016 Health Department funding fell by 19 percent, Arts Council funding by 32 percent, and the Department of Environmental Quality budget by 30 percent.

Moreover, the tax incentive for horizontal oil drillingsupported by the Democrats and Republicanscost the state $1 billion between 2002 and 2015.

The attempt by the unions to sell out the strike in Oklahoma is taking place as teachers are winning ever-broader support. This year has already seen strikes and demonstrations by teachers in West Virginia, New Jersey, Arizona, Kentucky and other states. There are growing calls for a nationwide strike that would connect the fight of teachers with the struggles of all sections of the working class for quality jobs, wages, health care and pensions.

To carry forward the struggle in Oklahoma, teachers must break completely with the unions, which are working consciously to isolate their strike and impose a defeat. This requires the formation of rank-and-file committees to expand the strike by appealing to teachers and workers throughout the country for joint action, including preparations for a general strike.

The fight for high-quality public education is pitting teachers against the entire political establishment and the two big business parties, which defend the wealth and power of the ruling class.

The unions' promotion of bills adding a few tens of millions of dollars through regressive taxes on the working class must be seen in the context of a social counterrevolution that has been carried out by both parties to destroy all the social gains won by the working class. Neither party will touch the immense wealth of the corporate and financial elite, including the giant oil and gas companies.
A half century after the French general strike of May-June 1968, the class struggle in France is entering a new and explosive stage. A confrontation with revolutionary implications is emerging between the working class and the French government, backed by the entire European Union (EU).

Last weeks strike against President Emmanuel Macrons decree privatizing the French National Railways (SNCF) shut down much of Frances mass transit. Air France workers demanding pay increases and electricity and garbage workers demanding recognition as a public service have joined striking rail workers. Students are occupying universities to protest new selection rules limiting access to a university education.

These developments come amidst a broad international upsurge of the class struggle. This year has already seen major strikes by metal and auto workers in Germany, Turkey, and Eastern Europe; railway workers in Britain; and broad layers of teachers in Britain and the United States.

These struggles take place under the shadow of the 50th anniversary of the French general strike of May-June 1968, the largest strike in European history. This mass mobilization of the working class shook French capitalism and the regime of General Charles de Gaulle to the core. Mass anger triggered by repression of student protests erupted into a strike of over 10 million workers, and red flags flew over factories across France.

Two factors saved de Gaulle. The first was the counterrevolutionary role of the Stalinist French Communist Party (PCF), then the leading party in the working class. It organized a return to work in exchange for wage increases, demoralizing workers by its betrayal of the revolutionary situation and allowing the Gaullists to win the 1969 elections. The second factor was that the strike erupted at the height of the 1945-1975 post-war boom. The bourgeoisie had resources to make concessions, buy time and prepare its response. It went on to decimate French manufacturing industries and implement policies of mass unemployment and austerity.

There will be no reformist outcome to the class struggle today. The crisis of world capitalism is far deeper than 50 years ago. The quarter century since the Stalinist bureaucracys dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the foundation of the EU in 1992 has seen deepening social inequality and an escalating imperialist war drive across the Middle East, Africa and Eurasia.

Macron will not retreat. The French ruling class is drastically restructuring class relations to join in the imperialist scramble to re-divide the world. As the major European powers all rearm, Macron has pledged to spend 300 billion on a military build-up by 2024, restore the draft, and hand billions of euros in tax cuts to the rich. He plans to slash state spending and basic social servicesincluding pensions, public health care, and unemployment insuranceto finance the military machine.

Workers can only oppose the moves to turn France into a militarized police state by a revolutionary struggle to bring down the Macron government and mobilize the working class in France and across Europe in a struggle for state power. This struggle sharply poses the need to build a new revolutionary leadership in the working class.

Since 1968, the working class has had vast experiences with the organizations that falsely claimed to speak for socialism. The PCF was destroyed by its role in 1968 and its support for the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. The Socialist Party (PS), founded in 1969, proved itself to be a reactionary bourgeois party of austerity and war, from which Macron himself emerged.

As for the petty bourgeois descendants of various renegades from Trotskyism, which played a key role in setting up the PSLutte ouvriere, the Pabloite New Anticapitalist Party (NPA), and the lambertiste Independent Democratic Workers Partythey speak for privileged layers of the upper-middle class.

Workers are increasingly aware of their hostility to these groups. Protesters threw ex-lambertiste and ex-PS senator Jean-Luc Melenchon out of one recent demonstration, shouting, Leave, Melenchon, Out with the PS, Hey you senator, you did all the dirty deals and Neither God, nor master, nor Melenchon.

To contain the class struggle, the NPA is proposing an alliance stretching from the PS and the unions to the pseudo-left: The path that is open can be extended to weave a united front bringing together unions, parties and associations of the social movement around common demands, a front with a long-term perspective for a broad convergence, for a general strike to make Macron retreat.

This is cynical double-talk. Workers are not moving in the direction of a general strike to make a reactionary politician retreat, but to force him out. The NPA, moreover, is promoting a broad alliance of parties and unions that have helped implement the austerity policies Macron is now aiming at the workers. If one translated the NPAs statement into plain English, it would say: We are betraying you.

The NPA and its allies play a carefully rehearsed role, to wear down opposition to militarism and austerity and allow Macrons policies to pass. The unions are calling rotating transit strikes two days a week, until June. These will inconvenience and irritate the public, while leaving Macron in power and allowing him to wait for the end of the strike to announce the promulgation of his decree privatizing the SNCF, which he was negotiating with the unions only last month.

There is nothing for workers to negotiate with Macron. His policy is illegitimate and anti-democratic. In 2016, the unions negotiated the PS labour law that provides the basic framework for Macrons decree and allows the unions and employers together to suspend the protections of the Labour Code and attack wages and conditions. The law was passed without a vote in parliament, using emergency powers, despite 70 percent popular opposition.

President Francois Hollandes PS government violently repressed mass protests against the labour law during the state of emergency. This state of emergency was itself a political fraud, imposed in response to attacks carried out by Islamist networks that were in fact working under the protection of the intelligence services, as they helped wage NATOs proxy war in Syria.

Macron was elected by default last year. Faced with the choice between the ex-banker and the unpopular neo-fascist candidate Marine Le Pen less than half of voters participated in the legislative elections that gave Macrons party a majority. Nonetheless, the parliament voted an enabling act adding vast powers to the PS labour law, allowing Macron to slash working conditions by decree. Under this legislation, the unions have already approved contracts facilitating job cuts in auto and sub-minimum wages in the chemical industry.

The revolutionary struggles developing against Macron will inevitably bring workers into conflict with the parties of what has passed for the post-1968 left. This underscores the significance of the foundation in 2016 of the Parti de legalite socialiste (PES), the French section of the International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI). It re-established the presence of Trotskyism in France, fighting for the revolutionary mobilization of the working class against the pseudo-left and all the capitalist parties.

As the union bureaucracies openly participate in implementing austerity, the PES calls for the formation of rank-and-file organizations in workplaces, schools and working-class communities across France. These are critical to provide workers and youth with forums to discuss and organize opposition to the social attacks and war plans of the entire political establishment.

The PES will fight to connect the growth of rank-and-file organizations and of the class struggle to an internationalist, socialist and anti-war movement in the European and international working class to take state power and reorganize economic life on the basis of social need, not private profit. It appeals to workers and youth entering into struggle to support the PES and the ICFI, study its programme, and make the decision to join and build the Trotskyist movement.
As trade war develops between the United States and China, Justin Trudeaus Liberal government is taking steps to solidarize Canada with, and line up behind, the Trump administration. Late last month, following a telephone call with Trump in which Trudeau pledged to do more to clamp down on steel dumping, Canadas prime minster unveiled protectionist measures to block cheap steel and aluminum imports from entering Canada.

The measures include extra powers for customs and border authorities to identify suspect imports. They were implemented in response to pressure from Washington and a vociferous lobbying campaign by the trade union bureaucracy, led by the United Steelworkers (USW).

When Trump slapped tariffs of 10 and 25 percent respectively on aluminum and steel imports, the USW hailed the move, with its only quibble that Canada should be exempted.

After Trump deigned to grant Canada a temporary exemption, the USW turned its sights on the Trudeau government, demanding it follow Trumps lead in cracking down on unfair trade. This included a call for the USW to be given a role in enforcing economic nationalist policies aimed at boosting Canadian-based companies and pushing the burden of job losses onto workers in other countries.

In pressing for Canada to help enforce Trump steel and aluminum tariffs, the USW bureaucrats were pushing on an open door. Since Trumps election, the Trudeau government, with all but unanimous ruling class support, has sought to deepen Ottawas longstanding military-strategic partnership with US imperialism. This has included expanding Canadian involvement in US-led wars and military operations around the world, collaborating with US authorities in the persecution of refugees, and agreeing to protectionist economic policies. The Liberals have also offered to strengthen military cooperation with Washington by modernizing the joint Canada-US North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD)

The Liberal government is giving the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) additional powers to identify companies allegedly dodging import tariffs and to determine whether prices in the country of origin are too low. Underscoring the aggressive intent of the campaign, which complements the Trump administrations drive to isolate China both economically and militarily in preparation for a direct armed conflict, the measures were unveiled by Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale, whose department oversees the work of the CBSA as well as Canadas main spy agency, CSIS.

Trudeau, who had earlier boasted about the contribution Canadian-made steel and aluminum make to US warplanes and tanks, said the measures were designed to defend not just Canadian, but North American industry.

The Trudeau government is eager to align with the US, the recipient of three-quarters of all Canadas exports, in a stronger and more overtly protectionist North American trade bloc that can be used as a battering ram to advance US and Canadian imperialist interests around the world. A key plank in this is the ongoing negotiations on updating the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Ottawa has repeatedly signaled its readiness to support US calls to introduce changes to NAFTA, such as restrictions on the activities of state-owned enterprises and so-called currency manipulators, which target China.

Canadian workers should reject Trudeaus assertions, repeated and amplified by the USW and other unions, that their interests can be defended by lining up with the government and big business in support of reactionary economic nationalist measures.

The turn to protectionism is bound up with the deepening of the global capitalist crisis, which is causing a revival of the inter-imperialist rivalries and trade war conflicts that marked the 1930s and paved the way for World War II. The post-Second World War economic order based on US imperialist domination, which Canada relied upon to advance its predatory ambitions around the globe, is being torn apart, with Washington spearheading the demolition.

In the little more than four weeks since Trump announced his steel and aluminum tariffs, the dispute with Beijing has escalated into a full-scale trade war, with Washington now threatening to impose tariffs on $100 billion worth of Chinese goods. US trade and economic experts admit that the true aim of this economic offensive is to prevent Beijing from realizing its goal of becoming a leader in the production of high-tech goods.

Trumps tariffs are not only bringing Washington into conflict with China, but also with its erstwhile European allies, which are no longer willing to subordinate their own imperialist interests to those of Washington. Led by Germany, the European Union has demonstratively announced that it will retaliate with its own protectionist policies if European companies are impacted by the aluminum and steel tariffs or other US protectionist policies.

The unions are playing a central role in portraying these dangerous developments as positive for working people. A central element in the Trudeau governments new crackdown on steel and aluminum imports was the announcement of the creation of steel and aluminum trade monitoring committees comprised of government, industry and union officials.

If the pro-big business character of these new committees and their role in helping enforce Trumps tariffs and upholding the alliance between Canadian and US imperialism was not already clear enough, Trudeau spelt it out in a statement. Our businesses and workers rely on our integrated industries it declared, and we will take strong action to defend and protect our most important trade relationships. Canada will not be used as a backdoor into other North American markets.

In accordance with the USWs demand, the Liberal government is also granting the USW and other unions the ability to participate in, and initiate, trade remedy cases before the Canadian International Trade Tribunal.

The fact that Trudeau and the steel and aluminum bosses are permitting bureaucrats from the USW and other unions to sit on the new trade monitoring committees and launch trade actions underscores that they view the unions as valuable stakeholders in enforcing corporate interests at the expense of the working class; and rightly so.

For decades the unions have suppressed the class struggle and championed reactionary economic nationalism, which serves to channel workers away from the fight against their bosses and capitalism as a whole and to pit them against each other in a race to the bottom.

The USW, like all the pro-capitalist unions, has shifted sharply to the right over the past three decades, including by developing a close working relationship with the big business Liberals.

It has overseen the decimation of jobs, slashing of wages and pensions, and shuttering of plants across the US and Canada. Since the 2008 economic crash, the USW has connived in the elimination of more than 2,000 steelworkers jobs at the former facilities of US Steel, now owned by Bedrock Industries, in Hamilton, Ontario. An almost year-long lockout at Hilton Works in Hamilton ended in 2011 with the USW enforcing a concessions-laden contract that imposed wage freezes and two-tier pensions, and cut hundreds of jobs.

In Quebec, the USW is currently doing everything in its power to isolate the anti-concession struggle of 1,030 workers at the Aluminerie de Becancour Inc. (ABI) aluminum smelter, a joint venture of the aluminum giants, Alcoa and Rio Tinto-Alcan. Members of USW Local 9700, the ABI workers have been locked out since early January.

In an act of blatant sabotage, the USW has agreed to Rio Tintos request to reopen the collective agreement at another of its smelters in Alma, Quebec, even as ABI arrogantly proclaims that it now requires pension rollbacks and other concessions far beyond those in its final offer of late last year.

This is in keeping with the pro-corporate line that the USW adopted following Trumps tariffs. Marty Warren, the USWs director for Ontario and Atlantic Canada, welcomed the Trump administrations use of reactionary national security provisions to justify its clampdown on imports. The evidence confirms there are many countries that engage in unfair, illegal and predatory trading practices that have created a global steel glut and depressed prices affecting all steel and aluminum markets, stated Warren.

The unions emergence as cheerleaders for trade war measures fully confirms the analysis advanced by the Socialist Equality Party in its statement Oppose Trudeau and Trump, the Canada-US alliance, and imperialist war. We wrote, The unions have repudiated all traditions of independent working class struggle, integrated themselves into management and tripartite union-government-company structures, and developed new sources of revenue giving them a direct stake in the exploitation of the working class.

We went on to warn, Workers must beware: those who today wave Canadian and Quebec flags, inciting workers to align with their bosses against Mexican and Chinese workers, will on the morrow be the recruiting sergeants for war.

Working people must reject the desperate attempts of well-paid bureaucrats to convince them to stand side-by-side with their bosses in a trade war against their fellow workers in other countries. Instead, workers must advance their own independent solution to the capitalist crisis, based on the international unity of the working classCanadian and US, Mexican, Chinese and Europeanand the struggle to reorganize society along socialist lines so as to put an end to capitalist exploitation and war.

The author also recommends:

Quebec: Aluminum giants demand steeper concessions from locked-out ABI workers

[22 March 2018]

Oppose Trudeau and Trump, the Canada-US alliance, and imperialist war!

[4 December 2017]
There's plenty to be playing on the Xbox Store this week. So here as usual is your weekly update, slightly later than usual. Up for grabs this week is retro adventure MINIT, which unfolds in 60-second bursts, and Impact Winter, Mojo Bones' survival game in which you lead a tam of survivors through a frozen wasteland.

Free-to-play MMO TERA also makes its full debut on Xbox One, while there are a couple of new Raiders of the Broken Planet bundles to check out, if you've been eyeing MercurySteam's asymmetrical shooter. There's also a stack of new DLC gubbins for Monster Hunter: World and A.O.T. 2.

You'll find a variety of other odds and sods too, all vying for your hard-earned readies. Take a look at all of the latest Xbox Store content right here:

Xbox Games Store

Xbox One

Game Add-Ons

Xbox 360

Rocksmith 2014 Dethklok Song Pack II - 3-Apr - $7.99/6.39

Rocksmith 2014 Dethklok "Murmaider" - 3-Apr - $2.99/2.39

Rocksmith 2014 Dethklok "Black Fire Upon Us" - 3-Apr - $2.99/2.39

Rocksmith 2014 Dethklok "Bloodlines" - 3-Apr - $2.99/2.39

Xbox One

TERA: Item Pass - 3-Apr - $59.99/44.99

A.O.T. 2 Additional Episode: "White Out" - 3-Apr - $0.99/0.79

A.O.T. 2 Additional Episode: "Biological Research Scout Mission" - 3-Apr - $0.99/0.79

A.O.T. 2 Additional Episode: "Proof of Expertise" - 3-Apr - $0.99/0.79

A.O.T. 2 Additional Bertholdt Costume, Pajama - 3-Apr - $3.49/2.79

A.O.T. 2 Additional Ymir Costume, Pirate - 3-Apr - $3.49/2.79

A.O.T. 2 Additional Reiner Costume, American Football - 3-Apr - $3.49/2.79

A.O.T. 2 Additional Annie Costume, Motorcycle - 3-Apr - $3.49/2.79

A.O.T. 2 Additional Sasha Costume, Cheerleader - 27-Mar - $3.49/2.79

Warframe: TennoCon 2018 Digital Pack - 3-Apr - $19.99/15.99

Rocksmith 2014 Dethklok Song Pack II - 3-Apr - $7.99/6.39

Rocksmith 2014 Dethklok "Murmaider" - 3-Apr - $2.99/2.39

Rocksmith 2014 Dethklok "Black Fire Upon Us" - 3-Apr - $2.99/2.39

Rocksmith 2014 Dethklok "Bloodlines" - 3-Apr - $2.99/2.39

MX vs. ATV All Out 2017 Husqvarna FC250 - 4-Apr - $2.99/2.39

MX vs. ATV All Out 2017 Husqvarna FC350 - 4-Apr - $2.99/2.39

MX vs. ATV All Out 2017 Husqvarna FC450 - 4-Apr - $2.99/2.39

MX vs. ATV All Out 2017 Kawasaki KX 250F - 4-Apr - $2.99/2.39

MX vs. ATV All Out 2017 Kawasaki KX 450F - 4-Apr - $2.99/2.39

MX vs. ATV All Out 2017 KTM 250 SX-F - 4-Apr - $2.99/2.39

MX vs. ATV All Out 2017 KTM 350 SX-F - 4-Apr - $2.99/2.39

MX vs. ATV All Out 2017 KTM 450 SX-F - 4-Apr - $2.99/2.39

Gravel Free Car BMW X6 Trophy Truck - 4-Apr - FREE

World of Tanks War Storyteller VI Mega - 4-Apr - 46.99

World of Tanks War Storyteller VII Mega - 4-Apr - 47.99

World of Tanks War Storyteller VIII Mega - 4-Apr - 65.99

World of Tanks Warriors of Mega - 4-Apr - $ /57.49

Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite Avenging Army Costume Pack - 4-Apr - $11.99/9.59

Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite World Warriors Costume Pack - 4-Apr - $11.99/9.59

Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite Mystic Masters Costume Pack - 4-Apr - $11.99/9.59

Rock Band 4 Blues Traveler "Stolen Dance" - 5-Apr - $1.99/1.59

Rock Band 4 LEN "Steal My Sunshine" - 5-Apr - $1.99/1.59

Monster Hunter: World Additional Gesture Bundle 3 - 6-Apr - $3.99/3.19

Monster Hunter: World Additional Gesture Bundle 4 - 6-Apr - $7.99/6.39

Monster Hunter: World Additional Gesture Bundle 5 - 6-Apr - $2.99/2.39

Monster Hunter: World Gesture: Feverish Dance - 6-Apr - $3.99/3.19

Monster Hunter: World Gesture: Gallivanting Dance - 6-Apr - $3.99/3.19

Monster Hunter: World Gesture: Windmill Whirlwind - 6-Apr - $3.99/3.19

Monster Hunter: World Gesture: Squat Day - 6-Apr - $3.99/3.19

Monster Hunter: World Gesture: Interpretive Dance - 6-Apr - $3.99/3.19

Monster Hunter: World Gesture: Passionate - 6-Apr - $3.99/3.19

Monster Hunter: World Gesture: Air Splits - 6-Apr - $3.99/3.19

Monster Hunter: World Gesture: Spin-O-Rama - 6-Apr - $3.99/3.19

Monster Hunter: World Sticker Set: Endemic Life Set - 6-Apr - $1.99/1.59

Monster Hunter: World Sticker Set: Research Commission Set - 6-Apr - $1.99/1.59

Monster Hunter: World Additional Sticker Set Bundle 2 - 6-Apr - $3.99/3.19

Monster Hunter: World Additional Sticker Set: Classic Monsters Set - 6-Apr - $1.99/1.59

Monster Hunter: World The Handler's Busy Bee Dress - 6-Apr - $2.99/2.39

Monster Hunter: World Hairstyle: The Handler - 6-Apr - FREE

Monster Hunter: World Hairstyle: The Admiral - 6-Apr - FREE

Dead Ahead: Zombie Warfare Starter Pack - 6-Apr - $1.99/1.59

Dead Ahead: Zombie Warfare SWAT Bundle - 6-Apr - $9.99/7.99

Dead Ahead: Zombie Warfare Circus Pack - 6-Apr - $4.99/3.99

Chess Ultra X Purling London Nette Robinson St. Basil's Cathedral Art Chess Set - 6-Apr - $9.99/7.99

Chess Ultra X Purling London Olivia Piling Art Chess Set - 6-Apr - $9.99/7.99

Chess Ultra X Purling London Mr. Jiver Art Chess Set - 6-Apr - $9.99/7.99

Chess Ultra X Purling London Bold Chess Set - 6-Apr - $9.99/7.99

Deals with Gold

Xbox One Deals & Xbox 360 Deals

Click here for this week's Deals with Gold

Games with Gold

Xbox One

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George Clooney and Amal Clooney know how to do romance right.

The couple stepped out for a dinner date in N.Y.C. on Thursday, where the 40-year-old international human rights attorney currently has a job teaching at Columbia University.

Amal looked stylish as ever wearing a floral fur coat and leather leggings attached to a pair of denim daisy dukes from designer Alexander Wang. George, 56, opted for a simpler ensemble, wearing a grey jacket over a black top with jeans.

George and Amal dined for two hours in SoHo at french restaurant Raouls and appeared to be in a great mood as they were spotted leaving.

RELATED: George & Amal Clooney Show Support for Gun Violence Prevention at D.C. March For Our Lives Event

The actor and his humanitarian lawyer wife recently supported the March For Our Lives event, as they took to the streets of Washington D.C. to march for gun violence prevention last month.

Shortly after survivors of the Parkland, Florida shooting announced they would be holding the march, the couple also made a $500,000 donation to the event in the name of their 8-month-old twins Ella and Alexander.

The day before the event, the actor wrote a letter to the Parkland students, letting them know their decision to stand up for gun safety made him feel proud of his country again.

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Amal and George Clooney

Amal and George Clooney

In a clip from Georges upcoming interview with David Letterman on the television hosts new Netflix series My Next Guest Needs No Introduction, the 56-year-old opened up about how meeting his wife, completely changed his life.

I met someone who I would absolutely trade my life for, he said. I met someone, who, her life meant more to me than my life. I had never had that experience before.
The man who allegedly attacked Jaime Kings car while her 4-year-old son was inside has been charged with one felony count of vandalism and one misdemeanor count of cruelty to a child by endangering health and battery, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorneys Office.

On Wednesday afternoon, Kings eldest son James Knight was struck by glass after a man, identified as Paul Francis Floyd, allegedly attacked the parked car the boy was sitting in with a female friend of the actress in Beverly Hills.

The 47-year-old transient allegedly jumped onto the vehicle, according to a release from the Beverly Hills Police Department.

King  who also shares son Leo Thames, 32 months, with husband Kyle Newman  was not in the vehicle at the time of the attack.

[James] was secured in a child car seat positioned in the back seat of the vehicle as the suspect jumped on the rear windshield causing glass to shatter and strike the child, the release read. In an effort to protect the child, the female driver exited the vehicle and confronted the suspect at which time he threw a can at her, striking her arm.

In a statement released Thursday on Instagram, King said that she and her son were both very shaken up by the incident.

Thank you so much to everyone for the outpouring of love we have received since yesterdays attack. James Knight is very shaken up, as am I. The attack was incredibly violent, and my 4-year-old son was obviously the target of the individuals brutal attack, which is terrifying, King began.

She continued by thanking police officers and the bystanders who stepped to help.

I want to believe that we live in a world where human integrity comes before documenting an attack, King continued. Im saddened that the paparazzi chose to terrorize my son and I by shoving cameras in our face during the attack, whilst he was shaking and crying instead of trying to help. My brave friend Judit Balogh used her self-defense training to try and keep the individual from harming James Knight while glass was shattering on him, as the perpetrator jumped on the roof until it collapsed and kicked in windows trying to get to him. He threw a bottle at her, hitting and assaulting her, but he couldnt catch her. Without her bravery and selflessness, I cannot imagine the outcome.

Story continues

A post shared by Jaime King (@jaime_king) on Apr 5, 2018 at 12:09pm PDT

King added: I encourage all women and men to arm themselves with the skill of self-defense training, I promise you will never know when you might need to use it.

Her message included a plea to lawmakers to provide more resources dedicated to helping those suffering from mental health, drug addiction, and homelessness.

We as a society can do better than to let those in need endanger themselves and those around them without the help they require, she wrote. I believe strongly in our Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and our Beverly Hills Mayor Julian A. Gold and know they will not only continue to work to change the status quo but also dedicate themselves to these issues that permeate California.

I will do all I can so that no parent, child, person will have to be victimized as we have and that those in need receive the resources necessary, she concluded the message.

If convicted as charged, Floyd faces a possible maximum sentence of five years in jail, according to the District Attorneys Office.

Prosecutors are requesting bail be set at $40,000.
Being the chief executive of Facebook comes with its perks  like allowing you to delete messages from someones inbox once youve already sent them.

Thats a feature CEO Mark Zuckerberg and other higher-ups enjoy that regular users dont have, TechCrunch reported on Thursday night. Several old messages sent from Zuckerberg to employees on Messenger have been erased. When users pull up their chats with the chief exec, it now just shows a one-way conversation.

Facebook told TechCrunch this was done for security purposes.

Also Read: Kremlin Cries 'Censorship' Over Facebook's Purge of Russian 'Troll Factory'

After Sony Pictures emails were hacked in 2014 we made a number of changes to protect our executives communications. These included limiting the retention period for Marks messages in Messenger. We did so in full compliance with our legal obligations to preserve messages, the company said in a statement.

Only select messages were pulled back from Zuckerberg, rather than every conversation. But the ability to delete messages once theyre sent could allow Facebook to avoid embarrassing situations  like when a chat from a 19-year-old Zuckerberg leaked, where he called early Facebook adopters dumb fs for sharing their data.

Deleting sent messages doesnt appear in Facebooks terms of service. The company typically only removes conversations that violate its community standards against attacking users for their background or sexual orientation. Other Facebook-owned apps, like Instagram and WhatsApp, allow users to pull back messages once theyre sent.

Also Read: Facebook Says It Scans Messenger Conversations for 'Community Standards' Violations

Zuckerberg will head to Washington, D.C. next week to testify before Congress on data privacy, after the company announced earlier this week that up to 87 million users were hit by the Cambridge Analytica data leak.

Update: A Facebook spokesperson told TheWrap on Friday the company is working on making the delete-message feature available to all users. Until it rolls out to the masses, Zuckerberg and other Facebook execs will not be able to use the feature anymore, the spokesperson said. In the meantime, users can opt-in to encrypted messages on Messenger.

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We have discussed this feature several times. And people using our secret message feature in the encrypted version of Messenger have the ability to set a timer  and have their messages automatically deleted, said a Facebook spokesperson. We will now be making a broader delete message feature available. This may take some time. And until this feature is ready, we will no longer be deleting any executives messages. We should have done this sooner  and were sorry that we did not.

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A suspect is dead and several people are injured after a shooting Tuesday at YouTube's headquarters in Northern California sent employees fleeing for their lives.

Here is what we know about how the shooting unfolded.

'A problem with YouTube'

The brother of suspect Nasim Aghdam told ABC affiliate KGTV in San Diego that his sister "had a problem with YouTube."

Aghdam, 39, of San Diego, was a prolific YouTube user, but when the company changed its filters and she began to lose viewers, her feelings changed -- Aghdam claimed YouTube was censoring her content and not paying her for her videos.

When he learned his sister was in Northern California near YouTube headquarters, he grew concerned and told police that "she went all the way from San Diego so she might do something."

"I didn't know she has a gun," he said. "I thought that maybe she was going to start a fight or something."

YouTube shooter Nasim Aghdam visited gun range before attack, was 'upset' with company's policies: Police

Restaurant owner helped victims after YouTube shooting: 'They were just in shock'

Family of alleged YouTube shooter warned police 'she might do something'

April 3 at 1:40 a.m. local time

But police in Mountain View, California, near YouTube, where Aghdam was found asleep in her car the morning of the shooting, claim the family did not give them a warning.

Aghdam, who had been reported missing by her family, was found by officers asleep in a car in Mountain View at around at 1:40 a.m local time the morning of the shooting. Mountain View is about 30 miles away from San Bruno, where the shooting took place.

Aghdam told the officers she left her familys home a few days earlier "due to family issues" and was now living in her car and looking for a job, the Mountain View police said in a statement today.

Police said that over the "roughly 20-minute interaction" Aghdam was "calm and cooperative."

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Aghdam was asked questions including "if she was a danger to herself or others. At no point ... did she mention anything about YouTube, if she was upset with them, or that she had planned to harm herself or others," police said. "She in no way met any reason for us to speak with her further or possibly detain her."

PHOTO: Nasim Najafi Aghdam is seen here in this undated file photo. (San Bruno Police Department via AP)

When police called Aghdam's family to tell them she was found, her father "did not act in any way concerned about why his daughter had left," police said. "At no point during that conversation did either Aghdams father or brother make any statements regarding the womans potential threat to, or a possible attack on, the YouTube campus. Also, there was no indication from either Aghdam or her family that she may have been in possession of any weapons."

About an hour later, police said, Aghdams father calmly called the authorities back and said his daughter had "made a series of vegan videos for her channel on YouTube and that the company had recently done something to her videos that had caused her to become upset."

"Aghdams father stated that she may have been in the area because of this. He did not seemed concerned that she was in the area, and wanted to simply let us know that may have been a reason for her move up here," police said. "At no point did her father or brother mention anything about potential acts of violence or a possibility of Aghdam lashing out as a result of her issues with her videos."

The morning of April 3

Sometime that morning Aghdam also went to a local gun range, San Bruno police said today.

12:46 p.m.

PHOTO: YouTube employees Alina Zhu, 25, left, and Doreen Tran, 25, right, hug as they walk down a parking lot two blocks away from where a shooting at the YouTube headquarters occurred in San Bruno, Calif., April 3, 2018. (Joel Angel Juarez/San Francisco Chronicle/Polaris)

The San Bruno Police Department received "numerous" 911 calls about a shooting at YouTube's headquarters, said San Bruno City Manager Connie Jackson.

12:48 p.m.

San Bruno police officers arrived at YouTube two minutes later and began combing the area for a suspect as employees fled, said Jackson.

As officers entered, they found one victim at the front of the building with an apparent gunshot wound, Jackson said.

12:53 p.m.

Officers searching the building found the suspect dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, Jackson said.

The aftermath

The shooting left four victims hospitalized: three with gunshot wounds and one with an ankle injury from running from the scene, police said.

Meanwhile, officers worked to clear the scene. They patted down the fleeing YouTube employees and conducted a room-by-room search. Authorities later said there was no immediate threat to the community.

PHOTO: Police search a building at YouTube's corporate headquarters as an active shooter situation was underway in San Bruno, Calif., April 03, 2018. (Josh Edelson/AFP/Getty Images)

Aghdam appears to have carried out the shooting because she was "upset" with YouTube's "policies and practices," authorities said today.

There's no evidence linking her to anyone at the scene, San Bruno police said.

A handgun was found at scene and police said Aghdam legally possessed and owned the weapon. It was unclear where it was purchased.

"There are no words to describe how horrible it was to have an active shooter today," YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki tweeted on Tuesday.

"Our deepest gratitude to law enforcement & first responders for their rapid response," she said. "Our hearts go out to all those injured & impacted today. We will come together to heal as a family."
Oregon Governor Kate Brown says she will say no if President Donald Trump asks her to send troops to the border. Here's what you need to know about her.

In his latest crackdown on immigration, President Donald Trump announced on April 4th that he will deploy troops to the U.S. border with Mexico to oversee the construction of the border wall. But some states are already defying Trumps wishes. Oregon Governor Kate Brown has already refused to send troops from her state to the border. Heres what you need to know about Brown.

Brown has made history in Oregons government.

Before she was governor, Brown was Oregons first female State Senate Majority Leader. She held the position from 2004 until 2009, and during her tenure, she helped pass Family and Medical Leave and the Oregon Equality Act and Family Fairness Act, two bills supporting LGBT rights. After her time in the state senate, Brown served as Oregons Secretary of State from 2009 to 2015.

Brown was elected governor in 2016. In addition to being one of only a few female governors, she is also openly bisexual, making her the first LGBTQ governor in the country.

And now, shes defying Trump.

On April 4th, Trump ordered troops to guard the border while the wall he promised is under construction. And Brown responded by writing on Twitter that she will refuse any request from the president to deploy Oregonian forces. She tweeted that she was opposed to the plan to militarize our border.

If @realDonaldTrump asks me to deploy Oregon Guard troops to the Mexico border, Ill say no. As Commander of Oregons Guard, Im deeply troubled by Trumps plan to militarize our border.  Governor Kate Brown (@OregonGovBrown) April 4, 2018

Theres been no outreach by the President or federal officials, and I have no intention of allowing Oregons guard troops to be used to distract from his troubles in Washington.  Governor Kate Brown (@OregonGovBrown) April 4, 2018

Brown has a track record of passing progressive policies that directly contradict Trumps stated agenda. Since Trumps election, Browns government has granted all Oregonians the constitutional right to an abortion and doubled down on Oregons position as a sanctuary state. She also helped pass a law making it easier for transgender people to keep changes to their birth certificates private. So its not surprising to see Brown rejecting Trumps latest declaration.

We admire Browns commitment to civil rights, and we hope to see her continue the fight for equality in the future.
For the British royals like Prince William, Prince Harry, and Kate Middleton, sometimes it's private jets, sometimes it's RyanAir.

This week, the British royals are on three separate continents: Meghan Markle is in Los Angeles, Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles are on a tour of Australia, while Will, Kate, and the Queen are scattered on estates throughout England. Its a common scenario for the group, who, between their jobs and active social lives, are constantly hopping from place to place.

But how exactly do they get to these far flung locales?

On the surface level, its an easy answerby plane, train, or automobile, just like everyone else. But especially when aviation is involved, the journey there isnt exactly straightforward.

Its easy to assume, thanks to their serious wealth and worldwide fame, that the royals exclusively fly private. But they dont. In fact, just this December, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were said to have been spotted on a British Airways flight to Nice, sitting in the back of the plane by the toilets.

Yet, for every incident in economy, theres another image to counter it: Will and Kate, glamorously deplaning a private jet, in picture perfect outfits with picture perfect hair, waving and smiling with adorable children in tow.

In a sense, the British royals have two identities: one, as a public figure, the other, as a private (yet extremely wealthy and famous) individual. Whatever identity they are using to travel plays a critical role in how they air travel.

When theyre acting as the first, they can charter a jet if its in the state interest, similar to other government officials. For example, during a recent state trip to Sweden and Norway, Kate Middleton, Prince William, and their family all flew private, as well as during a recent trip to Germany (all part of their Brexit charm offensive).

Thats not to say that they can just call up a jet for any old business trip. There is a set royal travel budget, which is funded by British taxpayers. Sometimes, that raises the ire of the general public: Prince Charles, for one, was criticized last year because of his expensive travel habits, after it came to light that a European tour had cost over $200,000 on the RAF Voyager (the British equivalent of Air Force One).

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So, with that in mind, the monarchy does make some visible efforts to keep costs down: Kate Middleton, for one, took a British Airways flight for her first solo visit to the Netherlands, and she and Prince William also flew commercial after their official visit to Los Angeles.

For personal trips, however? Those state-sanctioned jets are off the table.

The key word is state sanctioned: the planes of other private citizens are fair game. Kate and William, for example, allegedly borrow close friend and British billionaire Hugh Grosvenors plane for an occasional vacation.

But if a high-flying friend isn't available, its off to Terminal 3 like the rest of the masses, meaning there have been several noticeable royal airport sightings over the years. Prince Harry and Prince William flew commercial from London to Memphis for the wedding of Guy Pelly, which included a layover at OHare, where the two princes ate nachos and hot wings. Harrys also been seen flying Virgin Atlantic to a wedding.

Yet its Prince William who takes the frugal crown: he was spotted on not one, but two Ryanair flightsthe budget European airlinefor personal trips over the past few years.

Things get even more complicated when royals mix business with pleasure. Prince Harry risked some public anger when, after an official trip to the Caribbean, he canceled his public-paid British Airways flight home to visit Meghan Markle in Canada instead (he did, however, pay for that ticket himself). The Princes decision to visit Miss Markle, whom he had not seen for three weeks, defied the official Royal Household policy that members of the Royal family should not combine personal trips with official business, The Telegraph wrote.

Prince Charles, too, raised some ethical questions when he borrowed an American friends private jet to fly to the United States on official business. While Clarence House said it was a cost-cutting measure, some pointed out that it was an environmental wastewhy should a plane fly from the U.S., to London, then back to the U.S.just to escort a Prince and his entourage? This response, and the many other intricacies of royal in-air etiquette, might explain why you could see any one of the Princes, Kate, or soon Meghan, on your next international flight.
A little girl who wanted Spider-Man shoes triggered a debate about gender stereotypes.(Photo: Getty Images)

One dad is challenging Target to be more gender-inclusive by sharing a common parenting gripe.

On Friday, Qasim Rashid, attorney and human rights activist, tweeted the following:

Hey @Target I bought my 4-year-old son Spider-Man shoes & now my 2-year-old daughter wants Spider-Man shoes too. But you dont sell Spider-Man shoes that fit 2-year-old girls. Even when I search for them  boys shoes are the only result. Shes crying now. Its heartbreaking. Thx.

Hey @Target I bought my 4-year-old son Spider-Man shoes & now my 2-year-old daughter wants Spider-Man shoes too. But you dont sell Spider-Man shoes that fit 2 year old girls. Even when I search for themboys shoes are the only result. She's crying now. It's heartbreaking. Thx pic.twitter.com/pxTI9R3OP3  Qasim Rashid, Esq. (@MuslimIQ) April 6, 2018

On Thursday, the father of three kids, ages 9, 4, and 2 made a trip to Target in their home state of Virginia to buy shoes for the two youngest children. However, after purchasing a pair of Spider-Man light-up shoes for his son and plain blue light-up sneakers for his daughter, the siblings started arguing.

When my daughter saw her brothers shoes, she scampered over to him and stole them when he wasnt looking, Rashid tells Yahoo Lifestyle.

Later that night, the dad visited Targets website to search for Spider-Man sneakers for girls, to no avail, so he appealed to the retail giant for answers. In the process, Rashid inspired many to express their feelings about gender stereotypical kids clothing and toys.

I have a girl who asked for a shirt with "No pink, no sparkles, and no inspirational messages" last fall. Neither @Target nor @OldNavy had anything like that for girls in their stores when we visited. Boys clothes rulethey have pockets!  Sarahahaha (@ssouth) April 6, 2018

When I was in pre-k I wanted TMNT sneakers. My mom got them from the boy section for me, and I thought they were great. Then I wore them to school for the first time and got teased as soon as a boy noticed and I never wore them out again.  Maddie Rose (@maddie_rose_13) April 6, 2018

I ran into this same issue with my son and My Little Pony. He LOVES to watch the show but all the clothing merch is build for little girls, with ruffled collars, etc  Mindy (@MindyHamel) April 6, 2018

My 21-year-old daughter has been picking out clothes, toys, and shoes in the boys' and mens' section of Target since she was 4-years-old. Just buy your daughter the shoes! Just because Target organizes stuff by gender doesn't mean you have to buy it by gender.  Howie (@bellzapoppin) April 6, 2018

Advertising and location are such powerful mediums. I would love it if we could see clothes not be sorted by gender in stores. Same goes for tools too!  Sasiah (@SasiahHochle) April 6, 2018

Boys are boys, girls are girls. Teaching moments are not Target's fought.  SportyGuy~ (@MMAviewer) April 6, 2018

My 4-year old boy just wants shoes and clothes with Wonder Woman, Supergirl and Batgirl on them. He likes strong women like his mom, I guess. But nobody makes those for little boys.  Conrad Deitrick (@ConradDeitrick) April 6, 2018

Had a similar problem when potty training my oldest- she only wanted Thomas the train underwear which they dont make for girls. Ended up just buying her the boy underwear   Ann Feeley-Summerl (@afeeleys) April 6, 2018

Even before my daughter was born, it was important to me that I raise her believing she is equal to the opposite sex, says Rashid. Thats driven by my faith as a Muslim and a result of living in a patriarchal society.

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He adds, If I dont teach her the concept of equality at home, she wont expect equal treatment out in the world.

Target has actually been making progress on this front  in July, the retailer released a gender-neutral back-to-school collection in sizes 4 to 16 and in 2015, eradicated gender-based signage in response to families to feel frustrated or limited by the way things are presented. For example, per a press release, in kids bedding and toy aisles, Target removed any suggestion of gender, including the use of pink, blue, yellow, and green.

While Target hasnt responded to Rashids comment, his daughter is a happy customer. He shared a follow-up video of the toddler stomping down the hallway wearing her new shoes. Rashid tweeted, Update: She took her brothers shoes and Im just gonna let it fly like this.

Update: She took her brothers shoes and Im just gonna let it fly like this. pic.twitter.com/h2rpvPGnBL  Qasim Rashid, Esq. (@MuslimIQ) April 6, 2018

Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:

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By Rod Nickel KABUL (Reuters) - The leaders of Afghanistan and Pakistan promised to work together on regional security in a face-to-face meeting on Friday, one day after Kabul accused the Pakistani military of carrying out a rare air strike on its side of the border. Afghanistan on Thursday accused Pakistan of strikes causing "huge financial damages" in a province bordering Pakistan. Pakistan responded that its security forces were countering Afghan-based militant groups on its own side of the border. The row highlighted long-standing mistrust between the neighbors that centers on mutual accusations that the other country does not adequately prevent cross-border militant attacks. But Friday's previously scheduled visit by Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi to Afghan President Ashraf Ghani in Kabul included "cordial and friendly" talks, Abbasi's office said in a statement. It said the leaders agreed on a common aim of regional security. Ghani, in a statement, said he raised the issue of border violations with Abbasi and stressed that the situation was not helpful to either side. A day earlier, Afghanistan alleged that Pakistan jets had dropped four bombs in the Afghan border province of Kunar, and warned that such strikes could damage relations. Such an incident is a rare departure from the norm of cross-border shelling, said Thomas Ruttig, co-director of Afghanistan Analysts Network. But Ruttig said it did not appear to damage relations greatly, since Ghani did not cancel the meeting. The strikes did not cause any deaths or injuries, said Faridullah Dehqan, spokesman for Kunar police. Afghanistan's Western-backed government has long accused Pakistan of harboring Afghan Taliban insurgents, a charge that Islamabad denies. Islamabad, in turn, accuses Afghanistan of not doing enough to eradicate Pakistani Taliban militants, many of whom are based in Afghanistan and mostly carry out attacks inside Pakistan. (Reporting by Rod Nickel in Kabul; additional reporting by Hamid Shalizi in Kabul, Ahmad Sultan in Jalalabad and Kay Johnson in Islamabad, Editing by William Maclean)
San Francisco (AFP) - American Airlines has ordered 47 Boeing 787 Dreamliners in a deal valued at $12 billion at list prices, while cancelling a major order for Airbus A350s.

The order comprises 22 787-8s scheduled to begin arriving in 2020 and 25 787-9s scheduled to begin arriving in 2023. They will gradually replace Boeing 767s and 777s along with European Airbus A330s, American said Friday.

The sale brings American Airlines' total number of 787s to 89 aircraft. Though the total value is $12 billion at list price, the final price paid by airlines is generally lower.

American Airlines said: "As part of the strategy to simplify its fleet, American agreed with Airbus today to terminate its order for 22 A350s, which was originally placed by US Airways," which it bought in 2013.

"This was a difficult decision between the Boeing 787 and the Airbus A350 and A330neo and we thank both manufacturers for their aggressive efforts to earn more of American's business. In the end, our goal to simplify our fleet made the 787 a more compelling choice," said American Airlines president Robert Isom.

Chief financial officer Derek Kerr added advantages of carrying common fleet types included "creating less friction in our operation when aircraft swaps are necessary, reducing inventory needs, and creating a more consistent service for customers and team members."

American Airlines also said it had deferred delivery of 40 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft previously scheduled to arrive between 2020 and 2022. The carrier said the revised schedule "will better align with planned retirements of other narrowbody aircraft."

The order for US manufacturer Boeing comes in the wake of protectionist trade measures by President Donald Trump, who champions buying from US manufacturers.

"We are extremely honored that American Airlines is deepening its commitment to the 787 Dreamliner," said Boeing Commercial Airplanes president Kevin McAllister in a statement. Boeing says it has more than 1,350 orders registered for the 787.

Meanwhile, Airbus announced earlier Friday it recorded 45 net orders during the first three months of 2018, and delivered 121 aircraft. The company said its overall backlog of jetliners to be delivered stood at 7,189 as of March 31.
Chappaquiddick, a movie about the fateful night in 1969 when Massachusetts Senator Edward (Ted) Kennedy drove a car off a small bridge, killing his passenger, Mary Jo Kopechne, 28, a former Robert F. Kennedy staffer, hits theaters Friday. Kennedy alleged that he accidentally drove the car off the bridge after leaving a party attended by several people who worked for his brother Robert F. Kennedy. He did not report the accident until the next day. Kennedy pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident, but despite thatand a woman drowning in the Senators presencethe people of Massachusetts nevertheless sent him back to Washington in 1970 and he served in the Senate until 2009.

The political dynasty of the Kennedys took a dark turn that summer: Ted Kennedys presidential dreams were dashed, and a young woman lost her life. Still, it didn't end the Kennedy familys tradition in politicswhich continues to this day.

Currently, there are two Kennedys who still hold political office. Joseph Kennedy III, named after the family patriarch, serves as a congressman from Massachusetts. The 37-year-old Democrat represents the 4th District of Massachusetts, a similar district to the one that his father, Joe Kennedy II, represented as a congressman for more than 10 years. He's also the grandson of Robert F. Kennedy, former Attorney General and U.S. Senator from New York who was assassinated in 1968. The rising star of the Democratic Party was selected this year to give his partys rebuttal to President Donald Trumps State of the Union address.

Trending: A Russian Hacker Was Extradited to the U.S. And It Divided a European Ally

GettyImages-542344264

Pete Marovich/GETTY

Ted Kennedys son, Edward Kennedy Jr., serves in Connecticuts Congress, as a Democratic State Senator representing the 12th District. He was first elected in 2014. Ted Kennedys other son, Patrick, served as a U.S. congressman representing Rhode Islands 1st District from 1995 until 2011.

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Caroline Kennedy, daughter of former President John F. Kennedy, who was assassinated in 1963, served in the Obama Administration as the ambassador to Japan for four years. She left the post in 2017 after Trump took office.

Other members of the Kennedy family have served in smaller roles and as activists for different causes.

This article was first written by Newsweek

More from Newsweek
South Korea's former president, Park Geun-hye, has been jailed for 24 years for bribery, abuse of power and coercion - AFP

In 2016, South Korea saw the start of a major corruption scandal involving its business and political elites that led to the unprecedented ousting of its head of state and first female President, Park Geun-hye.

On Friday, Ms Park was jailed for 24 years for bribery, abuse of power and coercion, but the seeds of her spectacular downfall were sown decades before her presidency, when her mother was tragically shot by a North Korean sympathiser in 1974.

The assassination forced the traumatised Ms Park, then 22, to become acting first lady to her father, dictator Park Chung-hee, and it was around this time that she fell under the influence of Choi Tae-min, a cult leader dubbed the Korean Rasputin.

US embassy cables released years later by WikiLeaks revealed that he gained complete control over the body and soul of Ms Park in her formative political years. She reportedly believed that he could communicate with her dead mother.

Her father was assassinated in 1979, by which point she was firm friends with Mr Chois daughter Choi Soon-sil, a few years her junior.

Outside the court, a supporter of the former president reacted to the leader's sentence Credit: Jung Yeon-je/AFP

The public was shocked to learn in 2016 that forty years later, the younger Choi had taken on her fathers mantle as a shadowy adviser behind the throne, secretly advising Ms Park on everything from North Korea policy to her wardrobe choices, despite having no official clearance.

Ms Choi, now 60, was gradually revealed to be at the centre of accusations of corruption, influence peddling and leaks of classified information that eventually toppled Ms Parks government and led to her arrest in March 2017.

Her demise was all the more dramatic as she had risen to power in 2013 pledging to fight graft.

However, even before the scandal broke, her reputation as a leading member of an aloof political elite had already cost her popularity.

South Korea's now-disgraced ex-President Park Geun-Hye addressing the nation in 2016 Credit: Kim Hong-ji/AFP

This was compounded by her clumsy handling of the Sewol ferry disaster in April 2014, which killed over 300 people, most of them school children. For years afterwards she was forced to defend why her movements during the crucial moments of the disaster could not be accounted for.

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The opening chapters of the saga that would crush her political career began unexpectedly in August 2016, when students at Ewha, an elite womens university in Seoul, were protesting against changes to their degree course.

During their protest reports emerged of the universitys favouritism towards an equestrian athlete, Chung Yoo-ra, who turned out to be Choi Soon-sils daughter.

An investigation by parliament and prosecutors led to the indictment of Ewhas former president and several professors, but the affair also struck a nerve among the nations youth, who are forced to study long hours in the fierce competition for university admission.

The discovery sparked a wider investigation into influence-peddling in Ms Parks inner circle, which suddenly escalated in October with explosive revelations from broadcaster JTBC.

Former President Park Geun-hye, pictured here in 2017, did not attend her sentencing in April 2018 Credit: Ahn Young-joon/AFP

The channel had uncovered a tablet computer belonging to Ms Choi that contained documents revealing that she had received confidential presidential documents and edited key speeches.

On October 25 2016, Ms Park, with no immediate family of her own, admitted she had close ties to Ms Choi and apologised for causing the nation grief. But she denied any criminal wrongdoing.

Her apology did little to calm an increasingly enraged public. On the weekend of October 29, hundreds of thousands of people protested in Seoul in the first of six mass rallies calling for her resignation.

In November, investigators raided the headquarters of Samsung, the electronics giant. It emerged that Ms Choi had used her presidential connections to pressure conglomerates, including Samsung, to donate millions of dollars in donations to two non-profit foundations she controlled.

Profile | Park Geun-hye

By mid-December the efforts of prosecutors, backed by a tide of public opinion, prevailed. The president was impeached by parliament, a decision that was confirmed by the constitutional court in March 2017, forcing a snap election and opening her up to criminal prosecution.

Ms Parks ten month trial, most of which she boycotted, revealed lurid details of a shady nexus between business and political elites.

Announcing the verdict on Friday, Judge Kim Se Yoon, ruled that major conglomerates including Samsung and Lotte had been forced to donate a total of 68million to Ms Chois non-profit foundations.

In August 2017, Samsungs acting head, Lee Jae-yong, had already been jailed for five years for bribery and embezzlement.

He was convicted over payments of 30.3m made to the foundations, as well as for giving a horse and several million dollars in assistance for Ms Chois daughter's equestrian career.

He maintained that he was not involved in the payment decisions and denied seeking any government favours, and was later freed in February after a court reduced and suspended his sentence.

Ms Choi received no such mercy. She was convicted of bribery and extortion, among other criminal charges, in February, and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Her former close friend, Park Geun-hye, will now join her behind bars, possibly for the remainder of their lives.
During a Coffee with Constituents event Friday, Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) pulled out his gun and placed it on the table.

Norman kept the loaded .38-caliber handgun out while speaking about gun rights, according to USA Today.

Im not going to be a Gabby Giffords, Norman said at the event, referencing the former Arizona congresswoman who was shot during an event with constituents in 2011.

Norman also said that he would continue bringing his gun to future constituent meetings, telling The Post and Courier, Im tired of these liberals jumping on the guns themselves as if they are the cause of the problem. Guns are not the problem.

Giffords husband, retired NASA astronaut Mike Kelly spoke out after Normans comments saying the South Carolina representative is no Gabby Giffords.

Americans are increasingly faced with a stark choice: leaders like Gabby, who work hard together to find solutions to problems, or extremists like the NRA and Congressman Norman, who rely on intimidation tactics and perpetuating fear, Kelly said, according to USA Today.
(Editor's Note: story contains graphic details some readers may find upsetting)

By David Schwartz

PHOENIX (Reuters) - An Arizona transient with a history of mental illness was sentenced on Friday to 29 years in prison for a murderous rage in which he decapitated his wife and their two puppies, then maimed himself, a court official said.

Kenneth Dale Wakefield, 46, was sentenced by a Maricopa County Superior Court judge in Phoenix after pleading guilty in February to second-degree murder and two counts of animal cruelty stemming from the rampage, court spokesman Bryan Bouchard said.

Wakefield severed his left forearm below the elbow and gouged out one of his eyes after killing his wife and their pets inside the couples Phoenix apartment on the morning of July 25, 2015, authorities have said.

Wakefield told investigators he was trying "to get the evil out" of his wife, 49-year-old Trina Heisch, when he attacked her, and had smoked marijuana and the designer drug Spice about an hour beforehand, according to court documents.

Wakefields attorney could not be reached for comment following the sentencing, and the prosecutor's office had no immediate comment.

Local media reported that Wakefield delivered a teary-eyed apology to his wifes family during the sentencing hearing.

"I just wanted to say Im sorry," he told the court, according to an account posted on the Arizona Republics website. "I cant change it. I suffer also. She was my best friend."

Police alerted to the blood-splattered crime scene by a neighbor who was checking on the couple found Heischs headless body and her two pets slain inside a bedroom closet and discovered several bloody knives in the apartment.

Authorities said the couple met in a mental institution and that both had an extensive history of psychiatric illness and violence. They described Wakefield as a drifter.

He was arrested in 2003 for attempting to kill a family member, and Heisch was arrested in March 2015 for assault after attempting to stab her husband, police said.

(Reporting and writing by David Schwartz in Phoenix; Editing by Steve Gorman and James Dalgleish)
Image: Wikimedia

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Bringing the boom . . . literally.

A U.S. Stealth Bomber Just Tested a Brand New Bunker-Busting Nuke

An Air Force B-2 stealth bomber just completed the first test drop of an advanced nuclear gravity bomb, Military.com reported on June 30.

The B-61-12 gravity bomb, a GPS-guided behemoth thats been in development since 2008, can penetrate three meters of earth before detonating and dial up a nuclear yield of between 0.3 kilotons and 50 kilotons of devastating power.

The gravity bomb touts new components and an enhanced tail for maneuvering to target, and the new upgrades were designed to make the weapon three times more accurate. And while its extremely unlikely that the Air Force will need to violently renovate an underground enemy command bunker anytime soon, but better to be safe than sorry when it comes to nuclear capabilities

According to Military.com, the system has already been already tested on several other delivery platforms, including the F-15E Strike Eagle and F-16 Fighting Falcon. The F-35 has recently completed a flight test with the B-61, and will soon be one more option for nuclear delivery.

Its worth noting that the Federation of American Scientists has criticized the upgrades to the system, arguing that non-nuclear penetrators have made great strides in the field of bunker busting. Their concerns stem from a broader question: What problem is the B-61-12 trying to solve? Any strike on a weapons development facility in Iran or North Korea would not normally predicate a nuclear strike, and a pinpoint B-61-12 bunker-busting nuclear weapons suddenly puts a nuclear option on the table, literally.

But progress marches on, and now a stealth bomber can hypothetically kill any rogue dictator in their buried bunker, and irradiate it for good measure. Luckily the chance of the B-61-12 making a combat debut hovers somewhere between Dr. Strangelove and Crimson Tide, requiring many, many things to go wrong before nuclear armageddon comes for us all.

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This article by Brad Howard originally appeared at Task & Purpose. Follow Task & Purpose on Twitter.

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This is an open invitation for those who have been a victim of gun violence. Dont let your voice be silenced, you can now share your story #StoriesUntold pic.twitter.com/dVn99eyJ85  Stories Untold (@StoriesUntoldUS) April 2, 2018

Students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School have started a project to give their peers from underrepresented groups a larger platform on which to share their experiences with gun violence.

A small group of students at the Parkland, Florida, school where 17 people were killed in a mass shooting in February, launched a new Twitter account and hashtag, #StoriesUntold, on Monday.

The online campaign  started by 17-year-old junior Carlitos Rodriguez, who is Latino, and a handful of his friends, mostly teens of color  is meant to amplify the stories of people affected by gun violence who feel unheard, particularly their Stoneman Douglas classmates of color. Some of those students say the media have not recognized them as much as they have highlighted their white peers.

Our school is very diverse and the media is not representing us, Rodriguez told HuffPost on Thursday. He noted that while nearly 40 percent of Stoneman Douglas 3,000 or so students are nonwhite, the majority of the students getting the most media attention are those at the forefront of the March For Our Lives movement, and they are largely white.

We want to represent the minorities that are not in the media  the Latinos, African-Americans, Asians. Our voices are very powerful, he said.

We all have different stories, and we all deserve an opportunity to share them! Diversity also must be celebrated and included in the media! We want inclusion, and we want to be well represented! #StoriesUntold @StoriesUntoldUS  Carlitos / #STORIESUNTOLD (@cswaggyway) April 2, 2018

#StoriesUntold is an organization put together by my friends to give minorities a platform to share their stories + ideas related to gun violence. to all black, hispanic/latinx, asian, + poc who have been affected, please send your videos to @StoriesUntoldUS we wont be silenced  melissa #NeverAgain (@tac0_mel) April 2, 2018

In the few days since the Stories Untold account was launched, it has largely retweeted Parkland students describing their experiences of the Feb. 14 shooting. Many of the tweets share students traumatic stories of watching their peers and teachers being shot. Some students are sharing their stories publicly for the first time.

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We have so many students who were inside that building texting us because they cant keep their pain any longer, Rodriguez said. They need to share it with someone. And their story matters.

i will scream and cry for someone to listen to us. the ones who witnessed seeing their classmates die. THE ACTUAL SURVIVORS #storiesuntold pic.twitter.com/V9LyhfSiIv  ivanna paitan (@ivannapaitan) April 2, 2018

I know that it is late but I cant keep my story in anymore. Hi my name is Elissa Castellanos Im a junior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas and this is my untold story of Valentines Day. #MSDStrong #StoriesUntold pic.twitter.com/4MW9FFQfi9  Elissa // MSDSTRONG (@ElissaFails) April 4, 2018

Ultimately, the project aims to expand its focus and feature more stories of people affected by gun violence beyond Stoneman Douglas, Rodriguez said  specifically from communities of color, which are disproportionately affected by gun violence.

Her name is Jamahri Sydnor. She was shot and killed in DC days before she was to start her first day of college at @FAMU_1887 after driving through crossfire with her little cousin in the car. Her life mattered, and her story matters. #StoriesUntold pic.twitter.com/iupFaJb9M7  Omari R. Allen (@OmariRAllen) April 2, 2018

Last week, a group of black students at the school held a news conference to express that their voices werent being sufficiently heard  by the media or their peers.

Rodriguez echoed those students feelings, in both applauding their now-famous classmates like Emma Gonzalez and David Hogg for their efforts to make the teen-led movement more inclusive and pushing for them to feature more voices of their own black and brown peers.

We just want inclusion  and to be able to share our stories, Rodriguez said, noting that March For Our Lives student leaders like Gonzalez are their friends and support the Stories Untold project.

Were all truly fighting for one cause, he added. Were just adding more fire to this movement.

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Many students deal with gun violence every day, from police to immigration agents. These experiences, as Parkland survivors, are unique and need to be shared. RT #StoriesUntold #NeverAgain  Stories Untold (@StoriesUntoldUS) April 2, 2018

Also on HuffPost

Students walk out at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School during the National School Walkout to protest gun violence in Parkland, Florida.

Students chant outside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School during the walkout.

Students from Stuyvesant High School walk out in New York City.

Students gather outside the White House in Washington, D.C.

Students participate in a march in support of the National School Walkout in the Queens borough of New York City.

Students from Grace Church School walk out in New York City

Students from Grace Church School walk out in New York City.

Students at Philadelphia High School of Creative And Performing Arts participate in the walkout.

A creative sign from Vasiliki Frantzis from Winston Churchill High in Maryland. Guns should be regulated because they are dangerous, she says. pic.twitter.com/2tRHR462x7  Marina Fang (@marinafang) March 14, 2018

Students at Wekiva High School in Apopka, Florida participate in the walkout.

Columbine High School student Leah Zunder holds a sign.

Students at Lane Technical High School in Chicago held signs in support of the walkout.

Students at Gov. Thomas Johnson High School participate in the #NationalWalkoutDay in front of the school. @frednewspost pic.twitter.com/Af1DpavJMh  Graham Cullen (@FNP_Cullen) March 14, 2018

Pretty remarkable over a 1,000 students sitting down and in silence for 6 mins now. #NYC School #Walkout with LaGuardia High School #Parkland #fightingGunViolence pic.twitter.com/azmqPAfwtk  Marta Dhanis (@MartaDhanis) March 14, 2018

Standing in solidarity at August Martin High School for the #NationalSchoolWalkout. Congress must act NOW to end gun violence. #Enough #EnoughIsEnough pic.twitter.com/5QjFI5a1Me  Adrienne Adams (@AdrienneEAdams) March 14, 2018

Rambler students lock arms in solidarity against gun violence. #StudentsStandUp #Enough walkout pic.twitter.com/CLmn7aGHNa  Eastern High School (@EasternHS) March 14, 2018

About 1,000 students, plus teachers, packed the balconies of the Westborough High School for today's #enough walkout, protesting gun laws. pic.twitter.com/aPiFIttuDr  Alison Bosma (@AlisonBosma) March 14, 2018

One month after #Stoneman Douglas, day of remembrance at Spanish River HS. 17 minute #NationalWalkoutDay. pic.twitter.com/xIGhckSwbg  Renee Richar (@RicharRenee) March 14, 2018

Students at Booker T Washington High School in Atlanta talking a knee as part of the #NationalWalkoutDay protests. pic.twitter.com/bZpU8kQNjl  Jamiles Lartey (@JamilesLartey) March 14, 2018

Students participate in the Woodland Hills Students Against Gun Violence Walkout. #NationalStudentWalkout pic.twitter.com/pgzbcVhAko  Andrew Rush (@andrewrush) March 14, 2018

Hundreds of students walk out of class across #Boulder County to protest gun violence https://t.co/kttjUpgoWi #nationalwalkoutday pic.twitter.com/iBzeSuULII  Daily Camera (@dailycamera) March 14, 2018

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
(SAO BERNARDO DO CAMPO, Brazil)  Latin Americas largest nation prepared for what would have been unimaginable just a few years ago: the arrest of former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, a once wildly popular leader whose administrations were credited with bringing millions out of poverty in one of the worlds most unequal countries.

Federal judge Sergio Moro, seen by many in Brazil as a crusader against graft, gave da Silva until 5 p.m. local time Friday to turn himself in and begin serving a sentence of 12 years and one month for a corruption conviction.

Moros warrant Thursday evening came after Brazils top court, the Supreme Federal Tribunal, voted 6-5 to deny a request by the former president to stay out of prison while he appealed a conviction that he contends was simply a way to keep him off the ballot in Octobers election. He is the front-running presidential candidate despite his conviction.

In a statement, Moro said he was giving da Silva the opportunity to come in of his own accord because he had been Brazils president. He also said a special cell away from other inmates had been prepared for da Silva at the jail in Curitiba, where Moro ordered da Silva to present himself.

Last year, Moro convicted da Silva of trading favors with a construction company in exchange for the promise of a beachfront apartment. That conviction was upheld by an appeals court in January.

The speed with which Moro issued the warrant surprised many, as legal observers said there were technicalities from da Silvas upheld appeal that would not be sorted out until next week.

Such technicalities were simply a pathology that should be eliminated from the judicial world, Moro said in his statement.

Late Thursday, thousands gathered outside a metallurgical union in Sao Bernardo do Campo, a Sao Paulo suburb where the ex-president universally known as Lula got his start as a union organizer. Hundreds spent the night sleeping on the street. Early Friday, da Silva waved to supporters from a window at the union but did not speak.

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Why are they in a rush to arrest him? said former President Dilma Rousseff, who succeeded da Silva and in 2016 was impeached and ousted from office. They fear that Lula would get a favorable decision in (a higher appeals) court. That is part of the coup that removed me from the presidency.

Its unclear whether da Silva will present himself in the city of Curitiba, about 260 miles (417 kilometers) southwest of Sao Paulo, or perhaps instead force police to come and get him. The latter would be a logistical nightmare for authorities, given the thousands of supporters outside and heavy Friday traffic in Sao Paulo, South Americas largest city.

I dont see why he should turn himself in just because judge Moro had an anxiety crisis, said Sen. Lindbergh Farias. I think they should have to go through the embarrassment of coming here and taking him in front of all these people.

That footage will be seen around the world and it will be historic, he added.

However it happens, the jailing of da Silva will mark a colossal fall from grace for the man who became a world celebrity and left office with approval ratings over 80 percent.

Former U.S. President Barack Obama once called da Silva the most popular politician on Earth.

Since leaving office, things have steadily gotten worse for da Silva, who has been charged in several corruption cases. He has always maintained his innocence while continuing to campaign across the country the past year. Despite his legal troubles, he leads preference polls to return to office  if by some chance he is allowed to run.

Like so much in a nation that has become deeply polarized, that da Silva would soon be behind bars was being interpreted differently by supporters and detractors.

Brazil scored a goal against impunity and corruption, said Congressman Jair Bolsonaro, a right-leaning former army captain who is second in the polls after da Silva.

Lula is one of us. He knows what it is like to have a tough life and loves the poor more than the rich, said Antonio Ferreira dos Santos, a 43-year-old bricklayer who was keeping vigil outside the union.

In a sign of possible friction on the horizon, within minutes after Moros arrest warrant, a fight broke out in front of the Lula Institute in Sao Paulo between hecklers and supporters of da Silva. One heckler was punched in the face and subsequently got hit by a passing vehicle as he was falling. He was taken to nearby hospital and police arrived.

Earlier Thursday, the head of the Workers Party insisted that da Silva, 72, would be the partys candidate in October. His lawyers put out several statements saying they were filing injunctions in hopes of keeping him out of jail.

Technically, beginning to serve his sentence would not keep da Silva off the ballot. In August, the countrys top electoral court makes final decisions about candidacies. It was expected to deny da Silvas candidacy under Brazils clean slate law, which disqualifies people who have had criminal convictions upheld. However, da Silva could appeal such a decision, though doing so from jail would be more complicated.

Da Silva is the latest of many high-profile people to be ensnared in possibly the largest corruption scandal in Latin American history. Over the last four years, Brazilians have experienced near weekly police operations and arrests of the elite, from top politicians to businessmen like former Odebrecht CEO Marcelo Odebrecht.

Investigators uncovered a major scheme in which construction companies essentially formed a cartel that doled out inflated contracts from state oil company Petrobras, paying billions in kickbacks to politicians and businessmen.

While Moro, who oversees many cases in the so-Called Operation Car Wash, is hailed as a hero by many, others see him as a partisan hit man out to get da Silva and the Workers Party.

Still, the list of investigation targets include people across the spectrum, including President Michel Temer.

Da Silva was convicted in July of helping a construction company get sweetheart contracts in exchange for the promise of the apartment. He denies any wrongdoing in that case or in several other corruption cases that have yet to be tried. An appeals court upheld the conviction in January and even lengthened the sentence to 12 years and one month.

Workers Party leaders promised demonstrations, including vigils that would be organized nationwide beginning Friday. Whether the party, weakened after the impeachment and scandals, can mobilize major demonstrations remains to be seen.
By Elke Ahlswede MUENSTER, Germany (Reuters) - A German man drove a van into a group of people sitting outside a restaurant in the old city center of Muenster in western Germany on Saturday, killing two of them before shooting himself dead, police and state officials said. The vehicle plowed into people seated at tables outside the Grosser Kiepenkerl eatery, a popular destination for tourists in the pretty university city. Herbert Reul, interior minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, home to Muenster, told German television the suspect was a German citizen and there was "no indication of an Islamist background". Police spokesman Andreas Bode earlier said: "At 15:27 (1327 GMT), a vehicle drove into the outside area of the restaurant ... three people were killed, 20 injured, and six of those seriously injured." "The perpetrator killed himself in the vehicle," Bode added. Reul said the three dead included the perpetrator. The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported in its online edition that the perpetrator was Jens R., 48, who resided some 2 km (1.2 miles) from the crime scene. Broadcaster ZDF said police were searching his apartment and that he had contact with far-right extremists, but there was no evidence thus far that he was a far-right extremist himself. The Sueddeutsche Zeitung said the man had psychological problems. The Interior Ministry in North Rhine-Westphalia would neither confirm nor deny the report. Bode said investigators were looking at the possibility that other suspects fled the scene, though they had no evidence that this was the case, he added. Bild newspaper said police were searching for two possible additional suspects after witnesses said they had seen two people jump out of the van. Jens R. had no police record, the newspaper said. "The crime scene investigators are checking out the crime scene, trying to identify, investigate and secure traces. That is our current task," Bode said. A police spokeswoman said: "The danger is over." Martin Wiech, who said he had studied in Muenster, told Der Spiegel he had driven there to go shopping and was now unable to return to his car. "Unbelievable that something like this could happen in Muenster. It is one of the most peaceful cities I know," he said. MERKEL 'SHAKEN' The incident came one year to the day after a truck attack in Stockholm that killed five people. It also evoked memories of a December 2016 truck attack in Berlin that killed 12. In that attack, Anis Amri, a failed Tunisian asylum seeker with Islamist links, hijacked a truck, killed the driver and then plowed into a crowded marketplace, killing 11 more people and injuring dozens of others. Chancellor Angela Merkel said in a statement she was "deeply shaken". "Everything possible is now being done to clarify the facts and to support the victims and their relatives", she added. On Saturday evening, the White House issued a statement sending U.S. President Donald Trump's "thoughts and prayers" to the families of those killed. French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted: "All my thoughts are with the victims of the attack in Muenster. France shares in Germany's suffering". Der Spiegel reported that police were investigating a similar incident that occurred in the eastern German city of Cottbus on Friday evening, when a man drove his car into a group of people, injuring two, before fleeing. (Additional reporting by Sabine Siebold and Andrea Shalal in Berlin, Matthias Inverardi in Duesseldorf, and Sarah White in Paris, Patrick Rucker in Washington; writing by Paul Carrel; editing by Dale Hudson, Hugh Lawson and G Crosse)
Burglary suspect Henry Vincent was killed during an alleged break-in: Kent Police

A career criminal who was stabbed to death during a suspected burglary of a pensioners house didnt deserve to die, his family has said.

Henry Vincent, 37, died after being stabbed during a botched raid at the south-east London property of Richard Osborn-Brooks in the early hours of Wednesday.

Mr Osborn-Brooks was arrested on suspicion of murder and released on bail pending further inquiries on Thursday, the Metropolitan Police said.

It has emerged that Vincent, from Kent, was a career criminal who was wanted by Kent Police investigating a distraction burglary involving jewellery and valuables stolen from a man in his 70s.

According to reports, members of his family were jailed for a total of almost 29 years in 2003 after conning pensioners across Kent and south London out of nearly 448,180.

Arrested  Richard Osborn-Jones has been bailed pending further enquiries after being arrested (Picture: Facebook)

But relatives of Vincent, who is believed to be a father of three, said he didnt deserve to die.

An unnamed cousin told the BBC: The Henry I know, he was such a loving person, and its probably something which just went wrong but he shouldnt have died out of it.

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Another close relative told the Daily Telegraph Vincent had simply got in with the wrong crowd.

He was wrong to do a burglary, I agree, they said, but he didnt deserve to die because of it.

Investigation  Henry Vincent died after he was stabbed in a botched burglary (Picture: PA)

Police were called at 12.45am on Wednesday to reports of the burglary at the address on South Park Crescent

They said the 78-year-old resident had found two men inside the house, sparking a struggle during which one of them threatened him with a screwdriver.

Vincent, who was found collapsed in nearby Further Green Road, suffered a stab wound to the upper body and was taken to hospital but died a few hours later.

The second suspect in the burglary fled the scene before police arrived and has not yet been found.

Detective Chief Inspector Simon Harding, from the Met Police, said: I would like to speak with anyone who has information regarding the outstanding suspect from the burglary, who is believed to be a white male; he may have told someone what happened at the address.

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It is possible that he fled the scene in a vehicle, possibly a white van, leaving the scene in the direction of Further Green Road. Did you see this vehicle? Do you know where it went after this? I ask anyone who can help to call our incident room as soon as possible.

Outcry  Mr Osborn-Brooks arrest as sparked an outcry from neighbours and online supporters (Picture: PA)

Mr Osborn-Brooks arrest sparked an outcry from neighbours and an online fundraising campaign which gathered hundreds of pounds in several hours, while supporters included Dragons Den businessman Duncan Bannatyne.

Tony Martin  a farmer jailed for shooting two burglars, one of them fatally  also backed calls to drop proceedings against Mr Osborn-Brooks.

Mr Martin, who served three years in prison for shooting dead 16-year-old burglar Fred Barras and injuring accomplice Brendon Fearon at his home in Emneth Hungate, Norfolk, in 1999, told the Daily Mirror: I would have done the same thing if I was in Richards situation.

The police should let him go as soon as possible, not hold him on a murder charge. Richard is not a criminal, hes just a very unlucky man to be caught up in the muck of other people and legislation.

Martin, 71, was initially found guilty of murder but this was reduced to manslaughter on appeal.

I am very happy to hear that Richard Osborn-Brooks has been released and I sincerely hope there are no charges pending against him in relation to his defence of his home  Duncan Bannatyne (@DuncanBannatyne) April 5, 2018

The Ministry of Justice has also reiterated that a householder has the right to defend their family from intruders if they believe their lives are in danger following the death of a burglar during an armed raid.

A Ministry of Justice spokeswoman said: While we cannot comment on specific cases, our sympathies are with householders who have to defend themselves when intruders break in.

Thats why we strengthened the law in 2013 to give householders greater protection from intruders.

Those changes make it clear that if a householder believes their life or the lives of their family are in danger, and they act in self-defence, they would not ordinarily be convicted of an offence.
President Donald Trump requested an additional $100 billion worth of tariffs Chinese goods on Thursday evening, a move that would further fuel the trade war with Beijing.

If implemented, the further tariffs would triple the $50 billion placed on goods imported from China that Trump announced on Tuesday.

"In light of China's unfair retaliation, I have instructed the [United States Trade Representative] to consider whether $100 billion of additional tariffs would be appropriate," Trump said in a statement released by the White House.

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Reuters

Trump also instructed the Secretary of Agriculture to implement a plan to protect our farmers and agriculture interests.

He added: Notwithstanding these actions, the United States is still prepared to have discussions in further support of our commitment to achieving free, fair, and reciprocal trade and to protect the technology and intellectual property of American companies and American people."

After the U.S. unveiled the tariffs on Chinese imports on Tuesday, Beijing responded shortly after with $50 billion worth of tariffs on U.S. goods.

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In response to threats of additional tariffs, Chinas Commerce Ministry says Beijing will not hesitate to keep matching any future tariffs with their own. "[We dont want] to fight a trade war, but we are not afraid of fighting it," the ministry said in a statement on Friday.

It added: "If the United States disregards the opposition of China and the international community, and insists on unilateralist and protectionist trade practices, the Chinese side will follow through to the end and will not hesitate to fight back at any cost."

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"We will take new comprehensive measures to respond and resolutely defend the interests of the country and the people."

The ministry also indicated it will wait for the Trump administration to act before taking any drastic actions: We will listen to its words and watch its actions.

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Trumps current list of goods that will be affected by the tariffs ranges across 1,300 categories, while China is only targeting 106 classes of U.S. exports, including everything from soybean to passenger planes.

Although it is still unclear what goods the threats of an additional $100 billion worth of tariffs will cover, it will likely heighten fears of a full-scale trade war between the two economic giants.

Economists, businessmen and Republicans have warned that the trade war could end in devastation for the U.S. economy.

This is what a trade war looks like, and what we have warned against from the start, Matthew Shay, National Retail Federation President and CEO, told Reuters. We are on a dangerous downward spiral and American families will be on the losing end.

This article was first written by Newsweek

More from Newsweek
Chinas President Xi Jinping doesnt have a Twitter, or Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter. But he has multiple channels to address the trade tension with the U.S. to Chinese people  in the form of state-run media outlets.

As President Trump lobs tweets and comments, Chinese media are using harsher language toward the U.S. Some outlets, especially those that are considered mouthpieces of the government, also grab the opportunity to build national pride among citizens by characterizing China as a victim of tariff threats that tries to fight back.

Firmly and strongly, hit America where it hurts, reads the headline on Fridays Peoples Daily, an official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party. By quoting experts in Chinas think tanks, the article accuses the U.S. of ignoring international trade rules and stresses the nations confidence about winning a trade war.

Here are other headlines on Peoples Daily this week:

This trade war, China has the confidence to win

Americas only way to stop loss is to rein in at the brink of the precipice

The White House wants to play bigger? Who fears whom?!

Chinese President Xi Jinping walks to deliver his speech at the closing session of the National Peoples Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China March 20, 2018. Picture taken with a slow shutter speed. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

Playing the nationalism card

While state-run newspapers like the Peoples Daily may not have a large circulation among regular Chinese readers, they play an essential role in the partys power to frame public discussion. The editorials are considered the message from top leaders. And on the Twitter-like social media site Weibo, the hashtag retaliate in trade war has been used in more than 330,000 tweets.

Media coverage on the trade dispute usually carries the message that the U.S. is a bully by initiating tariffs on steel and aluminum and a 301 investigation without first bringing the issue to the World Trade Organization. Global Times, another daily Chinese tabloid newspaper known for it hawkish editorials, characterizes China as a fighter that doesnt yield to pressure from the U.S.

Washington probably had a hope that Beijing, like Tokyo, Seoul, or Ottawa, begged for the United States to exempt the steel and aluminum tariffs, and accepted the harsh conditions proposed by the US, a Global Times editorial wrote on Wednesday. However, Beijing has announced tit-for-tat reciprocal measures and resolutely fired the first shot against pressure from the U.S. on trade.

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U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinas President Xi Jinping arrive at a state dinner at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, November 9, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas Peter

Many also see the US highlighting theft of intellectual property (IP) using Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 as part of Americas strategy to contain Chinas rapid rise. When Washington released the proposed tariff list of Chinese products on Wednesday, it said some products benefit from Chinese industrial policies, including Made in China 2025, referring to Beijings plan to dominate certain industries.

The fundamental reason [for the tariffs] is that the development of China in recent years has hit the nerves of some Americans, according to a Peoples Daily article on Friday. Many high-tech industries in China have made great progress, and the gap between China and developed countries has gradually narrowed. We are even in the leading position in some areas. These people see [that] China grows at their cost.

And China is telling its citizens their strong country has the ability to win a trade war.

After the trade war has been fully launched, China will never retreat, writes a Global Times editorial on Friday. The unity of the whole society around the party and the government to fight and the strong will to go through hardships together is what the U.S. cant match.

Krystal Hu covers technology and economy for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter.

READ MORE:

Trumps blustery tweets could undermine his China negotiations

How China can hurt America in Trumps trade war

Chinas Xi has a key advantage over Trump in any trade war
Evangelical Christian leaders are hoping to meet with Donald Trump to raise mounting concerns about the drama surrounding his alleged affair with Stormy Daniels and claims levelled at the president by other women.

The billionaire businessman secured huge support from white Christians in the 2016 election, despite his reputation as a thrice-married casino magnate and the Access Hollywood affair in which he was caught on video bragging about sexually assaulting women. Even though Mr Trump was not personally seen as coming from a strong faith background, he secured the backing of 80 per cent of white evangelicals, compared to just 16 per cent for Hillary Clinton.

Yet a report suggests several evangelical Christian leaders are planning to meet with Mr Trump later this summer. According to a report on NPR that cited our unidentified sources, the faith leaders are hoping they will see the President on June 19 at the Trump International Hotel in Washington to discuss various concerns with him.

One leader of a faith-based ministry said of the allegation Mr Trumps lawyer paid Ms Daniels $130,000 to buy her silence ahead of the 2016 election: Were very concerned.

The source said the combination of the allegations swirling about an alleged decade-old relationship with Ms Daniels, along with rhetoric from the president that many find divisive, had spread concern that evangelicals may be less enthusiastic about turning out to vote in Novembers midterms.

Another source said the June meeting would be a chance for evangelical leaders to seek reassurance from Mr Trump and to talk about how to mobilise conservatives. Lets reconvene and lets see what we can do to encourage enthusiasm  beyond Trump, so to speak, the source said.

Ralph Reed, best known as the head of the so-called Christian Coalition during the 1999s and currently chairman of the Faith and Freedom Coalition, will among those religious leaders meeting with Mr Trump if it proceeds.

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I am? Where did I go? https://t.co/BiEjnMroeQ

 Stormy Daniels (@StormyDaniels) April 2, 2018

He said he doubted the controversy surrounding Ms Daniels would erode turn-out. Yet he he said if it did, Republicans could suffer. If these folks dont turn out in record numbers in 2018, its going to be a long night for Republicans, he said.

Mr Trump this meet referred to the issue for the first time this week when he said he had no prior knowledge of the payment to Ms Daniels made by his personal lawyer, Michael Cohen.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One flying back from a trip to West Virginia, Mr Trump was asked if he knew about the payment. He replied: No.

Mr Trump also said he did not know why Mr Cohen had made the payment. He said: Youll have to ask Michael Cohen. Michael is my attorney. Youll have to ask Michael.

Asked about the reported planned meeting, White House spokeswoman Lindsay Walters, said: We have no scheduling update at this time.

Johnnie Moore, who serves as an informal evangelical adviser to Mr Trump, denied the meeting  which he said was still at a very early stage  was being held to discuss Ms Daniels, but rather to focus on policy priorities for evangelical groups.

He said that with Mr Trump having secured the appointment of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, having sought to push back legislation that prevents individuals refusing to provide services based on their religious beliefs and his Attorney General declaring the 1964 Civil Rights Act does not provide special protection to transgender people, most evangelicals would score Mr Trumps first 15 months highly.

Evangelicals are very focussed on the issues, he told The Independent. They have a way of not being distracted by what the media may be talking about every day.

Video: Trump Says He Didn't Know About Stormy Daniels Payment

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Delta Air Lines and Sears Holdings confirmed on Wednesday that a cybersecurity incident at a third-party company called 247.ai potentially left payment details of their customers exposed online between September and October last year.

Both businesses were informed of the incident in March 2018 and while 247.aiwhich provides online chat serviceshas attempted to play down the scope of the leak Sears Holdings confirmed in a release that up to 100,000 customers could be impacted. Delta has not revealed how many of its customers were involved.

No other customer personal information, such as passport, government ID, security or SkyMiles information was impacted, Delta Air Lines said in a statement published on its website. Even though only a small subset of our customers would have been exposed, we cannot say definitively whether any of our customers' information was actually accessed or subsequently compromised," it continued.

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The firm assured customers they would not be liable, adding: In the event any of our customers' payment cards were used fraudulently as a result of the 247.ai cyber incident, we will ensure our customers are not responsible for that activity.

A representative for 247.ai, which is headquartered in California but has offices around the world, could not immediately be reached for comment by phone. In a press statement, the firm said all clients affected by the breach have already been informed. We are confident that the platform is secure, it said Wednesday.

In a statement, Sears Holdings said: "We believe this incident involved unauthorized access to less than 100,000 of our customers credit card information.

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"As soon as 247.ai informed us in mid-March 2018, we immediately notified the credit card companies to prevent potential fraud and launched a thorough investigation with federal law enforcement authorities, our banking partners, and IT security firms. As a result of that investigation, we believe the credit card information for certain customers who transacted online between September 27 2017 and October 12 2017 may have been compromised.

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The company noted that customers using its Sears-branded credit cards were not impacted. In addition, there is no evidence that our stores were compromised or that any internal Sears systems were accessed by those responsible, it added.

The company responsible, 247.ai, has not revealed any specific information about how the "cyber incident" occurred but has said an investigation remains ongoing.

Delta Air Lines

REUTERS/Ginnette Riquelme

This article was first written by Newsweek

More from Newsweek
Donald Trump, the US president. Allies of Vladimir Putin are expected to be hit but the sanctions. - AP

Donald Trump is set to hit Russia with a new wave of economic sanctions on Thursday, with oligarchs close to Vladimir Putin expected to be affected.

Yulia Skripal, the daughter of Russian double agent Sergei Skripal, has spoken for the first time since their poisoning to say her father was sleeping.

It raises hopes that both may survive the Salisbury attack and give investigators vital clues about how they were poisoned and why they were targeted.

Russias war of words with Britain escalated on Wednesday, with Alexander Yakovenko, the Russian ambassador to London, giving a 90-minute press conference.

He said Russia had never possessed or produced novichok, the nerve agent used in the attack, and claimed Moscows offer of consular support to Ms Skripal had been denied.

The Foreign Office said Ms Skripal had rejected the request herself.

Senior US officials have said that more action would be taken against Russia to punish its disruptive behaviour in recent years.

The scale and subject of todays expected sanctions remains unclear, though allies of Mr Putin are expected to be among those hit.

The action is being taken over Russia's 2016 US election meddling, but comes with the Trump administration seeking to hold a firm line with Britain over the Salisbury poisoning.

Earlier this year some 19 Russians and five entities, including the countrys intelligence services, were targeted with sanctions to punish its US election disruption.

Questions have been raised about the Trump administrations ability to target Russian oligarchs after it admitted using the Forbes magazine rich list for research earlier this year.

Yulia Skripal and her father Sergei. Both were hospitalised in the Salisbury poisoning. Credit: East 2 West

Ms Skripal, 33, was quoted speaking to a cousin in an audio recording of the conversation broadcast on Russian state television.

When asked about her fathers condition, she said: Everythings OK, hes resting now, hes sleeping. Everyones health is OK. No one has had any irreversible [harm].

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The Metropolitan Police declined to say if the conversation was genuine. It instead issued a statement from Ms Skripal in which she said that her "strength is growing daily".

She said: I woke up over a week ago now and am glad to say my strength is growing daily. I am grateful for the interest in me and for the many messages of goodwill that I have received.

I have many people to thank for my recovery and would especially like to mention the people of Salisbury that came to my aid when my father and I were incapacitated.

"Further than that, I would like to thank the staff at Salisbury district hospital for their care and professionalism.

I am sure you appreciate that the entire episode is somewhat disorientating, and I hope that youll respect my privacy and that of my family during the period of my convalescence.

Russia lost a vote at the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in the Hague on Wednesday demanding its experts be involved in an official investigation.

Moscow has said it may not accept the results of the probe unless its scientists take part. Mr Yakovenko, speaking on Wednesday, said: Lets first investigate and then well see.

Boris Johnson, the Foreign Secretary, dismissed Russias attempt to rope the UN Security Council into their disinformation campaign having lost the OPCW vote.

The world will see through this shameless cynicism, Mr Johnson tweeted.
The Dow rebounded strongly this week after trade war fears receded and tech stocks staged a recovery. Markets declined on Monday after uncertainty over a prospective trade war weighed on investor sentiment. However, the Dow registered strong gains over the next three trading days, registering its first three-session stretch of gains since Feb 26.

Last Weeks Performance

The Dow increased 1.1% last Thursday, driven by a rebound in tech majors. Intel Inc. INTC gained the most, increasing 5%. Shares of Facebook Inc. FB, Apple Inc. AAPL, Netflix Inc. NFLX, Alphabet Inc. GOOGL and Amazon.com Inc. AMZN gained 4.4%, 0.8%, 3.4%, 3.2% and 1.1%, respectively.

Microsoft Corp. MSFT also gained 2.1% after the company established two separate engineering teams, one for experiences and devices and another for cloud and AI platforms.

The index gained 2.7% over last week. Markets staged a powerful rebound on last Monday as tensions of an ensuing trade war between the United States and China appeared to ease. However, on last Tuesday markets declined sharply due to the tech tumble.

Additionally, the index decreased 3.5% during the month of March. The decline was primarily attributable to President Trumps decision to impose $60 billion of tariffs Chinese imports, giving rise to fears of an ensuing trade war. The Dow also lost 2.3% in the first quarter of 2018.

The Dow This Week

The index declined 1.9% on Monday due to uncertainty about a global trade war. Technology and Internet stocks continue to suffer following President Trumps renewed attack on Amazon. Mondays broad-based market selloff was the worst start to April since the Great Depression of 1929.

All 30 components of the blue-chip index closed below their 50-day moving average. The major loser for the blue-chip index was Intel which plunged 6.1% following a Bloomberg report that Apple would use its own chips for Mac computers instead of Intels chips.

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The index gained 1.7% on Tuesday led by a partial turnaround in technology stocks. Amazon gained 1.5% following a Bloomberg report, citing sources that the government is not planning to impose any regulations on the company.

Although the recovery was broad-based, investors anxiety over an impending trade war and imposition of new regulations on technology and Internet stocks persisted.

The index gained 1% on Wednesday with 27 of its 30 components closing in the green. Markets opened sharply lower yesterday on trade war related concerns. However, they recovered subsequently to a great extent after the White House gave indication that the U.S. government doesnt want to enter into a trade war with China.

The blue-chip index rebounded from 510 points or 2.1% plunge to finish the session up about 231 points. Consequently, Dow registered its best single-session comeback since, Feb 6, when the blue-chip slipped 2.3% to end up 2.3%.

The index gained 1% on Thursday, finishing in the green on the third consecutive day for the first time since Feb 26. Fears of an impending trade war seemed to ebb. A semblance of stability seemed to have returned to proceedings since Wednesdays notable turnaround.

The Dow added more than 200 stocks with The Boeing Company BA and DowDuPont Inc. DWDP emerging as its best performers, adding 2.7% and 2.8%, respectively. Overall, tech stocks were the leading gainers for the day with Facebook, Netflix and Amazon increasing 2.7%, 1.7% and 2.9%, respectively.

Components Moving the Index

Boeing recently entered into an agreement with the second largest Indian-based airline  Jet Airways  for delivering 75 737 MAX narrow body aircrafts, per Reuters. The deal is in line with Indian airlines latest rush to expand their fleets to meet the rising demand in the country for both domestic and international flights.

The deal value amounts to approximately $8.8 billion at current list prices which might get lower once the deal finalizes, as airlines typically receive a significant discount on big orders from manufacturers.

However, it is still unknown whether the agreement was a formal order or a non-binding memorandum of understanding. The stock has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

ExxonMobil Corporation XOM won eight additional exploration blocks during Brazils 15th bid round. The oil major will operate six of the newly-awarded blocks.

Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) ExxonMobil has won rights to two blocks in the Santos area. The company will operate the blocks with partner Qatar Petroleum. ExxonMobil has been awarded another four blocks in the Campos area. Of which, two will be operated by ExxonMobil along with partners Petrobras PBR and Qatar Petroleum.

The other two blocks will be operated by Petrobras along with partners ExxonMobil and Statoil ASA STO. The remaining two blocks are located in the Sergipe-Alagoas area. These blocks will be operated by ExxonMobil along with partners Queiroz Galvao Exploracao e Producao (QGEP) and Murphy Oil Corporation MUR. These awards are likely to boost the value of the already held adjacent blocks. (Read: ExxonMobil Wins 8 New Blocks, Fortifies Presence in Brazil)

General Electric Company GE has inked an agreement to sell a trio of its health-care information technology businesses to private equity firm Veritas Capital for $1.05 billion in cash.

The transaction includes Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) GEs Enterprise Financial Management, Ambulatory Care Management and Workforce Management software assets. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of 2018.

The healthcare division  GEs third-largest with sales of $19 billion in 2017  is a solid cash-generator and includes high-growth markets such as life sciences. (Read: GE Revamp Underway, Sells Health IT to Veritas for $1.05B)

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. GS is likely to face yet another suit over its discriminatory pay practices. Per Reuters, allegations for practicing pay discrimination against the banks female workforce will be filed as a group in a class-action lawsuit.

The plaintiffs, including around 2,300 female employees of Zacks Rank #3 Goldman, got the U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres permission in Manhattan for filing the suit. Plaintiffs accused Goldman of restricting their career path through discrimination.

Female employees and vice presidents, who have worked in Goldman's investment banking, investment management and securities divisions since September 2004, as well as workers in New York City since July 2002, alleged that the bank paid them less as compared with men, as well as misrepresented their performance reviews and promotion options. (Read: Goldman to be Sued Over Discrimination Against Women)

Intel is divesting its software firm Wind River Systems Inc. to alternative asset fund manager TPG. The financial term of the deal were kept under wraps. Intel has a Zacks Rank #3.

Notably, the worlds largest chip maker had bought Wind River Systems for $884 million in 2009 with the aim of stepping out of the traditional semiconductor market and expanding into the consumer electronics space.

Wind River is the global leader in Device Software Optimization (DSO). The buyout enabled Intel to possess Wind Rivers expertise in running device software with greater reliability, at faster speed and lower cost. (Read: Intel to Trim Business, Divests Wind River Unit to TPG)

Pfizer Inc. PFE announced that a phase III study evaluating its pipeline candidate tafamidis for the treatment of transthyretin cardiomyopathy (TTR-CM) met its primary endpoint. Pfizer has a Zacks Rank #3.

Top line data from the ATTR-ACT study showed that treatment with tafamidis led to a statistically significant reduction in the combination of all-cause mortality and frequency of cardiovascular-related hospitalizations  the primary endpoint - compared with the placebo at 30 months. The safety data also demonstrated that tafamidis was generally well tolerated by patients. (Read: Pfizer's Rare Disease Candidate Meets Endpoint in Phase III)

Performance of the Top 10 Dow Companies

The table given below shows the price movements of the 10 largest components of the Dow, which is a price weighted index, over the last five days and during the last six months. Over the last five trading days, the Dow has gained 1.9%.

Next Weeks Outlook

Fears of an impending trade war receded over three successive trading days, leading to substantial gains for stocks. However, Trumps announcement of an additional $100 billion worth of tariffs on Chinese imports are likely to heighten trade war related concerns. Given such a backdrop, investors will once again look to key economic releases to provide much needed optimism in the week ahead.

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Istanbul (AFP) - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is to visit Britain in May, a top official said Saturday, as Ankara sticks to its position of refusing to blame Russia for an attack on an ex-spy.

Relations between London and Ankara have over the last years been relatively robust, without the tensions that have plagued relations between Turkey and other European powers such as Germany.

But while EU nations have rushed to join Britain in condemning Russia and expelling diplomats over the attack in England on ex-spy Sergei Skripal, Turkey has been much more circumspect.

Erdogan "will be paying a visit to the UK in May," presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin told foreign reporters in Istanbul, without giving a date.

"We look forward to this visit."

The Turkish president has made relatively few bilateral visits to Europe since the failed 2016 coup although he did travel to France at the start of this year.

Kalin denied that Britain should be disappointed with Turkey's reaction to the attack on Skripal, saying "we would like to see the perpetrators of this attack brought to justice."

But he reaffirmed Turkey's unwillingness to follow London and most of its EU allies by blaming Russia for the poisoning.

"There seems to be a lot of discussion still going on.

"The question of who exactly did it and what is the full story is still unfolding," Kalin said.

Turkey has built flourishing relations with Russia after overcoming a 2015 crisis over Syria and President Vladimir Putin paid a two day visit to Ankara last week.

"We have good relations with Russia, we have good relations with the UK. We would not want to see any further tension between two countries with whom we have good relations," said Kalin.
Washington (AFP) - Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid called for US Patriot missiles and troops to be deployed to her small Baltic state Wednesday, telling AFP it was necessary to make deterrence "believable" for Russia.

In an interview coinciding with her visit to the White House, the conservative leader said the deployment of American materiel and personnel would bolster existing NATO troop deployments -- launched in response to Russia's more bellicose posture.

"We want to be sure that both NATO's territory and NATO soldiers are well protected," she said.

"We need to make sure that there is the air defense and the air support for these forces, in case that is necessary. We need our deterrence to be believable."

Kaljulaid said the proposed deployments had not come up on Tuesday in conversation with President Donald Trump -- who is notoriously prickly about the use of US military assets abroad -- but talks between the two governments were ongoing.

"We are past the stage in our relations that you come to Washington with an empty goody bag and then you go back with a bag filled with stuff," she said.

"There is a permanent debate and discussion between the governments of the two countries," she added, listing Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis and Vice President Mike Pence as key interlocutors.

Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea and its support for separatists in eastern Ukraine has rekindled long-standing fears about aggression in the already nervous Baltic states.

With a combined population of just six million people, the three countries were occupied and annexed by Moscow during World War II.

The trio broke free from the crumbling Soviet Union in 1991 and joined both the European Union and NATO in 2004.

- 'Jittery nerves' -

NATO has sent a battle group to Estonia -- namely troops from the UK, France and Denmark -- but Kaljulaid said that the deployment of American soldiers would bring another dimension.

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"We'd rather see that bilaterally we could agree to have some boots on the ground on a permanent rotational basis," she said.

"This is very useful to calm the jittery nerves. Some people might think that NATO takes a long time to act, but the US could be quicker. There is some rationale in this thinking."

US troops are already taking part in NATO's "enhanced forward presence" but are based in nearby Poland.

Kaljulaid's comments came as Russia embarked on a live-fire drill in the Baltic Sea which has caused concern in Sweden and interfered with Latvian commercial aviation.

"This kind of activity indeed is quite unprecedented," the president said.

"I think it's part of the retaliation for the Salisbury reaction," she added, linking the drill to the expulsion of more than 100 Russian officials from Western nations.

That action, which infuriated Moscow, was taken after the poisoning of a former Russian spy with a nerve agent in the small British city.

Kaljulaid suggested that Western countries had paid for mistakes in their dealings with Russia.

"We carry part of the responsibility for the current state of play," she said. "That starts with 2008 in Georgia. Our reaction to the partial occupation of Georgia was weak and it was back to business as usual quite quickly."

"That is part of the reason Crimea happened, Russia just misread what will happen, what will be reaction. We got our act together and stopped the avalanche."

Now, Kaljulaid said, the West needs to show "strategic patience," including sustaining economic sanctions on Russia and perhaps expanding upon them.

"There has been after Salisbury a lot of questions asked about whether something should be done to Russian money in different countries... but I think this might be something that is worthwhile."

Putin, she said, "promised to turn his attention to the Russian economy, I hope he does."
Facebooks Sheryl Sandberg continued the social networks apology tour with an appearance today on Fox News Channel, where she talked about stepped-up efforts to safeguard user privacy and measures to safeguard against manipulation during the upcoming elections.

Sandbergs interview on The Daily Briefing with Dana Perino  her second TV interview of the day  seeks to contain the fallout from the Cambridge Analytica data scandal ahead of CEO Mark Zuckerbergs appearance next week before Congress. Earlier this week, Facebook acknowledged that personal data about as many as 87 million users may have been leaked to the political consultancy that was advising Donald Trumps 2016 presidential campaign.

Sandberg acknowledged, once again, that Facebook didnt do enough to protect users data, adding, Im really sorry for that. She articulated the steps the social network is taking to confront the problem, from restricting what information apps can extract from users, to doubling to 20,000 the number of people working on safety and security issues, to handing users new tools for controlling access to their information.

Starting Monday, were going to start rolling out, all around the world, and right at the top of your news feed, a very easy link which shows you all the apps youre connected to and shared your data with and a very easy way to delete them, Sandberg said.

Pressed about whether 20,000 people could protect a user base of 2 billion, Sandberg said Facebook is ramping up as quickly as possible, and employing technology, to crack on abuse.

Sandberg deftly shifted the conversation to talk about how Facebook is able to learn from, and address, misconduct on the platform. She talked about Russian operatives meddling in the 2016 presidential election by circulating fraudulent and divisive posts on the social network. The company said earlier this week it had removed more than 270 accounts and pages controlled by Russias Internet Research Agency, a notorious troll factory.

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The accounts were in Russian, addressing users in neighboring Azerbaijan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.

A lot of people said, well, those are in Russian, targeted at Russians in Russia, said Sandberg. But our answer was, These are Russian trolls, this is deceptive content, it has no place on our platform in the United States, in Russia, anywhere in the world.

Asked whether there was a way to prove the Russian propaganda influenced the election, Sandberg said Facebook gave users a way to know if they were duped by one of these posts. And, preparing for the 2018 election cycle, talked about Facebooks efforts to combat the flow of fake news.

Were working really hard on false news. People want accurate information on Facebook, and we want them to have accurate information on Facebook, said Sandberg. So what were doing is were working with third-party fact-checkers, everyone from The AP to The Weekly Standard.

Facebook flags bogus content, dramatically decreases distribution and marks related articles that offer another view. That, naturally, led to a discussion about how Facebooks decision to change the algorithm for its newsfeed  reducing the number of posts users see from publishers  in favor of news from trustworthy sources, is harming conservative (and some liberal) sites.

That change really meant that the spamming, the click-ey, the more outrageous stuff, that dialed down, Sandberg said. And the stuff that people trusted  both conservative and liberal  got dialed up.

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By Meredith Mazzilli

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A fire that broke at in Trump Tower in New York on Saturday is out, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Twitter, calling it a "very confined" blaze.

One person was in serious condition following the blaze, fire officials told local media. The New York Fire Department said on Twitter it was a four-alarm fire that broke out on the 50th floor.

Trump, who has an office and private residence in the building, was in Washington.

"Fire at Trump Tower is out. Very confined (well built building). Firemen (and women) did a great job. THANK YOU!," Trump tweeted.

Eric Trump, the president's son, said on Twitter the fire took place in a residential apartment.

Social media video showed a small fire coming out of a few windows from the structure in center Manhattan. Fire trucks were lining the streets outside.

(Reporting by Jon Herskovitz in Austin, Texas and Meredith Mazzilli in New York; Editing by Sandra Maler)
A Florida man allegedly assaulted his pregnant girlfriend and shot her several times before turning the gun on himself. The incident happened just before 6 p.m. Wednesday at a Pine Hills home, the Orange County Sheriffs Office said.

Authorities were alerted by neighbors who called 911 after witnessing a man, identified as 37-year-old Ty George Thomas, beating his 37-year-old girlfriend Rachel Sanchez with a fire extinguisher outside the home. Neighbors reportedly told Thomas to stop but he continued and pulled her back inside the home, WKMG-TV reported.

Screen Shot 2018-04-05 at 3

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In a statement provided to Newsweek, sheriffs office spokesman Jeff Williamson said that neighbors heard several gunshots while Thomas and Sanchez.

Williamson said that deputies had arrived at the home and were urging the man to come out when a single gunshot was heard.

"We were gathering a contact team to go in because it was a violent altercation," he said to WKMG-TV. "The contact team was getting together. They put their shields up when they heard a single gunshot after that."

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The victim managed to crawl out the front door before collapsing. Deputies placed the victim on a tarp and dragged her away to an OCSO vehicle. The statement said Sanchez was driven to an OCFD rescue vehicle and taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center.

Sanchez underwent surgery and was in stable condition as of Thursday morning. The condition of her unborn baby is unknown. Williamson told WFTV that Sanchez may have lost her baby due to her injuries.

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Authorities found Thomas dead inside the home with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Williamson told The Orlando Sentinel that deputies had been to the house earlier in the day and last week for a domestic-related call. The incident remains under investigation.

This article was first written by Newsweek

More from Newsweek
By Alex Dobuzinskis (Reuters) - Former Senator Daniel Akaka, the first native Hawaiian in the U.S. Senate, who strove for recognition of Filipino veterans who fought with the United States during World War Two, died on Friday at age 93. "Our state mourns the loss of this man of upright character," Hawaii Governor David Ige said in a statement. "While we celebrate his military service and dedication to our nations veterans, his advocacy of the Hawaiian language and culture and his work in Congress to recognize Filipino veterans, he was first and foremost a family man," Ige said. Ige ordered Hawaii's state flag and the U.S. flag to be flown at half-staff in honor of Akaka. Akaka, an educator turned Democratic politician, served more than three decades in the U.S. Congress. He held various committee positions including as chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. He served in the U.S. Army from 1945 to 1947 and was deployed to the Pacific Ocean theater at the end of World War Two. He chaired the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs from 2007 through 2010. In a 2008 interview with PBS Hawaii, Akaka said he was an effective lawmaker and highlighted his legislation to provide U.S. benefits to Filipino veterans who fought during World War Two, when the Philippines were a U.S. territory. He was praised online by U.S. Representative Tulsi Gabbard, a Democrat from Hawaii, and others for embodying the spirit of "aloha," a Hawaiian word used to express warmth and sincerity. While in the Senate, Akaka repeatedly introduced a bill to pave the way for native Hawaiians to gain political sovereignty and self-governance. Known as the Akaka Bill, it was most recently introduced in 2009 but never won passage. Akaka was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1976 to represent Hawaii and held the seat until 1990, when he was appointed to the Senate to replace Spark Masayuki Matsunaga, who died. Akaka won re-election multiple times before retiring in January 2013. "Daniel K. Akaka was beloved by everyone in Hawaii, and his colleagues of both parties in Washington D.C.," Hawaii Senator Brian Schatz, a Democrat, said on Twitter. "A pure heart, a determined warrior for native Hawaiians, and a true public servant." (Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis in Los Angeles)
Tad Cummins has pleaded guilty to kidnapping his teenage student, taking her across state lines and sexually assaulting her.

The former teacher from Columbia, Tennessee, will be sentenced later this year and faces at least 10 years in prison, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Middle District of Tennessee, which reported the plea. It took place on Thursday.

Elizabeth Thomas, then 15, was missing for about a month after Cummins abducted her from their Tennessee hometown. The pair disappeared on March 13 and were found in a California cabin last April.

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Cummins, now 51, kidnapped Thomas as the local school board was investigating a relationship between the teacher and the student, which reportedly included sexual activity at the school. A couple of months before they went missing, another student at Culleoka Unit School had spotted them kissing. Cummins was later suspended and then, on the day the Amber Alert was issued for Thomas, he was fired.

When authorities found Thomas and Cummins last year following a nationwide search, Cummins was taken into federal custody, where he remains.

tad-cummins

Courtesy Siskiyou County Sheriffs Office/Handout via REUTERS

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In view of todays development and Mr. Cummins decision to plead guilty, we are pleased that the victim no longer faces the possibility of enduring a lengthy trial, U.S. Attorney Don Cochran said in the districts statement. We now look forward to the sentencing of Mr. Cummins and bringing closure to this case.

The specific charges to which Cummins pleaded guilty were transporting a minor across state lines for the purpose of engaging in criminal sexual conduct as well as obstruction of justice.

Story continues

The former federal charge carries at least 10 years in prison but can also put someone away for life. The obstruction of justice charge stems from actions he took to avoid being found.

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According to the statement, he will be sentenced in late September.

The delay may have something to do with the courts schedule, a spokesperson for the U.S Attorneys Office for the Middle District of Tennessee told Newsweek. We are short on district judges and the current ones have full calendars, he said.

When he pleaded guilty, Cummins cried and said, I cannot be the man I need to be and not tell the truth, according to ABC News.

This article was first written by Newsweek

More from Newsweek
A flurry of town halls to address the countrys gun violence epidemic are planned nationwide for Saturday, marking the next major action organized by March For Our Lives.

The forums with elected officials and their constituents are the result of a call to action issued March 25 by David Hogg, a 17-year-old survivor of the Parkland, Florida, school shooting and outspoken member of the #NeverAgain movement to end gun violence.

Got it! Everyone should call for a town hall with their representative on April 7th. Your town hall should be 2hrs and start between 8am and 4 pm call your rep today to organize it and if they refuse to show up just invite their opponent. LETS GO!! Visit @townhallproject for help  David Hogg (@davidhogg111) March 25, 2018

March For Our Lives partnered with Town Hall Project, a volunteer-based initiative that identifies and promotes congressional forums, to help students organize each event, known as a Town Hall For Our Lives.

By Friday afternoon, there were more than 120 Town Hall For Our Lives events listed on Town Hall Projects website, with over 30 Democratic members of Congress having organized or accepted invitations to the forums.

But their Republican counterparts failed to accept a single invitation to a Town Hall For Our Lives, causing the bulk of the events to be planned as empty chair town halls, in which the invited lawmakers arent expected to show up.

To be sure, the organizing process behind Town Hall For Our Lives appeared less seamless than that of March For Our Lives, the massive student-led protest against gun violence held nearly two weeks ago in Washington, D.C., and other cities worldwide.

People holding signs filled blocks of Pennsylvania Avenue during March For Our Lives on March 24. (Photo: SOPA Images via Getty Images)

Over a dozen events were added to Town Hall Projects website just days before April 7, which could make it difficult for some lawmakers to rearrange their schedules given such short notice. In one case, a retired congressman was listed as having been invited, though it was unclear why.

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HuffPost reached out to all of the roughly 90 Republican members of Congress who were invited to a Town Hall For Our Lives, as listed on Town Hall Projects website. Ten responded.

Representatives for six of the Republican lawmakers who responded to HuffPosts request for comment  Sens. Rob Portman (Ohio) and Pat Toomey (Pa.) and Reps. Justin Amash (Mich.), Lou Barletta (Pa.), Bob Goodlatte (Va.) and Jim Renacci (Ohio)  cited scheduling conflicts as their reasons for being unable to participate. All but one of those spokespeople did not respond when asked if the lawmakers planned to host a town hall on gun violence at a later date.

We dont have any town halls on the calendar but certainly [are] open to hosting a productive forum to talk about it, a spokeswoman for Renacci told HuffPost in an email.

A spokeswoman for Rep. Pete Olson (R-Texas) told HuffPost that no invite was extended, but that he would be unable to attend either way because of a scheduling conflict. Two students organizing separate town halls in Texas disputed her statement.

Chris Pino, an 18-year-old senior at Seven Lakes High School in Katy, Texas, told HuffPost that the spokeswomans statement that Olson was never invited to a Town Hall For Our Lives was simply not true.

I have reached out to him and his office on at least four occasions throughout the past week, both by phone and email, Pino told HuffPost in an email on Thursday. Each of those times, I received no definitive response. Today, I finally received a definitive response, which was a no.

The necessity for dialogue between constituency and representative transcends ideology and party identity, Pino wrote. Although elected officials and many of their constituents will disagree on some grounds, dissent in opinion is not a mark of division; rather, it is a building block for unity and for bridging the partisan divide. Simply stated, we must work together in order to succeed as a nation.

A spokeswoman for Rep. Steve Womack (R-Ark.) said his office never received an invitation to a Town Hall For Our Lives, despite the listing on Town Hall Projects website. HuffPost was unable to connect with an organizer to verify that an invitation was sent. Womacks spokeswoman did not respond when asked if he planned to attend or host a town hall on gun violence at a later date.

One Republican congressman was decidedly against participating in the Town Hall for Our Lives events for a different reason. Tyler Sandberg, a spokesman for Rep. Mike Coffman (R-Colo.), said the lawmaker had hosted a town hall with students Thursday, but would not attend the Town Hall For Our Lives he was invited to on Saturday because of its connection to ProgressNow Colorado, a progressive political advocacy organization.

By all means, young folks should speak their minds, Sandberg told HuffPost in an email. But this rally is being organized by ProgressNow  a hate-inspired partisan group looking to raise money and win elections, not solve problems. Mike has no interest associating with the smear merchants at ProgressNow. He is seeking solutions, not stunts.

Coffmans position was very disheartening to Ian Gaskins, a 17-year-old junior at Mountain Range High School in Westminster, Colorado, and an organizer of the Town Hall For Our Lives that had invited Coffman.

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A spokesman for Colorado Rep. Mike Coffman (above) said the Republican lawmaker had "no interest" in attending the town hall. (Photo: Karl Gehring via Getty Images)

Gaskins acknowledged that ProgressNow helped Never Again Colorado, a student-led anti-gun-violence group, organize the town hall. But he said he had no idea why Sandberg would call the organization hate-inspired.

We are working with other groups just because we havent done this before, Gaskins told HuffPost. Just because were getting help, doesnt mean its not our event. ... We are just students who want to be safe in our schools.

A spokesman for Rep. Ted Budd (R-N.C.) told HuffPost that he is unable to attend a Town Hall For Our Lives, but noted he led a roundtable Thursday about school safety with school officials and members of local law enforcement.

Not every Democratic lawmaker responded to the Town Hall For Our Lives invitations either. Roughly 20 of them who had been invited had not yet confirmed their attendance as of Friday afternoon, according to Town Hall Projects website. A much smaller number of Democratic members of Congress were invited to these town halls, likely because they are traditionally already in favor of gun reform legislation. However, a handful of them hosted related forums earlier in the week.

Florida Rep. Ted Deutch (D) was one of the dozens of Democratic lawmakers to heed Hoggs call to action. Deutch hosted a Town Hall For Our Lives on Tuesday. It drew over 1,000 people to the Coral Springs Center for the Arts  just 3 miles down the road from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

Thank you to everyone from FL22 who joined the town hall. We came together tonight because this isn't over. We all need to rely on one another, support one another, and work together to make our communities safe from gun violence.#EndGunViolence #TownHallForOurLives pic.twitter.com/mwWMf4GBZ1  Rep. Ted Deutch (@RepTedDeutch) April 4, 2018

Many students, parents and community members encouraged the 17 elected officials present at Deutchs town hall, including mayors and state legislators, to pursue stricter gun laws in the wake of the Feb. 14 Parkland massacre. A handful of gun rights advocates showed up to the event as well.

Their argument is that guns dont kill people, that bad people kill people, Coral Springs Commissioner Dan Daley said after a pro-gun attendee heckled him from the crowd. Why would you want to make it easy for a bad person to get a gun?

Jimmy Dahman, executive director of Town Hall Project and a former organizer for Hillary Clintons 2016 presidential campaign, called the students efforts incredibly inspiring.

These students have shown great determination in wanting to engage in the democratic process, Dahman told HuffPost. Its elected officials responsibility to listen to their constituents.

Democracy is best served when the people show up, he added.

Visit Town Hall Projects website for an hour-by-hour updated list of Town Hall For Our Lives events.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
Athens (AFP) - Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Saturday demanded the release of two soldiers jailed in Turkey, arguing that they should not be "pawns to blackmail."

"Human life and human freedom are not, and should not be, pawns to power games and blackmail," Tsipras said in a statement to Documento newspaper.

Turkey is holding in pre-trial detention two Greek soldiers who crossed the border on March 2, claiming to have lost their way in the fog.

Greece had hoped to secure their release before Sunday's Orthodox Easter celebration.

Turkish media have reported that the pair, held in the northern Turkish province of Edirne, have been charged with espionage.

But Athens contends that Turkish authorities have not given adequate details of the charges and on what evidence they are based.

According to 's state-run Anadolu news agency, the soldiers have been charged with "attempted military espionage" as well as entering a forbidden military zone.

The issue has strained an already tense relationship between the two NATO allies and regional rivals.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and members of his government have escalated attacks on Greece after its failure to extradite eight Turkish soldiers that Ankara said were part of an attempted 2016 coup.

The Greek Supreme Court has conclusively blocked the extradition of the eight Turkish soldiers, arguing that they would not have a fair trial in their home country amid an ongoing purge of suspected Erdogan opponents.

Additionally, Ankara and Athens are at loggerheads over the exploration of gas reserves in the eastern Mediterranean.

Tsipras earlier this week called on the Turkish judiciary to "speed up" its processing of the case.

"In the past, we returned Turkish soldiers who crossed a few metres into Greece whilst on patrol. I expect the Turkish president to do the same," he said.
By Krisztina Than and Gergely Szakacs SZEKESFEHERVAR, Hungary (Reuters) - Viktor Orban, Europe's most outspoken nationalist leader, said on Friday Hungary's future would be decided for decades at an election on Sunday in which he vowed to protect his nation from the "rust" of Muslim migrants. After a campaign in which Orban has positioned himself as a saviour of Hungary's Christian culture against Muslim migration into Europe, all opinion polls put his Fidesz party well in the lead for the election. A third straight term for Orban could embolden Hungary's longest serving post-communist premier to solidify a Central European alliance against the European Union's migration policies, and against a deeper integration of the bloc which he opposes. It would also give a lift to other right-wing nationalists in Central Europe, in Poland and in neighbouring Austria, and expose cracks in the 28-nation EU. "We will win again on Sunday as we have won battles in the past which looked impossible for many," Orban told a few thousand supporters waving the national flag in the town of Szekesfehervar, west of Budapest. "We have built the fence, defended the southern border ... Migration is like rust that slowly but surely would consume Hungary." Earlier on Friday he voiced common cause with Poland, whose governing Law and Justice (PiS) party like Fidesz is under fire from the EU over their refusal to take in migrants under a quota system and over their efforts to tighten state control of their courts and media. "We believe Poles and Hungarians have a common path, common fight and common goal: to build and defend our homeland in the form that we want ... Christian and with national values," Orban said at the unveiling of a statue marking a 2010 plane crash that killed the Polish president. Poland's PiS leader, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, attending the ceremony commemorating the plane crash in Russia in which his twin brother was killed, endorsed Orban ahead of Sunday's vote. Orban's Fidesz, with a firm grip on the media, dominates the public agenda. All polls predict a win for him on Sunday though something short of the landslides of elections in 2010 and 2014. There is also a slight chance that the fragmented opposition, with formerly far-right Jobbik as the main challenger, could foil a romp to victory and strip Fidesz of its parliament majority. At a rally in Budapest on Friday, Socialist prime ministerial candidate Gergely Karacsony accused Orban of having abused his strong political mandate. "There is no other man who had so much power and who has abused it so much," Karacsony told hundreds of supporters. Orban, 54, who started out as a young liberal activist in the late 1980s, has transformed Hungary's democratic fabric in the past eight years with what his critics see as an increasingly authoritarian style. His government has expanded control over state media and, via business allies, also large chunks of the private media. Businessmen close to Fidesz and Orban have acquired stakes in major industries like banking, energy, construction, and tourism, enriching themselves on EU funds. In clashes with Brussels over his policies, he has ruled out taking part in any EU-wide mechanism to settle migrants from the Middle East in Hungary. Orban has declared that Hungary, which has no history of large-scale immigration, should preserve its "ethnic homogeneity." "INVASION" THREAT In 2015, even before the peak of Europe's migration crisis, Orban realised that the threat from what he called "an invasion" by Muslim immigrants struck a chord with a large part of the Hungarian electorate. His government built a fence on the southern border with Serbia to keep out migrants at a time when hundreds of thousands had walked though Hungary on their way to richer western Europe. The Fidesz election campaign has vilified U.S. financier George Soros, whose philanthropy aims to bolster liberal and open-border values in eastern Europe, and runs against Orban's concept of an "illiberal democracy". The fierce anti-immigrant campaign has gone down well with around 2 million core voters of Fidesz. According to a poll and estimates by Republikon institute on Thursday, Fidesz could win 113 seats in Hungary's 199-seat parliament. However, the polls could be unreliable as one-third of voters are uncertain and many hide their voting preference. Sitting on a bench in Budapest, enjoying the sun with a cup of coffee in his hand, Istvan Nagy, a 50-year old plumber, said he would vote for Orban as a guarantor of security. "Of course, Fidesz, Viktor Orban! Why? Because he is the only one who makes me feel secure in this country, this is what I have got used to and I want this to remain," he said. "We have a job, and money and also the girls are pretty here." While Orban has gradually become a nationalist admired by far-right politicians across Europe, he is credited with keeping the budget deficit under control, reducing unemployment and reducing some of Hungary's debt pile. His income tax cuts have put the economy on a growth track, with the economy expanding by 4 percent in 2017 and consumption and lending on the rise. Financial markets have been pricing in a new term for Orban, and have mostly cast aside the chances of a Fidesz defeat. That could trigger a fall in the forint and government bonds in the event of an upset, traders say. (Reporting by Krisztina Than with additional reporting by Sandor Peto; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
MILAN (Reuters) - The 5-Star Movement, which emerged as Italy's biggest party after last month's vote, will propose an economic plan which will keep the budget deficit near the level forecast for this year by the outgoing center-left government, its leader said. The anti-establishment party won over 32 percent of the vote in the March 4 ballot, but the election produced a hung parliament, so it needs to find allies to be able to form a government. During its campaign, the 5-Star pledged to raise the budget deficit in order to fund welfare spending and tax cuts, but has toned down its comments since the vote. The change in stance was widely seen as a bid to show the European Union and financial markets it plans to be responsible with public finances. In an interview with La Repubblica newspaper on Saturday, 5-Star leader Luigi Di Maio said his economic plan would "keep the budget deficit at 1.5 percent". He did not specify which year his forecast was referring to. The outgoing center-left Democratic Party (PD) has forecast a 2018 budget deficit at 1.6 percent of gross domestic product, down from 2.3 percent last year. Both 5-Star and the far-right League - the leading party in a conservative coalition that won most parliamentary seats in the March election - say they have the right to govern. They are each preparing policy proposals to be presented this month as alternatives to the outgoing government's multi-year economic plan, but whereas the League has maintained strong eurosceptic rhetoric, 5-Star has taken more moderate positions. The plan it is preparing may be seen as an attempt to persuade the PD to back a 5-Star government as a junior partner rather than go into opposition as it has so far pledged to do. In the interview, called Di Maio on the PD to put bitter rivalries aside in a bid to help form a government. "We have been asked to give the country a government, but everyone has a duty to help solve the people's problems and to show a sense of responsibility," he said. Talks to try to break the stalemate have so far failed to make progress and a fresh round of consultations is scheduled for next week. Di Maio has called for a German-style governing contract with either the League or the PD, a proposal so far rejected by both parties. The PD says it wants to go into opposition, while League leader Matteo Salvini has refused to break with his coalition ally, former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, which is a condition posed by Di Maio. (Reporting by Agnieszka Flak; Editing by Ros Russell)
On Wednesday, April 4th, actress Jaime Kings four-year-old son, James Knight, was involved in an attack when the car he was sitting in was vandalized. James was struck with shards of glass when the windshield was shattered after the suspect, later identified as Paul Francis Floyd, jumped onto the car. Floyd was arrested on child endangerment, misdemeanor battery, and two counts of felony vandalism charges.

If the name Jaime King rings a bell, thats because shes been involved in many projects youve probably seen. She got her start in Hollywood in 2001 when she played Kristina Jung in Blow and Nurse Betty Bayer in Pearl Harbor. King went on to star in Slackers as Angela Patton in 2002, and she later played Heather Vandergeld in 2004s White Chicks, Goldie in 2005s Sin City, and Sarah Palmer in 2009s My Bloody Valentine.

In 2005, King made the transition from film to television. She played Tanya in Kitchen Confidential, Palmer in The Class, and Vanessa in Gary Unmarried. But King may be best known for her role as Lemon Breeland in Hart of Dixie.

Currently, King has her hands in even more projects, including a role in the upcoming Oceans 8 starring Sandra Bullock, Rihanna, and Anne Hathaway.

The 38-year-old actress, who is originally from Omaha, Nebraska, began a modeling career before ever gracing the screen. She appeared in fashion mags like Vogue and Harpers Bazaar in the late 1990s.

In 2005, while acting in Fanboys, King met and fell for the films director, Kyle Newman. The two were married in 2007 and in 2013 they welcomed their first child, James Knight. King later revealed she struggled with infertility for years before becoming pregnant with James. Luckily, King and Newman were able to become pregnant a second time. Their youngest son, Leo Thames, was born in 2015 (fun fact: Taylor Swift is Leo Thames godmother).

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And let us be the first to tell you that this family is abso-freaking-lutely adorable.

Were sending our love to King and her family while James recovers from the incident. Luckily, the suspect was caught before more damage was done.
(Reuters) - Health officials in New Jersey said they are investigating an E. coli outbreak in four counties that left at least eight people hospitalized. The New Jersey department of health said it was in preliminary stages of an investigation that was possibly associated with a restaurant chain without naming it. However a Business Insider report citing county officials said the chain under investigation was Panera Bread. The Panera Bread restaurant in Phillipsburg, New Jersey, is the chief focus of the probe, according to the Business Insider report. Of the eight people hospitalized, five have been discharged, according to a statement on the state department's website. Panera Bread, the chain that was bought by privately owned German investment firm JAB Holding in 2017, has recently been in the news for leaking customer records. (Reporting by Nivedita Balu in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)
Munster (Germany) (AFP) - German police were scrambling in the early hours of Sunday to understand the motives of a man who drove a van into a crowd at an open-air restaurant, killing two people before shooting himself.

It was not clear whether he hoped to commit a so-called "murder-suicide" or had political motivations.

But authorities appeared near-certain that there was no Islamist connection to the violence in the historic centre of Muenster.

As well as the dead, police said 20 were injured -- six of them seriously -- amid the broken and upturned tables and chairs seen strewn across the pavement in images of the scene.

Germany has been on especially high alert for such terrorist attacks after several claimed by the Islamic State group.

The worst of those saw a Tunisian asylum seeker ram a truck into crowds at a Berlin Christmas market in December 2016, killing 12.

In the Saturday afternoon attack, inflicted as locals and tourists enjoyed a sunny spring day, there was "no indication at the moment that there is any Islamist connection," said North Rhine-Westphalia state interior minister Herbert Reul.

- Psychological problems -

While stressing that the investigation was still ongoing, Reul said the perpetrator was believed to be a German citizen "and not, as has been claimed everywhere, a refugee or something like that".

Media reports said the driver, identified only as Jens R., had a history of mental health problems.

Public broadcaster ZDF said the man had recently attempted suicide while rolling news channel NTV said he had spoken of a desire to bring as much attention as possible to his death.

ZDF also reported that he had possible links with far-right movements.

News website Spiegel Online reported that Jens R. lived in Muenster and police had found an assault weapon at his flat.

Police in the university city of 300,000 did not immediately confirm the reports.

They said that "a potentially suspicious object" had been found in the vehicle that might possibly be an explosive, and experts had been called in to deactivate it.

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"There was a bang and then screaming. The police arrived and got everyone out of here," an employee of the restaurant hit by the terrace told NTV.

"There were a lot of people screaming. I'm angry -- it's cowardly to do something like this."

Armed police cordoned off a wide area around the scene of the attack, urging residents to avoid the city centre to allow investigators to get to work amid initial fears the country had suffered another extremist assault.

- 'Deeply shaken' -

Chancellor Angela Merkel said she was "deeply shaken" by the incident and "everything possible will be done to determine what was behind this act and to help the victims".

The presidents of Russia and France, Vladimir Putin and Emmanuel Macron, each sent their condolences.

The attack is the latest in a string across Europe in which vehicles have been used to attack crowds of people in public places.

In the Berlin Christmas market attack, Tunisian asylum-seeker Anis Amri hijacked a truck and murdered its Polish driver before killing another 11 people and wounding dozens more by ploughing the heavy vehicle through the festive market in central Berlin.

He was shot dead by Italian police in Milan four days later while on the run.

In France, IS claimed a 2016 truck attack in Nice on its July 14 national holiday that killed 86.

And in Spain, the jihadists also claimed a rampage along Barcelona's Las Ramblas boulevard in August 2017 that killed 14 and left more than 100 injured.

Like other European nations, Germany remains a target for jihadist groups, in particular because of its involvement in the coalition fighting IS in Iraq and Syria, and its deployment in Afghanistan since 2001.

A court last month sentenced a man to life in prison for killing one and wounding six others with a knife in a Hamburg supermarket out of a "jihadist" motive last July.

IS also claimed responsibility for a number of attacks in 2016, including the murder of a teenager in Hamburg, a suicide bombing in the southern city of Ansbach that wounded 15, and an axe attack on a train in Bavaria that left five injured.

Germany's security services estimate there are around 10,000 Islamic radicals in Germany, some 1,600 of whom are suspected of being potentially violent.

Political opponents of Chancellor Angela Merkel have charged that the security situation has worsened with the arrival of more than one million migrants and refugees since 2015, many from African and Middle Eastern conflict hotspots.
A data breach last year at California-based customer support service [24]7.ai may have exposed the credit card information of customers of Sears, Kmart and Atlanta-based Delta. These organizations are now faced with the task of sorting through potential liability stemming from state data breach notification laws and the role of third-party vendors in data exposure. In a press statement issued on April 4, Delta announced that it had been made aware of the breach on March 28 and had begun working with [24]7.ai to get a sense of the breach's scope and impact. Delta also reportedly contacted federal law enforcement and forensic teams to confirm the breach and has launched a website to answer consumer questions about the breach. Georgia is one of 47 U.S. states with breach notification laws on the books requiring companies to notify consumers in a timely fashion if state residents have had their data exposed by a breach. Efraim Harari, general counsel at cybersecurity technology company SentinelOne, noted, however, that national companies such as Delta are likely subject to even more stringent state breach notification laws. Delta Airlines probably has more customers in California, where their breach notification law is far beyond that, with credit monitoring for one year and a few other requirements, as is the case for Massachusetts, Harari noted. Because of the kind of data Delta retains, Harari said the potential to draw consumer concern is likely higher than it could be in a similar breach of a technology or data company. Companies like Delta have a different problem in the sense that the type of data they process is highly personal and has immediate personal implications when it's been breached, specifically credit card information, Social Security information, things that can lead to fraud pretty quickly, he noted. The reputational risk is paramount, Harari said of data breaches more generally. It causes serious damage to companies vis-a-vis their shareholders, their boards, their executives, he noted. Harari guessed that Delta, given its longevity in the market and size, probably mandates fairly strict data obligations for its data processors, meaning that a smaller tech vendor such as [24]7.ai is more likely to be held liable for data exposure. Companies smaller than Delta, however, may not have the same negotiating weight in establishing liability with their vendors, which could leave them exposed to litigation. U.S. data privacy law, Harari said, hasnt fully resolved the question of whether users need to expressly consent (or opt in) to having organizations share their data, or whether organizations can simply share data unless users express otherwise (or opt out). He expects, however, that this may not always be the case. I do predict some shifts at some point in the U.S. toward a more opt-in option with respect to sharing with third parties, especially third parties whose activities with respect to the data are not what the user has signed up for, he said. Third-party breaches seem to be an increasingly common staple of corporate cybersecurity risks. An exposure of Verizon Communications' data last year was traced back to a third-party data storage center, as was an earlier breach at retailer Target. Paul Sieminski, general counsel at WordPress' parent company Automattic, previously told Corporate Counsel that even when vendor systems are breached, organizations should approach the situation as if they are liable for consumer data loss. I always feel that were ultimately responsible for [our data] and when we choose partners, we cant wash our hands of it, he noted. A user whose account was breached is not going to accept: Oh, that wasnt us. [Vendors] are responsible for their own security practices and if there is a breach, if they failed in those obligations, they should bear responsibility for it. But you as the customer are responsible for selecting good partners, Sieminski added. Delta noted in a statement that the company would "directly contact customers who may have been impacted by the [24]7.ai cyber incident." "In the event any of our customers' payment cards were used fraudulently as a result of the [24]7.ai cyber incident, we will ensure our customers are not responsible for that activity, the company added. According to Delta, customer payment information may have been exposed by the breach, but passports, government IDs, security and SkyMiles for Delta customers were not impacted. The company plans to directly contact customers who may have been impacted by the breach and will ensure our customers are not responsible for that activity. A statement issued by [24]7.ai noted that the breach occurred from Sept. 26 to Oct. 12, 2017. Georgia has played host to a number of high-profile data breaches over the last few years, many of them exposing personal information for millions of consumers. A 2014 breach of a third-party vendor for Atlanta-based home improvement chain Home Depot impacted more than 56 million customers, and resulted in around $85 million in settlement fees for the company. Atlanta-based credit reporting company Equifax, which exposed data for over one-third of all U.S. residents, is now facing a whole slew of litigation around the handling of its breach.
The Google Lunar XPRIZE, a $30 million competition that challenged private firms to land a spacecraft on the moon, is to continue. Without, ummm, Google.

X Prize has announced a bid to launch a new Lunar XPRIZE with or without a title sponsor.

Google declined to sponsor the competition beyond its March 31 2018 deadline, after more than a decade at the helm. As reports emerged that no team had a chance of reaching the moon in time, the future of the prize looked uncertain.

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From September 2007 to the March 2018 deadline, Google funded the multimillion-dollar prize organized by the X Prize Foundation. Some $20 million was earmarked for the winners and $5 million for the runner-up team, with another $5 million in bonus prizes.

X Prize confirmed that no teams would meet the deadline earlier this year. At the time, a Google spokesperson said: Google does not have plans at this time to extend the deadline again. However, we are so thrilled with the progress made by these teams over the last 10 years."

4_6_Moon

NASA/JPL/USGS

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The competition asked companies to land a spacecraft on the moon, move it 550 yards and then transmit photos and video back to Earth. A number of teams came close, securing millions of dollars in funding and even procuring launch contracts.

It is because of the achievements of these teams that the company wants to relaunch the competition, a statement explains. While that competition is now over, there are at least five teams with launch contracts that hope to land on the Lunar surface in the next two years, Peter Diamandis, X Prize founder and executive chairman, said in the statement.

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Chanda Gonzales-Mowrer, senior director of prizes at X Prize, added: I am confident that one of these companies will land on the Moon in the near future and am excited for the next chapter of this new space race.

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Although the prize no longer boosts its large cash incentive, various team leaders supported the decision to continue. Bob Richards, founder & CEO of the competitions Moon Express team, said in the statement: While we plan to win this Moon race and are committed to carrying the Lunar XPRIZE logo, the real opportunity is in opening the lunar frontier and the multibillion dollar industry that follows.

With the renewed interest in beyond Earth-orbit exploration by multiple large government space agencies, a new Lunar XPRIZE will be a perfectly timed platform with the chances of multiple successful launches being much higher than before.

If you have a spare $30 million dollars and want to make your mark on the moon, X Prize has also announced it is seeking a new title sponsor.

This article was first written by Newsweek

More from Newsweek
Military pilot Maj. Stephen Del Bagno, who helped train Brie Larson for her upcoming film Captain Marvel, died on Wednesday in an F-16 crash, the Air Force Thunderbirds squadron announced Thursday.

Larson and Marvel Studios took to Twitter to mourn the loss of Del Bagno, who served as a consultant on the superhero film, which follows Larsons character, Carol Danvers, as she makes the transition from Air Force officer to superhero. The pilot was killed when his plane went down over the Nevada Test and Training Range during a routine aerial demonstration training flight, according to the Thunderbirds website.

We lost a friend yesterday, Marvel Studios tweeted on Thursday. Marvel Studios is saddened to hear of the loss of Air Force Maj. Stephen Del Bagno, who we were lucky to get to know during his time as a consultant on Captain Marvel. We will miss him greatly; hell always be a part of the team.

We lost a friend yesterday. Marvel Studios is saddened to hear of the loss of Air Force Maj. Stephen Del Bagno, who we were lucky to get to know during his time as a consultant on Captain Marvel. We will miss him greatly; hell always be part of the team.  Marvel Studios (@MarvelStudios) April 6, 2018

Larson acknowledged the news from her personal account, tweeting, Im so sad. Will have more to say tomorrow. We miss you Cajun.

Im so sad. Will have more to say tomorrow. We miss you Cajun.  Brie Larson (@brielarson) April 6, 2018

Brigadier Gen. Jeannie Leavitt, the 57th Wing Commander in Nevada who Larson shadowed while preparing for the role, released a statement honoring Del Bagno as well, which said, He was an integral part of our team and our hearts are heavy with his loss.

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Del Bagno was also an F-35A evaluator pilot and chief of standardization and evaluation, 58th Fighter Squadron, Eglin AFB, according to the Aviationist website. Captain Marvel, directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, is currently in production and set to release on March 8, 2019.

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Paris (AFP) - Reporters Without Borders on Saturday accused the Israeli army of the "deliberate shooting" of journalists in Gaza after a week of bloodshed by the border.

Nine people were killed in the latest unrest, including Yasser Murtaja, a journalist with the Gaza-based Ain Media agency who died from his wounds after being shot, the health ministry in Gaza said.

At least 491 people were also wounded by Israeli gunfire, the ministry said, as thousands of protesters approached the border fence around Gaza for a second Friday in a row, burning tyres and hurling stones at Israeli forces.

No Israelis were injured.

"Palestinian photographer Yasser Mourtaja was wearing a vest marked "Press": he was obviously the victim of an intentional shot," said Christophe Deloire, the Secretary General of Reporters Without Borders (RSF), on Twitter.

"RSF condemns absolutely the deliberate shooting of journalists by the Israeli army."

Murtaja, 30, was shot while taking pictures of the protests east of Khan Younis in the south of the territory, according to the health ministry.

Witnesses say he was close to the front of the protests when he was hit.

An AFP picture taken after he was wounded showed Murtaja wearing a press vest as he received treatment.

His brother Motazem, also a journalist, said he was next to him when he was shot. "The target was very clearly journalists," he said.

Israel's army declined to comment, saying it was reviewing the incident.

Mourners and journalists carried Murtaja's body through the streets of Gaza during his funeral on Saturday.

"We call on the Israeli government to comply with UN Security Council Resolution 2222 on the protection of journalists (adopted in 2015), demand an urgent independent investigation and the sentencing of the perpetrators of this crime against freedom of the press," said Deloire.

Israel said around 20,000 people took part in the protests and that they were seeking to breach the border.

The numbers were down from the previous Friday, when tens of thousands approached the border in demonstrations that saw Israeli forces kill 19 Palestinians, making it the bloodiest day in Gaza since a 2014 war.
By Latifah Muhammad

Four years after the start of the Flint water crisis, the state of Michigan will stop providing free bottled water for residents in the city. On Friday (April 6), the state announced a plan to phase out the service for Flint residents because the water quality has been restored.

The state will stop giving out free water once the current supply, which is housed at four distribution sites, runs out. Although no official date was announced, the supply could be depleted within a week, according to the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.

In March, the DEQ released a report revealing that more than 90 percent of unfiltered water at all 13 Community School Buildings in Flint tested below federal led standards.

I have said all along that ensuring the quality of the water in Flint and helping the people and the city move forward were a top priority for me and my team, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder said in a press release. We have worked diligently to restore the water quality and the scientific data now proves the water system is stable and the need for bottled water has ended.

For the past two years I have repeatedly been asked when I would declare the water safe in Flint and I have always said that no arbitrary decision would be made  that we would let the science take us to that conclusion, Snyder continued. Since Flints water is now well within the standards set by the federal government, we will now focus even more of our efforts on continuing with the health, education and economic development assistance needed to help move Flint forward.

While the bottled water program may be ending, the states commitment to the residents of Flint remains strong, Rich Baird, senior advisor to Gov. Snyder said.

But the announcement isnt going over well with everyone. Its too quick, Melissa Mays, a Flint activist from the group Water You Fighting, according to the Detroit Free Press. Mays said that the state is putting dollars and cents over Flint residents. Which is how we got here in the first place, she added.

The four-year long environmental calamity is expected to have lasting effects on residents of the city. Aside from the overall health of residents who were forced to drink, bathe, and cook with contaminated water, the Flint Water Crisis has been found to contribute to fetal deaths and low fertility rates.

This post Michigan Announces End To Free Bottled Water For Flint Residents first appeared on Vibe.
(Reuters) - The state of Michigan will no longer supply free bottled water to Flint, the city that was plagued with lead-tainted drinking water in a crisis that drew national attention, officials said on Friday.

For nearly two years, tests have shown that Flint's water is the same or better than similar cities across the state, a statement from Michigan Governor Rick Snyder's office said. When the current supply of state-funded bottled water is depleted, the four remaining distribution centers will close and deliveries will end.

"The scientific data now proves the water system is stable and the need for bottled water has ended," the Republican governor said in the statement. "Since Flint's water is now well within the standards set by the federal government, we will now focus even more of our efforts on continuing with the health, education and economic development assistance needed to help move Flint forward."

Michigan State Representative Sheldon Neeley, a Democrat whose district includes most of Flint, a predominantly black city of about 100,000, denounced state officials' decision to end free bottled water, calling it cruel.

"Governor Snyder has failed to address the psychological trauma that his administration put the people of Flint through. The fact is, the people of Flint don't trust the Snyder administration or the science they pay for - science that previously allowed our city to be poisoned," Neeley said in a statement.

Officials from the city of Flint did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Flint regained control of its finances on Wednesday after Michigan announced the end of nearly seven years of state oversight, a period marked by the water crisis.

Flint switched its public water source from Lake Huron to the Flint River in a cost-cutting move in April 2014. The polluted river water caused lead to leach from pipes. Lead poisoning stunts children's cognitive development.

The city switched back to Lake Huron water in October 2015. The water crisis prompted dozens of lawsuits and criminal charges against former government officials.

(Reporting by Suzannah Gonzales in Chicago; Editing by Sandra Maler)
Russia probe special counsel Robert Mueller is reportedly looking into a meeting that President Donald Trumps son-in-law, Jared Kushner, attended with former United Arab Emirates adviser George Nader, who is cooperating in the investigation.

Related: Firm tied to Jared Kushners Middle East contact comes under Mueller investigation

Muellers investigators asked witnesses for information on the meeting, which took place in early 2017 in New York, The New York Times reported Wednesday. In attendance were Kushner, Nader, former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon and Kushners friend Richard Gerson, who founded the hedge fund Falcon Edge Capital.

Trending: Michelle Obama Says Hillary Clinton was Way More Perfect For President Than Trump

It is unclear why Mueller is probing the meeting, but noteworthy connections exist among the individuals. Kushners family foundation has contributed tens of thousands of dollars to an Israeli medical aid organization headed by Gersons brother Mark, according to the Times. Kushner and Mark Gerson, founder of a research company, have been friends for more than 10 years. Mark Gerson invested in Kushners younger brother Joshs real estate technology company Cadre.

Meanwhile, Richard Gerson has fostered business deals with United Arab Emirates officials, including Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan of Abu Dhabi, and looked at Emirates state funds for investments.

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Mueller is investigating whether Nader, a Lebanese-American businessman, funneled money from the Emirates to Trumps campaign, as well as his contacts with the presidents advisers and ties to Russia. Nader had a hand in organizing a January 2017 meeting in the Seychelles with Emirates officials, a Russian banker close to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Erik Prince, a top Republican donor linked to the Trump transition team.

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It is unlikely that Mueller will build a case against Nader, and rather, he has gained some immunity for speaking as a witness, according to the Times. Naders lawyer in the Mueller probe, Sandeep Savla, according to The Washington Post, said Nader planned to continue to answer truthfully questions put to him by the special counsel.

This article was first written by Newsweek

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Sergei Skripal is no longer in a critical condition following last month's nerve agent attack, Salisbury District Hospital says.

The former Russian double agent is "responding well to treatment" and is "improving rapidly", said Dr Christine Blanshard, medical director at the hospital.

The 66-year-old and his daughter Yulia, 33, have been under the watch of medics since they were attacked with novichok at their home in Salisbury, Wiltshire.

The pair were rushed to hospital after shoppers found them collapsed on a bench at The Maltings shopping centre on 4 March.

:: 'Miracle' recovery - How the Skripals survived

On Thursday, Ms Skripal revealed she "woke up over a week ago" and that her "strength is growing daily".

Dr Blanshard said any speculation on when she might be well enough to leave hospital "will be just that - speculation".

In response to news of Mr Skripal's recovery, the Russian Embassy in London tweeted: "Good news!"

Just over a week ago, the ex-spy's best friend Ross Cassidy said they should be allowed to die and that "death would probably be merciful".

The latest update on the Skripals' recovery comes as a relative in Moscow revealed she wants to visit her uncle and cousin - but thinks Britain will stop her from coming over.

Speaking to Sky News in Moscow, Viktoria Skripal said she has applied for a visa to visit them, but has been told by staff at the British Embassy in Moscow that it is now up to the UK authorities to decide whether to let her in.

She said she was "pretty sure" she would not be given a visa - despite the efforts of her compatriots.

She reportedly received a phone call from Yulia on Wednesday night who told her "everything is fine" and that "I will be discharged soon", adding that her father was "resting, sleeping".

Viktoria recorded the conversation and it was broadcast on Russian state TV, but its authenticity cannot be verified.

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Meanwhile, the war of words continued between Britain and Russia, with Moscow warning the UK it is "playing with fire and will be sorry" during a second UN Security Council showdown over the attempted murders.

Russia's UN envoy Vasily Nebenzya told members that characters in Midsomer Murders knew "hundreds of very clever ways of killing someone", but those who sought to kill the Skripals "supposedly chose an extremely toxic chemical substance, the most risky, dangerous method possible" and "didn't really finish the job".

In another literary nod, he sarcastically likened the British accusations to the queen from Alice In Wonderland who demands the "sentence first - verdict afterward".

British ambassador Karen Pierce hit back, saying she would take no lectures from Moscow and would "stick to the facts" during the terse exchanges.
The Apollo 11 Lunar Module ascent stage, with astronauts Neil A. Armstrong and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. aboard, is photographed from the Command and Service Modules in lunar orbit in this July, 1969 file handout photo.

Chad Anderson is CEO of Space Angels, the worlds leading source of capital for entrepreneurial space ventures. Space Angels has invested in numerous space startups and conducts extensive market research into global startup activity and private funding within this emerging industry.

March 31 was supposed to be a landmark day for the private space industry. It was the official deadline for Googles Lunar X Prize: the historic 10-year privately funded race to the moon, with top startups competing for a $30 million grand prize.

There was just one problem: None of the finalists were able to complete their spacecraft in the required time. Google eventually had to cancel the contest altogether.

While on the surface this may seem like a setback for space startups, in reality the X Prize still accomplished what it set out to do, which was to encourage space entrepreneurship and new pathways toward a more efficient, low-cost access to space.

Private launchers are coming online at a rapid pace.

Several of the Lunar X Prize finalists  most notably Astrobotic  achieved a number of critical milestones for lunar landing, mobility and imaging, which are especially remarkable when one considers the short amount of time and resources they had to accomplish such engineering feats. At least a couple of these startups are also on track to launch their moon landers and rovers in the next few years.

An artists illustration of Astrobotics CubeRover (foreground) and Peregrine lunar lander on the surface of the moon.

But more importantly, with or without the Lunar X Prize, the commercial space industry is speeding ahead at a record pace, and startups are definitely in the drivers seat.

Between the landmark achievements by Blue Origin and SpaceX in successfully demonstrating reusable rocket systems to NanoRacks creating the first commercial airlock on the International Space Station, startups are achieving a number of critical firsts in the outer space market.

Over the next 10 to 15 years, they are likely to push the envelope even further.

Within five years, global commercial launch capacity will rival that of the government. This increased commercial launch capacity will further decrease the price of admission to space (estimated to be 36 percent less expensive than government launches, according to Space Angels) and create new demand for private launch pads around the world.

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Lunar outposts are coming closer to reality

Startups are developing new capabilities for exploring the moon, delivering large cargo shipments on a regular basis and establishing fixed structures on the lunar surface. The moon itself will become a critical platform for deep space operations, serving as a combined launch pad and refueling station. Key operations by Astrobotic and others are already in the works, with mission dates scheduled for the next couple of years.

Global investment in space has surged since 2009. In 2017, private investment in space startups set an all-time high of $3.9 billion. (Screenshot/Space Angels)

As NASA begins its transition toward a Deep Space Gateway near the moon, earth-orbiting space stations will be taken over by commercial interests. Over the next decade, startups will create these in-space biospheres for astronauts and in-space manufacturing. One such company is NanoRacks which is already underway with a plan to repurpose the upper stages of rockets into habitable space station components.

Then there is the funding picture. Last year, private investment in space startups set an all-time high of $3.9 billion, according to Space Angels year-end investment report. This included private funding from over 120 venture capital firms, which is a 35 percent increase in the last two years.

Since 2009, the worlds space startups have raised a total of $12.8 million in private funding and achieved over $25 billion in exits, according to Space Angels research.

Startups are bringing incredible innovation to the space industry through new technologies, business models and efficiencies. In the next 10 to 15 years, we can expect to see significant disruption across the commercial space industry.
By Gwladys Fouche OSLO (Reuters) - Norway's $1 trillion sovereign wealth fund should be allowed to invest in unlisted renewable projects such as solar parks and wind farms, the ruling Conservative party voted on Saturday. The world's largest sovereign wealth fund, which invests Norway's oil and gas revenues in stocks, bonds and real estate, has for many years sought permission to invest in unlisted infrastructure assets. "Let the fund invest in unlisted infrastructure for renewable energy with the same demand for profitability as for other investments," said the motion. The decision strengthens the possibility the fund could invest in the new asset class as the Conservatives are the leading party in Norway's minority coalition government. The other parties are the right-wing Progress Party and the centrist, pro-green Liberals. "Opening for infrastructure gives the fund the possibility to diversify, which will be good for the fund, Tina Bru, a Conservative lawmaker who voted in favor, told Reuters. "In addition it is a good bonus that it will contribute towards a shift to a low-carbon society, which must happen globally if we are to achieve climate targets." Bru said the Conservatives had also voted in favor of a motion that said the government "should consider whether to let the fund invest in unlisted infrastructure and unlisted firms, with the same demand for transparency, return and risk as for other investments." The fund's management is allowed to invest in unlisted firms that are imminently seeking stock exchange listing. It has complained in the past that it was missing good opportunities because it could not invest in them at an earlier stage. "This move by the ruling Conservatives will act as a strong signal to other investors and sovereign funds, from London and New York to Tokyo and Seoul," Paul Fisher, a former director of the Bank of England who is Senior Associate at the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, told Reuters. "This prudent Conservative Party decision is a major turning point which should now pave the way for the Parliament to instruct the fund to enter and profit from the trillion dollar unlisted renewable infrastructure market," said Tom Sanzillo, Director of Finance for the U.S.-based Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis. Finance Minister Siv Jensen will present a white paper on the fund on Tuesday. She has in the past rejected the possibility to allow the fund to invest in unlisted infrastructure as a whole, not just for renewables, citing political risk. "Now Parliament needs to follow up. I can't see any good reasons why the (finance) ministry should come to a different conclusion," Martin Norman, the head of Greenpeace Nordic's Sustainable Finance Campaign, told Reuters. (This version of the story corrects spelling of interviewee's name in 10th paragraph.) (Editing by Terje Solsvik and Stephen Powell)
Erik and Lyle Menendez are together again, almost 29 years after murdering their wealthy parents in the den of their mansion in Beverly Hills, California.

PEOPLE confirms that Erik, 47, has moved into the same California housing unit as 50-year-old Lyle.

For more than two decades, according to authorities, Lyle was housed at Mule Creek State Prison in Ione, California  a small town outside Sacramento. Erik was incarcerated at Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego, more than 500 miles away.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the brothers were separated in 1996, after their murder convictions.

In February, authorities say, Lyle was moved into the same detention facility as Erik but they lived in separate housing units and didnt see each other. Then on Wednesday, Erik moved into the same housing unit as his brother.

The two men now live in a unit where inmates agree to participate in educational and other rehabilitation programs. If any prisoners fight or cause disruptions, they are moved out of the unit.

They can and do interact with each other, all the inmates in that facility, corrections department spokeswoman Terry Thornton told ABC News on Thursday, adding that she didnt know how the brothers reacted during their reunion.

Despite their lengthy separation, the brothers have remained close. In a rare jailhouse interview last year, Lyle told PEOPLE they kept in touch through the years.

We write each other regularly, he said. We even play chess through the mail, but its a little slow.

The brothers have also been active while behind bars since shooting their parents with shotguns in 1989: Erik spent time with terminally ill prisoners and Lyle has been president of the inmate government and ran a support group for prisoners who endured childhood sexual abuse.

We just keep trying to find something positive from the experiences that we had, Lyle told PEOPLE.

 Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter.

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Lyle (left) and Erik Menendez

Decades after their high-profile crimes, the Menendez brothers remain notorious among other inmates.

On Aug. 20, 1989, Erik and Lyle fatally shot their wealthy parents in the den of their home. Dad Jose Menendez, a 45-year-old Hollywood executive, was shot point-blank in the back of the head. Mom Kitty Menendez, 47, was shot 15 times, including once in the face.

At the time, Lyle was 21 and Erik was 18.

Prosecutors said the motive was the familys $14 million estate. The brothers, however, blamed the killings on the mob but later claimed they shot their parents in self-defense after years of sexual abuse.

Jurors disagreed and convicted Erik and Lyle of first-degree murder, sentencing both to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Lyle Menendez

Years after the shotgun slayings, do the brothers feel remorse for the violent crimes that resulted in their permanent incarceration?

I would give my life to change it, Erik told PEOPLE from prison in 20o5. I talk to my mom. She knows my heart. I ask for forgiveness.

You are often defined by a few moments of your life, but thats not who you are in your life, Lyle said last year. Your life is your totality of it. you cant change it. Youre stuck with the decisions you made.
Oklahoma City (AFP) - Oklahoma teachers vowed Thursday to keep up their protests after the US state's lawmakers bowed to intense pressure and approved more school funding -- but the pledge still fell short of teachers' demands.

Tens of thousands of educators and their supporters have rallied in the capital Oklahoma City this week -- shutting down schools across the state as they demanded a reversal of a decade of education funding cuts.

The House chamber of the Republican-controlled state legislature late Wednesday approved $20 million in additional money for public schools -- having amended a bill on online sales taxes to dedicate the funds to education.

The measure -- which still must be passed by the Senate and signed by the governor -- brings teachers about half way toward their initial demands.

"We're very close," teachers' union president Alicia Priest told The Oklahoman newspaper. "We just have a little bit more work to do."

The protests have brought attention to deep cuts in public school budgets that have forced teachers to take multiple jobs and left classrooms in disrepair.

Teachers are confident their communities support the protest movement, and vowed to continue the rest of this week. They have also made preparations to return next week, if necessary.

"We believe that a fully funded public education system is vital to a fully-functioning community," Reverend Lori Walke told TV station KOCO -- one of a group of clergy that arrived at the capitol Thursday to show support.

Students have also rallied on behalf of teachers -- warning Wednesday that teenagers reaching voting age would throw legislators out of office if they remained unresponsive.

The teachers' union, the Oklahoma Education Association is seeking $200 million in additional school funding -- on top of pay raises -- to restore budget cuts over the last decade.

State lawmakers recently agreed to a rare tax increase to raise teacher pay by an average of $6,100 a year, and provide some of the additional funds sought for classroom expenditures.

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The latest funding bill that passed in the House would bring teachers almost half-way toward their $200 million demand.

"We need the legislature to show us that they're committed to that pathway forward to getting us back to the funding from 2007-2008," Priest told The Oklahoman.

The conservative state's teachers have followed in the footsteps of similar teacher revolts in West Virginia, Kentucky and Arizona -- all Republican-dominated states.

West Virginia teachers got their first pay raise in four years last month after a nine-day strike.
(SEOUL, South Korea)  Former South Korean President Park Geun-hye was formally convicted and sentenced to 24 years in prison on Friday, a year after she was driven from office and arrested over a corruption scandal that saw months of massive street rallies calling for her ouster.

The conviction, which she can appeal, is the latest hit in a dramatic fall for South Koreas first female president. Once seen as the darling of South Korean conservatives, she was dubbed Queen of Elections by local media for her track record of leading her party to victory in tight races and still has a small group of fierce supporters who regularly stage rallies calling for her release.

Park maintains shes a victim of political revenge and has been refusing to attend court sessions since October. She didnt attend Fridays verdict, citing a sickness that wasnt specified publicly.

In a nationally televised verdict, the Seoul Central District Court convicted Park of bribery, extortion, abuse of power and other charges. Its inevitable that the defendant should be held strictly responsible for her crimes, if only to prevent the unfortunate event of (a president) abusing the power given by the people and causing chaos in state affairs, chief judge Kim Se-yun said.

Along with the prison sentence, Park was also fined 18 billion won ($16.8 million), Kim said.

Both Park and the prosecutors have one week to appeal. Park has previously maintained her innocence; prosecutors in February demanded a 30-year prison term.

The Seoul court convicted Park of colluding with longtime confidante Choi Soon-sil to pressure 18 business groups to donate a total of 77.4 billion won ($72.3 million) for the launch of two foundations controlled by Choi. The two women were also convicted of taking bribes from some of those companies, including more than 7 billion won ($6.5 million) alone from Samsung in return for government support for a smooth company leadership transition.

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The court said Park colluded with senior government officials to blacklist artists critical of Parks government to deny them state assistance programs. Park was also convicted of passing on presidential documents with sensitive information to Choi via one of her presidential aides.

The scandal has already led to the arrests, indictments and convictions of dozens of high-profile government officials and business leaders. Choi is serving a 20-year prison term; Samsung scion Lee Jae-yong was initially sentenced to five years in prison before his sentence was suspended on appeal; and Lotte chairman Shin Dong-bin was given 2 years in prison.

Hundreds of Parks supporters gathered near the southern Seoul court hours before the ruling, swinging South Korean and U.S. flags under signs and banners that read, among other things, Immediately release innocent President Park Geun-hye and Stop murderous political revenge.

Long live President Park Geun-hye! Long live the Republic of Korea! protester Choi Hyung-suk screamed into a microphone, referring to South Korea by its formal name.

Parks conservative supporters  most of them middle aged and elderly  have been passionately rallying near the court and other parts of the city over the past year, although their gatherings have been much smaller than the earlier ones calling for Parks ouster. The protests show how deeply South Koreans are split along ideological and generational lines, the result of decades-long tension with rival North Korea and the lingering fallout from the conservative military dictatorships that ran the country until the late 1980s.

Park is the daughter of a deeply divisive dictator, Park Chung-hee, who is revered by supporters as a hero who spearheaded South Koreas rapid economic rise in the 1960-70s. But hes also remembered for imprisoning and torturing dissidents.

During her fathers 18-year rule, Park Geun-hye served as first lady after her mother was killed in an assassination attempt targeting her father in 1974. She left the presidential mansion in 1979 after her father was gunned down by his own intelligence chief during a late-night drinking party.

After years of seclusion, Park Geun-hye returned to politics by winning a parliamentary seat in the late 1990s, during a burst of nostalgia for her father after South Koreas economy was devastated by a foreign exchange crisis. In 2012, she won the presidential election by defeating her liberal rival and current President Moon Jae-in, riding a wave of support by conservatives who wanted to see her repeat her fathers charismatic economic revival.

Parks friendships with Choi, 61, began in the mid-1970s when Chois late father served as Parks mentor after her mothers assassination. Park once described Choi as someone who helped her when she had difficulties. But her relations with the Choi family have long haunted her political career. Media reports say that Chois father was a cult leader and allegedly used his ties with Park to take bribes from government officials and businessmen.

Park has previously insisted that she only got help from Choi on public relations and to edit some presidential speeches.

Parks four years in office were marred by rising animosity with rival North Korea over its advancing nuclear program, a 2014 ferry disaster that killed more than 300 people, mostly teenagers on a school trip and criticism that she curbed free speech and didnt manage things transparently.

The final scandal touched off months of Saturday rallies, during which millions gathered at a Seoul plaza and elsewhere around the country calling for her ouster. Park was impeached by lawmakers in December 2016 and removed from office by a Constitutional Court ruling in March 2017. In a subsequent presidential by-election triggered by Parks early exit, Moon won an easy victory against wounded conservatives.

Parks saga is only the latest addition to a long line of tarnished South Korean presidential legacies.

Her conservative predecessor, Lee Myung-bak, who governed from 2008-2013, was arrested and jailed last month over a separate corruption scandal. Lees liberal successor Roh Moo-hyum jumped to his death in 2009 amid a corruption investigation of his family.

Park Chung-hees successors, Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo, both ex-army generals, spent time in jail for bribery, treason, munity and other charges after leaving office. Kim Young-sam and Kim Dae-jung, both former opposition leaders who fought against the dictatorships of Park Chung-hee and Chun, left office in disgrace after their sons and close associates were arrested or embroiled in scandals.
By Paul Carrel BERLIN (Reuters) - Tempers are fraying in Chancellor Angela Merkel's new cabinet before she gathers ministers on Tuesday for a two-day retreat aimed at team-building in the ruling coalition, which took power just last month. Simmering antipathy between the awkward partners boiled over on Saturday in a row over law enforcement, highlighting the challenge Merkel faces to forge a team spirit in the alliance of her conservatives and the left-leaning Social Democrats (SPD). The row broke out after Health Minister Jens Spahn told the Neue Zuercher Zeitung earlier this week that in working-class areas in Essen, Duisburg or Berlin "there is the impression that the state is no longer willing or able to enforce the law." Andrea Nahles, poised to take over as SPD leader this later month, said Spahn - a conservative - should focus on the health portfolio. "Before Health Minister Spahn bad-mouths the home affairs situation in too-clever-by-half interviews ... he should take care of his own job," she told the RND newspaper group, noting the conservatives have held the interior ministry for 13 years. Merkel took office last month as chancellor for a fourth, and likely final, term that may prove her most challenging yet as she leads the fragile coalition with her personal standing diminished following Germany's 2015 refugee crisis. Her conservatives only turned to the SPD to prolong their 'grand coalition' - in power since 2013 - out of desperation after talks on a three-way alliance with two smaller parties collapsed last November. But the SPD only agreed to take part in the coalition re-run after a divisive internal debate that ended when party members voted last month to back the alliance. Now, the pressure is on for both camps to deliver: a clause in their coalition deal that envisages a review of the government's progress after two years gives each the opportunity to leave the alliance then if it is not working for them. Ahead of Tuesday's cabinet gathering at Merkel's Schloss Meseberg country residence, Interior Minister Horst Seehofer backed up Spahn, remarking to mass-selling daily Bild that his discussion about law enforcement "is good for our country". Taking aim at Spahn, who has a history of making controversial statements, Nahles shot back: "Employees who make big speeches but don't do their job annoy their colleagues and in real life get into trouble with the boss." She pressed Merkel to "get government business up and running" and said she expected a timetable for the next 12 months to come out of the Meseberg meeting. An Infratest Dimap poll for ARD published on Thursday showed just 32 percent of respondents were happy with the government. (Editing by Stephen Powell)
Gaza City (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) - Palestinian mourners in the Gaza Strip on Saturday buried their dead, including a journalist, after Israeli troops killed nine during the latest border clashes in a week of bloodshed.

Thousands of protesters approached the border fence around Gaza for a second Friday in a row, burning tyres and hurling stones at Israeli forces, who responded with tear gas and live ammunition.

In addition to the nine dead, at least 491 were wounded by Israeli gunfire, the health ministry in the Hamas-run enclave said.

Israel said there were around 20,000 protesters and that they were seeking to breach the border.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "saluted" the Israeli soldiers "who protect us at all times."

"They (the protesters) talk about human rights, but actually want to crush the Jewish state," he said. "We won't let them."

Numbers were down from the previous Friday, when tens of thousands approached the border in demonstrations that saw Israeli forces kill 19 Palestinians, making it the bloodiest day in Gaza since a 2014 war.

The demonstrations largely abated by Saturday, but three Palestinians were wounded by Israeli forces in a small clash east of Gaza City in the afternoon, one of them seriously, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

No Israelis were injured on either day and the latest deaths have sparked fresh calls for an investigation.

Among those killed on Friday was Yasser Murtaja, 30, a photographer with the Gaza-based Ain Media agency, who died from his wounds after being shot, the health ministry said.

Witnesses said he was close to the front of the protests in southern Gaza when he was hit.

An AFP picture taken after he was wounded showed Murtaja wearing a press vest as he received treatment.

His brother Motazem, also a journalist, said he was next to him when he was shot. "The target was very clearly journalists," he said.

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Israel's army said it "does not intentionally target journalists."

"The circumstances in which journalists were allegedly hit by Israeli Defence Force (IDF) fire are not familiar to the IDF, and are being looked into," it said in a statement.

- 'Intentional shot' -

Murtaja's body was taken from the hospital to his home in Gaza City on Saturday morning, with dozens of journalists following, many fighting back tears.

It was wrapped in a Palestinian flag, with a press flak jacket placed on his stomach.

Ismail Haniya, the head of Gaza's Islamist rulers Hamas, attended the funeral and said that journalists were attacked by Israel while trying to show a "true picture of a blockaded, downtrodden people".

In the West Bank political capital of Ramallah, around 50 Palestinian journalists held a vigil for Murtaja.

Christophe Deloire, secretary general of watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF), said Murtaja was "obviously the victim of an intentional shot" and that his organisation "condemns with indignation the deliberate shootings of the Israeli army against journalists."

Deloire urged an independent investigation of the incident.

The Foreign Press Association operating in Israel and the Palestinian territories urged the Israeli army "to show restraint in areas where journalists are operating and to conduct a fast and open investigation into this incident."

The Palestinian Journalists' Syndicate said five other reporters were also shot and wounded by the Israeli army during Friday's protests, despite wearing clothes clearly identifying them as journalists.

The Union of Journalists in Israel demanded clarifications on the reports of the Palestinian journalists being shot from the state's military chief.

"A democratic state's army should not harm journalists in the line of duty," the union said in a letter to Lieutenant General Gadi Eisenkot.

"We ask that you examine the claims that Israeli soldiers fired at journalists," the union said.

"We also would like to know if there are military directives regarding conduct in areas with a heavy media presence," the letter said.

Earlier Saturday, thousands of Arabs rallied in northern Israel in solidarity with the people of Gaza, some of them holding pictures of Murtaja.

- 'Terrorists posing as civilians' -

Weeks of border protests have been called to demand the return of Palestinians to land they were forced from or fled after the founding of Israel 70 years ago.

They come with tensions high as the United States gears up to shift its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem after recognising the disputed city as the capital of the Jewish state.

Protesters on Friday said economic woes were also fuelling frustration in Gaza, which has been under an Israeli blockade for a decade.

Late Friday, Kuwait called on the Security Council to investigate the deaths, but the US is likely to veto such a probe.

Israel rebuffed international calls for an investigation into last Friday's killings, with the army saying troops opened fire "in accordance with the rules of engagement".
Gaza City (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) - A Palestinian journalist shot by Israeli forces during clashes along the Gaza border has died, the health ministry in the Strip said Saturday.

Yasser Murtaja, a photographer with the Gaza-based Ain Media agency, was hit during clashes Friday, the ministry said.

An AFP photograph taken after he was wounded showed Murtaja wearing a press vest as he received treatment.

The Israeli army declined to comment, saying it was reviewing the incident.

The Gaza health ministry also announced the death of another man, 20-year-old Hamza Abdel Aal, saying he was shot east of Al-Bureij in central Gaza.

The deaths brought the number of Palestinians killed during Friday's clashes to nine after thousands gathered along the border for the second week in a row.

Some Palestinians burned mounds of tyres and threw stones at Israeli soldiers over the border fence, who responded with tear gas and live fire.

At least 491 Palestinians were injured by shooting, the health ministry said.
Thick smoke blotted the sky as tires were burned in a number of pro-Palestine demonstrations held near the Gaza-Israel border on April 6.

Thousands of tires were reported to have been stockpiled near the border in the days before the protest.

Protests have continued through the week since thousands of residents in Gaza turned out to mark Land Day on March 30. However, a much larger demonstration was planned for April 6.

Hamas said three people were killed by Israeli fire by the late afternoon, the Times of Israel reported. The Palestinian Health Authority said preliminary statistics indicated that more than 40 people had been injured. Credit: Mohammed Kareem via Storyful
Bamako (AFP) - A peacekeeper from Niger was shot dead by militants in northern Mali on Friday, the UN's mission to the country said, the latest in a spate of deadly attacks on "Blue Helmets" in the conflict-torn country.

"Today at 7:00 pm (1900 GMT) two unidentified gunmen opened fire on a MINUSMA vehicle in Gao City," the mission, known by its acronym MINUSMA, said in the statement.

The peacekeeper died on the way to hospital in Gao, the main city in northern Mali, the statement added.

Mali is one of the most dangerous UN missions, with more than 150 peacekeepers killed since 2013. One hundred and two of those killed died due to hostile acts by militants.

Mahamat Saleh Annadif, the head of MINUSMA, said he was "outraged that once again peacekeepers are being attacked".

MINUSMA has a 12,500-strong force in the country, backed by a further 4,000 French troops who are on an anti-jihadist mission.

The attack in Gao came a day after two UN peacekeepers from Chad were killed and 10 more wounded during a mortar attack on their camp in Aguelhok, northeastern Mali.

Last month four UN peacekeepers were killed when a mine exploded under their vehicle in central Mali.

Six Malian soldiers were killed a week earlier in another mine attack on their convoy.

Once a beacon of democracy and stability in Africa, Mali has been undermined by a coup, civil war and Islamist terrorism.

Extremists linked to Al-Qaeda took control of Mali's desert north in early 2012, but were largely driven out in a French-led military operation launched in January 2013.

In June 2015, Mali's government signed a peace agreement with some armed groups, but the jihadists remain active, and large tracts of the country are lawless.

The United Nations Security Council is due to hold a session Wednesday to discuss jihadist violence in Mali and the wider Sahel region.
The Diocese of Erie, Pennsylvania, published the names of 51 people accused of actions ranging from providing pornography to minors to sexually assaulting children. (Photo: Eucalyptys via Getty Images)

A Catholic diocese in Pennsylvania has released the names of 51 former employees and volunteers  both priests and lay leaders  who were credibly accused of sexual abuse or misconduct in cases that date as far back as 1944.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Erie, Pennsylvania, published the names of 34 clergy members accused of abuse on its website Friday. The diocese also decided to include the names of 17 accused lay members, a step that advocates say distinguishes this list from similar ones published by other Catholic dioceses around the country.

The people on the Erie dioceses list were accused of actions ranging from providing pornography to minors to sexually assaulting children. The allegations were corroborated by secular legal trials, canon law trials, self-admission, or threshold evidence, according to the diocese.

Rev. Lawrence T. Persico, bishop of Erie, said that the dioceses goal in publishing the list for the first time was to protect children.

It is not possible for us to monitor all the people on the list, he said in a statement on Friday. This is an important step in helping the public become aware of information that is important for the communitys well-being.

Some are concerned that publicizing these names will open old wounds, Persico added. Very importantly, we are actually publishing the names in the hope of helping the victims/survivors move one step closer to healing those same wounds. It is important they know they are not alone.

The website lists the accused peoples names, cities of residence, and in some instances, whether they received any sort of punishment for the alleged crimes  from being dismissed from the clergy to being sent to jail.

The accused are all former employees or volunteers of either the diocese or one of its affiliated agencies. Twenty-one of the priests and two of the lay members on the list have died, The Associated Press reports.

One of the deceased clergy members on the list is Bishop Alfred Watson, who served as a leader of the diocese until the early 1980s. The list claims Watson failed to act to stop abuse which was credibly reported to him.

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The Diocese of Erie is one of six Pennsylvania Catholic dioceses subpoenaed for an investigation by the Pennsylvania attorney generals office in September 2016. The office is investigating whether Catholic officials failed to properly handle abuse allegations over the decades. A state grand jury is expected to release the investigations findings as early as May, according to PennLive.

We do not know when the grand jury report will be forthcoming, but I am sure it will be a sobering moment for all of us, Persico said.

Along with the publishing a list of those accused, the Erie diocese said it is streamlining how abuse allegations are handled and increasing the clearances employees or volunteers need to work with children.

About 25 percent of American Catholic dioceses have published lists with the names of credibly accused priests, according to the survivors advocacy group BishopAccountability.org.

Just this March, the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo released its own list of 42 suspected pedophile priests.

Terry McKiernan, president of BishopAccountability.org, said adding lay members to the list is an unusual step.

There are various ways the dioceses reduce the number on their list, so increasing the number by including laypeople is a positive step and might be unique in these lists, McKiernan told the AP.

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Goodbye Pope Francis!

Pope Francis looks out the window of his plane before departing Philadelphia on September 27, 2015 at the end of his six-day visit to the US.

People pray during a mass celebrated by Pope Francis.

A family watches a Mass on a large screen with Pope Francis in downtown Philadelphia.

A family prays as they watch a Mass on a large screen.

A family watches a Mass on a large screen with Pope Francis in downtown Philadelphia.

Catholic devotees sing as they watch Pope Francis' Mass.

Women pray as they watch the Mass.

A U.S. Army serviceman receives communion during a Mass celebrated by Pope Francis at Benjamin Franklin Parkway.

Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli (C) walks to receive communion.

Catholic devotees watch a Mass on a large screen with Pope Francis in downtown Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on September 27, 2015. AFP PHOTO/ ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS (Photo credit should read Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images)

A woman does the sign of the cross as she take part in a Mass with Pope Francis in downtown Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on September 27, 2015. AFP PHOTO/ ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS (Photo credit should read Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images)

People pray during a mass celebrated by Pope Francis for the World Meeting of Families on Benjamin Franklin Parkway September 27, 2015 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Pope Francis is in the United State for the last of 6 days during his first trip as the leader of the Catholic Church. AFP PHOTO/BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI (Photo credit should read BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images)

Priests offer the crowd communion at Mass along Philadelphia's Benjamin Franklin Parkway on Sept. 27, 2015.

PHILADELPHIA, PA - SEPTEMBER 27: Pope Francis celebrates mass during the World Meeting of Families on September 27, 2015 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

PHILADELPHIA, PA - SEPTEMBER 27: Pope Francis delivers the homily as he celebrates mass at the World Meeting of Families at Benjamin Franklin Parkway on September 27, 2015 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Pope Francis celebrates Mass at Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on September 27, 2015.

Chalices for communion are set during a mass celebrated by Pope Francis at Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on September 27, 2015.

PHILADELPHIA, PA - SEPTEMBER 27: Pope Francis greets corrections officers during a visit to the Curran-Fromhold Correction Facility September 27, 015 in in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

"Miremos a Jesus que nos lava los pies. El es el camino" #PapaFrancisco #PopeInPhilly pic.twitter.com/nmromDrGsY  Antonio Spadaro SJ (@antoniospadaro) September 27, 2015

Did you see this? Emotional embrace between #PopeInPhilly and prisoner https://t.co/niTiRpwxkX  Ryan M. Thomas  (@RyanM_Thomas) September 27, 2015

Pope Francis waves to the audience after speaking at Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary, September 27, 2015 in Wynnewwod, Pennsylvania. After visiting Washington and New York City, Pope Francis concludes his tour of the U.S. with events in Philadelphia on Saturday and Sunday. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Pope Francis presents an image of Our Lady of Charity from Cuba to Charles Chaput, Archbishop of Philadelphia, at Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary.

Pope Francis met privately with survivors of sexual abuse at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary on Sunday morning.



Read more here.

PHILADELPHIA, PA - SEPTEMBER 26: Pope Francis attends the Festival of Families along Benjamin Franklin Parkway on September 26, 2015 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Pope Francis wraps up his trip to the United States with two days in Philadelphia, attending the Festival of Families and meeting with prisoners at the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility. (Photo by Eric Thayer-Pool/Getty Images)

Pope Francis arrives for the Festival of Families in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on September 26, 2015. AFP PHOTO / VINCENZO PINTO (Photo credit should read VINCENZO PINTO/AFP/Getty Images)

PHILADELPHIA, PA - SEPTEMBER 26: Pope Francis speaks at the Festival of Families along Benjamin Franklin Parkway on September 26, 2015 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Pope Francis wraps up his trip to the United States with two days in Philadelphia, attending the Festival of Families and meeting with prisoners at the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility. (Photo by Eric Thayer-Pool/Getty Images)

PHILADELPHIA, PA - SEPTEMBER 26: Sister Sledge performs at the Festival of Families on September 26, 2015 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Pope Francis wraps up his trip to the United States with two days in Philadelphia, attending the Festival of Families and meeting with prisoners at the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility. (Photo by Matt Rourke-Pool/Getty Images)

PHILADELPHIA, PA - SEPTEMBER 26: Audience members cheer as musician Matt Maher performs at the Festival of Families on September 26, 2015 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Pope Francis wraps up his trip to the United States with two days in Philadelphia, attending the Festival of Families and meeting with prisoners at the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility. (Photo by Matt Rourke-Pool/Getty Images)

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Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte warned Thursday that the U.S. may be out to get him after he considered turning to its top competitors for weapons.

While addressing an audience gathered at Malacanang Palace in Manila, Duterte blasted Washington's decision to block arms sales to the Philippines over concerns regarding the ongoing, violent war on drugs there. He said his decision to instead receive weapons from China and Russia may prove to be fatal.

Related: Philippines Duterte Says He Will Step Down Early Because Hes Old and Would Like to Rest

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"The fact is, the Americans really do not honor their word," Duterte told the crowd of farmers and fishermen, as translated by Al Jazeera.

"At least, if ever my airplane explodes, or if some roadside bomb explodes, maybe you can ask the CIA," he added.

RTX5D5R9

Presidential Palace/Reuters

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Duterte also bragged about being offered free weapons during meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin, two powerful heads of state who have sought to check U.S. influence in Asia, according to The Philippine Daily Inquirer. As China and Russia pledged greater military ties to one another, Duterte reportedly said he was not ready to enter into such an alliance.

Duterte did, however, receive weapons from both Russia and China as he battled a drug crisis and a growing insurgency from jihadis affiliated with the Islamic State militant group (ISIS) in the country's restive south. The Philippines, a staunch U.S. ally, has steadily drifted toward China under Duterte.

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Since becoming president in 2016 and launching his war on drugs, Duterte has routinely denied accusations of human rights abuses and has even instructed his security forces to ignore international investigators. He has also issued explicit warnings to other world leaders not to get involved and has previously suggested U.S. spies may be after him.

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"One day, I will just drive you away. Its either theyyour cahoots herewill have to kill me, or you have to get out of my country. Choose," Duterte told Filipinos in Vietnam last October, according to the Manila Standard. "As for me, Ill be telling Filipinos: if I die, its America [thats behind it]. Its the CIA."

GettyImages-872723746

JORGE SILVA/AFP/Getty Images

He has also threatened to have his own son killed if allegations of his links to the illegal drug trade proved to be true and, despite widespread concerns abroad, Duterte's hardline methods have remained popular at home. President Donald Trump has in the past praised the Philippine leader and his methods.

Duterte has also received support for his advocacy in trying to transform the Philippines into a federalist political system, one that proponents say would allow local governments to better address social, economic and security issues. Critics, however, suspect Duterte could use the opportunity to reform the constitution to extend his own six-year term limit, which was set to end in 2022.

Responding to this, Duterte told his military and police in January "If I overstay and wanted to become a dictator, shoot me, I am not joking." Duterte also said that, unlike China's decision to abolish presidential term limits in the constitution, he would step down early by 2020, due to his age and lack of ambition and because he "really would like to rest."

This article was first written by Newsweek

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The poisoned double agent hospitalized in the south of the United Kingdom is no longer in a critical condition, following his collapse under the influence of a nerve agent, doctors announced Friday.

Around a month since Sergei Skripal fell ill in the southern English town of Salisbury, in what U.K. authorities believe was a poison attack by the mans country of birth, Russia, his condition is improving. Skripals daughter Yulia, who was also poisoned, issued a statement this week saying her strength is growing daily.

The hospital where Skripal is recovering announced Friday that the former agent is responding well to medical treatment and his condition is "improving rapidly," the BBC reported. Skripal is now conscious and talking, according to Salisbury District Hospital.

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Dr. Christine Blanshard, medical director at Salisbury District Hospital said Skripal is now improving rapidly, while his daughter may look forward to the day when she is well enough to leave the hospital.

04_06_Salisbury

Hannah McKay/Reuters

"Any speculation on when that date will be is just thatspeculation, she stressed. "In the meantime, Yulia has asked for privacy while she continues to get bettersomething I'd like to urge the media to respect.

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Nobody has been apprehended as the likely culprit that poisoned the Skripals, however British authorities have pointed the finger at Russia. They argue that the substance used to incapacitate the former spy and his daughter resembles a range of Russian-developed nerve agents.

The Russian government has persistently dismissed the allegation it is behind the attack and several clashing conspiracies have rebounded through Russian media, deflecting blame from Moscow. Russian investigators have not been allowed to assist with the case, as the British Ambassador to the United Nations, Karen Pierce said it would be like Scotland Yard inviting in Professor Moriarty.

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This article was first written by Newsweek

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Sergei Skripal, the former Russian spy hospitalized last month after a nerve agent attack in Salisbury, a town 90 miles southwest of London, England, is improving rapidly and no longer in critical condition.

Last Thursday, Salisbury District Hospital reported that Yulia Skripal, the 33-year-old daughter of Sergei Skripal, who was found unconscious on a bench alongside her father on March 4, was conscious and talking having responded well to treatment.

The hospital confirmed in a second statement, released April 6, that Sergei Skripal is also responding well to treatment, although doctors did not provide any information about when the 66-year-old may be allowed to go home.

Full statement from Salisbury District Hospital on the improvement in ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal's condition pic.twitter.com/uIi5FmXyUU  Press Association (@PA) April 6, 2018

Yulia Skripal made her first public comment Thursday, in which she said that her strength is growing daily and expressed gratitude to those who came to her aid when she and her father were found unconscious.

I am sure you appreciate that the entire episode is somewhat disorientating, and I hope that youll respect my privacy and that of my family during the period of my convalescence, she added.

British authorities have blamed Russia for the poisoning, which is thought to have used the chemical nerve agent novichok. Russian diplomats around the world have been expelled from their posts following the attack, including 60 by President Trump.

The full statement from the hospital reads:

Following intense media coverage yesterday, I would like to take the opportunity to update you on the condition of the two remaining patients being treated at Salisbury District Hospital.

Last Thursday, I informed you that Yulia Skripals condition had improved to stable. As Yulia herself says, her strength is growing daily and she can look forward to the day when she is well enough to leave the hospital.

Story continues

Any speculation on when that date will be is just that  speculation. In the meantime, Yulia has asked for privacy while she continues to get better  something Id like to urge the media to respect.

I also want to update you on the condition of her father, Sergei Skripal. He is respond well to treatment, improving rapidly and is no longer in a critical condition.

As youll appreciate, I wont be giving any further updates at this time,
New York (AFP) - The ukulele has two obvious selling points: it is affordable and easy to carry. But could the unassuming four-string instrument also incarnate the spirit of punk rock?

Since forming three decades ago, the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain has helped build a new audience for what it calls the "bonsai guitar," playing musically faithful but thoroughly tongue-in-cheek renditions of popular tunes.

Starting its latest US tour, the orchestra -- clad in evening finest, including tuxedo jackets and bow ties -- quickly pulled in dozens of smartphone-snapping onlookers as the eight ukuleleists strummed their way through AC/DC's "Highway to Hell."

Playing with the Australian headbangers' poetry, soloist Ben Rouse sang, "Hey Satan / Paying my dues / Playing in a ukulele band," as the players raised their instruments to the heavens in mock defiance.

Asked why he took up the ukulele, fellow player Jonty Bankes said, "Basically, it's cheap and rather easy to play, so for people like us it was a godsend."

But the self-styled orchestra has noticed a power in the tiny instrument over the years -- with gigs including two nights at Carnegie Hall, a set at the Glastonbury Festival in England and a private party at Windsor Castle for Queen Elizabeth II's 90th birthday.

"The thing is, when you bring a ukulele out and start playing it, it does actually make people smile," Bankes said.

"It's an unthreatening, friendly instrument which causes a bit of happiness worldwide, really," he said.

- Started as a joke -

Co-founded by Kitty Lux -- whose death last year at 59 brought a rare serious note to the ensemble with a memorial concert -- the group initially was interested not in the ukulele itself but in the irreverent energy of punk rock, then on its wane.

"Punks could form a band and play three chords, if indeed they could play three. The way that the band started, the same thing happened" said Leisa Rea, who nonetheless had learned guitar before ukulele.

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"The instrument was a bit of a joke, I suppose, and we turned everything on its head. The spirit of punk is alive in the band," she said.

"We don't take ourselves too seriously. We're British, so we've got to have some sense of humor, really," she said.

Rea fronted the group for its take of the Eurythmics' "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)," with an amplified bass ukulele holding the rhythm under seven ukuleles of different pitches.

"It's a good way of detecting if a song is any good," she said. "If you can play it on a ukulele, it's a pretty good sign that it's a decent song."

- From irony to mainstream -

Despite the orchestra's wide travels, it has never played in Hawaii, the birthplace of the instrument initially modeled after a miniature Portuguese guitar.

The group is eager to make it to the island chain, but its failure so far to make it there is not entirely accidental. The orchestra avoids Hawaiian music -- as well as songs of early 20th-century British film star and ukulele enthusiast George Formby -- as it instead tries to surprise audiences.

But the ukulele has become less of an oddity for audiences since the band's formation in 1985. Native Hawaiian artist Israel Kamakawiwo'ole found an international following in the 1990s with his mellow ukulele songs, while pop artists, notably the indie rock godfather Stephin Merritt, have found ample possibilities with the ukulele.

Orchestra member Dave Suich said he hoped the group has helped increase the popularity of the ukulele, especially in schools, where the little four-stringer has been giving stiff competition to the recorder as a first instrument for children.

"People younger than 40 don't know that it's funny," Suich said. "They just think you play an instrument."
Four sisters who used to spend their weekends with the Prince of Wales when he was 17 have been reunited with the heir to the throne after more than half a century.

Charles stayed at their family's dairy farm during his time at college in Australia.

And on Friday, the women came face to face with the heir again after 52 years.

Jane Tozer, Amanda Boxshall, Penny Jenner and Lisa Tozer with Prince Charles Credit: MARK METCALFE

Charles could not hide his surprise as he was greeted by Jane Tozer, Amanda Boxshall, Penny Jenner and Lisa Tozer during his trip to Bundaberg.

As they clutched a photo of them with the prince, taken on the day they were last together, the sisters were given a warm reception by the now 69-year-old Charles.

And they wasted no time in telling him of all their memories from when he used to stay with them at Devon Farm, Lilydale, while he was at Timbertop college in Victoria.

Back then: Charles with the Tozer family in the 1960s Credit: Arthur Edwards

"I remember you used to follow my dad around asking him questions and I remember you stirring the milk," said Jane, as Charles smiled and laughed.

They then presented him with a copy of the photograph, taken in 1966, which they had all signed the back of.

Afterwards, Jane, 62, said: "He said he was rapt that we still had the photo.

I remember him coming tadpoling and swimming - I taught him how to duck dive.

Jane Tozer



"It was really lovely to see him again."

Jane - the oldest of the siblings - was 10 when Charles would visit. Amanda was six, Penny was four and Lisa was just three.

Jane said: "I remember him being very curious about the farm.

"I remember him coming tadpoling and swimming - I taught him how to duck dive.

"At that age we didn't really think of him as royalty."

Prince Charles was on a tour of the Bundaberg distillery when he was reunited with the sisters

Lisa, 54, added: "All I really remember was thinking that he spoke funny.

"We all had to get changed out of our farm clothes and put on our Sunday best when he came."

The sisters spent several minutes chatting to Charles - before recreating their 1966 photo.

The prince had been on a tour of the Bundaberg Distillery as part of his seven-day trip in Australia.

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Prince Charles participates in a tour of the Bundaberg Rum distillery Credit: MARK METCALFE

Presented with three test tubes of alcohol at the distillery, and instructed to mix them together to create his own blend of rum the prince confessed chemistry was not his strongest subject at school

Charles joked: "It's like chemistry.

"I was never any good at chemistry at school."



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It was a big night out for the royal family as Prince Charles, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, Prince William and Kate Middleton stepped out for the premiere of the James Bond film, No Time To Die. While everyone looked fabulous in their formal-wear finest, it was Kate, who stole the show on the red carpet. She []
Teachers participate in a one-day strike against the government's privatization drive in public education in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on March 19. (Photo: RICARDO ARDUENGO via Getty Images)

In another bleak development for Puerto Ricos decimated education system, the islands Department of Education announced Thursday that it would close an additional 283 schools this summer, a 25 percent reduction in the current number of public schools.

Puerto Rico Education Secretary Julia Keleher said a sharp decline in student enrollment and the territorys ongoing economic crisis, especially since the devastation of Hurricane Maria, had prompted the closures. Almost half of all schools are at less than 60 percent of enrollment capacity, Keleher said, with nearly 39,000 fewer students than a year ago. Officials have said several thousand more students are expected to leave the island for the mainland to continue their education in the coming years.

We know its a difficult and painful process, Keleher said of the impending closures, according to The Associated Press. Our children deserve the best education that we are capable of giving them, taking into account Puerto Ricos fiscal reality.

The closures are expected save the education department about $150 million, said Keleher. She stressed, however, that no teachers would be laid off but some would be transferred between schools.

Hurricane Maria, which devastated the U.S. territory in September, dealt a major blow to Puerto Ricos education system, which had already been suffering from an enrollment slump. Last summer, 179 public schools on the island were shuttered and 150 more were closed from 2010 to 2015.

Following the new spate of closures, just 828 public schools will remain open, AP reported.

Teachers and parents have reacted with fury and frustration to the new closures.

This is like killing 300 communities, Aida Diaz, president of Puerto Ricos Association of Teachers, told Education Week. Were going to have communities that are not going to have any schools. The only place they have to meet is the school.

The association said the school closures would affect 60,000 students and 6,000 teachers, reported Puerto Ricos El Nuevo Dia newspaper. Diaz estimated that 4,000 non-tenured teachers would leave their jobs regardless of the Education Departments no-layoffs promise.

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I dont even know where the schools theyre being located to are, Haydee Del Valle, whose 12-year-old son will need to transfer, told NBC News on Friday. I dont know if theyre too far away from us or if the school bus they take now will be able to take them there.

This makes me sad because this is a great school, she added.

Diaz criticized the Education Department for not being transparent about how it decided which schools to close, noting that 45 of the schools had been recognized as schools of excellence.

Thursdays closure announcement comes on the heels of a controversial education reform bill signed in March by Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello. The bill aims to introduce a charter school pilot program and private school vouchers for 3 percent of students.

Thousands of teachers went on strike on March 19 to protest the bill.

They think that because our island is vulnerable, because it doesnt have electricity, that were going to let them privatize our schools, get rid of our teachers, Mercedes Martinez, president of the Puerto Rican Teachers Federation, told NPR in March of the reform effort.

#PuertoRico | Manifestacion que se desarrolla frente al Capitolio del pais en el que cientos de maestros, estudiantes y ciudadanos expresan su repudio al intento de privatizar el sistema educativo de la isla. pic.twitter.com/pPkEQTcm6S  teleSUR TV (@teleSURtv) March 19, 2018

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Netflixs new docu-series Wild Wild Country has renewed interest in the Rajneeshpuram commune of the 1980s, where spiritual leader Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh cooked up salmonella to eventually poison 751 people, engaged in free love and took over the local government.

Today, its the site of a Young Life Christian youth camp where kids arrive each year to learn about Jesus Christ in a resort-like haven complete with water slides.

Wild Wild Country explores the strange and mysterious story of how Rajneesh and his devotees took over a remote part of eastern Oregon, documenting the rise and fall of the commune through conversations with former members and the locals who hated them.

As Wild Wild Country reveals over six episodes, the Rajneeshees transformed the property into a community with its own shopping malls, infrastructure, airport and restaurants. Skirmishes with the local town of Antelopes nearly 60 residents eventually culminated in murder plots and a bioterror attack, bringing the life of sex and drugs to an end when Rajneesh skipped town, while his next-in-command, Ma Anand Sheela, was arrested.

The 64,000-acre expanse where the Rajneeshees lived was eventually purchased by billionaire Dennis Washington in 1991. After encountering zoning problems, Washington donated the property to Young Life, a Colorado-based Christian youth group with branches throughout the world. These days, Washington Family Ranch operates as a Christian youth camp  where kids come each summer to learn about Jesus Christ.

Camp manager Andy Squires told TIME hes seen a surge in interest in the history of his camp since Wild Wild Country premiered in March, but he wants the past to stay firmly in the past.

Things have changed and were excited about whats going on here, Squires, who has worked at the ranch for 16 years, said. We get the opportunity for kids to come and have fun in the summertime.

Where red- and orange-clad Rajneeshees once danced naked and worshipped the Bhagwan, children now drive go-karts, zip line and slide down a giant water slide that sits in a park within the camp. Campers also get to hear about life with Jesus, each day at meetings that involve singing and skits, Squires said, noting that everyone is free to decide how much they want to participate in religious education.

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Notable buildings at Rajneeshpuram have now changed. Sheelas house, where the groups bioterror attack was planned, has been remodeled into suites for guests who help out at the camp in the summer and stay for about a month. In a somewhat lucky turn for planners trying to figure out what to do with Rajneeshs house, a 1997 wildfire burned it down. Squires said very few of the original structures remain and every building has been remodeled.

Although the residents of Antelope objected loudly to the Rajneeshees building a commune, Squires said Young Life has easily integrated with the locals. Some camp employees even go to church in town, he said.

Wild Wild Country addresses how the area changed from commune to camp in the closing minutes of the series. Footage from Young Life shows youth jumping and cheering at sermons, drawing a parallel to how the Rajneeshees acted upon seeing their guru.

Antelope Mayor John Silvertooth said in the last episode of Wild Wild Country that he sees a few eerie similarities between the Young Life camp and the 1980s commune, but theyre much better neighbors than the Rajneeshees.
On the the night of July 18, 1969, Massachusetts Senator Edward (Ted) Kennedy got into an Oldsmobile and drove down a dark road on Chappaquiddick Island, a small slip of land near Marthas Vineyard in Massachusetts. At some point on his drive, the car careened off a bridge and toppled upside down into the Poucha Pond.

Kennedy, who was 37 at the time, survived. But when officials retrieved the vehicle from the water, they discovered in the backseat the lifeless body of 28-year-old Mary Jo Kopechne, a political operative and one of Robert F. Kennedy's famous Boiler Room Girls.

The details of how the accident occurred, what the pair were doing together and why Kennedy was the only one who managed to make it out alive are as murky as the waters the car was found in. Even more unclear are the reasons behind Kennedys hours-delayed decision to report the accident.

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The speculation surrounding the tragic event, Kennedys eventual guilty plea and his 17-minute televised-testimony explaining his "indefensible" side of the story serves as the inspiration behind Chappaquiddick. The film, which opens Friday, rehashes the night of Kopechnes death and everything that happened after the crash.

Starring Jason Clarke as Kennedy and Kate Mara as Kopechne, Chappaquiddick is based on a true storybut sensationalism is to be expected given the fact that Kennedys own account has historically raised eyebrows over its truthfulness.

Simply put, nobody really knows what happened at Chappaquiddick, except Kopechne and Kennedy, both of whom are now dead. (Ted Kennedy died in 2009.) But here's how the film compares to the actual eventsor, at least, what we know.

What Really on Happened Chappaquiddick? True Story vs. Movie

Harry Benson/Express/Getty Images

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The party

Just as the film depicts, Kennedy was in Marthas Vineyard for two reasons: to race in the Edgartown Regatta and throw a party for the Boiler Room Girls, the six women who worked on his brother Bobby Kennedys 1968 presidential campaign before his assassination. A few of Ted Kennedys friendsonly one of whom was singlealong with cousin Joe Gargan (Ed Helms) and lawyer Paul Markham (played by Jim Gaffigan) were also at the party, which took place at a little cottage on Chappaquiddick Island. As depicted in the film, there was a steady flow of alcohol.

Kennedy heavily denied rumors of drunk driving when whispers of his alleged intoxication first emerged in 1969. In the movie hes seen throwing back stiff cocktails, but it also portrays Kennedy as lying about his liquor intake and saying he was simply hosting an innocent, booze-free cookout for a few devoted Kennedy campaign secretaries.

The joyride

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Even in the film, its not extremely clear why Kennedy and Kopechne left the party together. In real life, Kennedy alleged he was taking Kopechne to the ferry so she could get home; he makes the same assertion in the movie. The senator also categorically denied any immoral conduct behind their leaving the party together. There has never been a private relationship between us of any kind, Kennedy was quoted in a 1969 Newsweek report.

He didnt mention how fast he was driving, but the film shows him speeding down the street, nearly crashing his vehicle before the actual accident even occured. A police officer he zooms past gets out of his vehicle to approach the car, but Kennedy reverses the vehicle and then pulls off. The cop goes back to his car but doesnt go chasing after them and is later seen in the movie looking shaken when he realizes the vehicle Kopechne drowned in is the same from the night before.

The premise of the scene appears to be derived from a 1979 Washington Post interview in which Edgartown police officer Christopher Look Jr. alleged that he told the police chief Dommick J. Arena that he saw Kennedys car on a road an hour after Kennedy said the accident occurred. Look made no mention of speeding; rather, he said the driver of the vehicle appeared to be lost. That prompted him to get out of his car and see if they needed directions.

The cover-up

Just as the actually occurred, the movie shows Kennedy getting schooled on how to contain the scandal. The tragedy happened as the entire nation was obsessing over NASA's Apollo 11 mission, which made Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin the first people to walk on the moon. That gave the likes of former Defense Secretary Robert McNamara, John F. Kennedy speechwriter Tom Sorensen and several other Camelot men the time to do some stealthy crisis management. They tossed Kopechnes autopsy, finessed the press and kept Ted Kennedy confined to the Hyannis Port Kennedy estate. He only surfaced for Kopechnes funeral, wearing a neck brace, which the movie suggests was a ploy for empathy that Senator Kennedy came up with himself.

The speech

After pleading guilty to leaving the scene of the accidentwhich earned Kennedy a two-month suspended jail sentencehe addressed the nation publically for the first time. The movie shows him asking Gargan to write his resignationa falsity in the film, according to a USA Today interview with executive producer Taylor Allenbut instead Kennedy recites the speech written for him by the Camelot men.

This article was first written by Newsweek

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Aden (AFP) - A rebel ambush in Yemen killed dozens of Sudanese soldiers belonging to a Saudi-led coalition fighting on the side of the government, military sources and the insurgents said Saturday.

The Iran-backed Huthi rebels hit the Sudanese military convoy in the northern province of Hajjah before dawn on Friday, according to military sources.

The losses were reported to be the heaviest suffered by Sudanese troops in Yemen since they were deployed in the war-torn country in 2015.

"The Sudanese soldiers were lured into a trap by the rebels" who allowed them to advance into areas where they were waiting to attack them, a Yemeni military officer told AFP on condition of anonymity.

The Huthis reported the attack on their Al-Masirah website, saying dozens of Sudanese soldiers had been killed and armoured vehicles destroyed.

There was no immediate comment from Sudan, which has deployed hundreds of soldiers as part of the coalition that Khartoum joined in 2015 after breaking decades-old ties with Tehran.

On Thursday Yemeni military officials said hundreds of soldiers from Saudi Arabia and Sudan had arrived in the north to reinforce troops deployed around rebel stronghold Saada.

President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi's government was driven from Yemen's capital after the Huthis overran the city in 2014, sweeping southwards from their northern bastion.

The coalition led by mainly Sunni Saudi Arabia has since struggled to close in on rebel strongholds.

Nearly 10,000 people have been killed since the coalition joined the Yemen war in 2015, triggering what the United Nations has called the world's largest humanitarian crisis.

The Huthis have launched a string of ballistic missile attacks on neighbouring Saudi Arabia from northern Yemen.

The rebels say the missile attacks are retaliation for Saudi-led air raids.

Both the coalition and the United States -- a key ally of Saudi Arabia -- have accused Iran of arming the Huthi rebels.

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The Sudanese military has largely refrained from offering details of its operations within the coalition against the Huthis.

In a rare announcement in April 2017 the army said that five of its troops had been killed while fighting for the coalition.

In January 2016 the army had said it had lost one soldier in Yemen.
Chinas relationship with Russia is the best its ever been, a high-level Chinese official boasted this week as Beijing prepared to launch a trade war with the U.S.

Visiting Moscow on Thursday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said his countrys relationship with Russia is at the best level in history. The announcement was made as both China and Russia pass through a rough patch in their relationship with the U.S.

Also on Thursday, President Donald Trump threatened to hit China with an additional $100 billion in trade tariffs, a potential escalation in the ongoing trade war with Beijing that already saw the U.S. announce plans to target around 1,300 Chinese products. A day earlier, China had revealed its plans to impose a 25 percent tariff on U.S. products, including soybeans, in retaliation. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce said it will use any measure necessary to fight back against Trumps tariffs, and that it is uninterested in entering into negotiations with U.S. trade officials.

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Meanwhile, the Trump administration is also getting increasingly tough on Russia. Washington recently decided to expel 60 Russian diplomats and close the Russian consulate in Seattle, in response to the poisoning of a former Russian spy Sergei Skripal, who was living in England and whom British authorities say was targeted by Moscow. Then on Friday, the Treasury Department released a new list of Russian oligarchs subject to U.S. sanctions.

Amid all of this, both the Chinese foreign and defense ministers paid a visit to Moscow. On Tuesday, China's defense minister was quoted in Russia's state media warning that the U.S. should pay close attention to the bolstered military ties between Russia and China. Some experts said that Beijing and Moscow are preparing to forge a strategic alliance that could sideline the U.S.

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The simultaneous visits of the Chinese foreign and defense ministers to Moscow amid the ever-widening Skripal affair suggest that something is afoot in the Moscow  Beijing axis. While China expressed limited support to Russia in the international fora on the alleged chemical weapons attack in the UK, Beijing is seeking coordination with Moscow on the North Korea issue, which is strategic for China, as well as in the escalating trade war between the two largest economies in the world, Ariel Cohen, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, told Newsweek.

In the retrospect, April 2018 may yet turn out to be the pivotal point in Strengthening of the Russian  Chinese strategic axis, if not a de-facto alliance, Cohen said.

China's relationship with Russia has undoubtedly grown closer over recent years, particularly after Russia was ostracized by Western allies in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine in 2014. But the two countries are not without their rivalries, experts note.

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"Relations have become increasingly close since 2014 when Russia, as a result of its isolation from the West following the annexation of Crimea, moved to accelerate its own pivot to Asia. This has involved energy deals, increased arms sales, enhanced joint military exercises, and intensified political dialogue," James Brown, an expert on Russia and Asia at Temple University's Japan campus, told Newsweek.

"Russia, however, remains disappointed by the level of bilateral trade and investment....China's flagship Belt and Road Initiative seems set to largely bypass Russia, while some in Russia fear that China is increasingly displacing Russian influence in Central Asia," Brown continued.

Still, these rivalries may be pushed aside if the relationship with the U.S. doesn't improve for either country. In a statement aimed at Trump, Foreign Minister Wang said that Moscow and Beijing should work together "to bring some common sense to those who think they can do anything they like.

This article was first written by Newsweek

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MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Russian embassy in London has sent a request for a meeting of its envoy with British foreign minister Boris Johnson to discuss the case of an ex-Russian spy and his daughter poisoned in Salisbury, the RIA news agency reported on Saturday.

"We hope for a constructive response from the British side and are counting on such a meeting in the very nearest future," the agency cited a spokesman for the Russian embassy saying.

The Foreign Office confirmed it had received the request for ambassador Alexander Yakovenko to meet Johnson, but called the request a diversionary tactic.

"We will be responding in due course," it said in a statement.

Relations between Russia and Britain have plunged to their lowest for decades since former Russian spy Sergei Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia, 33, were found slumped unconscious on a bench in Salisbury last month.

Both were found to be suffering from the effects of a nerve agent but are now recovering in hospital.

Britain blamed Russia for the poisoning and asked it to explain what happened but Russia denies any involvement and has suggested Britain itself carried out the attack to stoke anti-Russian hysteria.

Both have subsequently accused each other of trying to deceive the world with an array of claims, counter-claims and threats.

At a session of the executive of the global chemical weapons watchdog earlier this week, Russia called for a joint inquiry into the poisoning of the Skripals but lost a vote on the motion.

The two then swapped insults at the United Nations Security Council on Thursday where Russia warned Britain it was "playing with fire" by accusing Moscow.

Saturday's Foreign Office statement said: "Its over three weeks since we asked Russia to engage constructively and answer a number of questions relating to the attempted assassinations of Mr Skripal and his daughter.

"Now, after failing in their attempts in the UN and international chemical weapons watchdog this week and with the victims condition improving, they seem to be pursuing a different diversionary tactic."

(Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin and Stephen Addison; editing by Jason Neely and Stephen Powell)
By Gederts Gelzis

RIGA (Reuters) - Russia began testing missiles with live munitions in the Baltic Sea on Wednesday, alarming Latvia, a member of NATO, which says the drills have forced it partly to shut down Baltic commercial airspace.

The Russian defense ministry said on Monday that its Baltic Fleet, based in its European exclave of Kaliningrad, was preparing for routine training in the Baltic Sea, including live fire drills to practice hitting air and sea targets.

"It is a demonstration of force," Latvia's Prime Minister Maris Kucinskis told Reuters. "It is hard to comprehend that it can happen so close to (our) country," he said.

The tests are being carried out in Latvia's exclusive economic zone, officials said, an area of the sea just beyond Latvia's territorial waters where Latvia has special economic rights, as well as further west in the Baltic Sea.

Riga has closed some of its airspace for the three days of tests, and Sweden also issued a warning to civilian sea traffic and said there could be delays and disruption to civilian air traffic.

The missile tests and military drills follow Russia's massive war games last September, which stretched from the Baltics to the Black Sea. The exercises unnerved the West because of their scale, scope and what NATO said was a lack of transparency.

At a time of high East-West tensions, NATO officials worry that any accident involving military weapons and a civilian ship or plane could spark a wider conflict.

In Ottawa, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance would follow the tests closely, while noting that every nation had the right to carry out military exercises.

"We are staying vigilant and we are also increasing the readiness of our forces, especially in the Baltic region," he told reporters after meeting Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Moscow accuses NATO of stirring up anti-Russian propaganda.

"PROVOCATIVE ACTION"

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Latvia said Russian drills have never taken place so near its territory. Kucinskis noted that the decision to test so close to Latvian waters came after the West's expulsion of Russian diplomats last month, the largest since the Cold War.

The diplomats were expelled after a nerve agent attack on March 4 against a former Russian double agent and his daughter in Salisbury, England.

Latvian officials said Russia is not breaking any international rules and has the right to exercise. But the Latvian defense ministry summoned Russia's military attache to express its concern.

Russia says it is testing its forces after the winter.

"Drills lasting for three days in the region where there is very intensive aviation traffic, and given everything else that is happening in relations between the West and Russia, I think that it is a rather provocative action," Latvia's ambassador to Russia, Maris Riekstins, told Latvian Television.

(Additional reporting by Johan Sennero in Stockholm, Andrew Osborn in Moscow and David Ljunggren in Ottawa; writing by Robin Emmott; editing by Larry King and Dan Grebler)

Related: Russia fires back, expelling diplomats and missile testing

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Andrew Wheeler has been nominated to serve as deputy administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. (Photo: Senate EPW)

Andrew Wheeler, President Donald Trumps pick for the Environmental Protection Agencys No. 2 job, has secured two Democrats support ahead of his planned Senate confirmation vote on Monday.

Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.), one of just two Democrats who voted for the nomination of now-embattled EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt last year, told HuffPost she plans to approve the former coal lobbyist, who rejects the science behind climate change. If confirmed, Wheeler would be next in line to take over the agency if Pruitt caves to mounting pressure to resign.

After meeting with Mr. Wheeler and reviewing his record, Ive decided to support his nomination, Heitkamp told HuffPost by email Friday evening. I believe hell be open to working on issues important to North Dakota in a pragmatic and fair way, and Ill hold him accountable to make sure he implements the mission of the EPA in a way that works for my state.

On Monday, a spokesman for Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), the other Democrat who had voted for Pruitts nomination, said he would also vote to confirm Wheeler. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), the only GOP senator to vote against Pruitt last year, did not respond to requests for comment.

Andrew Wheeler will bring extraordinary credentials to EPA that will greatly assist the agency as we work to implement the presidents agenda, Liz Bowman, an EPA spokeswoman, told HuffPost. We appreciate Senator Manchin and Senator Heitkamps support.

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee voted 11-10 along party lines in February to advance Wheelers nomination. But the Senate has yet to schedule a vote. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) filed cloture on March 23, and a vote is expected by Monday night.

Fliers posted around Washington poke fun at scandal-battered EPA chief Scott Pruitt. (Photo: Win McNamee via Getty Images)

The vote comes as Pruitt faces more calls to step aside over accusations of corruption and wasting taxpayer money. A flurry of scandals broke last week involving his spending, housing arrangement and imperious management of his agency. Environmental groups, hoping for Pruitts resignation, seized an opportunity to tank Wheelers nomination, effectively crippling leadership at an agency that has been the speartip of the Trump administrations deregulatory agenda.

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The Sierra Club and the League of Conservation Voters called on their members last week to pressure senators to reject Wheelers nomination. They highlighted a February report from The Intercept that revealed Wheeler had hosted fundraisers for Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) and Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) five months before his formal nomination and two months before his first White House interview for the job. The groups hoped to draw parallels between the fundraisers and the firestorm over Pruitts sweetheart deal to rent a $50-a-night room in a luxury condo owned by the wife of a fossil fuel lobbyist with business before the EPA.

Until mid-2017, Wheeler worked as a lobbyist for Murray Energy, the mining giant owned by coal magnate Bob Murray. Murray, a top Trump donor and bombastic political commentator, has wielded staggering influence at the White House. He provided the Trump administration with an action plan that called for a federal bailout of coal-fired plants, repeal of the Obama-era Clean Power Plan and a challenge to the 2009 EPA endangerment finding that determined carbon dioxide pollution poses a risk to public health.

Democrats hammered Wheeler over his record of working for Murray at a confirmation hearing in November. But they largely glazed over Wheelers refusal to accept the overwhelming consensus among scientists that burning fossil fuels are the chief cause of climate change.

I believe that man has an impact on the climate, but whats not completely understood is what the impact is, Wheeler said at his confirmation hearing when confronted with the findings of the federal governments latest climate report.

Wheeler, who served as an Inhofe aide and counsel to the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee in the mid-2000s, has also faced accusations of abusing his power to target political opponents. In 2005, Wheeler worked with Inhofe to demand tax documents from the Association of Local Air Pollution Control Officials and its sister group, State and Territorial Air Pollution Program Administrators, after the nonpartisan groups opposed a controversial greenhouse gas emission bill Inhofe supported. In February, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a government accountability and transparency watchdog, told HuffPost the 13-year-old tax probe raises serious concerns as to Wheelers judgment.

Pruitts future at the agency remains uncertain. Trump has bucked White House Chief of Staff John Kellys pleas to fire Pruitt, tweeting praise for the administrator and saying he was under siege from reporters on Friday. But even if Pruitt remains, he reportedly has ambitions to run for governor or U.S. Senate in his home state of Oklahoma, or take over the Department of Justice if Trump fires Attorney General Jeff Sessions. (Trump denied reports that he was considering Pruitt for the top cop position.) That raises the chances that, at some point, Wheeler could take over the EPA.

Wheeler has his own record of corruption that must be investigated, John Coequyt, Sierra Clubs senior director of federal policy, said in a statement. Anyone who cares about protecting our communities, protecting taxpayers, and trying to maintain a transparent, accountable government will demand new hearings on Andrew Wheeler and demand the EPA start doing its job to protect the public once again.

This story has been updated with Sen. Joe Manchins decision to vote for Wheeler.

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Trump's Climate-Denying Coal Lobbyist Nominee Inches Closer To EPAs No. 2 Job

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Also on HuffPost

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Portland, Oregon

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Joining the #climatemarch because #hawaii leads nation on climate and other states should act too #ActOnClimate pic.twitter.com/mBTZ5ioiK1  Chris Lee (@chrisleeforhi) April 29, 2017

About 1,000 people, including #UCC members and a UCC minister as a featured speaker, participated in the People's #ClimateMarch in Honolulu. pic.twitter.com/x3INdRUNUq  UCC Hawaii Justice (@UCCJustice808) April 29, 2017

BONUS: Amsterdam

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Officials confirmed on Friday that two guinea pigs and a cat belonging to former Russian spy Sergei Skripal are dead after detectives investigating Skripals poisoning sealed off access to his home in Salisbury, England.

Skripal and his daughter Yulia Skripal were found unconscious on a public bench in Salisbury in early March, and taken to a hospital in critical condition. Investigators determined that they had been poisoned by a nerve agent and believed that the pair was intentionally targeted.

When a veterinarian was finally allowed access to the property, it was too late for the pets inside, UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs told multiple news outlets on Friday. It was not immediately clear how long the pets were in the home unattended or when the vet was permitted to enter.

The two guinea pigs were already dead, apparently from dehydration. The cat, a black Persian named Nash Van Drake, was severely malnourished and in a huge amount of pain, The Sun reported.

A cat was also found in a distressed state and a decision was taken by a veterinary surgeon to euthanise the animal to alleviate its suffering, DEFRA told CNN in a statement.

The agency added that it could not say whether there was any evidence the animals had been exposed to the nerve agent that poisoned Skripal, a 66-year-old former colonel with Russias military intelligence, and his 33-year-old daughter. Both were in stable condition as of Friday, doctors told The Associated Press.

BBC reporter Dominic Casciani said in a Friday tweet that Skripals home had been sealed for operational safety reasons shortly after the poisoning was discovered. He added it was not clear when police knew of the presence of the animals in Mr Skripals home or whether anyone considered rescuing them.

Its not clear when police knew of the presence of the animals in Mr Skripals home or whether anyone considered rescuing them. It had been sealed for operational safety reasons.  Dominic Casciani (@BBCDomC) April 6, 2018

However, a local veterinarian told The Sun in March that he had called police the day after the poisoning was reported, offering to help with the pets. Friends of Skripal also reportedly did not know the whereabouts of the pets. In the same article, The Sun wrote that an unidentified source close to the family was under the impression that the pets had been taken away for testing.

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A spokeswoman for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals expressed grief over the fate of the animals in a statement sent to HuffPost.

It is very sad to hear that these animals have died in such tragic circumstances, she said. However, we appreciate the emergency services were working in extreme and dangerous conditions in an incredibly fast-moving operation in an attempt to keep the public safe.

Skripal was convicted in Russia of spying for the U.K. in 2006. In 2010, the U.K. granted him refuge. Though the Kremlin has denied being involved in the attack, the U.K. expelled 23 Russian diplomats in retaliation for the poisoning. More than 20 other countries, including the United States, have followed suit. Moscow, in turn, has also started reciprocally expelling diplomats, including 60 from the U.S.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova publicly brought up Skripals pets on Wednesday, asking reporters where the animals were and what their condition was.

After all, we are talking about living organisms, and if a poisonous agent was used in the house, they must also have been affected, she said, according to CNN.

The Russian embassy tweeted on Thursday that Skripal had two cats and two guinea pigs. Its unknown where the second cat is.

It turns out Sergey Skripal has two cats and two guinea pigs. Were they also poisoned? Where are they and how are they treated? Important questions for the investigation. Read our comment: https://t.co/T8vwYdz77A pic.twitter.com/J5w3Jpz2I0  Russian Embassy, UK (@RussianEmbassy) April 5, 2018

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
Police in Germany were on Sunday morning trying to make sense of why a 48-year-old local man with no known links to terrorism drove a minivan into a crowded open-air restaurant terrace, killing two people before shooting himself dead.

Although the perpetrator has not been officially named, he has been identified locally as Jens R, a German citizen born about an hour south of the city of Munster, where the attack took place.

So far there are no indications of a possible motive. The investigation is being conducted at full speed and in all directions, Martin Botzenhardt of the local prosecutors office said.

Authorities are believed to have all but ruled out Islamist extremism as a motive, after establishing Jens R had no links to the Islamist scene.

Instead they are said to be working on the theory the attack may have been a form of extended suicide.

A body is loaded into a vehicle in front of the restaurant in Muenster, Germany Credit: David Young/dpa via AP

Jens R is believed to have had a history of mental illness, and had reportedly made an earlier attempt at suicide. He also reportedly spoke of committing suicide in a spectacular manner.

Complicating matters further, he is also said to have had links with the German far-Right scene, though it is not clear how close these alleged links were. According to some reports he had been in touch with far-Right groups over the internet, but was not politically active.

He was also reportedly known to police for a number of petty crimes, such as stealing cell phones and car radios.

Police have now ruled out earlier reports of two possible accomplices escaping from the minivan at the scene of the attack.

A car drove into a group of people in the western German city of Munster

Explosives teams were called in overnight to defuse what was at first feared to be a booby trap in the minvan, but it turned out to be fireworks.

A second gun was also found inside the car. A search of Jens Rs flat uncovered a Kalashnikov assault rifle, but it had been deactivated and was unable to fire.

The two people killed in the attack were both German. They were identified on Sunday as a 65-year-old man from Borken, about an hour west of Munster, and a 51-year-old woman from Luneburg, 180 miles to the north.

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Around 20 people were injured in the attack, and several were still in critical condition on Sunday morning according to the authorities.

Who was the driver?

Police said the driver, named locally as 48-year-old German national Jens R, shot himself dead after ramming into the crowd.

According to a report by Suddeutsche Zeitung, the German newspaper, he had a history of mental health issues.

Munster locator



What happened?

A van ploughed into people sitting outside on a warm afternoon in Munster, crashing into tables outside of the Grosser Kiepenkerl restaurant in the historic centre of the city. The restaurant is a popular tourist attraction in the picturesque city of 300,000 residents.

Forensic experts work at the scene on Saturday Credit: David Young/dpa via AP

Lino Baldi, who owns an Italian restaurant in Munster near the scene of the crash, told Sky TG24 that the city centre was packed due to a Saturday market and summer-like temperatures.

The vehicle struck at 3.27pm as tourists and students basked in the sunshine.

People light candles in tribute to the dead Credit: Friso Gensch/dpa via AP

A witness told Germany's NTV: "There was a bang and then screaming. The police arrived and got everyone out of here. There were a lot of people screaming. I'm angry, it's cowardly to do something like this."

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said: "This was a serious act of violence. My deep sympathy goes to all those who have lost a loved one."

Munster is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, to the west of Germany near the border with the Netherlands. Around a fifth of the population are students, and there are four universities within the city. It is also known as the bicycle capital of Germany.

Police officers and forensic scientists stand by the van used in the incident Credit: Alexander Koerner/Getty Images

A spokeswoman for German Chancellor Angela Merkel said "our thoughts are with the victims and their families" who were killed and injured in the incident.

Spokeswoman Ulrike Demmer on Twitter called the crash Saturday "terrible news."

Katarina Barley, the German justice minister, added: "We must do everything to clarify the background of the incident."

Markus Lewe, the city's mayor, said the motive was unclear.

Lets not jump to conclusions, but this doesnt sound like a simple accident to me. https://t.co/SkjPZzFnoq  Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) April 7, 2018

He added: "All of Munster is mourning this horrible incident. Our sympathy is with the relatives of those who were killed. We wish the injured a quick recovery. At this point we dont know the background to the incident."

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office confirmed that they are in touch with local authorities in Germany and "stand ready to assist any British nationals who may be affected."

Timeline of vehicle rampage attacks in Europe

Vehicle attacks in Europe

The incident happened on the one-year anniversary of a truck attack in Stockholm that killed five people and seriously injured 14 others.

Germany has experienced a number of terrorist attacks in recent years, including through the deadly use of vehicles.

In December 19, 2016, Tunisian national Anis Amri, 24, hijacked a truck and slammed it into a crowd of people at a Christmas market in Berlin, killing 12 people and injuring 48.

Amri was shot dead by Italian police in Milan four days later after travelling through several European countries. Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) claimed responsibility for that attack.

Isil also claimed several similar attacks in Europe, including a rampage along Barcelona's Las Ramblas boulevard in August 2017 that killed 14 and left more than 100 injured.

The deadliest such incident in recent years was in the French resort city of Nice in 2016, where a man rammed a truck into a crowd on France's national July 14 holiday, killing 86 people.
Updated | A man drove his van into a crowd of people in the German city of Muenster on Saturday, causing at least two fatalities and more than a dozen injuries, according to authorities.

Excluding the driver, at least two people were killed and 20 more seriously injured, police told the Associated Press. Authorities said the suspect killed himself at the scene, near Kiepenkerl, a bar in the downtown area that has high foot traffic on weekends. Police initially said they were searching for other suspects who may have fled the scene.

"There are deaths and injuries," the Muenster police department tweeted. "Please avoid the area."

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The suspect, who has not yet been identified by police, is believed to be a middle-aged German national with a history of mental instability, the German Interior Ministry said.

"At the moment, nothing spears for there being any Islamist background," said Herbert Ruel, the interior minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, where Muenster is located.

Police found a suspicious device inside the van and were in investigating what it was and whether it could be dangerous shortly after the incident. Emergency responders were on the scene treating injured, police said.

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Authorities urged people to avoid the area while they investigate. Muenster Mayor Markus Lewe said the reason for the crash wasn't yet clear. A few hours after the attack, multiple local news agencies said that the culprit was a German national, including newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung, one the largest dailies in Germany.

Pictures of the incident appear to show an outside patio completely demolished. The BBC reported that the driver of the car had shot himself.

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"There are several dead, probably including the suspect, a police spokesperson said in a statement.

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The incident sent fear rippling throughout Muenster on a bright and sunny Saturday afternoon. The city, which is located in Northwest Germany, has a population of about 300,000. The area where the incident occurred is popular with tourists and the city's large college student population.

Lines snaked down the street from Muenster University Hospital, where people nearby gathered to donate blood and offer support. The response was so overwhelming that the hospital released a statement thanking the public, adding that no more volunteers were needed.

I am shocked by the news from Muenster, Andrea Nahles, parliamentary leader of the Social Democrats and junior partner in Chancellor Angela Merkels ruling coalition, told Reuters. My thoughts are with the victims and their relatives. I hope that our authorities can quickly clarify the background to this incident and wish the local forces much strength for their work.

The incident marks the 1-year anniversary of a terrorist attack in Stockholm, Sweden, in which a highjacked truck rammed into a crowd of people at a department store. Five people were killed and 14 others were seriously injured in that attack.

This story is developing. Check back for updates.

This article was first written by Newsweek

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Park faced charges of abuse of power, bribery and coercion - AFP

South Koreas former president Park Geun-hye has been sentenced to 24 years in jail after being found guilty of bribery, abuse of power and coercion.

She was ousted from office last year during the biggest political corruption scandal to hit Asias fourth largest economy in a generation.

The verdict in a court in the South Korean capital, Seoul, was broadcast live against the wishes of Ms Park, 66. It followed a ten-month trial that exposed a shady nexus of big business and politics. She has also been fined 12 million.

The accused is guilty of abuse of power, said Judge Kim Se Yoon, ruling that Ms Park had forced major conglomerates including Samsung and Lotte to donate a total of 52 million to two non-profit foundations controlled by her secret confidante, Choi Soon-sil.

Ms Park was charged on 18 counts of corruption, including bribery, coercion, abuse of power and leaking state secrets. Prosecutors had demanded a 30 year jail term.

Profile | Park Geun-hye

She was acquitted in at least two of the charges, including abuse of power relating to forcing Hyundai automobile company to run ads for the company owned by Ms Choi.

The televised trial, which started at 2.10pm in Seoul, took place roughly a year after her arrest in late March 2017.

The daughter of assassinated dictator Park Chung-hee, Ms Park rose to fame as the nations first female president, but also became the first elected head of state to be ousted. It marked a dramatic downfall for a leader who came to power in 2013, pledging to fight graft.

South Korea was shaken by allegations that Ms Choi, 60, noted as a Rasputin-like figure, exploited her relationship with Park to extort donations out of major companies to foundations used for her personal gain, and to get her daughter preferential admission to an elite Seoul university.

Park was accused of taking secret advice from Ms Choi, who had no official position, on everything from North Korea policy to her wardrobe choices.

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Choi Soon-sil is described as a female Rasputin in South Korea Credit: Kim Hong-Ji/REUTERS

The scandal prompted millions to demonstrate and demand the presidents resignation, leading to her impeachment in December 2016. Ms Park was formally removed from office by the Constitutional Court the following March.

Her impeachment paved the way for a new Left-leaning government to replace her conservative coalition in an April 2017 election, which eventually opened up the opportunity for negotiations with nuclear-armed North Korea.

Park did not appear personally for her sentencing and has boycotted the trial of her case in protest of the courts October decision to extend her detention by six months.

Before her downfall she was long viewed as a tragic figure, estranged from her siblings and traumatised by the earlier murder of her mother who was accidentally shot by a North Korean sympathiser in 1974, forcing Ms Park to become acting first lady aged just 22.

It was around this time that Choi Soon-sils father, religious cult leader Choi Tae-min became the young Ms Parks mentor.

A US embassy cable released years later by WikiLeaks described his complete control over the body and soul of Ms Park in her formative political years. She reportedly believed that he could communicate with her dead mother.

The public was shocked to learn that forty years later, the cult leaders daughter had allegedly taken on his mantle as the shadowy power behind the throne.

Ms Choi was convicted of bribery, extortion and other criminal charges in February and sentenced to 20 years in prison.
By Hyonhee Shin and Heekyong Yang SEOUL (Reuters) - A South Korean court jailed former President Park Geun-hye for 24 years on Friday over a scandal that exposed webs of corruption between political leaders and the country's conglomerates. Park became South Korea's first democratically elected leader to be forced from office last year when the Constitutional Court ordered her out over a scandal that landed the heads of two conglomerates in jail. The court also fined Park, the daughter of a former military dictator, 18 billion won ($16.9 million) after finding her guilty of charges including bribery, abuse of power and coercion. "The defendant abused her presidential power entrusted by the people, and as a result, brought massive chaos to the order of state affairs and led to the impeachment of the president, which was unprecedented," judge Kim Se-yoon said as he handed down the sentence. Up to 1,000 Park supporters gathered outside the court, holding national flags and signs calling for an end to "political revenge" against her. The court found Park guilty of colluding with her old friend, Choi Soon-sil, to receive about 7 billion won ($6.56 million) each from Lotte Group, a retail giant, and Samsung, the worlds biggest maker of smartphones and semiconductors, while demanding 8.9 billion won from SK, an energy conglomerate. Most of the money was intended to bankroll non-profit foundations run by Choi's family and confidants, and to fund the education of Choi's horse-riding daughter, the court said. Prosecutors sought a 30-year sentence and a 118.5 billion won ($112 million) fine for Park. Park, 66, who has been in jail since March 31 last year, has denied wrongdoing and was not present in court. The judge said Park had shown "no sign of repentance" but had instead tried to shift the blame to Choi and her secretaries. "We cannot help but sternly hold her accountable," Kim said. 'HEARTBREAKING' Park apologized while in office for seeking help from Choi, who had no policy or political experience, but that was as close as she came to admitting any guilt. Kang Chul-koo, one of Park's state-appointed lawyers, said he would discuss with her the possibility of an appeal. "We tried our utmost but regret the result turned out very bad," Kang told reporters at the court. "The truth will be revealed one day." The sentence will be a bitter blow for Park, who returned to the presidential palace in 2012 as the country's first woman leader, more than three decades after she left it following the assassination of her father. Her ouster from office last year led to a presidential election won by the liberal Moon Jae-in, whose conciliatory stand on North Korea has underpinned a significant warming of ties between the rival neighbors. Moon's office said Park's fate was "heartbreaking" not only for herself but for the country, and added that history that was not remembered would be repeated. "We will not forget today," the office said. Park is the latest former leader of South Korea to run afoul of the law. Two predecessors, Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo, were convicted in 1996 of mutiny, treason and corruption and sentenced to long prison terms but both received presidential pardons and were freed after a couple of years. But Moon took office pledging to end the practice of pardoning public and corporate officials convicted of corruption. WATERSHED? Park's friend, Choi, was convicted and jailed for 20 years after a separate trial in February. The chairman of the Lotte Group, the country's fifth-largest conglomerate, Shin Dong-bin, was jailed for two years and six months. Samsung Group heir Jay Y. Lee was jailed for a similar term on charges of bribery and embezzlement but in a surprise decision in February, an appeals court freed him after a year in detention. Park's supporters and opponents reflect divisions in a society still haunted by Cold War antagonism. Most supporters are older conservatives who remember her father's authoritarian 18-year rule, beginning in 1961, when their country began its remarkable surge toward becoming an economic power. Younger, liberal voters, who staged months of protests against Park before her ouster, will be hoping the verdict will be a watershed in efforts by the new government to end the self-serving collusion between political leaders and the powerful conglomerates known as chaebol. "The ruling will be a lesson for many companies," said Choi Woon-youl, a lawmaker of the ruling Democratic Party. "They have to boost transparency and sever the ties of collusion with government. If you have nothing to hide, whether about management or succession, you don't have to be bullied by the government." (Reporting by Hyonhee Shin and Heekyong Yang; Additional reporting by Soyoung Kim and Christine Kim; Editing by Robert Birsel)
A South Korean court condemned disgraced former president Park Geun-hye to 24 years in prison on Friday, confirming her position as the latest South Korean leader whose downfall is marked by corruption scandals.

In the verdict broadcasted live on television, which Park chose not to attend, South Korea's first female president was found guilty of charges involving bribery, abuse of power and coercion and fined 18 billion won ($16.9 million), Reuters reported.

Park apologized for seeking policy advice from her friend Choi Soon-silthe influential confidante at the center of the scandalbut denied any wrongdoing. Her lawyer is planning on appealing the verdict, and a group of about 1,000 supporters held a rally against it as well, displaying signs reading "The rule of law is dead."

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The daughter of military dictator Park Chung-heewho formally became president in 1963 following a coup and was assassinated by the head of the country's intelligence agency in 1979became the country's first democratically elected leader to be removed from office via impeachment process. Park was, however, not the country's first president to be handcuffed, nor the first one to be sentenced to jail.

04_06_Park

Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters

South Korea's postWorld War II political history has been marked by authoritarian rule and military coups, but even democratically elected presidents could not enjoy scandal-free retirements.

The first president of postwar South Korea, Syngman Rhee, was forced into exile in Hawaii in 1960 after he was accused of rigging the election. Park's father's successor Choi Kyu-hah had one of the shortest-lived presidenciesafter promising to restore democratic rule, the country's head of the intelligence agency, Chun Doo-hwan, orchestrated a coup against him and became the president in 1980.

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He and his successor Roh Tae-woo, who took power in 1988, would later be prosecuted for crimes committed during their rule during the presidency of Kim Young-sam, who became the first civilian to be elected president in the country in 30 years in 1992. Chun was sentenced to death and Roh to 22 and a half years in prison for their role in the massacre of civilians but also for corruption.

04_06_Park_supporters

Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters

Kim, whose fight against pervasive corruption ended up engulfing his own familylanding his second-oldest son, a close adviser, in jailpardoned them both shortly before the end of his single five-year term in power in 1998.

Kim lost the ensuing election to opposition leader Kim Dae-jung. Despite his dedication to human rights and reconciliation with North Koreawhich won him a Nobel Peace Prize in 2000his legacy too was marred by corruption, with two of his sons ending up behind bars on graft charges by the time he left office in 2003. Two of his close aids were also charged over the so-called cash-for-summit scandal involving payments to North Korea ahead of a historic meeting in 2000. Kim apologized in 2008.

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His successor Roh Moo-hyun faced and survived an impeachment process, allowing him to govern until 2008. He killed himself after an investigation into a bribery scandal in 2009 alleged he took $6 million in bribes from a businessman while in office.

Park's predecessor, Lee Myung-bak, whose presidential term ended in 2013, seemed to have broken the cycleat least until a few weeks ago, when authorities moved to arrest Lee on charges of bribery, embezzlement and tax evasion on March 22, as The New York Times reported.

04_06_Lee

Jung Yeon-je/Pool/Reuters

At the root of South Korea's corruption is the cozy relationship between government officials and the large family conglomerates running the country's biggest corporations who too often end up in jail on bribery and embezzlement charges.

Can current president Moon Jae-in's legacy survive untarnished by scandals? Moon approached the presidency with a promise to fight corruption and vowed to only appoint cabinet members who'd match rigorous ethical standards. Upholding this promise created several delays, Reuters reported, due to the difficulty in finding such clean candidates.

Still early in his term after his election in May last year, Moon so far enjoys widespread popular support and a reputation for moral integrityhe even avoids professional meetings with friends to avoid any suspicion, The Economist reported.

Presidential spokesperson Kim Eui-kyum commented on Park's sentencing in a statement. "It is said that those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. We will not forget today," he said.

This article was first written by Newsweek

More from Newsweek
By Rinat Sagdiev, Maria Tsvetkova and Olena Vasina MOSCOW/KIEV (Reuters) - In a corner of the departures area at Rostov airport in southern Russia, a group of about 130 men, many of them carrying overstuffed military-style rucksacks, lined up at four check-in desks beneath screens that showed no flight number or destination. When a Reuters reporter asked the men about their destination, one said: "We signed a piece of paper  we're not allowed to say anything. Any minute the boss will come and we'll get into trouble. "You too," he warned. The chartered Airbus A320 waiting on the tarmac for them had just flown in from the Syrian capital, Damascus, disgorging about 30 men with tanned faces into the largely deserted arrivals area. Most were in camouflage gear and khaki desert boots. Some were toting bags from the Damascus airport duty-free. The men were private Russian military contractors, the latest human cargo in a secretive airlift using civilian planes to ferry military support to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in his six-year fight against rebels, a Reuters investigation of the logistical network behind Assad's forces has uncovered. The Airbus they flew on was just one of dozens of aircraft that once belonged to mainstream European and U.S. aviation companies, then were passed through a web of intermediary companies and offshore firms to Middle Eastern airlines subject to U.S. sanctions  moves that Washington alleges are helping Syria bypass the sanctions. The flights in and out of Rostov, which no organization has previously documented, are operated by Cham Wings, a Syrian airline hit with U.S. sanctions in 2016 for allegedly transporting pro-Assad fighters to Syria and helping Syrian military intelligence transport weapons and equipment. The flights, which almost always land late at night, don't appear in any airport or airline timetables, and fly in from either Damascus or Latakia, a Syrian city where Russia has a military base. The operation lays bare the gaps in the U.S. sanctions, which are designed to starve Assad and his allies in Iran's Revolutionary Guard and the Hezbollah militia of the men and materiel they need to wage their military campaign. It also provides a glimpse of the methods used to send private Russian military contractors to Syria  a deployment the Kremlin insists does not exist. Russian officials say Moscow's presence is limited to air strikes, training of Syrian forces and small numbers of special forces troops. Reuters reporters staked out the Rostov airport, logged the unusual flights using publicly available flight-tracking data, searched aircraft ownership registries and conducted dozens of interviews, including a meeting at a fashionable restaurant with a former Soviet marine major on a U.S. government blacklist. Asked about the flights and the activities of Russian private military contractors in Syria, a spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin referred Reuters to the Defence Ministry  which didn't reply to the questions. The Syrian government also didn't reply to questions. In response to detailed Reuters questions, Cham Wings said only that information on where it flies was available on its website. The flights to Rostov aren't mentioned on the site. But the journeys do appear in online flight-tracking databases. Reporters traced flights between the Rostov airport and Syria from Jan. 5, 2017, to March 11, 2018. In that time, Cham Wings aircraft made 51 round trips, each time using Airbus A320 jets that can carry up to 180 passengers. The issue of military casualties is highly sensitive in Russia, where memories linger of operations in Chechnya and Afghanistan that dragged on for years. Friends and relatives of the contractors suspect Moscow is using the private fighters in Syria because that way it can put more boots on the ground without risking regular soldiers, whose deaths have to be accounted for. Forty-four regular Russian service personnel have died in Syria since the start of the operation there in September 2015, Russian authorities have said. A Reuters tally based on accounts from families and friends of the dead and local officials suggests that at least 40 contractors were killed between January and August 2017 alone. One contractor killed in Syria left Russia on a date that tallies with one of the mysterious nighttime flights out of Rostov, his widow said. The death certificate issued by the Russian consulate in Damascus gave his cause of death as "haemorrhagic shock from shrapnel and bullet wounds." TRYING TO CHOKE OFF ASSAD'S ACCESS TO AIRCRAFT To sustain his military campaign against rebels, Assad and his allies in Russia, Iran and the Hezbollah militia need access to civilian aircraft to fly in men and supplies. Washington has tried to choke off access to the aircraft and their parts through export restrictions on Syria and Iran and through Treasury Department sanctions blacklisting airlines in those countries. The Treasury Department has also blacklisted several companies outside Syria, accusing them of acting as middlemen. "These actions demonstrate our resolve to target anyone who is enabling Assad and his regime," John E. Smith, director of the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control, said in testimony to a congressional committee in November. In recent years, dozens of planes have been registered in Ukraine to two firms, Khors and Dart, that were founded by a former Soviet marine major and his onetime military comrades, according to the Ukraine national aircraft register. The planes were then sold or leased and ended up being operated by Iranian and Syrian airlines, according to the flight-tracking data. One of the companies, Khors, and the former marine major, Sergei Tomchani, have been on a U.S. Commerce Department blacklist since 2011 for allegedly exporting aircraft to Iran and Syria without obtaining licenses from Washington. But in the past seven years, Khors and Dart have managed to acquire or lease 84 second-hand Airbus and Boeing aircraft by passing the aircraft through layers of non-sanctioned entities, according to information collated by Reuters from national aircraft registers. Of these 84 aircraft, at least 40 have since been used in Iran, Syria and Iraq, according to data from three flight-tracking websites, which show the routes aircraft fly and give the call sign of the company operating them. In September, the U.S. Treasury Department added Khors and Dart to its sanctions blacklist, saying they were helping sanctioned airlines procure U.S.-made aircraft. Khors and Dart, as well as Tomchani, have denied any wrongdoing related to supplying planes to sanctioned entities. The ownership histories of some of the aircraft tracked by Reuters showed how the U.S. restrictions on supplies to Iranian and Syrian airlines may be skirted. As the ownership skips from one country to the next, the complex paper trail masks the identity of those involved in Syria's procurement of the planes. One of the Cham Wings Airbus A320 jets that has made the Rostov-Syria trip was, according to the Irish aircraft register, once owned by ILFC Ireland Limited, a subsidiary of Dublin-based AerCap, one of the world's biggest aircraft-leasing firms. In January 2015, the aircraft was removed from the Irish register, said a spokesman for the Irish Aviation Authority, which administers the register. For the next two months, the aircraft, which carried the identification number EI-DXY, vanished from national registers before showing up on the aircraft register in Ukraine. The Ukrainian register gave its new owner as Gresham Marketing Ltd, which is registered in the British Virgin Islands. The owners of the company are two Ukrainians, Viktor Romanika and Nikolai Saverchenko, according to corporate documents leaked from the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca. Ukrainian business records show they are managers in small local businesses. Contacted by phone, Romanika said he knew nothing and hung up. Saverchenko couldn't be reached by phone and didn't respond to a letter delivered to the address listed for him. In March 2015, Gresham leased EI-DXY to Dart, according to the Ukrainian aircraft register. The identification number was changed to a Ukrainian number, UR-CNU. On Aug. 20, 2015, Khors became the aircraft's operator, the register showed. A representative of the Ukraine State Aviation Service said the register was not intended as official confirmation of ownership but that there had been no complaints about the accuracy of its information. From April that year, the aircraft was flown by Cham Wings, according to data from the flight-tracking websites. Gillian Culhane, a spokeswoman for AerCap, the firm whose subsidiary owned the plane in 2015, didn't respond to written questions or answer repeated phone calls seeking comment about what AerCap knew about the subsequent owners and operators of the plane. Dart and Khors didn't respond to questions about the specific aircraft. Four lawyers specializing in U.S. export rules say that transactions involving aircraft that end up in Iran or Syria carry significant risks for Western companies supplying the planes or equipment. Even if they had no direct dealings with a sanctioned entity, the companies supplying the aircraft can face penalties or restrictions imposed by the U.S. government, the lawyers said. The lawyers, however, said that the legal exposure for aircraft makers such as Boeing and Airbus was minimal, because the trade involves second-hand aircraft that are generally more than 20 years old, and the planes had been through a long chain of owners before ending up with operators subject to sanctions. Two of the lawyers, including Edward J. Krauland, who leads the international regulation and compliance group at law firm Steptoe & Johnson, said U.S. export rules apply explicitly to Boeing aircraft because they're made in the United States. But they can also apply to Airbus jets because, in many cases, a substantial percentage of the components is of U.S. origin. Boeing said in a statement: "The aircraft transactions described that are the subject of your inquiry did not involve The Boeing Company. Boeing maintains a robust overall trade control and sanctions compliance program." An Airbus spokesman said, "Airbus fully respects all applicable legal requirements with regard to transactions with countries under U.N., EU, UK and U.S. sanctions." WAR-ZONE FLIGHTS When Reuters sent a series of questions to Khors and Dart about their activities, Tomchani, the former marine major, called the reporter within minutes. He said he was no longer a shareholder in either firm but was acting as a consultant to them, and that the questions had been passed on to him. He invited the reporter to meet the following day at the high-end Velyur restaurant in Kiev, the Ukrainian capital. In the 90-minute meeting, he denied providing aircraft to Iran or Syria. Instead, he said, Khors and Dart had provided aircraft to third parties, which he did not identify. Those third parties, he said, supplied the planes on to the end users. "We did not supply aircraft to Iran," Tomchani, a man of military bearing in his late 50s, said as he sipped herbal tea. "We have nothing to do with supplying aircraft to Cham Wings." Neither Dart nor Khors could have sold or leased aircraft to Cham Wings because they were not the owners of the aircraft, he said. Tomchani used to serve in a marine unit of the Soviet armed forces in Vladivostok, on Russia's Pacific coast. In 1991, after quitting the military with the rank of major, he set up Khors along with two other officers in his unit. Tomchani and his partners made a living by flying Soviet-built aircraft, sold off cheap after the collapse of the Soviet Union, in war zones. Khors flew cargoes in Angola for the Angolan government and Defence Ministry and aid agencies during its civil war. Tomchani said his companies also operated flights in Iraq after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, transporting private security contractors. Ukraine's register of business ownership showed that Tomchani ceased to be a shareholder in Khors after June 2010 and that he gave up his interest in Dart at some point after April 2011. He told Reuters he sold his stakes to "major businessmen," but declined to name them. He did say, however, that the people listed at the time of the interview in Ukraine's business register as the owners of the two companies were merely proxies. One of the owners in the register was a mid-ranking Khors executive, one was an 81-year-old accountant for several Kiev firms, and another was someone with the same name and address as a librarian from Melitopol in southeast Ukraine. According to the business register, the owner of 25 percent in Khors is someone called Vladimir Suchkov. The address listed for him in the register is No. 33, Elektrikov Street, Kiev. That's the same address as the one listed in Ukrainian government procurement documents for military unit No. A0515, which comes under the command of the Ukrainian Defence Ministry's Main Intelligence Directorate. Tomchani said he and Suchkov were old acquaintances. "He wasn't a bad specialist," Tomchani said. "A young lad, but not bad." He said he believed Suchkov was living in Russia. Reuters was unable to contact Suchkov. A telephone number listed for him was out of service. The Ukrainian Intelligence Directorate's acting head, Alexei Bakumenko, told Reuters that Suchkov doesn't work there. Reuters found no evidence of any other link between the trade in aircraft and Ukraine's broader spy apparatus. Ukrainian military intelligence said it has no knowledge of the supply of aircraft to Syria, has no connection to the transport of military contractors from Russia to Syria, and hasn't cooperated with Khors, Dart or Cham Wings. On Jan. 9 this year, Dart changed its name to Alanna, and listed a new address and founders, according to the Ukrainian business register. On March 1, a new company, Alanna Air, took over Alanna's assets and liabilities, the register showed. CONTRACTORS COME BACK IN CASKETS Although Moscow denies it is sending private military contractors to Syria, plenty of people say that's untrue. Among them are dozens of friends and former colleagues of the fighters and people associated with the firm that recruits the men  a shadowy organization known as Wagner with no offices, not even a brass plaque on a door. It was founded by Dmitry Utkin, a former military intelligence officer, according to people interviewed during this investigation. Its first combat role was in eastern Ukraine in support of Moscow-backed separatists, they said. Reuters was unable to contact Utkin directly. The League of Veterans of Local Conflicts, which according to Russian media has ties to Utkin, declined to pass on a message to him, saying it had no connection to the Wagner group. Russia has 2,000 to 3,000 contractors fighting in Syria, said Yevgeny Shabayev, local leader of a paramilitary organization in Russia who is in touch with some of the men. In a single battle in February this year, about 300 contractors were either killed or wounded, according to a military doctor and two other sources familiar with the matter. A Russian private military contractor who has been on four missions to Syria said he arrived there on board a Cham Wings flight from Rostov. The flights were the main route for transporting the contractors, said the man, who asked to be identified only by his first name, Vladimir. He said the contractors occasionally use Russian military aircraft too, when they can't all fit on the Cham Wings jets. Two employees at Rostov airport talked to Reuters about the men on the mysterious flights to Syria. "Our understanding is that these are contractors," said an employee who said he assisted with boarding for several of the Syria flights. He pointed to their destination, the fact there were no women among them and that they carried military-style rucksacks. He spoke on condition of anonymity, saying he wasn't authorized to speak to the media. Reuters wasn't able to establish how many passengers were carried between Russia and Syria, and it is possible that some of those on board were not in Syria in combat roles. Some may have landed in Damascus, then flown to other destinations outside Syria. Interviews with relatives of contractors killed in Syria also indicate the A320 flights to Rostov are used to transport Russian military contractors. The widow of one contractor killed in Syria said the last time she spoke to her husband by phone was on Jan. 21 last year  the same day, according to flight-tracking data, that a Cham Wings charter flew to Syria. "He called on the evening of the 21st ... There were men talking and the sound of walkie-talkies. And by the 22nd he was already not reachable. Only text messages were reaching him," said the woman, who had previously visited her husband at a training camp for the contractors in southern Russia. After he was killed, she said, his body was delivered to Russia. She received a death certificate saying he had died of "haemorrhagic shock from shrapnel and bullet wounds." The widows of two other contractors killed in Syria described how their husbands' bodies arrived back home. Like the first widow, they spoke on condition of anonymity. They said representatives of the organization that recruited their husbands warned of repercussions if they spoke to the media. The two contractors had been on previous combat tours, their widows said. The women said they received death certificates giving Syria as the location of death. Reuters saw the certificates: On one, the cause of death was listed as "carbonization of the body"  in other words, he burned to death. The other man bled to death from multiple shrapnel wounds, the certificate said. One of the widows recounted conversations with her husband after he returned from his first tour of duty to Syria. He told her that Russian contractors there are often sent into the thick of the battle and are the first to enter captured towns, she said. Syrian government forces then come into the town and raise their flags, he told her, taking credit for the victory. ((Additional reporting by Christian Lowe, Anton Zverev, Gleb Stolyarov and Denis Pinchuk in Moscow and Joel Schectman and Lesley Wroughton in Washington; editing by Kari Howard and Richard Woods))
Paul R. Pillar

Syria, Middle East

Syria and Donald Trump's Impulses

Impending decisions about U.S. troops in Syria will be the next significant outcome of the continuing tussle, between a presidents urges and his appointees, that constitutes Donald Trumps foreign policy. Given Trumps limited attention span and the erratic way in which he allows others to influence his decisions, however, policy on Syria will not necessarily reflect a larger pattern extending to other issues.

A dominant theme in much current commentary about Trumps presidency is that, after more than a year in office, he at last feels comfortable in reverting fully to the demagogic habits and themes that characterized him as a campaigner. According to this interpretation, he no longer feels constrained by subordinatessuch as outgoing Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and outgoing national security adviser H.R. McMasterwho have annoyed Trump with advice counseling him to go in some other direction. Trump-as-campaigner talked about staying out of Middle East wars, and in recent days he has said about U.S. troops in Syria that its time to come back home. But there is no indication of any more strategic thought underlying that position than underlie Trump-the-campaigners other applause lines. There is no deeper commitment than there has been with Trumps assertion that he had opposed the invasion of Iraqan assertion that is a lie.

Besides, an early pullout of those troops would step on some of Trumps other applause lines. During the campaign, Trump repeatedly attacked Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton for what Trump charged was a too-soon pullout of troops from Iraq. That position was just as shallow as what Trump has said on related issues, and it contradicted what Trump had said earlier on the same subject. But the applause line that was part of a winning campaign in 2016 would be the pertinent position in Trumps mind, and he probably would not want to invite charges that he was pulling out too soon from Syria.

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In his obsession with doing somethinganythingthat is different from what Obama did, Trump already has moved in a direction on Syria that is more hawkish rather than more dovish than Obamas policies. This was especially true of the cruise missile attack that Trump ordered against Syria one year ago in response to reported Syrian use of chemical weaponsan attack that does not seem to have been any more successful in resolving the chemical weapons issue in Syria than anything the previous administration did.

The Blobthe dominant Washington thinking on national security matterswill push against any inclination by Trump to pull U.S. troops out of Syria. The Blobs push will reflect its usual assumption that it is up to the United States to do something, and especially something involving military force, to deal with any bit of mayhem that arises anywhere in the world. And now Trump will have at his side John Bolton, who never met a war or a prospective war he didnt like. Boltons presence in the West Wing and Trumps tendency to sway with the last person he talks to may be the strongest influence yet leading to U.S. troops staying in Syria.

Thus the most likely outcome of this latest contest to direct Donald Trumps impulses will be more of the same. There may be reports of Trump telling his advisers that he would like to get out of Syria within months or to do so when there have been positive results, but this would not reflect any strategy offering credible reasons that significant positive results would be attained during such a time frame. There will be continued refusal to recognize the implications of the Assad regime winning the Syrian civil war. There will continue to be no effort by the current administration to obtain congressional authorization for involvement in a foreign war for reasons that go beyond defeat of a terrorist group. And there will be no vigorous administration participation in multilateral diplomacy that is needed to prevent Syria from becoming any more of a cauldron of international conflict than it already is.

Image: An ambulance is seen during medical evacuation from the besieged town of Douma, eastern Ghouta to Damascus, Syria December 26, 2017. Picture taken December 26, 2017. REUTERS/Bassam Khabieh

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BEIRUT (Reuters) - The Syrian rebel group Jaish al-Islam does not want to close the door on negotiations with Russia to reach a peaceful settlement to the conflict over the town of Douma near Damascus, its political official Mohammad Alloush said on Friday. "We don't want to close the door that can lead to sparing the blood of civilians and reaching a peaceful situation," he said in an interview with al-Hadath TV. Alloush also denied the group had shelled residential areas of Damascus. Separately, Jaish al-Islam military spokesman in Douma said the group's artillery and rocket brigade was targeting government forces in response to "the massacre committed by the Assad militias and their ally the Russian war planes". (Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Angus MacSwan)
ANKARA (Reuters) - A tanker crashed into a historic mansion on the shores of Istanbul's Bosphorus on Saturday after its steering equipment became locked, broadcaster CNN Turk said, adding that traffic in the strait had been suspended in both directions. Towboats and coast guard vessels were sent to the area after the crash and the "Vitaspirit" tanker, carrying a Maltese flag, was pulled back from the crash site and brought to shore, CNN Turk said. There were no immediate reports of casualties, but footage from the crash showed extensive damage to the historic seaside mansion located under the Fatih Sultan Mehmet bridge, one of the three crossings between Istanbul's Asian and European sides. The Hekimbasi Salih Efendi Mansion has stood on the shores of the Bosphorus Strait since the 18th century and is used to host weddings and concerts, according to the mansion's website. The Bosphorus is one of the world's most important choke points for maritime oil transports, with more than 3 percent of global supply - mainly from Russia and the Caspian Sea - passing through the 17-mile waterway connecting the Black Sea to the Mediterranean. It is also used by vessels carrying grain from Russia and Kazakhstan to international markets. (Reporting by Umit Bektas; Writing by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
A judge on Thursday sentenced an Alabama teenager to 65 years in prison for a series of crimes, including murder, even though a police officer was the one who actually killed the victim.

Lakeith Smith, now 18, was convicted under the states accomplice liability law in March. Based on that law, a person can be convicted of felony murder if they were committing a crime with the deceased that led to the other persons death, according to the Montgomery Advertiser. Most U.S. states have similar laws.

In Smiths case, he was involved in burglaries alongside ADonte Washington, 16, when a police officer shot and killed Washington in 2015.

Lakeith Smith in a booking photo. (Photo: Elmore County Jail)

In February 2015, both Smith and Washington were part of a group of five who broke into two houses in Millbrook, Alabama, the Advertiser reports. When police responded to the scene, the two sides exchanged gunfire. Body camera footage played in court showed Washington running towards an officer pointing a gun at him. The officer then shot and killed Washington.

Circuit Judge Sibley Reynolds sentenced Smith to 65 years in prison on Thursday  30 years for a felony murder, 15 for burglary and two 10-year sentences for theft.

The officer shot Adonte, not Lakeith Smith, said Smiths attorney Jennifer Holton during the trial, as per USA Today. Lakeith was a 15-year-old child, scared to death. He did not participate in the act that caused the death of Adonte. He never shot anybody.

Though Smith was a minor when the incident took place, he was tried as an adult.

In March, Smith declined a plea deal that would have sentenced him to 25 years in prison; he was convicted later that month.

The other three defendants involved in the burglaries have all entered guilty pleas, Fox 8 Live reports. One has been sentenced to 28 years in prison, while the other two have not yet been sentenced.

And as for the Millbrook police officer who actually killed Washington? A grand jury cleared him of any wrongdoing back in 2016, saying he was justified in fatally shooting Washington, WSFA reported at the time.

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This article has been updated to clarify that most U.S. states have laws similar to Alabama's.

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The family of Marquise Byrd, who was killed when a group of teens threw a sandbag from a bridge in Ohio, is distraught that the kids will not serve jail time.

The 22-year-old, of Michigan, died after the group, who were all 13 or 14, dropped the sandbag from an overpass onto Interstate 75 in December. Byrd died three days after the incident.

The teens previously pleaded guilty in juvenile court to charges of murder, manslaughter and vehicular vandalism.

All four boys, whom InsideEdition.com has chosen not to identify, will go to the youth treatment center for at least eight months.

The four convicted teens apologized in court to the victim's family.

Lillian Diallo, the attorney for Byrds family, expressed her disapproval after the hearing, reports said.

What madness is this? Where we dont have to take responsibility for whatever age we are? What is this? Diallo asked.

Byrds mother, Patricia Wilkes, said despite the sentence, shell still never be able to see her son again.

This incident has disrupted my entire life, my entire family, Wilkes told the Toledo Blade. Now, my life is in shambles. For one, every day I wake up and I go to sleep thinking about my son lying there in that hospital bed.

Byrd was engaged at the time of his death and leaves behind a 2-year-old son.

Byrd's death was similar to that of another Michigan man, 32-year-old Kenneth White, who died when five teens allegedly threw several rocks off Interstate 75 in October.

The teens, Kyle Anger, 17, Alexander Miller, 15, Mark Sekelsky, 16, Mikadyn Payne, 16, and Trevor Gray, 15, were charged with second-degree murder and will be tried as adults.

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(Photo: Zach Gibson via Getty Images)

If you follow the activities of Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), you could be forgiven for having no idea that he oversees the chief investigative arm of the legislative branch.

The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, which Gowdy chairs, is designed to be a watchdog for the American people. It has unique and distinct authority to conduct oversight of the executive branch. The chairman has the unilateral authority to issue a subpoena to compel testimony at a congressional hearing and the production of documents, records and emails. The chairman can compel any federal government employee to participate in an on-the-record deposition. If the chairman calls for a congressional hearing to scrutinize a member of the Cabinet, that secretary must show up.

I spent more than four years working as spokesman and senior adviser for Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) when he was chairman of the oversight committee during the Obama administration. During that time, the panel held more than 350 full-committee and subcommittee hearings, sent more than 2,000 letters requesting information from government agencies, and issued more than 100 subpoenas.

And yet Gowdy, who was a vocal participant in the oversight committees agenda from 2010 until the end of Barack Obamas presidency, had the audacity to go on national television last week and suggest Congress has proven itself incapable of conducting serious investigations.

Due respect Mr. Gowdy, but how the hell would you know?

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt has taken 35 trips in the last year in a flagrant display of waste, fraud, abuse and mismanagement, and you cant be bothered to take a break from your book tour to hold a hearing on the matter.

Thats quite a contrast from the Trey Gowdy who sat in a 2012 committee hearing and lambasted the General Services Administration for wasteful spending: I want indictments. Thats a great way to get peoples attention. Not a memo, not a report. An indictment.

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In the 10 months since he assumed the chairmanship, Gowdy has held fewer than 10 full-committee hearings centered on oversight and has issued zero subpoenas. In fact, last month, Gowdy and Republicans on the panel blocked a request from ranking member Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) to consider Democrats request to allow a debate and vote on 13 subpoenas. Since Donald Trump became president, Gowdy and his Republican colleagues have rejected requests to consider subpoenas 32 times.

Meanwhile, committee Democrats have been vigilant in their pursuit of answers on behalf of American taxpayers.

This week alone, Democratic members have called on Gowdy to hold a hearing about Pruitts questionable activities and asked the chairman to issue a subpoena to the EPA.

They asked the Commerce Department to provide documents related to its controversial decision to ask about citizenship on the 2020 census.

They requested documents from the executive branchs Office of Government Ethics concerning a legal defense fund established to help White House staff, Trump campaign officials and transition team members under investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller and Congress.

Cummings asked Gowdy to subpoena the administration for documents regarding reports that onetime Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort promised the job of Army secretary to a banker who lent him millions of dollars.

He also sent a letter to Cambridge Analytica requesting information on its political activities in the United States.

As ranking member, Cummings knows full well that the Trump administration will not voluntarily cooperate with him. He knows that Gowdy is too busy promoting his book to do his actual job and hold hearings. He knows that Republicans, who had no issue with the committee issuing subpoenas like drunken sailors during the Obama years, will continue to obstruct Democrats efforts to hold the Trump administration accountable. But Cummings also knows that a blue wave is forming that could usher him into the chairmanship in nine months.

When the 116th Congress convenes in January 2019, Cummings will be prepared to unleash an oversight onslaught that could immobilize the Trump presidency. Federal agencies wont be getting document requests asking for their voluntary cooperation  theyll be served subpoenas. Administration officials will be forced to take centerstage, raise their right hand, and testify under oath at public congressional oversight hearings to answer for their mismanagement and abuse of taxpayer dollars.

Theyll no longer have Republican cronies like Trey Gowdy turning a blind eye to their incompetence and misconduct.

Kurt Bardella is a HuffPost columnist. He is a former spokesman and senior adviser for former House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.). Follow him on Twitter at @kurtbardella.

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Warning: Contains spoilers for the movie Chappaquiddick

The evening of July 18, 1969, started out as an ordinary midsummers night for one of Americas most extraordinary families.

Senator Edward Ted Kennedy  who had come to Marthas Vineyard to race in the Edgartown Regatta on the familys prized Victura sailboat  was at a cookout for former volunteers and staffers on the 1968 presidential campaign of his brother Robert F. Kennedy, who had just been assassinated the month prior. The party was at a rented cottage on Chappaquiddick Island, and Ted Kennedy attended with Paul Markham, who worked on his 1962 senatorial campaign, and Joseph Gargan, a cousin. Late in the night, he left the party in a black Oldsmobile with 28-year-old Mary Jo Kopechne, who had worked on the RFK campaign.

Then tragedy struck.

The car, with Kennedy at the wheel, careened off the islands Dike Bridge. Kennedy managed to extricate himself from the overturned vehicle, but Kopechne drowned. Kennedy reported the accident to the police at 9:30 a.m. the next day.

That delay in reporting remains the central mystery surrounding the incident, and the resulting scandal destroyed any hopes of another Kennedy in the nations highest office. About a week after the fall, Kennedy told the world in a televised address from his home that he had been overcomeby a jumble of emotions in the wake of the event, in a statement masterminded by Ted Sorenson and a damage-control dream team of people who had served in his brother Johns administration. But weeks later, and even now, many agreed with Kopechnes mother when she said she could not understand what had happened: Why didnt they get help?

In John Currans new movie on the scandal (out April 6, starring Jason Clarke as Ted Kennedy, Kate Mara as Kopechne, Ed Helms as Gargan, and Jim Gaffigan as Markham), footage of the realization of the Senators brothers dreams  the Apollo 11 astronauts landing on the Moon on July 20 per JFKs order to get there by the end of the decade  is woven into the movies narrative of Ted Kennedys political dreams being dashed.

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The Kennedy debacle became a topic of more interest in much of Washington and elsewhere in the country than mans landing on the Moon, as TIME reported in its Aug. 1, 1969, cover story on the scandal. Psychiatrists even speculated that the turn on the wrong path was some sort of subconscious desire to escape the path on Kennedys part, to avoid the burdens of becoming a presidential candidate.

Though the film is primarily set during the week-long period between the scandal and Kennedys televised mea culpa, the timeline is based on the accounts documented in a Jan. 1970 inquest into whether there was evidence of any criminal act beyond the misdemeanor to which Kennedy had pleaded guilty, which was the leaving the scene of an accident. (He received a suspended sentence of two months.) In terms of why he did not call the authorities to help rescue Kopechne, the Senator explained that he was convinced it was too late for her.

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Heres how TIME reported key details about the accident in the inquest:

The transcript told a great deal about Kennedys state of mind at the time of the accident. In a televised act of contrition a week after Chappaquiddick, the Senator was uncertain as to the length of time he spent trying to rescue Mary Jo and vague as to how long it took him to make his way back to the cottage where his friends were partying. By the time of the inquest, his memory had improved considerably. His testimony vividly described his and Mary Jos struggles to get out of the overturned car and his own seemingly miraculous escape: I can remember the last sensation of being completely out of air and inhaling what must have been half a lungful of water and assuming that I was going to drown and that no one was going to be looking for us that night until the next morning, and then somehow I can remember coming up to the last energy of just pushing, pressing and coming up to the surface.

He was even more specific on what happened after he surfaced and caught his breath some 30 feet downstream from the car. According to his account, he dived down to the car seven or eight times during a 15-to 20-minute period, trying to reach Mary Jo, then spent another 15 or 20 minutes resting on the bank before starting down the road to the cottage.

Kennedys companions placed his return to the cottage at 12:15 a.m. Gargan and Markham told almost identical stories of their return to the bridge with Kennedy, and their attempts to bring up Mary Jo. Gargan and Markham insisted that they advised Kennedy repeatedly to report the accident and summon help. By the time the trio reached the Chappaquiddick ferry landing, Kennedy seemed to agree. Believing somehow that a full explanation would send Mary Jos girl friends down to the bridge in a fruitlessand dangerous attempt to dive for her themselves, Kennedy instructed Markham and Gargan not to alarm them, said that he would take care of reporting the accident, then plunged alone into the channel and swam across to Edgartown. This despite the fact that the ferry could have been summoned by telephone. Gargan acknowledged that earlier in the day he had discussed post-midnight ferry service with the boat operators. Also, a sign giving instructions about the service was at the landing.

Kennedy did not report the accident on reaching Edgartown. Instead, he returned to his hotel, changed his clothes and, after a brief conversation with Innkeeper Russell Peachey in which he pointedly asked the time (2:25 a.m.), paced the floor of his room until daylight. Then occurred one of the more bizarre events in an already fantastic case. Rhode Island Businessman Ross Richards, who had won the previous days sailing race, testified that he ran into Kennedy outside the hotel around 7:30 a.m. Giving no indication in manner or appearance that anything out of the ordinary had happened, Kennedy calmly discussed boating, even said that he might accept Richards invitation to join him and his friends for breakfast.

He was still chatting with Richards and others when Gargan and Markham arrived at the hotel and asked him what he had done about the accident. He had done nothing. As Kennedy explained at the inquest: I just couldnt gain the strength within me, the moral strength, to call Mrs. Kopechne at 2 in the morning and tell her that her daughter was dead. It was 9 before Kennedy notified the police. It was still lateraround 11 a.m.that Gargan told the five women who had been at the party that Mary Jo was dead.

The release of the transcript and Justice Boyles report seemed to preclude any further criminal action against Kennedy, though a new grand jury investigation is theoretically possible. But it did nothing to solve the mysteries that still surround the case or to resolve the doubts about Kennedys veracity. It also failed to account for local officials inept handling of the case from beginning to end. Police Chief Dominick Arena never asked Kennedy why he had not reported the accident for nine hours. District Attorney Edmund Dinis seemed noticeably reluctant to enter the case at all, then pressed belatedlyand vainlyfor court permission to exhume Mary Jos body so that an autopsy could be performed. His questions throughout the inquest were somewhat less than probing. Justice Boyles handling of the inquest findings was inconclusive. He was empowered to bring charges, such as negligent driving or perjury, against Kennedy if he felt that they were warranted; instead, he merely wrote a report implying negligence and questioning Kennedys credibility. Last week Boyle, 63, retired after 36 years of court service.

A grand jury also looked into the case, and on April 1970, it was concluded that there was not enough evidence to indict Kennedy on any charges.

The accidents run in the courts thus ended, but it would keep coming up throughout Kennedys life. A TIME-Harris poll published in the Aug. 8, 1969, issue found that while 68% of Americans agreed that the same thing could have happened to anyone, at the same time 40% agreed with that his reaction showed that he should not be given high public trust, such as being President. (On that last question 45% disagreed, and 15% were unsure.) It dogged him during failed presidential runs in 1972, 1976 and 1984. NOBODY DROWNED AT WATERGATE, some bumper stickers read. A TIME analysis of whether he could win in 1972 deduced that he couldnt carry the Midwest because of the question of what a married man was doing in a car with a single woman in the first place. On the 1980 presidential campaign trail, Jimmy Carter made a dig at Kennedy by saying he had never panicked in a crisis  thought to be a coded reference to Kennedy fleeing the scene.

His self-confessed inexplicable behavior in a moment of stress raises the issue of how he might act in a major crisis, a TIME essay on how the public judges political scandals put it in the immediate aftermath of the event. His carefully prepared and yet unsatisfying explanation leaves room for the suspicion that he was somehow trying to escape blame for his actions.

But, of course, the scandal didnt actually keep him from having a political career. As a U.S. Senator from Massachusetts, he earned the nickname Lion of the Senate and left his mark on landmark laws ranging from the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to the Americans with Disabilities Act. That power trumps postpresidential twilight, TIME argued in his 2009 obituaryadding that, in fact, his failure to get to the presidency opened the way to the true fulfillment of his gifts, which was to become one of the greatest legislators in American history.
Doug Bandow

Security, Asia

Pyongyang is unlikely to abandon its nuclear weapons unless it believes that the regime would survive the aftermath.

Is the Trump Administration Sabotaging the Planned Summit with Kim Jong Un?

President Donald Trump is set to meet North Koreas Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un. The summit looks more serious after the latters surprise visit to China. It was Kims first meeting with Chinese president Xi Jinping. That would not have happened if Kim and especially Xi were not taking the prospect of negotiations with America seriously.

However, is the Trump administration equally serious? The presidents recent appointments suggest not. Or they suggest that he is not aware of what might be necessary to reach a denuclearization agreement with the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea.

The Kim dynasty has caused extraordinary suffering for the North Korean people. But that doesnt mean it is irrational or suicidal. To the contrary, three generations of Kims have played a weak hand well. And so far they have preserved their nations unique social system, as they call it.

The summit is no concession by Kim Jong-un. To the contrary, the DPRK long has insisted on bilateral negotiations with the United States. If the summit occurs, Kim will receive what his father and grandfather both wanted but never received: to be treated as an equal by the United States.

Is Kim prepared to give up a nuclear arsenal acquired at such great effort and cost? Probably not. He certainly wont do so for nothing. According to the South Koreans with whom Kim talked, in return Pyongyang expects security guarantees. Whatever the details, that would mean preserving the dynasty and precluding any U.S. attempt at regime change. The end of the U.S.-South Korean alliance and withdrawal of American troops could be conditions. Perhaps more.

In short, the North is unlikely to abandon nuclear weapons unless it believes that the regime would survive the aftermath. At least some advocates of war believe that simple intimidation will work. Fear of a massive attack will convince Kim to surrender, trusting his future to President Trumps professed beneficence and goodwill.

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That is plausible, but only if Pyongyang really imagines itself to be safer abandoning nuclear weapons. That would require believing Washington will not attempt regime change. Unfortunately, successive U.S. administrations have inadvertently created strong disincentives to nonproliferation.

Every U.S. president since Ronald Reagan has ousted at least one foreign government. President George W. Bush did two, along with terming the DPRK a member of the axis of evil and stating that he loathed Kim Jong-il, the current rulers father. President Barack Obama unsuccessfully attempted to oust Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and, more importantly, did help defenestrate Libyas Muammar Khadafy, who had negotiated away his nuclear weapons and missile programs with President Bush.

President Trump insists on rewriting or dropping the Iranian nuclear accord, or JCPOA, agreed to just three years ago. He may walk out of the agreement in May, the next deadline for extending the promised waiver of U.S. economic sanctions. Although some administration hard-liners fantasize that doing so would impress Pyongyang with the presidents toughness, instead it almost certainly would communicate that Washington cannot be trusted to fulfill any agreement made in the future. Giving up your most powerful weapons and leaving yourself vulnerable would be particularly foolish if your opponent proves to be simultaneously hostile and untrustworthy.

Moreover, the president has added staffers determined not only to destroy prior accords but overthrow existing regimes.

Prospective Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was a fierce opponent of the JCPOA and suggested support for regime change in North Korea. For instance, he told the Aspen Security Forum that It would be a great thing to denuclearize the peninsula, to get those weapons off of that, but the thing that is most dangerous about it is the character who holds the control over them today. He added, from the administrations perspective, the most important thing we can do is separate those two.

Despite acknowledging that Kim is rational, Pompeo hinted at supporting regime change. The Pentagon was working to do what ultimately needs to be achieved. The administration should address every piece of North Koreas threat. As for the regime, I am hopeful we will find a way to separate that regime from this system, he opined: Separate capacity and someone who might well have intent, and break those two apart. Moreover, "The North Korean people I'm sure are lovely people and would love to see him go." Pompeo also jokedpresumablythat Kim should vanish, given the history of the CIA, Im just not going to talk about it. Someone might think there was a coincidence.

Such sentiments are not likely to encourage Pyongyang to make a deal.

John Boltons views are even more threatening. He backed the Iraq War and justifies that position even today. In February 2003 he told Israeli officials that the administration planned to move on to Iran and Syria, ousting those nations rulers as well. (Apparently the Iraq debacle dissuaded President George W. Bush from following this plan.)

Bolton concocted a strategy for leaving the JCPOA, irrespective of Irans compliance. Moreover, he advocated preventive war against Iran, which did not possess nuclear weapons. Indeed, U.S. intelligence said Tehran had abandoned its nuclear program. Nevertheless, Bolton wrote an article entitled To Stop Irans Bomb, Bomb Iran. He was not troubled by the absence of palpable proof, since Irans steady progress toward nuclear weapons has long been evident, at least to him, if not to U.S. intelligence. Since the inescapable conclusion is that Iran will not negotiate away its nuclear program, military strikes were necessary. Bolton also explicitly advocated regime change before an audience of the Peoples Mujahedin of Iran, which is a cultish authoritarian organization long labeled as terrorist by the State Department.

More recently he advocated that the United States offer/impose a Libya-style deal on the North. The summit talks should be similar to discussions we had with Libya thirteen or fourteen years ago: how to pack up their nuclear weapons program and take it to Oak Ridge, Tennessee. He ignored how that arrangement worked for the man making the deal, Muammar el-Qaddafi. Washington spurred his ouster when a convenient arose, and he ended up being dragged through the streets, sodomized, and killed.

Even more striking is the fact that Bolton advocated Qaddafis death, if not in quite such gruesome fashion. In 2011 he advocated that the U.S. military launch strikes on Qaddafi personally: I think hes a legitimate target. Bolton did not simply advocate action that conceivably could lead to Qaddafis ouster and death, such as backing rebel forces. Bolton urged direct American bombing to kill Qaddafi. As for the denuclearization pact with the latter, Bolton believed it was the right thing to do. After all, nobody at the time thought it was a get-out-of-jail-free card in perpetuity. Had Qaddafi known that, he probably would not have approved the accord. And if Kim believes this to be current U.S. policy, he is unlikely to sign.

Finally, Bolton advocated war against the North. In February he wrote an article entitled The Legal Case for Striking North Korea First. In his view, It is perfectly legitimate for the United States to respond to the current necessity posed by North Koreas nuclear weapons by striking first. While it would be nice to get agreement from South Korea and Japan, no foreign government, even a close ally, can veto an action to protect Americans from Kim Jong-uns nuclear weapons, even if that attack could result in a devastating war involving that allied state.

As for the upcoming summit, said Bolton, I think this session between the two leaders could well be a fairly brief session where Trump says, Tell me you have begun total denuclearization, because were not going to have protracted negotiations, you can tell me right now or well start thinking of something else.

In return Bolton appears to be willing to offer, well, nothing, other than not bombing Pyongyang tomorrow. In an interview with Radio Free Asia he declared: I dont think we should offer them economic aid. . . . Theres no way we should give North Korea a peace treaty. Theyre lucky to have a meeting with the president of the United States. I think if they want economic progress for the people of North Korea, they should end the charade of a divided peninsula. They should ask for reunification with South Korea.

Now there is an incentive for Kim to give up his nuclear weapons!

Is the president committed to a peaceful settlement and does he have realistic expectations as to what the summit is likely to deliver? Much depends on the answer to these questions. A deliverable North Korean nuclear weapon would be bad. A war on the peninsula would be worse. Unfortunately, the presidents positions and actions suggest that he and his new appointees view war not as a tragic necessity, but an unexceptional, even routine policy option. If these factors determine future administration policy, the American people will be the losers.

Doug Bandow is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute and a former Special Assistant to President Ronald Reagan. He is author of Tripwire: Korea and U.S. Foreign Policy in a Changed World and coauthor of The Korean Conundrum: Americas Troubled Relations with North and South Korea.

Image: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meets scientists and technicians in the field of researches into nuclear weapons in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in Pyongyang March 9, 2016. REUTERS/KCNA/File Photo

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The U.S. and China are gearing up for a full-blown trade war.

On Tuesday, the Trump administration announced it is now pushing for $100 billion in additional tariffs on Chinese goods imported, on top of the $50 billion that was unveiled earlier this week.

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Reuters

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China retaliated yesterday with plans to implement $50 billion worth of tariffs across 106 U.S. products, targeting major American-made goods such as soybeans, types of aircrafts and corn products. The Chinese ministry also warned Beijing will not hesitate to enforce future tit-for-tat measures if the U.S. continues to escalate the trade war.

As a result, the stock markets have fluctuated rapidly. Republicans have also warned Trump against embarking on a war that would potentially deal an economic blow to politically crucial areas of the nation. Its unclear exactly how the trade war will develop, but the burden will undoubtedly fall unevenly on various industries and states.

Which States Will Be Hit Hardest in the Event of a Full-Blown Trade War?

Last year, the total value of goods that were exported from America to China reached $130 billion. Goods categorized under aerospace, soybeans, motor vehicles, electronics and paper made up more than half of these exports.

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In 2016, Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Louisiana and South Carolina exported more goods to China than other states, according to data tracked by the U.S. Census Bureau on international trade of goods. These states are among those that will be hit hardest by an escalating trade war.

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In 2017, Washington, California, Texas, Louisiana and South Carolina provided around 51 percent of total goods exported to China.

In addition, Iowa, South Dakota and Nebraska, are also states that will likely be impacted due to their reliance on exporting grains, such as corn and soybeans, goods that are on the Chinese government's list of 106 products that will be subject to additional tariffs of 25 percent.

If China implements its threats of tariffs on motor vehicles, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee will also be dealt a heavy blow. These states comprise a disproportionately large amount of people working in the automobile industry. According to figures from the Labor Departments Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, Michigan is home to around 180,000 jobs in the auto industry.

This article was first written by Newsweek

More from Newsweek
President Donald Trump's announcement that "it's time" to rapidly pull U.S. soldiers out of Syria within the next five to six months was met with opposition from every one of his top national security aides, according to the Associated Press.

Hours after telling reporters on Tuesday that it was time to pull the 2,000 American troops out of Syria, Trump sat down with his Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Pentagon, the State Department and the intelligence community in the Situation Room. The national security aides unanimously opposed the president's plan, warning that a swift withdrawal would allow the militant group known as the Islamic State, or ISIS, to reestablish itself, according to the AP. The wire service cited five administration officials who were briefed on the conversation.

Officials at the meeting included the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph Dunford, Defense Secretary James Mattis, CIA chief Mike Pompeo and acting Secretary of State John Sullivan.

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The top brass reportedly presented Trump with two options: Remain in Syria and prevent the Islamic State from regrouping, or pull out completely. The former was bolstered by several documents and pages with various options to remain in the country. The latter was a short description for total withdrawal accompanied by caveats on the sizable risk and consequences for such a decision, according to the AP.

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Bulent Kilic/AFP/Getty Images)

Trump wasnt swayed. Despite the united front, Trump passionately advocated for pulling out "quickly if not immediately," the AP reported.

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Trump asked the officials what the U.S. had received in return for the money and American lives lost in Syria, repeatedly answering the question himself. Nothing, he said, according to the AP. He made similar comments to reporters before the Situation Room meeting too: The Syrian conflict is "very costly for our country and it helps other countries a helluva lot more than it helps us, Trump said, according to the Washington Post.

During one exchange in the national security meeting, Dunford asked the president to give them specific orders, the AP reported. Trump was obstinate, again urging for an immediate withdrawal. Mattis later stepped, saying an immediate withdrawal isn't logistically feasible without opening the door to the Islamic State or other terror operations to fill the vacuum.

Thats when Trump recalibrated his vision for a total withdrawal by the fall.

On Wednesday, the following day, the White House issued a statement that the United States's military effort in Syria "is coming to a rapid end."

This article was first written by Newsweek

More from Newsweek
One year ago, President Donald Trump ordered a missile strike against an air base belonging to the forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad after accusing him of conducting a deadly chemical weapons attack. Today, the Republican leader has said he wants to withdraw the U.S. military from the conflict, where the defeat of a global jihadi network has given rise to new, even more complex battles.

Trump's cruise missile strike on the Al-Shayrat air base in the early hours of April 7, 2017, Damascus time, was met with international fanfare over what was seen then as the newly-sworn-in president's first major foreign policy move. However, the multimillion-dollar move reportedly failed to deter the airfield from operating for more than a day or two and marked the first intentional U.S. attack in Syria that fell outside the Pentagon's stated mission of defeating the Islamic State militant group (ISIS) and other radical Sunni Muslim groups.

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Daniel DePetris, a fellow at security-focused think tank Defense Priorities, said the strike did little more than set a dangerous precedent for unsanctioned and unilateral military action.

"I think its pretty clear that the attack was quite ineffective," DePetris told Newsweek. "It was a one-off strike detached from a larger policy and a decision driven more by emotion than a clear-headed, cost-benefit analysis.

"The larger point here is that the administration took an action that wasnt authorized by Congress on the front end and which had nothing at all to do with the original counter-ISIS mission," he added.

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Ford Williams/Courtesy U.S. Navy/Reuters

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About a week before Trump's strike, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N.Nikki Haley and then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson both suggested that the U.S. had ended its "Assad must go" stance in the conflict. The policy was adopted by former President Barack Obama in the early days of the 2011 uprising against the Syrian government and the CIA began a covert program to train and equip various insurgent groups battling the state.

The Syrian opposition received support from the West, Turkey and Gulf Arab countries, but grew more fragmented as radical forces became more influential. In 2013, ISIS spread from an ongoing post-2003 insurgency in Iraq to Syria, where the militants consumed most rebel territory. The U.S. and its coalition allies officially began their anti-ISIS mission in Syria in 2014, and established a mostly Kurdish militia called the Syrian Democratic Forces to serve as its partners against ISIS on the ground the following year.

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Around this time, Russia intervened at Assad's request, reversing rebel gains and handing him back major cities. Trump officially succeeded Obama in early 2017 and promised a reset with Moscow, even offering to join forces with Russia in the fight against ISIS. Reports of a sarin gas attack appeared to change his mind, however, and he chose to act quickly in targeting the Syrian military.

Rather than deter Assad, though, the Syrian leader and his Russian and Iranian allies continued to defeat rebels and jihadis in a violent campaign of airstrikes accompanied by regular Syrian troops and pro-government militias on the ground. Today, the Syrian government not only remains in power, it has also reclaimed the lion's share of the country.

The U.S.-led coalition, which managed to oust ISIS from its de facto capital of Raqqa last October, has begun to fracture on the other hand. U.S. ally Turkey staged its own counterterrorism offensive against U.S.-backed Kurdish groups considered by Ankara to be linked to the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). In response, Kurdish fighters rushed to defend their comrades in the north, forcing the U.S.-led coalition to suspend operations in the east and raising questions as to whether it had come time to end the mission.

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"Yes, bombing ISIS and partnering with the Syrian Democratic Forces has been effective in driving ISIS out of the areas they once controlled. But the bigger question is when is enough, enough? The U.S. military shouldnt be put in the position of being the regions praetorian guard for eternity," DePetris said.

"Trump is fundamentally correct that the people who live there need to embrace far more responsibility for their own security," he added.

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Instead of picking a new fight with Turkey on behalf of the Kurds, DePetris argued that the only reason the U.S. had backed Kurdish forces in the first place was "to kill ISIS and kill the caliphate. That's it." In Trump's debut Afghanistan strategy speech last August, he told a military audience that "we are not nation building again. We are killing terrorists." His administration also declined to support Iraqi Kurds in their bid independence bid after ISIS was on its last legs there as well.

With ISIS, Syria's universal enemy, having mostly left the picture last year, the multinational forces fighting it have turned on one another. Some Kurdish fighters have already chosen to abandon the U.S.-led effort in Syria and ally with the Syrian government in a separate battle with Turkey. Russia and Iran back Assad's calls to expel U.S. forces, but the Baathist leader's feud with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan complicated things as he was part of a tripartite effort with Moscow and Tehran to end the war.

DePetris said he seriously doubted Moscow's ability to handle the Syrian war in the long run, but argued that "the U.S. has very little leverage in Syria, to begin with. Who rules in Damascus and what Syrias political order looks like matters a lot to the Iranians, the Russians, and the Turksit doesnt matter a whole lot to the United States."

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Omar Sanadiki/Reuters

Sina Toossi, a researcher at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School, agreed U.S. options in Syria had become severely limitedly. He boiled the choice down to departing and claiming victory over ISIS or remaining to challenge Assad, Russia and Iranthe latter being the preferred option of U.S. allies Israel and Saudi Arabia, which share with the U.S. a distrust for Iran's growing influence in the region.

"Such a scenario would require increased dependence on Kurdish forces, which will further deteriorate U.S.-Turkish relations. Ankara has already directly militarily engaged the Syrian Democratic Forces in Afrin. If the U.S. doubles down on supporting the Syrian Democratic Forces at this stage it will likely push Turkey into an alliance with Russia and Iranputting the U.S. on hostile terms with all the outside powers that carry influence in Syria," Toosi told Newsweek.

"This option is also further complicated by the fact that the Syrian Kurds have already indicated they seek some modus vivendi with the Syrian regime. The Syrian Democratic Forces' hold on Arab territory such as Raqqa is tenuous and they have already solicited support from Syrian government forces in Afrin. Meanwhile, the Syrian regimes march to victory continues unabated and is seemingly irreversible unless there is a massive U.S. military intervention," Toosi said.

"Trump has not had a coherent Syria policy and it remains to be seen what his administration will do," he added. "But the direction of developments on Syria give a weaker case to those arguing for the US to continue its military intervention in the country."

This article was first written by Newsweek

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Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt testifies before the House Energy and Commerce Committee: Getty Images

Donald Trump has doubled down on his defence of Scott Pruitt, saying the chief of the Environmental Protection Agency is doing a great job but is TOTALLY under siege.

Mr Pruitt has been under mounting scrutiny in recent weeks, with the EPA administrator facing a growing number of negative headlines, leading many to wonder whether his stint as head of the EPA may soon be over.

But reports have also suggested that Mr Trump was floating the idea as recently as this week of replacing Attorney General Jeff Sessions with Mr Pruitt, despite all the scandals.

Mr Trump has publicly conveyed how frustrated he is over Mr Sessions decision more than year ago to recuse himself from an investigation into alleged ties between Russia and Trump campaign advisers. The president has insisted there was no collusion. Meanwhile, he continues to express confidence in Mr Pruitt.

Do you believe that the Fake News Media is pushing hard on a story that I am going to replace A.G. Jeff Sessions with EPA Chief Scott Pruitt, who is doing a great job but is TOTALLY under siege? Mr Trump tweeted. Do people really believe this stuff? So much of the media is dishonest and corrupt!

Do you believe that the Fake News Media is pushing hard on a story that I am going to replace A.G. Jeff Sessions with EPA Chief Scott Pruitt, who is doing a great job but is TOTALLY under siege? Do people really believe this stuff? So much of the media is dishonest and corrupt!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 6, 2018

The White House is conducting a review of ethical questions surrounding Mr Pruitt.

During a White House briefing, Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the president believes Mr Pruitt has done a good job at ... carrying out the goals of the EPA.

White House Chief of Staff John Kelly is said to have told Mr Trump last week that he is convinced Mr Pruitt needs to step down, the Wall Street Journal reported. Several members of Congress, including three Republicans, have also called for his resignation.

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House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi said Mr Pruitts tenure has been part of the Trump administrations culture of corruption, cronyism and incompetence.

Pruitt must resign, she declared in a statement.

Mr Pruitt has spoken with conservative media outlets, protesting against media reports about his regular first-class travel, his use of an obscure administrative provision to increase the salaries of two favoured aides, and his below-market rental agreement with the lobbyist. He has denied knowing about the pay raises and says he did nothing wrong.

The stories, he has suggested, are the handiwork of his critics who are trying to derail his deregulatory and pro-business agenda.

A spokesperson for the EPA has said the lease agreement was in line with federal ethical regulations.

Additionally, a report by the New York Times on Thursday said that at least five EPA officials were sidelined after they confronted the administrator over several issues, including unusually large spending on office furniture and first-class travel, as well as certain demands by Mr Pruitt for security coverage.

The EPA disputes the veracity of the accusations. None of the officials who reportedly left or were removed from their jobs at the agency after questioning Mr Pruitt  as well as the official said to be considering resigning  would comment when contacted by the newspaper.

The White House has said it is aware that reports on Mr Pruitt raise questions.

If the president has confidence in somebody, then they stay, White House spokesman Hogan Gidley told reporters. We all serve at the pleasure of the President. You guys know that. And when hes not pleased, youll know it.

Mr Gidley on Thursday declined to elaborate on which of Mr Pruitts specific activities it was reviewing.

I cant get into specificity on what were looking at, Mr Gidley said. We see what you guys see. We read what you guys report. And, you know, the president demands the highest levels of ethical standards for his entire staff, and that includes the cabinet.
HERIKA MARTINEZ/AFP/Getty Images

President Donald Trump has ordered government agencies to stop the catch and release policy, which allowed immigrants who entered the US illegally are released from detention while awaiting a court hearing on their status.

Ending the policy was one of the presidents key promises during his 2016 campaign. However, immigration authorities have reported a shortage of space to house detained migrants so Mr Trumps memo has directed the Departments of Defence and Homeland Security to find military installations capable of housing people.

The memo also asked agencies for report within 45 days "detailing all measures that their respective departments have pursued or are pursuing to expeditiously end 'catch and release' practices as well as assigning asylum officers to detention facilities.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the catch and release practice is dangerous because undocumented immigrants should not be allowed on parole.

The safety and security of the American people is the presidents highest priority, and he will keep his promise to protect our country and to ensure that our laws are respected. At the same time, the President continues to call on congressional Democrats to cease their staunch opposition to border security and to stop blocking measures that are vital to the safety and security of the US, the White House said in a statement.



US Attorney General Jeff Sessions also ramped up calls to crackdown on those entering the country illegally. One of the directives was for US Attorneys in the southwestern US to make bringing cases against first-time offenders a priority. Once border crossers are charged with illegal entry and deported, they can be charged with a felony carrying significant jail time if they are caught crossing illegally again.

Earlier this week Mr Trump pledged to deploy the National Guard to assist with border operations since the roughly 2,000-mile border wall with Mexico has not been completed due to a lack of funding and a large caravan migrants has stalled in Mexico City, heading for the US border. Defence Secretary James Mattis approved sending up to 4,000 troops and said in a memo that the troops "will not perform law enforcement activities or interact with migrants.

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At least 150 soldiers will deploy from the Arizona National Guard as early as next week, according to Governor Doug Ducey. The Texas National Guard said it will send 250 troops to the border in the next few days.

Another matter on immigration the administration has pushed includes ending the Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals (Daca) programme seemingly over a political fit with Congressional Democrats. The decision to end the programme has left 800,000 people brought to the US illegally when they were minors in a legal limbo. They had been allowed to stay, study, and even work while paying taxes through Daca.

Agencies contributed to this report.
Washington (AFP) - The White House said Friday that President Donald Trump would host the United Arab Emirates' Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahayan, but did not specify a date.

The news comes after Washington said Trump would host Qatar's Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on April 10 in an effort to end a diplomatic spat that has riven America's Gulf allies.

Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE cut diplomatic and trade ties with Qatar last year, accusing Doha of bankrolling Islamist extremists and fostering ties with Saudi arch-rival Iran.

The White House said Trump spoke on the phone with bin Zayed, his country's de facto ruler, "to discuss regional developments and opportunities for increasing cooperation on a range of security and economic issues."

A statement added: "The leaders agreed that all GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) states can and should do more to increase coordination with each other and with the United States to ensure the peace and prosperity of the people in the region."

It said the pair "agreed on the importance of a united GCC," in what appeared to be a reference to the regional dispute, since the GCC member countries are Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Trump had taken a hard line against Qatar, saying the country needed to scale back ties with Iran and stop funding extremism.

Aides -- mindful of the pivotal role that the Al Udeid Air Base outside Doha plays in US Middle East operations -- have since convinced him to take a more moderate approach.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Donald Trumps attacks on Amazon.com Inc. have nothing to do with critical coverage of the White House by the Washington Post, owned by Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos.

Mnuchin also said in an interview with CNBC that the administration is in discussions with the Post Office and looking at that. It wasnt immediately clear what he meant, but Trump has repeatedly complained that Amazon doesnt pay the Postal Service enough to deliver its packages.

Asked about Mnuchins statement about discussions with the Post Office, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said, Im not aware of anything specific taking place on Amazon but we are looking at ways to help the Post Office modernize.

The Treasury secretary said the presidents criticisms of Amazon are based on concerns the Seattle-based Internet retailer and third-party sellers that use its website compete unfairly with small businesses.

The president has assailed Amazon and its business practices in a series of tweets and public statements since March 29, criticizing its delivery contract with the Postal Service and its tax practices. The attacks have raised speculation that Trumps true concern is Bezoss ownership of the Washington Post, which aggressively and critically covers him and his administration.

Absolutely not, Mnuchin said. Okay, the president is focused on Amazon and the economic issues that are impacting retailers all around the country.

The presidents company, The Trump Organization, leases space to retailers who could potentially compete with Amazon. Trump has never divested himself from the firm, though he has said his official actions wont benefit his company.

Theyve absolutely dominated the retail business, Mnuchin said. Theyve put tons of retailers out of business, so that is what the president is really focused on.

While Amazon pays sales taxes in every state that levies them, third-party vendors that sell through the Amazon website sometimes do not.

We dont think that makes sense, Mnuchin said. It is unfair relative to the retailers.
Those affected by the sanctions include oligarch Oleg Deripaska (right) and many businessmen with direct links to Vladimir Putin: Getty

The Trump administration has targeted Russian oligarchs and allies of Vladimir Putin in new sanctions for alleged malign activity around the world, the US Treasury Department has said.

Seven Russian oligarchs and 17 Russian government officials have been hit with the sanctions. A dozen Russian companies owned by the oligarchs have also been targeted, along with a state-owned arms-dealing company and a subsidiary bank.

The sanctions, coming amid pressure from Congress, are largely a reply to what US intelligence agencies say was Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, although the Treasury Department has painted them as a response to a series of adversarial actions by Moscow, including aiding President Bashar al-Assad in Syrias civil war and malicious cyber activities.

The Russian government operates for the disproportionate benefit of oligarchs and government elites, said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. The Russian government engages in a range of malign activity around the globe, including continuing to occupy Crimea and instigate violence in eastern Ukraine, supplying the Assad regime with material and weaponry as they bomb their own civilians, attempting to subvert Western democracies, and malicious cyber activities.

Russian oligarchs and elites who profit from this corrupt system will no longer be insulated from the consequences of their governments destabilising activities, he added. While the administration has made moves to increase pressure on Russia, Mr Trump has avoided directly criticising Mr Putin and even invited the Russian leader to meet with him, possibly at the White House.

Mr Trump earlier this week said nobody has been tougher on Russia than him, but that it would be would be a good thing, not a bad thing, if the US got along with the Kremlin.

During a White House briefing, Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the fact that the president has signed off on and directed actions against Russia speaks volumes. She added that US officials would continue to work towards a meeting with Mr Putin at some point. As the president has said, he wants to have a good relationship with Russia but that's going to depend on some of the actions by the Russians, she said.

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The lists of individuals and companies can be broadly divided into business and politics. The sanctions will touch two of the richest oligarchs in Russia. Victor Vekselberg, 10th in the Russian Forbes list with a fortune of $12.4bn (8.8bn), and Oleg Deripaska, 23rd in the list with a fortune of $5.1bn, will both see the work of their multinational businesses hit severely.

The blacklists include businessmen closely associated with the presidents family or inner friendship group. Kirill Shamanov, who is reportedly was married to Yekaterina Tikhonova, the daughter of Vladimir Putin, is listed under the individual section. Igor Rotenberg, the son of the presidents former judo sparring partner, Arkady Rotenberg, is also mentioned.

The former chief of Mr Putins personal security service, Viktor Zolotov, is also on the lists. Few men are as trusted by the president as his former bodyguard. Their ties date back to the early 1990s, when both worked in St Petersburg for Mayor Anatoly Sobchak. Mr Zolotov was parachuted into national prominence in 2016, invited to head the newly formed National Guard. He is currently a member of the National Security Council.

The political section of the sanctions lists covers many of Russias most leading state officials. It features some of the presidents closest political associates including the head of the National Security Council, Nikolai Patrushev and the former prime minister Mikhail Fradkov. Of particular interest is the inclusion of Alexei Dyumin, the governor of Tula district. The former deputy minister of defence is occasionally dangled as Mr Putins potential future successor.

Washington has also put Russias state arms exporter Rosoboronexport on the sanctions list, meaning any country that trades with Russias defence or intelligence sectors will also be targeted.

The fact that Rosoboronexport is the target confirms the true aim of the sanctions, Russias state-run holding company Rostec said. All this big talk and accusations are just an excuse to drive Russia out of the world arms market.

Moscow has interpreted the sanctions lists as an attempt to drive a wedge between the president and loyal oligarchs. Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov describe the US actions as a war of sanctions designed to cause a quarrel between Mr Putin and the countrys business elite.

Washingtons previous attempt to draw up a list of Kremlin-linked oligarchs in February was largely ridiculed in Moscow, owing to the broad nature of the lists and lack of bite. For many loyalists, inclusion even became a badge of honour.

This time, many of those included will feel the heat in their bottom line. People like Deripaska and Vekselberg will not enjoy being in the same lists as Mexican drug dealers said political consultant Evgeny Minchenko. Business will be more difficult and they are the main victims. The bureaucrats will get over it.

Mr Dyumins office said he considers the sanctions against Russia unfriendly and counterproductive. Mr Dyumins assistant told Reuters that the sanctions will not help in resolving issues between Washington and Moscow.

Trade minister Denis Manturov said that those companies who have fallen under the sanctions lists will be supported even more by the government.

Russian state media have chosen to play down the affair. News of the new sanctions lists took up about a 30-second section about half an hour into the main news broadcasts. It followed much larger segments devoted to the alleged corruption of a middling railway manager in St Petersburg, an American fitness model who had been arrested for selling drugs and a drunk horse and cart driver arrested in Belarus.
President Donald Trumps administration approved the license necessary for American firms to sell Taiwan the technology needed to build its own submarines, while Trump continued his apparent trade war with China.

Taiwans Central News Agency first reported the approval Saturday, according to Reuters, stating the Southeast Asian nations defense minister, Chen Chung-Chi, confirmed the State Departments go-head.

An unnamed State Department official told Reuters that its policy toward American-Taiwan defense trade was consistent with previous administrations.

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Our longstanding policy on defense sales to Taiwan has been consistent across seven different U.S. administrations, the official said. This policy has contributed to the security of Taiwan and also supported the maintenance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.

Taiwan announced a year ago that it planned to build eight new submarines just prior to Chinese President Xi Jinpings visit to meet with Trump in Florida for the first time.

Despite the State Departments assertion, the report of the U.S. government essentially helping Taiwan obtain such defense technology comes as Trump has placed heavy tariffs on Chinese goods worth billions of dollars.

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AFP via Getty Images/Sam Yeh

The president tweeted that he had not started a trade war because it had already been lost by past administrations poor decisions.

On Saturday, the president reiterated his stance.

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The United States hasnt had a Trade Surplus with China in 40 years. They must end unfair trade, take down barriers and charge only Reciprocal Tariffs. The U.S. is losing $500 Billion a year, and has been losing Billions of Dollars for decades. Cannot continue!, Trump tweeted.

After already suggesting $50 billion in tariffs on China, Trump announced Thursday he was considering another measure that would place an additional $100 billion in tariffs on the worlds second largest economy.

Chinas commerce minister Gao Feng responded by stating Friday his nation was fully prepared to hit back forcefully if the U.S. moved forward with the tariffs.

The marketing license granted to Taiwan could further exacerbate Trumps continued feud with China. Taiwan has long claimed to be a sovereign nation independent of China, but China has claimed the island to be part of the mainland republic since its civil war in 1949.

Trump initially caused a stir in the contentious China-Taiwan relationship when he spoke directly over the phone with Taiwans president Tsai Ing-wen during his transition to the White House. The call was actually a plan thought out by Trumps advisers in order to establish the tough tone Trump had taken against China on the campaign trail, according to The Washington Post.

This article was first written by Newsweek

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(WASHINGTON)  The United States hit seven Russian oligarchs and 17 Russian government officials with sanctions on Friday for what it called malign activity around the world, as the Trump administration tried to show that President Donald Trump is taking tough action to stand up to Moscow.

A dozen Russian companies owned by the oligarchs were also targeted, along with a state-owned arms-dealing company and a subsidiary bank, the Treasury Department said. Senior Trump administration officials cast the penalties as part of a concerted and ongoing effort by the U.S. to push back Russian President Vladimir Putins government, emphasizing that since Trump took office last year, the U.S. has punished 189 Russian-related people and entities with sanctions.

Trump has continued to avoid directly criticizing Putin himself, and recently invited the Russian leader to meet with him, possibly at the White House. Still, in recent weeks Trumps administration has rolled out a series of actions  including several economic and diplomatic steps  to increase pressure on Putin and those in his circle.

Nobody has been tougher on Russia than I have, Trump said at a news conference on Tuesday.

Rather than punishing Russia for one specific action, the new sanctions are in response to the totality of the Russian governments ongoing and increasingly brazen pattern of bad behavior, said the officials, who werent authorized to comment by name and briefed reporters on condition of anonymity.

The officials ticked through a list of activities they said had prompted the U.S. to act, including Russias actions in Crimea and eastern Ukraine, support for Syrian President Bashar Assad, cyber-hacking and attempts to subvert Western democracy.

There was no immediate reaction from Russias government.

Many of the targets are individuals and businesses associated with Russias energy sector, including those affiliated with state-owned Gazprom. Officials said the goal was to show that those who have benefited financially from Russian President Vladimir Putins position of power are fair game for U.S. punishments, noting that many of those being sanctioned are closely tied to Putin himself.

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Targets include:

Kirill Shamalov, who is reportedly Putins son-in-law, married to his daughter Katerina Tikhonova, although neither Putin nor the Kremlin have acknowledged that she is his daughter.

Igor Rotenberg, the son of Arkady Rotenberg, a friend of Putins friend since they were teenagers.

Andrey Kostin, named among government officials, heads the nations second-largest bank, VTB, which is controlled by the state.

Alexei Miller, the longtime head of the state-controlled Gazprom natural gas giant. Both Miller and Kostin are longtime key members of Putins team.

Other oligarchs on the list include some top names on the Forbes list of billionaires, arent part of Putins inner circle but like any other billionaire tycoons in Russia they vie for the Kremlins attention to preserve and extend their business empires.

Also targeted is aluminum magnate Oleg Deripaska, a figure in the Russia investigation over his ties to former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort. Deripaska has been targeted with U.S. sanctions previously, but officials said those being announced Friday were more comprehensive.

Many of the Russian oligarchs and politicians and affiliated businesses had already been identified by the Treasury and State Department as potential targets on a list that was compiled and published in January.

The sanctions freeze any assets that those targeted have in U.S. jurisdictions and bars Americans from doing business with them. But the administration said it would give guidance to Americans who may currently have business with them about how to wind down that business and avoid running afoul of the sanctions.

The Trump administration used a variety of legal mechanisms to implement the sanctions, including the Countering Americas Adversaries Through Sanctions Act. Known as CAATSA, the law was overwhelmingly passed by Congress in 2017 and signed by President Donald Trump despite some objections. The law aims to punish Russia for interfering in the U.S. election as well as actions intended to subvert democracy in Europe. The law also authorizes the president to impose sanctions on Iran for destabilizing activity in the Middle East and North Korea for its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

Last month, the U.S. targeted 19 Russians and five other entities with sanctions in the first use of the law. The administration has also expelled dozens of Russian diplomats and shut down two Russian consulates in response to Russian behavior, including the poisoning of an ex-spy in Britain that has been blamed on Moscow.
The U.S. states of Texas and Arizona are deploying National Guard troops to the Mexican border after President Donald Trump called for enhanced border security.

Arizona Governor Doug Ducey said about 150 guard members would deploy next week, while the Texas National Guards spokesman said that about 250 would be sent to the border within the next 72 hours.

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Getty Images

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Trump has said he wants to send 4,000 troops to patrol the 1,954 miles long border to combat illegal immigration and drug trafficking until his wall has been built. Defence Secretary James Mattis has approved Pentagon budgeting for the deployment, reported the Associated Press.

The president's pledge to built a wall to prevent immigrants entering the U.S. illegally was one of his signature campaign policies, however plans have stalled in Congress. A recent spending bill only provided $1.6 billion for the wall, far short of its $25 billion estimated cost.

The states of New Mexico and California have also been asked to send troops to the border.

Don't miss: South Carolina Congressman Ralph Norman Pulls Gun Out During Meeting With Constituents

Both previous White House incumbents also ordered troops to be sent to increase border security, with President Barack Obama sending 1,200 in 2010. In 2006, President George W. Bush ordered 6,000 to the border under Operation Jump Start.

In both cases, the deployments lasted little over a year, with the troops sent by Obama assisting with surveillance and intelligence work, and those under Bush engaging mainly in road and fence repairs and ground surveillance.

The president also outlined plans to end so-called arrest and release policies Friday night as part of his immigration crackdown.

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Under the new policy, arrested immigrants would be kept in custody while waiting to hear if theyll be deported instead of being released pending a decision.

The president has previously threatened to end the Nafta free trade deal unless Mexico does more to curb illegal immigration to the U.S. across its border.

This article was first written by Newsweek

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Washington (AFP) - A US congressman said he pulled out a loaded Smith & Wesson pistol during a meeting with gun control activists Friday in a bid to prove that firearms are not responsible for violence.

House Republican Ralph Norman of South Carolina told The Post and Courier newspaper that he drew the handgun and placed it on a table while at a "Coffee With Your Congressman" event at a diner, in an attempt to convey that guns are only dangerous if in the wrong hands.

"I'm not going to be a Gabby Giffords," said Norman, 64, referring to the former congresswoman from Arizona who was shot in the head during a meet-and-greet outside a grocery store in 2011.

Giffords was gravely wounded in that attack. She survived and became a prominent gun safety advocate. Both Giffords and her husband, retired NASA astronaut Mark Kelly, are longtime gun owners.

"Americans are increasingly faced with a stark choice: leaders like Gabby, who work hard together to find solutions to problems, or extremists like the NRA and Congressman Norman, who rely on intimidation tactics and perpetuating fear," Kelly said in a statement.

"If we want to protect our kids and communities, Congress must get serious about passing safer gun laws. For our kids' sake, let's show our leaders we expect them to behave more like Gabby and less like Congressman Norman."

- 'I'm shooting back' -

The paper said Norman also claimed: "I don't mind dying... But whoever shoots me better shoot well or I'm shooting back."

Norman's indelicate reference to Giffords appeared to suggest that her debilitating injury was in some way due to her not being adequately armed.

The congressman later issued a statement saying he is a concealed carry permit holder and regularly brings his gun with him when in public.

"Mental health, and more importantly, a lack of morality is the driving force behind this epidemic. Guns are not the problem," he said, adding that he had responded appropriately to questions by "a group of organized anti-gun activists."

The incident came as Americans debate the prospect of Congress passing new gun safety laws in the wake of several mass shootings, including a February massacre at a Florida high school that left 17 people dead.

Last year during his unsuccessful US Senate campaign, former judge Roy Moore of Alabama drew a pistol from his pocket while on stage at a rally as a way to show the Republican candidate's commitment to the constitutional right to bear arms.
By Vivian Sequera and Elida Moreno

CARACAS/PANAMA CITY (Reuters) - Venezuela said on Thursday it was halting commercial relations with Panamanian officials and companies, including regional airline Copa, for alleged involvement in money laundering, prompting both countries to recall their ambassadors.

The resolution names Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela and nearly two dozen Cabinet ministers and top-ranking officials, and says that Panama's financial system had been used by Venezuelan nationals involved in acts of corruption.

The individuals named in the resolution "present an imminent risk to the (Venezuelan) financial system, the stability of commerce in the country, and the sovereignty and economic independence of the Venezuelan people," Venezuela said.

The statement came a week after Panama declared Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and some 50 Venezuelan nationals as "high risk" for laundering money and financing terrorism.

Venezuela's civil aviation authority said in a statement that inbound and outbound Copa flights were suspended for 90 days, effective Friday, "as a measure to protect the Venezuelan financial system."

Copa, a crucial provider of international flights following a sharp reduction in airline services to crisis-stricken Venezuela, did not respond to a request for comment.

Panama announced it was recalling its ambassador to Venezuela and asked that Caracas follow suit, which it did several hours later.

Panama's Varela, in brief comments to reporters on Thursday, described the Venezuelan announcement as nonsensical.

"We have not heard anything about breaking relations but rather about a set of supposed sanctions - it's gibberish," Varela said.

Venezuela has been hit with sanctions by Canada, the United States and a number of other countries over issues ranging from human rights violations to corruption and drug trafficking.

Maduro says the country is victim of an "economic war" led by his adversaries with the help of Washington, and says the sanctions are part of foreign countries' efforts to undermine his government.

(Additional reporting by Caracas newsroom; editing by G Crosse and Leslie Adler)
Republican insiders on Capitol Hill are trying to walk President Donald Trump away from a looming trade war with China, even as Trumps economic nationalist advisers argue that this weeks high-stakes moves on tariffs are just a negotiation.

Political staffers who are tasked with keeping an eye on the GOPs fortunes in this falls elections have urged caution as Wall Street was set to close out another rocky week driven by uncertainty.

But Trump and his economic advisers in the West Wing are treating the threat of U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods such as televisions, medical devices and batteries  and Chinas threatened retaliations on American soybeans, corn and tobacco exports  as a negotiating ploy.

Newly minted White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow, a former CNBC analyst, told reporters on Friday that there are back-channel discussions taking place, providing no details. Meantime, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, speaking to Kudlows former employer, admitted there is a level of risk that we could get into a trade war.

Republican political sherpas sees the ongoing tit-for-tat on tariffs as a risky mix of bluffing, bravado and improvisation.

Setting aside the economic insanity of starting a large-scale trade war with Americas largest trading partner, the Trump gambit carries very real risks for his domestic plans. Chinas proposed countermeasures take aim at the heart of Trump country  the areas where soybean, corn and tobacco farmers grow were also fertile territory for Trump votes. The president will need their support if he is to win a second term in 2020.

More immediately, Republicans in those places will need the support of those farmers and their neighbors if theyre to win re-election this fall, defend their majorities in the House and the Senate and give Trump a free hand to pursue other parts of his agenda. Should Democrats retake one or both chambers of Congress in Novembers elections, White House advisers fear the bulk of 2019 and 2020 will be spent dealing with panels and investigations.

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On a micro level, some of these races this year could hinge on what Trump does to local farming economies, such as Montanas. The states lone Congressman, Republican Greg Gianforte, was a top target for Democrats this year even before the tariffs put the state in play. But Gianforte, who won his special election by 22,990 votes, represents a state with 45,246 farmers, according to the most recent Department of Agriculture Census. That survey says agriculture sales from Montana topped $4.2 billion in 2012  or one-tenth of the states GDP. Any threat to agriculture would have a ripple effect throughout the states broader economy and psyche and could make Gianfortes already tough re-election a steeper climb.

In Iowa, Rep. Steve King is seeking his ninth term representing the vast northwest corner of his state by linking arms with Trump, largely on their shared hardline views on immigration. King won there in 2016 with 54% of the vote (Trump carried it with 60%). But the district is the nations richest for hogs and pigs, per the USDA; more than $4.3 billion in sales in 2012 alone. The district is the number four when it comes to the number of total farmers (48,863) and number three when it comes to soybeans (4.6 million acres). Those farmers pork and soybeans could soon find themselves without eager Chinese buyers.

Democrats on the cusp may feel the benefits, too. Consider the Minnesota district that Collin Peterson has represented since 1991. The Democrat won his 14th term in 2016 by just 16,637, or roughly 5 percentage points. The most recent USDA Census says there are 49,146 farmers in Petersons district  the second highest number in the country. The same survey, from 2012, also found almost 4.4 million acres of soybeans grown there.

Or the neighboring Minnesota district where six-term Democratic Rep. Tim Walz carried in 2016 by 2,548 votes in a district with almost 2 million acres of soybeans, making it the ninth largest soybean district in the country. It is number-two for hogs and pigs, reporting $1.7 billion in sales, according to USDA data from 2012. The seat was a rare bright spot for Republicans, as Walz has left it open in order to run for Governor.

While most of the biggest farm districts are in Republican hands  and many of them safely so  there are no guarantees. Democrats were recently able to narrowly pick up a congressional seat in a Pennsylvania district that went for Trump by 20 percentage points. There are dozens of districts that are far friendly to Democrats, perhaps in the triple-digits, according to some analysts. Democrats need to net just 23 seats to claim the majority.

All of this is why Republicans like Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse are sounding the alarm. His state, with its 45 million acres of farmland, stands to lose big in a trade war against China.

Hopefully, the President is just blowing off steam again but, if hes even half-serious, this is nuts, Sasse said in a statement. China is guilty of many things, but the President has no actual plan to win right now. Hes threatening to light American agriculture on fire. Lets absolutely take on Chinese bad behavior, but with a plan that punishes them instead of us. This is the dumbest possible way to do this.

Among the political hands at the White House, Sasse would find few objections.
Education Lab is a Seattle Times project that spotlights promising approaches to some of the most persistent challenges in public education. It is produced in partnership with the Solutions Journalism Network, a New York-based nonprofit that works to spread the practice of solutions-oriented Read more
Kuwait, one of the 15 members of the United Nations Security Council, called on the council overnight Friday to adopt a resolution calling for an independent probe regarding events at the Gaza border.

The Gulf country failed in a similar attempt to have a probe launched last week, due to American resistance to the move.

The Kuwaiti ambassador to the UN said that his country did not seek to convene the council on the matter at this time.
Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon called on the United Nations Security Council to denounce Hamas, following Kuwait's call to launch a probe against Israel's conduct vis-a-vis protests near the Gaza border.

"Hamas should be denounced for using children as human shields," Danon noted, "and to call for a stop to provocations that only exacerbate violence and tensions."
The United States has blocked as resolution in the United Nations Security Council affirming the right of Palestinians to protest peacefully and promoting Secretary-General Antonio Guterres's call to hold an independent inquiry into the deaths of Palestinian protesters in clashes with the IDF as part of the March of Return.

This marked the second straight week the US blocked anti-Israeli measures in the Security Council relating to border protests.
ANKARA  Some 108 Kurdish militants have been "neutralized" in operations targeting southeast Turkey and northern Iraq over the past week, Turkey's armed forces said on Saturday.

The military uses the term "neutralized" to refer to operations in which opposition forces have been killed, wounded or captured.

In a weekly roundup, it said it had neutralized 31 militants from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in the southeastern provinces of Tunceli, Mardin, Diyarbakir and Sirnak.

It said 77 other militants had been neutralized in cross-border operations.
A Palestinian journalist died on Saturday after being wounded by Israeli fire on Friday while covering deadly protests along the Israel-Gaza border, health officials said.

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Murtaja, 30, a cameraman for Palestinian Ain Media, was the 29th Palestinian killed in the week-long protests. Nine Palestinians were killed during Friday's clashes, while some 500 were wounded.

Footage of Yaser Murtaja receiving medical attention ()

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Photos showed Murtaja lying wounded on a stretcher wearing a navy-blue protective vest marked 'PRESS' in large black capital letters. Health officials said a live bullet had penetrated the side of his abdomen and he succumbed to his wounds in hospital.

Palestinian officials claimed he was shot despite standing some 100 meters from the border fence.





Murtaja's funeral in Gaza. The journalist was the 9th casualty in Friday's protests

The IDF said a probe into the incident was launched. "The IDF does not intentionally fire on journalists. The circumstances in which journalists were hit, allegedly by IDF fire, are unknown to us and are being examined," the IDF Spokesperson's Unit said in a statement.



Murtaja was married with a two-year-old son. Hundreds of mourners, among them many journalists, attended Murtaja's funeral Saturday and voiced their fury at the circumstances of his death.

His body was covered with a Palestinian flag and his press jacket laid beside him on the stretcher as it was carried through the streets of Gaza City to his home for a last farewell.

Murtaja, 30, worked for several Palestinian media bodies

Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Gaza's Islamist rulers Hamas, attended the funeral, AFP journalists said.

Haniyeh said journalists were attacked by Israel while trying to show a "true picture of a blockaded, downtrodden people".

"I made him breakfast, he ate quickly, he was in a hurry to go to work," said Murtaja's mother, Yusra, recounting the morning of the protest.

"I thought he would recover from his injury, I didn't expect his death, but God has chosen him as a martyr, thank God," she said, sitting on the ground as mourners came to the house to pay their respects.

The Palestinian press association denounced Murtaja's killing, and announced plans to contact the International Court of Justice in The Hague regarding the matter. Joint List MK Ahmad Tibi, meanwhile, wrote on his Facebook page, "Israel assassinates journalists. He dreamed of photographing Gaza from the airand became a martyr."

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) Secretary-General Christophe Deloire condemned what the group described as Israel's disproportionate response and called for an independent investigation into the incident.

In the West Bank city of Ramallah, around 50 Palestinian journalists held a vigil for Murtaja.

Murtaja worked for several Palestinian media bodies, including Ain Media, a local production company providing materials for foreign press services, including drone footage of the strip. He was a supporter of Hamas and never left the strip.

The protests began on March 30 along the Israel-Gaza frontier with daily demonstrations dubbed " The Great March of Return ." Israel has stationed sharpshooters to stop attempts by Palestinians to breach the border or sabotage the security fence.

Freelance photographer Ashraf Abu Amra told Reuters he was next to Murtaja, whom he said was wearing a helmet and protective vest. Abu Amra said they were both clearly marked as journalists.

"We were filming as youths torched tires . We were about 250 meters from the fence," said Abu Amra. "Israeli forces opened fire and injuries began. Yaser and I ran to film when suddenly Yaser fell to the ground.

"I screamed to him 'Yaser, are you alright?'. He didn't respond and there was blood on the ground underneath him. I knew it was a bad injury and people carried him away," said Abu Amra.

Murtaja's funeral

His brother Motazem, also a journalist, said he was next to him when he was shot. "The target was very clearly journalists," he said.

Journalist evacuated to hospital in serious condition

Video footage showed Murtaja being placed in an ambulance with crowds around and black smoke billowing in the distance, where protesters had set tires alight.

Israel Radio, citing an unnamed source in Gaza, said Murtaja had been operating a camera drone on Friday. Abu Amra and two other Palestinian journalists said Murtaja was not operating a camera drone when shot.

Murtaja, on his Facebook page, had posted two aerial photos taken at the border in the past week. It was unclear if he had taken them himself.

Murtaja moments after being shot (Photo: Reuters)

At least five journalists were wounded on Friday in other locations, Gaza officials said. There have been no Israeli casualties in the protests so far.

Israel's response to the protests has drawn international criticism , with human rights groups saying it involved live fire against demonstrators posing no immediate threat to life.

Israel says it is doing what it must to defend its border and its troops have been responding with riot dispersal means and fire "in accordance with the rules of engagement."

The European Union in a statement said the killings raised serious questions about the use of force. It added reports by Israel of stones and fire-bombs being thrown along with attempts to cross the fence into Israel "must also be clarified."

Israel says it has been warning Gazans for weeks not to approach the border fence.

"The IDF uses means such as warnings, riot dispersal means, and as a last resort firing live rounds in a precise, measured way. The IDF is committed to preventing infiltration into Israeli territory and threats against IDF troops and Israeli civilians," the military's statement said.
MOSCOW  The Russian embassy in London has sent a request for a meeting of its envoy, Alexander Yakovenko, with British foreign minister Boris Johnson to discuss the investigation of an ex-Russian spy and his daughter poisoned in Salisbury, the RIA news agency reported on Saturday.

"We hope for a constructive response from the British side and are counting on such a meeting in the very nearest future," the agency cited a spokesman for the Russian embassy saying.

The British Foreign Office confirmed it had received the request.
BERLIN  Former Catalan President Carles Puigdemont said on Saturday he would remain in Berlin while a German court considers whether to extradite him to Spain on a charge of misuse of public funds but he hoped to return to live in Belgium eventually.

A German court on Thursday rejected an extradition request for Puigdemont on the more serious charge of rebellion for his role in the campaign for the region's independence that could have resulted in a decades-long jail sentence in Spain.

"My wish is to return to Belgium. But only after the end of the proceedings here in Germany, not before," he told reporters in Berlin.

"My plan is to remain of course in Berlin. It is my residence now until the end of this process," he said.
Meretz Chairperson Tamar Zandberg contacted Culture Minister Miri Regev Saturday and asked her to cancel the expected participation of Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez in the 70th Independence Day's traditional torch lighting ceremony.

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Regev's decision to approve Hernandez's participation, the Meretz chief claimed, was a "scandalous decision that legitimizes a president responsible for gross violations of human rights in his country, solely to provide an excuse for (Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu to attend as well."

Zandberg continued, "Honduras has one of the world's most corrupt and dangerous police forces. According to reports, civil and military police and the army itself have been involved in serious violations of human rights in the past few years, including torture, threats and extra-judicial killings of reporters and activists for the environment, farmers' rights, LGBT rights and Indians' rights."

Meretz chief MK Zandberg said the Honduran president's invitation to the torch lighting ceremony should be rescinded due to his appalling human rights track record (Photo: Alex Kolomoisky)

"The military police and army," the MK added, "have been involved in kidnapping and rapesall under the umbrella of immunity afforded them by the country's corrupt judicial system."

"Under these circumstances," Zandberg summed up her missive, "I am contacting you to rescind the decision to have the president participate in the torch lighting ceremony. The word 'And to the glory of the State of Israel,' uttered before each torch is lit, will pale in the face of this unwanted guest and the circumstances surrounding his invitation."

Regev rejected Zandberg's request and criticism. "It would be best for all of the shouters from the Left, and primarily Miss Zandberg, maintain stately behavior instead of looking for headlines," she said.

The culture minister also rejected criticism of Hernandez's own conduct in his country, saying "these are empty accusations with no basis."

Road to PM Netanyahu's attendance in the ceremony paved?

Honduran President Hernandez confirmed Thursday he will attend Israel's 70th birthday ceremony on Independence Day, a move which will likely pave the way for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to attend the celebrations, despite fierce opposition from Knesset leaders.

While Netanyahu is now expected to attend, it remains unclear whether he will speak at the ceremony.

Culture Minister Regev invited the Honduran leader to the ceremony, marking the first time a foreign head of state was invited (Photo: Motti Kimchi)

According to protocol, the presence of a foreign president at an official state ceremony obligates the attendance of the prime minister. The question whether Netanyahu will attend remains, on the backdrop of an ongoing confrontation on the matter between Regev and Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein, who said he will not be attending if the premier does.

Minister Regev confirmed that a MFAIC delegate would participate in the ceremony together with the Honduran president, who graduated from the organization in 1992.

Hernandez began his diplomatic career after completing a social leadership course at the MFAIC that year and was the first graduate who eventually became a head of state.

The MFAIC was founded as the official aid arm of the State of Israel and to the present day it has trained almost 300,000 cadets from some 140 developing countries in fields in which Israel is known to excel, such as agriculture, education, medicine, empowering women and preparing for emergencies.

PM Netanyahu (L) and Honduran President Hernandez (Photo: Kobi Gideon/GPO)

"I welcome the Honduran president. I am happy and proud that the Honduran president, a graduate of the MFAIC course, will be coming to the ceremony and will be accompanied by the torch-light on behalf of the Foreign Ministry," Regev said.

"The MFAIC is the bearer of Israel's message of 'Tikkun olam' (healing the world) and brings with it to every place around the globe, in times of stress and normality, the wisdom and knowledge that exists in Israel in order to make the entire world a better place," she added.

"Strengthening the good in the world is a goal for the State of Israel and I am happy that the center will carry a torch at Israel's 70th Independence Day ceremony," the minister concluded.
Like celebrity chefs Assaf Granit and Eyal Shani, acclaimed chef Shahaf Shabtay has joined the exclusive ranks of Israeli chefs who have opened restaurants abroad, with a first outlet in Berlin and another European one in the works. Fortunately, locals do not have to travel that far to enjoy his food, although the prices at Nithan Thai do not ordinarily encourage frequent visits. Now, however, a newly revised business lunch menu offers two-course meals starting as low as NIS 68.

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Business lunch hours, and even days, have also been augmented; the discounted mealscomprising a complimentary first course with the order of a main courseare served from 12pm-5pm not only on weekdays but also 12pm-4pm on Fridays.





(Photo: Tamuz Rachman)



There are also reduced prices on cocktails, wine and sake during business lunch hours. The fully stocked bar serves creative specialty cocktails featuring spirits from Asian countries, as well as exotic, refreshing natural juice blends made from fresh fruits.

Business lunches are detailed on an extensive separate bilingual menu listing 10 starter courses and 15 main courses, with prices ranging from NIS 68-160. (Four of the starters entail a slight extra charge; and some starters from the regular menu may be substituted as well, for an extra charge).

There is also a section of the business lunch menu called Winter Experience, containing brand new dishes in the repertoire of the restaurants cuisine-Southeast Asian using Thai ingredients.

The range of choice at Nithan Thai can be bewildering, so I am partial to letting the talented kitchen suggest a tasting menu; the staff will ask about culinary preferences and foods to avoid, and then you can relax and let the parade of dishes begin.

The first recommendation was the Krapao Corn Soup, made with coconut milk and containing shrimps, glass noodles, kemiri nuts, shallots and lemon. As expected, the slightly spicy broth was delicious, imparting a pleasant tingle of gentle heat.

Next came the intriguingly named 5AM Beef Salad; slices of sirloin steak piled atop a salad of arugula, scallion, red onion and bamboo sprouts, and served with a dipping sauce of Thai miso stock. Typical of so many of the sauces at Nithan Thai, the complex condiment defies description, but it gets the job done, deftly enhancing the perfectly grilled meat without overwhelming it.





(Photo: Buzzy Gordon )

A beef dish served warm, meanwhile, is the Beef Jalapeno: slices of entrecote topped with spinach greens in a blood-red sauce of tomatoes, miso and peanut butter that looked more fiery than it tasted. The dish is not served with rice, but it is worth ordering a side dish of steamed white rice that can absorb every last drop of the outstanding sauce.

(Photo: Buzzy Gordon )

Nithan Thai has quite a few raw fish dishes, and the Tuna Thai-Thu from the Winter Experience menu is a prime example. Tuna tartare was served in two pear saucesone a spicy sriracha, the other a sweetish yakitorialongside a crispy papadam. It was great fun comparing and contrasting the two very different flavors, and even greater fun combining the two.

(Photo: Tamuz Rachman)

Another new dish is the giant Argentinean shrimps in Osaka curry, served with naan bread and creme fraiche. The butter and lime sauce seemed hardly consistent with common wisdoms definition of a curry, but that certainly did not detract from the succulent shrimp that practically melted in the mouth.

(Photo: Buzzy Gordon )

Finally came the Trout 7132, named after the restaurant of a 2 star Michelin chef from Switzerland who collaborated with Chef Shabtay during the 2017 American Express Round Tables. This was the one dish where the two combined saucesbrown butter and dashi carbonarathreatened to overpower the delicate white fish; the best way to savor the flavor of the filleted fish is to order one of Nithan Thais large soft rolls in order to mop up the distinctive sauce.

(Photo: Buzzy Gordon )

The dessert menu here is unlike any other in town: it is printed on the cover of a box containing table games, like dominoes. Similarly, the desserts themselves are unlike those of any other Asian restaurant anywhere, since Nithan Thais dedicated pastry chef learned his trade in Paris.





(Photo: Buzzy Gordon )

Two of the restaurants newest dessertsthe Ginger Spiral, candied tuiles sandwiching vanilla creme patissiere on a bed of chocolate ginger ganache, and Chocolate Pumpkin Mousse with pumpkin seeds ice creamare as decadent as any you would find elsewhere, while resting easily on the stomach after a full meal.





(Photo: Buzzy Gordon )

The service here is impressive, with attentive waiters constantly changing plates, refilling glasses and proffering wet naps from pre-torn wrappers.

Altogether, Nithan Thai delivers a premium restaurant experience, made more palatable by the attractive prices during the generous business lunch time frames.

Nithan Thai

Not kosher

Haarbaa St. 21, Tel Aviv
Muhammad Sha'ala, 4, from Arara in Wadi Ara, was found dead on Saturday in his father's car in Umm al-Fahm.

Around noon time, his family reported him missing to the Ein Iron police after searching for him around their home for several hours.

Police launched a search for the boy and contacted his father, who was at work in Umm al-Fahm.

He was then found unconscious in his father's car. He was rushed to the hospital in critical condition, where doctors had no choice but to declare him dead.

Police plan to question the father.
From an air-conditioned operations room with many big screens, the Gaza Division's observers have been managing one of the more complex tasks the Southern Command is faced with amid Hamas's border fence protests campaign over the past two weeksidentifying suspects coming near the border fence.

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The IDF observers have to make the distrinction between armed terrorists, main instigators of rioting, uninvolved protesters, shepherds and unarmed Palestinians crossing the border in to search for work or seeking to get caught.

The troops on the ground, who are stationed along dirt mound embankments facing the border fence, have a limited line of sight. They are therefore assisted by the observers, who regularly monitor the border but now have to step up their game to prevent thousands of Palestinians from crossing into Israel.

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Over the past four months, the IDF observers have had to contend with explosives being planted near the border fence; armed terrorists making their way to the border and then being eliminated at their instructions; main instigators trying to sabotage the border fence and enter Israel; and on top of all of that, criticismmostly unjustifiedabout their supposed role in the operational failures that allowed Palestinians to infiltrate Israel.

Palestinians rioting near Gaza border

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"I don't think we have had operational tensions this intense here since Protective Edge," Lt. Kerem Aviner, a Gaza Division observers officer, told Ynet.

"The soldiers on the ground see things from a very specific angle, and the observer can see the entire area, she can identify who is dangerous and who isn't. Our recommendations to the forces help determine who to open fire on and who not to. The force doesn't shoot of its own volition. There were instances in which the force had someone in the crosshairs, but didn't shootand not just during the rioting," she explained.

"We can already identify some of the Palestinians, we know in advance which person is okay, which person didn't come to cause harmsuch as someone with a banner or a flagwho is really a shepherd, where are the groups of kids, and who is a terrorist," she added.

Five hours monitoring a terrorist

Lt. Aviner helped thwart a terror attack on the night between Wednesday and Thursday, when a terrorist armed with an AK-47, grenades and an explosive belt was spotted by IDF observers advancing toward the border fence under the cover of darkness.

The observers called Armored Corps and Golani Brigade forces to the scene, who closed off the area. After five hours of monitoring the terrorist, he was eliminated by an IAF aircraft.

"Us telling the forces he was a terrorist did not come easy, only after monitoring him and observing him for an extended period of time, analyzing his movements, reconstructing the angle and reexamining the camera's angle. He jumped and rolled and did not appear innocent," Lt. Aviner explained.

IDF observers on Gaza border (Photo: Haim Hornstein)

"The operations room is quiet during such moments, and afterwards as well. It's not that we're on a 'high' when it's over. We sit with the observers after such an incident, talk to them and investigate, because they saw something complex," she went on to say.

"We're called 'the country's eyes,' but only when you come here do you realize how true that is. We advise the fighting forces where to take position, and we know how to direct fire from tanks, aircraft and infantry forces," Lt. Aviner continued.

Some four months ago, the Gaza Division's Northern Brigade observers received praise from the sector's commanders after one of them identified two Palestinians nearing the border fence with a horse-drawn wagon. The two stopped some 50 meters from the security fence, where they carried out some actions that appeared suspicious. Identifying them as terrorists was not easy, as some thousands Palestinians from the Sajaiyya neighborhood were rioting nearby.

"There was no suspicious movement (beforehand), but I still directed the camera at that spot," Cpl. Gal HaLevy, an observer who worked on that shift, recalled in a conversation with Ynet. "I noticed it was unusual, and I insisted the suspicious spot near the barbed-wire would be checked by the forces."

Several days later, the IED discovered there was blown up in a controlled explosion. It was a powerful device meant to kill soldiers operating by the border fence. It was neutralized by a vehicle-mounted Directed Energy Warfare (DEW) system called THOR.

THOR in action

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About a week ago, HaLevy's friend identified two terrorists advancing towards the border fence near the Zaytun Quarter. Minutes after the terrorists opened fire, the observer's directions allowed a Golani force in the field to eliminate the two terrorists with no casualties on the Israeli side. The video of the incident was released that very day by the IDF.

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In between these incidents, the Gaza Division's observers worked to identify the main instigators at the heart of the rioting on the Gaza border, as well as Palestinians who were climbing power towers in an effort to sabotage military infrastructure near the border.

Cpl. Omer Kaplan is in charge of the Bureij sector in the center of the strip, where quite a few Palestinian workers try to cross the border to enter Israel illegally.

"We're required to be sharper, because anything can happened under the cover of the crowds," she said.

The problematic image of observers and their demanding job has suffered yet another blow recently due to online reports that claimed IDF observers were to blame for several infiltrations of Palestinians into Israel.

"It made me particularly angry, because it's not true," Cpl. HaLevy said. "At first I didn't want to do this job, but only when you get here do you understand the great significance it has, and it gives you a feeling that's hard to describe. We know that human lives will be harmed or saved because of our work."
Minister of Defense Avigdor Lieberman asserted Saturday that "This Passover was one of the quietest and safest we have had for the past last years."

Lieberman also slammed the international criticism against Israel's response to the Gaza border demonstrations, saying "This is a festive of hypocrisy. Only this weekend, Assad massacred 48 Syrian citizens, part of them women and children. The UN's Secretary General didn't call for an inquiry committee, the Security Council didn't assemble, and the Arab League didn't intervene. "
Culture Minister Miri Regev came out against Meretz leader Tamar Zandberg on Saturday evening after the latter criticized the invitation of Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez to Israel's 70th Independence Day celebrating.

"It would be best for all of the shouters from the Left, and primarily Miss Zandberg, would maintain stately behavior instead of looking for headlines," Regev said.

The culture minister also rejected criticism of Hernandez's own conduct in his country, saying "these are empty accusations with no basis."
France on Saturday condemned the "indiscriminate fire" by the IDF that killed nine Palestinians the previous day and called for "greater restraint" in the use of force.

"France reiterates its condemnation of indiscriminate fire by the Israeli army, and light must be shed on these serious events," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Agnes von der Muhll said in a statement.

"France calls on the authorities concerned to exercise the utmost restraint and stresses that the use of force must be proportionate, in accordance with international humanitarian law," added the French spokeswoman.

"Only lifting the restrictions imposed on Gaza, with the necessary security guarantees for Israel, will make it possible to respond to the humanitarian crisis and prevent the escalation of tensions," the Foreign Ministry insisted.
Tens of thousands of Christian pilgrims gathered at Christianity's holiest site in Jerusalem's Old City on Saturday for the "Holy Fire" ceremony on the eve of Orthodox Easter.

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With candles in hand, at least seven thousand pilgrims filled the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, according to police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld.





Thousands more stood in the square outside to receive the flame, representing the resurrection of Christ, which passed from candle to candle and will be taken back to Orthodox churches worldwide.









The ceremony is the holiest event for Orthodox Christianity. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the rest of the Old City that lie in east Jerusalem were occupied and later annexed by Israel following the Six Day War of 1967.





The Greek Orthodox, Armenian and Roman Catholic denominations share custody of the church.

Christians made up more than 18 percent of the population of the Holy Land when Israel was founded in 1948, but now form less than two percent, mostly Orthodox.

Israeli police, which secured the event, said it had taken place without any disturbances.
Some 1,500 people, including Arab members of Knesset, participated in a protest march in Sakhnin on Saturday in solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza.

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Marchers were waving Palestinian flags and calling out "Gaza residents are heroes," "Oh martyr, rest and we will continue the struggle."

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Arab journalists and MKs held up the photo of Yaser Murtaja , a Palestinian journalist killed during the clashes on the Gaza border on Friday , which also claimed the lives of eight others.

The photos Murtaja bore the writing "Yaser Murtaja, a journalist from Gaza that Israel killed and stole his dreams."

"Hurting six journalists, wounding them with gunfire and killing Murtaja while he's taking photos away from the fence, indicates decisions and orders that were manifestly illegal," said journalist Wadi Ouadah from Kafr Kanna.

He called on Israeli journalists "to raise their voice in protest of the harm done to their Palestinian colleagues, while they were identifiable as journalists."

"This is a human, moral and ethical obligation of the Israeli journalists to protest and join all seekers of justice and peace, those with conscience and mind. They must ask for an investigation to check who bears responsible for this grave crime," Ouadah added.

Another participant said that "the IDF conduct in Gaza is unacceptable and inhumane. What do they expected from a people under siege for over nine years, without work or livelihood, with no possibility of leaving, flying abroad, traveling and living their lives. Every few hours they have a power outage, even when it's hot or cold."

She claimed Gaza was under occupation because it was under siege. "What do you want from a people living under a harsh and cruel blockade? A people like that could sacrifice their lives for freedom," she argued.

Abed Masarwa from Wadi Ara said what's happening to the Gaza residents "is called genocide. They're being eliminated like cockroaches. Like there is no value for civilians there. But they have a right to live. This government continues making it hard on Gaza and its residents and causes their situation to deteriorate."

He vowed that "We, the Arabs of 1948, will not stand idly by. Leave Gaza, stay away from it. The Arabs in such situations are like a ticking bomb that could blow up in the face of such a fascist government."

The demonstration was organized by High Follow-Up Committee for Arab Citizens of Israel.
Hundreds of thousands of Israelis celebrated the Mimounafestivities marking the end of Passoveron Saturday night.

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara were guests of the Swissa family in Gan Yavne.

Prime Minister Netanyahu and wife Sara at a Mimouna celebration in Gan Yavne

"I salute the IDF soldiers who protect us all the time, and keep us safe from those imposters who allegedly speak for human rights while waving the Nazi flag," Netanyahu said at the event, referring to Palestinian protesters in Gaza who waved the swastika banner during border clashes on Friday . "They're talking about human rights, but they actually want to trample the Jewish state."

The prime minister thanked his hosts and praised his supporters. "You show great support to me, Sara, our way, our movement, and our country," he said.

"This country is a wonder, everyone can see that. Israel is sought-after by world powers and continents, and not just because of the mufletas," he quipped, referring to the Moroccan pastry which is a staple of Mimouna celebrations.

Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked at a Mimouna celebration in Lod

Netanyahu noted that the great success Israel enjoys "doesn't mean we don't have challenges ahead," and vowed "we will protect our country. We will build it up with all of the tribes of Israel, who are gathered around this table and many such tables."

President Reuven Rivlin and Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein were guests at a Mimouna celebration in Ashkelon.

Culture Minister Miri Regev at a Mimouna celebration in Lod (Photo: Eli Sabati)

"Today, more than ever, I want to praise our brothers and sisters who gave usas a society and a peoplethis wonderful tradition of the Mimouna, in which we are starting to understand... that opening one's door is opening one's heart," Rivlin said.

"Why do we open our hearts only once a year?" he wondered. "Let us open our hearts in times of disagreements too. We will argue, but know we are brothers and sisters."

Defense Minister Lieberman at a Mimouna celebration in Ashdod (Photo: Roee Idan)

Edelstein added, "May our days pass without disagreements, with true unity."

Finance Minister Kahlon celebrated with the Pinto family in Gedera. "Thanks to the IDF soldiers who protect us, we can celebrate tonight. They're not far from here on the Gaza border, dealing with a cynical, evil and cruel enemy. These are not innocent people who want to help an old lady cross the road," he stressed.

Finance Minister Kahlon at a Mimouna celebration in Gedera (Photo: Elad Malka)
- NDC General Secretary, Asiedu Nketia has expressed disappointment in president Akufo-Addos reaction to the Ghana-US military agreement

- Johnson Asiedu Nketia said the president failed to address the controversial issues surrounding the agreement

President Akufo-Addos speech on the controversial Ghana-US military corporation agreement was without substance and did not focus on the real issues, General Secretary of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketia, has said.

According to him, the Presidents reaction to the controversial military pact lacked clarity and failed to tackle the serious concerns that have been raised.

I was expecting something better from the President- Asiedu Nketia

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Mr. Nketia said he was disappointed in the content of the speech, insisting the President could have done way better than he did.

On Thursday, the President addressed the nation on national television, where he tried to explain the rationale behind the military deal.

President Akufo-Addo stated categorically that no US military base will be established in the country, contrary to reports circulating in the media.

He also went in hard on critics of the Military Corporation Agreement, describing them as anti-America and hypocrites.

However, the Minority are still not on the same page with government and have actually played down the concreteness of Nana Addos reaction to the military pact.

According to Asiedu Nketia, the Presidents speech was filled with vindictive words, instead of tackling the concerns that have been raised.

He further accused the President of failing to speak on the cogent issues, rather deciding to engage in name calling.

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I was expecting something better, he told Accra-based Joy FM during an interview Thursday.

The NDC General Secretary maintained that signing the Ghana-US military corporation agreement meant selling the sovereignty of the nation.

He said the Presidents speech was just a reaction to the agitations from the public, adding that the evidence in the agreement does support what he wanted us to believe.

In the video below, the deputy education minister, Mrs Barbara Ayisi, speaks on how President Akufo-Addo inspires her, and how the president's success story must also inspire the youth of Ghana to greater heights.

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He was lying dead handcuffed. How can a man with his hands cuffed try to snatch the gun? asks Mohammad Ahmed three years after his son was killed in an encounter by Telangana Police.

By Raqib Hameed Naik, TwoCircles.net

Hyderabad: Three years ago, on the morning of April 7, 2015, Syed Imtiaz Ali, 34 received a phone call from one of his cousins, asking him to check news about his brother being aired on the news channels. As he turned to a local channel, the news being aired shocked and numbed him.

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The news said that his brother, Syed Amjad Ali, then 27 who along with four other under trials, had been gunned down by police in Nalgonda district when a 17-member escort police team of Warangal prison was taking them to Nampally court in Hyderabad for hearing.

I was totally devastated by the news, recalls Imtiaz. The arguments (in the ongoing case) were almost complete and the evidence presented by the police was very weak we were expecting his release in few days, he adds.

That day along with Amjad, four other undertrials Mohammad Viqaruddin, Izhar Khan, Dr. Mohammad Haneef and Mohammad Zakir were killed in the encounter. All were arrested by Andhra Pradesh, Octopus- the anti-terrorist agency, and the Counter Intelligence Cell back in July, 2010 from different localities of Hyderabad for their alleged role in the killing of two policemen and firing at intelligence agents as a retribution for the dubious role played by Andhra police against Muslim youth post May 2007, Makkah Masjid blasts in Hyderabad.

Amjad and Viqaruddin were accused by the police of forming Tehreek-e-Ghalba-e-Islam (TGI), the alleged militant outfit which had claimed responsibility for the attacks on the Policemen while others were arrested on alleged charges of aiding, abetting and providing them logistic support.

Encounter in question

On the day of the encounter, Amjad along with four other undertrials was being transferred from Warangal central jail to Hyderabad Nampally court in a police van, escorted by 17 police personnel. The police alleged that while they were on their way, Viqaruddin asked them to stop the vehicle for attending the natures call on the outskirts of Tangatur Village in Aler. After he got back into the bus, the Police claim he attempted to snatch weapons from the policemen in which the other four undertrials also joined him prompting police in escort to open fire in Self defense thus killing them all.

After entering the vehicle, he snatched the Insas weapon of the escort police constable and opened fire. The remaining four accused also tried to snatch weapons, shouting slogans. It is learned the escort party fired in self defense resulting in the death of Viquar and other four accused, says the statement issued by police.

However, on the same day, a photograph of all five youths dead in the police van with their hands cuffed to their seats started circulating on social networking websites, which raised a serious question over the authenticity of police claims of self-defense and retaliatory exchange of fire.

According to Mohammad Ahmed, 70, a retired civil engineer from Saudi Arabia, charges were fabricated against his son, Viquarddin and then killed in a fake encounter along with four other undertrials.

He was made a scapegoat first and then killed in cold blood,Ahmed told TwoCircles.net.He was lying dead handcuffed. How can a man with his hands cuffed try to snatch the gun? he asks.

He says that on the very same day the court was going to pass the jail transfer order and police might have thought that it was last chance for them to neutralize the five undertrials.

Policemen must have felt that it was their last chance to Kill them, he said.

Imtiaz says that each dead body had minimum 6-7 bullets and bruises all over their bodies. This was a clear case of an extrajudicial killing.

Civil Liberties Monitoring Committee (CLMC), a human rights organization based in Hyderabad, in its fact-finding report had also observed that there was a conspiracy behind the killings and carried out in a well-planned manner. It had also alleged the top brass of Telangana police of hatching the conspiracy.

It seems that the top brass of Telangana police hatched the conspiracy and got permission from the head of the government to execute the plan, reads the CLMC fact-finding report.

A threat to the life of undertrials

Days before the police encounter, Dr. Mohammad Haneef had asked Syed Amjads father who used to visit his son frequently in the Warangal prison to convey a message to his wife Ishrat Banoo, 34 that he was feeling the danger to his life.

On March 11, 2015, almost a month before the encounter, Haneef was shifted to Warangal Prison where four other accused were lodged.

He was scared because police used to take them through a forest route for hearing in Nampally court in Hyderabad, recalls Ishrat. Haneef has asked her to meet the lawyer and file a petition before the court to shift him to another prison.

Back in April 2012, Viqaruddin had also complained to his father about the frequent beatings, when police escort used to take him from Warangal Prison to Hyderabad Court for hearing.

Fearing for the worst, his father had sent a letter to Chief Justice of then united Andhra Pradesh and chairman of AP State Human Rights Commissions seeking their intervention in the transfer of his son from Warangal Jail but no action was taken by the concerned authorities.

On the way, they (policemen) used to remove his handcuffs and ask him to run, but he didnt because he knew that they wanted to kill him in a fake encounter, recalls Ahmed.

Justice delayed and denied

On April 29, 2015, the Executive Magistrate of Nalgonda District under whose territorial Jurisdiction the encounter had taken place was appointed by Telangana government to preside over the Magisterial Inquiry despite the fact that government order was issued in the clear violation of 176(1)(A) of CrPC that only authorizes Judicial magistrate to inquire into custodial death.

The Telangana government had also constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) on April 13, 2017, comprising of six police officials which is yet to submit its report.

Those who killed our children were asked to preside over the investigation. What kind of logic was it? Ahmed asks.

Ahmed in May 2015 along with three other victim families filed a writ petition in state High Court for seeking intervention in lodging FIR under section 302 against the escort Police party besides scrapping the SIT and handing over the case to Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

Judiciary was our last resort from where we could expect justice, he says.

According to advocate Khalid Saifullah who is representing the victim families in High court, the state government doesnt want the matter to go ahead.In last three years, the matter was only heard twice by the High Court and both times on the request of public prosecutor it was adjourned. No hearing was granted by the high court in 2017. It seems that state government doesnt want the matter to be heard so that no order is passed, he told TwoCircles.net.

Ishrat who lives with her three children in a single-room rented accommodation in Mushirabad locality of Hyderabad is determined to fight for justice even if she has to continue living in poverty.

My children have grown without the shadow of their father and they only have his letters from jail. They usually read them and cry. They are also taking interest in how he died and want justice for their father,  Ishrat says.

But Imtiaz is feeling betrayed by the judiciary and feels that government will do everything possible in its control to deny justice to the victim families. We dont trust the state government. They have left us helpless, he says.

We have left everything on God now, he adds after a deep silence.
By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter

A delegation of Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind (JUH) headed by Maulana Mahmood Madani, the national General Secretary at JUH, met Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday to apprise him about the recent spurt in the incidents of communal violence, on the occasion of Ram Navami Festival, in various parts of the country including Bihar, West Bengal and Delhi.

The JUH delegation discussed the ongoing events wherein the fringe elements along with targeting life and properties of the citizens also took to vandalize religious places, as alleged by the press statement released after the meet.

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The delegation submitted a memorandum to Singh in the same regard. While expressing deep concern over the rising incident of communal violence, Maulana Madani said, This is a matter of serious alarm and concern for all the peace-loving people in the country. It has once again highlighted the urgent need to contain the fringe elements against inciting the mobs and unleashing violence upon innocent citizens.

The memorandum suggested that it is also high time for taking strong action against the law enforcement agencies and their officials, who failed in their duty to maintain law and order and protect the lives and properties of the citizens.

We were assured earlier that communal violence would be dealt with firmness, and the government would take effective and urgent measures to ensure the safety and security of peoples life and property. However, our constant pleas with the authorities have failed completely and there seems to be no end to the grievous and alarming situation and more especially the silence of the authorities encourages the miscreants as they turned blind eyes towards their nefarious and anti-social and anti-national activities, read the press statement of JUH.

The statement further said, Therefore, we are constrained to come back to you again with the earnest plea to please take effective and appropriate actions immediately to stop the acts of aggression upon the innocent citizen.

JUH expressed serious concern over lack of action from the government side in dealing with anti-peace elements. No civilized society can abandon its minorities and weaker sections to the mercy of hooligans as it is happening now. We hope that the government would make efforts seriously to protect the lives and property of its citizen keeping up with its constitutional duty, said JUH.

After the meeting, Maulana Madani addressed media and informed, Home Minister heard us patiently and assured that his government would take appropriate action for restoring normalcy.

Besides Maulana Madani, the members of the delegation included Maulana Niaz Ahmad Farooqui, advocate Shakeel Ahmad Sayed, Maulana Hakeemudin Qasmi and several others.
By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter

Agastyamuni town of Uttarakhand faced communal tension on Friday when a social media post alleged rape of a 10-year-old girl by Muslims in the same locality. A group of people, apparently belonging to organisations of Hindu extremists, vandalised some shops in the Muslim locality of the town.

Locals have alleged that the most of the perpetrators belonged to Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad  the student wing of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

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On Friday morning, at least 2,000 individuals gathered at Agastyamuni police station demanding justice for the alleged rape victim. Simultaneously, goons vandalized more than a dozen shops in the Muslim locality of the town.

However, the administration was quick enough to get a hold of the situation and issued a press statement soon enough to clarify about the alleged rape incident.

Mangesh Ghildiyal, the district magistrate at Rudraprayag district, posted a video on social media clarifying that the video that was going viral over social media was fake.

He said, The faces of the people in the video are not clear. Neither the man nor the woman in the video has been identified. We havent received any complaint of a rape in Agastyamuni.

We are searching for the people who have been spreading fake news of rape over social media. A strict action will be taken against them, he added.

According to local sources, Agastyamuni town has a very small population of Muslims. Many people in the city witnessed communal stress for the first time on Friday.

In October last year, Hindu groups attacked and vandalised shops in Muslim localities between Rishikesh to Haridwar in a retaliation of a murder where the killer was reportedly a Muslim.

The Uttarakhand police have registered three cases so far regarding the Friday incident. Tripti Bhatt, the Superintendent of Police In-Charge at Rudraprayag informed media that the senior police officers are conducting the investigation to identify those who spread rumors and are involved in the incident.
Trilateral summit on Syria can grow into a more extensive format of cooperation between Iran, Turkey and Russia, deputy director of the Center for Study of Contemporary Turkey Faridun Usmonov said, commenting on results of meeting between heads of guarantor states of the Astana process in Ankara.

Expert sees prospects for cooperation in military and economic spheres. "If you pay attention to trade numbers between countries, you can see that trade is not balanced. For example, the level of trade turnover between Iran and Turkey in 2001 was $1.2 billion, in 2014 it reached $22 billion. At the same time, trade turnover between Russia and Iran is just $1.8 billion. It's obvious that trade relations between Russia and Iran are at a low level, while Iran and Turkey cooperate much more seriously than Russia cooperates with Iran. However, Vladimir Putin mentioned that while last year trade turnover reached 22 billion, it's less compared to 2008, when trade turnover between Russia and Turkey reached its peak - $38 billion. It's obvious that right now we're far from it," Faridun Usmonov said.

Commenting on the results of this summit, Orientalist, head of the Society of Friendship and Business Cooperation with Arab Countries Vyacheslav Matuzov focused on political component: "It's an obvious step forward in Russian foreign policy on the southern borders, in its relations Iran, Turkey, and the entire Middle East. When we're talking about consent, for example of Syrian opposition, to participate in the process organized by trilateral group, we must bear in mind that there are forces that oppose this process. Initiators wanted to create a broad international platform with participation of the Arab states. Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar were invited, but it was mostly an appeal to the US, to Europe, because Americans have certain influence in Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, so it would be a big mistake to lead a total war without taking the factor of US policy into account."

According to Vyacheslav Matuzov, meeting in Ankara showed that the Turkey-Iran-Russia alliance has strengthened: "Each country has its own interests, but we need to find compromises. We made huge progress in the Middle East. And everything that happens, including the Solbsery incident, shows that we're paying for our policy in the Middle East. We hindered America's global plan for reconstruction of the Middle East, helped Syria to fight against the Daesh invasion, against the Jabhat al-Nusra (banned in Russia), which are backed by the US special services. If we will think that we can reach agreement with these guys [extremists], then first we must reach agreement with the United States."
Yesterday, the 7th Moscow International Security Conference MCIS-2018, traditionally organized by the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, finished. The central topic of the MCIS-2018 was the situation in Syria: the fight against the international terrorism and the prospects for the stabilization in the Middle East. The security issues in Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America were also discussed, and a special session was dedicated to the soft power instruments. Vestnik Kavkaza spoke about the conference results with the head of the expert council of the Baku Network, Elkhan Aleskerov.

- Elkhan muallim, how do you assess the results of the MCIS-2018?

- I think the conference was successful. It coincided with a difficult period of the relations between Russia and the Western NATO countries: the diplomats are expelled from both sides, threats are sounded, Russia is accused of involvement in the murderous assault on Sergei Skripal without evidence. In such conditions, the holding of the conference was, of course, very interesting, many opinions were sounded related to the establishment of the peace. Strangely enough, it should be noted that the military - generals, defense ministers, representatives of the Russian law enforcement agencies - spoke most of all about the piece. In this regard, the event became a landmark for this difficult period of the heated international atmosphere: while experts and observers say that countries are on the verge of a cold war and even a full-scale war, the military leadership called for the peace and solving problems in a peaceful way.

- What conclusions did the conference participants make on the main issue - the stabilization of the Middle East?

- At the conference, it was said that the stage of the anti-terrorist war in Syria is over, the idea of creating a terrorist state in Iraq has vanished. At the same time, it was noted that such entities might appear in other regions, but it was stressed that in the Middle East, due to the joint efforts of the antiterrorist coalition of Turkey, Russia, and Iran, the organized terrorism was defeated. They also discussed the need to start a new stage of reconstruction of Syria. The participants agreed that the stabilization of the situation in Syria and Iraq will stabilize the entire region as a whole.

- What was like the participation of the Azerbaijani delegation in the conference this year?

- There was a military delegation led by Deputy Minister of Defense, General Kerim Veliyev from Azerbaijan. I participated as the head of the non-governmental organization Baku Network. We did not deliver the address since the meeting was focused on Syria and the problems of the Middle East, but the overall participation in the conference proved to be very useful. It was important for me to learn the vision of the processes taking place in the world of the participants of MCIS-2018. On the sidelines of the conference, we had a lot of conversations and meetings. We met with our Russian partners, with whom we constantly discuss the key issues at the expert level, we bring our opinion, we search for the truth in discussions. In particular, we discussed the situation around the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and as Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said, the rule of the international law in the world affairs must be restored, so that no one neglects the principles established by the international organizations - and Azerbaijan is more interested in the supremacy of the international rights. The UN adopted four resolutions on the Nagorno-Karabakh issue, but they, unfortunately, are not being implemented and measures for their implementation are not accepted. We also spoke about the false information spread in the Russian media that Azerbaijan is allegedly an aggressive state that claims the neighbors land, and agreed that it is necessary to convey to the wide circles the understanding that in reality, Azerbaijan is a victim of the occupation. Neither the political leadership nor anyone else in the republic said that we want the accession of someone's territories, we want to return our own, occupied territories. In general, we had the widest range of talks on all the issues that are of a concern to Baku, and we found new partners with whom we will continue to cooperate and share our views.

- Simultaneously with the conference in Istanbul, there were talks between Presidents Vladimir Putin, Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Hasan Ruhani on the same topic of the Syrian crisis settlement. In your estimation, what significance did this meeting have for the stabilization of the Middle East?

- For Azerbaijan, of course, it is extremely important to have a stable situation in the neighbor states. Azerbaijan is an initiator of the geopolitical and geo-economic transport, communication and energy projects, and peaceful atmosphere in the region is important for the country. Therefore, the meeting of the leaders of the three countries, who are our strategic allies and our neighbors, with whom we have good and positive neighborly relations, has become one of the significant events of the year for Azerbaijan, especially if we consider it in the framework of the previously held negotiations in the formats Russia-Azerbaijan-Iran and Russia-Azerbaijan-Turkey. We are happy that the course on the economic development, which Azerbaijan has taken, has a continuation in a wider context and is one of the issues of the negotiations of the neighbor countries of Turkey, Russia, and Iran.
Russia closely monitors preparations for presidential elections in Azerbaijan, which will be held on the upcoming Wednesday. On the eve of this event, TASS Deputy Director-General Mikhail Gusman asked current head of state Ilham Aliyev about economic development of Azerbaijan, its relations with Russia and key issues of the international agenda.

- Mr. President, Ilham Heydarovich, thank you very much for the opportunity to meet you. It's just a few days before presidential elections in Azerbaijan. These five years have passed very quickly - perhaps they seemed like one moment to you. Can you tell what was the most important for you during this time?

- I think that the most important thing is that Azerbaijan has continued to develop successfully over these years. A lot of programs related to social and economic development of our country have been implemented.

Everything we have planned has been successfully accomplished. Our achievements were also highlighted by international structures. According to the latest assessment of the World Economic Forum, Azerbaijan is on 35th place in terms of global competitiveness. And according to index of inclusive development, also evaluated by the Davos forum, we're third among developing countries. Only 30 developed countries and two developing ones are ahead of us. In other words, this assessment truly demonstrates what we managed to achieve.

We managed to achieve economic diversification. Hundreds of thousands of jobs were created. Unemployment rate in Azerbaijan is around 5%. We also managed to significantly reduce poverty rate, which is around 5.4% today. All of this is the result of social and economic policy that we have been implementing in recent years and which brought significant results.

- By historical standards, Azerbaijan is a pretty young country. In fact, it hasn't been 30 years since its formation yet. What political reforms, carried out by Azerbaijan under your leadership, do you consider successful and what must be done for political development and reformation of the country?

- Of course, this topic is always on our agenda. And I have repeatedly publicly stated that it will be impossible to achieve sustainable development in economic sphere without reformation of political system. A lot has been done in this direction lately.

Azerbaijan is a country open to the world. All democratic institutions are functioning in our country and freedom of the press is fully guaranteed. Azerbaijan is a country where the Internet is free. The number of Internet users is increasing and nearing about 80 per cent of the population. Freedom of assembly and freedom of political activity are also fully ensured. As an already experienced member of the Council of Europe, we have undertaken commitments to further democratize our society and, in my opinion, we do fulfill them with confidence and successfully. However, there are, of course, some issues requiring additional efforts, and we continue working in that direction.

We took a common sense approach to assessment of the level of political reforms and achievements. All the possible work has been done over the 26 years of independence, taking into account our history, establishment of Azerbaijan as a young independent state, geographical location of our country as well as the existing and potential risks in our region.

Regarding those areas that we still need to develop, I would like to highlight strengthening of public control. I have repeatedly mentioned this topic and called on citizens to take more active steps to control implementation of reforms. Because a lot of reforms in terms of social and economic development, infrastructure development are being carried out in Azerbaijan. Insufficient public control sometimes leads to violations and delays of planned initiations.

Of course, we will continue our efforts to democratize Azerbaijan, we're an open country. We consciously chose this path, and we will continue to adopt both political and economic reforms.

- Experts praise Azerbaijani economy primarily bacause of economic independence of your country. Its foundations were laid by Heydar Aliyev, President of Azerbaijan, its national leader. However, it will be fair to say that complete economic independence has been achieved over the past five years, maybe a little more. What are priorities of social and economic development? Where has Azerbaijan achieved the greatest success, and which spheres require further development?

- You're completely right, one of the main activities of the government was to ensure full economic independence, which is the basis for political independence. If a country is economically dependent, it may experience  and it often does  great difficulty in implementing its independent policy.

Today Azerbaijan has no such problems. I can provide some figures. Over the past 15 years, the economy has grown by 3.2 times in Azerbaijan, which, I think, is a world record. Meanwhile, despite huge investment projects, we have been working to stabilize the external debt, which today makes about 20 percent of GDP. And I gave instructions to significantly reduce it in the coming years.

Currency reserves of Azerbaijan make up the same volume as the gross domestic product. In other words, if needed, we can pay off all debts within a few days or months. The financial position of Azerbaijan is quite stable, and the investment projects that we are implementing will naturally bring additional profits. I should also note that over the past 15 years, more than $230 billion have been invested in the Azerbaijani economy.

- Those are foreign investments?

- Half of them - foreign, the other half - domestic. It's a great evidence of active investment policy of both our state and Azerbaijani private sector.

When it comes to significant achievements of recent years, I would like to highlight our progress in the energy sector. We became an exporter of electricity, even though previously we were an importer. We export gas, although we imported gas in recent past. We have implemented major oil and gas projects that allow us to accumulate large financial resources. We have actively invested in transport infrastructure both inside the country and in the regional scale. That's how we laid foundation for sustainable development in the future.

As for what remains to be done, we will continue diversification of our economy. We will be less dependant on oil and gas factor. We will improve non-oil exports. We're actively working on this and results of the past two or three years are very impressive. We have increased non-oil exports by 20-30%, and in the future this issue will be one of the highest priorities.

Unlike some countries, we must constantly work to create new jobs. 1.4 million jobs have been created over the past 15 years, but population of Azerbaijan has grown by 1.5 million people in the same period. Therefore, our economy must constantly be ahead of demography. Our government carries out this taks at my instruction, and we're working in this direction. Creation of new industries, social infrastructure, designed for a larger population, will be the hightest priority in the coming years.

- Azerbaijan is located in not-so-quiet region of the world. And this, of course, raises some concerns, requires strengthening of the country's defense capabilities. I know, and you talked about this a lot, how much is being done to strengthen your army. Today Azerbaijan has a modern army, armed with modern weapons. What steps must be taken to ensure security of the country?

- Yes, you're right. This topic is always in the focus of our work. Strengthening military potential of our country is one of the main priorities. A lot has been done in this direction.

Today the Azerbaijani army, according to international experts and organizations that make up various ratings, is among the world's 50 most equipped and combat-capable armies. We have almost completed the rearmament process, our army is equipped with the most modern, high-precision, offensive, and defensive character. We purchase weapons from the best manufacturers. And this armament allows us to feel confident enough.

Naturally, it's impossible to create a strong army with one weapon, so much has been done to increase the fighting efficiency of our army, to strengthen discipline. And of course - numerous exercises and trainings. They show us where we still have shortcomings.

We have significantly strengthened material and technical base of the armed forces. More than 80% of all our military bases and military camps, in fact, rebuilt anew. In the coming years, we will completely complete the process associated with the material and technical base. And for the coming years, of course, we will be engaged in military construction.

As for the acquisition of weapons, it will be more selective, more specific - for the solution of the respective tasks. Parallel to this, in Azerbaijan, about a decade ago, the Ministry of Defense Industry was established, on my initiative, because before that time we did not produce military products. Today we not only produce, but also export. In Azerbaijan, more than a thousand items of military products are manufactured, which meets international standards and reduces our dependence on imports in many respects. It also creates a good export potential for Azerbaijan to become an exporting country.

- Historically, Azerbaijan is a multinational country. There are at least ten large national diasporas in Azerbaijan. As for small diasporas, there are dozens of them. What is being done to maintain interethnic harmony between them?

- You know that historically Azerbaijan has always been a country known for high level of intercultural, interreligious dialogue. There were no terms like multiculturalism in the past, it was always our way of life.

During the years of our independence we managed not only to maintain these positive trends, but also to strengthen them. Today representatives of all peoples, all faiths are living in our country, they feel comfortable, they feel life normal citizens of our country. And they are.

I have repeatedly said that diversity is extremely important for us. Ethnic and religious diversity of Azerbaijan is our greatest asset, which we really value. And we do everything to ensure that these positive trends are strengthened. There are no potential problems in the sphere of interethnic, interconfessional relations in Azerbaijan. We're implementing state policy in this direction. It's also very important for society to fully support this policy.

We're actively working to spread these positive trends both in the region and in the world. Because we don't live in vacuum. Naturally, processes associated with tensions and difficulties in interethnic relations that occur anywhere in the world are a potential threat. That's why a lot of international events were held on our initiative: the Baku Humanitarian Forum, the Intercultural Dialogue International Forum, the UN Alliance of Civilizations Global Forum.

This year we celebrate 10th anniversary of the "Baku process", which was initiated by Azerbaijan. Its purpose is to coordinate efforts between members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and member states of the Council of Europe on intercultural, interreligious, civilized dialogue. We do this not only to demonstrate our achievements in this direction, but also to ensure that these positive trends are strengthened.

How did we manage to achieve such a high level of interethnic, interreligious harmony? It's thanks to the fact that we not only talk about this, but also believe in this. And we're working in this direction. If such approach prevails in the world, then there will be no problems.

- Azerbaijan is a secular and Muslim country at the same time. Is there a danger of radical Islamic groups reaching your country? How important is it to combat this and how can it be done?

- This threat potentially exists in all Muslim countries. The most important thing is how government and society treats this issue, as well as the state of society. How it perceives these ideas. That's why we understood long time ago that it's not enough to fight against export of radicalism through only administrative or any other measures. We had to - and we achieved this - prevent dangerous ideas from spreading.

First of all, education is the main guarantor of progressive, successful development of Azerbaijan as a secular state. Today literacy rate in Azerbaijan is close to 100%, and education receives a lot of attention. Our budget has two leading items of expenditure - defense and education. Defense - for obvious reasons, education - for future generation of Azerbaijani citizens, so that they would be educated and vaccinated against radicalism.

Another important factor is social and economic development. We can see how ideas of radicalism and extremism find support where there are many social and economic problems: poverty, unemployment, despair. Illiterate people think that there's salvation in this (radical Islam - TASS). Therefore, education and social and economic development are important factors that must be considered if you want to fight against such propaganda. Unemployment and poverty rates in Azerbaijan are among the lowest in the world.

Of course, active state policy and propaganda of ideas of national self-awareness, ideas associated with our past, our plans for future - all of this also helps us to actively fight against potential threats. I must say that there are no potential risks associated with radicalization of society in our country. We should simply protect ourselves from negative and dangerous influence from the outside through both administrative, social and economic, and ideological measures.

- Baku pursues multi-vector foreign policy, and Azerbaijan's foreign policy positions are getting stronger with each passing year. One of the best examples of this is that a few years ago Azerbaijan became non-permanent member of the UN Security Council. Which foreign policy directions require further development? Are there any flaws that must be fixed? How does Azerbaijan feel today in political family of nations?

- Very comfortably and confidently. I think that when it comes to foreign policy we achieved everything we possibly could. As you noted, a few years ago we were became nonpermanent member of the UN Security Council with support of 155 countries. This is absolute majority of the members of the United Nations, which means that we have been able to demonstrate to the world that we're a reliable country that enjoys great respect in a short period of independence.

We have always made and make decision based on our national interests in our foreign policy. Foreign policy is a continuation of domestic policy. It helps to resolve internal problems. Naturally, our position has always been that we must strengthen our ties with our partners through mutually beneficial cooperation. We can achieve closer ties and mutual understanding through cooperation. I think that we have succeeded in this.

We didn't plan to carry out our foreign policy this way, we didn't plan for it to be multi-vector policy, acceptable by everyone. We have many differences with our traditional partners on many important issues, but this doesn't prevent us from seeing the most important things: strategic nature of relations, their importance for us and for our partners, as well as focus on results.

I must say that we enjoy great trust in the international arena. Some states may not agree with us, but I think we're respected and trusted. It's in our national interests to have good relations with all countries. Not at the expense of any one-sided concessions, but as a result of effectively policy of cooperation, aimed at concrete result. And I think as the result of this Azerbaijan has very strong position in the Muslim world and actively participates in and defends its interests in European structures.

We have very close, good relations with our neighbors, who also treat us kindly. That's why we have no directions that must be improved or fixed in our foreign policy. I think that the most important thing is to preserve positive vector of development. It will help to strengthen regional stability.

- You have often mentioned strategic nature of Azerbaijan's relations with the Russian Federation. President of Russia Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin have repeatedly said the same. After elections in Russia ended, you were among the first to congratulate Putin on his victory. Numerous experts talk about trusting relations you have with Russian President, or your personal chemistry. How do you assess current state of Russian-Azerbaijani relations? What should be done to further improve them? How important are personal contacts between two leaders for development of these relations?

- Undoubtedly, personal contact of leaders always plays an important role in any interstate relations, especially in relations between neighboring countries, between countries that are connected by a centuries-old history.

Our personal relations with President Vladimir Putin are one of the important factors in the successful development of our bilateral relations. Our frequent meetings, contacts in bilateral format, multilateral format contribute to the strengthening of mutual understanding.

We have very trusting relations. If there are any issues that require our participation, we call up or meet and regulate them.

This is the most important factor of bilateral relations that have played and plays an important role in interstate cooperation. Largely thanks to our personal, confidential relations and common understanding of the importance of our countries for each other, we managed to bring our cooperation to the level of strategic partnership.

We cooperate very closely on many issues. We have a growing trade turnover in the economic sphere, we implement joint projects in the transport and energy sectors. There are more than 300 schools with education in Russian in Azerbaijan, and there is a faculty in Russian in all higher state educational institutions. Meanwhile, two branches of leading Russian universities were recently opened: these are the Moscow State University and the Sechenov Medical University, which is also an important factor of our humanitarian cooperation.

In other words, the relations are full-fledged. They are how they should be between neighbors and friends.

- I have another question about the international agenda - regarding the Caspian issue. Azerbaijan has its own interests there, just like other Caspian countries: Russia, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Iran. I know that negotiations on status of the Caspian Sea are underway. At what stage are they now and how will this situation develop?

- It is important in determining the final status of the Caspian Sea that we are moving in the right direction. In all issues that require evaluation and analysis, it is necessary to look at the trend. Now we are moving towards finding mutual understanding on this issue, and I must say that most of the work that was needed to be carried out has already been implemented.

I think that the good will, which will continue to be manifested by all the Caspian countries, will allow us to regulate this issue and settle the status of the Caspian Sea. Along with this, I should note that the issue of the unsettled status of the Caspian Sea in no way affects either the multilateral format of cooperation between the Caspian states, nor the bilateral one. In any case, for Azerbaijan. We have very close, friendly relations with all the Caspian countries. The relationship is filled with real content, and the level of trust is very high.

The approach shared by all the Caspian countries is that we should not put the status of the Caspian Sea in the first place in relations with our neighbors, but should concentrate on those issues that can and should be solved today. And thus we will prepare the ground for the settlement of this issue. I believe that, like all other issues related to international matters, the principles of international law, international practice existing in the settlement of such issues should prevail here.

What has already been done deserves approval. We can see progress in some areas of this issue. I think that we will see good results in the near future.

- Ilham Heydarovich, I must ask you about situation around Nagorno-Karabakh. I understand that this topic is always on your mind, you always think about it in your professional presidential activity. The Minsk group is working on this problem, ministers meet. Occasionally there are meetings at the highest level in different formats. And yet I get the impression that situation is running in circles, it's frozen. Does Azerbaijan accept this situation? Can there be any breakthrough in this deriction? What steps must be taken to resolve this painful situation?

- Of course, the current situation is not acceptable either for Azerbaijan or for the international community. All the more so, the countries that have the mandate for the mediation mission, the OSCE Minsk Group co-charing countries - Russia, France and the US - have repeatedly declared at the level of the heads of state that the status quo is unacceptable and should be changed. We fully share these positions and consider such statements to be very correct. But we are waiting for concrete actions. Statements are, of course, important, but we need a settlement of the issue.

There are all legal mechanisms to settle the issue. More than twenty years ago the UN Security Council adopted four resolutions demanding the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of Armenian troops from the occupied territory. These resolutions remain valid and must be implemented. But Armenia refuses to fulfill them. And unfortunately, no sanctions were imposed on Armenia for this refusal. Other international organizations also adopted a similar decision and resolutions. OSCE, Organization of Islamic Cooperation, European Parliament, Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Non-Aligned Movement and other organizations adopted similar resolutions - Armenia does not fulfill them.

The occupation of Azerbaijani lands continues. As a result of the occupation, more than a million Azerbaijanis became IDPs and refugees on their own land. Our cities were destroyed, people were expelled. Ethnic cleansing was carried out against us. All this was proved by facts and materials.

The main problem is that Armenia does not want to change the status quo. Armenia in words declares a desire to negotiate, but in fact is engaged in their imitation. It makes every effort to ensure that everything goes in circles and to create a process without an end. It is not acceptable for us and for the international community. Therefore, it is necessary to ensure speedy fulfillment of the UN Security Council resolutions by Armenia and start of de-occupation of the Azerbaijani territory. Not only Nagorno-Karabakh, but also Azerbaijans seven districts, which dont have and didnt have anything to do with the Nagorno Karabakh Autonomous Oblast of the Azerbaijani SSR, are under occupation.

The beginning of de-occupation of the Azerbaijani territory is the first step in the phased settlement of the conflict, which should be carried out on the basis of norms and principles of international law.

- Chiefs of the General Staffs of Russia and the United States met in Baku twice. Do you think it's important that Azerbaijan and its capital continue to be a platform for multilateral or bilateral meetings on topical issues?

- Azerbaijan is becoming a platform of not only regional, but also global cooperation. And we perceive the fact that Baku was chosen and proposal to hold a meeting of chiefs of General Staffs of Russia and the United States here as a sign of respect and trust in us. We also perceive this as another element of properly structured foreign policy of Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan is perceived as a very serious partner, as a friendly country by the world community. Azerbaijan is a country that not only declares something, but also takes concrete steps regarding regional and global cooperation.

We are a country that has already organized a big number of major international events, including sports: the First European Games, the fourth Islamic Solidarity Games  with an interval of two years. This is a demonstration of our capabilities, as well as a demonstration of the world's attitude towards us. Because the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Council of Europe unite more than 100 countries  more than half of the world community. We achieved this with our work, our policy and the fact that Baku became a very recognizable city on the world map. I must also say that a lot of tourists have been visiting us recently.

Azerbaijan is a stable country. Azerbaijani people are famous for their hospitality. Our country has all the conditions for both work and and rest. For our part, we always strive to ensure that the countries, with which we have close cooperation, also have good working relations among themselves. We live in this region. Everything happening in the region has a certain impact on us. Therefore, we must strive to minimize risks for ourselves through international cooperation. If we are able to make some small contribution to reducing tensions among the worlds leading countries, we will, of course, continue doing this in the future.

- On the eve of elections, what do you consider the most difficult moment in the past five years of your presidential term? Were there any situations that gave you sleepless nights?

- Honestly, I can't remember something that would bother me so much. I can't remember difficulties like that. Of course, there are working issues. Disappointing things happen when instructions and orders aren't carried out properly. But overall, everything went according to plan over the past years. I always believed that sustainable development of the country is possible only if all steps and priorities are planned correctly from the start. We should always aim at the best result.

We were always far from populism. Sometimes we even tried now to demonstrate our achievements and just do what's necessary for the country's successful development. There were no and I think there will be no problems with our internal development. The only concern is regional situation and how aggravation of regional situation can affect our citizens, our country, as well as what must be done in order to protect our citizens and the country from risks.

- Let me clarify my question. You visit different part of the republic almost every week. You actively meet with people, and, as you said, you're far from populism. But at the same time, people ask you for something, ask some questions. What troubles people the most? What do they ask you?

- You know, dynamics of these appeals is also the main indicator of our social and economic development. During first years when I was elected as president, there were a lot of appeals on infrastructure issues, poor condition of schools, hospitals, lack of electricity, gas supply, water supply, lack of roads and so on. But as these issues were resolved, appeals have become completely different.

Today, looking back at the path we walked, we see that almost all infrastructure issues have been resolved. Over the past 15 years, we have commissioned over 30 power plants and turned into exporter of electricity. The level of gasification in Azerbaijan will reach 95% by the end of this year. We put into circulation over 100 thousand hectares of irrigated land annually, which helps the development of agriculture. Over the past 15 years, taking into account this year, 15 thousand kilometers of roads have been built, as well as over 3100 schools - this is about 80% of all schools. Over 600 medical institutions have been built from scratch or repaired.

I visit regions very often, and at first local authorities though: "So he came, gave instructions... when will he come here again?" And I returned in six months. Then once again in six months. And they understood that it's necessary to carry out my instructions and do what they have to not just when I visit, but every day. Live communication allows me to keep my hand on the pulse, know what bothers people, and, of course, monitor implementation of my decisions. I think that in the coming years the main direction of our activity will be improvement of management system. I'm talking about issue concerning social justice, bureaucratic lawlessness. That's why we need public control, which I mentioned at the beginning of our conversation. That's why I travel so much.

By the way, I must say that this year we're completing third program of social and economic development of the regions of Azerbaijan. The first was adopted in 2004. All these programs, most of them are based on requests from the regions. In other words, these programs aren't just about slogans. There are specifics, which city, which village, when this or that will be done. It's a document that demonstrates our activity. We're completing the third program, it's already clear that we have significantly exceeded expectations. That's why improvement of management and improvement of efficiency of our activity, creation of even better conditions for entrepreneurs, for diversification of the economy will be our priorities in the future.

- We're talking about modern Azerbaijan as a democratic developing state. 100 years ago, the country already had experience - unfortunately, short-term experience - of building a democratic republic. You signed a decree on celebration of this event. What must be learned from that experience and how useful was it?

- 2018 has been declared the Year of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (ADR) in the country - we celebrate its 100th anniversary, and this is the main event of this year. You know, looking back, it's not by chance that the first democratic republic in the Muslim world was established by Azerbaijanis. This originates from the past of our people, from its freedom loving, proud character. If we read the classics of Azerbaijani literature, there are a lot of philosophical topics, connected to issues that are relevant today.

Creation of Azerbaijani Democratic Republic 100 years ago was a historic event for Azerbaijani people. The traditions of the democratic republic are alive today, and modern Azerbaijan is its successor. A lot has been done for political reforms, in a short time. It's enough to note that women were granted the right to vote much earlier than in many European countries.

Today, by looking back, we of course with gratitude recall the founders of the first republic. But we must also learn the lessons from what happened to it. It existed for less than two years, and we shouldn't forget these lessons. Thus, today we are doing everything to strengthen the independence, sovereignty, economic potential, international authority of Azerbaijan - so that the country would always be independent. I think that if the founders of the first democratic republic could see today's Azerbaijan, they would've been proud.

- Azerbaijan has always been a cultural center of not only the East, but of the entire world. Music of Gara Garayev and Fikret Amirov, paintings of Sattar Bahlulzade and Tahir Salakhov, works of Magsud Ibrahimbeyov are all part of world culture. These names are known to any cultural person. What is currently being done to preserve this cultural heritage?

- Of course, our cultural heritage is very important for us. And we're proud of our outstanding representatives. For centuries, Azerbaijan has given the world outstanding thinkers, poets, scientists, public figures. And these traditions continue today. Coryphaeuses of Azerbaijani culture are people who promote Azerbaijan. They are cultural heritage of our nation. And when it comes to our cultural heritage we're very careful, we protect it.

The most important task is to educate younger generation of Azerbaijanis on the example of our outstanding representatives, in the spirit of patriotism, in the spirit of attachment to their culture. Of course, young people should be open to the world, but at the same time they should stay close to their historical, cultural roots. This will guarantee progressive development of Azerbaijan and our society. We can't be successful without foundation, without roots, even if we have strong economy or strong army, strong foreign policy positions. That's why modern Azerbaijan has very deep cultural, national, moral roots, values, which we, of course, cherish. And we're proud that we gave the world so many outstanding cultural figures.

- Azerbaijan also shows great achievements in sport. Your athletes return from Olympics with medals not only in traditional sports, such as wrestling, but also in most unexpected sports for Azerbaijan. How important is development of sport component in the life of Azerbaijan? What's being done to raise a health nation?

- You know, as a head of the National Olympic Committee of Azerbaijan with more than 20 years of experience, I must say that we have done a lot in this direction. Progressive development of sport and our achievements are the main indicator of that.

We developed in several directions. The first and the most important one is popularity of sport. This is foundation of public health - both physical and moral. Since our athletes make us happy with their victories, they are a great example of good behavior in society. They are very good people and behave with dignity, they are a good example for children.

We decided to build Olympic sports centers all over the country. Today there are already 43 of them. Four are still under construction. Sports infrastructure of Baku is able to host any competition, which we demonstrated during the European Games.

Of course, there's also professional sports. We pay a lot of attention to it. Athletes make us happy and will continue to do so. During the last Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro Azerbaijan was on the 14th place by the number of medals. It's a historic achievement, we couldn't even dream about it 20 years ago. We dreamed of one, two, three medals, and today we have dozens of them. This is an indicator of development of sport. The life of an athlete is short-lived. It's not that just one athlete won so much. Every year we have a new team almost in all sports.

We have special programs, very strong state support. All structures involved in development of sport work in coordination. The Olympic Committee, the Ministry of Youth and Sports, all federations, clubs - they all work as a team to ensure that there are more achievements. Because it's not just about national pride, it's a very important factor in public life.

Victories in sports lift the mood, create a sense of patriotism, pride in their country. But most importantly, our champions are a great example for younger generation. They don't smoke, don't drink, they work and achieve results. Our country will generously reward them for that.

- I think if there's one area where Azerbaijan is an absolute champion of the world it's cuisine. I know that you're not too fastidious about what to eat, but anyway: what dish of Azerbaijani cuisine do you like the most?

- Cuisine of each nation is an indicator of its culture, traditions, and opportunities. Of course, Azerbaijani cuisine is very diverse, very tasty, but very dangerous. That's why...

- Why is it dangerous?

- It's dangerous because of uncontrolled weight gain.

- You know, I even tell my friends and colleagues who are in charge of tourism industry that there's a great slogan: Azerbaijan - a paradise for those who don't want to lose weight!

- Yes, I think you're right. That's why I try not to eat too much in everyday life. I think the best dishes are those cooked by my wife Mehriban. Of course, I think that there's nothing more tasty than Azerbaijani cuisine. I think every representative of each nation thinks that their kitchen is the best, and I'm no exception. But in everyday life, I try to stay away from it, at least a little bit. As for my favorite dishes of Azerbaijani cuisine, I like them all. But above all, I love those dishes that my wife Mehriban cooked. She is a great specialist. Of course, it brings a lot of joy to me and all members of our family when she makes us happy with her culinary creations.

- It's especially valuable now, because she is also the first vice-president and has many other duties and responsibilities.

- Of course, we appreciate it. We appreciate it and are very grateful that she takes care of her family members.

- I know you for many years and I know that you don't have any specific hobby. How do you relax, how do you cope with presidential stress?

- Yes, I don't have a hobby. But I think that hobby is something that brings you joy and pleasure. For me, the greatest pleasure comes from seeing the results of my work. Believe me, these are not just words for camera, it's actually true. When I see that what was planned is being done, I see that there's progress in this or that sphere of development of Azerbaijan, it gives huge moral satisfaction, and it's better than any hobby. So I think that's how I compensate for absence of any special hobby. In addition, I spend my free time with my family. Perhaps that's where I get energy for life. I'm a kind of person who happily goes to work and returns home with joy.

- Last question. Recently you talk with young people more and more. You attend youth events, hold meetings with young people. And now the first political generation of the 21st century is gaining momentum and growing. What would you like to see in youth of modern Azerbaijan, which will replace current political generation?

- Yes, you're absolutely right, this is the most important line of activity for any leader of the country, because young people are future leaders, they will determine the future of our country. That's why the future must be in safe hands. I'm glad that Azerbaijani youth meets highest demands. I think that in the future, we will pursue an even more active policy in this direction. And of course, I would like for all Azerbaijani young people to be very devoted to their homeland, because main indicator of independence and main guarantee of success is to love your homeland and serve it proudly. I hope Azerbaijani youth will be devoted to homeland.

Of course, it's important to raise youth in the spirit of traditional values that are characteristic for Azerbaijani people. And we're doing everything to achieve this. Our national culture, art, music, national ideology - all of this promotes our values, and we must always be close to our spiritual roots. Young people should be protected, but they also have to protect themselves from outside influences. During first years of independence, there was some sense of dependency in the air. It seemed that many people thought that someone would come and show us how to live. But then we realized that our destiny is in our own hands, and today, when someone obsessively wants to give us some help, we always treat this with a little bit of doubt.

Young people must understand that the future of Azerbaijan is in their hands. They must be selective in assessing certain ideological actions. In other words, protecting young people from influence, negative influence from outside is, I think, one of the main directions of our ideological work.

At the same time, of course, our youth should be open to the world. It must be open to everything modern, progressive. Our formula is that the state has very strong traditional roots, traditional values, with which Azerbaijani people lived, live and must live. We must stay close to our traditions, to our culture, to our language, to our perception of the world. At the same time, we must adopt all the best, all the progressive in order to modernize our country, strengthen its potential. We must strengthen secular nature of our society, thereby ensuring progressive development.

Ideally, this is the picture that we would like to see. We have succeeded to an extent. And youth should follow this direction.
The first section of the international scientific conference entitled Heydar Aliyev: Multiculturalism and the Ideology of Tolerance was held in Yekaterinburg, the head of the Department of Foreign Regional Studies of the Ural Federal University (Ural Federal University), Alexander Nesterov, reported.

The event was organized by the Azerbaijan University of Languages. "The conference was attended by the representatives from Azerbaijan, the Azerbaijani diaspora, the Consul General of Azerbaijan in Yekaterinburg and its apparatus, regional authorities and representatives of the Federal University, TASS quotes Nesterov as saying.
Five civilians were killed and 30 others wounded Saturday by the rebels' mortar shells amid intensifying military showdown in Damascus' Douma district, Xinhua reported citing the state news agency SANA.

The mortar shells fired by the Islam Army in Douma in the Eastern Ghouta countryside of the capital slammed several neighborhoods on Saturday, prompting the army to respond to the fire sources in Douma.

A day earlier, two people were killed and 20 others wounded by the rebels' mortar attack on Damascus.
It is necessary to redouble, or triple the efforts to resolve the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, said Azerbaijans Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov in an interview with TRT World, Trend reports.

He noted that the situation on the line of contact is not so good. Armenia violates the ceasefire much often, said the foreign minister.

We call it sporadic shootings. More serious clashes can be started after this sporadic shootings. Trenches on the line of contact are very near to each other. Sometimes the distance between the trenches is less than 100 meters. Of course, that is a huge danger. he said. I dont think that diplomacy is exhausted. But we need to redouble, or triple our efforts.

The minister noted that in order to achieve the conflicts settlement, first of all, Armenian troops should be withdrawn from Azerbaijans occupied territories.

We have agreed to seriously intensify the negotiations after the completion of electoral processes in Azerbaijan and Armenia. At the end of the story, we will bring some result. We expect it to be a just result. Because the international law is on the side of Azerbaijan, Mammadyarov added.
The right-conservative rhetoric is gaining popularity in Europe due to the numerous contradictions that have accumulated in the European Union, an analyst of the news agency Vestnik Kavkaza said today in the National Question program on Vesti FM.

When the European Union was created, it was based on the idea of integration in everything - together it would be easier to cope with the economic difficulties, the united opinion of several countries has a greater political weight; tolerance, social justice allow people from different countries to live in peace and feel themselves a part of a single unity, the analyst reminded.

According to her, now, after 25 years in the European Union, the opposite ideas are becoming more and more popular.

"It's no secret that the population of Europe is aging inevitably. For the first time since the Second World War, the death rate on the continent exceeds the birth rate." The native European population is decreasing, but the total number of the EU residents is growing steadily - at the expense of immigrants.The liberal migration policy attracted a large number of people to the European Union, especially from the Muslim countries. And after the Arab Spring, the civil wars in North Africa, the Middle East, the conflict in Syria, the flow of migrants to Europe has increased even more. This state of affairs gave rise not only to the discontent, but even fear among the local population. "As we know, a sweeping wave of the terrorist attacks took place in Europe, many accused the immigration crisis in this. The European Union introduced quotas for each country for the reception of refugees. But many tried to do as much as possible to reduce the number of migrants on their territory, " Marina Lagutina said.

She noted that, against this background, the euroskepticism has spread widely, the essence of which is a desire for the reforms and changes in the European Union. "The economic crisis has shown that the overall economy for three dozen countries has not turned out to be as effective as they would like it to be. Some countries such as developed economies, Germany, for example, have become donors, and poor countries accumulate debts - recall the monstrous debt of Greece. The unemployment rate is growing in Europe, the UK is launching a process of withdrawal from the EU, and there are separate regions that declare their intention to secede like Catalonia, so some people have a desire to protect and retain their own prosperity and way of life, while others try get out of the impasse of unemployment and poverty, " the analyst said.

"Trying to solve their problems, people, first of all, have to answer the question Who is to blame? And the simplest answer is always - strangers. "In the wake of such economic and migration crises, the right-conservative ideology, unconditional, receives a grateful audience. Of course, we can say that this trend is contrary to the political and social values of the European Union, but at the same time in Europe we are constantly confronted with such contradictions: for example, the UK withdraws from the EU, but calls on other countries to solidarity in the political issues, or Brussels supports the United States, and Washington introduces the economic restrictive measures against the EU, etc. And so, the ideas of globalization and integration are now going through a crisis, people are trying to find a way out and turn to the opposite opinion - you can say, this is the version of the modern nationalism, "Marina Lagutina concluded.
Preparations for a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin will not be affected by sweeping U.S. sanctions imposed yesterday on Russian government officials and businessmen, the White House said, Reuters reported.

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said U.S. officials would continue to work toward a meeting with Putin at some point. As the president has said, he wants to have a good relationship with Russia but thats going to depend on some of the actions by the Russians, she said at a news briefing.
The United States new anti-Russian sanctions cover those biggest Russian businesses that refuse to play to Washingtons scenario, the Russian embassy in the United States said in a statement on Friday, TASS reports.

"Washington has delivered yet another blow on the Russian-US relations. Now, the sanctions cover captains of Russian business who refuse to play to Washingtons scenario," the embassy said.

The US sanctions are seen as an erroneous step killing the freedom of enterprise and competition and impairing integration processes in the global economy, according to the embassy.

"The United States has made yet another erroneous step to destroy the freedom of enterprise and competition, to impair integration processes in the global economy," the embassy said.
The former president of Georgia, the ex-governor of the Odessa region, Mikhail Saakashvili, got a job, he wrote on his page in Facebook.

"I agreed with the Academy of Speakers of the Netherlands on cooperation.As long as I am in Europe, I will earn a living by lecturing," RIA Novosti quotes him as saying.

Saakashvili specified that he was very pleased being acquainted with the Academy staff, who demonstrated the good knowledge of the specifics of the Eastern Europe as a region, as well as the correct values.
Saudi Arabia will host its first fashion week from April 10 which will take place at the Ritz Cartlon in Riyadh, Gulf News reported.

The four-day event will feature local Arab designers and European brand names including Roberto Cavalli and Jean Paul Gaultier.

Since the initial announcement made in February, Arab Fashion Week Riyadh has garnered significant interest from international guests wanting to attend, said Layla Issa Abuzaid, the country director for Saudi Arabia at the Arab Fashion Council, the Dubai nonprofit responsible for the event.

Originally supposed to be held in February the event was postponed to accommodate all the international guests who had applied to attend, said Jacob Abrian, the chief executive of the Arab Fashion Council. We are extremely thankful for all the trust and support that we have received to make it happen.
A tanker crashed into a historic mansion on the shores of Istanbuls Bosphorus on Saturday after its steering equipment became locked, broadcaster CNN Turk said, adding that traffic in the strait had been suspended in both directions, Reuters reports.

Towboats and coast guard vessels were sent to the area after the crash and the Vitaspirit tanker, carrying a Maltese flag, was pulled back from the crash site and brought to shore, CNN Turk said.

There were no immediate reports of casualties, but footage from the crash showed extensive damage to the historic seaside mansion located under the Fatih Sultan Mehmet bridge, one of the three crossings between Istanbuls Asian and European sides.
US President Donald Trump and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, spoke about Iran and Qatar, in a telephone call, The National reports.

The two men discussed regional developments and opportunities for enhanced cooperation on security and economic issues, a White House statement said.

"The president thanked the crown prince for his close, strategic partnership and for his strong leadership in highlighting ways all Gulf Cooperation Council states can better counter Iranian destabilising activities and defeat terrorists and extremists," the White House statement said. "The leaders agreed that all GCC states can and should do more to increase coordination with each other and with the United States to ensure the peace and prosperity of the people in the region."
Police in the western German city of Muenster say a vehicle has crashed into a crowd there, killing several people and injuring others, Orlando Sentinel writes.

The German news agency dpa has quoted police as saying the driver of that car in Muenster has killed himself.

Police tweeted Saturday afternoon that residents should "avoid the area near the Kiepenkerl pub" where a large-scale police operation is underway. Kiepenkerl is a popular bar in the city's historic downtown area.

Further details about the crash were not immediately available.
Hungarian low-cost airline Wizz Air, is launching a new direct flight that will connect Georgia to Romania, Agenda.ge reported.

Starting from July 3, 2018 Wizz Air will launch flights between Georgias western city of Kutaisi and Romanias capital of Bucharest, the airline company announced.

Flights will be performed three times in a week - on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Tickets for the new route are already on sale starting from 25.51.
A NANG  World experts and regional specialists will get together at the 23rd meeting of the Asia-Pacific Telecommunity (APT) Wireless Group (AWG-23) in a Nang from April 9 to 13.

The Ministry of Information and Communications said the meeting will also draw world renowned telecommunication groups including Viet Nam National Post and Telecommunication (VNPT), the Military Telecommunication (Viettel), Ericsson, Huawei, Samsung and Qualcom.

The event will features meetings on frequency management, spectrum arrangement, future development of the digital switch-over and additional spectrum available for 4G and many other emerging wireless technologies.

The ministry said the working groups of the AWG will also review the progress on work items and develop outcomes based on decisions taken at the meeting.

The meeting will be a chance for participants to discuss the future development of radiocommunication not only in the region, but worldwide. The rapid development of new technology in recent years requires countries to create policies to deal with increasing demand for radio frequency.

Viet Nam has been rapidly developing mobile networks in 64 provinces and cities with 130 mobile subscribers, a ratio of 145 subscribers per 100 inhabitants.

a Nang has seen as the first city in Viet Nam and ASEAN that fully switched to digitalisation of television programmes.  VNS
HCM CITY  Cambodia and Myanmar offer huge investment opportunities in the agricultural sector for Vietnamese firms, experts said.

The two countries have made a successful switch from a centrally planned economy to a market-oriented one, and their productivity has increased significantly while labour costs remain competitive.

Speaking at a seminar in HCM City on Thursday on the opportunities for agricultural investment in Cambodia and Myanmar, Meach Yady, chief of agricultural marketing at Cambodias Department of Planning and Statistics, said agriculture accounts for 25 per cent of his countrys GDP and gets special attention from the Government.

It has also adopted policies to encourage businesses from Viet Nam and other countries in the region to invest in its agriculture, he said.

Cambodia is a promising market for Vietnamese firms, who can invest in growing and processing fruits and vegetables, cassava, maize, mung beans, and seeds, animal feed production, dairy farming and fisheries, he said.

Speaking about investment opportunities in Myanmar, Prof. Dr. Myint Thein, chairman of the Myanmar Veterinary Association and former director general of the Directorate of Livestock and Fisheries, said besides investing in growing and processing key items like rice, wheat, maize, oil seeds, fruits and vegetables, Vietnamese firms also can invest in production of agricultural machinery and supply post-harvest preservation and processing technologies.

Myint Thein said Myanmar admires Viet Nams achievements in the agricultural sector, especially exports of processed and fisheries products, and wants to co-operate in these areas.

He apprised Vietnamese businesses about his countrys Investment Law, incentives for foreign investors, and issues related to import-export of farm produce.

Many Vietnamese firms have invested in the two countries in various sectors, including agriculture, Nguyen Ba Vinh, director of the Minh Vi Exhibition and Advertisement Services Co, Ltd, said.

Myanmar and Cambodia expect more investments from Vietnamese businesses in the agricultural sector in the near future.

To help Vietnamese firms understand more about the Cambodian and Myanmarese markets and explore business and investment opportunities there, his company would organise an international exhibition each in Cambodia and Myanmar on agriculture and fisheries, he said.

Agri-Livestock- Aqua Fisheries would be held from September 5 to 7 in Phnom Penh and from September 26 to 28 in Yangon, he said.

They would showcase the latest technologies and equipment as well as agriculture and fisheries products, he said.

They would also feature business matching between suppliers and distributors and conferences to help participants understand the investment opportunities in the two markets

They are expected to attract 200 exhibitors from 15 countries and territories, including Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Japan, Taiwan, Turkey, Viet Nam, China, and India.  VNS




QUANG NGAI  Ly Son Island District in the central province of Quang Ngai consists of three islands: ao Lon (Big Island), ao Be (Small Island) and Hon Mu Cu (Mu Cu Islet).

The Big Island, also known as Cu Lao Re, hosts Ly Sons centre, while Mu Cu Islet, the smallest of the three islands, is currently unpopulated.

Located 30km from the mainland, the island district is famous for growing garlic, as well as its growing reputation amongst tourists. Weather on the islands is generally cool and sunny year round.

With its striking geographical features and stunning landscapes, built from volcanic eruptions over millions of years, the Ly Son Island District could be considered Viet Nams equivalent of South Koreas Jeju Island.

Volcanic eruptions have formed various beautiful features on the islands such as Hang Cau (Cau Cave), and the Thoi Loi volcano mouth, which boasts a beautiful lake, and an aerial view of the entire island district.

Sa Ky Fishing Port is a must visit area with boats coming and going throughout the day from 4am. Tourists can buy various sea products from locals at cheap prices.

The most convenient mode of transport on the islands is by motorbike, a selection of which can be rented from VN100,000-120,000 (US$4-5) per day. A night in a hotel here costs between VN250,000-350,000 ($11-16) on average.

Security on the islands is taken seriously, and as a result motorbike theft is very rare. Locals require that drivers and passengers wear helmets at all times while on a motorbike.

It ought to be noted that the local dialect in Ly Son is rather unique, at times puzzling visitors from other regions of the country.  VNS
HA NOI  Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Quoc Dung and Secretary of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs Preeti Saran co-chaired the two-day 20th ASEAN-India Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) which ended yesterday in Ha Noi.

At the annual meeting, delegates shared the view that the ASEAN-India dialogue relationship plays an important role in ensuring peace, stability and cooperation in the region. They praised the success of the ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit held in January 2018, considering it a significant event that opened up a new chapter in bilateral ties.

They lauded the progress of the implementation of the Action Plan for 2016-2020 and a portfolio of priority fields for 2016-2018. As of March 2018, 75 out of 130 activities in the Action Plan have been completed, equivalent to 60 percent after two years.

Both sides agreed to push forward the development of their strategic partnership, especially in priority fields.

The officials pledged to boost bilateral trade and investment ties by effectively realising free trade agreements in goods, services and investment, strengthening connectivity in the private sector and facilitating small and medium-sized enterprises access to technology and capital sources.

The participants emphasised the importance of effectively implementing projects and initiatives on road, navigation, aviation and digital connectivity.

The ASEAN officials hailed Indias sharing of experience in building smart cities, developing the sea-based economy and helping ASEAN and Indian firms form regional value chains, effectively join global value chains and narrow the development gap.

On regional and global issues, they said security challenges remain complicated and suggested boosting coordination in security, including cyber security, and the fight against terrorism, extreme violence, trans-national crimes and climate change.

They lauded proposals to deploy initiatives announced by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit such as opening a digital village in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Viet Nam, designating 2019 as the Year of ASEAN  India Tourism, offering doctorate scholarships to ASEAN member states, and holding training courses on electricity use and transmission, telecommunications and cyber technology.

Preeti Saran affirmed India s policy of respecting ASEANs central role in regional processes and committed to assisting ASEAN in building its community.

She lauded Viet Nams role as the coordinator of ASEAN-India relations over the recent past, adding that ASEANs close coordination will contribute to the enhancement of mutual understanding to build a region of fairness, openness and inclusiveness based on rules.

Deputy FM Dung noted that the Act East Policy proposed by the Indian prime minister is evidence of growing ASEAN-India ties, thus making practical contributions to peace, stability and development in the region.

He affirmed that developing the sea-based economy and improving inclusive connectivity, especially digital connectivity, are key to lifting the ASEAN-India partnership to a new height with a market of nearly 2 billion people and a gross domestic product of more than US$3.8 trillion per year.
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (r) receives Thai Ambassador Manopchai Vongphakdi for fulfilling his assigned tasks during a reception in Ha Noi yesterday. VNA/VNS Photo Thong Nhat

HA NOI  Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc lauded outgoing Thai Ambassador Manopchai Vongphakdi for fulfilling his assigned tasks during a reception in Ha Noi yesterday.

The PM said that during the ambassadors tenure, two-way trade grew rapidly with the launch of a number of Thai projects, including the southern oil refinery complex and shipbuilding facilities, adding that both sides also offered mutual support at bilateral and multilateral forums.

He expressed hope that Thailand would share experiences in developing tourism, opening new tours to facilitate economic development and supporting people-to-people exchange.

Viet Nam always strives to create the best environment to attract Thai investors and tourists to the country, he said.

Ambassador Manopchai Vongphakdi affirmed that Thailand wants to boost people-to-people exchange and investment co-operation between the two countries.
As hot weather peaks this month in southern Viet Nam, authorities in the Cuu Long (Mekong Delta) region are stepping up efforts to cope with forest fires and salinisation as a response to climate change. Photo dmhcc.gov.vn

By Van Chau

MEKONG DELTA  As hot weather peaks this month in southern Viet Nam, authorities in the Cuu Long (Mekong Delta) region are stepping up efforts to cope with forest fires and salinisation as a response to climate change.

The Deltas Kien Giang Province alone has 86,450ha of forested land, accounting for 13.6 per cent of its total area.

As one of the vulnerable areas for forest fires in the dry season, U Minh Thuong National Park (UMTNP) in Kien Giang Province is now our biggest concern, said Le Van Trong, a member of the management board at the park.

Fire prevention may be easier this year than in 2017 because the park has had few heavy rains in the first two months of the year. The water level is still high in small rivers and lakes in the park, he added.

Of the parks total area of 21,000 hectares, 8,000 hectares comprise a core area which houses many rare and endangered birds. A total of 187 bird species, 39 amphibian species and 34 fish species live in the park.

The forest is widely considered the Deltas richest region in terms of plant and animal life, with over 243 species of plants. The park has a rich mammalian population, totaling an impressive 32 species, which includes hairy-nosed otters and fishing cats.

Despite this seasons more favorable conditions, the water level at higher parts of the park has fallen quickly since the beginning of the month, so the threat of forest fire is high in that area in particular, Trong said.

To solve the water shortage, rangers, soldiers and locals are digging pits to store water capable of containing about 200 m3 of water each, he added.

For key areas at a high risk of fire, rangers and forest owners have been told to mobilise forces and equipment for fire prevention and fighting around the clock during the dry season.

Rangers, soldiers and locals will also be asked to offer assistance in case of fire.

The provincial government has spent more than VN10 billion (US$440,000) for forest fire prevention this year.

Provincial and district forest protection agencies have been asked to work with local authorities to regularly inspect, patrol and strictly manage forest areas to detect violations in a timely manner.

Huynh Minh Nguyen, director of UMTNP, said that rangers at watch towers were monitoring the park around the clock.

The force also regularly patrols the park to prevent locals from entering it illegally to collect honey, or to hunt and fish.

The canopy is thick and like a tinderbox," he said.

He added that the UMTNP management board had called on local households to take part in forest management and use preventive measures against fire.

Apart from this, forest management agencies have been asked to adapt to climate change in the dry season so they can raise awareness about forest protection among local households and train them in proper fire prevention measures when they do daily chores like cooking, collecting honey, or burning dried leaves and dried straw after crops, Nguyen said.

Truong Thanh Hao, head of the local Forest Protection Sub-department, said that provincial authorities had instructed local forest rangers, the police, and the army to work closely to prevent fires.

Temporary dams and wells have also been built in forests to store water. In addition to clearing dried branches and bushes in forests, firebreaks have been installed.

Saltwater threats

Because water flow from the Mekong River began to reduce rapidly early this month, saltwater is predicted to enter local rivers more deeply in Delta provinces during the dry season, according to the Southern Institute of Water Resources Research (SIWRR).

In 2010, saltwater began appearing two months earlier than usual and spread more widely and deeply into the major tributary rivers of the Mekong River in the western area, including the Tien, Hau and Vam Co rivers.

Salinity in the early dry season has been unusually bad. As a result, local authorities and farmers have been told to restructure agricultural and aquaculture production to adapt to climate change.

Saltwater is predicted to enter 25 to 35 kilometers at local river gates in Delta provinces, including the Vam Co River, in the dry season, threatening local water sources.

Water levels in canals have been low since the end of last month, causing saltwater to encroach deep inland.

In Kien Giang Provinces Kien Luong District, saltwater has penetrated 15km into the Rach Gia-Ha Tien Canal and Canal 15.

In Tien Giang Province, saltwater has intruded 20km inland and is expected to surge 30-40km by the middle of this month.

The water has a salinity of about four per cent, which is believed to be harmful to crops and expected to enter Ben Luc and Tan An areas in Long An Province.

SIWRR has told local authorities and farmers to store water and have a plan to combat salinisation in the dry season.

The Water Resource Directorate at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is regularly updating information on salinisation and water sources so local authorities can develop plans to cope with climate change.

Local authorities have also been told to monitor salinity at all times and inform farmers about the status, as well as give instructions in restructuring their agriculture and aquaculture production.

The delta provinces of Kien Giang, Soc Trang, Bac Lieu and Ca Mau have been hit the hardest by saltwater intrusion.

Farmers in Kien Luong, An Bien, An Minh, Vinh Thuan and U Minh Thuong districts in Kien Giang tried and failed to save standing rice crops last year.

Solutions

To give farmers up-to-the-minute data about salinity, Can Tho City since 2012 has set up eight automatic salinity monitors on main rivers and canals in the city.

Bac Lieu Province has seen hot weather and saline conditions recently. Together with the neighbouring provinces of Ca Mau and Soc Trang, Bac Lieu is now operating 100 major sluices to adjust the usage level of fresh water. Farmers have been warned to preserve fresh water.

Last year, more than 40 temporary dykes were built in the three provinces.

In an attempt to prevent saline intrusion and preserve soil quality, the entire region is now planting two rice crops each year, instead of three. The extra time is being used to grow vegetables.

Last year, Kien Giang took precautionary measures by investing more than VN40 billion (US$1.8 million) to upgrade 276 dykes and build sluices on the Kien River and Cut Canal.

Another VN20 billion ($900,000) was spent on drilling more wells to ensure fresh water for domestic use.

The Tien Giang Provinces Peoples Committee has instructed relevant agencies to apprise locals about saltwater intrusion.

It has also instructed authorities in coastal districts to dredge canals to store fresh water and pump fresh water for rice fields if saltwater intrusion worsens.

New sea-dyke would help Mekong Delta cope with climate change

Experts and representatives from the Government and international organisations met yesterday in HCM City to discuss the feasibility of a sea-dyke project which could help the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta cope with the effects of climate change.

Speaking at the workshop, Nguyen Duy Tuan, director of the Institute of Geology, Water and Environment, said that responding to climate change, especially in the Mekong Delta, was a top national priority.

Its vital to invest in new structures to prevent tides and saline intrusion. We also need to store fresh water and respond to rising sea levels in the Mekong Delta, as well as cope with flooding in HCM City, he said.

The project, which was proposed in 2011 by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, would include a 28km-long dyke extending from Go Cong Commune to Vung Tau City and Can Gio Biosphere Reserve, where it would connect with another dyke 13km long.

The proposal also includes construction of drainage ditches, a Long Tau sluice, and ong Tranh estuary dams and canals north of the Soai Rap River.

Scientists have completed a pre-feasibility study for the project, which has met the requirements of HCM City and Mekong Delta provinces.

To set up a scientific basis for the construction of Vung Tau - Go Cong sea dykes, the Ministry of Science and Technology has carried out six independent scientific research projects at the state level.

Prof. Dr. ao Xuan Hoc, chairman of the Viet Nam Irrigation Association, said the sea-dyke project would offer a solution to flooding caused by a combination of heavy rains and tides.

It would also address salinity intrusion and rising sea levels for 1.1 million hectares.

It is recommended that the project be implemented in three phases with a total investment of VN74 trillion (US$3.24 billion), he said.

Dr. Le Xuan Tuan of Ha Noi University of Natural Resources and Environment said it was important to continue to assess floods, tides and mangrove forests and other natural phenomena west of Long Tau River and east of Soai Rap River.

He explained that the assessment would serve as a basis for a more detailed assessment of the impact of the Vung Tau  Go Cong sea dyke construction on the areas ecosystem, especially on mangroves and benthic animals.

Experts at the workshop also discussed the impact of the project on social and economic development of localities, as well as the development of waterway transport in the region.

The workshop was organised by the Institute of Geology, Water and Environment, Viet Nam Irrigation Association, Viet Nam Hydrological Association and the Hoang Gia Water and Environment joint-stock company.  VNS
Viet Nam is considering building a new higher speed rail route connecting Ha Noi to the northern border with China to boost two-way trade.  Photo hanoimoi.vn

HA NOI  Viet Nam is considering building a new higher speed rail route connecting Ha Noi to the northern border with China to boost two-way trade.

According the project plans, the 391 kilometre railway linking Hai Phong City, Ha Noi and Lao Cai Province will have the global standard track gauge of 1,435mm instead of century-old gauge of 1,000mm common in Viet Nam. The average speed for passenger trains can reach 160km per hour while the freight ones will run at about 90km per hour.

During a Thursday meeting on the planning for the new railway, which will run in parallel with the existing slow one with an average speed of 50km per hour, transport deputy minister Nguyen Ngoc ong said that it would play a key role in the socio-economic development of the localities it runs through, including Lao Cai, Yen Bai, Phu Tho, Vinh Phuc, Ha Noi, Hung Yen, Hai Duong and the port city of Hai Phong. It was also expected to improve Viet Nams international transport connectivity and trade activity, particularly with China.

It will draw more Vietnamese exports to China, or they may be transported there before leaving for Central Asia or Europe and vice versa, he said.

The State-owned Beijing-based China Railway Fifth Survey and Design Institute Group was the consultant unit to map the planning of the rail route. They were also asked to look into the possibility of connecting the rail tracks in Lao Cai with those on the other side of the border in Chinas Hekou County.

Transport bottleneck

Viet Nam Railways deputy general director Phan Quoc Anh said that the difference in track gauge remained a major barrier to rail transport between Viet Nam and China.

According to Anh, most of Chinas railways were built with the standard track gauge and only a number of short-range railways near the Vietnamese border had the 1,000mm gauge tracks.

Vietnamese products delivered to China on trains could only reach the Shanyan train station in the border area of Hekou, or slightly further at the Shilicun station in Yunnan at most before they were forced to load off and on again to bigger wagons. That was the only way the goods could go deeper into China to access a wider market.

That consequently increased the costs and thus the price for customers, Anh added.

Transport deputy minister ong said that the Ministry of Transport was proactively negotiating with China to finalise plans to connect the two sides rail tracks so that the construction could start as soon as possible.

Lao Cai Peoples Committee deputy chairman Nguyen Thanh Duong said that the province is set to sign a co-operation agreement with Hai Phong and Yunnan to promote cargo transport this May.

With the new rail route in the planning stages, he said, the opportunity to raise the freight volume between the three localities was huge.

A connection of rail tracks [between Viet Nam and China] will not only increase the freight transport but the passenger transport also, Duong said.  VNS
Court of Appeals of Kentucky. Luis J. GONZALEZ, II, as Administrator of the Estate of Luis J. Gonzalez, Appellant v. Jeremy JOHNSON, Individually; Jeremy Johnson, in His Official Capacity as Scott County Deputy Sheriff; Tony Hampton, Individually; and Tony Hampton, in His Official Capacity as Scott County Sheriff, Appellees NO. 2016-CA-001911-MR Decided: April 06, 2018

BEFORE: KRAMER, CHIEF JUDGE; COMBS AND THOMPSON, JUDGES. BRIEFS FOR APPELLANT: Jerome P. Prather, William R. Garmer, John E. Norman, Lexington, Kentucky. BRIEF FOR APPELLEE: D. Barry Stilz, Robert C. Coley Stilz, III, Jonathan B. Fannin, Lexington, Kentucky. ORAL ARGUMENT FOR APPELLANT: Jerome P. Prather, Lexington, Kentucky. ORAL ARGUMENT FOR APPELLEE: D. Barry Stilz, Lexington, Kentucky.

OPINION

The primary issue presented in this appeal is straightforward: Did the trial court err when it ruled that police officers could not be liable for the death of Luis Gonzalez after a fleeing suspect crashed into the vehicle occupied by Gonzalez because the officers' actions were not the proximate cause of his death? In resolving the issue, we are urged to depart from the precedent in Chambers v. Ideal Pure Milk Co., 245 S.W.2d 589 (Ky. 1952), and follow the emerging trend to permit such actions to proceed for a factual determination as to the officers' liability. Because this Court is bound to follow Supreme Court precedent, we reluctantly affirm.

Luis J. Gonzales, II, as Administrator of the Estate of Luis Gonzalez (the Estate), filed this action alleging state law claims for negligence, gross negligence and wrongful death against Scott County Deputy Sheriff Jeremy Johnson and Scott County Sheriff Tony Hampton, in their individual and official capacities, as well as a claim alleging a failure to train and supervise on the part of Sheriff Hampton. The trial court ruled that the officers' actions were not the proximate cause of Gonzalez's death and granted summary judgment in favor of Deputy Johnson and Sheriff Hampton.

The events leading to this case occurred on January 14, 2014. That night, the Scott County Sheriff's Office partnered with the Kentucky State Police to conduct a sting operation seeking to arrest a suspected heroin dealer near the Scott County and Fayette County line. Although the initial location of the sting operation was a gas station in Georgetown, the suspected drug dealer changed the meeting location to the P&G Market on Lisle Road in southern Scott County. The officers' intent was to facilitate a controlled heroin buy through the use of a confidential informant in the hope of apprehending the dealer during a traffic stop after the buy. Detective Jeremy Nettles of the Scott County Sheriff's Department was assisted by Deputy Johnson who was instructed to conceal his location by parking on a side street near the Lisle Road and Georgetown Road intersection and remain there until Detective Nettles instructed him to perform a traffic stop.

The sting operation began at 8:55 p.m. when the suspect entered the P&G Market parking lot in a dark-colored Audi. During the drug buy, Detective Nettles, Kentucky State Police Detective Morris and Deputy Johnson communicated using cell phones. Before the buy was complete, Detective Morris advised Deputy Johnson of the Audi's license plate numbers. After the drug buy, the suspect exited the parking lot in the Audi and Detective Morris followed in an unmarked unit. After the suspect pulled away, the middleman between the informant and the dealer identified the driver of the Audi as Chief, an alias used by Kennan McLaughlin. An officer of the Lexington Police Department, who was in contact with Detective Morris during the sting operation, also identified the driver as Chief.

Meanwhile, Deputy Johnson remained in his police cruiser while he received information from the other officers including a description of the vehicle being driven by the suspect. Deputy Johnson saw a vehicle matching that description run the red light at the intersection of Lisle Road and U.S. 25. He then radioed dispatch to call out pursuit, and activated the cruiser's emergency lights and pursued the Audi. However, the siren on the cruiser was not working.

About two miles into the pursuit, Deputy Johnson realized his siren was not functioning but continued his high-speed pursuit. Deputy Johnson described the roadway that night as wet and a little slick and recalled that the dog in the K-9 unit was also distracting him because the partition in the cruiser had not been properly secured.

When the suspect and Deputy Johnson approached an S-curve, both slowed down. Deputy Johnson then reassessed the situation because the lack of a siren, the wet road and the restless dog made the pursuit dangerous. Just as he decided to terminate the pursuit and as he came over a hillcrest, he thought he saw the Audi strike a guardrail. Upon reaching the scene, he found that the Audi had crashed head-on into a vehicle in which Gonzales was a passenger. Gonzales was pronounced dead at the scene and Geneva Spencer, the driver of the vehicle, died later because of her injuries.

McLaughlin pled guilty to two counts of second-degree manslaughter. In doing so, McLaughlin admitted to wantonly causing the death of another person pursuant to Kentucky Revised Statutes (KRS) 507.040.

Sheriff Hampton testified by deposition. He testified that when he became Scott County Sheriff in January 2011, the department did not have any written policies and procedures regarding police pursuits and did not until May 1, 2014, four months after Gonzalez's death. Until that time, officers relied on basic training and past department practices. Detective Nettles testified that it was department policy to terminate a pursuit if the cruiser's siren was not working.

The Estate argued Deputy Johnson was negligent in deciding to pursue McLaughlin and to continue the pursuit. It argued Deputy Johnson chose to pursue McLaughlin when no pursuit was needed because the officers knew the suspect's identity. As further evidence of negligence, the Estate relied on the facts that Deputy Johnson pursued McLaughlin at speeds above the legal limit, in the dark, on a wet road, and crossed lanes during the pursuit. Additionally, he did so without the use of a siren as required by KRS 189.940, which permits officers operating an emergency vehicle as such, to drive more than the speed limit but requires the vehicle's warning lights and siren to be activated.

Deputy Johnson and Sheriff Hampton moved for summary judgment on the basis that Deputy Johnson's pursuit was not the proximate or legal cause of Gonzalez's death as a matter of law. The trial court granted the motion and this appeal followed.

Kentucky Rules of Civil Procedure (CR) 56.02 provides that [a] party against whom a claim, counterclaim, or cross-claim is asserted or a declaratory judgment is sought may, at any time, move with or without supporting affidavits for a summary judgment in his favor as to all or any part thereof. When a trial court considers a summary judgment motion, it is required to view [t]he record  in a light most favorable to the party opposing the motion for summary judgment and all doubts are to be resolved in his favor. Steelvest, Inc. v. Scansteel Serv. Ctr., Inc., 807 S.W.2d 476, 480 (Ky. 1991). Appellate review of a summary judgment involves only legal questions and a determination of whether a disputed material issue of fact exists. Shelton v. Kentucky Easter Seals Soc'y, Inc., 413 S.W.3d 901, 905 (Ky. 2013) (footnote omitted). We apply a de novo standard of review with no need to defer to the trial court's decision. Id. The trial court ruled that summary judgment was appropriate because, regardless of the underlying facts, Deputy Johnson and Sheriff Hampton could not be liable for Gonzalez's death.

Any negligence claim has four elements: (1) a legally-cognizable duty, (2) a breach of that duty, (3) causation linking the breach to an injury, and (4) damages. Patton v. Bickford, 529 S.W.3d 717, 729 (Ky. 2016). Without conceding the remaining elements, Deputy Johnson and Sheriff Hampton argue that their actions could not be deemed the legal or proximate cause of Gonzales's death as a matter of law.

As observed in Lewis v. B & R Corp., 56 S.W.3d 432, 437 (Ky.App. 2001) (footnotes omitted):

The causal connection or proximate cause component traditionally was composed of two elements: cause-in-fact and legal or consequential causation. Cause-in-fact involves the factual chain of events leading to the injury; whereas, consequential causation concerns the concepts of foreseeability and the public policy consideration on limiting the scope of responsibility for damages. In Kentucky, the cause-in-fact component has been redefined as a substantial factor element as expressed in Restatement (Second) of Torts  431.

That same Restatement section provides explanation of the term substantial adopted in Deutsch v. Shein, 597 S.W.2d 141, 144 (Ky. 1980), abrogated on other grounds by Osborne v. Keeney, 399 S.W.3d 1 (Ky. 2012) (quoting Restatement of Torts, Second  431 Comment a):

The word substantial is used to denote the fact that the defendant's conduct has such an effect in producing the harm as to lead reasonable men to regard it as a cause, using that word in the popular sense, in which there always lurks the idea of responsibility, rather than in the so-called philosophic sense, which includes every one of the great number of events without which any happening would not have occurred. Each of these events is a cause in the so-called philosophic sense, yet the effect of many of them is so insignificant that no ordinary mind would think of them as causes.

The second component of causation is proximate causation. The notion of proximate cause is that although conduct in breach of an established duty may be an actual but-for cause of the plaintiff[']s damages, it is nevertheless too attenuated from the damages in time, place, or foreseeability to reasonably impose liability upon the defendant. Patton, 529 S.W.3d at 731. It is bottomed on public policy as a limitation on how far society is willing to extend liability for a defendant's actions. Id. at 733 (quoting Ashley County, Arkansas, v. Pfizer, Inc., 552 F.3d 659, 671 (8th Cir. 2009)).

The superseding intervening cause doctrine interplays with proximate causation. Id. at 731. [A] superseding cause is an act of a third person or other force which by its intervention prevents the actor from being liable for harm to another which his antecedent negligence is a factor in bringing about. Pile v. City of Brandenburg, 215 S.W.3d 36, 42 (Ky. 2006). As with the determination of proximate cause generally, whether an undisputed act or circumstance was or was not a superseding cause is a legal issue for the court to resolve, and not a factual question for the jury.  Patton, 529 S.W.3d at 731 (quoting House v. Kellerman, 519 S.W.2d 380, 382 (Ky. 1974)).

An officer's liability for negligence to an innocent third party struck by a vehicle operated by a fleeing suspect was addressed in Chambers, the only published decision on the matter and which was decided over sixty-five years ago. While pursued by two police officers in a police cruiser, a suspect's vehicle struck a horse-drawn milk wagon. The cruiser did not hit the milk wagon but the force of the suspect's automobile hitting it caused the milk wagon to hit the back end of the police cruiser. Chambers, 245 S.W.2d at 590. The milk wagon driver sued the police officers individually, claiming their negligence caused the suspect to crash into the milk wagon.

The Court noted that while fleeing police was perhaps characteristic of the criminally minded and, by statute, the officers had a duty to use due care when acting in an emergency, the officers had a duty to enforce the law and would have been derelict in that duty if they did not pursue the suspect. Id. The Court held as follows:

The police were performing their duty when [the suspect], in gross violation of his duty to obey the speed laws, crashed into the milk wagon. To argue that the officers' pursuit caused [the suspect] to speed may be factually true, but it does not follow that the officers are liable at law for the results of [the suspect's] negligent speed. Police cannot be made insurers of the conduct of the culprits they chase. It is our conclusion that the action of the police was not the legal or proximate cause of the accident, and that the jury should have been instructed to find for the appellants.

Id. at 590-91.

The rule in Chambers has been referred to as the per se no proximate cause rule[.]  Haynes v. Hamilton Cty., 883 S.W.2d 606, 612 (Tenn. 1994). The premise of the rule is that it allows police pursuit of fleeing suspects as a matter of public policy and the benefit of apprehending the suspect outweighs the risks inherently involved in such pursuits. See Thornton v. Shore, 233 Kan. 737, 666 P.2d 655 (1983), overruled by Robbins v. City of Wichita, 285 Kan. 455, 172 P.3d 1187 (2007).

Although our Supreme Court has not addressed the issue since Chambers, on two occasions this Court has done so resulting in two unpublished opinions. Those cases rejected any argument that Chambers had been implicitly overruled by subsequent case law.

In Plummer v. Lake, 2012-CA-001559-MR, 2014 WL 1513294 (Ky.App. Apr. 18, 2014) (unpublished), police officers were in pursuit of a vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed when the suspect's car collided head-on with another vehicle, killing its driver. In analyzing whether the officers' actions in pursing the suspect could be the proximate cause of the accident, this Court found Chambers dispositive of the issue and affirmed the trial court's summary judgment in favor of the officers. Our Supreme Court denied discretionary review of that opinion on December 10, 2014.

Two years after Plummer, the issue was again before this Court and it was again resolved based on Chambers. In Pursifull v. Abner, 2015-CA-000879-MR, 2016 WL 5335515 (Ky.App. Sept. 23, 2016) (unpublished), Kentucky State Police troopers in separate vehicles pursued a vehicle driven by a suspect who allegedly stole gasoline from a service station. Traveling at high speeds, the suspect drove his vehicle off the roadway and into the side of a deputy sheriff's cruiser, killing the deputy and his canine unit. Based on Chambers, the trial court granted summary judgment in favor of the pursuing trooper on the basis that there was no causation as a matter of law. This Court concluded that the Chambers holding was even stronger in that case because the suspect acted intentionally or wantonly in causing the deputy's death. Id. at *4. Our Supreme Court denied discretionary review of that opinion and ordered the opinion not to be published.

The Estate makes similar arguments to those made in the unpublished cases cited as to why we should not follow Chambers. However, as in those cases, we can find no rational reason why this Court is not bound to follow Chambers.

While the substantial factor test explained in Deutsch recognizes there can be more than one cause of an injury and, therefore, brings into doubt whether the Chambers reasoning could survive a post-Deutsch substantial factor analysis, the Chambers per se no proximate cause rule is one that arises from policy and limits the liability of the officers.

KRS 189.940 does not abrogate Chambers. That statute was enacted to alert drivers of an emergency vehicle to prevent a collision with the police vehicle itself and, while the legislature could have added language specifically abrogating Chambers, it did not.

Finally, the adoption of comparative fault does not make Chambers any less authoritative. Although the rationale for the doctrine of superseding cause has been substantially diminished by the adoption of comparative negligence, Pile, 215 S.W.3d at 42, it has not been extinguished. Pursifull, 2016 WL 5335515 at *5. The adoption of comparative fault itself does not give this Court any reason to conclude that Chambers has been implicitly overruled. Although there are some distinguishing facts, it remains that Deputy Johnson did not cause McLaughlin to act intentionally or wantonly. That was McLaughlin's choice.

Having concluded that Chambers has not been overruled, we have no choice but to follow that precedent. It is the function of this Court to follow the decisions of the highest Court of this Commonwealth and we do not have the liberty to make new policy by overruling decisions of that Court. Louisville Tr. Co. v. Johns-Manville Prod. Corp., 580 S.W.2d 497, 499 (Ky. 1979). However, we are not precluded from constructively criticizing a case from our highest court or stating reasons why that case should be overruled. Special Fund v. Francis, 708 S.W.2d 641, 642 (Ky. 1986).

No doubt, the public need for police pursuits is, if not more, viable today than it was in 1952. As noted by the United States Supreme Court in the context of a 42 United States Code (U.S.C.)  1983 action, we would be loath to lay down a rule requiring the police to allow fleeing suspects to get away whenever they drive so recklessly that they put other people's lives in danger. Scott v. Harris, 550 U.S. 372, 385, 127 S.Ct. 1769, 1779, 167 L.Ed.2d 686 (2007). However, there is an increasing need to place limitations on the choice to pursue and the manner of that pursuit.

Whether attributable to the increased number of motorists involved in crime, the glamorization of police pursuits on television, in movies and video games, or the increased propensity among the criminally minded to flee police, police pursuits have become increasingly dangerous for the officers, the suspects and innocent third parties. The statistics are startling. In 2003, there were an estimated 35,000 police pursuits across the United States and nearly forty percent of those pursuits resulted in crashes. Patrick T. O'Connor & William L. Norse, Jr., Police Pursuits: A Comprehensive Look at the Broad Spectrum of Police Pursuit Liability and Law, 57 Mercer L. Rev. 511 (2006).

These statistics have led to changes in police procedures in Kentucky as well as local and state police departments across the nation. For instance, the Louisville Metro Police Department has adopted procedures for police pursuits in the Department's Standard Operating Procedures including precluding pursuit for non-violent felony offenders when the identity of the suspect is known. See Mattingly v. Mitchell, 425 S.W.3d 85, 87 (Ky.App. 2013). Additionally, the enactment of KRS 189.940 demonstrates the legislature's awareness of an increase in accidents involving emergency vehicles.

These same statistics have caused courts in other jurisdictions to view the proximate cause as a question of fact if the plaintiff alleges negligence on the part of police in commencing or continuing pursuit. Haynes, 883 S.W.2d at 612. Still others have taken the view that proximate cause [is] a question of fact if the plaintiff alleges that the police officer's decision to pursue constituted gross negligence. Id. at 613. After its extensive survey of caselaw, the Tennessee Supreme Court concluded that present-day public policy demanded that it overrule the per se no proximate cause rule adopted in that jurisdiction in favor of a rule that weighs the risk of injury to the public against the need to immediately arrest the suspect consistent with that state's law as it relates to proximate and superseding intervening causation and with the critical public policy considerations. Id.

The per se no proximate cause rule in cases of police pursuits and injuries to third parties when struck by a fleeing suspect's vehicle is now followed only by a minority of jurisdictions. Id. at 612. The public policy behind permitting police pursuits now competes with the concurrent and significant policy of protecting the public from the real and extreme dangers of such pursuits to innocent travelers. As the Tennessee Supreme Court reasoned:

We recognize that police officers have a duty to apprehend law violators and that the decision to commence or continue pursuit of a fleeing suspect is, by necessity, made rapidly. In the final analysis, however, a police officer's paramount duty is to protect the public. Unusual circumstances may make it reasonable to adopt a course of conduct which causes a high risk of harm to the public. However, such conduct is not justified unless the end itself is of sufficient social value. The general public has a significant interest in not being subjected to unreasonable risks of injury as the police carry out their duties. We agree with the Texas Supreme Court's observation, that [p]ublic safety should not be thrown to the winds in the heat of the chase.

Id. at 611 (quoting Travis v. City of Mesquite, 830 S.W.2d 94, 98 (Tex. 1992)).

While we may agree with the rationale of the Tennessee Supreme Court, we are bound by the rationale of Chambers issued by the then-highest Court in this Commonwealth. Any change in that law must come from our Supreme Court or our legislature. If again presented with the issue, we urge the Supreme Court to review this important issue.

We hold that Deputy Johnson's actions were not the proximate cause of Gonzales's death as a matter of law. Because Deputy Johnson's actions could not be the proximate cause of Gonzalez's death, Sheriff Hampton's hiring and training of Deputy Johnson could not be the proximate cause of his death. Grand Aerie Fraternal Order of Eagles v. Carneyhan, 169 S.W.3d 840, 844 (Ky. 2005). Consequently, the claims against Sheriff Hampton for negligent hiring and training cannot proceed.

For the reasons stated, the judgment of the Fayette Circuit Court is affirmed.

FOOTNOTES

. The Estate mistakenly believes that this Court addressed the issue in Mattingly v. Mitchell, 425 S.W.3d 85 (Ky.App. 2013), an appeal from a denial of governmental immunity. In fact, we expressly stated that we were without jurisdiction to consider the proximate cause issue. Id. at 91.

. This Court may cite unpublished cases pursuant to CR 76.28(4)(c). While Chambers is dispositive authority and, therefore, citation to these cases would be improper under the rule because there is controlling authority on the proximate cause issue, we may cite these cases because they held Chambers remains good law in this Commonwealth.

THOMPSON, JUDGE:

ALL CONCUR.
Phan Van Vinh, former Lieutenant General and former Director General of the Police General Department has been taken into custody on charges of abusing position and power while performing duties in activities relating to a major online gambling ring.  Photo Doan Tan

HA NOI  Phan Van Vinh, former Lieutenant General and former Director General of the Police General Department under the Ministry of Public Security (MoPS), has been taken into custody on charges of abusing position and power while performing duties in activities relating to a major online gambling ring.

In an official announcement of the MoPS yesterday, the Investigation Security Agency under the Department of Public Security of Phu Tho Province issued a decision to start criminal proceedings against him. They also issued an arrest warrant for a four-month detention of the 63-year-old Phan Van Vinh, who has been living in Nam inh Province following retirement last year.

He is accused of using the internet to appropriate assets, organise gambling, gamble, illegally trade invoices and launder money in Phu Tho and some other localities.

President Tran ai Quang yesterday also signed a decision to strip Vinh of the title Peoples Public Security Officer.

On March 11, Phu Tho police launched issued an arrest warrant for Nguyen Thanh Hoa, former Major General and former Director of the MoPS Police Department for Hi-tech Crime Prevention, who is accused of organising gambling relating to this case.

Police recently announced that the 39-year-old Phan Sao Nam , Chairman of the Board of Directors and Director of the VTC Online Telecommunications Company, and Nguyen Van Duong, 43, Chairman of the Member Council of the Hi-tech Security Development and Investment Company, are accused of masterminding the online gambling ring.

As of March 14, the police had initiated probes against 83 people who were allegedly involved in the ring. Among them, 41 were accused of organising gambling, 38 for gambling, four for illegally trading invoices, two for money laundering and one using the internet to appropriate assets.

The probe initially found that the money paid via legal and illegal payment gateways exceeded VN9.58 trillion (US$425.7 million). More than VN9.29 trillion, or 97 per cent of the total, was transferred via pre-paid telecom cards and game cards. About VN168 billion was sent from bank accounts.  VNS
Temora Aviation Museum  Easter Weekend 2018 Aircraft Showcase  Air Show Review

by Phil Buckley



The Temora Aviation Museum in the south eastern corner of New South Wales, Australia hosted their annual Easter Weekend Aircraft Showcase on March 31st/April 1st. The airport became a hive of activity as various warbirds performed in front of an appreciative crowd. Attracting people from local and intrastate and beyond, visitors came to see the historic aircraft from the museums own collection, along with participants from the Historic Aircraft Restoration Society (HARS) and local warbird owners from across New South Wales and neighboring Victoria.

Each days show started off with the trainers taking to the skies  a deHavilland Tigermoth and Ryan STM-S2. These were the primary trainers in Australia just before and during WW2. They showed how elegant flying was back in those days. The bright yellow Tigermoth stood out clearly against the sky while the silver and highly polished Ryan dazzled your eyes as it sauntered around the airfield.

Next in the air was the worlds only flying Lockheed Hudson; one of just six complete examples. The Hudson was primarily a medium bomber, but the type was highly versatile, flying many different missions during WWII from coastal patrol to troop transport, and even air-sea rescue with a lifeboat strapped underneath. RAAF Hudsons were active in New Guinea and Australia. This particular Hudson, a Mk.IVA, served in the RAAF as A16-112. Being such a rare aircraft, its worth exploring a little of her history. She first arrived in Australia on December 5th, 1941, just two days before the war kicked off in the Pacific. She initially joined No.1 Operational Training Unit before assignment to 14 Squadron in July, 1942, for anti-submarine patrols in Western Australia. After a period of similar activity with 32 Squadron on Australias eastern seaboard, A16-112 joined 6 Squadron at Milne Bay, New Guinea in April, 1943, flying bombing, armed reconnaissance and patrol missions for the next few months, before transfer back to the mainland to receive modifications for use with the RAAF Survey Flight. 112 joined the Survey Flight in May, 1944, serving out the rest of the war in this unit. The RAAF struck her off in 1947, whereupon she passed through several civilian flying services, somehow surviving long enough to find value as a museum exhibit with Malcolm Long in the 1970s. The Long family gradually restored the rare Hudson back to her original military configuration, and she once again took to the skies in 1993, resplendent in the markings of Hudson Mk.IIIA A16-211, another 6 Squadron veteran which had a much busier combat career in New Guinea. As a unique, airworthy survivor, A16-112 plays a significant role in helping present RAAF history to the public, as Lockheed Hudsons were the first RAAF bombers to hit the Japanese in the opening hours of the Pacific War. The Hudson flew with surprising agility at Temora, demonstrating her performance capabilities with some steep turns that amazed many in the crowds below.

Following the Hudson came a flight of the museums CAC Wirraway, along with two visiting Harvards and a PAC CT-4. The magical thrum from the Wirraway and Harvards Pratt & Whitney R-1340 Wasp engines and staccato beat of their supersonic propeller tips echoed in harmony over Temora. Close formation flying and some single-ship aerobatics with smoke trails further enhanced the trainers performances.

Some classic WWII fighters were then introduced to the audience. To a military aviation enthusiast, there is little music sweeter than the sound of an Allison V-1710 engine starting up, and so it was at Temora with Doug Hamiltons 49thFG combat veteran Curtiss P-40N Warhawk 42-104986. She was closely followed into the air by an equally unusual CAC Boomerang. These two fighter types were crucial to the RAAFs defense of Australia in the early days of WWII. The P-40 and Boomerang flew close formation displays and then a series of tail chases before breaking out into solo performances. The Boomerangs diminutive size belies its capabilities. Flying vital missions to support troops in New Guinea and as a temporary, stop-gap fighter in the early days of WWII, it was nevertheless overshadowed by its successors, almost disappearing into obscurity after the war. But with the resurrection of several wrecks into flying warbirds, the type has finally gathered some well-earned public recognition in the last couple of decades.

The Temora Aviation Museums Cessna O-2A Skymaster aircraft took to the skies after the WWII heavy iron. Her pilot put the nimble aircraft through its paces with great passion showing how effective the type must have been in the Forward Air Controller role in which it served. A significant number of Australian pilots flew O-2s in Vietnam while on exchange with the USAF.



A highlight of the show was seeing HARS Consolidated PBY-6A Catalina flying boat lumbering across the skies. Painted to represent one of the famous RAAF Black Cats used in night-time mine-laying operations in WWII, the flying boat was a nice inclusion as it is an infrequent participant at the show. Her stirring performance reminded people of the heavy price that RAAF crews could pay during WWII in keeping Australia safe, with Catalinas undertaking many dangerous missions over vast distances.



The air show concluded with the flight of TAMs two Supermarine Spitfires (Mk.VIII A58-758 and Mk.XVI TB863). They are currently the only flying Spitfires in Australia, although that is set to change sometime soon with the rapid progress being made two examples of the breed at Ross Pays Vintage Fighter Restorations (see The air show concluded with the flight of TAMs two Supermarine Spitfires (Mk.VIII A58-758 and Mk.XVI TB863). They are currently the only flying Spitfires in Australia, although that is set to change sometime soon with the rapid progress being made two examples of the breed at Ross Pays Vintage Fighter Restorations (see HERE for our recent report). The Spits started up and took off with characteristic style, their throaty Merlin engines echoing around the airport. The fighters initially flew close formation passes and then broke off into solo routines. And thus ended the show.

Overall the crowd witnessed exciting, informative and safe performances. They were also able to witness the progress being made to resurrect the Temora Aviation Museums English Electric Canberra and Gloster Meteor. The pair of classic British jets were in the museums maintenance hangar under refurbishment back to flight status. The museums CAC-built F-86 Sabre and deHavilland Vampire were in the main hangar on display alongside a handful of other types.

While the Easter Showcase was not a large event, in relative terms, it is often at these smaller displays that a visitor can enjoy themselves more. There is time to fully appreciate all of the fascinating aircraft in attendance, and to learn more about their significance to history. The smaller crowds also means it is easier to enjoy the day watching the air show with ease. The Temora Aviation Museum has more of these show case events coming up this year, which include the following:

Autumn Weekend 2018 Aircraft Showcase  April 28, 2018

May 2018 Aircraft Showcase  May 19, 2018

June Long Weekend 2018 Aircraft Showcase  June 9, 2018

Fathers Day 2018 Weekend Aircraft Showcase  September 1, 2018

Warbirds Downunder Airshow 2018  October 12/13, 2018

The last event will be a major airshow for Temora. Warbirds Downunder will see thousands of people and dozens of warbirds in attendance. The last WDU event in 2015 was massive in scope for Australia, and the 2018 show is set to be the nations biggest warbird event ever. It will include an evening air show on Friday, October 12th alongside a full day of action packed into Saturday October 13, 2018. Please visit their website for more information  https://warbirdsdownunderairshow.com.au/
Family Fun Day: As Far As The Eye Can See at the Hunter Museum will be held on Sunday, April 15, from 2-4 p.m. It will feature art activities for all ages inspired by the museums current special exhibitions of rare vintage photography and digital art.

Visitors will be able to participate in an in-gallery, social media scavenger hunt, create paper stars and other take-home crafts, and even step into a giant room-sized camera, as Hunter staff turn a small studio into an over-sized camera obscure. Additionally, winners of the childrens photo contest will be announced at 3 p.m., and winning photographs will be on view in the Hunter Education Studios all month long.

Family Free Day is free to all kids 17 and under, is free to members, and is $15 per non-member adult, which allows admission to all permanent and temporary exhibitions, including New Media, New Millennium: Digital Art from the Thoma Foundation and Under the Mexican Sky: A Revolution in Modern Photography.

Family Fun Day is sponsored by the Mark Hite Team, with refreshments courtesy of Publix Supermarkets Charities.






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To encourage all Americans to visit their national parks, Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park will waive the entrance fee to enter Point Park, atop Lookout Mountain, on Saturday, April 21.



"This fee free day provides an opportunity for visitors to contemplate the reasons soldiers struggled

along the mountain slopes during the 1863 'Battle Above the Clouds,' while also taking in the majestic views of Chattanooga and the surrounding area," officials said.



Ranger-guided walking tours of Point Park will be given at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. These tours begin just

inside the Point Park entrance gate and last approximately 30-45 minutes.



For more information about upcoming programs at Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military

Park, contact the Lookout Mountain Visitor Center at 423-821-7786 or the Chickamauga

Battlefield Visitor Center at 706-866- 9241.
By Rostislav Babyak

The newest sanctions against Russia, and Trumps threats to follow suite against the Peoples Republic of China, indicates that the US and the West in general, but the US/UK specifically, are using sanctions as a kind of pseudo-foreign policy and pseudo-diplomacy to prop up what is clearly becoming their pseudo-democracy. With regard to the new sanctions being placed on Russian businessmen, companies, and political figures, Russia must return the favor and get rid of all US corporations and businesses, and open up opportunities for both domestic and foreign entrepreneurs who seek to invest in Russia and its people, and not take the profits to the West, then hit us with sanctions after sanctions once they have robbed us blind. The US has gone sanctions happy. Now the US not only are sanctioning Russian and the DPRKs political, trade and business sectors of the economy, now they are eyeing the possibility of placing huge sanctions on Chinese state companies, Chinese business leaders, and no doubt in time, Chinese political figures too, as well as to slap more tariffs on Chinese goods whist sanctioning them

China will fight back and will not keep playing Mr. Goodbar to the US. Russia must do the same and stop hesitating and hand-wringing over how it might permanently damage Russian-American relations. Lets just face it my friends, there is no Russian-American relationship. If there were it would be one in which Russia is being treated like the beaten spouse or girlfriend of a violent partner. If one accepts that relations among nations is comparable in some ways to relationships among individuals then one can see how this analogy can be made correctly. A relationship suggests respect from each party towards the other in the relationship, and a mutual desire for each to see the other as equals and finally to see both prosper from the relationship. That is not the behavior of the United States, the UK, or the EU for that matter

The US and UK are nothing more than seekers of dominance by seduction or force (socio-political and economic rape) whichever works in a particular situation for the total benefit and satisfaction of the US and the UK. When the other partner is weak or unable to resist for various reasons. Naturally, it fails to work when one has a potential partner in ones view who is self respecting, strong, and possess the ability to act on its own behalf and interests, and has the means to do what it needs to do, and is beholden to no one for their daily bread  example Russia and China who posses natural resources and human potential. Moreover, neither Russia not China are aggressive in their approach to a relationship with other nations. Russia and China both approach their perspective partners in trade and foreign relations. Both Russian and China approach their proposed partners with equality in mind, honesty, peace of mind, heart, and soul, as well as true devotion and love for their friends and those whom wish of their own volition to work with them and enter into a real partnership of equals

There is no reason for the Russian Federation or the Republic of China to be concerned about losing the US and UK as a partner, The US and UK, like most of the West, has become debouched, degenerate, lazy, opportunistic, abusive, and unworthy of being in the company of greater and more dignified peoples of the world. Moreover, their history of abusive relationships with other nations makes them good poster boys for the abusive partner. When the American government and corporate elites, as they think of themselves, threaten both Russia and China, both Russia and China need to join forces, plant their feet firmly on the ground, and give the US and UK, and anyone else who supports the US/UK, a damned good backhanded bitch slap that they will never forget

Rostislav Babyak

New sanctions: Treasury Designates Russian Oligarchs, Officials, and Entities in Response to Worldwide Malign Activity | U.S. Department of the Treasury Source: Treasury Designates Russian Oligarchs, Officials, and Entities in Response to Worldwide Malign Activity | U.S. Department of the Treasury

WtR
UAE and South Korea expand cooperation

06 April 2018

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The Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (Enec) and its joint venture subsidiaries, Nawah Energy Company (Nawah) and Barakah One Company (BOC), have signed three agreements with Korean companies. Enec and Korea Electric Power Corporation (Kepco) in October 2016 signed a joint venture agreement that made Kepco a minority shareholder in Nawah and BOC.

Sang Bong Jeong, CEO of Kepco Nuclear Fuel, and Mohamed Al Hammadi, CEO of Enec, signed the MoU in the presence of Woon-Gyu Baek, minister of South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, and Mohamed Bin Jarsh, Undersecretary of Abu Dhabi's Department of Energy (Image: Kepco NF)

Kepco is building four APR-1400s at Barakah, in the Dhafrah region of Abu Dhabi. All four units are scheduled for completion by 2020.

On 26 March, Enec and Kepco Nuclear Fuel signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate in the field of nuclear fuel and in overseas business development; Nawah and Kepco Engineering and Construction signed an engineering support contract for the Barakah nuclear power plant to 2030; and Kepco agreed a charter for joint business cooperation with BOC to enhance cooperation throughout the nuclear business cycle, from planning and construction to operation.

"The two joint venture partners and their subsidiary companies continue to establish new ways for cooperation, forming a unique international partnership for the nuclear energy industry," Enec said on 4 April.

Kepco said in a separate statement that it will be able to enhance the competitiveness of its APR-1400 reactor design "by leveraging the UAE's abundant financial resources in the overseas nuclear power plant market".

President Moon Jae-in of South Korea and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on 26 March attended a ceremony to celebrate the completion of construction at the United Arab Emirates' first nuclear power reactor.

The first phase of pre-operational tests have been completed at Barakah 1. The next phases of pre-operational tests require fuel to be loaded in the reactor and can only begin after Nawah receives an operating licence.

Unit 2 is now more than 92% complete, with unit 3 more than 81% complete and unit 4 more than 67% complete.

Researched and written

by World Nuclear News

Related topics
Auditions for LaFrederick Thirkill's "Dead Innocent: the Ed Johnson Story" will be held Monday and Tuesday from 6:30-8 p.m. at Chattanooga State. Auditions will be in room H-133 (the music chorus room in the humanities building).

For the auditions, participants will be reading from the script and should bring a monologue if they have one.

This play has historic roles for a diverse cast, and for African-American males, in particular. Performances will be May 18, 19, and 20, with rehearsals on weeknights and weekends.

Sherry Landrum will direct. Rex Knowles will produce. Maggie Williams is stage manager.

Dead Innocent tells the story of Ed Johnson. For information on his story go to www.edjohnsonproject.com
Tony Malone at The Quarterly Conversation:

Asking who Junichiro Tanizaki is may seem a little bizarre, especially to those with any kind of interest in Japanese literature. Nominated several times for the Nobel Prize in Literature, and even shortlisted the year before his death, Tanizaki is one of the more prominent figures in modern Japanese literature, and he is also well-known for his other endeavors, such as his translation of The Tale of Genji from old Japanese into the modern language.

But on a more personal level, the question is not quite as strange as it might initially appear. Readers often develop an image of a writer while working through their books, and many of the top Japanese authors seem easily classifiable, from the eccentric Kobo Abe to the calm, traditionalist aesthete Yasunari Kawabata, the political protests of Kenzaburo Oe, and, more vivid than most, Yukio Mishimas unique blend of homoerotic and right-wing tendencies. But who exactly is Tanizaki?

To get a clearer picture of a writer, we can, of course look to his body of work, or at least those books that are available in translation. Major works like The Makioka Sisters, Some Prefer Nettles, Naomi, and Quicksand show a writer with a fascination for certain themes, including cultural differences between the Japanese regions and the sometimes-fraught relationships between the sexes.

more here.
LOS ANGELES - What if there was a way for you to know that a quake is coming?

"It said it was a 5.4 and I could see that it was centered near the Channel Islands," said Alissa Walker, an editor at Curbed Urbanism.

Alissa Walker knew all thanks to an app on her phone called "QuakeAlert."

"I got a warning, it said I was going to feel it, and I did feel it," Walker said.

Walker has been writing about early warning systems for years for Curbed Urbanism. So last year when she wrote a story about this app, the creators gave her beta access to test it out. She showed us how it worked.

"The first thing that happens is you get an alert sound on your phone and you look down and it said on my phone 38 seconds until expecting weak shaking," Walker said.

She also got this map - which showed her not only where the epicenter is - but also how far it is from her location and the magnitude.

Josh Bashioum/Early Warning Labs Founder: 00:34 "Scary day for some, but for us it was a good day," said Josh Bashioum, a founder of Early Warnings Labs.

Josh Bashioum is the founder of Early Warning Labs, the company that developed the early warning software which is now being rolled out all over Southern California and right here in Los Angeles.

"We notify Metro and they'll actually slow and stop all of their trains and they can do that in about half a minute...and if we can do that, we can prevent derailment," Bashioum said.

Bashioum says the early warning system not only told people how much time they had before it arrived, it also let them know it was going to be a weak earthquake so they knew not to panic. Alissa Walker experienced that first hand.

"If it had said strong shaking or moderate shaking, I would've definitely tried to get under my desk in that amount of time because you just don't know," Walker said.

Seismologist Dr. Lucy Jones says the warning system will provide precious seconds.

"What it does is it allows a surgeon to pull the knife out of your chest, the dentist to take the drill out of your mouth, the elevator to move to the nearest floor and open the door so when the electricity goes out on a really big earthquake, you aren't stuck there for the next three days," Jones said.
U.S. retailers on Friday urged President Donald Trump to reign in his threat to slap tariffs on an additional $100 billion of Chinese goods, warning that a trade war would be disastrous for the U.S. economy, including consumers.

Shoppers leave a Toys R Us store during a liquidation sale Friday, March 23, 2018 in U.S.. [Photo: AP]

"Tariffs don't work. Trade is a good thing for the U.S. economy, and we encourage the president and the Chinese to work it out through negotiation, multilateral engagement," said the National Retail Federations' Senior Vice President for Government Relations, David French.

"Tariffs are taxes and eventually they will find their way into everyday goods that Americans buy in the form of higher prices," added French.

China warned on Friday it was fully prepared to respond with a "fierce counter strike" of fresh trade measures if the United States follows through on President Donald Trump's warning.

Trump, in light of what he called China's "unfair retaliation" against earlier U.S. trade actions, had upped the ante on Thursday by ordering U.S. officials to identify extra tariffs, escalating a tit-for-tat confrontation with potentially damaging consequences for the world's two biggest economies.

China's Commerce Ministry spokesman, Gao Feng, called the U.S. action "extremely mistaken" and unjustified, adding that the spat was a struggle between unilateralism and multilateralism. He also said no negotiations were likely in the current circumstances.

French said retailers were looking for alternative suppliers amid the uncertainty with China, but that nothing could be accomplished quickly.

"When you do business internationally, it takes a long time to verify that a supplier is trustworthy, that you want to be in a business relationship with them," he explained. "It's something that is not easily done overnight."
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron exchanged views on the Syrian issue in a phone conversation at France's initiative Friday, the Kremlin said.

This photo taken on May 29, 2017 shows Russian President Vladimir Putin and French President Emmanuel Macro. [Photo: IC]

Putin informed Macron of the agreements reached at a meeting of Russian, Iranian and Turkish presidents in Ankara on Wednesday regarding further efforts to ensure long-term stability in Syria and strengthen its sovereignty, unity, independence and territorial integrity.

According to the Kremlin, Putin and Macron underlined the importance of promoting political settlement through the implementation of the decisions made at the Syrian National Dialogue Congress in the Russian city of Sochi in January.

They also stressed the importance of establishing a constitutional committee in Geneva under the auspices of the United Nations as soon as possible.

As for the situation in Eastern Ghouta, Putin and Macron noted the "unprecedented" large-scale operation to save civilians and withdraw the militants who refuse to surrender.

Putin urged the international community to step up efforts to provide humanitarian aid to those in need across Syria.

During the phone call, the leaders expressed their readiness to continue Russian-French consultations on key aspects of the Syrian settlement.

Macron is scheduled to visit Russia next month despite heightened tensions between Russia and Western countries.




A woman was taken to the hospital after she was shot twice in the leg in Birmingham Friday night.

The shooting happened in the 900 block of First Street North, which is in the Smithfield community.

Police said the extent of her injuries is unknown. Police also said they do not have a suspect in custody at this time.
Climate change is here. That's an undisputed fact. Climate change is caused by humans. That's also undisputed by the vast, vast majority of scientists. Despite the mounds of evidence linking human activity, some like President Donald Trump, still deny that humans are the cause of climate change. EPA chief Scott Pruitt says because the connection is unclear, we should "continue to debate, continue the review and analysis." What do you think?

PERSPECTIVES

Scientists are able to attribute new weather patterns phenomena that absolutely could not have happened in a world without greenhouse gases introduced by humans. This is not new research or unproven hypotheses.

The American Meteorological Society pulls together all the studies that examine new, extreme weather phenomena each year. In the report examining 2016, they pulled together more than 28 independent peer-reviewed studies which attributed extreme weather to human-caused climate change.

The science is settled and the longer we take arguing about basic facts, the worse things will get.

Pruitt told CNBC that carbon dioxide is not a "primary contributor to the global warming that we see." According to Pruitt, the science around climate change is not settled and there must be a debate. An analysis of more than 11,944 peer-reviewed papers found that 97 percent of scientists agree humans are responsible for climate change.

Here's exactly what Pruitt said:

The Tylt is focused on debates and conversations around news, current events and pop culture. We provide our community with the opportunity to share their opinions and vote on topics that matter most to them. We actively engage the community and present meaningful data on the debates and conversations as they progress. The Tylt is a place where your opinion counts, literally. The Tylt is an Advance Digital, Inc. property. Join us on Twitter @TheTylt or on Facebook, we'd love to hear what you have to say.
A Lawrence County Sheriff's deputy was arrested on misdemeanor domestic violence charges alleging he hit his former girlfriend during a June 2017 incident, court records show.

Blake Burns turned himself in to authorities Wednesday after a warrant for his arrest was issued, AL.com news partner WHNT News 19 reported.

Sheriff Gene Mitchell told WHNT Burns is on paid leave pending court action.

A complaint filed in Lawrence County district court alleges Burns hit his former girlfriend on her hip and abdomen with his fist in June 2017.

Burns was arrested Wednesday and posted a $1,000 bond Thursday, court documents show.

The victim alleges in a protection from abuse order filed against Burns in March that Burns knocked the victim into a cabinet and threatened her on multiple occasions.

In March, Burns also filed a protection order against the victim, court records show. He alleges in the protection from abuse order that she punched him in the mouth and exposed their child to drugs.

Burns is the second Lawrence County Sheriff's Office employee to be arrested for domestic violence this year. Former Lawrence County sheriff's chief of staff Tim McWhorter was charged with domestic violence last month for allegedly assaulting his girlfriend.
The NAACP Legal Defense Fund is challenging the election process in a suburb of Birmingham, claiming it has kept blacks from being elected to local office and violates the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

In a recent letter to the city of Pleasant Grove, attorneys with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund urged the city to switch from at-large voting to single-winner districts. Under the at-large method, candidates in local races appear on ballots citywide -- not in single districts.

Pleasant Grove's model might be denying black voters, who account for more than 40 percent of the city's electorate, the opportunity to elect candidates of their choice and fully participate in the political process, Legal Defense Fund attorneys say. The letter calls the at-large election method a violation of the Voting Rights Act.

Pleasant Grove's City Council is comprised of the mayor and five councilors.

As a result of the at-large method, the city has never elected a black person as mayor or a city councilor. Under the current model, a candidate must receive more than 50 percent of the citywide vote to win.

"We would ask Pleasant Grove to switch from at-large voting and to draw majority black districts in which African-American districts can elect the candidate of their choice. Clearly, that's not possible under the current system," said Legal Defense Fund staff attorney Deuel Ross.

Most recent census data shows 4,534 of Pleasant Grove's 10,110 residents are black. Overall the city's population is 45 percent black.

Ross said the LDF thinks it's possible to draw a single-member district with a majority of African Americans. The LDF would "be happy to present that to the city," he said.

The LDF has worked with multiple cities to change from an at-large to a district-led election system. The Supreme Court ruled in 1982 in Rogers v. Lodge that the at-large system of elections in Burke County, Georgia, violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

"Our hope is that it doesn't have to come to litigation and that we can work with them. We're considering all of our options, including litigation," Ross said.

Priscilla McWilliams, who became the city's first black person on the council when she was appointed in 2014, said creating voting districts is "long overdue."

"The government does not reflect the citizens," said McWilliams, who ran unsuccessfully to retain her post in 2016. "I had voiced this to the mayor and council even before I got on the council."

McWilliams was appointed in 2014 to replace James G. "Pete" Mosley, who vacated the Place 2 seat to move to Hoover.

"The council should reflect the city. It didn't (when I was on the council) and it does not now," she said

McWilliams and other Pleasant Grove residents were "flabbergasted" with the results of the 2016 election, in which she ran as an incumbent for the Place 2 seat. She was joined by two other black candidates -- Robert Sellers, who ran unsuccessfully for Place 1, and Yolanda Lawson, who ran unsuccessfully for Place 3.

Rep. Merika Coleman, who represents Alabama's 57th district in the state legislature and lives in Pleasant Grove, said she and others felt 2016 would be the year a black person would finally be elected to the Pleasant Grove City Council.

"It was discouraging -- especially with the caliber of folks running," Coleman said. "You would think you would want as many voices possible to move a city forward."

Changes in demographics

Data from the 2000 census shows about 85 percent of the total population of Pleasant Grove was white and 14 percent was black. Within 10 years, the black population more than tripled.

"Pleasant Grove has changed its race demographics and I think that (creating voting districts) would be another step in the right direction for diversity and representation in government," Sellers said. "It's unfair for your councilors to come from one area. It makes it difficult for the council to understand what you're experiencing on your side of town."

Lawson said many voters -- not just the black electorate -- voiced frustration about the council's lack of diversity.

"The biggest part is making sure that the leadership in our community mirrors the community itself or at least closely mirrors the community," she said. "All we want is at least feeling that we are adequately represented."

The LDF gave Pleasant Grove until this past Thursday to respond to its letter.

Mayor Jerry Brasseale declined to comment on the city's response to the letter and deferred questions to city attorney John Terry, who did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

"As you know, we take any letters that we get seriously. Our attorney will take it up from there. That's all I would have to say about that," Brasseale said.

Coleman says she hopes the Legal Defense Fund will not have to pursue litigation against the city.

"I would hope we would not have to do that and handle it as a city. I hope Pleasant Grove will move forward with creating single-winner districts so everyone will feel as if the city is embracing all people having a voice on that council," she said.
South Carolina lawmakers have introduced a bill that would allow them to secede from the U.S. if the federal government attempts to confiscate legally purchased firearms.

Three Republican representatives introduced the bill Thursday. It would allow the state's General Assembly to meet "to consider whether to secede from the U.S. based on the federal government's unconstitutional violation of the Second Amendment..." if the "federal government confiscates legally purchased firearms in this state."

One of the bill's sponsors, Rep. Mike Pitts, told the Hill the measure is more of an effort to shed light on Second Amendment rights as opposed to a concerted effort to leave the U.S.

"I see a lot of stuff where people even talk about totally repealing the Second Amendment, which separates us from the entire rest of the world," Pitts said.

In 1860, South Carolina became the first state to declare that it had seceded from the Union. It joined the Confederacy in early 1861.

The issue of gun control has reemerged as a national issue after the Feb. 14 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida that claimed 17 lives. Last month, retired Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens added fuel to the debate when he called for he repeal of the constitutional right to bear arms as a way to combat the growing influence of the National Rifle Association.
A state criminal investigation of former Gov. Robert Bentley and others ended this week with no new charges, but the related lawsuit against Bentley by former Alabama Law Enforcement Secretary Spencer Collier continues.

The Alabama Supreme Court on Wednesday denied a petition from Bentley's lawyers seeking immunity from Collier's claims of defamation, invasion of privacy and conspiracy. All nine justices concurred.

"It means the lawsuit against Bentley can go on and we'll finally be able to get his deposition under oath," Collier attorney Kenneth Mendelsohn said.

John Neiman, an attorney for Bentley, said the former governor could still prevail on the issue of immunity as the case advances.

"So that will be the path moving forward: conduct discovery in the trial court; show that the defendants are entitled to prevail on their various defenses, including immunity; and ask the trial court to grant the defendants summary judgment," Neiman said in an email.

In November, Montgomery County Circuit Judge Greg Griffin dismissed Collier's claim of wrongful termination by Bentley, ruling that Bentley had absolute immunity on that decision regardless of his motives. But Griffin ruled it was not clear Bentley had immunity on the other claims.

This week's Supreme Court ruling, first reported by Alabama Political Reporter, is the latest in a case that started two years ago as part of the fallout from scandal that eventually led to Bentley's resignation.

Collier was the first to publicly accuse Bentley of having an extramarital affair with advisor Rebekah Mason after the governor fired him in March 2016. Collier revealed the existence of recorded phone calls and text messages that appeared to back up the accusation of an affair. Collier said he had warned Bentley in 2014 not to use state resources to facilitate an affair.

Collier later sued Bentley and Mason, claiming they conspired to make false allegations against him to justify his firing by Bentley. Collier also sued former ALEA Secretary Stan Stabler, who replaced him, and ALEA attorney Michael Robinson.

The defendants have denied wrongdoing.

Bentley claimed he fired Collier because of alleged misspending at ALEA and released a report from an internal ALEA investigation that was referred to the attorney general. A special grand jury investigated, heard from witnesses and found no wrongdoing by Collier or credible basis for the allegations against him.

Mendelsohn said Collier has suffered personally, financially and professionally because of the public accusations. Collier, who is now the police chief in Selma, is seeking monetary damages in the lawsuit.

Special prosecutor Ellen Brooks announced Wednesday that the criminal investigation into Bentley, Mason and others had ended with no new charges. Bentley had pleaded guilty to two misdemeanors involving campaign finances when he resigned a year ago.

Brooks also released a report from the special grand jury that said weaknesses in state law hindered prosecution.

One weakness listed was that the law does not stop the governor from "initiating, directing or receiving reports on criminal investigations for illegitimate political purposes."

Mendelsohn said the allegations against Collier were an example of such an abuse of power. Mendelsohn said Collier's lawsuit can obtain a judgment about that conduct even though the grand jury found that criminal charges did not apply.

"A lot of times, civil cases fill in the gaps where criminal cases aren't successful," Mendelsohn said. "So this has some pretty significant impact."

Bentley attorney Neiman sees the grand jury's findings differently.

"What the grand-jury report says about former Governor Bentley is that the accusations that he committed a crime by misusing his official position were unsupported, unjustified and simply wrong," Neiman said in an email. "The Supreme Court's decision only means that the civil case will proceed to depositions, and during those depositions the former Governor plans to show that the similar allegations being made against him in the civil case are just as unsupported, unjustified, and wrong."

Mendelsohn said his plan is to schedule a deposition with Bentley as soon as it can be arranged. He also plans to seek depositions from the other defendants in the lawsuit.

Judge Griffin had granted Mason's request for a stay in the claims against her pending the results of the criminal investigation. Mendelsohn said the conclusion of the state investigation could result in the stay being lifted.

Mendelsohn said lawyers for Bentley and Stabler have deposed Collier for four days and plan to do so for one more day.

Mendelsohn said the case is important to Collier because of the damage the firing and allegations did to him personally and to his career. He said while the alleged affair between Bentley and Mason drew most of the attention, it's not what mattered most.

"Everybody wants to hear about the sex, but it ain't about the sex," Mendelsohn said. "It's about the abuse of authority and deliberately trying to ruin somebody."
Airports Council International (ACI) World has launched the first ever Airport Service Quality (ASQ) barometer, the first global snapshot of airport customer experience satisfaction levels, with overall satisfaction scores from a global and regional level.

ACI World will publish quarterly barometer reports which will enable airports around the world to measure up against their competition and gain invaluable insights to inform their approach to the increasingly competitive and crucial area of customer experience.

In 2017, more than half of the world's 7.1 billion travelers passed through an ASQ airport and this barometer was developed in response to airport demand for greater insight into customer need. As competition in the airport industry grows, continuous service improvement is key for business performance and airports are making the customer experience a high priority.

This barometer provides current data - based on objective measurements derived from the ASQ Departures survey, and the most relevant key performance indicators and categories for customers, including airport access, security, passport control and airport facilities.

Some of the key findings include:

 Overall in 2017, airport customer experience has improved globally from 4.15 to 4.19 (out of a 5 point scale) Security screening has the strongest impact on the overall satisfaction of passengers, and satisfaction in this area has improved overall

 The most satisfied passengers are found in larger airports (>40 M)

 Asia-Pacific's airports remain at the top of the charts in terms of customer experience satisfaction

"The development of the ASQ barometer was in direct response to members' feedback that they need to be proactive in measuring their efforts against sound and objective data. Objective measurement and benchmarking are critical in driving performance in any business especially in such a competitive and dynamic industry such as ours," said Angela Gittens, Director General, ACI World. "These quarterly reports will go a long way in helping inform airports and, in turn, encouraging them to strive for continued customer excellence in tangible ways that resonate with their customers."
In 2017, Greek media outlets published a footage of BMP-1A1OST firing tests. The decision to bring the BMP-1P with ZU-23-2 twin-barrel automatic anti-aircraft gun into service with the Hellenic Army is believed to be taken soon.



BMP-1P OST re-armed with ZU-23-2 twin automatic autiomatic AA guns (Picture source: Defence-Point)

In 1991, Athens ordered over 500 BMP-1P of the former Nationale Volksarmee (NVA) from Germany, and the vehicles were delivered in 1992-1994. The IFVs were slightly upgraded: they received smoke dischargers of the Marder IFV, a roof-mounted Browning M2HB 12.7 mm heavy machinegun (the weapon replaced the BMP-1's organic launcher for the 9M14 Malyutka (NATO name: AT-3 Sagger) anti-tank guided missiles (ATGM), new protected headlamps, and rear viewers. The spare fuel tanks of the basic vehicle located in the back doors were filled with fireproof foam in order to increase the survivability of the IFV on the battlefield. The basic specifications and features of the BMP-1 remained the same.

The slightly updated IFV of the Hellenic Army was designated BMP-1A1 OST. This is noteworthy that the Greek military highly estimated the vehicles' reliability, maneuverability, and tactical flexibility. According to the Military Balance 2018 analytical book published by the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), the Hellenic Army operates 398 BMP-1A1 OST combat vehicles.

At the same time, the issue of a deeper modernization of the BMP-1A1 OST platform appeared in the 2010s. In particular, the Greek military said that the organic turret of the vehicle armed with a 2A28 Grom 73 mm semi-automatic cannon and a Kalashnikov PKT 7.62 mm coaxial machinegun did not meet modern requirements. The Hellenic Army wanted to have its armor fleet refitted; however, harsh financial environment cut any modernization program of the Greek Ministry of Defense (MoD).

Having faced the lack of funds, the military turned to modernization of the BMP-1A1 OST vehicles. In late 2014, the Hellenic Army conducted the initial trials of the BMP-1P IFV armed with a ZU-23-2 twin-barrel automatic anti-aircraft gun. The ZU-23-2 replaced the organic turret of the vehicle and received additional armor shield protecting against bullets and small fragments. The gun was integrated with an open mount. It should be mentioned that Greece was reported to have received about 500 ZU-23-2s from Germany in the 1990s. The integration of the anti-aircraft gun was aimed at the increase of the platform's effectiveness against dismounted troops, soft-skin vehicles, low-flying aerial targets (such as helicopters or unmanned aerial vehicles), and fast attack/landing craft (FAC/FLC).

The modernization works were conducted by the 308th Depot of the Hellenic Army, while the IFV's trials were conducted under the auspices of the 96th National Guard Command on the island of Chios. The upgraded BMP-1P was reported to have successfully passed its trials. In 2017, several local media outlets published a footage of the vehicle's firing tests. The decision to bring the BMP-1P with ZU-23-2 into service with the Hellenic Army is believed to be taken at an early date.

Despite its age, the BMP-1P still remains an effective transporting and support platform. Compared to the baseline BMP-1, the BMP-1P features an upgraded anti-tank weapon (namely, a roof-mounted single-rail launcher of the 9M113 Konkurs (AT-5 Spandrel) ATGM) and Tucha 902V smoke dischargers. According to the open sources, the BMP-1P infantry fighting vehicle has a combat weight of 13.4 t. The IFV is powered by a UTD-20 diesel engine with a power output of 300 hp, which produces a maximum road speed of 65 km/h, a maximum swimming speed of 7-8 km/h, and a power-to-weight ratio of 22.4 hp/t. The vehicle has a cruising range of 550-600 km. The baseline BMP-1P is armed with a 2A28 Grom 73 mm semi-automatic cannon, a Konkurs ATGM, a PKT 7.62 mm coaxial machinegun, and two Strela-2M (SA-7 Grail) man-portable air defense systems (MANPADS).
Dikshit loves to travel and capture what the journey has to offer to him.

Who doesnt dream of travelling to a far away land, waking up to a scenic view and creating a million memories? But while most of us fail to get away from the chaos of the daily rush, Dikshit Mundra feels that travelling is as important to him as breathing. Dikshit reveals that he never planned to become a photographer.

Photography was my fathers passion. He used to take us out every Sunday and click many pictures of me and my siblings, and then he would spend the whole afternoon developing the photos. I was always curious to know what he gets out of it. However, it was a Ted talk by famous Dutch photographer, Frans Lanting that got Dikshit attracted towards photography. I was very inspired by one particular talk where Frans Lanting talks about what he wants to portray via his photographs. And thats what got me hitched on to photography.









Dikshit reveals that though his father gifted him a camera, he got his first professional camera after winning a photography competition in his college, which was a d50 300mm camera. The self-trained photographer confesses that he doesnt have an inclination towards any particular genre.

When you define yourself by a particular genre, you have to stick to it and explore more and more only in that field. But I dont want to limit myself. I want to be able to click a good portrait and at the same time not miss natures wonders or the beauty of an old monument, he shares, adding that whenever he has to click a portrait he makes sure that the person whose picture he clicks is informed. Its not ethical to click someones picture and not tell them. I always take permission before clicking the picture.

Talking about one of his favourite works, Dikshit says, We (him and his friends) were at the Pangong Lake in Ladakh. We have a tradition, whenever we are there we swim in the lake. While we were in the lake, it started raining and we all rushed to our camps to change. When we came out some time later, we saw two full rainbows on the lake. I hadnt ever witnessed anything like this before and captured it immediately.

The 25-year-old, who has now travelled to most parts of India, is looking forward to visit the north-eastern states soon. Ask him which Northeast state would he like to visit first, and he interrupts us, Its eight! Most people dont count Sikkim. I understand that it wasnt a part of the original Northeast as it wasnt a part of India, but now that it is, I feel it should be included in the sister states. He adds, I would like to visit Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya. But thats not what tops his travel list: I want to go backpacking for a month to Iceland and explore.
China says it will fight back at any cost against US.

Beijing/Washington: China warned on Friday it would fight back at any cost with fresh trade measures if the United States continues on its path of protectionism, hours after President Donald Trump threatened to slap tariffs on an additional $100 billion in Chinese goods.

Mr Trump said the US has already lost any trade war, as he defended his proposed tariffs, saying the move might cause a little pain but the US will be better off in the long run.

Weve already lost the trade war. We dont have a trade war, weve lost the trade war, Mr Trump said in a radio interview with New York radio show early on Friday. In a Twitter message on Wednesday, he had said: That war was lost many years ago by the foolish, or incompetent, people who represented the U.S.

In light of Chinas unfair retaliation against earlier US trade actions, Mr Trump upped the ante on Thursday by ordering US officials to identify extra tariffs, escalating a high stakes tit-for-tat confrontation with potentially damaging consequences for the worlds two biggest economies.

On Wednesday, China unveiled a list of 106 U.S. goods  from soybeans and whiskey to frozen beef and aircraft - targeted for tariffs, in a swift retaliatory move only hours after the Trump administration proposed duties on some 1,300 Chinese industrial, technology, transport and medical products.

Washington has called for the $50 billion in extra duties after it said a probe determined Chinese government policies are designed to transfer US intellectual property to Chinese companies and allow them to seize leadership in key high-technology industries of the future.

Responding to Mr Trumps latest comments, the Chinese commerce ministry reiterated that China was not afraid of a trade war even though it did not seek one, and accused the US of provoking the conflict. If the US disregards the objections of China and the international community and persists in unilateralism and trade protectionism, the Chinese side will follow through to the end, at any cost, and definitely fight back resolutely, a spokesperson was quoted as saying on the ministrys website.

The ministry has called for a media briefing on Friday night, in an unusual move on a public holiday.

Earlier in the day, Chinese state media had slammed Mr Trumps threat of more trade action as ridiculous.

This latest intimidation reflects the deep arrogance of some American elites in their attitude towards China, Global Times said in an editorial.

While Beijings claims that US is the aggressor and is spurring global protectionism, Chinas trading partners have complained for years that it abuses WTO rules and propagates unfair policies at home that lock foreign firms out of some sectors as domestic champions are being nurtured.
Convicted Salman Khan will have to furnish two bail bonds of Rs 25,000 each as a personal bail bond.

Mumbai: After spending two nights in Jodhpur Central Jail, actor Salman Khan was granted bail by Jodhpur Court in 1998 blackbuck poaching case.

Salman will have to furnish two bail bonds of Rs 25,000 each as a personal bail bond.

Also Read: 1998 Blackbuck poaching case: Salman Khan gets bail, likely to be out by 7:30 pm

Salman Khan is likely to be out of Jodhpur Central Jail by 7.30 pm.

"The bail order must reach the jail authorities only after that will Salman Khan be released today. The bail bond takes about 20 minutes to fill out. The verification process takes about an hour after which he can be released. He could be released at about 7.30 pm," said senior lawyer Bharat Bhusan Sharma.

Soon after the announcement, fans who were awaiting Bhaijaans bail, gathered outside his Galaxy Apartment and cheered in joy for his bail release with banners in hands which claimed We support Salman Khan. We love Salman Khan.

Fans of #SalmanKhan gather outside his residence in Mumbai and celebrate following Jodhpur Court's verdict in #BlackBuckPaochingCase. The Court granted him bail in the case. pic.twitter.com/STrcQuihjY  ANI (@ANI) April 7, 2018

Salman's 'Hum Saath Saath Hain' co-stars and Bollywood actors - Saif Ali Khan, Sonali Bendre, Tabu and Neelam Kothari - were acquitted by the court on Thursday for the lack of evidence.
In the meantime, reports even state that Salman has got death threats from a local goon.

Death threat for Khans lawyer

Salman Khans lawyer gets death threats for defending the actor in the blackbuck poaching case!

After the Jodhpur trial court sentenced Salman to a jail term of five years in connection with the blackbuck poaching case, the actors team had appealed in the Sessions Court for a bail. The superstars lawyers prepared a 51 page argument, but even before he could reach the court, the lawyer got several death threats. As the lawyer revealed to a news channel, I am getting death threats. The message said Salman Khan ka case ko chodh dijiye, warna goli maarenge. However, looks like the lawyer is unperturbed as he maintained he will continue with the case and he has been provided security by the Commissioner of Police.

In the meantime, reports even state that Salman has got death threats from a local goon. The jail superintendent even confirmed this and mentioned to PTI how they might change his jail cell for security reasons.

Jail diaries

The actor entering the Jodhpur central jail

Salman Khan who is convicted in 1998 Blackbuck case was sent to Jodhpur central jail, on Thursday. The actor couldnt sleep the entire night as he complained of high Blood Pressure and was given tea and four glucose biscuits at 6:30 in the morning. First night as qaidi no. 106, was not an easy on Tiger. Sources say that the actor requested for milk for which he had to pay Rs 400.
As the dalit revolt spreads in its ranks, the BJP is getting increasingly worried about the fallout.

Lucknow: After Savitri Bai Phule and Chhotelal Kharwar, another dalit BJP MP from Uttar Pradesh, Ashok Dohre, has raised the banner of revolt against the party and chief minister Yogi Adityanath for allegedly implicating the formers supporters in cases related to Bharat Bandh violence on April 2. Mr Dohre, who represents Etawah, has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and sought his intervention.

The police is booking dalits under false cases and subjecting them to violence. Their complaints are not being entertained. I have written a letter to the Prime Minister in this regard, Mr Dohre told reporters.

As the dalit revolt spreads in its ranks, the BJP is getting increasingly worried about the fallout.

We are definitely worried about this trend and we know that this will be used by other parties to their advantage. We have been making efforts to connect with dalit leaders and keep them informed about the steps that are being taken to redress their complaints. BJP president Amit Shah will also interact with disgruntled MPs and MLAs when he visits Uttar Pradesh next week, said a party leader.

Earlier, Savitri Bai Phule, BJP MP from Bahraich, caused embarrassment to the party by organising a rally in Lucknow on April 1 to protest against dilution of the SC/ST Act. At the rally, she declared that she would place the interests of her community before the interests of her party.

I will not hesitate to give up my membership of Lok Sabha if it comes to that, she said.

Another BJP MP, Chhotelal Kharwar, who represents Robertsganj, accused Mr Adityanath of scolding him and throwing him out of the chief ministers office when he tried to brief him about alleged discrimination taking place in his constituency.

He later wrote to Mr Modi complaining against Mr Adityanath and got an assurance from the former that action will be taken.

BJP MP Udit Raj, who represents Northwest Delhi seat, had also made his displeasure public about Yogi governments decision to include Ramji in the name of Dr B.R. Ambedkar and had termed the decision as uncalled for.

Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh minister Om Prakash Rajbhar said on Friday that he was prepared to revolt against the BJP on issues related to dalits and OBCs.

Mr Rajbhar, who heads BJPs ally Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP), has spoken against the Yogi government on a number of occasions.
Senior counsels Parasaran added that it was not proper to compare polygamy case with Ayodhya dispute.

New Delhi: Amidst ruckus created by senior advocate Rajeev Dhavan on whether the Ayodhya dispute is less important than polygamy, the Supreme Court on Friday agreed to examine whether the entire Ayodhya title dispute can be sent to the Constitution Bench.

A three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra, also made it clear to Mr Dhavan that it will decide whether to send the matter to the larger bench only after hearing all parties to the litigation.

We will not restrict the scope of arguments only to reconsideration of 1994 verdict. You (Dhavan) can argue for referring the entire title suit to a constitution bench, the bench told Mr Dhavan. Justices Ashok Bhushan and Abdul Nazeer are the other judges in the bench.

At the outset, Mr Dhavan, appearing for main petitioner M. Siddiq, referred to a recent order passed for referring polygamy issue to a Constitution Bench of five judges and asked the court whether Ayodhya dispute is less important than polygamy for not referring to five judges.

People of India want to know whether polygamy is more important than Ayodhya dispute. This court must answer now. Ayodhya case is not being dealt with the importance it deserves, Mr Dhavan told the court. He repeatedly said and urged the CJI to refer this matter to a constitution bench now itself.

Senior counsels K. Parasaran and C.S. Vaidyanathan strongly opposed the words used by Mr Dhavan, insinuating senior lawyers present in the court and Mr Soli Sorabjee, who is not present.

Objecting to Mr Dhavans submissions, Mr Parasran told the court, What sort of argument is this? Nation wants to know and Supreme Court must answer. You (Mr Dhavan) are not alone who is representing the nation. We (petitioners representing Hindus) are also representing the nation. When one is asking for a reconsideration of the 1994 verdict it has to be examined. As far as we are concerned, the verdict did not require reconsideration. Further no review can be permitted after 25 years.

Mr Parasaran added that it was not proper to compare polygamy case with Ayodhya dispute. Last year when triple talaq was decided by the Constitution bench, this issue was left open and for this reason only polygamy was referred to five judges. But here we are dealing with a case, which is already decided, and he is seeking reconsideration.

Additional solicitors general Maninder Singh and Tushar Mehta also objected to Mr Dhavan using unparliamentary and disparaging remarks against senior lawyers and urged the court not to allow the counsel to do so.

When Mr Dhavan said he cannot argue the same issue now and repeat the same before the Constitution Bench later, Justice Ashok Bhushan reminded the counsel that there is some procedure in this court which must be followed. He asked the counsel how can you say that I will not argue before you and I will argue only before the Constitution bench before we decide whether reference is required or not.

CJI told Mr. Dhavan whether to refer to a larger bench or not we have to hear all parties and decide. We will hear on all aspects, first, we will put this controversy (on 1994 verdict) to rest. We may take a decision to refer the entire 1994 judgment to a larger bench as well as the title dispute itself.

Mr. Dhavan asked the CJI If the court has one criteria, viz importance of an issue to be referred to the constitution, why not same criteria for this (Ayodhya) issue. This (Ayodhya) is the most important issue facing the Indian secularism, than polygamy. I am asking this with serious anguish. Tell whether polygamy or secularism is important. Let this court openly say that this matter is not sufficiently important than polygamy.

Mr. Dhavans objection was that during the last hearing the apex court had said that before deciding the Ayodhya title dispute, it will examine as a `preliminary issue whether the 1994 ruling, viz a mosque is not an essential part of the practice of the religion of Islam and Namaz. (Prayer) by Muslims can be offered anywhere, even in open requires to be revisited by a five judge Constitution bench.

The CJI had then made it clear to Mr. Dhavan if we agree with your propositions, we will refer the legal principles to be considered afresh by a five judge bench. If we dont agree with your argument and come to the conclusion that the 1994 observations were made in the context of acquisition of land in Ayodhya, we may not refer it.

On Firday Mr. Dhavan pointed out that the 1994 verdict ordering `status quo on installation of Ram Idol in the disputed site, recognised Hindus right to worship at that place but completely ignored the rights of Muslims to offer namaz in the Babri Masjid. The observation that a mosque is not an essential part of the practice of the religion of Islam and Namaz. (Prayer) by Muslims can be offered anywhere, even in open, required to be revisited as the Allahabad High Court while deciding the title suit in 2010 had apportioned one third of the land to Hindus, one third to Muslims and one third to Ram Lulla relying on the status quo order of 1994. He will continue his arguments on April 27.
The Nepalese Prime Minister, a former communist revolutionary who spent 14 years in jail, is widely seen as pro-China in his policies and approach.

New Delhi: Visiting Nepalese Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday evening ahead of delegation-level talks on Saturday. But hours before that, Mr Oli also met Congress president Rahul Gandhi, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and former Union minister Anand Sharma when the Congress party delegation called on him.

Former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, Congress president @RahulGandhi and former Union minister @AnandSharmaINC met honourable Prime Minister of Nepal Shri Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli, the Congress tweeted.

Trade issues, connectivity, Indian assistance to Nepal in development projects and the effects of Indian demonetisation of 2016 on Nepalese nationals are expected to figure in deliberations between the two countries during the talks on Saturday.

India will use the Nepalese Prime Ministers three-day visit to not only strengthen ties with the Himalayan nation, but also to issue a strong message to neighbouring China. The Nepalese Prime Minister, a former communist revolutionary who spent 14 years in jail, is widely seen as pro-China in his policies and approach.

According to reports, Mr Modi is expected to make it clear to Mr Oli that if he awards more dam-based projects to China, India will not buy energy produced in Nepal.

Mr Oli reached New Delhi on Friday morning and, in a break from custom, was received at the airport by Union home minister Rajnath Singh, one of the senior-most ministers in the Cabinet.

Neighbourhood first! Prime Minister of Nepal K.P. Sharma Oli and Mrs Radhika Shakya were warmly welcomed by home minister Rajnath Singh on their arrival in India. This is the first state visit of Prime

Minister Oli after being elected as Prime Minister of Nepal, ministry of external affairs (MEA) spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted on Friday morning.

Meanwhile, according to news agency reports, Mr Oli sought investments from Indian businesses saying his country offers investor friendly environment and incentives for industries, saying, We are discussing the new version of bilateral investment agreement.

Indian investors have invested across the globe, so why not to go to the next door Nepal? Geographical proximity, easy access and cultural similarities are all there to make you feel good about Nepal. Seize the opportunity, Mr Oli was quoted by news agencies as saying at a business event.

Investors always look for a market. Look at Nepals position. For us, market is not a problem, (but) production is a problem. It is lying between two vibrant economic powers with huge population of the world. That assures you of a promising market of 2.5 billion people, he added.

Nepal has to offer attractive incentives compared to other countries. We have reduced tariffs, simplified tax regimes, he said, adding that the country is planning to establish SEZ in cities bordering India with incentives for industries, including liberal labour laws.
Modi asks party MPs to protest on April 12; Rahul fixes April 9 date.

Placards placed around Mahatma Gandhis statue after a protest by BJP MPs against Congress during the Budget Session at Parliament House in New Delhi on Friday. (Photo: Pritam Bandyopadhyay)

New Delhi: Its protest versus protest. Both the BJP and the Congress have decided to go on a fast accusing each other of dragging politics and parliamentary proceedings to a new a low.

Moments after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a fast by BJP MPs on April 12 to protest the impasse caused by Opposition parties in Parliament, the Congress asked its functionaries to hold a day-long fast at all state and district headquarters on April 9 to expose the BJPs lies on various issues.

Protesting near Mahatma Gandhis statue in Parliament complex, Union ministers blamed the Congress for disrupting proceedings in both the Houses on a day when the washed out second leg of the Budget Session came to an end. Both Houses were adjourned sine die, capping a month of relentless disruptions and stated to be the least productive since 2000 with nearly 250 working hours being wasted.

After the sessions end, BJP and Congress MPs stood facing each other near the Gandhi statue with placards and shouted slogans against each other.

The disruptions and adjournments during the session were caused by protests over special category status to Andhra Pradesh, bank scams, demand for Cauvery water management board, vandalising of statues, review of the recent Supreme Court order on the SC/ST Act and law and order situation in Kasganj, Uttar Pradesh.

During the session, merely five of 19 starred questions were orally answered by ministers in the Rajya Sabha. In the Lok Sabha, 17 of 580 such questions were answered in 29 sittings.

The Congress blamed the BJP-led government for not letting Parliament function and termed as gimmick and drama the move by NDA MPs to forgo their salary for 23 days when Parliament did not function.

Mallikarjun Kharge, leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha, alleged that the government and its allies were orchestrating disruptions and blaming the Congress for them.

On Friday morning, Congress MPs stayed away from tea hosted by Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan to protest against her allegedly poor handling of disruptions in the House.

The Congress also gave a notice for breach of privilege against parliamentary affairs minister Ananth Kumar for misleading the Lok Sabha over continued disruptions by naming its top leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.

Giving the notice, Congress leader K.C. Venugopal alleged that the government was not interested in running the House.

I would like to submit a breach of privilege notice against parliamentary affairs minister Ananth Kumar for misleading the House and people regarding the ongoing disruption in the Lok Sabha, the notice said.

Senior party spokesperson Anand Sharma said Rahul Gandhi has announced a plan to hold a fast on April 9 at all district headquarters to help promote peace, brotherhood and harmony in the country.

Addressing BJP MPs on the partys foundation day, Mr Modi kept the Congress in his line of fire and accused it of taking parliamentary proceedings to a new low.

Briefing reporters on the BJP parliamentary party meeting, Union minister Ananth Kumar quoted the Prime Minister as saying that the Congress was throttling democracy and abusing peoples mandate.

Mr Modi said that the Congress opposition to him is turning increasingly violent due to the fact that people born in backward castes are in the countrys top positions and also because of the rivals discomfort with the BJPs rising strength.

They are unable to accept that the son of a poor mother can become Prime Minister. They are unable to accept that people born in backward castes can also occupy top positions in the country, Mr Modi told BJP MPs.
She was made to work as a domestic help, was tortured and was not given adequate food.

Instead of Dubai, the agent sent her to Sharjah in United Arab Emirates, where she was initially confined in an office. (Photo: Representational | Pixabay)

Hyderabad: A Hyderabad woman, who was offered the job of a salesgirl in Dubai was recently rescued from Sharjah where she was sold to a sheikh to work as a domestic help.

The young woman had accepted the job hoping for freedom from poverty and difficulty-laden life back in India.

Instead, what she was put through was nothing less than horror and torture- confinement, overwork and not enough food in a foreign country.

The woman narrated that the job of a saleswoman in a Dubai supermarket came to her through an agent in Hyderabad.

However, the agent sent her to Sharjah in United Arab Emirates on March 18, where she was initially confined in an office.

"Later a Sheikh bought me and took me to Bahrain. From there I was taken to Oman and kept as a domestic help," she said.

She also added that she was not given adequate food, was tortured and made to work excessively.

Somehow, she was able to reach out to her mother and informed her about the situation, after which the family reached out to the Indian embassy in Muscat.

The foreign ministry was also alerted after which they intervened and rescued the woman.

Now safely back in Hyderabad, the woman said she would like to thank External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and the Indian Embassy in Muscat for rescuing her.

"I was finally rescued and I would like to thank Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj and the Indian Embassy," she said.

This is not the first time Indian workers have been trapped in UAE.

The incidents became so regular that in 2017 a helpline was set up along with a new centre to help such trapped workers.

With this helpline and a team of advisers, the Indian Workers' Resource Centre in Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates aims to help the multitude of workers in the region who maybe trapped, hence in need of help.

Workers with complaints ranging from torture and abuse to non-payment of wages can call up the multilingual toll free number (800 INDIA).
Nepal PM KP Sharma Oli said, 'We want to have trust-based relationship between the two neighbours.'

New Delhi: Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli who is on a three-day visit to India, received a ceremonial welcome at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Saturday. Prime Minister Oli arrived in Delhi on Friday and was received at the airport by Home Minister Rajnath Singh. He met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday evening.

This is PM Oli's first visit to the country after he took charge as the prime minister for the second term in February.

PM of Nepal Khadga Prasad Oli & PM Modi inaugurateIndia - Nepal petroleum products pipeline from #Delhi. pic.twitter.com/30wvtoVe1t  ANI (@ANI) April 7, 2018

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Nepal PM KP Sharma Oli issued a joint press statement on Saturday afternoon.

Here's what Prime Minister Narendra Modi said during the joint press statements in New Delhi:We (India) will continue to support Nepal as per that country's priorities:

We have agreed to expedite implementation of all connectivity projects

We have agreed on new railway line to link Kathmandu with India

India and Nepal have close ties in defence and security. We will work together to stop misuse of our open border

In our meetings over the last two days, Prime Minister KP Oli told me about Nepal's economic progress and inclusive development

I believe my motto of Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas and Mr Oli's motto of Samriddh Nepal, Sukhi Nepal are complimentary

Both of us (PM Modi and his Nepali counterpart PM Oli) are working for the prosperity and well-being our citizens

I assured him (PM Oli) India will continue to be a strong partner for Nepal

I have assured Nepal PM Oli that India will cooperate in Nepal's economic and social development

Ahead of the joint press statement Prime Minister of Nepal KP Sharma Oli and PM Modi inaugurated India-Nepal petroleum products pipeline from Delhi.

Also Read: Nepal Prime Minister given ceremonial reception at Rashtrapati Bhawan

Here's what Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli said during the joint press statement in New Delhi:
President Ram Nath Kovind will later hold a meeting with the Nepal PM to discuss upon a range of bilateral issues of India and Nepal.

Oli is scheduled to meet External Affairs' Minister Sushma Swaraj, Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and other delegation level officers over the course of the day. (Photo: ANI)

New Delhi: Nepal's Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, who is on a three-day visit to India, was given a ceremonial reception at Rashtrapati Bhawan on Saturday.

President Ram Nath Kovind will later hold a meeting with the Nepal Prime Minister to discuss upon a range of bilateral issues of India and Nepal.

Further External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will have a detailed discussion with Oli at Rashtrapati Bhawan regarding the foreign policy and related issues. Later the Nepal Prime Minister will lay a wreath at Mahatma Gandhi's samadhi Raj Ghat.

Also Read: Nepal to return Rs 950 cr in demonetised cash to improve ties with India

He is also scheduled to hold discussions with the delegation-level officers of India at the Hyderabad House. Some of the important development projects will be inaugurated at the House followed by an interaction with the press.

Oli will meet Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu at his residence in the afternoon. He is also scheduled to meet Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh at Rashtrapati Bhawan in the evening.
The airline made emergency landing at IGI Airport, New Delhi on Saturday after suffering technical glitch.

The flight was on its way from Phu Quoc in Vietnam to Yekaterinburg. (Pixabay | Representational)

New Delhi: A non-scheduled Russian aircraft with 344 passengers on-board made an emergency landing at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport in New Delhi on Saturday evening after suffering an engine failure. All passengers are reported to be safe.

"A Russia-bound aircraft from Vietnam with 345 passengers on-board made an emergency landing at the T-3 terminal of the IGI airport here, after suffering an engine failure," news agency ANI quoted Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) as saying.

The flight was on its way from Phu Quoc in Vietnam to Yekaterinburg.

The flight landed at Runway number 11 under full emergency protocol at 6:08 pm.

IGI airport official told ANI, "Information was received at Police Station IGI Airport from CISF control room at 05:22 pm regarding emergency landing of flight number ABG 8772, a non-scheduled flight. Now, the said flight has safely landed at 06:05 pm on runway number 1129."

Eight fire engines and ambulances were present at the runway as the flight landed.
They (I-T) have to issue notice to the right person, the counsel argued, adding, they issued notice to a company which did not exist.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a special leave petition filed by a hospitality firm linked to Robert Vadra challenging an income-tax (I-T) department notice to it for re-assessment of its profits from land deals in Haryana and Rajasthan for 2010-11.

A bench of Justices A.K. Sikri and Ashok Bhushan dismissed the SLP filed by Sky Light Hospitality LLP, which has challenged the Delhi high courts February order dismissing its petition against the I-T notice, asking the firm to join the proceedings before the assessing officer.

In its report submitted to the high court, the I-T department had said it suspected that over Rs 35 crore that Sky Light Hospitality had earned in 2010-11 had escaped assessment.

During the hearing, the apex court did not agree with the contention of the companys lawyer that the notice was sent by the IT department to wrong entity  Sky Light Hospitality Pvt Ltd  instead of Sky Light Hospitality LLP.

They (I-T) have to issue notice to the right person, the counsel argued, adding, they issued notice to a company which did not exist.

The Delhi high court had dismissed a writ petition filed by Sky Light Hospitality against the re-assessment notice issued against it in connection with DLF-Sky Light Hospitality land deal.

Sky Light Hospitality, which is now converted into a limited liability partnership, challenged the re-assessment notice issued in the name of the erstwhile private limited company Sky Light Hospitality, which allegedly took Rs 5 crore loan from DLF and purportedly used it to purchase a parcel of land. The firm later sold the same land to DLF for Rs 50 crore.
Two BJP leaders Dinesh Jha and Mohan Patwa were arrested from Rosera town of Samastipur district on March 29.

The public display of aggression against the state administration by BJP leaders in Bihar has snowballed into a political controversy.

Patna: Police action against those who have been involved in inciting communal violence seems to have offended the BJP which is one of the coalition partners in the ruling alliance in Bihar.

According to BJP leaders, a party delegation met the Director General of Police and submitted a memorandum demanding action against officials who targeted only people belonging to majority community during the communal violence in several districts of the state.

It was a one-sided action. People from the majority community were arrested by the police on charges of stoking communal violence but the fact is that there was provocation from the minority community side, BJP MLA Sanjiv Chaurasia who was part of the delegation told this newspaper on Saturday.

Two BJP leaders Dinesh Jha and Mohan Patwa were arrested from Rosera town of Samastipur district on March 29.

The public display of aggression against the state administration by BJP leaders in Bihar has snowballed into a political controversy.

Nitish Kumar is facing difficulty in coping with BJPs aggressive Hindutva agenda. Nothing is right in the ruling alliance anymore as BJP has started raising questions about the decisions which is being taken by the state government. RJD MLA Bhai Birendra said. Observers said that the recent accusations came after chief minister Nitish Kumar publicly expressed his displeasure over series of comments made by BJP leaders and recent incidents of communal violence in the state.

BJP leaders said that scores of district-level leaders were arrested by the police on the charges of disturbing communal harmony in at least seven districts during the Ram Navami procession. Our demand is that all innocent people who have arrested on charges of stoking communal violence should be released without further delay," BJP MLA Sanjeev Chaurasia said.

The BJP leaders excluding deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi camp have also been complaining about the police role in a crackdown against Union Minister Ashwini Choubeys son Arijit Shaswat who had surrendered in Patna after a court had dismissed his bail petition last week.
Vijay Gokhale added that Nepal wants to create a model relationship with India based on principles of equality, justice, mutual respect.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi walks with his Nepalese counterpart Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli during a ceremonial reception for the latter in New Delhi. (Photo: AP)

New Delhi: In an attempt to go past the bitterness of recent incidents and build a forward-looking relationship, visiting Nepalese Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli and Prime Minister Narendra Modi held talks in the Capital on Saturday and decided on new game-changer initiatives including a cross-border electric rail link between Kathmandu and Raxaul in Bihar, connecting Nepal to the Indian railway system, and a separate river transport system that could give Nepal a route all the way to the sea.

The Indian offer to enhance Nepals connectivity comes at the time of Chinas aggressive infrastructure offensive in the Himalayan country in the form of One Belt One Road initiative (OBOR). Touted as Chinese President Xi Jinpings ambitious project, the OBOR initiative focuses on improving connectivity and cooperation among Asian countries, Africa, China and Europe. India and Bhutan are the only south Asian countries not to be involved in the ambitious project.

On Saturday India and Nepal also decided to build a new partnership in agriculture, defence, energy and trade, a reflection of Indias bid to actively counter China in the region.

Though Mr Olis visit is taking place against the backdrop of increasing Chinese influence in Nepal, Indian foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale claimed that the countries did not discuss China or OBOR during bilateral talks.

Mr Gokhale said that the two PMs discussed Saarcs future but the issue of demonetisation (by India in 2016 and its effects on Nepalese nationals) did not come up.

Mr Oli, who is widely seen as pro-China in his approach and policies, said that Nepal wants to erect a strong edifice of trust-based relations between two close neighbours (India and Nepal).

He added that Nepal wants to create a model relationship with India based on principles of equality, justice, mutual respect.

We need support of our friends. Relation among neighbours is different from other relations. This is based on mutual respect, he said.

Reciprocating the goodwill, PM Modi said, Through our efforts, Nepal will get extra connectivity to the ocean... It will get directly connected to the sea... Nepal will be not only land-linked but also water-linked PM Olis vision of prosperous Nepal and developed Nepal is compatible to sabka sath, sabka vikas.

PM Modi added, We both will prevent misuse of our open borders with each other. We will advance our joint security interests.

In a veiled reference to the Madhesis, people mostlu of Indian origin residing in the Nepalese plains that border Bihar, Mr Modi expressed hope that Kathmandu will take all sections along in Nepals march to progress. The Madhesis have often complained of being left out of the power apparatus by the Nepalese hill people and this had strained ties between the two countries in 2015-16.

Mr Oli said he wants to see an early realisation of the open market provision of the bilateral power trade agreement. He also highlighted the alarming trade deficit and stressed the need to implement measures to expand Nepals exports.

We are connected by easy geography while our cross-border infrastructure is still poor. We discussed the possibility of being linked by river navigation. In this context, I thanked Prime Minister Modiji for positively considering our proposal on inland waterways. Enhanced connectivity will definitely contribute to our desire to be a land-linked country instead of land-locked, said Mr Oli.

Using a remote button, the two Prime Ministers also inaugurated a check post at Birgunj in Nepal to enhance cross-border trade. They also witnessed the ground-breaking ceremony of the Motihari-Amlekhgunj cross-border petroleum pipeline in Motihari, Bihar.

Mr Oli said, I have come to India with a mission to explore ways and means to enhance our relations to newer heights... Inter-dependence takes many forms between our two countries, ranging from ecological to commercial. Being close neighbours, our destiny is intertwined.

Both of us underlined that the early realisation of the ongoing mega-projects like Pancheshwar, Arun III and Upper Karnali would generate the much desirable impetus and positive precedence for future such projects. I appreciated the Government of Indias initiative to have guidelines and regulation for cross-border trade of electricity. It is definitely a step ahead, Mr Oli said.

In a joint statement, the two sides said, The Prime Ministers of India and Nepal... took the landmark decision to develop the inland waterways for the movement of cargo, within the framework of trade and transit arrangements, providing additional access to sea for Nepal. This new initiative would enable cost effective and efficient movement of cargo.
The woman alleged that she was raped by four people for months and was forced to abort the baby.

SSP Satna, VD Pandey said that they initiated an investigation into the matter and will soon nab the perpetrators. (Photo: ANI)

Satna (Madhya Pradesh): In a spine-chilling incident, a 20-year-old woman in Madhya Pradesh's Satna district reached the police superintendent's office to file a rape complaint carrying her four-month-old foetus in a bag.

The woman alleged that she was raped by four people for months and was forced to abort the baby.

She filed a complaint against four people -Neeraj Pandey, Dheeraj Pandey, Prem Kumar, Rajkumar and a nurse Sapna, who forcefully conducted her abortion.

The victim said that the rapists threatened her for dire consequence if she revealed about the incident to anyone.

A complaint has been filed in the matter under section 366, 367 (2), 201, 506, 315, 316, 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

SSP Satna, VD Pandey said that they initiated an investigation into the matter and will soon nab the perpetrators.

"The victim has filed a complaint about the incident. We will further investigate the matter based on the same. The guilty will not be spared at any cost," Pandey said.
The Congress has been attacking the government for being anti-dalit.

New Delhi: Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Friday hit back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his recent remark that no government had honoured dalit icon Dr B.R. Ambedkar as the present NDA regime had.

Mr Gandhi charged that the oppressive ideology the Prime Minister belongs to can never respect dalits and Dr Ambedkar. The Congress president also posted on Twitter a collage of images of alleged desecration of Ambedkars statues in states including Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Tamil Nadu. Mr. Gandhi tweeted Modi ji, the oppressive ideology you belong to can never respect Dalits and Babasaheb. Some examples of RSS/BJP ideology respecting Babasaheb.

A war for the legacy of Dr Ambedkar is going on between the BJP and the Congress.

In the last couple of days some BJP MPs have written to the Prime Minister that dalits are being ignored by BJP government.

The BJP-led central government has been accused by the opposition of not properly representing the case related Prevention of Atrocities against SC/ST Act in the Supreme Court. On the defensive, the government has filed a review petition in the apex court.

While speaking to party leaders Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that rivals are unable to reconcile to the fact that the BJP has become a party of the poor and has highest numbers of MPs and MLAs from scheduled castes and tribes. Addressing an event two days ago, the Prime Minister had sought to reach out to the dalit community, saying no regime had honoured B.R. Ambedkar like his government had and suggested against using Dr Ambedkars name for political gains.

The Congress has been attacking the government for being anti-dalit. The flogging of dalits in Una Gujarat, the suicide of dalit scholar Rohith Vemula in Hyderabad central university are some examples that are raised by the Congress.
As many as six Union ministers and all the senior leaders of the state BJP unit had canvassed for the party candidate.

BHUBANESWAR: High on spirit following his party BJDs recent electoral successes in Bijepur Assembly seat and two Notified Area Councils (NACs) in the state, Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik has dismissed any impacts of BJP national president Amit Shahs two-day trip to the state on the future of his government.

Mr Patnaik, while reacting to Mr Shahs Mission 120+ (target to win at least 120 of the 147 assembly seats of Odisha Assembly) target for Odisha, said on Friday that such a claim was boastful and exaggeration.

I think that is very very exaggerating, Mr Patnaik said while replying queries by media on Mr Shahs claim on Thursday at Bolangir that BJP would win more than 120 seats in next Assembly elections.

Odisha will go to Assembly polls along with general elections in 2019. On Thursday, the BJP president had said at Mission New Odisha Samavesh at Bolangir that his party would win more than 120 MLA seats out of total 147 assembly segments in Odisha in 2019 and form the government in the state.

In February, the BJD had dealt a body blow to the BJP when it won the Bijepur assembly seat in western Odishas Bargarh district. BJDs Ritarani Sahu defeated BJP candidate Ashok Panigrahi by a margin of over 40,000 votes despite a high-voltage campaign by the saffron brigade.

As many as six Union ministers and all the senior leaders of the state BJP unit had canvassed for the party candidate.

It was expected that the saffron party would bounce back in the Attabira and Hindol NAC polls. However, the party managed to win from only one of the 28 wards in the two NACs. And, the results were out when Mr Shah was addressing the Mission New Odisha Samavesh Bolangir and boasting of winning more than 120 seats.

I had not spoken about Mission 120 at Bhawanipatna and Naveen babu planted news in media as to why I was silent. But I had not spoken about it because I am sure we will win more seats here, much bigger than the mandate we got in Tripura recently, Mr Shah had reasoned at Bolanigir.
Salman Khan was sentenced to 5 years in jail after being convicted of killing two blackbucks in 1998.

The actor had on Thursday appealed for a bail following his conviction in the 20-year-old case.

New Delhi: The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India has condemned the decision of a Jodhpur Court to grant bail to Bollywood actor Salman Khan in connection with the 1998 blackbuck poaching case.

"While Salman Khan gets to go back home to his movie star life for now, blackbucks were made to pay the highest price, with their lives," PETA India CEO Manilal Valliyate said in a statement.

Terming the decision in the actor's case "unusual," the NGO states that "these days, wildlife crime matters are commonly fast-tracked, bail is often denied, and offenders regularly receive seven-year prison sentences."

"If animal abusers now expect to get bail easily or to have their cases dragged out, they are in for a major surprise," the CEO remarked.

Speaking out against the actors bail in the case, Sachin Bangera, Associate Director of Celebrity and Public Relations, PETA India, said, While Salman Khan gets to go back home to his movie star life for now, blackbucks were made to pay the highest price, with their lives.

He further added, Meanwhile, PETA India has been involved in the case of a Maharashtra man who killed a langur as his first offense, who has been denied bail a record five times. Salmans case is unusual--these days, wildlife crime matters are commonly fast tracked, bail is often denied, and offenders regularly receive seven-year prison sentences.

The actor had on Thursday appealed for a bail following his conviction in the 20-year-old case.

Salman was sentenced to five years in prison after being convicted of killing two blackbucks in Jodhpur during the shooting of his film Hum Saath Saath Hain in 1998.

The other four accused - actors Saif Ali Khan, Tabu, Neelam, and Sonali Bendre - were acquitted in the case.
Kejriwal urged for all powers that the state government had during his Congress predecessor Sheila Dikshits tenure be restored.

New Delhi: Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday said that the elected government in Delhi, which is responsible and accountable to people, has been rendered powerless and the lieutenant-governor enjoys unlimited powers without any responsibility and accountability.

Attacking the L-G, Mr Kejriwal said he stalls issues of public interest saying, I dont think its a good idea. Mr Kejriwal further questioned whether the L-G is accountable to Queen Elizabeth or President Donald Trump.

Mr Kejriwal urged for all powers that the state government had during his Congress predecessor Sheila Dikshits tenure be restored.

Speaking in the Assembly, Mr Kejriwal demanded that the Services Department and Anti Corruption Branch should be given back to Delhi government, powers for transfer, posting and vigilance inquiry into officers, should be restored and all files should not be sent to the lieutenant-governor for approval. The chief minister said that the L-G was accountable only to the Bharatiya Janata Party, who appointed him and Mr Baijal does things, which Hitler would not have done.

He further said that Ms Dikshits government had powers to arrest and jail corrupt officers but these were snatched away by the Modi government three months after he came to power.

He complained that during Ms Dikshits tenure, there was no requirement of sending every file to the L-G and that the then government had the power to carry out recruitment for filling up vacancies and fresh posts in Delhi government departments.

Mr Kejriwal further said that a proposal for Delhi Health Corporation was rejected by the L-G with a note saying: I dont think its a good idea.

Which rule was it violating? Like this even Hitler wont do, he said, adding that by not filling vacancies and saving corrupt officers, the Lt. Governor wants to end the work happening in Delhi.

He also said Delhi is faced with a strange governance scenario, which appears unprecedented in any democratic set-up across the world. The elected government which is responsible and accountable to the people has no power and the LG today enjoys unlimited powers without any responsibility and accountability.
The incident took place when the girl, identified as Sohini Gupta, was returning home from school along with her friend on a bicycle.

The driver absconded from the scene almost immediately, and soon, an angry mob started vandalising the crane. (Photo: ANI)

Kolkata: A class eight student was mowed down by a crane, in Kolkata's Taratala on Saturday afternoon.

The incident, which injured two others, took place when the girl, identified as Sohini Gupta, was returning home from school along with her friend on a bicycle.

This is when they accidentally wandered into the path of the crane and the driver, unaware of the proximity of the girls, rolled over them, resulting in Gupta's death.

The driver absconded from the scene almost immediately, and soon, an angry mob surrounded the crane, vandalising it. They also blocked the road for around two hours. Local police rushed to the spot, and impounded the crane.

The body was taken to Seth Sukhlal Karnani Memorial Hospital (SSKM) for post-mortem, while the injured were sent for treatment. Further investigations in the case are underway.
The widows of Sikdar and Tikadar - Namita and Dipali told reporters that they were happy after meeting Banerjee.

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee, at Nabanna in Kolkata on Friday, talks with family members of the two persons from the state who were captured and killed by terror group ISIS in Iraq. (Photo: Asian age)

Kolkata: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday met the families of two persons from the state who were captured and killed by terror group ISIS in Iraq and handed cheques of Rs 5 lakh as compensation to them.

Banerjee promised a government job to a member of the two families from Nadia district when they met her at her office.

The chief minister, who expressed grief over the tragedy, also promised to look after the education of the children of the two men - Khokon Sikdar and Samar Tikadar.

Sikdar and Tikadar had gone to work in Iraq through an agency in 2011 and their families lost contact with them in mid-2014.

The coffins carrying their mortal remains were brought to the state early this week and handed over to their families for the last rites.

The widows of Sikdar and Tikadar - Namita and Dipali told reporters that they were happy after meeting Banerjee.

The chief minister later told reporters that she met the family members and was moved by their plight. One of the families live in a village bordering Bangladesh and reside in a house which is not in a very proper condition. We have to see if their houses can be renovated, she added.
Though Rane formed a party, the Swabhiman Paksh, few of his supporters joined him including his son and Congress MLA Nitesh Rane.

Mumbai: The ruling Bharathiya Janata Partys (BJP) bid to woo the Shiv Sena back into its fold suffered a jolt on Saturday after senior leader Narayan Rane, who had entered the Rajya Sabha with BJP support, threatened to end all ties with the party if it were to tie up with the Shiv Sena for the 2019 elections.

I will not remain in the BJP if the Shiv Sena and the BJP come together for 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Mr Rane told a Marathi news channel.

The Sena had opposed my entry into the state Cabinet. They had threatened to quit the alliance if I were to be inducted into the cabinet. So, there is no point in my stay back in the party if the two are going in an alliance, Mr Rane said.

He termed his erstwhile the party as the enemy of the BJP. In 2019 election campaign, Shiv Sena will be the enemy. So, if two parties join hands then I will quit BJP, he said.

Mr Rane had quit the Congress in an attempt to join the BJP. However, the BJP leadership asked him to float a new party as Shiv Sena opposed Ranes entry.

Though Rane formed a party, the Swabhiman Paksh, few of his supporters joined him including his son and Congress MLA Nitesh Rane. The BJP is yet to take a decision on Mr Rane.

But the BJP helped Mr Rane to get elected to the Rajya Sabha seat from the partys quota. After taking the oath of office in the Upper House, Mr Rane even hinted at his willingness to merge his party with the BJP. But the BJPs overture to the Sena could torpedo Mr Ranes ambitions.
The company was in talks with top hospitals, about a proposal to share data about the social networks of their most vulnerable patients.

Facebook has been reportedly talking to numerous health organisations, including Stanford Medical School and American College of Cardiology, regarding the user-data-sharing agreement.

As though the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica scandal wasn't enough, a new report states that the social giant was also planning to gather medical information from a few hospitals. The mission also roped in a secret doctor.

Facebook has been reportedly speaking with hospitals last year to gather information about users health data. Reported by CNBC, the aim is to collect the anonymized patients data and match it up with the user data it had collected. As part of a proposed research project, the anonymized data includes patients illnesses and the prescriptions allotted to them by their respective hospitals.

However, the research project has taken a pause due to the ongoing Cambridge Analytica's data breach debacle. Since the debacle was about collecting users data and 'selling' it to the political gains, this other project might have halted for a while.

"This work has not progressed past the planning phase, and we have not received, shared, or analyzed anyone's data," a Facebook spokesperson told CNBC.

Facebook has been reportedly talking to numerous health organisations, including Stanford Medical School and American College of Cardiology, regarding the user-data-sharing agreement.

The company claims the data shared would be anonymous that means not knowing any user/patients name or whatsoever. Using a proposed computer science technique named hashing the collected anonymous health data would match the user data set that the company has collected. Facebook says all this data would only be collected for medical community research only.

As mentioned on CNBC, For instance, if Facebook could determine that an elderly patient doesn't have many nearby close friends or much community support, the health system might decide to send over a nurse to check in after a major surgery.

With the ongoing scenario, this proposed project would have raised concerns amongst the users; since their data is being collected might be misused similar to the Cambridges data breach scandal.

According to CNBC, this investigative effort of sharing medical data was led by an interventional cardiologist called Dr Freddy Abnousi and this proposal was under the purview of Regina Dugan, the head of Facebooks Building 8 program. Freddy's role on his LinkedIn account states that he is 'leading top-secret projects.'

Facebook provided a quote from Cathleen Gates, the interim CEO of the American College of Cardiology, explaining the possible benefits of the plan:

"For the first time in history, people are sharing information about themselves online in ways that may help determine how to improve their health. As part of its mission to transform cardiovascular care and improve heart health, the American College of Cardiology has been engaged in discussions with Facebook around the use of anonymized Facebook data, coupled with anonymized ACC data, to further scientific research on the ways social media can aid in the prevention and treatment of heart diseasethe no. 1 cause of death in the world. This partnership is in the very early phases as we work on both sides to ensure privacy, transparency and scientific rigour. No data has been shared between any parties."

On the other hand, health institutions are utterly careful on sharing patients data due to the stricter federal privacy and state laws. Keeping this mind, Facebook proposed to obscure personally identifiable information, such as names, in the data being shared by both sides.

However, in early 2014, there have been reports that Facebook has manipulated thousands of several user's news feeds to apparently study whether certain types of content made people happier or sadder. Facebook later apologised for the study.

Furthermore, the health policy experts have raised concerns about the privacy of the users, with this Facebooks collecting health data initiative.

According to CNBC report, Facebook had issued a statement, when asked about the plans of the initiative, which states,

"The medical industry has long understood that there are general health benefits to having a close-knit circle of family and friends. But deeper research into this link is needed to help medical professionals develop specific treatment and intervention plans that take social connection into account."

"With this in mind, last year Facebook began discussions with leading medical institutions, including the American College of Cardiology and the Stanford University School of Medicine, to explore whether scientific research using anonymized Facebook data could help the medical community advance our understanding in this area. This work has not progressed past the planning phase, and we have not received, shared, or analyzed anyone's data."

"Last month we decided that we should pause these discussions so we can focus on other important work, including doing a better job of protecting people's data and being clearer with them about how that data is used in our products and services."

Initially, this proposed collection of user-health-data projects primary focus was on cardiovascular health of the patients; however, people are still concerned about Facebook collecting their data and they still believe that the data might be in jeopardy.

Facebook has recently admitted that information of up to 87 million people, mostly in the US, may have been improperly shared with the British political consultancy firm Cambridge Analytica.
This hike in investment will support continued research and innovation in IoT, which is ultimately evolving to be the new intelligent edge.

Microsoft in India claims that it is committed to helping everyone in bringing their digital transformation vision to life across every industry.

Microsoft has announced that the company will invest US $5 billion in the Internet of Things (IoT) globally over the next 4 years. This increased investment will support continued research and innovation in IoT, which is ultimately evolving to be the new intelligent edge. With Microsofts IoT platform spanning cloud, operating system and devices, the company is planning to simplify the IoT journey so any customerregardless of size, technical expertise, budget, industry or other factorscan create trusted, connected solutions that can improve business and customer experiences.

This will support Microsofts technology platform, as well as supporting programs thereby enabling continued research and development in key areas, including securing IoT, creating development tools and intelligent services for IoT and the edge. Customers and partners can expect new products and services, offerings, resources and programs.

IoT gathers momentum in India:

Microsoft in India claims that it is committed to helping everyone in bringing their digital transformation vision to life across every industry. The investment will ensure that the company continues to meet all its customers and partners needs, both, now and in the future, as they develop new and increasingly sophisticated IoT solutions. IoT is gathering momentum in India and impacting daily lives: saving electricity, resources, predictive healthcare, automobile safety and more. Microsoft Azure is the preferred platform powering a variety of IoT devices.

IoT Monitoring of Water Quality:

Authorities across States have turned to IoT to monitor drinking water quality for its citizens. TechSpan Engineering has implemented a monitoring system built on the Azure IoT platform, using sensors provided by the Austrian firm s::can and their India Partner Aaxis Nano. Using the combination of Microsoft cloud, IoT and data, the solution taps into the sturdy s::can sensors to provide measurements across 17 parameters  from Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) and Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD), Chloride and Fluoride levels to temperature and colour. The solution is currently being used for monitoring drinking water quality online in cities like Bangalore and New Delhi.

IoT based Smart Lighting:

Microsoft claims that its  Azure IoT is supplying Indias first Smart Street Lighting Project for the pink city of Jaipur, underscoring Microsofts mission of transforming public spaces digitally. The Jaipur Municipal Corporation (JMC) operates and maintains over 100,000 public street lights within the city. Microsofts partner Samudra LED has now deployed a customised Microsoft IoT-platform-based solution created by ISV Precimetrix to monitor, control and manage smart LED public street lights. The project is supposed to benefit 1.65 million people through improved street lighting and a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 36,750 metric tons per year. It will also result in $1 million per year in fiscal savings accrued to the government due to reduced energy consumption.

Researchers at IISc Bangalore are also using a network of IoT sensors coupled with Microsoft Azure analytics to find how cloud technologies can help tackle water scarcity in cities.

IoT in Agriculture:

Microsoft says its FarmBeats is a research project for agriculture to enable data collection from various sensors, cameras and drones. It comprises two broad areas viz., a data-acquisition system consisting of drones and sensors and a data-analysis system consisting of connectivity pieces, cloud storage, and predictive analysis.

IoT in the Automobile Sector:

Earlier last year, Tata Motors announced it will leverage Microsofts connected vehicle technologies that bring together AI, advanced ML, and IoT capabilities on Microsofts Azure cloud, to create a highly personalised, smart and safer driving experience across the digital life of a vehicle owner.

Tyre Express, a startup for lifecycle management for fleet operators, has developed an IoT based Tyre Performance Management Solution. Powered by the Azure IoT Hub, Tyre Express is helping build operational efficiency for commercial vehicle fleet operators by tracking tyre performance. In India, procurement of new tyres for a commercial vehicle approximately costs about Rs 1-1.5 lakhs. Fluctuations in pressure and temperature can have a dramatic effect on their lifespan.

Tyres are one of the largest consumables for fleet operators after fuel. Operating a vehicle with tyre pressure 20 per cent below rated pressure increases fuel consumption by 5-10 per cent and reduces tyre life by 15 per cent to 20 per cent. The new IoT platform helps monitor tyre performance in real time to help customers take suitable action and improve operational efficiency, reduce costs, and improve profitability.

IoT in Manufacturing for Predictive Maintenance:

Tetra Pak is employing new, digital tools that enable its cloud-connected machines to predict when equipment needs maintenance, averting many breakdowns. Sensors on more than 5,000 Tetra Pak filling machines at customers sites globally, all connected to Microsoft Azure, feed real-time performance data to the company for monitoring and analysis  nearly 700 million data points each year. As a result, maintenance can be scheduled precisely and efficiently.

Microsoft IoT Central:

IoT will lead to a $1.9 trillion productivity increase and $177 billion in reduced costs by 2020 (A.T. Kearney). This effect will be pervasive, from connected homes and cars to manufacturers to smart cities and utilitiesand everything in between. Pre-empting this, Microsoft announced Microsoft IoT Central, the first scalable IoT SaaS solution, that has built-in support for IoT best practices and security along with the reliability, regional availability, and global scale of the Azure cloud. Microsoft IoT Central allows companies to build production-grade IoT applications in hours and allow them to manage all the necessary backend infrastructure or can hire new skill sets to develop the solutions.

Microsofts IoT offerings include operating systems for devices, cloud services to control and secure them, advanced analytics to gain insights, and business applications to enable intelligent action. With each implementation, customers and partners are overcoming challenges of building an IoT solution that harnesses massive amounts of data. Whether theyre building products that transform the home, office or factory floor, one thing remains clear: IoT is a collaborative, multi-disciplinary effort that spans cloud development, machine learning, artificial intelligence, security and privacy.
He utilised anti-Black racism as a weapon to bargain with the British about the subjugation of Indians living in South Africa.

Spearheaded by Kenneth Aliu, president of the Institute of African Studies Student Association the campaign sparked off following Alius opinion piece wherein he accuses Gandhi of racism and being anti-black. (Photo: Gandhiji.ca)

Almost a month after the destruction of Lenins statue in Tripura while the country still reels under continual instances of vandalism, a similar outcry seems to have taken root in Canada.

In Ottawas Carleton University, an African student body is demanding that Mahatma Gandhis statue be taken down, regurgitating old debacles over Gandhis controversial tenets.

Spearheaded by Kenneth Aliu, president of the Institute of African Studies Student Association (IASSA) the campaign sparked off following Alius opinion piece on an independent daily, Charlatan wherein he accuses Gandhi of racism and being anti-black, the Hindustan Times reported.

Aliu said in a radio interview that he began pursuing the issue after learning about the protests in the University of Ghana in 2016, following the unveiling of a Gandhi statue.

In his opinion piece Aliu writes, It is insufficient to state the obvious about Gandhi without questioning the legacy of the man we have collectively placed on a moral pedestal.

Gandhi was a racist. He utilised anti-Black racism as a weapon to bargain with the British about the subjugation of Indians living in South Africa, he said.

He was known to explicitly refer to Black South Africans as Kaffir, a derogatory term on the same level as the N-word. In his 20 years in South Africa, Gandhis racism towards black peoples was made clear.

The removal of the statue is one way of correcting that history and rethinking the narratives we tell - especially in an institution responsible for creating critical thinkers, he added.

Gandhis statue, which was donated to the university by the Indian government found place on campus after Ottawa-based Mahatma Gandhi Peace Council( MGPC) -- an organization proselytizing Gandhis teachings -- led an initiative.

The universitys administration, which appears unlikely to accept the student bodys demands did not respond to HTs request for comment. However, MGPC president Rashmi Gupta claims that they have assured by the university president that the statue will remain.

Dr (Alistair) Summerlee, president of the university, reassured MGPC, observing that if he was asked about this issue, he will be convincing in his defence of an individual who meant a great deal to India, Indians and to global citizens. Gandhiji, according to him, was a greatly revered and respected figure and that the president and the board had the final say in any moves to remove statues or memorabilia to any individual on campus and this would not be a direction that the university will pursue, she told HT in an emailed response.

Gupta responded to Alius allegations by saying that Gandhis remarks had been made way back adding that his comments came before he became Mahatma.
It also stated that the valley situation and the 'escalation' of tension along the LoC pose a threat to international peace and security.

The UN has maintained that India and Pakistan need to find a peaceful solution through engagement and dialogue. (Photo: File/PTI)

Washington: Pakistan has raised the Kashmir issue with UN Security Council President, saying the situation in the valley and the "escalation" of tension along the Line of Control (LoC) pose a threat to international peace and security.

Pakistan's envoy to the UN Maleeha Lodhi on Friday in a tweet said that she raised the issue of Kashmir with President of the Security Council for the month of April Ambassador Gustavo Meza-Cuadra, the Permanent Representative of Peru to the United Nations.

She said the "grave situation" in Kashmir and "escalation on the LoC pose a serious threat to international peace and security." Lodhi also discussed the Kashmir situation with members of the Pakistani and Kashmiri community at Pakistan's mission on Friday at a meeting to mark 'Kashmir Solidarity Day', she said in another tweet, posting pictures of the event.

Also read: Terrorism one of foremost threats to global peace, says Sushma Swaraj

Earlier, Lodhi had tweeted that Pakistan will continue to support the "heroic struggle of our Kashmiri brothers and sisters." Lodhi repeated her stance that a "peaceful settlement" of the Kashmir issue in accordance with relevant UN Security Council resolutions is a "pre-requisite for lasting peace and stability" in South Asia.

Pakistan continuously raises the Kashmir issue at the UN seeking the world body's intervention in the dispute with India. But New Delhi has always maintained that Kashmir is a bilateral issue with Islamabad.

While UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has expressed concern at the situation in Kashmir, the UN has maintained that India and Pakistan need to find a peaceful solution through "engagement and dialogue".

Last week, Indian security forces undertook three counter-insurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir in which 13 militants were killed, including those responsible for the brutal killing of Lieutenant Umar Fayaz.

Three Army jawans and four civilians were also killed in Anantnag and Shopian districts of Jammu and Kashmir. Out of the 13 terrorists, 11 have been identified and all of them are locals, officials have said.
The two sides discussed the counter-terror cooperation, the regional situation, repatriation of Afghan refugees and combating drug production.

Islamabad: Pakistan Prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Friday agreed on achieving the common goal of regional security through connectivity.

In the delegation level talks in Kabul, the two sides agreed to continue talks, an official statement said.

Prime Minister Abbasi thanked the Afghan president for the warm hospitality and extended an invitation to president Ghani to visit Pakistan at his earliest convenience, said the statement.

After the meeting with President Ghani, PM Abbasi and his entourage arrived at the office of Afghan Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah for consultations.

PM Abbasi had earlier flown to the Afghan capital accompanied by Foreign Minister Khawaja Mohammed Asif, Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Iqbal Zafar Jhagra and National Security Adviser Nasir Khan Janjua.

The two sides discussed the counter-terror cooperation, the regional situation, repatriation of Afghan refugees and combating drug production.

The two countries are key parties to a trans-regional gas pipeline aiming to connect Central Asia with South Asia among other regional trade and power projects.

Hours before the Prime Ministers visit, Afghanistan accused the Pakistan Air Force of violating its airspace. Islamabad rejected the reports and advised Kabul to refrain from blame game.

The Prime Ministers visit is taking place in the backdrop of Pakistans support to President Ghanis offer of peace talks with the Taliban for lasting peace and stability in Afghanistan as well as strengthening bilateral engagement.

Islamabad had earlier reiterated support for development in Afghanistan and is expected to pledge further resources for education, health and infrastructure during the PMs visit, the Foreign Office said.
Just two months ago, a 7.5 quake earthquake struck the same highlands area killing 125 people.

The earthquake in February killed 125 people and left hundreds of thousands of people homeless. (Photo: Representational)

Sydney: A powerful 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck the highlands of Papua New Guinea on Saturday, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said, as the region struggles to recover from a massive 7.5 quake only two months ago.

There were no immediate reports of damage or injury. The quake was 82 km southwest of Porgera in Enga province and 47 km deep, said the USGS. Earlier European quake monitor EMSC reported it at 6.5 magnitude and only two km (1.2 miles) deep, but later scaled it down.

The earthquake happened just two months after a 7.5 quake struck the same highlands area, killing 125 people and leaving hundreds of thousands of people homeless.

February's quake also damaged mining and power infrastructure.

Some of the recourse companies in the region, such as Oil Search, are still about eight weeks away from full operations.

The United Nations estimates that some 270,000 people are in need of immediate assistance and 43,116 people remain displaced in 44 locations and care centres.

The United Nations pulled out its aid workers just two days before the latest quake due to violence from residents. They have vowed to return once it is safe to do so.

Quakes are common in Papua New Guinea, which sits on the Pacific's "Ring of Fire", a hotspot for seismic activity due to friction between tectonic plates.
Hong Kongs Bishop Emeritus Kong was recognised by the Stephanus Foundation and the International Service for Human Rights. "I hope many in the world will pay attention to human rights and religious freedom, which unfortunately are absent in China", the cardinal said. There are new possibilities for an agreement between China and the Vatican.

Hong Kong (AsiaNews)  Hong Kongs Bishop Emeritus, Card Joseph Zen, has received a human rights award from the Stephanus Foundation.

For the cardinal, this prize does not belong to him but to all Christians persecuted in China. "I hope many in the world will pay attention to human rights and religious freedom, which unfortunately are absent in China", the cardinal told the Apple Daily two days before he left to pick up the award.

Past recipients include Chaldean Patriarch Mar Louis Sako, Syriac Orthodox Sister Hatune Dogan, and Brother Andrew, nicknamed Gods smuggler for his exploits smuggling Bibles into the countries behind the Iron Curtain.

The prelate noted that those who received the award before him suffered persecution, but "did I? I suffered nothing."

Speaking about a recent meeting with the pope, he noted that the pontiff reminded him that "the crimson colour of the cardinals choir dress means that one must be ready for martyrdom. I told him it was a pity for I have no opportunity of becoming a martyr. My crimson colour is for the blood of the others who are persecuted."

Card Zen was told of the award in late 2017 just as an "imminent" agreement between China and the Vatican was being discussed, a deal the cardinal criticised as detrimental to the freedom of the Church in China.

He said that he initially thought of not going to Germany to receive the prize. "If there was an agreement, I could not oppose the Pope. However, For now, there is no agreement, and I can express my thoughts. I hope that more and more people will pay attention to this."

For Card Zen, the fact that the agreement is not "imminent" leaves room for new possibilities.

Hong Kongs bishop emeritus will use the award to help Chinas persecuted Christians.
The first missionaries arrived in 1868 centred on the most distant and remote groups: the tribes of the eastern regions. PIME contributed to the foundation of the local Church with five dioceses: Taunggyi, Toungoo, Kengtung, Lashio and Loikaw. Between 1950 and 1953 five PIME priests became martyrs, including the Blessed Fr Mario Vergara. Two, Fr Clemente Vismara and Fr Paul Manna, have been elevated to the honour of the altars. Meanwhile, the beatification process of Brother Felice Tantardini is underway.

Taungngu (AsiaNews)  Today and tomorrow, churches in Taungngu (Bago region) will solemnly celebrate the 150th anniversary of the arrival of the first missionaries of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (PIME) in Eastern Burma.

Crossing the Sittang River, four priests led by Eugenio Biffi brought the Gospel for the first time to the farthest and most isolated region of Burma, among the Shan, Karen, and Kayan peoples.

To celebrate the anniversary, PIME Superior General Fr Ferruccio Brambillasca came to Taungngu together with the bishops of Myanmar (picture 1).

This morning, the festivities began with the blessing of the Catholic cemetery (picture 2), where some of the first missionaries are buried, followed by Mass attended by the prelates, about 200 priests and thousands of believers from the dioceses where PIME has served for 150 years.

The high point of the celebrations will be the solemn service scheduled for tomorrow.

Card Fernando Filoni, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples, sent his best wishes to the "small but lively Church", "the Lord's vineyard in Eastern Myanmar", in a message to Mgr Isaac Danu, bishop of Taungngu.

In congratulating the local Church on this important anniversary, the cardinal noted "the heroism of the first missionaries" and "the perseverance and faith of those who joined them in preaching the Gospel with love".

The Gospel first arrived in Myanmar with Armenian traders in the Middle Ages, followed by Indian painters in the 13th century, Portuguese sailors in the 16th century, and finally mercenaries and pirates at the dawn of the modern era.

A number of missionary orders began arriving starting in the early 18th century, including the Barnabites, Oblates, PIME, Salesians, Sisters of the Holy Child Mary, to spread Christianity in the country.

In PIMEs case, the first missionaries arrived in 1868 among some of the most distant and remote groups, the tribes of the eastern regions, who were not under British rule and therefore untouched by the modern world.

PIME contributed greatly to the establishment of the local Church. Six dioceses were created by PIME missionaries: Taunggyi (archdiocese), Toungoo, Kengtung, Lashio, Loikaw and Pekhon.

The Institutes presence in the country was shaped by some of the most critical phases of its history, such as the expulsion in 1966 of all foreign religious who had arrived in the country before its independence in 1948, and the seizure of Church properties.

At that time 29 missionaries chose to remain until they died, including Fr Clemente Vismara, who was beatified in 2011. He was raised to the honour of the altars like Fr Paolo Manna and Fr Mario Vergara.

The latter was one of five PIME martyrs killed in Burma between 1950 and 1953. He was beatified in 2014 with Isidore Ngei Ko Lat, the first native martyr of the Church of Myanmar.

Brother Felice Tantardinis process of beatification is still underway.

About 89.2 per cent of Myanmars population is Buddhist. Christians are 5 per cent; Muslims, 3.5 per cent; and Hindus, 0.5 per cent.

Christians have always been a minority in Myanmar. After great efforts and testimonies, including the martyrdom of missionaries, the country is home to 675,745 Catholics, just over 1 per cent.
The Churchs Doctrinal Commission released a report on Yoga and Catholic beliefs. The practice is mandatory in schools. Hindu nationalists "try to exploit yoga to achieve their political and sectarian goals." The Church warns against equating physical experiences stemming from yoga with the workings of the Holy Spirit.

Mananthavady (AsiaNews/Agencies)  The practice of yoga is incompatible with Christian doctrine, this according to a report issued by the Syro-Malabar Church, one of the three rites of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI).

Published in the latest bulletin of the eparchy of Mananthavady, the paper by the Syro-Malabar Doctrinal Commission is titled Yoga and Catholic beliefs (Yogayum Katholika Vishvasavum).

It notes that yoga and Christianity cannot go together and that Hindu nationalist groups (Sangh Parivar) "try to exploit yoga to achieve their political and sectarian goals."

It calls for a re-reading of yoga since the government has moved towards making yoga compulsory in schools and present it as an inseparable part of Indian culture.

This is not the first time that Syro-Malabar Bishops have spoken out on this matter. Last year they stated that "yoga is not a means to reach contact with the divine, although it may contribute to physical and mental health."

Yoga is a set of physical, mental, and spiritual practices that originated in India and spread around the world. It combines physical and breathing exercises. In Hinduism, it is also a spiritual journey to experience contact with the divine.

In Indian schools, yoga is compulsory and every year, on International Day Yoga (21 June), schools focus on activities and events dedicated to yoga.

Indian activists and intellectuals have long said that the obligation to observe the event, forcing students to sing sacred Hindu sonnets and mantras, limits the freedom of religion of minorities and represents a lack of "sensitivity" towards Christian and Muslim students.

In yoga there is no place for God, the creator and sustainer even when considering the spiritual experiences of human beings, the Commission chaired by Mgr Joseph Kallarangatt noted.

Although yoga may have originated and grown out of Indias secular traditions, it later spread under the influence of the Hindu religion under Brahmanical dominance.

For this reason, the Commission warns of the danger of physical gestures and exercises becoming idolatrous in themselves. Too easily, one can equate physical experiences stemming from yoga with the workings of the Holy Spirit.
The American Center for Mobility provides a myriad of real-world environments with the ability to test under a range of driving environments. Photo: ACM

Michigan has been working steadily to establish itself as a leader in emerging transportation technology. And this week, Gov. Rick Snyder, along with business, government, and academia leaders from throughout Michigan, celebrated a new partnership with Microsoft with the grand opening of the American Center for Mobility.

Microsoft is the exclusive data and cloud provider for the mobility center at the historic Willow Run bomber plant site in Ypsilanti Township.

John Maddox, ACM president and CEO, announced that Microsoft will provide the Center with cloud resources and data infrastructure to advance the testing and development of connected and automated vehicles (CAV) as well as mobility technologies.

"We are excited to collaborate with Microsoft in our efforts to lead the world in the safe development of CAV technologies and to enable the safe deployment of these vehicles onto the nation's roads," Maddox said.

"By adding big data to our diverse and growing group of stakeholders and world-class partners, ACM is staking its claim as the preeminent global hub for mobility companies to develop and test their connected technologies and vehicles in a safe and controlled environment," he added.

Gov. Snyder said the Center's grand opening combined with the announcement that Microsoft is the exclusive data and cloud provider, represents a pinnacle moment for the state in the mobility revolution.

"Intelligent vehicle technology is evolving rapidly and Michigan is the world leader in making sure the mobility technologies driving the future are safely developed, tested and eventually deployed," Snyder said. "This important partnership with Microsoft will provide the American Center for Mobility with the proper digital capabilities to help translate testing data into technology innovations that will make transportation safer for all and fuel further economic growth across the state."

ACM will collaborate with Microsoft to design a cloud-based Data Management & Analytics Platform solution to collect, store and analyze data from tests conducted at the Center. The solution will be based on the trusted Microsoft Azure cloud platform, which offers extensive capabilities for quickly developing and deploying new use cases. Using Azure and the DMAP solution will enable ACM and its partners to accelerate the development of CAV technologies, apps, and industry standards, to create a safe environment for testing, validating, and enabling collaboration across all members.

"Vehicles are quickly becoming data centers on wheels, and the opportunity to use the vast amounts of information generated to fuel innovation is unprecedented," said Kevin Dallas, corporate vice president, artificial intelligence & intelligent cloud business development, Microsoft. "We're proud ACM has selected Microsoft Azure as its exclusive cloud provider for its intelligent capabilities and the enterprise-grade security and compliance required to develop comprehensive solutions that help drive the future of mobility."

Microsoft joins a long list of companies supporting ACM, including its founders AT&T, Visteon Corporation, Toyota, Ford and Hyundai America Technical Center Inc., and sponsors Subaru of America, Inc., and Adient. In addition to serving as the Center's exclusive data and cloud provider, Microsoft will also hold a position on ACM's Industry Advisory Board.

Located on 500 acres that once was the site of Ford Motor Co.'s fabled Willow Run Bomber Plant, the American Center for Mobility opened its doors for testing in December.

One of 10 federally designated proving grounds for developing and testing self-driving vehicles, the Center provides a myriad of real-world environments with the ability to test under a range of driving environments and infrastructure that includes a 2.5-mile highway loop, a 700-foot curved tunnel, two double overpasses, intersections, and roundabouts.

Gov. Snyders announcement and the grand opening celebration coincides with the start of ACM's next phase of construction, which will add an urban intersection by this summer, followed by a series of building facades and additional urbanized infrastructure expected by the end of the year. The expansion project also includes a headquarters and lab with demonstration space.

The Center is a joint initiative with the State of Michigan via a partnership with the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), the University of Michigan, Business Leaders for Michigan, Ann Arbor SPARK and Ypsilanti Township.
Photo via Zequino/Pixabay.

Rentcars.com has partnered with Italian firm Win Rent to provide its customers with more options in the European country, the companies announced.

We are proud of and happy with this new addition to our platform," said Lucas Silva, of Rentcars' business development team. "Win Rent holds a wide coverage, good pricing and great customer service; values which are aligned with our own. Adding to that, this new partnership agrees with our expansion plans which are to keep providing our customer with more and more options all the while maintaining a high standard of quality.

Rentcars.com allows its customers to compare prices from different car rental companies in over 160 countries and book online, all in one place.

Win Rent offers 85 franchise locations in 64 Italian cities with a large variety of vehicles, 40% out of them are equipped with a built-in navigation system.
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!
At long last, people have stopped asking Is it really happening? or Does it really work? or Does it even matter? Facebook has acknowledged the existence of Russian disinformation on its platform and has finally banned sites created by the Internet Research Agency, the Russian institution dedicated to covert online propaganda. Twitter has removed automated Russian botnets . Hearings and major conferences in France, Britain and Brussels have convened in recent weeks to discuss possible government responses to Russian disinformation campaigns within European democracies, too.

Ive been to some of the conferences, testified at some of the hearings, and have written about the subject ever since Russia dialed up its propaganda war against the West in 2014, following its invasion of Ukraine . I can hardly object to the increased attention. And yet the belated enthusiasm for exposing Russian manipulation worries me because it underrates the scale of the problem, which isnt just confined to the Russians.

Thanks in part to the investigation of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, weve all learned exactly how the Russians online tactics work. They use fake websites, fake Facebook pages and fake social media followers to give extra credence to extremist views, whether of the far right or the far left. They invent or manipulate stories  lifting them out of context, changing details, creating fake video  with the aim of provoking fear and deepening social divisions. In Germany, Russian trolls, bots and real-life Russian politicians famously pushed the invented story of Lisa, a Russian-German girl supposedly raped by Arab migrants. During the French election, Russian state media, supported by pro-Russian social media, promoted the story that Emmanuel Macron was backed by a gay lobby in the United States.

But all of these tactics, first used on a large scale by the Russians, are also available to others  and not just other authoritarians. Openly, and legally, they are also used in Western democracies. As a part of its current fearmongering, xenophobic election campaign, the Hungarian ruling party  a member in good standing of the center-right caucus of the European parliament  used a range of platforms to disseminate a whole series of videos that were fake, taken out of context or technologically enhanced, for example with the audio of someone shouting Allahu akbar edited in to make a supposed scuffle between Muslims and Christians seem more authentic. Although the Hungarian state (and state-backed) media do also republish and recycle more straightforward Russian material, most of the Russian-style material used in Hungary is not foreign; its coming from the government itself, and it is then promoted by Hungarian bots and Hungarian trolls.

Fox News and the Trump-friendly media operate in exactly the same way. As Ive written in the past, Donald Trump openly used Russian slogans and narratives during his 2016 election campaign.

At the moment, though, he doesnt need to borrow from them anymore. A recent New York Times analysis of how the president came to be obsessed with the caravan of illegal aliens listed the ways the original story came to be enhanced and misreported, deliberately, by what we would in another country call pro-regime media. As retold on Fox & Friends, or hyped by Frontpage Mag , Beltway pundit, and thousands of bots and trolls (both voluntary and professional), the story lost some critical details: that many of the group were refugees from Hondurass drug wars, or that many planned to stay in Mexico, or that others hope to cross the U.S. border legally to apply for asylum. By the time the tale of the caravan reached the presidents Twitter feed  which has featured faked or mislabeled video in the past, as well  it was an invasion requiring the presence of the National Guard.

I repeat: These are Russian tactics. But they are being used by a U.S. president, a Hungarian government and others who are not in power, or not yet. Thats why solutions to disinformation campaigns that focus on Russia alone are insufficient.

Heres the real challenge faced by all the major platforms: how to re-engineer them to make them more resistant to organizations that, like the Internet Research Agency, engage in what one tech executive calls coordinated inauthentic activity, ranging from the use of false names and the creation of false audiences to the publication of false stories and the creation of divisive narratives. Perhaps they will have to limit the use of anonymity, change the algorithms that ensure that the most sensational material spreads the fastest, or institute transparency around video editing tools, especially as these become more sophisticated.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 7)  Known for her tirades against the current administration, Senator Leila de Lima praised the new appointments made by President Rodrigo Duterte, including that of Menardo Guevarra as chief of the department she once led.

In a dispatch from from Camp Crame where she is detained, the opposition senator said Thursday the appointments of Guevarra as Justice Secretary, PDir. Oscar Albayalde as Philippine National Police (PNP) chief, and Lt. Gen Carlito Galvez as Armed Force of the Philippines (AFP) chief-of-staff are "good choices."

"Much as I doubt the sincerity of the reasons why President Duterte let go of Secretary (Vitaliano) Aguirre, the new appointments made by him are as good as they can get under this administration," she wrote.

Aguirre resigned on Thursday, following the controversial ruling of the Department of Justice's (DOJ) panel of prosecutors junking the drug charges against suspected drug lords Kerwin Espinosa, Peter Lim and others and the possible admission of alleged pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim Naples into the Witness Protection Program.

Under Aguirre's leadership, the DOJ filed three drug cases against de Lima, for her alleged involvement in the drug trade in the New Bilibid Prison during her term as DOJ chief. De Lima was arrested in February 2017, and has been detained in Crame ever since.

The detained senator accused Aguirre of "vindictive politics" for the cases filed against her.

In July 2017, De Lima filed criminal and administrative complaints against Aguirre before the Ombudsman, citing his alleged negligence in investigating extrajudicial killings, alleged falsification of criminal raps, among others.

"Hopefully, despite the President, Guevarra can bring back true dispensation of justice at the DOJ, bereft of any partisan and persecutorial agenda," she said.

De Lima added Albayalde can restore "respect for human rights and genuine police work at the PNP" while Galvez can "once more assert the defense of Philippine territories in the West Philippine Sea against China and effectively pursue the peace agenda in our internal security concerns."
A tractor trailer garbage truck overturned on SR 60 Saturday morning after it collided with a Honda Accord, seriously injuring one person.

20-year-old injured in collision involving garbage truck

Driver pulled out in front of truck

Collision caused truck to overturn, spill garbage

The crash occurred at about 11:27 a.m. on SR 60 and Goldenbough Road in Polk County.

Troopers said a Honda Accord, driven by Gardy Narcisse, 20, exited a Sunoco gas station off SR 60 and traveled into the path of the semi-tractor trailer. The tractor trailer collided with the Honda and overturned, spilling its load of garbage along the roadway. The accident caused portions of the east and westbound lanes to close.

According to the report, Narcisse was seriously injured and cited for failure to yield.

The driver of the semi-tractor trailer, Juan Varela, 44, received minor injuries.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 7)  President Rodrigo Duterte has signed into law a bill declaring January 23 as a special working holiday to commemorate the establishment of the First Philippine Republic.

Duterte signed Republic Act (RA) No. 11014 or "The First Philippine Republic Act" on Thursday  in honor of the Malolos Republic. The country's first Republic was declared in the Barasoain Church in Malolos, Bulacan on January 23, 1899.

The National Historical Commission (NHCP), in coordination with the Department of Education, are mandated to plan and implement activities for the "First Philippine Republic Day."

"(That's to) ensure that the significance of this historical event will continue to inspire and instill a sense of pride for the rich and noble history of the Filipino nation," the law reads.

The NHCP said the First Philippine Republic  the benchmark of democracy in the country  was the culmination of the Philippine revolution from 1896 to 1898. It was led by the first Filipino president, Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo.

The country's first Republic came to end when Aguinaldo was captured in Palanan, Isabela, on March 23, 1901. Nine days later, Aguinaldo took the oath of allegiance to the United States.
U.S. Senator Bill Nelson hosted a round table discussion with elected officials and students in Clearwater on April 6, with the topics ranging from gun safety to foreign policy to his upcoming Senate run and who might be his Republican opponent.

Nelson spoke at length on gun safety legislation

Reiterated support of universal background checks

"Whoever my opponent is, I take them very seriously"

During the session Nelson spent a significant amount of time talking gun safety legislation. He reiterated his support of an assault weapons ban, as well as universal background checks, but tempered expectations about significant change occurring anytime soon.

I want to at the outset tell you that not much more is going to be done, because the votes are not there to address the issue of massacres," Nelson said.

Nelson did not discuss with the group speculation that Florida Gov. Rick Scott plans to run against him.

Whoever my opponent is I take them very seriously, and I run like theres no tomorrow, Nelson said when asked directly about the possibility of facing Scott in the Fall.

Nelson did take time to highlight differences in his positions on issues from the governor, and how those differences might shape a Senate race. He said he believes Scott's recent signing of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act following the mass shooting in Parkland would likely play a factor.

There are huge differences in our position on issues," said Nelson. "Just go to the beach and look out there and see if you see any oil rigs out there. There arent going to be any oil rigs as long as Im around."

Gov. Scott tweeted last week that he'd be making a major announcement, presumably about a U.S. Senate run, on Facebook Live on April 9.
Bond was set at $2 million Friday for a St. Petersburg man facing 20 counts of child pornography possession.

Daniel Bolino, 57, arrested at his home Thursday



Joint investigation with Largo Police led to arrest

Bond set at $2 million  $100,000 for each count

Reports from St. Petersburg Police detailed digital images found in the home of Daniel Bolino, 57, depicting sex acts involving children who could be as young as 3 years old. One report described an image showing a sex act between a young girl and a dog.

The investigation was conducted by St. Pete and Largo police detectives through the regional Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. Investigators think none of the girls seen in the files are from the Tampa Bay area.

Neighbors were disgusted by the news.

"It's sickening, yeah," said Margie Connell. "I mean, it scars them for life what goes with kids like that."

"It's unbelieveable that that can happen, and this is a really nice neighborhood," said Michael Quale.

Police reportedly had to force their way into Bolino's home when they arrested him, saying they could see him inside and were concerned he was trying to destroy evidence.

The judge set Bolino's bond at $2 million, $100,000 for each count of child porn possession he faces. The investigation continues.
Central Oregon Coast's Ocean Terrace: Lincoln City Motel with History

Published 04/07/2018 at 2:45 PM PDT

By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff

(Lincoln City, Oregon) - Not a bad view in the house, with a whole lot of central Oregon coast ocean or trees filling up your view. Then theres that direct access to the beach below.

Theres a lot to love about the Ocean Terrace Condominiums in Lincoln City, and theres a lot going on. That stretch of beach is prime for all kinds of regular fun like strolling, kites, and beach finds. But its also a good spot for agate hunting. If the weather doesnt cooperate, stormwatching is awesome here and theres a surprising amount of indoor fun to be had within the sprawling complex.

Its also a place with an interesting history, one that goes back to the pre-war years and includes servicemen returning from Europe to grab a nice place to live.

Apparently, this grand motel started as a swanky apartment building.





Wes Ryan, a longtime manager of Ocean Terrace Condominiums, is familiar with most of the history of the place.

The original version of this place built somewhere in the late 30s or early 40s, he said. Back then it was just one building  the one now known as the courtyard view building, which is the initial construct you see upon entering and which faces the road.

There are stories told of returning servicemen standing in the parking lot outbidding one another for one of the apartments, Ryan said. At that time it was called Hills Apartments. It also looked very different. It had a Cape Cod look, with garages where the lower units are now. It also had a second story. Each unit had a small private balcony. The whole building was heated by a central boiler providing steam heat through the registers.

Ryan said around 1950 to 52 the building was sold and became the Ocean Terrace Motel. Later that decade, more units were constructed where the garages had been.

There was a later division of two of the original units by creating two units out of each one, Ryan said. In the early sixties they began selling the individual units, thereby creating the first condominiums.

In 1964, Ryan said the top floor caught fire and the owners then decided not to rebuild, but instead put on a flat roof. In the late 60s, a new building was constructed on the bluff, which is now the oceanfront portion of this central Oregon coast stalwart.

I dont remember the name of the company that built those units, Ryan said. However I do know they also built the Sea Gypsy, D Sands and The Riverside in Bend. We surmise that construction began in late 1968 or 1969 with the northern part of the building being built first and then pre-selling the southern part of the building. I was told by a former owner that unit #9 was the last one sold in October of 1971. In early 1972, the by-laws were filed for the Ocean Terrace Condominium Motel. It was later shortened to Ocean Terrace Condominiums.

These days, youll find a dreamy set of units big enough to feel like a vacation rental, all perched some 65 feet above the sands. Full kitchens accommodate longer stays, and larger suites can host rather large groups.

On days of chaotic weather, they have an indoor heated pool, ping pong and pool tables. Plenty of Lincoln Citys indoor attractions or restaurants are close by as well.

For those fairer weather days, most units have a patio or balcony with deck chairs. On top of it all, prices are startlingly inexpensive. 4229 SW Beach Avenue, Lincoln City, Oregon. (800) 648-2119. See website here.





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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 7)  President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday ordered the National Food Authority (NFA) Administrator Jason Aquino to ignore their agency's policy-making body and push through with the rice importation.

"Sinabi ko na sa kanya [I told him], 'Ignore the Rice Council which is mandated by law, go ahead and make the importations,'" he said in a speech during a dinner concert in Pasay City.

Duterte on Thursday also met with primary rice traders in Malacanang. After this, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said Duterte wanted to transfer the NFA under the Office of the President.

The President added recent warnings of an NFA rice shortage "put people on a very unsettling environment."

News of the shortage first erupted in February when the NFA said it would temporarily stop issuing NFA rice to accredited retailers due to low supply.

The NFA Council is led by Cabinet Secretary Leoncio Evasco Jr., who has been in conflict with Aquino over the rice importations.

Evasco earlier said 250,000 metric tons of NFA rice are set to arrive by June, "so there is nothing to worry (about)."

NFA rice is at 27 to 32 a kilo, while commercial rice costs 36 to 65 a kilo.

The NFA caters to 10 percent of the total rice consumption of the country. It serves Classes D and E, or around 8 to 10 million Filipinos.
Boracay (CNN Philippines, April 7) - The municipality of Malay, Aklan is still working out details on how to determine who the native residents of Boracay are ahead of the islands impending closure on March 26.

Rowen Aguirre, Malays executive assistant for Boracay affairs, told CNN Philippines Saturday they will be working double time in the coming days to come up with clear guidelines on residency in Boracay.

He said the islands residents will be the governments priority in giving financial aid during the closure, which may last for up to six months.

Ang preparation natin ay di pa ganoon kalawak. In fact baka ang mangyari nito, photo finish ito. So in the next two weeks magca-cramming kami, Aguirre said.

[Translation: "Our preparations are not yet extensive. We might end up making a 'photo finish.' So in the next two weeks, we're going to cram."]

As of 2017, Boracay had a population of 46,829. However, the Department of Interior and Local Government places its daytime population which includes tourists and workers from other areas at around 100,000.

Businessmen on the island have warned that as many as 36,000 workers may lose their jobs once it is closed off to tourists.

Aguirre said that while the retrenchment of workers may be inevitable for some businessmen, they should still follow labor laws with regard to the provision of separation pay.

They will still have to make sure na kung ire-retrench nila yung workers nila, bibigyan nila ito ng kaukulang payment in the form of separation pay o kung ano man, he said.

Aguirre said local officials will also meet in the next few days to decide on the type of identification card Boracay residents should present to enter the island during the shutdown. A common ID will eventually be issued to all residents whose identities have been verified.
South African wine consumers share similar perceptions about wine across different ethnic groups. This is according to research by Dr. Carla Weightman that focuses on the perceptions of local consumers towards wine. Dr. Weightman received her PhD (Wine Biotechnology) in the Faculty of AgriScience at Stellenbosch University on this subject on 20 March 2018.

WolfBlur via pixabay

The deciding factors

Red wine considered superior to white wine

Barriers to consumption

The project was done in the research programme of Dr. Helene Nieuwoudt, senior researcher at the Institute for Wine Biotechnology, which focuses on consumer and sensory aspects of South African wine. Weightmans study is the first of its kind to focus on understanding the changed landscape of local wine consumers in a cross-cultural way.In the past, the local wine industry has mostly focused on the export market. However, it has identified growing the domestic market as a priority. South Africa has a very low per capita wine consumption when compared to other wine-producing nations. The local wine market has also changed over the last two decades and faces stiff competition from other alcoholic beverages, mainly beer. The wine industry is now aiming to become more consumer-driven to increase wine consumption.Weightmans study focuses on the two most significant wine-consuming population groups in the country, namely urban black and white wine drinkers. Historically, the white consumer group was the largest group of wine drinkers, but black consumers now account for approximately 80% of the wine consumers in the country. Yet little research has gone into investigating the changing nature of local wine consumers and their perceptions of wine.It appears wine is associated with status and sophistication, appearance, celebration, relaxation, and food. Weightman explains: The fact that wine is consumed with food is what seems to be the driving force differentiating wine from other alcoholic beverage categories. While not surprising, these results emphasise the importance of consumers motivations, and the industry should focus its attention on these ideas. As consumers socio-demographics become similar, so do their wine perceptions and preferences.Weightman used focus groups to get a better understanding of consumers perceptions, style preferences, the context of enjoyment, buying and consumption patterns, and journeys towards wine consumption. She developed a questionnaire to investigate motivations for wine consumption on a larger scale and focused on urban consumers living in Gauteng. Weightman also compared consumers, trained assessors and industry professionals sensory perceptions of wine and looked at the influence of cultivar name on consumer liking.Overall, motivations for drinking wine between the different consumer segments studied were similar. The social aspects, sensory appeal and ethical concern factors were the three most important motivational determinants for consumers wine choices. Observed differences mainly occurred between male and female consumers. With regards to ethnicity, this study did not reflect a large distinction between the different ethnic groups, Weightman remarks.In South Africa, approximately 56% of the wine-drinking population is female, and they seem to drink more wine on a broader set of occasions than their male counterparts, who make up only around 43% of the wine-consuming population.Wine is usually the first choice alcoholic beverage for females on most occasions. Males will generally choose to drink beer or whiskey first but will drink wine when it accompanies a meal. Females from both cultural groups tended to start consuming wine on a more regular basis earlier in life than their male counterparts. Younger males of both cultural groups drink mostly beer and spirits (whiskey).The most significant influence on wine consumption is the context in which it is consumed. The second key factor is the venue where the consumption will take place, and the third factor is whether a meal is involved. Ultimately, the deciding factor in consumer choices about wine is related to their budget, according to the study.Another context where wine consumption differs is at home. Female participants mentioned that they often have a glass of wine when they get home to help them relax after a stressful day. For males, wine consumption was strongly linked to social occasions. This finding is not limited to wine but has also been found to be true for beer consumption.An emerging trend amongst black consumers, both male and female, is the idea of matching your meal and your wine to enhance the eating experience. According to the study, it seems that black consumers are more conscious and interested in keeping up with current trends and brands than their white counterparts.Interestingly, red wine is considered to be superior to white wine. People are also willing to spend more money on red wine than white wine, and especially if the bottle has a cork. Consumers also believe wine with a cork tastes different to wine with a twist cap but could not describe exactly how the taste differed.Although the black consumer group had a relatively delayed start to their wine consumption, their motivations for drinking wine and perceptions about it do not seem to differ significantly from that of their white counterparts.Barriers in terms of consumption etiquette and unspoken rules were identified as possible reasons preventing broader wine consumption. To some degree, it is also these barriers that differentiate wine from other alcohol categories. Weightman explains: This is a bit of a catch-22 when it comes to increasing wine consumption in South Africa. Although the industry would like to see an increase in consumption and make wine more accessible, the elite status of the product is what makes wine appealing. This leads to the question: if everyone starts drinking wine, could it lose its appeal?The study contributes towards a better understanding of local consumers perceptions of wine and also highlights directions for future studies. There are a few spin-off projects currently being done by the Institute for Wine Biotechnology, targeting specific segments of the local wine consumer population.The project was funded by the National Research Foundation, Department of Science and Technology, Winetech and the Institute for Wine Biotechnology.
Back on February 12, we wrote in Anatomy of a smear: Jihad Watch blasts MN01 hopeful Nelson for economic development bill:

Abeler withdrew the bill on February 20, according to Minnesota Senate records, but that fact hasn't stopped folks from writing their local papers and demanding that readers "Email or call officials to stick to Americas founding principles."

It's curious how an attack on the fourth co-author of the bill (and a CD1 congressional candidate) in the national anti-Islam media has enjoyed such a long half-life, a glowing fester of confusion hanging on after the death of the actual bill.

Those who continued to agitate do this with one voice in small town newspapers, so Bluestem suspects this is a canned letter. It's the sort of thing that suggests the writers are more plugged into a fear machine than the legislative process. The first example was published online on March 22 (over a month after the bill was withdrawn) in the Isanti-Chisago County Star; Bonnie Illies of Cambridge writes in Letter to the editor: Somali grant program against founding principles:
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 7)  Task Force Bangon Marawi has clarified the government is not building an ecozone in the war-torn city.

"It's a misconception or deception I could say, because there is no ecozone being planned," Task Force Bangon Marawi chairperson and housing czar Eduardo del Rosario said in a Malacanang press briefing Friday.

Under the Special Economic Act of 1995, an ecozone is an area with "highly developed or which have the potential to be developed into agri-industrial, industrial, tourist, recreational, commercial, banking, investment and financial centers."

In January, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said an ecozone may help attract investors to set up processing plants for food and agribusiness, which would result in more jobs for Marawi residents.

Maranao-led groups, however, opposed the government's plan for a Marawi ecozone. They said this was presented to stakeholders in a forum in March but the residents were not consulted about it.

Del Rosario on Friday clarified, it was "just a proposal" from the Philippine Economic Zone Authority under the Department of Trade and Industry.

"And for us, for Task Force Bangon Marawi, we could not impose it," he said, adding all they can do is fix the most affected areas, improve facilities for services like water, electricity, and telecommunications.

The government is working toward the rehabilitation of Marawi City, the capital of Lanao del Sur, which was the battleground of government forces and terrorists from May to October last year. More than 900 terrorists, 47 civilians, and 165 government troops were killed.

Timeline: The Marawi crisis

Some 300,000 residents were displaced by heavy fighting and houses and buildings were turned to rubble.

The task force on Friday revealed up to P75 billion is needed to rebuild and rehabilitate the city.

READ: Gov't negotiating with China-led consortium to rebuild Marawi; initial cost at 17-B
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 7)  The government's anti-trust body is not letting ride-hailing service provider Uber end its operations in the country pending the review of its acquisition deal with Grab Philippines.

"You cannot just exit the market under the guise that you are being acquired without complying with the requirements of competition law," Johannes Bernabe, commissioner of the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC), told CNN Philippines in a phone interview Saturday.

Under the law, the PCC can "prohibit mergers and acquisitions that will substantially prevent, restrict, or lessen competition in the relevant market."

The competition watchdog opened a review on Tuesday, seeing a "virtual monopoly" forming after Grab's acquisition of Uber.

On Saturday, it issued a set of interim measures, ordering Uber to continue operations beyond April 8, the day it was initially scheduled to turn over its services to Grab.

The PCC ordered both ride-sharing companies to maintain the independence of business operations while the government is conducting its review.

Grab earlier assured the government data of Uber users will not be shared.

Review to last up to 75 days

Bernabe said the PCC is expecting the review to last shorter than 75 days, the maximum period allowed under its rules.

"We anticipate that its going to be substantially shorter than that," he said.

When the PCC conducted a public hearing with the representatives of the parties on Thursday, Grab and Uber both opposed the latter's continuance of operations, saying that Uber no longer has the manpower and funds to operate in Southeast Asia.

But the PCC believes Uber is capable of continuing its operations in the country.

"They have received the order then they can just continue maintaining the staff on board," Bernabe said.

Under PCC rules, failure to comply with the order will result in penalties of 50,000 up to 2 million for each violation. Parties, however, are given a chance to explain the non-compliance.

"We recognize that there might have been actions taken which would sort of integrate their operations and this might take some time to undo," Bernabe said.
(CNN)  The Trump administration is unleashing additional sanctions against seven Russian oligarchs with ties to President Vladimir Putin along with 12 companies they own or control.

The measures announced by the Treasury Department on Friday were also aimed at 17 senior Russian government officials and the state-owned Russian weapons trading company, Rosoboronexport, which has long-standing ties to Syria and its subsidiary, Russian Financial Corporation Bank.

"Russian oligarchs and elites who profit from this corrupt system will no longer be insulated from the consequences of their government's destabilizing activities," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement, citing Russia's occupation in Crimea and its ongoing efforts to supply the Assad regime in Syria with materials and weapons.

The action targets Russian oligarchs including Kirill Shamalov, who married Putin's daughter and has amassed a fortune since they tied the knot in February 2013; Oleg Deripaska, a senior Russian official who has been investigated for money laundering; and Suleiman Kerimov, who allegedly brought millions of euros into France in suitcases, according to the Treasury Department.

The fresh sanctions are the latest step by the US against Russia following the poisoning of a former Russian spy in England, interference in the US 2016 election and a cyberattack, described as the most damaging in history.

The Trump administration has been under pressure by Congress to act to meet demands under a sanctions law passed by Congress last summer to punish Russia for interfering in US elections.

The US identified more than 200 wealthy Russians, top officials and business leaders in January and later slapped sanctions in March on Russian government hackers and spy agencies for interfering in the 2016 election and the cyberattack, including people named in FBI Robert Mueller's indictment.

Assets will now be frozen of 17 senior Russian officials, including Nikolai Patrushev, secretary of the Russian Federation Security Council; Vladimir Kolokoltsev, minister of internal affairs and general police of the Russian Federation; and Evgeniy Shkolov, an aide to Putin.

Among the companies targeted by the US include GAZ Group, Russia's leading manufacturer of commercial vehicles owned by Deripaska, and Russian Machines and Renova Group, which is comprised of investment funds and management companies operating in the energy sector in Russia.

This is a developing story. Please refresh page for updates.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "U.S. imposes sanctions against Russian oligarchs and government officials"
(CNN)  At least seven people were killed Friday as fresh clashes broke out between Palestinian protesters and Israeli security forces along the Israel-Gaza border, Palestinian health officials in Gaza said.

Israeli troops fired live rounds against Palestinians along the border fence, the Israeli military said, a week after violence led to the bloodiest day in Gaza since 2014.

Seven people including a teenager were shot and killed in eastern Gaza on Friday, the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza said in a statement.

More than 1,000 people were injured, at least 25 seriously, the ministry said. Dozens of the injured were treated near the border fence by Red Crescent field medics. Twelve women and 48 children were among the injured, the ministry said.

Tensions had been building on both sides of the Gaza-Israel border ahead of what some Gazans alternately dubbed "Friday of Fire" or "Friday of Tires," the second in a sequence of marches planned through mid-May.

Israeli troops are responding with "riot dispersal means" and live fire "in accordance with the rules of engagement" at Palestinians who "have been rioting in five locations" since Friday morning, an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) statement said. Troops are also using water cannon to put out fires generated by burning tires.

The IDF also said several attempts were made to cross the border fence and said Palestinians also attempted to "carry out terror attacks, including hurling of explosive devices, firebombs and to damage" the fence under the cover of the smoke.

It tweeted a video of what purportedly showed people attempting to cut the fence.

Israeli military and officials have repeatedly said they will not allow any breach of the fence, and that those who do not abide by the rules of engagement will be shot.

In a briefing Thursday, IDF spokesman Brig. Gen. Ronen Manelis said Israel would not allow what he called "violent disturbances on the fence under the guise of a civilian march."

Israel blames Hamas and Islamic Jihad for the violence, and warned it will strike deep inside Gaza if provoked.

Mahmoud al-Zahar, Hamas' top leader in Gaza threatened Israel Friday, saying Hamas will hit Israel if Israel strikes inside Gaza.

On the movement's website, Hamas said families were being compensated for the deaths and injuries of their relatives. $3,000 will be given to the family members of each person killed, and between $200-$500 will be given as compensation for the families of the injured.

Ahead of the march, thousands of tires were gathered to be set on fire on the Gaza side of the border, with the aim of creating curtains of black smoke to obscure the sights of Israeli snipers. The hashtag #FridayofTires is also gaining popularity.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called Thursday for all parties to exercise restraint. "I particularly urge Israel to exercise extreme caution with the use of force in order to avoid casualties," he said in a statement. "Civilians must be able to exercise their right to demonstrate peacefully."

The Palestinian envoy to the United Nations, Riyad Mansour, said he was pushing for Guterres to pursue an "independent, transparent" investigation into those "responsible for killing and injuring Palestinian protesters."

A UN Security Council statement that called for an independent inquiry into last Friday's violence in Gaza was blocked by the United States on Saturday.

The goal of the "March of Return" protests, Palestinians say, is to cross the border fence and return to their lands, which became Israel seven decades ago.

Last Friday marked Land Day, when Palestinian land was confiscated by Israel in 1976.

The day quickly turned into the bloodiest day in Gaza since the 2014 war as Palestinian protesters and the Israeli military clashed along the fence. Thousands of Palestinians had marched to Gaza's border with Israel.

The total death toll in Gaza violence since last Friday is 29.

Israel holds Hamas responsible for the events in Gaza, and says most of those killed are "known terror activists" from Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

Palestinians and human rights organizations accuse Israel of using excessive and illegal force on what they described as peaceful protesters.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "Fresh clashes erupt along Gaza-Israel border as Palestinians march again."
Church of the Brethren Newsline

April 7, 2018

The Church of the Brethren was represented at the A.C.T.Awaken, Confront, Transformto End Racism rally in Washington, D.C., on April 4 by Gimbiya Kettering, director of Intercultural Ministries. Also in attendance were Tori Bateman of the Office of Peacebuilding and Policy and the denominations representative to the United Nations, Doris Abdullah, along with other church members from various parts of the country.

The event began with hundreds of people gathering, then hundreds more, the crowd growing and marching in silence to the beat of a drum as dawn broke on April 4, 50 years to the day since Rev. Dr Martin Luther King, Jr., was murdered in Memphis, Tenn., reported a release from the World Council of Churches. Led by organizers from the National Council of Churches, people moved past the memorial statue of King in Washington, D.C., finding their way to the downtown mall, where they spent the rest of the day trying to find the words to frame what have become crucialand painfulquestions about racism in todays United States.

Speakers and rally-goers emphasized the importance of developing moral capacity to not just fight racism but to go further and build a society that honors the dignity of every person, the release said. Among other speakers, it quoted W. Franklyn Richardson, chair of the Conference of National Black Churches, who said that racism remains a stain on the soul of America.

When black and brown people seeing a better life in our country are cast as drug dealers and rapists, that stain is made visible, Richardson said. We cannot continue business as usual. We cannot wait any longer. We must move beyond our guilt. Read the full WCC release at www.oikoumene.org/en/press-centre/news/dear-white-christians-what-now . More about the ACT rally can be found at www.rally2endracism.org.

Commemorations of Martin Luther King Jr.s life were held in a number of cities across the nation on Wednesday. In Chicago, First Church of the Brethren hosted The Last March, an event focusing on the last year of Kings life. Partner organizations were the Institute for Nonviolence Chicago and McCormick Theological Seminary. For some months in 1967, the First Church congregation hosted King and provided office space for him when he was fighting for open housing in Chicago. The April 4 evening event at the church engaged artists, clergy, scholars, and members of the community in contemplative reflection on Kings life and work during that last year before his death. Explained an announcement: Memories of Dr. King tend to neglect his challenges of justice he articulated toward the end of his life.

David Jehnsen of Living Peace Church of the Brethren in Columbus, Ohio, was one of the speakers at a commemoration event at the Ohio Statehouse. He had led a Chicago delegation to the famous 1963 March on Washington. What were seeing today is a revival of the spirit of nonviolence, Jehnsen said, as quoted in the Columbus Dispatch. Its young people who are taking the lead. Yes, theyre going to use different methodologies, different tactics, but its very important that we support them. Read the Columbus Dispatch report at www.dispatch.com/news/20180404/ohio-mlk-ceremony-they-couldnt-assassinate-dream.

To have met Martin Luther King personally in Selma at the service we had prior to the marchthat was one of the high points of my life, said Don Shank, now retired but formerly pastor of Highland Avenue Church of the Brethren in Elgin, Ill. He was interviewed in the Courier News alongside Nathaniel L. Edmond, pastor of Elgins Second Baptist Church, in an article that was posted on the website of the Chicago Tribune on April 3. Shank joined members of his Elgin congregation for both the March on Washington in August 1963 and the march to Selma, Ala., in 1965, the paper reported. Both longtime Elgin ministers and activists are reflecting this week on the April 4, 1968, assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. , and how his death and the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s continue to affect their lives today. The two have also become friends over the years. Since 2001, the two churches have come together on the last Sunday in January leading into African-American History Month. Find the article at www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/elgin-courier-news/news/ct-ecn-mlk-anniversary-elgin-st-0404-20180403-story.html.

Go to www.brethren.org/Newsline to subscribe to the Church of the Brethren Newsline free e-mail news service and receive church news every week.
Consider this: You are at a beach party and desperately need a refill of your drink before your favourite disk jockey arrives. The container that has your drink has a device fitted at the bottom that allows you to alert the bartender some distance away. He notes down your request visible on his desktop at the bar counter and proceeds to prepare your drink.

The desktop software that has taken your request also has a global positioning system that allows the bartender to locate precisely where you are on the beach. You have your drink in the nick of time. This is not a scene from a ...
Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) are struggling to fill vacant faculty positions and seats, despite efforts by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) to provide more autonomy and resources to these institutions. The shortage of full-time teachers at IITs was 34 per cent at the end of 2017-18, up from 25 per cent in 2007-08, according to data tabled in Parliament.

Ten years ago, there were only seven IITs, now there are 23. In 2014-15, the vacancy was 38 per cent. The government is not taking care of the IITs because it is in favour of privatisation of higher ...
Pakistan has raised the with UN Security Council President, saying the situation in the valley and the "escalation" of tension along the Line of Control pose a threat to international peace and security.

Pakistan's envoy to the UN Maleeha Lodhi yesterday in a tweet said that she raised the issue of Kashmir with President Of the Security Council for the month of April Ambassador Gustavo Meza-Cuadra, the Permanent Representative of Peru to the United Nations.

She said the "grave situation" in Kashmir and "escalation on the LoC pose a serious threat to international peace and security."



Lodhi also discussed the Kashmir situation with members of the Pakistani and Kashmiri community at Pakistan's mission yesterday at a meeting to mark 'Kashmir Solidarity Day', she said in another tweet, posting pictures of the event.

Earlier, Lodhi had tweeted that Pakistan will continue to support the "heroic struggle of our Kashmiri brothers and sisters."



Lodhi repeated her stance that a "peaceful settlement" of the in accordance with relevant UN Security Council resolutions is a "pre-requisite for lasting peace and stability" in South Asia.

Pakistan continuously raises the at the UN seeking the world body's intervention in the dispute with India. But New Delhi has always maintained that Kashmir is a bilateral issue with Islamabad.

While UN Secretary General Antnio Guterres has expressed concern at the situation in Kashmir, the UN has maintained that India and Pakistan need to find a peaceful solution through "engagement and dialogue".

Last week, Indian security forces undertook three counter-insurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir in which 13 militants were killed, including those responsible for the brutal killing of Lieutenant Umar Fayaz.

Three Army jawans and four civilians were also killed in Anantnag and Shopian districts of Jammu and Kashmir. Out of the 13 terrorists, 11 have been identified and all of them are locals, officials have said.
The Centre has announced since December a series of measures to stop sugar prices from dropping sharply due to a bumper harvest, but it has not met with much success. Cane arrears have topped over Rs 160 billion as of March 31.

From doubling import duty to fixing the quota of sugar that mills can sell in the open-market, the government has tried it all. A few weeks ago, it fixed a compulsory export quota of 2 million tonnes (mt) that mills have to ship in the next few months to part absorb the surplus. The government also allowed the export of white sugar till September ...
Citing continuing support to cross-border terrorism from Pakistan, India said on Saturday it was difficult to proceed with the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) initiative under current circumstances.

The issue of organising the came up for discussion during a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepalese counterpart K P Sharma Oli, who is in India on a three-day visit.

"The prime minister (Modi) mentioned that he very enthusiastically participated in the Kathmandu (SAARC) summit, but given the current state of play where there is cross-border terrorism - and this is a disruptive force in the region. It is difficult in such circumstances to proceed with such initiatives," Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale told reporters.

SAARC Summits are usually held biennially hosted by a member state in alphabetical order. The member state hosting the summit assumes the Chair of the Association.

The last in 2014 was held in Kathmandu, which was attended by Modi.

The 2016 was to be held in Islamabad.

But after the terrorist attack on an Indian Army camp in Uri in Jammu and Kashmir on September 18 that year, India expressed its inability to participate in the summit due to "prevailing circumstances" and stepped up diplomatic pressure on Pakistan. Nineteen Indian soldiers died in the attack.

The summit was called off after Bangladesh, Bhutan and Afghanistan also declined to participate in the Islamabad meet.

Maldives and Sri Lanka are the seventh and eighth members of the initiative.

During his visit to Kathmandu last month, Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi sought Oli's support for convening the SAARC Summit in Islamabad.

Abbasi has also urged Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena "to play his role for early convening of the summit".

"While India is very supportive of all regional connectivity and regional cooperation issues, the views expressed by the prime minister (Modi) was Prime Minister Oil was well aware of the circumstances," Gokhale said.

The foreign secretary said the Nepalese prime minister told Modi he was looking forward to host the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation Summit this year. BIMSTEC excludes Pakistan.

Oli also gave a "positive reference" to the sub-regional Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal (BBIN) initiative, Gokhale said.
China today commended Nepal's new Left Alliance government for adopting an independent and balanced policy towards its neighbours.

"China, Nepal and India are important neighbours to each other. We hope the three sides can work together, have some sound interactions and achieve common development," Foreign Ministry Spokesman Lu Kang told a media briefing here.

The Left Alliance of the CPN-UML, led by K P Sharma Oli and CPN-Maoist Centre, led by Prachanda, had in December secured 174 seats in the 275-member Parliament in the historic provincial and parliamentary polls.

Known for his pro-China stance, 65-year-old Oli was elected as the prime minister. He had earlier served as the Nepal's prime minister from 2015 to 2016 during which Kathmandu's ties with New Delhi had strained.

To a question about Oli's assertion to follow independent and balanced foreign policy, Lu said China "commend the Nepali government's commitment towards independent foreign policy."



China also "support Nepal developing friendly and positive relations with its neighbours," Lu added.

Oli, who had publicly criticised New Delhi for interfering in Nepal's internal matters and accused it of toppling his government, after his sweeping poll victory said his party would forge a partnership with India to move forward the country towards the path of economic prosperity.
The Trump administration is considering ways to require imported automobiles to meet stricter environmental standards in order to protect US carmakers, according to two sources familiar with the administrations thinking. White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said President Donald Trump will promote free, fair and reciprocal trade practices to grow the US economy and continue to (bring) jobs and manufacturers back to the U.S. Two US automotive executives said Friday they believed the idea had been floated in White House talks last week by Commerce Secretary ...
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A Dalit Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP from Uttar Pradesh's Nagina, Yashwant Singh, wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and accused the Central government of ignoring the Dalits of the country.

In his letter, Singh claimed that he became an MP because of his reservation.

"'Being a Dalit, my capabilities have not been put to use, I only became an MP because of reservation," the letter read, adding, "In 4 years the government has done nothing for the 30 crore Dalits of the country."

The letter has also appealed to the Supreme Court to overturn the decision on the SC/ST Act.

Recently, Chote Lal Kharwar, tribal MP from Robertsganj, had written a letter to Prime Minister Modi, alleging mistreatment by the Yogi Adityanath-led government

In his letter, he had alleged that he met the Chief Minister twice regarding "corruption" in the district administration and forest department in Chandauli, but was instead "scolded and thrown out".

Chhotelal, who is a Dalit, had also complained to the Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes regarding the matter.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) on Saturday lashed out at Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah for likening opposition parties trying to join hands against the BJP to 'snakes', 'mongoose', 'dogs' and 'cats'.

In a letter to the party president, BSP chief Mayawati Devi said the people of Uttar Pradesh through results of the Lok Sabha by-polls to Gorakhpur and Phulpur taught a lesson to the BJP for using such an "insulting and sanghi" language.

According to Mayawati, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath before the by-polls used a similar language for the opposition parties, which cost the party the votes.

The BSP letter said the latest remarks by Shah proved the standard of the party had fallen to grounds under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his "disciple" Amit Shah.

"Will the BJP form a new India like this, by using foul and inadequate language? Does it suit the ruling party of India," the leader asked.

According to Mayawati, the BJP was isolated and left alone by its allies for its overconfidence and ego and was facing a no-confidence motion by its old ally Telugu Desam Party (TDP) for its negligence and non-fulfillment of promises made in Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act during the bifurcation of united Andhra.

She said that the BJP used unparliamentary and immoral tricks to disrupt the functioning of the Parliament as it knew that its involvement in issues such as bank frauds and corruption, and anti-farmers, anti-poor, and anti-development policies would come in front of people if it would have let the no-confidence motion be discussed.

"It is unfortunate the ruling party did not let the Budget Session function and the Parliament was disrupted consecutively for three weeks," the letter stated.

This came a day after Shah at a public event in Mumbai on the occasion of BJP Foundation Day said that snakes, mongoose, cats and dogs were all uniting to fight the Modi wave in India.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Congress Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Naresh has written a letter to Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu, seeking a special two-week session in May-June with an aim to "pass important legislation."

"I am aware that the Monsoon Session will be called sometime in mid-July, but a special session sends a different message altogether," read the letter.

"There is no doubt that the complete washout has inflicted great damage on Parliament as an institution, and I think a special session may help retrieve some of its lost prestige," added Naresh in his letter to Naidu.

Meanwhile, the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) took a jibe at the Congress party over their demand for another session.

"First they do not let the session run, now they are asking for another session? Do they want salaries and allowances again?," Vijay Goel told ANI.

The entire session of the Parliament was washed out owing to disruptions in the functioning of the House. Both the opposition Congress Party and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party blamed one another for disruptions.

In its wake, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar on Friday announced that the MPs of the BJP-NDA alliance parties would not claim their salaries and allowance for 23 days as the Parliament did not function.

Holding the Congress party responsible for the Parliament washout in the second phase of the Budget Session, the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) also decided to go on a hunger strike on April 12.

The Telugu Desam Party, however, blamed the BJP for the disruptions, saying it was practising divide and rule method to run away from providing special status to Andhra Pradesh promised by the Democratic Alliance.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
With the objective of expanding connectivity to enhance people-to-people linkages and promote economic growth and development, India and Nepal agreed to construct a new electrified rail line with India's financial support, connecting the border city of Raxaul in India to Kathmandu in Nepal.

As per a statement by the Ministry of External Affairs, it read, "As a first step, it was agreed that Government of India would, in consultation with the Government of Nepal, carry out a preparatory survey work within one year, and the two sides would finalize the implementation and funding modalities of the project based on the Detailed Project Report. The Prime Minister of Nepal, K.P. Sharma Oli, assured that the Government of Nepal will extend full cooperation for early completion of the requisite surveys for the new rail line."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Oli appreciated the progress made in the implementation of Phase-I of the India-Nepal cross-border rail link projects. The two leaders noted that the stretch of railway lines from Jayanagar to Janakpur/Kurtha and from Jogbani to Biratnagar Custom Yard will be completed in 2018, and that work on the remaining stretch of the ongoing rail link projects - Jayanagar-Bijalpura-Bardibas and Jogbani-Biratnagar, will be taken forward on priority. India expressed appreciation for Nepal's commitment to expeditiously resolve all outstanding issues, including land availability, for the ongoing rail link projects.

"The two Prime Ministers noted with appreciation that the India-Nepal Joint Working Group (JWG) has been meeting regularly to discuss issues relating to the operation of train services on the ongoing cross-border rail link projects. It was agreed that the JWG would identify the requirements for operating train services on these cross-border rail links, and finalise the bilateral modalities expeditiously," the statement added.

The two leaders emphasised the importance of implementing the remaining three links under Phase-II of the India-Nepal cross-border rail link projects - New Jalpaiguri-Kakarbhitta, Nautanwa-Bhairahawa, and Nepalgunj Road-Nepalgunj.

Welcoming the ongoing final location survey of the three links, India and Nepal agreed to expedite completion of the remaining survey work.

During the joint statement proceedings, Prime Minister Modi and Prime Minister Oli jointly inaugurated the Birgunj Integrated Check Post (ICP) through video conference from Hyderabad House in Delhi.

The Birgunj ICP will provide all necessary services including immigration, customs, quarantine, cold storage, banks and security check posts under one roof. Birgunj is also known as the Gateway to Nepal since more than 60 percent of trade activities of Nepal is done here.

The Nepal Prime Minister is currently on a three-day visit to India, having arrived on Friday.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
It was just last evening when Kapil Sharma went on an abusive Twitter rant against media. Later, it was stated that the comedian-turned-actor's account was hacked. Now, he has admitted that it was indeed him who shared those posts.

In a recent tweet, the 37-year-old actor said that whatever he wrote, he wrote from his heart. His team deleted the tweet but he was not scared of the reporter, who wrote anything for money.

"Maine jo b likha tha apne dil se likha tha.. it was my team who deleted my tweets .. But main is k***e bikaayu reporter se darne wala nahi hu.. he can write anything for anybody just for few bucks. Shameless," he tweeted.

Earlier on Friday, in a series of now-deleted tweets, Sharma hurled choicest abuses at his critics, media and the system.

In one of his tweets, he targeted Vickey Lalwani accusing him of maligning him for money.

"Vicky Lalwani.. u r a mother ***** lier. who only spread negativity about me for a very little money. N I know who is giving u money..mehnat ki kha..t***** matt kha. *********...u know what... I can pay u more than ur worth..but I don't want to pay u," Kapil tweeted.

Later, all the abusive tweets were deleted from his handle, and an apology was posted, wherein it was written that his account was hacked.

'The Kapil Sharma Show' host has also filed a complaint against SpotboyE Editor Vicky Lalwani and his former managers Neeti Simoes and Preeti Simoes, accusing them of trying to extort Rs 25 lakh from him.

In his complaint, he alleged that Lalwani started a false and malicious propaganda to defame him on digital media after he refused to pay him the amount.

"About six months ago, Kapil's close associate Mr () Gurjot was approached by a person and told to part with Rs 25 lacs to contain the recently damaging content on Mr. Kapil by a specific media company 'SpotboyE'. This person also explained that they have a lot of personal information about my client which will eventually bring Kapil Sharma down," read a statement from Kapil's lawyer.

"My client states that the posts by SpotboyE kept increasing and began to affect his mental and emotional health as false, malicious and personal remarks were about his career, fiancee, relationship, and friends by this gentleman styled as Vikyleaks," added the statement.

Meanwhile, Lalwani told ANI that Sharma called him personally and verbally abused him.

"At around 6 pm my phone rang and I got a call from Kapil. With a minute of the call, he started abusing me and said me that my daughter wants to sleep with him. This gave me a shock. This was the worst slang I have ever heard," Vicky Lalwani told ANI.

The editor further asserted their website reported the truth about Kapil Sharma making Rani Mukherjee wait for the shoot and cancelling it later.

"From around 4:30 we started noticing that Kapil Sharma was tweeting against SoptboyE and me. Talking all rubbish and irrelevant. Apparently, he was upset with our story on making Rani Mukherjee wait during the shoot and then cancelling it. We just reported the truth," Lalwani added.

Kapil, who recently made a comeback on the small screen with 'Family Time With Kapil Sharma,' couldn't garner a positive response from the audience. If reports are to be believed, the show is expected to go off air soon.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Telangana Chief Minister (CM) K Chandrashekhar Rao (KCR) has assured that the state government would extend all the support and help for the five-day Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI-M] Conference to be held from March 18.

He gave this assurance to CPI-M Polit Buro member B.V. Raghavulu, CPI-M Telangana state Secretary Tammineni Veerabhadram, who met him at Pragati Bhavan here on Saturday.

The CPI-M leaders told the CM that the CPI-M's conference would be held in the city for five days from March 18, in which besides Kerala CM, former CMs of West Bengal, Tripura, and other leaders will be attending. The CPI-M requested for the help and cooperation from the government for the proposed conference. For this, the CM positively responded and extended all the required help and cooperation. The CPI-M leaders thanked the CM for the same.

KCR and the CPI-M leaders also discussed national and state level issues.

The CM explained to the CPI-M leaders the need for a qualitative change in the national and the way he turned his attention to the national

Rao said despite the country attaining independence 70 years back, people are still suffering from several issues and many problems are not being solved till date.

"This is nothing but the failure of the successive governments. Faulty policies of the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party have resulted in the present day situation," KCR said.

The CPI-M leaders appreciated the CM for taking an initiative to bring in a qualitative change in the country.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The protesting members of the North Delhi Municipal Corporation called off their indefinite hunger strike following a meeting with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Manoj Tiwari, wherein the former regional actor assured that many of the protesters' demands will be met.

"These sanitation workers were on hunger strike from past 20 days as the Chief Minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal, was not releasing funds for them. They are not taking care of their rights, they always create problems for them," claimed Tiwari.

"We want to solve all their problems, today, we have taken a very historic decision in their favour. We will be giving them insurance too and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi will be bearing premium of the same," he added.

Mayor of North Delhi, Preeti Aggarwal, defended Kejriwal's government saying, "Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal avoided all their problems; we will be providing them cashless facilities. They all will be regularised and will be getting their salaries on time.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Nepal Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli on Saturday met Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu at the Vice-President House and discussed strengthening of bilateral relations between India and Nepal.

The Nepal Prime Minister is scheduled to hold talks with Home Minister Rajnath Singh at the Rashtrapati Bhawan later in the evening.

Earlier on Saturday, during the joint press meet, the Prime Ministers of India and Nepal on Saturday touted strong bilateral relationship.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi underscored at improving waterways and railways with Nepal, noting that the two leaders reviewed the progress in various connectivity projects.

Dwelling upon the connectivity, Prime Minister Modi stressed that the two sides have agreed to work towards a new railway line connecting Kathmandu with India.

Prime Minister Oli echoed the sentiments of his Indian counterpart and underscored the significance of the bilateral relationship.

"Nepal attaches great importance to its relations with India, our countries enjoy age-old historical ties and have many things to offer to each other," said Prime Minister Oli.

The two leaders inaugurated India - Nepal petroleum product pipeline and the Integrated Check Post (ICP) at Birgunj from Delhi through video conferencing.

Prime Minister Oli, who is on a three-day visit to India is accompanied by his wife Radhika Shakya and an entourage of ministers, Members of Parliament (MPs), secretaries and other high-ranking officials of the Nepal government on his maiden visit to India.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Nepal's Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli has maintained neutrality on China's One Belt One Road Initiative (OBOR).

While clarifying India's apprehensions regarding Nepal's participation in OBOR, Prime Minister Oli told ANI, "I think we are neutral. Geographically, we are in [the] center between two countries."

"We have two friendly neighbours and have a very friendly relationship with both of them. They are more developed and more advanced than us. Also, they are bigger in size and population as well. So, we want to take the opportunity to walk together with both of our neighbours. A feeling of understanding, cooperation and mutual trust is necessary."

On being asked as to why he chose India over China for his maiden foreign visit after assuming the post in February, Prime Minister Oli said, "India invited me and so I visited India."

Further, he said that friendship was more important than signing agreements. These comments came ahead of the delegation-level talks with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on Saturday.

Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, who is on a three-day visit to India, met President Ram Nath Kovind here on Saturday.

The visiting dignitary was given a ceremonial reception at Rashtrapati Bhawan.

The Nepalese Prime Minister underscored the significance of friendship at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, saying, "Friendship is most important and there is no comparison with friendship. Any treaty any agreement, everything starts with friendship. With our neighbours, particularly with India, we first expect friendship."

Nepal's Prime Minister Oli also met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and also laid a wreath at Mahatma Gandhi's samadhi Raj Ghat.

Further, External Affairs Minister (EAM) Sushma Swaraj will have a detailed discussion with Prime Minister Oli at Rashtrapati Bhawan regarding the foreign policy and related issues.

He is also scheduled to hold discussions with the delegation-level officers of India at the Hyderabad House. Some of the important development projects will be inaugurated at the House followed by an interaction with the press.

Later in the day, Prime Minister Oli will meet Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu at his house at 6, Maulana Azad Road.

Finally, in the evening, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh will hold a talk with Nepal's Prime Minister at Rashtrapati Bhawan.

Prime Minister Oli is accompanied by his wife Radhika Shakya and an entourage of ministers, Members of Parliament (MPs), secretaries and other high-ranking officials of the Nepal Government on his maiden visit to India.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The nurse, who helped deliver Salman Khan visited a temple in Indore and prayed for his release in blackbuck poaching case.

Rukmani Bai, who is also known as Salman's third mother, was working at Indore nursing home when the actor was born there on December 27, 1965.

Soon after the news of Salman's conviction came in, Bai visited a Hanuman temple in Indore and wished for his early release.

The actor was sentenced to five years in prison on April 5 after being held guilty of killing two blackbucks in Jodhpur during the shooting of his movie 'Hum Saath Saath Hain' in 1998.

The actor is currently lodged in Jodhpur Central Jail.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, who is on a three-day visit to India, met President Ram Nath Kovind here on Saturday.

President Ram Nath Kovind will hold a meeting with Prime Minister Oli to discuss a range of bilateral issues of India-Nepal.

The visiting dignitary was given a ceremonial reception at Rashtrapati Bhawan.

The Nepalese Prime Minister underscored the significance of friendship at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, saying, "Friendship is most important and there is no comparison with friendship. Any treaty any agreement, everything starts with friendship. With our neighbours, particularly with India, we first expect friendship."

Further, External Affairs Minister (EAM) Sushma Swaraj will have a detailed discussion with Prime Minister Oli at Rashtrapati Bhawan regarding the foreign policy and related issues.

Later, Prime Minister Oli will lay a wreath at Mahatma Gandhi's samadhi Raj Ghat.

He is also scheduled to hold discussions with the delegation-level officers of India at the Hyderabad House. Some of the important development projects will be inaugurated at the House followed by an interaction with the press.

Later in the day, Prime Minister Oli will meet Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu at his house at 6, Maulana Azad Road.

Finally, in the evening, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh will hold a talk with Nepal's Prime Minister at Rashtrapati Bhawan.

Prime Minister Oli is accompanied by his wife Radhika Shakya and an entourage of ministers, Members of Parliament (MPs), secretaries and other high-ranking officials of the Nepal Government on his maiden visit to India.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Pakistan Army appears to have taken its game of 'good and bad' terrorists to a new level.

According to a commentary published in the web site of the European Foundation for South Asian Studies (EFSAS), there exists a nexus between the judiciary, the army and Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jamaat-ud-Dawa de facto head Hafiz Saeed, wherein, "Good terrorists are set to become the lawmakers of tomorrow."

It may be recalled that in October 2017, Pakistan Army spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor said, ".That the State was working on a 'mainstreaming' programme to induct members of armed groups into the political process..".

The EFSAS commentary clearly visualizes this as terrorists and terrorists-linked groups being integrated into Pakistan's country's mainstream with the aim, according to the Major General, "to develop a constructive role for them.".

It does not seem to matter that recently created political entities such as the Milli Muslim League (MML) and the Tehreek-i-Azad-i-Kashmir (TAK), both Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) fronts with Hafiz Saeed as the de facto head, have been added to the lists of Foreign Terrorist Organisations (FTO) and Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGT) by the U.S. State Department on April 3, 2018. It also does not seem to matter that the U.S. Treasury Department has also designated seven MML members as terrorists.

The courts of Pakistan seem to think differently. On the same day that the United States amended the designation of TAK and MML as fronts of the terrorist organisation, Lashkar-e-Taiba, the Lahore High Court (LHC) ordered the Government of Pakistan "...not to harass Hafiz Saeed and to allow him to continue with his 'social welfare activities' until further order.". It is pertinent to note that the same court freed Saeed from house arrest in November 2017, which drew widespread international condemnation.

"Make no mistake: whatever LeT chooses to call itself, it remains a violent terrorist group. The U.S. supports all efforts to ensure that LeT does not have a political voice until it gives up violence as a tool of influence" - Nathan A. Sales, coordinator for counter-terrorism at the US Department of State, said.

Hafiz Saeed has been named as the mastermind of the Mumbai attack in 2008 in which more than 160 people lost their lives. The international community, led by the United Nations and the United States, has declared Hafiz Saeed a global terrorist. In 2012, the U.S. placed a USD 10 million bounty on him.

From Field Marshal Ayub Khan (President of Pakistan from 1958-1969) to General Pervez Musharraf (President of Pakistan from 2001-2008) and in between, the Pakistani Army has a history of working in tandem with the courts of Pakistan, aimed at legitimising the military's unconstitutional actions.

In Pakistan, the army has a history of overshadowing the political landscape. The civilian government in reality has very limited authority or control over critical matters of national importance such as foreign policy and security. Courts have been instrumental in engineering political outcomes and recent developments suggest that they will play a pre-emptive role in guarding 'strategic interests', vital for the country's foreign policy and security, concludes the EFSAS commentary.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
New Delhi [India], April 7 (ANI): For the Pakistani establishment, Hafiz Muhammed Saeed is no mere mortal. He is their Most Favoured Jihadi. The association between Hafiz Saeed and the Pakistani establishment is now over 30 years old and the bond has only grown stronger.

Besides, Saeed is an amenable and loyal jihadi. Unlike the other India-specific jihadi Masood Azhar of the Jaish-e-Mohammed, whose jihadis tried to assassinate General Musharraf, Hafiz Saeed's Lashkar-e-Tayyaba are not just Caliphate's soldiers, they are also Rawalpindi's main jihadi strike corps for the Kashmir theatre. He is no pawn; he is more like the versatile Queen on the chessboard, he can be moved in any direction any time as many times as necessary.

Added to that, he can be made to say and do things against archenemy India as and when desired. Ghazwa-e-Hind is his clarion call. Gradually over time, Saeed's Khaki Masters had successfully built, Jamaat-ut-Dawa, the political arm of the Lashkar- e-Tayyaba as a charity and welfare organisation.

The bonds are so strong that last year the Pakistani rulers had contemplated mainstreaming Saeed and in effect, mainstreaming jihad by letting him form a political party that would contest elections scheduled later in 2018. He was expected to garner quite a few votes and attain respectability in the western eyes as a 'reformed' jihadi.

It would seem that arrangements are being made ahead of the forthcoming elections to have truly amenable persons who are able to say what is expected of them or do as told. The idea was also to save Saeed from further action by an angry US President but it ended up appearing as the most audacious move by the Generals of Pakistan. The idea that Hafiz Saeed would then represent Pakistan or its government could be accepted with a shudder or as reflecting the true reality of modern Pakistan.

Currently however, Hafiz Saeed has been in a bit of a bother. The earlier practice of locking him but actually granting him sanctuary under the pretext of arrest because of his activities, does not seem to be working very well. In the past, whenever faced with pressure from the west or the UN to act against terrorism, Pakistanis have obfuscated and prevaricated. A few cosmetic actions are taken, the issue is gets lost or forgotten in the fog of a global war on terror or the organisation is allowed to resurface in another incarnation.

It is perhaps no coincidence that Donald Trump assumed office as President on January 21, 2017 and Pakistani authorities placed Hafiz Saeed under house arrest on January 30. The Nawaz Sharif government was showing its sincerity in tackling terror to the new president and cited the listing by the UNSC Sanctions Committee in 2011. The Pakistan Interior Minister Choudhry Nisar Ali announced loftily that Pakistan was fulfilling its obligations. As in the past, the JuD reappeared in a new name - TehreekAzadi Jammu and Kashmir (TAJK - Movement for Freedom of Kashmir).

Earlier, Hafiz Saeed's Lashkar-e-Tayyabahad been banned on January 14, 2002, two days after the famous General Musharraf speech promising support to US-led war on terror. The party had renamed itself Jamaat-ut-Dawa and later functioned under the name of its charity, Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation.

In May 2008, the United States Department of the Treasury designated Hafiz Saeed as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist under Executive Order 13224. The US action in May 2008 did not deter the LeT and its masters from carrying out the terror attack in Mumbai in November 2008. It said LeT and several of its front organisations, leaders, and operatives remain under both State Department and Treasury Department sanctions. Since 2012, the United States has offered a $10 million reward for information bringing Saeed to justice.UNSC Resolution 1267 in December 2008 following the November 2008 Mumbai attack individually designated Saeed as a terrorist.

This time the U.S. government has not taken kindly to the various measures that the Pakistan government has taken. The US government viewed the release of Hafiz Saeed in November and the plans to let him organise a new political party with grave misgivings. The United States reacted sharply when it announced on April 2 that it had designated Milli Muslim League (MML) as a foreign terrorist group because it was operating as a front for Lashkar-e Taiba (LeT) which is also on the U.S. terrorist list. Despite the listing or maybe because of it, the MML has asserted it will participate in the elections.

Another group allegedly linked to LeT and the newly formed, Tehreek-e-Azadi-e-Kashmir, was also added to the U.S. terrorist list. It is well known that the United States has offered a $10 million reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Saeed. However, so far, Hafiz Saeed has faced no great hindrance in his activities; he has been addressing rallies and attending functions.

Despite various resolutions, particularly in the past decade or so, Pakistan was able to circumvent these largely because of an inability to pressure Pakistan adequately. Recent actions by Pakistan would suggest that the heat is being turned up. The decision of the Financial Action Task Force in February to put Pakistan on the grey list in June 2018 was a setback despite China and Saudi Arabia on the committee.

This forced a flutter of activity in Pakistan. 148 properties of JuD and FIF in the Punjab were seized and other properties in Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit Baltistan as well as Pak Occupied Kashmir. Pakistan will have to prepare an action plan along with FATF to curb terror funding and money laundering. Pakistan's past record on both terror financing and recruitment of jihadis has been deliberately abysmal and there is room for skepticism here.

The UNSC consolidated list of terrorist organisations and individuals released on April 3, features as many as 139 names. This galaxy includes include Hafiz Saeed and Dawood Ibrahim and other personages like Ayman Al-Zawahiri along with his associates are suspected to be hiding somewhere in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border regions. Lashkar-e-Taiba'smedia person, YahyaMujahid and Hafiz Saeed's deputies, Abdul Salaam and Zafar Iqbal, are also in the list. ZakiurRehmanLakhvi, the LeT chief of military operations who has also been associated with al Qaeda, was placed on the terror list and has an Interpol warrant issued against him, like the others.

Past U.S. presidents have threatened harsh action but never got around to following this threat. Large infusions of economic and military worked the other way. It merely strengthened the military. President Trump has so far been showing more determination not only on controlling terrorism but several other issues ranging from trade to nuclear matters. Maye this is for real this time, considering that in January 2018 the US suspended the US $ 1.3 billion military aid. It is not that his predecessors did not understand or did not know what was going on it was just that they had the wrong end of the argument.

They never pressed Pakistan on India-specific terrorists. Given that, Pakistan's entire security and foreign policy hinged on the India threat. If they had pushed Pakistan on this front the Pakistanis would have been would have been morepliable on the Taliban front. Pushing Pakistan to deliver on the Taliban without pushing on the Indian front left the Pakistanis free to do what they really wanted to do all the time.

This time Pakistan may have miscalculated the extent of frustration in DC or US willingness to take harsh steps. The argument that Pakistan is a nuclear weapons state and hence US choices are limited only feeds into the Pakistani logic that it can continue to increase and improve its arsenal and simultaneously support terrorism. In their paper in February 2017, Lisa Curtis and Husain Haqqani (A New U.S. Approach to Pakistan-Enforcing Aid Conditions without Cutting Ties - Hudson Institute) argued that eight years of Obama's presidency had been spent in trying to coax Pakistan through personal ties to change policy. Pakistan disregarded all these attempts both on the Afghanistan and India borders.

The US President has to make clear that if Pakistan wishes to be an ally it must behave like one and if it wants to be treated as a responsible member of the international community it must behave like one. Harbouring terrorists of various hues, promoting terrorism in the neighbourhood and wherever else are not what responsible states do and allies do not follow their own agendas contrary to agreed ones.

This message, that those responsible for these erroneous policies must pay a price, has never been effectively delivered in the past. Or will there be wiggle room for Pakistan, as in the past?

Mr. Vikram Sood is a former Secretary, R & AW, Government of India.

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The Palestinian activists had dubbed Friday's rallies as the "the Friday of Rubber Tires", with protesters setting hundreds of car tires alight along the Gaza Strip's eastern border.

Since Friday morning, thousands of Palestinians have converged on the Gaza Strip's eastern border with Israel to take part in ongoing anti-occupation demonstrations in conflict of Israel-Palestine, as reported by the Anadolu Agency.

According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, at least seven Palestinians have been killed and 3, 500 others injured till now in the ongoing protest.

"Medical teams are treating the wounded in field hospitals set up near the border," ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qidra said in a statement.

Hamas, which has governed the Gaza Strip since 2007, voiced defiance in the face of the ongoing violence.

"Our people arrayed along the border will resist plans to terminate the Palestinian cause," Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem told Anadolu Agency.

Demonstrators demand that Palestinian refugees be granted the "right of return" to their towns and villages in historical Palestine, from which they were driven in 1948 to make way for the new state of Israel.

Israel, for its part, has deployed thousands of troops along the fraught border with Gaza, vowing to use deadly force against anyone who threatens Israel's "security infrastructure".

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Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for what he called a re-tendering of an approximately USD 15 billion fighter jet deal.

Taking to Twitter to mock the Centre, Gandhi speculated that Prime Minister Modi could re-tender the contract and "favour friends" involved with the controversial Rafale deal.

"Modi Scam Alert!

15 Billion $ fighter jet deal re-tendered. PM's friends race to tie up STRATEGIC partners.

RAFALE, 40,000 Cr. loss to exchequer was "Sayonara" money to French, so PM could re-tender contract and favour friends, "Gandhi said.

The Ministry of Defence on April 6 said India is in process of acquiring 110 fighter aircraft.

Reportedly, this is one of the world's biggest military procurement in recent years as it could cost the Indian government a huge USD 15 billion.

Request for Information for procurement of fighter aircraft for Indian Air Force for 110 fighter aircraft has been released by the Ministry of Defence.

"Procurement should have a maximum of 15 percent aircraft in flyway condition and 85 percent will be manufactured in India under 'Make in India'," said the Ministry of Defence.

It added that 25 percent fighter aircraft will be twin seat and 75 percent single seat.

The Nationalist Democratic Alliance (NDA) government had earlier signed a deal with France based Dassault Aviation of France to purchase 36 Rafale jets.

This is not the first time that Gandhi has alleged corruption in the Rafale deal.

In February, Gandhi posed eight questions to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the deal and alleged that the Prime Minister personally went to Paris and changed the deal.

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